Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of planning and recovery… especially for the tiny one.
~保護者~
Hello, MelGamingPlays! As in, the song fro Boruto? XD Yeah, Shadow has really been put through the wringer, and Kaden's not gonna be happy about it... but it wasn't actually Astra's doing at all. It was someone else entirely... ;) Analia is most certainly missing. People can sense her, yet no one seems to know where she is. It's quite troubling, isn't it? But who can really say, perhaps someone knows more than they're telling... Anyway, thank you as always for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
~保護者~
"Ends and Beginnings"
~保護者~
The fires on New Babylon had long since been put out by the time Sein, Alana, and Steam arrived on the palace grounds. Though many parts of the planet were in dire condition, the palace itself included, it had fared far better than Mobius had. For one thing, most of their cities were still standing, and most of the citizens had survived. Many worked the grounds, doing their best to clean up in the aftermath of the great disaster. Kath, however, was no longer out here among them. As Alana had suspected would be the case, he seemed to have disappeared inside what remained of the building.
Sein quietly took in all of the destruction as he walked, crossing his arms in a bout of dismay. Could've lost this place… He quietly shook the thought away, glancing back to Steam. "I got a question, again."
Steam raised an eyebrow, his eyes trained forward. "Yeah?"
"Did… Kath actually die in your timeline?"
The hedgehog blinked once. "Yeah, during the Nocturnian War. Killed by a man named Kethro." Recognizing the name due to the sheer infamy of Nocturnian race and their leaders, Alana's eyes subtly widened. But, had they not been sealed away in a special orb millions of years ago?
"Wh-..." Sein was shaken up for a moment. "Wait- Nocturnian War?"
It took Steam a moment to figure out the cause of confusion before piecing the information together. "You're asking if he died during the attack on Babylon, right?"
At that point, Alana cut in. "We, all of us, believed that the scant few people who escaped with ourselves and my mother were the only survivors," she revealed as they stepped inside. "Certainly not enough to repopulate a world of this size."
"You're right. He and the people who followed him had the same belief about you guys, Laralei, and everyone who escaped with you three. And Kath, he didn't die. Not for a long time," Steam explained, frowning faintly. "It was… jarring when it did happen, though."
Sein glanced away after that explanation. "So… he essentially led the people of Babylon to a point where the population was sustainable, after all of that…"
A nod served as the initial response. "Yeah. And he did pretty good, all things considered. Eventually even wound up meeting Jet, and the two ended up becoming really close."
Jet does seem very well familiar with him… but not the same version of him, Alana reflected, beginning to ascend the stairs. Still, she found herself wondering, Will they grow close again regardless?
Steam was quiet for a moment, before letting his attention rest on the two hawks. "I've always kinda wondered. What was Babylon like during your times?"
Alana nearly sighed, but refrained. "It was… quiet," she murmured, "and peaceful, when the Therians were not on our doorstep. Our world was prosperous, our society evolving, our people's capabilities growing almost endlessly… I suppose, to me, it felt rather like… a paradise."
A small chuckle escaped Sein. "The entire world, per my opinion, was honestly an adventure all its own. Outside of the society evolving, the various areas marked off on maps that I explored were absolutely beautiful. Snow-capped mountains, canyons, oceans, floating islands… God, the place was amazing. If you wanted an adventure, all you had to do was go look for it."
The hedgehog gave a slow nod to this, smiling. "Sorry to bring that up. I just… never got around to asking due to some personal issues." Sein cast a mildly concerned gaze back to Steam, as if asking if the hedgehog wanted to talk about something. No verbal or physical response came.
"It is alright," Alana murmured. True to form, she didn't say anything else, focused instead on where she was stepping. There was more than a small amount of debris and ash to walk through, after all.
Sein shifted the subject after the trio went quiet. "So, Steam. You seem fairly well acquainted with everyone else, but nobody really seems to understand who you are. You met me and Alana in your timeline, right?"
Steam raised an eyebrow, but gave a nod. "Yeah. I did."
"So, I wanted to know more about…" Sein glanced away, unsure of how to approach this. "How to talk to and act around Jet…" At the mention of their child, Alana immediately resumed paying closer attention to the conversation.
The hedgehog gave a faint smile. "Firstly, I'd recommend you talk to Nier, the God of Runes. Jet and Nier are very close to one another, and the two get along well. He's gonna be one of your best chances in understanding how Jet is currently. Second, definitely Wave, Tails, Cream, and Sonic. Those four have known him for a long, long time. Wave and Sonic were considered best friends, Tails was his student for some time, and Cream was like his baby sister. They could tell you some of the finer details of his personality, small quirks, and some of the disorders and trauma he's endured." Steam managed a small chuckle. "Hell, Wave and Jet even dated at on-"
Sein cut in with a gasp, turning immediately and walking backward to face Steam. "They did?" Alana turned her head to look at them in mute surprise. Though, none of her surprise was directed toward Sein's display of sappiness. That much, she was well used to.
Steam snickered at this, nodding. "Yeah. They did."
There was a faintly giddy sound that escaped the male hawk, the man absolutely overjoyed to hear that as his arms splayed out to display his excitement. "Amazing. Absolutely amazing." Steam didn't make much of a response, a bit too busy trying not to laugh at this. He simply found it… amusing.
Though she was now sporting a small smile, Alana wasted no time in ushering them along. "Come, you lot. I believe I sense Father on this floor." Sein suddenly refocused on their current endeavor, jogging along. Steam smiled at the enthusiasm of the male hawk, choosing to follow behind him.
Alana led the way down the hall toward a fairly large room where it was clear that groups of people were being organized and sent off to work on various projects and the like in a coordinated effort to send relief to the people of the many devastated cities worldwide. As Alana had suspected, Kath and the young queen Saraya were both in there dealing with all of these people. Though, mostly, Saraya was being left alone to do her job as she saw fit, with Kath only ever stepping in when it was clear she wanted or needed some assistance. As such, when Alana caught his eye and beckoned him out into the hall with them, he approached without hesitation and followed quietly along while she led them into a separate and more private room. She shut the door behind them, then seated herself on the cleanest chair available. Kath waited silently by the door with crossed arms, waiting for someone to speak.
A glance between Sein and Steam allowed them both to agree on who would speak first. The male hawk approached Kath, an expression of mixed emotions on his face. "So… it's… really you, yeah?"
Kath raised a single eyebrow just slightly, but seemed to decide to indulge his son-in-law for once instead of being sarcastic or simply not responding. "Yes," he answered. His voice was a touch quieter at the moment than it normally was. The scale of this catastrophe had even him in a somber mood.
It was clear that Sein wanted to hug Kath, but refrained from doing so. Instead, he gave a gentle smile. "It's great to see you again. I… I'm really happy to." In lieu of a verbal response, one most would have known better than to expect from him in this sort of situation, Kath inclined his head in mutual acknowledgement of the sentiment Sein had shared. Sein glanced back to Alana, as if worried about asking his main question. She met his gaze evenly, not making any effort to dissuade him whatsoever. Kath looked on in silence, knowing full well that they were communicating but being uncertain so far as to what they were communicating about. Sein took a long, deep breath before turning back to Kath. "I… wanted to ask about your past. More specifically… the things to do with drugs…?" he pulled back a bit, as if worried that this was simply like prodding at a lion.
Briefly taken aback, Kath sort of just stared at him. He recovered after a few seconds, however, and found himself asking stupidly, "What?"
"I mean… kinda just… what I asked." Sein looked everywhere but at Kath, unsure of what to do. Alana help me, please.
Not giving Alana a chance to jump in and help save his ass (not that she appeared terribly inclined to do so), Kath frowned and responded, "Why bring up this?" His tone had taken on a slight icy edge, a note of cold irritability that had earned him quite the lasting reputation amongst their people.
Sein gulped. Shit. "You never told me about it. Obviously you hid it... " The hawk then decided to turn a completely different path, grabbing Steam and pulling the surprised hedgehog forward. "It's relevant to something he needs to talk to you about, but I want to know because it's you."
Kath's jaw tightened briefly as he ground his teeth together, mulling all of this over before finally answering Sein. His words were still tense, but he seemed to be biting back the iciness for the moment. "It was not mentioned," he muttered, "because it was meant to be left in the past. The mistakes I made in my youth never had any place in the present day."
The blue hawk fell quiet. "Right, right… Sorry." He took a few steps back, prepared to just leave this where it was.
"Father," Alana gently interrupted, drawing their attention over to herself, "we will not ask further details than are required, but when you were lost in that lifestyle… did you ever encounter a substance known as 'Zero'?"
A faint flash of recognition showed in his eyes just before Kath looked away. Eventually, he relented with a nod. "Yes," he admitted. "A friend of mine was… fond of it. But it is a lethal drug to most. The people who crafted it are… vastly more resistant toward its effects than our kind."
Steam cut in, knowing that Sein wasn't likely to talk much further. "Well, the brother of one of Jet's friends was kidnapped at some point during the most recent battle. Whoever took him injected him with that drug. The reason I wanted to ask you about it is for advice on what to do, what medicines to use to help, if any, or anything you might be able to offer us while he's recovering."
There was another brief moment of silence before Kath let out a sharp breath of frustration over the situation. "The drug originates from one of the da Asani's lunar territories. Their medicine is best suited to dealing with their drug." He glanced over at Steam. "Acquiring any will be a chore. However… a few of our medicines will be sufficient enough if his condition is not too severe."
"I would appreciate that help, since… I assume people wouldn't want me traveling there."
"No," Kath answered shortly. Then, pushing off the wall he'd been leaning against, he opened the door and started walking out. "Come." Shooting a look at Sein, Alana got up to follow. Sein walked out after them, but then began walking the other way. He felt bad for bringing up what he had, but there was the matter of some friends of his that he also wanted to check on. Steam was quick to walk along with Alana and Kath, glancing back to watch Sein blur away.
Kath led the way to the room where all the surviving medical equipment and supplies were currently being stored on this floor, sparing them no explanations before disappearing into the depths of the room in search of the medicines he sought. A few moments later, he returned with a couple small bottles of pills and tossed them to Steam. "The original medicines are likely no longer produced in this era, but these are similar enough. They will suffice, provided he is given them regularly."
Steam deftly caught the bottles, glancing over them before giving a thankful nod. "We got someone who can manage that, and plenty of others who can help."
Alana glanced at the provided medicine and asked, "How often should these be given?"
"Whenever severe symptoms begin to present themselves," was the curt reply, "or else every few hours."
"Any idea how long it'll take for them to take effect?" Steam decided to ask. Kath merely shrugged, which Alana had somewhat expected. These weren't the precise medications he was familiar with, after all. There was a moment of silence from the hedgehog before he spoke up once more with a new question. "Is there anyone who might be able to actually get the original medicine?"
"If anyone still produces it, in theory any doctor with enough skill will be able to provide them," Kath responded. "But that is if it still exists. It may well be considered obsolete these days."
Steam fell quiet again as he thought it over. Best chance is… probably someone like Jet, or someone who has been around for a hell of a long time. "Hey, Kath. Mind if I ask something about Sein?"
Huffing a little, Kath re-crossed his arms. Though, tellingly, he did so in a loose manner that didn't indicate any current irritation. "Be quick about it. There is work to be done."
"Well, I wanted to ask more about his temperament. I know he's a fierce protector, and he's one hell of a warrior, but do you know where his temper sparked from?"
It was Alana who answered. "Part of it stems from his past," she said. "He was orphaned or otherwise abandoned as a baby during a war, and he was discovered by my family. As a teenager, he came to understand these facts more than he had in his younger years, and it weighed heavily on him."
Steam nodded slowly, glancing back in the direction they'd come from. "Makes enough sense, honestly. Something like that could weigh on most people." She merely nodded.
"It has," Alana confirmed simply. Then, addressing her father, she said, "I will not ask you to hunt down the proper medicine for us, nor anything else that may in the future be required. I know you have no desire to be around any of it anymore. If ever something comes up again, I may consult you for help but will seek out the items myself." He glanced at her and nodded to signal that he heard and understood. She turned her attention back to Steam. "It would be best for us to go. Father and Lady Saraya have things well in hand here, and people are waiting for us to return."
The hedgehog gave a slow nod before turning to Kath and giving another thankful nod. "Thank you for all of your help."
His earlier icy demeanor finally melting away, Kath allowed his tense shoulders to relax some and nodded. "Contact me immediately if anything goes wrong with your ally." Giving no time for Steam to respond, he turned and walked out of the room.
Alana watched him go, expression thoughtful, then said, "Perhaps it would be best to send you back alone for the moment. I worry what trouble my husband may get himself into if he is left entirely alone."
Steam sighed and shrugged, running a hand over his head and hair. "Yeah… you're right."
"Does this bother you?" she inquired, looking at the hedgehog.
"No… just… a lot of things. A lot more than I can say I'm personally used to. That's all," he explained, clutching the bottles tightly. "It'll be fine."
"You refer to things that are different from events of your own timeline, yes?"
There was a moment of hesitation before he gave a shrug. "That too."
Her head canted. "There is something else?"
"Plenty, yeah." His answer was vague, and he didn't seem all too keen to get into it now. Despite attempting to keep his composure, he was noticeably tapping his foot rapidly yet quietly.
The female hawk regarded him closely for a moment before deciding not to press the issue. "Alright, then. Whatever it is, be sure not to bottle it up for too long." With that said, she immediately switched the subject. "If there is something else you must do here, feel free to do so now. Otherwise, I will assist you in your return if you so require."
"I… I think I'll head back on my own, actually." Steam began walking, throwing a wave back to her. "Thanks for the help, Alana."
"Of course," was the quiet reply. She gave him a small wave of farewell before walking out of the room and disappearing down the hall.
Steam landed back in Espio's home quietly, his eyes closed for a few seconds as he took a breath. "Back with some medicine that can help…"
With Sonic and Rose outside, only Cream, Vector, and Tails were present to greet Steam. Tails stood up, surprise evident on his face. "Really? You found medicine?" he asked, hurrying over.
The hedgehog managed a small nod. "It's not perfect for the situation, but Kath said it should be able to help. If he said that, I'd be willing to trust it."
Kath did? Tails considered that before nodding firmly. "You're right. If he says it'll help, then it will. I believe it." Reaching out, he took the two bottles from Steam and looked them over. "What did he say about administering this?" Steam reiterated what Kath had told him and Tails nodded again. "Right. Got it."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Cream piped up. "You look prepared to leave again, Mister Steam," she observed. "Where are you going?"
"Planning to go speak with the gods and goddesses about various things. Got some ideas and plans I wanted to present, and something to ask a few of them about," Steam answered, leaning himself up against a wall.
"Gods and goddesses, huh?" Vector mumbled. "So those are really a thing? Always thought they were just… made up mumbo-jumbo."
Tails tossed him an apologetic look. "There's… erm, a lot we haven't been able to catch you up on just yet. I'll explain as much as I can in a few minutes here, okay?"
The croc shrugged. "Okay. Not like we gotta be anywhere today, anyway. Don't rush it."
Cream watched the two for a moment, listening to their conversation, then returned her attention to Steam. "When will you go?"
"Probably in a few minutes. Got something I should try to do before leaving," Steam answered with a faint shrug. "Why?"
She almost hesitated, as though she didn't want to somehow bother him. After a few seconds, however, she sighed and relented. "I have been meaning to talk with you for days now about a few things, but it can wait until your return." Her gaze briefly met his. "That is, assuming you are willing to put up with being asked questions about upsetting matters once again. I will not ask you to do so if you do not want to."
Steam's eyes grew distant for a moment before he seemed to shake himself back to reality. "That's fine, Cream. I'll answer what I can when we talk."
Somehow, she managed a little smile that was only barely forced. "Thank you," she murmured, inclining her head.
The hedgehog returned this with his own small smile before teleporting away. I'll go… when I'm alright.
~保護者~
Novei stood over Li and quietly observed as he bandaged his wounds, the closest thing to concern she could manage to show on her face. "Are you sure you will be alright?"
The wolf winced as he wrapped a bandage around his arm. "Yeah… Just banged up. I've experienced far worse than this."
"If you say so," the Therian said softly, crossing her arms and continuing to watch him. "You still manage to impress with your mastery of blades."
Li chuckled softly. "I never got around to explaining it, I guess. I'm not meant to be as combative as say, Sona or Cere, but I was given some offensive abilities." The wolf sat up more properly and rolled his shoulders. "As God of the Forge, I'm actually able to choose to have mastery over a few weapons at a time. So… when a situation calls for it, I can choose to know exactly how to wield it and use it properly."
"So you are a filthy cheater?"
A snort served as the only response, followed by some laughter from Li. "I suppose you can put it that way. I guess that the Faein felt bad that we couldn't fully defend ourselves otherwise." The wolf smiled and winked, making sure that Novei knew he was only kidding.
"Practically disgusting."
"You swing a big sword around with as much strength as you can and just crush enemies before they can even be cut apart."
"Is that such a problem?"
"No, no. You're just calling my ability disgusting and cheating."
"It is."
Li rolled his eyes softly, glancing over her body. "You realize that, well… you're pretty banged up too, right?"
"Yes. Your point?" Novei asked, raising an eyebrow.
The wolf sighed. "Sit down. I'll tend to your wounds since you won't."
Knowing better than to argue with the wolf on this matter, she conceded and sat down beside him, allowing the god to carefully clean and bandage her wounds. Before she had a chance to speak again, Sona strode into the room. The Therian noted how terrible she seemed to look and feel and decided to comment. "You look like shit."
The cat hissed weakly and threw herself against a wall, groaning. "Fucking awful."
Li coughed to grab their attention before a fight could spark between the two of them, glancing to Sona. "You should take some time to take care of your own injuries."
The goddess waved that off, laying herself in the floor and curling up for the time being. "I wanna take a fucking nap."
"Then do so," Novei idly remarked, blinking.
"Shut the fuck up."
The wolf coughed again, huffing. "I can't have you guys in the same room if you keep doing this."
"What?" Novei asked, unsure as to what he meant.
"He means we just go back and forth."
"Come here, Sona. I'll take care of your wounds," Li said, sighing. "Just get up."
"Make me."
Novei seemed to take this as a challenge and stood suddenly, walking to the cat and picking her up by the scruff of her neck. Sona seized up and managed a hateful snarl at the Therian as she was carried to Li, the man deciding it wiser to step out of the way the moment Sona was set down. The two women were going at it by the time he had moved, causing the wolf to sigh and facepalm.
The only thing that managed to make them stop was Sein wandering into the room. The three already there immediately took note of how low his mood was, Li quickly walking forward to check on him. "What's up, Sein?"
The hawk glanced up with a somewhat pained expression, forcing a small smile. "Eh, not much. I wanted to check on my friend. Make sure he was alright." Sein set a hand on Li's shoulder.
Novei walked over and grabbed Sein's hand with a tight grip. "You're lying."
Li glared at her for the unnecessarily obvious statement, then turned his attention back to Sein as the man's composure fell apart. "I upset Kath… brought up something from his past that he didn't want to talk about."
Sona watched from the background for the moment, concerned but not willing to be involved. Li was better at this, and she would prefer for him to handle this. The wolf carefully wrapped an arm around Sein's shoulders and pulled him into a gentle hug. "I'll be honest with you, man. Knowing Kath… I don't think he's really gonna be mad at you. There is such a thing as being upset and not being mad at the person, you know?"
"Yeah, but… you didn't see… I can't even tell you what it was about."
"Then don't. Just sit down with us, okay?"
Sein hesitated before giving a nod and following Li over to the somehow mostly intact couch of a sitting room. The hawk managed to idly remark how this room had been somewhat lucky to have not had a full wall simply blown out of it, our worse. Unlike the rest of the palace...
At right about that moment, Alana walked into the room. Spying her husband on the couch, she crossed the room to sit beside him. "You are still upset?" she questioned, frowning slightly.
He didn't want to get into it, but he knew better than to listen to that part of himself. "...Yeah. I am…"
She sighed. "Why? Father is not angry with you." As she spoke, she belatedly greeted Li and the others with a glance and a nod. They all returned it to some degree.
"It's just…" Sein hesitated. "I don't remember many times I've ever seen him that upset. And this time, I caused it."
Another sigh, this one deeper than before. "It upset him… yes," she agreed slowly. "But that is not your fault. He is upset at what he views as his own stupidity and mistakes, as well as the… darker path he was walking in his life at the time. He does not like to recall it, but you bringing it up does not mean he is at all prepared to direct his anger and disgust at you."
"And the other thing is that you of all people know that Kath isn't very likely to stay mad at you even if he was," Li explained.
Sein idly leaned against Alana. "Yeah… you guys are right…"
"And Sein," Alana added quietly, "if you give him time to simmer down, you will be able to have a proper conversation with him again sometime soon. He is not going to hold this small incident against you, especially not when he saw for himself how upset you were."
The male hawk's eyes drifted away and he gave an idle nod. "I guess so…" With his mood not lifting, Alana silently implored Li to step in and lend a hand if he could. Her strengths did not often lie in the area of comfort and support, much like her parents… but she knew their friends were often far better skilled than she was.
Li gave a faint nod and shook Sein's arm. "Hey. I know now isn't really the best of times to bring it up, but remember how I made you that pair of gauntlets all that time ago?"
Sein raised an eyebrow, but gave a little nod. "Yeah. You gave me one of them when I was revived."
It took a few moments, but Li teleported another gauntlet into his hand and held it out, the piece of armor similar but not quite the same as the other. "Well, I made some others some time ago, and… before my forge was destroyed, I was able to put some away. This one should be able to contain aura as well."
The hawk gave a small nod and accepted the gift by putting it on his left hand. "Thanks, Li," he murmured with a faint smile.
"Why don't we go and test it out for a few minutes? Make sure that thing is combat ready?"
This proposition managed to elicit a slightly stronger smile. "Sure. I'd love that."
Li gave a gentle smile to Alana as he stood up, followed by Sein. "We'll be back shortly, unless you wanna join us."
Alana also stood. "I cannot," she murmured. "I must check on Jet again. I do not enjoy being away while he is recovering."
Sein almost was swayed to join her, but Novei grabbed his arm tightly. "You made an agreement. Finish that before you head back." Her words seemed to be enough to convince him to stay here.
"I'll come back when we're done, alright?" Sein gave a small smile to Alana.
She nodded vaguely. "Of course. If he wakes before then, I will inform him that you will not be too long."
Sein gave a nod and followed behind Li as the wolf left the room. Alana, meanwhile, left to say farewell to her father before returning to Mobius. It just felt so wrong to leave without saying goodbye…
~保護者~
It was with a heavy heart that Locke returned to his home within the ancient Temple of the Sun. Since the dawn of the existence of semi-Immortals, this place had been a sanctuary, one passed down from one commander of the sun's might to the next on and on throughout history. He had hoped to keep this place safe… to be able to raise his adopted daughters within it for longer than this… to be able to keep evil far, far away from the place that held so many good and happy memories for him. But that was no longer possible. Not with the threats (no, promises) Kaden had made toward him, his home, and his family. Those words were not to be taken lightly.
Now, looking at the floating structure, Locke just felt tired.
All of this fighting, and for what? Nothing had been accomplished. At least… not compared to what had been lost. So, so many innocent lives had been cruelly snuffed out. As a God, he was sworn into a service more important than most knew. It was his job to help those like himself - and all those above them - maintain order, uphold the critical pillars of existence (such as, for one thing, the critical balance between all of existence's key energies), fight off evil and protect those who were good… He had done his job as well as he had been capable of recently, yet it didn't feel like enough. He and all of his allies had been beaten down worse than they ever had before while Kaden had escaped with hardly a scratch.
The loss of so many demons hadn't even seemed to concern him in the slightest. And the way he'd smirked when a horrible trembling had started to break massive segments of his planet apart… There was something under the surface. Something that's very awake and very, very malevolent. The idea that whatever that thing was might well be unleashed upon the lot of them sooner rather than later was alarming, to say the least. It played a role in why Locke was returning here now, intent on collecting what was important inside and then immediately leaving. It felt too much like running, something he internally railed against, but there was no other choice.
Stepping inside, Locke set about collecting several things. There were various ancient artifacts that had to be transported to a more secure location and multiple Sun weapons and, of course, the girls. With the items and weapons sent away, he walked quietly into their shared room to rouse them. It was time to leave. They couldn't remain here. Not with his old friend so intent on killing them all. So, collecting his half-asleep children into his strong arms, he turned and began walking away.
~保護者~
Things were pretty quiet inside, Tails reflected, with Sonic and Rose outside, Armaris and her mentor gone as well as Sein and Alana, Steam having left elsewhere, Wave still in the back room with Jet, and Shadow still… unconscious? Maybe he was asleep. Tails wasn't sure. With a drug as powerful as Zero, withdrawals often set in almost immediately (if not just about instantly). One of the symptoms Shadow often suffered was a sense of extreme fatigue and exhaustion. In the past, it sometimes got so bad that he had to be forcibly awakened to eat and drink and get a bit of exercise. Might have to do that again, if he really is sleeping… He looked over at the hedgehog in silent worry. I'll give it a little longer before trying to wake him up, since he was put through a lot. His body needs the rest.
While contemplating this, another thought occurred to him and he very quickly turned around on the floor to face Cream and Vector. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you guys something huge!" he exclaimed quietly, eyes wide. "I had a chance to mention it to Sonic already, but I forgot to say anything to you two."
Blinking twice, Cream asked, "What is it?"
Tails started to answer, caught himself, then shifted his attention to Vector. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were informed about all the crazy B.S. with the magic needles and whatnot, yeah?"
"Yeah," the croc confirmed with a nod. "She and Sonic told me just before all the fighting broke out, actually."
"Good. No explanation required, then. Anyway," unable to help it, Tails smiled a little, "I actually have some good news regarding that. During my scans on Shadow earlier when Steam and I were assessing his condition, I found that the effects of the magic on the chip in his brain is no longer there. The chip is functioning normally again, meaning that his motor skills aren't going to be all screwed up anymore."
His friends' eyes went wide. "Truly?" Cream asked, astounded. "But how is this possible?"
"My best guess is that these effects were only temporary," Tails answered. "And not just for him, but for everybody who was attacked. It makes sense to me. I mean, what kind of magic would ever be able to block a person's access to a crucial existential energy, you know? ...Referring to Sonic's Light, of course." He paused, considering, and his smile faded. "Of course, they did still last long enough to have a massively negative impact on the result of the fight with Kaden and the demons, regardless."
"Even so… this is most definitely a good thing. It means that our friends will no longer be harmed by these things." Cream offered a smile of her own, albeit a smaller one than was normal for her. As she spoke, Tails spied Armaris out of the corner of his eye when she slipped back into the house.
"Yeah, that's nothin' to sniff at," Vector agreed, crossing his arms with a firm nod. "It woulda been better if that crap wore off faster, but it's still good that it happened, either way."
His mood a bit lightened by their responses, Tails's lips quirked upward in another smile and he returned his attention to his communicator screen. He had so much data from around the world to monitor…
~保護者~
Shortly after Tails's return with Shadow, Sonic and Rose had stepped outside for a bit of privacy. And, honestly… Sonic also needed the space. Tails had informed him about what had happened to his brother, but he knew no good would come from succumbing to anxiety once more. In in an effort to stave off that emotion, he was focusing as much as possible on his conversation with Rose. "...What all did Locke tell you when he asked you to come here?"
"I was told of your plight. You wish to revive friends of yours, but you need a large amount of Light to do so, speaking frankly. As such, someone like me who could provide sufficient quantities of Light was needed." She smiled softly. "Is there more I need to know?"
"Saying we need a 'large' amount might be the understatement of the century," Sonic sighed. "In my experience, reviving just one person requires enough Light to leave me totally drained as far as energies and powers go for days on end afterward. And we're looking to revive more than just a couple of people."
Rose nodded in a slow manner, taking this in. "I see. That is certainly reason enough for Locke to have asked me for this."
Sonic nodded a little. "Yeah. He seemed pretty convinced that we could do it, so he went to go get you." He paused, almost hesitated, then dropped his gaze and asked asked, "He said he'd be back soon, but he didn't come here with you. Does he… disappear like this often?" It felt like a random and silly question, but he just had a sort of gut feeling, and he'd been chastised for not trusting his instincts enough anymore… so here he was. Trusting his instincts. ...Sort of. Maybe I'm just worrying about him too much. Maybe I'm just fucking paranoid after all this shit.
"He does disappear often, as far as I am aware. Like many of the other gods and goddesses, he finds himself very busy with many matters," Rose answered, sighing softly. "It is something I am not fond of, but something I understand."
Thinking it best not to dig too deeply into that topic at the moment, Sonic steered the conversation elsewhere. "So… how do we even do this?" he asked after a second or two of somewhat awkward silence. "I know how to gather my own Light to do this, but how are we supposed to use our Light together to revive someone? I've never had help before."
"The simplest way I know to explain such a thing is as a transfer of Light. My Light traveling to you, a place where you are able to use it for the revival process."
Another slow nod, then Sonic started again with a new question. "As for who should be revived first… obviously I don't expect you to have too much opinion, but I'd still like help anyway. Our options are essentially another being of Light, various fighters, and a fighter who also doubles as a healer." He looked up from the ground to meet her gaze briefly. "What do you think would be best?"
Rose pondered this for a moment, before deciding to ask. "What types of fighting styles are within 'various fighters'?"
"There are a few melee fighters," Sonic answered, "a couple fire users, the being of Light also has psychokinetic powers, the healer has basic psychic powers… that sort of thing."
"I would prioritize the healer, truthfully. Should a situation arise, that increases the chance of injuries being healed in a timely manner. After that, the being of Light. Their mental powers would likely be very helpful on the front of handling demons, as most are practically immune to fire that is not True Flame."
Amy, then… Sonic had to take a moment to process his emotions regarding this matter before clearing his throat a little and nodding. "Yeah. Okay. That… makes sense."
"Is there something the matter?" Rose asked softly.
This time, Sonic shook his head. "No. Just… hard to believe we'll finally get to see them all again, you know?" He reached a hand up to tug lightly at an ear somewhat impulsively. "I was honestly starting to think I wouldn't see them again until I was finally killed. You know… again. And our healer, Amy… I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her, or any of the others, before I was revived and dragged into the middle of this mess."
Rose nodded, understanding lighting up in her eyes. "Though I did not perform the revival, I am deeply sorry such a thing happened. It is always… painful when situations like that arise."
Sonic offered a one-shouldered shrug in response, then said, "I don't blame anyone for it. I guess it had to happen. Just… sucks, is all." Upon noticing that he was pulling on his ear, he released it and dropped his hand back down to his side.
The cat was quiet for a moment, giving a nod to substitute a response in her silence. "Regardless… We should speak more on this matter another time. Or, you can speak with those you are reviving. Actually, a talk with anyone would suffice. I only hope you will."
Another shrug. "Yeah. Maybe." He paused almost immediately upon speaking, ears flicking slightly as he listened to their surrounding area. Close to a minute later, he mumbled, "Not sure how your hearing is, but I'd venture to guess that you didn't catch that? There was a thump or something a little ways away from here."
Rose's hand idly moved to her sword, as if it were instinct. "Which direction?" the woman asked in a low tone, watching Sonic.
Looking straight ahead, Sonic nodded his head that way. "Off that direction, but I don't think you need the sword. I don't sense anything dangerous…" He trailed off, thinking, then asked, "Think you can go fetch Armaris? She might be able to use her weird shadow-power to help us sneak closer and see what's going on."
The cat gave a quick nod, teleporting away silently and reappearing within a few short moments. Armaris murmured something under her breath before glancing to Sonic. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah," Sonic answered shortly. Armaris surrounded them all with a shadow before pulling them in with her, following Sonic's lead on where to go. They proceeded through the countless dead husks of trees and a couple wrecked buildings, moving cautiously toward what had once been the heart of the former village. They passed several survivors as the recovering shinobi worked on fortifying a structure that they had been using for shelter since the end of the battle. Once past them, the trio continued on another few hundred feet before coming to a halt. Together, they crept forward until an ash-covered stump came into view. It was about the only object in the immediate vicinity, but this was the area where Sonic had heard the noise. Pursing his lips, he looked around. "I swear it came from here," he muttered.
Armaris crawled out of the shadow, still practically invisible as she moved along in a search for anything that might be what they were looking for. Sonic soon followed her out, despite how visible this made him, and looked around. Then his ear flicked again and he turned his head back toward the stump. Frowning, he walked over to it and then around to the other side. It was there that he suddenly spotted a strange, wriggling sack laying on the ground. The placement of the ash indicated it had been dropped for some reason. The hell?
Rose was quick to follow him out upon seeing his confusion, by his side in an instant. She wasted no time in carefully picking up the sack and opening it with her magic. Once the sack was open, a tiny and bleary-eyed face could be seen within the confines of the fabric. Deep purple skin showed in the faint light as the small body wriggled around again, teensy little hands shifting around as though in an effort to reach out and grasp at something. The cat smiled softly at the sight and carefully reached a hand down to the infant (they couldn't be any older than a day or two), then removing it from the sack to hold it close.
Sonic stiffened at the sight, mind sharply reminding him of an important piece of knowledge he had learned many years ago. A chameleon absolutely will kill first and ask questions later if it means protecting their young. Don't make the mistake of underestimating the power of their protective instincts. Glancing back toward the survivors they had seen earlier, he briefly wondered if this baby was one of theirs… only to conclude that that didn't make sense. They would never have abandoned this baby if it was theirs, purely because of those aforementioned instincts. So whose baby is this? Looking at the baby again, he peered closer and paused again upon noticing the child's eye color. Amber? That's… That's pretty fucking rare, isn't it?
Armaris finally approached the two, her eyes widening. "Holy shit-" She leaned in closer, a frown on her face. "Fuck… Let's get back to the others. Now."
Aside from the obvious detail of being out in all this ash being an awful idea in general (hence why he'd been using his magic to cloak the house and keep said ash out of it), Sonic wasn't sure what the reason behind her tension was. "...Why?" he hesitantly ventured as the baby squirmed again. The baby's demeanor (Sonic was fairly certain "it" was a boy) indicated distress, but said baby never once cried or made a sound. That made sense to him, again due to his basic knowledge of Chameleon instincts. For the first few weeks of life, their babies seldom cried and such as a means of survival and generally staying safe. It was just how they were.
"I'll explain when we're back, so that I don't have to explain more than once." Armaris muttered, grabbing both Sonic and Rose to drag them into her shadow and race back to Espio's home. He was already born? Why now? The group arrived back in no time flat, drawing curious and soon confused and worried looks from Tails, Cream, and Vector in the front room. Shadow still lay asleep or otherwise unconscious where he had been earlier.
Rose shifted the infant in her arms, attempting to keep the young chameleon comfortable. "Armaris. You give me reason to believe that you know the identity of this child, to some degree." Tails and Cream traded looks, then they and Vector got up and walked over.
Armaris groaned and leaned against a wall. "Yeah. A few days ago, I was having a kinda deep talk with Espio. He confided in me that he had a baby on the way, but he didn't know when the baby would be born. Makes me really think that this is his kid."
This revelation made the group properly freeze. Then Vector broke the silence with a hoarse whisper. "Espio's kid?
Almost hesitantly, Tails peered closer before venturing a careful, "It does… look like him. And they have the same eyes."
"His energy feels similar as well," Cream added, reaching a hand out to gently touch the baby's head. The infant seemed to enjoy the attention and relaxed a little under her soft caressing fingers.
The black cat lightly pulled at her hair, tapping her foot. Did it have to be now that he was born? When Espio isn't even fucking around! She vanished into her shadow, intending to merely ruminate over this.
"I wonder if he has a name yet," Tails mused, still peering down at the baby.
"Probably not," Vector mumbled. "He's so stinkin' little… And I'm guessing that woman I've been hearin' about probably dumped him off nearby or somethin'."
"Most likely, yeah. We found him on the ground tied up in a fucking sack." Anger burned, but Sonic made an effort to stifle it. With a sigh, he said, "It's more important now than ever that we get Espio back here. It's obviously gonna be extremely dangerous, but for his kid's sake…"
Cream looked troubled. Deeply so. "With the state that he is in… how will we even come close to bringing him back to his normal self?"
"I don't know," Sonic begrudgingly admitted. There was a pause, but soon he broke the almost stifling silence. "The first step is just finding him. From there… From there, something has to be worked out. I know you sought him out," he flicked a glance at Armaris, "and you're obviously not hurt despite presumably running into him. That's gotta mean something." If he wasn't still in there somewhere, he would have killed her. There's no denying that.
There was some faint show of dismay on Armaris' face, her arms crossing tightly. "Yeah…" She shifted uncomfortably, leaning up more against the wall.
Rose shifted her gaze around the room and frowned faintly, mostly out of thought. She coughed softly, shifting her hold on the infant once more. "Regardless… we should also prepare to care for him. He is in our care, and… I am willing to bet that a child such as this may help with the situation regarding Espio."
"It's certainly possible, but…" Tails hesitated, bit his lip a little, then said, "None of us really know what he thought about all of this. Having a child on the way, I mean. It's not great to think about, but there's a chance to knowing the baby's here now might make his emotional and mental state even worse. What if he didn't want a baby or something, you know?"
It was hard to imagine a child causing so much negativity, but Sonic was forced to concede that Tails had a point. "Still, it's important that we find him and do what we can. We just have to find him, like I said, and that's… not gonna be easy."
Tails looked like he was thinking again. "Cream, you knew him best out of all of us. Out of all the places you remember from the past, what places do you think he would go to?"
The bunny frowned. "The world has changed so much," she argued quietly. "I hardly think-"
"Trust me, it'll help," Tails interrupted. "Mobius hasn't changed as much as one might think. It's always been resilient but slow to evolve and grow, much like its people. You might be surprised what's still around these days."
There was more silence, but it only lasted for a few seconds before Cream relented and said, "Usually my first guess would be here," she began, "for he is, as most people, most comfortable at home. However… I do recall him once telling me that he has another home in another village, one on the continent of Artika. I believe the place was known as Candlewick?"
Sonic's ears perked. "I've heard of it. Tails, is it still around?"
"Not sure." The fox was already consulting a map on his communicator. "Let me check." As he spoke, he waved his hand for Cream to continue.
She actually glanced at Vector. "I believe he was quite fond of Seaside Hills."
"Oh, yeah, for sure," the croc confirmed. "We had a few missions there, and I think it was his first time ever actually being that close to an ocean that wasn't so gloomy and so frozen and crap. He really liked it there."
"That place is definitely still around," Tails nodded. "It's a good spot to check, when we can. Anything else, you two?"
Armaris finally spoke up once more. "He's partial to colder climates, definitely. I don't know of any specifics, but hopefully that'll help."
"Well, Cream's already mentioned that he used to live on the northern continent," Sonic said. "Probably not too much of a stretch to think he might be somewhat fond of Untol down to the far south as well."
"Candlewick is definitely still there," Tails confirmed, "and Untol doesn't have a lot of people and never has, so both are valid places to check. But, even still, that's a lot of ground to cover."
Rose shifted her gaze to Tails. "I can cover a majority of a continent through the creation of clones, though it may still take some time for me to do something thoroughly."
"I can send out some robots and drones to help, too, but with all the chaos around the world from the demons… I can't promise they won't be taken out by fires, scared people, or the like." Tails's expression was apologetic. "I intend to fix my ship soon, though, and I can help more then."
Sonic cast a deeply troubled look at his brother, then sighed. "I'll go out and search, too… but someone's gotta be here to help with Shadow."
"I won't be leaving him alone, don't worry," Tails assured. "I'll stick around until we can work something out."
"I'll help ya out," Vector volunteered. "You'll have to teach me what to do and stuff, but I'll lend ya a hand all the same."
Tails smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate it."
Eyes still on the baby Rose was holding, Cream said softly, "I can care for him while you are away. I had four children of my own, once upon a time. He will be safe."
Rose nodded gently. "Thank you, Cream," the cat returned softly, walking over. "Your help is greatly appreciated. I will likely still leave a clone here to aid in anything else that is required, however." With the baby securely in her arms, Cream offered a small smile and nodded.
Sonic looked over at Armaris in the meantime. "What are you going to do?"
"I'll figure it out," she muttered. "Likely gonna help search, but…" Armaris didn't bother finishing her sentence, her eyes focused outside.
Sensing that she was troubled (as she had every right to be and every sane person would be), Sonic walked over and knelt down in front of her. While everyone else was busy discussing other matters, he lowered his voice and asked her, "What's the matter? You okay?"
Armaris' piercing blue eyes stared at Sonic for some time before her gaze softened and she slid down into a sitting position. "Espio…"
Heart a little heavy at her obvious pain, Sonic gently prodded, "What about him?" He hated asking, but it seemed like she really needed to get something off her chest.
"I saw him," she explained, remaining vague for the moment. "I… I saw his blade."
Confused, Sonic tilted his head. His… blade? He always has a blade. "Can you explain more?" he asked, not really following.
"He almost killed me." Armaris blurted out quietly, "Espio almost killed me."
"He… what?" Sonic found himself whispering. He'd known (or at least strongly suspected) that the two had encountered one another earlier during her search, but he hadn't thought that their friend had escalated so far yet… To think he was willing to threaten the life of someone he was so damned close to…
The cat barely held herself together, her entire body shivering and shaking for a few seconds as she pulled her composure back. "I pissed him off and he attacked me… I managed to get my blade up… but he couldn't have been trying."
"Not if you were able to block him… no." Sonic was quiet briefly, then he murmured, "But… that's a good sign. That's not to make light of your experience, because you have every right to be shaken up or worse over it right now. It's just… the fact that he didn't genuinely try to hurt you means that he's gotta still be holding himself back to some extent. He's not totally lost himself yet. ...Even if he has slipped a lot farther away than any of us would have liked."
"The only thing that slowed him down was probably Cere being there… Anyone would think twice in her presence…" the cat muttered, closing her eyes.
"That would definitely have an impact," Sonic acknowledged. "But, coming from him… I don't think that was the only reason. His motivations are never so simple."
Her hands clamped over her head and she simply sat there like this for a time, her breath shaky. "He's my… brother…"
Unable to say anything that might help, Sonic only murmured, "I know."
Armaris fell quiet after this, just unable to bring herself to talk any further and retreating into her shadow. "Let me know when you guys are leaving…"
It was apparent that she needed to be left alone. Sonic took note of this and stood with a nod. "I will," he promised. Turning back to the others, he said, "Rose, you and I can probably head out really soon here. We've just gotta decide who's going where."
Rose nodded faintly. "I am fine with whatever choice is made. I simply require time to create my clones and to… wrap a few situations up of my own, if you do not mind."
"I can head to Seaside Hills in the meantime, since I know where those are," Sonic told her. "I don't know where that village is, but I can still help with searching Artika and Untol once I'm done around here. There are a few other places on this continent that I'd like to check out first, though."
The cat glanced to Tails. "Is there any map that you may have available for specific locations?"
"Yeah, sure." Tails stood up and took his own communicator off of his wrist. "My map of Mobius is already open, so you can just scroll and zoom in wherever you'd like to. So long as you're holding onto the communicator, your current location will always be displayed. It's only tracking the device, though, so don't lose it." He offered a smile to show that he meant that very last part as a bit of harmless teasing.
Rose passed along a gentle smile in return, followed by a nod of thanks as she quickly observed the map. She made note of where Candlewick village was located, then various other potential spots that she deemed worth checking out before vanishing in a teleport.
With her gone, Sonic turned his attention to Tails, Vector, and Cream. "Cream, keep your communicator's volume on, okay? If anything happens, we'll have to call you since Tails's is with Rose. And you can call either of us whenever you need to, obviously."
"Of course," Cream murmured. "We will keep in touch."
Sonic nodded, then looked at his brother again. "Will… he be okay while we're all gone?"
This time, the smile Tails offered was decidedly more wan. Still, his voice didn't waver as he assured, "Yeah. I've dealt with this before, and so have Jet and Wave. With both of them here and Vector on top of that, he'll be okay. We'll make sure of it."
Nodding once, Sonic turned back to Armaris. "Hey, I'm heading out. Rose left already, but everyone else is staying here for now."
Armaris moved her shadow and simply attached to Sonic's, murmuring something practically inaudibly before giving a reluctant "alright". Taking the hint that she intended to tag along, Sonic traded one last look with Tails before speeding out the door.
~保護者~
Not a word was spoken for a time as Wave and Jet sat with their backs against a wall, leaning against one another for silent support and comfort. Life was busy for them. Always, always busy and always, always chaotic. Seldom was there a chance for peace, for contentment, for happiness. There was certainly none to be found here. But there was quiet, and in many respects that was enough for now. It allowed them to gather their thoughts, to process their emotions, to bask in one another's presence… There would again come a time when they would be needed, when they would be forced to resume handling the brutal aftermath of the losses they had just suffered. For now, however, they had just a few minutes to try and catch their breath and relax a little.
These few minutes would have to be enough.
~保護者~
Directionless. Wandering. Dangerous.
These words had properly summarized Espio's life since he'd been old enough to walk. They certainly applied to his life these days, and especially now. He had left behind his ruined village and the several that he himself had ruined and was now walking the landscape at an even pace. He was in no rush, was not in possession of any sort of a plan to do anything in particular or for any particular reason. But he did kill. That he most certainly did do.
Despite keeping to the wilderness, far from whatever remained of the world's cities, there were still people to be encountered. He wasn't the only person to prefer nature as opposed to industry. But these people… they each had made the crucial error of making their presence known to him. With the desire for bloodshed never diminishing and the urge to slice seemingly insatiable, he without hesitation or remorse cut down each and every single person he encountered. He didn't care about them or their tiny emotions or their damned loved ones or any of that bullshit. All he cared about was sating his newfound desire to inflict pain and suffering with his blades, to use them create agony and spill blood and end lives. That was all he gave a damn about right now. Perhaps his priorities would shift with time, but for now…
Actually, there was one other thing. Idly toying with some Darkness in his free hand, Espio considered the depths of the power he now knew he possessed. He had been practicing with it for some time now already, rapidly working out how to properly manipulate and control the energies with flawless ease. The more he thought about it, the more he believed it to be a matter of instinct to at least some extent. Whether or not that was correct, he didn't specifically know or care. What mattered was that he was learning, and learning well. Already, he had managed to determine how to conceal the aura that his energies had been putting off, rendering him undetectable once more. No longer feeling so fucking visible shaved a touch of the edge off of his anger, but not enough for him to consider sparing the next person he came across.
Fresh blood splashed against the once pristine sand.
~保護者~
10,562 words this time. Hope ya'll enjoyed! And many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his amazing support and help. :) Posted (at about 10:00 p.m.) 02-15-20.