Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in these scenes… especially for the one who has finally come to.

~保護者~

"Awakening"

~保護者~

Espio… you've really got me worried. Kial thought to himself as he followed behind Espio quietly. You act unusual… and yet you somehow remain the same within that. His head hung low as he thought this over, frowning. There was so much Espio wasn't telling, and he knew that. That's what bothered him about it. In the end, he decided it was worth a try to ask Espio. The worst his friend could do was attack him. "Hey, Espio. How are you feeling?" Predictably, that was a question Espio ignored. The cat thought for a moment before rephrasing. "I was obviously there… but… what happened with that woman?"

"Nothing," Espio bit out, striding further ahead as though to put some distance between them.

"You know that's not really the truth, Espio," Kial said simply, crossing his arms as he sped up his pace to make sure he couldn't lose the chameleon. "It bothered you."

"It doesn't matter," Espio responded bitterly.

"But it does," Kial murmured softly, shaking his head. "If you have such an adverse reaction, you are likely attempting to avoid feeling something related to it." Once more, he was completely ignored. Kial fell quiet for a moment longer before changing the subject. "Who is that woman, to you?"

Espio didn't have to give the question any thought before he answered. "An enemy."

"Why?" Kial questioned, curious.

"It should not be necessary to explain."

"I'm just curious," Kial answered. "You seem conflicted, despite your immediate answer."

Only a deep breath contained the spark of temper Espio suddenly experienced, thus allowing him to keep his voice level. "I am not. She is an enemy. Nothing else."

The cat was quiet for a time, not wishing to press this any further. He wasn't entirely sure what Espio's mental state was like at the moment, and had no idea as to what was okay to question and what would make the situation worse. In the end, he decided to continue on a new subject. "How are you?"

As always, Espio's answer was a swift and simple, "Fine."

Kial tilted his head. "You're quick to answer, but not willing to think on it. Is there something you're not wanting to say?"

Oh, there were a lot of things Espio didn't want to say to Kial. Or anyone else, for that matter. But he also didn't necessarily want to acknowledge that fact, because that meant acknowledging the fact that she had pissed him off yet again and he was upset enough about that as it was. It also meant giving thought to why the things she'd said had gotten so under his skin, which was just… not happening right now. "No."

The cat took the small delay before the answer as Espio having given some thought, so he readily accepted that the chameleon seriously had no desire to speak about it. As such, he simply nodded. "Got it. On a completely different note, why did you pull me out of the way earlier?"

"You were about to be stabbed," Espio stated frankly, like it was obvious. Because, truly, it was.

"Why do you care?" Kial asked, tilting his head again. "You do, or you wouldn't have pulled me out of the way. But why?"

"You would be dead, had it struck," was all Espio told him in reply.

Kial nodded slowly. So he's absolutely not going to be speaking emotionally. I guess I'll have to keep trying other topics to see what he will talk about. "How about this. Do you have questions for me?"

This earned a frown. The question was unexpected enough to get Espio to spend a moment or two thinking it over, but ultimately his response was still only a one-word answer. "No."

"Nothing, then?"

"I said no."

"Just checking," Kial said, shrugging softly. "Well… let me ask you this, then. Who are you?"

Completely caught off-guard, Espio stopped walking. After a long pause, he turned to face Kial with a scowl. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

"When you look at yourself, who do you perceive yourself to be?" Kial asked, his face for once devoid of the usual compassion. "What do you see?"

A matter such as this was one Espio had never before thought about. The truth was that he really never thought about this sort of thing. Most of the time, he would argue that there was no point. "It doesn't matter," he eventually muttered, starting to turn away again.

"Why does it not matter, Espio?" Kial questioned. "You exist, do you not?"

Obviously he did. But that didn't mean he had to answer this damned question. "Just shut up," he shot back, beginning to walk again.

Kial continued after him, eyebrows furrowed. "Why should I?" the cat questioned. "I ask this in seriousness." Espio wanted to say that the reason was because he'd fucking cut him if he didn't stop talking, but he couldn't quite bring himself to believe his own words just then. So he held his tongue. "If you can give me any answer, then I will let the topic go." With no answer to even give, Espio stayed silent and picked up the pace again, suddenly more determined than before to put space between himself and the bobcat. Kial returned to speeding up to keep up with the chameleon. "What do you think I am looking for as an answer?" he questioned.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?" Espio snapped, temper flaring again.

"That's the entire point of the question," Kial answered in return, frowning. "You're not supposed to know." Espio's more logical side kicked back in at that moment and he spent the next few seconds silently cursing himself for letting his emotions dictate his reactions. Again. But he couldn't quite keep all the anger in check, leading him to decide it was best to just hold his tongue. "The rarity of those who know who or what they are is amazing. If I were to ask myself, I could produce no feasibly decent answer. I have little understanding of the answer I could provide, whereas someone who has existed for far longer such as Cere could give a more definitive answer. I didn't want you to have an answer because you're really not supposed to be able to just figure it out."

Silence answered him. After a time, Kial sighed softly. "Espio, there's a lot of things I want to know about how you're feeling. I continue asking these outlandish questions in hopes to gain insight, but I can't get through. Is it because you truly don't want to talk about anything?"

"Talking is not useful," Espio answered him, finally giving up on trying again to just ignore his companion.

"It can be when given a chance, Espio." Kial answered. "Talking shows how you feel and let's you express emotion. I understand that shinobi are not supposed to express much, but everyone has emotions and to stow them away where they cannot see the light makes their eventual escape far worse."

"Words are empty," Espio retorted, more irritation bubbling forth." They are meaningless."

"Words on their own are. The individual using them is what gives them power." When Espio didn't respond to this, Kial decided to make one last attempt. "What's on your mind…?"

"Nothing." With this flat, emotionless response, Espio suddenly took to the trees at great speed and disappeared.

Kial stopped where he was with a gentle sigh and folded his arms over one another. He was only vaguely aware of himself slipping into a sitting position with his legs crossed, almost instinctively slipping into a meditative state. None of this stopped a single tear filled with concern and fear for his friend from slipping from his closed eyes. Be safe, Espio.

~保護者~

Jet couldn't shake the feeling of peace that was filling him as he and Sein began making their way down the stairs of the palace. They had cleaned his room up already and were on their way to find the young queen Saraya (he felt it was important to check up on her), but his senses were telling him she was a few floors below them. He started heading down the stairs, fingers lightly brushing across the polished railing as Sein followed at his heels. They made it about halfway down the first set of steps before a white hot stabbing sensation made itself known in Jet's head.

The sudden explosion of agony robbed him of his senses for a long moment. When he recovered enough to see and hear again (not to mention feel anything other than the pain in his head), he realized he had crumpled to the floor. Only the hand he had had on the railing had prevented him from falling down more than a few steps, as he had apparently tightened his grip on reflex in response to the pain. His other hand was clutching at his head, as though that would somehow make the pain cease. He didn't dare speak or open his eyes right then, for he was in far too much pain to attempt such a thing.

Only after a veritable eternity had passed did Jet start to become aware of Sein again. The other man was probably trying to help him, but Jet really had no concrete idea of what was happening right now. Pain drowned nearly everything else out, despite the fact that it was slowly ebbing away. Even once it receded enough for him to be able to somewhat see straight again, he pulled himself up enough to sit probably on a step and then put his head in both of his hands. He was dizzy now, nauseas, even feeling faint. Like he might black out. Standing was likely a god-awful idea. Focusing on what Sein was saying or doing seemed like a better one.

By now, Sein was beginning to pick his son up off the stairs and descending them at a quick pace to try and get Jet somewhere he could relax for a second. "Fuck, what's going on?" He questioned, hoping that Jet might be able to make a response despite the obvious pain.

It took a few seconds for Jet to fully recognize what was happening. He didn't like being carried, but it wasn't as though he was exactly in the shape to pull himself free. "Don't know," he eventually mumbled. The only explanation he could get out after that point was a small, "Head hurts."

"Where should I take you?" Sein asked quickly, his eyes darting back and forth to try and figure out where to go from here. "I don't want to worry people, but we need to get you somewhere not in the middle of a hallway or something."

Jet forced his eyes open again, trying to clear the blurriness from them long enough to make sense of where they were. His vision darkened at the edges in response to a small uptick in pain, but he saw enough to get his bearings. Closing his eyes again, he gestured vaguely to the left. "Sitting room," he all but whispered.

Sein all but burst into this room, finding a suitable spot to set Jet down and laying him there before dropping to check over him. "Do you have any idea of what we should do about this?"

Since he felt sick to his stomach, Jet didn't want to speak. However, shaking his head sounded like just about the worst idea ever, so he forced himself to talk instead. "No."

"Okay…" Sein thought as quickly as he could before asking, "Do you know of anything that might help?" This time, Jet did just shake his head. As predicated, he instantly regretted it. Sein rushed off at borderline supersonic speeds, searching for any sort of medicine that might be useful before reappearing back in the room seconds later with a few bottles in hand. He listed off the names of the medicines, looking to see if Jet thought any of the things he'd collected might help.

Much, much more slowly this time, Jet shook his head again. That made his pain a little less intense this time around, but it still had yet to abate entirely. He knew these medicines wouldn't help, either. Yes, they were designed to help with headaches and migraines brought on by all sorts of causes, but the one he was suffering currently… something about it didn't seem right. He couldn't for the life of him shake the feeling that this was all wrong. But… why? None of this makes sense.

The blue hawk knelt down by Jet, setting the medicines aside and watching over Jet worriedly. "I don't know what to do…" he admitted slowly, a tinge of sadness entering his tone.

It took effort to swallow back his nausea, but Jet eventually mumbled, "It's… not your fault."

"I just want to be able to help, but it seems like this is something different, right?" Sein dared to ask.

"Yeah," Jet replied after another long pause.

"We just… have to wait it out, don't we?" Sein slowly asked.

That seemed a likely, if not wholly unpleasant, possibility. "...Maybe."

"That's… shitty, but better than nothing." Jet couldn't formulate even a halfway decent reply, and so instead laid down as quickly as he dared on whatever couch he'd been placed upon. Maybe if he could sleep, this would be over sooner…

~保護者~

Young Anthea, the oldest of the two adopted daughters of the Sun God, knew it was much too late for her to be awake right now. Wandering through the foreign home of the Star Goddess, she wasn't sure if she would face any sort of a reprimand for being out of bed. Only concern for her younger sister kept her from turning back and finding her way back to their shared sleeping quarters. She soon realized that she could sense the cat, anyway, so she opted to forge ahead. Stepping into the doorway to the room where their temporary caretaker was, she quietly called out, "Lady Sona?"

Sona glanced up from her enchanted table with a questioning gaze, blinking. "What are you doing awake, Anthea? I told you both to rest, just in case something happens." she said, crossing her arms. "Something on your mind?"

The ten-year-old looked down at her sandaled feet, hands behind her back in an almost nervous fashion. "I'm sorry, Lady Sona," she murmured. "It's just… It's Anya. She's having a dream again. Daddy usually takes care of her, but he's not here, so I thought…" She trailed off, shuffling her feet a bit.

The cat managed a soft smile and pushed herself to stand, setting a hand on Anthea's head for a moment as she passed and walked toward their temporary room. "What does he normally do?" she asked, her gaze flickering back to Anthea.

Relieved, Anthea hurried after her. "He tells her stories a lot. I don't know what else he does. Even when she wakes me up because of her dreams, Daddy's stories always help me fall back asleep fast."

"I'm not much of a storyteller," Sona revealed, not acting as if this would surprise Anthea in the slightest. "I got another idea, though." She walked into the girls' shared bedroom and teleported a cello into her hand with the bow in her other. "Hopefully this doesn't make things worse somehow."

Anthea crossed the room to sit at the edge of the smaller echidna's bed. Her sister was only half Anthea's age, and yet the mental fortitude (as she'd always heard adults call it) she displayed was immense. Yet, the things she saw and understood were often too much for her young mind to handle. And the dreams they caused… they troubled her to no end. Anthea sincerely hoped, for her sister's sake, that they could be tamed again tonight, as they so often were. "Anya likes music," she murmured. "Daddy can't play, but sometimes we visit Lady Cosmo. She makes lovely songs."

"Your dad isn't as cool as me for a reason," Sona chuckled, teleporting a seat as she made the motion to sit down. "Lay down, Anthea, and I'll play."

"Okay." Anthea slid back off of the bed and returned to her own. She crawled into it and under the covers, quickly settling back in for the night.

Sona took a moment before slowly dragging the bow along the strings and making minor adjustments. Then, she took time to build a resonance within her melody, letting the music start from a borderline depressive sound to something far more mellow. Amidst the music, the room gained a soft glow as various creatures seemingly created from the stars themselves appeared around her, moving along with her playing. Her eyes lifted to regard the two young children, hoping that the music was doing something pleasant for them.

As she had earlier stated often happened, Anthea had already fallen back asleep. As for her younger sister… she had never truly woken up, but her sleep seemed to be gradually growing more peaceful again in response to Sona's efforts. The music continued at an even pace, never once picking up or slowing down. It wasn't often she let anyone hear her play music, and those who did were most likely entering her home without saying anything. Needless to say, Sona felt these two were a special exception, and smiled as the soothing notes she played returned the children to their sleep.

~保護者~

It had been too many long years, Wave reflected, since she had returned to the town of Sanol. Nestled in the hills near what had once been known as South City during Sonic's lifetime, this small town had been just one of two settlements that the ever-dwindling Mobian population of misplaced Babylonians had built and resided in. The other had been Crestfor, an even tinier town in the forest near what had once been Future City. Sanol, however… that had been Wave's home. Following the collapse of South Island, her family and others had settled the area. There, Wave had been raised and, for a time, her little brother had been as well. There, she had first learned the art of inventing… and had first picked up on clues of the unspoken half of her heritage - the half that came from her father.

It was there that her mother had died… lost in a flood and never seen again.

Far too long had Wave's pain kept her from this place, from the memories both good and bad that it held for her. She knew now was the time to break that trend, to set foot on cobbled walkways that she had barely seen since her youngest days. There was a man here, an eccentric and all around strange man… but one she dared to call an ally. Even a friend. Unusual though he was, it was his influence that had helped her to learn how to smile and laugh even in the face of truly serious circumstances, to not let the adversity in her life cause her to forget how to do so in the first place. This man was… wise, she had to admit. He was also strong. Very strong. And it was an ally like him that she knew they needed now more than ever.

Sighing softly to herself, Wave approached a home she had first come to know as a child. She could only stop the person she sought was still living there. Knocking lightly, she called out, "Cyril? You home?"

"Eh?" a voice called from behind the door, throwing it open. "Wave? It's been way too long. What brings you here?" the light yellow finch asked with a bright smile.

Wave offered a smile that was half-sad and yet, somehow, half-happy as well. "It has been. I'm sorry, Cyril." Her smile faltered. "And… I'm sorry that I've only come back now, when everything is gearing up to plunge down into hell again."

Cyril chuckled softly, metal cards appearing between his fingers as he smiled. "Not a worry, Wave. I've been doing my part where I can to keep things from getting to that point, but eh. Who the hell knows? So, you came with a purpose. Tell me," he said stepping fully into the doorway and leaning against it.

"I'm sure you're aware of all the attacks that have been taking place," Wave answered. "Another one is coming, but my dad and I can handle it. After that… After that, I don't know what to expect. I only know that we've long been facing a war of many fronts. A war that is rapidly heading straight for us. We're gathering what allies we can." She looked at him, eyes imploring him. "You're someone we need."

He frowned for a moment, flicking her shoulder. "Drop that face. It's not befitting of someone like you." After this, a bright smile appeared on his face. "Whether I'm needed for my amazing theatrics or my incredible magic shows, you know I'll help where I can." Cyril leaned aside, revealing a sort of spell he'd cast on one of his walls to let him see into space. "After the attack, I was actually watching in case something else came, so this wouldn't change what I'm doing much as it is."

To say she was relieved was an understatement. Wave sighed a little, but smiled again. "Thank you, Cyril." She glanced at the time on her communicator before continuing. "I know you would never have been there, but you're familiar with the existence of the Northern Highlands, yes?"

"Uh, yeah. I know about the geography of the planet, whether or not I've been there. Would be kinda dumb to live this long and not know about my home," he winked. "Why, though? Thought people couldn't go there."

"I only ask because it is usually hidden away," Wave huffed. "But, more to the point, now you can go there. In fact, I specifically request that you do. An ally of ours is a chameleon, born and raised in those lands, and we're gathering at his home. I can send you the coordinates… but only because I know you can be trusted not to return to those lands in the future."

"I'd never mess with the chameleons. Right dangerous bunch, they are," he admitted, smiling. His face turned serious momentarily, an uncharacteristic frown appearing. "Though, you said you and your dad were going to deal with something. If both of you are going, something's up, yeah?"

"You'll have to forgive me for being so short with you," Wave sighed. "Things really are going straight to hell in a handbasket, and it'll get worse if Dad and I don't leave soon. I can explain more once we get back."

He rolled his eyes at her and sighed as well, flicking a metal card in front of himself and holding it to her. "Then take this with you. Don't ask questions, just take it."

She gave him an odd sort of look, but in the end she just accepted the card. She doubted he'd inscribed it with any sort of magic… but if he insisted, then who was she to refuse? "Sure, Cyril. And… thank you."

Cyril smiled, shrugging. "It's what I do. Now, give me the coordinates and I'll go meet your friends there."

In response, Wave rattled off the coordinates to him, closely followed by a set of instructions. "The house you're looking for is one that was built in the trees, not the ground. It's one of the highest up, and you'll sense a very ancient dragon just outside of it. That's the place you'll want to go. If anyone asks, and they will, tell them I sent you. It will be enough."

"Gotcha, then I'll do my super cool magic tricks and make them all my friends as well," he answered, laughing softly. His smile settled a bit and he nodded to her. "Be safe. Got it?"

"I will," she assured him. Her own smile returned and was soft in its appearance. "Remember that hawk you met the last time I visited? He tugged a promise out of me already. So now I have two reasons to watch my own back."

Cyril snickered, nudging her. "Go save the world or some shit. Do your thing." Her only response was to give him a mock-salute before disappearing from sight. The finch smirked and removed a metal card from one of his utility pockets before throwing it down, vanishing into the portal it created under his feet.

~保護者~

In the peaceful retreat that was Nier's home, Finis and Cere sat outside of the Rune God's home while keeping silent watch over their sleeping charge within. The quiet tranquility of this incredibly small world was shattered by the uncharacteristically panicked voice of Therin, who came running toward them at high speeds from where he had been stationed on watch some distance away. "Cere! Cere! Shit, we have to do something!"

Cere stood and picked up her halberd quickly, frowning in response. "What's happening?" she demanded of him.

The grey-furred God of Thieves cat skidding to a halt in front of the pair, eyes wide with alarm. "A horde's coming and the demons I saw are nothing like the little crap-stains we usually encounter," he panted. "They're hella fucking powerful, and there's no way they aren't here to take her back."

In response, the Hexan's eyes glowed a brilliant red before her gaze shifted to Finis. "What say you?"

"Their god has not issued any commands that I have been able to hear," Finis answered mentally. Being so closely related to beings of Darkness of all types, he was generally attuned to such things. But this time... there was nothing. "They likely intend to recover her before he returns from battle. They will be vicious and unrelenting."

Therin did not like this. "All the more reason to get her out of here, right?"

Finis shook her head. "No. She is safest here, where we can easily guard her. To move her would be foolish."

"So be it," Cere answered, the same red that glew within her eyes already beginning to surround her weapon. "I suppose that means we have no choice?" Finis shook his head, expression grim. She sighed and twirled the weapon. "Therin, make sure she is safe. We cannot afford to let her be taken."

"Yeah. Sure. I'll do what I can." Despite his curt, less-than-thrilled response, Therin's demeanor was nothing short of serious as he moved to a more advantageous position outside of the home.

Cere took a moment to stand tall and prepare a large-scale attack, her special energy gathering around herself and her weapon. "I'll do what I can to thin the horde as they approach, quickly."

Finis took to the air as he most often did, gathering his own energies around his body. As he did, he spoke within her mind. "They will not be easy to fell. Hit them as hard as you can."

"Understood," she replied, her eyes closing and her grip on the halberd tightening. "I'll give them a dose of the death they deal."

The demons were upon them before Finis could reply, had he even been so inclined in the first place. He unleashed a storm of Night energy into the mass of writhing demonic bodies, making quick work of the very weakest of the bunch. His attack rippled through the hordes, killing all it could kill in the time before it dissipated. Admittedly, the number of dead was not high. Even more strength would be required. Cere stabbed the flat end of her halberd into the ground with enough force to crack the ground immediately around her, a massive wave of her Judgement energy crashing into and through the very beings of each of the demons.

Even as many demons fell to the wayside, killed by the combined efforts of these two powerful beings, still more continued their furious charge toward the small home that Cere, Finis, and Therin had been tasked with defending. A few here and there, but Therin managed to finish them off with swift strokes of his sword. That he was able to do so was good, but the fact that demons were escaping past Cere and Finis was decidedly not. Finis took this information to heart and set about unleashing constant waves of concussive energy, each designed to keep the demons back long enough for Cere (who was much more well-equipped for combat than he was) to kill them all off.

The Hexan made good use of this time, lifting a hand and firing out a storm of magic bolts that stuck into anything in its path to begin eroding what it touched. She then quickly followed this with another wave of Judgement, each demon it touched receiving concussive blows directly to their bodies. The demons killed by these attacks were blasted off of the planet without remorse and with all due force, while those who survived were continually impeded by Finis's attacks. Cere launched herself into the fray, swinging her Halberd powerfully to send out blades of magic and Judgement that tore through the air itself and set off small, controlled explosions all throughout the demons' ranks.

Seeing that their brethren were failing, the strongest demons amidst these hordes started making their way to the forefront. Straight away, a small group of them managed to turn one of Finis's attacks back on him, launching him into the ground with an explosion that created quite a deep crater in the once-lush grass.

"Finis!" Cere called, turning on this group of demons and very selectively calling down a massive strike of lightning on them with her Judgement. She didn't waste time and also threw out a particularly deadly storm of magic missiles to deal with the oncoming horde of smaller demons, hoping that Finis would get up sooner rather than later. He did after a moment, coughing as his less-than-physical body somewhat flickered in and out of visibility in the places where he'd been struck. More demons came surging toward the pair, all poised to try their hand at killing them where they stood. "Enough!" she yelled, a storm breaking out all around her so she had a chance to fall back. Hurricane-force winds momentarily followed her movements, allowing her to launch herself back to the ground by Finis.

With the demons pushed back for the moment, Finis called upon his energies to repair the damage that had been done to him and then took to the air again. There was no time to waste, not with the ever-increasing aggression these demons were displaying. The harder we strike, the harder they strike. Every effort we make is doubled by them. How do we overcome this? Cere glanced to Finis, asking if they should retreat. She was coming to the same conclusion… and it was well known by her that this storm could only last so long. A fresh attack came at them before he could answer, this time plowing through both of them and pounding them hard into the ground. Finis recovered in time to see the attack barreling toward Therin in the house… only for a searing pain to start to make itself known in his body. A pain that could only be caused by one thing. Light…

Cere pushed herself to stand when she realized what was happening, pulling Finis into a barrier made of her magic before pulling herself into it. If this was what was happening… Therin would be fine. Her concern had to lie with Finis, and so she chose to protect him. Sure enough, only a second later a powerful wave of Light pulsed over the entirety of this short-lived battle and all those who had been taking part in it. Though he was in pain, Finis took great satisfaction in the screams of every last demon as they disintegrated in the warm brightness of the unexpected attack. When it finally weakened and receded, leaving no trace of the demons that had once been present in such great numbers here, he opened his eyes and turned his head to look for the source of it all.

Just beyond the door of the house, Analia stood weakly, a hand upraised in the air where what remained of her Light was retreating to and her legs quaking with the effort it was taking for her to hold herself up. The change of clothes she had been put into since she was rescued glowed with a soft light under the watchful eye of the moon high above, only further highlighting the unspoken strength she had always had… and clearly still possessed, even after all that she had been through. But that strength soon failed her and she started to collapse. Therin happened to reach her first, and he caught her by the arm before she could completely fall.

"I…" Cere's barrier dropped and she ran over to Therin and Analia, her eyes wide. "Analia, are you okay…? You didn't need to do something so… drastic."

Panting and struggling to remain awake, the hedgehog very softly responded, "It was… necessary."

Therin scowled a little, but not in his usual way. This one was more… concerned than was normal for him. "Shit, lady. You really did a number on yourself…"

Cere sighed and shook her head. "Analia, you don't need to expend so much energy. That's reckless and dangerous."

"Necessary," Analia corrected once she had caught her breath a bit more. Some of her hair slipped into her face before she shakily pushed it back over her shoulder. It was tangled and completely lacking in its normal beauty and healthy shine. "Those demons… their skills lie in arcane restraints. Given the chance to do so, they would have drained us all."

The Hexan sighed. "Don't do that again unless you have to, then. Okay? We don't need another situation like we have with Rose before." Analia could only offer a faint nod in response.

Not liking the exhaustion that was dimming her aura, Finis said, "She needs to return to bed."

Cere nodded and carefully picked Analia up off the ground. "You need to rest," she murmured softly, moving back inside and carrying the Light being back to the bed. Analia had no arguments to offer. She could already feel herself slipping away. Rest was… absolutely what she needed. What she had needed for so many years but had up until recently never been able to attain. The Hexan carefully laid her back down on the bed and knelt down. "Rest, Analia. Do it for your own sake." The words were arranged like a demand, but every last moment of how she said it was pleading more so than anything else.

Only able to nod, Analia closed her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her once more.

~保護者~

5,999 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 9:13 p.m.) 04-20-20.