Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this emotional reveal… especially for the ones who suddenly have so much to live for.

~保護者~

"Ancients Awaken"

~保護者~

Blue eyes shifted up suddenly to view a disturbance, watching as a portal opened into a realm that was never accessed. They searched quickly as the one who had caused this and their acquaintances walked through, the portal closing behind them. These same eyes observed everything for a long moment before seeming to shine excitedly. Oh god… That idiot is still alive!

Ylden's gaze flicked over to the owner of these blue eyes and smirked faintly, amused by the man's apparent excitement. "Come on over here. Have your reunion before we talk, Sein."

The blue feathered hawk rushed over and fully tackled the wolf that had tagged along with Ylden, the both of them laughing openly and wrestling around for a moment before getting up and sharing a fist bump. "God, how the hell have you not gotten yourself killed, Li?" Sein questioned excitedly, laughing more.

"If I remember correctly, you were the idiot that got himself into all the trouble in our little group of friends." The wolf pointed out easily in a teasing manner.

"Ah, shut it. You got into just as much trouble as I did."

"No… still you."

Sein rolled his eyes at Li and cast a smile at the Therian near Li, waving. "Nice to see you too, Novei. It's been a while as well."

She nodded minutely, blinking blankly. "It certainly has been some time. How is Alana?"

Almost as if on cue, a silvery-grey female hawk walked into view from somewhere nearby. Brushing long hair out of her face, a habit she had no doubt picked up from her father of all people, she murmured, "I am fine." Li smiled and offered his hand to her, a common way for him to greet most people that weren't his idiotic and troublesome best friend. She accepted the hand somewhat delicately and offered one of her usual small smiles. This one had a wan quality that wasn't normal for her, full of deep and mostly buried maternal agony. Still, her words carried genuine warmth overall. "It is good to see you, Li, truly. I trust you are well."

Li noted the pain and was about to ask if she was alright, but Ylden cut them off by gently clearing his throat. "As much as I love seeing you all reconvene after so long, it is best if I do not allow it to take too much time. There are matters we must discuss." The cat glanced to Alana softly to convey that some of this was highly important for her especially.

Alana inclined her head slightly. "Of course," she murmured, blinking once as though in reply specifically to the look she had been given. "Forgive us. We realize you would not have come here for nothing."

"One can hope," Sein commented, a pleasant smile on his face as he motioned for Ylden to continue. As usual, he always wanted to keep things on the lighter side.

"The first matter. Your son. He's alive." Ylden's explanation was simple and blunt, but full of something that bore understanding of their situation with it.

For once in her life, Alana simply could not help the instant emotional reaction that slammed into her when those words were spoken. Though she hadn't processed the words at all, they still at once utterly relieved and devastated her emotionally. A sort of whimper broke free from her and she fell to her knees, hands clamped over her mouth in shock. Tears threatened to spill forth, but didn't actually fall… for now.

Sein's mouth dropped as he instinctively set a hand on her shoulder, aura flaring for a moment before he controlled himself. "He is still alive?" the hawk demanded, his feathers bristling under the influence of his intense wave of emotions.

Lower lip quivering, Alana squeezed her eyes shut and told him in a tiny voice, "Yes... son." She swallowed thickly, then whispered, "Sein… Th-that was his name." Tears finally began to fall. "I… I called him… Sein."

"Yes. He is alive." The black cat walked forward and set a hand against Sein's forehead, allowing him and Alana to see a few images of their child in his adult years. A few memories moved with these images, largely from departed friends.

The first memory began uneventfully. It was blurry at first, coming into focus bits and pieces at a time. When everything was finally clear, the very first thing that Sein and Alana could see was a ship that was very clearly Babylonian in make. Most of it was torn open and damaged with sparks of energy flying out all over the place. It was resting in a large hangar of sorts, but no one really seemed to be around it except for whoever was apparently inside of it working on something. As the couple watched, there was a massive spark of pinkish energy, closely followed by an irritated exclamation of, "Fucking hell!"

Before too long, a figure emerged from the vessel. They were young, maybe in their upper teen years, and covered in emerald green feathers that couldn't mistaken as anything less than they were: the color of Queen Laralei's family. The young man (whose hair was just as windswept as his father's) jumped to the ground below and brushed himself off, then tugged at a long and flowing red scarf around his neck to fix it. Pure blue eyes glance over a second later before he muttered, "Instead of just standing there snickering, you could come and make yourself useful, you asshole."

"And if I don't want to?" A blue hedgehog, whom Sein and Alana could see now, smirked. His arms were comfortably crossed, emerald eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Then get the hell out of my hangar," the hawk retorted simply. "You're in the goddamned way."

The hedgehog rolled his eyes and walked forward, still smirking. "Fine, fine. I'll help. No need to be so rude."

"Says the piece of shit that tried gluing my shoes to the floor yesterday," the hawk muttered, shooting his apparent friend a glare that was all-to-clearly not real at all.

"What's your point? It was certainly funnier than when you tried to make me find my way through this hell of a maze you call home!"

"As I recall," came the slow reply, "you all but pleaded to be allowed to explore while I fixed the barriers. I just let you do it. It's hardly my fault that you got yourself lost."

Sein openly smirked at this all as the memory faded, beyond overjoyed at seeing his child having inherited a sense of humor that reminded him so well of himself and his friends. Alana was too busy trying to stifle further tears to have much reaction at the moment (this was all just too much right now), but she found it in herself to at least whisper, "He's so much like you."

"Like you as well," Sein openly added, nudging her softly with a bright smile.

Swallowing hard past the lump in her throat, she asked (almost pleaded, really) Ylden in a weak voice, "Are… there more…?" A simple nod served as the response, already allowing the next to come into view.

In this memory, their child was shown sitting atop a rocky outcropping, nursing several deep wounds to his right side while he looked out over a partially destroyed city far off in the distance. Footsteps approached and he turned his head slightly to see a recently acquired ally walking over. The other young man shook his head. "Why do you do this to yourself, Jet? You died like… twice today."

At this, Jet sighed and looked away. He was silent for a long, long time before finally murmuring. "We are all born free, Kane… I can't just let others try to wipe innocents off the map like that. And I won't. That's all."

The memory faded here, then vanished entirely. Sein held his fist to his chest in a display of the pain it caused him. He understood this view, perhaps even passion, to keep innocent people alive… even at the cost of yourself. A tear slipped from his right eye and he wiped it away slowly, motioning for Ylden to continue.

A new memory faded into being, this one taking place during a time of chaos and war. The enemies swarming around Jet were none other than the Nocturnians, and Alana recognized them in an instant. She tensed, watching in silence as their son fought with a group of others against the seemingly endless tides of enemies. There were calls for help from some, shouts of encouragement from others, but the two voices that rang loudest in Jet's mind were those of the hedgehog from before… and a young swallow with a bandana on her head. They were calling for him to accept their help with his portion of the fight, lest he be totally overwhelmed by the forces surrounding him. He seemed extremely reluctant for reasons unknown, but over time a clear thought made itself known in his mind, one that Sein and Alana were somehow allowed to hear.

'Maybe I am a fool…' He cast a swift glance at the incoming attack his friends had sent his way. '...but trust is a sentiment I want to believe in.' Leaping high into the air, he called forth immense lightning and allowed it to combine with their strength to decimate the enemies below. 'And it's worth fighting for… isn't it?'

Sein clutched at his chest tighter, pride overwhelming him as he watched his son's interactions. "He's a bit too much like me…" The man murmured, his breathing a touch labored. "But he's obviously doing well for himself with his friends…"

Wiping at her eyes, Alana gave a slight nod. "It seems he has had to learn the same lessons you once taught me," she observed quietly, seeing plain as day her own reticence shining within their son.

"I will agree on that much. He has done much and learned even more so," Ylden offered in vague explanation, tilting his head toward Sein. "There are a couple more memories left." Sein nodded softly, once more motioning for the cat to continue doing his job.

It was quiet and peaceful in this memory. This time, they saw their son simply reclined on a comfy couch with a thick book in hand, clearly lost in its pages and words. Still, he wasn't caught even remotely off-guard when a new presence made itself known in the area, nor did he bother to look up when he sensed it. He merely used his aura to go ahead and pull open the door to the small one-room home he was currently relaxing in, thus allowing a white cat to come inside.

She did so with a gently and thankful nod, closing it behind her before walking over. "How have you been?" Her voice was mellow and had a radiant calmness that hinted toward her overall portrayal of self.

Pure blue eyes continued to focus on the pages, but Jet responded in kind regardless. "As well as can be expected, I suppose," he murmured. His unusually relaxed attitude carried quite well in his voice, as he made no attempt to hide it. "And you?"

"I have been well, if I am honest. As long as you do not mind my asking, do you have any wounds that you would allow me to treat while I am visiting?" She kneeled down by the couch gently, her amber eyes curiously regarding the book he held in hand.

"Why must everyone always assume I've been injured again?" Jet sighed… pointedly choosing to ignore the fact that he very clearly had bandages around his right leg.

"It is certainly something that you are… adept at," the cat giggled, walking around the couch and kneeling down. "Perhaps you should change that." Without waiting for a response, she extended her now glowing hands out, slowly mending his wounds.

Having given in to her apparent decision to help regardless of what he said or did, Jet made no attempts to interfere with her work. Instead, he simply responded to what she'd said. "I hardly can," he pointed out evenly, "given the nature of my 'business', as it's been called."

She lifted her head with a gentle smile, obvious amusement in her eyes. "Jet, it is merely a joke. Allow me my moment of sarcasm such as you do your friends."

Jet waved her off vaguely with one hand. "Frankly, I'm often tempted not to let them do it, either."

"Then only let me," she concluded, giggling once more with a somewhat brighter smile than before. "And let them be confused as to why I am allowed to do so."

Her suggestion made him pause and think. "That… might piss some of them off." Another slight pause, then he flashed her one of his rare, genuine grins. "Let's do it. It'd be worth it."

Sein found himself running a hand through his hair, trying not to laugh his ass off and cry at the same time. He'd finally hit that point, but his was purely out of joy. My kid is so much like me… and so much more.

Too emotional to react much herself, Alana merely held onto him and tried not to cry aloud. Eventually, however, she looked to Ylden for more. She had to see more… whatever it was Ylden had. I need to see him… if only one last time… There was a gentle nod in response to Alana from the cat, his gaze shifting almost imperceptibly in concern even as he obliged.

The conflict ended as suddenly and violently as it had begun. Shaken by everything she had just witnessed, a young woman reached down to one of the panels in her small ship. Debris floated sluggishly in all directions several miles ahead of her, bumping against shards of space rocks and sometimes sparking with remnants of energy from the now finished brawl. The woman knew that such a terrible encounter would not have ended with all parties leaving alive. She needed to get help here if at all possible. So, with that thought in mind, she pressed a holographic button and made a call.

At first, there was no answer. "Come on, Kath, answer for once…" she mumbled under her breath, urgency creeping into her tone.

Sein had calmed himself somewhat by now, his focus entirely on the memory they were being shown. He was noticeably frowning, holding Alana close to him. Alana sat up straighter at the mention of that name in the memory, shocked anew. "Father?" she breathed, even as the memory continued. She was fighting not to think about anything, especially not the fact that she knew this memory and what had occurred leading up to it.

When no answer came, the woman 'tsked' and began carefully flying her ship closer to the wreckage. Once close enough to the largest bulk of debris, she opened her cockpit and leaned out to look. She saw no signs of life whatsoever despite her thorough examination and started to turn away again, only to pause when some color caught her eye. She leaned back out again. "...A toy?" she mumbled, watching as a broken baby toy floated past her ship.

Concern rising anew, the woman tried again to call Kath. Minutes passed, and the call continued to go unanswered. This time, however, she was persistent. After about the third or fourth attempt, finally the call went through. Kath's voice spoke, audibly tense and upset. "What?"

Ignoring how unusually harsh his tone was, the woman reported, "I witnessed an attack earlier, Kath. There's a ship here and it's totally destroyed. I think there are at least two casualties, and one might be a child. The ship is Babylonian."

There was a very long pause before Kath slowly said, "There are no ships in your area. They're all stationed near Therius."

"I know, but…" The woman looked around again. "There was that portal we detected earlier… remember? The one you thought connected a different timeline to ours for a moment?"

This time around, Sein had a much more outward reaction. He narrowed his eyes and glanced to Alana, obviously processing large amounts of information all at once. That's what happened, huh? Alana couldn't tell him anything right now, too busy choking back fresh sobs as all those long-repressed memories flooded back into her mind.

Another long pause followed, then Kath directed sternly, "Finish checking for survivors and then leave the area. She may still be close by."

The woman sort of gulped. "Wait, you think-"

"No," he cut her off curtly. "I know for a fact that she was there. It's specifically why I told you not to go there." Despite the reprimand, he was quick to follow with, "Find the child as quickly as you can. They, at least, may still be alive. She may have left him alive."

"Right… if you say so." There was a slight second of hesitation before she asked, "How do you know if 'he' is a 'he'?" There was no answer once again. She was talking to empty air. Sighing, she hung up and began searching once more. The memory almost seemed to blur out of focus for a time after that, only to then come back into focus some time later. By this time, the woman had crawled carefully into a tight nook between some wrenched metal and was pulling out a dirty bundle of cloth and green feathers. After almost too long a moment, there was a weak cry.

Sein shifted uncomfortably for a moment. Shit… It was her… His muscles tensed greatly, the air rippling around him as energy flowed from his body. "Is that all, Ylden?" The man asked tensely. Alana said nothing. She was too overcome with emotion (a rare thing indeed for her) to say a word.

"One more, Sein," Ylden murmured softly, making a motion with his hand to slowly bring the final memory into view.

Kethro the Dark, a notorious Nocturnian that no Babylonian didn't know of, shot the Babylonian woman from earlier a surprisingly irritated look. The pair of them were floating near Jet in the depths of space, surrounded by bodies, ships parts and other debris, bits of space rocks, and more. "Bonds constitute care… compassion." He sniffed derisively, looking at Jet in particular. "Weakness, though hardly an incurable one. We have corrupted those with worse flaws."

The sight of this man in the same memory as their son made Alana tense up. She had heard rumors that the Clan had returned to wreak havoc across various timelines, but to think that this Nocturnian had been set loose as well… "Sein…" she breathed, alarmed. A different memory flashed through her mind, one of her mother and father fighting with their all to help seal this man and his kind away in their timeline so, so long ago. She and Sein had been just children then, but she remembered. Sein gave no verbal response, the area about them rippling with energy for a moment before he took control of himself once more. His gaze flicked to Alana quietly.

The memory continued unabated.

The mention of the word "corruption" appeared to have an instantaneous and profound effect on Jet. Fury that he had been feeling earlier returned all at once - and far more powerfully than before. He had no desire to ask Kethro what in the hell he was trying to get at. Instead, he chose to lunge for the man, though his movement was undoubtedly anticipated. The pair traded blows far too quickly for most to follow. Explosions popped up all over the battlefield, marking each point of violent conflict where the pair collided. Several ships blew up utterly when Jet slammed Kethro through them. The massive barriers encasing the battlefield and keeping everyone here rippled expressively from the impact when Jet was blasted into them.

More explosions appeared one after another, leaving a very visible path of destruction from one end of the battlefield to the next, and from that end of the battlefield to yet another. Making good on his earlier promise, Kethro paid Jet back for some of the damage he had done to the older man by sending Jet flying through multiple ships just as Jet had done to Kethro before. He gave the hawk no time to recover, slamming into him with enough force and such raw, unchained, intense energy to create an explosion unlike any other seen on this horrific day. What had at first seemed to be a standard energy-based attack almost instantly proved itself to be anything but. Both Jet and Kethro vanished within its dark light.

When his senses finally returned to him, the first thing Jet was aware of was spitting up blood. The next thing he noticed was how difficult it was to breathe and just how numb from pain much of his body was starting to feel. The rest of his body was in such extreme agony that even with all of his willpower he couldn't make himself move. No matter how much his mind willed it to, his body just wouldn't respond. It wasn't until he felt a cold hand on his head that he even managed to open his eyes. Only then did he realize that he was laying on his side on… something (probably yet another wrecked ship), and Kethro was kneeling before him.

Dark eyes seemed to stare deep into Jet's soul. "You did the impossible... survived power channeled straight from Malevolence itself…" Kethro murmured. "...Your potential is vast…" His head canted slowly. "I will enjoy seeing it... and you… transcend even my expectations someday…" He removed his hand and stood up as the memory faded away into nothing.

Sein's fingers flexed a little and Li shifted away, biting his lip. He of all people knew what it looked like when this man was upset. Then, the man began to walk away for the time being, intent on calming himself down before approaching this situation. Alana swallowed hard and forced herself to speak. ...Eventually. "Transcend…" she echoed carefully, as though the word alone might harm someone. "He's referring to… the Void, is he not?" She wiped at her eyes. "The seventh energy… has it been born?"

Ylden nodded slowly. "Yes," was his simple answer.

This was cause for much concern. Without the Faein to regulate this force who knew the depth of the destruction it could cause. Or would cause. Lowering her head so that her bangs fully shadowed her eyes, she dared to ask, "Has he been marked?"

"Yes."

"What?" Sein snapped, turning back to them all. "He was?!" He practically demanded, walking back over.

"When?" Alana bit out, tense all over. "And has anything thus far been done?"

The cat held out a hand to silence them both for the moment. "I do not know when, and the main issue is that… not much can be done, from my knowledge." He watched the two of them, noting Sein's obvious anger.

At that particular moment was when the voice of another familiar presence made itself know. "Sein… Alana… I know that this time is troubling, but I am prepared to impart as much knowledge as possible if you will both remain calm and listen."

Alana closed her eyes. So Ythene is here as well…

"Do it," Sein answered in response, the energies that had flowed freely slowly coming back under his control. "I need to know."

There was scarcely any pause before she responded, "The Void first made contact with him roughly two million and eight-hundred thousand years ago. During this time, he managed to escape from even my eyes for some years before returning, freed of the energy's influence. However, whatever your son did could never have been enough. He was permanently tied to the Void upon their first slight contact, and there is no changing that. He merely succeeded in banishing it and returning it to its slumber for the time being. He is in no current danger from it."

"You say 'current'," Alana answered slowly, "and imply that that is due to change."

"Yes," Ythene confirmed. "My Queen fears it will rise once more before this eon turns over into the next." Sein tried to stay calm, pacing around slowly and carefully. He wasn't doing well at it. Alana reached over to take him carefully by the hand just as Ythene continued. "The beast within that realm is growing. The belief is that it will at some point rise up and try to wreak havoc, as Nareish is doing. It seems, based upon some of her past actions, that she seeks to make use of the beast, its realm, and the Void energy as a whole. That includes making use of your son to see to it her dark dreams are realized."

There was a faint sound from Sein before he very carefully pulled his hand away from her. "That… won't happen." He shivered from the unfettered rage building inside him at the thought of his son being in such a situation. "I can't let it happen."

Ythene's response was hardly comforting. "It may not be in your power to prevent it."

Taking in a breath, Alana murmured, "It is on him to not be controlled… correct?"

The question almost didn't need answering, but an answer was nevertheless given. "Yes. However, nothing is ever so simple."

"Ythene, if I may interject…" Ylden began, letting his gaze shift between all those present. "We could arrange a way for them to give aid, yes?"

"That is my Queen's intention," was the simple reply. "She has full Privilege to do so… just this once."

Sein immediately stepped forward to Ylden, unable to place his direct attention on Ythene. "Then do it. I want to help." I want to see my kid, even more than that… Alana finally regained her feet and walked with a heavy heart to join her partner. She shared in his thoughts, and it shone all over her face and in her eyes.

"It is not within my power," reminded Ythene, emotionless as ever. "My Queen will revive you both as soon as she is able."

Alana thought this over before stating, "Our revival will force the end to two other Immortal lives."

"Yes…" Sein's eyes grew thoughtful for the moment, putting his energy to use in an analytical style.

Though she maintained her emotionless demeanor, for once Ythene managed to be slightly comforting. "Aside from your child and one other, the Immortals currently alive in this timeline are deeply evil. They will have to be ended regardless." Alana nodded slowly, not having anything else to say at the moment.

"Then that's what we'll do," Sein answered. "We could get someone to kill them when she has the ability to revive us and, as soon as they're dead, revive us so that we don't accidentally take the wrong place."

Now it was Alana's turn to be thoughtful. "The revival will have to be virtually instantaneous… but it could work." She turned to Ylden. "Your power is great. If you are granted the Privilege necessary, will you aid us and fight while we cannot?"

"Absolutely." Ylden stood a touch straighter, casting his gaze to Li and Novei. "I will find you a place for safety in the meantime. I will certainly be drawing the God's attention." Li shivered faintly at the mention.

Alana canted her head. "Send them to Babylon. No matter who is currently in charge, your friends will be sheltered. Our people would not turn them away." She glanced specifically to Novei, as if to reassure her in particular.

There was a gentle nod from the cat. "That is tru-"

"Ylden." Sein cut in softly, walking until he was face-to-face with the cat. "I am putting a lot of faith in you, so don't do anything stupid."

"I assure you all that there will be no Sein-like actions on my mission." Ylden managed a faint smirk, chuckling softly at Sein's huff.

Suddenly, Alana smiled and murmured to her husband, "Your reputation precedes you yet still, it would seem."

"Shut it. All of you."

"Hey! I didn't say a thing!" Li protested.

"You were thinking it," was the dry retort.

Hiding a faint smile, Alana sought to steer the conversation back on-track. "And what of the other remaining Immortal?"

"Your son is currently at war with him," Ythene answered slowly. "There is reason to believe that he will defeat the man on his own."

"Even if he doesn't, we certainly could set Ylden up to handle it as well depending on the timing of things," Li answered with a gentle shrug. "Or, really, if one of you guys are back by then, you could handle it."

"It appears that there is a plan of sorts in place," Ythene answered, still speaking slowly.

Alana caught on and asked, "Are you viewing him?"

In reply, Ythene continued, "He discussed things briefly with an ally of his. Some sort of confrontation is expected to happen tomorrow… perhaps sooner."

"It would be best if our plan didn't go into effect for a short bit, in that case, I assume," Sein said in response.

"That would be best," Alana agreed, though she was admittedly disappointed. She didn't want to think about that right now, however. Instead, she decided to focus and turned to Sein. "What shall we do in the meantime?"

There was a moment of uncomfortable shifting from the hawk, tension evident in his face. "I'm gonna be preparing as much as possible. It's been… a while since we've done anything of the caliber we'll be dealing with."

She inclined her head. Training is… necessary, she internally agreed. "That would be prudent," she sighed. Then she directed her attention to Ythene again. "Inform us if anything else happens."

Somehow, Ythene's voice managed to gain a dry note. "So you are aware… something always 'happens' when your son is around." Sein raised an eyebrow.

As if for the sole purpose of proving a point, Ythene suddenly allowed them to see exactly what she was seeing at that moment.

Jet was sitting on a couch in a living room. Wave and Sonic were also in the room, along with Tails and Steam. Sonic and Jet were in a heated conversation about, of all things, thievery. "I'm serious, Jet," Sonic was saying, "There's no way in hell you just had a supercomputer lying around in your back room. Just admit that you stole the damn thing."

"First of all," Jet shot back calmly, "you have no proof that I did that. And secondly, after I did do that, I put it back." Sonic genuinely face-palmed while Wave cracked up laughing.

"I wouldn't be all too surprised either way," Steam shrugged, smirking faintly. "I mean, Jet has always been the brains behind stuff other than Tails." He pointedly looked at the blue hedgehog, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, who kept your asses out of jail when you all were younger?"

"He's the only reason I ever almost went to jail to begin with!" Sonic retorted. "I never even considered stealing shit before I met his ass!" He then whirled on his friend. "And you can stop looking so goddamn smug!"

Continuing to smirk, Jet said, "I never forced you to come along, for the record. You opted to. You also asked for help trying to steal things. The fact that you were bad at it wasn't my fault." By this point, Wave was completely dying of laughter, presumably at all the memories that were suddenly coming back to her. Tails was grinning helplessly while looking down at whatever device he was tinkering with in his hands.

"Not to mention, in my timeline especially, I watched your ass fucking fail in comparison. It was honestly hilarious because of how nice Jet was to teach you when you finally got through your hard-headedness and actually asked for the help," Steam cut in before Sonic could even think of replying, laughing much like the others in the room.

For once, Jet actually let out a small but genuine laugh of his own. "And I do seem to recall," he added to Sonic's chagrin, "that it was you who attempted to organize what would later become our biggest, and only, failed heist." Sonic glared absolute daggers of hell at Jet for bringing that one up.

Li snickered, trying to hold back his own laughter as he looked to Alana. "Hey… remember when we did that same shit to Sein?" Sein immediately shot him a glare, huffing.

Flashing a smile that was as rare as her son's, Alana nodded. "I do… quite vividly." She gave a second smile, this time to Sein directly. "I believe it was the first time father openly stood up for you, as Li and I were quite relentless in our teasing for some time."

Sein rolled his eyes. "Oh, shush. The old man just felt bad for me." Despite the dryness of his tone, there was evident amusement and… care in his voice.

"Father was not old," Alana reprimanded lightly. "And he'd have your tongue for saying such nonsense if he were here now."

"Well, he can't get to me, so hah!" Sein snorted at her, smirking softly. "I always called him that behind his back on purpose."

A thought struck Alana then, and she completely changed the subject with some haste. "Ythene, is father still alive?"

There was a slight pause before Ythene answered the question. "In the timeline your son resides in… no. As for your specific father from your timeline… I do not know."

Some degree of pain entered Sein's eyes and he sighed softly. "Not the most important detail…" He murmured, rolling his shoulders dismissively. He didn't want to think too hard on what may have happened to the Kath of this timeline.

"It is," Alana argued, voice growing much softer with pain of her own. She looked down and away, her head once more lowered so that her eyes were shadowed by her hair. "If mother and father still live… their aid will be indispensable." And… I want to see them...

Li set a hand on Sein's shoulder, offering silent comfort. "I say we focus on what we can do with assurance here," the hawk murmured faintly, clenching his fists and unclenching them.

In rare form, Ythene made a genuine offer of support. "I will… see what I can learn, Alana. However, for now, focusing on the objective is more important." Alana just nodded slightly, crossing her arms in a manner akin to hugging oneself. Quite unexpectedly, everyone's vision flashed back to what Ythene was seeing, but only in snippets. There was utter chaos, fire, yelling, explosions, weapons, everything was just madness. Ythene, however, remained as calm as ever as she simply stated the one glaring fact that anyone could glean from this.

"It would seem that Tein has forced a confrontation."

~保護者~

5,948 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Much thanks to Blazing Winds, who played Sein, Ylden, and his character Novei (pronounced "Noe-vae"). Posted (at about 2:50 p.m.) 03-14-19.