Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during these discussions… especially for the one who's eager to learn.

~保護者~

"Obedience"

~保護者~

Immediately following Ylden's semi-request (mostly order) for the to leave and her subsequent teleport, Wave appeared in one of the palace gardens on New Babylon. She sat down heavily on the grass near a young, potted tree, wiping tears away from her eyes. No particular thoughts were running through her head at the moment. She was just… hurting.

It didn't take long for Eila to arrive, quickly walking over to the Hexan to sit by her, her gaze affixed to the ground. "I… I'm really sorry, Wave. I wish there was more we could do…"

Wave took in a deep, shaky breath. "It isn't your fault," she murmured. "I just… I was hoping… so much that Dad would say anything but that. I don't understand why he wouldn't want help."

"He might have if he'd had his memories," Eila murmured softly in return. "He doesn't know what's really happening, only what Ylden might have told him in the time since his memories finally stopped vanishing."

"...I know," Wave eventually admitted. "I know that. It just… doesn't make it hurt less."

"I suppose in a way that makes us a touch different. I can't find as much solace in some things," Eila said. "But… I do know that there will always be a chance to save him. I'll keep looking for any way to help."

The swallow turned her head to look at Eila. "You… will?" she asked slowly. "This isn't even… well… your problem."

The cat didn't look up, if only because she didn't know if she could manage eye contact right now. "I will. This is something that matters to me… because it matters to you."

Just like that, Wave was having to wipe at her eyes again. She turned her head away and sniffled. "Thank you," she found herself whispering. After a lengthy delay, she elaborated, "For doing so much. For trying to do even more. Thank you."

"Even pretending I didn't want to, I owe that much to you," Eila murmured. "You're one of the few people I feel like I connect with."

Another sniffle. "You don't owe me anything. Potential connection or not… you never owed me anything. I asked a big favor of you by requesting that you show me your commitment to change, but nothing else has been 'required' of you. Nothing at all."

"You and Sonic are the only two that didn't immediately act kind to me," Eila murmured. She thought, then decided to explain more. "You requiring me to show that commitment meant that you hadn't forgiven me. You didn't just blindly trust me. I needed to prove to you that I was going to improve. That gave me focus, something that Silver couldn't do with… how utterly nice he is."

Wave managed a weak smile. "You shouldn't expect anything less from him," she explained. "His mental powers surpass even yours. If he says someone is trustworthy or they're not, he's to be believed without question. And, yeah, he's pretty unfailingly nice. That's probably the Light he inherited acting through him.""I understand," Eila said. "My sister was always the same way. A beam of sunshine. I looked up to her even though I was the older sister. She had something I couldn't explain," Eila said. "It's crazy to see the difference between us now."

"Yeah… I can imagine." Wave was quiet for a few seconds before asking, in an effort to continue taking her mind off of things for the moment, "Have you ever met Analia? Honestly, if you want to see Light personified but don't want to spend potential eons looking for Eona… she's the person to go to."

"...I've met them both," Eila admitted. "When I was suicidal, and I couldn't find my way, they both showed me what direction to go. If it wasn't for them, I really might have followed through."

This earned a soft sound of understanding. "Jet's needed that kind of guidance in the past," Wave revealed quietly. "I'm not entirely surprised that you needed it, too… considering the bits and pieces I know about your life."

Eila was quiet before nodding. "I'm not sure where it really went wrong anymore… but I'm sure it started with my parents and all. They… tried. I was born with so little Light, and was so intrinsically different from them. My skills were in magic, not my Light or a sword. Rose had all of that."

"Were you treated as different?" Wave asked her. "Even if your family meant well… doing that kind of thing can be damaging. I've seen it before in my travels."

"They did, even though they never meant it to be that way," Eila said. "It would've been okay if we hadn't gotten caught up in those battles. I was just a kid, and… well, a lot happened. If I'm not mistaken, that's where Petry formed."

Blue eyes blinked once. "If you don't mind me asking… Those different names and personalities were part of a disorder, weren't they?" As she spoke, she crossed her legs and shifted around a little bit in an effort to get more comfortable.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder," Eila explained. "Multiple personalities. Petry was the… problem. She was resentful. She hated me, my parents, and my sister." Wave remained quiet for the moment, wanting to allow Eila the chance to continue if she so desired. Eila looked up to Wave. "She got ahold of a book my parents safeguarded. Practiced Dark Magic. Corrupted us. In time, my body and mind were damaged. I forgot who I was and Astra was born of my… our hate."

"That must have been awful," Wave murmured. "Maybe you wouldn't have thought so at the time, but… after. I wasn't there or anything, really, but I saw a bit of it. I'm sorry I didn't try to help you more. It wasn't right of me, suspicious or not."

"Nobody could have known. All anyone knew was that I was evil at one point, then I was purified. Telling everyone it was the voices in my head would have sounded like an excuse… something to shift the blame. I accepted that," Eila said quietly.

"Except it wouldn't have," Wave argued. "You're not the only person in the group with disorders and disabilities. There are multiple others. I'm guessing you know about Jet's for… reasons… but there are others, too. One person is deaf. Another is blind. At least two others aside from Jet have autism and such, too. We know what things like your situation are like, even if we never saw it taken to such extremes before."

"I couldn't have known without reading people's minds," Eila countered softly. "I was too deeply set in my pain to realize otherwise." Wave sighed a little but conceded the point with a nod. The cat looked away for a moment. "I still feel… the worst for Rose. I know what I did to Jet… but… my sister lost her entire life to this. She chased me endlessly in hopes of saving me."

Wave sighed again. "I heard a bit about that, yeah… I'm not gonna lie and say it didn't impact her a lot, but… You do know she's doing better now, right?"

Eila nodded. "But that one instance. Seeing her anger overcome the influence of Eona's Light… that terrified me. I watched her try to kill Zareil. I had to realize then what her chasing me led her into, all of the pain and suffering she'd endured. I know it wasn't inherently my fault… in a way, but it's hard to ignore."

"I understand, I think," Wave said. "Maybe not on a personal level or anything… Enough, though."

"Yeah," Eila said. "Rose is everything to me. It just… hurt a lot to see her hurting."

"I can imagine. Honestly, I would be way more concerned if it didn't affect you." Wave looked up at the stars and the two moons, contemplating things for a time before asking, "Do you think we'll be able to help my dad? Truly, do you think we can? I'm not asking to hear what you might think I want to hear. I'm just asking for the truth."

"I'm fed up with lying, if that says anything," Eila answered, turning her attention to the sky. "I'm not sure what the solution is… but there has to be one out there. The Faein wouldn't create something that cannot be fixed."

"I guess you're right," Wave sighed. "I just keep worrying, is all."

"You should worry," Eila said. "Not because it's healthy, but because it's your dad. Feeling is… healthy, as long as you keep it from getting out of hand." A small chuckle escaped her. "Listen to me, over here trying to say what's healthy and not healthy when I'm not even fully back to being… me."

Hearing her say this, Wave also chuckled. "That is kind of a funny turn of events, isn't it?"

Eila shrugged softly. "This bothers me often. How is… Jet? I have no place being so concerned, but… I suppose I can't help it."

"Sure you do," was the quiet reply. "And he's… I don't know. Sometimes he seems to be completely fine. Sometimes he's withdrawn, secretive, and isolates himself. Sometimes he's angry, hateful, and storms onto battlefields and drains the life out of demons." Wave shook her head. "He's just… hardly even himself anymore, these days."

"He's got something similar going on to you," Eila said. "A bond, yeah?"

"Yeah, with something called the Void," Wave nodded. "The only issue is that none of the rest of us know much about it beyond some very basic information. Things like how it lives for death and destruction and wants him to want those things, too. But he never talks to us about what it's saying or what he's thinking or feeling. He's barely been around anyone since before Kaden was purified."

Eila tapped her foot slowly. "The Aether is the exact opposite. I can feel the energy it radiates. The plants here are basking in the residual energy. Just because it's 'good' doesn't mean it hasn't affected you, too. He's having to deal with the changes of becoming a being of Void, if I'm not mistaken, as well as having the incarnation of that energy constantly in his ear. It must be… really all over him."

"It must be," Wave agreed, "given the way he's been acting in response to it all."

"Yeah," Eila murmured. "The only thing I can say is… reach out to him." The woman sighed a little. "He cares about you so much. You might be able to… get something out of him if you try. And with the Aether… you might be able to help him more than anyone else can."

"You think so?" Wave asked, looking at her.

Eila looked at Wave and nodded. "If Rose's Light can even slightly help Espio's Darkness stay at bay, then you should be able to help him push back the Void's influence, even just a little bit."

"Okay. I'll try, then. In the morning, that is. I want to be here when Alec wakes up." Wave shifted a bit, ready to get up but not doing so quite yet. "Before I go inside, I had a new favor to ask you. Something new has come up, and I think you're best equipped to handle it."

The cat blinked once at this, tilting her head just a touch. "What do you mean?"

"My friend Tails, the twin-tailed fox if you've ever run into him, sent me some data… I don't know, maybe a half hour before you showed up tonight." Wave pulled up the data in question on her communicator and passed it over so Eila could look. "On top of everything else shown here, it looks like our friend has suddenly developed a lot of magic. From what little I know about vampires, this is just the beginning of what he might be capable of. But hexes are something only seen in my race, so the majority of my magical knowledge is pretty useless to him."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Eila murmured. "He became a vampire?"

"Yeah, apparently. And for the record, I have no knowledge regarding how that happened."

Eila pinched the bridge of her nose irritably. "Fucking… I've run into vampires. Their magic is potent. I've got notes and all, but I can't help with some magics because, biologically, it's impossible for me to use them."

"You've seen them?" Wave asked. Then she stopped to consider the real implications of that. Damn. Glad I wasn't there.

"Yes," Eila answered. "And… well… I avoided them because they outclassed me in ways I couldn't handle. If one had decided I should die, it would have only been a matter of time, especially if they had allies. And they often had allies."

Wave took in a deep breath. "Okay… So, those notes you took. Do you think they'd be able to help here?"

Eila nodded. "I studied alongside one briefly, though I proceeded to observe them from afar for quite some time. I… could help."

"I'm sorry to ask this of you," Wave said. "I just wasn't sure who else to ask."

"It's fine," Eila said. "But… this is Shadow, right?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"There's no way he'll even talk to me," Eila said. "I haven't spoken to him, but I could feel his disdain."

"...I think you're wrong," Wave suddenly said. "Tell him what you've told me, about how things went down in your past. Don't lie about anything, even tiny unimportant details, not that I think you would. The lack of control you had over your life… If anyone I know would understand that, it would be him."

Eila sighed. "I can't just… approach him like that."

"You can," Wave assured. "Even when he's… I don't know, moody, he doesn't go out of his way to hurt people, even if only verbally. I can't pretend he'll be happy, but he won't do anything to you at all. I honestly don't think he'd even turn you away. He's usually really logical. Chances are, he'll realize that if you of all people are approaching him it's for a reason."

The cat internally groaned, but Wave had a point. "I will try. I sorely hope he enjoys reading, because there will be plenty of that."

This made Wave laugh a little. "He does, trust me. Sonic didn't take after Kaden in that regard, but Shadow sure did."

"Good," Eila murmured. Her thoughts lingered on something before she spoke again. "Regarding Kaden… I… have been trying to search for him."

"Sonic gave you a communicator, right?" Wave asked her. "Did you get his message?"

The cat blinked a few times. "Yeah," she answered. Eila hesitated, then produced the vials of blood she'd kept. "I found where it happened. He wasn't anywhere to be seen."

Wave, for her part, wasn't bothered by the objects. She was well aware of the fact that some magics used blood and the like, even if she'd never personally witnessed such a thing. "Do you have any idea where he went?" she inquired. "I can't even imagine the state of mind he's in right now. Leaving him alone is a bad idea."

"I… don't know. The moment I had any free time, I was going to try to use his blood to locate him," Eila explained. "The process is complicated to explain, but… it should tell me exactly where he is so that someone can help him."

"Okay. If you think that'll work, I'll trust your judgment," Wave agreed.

Eila nodded a little, deciding to let that topic go for now. "Thank you for everything, Wave. It was… nice to know that I could approach someone without it being something horribly wrong happening."

"Of course," Wave answered. "And, seriously… Thank you, too. For everything."

Various responses initially came to mind, but Eila soon settled for, "I'm glad I could help."

Wave managed a fleeting half-smile and stood up. "I should go in. You can come, too, if you want. This is a safe place to rest."

"I should get back to what I was going to do," Eila said as she stood up as well. "Marthal is purified… so that's one less thing to be worried about."

"Good to hear," Wave said. "Which task are you going to focus on next?"

"Finding Kaden," Eila answered. "It'll probably be the quickest, and I can pass that info on to people he might actually listen to."

"Okay. Well… holler if you need anything." Wave turned and began heading inside.

"Same to you," Eila answered. She turned away as well. That was… really nice.

~保護者~

Han was already nearly finished with the book he'd been given by the time he sensed Ylden's return to the immediate area. Despite having a decent understanding of the fact that they were supposed to be 'friends' and knowing well by now that Ylden seemed to be trying to help him with things, he didn't even glance up to look at the other man at the moment. In his mind, if Ylden needed something, he would say so. Otherwise, Han was free to read and didn't need to be concerned with checking in with Ylden constantly.

Ylden handled a few matters, one of which being expanding the stream of souls to accommodate the increasing number that flowed in. Once these things were finished, he walked over to the Hexan and took a seat on a couch, making his scythe vanish. "Han."

Hearing his name, Han looked up from the book. "Yes?"

"I'm going to ask you that question again, but I need you to listen to a lot before I ask," Ylden explained. "Because there's too much you didn't know."

After a bit of a pause, Han went ahead and closed the book (interesting though it was) before setting it aside. "Alright," he agreed.

"This war is the entire problem," Ylden began. "We're fighting a woman who has stolen from and slaughtered Immortals. If that wasn't bad enough, she seems to think it's okay to interfere in people's lives." Han blinked slowly, choosing to just listen as asked for now. "They took your memories and corrupted you so that they could watch you turn against people and cause problems, because your magic is immense."

That gave Han pause. "...I remember my strength," he soon revealed. "It's… one of the few clear things I recall."

Ylden nodded. "They've taken everything but you from you," the man explained. "You're stIll yourself for right now. You're calm and rational, but if that corruption kicks in… that's everything they want." Han inclined his head to show that he'd heard and was still paying attention. Ylden sighed a little. "The reason this matters is because we need you. Magic is something we could use more of. They took magic from someone else, and they've been targeting everyone I care about. This is getting bad, to the point where I'm concerned they're going to try and remove everyone with magic from the equation."

"Why?" Han asked immediately. "Why target magic so specifically?"

"Magic is something naturally rare, even more so when found in abundance like in your race," Ylden said. "Not many things can defend against magic except magic and a rare few other things. This also means that it's incredibly useful and makes people like you and me more difficult to kill."

There was another short pause as Han considered this information. "I sensed the birth of new, powerful magic earlier," he suddenly told Ylden. "Will that person be targeted as well?"

"It's possible," Ylden explained. "I don't know who it is, but it's not unlikely for Nareish to try and turn that on us." That further solidified the man's point, so Han nodded his understanding of the situation. Ylden thought of how to explain his next statement before continuing. "I don't want to see her plans come to fruition. She's taken your free will by forcing something like this on you."

Han was frowning again now, but this time there was a note of confusion in the expression. "I am not being controlled," he responded carefully. "I still possess my own will."

"You're not, but did you ask to be corrupted? To have your memories taken?" Ylden questioned. Han shook his head slowly. Though it wasn't as though he truly knew the answer to that, he supposed he could make a reasonable assumption. "That's my issue. She acts against everyone else as if it's okay to just fuck with their lives."

"You keep bringing up corruption," Han said, "but you did not explain in detail what it is. And nothing about my magic has changed aside from its color."

"Corruption is difficult to explain, but it in essence changes everything that you are," Ylden said. "Your mind, emotions, and personality can all be changed horribly. It can bring out the worst in people, and your magic is you. You also haven't actively used it to see any differences, to my knowledge."

That made Han stop and think again. Ylden had so far said nothing new about corruption (merely reiterated the same things as before), but his point about the magic being such an intrinsic part of Han… That was something he foolishly had overlooked up until now. "No," he eventually agreed. "I have not used it."

"I would invite you to test it on me if it wasn't for the fact that you very well could kill me if you actively tried. Sadly I'm not a fan of pain," Ylden said. "But that's why it bothers me so much. They affected your existence."

"And you think these… 'Faein' can help?" Han asked him.

"They can," Ylden asserted. "They shaped existence, but they won't act without someone allowing it. If I said no to them saving me from death, they would likely allow me to die. Not out of cruelty, but because that was what I chose."

"That is not how I would expect all-powerful beings to behave," Han admitted.

"It's unusual," Ylden agreed. "But free will is… probably the most important thing we can have. I choose the path I take, and nobody else should have that choice."

"If I were to agree to trust them," Han said carefully, "what would need to be done? Do you even know how to find them?"

Ylden blinked once. "I know someone who does. I'll ask him, and all that would be left is to let them handle it."

"Who?" Han wound up asking. Less because it was a super important detail to him and more because he was just curious.

"A man named Steam," Ylden answered. "He came from another timeline to help us in this war."

The name wasn't ringing any bells, but Han didn't really push the issue. "Ah," he murmured in a vague response.

Ylden thought for a moment. "You might enjoy picking his brain. Seems to be smarter than he likes to let on."

Han's expression became openly bewildered for a second. "'Picking his'... What?"

"It's a phrase," Ylden said. "Means to ask questions. Trying to learn stuff from someone."

The Hexan huffed. "It would have been more sensible to merely phrase it like that to begin with."

"You'd have understood it before," Ylden huffed in return. "So… the question is really just… whether or not you're willing to let them help. If not, I won't bring it up again. I just felt like it was important to explain a bit more."

Han adjusted his glasses, then crossed his arms. "I'm not… opposed to it," he eventually allowed. "But I have never been found of trusting those I have no familiarity with."

"Does it help at all that I trust them?" Ylden asked slowly.

"...I don't know," Han admitted. "I don't know what to think about you still, at times, either. You aren't a threat. We were… 'friends'. But that is all I know about you beyond what you told me regarding your job here."

"I get it," Ylden said with a shrug. "And I can't ask you to trust me with everything going on."

"I am willing to… try," Han spontaneously decided just a few seconds later. "But… not so much for you." He was quiet for a long moment before elaborating, "That woman felt so… sad. The one you said was my daughter. I did not… enjoy it."

Ylden nodded slowly. "Yeah… you two were… close."

Though he was a touch hesitant for once, Han was soon asking, "What is she like? And the boy."

"Settle in, because we've got a lot of ground to cover," Ylden said with a smile. "That daughter of yours is as complicated as you sometimes."

As he often did even when sitting in a chair or on a couch, Han crossed his legs as though about to meditate. "Complicated?" he questioned as he moved.

Ylden chuckled. "Like I said, there's a lot to cover."

Determined to learn what he could, Han sat back and listened. The more he was told... the better.

~保護者~

As locating other Light users had never been a difficult task for Analia, she found and appeared to Rose almost as soon as she left Zareil. She slung both her bow and her quiver over a shoulder for a moment while saying, "I apologize for the intrusion, Rose, but we must speak. Zareil has informed me that great danger may soon be approaching."

Rose turned to Analia, blinking once before nodding. "I understand. What are we preparing for?" she asked as she put away a book she'd been reading through.

"Armaris has been captured by the new God of Demons," Analia told her. "According to Zareil, she is a type of demon bred to be able to destroy entire planets on their own. If she is corrupted and turned on Mobius or New Babylon… I suppose you can imagine the potential consequences.

"That is…" Rose nodded. "Her efforts in holding off Iblis was admirable. Having her power turned on innocents would be a horrible sight to behold."

"And it would be personally devastating to her," Analia added. "I cannot and will not allow it. But preventing this means intercepting and stopping her before true damage can be done. That will require a great effort on the part of us and all of our allies."

"Provided we are not intercepted ourselves," Rose murmured.

"Indeed," was the soft agreement. "No matter the outcome, we need to begin preparations. This could come much sooner than any of us would like."

"Of course," Rose agreed without hesitation. "I will alert my sister as well, and see if we can coordinate a defense together."

"Alright. I am going to warn the others, in the meantime." Analia blinked once. "As many of them as I can, anyway."

Rose nodded. "I understand. What will you have me do?"

"Prepare yourself however you need to here," Analia murmured, "then please join us on Mobius so that we may try to plan together."

The cat nodded again. "I understand. I will be back as quickly as I can manage." Analia murmured a response of some kind before vanishing. Rose turned on her heel and unsheathed her sword again, focusing on it for a moment. What Cere said was still on her mind. Was she different because she'd recovered so much of her former self… or was there something she'd missed?

All she knew was that her sword hinted at something. It always had. The Disciple of Light… But what did that mean?

~保護者~

Armaris had dropped out of her state of Darkness due to the injuries she'd received, collapsing on the ground as she did her level best to keep from bleeding out. She wasn't sure if that was even something she needed to be really concerned about, but the possibility was enough.

She could sense a powerful demon close by, but that wasn't her concern. Surviving was, and so she forced herself to stand, keeping pressure on her wounds with her Darkness and taking a deep breath. "Okay, I see what's going on now," she grumbled in the direction of the God of Demons.

The man watched her from his throne with a curious gaze. "Oh, and what's that?" he asked. "Do tell. I don't enjoy guessing."

"You're gonna corrupt me," Armaris huffed, crossing her arms.

"Perhaps," the god agreed. "Or maybe I would instead kill you for being a waste of my time. I suppose only time can tell which one you will be to me."

Armaris stood still and watched him. He was eerily still, and that bothered her. She watched and waited, then grabbed his arm before it could make contact when he suddenly appeared in front of her. "Fuck you and fuck off. I want to go home."

His eventual smile worried her, especially when he began pushing her down onto her knees. "Finally, someone who has a spine in this place. You're gonna be a great addition to the armies."

Despite her situation and the growing pressure on all of her wounds, she found it in herself to be defiant. "I won't do a damn thing for you." Her Darkness flared to life in an effort to protect her, but she could only cry out in pain when the force doubly exceeded what it could handle.

"You're gonna have to find out the hard way that I'll make you lis-" The fist of Darkness slamming into his face was enough to startle him briefly, lowering the pressure on Armaris. Then, he smiled and hoisted her off the ground by her hair. "The longer I have you here, the more interesting you get," the god murmured, laughing.

Armaris flailed as she was dangled by her hair until it extended enough to let her regain her footing. As soon as she did, her eyes glowed with her magic when she tried to cast a spell.

Next thing she knew, she was waking up on the floor with searing pain flaring all over her right side. It was practically impossible to move with it radiating all over her body. "Nng… fuck…" she mumbled to herself, draping an arm over her eyes.

"Rise and shine, demon," the God called from his throne. "You fucked up royally. Here's to hoping your lungs weren't punctured by your cracked ribs."

"Bastard," Armaris groaned openly. Tendrils of Darkness picked her body up off the ground, only for her to be slammed back down onto the ground.

"Get up."

"I'm fucking trying!" Armaris snapped, flinging a blast of Darkness at the God. It was deflected back at her, only serving to launch her further away with a grunt of pain.

"Come on, I don't have all day," the God said. "I need you so I can run an experiment."

Armaris rolled and pushed herself off the ground, coughing up blood. Shit… If this keeps up, I'll just get thrown around until I die. "The hell do you even want me for?" she demanded.

The moment she was on her feet after asking that, the cat was knocked to the floor with a controlled blast of Darkness. "You'll find out when you submit. I want to hear you begging."

"Fat fucking ch-" Her body sunk onto the ground with another blast battering the back side of her body. Another cough with metallic aftertaste. The cat shifted again, trying her best to simply stand. She managed somehow, and the God didn't knock her down this time.

"Good job. Only took you entirely too long. Underperforming is pathetic," the God said. "You need to improve."

"I won't do a damn thing for you," the cat muttered, even as blood pooled up in her mouth. This is getting bad…

The God stood and approached Armaris, knowing full well she couldn't run. He picked her up by the neck and pinned her against the wall. "Your defiance shows your will, and I'll admit that I like that. It's rare I find a demon willing to hit me." Armaris tried to respond, but he forcibly covered her mouth. "I'm telling you this now… I'm very interested in seeing what you can do, so I think it's time I make you learn a little obedience."

The cat screamed in pain as the corruption was forced upon her. Her body and Darkness lashed out as powerfully as they could, but her magic was kept from her because she needed to be able to speak. Her hand found his throat and she tried to fight back, but the hand covering her mouth suddenly gripped it and crushed her wrist. The blood curdling cry followed by an open sob of pain brought the God limitless joy.

Time for Tianak to make a name in this timeline, too, the God of Demons thought to himself as he watched Armaris's struggles gradually lessen. I'm going to enjoy watching Babylon fall.

~保護者~

The sun was just peeking up over the horizon when Silver found himself awake for the day. Despite being awake, he stubbornly kept his eyes closed and cuddled closer to Blaze for a while longer. He eventually scooted away and sat up with a yawn. Sliding out of bed, he tiptoed across the room to check on Kohaku who (along with Rouge) was also sleeping in this room. His daughters had insisted he stay in the bedroom while they took the living room. Their obvious care made Silver smile.

Kneeling down, Silver tucked his son back in. Kohaku tended to move around in his sleep, often winding up tangled up in the blankets or kicking them off the bed entirely. He'd done the latter this time and had, apparently, gotten cold because of it. The fact that was curled up was proof of that. However, he relaxed quickly once covered back up.

With that matter taken care of, Silver reached over and very gently pulled Kohaku's finger out of his mouth. His son whimpered and fidgeted, but didn't wake up. Silver smiled again. He did so even more when he spied the special block Kohaku was clinging to in his sleep with his other hand. I've gotta thank Rose for that. He loves it.

Silver stood again and very, very quietly made his way out of the room. He slipped out into the hall, shut the door, and began tiptoeing toward the living room. Then he decided he was being silly and took to the air. Why walk when you can hover? he internally laughed. Now entirely silent, he moved up to his daughters to check on them as well. Kym was sprawled out on the floor (not unlike how Blaze claimed he sometimes slept) with her blankets all over the place. Ava was on one of the two couches right next to her sister, her bedding entirely in order aside from having slid off her shoulders somewhat.

He took a bit of time gently covering Kym back up and tucking Ava back in just a little more before smiling once again. Seeing all of his kids alive and well and sleeping so peacefully brought him so much joy. Blaze felt similarly, he was certain of it. Though, maybe minus the part about them sleeping, since she was also asleep at the moment.

Well, time to leave them be, I think. He executed a short teleport to get him outside. That way, he wouldn't have to try opening the front door without waking his daughters. Once out there, he floated to the roof and looked over the people he found there. Namely, Knuckles and Sonic. Guess you came back sometime last night, huh Dad? Hopefully you two were able to talk or something. You could use the banter.

That reminded him of something, actually. He'd been vaguely aware of hearing at least a couple of communicators vibrating when he'd been asleep, so he teleported his into his hand. A group message. Makes sense. Silver read it over, then strapped the device to his wrist. His happy mood melted away. Gramps… You'd better be okay, wherever you are.

For the second time, Silver teleported. This time, he went out into the woods, although just far enough to be able to do things without waking up or otherwise bothering people. He sat down in the grass with his legs crossed, his elbows on his knees, and his palms supporting his head by resting on his cheeks. "Man…" he mumbled to himself. "Stuff is really going down, isn't it?"

I wonder if there's anything I can do… With that thought, Silver closed his eyes. He tuned everything out other than his own mind. Once total concentration was established, he reached his mind out far and wide in search of anything that might be amiss. After a long time, he felt his body tense. Something's on the way. ...No… lots of things. They're far away, though. Is it the Metarex?

After a time, Silver reached a troubling conclusion. Yes, it was the Metarex. All he could sense so far were the smaller, weaker foot soldiers, but he knew full-well what that meant. They're only the first wave. Stronger Metarex will follow. And somewhere, way behind their forces, Dark Oak and Black Narcissus will be on their way, too.

It was important to figure out how much time they had. As far as he could tell, they had maybe a week, if that. He resolved to tell his dad and the others the moment they woke up, unable to shake the feeling that even if he woke them up right this second there wouldn't be enough time to prepare. All he could really do was let them try to rest up.

With that decided, Silver turned his attention away. He'd had to stretch his mind out far, but now he needed to go even further. That was one of the main reasons behind him having boosted his powers a good while back, with the other such reason being able to effectively combat modern enemies. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone so far, however.

His reasons for that were simple. The combat thing hadn't come up so far, and mentioning that he was on the lookout for enemies that weren't even active yet… Well, he just hadn't wanted to do that. It would have been a source of unneeded additional worry for people like his dad. He worries too much already.

Okay. Let's see where everyone else is. I thought I sensed Ix and Shade a while ago. Wonder where the heck they went. Though he searched and searched, in the end Silver found no hint of them or their forces. Nowhere near here, then. Guess that'll have to be comfort enough for now. No one else is close enough for me to pick up, either… Good.

Sighing, Silver opened his eyes, stood up, and stretched. "S'pose that'll have to do for now," he decided aloud. He began wandering back to the house. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd be able to snuggle with Blaze for a bit longer before everyone got up.

That sounded nice.

~保護者~

Espio found himself surrounded by blackness, suspended in the air with his arms pinned to his sides and his legs forcibly held together by the same energy that had twice earlier tried suffocating him. Teleportation simply didn't work still. Gritting his teeth, he called forth his Darkness as he'd done earlier and, with substantially more effort this time, managed to break his restraints. This left him to fall to the floor some distance below.

Landing in a crouch, Espio cautiously stayed put. He still couldn't make out where he was, as though there was simply not a speck of light in this place at all in any form. Gradually, however, that began to change. A dim glow began to emanate from somewhere ahead of him. There seemed to be a sort of throne there, one that was occupied. And oh, he was so not dumb enough to waltz on over to that.

In the end, it didn't matter, anyway. An attack came from overhead, and he reflexively threw his arms up to create a small barrier and ducked down lower to avoid impact if the barrier had a bit too much give. It held, but his Darkness bowed under the strain. Despite this being purely an energetic struggle, he found himself almost physically pushing against the attack in an effort to force it back.

As he struggled, pinned by an attack that felt too large and too powerful to simply dodge when he had no idea how much room there even was to work with, he heard a laugh. "Impressive. I did not expect you to be able to fend that off so well."

Upon hearing this, Espio glared in the direction of the throne. He knew all too well who had to be the owner of that voice. "Enough with your games," he muttered lowly. "You have wasted enough of my time already."

"Ah, that's right," Nareish murmured, as though she had forgotten. "Your little girlfriend has been stolen. I suppose you're wanting to go after her?" She chuckled. "Alas, I cannot allow you to do that. You see, a new friend of mine has some plans for her… as I do you."

More light was emitted from somewhere behind her, allowing Espio to see her face for the first time. As predicted, she was smiling at him. Her attack pressed down on him harder, forcing him out of his crouch and into a sitting position on his knees. "It truly is impressive that you are withstanding this," she told him. "Your ascension from semi-Immortal to Immortal is occurring faster than even I had anticipated." Slowly, her smile grew. "You are coming into your own. I have long waited for this time to come."

She stood suddenly and walked over to him, her apparently heeled shoes tapping on the hard floor as she went. Soon, she was kneeling down in front of him, still wearing that same smile. "Nearly every Immortal to ever live is meant to be a rather permanent fixture in existence… though they can and do eventually die. Do you know the exception to that rule?" When he didn't answer her, she continued. "The Faein are the most obvious response, but they are not the only ones."

Espio stared, still struggling from his position on the floor. What?

"One day, there will also be so-called 'True Immortals'," Nareish revealed to him. "Immortals who are not Faein, but in name and origin only. Your ally Jet has already proven himself to be on the path toward achieving such a lofty title. Three previously normal Immortals will reach that state in time as well, if all goes according to the Faein's plan. That would make seven Faein, essentially. Though, that count does exclude him for one specific reason."

Amber eyes narrowed. If only because she seemed to be building to a larger point, he stayed quiet for the moment and just listened. Though, that didn't mean he believed every syllable she uttered. Liars seldom change. It is rare that any of her words can be trusted to any degree.

"However," she said, "there are also Immortals such as yourself, each embodying a separate part of existence. Chaos, Aether, Void, Time, Light, neutral Darkness, and… Well, and then there's you, love. Tell me, what role does it seem only natural for you to fit into, hm?"

Her eyes drifted meaningfully to the black energies he was still forcibly holding up in an effort to defend himself. "Even when you are in your usual state of being, your Darkness does not cease to be evil. It never will. It can never be changed, sealed away, or somehow made 'better'." Just then, her smile turned into a grin. "You and your past lover are not so different. In fact… you are not as different from me as you would like to believe, either."

A surge of hate rose up from within Espio. "We are nothing alike," he bit out.

"And yet here you are, entertaining this discussion, are you not?" Nareish moved to stand. "And for just a moment, just now… your eyes were gold. I know what it is you want. You wish to kill me, to cut me open and bask and the bloodshed. It was what your kind lives for, what they thrive in doing. You really think yourself better than them? As being above your shared instincts and desires? You were born for this. There is no other way you can be, and you know that as well as I."

In a heartbeat, she'd knelt back down and reached out. She took hold of the necklace Rose had given him and ripped it off of his neck before crushing the pendant in her hand. "There. Now your powers and emotions can flow freely, as they were meant to. You are angry. You feel hate. The less time you spend denying those things, the more time you can spend acting on them. That is far more pleasurable and we both know it."

Before he could think of a reply, she stood again and turned around. She'd taken maybe five or six steps before a sheathed sword appeared in her hand. She threw it at him, letting it skid the last few inches to land by his legs. "I took the liberty of retrieving this for you. The blacksmith appears to have finished it rather recently. Do end some lives with it soon, will you? I wish to see it stained red."

He was given no chance to retort. Without any further warning, she slammed her attack through his barrier and into him. Her energies brutally and relentlessly assaulted him until even he, for all his people's regenerative abilities and his immense strength, simply couldn't remain conscious any longer. She then teleported both him and his sword elsewhere within her realm and took a seat, eagerly awaiting the time when he would wake and the bloodshed would begin.

~保護者~

He'd never been here, so it took some time to find. Ryuji sprinted through an illusion-filled forest at top speed, peering through everything it tried to show him with his Darkness. He walked up to where he'd sensed a group of people, gazing over a home and allowing his Darkness-fueled sight to fade.

The man approached the door and knocked a couple times, waiting for an answer. Since it was still early, the house was quiet for the most part. Even so, the door was answered rather quickly by a purple cat. "Oh, uh, hi," she greeted. "Did you need something?"

"Are you allies with Espio?" Ryuji questioned immediately.

The woman, Kym, blinked several. "Uh, not personally? But my great uncle Shadow is. Why, what happened?"

"He was abducted," Ryuji explained without hesitation. "I need aid in knowing where to look so I may search for him."

Kym blanched and immediately moved to let him in. "Wait right here, okay? I've gotta get Tails." She didn't bother waiting or closing the door behind him, choosing instead to turn and run down the hall. Just about a minute or so later, she was returning with Tails, who looked just as freaked out. "Here, Tails. This is the guy who told me."

The fox nodded, typing busily away at his communicator. "I'm not sure if Espio had this on him," he said to Ryuji, "but he owns one of these. If he was wearing it or had it in a pocket or anything, I should be able to use it to track him. But… that's only if he wasn't taken too far away. This is our best first option."

"Do it," Ryuji demanded openly before lowering his tone and adding, "Please."

Tails glanced at him sympathetically. "I am, I promise," he assured. "But so far I'm not getting anything. I'm expanding the search as wide as I can, but…" Before long, he was forced to shake his head. "No good. There might be another way to find him, maybe, assuming you have even the vaguest guess as to where he might have been taken."

"Wherever Nareish takes those she abducts," Ryuji answered. "That is all I know."

"That… That might be an entirely separate realm, then," Tails mumbled, eyes wide. "I… I need to call someone. I'll be right back." He hurried off to a quiet side of the room and placed a call while Kym looked on in open concern. Ryuji watched silently, deciding now was the time to keep his emotions under wraps.

After a bit of quiet conversation, Tails came back over. "My friend Jet," he began immediately, "is an Immortal. He said he can't risk going to Espio himself right now, or else Espio might get hurt. But I asked him, and he said he'd be willing to help you go there yourself if you're fast."

"Where do I go?" Ryuji questioned. "Tell me."

"I'm not sure," Tails admitted. "He said he can guide you once you're there, if you're willing to go."

"Understood. I will," Ryuji said. I will not ignore Espio being abducted.

As though somehow aware of Ryuji's decision, Jet teleported the chameleon without further delay. The moment Ryuji was there, a sort of trail that was felt rather than seen appeared before him, cutting a direct path through the barren realm toward a place full of movement from many wicked beings. The trail went a ways past them, too.

Ryuji placed a hand on the handle of his blade and took off, intent on not backing down at all. He charged his way through the first crowd, killing off any fool that attempted to bring him harm and ignoring the rest. The path led him out of it, and in due time he found himself encountering another group of these people. Once more, he only killed what was necessary… which was a fair number more than before. It was only a matter of time until he emerged and continued on his way… only stopping when he came upon a crater and saw his grandson. Concern filled his eyes and Ryuji appeared beside him and carefully set a hand on Espio's shoulder. "Espio, can you hear me?"

It took a couple moments, but eventually Espio sort of shifted and tried to open his eyes. He wasn't able to, in the end, and no further response was given. Due to the state Espio was in, Ryuji had no issue with attempting to pick him up off the ground. This is bad… you were harmed greatly. Once that was done, Ryuji took note of the sword on the ground and grabbed it with a thread, strapping it to his back before beginning to teleport his way back to where he'd come in.

Before he could even get that far, something unseen took hold of him and whisked him and Espio away. They reappeared safe and sound in the Highlands, right by where Ryuji had been living lately. Ryuji didn't question it and instead teleported inside his home, laying Espio on the sole bedroll he'd been using and placed the sword beside him.

"Espio, are you awake?" There was another slow, vague movement, but nothing else. Still, that he was moving at all was likely a good sign. Ryuji let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Stay here. Do not attempt to get up unless it is absolutely required. Focus on recovering before all else, understood?" There wasn't quite as much of a response at first, then Espio coughed painfully and turned his head away, no doubt still trying to wake up more. Ryuji then suddenly asked, "Do you need an inhaler?"

Somehow, Espio managed to register Ryuji's words enough to sort of shake his head. Ryuji nodded in relief, taking a quiet seat next to his grandson. It was best to relax for now, considering that he was battling emotions that hadn't been stirred in years. A good bit of time passed before, finally, Espio managed to get a few words out. "Where… are we?" He hadn't yet managed to open his eyes, and in his current state… Well, accurately sensing things was a bit out of the question for now.

"My home," Ryuji murmured. Espio coughed again and nodded a little in understanding. "Be quiet for now. Focus on your rest. The injuries you have sustained are serious enough that you have not recovered much, despite how great your regeneration should be."

Despite what Ryuji said, Espio bit out, "It won't work. She… She did this."

Ryuji's fists clenched and he ultimately nodded. "I'll find an Immortal to heal your wounds, then." Espio couldn't really reply, overtaken by a full coughing fit just seconds after Ryuji spoke. Rather than wait or ask, Ryuji teleported to Espio's home and searched throughout it quickly to find Espio's inhaler, bringing it back shortly after and putting the thing in Espio's hand.

Stubborn though he could sometimes be regarding his own health, Espio didn't hesitate to use the inhaler just in case in this scenario. He simply could not risk an attack in his condition and he knew it. Ryuji watched this happen before slowly asking, "Will you be okay long enough for me to find an Immortal to heal you?" Espio gave his answer with a small nod. With that, Ryuji teleported away. There was no time to waste.

~保護者~

This was bad, incredibly so. Aniko could feel Armaris's demonic Darkness flaring to life as she floated in space. The cat had already been corrupted and was beginning her transformation. It was far too dangerous for her to approach to do anything, so she quickly began to retreat. It was then that she became aware of someone's gaze focused on her. Her hand reached behind her and snatched a chain hardly an inch from her body, wincing at the pain it caused as it dug into her.

"Seems like someone wandered just a little too close, now didn't they?" the demon questioned from behind her.

Aniko didn't dare give a verbal reply yet, turning around to face them. It was immediately obvious that if a fight rose up… she wasn't going to be escaping. "I was just leaving."

A grin broke onto the demon's face and he laughed a little. "Oh, were you? I could've been fooled, considering you sat around for a short bit. Maybe I have something you're looking for?"

Who the hell is this? Aniko asked herself, hands shifting to her hips. "I don't believe so," she lied boldly. "I was just investigating something."

"The corruption of the cat?" he questioned in reply, smirking. "I can feel how angry you are. You'd like nothing more than to kill me for it."

Aniko let out a deep breath. Fuck. "And what about it? What if I do?" She wouldn't have had time to react, the chain snapping at her forehead. Aniko would've been knocked unconscious or outright killed by a blow like that had a cat not appeared and punched the demon away from her. The newcomer looked to her and she recognized him. Kial?

"Get the hell out of here!" Kial snapped, putting up his arms as the chain wrapped around them and dragged him closer. "I'll hold him off!"

The chameleon didn't listen, because of course she didn't. Drawing her blade, the woman rushed forward and slashed, temporarily forcing the demon to withdraw from his brutal assault on the bobcat. Ducking back, she narrowly avoided another strike of the chain, bringing up her foot to kick it away while Kial rushed in and delivered two quick and powerful blows to the demon's torso.

It didn't exactly take long for the demon to adjust, quickly shifting his tactics to focus on batting Kial back while whittling down on Aniko's defenses. Chain whips crashed against her skin and she had to force herself to keep going. It hurt way more than it reasonably should have.

One particularly nasty blow grazed her cheek and wrapped around her neck, strangling her, then she heard what was quite possibly the most fear-inducing roar she'd heard in her entire life. Her vision centered on a wyvern that grabbed the enemy and quite simply launched them back down to the planet. The chain loosened around her neck and the wyvern grabbed her, then they both teleported back to Mobius without her even having the time to react.

She was released when they landed outside of Tails's home, backpedaling quickly to get away from this massive creature. How the hell is there a wyvern here? The creature's gaze fell on her and she understood by looking into it's blind eyes that this wasn't a wyvern at all. This was Kial.

Moments later, Shei appeared by Aniko's side, entirely ignoring Kial in favor of demanding, "What happened?"

"Armaris is corrupted already," Aniko murmured. "A demon came and attacked me. One of Espio's friends," the chameleon gestured to Kial, watching as he stared up at the sky silently still in that draconic form, "Kial, came and saved me."

Shei looked over at Kial for a few seconds before nodding. "We need to get help," he said. "Analia has shown ample willingness to aid our people before, as has Rose. They may be able to assist us again."

"We will require their help," Aniko replied. "This demon was…" She rubbed her neck, where the cuts from the chain were slowly healing. "Dangerous."

"That may have been the new ruler," Shei told her grimly. "Word has spread that the previous one, Kaden, was killed off."

Kial turned to them both. "Kaden is alive currently," he grumbled in a low undertone. "But that demon… He unmistakably is the new God of Demons." Shei gave a tense nod of understanding.

This was bad, to say the least. Aniko let out a breath before asking, "Where is Rose?"

"Preparing," Kial answered. "She and Analia know. Rose told me before heading off to do something."

"Do they believe Armaris will be sent here?" Shei questioned, visibly tense.

"It's reasonable to assume," Kial responded. "There are not many here equipped for such a fight."

Shei made a sort of tsk sound and crossed his arms. "Aniko, Zei and Sako need to be taken away from here. I heard vaguely of a place where one of the Immortals keeps their children so that they may be safe. We need to find out where it is and take these two there. If Espio and Armaris were both targeted so boldly, they are not safe here any longer."

"I understand," Aniko said with a nod. "I will seek them out."

"I will evacuate the nearby villages," Shei responded. "Hyale will likely not be the only immediate victim of the next attack."

"Do either of you want help?" Kial asked, turning his head to face them both.

"Help Aniko," Shei murmured. "Depending on how far she'll need to go with the children, she may need the assistance." As he spoke, he teleported both of them into his arms from where he'd recently set them down. He then gently handed them over to his partner.

Kial nodded and began transforming into a new creature altogether. "Understood."

Aniko took the children into her arms as this happened and held them both close. "Be safe, Shei."

"Same to you." Shei looked at Zei. "Not that I expect anything less from you… but mind your grandmother, alright?"

"Okay, Papa," Zei agreed quietly. "I will."

"And for that matter," Aniko murmured, "if something happens and I leave you with him," she motioned with her head to Kial, who was now in the form of a large serpentine dragon, "mind him as well. He is a friend of your fathers, and someone I am willing to trust."

"Okay," the little girl said again. Then she opened and closed her hands a few times in Kial's direction in a form of a wave. "Hi, mister dragon."

Kial inclined his head in the girl's direction. "It is wonderful to meet you. If you wish to speak to me, my name is Kial." Zei smiled a little at him, despite being scared and badly shaken like any other young child would have been after the day's events. Kial seemed to return the smile, despite the naturally more intimidating expression the race he'd become took on most times.

Shei murmured a small farewell to the child, then turned his attention back to Aniko. "I'll send word if anything happens. Otherwise, please focus on this. Don't attempt to battle on your own even once Zei and Sako are safe."

An arm extended in Shei's direction as Aniko gave a nod. "I understand. I will avoid combat as much as possible." Taking her invitation, Shei gave her a quick hug, mindful of not moving in too close because of the kids. Aniko returned this carefully and murmured a small, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Shei gave her a small squeeze, then pulled back. "Go. We need to ensure their safety as soon as possible."

Aniko was quick to nod and leap onto Kial's back, giving a slight wave before the dragon suddenly shot off into the sky.

~保護者~

10,583 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 11:50 a.m.) 09-23-21.