Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this strangely quiet time… especially for the one whose sister cares so much.

~保護者~

"Forsaken"

~保護者~

Kaden lay in bed beside Zareil with her tucked possessively (and perhaps even somewhat protectively) under his arm. Having finished with their activities for now, the two lay in silence, just collecting themselves and recovering. However, Kaden found himself unable to really let his mind relax in spite of the fact that his body certainly was. If anything, being so inactive right now only seemed to make him think more.

Everything felt so fuzzy, in a way. That he had nearly started to suffer purification to some degree earlier was clear. The Light that he had damn-near been struck with had been immense. It ultimately hadn't harmed him much, overall, but it had depleted much of his energy from him in one fell swoop. The sudden exhaustion he had been left with was like nothing he had felt in years. However, that did nothing to keep him from thinking clearly about the day's events, mulling over everything that had gone on… and, in the end, gone wrong.

Never before had he experienced such failure since taking on the role of God of Demons. For his portal, the one he had spent so much time, energy, and resources on to locate the pieces of and rebuild, to be melted away into nothing not even ten minutes after he'd activated the fucking thing… that was bad enough. But then his earliest misgivings about Astra and her faults had come to light, proving once and for all that he should never have given into that little whim and gone along with her plan. Because now, thanks to him doing that, not only had he lost control of her, but now she had lost over Jet. Perhaps by far their greatest means of defeating the hawk and his allies was gone, blowing away like dust in the wind.

In the end, he acknowledged that he had allowed himself to give in to carelessness. It had been so long since he had last had any real need to be careful that he had simply… stopped bothering. It was clear that that behavior had to change. His enemies were gathering more and more allies as quickly as they could. Ancient forces were rising again for the first time since near the Dawn, all ready to help stand in his way. And with Malevolence, his target, his long-time goal, currently inaccessible… Suddenly, he had all the free time in the world to directly strike out at them all.

Going about that would be an interesting endeavor. He certainly had his little wild card, but saving that until his latest interest was stronger before truly taking control had been his plan from the start. He didn't intend to back out on that now. ...Except… the more he thought about it, the less the liked the idea of letting Espio do whatever he wanted completely unsupervised. On the one hand, letting him remain near Jet and the others would make for an incredibly entertaining show when at last the chameleon lashed out at them all. Yet, at the same time… being around those people would make it far too easy for any one of them to pull Espio away from his Darkness at some point or another.

Stifling a sigh, Kaden slipped his arm free of Zareil and indulged in a stretch before finally allowing himself to close his eyes. Part of him was curious to know what her thoughts would be on all of this, but he chose not to ask for now. The demoness's eyes cracked open and she looked to him, frowning. "You've been thinking a lot. It disturbed my sleep."

"I do not see how," he mumbled back at her. "You are no telepath."

"I don't need to read your thoughts to know what you're thinking," she murmured, pushing herself up into a sitting position despite not being properly dressed. "Recent events are gonna be on your mind. Astra, the portal, that Light… It's bothering you, isn't it?"

"And if it is?" he responded, cracking his eyes open to look at her.

"If it's on your mind, it's disturbing my sleep," Zareil joked simply, a faint smile on her face before it faded. "It's all fucking horse shit. For things to so suddenly be getting fucked with by multiple sides… it's getting on my nerves."

"It is not an unfixable situation," Kaden said carefully. "It can be dealt with, and it will."

"What are you thinking about doing, and, does any of it involve me?" Zareil asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know how much I love killing things for you."

"There are people who need killing," Kaden confirmed, sitting up as well, "but there are those who still need corrupting as well." And then there is the matter of Espio as well… and what precisely to do next with him.

"Let me in on your plan, love, and we can get it done exactly to your liking," Zareil said easily, a small smile appearing on her face.

Only around her was he comfortable openly admitting, "I do not have one just yet."

Zareil put a hand to her chin. "Well, you already know what went wrong with the last couple events. How about we get right to the planning and make sure it never. Happens. Again."

With a rare sigh, Kaden laid back down. "...In a short while." There was time to kill, a rare thing indeed, and he could plan and plot in his head while still laying here. He had no real desire to get up and deal with everything right this second.

She leaned closer to him, a smile on her face. "Not wanting to get up, eh?" He tossed her a look. "Hey, you can't blame me for having one of the most wonderful partners in more ways than one. I wouldn't mind continuing what we were doing before, you know."

"Do you ever tire?" he asked her, feigning some modicum of disbelief. He knew what her answer would be.

"Mm… why don't we find out?" Zareil murmured slowly, raising an eyebrow. "You'd be one of the few capable of attempting to find out."

He decided to silence her with a brief kiss before saying, "You are ridiculous. You wish to discuss plans and you wish to focus on relaxation. You must pick one."

"I'm more than capable of doing both at the same time, thank you very much," Zareil huffed.

"Whereas I would prefer to focus on one or the other right this minute," Kaden retorted simply.

"Then tell me what you want for once, you incorrigible man. Maybe then I'll stop changing my whims every five seconds to whatever is on my mind."

"I give you the option to make your own choice and you still make me do it?" he huffed, once again feigning some vague disbelief. Then he said again, "Ridiculous."

She pulled him into a kiss this time, smiling briefly. "You like it, and you know I'll follow you through just about anything unless it's gonna get you killed."

Kaden huffed and idly toyed with her hair with one hand while he said, "Tell me your thoughts. On all of this. If I am to die one day, you must be capable of formulating your own free ideas and plans in order to rule."

Zareil huffed. "I think that finding a way to handle Espio and keep him from turning on us while growing his power is one of the biggest things we can focus on. His abilities far surpass that of the majority of his allies and turning against them would kill their morale worse than I was able to. We also need to find the source of that Light that ruined your portal and affected you so that we can think of a way to prevent that kind of intervention."

"Simply corrupting him again will not do," Kaden answered her. "Not yet. Something more must be done for now. As he is now, he will likely continue to find ways to break free of the control. It was necessary to let him the first time. I will not waste energy by continually allowing him to do so in the future."

"Kill his girlfriend or corrupt her," Zareil answered in return. "She seems to be grounding him toward neutrality."

"Until her father is dealt with, neither is a feasible option," Kaden muttered, frowning. "And dealing with him will be no small or quick matter."

Zareil licked her lips. "He's the one who appeared here with Cere to save that idiotic Balancer, correct?"

"Yes," Kaden confirmed with a nod.

"He wouldn't perform as well against my fighting style. He and Armaris both have techniques meant to keep them from harm while they deal immense damage, but staying in their face ruins a lot of that strategy. Armaris would still be an easier fight because she is frail."

"We cannot get to her without him showing up, and you will not be confronting him. I will handle him myself." Kaden grew quiet for a moment, mulling things over some more before adding, "You wished to fight Espio before… doing so now may give us an idea of how he is progressing."

Zareil seemed a bit upset at the first part of what he said, but the addition brought her spirits back up quickly. "Oh, hell yes. If I see weaknesses, can I beat the shit out of him?"

"There is not likely to be any," Kaden shrugged, "but yes. Do not hold back, and neither will he. We cannot get a clear idea of things if he does."

The demoness's mind wandered. "The being of Light and her sister. What do you propose we do with them? They'll be problematic in the future, and I know it."

"They will die," Kaden muttered. "But they are not my main concern." Her words brought him back to her earlier comments and he said, "The being of Light who destroyed the portal… I already know who it is. It can be no other."

"Who?" Zareil questioned, frowning deeply.

"The only one who ever possessed that amount of Light was the only being born directly from the energy itself," Kaden said. "You have heard of Eona, yes?"

Zareil's Darkness flared and she pushed herself up to her knees, throwing any cover off of her body. "What?" she demanded. "You cannot be telling me that Eona is here."

"She is awake," was the simple confirmation. "There can be no other explanation."

"How and why?"

"I do not know. If I did, I would be dealing with it right now."

Zareil's muscles tensed and she already looked like she wanted to hit something. "Fucking hell. Next topic before I break a wall."

"Do not do so in here," Kaden huffed. "There are enough holes in this building." He sat up again, stretching a little one more time as he did so. "You choose the next topic, if you desire further conversation. I tire of leading this one."

The woman threw herself back down on the bed, groaning. "So, I assume you weren't paying too much attention to Mobius recently, right?"

"Enough to know the gist of what is going on," was the dismissive reply.

"One of that woman's pests did something to Espio and some of his allies. Disturbed Armaris enough to make her go to her dad, then take Espio with her. Aniko seemed pissed, Shadow seemed unhappy, and that normally happy hawk seemed pretty down in the dumps until that weird-colored chameleon talked and got them all moving again. I think he's a target worth looking into."

Kaden bared his fangs lightly, protective instincts rearing their heads. "I am already keeping an eye on him. He stays close to my son. That warrants my attention."

"Any idea why?" Zareil asked curiously.

"There appears to be some level of mutual interest," he answered her after a moment. "I do not know how far it goes yet."

"Doing anything to one is going to warrant some… bad reactions. Good for us, though."

"Leave them be for now. I intend to keep an eye on them for a while longer before acting."

Zareil huffed. "Anyway… Armaris and Espio are both with Ylden now. You might find that interesting."

"Ylden believes he can teach Espio control over both the energy itself and his emotional and mental responses to it." Kaden scoffed. "He is correct on one of those, but not both."

"He's the dumbass who fucked a demon," Zareil commented with a shrug. "Whatever the case is, we should probably interrupt it regardless. What do you think?"

"Espio shows unprecedented talent and skill, but both require refinement," Kaden told her. "I will allow him to train for a short time, but only until Ylden tries to initiate further efforts to prevent Espio from slipping out of his normal state again."

Zareil frowned faintly. "Alright. Next… Cere, Therin, and that new god left the world Finis and Analia were on. They seem to be heading to Babylon, well… two of them are. The new one is headed to Mobius. All three have been checking on other matters, personal or otherwise."

"Indeed. And Analia is left defended by both Finis and Eona herself, meaning she cannot be dealt with yet still."

"That… fire cat is also heading to Mobius. She left the Sun God's kids with the Goddess of Life, whatever her name was." Zareil waved it off, shrugging. "I assume she plans to check on her friend after you put him down for a while."

Kaden shrugged, unconcerned and uncaring. Indifferent in all regards, really. "Most likely."

"I want her dead," Zareil muttered, crossing her arms. "She's annoying."

"She is not a high priority," Kaden told her firmly. "She can be ignored."

"I still want her dead. She tried to cut my fucking arm off."

"Try your hand at taking her life on your own time. Not when you are meant to be doing other tasks. If I have not told you to do other things at that moment, then I do not care if you battle her."

Zareil huffed indignantly for a moment. "I'm getting reports of some suspiciously unusual activity somewhere. And… they're dead. Fucking wonderful. Good for nothing pieces of shit."

"It is another ancient Goddess," Kaden told her, tone neutral. "She is rather fond of wreaking havoc, from what I have gathered - like you."

"If she isn't killing Jet's allies then I don't care. Sounds like another problem."

"She has the potential to be, but I do not care about her right this minute. She will not be able to do much - if any - harm within here overall."

"How so?" Zareil asked curiously, already interested.

"She embodies the cold," Kaden answered simply, "and all things associated with it. Such as, for example, ice. Faced with impenetrable heat and vast quantities of Hellfire… she will find that she is not capable of doing much within the bounds of this realm."

"If she comes here, mind if I thrash her around a bit? Make her regret it?"

"You are welcome to try it, provided you do not let her linger too long," Kaden muttered. "I have no desire to listen to another one of your brawls today."

"What brawl did you listen to today?" Zareil looked like she was ready to make a crass remark, but ultimately refrained. "If you're referring to that one demon I killed earlier, I wouldn't consider that a brawl. More like a slaughter… of just one target."

Huffing, Kaden leaned forward long enough to nip at her neck and draw a trickle of blood. "I have not heard any yet, and I would prefer for it to remain that way." He wouldn't admit it aloud, but his ears still hurt terribly.

She bit her lip for a moment, reveling in the feeling before asking, "Is that all of the important things we needed to talk about as of now?"

He hummed softly. "For the moment."

Suddenly, she was over him with a smile. "Then I wouldn't mind a 'brawl' with you again."

Raising an eyebrow, Kaden invited almost casually, "By all means, then… attack."

~保護者~

Knowing that Shadow was absolutely not going to be anywhere nearby where the others were, Toru approached where he could sense the hedgehog and crossed his arms. "I told her to keep that woman away from here for now," he told Shadow quietly. "I'm keeping watch on their energies."

Shadow glanced at him. There were a few biting comments he seemed ready to make, but he held his tongue in the end. "...Fine," was all he said.

Toru sighed softly, leaning against a tree. "So… what did she do to your friends and family? You obviously don't want her here, so it was definitely awful."

"She is manipulative," Shadow said immediately, frowning. "We first met her during an entirely different war, and she spent the entire time trying her damnedest to prove herself to be some sort of an ally. However, when she next showed her face, it was while she was in the process of using her mental powers to viciously assault my brother and his friend."

Toru didn't react yet, holding his tongue so he could try and get more information if there was more. "Is there anything else?"

"The Immortal I said she attempted to mind control." Shadow paused, almost hesitated, then angrily muttered, "She herself tortured him, along with at least two others. Beyond that, I do not know what else she had done."

He frowned deeply, arms crossed tight as the chameleon thought. "I get why you're upset, then. I can't offer anything that'll make the situation better, but I'll make sure you don't have to see her face."

"I care that she stays away from them," Shadow bit out. "If she does not, I will make her regret it. She has done them enough harm already."

"She's only going to cause herself harm at this point," Toru murmured softly, glancing away. "Though, I'll make sure she doesn't go near them." Shadow made an almost scoffing noise and sat down with his back against one of the many trees. Toru decided that this topic was absolutely not going anywhere pleasant, so he switched the subject. "You had a daughter in the past, right?"

If Shadow was surprised by the sudden subject change, he didn't show it. He was making a clear effort to cool off, so he did his best to just go along with the shift. "Her name was Lia."

"What was she like?" Toru asked easily, moving to sit down beside Shadow.

"A stubborn girl determined to never listen to any person's council but her own," Shadow huffed. He paused, then dryly added, "I suppose that is a diplomatic way of saying that she did not listen and got into far too much trouble."

Toru managed a faint smirk. "Sound familiar?"

Crimson eyes rolled. "Don't start," he warned, but with no genuine threat hidden behind his words.

"Are you gonna make me?"

"If I deem it necessary."

"What would make you deem it necessary?"

"Your insistence on continuing this."

"Well, either way, she sounds interesting and fun to be around," Toru answered with a gentle smile. "I'm sure she was."

Shadow almost sighed when he said, "She was."

"How did she view the world? What did she want to do with her life?" Toru pressed lightly, looking more directly at Shadow this time.

The hedgehog took some time to consider this before answering. "She did not view the world as inherently good or bad… more a place full of varying shades of grey. Still, she always knew that there was evil out there. She had seen too much of it herself, even when she was young. That likely played a role in why she chose to spend her life training and fighting, as I did."

Toru nodded slowly. "The people who bring you up can dictate a lot about who you turn into," he said softly. "What about you? How do you view the world, and what do you want to do with your life after this is all over?"

This earned a shrug. "I have never… thought about it much," Shadow admitted. "Any of it."

"Well, now you have time if you want. Just me and you over here at the moment," Toru pointed out.

Shadow leaned his head back against the trunk and contemplated the leaves far overhead. "My life has seldom involved anything other than fighting against whatever dark forces come my way. It is… difficult to imagine what I might do in the absence of constant combat and strife."

"You ever thought about trying to relax in life?" Toru dared to ask, raising an eyebrow.

Internally, Shadow almost winced. On the outside, however, he just blinked. "...I attempted it, once. The only arguably good thing that came out of that was Lia. I have not attempted such a thing since."

Toru nodded slowly, picking up on a few potential implications already. "What happened?" He knew it was a bit risky to ask this, but he was curious if he could get any more information from Shadow.

Though unwilling to go into detail, Shadow nevertheless found himself answering the question. "Things were… rushed. Far too rushed. The woman I was with wanted too much too quickly, and after all was said and done she vanished. Nine months later, there was a baby literally on my doorstep. I never saw or heard from her again after that."

The chameleon almost scoffed, the idea of someone abandoning their child absolutely disgusting him. He supposed part of it may be that he was a chameleon, but it still bothered him. "I'm sorry that happened to you. That's awful." Shadow had no real comments to make on the situation after so long and so just shrugged. Honestly, he felt he could say with some confidence that he overall didn't care anymore and could leave it all in the past where it belonged. Toru then said something that he absolutely wished he hadn't said. "I wouldn't do that to you." Immediate regret set in, and he was thankful for all of his training to hide emotion as he quickly worked to hide anything from showing.

Surprising even himself, Shadow didn't outwardly react too much to that statement, as strange as it was. Although, he did find himself saying, "You do not seem the sort to do that to anyone."

Toru coughed softly. "Yeah… I just hate the thought of abandoning anyone I care about." He supposed this wasn't much better, but it would have to do. Maybe the lack of reaction to his own statement would prevent Shadow from picking up on what he'd accidentally implied.

Shadow's right ear flicked, but whatever meaning that held right this minute was kept just as under wraps as Toru's own emotions. "That is a normal stance most people seem to take," he agreed neutrally, shrugging.

"Anyway," Toru cut in suddenly after some quiet, frowning. "If you don't mind… what happened to Lia?"

That dug up an old pain Shadow hadn't managed to let go of, but aside from his voice growing a touch quieter he didn't show his reaction too much. "...I outlived her," he said almost woodenly. "She died in her sleep when she was only thirty or so. We believe she was ill and did not know it. We never learned what illness it was."

Toru was quiet for some time before nodding. "I'm sorry for bringing that up."

"Don't be," was all Shadow said with a small shake of his head. There was a lengthy pause before he drew in a breath to collect himself and sought to change the subject. "Your question earlier… about my viewpoint and plans. How would you answer it?"

This managed to shock Toru out of his mild concern and various other emotions, turning to look at Shadow once more. "I see the world as a mix of good, bad, and in between. Morally, subjectively, and objectively. To me, someone trying to do good might be an enemy to my own goals, so it becomes a battle of wills as to who gets what they want. That's just an example, though," Toru explained before adding. "I want to be someone who can make the world better somehow, just by virtue of being myself. It's why I teach kids to grow up and be whatever they want to be, no matter how many of the… older individuals dislike me for it."

After another small silence, Shadow huffed, almost as though out of amusement. "It would seem that you are unusual in more than just one way," he found himself commenting. Then he added more quietly, "Your goal is a lofty one… and one most would consider noble. I am inclined to agree, generally." Noble… but perhaps unrealistic.

Toru shrugged softly. "Noble doesn't matter, really. What does matter is if I stick to it, which I will." There was a faint bit of conviction that he was obviously trying to hold back in his voice.

Shadow blinked. "That does not surprise me."

Toru smiled faintly, chuckling. "I doubt much actually surprises you."

"...That depends on the situation," Shadow admitted with a huff. "And who, exactly, is involved. My nephew, for one thing, delights in surprising people with his mischief."

"He seems like a pleasant person," Toru answered with a smile. "And sometimes, surprises are kind of necessary. Keeps life from being… stagnant."

"Do not let him lull you into a sense of security," Shadow warned lightly. "He will take full advantage of it."

Toru laughed softly, smiling. "I'll try to not let him."

There was a very brief moment of quiet before Shadow suddenly said, "The gun. Is it acceptable for you?"

"Damn right it is," Toru answered quickly. "The ammunition on its own was powerful enough to do some good damage. Imagine what'll happen if I actually put energy into it." Shadow smirked faintly. "It's accurate, powerful, and damn good. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"You are not borrowing it," Shadow corrected after a very quick second or two of thought. He wasn't usually one for spur-of-the-moment decisions outside of battle, but… he made one here. For better or for worse. "It is yours."

Toru blinked a few times. "Are… you sure?"

"I would not have said it otherwise," Shadow told him.

"Well… thank you for that." Toru managed a smile. "Means a lot." With no real comment to make, Shadow just nodded. With that reaction, something came to Toru's mind. "I want to ask you about something."

Shadow glanced at him. "What?"

"Well… you mentioned that you were ill at one point, and I was wondering if you could tell me any more about what's happening," Toru murmured gently.

"It's…" Shadow hesitated uncharacteristically and even ground his teeth a little before continuing. "It is not something simple to explain."

"I'm listening, no matter how complex," Toru offered. "But I won't try to make you talk about it."

The hedgehog was quiet for a time. Eventually he asked a very hesitant, almost uncharacteristically wary question. "...Have you heard of 'Zero'?"

"Dealt with some people a while ago that were peddling it. I made sure they never saw the light of day for what they were doing to people," Toru muttered, a deep frown on his face.

More silence fell, this one deeper and longer-lived than the ones before, but Shadow spoke again before too much time had passed. "Several centuries ago, I was kidnapped during a war and injected with the drug on multiple occasions. The results of that should be obvious." He looked away, scowling at the ground to his side. "The symptoms will never and have never fully stopped, but they were rather easily managed prior to another similar attack during this war. Now everything is… difficult again."

Toru's aura darkened heavily at this, a deep glare pointed at nothing in particular on his face. "They injected you with it again," he murmured, speaking what was already implied. Shadow just nodded, unsure of what to really say. It took the chameleon some time to calm down, taking several deep breaths simply to control his anger. "I'm… really sorry that happened."

There was little else to say, so Shadow settled on a basic, "Don't be."

"I'll make sure those fuckers don't have the chance to attempt to do that again," Toru snapped lightly, not immediately realizing how he'd said it. "They need to get what's coming to them."

Unlike Toru, Shadow realized. In response to that, he carefully asked, "Why do you care so much?"

It took a moment for Toru to realize the mistake he'd made and he sighed. By this point, he supposed he already had a good idea of what was going on, but there was no way he could explain that to Shadow. So, he didn't. Not exactly. "I suppose it's 'cause I give a shit about what's going on, to you and others."

"You are not saying the whole truth," Shadow accused softly, but without anger or any of its variants. He hadn't even had to do any sort of a scan to pick up on that little detail.

Toru clicked his tongue and leaned up against the tree more. "Promise that you won't say shit about this to anyone."

That finally provoked Shadow into looking back over at him. "...Fine," he agreed soon enough, knowing how serious of a matter promises were to chameleons and what this sort of request would mean to one of them.

"I have an actual interest in you, I suppose," Toru muttered, frowning softly. "I don't know why, but I guess that's what it is."

Shadow took a small moment to consider this and how freaking crazy he was for doing this, but soon he managed to force himself to admit in a roundabout sort of way, "...You are interesting as well."

Toru rubbed the back of his head softly, biting his lip for a moment before coughing. "So, uh… yeah, I got nothing."

That earned a huff and Shadow grumbled, "As if I do."

"It would've been real fucking helpful if you did," Toru teased suddenly, smirking.

Shadow rolled his eyes faintly and gave Toru a sharp nudge in the ribs with an elbow. "Enough of that."

"Why? You afraid of me calling you out for something?" Toru said easily.

"Do not make me shoot you," Shadow very lightly threatened.

"I can shoot back now," Toru challenged. "Watch your step."

"Think about precisely who you are challenging to a gunfight," Shadow answered simply.

Toru grinned. "And while I'm at it, you can think about who you're threatening. I think you'll find you're in the worse situation."

"I hardly think so," Shadow huffed.

"Care to find out?"

"Only if you are prepared to lose."

~保護者~

Overall, the newly awakened (or in some cases simply freed) Gods and Goddesses weren't doing too much. A few had had specific tasks handed down to them, such as Eona going to protect Analia (albeit from afar), but most of them were simply told to keep watch over those and Mobius and Babylon and keep any threats away from them for now. Only, as of this point in time, things had been rather quiet. This gave Teyan, the Queen of Chaos, plenty of time to brood… and to plot. And, oh, did she have some ideas.

"Don't go blowing holes in existence, Teyan," Pyrun idly commented, raising an eyebrow. "Your whole plotting thing… just don't fuck too much up."

As the lot of them were just hovering in space, Teyan turned effortlessly to face him without having to move. "Calm yourself. I will have you know that I have no intentions of blowing anything up just now." Her dignified indignation earned a rare smile from Ythene.

The man shrugged easily at her. "Alright, but remember that I'm not Yareis. She's the one that you have to tell to calm down."

"I won't argue that point," Teyan huffed, "but I still didn't need the lecture."

Ythene decided to interrupt. "It is not worth further argument, sister." Teyan just sighed.

Pyrun nodded gently. "Let's focus on other things, like what's supposed to be going on as of now. We know what the others are doing, but I assume we're just keeping watch for the time being?"

"That's what we were told," Teyan confirmed dismissively, "but I, for one, am not content to just do that. I have my little prodigy to focus on as well, and he remains in quite the pickle."

"Ah, yeah. He and that other hedgehog were sent through time, right?" Pyrun asked, raising his eyebrow once more.

"They were," Ythene answered. "They seem to have some idea of how to proceed from where they are, but there are flaws in their plan. I cannot contact them with advice, however, as the emeralds in that time period are inactive and I therefore cannot speak through them to reach him."

He clicked his tongue and sighed. "So, what do you think of your prodigy? Think he can get himself out of this?"

"Yes, if allowed time he does not have the liberty of spending on this matter," Teyan answered stiffly. "He needs to return here as swiftly as possible, but that involves somehow getting an Immortal to pull him and his little friend back through time. The only issue is that the one Immortal who may be able to accomplish this is currently in a state of exhausted unconsciousness."

"And there's nothing we can do about that?" Pyrun dared to ask.

"Not that I know of." Teyan sighed again. "Our best bet really is the Immortal. All we can do is wait for him to awaken."

Since this conversation wasn't going much of anywhere, Ythene pressed, "What were the other matters you were considering?"

"It was just one thing, but…" Suddenly, Teyan smiled. "Gathering allies is an important matter in a war like this one. Or in any war, really. And I believe we can lend my prodigy and his friends a rather large hand in that area."

"How so?" Pyrun glanced idly to his left, a faint frown. Don't make me come collect you, Yareis. I swear.

Ythene immediately caught on. "Many, many eons after we were trapped and you and the others went to sleep," she explained, "my sister's 'prodigy' was born. He acquired Chaos, but not in the same way as us. He was not directly born of it, but rather he was born of a perfectly balanced mix of Light and Darkness."

"Through him," Teyan continued, "we learned something remarkable. Chaos infused with a healthy dose of Light, the healing energy need I remind you, has the ability to restore life. Those who have died can be brought back."

The man immediately grew interested, his posture straightening finally. "Who are you thinking about bringing back, in that case?"

"Everyone we know is already back," Teyan said, "so it seems to me that reviving friends of my prodigy would be most sensible. They were all heroes at various points in their lives, and all are very capable fighters. He began the process of reviving just a couple of these friends before, but on his own he can't conjure up enough Light quickly enough to suffice. Even with the help of another being of Light, he was only able to bring back two at once."

"That's still incredible," Pyrun commented softly, frowning in thought. "So you guys are wanting to do what he did. I assume you'd also need some source of Light for that?"

"Eona," Ythene murmured. "Her Light comes straight from Eras and the Realm of Light. She could supply us easily and without tiring." Turning to Teyan, she asked, "Sister, who do we revive?"

"Any of them. All of them. Whoever can be brought back and who can fight." Teyan frowned. "We cannot be choosy. They need allies desperately. Anyone who can wield a weapon, throw a punch, or whatever is needed now. They all have ways in which they can be useful."

Pyrun's eyes narrowed. "Some of them are mortals, though, are they not?"

"They didn't stop them from defeating even the likes of the Nocturnians, a race of Darkness who became a scourge upon existence twice," Teyan sniffed. "As I said, these friends of his are more than capable."

The man huffed. "I don't agree with dragging mortals into a war like this, but that's your decision to make. Not mine. Do what you wish, I suppose."

"There are mortals involved already," Ythene said carefully. "Many mortals, in fact. It is not like times of old, when mortal races were in their infancy and were still learning what they were capable of. Pyrun, at times mortals can outshine even semi-Immortals… however rarely."

He closed his eyes, arms crossed. "They involved themselves, or were drug into it before anyone had a say. I just don't want to drag more into this equation, but as I said. You do what you think is best."

"Is it really any different than dragging non-mortals into it?" Teyan asked. "I ask you to think on that before continuing to bring this up." Then she let out another sigh and changed the subject. "Nevertheless… in order for this to be done, I cannot be here. I will need to go somewhere safe so that I can focus entirely on what I'm doing."

"Where will you go?" Ynder asked quietly, finally turning her attention to them. "Or shall we begin searching now?"

"As much as I long to continue to stretch my legs," Teyan answered, "our home realm is safest for me while I work. I'll return there if you three think you can handle things in my absence." She glanced over Pyrun, Ythene, and the as-of-yet mostly silent Ynder.

Pyrun snorted. "I'll likely be able to handle most of the problems we may encounter until you return. Just don't keep me waiting." There was some embedded agitation from the earlier topic that he tried to keep under wraps.

"Oh?" Teyan raised an eyebrow. "And what will you do all by your lonesome if some demons show up?"

"Sister," Ythene sighed. "Please do not start another fight."

Teyan shrugged. "Whatever you say." She waved sarcastically at Pyrun. "Ciao." With that, she vanished back to the Realm of Chaos.

"I'll wring your fucking neck, asshole," Pyrun muttered, crossing his arms.

Ynder sighed and set a hand on his shoulder. "She does it because you let yourself feel that anger so deeply. Loosen up." Ythene debated adding to the point, but soon decided that enough had been said and didn't get further involved.

Pyrun frowned. "Yareis is back on the move. She's pissed about something," he murmured. "Wish she'd stop leaving a trail, though." Whether or not he'd actually listened to Ynder was unknown.

"She will not," Ythene shrugged. "It is not her… 'thing'."

"She fights like her people and acts like them," Pyrun sighed softly. "Regardless, she's absolutely going to get in a fight soon. Let's see if she bothers to be smart about it or not."

"If things are at risk of getting out of hand, the Faein will deal with it," Ythene murmured, a note of fresh awe in her tone all over again as she remembered their earlier surprise reunion. "Two of them, at least, are awake. They will not be idle when they are needed."

"I mean whether she heads right into their realm or lures some of the enemy out. She should know that Hellfire will melt her ice," Pyrun huffed.

"The enemy is too intelligent to let her lure any of his forces away," Ythene pointed out, "and they are completely subservient. If he tells them not to go, they will obey whether they want to or not."

Pyrun was about to comment, but Ynder set her hand on his shoulder again. "We will wait and see. You always found it amusing when Yareis was upset my something, didn't you?"

He quietly nodded and sighed. "Anyway… I actually want to meet this resistance of sorts that the Immortals have as allies. Seems like an interesting group."

Ythene tilted her head. "Teyan and I have told you much about those who are involved, as we have been watching them all for many years. Is there anyone in particular you would most like to meet? I can leave you with any additional information I have, if necessary."

The man frowned softly for a moment, thinking. "There's definitely the current God of the Sun, and the Goddess of Stars, both for obvious reasons. I personally want to meet this 'prodigy' of yours, however, since he seems to be a bit of a focal point."

"He is not mine," Ythene answered with a vague smile. "Sonic is my sister's focus, but I have spent many years of his life aiding him how I can. Due to his circumstances and the lack of knowledge around him about what his abilities were… he needed the assistance. As for Locke and Sona, you may like them both. Locke is very wise and calm, although Sona has a temper to her as you do. I would be mindful of that."

Pyrun snickered. "I have a vague recollection that people with fire do have the slightest tendency to have tempers. However, I suppose that she'd realize that challenging me is a poor decision."

"Perhaps." There was a slight pause, then Ythene seemed to suddenly recall something. "Oh, and speaking of fire and tempers… you intend to meet the Immortals themselves at some point as well, yes?"

"Of course." Pyrun thought for a moment, then frowned. "...Why?"

"The youngest one of the three who are actively involved in this war, the one who is leading everyone… his name is Jet," Ythene answered. "The very same Jet who I mentioned to you a bit in earlier discussions. Please do not let your temper get the best of you too much around him, and especially do not make use of your fire when too close to him. It is in his very best interest."

The man's eyes narrowed in concern. "What are you not telling me?"

She let out a rare sigh of her own. "The suffering that I vaguely mentioned before… involved many aspects at various points in his life. One aspect was prolonged torture, through which he gained an intense fear of fire. He has gone fairly numb to it as a result of his many years of fighting demons and their God, but the fear does remain and can rear its head at even the most inopportune times. It will not do for that to happen during this war, when his allies need him to remain focused and collected."

Pyrun closed his eyes and sighed softly, shaking his head. "That's a bit annoying."

"It is necessary for you to take it into consideration, regardless."

Ynder smiled minutely. "He has, and he will."

"All we can do from here is just watch and wait for the time being. Moving too early is a bad idea, after all," Pyrun murmured gently. Ythene nodded her agreement.

"Then wait we shall," Ynder murmured. And watch we will.

~保護者~

How long had it been since her mind had felt clear? She was just a child, then, and now she was here. Held in the embrace of the sister who had fought for so many years just for her.

I don't deserve you.

Thoughts ran through her mind, racing by even as she attempted to focus on them. Who even was she, anymore? She could no longer be known by her true name, as her face was now Astra's, a shadow of who she really wanted to be. She was no longer Eila.

I cannot stay.

Eila wanted to leave, she wanted to get away from her sister, from everything. Let whatever angry enemy she'd made find her and kill her however they felt was suiting of her crimes, but she couldn't move right now. Her muscles didn't respond, her mine didn't command. She didn't react.

How am I here?

She thought on what was happening right before she fell unconscious. She had been controlling Jet, through eons of patience and use of her magic and mental powers. She dug too deep and unlocked something deep within him that… did something. It changed him, and then he changed her.

"Would you like anything?"

The voice broke Eila out of her thoughts, snapping back to reality with almost shattering force. Her sister was sitting about a foot in front of her, that ever kind and gentle smile on her face that at one point had sickened her. What had she let herself become? "I am fine. Worry for yourself first."

Rose set a hand on Eila's shoulder, something that prompted a sharp slap to the arm that knocked her hand away. Rose frowned gently at this, but didn't seem to let it bother her. "I am. I worry for you as well."

Why did Rose care? Eila had done nothing but harm her over all these years, tear her down and throw her away every time they saw each other and yet this woman had the gall to care? Did she not understand that in her corruption, she may have killed Rose? It made no sense, and it frustrated Eila. She hated not understanding her sister, just as she had when they were young.

Her mind wandered back. To her and her sister sitting under the shade of a tree, to her parents that had done nothing but love her, back to her family, how happy they'd been.

She let herself remember the way she'd felt betrayed when her family passed their heirlooms on to Rose, how something had happened that changed how she felt. The anger, resentment, the pure hatred that set in without cause.

Unwanted flashes of memories of her practice of Dark Magic began to plague her, the many failed attempts that harmed her body and mind until she finally grasped what she could do. The way she fought her parents and sister, how she had mercilessly beat them down because they didn't want to hurt her. How she left them, broken and bleeding, to die. Yet, here Rose was, alive. Alive and still fucking caring.

Eila only now was able to realize that she had her hands clamped onto her head in a doubled over position, curling herself up as tightly as she could. Rose was fretting over this very near to her… but it didn't matter. She couldn't control the onslaught of thoughts, feelings, memories. It would all come back to haunt her whenever it wanted, whether she wanted it to or not.

She supposed now that she wanted to feel this pain. Some sort of sick retribution for a coward that no longer wanted to face the wrongs she had committed to so many people. Maybe she could find a way to simply lay down and die, but that wouldn't work. She was a semi-Immortal. She'd have to let someone kill her, or kill herself if she really wanted death.

Still, though, some part of her decided to be reasonable, to feel scared of death. To fear her fate, to abhor the atrocities she had done that would condemn her to a horrible afterlife. She would not see her family. Not that she wanted to, however. She had been the one to kill them, or perhaps that was something her mind made up. Either way, they were dead. She would not see them again.

Rose's hand touched her back gently and magic flared, pushing Rose far away but without an attempt to harm her. Eila wanted no comfort. She wanted pain, anger, and self-loathing. She could never face those she had hurt. Jet, Sonic, her own sister. The only reason she had even responded to her sister positively at first was a rush of emotion and happiness that was crushed out by the sheer reality of things.

Everything hurt, and that was how Eila wanted it to be. Her life played back in front of her eyes and she watched all of the excruciating details for the second time, or perhaps the third for some of these ancient scenarios. Maybe even the fourth, or the fifth, depending on how sick and twisted she'd felt like being on some days when her moniker had been Astra.

She didn't realize that she'd pushed herself to stand and held some sort of weapon to her own neck that only Rose had the chance to remove from her grasp, some sort of innate desire taking over without her realizing it. She was hardly conscious at this point, at least, consciously thinking. She had no real control over her body and mind as everything blurred around her.

"Eila!"

The shout cut into the haze and Eila focused once more, her attention falling on Rose. Her own neck felt… warm. She didn't dare touch this unusual warmth, already knowing what she had done without realizing it. The evidence was in front of her, in Rose's hand. An ancient dagger she'd carried for emergencies that had seen plenty of use. Some part of her supposed that it would have been befitting, to die by a blade that she had killed so many with. "I was not in control of myself."

Rose set the dagger on the ground and walked closer, wrapping an arm carefully around Eila. "Please be careful with yourself," she murmured softly.

Eila didn't think that she could come up with a response that would really be… satisfying for either of them, so she told the truth. "I will not."

She didn't pay attention to Rose's response, her mind going blank once more as she distinctly locked onto one set of memories. Her torturing the person who had saved her. Such an extensive period of time… She would not speak to him, nor would she ever let herself be close. He had every right to find her and kill her, so he could do so if he wished and she would do nothing to stop him.

Rose let go of Eila and gently laid her down, an action that she didn't respond to. Very slowly and carefully, Rose sang a quiet song to help Eila's mind be at ease. After a few minutes, the woman was fast asleep. Not because she was truly tired, but her mind simply… responded. Rose didn't like that Eila was so willing to allow something from the outside to influence her, but in this situation she supposed it came in handy. "I still love you, whether you want me to or not." I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you, my sister.

~保護者~

8,684 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 7:25 p.m.) 06-14-20.