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".)

154. Father and Son

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in these conversations… especially for the one who has plans.

~保護者~

"Father and Son"

~保護者~

Jet awoke properly in his room. Aside from the Void's constant presence, he was alone for the moment. Though, he knew now he wasn't alone in the building. Sein was there. Except… Wait. His father wasn't the only one who was there, and that fact had him throwing the blankets off and rushing out of the room. He had to go look, to go see this with his own eyes in order to believe it was real. With speed and stealth, he opened one door and looked in. Then a second. Then a third.

Alive.

Safe.

Resting.

In shock, he found himself wandering back into his room. "How long?" he demanded quietly, voice raw. "How long have they been here?"

"Since shortly after you succumbed to your need for sleep." The Void slipped behind him long enough to move to his other side. "They have been asleep also."

Sitting down on the edge of his bed, Jet closed his eyes and made himself draw in some deep breaths. Shock subsided, giving way to intense relief and tentative happiness. They're alive… This is… Words failed to describe how good this was. He didn't bother trying to remedy that. This really was good, after all. That was all that mattered.

Sein's footfalls were obvious as he approached Jet, but quiet enough to not disturb anyone else. "So you noticed, eh? It's good to see them around." Jet only nodded, still working on calming himself down fully. After all the emotional turmoil he'd struggled with in his head earlier, he so did not need to get worked up again. The older man set a hand on his son's shoulders, a smile on his face. "They seem like really good kids. You definitely raised them all well, and I'm proud of you for it," he added.

Unsure what to make of the praise, Jet did his best to brush it off and distract from it. "You spoke to them?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, told 'em I'd make food when they got up. They're all pretty adorable, too. How'd you manage that?" Sein asked, a bright grin on his face.

I would not call adults adorable. But that matter aside, Jet found himself gradually relaxing. "Suri may take over from you, given half the chance. She enjoys cooking greatly."

Sein rubbed the back of his head a little. "Is that so? She get it from you or me?"

"I don't know. She just decided one day that she liked it." Jet suddenly teleported his communicator into his hand, tapped at the screen a few times, and then set about scrolling. A moment later, he handed it to Sein. "That was her first time attempting it. She was eight." In the photo, she was standing on a stool by a counter, busily stirring something in a big bowl.

The older man's grin was undeniable. "Absolutely adorable."

Jet reached over long enough to find and pull up a new photo. In this one, Suri and Ten were standing together in the kitchen covered in batter and grinning like they'd just won the day. "That was two weeks later. I never did get a straight answer out of them as to how this happened."

"As long as nobody was hurt, I don't think there's a single issue," Sein said with a chuckle.

"The issue was the mess," Jet huffed. "There was batter in places that should not have been possible."

"They're kids, stuff like that happens," Sein shrugged.

"I am aware," Jet responded. He gently tugged the communicator out of his father's hands. "I have had many throughout the years." He paused, considered the implications, then amended, "Adopted. Only three were biologically mine."

"I was adopted," Sein pointed out. "Them being adopted doesn't make them any less your child than having them be related by blood."

"I understand that," Jet responded. "I was merely correcting an unintentional implication. Nothing more." He pulled up a new photo and handed it over to Sein to see. "That is Cadora. He is the most recent child to come into my care, though adoption is not something he wants as of now. He is someplace safe for now, but normally lives and studies here."

Sein blinked once at this. "Wow," he said. "You still make sure to take care of him and all, though, right?"

"Yes. But lately… it has not been safe to see him. He asks me to, but our enemies watch my every move. I will not lead them right to him." He opened a palm and conjured up an image of a planet with his aura floating just above his hand. "For now, he is here. There is a Mother Tree there, keeping him and the planet safe. So long as no enemy is led there, they cannot simply find it. The world is cloaked by her magic."

"Makes sense," Sein said. "I'm glad to hear you're doing what you can to keep him safe, though." Jet murmured a vague agreement and took his communicator back again. Sein took a moment to stretch before asking, "Where's the Void? It's being awfully quiet, despite not liking me."

Jet pointed to a seemingly empty space to his free side. "Right there. It's just listening, for once."

Sein blinked once. "Odd."

"It's a more curious sort than it prefers to let on," Jet shrugged. "It is still young, existentially speaking. Young beings tend to enjoy learning."

The older man shrugged as well. "Fair enough. Can't argue with that logic." As if on cue, the Void manifested enough to appear as a sort of out-of-focus shadow. It did so just long enough to almost idly (albeit with force) push Sein to the side. Jet mostly blocked the action, however, and the Void promptly vanished again. Sein didn't allow himself to be moved, however, crossing his arms a little and raising an eyebrow.

"Youth also comes with immaturity, clearly," Jet muttered, tossing a pointed glare at his unseen companion. Whatever response he got was nonverbal in nature and went utterly ignored.

Sein shrugged. "It's all good. The Void is helping, despite it not being the same way I want to help. For now, that's alright."

Hardly. Jet let the subject drop in spite of his thought, merely offering a shrug for the second time.

"So, you hungry at all?" Sein asked.

Jet was about to decline, but Sonic's stern harping at him about not eating filled his head suddenly. "...No, but I should eat," he gave in with a sigh.

Sein smiled a little. "Well, what would you like? I've got some commitments to the kids, but you've always got your own input that I'll keep in mind."

"They are no longer kids," Jet murmured, standing up. He headed for the door. "I will find something. I can make it on my own."

"Hold up," Sein said, teleporting in front of the door. "I'll cook it."

This earned him a huff. "I'm perfectly capable of handling my own food."

"As am I, and as your father, I whole-heartedly demand that you allow me to cook it for you," Sein said, huffing with crossed arms.

The younger Babylonian fixed him with a long, unreadable look. But, eventually, he rolled his eyes and backed down. "Fine. If you're going to be that insistent."

Sein grinned at this. "Good. Now, what do you want me to cook for you?"

"You need to at least let me look through the kitchen," Jet grumbled. "I haven't cooked here in months. I don't know what is still good."

The older hawk shrugged. "Alright, fair enough." Jet made his way into the hall, down the stairs, and into the castle's small kitchen. The reason for the size was readily apparent. Only two people regularly stayed here, after all. He began rummaging through cupboards for something half-decent to eat. Sein followed without hesitation, a smile on his face.

Jet suddenly pulled out a very specific set of ingredients. "I want Mariyoki," he told Sein. "It's past your time, so let me help." He stood and laid things out. "It's a sort of cookie. My friend Selene introduced me to them during the war and often teased me for liking them so much."

Sein raised an eyebrow. "Selene?" He asked in a vaguely teasing tone.

"A friend," Jet repeated with a huff, though he wasn't actually annoyed. "Do not take it the wrong way."

The older hawk grinned a little, but otherwise didn't press it. "Alright, as long as you don't try to steal my thunder with the cookies."

"I make no promises," Jet intoned. Then, dropping the falsely neutral tone, he gestured for Sein to walk over. "Come here. I'll show you how to make them."

It didn't take much more than that to convince Sein, and he walked up to Jet. "Good to hear." With that said, father and son set about cooking together for only the second time ever. That Jet took pleasure in the moment... Well, that was something that didn't need to be said. It was just truth.

~保護者~

It had been many eons since Black Doom had last set foot on a planet. Much less this one in particular. Mobius wasn't a place he would have given a damn about, if not for two things. One, Shadow. Two, Shadow's children. They were his blood. That was significant. It mattered. More than he expected members of any other race to understand.

So-called "Dark Invisibility" allowed beings of Darkness to render themselves invisible in the shadows. He used that skill to his advantage to hide his presence within the trees surrounding a recent battlefield. His eyes scanned the area closely. What he saw lent credit to some rumors that had made their way to him. Purification appears to be likely. Had the god escaped, he would have fought back. There would be far more destruction.

This information satisfied him. With the God of Demons purified, there was one less substantial threat to his spawn. He teleported away, following the energy of his spawn straight to his location. However, he stopped just outside of the strange… home, he supposed? It was unlike any structure he had ever laid eyes on before, but that wasn't what held his attention. That man is present.

Simply going in might incite conflict. He wouldn't have cared, if not for the fact Shadow cared. That gave him pause, forced him to consider a better way to proceed. With luck, or misfortune, Toru teleported outside with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. "So, you're here, eh?"

The alien turned to face him with a scowl. "As I said I would be," was the only acknowledgement he gave.

Toru clicked his tongue, glancing around. "I'm going to give one warning, and only one. Don't do something stupid, alright?"

That earned him a silent glare and nothing more at first, then Black Doom crossed his arms. "This is no den," he finally said. "Why does my spawn reside here?"

"It's where he chose to live," Toru pointed out. "There a problem with that?"

Black Doom leveled Toru with a decidedly unamused scowl. "If there was, I would have said so." With that said, he floated silently toward the home.

"Fair enough, I suppose," Toru responded, following beside Black Doom.

The much more ancient man stopped just shy of the door. "He will have defenses up. That is how he is." He glanced moodily at Toru. "I assume you are aware of how to handle them. I do not claim to have such knowledge myself."

Toru rapidly rapped on the door with his knuckles. "Yo, Shadow! We got a visitor and for once I don't want his head blown off his shoulders yet!"

The door unlocked with a click and opened on its own. Shadow walked down the hall toward Toru a second later. "Bastard," he cursed with a frown. "You are needlessly loud."

The chameleon smiled and knocked on the door once more. "That was the point."

Shadow started to say something, but stopped short when he saw Black Doom. What ensued was a surprisingly quiet yet animated argument in the harsh, dark Black Arms language then ended with Shadow spinning around on his heel and stalking off a few feet away to take a seat in a nearby chair. "Fine," he conceded with a soft growl as he did this. "You can stay. Or leave. I don't care."

"I do not appreciate lies," Black Doom muttered back just as moodily. But he didn't press the matter further.

"Oi, both of you," Toru said, crossing his arms. "You can't go speak in another language and not tell me what's going on."

"Nothing," Shadow muttered unhappily. "It's settled."

"So," Toru said as he turned to Black Doom. "Mind explaining specifically why you came?"

"It was asked of me," Black Doom reminded with a sort of glare.

"Oh yeah, that's my bad. Kinda forgot," Toru laughed.

Myriu chose this time to show up at the doorway, frowning at Black Doom. "The hell are you?"

The alien regarded her silently for a long moment before finally stating in a perfectly neutral and strangely non-hostile tone, "Shadow's father."

"You're weird," Myriu huffed.

Toru shrugged. "Agreeable, but we're not talking about that. Black Doom, is there anything you want to say to Shadow before I potentially ask him to shoot you?"

"Not happening," Shadow cut in, tossing Toru a mild glare. "Old conflicts aside, I have no reason to do so."

Black Doom shook his head at one or both of them, but never gave any indication which one. "I was made aware of the spawn," he said. He paused, then carefully (as though the word was unfamiliar, which it likely was) corrected, "...Baby. I said I would offer help where possible." Shadow's ears perked upon hearing this and he immediately started thinking it over.

Myriu looked like she was about to comment, so Toru covered her mouth and spoke while she tried to wrest his hand off her. "The biggest thing right now is a problem I'm sure you're aware of. If they come for Shadow, I won't let them take him."

"It will not happen," Black Doom rumbled, voice nearly a growl. "I am fully aware of the rotund man's return. He will not come near my spawn again."

Myriu finally threw Toru's hand off her face and huffed. "That's not the one I'd be worried about. The more concerning thing is whoever comes here."

"Irrelevant," Black Doom said. "None who attempt to come here will succeed. The hive will not allow it."

"That's what you think," Myriu commented with an annoyed huff. "Do you even know who this war is against?"

"I do. And I know she will be prevented from continuing her targeting of my spawn. Higher beings have ensured it. Whatever they fail to stop will be handled by others."

Toru sighed. "Sounds like you know about Rusen and whoever else, then?"

"I have known of them for millions upon millions of years," Black Doom explained. "I have had my encounters with them, though the names they used in such ancient times were different."

Myriu frowned a little. "Eh? You're not talking about the Immortals, are you?"

"Their forefathers," Black Doom answered simply.

"The Faein," Shadow suddenly said, breaking his previous silence. "They feature lightly in your people's old legends, if you ever read them."

Myriu shrugged. "Mom never let me around much. Didn't see a lot of things I should have, saw a lot I shouldn't have." Shadow immediately looked at Toru, unsure what would be safe to say here.

Toru shrugged a little before ultimately just moving on. There was so much to help Myriu with. "Regardless, Black Doom. Are you planning on just… hanging around Mobius?"

"Temporarily," Black Doom said. "This planet is unsuitable for pure-bloods of our kind to reside here for too long. We require darkness and blood. That is not feasible on a world such as this."

"I mean, I dunno if you realize it, but there's plenty of people on this world," Myriu commented idly.

"He is aware. He is also aware of the fact that I will not allow it." Shadow scowled vaguely at his father, as if challenging him to argue. But that didn't happen. "No one is allowed to go on murder-sprees on this world, Myriu. Especially not on the scale that would be necessary to keep the hive's population going."

"Why not?" the girl asked.

This is not a conversation I want to have with a child I barely know, Shadow immediately decided. He just waved to Toru to prompt him into speaking instead.

Toru sighed. "We don't just allow people to go kill en-masse, especially not people we don't know. Besides, it's not like there's a good reason to kill them."

Well, that probably wasn't the best answer. But it would have to do for now. Shadow focused his thoughts on mentally typing out a message and then discreetly sending it to Toru rather than adding anything to this subject of discussion. "It would be best if she were to entertain herself elsewhere. He will not hurt her, but his mannerisms may unintentionally leave an impression. That does not seem desirable."

Toru blinked once when he received the message. "Oi, Myriu, can you head back to your room?"

"Oh, so you can have some weird session of whatever you wanna get involved in with that thing?" Myriu asked as she turned and headed back down the hall, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, sure."

The moment she was out of ear-shot, Shadow sighed heavily between his teeth. "Whatever she was implying, I do not appreciate it."

Toru shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I've got to talk to her a lot and catch her back up from where she's fallen behind."

"Indeed." With that said, Shadow waved a hand at Black Doom. "You have things to say. Say them."

Black Doom regarded him silently for a long moment before doing just that. "I was told this is recent, but you are at an advanced stage. Explain this."

"It is recent. Time-fuckery made it technically not. I'm not going into details."

"I do not care for details. You explained enough."

Toru sighed. "Yeah, and I wasn't around at that particular time. It's a weird situation."

The alien made a vague sound of understanding or something similar before continuing. "Tell me what you know of what is to come. In full."

Shadow gave him a sort of scowl, but conceded. "I know nothing," he admitted. "I knew nothing prior to the time-jump, either."

"Expect nausea, enhanced fatigue, and pain," Black Doom abruptly warned. "Deep aches. If the pain is sharp, cease activity immediately unless your intention is to miscarry." Shadow muttered something under his breath but nodded.

Toru blinked. Is that even possible with what Rusen was supposed to have done?

Having no way of knowing that bit of information, Black Doom continued. "The only other major concern for the moment will be bleeding. Your Black Arms blood, specifically. It is caustic. I trust he did not remove that memory from you as well."

"He did not," Shadow confirmed sullenly.

The chameleon nodded. "Yeah. Not cool."

"Is there a way to handle the bleeding?" Shadow reluctantly asked.

"No. However, it is not a truly common symptom. There is a chance you may not experience it at all."

"You could have mentioned that to begin with."

"I could have."

"Rat fucking bastard."

"Absolute devil-spawn."

Despite these overly harsh words, something in the air between the two seemed to slowly relax. Shadow huffed and turned his head away, arms crossing. "Fucker," he mumbled, but no longer with any heat.

"So, anything else to be concerned about?" Toru asked.

"The child should be protecting itself by now," Black Doom stated simply. "The barrier will not be in any way apparent unless some form of harm attempts to come to it. This does mean that it is also protected against you as well, Shadow."

Given the nature of his and Toru's last conversation, Shadow straightened, ears perked up to listen intently. "You are certain?"

"Yes. Such defensive behaviors are necessary, as some individuals will attempt to end their spawn prior to their birth." Black Doom crossed his arms, almost idly like Shadow often did. "This will defend it from any manner of illness or the like you may suffer as well."

"That's… pretty good to hear," Toru said. "Honestly."

Black Doom was quiet for a short time while Shadow thought things over. Then, eventually, he said, "The rotund man from the past has returned again, Shadow. I assume you are aware." Shadow looked at him and reluctantly nodded. "Has he dared harm you?" Whether or not Toru had already told him was irrelevant. He needed to hear this from Shadow, specifically.

After a long pause, Shadow carefully replied, "...He… did. But I do not want you to go after him. Not now, and not alone."

"He does not deserve mercy," was the swift reply.

Shadow's ears went back slightly in a show of building irritation. Maybe outright anger. "It is not mercy. It is your life at stake, not his."

"I do not care about that," Black Doom muttered. "I care about ending him."

"And I care about you not dying over something stupid," Shadow responded with unusual harshness. "Stay away from there. Swear it." Silence. The pair glared at one another for several heated seconds. Then Black Doom made a sort of growling noise and broke eye-contact. It was the only concession he would give. Satisfied with that answer, Shadow turned his full attention to Toru. "That goes for you as well. I will not forgive you if you go there needlessly."

Toru rolled his eyes a little and sighed. "Fine, fine. I won't go after him yet."

Once more, Shadow was satisfied with that. As such, he dropped the matter. This allowed Black Doom to speak again. "When did you last feed?" When he got no reply, he looked at his son with a frown. "I do not approve of your silence here. I expect an answer."

Though he glared, Shadow acquiesced and admitted, "I don't know."

Black Doom actually tsked at him. "Subconscious though it may be, you do this to yourself," he suddenly said. "You punish yourself by not allowing your body to rest or to eat. That is not acceptable."

Crimson eyes narrowed. "I do not-"

"I am not finished," Black Doom interrupted with an odd note of parental sternness. For some reason, Shadow actually stopped arguing long enough to listen. "You have sp-... children to consider. They are your blood, Shadow, and that makes them important. They rely on you. How are you meant to care for any of them in a state of ill-health? The unborn one may be able to defend itself from most things, but it still requires sustenance from you as well. Does that not matter to you?"

More glaring answered him. "Fuck off," Shadow growled lowly. But the anger in his tone was a clear enough admission.

Toru frowned a little. "I'm willing to help with that in any regard, honestly." Shadow didn't say anything this time, but to some extent he relaxed a little. He'd accepted Toru's words straight away.

Dark eyes glanced between them once, but Black Doom made no comment. Instead, he took on a firmer tone with his son and said, "There are two more things you need to know now. Firstly, I do not know how you sp-" He caught himself again, made an annoyed sound, then pressed on. "How your child will feed. You were close enough to a pureblood for me to provide normal sustenance for you. You are just as capable of subsisting on blood as any other member of the hive. However, the mixing of other bloods into your child means it may not be able to. It may also manage to make no difference. If it does not and they require blood, you will need to be prepared."

This made Shadow frown more visibly than Toru had but a moment ago. "How does that work? I have no memory of it."

"You were small. I do not expect you to." Black Doom extended one arm and used the opposite hand to gesture to his wrist. "Most commonly, spawn will bite here to easily access the blood within. You possess black blood in the same veins in your right arm. If it is necessary to feed them this way, you will need to allow biting. It is natural for our kind."

"So, beyond that, is there anything more we need to know in preparation of handling a child potentially more like the Black Arms than anything else?" Toru asked.

"They will need darkness, as Shadow once did. Our spawn are sensitive to light. It can harm them." There was a pause, then he added, "This does not remain true forever. Only for a time."

Toru shrugged. "Easy enough. We're both beings of Darkness, anyway."

"Your… sun may provide problems," Black Doom said simply. "The lights in this den would be capable of the same. It is not merely the energy known as Light that would bring harm."

"I figured," Toru said, idly flicking a hand and throwing up a barrier of Darkness some few feet away. "I could block out all light as necessary."

"Good."

Shadow finally spoke up again when his father didn't continue on his own. "You said there were two things, but you only brought up one before he asked a question. What was the other issue?"

"It is not an issue. More of a warning." Black Doom leveled him with a look that told him not to interrupt before continuing. "The process of birthing the child will not be easy or painless. Many are brought to the brink of death, though none have ever actually died from it thus far. We bleed greatly and suffer pain for many hours, sometimes days. This is something you will need to prepare yourself for."

Toru thought this through for a moment before sighing. "Sounds like we should hope it doesn't take after you," he said to Black Doom.

"The issue will not be resolved if your spawn takes more after you," Black Doom responded. "The fact remains that Shadow is nearly a pureblood. That alone means he will likely suffer the same way a true pureblood would. There is no avoiding that."

"Oh, well there goes hoping it would be simpler," Toru said with a shrug.

Shadow huffed at him. "You are far too optimistic," he grumbled.

"Someone has to be," Toru reminded with a vague smile. Shadow rolled his eyes but didn't argue further.

Black Doom waited until they were finished before saying, "I did what I said I would. If there is nothing else, I am leaving. This planet is far from suitable for a lengthy visit."

"Before you leave, I'm gonna tell you that the moment we have a good shot at killing Gerald, I'll make sure you know," Toru said simply.

"Good." With that said, Black Doom simply vanished.

"Bastard," Shadow muttered for good measure, though he didn't mean it.

Toru waited for a moment before turning his attention to Shadow. "So… I guess we got a bit more to be careful of, yeah?"

Shadow mumbled something derogatory under his breath (though who or what it was aimed at was unclear) before saying, "Evidently, yes."

The chameleon shrugged. "Unless it seriously bothers you, I'm not dissuaded from continuing with this."

"It does not," Shadow responded. "I am built to endure and survive. This will not jeopardize that."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Toru said. "It's not about what you're built to do. Do you still want to go through with this?"

"I said it's fine," Shadow huffed.

Toru raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"I would not say so otherwise," Shadow told him.

"Just wanted to make sure," Toru said gently, rubbing his shoulder.

Though Shadow huffed at him, he didn't say anything about it. Instead he made an unusual (for him) comment. "I have a vague feeling that it is taking more after you than me so far."

Toru did not catch on, and as such his facial expression matched. "What do you mean?"

Another eye-roll answered him. "Come here, idiot."

The chameleon did so, further confusion written on his face. "Okay…?"

Shadow unexpectedly grabbed Toru's hand and, forgoing his own dislike of most forms of physical contact (though that was gradually improving thanks to Toru anyway), he went ahead and moved Toru's hand to rest on his stomach. This was done purely to allow Toru to feel the child within squirming and forcefully kicking like the tiny shinobi it no doubt was.

Toru was wholly caught off guard by this, eyes widening by a small margin. "Holy… that was… well… sooner than I expected."

Shadow's continuing discomfort with the sensations (the reason behind his distracted silences earlier) was somewhat apparent, but he didn't give vent to it. Instead, he released Toru's hand so the chameleon could move back again if he wanted to and said, "It is because of the time jump. With only two months left, I suppose I at least should have expected this."

Toru didn't really even think to move back, staying where he was. "I just… didn't really know how all this went."

Shadow shrugged. "I only have some knowledge, due to hearing things regarding my nieces and nephews as babies."

The chameleon really didn't feel like pointing out the obvious any more than it already had been, so he fell quiet for a moment before giving a soft smile. "At the very least, we have some people who can help out, you know?"

"Yes. That is far better than it could have been." Then Shadow huffed. "Provided your child doesn't beat me to death first."

"Oh, so you're gonna play that card, huh?" Toru asked with a smirk.

"Yes," Shadow responded, quietly amused. "It would be entirely your fault."

"Yeah, yeah, say it all you want," the chameleon answered, crossing his arms.

"I will. It is not as though you are capable of stopping me."

Toru shrugged. "Maybe I don't want you to stop."

"You would have to give me a rather convincing reason to continue, in that case," Shadow replied. He was being difficult and he knew it, but he didn't care.

"I don't need to, you'll do it on your own at some point," Toru chuckled.

"I will not," Shadow responded with simple firmness.

Toru rolled his eyes. "We'll see about that."

Huffing once more, Shadow stood. "Go bother someone else for a while. I have things to do."

"You wanting to get rid of me now? I see how it is," the chameleon huffed, standing as well.

"And if I am?" was the easy reply as Shadow headed for the hallway.

"I'll come right back," Toru replied easily, a grin on his face.

"I will throw you into another realm," Shadow threatened mildly. He walked down the hall toward his room.

Toru rolled his eyes. "I dare you to try!"

"...Later. Perhaps. I told you, I have things to do. Important things." With that totally-not-a-joke said, Shadow walked into his room, grabbed a book, and reclined on the bed to read it. After all, Lia was busy with toys and Soren was napping. He had nothing better to do right now.

The chameleon for once didn't follow. The vague hints of pain rose back up now that Shadow wasn't near him, and he briefly revised his last interaction with Myriu. It ended so… badly. Had he been that bad of a brother to her?

"Toru," Shadow suddenly called, all traces of humor gone from him. He said nothing more, but his tone clearly communicated that he wanted Toru to come over.

It was now that Toru had to realize exactly what he had been doing and sighed, moving to go into Shadow's room. "Yes?"

Not looking away from the pages of his book for the moment, Shadow said in his usual rather neutral tone, "Twice now I've picked up on clear signs that something is disturbing you to an unusual degree." Though he again didn't continue, he'd left the door wide open for Toru if he wanted to. Shadow would never claim to be able to comfort Toru at all, but he was willing to at least listen.

Toru was caught off guard by the fact that Shadow had picked up on this, but he supposed that wasn't really that surprising at all. "Well…" the chameleon walked over to the bed and sat down. "Had a bit of an argument with Myriu… more one-sided. She yelled at me and said I abandoned her."

Shadow closed his book and sat up, now providing Toru with his full attention. He stayed quiet for now, though, just listening to what else Toru had to say. "I just… I don't know what to say or do. I… I wasn't there enough when she was a kid because I couldn't get near her with my mom around. I should've tried harder… just… ignored our mom." The chameleon stopped for a short moment before adding, "I don't want her to go through life thinking that nobody loves her… but I don't think she'll listen to me anymore."

After a long pause, Shadow carefully said, "This is not something I will pretend to be able to help with. The best I could do is perhaps talk to her about how she lashed out, particularly with the knife. It may be possible to communicate with her less violent means of expressing her anger. But I cannot help with anything else."

Toru looked over with a concerned expression on his face. "I don't want her to get upset with you as well because of me, though."

"I will tread lightly, assuming this discussion happens at all," Shadow responded. "If she shows any sign of not being receptive, that is where it will end. Even assuming that would be enough to greatly upset her again, I doubt this instance of anger would be long-lasting or fierce."

The chameleon sighed softly at this. "If you're sure…"

"I am," Shadow replied simply. "Once she has had a chance to properly calm down, I will try to speak to her. For now, it is likely best that she is given space."

Toru nodded a little and ultimately just laid down on the bed, for once turning his back to Shadow and simply laying there quietly. I just want her to be okay… Thinking it best not to bother Toru further, Shadow resolved to keep an eye on him and laid back down himself with his book still in hand.

~保護者~

A purple cat landed on her stomach in the dirt with a deep "oof". She was left wheezing for a second, the wind properly knocked out of her, before pushing herself up into a cross-legged position. The young woman, named Kimmy but preferring to go by Kym now that she was older, looked around. "...Where the heck is this?" she wondered aloud. Her tails swished side to side in the dirt behind her for a moment, then she stood. "...I wonder… Hey, Ava? You here, too? Kohaku?"

Her calls went unanswered. Her younger siblings didn't appear to be here with her. This saddened her, but it was short-lived. There was a blinding flash of Light, then her little sister appeared. The youngest of the three siblings was given a much gentler landing, owing to how much closer to the ground she appeared. She even managed to land on her feet for a couple of seconds before losing her balance. She fell on her butt after that, and Kym snorted with laughter.

Huffing, Ava picked herself up and brushed off her knee-length skirt. Her silvery-white fur looked especially shiny in the sunshine. "Laugh while you can," she threatened casually. "I intend to repay you in kind sometime soon."

"I'd like to see you try," Kym snickered. Then she made a twirling motion with her finger. "Turn around, let me help clean you off." Her sister obliged, and soon they'd patted her clothes clean to the best of their ability. "Your skirt's fine, since it's purple and all, but your shirt's got a lot of white. It still looks a bit brownish back here."

"It's fine. I can change later. Although, I normally wouldn't wear this sort of outfit outside to begin with." Ava sighed to herself. "This is why."

"Yeah, not the best fashion choice. I at least have capris and sneakers on. You've got sandals and everything." Kym grinned at the vague glare she received, then made herself get more serious. "Any idea where we are? Or, you know, when?"

Together, the pair took in their immediate surroundings. Then Ava slowly shook her head. "It's difficult to say. There aren't any buildings or other landmarks to judge that by."

"It's just dirt, trees, and rocks," Kym agreed. "I don't know where to go from here to find civilization or anything."

"I don't know ei- ...Wait." Ava turned, looked around, then turned again and repeated that. "Kym, you don't really have any Light, but you can sense it, correct?"

"Uh, I mean, normally I can, yeah." Kym stretched out her senses and frowned. "I don't sense any now, though. Is it just a small amount you're picking up on?"

"It is, yes. From what I understand…" Ava trailed off, thinking. "According to what Nana has said before, that's what it sometimes feels like when Light is gathering to revive someone."

Kym's eyes went wide. "Kohaku," she breathed. "It's gotta be him, right?"

"I hope so," was the quiet, murmured response. "It would be terrible not to have him here with us. I would miss him so much."

"Me, too. And Mom and Dad left the Master Emerald quite a while ago, so I'm pretty sure they're around somewhere. They'd miss him way more than even us. Since they're our parents and all." Kym followed her sister's gaze up above the treeline and winced. "I really hope it doesn't drop him from way up there… He wouldn't like that."

"It might not," Ava said. "Energy began gathering there, but it's gradually trailing downward. This doesn't feel like Grandpa's Light, but whoever is reviving people in his stead seems to know to be gentle with Kohaku. ...Assuming that really is who's coming.

As the energy built and built and began to become visible, Kym felt some of her hair stand on end. "This is even stronger than Nana's Light," she eventually said. "Do you think it's coming from that ancestor she told us about? I forget her name, but she's the one our family's Light comes from."

"...Eona," Ava remembered aloud. "I don't know how it's possible for it to be her, but it's possible nevertheless."

"Guess so. Oh, also, we should probably close our eyes soon. It gets bright."

"It does not bother my eyes like it does yours. I will be fine."

"Sure, sure, just brag some more, why don't you?" Kym grinned again when she earned herself a second half-hearted glare. Then she wisely closed her eyes and covered them with her hands as an added measure. "Tell me when it's over, alright?"

"I will," Ava promised. A minute or so passed, during which time neither spoke. Then she said, "It's just above the ground now. This is progressing more slowly than it did for me and, I assume, you. Hopefully the revival being less abrupt will help it be less jarring for him."

"Yeah, that would be a good thing. It would be hard to handle a breakdown without Mom or Dad if he has one." Kym thought over their options and the potential problem they might soon be facing. Autism could and often did run in families. Their Papa, Kaden, definitely had it. At one point, it was thought Emi had it - only for it to quickly come to light that she just took longer to develop social skills as a small child and was otherwise fine.

Kohaku was different. He, like Kaden, undoubtedly had it. But Kohaku's was much worse. He was mostly nonverbal, for one thing, and also couldn't write, type, sign much, or otherwise effectively communicate. He could say and sign a few simple words, but that was all. He couldn't read and often had a hard time understanding the things he was told and whatnot. There was a lot that he couldn't handle, including many sources of sensory input, not having set routines to follow, being interrupted while carefully stacking his blocks or lining them up, enduring social situations…

That was by no means all, but her point remained the same. He needed a lot of care, guidance, protection, and more. His sisters knew how to help, sure, and they were certainly willing. But they couldn't do anything long-term. They needed their parents to be around so they could take over, especially if things got bad. That meant finding their way to civilization was especially important now.

Ava interrupted her thoughts. "It's over, Kym. He's fine."

Kym uncovered her eyes in time to see their brother get unsteadily to his feet, looking around in obvious confusion. Distress was apparent in his amber eyes (just like their mother's, Kym remembered with a pang), but it was mild for the moment. A very good sign. As the only hedgehog sibling in appearance, and a silver-colored one at that, he looked a great deal like their dad. Kym looked like their mother. Being confronted with that memory made her sad, but she still smiled. After all, she knew they would be reunited sooner or later. And besides, she was happy to have their brother back. That mattered just as much to her. "Hey, Kohaku," she greeted warmly. In an effort to further ease his distress, she was quick to point out, "Look how clear the sky is today! I know you like sunshine a lot."

He looked up and made a small noise, busily flapping his hands up and down at the sight. Coming from him, she knew this motion to be a sign of enjoyment, happiness, or some other similar emotion. It was good to see. Kohaku then turned to fully face them and made a couple other sounds. Unsure what he was trying to communicate, Ava just said, "We're going to find Mom and Dad soon. Do you want to see them?"

More hand-flapping. Then he echoed, "Dad."

"That's right," she confirmed. "Wherever they are, we'll find them. Okay?"

Another set of noises answered her. He started walking suddenly, likely about to wander off, so Kym quickly intercepted him. She guided him back, despite his clear protests. "We need you to stay close to us. We can't keep you safe if you leave." With gentle hands, she moved him to sit. "Mom and Dad keep you safe, remember? We'll keep you safe, too."

Kohaku was quiet for a time. "Safe," he eventually said. "Safe, Dad."

"Yeah, Dad kept you safe. You liked spending time with him, huh?"

"Mom."

"And Mom, of course. We'll find them, I promise." Kym tossed Ava an imploring look. Their sister caught on and walked over. Kneeling down, she crafted a variety of blocks out of her Light in front of him. "There you go. Why don't you play for a little while? Ava and I will tell you when it's time to go."

"Blocks!" Kohaku exclaimed with clear joy. His hands were immediately busy, stacking and arranging the various shapes like he'd always loved to do.

Smiling, the two women gave him space and turned to one another. "It really was him," Kym breathed. "I'm so glad."

"I am, too," Ava agreed. "It's wonderful to see him."

"It really is. Now we really do need to find where everyone is, though." Kym tapped her chin. "One of us will have to stay here with him while the other searches. He won't like being dragged around from place to place. It'd stress him out way too much."

"I don't mind staying," Ava said. "It's not a good idea for him to touch Darkness, even though you're just as capable of making him things to play with."

"Yeah, he doesn't cope with negativity very well. If he decides he wants something other than his blocks, you'll be able to make him things." Kym hesitated, then looked around. "I still don't know where to go, though… And it's so barren around here beyond this little woodland. If this takes a long time, where will you two get food and water?"

"I don't know," the other cat reluctantly admitted. "It's a bit hot even in the shade, too. I'm not entirely sure if he can handle it getting too much warmer. It may not, but even still."

"You're right. Maybe we should move him? He won't like it, but if we have to…"

"I think we do. But only after we find a suitable place to take him."

"Agreed. That still doesn't help with the first issue, but it's sort of a start." Kym looked around once more, though the action felt pointless. "Maybe just picking a direction and going is the only way to do this?"

Ava started to respond, but paused. Her eyebrows drew downward and she stretched out her senses. "...Someone might be coming. Someone strong, I believe."

"Wait, really? Who?" Kym waited for an answer, but initially got none. "Ava?"

"I'm not sure," she finally said. Kohaku made a few vocalizations behind them, but nothing that indicated he was distressed or otherwise needed them right that second. "I've never sensed them before."

She barely had time to finish saying this before Kohaku made another sound, then another. They turned to face him and he pointed in a seemingly random direction. "Ava," he said. He picked up a block and showed them while pointing again. "Ava."

The pair traded a look. Then the sister in question asked, "Someone like me?" she guessed. He made more noises, continuing to point and hold the block up. "...Someone with Light?"

In one of his rare moments of clear communication and open emotional expression, he smiled and nodded. "Ava," he declared happily, adding the block to his growing tower.

Kym returned his smile. "Thank you, Kohaku. That's very good to know. It helps a lot." But he was already no longer paying attention, too absorbed in his newfound toys to listen to her. Turning to Ava, she murmured, "Nana always said he has a lot of Light, but I didn't realize it was strong enough that he can sense things even you can't."

"The person is far away at the moment," Ava said slowly. "I can get an idea of how strong they are, but I can't sense Light from such a distance at my current level. I hadn't realized he could. However, it's helpful now."

"Definitely. Also, you said they might be coming this way, right?"

"Yes. They might be flying, but they aren't teleporting. It's difficult to teleport to a place you've never been to before, which could be the case here. For younger and weaker individuals, it's impossible unless they follow another person's teleport." Ava sighed. "Which is why we can't reliably teleport away from here on our own."

"Yep. Unfortunately. And it sucks." Kym looked into the sky and squinted a bit. "I'm starting to sense them now, too. They must be going pretty fast, if they were really that far away at the start." Ava nodded in response.

Beside them, Kohaku set one of the blocks down with a sharp clack! and quickly scooted away from where he'd been sitting. "Bug, bug," he whimpered, eyes wide. Being the least scared of the three of such critters (in fact, they didn't scare her at all), Ava moved to shoo the offending animal off while Kym soothed their brother. He was soon calmed, but not before watching Ava catch the bug in a small sphere of Light to move it away. Then he pointed again in the same direction as before. "Ava come," he told them. "Fast. Fast, Dad."

"Fast like Dad?" Kym asked, smiling anew as she knelt down in front of him. "They'll get here in no time, then. But that isn't Ava. Ava is right here, remember?"

He surprised her like he had earlier by directly responding a second time with a nod. He shifted his hand to point at Ava and repeated her name, then flapped his hands for a second or two before also pointing at Kym. "Kimmy."

"That's right. We're right here with you. The person with Light is a new person. I'm sure they're very nice." He looked up at her, and she picked up one of the blocks he hadn't yet stacked. It was risky to touch any of his blocks normally, but once in a while he'd let others mess with blocks that weren't part of his tower yet. Thankfully, now was one of those times, and all he did was watch. "Ava made these with Light. Thanks to you, we know the new person has Light, too. Just like Ava, and just like Nana. Isn't that nice?"

It was difficult to say how much he understood of what she'd tried to explain. His lack of direct response made it even harder to tell. All he did was pick up a different block, this one an arch, and show it to her. "Block." He added the arch to his structure and looked at her, hands flapping.

She recognized the rare and special invitation she'd just been given, and it made her heart melt. "I can play with you?"

"Play," Kohaku smiled in acknowledgement. "Play blocks me."

"You're so sweet," Kym gushed, feeling warm and fuzzy all over. She put her cube right next to his arch. "I love you to bits, you know that?" Whether he did or didn't, he didn't (possibly couldn't) say. He just vocalized a sound of some sort and put another block on the tower. Ava subtly intervened by making more appear for them to use. Kym tossed her a grateful smile.

The smile was returned, then Ava walked a few feet away. It's hard to determine for certain, but… they might land right around… there? She walked a further few feet, then stopped. I'll wait and see, I suppose.

It didn't take longer than about half a minute, the person landing right about where Ava had guessed them to. Rose's eyes roved over the three briefly before she asked the obvious question. "Were you all revived with Eona's Light?"

The sudden appearance made Ava take a step back, but she was otherwise unfazed on the outside. "We don't know for sure if it was hers, but yes."

"It was," Rose murmured gently, her eyebrows furrowing as she glanced to Kohaku, then Kym. "You… Are you all related to Silver and Blaze?"

"Those are our parents," Ava said. "Do you know them?" She must if she knows their names, surely.

Rose blinked once. "I know of them. We are not incredibly close, however."

"Do you at least know where they are?" Ava was quick to ask. "Our brother needs to be with them."

"Special needs?" Rose asked softly, frowning in concern.

How did she know so quickly? "Autism runs in our family," Ava explained. "But, from what I understand, there's no set way that it winds up passed on. Our great-grandfather has it, and our brother got it from him in some form or another when no one else did."

Rose nodded gently. "I will more than happily take you all to them. Is there anything I need to know before we take your brother? I do not wish to stress him further than he may have been already."

Ava glanced back at her siblings to check on them. "Kohaku has never… travelled well. Wandering off is one thing because he's in control of where he goes, but he doesn't like teleportation or anything else fast and sudden. It makes him very upset."

"So, we need to simply walk?" Rose asked softly.

This earned a sigh. "As much as I want to say 'yes', I don't know how feasible that is. They aren't close to us, are they?"

Rose shook her head. "We are not close. It would take a lot of time to walk that far, and I have the vague assumption that he would not like flying due to the speed."

"I don't think anyone ever attempted it," Ava shrugged. "But my guess is that it wouldn't go over well."

The woman let out a soft sigh of her own. "I would not wish to make you all walk such a distance, but it seems that it will be necessary for the time being. How do you all feel currently?"

"We are fine," Ava answered, "though a bit hot. Are we near Mazuri? Or… is the savannah not around anymore?"

Rose nodded. "We are near Mazuri. I can take you all there, and then we can arrange a better way to get you all to your parents in good time. Does this sound reasonable to you?"

"Yes, thank you. But we will need help keeping Kohaku with us." Ava glanced at him again, checking on him once more. "He wanders off a lot, and he doesn't always understand what people say to him. So his ability to follow instructions is limited."

The white cat thought this all over, a vague thoughtful frown on her face. "I see… Understood. I will make sure to aid you all in keeping him nearby. I have worked with others with autism before."

Relief showed on Ava's face, overtaking her normally blank expression. "Thank you. That's good to hear." She then said, "Going to meet him might be a good idea, first. He sensed you coming, and we think he understands that you're someone new to us. He might be more willing to go if he knows you just a little bit."

Rose nodded. "In that case, will you go with me?"

"Of course." Ava gestured for Rose to follow and walked back to her brother and sister. "Kym, come here for a minute."

The older cat did so and was quick to greet Rose. "Oh, sorry. Hi. I'm Kym. It's nice to meet you."

"You are alright," Rose murmured softly. "My name is Rosalline, but you may call me Rose."

"Nice to meet you," Kym repeated warmly. "She's Ava, by the way, in case she didn't already tell you. She's bad about that." Her gentle teasing earned her a whack on the arm, and she briefly grinned. Then she turned back around and knelt down where she'd been before. "Hey, Kohaku. The new person is here. Do you see her? Her name is Rose."

Despite having initially seemed to not even hear her, Kohaku eventually looked away from his blocks long enough to point at Rose and say, "Ava."

"Yes, the one like Ava," Kym nodded. "But her name is Rose." Kohaku looked wordlessly between them, giving no indication of what he understood of what was said, if anything.

Rose gave a nod of greeting to Kohaku, a soft smile on her face. "Hello, Kohaku."

Kohaku looked back at his tower, making some indistinguishable sounds as he stacked a few more shapes. Then he held one up to show her and said, "Block."

"Blocks are his favorite," Ava explained quietly. "He loves stacking, arranging, and sorting them."

The white cat continued to smile and nodded a little. "You like your blocks?"

Kohaku made some sort of a sound again and stacked a few more. Then he held another out to her and repeated, "Block," before setting it down in front of her.

Realization made Kym's eyes go wide. "I think he's letting you put that one on the tower. He doesn't usually even let us or our parents do that."

Rose blinked once and her smile grew a miniscule amount as she slowly picked up the block and added it to the tower. "Like that?" she asked gently. A few more noises answered her, coupled with a bit of hand-flapping. Out of nothing more than concern for potentially upsetting Kohaku, Rose turned her attention to Kym and Ava. "Will it be okay to attempt to have him go with us now?"

"It's hard to say," Ava shrugged, "but hopefully this helps. We need to get going."

Nodding, Kym put on another smile and said, "Hey, Kohaku, we're going on a walk. Do you want to come? You like walks, right?"

It took a few moments, but luckily his desire to move overcame his desire to continue playing. "Walk," Kohaku agreed, standing up.

Rose glanced from Kohaku to the distance they would need to travel. "I do not usually dare to ask, but it will likely not be as simple as leading him there and making sure he does not go astray, I assume?"

"With any luck, that's all it will be," Kym said with a shrug. "Usually Dad is here to keep him busy when we walk places with him, though. He tells stories, or makes up silly little games. Kohaku always loves it."

"I am not one for stories or… 'silly games' as you put it, but I will attempt to do my best," she said. "It is all I can do, after all."

"We'll do our best to help," Kym promised. "We'll do anything we can."

Rose nodded gently and began walking for the moment, stretching out her senses just to make sure that nothing would be threatening to them. "I appreciate that."

"Of course," Ava murmured. She guided her brother to start walking, then moved in behind him to help keep him on track.

Kym, meanwhile, fell in step beside Rose. "By the way, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know our parents?"

"Mostly in passing," Rose answered honestly. "I have not interacted with many of your parents' allies due to extenuating circumstances."

"Which… leads into my next question," Kym admitted. "We were brought back, which most likely means something's going on. Especially since Grandpa wasn't the one who brought us back."

Rose's smile disappeared entirely. "I- It is a war, in every sense of the word," she murmured.

"I assumed as much," Ava murmured from behind them. "War with who?"

"A woman named Nareish," Rose said quietly. "I will spare you the details for now. I can explain more when we are situated."

"I understand," Ava answered. She was swift to bar Kohaku's way when he started veering left suddenly, guiding him back in the proper direction. At least this time, he complied with minimal fussing. "Answer me this, then, if you don't mind. You said you have worked with others with autism before. Who were you referring to?"

"That's right! Our great-grandfather Kaden and our uncle Jet both have it." Kym turned her head to look at Rose directly. "Was it one of them?"

Rose nodded softly with a vague smile. "I was friends with Jet at one point. I do not know if he would say the same of me, but I certainly have aided him before."

"That's amazing," Kym beamed. "I'd hoped he was still around, since we never saw him in the emerald, but to know for sure is amazing."

"Time does not have the same sense of passage in there," Ava abruptly said. "A great deal of it felt as though it passed, but it is difficult to be sure. How long has it been since we were last around? Do you have even a vague idea?"

"Some millions of years ago, from what little I know of you all," Rose answered. "This is the safest estimate I have, considering he did not speak of the subject often."

"Whoa…" Kym breathed. "That's… that's nuts." And yes, she was very aware of how much she sounded like their dad in that instance.

Kohaku suddenly made a noise and then said, "Miss uncle. Miss him."

Rose blinked once and turned herself around, walking backwards with her gaze on Kohaku. "You miss your uncle?"

More sounds answered her, then Kohaku repeated, "Miss him." Kym looked back at him, heart melting.

The white cat found herself holding a hand over her heart. It had been some time since she felt an emotion such as this, and comprehending it so suddenly felt vaguely impossible right now. "Your uncle is alive," she revealed gently. "I'll try to get him to see you, if I can."

"See uncle," Kohaku responded. He seemed to have at least mostly understood what she was saying. "See Dad. See Mom."

"That's right," Ava acknowledged. "We'll see them soon."

Rose wiped at her eyes when it suddenly felt like one of them had a light pressure and she blinked at the suddenness. What…?

Kym looked over at her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I… yes. I am simply… I am fine," Rose assured. "I am simply not used to what I was feeling."

The sisters traded a look, then Ava said, "...I see." She and Kym then had to briefly focus on guiding Kohaku back when he started trying to leave again.

Rose watched them for a moment before stopping her walking and quietly approaching Kohaku. "I have something for you," she murmured gently. He just stood there and watched her, making various noises and flapping his hands. The woman held out her hand and a block, much like the ones he'd already had, made of a translucent, sky blue crystal appeared in her palm. "You can have it."

"Block!" Kohaku exclaimed, full of joy, just like he had earlier. He was quick to all but snatch it from her, waving it around as though it were a rattle and would make some sort of noise. It obviously didn't, but he was clearly happy regardless.

The white cat's smile came back full force and she had to take a moment to wipe at her eyes again. This emotion… it became so unfamiliar, but I can most relate it to the times I am with Kial or my sister. This is confusing.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kym asked, openly worried.

Rose thought it best to give a sort of explanation. "The last… The entirety of my life has been spent focusing on one goal, and once it was attained, I realized that my experiences had changed me for the worse in a lot of ways. Many emotions I once was well attuned to are now foreign."

"Such as… what?" Kym questioned. "Naming feelings can help in dealing with them, in my experience."

Hesitation hit, something she didn't experience often anymore. It made her think. "...Joy, love… happiness. Emotions such as that."

"Those are good emotions," Kym reminded with a smile. "The best thing you can really do is embrace them. Maybe only just a little bit at a time at first, if that's what feels safest to you, but even so. Letting them back in is a good thing."

Rose blinked slowly at Kym's words before nodding and turning back around. "Thank you, but we need to continue moving."

"Yeah, no problem." Kym smiled brightly at Kohaku. "Come, let's walk some more. Your block can come, too."

"Block!" Kohaku repeated cheerily, walking after her.

I cannot argue with her words… Allowing myself to feel those emotions outside of interactions with specific people… it is simply the right choice. But… for them to make me feel as if I will cry spontaneously? Am I that out of touch with my feelings? Rose thought to herself. That thought disturbs me. The woman suddenly stood up straight with her hand flying to her sword handle, before relaxing and releasing the weapon once she realized who was approaching.

The yellow finch that was Cyril landed some distance away, skidding to a stop due to how little practice he had with the speed he'd been moving. "Oops! Sorry if I scared anyone. Just noticed that something big happened and I wanted to check it out. Three people got revived?" Cyril asked.

"Oh, uh, that would be us," Kym volunteered, one hand slightly raised. "We're Silver and Blaze's kids. Do you know them?"

"I know Silver!" Cyril said with a smile. "I've not met Blaze, though. You guys need to get back there?"

"Yes, please," Kym said brightly. "We'd love to see them again, and our brother needs to be somewhere a bit safer for him than out here."

He gave them a thumbs-up and grabbed one of his metal cards, tossing it behind him and opening a portal to Tails's home. "Should take us straight there."

"Great! Let's go, you guys!" Kym ushered Ava through before her sister could really react, then set about trying to guide Kohaku over.

Cyril smiled a little and motioned for Rose to walk over, which she did. He kept his tone low for the moment. "You should get back to resting a little. You seem a little tired."

The white cat was a touch caught off guard. Now that he mentioned it, she was tired. Rose just hadn't realized it initially. "I will try." Her gaze turned back to Kym and Kohaku, trying to determine if her aid was needed at all.

Kohaku waved his block around some more, not even seeming to notice the portal or his sister's efforts. Instead, he focused on Cyril and excitedly showed the man his new toy. "Block! My block!"

Cyril smiled brightly. "Yep! Did you get it from Rose? It's super cool." The finch cast a glance to Kym before turning his gaze back to Kohaku. "Wanna go with your sister?" He asked, pointing to the portal. "Your mom and dad are there too!"

Kym tossed Cyril a grateful look for his help, then gently nudged Kohaku. "Come on," she insisted gently. "I bet they'll want to see your block, too. They might even play with you soon!" Kohaku finally seemed to notice the portal and, seeing as how it acted like an open doorway in this case, it felt familiar enough to him that he wandered right through. Kym turned happily to both Cyril and Rose. "Thank you so much for your help. We really appreciate it. Rose, I think you made Kohaku's whole day. And you," she looked at Cyril, "made him happy all over again by indulging him. Plus you got us all to our family. Thank you guys so much."

Rose simply passed on a soft smile while Cyril grinned. "Any time," the finch answered.

"You two are welcome to come with," Kym offered.

Cyril shook his head softly. "I can't, sadly. Gotta go finish up some training. However…" he turned to face Rose. "You should totally go."

The white cat blinked a few times before simply nodding. "I do not see a reason against doing so."

Kym grinned at her, then looked at Cyril. "Well, hopefully you can come visit another time. Kohaku seemed to like you. Oh, and I didn't catch your name. I'm Kym."

"Name's Cyril," he introduced, giving a lighthearted version of a bow. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

She laughed a little. "I can see why my dad knows you. He's so much like you." She snickered some more, then added, "It's very nice to meet you. Hopefully we can meet again soon, yeah?"

"Absolutely!" Cyril said. "I'm bound to be around here and there when I'm not over on Babylon or training. I hope to see you all again as well."

"Great! I'll see you then!" Kym gestured for Rose to follow and quickly went through the portal. Rose gave a thankful nod to Cyril before following, which the finch simply responded with a wider grin. When they were both through, Cyril closed the portal and pulled the card back into his hand, settling his expression into a softer smile. Good to see you feeling better.

~保護者~

My favorite plaything grows more and more protected by the day. How sad. Nareish sat in her usual spot, one finger idly twirling a lock of her long, dark hair. Her eyes were closed in thought, her face almost giving the impression that she was resting. But not quite. No matter. I can get to him whenever I please, though for the short-term it will no longer rile up his father. Or, rather, his Tokarian one. Once the man regains consciousness, however…

Amusement made her smile to herself, but only for a brief moment. Demonic, not demonic… either way, his response will be the same. Though, perhaps, he will be less inclined to violently show it. The fury, the animosity… they will remain. It will have to do for now, until I find a suitable way to return him to who he so recently was.

That still left the matter of Shadow, thoughts of whom had triggered this line of thinking to begin with. She refocused on him, now frowning slightly. Let me see… How to proceed with this one? Gerald seeks to improve and perfect him, and I am inclined to allow it. I even offered my aid, as I recall. Selecting and gifting a few of my many ill-gotten powers, in fact, was what I agreed to do. This only leaves the matter of choosing what to give.

Nareish pondered this matter for a time before standing. With but a few steps, she had phased seamlessly from her isolated throne-room to Gerald's laboratory. "Doctor," she greeted easily as she approached. "I believe I have come up with a reasonable list of abilities to gift your weapon. Though, I should like your input before anything is truly decided."

Gerald pulled his attention away from the robot he was repairing (a wire had burnt out and damaged a few components), frowning a little in thought. "A list? Certainly a bit more than I would've expected."

"A mental one," Nareish amended. "It is something to talk about, not read." With a wave of her hand, she fixed his robot for him. "Come, sit. Let us discuss."

His eyes roved over the robot and he blinked once, walking over to sit down near her. "Alright, what are you thinking?"

"Firstly, something simple. Are you familiar with the idea of phasing?" Nareish smiled. "It is a rather rare power, but I foresee it being quite useful."

"I'm fully aware of the concept," Gerald admitted. "I presume such a power would render his body untouchable unless he chooses to let it be?"

"Indeed it would," Nareish nodded. "Imagine how much more unkillable your weapon would be if it could not be struck… Though, admittedly, phasing only allows for such intangibility in short bursts. However, I still believe it to be quite handy."

"Handy enough," Gerald agreed.

"Is it suitable?" Nareish questioned. "If it is, I will make plans to give it to him."

The old man nodded. "Absolutely."

Nareish smirked faintly. "Next is the matter of energy deflection," she continued. "This is an even more rare and valuable power."

"That'd be incredibly useful against one of the things that stands to possibly injure him," Gerald said. "Light, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh? I am rather surprised that you know about existential energies such as that." Nareish tilted her head. "However, you must understand that energies like that are very special. Not unlike the Chaos you once sought to command. Powers such as mere deflection cannot turn back the sheer force of something akin to Light. Though that does not make it useless. There are still many other powers it can deflect."

"It wouldn't allow Shadow to even slightly veer it off track?" Gerald questioned. "Deflection doesn't intrinsically mean reflection."

"You are correct," she acknowledged, "but it still cannot do such a thing. Perhaps I will take the time to better explain energies such as Light to you at a later date. It will make more sense then. But I will not do so right this minute."

"Regardless, it would be useful, yes," Gerald said. "I have no issue with him having it."

"Good. Now, I assume already that you will want these, but nevertheless… What is your opinion on power enhancement, a power in and of itself, and invulnerability? Bearing in mind, of course, that both of these powers only work within set time limits. Most typically, they last for roughly a minute and no longer. Sometimes several in fortunate individuals."

"With his current skills and abilities, I see no reason for him to not be able to make good use of it," Gerald said with a soft shrug.

This earned him another slight smile. "Very well. How about this, then. Have you ever heard of mimicry?"

"Hm… I do not believe so, but I can imagine it has something to do with taking on traits of something else."

"Indeed it does. You see, from his hedgehog father, your weapon inherited fire powers. What say you to him having the ability to take that further and turn his whole body into flames?"

Gerald thought about it for a moment. "It would add to the phasing… I see no reason to simply ignore it."

"To add to that," she continued, "there is smoke mimicry. Smokev and fire go together so well, after all."

"I see the potential, but I do not believe it necessary. If you wish to give it to Shadow as well, then do so."

"As you said… it will add to the phasing ability. And it will also allow for travel through places where his physical body will not fit. I see it being beneficial."

"I will not argue such truths," Gerald conceded.

"Very good. And speaking of smoke, there is an ability known as smoke emission as well." She tilted her head slightly. "It could be rather useful for remaining unseen or distracting enemies."

Gerald simply nodded at first. "It could be, absolutely."

"On an unrelated note… I'm sure you are more than familiar with the concept of immobility. Did you know it is a power as well?" Nareish let her amusement show for just a second or two. "Though it lasts no longer than the other 'special' powers we went over before, it is so strong that even the explosions you set off to end your own life would not be able to move someone using that ability."

"But doing so leaves him susceptible to damage despite his resilience, does it not?" Gerald questioned.

"Potentially. Though, it can be activated at the same time as the invulnerability. And besides, he is built to be resilient, is he not?" Nareish smiled. "Just recently, he survived direct conflicts with the second strongest demon currently in existence. That alone proves how capable he is of surviving extreme damage."

"I suppose that is true," Gerald said. "It simply is unusual for me to be making decisions based on the information another has given me. I usually simply have council with my data."

"I understand, doctor. For all of your enhanced knowledge, this is still very new for you. However, you must understand that while you are very new to this era, I am very old." Another smile. "When I say something is true, I do mean it."

"I trust that," Gerald said. "I can only respond with the knowledge I have."

"As I said, I understand. Shall we continue?"

Gerald nodded. "Certainly."

Nareish jumped right in. "Now, doctor, I presume you are not a religious man. However, have you at least heard of deities common in most Mobian religions? The deity of the sun, the deity of the stars, and so on."

"I believe so, yes," Gerald said, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you bring such up?"

Her smile returned, larger than before. "You, doctor, are a very fortunate man. You see, while his hedgehog father has not always been demonic, Shadow's relative has nearly always been one thing. The God of Death."

Gerald blinked once at this before simply nodding. "Continue?"

"There is a power," Nareish said, "that only individuals in his family or other families with ties to that God's realms may use. It is known as shared death. Quite literally, it does what the name says. Essentially, if you were to use it on, in a rather strange example, me and I then killed you, I would then also die. It is the ultimate way to ensure your enemy is still defeated, even when you lose the battle."

"What of beings that revive?" Gerald questioned immediately.

"Provided the one who killed them is of the same level, in his case it is known as semi-Immortal, or lower, then yes. Otherwise the death caused by this power would not be permanent. In our example, I would return while you would not. But if he were to use it on another semi-Immortal, he would return while they would not. It is the only way to circumvent permanent death through technical suicide."

Gerald frowned in brief thought. "The majority of those against us are semi-Immortals," he pointed out.

"They are," she acknowledged. "He would return. They would not. However, this is not an ability that can be used whenever he pleases. But used wisely, it can come in handy where it counts most."

"I see," Gerald said slowly. "Regardless, there is no reason to avoid giving him such a power."

"I agree. On to the next one, then. What would you think of something a tad more destructive?" Nareish smirked faintly to herself for just a second. "Namely, a power that would allow him to emit everything from harmless vibrations to full-fledged shockwaves."

"That seems reasonable, I suppose," Gerald said.

"Hm… and metal mimicry? That could have its uses."

"Increasing his overall resilience and defensive abilities, as well as making his melee combat that much more dangerous," Gerald agreed.

"Yes indeed. Which leads into my next suggestion." Nareish comfortably crossed her arms. "Metal manipulation would also be quite handy, I imagine. And there is also an ability that can, perhaps, in his case be incorporated into his scanners instead. They are already highly advanced, are they not? What little I have bothered to learn about them is rather impressive."

"I would believe that metal manipulation would be quite fitting," Gerald said. "It would speed up his ability to repair damages."

Nareish nodded, but mostly glossed over his reply. "And what of the scanners, doctor?" she pressed. "They are as advanced as I have been led to believe, correct?"

Gerald only blinked at this, an eyebrow raised for a long moment. "Yes."

"Very good. You see, there is a power that allows one to sense the powers of others, at least to some extent. However, in his case, such an ability would likely be far better executed as yet another upgrade to his eyes and scanners." Nareish blinked back at him. "Though, that would be entirely on you to carry out, should you decide to accept him having such an ability."

"I certainly could carry such a thing out," Gerald agreed. "I see no reason to avoid it."

"Then we are in agreement," Nareish said. After that, she stated, "I will not keep you much longer. There are only two remaining things on my little list. Firstly, I assume you are fully aware of the fact that the need to eat food is a rather wasteful use of your weapon's time."

Gerald nodded. "I could not wholly eliminate the need for sustenance due to various constraints, one of which being that Shadow was living."

"That is true, yes," Nareish agreed. "But not every living being needs food in the traditional sense. Some, such as one of Shadow's fathers, can easily acquire sustenance simply by being involved in combat. I understand you never learned much about those creatures, but you are aware of their fascination with blood. You even wrote about it, did you not?"

Gerald nodded once more. "I certainly did. It was an interesting and barbaric fascination, but one that was prevalent in their race."

"It goes beyond mere worship," Nareish suddenly revealed. "That is their source of life, as you discovered, but not just in the form of creating now members of their race. It is all they eat as well. Simply defeating an enemy could potentially feed multiple individuals with ease, and potentially very quickly.

"Hm," Gerald said slowly. "Though I did not ever intend for such to be what Shadow does, I see that it could be beneficial."

"I agree. I cannot bestow their specific physical ability to do this, however… But what I can do is gift him with a specific form of vampirism. One of the variants of the demonic form of the power that does not create an innate weakness to sunlight. Nor would it prevent him from eating the meat he is already naturally inclined to eat, should the need for that arise."

"Sounds preferable to wasting time," Gerald said simply.

"I would have to agree. And as for the last thing… full self-sustenance. That would remove the need for any kind of rest, food, or so on. Even some of the oldest and most powerful semi-Immortals have not reached their potential so fully as to unlock it, and it is not a power easily given. It would be possible to merely unlock it for him, but that would take valuable time and energy away from me. The rest I could merely wave a finger and do." Nareish uncrossed her arms, prepared to walk away now. "I will not do this for him, or rather you, just yet. But at some point, when I am not so busy, I will consider it. For now, it will wait."

"I would not ask you to take time away from your own pursuits to aid in these," Gerald said with a shrug.

"So long as you are not expecting hand-outs, then I do not currently mind doing so now and then." Nareish's gaze slid past him, landing on his latest project. "I will leave you to work on your robot now. And do prepare a spot to more thoroughly restrain your weapon as well, will you? I will be returning him to you soon enough."

Gerald thought on this for a moment, then gave a simple nod. "I have an idea. It can be ready within the day."

"Glad to hear you have made so much progress. I will come see it when it is finished." With that said, Nareish shifted seamlessly back into her throne room, leaving him alone on the ARK.

The man let out a low sigh and stood, walking back to his computer. Can I actually trust her? He had to ask himself this, a deep frown on his face while he typed on his computer, sending out an order to several robots to begin construction of something a distance away. I do not think so, but I no longer have a choice in the matter. She is likely watching me now. If this is true, it's possible she's reading my thoughts now due to some form of power… In which case, she would have discovered this the moment it crossed my mind. However… I cannot deviate now. There is no course from here besides success or death, as life always dictates.

The man paused for a moment and turned to his most recent creation, a metallic 'recreation' of Sonic. Gerald frowned. There is no reasonable way that machines I create will be sustainable in a fight against our enemies. Without her direct aid, they will simply be crushed. It seems that even attacking en masse isn't enough with the way they have all grown. It sickens me. With this thought, he turned back to the computer. Working to improve Shadow is likely my best option… but what does it matter now? What purpose does it serve?

Even if it had a proper purpose and could survive, they now have people who very well could shut it down remotely, if they needed to do so.

Nareish is simply using me to get to Shadow… and in turn get to others. I hate that my own ambitions blinded me from such a simple fact.

But what do I do now? If she continues as she is, she very well could take my weapon from me. I cannot allow that, but there is not much I can do that she could not undo. This leaves me in a predicament. On one hand, I could try to rebel and likely be put in my place or killed, or the other… I follow along and once she deems my help to not be enough anymore, she will discard me.

A voice intruded upon his thoughts just then, all but confirming his earlier suspicions. "I have no intention of ending your life, doctor, or of controlling you. Indeed, I intend to set you free rather soon. My only requirement is that you finish your robot first. I foresee you having a rather prominent place in my new reality once it is crafted. For that reason, your life will always be under my protection." To further illustrate her point and prove her words, she mentally shared all of her intentions with him.

Gerald frowned a little, crossing his arms. "Can I trust this to be true? You are enigmatic and mysterious, both by choice."

"Believe what you wish. I cannot convince you of the truth any more than I have attempted to do. I merely sought to provide you with all the information needed to make a choice."

"I will continue as I have and simply wait for whatever may inevitably come." Gerald shifted and grabbed his tools, looking over the robot.

"As you wish, doctor. I will inform you when I next make contact with your weapon." With that said, she disconnected.

Gerald blinked once and sighed a little, shaking his head before opening the front panel of his robot to redo the wiring. He had an idea… something that might help a bit with the enemies it would face. It will be seen eventually… Whether I die or survive.

~保護者~

14,798 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for his help and support. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 1:15 p.m.) 08-23-21.