Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this collection of scenes… especially for the one who's loyal.

~保護者~

"Fealty"

~保護者~

All was quiet and peaceful on Mobius right now, at least for the time being. Whether or not it was destined to last, all of nature seemed to be at perfect ease. The streams of Light gently suffusing the area was no doubt helping. They heralded the arrival of Eona, who walked up to the bobcat without a sound. Her energies caused her hair and clothes, all formed of pure energies themselves, to flow slowly as though teased into motion by the gentlest of breezes.

She stopped a couple polite feet from the man. The area was quiet. The late hour certainly added to this. Still, whether he was joining the rest of nature in rest or not, now was the time for that quietude to be interrupted. Kneeling down in front of him, she sought to rouse him with a single word. "Kial."

He lifted his head a little. Her beautiful display was lost to his blind eyes… but without fail he understood. It was the same type of beauty that Rose had - internal. They were kind people, and as such he didn't hesitate to respond. "Eona."

His acknowledgement made her smile. The expression carried over to him in her voice. "I am sorry for disturbing you," she murmured, "but I must admit to being rather excited. I became aware of someone dear to you who has been gone for a rather long time now. You, my dear, have earned my gratitude many times over. All beings of Light are held close to my heart. That you make Rose so joyful and love her genuinely has brought me peace in place of my previous concerns for her. And while I could continue to use words to explain my gratitude toward you, I would rather show you instead… in a manner of speaking."

Standing, she beckoned for him to do the same. Then she turned and, using one hand, opened a portal to the Realm of Chaos where she and Teyan were continuing to work. Out of that portal came a giant wolf. Kial was given pause when he felt the sensation of the creature before him, gasping slightly. No way…

The large, grey wolf stood taller than Kial and had piercing yellow eyes. Its gaze scanned the area quietly for a long moment before moving up to meet Kial in a loving reunion. Trying to put together words and thoughts was not easy right now, considering that this was the friend he'd had for most of his childhood. He'd met the wolf before he'd ever dreamed of leaving home or meeting Espio. "Vun… you… you're back."

Despite the fact that the two could communicate between one another due to their link and Kial's status as the God of Mythical Beasts, Vun chose silence this time, resting its large head against Kial as the bobcat gently petted the top of its head. Vun supposed that the point got across.

Holding back some joyful tears, Kial turned to face Eona. "How… did you know? He's been dead for eons, far longer than Saethrim."

"I have been alive far longer than that, honey," Eona answered gently. "Even when asleep, Zenith and I are aware of some things in existence. This includes the other 'deities' and those they train, protect, or otherwise involve themselves with. But you were with Vun long before that… so I cannot say what drew my gaze to you. Regardless, I watched over you to some extent. That is how I knew."

Kial didn't waste time with more questions. Instead he leapt up on Vun's back, eager to experience old times once more. "Thank you. I can't… I could never begin to find the words to explain what this means to me."

"Your heart says more than enough," was the smiling response. "I understand all that you are feeling, Kial."

"I told Rose all about him when we met, and she understood just how much he meant to me. I think… it's time she gets to actually meet him," Kial said with a smile of his own.

Eona gave a polite bow. "I believe you are right. My only word of caution is that Vun will be tired for a while. It will take time to regain his energy. Once you reach your partner, it would be good to allow him to rest as much as he wants."

The wolf responded with what sounded like a low growl, and Kial chose to interpret for him. "He says he'd like to run regardless of being tired. I don't get a say in this matter."

This earned a light, melodic laugh. "I see. Do what you will then, both of you. I just ask that you be mindful regardless." Eona opened another portal in preparation to leave, but didn't step through yet. "I have one last request as well, Kial. Your friend, Espio… I understand that he has seemed to be fine lately, yes?"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell," Kial answered.

Her smile faded. "It is untrue. I do not know specifically how or if you could help… but when you have the time, I would ask that you try. Things are… preparing to get worse. Not just for him, but for many. I cannot help everyone."

Kial thought this through for a moment. "I've got just the idea. Maybe me and him can go exploring like we did in the past."

"That may be good for both of you," Eona agreed. Her gaze slid over to Vun. "And if you were to join them as you used to, you would certainly have more opportunities to run."

Vun snorted a little in reply while Kial nodded. "Just my thoughts. I'll see to it that I get him out of the village briefly. I even think I know who Armaris could hang around so she's not lonely."

"Very well. Thank you, Kial. That eases some of my concerns." Eona bowed again. "I will try to check in with you another time. For now, I must go. There are other lives we are trying to restore."

"Absolutely-" Kial wasn't allowed to give more of a reply as Vun suddenly bounded off through the nature, turning it to nothing more than a blur as Kial called out some sort of apology before they vanished into the thick of the wildlife around them.

There was something different about the wind in his face right now. He moved fast on his own, most definitely faster than Vun could, but it was reminiscent of the best years of his childhood. Something that reminded him about one of the only reasons why he turned out as well as he did.

Vun agreed. The wind was different with Kial here. With his best friend. Yes, he had been able to sprint in the Realms of Death and very little could stop him doing so, but he didn't enjoy it. The familiar weight on his back and the light pressure of hands against his neck was all he needed to be taken back in time.

At this moment, they were the most elated they believed any being could be.

~保護者~

The promised meeting came soon, yet almost not soon enough. Kath was almost sick with nerves, worrying himself half to death about what his father would think of who he had become. He had so many faults, so many things about himself and his life that were worthy of scorn and not pride. So many things that he had done and lived through were awful. Abduction, slavery, abuse, drugs, criminality, wars… None of it was in any way worth sharing. Yet they were parts of his past, a past T'alo was certain to ask about.

And ask he did.

Seated in Kath's bedroom, the two started talking. It was slow and awkward at first, at least on his end. He couldn't tell if T'alo felt the same nerves that he did. Yet those nerves somehow began to fade before long. The more they talked, the easier that talking began to be. By the time the inevitable questions came, Kath had calmed down enough to be able to answer the questions without too much difficulty. T'alo could tell he had lived through many hard times. Kath knew there would be no "better" time get this over with. So he forged ahead as best as he could.

Bit by bit, his life was revealed. He explained in as much detail as he dared what happened to him in the days, weeks, months, and years following the day of his abduction and T'alo's murder. He described his escape, his return to living with his mother, the abuse from his grandfather, his mother's death, and his eventual escape from that household. Glossing over the happier years of his life with his family, he told T'alo about the fall of Babylon, his near death, his belief that no one he had cared about had survived, the years spent wandering through space, the search for a new home.

After that, he ended it all by very reluctantly mentioning dying alone on a battlefield during yet another war. He had perished slowly, unable to get up or otherwise leave and surrounded by everyone else who had died or, like him, was on their way to meeting that same fate. There was a sword stabbed deep through his abdomen and the dirt, further inhibiting him from moving. His injuries and the loss of blood had eventually claimed his life, after close to an hour of laying there and suffering.

That he was eventually revived just the same as T'alo had been was obvious enough. As such, it came as no surprise that the man didn't ask about it. "Let us discuss happier things," he said after a lengthy pause. "This is all a lot to digest, but I do not want to dwell on painful matters any longer. I understand you have a daughter?"

Kath greatly appreciated the change in subject. "Alana," he murmured, inclining his head.

"I can see that you love her dearly," T'alo said with a small smile. "It pleases me to see that. Would you tell me about her?"

"She was a precocious young child," Kath told him. "All she ever wanted to do was explore and learn. That is, when she wasn't holed up in the library coloring in my books."

His father's smile widened to a degree with amusement that was obvious even to Kath. "I see. I do wonder where she obtained that last trait."

"I seem to recall apologizing multiple times for that," Kath huffed.

"Once you were old enough to understand, yes. Prior to that, I simply had to suffer." T'alo's joking earned a second huff. He moved on. "Your home had a library? I cannot say I am surprised, yet at the same time I am. I was under the impression that you preferred homes that were small and 'cozy'."

"I do. Had the choice been mine alone, I would have returned to living in a village as I did with you. However, Laralei could not have been so easily swayed into leaving her ancestral home. I saw no reason to make the effort, so I did not."

T'alo straightened. "Laralei?" he repeated. Suddenly he was smiling all over again. "You and little 'Lari', huh? As much as I would love to say that I saw this coming, I most certainly did not. You were both so young back then, after all."

"There was no romance until well after I returned to Babylon," Kath explained. "We were sixteen when things began moving in that direction. It was around then that we started dating."

"I see. That is a good enough age to have started experiencing such a thing, anyway." When his son only shrugged, T'alo shifted the focus back to his original subject. "What else can you tell me about your daughter? I am immensely curious, but have only gotten to meet her once - and briefly at that."

"Laralei always said that Alana grew up to be like me," Kath answered. "I suppose I cannot disagree. She is a calm sort of person overall, though she does have her mother's energy still at times. Most of that energy goes into dealing with her husband and his many antics."

This made T'alo grin. "Oh, do tell. I need to hear some examples of this."

Though he huffed, Kath obliged him. "She took a liking to him the moment they first met. She was practically glued to his side, growing up. Though, the same can be said the other way around as well. Having been around him so often, she naturally came to know what he was like and how to handle him. He has calmed… somewhat… since becoming an adult, but as a child? To say he bounced off the walls would be an understatement."

With this explanation out of the way, he continued. "Sein grew up in the palace as well, and as such had far too much access to things he should not have. Things such as weapons. Things he would go out of his way to try and steal on a daily basis. He would deliberately try to anger even those who could endanger him. He leapt into each and every situation without thinking matters through. Whenever he was found out, he would 'run like hell' to escape punishments of any kind and would have to be chased. Once caught, he would often play innocent and pretend as though he had done nothing wrong." Kath sighed. "Back then, I had to be the one to deal with him. These days when he acts up, as infrequent as it now is by comparison, it is now her problem."

"He certainly sounds like an interesting man," T'alo said, crossing his arms comfortably. "I can only imagine the sort of parent he might one day become."

"They have a son," Kath revealed quietly. "Unfortunate circumstances led to me not knowing about him until recently, but from our few interactions I can tell that both Sein and Alana have been having a positive impact on him. He is a bright and caring young man. He may like to meet you sometime." He paused, then added, "He has your old sword. The one you found and protected. Alkarus."

Surprise showed in T'alo eyes, a feeling that burned brighter at the mention of that blade. However, he didn't say anything about that part for now. "I certainly would like to meet him as well. However, I will not push for it to happen right away. I am aware that things are… less than ideal in the world, at the moment."

Kath shook his head. "Not just the world. It goes beyond. This involves all worlds… and everything else."

"Explain," T'alo murmured, his gaze sharper now. Then he amended, "If you can."

"Make yourself more comfortable, then," Kath instructed with another sigh. "This is a long story."

~保護者~

The time on New Babylon, as was often the case, didn't line up with the time on Mobius. Where on the main continent of Mobius the hour was late and turning later, in the region of New Babylon's palace the sun was less than an hour from peeking over the horizon. At some point in the night, Alana had crawled into bed with Sein and was sound asleep by his side. She had an arm loosely draped over his middle, almost hugging him in her sleep.

All was calm and restful. It remained so for most, but not for Sein. A voice teased its way into his mind, nudging him into waking. "Slip away from her, Sein, and meet with me outside. I promised we would speak. The time to keep my promise has come." Beside the bed, a shadowy visage of Nareish formed and bent down to whisper in his ear. "I altered you to long for naught but one thing… to derive the truest joy in only that which I keep you for. Your one genuine desire is to serve me, and I now have a task for you. Wake, then join me. Servitude is what you want, is it not…?" With a quiet laugh that only he would be allowed to hear, she vanished.

Once awake, Sein slipped out of bed quietly and walked off, only to teleport outside while hiding his presence. His arms went behind his head and he glanced around, waiting on Nareish to show up. "I'm out here like you asked. What's up?"

She arrived once he announced his presence. As usual, her face wore a smile. "Good. As I said, I have a task for you. It will involve considerable violence, though not killing. I trust that is acceptable for you."

"Yeah, just need to know what I gotta do," Sein said.

Nareish glanced back toward the palace. "I assume this will be news to you… but there is no 'God of Time'. What there is, Sein, is an Immortal who chiefly embodies that force. That Immortal has the potential to give me no end of trouble if he is given the chance to continue learning about his skills. I need him out of commission, but not dead. Comatose if at all possible."

"So, a new Immortal?" Sein asked with a raised brow.

"Indeed. A man named Kath, actually, who I know you are well familiar with. But the transition has begun only very recently. He remains most like a mortal for the time being. Overpowering him and taking him down should be no trouble for you."

Sein thought this through for a moment before deciding to ask a question. "What's the chance that he manages to use his new Time powers in the midst of this?"

"That he uses them, or at least attempts to, is rather certain," Nareish admitted. "However, he has very little control. I have been observing him since the time these powers first awoke. The more 'out of whack' his emotions are, the less he is able to control the power. Seeing you raise your blade against him will accomplish that effect immediately."

"Then I suppose this shouldn't be difficult, as you said," Sein answered. "When do you want it done?"

"The moment you have an opportunity," Nareish instructed. "Use whatever excuses you need to in order to explain being alone with him. And if he happens to ask during the attack why you are doing this, frankly… tell him what you like. If need be, I will deal with the associated memories after the fact. It would be most entertaining for him to know, however briefly, that you work for me now."

Sein nodded to her, standing up a little straighter. "Got it."

"One more thing. Unless I am mistaken, you have been able to hear the Void, yes?" Nareish crossed her arms thoughtfully. "And Jet has made you privy to the nature of their discussions."

"Aethra allowed me to hear it," Sein said. "And Jet wouldn't need to explain anything for me to know what happens. It's pretty obvious."

"And you have not given an overt opinion to your son, correct? Merely listened to what he has said and what the Void has allowed you to hear."

"I've told him to do what he thinks is right," Sein answered.

Nareish nodded her understanding. "I see. Well, it is time for your stance to change. Do not make it an obvious, immediate change. However… I want you to gradually begin steering him toward the Void's point of view. The Void cannot act entirely separate of him, yet I want it to grow in power. Your job is to help ensure that more steps are taken in that direction."

"I don't exactly like the Void, or what it does," Sein said in reply. "And it's pushing Jet in a direction that isn't good."

This earned an amused smirk. "But you like serving me, do you not?"

"Of course."

"Then you will do what I told you regardless. But your opinion is noted." Still smirking, Nareish soon added, "If it is any consolation, my dear pet, this is likely the only task I will assign you regarding the Void."

"Understood," Sein replied.

"Good. Now go on, then. You know your orders. Focus first and foremost on Kath. I want him taken down before anything else." She turned to leave, but paused and turned back around. "It will be suspicious if you are with him and return with him and such a state and you in perfect health. The moment he is down, inform me. I will harm you somewhat as well to make it appear as though the attack was done by me."

Sein gave a slight frown. "Will that actually fool them all?"

"Your weapon of choice is a gauntlet and a sword, I believe? Certainly weapons I have had many, many eons to try out for myself. I have crafted energy-based attacks that do damage just like various weapons. The damage done recently in Hyale, for example, was done with an attack modeled after a giant sword. But there are smaller, more standard sized attacks as well. That green hedgehog will certainly have seen such things in his reality. The other version of me was a touch overly fond of fighting that way."

"And what if he suddenly gets anxious over it like he's prone to?" Sein asked. "If something happens to me and Kath, isn't it likely that I might not be able to get to Jet?"

"You have been coming and going from Jet's home regularly both during difficult times and when things are calm," Nareish answered. "Given how much everyone has agreed that Jet needs you, you continuing to go to his home will not arouse suspicion."

Sein seemed content with that answer, shrugging. "We'll see when the time comes, I suppose. Steam might become a pain in the ass, though."

"Indeed. But I will handle that. You merely need to do as I instructed you, nothing more." Nareish vanished without another word.

"Understood," Sein answered again, nodding. With that, he teleported back into the palace and returned to bed.

~保護者~

Given the time, it went without saying that Shadow was currently wide awake. He'd seen his children off to bed and then retreated back to his own room. Naturally, he had been spending much of his time poring over all of the notes he had been left with regarding vampiric magics and other abilities. Eila had certainly been thorough…

But there was something unusual. A page, newer than the rest, tucked in between many older ones. The handwriting was different, too. Small, light, and with each letter perfectly written as though typed on a computer. It was this size that allowed a great deal of words to fit on the page, though for now only the ones written on the very top above the rest held his attention.

"Heard there was a promising new-blood in our midst now. I didn't have to come anywhere near you to sense the potential. Given that… Well, color me interested. Most call me Akol. Perhaps one day I'll tell you my real name. For now, do both you and I a favor, hm? Tap into that potential of yours and give these magics and spells a try. I'm eager to learn what you are capable of."

Just below that was one final line. "Sometime soon, I'll seek you out."

Shadow barely had time to finish reading that and set everything down in order to give the matter some thought when his ears reflexively perked. He noticed the sound of Toru moving about elsewhere in the home and, upon realizing it was just him, he relaxed again.

The chameleon suddenly appeared beside Shadow, laying back on the bed. "Yo." This just earned an unimpressed blink and a glance. Toru smiled a little, looking to everything Shadow had out. "You looking through all those papers that Eila brought you?"

"Yes. I read most of it on a separate occasion, but not thoroughly." Shadow picked up the note he'd been reading and held it out to Toru. "I was inattentive enough to have missed this."

Toru looked it over. "All things considered, are we assuming this is from another vampire?"

"Yes," Shadow said again. "Akol was mentioned to me before. He is supposedly the strongest magic user below Ghune herself."

"Then maybe you didn't miss it," Toru said. "I figure it may have been something like how Ghune has come and gone multiple times without me noticing initially."

Well, he had a point. Shadow put the paper down. "I suppose," he agreed noncommittally.

"Since it's become obvious that you're gonna be around them a lot, maybe this guy being interested in talking to you won't be awful. No way he can be as insufferable as Ghune," Toru said easily.

"What exactly is your issue with her?" Shadow asked, more amused than anything.

Being asked this question left Toru with questions of his own. He had to guess that he wasn't exactly sure. "I don't know."

Shadow huffed at him. "Idiot," he quietly accused.

Toru huffed a little in return. "She gets on my everloving last nerve."

"She has done nothing, Toru."

"Doesn't have to."

In a rare moment of open expression, Shadow rolled his eyes. "Idiot," he said again while gathering up the notes and papers he had spread out across the blankets.

Toru crossed his arms, sighing a little. "I mean, yeah she's helping you and all, as well as Lia…"

"Yes, she is."

"Anyway, I figured I'd ask you a few questions."

After putting the notes and everything else on his nightstand, Shadow turned around to properly look at Toru. "What?"

"You spent most of your childhood just learning how to live a normal life, yeah?" Toru asked. "After you ended up on Mobius and with your allies."

There was a long silence. "What are you talking about?" Shadow finally asked. "I was not a child when I met them."

"Mentally," Toru corrected. "At one point you weren't exactly the same age mentally as you were physically. Kinda like how Myriu hasn't matured to the same point as her physical age."

Shadow shook his head slowly, wearing a noticeable frown. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Toru blinked once. "Well, it's true. You didn't exactly know how to act your age at the time, much less socialize." The latter point was one Shadow knew to be true, at least. But he didn't know what to say about it and so stayed quiet for now. The chameleon shrugged. "You also like haikus, right?"

Another pause. "...How in the hell did you learn that?" Shadow sighed. "It is not something I tell others about."

"I have my ways."

"Ass." Shadow sighed and laid down on his side of the bed. "I suppose," he then said in response to the question.

"Good to know. I'll keep it in mind," Toru said with a smile.

"There is no reason to."

"Why? It's something you like." Shadow just huffed again. He had no substantial argument and they both knew it. "Did you enjoy the prank war?"

It took a second, just one, for Shadow to realize what Toru was talking about. Namely, one of Silver and Tails's assaults on the group for the sake of "humor". He gave Toru a look. "There is no reason to enjoy things like that," he answered frankly. "How did you learn of that, anyway?"

Toru shrugged. "Chameleons are good at finding information." Shadow refrained from rolling his eyes again, but only just.

The conversation was interrupted, anyway. An alert appeared overlayed across Shadow's vision. It was a text from Tails. He was about to dismiss it for now when he noticed the content of the message. After mentally typing and sending a reply, he disconnected from his communicator and refocused on Toru. "Tails texted," he informed the chameleon, as his alerts had been on silent. There was no way Toru could have heard it and, since the device was currently in the kitchen, he also wouldn't have seen it. "He says that the scanner is finished and asked if we will come over."

"As long as you're good for it," Toru said with a slight shrug.

"It may not be safe to be around others yet," Shadow pointed out, sighing. "I still have no control."

"It never seems to come out all at once," Toru countered. "I could easily just teleport us away before anything happens if it begins."

"I am not fond of the idea of taking such a chance around Tails."

Toru raised an eyebrow. "You rarely ever state how much you care about people, ya know?"

Hearing this, Shadow gave him a dry look. "I said nothing of care," he retorted, but not with any heat. "I only said that I am not fond of the idea."

"Yeah, alright," Toru said, assuredly buying the excuse and definitely not believing otherwise. "Anyway, I don't think there's a chance it'd even be a risk."

"There is a risk," Shadow insisted, even as he got up to get his shoes. After a short delay, however, he sighed and conceded Toru's original point. "So long as we are prepared to leave quickly, it may be alright."

The chameleon smiled and waited. "Just say when." Shadow tugged his shoes on while idly nodding, then teleported his communicator to him. After strapping it on out of habit, he stood up and teleported to Tails's home without waiting. Toru rolled his eyes and teleported after him.

Shadow appeared a good ten feet from Tails and Wery in the workshop. His arrival earned a smile and a tired, "Hey, Shadow. Glad you could make it."

Toru glanced over Wery and Tails and immediately frowned. "What the hell happened? You guys get in a fight or something?"

"A brief one, yeah," Tails sighed. It didn't escape Shadow's notice that Tails neglected to mention anything about what had attacked them or why, and something about that made him immediately decide that he didn't want to know. Wery chose to remain quiet for the moment, working away at something in a corner.

Their reactions were concerning, but he didn't want to press right now. "So, you guys got that scanner done, eh?"

"Yeah, it's ready to go," Tails assured him with another tired smile. "It's been tested and everything."

"You good to try it out?" Toru asked, looking to Shadow.

Though not overly pleased with the idea of being scanned yet again, Shadow was so used to scans as a whole by now that he was over the mood quickly. "It's fine."

Toru smiled and motioned for Tails to do his thing. "Alright. Let's do this."

Hopping down out of his chair, Tails picked up the scanner and walked over. "Alright, let's get it going here… It'll take a few seconds."

The chameleon noted how Wery shifted away from her work to creep over quietly. He didn't point it out. "Gotcha. Kinda excited to see what we find out."

Tails was soon smiling widely. "I'm putting it up on a bigger screen for you guys. The image is coming through really clearly."

Toru nudged Shadow slightly, smiling to him. "What do you think?"

Since there was nothing to see yet, Shadow shrugged. Then the image appeared as a holograph in front of them. Tails rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I realized this would be more effective than my computer screen, just took a second longer. Anyway, there she is, guys."

"Wow," Toru murmured, looking at the image quietly. I… didn't really think I would get to this point, much less so fast.

Shadow's eyebrows rose. She? His eyes roved over the image, unable to conjure up any other thoughts just yet.

"So, what race is she taking after…?" Toru questioned slowly.

"She looks Tokarian to me," Tails said. He reached over and lightly nudged Wery. "What do you think?"

Wery looked it over and quietly searched through some pictures on her tablet. "Tokarian, no doubt. We'd know if it was Black Arms, so the only other option was chameleon… probably."

"I think you're right, and- Oh! Guys, look! She's got a little tuft of hair already!" Tails couldn't help but smile even wider. "Oh my god, that's so cute." If only very privately, Shadow had to agree on some level. It reminded him far too much of Lia as a baby for him to be indifferent.

Toru smiled brighter. He wasn't sure what the emotion was inside of him, but it felt like pride. "Good to know."

"You know… Maybe we can…" Tails trailed off, thinking, then turned back to Wery. "Do you think we can get an image with color?"

Wery didn't speak at first, only began working. She took something out of the scanner after removing a panel, then plugged something into it. "Way ahead of you. Put together the firmware and just never got around to uploading it."

"You're awesome." Tails looked at Shadow and Toru. "Before we go ahead and try this, do you guys want to see her fur color yet, or would you rather wait?"

"Your thoughts?" Toru asked to Shadow, eyebrow raised.

"I have no qualms with seeing now," Shadow answered with another shrug. "The tradition of keeping everything a surprise is pointless." Toru motioned for them to go ahead, and so Wery did, pressing a button and adding color to the image.

Everything soon loaded in. Given the nature of the scan, everything was dark. But after Tails enhanced the image, colors soon became visible. The baby had pitch black fur like Shadow's and like Toru's skin. She even had the same white tuft of fur on her chest that Shadow, Soren, and Lia all also had. But what was most striking was her small amount of hair. Just like her older siblings and Shadow, her hair was streaks. But rather than being streaked with red, it was streaked with purple in a bold statement of her chameleon heritage.

"Well, not what I expected, but I wasn't sure what to expect," Toru admitted. "Interesting set of colors." Shadow quietly nodded in agreement. "Does that tuft of fur run in the family?"

Shadow quirked a brow. "It isn't uncommon for hair to start off looking like that from what I understand, but it is not a 'family' thing."

"That's actually accurate," Tails confirmed. "For those of us with fur, sometimes we start off having no hair- …Erm, in the sense of not having the kind of hair on our heads that, say, Lia or Shadow have, not in the sense of being bald. Like, look at me. I've got these bangs sort of, but that's it. Take away those bangs, and that's what a lot of babies start with."

Tails continued. "Some do start off with just a tuft of hair, though, that later grows in fully. Lia was like that when she was a baby, and so was Sonic's son Grey." He laughed suddenly, but just a bit. "Of course, then you get a rare few like his daughter Emi who come out with a full head of hair, but that's obviously not the case here."

Toru blinked a little. "So, mind if I ask about something else?"

"Go for it," Tails invited.

"I assume you guys can do some sort of DNA test, right?"

"Yeah, that's easy enough to do. Why do you ask?"

Toru shrugged. "I might need to have something checked, if you guys have some time." Shadow tossed him a questioning glance.

With a glance at Wery, Tails said, "I think we do. We don't have any big projects going on right now."

Wery shrugged. "Shouldn't take us any time at all, either," she replied. "Whenever you want to do it."

Shadow spoke up again, directing all of his attention at Toru. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, wanting to see if me and Soren are related," Toru answered without the slightest hesitation. Shadow just blinked mutely in response.

Tails's mouth dropped open to make a small "o" of surprise. "Wait, huh?"

Toru nodded. "Yep."

"Uh… Okay. Not my place to pry. Sorry." Tails offered a sheepish smile, then said, "You guys can bring him over whenever and Wery and I can do that test for you."

The chameleon smiled. "Thanks. Much appreciated."

"Sure thing." Tails looked at Shadow. "By the way, how's Lia doing?"

"She has been fine," Shadow assured quietly, looking away.

Toru raised an eyebrow at Shadow. "Are you not telling me something?"

"He's just worried," Tails murmured, voice laced with sympathy. I've never seen that look in his eyes very frequently… but I'd know it anywhere.

The chameleon didn't like that, and it left him more concerned than before. "Ah…"

"Anyway, just text or call to let me know when you want to do the test," Tails said, hoping to change the subject. "It won't take long to do."

Toru nodded. "Certainly. I'll keep it in mind."

Fully aware that Shadow likely wanted to go home, Tails released his friend from further social interaction by saying a quick farewell. Shadow rightfully took that as his cue and teleported back to his bedroom. Toru glanced to Tails, frowning. "Should I talk to him about that?"

"You can if you want to, but…" Tails hesitated, chewed his bottom lip, then continued. "But he may not want to. Lia's death was by far one of the hardest things he's ever lived through. Soren's death being the other contender, naturally. It just… killed him when they died, and by the time she'd died… They were almost all each other had, at that point. I mean, Sonic was dead. Silver and Blaze were dead. Their kids and some of their grandkids were dead. Most of Shadow's friends were dead. He just… suffered. A lot. Losing a kid is a kind of pain that lives with you forever, even if they do come back later on."

"I might be about to make a bad decision, then," Toru said, straightening himself. "I'll keep you guys updated on it soon."

"Erm… Yeah. Okay." Tails managed a wan smile shortly afterward. "I trust you. More importantly, so does he. Whatever happens, even if it's initially bad, will be fine in the end. I'm sure of it."

Toru nodded. "I'm gonna head out. You two, be careful, alright? If something else happens, tell me. I'd be more than willing to show up."

Wery managed a smile. "I'll keep it in mind. You be safe, too, okay?"

"Absolutely," Toru said with a smile. Tails waved in farewell, then turned to put the scanner away. The chameleon teleported back to the house easily, walking into Shadow's room. By that time, Shadow had already taken his communicator off, put it away, and was laying on the bed with one of his books. He hadn't bothered to kick off his shoes this time, since he was just on top of the blankets and not under them. Toru chose now to go and snag the rock Ghune had left with them. "Hey, I'm gonna do something. Be right back, okay?"

Shadow's ear flicked in acknowledgement. Rather than leave it at that, Shadow opted to briefly speak. "Alright."

Toru looked to Shadow. "I'm gonna talk to Ghune. Here's to hoping she doesn't decide to eat me."

Hearing this made Shadow frown and turned his head to look at Toru as well. "Why are you going to speak with her?" he questioned.

"I want her help with something," Toru explained. "But I can't tell you just yet."

Though he huffed, Shadow surprisingly let it go. "Fine," he grumbled, returning his attention to his book again.

Toru inspected the stone for a moment before tapping it a few times. All of a sudden, he was teleported to a different planet and he sighed. "Shit."

It didn't take long for someone to take notice of Toru. A woman appeared in front of him and inspected him before saying, "You're the one who looked like he was on drugs when I visited Shadow."

"And you'd be the one who broke into the house?" Toru questioned in return, eyebrows raised as he watched her.

"I assume you're here for Ghune," the woman said, not bothering to actually reply to what he'd said. "If so, follow me."

Mildly annoyed, Toru followed, ignoring the fact that he was walking into a literal city of vampires. He figured they would probably hold off the desire to feed on him… probably. Luckily, he didn't have to think on this for long as the two were teleported into the castle where they continued their walking. For once, he wasn't sure exactly who had teleported him, but he chose not to question it. They soon arrived at a bedroom, and now Toru was confused and concerned. He slowed his pace as the woman in front of him approached another door. Only when she opened it did his nerves calm, seeing the workshop on the other side. He caught up and walked inside as the woman who led him here left. Now he was face to face with Ghune, who was hardly even paying him any attention as she used magic to mix various chemicals together.

"I came to ask a question."

"Ask," Ghune replied.

"Do you think you can help Lia if you know more about what illness she has?"

The vampire glanced over and raised an eyebrow. "What do you know of it?"

"Enough that you might find some details interesting or helpful," Toru replied.

Ghune glanced more fully to the chameleon. "You have knowledge of it?"

The chameleon nodded in reply. "I do."

She directed him to sit in a nearby chair, one that Toru was sure hadn't been there moments before. Hesitantly, he did, and she followed him, pressing a finger to his temple and muttering some spell under her breath. Her finger pulled away and a stream of some sort of liquid came from his temple, nothing akin to blood or another body fluid. Ghune left him sitting there in a brief daze from her magic and let the liquid drip onto a stone tablet, watching something intently.

Whatever it was that Ghune was looking at, Toru couldn't see. He frowned deeply at her, confused. Merely a minute later, she set the tablet back on her table and murmured, "So it affects Black Arms hybrids, specifically those mixed with Tokarians that are more Tokarian than Black Arms? Quite fucking irritating, and unfortunate." Ghune glanced to Toru. "Where did you learn these things?"

"That I learned from Tails," Toru said. "A friend. I advise you not visit him unannounced. He and his girlfriend might startle a bit easier than me and Shadow."

"Noted," Ghune murmured. "This information may actually help. I appreciate your coming here."

Toru nodded a little and stood finally, now that he felt okay again. "When it's about family, I'll do whatever I can to take care of them."

The vampire glanced away, focusing her attention back on what she had been doing before. "You took to them quite quickly."

The chameleon shrugged. "Yeah."

"Carry on. If I have more need for you, I will say so." Her gaze flicked to him briefly, and she murmured, "Also, I advise that you act a touch more respectfully. You made a quite shitty impression on my friend, Ryint."

"The woman who led me in here?"

Ghune chuckled vaguely. "Yes."

"That wasn't my fault," Toru huffed, rolling his eyes. "And I'll be respectful if you are."

"Wouldn't do anything less."

This elicited another huff and a smile from Toru as he teleported away. I have less reason to hate her now. Fancy that.

~保護者~

Satsuno awoke with a jolt. His normally light grey eyes had shifted in color as a response to a spiritual ability he had unintentionally been using in his sleep. They were now a dark shade of platinum, a change which was visible even in the low light. The power responsible for this change was both simple and yet not. Despite no longer being the God of Death, he had such deep ties to death and spiritual matters that he could sense when the number of spirits in an area, or even on the planet as a whole, began to increase or decrease.

Except, this wasn't a power he had true control over. It was sometimes active and sometimes it just wasn't. He couldn't consciously "turn it on or off". This was the first time it had activated in quite some time, and the startle it had given him had been bad enough. But the knowledge he had gained from that ability? That was what truly alarmed him.

Turning over quickly, he laid a hand on Seiko's shoulder and gave it a gentle nudge. "Seiko," he murmured, hoping to wake her without giving her a similar fright.

The woman woke easily, eyes opening as she quickly looked up to him. "What happened?" she asked, staring into his eyes. She knew what this color meant.

"Many souls suddenly appeared to the south," Satsuno explained quickly. "They are fresh souls, Seiko. Hundreds of them."

Seiko shoved herself out of bed and summoned her weapon to her hand, without thinking. "Shall we go investigate?"

"We must," was the simple reply. Satsuno also got out of bed and grabbed his weapon. "Something significant has happened." Yet Shadow does not seem to have been alerted somehow… The woman gently grabbed Satsuno's hand, motioning for him to teleport them since he knew where they were supposed to go. He departed with her in tow without further delay, reflexively gripping his sword tighter.

It proved to be a good idea. Almost the moment they'd arrived, some manner of beast launched itself off of a corpse straight at his face. He cut it down with a single strike due to its small size, but its appearance was alarming. What the hell was it?

Rather than play games and give these things a chance to react further, Seiko channeled her magic into a single attack and attempted to eradicate all but one of the beasts, trying to do nothing more than incapacitate it. Perhaps due to their small size and seemingly weaker bodies, her attack was a wild success. So much so that all those she'd intended to kill were disintegrated in their entirety. The sight gave Satsuno further pause. Beings of Darkness? Their energies do not feel in any way like what I am used to.

"What…?" Seiko slowly asked. "How in the world?"

"They are beings of Darkness," Satsuno murmured. "They must be. But everything about them and their powers are wrong."

Seiko nodded. "Certainly. Something happened to them." The woman looked for the one she had hoped to incapacitate. It was laying on the ground some feet away beside the mangled body of a young man that had only recently died. By the looks of things, the creature had been actively chewing on him when it had been struck by her attack. She walked over to it and grabbed it off the ground, using her magic to protect her hands. "Who should we take this to?"

"I don't know," Satsuno admitted. He sheathed his sword and crossed his arms, thinking quickly. "The foxes I told you about may have an idea what it is… Perhaps."

"It may be our best lead. It would be a good idea to have it looked at by those more knowledgeable," Seiko added. Satsuno murmured a vague agreement before teleporting them both off to Tails's house. The woman carried the body to the door and knocked with her magic, waiting for someone to answer… with the monstrosity held over her head.

Close to a minute later, a sleepy yellow fox with two tails opened the door while yawning and rubbing an eye. "Y… Yeah?"

Seiko looked to him. "Do you know what this thing is?"

Yawning again, the fox opened his eyes to look first at her, and then at her cargo. As soon as he saw both of these things, all sleepiness seemed to vanish from him. "...No, but we can try to find out. Come on in, both of you." He stepped out of the doorway.

Seiko nodded and carried it inside, motioning with her head for Tails to lead the way. "I'll follow you."

"Right. This way, okay? Erm, just watch out for limbs. People are asleep in the living room." The fox hurried through the darkened room once he gave this warning.

Satsuno walked in the house last and closed the front door. "That is Tails," he told his partner quietly. "The one who owns this house. He is the one I mentioned who knows Shadow."

Seiko nodded slightly to Tails, glancing to Satsuno. "I see," she murmured, watching her step and how she was holding the creature carefully to not drop it.

Before long, they had reached a door attached to the side of the living room. Tails opened it up and motioned them over. "There are stairs right away, so be careful. Once you guys are in and I close the door, I can turn on the lights.

Her magic formed a small ball in front of her, giving a faint enough glow to light the way as she began descending the stairs. "I will be careful." Satsuno just followed her silently.

Once they were through, Tails closed the door and fingered the lights. However, he hesitated. "Satsuno, do bright lights bother you?" he asked.

Given his opinion on the literal sun, Satsuno didn't hesitate to reply. "Yes. Immensely, at times."

"Right. Not this switch, then. One sec…" After a short pause, the dimmest lights Tails had available flicked on overhead. It was more than enough for those without night vision to see comfortably, but they weren't going to pierce anyone's retinas.

Seiko dropped her magic and continued down until she was no longer on stairs, setting it down on the floor and looking around. Tails, meanwhile, hurried off through the maze of shelves, tables, and machines. He soon returned with a smaller, flatter machine in his hands. "Right, so this is a scanner. If I or Jet have any data on this thing's species anywhere at all, the scanner should be able to tell me. Otherwise, I'll just get basic data about weight and whatnot. Still, it might help… somehow." He activated it while he spoke.

Seiko assumed that what he was saying meant he may be able to help, as she wasn't fully listening due to the fact of being distracted by the numerous devices around her. Her ear twitched when she heard the sound of snoring nearby, but she didn't investigate. Seconds passed. Then Tails let out a yelp that made Satsuno jump somewhat badly due to his (at times) knee-jerk startle reflex.

Tails didn't notice. He stared at his scanner, eyes wide. "Oh, man. Um… Have… you guys heard about Nareish and… well, everything involving her?"

"I have. She is a… boring, antagonistic enemy, despite being so strong. I have fought more interesting battles with a drunkard," Seiko huffed.

"That aside, she's still dangerous. And, uh, this thing is one of hers. It's a smaller, weaker version of the demons she's stolen and corrupted with her own energies." Tails tapped a foot rapidly on the floor. "Trouble is, these little ones are left to their own devices most of the time so far as Jet's ever been able to tell. Which means it being here might have been a deliberate attack by her on the planet, or it could be a freak coincidence. And we have no way of knowing."

"I refuse to write it off as a coincidence. This has not happened before to your knowledge?" Seiko asked.

"Not that I was aware of, but according to this data Jet's intercepted a few of these unplanned attacks before," Tails admitted. "The last one wasn't recent, though. It was about ninety years ago, and the one before that was close to two-hundred years ago. There were at least three others, but he didn't date them."

Seiko shook her head slightly. Disorganized with her troops as well… "I do not believe it is a coincidence."

"It might not be. Either way, it's a problem, especially since these things apparently keep coming here and Shadow and I had no idea." Tails turned off his scanner and lowered his arms. "I just don't understand. Shadow has security systems up all over the world, even in remote areas where you won't find any people. They're supposed to detect infiltrations just like this one."

"Can powers bypass this security?" Seiko questioned.

"They're not supposed to be able to," Tails said, shaking his head. "But, I mean… This is Nareish we're talking about… so maybe."

Seiko didn't like that answer. Her gaze turned to Satsuno. "What are your thoughts?"

He shrugged. "I have nothing substantial to contribute at the moment."

"I do not like the implications of this."

"Nor do I." Satsuno stifled an aggravated sigh. "Shadow should be informed of these breaches in his security. Right now, the kingdom is his. It is up to him to act, specifically in regards to this issue."

"Honestly, he'd probably say the same thing," Tails admitted. "I'll do what I can to help him out, though. I don't understand technology in the quite the same way he does, but I've practically lived and breathed the stuff my whole life. I'm more than capable of lending a hand."

Satsuno inclined his head. "That is good to hear. He is already under a pronounced amount of stress." He paused for a moment before asking, "Why is that?"

Tails was quiet. He looked from Satsuno to Seiko and back again. "Well… I'm going to go ahead and hazard a guess that you know about Gerald and how the guy treated him in the past, right?"

Seiko gave a brief nod. "I am aware to an extent."

"It's… not something he's talked about at all since it happened," Tails said, "but Gerald was brought back like you guys were. Only, by one of our enemies. And Gerald captured Shadow not all that long ago. He started doing experiments and things on him like he used to when Shadow was small. Shadow hasn't been doing great since then, even though he mostly hides it."

"From what we noticed of Shadow's thoughts, I would agree," Seiko murmured gently.

"Shadow's not one for fear," Tails murmured, "but Gerald scares him. More than I think even he realizes. The fact that Gerald is still out there somewhere is… weighing him down, to say the least."

Seiko chose not to comment much on this, a deep frown coming over her face. "I can believe it."

With a frown, Satsuno spoke up again. "There is something else," he revealed. "Something I have overheard from spirits and the living alike. Is his… situation not something that he wants shared right now? Even his brother does not seem to know."

"I… I have no idea what Shadow's thoughts are on that," Tails admitted after taking a second to be surprised. He looked at Seiko. "But even still… Seiko, if you want to know, I'll gladly still tell you. You're one of the best people to be able to help protect him in regards to this situation if the need arises. And not just because you're strong. You're part of his family, you know? That's important, and he needs that."

Seiko nodded. "Continue."

Before launching into it, Tails motioned to some chairs. "Do you guys wanna sit? My explanation is gonna take some time, and I don't want to make you stand for all of it."

Seiko used her magic and pulled the chairs to herself and Satsuno, taking a seat. "I will." Her husband soon followed suit.

"Right, so… I'm going to go ahead and assume that you don't know any details about Shadow's creation beyond Gerald's involvement and the fact that he was made to be related to Kaden, right?" Tails's question earned a nod from Satsuno. "Okay. Well, to make a very long story short, Gerlad got the blood of two different individuals to make Shadow. By happenstance, he came across the then-ancient ruins of Chun-nan during his search for the first source of blood. There, he found an equally ancient bloodstain from some past conflict. That blood happened to be from Kaden."

The woman blinked a few times, but otherwise simply nodded. "I see."

"The rest came from an alien," Tails explained, "that doesn't have an actual name. Most call him Black Doom, though, for various reasons. He's not actually a 'he', either. His race, the Black Arms, don't actually have genders, even though some refer to themselves as male or female. He's actually the one who carried Shadow and eventually birthed him."

"Ah," Seiko replied, not understanding much of what he just said.

"For complicated reasons," Tails continued, "Shadow is much more Black Arms than he is Tokarian. Because of that, he also technically doesn't have a gender, because he took after that race so heavily. And since all Black Arms have to do to reproduce is have someone else's blood introduced into their bodies, it was… unfortunately easy for that exact situation to happen. And not even that long after we all first learned about this, him included."

This makes less sense by the second. "I… see," Seiko murmured.

Satsuno blinked slowly. "So there is a child coming."

"Yeah," Tails sighed. "Good news is, though, it's not some stranger's or anything. He's in a relationship of some kind with Toru right now, and they seem really committed to one another. That makes things a bit better, I think."

"The chameleon? Yes, they are certainly together," Seiko answered.

"Yeah, I know. I just don't know if they're only dating or doing something more," Tails said with a small smile. "It's not my place to ask, either. But, yeah. That's the other thing that's causing Shadow stress right now, as I'm sure you can appreciate Seiko. That's also why extra precautions have been taken by Steam, Toru, and I to keep Shadow safe and away from combat lately, too."

Seiko nodded. "I also would dislike him to be involved in combat currently, as things stand."

"Agreed," Tails said, "but if not for the baby he'd be involving himself just as much as anyone else, regardless of what we've said. As is, I'm surprised he's not going completely stir-crazy yet. Then again, though, I guess Toru and all this vampire stuff have both been keeping him busy lately."

"That would explain the presences I have felt lately," Seiko added lightly.

"Presences?" Tails asked her.

"Other people in the home. Thinking on this, one of the people from the last battle is familiar. The female vampire," Seiko murmured.

Tails's eyes went wide. "Whoa… I-I didn't know that there were others on Mobius."

"They are not native to this world," Satsuno revealed quietly. "Not from what one of their kind told me long ago. She is likely a visitor from the stars."

"They are not from here in any way," Seiko answered. "We would know of more if it was so. I made many efforts to ascertain what was on our world in my early years."

There's so much Mobius can still learn from you two. "Ah. Okay. I guess that makes sense." Tails sat back in his chair and thought the conversation over. "Seiko, this might be a lot to ask, but… To be perfectly frank, I'm no doctor, and I'm certainly not a mom. There's only so much advice I can give Shadow about these things, you know? If things come up that I can't help him with, would you be alright with helping in my stead?"

Seiko blinked a few times out of confusion. "Did… you actually believe there was a need to ask such?" The woman asked.

"One of the only things I remember about my mom was that she always believed assumptions are rude to throw at people," Tails admitted with a sheepish chuckle. "I try to avoid doing that when I can, so I thought I'd ask. Sorry."

She blinked again. "I see. Regardless, I will aid my family in any way I can without fail."

"Thank you," Tails murmured. "I know it probably sounds silly just coming from a friend of his, but hearing that means a lot. I always do what I can, but I can't help him with or protect him from everything. I'm really happy that there are people around who can help me to help him these days."

"Certainly," Seiko said, nodding.

"Now that all of that's covered, did you guys have any other questions?" Tails asked. "They can be about anything, honestly, since we're here and all."

Seiko looked to Satsuno. "Do you have any?"

None that are important right now. "No."

"Do you have a way for us to catch up on information relevant to current day?" Seiko dared to ask Tails after that.

The fox straightened. "That… might just be possible. One second." Before either hedgehog could even ask, he got up and dashed off. Moments later, he returned. "It's not gonna happen right this second but I can use this," he held up some square shaped device with a strap, "to call a guy named Jet. He's a very old friend of Sonic's, from back when they were just kids. More importantly, he's the oldest and most powerful Immortal currently alive. If anyone can find a way to give you true and proper knowledge about something as complicated as all this, it'd be him. I just need to get ahold of him, which may take a while."

Seiko nodded a little in response. "It would be pleasant. I am hoping to not be dumbfounded for the rest of my life as I continue to learn new things in daily conversations."

"That's understandable," Tails chuckled. "I promise, I'll get in contact with him as fast as I can. He'll catch you guys up to speed on what's going on, and on more intricate details about your family if you'd like. He and Sonic have been so extremely close that Kaden informally adopted Jet a long time ago. He's practically family, too, so he knows things about your blood relatives that even I don't know."

"Thank you," Seiko murmured gently. Tails nodded in reply. The woman glanced over once she heard Wery fall out of her seat, shooting into a standing position. Vague amusement registered on the hedgehog's face. Satsuno, meanwhile, unintentionally flinched at the sound, though he recovered quickly.

Tails turned, saw Wery's predicament, then hurried over to her. "Hey, you okay?"

The female fox nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He sighed out a soft laugh. "Glad to hear it. That was quite the thud." As he spoke, Tails strapped his communicator to his wrist.

She chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah." Her eyes focused on Seiko and Satsuno and she gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry for sleeping through you guys being here!"

Slowly, Satsuno managed a faint smirk. "You are fine," he murmured, amused the same way Seiko and Tails were. "It is not an issue."

Seiko waved it off. "I am unbothered."

Wery suddenly gasped and dove down to a bag, rifling through it before pulling out a tablet and hurrying over to Satsuno. "I got you guys this so you could look up history stuff and learn things about the planet in the current day."

While it might not eliminate the need to speak with Jet, this was certainly something. And Satsuno had to admit, he was highly intrigued. "How does this work?" he asked her.

Seiko shifted over to join them while Wery gave a crash course of how to use the device. The female hedgehog had some trouble keeping up with this lesson. Her husband, meanwhile, soaked all the information up with ease, plainly fascinated by what they were learning.

As soon as Wery was done, she passed along the tablet to Satsuno. "Hopefully this helps out." He nodded a little and took the device carefully in one hand. Wery shifted away and went back to her station, wanting to resume working on things.

Seiko turned her attention to Satsuno. "Did you understand the words she used?"

"Not particularly," he admitted, "but I understand what to do based on what she demonstrated while talking."

"At least one of us does," Seiko murmured lightly, watching the tablet curiously. Satsuno just nodded and stood up, ready to leave. Once Seiko realized what he was doing, she glanced to Tails and Wery. "Thank you for your help and information. We will be going now."

"Yeah, of course. Thanks for bringing that creature to my attention." Tails managed a smile. "Take care."

She nodded. "Certainly. I will inform you all if we have findings of anything else of this manner."

"Sounds good."

Seiko teleported away with Satsuno, taking them both back to the room they had been staying in. "So, what should we do now?"

"I am unsure," Satsuno said. He took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Aside from gathering information with this device, there is not a great deal we can do aside from trying to help Shadow if and when the need arises."

"And there is no telling whether or not we will see more of those creatures, even if I wholeheartedly believe we will," Seiko responded.

"Yes, there is also that," he sighed.

"Does this mean we are in agreement that we should wait for our help to be needed?" Seiko questioned, raising an eyebrow slowly.

"To an extent," Satsuno told her. As he spoke, he set the tablet on a bedside table. "I prefer to be proactive when possible. Waiting is not necessarily the best course of action in regards to all things that are going on. For one thing, we can and arguably should assist in keeping an eye out for more of those beasts."

"I was of the opinion that such was implied," Seiko answered. "I did not intend to sit idly."

He hummed thoughtfully, thinking. "I also believe we should test the waters with Shadow. If he is receptive to help, then that is an area we should be proactive in as well. We are among the few people he appears to be routinely around these days."

"He likely will not be receptive," Seiko said after a moment's thought. "He may begrudgingly accept, but if he falls into the habit of being willing to allow help then that would be a good start."

"We will not know how things go if we do not make the effort," Satsuno murmured. "It is among our duties as members of the family to at least try."

"I have every intention of trying, regardless of success or failure," Seiko replied.

"That I can agree with," Satsuno said. "Though, I will say that doing so may not be easy. He has been sleeping during the hours when you and I are most frequently awake."

"Then it stands to reason you would be most likely able to aid him," Seiko said, smiling. "We can alternate our sleep schedules to facilitate you being awake further into the hours of the night."

There was no point in saying that he didn't like the idea. He much preferred being awake at night as opposed to being awake in the morning. "Alright. We do need to find a way for you to be able to speak with him as well, however. There is help that, between the two of us, only you can give him."

Seiko shrugged. "I sleep lightly enough that if my aid is needed in my time of sleep, I can simply be awoken. I also have no troubles returning to sleep."

"Alright," Satsuno said again. He idly kicked his shoes off. "Speaking of sleep, we should attempt to get some more of it. Morning will be here in just a few hours."

"You are correct," Seiko agreed. "In that case, shall we do so now?" He just nodded and got up to pull the blankets back so he could get under them. Seiko took her place beside him, atop the blankets with a pleased smile. She always liked the chance to help her family. He got under the blankets and pulled them up to his shoulders like always. It wasn't that he was cold, though, he just liked the weight. Seiko took this as an opportunity and wrapped an arm over him gently, keeping him close in a protective manner. "Love you."

"I love you, too," was the quiet response. He had already closed his eyes and, as was always the case, relaxed completely once she put her arm around him. It was familiar and comforting after years and years of her doing it. Seiko found it relaxing as well, having the heat of his body and his presence so close, and it was enough to settle her down entirely. Before long, they were both asleep.

~保護者~

A lone man rubbed his forehead with a small groan. He'd just been revived and he knew it. He'd heard enough stories about Sonic's ability to resurrect the dead to know that the power of Chaos must have been involved. Whether it was Sonic's doing or someone else's, though… That wasn't something he could be sure of.

Right now, it didn't exactly matter. Violet eyes opened and blinked up at the sky. Night, huh… That explains the chill. Kayde, the second and youngest son of Knuckles and Rouge, pushed himself up into a sitting position. Like his father, he was a red echidna in appearance minus one detail. The ends of each lock of long red hair was as white as his mother's fur. It made his appearance distinctive, something that stood out immediately to all. While this wasn't something that normally bothered him, he was in unfamiliar territory. Standing out had the potential to be dangerous.

Kayde got to his feet and brushed himself off. He'd fallen from a decent height straight into a patch of dirt. Initially, he'd landed on his stomach, smacking his forehead in the process. Then he'd rolled onto his back while still dazed. As a result of all of this, he was covered in a light dusting of dirt almost everywhere. It seems a shower is in order. Assuming I can find a place to take one anytime soon. One old violet boot tapped in thought. I suppose even a stream would do, actually.

That seemed as a good a starting plan as any. He'd worry about everything else out once he was a bit cleaner. With his mind made, he started walking. Only, he soon came to a stop once he noticed something. Someone's coming.

Having sensed a revival taking place, it drew Steam's attention immediately. The green hedgehog quickly sought out the source and soon appeared in front of the echidna, blinking once at the sight. I should… know who this is. I'm missing something. "Hey, you were just revived, yeah?"

After a slight pause, Kayde inclined his head. "Yes, I suppose I was."

"Name's Steam. I'm an ally of Sonic and Jet," Steam introduced.

Recognition filled Kayde's eyes and he nodded in understanding. "So Sonic was revived somehow, then. We suspected as much. Good to hear it's true."

"Yeah. Since that point, a number of people have been revived, so I'm not surprised it's continuing," Steam replied.

"My parents vanished from the emerald a while back, too," Kayde said. "Knuckles and Rouge. They around? I'd like to visit them soon if they are."

It was Steam's turn to have some recognition. "Oh, shit. You're Kayde," the hedgehog breathed out in reply. "That's be why you seem familiar."

Kayde crossed his arms and tilted his head in a mixture of curiosity and confusion. It was a very Locke-like pose, which only further proved the relation. "Familiar? I can't imagine I would have been brought up in conversation in this era."

"Not here. Your daughter, in another timeline, that's my wife." Steam cursed himself immediately for his complete lack of tact, covering his face with a hand. You damned idiot. "Okay, so, yeah. Her name is Tara and she mentioned you a few times. She got separated from you and your wife at an early age, and didn't know much about you."

The very thought of that last bit hurt, but Kayde did his level best not to dwell on it. "That… didn't happen here. I can only assume her life has improved since then… Is that correct?"

"Her life has improved a lot, and I'm sure she'd agree," Steam answered. It took a bit of strength to prevent himself from mentally putting himself down, but he managed.

"Good. If that's the case and she's happy, then so am I." Steam nodded to Kayde, falling silent the moment he lost the words to say. This prompted Kayde to pick up the dropped thread of conversation and steer it in a new direction. "As much as I'd love to be wrong, I can't imagine that all of us would be revived like this for happy reasons. Something is undoubtedly going wrong. How bad are things?"

"Story of our lives," Steam idly commented. "We're in the middle of another war, but this time existence itself is at stake, which is pleasant and all that."

With a small tsk, Kayde tapped his foot again. "Well, I can't say that I knew what to expect, but it certainly wasn't that." He took a moment to speak again. "Where is everyone gathered right now? Everyone tends to stick together in as centralized a place as possible during hard times."

"Mobius, Tails's house," Steam explained. "Anyone else is primarily on Babylon… assuming you know where that is. Surely you've heard of it."

"We've all been there to visit Jet many a time. I know where it is." Kayde used his earth powers to toss a rock to himself and examined it briefly. The aforementioned power, at least for him, had an interesting side effect. He could deduce the origins of any kind of rock with little more than a touch and a look. However, that did nothing to tell him the name of the planet he was on. Not Mobian in origin, nor Babylonian. Definitely comes from here, but... What is this place? He dropped the rock. "I don't suppose you'd be able to get us both back to Mobius."

"I'm capable," Steam answered. "Straight to the others?"

"If it's not too much trouble. I'd appreciate it."

It really didn't take all that long for Steam to walk over and teleport them both to Mobius. The hedgehog immediately stood up straight and sniffed the air, looking around. "What the fuck happened here?" He asked himself, wandering toward the house to find answers.

Having no doubt sensed the arrival, Silver appeared floating beside them both. "Kayde!" he greeted excitedly. "Great to see you!" He started to say something further, but paused to answer Steam's question first. "Oh, right. Robot attack. Tails and Amy suspect Gerald made it. It was stupidly strong from what they were saying, and apparently learning from the fight. I was busy protecting Eila and the house, so I didn't attack it myself. I can't judge for myself how tough it was."

"If Amy or Eila couldn't take it down in one go, it is," Steam observed. "Did it leave?"

"Yeah. Tails finally got a glancing blow on it with his radiation gun… thing. Melted part of its back, I think. It retreated right after that."

Steam tapped his foot rapidly and nodded. He had missed a message while carrying out business, and now it was time to curse that fact. "Well, shit. It'll probably be back if I had to guess. Next time it's seen, it needs to be trashed on sight and not given a chance to fight back."

"Yeah, we know. Uncle Shadow was over earlier and he gave Tails full, unlimited access to every security system on the whole of Mobius. If it comes back, in theory we'll know about it right away."

"Was anyone hurt?" Steam pressed.

"Bumps and bruises, mostly. Wery got smacked pretty badly, but Amy healed her up without any trouble."

Steam sighed in relief. "I'm gonna go see what I can figure out about this thing. If we can get a trace on it, we'll be better off."

"Agreed. One of us will contact you if we figure anything out first." Silver smiled at him again while Kayde waved and headed toward the house. Once he was out of earshot, Silver blurted out as though he'd been barely containing the words, "So, guess what! Good news, I swear. Like I said, Uncle Shadow was over earlier, and Toru came with him. And- Oh, right, so I've known about the baby thing for ages because of mental power slip-ups. Don't be surprised that I know, basically. Anyway, Tails and Wery did a scan that worked a lot like an ultrasound, and they know the gender of the baby now!"

The green hedgehog blinked once. "Oh?"

"A little girl," Silver beamed. "Lia and Soren are getting a baby sister."

This prompted a bit of a smile from Steam. "That's good to hear."

Silver nodded eagerly. "Isn't it? I'm happy for them." Nervous, too, but… Well, there's no point in mentioning that right now.

Steam gave a slight shrug. "It'll be good for them in the end, I'm sure."

"Honestly, yeah." Silver glanced back toward the house, ears perking. "Sounds like they're getting the reunion on without me in there. You're welcome to join us for a short bit, but I understand if you need to get going. And like I said, we'll keep in touch with you about the robot as much as possible."

"I should go now," Steam responded, his gaze locked onto the house. He could hear everything happening inside, but he had business to attend to. "I'll update you all when I figure something out."

"Got it. I'll let everyone know you're on the case, too. Be safe, alright?"

Steam nodded easily. "As best I can." Silver returned the nod and, with a wave, teleported back to the house in a cyan flash. Steam left shortly after, gripping his blade. If Gerald had made a robot that strong, it needed to be destroyed now. There was no other option.

~保護者~

A message reached Steam's communicator out of the blue… from Jet of all people. The Jet from his timeline. All it said was a simple and yet somehow commanding, "Call me." Given the nature of communication across timelines, there was no telling when he'd sent the message. It could have been just then, it could have been hours ago. That wasn't always the case, but sometimes it was. A call, however, would be much more immediate.

That was… concerning. Jet simply didn't ask for something like this often. Steam did the wise thing and called an instant later. In two seconds flat, Jet answered the call. Without even so much as a greeting he quietly demanded, "Are you alone right now?"

"Yeah," Steam answered. "What's up?"

"Something in that timeline is fucked," Jet abruptly told him, using a curse he rarely resorted to. "Utterly fucked. Nareish did something serious, Steam, more so than usual. I don't know what it is, but I can feel the effects from here."

"What's it affecting?" Steam dared to ask.

"Nothing yet. You're lucky on that front. But if left unchecked, this can get wildly out of control. Whatever she did has enough negative impact that the effects are reaching here, Steam. Even the newer Immortals such as Espio are tense because of it."

Steam frowned deeply. "If it's affecting the Immortals, I think my focus needs to be big. Something I might not notice, but something that would matter. What precautions do you think I should take right now?"

As much as he always hated the phrase, Jet sighed and admitted, "I don't know. But you need to be watchful over everything you can. She's getting more directly active way earlier in that timeline than she did here. There's no telling what she might do."

"My emergency feature will reach you instantly, correct?" Steam pressed lightly. "In the case that something goes so wrong that we can't stop it?"

"Now would be the time to test it. Just make sure it only sends it to me. Neither of us need Tara beating down my door because it reached her, too."

"She wouldn't touch your door. She'd tear through the timeline," Steam joked, idly fiddling with his communicator until he'd set it to only go to Jet, then sent the emergency alert. "Just did it."

"Point taken. And I got it. There seems to be a very slight delay, but it likely won't be life-threatening." There was a sound of movement on Jet's end of the call and he could be heard quietly talking to someone. Then he came back and said, "I need to go. One of the kids needs help with something."

"One more thing, before I go," Steam suddenly said. "I know we've talked and are on decent terms... er, decent enough, but are we friends?"

"Obviously," Jet huffed without even the slightest hesitation. "Dumbass."

This seemed to stun Steam into a brief silence before he responded. "Good, because my next plan is insane. I'll message you the details soon, because I need your help."

"Tell me as soon as possible," Jet told him. "I'll do what I can for you."

"Alright, now go help your kid," Steam said, smiling a little.

"Yeah." True to form, Jet just hung up after that. He wasn't exactly known for always giving proper goodbyes.

Steam lowered his arm, fixing the settings once more… just in case. It was better if everyone was to know about an emergency. I don't think he's gonna like this…

I need to put some focus into figuring out what happened that even they could sense from another timeline. My first guess involves the Immortals somehow, since they're so intrinsically tied to existence, but… What could it even be?

He paced briefly, frowning deeply in thought. Maybe the best plan would be to go through with my plan of raiding Nareish's realm. I need to get in contact with everyone for another meeting. Jet needs to be informed first and foremost - the one here - since I need to know if he can even attempt what I'm thinking of.

If something really happened to an Immortal, I need all of the new Immortals watched over by at least one other person. Rose with Kial, Kath with Sein or Alana, Espio with one of his parents… or Armaris, if he's willing to let her go, and I'll be with Jet. Whoever doesn't go with Kath should stick with someone else… but I can handle that when the time to choose comes.

The hedgehog refocused his thoughts. Saethrim and Ghune, if they go, which I'm sure they will, are likely to find their own targets. I can't rely on them staying in one place, anyway, so everyone else needs to stick to a general area and only specific people should be allowed to advance. Me and Jet will need to section off a piece of the realm to make sure nobody gets too close.

Another thing that came to mind immediately was how he planned to confront Nareish. Walking into something like that without a plan was asking for death, and she would more than happily kill him. Jet would most likely survive, but not in good health. I need to first and foremost keep her off him. Directing attention away from Jet will provide him the chance to strike while she's fending me off. No way in hell will we manage to seriously injure her or kill her, but keeping her from interfering with the others is important. If we're lucky, she'll be too busy to protect people like Gerald and the Widow. I can only hope one of them gets killed in this fight.

The plan to strike at Nareish should probably involve getting her into it, rather than approaching. If she senses we're fucking with something she wants to keep around, it'll give us a shot rather than walking into whatever death trap she may have planned.

This all means that I need to try and convince the Void to work with us and keeping itself at bay, since we just can't risk its power potentially wiping out one of our allies. Not only that, but I need to convince Jet that this plan can work. I'm in for a damn hard time.

May as well go now. He also should be informed that Nareish did something.

Something bad.

~保護者~

14,593 words this time. Many thanks to Blazing Winds for all his help and support, and happy holidays everyone! Posted (at about 2:50 p.m.) 12-21-21.