Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this difficult time… especially for the one who feels protective.

~保護者~

"Lightning Strike"

~保護者~

Walking along several feet behind Jet, Wave decided to try to help everyone ease into the conversation they were about to have by opening a mental dialogue with Sein and Alana. "Sorry to intrude," she said quietly, "but it's the best way for me to communicate without having to worry about him overhearing. But, more on topic, how are you guys doing right now?"

"Still trying to catch up on this whole… 'being alive' thing. Been a long while since that happened and all," Sein responded nonchalantly.

"I am alright," Alana answered simply, not really communicating much beyond that.

Wave looked ahead and watched as Jet turned a corner. She deliberately lagged behind several more steps than before so as to buy them a bit more time. "Do you guys think you'll need much help trying to get talking with him?"

"Would you guys trust me when I say I think I can handle this myself for the most part?" Sein asked, letting his gaze flick between them both.

This earned a small glance from Alana. Eventually, she admitted, "...I trust you more than myself currently."

Getting the sense that together they'd be fine on this front, Wave shifted gears a bit. "In that case, mind if I offer a bit of advice? I've known him since we were kids, so there are a few things I've picked up on over the years."

Sein shrugged. "Lay it on me."

"First thing's first," Wave said, not wasting any time, "you should keep in mind that he's got some disabilities. Things such as autism and PTSD that make him somewhat… disinclined to communicate much. Please remember though that it isn't personal. ...Erm, usually." Alana managed a slight smile, but only at that very last bit. It reminded her of her father. But the rest of it… that was more concerning.

"I assumed as much. Living this long… you've undoubtedly seen some shit…" Sein blinked once and shook his head faintly, a distasteful look coloring his expression.

Wave shook her head. "It has next to little overall to do with what he's seen… trust me." She was silent for a moment before pressing on. "But, on a related note, you guys have to remember to refrain from touching him, especially without warning or when he's not in a position to see it coming. It's just… not a good idea unless you want to make a bad impression. Which I doubt."

Being used to such a thing thanks to her own father, Alana took this in stride. "We will be mindful," she assured quietly.

"Of course. I'll keep all of this in mind." Sein responded, taking a faint step ahead of them. "You can remind me of anything else as we go. I'm sure it's hard to think of everything so suddenly."

"It can be," Wave sort of mentally sighed. They caught up to Jet a mere moment later, and she subtly gestured for the two of them to go ahead while she hung back just a little. Jet, meanwhile, had focused the vast majority of his attention on carefully rifling through the pages of a large tome that had recently been damaged by hellfire. Chances were, hardly any of it could hope to be salvaged.

Sein walked off toward Jet, making sure to stay some distance away. "So. Those others by the doors are your friends, right?" he asked softly, hoping to try and start this off simply.

Assholes that they are. The thought was there and gone in a flash, never to be voiced. Instead, Jet just gave a slight nod with a vague, "Mm-hm." He wasn't sure at this point what he was hoping for more: that this conversation would end quickly or that it… wouldn't. Honestly, he didn't know just yet. He was still just grappling with the idea that any of this was even real.

"I saw a fox and a hedgehog. From what I can tell, they're pretty close to you. Who are they to you?" Sein prodded gently, a faint smile on his face.

It took a rather long moment of utter silence for Jet to begin to respond. "The fox is Tails. He's less my friend and more the friend of others. I merely trained him."

Though curious, Alana refrained for asking for any further details yet. He seemed reluctant to talk at the moment, after all. Instead, she asked, "And the hedgehog?"

"Sonic," Jet supplied almost on reflex. There was another lengthy pause before he finally added, "We've been... friends, since childhood."

"Best friends," Wave corrected with a smile. "They're inseparable, don't let their bickering fool you. The pair of them are practically brothers."

Sein chuckled. "Sound familiar, Alana?" he asked with a soft smile.

"If you refer to yourself and Li, then yes," Alana answered with another faint and ultimately too-brief smile. Jet largely tried to tune this slight bit of banter out in favor of focusing on carefully removing still usable pages from the book he was holding.

Sein's gaze roamed about the room for a moment, seeming to sense that Jet was trying to focus. Instead of speaking, he began trying to help find various things to collect them for Jet, a smile on his face. Seeing this intention plainly in his aura, Alana subtly gestured to some discarded rune-covered papers that seemed to have slid unnoticed under a shelf beside their feet. He nodded and collected the papers, looking them over curiously for a time. They appeared to be little more than spell pages, but were nevertheless probably better off being accounted for and stored properly if someone had bothered to bring them in here at all. "So, uh… Where do you want these papers?"

Jet glanced over, barely taking the time to really look over the pages before gesturing vaguely to a shredded book. The poor thing looked like it had been mauled by a bear. "They fell out of that," he answered simply. Though he kept his tone neutral, Wave suspected he appreciated the helpful gesture.

"You don't mind if I just ask whenever I find things, right?" Sein asked as he lifted the book up and searched through it for anything else salvageable. "It'll make the process easier if I'm a little less apprehensive about potentially bugging you."

Jet gave the older hawk another glance, this one a bit more open in its caution and mild confusion, but he soon looked away and just nodded. Alana, meanwhile, began carefully looking over various nearby weapons. Being that they were made in a time far after she and Sein had died, they were like nothing she had ever seen before, and she was fascinated. Part of that also came from the fact that she'd been raised around weapons from the beginning, too, thanks to her parents. Mother would have enjoyed using these, she reflected briefly.

Sein continued taking. "I can't help but ask this sort of question, but have you ever had children?" he asked in a gentle way, gaze falling onto his son as he began pulling the still-intact pages from the book.

Mildly startled by such an out-of-the blue inquiry, it took Jet a moment to collect himself and answer. "Biologically… three," he eventually said.

The word 'biologically' caught Alana's attention, but she ultimately focused on the larger part of what had just been revealed. Three children…

"Then, that means you've probably taken in at least one or two children that weren't your own. Glad to hear it." Sein reminisced over something, happiness evident in his eyes before he seemed to snap out of it. "What were they like?"

Something in Jet's gaze grew distant as memories began hitting him. "There were many," he murmured. "All were different, some fiery in their passions, others soft as the clouds they so admired… None were ever in any way forgettable." Wave's eyes saddened as she recalled one simple fact: Tein had once been a recipient of the very same care that Jet was sharing now. Care that had been utterly betrayed.

"I'm glad you got the chance to be a father. It really… makes me happy that you've been able to raise your own children, whether or not everything turned out okay," Sein responded carefully, closing his eyes. "I hated that I felt I may never actually get to see you, but I knew it would be worth it."

When Jet didn't seem too inclined to respond to that, perhaps because he didn't know how, Alana carefully asked, "Your three… who were they?"

Some of Jet's silence bled away again when asked this. "Lukal, H'aana, and Suri," he answered quietly. After a moment, he added, "Though, the older two… they often went by Lucas and Hannah around foreign company."

Committing these names to memory, Alana then asked, "What were they like?"

Though he gave a small shrug, this time Jet didn't hesitate to answer. "Suri was always… sweet. Happy. I suppose it could be said that she truly embodied the purity of her aura most of the time." The mention of a pure aura made Alana glance at Sein briefly. "Hannah was often at odds with their brother, too strong-willed to let him get his way all the time but also too sensitive to stand her ground just as often. She grew quieter with age, more… serious and firm. But she was always just as caring as her sister."

Her head tilting slightly, Alana then inquired about the last of their apparent grandchildren (which she was still trying to fully wrap her emotionally-tired mind around). "And Lucas?"

"A brat," Jet answered immediately, but with a clear note of fondness to his tone. "He was irritable, argumentative, mischievous, stubborn… but strong, protective of his sisters, caring in his own way. He was… an adventure all his own, I suppose."

"That's kinda how I acted when I was younger, honestly. I didn't want to listen to anyone and I frequently gave Kath shit when he was taking care of me," Sein snickered faintly. "I still don't regret a moment of it though. That man really cared to have dealt with my bullcrap."

After a slight pause, Jet for the first time posed a tentative question of his own. "You were in Kath's care as a child?" he asked, mildly surprised by the idea. Kath wasn't much of one for childcare, really. At least, not generally.

There was a faintly noticeable shift in Sein's mood that he quickly buried for the time being. It was… always a bit of a sore subject for him. "Yeah… I was…" He shifted for a moment, stopping in place as he slowly made the words come out. Alana sensed his emotions and laid a reassuring hand on his arm as he spoke. "I was an orphan… I got pretty damn lucky that someone found me. I ended up in the care of Kath and lived in the palace."

Jet nodded faintly, giving himself some time to process this. Alana, meanwhile, ventured to ask, "You knew Father in this timeline… yes?"

Another lengthy pause, then finally Jet gave another nod. "Yeah. Not for most of my life, but… enough of it."

"I can tell you were very close to him," Sein said. "You two shared a deep bond?"

"...I suppose, yes."

Sein took a long, deep breath. "What about more recently acquired friends? Got any new people outside of that group here?"

"A few," Jet conceded after a moment.

"Like who?" Sein pressed with a calm smile.

Their son took a moment to consider that before revealing vaguely, "A handful of the Gods and Goddesses. Such as Nier and Cosmo."

"That's good to hear. Say… is Sona still around and kicking?" Alana shook her head in mild amusement at her partner's question.

Though tempted, Jet managed not to roll his eyes. "Yes. Kicking, fussing, and scowling, as usual."

Sein snickered before outright laughing. "That's Sona for you. Always been the pissy type. Helped balance out the normally calm group of myself, Alana, and Li."

Alana immediately shot him a look. "I do seem to recall that you most certainly were not one of the calm members of our family during your youth." Her comment prompted Jet to fully look over at them for the first time since they had initially been introduced to him.

He coughed and glared faintly. "You're not supposed to say that, ya know. Let me seem cool with my kid, asshole." Wave choked on a laugh. Jet blinked.

Just this once, Alana decided to let that little remark slide. "What of Cere and Finis?" she inquired, giving Sein the benefit of moving the conversation back off of him. "Surely they remain?"

Jet looked away again, resuming his work with the book, but answered, "Yes. It goes without saying that they aren't seen much, but they're around."

"What do you think of them?" Sein asked with a raised eyebrow.

That was honestly difficult to answer. Though Jet could say with certainty what these two weren't, it was difficult to say what they were to him. They weren't friends, and therefore he didn't think of them as such. Cere in particular behaved somewhat maternally toward him at times, though he had never viewed her or anyone else truly as a mother figure. Things with Finis were equally as complicated, as they'd barely ever interacted… aside from Finis unexpectedly hauling his ass out of trouble on more than one occasion. "...I don't know," he finally answered, unsure of what else to say aside from this basic truth.

"From what I can tell, they watch over you a good bit. In any case, it's good to know that you've had people looking out for you like Sonic and all these acquaintances or friends of yours." Sein inclined his head to Wave with a gentle smile, watching Jet to see how he'd react. Jet blinked slowly, the fingers of his right hand drumming lightly on the back of a book he was holding for a second before he caught himself and stopped. After a second, he simply shrugged in response and carefully put the book away. Unsure of how to continue the current topic, Sein moved on to the first thing that came to mind. "Anything in particular that you really enjoy? Things like music, crafts, or reading. Hobbies or varying interests. Anything, really."

Wave, who was standing beside Jet now, nudged him gently. "He likes all of those things, don't you, Jet?"

Though initially silent, after a moment Jet relinquished the truth with a vague, "I suppose."

"Do you have anything specific? I mean, I really enjoy things like sparring or weapon making. For example," Sein said. Something in Jet's eyes briefly sparked to life at the mention of sparring, but he quickly quelled it. An eyebrow was raised to him in faint curiosity. "Sparring, eh? You like it as well?" he prodded softly, a tender smile slowly spreading onto his face.

With another gentle, encouraging nudge from Wave, Jet relented. "Yes," he agreed with a sort of sigh.

Smiling, Wave revealed, "He spent a lot of time training with Kath when he was younger, and that trend has continued pretty much ever since. Kath taught him more than just how to use swords, but also how to enjoy doing so."

There was a faint, almost bittersweet smile on Sein's face. "He does that really well. It's because of him that I'm even here today." Alana laid a hand on his shoulder, doing her best to mask her own sadness so that she could help him with his.

Wave thought for a second, then suddenly suggested, "Why don't you all go outside and spar for a while? It might do you all some good, actually." Given that people like Jet (and Kaden, and Sonic, and whoever else) really could connect with people through combat, it sounded like a splendid idea to her.

Sein cast a glance from Wave to Jet, raising an eyebrow. "I'm more than fine with it, as long as you are." Alana nodded.

Jet seemed to give this a moment of thought, then glanced at Wave. Guessing at his thoughts, she assured, "I'll continue dealing with things in here if you want to go. I don't mind."

Another few seconds passed, then finally he gave in. Murmuring some vague reply, he turned away from her and began walking toward the doors. Sein flashed a bright smile to Wave. "Thank you for all the help. It really means a lot."

"Of course," Wave smiled. "Now go on, both of you, and have fun."

He nodded softly and gently took hold of one of Alana's hands. "Come on. We should catch up to him."

Alana eyed him for a second, then managed a faint smirk. "I am surprised that you did not just tear down the corridor, dragging me along. I seem to recall you doing that a fair number of times when you were in a hurry." Wave laughed while walking off to get to work.

"I didn't feel like doing that this time. Last time, I'm pretty sure I was in some deep shit with you over it." Sein huffed.

"That is because you deserved it," Alana responded lightly, beginning to walk. Jet had already long since disappeared around a corner, headed for a sort of side exit. Sein followed after her with a faint chuckle, seeming unbothered by this fact. Before too long, the pair of them were walking outside, and Alana glanced around for where their son had gone. She spotted him after only a few short seconds as he was walking toward one of a few spacious, open clearings.

Sein split off from Alana (who settled herself down somewhere to watch) with a confident yet goofy smile on his face, pulling his claymore free (through the use of magic) from the gauntlet he wore and approached the clearing. "So, I imagine we're gonna be rather casual about this sparring match? No Kath levels of training?"

Jet blinked silently, then shrugged. "If you want." Entirely thanks to Kath, he wasn't used to think of sparring in a casual manner. As such, the question caught him somewhat off-guard.

"It's more of… let's not really try to hurt each other, but we can still go all out and be badass and all that," Sein explained with a shrug of his own.

It took a second and some thought, but soon Jet realized what had happened. I misunderstood… again. Unfortunately, that wasn't something new. He often found himself taking people's words very literally and at face-value, not always considering deeper or at least more subtle meanings. It came with his autism and was something he didn't entirely know how to deal with when situations like this occurred. Inwardly a touch frustrated, he just nodded his assent.

"So… uh… I guess we just kinda… begin?" Sein asked, unsure of exactly how to start a sparring match with the son he'd just met.

In response, Jet drew his sword, shifting it from the somewhat broader form he'd been using it in earlier and back to the usual slim katana-like form he favored. "If that's what you prefer," he answered, not really caring how they went about this.

He gave a gentle nod to his son. "Since we're just meeting, I'd rather it not be cutthroat and all."

That made sense. As such, Jet didn't disagree with him. He made his agreement known with a simple, "Fine," and then quickly put up a barrier around the building itself and the surrounding areas. The very last thing he needed right now was for the vault to get damaged from their fight. It would also quite nicely prevent the others (who he knew were sparring elsewhere already) from sensing this little spat, which was very much what he wanted. Especially since Sonic, being the worrier he was, would… well, worry.

He's off in his own world, it would seem. Sein lowered his stance and watched Jet for the time being, wanting to see if Jet would take the first move or not. He had no idea on how his son fought, so he thought this a sound strategy. Jet's head canted slightly at the older hawk's apparent hesitation, but he took the opportunity to act. Casual to the very core, he allowed lightning to coil around him in the vague form of a serpentine dragon and sent it hurling across their makeshift battlefield.

The fight was on.

~保護者~

There were many names she went by.

Nakea.

Nazei.

Nyra.

N'yr.

Na'lo.

Her true name, however… that was a piece of knowledge she granted to next to none. Not even the ninja whose attention she had so fully capture knew of it. Not yet. The time wasn't quite right. But her leader, her savior, the only person in existence whom she obeyed… she knew. And she addressed the younger woman as such. "Nyokae. You returned early." Shadows loomed and swirled around the pair, roiling off the sheer cliffs and into the abyss surrounding much of the rocky platform they were on. Yet despite the darkness, Nyokae could see the curious expression that played across her leader's face.

Kneeling on one knee in a show of respect, Nyokae bowed her head. "Yes. I gathered the information you requested."

Pleased that this had occurred earlier than anticipated, her leader shifted forward in her stone seat with a slow smile. "I see. And where did the little birds run off to?"

"A weapons vault on a lone moon near New Babylon," Nyokae reported. "I could not enter the barriers surrounding the location without arousing suspicion, but I was able to confirm that they are there. All of them."

"The new arrivals as well, then?"

"Yes, and the two new Immortals you warned me about."

"Interesting." The woman leaned back again to give this information some thought. "I suppose the lot of them intend to head to the planet itself some time soon, then."

"Almost certainly," Nyokae agreed. "Their plan is likely to gather supplies and meet with the queen."

"To what end, I wonder?" the woman chuckled. "Meeting with that child will do them little good… Though, I suppose that they will not see it that way." There was a small pause before she asked, "They are rather intent on gathering allies, are they not?"

Nyokae nodded. "Most of them, yes. Though I would wager that one or two members of that group would prefer to involve fewer people." My favorite battle partner included. Not that she would disagree with him, if she were in his position. Solitude was, after all, was a position for the strong. Allies were a bother, bonds weakened resolve, emotions complicated matters unnecessarily…

Her leader closed her eyes. "A conflict of interests…" she murmured. "Mildly intriguing, but hardly enough to cause a fuss."

Sensing that a plan was beginning to form, Nyokae dared to raise her head. "My lady?" she inquired.

Eyes opening, the woman asked, "You made a recent visit to him, did you not?"

Unintentionally, Nyokae perked up slightly, more alert and attentive than before. Any mention of him had this sort of effect on her. She had a habit of becoming too… enthusiastic with regards to him. "Yes," she confirmed. "I had hoped to toy with him more than I was able to… but I had not accounted for the interference of a new ally that they have acquired."

"Hm… the misplaced Balancer, I would presume."

"Yes. He behaved fairly… protectively, I suppose, and actively got in the way of the fight. I was forced to cut it short, lest he cause any damage to my long standing plans."

That caught her lady's interest. "I see. And how are things progressing? Have you been met with any measure of success?"

"Significant," Nyokae reported with a hint of a smile. She tries to hide it so as to maintain a more respectful, solemn demeanor. "He has begun to show markings off and on these past few months with increasing regularity. Even if circumstances prevent me from continuing to directly push him, the shift will happen regardless. With all that is going on, he cannot avoid it."

Visibly pleased anew, the woman's smile returned. "Good. However, that corruption will take time to come fully to fruition… as will the corruption of our other prey. It will also take time for the God to settle after we riled him so. We have seen some of what he is prepared to do in retaliation, and now we must plan. This, too, requires time, Nyokae… time that I am prepared to buy."

"My lady?" Nyokae asked, intruiged.

Her smile only grew. "I propose a little game. One that will indeed slow the Immortal and his friends down. Though it may, perhaps, not be for long, it will be enough." She stood and walked over to Nyokae, bending down and placing a hand upon the younger woman's shoulder. "I entrust you to carry it out for me, my darling assassin… for only you can get close enough to see this plan come to fruition."

Inclining her head again, Nyokae murmured, "What would you have me do?"

"Take these," her leader summoned a small bundle into the palm of her hand and passed it over, "and use them. One for each enemy present when you encounter them. And if there are extras… use them as you see fit." She straightened, removed her hand, and gave one last silky command. "Do ensure that you meet with them before they leave the moon… I wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

"I understand," Nyokae answered, fighting once more not to smile.

Her leader did not resist that same temptation. "Nyokae, dearest… You are my best and strongest warrior. I can trust you with this, yes?"

Nyokae bowed her head deeply this time in a show of respect. "Of course, my lady." Smiling wider, her leader turned and began walking away, vanishing into the shadows as she went.

Thrilled that she had a chance to play again, Nyokae looked down at the bundle in her hand. She knew already what it was, what magical instruments it contained and what they were designed to do. That knowledge, coupled with her excitement to be returning to him so soon, made her smirk widely. Too eager to let her anticipation build any longer, she stood and teleported away.

~保護者~

With their discussion over, the Gods and Goddesses prepared to disband for now. Everyone was informed. Everyone was up-to-date. But for the God of the Sun, there were still questions that needed answers. "How long?"

Nier shook his head. Somewhere in the background, Finis took his leave while Sona and Therin bickered. "Not sure. Jet didn't mention that much to me. Seems like a pretty recent development, though. I don't think Sonic's been here for a very significant amount of time."

Growing quiet, the older God crossed his arms and lowered his head in thought. When he finally decided to speak again, his voice was lower almost as though to avoid drawing the attention of the others. More likely, however, was just that he was trying to keep a lid on his emotions. "How is he?"

Suddenly sympathetic to this man's feelings in regards to this matter, Nier was quick to reassure. "He's fine. From what I can gather, I was reunited with his friends almost immediately. He's not alone, and he hasn't gotten into any serious trouble so far. You don't need to worry. He's in good hands with his friends. They won't let anything happen to one another. I'm sure you know that."

That already quiet voice dropped a little lower. "Yeah." Clearing his throat, the Sun God stated more clearly, "I'll check on the lot of them soon, regardless. Give Jet my thanks for the information, will you?"

Nier smiled. "Sure. Next time I manage to see him, I'll tell him. Assuming he doesn't immediately take off again like usual."

That earned a good-natured chuckle and smirk from his companion, though that small expression of amusement did little to ease the tension and stress in the man's face and posture. Still, he kept up the facade as though it had. "I'll be taking my leave, now. I have other business to attend to."

"I understand," Nier said. "But there is one more thing you should in partnership should know."

The Sun God's smirk fell and he frowned. "What is it?" he asked, much more serious than before.

This won't go over well. "Sonic… he and his friends may be safe now, like I said, but I won't lie to you. He was spotted by the God of Demons recently. Nothing else happened, but he was seen. That means that he knows about Sonic's return."

Unexpectedly, the God of Suns cursed openly before stating through gritted teeth, "I'll do what I can." He gave no opportunity for Nier to reply. The light of the sun overhead flared intensely for just a moment and, when it died down, he was gone.

~保護者~

4,992 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. As always, many thanks to Blazing Winds for his help in writing this chapter. Sein and Armaris are his characters and he wrote all their parts. Posted (at about 8:35 p.m.) 08-12-19.