Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of preparation… especially for the one who is already such a great granddad.

~保護者~

"Forces Gather"

~保護者~

Li and Novei appeared with the latter holding the wolf in her arms and chastising him for something that he had no idea he'd even done, landing on Nier's world and walking toward the home quickly. They had business to do, and Novei was not letting it take forever. Seeing their sudden arrival, Therin (who was outside the building keeping watch) sat up straighter and immediately demanded, "Something obviously happened. What's going on?"

"A lot," Li answered, shifting as he tried to dislodge himself from Novei's grip, ultimately failing and sighing. "I need to fill you all in so we can figure out what to do from here."

With a nod, Therin stood and led the way in. "Come on, then. Hurry up." He disappeared up the stairs and into the room where Cere was so that he could wake her up. Novei carried the wolf inside without hesitation, following behind Therin despite his wishes to be let onto his own two feet.

Soon Therin emerged from the room with Cere in tow and gestured at the pair. "They're over there. I'll fetch Finis." He left again without another word.

Cere blinked a few times at the sight of Novei carrying Li, frowning. "So… what's happening here?"

"Don't wanna talk about it," Li murmured, huffing gently. No one had a chance to say anything more before Therin again returned. Finis followed behind, carefully helping Analia walk with him until he could get her into a seat. She no doubt wanted to be in the loop as well, and she certainly deserved to be.

Once they were settled, Therin looked around. "...Where's that bobcat guy at?"

"I am here," Kial answered, walking up quietly. "It simply took me a moment to realize I was needed."

"On with it, then," Therin told Li with a gesture of his hand. He sat by Analia as he spoke and resumed something he had been very kindly helping her with earlier in the day: gently brushing out the mats in her hair. She accepted the help silently and without outward reaction. Exhaustion and who knew what else left her mostly blank.

Li nodded, quickly beginning the explanation of what had been going on. When the topic shifted to the demoness who attacked them all, Novei took over and forced him to be quiet, only letting him resume when that was finished. He wrapped it up soon enough, despite trying to keep it extremely thorough. "And… yeah. Shit went bad."

"No shit," Therin muttered emphatically, still busy working the brush through various tangles. Analia appeared to be listening to everything, but really didn't react.

Cere frowned deeply. "On the matter of the demoness… I know of her. She is Zareil, the highest ranking general of Kaden's legions. She is nearly as powerful as Kaden, shown especially in some of the more violent attacks they have led together. That demon is a massive threat alone…" But why send just her? He could have wiped out their whole group with one or two others for sure… What was he doing?

Sensing her thoughts, Finis used thought-speech to say his piece. "Perhaps that was not his intention, Cere. And if it was… perhaps his carelessness is proof that Analia's Light is acting within him again, affecting his behavior by altering the levels of corruption within him. We have not seen this in eons, but the signs are nearly the same as they were in the past." For her part, Analia said nothing.

"I am more readily willing to believe that killing them wasn't his intention, as shown by the abduction of Espio. What concerns me is that he didn't take the opportunity. Perhaps her Light is affecting him, but there is something that leaves me worried that he was doing something far more important in that time," Cere murmured.

"Like what?" Therin demanded.

"...Attacking Malevolence?" Cere posed, a grim frown on her face.

"If you're right, then we would've sensed another massive disruption in the balance, plain and simple," Therin argued.

Finis cut in. "He did venture into the Twilight Cage," he said slowly, "but a vast quantity of Light forced him out and has seemingly sealed the realm shut again."

Eyes inevitably turned to Analia. At this point, she finally reacted by very slowly shaking her head and murmuring, "I had no part in this."

"There was no way you could have," Cere murmured lightly. "You simply are not capable of doing such a thing at this time."

"At all," Analia very softly corrected. "I could never do that at all."

Li frowned deeply. "One of the only other exceptionally powerful Light users we know of, at least that's left alive, is Rose. She's not as powerful as you, so that means she couldn't have. Is there someone left that we didn't know about?"

When Analia seemed to retreat back into silence, Finis spoke up a third time. "This warrants investigation. If there exists someone powerful enough to hold Malevolence - tired though it is - back while driving Kaden away and sealing up the realm, they must be located. We are in dire need of such power in this war."

Novei raised an eyebrow. "If they got involved in only that, do you really think they're gonna be located easily or join this? It almost seems like they're just keeping shit from falling apart."

"No fucking shit," Therin told her somewhat snappily. "That's the kind of support we need. People who can help hold shit together while we fight the arrogant fucks breaking everything apart to begin with."

Before Novei could spout back, Cere exerted her presence once more to keep them quiet. "We will attempt to locate them, regardless. If we can convince them to actively join in the war, we will. That is all there is to this."

"We'd be the biggest idiots to ever exist if we didn't just because they might say no," Therin muttered, shooting Novei a pointed glare.

Novei glared back at him almost hatefully. "My point was that they don't seem too bent on being directly involved. Not saying that it's a shitty idea to look for them. Just don't be disappointed if they say no."

Li cut in, covering her mouth. "Anyway… there's other things to discuss. Espio, perhaps?"

"I would like to discuss this. It is of great importance, to existence and myself," Kial murmured softly. "You said he was abducted by Zareil, corrupted into following Kaden, and then regained free will by Nyokae's actions causing his Darkness to consume the taint?"

"Yeah… that's… more or less what happened," Li answered.

"Why would Kaden have just let him go?" Therin frowned. "It doesn't make sense that he would just sit idly by and let his new acquisition be stolen from him. That's just now how he acts."

Cere set a hand on her chin. "It's confusing, for sure. I doubt he knew all too well what would happen with the Darkness of a chameleon, but that doesn't explain why he let Nyokae do what she was doing…"

"He could not have known," Finis asserted. "We ourselves barely have any knowledge, and we were alive at the time when chameleon Darkness was at its peak." He looked away angrily. "Such raw, true Darkness straight from the Realm of Darkness itself has not been seen since that era. That it is resurfacing now is something we cannot afford to ignore."

Therin gritted his teeth. "Based on the stories I've heard, they nearly caused existence to collapse more than once when existence itself was still really young, didn't they?"

Cere closed her eyes and slowly nodded. "Yeah…" she muttered. It doesn't make sense. He went to the trouble of corrupting Espio, but simply left him be when that happened.

"I also heard," Therin continued, "that they were the first - and worst - evil force in existence and that when those beings of Light began banding together in unspeakable numbers to purge them, the sudden extreme drop in the Darkness their race was putting into existence directly triggered the birth of Malevolence. You know, for the sake of balance or some shit."

Kial visibly frowned. "Is there a greater point you are getting at?" he asked softly.

"Obviously," Therin huffed. Setting the brush he'd been using aside, he turned to fully face the others. "Chameleon Darkness consumes other Darkness and gets stronger. Kaden may not have had in-depth knowledge about this crap, but what if he knows enough? Enough to want to get Espio corrupted, get his Darkness fully out and active, and then let events play out that would make the guy just keep getting stronger? Especially since being corrupted as a demon even once leaves a person permanently far more vulnerable for the rest of their lives."

"You believe that Kaden wants to let Espio do as he wishes so that he can later take control of a far stronger weapon?" Kial asked, his fingers lightly tapping on his leg.

"Look, this is Kaden. He's done shit like this in the past. All I'm saying is that there's no way it wouldn't be possible for this to be his plan." Therin frowned deeper. And his chances of success… exponentially high.

"I was not here for much of this," Kial admitted, very slowly. "Though… if what you say is true, it seems that it very well could be his plan."

Cere cut in gently, a frown on her face. "Kial. Are you alright?"

The cat nodded gently. "I am alright. It simply hurts to hear that my old friend is being torn between every side to be used as a weapon or kept as a friend," he revealed, letting his head droop.

Therin let out a soft snort. "If it were nearly everyone else, I'd be worried about the effect that'd have on his mental and emotional state. I've met the guy, though. As long as we get this corruption shit under control, he'll be alright."

Li nodded. "His family seemed to be planning their next steps before myself and Novei left. I'm sure we can trust them, but I can get the information of their plan and let you all know." Provided they actually… tell me.

Looking to Cere, Finis silently asked her, "The group on Mobius is fairly safe for the moment, but they will be in heightened danger again if we bring Analia to them. At least one of us needs to stay with her here for now."

"One of us in particular?" she asked, turning to him.

"I should stay," he answered. "I am not particularly useful in a fight against other beings of Darkness, but my defenses are too strong for nearly any to break through. She will be safe if I remain."

"Who else should stay? Or should only I go?"

"Take the others with you," Finis told her. "Jet and Wave need every single ally that can be gathered."

"Are you sure about this?" Cere asked. "I do not want there to be an attack that is meant to overwhelm your defenses simply because our presence is gone."

"Unless Kaden himself comes here, that will not happen. And as of now, he appears to have greater concerns than Analia. That he has not attempted to retrieve her yet is proof enough."

"I will trust your judgement, Finis. I will take the others to Mobius and prepare." Cere answered softly. He just nodded. Cere turned to the others. "We will all be going to Mobius. Finis will stay with Analia," she explained simply. "Are there any other matters that we need to discuss before we get moving?"

"Doubt it," Therin answered curtly. "Also doubt I'll be very fuckin' useful. I'm not combat-oriented, remember?"

"There is more to combat than fighting," Cere explained. "You will not be on the front line, but we can still use your skills to keep others that are not capable of fighting away from the fray." He just sort of shrugged at her. "Kial, we will help Espio return. Do not let this news hurt your heart," she said gently. "We will do what we can within our power."

Kial nodded, pushing himself to stand. "Then, should we be leaving?"

Cere glanced to Finis, asking if he had anything else to say with a gentle questioning expression. He just looked on in silence, making no further comments. Cere then turned back to the others and nodded. "We should head to Mobius. We'll discuss further plans upon arrival and assessment of the situation."

"Fine by me." Therin teleported away unassisted.

Cere walked over to Li and Novei, motioning for them to follow before gently guiding Kial their way with her magic. "We will be off now as well," she said to them, teleporting the group away to Mobius.

~保護者~

After spending time together on the palace grounds, Wave made a decision. Following her earlier line of thinking that Lucas needed to be kept away from Jet for both of their sakes, she came to the conclusion that getting him off the planet entirely was the best course of action. As it happened, Alana agreed with her. So, without further ado, Wave collected the small boy and teleported with him straight to Sein's position within Hyale. Someone let them through the barriers (she honestly suspected Shei), and they arrived by Sein's side not a full second afterward. After letting Lucas wander off to explore a little and explaining what was going on, she asked, "Would you mind taking the kid for a little while? For his sake and for Jet's, he can't witness what's about to happen."

Sein quickly understood what she meant and nodded, a small smile on his face. "Of course," he answered. "I'd be more than happy to."

"That's great," Wave replied, relaxing slightly. She glanced over at where Silver was sitting. "I already asked him earlier when we were communicating, and he said he'll be willing to take Lucas later so that you can be there when the time actually comes. We assumed that you wouldn't be able to stand being sidelined."

The hawk shook his head. "No matter what happens, I want to be there to help out with him. He's my son," Sein murmured softly.

"I understand. I'll be sure to contact you when the moment hits." Wave glanced to where Lucas was and managed a weak smile. "...Fair warning… he's a lot like how his dad used to be. And, from what I gather, that means he's also a lot like how you used to be. Make of that what you will." With that slightly lighthearted warning given, she teleported away.

Sein chuckled nervously. What have I gotten myself into? Despite this thought, he was quick to get moving and walk over to where Lucas was. The child was currently keeping busy by climbing trees, getting much too high up in the massive branches for his own safety but seeming entirely unfazed by it. In fact, judging by his triumphant grin, he was quite happy with himself. Sein shook his head, amused. "Lucas, you should come down from there!"

"I don't wanna!" Lucas called back immediately. "This is awesome!"

"You do realize it's dangerous, right?"

"That's what makes it fun!"

Sein smiled, then made a somewhat startling realization. Damn. I was actually like this as a kid. Still kinda am, sometimes. "C'mon, Lucas. There's a lot around here to explore."

His attention caught, Lucas peered down at him. "Like what?"

"Have you ever seen a chameleon village?"

"...A… A what?" Lucas eventually replied.

"That's exactly why we should go exploring! There's a bunch of stuff around here you would have never even heard of."

"Like what?" Lucas asked again. This time he started enthusiastically climbing down while he spoke.

"We'll just have to see. I haven't seen everything around here yet!"

Eager to see these promised treasures, Lucas joined him on the ground and ran over. "Let's go, then!" he exclaimed, tugging hard on Sein's hand and arm.

Sein laughed and followed along with the younger hawk, a bright smile on his face. "Well, you're enthusiastic."

Lucas grinned up at him. "Guess so, yeah. But Dad told me it can be a good thing."

"Oh, definitely. You just didn't seem to want to look around until I told you there was other stuff to explore," Sein teased lightly, still smiling.

"Dad lets us explore the palace by ourselves sometimes," Lucas happily declared. "Me and sissy have seen a lot of rooms, but she thinks there are tons more!"

"Maybe there are," Sein answered.

"Are there palaces here, too?" Lucas asked, looking around. However, he quickly amended, "There aren't any big houses and stuff here. Why's everything so small even though the trees are so big?"

Sein smiled. "That's their culture. They don't need a big palace, since they have lived in small places like this for a long time. They much prefer nature, as far as I can tell."

"But how come they live in trees and not on the ground?" Lucas asked him.

"I suppose that's another thing for their culture. Maybe because they're shinobi?"

"What's that word mean?"

"They're like ninja. They're really strong and skilled fighters, but they use more stealth much of the time unlike me and your dad who fight more directly."

Lucas thought this over for a time. "What are ninja? And what does stealth mean? And why do they fight people?"

"Ninja are stealthy fighters. They fight from the shadows, taking down their targets without anyone knowing they're there. Stealth means that they're really hard to see or find, which makes it hard to fight them. They may fight for honor, or for their people to protect themselves and those they care about."

After a small pause, Lucas looked at him again. "You know a lot," he said, amazed. "Just like my dad."

"I've been around a while. You learn a lot as you grow up. One day, maybe you'll be able to know as much, or even more than him," Sein said gently.

"Really?" Lucas asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeah! If you work at it, you can do whatever you put your mind to!" This made the child beam. Sein beamed right back at him.

Happy as could be, the pair continued on their way.

~保護者~

Sword in hand, Kaden stepped through his portal. After so many eons of war and struggle, he slipped seamlessly from his realm into the realm known as the Twilight Cage. Once upon a time, a uniquely powerful being of Light had sealed Malevolence here… until Lia and Kimmy had unwittingly freed it. It was here where the beast now so willingly hid itself away, cowering in one of the furthest recesses of existence… fearing the day when it was finally slain by Jet, Nareish, or Kaden.

Kaden intended that day to be today.

And he would be the one to deal the final blow.

As he had anticipated, Malevolence had had its sleep interrupted too soon. After its latest exploits prior to going to sleep, it was left too weak to keep Kaden out. He entered the realm unimpeded. Not even Malevolence's spawn, all of which drew strength from their creator, could do anything more than watch him come. Still, he was more than happy to kill them off in droves with vast shockwaves of energy unleashed from his sword as he walked.

Drawn out by the chaos, Malevolence reared its head deeper into the black abyss that was this realm. Spying it ahead of him, Kaden gained a dark smirk. "Still hiding, are we…?" he murmured, drawing closer. Predictably, though the creature could speak, it didn't respond. It seldom did. He didn't care. This would be faster without his prey wasting breath talking.

Malevolence appeared fully, though too weak to assume its truest form. It remained in one of its smaller forms, one that it had taken a liking to after its ancient exploits on Mobius. As it was now, it looked like a hedgehog. It was a memento. A trophy. A permanent reminder of the murders it had carried out… ending on when Kaden's own father had also been slain. He allowed that old anger to fuel his strength now, gathering it into a concentrated energy around his sword. His target readied itself as well, ready to fight however powerfully as it could manage, but just as they both started to move…

Light exploded outward from an indeterminate point in between them. Searing pain tore through Kaden as he was launched backward. The sheer power he had just been confronted with… that normally only ever happened when he fought with Jet. It certainly didn't happen with beings of Light. They weren't strong enough. After her many eons of imprisonment, even Analia couldn't conjure up enough power to damage him to this degree. So who the fucking hell could have done it, then?

Hissing softly between clenched teeth, Kaden cracked his eyes open. They burned just as the rest of his body did, and his vision had blurred severely. The stress he suddenly felt over it was… unwelcome. Familiar, though. His eyes had always been fucking sensitive, just like his ears. Only, his ears were that way due to his race. Conversely, his eyes were sensitive because of his sensory issues, which tied into his autism. Autism that he detested because it was a goddamn weakness. Demons did not show weakness. And yet, he couldn't stop the spike of stress rising from deep within, speeding up his pulse and breathing and making it hard for him to catch himself.

Catch himself he did, however, roughly a second or two after he had been thrown. He landed on his feet in a crouch, wincing subtly at the wall of Light that now barred him from returning to where he had been earlier standing. In fact, he couldn't progress forward at all. He was trapped in the entrance to this realm, with his only options being to stay put or leave. If he dared to go into that Light, he would die. He could sense the truth of that fact intrinsically, feel it deep within his very soul.

For several long moments, nothing much happened. All he could hear was his own somewhat racing heart and slightly shaky breaths. No one and no thing seemed to move. Then the wall did, surging forth so suddenly that it was almost startling. It came roaring toward him, sending spawn all of shapes and sizes fleeing for their meager lives. The sight caused it to occur to him that he likely had no choice but to follow suit if he also wanted to remain alive. So, with a furious curse, he did something he hadn't been forced to do since before his corruption.

He turned and ran away.

With precious seconds to spare, he emerged from the portal and lunged away from it. There was just enough time for him to dodge, allowing the shockwaves to rocket past him and tear their way through the catacombs where the portal had long been concealed. Fire and stone rained down upon him as the tunnels collapsed, but through the dust he was able to witness it as the demons who inhabited this area all turned to Light-filled dust and became scattered by the debris until the dust vanished entirely. Back the way he'd come, the portal rapidly melted into the floor, pooling and trickling away like water… virtually purified into nonexistence.

Swearing heatedly under his breath, Kaden raised his palm and blasted a hole from his current position to the world above ground. He leapt through it and teleported a short distance away, having again acted just in time. The ground caved in fully. Any demons fortunate enough to escape purification were now buried. He made no move to help them in any way, too focused on his own issues. His ears were ringing fiercely. His eyes stung. His heart was hammering much harder than it had been before. It was difficult, though not impossible, to keep his breathing in check.

Due to the overwhelming stimulation they had just received, his ears struggled to cope. Normally he could have guarded his ears via a spell or two, but there had been no time… hence his pain. He barely heard it when several generals rushed over to him, questioning what had just happened. He ignored them, opted to keep them busy by sending them to assess the damage to the catacombs. Meanwhile, he turned and started walking back toward the citadel. Now more than ever, he needed the dark… and the quiet.

Zareil landed by him and very carefully teleported the two into the citadel, making sure to keep any demons out with her presence alone. "Kaden… what happened?" she demanded softly, kneeling down in front of him.

Softly growling, Kaden stalked over to his chair and sat in it. He flung Saika so that it stabbed deeply into one of the walls in an expression of anger before muttering, "The realm is sealed and the portal melted by Light."

"What?" she demanded, a bit more harshly. "Who the fuck could have done that? Kath and Rose are a bit preoccupied, while Analia is entirely too exhausted for something that big."

"They are incapable," Kaden snarled. "All of them."

"Then who did it?" Zareil questioned, a deep frown on her face. "Do you know who?"

"No," was the exceptionally curt response. His ears were badly protesting the sound of them talking and reflexively lowered themselves to try to dampen the impact of the sound upon them.

When she received this horrendous news, the demon stood and walked closer, sitting carefully on the armrest to be by him. "What did they do to you?" she whispered. "You look awful."

This assertion earned a soft snarl. "Nothing happened."

"Light hit you, but how? Those burns are horrid to see on someone like you," she murmured, frowning.

Baring his teeth in agitation, Kaden relented and said, "An explosion of Light forced myself and Malevolence apart, striking both of us and later forcing me to leave."

Zareil sighed gently, shaking her head. "We will find and deal with them later, for now, rest. I'll tend to your wounds so they can heal properly." With that, she pushed herself off the armrest and leaned against the throne with her upper body. "Please stay still, okay?" He only closed his eyes, hoping to alleviate the pain that they were also in. They weren't as painful as they had been, thankfully, but the stinging sensation remained - as did his abnormally high pulse rate. The demoness began applying large amounts of her own Darkness to each individual burn by coating her hand in the energy. "I am sorry you were made to go through this. The Light being who did this to you will pay dearly," she murmured softly.

A nearly inaudible, "Hn," was his only response. Given her increased proximity, he flattened his ears further on reflex.

"I am here," she murmured. "No others will come near us at this time. You can relax and rest."

If he could have muffled sound any further. he swore he would have. As it stood, though, he only had one option left to him. "Stop talking," he mumbled.

"Yes, Kaden," she murmured ever so softly, immediately falling into silence as she continued healing his wounds. They two drifted off into silence. For now, there was nothing left to say.

~保護者~

4,707 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Sorry I took so long to post this. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 6:20 p.m.) 06-02-20.