Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of recovery… especially for the one who has a healthy distrust.

~保護者~

"Come Together"

~保護者~

Sonic and the others had no sooner returned to Espio's house than Silver appeared inside with the wounded and unconscious in tow. He very gently set them down, edging away from Li in particular when he noticed the intense glare he was receiving from Novei, then bent down to carefully take little Sako from Cream's arms. With this done he turned to Sonic and asked, "So… did we… win?"

"Erm… sort of?" Sonic hesitated before saying, "That apparently wasn't actually Dad. It was a clone, which was destroyed. Problem is… it did a lot of damage before it was."

Silver's ears lowered. "Wish Uncle Jet had been here to help."

At this, Alana spoke up. "He has returned. He is outside at the moment." A pause, then she slowly asked, "...'Uncle'?"

The hedgehog perked up in surprise. "Oh, um… I mean, yeah. I've called him that since… well, practically forever. He and my dad are best friends, so he might as well be family to me, you know?" Alana nodded slowly. Only then did Silver think to ask, "Sorry, who are you? I'm pretty sure we haven't met."

Alana blinked once. "I am your… uncle's… mother." She shook off the awkwardness and straightened. "My name is Alana."

Though reluctant to do so, Sonic interrupted. "Hey, guys, I think Steam's coming back."

Only a few seconds later, the hedgehog in question teleported into the house and glanced around, taking stock of everyone in the house. "Kial left to go with Espio. Couldn't convince him to stay, sadly."

It was actually Shadow who first responded. "I am surprised that he lasted this long," he remarked, sitting down against a mostly in-tact wall. "He does not do well with… crowds. Nor with constant chatter."

Sonic inclined his head. "Now that you mention it… you're right. Even when he lived with Vector, he found reasons to keep to himself and in his own space most of the time." Soon, he sighed. "I guess that's irrelevant, though. Steam, why did he leave? Beyond that reason, I mean. Do you know?"

"I'm guessing there's plenty of reasons, one of which would definitely be to do with his Darkness. There's no way he's happy about that," Steam murmured, crossing his arms.

Silver appeared thoughtful. "You know… being off on his own for a while might do him some good. Help him figure things out, you know? That's what wound up happening with Uncle Jet. Guy disappeared for a hundred years. He definitely suffered a lot, but… he also came back way stronger than he used to be."

Steam's arms uncrossed and he sighed. "I think it could, but him being entirely alone was definitely a hazard. He's got people that obviously have intentions with him, so having someone else around can help. Not to mention it's someone like Kial. He's got a damn good chance of being able to really help emotionally."

"Based on what Dad's told me," Silver said, "there are at least two groups who want to gain his loyalty. But, why the interest? Like, why not some other super powerful chameleon with Darkness? The fact that that woman exists proves there are others. So why him, specifically?"

"I've got two guesses, but one of which I… can't talk about yet. My biggest guess would be that it's because he's a direct descendant of the two most powerful chameleon clans. He's probably the last one out there. In a way, he's like Sonic. Born of two already powerful people," Steam explained, sighing. "He's already shown signs that he's very strong, and with his Darkness waking up, he's liable to only get stronger."

"One thing that I think caught Nyokae's eye," Sonic said quietly, "is the fact that, even before he lost touch with his emotions completely for a long time there, he's always been detached in that regard throughout his life. Makes killing scarily easy for him. He doesn't quite… empathize with people the way the rest of us can. Might be due to his ancestry. I don't really know. Either way, I think things like that are part of why she's so convinced she can fully turn him against us. He's already uniquely… susceptible."

A nod came from Steam. "It's something worrisome, for sure. And I honestly don't know what to do against that outside of trying to be in her way when I can."

"Fat lot of good that's been doing any of us," Sonic groused, mood turning sullen. "The rest of us have tried that, too. It's obviously not working."

"But if we up the ante, she might do the same, right?" Silver asked. When Sonic answered with a grim nod, Silver let out a heavy sigh and turned to Alana. "Do you have any ideas, miss? Like… any super cool, extra awesome Immortal powers that can help here?"

His carefully controlled enthusiasm earned the beginnings of a smirk for a second, but her tone was firm… although also apologetic. "We cannot simply interfere in the lives of others for no reason, young one. Unless the balance is threatened, free will must be allowed. We can attempt to step in without Immortal abilities, the same as anyone else, but that is all."

"And I'm damn sure Sein would agree," Steam answered. "Regardless, as good of an idea as that is, the other problem is that doing anything to interrupt that free will is sure to make the situation worse regardless. If anything is done to Espio, he's going to be stubborn and refuse to let it happen. If we interrupt Nyokae… her leader, and/or Kaden, and/or the other enemies might really try to kill us."

"Espio himself will literally murder us if we try to take away his free will," Sonic deadpanned. "Trust me, I've seen people try to boss him around before and that was the threat he issued. I'm inclined to believe him when he says shit like that." Silver suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights… which might've been funny under different conditions.

"Whatever is done, he must be allowed to make the choice for himself," Shadow interjected calmly. "It is what anyone else would want. He is no different from us in that regard. Attempting to force him to do anything will only bring about resistance. If he has chosen to distance himself, then we are to let him go. Right now, that is all we can do, aside from maintaining contact with him through Kial."

Steam nodded. "Best we can do. Are there other matters someone wants to bring up now?"

"Erm… this?" Silver gestured weakly with an arm at everyone who was still laying on the floor. "I mean… we don't have a healer. What the heck are we supposed to do for them?"

"Rose is… currently gone. Pretty sure she was taken to Eras, considering how beat up she was from the fight. She should be able to come back soon…" Steam frowned, unsure. He wasn't entirely certain what to do outside of that.

At this point, Calypso stepped toward the group with a frown firmly in place. "I can help t'is world and your friends, but I can only do once. After t'at, you are all on your own."

Alana visibly straightened and turned to face her. "You can heal Mobius?"

"I can," Calypso confirmed. "When planet heal, t'e people on it be heal, too. I can only do once. It take too much magic to do all time. It kill me if I try."

"Once is… once is fine," Sonic found himself rushing to say. "It's fine. Once is all we need."

Steam frowned vaguely. "How long will it take you to recover from doing this?"

She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "I be fine, boy. No worry. But t'ere be risk involve. By heal planet, not only people gonna be safe. Live can be restored, but t'ose brought back from t'e hand of death be left very weak for a time. And people not only t'ing t'at gonna live again. Whatever recently have life, it gonna come back."

Sonic immediately understood. His gaze swung to Alana. "Were any demon carcasses left here?"

She shook her head. "No… but those ninja were."

A few thoughts went through Steam's head before he nodded. "If you're capable and willing to do this, I can't argue against it."

Calypso gave him a stern look. "I have not finish," she told him. "I also can restore barrier around t'is place, but only t'e outer one. T'e smaller ones t'ey have all over t'ese lands, keepin' t'ose savage Hollows at bay, I can no restore t'ose. I know not what sort of ancient sorcery create t'ose barriers. T'ose Hollows gonna run free."

Silver looked aghast. "What's… What's a Hollow?"

Sonic could only shrug. "I'm not… completely sure. Espio's never said much about them. I do know that they're some type of ancient demon, though, one that came to be directly from the Garden of Darkness just like the chameleons did. Apparently those things followed them here."

"Fairly close. They vary a lot in abilities and overall appearance, but they're all a ghostly white. They're ancient demons who kill brutally and mercilessly in order to steal souls that are full of agony and despair and whatever other awful feelings they can cause their victims to feel prior to death. And to put it into perspective, even Espio is cautious around these guys. Even the tiny little fuckers," Armaris explained with borderline hate. "That's why they were contained in the way they were."

"If… if they're demons, then won't they be working for Gramps?" Silver asked hesitantly. "Wouldn't they… you know, not be here."

"He has not felt the need to call them to service, so to speak," Shadow answered. "Such arcane beasts have not been necessary additions to his legions as of yet. As such, he has left them be to grow and evolve on their own, gaining new strength without interruption." His eyes narrowed faintly. "A day will come when he will feel threatened enough to cause his stance on the matter will change. Be thankful that day is not today."

The certainty in his voice drew Sonic's attention but, for now, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he turned back to Calypso. "So, mending the world and bringing back everyone that's been killed recently… is also gonna bring back the Hollows, and we can't contain them. But is there any way that you can?"

Slowly, she inclined her head. "For a time," she confirmed quietly. Then, unexpectedly, she turned to Novei. "Girl, how much your mother teach you about our magic, eh?"

"Some," Novei replied vaguely, crossing her arms unhappily. "Why?"

"Enough you can create barrier?" Calypso pressed.

"I'm not that awful with my magic," the younger Therian huffed.

"Good enough, t'en. You come wit' me. You lend your strength to barriers, maybe t'ey not fall while we sleep." She started toward the door, paused, then said to the group, "Be patient. T'is take small bit of time." With that, she strode outside.

Novei started to move toward the door also, then cast a vicious glare at everyone in the room (Silver let out a tiny eep! when he saw her face) besides Alana. "Touch Li and you won't have arms anymore." She waited for no responses and went along to follow her aunt.

Silver started to open his mouth to say something, but Shadow cut him off. "I would heed her words, if I were you," he murmured, closing his eyes.

The aptly-named silver-furred hedgehog almost pouted. "But psychokinesis doesn't involve any physical contact."

Sonic stared at him. "Do you really want to risk it? Because if you do, I am so not saving your ass."

"But- But- I was just revived!"

"Then I suggest you behave and maybe you'll survive longer than a day."

"She's not someone you should piss off," Armaris huffed. "Don't so much as go near him or you might end up getting hurt worse than Li."

"Speaking of dangerous people with tempers…" Sonic smirked, turning toward the door. A second later, Jet landed on the porch outside and walked into the room. "Nice of you to finally join us. Get lost?"

Jet glanced at his friend, gave said friend a light shove, and then crossed his arms loosely. "You can shut up at any time," he blandly remarked.

By now, Silver was already grinning like a fool. "You're back!" he exclaimed in glee. Then he swiftly added, in true Silver form, "And your cloak thing and sword are awesome! Is that actual gold?" Jet huffed a little in amusement but didn't comment.

Sein chose this moment to finally follow Jet inside, walking in the door with a faint smile. "Good to see people in decent spirits."

Alana took stock of the mood her boys were in and soon wore a small smile of her own. "You two seem… happy," she murmured, walking over to him. As she did, Jet indulged a few of Silver's excited questions with some brief (but endlessly patient) answers while Sonic looked on fondly.

"Yeah," Sein answered, a small grin on his face. He walked closer and stood next to her. "We had a good talk. It went really, really well."

Her smile could only grow at this news. "That is good to hear. I had begun to worry when he seemed… so hesitant to attempt any bonding with you."

A nod was given in answer, the hawk glancing around. "Me too, but it seems that he's warmed up, at least a little." Sein's attention fell on Steam, who was currently asleep off to the further side of the room. "Think Steam will be okay? He and Rose put themselves under a lot of strain."

"He will be," Alana easily confirmed. "Although he is a rash youth, much as you once were, he is also strong. Rose is as well, and she is also in a place of immense healing. They will both be just fine." She paused, then added, "Calypso is… preparing to use her magic to heal this world, and everyone within it. Everything within it. I believe that means that Steam and the others will be healed as well."

Sein nodded with a gentle smile. "Glad to hear it. Though, there's some wounds that I know her magic can't heal. Armaris dealt with something really serious, and I think Ylden needs to show up to help her through that."

"She does appear to have suffered emotionally from that fight," Alana murmured. "Perhaps mentally as well. But I do not know what took place."

"Could've been a few things, honestly. Do you think one of us should get her dad though? I know they're definitely not super close… but I think she needs someone that isn't… anyone here," Sein murmured.

"It is worth a try." She paused, giving Sein's words some thought, then frowned. "Her and Espio… they are very close. Do you think he attempted to bring her harm again?"

"Maybe… I hope not, but there's no telling. She's hardly interested in talking, and asking would likely make it worse."

"It would, yes."

One more glance around the room seemed to satisfy Sein. "So, what do we do now? That World Eater is still coming, and I don't know if we're prepared at all."

Jet's gaze snapped over to Sein. "What did you just say?" he demanded in a voice so chilly it made Sonic's ears drop on reflex.

"Kath warned us that a demon called the World Eater is coming. Do you know anything about it?" Sein asked.

Several Babylonian curses escaped the younger hawk (most ancient but a few distinctly more modern) as he stalked toward the door in frustration, but he ultimately paced back toward the group. Letting out a breath, he said, "It is as the name implies… a beast that devours worlds. It bores its way through to the core of planet - or, in the case of worlds that the da Asani created, the Planet Egg - and consumes it, killing the world. It then eats whatever remains. Kaden, essentially… tamed it many eons ago, and it has done nothing but rest ever since."

Silver audibly gulped. "Something that size… has gotta have a hell of an appetite by now. ...Right?" Jet only nodded.

"How do we prepare for this?" Sein asked. "There's gotta be something we can do."

Jet was openly scowling now, a fact which only heightened Sonic's sense of dread. "We cannot." He paused long enough to give Sonic a mild heart attack, then added, "Wave and her family… they can."

"Why her and her family in particular?" The blue hawk asked, confused. The fact that an Immortal couldn't prepare for this certainly bothered him to some degree.

In turn, Jet asked his own question. "How familiar are you with races outside of this realm?" That gave Alana pause, and she stopped to think about that. She soon found her apparent knowledge on this subject… pitifully lacking. But, then, hers and Sein's training had been far from complete by the time the destruction of their home had interrupted it. Sein shrugged, indicating he didn't have much information on this. Taking the hint, Jet continued. "There is a realm that bears no true name. Most outsiders refer to it as the Lost Hex. It is a realm of pure and untamed magic that you simply cannot and will not ever find outside of it. Their people are born of this energy, just as ours are born of aura. They embody it, but most importantly they control it to a degree that would be impossible with other magics."

Sonic pursed his lips together. "What's… What's any of this got to do with-"

"Let me finish and I can tell you." Sonic wisely shut up, so Jet continued. "Creatures born near to this realm are vastly different from one another, but all share one strange trait. They are weak to the intense magical energies they were so close in proximity to at the beginning of their lives. The World Eater is an example of that. It is powerful enough of a beast that this is the most reliable method of taking it down."

"So we need their magic to be able to kill or subdue it?" Sein asked, wanting to make sure he was following along. Jet nodded once. Sein frowned, then thought to ask, "Where is Wave?"

"With her father," Jet answered. He was vague at first, but immediately relented and gave more information. "Their realm has also been attacked recently. She wanted to make sure he and her brother were safe, as well as ensure their realm was not damaged or in danger of collapse."

Sonic blinked several times. "Han and Alec are still around, too?" He broke out into a smile. "That's… great. I wonder how that little guy is doing. Alec never did get any older while I was still around."

Jet managed a fleeting smile… but only barely. "He is not so little anymore, Sonic. Even Hexans do age."

"Anyway," Sein interrupted softly. "Jet, can you get Wave to return? If we need her, then we need to try and be able to form a plan with her."

"I will contact her."

Sein nodded gently. Silver spoke up before the hawk could say anything more. "So, I hate to interrupt, but I have a question." He nodded toward Locke. "What exactly happened to him? He's strong enough that he should've been fine throughout that fight, yeah?"

"Well… normally. This is just a guess, but I've had a suspicion lately that he's actually a lot more tired than he's been letting on." Sonic crossed his arms unhappily. "I have no idea when the guy last rested, let alone rested properly. He looks a lot like how I used to look when I barely ever slept, almost never even so much as laid down. I did that for years, and he looks like he's been doing the same shit." Even though he lectured me about it pretty firmly… back in Apatos, I think. Not too long after he, Mom, and Dad were all revived for the first time.

Jet decided to speak up again. "Locke has been one of the most constant fighters against Kaden and his legions for an incredibly long time. That does not leave time for rest and leisure. Particularly not when Kaden has been after his life for just as many years." This revelation made Sonic cringe. He could barely stand the thought of his dad and practically-his-other-dad doing this to each other…

"That, coupled with the savage method in which Kaden attacked him," Alana said, "is why he lost consciousness. However, he will be alright. He merely needs rest."

Meanwhile, Sako started to fidget in Silver's arms. Silver began gently rocking him in an effort to soothe. "Sorry to change the subject - erm, again - but what do… what do we do with this little guy?" he asked no one in particular. "I hate to say it, but Espio doesn't seem inclined to… you know…" He trailed off.

Eyes on the baby, Jet murmured, "For his own well-being, he will need to be with a member of his family. Chameleon babies are no different than those of other species in that regard."

Sonic pursed his lips together. "I'm not sure how… possible that is right now." The room grew quiet, but then he suddenly recalled the incredibly brief conversation he had had with Steam during the latter portion of the fight earlier that day. "Wait, actually-" His gaze swung to Armaris, but he didn't speak directly to her. "The shinobi that died recently are going to come back. That means Espio's dad is coming back too. Steam said both of Espio's parents were among the ninja who were brought back with necromancy and mind controlled. Only, they fought with Espio and not the rest of us. He also said that his dad… died again."

This made Shadow frown. "His revival will be dangerous, then."

"Actually, no," Silver corrected. "Mental powers don't work like that. No matter what we do to a person's mind, it all stops when we choose to make it stop, when we die, or when whoever we're affecting dies. Even reviving them won't mend the connection. The fact that his dad died again means he'll be free from whoever used necromancy on him. He just won't remember anything that happened when he was still being controlled."

"Just shut up," Armaris muttered, moving to her feet and crossing her arms. "Even if he was still being controlled, I'd handle it." Despite the conviction and agitation her words carried, there was a note of uncertainty and unease that pervaded her voice. The cat sighed. "I'll find him before he can wander off or cause problems."

Her movement toward the door was punctuated by a gentle shockwave, accompanied by a soft whooshing sound. All pairs of hedgehog ears perked up. Silver looked around. "Uh… what was that?" His question was answered in a second when the wounds on their friends suddenly began to close. In that moment, he understood. "Oh-h-h… okay. It's the magic. Got it."

Jet glanced outside, then idly waved a hand. A barrier formed around everyone in the building (aside from himself) once all the wounded were fully healed. It became clear why when a veritable tidal wave of magic rushed over the area, the house included. The barrier wasn't truly necessary, in truth, but it protected the group from having their senses temporarily wiped out in response to all of this. However, those barriers were soon let down as the magic faded away, taking all of its healing properties and light with it. As Sonic and the others looked around, blinking to clear their vision, they soon discovered that the house was fully repaired. Not only that, all of Espio's furnishings (few though he actually had) were restored. A quick peek around proved that his bedroom was back in order, too. Even the compartment in the wall containing food and medicinal items was just as it had been before. Sonic whistled lowly. "Impressive."

Armaris blinked a few times and decided she didn't care to comment on any of what had just happened. She had barely been hurt, and as such couldn't bring herself to really regard the magic. Instead, she vanished into her shadow and out of the house. Sein had been watching this whole thing with a frown before suddenly seeming to register that his wounds were gone, blinking. And she did that to the entire world? Damn… I don't know if me and Alana could do anything like that at this stage.

As the once-unconscious members of the group stirred, Silver stooped to offer Tails a hand and help him up. Being close to Li, he considered helping him, too, but thought better of it. "Sorry dude, but my arms were threatened with extreme violence if I touched you, so you're on your own getting up." Unable to help it in spite of his confusion (seriously, what had happened?), Tails sniggered. He then somewhat shakily took hold of Cream's hands and pulled her to her feet.

Li waved it off with a faint movement of his hand, pushing himself to stand and looking around. Panic raced through his person as he realized people were missing, and he quickly turned to Sein who only smiled. "Where ar-"

"Everyone's alive. Novei and Calypso are working with their magic, while Kath and Rose are both in Eras healing from the battle. Espio and Kial left together, and Armaris is going to find someone for us. That answer your questions?" Sein laughed gently, watching as his friend's expression went from panic to immense relief. At about the same time, Vector groused and grumbled but stood with some help from Sonic.

The wolf sighed, shaking his head. "That scared the shit out of me…"

"I imagine," Alana murmured, openly sympathetic for once. Then she admitted, "We were all frightened." Her admission of inclusion in that group was vague, but there.

Tails gave voice to his confusion. "So, uh… what happened?"

"That was apparently just a clone of Dad," Sonic told him. "It's gone now. All those ninja that were attacking us were brought back through necromancy, though they were defeated since whoever was controlling them did so pretty sloppily. They should all be back in control of themselves now."

"And," Silver helpfully continued, "that Calypso lady and that scarier girl, Novei, just used magic to heal everybody. All of Mobius in fact." He went on to fully explain everything else to Tails, Vector, and Cream while Sonic just listened in amusement to his excited ramblings.

Li blinked a few times and frowned in Silver's direction. "Hold on, scarier gi- Did she threaten you already?"

"Erm. Yeah." Silver gestured downward with a little nod for emphasis. "My arms, remember? Pretty sure they'll be totally gone if I go anywhere near you." Though he laughed it off mostly, he also pointedly edged away a few tiny steps.

The wolf groaned and put his face into his hands. "Dammit, Novei… You don't have to threaten them."

"For once, I cannot completely blame her," Alana told him gently. "We will never hear her admit to it, but I believe she has been worried for you."

Sein coughed softly into his wrist, only to get cuffed by Li with a huff. "Hey, I wasn't gonna say anything!" the hawk protested.

"That's bull and you know it," Li muttered, narrowing his eyes. "You've been on a kick lately and you were definitely gonna continue it."

"You two are acting like children," Jet murmured distractedly, eyes still on the world outside. However, after a second, he amended what he'd said. "...Even children do not always bicker over as many pointless matters as you do." Sonic choked back a laugh, especially when he remembered how Jet's own children had used to fight.

Li rolled his eyes softly, amused. He glanced to Sein when the bird looked as if he was gonna comment. "You'll dig yourself a bigger hole."

"Sein, you would do well to listen to him," Alana told her husband with an arched brow.

"You guys always assume that I'll make a situation worse when I open my mouth," the other hawk muttered, crossing his arms.

"That's because you do, Sein," Li answered easily. "So, be quiet or make the situation worse than you already have."

Sein looked like he wanted to protest, but relented and sighed. "Fine." Not like I wanted to talk anyway. Hmph.

~保護者~

Armaris stalked throughout the forest, remarking internally that the plant life and trees were now back to normal. This fact lightened her mood just slightly, but nowhere near enough to replace her currently negative outlook. Her weapon was clutched tightly in her right hand as she moved along, ready to cut into anything that attempted to attack her. The cat was starkly aware of not only the newfound natural life of the forest surrounding her, but the noticeable number of Hollows was worrying. Of course they're around. As she would have when she was far younger, she made sure to stay clear of them all without fail. It would be no less than hazardous for her to be engaged in a fight with one.

The cat came across the area she and Espio had been fighting Shei and Aniko, then traveled the distance that she remembered going before Espio… Her thoughts jumbled at remembering that, a wave of emotional pain washing over her. She fought harshly for control of herself, only for said control to be ripped away when she realized Shei wasn't there. An almost audible grunt of frustration escaped her as she wracked her brain to try and think of where the hell he would have gone before it hit her. He would have gone to where Hyale used to be.

Armaris rocketed in that direction immediately, vividly remembering that Calypso had mentioned that those who were brought back from the dead would be weak for a while. A level of fear overtook her and she increased the pace, refusing to let any more harm than necessary befall him. She arrived at the ruins of old Hyale in a relatively short time, sliding out of her shadows and skidding to a stop on her feet. Her blade was still held tightly in hand, but she was repressing the urge to swipe at any sound she heard just in case it was Shei and not a Hollow.

At first, everything was quiet within the formerly thriving tree-bound village. Much of the ruins had long been taken over by nature or destroyed by it, but some of the homes remained more-or-less in-tact within the branches that had for so long held them. Espio's childhood home was among them, and from within the ancient scorched building came a soft shhh sound as something was slid across the floor of the front room high above Armaris's head. Then there was a low thump as it was set down. Or perhaps even dropped. Everything went silent again after that. Armaris was quick to leap up, climbing the tree and pulling herself inside with her eyes narrowed and stance low to the ground. If it wasn't Shei, she wasn't going to think twice about killing them. However, what could he even be looking for here?

Her arrival caused the person inside to twirl around with surprising speed and grace, given the circumstances. He looked the same as he had earlier in the day during the fight (even down to the blood on his person), and was still wearing the same black boots, pants, long-sleeved shirt, and mouth-concealing ninja mask. Dark purple skin nearly allowed him to be hidden in the shadows of the long abandoned home, but once those onyx eyes fell upon Armaris any desire to actually conceal himself vanished. Shei visibly relaxed and quickly gestured at her to do the same. He stood from his own crouch, removing his hand from his sheathed sword in the process. Armaris hesitated (and very obviously so) with her grip tightening on her sword and her pupils dilating. "Why are you here?"

His gaze searched hers for a long moment before he turned and gestured to the floor. The fresh scrapes on the floor showed where he had shoved away a large plank of wood that had been concealing what remained of the table they'd always had in this room. On that table, there had always been a framed photo, the only existing one of their family. Shinobi weren't normally ones to keep such sentimental items, but upon seeing his home in such a state… he had immediately begun to search for the photo. He had no idea if it was the only damn thing left of his wife and son, but even if it wasn't…

Armaris slowly pushed herself to stand straight, a frown on her face. That Astra bitch wouldn't care about anything here. Which means… he's in control. Not her. She nodded and vanished into her shadows to look around, just in case it wasn't in the right spot. Knowing Shei was himself certainly helped to ease the edge off her already frayed nerves. Taking the cue that it was safe to continue, Shei moved more ancient debris around until he uncovered the frame. Upon doing so, he immediately realized that it had already been opened up and had the photo in question carefully removed. Frowning, he eyed the object for a long moment before setting it down again and stepping away.

With this matter more or less taken care of, though not with the end result he'd hoped for, Shei (who had always been mute), tapped lightly on the nearest piece of wood to get Armaris's attention. The cat was quick to reappear and fix him with a questioning look. He responded only by gesturing at the empty frame. She frowned softly and raised an eyebrow at him, shrugging softly. Shei was forced to admit defeat and opted to change the subject. With quick hands, he signed a simple question. "Are they alive?"

Armaris frowned at this. It wouldn't be an easy question to answer, and her expression certainly told that much. "They're both alive, but… Aniko is in a particularly unusual situation." He gave her a look that pretty much demanded an explanation. "You and her were both dead, and then brought back to life with necromancy by a woman named Astra. She had control of the both of you, until Espio killed you. Someone used magic and brought back dead people on Mobius and now here you are."

Well, that explained the blood, and probably also the strange fatigue he felt. It didn't, however, answer the more pertinent question at hand. "Where is Aniko?" he signed in response. What Armaris was implying was clear already. He supposed he just needed to directly hear it in order to believe it.

"We are not going there. I will not let you get killed or worse," Armaris vehemently replied, glaring. "Absolutely not."

Shei didn't back down. He remained firm and steadfast. "Tell me where she is. I will not sit here and do nothing while she is in danger."

"She's not in any danger because she has the God of Demons protecting her." That struck Shei as the precise opposite of safe, and the look he gave Armaris communicated this thought quite clearly. Armaris shook her head and bit out, "She's being controlled by Astra, and Astra will not let her die. She also has use to the god, so he definitely won't let something happen."

Irritated with this response, Shei made an unhappy clicking sound with his tongue and turned his head away from her. He took a few moments to just think and let the full weight of everything he'd been told sink in. Only then did he finally ask, "Where is my son?"

"He left with a friend. He's more or less okay, but-" Something clicked in Armaris' mind and her mood flipped quickly. "You didn't tell him a damn thing about having Darkness, did you?"

That caused his full attention to snap back to her. After a notable pause, he signed back at her with slow deliberation, "That was not my choice."

"Why did you two not tell him? That has led to a lot of problems lately," she snapped before realizing what was happening and moving back a bit.

The implications of her words were dire, but her concerns had to be addressed before this could be. "His mother, his senseis, and multiple village elders believed it was in his best interest not to tell him," he answered with a frown, gaze drawing inward. "Aniko and I discussed it at length, and she decided that she agreed with them. I did not, but agreed to support her decision until such time that it was proven that he needed to be told. That time simply never came. We believed he was safe. That was all we wanted."

Armaris' fists clenched at this and she so desperately wanted to hit something, to break something near her to vent her frustrations but nothing could bring her to damage the house she'd grown up in. She bit back her anger enough to respond with agitation evident. "His Darkness isn't dormant anymore. It's starting to cause a lot of problems, like I said."

Shei immediately answered with a simple demand. "I need to know the extent of it."

"There's a lot to cover, and I don't know the full extent. I can only give some details, then I'll have to have someone else explain later. Is that fine?" Shei nodded. "He's been moody, slaughtering people without hesitation en masse, he's nearly attacked me and was willing to kill you earlier. Oh, and there's some piece of shit who's trying to sway him to their side, which is the woman that's causing most of this fucking shit."

There was a bit of a pause before Shei replied to her. "Who is the woman?"

"Her name is Nyokae," Armaris answered.

"What else do you know about her?" Shei asked, determined to learn as much as he could about what they were dealing with here.

"She's strong and fast, for sure. I didn't really have time to react to a knife she stabbed me with. Nyokae has some sort of relationship with Espio, most likely romantic to some degree. And she's allied with some really ancient and powerful enemy," Armaris explained. Already, her anger was ebbing slowly.

While all of this was important, undeniably, Shei found himself focusing on one detail in particular. A romantic relationship with someone like that… Perhaps it was inevitable. Such a match would have been inevitable, once upon a time, when the clans still thrived. It is the sort of relationship we are naturally drawn toward. Pursing his lips together behind his mask, Shei signed to her, "Have markings appeared on him yet?"

"Only one at this point. They seem to have all disappeared except for the one."

He understood. His son was sporting a clan marking now… or, more likely, a combination of two, given his mixed heritage. This was far from ideal. Unhappy with this whole situation, he signed to her again, "Where is Espio?"

"Don't know," she answered. This served to make Shei even more unhappy, and he started for the door. Armaris didn't hesitate to follow after him, slowly sinking into her shadow. Not paying this too much mind, Shei jumped back down to the ground far below, landing in a neat crouch in the lush grass. Only, a fresh wave of weakness and fatigue hit him right in that same moment, causing his balance to fail him and him to awkwardly tipped over sideways until he was able to catch himself on the tree. He'd been fine while just standing, but his sudden movement was apparently too much too soon. This evoked an immediate reaction consisting of a frown and some choice words that he could never have the pleasure of speaking aloud. Armaris stared at him from the darkness before melding into his shadow, watching him curiously. "Are you okay?"

There was no point in trying to play this off (and besides that, lying was dishonorable), so Shei simply told her, "Tired."

"Then don't resist," Armaris said as she drug him into the shadows with her. "I'll move us both along." Resistance was clearly futile, so Shei relented and let her take charge. He realized she likely wasn't going to take him where he wanted to go, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. All he could do was wait and see where they would wind up.

~保護者~

7,052 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support! Posted (at about 5:20 p.m.) 04-12-20.