Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this collection of scenes… especially for the one who pretends he isn't hungry.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah... poor guy. :/

~保護者~

"Truth and Lie"

~保護者~

The sky was turning dark by the time the group places the last barrier device. Tails was busy working with Wave to get everything activated, but Sonic hung back. He was curious about the activation process, sure, but there were other things that held his attention at the moment. Such as, for example, a certain green-furred stranger whom he was standing near. He contemplated for several minutes whether or not to say anything to man, but eventually he gave in and decided to just say what was on his mind. "Hey," he called quietly in order to grab Steam's attention.

Steam cast his gaze over at Sonic and raised an eyebrow, turning to face the blue hedgehog. "What's up?" he asked, frowning faintly.

In an effort to get comfortable, Sonic leaned back against the nearest available surface (which just so happened to be part of the Tornado-Z's left wing). "Look, I get you've probably explained this more than once by now, but I need to know who you are," he said. "And I need more than just the vague 'from another timeline' spiel. I didn't question it before because Wave seems to trust you, but based on the things Jet's always saying about trust these days… it isn't enough."

There was a snort in response at first before he smirked faintly. "I woulda thought Shadow would be the one to question me first," he mused, chuckling. "Alright, so, I'll keep it simple still. Yes, I'm from another timeline and all, my name is Steam, all that cool stuff. The really important thing to know is that I'm something called a Balancer, one of the beings that exists more or less to help keep things… balanced, for lack of better terms. More specifically, I'm the Neutral Balancer."

"They do it on a very practical level, while me and the other Balancers do it on a fundamental one. Sort of. Ya see, when there's an unusually large amount of evil in an area, say… a giant demonic horde, I, by nature, slowly begin to fill with Light so as to combat it and keep things more neutral. Vice versa for an extreme amount of good," Steam explained, scratching his head as he thought of the best way to explain more.

"Meaning you channel Light and Darkness but don't have any," Sonic realized aloud. He didn't seem to expect any further confirmation, merely stating what he had just learned, and took a moment to think. After that moment passed, he asked, "You seem to know us. To an extent, at least. I'm guessing our other selves know you, too?"

Steam gave a nervous chuckle. "They don't all think the best of me, but… yeah. They all know me and I know them all. Pretty well for the most part."

For now, Sonic chose to ignore the sudden nervousness and part of Steam's comment. "And Wave said you have a good amount of knowledge of what's happening here. Right?"

"Yep. I've been through some of what's going on, so I'm here to try and help things move along in a more… safe manner." Steam chose his words… with a touch of care, but not enough so that he really thought about what he was saying.

There were a lot of questions Sonic could have asked in response to that, he knew, but for now he opted to settle on just one. "I won't press you on too much since you don't seem to want to want to talk about any of it… but there's one thing I want to know about." He looked Steam straight in the eye. "No one else is telling me shit so I don't expect you to, either, but do you know what's going on with my father?"

Pain entered Steam's eyes and he looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. "...I do know. I'm just…" He scratched at his head forcefully, breathing growing labored. "It's a lot to take in and explain…"

Eventually, Sonic also looked away. Silence filled the space between them just as the barriers flashed into existence and roared upward into the sky. The roar was felt rather than heard, but his ears nevertheless flattened purely on instinct. Only after he straightened them again did he decide to reply. "Thanks for being honest," he mumbled. "I prefer not being lied to, even when I can't be filled in on details." The lights high overhead quickly faded, leaving nothing but invisible protection in their place.

"I try to never lie to people. So, I'll be honest about this much. You're not gonna like the truth when you hear it," Steam murmured, closing his eyes and shifting uncomfortably.

Though he pursed his lips together, Sonic merely nodded. A second later, Shadow (who had been sitting atop the ship nearby) decided to drop down in the grass beside his brother. Perhaps in an effort to allay the blue hedgehog's worries, he murmured a vague word of comfort of some sort. Sonic shot him a surprised glance, but there was gratitude to be found in his gaze. Shadow then looked away and informed Steam, "Wave and Tails are done. We're going to head toward Century City."

Steam gave a nod, opening his eyes and shifting his gaze over to Shadow. "Gotcha. I'm probably gonna go find Jet and check up on him."

This earned Sonic's attention again. "Make sure you wallop him for being so damn reckless," he muttered crossly. "I'd do it myself if he were here, the freaking idiot." Of course, he knew there were legitimate reasons for his friend's actions, but that didn't change the fact that he'd made Sonic (who had only just recently learned of Jet's latest fight) worry his ass off. Again.

"I'm sure he'd kick my ass before I land a hit on him, but maybe I'll try," Steam winked playfully and chuckled faintly, stretching.

Sonic managed a faint smirk. "Good." Shadow decided about then that they had spent enough time talking, and he herded Sonic back to their seats in the ship. Steam gave a wave of farewell and teleported off without waiting for a response.

Steam reappeared in the darkness of space, not even a quarter-mile from the newly-erected barriers. Jet floated nearby, still covered in blood from earlier but finally healed. His wrist was casually draped over the sheathed sword at his hip, but his posture was relaxed as he examined the barriers below with a slightly critical eye. The devices used to make the barriers were of his own design, but his manner almost seemed to suggest that he didn't quite trust them. Still… There aren't any holes or obvious weakness. They should hold well enough.

"So, the man of the hour," Steam commented vaguely, floating over a bit closer. "How are you feeling right now, Jet?" His voice carried a genuine concern and something akin to pain as he spoke.

Blue eyes drifted Steam's way. "...I'm fine," he eventually answered. It wasn't a lie, this time, as he had almost fully healed after his last revival. He looked away again. "Why are you up here?"

Steam glanced to the barriers. "I came to check up on you. You didn't show up with the others, so I was a bit concerned you'd gotten yourself into something again."

Jet actually let out a soft snort. "Did Wave tell you that?" he muttered, referring to her constant claims of him being too reckless for anyone's good… claims that she had been making since well before even Ivo's time.

"God, I wish. No, this is of my own experience with my timeline's you. You do get wrapped up in shit for no reason, honestly," Steam pointed out, smirking. "Though I can be way worse on a normal basis."

Apparently feeling a touch more relaxed than normal, Jet murmured, "Call it an 'occupational hazard'. I am not at fault… normally."

Steam laughed at this, smiling. "Gotta say, that's a fair assertion." He floated over to the barrier and pressed a hand against it lightly. "This is pretty alright. You or Tails build these things?"

Jet blinked, almost thoughtfully. "I did… several eons ago. The technology is nearly obsolete these days, however…"

"Oh well, it'll hold up a bit. If these things fall, it'll give us time to get here and do something."

A vague nod was Jet's only immediate reply, but eventually he did speak again. By now, the vague humor he had been displaying had completely left him. "There was an attack earlier," he murmured. It wasn't a question, per se, but he waited for a reply regardless.

Steam blinked once, turning around quickly. "Here? Yeah. I noticed."

"All the demons were killed, correct?" Jet pressed. He knew all too well how much havoc even one small-fry could wreak on a world like this.

"I would never let one of those bastards just escape. I continuously reigned them in with magic and slamming them with Light," Steam answered, his expression serious now.

Satisfied with this, Jet inclined his head. Good. He turned somewhat to look out at the distant stars. But the danger has not fully passed. Now that he knows we have gathered together, he will take more active steps to hinder us… or simply kill us. Inwardly, he sighed. Most likely the latter.

Steam sighed faintly and let his own gaze go into the distance. "So, I have a serious and important question to ask. It could really help if you know anything about where the Balancers might be."

Jet frowned slowly. "...I have only a guess," he finally answered. "However, I have yet to find the means of proving it even somewhat." He grew quiet for a long moment, thinking. "I worry that wherever Analia is, they are. As for where she is… I believe your assumption will match up with mine."

"Fuck." Steam bit his lip and sighed again. "Guess that's where I'm heading soon. We could use their help."

"Perhaps not as soon as you would like," Jet answered, voice soft. "He has cause to very jealously guard against outsiders right now, as opposed to simply letting them arrive so as to kill them as he normally would."

The green hedgehog rubbed his temples, eyes closed. "I get that much, but still. I'm gonna end up there at some point soon."

The Immortal hummed softly in agreement, then changed the subject. "You should return to the others."

"Maybe… But… one more thing." Steam opened his eyes once more and glanced to Jet, watching the hawk for a moment. "What do you know of the potential whereabouts of the missing God?"

"You refer to the God of the Forge?" Jet inquired back. Steam gave a nod in affirmation to this. "He escaped the inferno. That is all we know."

Steam nodded slowly. "That's good to hear. I'll make sure to try and find him."

Jet inclined his head again, but didn't yet let Steam leave in spite of his own earlier statement. "That woman… she returned earlier, did she not?" He had barely been conscious at the time, but he was sure of what he had sensed.

"I helped Espio deal with her as best I could, but I'm not suited to fight someone like her. Espio had a cut on his wrist, but not much else. He's alright, if you were wondering."

There was a bit of silence, then Jet asked, "Nothing else happened?" There was a touch of tension in his tone, revealed most clearly in the emphasis he placed on that one word.

Steam frowned faintly at this, raising an eyebrow. "What are you referring to, Jet?"

"Markings," Jet muttered. "Did any appear on him?"

"Not that I saw. I'm on the lookout for them," the hedgehog answered, noticeably tense now also. "I'll let you know if I see them at any point." Another vague hum served as Jet's answer to this, and he said nothing more. He stayed put for several long moments before moving to return to the planet below with Steam following suit. The latter vanished as Jet took to the skies, eyes reflecting the stars… and mind drifting galaxies away.

~保護者~

Steam appeared back at Nier's home, deciding this was the best place to start searching for answers on the people he was looking for. He then realized that what he'd done was actually a bit rude and knocked on the wall to make up for it. His knock was immediately heard, and Nier called out, "Around the side, dude." The hedgehog followed the voice and poked his head around to see who all was here, blinking once.

Gathered in the grass by the side of the home were just two of the Gods and Goddesses. Nier was there, of course, and with him was Sona - the Goddess of Stars. Sona regarded Steam with a vaguely raised eyebrow accentuating her thoroughly pissed off expression. Nonetheless, she wasn't hostile toward him in any way and waved him over. Steam ventured over and sat down as well, his gaze flicking between the two of them. "Why are you here?" Sona's tone carried heavy traces what many knew her best for, true and nearly unbridled rage.

"Man… you're more angry than usu-"

"You'd be pretty smart to not comment on that right now," the Goddess of Stars warned, fists clenching and unclenching.

"Easy, there," Nier tried to soothe. "He won't say anything, right?" This last word was said with a quick warning glance toward Steam.

Steam held up his hands in a defensive way. "Sorry. Meant no harm. I'm used to being able to joke with the Sona from my timeline, so it was just a natural response. I'll be careful."

Nier nodded once. Then, after a moment, he let out a long sigh. "Today's just been a crappy day. We're… a bit grouchy, I guess. Sorry about that."

The cat sighed gently, running her fingers through her hair in a show of tension and stress, her eyes closing. "Yeah. Things lately aren't helping on top of stuff that's been bothering us all. And if you know us, you have to be able to imagine how Cere is feeling."

"Yeah…" Steam, for one, had seen what happened when that woman was angry or had been bothered. "I came to ask you guys some questions on anything you might know about some people." He watched Sona with a touch of wariness, noticeably tense after her reaction prior.

"What questions?" Nier asked, sitting down on a bench. Sona nodded and motioned for him to go on.

"First… Any knowledge on the God of the Forge. Anything you might have. If he escaped, where he might have escaped to, people he may try and contact…" Steam trailed off, drumming his fingers on the ground as he tried to think more on what he needed to know.

Sona sighed a little and shook her head. "We don't have much, but I doubt he died when his realm was engulfed like it was. He's not the most powerful or anything, but if he is anything, it's resourceful and intelligent. He's definitely out there somewhere, hiding out so he won't be killed."

After she finished speaking, Nier posed his own question. "Steam, are you familiar with Kath?"

"Well… yeah. He's a big deal." That was a serious understatement, but it was Steam's attempt at explaining that he knew well of Kath.

Nier nodded once. "This won't take too much explaining, then. As you may know, Kath had a lot of allies all over the various realms. This included a Therian, a member of the one remaining Therian family that is neutral and not evil. Her name is Calypso, and she has a sister and niece. That niece is named Novei." He looked up into the sky. "She and Li have worked together before, for reasons only they know. He could very well have sought her out again."

Steam pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've met Novei in my timeline. She's… very neutral. I'm… somewhat surprised he would work with her, though…" He thought about the potential. She could be very useful to him and vice-versa, so it made enough sense to be plausible.

"Yeah. She's certainly not always the best, but she and Li always seemed to be able to get along to some degree. I would venture to guess that there's a chance of him being with her currently," Sona shrugged, her gaze shifting to Nier. "Though, I haven't a clue as to where they would be currently."

The God of Runes could only return the shrug. "I have no idea, either. I'm not even convinced that they're in any realms near to this one. But, regardless of where he is, we know he's alive. We haven't sensed any power voids like the kind left behind when one of us dies unexpectedly. So he's out there somewhere."

"Which means that he knows Li is still alive," Steam pointed out bluntly, expression somewhat blank.

"Yeah," Nier agreed, stifling one of his many sighs. "There's no way he couldn't. Right now, we should just be grateful that he seems to have little to no interest in Li for the time being."

The hedgehog gently interrupted a reply from Sona, frowning. "On that subject… Do you know guys happen to know what's happening to Analia currently?"

That earned a short period of almost uncomfortable silence before Nier had to admit, "...No. We have no idea." He looked down. "No one does. Not even Nyx and Cere." He was referring to the God of Night and the Goddess of Judgement, two of the oldest Gods/Goddesses in existence by far. The only ones older than them were the Goddesses of Chaos and Storms.

Sona's gaze hardened. "You do," she accused, her hands planted firmly into the ground as her attention shifted fully onto Steam. "I'm willing to bet you know where Analia is."

"Probably." Steam's eyes flicked away. "If she's where she was where we found her in my timeline, then yes. Long story short, I need to go there soon and see if the Balancers happen to be in the same place."

Nier gave Steam a very, very long look. Eventually, he murmured, "Going wherever you're planning on going is likely a horrible idea as of now."

There was a nod of response. "Yeah, but chances are that I'm gonna go alone. The less attention drawn while I'm trying to get them, the better chance I have of not getting murdered by something that hates me existing or whatever."

"Still a foolish venture…" Nier sighed, sounding in that moment very much like Jet. "...However, I won't try to convince you not to go. If you're set on it, then fine."

Sona gave a gentle nod to this, adding her affirmation. "I agree. If you're successful and you do manage to save the Balancers, that gives us something akin to a better chance at dealing with all this. If you fail, well, worst case is that you die. Not to say you're worthless, but it's one of those things where you make your own decision and the end result is on you." Her expression softened to show some faint hints of concern. "So, don't be an idiot. Got it?"

Steam rolled his eyes at them both lightly, huffing in something like amusement. "I know that it's probably one of the worst ideas I can have, but I think it really does need to happen."

"And we're not arguing that," Nier reminded. "We're just reminding you to not be a reckless little piece of crap like some people we know."

"Alright, alright. I get it." Steam's attention fell onto Sona. "Now, I have to ask you, in particular, something. About the God of the Sun…" Nier straightened up, alert, but remained silent for now in order to let them talk.

Sona's hands slowly clenched into fists, not from anger as much as pain and concern. "What about him?"

"What's he doing right now?"

There was silence for a time, Sona casting her gaze downward. "Don't have much to say, really… He's been an active fighter against the God of Demons and all his legions of demons, and he's got two daughters. Other than that, he's been pretty… private as of late."

"That's an understatement," Nier commented with a soft huff. Then he added, "I know a bit more, though. He's apparently been trying to track down Analia as well, though I don't know how much progress he's made in that department. And he's got a couple of those portal shards that the God of Demons is after. They're pretty safe with him, for now."

"I see…" Steam sighed and rubbed at his eyes lightly. If he was honest with himself, all of this was wearing him down a bit faster than he wanted to admit. He'd almost forgotten what this tended to do to him physically. At this, Sona looked over to Nier with a concerned expression, motioning with her head for him to say something.

Nier caught this look, then glanced at Steam. "Look… you should head back to the others for now. Get some rest or something." His tone was overall casual, but it was serious enough to indicate that he wouldn't accept any argument about this.

"Yeah, you can't do anything if you're not ready for it," Sona added, her anger being set aside. "Take care of yourself first."

Another sigh came from the hedgehog, standing up and stretching. "Fine, I'll get to it soon. Still got something to do first, anyway."

"That being?" Nier inquired.

"Gotta talk with Sonic and the others. They all deserve to know what I'm gonna be doing and when I'm planning to. If I'm working with you all, that is." He smiled, flicking his gaze to Nier. "I'll make sure to rest after that."

This answer was acceptable, so Nier nodded once. "Yeah, okay. Just do me a favor and keep us informed whenever you do go." He paused, thought for a second, then added with a weary tone, "And don't let Jet do anything stupid while he's with you lot."

Steam snorted faintly in amusement. "I can't control that guy. All I can do is stand in his way a bunch."

"That's good enough for me," Nier smirked. "Sometimes that's enough to make him decide not to be a reckless shit." He looked to Sona. "You gonna stay here a while or not? I need to go take care of some stuff as well."

She nodded gently to him. "Yeah. I'll hang out here unless someone decides to piss me off."

"Feel free to go inside whenever, then. There's food and whatnot." Nier stood up and turned back to Steam. "Can you teleport all the way back to Mobius by yourself?"

"'Course. Teleporting is probably what the Alakaras are best at besides blowing shit up."

Sona blinked at him, her attention most certainly shifting over. "Ar-" Steam's eyes widened and he teleported away without letting her finish, knowing exactly what she would end up asking.

When Steam reappeared with the group, they were settling down in a building for the night. It didn't take a genius to tell that, in spite of how much it had grown and changed (even going so far as to be renamed "Century City"), the city they were in was what had once been Future City… and this was the Rogues' Tower. The very same one that Wave, Jet, and Storm had all once lived in together called "home" so, so long ago. It had changed a lot over the years as well, but it was still more than spacious enough to accomodate the group. Said group was currently gathered in the living room, exchanging quiet words and such right up until Steam arrived.

Wave was first to break the newfound silence. "Oh, hey. You're back."

He laughed and smiled a little, waving in a relaxed manner. "Yep. I'm back. I'll be around for a bit before I haul off once more, then return spontaneously and repeat the cycle."

Plainly amused, the swallow let out a laugh. "I'll remember that."

Sonic, meanwhile, chose to be more serious. "Did you see Jet?"

"He didn't meet up with you guys?" Steam raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms with a frown.

"If he's planning to, he hasn't yet," Shadow remarked distractedly as he gazed out one of the large windows.

There was a sigh in response as the green hedgehog walked over to actually join the group. "Must've gotten busy. He's fine. I saw him before I headed off."

Tails nodded. "Sounds like him. But at least if he's on this world we can reasonably sure that he's not getting into trouble. ...Erm, much." Wave smirked.

"Damn. That honestly sounds like a comment one of you would make on me in my timeline," Steam laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

A few looks were traded and Wave ended up just shrugging. After a moment, she commented, "You look like you want to discuss something." A slight pause, then she asked, "Mind filling us in?"

Steam gave a nod and sat down, collecting his thoughts. "Alright. You guys wanna ask questions or me just start talking and answer as we go?"

More looks were traded, then Tails said, "I guess we just go with the latter for now." None of the others argued with his suggestion.

"Alright. For starters, Name's Steam, I'm from another timeline, and in that timeline I'm what's called a Balancer. To be specific, the Neutral Balancer," he started, shifting his gaze around the room. "Essentially, I'm something that's meant to help keep the Balance alongside the Immortals and all of the Gods and Goddesses."

The group's resident inventor perked up immediately. "Oh, I've heard of those guys! They're in every timeline, aren't they?"

Steam nodded. "Yeah. We're like the Gods, Goddesses, and Immortals in that sense as well. We're also Semi-Immortals for a… few reasons. At least, that is for me. There's three of us at any given time. One evil that has Darkness, one good that has Light, and the Neutral that doesn't inherently have either."

That immediately made Sonic and Shadow both frown. However, it was only Shadow who spoke. "...Creatures and beings of Light and Darkness exist," he said slowly, "but you aren't a part of either group. And you said yourself that your type of Balancer doesn't have Light or Darkness within them."

Tails caught on to Shadow's train of thought and continued it. "That's right… So, how did you channel Light in that fight earlier?"

"I knew this would come up. Now, here's where I need you to listen closely and let me explain it all before questioning. The best way I know how to explain this would be to say that I'm pulling the energies from their respective realms and acting as a conduit before finally expelling them. On top of that, I also somewhat act like a sponge for them, able to absorb Light and Darkness…" Steam trailed off for a moment, biting his lip before continuing. "I still gotta follow the rule of not having both in the same area, though… Very painful situation."

"Mm… makes sense," Tails murmured thoughtfully. "Especially based off of what we know about the behaviors of those energies from Kaden and Analia." The mentions of those names made Sonic flinch slightly, but this mostly went unnoticed at the moment. Only Shadow glanced at him.

Steam gave yet another nod. "Yeah. It's certainly… possible for me to do it, but one slip-up and I could end up getting myself killed. Anyway, with that said do you guys have any questions before I explain more things?"

"None from me," Wave yawned. "I'm good."

Shadow merely waved the other hedgehog off with a vague gesture of his hand while Tails turned to Sonic. "Do you need any further explanations at all?"

Sonic managed a faint smile. "No, for once. Thanks, though."

"Sure, Sonic," Tails smiled back. Then, with a glance at Espio (who was haunting a shadowy corner on the other side of the room and ignoring them all), he responded to Steam, "I think we all understand well enough. Thanks for the explanation."

"Good to hear, and no problem. Now that I've got that explained, I'm gonna go ahead and tell you guys of part of my plan because it actually pertains to that. Have any of you heard about the Balancers of this timeline?"

This time, the looks that were traded amongst the group were decidedly blank. "Nope," Tails finally answered. "Nothing at all."

Figured as much. Makes it a touch easier to explain. "What I'm trying to do is find them. All but one from what I know is pretty much missing. The good and the neutral of this timeline. I want to try and find them, then get them into the efforts of fending off the foes we're up against right now because they could be very useful." The tone of Steam's voice assured that he wasn't joking in any way.

Crimson eyes drifted shut. "A sound plan…" Shadow murmured, resting his head against the wall, "if you had any idea where to look. So I assume you have some information on that matter."

"Good to know you didn't automatically think I was stupid enough to not have it," Steam smiled faintly. "Chances are that I know where they are. Getting to them is… a whole other story, but I'm pretty sure of the area I need to look."

"Hn." This vague hum was Shadow's only response to the new details, but he had clearly paid good attention to what was said.

Steam shifted around a touch restlessly for a moment, not liking being as still as he'd been for this duration of time. "Okay… final main topic of discussion is one of the missing Gods. The God of the Forge. Have any of you met or heard of him?"

That prompted another verbal response from Shadow. "Yes," he answered simply.

"I have, too," Wave added, "but I barely count, really. I work with an Immortal, is all." This last part was said with an amused but small smile. Tails and Sonic stayed quiet.

"His name is Li, a wolf. He's a supplier of weapons more than he is a fighter, and an overall good guy from when I talked to him. Some time ago, his dimension was engulfed in some dimensional inferno and he went missing. I want to find him because his skills in weapon making could seriously help out due to his amount of skill."

"That makes sense," Tails agreed carefully, "but… how are we supposed to find him?"

Steam glanced to Tails. "That's the unusual part. You all know of Calypso, right?"

This time, only Wave replied. "I do, but no one else here would have had reason to learn of her. I only know of her through Jet."

Sonic tugged at one sensitive blue ear. Damn it… I'm lost again. "Who the hell's Calypso?" he sighed.

"Ah… right. Long story short, a neutral Therian who was actually close allies or maybe even friends with Kath. She has a sister, and that sister had a child who also turned out neutral. Her name is Novei."

Emerald eyes widened. "Neutral Therian?" he echoed in evident shock and disbelief. "But I've heard nothing but hell-stories about them!"

Wave chose to intervene. "And those stories are true, believe me." She looked away from the group, eyes darkening considerably. "They're still unspeakably evil and violent and whatever else you've heard. But… once upon a time, much closer to the dawn of mortal existence, they weren't. They were just… neutral. Obviously they changed, but somehow that original latent neutrality managed to show back up in Calypso, her son, her sister, and her niece." She sighed, made an effort to shut the darkness out of her eyes, and turned back to everyone. "Look, that's the only relevant information here. If you really want to know more, I'll explain later."

Begrudgingly, Sonic bit back his questions after a long moment of internal debate. "...Fine," he muttered, blue arms crossing.

"Anyway," Steam nodded thankfully to Wave before continuing, "Novei has worked with Li and a few of his friends in the past, making some sort of deals or whatever in the process. That's my best lead on finding him. To find her."

It was quiet for just a second or two before Tails asked, "Any chance sensei would have any idea where to find her?"

"Maybe," Wave sighed. "He does know Calypso, like I said. But he's not like Kath. At least, in the sense that he hasn't really allied himself much with Calypso and her family. Trust issues and all, you know."

Sonic's right ear flicked. No surprise for me there. "But there's a chance he'd know?" He pressed.

A shrug. "Maybe," Wave repeated. "We'd have to ask him later."

"Whenever he decides to show up," Shadow murmured, voice almost a sigh of sorts (most likely borne of him just being tired as usual).

Steam blinked forcefully, suddenly feeling his own exhaustion set in. "Yeah. It's something for later, really. For now, I'm hanging with you guys until I have some more solid leads and things cool down where I need to go."

"Well, make yourself at home," Wave offered with a vague gesture of her hand. "There are tons of guest rooms in this place."

"Just don't give out my old room," Sonic grumbled, albeit with a small smirk. "I deserve to get that thing back if nothing else."

There was a laugh and Steam stood, already walking off. "Can't guarantee you're getting it, slowpoke." He spun around and stuck his tongue out playfully before disappearing in a teleport to one of the rooms. Amidst the quiet laughter that followed (courtesy of Wave and Tails), Sonic finally managed a real smile… at least for now. One could only hope that this little bit of lightheartedness would be enough to see him through the rest of this ordeal.

~保護者~

It was early the next morning when Wave stirred to the sounds of movement down the hall. Groaning softly, she rolled out of bed and trudged out the door. She was not a morning person, but there was no point in going back to bed now that she was up. And apparently someone else is, too. Heading down the hall, she descended the stairs and went into the kitchen. There, she found Tails and Shadow, two of the group's resident early-birds. Stifling a yawn, she mumbled, "Please tell me someone is going to cook."

Tails raised his hands almost defensively. "Don't look at me. I can't cook."

Steam walked through the room, having just… appeared like he seemed to do. "I'll do it if nobody else does," he shrugged.

"Have at," Wave replied sort of dismissively. "I don't want to, Shorty can't, and he," she gestured to Shadow (who was merely getting a glass of water), "won't." Steam laughed faintly and nodded, disappearing with ease further into the kitchen and beginning to pull things out from wherever he could find them to essentially take inventory of what was available. Shadow moved out of Steam's way, ears flicking faintly as though to deflect the sounds the other hedgehog was making. Said ears then perked, which caught Wave's attention. "I swear, if you tell me we're about to be attacked-"

Shadow cut her off. "He's back," he stated simply before taking a sip of his water. He offered no further explanation.

By now, the building's elevator could be faintly heard and Wave relaxed into a smile. "Oh," she breathed. She turned to walk into the living room (where the elevator entered the building) without further delay.

As Sonic groggily walked down the stairs, the elevator opened up and Jet stepped out. The hawk glanced at Sonic, but it didn't escape the sleepy hedgehog's notice that Jet focused squarely on Wave almost immediately. Jet tossed a sheathed dagger to the swallow. "You left it in my room again," he told her calmly while the elevator doors shut behind him.

"Eh, it was reasonably safe there, anyway," Wave shrugged. She paused, then asked, "You went back home?"

"Only briefly," Jet answered. He took a seat on one of the couches, openly relaxing for once. He had gotten himself cleaned up and his clothes and feathers were spotless once more. "I was checking on it."

Steam popped into the room and smirked, leaning against a wall. "You took a while, Jet. Feeling better overall?" Despite how casual he was, there was evidence of concern in more than just his tone.

Pure blue eyes blinked at him placidly, no sign of anything negative at all visible within them. "I'm fine," he murmured. And for once, it wasn't just a cover-up statement.

The smirk shifted to a smile and the hedgehog pushed off the wall. "Good to hear. What held you?"

In response, Jet lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. However, he answered soon afterward. "The animals remained in the castle. They required care."

Wave looked at him while Sonic finally moved to take a seat. "They won't leave?"

The look Jet gave her fairly screamed, You think they would?

"Ah, gotcha," Steam answered, shifting his gaze to the kitchen for the moment. "When was the last time you ate properly, Jet?"

At this, Wave groaned again. "Look, don't even bother asking that. You'll never get an actual, non-cryptic answer, if you get one at all." Jet gave her another look, this one a touch more disapproving at her comment.

Sonic decided to speak up at last, having just finished processing the fact that his best friend apparently had pets that Sonic had managed not to be aware of at all. "Which probably means he's gotten shitty about eating again, right?" He frowned at the hawk, but his expression was ignored. Pointedly.

"Nailed it." Wave leaned over the back of the couch that Jet was on and nudged his shoulder.
"Green-Boy here was about to go cook something. Why don't you go help him out?" Jet appeared to vaguely consider it, but didn't answer right away.

"Honestly, if you help me and eat when we're done, I won't bug you for the next week about it and you'll be able to say that you did eat properly and make these guys shut up," Steam joked, winking to them all in amusement.

Wave nudged Jet again, a bit harder this time. "I won't let up until you eat and you know it," she warned, grinning. "Plus, now I have backup. Sonic's back, as you may recall, and he's even more pushy than me."

"I try," Sonic chuckled.

This time, Jet actually opted to glare at Sonic. Some of his old personality was starting to show through, and the hedgehog was honestly quite enjoying seeing glimpses of the past through this interaction. "Don't help her."

"Too late for that, bud. Besides, she's right, I'm right, and you know it." Sonic got into a comfy position and added slyly, "Now go cook… unless you want me to go help instead."

It was almost certain that Jet knew that his reaction was exactly what Sonic wanted, but he didn't seem to care right at that moment. He stood up straight away and began walking to the other room. "Stay out of my kitchen," he threatened, clearly not amused. Sonic and Wave just laughed.

"Yeah, even I wouldn't let that happen, Blue." Steam snickered, shaking his head. "While I wouldn't get hurt by a fire, this place doesn't have such immunities."

"Yeah, yeah, just rub it in why don't you," Sonic sighed, but his smile remained.

There was a mischievous smirk from Steam. "Don't tempt me." Sonic stuck his tongue out a little, but otherwise decided not to reply. Steam's gaze shifted to where Jet was before he disappeared to the same room as the hawk.

By now, Jet had already pulled out various supplies and was busy cooking with practiced ease. He was making a very, very basic breakfast of french toast at the moment, but hadn't yet started making anything to go with it. He glanced vaguely at Steam when the hedgehog appeared, but didn't speak. Steam smiled to him and immediately started searching for things to go with the French Toast. "Just so you know, I talked to Nier and Sona, as well as the others so that they all know what I'm planning to do on top of who I'm trying to find and why. Thought you'd wanna know."

Jet frowned vaguely. "You spoke to Nier and Sona?" he questioned.

Steam nodded. "Yep. She was hanging around with him. Very upset about a lot, but was helpful nonetheless."

Ignoring that, Jet asked, "Why were you speaking to them?" He slipped several slices of french toast onto a plate.

"Mostly because I was originally gonna talk to Nier so that some of the Gods and Goddesses can hear about what I'm trying to do, and so I could get more info." Steam glanced over, raising an eyebrow as he prepared something where he was.

The Immortal responded with a vague hum and, using his aura, brought over another plate to fill with toast. Given that he had to feed three hedgehogs, he knew that a lot of food was going to be needed. They may well eat this home clean.

Steam smiled, chuckling at the obvious thought process of the hawk. "Alright, so, let's try and discuss something a bit more lighthearted."

That earned a slight raise of one eyebrow. "Such as?" he prompted.

"Well, let's start with your friendship with the God of Runes. You two get along far too easily to be normal for someone like you." The hedgehog looked back to his current task, smiling. "I gotta say that's good for you, though."

"What makes you believe it's abnormal?" Jet inquired in an off-handed manner.

Steam turned to Jet, a disbelieving look on his face. "You don't just make friends."

Jet shrugged slightly. He made no effort to disagree, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Steam was right. "I was never entirely certain how it happened," he admitted slowly. "It simply… did."

"Gotcha. I was just curious. You have any of the others as friends, like Cere or Nyx?" Steam posed, tilting his head in a curious manner.

Cere was more of a sort of… guardian to him than a friend, but he did have other friends within the group of Gods and Goddesses. "Nyx and Therin," he admitted. "Occasionally Sona… when she is not being overly irritable."

Steam blinked. "There are times when she isn't irritable?"

"Occasionally," Jet reiterated, deciding that this was one time when he would do so without being annoyed by it.

"Damn. That's insane."

"Perhaps."

"What do you think of Cere?" Steam decided to pose, finishing up whatever he was doing and beginning to heat it at the stove.

Another shrug. However, this time it took a couple moments for Jet to actually answer. "...She… behaves like a mother at times," he admitted slowly. "Otherwise, she acts as a sort of distant guardian… of sorts." He shifted yet more toast onto a plate. "It is difficult to view her any other way, when that is how she portrays herself."

The hedgehog nodded gently at this. "Yeah. She's a good woman, even if her anger is sometimes worse than Sona's," he shrugged, smiling before adding, "Glad to hear you think well of her in any case, though." Jet merely gave another vague shrug and started cooking some more toast. Steam lapsed into a silence for the time, unsure of what to talk about next.

Finally, Jet decided to pose his own question. Though, he worded it as more of a statement. "Your fur is green," he observed with a glance at Steam, "but not any shade of green that exists within any hedgehog race."

"I'm not just hedgehog. My fur has some mix of colors in it, but I mainly got it from my mom." Steam shrugged, uncaring of the oddity it certainly did produce.

"I see," Jet murmured, not prying any further.

"Actually, that begs the question. You ever heard of someone named Semari?"

"No," Jet answered without any trace of hesitation. He had never heard the name before in his life.

Steam smirked. "It's my mom. Trust me when I say this. You don't want to meet her. She's a good person, but god does she get agitating."

"Hnn," Jet hummed vaguely in reply. He could think of a good few people who also fit that description rather perfectly.

"Who are you thinking of?" Steam asked. This sounded interesting.

Slowly, Jet shook his head. "Past allies," he murmured. ...And friends.

"Like?" the hedgehog pressed. "Or is it something you don't wanna talk about?" Jet just shook his head again, withdrawing a touch. Revisiting memories like these was always hard, and he wasn't willing to try. Not today. Maybe not anytime soon at all. "Yeah, I get where you're coming from, Jet. I've been there before as well. I'll respect your wishes."

"Too many people have," Jet responded, almost under his breath. He genuinely hated the fact that wars like the ones he was currently wrapped up in only meant that even more people would also feel the pain of losing their friends and families.

"That's why I showed up. I want to help prevent it as best I can, but for now, let's try and refocus on good things. How do you feel about Wave?" Steam seamlessly shifted the topic, smirking faintly.

Jet sort of stiffened, but quickly covered up his reactions. "She's a friend," he said simply.

Steam nodded slowly in response. He didn't believe that. "You still training Tails, or is he more into doing his own things?"

"I train him when he asks," Jet replied, relaxing. "It is seldom that he does, however. He largely focuses on his inventions."

"Makes sense. Shadow still focusing on efforts here, on Mobius?"

"Nearly all of his focus is on Mobius. Very little of it strays elsewhere."

"Good to hear. Since we're on the topic of people, you ever heard of someone that goes by the name of Rose?"

"Yes," Jet answered. "I assume you do as well."

"Yeah. She's an experienced healer and a good fighter. I was asking because, as of now, I think you guys don't really have a healer around." Steam raised his eyebrows in question, watching them.

"We have a medic," Jet sort of sighed. "Nothing more." He finished filling a fourth plate of french toast and turned to pull some eggs out of the fridge.

"You could use someone else that has abilities of that nature, don't you agree?"

"...Indeed."

"I'll see what I can do on that end. For now, anything else you'd like to go with this breakfast?" Steam revealed the sausages he'd been cooking and slid them over by the french toast.

"There's bacon," Jet responded simply, getting to work on the eggs. Steam simply nodded and grabbed the bacon, already working on getting some cooked for the group.

Before too much longer, they were done and Jet exited the kitchen. Wave had already begun setting up the large table (which pulled up out of the floor to save space in the living room), and Sonic was busy bothering Shadow across the room. Tails turned to Jet and asked, "Hey, we should go wake up Cream now, right?"

"She will be hungry," Jet pointed out evenly.

Knowing that Tails disliked waking people, Sonic volunteered. "I'll get her." He left before anyone could answer. Around that same time, Steam came out of the kitchen to join them all as well. As soon as Wave (now with Jet's help) finished setting the table, Jet simply teleported all the food onto it. He pulled a chair out for her with one hand, then wandered off back to the kitchen to find drinks for people. Wave smiled to herself and sat down, then looked to Steam. "Looks like you lightened him up a bit."

"Yeah, I'm glad I did. Every now and then I have to with him, honestly," Steam answered with a shrug, smiling as well.

"Mm, I can believe that," Wave replied while Tails worked on convincing Shadow to go to the table. "He gets too serious for his own good."

The hedgehog nodded. "He can't always help it, either."

"Very true," Wave agreed easily. "Even without the… unfortunate circumstances, he simply can't escape from his own personality." In spite of her words, though, she continued to smile. She had no real qualms with his personality, after all.

"Yep," came the simple reply. "That's how it goes, sadly enough."

About that time, Cream and Sonic came down the stairs. The bunny was already wearing her usual smile, and she greeted everyone with her trademark kindness. Even Steam was on the receiving end of her cheery greetings. "Glad someone likes the mornings," Wave chuckled, watching Cream sit down next to her. Steam laughed in response, watching the young rabbit.

Smiling at the obious happiness of his friends, Sonic took his own seat. After a slight pause, he turned around and called out, "Oi, Shadow, get your ass over here and stop giving Tails trouble." A small argument ensued, but it was ended in an instant by Cream… who used her psychic powers to physically close both of their mouths.

"Nope," she chirped happily. "None of that today. If you want to argue, then you have to wait until after breakfast." Wave laughed heartily at her intervention.

"Dang. Almost heartless if that wasn't in such good intention." He smiled brightly. It had been a while since he'd felt like this, so he was reveling in it all.

Still laughing, Wave used her aura to gently "scoot" Shadow to the table and just about force him to sit. Tails walked over and sat down beside the now decidedly irritated hedgehog and said, "Guys, I think we may regret this later."

"Eh, let him be mad," Sonic answered once Cream let him. "At least he's sitting now."

"Don't worry. I'll stand in his way for all of five seconds before he finds some way to barrel past me to buy you all time to escape," Steam snickered, smirking faintly. Crimson eyes glared at them all, but for now Shadow didn't deign to reply. Drinks appeared on the table before he really could have, anyway.

Jet walked out of the kitchen and took a seat by Wave's free side. "Stop antagonizing him," he told the lot of them.

Steam rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. You win."

Satisfied, Jet said nothing more on the matter. People began serving up food, and for now he waited his turn. Though, that didn't stop him from swiping a slice of bacon off of Wave's plate as soon as she grabbed it.

Her half-hearted glare only made him smile… just a little.

~保護者~

8,861 words this time. Ugh, I'm just going to stop trying to promise deadlines for my updates. Life just keeps getting in the way, and I'm sorry for that, everyone. I'll of course update as often as I can going forward, though... I just can't keep a schedule right now, clearly. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thanks as always to Blazing Winds for his help. He wrote in Sona and Steam, both being his characters. Posted (at about 4:05 p.m.) 01-30-19.