Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of preparation… especially for the one with the tablet.

~保護者~

"Promise"

~保護者~

It was twenty-three days into the temporary peace. Rouge had been reintegrating into the group well, but mostly she kept to herself. For Tails, whose house she had been staying in (just as Sonic, Amy, Blaze, Silver, and Wery were still doing), it wasn't surprising. Rouge had always been friendly with everyone, but she wasn't truly friends with most of them. That was how it was for a lot of the group. Rouge was close with Knuckles, Locke, Shadow, and to a point Amy. Knuckles was close with her, his father, Sonic, and a few others. Locke was close to his son, Rouge, Sonic, Kaden, Analia, and Marthal. It went on and on. Not everyone was friends with everyone, but everyone had mutual friends and got on really well.

Honestly, he thought it was nice, in a way, to see that that hadn't changed… but it was also disheartening. She and Marthal had been given their lives back, yes, but at what cost? Rouge's closest friends were gone. Knuckles was dead, and Locke was… Actually, Tails didn't really know. He was around, but not always here. With them. On Mobius. So Rouge didn't really have anyone around she was really happy to interact with. And then there was Marthal. Kaden was corrupted. Just the same as with Rouge, Marthal hadn't had any chance to reunite with Locke. Analia was out of commission and hidden away who-knew-where. Tails felt awful for him, for Rouge, for everyone involved.

That made burying himself in his work a bit easier. Not only did he have a lot to get done still, he also had bad feelings he needed to get through on his own. It was always easier for him to tackle problems within himself while his hands were busy. The special communication device he had been working on for Steam with Wery had been finished for some time now (he didn't know if Steam had used it yet, though). With that task out of the way, they had been working on special technology that could be put into weapons - technology that would allow them to insert into weapons of all kinds crystals infused with Light. These weapons, if they worked properly, could prove invaluable in a war like this.

That was where Shadow came in. Filling the crystals with Light had been done already, courtesy of Rose. That had been the first step. The next step had been building different prototypes of the system he and Wery had come up with for channeling Light through weapons - importantly, without causing any ill-effects on non-Light bearers or, worse, those like Shadow who were born of Darkness. Now it was time to bring this technology and Shadow's weapons technology together and see if everything worked.

"I don't suppose you remember that firing range I suggested you build," Shadow remarked idly as he worked on the latest weapon with Tails in the fox's workshop. Surprisingly, it was the first gun he'd actually crafted today. But, then, these weapons were for everyone, and not everyone was a gunslinger. So maybe it was less surprising than it had first seemed.

"Erm… well…" After a very, very brief silence, Tails chuckled and admitted, "I might have… forgotten?" Shadow surprised him a second time by openly rolling his eyes. When was the last time I've seen him so relaxed and at ease? Immediately, he glanced in Toru's direction, mind already putting the pieces of this new puzzle together.

His friend kept working and, not missing a beat, replied, "Without a space like that, I don't see how you intend to have me test all of these for you here."

That was a fair point. "Maybe… ...Hm. I don't really want to practice on the trees. I happen to like them healthy and, you know, alive." Tails tried to think. Soon, an idea hit him. "Okay, how about this. When we're finished, we take them all to the base and try them out there. I know it's a lot of weaponry to carry around, but at least we'll have a wide variety of targets."

Shadow hummed in agreement, not dissimilar from the way Kaden had often done in the past. "There will be additional fighters about who can test these, as well."

Given that Sonic, Silver, and Blaze were all out training once again, Marthal was off in the woods somewhere, and Rouge still sleeping off the exhausting effects of revival, Shadow's response was perfectly reasonable. "Good idea," Tails smiled. "I think we can work with that."

It seemed that Wery had been far from involved in this conversation with the way she bolted over and came to a sudden stop before blurting, "Are we going to be testing them?"

Tails blinked several times before answering, "Well, yeah. We need to, or else we won't know if they work. We'll mostly be leaving that part of the job to Shadow and his soldiers, though. Since it can be kind of dangerous and all."

"I'll go put my stuff together and get my diagnostics equipment," she said excitedly before rushing off once more, intent on readying her things quickly. Shadow idly watched her go, then refocused on what he was doing.

Toru walked over after having spent some time looking over the various tech in the room, arms behind his head. "You sure about this? Having a weapon run off an energy like Light seems iffy," he said to Tails, raising an eyebrow. "How are you even containing it?"

Without even thinking about it, Tails launched into a lengthy explanation about how it all worked before cheerily reminding, "Oh, and Shadow does kinda similar stuff with Darkness in his guns, so we know it's doable. He doesn't use a conduit like these crystals, though. But, since untamed Light is really dangerous for a bunch of our allies, we're using the crystals to help negate some of the risk."

"Not only that," Rose suddenly murmured, having walked up from her own temporary investigations of the surroundings. "The crystals can hold a large amount without risking exposure. Alongside containment practices and careful handling, my hope is that there is no risk. Regardless, I am here in the event something goes awry. If that occurs, then my hope is that my aid alongside the work of Tails and Wery will keep those using this equipment safe and prevent it from happening again."

The chameleon blinked before extending a hand and catching his sister as she dropped from the roof. He quietly chided her for such a blatantly unnecessary action before nodding to Rose. "I'll accept that. Hopefully everything goes according to plan, then."

Before anyone else had a chance to really say anything, Wery returned with her tablet clutched in hand and a wide smile on her face. "Alright, I'm all good to go whenever everything else is!"

Given that even turning these weapons on (the few that were truly electronic and not just plain weapons with crystals) was necessary to monitor, Tails passed Wery one and said, "Here, hand this to Rose, will you? You can use your tablet to keep an eye on everything while she powers it up, that way if anything does go wrong no one gets hurt."

Wery nodded quickly and turned to Rose to hand her the weapon before briefly realizing how big of a deal this was. It took her a moment to snap back to reality at the groundbreaking implications that she was finally making sense of after all this time and pass it to Rose. As the cat powered on the weapon, Wery took care to make sure and watch over the energy levels and other statistics from her tablet. "You know, this is all still… really crazy to me, but I'm glad I got to be part of the team that brought this all together."

That brought a grin to Tails's face. "And we're glad to have you onboard. It's great, having someone like you around to help."

The fox rubbed the back of her head and laughed sheepishly. "I'm glad to hear it. Just happy to help at all, honestly."

"You two seem fairly close after the work you have done together," Rose murmured gently.

Tails continued to grin. "Are you kidding? I haven't had any new friends in… ages. Don't get me wrong, I still love all my old friends dearly - yes, even you, Shadow," the hedgehog rolled his eyes again at that bit of teasing, "but having a new friend like her is amazing. Especially since we both have a passion for the same stuff."

Rose giggled softly, covering her mouth with a hand. "Oh dear, my meaning seems to have been lost to translation."

At this point, Shadow couldn't resist the urge to be just a little bit snarky. "Don't even bother. He won't get it until it punches him in the gut."

Toru chuckled easily. "Considering how these two think, I'd wager it may take even more than that if the situation is right."

"I- huh?" Wery suddenly asked, blinking several times in blatant confusion. "Is something going on that you're not telling us about?"

After doing his own confused blinking, Tails replied, "Erm… yeah. I don't… understand."

Shadow let out a soft snort. "That's the entire point."

When Myriu attempted to speak, Toru put a hand over her mouth. "Don't go revealing it to them. Let them find out on their own."

"I'm sorry but what is happening?" Wery demanded with as much bluster as possible. Not that it was a whole lot, considering her demeanor, but she was trying.

Shadow loaded the gun he'd been working on with a few ordinary bullets while shaking his head. "Forget it. There are other things to focus on."

This was when the female fox suddenly turned her attention back to the tablet, "Oh, Rose! Stop what you're doing. We don't want to put too much into them!" With this said, Rose obliged and carefully held the weapon in hand.

Tails immediately looked over. "Everything okay?"

"I've set a warning for when the crystals reach a certain capacity. For now, I thought it would be best if we start at medium amounts and work our way up, in case there are any error we have to correct," Wery answered easily. "Troubleshooting with that process would probably be a bit easier and safer."

"Sounds good to me. If we do a high output right away and there's an issue, the results might not be pretty." Tails turned to Shadow. "You ready to go?" The hedgehog merely nodded and stood up with the gun in hand.

Toru put his sister on his shoulders and shrugged. "Let's get this show on the road. The sooner we're done, the sooner you guys can do any necessary work to fix them, if it's needed."

"Yep," Tails agreed easily. "Rose, would you mind teleporting us here?" As he asked her this, he pulled up a holographic map on one of his walls and pointed to the location of Shadow's military base. "This is where we need to go to try these out."

Rose nodded gently. "Of course. I should be more than capable." They all disappeared together without further ado.

~保護者~

It was twenty-four days in. After having spoken to and helped Jet where he was able (not to mention having gotten some rest), Steam thought it a good idea to go speak with Espio as well. He'd… never been on good terms (not to say he'd been on bad ones, per se) with the chameleon, so this was a situation he wasn't sure he was ready for. Now it was a bit late to go back on the idea, considering he was now able to see Espio. "Hey, Espio, mind if I talk to you about something?" he called.

Espio sat high up in one of the trees, arms comfortably crossed and one leg dangling. Despite the semi-relaxed posture, he was frowning to himself as he replied, "I don't care."

The hedgehog teleported up quite some distance, still keeping some space between the two simply for both their sake's. "I wanted to talk about you in particular, and just kinda explain some of what I know." Espio remained moodily silent, not at all thrilled to be in this kind of discussion yet again - though the last part of Steam's statement was vaguely intriguing in some way. Steam sighed softly and leaned further against the trunk of the tree. "I know you've been training with your grandparents, and I know that they've been teaching you about your Darkness and further exposing you to it," he started, leaving some room for Espio to respond if he so wished.

Rather than ask how Steam knew (as he'd previously said, he didn't care), Espio merely responded, "Just get to the point."

"Got it," Steam answered. "Well… the thing I really want to mention is how it's going to affect you. You've no doubt been feeling the effects of your Darkness, and only you know how deeply it changes your thoughts and actions. With that said, I want to let you know that you've got a few options that will lead to various outcomes. If you work with people like your family, Armaris, and Rose to mitigate the effects it has on you, you wouldn't have too many issues staying integrated in the life you already have. You'd be surrounded by people that love you unconditionally."

"On the other hand…" the hedgehog continued, "if you stay on the path your grandparents laid out for you, you could single-handedly wipe them all out and not care in the slightest. It won't be hard for you to do it, and from there you could end up as the God of Demons or worse." He squeezed lightly at the muscles of his neck, wincing at the tension he felt. "I'm not gonna say which one is right, or what you should do, but whatever your choice, I also want you to know the consequences."

"If you go through with the first thing I mentioned, you'll never have a shortage of people that care for you and want to be there for you. You'll be powerful, meet powerful people that you can face, and you'll be able to lead a life that's fulfilling beyond just fighting and killing." Steam glanced up toward Espio with a faint frown. "And as little as I like the idea of it… if you go through with the second possibility, you'll turn on your friends. Your family won't be able to help you, and you'll be alone. You'll kill a lot of people and become extremely powerful very quickly. The people you consider allies will be your enemies and however you deal with that is up to you."

The formerly subtle frown Espio had been wearing was deeper and more pronounced now. He didn't deign to make any comments, but the fact that he was thinking over everything (as if he'd ever stopped thinking about it all prior to this point) was blatantly obvious. He just didn't have the desire to share his thoughts in any capacity, least of all with someone he barely knew. Steam nodded briefly and shrugged. "All I ask is that you think it over like you're already doing. It's not my business what you choose to do, and I can't really influence that decision. I don't want to be your enemy, but sometimes that is the course of life. Just… do what you think you should in the end and prepare to live with whatever comes from that."

His frown subtly deepening yet further, Espio vaguely surprised himself by outright saying, "You are not my enemy. They are not my enemies. That is not changing."

Steam chuckled briefly, nodding. "I figured as much, honestly. In that case, since that seems to be your decision, would you mind giving them all a chance to really help you? Rose cares a lot about your mental health, and Armaris seems… really intent on loving you. Your mother and father care so deeply about you, it honestly makes me a bit jealous sometimes."

Espio didn't know quite how to admit that he didn't quite know how to accept help. To be perfectly honest, he didn't want to admit it, either. And, besides that, he wasn't even sure anymore how anyone could help him. Sometimes it felt too much like he was beyond help, like everything was up to him alone. These days, that feeling was worse than ever. He just wasn't going to say it aloud. It was better when the emotions were gone, he decided grimly.

"I'll say this, since I have an idea of how you feel about that," Steam murmured before speaking up once more. "There is no such thing as being beyond help if you're willing to accept it. Armaris was once almost completely overtaken by her demonic side, in my timeline. Once we were able to bring her down from that state, she wanted help and eventually accepted it. Now she lives as the acting Goddess of Judgement."

"When I was young," he continued, "I was cold, bitter, and alone. The people I associated with took the one thing I loved, but when I finally started being willing to accept the help of Sonic and some of the others, they saved my life and now I'm here doing my best to return the favor." Steam then finally looked back up to Espio. "Even Rose's sister, someone who was corrupted beyond logical belief… She didn't want help in her corrupted state, but once she was brought back, she started seeking advice because she had no desire to turn back to her old life. My point is that no matter what, you can get help. And when it comes to accepting it… the best way I've ever found is to try and… go with what they say and voice any concerns, however you might end up saying them. Considering who you're around, they can take harsh criticism."

Voice his concerns? That was something Espio could never see himself doing. Wrods and conversations just weren't his forte. Though, he decided not to bother arguing for now and just muttered a simple and noncommittal, "Fine," that promised nothing in particular.

Steam shrugged. "It's hard, but you've got Rose around. She'll figure out your emotions and try to help. Just do your best to work with her."

Espio had managed to resist the urge to ask any why questions so far, but this one slipped out before he could stop it. "Why keep bringing her up?" he muttered, equal parts irritated (he blamed his restless Darkness for that) and mildly curious.

"Rose is… important, in more ways than one. She's an effective therapist, a good friend, and a powerful ally. In this situation, she's going to be crucial to you if you're planning to not turn against your family, friends, and allies," Steam explained. "She's one of a select few that could begin to handle something as serious as this, and she'll be able to provide her help with other aspects of your life like a relationship with Armaris if you choose to pursue that as well. I bring her up because she is part of the key to the life you want to live." Espio remained silent anew, once again thinking over everything he'd been told without bothering to comment aloud.

Steam stood and smiled. "I'll add this one last thing. When working with Armaris, if you feel like you're going to be harsh, just let her know ahead of time that it may come across that way and she'll be able to take it. That's a strong woman, but that doesn't stop her from caring about your feelings." He leapt out of the tree and onto the ground, waving idly to Espio before teleporting away.

Only once he was sure Steam was gone did Espio bother to jump out of the tree himself and start heading back toward his home. Hidden in his hand in his kimono sleeve was something small he had been carrying around all day. It wasn't much to look at, but he hoped it would say enough to Armaris when he gave it to her. His people weren't especially… verbal when it came to emotions and relationships. Saying "I love you" was so rare, in fact, that he'd barely been familiar with the phrase growing up. His people preferred to show care. One of the most common ways of doing so - and of apologizing - was through the presentation of meaningful gifts. He hoped she'd understand this enough for this to work.

Upon reaching the house, he jumped onto the porch and quietly went in. He'd been mentally kicking himself all morning to just do this and get it over with, but even still he didn't feel like he was prepared to really face her. Not that he had the option of just backing out, though, because pretty much everyone was in the front room. Armaris looked up from what she'd been doing and blinked a few times. "Are you staying?" she asked softly, no small amount of hope in her voice.

There were a few ways he supposed he could answer that. For now, he decided the best way to do so was with a concise and truthful, "Yes."

Already her eyes began to water and she stood to hug him before hesitating briefly. "Is it okay if I hug you?" she questioned. He huffed and, deciding to say a great big fuck you to his random nerves, went ahead and pulled her into a one-armed hug himself. Taken aback though she was, that didn't stop her from suddenly shaking softly as soft, very happy sobs escaped her. "I'm so glad you're back with us…" she murmured.

Before Espio could have a chance to interpret it the wrong way, Aniko stepped in to quietly explain, "Her crying is very happy, Espio. Don't mistake it for her being saddened."

Privately, he was grateful that she'd cleared that up. He hadn't previously been familiar with the idea of happy crying, so far as he could recall. This was… odd. But at least she wasn't upset. He let Armaris be for a short time before gently pulling back a bit and making a quiet request. "Come outside for a minute." Armaris wiped at her eyes and nodded, shifting past him and teleporting down from the porch. He joined her there, immediately enjoying the lack of an audience down here. Once there, he got her to sit down, just in case she started crying too much or something (really, he had no idea what to expect, so he decided to be cautious). Taking a seat by her side, he just went out with it and admitted, "I know I have been… worrying you lately. Far more so than you deserve to suffer through."

"It's okay," Armaris said quickly. "I know you've been going through a lot, and I was just worried that you wouldn't come back. That's all." She sounded as if she was trying to make it seem okay, but her lack of ability to control her emotions bled through and revealed how much it really bothered her.

Her upset made him more tense than he would have liked, but he managed to keep his voice level. "That is the problem," he answered. "I did not intend to cause you to have those fears, and it was not right of me to allow them to persist."

Once more her eyes began to water and she shook her head. "I promise it's okay, Espio."

Shaking his head, Espio turned to fully face her. "Do you remember when we were children and Mother taught you what promises mean to our people?"

The cat nodded quickly. "Of course I do," she answered.

This was a matter Espio didn't take lightly, so he was careful with his words when he continued. It was so damn hard to be open like he was about to be and speak as much as he was about to, but he forced himself to carry on for her sake. "I intend to make one to you now. I will not be leaving you, nor anyone else, and I will not let my Darkness or anything else change that. I am staying. I promise you."

Try though she might to contain her emotions (once more, she failed), the cat couldn't help but start crying again. "Espio… that means so much to me…"

Just in case she didn't remember this bit, Espio reminded, "Objects can symbolize our promises to one another… and our apologies. This is also intended to remind you of your own strength. Without it, and without you, I would be already lost. I am not, and you are largely to thank for that. I want you to remember that." With that said, he went ahead and pulled her gift out of his sleeve. It was a ceremonial kunai, one gifted to shinobi of great skill, to honor them and their deeds. She might not have been a shinobi in the truest sense, but that was irrelevant to him. She was just as deserving of such an honor to him.

Armaris couldn't hold it back anymore. The sheer weight behind his words and this gift were absolutely too much for her to handle and she hugged him again, openly sobbing and telling him how much this all meant to her whenever she could suck in a breath. He hugged her back silently, reminding himself repeatedly that this was apparently good crying and feeling relieved that that was the case. He was also glad that the large bits of talking on his part were done but, in the end… he was glad to have done it. Gladness was an unexpected feeling in this moment, but he let it remain. It felt… miles better than everything else he'd been feeling as of late.

Inside the home, somewhere well within hearing range of Armaris's happy crying, Aniko smiled gently and hugged Shei close. "Our son is back, Shei… and I daresay that she may be almost as happy as I am."

Smiling behind his mask, Shei signed to her, "As happy as you in this moment? Impossible. I haven't seen such light in your eyes in years." He decided, for now, not to let himself dwell too much on the darker facts of what was going on. Their son had inexplicably shifted almost fully back into his normal state, one where his feelings and thoughts and actions were not affected much (if at all) by his Darkness.

It was his truly normal self that was acting this way right now, saying these things to Armaris, making her happy. But he had no control over when the next shift would happen. It could be seconds from now. It could be hours or days away. But when it happened… when it happened, the promise he'd just made… In that state, he won't care about this promise. He won't care about her, about us, about anything that's happening right now.

Would Armaris be able to handle that knowledge?

"The light in her eyes was present as well," Aniko murmured, breaking into his thoughts. She still seemed happy, and Shei decided to let himself savor that truth while it lasted. He could worry about problems later on… perhaps. "For now… she can have this victory, and I will relinquish it to her. She deserves it."

Shei shook his head in amusement. "I do not fully know what our son is doing out there, but it seems that he completely lifted her spirits somehow."

Aniko nodded gently. "He has done well. For now, however… let us rest. We can do so far easier knowing our son has truly come home."

Given how little either of them had rested in general since having their lives returned to them, that was a splendid idea. "I could use a nap," Shei agreed, already moving to stand.

The woman picked him up and carried him off, causing his arms to flail slightly with complete surprise. "It was my idea. The least you could do is cooperate." His silent complaints went unheeded. He was deposited in the bed to sleep whether he liked it or not, and that was that.

~保護者~

"...and it's really just, like, awesome," Silver was saying emphatically. Twenty five days into the peace, he was sitting in the living room of Tails's home with Blaze (whom he was talking to), Sonic, and Amy. Rouge was asleep and Tails was off somewhere else with Wery, so the four of them were keeping themselves occupied via conversation. Currently, Sonic and Amy were busy discussing Amy's need for a new weapon (since her hammer was long gone) and Silver was telling Blaze about what he'd learned about Cyril's magic. "I'm serious, you have to see it sometime. It's some of the coolest magic I've ever seen."

"Not that you have seen many other magics to compare it with," Blaze smiled. Her gentle teasing earned her a pout. "Oh, come now. I never said I was unwilling."

Silver brightened right up. "Great! I'll have to tell him."

About then, Sonic suddenly interjected. "You do realize that that means someone has to figure out where he is, right?"

After a pause, Silver pouted again. "You're right. Crap."

Amy laughed a little. "I guess you'll have to have fun some other way for now. Sorry, Silver."

When her husband continued to pout like the great big child he was, Blaze suggested, "How about we go to where Station Square once was? We can find an art shop. You still love painting and whatnot, after all."

Given that Station Square was the city where they had formerly lived, as Sonic soon recalled, this wasn't a surprising suggestion. It cheered Silver right up again, which wasn't difficult to do, and he got right to his feet. "Heck, yeah! Let's go!"

Happy as could be in her own quiet way, Blaze stood as well. "It would seem that we are going. We will see you later."

Giving a little wave, Amy said her own farewell, closely followed by Sonic. The two of them were off and, just like that, Sonic and Amy had the room to themselves. They didn't make much use of their time, though. Mostly, they just idly chatted about this and that, got a small snack, chatted some more, and overall just enjoyed one another's company. Having her around again was doing wonders for his mental and emotional health, he could tell. He felt better than he had ever since before being revived. The only thing that could immediately make him feel even better was going for a run, as she suggested to him. So, trusting her judgement, he went out into the woods to do just that.

He didn't get very far before the warmth and brightness of the sun exponentially intensified. Already, Sonic had learned what that meant. Smiling a relieved smile, he quickly covered his eyes as the light became blinding. The moment the light faded away, he opened his eyes again and said quietly, "You sure took your time coming back, Locke."

The echidna stood in front of him in the grass now and offered a smile of his own, this one tired and apologetic. It seemed like he'd been tired every time Sonic had seen him so far. The fact that being given time to rest didn't change that bothered Sonic, but he didn't mention it for now. "Yeah. I know. Sorry, kid." He sighed and crossed his arms. "I still had a lot of things to take care of in my neck of the woods. There are a lot of people I'm in charge of protecting. I've been doing everything I can to make sure they're able to weather the upcoming storm."

Sonic knew the feeling. Though, these days, he was less one of the protectors and more one of the people being protected. But even still. "Want to sit? It would be great to talk for a while."

Abruptly, some measure of happiness entered Locke's smile. "That's why I came. I'd love to catch up." They made themselves comfortable, sitting in the shade of one of the many trees as they settled into their old (ancient, even) routine of teasing and poking fun at one another. It was like no time had passed. Like they had never been separated. It felt… wonderful to talk with Locke again. After their banter, Sonic explained how he had been revived and when.

Locke answered that the only reason why he was still around these days was because of his old mentor, the former Sun Goddess, Althea. She had saved him from Malevolence's attack, the one that had seemingly killed him, and nursed him back to health. She'd helped him slowly regain his memory over time, but by then nearly everyone he'd known was dead and gone. When he eventually took over her role, he became a semi-Immortal, meaning his aging had ceased and he was much harder to kill.

It was like a weight had been lifted from Sonic's shoulders. So many questions that had previously been without answer had now been laid to rest. He finally had closure. He understood. This by no means healed any of that old pain, but there was no denying that this helped pave the way toward further healing. But now Sonic had new questions. "So what do you do with your life now?" he asked. "I can't bring myself to believe that all you do is kick ass all day, every day."

"No, I don't," Locke chuckled. "Actually, a good while back, I discovered a world that's become very special to me. As it happens, my race originated from there. We may be mostly extinct on Mobius, but we're thriving there. I like to visit when I can." Sighing, he sat back against the trunk of the tree and gazed upward. "During one visit… I don't precisely remember anymore what happened, but I ended up taking in a toddler girl and her infant sister. No idea what happened to their parents, but they were orphaned. I ended up adopting them. So, when I'm not busy… as you can imagine, I spend my time with them."

Sonic's heart felt lighter and happier than it had in a long time. "What are their names?"

"Anthea is the oldest," Locke replied. Sonic didn't fail to notice the similarity between her name and his ancient mentor's. "The youngest is Anya."

"You'll have to bring them here to meet everyone sometime," Sonic replied warmly. "We'd all love to get to know them."

His use of the word everyone seemed to trigger a thought in Locke's head. "That's right… Silver, Tails, and the others are here, right?"

"Not just them," Sonic answered. "Blaze and Amy were revived, too, and so were Marthal and Rouge."

Locke immediately straightened. His shock was apparent and expected. "What?"

"I'm not sure where Marthal's gone off to," Sonic continued. "He tends to sort of vanish out into the deeper parts of the forest most of the time. But, if you want, we can go back to Tails's place. Rouge is staying there with the rest of us. You can see her."

Already, Locke was too choked up to reply beyond giving a simple nod. Considering the events that had led to him losing his daughter-in-law and close friend in the first place, Sonic wasn't surprised by this reaction. Everyone suffered during that conflict. It was easy to forget, for a long time, that some of our friends are still living with the pain. Looking into his old friend's grief-stricken face, Sonic made a decision. He needs this. Standing, he took hold of Locke's arm and pulled him to his feet. Without giving the echidna any time to protest, he began leading the man back toward the house. Rouge could be cranky about getting woken up later. This was too important to miss.

~保護者~

After spending a substantial amount of time in the Lost Hex with her father and brother, helping them ensure that their realm was sufficiently protected against the second wave of war that would be coming upon them sooner rather than later. When she was finished there, Wave returned to New Babylon, to Jet.

She found him straight away. As it happened, he teleported back into his room just a second or two after she had arrived. In the additional couple of seconds that passed, she immediately came to understand what was going on. Some of the feathers on his body were singed and somewhat blackened. A quick, instinctual glance through his memories told her everything she needed to know about why this was so. He had gone with Steam earlier in the week to put out the fires at Li's forge. Then he'd returned home later that day, and Alana had substantially calmed him down. But then, maybe an hour or so ago, there had been a resurgence of flames here and there. This time, he'd had to face them alone.

Her friend was visibly shaken and stressed to the max. All of his fear and stress from earlier in the day was back, now further compounded by the new layer that going back to those fires had created. Part of her wanted to ask questions, but she knew better by now than to pry. The less she talked to him about the source of his stress right now, the better he'd be. Instead, all she did was confirm with him one single thing. "Li's home now?"

After a pause, Jet nodded once and said a tiny, "Yes."

That was all she needed. She took hold of his hand and led him over to his bed and sat him down. She wouldn't try to fool herself into believing that there were any words that could fix this for him. All she could do was be present, be here with him right now in this moment, and stay. Wrapping her arms around his shivering form, she held him close, whispering soft reassurances and praises for his courage. He didn't reply to any of it, just leaned into her embrace and hugged her back. That response was all she needed to know that he was relaxing… and that he would be okay.

~保護者~

Twenty six days had passed. Kaden's mood was sour. They were building up to revive someone again. He could feel it. The amount of Light that that accursed woman was pouring out was vexing, even moreso given the fact that he couldn't do anything about it as of now. He also couldn't do anything about the revivals themselves beyond paying attention to who was brought back and where. At least, as much as he could, given that he didn't have a vast network of demons out and about anymore. They were all trapped here with him. The only ones left free, for whatever reason, were the Hollows.

For the most part, Kaden had always left those demons be. Due to how vastly ancient and powerful they were, they were harder to control. Usually, it wasn't worth the effort, if only because they were such efficient killing machines all on their own. He didn't have to order them to lash out against strong foes (chiefly, of course, the chameleons with whom they shared territory). They did it all on their own. Now, however, he was compelled to utilize these creatures. They were his eyes and ears on Mobius right now, keeping an eye on things while he was unwillingly away.

Through them, he learned that Amy, Blaze, and Rouge were alive again. He felt nothing but disdain for Rouge, whose strength and abilities were limited and inconsequential to him. Amy held more of his interest, owing to the simple fact that she possessed truly brutish levels of physical strength… not unlike Locke and his kin. That she also had psychic abilities of some kind was also somewhat interesting, but not enough for him to really give much thought to the matter. Instead, he shifted his thoughts to Blaze, arguably the most interesting of the three to him. She possessed a measure of his own Darkness. He himself had trained her. Yet, she also possessed a special sort of fire… a remnant of the True Flame, imbued with just enough Light to fight back all things Dark. Would corruption work on someone with such an ability? If so, would her fire remain a threat? He didn't know… but he was sorely tempted to give it a try.

There were more important matters that needed tending to. That was why he'd wandered out into an area on his world he typically didn't bother paying much mind to. Weaker demons flocked here, moving about in droves and fighting tooth and nail to gain further strength and separate themselves from the riff raff. Most failed. Many were killed when stronger demons, such as Zareil, needed to let off steam. He suspected that was what she'd been doing on this day at some point, but right now she was not. Whatever the reason for it, he didn't care. It just meant he didn't have to raise his voice much to get her attention. "Zareil," he called quietly as he wandered over.

Wordlessly, the demoness appeared and wiped some blood from her mouth. "Yes?"

Not in the mood to beat around the bush, Kaden directly stated, "You need to make a decision. This has waited long enough."

She nodded to him before responding with a question. "How powerful is he as a fighter?"

For once, he relented and gave an honest shrug. "He has never once shown the full extent of it and, given how many years he was missing, I do not know how much has changed in him."

"I want him to take out those three I've been… noticing to be threats. The Balancer, that accursed being of Light, and her sister. If you believe he's strong enough to do away with any of those three, I think that is where I would put that effort." Zareil thought for a moment before frowning. "Though, attacking the sister would draw plenty of attention, as I know there are many watching her."

Kaden blinked slowly. "I doubt he will be powerful enough to bring them down. However… he will likely at least be strong enough to do a significant amount of damage. Yokai are not weak, by their very nature. He will be useful to some extent."

Zareil stroked her chin in further thought. "If that's the case, we should avoid him being noticed until the time is right to strike. It's all too likely that something may happen to stop him from doing what I'd want, correct?"

"If alerted too soon, his allies will arrange a purification once again," Kaden answered. "However, he will not alert anyone. More than likely, his instincts will drive him to remain away from the others, more so than they already do. He should not be noticed for a time."

"That sounds perfect, then," Zareil murmured. "And when we get our chance to attack, we would have two of their allies on our side. That alone would make the fight difficult, much moreso if one of us is present."

"Hn." With this small murmured reply, Kaden turned to leave. "Prepare yourself to fully manage him, once he is corrupted. He was your target, and is therefore your responsibility."

Zareil nodded, then glanced away. "When it does come time to attack… would you mind me taking a few of the generals? I'd prefer to eradicate them quickly."

"Leave Zol," Kaden muttered, mood shifting to even darker tones. "I have need of him. I do not care what you do with the others."

"I had no reason to take him," she answered in her own dark, malicious tone. "I wish to test some of the… new recruits I've taken in. If they prove useful, this should be simple. If not, I will tear their flesh off and use it for myself."

"Do as you wish," was the dismissive reply.

Having accomplished what he wanted to, Kaden teleported back to the citadel and went inside. Once in the main room, he took a seat in his chair and closed his eyes so that he could focus. Channeling his power through the Hollows on Mobius to then channel those same energies into his targets was going to be… a chore. It was doable, but such indirect means of corruption were a hassle and (loathe though he was to admit it) could be quite tiring if he tried to do other things at the same time.

Before too long, he had the process started. Marthal and Shadow were both at a state of rest at the moment, perhaps sleeping, and that only made getting things started that much easier for him. It was just as well that they were resting, anyway, since that would cause the initial effects of the corruption (namely, a brief but sharp spike in anger and the like) to be missed. When they awoke, they would be normal… for the most part. He intended this takeover to be slow, subtle, for no one to fully realize anything was amiss until it was too late.

There was little else for him to do now except sit and think. One issue in particular lingered on his mind. Malevolence's… "daughter"... That was no weak or stupid creature. It evaded Zareil and I for centuries. Even once we cornered it, it retained enough strength to escape eventually. Yet somehow it was purified… and it happened instantaneously. Shaking his head and frowning to himself, Kaden crossed his arms and leaned back. He was aware of one of the triplets crawling into his lap for one reason or another, but he ignored her.

Only the Faein themselves could have pulled off such a feat. Of that, he was sure. What bothered him was what this meant. If even one of them truly was awake and becoming involved in things, it certainly explained the confinement he, Nareish, and their armies had been suffering. But that was hardly the worst thing a being like that could do. There were so many possible ways that this could impact his plans, Zareil's plans, and even Nareish's plans. Not that he gave a shit what happened in the latter case unless it further affected him… which he was wise enough to admit might just be the case. It all depended on what happened. And he didn't appreciate the uncertainty.

For now… all anyone could do was wait.

~保護者~

8,048 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 5:35 p.m.) 11-15-20.