Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this gathering… especially for the one who's curious.

~保護者~

Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, it really is... yikes. And things definitely can and will escalate, as both you and Sonic noted... Which is pretty darn scary.

~保護者~

"Black Revival"

~保護者~

Steam was glad to arrive at Gardenia (where the Gods and Goddesses were all currently gathered) after having taken a few minutes to himself back on Mobius, sighing softly to relax himself further. He was some distance away from the people he wanted to meet, so he teleported the rest of the way. It was already a bit anxiety inducing, despite having done things like this before. His gaze fell on Cere and he walked over to her. Sensing his presence, the Hexan turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Steam?" she asked.

"I had some things to discuss with all of you. Information I've had that I think you all could benefit from." he explained, glancing over the others quietly.

"Alright. Stand by for the moment and listen. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to do so," Cere answered, turning away.

Taking the hint, Nier resumed what he had been saying prior to Steam's arrival. "...Right. Like I was saying, we've been seeing an incredible uptick in incidents with the Trokkelar Army. The fights we've been dealing with the past week or so were particularly violent and deadly. We need to find a better way to handle this threat without stretching ourselves too thin." He frowned down at the lush grass beneath his feet, arms crossing. "While we were all off in space fighting miscellaneous battles, the God of Demons launched a coordinated attack against New Babylon and Mobius, nearly resulting in the destruction of the latter and seriously crippling the former. Something must be done about this."

"It's hard to say what we can do. Any gathering of beings strong enough to fight these battles will draw too much attention, and there's only so many of us," Li sighed, unsure of what else to say. "The best idea I can come up with would be something about dealing with their respective armies, but doing so is just as likely to result in a bad ending."

"Even with her," Therin jerked a thumb at Sona, "and Mister Almighty God of the Sun fighting, too, there just weren't enough of us to handle in and try to lend a hand elsewhere. Like you said, we're spread too thin. The hell were we supposed to do?"

Steam decided to speak. "I am going to note that this is a hypothetical possibility. In my timeline… somewhere around this series of events, Kaden actually attacks the Trokkelar Army. If that holds true, it may be a chance to do something."

"That sounds hella risky," Therin groused. "If he's pissed enough to try directly going after her and her armies, he'll be more than pissed enough to actually, really try killing all of us for once." As he spoke, a portal opened within this planet's sun, though nothing emerged from it straight away.

Sona glanced up at this portal before shifting her gaze to Steam. "What exactly are you getting at with your idea?"

The hedgehog also gazed up, but seemed to hesitate. "I think he should be here to hear the idea, since his help and input will matter a lot on a personal level."

Almost as if on cue, there was a burning flash of sunlight. It died down seconds later as Locke passed through the portal, allowing it to fall shut behind him. He alighted softly on the ground and set his still half-asleep children down in the shade of a tree. His tension was obvious in his posture and general demeanor, but what most caught Nier's attention was the fact that the echidna was, for once, fully armed. It was beyond unusual for Locke to have even one of his weapons on him, let alone all of them. Why would he have pulled them all out now, when things are relatively calm?

Li covered Novei's mouth when she attempted to speak, glancing to Sona. The cat frowned as she watched Locke for a moment. "Locke? The actual fuck is going on?"

"The Temple has to be abandoned," Locke answered in clipped tones, turning away from his daughters. "The location is no longer secure. Kaden's real pissed about a lot of things, and he's made direct threats against the Temple and everything in and around it. I tend to believe him when he makes statements like that."

Sona's stance straightened and she growled softly. "He did what?" she asked, standing up from her sitting position. Locke shot her a tired and irritable look, strong arms crossing in a stubborn refusal to repeat himself.

Li sighed softly and set a hand on her shoulder, making her sit down slowly. "Hey, take it easy for a moment. Calm down, alright?" The cat gave a soft nod, sitting down on the ground once more beside him.

A cough escaped Steam, his gaze wandering to Locke. "I know you've got a lot going on, but I need your opinion on this idea." He turned his attention back over the group as a whole, taking a deep breath. "If Kaden attacks the Trokkelar Army, I think we should try to use that time to find and maybe attempt to save Analia from where she's trapped."

Locke's eyes flashed with some unspoken emotion, but his voice was level when he replied. "You know where she is." Technically, it was a question. But the way he said it made it sound drastically more like a certainty than anything else.

"I don't know exactly where she is, since things vary from timelines, but I already did some scouting. I am sure that we could find her, if not free her as well," Steam answered. "And as of now, I think that's one of the best things we can go for."

Therin cut in. "Won't… he be expecting something like that?" he muttered.

After tossing him a glance, Locke inclined his head. "...Yeah. He's not the sort to just fail to account for something like this to happen." He closed his eyes for a second, frowning deeply as he thought this over. "...Kid's right, though. If we're ever going to have a chance of taking Kaden down and restoring him, we'll have to free her. That was never destined to be easy, let alone without risk."

"And to take advantage of him being busy mitigates that risk somewhat. At worst, he could have some of his demons such as The Messenger or Astra guard the area." Steam explained, frowning.

"Yeah, tha-" Sona blinked a few times, fixing the hedgehog with a confused look. "Demons… Astra? Did you just say that Astra was a demon?"

Once more, Therin cut into the conversation. "Who the fuck is Astra?" Locke silently was questioning the same thing, but he nevertheless rolled his eyes as the way said question had been voiced.

Cere decided to speak up, knowing Finis wouldn't and couldn't. "Astra was a being of Light. She is now corrupted with Dark Magic, and she has been corrupted by Kaden into a demon as well."

Novei blinked once, tilting her head. "A being of Light was corrupted? More than once?"

Silently huffing, Finis signed to her with his hands (something he seldom actually bothered doing), "She did it to herself, initially. Her Light was dormant. It was her own wicked magic that was her undoing."

When the Therian showed absolutely no sign of understanding this, Li quietly translated for her. She nodded slowly, then looked back to Finis and gave him a nod. Steam cut in after this, wanting to get back on track. "Regardless, the worst he could do is have his demons protect them, and doing so doesn't sound likely since that would give the position away."

Locke immediately shook his head. "No. You're forgetting something." He met Steam's gaze with every ounce of seriousness he possessed. "He's a semi-Immortal, a being of Darkness, and a God. He can clone himself if he so chooses. If he does choose to do this, we'll be forced to contend with that as well."

"That's generally something he doesn't do, as far as I'm aware. Though, it is something we'd have to watch for," Steam sighed, running his hands through his hair.

Li frowned softly. "Something else I want to mention is that if several of us were to show up, it would raise a lot of suspicion. Enough for him to send plenty of his forces after us. We could only go in small groups, most likely."

"It'll need to be a single group," Nier agreed, "and a tightly coordinated effort. Time cannot be wasted. The longer anyone is there, no matter how hidden we think they are, the more likely it will become that he'll detect an enemy presence."

"Which also means that some level of stealth and speed would be needed. I can't in any way advocate for people like Sonic or anyone else in his group going, either because they're not capable of handling a fight if one breaks out, and just generally… not being a good idea to send." Steam grimaced at a few thoughts that passed through his mind.

Sona shrugged. "Doubt I'd be helpful with the whole… stealth thing. If nobody's noticed, most of my powers are inherently loud. However…" Her gaze flicked to Therin. "He wouldn't be much better since he's not that good as a fighter," she remarked, snickering.

"The hell!" Therin snapped, leaping to his feet. "I'll beat the shit out of ya right here!"

"Not now!" Nier interrupted a touch irritably. "Honestly, can't you guys ever get along?!"

Locke shook his head again and allowed himself to sigh. "I'll go," he said, steering the conversation back on track. "I've fought with Kaden and his demons enough times. I can handle myself with them and cover anyone else who goes along."

"I'll vouch for myself, if only for the fact that I've got very strong ideas as to where we need to look and I can bring Light to free her without being easily detected. I can drain it from my body as we go," Steam said before frowning. "Though… I don't know exactly who else should or can go."

By this time, Therin had sat back down and was resting his cheek in his hand. "Why not send Jet?" he grumbled. "You're after speed and stealth, as well as somebody who knows their way around. He's got both those in spades and the guy's been there way more than the rest of us have."

Steam bit his lip. "There's a bit of a problem with that. He's not really… in the best of places after the last two battles. I don't like the idea of potentially subjecting him to the exact same traumas again."

Nier's eyes clouded with worry. "What sort of state is he in?" he asked. "How bad is it?"

"Intense levels of stress, coupled with some direct mental damage. In the first of the two battles, Astra directly attacked both him and Sonic, assaulting them mentally and forcing them to relive traumatic memories. In the second battle, Jet and Locke both had to fight against Kaden. Who knows how many times he was killed during that?"

Locke looked away. "Too many," he murmured. "Sometimes because he was making damned sure that I didn't die."

The hedgehog nodded. "And to throw him back into all of that just feels cruel."

Cere sighed faintly, closing her eyes. "I could not well send Armaris for some similar reasons, and I do not like the idea of having Jet go either. Though, I certainly can't. My presence will be noticed, no matter how much we attempt to mask it. Kaden will know that something is happening, and will investigate or have a party of demons do the same."

"I still say Jet's your best bet," Therin insisted. "You want to avoid arousing suspicion? Jet's there all the damn time. Kaden knows he's tougher because he's killed Jet before. He might not even care enough to notice right away that Jet's there again since he's there so damn often."

Li grimaced faintly at the thought. "I don't like it either, but Jet really appears to be the best option. Sending most anyone else either isn't something optimal or just is a horrible idea." Not to mention that I just… can't go.

In response to that, Locke directed his focus back at Steam. "You should discuss it with him later, when we're done here. See what he says."

"I will. There's at least one other thing I want to discuss on Alana's behalf, though," Steam answered, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably. "It's about Teyan."

Nier's eyebrows shot up. Everyone was now staring at Steam in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Lady Teyan?" he echoed. "What about her?"

Cere frowned immensely, her attention locked on Steam intently. "Explain," she softly demanded.

The hedgehog cleared his throat, a bit taken aback by the reaction. "Well… Alana told me that Teyan directly spoke to one or both of them. I was wondering if any of you knew anything about Teyan's current state."

Finis straightened in his seat and openly frowned for once. She spoke? he signed rapidly. That should be impossible.

It took Steam a few moments before he was able to catch up on the sign language, giving a nod. "It should be. However, whatever was binding Teyan and Ythene to their realm is slowly being weakened."

"That's… incredible…" Cere glanced to Finis, unsure of what else to say. He returned her glance. "It seems we should… attempt to investigate this matter. That is a revelation we must understand."

Li spoke up now, seeming a touch unsure. "Since you and Finis now have a mission, as well as Locke and Steam, what should the rest of us do when we're not dealing with various threats? Surely, us sitting by idly isn't the only plan we've got?"

"Someone should inform Miss Goddess of Life about all this," Therin responded simply.

Nier huffed, but agreed. "Yeah, Cosmo will need to be caught up to speed. Since we're on her world, that'll be pretty easy. I'll talk to her, then head to Babylon to help out there."

"At the very least, if there's nothing imperative for me to work on, I could house and protect your kids, Locke. I've got a place, but I just never really use it," Sona said, shrugging.

The look Locke shot to her was visibly and immensely grateful. "...That would be a good idea, yeah. And they know you, so they'll be comfortable." He turned his head to look at the girls, who were dozing now where he had set them down.

Sona nodded softly. "Of course. Once they're awake, we can talk to them."

Novei nudged Li, hard enough to accidentally knock the wolf over. "You should, at the very least, hang out around Sein. Your interaction with him greatly improved his emotional state."

The wolf scrambled back to a sitting position, huffing at her. "Yeah, you're right." His gaze flicked to Cere. "Before you get going, I may also recommend you go see Jet, Sein, and Alana. I have no doubt that they would appreciate your company, even if it was only for a few minutes."

The Goddess of Judgement gave a slow nod. "I will attempt to do so." Her gaze flicked to Finis, fixing him with an almost demanding expression. "You will be coming with me." He frowned and started to sign an argument at her, but she vanished with him and tow before he even had a chance to properly retort.

With them gone, Nier stood up, gave a nod of farewell at those remaining (and a glare at two in particular) before turning and walking off with his cape flowing gently behind him. "See y'all later, then." Locke said nothing, merely went to retrieve his daughters before opening up a portal to Sona's home. He walked through it in silence, leaving her to either follow or go home by her own means. Sona was quick to stand and hurry along after him, stepping through the portal just before it closed. Therin left shortly afterward with a quick teleport.

Li glanced to Steam as he stood alongside Novei. "Do you wanna go with us, then? I can teleport us back if you'd like."

The hedgehog managed a faint smile. "Nah, thanks though. I'll catch up in a few minutes."

A frown appeared on the wolf's face for a moment before he sent a nod to the other man. "Alright. I'll see you there, then." With that, he teleported himself and Novei off to Mobius.

Steam shivered as he let himself finally sit down on the ground, forcing his breathing to stay somewhat steady. You'll be fine… just calm down…

~保護者~

"Finally…"

The word was practically hissed from the mouth of the corrupted cat, an almost calm yet somehow malicious tone. Astra glanced over the area she'd finally arrived at. The graveyard of the village of Hyale. Dark grey magic glowed around her hands as she carefully set about creating a dome around the entirety of what was to become her playground. "Why do I waste so much time…?" she asked herself.

The dome vanished as it was erected, as if it had never been created in the first place. The air became charged with the intense magic she was exuding, lifting up pieces of the ground as it sought new places to infect. She walked forward, her hand lifting as magic surrounded and pulled the many gravestones from the ground before launching them away. "They won't be needing these, anymore."

Her gaze flicked over to the village itself once more, feeling a level of contempt. "If it wasn't for them being around, I would've grabbed the ones who died in that battle. But they had to stay where they felt safest." She snorted angrily and walked closer to a grave, kneeling. The palm of her hand was carefully planted against the ground as she activated a short series of spells. Magic circles appeared over every individual grave, glowing with the same eerie dark grey that her eyes were.

The ground exploded all over as her magic surged through each circle and forcefully removed every body possible from the ground, slowly filling them and reanimating them as time went on. Astra's attention was pulled away from the reanimation process as she whipped around in time to produce a magic sword and block a powerful slash of Light that ripped through her shield.

"Astra!" Rose stood in front of the other cat, her teeth gritted as their blades pressed against the other's. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded.

"Exactly as I have always done," Astra spat, pushing Rose away. "You will not stand in my way any longer."

Rose tightened her grip on her sword, eyes locked on the magic circles. There were a few in particular that stood out, their patterns and size completely different. Her attention would have focused on that, had she not needed to roll out of the way of a storm of magic spikes. What is she doing here?

"You should leave before I tear you limb from limb," the corrupted woman muttered, another magic circle appearing in the air above her. "I recommend you stand still."

Rose stood her ground, a beam of Light fired from her hand to hold off the massive links of chains that flew out and attempted to grab her. "I will not allow myself to die until I see your madness ended!"

The corrupted cat growled and created several more circles in the air, flinging all manner of magic weapons at Rose in an attempt to kill her off. However, before any of this magic could get very far, a flash of golden light erupted through the area. When it died down, Astra's attacks were all nullified and had vanished. Wave hovered in between the two cats, arms crossed and eyes sparking with temper. "The hell is happening here?" she demanded, speaking to neither of them in particular. And, yet, she was addressing both of them at the same time.

Astra was about to speak, but Rose cut in before she could manage. "Astra is attempting something and I appeared to stop it. I am not sure what, however."

"What, would you like to know?" Astra asked, a faint grin creeping onto her face.

"I know necromancy when I see it," Wave snapped. "You truly believe you can revive people like these and maintain control over them? Are you that foolish?"

"Do you believe you could do better?" Astra cackled, a wide and creepy grin plastered onto her face. "Of course I can maintain control of them. I wouldn't do this if I couldn't."

Wave shook her head, arms tightening their hold on one another. "You fail to see into your own future. You may retain control for a time, sure, but they will free themselves. Or, perhaps, someone else will free them first. Do you have a contingency plan for that? Or are you planning to just carelessly wing it?" Her glare intensified. "Either way… you're an idiot."

Astra took a few quiet steps backward, laughing. "It's quite simple, but I suppose you wouldn't understand simplicity, what with your thing for the Immortal. You've known him for quite some time, yes?"

The swallow was unfazed. She didn't even blink. "That has little relevance to this conversation, Astra of the Tainted Light," she answered in an even tone. You're not the only one who can make pointless jabs.

"Enough!" Rose demanded, her attention now fully on Astra. "Stop this plan before you further destroy your life!"

The barely contained anger was obvious in Astra's face, but she did contain it. "The life you ruined." She turned away, already resuming casting spells. "Attack me if you dare, Rose. You as well, Wave. You will not interfere with my plans."

Wave knew better than to take the bait and remained where she was, though she did gather large amounts of magic around herself in preparation for a fight. As she did so, she glanced back toward the house. We need to wrap this up… If it drags on, Jet may break his promise and come here even after I told him not to.

Rose went pale at the first statement, her stoic composure crumbling as she fell back a step. "E-"

"You will not refer to me as such," Astra snapped, glaring over her shoulder at the other cat. "You are an awful being who deserves nothing less than a slow and painful death for what you have done."

The pure white cat collapsed at the verbal assault, her body and mind suddenly far too weak to give any support. "I-"

"Die, bastard." She was once more cut off as Astra whipped around and unleashed several attack spells, all aimed for the now defenseless Rose.

Cursing aloud, Wave moved in a flash, appearing in front of Rose in less than a second. She raised a palm, creating a barrier directly in front of herself to hold off all the attacks so that Rose wouldn't be harmed. By the time it all died down, she knew Astra had already fled… and the many empty graves surrounding them proved she did not leave alone. Dammit… Rose murmured apologies to Wave, incapable of doing much more than lay on the ground and shiver. With a sigh, Wave simply bent down and scooped the other woman up. Without a word, she teleported with her back to the house.

~保護者~

Jet was sitting outside in a tree fairly close to the house when he sensed his parents' return from wherever they had been upon him waking up. Immediately he stood up and scanned the area for them, though he remained in the tree for now. Sein landed in the area nearest to the house, his gaze immediately shifting about as he checked to make sure everything was alright. Alana arrived beside him and lightly dusted herself off when some ash fell onto her clothes.

Seeing them now, Jet felt a measure of relief, alleviating some specific stress he hadn't even realized he'd been feeling up until that point. He jumped down out of the tree and began walking over. Sein's attention shifted toward Jet and he gave a soft smile. "Hey, Jet." Alana took notice of their son as well and murmured a hello of her own. Glancing between the two of them almost as though to assure himself that they really were fine, Jet nodded a silent greeting. "I see you're awake. How are you feeling now?"

Though he didn't exactly recall everything that had gone down when he'd returned here earlier (everything had been just a blur of stress and pain at that point), Jet recalled enough to know with certainty that he was significantly better now than he had been. However, all he said was a simple, "Fine."

Alana could tell that he was understating the truth, but she didn't call him out on it. She was just grateful. "I am glad you are well," she told him instead. "You had us all worried greatly." At this, Jet glanced away. It lasted for the barest of moments and was subtle, but she still noticed it, noticed how contrite he appeared in that instant. "You do not need to be sorry," she was quick to soothe. "It was not your fault."

Sein offered one of his usual bright smiles. "Yeah. I've been worried about everyone, anyway. Kinda just a thing I do, ya know?" He then winked softly, adding, "But you're my kid. I'm always gonna worry about you."

Jet was completely unsure how to respond to that, but something else soon snagged his attention anyway. In a flash, he was standing in a different spot with Sein's brand new gauntlet in his hands. "Where did you get this?" his sudden overwhelming curiosity was, for once, readily apparent on his face and in his voice as he spoke.

The blue hawk blinked once, raised his hand and opened his mouth, then decided against it. Gotcha… Definitely picked up on the rogue stealing abilities. "Got it from my friend Li. He apparently made it some time ago, but wasn't able to give it to me for… obvious reasons." Alana looked on in momentary silence, clearly surprised but deciding not to comment on what had just happened. Their son nodded distractedly as he examined the gauntlet over and over before turning around and handing it back to Sein, apparently satisfied with his brief exploration. Sein put it back on without a word in question. "This thing actually doubles as a shield, which I found really interesting."

That caught Jet's attention again. "A shield?" he questioned. He was quite surprised by this, given how few of the people he was generally around actually used those.

Sein nodded, flicking his left hand and making the shield pop out. "It's a bit weird to get used to because of the angle I have to hold it, but it's very effective."

Alana cut in quietly before her boys could get into a full-blown conversation about this. "Let us go inside. I do not enjoy all this ash." Jet didn't even have to stop to consider that suggestion, given that he hated it as well. He'd only been out here to begin with so that he could keep an eye out for them. Now that they were back, he saw no reason to remain outside. Sein gave a nod, letting the shield snap back into the gauntlet as he teleported the three of them back into the house.

~保護者~

4,755 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help! Posted (at about 7:00 p.m.) 02-23-20.