Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this incredibly dark situation… especially for the one who is angry.

~保護者~

"Corruption"

~保護者~

Three days had passed since the latest attack on Hyale. For three days, the corruption had had time to fully ingrain itself within Espio's Darkness. For three days, his energies had had time to settle, allowing him full and proper control of them for the first time. All the while, he impassively pondered over every little detail of the fight he had taken part in, thinking about how little he had actually fought, considering the idea that maybe he hadn't had as much of a desire to resist as he had previously believed.

For three days he sat still and silent, thinking endlessly while he and his captors awaited the return of her God. They stayed within an ancient and crumbling citadel, engulfed in shadows so deep and so black that only eyes like that of a demon's could penetrate it. He watched, emotionless, as demons came and went through the spacious main room, some surviving the intrusion and others not. He didn't participate in any of it, caring not for the pointless scuffles. The time would come when he could bloody his own blades. He could feel it. Until then, he was content to stay where he was, uninvolved and unruffled by it all.

A hand took hold of the back of his neck and roughly thrust him forward and up. He didn't give the demon - a burly creature who had been keeping an eye on him alongside the woman - the satisfaction of seeing him stumble. Instead, he neatly gained his footing as the demon growled, "On your feet. He comes." Turning to Zareil he muttered, "My task here is complete. I have other duties to attend."

Whether she replied, Espio didn't notice. He paid more attention to the additional layer of darkness that blanketed the room as the unnamed demon left, a layer which only faded after Kaden had appeared within it. Wordlessly at first, he approached Espio and circled him, eyeing his condition - corruption and all - before moving in front of him again. With eyes just as cold as the ninja's, he murmured, "Kneel."

There was no way to resist. He had no power to do so. Slowly, unwillingly, Espio moved down on one knee. Though he kept his demeanor impassive, aided by a lifetime of training as a shinobi, inside he suddenly boiled with anger. Stripping him of his free will, one of the most important things to him in life… This would not do. Just as soon as he was able, he swore he would do something about it. Cutting his newfound God was the very least of the actions he silently promised to take once he found a way to. I will eviscerate you.

Pleased by the display of obedience, Kaden crossed the room to Zareil. He was seldom one for praises and never when they were unwarranted, but in that moment he tipped her chin up with a satisfied growl and rumbled, "You did well."

Zareil idly licked her lips, a faint smile on her face. "I needed to. The rest of their group is… terribly weak without their Immortals around. Such a shame Ylden showed up, though."

Kaden let out a thoughtful hum. "He will be dealt with eventually," he assured. He then took hold of her chin and tipped her head, eyeing the spot where one of Shadow's bullets had struck her. Eyebrows slightly upraised, he murmured, "He managed to harm you."

A flicker of anger ran over her features, but she merely sighed. "He had guns with unusual ammunition. Each one hurt, even when I was wearing armor. Luckily, though, he was unable to do more. Some corruption should have set in on him, but he wasn't my primary target."

"No, he was not. But it will take more than that for the corruption to stick. His Darkness is too deeply dormant to be reached without a great output of energy on our parts." He released his hold of her chin and glanced back to Espio. "There are small things that can be done to help further solidify his corruption, however."

"Mm... " Zareil looked over Espio's form. "He wasn't as problematic as I thought he would be. It may be easier to advance this than we thought."

At this, Kaden gained a rare smile. "As it happens… his kind's Darkness appears to quite enjoy feeding off of other malignant energies. It absorbed the corruption too fast for him to resist as much as we anticipated."

"Which means his parents would likely be similar cases, I presume?"

"To some extent. They lack the same degree of initial corruption, meaning it will not be quite as simple. More effort will be required."

Zareil lightly bit the tip of her index finger, thinking. "Do you think they will come here? His mother and woman were volatile."

"They will come," Kaden calmly asserted, "and you are to let them. I am curious to see how he responds to them, in his current state."

The demoness muttered something akin to disliking that, huffing. "The chameleon grew exceptionally strong once she was sufficiently angry. It is likely that she is similar to me."

Kaden blinked once. "He possesses more than enough strength to handle her, and I suspect that he will… given the opportunity." Glancing to the doorway, he changed the subject. "His kind, when engulfed by Darkness, are partial to blood. They are known, for one thing, to lick their weapons clean. Hunting a meal may be a decent way to pass the time until they arrive."

Zareil frowned at the implication. "Must I babysit?"

"He is strong of will, Zareil. He is not the sort to cease fighting at any point. Given the slightest opportunity to, he will rebel." Kaden gave her a firm look. "Keep watch over his activities for now. Do not make me order you."

She rolled her eyes, not at him, but merely at the fact that she had to watch over Espio. "Fine, but you know how I detest watching over troublesome people."

Huffing, Kaden betrayed a rare moment of "care" (or whatever it was that demons could actually manage) and gave her a brief kiss. "You will find respite later. For now, do your job."

A small laugh escaped her and she glanced to Espio. "Let's go."

Kaden released him with a new order. "Go with her. You are under her command for now." With that said, he turned and walked to his seat. Still refusing to betray any emotion in any manner, Espio simply stood and walked outside, since he now had permission to. Satisfied with this, Kaden got comfortable and simply closed his eyes to walt.

~保護者~

Things were disconcertingly quiet.

Though he himself could not speak, Shei had grown used to hearing voices around him at all times as of late. The chatter had been tiresome now and then, certainly, but in the wake of all that had occurred he found himself somehow… missing it. At least when there had been noise, it had been proof of how at ease everyone had been. How peaceful some had managed to be. How well-rested everyone had started to become. Although… a part of him wondered now if those very truths had played right into their downfall.

Shaking his head, the shinobi cast his gaze into the sky. The rare pleasant weather they had been experiencing as of late was showing signs of fading. Snow clouds had begun gathering high in the sky, promising of a storm to come and gifting the ground below with a sufficiently gloomy look. It was more than appropriate, all things considered, given what had just happened days before. Only today, he had helped finish burying the last of the village's dead. In total, there had been thirty-seven… counting young Cream. She had been buried in Hyael's graveyard with the others, near his family's plot. She had more than earned that right.

There had been another casualty, too, Shei recalled, standing up. His son's friend, that crocodile… Vector, he believed. He wasn't entirely sure where the man had been taken to in order to find rest, however, though he'd heard murmurings of some detective agency or another. But that, for now, was unimportant. Injuries abounded among the living, so he set about checking on those nearest to his current position. All of them were outside, sheltering from the increasing cold within a barrier crafted by the older Therian woman in light of the complete loss of Espio's home. The rubble from it and the uppermost portion of the tree stay lay scattered for some distance behind the trunk.

Shei focused on his companions. The young fox had bled significantly from his wound but, curiously, had been undergoing rapid regeneration. He was still left unconscious, but he was the only one to have been so viciously stabbed and survive it. Still, Shei made a mental note to keep an eye on him, and the grief-stricken hedgehog sitting watch by his side, as he moved on. Li and Novei were seated nearby, the former sporting a bloody bandage around the palm of one of his hands. Overall, however, they seemed fine… other than the haunted look in the wolf's eyes. It was likely best to leave the pair alone.

Letting them be, he walked to the one responsible for the barrier (Calypso, he recalled) and knelt before her. She sat against a large stone, eyes closed, with the Sun God laying in the grass close by. He waited patiently for her to open his eyes before signing, "Where has he been?"

Dark eyes blinked once. "I take him away some time ago. He need rest, but it too dangerous to let him rest here. I t'ought he would be safer elsewhere, and he was."

With a slow nod, Shei asked a new question. "He has not regained consciousness since Kaden attacked him. Why?"

"Somet'ing about the way he die," she said cryptically. Seeing his confusion, she thought to elaborate for him. "He die once, properly. He was mortal t'en, killed when the floating lands of t'is world were blown apart by Chaos. Somet'ing about the way he die leave him broken forevermore."

"He has some sort of permanent injury?" Shei questioned.

Calypso tapped her own head meaningfully. "He very vulnerable all over here. It not take much to put him down if you know where to hit."

That was likely knowledge that Kaden would have, seeing as how the two men had appeared to know one another. And besides that… the God of Demons struck Shei as someone who did their homework, always paying due diligence to the task of learning everything possible about any and all foes. Meaning this had been deliberate. "Is he in some sort of a coma, or merely unconscious?"

The black-skinned woman shrugged. "I not know yet. It hard to tell."

Soundlessly, Shei sighed. "Pray, keep me informed. I should like to know if anything changes."

She responded only by closing her eyes, so Shei stood and moved along. He spied Rose laying precisely where he had left her, close to the base of the now-broken tree and certainly close enough to be protected… but not too close, for the sake of Aniko. She was also right where he had left her, fully healed (thanks to their regeneration) but still grappling with her emotions as she had been ever since the day they had… lost. He couldn't fault her for it, wondered at his own inability to be as affected as she was, and made a silent promise to return to her side soon.

He shifted his gaze to Armaris. The bulk of Aku's body hid her from his view, as the dragon lay loosely coiled around her in the grass in a show of rare comfort and support. Even without seeing her, Shei could sense that she, too, was in turmoil. However, as with Aniko, Shei was at a loss for how to help. The best he could do was be mindful of her injuries and change her bandages again when the time came. For now, however, he opted to leave her be in the hopes that maybe she would manage to get some sleep. But perhaps that was nothing more than wishful thinking on his part.

Shei continued on until he reached the spot where Toru had been seated. With a frown, he did as he had done before and knelt before the subject of his attention. Having heard the young man's name when Aniko had spoken with the ninja, he addressed said man by name. "You are healed already, Toru," he stated calmly, though it was obvious. This seemingly idle observation belied the significance of the truth he was pointing out… for only chameleons with access to their Darkness had any regenerative abilities.

Toru's eyes were nearly devoid of any emotion as he stared at Shei. One of the only things he allowed to be visible within was painfully obvious anger. "I am thinking," he murmured, a near cold edge to his voice. "That demon… she was far too powerful to have been normal, and she had used none of her abilities outside of Darkness. Even that, she used sparingly."

"She is not normal," Shei agreed. "My best guess is that she is someone ranked only just below the God. Perhaps a High General of sorts."

The onyx chameleon bared his teeth for a moment before sighing, shaking his head. "She slaughtered us, alone. And she wasn't allowing her clones to kill. Only she had that honor for herself. This fight could have very well been the death of us all had she left behind her own wishes."

Shei nodded slowly. "I intend to seek out the Immortal allies the hedgehogs and their friends constantly speak of. It is clear that we are helpless without them at this time."

Toru pushed himself to stand, glancing away. "Keep me informed. I have someone to check on." With another nod, Shei respectfully walked away again, allowing the younger chameleon some space. Toru crossed his arms as he walked toward the one person from this group he'd primarily fought beside during the fight. Some concern shone through the blank expression he wore, worried that the corruption might have seriously harmed him or worse. Shadow, you'd better be okay.

The hedgehog in question had separated himself from the others immediately after tending to who he could the day of the fight. He sat beneath a tree a short distance away from the barrier in a spot out of view of the others. While by this time he was no longer worried about the possibility of corruption (it seemed to have trickled away in its entirety somehow), he was very much in between doses of medicine by now. Medicine which had been in the house. That had been destroyed. Shadow really cursed his life in this moment, especially when his head started spinning again and fresh chills wracked his frame. Fucking hell…

The chameleon walked over near the tree and sat down quietly, glancing over Shadow to make sure he was doing okay physically before bothering to speak. "Hey, Shadow." Shadow didn't dare open his eyes, not with how dizzy he was, but he managed to mumble a vague greeting of sorts. It even managed not to come out sounding slurred, by some miracle. Toru frowned at this. "That illness eating at you?"

Fighting back another chill, Shadow forced himself to properly answer this time. Though, that nearly took more effort than it was worth. "You could say that," he muttered, speaking slowly to ensure his words stayed clear and intelligible.

"I came to check on you," Toru admitted slowly. "You're really the only person I've talked to here that might not bash my skull in if I speak to them."

"Why bother?" Shadow mumbled. The question was out before he could consider it, but he decided soon that he didn't care that he'd asked.

"We all took quite a beating, and she went after you specifically. Wanted to make sure she didn't cause serious damage that you were ignoring." This was partially a lie, but Toru didn't let onto that. There were a few things he hadn't had time to really sort out.

A stutter betrayed itself in Shadow's words when he responded as his teeth tried to chatter, reacting to yet more chills that hit him. "I'm f-fine." Internally, he let out another curse.

Toru didn't respond to this, sighing. "If you need something… let me know. I can try to get something sorted out, as long as it's not ridiculously out there."

Somehow, Shadow managed a second of dry humor. "And here I was going to send you shopping on another planet," he grumbled.

"I'd drag you with me as punishment for such an outlandish request," Toru quipped in return, a faint smile on his face. "I'm not a shopper. More of a thief."

"No wonder you two get along," Shadow found himself mumbling without having intended to.

Toru huffed, recalling that Espio had a bit of a reputation for that as well. "Perhaps that's part of it."

No sooner than Toru had finished saying this, Silver could be heard speaking to Calypso. Hearing his voice, Shei wandered back over to the two, trying to see what was going on. Silver looked at Shei, ducked his head, and gestured weakly at the Therian. With a huff, Calypso said, "I am seeing somet'ing on that terrible world. I can show, but it will not be pleasant."

Armaris heard this, despite her obvious emotional state, and slowly crept over from within her Darkness. Aniko became aware of the conversation and followed her husband for the time being, staying extremely close to him. Shei gently took hold of her nearest hand. This will not be good.

Calypso looked over at Armaris in particular and frowned. "You may not wish to see, girl. It not be pretty." Even as she spoke, she called magic into her hand that quickly formed into a glassy disk roughly the size of a dinner plate.

In response to this, Armaris's Darkness flared angrily for a moment until she fully realized that the image would still be shown. "Just do it," she hissed harshly. Aniko glanced to Armaris, making a motion to tell the cat to hold her tongue for now and let Calypso do what she was doing.

After expanding the disk to accommodate so many viewers (although one, Silver, left almost right away), Calypso allowed the image of what she was seeing take form. Shei immediately frowned when he saw his son knelt respectfully on the ground… but with eyes blazing with unspoken anger. He seemed to be listening to something that was being said elsewhere, but for whatever reason made no moves to get up or do anything at all. Aniko's anger much more visibly rose at seeing this, her shoulders straightening and her jaw clenching. Armaris simply watched, hate-filled eyes brimming further with anger.

A short time passed and Kaden walked into view. Like a light switch had been flipped, any and all traces of emotions vanished from Espio's entire demeanor, leaving him impassive and silent before his anger could be spotted. He was released from his position on the ground, told he was to obey someone else, and just like that he stalked out of the room. Only now were they able to see that it was Zareil herself who was also there.

Aniko didn't even fully realize that her Darkness was slowly beginning to flare to life at her overwhelming anger, the sight of these demons enough to nearly make her snap. "That bastard," she muttered venomously.

Shei's eyes clouded. So the corruption held, then…

The feed continued. Zareil idly motioned for Espio to head off somewhere, seeming highly disinterested in this procession. Having been given free reign to do as he pleased so long as he ultimately obeyed his instructions, Espio simply took off and out of sight. "Fuck this," Aniko snapped, gripping her sword tightly and storming off. "I'll be back." Armaris wordlessly followed the older woman, not interested in listening to anyone else. Aniko teleported the both of them to Kaden's world, waiting on nobody.

This simple act put the two women right into the citadel's main room, courtesy of a sort of magic trap that was at play. Upon noticing their arrival, Kaden sat up slightly from where he had been lounging in his seat and cracked his eyes open to look at them. He huffed quietly. They came running faster than I'd thought they would.

Aniko stared him down with outwardly visible fury, every muscle in her body tensed. "You fucking bastard," she bit out. "Fuck you."

Huffing again, Kaden laid his head back down and invited, "Go find him, if that is what you want. See if he still accepts you both. I do not care if he makes you bleed."

"I want your head on a pike," Aniko snapped, ignoring him should he make any further comments and storming off outside. Armaris stared at Kaden, frowned, then followed behind the female chameleon. It didn't take them long to find Zareil, the demon simply standing still with her arms crossed. The thought to strike this thing down now came across Aniko's mind, and she ultimately attempted it, her blade striking against skin and metal but being blocked just enough to prevent her from cutting into the demon.

"Strike me again and I cannot guarantee you will be standing in the coming seconds," Zareil muttered darkly. "I am busy." As she spoke, a powerful demon's aura spiked with pain and suddenly died away within a deep ravine a short distance away. Two more, both in close proximity to the first, followed suit seconds later. Zareil smiled in satisfaction as she sensed this, laughing. "Even without a proper weapon, he is surely a threat to behold. I would personally advise against seeing him…" Her gaze fell on Armaris. "But it seems at least one of you can hardly hear your surroundings now."

Aniko withdrew her sword and none-too-gently pushed Zareil multiple feet away from herself and Armaris, the demon not bothering to react and simply staying standing in response to watch as the pair walked on toward Espio. The female chameleon grabbed Armaris gently and leapt into the ravine, landing deep within it in a neat crouch and beginning to walk once more. Though aware of their presence already, Espio initially paid them no mind as he examined the kunai knife in his hand. Dull… already. Scoffing slightly, he cast the now useless weapon aside and wiped some blood off of his face with the back of a hand. He was splattered with the stuff, needless to say - not that he cared.

Much of the anger in Aniko's posture and expression faded at the sight of Espio. The woman fearlessly walked closer toward her son. "Espio… what are you doing?" He turned slightly at the sound of her voice, glowing eyes glancing over her and then Armaris each in turn, but he made no immediate comment. His expression remained just as unreadable as it had been earlier, giving no hint to his thoughts or emotions. The woman stopped a few feet from him, a frown on her face. "You know who I am, correct?"

With a scoff, he turned his head away and muttered a simple, "Yes."

Armaris walked forward, but didn't approach. She instead hid behind Aniko to some degree, only poking her head out enough to watch Espio. This action greatly concerned the female chameleon, enough so that she wrapped an arm tightly around the cat. "Espio… have they hurt you since you arrived here?"

While internally debating how to rid himself of these two, Espio murmured a calm, "No." His fingers twitched slightly by his side, as though reflexively trying to shift their grip on the handle of a blade he no longer had.

Armaris began tugging at Aniko, muttering, "We need to leave," under her breath rapidly, over and over again.

Aniko stood her ground, eyes narrowing. "Are you going to attack your mother?"

The offer was tempting. Incredibly tempting. But Espio refrained for one reason and one reason alone. I will not do what he wants.

The female chameleon frowned further. "You are resisting." She ignored Armaris's increasing attempts to drag the older woman away, pulling the cat close instead.

Darkness started to swirl almost lazily around Espio's hand. "...Leave." The Darkness started forming into the vague shape of another knife, this one crafted purely from energy.

Aniko seemed to heed this warning, almost respectfully, and turned to walk away without another word. She held Armaris close, even as her senses picked up on the Zareil's spear hurtling toward them. As Aniko expected, the pole was the only part to strike her, but she surprisingly curled around Armaris to protect the much more feeble woman. "You have a lot of nerve, demoness," she muttered, her gaze shifting to the imposing form of Zareil standing over her. Espio turned his head to look, staying silent and simply observing.

"I don't want you to just leave," Zareil answered. "You see… while you're not as powerful as Espio, you stopped one of my attacks with one arm. I'm intrigued to see what kind of demon you become," she admitted easily, earning a hateful look from the female chameleon. "Aw, what's wrong? Don't wanna see your kid not liking you?"

Aniko opened her mouth to protest, only for Zareil's foot to come crashing down on her back and forcing her into the ground in an awkward position as she tried to protect Armaris (who, strangely, wasn't responding to anything occurring). Espio looked on briefly, but soon turned his back on them all, having decided that he didn't care one way or another what became of any of them or who killed who. Aniko glared hotly at her attacker. "Fuck you, woman."

"That's no way to talk to your future general," Zareil snapped, pressing down harder with her foot. "Let me kill the cat. She's far too weak to continue on her own, so she shouldn't be allowed to live."

"No." This was met with more crushing force and a growl. Despite the pain and danger she was in, she remained defiant and outwardly obstinate.

A small black knife comprised of Darkness suddenly struck the ground directly beside the struggling women. The impact loosed an explosion so vicious that it threw them all away from one another and tore the ravine open wide. Once the blast died down, Espio lowered his arm, his expression still not giving anything away about his motivations or intentions. All he said was a muttered, "You're annoying…" as he turned away again. He gave no indication specifically who he was talking to. It could well have been all of them.

Aniko landed, still wrapped around Armaris (who now appeared to either be asleep or unconscious as a result of the last attack), tumbling several feet before throwing herself to a standing position and staring at Espio. They have taken you from me… Without another word, she teleported herself away from here. Or… she would have, had Zareil not literally grabbed her out of her teleport and thrown the two of them toward the citadel.

"You will not be leaving," Zareil snapped, storming over and kicking Aniko up to her feet. "Fight or lose yourself to your Darkness," she threatened, surrounding them both in a corruptive sphere of Darkness.

A small pulse of Light raced through the area right in that moment. It seemed weak due to its size, but it still succeeded in loosening the sphere's hold on Armaris and Aniko enough for them to flee. Aniko wasted absolutely no time in viciously drop-kicking Zareil in the temple to buy herself enough time to teleport away. To further aid in their efforts, a much stronger pulse of Light collapsed down upon Zareil, pinning her with crushing force and gifting her with burns in an instant. Kaden intervened from afar with his Darkness, obliterating the attack effortlessly, but by then Aniko had already escaped.

Aniko landed back in Hyale, immediately dropping to her knees as her carefully held back emotions collapsed outward, laying Armaris down and almost violently pulling her husband into a tight hug. Shei immediately held her as well after making sure the sleeping baby clinging to his back was unharmed by the grab. He had questions, naturally, but wasn't at all in a position to ask any of them.

His entire demeanor sad and devoid of his usual joy, Silver dared to ask a soft, "What… What happened…?"

"They took Espio," Aniko muttered, barely able to get it out through the intense choking feeling she felt. How long had it been since she'd cried, much less to this degree?

Pursing his lips together, Silver made a potentially rash decision and used his mental powers for the greater good. ...Sort of. At the very least, he gave Shei a voice, allowing the man's thoughts to be heard aloud as though he were speaking. Sensing this, Shei shot him a vaguely stunned look. Silver only waved him on, urging him to communicate now that it was possible. He did so after a long moment, returning his full attention to Aniko and speaking to her as though no one else was there. "What has become of him?"

Aniko paused harshly, pulling back and staring at him in absolute shock. "What?" she demanded.

Shei silently huffed, rolling his eyes toward Silver. The hedgehog in question raised a hand and tiredly volunteered, gaze averted, "My doing. Mental powers. Seemed like he had stuff to say. Hands are occupied. Thought I'd help."

Aniko offered him a brief, yet deeply appreciative look before turning her attention back to her husband. "Espio… he's been corrupted. Not fully… but enough that he would have been willing to attack us both had he not been resisting Kaden."

That caught Shei's immediate interest. "He is still capable of resisting?"

She nodded very slowly. "I'm not sure what he was resisting, exactly… but that seemed to be the only thing stopping him from hurting us."

Concern building in normally mellow eyes, Shei told her, "That he was taken by demonic Darkness is bad enough, but this… The implications of this are serious, Aniko."

Aniko looked briefly confused, not wholly catching on to what he was meaning. "Explain."

"Our kind's Darkness is… unique in a great number of ways," Shei said. "One way is that it allows for our regenerative abilities, as you know. Another more drastic example is how it likes to grow by feeding off of other malevolent energies and assimilating it into the user, strengthening them and their Darkness together. Assuming the user is not consumed by sources of corruption before this process is completed, any corruption will be devoured, leaving only the natural Darkness behind… but vastly stronger than before, in this case. If he continues to hold out against Kaden's corruption and Malevolence's… that could be what happens to our son."

She thought about this deeply for some time before nodding and pulling him close. "He will remain in an evil state though, either way, correct?" she whispered.

Though silent, Shei sighed. "There is no changing that at this time. But… if he retains control over himself for now… at least he will have his free will returned to him before long."

"Free will for those who are evil is dangerous," Aniko murmured quietly.

"It will lend us an opportunity we do not have as of now," Shei replied. "With free will, he can decide for himself what to do and what not to do. At that time, we may be able to attempt to reach him in a manner we simply cannot currently."

She simply drew closer to him, lightly rubbing her cheek against his. "I fear we may not reach such a point…"

Closing his eyes, Shei indulged in a private grimace. "I wish I could promise that we will, Aniko. I truly, truly do."

Cyril shakily spoke up at this point, gulping before he did so. "As… unprepared for all of this as I am, I will do everything I can to help you guys get your son back."

Silver nodded. "He's my friend, too, even if we were never exactly close. You can count me in. Tails and Shadow, too. They've been by his side for so long - there's no way they'll abandon him now."

Li coughed, speaking for the first time since the battle ended. "I-I… I will try to help… I can't promise much, but… I'm here for this." Novei softly sighed, but didn't argue. She was going to go wherever Li went.

Turning her gaze on the two chameleons, Calypso murmured, "Whet'er you like or not, you have ally. They here to help you. You let t'em do t'at, and perhaps you will have chance of bring your son home. We wish to help if you let us."

Aniko gritted her teeth for a moment before lifting her gaze to all of them. At first, there was a glare. Over time, though, it softened into something much more appreciative, something she would normally never show to outsiders. "You-... thank you."

Silver sighed aloud, resting his chin in his hand. "We need some sort of plan. All I've got so far is… well, the pretty obvious fact that we have to get Uncle Jet and the others back here. And maybe other Gods and Goddesses if we can."

Li pushed himself to stand with his uninjured hand, Novei immediately helping him to do so. "I can get in contact with everyone. I'll get to Jet, Sein, and Alana-"

"We," Novei murmured. "We will go and get them. You are not going anywhere alone."

The wolf glanced over the others. "I'll be back as soon as possible," he murmured, teleporting himself and Novei to New Babylon. Having teleported straight to where Sein and Alana's energies were, they arrived in the room immediately.

Seeing them appear, Alana straightened. She had been seated on the floor beside Jet with Lucas (who was sound asleep) in her arms. Jet was laying on the couch again, unconscious but wracked with a migraine so severe it had him writhing weakly in agony and unable to lie still. He had spiked a fever from the pain the night before, proving beyond a reasonable doubt how much he was being affected.

Alana's eyes, already dark with fear and concern, hardened upon seeing Li and Novei - especially when she took in Li's emotional state and his wound. One thing was clear to her straight away. We have let ourselves become too preoccupied. Something has happened.

Sein was immediately on his feet, pulling his wolf friend into a tight hug to comfort him while also having him sit down beside them both. He didn't let Li go until he felt that his friend was feeling at least a little better, pulling away with a smile intended to comfort. "Talk to us. You've got a lot on your mind."

Li was quiet for a moment before Novei ever so carefully nudged him with an elbow, prompting him to speak. He was quiet at first, but Novei's presence and gentle urging from Sein helped him to get going and explain the situation at hand. Over the course of the explanation, Sein's aura grew visible and slowly began to grow far more obviously agitated and angry. Alana remained stoic and silent throughout, keeping her emotions at bay so as to not further aggravate her husband - and to keep her own mind clear. By the time the wolf was finished, it was apparent that Sein was intent on getting up and leaving at a moment's notice should he have to.

The wolf eventually somewhat cowered against Novei's shoulder, his mental state unable to hold out through reliving that traumatic experience. Sein glanced to Alana, intent clear in his eyes. "Can you watch over Jet if I leave?"

Solemnly, she inclined her head. "Of course I can. Go see how you can help."

Sein set a hand on Li's shoulder, glanced to Jet with a sorrowful look (as he wasn't getting to stay by his son's side), and teleported back to Mobius with Novei and Li. The three landed back in Hyale (courtesy of a temporary opening in the barrier that Shei created and then promptly closed), the Babylonian of the three immediately taking stock of his surroundings. Everyone was so… defeated, and he could only feel his anger rising further. He walked over to Shei, carefully skirting around Aniko when he realized how volatile she was feeling. One look at these two told him that everything Li had said was absolutely true, and it left a burning feeling in his chest.

Once he was close enough, Shei signed a quick, "Where are the others?"

"I asked them to stay on Babylon. Jet has an unusual migraine that is rendering him unconscious and unable to move," Sein murmured, a frown on his face. "I don't know what's causing it, but I don't think it's anything natural. Alana is with him."

Shei nodded slowly, but switched the subject. "You appear determined to do something. I cannot advise being rash in your decisions right now."

"I'm absolutely not being rash. I'm still clear of mind, and I thought it over. That demon that caused all of this… needs to die." There was a painfully obvious level of anger, righteous though it was, in his voice that preceded all else.

"And you plan to do what, precisely?" Shei asked him.

"I'm going to Kaden's realm and world to wipe her life away," Sein answered, crossing his arms. "I'm more than capable of doing it and coming back safely." He cast a glance to Silver and did his best to flash a comforting smile before teleporting away toward Kaden's realm. Every fiber of his being was now intent on killing the demon that rampaged and killed both Vector and Cream. How long has it been since I've felt such intense hatred for something? Ultimately, he decided that he could venture through those thoughts later in favor of focusing on his goal.

However, before his teleport could be completed, something rose up in his way. He slammed into it at full-speed, but it never wavered in the slightest. It was abundantly clear that his access was being forcefully blocked by Kaden himself. He wouldn't simply be allowed to come into the realm. This left him feeling far more fury than before, grabbing the handle of his sword and handling it tightly in efforts to keep himself under control. Fuck you, Kaden, and the demon you sent after them…

We will stop you.

~保護者~

6,629 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed, and many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 11:30 a.m.) 05-22-20.