Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this hard time… especially for the one who's healing.
~保護者~
REVIEW REPLIES:
Hello, Guest! It was cool and sweet, I agree. But, yeah... poor Shadow, man. He's been through a lot lately.
~保護者~
"Healing Process"
~保護者~
Things were quiet in the medical ward when Wave and the Aether arrived. However… there was an air of dread and despair choking the air as soon as Wave set foot inside. It practically rocked her back on her heels, and she looked sharply at her companion. "Okay… so I'm guessing this whole 'being able to sense emotions without auras' thing is one of your abilities…?"
The Aether nuzzled it's head up against Wave's shoulder. "Mhm…" it admitted.
Man… this is gonna be rough. Wave steeled herself against more potentially negative emotions hitting her and walked farther in. It didn't take long for Kath's bed to come into view, or for the person sitting beside it. Shock threatened to make her freeze, but she powered through it as best as she could. It's just Queen Freaking Laralei, no big deal. No reason to freak out.
Taking a quick chance, the Aether shrunk down and pushed some of its own energy into Wave to help calm her. "It's okay," the Aether thought to her softly. "Just stay by me."
"Yeah, I will. Come on, let's go see what's going on. Sein is supposed to be here, too, but he's not." Wave took in a steadying breath and approached. That alone was enough to gain the former queen's attention. "Erm… hi. My name is Wave. I'm a friend of Jet's. And this is my friend, the Aether."
The Aether popped up and smiled brightly, waving one of its feet to Laralei. "Hi! The Aether is me."
Laralei blinked slowly, then inclined her head. "...Hello," was all she said.
"Is… Is it okay if we look over Kath?" Wave asked her. "We just want to check on him. The Aether has a lot of powers that are able to heal in various ways, and I'm psychic to some extent."
"I might be able to help him recover, even if it's just keeping him stable and stuff like that," the Aether explained.
"How?" Laralei questioned, voice soft and raw with barely-contained emotions.
"You know how beings of Light are capable of a lot of healing?" the Aether asked.
"I am only indirectly familiar. I met only one Light user in my lifetime."
The Aether blinked once. Analia? Or someone else…? "Regardless, they're good at it, and that's part of what I exist for. I'm a counterpart to the Void, and I can heal and restore things."
This earned a heavy sigh. "You say you both are friends of my grandson. I may not have met him, but… I trust his judgement. If he trusts you, then so will I." She gestured weakly to the unconscious hawk in the bed. "Please, I ask that you do what you can."
"We will. …Oh, right, thank you for the permission and the faith. We appreciate it greatly." Wave turned to the Aether. "You're up, I guess. I'll help wherever I can, but I have a feeling this'll be mostly on you."
The creature was immediately by Kath's side, inspecting him quietly. Immediately, it zoned in on one thing and its eyes widened a little. The injuries he'd sustained were ridiculously bad, but that wasn't something it could focus on just yet. "Who else has been here?" it asked, turning to Laralei. "Like, to help him."
"A woman named Eila came to help," Laralei said. "The rest were family members visiting."
"That explains a bit," it murmured. "Why his mind is so at ease." The Aether turned back to Kath and let out a sigh. "I can't do much to heal the wounds, but I have an idea."
"What is it?" Laralei asked.
The Aether looked at Wave for a second, then turned back to Laralei. "So, I think I can leave a bit of my energy with him to help him heal better. I can't heal the wounds caused by someone like an Immortal, but with him healing like he obviously has, it can make it so he recovers fairly quickly."
"If you believe it will work, then please do it," Laralei murmured.
She seemed to have missed it, but Wave caught on. He's healing like an Immortal? What?
Wave's thoughts sparked the realization in the Aether, and it looked over. Oh my gosh. Wave just looked at it with wide eyes. Shortly after this, the creature turned back to Kath and pressed one of its feet against Kath's shoulders, his body glowing briefly with the same ethereal yellow that its own body shone. "There… that should help."
"Thank you," was all Laralei said. Her eyes were downcast now, and she was blinking back tears.
In an instant, the Aether whisked itself by her side and took on a form akin to Wave's, Hexan in shape, and set a hand on Laralei's back. "Hey, it'll be okay. For now, just try to let yourself feel those emotions. Don't hold them back forever, okay?"
Laralei drew in a breath and wiped at her eyes with an arm. "I cannot afford to become emotional right this minute… but I understand what you mean. I will keep it in mind."
It smiled brightly to her, spreading a bit of its energy to her like it did with Kath. "I'll leave this with you for a bit. It should… at least help you feel a little better. Take care of yourself." Laralei accepted the gift with a nod. After a moment, the creature appeared by Wave's side, returning to its normal form with a soft smile. "We should go now."
"Yeah." Wave turned to Laralei and murmured a polite farewell, then teleported away with her companion in tow.
As soon as they were away, it immediately turned to Wave. "Kath is an Immortal."
Wave sort of… gaped at the Aether. "Okay," she eventually allowed, "but how? That shouldn't even be possible."
"I'unno," the creature replied. "It's just true. He couldn't heal from those injuries otherwise."
"You're right, it's just…" Wave sighed. "It's just hard to believe, and I don't get it at all."
"Neither do I." The Aether leaned against Wave. "It's weird."
"You can say that again," Wave grumbled. Using a hand, she idly petted the Aether's head.
It responded to the touch with a slight shiver of its body before leaning further in. "I'm glad I could help."
"Me, too," Wave agreed. The Aether smiled a little, its eyes closing. For now, things felt just a little bit better.
~保護者~
It was finally done. Sein was purified. Eila was returning to… wherever she'd been before. Jet, the one from Steam's home reality, pulled his energies out of Sein's realm and then out of this timeline all together. From there, he extended himself to a place beyond all realities, a place outside of time and space themselves. This was where the Faein had first come to exist, and the place where they now rested.
Disturbing them, while not something such benign beings would likely frown upon, still felt somehow wrong. After all they had done, after all they had aided with, these four were so tired. Rest was just one of many things they deserved… yet Jet was here, anyway, with every intention of waking one of them up. He could only hope he'd be forgiven for it later on.
Tentatively, he extended his aura to nudge Rusen's shoulder. It wasn't enough. He should have known it wouldn't be. Theirs was the exhaustion of millions and millions of years of work and creation and effort. Their sleep was deep, deeper than any other being could understand. Jet had to try harder. With that in mind, he put forth more effort into rousing the Heart, trying to do so without disturbing any of the others. "R… Rusen?" he hesitantly called, voice quiet and full of nerves. Nerves that were still completely shot after the day's earlier events. "...Um… Rusen?"
Energy surged to life all at once and a sound that Jet was only able to describe as the awakening of something truly existential emerged. "...Jet," Rusen murmured after a moment. "Ah, forgive the depth in which I rested. I intended to do this to regain energy for what is to come."
"S-Sorry," Jet answered in a small voice, his anxiety somehow worsening. I shouldn't have woken him, he decided, shrinking away a bit. But… I had to. "I'm s-sorry. It's just… my dad. He needs help. I c-can't do it."
"Silence your thoughts, young one," Rusen replied, more fully awakening himself. "You have done well. Your effort is greatly appreciated." He got nothing more than the equivalent of a nod communicated through an aura as a reply. Rusen looked at Jet for a long moment before chuckling gently to himself. The creator of the da Asani reached over and ever so gently set a hand on the Babylonian's shoulder, through the realities that Jet had extended himself through. "Rest yourself," he gently directed, intentionally chipping into the young Immortal's anxiety. "I am proud of you."
As ever, the much younger being had no real idea how to take the praise, though he did manage to accept the physical contact for the moment. He'd been getting better about that lately. "...Okay," he eventually said.
Rusen retracted his touch and took a breath. "Now, let's get to undoing Nareish's work. I grow… tired of her machinations. I do urge you to seek the company of your friends, so I will tell you when I am finished. Sein will come out of this okay."
Now that a Faein was involved, he certainly would be. Jet had known that from the start. Still, hearing it was relieving. "Okay," he said again, already withdrawing. He wanted nothing more right then than to go and see his version of Sein… maybe even play some trains with him.
"Go," Rusen gently urged, chuckling. "You may find yourself with another amongst your collection. Perhaps you will find it… pleasing." Jet just pulled away entirely at that point, still nervous enough to be (irrationally, he knew) wary of overstaying his welcome and earning himself some ire. But he followed the given instructions regardless, returning fully to his own reality.
Only once Jet was gone did Rusen allow himself to express his ire for Nareish's handiwork. You've greatly overstepped. I will fix what you have broken. With a flourish of energy, Rusen appeared by Sein and approached the Babylonian. He already knew Sein wouldn't accept the help, but he didn't care about that. Jet had asked, and that was enough this time. Loopholes were also acceptable this time, in his opinion.
His hands collected the hurting Immortal and pulled Sein into his arms, comforting the man. Sein responded well to the touch of others when it was intended to aid him. He knew this. He also knew that a hug alone would be far from enough… but it would help.
He shared in the dread that Sein was experiencing… in a manner. Sein had been forced to harm what was essentially his father. He'd been forced to lie to his family. Nareish had forced him to tell Jet something false. It angered Rusen, something he hadn't fully expected to feel. It was inevitable that he'd develop such an emotion, however. "We can fix this," he murmured ever so carefully, holding Sein carefully as the man sobbed. "I am here. You are safe, and they will be okay."
Sein's suffering was eased somewhat, but not enough. Rusen took a seat, softly pulling Sein into his energies. A pulse, not unlike that of a heartbeat, broke through the fog that was Sein's pain, and alerted him to what was around him. There, he could see something. A glimpse of the future was all he could guess. He sat at a table… with his family. Jet, Kath, Alana… Arkiri and T'alo too. All of them, safe and sound. Together. Enjoying the company of one another.
Why this eased him so greatly, Rusen knew. Sein was first and foremost a family man. The safety of his family was the most important thing to him, by far. The sight of them all safe was such a sight to see. One more glimpse showed Sein hugging Jet tightly. Sein was visibly holding back tears… and the two were sharing the moment of care toward one another.
Rusen retracted the images from Sein and held the man once more. "You are a special man, Sein. Your heart has earned my favor." He continued when the Immortal was silent. "I watch you… I see your love and joy, and how you spread it so freely. I see your pain and agony, and how you try so dearly to keep it under wraps to protect everyone you care about, so as to not make their situations worse. You care greatly for existence, and you do not forsake yourself to do so…"
The Faein smiled a little, a bittersweet expression. Though you did try to end your life to prevent Nareish's plan from coming to fruition. It was… admirable, but undesirable. "You will gain a rare opportunity, one that I will make known to you soon. However… for now, I will not end all of your suffering. Speak to your wife, your family on Babylon. Let them see into your soul and feel your way through this. You are strong, and this will test you. You can do this, Sein. I believe in you."
Sein found more tears to cry, and finally he latched onto Rusen, holding onto the Faein of Heart. "It hurts so fucking bad already," he admitted, forced to choke the words out.
In a sign of respect for the admission, Rusen eased the sobbing and rubbed the top of Sein's head. "I know. I feel your pain, truly." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Go home. Love your family."
His command was easy enough, and Sein couldn't find a way to ignore it. As soon as he gathered the energy, he was gone, teleporting himself back to Babylon. Rusen lowered his arms and let out a soft sigh. You are the Immortal I have chosen to help right now, Sein. You represent part of what I represent, but I must reserve my energy. Soon… you will know why. Rusen had another place to visit, and that was bound to test his resilience to avoid sleep. I will aid you as well, Kaden. Your pain must be… eased, if nothing else. It is but a piece of what you deserve.
~保護者~
Analia hadn't meant to fall asleep, much less for so long. It had been… a day? Two? She wasn't actually sure. All she knew was that, following the battle against Armaris, she had become so exhausted all over again that she'd wandered back to Mobius and apparently collapsed. Now she found herself in a sprawling field full of tall, swaying grasses. How she'd ended up here, exactly, she was unlikely to ever know.
She pushed herself into a sitting position. The ongoing breezes teased her hair up and into light motion, but she didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, she looked herself over, checking for injuries. When she found none, only dirt on her clothes and in her fur, she was satisfied and stood. That certainly could have been worse. I am fortunate that it was not.
It was then that Rose allowed her presence to be known, no longer suppressing her aura and Light. Her gaze fell over to Analia. "Forgive my lack of presence. I did not wish to disturb you. Perhaps I should have taken you somewhere better… but I could not bring myself to bother your rest."
Green eyes blinked at Rose, then Analia managed a small smile. "It is alright, Rose. You do not need to apologize."
Rose's smile was brief and fleeting, but she showed it regardless. "I suppose you… missed the recent news."
"I am afraid so," the older woman agreed. "I must have lost consciousness almost as soon as I left the battlefield."
The cat nodded slowly. "I…" She held her face in a hand and let out a sigh. "I am apparently an Immortal now. I don't know how to take the news, and whether I should really be… proud? I'm not sure of the word, but it is what has happened."
Analia canted her head, no doubt thinking all of this over. "Please, back up a little, dear one. What has caused you to believe this?"
"Revival from death of the semi-Immortal variant," Rose murmured. "Armaris killed me, and yet here I am. Not to mention that Rusen informed me, as well as Jet believing it to be so."
How could I have missed such a thing? I… must have been far more out of it at the time than I had realized. "I see. And, if I may, who might 'Rusen' be?"
Rose turned her gaze back to Analia with a weak smile. "One of the Faein. The one who helped me back when I was so… broken in spirit."
"I see," Analia repeated in a murmur. Soon, she was smiling back at Rose. "If he has said this is the truth, then it simply is. There is no arguing this fact. But that does not mean you must be immediately proud or joyous. Immortality is already a challenge to comprehend on its own… much less when it is suddenly such an intrinsic part of your own life."
"I am just left to wonder why it was me," Rose admitted. Thoughts came to mind that she realized would simply be demeaning to herself, and it was quickly decided that they were best left unsaid. "I wholeheartedly would have believed you to be a better choice."
"I do not know why you were chosen," Analia said, "but our lack of knowledge does not mean the choice was incorrect or that you are undeserving. The Faein, or perhaps existence itself, saw - sees - something in you, Rose."
Rose tapped her fingers against her thigh gently for a moment before nodding slowly. "Rusen saw fit to refer to me as the Disciple of Light… if I am not mistaken?"
"Because that is what you are," Analia told her. "You, like all other beings of Light, are its student in many ways. We learn from the Light throughout our lives, how to be compassionate and merciful and kind and all manner of other things. It is a part of who and how we are."
"It feels as if that is… important," Rose said softly. "Perhaps it was intended throughout all of time here that I would be such a being. Perhaps I am reaching for the stars when my target is the skies, however." The cat gently shrugged. "You remind me of my father so greatly."
"I shall take that as a compliment," Analia giggled, "whether it was meant to be or not."
Rose smiled a little. "He was the… gentler of the two. His words always soothed me."
"He certainly appears to have left you a positive impression to remember him by," Analia murmured.
The cat nodded. "I only wish that they knew what you knew. Looking back, I see the faults, but…" Rose sighed a little. "It… does not matter greatly. What happened has happened, and dwelling will only bring me pain. I wish to look forward."
"Hush, dear," Analia told her softly. "Beings of Light, you must always remember, are not perfect. We are just as capable of mistakes, and of sins, as any other being - albeit with far less frequently. We are not infallible. I know nothing of your family, Rose, but I am certain they did the best that they knew how."
'They did their best," Rose agreed. "But their faults weighed on Eila, because they didn't know how to raise her. I simply wish my sister had gone through less."
"I understand," Analia said.
Rose took a deep breath and released it. "I feel the movements of others like us," she murmured. "The purification of Kaden and my apparent ascension to an Immortal may have stirred them."
"I believe it has, yes," Analia nodded. "Many, many Light users knew him - the real him - as an ally to our kind. He and I were partners, after all, and our children, grandchildren, and other descendants all have varying degrees of Light. With that past ally back and the false scourge finally erased… they have less reason to hide." She managed another smile. "Even less so now that someone like you has emerged."
"I am glad that this may bring us more allies," Rose said. "Truthfully… my only concern is that they may not understand the other alliances we have. It can be handled in time, however."
"To which alliances are you referring?" Analia asked, her smile taking on a mysterious note. "We have many that may be considered… unusual."
"Certainly my sister, if any recognize who she once was," Rose murmured. "But also, I am aware of a type of darker being I was never privy to the existence of. And certainly, the chameleons may be of note."
Analia blinked at her. "What manner of being are you referring to? I am not aware of anything particularly exotic that would be unfamiliar to you."
"A woman with powerful magic," Rose explained after a moment. "I know not how to describe her presence as less than terrifying."
Slim shoulders lifted in a delicate shrug. "I do not know who that might be," Analia admitted.
"If it comes into question, I will handle it," Rose said. "Our acceptance of them should be… enough, I hope." Analia murmured a quiet agreement. Rose was quiet for a long moment before asking, "Do… I act in a self-sacrificial manner?"
"I do not know you well enough to say," Analia answered. "I have only met you a few times, remember."
Rose internally winced. Of course she would not know. Why would I believe she did? She caught the tone of her thoughts and shook her head a little. Ease off of yourself, Rose. It was worth the attempt, even if you did not know. "I have been made aware that… I act in a way that benefits others and very rarely myself." The cat grew quiet for a moment before adding, "Others are worried… that I may cause myself undue pain. I wish to ease their concerns."
Rose didn't allow that to sit long. She understood that it would be hard to respond to. "Aside from that… I feel far better than usual."
"That is good," Analia said.
"It is," Rose murmured. "I am… unwilling to complain, but I wish it to be better. How do you focus on the positive when the negative is so overwhelming?"
"I do not know," Analia said again. "That is not an experience I have had in my life. Feeling overwhelming negativity, I mean. Bad things have happened, yes. Horrible things, even. But my Light was always enough for my heart to recover. That does not mean it will always be that way for everyone with Light, but that is how things have happened in my life."
Rose stood slowly and walked closer, claiming a new seat by the older woman. This prompted Analia to sit back down as well. From here it was… easy to tell the difference between them, at least, it was to Rose. Both had painful experiences in the past, surely. Rose could see that there was at least one key element that separated them. Analia had coped with her experiences in a more proper manner. Rose had… suppressed it all.
That said enough, and Rose nodded. Why she could see this all of a sudden, she wasn't sure, but she didn't question it. The new insight gave her answers she hadn't known to be looking for. "I understand." Analia inclined her head. "In time… I will learn. It will take… time to undo eons of experiences and habits, but I will do it. For my health, and the health of others."
Analia smiled once more. "Good," she murmured.
"I do not wish to make you sit through the ramblings of my mind, however," Rose said softly, smiling as well. "You've done that enough, and I believe now would be a good time to… relax."
"You do not need to remain here if you do not wish to," Analia told her. "You are more than welcome to return to your friends and sister. I will be alright on my own now."
"No," Rose murmured. "I wish to be here. It is why I came. Your presence helps to remind me of what I wish to become."
"You will not find much entertainment," Analia told her, laughing softly. "I merely intend to sit with the flowers for a time, and perhaps braid their stems together."
The cat blinked. "My sister once did that for me before her seclusion. I remember it fondly."
"Oh, did she?" Analia asked her. She reached out and plucked some of the aforementioned flowers, her fingers soon working to wind the delicate plants together.
Rose watched with child-like curiosity, curious about the process. "Eila was a kind and loving sister, and she still is."
"Indeed." In no time at all, a small crown was formed. Analia reached out and plopped it down atop Rose's head. "There, love. Now you have your very own crown to show off to her."
The cat's eyes were wide with a vague wonder to them. Her smile held a touch more… happiness. "Thank you."
"Of course." Analia plucked some more flowers, then gave Rose a slow wink. "Now, pay attention this time. I will show you how to make your own." That was more than enough to warrant Rose's full attention, the cat leaning closer to watch. She had people who very much needed crowns of their own.
~保護者~
The whispers were getting more and more incessant.
Jet paced around the room Sein had left him in, his head clutched tightly in his hands. Why would Dad say things like that? Why would he change his mind like that? It doesn't make sense. The Void agrees with him. Fuck, I… He gripped his head tighter for a moment, then suddenly whipped around. "I hear you already! Fucking shut up! I can't fucking think!"
His companion prowled closer, smiling a wicked smile. He was met with the ghostly sensation of hands on his shoulders, hands that began shoving him roughly backward. "And what, pray tell, is there to think about?" the Void asked him. "You are the one who accepted me and our bond. You. Not your father. Yet his opinion matters to you, clearly… and they leave you conflicted now. So allow me to do the thinking for you." A final shove knocked Jet into a wall. He found himself pinned, and the Void leaned in to whisper in his ear once again. "I seek death and destruction, to kill all living things and return them to nothingness. In your heart, you too seek to kill and obliterate. Where we disagree is on the decision of who is deserving of our collective wrath."
"I'm not killing the people you want," Jet bit out, shivering. Chills ran through him when more whispers answered his words.
"Aren't you?" the Void challenged. "The demons are an enemy you seek to destroy. I seek to destroy all… and they are certainly included."
Those were indeed a common target, as of recently. Still, Jet gritted his teeth. I'm sick of you pinning me down, bastard. A surge of energy was enough to throw the Void off, and he watched with a measure of satisfaction as it crashed through a different wall across the room. His normally heavenly blue eyes were now an ethereal purple to match the Void's own energies, and those purple eyes looked away from the destruction without any care at all. The Void fucking deserved it, anyway. He teleported his cloak to him and put it on, then teleported Alkarus over as well. After sheathing it at his hip, he returned his attention to the Void. "How long do you intend to play dead? Get the fuck up before I blast you again." Shifting rubble and a growl answered him. Jet ignored both and teleported.
When he reappeared, he was crouching calmly in front of the citadel on the main demonic world. Or, at least, the spot where the original citadel had been. There was a new one now, no doubt courtesy of the new God. Internally, he scoffed. Does he believe erasing the architecture will erase the influence of the ruler before him? It was possible that was the case, but equally possible that it wasn't. Either way, he didn't care. He stood and drew his sword as the Void's energy flowed eagerly around him. "Get lost," he muttered to it. "Do whatever the hell you want. I don't care what you kill."
Jet could feel the predatory grin that answered him. Then the Void took off, tearing across the landscape like an animal finally freed from its cage. It was thrilled to be allowed to let loose. That feeling proved a touch infectious, but he kept it under wraps. With nothing left to distract him for the moment, he walked into the citadel. Stone crumbled into dust around him, unsealing chambers and revealing the demons within. Their life-forces were drained from their bodies by his aura, then were cast carelessly aside.
The crumbling ceased, and instead an explosion was set off. It ripped the roof off of the whole building and blasted all the walls downward. With a clear line of sight to the new God of Demons now, Jet muttered one simple threat. "Leave… before I decide to make your role extinct."
"What the fuck?" Tianak questioned, already moving away from him. "Why the hell are you here? Doing something such as this threatens everything you stand for. Destroying me removes a piece of the Balance immediately. You see this, right?" he demanded to know.
"Demons are not essential for balance," Jet murmured. "Darkness is… but replacements can easily be born to fill the gap left by you." He idly raised his sword, pointing it at Tianak's throat. "Last warning. Leave."
Tianak knew better than to push his luck, and as such he vanished immediately. He didn't risk calling his generals to him, as that may draw the Immortal's ire. It was far better to be uninvolved here. Satisfied that there was now nothing risky around, Jet loosed another explosion of pure energy. What remained of the structure was levelled, and all those contained within were obliterated.
The Void was rampaging in the distance, but while it appeared to be enjoying itself, he… wasn't. This wasn't challenging. It wasn't entertaining. He was very rapidly losing interest. As such, the second he succeeded in reigning his companion in to a significant enough degree, he teleported to the planet's upper atmosphere. From there, he unleashed one last assault on the world. A third blast, this one vastly larger, was unleashed. Untold scores of demons perished in an instant. Then, somewhat satisfied, he and the Void simply vanished.
After waiting several minutes, Tianak returned and wandered for a moment. He destroyed so much… My armies have been devastated. This interferes with everything. Tianak sat down in the space that was once his citadel, gritting his teeth. I'm going to act on my own, now. I was going to send the armies and make this more entertaining, but now it's about revenge.
The demon slammed a fist into the ground and created a temporary, far smaller building to serve as his home. First and foremost he was going to get at Jet's little allies, teach the Immortal a lesson in what happens when you fuck with someone, then he was going to make good on his silent threat to Ghune. Whether it was getting ahold of one of her closer allies, or taking some of her people and corrupting them, he was going to lure her into a trap. That was how it was going to work.
His thoughts were interrupted. With as little care as usual for what he might want, Nareish appeared before him. Her standard smirk was smaller than usual, but present regardless. "I am fully aware that this will irritate you… but you must understand that I simply do not care. This is likely the last time you will receive any kind of aid from me, Tianak, and I accept you to be appreciative of the fact that I am here at all. With the Void finally raising hell and the Balancer plotting more than usual, I am set to soon be very busy, indeed."
"Luckily for you… your plan interests me. Feel your petty anger over it if you so desire, but I am here to give you a leg up. Our enemies are not as easy to get at as they once were. This will give you more of a chance to carry out your dark ideas." With a wave of her hand, several people suddenly fell onto the ground just a couple of feet to their left and were pinned down. It was Atani, Storm, Tarin, Kym, and of all people Ythene. "These are people you will most likely want to kill, yes? And these ones… to corrupt."
A second wave of her hand caused more people to appear to their right, also pinned down by her energies. Satsuno, Tempest, Aniko, Amy, and Steam were all present, and the sight of their struggles coupled with the struggles of those doomed to die made Nareish smile a bit more. "As I said, Tianak… be as angry as you'd like about this. I simply do not care… provided you do not waste your newfound opportunity." With that said, she simply vanished.
Tianak growled the entire time she was present, and more so when she left. I don't want your help. Still, though, there was merit to making use of this. There was at least one person here with powerful magic, and another that he knew well enough to have a lot of information he could use. That could wait, though, as he walked over to Ythene with a deep frown. A blade appeared in his hand and he knelt down, blinking once. "You are Ythene, correct?" he asked pointedly.
"Who I am is of no concern to you," was the calm reply.
"Good," Tianak muttered, driving his blade down to what would have been a vaguely satisfying kill… had a golden barrier not shone to life around her.
Ythene's gaze slid over to Steam, and she blinked once. "If you intend to free yourself," she murmured, "now would be the time. I am afraid that even I cannot move currently."
Seeing the shift of attention, Tianak looked at Steam and watched as the hedgehog forcibly shook off the restraints. How a mid-tier semi-Immortal freed himself from bindings created by Nareish, he wasn't sure, but that wouldn't matter. He'd already decided how this fight would go. "You should go ahead and give this up. You don't stand a chance here. You even look like shit, right now."
The hedgehog idly wiped at his eyes with one of his arms, taking careful and controlled breaths. "I can't let you do whatever you're planning," he muttered.
Tianak didn't care to listen to more idle chat, slamming Steam with a blast of Darkness. His eyes widened marginally when Steam shoved the energy aside and charged into him, driving him into the ground with a growl. He's got the strength of an Immortal? Tianak asked himself, grabbing the hedgehog by the throat and tossing him aside so he could stand. How in the hell?
Steam pushed himself to his feet after his tumble, his eyes shaky and unfocused. He'd planned ahead by getting some Privilege from his timeline's Jet for if he got into a situation like this, but an imminent meltdown threatened to ruin all of that. His gaze shifted and he saw who all was trapped here, instantly feeling far worse. Satsuno, Atani, and Kym were all struggling to free themselves, the latter doing so with much more apparent fear. Ythene, meanwhile, was still and calm, as was Storm. Amy, meanwhile, was looking everyone over for signs of injury while also keeping a close eye on Steam. Tempest focused her time on writhing against the restraints, while Aniko and Tarin watched on tensely.
The best he could do from here was unsheath his blade and bring it up to block Tianak's strike, tossed backward by the power of the strike. Steam spent most of his attention on removing the restraints, barely pushing back to protect himself from the attacks of the God of Demons. Tianak kept up the pressure, repeatedly knocking down Steam's defenses and just barely knicking his skin. Steam couldn't keep up, and by now his vision was blurring.
The fight ended when Tianak bore down on Steam's blade and forced him to the ground, kicking the hedgehog's only defense out of his hands. Tianak's blade remained pinned against Steam's neck, and he wasted no time drawing blood. "I don't know exactly how you did this, nor do I care. You're going to tell me what I want to know, then I'm going to kill you."
Steam couldn't get his words out, biting back the sobs as his mind descended into a meltdown. He was falling apart, and it was growing increasingly difficult to not slam his head against the floor. If he moved, he would die, and he couldn't do that, not when everyone else here was in so much danger.
Before Tianak could really act, Tarin shouted, "Steam! Get yourself out of here!" Her bout of defiance was silenced as a wave of Darkness, which only served to intensify Steam's reactions. He shifted to bat the sword away with a hand, but ultimately hit nothing. Steam found himself too out of touch to sense everything that happened.
A flash of rainbow magic signaled the arrival of Cyril, the normally pleasant and happy bird absolutely bursting with an unusual anger. "Just what were you planning to do to these people?" he murmured, casting barriers over everyone present except for Tianak. When no reply came, Cyril asked again. "What were you planning to do to them?" he demanded.
"What does it matter to you-" The God of Demons was cut off by a sling of magic slapping him in the face, rocketing him off the planet.
Cyril turned to Steam and quickly picked him up off the ground, immediately teleporting him back to Mobius before calling Alana with his communicator. She answered, but her usually polite greeting was replaced by a shaky, emotional, "What?"
"I need you now-" He erected a barrier beside himself as a blast of Darkness surged at him, effectively blocking it for now. "God of Demons, people trapped! Please get here!"
Alana hung up. A second or two passed, then the woman appeared in a flash of aura. Wordlessly, she approached Tarin and ripped her restraints off. Once the woman was free, she murmured, "Hurry and leave. You are not safe here."
Tarin glanced briefly at the sight of Cyril and Tianak trading blasts of magic and Darkness respectively, then nodded. "Yeah. No kidding," she murmured, teleporting away.
With her gone, Alana shifted her focus. In a blur of motion, she appeared beside Tianak. She grabbed him by the neck with a hand and threw him away from Cyril with the flick of a wrist. The idleness of the throw's appearance was belied by the sheer force with which he struck the ground. She then turned to Cyril. "I ask that you leave this place. I do not want harm to befall anyone else I care about."
Before Tianak could get up and recover, Cyril flicked a finger and slammed him back down to buy them a few more seconds. "With all due respect, and I truly do mean it, I'm not leaving," he said. "I came here and decided to protect my friends, and that's what I'm going to do. Please save the others, and I'll handle him."
"...Very well." Alana turned away. "But the moment you are placed in too much danger, I am taking the choice away from you." She appeared beside Tianak's trapped victims again, kneeling down beside Kym and Amy. The young cat was as easy to free as Tarin had been, but for some reason it took more elbow grease to pull apart the energy pinning her older companion. Nevertheless, both were freed and promptly sent back to Mobius.
In the meantime, Cyril pulled a tarot card from the deck he'd been given by Akol. Tianak was still in the process of fully recovering from both of them slamming him into the ground, so the finch had a moment to spare. He looked over the card, noticed the (beautiful, as he saw it) art of a Phoenix, then activated it. Flames erupted from his hands down to his elbows, and he blinked once. "Huh, neat."
Tianak's next strike was blocked by unprotected, flaming hands, the finch catching the blade even as it sliced into his skin. He repelled the blade with a wave of magic and noted that the wound he'd received was already healing. Regenerative abilities. Nice. Soon, he was engaged the other god once more. He ducked under a swing and hit the demon with his palm, throwing his opponent back while he formed a whip of magic and slung it around Tianak. He used this with a careful flip to send the God of Demons soaring into the air, where he added a finishing touch of a sigil in the air that chained Tianak and held him in place. "How's it going, Alana?"
The Immortal barely glanced at him as she finally succeeded in pulling the restraints off of Aniko and Atani. "Fine," she grunted. Addressing the chameleons, she ordered simply, "Leave. Go home." Without hesitation, Aniko teleported back, attempting to take Atani with her. This succeeded without any difficulty.
"As soon as you're done, we bail," Cyril said, redoubling his barriers over Alana and their allies.
"You should 'bail' before then," was the clipped reply. Alana set her sights on Ythene next. She was both surprised and yet not by just how hard it was to make any headway with the restraints, and she frowned. The stronger the person, the stronger the trap it would seem.
Meanwhile, Cyril had been looking back too long and was taken by surprise when Tianak's blade cut into his midriff, forcing him to throw the demon away so he could take the weapon out of him. Oh, by god- Cyril watched as blood flowed out of his fresh wound, groaning a little. The finch raised a hand and caught a strong punch aimed for him, but failed to intercept the second blow, and the third. His world shook with the might behind each hit, and the only thing that grounded him was how his magic flowed in response, erupting and surrounding Tianak.
Without exactly realizing what he was doing, Cyril took a step back and created a magic circle with his hands, much like Eila often did. As it was complete, the magic surrounding the God of Demons faded, making way for a perfectly invisible box. "Crap," he bit out, clutching at the injury that just wasn't healing fast enough for his liking. "Gah, that hurts."
Mere seconds later, Alana freed Ythene enough for Chaos to suddenly burst to life around them. The normally wild and unpredictable energy coiled with great gentility around Cyril and tugged him away from Tianak. His wound began to rapidly close. "Stand still for a moment," she instructed. "It is more difficult to heal a mobile target."
Cyril chuckled a little, giving a weak smile. "Thanks, but you guys were supposed to be getting out of here. That's why I even started fighting."
"She is working on it," Ythene replied. "Even for an Immortal, this is evidently not easy to undo. It will take a moment longer."
Before Cyril was fully able to get a reply out, Tianak burst out of the box and let out a growl. "This is all so fucking ridiculous!" Tianak made the surprising move of just beginning to walk away, waving them off. "Get the fuck off my planet. I'm done with Nareish and her bullshit. That's the only reason any of this even happened!"
"It took you long enough to realize she was ruining shit for you," Storm muttered. "I've known about your angry ass for all of five minutes and even I can see it."
"Hey, maybe don't antagonize the guy that almost corrupted and/or killed us, and is now choosing to let us leave?" Cyril proposed before looking over at Tianak. "Also, what even happened here?"
"Let him leave," Ythene advised Cyril. "We were all simultaneously abducted by Nareish and trapped here. Those trapped near me, myself thus included, were deemed worthy of death. Those near him," she gestured with her head toward Satsuno, "were selected for corruption." Right about the time she finished talking, Alana finally yanked her restraints off. The force required to do so caused the Babylonian to fall less-than-gracefully onto her rear."
Cyril might have been far more angry had he realized what was actually happening, but it was too late to care about that now. The finch made a daring move and spoke once more to Tianak before he could leave. "You know, you could go against Nareish? You're strong and all."
"And die? No fucking thanks," Tianak bit out, teleporting away.
Ythene stood and brushed herself off. "Since there is no danger," she said, "I must leave. My sister will be in a rage the moment she realizes I am not merely gone due to travelling as usual. Existence will not well tolerate streams of Chaos being blasted about in her search for me."
The finch raised a hand to question this before deciding it was best to not question the scary lady with a weird new energy. "Gotcha. Be safe."
"Take care, young Cyril," Ythene smiled, her eyes mysterious. "My sister and I plan to properly meet you soon." In an instant after that, she was gone.
"Wait, properly? Who- What?" Cyril questioned, blinking several times. "Huh?"
"Properly, yes," Alana sighed. "As in, not in a situation like this one. And that was Ythene, younger sister to Teyan, the main living embodiment of Chaos. She is essentially considered a deity, like you are, though for living embodiments it is a bit different." She stood up and walked over to Storm, since he was the next closest to her. He was much more easily freed, which he quietly grumbled about.
Cyril sighed a little. "I have so many questions," he muttered after a moment, walking over to Alana. He vaguely sensed the gaze of someone watching them, but seeing as nothing approached, he saw no reason to act on the matter. "But they can wait. Everyone was uninjured, right?"
"Yes," Alana answered, teleporting Storm away back to New Babylon. After that, she set about freeing Satsuno. "Steam likely had some injuries, but I sent the pink woman to the same place he wound up in. I sensed healing powers in her, so he will be fine."
"Oh," Cyril said, blinking. I think her name is Amy…? Silver talked about a pink hedgehog one time. Yeah, that's probably right. "He wasn't doing good at all, though… I'm worried about him."
"With any luck, someone who is present there will be able to help him," Alana murmured. She frowned in concentration, pulling hard at the energy in her hands. This man is not doing well, either… Though he appears to have enough coping skills to keep it contained for now.
Cyril nodded slowly, taking a seat for a moment. The flames that erupted from him had died out by now, and his magic had stopped flowing so openly around him. As he thought about that, his mind chose to drift through various things before his eyes opened and he gasped. "Wait, do I know you?" he asked, looking at Satsuno.
Grey eyes flickered to Cyril. There was no answer at first, but eventually he got a small one. "...No."
"You're…" A king…? Satsuno! At the same time it came to mind, Cyril blurted it out. "You were the king of Mobius!"
A hint of confusion betrayed itself on Satsuno's face. How does he…? He is not even a Mobian… that I am aware of. He reminded himself, after having those thoughts, to respond. This time, it was limited to a single nod.
It took Cyril a surprisingly long couple of seconds of silence to settle down his excitement, wincing. "Oh, I didn't mean to get so excited."
"It is fine," Satsuno answered, looking away. Alana put more energy into her work, and the restraints started to crack and fail.
Cyril glanced away to Alana, choosing to try and leave him be for now. Then he realized she wasn't doing quite so well either. His eyebrows furrowed and he almost questioned it, but decided against it a second later. "Sorry for, uh, being kinda pushy about staying."
"Do not be sorry," Alana bit out, her tone entirely due to the physical and energetic strain she was putting herself through. "I understand your intent." As had happened when she'd freed Ythene, the restraints gave way with enough force to cause her to fall onto her rear. In the instant it took for that to happen, Satsuno was gone, having teleported himself away as soon as he could.
The finch winced a little at her tone, but ultimately understood that it wasn't directed at him. He carefully lifted her to her feet with his magic and offered a hand to help support her, smiling a bit. "Yeah… I just wanted to help."
"I know," she sighed, accepting his hand momentarily. She teleported them both to New Babylon, but not into the palace. Once there, she carefully but abruptly changed the subject. "Cyril, you do not know what recently happened… do you?"
"What… do you mean?" Cyril asked, fear quickly overtaking his heart. The change in topic to something of this degree… That usually meant it was serious, and he really didn't like that. "What happened?"
With another sigh, Alana tugged her hand away. "My father was attacked," she informed him quietly. "He was severely beaten and has yet to regain consciousness. Doctors believe him to be in a coma. He is housed in the palace medical ward right now."
Those words alone warranted action, not words from the finch. He immediately teleported into the palace and walked into the medical ward. In no time, he found Kath's bed and tears welled up in his eyes. What the hell did they do to you?
Alana appeared by his side just in time for Laralei to stand. The older hawk moved to stand by them, reflexively pulling her daughter into an embrace. "Cyril," she murmured in greeting.
Cyril couldn't piece words together to make any sort of coherent reply, so he didn't try. He found himself lost in searching Kath's wounds, trying to find any way he could help his friend. Of course, he sensed the energy he'd been exposed to once now. It was undeniably the Aether, but that didn't help him. He couldn't help, and that made his heart ache so much more. "Who did this?" he demanded quietly.
Hearing this question, benign though it technically was, tore a small sob out of Alana. She turned away from him to fully return her mother's hug and didn't answer. Though she looked equally pained, Laralei opted to respond to him. "Before I tell you, I require that you listen well and understand one thing," she told him, voice now firm yet still soft in volume. "What happened was the result of the worst corruption I have ever heard of. It was not his attacker's fault. Tell me that you understand this."
"I understand," Cyril murmured, forcing himself to collect his emotions together. Just this once, he figured he could bottle it up. Just enough to let it out later. Enough to be stable for a moment. "What happened?"
"A version of my grandson from another reality explained it to me," Laralei told him, looking away. "But, backing up… We learned of Kath's injuries when he and Sein appeared in the main entryway to the building. Both were badly injured, and Sein called for help. They received medical care, and Sein later left to see the version of Jet we know here. After he returned, he slept in that bed there." She gestured to a nearby bed with messy blankets. "Late into the night, he vanished in a flash of aura, thanks to the other Jet that I mentioned."
Laralei shifted her hold on Alana and continued. "From what he said, Nareish had gotten ahold of Sein at some point in the recent past. He underwent severe mental corruption that resulted in extreme alterations in his personality, thoughts, behavior, and so on… including a willingness to do anything and everything she asked of him. The last I heard, this other Jet was attempting to undo her corruption."
Cyril took a long breath in, and let it out in shaky bursts. "I can't believe her," he bit out. "She did the same thing to me."
"I… see."
He walked away from them both briefly, rubbing at his eyes with a hand and taking a second to calm down. In all his life, he didn't think he'd ever felt this kind of agony. Nothing much compared to it aside from the deaths of his loved ones. This time it was a new kind of pain, one filled with a bitter anger. He didn't like it. I'm sick of this, Nareish. You've really pushed it now.
After giving him a bit of time to think in silence, Laralei spoke up again. "You do not have to stay if this is too difficult for you," she said. "You are welcome to stay if you wish, but you do not have to."
Cyril was quiet for a long moment before murmuring a soft, "I should go. As much as I'd really like to stay and watch over him, I need to go… check on someone. Do something to keep my mind off this."
"I understand," Laralei replied. "Please, do whatever you need to. Someone will contact you when Kath begins to improve." When… not if. He will get better.
"I'll know, whether or not someone says," Cyril said, walking away. "But… thank you. If you need me, just let me know. I'm always a message away." He couldn't bring himself to just leave on that note, stopping at the doorway to hear any farewells they may give.
"I will," she assured, sighing. "Take care of yourself, Cyril."
"...You, too." Cyril teleported away, intent on finding something to focus on so he could ignore this pain for a bit.
~保護者~
This was going to be difficult, the man immediately decided. Stepping foot on Babylon again after everything that happened, even with his aura and presence hidden… It didn't feel right. He didn't feel welcome, but maybe that was just him. Nobody had even seen him, not yet. He just… couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't want him here. Despite these thoughts, Sein pressed on, pushing himself through the long trek to the palace. He couldn't just teleport. No, he was going to walk this. Gradually let his presence be known. He wouldn't just spontaneously show up again.
Lost in his emotions, Sein found himself ascending the many stairs this building held. His heart was as heavy as his footfalls felt. Each step echoed to him, and only him. Was he always this loud? By now, his aura was… fully available to be noticed, if anyone was even paying attention. Everyone was probably busy watching over Kath right now… The thought of Kath's name alone stung. He heard a tear hit his shoe, and only then realized just how hyper-sensitive he was allowing his senses to be. Sein took a second to tone them down for his own sake, then continued. It had served as a good enough distraction, either way.
Whether or not it was intentional, his presence was no longer being concealed. He hoped that… they wouldn't react badly, that he could at least see them briefly. Sein expected to get overwhelmed, and he wasn't ready for that. Still, he pressed his hands against the doors to the medical ward and slowly pushed them open, more than ready to be attacked on sight… despite the fact that he wholeheartedly knew Laralei and Alana would never do that.
In an instant, the distracted women realized who was there. Alana appeared before her husband and snapped something shaky at him in ancient Babylonian before dragging him into a painfully tight hug. The normally stoic warrior was openly sobbing and clutching at him as though afraid he would disappear before her very eyes if she dared let him go. Sein couldn't bring himself to return it, for once in his life. His arms remained limp at his sides as he stared quietly at Kath's bed. Alana and Laralei's presence made him want to cry, but seeing his father's injuries again left him unable to. All he could do was quietly lay his head against her shoulder, murmuring a quiet, "I'm sorry. I did this…"
"You did not," Laralei asserted gently, walking over. "We learned what happened, Sein… and that was not you."
He didn't have the energy to argue despite every response in his head being exactly that. It was hard to come up with words… so he decided it best not to try. "It hurts…" he admitted quietly. "It hurts a lot. I don't know what to do."
"I don't know," his mother-in-law murmured, laying a hand on his back and rubbing gentle circles. "But we're here, Sein, and we're staying. You are every bit as much of a member of this family as you were before. We will stand by you and help you however we can."
"Let them see into your soul." The words of Rusen came to mind and he raised a hand slowly to hold Alana, returning her tight gesture and trying to convey how much he loved her through this movement. "I'm not… going anywhere…" he said quietly. "Not again… not ever…" Alana only clung to him harder and nodded, still crying too hard to stop just yet.
Laralei managed a weak smile. "Good. Though… we wouldn't have let you if you'd tried, regardless."
Sein managed to let out a breathy chuckle. "I… figured." His gaze lifted finally and he cleared his throat, taking a deep breath. "Can… we step out in the hall for a second? All three of us?" he asked.
"Of course." Laralei reached past him to push the doors open further, then gestured for him to guide Alana out.
Sein forced himself to move, steeling his body to not collapse from the intense emotional exhaustion already overtaking him. Once they were outside, he gently nudged Alana, hoping she might let go for a moment. "Kinda hard to breathe," he said with a weak tone of amusement. She eventually removed her shaking hands, but immediately hugged herself instead. Alana wasn't calm at all yet, but was no longer outright sobbing. Sein leaned up against a wall and closed his eyes for a moment. Once he felt he had given himself enough time to calm down, he spoke.
"Nareish corrupted me, and used me to do… this," Sein murmured softly. "She made me enjoy it, enjoy serving her, above even loving my family. I hurt my father because of her, then… she made me lie to Jet, and I hate that I liked it at all, in any way." In truth, he felt used, but that went without saying. "I just… really wanted to say it, and get it the hell out there because it's killing me inside." The carefully packed dams burst and tears flowed, and he couldn't bring himself to wipe them away. "My family is in so much pain and I was the pawn for it all."
For now, Laralei chose to remain quiet, willing him to say anything else he needed or wanted to say. She hurt for him, so badly, but it was undeniably good that he wasn't bottling these things up. The more he was able to let out, the better. Sein eventually continued, slumping down into a sitting position. "I don't like this. I hate everything I was made to do, and everything I felt for it all. I hate her for doing this, but I hate myself more, even if it's her fault. Kath's blood was literally on me, and I told him that I enjoyed hurting him." He planted his face in his hands, stamping a foot against the ground in irritation. "I fucking hate this. I hate feeling like it was my fault even when I didn't have a choice." Alana moved to sit beside him, leaning into his side silently.
Ignoring the tears, getting all of this out really helped. He didn't need to hear them say anything. Their auras told the truth, and they agreed with him… specifically that it wasn't his fault. He could tell that much… and somehow, he found it in himself to stick with that. It's not my fault… I didn't have a choice. This is Nareish's fault. He chose not to express the anger, letting it simmer quietly as he leaned back into Alana. "I'm so sorry-" He cut himself off and rephrased. "I wish it didn't happen. I hate that it happened."
"Stop apologizing," Alana told him, voice raw. "It isn't your fault."
Sein sighed softly, wrapping an arm around her softly. "I know. It's just… hard. I'm having a difficult time… changing how I see it." I guess that Faein wanted me to do this for myself, but damn I wish they had just fixed the emotions.
A moment or two passed, then Laralei moved to sit by her daughter's free side. "I understand," she said. "Not fully, but… even so."
"I'll… figure out a way to fix this," Sein murmured softly. "But first, have either of you slept or eaten?"
When Alana didn't answer, Laralei spoke back up. "I made her sleep, but she did not rest long," she admitted. "Neither of us have eaten yet, and I opted to be the first one to sit with Kath so that others could also sleep."
Sein pushed himself to stand immediately, shoving through the tiredness. "Alright, that's it, both of you up," he huffed, crossing his arms. "If you guys are allowed to order me around to sleep and eat, the least you can do is take care of yourselves." He feigned being irritated, then laughed weakly.
"Ordering around a queen? My, how brazen you are." Laralei got to her feet, taking her daughter up with her via a grip on her elbow.
"Had to learn to be," Sein said with a small smile. "I'll go cook us something, then I want both of you to rest. I'll sit with Kath."
Alana wiped at her eyes, hands still shaking. "I have no appetite," she mumbled, being entirely truthful as far as her mother could tell. "I don't want to try right now, Sein."
"Then, I'll just make something that'll be ready for you when you are ready," Sein said, offering her a smile and wrapping his arms around her. "I still want you to rest, though." Alana didn't hesitate to return the hug, but beyond that the only response she gave was a nod. She was just like Kath in her tendency to not talk much when highly emotional. Sein held her head and glanced to Laralei. "And you?"
"I may be able to eat a bit, but you don't have to be the one to make me something." Laralei walked over and hugged them both loosely. "You are exhausted as well, Sein. If you want to just go sit, you can."
He didn't know a better way to express what he was thinking, so he just said it bluntly. "Please, let me do this. It'll give me some normalcy. I want to do something for you guys. I want to help."
In response, she gave him a gentle squeeze and let go. "Alright, Sein. I don't mind."
Sein pulled back from Alana slightly and kissed her forehead gently. "C'mon. Let's get you laid down," he murmured softly. "I'm not letting you get away from this." Alana nodded again and let him go, wiping at her eyes some more. His most recent display of affection helped to relax her slightly further. Sein began walking her toward the room they shared, careful not to move too fast for both their sakes. Laralei, meanwhile, went to the stairs since the kitchen was on the main floor.
Before long, they were at their room and Alana was getting into the bed. She was too emotionally drained to argue against the idea of sleeping while he remained awake despite also being tired. Sein gave her a soft kiss once she was in bed, then made the effort to tuck her in with a smile. She finally, finally managed a very tiny and weak smile back at him. "Come to sleep when you can… alright?"
"Absolutely," Sein replied. "I'll do my best, but you focus on getting sleep. If you can give me hell, I'll do the same right back this time."
"Alright," Alana murmured, pulling the blanket up a bit higher. "I'll sleep as much as I can." Content with that answer, Sein gave her another small hug, which she readily returned. Once he felt comfortable releasing her, Sein stood up and gave her a quiet farewell. She returned it and then went ahead and closed her eyes.
With this, Sein left the room silently and teleported to the kitchen, more than intent on cooking something simple for Laralei and Alana… and himself. It didn't take him all that long to notice Laralei, and when he did, he huffed. "I can't go around bossing the past queen a second time," he said jokingly.
"No, you cannot," Laralei agreed. She turned, a prepackaged meal in her hands. "Sein, what is this? It didn't exist in my era."
Sein took a look at it, blinking once. "Ah, it's a type of rice noodle. Things like those are meant to help people make a meal when they're in a rush."
"I see. In that case, as the former queen, I kindly request you prepare this for me so that I may see how it is done." Laralei smiled and very sweetly handed her chosen food over.
The man rolled his eyes a little. "Of course, your majesty." He accentuated it with a half-hearted bow, proceeding to show her the process so she would understand it.
She observed closely, mostly because the appliance used was foreign to her. Beyond that, the explanation on the box had been straightforward enough. When it was finished, she had to admit to feeling a certain degree of awe. "It smells just as good as standard food," she observed. "I had expected it to somehow be… subpar."
"Yeah," Sein said with a smile. "The only difference is how much you can mess with the recipe to make it just that much better." He chuckled, shrugging. "Of course, I like the freedom of cooking."
"As do I, though I must admit to having a harder time with being creative," Laralei chuckled. "I'm sure you remember how much I struggled in the past to not just follow each recipe to the letter." While she spoke, she rooted around the kitchen for a fork. She'd soon located one and pulled it out.
"Meanwhile, people wrestled with me just to get me to follow the recipe without adding all the exotic flavors I could reasonably manage," Sein reminisced.
"Whereas Alana always just sought something edible so that she could spend less time eating," Laralei said, shaking her head. "That girl… She and Kath would never leave the libraries to eat if they didn't have to."
Sein did his best not to show it, but hearing Kath's name did remind him of the lingering hurt he carried. He soon pushed it back, smiling. "And then I learned how to drag Alana into things."
"That you did, yes." Laralei used a tiny amount of wind to cool off her noodles and their broth, then set about twirling some of those noodles onto her fork. "I hope you intend to eat as well, Sein."
"Yeah," Sein said. "But I planned to make sure Alana's food was done first."
"A good choice," Laralei agreed. "Here, I'll get out of your way." She collected her bowl and moved to sit on a stool placed beside an empty countertop a few feet away.
"You don't have to go anywhere," Sein murmured, already beginning to collect the necessary things.
"I disagree. I was standing in front of all the appliances." Laralei took a bite, and soon stood. Hm, needs some seasoning. She walked to where she had seen some bottles of spices and the like and began looking through them.
Sein watched her with a smile on his face as he began cooking. "I would've figured something out, you know."
"You can certainly figure something out still, if you want," Laralei replied, plucking up a spice that was familiar to her. She walked back to her seat with it and added some to her noodles. Once it was sufficiently stirred in, she took another bite. Ah, much better. With some real flavor, these are delicious. Only then did she decide to try broaching a new subject. "Sein… I'm not asking you to go into detail if you aren't ready to, but Jet… Is he alright? You mentioned she made you lie to him about something."
"I told him something that I never would have," Sein admitted quietly. "I told him to work with the Void."
"What exactly is that?" she asked him. "I keep hearing about it."
"Like how there's Light, Darkness, and Aura, the Void is another energy that's part of existence. It's just… a lot more destructive. Focused on killing." Sein fell quiet, putting his focus into his cooking for a moment.
Laralei just nodded, accepting his explanation. However, she soon felt compelled to ask one more thing. "Does someone need to go check on him? A friend of his came by earlier with a creature calling itself the Aether. It apparently has healing abilities of some kind, so it may be able to help somehow."
"It may not be safe," Sein murmured. "If they can get to him without too much trouble, it might be okay."
"I'm not asking about safety. I'm asking if, for his sake, someone needs to try checking on him."
"It would probably be for the best…" Sein said.
"I will arrange it, then," Laralei decided. She returned to eating after that.
Sein fell quiet again, focusing his attention solely on cooking for a moment. Eventually a thought crossed his mind, and he asked, "Do you think Kath will be… okay?"
"I believe so," she murmured. "He merely needs time. The Aether provided him with healing energy that will help him, and even on his own he's strong. He'll recover, Sein. I know he will." That was enough to satisfy Sein and he fell silent once more.
Time passed, and eventually he finished cooking and setting some food aside for Alana, as well as preparing a meal for himself. Once everything was cleaned up, Sein walked himself back to the medical ward. The approach was far easier this time than it had been before, and that said a lot. He found himself sitting beside Kath in no time, a sigh escaping the man. "Man, this really fucking sucks…"
Of course, he got no response. But there was a faint trickle of energy for just a moment. A combination of Aether and pure time sluggishly closed a small cut on Kath's arm via a combination of healing energy and either rewinding or fast-forwarding time in that precise spot. Various other small wounds were already gone, and a couple of the larger and more severe wounds had shrunk just slightly.
Sein sat upright at this sight, eyes wide. "Holy shit…" He took a moment to inspect Kath's wounds again, taking this new information in before placing a call to Wave. How in the hell did the Aether know? He tried to piece the information together, but his tired brain was simply not working with him today.
Not too much time passed before his call was answered. "Hello?"
"Wave. You came by with the Aether earlier, right?" Sein asked quickly. "What did it do?"
"Yeah, we visited briefly. I don't know exactly what it did, though. One sec." There was a muffled sound, and then she could be heard saying, "Just talk into it, it's a lot like talking to a person you can see. Jet's dad has a question for you."
The Aether soon could be heard accidentally pecking the communicator before speaking. "Hi? Hello? Can you hear me?"
This was at least… vaguely amusing, enough to elicit a small smile from Sein. "I can hear you. I wanted to ask what you did when you were with Kath."
"Oh! I left some of my energy with him to help him. Why?"
"His injuries are… well, not necessarily healing. Not… exactly. This is weird and I don't know how to explain it."
"Is it interacting with another energy and spontaneously causing him to heal?"
"...Yes-" Sein paused momentarily, confused. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess and the idea came to mind."
"Anyway… it seems that, rather than healing normally, his wounds are being reversed. Or maybe it's fast-forwarding the healing? Something like that."
Wave spoke up again. "Wait, are you serious? His wounds are undoing themselves?"
Sein crossed his arms in thought. "It seems like it. That's the only thing I can figure out from looking at all of this."
"I'm glad he's healing!" the Aether said. "It must be interacting with his Immortal powers somehow."
"I-" Sein stopped, remembering what Nareish had told him suddenly. "You're right. He is an Immortal."
"You… You guys can't be serious," Wave said in shock.
"I wouldn't say something that bold without reason. There's no way that this is happening otherwise."
"Holy shit. That's insane."
"I'm aware, but… for him to be healing like this, he'd have to have some serious ability with Time powers."
"People have mistaken him as a God of Time, right?" the Aether asked after a moment.
"Yeah," Wave confirmed. "We all thought that's what it was initially. Didn't help that that's what Steam said he was. But, then again, there are some secrets he feels the need to keep sometimes. So I get why he did it."
"Yeah. If Kath was intended to be an Immortal, it may have been for his own safety to not reveal that, like how fledgling Immortals are intended to be taught some things early while keeping their identity as an Immortal hidden," Sein murmured. "If Steam kept that hidden, it makes total sense."
"Yeah, you're right. It does make sense," Wave sighed. "It's still crazy though."
"Yeah…" Sein agreed. "But… I guess that in this scenario, it's a good thing."
"Absolutely. This means he could be up and around again in a matter of days, maybe even less, so long as this keeps up."
Sein nodded, though he knew it couldn't be seen. "No kidding. I'll see if there's anything I can do to speed this up, too."
"Like what?" she asked. "Got any specific ideas?"
If these injuries were caused by an Immortal of my caliber, maybe my healing can help, too. "I'm gonna see if my limited ability to heal can help at all."
"If… that actually works, you might be able to wake him up," Wave said cautiously. "Maybe not completely, but enough to pull him out of the coma, at least. It's not a guarantee, obviously, but there's a chance. He could even start breathing on his own again."
"I'm gonna try it," Sein said, determined. "I'll let you know how it goes."
"Okay. We'll talk later, then. …Oh, Aether, this is the part where we say goodbye, like you would in person if he was about to leave."
"Oh! Bye!" the Aether called out.
Even through the call, Sein could feel that smile it had on its face, and it made him feel just a tiny bit better. "I'll see you both soon, I'm sure," he said, chuckling a little.
"I don't doubt it," Wave answered. "See you whenever that happens." After that, she hung up.
Sein took a deep breath and held his hands out to Kath's body, taking a moment to focus his energies before attempting to heal Kath. Gradually, more wounds closed. Even the worst ones began looking better and better before too much time had passed. During this, he had the chance to think on what he was doing, and soon he shifted his focus specifically to the wounds Kath had endured on his head. Come on, please wake up…
One wound after another began to heal, close, and fade away as though they had never been. A short length of time passed, then Kath coughed slightly and moved his head away from the touch just a little. Sein felt tears come to his eyes and he slumped back into his seat. His exhaustion was hitting him far harder now after having put that kind of energy into something. Still… Kath was obviously better off for it. That much he was glad to know.
A couple moments later, Kath coughed again. Shortly following that, he coughed some more, almost sort of gagging as he reflexively moved his most healed arm to try and pull at the source of his discomfort. Namely, the tube that had been inserted to force him to breathe. That he wasn't truly awake right now was clear, but he was cognizant enough to be reacting to stimuli. That was a good sign.
Sein managed a smile at this, fighting to keep his eyes open. When I wake up, I'll fix this, if you aren't healed by then. I will make this right. Meanwhile, alerted by the noise, a couple doctors hurried in to check on their patient. Before too long, they were working on removing the tube. Seeing that he was in good hands, it hardly took a moment for Sein to fall asleep.
~保護者~
13,502 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all his help and support. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 12:10 p.m.) 01-11-22.