Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this tense time of uncertainty and danger… especially for the one whose anger burns.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yep! Kaden finally appears! XD And don't worry, as Jet previously told Sonic, a reunion is inevitable. It's all just a matter of when it takes place. Also, I agree about Jet. He's carrying a massive burden that really shouldn't be handled alone, but he also really doesn't want the others involved more than necessary. His urge to protect is powerful... but perhaps in seeking to defend others, he is merely harming himself. Only time well tell, huh?

~保護者~

"Discord"

~保護者~

His mind swam in a sea of memories.

Memories, some wonderful and some terrible. Memories of adventure, of destruction, of thrills, of pain, of travelling and fun times, of danger and death... So, so many memories, all conjured up by the simple sight of one streamlined, silvery ship. It was powerful. It was high-tech, futuristic even. It was elegant. It so familiar in appearance, yet so vastly different from what he had once known.

It was the Tornado-Z.

Sonic could barely wrap his mind around what he was seeing. Resting his hand upon the cool metal, he managed to quietly ask, "What happened to the X-Tornado?"

This question apparently triggered some unpleasant memories. Tails's smile turned sad. "During the Era of Darkness, we lost a lot. More than you'll probably ever fully understand. It seems inconsequential alongside the many other things we lost back then, but the X-Tornado was nevertheless lost as well." He glanced away. "Malevolence destroyed it utterly... while I tried to flee the growing destruction with a few of the descendants. We barely escaped with our lives. The ship wasn't so lucky."

Silence followed his answer. Sonic stared at the new ship, struggling to comprehend the enormity of the catastrophe that must have ensued back then. He knew so little about what had occurred, yet his imagination tried its damnedest to fill in the gaps of his knowledge. Often with disturbing results that he was quick to try to cast away. "Nothing was left?" he eventually asked, seeking to distract himself from his own wandering thoughts.

"Not enough to work with," Tails sighed. "At least, not by the time I finally went back to the crash site to look. I avoided the area for a lot of years. Just... wanted to not think about it all, you know? I didn't want to see it, because that... I don't know, made it real, I suppose." Another sigh. Blue eyes briefly closed. "But I did eventually go back, and by then there was almost nothing left. If there had been anything before, it had been picked through already. I walked away with little more than bits of scrap metal."

That was unfortunate. Really, truly unfortunate. He would have liked... hell, he didn't even know. Some remnant of some kind to somehow still be around, maybe? Yeah, fat chance.

"If it's any consolation, though... I melted down those bits of metal, however few there were, and reforged them." Tails turned fully around to face the ship he had crafted. "I used it all in the Tornado-Z, for whatever that's worth."

A pause. Sonic considered his friend's words. Then, gradually, he managed a small smile. "That's... good to hear." He was pretty sure Tails nodded.

Now Cream spoke up. "May I change the subject?"

Both Sonic and Tails blinked, then turned back around to face her. "Yeah, of course," Tails replied soon after. "What's up?"

The bunny looked curious. Thoughtful, even. "You mentioned descendents?"

Finally, Tails's smile regained a happier note. "Oh, yeah. It's definitely been... well, a long-ass time, but there are still some descendants of you all hanging around."

Visibly brightening at the idea, Cream asked, "Truly?"

Tails leaned back against a crate of some sort and nodded happily. "Yep. You have two descendants left these days, a boy and a girl. Neither turned out looking like bees, I'm afraid." Cream giggled at his little joke.

Sonic removed his hand from the ship. "And there are others?"

"Yep," Tails nodded. "Jason and Ethan have three descendants left, one echidna and two bats. All are girls." His gaze drifted up to the ceiling. "Let's see... Remember the boy I adopted, Alex? He has one female descendant left. Sarai has a descendant left, too, and Sen has three. Sarai's is a boy. Two of Sen's are also boys and one is a girl. Grey has four descendants left, three boys and one girl."

Breathless at the mention of his second son and youngest child, Sonic blurted out, "And Emi?"

The fox's smile grew. "She has two descendants, both girls." When Sonic was silent, Tails simply continued. "Kimmy has a single descendant left. Remember how she married that wolf? Their descendant, a girl, is a wolf like him. Ava had no kids, so no descendants from her. Kohaku has two descendants left, both boys." There was a small pause, then Tails slowly added. "Lia... She has no descendants left. The ones that were left at one point died both during and immediately after the Era of Darkness."

Moving quickly to prevent the mood from becoming depressed again, Cream swiftly asked, "Did Mister Espio ever have any children?"

Smile growing yet still, Tails shook his head. "No, though he certainly babysat a lot of your descendants over the years. He never turned away a member of your family when they asked for help with the rugrats."

His response earned another merry giggle. "I see... So he truly hasn't changed that much, then."

"Nope," Tails declared cheerily. "Oh, and before anyone asks - no, Shadow didn't have anymore kids or anything like that, either."

"What about Jet?" Sonic found himself asking, more out of simple curiosity than anything else.

"No more kids from him, either. The time he spent with his family was mostly spent rearing and protecting those who were left. So, pretty much what he does now, just minus the 'helping raise kids' part." Tails shifted to sit upon the lid of the crate, got comfortable, and then continued. "And, as you know, he has some descendants left. Actually, he's got somewhere between eight and ten, but that's mostly just because Babylonians tend to have large families. Helps a family line survive a real long time, you know?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. And one of those descendants is the current queen."

Tails nodded. "Right. She hasn't started her own family life yet, but she's said she will at some point from what I've heard. When she does, obviously that'll bolster the family ranks."

"Did Miss Wave ever start a family of her own?" Cream asked, tilting her head.

"Never even attempted it." Suddenly, Tails's expression carried a strange sort of knowing quality. "Don't worry about that, though. I have a reasonable suspicion that it'll happen at some point or another. It's almost kind of inevitable, really."

Now Cream look positively confused. "Oh?"

"Just trust me," Tails laughed. "It'll all work out with those two."

He might have said more than he meant to, or perhaps not. Either way, though, his words instantly cleared things up for the young woman. She barely stifled another giggle. "Oh, I see."

Though he huffed, Sonic smirked. Guess I wasn't wrong in my assumption. After what I saw when they finished their little sparring match, I'd figured... Mentally, he shook his head in amusement. Things might actually work out this time around... They've both been through a lot, sure, but they've also done more growing than I'll probably ever know. They have a real fighting chance of making it work this time.

Cream's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Was there anything else you needed to grab, Tails?"

"I don't think so," Tails shrugged. "If I'm wrong, though, I can always come back later. It's not a huge deal right now."

"Are we leaving, then?"

"We probably should, yeah. After Shadow comes back."

"Of course."

Sonic looked at the Tornado-Z again. Five seats... We have enough room for everyone, for once. Go figure. "...Hey, Tails?"

The fox turned his head to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Whatever happened to my stuff?" Sonic dragged his gaze away from the ship after a long moment. "Amy's stuff, too. And the house."

It almost looked like Tails was... apologetic. "After you passed, Emi and Grey were really worried about just letting your guys' stuff just sit there. Obviously the house was far from any cities and such, but leaving it abandoned meant leaving it open to looters and the like. They weren't sure what to do with the stuff for a little while, but eventually they moved most of it to Satusno and Seiko's castle. You know, the one we used as a refuge for some of the group during the Nocturne War. It's still just as protected as ever behind its barriers, so your stuff is as 'fine' as it can be. Ignoring any dust and such, of course."

A minute or two was all Sonic needed to fully process this. "And the house?"

"Well, it really did end up abandoned for a long while," Tails answered. "Eventually, some of your descendants started living there, and that's been true ever since. Right now, Kohaku's descendant Autumn lives there with her adoptive sister." Sonic nodded once, just slightly, still thinking, and Tails continued, "We can probably go and see it later, if you want."

"...No. That's okay." Things grew quiet for a long moment before Sonic asked a new question. "You said most of the stuff was moved?"

Tails blinked. "Oh, yeah. Some stuff- Well, some of it was sort of dangerous to leave unattended. Things like Caliburn, for example."

Sonic perked up. "That's right, Jet had my sword, huh?"

"He did," Tails confirmed. "All the stuff that Emi and Grey didn't take to the castle, he took. A couple things he's had since you died. He's been safeguarding Caliburn, the Chaos Emeralds, your communicator (don't ask how you ended up with that back when you were revived because I have no idea), Excalibur, and a few other things I can't exactly recall."

The mention of his father's sword, the final and most powerful of the seven that the man had crafted during ancient times, made Sonic wince. He'd managed to somehow forget up until now that he had been holding onto that blade ever since his parents' deaths. ...Except... Kaden wasn't actually dead, was he? It was still so hard to wrap his mind around that fact. "He... has Excalibur?" he eventually asked.

"Somewhere," Tails confirmed quietly. "I don't know where."

Unable to suppress his confusion, Sonic almost demanded, "Why didn't he give it back to Dad?"

"That's... hard to explain, Sonic." Tails almost visibly stifled a sigh. "You have to remember, we don't exactly... see him often. And he kind of prefers that we keep it that way."

This was new knowledge, and it only deepened Sonic's pained bafflement. "Wait, what? Why?" Tails didn't answer. He didn't seem to know how.

Cream changed the subject a bit. "Does Mister Jet still have the emeralds?"

"Yeah, he does. I don't know where, mind you, but I know they're safe. We'd have been informed if they weren't. So if nothing else, we don't have to go on a crazy hunt for those this time around." Tails grew quiet for a second, then spoke again. "Oh, and do you remember the items that were... left behind when your parents... died?"

There was no way Sonic could not remember. Dad's golden ring... the one he used to use to pull his hair back into a ponytail... and mom's wedding ring. Suddenly numb, all he could do was nod.

Tails swallowed hard. "Jet held onto those, too. To make sure they were safe." Sonic could only nod once more. Though happy that these objects had not been lost, he simply couldn't voice it right this second. The small flash of a teleporter saved him from having to speak, anyway. Shadow had returned, and he soon rounded a corner to walk over to them. In his free hand he carried yet another storage cube (whatever those damned things were called), presumably carrying the devices they needed to set up the barriers they had been discussing earlier. Seeing this, Tails hopped down off of his crate-turned-seat. "Guess it's time to head out. Let's round up Espio and get out of here." He glanced at Cream, one of the few people who could routinely root out the ninja in his various hiding spots, and she walked off with a knowing smile.

Shadow tossed the cube to Tails. "We need speed. I do not trust how quiet it has been lately."

In response, Tails jerked a thumb back at his ship. "Good thing we've got this hunk of metal, then." Glancing to each hedgehog in turn, he made the invitation general with a broad gesture toward the Tornado-Z. "Come on, time to load up." Neither argued, choosing instead to simply board the ship. They all had work to do.

~保護者~

Kaden turned his head and spat angrily into the dirt. Only for a moment, this succeeded in ridding his mouth of the thick blood that had been filling it. Frustrated by the continual presence of it in his mouth, he spat again, then started walking through the rubble that marked the scene of his latest fight. Careless... Fucking careless. He had certainly been that, he reflected as he glanced over his wounds. It had been a while since his opponent had managed to deal this much damage to him. A very long while, in fact. Perhaps centuries, even. But he truly had gotten careless this time, foolishly emboldened by earlier victories and successes. It wasn't like him... but, then, it wasn't as though he was feeling totally like himself right now in general.

He blamed the complete upheaval of his life today for that.

Few things could have turned his world so totally upside-down with so little effort, but the sudden return of his eldest son certainly was one of those things. Sonic was alive again, had been for who knew how long at this point, and that changed everything. There was so much he didn't yet know in regards to that, so much he needed to know. Yet, there were also things he did know... however unhelpful those tidbits of knowledge currently were. Ythene... she is at the root of this.

The biggest lingering question was, of course, why she had chosen now to act. There were multiple potential reasons for it, each quite valid, but it was likely that only one was entirely correct. He needed to know which reason that one was. He needed to know how long Sonic had been alive. He needed to know what his son had been doing, who he was with, what he knew and about who and what. And, of course, he needed to decide what he himself should do... and how he should go about approaching either of his sons in the future. There was just no easy answer to that problem in particular.

Continuing his walk, he turned his attention to his sword... if only to help clear his head a tad. Dirty. Again. Frustrated anew by all the dirt-filled blood covering his once pristine black katana, he gave it a hard flick downward and to the side. This only successfully flung a very minor amount of detritus from the blade. But even through the filth, Saika managed a faint glimmer of shine in the dim, reddish light of this world. He caught his own reflection in that shine and frowned at it. Something about his own appearance tugged at his emotions, conjuring up further feelings of anger and irritation. He was just as dirty and bloodied as his blade right now, and he hated it. He also hated the one responsible for putting him into such a sorry state to begin with.

However, dealing with his enemy would have to wait. It was necessary for him to focus on dealing with his injuries for the time being, and deciding how to best deal with his enemy's apparently growing strength. A family reunion would have to wait... for now.

~保護者~

There was heavy, heavy darkness for a time. When it eased and began to lift, Jet felt himself cough and spit up blood. He nearly choked on it, struggling for breath for who knew how long before his airway finally cleared enough to ease his struggles just a bit. Pained, he shifted to push himself up and opened his eyes. His vision was blurred and faded in and out for several minutes as he unsteadily shifted into a sitting position. It occurred to him, dimly, that this was yet another fight that he had lost. The Demonic God had killed him... again. He had known going in that it would happen, but that didn't exactly make dealing with the aftermath any easier.

Coughing again, he pressed his hands to one particularly nasty gash that lingered on his stomach. Blood welled up between his fingers, sluggish and thick. Knowing that he was in demon territory yet still and that the mere scent of his blood would soon bring hordes of demons upon him, he removed his hands and quickly tried to call Wave on his communicator. But, of course, the damned thing wouldn't turn on. It was broken... because of course it was. That was just his luck.

Not that he had ever believed much in luck.

He stifled the urge to mutter a course. With little other choice, he slowly tried to regain his feet. A number of factors, not the least of which being continued blood loss, left him unsteady and weak. Standing felt nearly impossible in his current condition, but he made himself do it regardless. Getting out of here was of top priority. Succumbing to temporary weakness was not an option here. So he made himself stand and keep upright long enough to finally focus his vision again and take in his surroundings. Finding the skies overhead clear of any obstacles or threats, he let himself become weightless. Flying was far easier than standing and, as he lacked the energy to teleport, it was currently his only means of escape.

With no other options at his disposal, he flew as far and fast as he could, seeking only to put some distance between himself and those that currently threatened him. Only once he was reasonably safe again could he risk trying to find another means of contacting Wave. For now, he just needed to get the hell out of here. It wasn't even that he was afraid of dying again (honestly, that was probably going to happen, anyway, with him being wounded as severely as he still was). It was just that he really, really didn't want a second confrontation with him. There were only so many times he could stand to fight the man in one sitting.

But there were more pressing matters at hand. He had successfully kept the God of Demons busy for as long as he could. He could only hope that Wave had had enough time to do her part. If not, if she hadn't been able to learn where and when the God would next strike out in his efforts to complete his portal, this would all have been for nothing. God, he hoped this hadn't been for nothing. They needed that information.

He caught himself drifting in and out, in and out, in and out, more and more often the longer he flew. It didn't take a genius to determine that he would pass out before too much longer if he pushed himself much harder. However, it wasn't as though he could just take a break. He was still deep inside the Demonic God's territory, had yet to even come close to exiting it. Flying longer and perhaps even faster was entirely necessary if he truly wanted to escape - and he most certainly did. Honestly, he was just thankful that they had fought in this realm as opposed to the realm the God normally inhabited. Teleporting and realm-shifting just weren't possible for him right now.

Too late, he worked up the energy to speed up his flight. Too slow, he moved to the side to try to dodge a surprise attack. Too, too weakly, he hurled a ball of aura energy at his demonic attacker. The vaguely serpentine, vaguely canine-like monster snapped at him with lethal teeth, successfully slicing open Jet's leg just as he jerked the limb as far out of harm's way as possible. The fact that it was left with no meat to feast on seemed to royally piss off the demon, judging by how quickly it decided to carry out a painful brute-force attack... by swinging it's broad head straight into his torso.

With the wind thoroughly knocked out of him and his mind again barely hovering above the level of unconsciousness (damn, that God and his brutality, truly), Jet wasn't able to catch himself fast enough. He slammed back-first into what he vaguely guessed to be the remnants of some unfortunate ship, only to then be knocked straight through the debris by a second headbutt. This blow had him spitting up more blood than he had been already earlier. The taste of blood was one he hated and could barely tolerate, so he sought to clear it from his mouth in the split second he had to attack before the next attack was launched at him.

The demon's first mistake had been attacking him at all.

It's second and final mistake?

Pissing him the hell off.

Oh, he was so not in the mood for this bullshit. He had just fought the God of fucking evil itself and literally been killed by him. He was probably going to die again no matter what he did. This demon, this piece of shit monstrosity that had just tried to bite his goddamned leg off, was so... so dead. Deeply weakened or not, Jet had more than enough energy to kill it. So, naturally, he did. A cool, calculated strike of lightning directly to the head proved to be more than enough. Not only did it obviously electrocute the demon, but the attack fried it alive. He took a perverse sort of satisfaction from that... if only for a moment.

Weakened by the attacks, both his own and that of his enemy, Jet soon found himself unable to do anything more than hover. All he had the energy to do now was float, just float and watch as the very hordes he had earlier worried about barreled toward him. Bloodlust filled each and every pair of eyes. Fangs were bared, claws gleamed, roars and screams filled the air... and all he could do was watch. The inevitability of his own death probably should have made him afraid (being mauled to death by monsters was a hell of a way to go, after all), but he felt little more than simple exhaustion. Death had long, long since ceased to cause him fear.

Still, he didn't like the idea of just sitting here and letting this horde have its way with him. He wracked his foggy mind, struggling to come up with any sort of a plan to combat this threat. Nothing he managed to think of held any real value, however, and he was rapidly running out of time. So, left with few other options, he weakly drew his sword. Fighting was likely going to get him killed no matter what he did, what with him having no energy to use most of his powers and no real strength left in him, but he decided without hesitation that going down fighting was far preferable to dying without struggle.

The horde was just about upon him when numerous flashes of light unexpectedly began filling the writhing mass of bodies. Glowing symbols began appearing on each and every single demon in the horde, and he recognized them in an instant. Though, in his current state, he had a bit of trouble fully processing what he was looking at. ...Runes?

They began activating in a near instant, doling out massive elemental damage. The demons were frozen, burned, electrocuted, and even blasted with devastating blades of wind. Nearly all died in the onslaught as he stared in on complete silence. Only a few survived, but those who did were soon killed off with rapid sword strikes... and they weren't the work of Jet.

Before him hovered one of the youngest Gods in existence... the God of Runes. And he was holding out a hand toward the wounded hawk with a friendly smile despite all the death surrounding them both. "Hey, dude... need a lift?"

~保護者~

4,153 words this time. Alright, so this took about a day longer than I had planned, but I really wanted to get it up to a decent length (which I finally did this evening) so whatever. Anyway, a bit of an update for you all: I know in the past I developed a reputation for usually posting a chapter every single day. I'm finding lately, however, that that's just a pace I can no longer keep up with. Does this mean I'll deliberately take ages to post from now on? No, not at all! I love this story and this series and I truly want to see it through to the end. I just have to give myself more time to write my chapters is all. My goal is to post at least once every few days (as in, two to four). Though, posting more frequently when I can is always an option, of course. Sadly, there will be times when I can't do this for whatever reason. For that, I apologize. Still, I will be doing my very best to keep to this new schedule as routinely as possible. Hopefully it all works out. And, as always, I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:40 p.m.) 01-10-19.