Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this moment of calm… especially for the crazy one.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, it is a bit extreme, isn't it? But, unfortunately, it truly has always been that way between them. It's just not a good thing. *Sweatdrop* And yeah, he certainly can be a touch cocky at times, and so can Sonic. Like father like son, as you pointed out. Lol XD

~保護者~

"Dark Horizons"

~保護者~

Night had long since fallen by the time Cream was finally able to locate her protector. She had been dozing off when he had apparently taken off. Tails had woken her up to fill her in on what had happened, then firmly insisted that she go back to bed and try to get some proper sleep. Reluctantly, she had done so. She had managed to sleep quite soundly, in fact. Only, now she was awake. Wide awake, actually, because she had gotten a feeling. That feeling, the one she had relied on since childhood to guide her to her guardian whenever she had wanted or needed him. The reason why she was able to track him down was simple.

She reached out, and he answered.

A shinobi of his caliber was simply never located unless they were willing to be found. There were times when even she was unable to pull off this feat, but usually… usually if she felt for his aura, she could find it. Faintly, faintly she would sense it, whispers of energy that would guide her to his location. She followed those whispers on this night as she had done so many times before, walking quietly along until he finally entered her field of vision. He was seated on the railing of a large balcony attached to one of the many halls snaking their way through this wing of the building. He sat with his right leg on the railing, bent at the knee to support his arm, and his left leg dangling lazily over the edge. It seemed to her at first that he was in a position of calm repose, until she looked more fully at him.

Spotting the open bottle hanging loosely in his hand, Cream sighed. She stepped outside to join him, bringing his attention to her with a quiet, "Espio-san…" Turning his head, he silently looked at her. Meanwhile, she paused and shook her head with a slight smile. "No, I suppose it is not necessary for me to use 'san' anymore, is it?"

He blinked, considering, then answered, "It never was."

She shrugged in response and walked over to lean on the railing beside him. "I suppose it was hardly ever accurate, was it? 'Sama' fits the best." He answered with a slight shrug. "Well, either way… I suppose it is unimportant." Knowing she would face no repercussions for her boldness, she reached out and ran her fingers over a tear in his sleeve - just one small portion of the large amount of damage now done to his kimono. "You are not injured, are you?"

"No."

Whether or not he was being entirely truthful was a question she couldn't attempt to answer. What mattered to her was that it was obvious he wasn't seriously injured. His kimono, however… "This is virtually ruined," she lamented softly.

His manner was careless and dismissive. "It can be mended."

"Unless you are willing to ask for assistance, no," she answered plainly. "You cannot do it with one hand, remember?"

"I know." In some situations, pointing out such a thing might irritate or least frustrate him. This time, it didn't seem to do either. He just accepted it and moved on.

Cream shook her head again. "I was honestly surprised that you continued to wear it," she admitted. "I thought you hated them ending up like this."

Though she knew she was right, he didn't directly admit to that. He did, however, say, "I intend to change later."

"It is for the best," she agreed, letting his sleeve drop. She didn't remove her hand from his space entirely, however. Instead, she pointedly tapped the side half-empty bottle he was still holding. "Why do you have this?"

Had anyone else asked, she didn't doubt that he would have refused to answer. Since it was her, however… she hoped he would be willing to open up a bit. Usually, he did. This time proved to be no different. Now wearing a small frown, he looked back out over the darkened landscape and muttered, "I needed it."

All things considered, she didn't doubt that. From what she understood, he had turned to drinking as a coping mechanism for a very, very long time. Well before her own birth, even. It was usually at home and behind closed doors, but given everything she'd heard had gone down between him and that lady earlier this evening… she supposed his statement was truthful and made a bit of sense. ...Not that she approved, either way. "I wish you would do something else instead." Predictably, no response came. The conversation threatened to die down. After a small moment, however, she decided not to let it. "Will you at least tell me why you needed it?" Silence. She tried again. "Was it something to do with the fight?"

Unexpectedly, he scoffed. "No."

That made sense, actually. After all, why would a fight bother him? He lived for combat. That was a silly question. "Something happened after the fight then," she surmised, "and after you left. Is that right?" If it was possible, he somehow managed to grow even more closed off than usual. Though that never boded well, it did give her some insight into just how correct she actually was. Now equal parts suspicious and concerned, she decided to try to press the issue. "Espio-sama?" His lips pressed together into a thin line. His frown remained, possibly even deepened. These reactions were both very slight, but she saw them. She saw them, and she worried over them. What in the world had happened?

Before she could try to question him further, he did something else that managed to surprise her. Though he seldom exercised any degree of authority over her (often taking the stance of, "she is not my daughter and can do as she pleases"), he did so tonight. "Go back to bed." His words were a touch quieter than usual. It was almost as though he had sighed while speaking. "It is nothing you need to worry over."

Now she was also frowning. "But…"

He didn't let her even try to argue. "Bed. Now."

She huffed at him and murmured, "I am not six anymore, you know."

In response, he flippantly replied, "And I care…?"

His answer succeeded in making her smile (she suspected that had been the intent, based off of interactions long ago), and she shook her head once more. "Alright, I will go to bed," she conceded, "but only if you promise me one thing."

He gave her a long, heavy look. Promises were an extremely serious thing in his culture. Promises made were never to be broken under any circumstances. It was more than just a matter of honor - it was more than she believed she even understood. For that reason, she simply didn't ask such things of him, not without good reason. Naturally, she believed she had one this time. "...Ask." It was the only permission he would give her to speak.

Once given the chance to do so, she made her request. "Please, after this one," she pointed unhappily at the bottle in his hand, "no more. Do you promise?" Now, granted, it didn't seem as though he had a kind of drink that would affect him. His kind were notoriously resistant to both medicine and alcohol, meaning generally only their stuff worked on them. And, naturally, he didn't exactly have access to drinks from home way out here. But who knew, maybe this Babylonian stuff would have enough of a kick to it? Even if it didn't, she didn't like the idea of him drowning his problems like this. She never had.

Another sigh, this one slightly more noticeable. He didn't even try to hide it much this time. After a pause, he relented. "...Fine, then."

Satisfied, she moved to head back inside. "Thank you," she replied, feeling happier already. "And, goodnight."

He turned his head away to resume contemplating the landscape. Following a short period of silence, he murmured back to her, "Goodnight."

Pleased, she returned inside. Once she was out of sight, he took another drink, returning unwillingly to his thoughts. His mind drifted back to the events of earlier, the interactions that had led to his current mood… and his feelings of resentment. He had been able to mask his anger up until now, but since Cream was now gone, there was no longer a point. Especially given what had happened tonight...

Twenty short minutes after Nakea had taken off and Espio had taken off after her, he irritably examined his clothes. When she lightly teased him for his scrutiny, he snippily replied, "You cut them."

"I did," she chuckled. "But, also, I did warn you."

Huffing, he bent down and reclaimed his sheathed sword. He slipped it back into his sash without a sound. Shortly afterward, he noticed something and frowned at her. "Give it back."

She played the part of an innocent bystander. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Now." He wasn't buying her act, not for a second.

Now it was her turn to huff, though she did so with a small smile. "Yes, alright. If you insist." Removing his inhaler from a pocket, she tossed it back to him. Her smile then faded and she told him firmly, "That one is nearly ruined. Get yourself another."

His response was swift and dismissive as he tucked the medicinal object away. "Don't mother me."

"Do it or I will cut you instead of your clothes this time."

"You would do that, anyway."

"You miss the point."

"No."

Sufficiently annoyed by him, Nakea stalked over and cuffed him sharply on his good shoulder. "When will you learn to listen to what I say?"

Her shift in mood was immediately attention-grabbing. It was unlike her to be so serious, let alone so suddenly. And why was she getting worked up over this issue, in particular? Certainly, she had gotten on his case about this sort of thing before, but not quite this sternly. Uncertain how else to respond, he opted for a small jab. "When you learn to start making sense."

In a flash, she was behind him, whispering in his ear. "Heed my words, this time, Espio. I have something important to tell you…"

~保護者~

It was late in the night and Sonic found himself tossing and turning. Many, many years had thankfully passed since his last bout of insomnia, but tonight the problem had come back with a vengeance. Can't say I appreciate that, he groused. Rolling over again, he squeezed his eyes shut and probably for about the millionth time tried to force himself to fall asleep. However, the sound of other blankets softly shifting distracted him from that rather swiftly.

"Sonic? That you moving around?"

Hearing the whisper, Sonic rolled over once more, ears reflexively perked. Searching the dark room, he looked at the bed to the right of his. Tails occupied that bed. When Sonic focused, he found that he could see the fox fairly well. His friend was sitting up, looking at him quietly. "Yeah," he whispered back. "Guess my old friend insomnia decided to pop in for a visit. What about you? Why are you up?"

"I had a somewhat unpleasant dream, and I guess it woke me up," Tails answered. "Then I thought I heard you moving around a bunch, so I thought I'd check."

"I guess I was doing that," Sonic admitted, sitting up. "Sorry."

Tails shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. Everyone's a bit stressed. I'm honestly surprised that we aren't all awake right now."

That was true enough, Sonic supposed. As it is, I'm willing to bet that the two of us, Shadow, and Cream are the only ones even attempting to rest at this point. "I guess you're right. And on that note, you should probably go back to sleep."

Much to Sonic's surprise, Tails shut that idea down. "No, that's alright. I'm kinda wide awake after that dream, to be honest." There were a few seconds of silence before he continued. "What about you? Are you even feeling tired?"

After some brief thought, Sonic had to admit that he wasn't. "No… not really. I've got too much on my mind, I guess."

"I figured as much." At about the same time that Tails replied, Cream shifted in her sleep. They both fell silent for a second and watched her, only relaxing when it became clear that she wasn't waking up. Returning his attention to Sonic, Tails said even more quietly than before, "I think we should take this into another room."

Thanks to his ears, Sonic heard that loud and clear. In response, he got out of bed and snuck past his brother and Cream with Tails at his heels. The pair slipped out of the room as silently as they possibly could, shutting the door behind them once they were out in the hall. From there, they wandered around a little bit until they found a nice cozy sitting room. They settled in on the two couches with a dim lamp on, pillows to lay on if they decided to sleep again later, and blankets to keep the evening chill at bay. Sufficiently comfortable, they resumed talking. "Seems that my reputation as a worrywart precedes me," Sonic commented, picking up the dropped thread of conversation.

Not missing a beat, Tails smiled a little and answered, "Yeah, a bit. Plus, you know, anyone who isn't worried about everything going on must be a bit on the crazy side."

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe."

"So what, specifically, is worrying you right now?" Tails asked. "I mean, I realize everything is concerning these days, but you know what I mean."

"It's hard to narrow it down to any one thing," Sonic sighed. "'Everything' is my go-to answer for a reason, I guess."

Tails seemed to give this some consideration. "Okay… so, can you narrow down 'everything' to just one thing that you want to actually talk about?" he asked.

After a long moment, Sonic executed a small shrug. "I mean… I guess I have been wondering about that God of Demons guy. He is the biggest threat we're facing, after all, and also the one responsible for the most current threat we're facing."

"That's true enough," Tails nodded. "I can't actually tell you a ton, as I'm sure you already know, but I can at least try to answer any new questions you have."

"That would be great, thanks," Sonic answered, managing a small smile that Tails readily returned. "One thing I've been wondering about this whole evening was the territory that was mentioned when Jet and the queen were arguing. Does this guy have his own world or something like Jet does?"

For a minute, Tails was visibly fishing for an easy answer. "Erm… not… quite. See, being the God or Goddess of anything grants you a lot of extraordinary powers that no one else has. For example, the God or Goddess of the Sun has the ability to use Sunfire, use suns across existence for travel, and so on. In this case, the God of Demons used his powers to create his own… home… so to speak to live in."

Sonic frowned. "You're not being very specific."

"I'm getting to that," Tails assured, "it's just… It's hard to explain in a way that's not going to sound fantastical. ...But I suppose being blunt would be easiest…" He trailed off in thought briefly, then let out a breath. "Okay, look, he has the power to forge his own realms and bring them into existence, though it takes most of his power for a long time when he does it. It's probably why he only ever bothered making the one. Plus, it's more than large enough for everything he's put in there and way, way more."

Stunned, Sonic sat up straight. "...You… can't be serious."

"I am," Tails answered sort of nonchalantly. Sonic had to remind himself that to the fox, this was old news. "Anyway, it's within that realm that he keeps his various planets, the three or so he's created and the many others he's… uh… commandeered." He cleared his throat. "The first of the worlds that he created himself, though… that's the one where he personally resides most of the time, so it's likely that that's where those trespassers wound up."

"Meaning they not only violated his territory once by straying into his realm-"

"But twice by also, possibly, setting foot on his favorite world. Yeah."

In response, Sonic put his head into his hands and sighed heavily. That explains some of the sudden anger coming our way, maybe. After a short silence, he asked, "How do you even know about this stuff?"

Tails shrugged. "Most of it I learned from Jet and Wave over the years. Though, back in the earliest days of our struggle against this god, Jet and I worked out some more minor bits and pieces of knowledge together. ...Which… is hard to do since there aren't exactly any maps of that place. It's much easier to work things out by being there which, obviously, I couldn't do."

Sonic swallowed hard. In a quiet voice, he asked, "How many worlds has he taken out, Tails?"

Now Tails's entire demeanor grew somber. "I don't know," he answered just as softly. "I… I try not to think about it."

The answer was reasonable. Really, it should have been expected. Sonic just nodded and changed the subject after lifting his head again. Clearing his throat, he said, "You mentioned his power just now when you were explaining the whole realm thing. And you guys have also mentioned his power in terms of describing how strong he is. But what about his actual powers? What can he do?"

Tails appeared grateful for the subject change, though things were still admittedly staying rather dark. "Well, I don't claim to know all the powers of a god, but I can give you some info into the skills I have heard about."

"A basic run-down is fine," Sonic agreed.

"Right. So, obviously there's the whole realm-creation thing," Tails began. "Plus he has the usual teleportation, super strength, extreme night-vision, the works. Those are just the basic non demon-specific ones, though."

Now that you mention "basic"… "Aren't demons usually associated with fire?"

"Oh, absolutely. I'm getting to that. There are three main types of fire you'll have to watch out for. There's Demonfire, as most have come to call it, true and proper Hellfire, and God or Goddess's Flame. In this case, God's Flame." Tails shifted to pull his blanket up over his shoulders more when a chill ran down his spine. It was unrelated to the cold. "Now, for Demonfire," he said, "it's about what you'd expect. Fire for demons, right? The weakest demons of the bunch are limited just this fire, but don't let that description fool you into think you're safe, Mister Fire-User. Demonic fire can and will kill non-demonic beings, regardless of whether or not they have fire of their own.

Sonic stared. "...Oh." Lovely. ...And very comforting.

Tails continued. "There's not much else to say about Demonfire than that, save for this. One way you can tell it apart from regular fire… say, on the battlefield, is by the color. Demonfire is the same color as regular old fire, but the colors are always somehow more vibrant." When Sonic looked puzzled, he waved his hand lightly and added, "You'll understand when you see it, trust me."

"Okay, so what about Hellfire?" Sonic asked. "Guessing that one's used by stronger demons."

"Correct. Meaning it's much hotter, much more powerful, you get the idea. Fun fact, this fire, along with regular Demonfire, is what coats the landscape on demonic worlds and planets that have recently been razed by demons."

Thinking back, Sonic recalled the world where he had first laid eyes upon the distant visage of the man who was apparently their enemy. Those fires… I'd thought they weren't ordinary… though I hadn't paid it much mind at the time.

"Hellfire," Tails said meanwhile, "also has a visual difference between it and other fires. It's a vibrant, bloody red and therefore very, very distinct. Easy to pick out on the battlefield, making it easier to avoid."

Well, that was good to know. "And what about that last one?"

"Not much to say besides the whole 'it's the strongest and all that' spiel," Tails said. "Plus, you know, it can obviously only be used by the current God or Goddess, hence the name."

Sonic nodded. "Right. And the color?"

"The hottest fires are said to be blue in color," Tails answered, "so I guess it makes sense that this one is. Except, it's not exactly blue. It's more like this hellish shade of bluish-white. It's very ghastly and, honestly, sort of creepy when you find some just burning something in a dark place all by itself."

Eyebrows raised, Sonic asked, "Personal experience?"

"No, Wave's. But she shared the memory with me when I failed to understand via her description just how creepy it was."

"Must have been pretty bad, I take it."

"Oh, yeah." Tails cleared his throat. "Anyway, obviously fire isn't all he has. Otherwise, he'd probably be much easier to beat."

Except for Jet. Fire might be enough, in a way. Sonic felt a pang. I hope fire doesn't still terrify him. He refocused on Tails. "Yeah, that makes sense. What else has he got?"

"One thing, I don't know the name of it, is the ability for him to… how do I put this… make a 'call', of sorts?" When Sonic gave him a perplexed look, Tails chuckled sheepishly. "That was terrible, sorry. Um, basically, from what I've heard, he can sort of 'call' upon beings of Darkness and forcibly turn them into demons. Very few can resist such a call, unfortunately. And, on that note…"

Sonic frowned deeply. "Don't tell me…"

Tails gave him an apologetic look. "Unfortunately, what you're thinking is right. He can indeed also corrupt normal people, animals, and things. But not via the 'call'. Normal corruption works differently somehow. I don't know the specifics." He paused for a second, then added, "Oh, and on that note, obviously he can also summon demons wherever he wants and whenever he wants."

"One of the perks of being the god, huh?" Sonic commented dryly.

A shrug. "I suppose so. Now, we've been over the creation of planets and all that. Terrain manipulation goes along with that, but I don't know everything that entails. So, what else is there…" Tails thought for a long moment before his eyes lit up. "Oh, right! Another one is something that's called 'Dark' invisibility. Beings of Darkness, be they demonic or not, have this really interesting ability to render themselves utterly invisible provided they are under cover of darkness, such as the shadow of a tree or something. He and probably most other demons have this power."

"I hate to say it, but that makes sense," Sonic sighed. "It's pretty fitting."

"Agreed," Tails said. "Oh, and back on the earlier topic of basic powers, I can specifically list what he has if you want."

"Please do."

"Sure. So, he has flight, teleportation, corrupted Darkness, strength, extreme night vision, speed, stealth, agility, resilience, portal opening and closing, the ability to breathe in space (like most other creatures), the so-called 'super jump' thing that you also have, all the basic semi-Immortal abilities such as only being able to die from specific things, the ability to go into his Dark form, aura sensing, the ability to adhere to surfaces to 'wall crawl' and such like Espio can, enhanced flexibility and dexterity, levitation, gliding, and… that's it for the basic stuff."

For a long moment, Sonic wasn't sure how to respond. When he finally did, all he managed to say was a small, "Shit."

Tails looked solemn again. "Yeah."

The pair grew quiet for a long moment until Sonic came up with another question. He didn't doubt that Tails knew of more abilities the God possessed, but for now Sonic had something else he wanted to know. "On the topic of powers, what are his weaknesses? Even Immortals have at least one. You know, the one that lets other Immortals kill them."

Tails inclined his head in understanding, but answered with, "He doesn't… seem to have weaknesses in the traditional sense. I mean, obviously he's weak to Light and obviously he can be killed, but there's just no easy way for anyone to make that happen. ...Not that we want to, anyway."

Sonic was stunned. "Wait, hold on a minute. You don't want to kill the God of Demons?" he demanded.

The fox's hands raised in a placating gesture. "I'm getting to that, just let me explain," he pleaded. Sonic simmered down reluctantly, and Tails let out a heavy sigh. "Look… the God is this huge, powerful, vast evil. Okay, we get that. We can't not know that. But, the thing is, he used to be a person, Sonic. A good one. And when he was corrupted, the goodness that was in him held out against that corruption for as long as it could. That 'light', if you will, inside of him has slowly been consumed over the years, but a tiny sliver his goodness, his past self, is still in there. Jet and the rest of us… we want to use that 'weakness' to save him. Not to end him."

None of what Sonic had been told made any sense at all. There was no way, no way that any of this could be right. "Tails, why in the hell would you want to save a monster like that? It isn't right!" In his anger, he found himself standing up, letting his blanket fall to the floor in the process.

Slowly, Tails lifted his solemn gaze from the floor to look at Sonic. Very quietly, he stated, "Because, these days, the one sustaining that tiny sliver I was talking about… is your mother. She's trying to save him, too. Isn't that enough?"

Too shocked to speak, Sonic fell utterly silent and sank back down into his seat. "Mom… Mom is?" he whispered faintly.

Tails looked down again. "Yeah. We don't know how long she's been doing it or how she even is doing it, but… it's her energy. There isn't any doubt about that." Silence fell again. It threatened to persist for a long while and likely would have, had Tails not persisted. "Look… I know you aren't thrilled about this but eventually you'll understand why. Please, you're just going to have to trust us. If not all of us, then at least your mom. Okay?"

Slowly, very slowly, Sonic gave a slight nod. "...Okay."

It was quiet again for a moment before Tails took in a deep breath and let it out. "To answer the rest of your question… he has only one other known potential weakness that might be able to be exploited. Although, it would be extremely risky."

In an effort to steady himself, Sonic closed his eyes and tried to focus on the conversation at hand. "Seems like everything is," he murmured. "What is it?"

"He's got a few kids," Tails answered. "At least one of them is really young. Demons may not love, but they still 'care' in their own way for their offspring. ...To a point, anyway, and mind you I do use the term 'care' loosely."

Sonic understood. "You think that, as a parent, he's vulnerable through them."

"It sounds awful, but… yes," Tails sighed. "This… 'care'... might be the only tiny bit of leverage we'll ever have over him. And trust me, as much as none of us want to do it, prodding at that weak spot may be our only option somewhere in the future.

Though Sonic didn't like it… he saw Tails's point. "So long as we don't use those kids as damned objects or some shit. Demonic or not, it's not right."

"I agree, and we won't," Tails assured. "That's a promise."

Satisfied with that answer (though perhaps not completely), Sonic let the subject drop. "What about allies?" he asked. This was a stretch and he knew it, but he still felt the need to cover all his bases. "He got any of those?"

Tails actually chuckled at his question. "No, not at all. You probably already assumed this, but he refuses to work with anyone for any reason. And, no, his demons don't count. He always, always works alone. This doesn't prevent him from using others by manipulating or even outright forcing them to do things for him, but alliance implies some sort of partnership. He doesn't see others that way. Lives are dispensable to him. Worthless, unworthy of concern. No way you can see someone as equal enough to be an ally when you see them with that kind of view."

Sonic shook his head. Typical. "Okay… so one last thing. Is anyone planning on telling me who the hell this guy is?" He thought for a second. "Oh, and why in the hell my dad apparently lives somewhere near to him?"

Tails hesitated, visibly wracking his mind for an explanation. He opened his mouth to speak, faltered, then let out a gusty breath of air. "Like Wave said… your dad basically lives for the danger these days. That's about all I can say for him. And as far as who the God is, I can't… tell you that. I just can't." He looked up at Sonic. "But I do know who can."

Frowning, Sonic replied, "Then please tell me that, at least."

"Jet," Tails answered with no further hesitation. "You still trust him, right? More than you trust just about any other person in your life, alive or dead?"

Quashing his frustration at the change of subject, Sonic gave a curt nod. "Yeah. Of course I do."

"Then you can trust him not to be lying to you about this," Tails told him frankly, putting extra emphasis on that one word. Sonic felt like they had had this conversation before. Had they? So much had been going on that he couldn't really remember. Then Tails reiterated, "Jet is the one you should talk to about those two questions. Not me. And if you want to do that tonight, even, I can guarantee he's not exactly sleeping."

Pursing his lips together, Sonic stood back up. "Yeah… okay. I'll do that. Thanks. And… sorry."

Tails shook his head and managed a small smile. "Don't be sorry. It's okay. But you're welcome."

Sonic picked his blanket up off the floor and returned it to where he'd found it earlier. "Are you gonna stay in here?" he asked.

"No," Tails answered. "I'm gonna go back and check on Shadow and Cream, I think. Maybe even try to get some more sleep myself, though that might be a little too bold and adventurous for one night."

Unable to help it, Sonic let out a small laugh. "Good thing you're the daring type, huh?"

"Precisely," Tails grinned. After getting up and dealing with his own blanket, he followed Sonic out of the room. "See you later, Sonic."

"See you." Sonic turned and dashed off without another word.

~保護者~

5,390 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! There will be a delay before the next chapter is posted, though I don't know how long of one. Between both of us working an Blazing Winds also going to college, it's hard to get together and write. Sorry, but we'll do our best to make the wait worthwhile! Posted (at about 10:40 a.m.) 10-14-19.