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".)

176. Animal Inside

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this angry scene… especially for the one who enjoys inflicting pain.

~保護者~

"Animal Inside"

~保護者~

Once he knew she was safe with Cere (and apparently sparring with her), Espio felt comfortable enough to leave the village and Armaris behind for a short while. After a quick teleport, was deep within the highlands, past the inner barriers where outsiders simply could not go. These barriers had held during the past attacks, even though the outer ones hadn't. It was just as well, since the most important places in his people's culture since migrating here were within those barriers. Hidden. Safe.

One of those aforementioned places was a grove of trees, planted from seeds taken from Zyr. They were among the only plants native to their homeland that had made the journey here, and for that reason they were regarded as very special. It helped that their fruits tasted utterly divine. He had to admit to himself, only semi-jokingly, that they were even better than peanuts.

That, however, wasn't the reason why he was here. It was common practice, traditional even, to gift one of these fruits to the person one was courting. They were used as just one of many symbols of care and affection. Saying those things aloud was something he knew he was struggling with, but maybe this would say enough to her? He'd grown up hearing about this practice, and while he'd never paid the stories much mind… These days, he had a reason to be interested.

Mind made, he scaled one of the trees and came to kneel on one of the highest branches. From there, he perused the selection of fruit until he found what seemed to be the ripest one. He picked it with deft fingers, then sat down to examine the bright red ball for any bruising. Finding none, he felt satisfied. And, though tempted to get one for himself, he opted not to. There weren't many ripe ones left this time of year. It was best to leave the rest for other couples.

An argument could be made for leaving now that he was done, but he had time to kill while Armaris trained. He leaned back against the trunk with his legs stretched out across the branch in front of him. Feeling comfortable enough, he closed his eyes in order to relax. What stopped him from doing that was sensing an unexpected guest. Ryuji? Espio sat up, confused. Why is he out here?

Ryuji blurred through the branches of the many trees here and landed beside Espio, taking a seat beside him all in one fluid motion. "Forgive my intrusion. I came to speak to you."

"You are not intruding," Espio answered.

"I've made a mistake," Ryuji responded, changing the subject entirely. "One that I hope to right today." Espio frowned at him, a hint of confusion showing itself on his face. "In the past, there are many things I said to you that were… incorrect. I believed them because Kal believes them, and I allowed her thoughts and feelings to become my own."

Espio blinked, then looked away from him. "It does not matter anymore."

"It does," Ryuji corrected softly. "I do not believe I have ever said something as incorrect as what I did before, and I know it is incorrect because you showed me that I was wrong."

"You learned not to do such things again and have not turned back to those behaviors," Espio said. "That means the mistakes no longer matter. They are over and done with." This wasn't… how he normally viewed situations like that. He knew that. So why had he said this? He wasn't even sure.

"It matters yet still because it affects more than me alone," Ryuji said, crossing his arms. "Listen to what I have to say." The urge to continue arguing the point was there, but Espio wound up keeping his mouth shut. "I told you many things, among them being that your love interest and family were in your way, that they were not worth your time. That you should follow in the footsteps of myself and Kal to discover your true potential. How your disorder is a hindrance, and that it should be kept hidden and 'dealt with'."

"I was wrong," Ryuji continued, letting out a sigh and for once expressing his disappointment in himself in more than just the words he spoke. "I should have never said anything of that sort, regarding any of it. I was a fool," the man murmured. "But like you said, I learned not to do such things, and have refused to turn back to that version of myself. What I tell you now is the truth, and nothing less. You, as you are, what you have become, is something I will forever be proud of. You have become so much more than I or Kal will ever be, and I wish to help you grow further, to help you."

Choosing not to comment on the rest of what Ryuji had said, Espio retorted quietly, "There is nothing to be proud of."

Ryuji managed a soft chuckle. "I would not be here if not for you. You helped me save myself from Kal. That is the first of many things to be proud of, and I will continue if need be to convince you." His gaze shifted finally to look at Espio. "And know that this praise is not given lightly. I mean every word I say."

"If your praise is valuable," Espio murmured, "then you should save it for someone deserving. Do not waste it on me."

"You are one of the only people I know truly deserving of it, aside from your mother, father, and… admittedly, your love interest," Ryuji replied easily, returning his gaze to the grove around them. "But you alone are the most deserving."

Liar. Espio opted to keep that thought to himself. He shifted to carefully set his chosen fruit on an adjacent branch so that he didn't have to keep holding it.

"I don't expect you to believe me, at least not now, but I will prove my words as much as necessary to show their worth," Ryuji explained, only now content to change the subject. "That aside… I was faced with an interesting individual recently."

This shift in the conversation was appreciated. And, in all honesty, Espio had to admit to being a bit curious… like always. "'Interesting'?" he echoed.

"Her name was Arein, or so she said. Wielded a bow and arrow," Ryuji explained. "She… aided me in recovering when I felt down in the depths of my own pain."

"You allowed her to help you?" Espio inquired, a little surprised. "I was under the impression that you do not trust anyone, with a scant few exceptions."

"She caught me off guard." Ryuji frowned briefly in thought. "She shot an arrow at me."

There was a small scoff. "Idiot."

"From there, she gave me little choice, but at the same time," Ryuji murmured, "she gave me freedom of choice. I know not how to explain it. Never once did I feel trapped into a decision." Espio nodded once but didn't comment. "She knows about you, and your family," Ryuji added. "I believe she monitors those with active Darkness. She noted one of the times your Darkness took over, and seemed to understand that it was far from your choice."

Great. Just another person who knows how badly I fucked up. Espio stifled his irritation over this fact as best as he could and just nodded again.

"Do you know who she is?" Ryuji dared to ask after a moment.

"I have never heard the name," Espio shrugged. "Without seeing her, I cannot say for certain if I have encountered her at any point."

Ryuji nodded. "I am willing to believe she does not stick to one identity, in that case. She appeared to have some form of polymorphism as well. I could not discern that she was present, even after she fired an arrow at me, and then I discovered that she can completely hide her appearance as well."

Espio was quiet for a moment before turning to face his grandfather. "You are aware that our ancestors on Zyr had such abilities as well, yes? Whereas your generation largely did not inherit them."

"Yes, but I have hardly seen such mastery over them in quite some time," Ryuji replied, glancing over to his grandson.

The younger man shook his head. "That is irrelevant. My point was that those abilities are resurfacing in our people again. She is not the only one with polymorphic powers. I have a variety of them as well, and so do other shinobi I have met."

"Ah, I see," Ryuji murmured. "I simply found the situation… unusual. She is as quick-witted as any shinobi, and she showed some form of care about how I was doing. I did not know there were others like that."

"It is a small number for now," Espio explained, "but it has been growing steadily. The powers awaken in somewhere around two individuals every year, according to the elders."

"And the potential of those powers passing on to children, if a couple is lucky enough to have any… means it could well spread, given time," Ryuji murmured. Espio agreed quietly. "In any case, I will ask her, should I come across her again, if she has ever met you. I am curious to know if you ever have."

"I suppose," Espio said, turning back around to his original position.

"I saw the fruit. Do you plan to give it to Armaris?" Ryuji asked after a moment.

Though a touch embarrassed, Espio was quick to bury the emotion. He had a bit of a problem with shyness in regards to love interests, he knew, but this wasn't the time for that. "Yes," he soon admitted.

Ryuji nodded slowly. "I presume she understands the importance of this gift."

"She knows of many of our traditions," Espio explained, "but the more special ones to our people were not taught to her generally. This will likely be new to her. I will… do my best to explain it when the time comes."

"And when will that time be?" Ryuji dared to ask. "You will not have long before the fruit spoils."

"I have twenty-three hours. I remember the stories." Espio gestured vaguely to the south. "She is somewhere that way, training with Cere. When she is finished and returns home, I plan to talk to her."

"Good-" Ryuji frowned. "Wait, who? Cere?"

"Yes. She has apparently long taken on a motherly and mentor-esque role with Armaris."

Ryuji blinked a few times. "Another from outside our people?"

Now Espio clued in. "...You have not heard of her?" he questioned.

"I do not believe so. Should I have?"

"Cere is one of the deities," Espio told him. "More specifically, she is the Goddess of Judgement."

Ryuji paused for several seconds at this news. "Perhaps… it is best I never knew her."

A fair point. "Perhaps it is. But I am surprised you never so much as heard the name before."

"I knew her position existed, but never learned the name. I know of most of the deities, but not their identities. It was best to never get involved with them, for a number of reasons."

"Wise decision," was the quiet agreement. "They do not take kindly to those who oppose good." …Which makes it strange that they did not react to my actions during both of those incidents... especially given the old reputation of our people.

"Certainly. They, specifically Cere, have a reputation," Ryuji replied. "How did… Armaris come to be involved with them?"

"I don't know," Espio said. "I don't believe she ever told me."

"It may make an interesting story, or a boring, quick one. There is no telling with her," Ryuji chuckled softly. "I suppose you may agree with that."

"Nothing she does or says manages to be even vaguely boring," Espio admitted. "Due in part to how random and almost… strange she can be. Only recently, once she was purified during that last battle, she regained consciousness and within minutes was insisting on teaching me a dance."

Ryuji almost snorted at that. Almost. "I am surprised, yet not as well. Her spontaneity may be something to keep you on your toes. In any case, you should go to her. It is time I rest a bit more." Rather than comment, Espio simply took the fruit and dropped out of the tree. He didn't run or teleport to leave, though, as he was in no hurry. Walking as he was, it took a short bit for him to be both out of sight and out of earshot.

"I am proud of you, grandson, but I know those words will not reach you. Actions and time alone… may stand a chance." Ryuji managed a weak smile. At least I apologized. Perhaps… those words will stick as well. With this thought, he teleported home to return to resting, unaware of the watchful eye protecting him.

~保護者~

Alana had done all that she could for her husband. Most of his injuries were doing much better, but she was no healer and she knew it. He would still be in a great deal of pain when he woke up, but his life was no longer in danger. There was medicine that could help, too. It would have to be enough for now.

She turned her attention from his bed to her father's. Doctors were still working on him, but there was only so much they could do even with their powers. Nareish was artfully blocking any attempt to heal him. They were able to bandage him up and stop the bleeding, but that was all. How…? How could this have happened?

As she watched, T'alo was ushered into the spacious medical ward by Laralei. He stopped dead in his tracks, face ashen and eyes wide. Alana couldn't blame him for wordlessly sinking down onto his knees in shock. Her mother had to help him up and walk him to a chair, where he sat with his head in his hands while he stared blankly at the floor.

Her attention drifted to Arkiri. Tarin had left for Mobius not long ago, but he remained behind. Arkiri was doing his level best to just be calm, but all he could manage was something akin to numbness. It kept him from breaking down like he had earlier, but it was obvious in his eyes the pain he was experiencing at the sight of this all. Despite this pain, he was sitting as closely to Kath's bed as the medics would allow him to.

Fighting back tears, Alana sat beside her husband's bed and watched as the doctors hooked Kath up to various machines. The first one he was attached to was an EEG so that his brain activity could be monitored. They had just about finished with that when a wave of alarm rippled through them. One rushed off away from the rest to vanish into an adjoining room.

"Not breathing!" one of the doctors exclaimed. "Monitor his pulse! Get me that oxygen, now!" Alana stood straight up, eyes wide with horror and her own heart thudding painfully in her chest. Her mother simply froze where she was while T'alo finally lifted his head and looked on with tear-filled eyes.

Arkiri didn't sit idly and stood, using his aura to move equipment over to the Kath's bed so that the person who had taken off didn't have to drag things here. There was a flurry of activity. The hawk was hooked up to the necessary equipment to allow him to breathe. Once the machine was doing its job and breathing for him, things relaxed a bit. The doctors refocused on setting up the EEG.

Badly shaken, Alana walked over to Laralei, T'alo, and Arkiri. "Is he… alright?"

"Most likely this occured due to him being in a comatose state, where the body sometimes needs aid in breathing. Aside from that," Arkiri said quietly, "the activity is probably something about him dreaming, if I had to take a guess."

"Dreams do occur in comas, at times," Laralei murmured, sinking down into a chair. She gestured to a screen by the bed. "The data there seems to indicate that might be the case now. But… my concern is his memory. If he remembers anything about what happened, we need to try to find out. Assuming it is even safe to attempt such a thing."

Arkiri glanced over at Alana, blinking once slowly. "Do you know anyone with that kind of ability?"

"One, but… I do not know if she can help much." Alana sighed and, using the communicator she had been given some time ago, she reached out to Wave. All she could do after that was wait for a reply.

Some time passed in utter silence, perhaps a minute or so, before Eila appeared by them all. Seeing Alana, the cat glanced away quickly. "Wave asked for me to come here. She said that my psychic powers would be more capable than hers in this sort of situation…"

The past was irrelevant here. Alana chose to entirely ignore it right now. "If she trusts you to provide aid, then so will I," she conceded in a soft voice. She wiped her eyes in an attempt to dry them and regain some of her composure. "My husband and father were attacked by Nareish. We need to try to see what they remember. Perhaps especially my father, since he seems to have been attacked first and for a longer stretch of time."

Eila took a chance and used her magic and psychic powers together to help steady the nerves of the four present most affected by this, two of which she didn't know by name. She hoped it would help as she walked up to Kath. Don't mess this up. Alana already doesn't like you… Pained thoughts pushed aside, Eila took in a breath and mentally connected herself to Kath's mind, searching his most recent thoughts to see what may have happened.

The last clear memories the man seemed to have were from very early in the morning that day. He'd sat down in the dining hall to have some breakfast. That was the only memory there. Everything after that was completely blank. The fact that everything after was blank left Eila with a few concerns. One possibility was that he'd suddenly been rendered unconscious immediately after that. Another was that he had forgotten… which wasn't possible in her opinion, not unless it was related to his physical trauma. Brain damage could lend to amnesiac events, which was possible given the injuries he'd sustained. The other possible reason was that his memories had been taken or wiped… or perhaps blocked out? Any of these were possible, and she really didn't like any of them.

Still, his mind was active and he was alive. Something caught her attention and she locked onto it, focusing. Dreams and even nightmares weren't unheard of for comatose patients to have, and that was certainly happening here. Kath was having a series of nightmares, all centered around abuse when he was a teen living with his grandfather.

Every dream was different in multiple ways, but a few things remained unnervingly the same. In each one, he was beaten by the man's fists. At some point, he would demand to know why this was being done to him. His grandfather would always say, "It makes me happy." After that line was given, each dream would end and a new one with those same details would begin.

Eila dedicated at least five different instances to her own mind, then set to work on banishing these from his mind. He wouldn't be able to recover if he couldn't rest somewhat… And, of all people, she understood how badly nightmares could ruin one's rest. May you recover soon. I'm sorry I can't do more for you.

Once she was done, the woman left Kath's mind and let out a shaky breath. Eila hadn't worked like that in years, and the effort required had caught her off guard. Still, she was here for a reason. "I can't see any memories beyond him having breakfast," Eila murmured. "After that point, it's blank."

"You were unable to see anything?" Laralei pressed. Though, she didn't do so with any harshness or frustration. Just continuing sadness and pain.

"I… can try with Sein, with permission," Eila murmured.

As it was her husband, this statement prompted Alana to speak again. "Alright," she permitted softly. "If you believe you may find something, I ask that you do all you can."

Eila moved closer to Sein and braced herself against the bed, reaching out and connecting to his mind in much the same way she had with Kath's. It was… harder, with this being a full-fledged Immortal. Not to mention that he was a man full of all the willpower someone would need to resist. Luckily for her, he was unconscious. That meant she was able to squeeze through after a short push. She searched for his memories, hoping to find something to work with. But as with before, all she found was an empty gap where memories should have been.

Fuck. Nothing about this felt quite right, and she wasn't sure what about it bothered her. She found it odd that an Immortal would have lost memories from something like this. Yes, he'd suffered great trauma but Jet, in his youth, had sustained memories in spite of traumatic events. Sure, Jet had willingly blocked many things out, as people were prone to do, but this was nothing like that. Eila felt there was a missing piece of information, so she searched before and after the event, hoping to find anything worthwhile.

Before the attack, she was able to see Sein sleeping the night before, his morning interactions with Alana, and the moment when he'd left to go see Kath. Right after that was where the gap began. It ended after the fight, at the point when he arrived at the palace and called out for help.

With nothing helpful here, she searched further back and still found nothing. Everything seemed… normal. Like she would expect things to be. His mind wasn't anywhere near as active, having not entered a dreaming state like Kath's, so she removed herself from him and caught herself as her legs locked to prevent her body from hitting the floor. Note to self… sleep soon. It's catching up to you. "I don't like any of this."

"What happened?" Alana asked her. "What did you see?"

"Nothing," Eila muttered. "And that's the entire problem." The cat turned to face the four conscious Babylonians. "Kath's memories of the event are missing entirely. Sein's memories stop as soon as he leaves to see Kath and begin again as soon as he returns, continuing right up to him calling for help."

Arkiri decided to speak up finally, coughing a little. "Kath, if the injuries show anything, very well may have forgotten. He seems to have suffered injuries similar to what he described having gone through as a child with his grandfather. Him experiencing pronounced gaps in memory was… unfortunately… not uncommon back then." T'alo somehow managed to pale further and lowered his head back into his hands, murmuring something in satavi under his breath.

Laralei looked over at Kath and had to draw in a deep breath in order to prevent herself from crying. "They… They are similar in appearance, yes," she confirmed softly. "His grandfather enjoyed beating him with bare fists… Though he had nothing against using furniture as weapons, too. These injuries do bear a resemblance to a large fist striking him repeatedly."

Eila wrung fingers through her hair, stressed and anxious now. "Something about this isn't right. Kath was having nightmares, and there were a few things that kept happening in each one. He was beaten by a man's fists. He would ask why it was being done to him, and the answer he was given… by his grandfather I think, was, 'It makes me happy.'" Eila hoped she wouldn't need to explain her knowledge of the relation as she continued. "Then, each one would end and a new one would begin."

"I was… never informed of his grandfather saying anything along those lines," Arkiri murmured after a moment. "'Kochek', his grandfather's most common alias, said happiness was a weakness. He used that mindset as an excuse to feel further spite toward others."

"The mind likes to piece information it gains together in dreams to comprehend and cope," Eila added. "I don't… know what to make of this."

"I do not think Father would bother to ask Nareish such a question, if that did happen in reality at all," Alana said. "He would view it as a pointless inquiry in any scenario."

…Was it Sein? Eila didn't voice this. This was the wrong place to make such an accusation, and she had no energy to make brash moves. Even then… that didn't sound right. Sein had shown a level of forgiveness to her recently, when she'd spoken to them. Every time she had been near him, the man was a pure ball of radiant happiness. She had to admit it had infected her once as well. But… who else was there? Who would Kath have bothered to ask such a question to? "I… at least stopped Kath's nightmares. If they return… just tell me, and I'll stop them again. It's the least I can offer."

"We will," Alana answered softly.

Laralei stood and walked over to Eila. "Thank you," she murmured, "for all of your help. Now, please… go rest. You look as exhausted as the rest of us."

Eila didn't acknowledge the second bit of what was said. "I… need to help." Turning away, she teleported quickly back to her room.

Once she was gone, Laralei sighed and returned to the others. Conjuring up what little strength she had left, she channeled it into her voice so that she sounded at least somewhat in charge. "T'alo, Alana, Arkiri, I want all of you to go and at least attempt to sleep for a while. If anything changes with Sein or Kath I will inform all of you."

"No," Arkiri murmured, pushing himself to stand. "There was something on that woman's mind… and I'm going to try to figure it out. Not to mention, I can hardly rest when my adoptive son, someone I am willing to call my own, is in this sort of state. I'm going to do what I can to help."

Laralei weighed the options, then conceded his point. "Alright. Do what you can, but don't push yourself." She nudged her daughter. "Alana, you do not get a similar free past. Go rest. No arguments." Alana sighed heavily, but nodded obediently. It took a second to work up the willpower, but she soon stood and walked out of the ward.

Arkiri, in his bout of boldness, stood and walked over to T'alo, kneeling by the man. "T'alo." Concerningly, Laralei noticed that Kath's father didn't react. Not even slightly. Arkiri set a hand on the other man's hands, squeezing them gently. "T'alo," he repeated, more firmly this time.

T'alo startled badly and jerked his head up to look at Arkiri, eyes wide. There was only some focus and clarity in them, as though he wasn't entirely aware of what he was seeing, hearing, and feeling. Arkiri spoke once more, squeezing just a little tighter. "T'alo." This earned another, smaller jump and T'alo sucked in a sharp breath. Suddenly, he was actually looking at Arkiri and not whatever had been running through his mind before.

Immediately, now that the man was paying attention, Arkiri spoke in the ancient dialect T'alo knew. "T're vetu?" ("Can you hear me?") Slowly, T'alo nodded just once. "Sati aka't?" ("Are you aware of your surroundings?") There was another slow nod. "Ver'a. Sat've kun. Sevei maki." ("Go rest. You need it. He will be here when you return.") T'alo didn't seem to have the mental capacity right now to argue, even if he'd wanted to. He just nodded a third time and teleported away.

Arkiri took a deep breath and chuckled weakly to himself. "Glad I'm able to help people still. Figured I might've lost my touch. Good to know I'm useful to more than just Kath." He passed a labored wink to Laralei, smiling a little.

She managed a wan smile. "It would seem you aren't quite ready to retire," she agreed.

"I'm never retiring," Arkiri laughed, standing up. "Anyway, time for me to get to work. I'll let you know if I figure anything out first."

"Please do. I'll keep you all informed of any changes with Kath and Sein, good or bad." Laralei sat down. "Don't work yourself too hard, alright? Rest if you find yourself really needing to."

"Tarin will kill me if I push it too much," Arkiri said. "I wouldn't put it past her to find out while she's on Mobius and claw her way through space to get to me."

"That… is likely accurate."

Arkiri nodded a little and waved before teleporting away, landing in his room and taking a breath. Eila was troubled. I need to contact her soon, but first let's piece the information I have together. This thought was enough to set him to work, laying on his bed and mentally working the puzzle pieces around in his mind to see what fit.

~保護者~

Wave sat down with a heavy sigh, massaging her temples. Debris from an uninhabited rocky landscape littered the ground around her as a result of the training she and the Aether had been doing. "I've never stretched my mind that far before," she admitted to her companion. "Do you think Eila even heard me?"

The being sat beside her in its normal form, nodding a little. "I'm sure. From what I've gathered, she's always listening… perhaps a little too much. I don't think she sleeps well, because of it."

"Even if she's always listening, that doesn't mean she could have heard me from so far away," Wave pointed out with a sigh. I should probably just go there instead of doing this, but… I want to stay as close to A'latria as possible right now.

"I'm sure she did," the Aether said gently.

"I just… can't believe this happened," Wave said. "Kath is… Kath. Whenever people think about who we know might be in real danger, we never think of him. This kind of thing isn't supposed to happen to him."

She rubbed her hands over her face before finally lowering them. "It's honestly pretty terrifying to know that this can happen. The version of him native to this timeline… He was nearing the end of his lifespan and was very old. I took on the role of caretaker for him, but he still had such a fire in him that he could have kicked my ass any day of the week with ease. Still, I was protective over him, you know? I still am with this Kath, I guess, but I try not to act on it since he's not technically the same person I took care of. But it still feels like I somehow failed to keep him safe. Like I should have been watching over him like I used to."

"It's not your fault at all," the Aether said, shifting a little closer to her. "Everyone has so much going on and we're all trying to figure it out. The same does go for you, too."

"I know… You're right. It's just hard to shake the feeling, is all." Wave lifted her head to look at the Aether. "What about you, though? What are your thoughts on all of this? We're friends now, and I like to know my friends' opinions."

It frowned in thought. "Kath got hurt, and so did Sein. If both of them got hurt, what could we have done aside from getting hurt ourselves? They're super strong, both of them. The best we can do is get them the best help we can provide."

Wave managed a small smile. "You're right again," she murmured. She looked away, her smile soon fading. "I'm worried about how Jet's going to take this, though."

"I'd guess he's not gonna take it too well," the Aether replied, frowning a little. "It's his father and grandfather."

"Yeah. That's why I'm worried about it." Wave idly pushed a small rock with a shoe. "I mean… you saw how I was when something happened to my dad."

The Aether pushed the rock back a little. "Yeah… At the very least, I think he's doing better?"

"He seems to be okay, but it's hard to tell for sure," Wave murmured. "I can only base that guess off of the Void energies he's coating A'latria with. They're calm for now, so that might mean he's stable for the moment. Maybe."

"I hope he's doing okay right now. Should… we go visit him, or do you think it's safer to stay here?" the Aether asked gently.

"I definitely want to visit later," Wave answered. "With the potential of the Void suddenly getting aggressive if his emotions spike… You and I aren't ready to fully protect ourselves from that yet."

"If the Void wanted to, it could hurt me pretty badly right now," the Aether agreed.

"Yeah. Which is why we should probably wait… even though I don't want to."

Thinking for a second, the Aether looked to Wave. "When was the last time you saw Cyril?"

"Not too long ago," Wave shrugged, "but I don't know exactly when. Why?"

It shrugged back. "He's your friend."

Wave managed a smile. "Gee, how did you guess?" she teased. "I thought I hid it so well."

"It's all of my infinite wisdom and knowledge from being alive for less than a month."

"'Infinite'. Yes. Precisely." Wave laughed a little and stood up. "Well, come along, then. Since you forced my hand, let's go visit for a bit, if he's not busy." The Aether gasped and smiled brightly, picking up the rock Wave had kicked and stowing it within its feathers. "Why are you keeping that?" Wave almost giggled, amused beyond words that the stone had been deemed a keepsake.

"I'unno," the Aether said, smiling. "Let's go!"

"Not 'til I get my own," Wave decreed. She cast her gaze about and selected a random rock to keep for herself. "Here we go. Perfect. Let's go." The swallow vanished with her prize in hand. The Aether soon followed, beaming as brightly as its own energy did. This day was looking up… at least somewhat.

~保護者~

A deep breath was all he could give himself, knowing what he was about to walk into. A'latria was once a place that he could survive, but now it was coated in the Void's energies. He, being the Neutral Balancer, was certainly going to be a creature the Void did not like… probably. It reacted violently to Light and Darkness, two of the primary energies he had access to. Luckily he wasn't a being of either, but that still didn't make this any less nerve wracking… the second time.

So, now he was venturing closer, making his presence known to see if he would even be allowed entry. After a long, tense delay, the Void parted its energies just enough to let Steam through. However, it didn't give him a second to spare. The instant it decided it had made space for him long enough, everything sealed shut behind Steam once more. Still, he'd made it into the upper atmosphere unscathed. That was a good sign.

Now, he needed to get to the castle. Steam took the safe approach and teleported down to the ground, walking toward the large building. Things seem relatively calm right now. I might be safe. Almost as if purely to spite him, the Void seemed to try to bar his way suddenly. However, Jet's aura blazed into being and batted the energy aside. Both then vanished again as though they had never appeared at all. A few seconds later, a wisp of heavenly blue tugged the door open for Steam and left it like that for him to walk right in.

"Guess that's Jet," Steam remarked to himself, walking inside and shutting the door behind him. "Jet?" he called out.

It did take a moment, but Jet came down the stairs in the nearby hall, quietly telling the Void to "shut the hell up" as he went. The argument ceased by the time he came into view.

Seeing Jet act like himself was something soothing. "Hey, Jet," he called out gently. "I really should visit more."

The hawk shrugged vaguely and tossed the trailing end of a scarf over one shoulder. "Why are you here?" he asked. There were traces of emotions like fear and devastation, no doubt a result of the earlier attacks, in his eyes, but for now he was keeping a lid on it all. At least for while Steam was here.

"Let's sit down," Steam said. "We've got a bit to talk about, and I have a feeling that the Void is going to be interested in hearing about some of it."

Jet glanced at his invisible companion with somewhat narrowed eyes. "I somehow doubt that," he remarked. Nonetheless, he turned and led Steam into the nearest room with chairs. He had to clear said chairs off since books were piled high on both of them, but once that was done Steam was free to sit.

Steam took a seat, letting out a vague sigh. "Let's get the main thing out of the way. I've no doubt you know about Sein being injured."

"Him and Kaicha both," Jet corrected quietly, claiming his own seat on the other side of the small table. "I was informed."

"How much do you know?"

"I know what Dad's injuries are from the communicator alert, and I was told remotely by Wave that Kaicha is also hurt. That's all."

"Wave sent for Eila, and she checked their memories," Steam explained. "They both have gaps that were based around when the attack happened. She's convinced that there's something we're missing."

The mere mention of her made Jet's heart miss a beat, but he managed to take in a breath and largely focus on the rest of what Steam had said. "That's all she saw?"

"She told me about some nightmares that had a specific recurring theme and event," Steam replied. "Would you prefer to read the message yourself? You'd probably understand more about it than me."

After a short delay, Jet sighed. "Let me see," he conceded. Steam took off his communicator and handed it over. Jet looked it all over and was soon wearing a frown. What the hell? "It makes me happy"? The fuck? He passed the communicator back.

The hedgehog put it back on his wrist and nodded. "I agree that something about it is fucky. Those kinds of dreams would probably only be caused by something that recently happened, but… I'm not sure what exactly is going on with it."

"...I know how Kaicha's mind works," Jet murmured a moment later. "Unconscious or not, the way it functions does not change in terms of how he retains information and stores it. If he truly cannot remember the attack itself, these details that keep showing up in his nightmares could well be an effort to preserve the pieces he does remember."

"Which would mean the actions and words probably happened during the attack?" Steam said.

"I can only assume, but that seems probable," Jet said. "But… I don't know who would have even said that line to him. Nareish occasionally says such things, but not often. She would rather mention her amusement rather than her joy."

"The punching very well could have been her. In my timeline, that was how she fought at times. She was fond of it." I learned that the hard way. "Doing it with energies, specifically."

"She used energies that behaved like normal physical attacks?" Jet asked, frowning a bit more.

Steam sighed. "Yeah. I don't know why, but she did. But… the words still don't exactly fit in place. You're entirely right that she'd rather mention amusement."

Jet closed his eyes in thought. "Dad said she attacked them… yet Eila says he has no memory of the event, either. It's possible that he was confused from the lack of memory and simply guessed it was her due to the severity of their conditions."

"...We're talking about Sein and Kath, right?" Steam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm aware," Jet muttered. "You forget that Nareish is not the only powerful person within her army."

"But to give both of them those kinds of injuries?" Steam asked. "I mean… you really might be right, but it's just hard to believe. We both know she likes playing around with the people she finds interesting."

"I'm only saying it may be possible," Jet told him. "I don't take much stock in the idea, either, but we can't simply cast the notion aside when we have no proof either way."

"Yeah…" Steam frowned a little. "Eila is looking into it… but I figured you might like to know that she at least was able to stop the nightmares for Kath."

"Good. He's suffered enough."

"Agreed." Steam switched the subject. "So, I've been working on a plan, but I need your help, and the Void's cooperation. Void, if you would like to converse with me, I know you can. If you don't feel like it, well, fair enough."

Piercing blue eyes opened and soon tracked the unseen movement of the Void from the doorway to the side of the table. A few seconds later, the Void manifested as a faintly visible shadow that Jet could no doubt see much more clearly than Steam. It then forced itself to be heard by someone other than Jet, something it had little practice with doing, and muttered, "Speak quickly. I am barely interested as it is."

"I want to raid Nareish's realm and tear her armies apart," Steam explained, looking between the Void and Jet. Jet straightened. "And I want your help. Both of you."

"Chetora," Jet muttered. He was quick to follow that up with, "You're insane." The Void, meanwhile, remained silent.

…Clever, phrasing it like that… Damn him. "I will make you suffer for this manipulation at a later time," the Void muttered. "For now, you will get your way. Be thankful you still exist where you sit."

"I wish I was smart enough to manipulate things to that scale," Steam muttered to himself. "I'm being truthful, but I won't dwell on that. I just know we share a common interest and can be temporary allies, at the very least."

It let out a breathy growl and vanished. Jet sighed heavily. "A-a-and it's pissed again. That didn't take long."

"It never likes me much," Steam commented. "If the Void's on board to work with us for this, then all we need is Wave and the Aether. But… just to be clear, nobody else can know this part of the plan." Jet inclined his head. "I'll get in contact with her soon, but there's one more thing we need to talk about before I leave, and I want your opinion."

"What is it?"

"Something big happened," Steam replied, leaning back in his seat. "Nareish did something that the Immortals, even the new ones, in my timeline could sense. We don't know what it is, who might have been targeted, or even an idea of what to look for, but I want you to pay as close attention as you can to things going on. You're the absolute most intelligent person I know, and if anyone can figure out something wrong, it'll be you."

A flash of alarm showed in Jet's eyes and he immediately asked, "Is this related to the attack?"

"It could be related, but… whatever happened was definitely before this," Steam explained, frowning deeply. "It very well might have caused the attack, for all we know."

"I don't fucking like this," Jet muttered. "This isn't right, any of it."

Steam nodded a little. "I know. I wish there was more I could do to help fix it all."

"...Give me time," Jet eventually told him, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll observe everything I can. If possible, I'll have at least some answers before your raid takes place."

"Of course," Steam said. "I'll keep you updated on whatever Eila finds, too. I'm… fairly certain she's terrified of messaging you." Well, the feeling was beyond mutual. Jet barely suppressed an anxious chill when he heard her name again. In the end, he just nodded. "Other than that, I'll work with you to put together the details of the plan. I like bouncing back and forth with you. It works well."

Jet let out a slow, somewhat shaky breath. "...Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Just tell me when you're ready to talk again."

Steam nodded. "Absolutely. If you need any help from me as well, just say the word. I'll drop what I'm doing to come here if I have to."

"Alright," was the simple agreement.

The hedgehog took this as his cue to stand up. "Hopefully I can come by one day without dire circumstances." When Jet didn't really reply to this, Steam teleported away and left A'latria, thanking his luck that the Void chose to not attack him. But now… Now he had work to get back to.

~保護者~

Laralei eyed Sein up and down with apparent worry. He had only woken up recently, making him the only other conscious person in the room aside from her. "Sein," she murmured, "are you certain you want to leave already? I know Jet will want to see you, but can he not come here?"

"Yeah, I want to go," Sein replied, forcing himself off the bed. Holy fuck- The pain shocked through his body, and that made it hard to stand.

His mother-in-law was quick to support him by taking hold of his least injured arm and carefully hoisting him up. "Slow down," she chastised him. "Alana did what she could, but you are not healed yet."

"I need to let Jet know I'm okay," Sein said, pouring energy into healing his legs without a second thought. Just need to be able to stand…

"Why are you so insistent?" she questioned him. "Why can you not simply ask him to come here?"

"Because I don't think he can," Sein replied hastily, doing his best not to sound exasperated with his focus on other things. "There's this whole energy thing going on that puts people in danger by being around it."

While she didn't entirely understand, to a certain degree she did. Laralei slowly let Sein go when his legs no longer seemed ready to give out on him. "...Alright," she finally conceded. "But I must kindly ask that you at least sit while you visit. This is non-negotiable, Sein. You are not well."

"Fine, fine," he bit out through the pain, nodding. "I will."

"Begone with you, then," Laralei dismissed with a sigh. "Ease his concerns as best as you can."

Sein nodded again and teleported away, attempting to just go straight to the castle rather than jumping the hoops of entering. Please make this easy for once. As was becoming increasingly common, he at least was allowed through by the Void with little to no resistance. It was slowly coming to accept Sein's presence around Jet, at least for now, and so wasn't blocking his access to the world or Jet's home. The hawk landed in the castle, immediately biting back a cry of pain. "Holy fuck...!"

His son was there in an instant, grabbing him by the arm just like Laralei had done and demanding, "What the hell are you doing here?" He all but dragged Sein to a nearby couch and pushed him down to sit on it. "You're supposed to be resting!"

The man took deep breaths, letting out his best chuckle and failing terribly. "I came to see you."

"It could have waited until you were better," Jet argued, teleported a roll of fresh bandages into his hand. He pulled off a bandage on his father's shin and re-wrapped it, as the wound had opened at some point prior to Sein sitting down.

"Nah," Sein replied. "It was important to make sure you were okay. After all that… I had to be sure you hadn't been hurt, too."

"I'm fine," Jet assured him. He was soon finished with what he was doing and sent the roll away. The bloody bandages were simply brushed aside for now to be dealt with later. After that, he took a seat beside Sein without any hesitation. Given his normal issues with proximity to other people, this was a big step and he knew it. But… he was also okay with it. He was learning to be more comfortable being close to Sein, hence him tolerating the occasional hug. This was something he could handle, too.

Sein was… not in the shape to be trying to hug, much to his dismay. He'd been lucky to get here. "Good to hear. You were the first thing on my mind when I woke up, alongside Alana."

"Is she okay?" Jet asked him, looking down.

"Yeah. She wasn't attacked. It was just me and Kath," Sein replied. "Emotionally… she's probably a wreck Pretty sure she's sleeping right now, though." The faintest flicker of a smile teased at his lips when he thought about Kath, but faded momentarily when it hurt like a bitch for those muscles to move that way.

Jet didn't look up in time to see this reaction. "What condition is Kaicha in?" he asked, none the wiser. He was soon looking down again, quietly distressed. "No one's told me."

"...I didn't really think to look," Sein murmured after a moment. Jet accepted this with a sigh and a faint nod. "So, anything new happen with the Void, lately? It try to break things again?"

"As ever," Jet grumbled. "It decided to shatter my library this morning, then did so a second time the moment I repaired it. But, other than short-lived outbursts and it's usual whisperings, it's been relatively calm."

"Maybe there's a way to channel its… er, destructive nature?" Sein asked, raising an eyebrow. "Perhaps just something a little less… important it could go after?"

"I don't know," Jet sighed. "I can't safely go anywhere with it because it's destructive."

"It could be a decent idea to look into somewhere you can go where it can be like that," Sein said. "It's lashing out randomly here, so it would be better to have it destroy something that isn't yours and all."

Like a pet or a child that needs to stretch their legs. It was a fair point, Jet had to admit. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll look around for someplace it can go wild in."

Sein managed a larger smile this time, wincing. "Hope it works out." Jet hummed a soft acknowledgement of Sein's words. "So, anything else happen lately?"

"For better or for worse, no. Not really."

"Well, in this war, no new is good news," Sein replied, smiling gently. "Sometimes, anyway."

"I guess so," Jet shrugged, neither truly agreeing or disagreeing.

"How have you been doing?"

"As well as possible when stuck here with that asshole."

"That is… entirely fair," Sein supposed, rubbing the back of his head a little. "Sorry that's how it is."

"It isn't your fault," was the simple dismissal.

"Yeah, but I wish I could help a little," Sein replied. His son shrugged again. Sein fell quiet, unsure what to say next. It was… difficult to think right now, and he felt like he'd talked himself into a brick wall both literally and figuratively.

"You're usually more talkative," Jet observed after a time. "Is something bothering you?"

"Lots of pain," Sein replied. "Not a lot to talk about, either, really."

"But you're thinking about something," Jet accused quietly.

Sein paused a little. "I… I'm worried that this sort of stuff might just… keep happening. It worries me a lot." Keep your aura calm. Don't let him see the panic. Jet glanced at him, waiting for Sein to continue. The words weren't coming to him, so he just fell silent, slumping back on the couch a little.

"There is nothing to be done about it right now," Jet said. "Worrying only hurts you in the meantime."

"You know… with all this happening…" Sein murmured. "Maybe… maybe the Void is kinda right."

Jet's surprise and confusion showed readily. "...I thought you were against it entirely," he said carefully.

"I mean, maybe its destructive nature could be put to really good use?" Sein said. "I mean, we already kill demons very easily, at least the weaker ones. If you were able to use the Void, you could stop a more serious attack from being a threat entirely."

The Void chose this moment to make its appearance. He felt the usual chill rush up his spine as it whispered in his ear and forced him to hear its words. "We could destroy so much more than that," it reminded silkily. "Those under Nareish will fall just as easily."

"Yeah, that's true, but starting small and getting used to it all would be better, wouldn't it? Just like normal training. You two have been at odds for a while now, after all."

Whatever reply Jet had started to give was cut off by the Void. "Indeed… But this is something I am amenable to agreeing with."

"...It's risky," Jet eventually said, the Void's influence tugging the words out of him. Part of him was again starting to agree with the being and to be willing to think the same way. Yet, at the same time, part of him was refusing. It left everything muddled, fuzzy, and confused. "Not necessarily the wrong choice, but… dangerous."

"The more we work as one, the easier it will be to kill," the Void murmured, its voice echoing in Jet's mind. "Killing those who oppose you is all that matters. It is all that they deserve."

Sein shrugged a little. "Take a shot at it? Like, against some lower demons, or something like that. Just try it out."

"It will want to escalate," Jet told him softly. "It already does."

"Maybe you can compromise if you work together."

With Sein of all people saying this and the Void still whispering in his ear, it was hard for Jet to think of any disagreements. Not for the first time, its desires were trying to become his own. It was difficult to focus his attention elsewhere. "...Maybe," he mumbled distractedly.

"Anyway… I don't wanna bother you with that too much. I… probably should try to rest some," Sein admitted.

"Y… Yeah." Jet rubbed at his temples, a look of discomfort on his face. With the whispers intensifying, a hint of purple faded into his eyes for just a moment before just as suddenly fading away again. "You should rest."

"Should I go back to Babylon?" Sein asked after a moment.

"Um… Yeah… Probably," was the increasingly distracted and slow reply.

Sein nodded and pushed himself to stand, only to turn and give Jet a small hug despite the serious pain. "Thank you, so much…"

It was slow and stiff, but Jet managed to return the hug a bit. "Yeah," was all he said. Sein broke the hug and teleported away shortly after to leave him be. His latest mission was accomplished.

~保護者~

Black Doom pulled uselessly at his restraints with both arms. His necklace and both chains he wore, pendants and gems and all, had been taken from him along from the rings he wore (one on each hand). His scarf and shoulder plates had been pulled off so that they wouldn't get in Gerald's way. Even the device Ghune had given him was gone. All had been discarded, but he didn't know where.

Now he was trapped on a table with the same energy cuffs as before, alone with some unseen force that was holding the rest of him maddeningly still. Already, he had endured several experiments, and so had various other Black Arms. Some weren't moving any longer. Some remained alive, but not conscious. Others, like him, were awake but bleeding. Oh, how he wished he could make Gerald bleed, too… the bastard.

Gerald, on the other hand, was not bleeding. Instead, he was playing around with some dials on a machine. "How many watts can run through your body before it destabilizes you?" Black Doom's three dark eyes narrowed hatefully at Gerald, but he gave no reply… and not just because he had no idea what "watts" were. The man pressed a button with a smile and watched as violent arcs of electricity shot into Black Doom's body.

The electricity made the alien seize up entirely against his will, unable to move or make a sound as white hot pain rushed through him endlessly. Gerald watched this with satisfaction in his eyes and twisted a dial, upping the wattage further. The added power only made Black Doom more tense and even more unable to react. Severe pain threatened to escalate into agony but wasn't quite there yet. All he could do was try to focus on anything else other than this.

"C'mon. You're supposed to be better than this," Gerald murmured, shutting off the electricity all at once. "You're barely scratching the surface of the beginnings of this." His captive cursed him and snarled, clawed fingers digging deep gouges into the metal table. Gerald shook his head a little, sighing. "Well, we can certainly try this again. Unless you want to move on to a different experiment?"

He wasn't afforded any answer to that. For just a second, Black Doom's third eye glowed. Power that had escaped being blocked emerged, but there wasn't much. He used what little he had to reach his mind out across the stars toward his home… but it was for naught. Only one more managed to be communicated before the connection died. "T'chalik-" Just like that, the remaining shreds of his power were gone all over again. Damn it!

Gerald watched this, crossing his arms in a display of curiosity. "Mind explaining what that was, before I force it out of you?"

He deserves no words, Black Doom decided again. As such, he refused to answer.

"Fine," Gerald murmured, twisting the dial again to turn the machine back on, activating the electricity again.

Just as the same reaction as before began to take place, Nareish appeared. She gazed about the room and quirked an eyebrow up. "My, you've been busy," she observed. "I did not expect this many corpses so soon."

"They were hardly worth my time," Gerald replied. "They could not withstand basic stress tests. I had failed experiments last longer in my far more primitive lab."

"Indeed." Nareish collected all the bodies and cast them harmlessly out of the ARK to drift through space, out of his way. "In that case, I believe I may have a solution to your little problem."

"Continue," Gerald replied, using another dial to shift where the electricity would make contact with Black Doom. His captive's claws resumed digging into the table. "I am listening."

"It has come to my attention that one of that foul creature's rather important abilities is not known to you. It created all the other Black Arms, modeling them after its own alternate forms. Any individual type of Black Arms that exists appears precisely the same as this creature's forms do, inside and out. They also behave the same way if this one is not cautious about preserving its true mind when transforming." Nareish cast a glance at Black Doom, plainly amused by his predicament. "Simply forcing him into those forms whenever you see fit will eliminate the need for additional subjects taking up your space… and forced physical transformations make the victims suffer well."

Gerald blinked once before nodding with a slight smile on his face. "I see. In that case, what do I need to do to force said transformations?"

Nareish smiled back at him. "I have granted you the ability to do so, as well as the necessary knowledge to use the power. I will also provide you the ability to create more restraints as you see fit. They will adhere to anything you wish to attach him to and will keep him from being able to harm you."

"That's good to note. I'll keep it in mind for future tests," Gerald replied.

"Good. Enjoy your newfound abilities, then." As she was wont to do, Nareish simply vanished now that she had said her piece.

The man nodded a little and looked back to Black Doom. "I presume you were listening?" A furious snarl answered him. "Good. Know that this means I am in control. You hold no power here."

Damn you, Black Doom thought in silent rage, though he didn't give Gerald the satisfaction of saying that aloud.

Gerald decided now was the time to shift Black Doom into an upside down position, moving the restraints to latch onto the ceiling of the room. "I presume this is less than desirable." Black Doom glared hard at him, but still refused to speak. From there, Gerald grabbed ahold of a scalpel and pressed it into the creature's head, slicing a thin line at the top. Black Doom silently gritted his teeth. With this slight injury, Gerald now positioned his electrical device and allowed it to arc energy into it, smiling with a faint sadistic gleam in his eyes. The fresh pain caused a snarl to unwillingly tear free of his captive.

With a new question in mind, Gerald decided to force a transformation into one of the other kinds of Black Arms, willing it that it would simply be a random one of the bunch he had seen. Since he wasn't at all in control of the change, Black Doom had no chance to mentally prepare himself, meaning that as soon as it began his manner of thinking and behaving also began to alter. But what was most readily apparent was the physical changes.

Bones groaned, creaked, and snapped as they rearranged themselves into an entirely no structure. Skin stretched, tore, and regrew. Legs grew where previously none had been before. Arms and hands turned into front legs and paws and three fingers split into four toes. A pointed, barbed tail emerged. The third eye receded into the skull, leaving just two eyes as Black Doom's body brutally altered itself into that of a four-legged predator. His skull reshaped itself, his horns retracting until they were entirely gone. Like with lizards, there were no visible ears. A snout slowly grew and additional teeth forced their way into his mouth. In the end, he was left bloodied and even more tense than before. The sheer agony of this transformation couldn't have been more apparent.

Eventually, what Gerald had before him was a large, vaguely dog-like quadruped with lethal claws, needle-like spikes growing like fur along its spine, and a snout full of sharp teeth. That it was entirely beastial inside and out was clear when he was shrieked at and the creature snapped at him several times with its teeth.

Gerald didn't so much as flinch, blinking once. Whether it was admiration or disappointment, he didn't allow his emotions to show this time. "So you are nothing more than I believed you to be." He reactivated the machine, just to see how this form responded to electricity. There was another, harsher, and more piercing shriek, full of continuing fury and pain. However, that only seemed to make this form more hostile and violent, for its efforts to claw at, bite, or stab Gerald with its tail intensified instantly.

It was time to see what happened when forced to transform while actively in pain, so that was what Gerald forced, making Black Doom shift into a different form. Agony overtook Black Doom again, but this time to a higher degree because of the electrocution, despite the fact that there weren't many changes to be made. Given that most Black Arms were mere animals in most ways, that was the sort of form he wound up being forced into again. This one was even similar in appearance, marking it as a related type of creature. The main differences were the type of barb the tail had, the length of the claws, and the overall size of the creature. It was somewhat larger than the previous one, roughly as large as the largest size a normal wild wolf could grow to.

"Interesting. I do not understand why two similar forms would be necessary, but they exist," Gerald remarked to himself after a moment.

Nothing else had a chance to happen or be observed. There was a flash of pure white light that emanated from the hall and then a crash. Glass shattered and metal collided, then there was silence aside from the electricity, shrieks, and snarls from this room.

Gerald immediately moved over to a counter and grabbed a remote, staring at the monitors that allowed him to view the whole of the ARK. His eyes widened and the man bolted for the hallway. Laying precariously under a fallen shelving unit, which was only kept up off the floor to some extent by a low table, was a young girl with golden hair and a blue dress. She was on her stomach and carefully shielding her head with her arms. Once the glass stopped falling, she risked a peek up and then forward with deep blue eyes. Spying Gerald, her own eyes widened. "U-Uncle?"

"Maria!" he exclaimed, kneeling down and brushing the glass off her quickly. "How are you- What?"

"I-I don't know," Maria stammered, eyes still wide. "I don't... I don't understand. What happened?" Once the glass was off of her, she carefully crawled free of the small wreckage.

Pressing a button on the remote, Gerald turned off the machine that was electrocuting Black Doom and quickly picked Maria up off the ground. "I… I don't know." Being as frail and sickly as she was, Maria was used to being picked up and didn't protest. She brushed a few additional shards off of her dress, too confused to say anything else just yet. Rather than return to what he'd been doing, Gerald walked off with her to take her to her room. He couldn't focus on torturing his prisoner with her here all of a sudden. That just… he simply needed to get her to a safe place where she could rest. Then, he could continue his work.

Once she was in her room and was set on her bed, Maria spoke up again. "Uncle, didn't I…? I-I thought I…" She trailed off, barely able to bring herself to think about her own death.

"Be quiet, Maria," Gerald said gently. "Don't think about it. It was… a bad dream."

It felt so real. Nodding, Maria got under her blankets and pulled them up to her shoulders. Then, as had become tradition when she was preparing for sleep, she asked, "Tell me about another place you've seen on Mobius? You told me about the desert last time."

That had been so long ago. Gerald… wasn't initially sure what to say until the words just came to him. "There is a forest on Mobius, one that very few dare to tread because it's so easy to get lost. It has a sort of… fogginess. Aside from that… it looks so normal. You can hardly tell there's anything unusual about it."

The girl yawned, eyes drooping shut. It wasn't unusual for her to fall asleep quickly like this, due to her illness. "Why is the fog dangerous? Or… is it something else?"

"The fog isn't dangerous at all," Gerald replied. "The forest itself confuses and disorients people. It starts seeming so… large and maze-like, the more someone is in it."

"Did you ever really go there, Uncle?" she murmured. "Or did you just hear about it?"

"I only heard about it," Gerald revealed.

"You broke the rules," Maria murmured with a faint smile. And like that, she was asleep.

What…? Gerald asked himself, standing up straighter. He carefully set about leaving the room, so as to not wake her, but his body relaxed when he realized exactly what she meant. A hand covered his face and he let out a groan. Dammit.

Gerald walked back toward his lab, frowning. Knowing she was back… Amidst all of this, it bothered him more than he was willing to admit. He found it hard to be focused, even as he cranked the machine back up to full power. Why was she here?

~保護者~

I have to stop doing this, Shadow mentally chastised himself. He walked with obvious tension, hands balled into tight fists and ears flat against his head. At the moment, he had no idea where he was, nor did he really care. All he knew was that it was far from Mobius, and it was deserted. That would have to do for now. I have to stop reacting. I can't react. I have no right to react. Weapons don't have emotions. If he finds out that I…

Slowly, Shadow came to a stop, mind wavering between past and present. It took some time for him to start to comprehend his surroundings again, and the fact that he was here and not there. He wasn't a small, terrified child anymore. Gerald wasn't in his face screaming at him. But he still felt shaken by the flashbacks and just how vivid they'd become once they'd started.

They'd begun as soon as he'd left Toru. Despite his unwilling fright, he had still felt safe and relatively okay while at home. Out here, that feeling of safety and comfort was conspicuously absent. He wavered again, more memories from long ago reaching up from the depths in an effort to convince him that they were, indeed, reality right now. More than once, they swallowed him up and he was left powerless to stop it.

Memories of pain and fear filled his mind, only to fade somewhat when another memory demanded his attention. Not every detail remained anymore, but some things were still clear. He was young at the time, maybe fourteen, and looking up at the man who had created him. Gerald loomed over him, fury etched all across his face. Shadow had just endured another beating and was being yelled at. He had made a mistake of some kind. Mistakes weren't tolerated. Perfection was required. And he had failed to perform.

In that moment, a thought he had never dared to voice had come to his young mind. I will never… be good enough for you… will I?

There was a change. His memories abruptly gave way, leaving him fully back in the present. He was panting and shaking, but Wave's surprisingly soothing voice filled his mind. "Take it easy. You're not there anymore. Toru and your kids are back home and love you. You're safe, especially with them around. It'll be okay."

Shadow couldn't have responded if he'd tried. He was shaking all over where he had sunken into a sitting position in the dirt. His head was in his hands. Based on the way his lungs currently felt, he was fairly certain he'd been hyperventilating. This was by far the worst episode he'd had in years, and he knew for a fact that he wasn't going to be able to handle it entirely on his own.

It didn't matter that Toru had accidentally contributed to this taking place. This wasn't Toru's fault, and he hadn't known. Shadow didn't blame him or harbor any negative emotions toward him. He just wanted Toru here more and more with each passing second. The flow of memories may have stopped for now, but he still felt panicked and breathless. It was much worse than when Toru had gotten him off of the ARK. But Toru had been able to help then. Maybe it wasn't just wishful thinking to hope that he could do the same thing again? "G… Get Toru," he forced out, voice a mere whisper. Then, squeezing his eyes shut, he added a word he almost never said, much less with so much feeling behind it. "Please."

If she gave a reply, he didn't hear it. The same memory as before reared its ugly head, replaying from the beginning for his viewing pleasure. Other, worse ones quickly took hold after that, each one involving incidents where he had been screamed at by Gerald. He was trembling like a leaf and hyperventilating all over again.

Wasting no time, Wave strained her mind to reach Mobius and called out. "Toru, Shadow wants you," she said. "No, he needs you. The closest to begging he'll ever get is saying a rare 'please', and he told me to please get you, with that exact amount of emphasis. He's having flashbacks and a panic attack. I pushed the memories back once, but I can't keep them gone."

The chameleon refused to waste time, immediately teleporting after Shadow and wrapping his arms around the hedgehog without thinking. "Shadow, are you okay?" he asked. He didn't get an answer. Shadow didn't seem to have heard him right then, too lost in his flashbacks to immediately notice Toru's presence. Toru didn't let up, pulling Shadow in closer. "Shadow, listen to me," he said. "I'm here. Focus on me."

The hedgehog uncharacteristically jumped, badly startled, and swung his gaze around to look at Toru. It took several moments for him to really comprehend who he was looking at, but once he did a certain amount of his tension managed to bleed away. "Focus on me," Toru said again. "Nothing else." Enough of Toru's words registered that Shadow started trying to draw in slower, deeper breaths, though he wasn't entirely successful at it. "Breathe slow, clear your thoughts."

I can't. I can't. Despite this running through his mind on repeat, Shadow kept trying as best as he could, struggling to ignore his memories all the while. Wave helped again on the latter front, pushing everything away as much as she was able to.

"It's okay. I'm here with you," Toru said gently, pressing his forehead against Shadow's softly. "You'll be okay."

I'm not okay. I can't be. Gerald is-... …No… It's not him. It's… Shadow squeezed his eyes shut, still trying to breathe and focus. His heart rate had slowed a bit, which helped the feeling of panic subside just slightly. Before too much more time passed, he was able to speak, though his voice was small and barely above a whisper. "W… Where am I?"

"I'm not sure," Toru replied. "I just teleported after you the moment Wave said you needed me."

Shivering, Shadow did his best to nod. This isn't… the ARK, he told himself. I'm not there. It's… safe.

"The kids are okay. The Black Arms have settled down enough that Lia isn't as scared anymore," Toru murmured. Shadow soon managed another shaky nod. "How long have you been here?"

"...I don't know," Shadow mumbled.

"That's okay. What happened?"

"I don't know."

"How are you feeling?" After a long pause, Shadow sort of shrugged. "Do you feel better?"

"...I... think," was the eventual response.

"That's good, then," Toru said gently. "I'm glad." Shadow took in another breath as slowly as he could manage and let it out, feeling Wave's presence fade from his mind in the process. "Can you think clearly?" Shadow nodded a little. It wasn't entirely true yet, but getting there. "Do you think you can stand?"

After a short delay, Shadow pulled away enough to give it a try. He was shaky and a little unsteady, but managed to remain upright on his own. Toru wrapped an arm around one of Shadow's just to make sure he was fully supported. "That's good. You're doing well." Despite his claims earlier in the day, Shadow almost immediately displayed a vampiric trait Akol had written about by clinging to Toru with his free arm. As the other man had said, after all, vampires were very physical in their affection. The chameleon didn't point it out, simply taking this as a chance to help more. "How are you feeling now?" In the end, Shadow just shrugged. Aside from the shakiness and being aware of how pale he felt, he really didn't know right now.

Toru hugged Shadow closer now that they were standing. "I'll make sure you're okay…"

Shadow leaned against him, taking silent comfort from the additional contact. It's safe, he reminded himself again. This is… safe.

"You will be okay. Me and you," Toru murmured, managing a soft smile.

"I… I know," Shadow soon got out, letting the words sink in and further banish his distress from him.

"Good," Toru replied. "You're doing really good."

No I'm not. That thought was destined to be ignored for the most part, and Shadow said something else entirely. "I want to go home," he mumbled. To some extent, he was distantly aware of the fact that he still needed to find and talk to Saethrim, but he really couldn't make himself pay attention to that thought. He just wanted to go home.

"Let's find Saethrim and have him meet us at the house," Toru said. "I'm sure he'll understand."

"I don't want to," was the weak refute. "I just want to leave."

"How about-"

Toru didn't get to finish his statement, distracted by a familiar figure appearing near them. Saethrim walked over and frowned. "Shadow, is everything okay?"

This sudden arrival damn-near made Shadow jump again like he had earlier, but somehow he managed to hold it back. He glanced quickly at Saethrim, then looked away again. His grip tightened on Toru's arm. "...Fine," he soon said.

"I'm taking you home," Saethrim replied, teleporting the three of them back to Shadow's house. Once there, much more of that feeling of safety Shadow had been growing more accustomed to lately came back into focus. He managed to relax significantly right away.

Their appearance and Shadow's obvious emotional state caused Seiko to teleport into the room immediately. The woman quickly scanned everything to make sure everyone was okay. "What in the world happened?" In a move completely out of his normal character, Shadow avoided looking at her and didn't answer, still subconsciously clinging to Toru's arm all the while with his ears low. His grip was tight, but was gradually loosening bit by tiny bit.

"We can explain, but it's a lot of info to take in," Toru replied. Shadow slowly unclenched one hand and managed to make himself let go of Toru's arm with it. However, he didn't turn any of that effort toward contributing toward the conversation just yet.

Saethrim stood up straighter with a frown. What got Shadow so upset…?

Toru let out a breath. "Black Doom was kidnapped and-"

"Repeat that," Saethrim demanded calmly, his eyes shifting in color. "And say it slowly."

The chameleon narrowed his own eyes, visibly concerned. "Black Doom was kidnapped. We were coming to tell you."

Saethrim took a long breath, one that Seiko immediately noticed had taken on a dangerous growl of sorts. "Who took him?" he demanded once more.

Finally, Shadow spoke up, though he kept his contribution brief in the beginning. "We don't know."

The da Asani blinked once slowly. "Was he taken suddenly?"

"Seemingly."

"Did you find any clues? Anything at all?" Saethrim asked, tightening his muscles.

"A foreign energy," Shadow said. "Ghune… somehow made the scents visible. It showed that Father was restrained near the core of the hive and then vanished."

Seiko straightened at the sight of Saethrim suddenly gaining fangs, but managed to relax when it became obvious that he wasn't behaving hostile in any way. Saethrim spoke, and kept his words short and simple. "I'm going to kill someone," he murmured, vanishing in an instant.

Saethrim returned to Calypso's home, walking directly up to her and wrapping an arm around her. "I'm going to be gone for a bit," he explained vaguely.

Naturally, she took note of his appearance in an instant. But she made no comment about that, merely returned his hug with both arms. "Alright. You be safe, yes? No unneeded risk, Saet'rim."

"I can't make that promise this time," Saethrim muttered gently. "Someone took Black Doom, and I'm going to make them pay." Calypso cringed at his words… but accepted them. She let out a heavy sigh and gave him a pained squeeze, then reluctantly let him go. He had important things to do, and she was prepared to let him leave to focus on them. Despite his current anger, and how he appeared, the man took a moment to lean down and kiss her on the forehead before vanishing again, already in search of Black Doom.

His first stop was the hive of the Black Arms, and he appeared right where Black Doom could most often be found. Ordinarily, his right-hand could be found in this area as well, and this proved true now. T'chalik was a fair distance away, but upon sensing Saethrim's arrival phased through the shadows to stand before the former god. He rumbled a vague greeting, but (perhaps wisely) kept that particular formality brief. "You heard what happened, then."

"Yeah. Tell me everything you know," Saethrim calmly demanded. "I'm on the hunt."

"Black Doom had visited Ghune briefly. When he returned, he came straight to this region. He was traveling toward the inner chambers when there was a surge of energy. Some was his and some, as I later learned, was not. Then all of his energy was abruptly cut off and he vanished." T'chalik said something in his native tongue before adding, "Ghune later revealed he was restrained just before vanishing, with his wrists yanked together behind his back."

Saethrim couldn't hold back a snarl at this. "Ghune knows?"

"Shadow came when he sensed trouble with the hive," T'chalik told him. "His mate arrived soon after when Shadow's anger nearly pushed him to an altered, vampiric state of mind. One of them called her here afterward."

"She will tear entire planets and civilizations apart over this," Saethrim bit out. "I need to find him first."

"There is one more thing," T'chalik said quickly before Saethrim could leave. "Just before you arrived, he attempted to contact me. However, something is blocking his innate connection to our hive. He only managed to say my name before the connection failed again. Still, I sensed that he was in considerable pain at the time."

"Only two people I know of would cause him that sort of pain," Saethrim murmured. "And one of them, I swear I will-" His words devolved into some colorfully hateful terms used between several different languages before he decided to explain. "This was likely due to Nareish's interference in people's lives as usual, and I'm about to prove my theory."

The alien nodded. "I will manage the hive in the meantime. They will not be allowed to rampage or otherwise get in your way."

"I'd put them back here, anyway. Nothing innocent of this crime will suffer my wrath," Saethrim replied. "Is that all you needed to say?"

"Yes."

"Good." Saethrim vanished and walked through the outer area of Nareish's realm, shoving aside anything that stood in his way. He had every intention of going directly to her to find out what happened. However, before he could get far, something forced its way into his mind. Not two seconds later, he was suddenly able to hear and feel what Black Doom was, despite this not being a power either had. They were both subjected to the pain of constant electrocution… and then the first transformation was forced and the true agony began.

Saethrim didn't halt for a second, the pain something he had learned about on his own eons ago. That didn't stop it from hurting, but he could handle it for now. "Nareish!" he roared, baring elongated fangs hatefully. In his head, he could hear the screeches and snarls Black Doom started letting out when the transformation was complete, a clear indication of the change in his mental state.

"Get your cowardly ass out here, you piece of shit!" Saethrim snapped, warping himself directly to the outermost edges of the part of her realms that he'd previously promised to never invade. Barriers shimmered to life in his way. No other response seemed to be given. He's here. On the ARK. I remember that place. "One day, I'll get my hands on you and those precious little pawns you control. I'll tear your insides out and feed them to wild dogs!"

Right about then, Black Doom's second forced transformation began. The descent into an animalistic state of being deepened and the screeches, snarls, and attempts to blindly lash out intensified. Saethrim was hit with these same instincts, and his fists slammed against the barriers with every bit of might he could muster. "You're pathetic, hiding behind stolen powers and doing nothing with them but playing your own sick, twisted fucking games!"

Very shortly after that, the electricity abruptly cut off. There was no more fresh pain, but more than enough of it lingered for Black Doom to continue lashing out and fighting violently against his restraints. He was apparently just left like that, being ignored or perhaps even no longer having anyone else in the room with him. Then the connection ended entirely. Saethrim took this reprieve as a chance to speak with a somewhat clear mind. "Mark my fucking words, bitch. If I get the chance, I will tear everything you've ever had apart. I know you can hear me. You like this sort of thing too much."

Saethrim had more to say, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder that none too gently pulled him away from the barriers. He would've lashed out had it not been someone he recognized, much less recognized so quickly. "Kial, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Get out," was the cool, collected demand that sent a faint shiver down Saethrim's spine.

You've never spoken like that. Saethrim frowned a little, but ultimately nodded and warped outside of Nareish's realm.

Kial soon teleported after him, grabbing one of his wrists and pulling him away. "Don't do that, ever," he murmured. "I'm mad, too, but going into that death trap is asking for her to take you as well."

"I-"

"I don't want an excuse," Kial said suddenly. "This isn't a game you can win. None of us can face Nareish alone, and if you die again that's going to break my heart. I can't do that, not again."

Kial's words cut into his ongoing rage and he averted his gaze. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Kial said, his tone suddenly softening a little. He wrapped his arms around his former teacher. "Please don't do something like this… Talk to people, make a plan. We have allies for a reason."

"Right…" Saethrim murmured, returning the hug. "How did you…?"

"I'm the God of Mythical Beasts, now," Kial reminded. "It didn't take me long to figure out. I'm just glad I arrived when I did."

Saethrim huffed a little. "No shit."

"We need to find… someone else. A vampire," Kial murmured.

"Ghune. Is she about to do something similar?"

"We're about to find out." Kial teleported them both after this was said, hoping that they could actually get to this woman before something happened.

~保護者~

15,151 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 2:50 p.m.) 12-28-21.