Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of preparation… especially for the one who understands the merit of striking first.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, parts of it were certainly meant to be that way, lol. Ooh, what do you think things meant? ;) Yeah, Jet's in a bit of a pinch... and the God of Demon's sure ain't helping that get better. Guess we'll have to see how that plays out.

~保護者~

"The Best Defense"

~保護者~

It was only by virtue of her immense psychic ability that Cream managed to gain an audience with the Hyale village elder. It was through mentally communicating with her about the plight their mutual friend was facing that Cream was eventually granted permission to access an isolated building, hidden away just beyond the village and behind a series of powerful defensive barriers. She was led in by the village elder, who then departed. The barriers were left down so that Cream could leave when she was finished. Within the one-room building were a series of ancient tomes an equally ancient chameleon had penned countless years before to document an aspect of their people's shared past… tomes that would finally shed some light on what Cream and her friends and allies were actually up against.

According to what she read, chameleons who were (as the author put it) "in current possession of their true and wicked selves" were ruthless. They possessed absolutely zero capacity for mercy, compassion, sympathy, or even basic empathy. The lot of them were remorseless and often extremely hostile, angry, spiteful, malicious, full of animosity, and worse. To make matters worse, they were prone to extreme and often savage violence, particularly through the use of their beloved blades. Despite being eerily calm both in and out of combat just as often as being angry and the like, they carried out acts of incredible bloodlust at every available opportunity. They were sadistic beyond words, derived the greatest thrill, satisfaction, and even outright pleasure from fighting and killing, and were known to be strangely creative in their cruelty toward others.

From the beginning, these people had displayed a terrifying fascination for bladed weapons and their capacity for slicing, stabbing, killing, torturing, and more. This extended to any sharp weapons, be they axes or swords or shuriken or even arrowheads. To say that their reputation in regards to their use of said weapons was "fearsome" simply was not enough and never could be. Only adding to the reputation they held as some of the most feared beings in existence was their intelligence, their cunningness, their deceitfulness, their ability to manipulate others through lies and false bonds and impossibly subtle persuasion… All the while, they would remain cold and aloof, uncaring about the agony they caused so long as they achieved their own goals. These people were just as fond of psychological and emotional warfare as they were of physical warfare, and it showed.

All of this aside, there were a few flaws to be found. But… just a few. At times, these chameleons could be bold. Cocky. Impatient. Impulsive. A couple throughout history had even acted drunk with their own power. However, those who had not been wise had been killed, often by their own kind. The clans of old did not take kindly to any displays of weakness, and the moment these potentially damning traits had ceased aiding an individual and instead had begun making them a liability, their lives had promptly been snuffed out. Often, in a brutal manner. It wasn't as though that had ever bothered anyone, though. Their lives were brutal, and they had enjoyed it that way. They had seemed to outsiders to be addicted to the violence, to the thrill of battle and bloodshed, to the very act of killing itself. In some ways, these seemed to have been the forces that drove them on in life… the things these people had not only lived for, but existed for.

It was hard (very hard) to admit to, but the more Cream sat and thought about it, the more she discovered that bits and pieces of what she had just read sounded disturbingly… familiar. Some even felt deeply so. The last bit, in particular, could not be played off as a coincidence. While it had never seemed to her that Espio had cared one way or another about the act of killing itself, he had always been very oddly drawn to violence and any and all situations containing it. He was often the first to draw his weapon when a fight seemed imminent. Worse than that, she could very distinctly recall times where it had seemed to her that he might have been actively looking for a fight, any fight at all. He'd certainly always gotten a thrill from combat, and most oftentimes it seemed that that thrill was precisely what he was looking for when he sought out excuses to battle… whether he realized it himself or not.

However, this one large fact was not the only one that had captured her attention, or her concern. There were other, somewhat smaller things as well. Such as the lack of sympathy, empathy, and remorse that had been mentioned. Now, he was no monster, but Cream had never known Espio to be particularly capable of connecting with many others on an emotional level, even prior to his near-death at the hands of the Nocturnians. He couldn't always empathize with others regardless of the situation at play. He didn't often display any signs of feeling much (if any) sympathy in cases where the emotion was usually warranted. His capacity for it had always appeared limited, if present at all. And when it came to remorse… she honestly couldn't recall a single time in her life where she had ever seen even a hint of that from him. If she were to be perfectly honest, she couldn't even so much as remember an instance where he'd thought or felt that any sense of remorse had been necessary to feel at any point.

As interactions lately had certainly proved time and again, he also truly did have the potential to feel and even unleash very large quantities of anger, thus leading to great displays of hostility, spite, and even hints of hatred. He had always had an incredibly elevated capacity for violence and had detested weakness of any sort in himself, though that was a fact Cream and her friends had always chalked up to merely being a result of his upbringing. Who knew, maybe that did play a part in it, but it still didn't feel like that was the best explanation. It didn't adequately explain his own deep fascination with blades, either, or his blatant refusal to use any other types of weapons the vast majority of the time, his occasional distinctively creative use of them in combat… Previously, she had never given the matter much consideration. Now she shuddered to think about it.

But there was still more. His people were known for their remarkable ability to lie for all manner of purposes with a straight face and without being caught. In more modern times, since leaving their dark past behind them, the chameleons that had come to live on Mobius had come to value honor and honesty more. Espio certainly abided by that most of the time, and yet compared to the many other chameleons she had met during her lifetime he lied far more frequently. He didn't usually bother trying too hard to make his lies particularly believable or convincing, but when he did bother even just a little bit… Thinking back on it now, she could see how effortlessly he had done so and how incredibly difficult it had been to determine the truth he had been concealing. Often, to this day, she found that she couldn't determine if his version even really had been the lie or not.

All of this, Cream was forced to realize, was no happy (or, really, unhappy) accident. Her friend had these traits about him for a reason. It couldn't be explained away by his upbringing or the environment in which he'd lived in since birth, or anything as simple as any of that. The truth was far, far more frightening… and utterly damming for him. It-

"Whatcha reading, kiddo?" Armaris asked suddenly behind her with a raised brow and her arms crossed in a nonchalant manner.

The poor young woman jumped and spun around, a hand over her heart. "Oh my goodness, you scared me!" she exclaimed.

Armaris frowned faintly, tilting her head. "You're a bit too tense. What's that you got there?"

Cream let out a heavy breath. "Yes, well…" She turned back to the book. "I granted myself an audience with the village elder a few minutes ago, and she allowed me to come in here and read these books. They… Well, they seem to describe what her people were known to be like before so many of the people traveled here and managed to leave their Darkness behind."

The cat frowned a touch deeper, a touch of concern lighting up her eyes. "Is that so, kid? Tell me what you've read," she said gently.

With a sigh, Cream began to recount what she had uncovered. "Needless to say, the author described his own people as ruthless," she began "with no ability to feel mercy, compassion, sympathy, or even basic empathy."

Sounds a bit too familiar for my liking… Shivering softly, Armaris sighed. "It's honestly a bit too true. Even those that left their Darkness behind have some hellishly strong traces of those kinds of traits, or… the ones that I met when I was a kid did, anyway. "

"I know," Cream murmured. "I have always known that for an entire society to be made up of assassins and warriors, such a lack of care would be and must be prominent. I had just… never realized it was associated with such a dark past." Her expressive eyes were clouded with concern. "What worries me most, though, is the fact that Espio has the very same lack of compassion and the like most oftentimes."

"Sometimes, there are things that just… can't be removed from your personality. My dad's one of those people that finds it extremely hard to carry emotions like the ones you mentioned due to the situation he was born with."

"I suppose so. Anyway…" Cream scanned the page once more. "It also should come as no surprise that they were also described as being remorseless, incredibly hostile, angry, spiteful, malicious… Well, you get the idea." Armaris nodded slowly, motioning for her to continue. "The author further went on to say that they were prone to extreme and savage violence - unsurprisingly via the use of blades - and that they were also both eerily calm and yet incredibly angry people. In the author's words, 'they carried out acts of incredible bloodlust at every available opportunity' and were 'sadistic beyond words', 'deriving the greatest thrill, satisfaction, and even outright pleasure from fighting and killing'. The author even said that they were 'known to be strangely creative in their cruelty toward others'."

Armaris' gaze grew distant for a moment, focusing on something else before she managed to pull herself back. "Well… yeah. Think of it this way. If they're extremely powerful beings of Darkness, it's not exactly unusual for them to be driven this way, especially if that Darkness is inherently evil by nature."

"I understand," Cream answered softly, "but that does not make it any less concerning when you sit back and think about how similar Mister Espio often is to those people that were just described. Even before all this began to happen, he has always been drawn to violence of all kinds and has always sought to partake in it. As I'm sure you're aware, he often spends much of his time searching for fights. And, of course, he has always had a rather intense temper. Though, it is usually far better contained than this."

The cat's hands tightened into fists, anger pointed inward as she fought with herself momentarily. It hit too close to home, as did most of this conversation. After a long couple of seconds, Armaris pulled herself together enough to stay calm. "Because his Darkness is being drawn out, yeah?" she pointed out, as if trying to find a way to end this conversation.

The bunny shook her head. "That is making it worse, yes. But these traits are not present because of that. They have always been here."

Armaris turned quickly on her heels, only to stop when a gentle red rune of sorts appeared on her shoulder. It took almost no time for her entire body to relax as she let out a soft sigh. Thanks, ma. "It's true. Espio has always been like that to some degree. Never thought all too deeply about it."

"Neither have I," Cream admitted. "And it's… concerning." After a small pause, she continued. "This bit is frighteningly true of him as well… It describes how these people displayed a 'terrifying fascination' for bladed weapons of all sorts, regardless of what they were, and that this fascination extended to their use as well. Cutting, killing, and… well… I suppose you can imagine the rest." She swallowed hard. "It even says that they could be extraordinarily cruel in their creativity while using their blades, as I mentioned before."

"Well… of course." Armaris turned back to face Cream, a concerned expression on her face. "Due to that nature they're born with, it's practically instinct for many to pick up interests and thoughts or feelings like those. He's… no exception to the rule."

Cream wasn't even remotely comforted. "That does not make this any less troubling," she responded slowly. "'Normal' does not equate to 'benign' or 'safe'."

Armaris sighed faintly. "In no way is that what I'm trying to say. Just that… to a degree, he can't help it. Of course he could seek out help and attempt to change some things, but a lot of this is so deeply ingrained that it will likely never get better."

"Seeking 'help' is not likely a viable option," Cream sighed. "As you stated, it is a part of the innate nature of his people… But even so, the fact that these traits still exist within him even when he is not in his evil state is…" She trailed off.

"Dangerous, unnerving, terrifying," Armaris murmured softly, closing her eyes. "The best we can do, from what I know, is to try and usher him away from that state for as long as we can. If Steam's reactions are anything to go by, it's highly likely that he will reach that state regardless of what we do. As such, I would think it best to try and prepare for when it comes."

Following that line of thought, Cream responded, "Preparing for it entails awareness… And I think there are a few more things you should be aware of. There are other traits that are also present even when he is his normal self, and… I worry that the fact there are so many may help explain why he has been slipping so easily. He just… is toeing the line too closely purely by being his usual self." Rather than respond, Armaris simply motioned for Cream to continue. Taking the hint, Cream did as she'd silently been told. "According to whoever wrote this book, their people had a reputation for intelligence, cunningness and deceitfulness. They were also feared for their ability to manipulate through falsely bonding with others, subtly persuading victims, and silkily lying with so much skill that it was always believed they were speaking the truth. And, while doing these things, they were known to remain cold, aloof, and detached from the pain they caused others, caring only that they accomplished what they wanted. They were just as fond of psychological warfare as physical." She heaved a heavy sigh. "I hate to say this, but… compared to the many others I have met, it does seem like Mister Espio and just a few others lie far more frequently than the rest. When he bothers to actually make his lies believable… he does so so effortlessly, and they have that same effect of being so believable that the actual truth cannot be discerned."

Taking time to think back, Armaris eventually gave a gentle nod. "Honestly… yeah. I was pretty young at the time when I knew him best, so I didn't pick up on it. But now… it's a bit obvious."

Her words earned a nod. "There are a few others things as well," Cream told her sadly. "For example, the author described a weakness that these people were known to possess now and then. By their telling, these people could at times be bold, cocky, impatient, and impulsive. Remember what I told you about how he acted, according to what Rouge told us after the fact, when they were captured by the Nocturnians? He behaved in a manner just like this before he was nearly beaten to death. It was random and out of character, and up until now none of us have understood why he did it. And it is not as though he can remember."

"It could have also been drawn out more as a defensive mechanism of sorts, but I see what you're getting at."

"But Mister Espio does not get defensive like that, Miss Armaris. He never has."

Armaris visibly cringed at being called 'miss', but didn't comment for the time being. "Yeah, it never was like him to."

"And, on the subject of weakness," Cream continued, "it says here that the old clans detested weakness in themselves and anyone else. Now, think of how Mister Espio has always strived for perfection in his training and the like. It seemed just a harmless personality trait before, but now it appears as though it's likely also a trait passed down from his darker ancestors."

"It most definitely is," Armaris added, unsure of what else to really say. This was all very true, if not spot-on with Espio.

Cream stared down at the words on the page before her. "There is one last thing, too. Even those who might try to explain everything else away as something benign cannot ignore the fact that these people… They lived brutal lives, filled with savage warfare and great bloodshed. They wanted it that way. According to this author, they were even addicted to living that way, to the violence and the thrills and the killing and everything else. In many ways, these seemed to be what they truly lived for. It may not be quite that severe, but… Mister Espio has also always lived for combat, thrills, and the like. How much of his life has he spent simply wandering the world, almost subconsciously seeking out that very lifestyle and being made restless due to an inability to find it? It's too accurate a description of both the lives of these past people and his own life for us to ignore it."

In lieu of a response, Armaris cast a glance over the bunny's shoulder, taking note of something else on the page. "There's something else really important there. Read it," she said softly, despite the demanding statement.

Blinking, Cream shifted her attention to an unread passage that sat just above multiple colorful depictions of different eyes. Frowning slightly to herself, she translated aloud what she read, though not word-for-word. "This says that… during states of elevated and intense evil when an individual was not ascending into their Dark form - it says that those with great power and control could of course choose not to transform if they did not want to - there was a physical change that would still take place. It says that the person's eyes would shift from their normal color to a more metallic version of said color."

After a short pause while looking over the pictures below, she continued. "So, for example… the author drew a picture of green eyes. Their corresponding metallic color, according to this, is a shimmering emerald. Another example was amber (which the author wrote was the most prominent eye color of one of the oldest and most powerful clans), which is a shade of yellow. It's corresponding metallic color would be gold."

Armaris took a moment to let this sink in before quietly thinking back over Espio. He also has amber eyes. Ah, fuck me. "I'll probably try and ask Steam if that was a common thing that he saw, considering he seems to know a lot."

Cream nodded. "That would be prudent," she murmured.

After a few tense moments of silence, Armaris abruptly turned and began walking. "We should head back. If you need me, go to Espio's house." With a second, smaller nod, Cream turned and followed her out.

~保護者~

It was with a sense of great reluctance that Sonic took his place on the training ground and drew his sword. He didn't feel up to being here after everything that had gone down earlier, but also recognized why he needed to be. So, instead of putting up a fuss, he just sighed and asked, "Think we can make this a bit short? I know this needs to happen and all that shit, but I just… I don't know. I think I might need to sit down for a while or something."

Steam gave a gentle nod. "Don't worry, I didn't plan for it to be all that long. Mostly getting you to rehearse some of your old tactics and hopefully just overall catching you up a bit more." He gave a weak smile, unsure of what else to say. Steam knew full well the power that woman had when she wasn't corrupted, and in this timeline she was. Regardless of the severity of the attack he might have suffered, he had no plans to be harsh with Sonic. Too much would give the exact opposite results of what he wanted.

Given the headache he was dealing with right now, courtesy of the earlier attack, Sonic didn't have it in him to really smile back. Nevertheless, he did his best to let Steam know that he accepted this plan willingly by keeping a lid on his usual temper. "Yeah. Okay. What exactly are we doing?"

"Some swordplay and a bit of training with your powers again. If you're feeling up to it, maybe some basic training to make sure your stance and so on is proper."

"I never had much training on stances," Sonic informed him, scuffing his shoe in the dirt, "so I doubt those are gonna be up to par. Just a fair warning."

Steam shrugged. "Same here. I mostly just make sure you won't get knocked over in a breeze."

Finally, Sonic managed a small smirk. "Shut up, like I would," he retorted.

A smirk appeared in response on the green hedgehog's face. "I dunno. I'd hope that much, though." Without waiting for much of a response, Steam launched himself forward and slashed out at Sonic with his sword.

Sonic's headache made him a touch sluggish, but he managed to block the attack in time to avoid injury. The impact made him slide back several inches in the hard-packed dirt, but he retained his footing and pushed Steam back with great force. Steam landed on one foot and spun himself around, following his momentum until he could throw himself right back at Sonic with a sweeping kick. The blue hedgehog was quick to jump sideways to dodge the kick, but didn't follow through on the small opportunity that he was presented with due to a sharp stab of painful protest in his head. He winced, unintentionally flinching a little closing his eyes in the process. As much as Steam didn't want to press this kind of advantage, he lunged out with his sword in a way that would let the blade fly right past the other hedgehog's face.

Sensing this threat, Sonic reflexively threw himself to the side to further avoid the attack. He swung Caliburn outward as he moved, slamming the heavier blade forcefully into Steam's lighter weight one. Feeling his sword knocked aside, Steam was quick to toss it back and instead approach with a quick yet powerful punch from his free hand. Finally forcing his eyes open again, Sonic countered with a strong kick, just as he would have done had he been facing Knuckles or Locke. Fist met leg with jarring force. Quickly turning his hand, Steam grabbed hold of Sonic's leg, intent on throwing him into the trees. Sonic reacted half on instinct and half based off of what little training he did have, using Steam's grip as leverage to twist himself up and around to counter with a kick to the other man's head with his free leg.

A touch surprised, Steam was knocked back from the hit. However, he rolled back and teleported his sword back into his hand, sliding forward with a minor burst of flames to perform an overhead strike. Struggling to ignore further pounding in his head, Sonic raised his sword up to block again. He didn't bother doing anything about the fire Steam was using, as it wouldn't affect him in the slightest and he had no concerns regarding it. Then, directly after blocking the attack, he launched a swift Homing Attack to knock his opponent back again. He didn't pour as much speed and strength as he would have into that attack once upon a time, however. In this moment, he didn't feel like he had it in him. Steam dropped onto his back quickly, launching his feet up to meet the attack and rebound the other man away for the moment.

Sonic unintentionally stumbled, but quickly regained his footing. Pain made him vaguely dizzy, rendering him unable to see Steam clearly for a moment or two. He refocused as quickly as he could, however, and quickly threw a wimpy and small Chaos Spear at Steam to keep him back. This was a feat he could only very rarely pull off without an emerald present, and he was frankly grateful that it had worked… lame though it had been. A touch surprised once more, Steam pushed himself off the ground and focused Darkness into his hands, blasting the spear with enough Darkness to cause it to dissipate. Having briefly forgotten that Steam could do that, Sonic watched in surprise for a second or two before wisely backing off and putting some distance between them. His head continued pounding, but he was able to see clearly again by now.

Steam watched Sonic for a moment before deciding to forgo the swordplay, instead launched two blades of Light from one hand while focusing enough to keep Darkness in the other. He could only do this through intense focus, keeping the two energies separate enough so that they wouldn't dangerously mingle. Being unable to conjure up his own Light or Darkness at will the vast majority of the time, Sonic was forced to just dodge. The second blade, however, nearly managed to slice him due to his continued sluggish reactions to everything. Still, he did manage to avoid injury in the end. Steam hesitated for a moment, allowing Sonic a better chance to see what was coming before throwing a sphere of Darkness.

Though he managed to dodge, Sonic did so only barely once more. At that point, he leaned over and braced his hands on his knees (he had dropped his sword somewhere at some point, though he didn't know when or where) with his head drooping as another wave of pain-induced dizziness hit him. "I think I need to stop," he mumbled, swaying a little on his feet. "Really need to sit down…"

"Shit," Steam walked over, instinctively grabbing hold of Sonic in a careful way to make sure that he was stable. "Do you need help getting back?"

After a moment, Sonic dared to shake his head. "No. It stopped b'fore. Just… need a second. I think." He took a few deep breaths and eventually forced himself to stand back up. Once his vision cleared enough, he quickly looked around for where he had dropped Caliburn. It was resting on the ground more or less where he had been standing before he had dodged that final attack, so he walked over and picked it up.

"You sure you'll be okay, Sonic?" Steam asked, a worried expression on his face.

Sonic sheathed his sword with a small nod. "Yeah. Like I said, I think I just need to sit down or something." He sighed tiredly. "It wasn't that bad before, but all this moving around is sort of… fucking with me."

Steam gave a gentle nod in response. "Be careful, then. If you need me, I'll do what I can to help."

"Thanks," Sonic answered sincerely. "I appreciate it." He began walking away without another word. This was far from the ideal situation, but it couldn't be helped. And if Astra's brief attack on him had done this much of a number on his head, he could only imagine how poorly Jet must have been faring...

~保護者~

Following Steam's sparring match with Sonic, Tails ventured out to the training area. He surveyed the relatively modest damage to said area, then quickly looked both Sonic and Steam over as Sonic walked away back toward the village. No substantial damage and no major injuries… Must have gone pretty well. Shrugging that thought off, Tails approached the green hedgehog. "So, make any progress, I hope?"

"Honestly, yeah. The biggest problem is reteaching yourself the skills you had that haven't been used in a long time, but he's adjusting relatively fast." Steam smiled faintly and chuckled. "Not exactly too happy all the time, though."

"Nah, he still gets kinda cranky," Tails laughed. "But, in all fairness, we'd probably be the same way if we were anywhere near the same age as he is. Or, was… or whatever." He trailed off for a second, thinking that one over, then shook his head with another laugh. "Yeah, whatever. You know what I mean."

The hedgehog shrugged. "Makes enough sense, I guess." Steam took a moment and glanced away to the direction Sonic had left, then shifted his gaze back to Tails. "Knowing you, you've probably got some questions of some sort. Am I right?"

This made the fox chuckle almost nervously. "I'm that obvious, huh?" Another chuckle. "Yeah, I suppose I do have some questions. I mostly came down to check on you guys, but I would definitely like a chance to chat real quick if you don't mind."

"It's not that you're obvious, more so that I kinda… know the tendencies you all have. Nonetheless, go ahead. I'm cool with a short chat."

Tails nodded and responded, "Your knowledge about us and the stuff that's likely due to go down is part of what I'm interested in, but I do have something else I wanted to ask about. I more or less understand that you're a Balancer and all that, but I guess I must have missed the part where you explained about how you can use both Light and Darkness without it rending you to bits?" He fixed Steam with a puzzled expression. "The only person I've ever heard of being able to use both is Sonic, and his circumstances are a bit… erm… particular and borderline impossible."

"That's actually a problem I've nearly caused myself before." Steam thought over his answer for a few seconds before actually trying to respond. "So, in essence, I don't actually create the energies within my body. Instead, I kinda pull them from the Realms of Darkness and Light and expel them from my body. Due to that, I don't actually have access to any of the abilities that those energies would give a normal being of its respective energy."

Unlike some people, Tails needed no time at all to process this and make sense of it all. "Okay, yeah. That actually really clears it up for me. Thanks for that." He gave himself a few seconds longer to ponder this new information before continuing. "Now that that bit's been cleared up, do you mind talking about some more worrisome things? It just… would help me to have some more information to work with."

"Depends on what it is. Some things will likely be best unsaid, but, I'm sure you understand that well enough," Steam answered, giving a faintly bothered expression at having to hide information.

"Of course," Tails agreed straight away. "And if anything comes up that you can't tell me, just say so and I won't pry. Is that alright with you?"

Steam cast him a small smile. "Gotcha."

Seeing the smile, Tails returned it. "Before we get into this, though, I do want to apologize. I know this stuff is… well, unpleasant and not at all what anyone really wants to talk about."

Coughing faintly, Steam shrugged. "I… honestly don't give a shit. As you can guess, I've been through worse. This is kinda normal, sadly."

"Well… still." With that decidedly weak response, Tails let the matter go. "One thing I did want to ask about is pertaining to him. I assume you know how his kind are with their kin, right? Harsh and brutal, and yet also violently protective in their own ways."

Steam nodded to this. "Yeah, what about it?"

With a sort of sigh, Tails shook his head. "I very recently got to thinking about all these threats we seem to be facing from all sides, and it sort of occurred to me… As much danger as Sonic and Shadow, like the rest of us, are in from enemies like the Trokkelar Army and even him, well, himself… In a lot of ways, won't they actually be pretty severely guarded and protected? Even if, you know, not in a nice way."

"Precisely. He's got no plans of letting either of them get seriously injured or otherwise, especially if the source isn't him."

"I thought that might be the case," Tails murmured thoughtfully. "It's just… too bad we can't somehow work that to our advantage in any way."

Steam frowned, unsure of what to say for a short time. "Honestly… there's not a good way to do it that won't royally piss the guy off. Fucker is intelligent, and he'd likely pick up on anything we did and find a way to twist it to his own advantage instead."

Tails sighed. "Yeah… I know. It just sucks for us." He paused to think about his next question before eventually voicing it. "Aside from some random little things that don't really matter, I think I only had one other big topic of discussion to bring up. See, Cream and Armaris apparently got ahold of some book earlier and dug up some… pretty concerning information." Without further ado, he quickly launched into a concise and yet detailed explanation of what Cream had told him they'd read.

"Almost all of that, if not all of it, is true to my knowledge. Espio, especially now, has and will exhibit those traits, actions, and so on."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Tails murmured, lowering his head a bit. He tried not to let himself dwell, however. "There was one more thing, though. Cream mentioned some stuff about changing eyes, too. From what she told me, chameleons in his position who can go fully Dark but choose not to tend to display shifts in their eye color?"

Something in Steam's eyes changed, a deep concern that hadn't previously been there. "I… didn't really know about that."

Tails's eyebrows shot up. "Really? So it didn't happen in your timeline?"

"If it did… I wasn't around, or didn't have a chance to see it. Which… concerns me," Steam responded, his fingers curling.

"Would… you say that's a bad thing?" Tails dared to guess. He suspected he knew the answer, really and truly, but… Well, as awful as confirmation could be, the scientist in him demanded he receive it regardless.

Steam tapped his foot on the ground lightly. "Not on it's own, but, if I'm thinking correctly, that also means he might be progressing farther in this timeline than he did in my own."

This made Tails tense up. "Why would that be the case?" he asked, though it wasn't because he doubted Steam's words. "Why would it be that different here as opposed to in your timeline? Something would have to be behind it."

"Maybe… something about the relationships he formed?" Steam posed, somewhat unsure. "Armaris and Espio met back up well before this point in my timeline and were part of the larger group. There was also our friend, Rose, who actively did what she could to help, alongside various others. He had more bonds and all that."

"And the extra help certainly would have kept things from getting as bad as they could have…" Tails realized aloud, tone thoughtful.

"Especially because the smallest things can snowball into the largest."

The fox nodded sagely. "You're right about that. I just… If things are already turning out so differently here as opposed to what you dealt with, how are we meant to actively combat it?"

Steam wanted to shrug, but refrained. "If I'm honest, most things here haven't made huge differences yet. To my knowledge, at least. But… whatever comes, I'm damn sure that we'll manage it."

"I don't like leaving this all to faith," Tails sighed. "It just… feels too risky to me, I guess. But I see where you're coming from."

"Personally, I would rather not do that myself, but… just can't avoid it sometimes. I'm not gonna have all the answers, as much as I wish I did," Steam sighed, shaking his head lightly.

Tails was quiet for a long moment as he thought. "On a similar subject… Fighting is a remarkably good way for some people to work out extra aggression and the like, wouldn't you say?" He looked over at Steam. "Maybe one way we could try to help calm this situation down a bit is by giving Espio a chance to actually fight. Aside from the scuffle on Babylon, he's not had any opportunity to do that. He probably needs to, to be honest. All of this sitting around must be driving him crazy."

With my regenerative abilities fucked over, it won't be pleasant… but still. "I'm fine with it. I know he won't kill me or anything, and I can certainly hold my own regardless." Steam shrugged. "Pretty good idea."

Still, Tails hesitated. "You don't think it would make things worse?" he questioned.

"As long as I don't cause a serious flare of his Darkness, it could really help. Just… means I can't use Light or Darkness."

"Yeah, of course. Is there anything else that should also be avoided, or do you think it'll be fine otherwise? Either way, this is gonna be really risky. Fighting seemed to stir things up a lot earlier, even before that big spike of Darkness made itself known. This still has the chance to help, but it just as likely might not."

"I think it will be fine, but… that's just me. You're welcome to pose any other thoughts you have, since it's not a set-in-stone decision."

In response, Tails shrugged. "If you think it'll be fine, then I'll trust your judgement." He looked back toward the village. "Guess I'll help you track his butt down, then. No telling where he went."

Steam nodded gently. "Let's get searching, then." Without further ado, the pair began walking.

~保護者~

Shadow was stirred from his light, restless doze by the slight thump of someone jumping up into the house. Cracking open an eye and shifting against the wall he'd been sitting by, he watched as Sonic trudged into the front room of Espio's home. The blue hedgehog sat down heavily against the wall beside Shadow, muttering crossly to himself about a headache or something. With a frown, Shadow opened his eyes fully and observed his half-brother rub at his temples. After a long moment, he spoke. In an effort to be at least somewhat nice, he kept his voice respectfully low. "If you are done grumbling," he said, "there is medicine here you can take to ease your pain."

Sonic's expression was a complicated mix of unhappy emotions, but ultimately he thought better of the idea of arguing. "What medicine?" he questioned instead. "Thought chameleons are resistant to that crap."

"Not to medicine of their own making," Shadow calmly informed him, "and not to the powerful ingredients for those medicines that can be found in these lands."

"Then how'd you manage to make medicine to use on Espio's wound that one time?"

"Do you think me incapable of learning their methods?"

Silence. Then, eventually, Sonic answered, "...No."

Satisfied with that, Shadow moved on. "Regardless, in this case making medicine is not required. There is a basic herb that grows in the forest which is often used to treat deep aches and pains. A single leaf will likely suffice."

Though herbs had a reputation for being bitter and the like so far as Sonic knew, he seemed prepared to be practical. "Okay. Where do I get one?"

Shadow nodded toward a section of the wall where a faint outline of a wide square could be seen. "That panel is removable. It is traditionally used for food storage but, since he does not eat, Espio tends to use it to keep other necessities instead. Whatever herbs he has will be in there."

With visible reluctance, Sonic stood up. "Will he have this one?" he mumbled, already walking over.

"He has always been one to forage for what he needs," Shadow shrugged, "and he also frequently walks the woods. With this being a fairly common herb, it would have been easy to find them and foolish to not acquire at least some when it requires so little effort to grab them."

Sonic just nodded at that point and carefully removed the panel Shadow had indicated. Looking inside the surprisingly wide and deep cubby, he took in the sight of everything that was stashed here. There were plenty of bundles of what looked to Sonic like simple roots, grasses, leaves, and the like. However, there were also plenty of bottles of varying kinds of alcohol. He frowned at them in distaste. "Necessities", huh… Brushing that matter aside for the moment, he asked Shadow, "Okay, he's definitely got some stuff in here. What's this leaf look like?"

"A five-point star with a deep central crease resembling a smaller star," Shadow answered readily. "Even dried, it will be deeply green in color."

After a moment of searching around, Sonic located another bundle of leaves. They matched Shadow's description and, as Shadow had implied, there were plenty of this leaf to be found. As such, any guilt Sonic might have previously felt about taking from their friend's stores was quickly alleviated. "I just need one?" he asked, picking up the bundle. Shadow murmured a vague agreement. "And… what do I do with it? Please don't tell me I have to freaking eat it."

Shadow quirked an eyebrow at him while Sonic carefully removed a leaf from the bundle. "It is sweet, not bitter. You will survive."

Of course I do. "Yeah, well, if I don't then I'm gonna haunt you from beyond the grave." With his threat given, he reluctantly popped the leaf into his mouth. He prematurely cringed, expecting the very worst, only to immediately relax when Shadow was again proven right. A sweet-tasting leaf. Huh. Shrugging to himself, Sonic deposited the bundle back where he had found it, then replaced the thin panel of wood in the wall. By the time he reclaimed his seat, the worst of the pain was already ebbing away. "Damn, this works really fast," he commented.

"That is the idea," Shadow responded. "Given their lifestyles and inherent resistance to other forms of medicine, these people require strong and fast-acting medical solutions to their pain when it occurs."

Sonic inclined his head. "That makes sense." He fell silent for a long moment before sighing heavily. "I don't think the rest of us, at least those who aren't Immortals, can power through most pain and injuries like his people can. Seems like a hell of a liability. I mean… I'm sure you saw how piss-poor we did in that fight earlier. It just… I don't know. It feels like we need more help than we've got."

Shadow gave him a long look before carefully saying, "With all the threats we are currently facing, adding allies to our ranks would be prudent." There was a bit of a pause, then he asked, "What do you intend to do about it?"

"Me?" Sonic blinked, then frowned. "There's not much I could do about it. I mean, best I could do is maybe… maybe revive someone?" His frown deepened as he began to seriously consider this newfound idea. "It would probably be only one person right now, but actually… yeah. I think I might be able to do that. Maybe even bring back more people later on." He turned his head to look at his half-brother. "Is that a stupid idea? Part of me says 'yes', but the rest of me says 'no'."

Black-furred shoulders lifted in a brief shrug. In lieu of answering the question given to him, he said, "Not everyone could be brought back, even pretending you were capable of reviving them."

"Yeah, I know. Vanilla, Cheese, Charmy, and Keiri are a few examples. They were never fighters, and they never liked fighting. Not that most of the rest of us do, either, but still. It would definitely be unfair to them, and unhelpful to us, to bring them back."

At that point, Shadow began to freely offer his input on the matter. "Strictly physical fighters would struggle against the enemies of this day and age," he said. "Being unable to utilize most of your powers, you have no doubt experienced that for yourself."

"It's definitely a liability," Sonic agreed slowly. Then he sighed. "That means Rouge and Storm will definitely have to stay back. Knuckles, too, since his only other power is fire."

Shadow unexpectedly shook his head. "In the case of both Knuckles and Amy, the sheer extent of their physical strength will prove useful in likely more ways than one."

At the mention of her name, Sonic straightened. "Amy?" he asked in a pained voice. "You- Do you think I could…? I mean… I don't want her to get killed, Shadow."

"You will need her," Shadow murmured, looking away, "and her strength is not something to be trifled with. Aside from that, she also possesses psychic abilities and the power to heal. She will be an asset, not another liability."

Swallowing hard past a sudden lump in his throat, Sonic nodded once. "...Yeah. Okay. So those two can be brought back, then." He cleared his throat and tried to even his voice back out. "Who else, then?"

Another shrug, then Shadow said, "Likely everyone else."

"Everyone?" Sonic echoed in surprise.

Now it was Shadow's turn to nod. "Everyone else will have their own ways of aiding us in this war. Marthal, for example, is half-yokai. That grants him access to some unique powers that no one else around us - enemies or otherwise - will have. It will likely prove advantageous in some form or another, despite abilities such as his fire being largely useless here."

Following that line of thinking, Sonic said, "And Blaze also uses fire, but hers is that special form of fire that only burns what she lets it. It's specifically designed to combat Darkness."

"Silver will prove similarly useful," Shadow added carefully. Sonic straightened at the mention of his son's name. "Aside from it being good for the both of you to be around one another again, his presence will help Blaze be able to fight better and vice versa."

"...His psychokinesis will also be invaluable," Sonic said after a long moment. "No one aside from his mother, him, and his direct descendants have and will ever have that power. Which means our enemies definitely won't."

Shadow inclined his head slightly. "There is more to it than that. He certainly inherited plenty of Darkness from both you and Father," Sonic winced at the mention of their dad, though Shadow seemed to be trying not to dwell on it, "but he similarly inherited copious amounts of Light from Mother and yourself."

Sonic was quick to agree, despite the pain he felt at the mention of their missing parents. "Yeah, he did. And from what I understand, somehow the amount of Light he wound up with vastly overtook the amount of Darkness he got." He looked at his brother. "We're going need as much Light as we can get, aren't we?"

"That much should go without saying," Shadow responded quietly, almost sighing. Then he pointed out, "However he, like you, will need substantial training to learn how to access and utilize that Light readily and effectively."

Unlike his brother, Sonic actually did sigh. "I know. But we can work on that. Point is that we're gonna need the kid, and that's not just my parental bias talking." For a second, he swore his brother smirked in amusement. Things were quiet for a second or two before he suddenly realized aloud, "Wait, you said that we should bring back everyone else that we hadn't previously mentioned leaving behind. But that includes Vector, and he's got nothing but brute strength to work with in combat. I thought we've established that that's largely a bad thing?"

"His case will have to be the exception," Shadow told him calmly. When it was clear that Sonic wasn't following, he elaborated. "Sonic, how many people do you think that Espio has ever truly considered to be his friend and not just a close ally?"

Just like that, the point Shadow was getting at dawned on Sonic like a ray of sunshine. "Three… yourself, Armaris, and Vector. You think having all of his best friends back might do him some good?"

"More than just some," Shadow answered. "At one time, Vector was the only person in the world Espio nearly viewed as his best friend. Considering how he is, it is remarkable that they became so close. And, despite the fact that his demeanor does nothing to hint at it now, that bond is still there. It even survived the loss of so many of his memories and the loss of his emotions."

Sonic knew what he was getting at. "Because they were so close, chances are he'll actually respond really well to having Vector back again. And, actually, in a lot of ways he might need to have the guy back. We're not the greatest support system for Espio right now, but Vector… he was always pretty weirdly skilled at helping him through most anything. He could very well help out a lot with stabilizing Espio's mental and emotional state. We'd just have to keep him clear of all the combat as much as possible, for his own sake." Another pause followed his words, but he quickly broke it. "I guess now the only thing left to decide is whether or not reviving someone who can fight has more merit."

Shadow quite decisively put an end to that little dilemma before it had a chance to grow. "As things stand now, bringing back a single person to aid in combat will not shift the odds of success in our favor. If you were in a position to be able to bring back multiple people at once, then that would be one thing. Since you cannot-"

"Focusing on Espio is the better option, then."

"Given the inherently uncontrolled and dangerous nature of his situation at the present moment, yes. And if the people we mentioned are not enough when they are brought back, more can be revived at a later time."

More… meaning our kids. Like Lia, or Jason, or Emi. With the decision made, Sonic closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Okay. We'll stick with that option, that. It'll take me a while to get it done, though. I can manage without Ythene - y'know, the person I used to call 'the Voice' - but it's gonna take me a while."

Crimson eyes glanced outside. It was early evening already. "How long?" he asked quietly.

"Few hours, maybe. Trust me, I know revival seems seamless and easy when she does it, but it's actually really fuckin' hard for me. This is the best I can do."

"Calm yourself. I was not intending to give you shit over that."

Sonic snorted in amused disbelief. "Sure." After that, the pair fell silent as gentle light bathed the blue hedgehog and then gradually faded away. The process had begun.

~保護者~

Molten sparks flew off of the shimmering black surface of Kaden's sword as he sharpened it, artfully working each lethal edge until they were so wicked that they could cut through rocks as easily as leaves. Saika was a beauty to behold in this state, shimmering eerily in the firelight and primed for battle. It wasn't for nothing that he had spent so many years of his life crafting the thing. This was one of the seven nearly-perfect blades he had forged eons upon eons ago, and soon… soon, his enemies were going to suffer its dark wrath. He could hardly wait for the moment to arrive when the fighting would begin.

Looking up from his work, the similarly dark hedgehog glanced across the desolate landscape. Though he couldn't see any at the present moment, he knew that countless demons were definitely there. Each of them were, in their own ways, preparing themselves for war. Many of the weaker and more eager individuals had already kicked themselves up into a frenzy, even going so far as to frequently begin attacking each other in a bid to prove their strength and their worth. Those that were stronger, smarter, more sure of their places in power, simply and calmly awaiting the order to set out and begin their hunt. Kaden knew that the time would be soon.

And he wasn't the only one monitoring the situation, he knew. Stretching out his senses, he could easily pick out the faint energy signatures of several somewhat prominent Gods and Goddesses, far away and yet not far enough to avoid detection. It seemed that they were unprepared to step in, had resigned themselves to merely watching events unfold and, most likely, report back to their allies afterward. But they weren't a concerning matter, nor did he see them as important enough to focus on. No, that focus was awarded to a different group altogether… and a far more irritating one at that. As with the Gods and Goddesses, the Trokkelar Army was watching and waiting. But, unlike the "divine" beings, the Army was in a position to try and interfere whenever they chose to do so. However… Kaden knew their leader to be no fool. She had not gotten away with slaughtering Immortals and semi-Immortals alike for so long by being reckless and foolish. No, she was smart. Careful. Rather than rushing into something that had the very high potential to go very badly for her, she would likely sit back and watch instead… biding her time until a better opportunity for direct conflict arose.

On that note, perhaps he should resume monitoring her. In recent times, enough of his attention had been held by other matters that he had stopped caring too much about whatever the fuck she had been up to and where and when. Even her infrequent meddling in his own affairs hadn't been enough to warrant granting her his focus. Now, however, she was not only getting in the way of the demons and those like them, not to mention getting in his way, but also directly threatening Sonic, Shadow, and whatever small group of friends they had with them at the present moment. That would not do. That would not do at all. If she wasn't prepared to back the fuck off on her own, then it seemed it was high time he got in her face again and made her. It had been far too long since the two of them had directly clashed…

A battle like that was certainly a thing to look forward to.

~保護者~

9,604 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all his help, and hope y'all enjoyed! Posted (at about 1:30 p.m.) 11-25-19.