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".)

177. Divided

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this emotional reveal… especially for the one who feels conflicted.

~保護者~

"Divided"

~保護者~

Her home was in a bit of a panic now, with how tangible Ghune's fury had become. She was grabbing her weapons, various magic items, and readying herself physically for whatever she might be getting herself into. Ignoring the anger, she still had a surprising amount of control over herself, managing to remain tactical and ready.

That didn't mean she wasn't prepared to tear someone's limbs off and feed them to said individual. It simply meant that she was going to do it in a careful and methodical manner. All that was left was to collect her potions and she would be on the move. That was… until Ryint arrived.

The other woman had very little hesitation in grabbing Ghune by the arm and pulling her away from the alchemy station. "No, whatever the hell you're about to do, this is not how we're doing things."

"Get the fuck out of my way, Ryint," Ghune bit out, wrenching her arm free while taking care to not get her friend hurt. "Someone kidnapped Black Doom, and I have every intention of finding him."

"Yes, I get that, but this is not the way to do it," Ryint explained. "We're civilized. We can come up with a plan to save him, and then torture and maim the ones responsible. What's more important is making sure he's okay, but you're gearing up to fight any of the existing civilizations in your search."

Ghune narrowed her eyes. "I will repeat it only once. Get out of my way. I have work to do."

"I'm not letting you do this," Ryint murmured. "I don't care what you think you're doing. It's a bad idea."

As was the case with Saethrim many realms away, Ghune suddenly became aware of (and forced to experience) what Black Doom was hearing and feeling. And just like with Saethrim, it began with the sensation of endless streams of electricity running through his body, pain drowning out nearly all other sensory information in that moment.

Far from ready to bear this, Ghune crashed to her knees and screamed in pain, letting out a horrible shriek that rippled across her castle. The pain mixed with anger and she found herself unable to stave off her increasingly bloodthirsty desire for revenge. Electricity… Torture. That man… I'll eat him alive.

Ryint saw the change in Ghune's eyes and expression, and immediately reached out to Akol, hoping he would hear. Get your ass here, now! Her efforts now went into physically restraining the certainly more powerful woman to keep her from disappearing.

Far from being the argumentative type in regards to these two, the wolf was there in an instant. "Oh, you have got to be shitting me." He wasted time on no other words, encasing Ghune's limbs in all manner of restraint-based magics in an effort to keep her where she was and prevent any attempts at physically lashing out.

It was about that time when Black Doom was forced to transform. Just like Saethrim had, she experienced every second of the agony down to the tiniest sensation her old friend had been aware of. Once clear thoughts devolved into those of a mere beast within seconds. Screeches and snarls and shrieks echoed around him as he blindly thrashed about and tried to both free himself and harm his attacker.

Ryint suddenly let go of Ghune and tackled Akol to the ground as explosive magic tore through the air and floor all around Ghune in her desperate bid to escape. The more she endured and felt Black Doom's agony, the more she desired to free him. Whatever was holding her was in the way of that. Claws sprung forth from her nails and fur erupted from her skin as she tried to transform into a wolf. "Let me go!"

Akol pinned her again, using his magic to push her transformation back for everyone's safety, including hers. "I will not," he answered. "You are not leaving like this."

Ryint gritted her teeth. "Akol, how the hell did we manage this last time?"

"You think she was this enraged the last time?" he threw back at her. "I'm doing what I did the last time, but that does not mean it will be as effective."

"Fuck us in particular, I suppose," Ryint muttered, summoning up what magic she was capable of and adding to the bindings he'd formed. She doubted her aid would matter much in the long run, but it was all she had. Getting physically close to Ghune now was a death sentence.

The second forced transformation began. Black Doom only grew more beastial and agonized, and Ghune was forced to endure it all with him. Ghune's magic raged around her as she tried to free herself, her eyes shining through the mistiness of it all. The pain and change of mindset were overtaking her, and she wanted to feed. "Release me," she demanded through gritted teeth. But before anyone could say anything else, the pain suddenly stopped. Or, rather, she stopped being forced to be aware of it. She could still hear his screeches and other vocalizations, but the pain was over with for her.

Ryint felt the restraints she'd crafted completely undone in an instant, and something sapped her strength, causing her to collapse to the floor. "She's… blindly cursing… people..." the woman managed to spit out. Akol swore and his magic surged forth to protect Ryint from further harm. He then focused on cutting off Ghune's curses before they could affect anyone else in the castle. It was about then that all mental connection Ghune had been forced to have with Black Doom vanished.

Ghune's magic began focusing on freeing herself, and her gaze locked onto Akol. "You're in the way."

He intended to reply. He really did. However, he was cut off by a sudden pulse of foreign energy. It forcibly pushed back Ghune's wolf form, leaving her with her usual appearance and mindset. Then a voice echoed throughout the wrecked space. "My, you are angry."

Returning her to her normal state didn't change anything about how angry she was, but now she fully freed herself from Akol's restraints and bit back every swear she knew. "What the fuck do you want?"

"I'm merely here to deposit the trash with you, since you seem to be missing it so much," was the silky reply. "My companion has learned all he wanted in the last… oh, few hundred years that have passed aboard that vessel."

"I am going to destroy everything of yours," Ghune promised.

"Oh, do you not want it back, then?" the voice, undoubtedly Nareish, asked her. "I could just as easily feed it to one of my own pets, if you'd prefer."

"You're going to bring him back, or I will come take him."

"Very well. If you insist. You can find it out in your wilderness somewhere. Consider it a favor done for your sake that I did not drop it in your little city." She vanished after that, by a faint energy signature could be felt in the distance, the kind created by teleportation.

Ghune undid the curse on Ryint and any others affected, then turned to both her and Akol. "Stay here. I will repair the damages myself, and I alone will handle this."

"Understood," Akol groaned, kicking a piece of rubble away from where he was now sitting.

Ryint didn't get a chance to speak before Ghune vanished. Ryint sighed a little. "Dammit. Should we follow her?"

"One near-death experience with her a year is good enough for me," Akol sighed. "I'm not interested in telling her no twice."

"That… is fair," Ryint agreed, flopping back onto the floor and sighing when it cracked underneath her. Man, wish it didn't happen here.

Meanwhile, Ghune shot through the wilderness at a rapid pace, repelling any creature that was headed in the same direction. If anything got to him before her… No. I will be the first. The woman teleported the rest of the way, scanning the situation. A familiar, half-furious and half-pained screech emanating to her left was her first clue as to what was going on. She snapped her finger, creating a shockwave that emanated from the person she was seeking in order to force anything else away from his location. Already, she was heading in that direction.

By now, anger had fled to make way for deep-seated concern. It didn't take long for her to find who she was after. He was in the very same form she had last felt him transform into. Spilling blood everywhere, he paced with a severe limp in the area where he had landed. He was trapped within a massive semi-circular rock formation that curled almost like a bowl around him. Blocking the one easy exit (the only one that didn't involve clambering up the rocks) were a couple large trolls who had been much too brain dead to heed any warnings from Ghune. When one risked a movement forward, he let out a piercing scream at them and lunged. In an instant, he was lashing out violently with teeth and claws, sending the troll stumbling backward with a howl.

Ghune walked over and forced control over their minds, turning them away and giving them very direct orders to leave. What happened beyond that wasn't her concern right now. "Black Doom," she called out. Her voice did call some attention to herself, but that her words held no meaning to him was clear. He lowered his head defensively with a low snarl and backed away to where he'd been before, barbed tail lashing from side to side and claws digging deeply into the dirt. Much like how normal animals had fur that bristled, the needle-like spikes along his spine raised in a show of growing aggression.

Rather than take the risk and potentially instigate a fight with this version of who she'd basically just asked to be her boyfriend, the woman took a seat and held out a hand. "Come," she murmured gently. He snarled again, much louder this time, and resumed his agitated pacing. His limp grew more and more pronounced the longer he went on, but it didn't stop him from continuing. His left shoulder had a horrific, gaping wound on it, which was no doubt the cause of this particular issue and contributed to his inability to leave this space.

She waved her other hand around slightly, using the blood that had been dripping from him to temporarily close the wounds, never once lowering her first hand. This helped his condition to not further worsen much, but didn't fix his limp. "Come to me. You know me." A quieter but no less angry shriek answered her. The pacing never ceased. He was too weak to scale the rocks in order to leave that way, and after all that he had endured he was justifiably not keen on going near another living being for any reason right now. That meant that leaving by walking past her was out of the question.

Do not make me attempt to control you… Ghune thought grimly to herself. She decided to use her magic to lift him over the massive rocks before depositing him carefully in a safer spot nearby. He thrashed and fought the entire time he was suspended in the air, but calmed somewhat once he was set down. Still, he screeched at her and wasted no time in backing off further. Had he been well enough to flee, he likely would have.

"Please, come here. I can help." There was no guarantee that she could use hypnosis on him, nor was there a reason to have ever tried. She presumed that the Black Arms weren't an experimental race in that sort of way, either. Yet… she still needed to do something. Healing him posed the risk of him simply running, while other choices potentially enabled him to turn on her like he had with the troll. Fuck.

Ghune sat up straighter when she sensed two arrivals. One was Saethrim… and the other was the current God of Mythical Creatures. She immediately sent out a silent call for them, leading to them both showing up an instant later. She wasn't sure how, but they both seemed to understand the situation. Kial walked forward, kneeling some distance from Black Doom and connecting mentally as he had learned to do in ages long past with the creatures he ruled over. "Can you understand me?"

There were no clear, coherent thoughts to answer him. All that was there were survival instincts that were in complete overdrive, having been working constantly for who even knew how long to just keep him alive. Alongside those instincts were thoughts of pain, exhaustion, hunger, anger, and fear. All of this translated into hyper-aggression, potentially violent hostility that was being directed at anything that dared get too close. He'd been fighting for survival for a long time and would continue to do so, violently, as long as it took to leave this situation. Right now, in his head, there wasn't anything else.

"Focus your mind on calming him," Saethrim said, having expertly deduced all of this on his own. "That's where your effort has to be first. Right now he's a wild animal, and he's scared and in pain. Make him feel safe."

Kial let out a slow breath. "I can help you. You're hurting. I know someone hurt you, but we want just want you safe. I know you can hear me. All you have to do is come to me, and we can fix what that man did to you." After a time, there was… dim comprehension. A low, rumbling growl still erupted from Black Doom, but the spikes gradually laid back down to their ordinary horizontal positions. The tail-lashing slowed visibly. However, he still didn't approach. Instead, he took several more steps back.

Now that Kial had been given a moment to calm Black Doom somewhat, Saethrim approached, stopping a short distance away with a hand outstretched. "I know you're there, even in that animal head of yours." Agitated growls answered him, but something about the sound seemed... confused. Soon, it faded away and Black Doom finally fell silent. "I was there to help when Shadow was first taken from you, remember? I helped you save him. I've been there for you for so long, and all you've gotta do is realize who I am. You know me."

Seconds passed, then Black Doom let out several short clicking sounds. That was how Black Arms of this type communicated with one another when not shrieking and whatnot as they so, so often did. After making those sounds, he lowered his head defensively again before taking a few steps forward with obvious trepidation. Saethrim didn't move much more than shifting down onto one knee. "You recognize me now?" he asked after a moment. A couple uncertain clicking sounds answered him, following a short delay. Promisingly, that was coupled by another slow step afterward.

"Do you recognize the name Saethrim?" Kial questioned gently. Hearing that name evoked a flurry of additional clicks. It was hard to translate due to how jumbled and confused it all started off as, but the last few were clear. The name was familiar. It hit him as nothing less than that, but that was all he was really able to communicate back. "Saethrim is an old friend of yours," Kial revealed, trying both remind him and to keep using the only word that had managed to earn so much thought and response. "This man is Saethrim."

A single click answered Kial that time. But rather than keep walking, Black Doom sank into a laying down position. The aggression and hostility and other raging emotions bled away all at once, leaving him with nothing but the pain and exhaustion. He couldn't force himself to try to get back up and so just laid his head on his paws.

Before Kial or Saethrim could move, Ghune was by Black Doom's side, using her magic to investigate his wounds. There were many of them, both external and internal. Some were blunt force, electrical, or slicing in nature. Burns and stab wounds littered his body. Many bones were badly broken, too. Ligaments were torn, muscles horrifically shredded, and internal organs battered and bleeding. The list went on and on. It was truly no wonder why he was as weak as he was right now.

"I don't have the magic necessary for this," Ghune bit out, bothered to no end by how useless she currently felt. "One of you, bring someone here."

Saethrim thought for a moment before making what was probably his second biggest mistake today. He warped himself to Ylden's realm and grabbed the cat. Ignoring the protests, he warped them back to the same spot he'd been at less than ten seconds ago. Ylden separated himself and looked around. "What the fuck?" This new arrival caused Black Doom's hackles to raise again, but aside from that and a low growl, he didn't react much overall. Ylden started to clue in. "Nevermind, I get it… kinda." He got down and inspected Black Doom before nodding a little and pursing his lips. "First off, fuck all of you. Second, you're lucky I know how to do this."

Kial certainly considered himself lucky as he watched Ylden set to work on using his Darkness to heal Black Doom's wounds. It briefly occurred to him that someone like Rose, whose vastly more common form of healing was done with Light, certainly would have made things even worse. It made sense to use Darkness in its place this time. He paid attention and "watched" as some of the injuries were beginning to be healed. Then he glanced at Saethrim. "We need to take him back to his home as soon as he's ready."

"I will handle that," Ghune murmured. "I will ensure he is watched over as well. I thank you for your aid."

Saethrim sighed a little. This isn't negotiable, clearly… "Fine. Keep me updated."

Ghune simply nodded, waiting tensely for Ylden to finish this. Hurry the fuck up…

"Shut up," Ylden muttered. "I know we're not friends, but at the very least you can do your best to not rush me."

"I said nothing," Ghune murmured.

"You don't have to."

It was for the best that, before too much more time passed, most of the injuries were healed and the rest were at least mostly so. Luckily, though, Black Doom didn't attempt to bolt, nor did he show any signs of renewed violence. He just looked… exhausted to the bone, and like he had mentally checked out again at some point in the last couple of minutes. Without waiting for anyone else to give a cue, Ghune scooped him up and teleported to the hive, intent on getting him to somewhere where he could rest.

The sudden motion caused him to reflexively dig his claws in and start to attack with his tail, but by some miracle he caught himself before he could stab her with the toxic barb. Still, he growled and clicked out his displeasure with the situation, though the former sound was too weak and tired by now to be anywhere near as threatening as it had been earlier. He was almost limp in her arms after that, unable to conjure up the needed energy to do anything else. Around them, similar creatures peered out from burrows and dens to watch what was going on, some even clicking in reply to him. They went unanswered.

Ghune ignored it all, not worried about what might happen to her as a result. She would live. "T'chalik," she called out. "Come to me." The being in question appeared before her from the darkness just as he had done with Saethrim earlier in the day. Seeing what or rather who she was carrying, he visibly straightened. However, he made the wise call of letting her say her piece before wasting her time with his own words. "I will send a message to you regarding what he has suffered through. Take him to his chambers and make sure he is given time to rest. Prevent him from leaving until he has regained control of himself."

T'chalik inclined his head. "He cannot phase in that form. Without someone there to assist, he will not be able to leave the chambers on his own while like this. The entryway you were familiar with has long since been sealed off in its entirety."

"Good. Ensure he rests," Ghune replied, holding Black Doom out to T'chalik. His large, muscled arms came very in handy there, as he was able to easily take on the bloody load without any struggles. As luck would have it, Black Doom much more readily recognized the other Black Arms and didn't react badly to this transfer. If anything, he just seemed to edge rapidly toward unconsciousness. His exhaustion, physical and otherwise, was catching up to him more and more with each passing second. Already, his eyes were mostly closed.

The woman watched, regretting instantly having handed Black Doom over like this… but ultimately unwilling to change her course. Her intention to leave was rather clear, but she was interrupted. "Visit," T'chalik told her, returning somewhat to his normally clipped form of speech. "As often as you can. The more he sees you, the more he will recognize you in this form in the future."

"As if that was not the plan," Ghune murmured, unwilling to look at the two. "I will be here again soon."

"Good." T'chalik turned and began walking away to do as he had been instructed.

Ghune teleported home, waving a hand and undoing the damage she had caused. Her gaze fell on Akol, a rarely seen exhausted and pained expression on her face. "Go. I… don't want to speak to anyone." Her tone lacked all of the authority it normally held, as she was too tired to make it present.

"Very well," he sighed, standing up off the floor finally. "I will be in my house, for once, if you decide you have need of me." He left after that rather than make her suffer his company any longer.

"Ghune, please-" Ryint murmured, getting cut off by a flash of magic that covered her mouth.

"Leave. Go to Mobius. Train Shadow in my stead," Ghune said quietly. "I trust you to do this."

A sigh escaped Ryint and she teleported away, more than disappointed. Seeing a friend in such a state and not being able to do anything about it hurt more than she was able to describe. Seeing Ghune in such a state to begin with made it worse.

~保護者~

Saethrim wasn't a fool. He could sense the anger rolling off of Kial in waves. His student usually had such control over himself that anything negative barely broke the surface… and now he was certainly furious. Kial chose not to speak as they walked, subconsciously tightening his hands into fists, then relaxing them slowly. Over and over he did it to focus, letting out a breath in time to steady himself into a rhythm.

"So, what's on your mind specifically?" Saethrim asked, crossing his arms a little.

"I'm not okay," Kial muttered. "I can't focus. I haven't felt like this in a long time. It's happened since you died, but I didn't understand it. Now I do."

Saethrim glanced away. "You can sense when they're in trouble."

"And I didn't know to help the others," Kial answered. "Some of the other mythical creatures that perished in the past are likely dead because of my failure."

"It's not your fault." Saethrim sighed when he realized Kial did not believe him. "Look, I left you without finishing your training. You couldn't have known-"

Saethrim flinched a little at Kial's sudden shift in emotions. "I failed them, Saethrim. Me. I could have sought out the other Gods and Goddesses, or anyone else who could help me. Literally anyone, but I thought I understood. Because of me, there are people and creatures that should have never been in the trouble they were in who are now dead."

"Kial…" Saethrim took off his blindfold and looked to Kial, eyes widening when he saw that the bobcat was crying. Kid… I'm so sorry. He didn't know what else to do other than to wrap his student in a hug. "It's okay."

The bobcat held onto his teacher tightly, gritting his teeth. "I don't want to put more people in danger… You should be the God of Mythical Beasts again. I'm not ready… I don't think I ever will be."

"...What?" Saethrim asked after a moment. "Kial, I chose you for a reason. You have every quality, every-"

"I can be as qualified as anyone could want, but I don't want to be this anymore…" Kial replied quietly. "I don't want my inexperience to be putting people in danger."

"We can talk about this another time," Saethrim said. "Let's focus on something else. Black Doom-"

"He was tortured, for a long time. I can feel it," Kial explained in a murmur. "I don't know how long or what exactly happened, but he's suffered."

Saethrim sighed softly. "I know. There was electricity involved, without a doubt."

Kial fell quiet for a long moment. "Neither of you acted like he was an animal," he noted, "even though he looked like one."

"Because he isn't," Saethrim said. "At least, not exactly. He's more than an animal, even if in some ways he technically is one. He's got bestial tendencies and instincts, but all of the intelligence and reasoning to interact and socialize as a person."

"I'm aware," Kial murmured. "You treated him like a friend."

Saethrim blinked a few times before smiling a bit. "Yeah. He's a friend of mine, I suppose. He may not admit it, but he trusted me way back then. I helped him save his kid."

The bobcat was unsure how to comment. He didn't find that there were really any words to say, so Kial didn't try to come up with any. "Ghune did the same," he reminded instead. "Treating him like a friend, that is."

"If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say there's a chance that they're closer than they appear. They're both quiet about the relationships they have, whether with friendships and acquaintances or even deeper bonds like love. They both have few bonds overall, but they watch over the ones that fall into those groups."

"Which explains why her magic was running rampant, and why I could smell it from her castle all the way in the middle of the wilderness," Kial replied. "She may have sensed what happened. I don't know why she would have reacted like that in her own home, though."

"There's no telling," Saethrim murmured. "It's possible that she was forced to experience what I did."

"If that's the case, she was likely trying to go and do exactly what you did."

"I hope not."

"It's probably true."

Saethrim shrugged a little at this, choosing not to comment further. It wasn't something he could really be sure of. "Regardless… Look, I can tell you're not feeling like yourself. Go find Rose and sit down with her for a bit, okay?"

Kial didn't reply to this. Instead he slipped away from Saethrim, letting go of the hug and walking away. The lack of reply was… painful, to say the least, but he didn't want to make things worse. It didn't help that the scent of Kial's tears were causing his own eyes to tear up. Saethrim warped to the hive of the Black Arms, then teleported himself directly to T'chalik. "What's happened so far?"

The large Black Arms turned away from the spawn he had been herding toward a den and regarded Saethrim for a second. "Wait," he soon said, returning his attention to the spawn at his feet. He finished rounding them all up and got them contained, then walked back over to Saethrim. "Little has happened," he reported. "He slept for a very short time, but has been awake otherwise. We provided him with food. It has not been touched. He has been pacing a lot and occasionally sniffing at things in his chambers. At times his belongings seem familiar to him, but most often they do not. His mind has slipped far compared to most other times."

"I'll handle that much. How has he reacted to others? Does he seem to understand that members of his own race are of no threat to him?" Saethrim questioned, tying his blindfold around his neck for safekeeping. "It's really important to know that before I get in there."

"His connection to the hive seems restored," T'chalik answered. "He recognized me almost the moment Ghune brought him here, and he has recognized the few others who have so far approached him. However, he is behaving defensively - albeit without aggression - toward most and not actively communicating beyond a scant few clicks here and there."

"Good. He's not registering threats, which is something I can work with." Saethrim let out a sigh before shrugging. "Am I good to go in?"

"Do as you please. You are among the only beings who needs no permission." T'chalik began turning away. "I have a den to guard. I will be here if you require me."

Saethrim vanished into Black Doom's chambers, leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed. This is gonna fucking suck, getting him back to the state he was in before this… Across the room, Black Doom was laying on the ground in the same form as before. The food T'chalik had mentioned, a fresh kill of some kind, had been dragged into a corner. He was laying in front of it as though guarding it from being stolen away. Right now, though, he wasn't doing much guarding. Just sleeping, albeit uneasily. Rather than wait, Saethrim walked over to Black Doom and took a seat, letting out yet another sigh. He really hurt you… Did he starve you, too?

The sound of his approach didn't earn too much reaction, but him sitting down soon did. Bright yellow eyes opened and shifted to look at him, but that was all that happened. There were no growls or shrieks this time, and Black Doom's claws stayed sheathed. His tail was still and calm as well. It seemed he recognized Saethrim this time. "So, let's start here. Can you understand what I'm saying?" Saethrim asked gently, watching Black Doom with quiet eyes.

There was a long, long silence. Just when it seemed like no response would come, he got one. It was a single click, a very simple acknowledgement, and nothing more. "Good. You're tired, yeah?" Another long delay, then another click. "If you eat, you'll be able to get more of your energy back, you know. You're safe here with the rest of the Black Arms and me."

Yellow eyes shifted to look at the food for a second, then Black Doom just turned his head away from it. He made no move to heed Saethrim's advice right now. Saethrim sighed again. "Look, I need you to try. I'm here to help you through this, and there's only so much I can do on my own." It took a bit, but eventually his companion gave in. Stubbornness failed under the weight of exhaustion, so Black Doom shifted toward the meat again. He pulled a small chunk off and worked on carefully eating it, going slow so as to not make himself sick.

Saethrim smiled slightly at this small show of logical reasoning. It was a good sign. "Glad to see you still listen to me a little. I was beginning to worry that you'd gone back to telling me to 'piss off'... in the way only you could." Black Doom's thin tail moved enough to lightly whip Saethrim's ankle without getting the barb too close to skin. It seemed like some sort of a reprimand, but the moment died as quickly as it began. A chuckle sounded from the da Asani, then he sighed once more. "You remember that time I drug Finis here because I was so excited that you'd gotten around to speaking fully and using that to communicate? After spending all that time teaching you how to talk, I was ecstatic."

His question earned a look and another silence. As with the two times before, he was eventually answered with a click. Saethrim managed a soft laugh. "I even remember trying to drag you out to meet Ghune the first time. You practically shoved me off the planet, then Ghune did the same thing. You guys basically seemed to play a game with it, without ever knowing the other was doing it."

A low rumble was the reply he got this time, though what it was meant to communicate was unclear. Saethrim decided to stop reminiscing for now and settled back against the wall. "I'm glad you still know who I am and all that. It would've been really hard to lose you."

Something about what Saethrim just said seemed to catch Black Doom's attention. Suddenly, he was up and pacing, as though agitated by something. When he finally made an effort to communicate what, he clicked out the equivalent to a single word. Lose.

Saethrim stood up when he noticed this. "Lose…? Did… you lose something?"

Black Doom kept pacing, clicking some more as he did so. Not everything he said was entirely decipherable as he tried to recall the words, but some things were understandable enough. Stole. Thief. Mine. Lose.

It was only then that Saethrim glanced around the room and straightened. "Your things… The chain and necklaces. …Your scarf? Who- Was it Nareish?" That name earned an immediate snarl and the spikes along Black Doom's spine bristled up defensively. Saethrim warped away, scanning all around the hive, then in space around it all in search of the aforementioned objects. No, I can't let these vanish somewhere.

When he found nothing, he took the risk of warping himself back into Nareish's realm, gritting his teeth. His teeth turned to fangs and he exerted his presence over everything around him, using the aura of this vampiric form to his advantage. It gave him the free reign to search, sniffing the air until he realized the direction he had to go. He followed the scent for some time until he saw the source, warping directly to the objects. They'd simply been… discarded. Among them was some device that was certainly vampiric in creation. He knew it was from Ghune, but wasn't sure what it was… not that it mattered. He soon warped back to Black Doom's chambers and went straight to the creature, presenting the scarf first.

This item was recognized in an instant. It had come into existence with Black Doom, much how other beings had come into existence with possessions of their own as well. Strong attachments to those items were also very common, and that attachment was certainly present in this case. He was quick (though careful) to take it between his teeth and pull it out of Saethrim's hands. It was then carried across the room and laid down on top of the bed-like pile of pelts and furs that had long ago been put together for Shadow's sake. The scarf was safe enough there, so it was left for now.

Saethrim set the necklaces and chains down elsewhere for him, knowing full well it would be better not to try and put them on his companion right now. "This thing… it's from Ghune, right?" he asked, holding up the device he'd found with all of Black Doom's other belongings. Black Doom looked over, eyes on the object in question, but didn't answer - and perhaps didn't know how to. He appeared unsure to some extent, confused even. Saethrim nodded a little and set it down with everything else. "Alright, fair enough. She's a complex woman as it is. Nobody knows how complex this thing might be, but it'll be child's play for her."

No reply was given still. Black Doom approached the device and lowered his head to sniff, even going so far as to paw at it several times in the process. This act of curiosity didn't last long, though, and soon he was moving away to lay back down again. Saethrim watched, frowning in thought. "I wish I'd been there. I know there wasn't much I could do, but I would have liked to have helped."

Black Doom laid his head on his paws, only to soon lift it again and click out a few times, Stop. Stop. Stop.

Saethrim understood what he was trying to tell him, falling silent for a moment. "Sorry," he eventually murmured. "It just hurts to know what happened."

Acknowledgement came in the form of a short click once more, then Black Doom forced himself to his feet again. Visibly agitated for the second time, he moved across the room to a far wall, which he braced himself on with his front paws so as to reach higher. He knocked something out of a nook in the stone, then got down. Using a paw, he batted the small item toward Saethrim, clicking rapidly as he did so. Whatever the object was, it had been carved out of bone and looked rather like a simple figurine. Something for a child, really. A toy. Hurt, he clicked out a second later. Hurt.

It took the da Asani a moment to realize exactly what was being asked of him. He picked up the carving with a frown. "Shadow's fine right now…" he soon said. "Just really concerned about you." That seemed to be the answer Black Doom was looking for. His agitation eased again and he returned to where he'd been laying down before. Saethrim watched this before setting the figurine back where it was previously. "Would you be okay with me sticking around for a bit?" Black Doom laid his head back down on his paws, offering no form of refusal.

With that apparent agreement, Saethrim leaned back against a wall and closed his eyes. He needed some rest, too… and he wanted to be here in case something went wrong with Black Doom. God or not, as a friend... he had a duty to fulfill.

~保護者~

Shortly after Armaris returned to the house, Espio left the tree he had been dozing in near that side of the village's edge. That edge was less than twenty feet away, marking his home as the last one before the wilderness was considered to begin in that direction. As such, he was on his guard for a moment or two just to be safe.

It wasn't destined to last. As soon as he was up the tree his house was built in and walking into his house, he was relaxed again. He teleported the fruit into the food compartment in the wall to keep it hidden for now and crossed the room to sit at the table. There was a bowl of peanuts left out. While he did technically have bigger priorities, he couldn't quite resist having a few little treats first.

As she was prone to doing, Armaris popped up beside him with a smile. She had a bandaged cut near her collarbone, but it was obvious that it didn't bother her. "Whatcha doin', hun?" she asked, tilting her head at him.

"Eating," was the simple reply. He was tempted to flick a peanut at her, but decided against any in such a manner.

She seemed pleased and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder. "I noticed you left for a little bit."

"I had something to do," he admitted, accepting her touch with only a vague amount of very, very brief tension. That tension was a reflex that died down in no time at all. "It would have been somewhat difficult to bring you with, so I went while you were busy."

"While I was sparring with Cere?" she asked, blinking as she shifted a little. "Oh! I did way better than usual. I couldn't break through her magic, but I managed to catch her shoulder with my sword!"

"Impressive," he murmured. "You did well to land a blow of any kind on someone of her caliber."

"Yeah," Armaris said with a bright smile. "I caught her off guard for once! She was so proud of me."

"As she should be," was the quiet response.

The cat was visibly pleased before asking, "Am I being too energetic? If I need to, I can calm down a little."

"You are fine," Espio told her before eating another peanut. Only now did he give into the childish urge to flick one at her.

Rather than use her Darkness, Armaris snapped her hand up and snatched it out of the air, sticking it in her mouth. "I know I'm fine, you didn't have to tell me, but I appreciate the compliment." she winked, then giggled a little.

Amber eyes indulged in a roll as he lightly accused, "Peanut thief. You were not meant to eat that."

Her tongue stuck out slowly and revealed the peanut still sitting in her mouth. "Haven't eaten it yet." She pulled it back in and bit into it, smiling easily.

Espio rolled his eyes again. "Thief," he reiterated. Then he changed the subject. "You remember the various stories you were told about our culture when you were younger, from what I have seen. Did you ever hear one about a fruit?"

"I… heard about it? Something to do with some special fruits, yeah. Can't really recall what was important about it," Armaris said, tilting her head. "Why?"

"It is a fruit from Zyr," Espio said, turning to face her. "It is not also called the Garden of Darkness for no reason. Many plants grow there. My people used many for food, as we do with the plants here. These fruits do not have negative traits themselves, however, despite where they come from. For various reasons, we view them as special. Seeds from them survived our migration here and managed to take root, but only just. They are highly valued and commonly given as gifts to a future mate."

Armaris blinked several times. "That's a really cool tradition."

Stifling some nerves that decided to try and show themselves, Espio teleported the fruit into his hand. Still, he couldn't quite make himself look at her face as he held it out to her. "This is the fruit in that story," he told her quietly.

The cat watched him with visible confusion for several seconds before her eyes widened. "D-do… you really… mean it?" she asked slowly and deliberately, tears welling up in her eyes.

He didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes."

Armaris couldn't exactly contain her excitement, but she managed control over herself as she wrapped her arms around him. She didn't try quite yet to touch the fruit, simply clinging to him. "Thank you…" He accepted the hug without any complaints. She remained there for a bit before pulling back and asking, "Is this… really the direction you want to go with me?"

Espio nodded slowly. "Armaris… I would not try so hard for you if this was not something I wanted."

The cat reached out and grabbed the fruit, gently taking it from him. It was rare she ever bothered to eat fruits or vegetables. "So, I do eat it, right?"

"It would be rather pointless if the fruit was not meant to be enjoyed," he remarked casually.

Armaris shrugged. "Just had to check." The cat bit into the fruit after a moment, chewing curiously. Holy fuck- Seeing this reaction, Espio felt a small flood of amusement. The fruit was better than anything she had tried before on any planet, and it didn't take long for her to keep going at it. Soon, the fruit was finished, and Armaris all but tackled Espio into a hug, giggling happily. "You're really sweet, you know that?" He huffed at her and hugged her back quietly. "How about we make good on that little statement you made earlier?"

He… wasn't following. "What do you mean?" he asked.

The cat grinned mischievously. "I'm asking to have sex, doofus."

Amber eyes rolled. "Are you certain you are not a chameleon?" he half-teased her. He then ate another peanut purely because he could.

"Nah, I just have all of the drive and more of the emotions," Armaris replied.

Espio flicked another peanut at her, aiming for her forehead. "You are full of yourself," he informed her lightly.

Armaris caught the peanut again, smiling a little. "It's all me, baby."

"Why do you insist on calling me that?" Espio asked, standing up. He took just one more peanut before making himself stop.

The cat blinked once. "...What? Does it bother you?" she asked, frowning a little.

"No. It is just a strange thing to call someone." Espio paused, thought that over, then elaborated for her benefit. "It is only strange to my people, I suppose. We do not use such names for one another. It is not something I ever heard of anyone doing before venturing out of the region for the first time."

"Oh!" Armaris smiled a little. "Outside of the Highlands, it's called something like a… 'pet' name. Something cute and endearing to call someone. If you're ever bothered by anything I say, just say so."

"Alright," he agreed easily enough. But that he wasn't, in fact, bothered right now was rather clear.

"By the way," Armaris said, smiling a little, "I realized just how much you liked it when we polymorphed last time. Did that spark something in you?"

For the second time today, Espio felt a flush of embarrassment. "No," he was quick to insist, decidedly not intent on giving her the answer she wanted.

"You do know that I like being a guy, right?" Armaris asked, waggling her eyebrows. "If you enjoyed it too, we can do that again." His stubbornness didn't let him just admit to it even as he turned and led the way into the bedroom. She grinned a little and morphed her body as she walked to follow him, chuckling. Figured you would want to.

~保護者~

The first thing the Aether sensed was Cyril's mood. It was hardly anything as bright as how he usually was… so it grew concerned. "Wave, can you feel it?"

"A sad Cyril is not a Cyril I have much experience with," Wave warned quietly. "Be extra gentle with him. I have no idea what's going on or how sensitive he might be."

"Yeah," it answered slowly. "I will."

Wave teleported them closer to the finch, then quietly walked up to him. Once he came into view, she called out in a soft voice, "Hey… Cyril? Is everything okay?"

Upon hearing and sensing Wave, Cyril's emotions calmed significantly, and he looked up to her with a smile. His body was unusually… slack, but he was doing his best to wear his happiness. "Honestly… yes and no."

She moved to sit by him. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I'm not gonna lie, there's not much to talk about," Cyril said. "Eila said she… wanted to take a bit of a break from our relationship. She's worried that we only got together because of her depression when we met."

Damn. No wonder he's upset. "How are you holding up?" Wave asked him.

"The worst of the pain is just… being so concerned about her," Cyril replied. "I mean… she's obviously hurting. I want to respect her wishes, but it's… hard." The finch let out a sigh, casting his gaze to the ground for a moment. "I really wish I could help her more."

"Separating is hard," Wave agreed. "Before our big break up ages ago, Jet and I separated for a while, too. It hurt, so I get what you're going through. The only advice I can really give you, though, is just… keep being her friend, you know? If she's okay with that. She may need that."

"I told her that," Cyril said. "But she got really quiet after a bit."

The Aether piped up. "Maybe… she didn't know what to say? She's super smart, but we all know by now she's not super good at social interactions."

Wave straightened. "Oh, right- Uh, Cyril, this is my new friend the Aether. Aether, you kinda know already, but this is Cyril."

Cyril seemed to break free of his emotions temporarily, looking over at the Aether. How he hadn't noticed, he wasn't sure, but its very being was radiating all over the area around them. "Heya. Sorry for somehow not picking up that you're there."

The Aether chuckled a little. "It's fine."

"But, anyway," Wave said, "I do think that maybe the Aether is right. I've talked with Eila a bit on my own here and there, believe it or not. And no, we didn't have any issues, before you start worrying. Like the Aether said, though, social stuff isn't easy for her from what I could tell. Like… you've met Jet briefly a couple times and saw how he is. It's not entirely different from his struggles, just sans the autism component for her."

That thought left him speechless for a moment. It was true… but he'd always been able to overlook it. He was the talkative one, and he led their conversations. "You… yeah. That sounds about right."

"Just think on it, okay? But for your sake, I'm changing the subject now." Wave gestured to her companion and revealed, "There's something kinda cool about the Aether I've been wanting to tell you. Its energy isn't magic, but in a lot of ways it's crazy similar in how it does what it does. I've never encountered anything else like it, ever."

Cyril's eyes locked onto the Aether again, and he nodded a little. "Honestly, you're entirely right. I can see the similarity."

The Aether tilted its head, leaning a little closer. "You're… the God of Magic?" Wave smiled encouragingly to Cyril, hoping he would indulge in his curious nature as he often did. The distraction could do him so good, at least for the short-term.

The finch didn't even notice Wave, smiling to the Aether. "Mhm! I recently found out… Er, became… …I don't know how this works, " Cyril admitted, laughing. "But, yeah. I can see your energy and how similar it is to magic. It even flows similarly."

"He's getting better and better with it all the time," Wave told the Aether with a grin. "He actually started off with a deck of cards and one kind of magic not all that long ago, and now look at him! He might even be able to beat up a teddy bear now."

The Aether tilted its head. "He's comparable to… Ylden-" It finally caught onto the fact that this was a joke, and it laughed nervously. "Oh, oops. Didn't mean to ruin the joke, there." Wave just snorted before giving in and letting out a proper laugh.

Cyril thought for a moment before nodding a little. "Actually… it's crazy to think about how suddenly I started growing. I plateaued for so long, and all of a sudden I'm called a God, and I'm being given all this respect and friendship from people who've been alive for like, twenty of my lifetimes, and then I just… have to realize that it's normal, in a way."

"You were literally born this way, Cyril," Wave smiled. "You know those ancient stories about crazy powerful people coming into existence and bringing into existence with them these equally crazy powerful roles only they can fill? That's you, dude, here and now. You definitely hit a stopping block for a long time, but maybe that's just because there wasn't a reason for you to push yourself to grow more back then. And now there is."

"It's still weird!" Cyril exclaimed, laughing. "I may have been born like that, but who in their right mind would think that they're a God? And now, here I am, fighting in a war alongside my best friends and working to protect everything I've ever cared for."

"You mean the great and mighty Cyril was caught by surprise? Why, I hardly dare to believe it!" Wave couldn't say this with a straight face and was soon laughing again.

Cyril found himself laughing as well, but it soon died away for something a touch more serious. "I find it weird how… in tune with things I am suddenly. A bit ago I sensed this huge surge of magic really far away. I feel things like it every now and then from different people, and I… don't know what to think of it."

"Did you?" Wave asked, eyebrows raising. "I felt something like that, too, but I was much farther away from the source than this. I was kind of like when a sound is so quiet that you're aware of hearing it, but at the same time you really just aren't. I had to focus on it like crazy to confirm I was really sensing it at all."

"I… didn't have to focus," Cyril revealed. "Not a lot. I can even name the type of magic. Unless I'm mistaken, it was something called 'Destruction Magic'. It's not normal, either. I think only certain kinds of beings can use it."

"Darker beings," Wave nodded. "Not evil though, mind you. Just… Like, think 'goblin', but obviously we're dealing with something much stronger here."

"Vampires?" the Aether eventually asked.

Wave gaped for a moment. "Actually… yeah. Jet ran into some in the past, so we kinda know that they're around and such. They're ridiculously strong with their magic. It's just kind of their thing. And Destruction Magic is definitely something stronger-than-average vampires sometimes have access to."

Cyril blinked. "Maybe I should visit them and learn a little. If they're really so good with magic and they're not evil, I might be able to-" The man gasped. "Oh my gosh, I just remembered that I literally met one!"

"You- You met one?" Wave asked, stunned. "When? How?"

"Uh, like, earlier today?" Cyril said, blinking. "I sensed someone use magic and went to make sure we weren't in any danger. His face was a wolf, though. I found that kinda confusing."

"Cyril, you're awesome," Wave told him, laughing all over again. "Vampires can be any species, dude. You could even be one if you got yourself turned, though it'd be weird as all hell."

"Wait, really? I don't want to become a vampire, but that's… neat." Cyril thought this through before asking, "I should totally try to learn about them, right?"

"You won't be unless one bites you with the intent of turning you," Wave assured him. "And even then, they have to successfully bite you two or three times within a set amount of time for it to work. It's not just a one and done thing. But, yes, it might be a good idea, especially if your new friend is willing to teach you."

Cyril suddenly thought about something, looking to Wave more fully. "I know I have my magic, the cards, and then the God magic… whatever it's called, but is it possible to learn more magics and actually use them?"

"Since that's your whole role, yep," Wave told him brightly. "Isn't that right, Aether?"

The Aether nodded a little. "I don't know what limits you might have, but you definitely can. Though… I don't know if you'll personally enjoy some of the magics vampires use."

"I'd have to agree with that. Vampires are dark beings, like we mentioned earlier. There are abilities, magical and otherwise, you may want to avoid ever using, but learning about them is probably still good so you can defend yourself if need be." Wave nudged Cyril a little with her elbow. "But I won't lecture you anymore than that. You can be silly and a little scattered sometimes, but you're smart. I trust you to take care of yourself."

The finch smiled to them both, before another thought came to mind. "One more thing I've noticed. It seems like my 'God' magic has some sort of weird thing to it where it has a lot of different properties. Like, when I'm protecting myself, it might not be the same color as when I attack."

"That's really interesting," Wave agreed. "There's no telling what else you might discover about it as you work with it more, honestly. …Oh, and by the way, that magic is inherently yours. You get what that means, right? No one else has a name for it because it's only yours, meaning you get to name the thing."

He sat in silence with this information, blinking. All of a sudden, he gasped. "That's awesome!"

Knew that would cheer him up again. "Yep, it is," Wave said. "Just don't go nuts with it, alright? Everybody who gets to know you is gonna have to deal with whatever you pick."

"I gotta think really hard on that. I might ask some people for ideas. I'd hate to make it crazy," he chuckled.

"No you wouldn't," Wave argued lightheartedly.

"You're right," Cyril admitted after a moment.

The Aether nudged up against Wave a little, smiling. "It worked better than I thought."

Blue eyes glanced over. "Hm?"

Cyril looked over and blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, you're super excited to name your magic!" the Aether said brightly.

"Oh, of course," Cyril replied. "That's such a cool thing." Wave made her agreement known with yet another smile.

"We should probably get moving, though," the Aether said after a moment.

That evoked a sigh from its companion. "True," Wave sighed. "There's way too much to do, as usual."

Cyril suddenly reached over and wrapped an arm around Wave's shoulders. "I appreciate you, both of you. Thanks for talking to me."

"'Course," Wave murmured, hugging him back in a similar manner. "Can't just ignore you, now can I? You're too precious to abandon, you great big lug."

"Thanks," Cyril said, chuckling. "Now, get going. You're still super important to us all."

"Eh, maybe a bit too much so, these days." Wave tossed him a smile, gave his shoulders a squeeze, and then teleported away with the Aether in tow.

The Aether let out a sigh once they were away. "I'm glad you didn't tell him about Kath."

"I wanted to, but…" Wave sighed as well, her happiness all but draining out of her. "I don't know if he can bear that right now. But at the same time, it doesn't feel right to keep it a secret from him like this."

"Right here and now… it's better not to." The Aether leaned its head against hers. "If he wasn't so upset already, I would've helped you talk him through it."

"I appreciate that," Wave murmured. "And… yeah. You're probably right." She rubbed a hand over her face. "Speaking of Kath… I want to go check on him and the others. Things have probably calmed down by now, so we can probably visit without getting in the way of any doctors."

"Maybe… I can try to help him, too," the Aether added. "It would be good to at least try."

"That sounds good. If we can do anything at all, we should. It's for the best, I think." Wave reached a hand up and rubbed it over the top of the Aether's head in an affectionate way. "C'mon. Let's see what we can do."

"Let's do it," the Aether agreed, teleporting them both to Babylon. They had to try.

~保護者~

Whatever rest Sein might have been getting was interrupted. Nareish forcibly woke him, but just as forcefully kept his aura calm by outward appearances, his body still, and his eyes closed so that others would assume he was asleep. "Our time together is nearing its end, pet. As fun as this has been, I cannot keep you much longer than this. Before you are taken from me, however, I have one last series of commands for you to follow."

"They will no doubt ask you questions. You are free now to answer those questions, to tell them how much you enjoy working for me and how much pleasure you got from defeating Kath for me. My praise made you feel elated. My disapproval hurt you to your core. You are loyal to me before anything else, even before your love of your friends and family. You feel no remorse, regret, or sadness over what you have done. You are proud of having served me so well. These are things you and I both know, and because it will hurt them so much to hear… everyone else will know as well. Lastly, you are to refuse any help from the Faein in any form, should they arrive."

Her orders given, Nareish's tone softened into that of someone smiling widely. "Tell me, Sein… does it sadden you to know that you will not be permitted to serve me longer?"

"Yeah," Sein thought, frowning vaguely. Serving her was all he wanted. What was he supposed to do without that?

"Good. This is something you should miss. It is so much fun being 'evil'." There was a laugh only he could hear. "This was fun as well, while it lasted. For the last time, I will say this, Sein: you did well."

"Thank you," Sein replied, feeling another rush of positive emotions. "I appreciate your words."

"Good. Farewell, then, pet."

She left his mind just in time for reality to violently ripple. Within an instant, an unmistakable heavenly blue aura roared into life around Sein. It snatched him out of his bed and all but dragged him into his own realm, where he was then deposited and held down. The mental connection Nareish had established with Sein due to his corruption was forcefully ripped away. She could no longer pass on any orders to him that way.

"What the fuck? Jet?" Sein called out, knowing full well what that color of aura meant.

But this wasn't the Jet he personally knew. This one was older and much, much stronger. His words held an authority that this timeline's Jet had never dared used on Sein before. "You're staying here, Dad," he seethed, his voice seemingly coming from nowhere and yet everywhere at once. "You aren't leaving."

"I can't just stay here," Sein said, attempting to push himself to stand up.

"You can, you will, and you don't get a goddamn say in the matter." He was pinned down harder to prevent him from getting up, but somehow none of the pressure was hurting his many wounds at all.

"Oh, well, I suppose that makes sense," Sein said, giving up his attempt to stand. "So… how long am I stuck here?"

"Until I fucking say so." The rest of Nareish's control was forcefully ripped away, meaning that now she could no longer give him orders in any way and make Sein obey. But that didn't fix everything else.

Elsewhere, in the realm that Mobius could be found in, the same Jet (the one from Steam's timeline) was simultaneously active. He connected mentally with the hedgehog whether Steam liked it or not. "Get your ass to Dad's realm now!" he snapped.

Rather than ask a question or even make an attempt to do anything else, Steam just teleported himself to Sein's realm and groaned. "This was what she did, wasn't it…?"

"No fucking shit," was the seething reply. "The fucking Void of all things figured it out. It contacted the Void from our reality somehow to fucking tell me."

I need to watch my words here… "What the hell do we do?" Steam asked, crossing his arms.

"I can't immediately undo this shit," Jet told him. "I don't even know how deep it fucking goes yet. Figure out what you can while I try to do fucking something."

Steam nodded. "I'll talk to him, and I'll have Eila watch his mind. I'll tell you everything we find."

"Good."

Steam walked over to Sein and sat down. "Hey, we need to talk." At the same time, he messaged Eila to connect herself to Sein's mind and monitor it.

Sein was still lying down, but he'd at least shifted his head to see Steam. "Yeah, sure. What about?"

"Was it you that attacked Kath?" Steam questioned, frowning. "I talked to Eila, and she saw that your gauntlet-"

"It was me," Sein cut in. "And before you feel the need to ask, I enjoyed it. I liked beating Kath down and putting him into a coma."

"You're corrupted by Nareish," Steam muttered, cutting Sein off. "What do you think of her?"

"I'm loyal to her, before anyone and anything else," Sein said. "Her praise was pleasing, and it hurt when she disapproved of something. I'm pr-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Steam snapped. "I don't want to hear all the words she told you to say, and how she told you to feel!"

"You asked," Sein said with a light shrug. "That's what I feel, with or without her orders."

The hedgehog picked himself up off the ground and stormed away. "That fucking bitch corrupted him way deeper than I'd ever have thought she could. You can undo that, right?" Steam asked Jet.

This reality rippled several times with the weight of Jet's fury. "I can't do it quickly," he bit out, "but yes."

"I was already planning to raid Nareish's realm, but I'm more than ready to take revenge for all of this. Can you help?" Steam asked Jet.

"Fine. I don't give a shit how insane your plan is. I'm not tolerating this insane bullshit going unpunished.

Steam glanced down at his communicator and his eyes widened at the message. "It just got worse," he murmured. "These nightmares that Kath was apparently having were caused by Sein attacking him. Nareish told him how to go about it and how he should talk to Kath at one point. He did the attack I texted you about." A tidal wave of swearing answered him, but nothing else. Steam withheld more information, if only because Jet's anger was beginning to cause him to withdraw. He bit back the anxiety and glanced to Sein. "What do you want me to do?" he asked Jet quietly.

The hawk didn't answer right away. Instead, he seemed to spend a short time reigning in his temper for Steam's benefit. Once he was calmer, he said, "Get away from all of this. Call Tara or visit with this reality's Sonic. Got it?"

Steam nodded a little, trying to subtly rub a hand against his eyes. It felt like his eyes were irritated, and he wasn't sure why. "Okay…"

"Go, Steam," Jet insisted. "I'm handling this." The hedgehog hesitated momentarily before teleporting away. Once he was gone, Jet grimly refocused all of his attention on Sein. "You attacked Kaicha?" he demanded quietly. "And you enjoyed it?"

"Yes," Sein replied. "I did."

"Why?"

"Because Nareish asked me to, and I enjoy working for her," Sein replied. "It's that simple."

"You only feel that way because she made you," Jet muttered. "That feeling is false."

"I'm loyal to her," Sein countered, frowning.

"No you're not. You love your friends and family, don't you? How can you love them and be loyal to her?" As he asked this question, Jet continued to work on his efforts to undo the corruption one step at a time.

"I'm loyal to her first," Sein replied. "When she has a demand or order, I carry it out. My family and friends come second."

This isn't right. This isn't him. It felt like he was talking to a stranger, almost, but the fact that he knew he wasn't made Jet feel positively horrendous. "She can't control you anymore and force you to obey. She can't make you be loyal anymore."

"Does she have to make me?" Sein posed.

Jet muttered something in another language before suddenly asking a different question. "Doing the things you did… Don't you feel anything about that?

"Pride," Sein replied simply.

Fuck… This is worse than I thought before. "What else did she make you do besides hurt Kaicha?"

"I convinced Jet… my Jet, to work alongside the Void more," Sein answered.

Now Jet was alarmed. "If they aren't working together on equal footing and the Void is getting what it wants… Dad, do you not understand what this will do? This can change him. Permanently. Does that not bother you?"

"It does," Sein admitted. "I don't want to see the Void affect him like that, but it was what Nareish wanted."

"It doesn't matter what she wanted. It matters what could happen to your son." A layer of corruption was suddenly ripped away, tearing some of that false pride and loyalty out of Sein all at once. Now that Jet had a much clearer idea of what Nareish had done, he was wasting no time in trying even harder to undo it all.

All at once Sein's eyes welled with tears, realizing the danger that his son was in despite some of the pride and pleasure in what he'd done still sitting within him. He was torn, and he couldn't decide which emotions were real, confronted as he was with two conflicting sides. "What… the hell?"

"I'm sorry," Jet sighed. "This is all going to hurt. More than I can probably tell you. But it has to be done."

"Why do I feel so divided?" Sein asked, almost (but not quite) starting to cry.

"Think back to how you used to be," was the firm answer. "How do you think that old you would have felt right now? That's where these emotions are coming from - from the real you."

Sein wasn't sure immediately, and he was left with so many questions he didn't know how to ask. It didn't… make sense. He didn't know what to think or feel. Luckily, he wasn't left in pure silence. His thoughts were derailed by a familiar person appearing, that being Eila. The cat glanced around for a moment before speaking in a hushed tone. "...Jet?"

There was a bit of quiet initially. Rather than allow it to drag on and on, however, he warily responded with a slightly shaky voice, "Not… Not the one you know. But yeah."

"It's… better that you're a different Jet," Eila murmured. "R-regardless, there's something I wanted to show you. I can tell you're trying to remove corruption, and… well, you're a powerful Immortal, but would seeing how Nareish did it help?"

"She never… did anything like this, where I'm from," he admitted, voice still shaking a bit. "Seeing how might… Um… It might help."

Eila nodded a little and projected the memory in the… general direction that she felt his presence… which wasn't exactly helpful since he wasn't in the same timeline. It chronicled the entire process from when Nareish kidnapped Sein, to when she corrupted and subsequently released him to be used later.

Jet saw it all. When it was finished, he mumbled something under his breath, blending words from several different languages together in a curious and agitated fashion. "This is such bullshit," was how he ended it as his energies finally managed to pull free another layer of Sein's corruption. More of his father's sense of loyalty vanished, leaving a mere sliver of it left to handle.

The cat temporarily used her mental powers to quiet Sein's thoughts to keep him from getting more confused by everything happening. She had to admit that she felt… pained, knowing that someone else was suffering from corruption, especially with it being someone as good as Sein. "Jet… In your timeline… did I-" Eila cut herself off, coughing a little to hide what she'd said to little avail. "Did Astra become a thing and hurt you?"

He was quiet again. With a bit more ease now than before, he pulled free several more layers of corruption, fully removing the loyalty, pride, and even Sein's forced inability to feel remorse and whatnot as well. "...Yes," he finally said, voice barely above a whisper, once he worked up the nerve to speak to her again. Sein didn't speak, untold amounts of pain flooding through his body. Emotions became physical and his body turned somewhat limp. He couldn't process the pain. It was far beyond anything he'd experienced since believing Kath had died and seeing Alana join him in the Realms of Death.

"I'm… sorry," Eila mumbled, shrinking away and working to wholly hide her presence, as little as it would likely matter.

"...I… I know," Jet answered soon afterward. Unable to stand handling his own struggles on top of seeing his father suffering so much this early on, he steeled himself against what he was about to do and forced Sein into unconsciousness as gently as he could. I'm sorry, Dad. Reluctantly, he refocused on Eila after that. "You, um… Um… You told me. Here, I mean."

"The Eila in your timeline… She became better, right?" Eila asked after a moment. "She apologized… but…" the cat didn't want to complete her thought, falling silent.

"I think… I think so," he eventually answered. "I don't, um… I don't… ask. About her."

"Do you want me to leave?" Eila asked almost immediately. She didn't want to be a burden, especially with him dealing with something so stressful.

Jet forced himself to reply faster this time. "I n-need help," he told her. His voice was shaking even worse now with his various emotions, but he forged ahead regardless. "I don't have mental powers."

"Okay," Eila murmured, nodding to him. "Tell me what you need to do… and we can just focus on what we have to accomplish" As eager as she no doubt was to get this over with, Jet nervously instructed her on what was needed and then returned his full attention to his work. That was the only reason he was holding together right now… and the sooner it was done, the better.

~保護者~

Only once Saethrim was gone did Shadow fully release his hold on Toru's arm. He still felt pale under all his dark fur and also badly shaken, but things were less… raw now. He felt okay enough to move a couple feet away from the chameleon in order to sit on the edge of the couch. Part of why he'd gotten so easily emotional, he knew, was probably because of the baby.

But there was a bigger reason, and that was the fact that Tails and Wery had removed all of Gerald's means of blocking out his Emotions. Feelings he hadn't lived with since childhood. Feelings he didn't know anymore how to cope with. Ultimately, however, none of that mattered right now. He refocused on calming down completely and staying that way.

A short moment or two later, he quietly addressed his grandmother. "I apologize for waking you with this commotion," he told her, mindful of the fact that she and Satsuno had been resting before. The latter was still in their room, having seemingly decided to stay out of it. If he was at all as similar to Kaden as Shadow suspected, that was probably for the best. "It was not our intention." As he spoke, he shifted more fully onto the couch so as to lean against the back of it. It slightly alleviated some of the physical discomfort he had just now realized he was experiencing. My back fucking hurts… Is that supposed to be normal?"Silence," Seiko said softly. "The matters of my family are worth losing sleep. I would not have it any other way." He just nodded and shifted to pull his shoes off, since he didn't have more to say at the moment.

Seiko glanced between her silent grandson and the equally silent chameleon standing before her. She, too, was quiet for a time, then ultimately murmured, "Would you prefer I leave you be for now? It seems like Toru has something he wants to talk to you about."

Shadow looked at Toru, noting the same thing, and let out a slight sigh. "Please," he agreed as politely as he could manage.

Walking forward, Seiko pulled Shadow into a gentle, motherly type of hug. "If you have need of me for anything, ever, simply say so." The hug completely tripped him up mentally, causing him to fall entirely silent. After a noticeable pause, he made himself nod. Seiko let go and moved to Toru, wrapping him up as well in her arms. "And you, you're part of this family, too. Got it?"

Toru blinked several times at this, freezing up in the woman's arms. "Er- okay. I'll keep it in mind." Seiko let him go after this and left with a gentle farewell. Once she was gone, the chameleon looked over to Shadow. "So… what was that about, or do you have as little of a clue as me?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Shadow huffed. "Which is to say that they are both useless."

The chameleon managed a chuckle at this before shrugging. "Not gonna question it, then. Though… we do have a bit to talk about." Shadow immediately fell silent again. This was not something he wanted to discuss, preferably ever. Toru walked into Shadow's room, frowning to himself. "Come in here with me."

Almost, Shadow caught himself muttering his displeasure to himself aloud. However, he managed to hold his tongue and forced himself to stand. That didn't ease his discomfort whatsoever, but it ultimately went ignored. He walked into his room and was quick to sit on the bed with his back against the headboard. Having that bit of support on the couch had been helping, so this would no doubt do the same.

Toru took a seat right beside Shadow. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Shadow told him. He almost idly teleported his shoes into the room, letting them drop into a corner where they were out of the way.

"What happened?" Toru dared to ask. "I haven't seen it that bad since… Well, I guess it's better to not mention it, exactly."

After a long pause, Shadow admitted, "...I don't know. Memories I didn't know I still had just… rushed into my head. I couldn't make it stop."

"Sounds a lot like a panic attack," Toru said, "Like the last time. They were both pretty short, though, which is good." He paused, then asked, "Wery mentioned something along the lines of removing what stopped you from feeling emotions before… right?" Shadow nodded. "That sounds like part of the reason that was possible."

Shadow's tone was carefully, carefully neutral when he replied. "It happened when I was small, a few times," he revealed slowly, as though he was only just now remembering this fact. "Gerald hated it. He made plans to prevent more from occurring."

"I don't like that," Toru replied. "Emotions are natural. Learning how to handle and control them is… necessary."

"It's not how I was programmed," was the dull, shrugging reply. "Or what I was built for." His programming changes everything. I don't get a choice or an opinion. He's the only one allowed free will. Not me. The second he makes changes… I just have to live with it.

"How he programmed you isn't what matters," Toru said gently.

Shadow shrugged again. He didn't have a real argument to make. At least, not aloud. Still, he focused his efforts on quieting the thoughts running through his head, reminding himself over and over again that Gerald wasn't here… but Toru was. That helped more than he'd anticipated. It did have an unintended side-effect, though. That strange… clingy feeling from minutes earlier came back and he found himself shifting to lean into Toru's side a bit. It was childish as hell, but there was no denying the sense of comfort it afforded him. So, for now, he just let himself remain there. If he says anything, he decided somewhat sullenly, I'll shoot him.

Toru didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around Shadow, keeping him close. In truth, it helped him, too. His nerves were shot with everything that had happened, and it really didn't help that most of it had to do with Shadow himself. "Let's change topics. You're feeling better, yeah?"

"...I suppose," Shadow eventually replied. He shifted, breathing in, and realized that there was a small change. A smell he could only liken to that of a scab was gone, and he'd only just noticed. Frowning, he shifted to look at Toru's throat. "The wound is gone," he realized aloud. "There is no mark."

"Huh?" Toru asked, blinking a few times. "What wound?"

"The bite mark on your neck," Shadow huffed.

"Oh," Toru said. "Cool."

"Dumbass," Shadow mumbled, shifting back into his previous position.

Toru very intentionally pulled Shadow back a little closer. "You know, I'm still not sure why you started licking it."

Black ears perked, and Shadow stared at him. "...What?" he finally asked, bewildered.

"Yeah. You licked it clean," Toru explained, "after you bit me. You stopped when the blood was off of it."

"I don't fucking believe you," was the muttered reply. This talk of biting caused him to feel a sudden twinge of hunger, but for now it was mild enough to stay under control. Still, his concern was immediate. Toru couldn't contain him like the first time, even if he could prevent the kids from sensing anything still. This was far from an ideal situation. The vials of blood he'd been left with were only meant to take the edge off. They weren't going to fix this. Fuck all of this.

"Well, you should," Toru replied, huffing a little.

"I don't," Shadow huffed back. "It makes no sense for that to have happened." He shifted a bit in Toru's hold, some of his attention drawn to the chameleon's throat, but beyond that he was managing to not to fidget or otherwise get too restless just yet.

Toru caught Shadow's gaze and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying," Toru said. "Talk to me."

Shadow forced himself to look elsewhere while he grumbled, "It's nothing, Toru."

"We're well beyond the point of hiding things like this," Toru said gently, rubbing Shadow's shoulder. "I already know, but I want to hear it from you." A disgruntled growl answered him, but it didn't last. Toru's physical display of affection assuaged Shadow's annoyance near-instantly. "Tell me what it is or I'll start using pet names."

Crimson eyes narrowed at him. "'Pet names'?" Shadow echoed, confused anew. He'd never heard of such a thing, but already he knew he didn't like it.

"Go ahead and tell me what's up, or I'll make good on it," Toru threatened, vaguely amused.

"I already gave you my answer," Shadow told him. His stubborn streak was kicking in and he knew it, but right this second he couldn't quite make himself dial it back.

"Alright, babe, but don't say I didn't warn you," Toru said, shrugging a little. "I'm far from afraid."

That sounded so wrong, and Shadow instantly hated it. "Don't call me that," he growled.

"Then tell me," Toru said, smiling. "C'mon. It's not hard."

"I don't want to," Shadow said after a short pause. It wasn't the answer Toru was asking for, but at least it was truthful.

Toru blinked once and nodded, his amusement fading instantly. "Do you need to feed?"

He probably did, but that didn't mean he wanted to. So Shadow said as much a second time. "I don't want to."

"Look, you need to feed eventually," Toru explained. "We both know it, and I'm one of the only people you can feed from safely right now." Shadow ground his teeth together lightly. Using his Darkness, he quickly shut the bedroom door to dampen the noise traveling down the hall. He didn't need anyone overhearing this, or at least not as easily as they would with the door wide open. "Please, just do it. I don't want you to have to keep on fighting it just for it to overtake you."

"I said I don't want to," Shadow insisted. It was already getting harder to convince himself of that, though. Even just talking about feeding was making it worse.

Toru wrapped an arm around Shadow and held the hedgehog close in a full hug, letting out a sigh. "Seriously, I can't let you ignore it." The closer proximity made continuing to look away utterly impossible. Shadow growled at Toru, but the sound faded as instincts started trying to take hold. A second later, he was nipping sharply at Toru's throat, but not quite biting him yet. Toru moved a hand to hold Shadow's head and guided him even closer, taking in a deep breath. Holy shit, this is an awful idea.

Just like the last time, Toru's actions inevitably earned a bite. Fangs sank in deep, but there was a bit of a difference this time. The aura Shadow had been giving off before started to emerge but was quickly reigned in for the most part. Also, Toru was only paralyzed for the first few seconds or so. Shadow didn't even try to pin him down, but rather left him free to move.

Toru didn't move much beyond gently rubbing the top of Shadow's head, trying to stay as relaxed as possible. Okay… so this is working better than expected. Things were quiet and calm for a time. Toru's demeanor allowed Shadow to stay calm despite the mental state he was currently in, so even when someone made a small amount of noise elsewhere in the house he didn't react badly - or at all, really, beyond flicking an ear. Toru simply stayed put, choosing to wait for this to be over before saying or doing anything.

He didn't have to wait much longer. Before too much more time passed, Shadow finally released his bite. The wound immediately started to bleed, but like with the last time he ran his tongue over the wound. The bleeding ceased in an instant. It took a few moments for Shadow to come back to himself fully, but once he did he sort of laid his head on Toru's shoulder. He had no idea why he'd found himself so completely okay with stupidly "lovey-dovey" acts like this over the last couple days or so (he refused to believe the note, either), but for now he didn't question it too much. Staying close like this was comforting and that was the only thing that mattered at this moment in time.

"I… have to assume you're feeling better?" Toru asked after a long moment. "Yeah?"

I hate you. "Yes," Shadow sighed.

"I'm glad to hear it," Toru said, smiling.

Shadow was quiet, but only briefly. "Why did you do that if you were so uneasy?" he asked, voice soft.

Toru glanced away. "There's a lot on my mind. How the fuck do we handle everything that's been happening?"

"I don't know," Shadow admitted, having nothing better to contribute than that. He had no answers of any kind.

The chameleon held onto Shadow a touch tighter. "It seems like Nareish is seriously just wanting to keep fucking with you. I can feel how much you're hurting from these things and it's… getting to me."

Shadow blinked slowly. "Pain is nothing new, Toru," he murmured. "I will survive it, as I always have."

"It's about more than surviving," Toru murmured back. "I love you, dammit. You matter to me. It just… hurts to see you in pain."

That… wasn't something Shadow knew how to respond to. The sudden and distracting warmth he felt upon hearing the word "love" come out of Toru's mouth didn't make conjuring up an answer any easier. What am I supposed to say? Lacking any better reply of any kind, he nodded just slightly to at least acknowledge he'd heard the words.

"That's why this is all getting to me. I'm not going anywhere, and I've been doing my absolute best to just be by your side," Toru explained, "but this has been… hard. I want to help, though."

Another rare emotion made itself known, and at first Shadow wasn't sure how to name it. Guilt? Shame? It was something akin to that, and it prompted him to mutter a small, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. This is on Nareish and Gerald. Those fuckers are the problem," Toru grumbled.

Suddenly uneasy, Shadow caught himself admitting something he'd intended to keep to himself. "I can't… relax," he said in a very quiet voice. "Not when he's out there. Not when she can just take me there whenever they want me back."

Toru held Shadow just a little tighter. "I'm sorry. If I could fix that, I would."

"I know." Shadow forced himself to let out a slow, steady breath, willing himself to stay calm and not get worked up again. "I know that." He took in another breath and let it out before adding, "I… want to be wrong… but I can't stop thinking that Gerald may have my father. Like he had me."

Toru's Darkness briefly flared in response to hearing this, eyes narrowing somewhat. "I… fuck." Shadow didn't say anything else for two reasons. One, he wasn't sure what else to say. Two, he didn't want to risk upsetting the other man further. So he held his tongue. "If I ever get a chance, I'll kill Gerald. I'm tired of what he's doing."

I doubt even you could manage it. "It took him blowing himself up with raw Chaos to end his life the last time," Shadow revealed. "No one other than he himself has ever managed to kill him."

I'll fix that. Toru sighed a little. "That's… fuck. What the hell?"

"He was trying to kill Sonic," Shadow decided to explain. "...And everyone else, but mostly Sonic at the time. He had gotten ahold of objects known as Chaos Emeralds, but could never have hoped to control their power. It belonged solely to my brother, though Gerald did not see it that way. He is the one who set off the Cataclysm, wiping out many species of people and destroying South Island."

Keep your Darkness under control. "Fuck. That's absolutely insane."

"So was he. Nareish appears to have fixed that." Shadow paused, gave that some thought. "…In a manner of speaking."

"No fucking kidding," Toru murmured. "That's ridiculous."

"He nearly killed Sonic," Shadow further revealed. "As well as Jet, Wave, and others I later came to know. Had the blasts wiped them all out… Gerald would have led this world to its doom in more ways than one."

I'm gonna kill him. "This is ridiculous. Why the hell did he want any of this?"

"He does not exactly have a high opinion of nature or biology. What he wanted was a mechanical world populated only by the machines he controlled." Shadow shrugged vaguely, reluctant to add, "...And the weapon he built to serve him."

"Well, he's insane, ridiculous, and stupid."

"If you say 'ridiculous' one more time, I'm going to shoot you."

"I'm right, though," Toru huffed.

"You can express that without being redundant," Shadow replied, shifting to turn forward again. He didn't try to pull away, though, merely to get into a more comfortable position.

Toru let out another sigh. "I just don't know what words to use for all of this."

"Why were you unaware of Gerald's involvement in the past?" Shadow suddenly asked, ignoring Toru's words entirely. "The Cataclysm affected your people as well. I do not expect them to have heard his name before, but the fact that a single man was behind it is common knowledge throughout the rest of the world."

"There are a lot of things that I missed out on as a kid," Toru replied. "Dealing with my mom had me trapped up in the Highlands at times."

Shadow thought this over. "...You don't know what happened with Espio, then?" he eventually questioned. "He was not within chameleon territories back then."

"I don't," Toru admitted after a moment. "What the hell did I miss?"

"I only ever heard the story once," Shadow told him, "back before many memories of his childhood became lost to him. He said that he had been travelling somewhere to the southeast of the island when the attacks had started. He did his best to defend a village he'd happened upon from the robots, but he and the residents were swept up in the explosions. From what he said, he survived only because he somehow created a barrier around himself… but after he fell from the sky and struck the ground, it shattered. When he regained consciousness, he later learned that weeks had passed. Other survivors insisted he was dead when they found him."

Toru's lip twitched slightly, his teeth gritted. It was difficult to handle the emotions from hearing this, especially considering the fact that his eyes turned silver. "What?" he asked after a moment. "Gerald caused what?" It was most likely a rhetorical question, and repeating the explanation would only serve to waste time. As such, Shadow didn't say anything right then. Toru forced his Darkness down and took a deep breath. "I'm gonna focus on something other than that before I try to find him and kill him right now."

It was just as well. Shadow wanted to discuss other things, too. Just about any other things, in fact, so long as they didn't involve Gerald in any form or fashion. "Alright." Toru fell quiet, unable to formulate thoughts relating to other topics at the moment. Shadow wound up shifting again, a sharp and fresh pain in his back making his current position horribly uncomfortable for a moment. For fuck's sake, he internally complained. Why could nothing ever just stay fucking calm?

"You okay?" Toru asked, his eyes immediately shifting back to their normal coloration. "What's wrong?"

It took several additional seconds for the pain to die back down to the general ache it had been before, and Shadow relaxed slightly when it did. Already, he was running several scans on himself to figure out what was going on. I shouldn't be injured… What the hell? "I don't know," he admitted. "My back hurts."

"Do you have any leads on what it might be?" Toru asked.

"No," Shadow said. "It's an anomaly. Nothing that's ever showed up in a scan before." Which may mean it has to do with the baby… but that isn't much of an explanation.

"Well… could it have to do with the baby?"

"It's possible, but I don't know."

"...Should we ask Tails and Wery?"

A fresh jab of pain hit, causing Shadow to have to bite out his reply. "Yes."

Toru sent out a message from his communicator to Tails and Wery, asking about this and hoping for an answer. Tails was quick to reply. "That doesn't sound good. A remote scan I just did indicates he's had a ton of stress lately. Stress can sometimes trigger early deliveries, Toru."

Wery texted next. "This very well could be caused by the pregnancy. Watch over him and see if it continues. If it continues, tell us. Otherwise, keep what Tails said in mind."

"Fucking lovely," Toru responded. "Not only is the pregnancy causing him pain, but he might also end up delivering early? Isn't that bad?"

"Not necessarily," Tails answered him. "From what I've gathered, Black Arms can and do deliver at five months. It's not always the most ideal thing, but their young nearly always survive, even without the added assistance of medical care. Shadow happens to have access to that sort of thing, which should shoot the chances of this going favorably way up."

"So this shouldn't be a serious ordeal, then?"

"In that sense, no. But at the same time, if he does go into labor, we're going to have a bit of a problem on our hands. None of us have any clue how delivery works for Black Arms. Some species figure it out for themselves through instincts, but others have to have outside care throughout the process, like most Mobians do."

"...Where the hell would Shadow fall in that?"

"I don't know, is the issue. He's mostly Black Arms, so he's probably going to react a lot like they would. But I just don't know how they would react, either."

Toru blinked a few times. "No offense, but that's not helpful."

"Sadly, never said it was gonna be," Tails remarked. "Is there anyone you guys can ask besides me, though? Like his dad, for one thing. Or really anyone from the hive?"

"Maybe someone from the hive." Toru suddenly took off his communicator, setting it aside and ignoring any other messages that came through. "We might wanna get some information from one of the Black Arms sometime soon. If you're mostly part of that race, then it's possible you'll be more likely to give birth like them."

"Just fucking perfect," Shadow muttered. "Do you remember what Father told us? Birth for them is an agonizing and bloody ordeal, more so than for other races."

Toru nodded a little. "We need to be prepared, at least."

"This cannot happen here if I bleed black blood," Shadow reminded him. "It will destroy anything it touches."

"Then we'll go to the hive, or something. Somewhere," Toru said. "I don't care what it takes." Shadow just nodded in reply. It was as sound a plan as any he could have come up with right then. Toru chose to just relax further into Shadow, letting out a breath. Shadow allowed himself to try to relax as well. He had a sneaking suspicion that, as much as he hated sleep, he was going to need all the rest he could get in the upcoming hours.

Though his emotional state wasn't exactly the best right now and he wasn't sure how to feel yet, Toru didn't hesitate to kiss Shadow's forehead gently, managing a little smile. Shadow blinked his eyes open long enough to look at Toru, then closed them again. He shifted to be just that little bit closer, suddenly feeling content despite his on-again-off-again pain. Before too much longer, they were both dozing off.

~保護者~

17,016 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 2:10 p.m.) 01-04-22.