Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of sudden healing… especially for the one who reacts so unexpectedly.

~保護者~

"Recovery"

~保護者~

A portal, the same as the one Armaris had opened to leave originally, popped into existence nearby the ruins of Espio's home, the aforementioned cat stepping out and quickly walking to where she sensed Espio to be. "I've got a question, Espio."

Her sudden arrival earned a glance and Espio lowered the bottle he had been about to take a drink from. He sat atop a pile of some of the wood he had moved around earlier when searching for the bottle in question. "Ask, then," he permitted simply.

The cat grew noticeably reserved for a moment, unsure how to express what she was thinking until another cat (this one a male) stepped out and walked over. "My name is Ylden," he introduced. "I and my daughter wanted to help you learn to control your Darkness and the way it affects you so that you can further your abilities in a safe manner."

In a second of unusual behavior, proof that his Darkness was at rest for now but not dormant, Espio looked away and muttered, "Not interested," before taking a long drink.

"She told me about the visions you all were shown," Ylden suddenly revealed, a faint frown on his face. "If your Darkness grows out of control again… the risk of someone being seriously injured is much higher. It will help you protect the ones you care about keeping safe."

"I gave you my answer," was the simple response.

Armaris looked at him with a pleading expression. "His realm's time passes far more quickly, so the training would take far less time to do there than it would here, and…" she looked away, her gaze hitting the floor immediately. "I'm worried about you…"

This put a very brief stop to the slight negativity that had been starting to display itself, and Espio spared her a glance. He was quiet for a time before asking a very pointed question. "How much more quickly?"

"A few hours here was a few days there," Armaris answered quickly. "In a single day, we could probably be there for something like two weeks, or more." She had never bothered to really think about how differently time passed between the two realms, so the best she could do was make an estimate.

Though distrustful by nature, Espio addressed Ylden this time without hesitation. "What exactly are you intending to do to accomplish this?"

"I'm simply there to guide you on how to contain, control, and protect yourself from the influences of your Darkness," Ylden explained easily. "I can't tell you how to do it because it's your Darkness, but I can be there to help you understand the nuances of your energy."

As it was empty now anyway, Espio left the bottle in the rubble as he stood up. He cast a glance toward his parents and children, thinking everything over, before finally answering with a simple (but unhappy), "...Fine."

Armaris almost threw herself at him in a hug, but held herself off and approached him calmly to do the same action. "Thank you, Espio…" she murmured softly. He saw the thanks as pointless and so just shrugged it off.

Ylden almost managed a small smile, but ultimately didn't see it as necessary and gestured to the portal. "Follow me," he said simply, stepping through on his own. Espio followed without a word, as he'd been told, tossing one last glance at the children as he went. More than anything, his growing desire to keep them safe seemed to be what was driving him to go along with this. Armaris went with him, never once letting go of him.

~保護者~

Rose quietly approached Shei and Aniko (who were sitting with their again-sleeping grandchildren), making sure her presence was known as she did so. Her aura alone was enough to snag Aniko's attention, a faint glare pointed at the white cat. "What do you want?" Aniko asked, a bit harsher than intended. Shei caught Aniko's eye and subtly gestured for her to tone it down a bit.

Whether or not it even remotely bothered Rose didn't show on her face as she quietly sat before them, gaining a confused look from the female chameleon. "I wished to ask you two a few questions about your son." Despite not knowing if she could understand him, Shei tried to sign a question to her. Rose attempted to decipher what he said, but ultimately this form of sign language was unfamiliar to her. However, she smiled gently in his direction and said, "I can read the thoughts you have, if that is how you would like to communicate. I simply need you to intend for me to be able to see them."

That indicated surprisingly weak telepathy, but Shei accepted it with little more than a quirked eyebrow. "You can hear this, then?" he thought at her.

She nodded gently. "Yes, I can." Rose's gaze flicked to Aniko briefly and she made a pointed effort to make it so that Shei's thoughts would be heard by her as well. "Now we should be able to converse properly, without the need for relaying information."

Aniko blinked a few times and frowned at the cat. "What the hell are you?"

"Nothing more than a being of Light blessed with abilities that help me help others," Rose answered brightly. "May I ask the questions I had, or do either of you have questions for me before we start?" Aniko shook her head at the second part of the question, glancing to Shei.

"What sort of questions do you have?" Shei asked Rose, settling back against the tree behind him.

"Namely those of his past, some are admittedly personal so I will not be upset if you find it hard to trust me with information regarding some of them. Though, this is decidedly important, as what it may reveal could be imperative to helping your son live a normal, happy life once this is over."

Aniko was immediately stunned for a few moments, trying to process what Rose had said and growing concerned over what she might decide to ask. "State your questions."

"Did he have trouble making eye contact with either of you or others as a child?" Rose asked gently, her smile fading into a thoughtful frown.

Though puzzled by the question, Shei slowly answered, "It was something he always disliked doing. He had issues with it around us, but he mostly grew out of it over time. However, to this day I do not see him engaging in the behavior much with other people."

Rose nodded softly, moving along immediately. "What about his display of emotions? Did he ever have issues smiling to show happiness?"

Aniko frowned for a moment. Sure, he had smiled as a child, but… he never did it often. The more she thought about it, the less often it appeared to have been. "I suppose he didn't smile very often, but we as chameleons do not express much emotion as a result of our training."

Thinking back as well, Shei soon countered, "Aniko… I don't believe he ever smiled much at all, even before that point in his training. When very young, our children are nearly as expressive as any other race's. But, aside from when he was specifically with you, his smiles were a rare sight to behold." The female chameleon frowned more, but ultimately didn't disagree. She supposed it was true enough if Shei was saying it.

"Understood. What about friendships? Did he have struggles finding or maintaining a friendship as a child?"

"He had no friends," Shei was quick to confirm. "He knew Armaris somewhat, enough to somewhat accept her as akin to family in a way, but he did not have friends. He never seemed interested in pursuing such relationships." He glanced around at some of the outsiders around them. "...It makes the size of his group of allies rather surprising."

Rose nodded slowly, seeming to slowly be coming to some sort of understanding. "Was he ever really interested in others around him? Making connections, understanding their thoughts, feelings, et cetera?"

Aniko immediately shook her head. "Even to this day, he seems to have very little interest in others, not including some particular exceptions. He prefers to be by himself."

"He has a history of ignoring other people as much as possible," Shei agreed, "and has never shown much, if any, outward desire for connection. Hence, he makes no real effort to establish such most oftentimes."

"What of his reactions to things such as affection, specifically those that are positive like that one of you or Armaris would show?" Rose asked softly.

Shei looked at Aniko with a slight frown. He paused for a moment before saying, "As a baby and as a child… he would not always react to things such as hugs and the like. Even Aniko doing nothing more than saying that she loved him would garner little reaction at times, despite how much weight such words hold for our people."

Rose frowned gently. "I am also aware that he has not responded… well to displays of affection from Armaris recently. He sometimes tenses up or does not react at all," she murmured.

It took a moment, but Aniko nodded. "It's definitely true."

"I have seen signs of other reactions as well," Shei added. "On at least one occasion, her actions - though harmless - seemed to garner a more negative response than was warranted. I have seen both irritability something akin to anxiety, neither of which should have been present at the time."

Rose took this information in stride, moving to her next question. "What about how he deals with anxiety and other upsetting emotions? Did he ever seek help or was he more likely to keep to himself?"

"...Rarely," Aniko murmured slowly. "He did not often approach after he grew out of his younger years."

"He displayed high levels of anxiety as a child," Shei explained slowly, "though we could never determine why. It was… highly abnormal. He would often seek out comfort from his mother, but only from her. And, as she stated, he did that less and less as he grew older."

"I see…" Rose murmured softly. "Does he have issues with asking for help or expressing that which he thinks or feels?"

"Voicing his thoughts is seldom an issue, when he sees fit to do so," Shei answered her. "Expressing emotions, however, was something I rarely saw him able to do intentionally. Often when it happened, it was because something had become too much for him to handle, such as anger boiling over. And he was never one to be able to easily ask others for aid regarding anything at all."

Aniko thought to speak up here, a steadily growing frown on her face. "He also has a lot of difficulty with understanding emotions and reading the emotions of others. That may play into it as well."

"As well as into the larger issue of him struggling so much to cope with the effects of his Darkness," Shei added after a brief pause.

Rose nodded, but didn't add to the current thought. "What about his fascination with blades? I spoke with him on the matter already, but he is inclined toward the opinion that he is not and was not obsessed with blades."

Shei was of the same opinion, more or less. "It is exceptionally normal, to some degree, for our people to be very interested in blades," he said carefully. "However… I suppose that his preoccupation with them is unusual, as is his preoccupation with combat. It is not obsessive, but from the moment he was given his first knife these dual fascinations have proven themselves more than capable of dictating many aspects of his life and behavior."

"Did he ever display any level of unusual intelligence?" Rose asked gently.

Shei had to think on that for a moment before he inclined his head. "His heritage is full of the most powerful and intelligent people of our race. They are the people who formed the clans Aniko and I hail from. However… the intelligence our son displays… it could be said that it is abnormally high." He closed his eyes. "Barring a few areas - such as emotions, as we previously discussed - the strength of his mind has always been unusual, particularly in regards to things he enjoys. One way that I have always observed this was by seeing how frighteningly quickly he could learn new things and acquire new skills, regardless of what they were or how difficult it was supposed to be to do."

"As a child, did he enjoy or at least accept being held?" Rose asked.

"I was one of the only people that he would allow to hold him, barring some extreme exceptions that he was not pleased with," Aniko explained easily. "If he wanted to be held or hugged, he would only approach me for such."

"Otherwise, he could not tolerate it," Shei further explained. "Initiating physical contact with him was among the easiest ways to cause him anxiety. As Aniko said, she was the only true exception. Even I was only ever to hold him sparingly, even when he was a mere infant. Some of his reasoning for allowing her to despite his discomfort would come down to normal instincts involving a child clinging to their mother and being cradled by her, but over time he appeared to grow used to it. Perhaps he even genuinely grew to enjoy it to some degree, as he would actively seek out hugs or to be held or even just sit on her lap after a certain age."

"I am aware of a minute amount of this particular question, but I still would enjoy your input," Rose explained softly. "He is certainly averse to touch, but how deep is this aversion?

Aniko frowned. "I am aware that lately, he has been somewhat averse to touch from even myself, sometimes reacting negatively or not at all."

"In the past, such a response to her was exceedingly rare," Shei said. "With everyone else, he seldom reacted in any positive ways. Those reactions were not uniform or predictable, however." He let out an inaudible sigh as he thought back. "As previously discussed, he would sometimes stiffen. Sometimes he would grow anxious and try to break away from the touch as quickly as possible. Other times, he would grow irritable or even angry, even when this was unwarranted." Now Shei frowned as he remembered another detail. "In the very worst of cases, rare though those were, he would respond with varying degrees of physical violence, ranging from childish hitting to an incident where he used his knife to stab a woman's hand so that he could run away from her."

Rose's frown visibly grew. "This one is a touch off topic, but… were there any specific traumatic experiences that he was forced to endure as a child?"

"Yes, and some of this stems from the scars he bears from the events in question," Shei nodded. "However, given that most of this started before he experienced any trauma, it is not all related to that."

Aniko was visibly surprised to see Rose grow upset upon hearing that, the cat holding a fist to her chest as if to calm herself. Rose seemed to recover quickly enough, however, speaking once more. "Does he have any sensitivities that he seems to be far more aware of, such as touch, taste, or textures?"

"Touch and all that goes with it are obvious," Shei replied. "For one thing, his sensitivity to heat is abnormal. Some of it does stem from being raised here in the far north, but the degree to which it has always affected his ability to eat, sleep, remain in a decent mood, display normal levels of energy, and so on are… unusual."

Rose nodded, but Aniko spoke up first. "He has also displayed sensitivities to taste and the way some foods feel in his mouth. Such things have garnered reflexes ranging from gagging to vomiting immediately."

"Did he ever display abnormal levels of energy or… destructiveness as a child, or even strong impulses that left him to act without thinking?"

"He was not destructive unless training called for him to be, and he was always of a sound mind when making decisions," Aniko immediately answered. "However… he did at times seem to have energy that was required to be used in some manner lest it cause him problems."

Shei nodded in agreement. "He was never hyper, but he certainly has always displayed a higher need than most to be active. He becomes irritable, stressed out, angry, and so on when kept inside or otherwise stationary for too long, unable to move around much. For the whole of his life, he has always needed to have plenty of exercise for his own sake, to a degree that is likely abnormal."

"Has he ever had difficulty sleeping, to a point that could be considered abnormal?" Rose asked gently.

Aniko nodded, a frown on her face. "He would sometimes go for unhealthily long amounts of time without proper sleep. Each time he did sleep, he would suffer nightmares or night terrors that plagued his sleep. It was nearly impossible to wake him from them and there never seemed to be a genuine cause. The dreams never even seemed to be about anything specific."

Rose thought for a moment before speaking again. "Was he ever shown to display stims, stims being activities that would stimulate his body in some way like rocking, drumming his fingers, chewing on something, or anything similar?" With a glance at Aniko, Shei shook his head. Her demeanor darkened somewhat before she asked her next question, some level of concern evident in her voice. "Was he fond of self-injurious behaviors for any means, especially in response to emotional stimuli?"

After a long pause, Shei replied, "He… displayed a disturbing propensity for self-harm with his knives in the past. We would sometimes find that he had cut or even somewhat stabbed himself, typically in the thighs or upper arms, in response to being unable to cope with varying degrees of upset. As far as I was ever able to tell, the pain appeared to be his tool for regaining focus and control over himself." He paused, frowned again, then added, "I believe I have seen signs of him displaying a similar behavior as of late as well, when he allows enemies to strike him to achieve the same ultimate effect."

"Did he ever have any sort of squabbles or disagreements with authority figures seemingly just because they had authority?" Rose questioned gently.

"Absolutely," Aniko answered. "He often would do things to spite those who would be considered above him. I, truthfully, found it amusing."

Rose managed a soft smile at that before continuing. "Was he ever really… imaginative as a child? Did he 'play pretend' at all, or engage in similar activities?"

Aniko shook her head gently. "He did not."

"Was Espio ever prone to unusual emotional outbursts for seemingly no true reason that would be considered normal?" Rose asked carefully, not exactly sure how to word this so it would make proper sense.

Luckily, Aniko seemed to understand and nodded. "He did, to an unusual degree for our species. They were far more intense than what would be considered normal for any race, much less one of our own, and they happened far more frequently than our nature would allow."

"They would happen, sometimes, in seemingly normal situations," Shei continued. "Once, he grew angry and even outright hostile for no other discernible reason than being unable to handle being in a new and strange environment when we first took him out of the village. It was extremely difficult to calm him and it left him emotionally drained for a time afterward."

Aniko seemed far from pleased at Rose's reaction as the cat processed all of this information carefully. The cat lowered her gaze and closed her eyes. "Was he ever tested for a mental disorder as a child?" she asked suddenly, hands on her knees. "And if so…" Her gaze lifted to the two, immense concern welled up within. "What did they say?"

Shei looked at Aniko again before responding, "He… was never tested for anything, no."

"We were not around as much as we would have liked to have been when he was a child," Aniko explained softly. "Because of this, we learned about much of the things you asked about from his caretakers after it had happened."

"We did witness all of these things," Shei was careful to clarify, "but we did not and could not see them as often as these caretakers - his various senseis - did. We were forced to be away too often to deal with outside threats to our people back then."

Rose sighed softly, shaking her head. "I… I am highly concerned that he may have a disorder within the autism spectrum."

Aniko was quick to frown deeply and almost glare at Rose. "What makes you say this?"

The cat looked to her directly, her expression dead serious. "He displays many symptoms known to fall within that diagnosis. The disorder is a spectrum, you understand, and his symptoms do not fall neatly onto either end of it in terms of severity. I do not know exactly where he may fall, but after speaking with him as well as you two, I am certain that the possibility is high that he has the disorder regardless."

He was quiet for a long moment, but Shei soon asked, "...How certain of this are you?" Though normally rather apathetic on the outside, true signs of concern were bleeding into his demeanor.

"...Very," Rose admitted softly. "It does not appear to be the same severity as another case I have seen, which is incredibly good, but the fact that it has gone untreated for this long means that we will be hard pressed to help him with the symptoms."

Aniko's heart sank as she made a few realizations she didn't like. For so much of his life, he'd been suffering from these various issues and they could have helped him early on so that his life would have been better... "I… I cannot-"

Rose took a calculated risk and set her hand on Aniko's gently. "It is not your fault, nor is it yours, Shei. You are both incredible parents, and sometimes things like this truly do go unnoticed. Now that you know, you can help him far more than you would have before."

The female chameleon pulled her hand away from Rose's, but noticeably didn't retaliate at the unexpected touch. "Why do you even care? Your kind was not very keen on letting mine continue to exist."

"I am sorry for what my kin did to your race. I know the stories, and I understand both sides. I am not happy with what occurred, but that is in the past and I will not let it define how I interact with others. I hope that, unlike those in the past, we can actually get along or be friends," Rose murmured softly, gently pulling her hand back. "I only want to help where I am able."

Idealistic son of a bitch… Aniko thought to herself with no real conviction behind the words. Her gaze shifted to Shei and she quickly signed, "Will you agree to accept her help?"

Turning to face her, Shei just as swiftly signed back, "We should. We lack the knowledge of what to do on our own." He inaudibly sighed. "I want to help him, and to do so means accepting her involvement."

After heavy deliberation internally and much hesitance, Aniko turned to Rose and nodded. "We are ready to accept your help," she murmured, giving a gentle nod. "Though, if you harm my son, you will have far more pressing matters than the God of Demons chasing you."

"I understand, Aniko," Rose answered, apparently taking this threat in stride much to Aniko's immediate surprise.

Who the hell is this woman?

~保護者~

Kath walked into the room where his family had taken shelter after whatever had just taken place. He had sensed the event, and the fact that his grandson had been at the heart of it. Everyone had. Anyone with half a functioning brain cell could have detected the energy that had flowed throughout the area not ten minutes before, though no one had dared approach the source of it at the time. It was this energy surge, and the disturbing turmoil in his daughter and son-in-law's emotions, that brought him to this room at such a brisk pace.

He didn't have to do anything other than step inside to gain answers. One look at him prompted Alana to wave him over as she murmured, "Before you ask… I do not know what happened. Not entirely." She met his puzzled gaze with one of her own. "You heard of the mind control that Astra threatened Jet with… yes?"

With a slow blink, Kath nodded. "I heard some."

"That woman did as we feared," Alana told him, "and took control of our son. However… something she did triggered a reaction unlike anything we have ever seen or heard of. I am at a loss to explain specifically what happened as of now."

Frowning, Kath crossed his arms. "Describe what you can," he directed. "Whatever information you have, regardless of how miniscule, could be of use."

"I have little to nothing," she lamented with a shake of her head, "but… whatever she did changed him. Not just his appearance, but his behavior, his strength, his abilities, his energy… And, Father… for a brief moment, he bore the very same appearance as a Faein."

Shock made Kath go still. "A Faein," he echoed in utter disbelief. "You are certain?"

"How could I mistake it for anything else?" was the quick reply.

She had a point, and more than a fair one at that. Rather than dwelling on the matter too hard just yet, he prompted, "What else occurred?"

"He freed himself," Alana stated quietly. "Whether purely because it would achieve that goal or for some other reason… he also took Astra and purified her. He removed all corruption from her and then sent her away."

There were many comments that could be made about that, and many observations as well. One in particular stood out to Kath as he moved to sit beside her. "You remain deeply troubled."

"Of course I do," Alana muttered. "She caused my son far more pain than I would wish on nearly anyone in the whole of existence."

Striving to stay level-headed and not get too emotionally involved in this matter, Kath pointed out carefully, "She is purified now. She will not be the same person she was before."

"I do not care," Alana answered darkly. "She had best watch her behavior and her words, lest they came back to bite her in the throat." After a poignant pause, she let out a sigh and changed the subject. There was no doubt in Kath's mind that she was quite anxious to do so. "Was it Azerel that bit you?"

Glancing down, Kath took notice for the first time of the torn and bloodied cloth on the side of his left leg. I had thought he missed me. It would seem that I was mistaken. With a shake of his head, he admitted, "No. I have not seen him since I was taken down on Mobius." He chose not to let on just how worried that made him, opting instead to keep his voice neutral.

As ever, she knew the truth, anyway. "I will help you find him once Jet wakes." Alana very, very carefully eased herself away from Sein and laid him down before standing up. They both watched for a second to make absolutely certain that the blue hawk hadn't awoken.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending on one's outlook, Sein's eyes cracked open and he pushed himself to sit up. "What's happening?" he asked softly, turning his gaze to Alana and Kath.

Alana sighed again. "Nothing," she murmured. "We were just talking, and I stood up. I did not mean to wake you."

He waved her off softly, smiling. "It's fine. I wasn't sleeping too deeply anyway," Sein said as he stood.

"Are you feeling alright?" she questioned him.

"Yeah, I'm all good," Sein answered easily, walking over. "Mood's in check and my body feels better than it has in a short while."

"That is good." Alana glanced over Wave and Jet. "They appear to be doing alright, as well."

Sein's gaze lingered on them both individually before he suddenly gave a bright smile. "They're really close."

"They certainly seem to be," Alana nodded. She returned her gaze to him as Kath looked on in silence. "Why do you bring this up?"

"...No reason," Sein said quickly, moving to the door. "C'mon. Let's leave them to rest."

With a nod, Alana turned to her father. "You can still walk, yes?"

"I am not crippled," Kath huffed, standing and walking over to the door as well.

"Why were you bit at all?" Alana asked him, frowning a little.

"An overzealous youth grew too protective over an area I was standing near," Kath shrugged. "It chose to attack as opposed to seeking other resolutions, as individuals of that age tend to do."

So it really was as minor of an incident as he had been acting like. That was good to know. But this conversation was over, and that meant Alana was forced to focus back on the other matter at hand. "...Sein, I do not want to leave Jet alone right now," she admitted, looking back at their son.

Sein wrapped an arm around her shoulders, smiling. "We don't have to go far. The hallway alone would be more than enough to not wake them up by accident and we can still be close by." She agreed eventually with the barest of nods and allowed Kath to lead them both out into said hall. The blue hawk pulled the door nearly enough to close it, but left it cracked so they could all keep an eye on Jet. "You know… That whole situation with that new transformation he unlocked, or accessed, whatever. It came with an immense amount of power and… intelligence."

"It did," Alana agreed quietly. "He was… far more like a Faein than just in appearance."

"And he did something that was borderline impossible. He purified someone who was corrupted twice over. If he'd tried that at any different time, even as he is right now, I don't think she'd have had a chance to survive," Sein continued. "So… yeah."

Meeting his gaze, Alana found herself, "Do… you believe he will retain any memory of what happened?"

Sein frowned for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think so, really."

"I did not think so, either," Alana admitted. "Not with the damage that was done and with how unprepared he was to handle such a transformation." After a pause, she asked, "Even so… will he be alright when he wakes?"

"I think he'll be fine," Sein answered. "And if there's any sort of repercussions… we'll have to be there to help him out."

"We do not even know what sort of problems may arise from such an event," Alana pointed out. "How can we prepare for such a thing when we know nothing of what may come?"

"We can't," Sein admitted. "But what else is there to do other than try and help how we can? We can't go trying to help with every possible thing, so we should wait to see what we need to address if it comes up."

"I suppose you are right," Alana murmured. "It is just so hard not to worry."

Sein smiled softly. "I'm worried too, but we just can't let that consume us." She nodded a little. He set a hand on her shoulder softly and smiled a little wider. "We'll make sure he's alright. He's our kid, after all."

This managed to earn a fleeting smile from her. "That is true."

"And…" The blue hawk suddenly pulled her into a close hug. "No matter what, we're also here for each other. So, we'll always be supporting and helping each other to be able to help Jet when he needs us. It'll all be fine."

She leaned into the embrace and tried to let herself relax. "I will trust you," she murmured, "and I will do my best to embrace the same hope you carry. But I cannot promise that I will be successful in that always."

"That's why I'm here, Alana," Sein said easily. "When you can't feel that same hope, I can help you get it back. When I'm down and falling apart, you help pull me back together."

Her earlier smile returned briefly. "That is true," she agreed softly, giving him a small squeeze. "Do you try to be this sweet, or is this how you naturally are?" she then teased.

"Little bit of both. Sometimes I'm just that good," he answered with a small wink and setting his forehead against hers. "Other times, I gotta put in a little effort 'cause you're a tough nut to crack."

In spite of herself she let out a very brief and quiet laugh, but not so brief and quiet that it could be missed, and nudged his shoulder. "You are too much," she lightly accused.

Sein's smile only managed to grow further. "Yet, you love me anyway?" he asked, acting mildly offended.

"Luckily enough for you," Alana mock-huffed.

It was now that Sein came to a sudden realization, mouth slack-jawed. "That's why you punched that one girl into the atmosphere!" Kath raised an eyebrow at him but made no comment.

Though it took Alana a moment, she soon understood what he was talking about and nearly groaned on the inside. "Sein, we were about ten when that happened and you just now understand what happened?"

"Yes!" Sein pulled away, rubbing at his face. "Oh my god, how did I miss that?"

"Because you are blind," Kath deadpanned, looking away, "and occasionally deaf. Also dumb, every so often."

Sein turned to him with an almost disgusted look. "How dare you?" he said mockingly, grinning like a doofus at his own joke. "You insult me."

"If you intend to feign anger, it would be in your best interest to lose the childish grin," Kath answered calmly.

The blue hawk laughed for a moment. "I've never been good at faking anger, and you damn well know it."

"I am aware," Kath answered simply with a vague shrug.

Sein continued smiling before looking back to the door. "I'm really glad we're all back together. The only thing that would make it better would be if Laralei were here." Kath's expression tightened, in a way, and he looked away fairly quickly.

Alana closed her eyes. "I wish Mother was here, too. I miss her terribly."

The blue hawk gently nodded, grabbing them both in his arms. "I'm sure that where she is, she's extremely happy that we're all alive and fighting for each other. So, let's keep it that way and see her one day on our terms."

"I hope you are right," Alana murmured. "Seeing her again would be… wonderful. I would love for her and Jet to meet one another." Kath stayed quiet, having retreated into his thoughts as he so often did.

Sein gently shook Kath to get his attention, a faint smirk playing at his face. "We should get Calypso, shouldn't we?" he dared to question, already maneuvering himself so that he could run like hell if need be.

Immediately, Kath tossed him a glare. "There is no reason to," he answered quickly. Alana watched them both, equal parts confused about what Sein was talking about, concerned for his safety, and amused by the reminder of the many times her father had been forced to chase this man-child when Sein had actually been a child. A child that had gotten into far too much trouble.

"Oh, so you don't think that her company would be pleasant? As far as I'm aware, she's just sitting all by her lonesome on Mobius. She barked some orders, er… really just said, and now she's just being an idle spectator. Surely you two could find something to do together that would be productive," Sein answered, grinning.

Alana gave him a quick nudge before Kath could do anything more than glare. "Sein, what are you talking about?" she dared to question him.

"Just that Calypso is on her own at the moment and both she and Kath could probably use company," Sein said innocently. He knew what he was doing. This man was far from innocent.

"Sein," Kath warned slowly. "You should shut up."

"Why? Afraid she'll hug you again?" Sein teased before beginning to move away. "I mean, you didn't seem to mind it so whatever could be the problem?"

"Sein," Kath warned again, glaring some more. "Close your mouth before it leads you to harm."

The next words were said in a blur, nearly as fast as Sein's running. "Kath likes Calypso!" With that, he was gone. Cursing under his breath, Kath tore off after him just as he had often done when Sein was a child, leaving Alana behind helpless to do anything but shake her head and chuckle.

Those two… I swear.

~保護者~

"So… this is it?" Wery asked softly, staring at the Tornado-Z.

"Yep," Tails confirmed. He knelt in the grass, pulling out the various tools and such that he'd need to work on his ship. We should probably be fast… looks like a storm's coming in. Maybe in the next couple of hours.

Wery walked around the aircraft with an awestruck expression. "The tech on this isn't the 'newest on the market', but it's amazing and well-built," she commented, a smile on her face. "But… uh, why's it out here? Where even are we?"

"Um… somewhere in the Highlands is all I can say," Tails shrugged. After a pause, he thought to clarify. "Oh, wait, you wouldn't- Okay, real quick, you know that huge area in the furthest northern region of the continent and a bit to the west where maps all show there's land but it's always labelled as 'unknown' or 'unexplored' or things like that?"

"Uh… yeah?" Wery pulled out her tablet-like device and tapped at it a few times before pulling up a map and pointing to the area he mentioned. "This place here?"

"Yeah, exactly," Tails nodded. "Couple things about that. One, it's far bigger than these maps actually indicate. This is the second largest mountain range in the world, with the only bigger one being the one to the far north-east that has several hundred peaks." He didn't clarify that matter further, as everyone on Mobius knew of that legendary range. "More importantly, though… remember how we talked earlier about the old heroes who used to constantly save the world? The ones that I still taught about, still generally discussed, all that good stuff?" Wery nodded quickly. "Right. Have you heard about this one hero, his name's Espio? He was really in the background of all of that stuff back then, but I'm pretty sure his name hasn't been lost to time just yet."

"...Yeah," Wery answered. She didn't sound all too sure of herself at first before she nodded again. "Yeah, I've heard of him. Not much, though."

"That makes sense. Anyway, the reason I bring it up is because his race are the ones who populate this region." Tails pulled out the last tool he needed and turned to face her. "Some books and other sources remember the name of this race, but most don't so I won't be surprised if you've never heard of them. They're a pretty reclusive and dangerous bunch, called chameleons."

The female fox's eyebrows furrowed. "I… I've heard some stories about an onyx-colored one. One of the few that people have ever really seen, well… that got publicly seen."

Tails's eyebrows shot up. "Wait- You saw him?" he asked, knowing immediately who she was talking about. "That had to have been Toru, the chameleon I was with earlier when we found you. You noticed him, right? I mean, you were slightly out of it because of the woods, but…"

Wery's mouth opened wide and she put her hands on her head. "Oh my god, I completely missed that! How could I have been so blind?"

"Not blind, just disoriented," Tails was quick to reassure. "But, anyway, Toru is a chameleon. One of very rare coloring, at that. But the body shape and all that are distinctive for this race. That's how you know what species you're dealing with, even when they're wearing their full ninja getup."

The brown fox rapidly typed on her device, pulling up a video and showing it to Tails of Toru very obviously in a street brawl. "This guy, right?"

Tails looked at the video and inwardly cringed. Oh, Aniko would not like this. "Yeah, that's him. ...Kinda surprised he's fighting so publicly, though. It's not usually how his kind operates. But, then again, not everyone can always be the same or similar."

Wery pulled her tablet away. "I actually analyzed the footage several times, if I'm honest. The way he moved was so unique that I just wanted to know if there was anything known about it. Didn't come up with much, so I had to assume it was a cultural thing for his race."

"They're extremely agile, graceful, fast, and overall athletic," Tails explained with a smile. "I don't think even the best of technology could ever perfectly replicate the way they move."

"The best of technology struggles to perfectly replicate most things. I've run tests and it often comes up to a margin of error of so much as ten percent, which is… rough, to say the least. Then again, it's hard to get a machine to operate the exact same way as a person with how complex our brains are," Wery murmured, looking over several files quietly for a moment.

"Yeah, that's true," Tails agreed. "Hence why some people switched to androids and cyborgs to keep under their thumbs but… well, we all know how that played out for them."

Wery showed a deep level of distaste. "I can't believe people would ever treat something like that, living or not. And they were alive. I ran tests and their… 'brains' were operating at capacities similar to our own."

"Trust me, I know," Tails answered. "Shadow's a cyborg, as everyone knows, and he and I are still good friends to this day. When he got involved in and eventually led that revolution all those years before unofficially taking up his family's ancient throne… well, I was there in the middle of it all with him. I saw it all."

The female fox nodded. "I'm really glad he did all of that. We needed someone like him in that time," she said softly. "And he did a lot of good things."

Tails smiled a little. "He really did."

After some moments of silence, Wery walked closer to Tails and presented her tablet. "I've gotten a schematic of the Tornado-Z and it's internal structure. I can let an algorithm run and figure out what we can do to upgrade it to the best of our abilities in the shortest time if you'd like."

"Sure, if you want," Tails invited easily. "Have at."

A single tap on the screen and she smiled to Tails. "It's working. Should just be a few more minutes. In the meantime, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Setting about organizing his supplies so that they were all ready to go in the most convenient possible manner, Tails agreed, "Sure. What's up?"

Wery gulped and took a breath. "So, uh… about my whole uh… thing back at your house. I wanted to apologize for kinda stumbling and mumbling about like an idiot. It's just not everyday you get to meet someone you look up to and-" she cut herself off, laughing sheepishly. "Yeah…"

Tails blinked at her a few times, mind catching on one singular detail about what she'd said and nothing more. "You… look up to me?"

"Well, yeah. You're like, the best inventor Mobius has ever seen. I modeled my storage hedrons off some of the tech you've created, and honestly you just make some of the most revolutionary things." She looked away, rubbing the back of her head. "It's part of why I wanted to be an inventor."

"That's…" Tails trailed off for a long moment, thinking all of this over, before breaking out into a wide grin. "That's actually really cool. I have to admit that I never considered anyone looking at my activities in this way, but… I mean, I got into inventing because I looked up to someone, too. I really shouldn't even be surprised."

Her eyes widened in surprise before she drew a bit too close, absolutely curious. "Who?" Upon realizing what she did, she quickly took a step back and tensed briefly, worried she may have upset him somehow.

Honestly, he didn't even seem to notice. "Is it crazy for me to say that I actually don't know?" Tails laughed. "I never knew the person's name, race, gender, anything. All those details were lost to history by the time I started reading about them and all the things they'd invented. Light bulbs, the first planes, the first steam engines, all kinds of amazing stuff. I always wished I had at least a name to refer to them by, but there was never any chance of finding that out."

Wery blinked a few times before smiling. "The mystery might have made it even more enticing, to a degree. People naturally pursue things they don't understand, well, sometimes." She laughed softly. "Though, I get what you mean. It's really cool that you also looked up to someone."

"I think most people do," Tails smiled. "Almost everyone I've ever known has had an idol. Even most of those heroes I keep talking to you about."

For a moment, she seemed to consider this before nodding. "It's pretty nat-" Her device beeped a few times, rather loudly in fact, and she quickly looked at it. "Oh, this… this job is going to be fun." Wery said with a grin.

Tails hurried over to look at her screen and also grinned. "Absolutely." Without further ado, he went back to his tools to get to work, Wery following suit.

~保護者~

Rose was quietly sitting off to the side, reading her book. She seemed… rather content with life. Espio was with Armaris and Ylden, Shei and Aniko were now aware of something that could aid their child, and things were… peaceful. Then she felt a presence that she hadn't felt since she was a young child. Her book fell from her hands and she immediately scooped her unconscious sister off the ground in an absolute panic. How did this happen?

Her reaction, coupled with the sudden appearance of a stranger, drew Shei's attention over to her immediately. Silver was quick to look over as well but, not recognizing the feel of this person's mind, he didn't react much beyond just watching. Aniko pushed herself to stand, ready to draw her sword but hesitating to do so immediately considering this person was unconscious. "Who is this, Rose?"

The cat choked on her words before pulling the unconscious woman into a tight hug. "My sister…" she mumbled, dropping to her knees. "It's my sister, after all these years."

The minor commotion roused Sako and his sister, but Shei kept them both with him as all this went on. Silver, however, decided to stand and hesitantly walk closer. "Um… is she okay?"

"I… I think so," Rose said softly, her eyes scanning her sister's body. "No internal or external injuries… her mind is working subconsciously and…" The cat's eyes widened immediately. "Her Light… I can sense it, for the first time in so… so long…"

"Erm… can you normally not?" Silver dared to ask.

Rose's eyes locked onto Silver and she carefully maneuvered her sister's body under one arm. "I… don't think it's a good idea to explain."

Having finally taken notice of what was going on (he had been a bit lost in thought prior to this) Shadow suddenly appeared beside both of them with a burst of speed. "Why is she here?" he demanded, glaring hard with a hand already on one of his guns. Unlike Silver, who only knew Astra by the former feel of her once-broken mind, Shadow had seen this woman before. Back when she had attacked Sonic and Jet. Oh, he was so not happy to see her here now.

Rose leapt back quickly, summoning a barrier around herself and keeping her own body between her sister and Shadow. "I don't know," she said quickly. "I have no clue why she's here."

"You know her, Uncle Shads?" Silver asked him.

Rather than chastising him about the nickname as he usually did, Shadow muttered a simple, "Yes." Then he added to Rose with noticeable anger building beneath the surface, "She cannot be here, regardless of her relation to you."

"I won't let her go anywhere else," Rose suddenly snapped, her eyes narrowing. "She is not what she used to be and I will let nothing endanger her."

Shadow was about to snap right back at her about how her sister had already endangered literally everyone who existed anywhere, but ultimately he was cut off. "Both of you," Toru suddenly said, appearing in a teleport between them all. "Cool it. You're both reacting badly and it's not going to end well if you two end up fighting. Talk calmly and explain yourselves."

Shadow seemed prepared to ignore the advice, but Silver headed off any biting comments the older hedgehog might have made. "Why can't she be here?" he asked his uncle. "I don't understand."

"Ask her," Shadow bit out, tossing Rose a glare. "She knows. If she is willing to acknowledge it."

Rose almost retorted, but Toru shot a look that kept her from reacting how she might have. "My sister was once corrupted, but she is no longer that way," she murmured, holding her sister close.

Toru frowned at this, then glanced to Shadow. "Me and you. Let's talk." He glanced to Rose, narrowing his eyes. "You stick some distance away. If anyone else knows your sister, there's a chance they'll want her dead. Keep her out of sight until I say you can come back." Rose listened immediately, bounding off into the trees before Toru walked to Shadow. "What the fuck is going on between you and her? You don't suddenly get angry over nothing."

"This is not nothing," Shadow growled at him. "That woman has done far more harm than Rose is willing to tell. She was intent, at one time, on killing my brother and anyone else who stood in her way."

While this directly seemed to anger Toru for some reason that he wasn't yet aware of, the chameleon frowned. "Anything else?" he dared to ask.

"She worked with the God of Demons," Shadow muttered, crossing his arms and looking away, "while actively working to get at an Immortal ally of ours. From what I last heard, she was causing him immense suffering and working to control his mind for god-knows what reason." That made Silver freeze. Suddenly, he knew who Rose had been protecting.

Toru crossed his arms. "For the moment, don't go ready to shoot her. That woman's aura is… not like that, at least right now. Let me figure this out so we can deal with this rationally and not lose an ally that can kill demons far more easily than others of us. Can you do that for me?"

The for me part sort of threw Shadow off for a weird half a second, but ultimately he recovered and stayed silent. Silver hesitantly raised a hand. "Erm… you're not gonna get a direct agreement out of him no matter how hard you try," he helpfully explained. "The best you're gonna get is a lack of argument, which is more or less the same thing from him."

Shadow tossed Silver a glare. "Shut up."

"I've figured it out, but thanks." Toru looked to Shadow directly. "Don't kill her unless I say to. As far as we know, she might not be how she used to be." Shadow scoffed almost imperceptibly but said nothing. Toru took this as good enough and teleported over to where Rose had taken Eila, who seemed to be slowly rousing already. "Alright, woman. Tell me what the fuck this one did to garner such a reaction."

Rose glanced back at him, his presence enough to startle her into reaching for her sword. She never finished this reaction, letting her arm fall back down slowly to her side. "My sister was a woman who had corrupted herself at an early age. She did countless awful things. Mass murder, manipulation of good people, and so much more that I'm not aware of. But, she is not an aw-"

Toru cut in, a glare on his face. "I'm not asking what kind of person she is. I'm asking what she did. You said she corrupted herself, right?" Rose confirmed this with a nod and stiffened as Toru approached. She almost lashed out when he suddenly touched Eila's face with a hand, but his free hand snatched her arm before she could finish the thought to do so. "She's definitely not corrupted anymore. Her Light is weak as hell, but it's there. Corruption would get rid of that if it somehow set in."

Rose sighed softly, letting her head hang low. "I think she has been purified… somehow. That's the only explanation, but I do not know how it happened."

"I don't know either, but from here on out, don't snap to react so defensively. You put yourself and her in far more danger by acting ready to attack someone. Protect her, sure, but do not act ready for battle unless you have to. Chameleons will murder you for doing that, as will our enemies."

Rose took the unusual advice to heart and nodded slowly, watching as Toru began walking away. Eila seemed to take this as her cue to properly wake back up, immediately pushing herself to her feet and looking around in a panic. Rose pulled her into a soft hug, a few tears escaping her eyes. "I'm so glad you're back…"

Now that her mind was no longer clouded by the corruption that had been so deeply set in all those years ago, Eila could feel properly… okay with her sister's presence. "It's… good to be back."

~保護者~

9,399 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 7:45 p.m.) 06-11-20.