Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this building confrontation… especially for the ones who fight for so much more than themselves.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Well, it's not that he doesn't remember. It's just that he's corrupted, so he generally no longer cares, unfortunately. It's very sad. And yeah, everything is going very badly for the group... very badly, indeed. I do wonder, though, if that was the plan all along. *evil grin* Lol, anyway, Happy New Year and thank you for your well-wishes! I hope your new year is wonderful as well!

~保護者~

"Crimson Sun"

~保護者~

Nothing short of an explosion could succeed in tearing Sonic free of his thoughts. When one suddenly did just that, he about jumped out of his skin (and seemingly lost a little of his soul from fright, if he were to be perfectly honest with himself). Heart pounding with the lingerings effects of being startled - and from a healthy dose of trepidation and general fear - he clutched his sword and crept toward the hall that he, Cream, Armaris, and Steam had earlier used to walk into this place. That awful, horrible outside world was waiting… and right now, it contained his best friend. Maybe even his brother, too. That meant that somewhere out there, he was needed.

Or… perhaps… he would only be in the way. Who was he kidding, of course he would be. He couldn't even keep up with Shadow, and the guy didn't have any non-dormant powers to speak of! He certainly wasn't a God or a freaking Immortal. But Jet and Kaden did have powers, and incredible ones at that. They were not normal, average people with normal, average capabilities. People like them… were capable of utterly redefining such unimaginative limitations. More than likely, in fact, they already had. So who was Sonic to try to jump into this fight? Who was he to think himself capable of lending a hand? He would only get himself killed. But there was no silencing the little voice in his head that whispered, "This is what heroes do."

A hero.

Once, he had dared to call himself one. That had been too many years ago now for him to count, more than he could really wrap his mind around but, despite all the dust that had settled around it, that truth invariably remained true. He had indeed believed himself capable of being a hero in the past. Could he… should he try to look at himself in the same light in this day and age, despite how much everything - and everyone - had changed? ...No. No, he couldn't. He couldn't, because everything had changed. This wasn't a level playing field he was looking to jump into. He was so vastly under-powered that he was little more than a flea to the threats he and his friends now faced. He was… useless. Which, of course, begged the question of… What in the hell can I even do?

Trying his hardest to quiet his raucous thoughts and quell the internal storm they were conjuring up, Sonic jogged up to the exit, stopped, and peered outside. As he'd expected, he couldn't see too much of what was going on, mostly just the occasional flash of steel, blurry afterimage, bright explosion, and so on. It was difficult to make sense of who was doing what or when or even specifically where, try though he might to understand. In the end, though, he had to let it go and try to focus on other matters.

For one thing, it occurred to him he could search on his own for any signs of his brother. Because, duh. I'm a fucking moron. Pushing that little thought aside, he began scanning the ash, soot, and dirt covered ground for any signs of tracks blood, or the like. There certainly were footprints, he soon discovered, but… the only fresh ones appeared to be the ones he and his friends had made earlier and the ones Jet and Kaden had made while exiting the building. The rest were buried in enough material compared to these ones to have most likely been sitting there for a while. Which meant this was a bust. His search was over before it even started.

Another explosion, this one fiery and bright, drew Sonic's attention to the sky. Probably in about the time it took for him to lift his head there was another one, and then the ground trembled violently as Jet slammed into the ground, digging a deep gouge into it before coming to a stop at the base of a huge rock. Sonic was by his side in a flash, coughing and gagging on all the particles that had been launched upward as a result of the impact. Jet waved off his efforts to help him, however, and quickly sat up. Thankfully, he used his wind to clear the air as he did so, allowing Sonic's burning lungs and throat to relax some. He blinked some tears out of his eyes as he asked, "You okay?"

Jet was already on his feet again and picking up Alkarus. "Fine," he answered shortly. To Sonic, he seemed… distracted. Preoccupied, maybe?

"Where's-" Sonic didn't have the chance to finish asking that question before a familiar sense of dread and innate terror washed over him. Feeling a chill run down his spine, he turned to look over his shoulder just as Kaden walked back into view. As he had done earlier, he appeared to utterly ignore Sonic, focusing instead on the current sense of his ire. Namely, Jet. Only… after a few more steps, he suddenly stopped and looked… up? Confused, Sonic followed his gaze to the small, blood-red sun that hovered low in the dark, hazy skies overhead. What's he…?

Suddenly and inexplicably, Jet appeared to relax a little. Something in his tense posture loosened and he almost seemed… relieved, perhaps? Sonic's confusion only deepened, but he was given no time to ask before Jet spoke. "If you intend on staying out here," he muttered to Sonic in low tones, never removing his gaze from Kade, "I suggest shielding your eyes."

"Why?" Sonic asked with a frown, looking from Jet to the sun and back again. Jet didn't answer, allowing the question to answer itself instead. It did so in the form of that distant, crimson sun… which began to brighten all on its own. He watched in a mixture of amazement and bewilderment as it continued to grow brighter and brighter - until it occurred to him that, at the rate this was going, he would be blind in seconds if he continued to stare. Trusting Jet to keep him safe, he did as his friend had instructed and quickly shielded his eyes.

He obeyed not a moment too soon, it would seem. There was a flash of fiery light almost the instant his eyes were covered. Heat bathed them, even more heat than could already be found on this burning hell-hole. Because, yes, that was apparently possible. But then it was all gone again, replaced by the sound of someone landing in the dirt a few feet in front of him. So, ever-curious to an almost stupid degree, he lowered his arms and opened his eyes to see…? Well, that wasn't quite right. He could see more than just that, but right in front of him he could see red. Red hair, to be precise. And fur. And when the owners of that hair and fur turned, there was… violet. Those eyes…!

Too stunned to speak (or even to think, for once in his life), Sonic stared on as the man before him ran an assessing eye over him from head to toe before letting out a small breath that was almost akin to a sigh. Then he actually spoke, further deepening Sonic's shock. "You're okay… good. That's definitely good."

With a much harsher landing than the God of the Sun, Sona slammed into the ground merely a few feet away and glanced to Sonic. "Eh? The hell are you doing here?"

"Leaving," Jet cut in pointedly, tossing a sharp look at the hedgehog as he spoke. "Now."

Though he recognized the logic behind this command, Sonic remained rooted to the spot, too stunned to move. It took another second or two, but he finally managed to choke out, "Locke?"

The man offered him a smile. A tired, sad smile… but one filled with all the love and care Sonic had once always seen so deeply in him, only further proving to Sonic that this really was him. "Yeah, kid," he answered softly. The sound of that old nickname only made Sonic stiffen further. "It's me. I'm… sorry that we had to meet again like this, however." With that said, he turned away, meeting Kaden's hateful gaze with his own, steady one. He was calm, unruffled, determined - at least on the surface. "Jet's right, though. You really should get out of here."

Sona shifted her gaze to Locke. "I'll make sure he gets out safely. Or, I'll try. I doubt that we'll move along without interference."

To answer this, Jet muttered, "Demons are already coming. They will interfere." Narrowing his eyes slightly, he tried to think. How close would Kaden actually let the demons come?

Locke nodded grimly. But, unlike Jet and Sona, he addressed Kaden directly. "You planning on letting the kid go?" he called out, tension making his voice harder and, in a way, harsher.

Finally, finally Kaden acknowledged Sonic's existence again. He did so with a short yet oddly lingering glance full of loathing, then resumed glaring at Locke. "No," he growled.

Sona growled faintly, her multi-colored flames flaring to life around her shoulders. "And why not?"

To Jet, the answer was clear. He intends on killing us all… but does he really think himself capable of killing him?

The demons roared ever closer. Locke took note of their presence with a frown and pursed lips. "Well ain't that just perfect," he sighed under his breath, his frustration prompting the use of a speech pattern that wasn't his normal… somewhat lax and yet still refined one. Then, glancing back at Sonic, he said, "Kid, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but you have to go. I don't believe for a second that your old man will ever let these things kill you, but… I refuse to let you take that risk." Turning to Sona, he added, "Try to keep the demons off of him. As many as you can."

"Fine, got it. You keep up over here and I'll get back when I can. Keep the small-fry off you as well." With that much said, she seemed to tune everything else out as her fire spread over her body.

As she spoke, demons began charging into view. Jet let out a sharp, "Tch!" and gave Sonic a shove in the opposite direction. "Run, you idiot!" he snapped.

Wise words spoken from Locke's mouth many a year ago, back when Sonic had been a mere ten years old in his years, slammed into him like a sledgehammer. "When in doubt, just run. Speed is your greatest asset. Make sure you use it." So, with nothing left in this world that he could do, Sonic turned… and he ran.

Growling again, Kaden issued a mental command to a group of specific demons, sending them after the boy without any of his earlier hesitation. In his railing against that fucking spark of Light she had planted within him, he had escalated. Jet could see it with ease. It concerned him immensely. How much further would he go? He was apparently willing to let his demons pursue Sonic, maybe even attack him… Would he manage to go so far as to kill Sonic?

Soon, the younger hedgehog was out of sight. Kaden took the opportunity to attack, lashing out with a fiery whip he had summoned into his hand faster than one could blink. Jet was struck while Locke and Sona managed to dodge. The hit caused him to spin around as he clutched at the freshly cauterized injury spanning across the length of his abdomen. A slight curse under his breath was the only recognition of the wound that he allowed himself. After that point, he began tuning it out as he so often did. It was likely that he would have succeeded, too… had a fresh pain not made itself known. This was no random pain, either. It was a familiar, stabbing migraine, a deep and soul-crushing ache he was all-too well acquainted with. And, as he had so long come to expect, the whispers soon followed.

"Pain demands to be felt, little Immortal… The fact that you feel it, that it hinders you and threatens you with death… only proves that you are not yet strong enough."

Now was so not the time for this shit. He should have ignored the voice, honestly. Replying had never, ever felt like a good idea. In fact, he normally made a concerted effort not to. But just now… he struck with a sudden need to lash out at something, anything in order to release some of his stress. "Shut up!"

In the two seconds or so that it took for Jet to recover from the attack and turn back around, Kaden was already snapping the whip out at him again. Locke gritted his teeth and jumped in the way, shielding his face and taking the hit on his arms. He hissed softly in pain but otherwise didn't react, choosing instead to lunge forward and throw a hard punch in Kaden's direction. Kaden retaliated with several rapid swings of his sword, strikes that Locke was only able to block by virtue of speed and having spikes on his fists. He knocked Kaden back, creating an opening for Jet to rush in and attack - an opportunity which the hawk took.

Locke turned around to find Sona, spotted her, then shouted over the roar of the tides of demons flooding into the area, "Get going!" She had to go. Sonic's life depended on their ability to keep Kaden here - and her ability to aid Sonic in his escape. It was highly possible that she would then be needed back on Mobius as well, if what Locke had heard was true. If the planet was being attacked, then they would need every last ounce of help they could get. True, the Mobians were hardy and resourceful folk, but Locke still refused to leave them to fend for themselves. They haven't been defeated by anything in over four hundred years, but the guarantee that they won't fall today just… doesn't exist.

Sona was gone instantly, her scimitar released from its sheath and tearing open a path as she rushed along. Any demons not torn into by her sword (and those who had been) were engulfed in her ever-spreading flames. She wasted no time in tearing down each and every one of them, instead raising a hand and calling to life a starry visage of a bear that mauled demons behind her. With some effort, she managed to get Sonic in her sights and teleported behind him with a quick shout of, "Keep going!"

Though a few somewhat snarky replies filtered through Sonic's mind, he thought it best not to voice them. Focusing on running was a far better option. Some of the strongest demons Sonic had ever sensed were after his ass, and they were gaining on him. Need to speed up…! How long had it been since he's broken the sound barrier? He had no idea, but in spite of the current threat to his life, that all-too-familiar boom was deeply satisfying on almost a primal level. The demons that had been after him kept pace, but were no longer able to catch up. They could keep up without getting any closer. That was far better than before. Only, now he had a new problem. Where the hell does anyone expect me to go?!

Many of the demons trailing Sonic were soon intercepted by an intense inferno, Sona holding nothing back as she razed anything and everything in front of her. This could never hope to kill any of them, but there was enough force behind the attacks to push most of them back. Her teeth gritted as a few easily slipped past her and kept after the hedgehog. She quickly resorted to creating more starry beasts that fought for her. There was nothing more than a few more bears at first, but soon a lion appeared amongst them. Sona silently appreciated the fact that, despite the thick smoke and ash that smothered the sky, she was capable of making the stars shine through for abilities such as this. Sonic glanced back just in time to see her do all of this, then returned his attention ahead of him in order to watch where he was going…

Only to for his senses to flood all at once with Jet's power and a bright light. Before he even knew what was happening, he fell through the ground, through the air, and then back onto the ground again. Grass tickled his skin as he groaned and shifted to sit up, looking into the sky as he did so. The portal that had whisked him away to safety close before the demons or Sona could catch up at all, leaving him alone once again… and leaving her, Jet, and Locke fight Kaden on their own. In this moment, his own personal safety did nothing to lessen his dread. If anything…

He was more afraid now than ever before.

~保護者~

2,915 words this time. Sorry this one's a bit shorter, but it's meant to be. Still greatly important, however! Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all his help. Posted (at about 6:00 p.m.) 01-05-20.