Guardian

by yasha012

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

170. Never Again

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

~保護者~

"Never Again"

~保護者~

Aethra was the third Faein to awaken. She wasted no time in focusing her mind to mentally reach out to Seiko. She communicated effortlessly and without words who she was so as to facilitate immediate trust, then murmured, "As I embody the mind, memories are things I am uniquely skilled at reading, understanding, and sharing with others. My hope is that you will allow me to share memories involving your son with you, so that you may have a chance to get to know him, what he is like, and so on."

Seiko stood straighter where she was and teleported a short distance away from everyone she had been near in order to focus. "Alright."

"Would you wait just a moment, then?" Aethra gently asked. "I have one thing I must do before we begin."

"Understood," Seiko answered, leaning back against a tree and closing her eyes.

Aethra briefly closed her mind to Seiko to prevent the woman from hearing her. She then reached out to Zareil and gave herself the same introduction. With that out of the way, she presented a very similar offer. "By showing you a selection of memories involving him, I hope to give you a chance to learn what your partner is really like. I will only do this if you are willing, however."

Immediate distrust formed within Zareil and she tensed a little. "What do you mean by 'really like'?"

"The version of him that you knew as a demon is not how he truly is," Aethra answered patiently. "Corruption changes people immensely, young one."

Zareil tensed further, frowning. "Yeah, your point?"

"My point is that he is not the violent, hateful man you knew him to be," Aethra answered patiently. "All I am offering is a chance to see who he truly is. Would you not like to know the things he enjoys doing when he is not a demon? Or to better understand the bonds between himself and his family members? Or even what sorts of things might make him smile?"

Though she wanted to argue and act as if the Kaden she knew was the true one, the words Aethra used left Zareil hesitant. "...Yes."

The Faein's smile was communicated through their mental connection. "I thought as much. Do not worry, Zareil. One thing I can promise you is that, no matter how different he is now, his care for you remains the same. That has not changed in the slightest."

"Just show me whatever you're gonna show me," Zareil responded huffily, choosing to turn herself away from Kaden for now.

Aethra responded by speaking to both women in turn, though to avoid emotional drama she didn't allow them to be aware of one another in any capacity. "Shall we begin, then?"

In near perfect unison, the two answered, "Yes."

Without further delay, Aethra proceeded. In the first memory, Kaden was around twenty or so and living in what was then ancient Mobius.

"Kaden, you must calm down."

Kaden whirled on her, his eyes sparking with a temper that almost never showed itself. "No!" he snapped, his right hand tightly gripping the hilt of the sword on his back. It was very clearly none other than Caliburn, Sonic's future sword. "I am sick and tired of old men making up new wars for young people to die in! I'm going to put an end to this damn thing before more people lose their lives!"

Until that moment, it had never fully occurred to her just how truly devoted to and passionate about saving people's lives and changing the world for the better he really was.

Seiko's reaction was subdued, a silent pride burning within her at the sight of this. Of course… that would have meant that he had to suffer through a war, but to see him willing to stand up for others was something worth being pleased about.

Zareil meanwhile frowned deeply, unsure how to process this. It didn't strike her as correct… but what reason would this person have to make up something like this?

In this memory and all the others after it, Kaden was twenty-four, placing all of these memories in the then modern era after his revival alongside Analia and Locke.

"Dad," Sonic started again, a bit more uncertainly at the beginning this time. The use of that term nearly made Kaden freeze, if only because it was the first time Sonic had ever called him that. "This is Silver. ...He's my son."

And Kaden froze with shock.

…

"Hey Dad, I'm gonna take ol' Grandpa here to the kitchen, 'kay?" the silver hedgehog grinned as they turned to the door leading back inside. "There's lots of good food in there, and I wanna eat while we talk."

"Alright, just don't make a mess," Sonic replied with a faint smirk.

"Alright!" the young hedgehog cheered. He then grabbed Kaden's right wrist and proceeded to pull him along. "C'mon, Grandpa!" he grinned with decided wickedness.

The older hedgehog's expression was carefully blank as he mumbled, "Please don't call me that," while allowing himself to be dragged inside.

Seiko could see through the guise and managed a smile. I am glad to know that he had such good interactions with others in his family.

Zareil crossed her arms, her previous expression only growing deeper. She found it harder to disbelieve that Kaden was actually different when purified, but somewhere deep within the woman held onto the potential that this was fake.

Suddenly, Locke was pulled from his thoughts by his friend's voice. "Are the clouds really so interesting, Locke?"

That surprisingly light tone caught Locke's attention more than anything else. Slowly, Locke managed a smirk "Oh, yeah, they're fascinating," he replied, his tone also light. "They're quieter, too. A chatterbox like you is hard to put up with sometimes."

Kaden smirked and shook his head. "You're so full of it."

"So?" Locke grinned. "I'm your brother, so you've gotta deal with it."

At this, Kaden suddenly rolled his eyes again. "Will you give that a rest, already? Honestly-"

"Hey, you started it back when we were kids, calling me that in front of that guard when-"

"You know full well that I was being sarcastic when I said that."

"So? I don't hear you denying that we are, in fact, brothers."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"You can't hate your own b-"

With that, Kaden hit Locke over the top of the head with his fist, hard and without remorse. Laughing, Locke moved away before his friend had a chance to hit him again. And, somehow, Kaden managed a smirk.

A few thoughts flitted through Seiko's mind, and she tilted her head. It is good to see that he has close relations outside of his family as well, she decided.

They are friends as well? Zareil thought to herself. I thought they were enemies… bitter ones. Fucking hell, it seems like almost nothing about him is the same.

Sonic almost couldn't breathe, he was so relieved. 'He... He's…' Without thinking, the moment Locke (with Analia by his free side) let go of Kaden's arm to allow him to stand on his own, Sonic rushed forward and did something he'd never thought he'd ever do. He hugged his father.

Kaden's surprise, perhaps even shock, was obvious on his face and in his posture. He became just as tense as Sonic probably had when Silver had first hugged him. But, slowly, very slowly, Kaden allowed himself to relax and hug his son back. Sonic managed to smile - a real, genuine smile. "I'm glad you're awake..." he murmured into his father's shoulder. Kaden let out a small hum in response. It wasn't much of a response, but to Sonic, right now, it meant everything in the world to hear.

A few tears of pride and joy broke out of the strict confines Seiko kept them under. That he had managed to make such a good impact on Sonic for the younger man to care so deeply… That warmed her heart. Zareil, however, was only left confused and further concerned. It still made so little sense to her, to see that the man she'd known for so much of her life was apparently never who she'd thought he was.

Locke was talking to Kaden, trying to keep his friend distracted from the pain he was in, trying to cheer him up, and... trying to have a bit of fun. In the interest of accomplishing the latter first, he pointed out a small patch of flowers that had survived the mini apocalypse that had destroyed this once beautiful, thriving oceanside city. As Kaden looked at them, arms crossed and expression mostly calm, Locke made a comment that was sure to earn a reaction. "Beautiful just like Analia, right?"

Kaden's reaction was instantaneous. He whirled on Locke as he snapped, "Shut up! I never said that!" In spite of his words, it was obvious to just about anybody (for once) that he wasn't angry. He was merely embarrassed, and therefore irritated because of it. Being teased about his feelings for his partner never failed to embarrass him, hence the reason Locke enjoyed doing it so much.

Locke's amused smirk grew. "Oh, I know," he commented lightly, "but I'm pretty sure you've thought it before."

"No!" Kaden responded in the same way as before. Silver watched this exchange with a smile. As Locke continued making his teasing comments and remarks, Kaden grew more and more embarrassed until he finally just sank down into a sitting position on a chunk of building and buried his face in his hands. "Do me a favor and shut up..." he muttered.

Silver chuckled and approached the two of them. He laid a fairly comforting hand onto the older hedgehog's right shoulder. "Aw, c'mon, Gramps," he said, still chuckling. "It's not that bad." Kaden mumbled something in response, his face still buried in his hands. His continuing embarrassment couldn't have been more obvious.

Zareil found it in herself to feel an emotion she had never previously cared to have, her face contorting in a vague approximation of anger. Analia isn't that pretty…

It wasn't often she indulged in a laugh, but Seiko did snicker a little at this memory. He takes after Satsuno.

Finally, Blaze voiced her next question. "What are some things you like to do? Besides reading and running, that is."

Kaden blinked, eyes drifting back to the stars. "I like to draw," he admitted. He paused, then added, "And, when I can, flying is enjoyable as well."

"Do you play games at all?" Blaze asked.

"Mahjong and shogi, mostly," Kaden shrugged. "Chess is enjoyable as well, though."

Blaze smiled a little again. "I enjoy chess," she admitted, revealing a bit about herself to him for the first time. "I have never played Mahjong or shogi, though."

Kaden made one of his fairly famous (or infamous, according to Locke) split-second decisions. "I can teach you sometime, if you'd like."

What the fuck is Mahjong? Zareil asked herself, all previous irritation forgotten in place of confusion. And who was that cat…?

Seiko thought over this for a long moment, tilting her head. I suppose it is reasonable he would like games such as those.

That was when Knuckles mentioned for the second time how wet the forest was, which he did by specifically mentioning the fact that it was flooded. Kaden felt a small shiver of anxiety race up his spine. He hated water so much. There wasn't much that he'd ever truly felt fear toward, but he was willing to admit (at least to himself) that water was one of those things. His grip tightened slightly on the ship's controls. He did his best to focus on where he was flying even as he internally battled the newest negative emotion to enter his heart today. Silently, he let out a slow, deep breath. 'Why did I ever agree to come here…?'

Seiko frowned deeply, sudden concern flooding over her. Why water? Perhaps it is an irrational fear…?

Fear? Zareil found herself thinking. Kaden is afraid of water?

"Alright," Analia agreed. She paused for a moment before posing a simple, innocent question. "Tell me your favorite haiku?"

Kaden blinked once, then quietly recited, "'First dream of the year…

I kept it a

Dark secret…

Smiling to myself'."

She smiled again. "That is fitting," she murmured. "It suits you."

Seiko chose to let her concern go for the time being and focused on what was shown most recently. Haikus had been common amongst the hedgehog clans and as such, it didn't surprise her that he had a favorite.

...What the fuck is a haiku? Zareil questioned herself internally.

This was the final memory to take place during the timeframe mentioned earlier, as Aethra silently communicated to both women. The only additional context for this memory was that, prior to this event, Analia had been captured and injured but was then rescued. That news was taken to him by Sonic and Shadow.

Kaden felt even more of his earlier fury ebb all at once at this news. Almost instantly, he felt like he wanted to cry out of relief, but he buried that reaction and instead settled for a small nod. This seemed to satisfy his son, who gave a smile before turning his head back around to face the front. As Kaden followed, just slightly behind the two younger males, he briefly reflected that, excluding certain things in his childhood, it had always just been his partner and son who were able to bring him to tears, or at least to the verge of them.

This… really set Zareil's mind into a brief overdrive to try and make sense of this. Crying was something that she had only ever done when she was in serious pain, but it made her realize that it wasn't entirely impossible for him to cry even as a demon. She was acutely aware of one specific weakness Kaden had shown as the God of Demons that she often chose to overlook - meltdowns. The way he acted during those states surely could have left him crying… potentially. That thought burdened her more than she wanted to admit.

Seiko frowned in thought. Kaden knew he had two sons, and Sonic knew that he and Shadow shared a father. Yet in this memory, Kaden seemed to only be aware of a son. That was confusing. I'll have to keep a note to ask one of them… probably Sonic.

For this memory, Aethra again felt the need to give context. Kaden had gone Dark just prior to this memory. Back then, he hadn't had control over that form or the emotions caused by it. He had eventually exhausted himself due in no small part to Analia and, to a lesser extent, Locke. He had passed out, but by the time of this memory had woken back up.

Cream surprised Kaden when she suddenly ran over and gave him a small hug, eyes closed and face brightly smiling. Her little chao joined in on the hug. Being unused to physical contact as a whole (not to mention generally hating it) and being even less used to hugs in particular, he stiffened almost involuntarily and didn't return the gesture. This didn't seem to bother her, though. She kept smiling. "I'm so glad you're okay, Mister Kaden."

Somehow, after a moment, he found it in him to smile back, just a little. He gently smoothed a hand over the top of her head. It was as affectionate as he could bring himself to be right now, even in the presence of such a sweet and generally happy child. "I'm glad that you're okay, too."

Zareil's expression made way for one of a bit of concern. Oh, fuck, I killed her. Meanwhile, a soft smile broke onto Seiko's face. It went without saying that this sort of memory pleased her.

Kaden and Analia were sitting in a field of flowers under the stars. As they sat there, leaning back against a large rock, Kaden uncharacteristically slept. He had fallen asleep unintentionally, and his head was on Analia's shoulder. She simply could not stop smiling for the life of her. Though she was supposed to be watching the stars, her gaze was always inevitably drawn to her partner. He looked so peaceful. She loved every second of it.

Another bout of that emotion from earlier filled Zareil and she found herself crossing her arms irritably. Again with Analia.

Seiko's thoughts and emotions were interrupted by this scene, watching it silently and playing it over and over in her head. To see her son asleep in such a peaceful manner… It reminded her of the last time she had seen him sleep, before he was kidnapped. The memory stung worse than a blade to the skin.

To avoid going to where he was supposed to be, at least for a while, Kaden (pettily, childishly even) pressed all the buttons in the elevator.

It was hard to break free from how she felt at the last one, but Seiko somehow managed to focus on the present once more and even give a smile. I do not understand what he is doing, but it seems as if he is happy with himself.

What the fuck is he doing? Zareil questioned silently.

"Kaden is incredibly artistic," Aethra said to Seiko and Zareil suddenly. "He is a talented and passionate writer, sketch artist, musician, singer, painter, and more. He also rather adores literature. Those are important things to know about him, even when not taking into account this memory."

She suddenly sounded like she was smiling. "And as a child… he had a sensei named Saran. He was Mobius's strongest magic and Light user until his granddaughter Analia grew into her abilities. He fostered his student's love for learning and reading by allowing him access to a very special place you will soon see. He even bequeathed it to Kaden, allowing him to keep and add to the place as he saw fit. The rest… speaks for itself."

The memory played out without further ado.

"I have something way better to play than all of those," Locke said, his smirk now growing. Kaden happened to walk up to them right as Locke said that, and he watched with obvious suspicion while Locke walked off somewhere. They all watched Locke walk over to the nearby black and white television set. At the same time, the girls and Shadow joined the group by the record player. Locke reached behind the TV and, somehow, pulled a record out of the space between the TV's back and the wall.

Kaden frowned. "You hid a record in my library?" he asked as Locke pulled the record out of its case and walked over to the player.

Locke grinned unapologetically. "Yep. And not just any record."

Kaden tensed with realization, and his ears went back slightly as he glared at his old friend. "You didn't."

"Oh, yes I did," Locke replied evilly as he put the large disk into the record player.

Kaden internally groaned as the song began to play. It was a very old one, and short. This was one of many songs that he had written and sang when he'd thought he'd been alone. 'Apparently not alone enough.'

…

Blaze looked at Locke. "Are there more of these?" Clearly, she was asking whether or not there were more records like this one, specifically, though she seemed a bit shy as she asked this. Perhaps due to her idolization of the singer in question.

Locke grinned. "Quite a few," he confirmed while removing the record from the player.

…

Silver once again randomly spoke up, prompting Shadow's ear to flick. "Hey, Gramps? What's 'The Day the Music Died'?"

Kaden turned his head to see that Silver was holding a new record. He snatched it away, though not angrily. "Nothing," he said quickly. Sonic blinked several times in honest confusion, and Silver's expression became puzzled.

Locke smirked. He gestured for everyone to follow and began walking. "C'mon. I'll show you all."

Kaden blinked once. "Show them?" He turned and began quickly following his friend. "What the hell do you mean show them?" he demanded as he did so.

…

Locke walked over to the old TV and pulled out yet another recording he had stashed. This one was a video recording. On it was a title which read, "The Day the Music Died".

"Oh my god..." Kaden groaned, aloud this time, eyes closing in what was probably dismay. Locke smirked and loaded up the recording. "Someone recorded that damn thing on video?"

Locke grinned yet again. "Yep. Numerous people, actually."

Sonic's confused frown deepened. "What the hell are you guys talking about?" he asked them.

"Yeah, somebody explain, please," Silver added.

Locke turned his grin on them. "'The Day the Music Died' is the name of a world-famous rock concert," he said. "And it was the only day your old man ever performed for a crowd, Sonic." Kaden groaned again, though internally like this first time. He didn't like the reminder.

Silver stared for a long moment. However, it wasn't him who spoke next. It was Blaze. "He... performed...?"

Kaden released a sigh. "Once," he muttered. "Never again."

…

As Silver continued to fanboy aloud over some other musician and Sonic seemingly did the same on the inside, Kaden occupied himself with punching his friend's arm. "Don't ever record me singing again."

Locke only grinned once more. "I make no promises."

Kaden punched his friend's arm again.

Seiko took a moment to take this all in before nodding vaguely to herself. She knew about records and record players but the rest was a surprise. I suppose that the technology to capture sound would become sophisticated enough at some point to have begun collecting pictures as well. I must also one day speak to him about music. That may well be an interesting conversation.

Nothing about most of this memory made sense to Zareil, except for the music to an extent. She had heard it during times where she was in other places… but imagining him interested in such a thing left her unsure of what to think.

Sonic found himself growing bored. And if he was bored, he knew his father and best friend were as well. He looked down and to his right, eyes coming to rest on Kaden's face. "So I'm pretty sure I needn't ask, but you're bored, too, right?"

Kaden unexpectedly released a small sigh. "Yes," he admitted readily enough.

Sonic now also sighed. "You're of no help to me, then."

"Deal with it. I'm not here to entertain you."

"Well you should be."

"You're an adult now. You can entertain yourself."

"But Daddy," Sonic pretended to whine. Kaden cracked an eye open to give Sonic an unimpressed look, and Sonic couldn't help but laugh at his own joke. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

Kaden huffed and his eye closed again. "You don't sound sorry," he responded.

"Maybe that's because I'm not," Sonic grinned. Kaden just huffed again.

Zareil blinked once. What the fuck was that exchange?

Seiko shook her head in mock dismay, despite nobody being around to see it. In the right company, you are vaguely similar to me as well, Sonic.

The only context given for the next memory was some unspoken shared knowledge. Sonic had gone off on his own despite knowing that a water creature named Chaos was roaming loose. It had taken energy from several Chaos Emeralds, full knowledge of which was also shared with Seiko and Zareil. The creature had then run into Sonic and nearly strangled him to death before Jet had saved the hedgehog. After they had gone back to the others, this had happened.

Sonic spotted his parents on the wing of the X-Tornado. He knew the moment they spotted the bruises wrapped around his neck. Analia brought a hand up to cover her mouth, and she stared at the bruises in obvious concern.

Kaden's reaction, however, was less gentle and quiet. He jumped down off the wing of the ship, marched over, and proceeded to hit Sonic on the top of the head with his fist, much like he often did with Locke. And he did it hard. This greatly startled Sonic, as Kaden had never done this to him before. Even gentle thumps atop the head were something Kaden simply never did to him. But this wasn't an act of irritability or any sort of genuine anger. It was fear, just hidden under a veil of anger. "Don't ever do something stupid like that again!" Kaden snapped at him, emerald eyes flashing.

...

The amusement remained in Locke's eyes as he flew over to Kaden, who still looked as unhappy as he had earlier. Locke took a seat beside the hedgehog. "Hey, don't be too hard on the kid," he said, earning an emerald glance. "You were just as reckless as him when you were his age."

Kaden looked away again, and something about his expression softened greatly. "I know," he finally sighed.

Zareil tightened her crossed arms and huffed. Damned bastard. Don't run off with danger like that out.

I am glad he was okay, even after an assault like that… Seiko thought to herself. It was also good to see that Kaden was protective of his family. Another favorable trait from herself and Satsuno.

Kaden nodded, but then cast a glance in Blaze's direction. "Remind her to come and see me about her training later."

"Sure thing, Pops," Sonic winked with his trademark smirk.

Needless to say, this earned a dry look. "Don't call me that, Sonic." Kaden then unexpectedly ruffled his son's hair before teleporting away.

Seiko smiled predictably, but Zareil focused on something else. He really cares about Sonic, the former demon thought, for him to show such affection… Is that… normal?

Blaze sat with Kaden in the grass in an isolated location near the hedgehog's vast underground library in early August. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of branches and leaves above. Kaden sat with his legs crossed, hands lightly grasping his ankles. It was a strangely casual position, one she rarely saw him in, but she refrained from drawing his attention to it since that would likely make him revert to his usual, more serious posture. It was good for him to relax, so she said nothing. She herself sat with her legs crossed as she asked her sensei, "We are here to discuss my powers?"

There were no two ways about it. The way he was sitting here was rather childlike. As was silently explained to Seiko and Zareil, his autism (which Aethra more gently revealed to Seiko since the queen hadn't yet learned about it) could make him seem that way now and then. Though it didn't do so frequently.

Seiko's attention was focused on the fact that Kaden had obviously taken on the role of a sensei toward this cat, thinking briefly on the matter. He is certainly quite intelligent… so I suppose it makes sense. That aside, she noted mentally that Kaden displaying childlike mannerisms as a result of autism was similar to how Satsuno sometimes was. She was left wondering if it was noticeably less frequent than what her husband showed.

Why would he train her? Zareil bitterly thought. She hardly seems strong enough to even scratch me.

It was time for another memory. There was only a small amount of context given here. Being a young couple, with Kaden twenty-four at the time and Analia twenty-three, he and his then-partner were certainly well within the age-range to be having more children. It was unplanned and a surprise, but they wound up doing just that. The result was twins, a girl named Sarai and a boy named Sen. After communicating that this would be more relevant after the current memory, Aethra showed said memory.

"You know," Kaden murmured thoughtfully, eyes on the clouds outside the window, "there is another way to tell a bad person from a good one."

"Hm?" Sonic responded, chin in hand, with a glance through half-lidded eyes toward his father. He'd only just been pulled from his thoughts, so it took him a moment to actually speak. Slowly, one blue eyebrow rose as he looked at the older hedgehog, who continued to sit in one of the chairs in his office with his acoustic guitar and pick in hand. "Is there, now?" he finally inquired lightly. "Pray tell, then."

Gradually, Kaden smirked at the dry joke his son had just made. He turned his head to look at Sonic and told him seriously, "Bad people, quite fittingly, make bad music."

In spite of himself, Sonic began to laugh. "You can't be serious," he managed to get out. "Do they, really?"

"Absolutely terrible," Kaden confirmed with a chuckle.

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

"You are?"

"Very."

Laughing some more, Sonic picked up his own guitar and began lightly strumming. When Kaden spontaneously joined in a few moments later, a beautiful harmony was created that quieted young Sarai's cries (she had just woken up a minute ago) in the other room. The blue blur smiled to himself. He supposed his father's joke had... some merit.

Zareil had no way to know if what Kaden said was true, about bad people making bad music. Would I make bad music…? she caught herself wondering.

Seiko had to take a second to keep her composure, lest she begin snickering. This was wholeheartedly hilarious to her. I see that you really picked up my sense of humor.

Sarai's soft young face scrunched up in an expression of displeasure when her mother tickled one of her little feet. Giggling, Analia gently lifted her daughter up to show Kaden, who was playing with Sen next to her on the bed. "Look, Kaden," Analia said with a smile. "She has your pout." Sarai continued to look less than pleased. She seemed to want to be laid back down, and Analia obliged her.

Looking over, Kaden took in their daughter's face. He told Analia frankly, "I do not pout."

"Not frequently, no," Analia agreed, continuing to smile. "But you have done it before."

"Only jokingly," Kaden huffed. "And, for that matter, only once."

"But I am still right," Analia responded merrily.

Though he huffed again, Kaden also smirked in amusement. Smiling even wider at her "victory", Analia reached over and tickled him, sparing the children this time. Gasping softly against his will, Kaden moved away and quickly fled to sit in a chair across the room, taking Sen with him. Analia laughed, happy and unrepentant.

This made so little sense to Zareil that she chose to ignore most of it, especially Analia, but a vague confusion made its way through her. He is ticklish…? Seiko meanwhile rolled her eyes in amusement at the childish nature of her son. It was humorous to no end for her.

Kaden awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed. For just a moment, he stared blankly at the wall, not quite awake and cognitive. Then he suddenly turned to Analia and the window on that side of the room, blankets twisting around his legs as he did so. Simply not seeing what he had been sensing was what spurred him into movement. Not even bothering to put his shoes on, he teleported outside as far as he could go. He went more than halfway across the world, but it wasn't enough.

Letting out a small, "Tch," he began running. And he was running hard. When he caught sight of what had gotten him so upset and even fearful, he was compelled to go even faster. Tensing up, he prepared for the catch. His son slammed into his arms with so much force that his knees buckled and caused them both to hit the ground, scraping them up badly. Sonic was unconscious and seriously injured. Shifting his hold on the younger hedgehog slightly, Kaden teleported several times to get them both back to the house. Then, laying Sonic down on the carpeted floor, he ran up the stairs to wake Analia. Something had happened. Something was wrong. And in order to find out what, Sonic needed to be healed. Quickly.

Why was worry building up in her body? Zareil had no idea how to handle the emotion currently overtaking her and wound up fidgeting. What the hell?

The earlier amusement faded and Seiko furrowed her eyebrows. That is… concerning.

Only one detail was shared prior to this memory. Kaden had endured an extreme amount of pain in the past, including child abuse and neglect, child homelessness, near-death experiences, brutal training, torture, the death of his partner, his own death… But Aethra spared them, Seiko especially, any further details beyond those mentions. Her intention wasn't to harm either woman, after all. So she merely proceeded after giving them both time to absorb this information.

Even after the flow of memories ended, he remained totally focused (though unwillingly so) on the last one in particular. The blades, the spike-filled metal boots, the hammers, the racks, the electrified chairs, the branding irons, the whips, those three sets of cold eyes... They all continued to haunt him to this very day. The memories were so vivid, as though they weren't memories at all but, rather, what he was experiencing in the present. He fought to block them out, but it was a losing battle that he was fighting. And, when one of his most horrific and thus most horribly vivid memories from those seven months hit him out of the blue, he suddenly blacked out.

...

Analia gave him a sad smile while she moved to take a seat in front of him on the, thankfully, carpeted floor. "You had a seizure," she responded just as quietly as he had spoken. "It was a grand mal, like all the others were in the past."

Though he had suspected that he'd had a seizure, the confirmation was still surprising and, honestly, a tad bit alarming. He hadn't had one of those in nearly three hundred years, not counting all the years he had been dead. To have another one, and so out of the blue... He didn't know what to think of it. He did, however, know the cause. 'Those damn memories…' Like all his past seizures, this was essentially an extreme physical response to his post-traumatic stress. It was far from good.

There was a lot of information to take in. First what was shared with them initially, then the memory itself. There was so much worry building in her suddenly that she couldn't actually explain. Zareil glanced to Kaden silently with a frown. She'd known about the seizures… but the rest was news to her.

Seiko found herself briefly struck with silence. This is all… extremely unpleasant. I don't know if I'm ready to learn the details of what happened in his past after he was abducted.

In that moment, a voice quite suddenly broke into the silence that had once been filling Sonic's room, infiltrating his thoughts. "Enjoying my journal?"

With a start, Sonic jumped and whipped around. Kaden, who was leaning casually sideways against the doorframe with arms crossed, raised a silent eyebrow at his son. Knowing he was caught and that he had no escape, Sonic could only offer the older man a sheepish grin. "Um… sorry?"

Kaden's eyes betrayed a flicker of amusement. "I do not believe you."

Seiko took a moment to leave her emotions in the past with the memory they were associated with to make room for a bit of lightheartedness. So you write as well… Just as Aethra said.

What the fuck is a journal…? Does he, like… write in it? I have so much shit to ask him about. Zareil glanced away from his sleeping form, trying to ignore the other feelings from before.

Kaden, Sonic, and Silver all embarked on a race through miles and miles of wilderness, ending with none of them actually winning. Silver was to blame for the collision that ended the race, but their spirits were all too high for any of them to be upset about it. To "celebrate" their shared humorous failure on this day, the trio went out to lunch together. Sonic and Silver quickly proved themselves to be too loud and wound up for the management's liking, however, which got them all in trouble. It was the first time Kaden had ever been kicked out of a restaurant. To teach the boys a little lesson, he chased them around a bit.

Zareil bit back the urge to huff. If they are so close to him… perhaps I should be more lenient. Less… doing everything that demons do to their young.

Seiko rolled her eyes again at this, amused anew. So running has certainly continued in the family. That is good. It is a pleasant physical activity for them all to enjoy.

This was a day made perfect by beautiful weather. Perfect for certain things, that is. Things like running, for example. So run Shadow and Kaden did, all over the eastern side of the world. But, inevitably, what started off as a casual travel day eventually turned into some sort of crazy, impromptu race. Being the rather competitive souls they both were, neither father nor son wanted to allow the other to win. Trading challenging smirks, the two darkly colored hedgehogs shot off into the distance.

A smile broke out onto Seiko's face. So it continued to him as well.

Fuck, him too. Zareil actually did huff this time. Dammit. I even beat the shit out of him once, too. That's a good way to make some disli- She cut off her thought, visibly confused. Why do I care what his impression of me is?

At exactly twelve a.m on January first, Kaden found himself in a large, very cold and snowy park. He was being shouted at by every single person he knew and cared for. The cries of "Happy Birthday!" nearly deafened him due to the sheer volume. Even little Sarai yelled at him, though she couldn't speak yet. The loud voices died down and his ears unflattened themselves. Analia (the very person who'd dragged him out of bed and led him to this little surprise) hugged him. When she did, somehow, in spite of having no interest in his own birthday and even disliking it, he managed to find it in himself to return the smile.

Zareil lightly tapped her foot on the ground. Birthday…? Why are they celebrating birth? It is hardly worth celebrating merely living.

Seiko perked up at this memory, smiling. I wonder how they discovered his date and time of birth? That is something worth investigating.

Analia finished putting together a crown of delicate blue and white flowers. Smiling an almost secretive sort of smile, she handed it to him. "Give these to your father... He will not admit it, but he rather likes flowers."

Shocked, Sonic turned to look at his father... then back down to the flowers in his hand... then took a moment to question everything he had once thought he'd known about his parents.

A brief idea sparked to life in Seiko's mind, and she chose to hold onto it. Making a flower bed in the future sounds pleasant… especially with my son.

Zareil blinked. He actually does like flowers? Shit, I barely know a damn thing about those. They burn too easily to grow at home.

This was communicated to be the final memory.

Amy and Cream spent the day making flower crowns together. Everyone in their group of friends and family was gathered in a rather large park for the simple reason of celebrating four full weeks of genuine peace. Smiling to herself just about as much as Cream was, the pink hedgehog got up, gathered crowns into her arms, and began aiding her young friend in distributing their flowery tokens.

…

Smiling back at her, Sonic glanced at his father, then looked back at Cream. "Maybe you should go give my dad one next," he whispered with a small wink.

This comment didn't go unnoticed. Kaden's sharp ears picked up on it easily, and he turned his head just as Cream gave Sonic the happy reply, "Okay!" then turned and skipped toward Kaden. The man huffed a little at Sonic's expression, but nonetheless accepted the child's gift, as everyone knew he would. Cream beamed and, as Sonic watched, his father found it in himself to smile back at her. That alone made this day all the more bright.

Zareil's shock was visible when she recalled the demonic flowers that grew on some demonic worlds. That- That isn't a flower! What the hell are those? They aren't in any way dangerous!

The flower bed will happen, Seiko decided immediately upon seeing this.

In that moment, Aethra gently withdrew her mind from Zareil. Now the former demon was alone with her sleeping family. Zareil had a lot left to think about, chief among them who she was. If Kaden was really how those memories seemed to hint he was… well, that certainly was going to be a problem if she acted how she usually did. Would he even be able to be around her?

Then there was the fact of his family. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver… she supposed she could learn to deal with them, but Analia was someone she could not foresee herself ever liking or wanting to be around. That, and Kaden obviously thought highly of her. The thought of this alone was enough to make her irritable again, clenching her fists tightly.

Still, that wasn't the most important thing. She cared about Kaden more than anyone aside from her children, and if that meant forsaking herself and changing to be able to actually be around him, then that was what she would need to do.

~保護者~

Though she had left Zareil be, Aethra's presence lingered with Seiko still. "Seiko," she said quietly, "my reason for not including your partner in this is twofold. I know he does not handle emotional matters terribly well much of the time. And, though it is not pleasant to reveal, I must inform you that your suspicions from earlier in the day are correct. A spirit has indeed invaded him."

"The physical toll that took has led to him going to sleep for now," she continued, "and so nothing has so far been done by the spirit. I ask that you return to his side to tend to him if need be while I remove the intruder. I cannot remain awake to help further if he seizes or has any other potentially dangerous response to the banishment."

"So, Steam was correct, then," Seiko thought aloud. "If you are going to remove the spirit, then I will certainly make sure to care for him. I cannot have him possessed by a creature such as this."

"Tell me when you are ready, then," Aethra murmured.

Rather than respond, Seiko teleported back to the room she was currently sharing with Satsuno and silently took a seat on the bed. I wish it were me to expel this spirit, but I will not object.

Satsuno remained asleep, so fatigued from the sudden possession that he was unaware of her return right now. He didn't stir even when she sat down. In truth, he wouldn't have been entirely aware of her regardless, however. This possession, while not quite severe enough that it entirely wrenched his control of himself away, was just thorough enough to allow the spirit to be almost completely in control. The only reason why his genuine response to the possession (his exhaustion) won out was because his body needed rest more strongly than the spirit had been prepared to handle.

Aethra didn't waste time. Handling this matter was simple enough, and not just because she was a Faein. This spirit was inexperienced. It had never tried to control someone before. That meant it had no real idea how to hold onto its control. Still… this could have easily turned out much worse. "You must do all that you can to protect your partner from here on," she warned softly. She took careful hold of the spirit in preparation to pull it free. "Many vengeful, spiteful, furious spirits roam the realms in this era… each the product of millennia of warfare. He is in more danger than you know each time he sets foot outside this house."

Seiko reached over and clasped a hand around Satsuno's, holding it gently. "I understand. Were I able to see the spirits as well, I would banish them before they were able to approach," the woman answered. "However… I must simply watch over him and do my best to protect him."

"Do all that you can. That is the only advice that I can give you. Had we had more time, I could do more. I must return to sleep soon, and there is one more thing I must do first. The rest of your husband's care is up to you." With that said, Aethra gently pulled out of Seiko's mind, then just as gently removed the spirit as well.

Almost as soon as this happened, Satsuno startled awake with a terrible shiver, a small gasp tearing free from him in response to the cold rushing out of his body. Seiko was quick to wrap an arm softly around Satsuno and pull him close, letting out a soft sigh. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Satsuno shivered again and quickly looked around. As was usually the case, he had no recollection of what had happened after the initial possession had taken place. Still, he could easily tell that he was safe and the issue was resolved, so he soon relaxed. "...Alright," he replied.

Seiko laid down next to him and smiled gently to him. "Good to hear. You didn't seem to feel all that great after the battle."

After another pause, Satsuno laid back down as well. "I don't remember it," he admitted, though he knew it wouldn't be news to her.

"It's okay," she said soothingly. "Don't worry. Just try to rest, alright?"

Before he could oblige, there was one thing he had to ask. "What did the spirit do?"

"It didn't get to do anything," Seiko answered. "The possession made you tired." Satsuno nodded, a little relieved, and closed his eyes again. In truth, he still was tired. Seiko continued without much hesitation. "Let's try to rest a little." Satsuno just nodded, already getting comfortable. He was never one to argue against the idea of sleep. Seiko took care to get comfortable with him as well, managing a smile. I'm just glad he's safe… I'll tell Sonic and Steam about this when we wake up.

~保護者~

After holding the ceremony to honor the lives of those who had died due to the spawn of Malevolence attacking and immediately giving a speech to rally her kind to join this war, Ghune set out for another goal. She'd already collected a decent amount of blood, but there was someone she needed to speak to. Appearing at the home of the Black Arms, Ghune fearlessly approached Black Doom in a burst of fog. "We need to talk, now."

The dark alien turned to face her immediately and frowned. It didn't take effort of any kind to deduce that something of consequence had just taken place. "Speak."

"I'm reviving the Black Arms, and you're going to help me," Ghune said easily. "Is this understood?"

Had it been anyone else ordering him around, he would have refused to cooperate purely out of spite. For her, however, he was willing to do as commanded. Especially for a cause like this. "It is," he acknowledged, crossing his arms.

Twisting and turning around, she began walking. "Your spawn, Shadow. He was the leader of the Black Arms in your stead, yes?"

"Not truly, no. I have learned that there was a traiter of sorts in the hive who claimed leadership when my right-hand was killed. It excommunicated Shadow and forced him out of the hive for many eons."

"They have been dealt with accordingly, correct?" Ghune asked, a tinge of irritation in her voice.

Black Doom scowled hatefully. "Yes."

"Good," Ghune answered. "Because they would be far worse off in my hands after having ruined their own race." Black Doom muttered some vague agreement, anger present in his eyes. She let the matter drop in silence, turning her attention to another matter. "I'm going to need to borrow some of your blood for this as well."

"Do whatever is necessary," he agreed immediately. "My race is facing extinction. This cannot be delayed. There are only twenty of us left."

"What placed your race in such danger? Has anyone reported how the population could have declined so sharply?" Ghune demanded to know.

"I have yet to speak with the last individuals old enough to know. Whatever happened left them in conditions poor enough that they have not yet awoken."

Ghune stopped her movements, face contorting in anger. "Find out what happened to your kind, and if I am able, the issue will be removed permanently." Rather than continue moving once this was done, the vampire pulled off her cloak and revealed the many vials and flasks strapped to her body. Without delay, they were removed and poured onto the ground to form a magic sigil on the ground.

Black Doom simply stopped as well and waited, knowing she had fully taken charge and would tell him what to do and when once she was ready. It was best to not get in her way. Once this was done, Ghune produced a knife and placed it in his hand. "Make sure it goes in the sigil. If you miss, I'll make fun of you." This earned a huff but little more than that. He did as asked and then set about carefully cleaning the black liquid off so that it wouldn't harm her later.

The vampire pushed him a couple feet away after reclaiming her blade, allowing her magic to flow through her hands and body. The blood began to glow dangerously bright, bubbling and evaporating. "You know… I never expected existence to come to this," she murmured.

"Few did," was the slow response, "aside from the madwoman herself."

Ghune murmured something in response. "I also hardly expected to ever be resurrecting an entire race… regardless of how capable I am." Her gaze shifted to him for a moment, before ultimately returning to the sigil that had almost vanished by now. "But, I'm glad you're back. It's been quite lonely, regardless of the acquaintances and followers I have."

"Leaving you alone in such a manner was not my intention," Black Doom responded quietly, looking away. "I'm sorry for that."

She chose to keep her expression unreadable for now. "Don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault. I forgave you already." He remained silent, not reacting outwardly to her words. Ghune fell silent, taking a deep breath and raising her hand. The blood finally disappeared fully and all at once she could sense life being returned to so many of the long-dead Black Arms. Having completed the spell, Ghune allowed herself to relax and turned back to Black Doom. "You will soon find that your kind has returned. Weed out any you knew to be problematic and join me on my world. I have every intention of my kind joining this war, and I would like your aid in discussing tactics."

Dark eyes blinked slowly. "My kind is too 'beastial' to engage in organized warfare. I doubt I will be of much use to you."

"You're smarter than that," Ghune huffed, crossing her arms. "And regardless, you understand the capabilities of your kind better than I." She glanced away, silently using the brief connection she had with the newly revived beings to order them to return to their lives and leader before severing it entirely. "I also would like your company, and for you to see the advancements my people have made in the years we did not see one another."

It did take a couple moments, but eventually Black Doom sighed. "Fine, then," he conceded simply.

"Good," Ghune said, putting her cape back on. "I must return. My people are readying themselves… and Shadow also requires further training to prepare his abilities so that he is under control."

"Something has occurred recently," Black Doom muttered, frowning. "Tell me what it was."

"He was attacked by a spawn of Malevolence before he could feed, and was forced into a frenzy. He used necromantic magic and returned a number of demons to life and showed an increased strength while fighting it off," Ghune explained.

This caused Black Doom to scowl anew. "That level of growth in abilities is not… normal."

"He's an Immortal," Ghune said easily. "There's no other explanation." She turned to Black Doom and crossed her arms. "He is the son of Black Doom and the God of Death, a newly turned vampire and is now becoming an Immortal… not even mentioning whatever the non-biological parts of his body are doing in regards to his abilities." The alien listened in silence, inwardly rather stunned by the knowledge of his son's Immortality and the apparent identity of his other father. Ghune watched his expression for a moment before quietly asking, "Have you never met his other father?"

"I never knew a thing about him. There was no way to meet."

Ghune snorted. "Change that one day." She managed a smile, however. "Truthfully, it would be good for you to meet his other father… eventually. He's going to need some time."

"There is no reason to meet the man," Black Doom dismissed with a soft snort.

"How often have I ever said something that was not with reason?" The woman asked. He just frowned at her again. She shook her head and sighed, turning away. "Think on that. I will see you in my castle." Black Doom huffed to himself, but nodded in agreement before vanishing to check on his hive. Ghune herself vanished, but only after glancing around her. I made this decision with far less thought than other choices I have made. Perhaps I have been too ecstatic about his return.

~保護者~

She really shouldn't have been so surprised that Kial had more or less hunted her down, but her current state of confusion didn't give her much room to process all of this information. One second she was on the way to Mobius, the next Kial had tackled her into a kiss.

Rose didn't mind the affection. If anything, it left her feeling more grounded than before. A new level of stability. She felt him break away carefully, his blind gaze on her.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kial demanded to know, tone vaguely panicked. "You died and came back different."

The female cat gently clung to Kial, holding him close more for her own sake. His emotion sparked several in her, but none more so than something akin to sadness that she couldn't quite place. "In my attempt to purify Armaris… she fought back. I suffered several injuries, and ultimately she killed me. I was dead for… a short time, I know not how long, but then…" Her words trailed off. Was it okay to speak so openly about the Faein's words in that moment? She decided rather quickly that she didn't care. This was her lover, someone she intended to spend the rest of her life with. He deserved to know. "The Faein reached out and one spoke to me… telling me that I had become an Immortal. From there, I revived and set about protecting Armaris and ending the fight once and for all."

Kial's hand gripped at her shoulder tightly. "I thought I lost you… in that brief time you were dead."

"I under-" Rose was cut off by his grip tightening further.

"Rose, never do something like that again," Kial suddenly said. "You left out something in all of that… and for as much as I love you and care about you, I know you will never admit to how much of yourself you sacrifice." Rose fell quiet as he spoke, her grip loosening as his words sunk in. "Sacrificing yourself to save someone's life should be a last resort. Please… take better care of yourself."

Rose nodded slowly and pressed her head up against his, a few tears spilling from her eyes. She couldn't muster the strength to speak. I'm so sorry for worrying you, Kial… and everyone. It was foolish of me. I will… do better.

Kial knew his point had been made and that she understood. She was very intelligent, and always understanding. He'd have been more surprised if she didn't understand, truthfully, so he chose to speak about something else. "We haven't had a chance to really sit down together for a while, you know…"

Confusion broke into her emotions and she pulled back from him, blinking. "You are… correct."

"Let's go back to Mobius. I'm… sure that everyone is concerned and confused. People should see that you're okay." The smile on his face incited so much joy in Rose's heart, enough that she couldn't quite process it all. Her body warmed at the sight of him, and before he had a chance to properly react, the woman pulled him in for another kiss. That… is a lot more forward of her. He didn't mind.

They spent some time in this gentle embrace, holding one another close and choosing to enjoy the other's warmth and love, before breaking apart again and making the joint decision to teleport back together.

~保護者~

Maybe if he wasn't in the literal Realm of Light, he might have felt way more scared coming in. Kath had needed healing, and the moment someone said to take him here… Cyril did. Without a second thought, Cyril took the older Babylonian as deep as possible and stayed there with him. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see what would happen, to see if Kath would wake up. I really hope you're okay… I'd hate it if something happened to you.

Extreme pain had caused Kath to briefly black out. However, being surrounded by Light allowed his pain to fade rapidly. As a result, he woke up within no time. He looked around quickly, then noticed Cyril… as well as the faint aura of protection around the man. ...Eona is defending him.

Cyril didn't miss Kath awakening, a relieved smile on his face. "I'm so glad this worked… I was really worried when I saw your injuries." Kath didn't respond beyond glancing at Cyril again and then sitting up. He'd never been the chatty type, after all. Cyril continued, regardless of not receiving a reply. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Better," Kath allowed. He set about looking his leg over.

"That's really good," Cyril said.

"Why would you risk coming in here?" Kath suddenly asked. "I could have merely been teleported."

Cyril paused. "I… didn't think that far ahead. I just wanted to make sure you'd be okay."

Blue eyes blinked. "You did not need to be so concerned," Kath replied carefully. "I would have lived."

"Even if you would have been fine in the end…" Cyril murmured, "I couldn't just sit by. I wanted to help."

"...Why?" Kath asked him. He suspected he knew the answer… but confirmation was always a good thing to acquire.

"I mean, we're friends, aren't we?" Cyril asked. "I gotta help my friends where I can."

"...Friends," Kath repeated slowly. That most certainly wasn't the answer he'd been expecting and he wasn't quite sure how to respond to it. Friends just weren't something he typically… had.

"Of course," Cyril said with a smile. "I see you as a friend."

"Why?" was Kath's next question. Logically, this didn't make sense to him. "We do not know one another well. I was under the impression that that is generally required for such a thing."

Cyril shrugged. "I suppose so, but there's nothing wrong with being friends and not knowing a lot about one another." He smiled a little. "Of course, I'd still like to know more about you, but there just hasn't been much time."

Kath almost mirrored Cyril's shrug, but caught himself and refrained. "There is little worth knowing about me," he responded. He didn't deny anything else Cyril had said. There was no point. The finch was right, and they both knew it. He had no refute and no complaints, so to him there was no reason to pursue those lines of discussion further.

"Well, I think there is," Cyril answered brightly. "But let's focus on something else. How are you feeling now?"

"Well enough." Kath stood, careful to be mindful of his leg just in case as he did so.

Cyril watched as Kath stood, then followed suit. "Glad to hear that. You should be careful, still."

"I do not intend to be reckless," was the calm agreement. Kath further examined his leg to be on the safe side. Upon finding that it truly was fine, he briefly used his aura to repair the damage to his clothes.

Cyril began walking, a sudden frown breaking onto his face. "What was that creature that appeared?"

"A being known as a spawn of Malevolence," Kath explained. He began to follow Cyril. "Malevolence is a being with a common nickname on Mobius and Babylon, 'the Night'. Few speak of it by its true name out of fear, but this is a term you may have heard before."

"I… figured that was what it was," Cyril murmured softly. "I've seen it." His gaze was downcast as he spoke, but ultimately he didn't let whatever he felt get the best of him. "Honestly… I was kinda hoping that this wasn't going to happen again."

Blue eyes blinked. "Explain what you mean by 'again'. I am not familiar with Mobius's history."

Cyril shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "It's come to Mobius twice in… I suppose it can be called recent history. I fought to protect everyone I could." One of his hands idly rubbed at his eyes while he fell quiet for a long moment. "Probably would've worked better if I'd realized I was some god or something like that."

"Evidently Mobius still stands… meaning the beast was either fought back or, more likely, it found someone to feed off of each time." Kath frowned and glanced at Cyril. "That blue hedgehog. Who is he?"

"I assume you're talking about Sonic," Cyril answered, looking over as his face rapidly shifted to hide the sadness he'd felt moments ago.

"His boy possesses a surprisingly vast quantity of Light," Kath murmured. "Yet there are traces of weakness within it, weakness typically only caused by having a power drained from you."

This caused a moment of brief pause in Cyril. "Wait, what?"

"Malevolence feeds on Light. It is drawn to powerful living sources of the energy when its hunger strikes." Kath gave Cyril a long look. "I assume you know the boy. What is your impression of what his personality is like?"

"He seems really nice overall," Cyril acknowledged. "Kinda like Rose, if you've met her. A lot more… open, though."

"As is typical for beings of Light. Yet there are times where his mood will shift and become more morose and withdrawn." Kath blinked once, thinking things over for a brief moment. "Is this something you have witnessed?"

Also sounds like Rose… "Um… probably?" Cyril said, unsure. "Usually me and him are in good spirits around one another."

"Auras reveal much about people," the hawk suddenly murmured. "His proved that such shifts in his mood are not typically within his personality. The same is true of the deep-set anger I sensed in one of the other blue hedgehogs who arrived at the battle. Both have been directly touched and harmed by Malevolence. That does not occur without leaving terrible wounds behind in the mind and heart."

"That's absolutely awful," Cyril murmured. "I didn't think it was even possible for something like Light to be drained."

"Only Malevolence is capable of such a thing," Kath shrugged. "I don't claim to know why. But that its spawn are active means it is as well. It didn't target Sonic's son again, nor anyone else with Light. That means it is not yet hungry. However, when that time inevitably comes… this war will only escalate further."

"Is there anything we can do to stop it?" Cyril asked, deeply concerned. "If it seeks Light, two of the strongest around are Rose and Analia… barring Eona. I think I speak for everyone when I say it would be awful for any of them to be drained of their Light… if it's even possible for it to happen to Eona."

"That she is awake again," Kath said, "may be our only saving grace. Malevolence exists as the evil counter to her, when previously the chameleon race held that role. While she cannot truly defeat it, the creature can also never truly defeat her. Given the situation that Jet has been in recently, its inability to take Eona down will be our best protection."

Cyril pulled one of his cards free from the case and began flipping it between his fingers. "Assuming Nareish doesn't interfere," he mumbled.

"That is also true," was the quiet acknowledgement.

The finch was abnormally quiet for some time. His thoughts drifted before asking, "Would it be possible to seal Malevolence away? We've heard about powers being sealed and such, at least."

"It has been done before, but at great cost," Kath told him. "Two beings of Light sealed it away two different times, and each time it cost them all of their power, all of their energy, and their lives as a whole."

"What if it isn't the beings of Light doing it alone this time?" Cyril questioned further. "We've got powerful allies like Ylden, Cere, Wave, Jet… All kinds of people with all sorts of abilities. Do you think it would be possible?"

"With careful planning it might be. However, I will not say with certainty that it is. Nothing of the sort has ever dared to be attempted before."

Cyril nodded a little. "Then, maybe it's time. I'll start talking to people, come up with ideas." He frowned momentarily before asking, "Slightly off topic, but… did you notice what happened to Rose in that fight?"

"Keep me apprised of any discussions you have," Kath replied swiftly. Then he, too, changed topics. "Yes, I am aware of what happened."

"She wasn't revived by someone else," Cyril murmured. "Nobody had the time to react. It was her doing. That's not possible, right?"

"Normally, I would agree…" Kath trailed off, then uncharacteristically sighed. "It is… difficult to accept so suddenly, but I learned that those who best embody the existential energies, such as Light in this case, are becoming Immortals. It would seem that, for one reason or another, she is taking on this role instead of Analia."

Cyril thought this over. "In a way… maybe it's better that it's Rose? Analia is amazing… but she hasn't had any time to recover properly from whatever she went through. I can still see just how tired she is," the finch explained gently. "Rose… Well, ignoring the scary flares of temper she's had, is doing okay. She cares a lot about people, too."

Kath nodded slowly in agreement. "Analia, for all her strength, will likely need many years to fully recover. She has had but a fraction of that time thus far. On the other hand, Rose is doing well, as you said. It is the sensible choice, so to speak."

"The next would have to be Shadow," Cyril suddenly said. "That level of power he displayed when that spawn of Malevolence showed up is unreal."

Blue eyes blinked. As he had no knowledge of any kind about the man in question, he was quick to press for more information. "That was not normal for him?"

"Nothing he did there realistically would have been normal," Cyril explained. "Aside from how he acted, which to my knowledge was somewhat normal, all of those abilities and powers he used were never mentioned to me in any way. That necromancy-" Cyril paused for a moment, unsure how he even really realized what that was before deciding not to deeply question it. "I can see it being passed over in conversation, but the incredible strength? The sword he just wielded without his hand and then him breaking free of the energies of that creature? It doesn't sound right, but this information would make it seem more reasonable for him to be one of these new Immortals."

"That likely does not have anything to do with Immortality," Kath corrected. "Sudden abilities appearing, strength becoming enhanced, and so on are extremely typical for newly turned vampires."

Cyril froze for a moment, caught off guard by the idea. "Vampires? Those are real?"

"Unfortunately," Kath mumbled. "And a word to the wise… do not cross them. I made that mistake once in my youth. Only once. I was fortunate not to wind up dead or bitten, but few others are so lucky."

"So… uh… that woman that showed up," Cyril murmured. "She used at least two types of magic. One I've got no clue about, but the other she was definitely drawing on blood for. I could see her pulling blood from dead bodies with magic for the spells. Is she one as well?"

"She is, yes," Kath agreed. "However, I do not know her and did not closely observe her at any point. I cannot tell you anything about what she was doing."

Cyril nodded to this. "I… That's fair. She seemed to be on our side, or at least not against us."

"Most likely." They finally reached the edge of the Garden of Light, and Kath reacted to that by doing something unexpected. He reached a hand out and snagged Cyril's sleeve to tug him fully out of the swirling wisps of Light. "Her protection does not last forever. Do not dally."

"Oh-" Cyril didn't even attempt to go against Kath's action, blinking once. "One more… Two more quick things before we go. The first thing is that Wave would have to be a third person becoming an Immortal, right?"

"I would assume so," Kath stated, releasing his hold and lowering his arm again. He and Cyril were both now floating lightly just outside of Eras. "Jet is already an Immortal, but it is likely that his role is now shifting due to his bond with the Void. That would make him a fourth."

"That means there's at least one unaccounted for," Cyril said. "At least, that I would know about." His gaze fully locked onto Kath and he asked carefully, "So… how did you find out about all of this?"

Blue eyes blinked again. "I was told by a man named Steam," he revealed.

Cyril blinked once at this in return. That's… odd. "I figure he trusts you a lot to just say all that, then," the finch said with a shrug.

"I wouldn't know. He is little more than a stranger to me." Kath crossed his arms loosely, mind drifting back to that conversation.

"He's a pretty good-hearted guy. I worry because he seems to always put himself in the most danger," Cyril answered. "He has all these backup plans and ideas for others but just goes off on his own all the time."

Kath's response to this gave an unintended hint at his deeply cold and distrustful past personality when he shrugged and murmured, "That is not a concern of mine, at the moment. His intentions may appear good, but that does not always mean anything."

Cyril chose not to comment on this because of how deeply he disagreed with almost every word. It was better to not get worked up right now, and besides… he didn't know much about Kath or the reasoning behind what he'd said. "Ah. Well, I think it's time we get out of here. I'm sure your family is worried about you, and I need to make sure Eila is safe."

After a pause, Kath voiced a vague agreement before saying, "Check on Sonic's son when you can. I doubt he will be doing well at the present moment."

"'Course," Cyril replied easily. "If you see Wave, could you let her know I want to talk to her?"

"I will." With nothing else to say, Kath vanished.

Cyril took a sudden chance with Kath having left and called out, "Eona?"

It took but a few seconds for the ethereal woman to appear before him, clothes and hair flowing gently in response to the energy that formed them and her body. She greeted him with a warm smile. "Hello, Cyril."

He returned the smile, but chose to bypass formalities and friendliness. "I hate to just go to the point, but…" Cyril frowned a little. "With your knowledge as the literal embodiment of Light… would it be possible to seal Malevolence without sacrificing a Light being's power?"

"Not for most," Eona answered him gently, "and not without risks as a whole. I would be most comfortable making the effort myself, though I would likely have to return to sleep after such a struggle. It would not be easy to accomplish, or ever to attempt."

"Even if people like Wave and Cere are involved? People with extraordinary magic and energies?" Cyril questioned.

"Magic cannot affect a being such as this," Eona explained to him. "It can affect its spawn due to them being mere offshoots of the true creature, but otherwise… No. I am afraid it would not work."

"Is there anything I could do to help?" Cyril pressed further. "This is… really important. I want to keep helping my friends, especially if they're in danger."

"Not in this matter, no. But I want you to know that your efforts are valued and deeply appreciated." Eona offered him another smile, this one smaller. "What I would like you to do instead is focus on learning all that you can about your new abilities and role. That is the best way that you can aid those close to you."

Cyril didn't like that he couldn't really help with Malevolence, but her suggestion after was enough to lift his spirits again. He nodded a little to her. "Yeah… that's a good idea."

There was a second of quiet. Then her head canted. "You have the look of someone with questions," she observed. "Is there something you wish to know?"

He chuckled softly. "I've always got questions, and a lot of it's related to stuff that I just… missed. Things I couldn't have known without being present." The finch shrugged lightly. "Some of it I'd really like to learn on my own. It's no good if I rely solely on everyone else to get caught up. I can do my research." Cyril thought for a moment before gently asking, "Though… in regards to Rose… will she be okay? I didn't know it was possible for a being of Light to show so much anger. That's not normal, right?"

"It is not. Not unless one's Light is very weak or is in the process of gradually becoming dormant." Eona closed her eyes in an expression of sadness. "Many years of pain, grief, anger, and other negativity gradually began to cause the latter effect on her power. That, in turn, freed more and more capacity within her to feel and react to those same emotions on a deeper level. When those emotions were not dealt with and healed from, the process only continued. It did so for far too long, and it is only very recently that she has started to understand this and take steps to recover."

Cyril nodded his understanding. "So… she should be okay, as long as she keeps taking the steps she has been?"

"I believe she will be fine, yes."

"I'm glad," Cyril said. "Eila has been worried sick about it, even though she doesn't admit it." He thought for a moment before asking, "Rose spent… how long chasing down Eila?"

Eona inclined her head. "The majority of her life, I believe. Though, I am not certain. I was, regrettably, asleep during that time. I was only aware of so much."

Cyril waved it off. "That tells me everything I need to know. I was curious about just… how much they cared for one another. Rose spent most of her life trying to track down a corrupted sister, and now Eila has been spending her days worried about her wounded sister. It's really sweet… Well, bittersweet," he acknowledged. This earned a quiet nod and Eona opened her eyes again. "One more thing, and I'll get out of here. Is there any serious concerns I should have about Wave right now? I know she's strong, but I wanna be there for her as a friend."

The woman had to give this thought. "I regret to say it, but… it is possible that Jet will become a threat to her in the near future. That is to say, he and the Void might. If it is able to influence him the way it seeks to, it will want his friends, family, and general allies to die. She, as you well know, fits into those categories."

"And her dying is something I just can't let happen," Cyril admitted openly. "She thought I was weird when we were kids, but we've always been friends. Eons later and we're fighting a war together. I'm not letting anything take that away from me."

This determination and resolve caused her to smile again. "Potentially in danger though she may be at that time, nothing will happen to her," Eona murmured. "Not with you and others looking out for her. I am confident that she will be just fine."

"I'm sure she'd manage even without us. She's easily one of the coolest and strongest people I know," Cyril said. "Anyway, I said I'd leave. Don't wanna impose."

"A moment if you would, please," Eona gently interrupted. "I have a question of my own for you. The man you came here with, Kath… I have been a part of his life since the day he was born. I consider him to be my second son. It appears to me that you care about him. Is that correct?"

Cyril nodded with no hesitation. "Certainly."

"I do not want you to put yourself at risk of undue harm, but please… do look out for him whenever you are able," Eona requested, voice soft. "I am sorry to ask so much of you. I know much is happening and he can be… a handful, but I worry when I am not able to do this myself."

"Bold of you to assume I was doing anything less," he teased lightly, winking. "It's my pleasure to watch over my friends."

Eona smiled again and wiped at an eye. "I know this about you, yes. However, it would have been rude to just assume as opposed to asking."

Cyril shrugged. "If you make an assumption, I'm gonna have to guess it's right. You're way smarter than me."

"I do feel the need to warn you that I was not speaking in jest," Eona suddenly warned. "He truly can be a handful. You have not seen it yet, but my son is headstrong, fiercely independent, occasionally impulsive, and… shall we say… 'willful'. It can be an obstacle for any trying to ensure his safety at any given point, as his wolf will tell you."

"I'm sure I won't be on my own," Cyril answered. "And no use worrying myself over it right now. I'll have to figure it all out as it comes, honestly, but I'll absolutely do my best."

"Call out to me if ever you need help with him," Eona said. "I may be terribly busy, but this is my child. I will always come."

Cyril nodded with a bright smile. "I'd hope that any parent would."

This time, the smile that Cyril got was bright and happy. Eona reached out and lightly tapped his forehead with a finger before saying, "I am granting you a measure of protection. It is all I can spare. Should great harm try to befall you, I will defend you as much as possible. That is a promise."

The finch was at a loss for words, and he knew a lot of them. "Oh- That's… really nice of you."

"Be safe, Cyril. As much as you are able." Eona bowed politely in farewell and then teleported away.

Despite her disappearance, he returned the favor and vanished as well, appearing on Mobius with a controlled flash of magic. I'm getting better at this. With newfound determination, goals, and people to protect, Cyril resolved himself to not let any of them down. I'll protect my friends. All of them, as best I can.

~保護者~

Ever since seeing the second sword Li had been forging, Alana had had a suspicion. Something had to be going on with her kind, the Immortals. She just didn't know what. She certainly didn't know who to ask about it. Perhaps it was unreasonable to immediately turn to her father for answers, but when faced with unanswerable questions or deep mysteries… truly, who better to seek out?

Still, she had to acknowledge that even he didn't know everything. And, being mortal himself, there was only so much he knew about his opposites. He'd learned enough to succeed in helping her and Sein grow, strengthen, and also learn, but did that mean he would have enough of a basis to form an understanding about recent events? Somehow, she doubted it. In all honesty, she wasn't even sure he'd heard about the incident with Rose, much less witnessed it himself. If that was true, then he would have no answers to give her and he would say as much.

There was no harm in asking, either way. When he returned to the palace on New Babylon from being healed at Eras, the very first thing she did was hug him. After that, she told him several times that she wished he would be more careful and was glad to see him safe now. Only then did she release him and voice her question. "Father," she murmured, "are you aware of what happened to Rose during the battle?"

"I am," he allowed. Whether he'd seen it for himself or merely been told about the event wasn't specified. In the end, it didn't matter. So long as he knew, that was the important thing.

"The way she revived was the same way Sein or I would have," Alana pointlessly reminded. "How is this possible?"

Kath was quiet for a short time. "The day you visited me in the mountains and handed me a communicator, you said that Steam wanted to talk," he eventually said. "I got in contact with him shortly after you left. By his telling, new Immortals are coming into being, but not in the traditional manner. Various people were born with the potential to become Immortals, but not truly as one of your ranks at the time. Now, those best suited to fill the necessary roles are beginning to ascend."

"Roles?" Alana was quick to ask. "What roles?"

"The roles of governing existential forces and energies," Kath explained. "There is the Void, which is tied to Jet, meaning his previously… 'general' role as a normal Immortal is shifting. There is its counter, an energy I have heard called the Aether, which supposedly is tied to Wave. There are both forms of Darkness, evil and neutral, though I do not know who will govern those. Naturally, that means there is also a role to be filled for Light."

To say Alana was stunned would have been an understatement. This is… possible? "How many others know about this? Did he say?"

"I wasn't told who else he's spoken to about the matter, if anyone. At the time, I didn't think to ask."

"That is unusual for you."

"Alana-"

"I only tease, Father." The pair traded slight smiles, then Alana decided aloud, "We should speak with Sein about this. He and Jet need to be made aware of what is happening."

With no disagreements to voice, Kath merely nodded. "I assume Sein is still with Jet."

"He should be. That is where it was decided he should stay during the battle." Her fingers caught the trailing end of his one long sleeve and softly tugged. "Come. He should be easy to find." The pair teleported to A'latria without further ado. True to her suspicions, Sein was easy to locate. Despite this being her first time on this world, much less inside their son's home, she found her husband quickly in one of the rooms. Jet was clearly somewhere else within the castle. "Sein," she greeted warmly, already walking up to him and giving him a hug. "I am glad to see all is well here."

Sein smiled brightly and returned the hug. "It's going okay," he said. "Jet's had a bit of a rough time, but he seems to be doing better for right now."

"Good. I was worried." Alana gave him a squeeze, then said, "Father is fine. I do not know if you heard what happened, but he was injured during the battle. Cyril took him to Eras to be healed, and now we are both alright."

He let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I'm glad you're both doing okay," Sein said, pulling back after a moment. "Considering that you came here, is something the matter?"

"Not exactly, no," Alana replied as Kath wandered into the room. Her father had one of Jet's multiple pets sitting contentedly on his shoulder (much to his apparent annoyance). It was some sort of a mouse-like creature, and the sight made her chuckle under her breath before she refocused. "We were merely discussing something that we thought you should know."

Sein glanced to Kath with a vague smile. "What is it?" Taking care to word things the same way Kath had earlier, Alana explained to Sein what had been explained to her mere minutes before. He listened until the end, ultimately blinking. "Huh. Didn't expect that in the slightest."

"Nor was I. It is… surprising, to say the least." Alana sighed and brushed some hair away from her face. "This is something Jet will need to know as well… and Rose. It is unlikely she has a full understanding of what happened to her."

Sein crossed his arms and paced back and forth briefly, thinking over it. It was rare he felt this… confused by something, often allowing himself to simply leave things to the side until he could learn more. This was not a time he could do that. "Absolutely, but there's no safe way for Rose to be around Jet. The Void will try to wipe her out immediately."

"She would need to be protected in some manner," Kath said. "That is something you and Alana may be able to temporarily ensure."

"Yeah," Sein replied. "But we'll have to be fast about it. Definitely can't take this sort of risk lightly."

"Of course," Alana agreed. "I am willing to try, however, so long as this is kept short. I will not toy with her life in such a manner."

Sein nodded easily. "Seems like she was already planning to come here, too. I can sense her approaching."

"Good. I will speak to Jet and let him know what is happening. At least, that he has a guest on the way."

"Alright. I'll hold off Rose to keep her from approaching too suddenly. Let me know when we're all good, alright?" Sein said with a smile.

"I will. I will be back shortly." Alana walked out of the room in search of the stairs to find their son.

Sein teleported off the planet to intercept Rose as she did this. His appearance was enough to halt her approach, the woman stopping her flight to float in front of him. "Hello, Sein," she greeted.

The hawk smiled brightly. "Heya. You headed here to talk to Jet?" he questioned lightly. "Or was it for something else?"

"I came to speak to him on a matter that occurred during the fight," Rose explained softly.

"Funnily enough, me and Alana were just talking about making it possible for you to speak to him," Sein said. "But Alana and I need to make sure that the Void can't attack you while you're here."

Rose blinked once at his explanation, glancing to A'latria. "I see. In that case, I will wait."

Sein fell quiet after she said this, not really sure exactly what else to say at this point before something came to mind. "Hey… about your sister. How's she doing? Is she alright?"

The cat looked to him, eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I believe she is doing okay. We admittedly have not had the time to speak at length recently." Her expression was meant to be more internalized, a touch upset with herself for having not made time for her sister.

"I'm glad to hear that she's doing better," Sein replied easily. "I've been worried that she might…"

Rose glanced away. "She will not return to that life… ever. Please do not bring it up again."

"That's- Right." The hawk glanced back to the planet, hoping for an escape. It seemed they weren't ready just yet. "I didn't think she would, just so you know. My main concern was more focused on her potentially being forced into it."

"It's okay," Rose murmured. "I understand. The being controlling her was pure, insane evil." The cat let out a sigh. "That aside… you have been watching over Jet, correct? I presume he may well have taken to you with your pleasant demeanor. I hope I am correct."

Sein rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I sure hope so. I wanna be the best dad I can be."

"He needs someone like you," Rose said. "And I'm glad you were revived and can be with him. You, Alana, and Kath were people he always needed in his life."

The hawk shrugged. "No matter what, I don't plan to go anywhere."

"Good," Rose said, falling quiet for a moment before commenting, "I am aware that we have an awkward method of speaking with one another." Her gaze fell on him. "Perhaps we should both focus on trying to be a touch more concise with our words?"

Sein chuckled nervously. "Ah, fair. Never been good at being the one to stop talking."

Rose smiled a little. "Nor have I."

This time, the two fell into a less awkward silence, waiting for the signal. It came in the form of a gentle flare in Alana's aura which acted like a call to them both to come inside. Sein and Rose teleported independently, the former appearing closer to Alana. Once they were there, standing with her in the hall just outside of Jet's bedroom, Alana spoke. "He is willing to take part in this discussion, provided we can ensure her safety." A small smile played at her lips. "He was playing with some of his trains, Sein, so he appears to be in good spirits right now."

A big smile broke onto Sein's face. "That's awesome to hear."

Rose glanced between them quietly as her thoughts focused on something else. I wonder if he still has the train I gifted him.

The couple wasted no further time in creating a barrier for them and Rose to remain behind while in the room. Only then did Alana re-enter, gesturing for Sein and Rose to follow her as she went. On the floor by the foot of the bed Jet was sitting, idly spinning the wheel of an old train Sonic had given him with his fingers while he waited for them. There were no tracks laid out, but ultimately that was fine. The floor, being stone, was enough on its own. Still, the sight made Alana feel happy all over again.

It is good that he has been playing. Self-soothing is an important skill for all, especially those with additional difficulties in emotional regulation. Such as those on the spectrum, as he is. He must have realized independently that his emotions have been deeply negative lately and needed coping with. If that is the case, Sein and I must make sure to praise him for it thoroughly. Positive reinforcement will only encourage the behavior to continue. This was all worked out in moments. Alana turned her attention back to her son. "Do you believe this barrier will be adequate for a brief visit?" she asked.

"Yes. The Void is being mellow for once in its life, so this should be fine." Jet's tone and wording seemed lighter, too. That was a further good sign. As this thought crossed her mind, Alana spied a second and third train beside her son's leg. One was bright orange and yellow with a green roof. This rather childlike design was accompanied by a messy scrawling of, "from Baba! your bestest student ever" engraved in it. Beside that one was another carved specially from a type of tree only found on New Babylon. It, too, had an engraving, this one in the most common dialect of Babylonian. It simply read, "friends". Alana couldn't help but smile again at the sight.

Jet pulled her from her thoughts by addressing his father and Rose with a simple question. "What's this about?"

"I'm an Immortal," Rose said bluntly. "When I died during that fight, I was told by a man named Rusen that I had become an Immortal, and he congratulated me. That's why I'm alive."

That name again. "Did he say how this was possible?" Jet's question was soon answered by Alana giving her father's explanation again, and he blinked. ...I need to keep an eye on people… see who else is changing.

Sein crossed his arms. "So we know Wave and Rose for sure are both going through this change, based on what we've been told."

Jet nodded slowly. "I have my suspicions about who will take on the roles involving Darkness… but I want to check on things first before I spread potentially false information around." The idea of Wave becoming Immortal like he was bounced around in his mind for a time, but he tried not to give it too much attention just yet. He had a conversation to focus on.

"What are the implications of this change in existence?" Rose asked. "At any given point, there have always been four Immortals, but this would send that number up to at least eight."

"It's possible that this was always how things were meant to become one day," Jet said, though he initially had just shrugged. "I don't know anything more about it than you do."

Rose crossed her arms in thought. "I… truthfully am not sure what steps I should take now. There is hardly proper time to train myself to be an Immortal."

"Immortals do not train themselves," Jet corrected. "It is the job of the oldest currently living Immortal to handle the training of the others. In this case, it would be my job to train you."

In terms of actual years lived… I suppose he would be older than Sein and I, wouldn't he? Alana looked at her son, watching him continue idly spinning the same train wheel with his fingers while she said, "That may be true, but time is still an issue. Father cannot help, either, since he has still not mastered the power."

Jet nodded slowly. "I can try to come up with a better solution." He glanced over at Rose. "If I think of anything to help you, I'll send word."

Rose gave a nod in return. "In the meantime, is there anything I should engage in to prepare? I cannot sit idly."

"Train yourself the same way you always have, but focus on your energies rather than your body," Jet instructed. "You are a being of Light. It is time to start utilizing that."

The cat blinked twice in his direction. "I suppose you are correct in that matter."

"There is no 'I suppose'," Jet grumbled, frowning at her. "I am correct, and you know it. What you have been doing is no different than if someone like Wave or Cyril decided to focus on training in every area except their magic. It is nonsensical and does you no good."

Sein decided to pipe up, breaking his silence. "It would be really good to focus on your Light with how well trained your body is, since you might be able to make good use of past training to develop techniques that others might have never thought of."

Rose nodded gently. "I will do so, but I must soon speak to Li on the matter of a new blade. While mine has been gifted a renewed strength, it simply will not be able to keep up in the future. Aside from that, I believe I may speak to Analia and have her guidance, if she would be so kind as to teach me."

"She is not the type to turn down anyone in need of aid," Jet said. "You would do well to ask."

"Are there any other matters we need to discuss while we have a spare few seconds?" Rose questioned. "I cannot think of anything."

"I do not think there is anything else," Alana finally said. Sein gave a sort of nod of agreement.

Rose smiled softly to Jet. "It was nice to see you in more than a passing glance after all these years, and to know you kept that gift all this time. I was quite proud of my work on that train, especially with my limited knowledge of Babylonian language." Blue eyes blinked and Jet nodded a little in acknowledgement of her words. Rose then chose to straighten her stance. "For now, I will take my leave. Hopefully we may be able to sit down for coffee in the near future like we once did."

"I will hold you to that," Jet huffed. "I need a cup sooner rather than later." Or ten.

The cat's smile brightened a touch at this. "Certainly. Goodbye." The woman teleported away to go do as she'd been instructed, leaving the Babylonians together.

"So, you guys seem to be friendly," Sein pointed out.

His son shrugged. "We met many years ago. We have had time to become accustomed to one another."

Sein shrugged. "Fair enough."

Before the following silence had a chance to become awkward, Kath joined them. He no longer had the mouse-like creature on him (Alana amused herself by imagining he'd been "fighting" with it this entire time) and as such no longer had an annoyed demeanor about him. He did, however, seem a touch… well, she wasn't sure. Almost happy in his own way, maybe? "You are finished with your discussion now, yes?" he asked her without hesitation. When she nodded, he continued. "Alana, your mother was revived some days ago and has been resting. I just received a call from her that she feels well enough to visit with you."

Naturally, his daughter's eyes widened. She looked to Sein and shock, in no doubt that he'd known had kept the secret for one reason or another. "Sein… Is- Is this true?" Not that Father would ever lie about something like this, but…

"I mean, I could say that he's lying, but he's most definitely not… this time," Sein answered with a beaming grin. "Laralei has been resting, as he said, so I kept quiet for her sake."

Torn between wanting to laugh and cry, Alana turned to face Jet. "The moment you are better, I should like for you to go with me to meet her… alright? She would love to know you, and I would love for you to know her."

Appearing a touch somber now, Jet nodded again. "Yeah. Of course." With a wavering smile, Alana knelt down long enough to give him a rare hug before teleporting away to find her mother - who was presumably in the palace on New Babylon somewhere. Kath was quick to follow.

Sein watched them go before looking to Jet with a softening smile. "How are ya feeling, bud?"

This earned a small shrug. "Alright," Jet said honestly.

"That's good to hear," Sein said. "Everyone did really well in the last battle, and I'm glad you were able to at least watch over everything."

"What went on with Shadow… Have you seen or heard of anything like that occurring before?" Jet asked him. "I make a point of watching over him when I can, but lately I have been doing poorly at that."

"It was entirely unusual," Sein said easily. "I've never seen something quite like it, but he definitely performed some sort of necromancy. Even without ever seeing it… that's exactly what happened with those demons."

Jet drummed the fingers of one hand against his train. "He has a strong heritage of magic from the same side of the family Kaden takes after, but he hasn't ever shown any proclivity toward it before."

Sein thought this over. "Even with Kaden being the God of Death and Shadow being his son, I don't think I've ever so much as heard of necromancy on that scale.

"The God of Death has no use for magic of any kind," Jet reminded. "It's their job to cause and manage death, not to reverse it. Kaden has never had any ability to use darker magics to begin with, regardless."

"Which lends to the idea that this isn't exactly related to that," Sein explained. "Aside from potential excellency with magic due to heritage, it's gotta be something completely different. Speaking of, were you present to see that woman undo what he did?"

"...I was. And Shadow's eyes at the time… I saw them as well." Jet pursed his lips in thought. "I have heard nothing involving a bite, but the only way he could have those eyes would involve vampirism. Yokai have very similar eyes, but he is not one of them, nor can that ever change."

"And adding to this, that woman used some sort of magic that basically just looked like setting a plague on an area," Sein said. "Do you think that she would know, since she only showed up around the time that this weird sort of thing started happening?"

"I would rather ask Sonic," Jet responded. Only then did he think to explain, "They aren't full brothers, by the way, only half. Still, they have always been… close, in their own antagonistic way. Given that, I don't doubt Sonic has gone digging up information on his own by now. Asking him is preferable to asking a stranger."

Sein shrugged. "Fair enough. Woman was scary, anyway. Don't even know where I'd find her."

"I'll contact Sonic," Jet said again. "See what he knows." There was a momentary silence, then he changed the subject. "After the fight, you were absent for a while. Where did you go?"

"I was checking on something on Babylon to make sure nobody slipped past our notice, since that's where everything was headed originally," Sein explained, shrugging. It was a lie and he knew it, but just outright saying he was with Nareish was a bad idea. Jet could probably take him from her if he tried, and that wasn't something Sein wanted.

Whether his aura was hidden or Jet just wasn't paying enough attention, it didn't matter. The end result was the same. Jet missed the lie and, for several reasons, believed Sein's words without a second thought. "Everything was fine there, then?"

"Yeah. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary," Sein replied.

Another short-lived silence occurred, then Jet glanced up at his father's face for the barest of seconds. "You're tired," he observed quietly. "You haven't slept in a while, have you?"

"Not really," Sein admitted. "Been busy here and there, but I had every intention of sleeping soon."

"'Soon' should be 'now'. Just… not here. I can't promise the Void won't try something. It's already been quiet for longer than usual."

Sein nodded. "Your kids are all good, right?"

This time, Jet's shrug was a touch more worried than dismissive, but he didn't show it too much overall. "They haven't been here since before the fight. I had to make them leave, given the Void's behavior. They probably went to the palace."

"Gotcha. Would you rather me stay here or go to Babylon?" Sein questioned curiously.

"Babylon is safest for you, just as it is for them," Jet sighed. He set his train down and stood. "Until this can be dealt with, visits here by you or anyone else will need to continue being sporadic at best - and also very brief."

"That's what I was worried you'd say," Sein said, sighing gently. "As always, if you need anything that I might be able to help with, just say something. I'll make a way." Jet only murmured a vague agreement to that. Sein smiled gently, opening his arms. "Hug before I go?"

Ordinarily Jet would have hesitated a lot more but, as Alana had said earlier, he was in lighter spirits than usual at the moment. He'd also already managed to handle a hug from her mere minutes ago and been alright. So he supposed this would be alright, too. "...Okay."

Sein took a second to contain his happiness and approached Jet, gently wrapping his arms around his son. "Love you, Jet. Take care." The younger hawk nodded a little and hugged him back very lightly, almost uncertainly. That he was incredibly unused to hugs was obvious, but he wasn't too uncomfortable. After a moment, Sein broke the hug and backed away, grinning. "And now it's time to go sleep." Sein teleported away merely a second after saying this, going to Babylon.

The man walked happily with arms behind his head, letting out a pleased sigh. "Family is coming back together. Mom is back, dad has someone interested in him, my son is doing well, and he also has a romantic interest. This is the best I could ever hope for."

Then there was the fact of having been able to lie directly to Jet's face about where he'd been. He had expected Jet to catch on, but it didn't turn out that way. So, now he was just able to walk along freely as long as he didn't say anything incriminating. Beyond that, it was about waiting on her orders for anything she might want him to do.

It was hard to think beyond that as his tiredness caught up to him, and he caught himself rubbing at an eye. He could worry about things again when he woke up. As such, he collected himself and teleported to the room he and Alana had shared, laying himself down on the bed. Like he'd said to Jet, it was time to sleep. For real this time.

~保護者~

Utavi… Something about the woman who had come to her aid didn't sit right with Myriu, but it was so far outside of the limited scope of what she knew that she would never hope to understand. How someone outside of their race knew so much information about their training… That made even less sense, but maybe that was because it was something she could comprehend.

She'd randomly allowed herself to sleep in the presence of someone else, which was something else confusing. People made her nervous, and she preferred staying up high to avoid them. Of course it was her luck that she could see spirits, which were just dead people. Yet another thing that bothered her about it all was that the presence of that woman made Toru back down, and as angry as she had been with him, she had certainly been surprised by the fact of him stepping back from the situation.

None of it made sense and she chose to ignore it all in favor of trying to relax. Unwanted memories soared through her thoughts and she shot into a standing position, leaping to the floor and walking out of the room. Why did I remember that? I thought I made myself forget it. Myriu was quick to go outside, leaning against the wall and climbing up a few feet to get some distance from everything. She didn't want these spirits near her, and her irritation briefly skyrocketed until she yelled, "Get the fuck away from me!"

Like she'd expected, most of them didn't listen. A few left, but not enough. She curled up and attached herself to the wall, grumbling under her breath. She felt like shit all over again, and the only thing she really knew was to just crumble into a ball and shut out the world. Fuck... That was until she felt a hand on one of her arms, enough to drag her out of her emotions with a momentary burst of fear. Her body relaxed when she realized it was just the spirit of her father… apparently. She didn't speak, but something about his touch was more than enough to ground her in reality again. "What are you doing?" the girl asked quietly, watching the spirit that had attached himself to the wall beside her.

"I saw that you seemed upset. I wanted to check on you," the man murmured. "I know you wanted me to leave you alone, but… well, I couldn't just go."

"Hm." Myriu chose to focus on something else for the time being, her gaze locked into the distance ahead of her. "Why did my mom try to get rid of me?"

The man sighed a little. "I don't know, Myriu. I never expected her to do what she did."

Myriu fell quiet when he said this, falling quiet. It never ceased to bother her, how much she hated her mother. For a while, she'd hated her father, too, for suddenly disappearing… but his side of the story eradicated that bit of anger immediately. "You shouldn't have saved me. Your life was more important."

"You're wrong." Somehow those words told Myriu everything, and she didn't dare argue it. She knew he was right… even if she wasn't sure how.

"Oh."

"It's okay. There are things that will never make full sense unless you're a parent, like how important your child's life is to you. Your mother not seeing that means that she is in the wrong."

Myriu was quiet for some time before saying, "Let's change the subject."

Her father glanced to her. "Alright. So, what do you want to do in the future?"

There was absolutely no hesitation in her words. "I want to be a doctor."

Myriu could tell how surprised he was, but she simply let him speak for himself. "Really now? What makes you say that?"

"Learning to treat otherwise incurable diseases, helping people injured from battle, keeping our people alive… that's why." Myriu fell silent briefly before adding, "I've seen what can happen to those of us that aren't powerful like Toru."

The man nodded slowly. "You should pursue that, but something tells me you also have some desire to learn to fight, yeah?"

"It would be cool to mix shinobi tactics with outsider martial styles. There's no doubt that there are other types of effective fighting, so… it would be nice to learn from both. If I get to be half as strong as Toru or Caer, I'd have the time to do so before dying."

"You've matured a lot," her father observed.

"Hm?" Myriu asked, glancing over out of confusion.

"Yeah. You grew up too fast. You don't think like a kid your age." He sighed a little. "Not that you were given much choice." He didn't bring up the particular reasons, and Myriu suspected it was to respect her desire to change the earlier subject. She appreciated that effort.

"Ah." The girl let out a sigh. "Didn't help that I see dead people. The moment I realized that wasn't normal, I also realized I couldn't tell people. It was better to let them think something was wrong with me than to tell them what was really going on."

He wanted to argue… but he supposed in some ways she had a point. "There might have been people you could have spoken to, I'm sure… but I'm sure that the major consensus would be that something wasn't quite right. I'm sorry you were alienated."

It didn't matter, really. She was born with this, so it wasn't worth fighting. It was better to just handle it and move along. "Oh well. I'll live."

Inside he knew it wasn't the right time to argue that with her. They'd just met, and he didn't want to upset her somehow. Being with her now was important. "So, beyond all that, you've taken really well to the hedgehog here-"

"He's not a hedgehog, at least not really… anymore," Myriu corrected. "If I've heard correctly, he's a Black Arms-… whatever that is - vampire that has robotic parts inside of him. I think it makes up most of his body."

There were a lot of words to process in that sentence, and he didn't try to handle it all at once. "You don't sound too concerned."

"He's not that different from how he was when I met him. Seems sharper witted," Myriu said. "That woman is weird, though. I've never seen someone like her."

"The one who has shown up here and there?"

Myriu nodded a little. "Her name is Ghune. She can smell what race someone is, and their powers."

"That's unusual," he replied.

"Yeah. She showed up and gave Lia some sort of potion and had her drink it. She was adamant."

The man blinked. "That's unusual," he repeated, "but surely it'll be a good thing."

"I hope so. Lia tires me, but she's really nice," the girl said. "I hope she's okay."

"What about that teen? Soren, I think it was?"

"We haven't talked much. He's shy." Myriu finally felt calm enough to drop from the wall, her father following suit. "People that died a long time ago are being revived. Could they revive you?"

That was a question he wasn't expecting, but he chose to answer honestly in favor of respecting her question. "Maybe, but I'm not sure."

"Hm. I should ask." Myriu didn't say more on that matter, moving to walk back inside. "I never thought I would meet you," she murmured. "It was always this weird and distant thing I didn't want to acknowledge."

"I never thought you'd be able to see me. It seemed like you never could."

"I don't think I could before," Myriu said as she opened the door and stepped inside. Without thinking, she left the door open for him to walk through… only for him to phase through it entirely. She then closed it, feeling dumb for a brief moment. "Otherwise I'm sure we would've spoken sooner."

Her father nodded a little. "I wanted to for a while. I just… couldn't."

"It's fine," Myriu assured, stepping into her room. She felt tired again, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the emotions she'd tried to drown out from all of this draining her, or perhaps her recent tirade of anger had taken more out of her. She climbed into her bed. "Just… don't go anywhere. I don't want you sent back to the Realms of Death."

"A reaper or someone with some special power would have to force me back, and I wouldn't let them even if they had a reason. I'm considered a good spirit, and I'm not letting someone take me from my daughter a second time."

His words were enough to soothe her concerns and she sunk further into the bed, drifting off faster than intended. She felt safe and comfortable, only vaguely registering his arm draped over her body protectively. He couldn't protect her physically, but… at least the spirits wouldn't be so likely to bother.

She supposed that she now knew what it was like to have a caring parent.

~保護者~

This was never destined to be something long and drawn out. She had always been a touch quiet and subdued, even when elated like this. He had never been one for overly emotional things, such as teary reunions. Still, Cream knew his emotions. Espio knew hers. She was overjoyed to see him again. He was stunned, confused, and overwhelmed. But none of it was said.

Instead, she focused on an explanation. With brief words, she explained her sudden revival the day of the final meeting at Tails's home prior to Kaden being saved. She explained arriving there just after he'd left and calming Armaris down after her argument with Ylden. She explained asking Armaris to say nothing, for the sake of providing him with a happy surprise later in the day. She explained getting wrapped up in helping Aniko at her home in recent days.

Now she was here. They were here. Together again. Whole. Her hug was a risk, one that soon paid off. Much stronger arms soon moved to hold her equally as close, and a sigh escaped the man who had helped to raise her. "Do not… ever do that again," was the soft command. "Never again."

Of course, the bunny knew what he meant. She had placed herself in a position of grave danger. Her life had been stolen as a result. The way he must have felt as a result of that event… That wasn't something she could even imagine. But in the end, it was okay now. They were together again. This simple, powerful truth was all either of them needed to be better. It was all that mattered.

"Never again," she promised softly. "Never, ever again."

~保護者~

20,262 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Sorry for the long delay in posting, guys. I was visiting family for a few weeks, and then Thanksgiving came around haha. Hope you all enjoy. Posted (at about 1:05 p.m.) 11-28-21.