Guardian

by yasha012

I used to want to save existence... I saw it as this beautiful place, capable of fostering life in all of its many forms. A place with the potential to nurture so much Light. But the closer I got to it... the more I fought for it… the better I could see the Darkness waiting within… the evil we would all rather forget. (Part 4 of the Hero series; sequel to "Eternal Shadow Falls".)

135. You

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this series of important talks… especially for the one who feels so much better.

~保護者~

"You"

~保護者~

The magic was undone. With all the heroes far away from Nareish and her ilk, her realm was sealed off. With the help of their two newly awakened companions, Aethra and Rusen were no longer at risk of being forced to return to sleep as a result of these efforts. The former was now watching Rusen closely, head canted a bit to one side. "This is the disguise you have chosen? It is different from the one you wore when he brought Analia to her allies."

"I need not draw extra attention," Rusen murmured gently, turning to Aethra. He'd taken on the form of a grey da Asani, the race he'd created at the beginning of material existence. "Besides… one of my creations coming to help in matters of the heart is not unfeasible. The ones I need to speak to will likely think nothing of it."

"I agree. Your people are nothing if not compassionate and empathetic." Aethra smiled softly. "Take care, my friend. We will manage here. And I will assist you in healing young Eila once you reach her."

"Take care with the other," Rusen murmured. "Petry is mine to handle. I will see to it that she is removed. I must go see our young Goddess-in-training. She is in need of the most dire help, currently."

"She certainly does." Aethra closed her eyes in order to focus. "Make haste. I will not keep you any longer."

Rusen willed himself to appear beside Armaris and her father, wasting no time. Judging by the fact that Ylden didn't react harshly, he began speaking. "I sensed that something was amiss. I came to see."

"Shut the fuck up," Armaris muttered, curling up further and shifting away from Rusen. "I don't want to talk."

Rusen cast his gaze to Ylden, and the man nodded, understanding fully. He stepped outside and set a barrier around the home. Rusen then turned his attention to Armaris and gently lifted her off the ground, despite her protests before temporarily allowing his disguise to fall. "Young one… I am one of the original. The Faein your teacher has taught you so much about. I… want to help you how I can."

Armaris, to an untrained eye, would have seemed disinterested. However, Rusen could see into her mind, her heart and soul. The aching desire to be helped by anyone who could, despite not being sure of how to accept such help. As he returned to his disguised form, she asked a question. "Why do you care? I'm not your friend."

"You are a living being, among the many creations our kind have had the grace to be allowed to see exist. You have a lovely heart, but your pained life has tarnished your view and world. That is why I care. I wish to provide you a life that is pleasing to you, that you make of your own will," Rusen explained, watching as she stood up and leaned against the wall.

"Then tell me, why do I exist?" Armaris dared to ask, raising an eyebrow. "Prove to me that you're actually one of them."

Rusen would have laughed, but he decided it was best not to. The way their creations acted brought no end of emotion to him. "You have no single reason for existing. Your paths are wide and varied, some dark and some full of light. You seek to aid others like you, but currently cannot bring yourself to save your own life."

Armaris's eye twitched. "You're pretentious."

"Incorrect," Rusen countered. "To say I am pretentious would be to say you consider yourself a saint."

She scoffed, but he knew his point had been received. "How can you help me?"

"Sit and speak," Rusen invited, taking a seat on the floor and patting beside him. "You have much on your mind. I know it all, but certainly speaking it would be better than me telling it to you."

Armaris debated internally before deciding to just go with it, sitting down beside Rusen. She wasn't sure why she was willing to trust a random stranger, but something made it feel okay. "I feel like a failure. Not only have I proven that I am everything people said I am, but I also let a demon possess me and ruin one of the few things that truly brought me happiness. Espio probably hates me. I'm not strong enough."

Rusen shook his head. "You are a wonderful being with a heart for the hurting. You care for those that few will turn their gaze to. You also did not allow that demon control. You fought, despite knowing that it was stronger. And… he does not hate you."

"He's so powerful and capable, but he's being pulled by all sides of this shit show of a war. Then, that demon used my body to convince him to do things he didn't actually want to do," Armaris murmured.

"Is that your fault?" Rusen asked, turning his gaze to the cat. "You want nothing more than the best for him, yes?"

"...Yeah."

Rusen smiled softly, waving a hand and directing her attention to him. "You have done nothing but try to give him the best you can give him. You have neglected yourself long enough, though."

Armaris turned her gaze away, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know if I'm cut out to take Cere's place. She seems like this perfect person who can stand up to any task. She was able to go to Kaden's realm and return unscatched. Whenever something goes on with me, she always seems to know what to do."

"She is not infallible, but she has existed for a long time. Her wisdom, intelligence, and experience are known to many for good reason. She has helped raise many generations of Immortals, as well as keep existence in check. For her, this is her life and she has decided it is fine. If you do not wish to take her place, she will not complain." Rusen turned his own gaze in Ylden's direction for a moment. "And know that there is a good reason she chose you out of every being that currently lives in existence. She chose you because she saw something in you, something wonderful. The same thing I can see."

"What… do you mean?" Armaris questioned, returning her gaze to the disguised Faein.

"You can do many things, and you are strong. The only thing you lack is the will to protect your own life," Rusen answered, waving his hand and gently bringing into her mind the various paths her life could take. "If you would take yourself into consideration more, there is little that can stop you. You have skills that many would kill to have, and more that none can possess like you."

"Am I really special? Do I really amount to anything?"

He could hear the pain in her tone, see the ache in her eyes. The cries for help that her words held so tightly. In response, he gently smiled and waved his hand once more. They appeared in the vastness of space. No planets, no suns, nothing was nearby. Just the endless void littered with pinpricks of light from distant stars. "You are a significant piece in one of the greatest puzzles that will ever exist. Like a star. A movement from you can make a considerable stride in one way or another. You are like the planets, fostering life and allowing others to have a place called home. Like the words of a child, moving the hearts of proud parents. You are so important, that the languages spoken are incapable of truly comprehending the vastness of it all, like the space that surrounds us all. You… You are special, in the ways that only you can be."

The tears Armaris had held on to for years now suddenly spilled out, the woman wrapping her arms around Rusen and holding him tightly as she sobbed. Hearing this from someone that was supposed to be all-powerful and all-knowing was so much different than hearing it from anyone else. It made it feel more… true. That didn't stop her tears, though. Rusen held her close, wishing for a moment that he could shed his own tears of joy at seeing Armaris finally get the emotional release she had awaited for most of her life. He didn't want to settle for the tears of energy his kin were capable of, since it didn't feel… the same. Instead, he simply set his hand on her head and murmured. "You have waited for so long to truly be set free from a cage you created on yourself. I wish that someone else would have been able to do it, but I am pleased to know it was done by me."

It was some time before Armaris could finally calm down, her sobs slowly turning into small sniffles and the occasional gasp for air. Rusen took care to gently use his energies to clean her face and make her body feel normal, despite having cried for what felt like hours. "I… I needed to hear that…"

"I know," Rusen murmured. "Now… before I depart, I wish to impart upon you one more gift. Something you once lost."

Armaris looked confused, and it left Rusen feeling vaguely amused. He raised a hand and let a guitar slowly form. A wooden, hand-carved guitar with Armaris's own name engraved into the neck. "Th-"

"The guitar that your friend gifted to you the day before she was killed… yes. You left this at her grave, but not before playing her favorite song. She would want you to have it, so I am returning it to you now. Use it well," Rusen murmured, carefully handing Armaris the guitar.

"I… I can't... " she murmured, trying to refuse the gift. "You've already done so much."

"I wish I could do more, young one," Rusen murmured, setting the guitar in her hands. He rubbed his thumb over it and a new engraving appeared on the body. A butterfly with stars on the wings. "This is all I can do for now. I trust that you will not squander the chance you have. Now… return to your family. You are safe."

Armaris only had time to murmur a short thanks before she returned where to she'd been sitting before. Her dad walked back in and smiled gently, noticing the positive turn her aura had taken. "Seems our otherworldly stranger really helped you, huh?"

The female cat nodded, gripping her guitar tightly. "He did. He… helped a lot."

Ylden sat down gently beside his daughter and wrapped an arm around her. "The stories about the Faein, how they created everything…"

"It's all true," Armaris murmured softly.

"And you got to meet one," Ylden said gently. "Either way… glad you're feeling better. I didn't know what to do with you."

Armaris punched him on the shoulder, laughing. "Asshole."

~保護者~

Steam rubbed his hands against his face, trying desperately to fend off the growing feeling of anxiety. It was budding and slowly taking his body by force. He almost couldn't handle it anymore, but he would have to. Enemies would still come, and people still needed to be protected. If his own suffering was needed, he would be damn sure to make sure everyone else was safe. This train of thought made him frown. He hadn't checked on a large portion of the group in some time, particularly those that had remained at Tails's home for some time now. So, he picked himself up off the ground and teleported back to Mobius, landing outside the house.

His sudden arrival jolted Silver out of yet another spate of boredom. He'd once again taken up residence on the branch of a tree and was dangling off of it. Unlike when Cyril had earlier appeared, however, he didn't fall out of the aforementioned tree. However, he did jump. "Steam!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of Blaze and Amy once again. "You're back!"

Steam took a quick step back, obviously startled by the sudden exclamation. He paused, unsure of how to respond since his initial reaction was to reach for his sword. "Shit… you scared me."

"You scared me!" Lacking any grace, Silver awkwardly twisted to get his legs off the branch and landed on the ground. The end result was him falling on his butt.

Blaze shook her head at this display. "Silver, that's twice today you've fallen out of the same tree and off of the same branch. Please, give it a rest." Silver just mumbled some complaint about it being an accident.

"Probably for the best," Steam agreed, slowly lowering his hand. Being on his guard suddenly around Silver upset him, but he did his best to not let that show. "How are you guys doing?"

"Well enough," Amy answered. Then she snickered slightly and added, "Aside from him being so bored he feels the need to crash to the ground repeatedly."

"Hey!" Silver pouted, arms crossing. "I resent that remark!"

Steam chuckled softly at that, shaking his head. "You're the same in this timeline too, eh?"

Silver's ears perked up a little. After a moment, he grinned. "What, am I totally awesome there, too?"

"I'd say we can go with that," Steam started, "But that would make me as much of a liar as when I was a kid."

"Oi," Silver responded, pouting anew. "That's mean."

"I was a mercenary when I was young, take that how you will," Steam replied with a smirk. "Lying was a specialty." Silver's mouth made a small 'o' of surprise.

Amy gently interjected. "Steam, you look exhausted. Why don't you sit down with us? We've just been chatting, and you're more than welcome to join."

Steam smiled apologetically. "I really should get going to check on others. A lot has happened that I haven't been around to know the results of."

"Yeah, I noticed you were thinking about that a lot." Silver paused. He thought that over. Then he abruptly straightened, his eyes wide. "Wait. I sensed your thoughts! Which means they're back finally! Hell yes!"

His exclamation caught Blaze off-guard. After her surprise faded, she frowned thoughtfully. Calling her fire into her hands, she tilted her head. "My fire was returned as well. How is this possible?"

Relief washed over Steam's body in waves, the man almost collapsing then and there from how sudden it was before catching himself. Gotta be more careful… "I… think Nareish has been sealed away again."

"Wait… really?" Amy asked, her eyes widening a bit.

Steam nodded. "The magic affecting everyone should be disappearing, which is what brought your powers back." Which means Rose and Aniko should be okay.

"Hell yeah," Silver grinned. "That's great."

"Definitely, but that doesn't mean that everything returned to normal. I really should get going again," Steam replied.

"Yeah, I get that. One quick question, though." Silver's expression grew more serious. "Marthal's been M.I.A. for a while at this point, but when I accidentally saw a tiny bit into your mind just then I sensed something having to do with him. Is he okay?"

Steam huffed. "Stop reading my mind. I've got enough of an issue with Rose in my timeline," he muttered.

"It was an accident, you know," Silver huffed. "I didn't realize I had my powers back, so I wasn't keeping a lid on them. And like I said, I only saw a tiny bit of things here and there before I caught it."

"Regardless… I was able to find Marthal with a bit of help," Steam explained. "I just haven't had a chance to deal with what's going on."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Blaze asked.

"For the time being-" Steam cut himself off, turning to Silver. "How much do you know about using your Light?"

This made Silver blink a couple of times. "Uh… nothing?" he offered weakly. "It never really mattered before. My mental powers were always enough for me. ...You know, until all of this."

"I'm gonna teach you a little bit so you can help me," Steam said, smiling. "With your help, I just might be able to help Marthal."

"I mean… sure. Okay." Silver stood up and brushed himself off. "What do I do?"

Steam quickly began his instruction, teaching Silver how to to call upon his Light and use it in a controlled manner. Once Silver had enough of a grasp on this, he revealed his plan fully. "Since you don't have a lot of experience, all I need you to do is channel your Light through me and I can make use of it."

Silver nodded in understanding. "So, essentially, you're the one who's really gonna be pulling this off."

"Without you, this wouldn't be possible," Steam countered. "I can't do it right now without your help."

"Well, yeah, aside from that." Silver waved him off a little as he spoke, then asked, "So, we going?"

Steam nodded. "We're going." With that said, he teleported the two away.

~保護者~

Mere minutes after they had returned home to new Babylon, Alana paused. "Sein, that is father's energy. Unless I am mistaken, it feels… normal again."

"Holy shit, you're right," Sein answered, perking up. "And… someone else near him? Yareis?"

"I believe so." Alana took Sein's hand into her own, giving it a small tug. "Come, we should check on them."

Sein nodded and immediately teleported them, not wanting to waste any more time. He walked right up to Kath and Yareis. "Heya!"

Hearing Sein's voice, Kath immediately turned to face him and Alana. Thankfully, his reflexes were more than fast enough for him to aim his sword away (as Alana no doubt knew) before his daughter suddenly rushed forward and gave him a tight hug. "We were so worried!" she exclaimed softly. "It's wonderful to see you better, Father." Kath hugged her back with his free arm and murmured something to her in an old Babylonian tongue. Whatever it was, it made her smile.

"'Course she gets a hug first," Sein complained, feigning annoyance. "She always gets it." The man snickered, hardly able to keep up the act already.

Kath rolled his eyes openly. "You are fooling no one, Sein. She," he gestured to Yareis, "hardly knows you, yet I would wager even she can see right through your facade."

Yareis shrugged. "I don't know. Poor theatrics can fool some," she answered.

"Some. Not ancient beings with more than a mere ounce of common sense." This jab, while probably seeming harsh to outside onlookers, was genuinely nothing of the sort. In truth, it was fairly lighthearted in its delivery, at least coming from him.

Sein snickered easily. "I didn't try to actually keep it a secret. Surely you guys know that."

"You could attempt to actually keep a straight face. Might keep you from getting stabbed in the next seven or so minutes," Yareis answered, raising an eyebrow at him. "I do believe you have not had the pleasure of ice being inserted into you, yet."

Alana huffed out a small laugh and finally released Kath. "No, but Father did freeze his face once."

Yareis laughed openly, ice fluctuating around her and coating the ground as a result of her unexpected emotion. "Oh gods, that's hilarious." The sound was an unexpected surprise, one that caused Kath to glance at her.

"Considering the fact that we had no idea he had such powers and he promptly vanished after doing that… yes. It most certainly was." Alana smiled at Sein, thoroughly amused at his expense.

Sein huffed at them all. "Once again, you guys are treating me like a laughingstock. I'm offended."

"At least try to sound upset," Yareis countered, snickering.

Kath huffed at the lot of them. "You all are ridiculous," he accused mildly. "Especially you, Sein."

Sein smiled, laughing easily. "It's something I think I'll have to learn to live with."

Kath started to reply, but abruptly paused. Frowning, he activated his Vision power and began looking around. He locked his gaze on something and regarded it for several long moments before saying, "...A realm has just been sealed off. One I am not familiar with."

This made Alana frown as well. Unfamiliar with? That cannot be right. Father knows nearly all the realms.

Yareis clicked her tongue. "So they did it," she murmured. "Nareish is sealed away again."

With a slow nod, Kath deactivated the power and blinked in an effort to clear his eyes. His vision remained blurry for several annoying seconds before finally clearing. "It would seem so."

"They?" Alana echoed. "Who?" Kath privately had the same question, but he didn't voice it. He had his suspicions.

Yareis raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think is capable of sealing away a being such as Nareish? Use your heads."

"Are you serious?" Sein asked, eyes wide. "Them?"

Alana shook her head slowly. "That cannot be right. The first time this was done, we were told that only two were awake, and that they had awakened very early. So early that they are still feeling the effects of the exhaustion they were left with from creating everything so long ago. That is why they were only able to hold her for two months and no longer. How could they have done this again so soon?"

"You could try asking them," Yareis answered. "They're the only ones that can."

"We cannot simply ask them," Alana countered. "First and foremost, because we have no idea where they even are."

"That is irrelevant right now," Kath suddenly interrupted. His Vision power had been activated again and he was closely following the movements of something only he could see. Frowning again, he demanded in a carefully controlled tone, "Did something happen to Calypso while I was bedridden?"

"She… has been missing," Sein answered, frowning. "Other than that… nobody really knows."

Missing? That was news to him. Kath was unhappy to learn that this had happened and he hadn't even been aware before. But it didn't matter right now. Blinking his eyes clear a second time, he simply said, "He has her. They're nearly here."

Sein blinked a few times. "Who?"

"Jet."

Alana barely had time to be surprised before her son suddenly landed close to twenty feet away. Calypso was suspended in the air by a cushion of purple energy by his side, but only for a moment. He lowered her to the ground with surprising gentility (despite the state he was in) before simply turning away to leave again. Unlike when he'd vanished from the medical ward earlier that day, he didn't simply teleport. Instead, he chose to walk. Sein was quick to try and follow Jet, jogging after his son. "Wait, hold on just a second! Are you okay? What's going on?" he called.

A wave of energy shoved Sein roughly back, but Jet's voice was calm as he approached the palace hangar. "I'm fine."

Sein grimaced, but ultimately he just let it be. "What are you about to go do? I can tell you're going to do something."

"Doesn't matter." Jet otherwise ignored everything Sein had just said and entered the hangar. Carefully placed barriers prevented things within the hangar being teleported away from the outside, but as soon as he was inside and had located his own ship he sent it away. His sparrow vanished an instant later, closely followed by a commonly-carried repair kit (as sparrows were designed for speed, not durability). With these taken away to wherever he wanted them, he again turned to leave.

"Jet," Sein called. "Please come back safe. Please."

"I will promise you nothing." With this abruptly venomous response said, Jet disappeared as though he'd never been there at all.

Sein's heart throbbed in pain and sudden tears formed in his eyes. Jet…

Right about then, Alana ran up to him. She'd been preoccupied with help with Calypso, and her blood-soaked hands were proof of that. Her own dismay carried in the breeze when she asked, "Did he… leave?"

"...Yeah," Sein muttered as the tears fell. "He left."

Alana nearly choked up as well, but through sheer force of will she managed to focus. "Sein, Calypso is dying. We took her to the medical ward, but whoever had her…" She trailed off, swallowing hard. "She is very weak. Father does not think she will make it."

"Fuck," Sein bit out, clutching at his chest. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. "We need to find help for her. Now. Who can we go to? What can we do?"

"Father already went to contact the best healer we have available on this world," Alana answered, "but he said it may be in vain. Her magic was cruelly ripped from her piece by piece, and she was physically tormented through unfamiliar means. She may not last long enough for anyone to be found."

Sein physically shook at hearing this, pulling away from Alana with a surprising amount of care despite the intense anger coursing through him. "I'm not about to let her die. I can't. She means way too much." With this said, he teleported away to find someone, anyone that might be able to help. He returned within a few moments with Rose in tow. Sein then grabbed them both by the arm and teleported to the medical ward where he could sense Calypso and let Rose quickly set to work.

Hearing about it was one thing, but suddenly seeing it wrenched his heart from his chest. More tears escaped and he tightly wrapped his arms around Alana, seeking some sort of comfort or escape from it all. Alana hugged him back just as tightly, barely choking back her own tears. With what little composure she had remaining, she guided herself and her husband out into the hall where they were out of the way. Yareis walked up to them quietly, and in a moment of gentility, set a hand on their shoulders to try and offer her own silent comfort.

Alana took in several deep breaths before daring to speak. "I will try to keep an eye on things myself, but… please, do not let my father in there when he returns. It will only hurt him further. That is one of his oldest and closest friends…"

"I will do all I can," Yareis answered slowly. "In return… I ask that you both make sure to take care of yourselves."

Unable to promise much, Alana only nodded. But then a thought struck and she murmured to Sein, "Do you need to go to your private space? It may help… to some degree."

I need to kill Nareish and her army. That's what would help. He pushed those thoughts away and nodded slowly. "It would do me some good to calm down. I… shouldn't take long."

"Okay." Slowly, reluctantly, Alana released him. "Please do not hurt yourself."

"I won't," he promised softly, opening a portal and stepping through it, but not before planting a gentle kiss on her cheek.

Yareis breathed out a deep sigh, shaking her head. "I'm sorry this is happening. I wish I could help."

"Being here at all is enough," Alana murmured, now hugging herself subconsciously. "I think it will help my father a lot, having you here."

"Hm," Yareis turned away before murmuring, "I'll see if… I can find anyone to help as well."

"That would be appreciated," Alana answered, sinking into a sitting position against the wall right beside the door.

Yareis didn't want to leave Alana like this, but she couldn't think of anything. This was far from her strong suit. Instead, she simply teleported away as opposed to using her ice powers like usual. She didn't feel like making a show of it, this time.

~保護者~

Shadow was absolutely silent for a time. He hadn't been awake for very long, but that wasn't the issue. There wasn't an issue at all, logically. But that didn't lessen the jittery nerves that he found himself experiencing. Part of him wanted to pace, to pointlessly disassemble and clean his guns piece by piece, to do anything physical that might distract from this formerly foreign emotion. As it stood now, however, all he could do was force himself not to fidget in his seat as he asked, "Why do you need scans?" He knew why. Tails undoubtedly knew that he knew. What he didn't know was why he was stalling.

On the other end of the call, Tails sighed. The sound managed to seem apologetic. "I know we got a lot of fresh scans recently, but that was before… this. It's nothing invasive or intense. We just want to make sure you're okay, especially since we didn't get a chance to look when you were first brought to us. Everyone was too focused on freeing you from him."

At least Tails didn't say the name. Shadow could appreciate that. But the implication was still clear as day, and it only worsened his nervousness. Not for the first time, he mentally chastised himself for reacting and tried his damnedest to force the feeling down and away to where all the others were stored. May they never see the fucking light of day. Refocusing on the issue at hand, he thought about what Tails was asking. "I don't… think I can go there," he eventually forced himself to admit, voice low so that hopefully he wouldn't be overheard by the three other people currently occupying his house. "Not now."

"I know," Tails assured. "Don't worry, we thought of that. If you're okay with doing this at all, we'll be using handheld scanners, like Wery and I were doing to check people's powers and stress levels that one time. Doing it like that, we'll be able to scan you wherever you'd feel most comfortable. But that's if you agree. Please don't feel like you have to."

He didn't. Another fact he appreciated. "I'd prefer to stay home," Shadow said in lieu of another reply.

"I kind of guessed as much," Tails said. "So, are you okay with this? It's not too much, or too soon?"

A touch too soon, maybe. But it didn't feel like too much, especially so long as he didn't think about it in the same context as the scans Gerald had done on him. Those had been unwanted, invasive, even frightening because of what they had allowed the man to learn and subsequently do. "It's fine," Shadow replied, trying to distract himself again. If only for the moment, it worked.

"Okay. If you're sure, then Wery and I will be over in a few minutes." There was a bit of rustling as Tails moved around, then he said, "The scanner's been upgraded. Wery's nearly done with it, so it won't be too long."

"Fine."

"See you soon."

Not bothering with a farewell of his own, Shadow hung up and set his communicator on the coffee table. Toru conveniently entered the room then. He glanced over at Shadow with a raised eyebrow. "You sure you're up for this? It's still really fresh and all, and I really don't want you to feel forced."

Though he pursed his lips together and shook his head, Shadow's tone remained flat and seemingly unbothered when he said, "It isn't an issue. He's done this many times before."

"You know it's more than that," Toru countered gently. "It's about a lot more than that."

"I know," Shadow reluctantly agreed. Then he reiterated, "It's fine."

"You don't have to agree to do this," Toru said, still as gentle as before. "They care, but your own health comes before that."

"This has to be done," Shadow muttered, looking away. It took time for him to work up the nerve to do it, but eventually he managed to somewhat explain his reasoning. "Gerald… did work. A lot of work. I don't fully know what he did. It needs to be looked into."

Toru set a hand on Shadow's shoulder, a small smile on his face. "As long as you're okay with it."

I have to be. Shadow nodded a little, instead of voicing that particular thought.

The chameleon hugged him softly. "It'll be alright. As soon as they're done, I'm sure they'll keep it to serious stuff and then let you relax again." In spite of himself, Shadow felt some of his tension fade away a bit when Toru did this, and he nodded. Sensing that it helped, Toru planted a gentle kiss to Shadow's forehead and pulled back. "It'll all be okay."

That was a new experience. Shadow wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, or of the warm feeling he was left with. In an effort to mask it, he huffed and looked away a bit. "I know."

Toru smiled gently. "Alright. They said they'd be here soon, yeah?"

"In the next few minutes," Shadow answered. "Tails said Wery was nearly finished upgrading the scanner they intend to use."

"Wanna sit on the couch and relax until they get here?" Toru offered.

"Are you sure you won't complain about being bored this time?" Shadow huffed, already sitting down.

Toru rolled his eyes. "I'm not always bored," the chameleon answered, amused.

"You were the last time we simply sat here," Shadow pointed out. "You complained quite a bit."

"I won't be this time," Toru huffed in return. It was just as well that Tails and Wery appeared at the front door right about then. Shadow had felt an urge to get a touch overly sarcastic right about then, but now he had cause to hold his tongue. With another small huff of his own, he deactivated the security systems and allowed the two foxes entry without ever bothering to stand up. Toru smiled and stood in his place. "Told you I wouldn't be bored."

"Shut it." There was no real heat to his words, and Shadow immediately moved on from the subject. He watched as Tails led Wery through the entryway and into the wall-less living room (which was really more of a wide open space than a truly separate room). Tails waved in greeting to the pair of them.

Wery smiled and waved to the two. "Hey, it's good to see you guys. How are you feeling, Shadow?" she asked gently.

"Fine," was all Shadow said in response.

"Oh, by the way. I forgot to mention it before, but I made something for you." She pulled out a disc-shaped device and walked over, holding it out to the hedgehog. "It's basically just an external firewall. If you activate it, it should help us detect if someone tries to do anything to you electronically. I figured it may help in the future as well as make you feel safer?"

Slowly, Shadow took the device. He largely understood how this would work, but in his tired state he wasn't fully comprehending it, as annoying as that was to admit. "Explain it. You do not have to go into fine detail."

"So, ultimately, it's just a basic firewall. It keeps outside devices from accessing any part of you, even our own. This makes it so that only people with direct physical access will be able to actually do anything, meaning we'd have to essentially connect you to a device. Keeps the bad people from messing with the code side of you, and more," Wery explained. "I'll be upgrading it as time goes on, but for now it should slow anyone down long enough for me and Tails to stop them." Shadow nodded a little in acknowledgement of her words, saying nothing now.

"Erm, but activating it after we do the scan would be best," Tails interjected with a small laugh. "Just in case we have to do any minor fixes to anything while we're here."

Wery chuckled briefly, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Yeah." Her expression turned a bit more serious as she looked to Shadow again. "Are you sure you're okay with this? We can wait if you're not up to it."

"It needs to be done," Shadow responded, setting the firewall device beside him on the couch. "I would rather it be done now as opposed to being put off."

"If you're sure," Wery murmured, holding up the scanner and performing the scan. It took longer than the one for powers and such had, but that was because it had to be a bit more thorough. Once it was done, she quickly made sure to nod and smile to Shadow. "It's over. Do you want to look at the data with us?"

After a pause, Shadow reluctantly nodded. Tails moved over to see Wery's screen. "What've we got?" the male fox asked, his concern apparent.

"Oh my god," Wery practically whispered. "What even is this skeletal structure? The metal used is insane…"

Tails's eyes were wide. "Oh, hell no," he whispered in response, despite normally never using such curse words. "Tell me he didn't." Shadow was silent and looking away, a few memories flashing back to him briefly before he forced them away. He had no desire to remember what had happened. None whatsoever.

Wery cleared her throat, realizing the sudden tension in the air. "So… scans are telling me that this metal should allow you to perform physical feats that should have been well beyond your original capabilities. The chances of anything breaking in your body is incredibly slim… and… well, it's tough."

Taking in a subtle breath, Shadow nodded. More hints of memories came back to him, and he mumbled, "He told me as much."

The female fox gulped and nodded. "Other than that… things seem to be as expected more or less. I'm working on rewriting the rest of your code now, so the incompatibility errors can be dismissed."

When Shadow only nodded, Tails offered a weak smile. "Looks like he didn't accomplish anything else before you were found. You don't have to worry about it. Okay?" He didn't get a reply so, taking a risk, he slowly approached, making sure Shadow could clearly see him coming. Sighing, he set a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You look exhausted. Getting some more sleep would do you some good."

Wery nodded softly. "It would be good. Hard to recover from stuff if you're not sleeping enough."

They still didn't get much of a reply, just a vague shrug. Tails quietly insisted, sort of tugging Shadow to his feet and nudging him down the hall. Eventually, Shadow walked the rest of the way on his own. Once his door was shut, Tails sighed purely out of concern. Toru chose now to speak up, sighing as well. "Come on, go ahead and spill it. You're both shit at hiding things."

"Not trying to hide things," Tails promised, sighing again. "It's just… there are things we really don't want to say in front of him right now. Not when he's like this."

Wery nodded slowly. "Yeah… I figured that mentioning it in front of him would be bad." Tails mumbled an agreement, though it was pretty unnecessary.

Toru walked over and carefully took the tablet from Wery, causing her to start badly when she realized it was suddenly no longer in her hand. "Fuck… this thing picked up on how bad his mental state is right now?"

"Yeah," Tails nodded. "That was the main upgrade Wery was working on. It was really important to check on it."

"Just so you know, Tails… I wasn't trying to lie when we talked about it before," Toru murmured, handing Wery the tablet back. "I just didn't want to delve too much into it without him there. Didn't feel right."

"No… don't worry about it. I understand completely." Tails looked over the screen for a third time. "This definitely is better than what it almost certainly was when he was first brought back, so when you said he'd improved a bit you weren't wrong. It's just… It's just that he hasn't improved much. That bit of catatonia we started to see there is pretty good evidence of that."

Toru blinked a few times. "'Catatonia'?"

"Think disassociation," Tails patiently explained. He floundered for terms that someone from a society with little in the way of mental and emotional health issues would understand before settling on, "It's like… going numb, sort of. You disconnect, stop being aware of things, can't react because you aren't even taking anything in… that sort of thing."

"Hm," the chameleon frowned. "I'm doing what I can, but there's only so much I can do."

"Yeah. Between all the old trauma that was never dealt with and now this… he needs professional help." Tails bit his lower lip briefly, then continued. "But he's never, never been willing to talk to anyone aside from me and Sonic, sometimes, about the things he went through. He'll never trust an unfamiliar person with information about him and his past."

Toru grimaced, crossing his arms. "I don't know what to do about that," he admitted reluctantly.

"Me either. I've been trying to find a solution for years. Without success, clearly." Tails wore a look of defeat as he yet again looked over the screen.

"I'll see what I can do," Toru murmured.

Wery frowned. "Even beyond that… there's something else really pressing," she murmured. "Was his black blood exposed to any other foreign blood?" Tails started and immediately started looking over some specific data on the screen. His eyes soon went wide.

Toru hadn't wanted to explain this, but ultimately he just nodded. "Yeah. The person that attacked us took my blood and exposed him to it."

Tails's eyes remained wide. "What in the w- Why?" Wery couldn't even muster a response, flabbergasted by the thought.

"Probably as a form of psychological torture," Toru muttered. "We just found out it's possible, then they suddenly force it upon us before we've had a chance to really even decide if that's what we want."

Tails pursed his lips together before asking, "...Have you guys decided what you're going to do? This'll progress a lot faster than you might think. It takes… what, a year and a half to two years for chameleons? For Black Arms, the timeframe is only seven months."

"I haven't forced him to think about it too much because that's a lot for him to be dealing with," Toru answered.

"If I understood the data right," Tails responded carefully, "then the baby is starting to protect themselves a bit already. It's common for Black Arms 'spawn' to do that, since their race lives violent and dangerous lives and they can easily die before being born otherwise. I'm really, really trying not to pressure you, but if you guys want to have the chance to make a choice about whether or not to keep this, it's gotta be sooner rather than later."

Toru grimaced, looking away. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind."

Wery cleared her throat. "O-other than that… things are more or less as expected. Just… please do what you can. That's all I can ask."

"I'll do what I can," Toru agreed, nodding. "I'd appreciate it if you guys went back to the workshop. I'm really not in a talkative mood right now."

"We understand." Tails readied his teleporter. "One last quick thing. I don't know if he's ever told you, but he gets awful nightmares. Wake him up from them if you can. If you can't, at least sit there with him. It helps more than you might think."

Toru nodded again. "I will."

"Okay. Bye, then." With that said, Tails teleported away with Wery in tow.

"Fucking hell," Toru muttered, sitting down on the couch with his face in his hands. "Fuck this war, fuck Nareish, and fuck everyone that thinks fucking with someone's life is okay." He groaned, leaning back and sighing. "This is horse shit. For once, I find something to really enjoy for myself in life and people think it's okay to just trample on that."

The man sat there like this for a few minutes before pushing himself to stand. Even if he could do nothing about everything he'd complained about, at least he could be there for Shadow. So, he walked off to Shadow's room, laying down beside the hedgehog without hesitation. This stirred Shadow (who hadn't fully drifted off yet) awake and he turned his head to look at Toru. Much of the vacantness had thankfully left his eyes by now, but it was clear he was on the verge of sleep. Toru said nothing, instead wrapping his arm around Shadow gently and pulling the other man close. Shadow also said nothing, choosing instead to just lay his head back down and close his eyes. Before too long, they were both asleep.

~保護者~

Armaris gently plucked at the strings of her guitar, playing a gentle melody from her childhood that she'd learned. It always stuck with her, and the past little bit of time was enough to remind her of how it felt to play an instrument like this again. There were little things here and there that were on her mind, but she let it out into her music. The guitar… something about it seemed to really connect with her on a spiritual level. Down to the innermost workings of her mind. It brought out all that she was feeling and gave her a medium to express herself.

She found herself gently singing, and she wasn't sure when she'd started.

"I see this life, like a swinging vine. Swing my heart across the line…"

Armaris trailed off, frowning gently before picking it back up later in the song.

"I feel your love, and I feel it burn. Down this river, every turn…"

Singing this reminded her of Espio, something she still… didn't feel great about. Sure, speaking with Rusen had helped a lot, but it didn't fix everything. She… still had to eventually face the fact that her body had been used against him.

"I find you, then I lose you. It's like we almost share the room 'til you slip through."

A few tears slipped from her eyes as she played, unable to really convince herself to sing it aloud anymore. She gripped the guitar tightly again and stood. I won't let you slip away from me… not again. She leapt out of the home and let wind explode out from her feet, propelling her in the direction Espio was. I won't lose you.

It took her quite some time to get there, as she could only move so fast out of fear for damaging her instrument (why she had bothered to bring it, she didn't know), but as she approached she realized quickly why he was still here. The village and surrounding forest were on fire, and it was being controlled enough to keep it from spreading. She gritted her teeth and rocketed to where she sensed Espio, landing near him. "What the fuck happened here?"

There was no time to even be surprised by her abrupt appearance. He was too busy coughing as a result of the smoke, anyway. Once he got that mostly under control, he muttered, "The clones set everything alight just before they fled. There isn't enough water nearby to put it out. The river is too far away to be of use."

Armaris held out her guitar to him, a determined look on her face. "Hold this. Get away from the smoke. I'll handle the fires," she demanded easily. If only because he was coughing too badly again already, Espio couldn't reply beyond nodding and taking the guitar. Once he'd caught his breath a little, he shouted a command to some nearby shinobi, ordering them to assist with further evacuations, then did as Armaris had told him and moved away.

The cat didn't hesitate, gathering control of the wind in as wide of an area as she could control to slowly snuff the fires out without suffocating every living being in the area. Careful control and every ounce of her focus was all she could put into it, and for a moment she didn't think it would be enough. Then, she decided that she refused to let that be the end of things and mustered up everything she had to put the major fires out all at once. Once the fires were put out, she took care to collect the smoke and carefully contain as much of it as she could into a large, condensed sphere. Holy shit… I actually… did it.

With the knowledge that the shinobi could surely handle the rest of the much smaller fires for now, Armaris hurried in the direction Espio had left, after depositing the smoke safely away from where any of the chameleons or non-Hollow wildlife would be. "Espio?" she called.

He didn't answer her again, but only because he couldn't. He'd set her guitar down carefully in the grass and was now standing with his hands braced on his knees and his head low, just trying to get enough air in not to pass out. God fucking damn it...

Armaris ran up to him and dropped to her knees, rapidly moving her hands to try and keep a steady supply of clean air coming to him. "Shit, are you okay?" Unable to reply in any other way, Espio just shook his head. He was pretty sure he needed his inhaler… but the only one he'd had in Hyale had been destroyed the last time his house had been. Which meant the closest one was thousands of miles away in Tails's home. Which meant he was fucked. He couldn't safely teleport like this and he knew it. Without any way to contact anyone else, Armaris focused her attention on making sure that whatever Espio was breathing was completely free of smoke. "Fuck… I'm glad I showed up when I did."

Actually, he seconded that notion. He didn't waste what little breath he had left saying that right this minute, though. Instead, he just breathed as much as he could, taking care to make sure his breaths were as deep and slow as he could manage. It took what felt like fucking ages, but with her help he was eventually able to recover enough that he no longer felt lightheaded and dizzy. He was able to sit down without falling, for one that. That was a plus. Now he could probably get away with a bit of talking. "Thank you," he mumbled.

Armaris huffed a little at him. "Don't worry about that. Are you okay?" she asked, gently grabbing one of his hands in hers. "You had me worried."

Hell, he had been worried. Not that he said that aloud. Instead, he responded, "I'll be… fine." He was still a bit breathless, but nothing like it had been minutes before. It was improving steadily at this point, which was a relief.

The cat gave him a soft hug, making sure to avoid squeezing him at all. "I'm glad I'm here with you…" she murmured softly. Espio nodded his agreement, a single tiny cough escaping him shortly thereafter. Armaris pulled away softly and looked at him with a frown. "I know you were trying to help… but that was dangerous. Needlessly dangerous."

"Not needlessly," he argued vehemently. "There were children and families. Those people were not warriors. They needed help." That statement took much of his breath away again and he had to focus on just breathing for a moment after speaking.

"That's not what I meant," Armaris countered softly. "I meant going into the smoke like you did."

"I had to," he told her, shaking his head. "I couldn't just… stand there."

Armaris set her hands on his shoulders. "Just… be more careful. I don't want to lose you anymore than I have." Espio started to reply, but was cut off by several unexpectedly hard coughs. He winced subtly at how sharply those had hurt, but mostly didn't let himself react. She huffed softly at him, deciding to instead sit by the chameleon. "We will sit here until you're feeling better, and I dare you to say otherwise," she said as she picked up her guitar.

Espio didn't argue. Instead, he told her with a touch of renewed breathlessness, "I don't have my inhaler."

"Do you want to sit here for a bit before we go get it?" Armaris questioned softly.

"If I need it," he told her slowly, "it will be sooner… rather than later."

"Once you can stand on your own and not cough up your lungs, you can get it. Until then… sit with me. Okay?"

Trying to make her understand, he answered, "It will help with the coughing and… and not being able to breathe much. And if things escalate… at all I'll need it. I have to have it."

Finally getting what he was saying, she sighed softly and stood. "Where is it?"

All he was really able to get out was one small word. "Tails."

Armaris nodded gently and teleported away to Tails's home. She'd been there a couple times, so getting back there was easy enough. Rather than wait for someone to answer, she slipped into the shadows and investigated the house rapidly before heading into the workshop. Once she realized this was where Tails was, she emerged from the shadows and walked up to him. "Hey, Espio said he needs his inhaler. Told me to come to you."

The fox yelped and whirled around, dropping his screwdriver in the process. It took his brain a second to catch up, but once it did, he spun back around and rushed over to a table. He grabbed the inhaler off of it. He had questions, but rather than ask them he tossed the device to her and just said, "He knows how to use it. Just get it to him as quick as you can."

Armaris frowned a little, catching it and nodding slowly. "Alright, thanks." She wanted to ask why it was so urgent, but ultimately decided against it and teleported back to Espio before handing it over to him. "Here you go." Espio didn't immediately react, still being a bit out of it, but he took the inhaler from her before too long. He made sure to use it right away, almost grimacing in response to the near-immediate relief it afforded him. She sat down beside him and frowned gently. "Why do you need it so much?" she asked, genuinely wanting to understand what was going on.

After a moment or two, Espio felt well enough to talk again. "Did you ever hear about the attacks I suffered when we were children?" he asked in return.

"I remember hearing about them, but I didn't get what it meant," Armaris murmured. "Didn't get a lot of things, really."

Espio shook his head slowly. "They were… severe. Life-threatening, actually. They resulted in unconsciousness, fevers, exhaustion, choking, a near-coma once… among other things. Eventually, I was taken to a modern doctor for treatment. I was prescribed an inhaler to help prevent my attacks from getting that severe every damn time I had them."

Armaris grimaced, unsure of what to think of this information. "That's fucking… awful." Espio only nodded, shifting into a cross-legged position now that he felt well enough to be moving around a bit. He didn't set his inhaler aside just yet, keeping a loose but constant grip on it just in case. She sighed softly. "Sorry I didn't take it extremely seriously at first. I… didn't get how bad it was."

"You could not have been expected to," Espio responded. "It isn't a big deal."

"It's more about me wanting to know what's happening," Armaris said. "I care about you, and your health matters to me."

He thought about that for a few moments before murmuring, "I know."

Armaris pulled at the strings of her guitar for a moment, turning to him with a smile. "Let me know when you're feeling okay to get moving again."

More than ready to leave this area, Espio stood up. "I'm well enough to go home," he said simply.

The cat nodded and stood with him, allowing tendrils of Darkness to sprout from her back and hold her guitar close. "You sure?"

Espio nodded a little. "It will be easier to rest there. Aku is nearly back with the children, anyway. I need to be there." Wasting no further time, he teleported to his home. The use of energy immediately made him a little breathless again, but nowhere near as bad as it had been before. Still, he was careful to take a seat (he opted for one at the table) so as to not keep exerting himself.

Armaris teleported after him, taking a seat beside him. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" she asked.

After taking a moment to regain his breath, Espio nodded. "This will keep happening for a while. So long as I am careful, I will be fine."

She moved a little closer, a frown slowly appearing on her face. "Do you know why this happens?"

Though he thought about it, all Espio could really do was shrug. "An old village healer believed I was born with this issue, since it started when I was so young. The modern doctors I was taken to agreed it was most likely."

Armaris frowned more. "Does that mean it is untreatable?"

"Aside from managing the attacks, no one has ever managed to 'treat' it," Espio told her. "It has always just been something I am forced to live with."

Almost imperceptibly, Armaris winced. One of the Faein just… came to talk to me and couldn't… no, didn't help him…? Why? Why me? "I… wish I could help," the cat said softly.

Espio shook his head. "Do not worry about it. It will be fine." Almost absentmindedly, he teleported his communicator into his hand from his bedroom and began scrolling through his contacts.

She leaned against his shoulder carefully, mulling over several things in her mind. Why would the Faein go out of their way just for her? It doesn't make sense. Espio, meanwhile, sent his mother a message. He knew she wouldn't appreciate not being informed about what had transpired.

Espio:

I don't know why the regeneration isn't fixing it, but I nearly had an attack. It was bad enough to warrant using the inhaler.

It took a moment for Aniko to answer, but she eventually did.

Aniko:

Are you alright? What caused it? Do you know?

Espio:

The village I was defending was set on fire as the clones fled. I breathed in too much smoke.

Aniko:

I assume you are alright, since you are messaging me. How are the ones within the village? Are the fires put out?

Espio:

Armaris put the fires out and got me my inhaler. For now, at least, things are alright. Everyone evacuated safely.

Aniko:

I do not enjoy using this device for communication. Are you home?

Espio:

Yes.

Aniko:

I will be returning in a minute. Expect me.

Espio:

Alright.

The conversation was essentially over, so Espio set his communicator on the table. He could sense that Aku was nearly there, anyway, so it was best to be paying attention. Aniko soon made good on her word and appeared on the doorstep, walking in. She apparently surprised Armaris, considering how the cat jumped when she approached. Aniko walked over, choosing to ignore the startled cat and took a seat across from Espio. "You are alright, yes?" she asked gently.

"For the most part," was the simple answer. "The usual lingering effects have cropped up, but it is nothing serious."

Aniko frowned. "You were leading them against the fires, I assume?" Espio nodded a little. The woman sighed, shaking her head softly. "I understand, but please do be careful. Keep your inhaler close at all times if possible."

Though he let out a little sigh and looked away, Espio didn't argue against her. "I will."

"Outside of that… how were you able to put out the fires?" Aniko asked, attention turned to Armaris.

"...Well, I did it using wind. Suffocated all of the fires and moved the smoke somewhere else," Armaris answered gently.

Aniko's gaze turned back to Espio. "How expansive were the fires?"

"Very," Espio muttered, unhappy. "They engulfed the village and began expanding into the forest."

"I see. You did well, Armaris," Aniko murmured with a soft smile. "I am proud." Her gaze turned back to Espio while Armaris attempted to process the gratitude, apparently a touch surprised. "What are the damages like? Will they manage on their own?"

"The damage is… extensive. But they have ample resources to rebuild. Their village elder survived with nary a scratch on her and intends to oversee everything." Right about then, a thought struck and Espio huffed. "She is not unlike you, Mother. Merely older."

Aniko huffed back at him. "Watch your tongue," she chided, but not without a fair amount of amusement. "I applaud the efforts of both of you."

Any response Espio might have made was cut off by Aku's arrival. He stood up to go get Zei and Sako, returning only once he had them safely in his arms. He sat back down, and Zei immediately smiled and waved at Armaris and Aniko. "Hi. I miss you. I not see you all day."

Armaris smiled and nodded to Zei. "It's good to see you. How are you?"

"I not ti'ed anymore!" the little girl happily proclaimed. "I have a nap on the dragon."

"That's good to hear," Armaris responded, smiling wider.

Aniko had chosen to remain silent, watching as Armaris took on a motherly role of her own before speaking finally. "It is good to see you as well, Zei. I missed you, too."

Zei suddenly wiggled away from Espio and ran over to Aniko, looking up at her with big eyes. "You miss me?" she echoed in apparent disbelief.

"I always miss my family when they are not around," Aniko answered, gently wrapping an arm around Zei. "Your father, brother, and grandfather. Armaris as well."

"Oh. I like that." Zei turned back to Armaris all of a sudden. "You miss me, too? I miss you lots and lots and lots."

Armaris nodded gently. "Of course, dear. You're precious."

The little chameleon beamed at her. "I like you," she suddenly decided aloud. "You much nicer than Mother. You super nice."

Hearing that made Armaris's heart hurt for just a moment, but she could only smile wider in response. "I'm glad that you like me, Zei." In response, Zei beamed at her again, gave her a quick hug, then ran over to Aniko and also gave her a hug. After that, she ran off to one of the bedrooms to go play.

Aniko glanced to Armaris with a raised brow after they both received their hugs, a faint smile on her face. "You are glowing. I have not seen you this… happy in some time."

Armaris shrugged. "Finally got some stuff off my chest. This just made it better." Espio glanced at her as well, but chose to stay out of the matter for now. He was a little distracted by Sako playing with his fingers, anyway.

Aniko sighed softly and stood, relieved beyond words that these two were alright. The matter of Armaris's transformation could wait another day, as she saw it. Ruining a good mood during a war like this was something she couldn't bear… not with her own family. "I will be leaving. I have something I must tend to. You two be safe and relax."

Once more, rather than argue, Espio said a smile, "Yes, Mother." Then he lifted Sako a little so the baby could see her, earning her a parting smile from said baby.

The female chameleon's smile softened further and she waved a gentle farewell to Sako, before inclining her head to Armaris and Espio as she took her leave. Armaris, after a short few seconds of silence, turned to Espio and asked, "Is it obvious how much better I'm feeling?"

Despite initially shrugging, Espio answered, "I am not the best at reading people's emotions, yet even I can tell. I suppose that might say something."

Armaris smiled and nodded, removing her guitar from the tendrils on her back. "Guess that's good. Not sulking about on the fringe of killing someone anymore."

"That is preferable," he agreed.

Absent-mindedly, Armaris began plucking at the strings of her guitar again, humming softly. It didn't take long for her to begin singing, just as she had been earlier.

"If I lay here, if I just lay here… Would you lie with me and just forget the world?"

Without realizing it, the cat turned her attention to Espio, almost as if she was looking for an answer. Noticing her gaze, Espio blinked once, then inclined his head just a little. She smiled gently and leaned up against him, strumming at her guitar and humming away happily. All felt right in her world, just this once.

~保護者~

Despite the fact that the battle had ended around two hours ago now, Shei couldn't shake how agitated he still felt. He was antsy, itching for a more fulfilling fight, and he couldn't discern the reason behind it all. In an effort to calm himself, he'd gone up to the roof of his and Aniko's home to take in the fresh air and enjoy the cool breeze. It only helped so much. His abnormally negative emotions remained. Aniko sat some few feet from him, not wanting to breach the subject, but also not wanting it to linger. She'd lost control of her own emotions during the fight, so discussing his at this moment almost felt hypocritical. Still… that didn't remove the concern she held for her partner.

"Are you alright?" she questioned gently, a frown on her face.

After a lengthy pause, Shei signed, "I don't know." Another pause. Then he signed again. "I don't think so."

"Tell me how you feel," Aniko prompted gently, motioning with her hand for him to continue. "Maybe we can work it out together."

"Restless?" was the immediate reply. "Agitated. I want to fight more, but I don't know why. I've never itched for combat like most chameleons do. It isn't normal."

Aniko frowned, unsure of what to think. "Anything else?"

"That energy has been dormant since that first incident," Shei carefully explained, now wearing a deep frown. "It is not anymore."

"Is that all?" she questioned further, wanting to see if she could get all of the information at once.

This time, all he did was repeat, "I don't know."

"Are your poisons controlled?" she asked cautiously.

"At least for the moment, yes," Shei assured. "Whatever fresh hell they unleashed upon the ground and that tree is not at risk of being repeated currently."

Aniko moved closer, sitting beside him. "I don't know how to help you," she admitted openly. "I want to, but I don't know what to do."

"I have no idea, either," Shei told her frankly. "I know nothing about any of this. If I once did, those memories are long gone."

"...Should we attempt to speak to Rose? She may know of someone who knows more," Aniko said quietly. "I do not wish to go to outside help, but it may be necessary."

"I do not think she does, based on what happened before," Shei answered.

"What should we do?" Aniko asked softly. "Do you have any ideas?"

"None." Another wave of agitation hit for a moment, and he took a moment to just silently breathe until the emotion largely passed.

Aniko sighed softly. "What is becoming of us? It feels as if every step we take forward is met with three more back."

Hearing this, Shei gave her a look. "Aside from you, yes. You have been largely alright thus far."

"Did you sense what happened during the fight?" she questioned.

Shei shook his head and admitted, "No. I was being swarmed. I could hardly focus on anything aside from what I was doing."

Aniko's demeanor grew darker. "I… shifted into an evil state."

Immediately, Shei was frowning deeply. "Aniko," he started, "that is not like you. You have far too much control for that to simply happen for no reason."

"I know, that's what bothers me. Lately it has been bubbling to the surface and appearing more than I like. That fight… seemed to be enough to let it out," she murmured.

He didn't like that. He didn't like that one bit. "Something is not right. This must be looked into, Aniko. It cannot be put off."

"As should your situation," Aniko pointed out. "Don't ignore what's going on with you."

"Mine is not out of hand," Shei answered. "By the sounds of it, yours nearly was."

"We should pursue both," Aniko countered. "They are both important."

Rather than continue to argue, he said, "I do not see a reasonable means of finding solutions to either problem."

Aniko shrugged. "We must try. Ignoring them is the same as simply letting it happen."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Shei asked her, fresh aggravation moving through him. This time, he didn't catch it immediately. It lingered in his expression for a few seconds before he calmed himself again.

"I don't know," she answered, pushing herself to stand. "We must find answers, as best we can." Shei didn't answer this time, choosing to merely watch her for the moment. Aniko extended a hand to him. "Come. I wish to look with you." Careful not to use the hand with the slit glove, Shei took hold of her hand and stood up. Gently, Aniko led him away to the first person she could think of that might be able to help.

Her father.

~保護者~

It was a while after Toru's departure from Hyale that Kaden spoke again. He didn't address the discussion they had had, nor the threats that had been issued. Instead, he focused on another matter entirely. "Zareil. Your newest pet has been captured. Have you been paying attention?"

"I noticed too late," Zareil muttered. "Too focused on other matters to do anything about it before it was over with. Can't exactly go attacking and corrupting people right now. Decided to leave it be."

It was a legitimate decision. Kaden agreed with it. And now that he was certain she'd been keeping an eye on things herself, he let the matter drop. "Corrupting people is unnecessary at this time. But there is one I am interested in still. I assume you sensed it during the fight earlier, just as I did. The chains I loosened are weakening further."

"It was impossible to not notice. His partner was in a fairly similar situation, but hers more so due to the magic effects placed on them," the demoness answered. "He is strong."

Kaden nodded slowly. "You were interested in swaying those two to our side. I cannot claim to believe it will work on the woman, but if he continues to awaken his powers and all that goes along with it…" He trailed off. The rest didn't need to be directly spelled out.

"Swaying him was obvious," Zareil muttered. "What about Toru? His power has only seemed to exponentially grow, but I suspect that it's because he was hiding it."

"That is likely the case. But, as enticing as his power is, do you truly believe he could ever be swayed?" Kaden closed his eyes, leaning back against the barrier with crossed arms. "I do not, and have never, believed it to be possible. He has too much control over his Darkness and its ability to feed off of other Darkness. Any efforts at corruption may well be undone before it has time to take root. Even ignoring that, he does not have the wicked streak one needs to be simply convinced to join our side."

"We cannot allow him to go as he is. If he finds ways to grow further, he may well pose as much of a threat as Espio will," Zareil sighed, tapping her foot on the ground.

With a vague hn sound, Kaden acknowledged her concern. He was quiet for a time before saying, "So long as I remain in here, he cannot be dealt with. I will not risk your life by sending you after an enemy that is currently posing no threat."

"...He will kill me," Zareil revealed slowly. "I cannot fight him."

"I am aware. Which is why you are not to go after him in any fashion. Stay away from him until such time that I am able to leave this damn trap." Kaden opened his eyes again and glanced at her. "Rather than remain idle, you need to find something productive to do. It does not sit well with me that neither of us are accomplishing anything."

Zareil muttered something under her breath. "We cannot attack them currently, and corruption is not possible anymore. Rose is returning to normal, and she will respond to hearing of actions such as those."

"I am aware," was the simple response.

"What can I do? They will likely interfere… considering that they are now free to do so and Jet has…" she trailed off, growling. "The chances of doing anything truly productive and succeeding are slim."

"Observation can be carried out, provided you stay the hell away from him," Kaden countered. "Our targets can be monitored through what we can sense, but that is not the same as directly seeing what they are doing."

Zareil shifted. "Who do you want me to observe? Steam will be highly secretive, and there is no way my presence will go unnoticed around Toru or Rose."

Kaden waved a dismissive hand. "There is little reason to observe those two at this time. And I will keep my own eye on Steam as much as possible. For now, pay attention to what goes on with Shei. You may have lost your first interest, but he remains and is infinitely more volatile."

"And more valuable," Zareil added. "Though… going after him later will inevitably draw Espio and Toru."

"Observation is less dangerous by far," Kaden pointed out easily. "Going after him now is foolish, no matter how one looks at it."

"Of course, hence my mentioning of later," Zareil answered.

"Do not focus too much on the future," was all Kaden said. "It can cause one to lose sight of what is immediately important, in some cases." Adjusting his position a bit in order to get more comfortable, he added, "Aside from watching him, do what you will. You are not permitted to fight any of them as of now unless you are forced to. Beyond that, I do not care what you choose to do."

Zareil huffed at what he said initially, but didn't comment. "I was not planning to fight."

"I was merely reiterating. You have been known to seek out and operate through loopholes in the past."

She glanced to him with a frown. "I'm attempting to act more rationally now."

This earned a faint and fleeting smirk of amusement. "I am aware."

"You're also changing," another demon murmured, materializing beside Zareil. "Your entire mindset. You are not looking after your own interests."

"The fuck are you insinuating?" Zareil growled, gripping her spear. His amusement gone, Kaden turned his head to look on in silence.

The demon leaned in close, frowning at Zareil. "You're not yourself since our God was captured. Suddenly you seem to be trying to protect some of these vile-"

Zareil's spear blasted the demon's skull open, destroying it's body all at once. "Ridiculous." Making no comment, Kaden merely looked away again and resumed thinking about other matters. She glanced away from Kaden, sighing. "What about your children and Sonic's child?"

"What of them?" Kaden asked in return, a touch dismissive in his tone.

"Ignore them for now?" she questioned lightly.

"Yes," was the simple response.

Zareil muttered something under her breath and nodded. "Good. They get on my nerves anyway."

"As you have mentioned before," Kaden acknowledged. But her words brought back a sudden memory and he frowned. "The girls are in the citadel, correct?"

"They have been moved," she murmured. "I keep their location shifting so as to keep them safe. They have been on my mind lately."

That was good. Still, Kaden was now tense. "Any foolish usurpers will be pursuing them," he said. "They will not stop until the girls are found. If Takei is among them, then simply moving them will not be enough. She is too skilled in the hunt to simply fail at locating her prey." The demon in question was one of the generals just below Zareil in terms of raw power. She obeyed because she was forced to, but with him trapped and unable to enforce his rule over individuals like her… there was no telling what might be done.

"That is part of why I have been keeping them moving. I have no plans that can assure we will be able to deal with that, considering she is close to my level. Do you have any ideas?" Zareil asked.

"Take them off the world entirely," Kaden muttered. This was something that had never been done intentionally before. The girls were too young to be away from home much, for their own safety. But this was different. "They will be safest outside of the realm entirely, for that matter. Few will think to look beyond it, at least for now."

"Where should we keep them?" Zareil dared to ask. "Keeping them here would be too obvious, if you ask me."

"And dangerous," Kaden agreed. He thought over the matter carefully before saying, "I assume you have heard of the Syxans. Their homeworld remains abandoned, and as dark as ever. Demons can survive there comfortably, but others cannot. That eliminates the risk of outside threats. Takei and any others pursuing the triplets will have no reason to think of looking there."

Zareil nodded slowly. "I will arrange it as soon as possible."

"Good," was all Kaden said before closing his eyes once again. Zareil twirled her spear for a moment before teleporting away, intending to make good on her words.

~保護者~

Cyril appeared through a portal, landing on the floor as his metal card flew into the air. He caught it and quickly moved to check on Eila (who was currently laying on the floor, unconscious), only to be blocked gently by Rose. "Leave her be. She was forced to take quite a hit," the cat murmured softly.

The finch backed down with a nod, but his eyes lingered on Eila's form with visible pain. Seeing her like this hurt him down to his soul. "Alright…" He turned his gaze to Analia, temporarily forgetting his emotions to introduce himself. "Sorry for the intrusion. My name is Cyril. I came to see Eila."

The older woman was seated on the edge of the bed, looking rather worse for wear from having been up and around too much. She was clearly a touch pale under all that blue fur, but she managed a soft smile regardless. "I am aware, young one. Please, you are welcome. It is alright."

Cyril wanted to question how she was doing, but decided it might be for the best to leave it be. "It's nice to meet you, though I wish it could have been in less… upsetting circumstances."

"I understand," Analia murmured. She gestured to Rose and Eila. "I presume you are close with them, yes?"

"More close with Eila," Cyril answered, chuckling sheepishly.

"They are dating," Rose revealed gently, a faint smile on her face.

"I see. If that is the case, you are more than welcome to stay." Analia shifted back a bit to get further on the bed, wincing and tightening her grip on her side as she did so. But still she wore a smile. "Our hope is that she will wake soon. It may be good for her to see you here."

Cyril smiled, wincing at the sight of Analia's own wince. "I hope it will. Speaking of… do you guys know how she's doing?" It was now that he noticed Rose was missing her signature dress, wearing some basic clothes instead. His eyes widened visibly at the sight of her muscular structure, something he never would have imagined seeing on someone as genuinely calm as her.

"She is alright. I had to knock her out, but I have since healed her. It remains to be seen how she will be doing mentally," Rose explained softly. "That is my main concern." Analia nodded a little in agreement.

The finch rubbed the back of his head. "Eesh… Well… I'm sure it'll be okay. Surrounded by some of the people she trusts most, yeah? Surely that'll be good for her."

"That is my hope," Analia agreed.

Rose nodded gently before turning her gaze to Cyril, a far more serious expression on her face. "Something happened to you as well, I assume. You would have arrived sooner."

Cyril's gaze grew downcast. "Yeah… it's… hard to talk about. I don't know what to make of it anymore." For the moment, Analia stayed quiet, letting the two of them talk however much they needed or wanted to.

As he began talking, Eila began to slowly push herself up as she awoke. She was vaguely aware of the conversation going on, but her senses were fuzzy at best. The intense screaming from within her mind blocked out anything and made it all impossible to focus on, even as they turned their gaze and spoke to her directly.

"You fucking whore. You've gone and done it now, thinking you have the right to control this body," Petry screamed.

Eila gripped her head and clutched it tight. Rose's presence wasn't enough to stop the massive headache forming from Petry violently trying to force her out of control. She could practically see it, a woman that looked similar to her trying to throw her around and yelling in her face.

"Give me back what is mine!" Petry demanded, forcing her way to be partially in control of Eila's body. She turned to Rose and waved her hand, dark purple magic flying out only for it to be stopped by Cyril. Petry flung Eila's body against the wall, causing her to scream in pain as she fought desperately for control.

"This is my body!" Eila yelled, throwing herself to her feet and pushing both Cyril and Rose away with surprising force as she backed herself into a corner. "You can't have it!"

Rose tried to help, only to be shoved back by a pulse of magic. The look on Eila's face… part of it reminded her of Petry. It only took a moment for her to realize that it was Petry, but that moment was enough for a spell to be unleashed. The room was coated in dark purple, but Cyril once more dispelled it with his own powerful wave of magic. He then suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Eila, pulling her into a tight hug and holding her close. "Whatever is happening, don't let them control you. You're your own person," he murmured softly.

The violent thrashing slowly came to an end and Eila went limp in the finch's arms, slipping into a semi-conscious state. Rose turned her attention to Analia worriedly. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.

"I am fine," Analia assured softly, her unwavering gaze locked on Eila's face. None of the magic that had been unleashed appeared to have bothered her in the slightest.

Rose turned her attention back to Eila as well. "This must have been the disorder Tails and Wery mentioned…"

This sharpened Analia's usually gentle gaze and she immediately looked at Rose. "Explain," she murmured. Then belatedly she added, "Please. It would help me to know."

"DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder," Rose murmured, gently helping Cyril to carry Eila's body over to where Rose had been sleeping on the floor so she'd have a bit more comfort. "From what I know… it is caused by severe trauma in somene's life, usually early on. Characterized by alters, essentially fragmented pieces of the personality as some see it, that can take the place of the host when certain criteria is met. Though… it is known to be extremely complex."

"I am aware of the disorder," Analia remarked slowly. "My hus-... ...My… former husband had his own history with the beginnings of it once in the past. Though, I did not see much of it. It was largely dealt with by the time I met him."

Rose turned to Analia, eyes desperate and pained. "Do you know what we can do to help her?"

"No. Not… entirely. I am unfamiliar with more modern and effective treatments. It is not a disorder I have much experience with." Analia closed her own eyes, trying to think. "Short of a miracle… I am not sure what can be done for such a severe case."

Rose didn't like that answer, and it pained her. However… something came to mind. "Are you able to help calm someone's emotions normally?"

Analia answered with a small nod. "It can take great effort when the emotions I am easing are this volatile, but… yes. It can be done. If you would not object to the effort being made, I will do so."

"I… give me just a moment," Rose murmured, teleporting away.

Cyril blinked a few times, looking around. "...What's happening?" he asked softly. Analia could only shrug. The movement caused a slight twinge of pain (mostly just another dull ache) that she easily ignored.

Soon enough, Rose returned with a crystal in hand. She walked up to Analia and held it out to the other woman. "This… is a crystal with Eona's Light. I want to gift this to you for all of your help with not only me, but my sister as well."

Analia stared at the crystal for several seconds in silence before whispering with something akin to awe, "How do you… How do you have this?"

"Steam requested them some time ago. He expected something to happen, and he used them once to rescue Shadow. We had more, but they were used." I used one selfishly… Had I not done so, I could have gifted her two. Rose gently set it in Analia's hand. "I thank you for everything. This… it is yours."

Though she initially closed her hand around it, Analia soon shook her head. "This is a wondrous gesture, Rose. Truly, it is. But I cannot accept this. You and your allies may need this."

Rose's hands clasped around Analia's. "It is for you," she murmured. "Steam agreed wholy-heartedly with me gifting this to you. Take it, please."

Ignoring for now the fact that she had no idea who "Steam" was, Analia sighed and gently closed her hand around the crystal again. "If you are certain… then I will. Thank you, Rose."

The cat nodded gently in response before murmuring. "You showed me the Light in my life once more. I merely wished to pay it back."

"It was the very least I could do for you," Analia murmured back. "I only wish I could do more for you. For both of you."

"You have done more than I could ever ask for," Rose answered.

"Hey, I really hate to interrupt, but can you help me, Rose? Kinda stuck under her," Cyril revealed, chuckling nervously. "Somehow she ended up laying on me."

Rose smiled gently and nodded, kneeling down and collecting her sister long enough for Cyril to be freed before setting Eila down once more. "I am sure she will be okay… I will find a way." Analia nodded her agreement, choosing to say nothing as a result of finding herself occupied with her thoughts.

Cyril nodded as well, a faint smile on his face. "I'll make sure of it."

~保護者~

15,090 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. The three songs whose lyrics he borrowed for Armaris's singing are "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic, "Hold On to Me" by Hidden Citizens, and "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 5:45 p.m.) 01-21-21.