Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) throughout this tense negotiation of sorts… especially for the one who has a decision to make.

~保護者~

REVIEW REPLIES:

Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, go Wave! As far as how they're gonna bring Kaden back... who can really say? It does seem to be implied that there is some sort of a plan being formed, but will it work? Guess you'll just have to wait and see. ;) Haha, yeah, and as soon as I said that I was hit with writer's block. *sweatdrop* Sorry about that... Hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. And thank you very much for your kind words. I appreciate you just the same, and always look forward to your reviews. Also, hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

~保護者~

"Hell Rising"

~保護者~

Jet clutched his sword tightly in his hand, keeping it held at the ready. His thoughts briefly entangled together in a dark mess, only unraveling when he forced himself to calm down. Still, one thought stuck and refused to fade until it was acknowledged. The dumbass had better keep himself from being killed. Kaden had said that Sonic was, in fact, not dead yet, but… while Kaden had once been an honest person overall, these days that was not so. It was unlikely that Kaden had actually killed Sonic, however, but even still. Jet intended to make certain of the truth as soon as possible. Once his father was well out of hearing range, he drew Kaden's attention back to him. His inability to sense Sonic anywhere prompted him to mutter, "He had better be alive, Kaden."

The dark man titled his head slightly. "Is that meant to be a threat?" he drawled.

"A warning," Jet muttered, shifting his grip on the handle of his blade.

Kaden's head canted a touch further. "Oh?" he murmured. Then, in silky, dangerous tones, he continued, "Consider this a warning to you, then. Continue to stand in my way, and I will find a way to kill you… permanently."

The hawk's eyes hardened at the warning. It certainly was a warning, and no idle one either, considering they both knew full well that Jet would continue being in Kaden's way. And, in fact… he intended to do just that here. A sizeable vortex of air roared through the battlefield toward Kaden without warning. He cast final fleeting glance in the direction Sein had left, hoping the man would find Sonic and the others sooner rather than later. Then, refocusing on the enemy before him, he shifted his sword a little in his hand to help force his muscles to loosen. This tension… this stress and this fear… it would only hinder him. Emotions were only useful when they were banished. At least, in situations like this. Right now, he needed to not feel… and to be ready to give his all.

He refused to kill Kaden. He refused. Still, the man needed to leave this place. Now. The problem was that forcing him to do anything was practically impossible. But it was his duty (by the very virtue of having been born with the responsibility) to do the impossible. And so he would... somehow. "Finished here, then?" he inquired coolly, all emotion bleeding out of him as though some sort of an artery had been cut. "Or do you intend to raze the whole of this world until nothing remains?"

Kaden's answering snarl was expected, but quiet. "I have no reason to leave it standing," he muttered lowly. As soon as he finished speaking, he did what Jet had suspected he would and attacked. He disappeared in a dark blur of motion, rushing forward with his sword poised to strike and glowing eyes narrowed with excruciating hate. Drawing in a quick breath to steady himself one last time, Jet lunged sideways just in time to avoid the stab. He whirled, watching almost as though in slow motion as Kaden did the same, allowing their swords to meet in a shower of sparks. Kaden briefly bared his fangs in silent irritation and hostility, then shoved forward with enough force to knock Jet back about half a step. The kick that soon followed couldn't be easily dodged at such close quarters, not with how fast Kaden moved, and the very act of dodging would force open Jet's guard. As such, he chose to take the hit and allow it to knock him even further back.

Visibly displeased, Kaden twirled his sword in his hand and paced closer as Jet gathered a flurry of wind and cold air around himself. Kaden appeared to ignore it, glaring hard as he softly accused, "You are holding back. You fear for the people here? Fight properly, Jet, and perhaps I will feel less inclined to kill them just now."

The currents of icy winds blasted outward into Kaden, forcing him to quickly funnel some fire around himself to avoid Jet freezing him in place. Meanwhile, Jet thought quickly. As with before, he knew that Kaden's threat was no idle one. The man craved stimulating and exciting fights… preferably ones that created ample levels of bloodshed. If Jet couldn't keep him engaged enough, he could very well choose to go off and resume slaughtering others. But Jet couldn't go all out here. He needed to somehow get both himself and Kaden through the portal that still hung low in the sky above all of this madness… But how to do so without risking more lives?

There was no time to think. Kaden was upon him again, and Jet had to act fast to prevent his throat from being torn open. He parried the blow, then rushed forward with a burst of aura energy. The explosion he let loose was contained enough that the semi-nearby people he could sense were in no way threatened, but the energy was still so concentrated that when unleashed it properly slammed Kaden through some trees and into the ground. A split second later, the pair of them were trading sword strikes faster than mortal eyes could follow. Each meeting of their swords was answered by a harsh clanging screech, sparks, and small explosions. The force of their slashes caused them to bounce off one another, keeping them in constant motion as they fought to overpower and outmaneuver each other.

Neither made progress on that front for up to about thirty seconds but then, quite unexpectedly, a stray attack from down below shot in between them. Jet was granted less than half a second to react, and he took the opportunity as it came. A particularly fierce strike with his sword, fueled by deep reserves of aura energy, once again sent Kaden crashing through the burning forest surrounding them. Kaden caught himself in no time flat and hurled a vast array of fiery blasts in Jet's direction. Teleportation was difficult to do during fights like these, simply because he knew he needed to save his energy for attacks as opposed to this, but now was simply not the time to be picky about that. Being struck by so much Hellfire in such rapid succession would do a lot of damage, and he simply couldn't afford that. Once Kaden was off of Mobius and was no longer so hellbent on the world's demise, then it wouldn't matter so much. But as it stood now…

Jet teleported away and landed right behind Kaden. The other man knew he was there, of course, and there was a growl in his voice as he turned and faced him. They didn't speak this time. There was no real need, and it wasn't as though they desired conversation. Their attacks came swift and strong, resulting in another series of explosions. These ones were somewhat larger than before, each tearing branches off of trees by virtue of shockwaves alone. This rattled some demons that had been hidden within, and they dove for Jet without refrain. Jet was momentarily forced to defend himself against them, which lent itself to Kaden this time being the one to take hold of an advantage when it came. Though he avoided wounds from teeth and claws, Jet found himself suffering a painful stab to the side. He managed to throw Kaden off of him almost immediately, but the damage was done. His wound was deep. But no wound was too severe for him to ignore right now.

More clashing, more ricocheting off of one another, more explosive impacts, more injuries. This time, however, Jet wasn't the only one who was cut. He sliced a thin line across Kaden's hip, sending droplets flying up into the air. The scent of his blood drove the many demons in the area away, for they knew as well as Jet did the stark increase in danger that had just been created. Wounding Kaden was never a wise idea. It just… happened to be necessary, sometimes. Necessary… yet stupid. For anyone who values their own life. Gritting his teeth, Jet flung his sword up just in time to block a decidedly brutal kick that had been aimed for his face.

The ensuing shockwaves ripped open a crater in the ground, but he only paid attention to the energy that had been birthed in that precise moment. Drawing it up into himself, he unleashed it in the form of a secondary shockwave. This succeeded in forcing Kaden to back off, but only for a second. With no trace of hesitation, the older man rushed back in, flinging Hellfire ahead of him as he went. Jet threw an answering torrent of wind at the fire, keeping it at bay for a precious couple of seconds that allowed him to leap out of the way. He threw himself back downward immediately afterward, forcefully slamming his sword into Kaden's. The two struggled for a breath, then broke apart again.

The smoldering husk of one of the great trees fell between them as Jet rapidly scanned the area for a safe means of retreat. He was utterly surrounded by fire… and while his previous terror toward the element wasn't as severe as it had once been, it persisted enough to make his heart pound. Tension returned to him in waves. But there was no time to escape. Kaden split the tree apart with a single kick, sending debris flying all around. Jet resisted the urge to shield his face from the bits of fiery wood, choosing instead to pull out whatever trace amounts of water remained in the plants and air around them. Before Kaden even had time to lower his leg, Jet had smothered enough of the fire to jump to safety.

Predictably, Kaden followed. Though this brought them somewhat closer to a cluster of survivors from the village, Jet didn't fret over it. At least… not this time. Because Sonic was near them. Very near, in fact, and Kaden would not harm his son. It was why he had been holding back to such an extreme degree… despite having chastised Jet over the same behavior. Kaden was brimming with intensely violent urges, it was apparent through the extreme agitation in his aura, but he wouldn't risk Sonic's life. That was a fact which could be used as leverage… as much as Jet absolutely detested having to use his friend's life as a bargaining chip.

Despite being well-aware of the extraordinary risks involved, Jet edged closer to Sonic, watching as Kaden's eyes narrowed hatefully once he caught on to Jet's little ploy. Still, his voice was quiet, even somewhat eerily calm when he spoke. "Using him as a shield now… is that right?" he murmured darkly.

"No," Jet returned. Taking another huge risk, he glanced over his shoulder to check the position of the portal in relation to himself. It wasn't giving off any energy signatures of its own, meaning he would have to keep track of it by sight alone. That could prove… problematic. Best to keep Kaden talking for a second while he worked out how to get them closer. They were still too far away. He returned his gaze to Kaden, whose grip on Saika's handle had tightened substantially. "Keeping him close… seemed the best way to convince you to listen."

Sharp fangs bared for the briefest of moments before the demon before him retorted derisively, "I am listening, Jet, to you stall."

That may have been true, though only partially so. Keeping an eye on that sword, Jet answered, "You want a genuine fight, do you not?" Kaden glared at him but, tellingly, didn't refute the claim. Jet dared to press on. "You snapped at me for holding back, Kaden, despite you doing the very same. We both know it is for his sake and nothing more." Reasoning with demons was damn-near impossible, though not entirely so. This was Kaden, after all… Once upon a time, he hadn't been a demon. He'd been a normal (albeit semi-Immortal) man, and a reasonable one at that. A sliver of his true self still remained in there somewhere, lost and fading but always, always present. If he could just draw it out for even a second…

Another angry twirl of that black blade, spinning in swift, lethal circles. "Make your point," Kaden growled. He looked ready to strike again in an instant. There was no doubt that he was. The fact that he had stopped fighting for even this long was a miracle… and no random one, either. Whatever his reasons for forcing an encounter with his sons, the reunion had had an impact he had not been planning on. One he hadn't accounted for in his otherwise rather flawless plan. One that was no doubt the source behind a great deal of his unusual agitation. The presence of his children had been jarring and, to some slight degree, had awakened that slumbering piece of him that Analia's Light had been for so long fighting to keep alive… the part of him that was truly him.

That awakening had rattled him, thrown him off-balance, and Jet could feel it in the man's aura. It wasn't even that Kaden was specifically letting on to any of this, though, but more like… Jet simply knew what he was looking for. And how to find it. Exploiting his knowledge wasn't something he wanted to do, but… in this situation… he could see no other path forward. "My point," he responded evenly, "is that he is not leaving, Kaden. He will stay and fight until his dying breath if that is what it comes to. You know he will." His words only made Kaden frown deeper. He took his eyes off of Jet for the barest of moments to glance in Sonic's direction. A good sign. Jet pressed his slight advantage as hard as he dared and suggested carefully, "He is not leaving… but we can." Kaden growled at him… yet didn't immediately attack or otherwise refuse. This was further evidence that Jet's suspicions were correct - that, perhaps, Kaden could be to some extent swayed in this moment.

That made these coming seconds crucial.

A familiar aura came hurtling through the area, slamming through a burning tree and into the ground to come to a halt shortly after. Sein collected himself out of the dirt, in pain though he was, and glanced over the two figures before him. Both Jet and Kaden were watching him in mild and unspoken surprise, neither speaking and neither making a move to interact with him just yet. The hawk noticed that neither was fighting… currently, but soon noticed the telling signs that they certainly had been. Deciding to make the first move in engaging, he stepped forward and glanced to Jet. "What's going on?"

The younger hawk warily tossed a look at Kaden, who watched them with eyes now narrowed in disdain. Thinking it best not to speak the truth out loud, Jet stated a simple, "Nothing." At the same time, he opened a mental link with Sein and explained as concisely as possible, "No matter how he acts or what he says, he won't risk Sonic's life. That can be used to convince him to take this fight elsewhere. The chances of this working are slim, but I believe he is considering the idea - if only slightly."

Sein didn't give a response, instead shifting his gaze to Kaden curiously as if Jet had said nothing. "So… what's happening?"

As it so often did, Jet's mind took a literal route when trying to come up with an answer to the question it had been presented with. Still, stating the obvious fact that it was a fight was both pointless and annoying, so he refrained. In fact, he chose not to answer at all as he closed the mental link, chiefly because he wasn't sure how best to do so. Too much of his focus lingered on Kaden, who seemed to have finished mulling over his own thoughts and was eyeing Sein in dark silence. Will he attack again? ...No, that is the wrong question. Of course he will… but what else does he intend to do?

The blue hawk shifted a bit uncomfortably, standing a bit straighter. He lifted a hand and a thread of aura launched from his palm, attaching to his dropped sword and launching it back to him. He let the end of the blade rest lightly against the ground as he watched Kaden for a long moment. "Can I ask you a question?" Glowing eyes stared at him without a word, with no expression or emotion to be found. It was seemingly a good change from his earlier anger and outward hostility, but those feelings were only gone on the surface and Jet knew it. "Did we ever meet in this timeline?"

There was another half-second of silence before Kaden answered flatly, "No." Jet watched the exchange in unshown confusion, recalling how earlier Sein had reacted to hearing Kaden's name… as though the two had met before. Which meant that they had. Just not here.

"I remember meeting you in my timeline…" Sein's eyes briefly grew distant as he spoke, pain glaring into his eyes as he spoke. "It was a horrible time, but you were a great man. Someone I was honored to have met."

Speaking plainly and truthfully, Kaden told him in dark tones, "I do not care."

Sein frowned visibly. "And I don't care about that, what I'm wanting to say is that you're putting your kids in danger. I can tell you'd rather not hurt them, but fighting here is going to do exactly that."

A sudden growl erupted from the hedgehog's throat and he bared his fangs again. "I do not care," he repeated, more forcefully this time. But as with earlier, Jet noted that Kaden still wasn't making any moves to continue fighting just yet.

"Bullshit," Sein countered quickly, his grip tightening on his sword. "Then why the hell haven't you come and cut me down? Why aren't you razing this entire place to the ground? You have had more than enough chances and you don't fucking do it!" His aura flared angrily, surging around and behind him momentarily.

Once provoked, Kaden hit the older hawk with a hard blow powered by pure Darkness, sending the other man skidding away for the moment. Then, before Jet could do more than start to shift out of Kaden's path, he was also sent flying. He crashed backward into a tree, toppling it over as corrupted energies crackled painfully around him. "Dammit…" he muttered under his breath as he stood up. Why was it always one tiny step forward and two massive steps back with these things?

Sein stood tall the whole way through this his eyes shining with aura. "You still hold back, Kaden. You can't hide it."

In a fraction of an instant, the tip of Saika's blade was digging sharply into Sein's throat above the jugular, hard enough to draw blood. "His presence," he growled softly, "will not prevent me from killing you."

"Do it." Sein let his aura surge back once more, covering his entire body in the energy. "I'm not scared." Taking Sein at his word, Kaden gave into bloodlust and ripped Sein's throat open wide. Jet unintentionally froze up at the sight, various flashbacks and painful thoughts hitting him all at once in response to the scene unfolding before him. Sein, in the moment this occurred, let out a burst of aura that ripped through the ground under them before falling to the ground. Kaden jumped out of the way, briefly satisfied with the kill - however temporary and ultimately unfulfilling it was.

Jet could only watch, knowing that Sein would revive soon enough and that if he himself got involved again Kaden would escalate… thus undoing everything that had been accomplished thus far. Sein might have begun pushing too hard, but that progress was undeniable. Kaden may just follow through and allow this fight to continue elsewhere. The key was just ensuring that that sliver of light within wasn't smothered out again by anything… anything at all. The problem was that there were so many potential triggers…

Their greatest hope lay in a speedy execution of this plan. As much as he didn't want to rush things or push too hard, there was simply no time to play it safe. Nothing about this was even remotely safe to begin with. When it came down to it, he had a choice between one risk and another, stalling further or forging ahead. Both came with the risk of inciting further violence here and now and not where Jet wanted this fight to occur. But if things were to go south, he would rest easier later on knowing that he had at least done something as opposed to nothing at all.

In the end, he had no choice.

Gesturing widely to the carnage surrounding them, he demanded, "What is there to be gained from all of this? Are you satisfied, knowing that everything your sons love and fight for, everything they have willingly risked laying there lives down for, is turning to ruin by your hand?"

"What they choose to care about," Kaden retorted, pronouncing the word slowly and with pronounced distaste, "is irrelevant. They would do well to learn that such foolish notions will only lead to their downfall."

"You want to protect them, don't you?!" Jet snapped, suddenly losing his temper for reasons he couldn't quite explain. "Do you not want them to remain alive?!"

"To lose your composure so suddenly is ill-suited for the mask you bear," Kaden murmured icily.

Suspecting this was meant to goad further angry responses from him, Jet clenched his jaw tightly and drew upon some measure of his earlier calm. "You are avoiding the question," he responded as evenly as he could manage. "I thought you did not stall, Kaden. Or am I wrong?"

A groan suddenly escaped Sein as he rose from the ground, rubbing at his now fully healed throat. "That usually doesn't go so shittily…" Jet and Kaden both turned to face him, both of their expressions going blank with faint traces of surprise and confusion. He glanced between them both, blinking. "Why so surprised? It's not like I was gonna stay dead…" Sein picked up his sword and sheathed it within his gauntlet once more. A few more moments passed and his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Shit! Yeah, yeah. I know it was a bad idea, but I'm used to enemies backing off a little when you challenge them. Kinda catches them off guard, ya know?"

Idiot. Giving his sword another twirl, Kaden huffed and looked away. It didn't escape Jet's notice that the man's attention strayed very specifically toward the rough area where Sonic was still fighting. But how to use Sonic's presence to finally convince Kaden to go elsewhere?

Sein's own attention veered in that direction and his eyes narrowed faintly. "Demons are crowding over there." He faintly glanced toward Kaden. "They're straying away from here, but it's putting that kid in a lot more danger. A bad stray attack…" He didn't feel it necessary to finish that thought. "Fighting here is pushing them all together more. I… don't want Sonic hurt, or possibly worse."

Almost out of nowhere, Kaden's tone took on a distinctly harsh quality. "You have no reason to care," he retorted, his gaze snapping back to Sein in an instant. There was a sort of fire in his eyes, a resurgence of his usual burning anger.

"Having no reason to care and still caring is one of the strongest forms of love. People's lives matter to me, and I know his does to you. You're a demon, but first of all a father," Sein's own eyes burned with intense compassion, and an overwhelming desire to protect. "If someone who has no reason to care about him will, who knows how much you can? How strongly you would want to keep him alive?" Within seconds of this, Sein's head snapped up and he made the rash, split-second decision to teleport Sonic into his arms.

Sonic landed with predictable force and was momentarily disoriented. When his frazzled brain registered the change in scenery and the fact that he was staring up at Sein, he very quickly scrambled free. "The hell?!" he demanded as his usual, go-to response. Then he felt the two other familiar auras behind his back and whirled around to face them. Laying eyes upon the hate-filled eyes of his father, he froze and felt himself pale.

"Sorry… I, uh… felt that you were in danger." Sein scratched his head. "This was the uh… first thing that came to mind." Sonic didn't reply, not really having a voice at the moment.

Expression suddenly a touch grim, Jet moved between Sonic and Kaden, blocking the younger hedgehog from Kaden's view. "The choice is no longer yours," he said softly, tone full of ice. "Leave or I will force you." Sein, too, stepped in front of Sonic, if only to shield him from anything that might occur if a fight broke out now.

"I seem to recall…" Kaden answered slowly, "that you have never been capable of forcing my hand."

"Your hand is forced. If you fight now, Sonic's life will be in danger. If you leave, you can fight all you want without the threat of your son dying," Sein murmured, hands clenching into tight fists.

My life? Sonic thought distantly. It was so unfathomable, so horrifying to him that his own father would even consider being the cause of his death…

There was a third option presented to him, Kaden knew. Try though they might to willfully ignore that fact, these two could do nothing to truly force Kaden to do what they wanted. He could just as easily remain where he was and kill them all, no matter what they tried to say or do about it. And yet… that was hardly the most ideal choice, was it? Still, as a matter of principle, he refused to do as he was told. He refused to be ordered around. He had always railed against authority and those who attempted to impose it upon him, and now was certainly no different. If they expected him to obey, then they were to be sorely disappointed.

Right as the fight broke out once more, Sein quickly grabbed Sonic and thrust the both of them through the treeline. The hawk had no intent of letting the hedgehog get wrapped up in this over his mistake. In less time than it took for them to move, Jet and Kaden were back at it again. The impacts of their swords rang out over the other sounds of battle elsewhere in the area, harsh metallic sounds that made Sonic flinch each and every single time… and not just because of the noise. They might kill each other… What if they do kill each other…? The idea of either one of these people, both of whom he cared about so much, murdering the other sent fierce chills of emotional agony down his spine. It barely even occurred to him that he had been moved again. His body sagged against the smoking husk of a tree's trunk until he sunk fully down to the ground, unable to stand as the full weight of what was happening fell upon him once again.

Sein stood back up, creating a barrier of aura around Sonic to protect him for the time being as he rushed to join the fight. His sword was drawn and he was instantly in the fray as the two met once more. He let aura flare out of his sword to shove Kaden away from the two hawks, the same energy building up around his body once more. Kaden landed hard on his feet and launched himself back at Jet, causing them to clash so violently that a small explosion was created. The older hawk quickly wracked his brain for ideas to stop this scenario before quickly deciding on something. He swung his sword back and then slammed the flat of the blade against his other gauntlet with a blast of aura extending outward, carrying and amplifying the harsh metallic clang throughout the battlefield.

The effect of his sensory attack was instantaneous. Jet and Kaden both hit their knees, wincing harshly as they dropped their weapons and covered their ears. Their autism-related sensory sensitivities (differing in severity though they were) earned nearly identical reactions from them both. It caused them to be crippled immediately, unable to move or respond beyond internally fighting not to be overloaded with stress and pain and just generally feeling as though it was a struggle to survive this moment… even though neither of their lives were actually endangered by what Sein had done. The older hawk's eyes teared up when he saw what happened to his child as a result, but he steeled himself and rushed over to Kaden. He quickly grabbed the hedgehog off the ground and spun before throwing the demon back towards his portal.

Though the sound hadn't completely died down yet, when Kaden caught himself on a tree some distance away, Jet forced himself to move. Snatching Alkarus off of the ground, he rushed toward the man. Pouring as much power as he could muster into his attack, he slammed into his opponent. The two of them crashed through the portal and into the citadel, busting through several walls and severely damaging the floor of the main room in the process. Kaden retaliated with a violent kick that sent Jet flying back into the aforementioned room, causing him to skid for a ways before a sideways impact with the side of Kaden's favorite seat forced the sliding to stop. Teleporting his sword into his hand from where it had been dropped near Sein's current position, Kaden began walking up to Jet for another attack.

Despite his own pain from the sound that Sein had unleashed, Sonic was on his feet before he could even think. Fear swirled, spiraling up from the very depths of his soul once he realized where his father and best friend had gone - and what they were likely still doing. He feared for them both, feared what they might do to one another if someone didn't intervene… and he feared for his brother. Shadow was still there, and he was unable to defend himself. Against a foe like Kaden… could Jet really be expected to fight for both himself and Shadow simultaneously? In theory, it could be done, but…

Fear, more than any other driving force, propelled Sonic forward as much as it tried to hold him back. Sonic tore off toward the portal, pursuing the pair before things could get any worse - and he knew, logically, that they would no matter what he did. Despite the whispering of that tiny voice of reason in his head, he didn't truly stop to think before leaping through the portal… doing his best to ignore the sinking feeling he got when it collapsed shut behind him. His attention was snagged by a far more pressing detail, anyway.

His brother wasn't where he was supposed to be.

He wasn't there at all, in fact, Sonic realized with sharp dismay, and he wasn't the only one who noticed. Jet, who was pushing himself off one of the armrests of the chair Sonic had seen Kaden in earlier, scanned the room and seemed to tense when he did spy Shadow anywhere - or sense him, either. Kaden noted the disappearance as well with a subtle frown… one that almost seemed confused. His gaze lingered on the spot where Shadow had been left sitting, but only for a moment. Almost all at once, he reinitiated the fight with fervor, attacking Jet and forcing the hawk to retreat outside where there was more room. This left Sonic inside, drowning alone with his thoughts and that all-encompassing, soul-crushing, breath-smothering fear.

Everything was going so wrong. Hyale and all the rest of the Highlands were on the brink of destruction, only the second such disaster that the Chameleon civilization had ever faced since migrating to Mobius. Many of its residents were dead or dying, many because of demons but… just as many by Kaden's own hand. The attack Sein had saved Sonic from had wounded Aku greatly, and the dragon was old enough that recovering from such injuries would be… a struggle at best. Cream, too, was in serious condition - so serious, in fact, that Sonic had been forced to carry her into the house and leave her with Vector because she hadn't been able to walk on her own due to blood loss and pain. Steam had nearly been killed earlier, and the wounds he sported even now were no laughing matter. Tails was still missing, with no one having seen hide nor hair of him since learning about the Tornado-Z's crash.

But there was more. There was no telling where Wave was or what sort of state Babylon was in… and he was sure that it was being attacked as well. Armaris was left heavily corrupted after her particular encounter with Kaden, and Espio was no better. In fact, his condition was arguably worse, given how deeply he was losing himself to his Darkness - Darkness that already had driven him to do worse things than Armaris had so far done... such as brutally attacking Steam. And, to top it all off, now Sonic was stuck here of all places while Jet was alone in battling against Sonic's own father, despite sporting a host of his own injuries and quite possibly being outmatched…

Foolish though it likely was, he couldn't help but wonder how much worse things possibly get.

~保護者~

5,795 words this time. I am so sorry that this took so long to upload, guys. Between the chaos before and during Christmas and my suddenly struggling with writer's block and lack of motivation, this just... was hard to write. I deeply apologize for that, but I hope you all enjoy the chapter regardless. And many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help. He was instrumental in getting this thing done. Posted (at about 1:50 p.m.) 12-31-19.