Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this reunion… especially for the one who loves her family more than she lets on.

~保護者~

"Ninmu (Mission)"

~保護者~

Roughly an hour had passed since Armaris had returned with Kial and the others, and she was currently seated in the front room with most of the others. Tails, and Li were still in the back room with Shadow and Espio was asleep in his own room, but everyone else was either in the front room or outside and Steam (while not actively keeping watch) was somewhere out there as well. Actually, most of them were inside, but Alana had taken to the roof some time ago to keep watch. This left Shei, Kial, Armaris, Silver and Locke (both of whom were still sleeping), Sonic, Vector, and Cream. Quiet conversations were being held at various points, but Sonic interrupted the one he was having with Cream by suddenly frowning. His right ear gave a tell-tale flick. "...Who's communicator is that?"

On reflex, Vector went to check his own… only to rediscover that he had yet to get a new one since being revived. "It ain't mine," he stated helpfully, "since I kinda don't have one."

Sonic turned to Kial. "Is it Steam's that's vibrating? You still have it, right?" It irked him that he couldn't quite tell without asking around. Normally his ears would've told him with ease, but something about the way the sound was bouncing around left him uncertain.

Kial shook his head, holding out the communicator in question. "Nothing's happening with it."

"I don't think it would be Mister Tails's," Cream said. "He would have turned it off by now."

"Yeah. And he would've done the same with Shadow's, too." Sonic thought for a second, then turned and looked at Espio's door. "...Might be his, then."

Vector frowned. "Someone calling him?"

"More like blowing up his inbox with messages," Sonic grumbled. "The damn thing won't stop vibrating."

"I'll go check it out, all of you stay here." Armaris stood and didn't wait for anybody to respond, her body dissipating into wisps of Darkness so she could slip into the room silently. The device in question was easily located once she was in Espio's room, for it was sitting in plain unobstructed view on the nightstand beside his bed. Even when in the same room as it, however, the sound of its vibrations was nearly imperceptible because they were just so quiet. Ideal for when the user was engaging in stealthy activities when wearing it… or just didn't want to be completely annoyed by the sound of incoming messages.

Armaris snatched it off the nightstand, glancing through the messages quickly to try and figure out what the fuck was happening. The messages showed in the order that they'd been sent, with the first one simply reading:

"We have a new hit for you. Accept or don't, but the rewards will be high for this one."

A glance at Espio served as enough of a reminder that he was asleep and likely wouldn't notice for the time being. She quickly set about typing a reply message.

"Who?"

The person on the other end, being none the wiser, immediately responded to her.

"A woman has been seen attacking various cities and has killed a number of our associates. The latest reports seem to suggest that she is demonic in nature. Her skill is beyond what we are equipped to handle. Deal with it for us and we will repay you in kind."

Armaris felt her body run cold, but nonetheless typed out one more reply.

"What do they look like?"

The response was, again, quick to arrive.

"Some species of feline. She was last spotted near the La Toure Estate, travelling at high speeds toward the next settlement. Deal with it swiftly."

Armaris wanted to yell, but Espio was within feet of her. Numbly, she drug herself from the room with his communicator firmly held in hand and began trying to get to the front door without falling. "She's still alive… fuck, fuck… she's going to kill me…"

Shei set a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her, but Cream spoke faster than he could sign. "Miss Armaris? What's the matter?"

"My mother… she's alive again…" Armaris threw Shei's hand off her shoulder almost roughly and practically tossed herself from the porch to the ground to try and get away, but her knees gave underneath her and she curled up momentarily. "Damn it."

Steam frowned at this sight and walked over, dropping to his knees a few feet from her with a frown. "Armaris, what's going on?"

A blast of wind almost threw him off the ground, but he kept himself down with a small and controlled burst of flames. "My mother is alive again and she's going to kill me for killing her!"

The hedgehog's eyes widened quickly and his concern rose even more than it had when the trees around them began shifting. "Armaris, please don't start a tornado here. I'll handle this situation, but I need you to stay calm for a second."

"I don't know what to do!" The cat screamed, clutching at her head. "That bitch is hateful and spiteful, and she's damn sure going to remember that I went after her and killed her!"

"She doesn't know where you are, Armaris," he said quickly before turning his head to the roof. "Alana! Keep the wind from going out of control!" Taking note of the situation unfolding down below, Alana called forth her own wind abilities to begin gently pushing back against Armaris's, effectively cancelling them out for the most part - but in a way that would by no means seem threatening to the cat, even in her current state. Steam was quick to roll when Armaris lashed out with her hand, realizing that she had already shifted into a somewhat aggressive state. "Armaris, I need you to listen for a moment. You're safe here, and she can't harm you right now. She has no clue where you are, and even if she did, there's an Immortal here. She couldn't risk coming out here like that."

"Osaina will find a way, she always does," Armaris bit out, gritting her teeth. "You don't know her like I do…"

Steam sighed. "I do know her. She was an awful mother, abusive and destructive. Your father had to leave her when you were very young to keep you alive."

"Don't act like you understand the shit she put us through!"

For a second, Steam bit his lip. "Armaris, I've been through hell before. I was kidnapped as a kid and used as a guinea pig by a man who wanted to achieve immortality. He tore me apart and let my regeneration put me back together again... and again and again."

Armaris paused at hearing this and raised her head, her own fears and worries forgotten for a moment. "Wait… really?"

"Yeah…" Steam admitted. "I remember every second of it, too. I don't know what you went through, but I've been through hellish torture. You're stronger than this, than me. Don't let her decide how you feel just because she's alive."

The cat stared at him for a long moment before turning her gaze away. "Right… I…"

"Don't explain yourself. Go relax, you've been through a bit of hell on your own, lately."

Whether Armaris wanted to or not, she eventually obliged and teleported onto the roof, leaving the communicator on the ground. Steam picked it up and read through the messages with a determined look. "I'll end this once and for all," he muttered, glancing to Alana to signal that he was leaving. She answered by motioning for him to toss the communicator up to her before he left, which he did before teleporting away.

Armaris curled up next to the hawk quietly, frowning. "I… I don't know what to do."

The glance Alana afforded her was brief but no less sympathetic. "Firstly… I would recommend trusting your allies to make good on their words. He has promised to handle this. Allow him the chance to try before you succumb to panic."

"She's just… a horrible person… it's the reason that I killed her in the first place…" Even though I hadn't wanted to, really...

"That is all the more reason to let him try his hand at defeating her," Alana said. "Such a person is worthy of no less. And this time, her blood will not be on your hands. It is not your burden to bear. Not for a second time."

Armaris curled up a bit more. "I wish my dad would do it… It'd be over quickly…"

"I understand, Armaris," was the murmured response. "But you call some of these people friends. The rest you still call allies. They are deserving of your trust. Perhaps you should try sharing at least some of it with them."

She snorted softly. "I don't even know most of these peoples' names. I wouldn't trust them as far as I can punch them."

This made the hawk's eyes sparkle with some unspoken amusement. "And yet here you remain, do you not? It is not all for the sake of the few friends you do claim."

"Do I want to go after that woman?" Armaris asked rhetorically, huffing. "For fuck's sake, she's the last person I want to see, right next to that Nyokae bitch."

Alana indulged in a lengthy sigh and turned to fully face the younger woman. "Armaris… may I speak to you frankly?"

"What?" Armaris asked in hardly concealed annoyance.

"You say you do not trust these people," Alana told her carefully, "and yet you remain in their company. You fight alongside them and allow them to do the same with you. You converse with them, you help protect them, you listen to them… Why, then, can you not afford them some degree of trust, especially when they have proven themselves to be no danger to you? They have offered you their support in every aspect that they can. All they want in return is a bit of trust from you."

Armaris huffed softly at this and snorted, vanishing inside rather than continue to talk to her. Just like my dad. Pointing shit out that I didn't wanna know. Though she said this to herself, she couldn't find that thought to be true. She did trust these people, even Sonic, the one she so enjoyed to antagonize and terrorize. The cat remained within her shadow for the time being, deciding she didn't want to come out yet. Almost as if purely to convince her to do just that, Alana teleported Espio's communicator back into the house, where it plopped harmlessly onto the floorboards beside her. The cat internally cursed Alana for this as she materialized and grabbed the communicator off the floor.

Sonic, naturally, took note of the noise and looked over. "Uh…" he started warily before continuing, "Everything okay…?"

The cat idly flicked a small burst of air at his forehead. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bit of a freak out."

"Erm… that's a bit of an understatement, there," Vector piped up, looking just as concerned as everyone else (with the exception of Shei, who was mostly unreadable).

Armaris waved a hand at them, as if saying for them to shoo. "Ah, quiet, the lot of you. I said it's fine."

It took a bit of thinking before Sonic decided to go ahead and risk accepting that her words were true and not a lie. "So… am I gonna get cut or some shit for asking what the hell just happened?"

"I mean, I could cut you. It's not that hard," Armaris said, leaning against a wall and casually unsheathing her black katana. "I bet I can do it quicker than you can blink, too."

Shei interrupted before Sonic could start to fear for his life too much. "Armaris, do not torment him."

Sonic huffed. "Gee, thanks for the help…"

Armaris mocked him with her own hand movements, since he didn't speak. "I'm not gonna kill him. Maybe just hurt him a little bit. Nothing big."

"I'd rather you didn't," Sonic told her.

Right about that time, Cream piped up. "Miss Armaris?" she asked quietly, drawing attention off of Sonic and toward herself. "What was on Espio's communicator that upset you so?" She almost added some sort of a title or honorific to his name, as she so often did with everyone else, but she was quick to remind herself that he had recently told her it was unnecessary.

A groan escaped Armaris at this, knowing she couldn't fully avoid Cream questioning her. "So… Espio apparently has been working as a for-hire assassin. People were trying to hire him to kill my mother, who is back to terrorizing people."

Silence initially answered her statement before, eventually, Vector seemed to have some sort of an epiphany. "So that's how he's been paying for the agency all this time…"

Armaris blinked for a few moments before she uttered a word without thinking. "Huh?"

"Oh. Uh." The croc looked around for someone to help him. No one did, of course, so he continued. "I used to own and run a detective agency back in the day. He was my second-in-command, and I left everything to him when I died. I was just wonderin' how in the hell he's managed to pay to keep the property for so long, since this whole society here doesn't exactly make use of any kind of… well, money."

"O-… Okay then," Armaris nodded slowly, pursing her lips as she tried to figure out what to say. It felt so out of the blue that she was honestly caught off guard.

"So, wait, why would they want to hire him to kill your mom?" Vector asked quickly afterward.

Armaris sighed. "Seems like it's becoming a thing where she's making enemies by attacking their comrades or just the cities they inhabit. At least, that's the one message I actually bothered to read."

Sonic held out a hand. "Mind if I take a look?"

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Don't show me anything. If you think it'll upset me, say so." With that, she practically slapped it into his hand. "Knock yourself out."

"I won't say anything unless it's completely and utterly important to do so, alright?" Sonic huffed, settling back against the wall as he started reading. "In the meantime, though, you might wanna go check on him again. I keep hearing some movement in there. Might just be Sako, though."

Armaris nodded and vanished, appearing silently in Espio's room once more while glancing around. Sure enough, little Sako soon proved to be the source of the noise. Normally chameleon babies would sleep in a small cot beside their parents' bed, but since no such arrangements had been made yet here he had been laid in Espio's bed with him. The baby had been sleeping peacefully curled against Espio's back, but now was busily trying to pull himself over to Espio's front side. The constant touching and movement made Espio stir enough to somewhat become aware of what was happening, and he shifted an arm to carefully pull the baby down so that he was laying still again. Sako seemed content with this… for the moment. But he was very much still awake.

The cat sighed to herself and set an arm down to see if she could get Sako's attention. If she could get the chameleon baby off Espio, maybe she could manage to keep the man asleep. Sako rolled over a little and looked up at Armaris with big eyes. Then, kicking his little legs as best as he could, he turned over onto his stomach and wriggled under Espio's arm. He continued to fidget once there, to the point where Espio stirred again. "Enough, Sako," he mumbled, still mostly asleep (if only because he was so tired) as he shifted them both a little in the bed.

His voice caused Sako to finally settle down for a second again, and the baby watched him with wide and innocent eyes for some time before his tiny tail happened to move in such a way that it brushed against Armaris's hand. The feeling of fur caught his attention and he immediately wiggled to try to see what his tail was touching. Armaris managed a small smirk and held back a chuckle at the adorable sight before her before slowly moving closer to attempt to collect Sako away from Espio for the time being. This went off without a hitch, by some miracle, and Sako was soon clinging to Armaris and looking around the room from his new vantage point. Armaris quietly and stealthily snuck out of the room with the chameleon baby on her, making sure to make absolutely no noise.

Shortly after her departure from the back room, Silver suddenly stirred, blinking blearily as he lifted his head from where it had been resting. "Did we do it, Cream?" he mumbled.

The bunny inclined her head. "I believe so."

Reading the confusion in the room, Vector asked, "Uh… do what, now?" Silver yawned and rubbed at his eyes.

"We have been monitoring that lady… Miss Rose's sister, I believe?" Cream shrugged a little. "I had hoped we could find an opportunity to free Lady Aniko."

Understandably, Shei was instantly quite interested in this conversation. He ceased ignoring the lot of them (as his son also so often did) and signed, "You are capable of such a thing?"

Cream watched his hands closely, then smiled a little. "Mister Silver and I have mental abilities, so yes. We wouldn't normally have been able to free Lady Aniko, since necromancy can only be undone voluntarily or through death, but… he and I detected a strange mental disconnect in Rose's sister very recently. I do not like that we had to, but we pressed the issue enough to cause her to relinquish her control in its entirety. I am not sure that she even fully realizes just yet."

Shei responded without hesitation. "She is free?"

"Yes," Cream confirmed. She turned her attention back to Silver. "Do you think you will be able to transport her here?"

In response, Silver yawned again and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Maybe… um, Dad, think you can help me?"

Only then did Sonic finally look up from Espio's communicator. It took mere seconds for him to realize he had managed to miss an entire conversation, and his ears dipped back sheepishly. "Uh… So, I may or may not have been paying attention…"

Sleepy though he still was, Silver laughed. "Nice. Takes talent, Dad."

Emerald eyes rolled. "Hush up."

"Nah." After that, Silver quickly filled Sonic in on what was happening. Once finished, he asked again, "Think you can help?"

"Sure, yeah. I'll lend you a hand." Sonic looked around. "...Actually, we may have to ask Alana to do it. Astra's apparently working with Dad now, so she's probably… far away, to say the least."

"I will go and ask," Cream offered, standing up.

"Need a hand getting up on the roof?" Silver asked her.

In response, she giggled and petted one of her soft ears. "I believe I will manage."

Silver caught on. "Oh-h-h, right. You can fly. Got it. Totally didn't forget that." Sonic chuckled and gave him a playful push. Cream smiled at them and made her way outside. Once she was gone, Silver shifted his focus to other matters. "How long was I asleep?"

"Few hours or so," Sonic shrugged. "You didn't miss much."

"But I did miss stuff, yeah? Mind filling me in?" Sonic obliged, quickly summarizing everything that had gone on, and Silver took it all in before saying anything else. "Guess Uncle Shad's not doing well, huh?"

"Better, but… not well, no." Sonic let out a sigh. "He's been dosed up on that stronger medicine, though, like I said. It's gonna take a few times for it to build up enough in his system to really begin to help."

"Has he at least been able to sleep?" Silver asked, eyes clouded with worry.

"Not really, no," Sonic answered. "He's been so jittery and nauseous that he can barely sit still. He keeps nodding off, but whatever sleep he manages to get is pretty short-lived at this point."

Silver took a minute to think about this. "But Espio is asleep? Thought he didn't even need to do that sort of thing anymore."

"From what I understand… he doesn't. Seems to me that he's developed some sort of self-sustaining abilities that have eliminated the need for him to eat, drink, and rest." Sonic scratched behind one of his ears. "Pretty crazy stuff, if you ask me. And I have no idea where he would have gotten such a power." He turned his head to look at Shei. "As crazy rare as this sort of thing is… I don't suppose it happens to run in your family somehow." Shei gave him a look and, predictably, shook his head. "Right. I didn't think it would, but it didn't hurt to check."

"So, why is he sleeping?" Silver frowned. "Since he doesn't need to, and all."

When Shei showed no interest in answering the question himself, Sonic stepped in to do so. "I don't know the whole story, just the little bits and pieces we were told when they got back, but I guess he had some sort of an extreme emotional response to something before Armaris and Shei found him. It left him pretty drained and exhausted, just not physically. Armaris practically dragged him to his room and made him lay down. Seemed like he passed out pretty quickly after that."

"Think he'll be okay again when he wakes up?" Silver asked, worried anew.

Sonic looked to Shei for answers. The chameleon could only offer a shrug and a one-word response. "Possibly."

"Guess it depends on what happened," Sonic sighed, turning back to Silver. "We'll have to wait and see."

Vector finally spoke up again, directing his words to Kial. "You ever seen anything like this before?" He stopped, thought about that, then immediately tried to correct himself. "I mean- Not see, but, erm…" He floundered for a moment, searching for a way to make this better, then just deflated. "Sheesh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

If it even remotely bothered the cat, he made no mention of such and simply smiled toward Vector. "I've 'seen' it in… other people before. It's not something I have much experience with, though."

"You ever witnessed it to this extent?" Vector asked.

Kial shook his head. "I was young, and the stresses that the average person dealt with in that time were far… less draining. He has certainly experienced something along the extremes of such an issue."

A tiny sneeze gave away Armaris's position. Eyes turned toward her and the startled baby she was carrying, then Silver let out a small, "Aw…" Closely followed by a gentle, "Hey there, little guy. Not tired anymore, huh?" Sako turned his head to look at Silver, eyes wide as ever with his usual curiosity.

Armaris minutely cringed when Sako sneezed, glancing at him with a mildly unhappy expression. "Not so stealthy for a chameleon, eh?" she murmured softly.

"He's pretty little yet," Vector chuckled. "Give the kid time. Even his dad didn't start this early, did he?" Smiling, Sonic shook his head.

The cat rolled her eyes. "Just kinda wanted to stay silent and all."

"Good luck with that. You've kinda got a kid on ya." Vector chuckled at himself more than at her. "But, in all seriousness, one of us can take 'im if ya want."

She snorted, crossing her arms. "Fat chance." Her attention was grabbed by movement at the doorway, her eyes widening as she watched Aniko descend inward. "U-uh…" Shei was instantly on his feet, relief causing his posture to noticeably relax from its initial reflexive tension.

Aniko glanced between Shei and Armaris, a vague frown on her face. She looked the same as she always had in the past, her amber eyes bright and attentive and full of life. Her clothes were much like Shei's (being a simple black long-sleeved shirt and black pants), sans the mask, and her combat boots went well with it. Her almost amethyst-like skin (which leaned much more heavily toward purple than pink) further proved who she was. Few others had ever had the same skin color before her. Or since her. "Who are they?" she questioned, tone devoid of emotion for the moment.

"Allies," Shei signed quickly. "More of our son's than mine or Armaris's."

A gruff cough-like sound escaped her and she nodded, then bowed her head in a slow greeting to them. Undeniably nervous, Sonic, Silver, and Vector traded wide-eyed looks before slowly waving. Armaris laughed faintly at this, watching them. "God, you act like she's gonna kill all of you. She bothered to give a greeting. You're safe for now."

"'For now'..." Silver echoed, then he huffed a little. "Thanks for that, really helps me feel better." In spite of his best efforts, he couldn't keep from cracking a smile soon thereafter.

Aniko faintly raised an eyebrow before her gaze inevitably fell on Sako. Confusion settled onto her face as she tried to discern the source of this newborn, drawing the conclusion that this wasn't Armaris's child and instead her son's. She silently glanced to Shei before walking to Espio's room as if she had never been in the main room to begin with. Armaris blinked once and watched, before looking to everyone else. "Well… that's Aniko. Lovely when you get to know her, as long as her blade isn't turned on you."

Sonic snorted. "She is his mom. I kinda didn't expect anything different."

Armaris shrugged. "Eh. Just ignore the fact that she's extremely imposing as well. That's just her natural presence."

"Lovely."

"You'll get used to it."

Kial turned his head between the people in the room. "So, er… what just happened, again?"

"Um… I think Espio's mom is back," Silver helpfully summarized for him. "She's… you know… pretty scary. Oh, and she left the room."

"Gotcha…" Kial murmured slowly.

Meanwhile, in Espio's room, Aniko stood to the side of her son's bed and blinked once with a faint frown painted on her face. Outside of the sight of the outsiders, her eyes carried a touch more emotion. Concern was one, amongst confusion and a general lack of understanding. What had caused such exhaustion from someone so much like herself…? She knelt down and gently pushed on his shoulder, attempting to wake him up. He reacted with incredible speed, leaping backward from the bed and landing in a defensive crouch on reflex. Upon seeing her in front of him, he paused and just sort of… stared. Throughout his life he had always suffered from overly-vivid dreams, and his mind was having a hard time deciding one way or another if this was one of those… or somehow real.

"Espio," she huffed, standing up fully. "What happened to you?"

Okay. So people in his dreams seldom spoke. That lent credence to the idea that this was real. Slowly, almost cautiously, he stood up. He regarded her for a moment longer before looking away. Lying to his mother was something he simply never did, and this time was no different. "...I don't know."

Her eyes closed and she stood still for a few moments, processing this and recalling ancient memories. "I see. What about the child?"

A faint flicker of annoyance came to life within him, but he was able to quell it with ease for once. "...It… is a long story," he eventually admitted to her.

"How much can you tell me?" Aniko questioned, finally opening her eyes once more. "I sense no mother nearby."

Espio's arms crossed and he frowned faintly. "She seldom is," he responded. After a long moment, he let out a small breath and further explained, "She has not lived within these lands since ancient times. Staying here is not something she particularly enjoys."

Aniko frowned a touch deeper at this and watched him. "Who is she?"

"Nyokae." Another pause, this one decidedly more unhappy. "She hails from the third clan. I do not know its name."

She didn't respond for some time to this before glancing to a window. "Why am I here? I… Shei and myself were dead."

"Necromancy." Initially, Espio said nothing more about it than that. He didn't enjoy thinking about it.

"Who?" Aniko questioned, a touch of agitation entering her voice.

His shoulders lifted in a minute shrug. "Her name is Astra." Then, reading her intentions, he added, "She does not reside on this world. We have no idea where she is."

Without having fully intended to, she gripped the blade she had been provided when her mind was under control. Immediately, she snapped the blade in two and dropped it, effectively disappointed in the poor weapon. "Whoever decided that was an adequate weapon is a fool."

Espio didn't answer that directly, but instead picked up the sheathed blade he had been using as of late. It had been resting on the floor beside his bed since he'd cleaned it (which he'd barely been given time to do before practically being thrown into his room to sleep), and he took it to her. It was hers, after all. She had died with it. She just hadn't been buried with it. The way he handed it to her was almost… guiltily. "You told me never to use your weapons... but there was no choice. I apologize."

She accepted the blade slowly and simply blinked. A vague, low-pitched hum followed by some nearly indescribable sound escaped her before she set it down. "Certain circumstances require certain actions." With nothing to say to that, he merely nodded and stepped back to where he had been before. Aniko watched him before glancing back toward the door. "How long has Shei been returned to his current state?"

"Less than a day."

"Why did Armaris color the ends of her hair?"

That question was unexpected enough to make Espio pause. It was only when thinking back on the last few hours that he even realized he had seen that little detail before falling asleep earlier. "I don't know."

"Hm." Aniko nodded. "What is with her emotions? She looks like a wreck." Given that he had no idea what had happened since he'd last seen her, Espio could only offer another shrug. He hadn't exactly been one hundred percent… cognizant of her emotional state prior to that, either. Not that he'd be mentioning that part. "Why has she become so inclined toward you?"

This question teased up the memory of the conversation he and Armaris had had earlier, and he suddenly felt the urge to stop talking. He knew that that wouldn't fly, though. Neither would skirting around the truth. And lying would earn deep disapproval, if nothing else. There were no options. None aside from deflection. "...You should ask her," he eventually mumbled, looking away again. "Not me."

"What about yourself? Are they reciprocated?"

Lovely. The exact kind of questioning he hated. "Mother," he started to say, wanting to argue. He caught himself, though, and released another breath. Eventually, he spoke again. "...I don't know."

Aniko nodded. "Understood." She took a moment before speaking again. "...How have you been? You have lived a long life, surely."

Long, but dull. Pushing that thought aside, Espio took the time to try and conceive a halfway decent answer. Ultimately, he barely had one to give. "I have… been fine mostly."

"We will have to speak more at a later time. There is much that can be said, it seems." Her eyes narrowed at him. "You intend to sleep more." She worded this as a question, but it sounded as if she was demanding with her tone that he rest further.

Though he recognized the command for what it was he genuinely, genuinely didn't know if he could sleep more. Because of its lack of need for sleep, his body could seldom achieve such a state even if he wanted to (usually to escape from boredom). A quick self-assessment seemed to suggest that this would be the case here. "I do not think I can," he admitted.

"Fine. Do not expend yourself unless required," she answered him.

Just then, a voice from outside the door could be heard. "It's vibrating again?"

Espio's eyes darted to his nightstand, then he disappeared for about a half-second. When he reappeared, he had his communicator in his hands (much to the audible confusion of others in the front room) and was rapidly scrolling through the messages. Most were deleted, but the ones that were responded to caught his eye. What…?

"Explain," Aniko said, a frown growing on her face once more.

After a second or two of silence, he did as asked. "I accept jobs," he said briefly, "as you once did. Someone responded to an offer while I was asleep."

She frowned more at this, tilting her head. "Do you know who?"

"I have a guess." Espio deleted the messages in question, deciding that he didn't even care enough about that job to linger on it. There were a few, however, that had caught his eye. He made a mental note to respond to them later, if there was time. Except… one was marked "URGENT". Perhaps that warranted a look. But he realized belatedly that his mother would want more explanation than he'd given, so he briefly said, "It may have been Armaris."

Aniko was quick to leave the room and drag the cat in with them, pointing to Espio. "Talk."

"Huh-" Armaris said, confused before glancing at the communicator with a nervous expression. "Oh… that." Espio distractedly waved her off, indicating to her his lack of upset over the situation. Armaris grimaced. "There's… a lot more to it than just the messages."

"Explain," Aniko demanded, though lightly.

"My mom," Armaris whispered, a frown on her face. "I killed her a few days ago and now she's back…"

Aniko's fingers flexed into a fist, mild agitation on her face. "Why is she alive? More necromancy?"

"Not really. Some magic thing that brought people back from the dead…"

"And you killed her before this happened?" Some mixed form of pride shone in the woman's eyes at this, only to be replaced with concern when Armaris adversely reacted to her words.

"I didn't want to…" the cat whispered, huffing. "I didn't want anything to do with her."

Aniko watched the cat before thrusting a hand onto Armaris's head, catching her thoroughly off guard and causing her to rapidly throw the hand off by reflex. "Do not worry. She will be dead soon enough. You will not need to see her once more."

Armaris raised a finger to cut her off there. "I- yeah… about that, someone is already going out there to kill her."

"Eh?"

"Someone-"

"I understood that. Who?"

"Some hedgehog Balancer. His name is Steam."

A level of discontent rose within Aniko's eyes, but she said nothing of it. "Alright, then. I will judge his character upon his return."

"Ah, he's an asshole. Don't need to know much more," Armaris remarked idly, shrugging. "Pisses me off just by being nearby."

Aniko raised an eyebrow. "You were always an… easily upset child. Something says that has not changed."

"That's rude," Armaris scoffed, pretending to be upset.

"I care not."

Armaris then chose this moment to glance over at Espio. "Oi. You still reading?"

He was, in fact, actively typing something when he responded to her. "Yes."

"Whatcha doing now?" Focused more on what was going on in the messages, Espio didn't answer her. The cat sighed and walked over, obviously looking at the screen to see what he was doing. On the screen showed the last couple of messages that had been sent, starting with one that had been sent by an unknown person.

"Your employers are pleased with your latest work. They require your assistance again."

Espio's response to that had been a simple, "Explain."

A new message came in as Armaris was reading. "It is of the utmost importance that an artifact be recovered."

"The hell do they mean by 'latest work'?" He waved her off again, more intent on waiting for a reply than answering her question. She huffed at him and waited as well, arms crossing.

Predictably, when he didn't answer the message after a certain length of time, a new one came in. "This is no ordinary, dusty stone from some lost civilization. We are after a jewel, of sorts… one that has already been soaked in blood many times these past years. Such is its nature. That relic will unlock a door to Hell… given the opportunity."

Frowning, Espio typed a simple reply, seeking more information. "Hell?"

The reply came swiftly, as it had before. "Blood and fire pave the way to that door. Nothing but more of the same will emerge from it, should the way be opened."

"Fucking cryptics," Armaris muttered angrily, glaring. "What the hell are they on about? More demons?"

Espio suspected he had an idea, but telling her that could wait. He typed another short reply. "Tell me where."

"A secure fortress to the north. Encrypted coordinates will be sent. Understand that there will be consequences… should you fail."

"Consequences- Espio what the fuck are you getting into?" Armaris snapped lightly, frowning at him.

"Nothing." With that said, Espio sent one last reply to the person he had been talking to. "Fine."

They sent a reply of their own a second later. "One last thing. There can be no survivors." He frowned a little. A final message came. "Kill them all."

Armaris stood in front of him immediately, arms crossed. "Like hell I'm gonna let you go alone. I'm going with you."

"No. You are not." Espio turned toward the door and started walking to it.

Aniko stepped in front of the door momentarily. "I want to know what you're doing," she said. "That is my requirement before I can allow you to leave."

Knowing there was no point in trying to refuse her, Espio gave in and explained. "A gate stands on this world that connects it to a realm many refer to as 'Hell'. It is said to be where Malevolence sleeps."

Something in Aniko's eyes shifted and she crossed her arms. "And what are you going to be doing there?"

"Ensuring it remains sealed," he told her, his own arms crossing. "It opened once before. We were not equipped to handle the results."

"Fine. Do not get yourself killed. We have far too much to discuss." She stepped out of the way, blinking once as she watched him. With a simple nod, he exited the room. "I will not stop you either, Armaris, but my request remains the same. Do not die."

"I won't," Armaris answered, vanishing into Espio's shadow without wasting a second.

When the pair of them emerged, their intentions must have been clear, for Silver asked, "You going somewhere?"

Espio didn't answer him, but instead twisted to look down at Armaris. "Come out. You have legs. Use them."

"You'll have to make me," Armaris answered.

In response, he shifted his foot and a somehow very carefully controlled burst of Darkness gently knocked her out into the open. "Walk."

"Asshole," she spat, throwing herself to her feet and glaring. "Go. I'll follow you."

With his question answered, Silver started to speak again, but trailed off. "Uh…"

Sonic took notice of an important detail. "...I'm… not even gonna ask where the hell you two are going - mostly because I'm pretty damn sure you'll ignore me - but I am gonna have to say that you should get a damn sword before you take off. I know you can fight without one, but still."

Before anyone else could speak, Kial piped in. "The God of the Forge just so happens to be in our presence. Might wanna talk to him, if you're wanting a weapon of any kind. Kind of his job."

When Espio looked ready to refuse, Sonic got up. "Look, just wait a second. I'll go get him." With that, he hurried off to retrieve Li.

Li walked in, obviously confused, followed by Sonic. "So, er... what? Someone needs a weapon?" the wolf asked, blinking a few times.

Sonic gestured helpfully to Espio. "He does. Got any katanas?"

"Uh- yeah. I've got two. Slightly different builds." Li teleported them into his hands, idly rattling about the differences between the two as he looked them both over.

"Either of them capable of handling Darkness?"

Li blinked a few times and held out one in particular. "This one is made to handle all sorts of energies, not just Darkness. It should hold up absolutely fine, even if you really pour energy into it."

"That should be fine." Sonic took the sword and handed it to Espio. "Right?" Espio unsheathed the blade and checked it over, testing the weight and balance in his hand before nodding. The quality of the weapon was nothing short of impressive, he had to admit.

The wolf gave a small smile. "Keep it unless you feel the need to give it back. I've got other weapons, either way."

Despite his intense aggravation as of late, Espio managed a shred of decorum just then. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Li answered, his smile growing momentarily. "I hope it treats you well." Espio simply gave another nod before disappearing outside. Sonic noted with a degree of sadness that he didn't acknowledge Sako's presence before taking off. Armaris disappeared after Espio just as Aniko emerged from the bedroom.

"You make weapons?" Aniko asked, walking to Li.

The wolf cowered a bit, clearly overwhelmed by her sudden presence. "I- uh- er, yes. I make weapons."

"Good," Aniko answered, turning away. Shei shook his head a little at her, then gestured for her to come over to him. He had Sako with him, and the baby had yet to meet her… and vice versa. The female chameleon walked over and stood by Shei, eyeing Sako curiously. He responded by holding Sako out to her. She carefully took the baby into her arms and held him close to her body. "He is very young."

Shei nodded his head and signed back to her. "Less than a week. He has not yet begun to feed and has only just begun to climb."

"That explains much. We came at a fortunate time… regarding this matter."

Another nod. "He is struggling to accept the child, as we did with him prior to his birth. But he has made progress."

"Good. He is obviously struggling with much, though," she answered, signing to avoid anyone listening in further. "I worry about his Darkness, since it has awakened."

"Things have been far worse than you have seen," he told her grimly. "I have also not yet seen the true depths of the problem, but Armaris has seen some. By her telling, there have been instances where he lost all reservations about threatening, harming, or even killing those he is close with."

Aniko grimaced. "I sought to avoid this…"

"I know you did," Shei responded, doing his best to convey his sympathy despite having no voice. But his next words could not be sugarcoated. "There is more, however. She told me that the cause of the largest initial flare up was interference by the God of Demons. He infected our son with demonic Darkness, and we do not know if that taint remains. It has not shown itself since then." An obvious agitation entered her eyes at seeing this before motioning for him to continue. He did so as soon as she indicated she was ready for more. "The basic markings have also ceased to appear on him. They have merged into a proper clan mark, bearing your dragon and my star. It is on his right shoulder. Did you notice it?"

"Of course. I could not ignore such a thing."

"It has already begun to fade from view, Aniko. His Darkness is maturing rapidly. He already displays a level of control over its manipulation that you and I did not achieve until after years of training."

"Worrying in its own right. It is also potent."

Shei inclined his head subtly. "It will only continue to grow. He has been mellow since awakening this afternoon, but the depth of its affect on his mental and emotional state cannot be understated. I have never once seen such anger in him. That is not the behavior of the boy we once cradled in our arms."

"What do you believe we should do?"

"I do not know. All I know is that we must act quickly. Others are actively conspiring to ensure his Darkness consumes him. We do not have much time. He does not have time."

"We will figure out what to do as quickly as we can, then. I will not lose my child." Before Shei could respond, Sako shifted in Aniko's arms, wriggling as though in an effort to try and escape from her toward the table but ultimately failing. Just like that, his eyes teared up and he began to fuss pitifully at her, still reaching toward the table with pleading hands. Realizing immediately what was wrong, Shei fetched the bottle he had left there and passed it to Aniko. She took it and immediately set about holding the bottle where Sako could feed from it.

Once the baby had settled and was drinking, Shei's eyes softened and he signed, "His name is Sako… by the way. 'Swift blade', if I recall. A fitting name."

She returned this with a thoughtful hum and a nod, watching Sako quietly. "I see."

After a moment's pause, he changed the subject a little. "What have you been told of his mother?"

"Enough to not like her, somewhat. She does not live on this world."

There was more that she needed to be made to understand. Shei told her without pause, "Aniko, she is the sort that our ancestors would all have vied for the opportunity to court. She embodies much of what our people once were." That this may have (however subconsciously) been part or even much of Espio's draw toward her was something Shei left unspoken.

Aniko was highly displeased to hear this, lightly tapping a finger on the bottle once. "I highly dislike her, then."

This carried great weight, coming from her, and Shei frowned. However, he did have one piece of good news. "The two have not yet permanently bonded, nor have they come close to doing so. He has developed some measure of feelings toward her, but much of it seems to be a result of being intoxicated by the allure of her Darkness and malevolence. His mind is clear when away from her, but clouded when he is by her side. It is the same spell you and I both once nearly fell for with other members of our race. It is the nature of our kind to be attracted to such things. We were the first to overcome this, but to expect him to simply be able to do so on his own, and with no knowledge…" He trailed off. It was not his intention to blame his partner, to shame her, to cause her any form of upset. Yet, it was also true that she had to be made aware of the full extent of this situation.

The tensing of Aniko's fingers would have crushed the bottle she held had she not bore such extreme control of her abilities. She took a slow, deliberate breath, before nodding. "We cannot fully intervene. Doing so would upset him greatly."

"Interference will nevertheless be necessary to some degree. He cannot separate himself from this entirely on his own." Shei thought this over for a second, then continued, "Although… he has done so to a surprising degree already."

"How so?" Aniko questioned, a singular blink accentuating her question.

"He fights her, for one thing, and quite regularly. He would not do so if he were simply giving in to her and her wishes." Something in Shei's eyes sparkled briefly with amusement in light of the current situation. "That boy has always shared in your stubborn nature, Aniko. It serves him well these days, it would seem."

"And Armaris shares in your ability to directly point out the obvious," Aniko responded, raising an eyebrow in minute amusement of her own.

"I state the obvious only because you otherwise can try to ignore it," Shei answered, raising his own eyebrows at her.

"So that is your 'just' reasoning? I thought better of you." Shei shook his head at her, that rare twinkle of amusement still bringing life to his dark eyes. The woman managed a wan smile before her gaze fell on those who were looking upon the trio of chameleons. "You all can turn your attention elsewhere."

Kial chose this moment to walk up to them, gaining a faint glare from Aniko (not that he could notice) that faded shortly after when she realized he was blind. "You are Espio's parents, yes?" the cat asked.

"We are. Who asks?" Aniko questioned, watching him cautiously. He obviously carried weapons that were concealed under his cloak.

"My name is Kial. I was a friend of Espio when we were much younger."

Aniko glanced to Shei, blinking once in surprise at this. Her attention fell back on Kial and she nodded. "It is pleasant to meet someone he spoke well of. His explanations were much along the lines of you being a kind soul."

"That's the goal," he answered, a soft smile on his face. "Your son was interesting to travel with. Ever curious, as well."

The female chameleon gave a gentle nod. "He certainly was."

With no way of communicating with Kial, Shei signed to Aniko instead. "You should sit. We were both only just returned to life. We are not at our full strength yet." She narrowed her eyes but ultimately relented. It was true, and she still was vaguely aware of having lived some period of time she could not remember. It bothered her to know this, yet she could do nothing about it. All she could do was sit with her partner... and wait for her son to return.

~保護者~

8,622 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all his help, and I hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 12:25 p.m.) 04-23-20.