Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this emotional time… especially for the one who never left.

~保護者~

"Grief and Sorrow"

~保護者~

Kicking himself for being so inattentive would have to wait.

Jet had excused himself from his conversation with his kids the moment he had realized Wave was walking toward them with her emotions all over the place. Chief among them was grief and fear, and that had him on his feet and moving almost faster than he could think. He was with her out in the hall in a near-instant. Wrapping his arms around her was all it took.

The dam broke and the strong, independent, fierce woman he loved began to sob heavily into his shoulder. He focused on holding her for now, not asking questions and trying to just be there for her. His instant fury over the sight of her tears was carefully kept inside, unable to be sensed by anyone but him and the Void. Yet still it remained. Whoever did this… I'm going to kill them.

"They deserve no less," the his unseen companion whispered in his ear.

Before things could be taken any farther, Wave shifted her arms. Now instead of hugging herself, she was returning his hug. That calmed him enough to focus on her when she began to speak. "I-It's Dad," she told him between choked sobs. The anguish in her voice about wrenched his heart out. "One of Nareish's soldiers attacked him. His magic is corrupted and they're stealing his memories. I don't know what to do, Jet!"

Oh, fucking hell. Forcing his voice to remain level for her sake, he said, "Something will be done, Wave. We aren't going to let him be taken from you. I will not allow that." More sobs answered him. He rubbed slow circles over her back with a hand. A ways off behind him, he sensed Ten poke his head out of the room to look, but he quickly retreated upon seeing what was happening.

They were left alone again for a few minutes. Wave managed to calm down enough to talk to him some more. "Your dad, Cere, and some others are trying to make a plan," she all but whimpered, her face now buried in the crook of his neck. "But what if it doesn't work? What if they don't think of anything?"

"They will," Jet asserted. "I'm going to help them. We will handle this."

Wave gave him a tight squeeze, enough to force some of the air out of him, but he didn't complain. "Will… you take me to Storm?" she eventually asked.

The thought of the big, gruff, teddy bear of a man they had once spent so much time with gave Jet pause. ...He's back? When did that…? He stretched his senses out to Mobius and picked up nothing. When he did the same to New Babylon, he found that there was indeed a familiar energy signature there. "Yeah. I'll come see you both as soon as I can." Wave only nodded a little and slowly let him go. Jet took a moment to brush his fingers across her cheek. "Wave," he murmured. She looked up at him. "He's not going to leave you, or your brother. I promise."

Sniffling, Wave wiped at one of her eyes. "Okay." After exchanging one last quick hug, Jet sent her off. She was too much of an emotional mess to reliably teleport herself anywhere. For that matter, Jet seemed to have gotten emotional because of her being emotional. At least, judging by the fact that he hadn't exactly gotten her precisely where Storm was. But that was fine. Wave wasn't totally ready to face the big guy yet, anyway.

Sitting down in the grass in one of the palace's gardens, she unstrapped her communicator from her wrist. It took a second to pull up the right contact, but soon she'd found it and began to type. Only… her message was too rambling and chaotic. Too upset. She promptly deleted it. Stick with the facts. He's trying to rest. He doesn't need me unloading everything onto him right now.

Sniffling some more, she tried again. "Hey, Steam. It's Wave. I know you're supposed to be taking it easy, but some stuff happened I thought you should know about. Dad went missing a few days ago, and when we found him he was petrified. Cyril and Eila freed him, but something about the power he was struck with affected his magic. It turned red, but so far nothing else has happened with it."

She paused to wipe at her eyes before continuing to type. "Eila found the person who attacked him and tried to fight her, but she wound up being pretty distraught after the whole thing. She's with Rose and Cyril now. I only caught the tail-end of their confrontation. The other woman, some bat, told us Dad would be able to remember his name, how to fight, and so on, but implied that would be all. Cyril thought it best to take him somewhere to monitor him, and Cere agreed. She, Sein, Jet, and maybe some others are going to try and do something. I just thought you should know."

That was the best summary of the situation she figured she could make. It was as brief as possible. Direct. Factual. To the point. Nothing he should feel the need to focus on too much right now if he was trying to sleep or something. Probably. So, sighing to herself, she hit "send" and tried to work on calming herself down.

His answer was immediate. "I need you to answer a few questions. One, where is your dad now? Two, where are you? Three, who all knows? Also, I'm not going to make you in any way, but… you don't have to be strictly business with me. I'm here for you and everyone else as a friend. You can tell me how you feel."

Wave's eyes watered dangerously for a moment, making it hard to see. "I don't know where he is," she typed after a lengthy delay. "Sein said he had an idea of where to take him, but I didn't ask. Eila, Rose, Cyril, Cere, Sein, Jet, Ylden, and a man with a blindfold who was with Cere… they all know. I'm by the palace right now, close to Storm. Pretty sure he's napping." She opted not to bring up the last part of what he'd said. It wasn't because she didn't appreciate his offer, but she really… really didn't want to wind up breaking down again.

"The man with the blindfold is Saethrim, the previous God of Mythical Beasts." Steam offered in explanation before adding, "You need to do your best to relax. This will end in no time if Cere is getting involved. And she is."

"I can't just relax," Wave protested, eyes watering all over again. "I can't lose him, Steam. He's all me and Alec have left."

"I know what you mean."

"I'm sorry I bothered you. I know you're trying to get some reprieve right now." Wave wiped her eyes and then her screen when a single tear drop fell on it. She resolved to try to end this discussion now, before she really started crying again. "I just wanted to keep you informed, is all."

"It's okay, Wave. I'd rather be caught up before I return than to find out everything last second."

"Yeah. I figured." Wave almost convinced herself that she was okay with the discussion ending there, but eventually she just had to ask. "Why is Nareish doing this to him? Why pick him at all? What is she going to do, Steam?"

"I hate to lie, so… This is almost assuredly her trying to push the same form of corruption on him that Eila suffered through. The kind that changes your personality and how your mind operates. After that… she plans to allow him to do as he wishes."

Oh, god… Wave's eyes watered all over again and several tears slipped free. "Did… it work? In your timeline, I mean..."

"It did. For a time. We were eventually able to save him, however."

"Do you think the same thing will happen here? That we'll be able to save him?"

"I'm not going to stop until he's saved."

"How can we save him?" Wave suddenly asked. "Jet barely managed to save Eila, and it took him ascending to a level he can't possibly get to again right now."

Steam's answer took an unusual amount of time to come. "I… can't say just yet. I want to see if the solution arises on its own without me interfering. It's also not something I could really explain over a text all that well."

Wave sniffled and wiped at her eyes before typing a response. "Why did she target him, Steam?" she asked again. "It doesn't make any sense to me. He hasn't even been involved before now."

"There's multiple reasons, and I never bothered to pick her brain. Han is close to you, and by proxy you are close to Jet. This also puts strain on everyone due to having one less powerful magic-using ally. On top of this… he's an intrinsically magical being as a Hexan."

"This doesn't hurt Jet, only me. If anything, it just pissed him off." Wave hesitated, then typed a bit more of a reply. "Why does Dad being a Hexan matter to her? She's interested in chameleons more than any other race, so far as we've ever seen."

"Corrupting his magic corrupts him rapidly and thoroughly due to him being a Hexan, since magic flows through them so much. Unlike in Eila's case, where she used a corrupted power and it took her quite a long time to reach the state she ended up in."

"How can something like this possibly be fixed, then?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yeah…"

"I promise you, whole-heartedly, that it will be fixed."

Biting back a small sob, Wave nodded to herself (however pointless that was). "Okay."

"I'll make sure that it turns out okay."

"Alright…"

"Do you need to talk to me about anything? I'll listen, no matter how much you have to say."

"I don't know. This is all just so much, Steam. It's always awful when someone is corrupted, but it's so much worse when it's someone close to you…"

"I understand… I was alive when it happened to Kaden in my timeline, and I always viewed him like a father in a way. It's not easy to handle. I cried for days when I realized that it was damn near impossible to save him at the time… after finding out so long after it actually happened."

She wiped at her eyes. "That must have been… terrible."

"It's how you feel now, right? Just… overwhelmed? In pain?"

"I think so."

"Just know that it's okay to cry and be upset. The more you try to hold it in, the worse the pain becomes."

"Yeah. I know." Wave let out a shaky sigh. "I'm going to talk to Storm soon about all of this. Promise. The big lug is pretty good at cheering people up when he wants to."

"Make sure to feed him, too. You guys could both use some relaxing together."

"Ha… yeah. I'll find him something to eat."

"Good. Let me know what you make. I might want some leftovers if he doesn't take it all before I get back."

"Make? I never said I was putting effort into this." She managed a wan smile. "I'll find him a fruit or something."

"Nevermind on the leftovers."

"Thought so."

"Keep me updated, and do your best to relax a little."

"I will. Thank you, Steam."

"Anytime."

~保護者~

Jet appeared beside his father, arms tightly crossed, to join in on the discussion about what to do regarding Han - like he'd promised Wave he would. He said nothing as he listened to what was being said.

Cere glanced around. She was unsurprised to see Rose here, based on what she'd seen of how things went with Eila. Sein and Jet were here, obviously, as was Ylden and Saethrim. Cyril and Eila had decided to stay on Mobius, but that was fine. Eila needed someone watching over her as it was. The Hexan spoke once she was sure everyone was present, getting directly to the point. "Han was attacked by a bat by the name of Nira, sister of Amani. Nira has some form of corrupted petrification power. Han has been relocated to somewhere safe, and now all we have left to do is to fight." Her eyes reflected the well-tempered rage she felt. "I'm not accepting any other outcome than myself taking Nira down."

As much as Jet wanted to do this himself, he recognized that it wasn't safe for him to get too involved right now. Not with the Void latched to him. So long as she dies, then fine.

Ylden raised an eyebrow, but didn't question Cere on the matter. Instead, he focused on something else. "What about after this? It's bound to bring attention."

Sein frowned openly. "If we kill Nira, it's assuredly going to upset Amani."

"That's what I'm counting on," Cere answered easily. The Hexan gave a soft smirk. "We're taking her life too. Tempest, kin of Calypso, is a powerful fighter that we could allow to take on Amani. There's nothing Amani can do that would actually harm the woman."

A hand on his chin, Ylden nodded. "Tempest is strong. She survived one of my strongest spells… keeping in mind that I dialed it back a little, and was still more than capable of walking."

Cere nodded. "Tempest will also be more than capable of withstanding the mental assaults of Amani. One of her powers directly relates to the anger she experiences, and the more Amani does, the worse her fate becomes."

At that point, Jet spoke up. "Do not tell her until it is time for her to join the fight," he advised, looking away. "She will be difficult to reign in if she is made to wait."

"Correct," Cere said. "The only direct faults in this plan are Nareish's potential involvement or them having backup. The latter will not save either. We are both equipped to face an army if need be, Tempest more so than I for a reason or two."

Ylden frowned. "One other problem. Stopping Tempest. She's dedicated to bloodshed and little else. She may well not stop after Amani."

"Then kill her," the Void chose to mutter, as though the others could hear it.

Jet, meanwhile, chose to ignore that comment. "It would be possible to stop her if Calypso is taken to her. She will not harm her sister."

"Who's gonna take her?" Sein dared to ask. "I'd be willing, but I feel like an Immortal being present would draw way too much attention."

Saethrim grinned suddenly. "I will. I can get us in and out in a snap, and since I'm no longer the God of Mythical Beasts, I should be able to slip by unnoticed… maybe." He shrugged. "Worst case scenario, I'll just flash us out before anyone can even come close."

"Acceptable," Jet murmured.

"So it's settled. Two fights, two deaths, both to Nareish's army," Saethrim said. "Let me know when it's go time. I'll be nearby." With that, the man shifted backward one step and promptly vanished.

The unusual ability with which this was accomplished made Jet blink, but it was the Void that voiced his thought. "That man was… interesting."

You're not investigating him. Forget it. Jet refocused on Cere. "That leaves the issue of Han," he pointed out. "This will not undo what has already been done to him."

"We need to wait for Eona or Teyan to find out something, for the moment. I don't think anyone else has a chance to, besides potentially the Aether… but it's still learning, correct?" Her gaze flicked to Jet.

"Yes," he confirmed simply. "It only just came to be."

The Hexan frowned deeply and thought to herself for a long moment. "It's still our best course of action to wait and see, but removing the potential of it being worsened is necessary." Since he wasn't arguing that point, Jet chose not to say anything further.

Just then, the Void unexpectedly turned its attention straight to Sein. "You. You can hear me, correct?" Sein gave a slight nod in response, shifting his eyes in its direction for a moment. "Your son has blocked me out for the time being. However, this needs to be said. The women you all are planning to fight will die, but their leader may well feel the need to get involved. Tell your allies to finish their business quickly and leave." It audibly huffed and added, "I tell you this only for his sake. The sooner she begins actively battling your allies, the worse danger he is in."

Sein spoke up after hearing this. "Back to the issue of gaining attention from killing those two… we need to get it done as fast as possible once we begin moving. If we draw the wrong attention, this will go to shit quickly."

Cere blinked once and nodded. "This is true. As such, our concern will heavily lie in Calypso's ability to stop her sister so they can leave quickly." Hearing this, Jet glanced at the Void and listened to it again for just a moment. However, he didn't draw any attention in the process.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss before arrangements are made?" Ylden asked. "I can go to Calypso and give her the necessary information."

"We should be set," Cere said. "Make necessary preparations now. Ylden, go to Calypso and have her ready. Jet and Sein. If you are able, go to Mobius and warn the others that hell may be raised soon, and to be on their guards. I will go alert Saethrim of when we move. You all will hear from me when it is time."

"I cannot," Jet stated simply, offering no explanations.

"Understood," Cere said. "Are you able to stand by in the event this goes south?"

After weighing his options, Jet conceded, "Yes. But should it come to that, neither you nor anyone else can remain in the area."

Cere nodded gently. "I will do my best to not have this be an issue that arises."

"Fine." Jet didn't wait for a reply before vanishing. Having nothing else to say, Ylden and Sein both teleported away to handle their respective missions.

Once Cere was alone, she materialized a mirror in front of her and looked down at her student from afar. You've grown so much in this short amount of time, Armaris. I was so worried for your safety that I stunted you for too long. I promise I will make it all up to you. Though it saddened her to make this realization, she was glad to know it. Whether it was her fault or not, getting to see that Armaris could in fact grow stronger was heart-warming.

I can only hope you still wish to take my place one day. You deserve it with the hard work you put in.

~保護者~

Sometime after Steam finished talking with Wave, his wife returned home from some errands she had been running. The knight had shed her usual armor earlier in the day in exchange for carrying a handwoven basket to the marketplace a few miles away. It now contained fresh bread, some eggs, and even a few carefully picked orchids.

The echidna, daughter of Knuckles and Rouge's youngest son Kayde, took her basket to the kitchen before walking to where Steam was. She idly stuck a single flower behind his ear as she walked by, then sat down by his side. "You seem tense," she observed, hands already busy undoing some of the small braids she had done in her hair that morning.

"Something happened to Han in their timeline," Steam murmured, looking over the messages between him and Wave once more. "I know they can handle this, but it's so hard to not worry." His ear flicked a little and he had to put his hand up to keep the flower from falling. He set it back where it was before.

She hummed softly in acknowledgement. "Do you want to talk about it?" she offered, still busy with her braids.

"Han was attacked by someone with a corrupted petrification power," Steam said immediately. "They're taking his memories."

A tch sound answered him. "That same thing happened here," she recalled aloud. "We caught it quickly enough to reverse it. What are the chances of it going that way again?"

"Pretty high, but the issue is always Nareish. She's the wildcard." Steam looked up from his communicator finally to Tara. "It kinda just depends on if she steps in on whatever plan Cere and the others come up with

"Got a plan for what to do if things go south?"

"A well-timed raid," Steam suddenly explained. "Once we recover everyone who has been directly affected, take down the problems and send a message."

"Good. Playing it safe and holding back won't help anyone this time." Tara moved on to a new braid, expression calm as ever. "You've earned a lot of trust there. Where you go, your allies will follow you. Whatever you decide to do, you'll have help. Given that, I believe it will turn out alright in the end."

Steam wrapped an arm around her and once more fixed the flower so it couldn't fall off. "I'm sure it will."

Though his wife briefly hugged him, she also offered a mild protest. "It's hard to mess with my hair with you holding me, you know."

"Maybe I just wanted to hold you," he protested back lightly with a smile.

"Maybe I would like to undo your child's handiwork," Tara teased him. "This braid was not my doing, and it is tangled."

Steam rolled his eyes. "She'll get there. For now, though, she's getting better at it."

"You should have Shadow help her. Having daughters has trained him well. You, sir, are lacking."

"Have Shadow do anything for me? Sounds borderline impossible. He likes to be stubborn and ignore me a lot," the green hedgehog joked easily.

"Excuses, excuses." Tara stood and plucked the flower out from behind his ear. "You do not deserve pretty gifts if you are going to be like this." With that further bit of teasing, she walked back to the kitchen where she'd left her basket.

Steam didn't catch on immediately, blinking once before huffing. "Hey, I was wearing that!"

"And now I am stealing it," was the flippant reply. "I believe you will survive."

"Nope." Steam promptly went limp and collapsed into the floor, simply laying there and doing his level best to not laugh at how ridiculous this was.

"You are such a child," Tara huffed, though she was smiling. "Would the offer of garlic bread tonight tempt you off of the floor? I went to the baker and bought fresh loaves."

"Perhaps," Steam suddenly said, shifting and rolling to throw himself to his feet. "Just might be enough."

"Would pasta seal the deal, then?" Tara asked him. "I bought noodles and sauces as well."

Steam's smile was unmistakable. "You know me all too well."

"How odd," was the murmured response. "It is not as though I married you or anything. This makes no sense."

The hedgehog shrugged. "Never been sure of it either. Confuses me, too." Tara flashed him one of her rare, full-fledged grins, then gave him a quick kiss. Her amusement couldn't have been more apparent. Steam wasn't satisfied and pulled her close, making the kiss last just a little bit longer before pulling away. "That's been something I've missed."

"You sap," Tara chuckled, but she followed that up with a warm hug. "You are too much sometimes.

"And you're always more than enough," Steam responded with a similar warmth. "More than I could have ever asked for."

"Ooh, flattery. Do I get a present now?" Her over-exaggerated teasing tone caused her to smile again. She was in a very open, lovey mood today so far.

"I might have gotten you something," Steam said with a bright grin. "But you'll have to wait until after we eat."

"Fine, I suppose I will survive that long." Tara began taking things out of the basket to store for now. "But if you try to withhold it at all after dinner, I will never return your flower."

Steam crossed his arms a little, slipping away from the hug. "As if I'd ever actually do that."

Tara huffed at him, still amused as ever. She walked over to him and put the flower back where it had been. "There, happy now?" she asked him.

"Very," Steam said easily before suddenly blinking once. "Mind if I take a picture with you real fast?"

Given that this wasn't a common request from him, Tara canted her head. "I suppose not. What for?"

"I want to make sure Sonic and the others know I'm actually resting and relaxing a little bit," Steam said gently. His smile faltered for just a moment before he admitted, "And I realized that while I was gone, I didn't have a whole lot of pictures and such of you."

That immediately prompted her not to tease this time. "Of course you can," Tara told him. "You don't have to ask permission." With that said, she walked over to him again so that he could do this.

Steam held out his communicator and flexed a finger, taking a picture of himself with his wife. He looked at it after it was taken and groaned softly when he had to wipe a tear from one of his eyes. "Dammit, you're too sweet."

Such a sap. Tara wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "As are you," she murmured.

The hedgehog huffed at her and sent the picture to Sonic, Wave, and Kath. "Maybe now they'll believe me when I say I'll get some rest."

"Would you prefer they did not nag you?" Tara asked him. "Particularly in Sonic's case, that is an expression of care. Though, coming from Kath, I assume it was more a logical matter in his view. But regardless."

"Sometimes I need the reminder," Steam admitted easily. "It's good to hear it from multiple people, too. That tells me that it's obvious to more than one person."

"Hm, fair enough," Tara conceded. "Now come and help me put things away. I don't want to be working at this all afternoon."

"Of course," Steam agreed. "Let's get to it."

~保護者~

After leaving Cere and the others, Jet reappeared in his home. His altered mood prompted him to ignore his children for the time being, barely responding to their greetings as he strode down the upstairs hall toward his room. Using his aura, he swung the door open hard enough for it to smack into the wall. The wood protested the force of the hit, some faint cracks now visible in both it and the door's metal handle.

This was also ignored. Up until now he'd managed to keep his anger regarding Nareish under control, but that could only continue for so long. He was fucking furious about her doing this, about her getting her cronies to attack Han like that. Wave was hurting, and he hated it. He hated that there was so little he could do about this.

The one useful thing he could do besides wait was this. He crossed the room and laid a hand on an empty expanse of stone wall. The part of the wall he was touching glowed with energy for a second, outlining his hand perfectly. It then faded away, as though it had never been there. He grabbed a black jewelry box, or at least an item that looked a lot like one and opened it up. Contained inside were the seven Chaos Emeralds, arranged in a circle around the Master Emerald. All were shrunken down a tiny size. A mere touch would transport any of the emeralds in question into the holder's hand, however.

Satisfied that they were indeed still there (why wouldn't they be?), he sent it off to Sonic. In the time it took for the box to be teleported, he opened up a mental link. "The Chaos Emeralds are inside. Use them only if you desperately need them. Scattering them needlessly provides Nareish an opportunity to find them herself." He ended the mental link without giving his friend the chance to reply. Then, sword suddenly in hand, he left to monitor the upcoming fights.

If given even the slightest opportunity, he'd end those sisters himself.

~保護者~

The young chameleon laid in bed under the covers quietly, not wanting to see or hear a thing from her brother or anyone else. Myriu felt alone all over again, even as spirits passed by and vaguely interacted with her. She didn't have the heart to ignore them or avoid them right now.

The voice was so quiet at first that she couldn't actually understand what was being said, but it caused her to perk up. It spoke again, and she could almost make it out, so she came out from underneath the covers and found herself face-to-face with the spirit of a chameleon. Myriu blinked a few times. "Who…?"

"Myriu…" the man's voice echoed out. "You've gotten so big…"

"Who the fuck are you?" she demanded. Her eyes narrowed and she hopped off the bed, circling around the spirit. "I don't know you."

It took the spirit a moment to spin around to follow her. "You wouldn't… I died well before you got a proper chance to meet me."

"Spit it out," Myriu groaned. "I don't have time for the logic puzzles and-"

"I'm your dad, Myriu," he cut in. "My name is Nato."

The girl was not convinced. "How can I know you're even telling me the truth? Spirits lie all the time to mess with people."

He turned to her and she was taken aback as his spirit took on a more normal appearance… a lot like what she would expect from a living being. "You can see and hear me, obviously, so I need you to listen closely. You always had a fascination with how injuries are formed. When you were seven, you started stealing books and scrolls from others related to medicine and treatment. You still have them hidden away in a box in your mom's house… the ones that weren't taken back by those who caught you, anyway."

Myriu waved him off and grumbled under her breath. "You could've been any chameleon and had that knowledge, just by watching me."

The man sighed. "You used to cry yourself to sleep because your mother wouldn't speak to you for days on end. You hid yourself away from people and cried."

By now Myriu had been vaguely attempting to leave the room altogether, but this gave her pause. "Who do you think you are to bring that up?" she all but growled. "I don't cry."

"You did. For years," he continued without missing a beat. "Please, just hear me out."

Myriu walked to the door and gripped the handle, then paused and took a deep breath. "I don't want any of you in my life…" she murmured.

He hurried up to her before she could open the door and gripped her wrist softly. She wrenched it free and took a step away from him, but Nato knew this was his only chance. "I'm sorry I was never there. I wish I could have been, but your mom tried to get rid of you. I came home and she told me that you were in the forest."

The younger of the two chameleons (and most alive) crossed her arms. "And?"

"I left to find you," Nato said. "And I did, but so did a Hollow. It took everything I had to get you home uninjured, but I couldn't afford myself the same luxury. I… wish I could have done better."

Myriu blinked once at him before huffing and opening the door, walking out of the room. "Just be quiet," she grumbled.

"Myriu, please-" he was cut off briefly by the door being slammed shut in his face, but Nato ultimately just phased through it after her.

"I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you, and I sure as fucking hell do not want to be near you," Myriu snapped, whirling around on her heels. "If you were alive I would have thrown a knife at you already but, damn it all, you're a spirit. Kindly go fuck off."

Nato watched her with wide eyes and sighed a little. "I… won't. I'll leave you be for a bit… but I'm not leaving. I won't let you feel abandoned, especially after everything you've been through. I never have and never will."

"Everyone will at some point," Myriu growled bitterly. "My mother, Toru, the people that took care of me. Nobody is going to give a shit, and that's fine by me. You're not special just because you're a spirit. If I have to, I'll make you fuck off." Nato tried to speak, but Myriu cut him off. "Shut up. We're done here. I'm leaving." With that, she made a break for the front door and exited. Nato let her go ahead, then followed from a distance.

She needs space… but I'm not sure how much I can give her.

~保護者~

Perpetually exhausted though he was, Locke couldn't feel anything but happy right now. He found himself with enough free time for an extended visit with his family. He'd gone to Mobius with his daughters to see Knuckles and Rouge. Having seen his son and daughter-in-law so little since being reunited with them hurt, but with them meeting Anthea and Anya finally and them all smiling and laughing together…

Well, that was alright.

That was better than alright.

That was… joyous.

Oh, how he wished it would last forever.

~保護者~

An hour, perhaps two, had passed since Shadow and Toru had had their conversation about Myriu. His sensitive ears had picked up on the sound of the child in question speaking to someone who didn't actually seem to be there. He suspected a spirit. But, while she'd gotten very worked up at one point, things had gotten quiet again. Resolved to keep an ear out still, he mostly turned his attention away.

Much of said attention was inevitably on Toru from the start, anyway. The chameleon was still laying on the other side of the bed with his back to him. While Shadow's concern about the other man's uncharacteristic shift in mood had yet to wane in any capacity, he strongly suspected Toru wanted to be left alone. With that in mind, he did his best to focus on the words in his book.

That, and the sounds of his two kids. Lia was playing with Soren on the game system they'd gotten from the Aether recently. They were plenty entertained. It gave him one less thing to worry about, which was nice. Especially since he didn't have the energy to get up and play or anything with Lia in particular right now. The girl was practically tireless at this age. He would never understand how.

Thinking about that and his memories associated with the knowledge eased his emotions a tad bit for a few minutes. That allowed him to finally finish the page he'd been kinda-sorta working on for however long it had been. He'd no sooner turned the page, however, when it suddenly seemed to fall through his fingers to land on top of him.

The hell? He picked up the dropped book, frowning to himself, only to be further caught off-guard when he suddenly fell through the bed to land on the floor underneath it. A quick teleport had him back on the bed almost as soon as it happened. But, though he'd reacted quickly as he was designed to do, he was still trying to process what had just occurred. What the actual fuck?

He stole a glance at Toru. The chameleon didn't seem to have noticed. In all fairness, aside from him dropping the book, there hadn't been any sound. He was probably still lost in thought. Shadow remained determined both to not bother him and to properly read his book in spite of whatever had just happened. It seemed like it was over, anyway.

Not two minutes later, he was interrupted a second time. It was faint, but he realized he could see faint wisps of smoke trailing off of the fingertips of his right hand. More internal cursing followed as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Then he turned his attention to trying to essentially "turn off" whatever strange emission ability was apparently being used here. Though he was met with quick success, he still didn't understand. Phasing and smoke… These are not powers I have. How in the hell is this happening?

As if being able to emit and perhaps control smoke all of a sudden wasn't strange enough, Shadow found himself watching as his opposite hand turned fully into the stuff for just a moment. Both instances were so brief that there was no lingering smell in the air, and for that reason he wasn't surprised by Toru's continuing lack of reaction. Even so, he shifted his focus to sussing out how these random-ass powers had activated in the first place, thus allowing him to begin learning how to keep them from doing so again.

He could officially add some form of smoke mimicry to his short list of new abilities. But why had he suddenly developed them? As far as he knew, there was nothing Gerald had ever done to his DNA or whatever else to cause him to spontaneously do such a thing. It made no damn sense to him, and his tension caused yet another power to reveal itself.

Much of his tension was in his arms and shoulders right now, partly because he was holding a book above himself while laying flat on his back. Said arms and shoulders promptly turned into goddamn metal, because of course they did. Forcing his muscles to relax allowed his arms to shift back to normal, thus giving him an idea of how to actively keep this form of mimicry at bay as well.

For a few minutes, he found reprieve. He was so focused on what he was thinking that he had long since stopped paying attention to the words he was supposed to be reading. Then his ears picked up on a faint sound through the walls from inside his nearly soundproof gun storage area. The sole table in there suddenly bent or folded or something, judging by the faint crunch of metal he heard.

Cursing mentally, he tried to see if he could undo this, partly just to confirm he was the one who had done it in the first place. Soon enough, it seemed to bend back into place so far as he could tell from here. Two forms of mimicry, one emission and manipulation ability, a separate manipulation ability, phasing… This should not be possible. At all.

The universe seemed determined to fuck with him some more. His irritation caused his tenuous, newfound control to slip. He fell through the bed again. Only, this time, the moment he made contact with the floor, a shockwave rocketed through the whole house. He was back on the bed in an instant like before, only this time he immediately sat up and discarded the book somewhere with a toss because he was fucking pissed and now probably had to go see if anything was broken anywhere.

Soren interrupted that train of thought. "We're good!" he called from down the hall. "Must've been an earthquake or something. Nothing fell over."

Toru rolled over and let out a vague sigh, raising an eyebrow at Shadow. "Shadow, what the fuck are you doing?"

"I didn't do shit," Shadow responded, tossing Toru a hard glare. Old habits and behaviors nearly convinced him to just get up and leave because he was so irritated - and maybe even something else, though he wasn't really sure. But for now he forced himself to remain where he was. He drew in a breath and did his best to reign the emotion in, then mostly-calmly explained what was going on. "Powers I should not and do not possess have begun to suddenly appear and activate. I'm dealing with it. It will not happen again."

Toru frowned a little at this. "Where did they come from?" he asked.

"I don't know," Shadow muttered.

"Hm," Toru sat up fully. "You've never had these powers before, either, right?"

"No," was the sullen reply. Shadow reluctantly turned around to face Toru fully. He still felt bothered in a way he couldn't quite pinpoint, but focusing on the conversation was distraction enough from that for now.

The chameleon rubbed at his chin a little. "Hm… that doesn't make much sense."

"It doesn't make any sense," Shadow argued, crossing his arms. For a second, parts of his body started turning to smoke again and he had to make a conscious effort to get it to stop.

Toru shifted out of the bed. "We should go talk to Tails and Wery. They can figure out what all powers you were given, right?"

Shadow thought that over. "...Most likely," he conceded. Already, he was mentally typing out a message to send to Tails.

"By the way," Toru said softly. "I'm not mad or anything about what just happened. I was just too confused."

"I never once said you were," Shadow frowned, "nor did I imply it." He was aware of having received a reply from Tails, but he didn't check the content of the message yet.

"I was just concerned you might be," Toru admitted. "I realized that I might have reacted badly."

Crimson eyes blinked, then Shadow executed a vague shrug. "You did not. Given the circumstances, it was reasonable." As he spoke, he was aware of that bothered feeling fading just a bit. Though, not entirely.

Toru sighed a little. "Heard anything from Tails?"

"He said it's fine to go over," Shadow responded after checking the text. "They aren't busy right now, though there are a lot of people in the main house visiting at the moment."

"Is that fine with you?" Toru asked gently.

Shadow nodded. "If we are going to do this, give me a moment to tell Soren. He will need to mind Lia."

The chameleon nodded. "Alright." Shadow left briefly to go do this, then returned before long. He'd noticed the moment it had happened that Myriu had left the house, but that she'd been intercepted by Caer. Since she was safe and they were talking for the moment, he opted to leave the matter be. It was far from his business.

Toru seemed disturbed when Shadow returned, but the moment the chameleon saw Shadow, he did his level best to hide it for now. "We good to go?"

Though this reaction was noticed, Shadow didn't bring it up. The less he brought it up personally, the better. Maybe. "Yes," was all he said before teleporting.

The chameleon blinked once at the sudden teleport. "Oh, alrighty."

Immediately upon seeing them, Tails smiled. Thankfully, he and Wery had migrated to the workshop by now. "Oh, hey, you guys got here fast."

Wery waved happily to them both. "Hiya! Good to see you guys again." Shadow just inclined his head in greeting and semi-moodily took a seat on a nearby stool. Now that he was forced to again consider why they were here, he was annoyed at his situation all over again. Toru moved to sit by him as Wery headed over to them both. "So, you have some new powers, right?"

"Apparently," Shadow grumbled.

Tails grabbed the necessary scanner and joined them. "Which is weird, by the way," he told Wery. "I've been taking detailed scans of him for years. There shouldn't be any new abilities showing up that neither of us were aware of before."

"Hm…" Wery thought for a moment. "Well… isn't it possible to kinda transfer powers?"

"It is, yeah," Tails nodded. "And I was thinking about that. I just don't know who would be doing it or why."

"Well… as long as you're okay with it, Shadow, we can scan you and figure out what all you got?" Wery proposed with a smile.

"That is why we came," Shadow said simply with a dismissive huff. He wasn't dismissing her, though, just the question of whether or not this was okay.

Being well used to Shadow's mannerisms by now, even when they leaned more toward anger and hostility than they were now, Tails didn't even react to this. "Alright, scanning now," he announced for the sake of… formality, he supposed? He wasn't entirely sure, nor did he give it more than a split second's thought. "Okay… so the ones you mentioned in your text are definitely showing up," the fox soon said. After a slight pause, he listed everything out for Wery and Toru's benefit. "Smoke creation and manipulation, smoke mimicry, phasing, metal manipulation, metal mimicry, and lastly vibration and shockwave emission. Jeez, what a weird assortment of powers. A couple of them almost make sense for a few reasons, but still…"

"Aren't they all a bit on point except for the shockwave one?" Wery pointed out. "Well, and phasing."

"Hm, yeah… I guess you're right. But he still shouldn't have any of them at all…"

Toru frowned. "I don't think anyone we know has half of these powers, either," the chameleon pointed out.

"Aside from phasing," Tails said, "we don't know anyone with these powers. It doesn't make any sense."

Wery crossed her arms in thought and frowned. "I don't get it."

Tails started to say something, only to pause. "...Okay, now I'm even more confused," he said suddenly. Tilting the screen, he made it easier for Wery to see. "Look at this. Two more just appeared out of nowhere. Just now. Like, within the last couple of seconds."

"What are they?" Shadow was quick to demand.

"You trust me, right?" Tails asked after a suspicious pause.

Shadow frowned at him. "...Yes," he eventually said.

"Glad to hear you say it, for once," Tails teased with a smile. Then he got serious again. "Just go along with this, okay?" He turned to Toru. "Really quick, try to push him. I promise I'm not asking you to send him flying. Just, like, try to push him into a standing position. I've gotta try to confirm this reading."

Toru frowned openly before pressing his hand against Shadow's shoulder and attempted to push the hedgehog. This didn't work even slightly, and Shadow already suspected why. "Immobility?" he asked, annoyed all over again. Tails nodded a little, eyes on the screen.

Wery tilted her head a little and blinked, looking at the screen. "So… he can't move unless he wants to?"

"Pretty much," Tails confirmed. "An explosion could go off right now and it wouldn't budge him unless he let it."

"That sounds pretty useful, but at the same time wouldn't that mean that he takes more damage from certain types of damage?" Wery asked. "Unless that's what the invulnerability power handles…"

"Yes and no," Tails shrugged. "Yeah, he can activate that, but it's only a very temporary ability. Depending on the user, it lasts no longer than a minute or two, sometimes as little as ten seconds. But he's built to withstand a lot without being badly scathed. So that's going to come in handy, too."

Toru raised an eyebrow. "This is cool and all, but we still don't know what the fuck happened."

Tails sighed. "Yeah… there is that. Doing scans can't tell us the origin of these powers when genetics aren't involved. Which, by the way, we can definitively say is not the case. This isn't stuff from either of his dads."

The chameleon leaned onto Shadow and frowned. "So something gave those to him?"

There was barely time for Tails to nod before Shadow blinked and looked at Toru. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Toru asked in return.

"You know full well what," Shadow huffed. "You copied them."

"Oh!" Toru said, chuckling. "That is what you meant. Yes, I copied Immobility and Invulnerability." This earned him another huff and a slight eye-roll.

Though he was curious, Tails opted not to question what had just happened. "I'm gonna go ahead and keep scanning for a minute," he said. "Just in case more show up."

Wery looked to Toru. "So, you copied two of Shadow's powers? What else do you have copied?"

Toru looked to her and blinked. "A power from Zareil. A sort of energy that holds people in place for a short time. It's the third power I have copied and the only other one I can keep right now."

"A limit of three, huh?" Tails mused. "That makes sense, in a weird way. Like, when you think about it in terms of the limits other powers tend to have."

The chameleon nodded. "Yep. Came in handy a lot."

Wery scratched the back of her head a little. "Copying powers is a weird thought. I've always kinda thought of them as being part of genetics."

"Well, mostly they are," Tails agreed, "but just like how powers can be given and shared, they can also be taken. But only very, very seldomly. He's probably the only person we'll ever meet with this power despite our contact with other worlds. It's that rare."

"Woah," Wery said in awe. "That's pretty cool."

"Hear that, Toru? You're officially cool." Tails laughed a little.

Toru chuckled a little. "Glad to hear it from you two." Tails flashed him a grin, then returned his attention to the scanner.

"You did not need the ego boost," Shadow grumbled. "Do not let this go to your head."

The chameleon lightly mocked him in amusement with his hand, moving it as if it were talking. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not egotistical. Just cocky."

Shadow rolled his eyes very openly and then elbowed him. "Dumbass." This clear display of affection between them made Tails smile yet again.

Wery beamed at them both before suddenly gasping. "Shadow, I had my computer running some coding simulations and it finished something a day or so ago. I think that, if I apply it, you should be more or less safe from being controlled by Gerald."

That name made Shadow tense up, and his skepticism was apparent. That it was borne of caution and concern was equally clear, though. "...How certain are you?" he eventually asked.

The female fox looked over her tablet screen and tapped it a few times. "Judging by everything I've seen with it… and the fact that it recycles the code Gerald used to give you specific emotions, uses that to make new code for other emotions, and completely overwrites anything that inhibits you, I am thoroughly certain."

Toru frowned a little. "Does this give him things that he's never dealt with that he'll suddenly have to learn?" Shadow, meanwhile, stayed silent in order to think.

Wery thought this through and looked over her tablet. "He should have free access more or less to his emotional range, but the entire point is to break the things that Gerald used to inhibit him and keep him free."

"It most likely will be a lot to deal with," Tails said, "even without considering the already expanded range he's been learning to live with lately. But I do agree this would be for the best."

"So… Shadow, this is all up to you. We're all of the opinion that it could be good, but do you want to add this alongside everything else already going on?" Toru asked gently. "I'm sure we'll all understand if you don't."

"Yeah," Wery said. "I can save this code and set it aside for you, for whenever you feel comfortable."

Shadow muttered something under his breath and crossed his arms, then said, "Just do it. Delaying it will make this worse."

"You're sure?" Wery dared to ask. Shadow just nodded once. The fox nodded a little and walked to grab something else, plugging it into the tablet. "Alright, so this shouldn't be much different than the other times."

"Which means it may leave you feeling weird and kinda unfocused for a moment, like any update," Tails helpfully supplied. As he predicted, Shadow made no comment. Wery tapped on her screen once and gave a small smile, pushing out the code to him remotely. As this happened, Shadow found himself blinking a few times as his mind tried to adjust to what was happening. It was a familiar sensation, but no less unpleasant and uncomfortable.

Wery set the tablet down for a moment and looked to Toru. "This won't take long, and he's still here and all, so is there anything you'd like to ask? You're always kinda quiet around us, so I wanna make sure that you don't need something and you're just not bringing it up." Tails looked up from the scanner long enough to glance between them, but opted to let Wery do the talking for herself.

Toru looked to Shadow before speaking. "We don't want to go to a hospital for it… but we'd really like to figure out what the gender of the baby is."

Immediately, Tails lit up. "Aw, that would be so sweet! I bet we could help out with that!" He set the scanner aside to give Toru and Wery his full attention. "I don't have much in the way of medical equipment here aside from what's needed for what I have to do work on him. But I'm sure we could figure something out."

"Wait, do you have blueprints?" Wery asked, suddenly turning to look at Tails.

"Probably, yeah," Tails nodded. "I used to supply some smaller hospitals with stuff, so I should have things related to that left somewhere. Be right back." He hurried off to one of his many shelving units.

Wery glanced back to her tablet and blinked. "Oh, the code should be done transferring. Any second, you should be all set to go, Shadow," she said cheerily.

Sure enough, it was over almost before she could finish talking. Shadow muttered something under his breath and rubbed at his eyes to clear his vision of the lines of code he'd been seeing. Toru looked over with a raised eyebrow. "How do you feel?"

"That is never comfortable," Shadow groused. "But I'm fine."

"Sorry," Wery said sheepishly. "I could make a software for you at some point where you can manually update it yourself and remove some of that weirdness from the process… maybe, but it'd take some time and I'm not sure we'll have that chance with everything going on."

"It does not matter right now," Shadow responded. Though, he supposed he did appreciate the offer somewhat.

Tails soon returned with a few rolled up documents in his arms. "Okay, so forgive me for not having these digitized. I made these a long time ago, but they're pretty much the same tech hospitals still use today. Just slightly slower. Barely noticeable."

Wery tilted her head and gingerly took the documents from him, then laid them out one by one. "Okay… so this seems really doable. Incorporating it into the scanner might be the troublesome part, but I should be able to."

Tails handed the aforementioned scanner over to her. "How long are you thinking?" he asked. "Oh, and do you need any help at all?"

"I'd give it two days, at max," Wery said. "I'd totally appreciate help. Would really cut down on time." She gave a bright smile to Tails.

He grinned back at her. "I guessed just about the same as you," he admitted. "I'll definitely help, don't worry. I don't mind." Tails looked back at Shadow and Toru. "So far, the scanner hasn't picked up on any further powers. I think you guys might be okay for now."

Toru nudged Shadow. "You feelin' alright?"

"Fine," Shadow said again. This time, the nudge managed to move him, despite him not having needed to 'allow' it. Which meant the ability had deactivated again.

Wery looked to Shadow for a moment. "If I think of anything on how we can figure out where these powers came from, is it alright if I just message you?"

"You do not need permission," Shadow responded simply. "Just text whenever you feel the need. I will answer when I can."

"I just figured I'd ask," Wery said. "You don't know me super well, and I'd hate to bother anyone."

"Text is the least dislikable form of communication," Shadow told her with a shrug. "I prefer it to talking most days."

Tails hid a smile. Except with a certain chameleon.

Toru rolled his eyes. "It's safe to assume you guys are just gonna get back to working on stuff?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Tails replied happily. "It's what we do and all that."

Wery nodded with a smile. "Mhm! If you need us, just let us know." As Tails predicted, Shadow said nothing and instead just vanished. Toru blinked once and just teleported after him.

"Well, I guess that blink was goodbye?" Tails offered with a small laugh.

A small snicker left the female fox. "Yeah, seems so," Wery answered.

Shaking his head in amusement. "Those two, I swear. But, anyway, we may as well get to work. I don't know about you, but I'm kinda excited to learn about the baby, too."

"It worries me about what might happen as a result of having it," Wery said. "But I would like to learn as well."

"It is concerning," Tails agreed, "but… I mean, they chose to go through with it. I'd rather be happy for them than worry nonstop, you know?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Wery said brightly. "Everything just bounces around in my head."

"No, I get it, honest," Tails smiled. "I was just saying, is all."

She shrugged a touch. "Well, all that aside, we should probably get to working. We got a lot more on our plate, as always," she giggled.

"Would you have it any other way?" Tails teased, reaching for some tools.

Wery grabbed her tablet. "Not a chance!" she exclaimed.

Trading goofy grins, the pair set to work.

~保護者~

Following her discussion with Steam, Wave went ahead and woke Storm up. After recounting the situation yet again, the pair sat in silence for a while. She leaned into his side while one of his large arms patted at her back. "You tell Jet?" Storm finally asked. "He oughta know."

"He knows," Wave sniffled. "He's going to try and help."

"Try? Hah." Storm shook his head with an amused snort. "He almost never just tries things. Guy just does. 'Trying' implies he could fail. He doesn't do that often."

His assertion, coupled with the awful sound he'd just made, managed to tease a smile out of her. "I guess you're right," she admitted, even as she elbowed him. She could tell he was trying to cheer her up, and she let him. "He has a bad habit of doing everything in his power to get the outcomes he wants, even when it should be impossible."

"Or at least improbable," he chuckled. "It's 'cause he's too stubborn for his own damn good."

"More like for our good. Especially mine, when I have to go save his butt."

"That's more bein' reckless than stubborn."

"Trust me, it's both. Together. Often."

"Heh. Sounds about right." Storm removed his arm from her in order to stretch. He'd been passed out on the ground under a tree for who-knew-how-long, after all. How he could sleep like that was beyond her. "Want to take a walk or somethin'? Might help clear your mind."

"Who are you and what have you done with the lazy man I once knew?" Wave teased. Somehow, she felt herself already relaxing a little bit more.

"He grew old, lived in a hut, and got tired of sass like yours," Storm retorted, already standing up. "Gonna come or what? I'm offerin' here."

"Yeah, alright. You make a good point." Wave stood and wiped her eyes a bit. "Taking a walk might do me some good, I guess. I can't stay long, though. I need to get back to Alec."

"Sure. Let's get a move on, then." Storm collected his staff and began walking with Wave by his side. It was… nice, she decided, to have her old friend back. Maybe even better than nice.

Right now, it was just what she needed.

~保護者~

Nareish drummed her finger lightly on her thigh as she strolled through a new, distant timeline she had uncovered only recently. A plan had taken place in her mind immediately, and she intended to see it through. This place offered her the chance to do just that. So few demons exist here… Removing their leader won't have a drastic impact. They will finally succumb to extinction with time, and the balance of their version of existence will be none the worse for it.

Pleased with this determination, Nareish boldly approached the leader in question. She knew her other self had quite the reputation here and had gained many wicked allies. Whether this one was among them was irrelevant so long as they listened. "I presume you to be the deity in charge, then," she murmured, a smile playing at her lips. "With so little to rule over, I cannot help but imagine you bored out of your skull. I have come to offer you more."

A hand planted on their face, they drug it down their skin with a low growl of sorts. "Why should I care what you have to offer?" They demanded. "For all I know, you could be vastly different from the version of yourself from my timeline."

An eyebrow quirked up. "Hardly." Nareish drew open a portal with a finger leading directly into Kaden's demonic realm and showing the vast number of demons residing within it. "Your kind is virtually powerless here, while you are not. Where I am from, there are legions upon legions of demons, many of which are too powerful for their enemies to face alone. So powerful was their most recent leader that nearly all beings of Light have been slain. However… one that does remain managed to just barely purify him. An unfortunate loss, but the way I see it… that means there is now space for you."

"What of my kind in my timeline?" they dared to ask. "Despite the promises of power and all that you speak, you plan to just let them die out with the internal war that would certainly be waged?"

Nareish did a few mental calculations. "By my estimation, there are a grand total of two hundred demons left, excluding you. In terms of power, none are even half as strong as you. What kind of damage do you truly believe they can cause?"

"It's not a matter of the damage they can cause," the demon grumbled in irritation. "It's the collapse of our kind in this timeline."

"At present, all my visions of this reality's future are the same no matter what you do and where you go," Nareish told her calmly. "Your choice now is whether or not to die with them or continue living apart from them."

They glanced around for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "What's in it for you? What are you getting out of this situation?"

"The same thing as always," Nareish murmured. "The creation of a new reality. It very much involves your kind. And, where I am from, your kind is in need of a new ruler."

"...Are there no strings attached to this position? I will simply be allowed to rule?"

"You will need to kill the former God, but that is of no consequence. I will make it easy."

The demon raised an eyebrow. "If the old leader was purified, the enemy would be ignorant if they were not guarding him."

"They are minimally guarding him for the time being," Nareish answered. "They are well aware by now that none are safe from me, but rather correctly have assumed that other threats are less likely to notice where he is if they are not around him in large numbers."

"Then how are you planning to accomplish all of this?" the demon asked.

"There are only a few people with him, and they will be more than easy enough for me to get out of your way," was the shrugging reply. "Sending you off to meet your new legions will be even simpler."

The demon watched her with narrowed eyes. "And once more to cover all bases… you're not attaching any strings. I'm going to become the God of Demons in this timeline, and will simply operate as I would?"

"Yes, that is what I am proposing," Nareish agreed. "There is a vast war taking place, but that is not necessarily something you must involve yourself in. You will be free to do as you see fit."

"I don't believe I'll spend much time with the war, in any case… Not now. I have things I would like to learn before I put my shares into the pot," he replied.

"I will permit you to do as you please," she promised again, "as soon as you have claimed your role in that timeline."

A smile broke onto the demon's face. "Then I suppose we have a deal. Perhaps you could spread the word to my race that they were too weak for me to maintain my position? I feel like the insult may well accelerate their deaths and it could be quite amusing."

"Their demise may well come by their own hands and claws, in that case," Nareish smiled back briefly. "My other self will see to it. She has been paying attention."

The demon grinned. "Good to hear. Now, I'll work alongside you for the portion that allows me to become the leader of demons here."

"Good." Nareish walked through the portal she'd opened with her newest ally at her heels.

~保護者~

11,447 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 10:15 p.m.) 08-30-21.