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".)

188. The Fledgling God

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this violent encounter… especially for the one who gives an unexpected beatdown.

~保護者~

"The Fledgling God"

~保護者~

It was nice having family back… even if it wasn't everyone. That was still more people than he had just a few days ago. Novei was jealous of the attention Li showed Sothan, but that was okay. She understood that this was his uncle, someone he cherished deeply. She was fine with that. Somewhat.

Li had spent plenty of time making sure that Sothan understood what had happened since his death, from then until now. Only a moment ago had he actually finished explaining everything, leaning back in his seat. "So… that all make sense? I'd hate to miss anything."

"I understand," Sothan said. He'd been occupying himself with looking around his old home while Li spoke, taking in the appearance of the forge with careful eyes. Before long he asked, "And this fire damage. It was recent?"

"Yeah," Li replied. "The forge was attacked by a God of Demons. I had to flee. The Immortal, Jet, eventually was able to quell the flames with some help."

Sothan nodded, then turned to Li and held up his hammer with a huff. "I taught you how to use this. Why did you not repair the forge with it?"

Li visibly turned his gaze away for a moment. "Looking at your hammer hurt too much," he admitted. "I put it away because I just… couldn't bear to think about it. You and mom…" he fell quiet for a moment, then shifted into silence.

This earned a sigh and then another understanding nod. Sothan set his weapon down. "I'm sorry, Li, that you lost her. I really, really am."

"It's not your fault," Li replied immediately. "She would have lived if someone hadn't had you killed." There was a surprising amount of venom in his tone, considering just who was talking. "You didn't do anything wrong."

I failed to keep my promise to protect my sister no matter what. That's unacceptable. Rather than bring that up, Sothan asked a new question. "Some of the old deities live. What of Azanae?"

Li managed to calm down his brief spike of anger in time to respond with a soft frown. "She… died as well. Sona, her student, is alive." Sona was never quite the same after Azanae died…

Alarmed, Sothan quickly demanded, "And Althea? I didn't see her, either."

"Same fate. Saved Locke, the one who she was teaching." Li sighed a bit. "She died to Malevolence… Saethrim died, but hasn't told us anything of what happened. Been distant from most of us since he was revived. Kala died to a force called the Metarex, and her position was taken by another Gardenian named Cosmo. Yareis, Pyrun, Eirza, and Ynder have all recently popped back up as well."

Although this was a lot of talking in one day for him, a lot, Sothan continued to participate in it if for no other reason than the importance of this knowledge. "Zenith and Eona were also asleep. Did they wake, too?"

"Yeah," Li replied. "Eona is part of the reason people are being revived at all. Ythene and Teyan are also able to move around freely now. They were trapped in their realm for the longest time, as you know."

They were freed? Well, that was one piece of good news, at least. "What about the younger ones, Nier and Therin? Do they live?"

"They're alive," Li replied. "If I'm not mistaken… Sona recently took to Therin as well, so I have to assume they're both okay. Nier has been… more quiet than usual the past day or so. Usually we hear back from him sooner, but I have every reason to believe he's safe."

Sothan idly crossed his arms in thought before ultimately agreeing. If it was Nier, chances were there was no reason to worry. "One other thing. This Immortal, Jet. He didn't exist in my lifetime. Tell me what you can about him."

"He is the most powerful Immortal to have existed," Li led off. "Easily. He's a very kind person that has a lot of troubles and burdens, but I've never seen him back down when it came to it. Basically, the kind of ally all of the deities needed in an Immortal." Considering the trouble we've had with a few here and there, too…

"Good," Sothan murmured. Then, almost as an afterthought, he said again, "Very good." He was quiet for a short time before continuing. "Have you taken on a student, Li?"

"I wanted to," Li replied. "But I… was a bit awkward and struggled to get my thoughts across in any normal manner. I shouldn't have been so easily intimidated, but I could tell how strong he is."

"Since when does strength intimidate you?" Sothan asked, plainly confused.

"It's less about strength and more about me not being the best in combat," Li explained after a moment. "I shouldn't have expected to be attacked, but I never… really talk to people outside of the deities."

Sothan considered this briefly. "Who was it you were interested in?"

"A man named Shadow. He's a hedgehog, and a descendant of Zenith… indirectly? The situation is weird, from what little I know. I could tell there was something very different about him, though."

"You had a hunch, then? Explain it to me, bud. I'm curious."

"First, now that I'm thinking back on it… being around him gave me some of the same sensation as being around Saethrim," Li explained. "There's part of him that is… dangerous? He isn't dangerous, necessarily, but something about him is."

"What about him feels dangerous? Can you put your finger on it?"

"Something about who he is, I guess?" Li explained. "I can't explain it. It just… feels dangerous."

"Hm." Sothan started to say something else, but succumbed to a yawn instead. Revival makes you tired, apparently. Who knew. "Are you using my old room for anything?"

"No," Li said easily. "I've kept myself from using it at all."

"In that case, I'm going to bed," the older wolf said. "I'll fix things up around here afterward."

Li nodded a little to him. "Makes sense. Try to get some rest."

"Will do." With that said and a wave given, Sothan turned and disappeared down one of the various familiar hallways of this place he'd once called home. He was definitely ready to sleep after his hectic return to life.

With Sothan heading off to rest, Li walked off to collect his (apparently upset?) girlfriend. "Novei, what's the matter?"

"You have ignored me since he appeared," Novei murmured.

"It's my uncle. He died a long time ago, and was just revived. I got really excited and wanted to be around him."

"Just don't forget that I am here," Novei huffed.

"I would never," Li answered, pulling her in for a soft hug. "You should talk to him next time."

Maybe. "I want to sleep."

"Come on, then. We can go rest." Li led her away to his bedroom, holding one of her hands softly. Novei followed him. In her head, she couldn't help but be a touch intimidated by the fact that there was someone else in Li's life for him to give attention to. However, he was obviously happy. That was enough to make her bear the loss of attention on her.

~保護者~

Normally, Toru would have stuck right by Shadow's side, especially after such a serious event. There was also the fact that the labor pains were growing far more serious. However, Toru couldn't shake the idea that he needed to check on Espio. It'd been entirely too long, and things didn't always seem… great for his friend these days. Toru talked to Shadow, ensured that things would be okay, then left for the Highlands. What he saw immediately sent him running, making his way to the nearest source of strong Darkness he could sense. Fuck, fuck. Espio you had better be alive.

He was able to relax minutely when he could confirm that Espio was alive. Onyx shoulders sagged in relief and he approached more calmly, letting his presence be known before calling out, "Espio?"

The chameleon in question dropped out of a nearby tree, one where Aku was visibly resting. His dragon companion was badly burned and wheezing, but nonetheless asleep for the moment. Espio, meanwhile, was unharmed but clearly also unhappy - even angry. Still, he directed none of his emotions at Toru when he asked, "Yes?"

"I came to check up and see how you were doing, but when I got here, I saw… well, everything. What the hell happened?" Toru asked, obviously confused. "I was here pretty recently…"

"An old ally of mine, Marthal… He confirmed the identity of our attacker," Espio started off, crossing his arms. "All we knew initially was that an extraordinarily powerful demon appeared and attacked the village. At least thirty-two are dead or missing, but due to the flames it is difficult to accurately count heads. Several people were corrupted as well."

Toru forced himself to bury his own emotions briefly. "At the very least, i know Armaris is with you, so that's good. Where are Shei and Aniko?"

Espio looked away, his jaw visibly clenching. Eventually, he bit out a simple, "I don't know." It took him close to a full minute to bother elaborating. "Mother was corrupted and sent away. Father got me away from the flames, then had to separate himself from the rest of us due to his powers reacting badly to the situation."

An audible click sounded from Toru, but he didn't say anything more on it. Adding onto Espio's fury and pain was the obviously wrong answer. It was better to change the subject… somewhat. "Have you been in contact with the others?"

"No. I do not usually interact with most of them." After a second pause, Espio again elaborated. "I was only ever close with two or three of them. I have rarely spoken with the rest throughout the years."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to see if they're okay. It wouldn't take much for that bastard to go elsewhere on Mobius," Toru pointed out, letting out a sigh. He took to his own communicator and sent out a message to Tails. "Hey, some shit went down in Hyale. Are you guys okay?"

Rather than getting a reply, Toru instantly received an automated message. "ERROR. COMMUNICATOR INOPERABLE." Toru took in a deep breath before looking to Espio. "Are you and Armaris okay?" he asked pointedly. "Or should I go check on them alone? Do not come with me if you think the outcome might push you too far."

Amber eyes looked at him sharply. "Explain," Espio demanded.

"Got a reply saying that Tails's communicator was inoperable," Toru explained. He didn't think he needed to add any more detail, so he kept it vague.

Espio tensed visibly. Struggling to squash his emotions, he said as evenly as he could, "Cream is there. I have not heard from her."

"If something went wrong, can you keep yourself in control?" Toru asked. "I'm walking a bit of a thin line already, and I'd hate for either of us to be set off."

The truthful answer was that no, he couldn't. Control was something he could barely maintain at the best of times. This most certainly was not "the best of times". And part of him desperately wanted to stay here because it was very possible that Aku was dying. However… there was no way in hell that he wasn't going to go see for himself that Cream was alright. "I'm going," Espio told him firmly.

Toru might have jumped if he hadn't sensed it, but he had. Armaris popped up out of his shadow and immediately nodded, walking over to Espio. "I'm going, too."

That… left Espio in a bind. Rather than answering her, he looked up at Aku with a frown. I cannot leave him alone like this.

"Stay with Aku," Toru said immediately to Armaris. "If that demon is hanging around and you appear, you will get corrupted." Realistically, it was more about Espio's obvious concern for the dragon. "Stay here. If we're not back in ten minutes, message me, alright?"

Armaris looked to Espio, frowning a little. "Do you want me to stay?"

Espio hesitated, but soon said, "He is grievously injured, Armaris, and not coherent. If he is approached by anyone that is not part of my family, he may well lash out violently in self-defense. He must be monitored closely to ensure that does not happen."

The cat hesitated in kind, but ultimately nodded. "I'll stay here. Let me know how everything is going, okay?" she said gently, giving Espio a soft hug. This very nearly earned a knee-jerk reaction of Espio forcefully jerking away from the touch, but he managed to stop himself before moving more than a centimeter or two. Once he'd stopped himself, the reflex died away and he was able to hug her back as normal. Armaris soon let go of him, motioning for them to go.

Toru immediately teleported himself and Espio to Tails's home, sucking in a breath at the sight before them. Fuck. I can already see blood, but there aren't bodies laying around.

Rather than wait for him, Espio vanished into the ruins without a sound. He was back an instant later with a brief report. "They are in the workshop. The stairs are intact." Without waiting for more, Toru went ahead and simply teleported into the workshop. His breath was released when he immediately saw how many people were not dead.

Appearing beside him, Espio scoured the group with his eyes. When he spied Cream nearby with Sonic, he visibly relaxed to a certain degree. The bunny saw them in turn not a moment later and hurried over. She hugged Espio tightly, then actually did the same with Toru. That she remembered him from her childhood was clear, for she was smiling when she released him. "I'm so glad you're both alright," she murmured. "I was worried sick that that demon might have attacked Hyale as well."

"It did," Toru admitted quietly, veering off to go check on Tails and Wery while Espio directed his full attention to his adopted daughter for now. He frowned visibly when he saw the disheveled state that Wery was in, even in her sleep. What… happened? He didn't like seeing the bright and cheery fox he'd met so… obviously hurt.

Tails looked up from her and fixed Toru with an exhausted, miserable expression. "Did I hear right?" he asked quietly in an effort not to disturb her. "You guys got hit, too?"

"Yeah," Toru answered, walking a little closer. "Apparently Aniko was taken."

"Oh, no," Tails whispered, shooting a quick glance at Espio. "How is he handling it?"

"Badly." Toru didn't want to divulge much more than that, but he did explain himself. "I could tell just by how he was moving."

"'How he was moving'?" Tails queried.

Toru shrugged. "Emotions can cause movements to change minutely. His anger was obvious."

Leave it to a chameleon to read someone that deeply so easily, I guess… Tails didn't have the energy for his usual curious nature. He let his line of inquiry die where it was and sighed. "I'll inform Sonic about this… unless you want to."

"I'll handle it. I have a feeling that you leaving Wery will make it worse on her," Toru murmured, already shifting to leave them be.

"Okay," Tails quietly called after him.

Toru crossed the distance to Sonic, dropping to sit by the hedgehog. "What all happened?" he dared to ask.

Sonic looked up from the broken pieces of crystal in his hands, saw Toru standing there, and heaved a heavy sigh. "The new God of Demons, I'd wager. We were blitzed. The attack happened so fast that none of us reacted in time. Since then, all of us have been trying to assess the damage since then." He looked away, pain in his eyes. "Two people died. No one you know, but one of them was Wery's friend. That's why she's so devastated right now."

The chameleon nodded slowly. That explained… a lot. "The white cat?" he thought, then added, "And that yellow bird?" Those were the only people he really recognized as missing.

"The white cat is Eila," Sonic explained. As he spoke, he resumed attempting to see which crystal pieces fit together and where. Some pieces had been figured out and were currently held together with a loose coating of blue magic. Nearby, Kohaku dejectedly played with his surviving blocks while occasionally sniffling. "She's the one Shadow and I originally knew as Astra. The one we didn't like. She was corrupted and taken away. Cyril left a short while ago. I'm not sure where he went."

Toru decided quickly that he didn't like the fact that the silver hedgehog with the blocks was sniffling. He hated that Wery was so obviously in pain. He hated this atmosphere, and he absolutely fucking loathed the God of Demons. "Aniko was corrupted and taken as well," he murmured. "Espio isn't taking it that well, not that I blame him."

This earned another heavy sigh from Sonic. "Fuck…" he muttered. "This is bad…"

"No kidding," Toru muttered back. "I'm doing what I can now to keep Espio as calm as I can, but seeing Cream seems to have taken… some of the edge off."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense. He's extremely close to her. Seeing her alright is probably one of the main things that could help him right now."

"Not surprised." Toru glanced around. "Where the hell is that Steam guy? He tends to have a knack for showing up when shit goes bad."

"No idea," Sonic admitted. "Last I heard, he was going to check on Jet. I heard from Wave that Jet's doing better, but Steam must still be there because we haven't seen him back here since then."

Toru frowned briefly in thought. "Glad he's doing better, I suppose."

"You and me both," Sonic admitted. "Not counting my actual brothers… Jet's the person I count as a brother in my life. Nareish did a number on him from what I heard, so hearing that it wasn't fatal… It was more of a relief than I can verbalize."

"I can imagine," Toru said. "I'm not sure what I'd do if I lost Espio or my sister. They mean more to me than I could ever hope to describe."

"Yeah. I get it." Sonic started to say something else, but quickly derailed when he had to turn his attention to his grandson. Said grandson was reaching over and grasping broken pieces of his special block, forcing Sonic to intervene. "Hey, no, no, no. Kohaku, bud, no. These are sharp. You'll get hurt. Grandpa is trying to fix it, okay? Can grandpa do that?"

Kohaku sniffled some more and whimpered, "My block."

"I know, bud," Sonic said soothingly. "Grandpa is working on it."

Toru looked over to Kohaku. "Where'd you get it?" he asked gently, hoping to help distract the hedgehog.

Wiping at his eyes, Kohaku finally let go of the pieces he'd grabbed. "Lady," he said. "Like dad. Like daddy."

"Rose," Sonic supplied. "She made it for him, apparently."

"Ah," Toru murmured. "Very interesting skill."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "Problem is, Kohaku's very attached to it and, as you can see, it shattered. He doesn't fully understand what happened to it, or what happened to the rest of the house. We're pretty sure he understands they're broken, but he's too upset to retain that knowledge here and there. Hence little moments like that one just then."

Toru gave a small nod in reply to this. "Gotcha. Hopefully you can get it fixed, then."

"I hope so. It's a pain in the ass to fit these shards back together." Sonic worked in silence for a few short seconds before refocusing. "How bad is the damage in the Highlands?"

"Bad." Toru didn't say more than that. Just thinking about it made him furious.

"Great," was the muttered reply. It was quiet for a bit longer this time. However, it still didn't take that long for Sonic to speak again. "How's Shadow? I know you got him away from the ARK, and I assume the fact that you're not still in a rage means he wasn't hurt."

"I was able to get there before anything serious happened," Toru answered. "Stopped Gerald, and Shadow killed him. After that, I brought him to Hyale and one of the Faein approached and helped with the situation." There were details he knew he'd omitted, but they weren't important. Sonic didn't need to get the news that Shadow had been muzzled.

Sonic frowned. Shadow had the courage to kill him… Why now, of all times? It's not a bad thing, but it seems… sudden. "I'm glad he's safe and that he wasn't hurt. How has he been since then?"

"Pregnant," Toru answered with an unhelpful shrug. "Shit's been hitting the fan a lot, if I'm honest. Haven't had much time to adjust to most of it."

Immediately, Sonic looked at the chameleon as though he had two heads. "Huh?" he asked, flabbergasted.

Toru shrugged again. "He's back home right now. I came to check on Espio, but then all this came up. I gotta head back soon to make sure he doesn't go into labor."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic demanded, still confused as all hell. Probably even more so now than before. "You hear yourself, right? You hear what you're saying?"

"Yeah, I know full well what I'm saying," Toru replied.

"Then maybe you can explain to me how the fuck what you said makes any sense," was the quick retort. Having noticed the outburst (quiet though it was), Espio suddenly appeared beside them, his own vague confusion showing in his eyes.

"Shadow is part Tokarian, part Black Arms. Due to being mostly Black Arms and getting exposed to my blood, he got pregnant," Toru answered. It didn't fully click with him that maybe him having accepted something like this as normal so readily meant he wasn't quite explaining anything with helpful levels of detail.

Before Sonic could do more than open his mouth, Espio raised a hand to silence him. He then directed his attention to Toru and (much more tactfully than Sonic would have right now) asked, "Why have neither of you told anyone about this before now?"

Toru shrugged again. "Dunno. Figured Shadow might at some point. I haven't been around most anyone else besides Tails, Wery, and Shadow."

At this point, Sonic rubbed a hand over his face with a groan. "You expected Shadow, the antisocial hedgehog, to go around telling people about something like this?"

The chameleon, once more, shrugged. "I figured he'd tell you. Obviously not, though."

"Dude, we've barely interacted at all recently," Sonic blurted out.

Espio spoke up again before Sonic could continue. "You mentioned labor?" he questioned Toru. "How is that possible when you two have not known each other for long enough by this point?"

"Not sure. Some weird time shit or something," Toru threw his hands up briefly. "Pregnancy got bumped forward five months or something like that?"

That provoked a thought in Sonic's mind. Didn't something happen that caused Kath to lose control over his time powers briefly once? He wasn't sure, but he thought that maybe he'd heard about something like that. Fucking hell, this is such a mess. …And here's a sentence I never thought I'd say in my life. "Is he actively going into labor, Toru? Do you guys need anything?"

"The only thing we really need is a place for him that can handle Black Arms blood. Shit apparently melts through just about anything," Toru explained. "Or eats through it. Not eager to find out."

"The only place I know of that may be safe for such a thing is the hive," Espio said. "But I do not think he would want to go there. He does not dislike the location, but he also does not have many decent memories of it due in no small part to Gerald."

Toru nodded a little. "It's at least an option."

"Hey, you didn't answer my first question," Sonic reminded him. "Is Shadow going into labor right now, or at least starting to?"

"I know nothing about how labor works," Toru bluntly explained. "Currently, he's in pain, though."

Sonic rubbed at his face again. "God, it's like pulling teeth…" After heaving an enormous sigh, he asked a more direct and focused question. "Has he said where his pain is? Any mention at all?"

"Lower back pain." The onyx chameleon chose not to reply to the first statement, figuring it best to not start that conversation.

The other two traded knowing looks. While Espio hadn't been there to see the birth of his own kids, he'd been there to support their various allies when they had had children. And Sonic, of course, was a parent as well. They both knew full well what this pain meant, and Sonic said as much. "That's a big indicator that the process is at least getting started," he said. "Given that, I'd strongly recommend you go back and be with him. The rest of us here can try to figure something out for where you guys can go. Alright?" Focusing on the problem at hand was easier than thinking about the issue deeply, but god this was still such a weird discussion to be having.

Toru glanced over at Espio. "Would you mind coming with me?"

Espio hesitated, but only long enough to look back at Cream and decide, She is safe enough with them, and she can handle herself even when alone. Looking back at his old friend, he gave his consent with a nod. "Alright."

With that, Toru teleported over to Espio, then teleported them both back to Shadow's home. The moment they appeared in the house, they were greeted by a mess of toys in the front room as Lia played with… seemingly just about everything she owned all at once. Upon spying them, she broke out into a huge smile and quite literally tackled Espio to the floor in a hug. "Uncle, you're back!" she exclaimed. "I missed you!"

Toru chuckled, finding a substantial amount of amusement in this. "You seem well acquainted."

Shifting the girl carefully, Espio sat up. Although he was stunned at seeing her again (and not to mention seeing her so small), he kept that emotion to himself and reverted to old behaviors with her without missing a beat. "Lia, we talked about this. What have I said about tackling people to the floor?"

Lia huffed, but got off of him. "To not to," she pouted. Then she was all smiles again, saying, "But it's okay, 'cause I know you're strong like daddy is! That means you're not hurt!" While Espio picked himself up, Lia told Toru, "I wanted to play with daddy, but he told me he's not feeling very super good."

A direct quote, I'm sure, Espio mused, idly pushing a stray toy away with his boot. Without much delay, Toru navigated the landmines comprised of toys and crossed the room to walk into Shadow's. Espio murmured something to Lia about going back to playing while he followed Toru both to and down the hall toward the aforementioned room. Once there, he was greeted by the sight of Shadow semi-dozing on the bed, his deep scowl and tense posture clearly one of pain. It may well be radiating throughout his whole body by this point, given this reaction.

Toru moved closer and sat down by the hedgehog on the edge of the bed. "Shadow?" he spoke gently, hoping to rouse the hedgehog without too much fright.

As per usual, it didn't take much to wake Shadow. His eyes opened almost immediately. He took a moment to steady himself against another wave of pain before rubbing his eyes before sitting up a little so as to look at Toru properly. Fuck, was about the only thought he had right then.

"Try to relax," Toru said, setting a hand on Shadow's shoulder to keep him still. "You're in pain. Take it slow."

No shit I'm in pain. The irate thought was there and gone in a flash, his emotions no doubt being affected by the aforementioned pain he was experiencing. Rather than trying to say anything just yet, Shadow took a moment to just try and breathe through this long-lasting wave.

Espio, meanwhile, assessed the situation with a critical eye. Medicine may well be warranted here… but with his complicated biology, there's no telling if anything made on this planet is even capable of helping him.

Of course, Toru was thinking along the same lines. A container appeared in his hand, the one he'd received from Ghune. She gave me this for a reason… He handed it to Shadow, declaring, "Ghune gave this to me to give to you. Might be a good time for it."

Shadow didn't hesitate much to take the item, as much as he personally objected to the smell it was giving off. It was too sweet for his liking, but if nothing else that meant it was fairly easy to drink. At least it wasn't bitter. As soon as he was done with the medicine, he set it aside and tried to focus his attention elsewhere. "Why are you here?" he asked Espio.

Slim shoulders lifted briefly in an unhelpful gesture. "He asked me to accompany him."

Vague motherfucker, Shadow mentally griped while moving to lay back down on his side. His entire back and abdomen hurt like hell, meaning this was the only somewhat comfortable position he had available to him. It then occurred to him again that he was being needlessly testy because of his physical state. He did his best to start dialing that back.

Toru stiffened briefly when he heard footsteps that were decidedly heavier than Lia's and Soren's. He almost reachied for his sword before he recognized the presence. He shifted off of the bed and walked to the door, opening it before the hedgehog on the other side had a chance to knock. Steam was… visibly alert. "What?" he asked. Espio turned his head to look with crossed arms while Shadow silently watched.

The onyx chameleon was at least vaguely surprised when the hedgehog managed to easily squeeze past him, walking over to Shadow with a slow breath. "Okay, you aren't too far into this. There's a place we need to get you to before you get into the final stages of labor. Do you think you can move?"

"What place?" Shadow asked. He slowly and carefully pushed himself back up, though doing so was not pleasant right now.

"Eila made a place for you with her magic so you could deliver the baby safely, due to the whole blood situation," Steam explained.

Shadow gradually moved into a full sitting position, then asked one more question. "Where?"

Steam idly waved a hand and opened a portal. "Luckily, she gave people like me access. It's… well, the explanation is weird. It's there, but not really." His words grew more hurried as he spoke, though he did his best to stay calm. Shadow could only nod right then. A fresh wave of pain was starting to wash over him, and it was strong enough that he didn't trust himself to speak right then. He especially doubted that he could stand and walk right this minute.

Soon, Toru was by his side, offering a hand to Shadow. "Mind if I help you?" Shadow just gritted his teeth and shook his head. He didn't mind this time, mostly because it was the only option available. One of Toru's arms wrapped under both of Shadow's, carefully and ever so slowly lifting him off of the bed.

While Toru was busy with Shadow, Steam put all of his focus on Espio. He walked closer and spoke in a hushed tone. "I'm preparing a group to go take back the people corrupted. Please, if you care about your family and kids, stay here. We can't have you corrupted, okay?"

Espio immediately scowled at him and in the same hushed tone responded, "That is my mother he took."

"I'm going to ask you this once," Steam murmured. "Are you at all capable of handling psychic and magic powers, as well as breaking through the defenses of one of the single most defensive being to exist, while wielding the same energy as that person and avoiding corruption?" With a soft, irritated sound, Espio looked away. "Stay here, look after your friends. Toru and Shadow need a calm pillar of support. The moment that your mother is safe and purified, I'll tell you. Alright?"

Though he ground his teeth together (an unusual reaction for him since he hated the way it felt), Espio gave in before too long and muttered a soft, "Fine." But I'm staying for their sakes… not for yours.

Steam nodded a little. "Thank you." With this said, he left the portal open for Espio, teleporting away to handle the mess Tianak caused.

~保護者~

For the second time in as many hours, Black Doom felt his instincts rile up. Someone or something had just entered his territory, but not by waltzing into the edges of it. No, it appeared close to where he currently was, and that had him tense and damn-near ready to attack. He caught himself after a second or two as his drowsiness faded away. Pushing himself up from the spot on the floor where he'd been sleeping, he further focused his senses.

This wasn't some lost, hapless prey. It was… a person. Who was it? Some vague recognition filled him, but there were no specific memories associated with the person's aura. But when the scent hit him, there was no denying that it was familiar. Once he caught a scent, he never forgot it. Never. But… where in the hell had he caught this specific scent before? He couldn't remember, and that bothered him.

Shifting, he angled his ears to better catch the sound of the person's footfalls. They're approaching. Why? Beyond his chambers, numerous Black Arms were working themselves into a tizzy over the intrusion. They were just as confused by this arrival as he was, and his personal confusion left them uncertain as to how to respond. He wasn't welcoming this person. He wasn't repelling them. As such, they were left… stumped. In truth, he was as well.

The true surprise came when said person teleported into his chambers. A green hedgehog came into view, and the sudden appearance was enough to properly rouse Ghune. Who, until now, hadn't felt threatened enough by the presence to bother moving. She stood and immediately asserted herself in Black Doom's place, protective as all get out. "Why the hell did you come back here?" she demanded. Meanwhile, Black Doom ignored their words in favor of trying to work through the emotional nuances of this stranger's scent. Something seemed… wrong.

"I needed to talk to you, specifically," Steam explained, walking closer despite the intense animosity she was radiating. He couldn't focus on that. This was far too important. "Something happened and I need you to know about it."

Ghune chose to not cleave the insolent hedgehog for his foolish actions, instead indulging in her confusion. "Speak. You already should not have come to this place." Yet, he walked directly here. He knew how to not provoke the Black Arms, as well… Unlike last time.

"The new God of Demons attacked after our group returned from raiding Nareish's realm. He attacked Hyale and the home where most of my allies were staying. Finis was there with Cere to hear about any future plans we might have had. He got corrupted along with two other allies of ours." Black Doom frowned silently, feeling himself tense, but chose not to interject.

It was quite rare that Ghune really divulged in any capacity her care for the God of Night. They were both quiet beings, and she had only spoken to him a small number of times. However… she had a natural bond with Finis. She took a few seconds to collect her breath before asking a simple and pointed question. "Where is the God of Demons?"

"Get Saethrim, then go to Mobius and I'll explain. You are not going there alone." Steam ordered. "The last thing existence needs is for more neutral beings of Darkness to begin rapidly turning evil."

Though he spoke very logically, and managed to keep the growing anxiety out of his voice… her anger triggered predatory instincts she had initially ignored for so long. "You will explain upon my arrival, or you will not live." She turned to Black Doom, softening her tone immensely. "I must go once more for a short time. T'challik will watch over you in my absence."

This earned a soft scoff. "I do not need to watched over." Black Doom then waved her off with a hand. "Go. This must be handled quickly."

Ghune waited not a moment more, teleporting directly to Calypso's home and breaking her body apart into a mist to slip through the door silently. "Saethrim! Your attention is needed!" she called.

It went without saying that Saethrim was irritated at being woken up so suddenly, as well as Calypso assuredly being roused by Ghune being so loud. Why the fuck is Ghune here? He quickly stood out of the bed and warped into the living room to meet the vampire, utterly confused. "The hell are you doing here?"

"Put on some fucking clothes," Ghune muttered, covering the man's body with a coating of magic. "I was just informed that Finis was corrupted and taken by the God of Demons. We are going to handle this."

Saethrim paused visibly before warping on his clothes and crossing his arms, not immediately comprehending. "Finis was corrupted."

"Yes."

Oh my fucking god. He's made of shadows. That may as well have been Darkness in this scenario. There wasn't another question that entered his mind. He teleported his sword into his hand and strapped his blindfold on his head. "Fuck this guy. I'll fucking kill him."

Satisfied that he was ready so soon, Ghune called out one more thing. "Forgive me for my intrusion, Calypso." Then, she teleported herself to Mobius.

Calypso had no time to respond to her, and so she instead focused on talking to Saethrim while dressing herself. "You fix my house before you leave, Saet'rim," she said to him, raising her voice to be heard. "And you stay safe. Trekk and I be fine while you go."

Saethrim made short work of what Calypso wanted done, a combination of speed and warping around allowing him to handle it all. "Done. Gotta go beat the hell out of someone." He didn't waste any more time before teleporting away… especially since he didn't consider giving Calypso a kiss to be a waste of time. She huffed, but didn't complain. He had a friend to go save.

The proceedings upon the arrival of Saethrim and Ghune were quiet, yet hectic. Steam was rapidly having himself filled in on the situation and quickly appointing people to go. Cream and Cyril (each volunteering themselves) were to face Eila and incapacitate her. Saethrim was to do the same to Aniko, then join Ghune, Cere, and Steam himself to hold back Finis while Rose faced Tianak.

The moment that everyone was prepared… they left for the planet of the God of Demons.

On the planet in question, Finis floated in a dark corner of the citadel with crossed arms. His normally equally dark purple eyes were a burning, demonic orange. But despite his corruption and how rapidly it was worsening, he was refusing to do anything Tianak wanted him to. He'd not yet been ordered via the God's powers, and so he utilized his free will to disobey.

It wasn't that he felt some sort of allegiance with his former friends and allies, however. Not anymore. The reason was more that he had no desire to be subjugated. He wasn't so sure that the two corrupted women were resisting so successfully, though. Frankly, he didn't even care. His attention was focused on the man who had taken him here.

Near him, with similarly crossed arms, Aniko stood. Red eyes stared at Tianak as he spoke. She didn't quite care what he had to say. If anything, his words were irritating to listen to. Yet still, however, she couldn't really ignore him. The authority he held forced her to pay attention.

Eila stood silently, staring with a blank gaze in a direction that wasn't Tianak's. The faint shimmer of her natural barriers flowed around her body as she blatantly ignored whatever the God was saying currently. Her focus was on something… just barely outside of her senses. She could almost tell what was there, glowing orange eyes narrowing.

Tianak was in the middle of explaining precisely what these three were going to be doing shortly. He had every intention for Eila to use her psychic powers to kill off any of the heroes that couldn't deal with it while Aniko handled the rest. He was very aware that Finis was not very offensive, and so his job would have been to simply protect the other two while Tianak got to sit back and watch. He would only intervene if it was necessary, especially since having allies kill allies was much more of a delight than doing it himself.

Finis barely gave Tianak time to finish his spiel before muttering a simple, "I decline."

Eila passed a glance to Finis, shaking her head. She knew why this was a bad idea… but explaining was a worse one. Tianak simply smiled at this, chuckling a little. "Oh, is that so?"

"I have no interest in assisting you in failing," Finis responded, an edge of snark to his tone.

"Oh, you'll be helping." Tianak shrugged a little. "One way or another."

"You are an idiot," Finis told him bluntly, "and your plan will fail no matter what little stunts you pull."

Eila shot Finis a glare, speaking to him mentally. "This is precisely what he likes. You are feeding him pleasure." The response she got was the equivalent to a mental scoff.

Tianak wasted no more time in easily issuing the order for Finis to aid him. "You will obey," the God said simply.

"Fuck you," was the irate reply he got. He was given no order not to talk back, so Finis took full advantage of that. The bastard was impeding on his free will, and Finis instantly hated him more for it. I'll make him pay.

"I sense magic," Eila murmured. "Seven bodies." Her thoughts only reached Aniko and Finis. She decidedly did not give a fuck what happened to Tianak.

"Cere will be among them," Finis warned. "Possibly Saethrim as well. Either one of them can and will overpower both of you given half a chance."

"Saethrim will act as he pleases. If he so chooses to attack us, we lose in the instant he strikes." Aniko let out a slow sigh, glancing to Finis. "You cannot slow him, can you?"

"Even he cannot get past my barriers," Finis answered. "He has made attempts in the past. As it stands, I have no choice but to defend you. Do not waste your opportunity. I will not do this for you again in the future."

"...Fuck." Eila began walking forward. "Cyril is here as well. I sense… another source of intense magic. This is bad."

"Ghune," Finis silently realized. Then, directing his attention to Tianak, he muttered, "Looks like you get your wish. They are nearly here."

Eila whipped around and pulled Finis and Aniko away from Tianak with her magic before the man could respond as the ceiling collapsed and Light directly struck the God of Demons in the chest. Since he wasn't under orders to help him, Finis ignored the other man's plight. He wrenched himself away from Eila (an easy enough task since he was barely able to be physically touched to begin with) and floated a bit above the debris. "Those three are indeed among them," he warned Eila and Aniko, eyes on the sky. "Focus on your fighting. I will defend you unless somehow rendered incapable."

Aniko drew her blade and shot away, intending on making the best of the situation she had. Eila glanced to Finis and nodded slowly, waving a hand and casting up a massive barrier to encase two of the people here to face them. "Tianak is about to order you to protect him." She didn't give any further warning, vanishing to handle her chosen opponents. She was proven right moments later. Tianak deflected a blow from Rose and issued the order Eila had warned about. Finis silently tsked and directed some of his focus (however unwillingly) onto the god.

It seemed the bastard would survive this after all.

~保護者~

Aniko was a dear friend. In the few times he'd been able to interact with her and Shei, he felt as if he'd grown close enough to call her a friend of sorts. After having saved their son so long ago, they'd certainly warmed up to him as well. However, no amount of emotions would stop him from beating the hell out of her if it meant getting her purified.

Her blade couldn't quite cleave into his skin. It left a mark, sure, but she was no dragon. The woman was forced to pull back with every attack she landed, which were few and far between in these first few seconds. Fighting Saethrim proved to be a painful challenge, much like she'd anticipated. The man was unreasonably strong, and he showed it by catching her sword and wrenching it forcefully from her grasp, warping the blade away.

Luckily for Aniko, Finis was still protecting her. The man struck with force that would have surely rendered her unconscious on contact, stopped only by a barrier. Aniko used this to grab at Saethrim, only for the man to disappear.

Once more, a barrier was the only thing to save her. Saethrim couldn't penetrate this, but she couldn't make contact. It was a stalemate. Saethrim wasn't going to slip up, not in a way that would matter for her. Even when he did, her hand simply… grasped at nothing but smoke and ash.

Then all at once, he changed his strategy. Saethrim struck the ground with a ferocity unknown to her. The earth below her exploded and she had to jump away, left vulnerable in the air for him to appear behind her and strike with a kick. Though it was blocked still, it forced her to make a quick landing in order to not get knocked over completely.

Saethrim didn't let up, cascading what would normally have been lethal blows on the barrier that repeatedly forced her back. Eventually the barrage left her on her back. The da Asani smirked, knowing now that she wasn't going to get away and that he had one shot. He swung his fist and warped the space between his hand and Aniko, just barely slipping past the barrier and delivering a devastating hit that instantly rendered her unconscious.

Now, it was time to go handle Finis and Tianak.

~保護者~

Protecting himself and Cream was a terrifying experience. Up until now, Cyril had been secluding himself on the battlefield and keeping away from others so they wouldn't be subject to the wildness of his card magic. Here, in this moment, he wasn't given a choice. Eila's strong suit was definitely her psychic powers, and having the psychic bunny was incredibly helpful, but he alone had to handle the incoming magical attacks.

Spikes and massive jaws of magic surged all around him, and it took all his focus to not let them get too close to Cream. She protected his mind and her own from Eila's mental assaults, luckily. He wasn't sure he would have lasted this long in a fight alone. He barely lasted now, erecting a powerful shield around himself only to feel it torn open by some sort of vicious magic attack. She had experience. He had power. The gaps in these two categories were both roughly enough to keep the two on par with one another… for now.

He was shoved back suddenly by a wave of magic, barely able to contain it. His focus was everywhere at once as hell rained down on them, almost literally. He felt a hand wrap around the back of his neck and he ducked, lowering his head in time to avoid a phantasmal blade, but not enough so that he was able to resist being tossed into the air.

His lungs were then forcibly compressed when he shielded his chest from a blast of magic, slammed into the barrier keeping them in here. For a brief moment, he noticed his vision go dark, but he recovered quickly enough to grab at his deck cases. It was a dangerous play, but he pulled out The Star and activated it. In a flash, he appeared by Eila and thrusted a palm into her next attack, interrupting a spell in time as he unleashed a short barrage of blows.

None connected. Even after shattering her barrier, another appeared. Darkness…? That can't be right. She can't use this power. And it feels... different from what I've sensed before. He wasn't allowed to continue this train of thought, nor realize that he was wrong in his assumption about what kind of energy he was facing. Eila blasted him into the ground and sent him skidding away, and he landed in a heap some distance away. That has to be the worst injury I've had in years… The finch complained mentally, dragging himself to his feet.

There was no time to rest, forced to leap away as more spells were flung his way. He wasn't given time to focus, and having the ability to fight like Wave did (physically, at least) wasn't helping here. He had to bide his time and wait for the tarot card to fade, acrobatics and carefully placed magic being his only saving grace as he made his way back over to Cream. "You doing alright?" Cyril asked, coughing a little as he finally used his lungs to speak.

"I'm fine, Mister Cyril," she assured, never taking her eyes off of the battlefield. "Please, take care of yourself going forward. I'm no healer. That's Miss Amy's area."

Cyril flicked his hand up and forcefully cut off a spell of Eila's, then let out a sigh. "I can't make contact with her," he murmured, internally noting what Cream had said. "Something is protecting her."

"Not something," the bunny murmured back. "Someone. I sense a mind somewhere that is focused on protecting her and at least two others, but their defenses are so strong that I cannot breach them to see into their thoughts more. I can only see this much because they're letting me. They don't care if we know what they're doing."

"If I had a bit more time, I'd get us out of here," Cyril muttered, pulling up a shield over them both. "She'll cut me off if I try to break out, though. I can tell."

Cream pursed her lips together and gave a grim nod. "What do we do?"

"I don't know…" Cyril mumbled, looking up at Eila. She's trying to kill me… This is awful.

Looking a touch more grim, Cream told him, "Try to keep her at bay as much as you can. I'll reach out to the others and inform them of the situation." She proceeded to start doing that before she even finished talking. Cyril nodded a little, deciding to take hold of the deck of cards Akol had handed him. What he pulled out was confusing, but he wasn't really going to question it. The Pixie card was something he'd have to work with.

Soon, the finch was rapidly appearing and disappearing all over the battlefield, nimbly avoiding all of Eila's attacks while tossing his own right back here and there. His unusual shift in tactics left her confused and forced her to switch to deal with him, temporarily dragging her focus away from Cream.

Cream, meanwhile, had managed to establish some level of contact with the only other woman aside from herself and Rose (Cream didn't dare distract the one person fighting Tianak) who had joined their side in this fight. She didn't know the woman's name, only that she wasn't an enemy. She explained the situation quickly and succinctly before finishing with, "Cyril is getting hurt worse and worse the more this goes on, and there's only so much I can do to help him. Do you or anyone else know what is defending Eila so strongly?"

The woman didn't hesitate to reply. "His name is Finis. We are trying to deal with him, but there is very little that we can do to stop his defenses. Why in the world is Cyril being harmed?"

"I don't know why, but he seems to be holding back to an unusual degree against her, for one thing," Cream explained. "There may be some sort of emotional connection between them that I don't know about. It could be affecting him despite his strength."

"Inform him he will have far worse things to face if he does not get it together. He will be killed if he continues holding back."

"I'll pass on your message, Miss. Thank you for explaining what was hindering his efforts to land a blow, as well."

"You- 'Miss'? I am no 'Miss'."

Almost, Cream managed to smile or even laugh. Only because of where they were did she hold her composure. "I'm sorry. I call everyone Miss or Mister, especially when I don't know their names. If it bothers you, I won't do it again."

There was a hint of confusion in Ghune's reply to this. "Just… refer to me as Ghune. I am nothing else."

"Alright, M- I mean, Ghune. Thank you again." After saying this, Cream returned her attention to Cyril and, after warning him that it was merely a quoted message she was passing along, told him verbatim what Ghune had said regarding him holding back. She then added much more gently, "I get the sense that you care greatly for Miss Eila… but letting her hurt you over and over again doesn't help you or her. Beyond you being injured, it also forces her to live with memories of what it's like to hurt you. That isn't… fair to her."

Cyril bought himself time to think about this by surrounding Eila in a box of magic, cutting off her control over this battlefield. It didn't take him long to discover that… Cream was right. He was being dumb. Just allowing himself to be hurt like this… "Yeah. You're right." Cyril glanced to Cream and carefully weaved a barrier around her. "Just hang tight. I'm gonna fix our situation a bit."

"Alright."

With enough time bought, Cyril turned to face Eila as she freed herself. A myriad of colors shone around him and rippled through the world around him, cracking the ground at his feet and ripping through the traps Eila had laid. Nothing of Eila's creation in this area survived his momentary destruction, including the massive barrier trapping them here. It was him and Eila. No more was he going to hold back, not until he could save her.

~保護者~

She had to remember that control was everything right now. A lapse in her composure would lead to a dangerous spiral. She couldn't afford to let her Light be weakened, not in this fight. Rose, for once in her life, couldn't think about her sister. It was… too dangerous. Too risky. She had to assume that Cyril could save her. That had to be enough.

She twisted and dove under a blade, bringing her knee down on the flat and knocking it to the ground out of Tianak's hand as she brought her own blade up to his chest. Her attack was stopped by a shield of shadows, but the advantage was hers.

On her feet, she was a brutal machine, regularly cleaving an attack before it started and then following up with what would naturally be a devastating blow. Tianak fought best from a short distance. She wasn't giving him that distance.

He attempted to make distance with his chain weapon, but she shifted out of the way and grabbed it mid-air. Rose pulled him closer, slamming a fist imbued with Light into the shield around him. Spikes of Darkness erupted from the chain and through her hand, but she didn't give up.

Over and over Tianak was jerked off balance and over and over she blasted the shield with powerful blows. She couldn't afford to let up, and so she didn't. Tianak's one chance was letting go of the chain, leaping away and unleashing a barrage of Darkness. The dust cleared and Rose wasn't there.

He sensed it too late. A beam of Light slammed his still shielded body into the ground. Luckily, he wasn't harmed, but he wasn't winning right now. Even guarded like this, he found himself outmatched. He had power, but Rose had lived for eons. Fought for eons. He was outmatched there… and it seemed that she was slowly growing stronger. That was a problem. He had to press his one advantage. Tianak took to the sky and unleashed an attack aimed at everything. Ghune, Cere, Saethrim, Cyril, Cream, Steam and Rose herself were the targets.

She couldn't stop it all.

Rose yelled out a warning to everyone present, forcefully blasting her Light into the part of the attack aimed at Cyril and Cream. She couldn't protect everyone, but they would be in the most danger. It felt like the right choice. The hand she wielded her sword in directed more of her energy to protect Steam, Cere, and Ghune. She didn't know where Saethrim was. She wasn't sure her efforts were enough, but maybe that gave them time. She returned to her own fight, dread in her heart.

~保護者~

Somehow, Saethrim had gotten past Finis's barrier. That was the trouble when facing this man, and part of why Finis hadn't had any desire to bother participating in this fight. He would have been more than happy to allow Saethrim, Cere, and the others to wreak havoc while he spent his time elsewhere. Thanks to Tianak, he had no choice but to continue trying to hinder them.

Eila and Tianak were still perfectly safe. Finis made sure of that, however unwillingly. It was a pain to have to use his powers in more than one location at once. However, it wasn't anything he hadn't done before. It wasn't tiring, either, or a strain on him. More than anything else, it was just annoying. There was surely some way to get out of Tianak's control… surely.

Yet, as much as he'd tried to tell himself that for the first few minutes of the fight, he found no loopholes of any kind that he could work with. Tianak's orders were absolute. Obedience was demanded of him, and Finis couldn't resist the other man's control. That only made his newly hate-filled heart grow even darker. He didn't care what it took. The second he was free, Tianak was going to die for this.

All thoughts of revenge were stalled when he abruptly realized that Saethrim and Cere were coming toward him. His annoyance building into fresh irritation (both emotions he had never felt so frequently or so strongly before together), he threw up various barriers in preparation. With those two on their way, he didn't have time for anything else. It wasn't as though he had the combat ability needed to fight them off, anyway.

Ghune was on him first, however. The woman was making attempts to hold him still with binding magic. This had managed to catch him by surprise. His concern over Saethrim and Cere had caused him to make a rare mistake, that being his lack of attention to other potential threats. That surprise caused his barriers to briefly falter and disappear as magic wound around him to pin his arms to his sides and his legs together. The vampire continued throwing her binds on him, deciding it best to keep his focus on her as opposed to the others that posed a threat.

Being able to be trapped was an unusual experience for Finis. Given that he was… less than physical in nature, few beings had ever managed to find a way to do this to him. That Ghune was now one of those few was beyond vexing, but she was far from the only danger. Glowing orange eyes glanced quickly in the opposite direction. They're nearly here. Cere could no more break through his barriers than he could outmatch her strength, but Saethrim… He found a way to warp past my defenses once. Nothing is stopping him from doing it again.

It was true that he was still forced to defend Eila, Aniko, and Tianak even while being held here, but what was the point in doing the same for himself? These people wouldn't kill him. There was little they could do to even hurt him. They probably wanted to move him away from the battlefield, far enough so that his defenses could no longer reach this planet. Doing so would strip Tianak of his ability to continue with his orders, at least for now. Which, of course, was something Finis wanted.

So, rather than continue to fight back, Finis decided to simply let them come.

When it became clear that Finis wasn't resisting, Ghune simply left him bound with her magic. "Have you simply chosen to give up on this endeavor?"

"I have no more desire to be on this world than you do," was the muttered response.

Ghune frowned a little at this reply as Cere slowed to a stop near her. "Then, you will allow us to remove you from here?" She was given no verbal reply, but Finis continued not to do anything to resist. That was answer enough. When Saethrim appeared, he didn't waste time. He gripped the semi-tangible magic touching Finis and warped away, taking Finis with him. Ghune blinked once and glanced to Cere, raising an eyebrow. "Not how I expected this to go."

"Certainly not." Cere turned to face the rest of the battlefield, watching as Cyril tore through the magic surrounding him, Cream, and Eila. "And it appears that one of our allies has finally begun fighting properly."

"This is correct," Ghune murmured, glancing now toward where Rose and Tianak fought. The sight was… interesting. The Light being is suppressing their anger and such quite well. Impressive, though confusing. Her eyes closely followed the two, taking note of the difference in skill and power. Only when Tianak launched an attack that would have struck her and Cere did she act, shooting forward and taking Cere far away from where the attack was meant to land. She didn't dare discuss the position they were in, the Goddess of Judgement being held quite close. Instead, she simply let Cere go and began walking. "Should we intervene? Or can the Light being handle this bastard?"

"I think that Rose can handle this," Cere murmured after a moment. "She's handled herself quite well… and with Finis now incapable of protecting Tianak, he will surely lose in due time."

"Speaking of," Ghune murmured. "You are here because he is your lover, yes?"

Cere nodded after a moment. "Yes. We are…" She left that train of thought, not wanting to think too deeply on the matter with him corrupted like he was. "I love him. Very much."

"Mm," the vampire murmured. "Good."

"What about you?" Cere asked. "I've only ever heard of you speaking to him a few times. Is there a different reason you came?"

If you had ever cared to learn about my kind, you would know. "I am a being of the Night. I have a natural connection to Finis. Of course I would want to come aid him."

A small sigh escaped Cere. "Look, I'm sorry about how I acted back when I was younger. I was a stupid kid."

"A stupid kid with power," Ghune bit out after a moment. She composed herself, choosing to not indulge in more of her irritation. "It doesn't matter. You go focus on Finis. I have business with Tianak." Cere opened her mouth to protest, but the vampire swiftly cut her off with a glare. After a moment, the Hexan agreed and simply left, allowing Ghune to do as she wished.

Rather than wait for Saethrim to arrive, Ghune waved a hand and annihilated the citadel in its entirety. Rose was untouched by her destructive magic, but Tianak was not allowed to be so fortunate. The God of Demons was blasted back and forth, over and over by the vampire before being launched into the sky with one final burst of magic. That made the woman feel a touch better.

Saethrim arrived again moments later. He wasted not time in taking full advantage of the fact that Tianak was now unguarded. A cloud of dust, ash, and debris erupted from the impact of Tianak's body hitting the ground. His fist impacted the ground right by Tianak's head, creating a crater as he muttered hatefully into the other God's ear, "If you so much as touch one of my friends again, I will tear your fucking head off."

Tianak didn't reply to this, writhing in pain while Saethrim simply left, followed by Ghune. Aniko and Eila had been taken from him, and now Finis was in another realm… completely separated from his control. This had backfired immediately, and now he wasn't even in the condition to really… retaliate. He chose to lay there amidst the destruction of his stolen home, trying to recover. It would take time, but he would be back.

~保護者~

Cyril was glad it had gone so well. He hadn't expected to be able to go onto that world, take back all of their friends, and leave without anything happening. Eila and Aniko had been sent away with Rose so they could be purified, and now the finch was standing back in the midst of the allies he'd grown to care about so much. He walked over to Sonic and took a seat, letting out a soft sigh. "Well… I guess it all worked out, in a way."

"More or less," the hedgehog agreed. He was still keeping busy trying to piece together his grandson's crystal block. The poor guy hadn't made a ton of progress. "I'm worried about Espio's mom and that Finis guy, though. Purification requires Light."

The finch held out a hand toward Sonic. "I can help with that crystal," he said gently before addressing what the hedgehog had said. "But… yeah. I don't know what do about that. I trust that the others can figure something out, though."

Sonic nodded at the last part, then asked, "You think you can fix this thing? You'd make Kohaku's day a lot better if you can manage it."

"Definitely." Cyril smiled a little. "Done things like this in the past."

Kohaku suddenly noticed Cyril's voice and turned away from his few surviving toys to fix the man with a hopeful look. "Block?" he asked in a small voice.

The yellow finch gave Kohaku a bright smile and held a hand above Sonic's, lifting the pieces and slowly fitting it all back together. "Luckily… stuff like this only ever has one way it can really seem to go back together." After a few moments, almost half of it had been reformed.

Relief filled Sonic's body, and he finally managed a wan smile of his own. "Thanks for this," he told Cyril sincerely. "You have no idea how much this will mean to him."

There was a smile that Cyril gave Sonic, distinctly bright. After a moment of thought, it faded. "This was broken by that demon, right?"

"Yeah, when he attacked the house the block got crushed under rubble." Sonic sighed. "It might have been the attack itself that shattered itself, or it might have been the debris. Either way, it was his doing."

"That explains the dark hue I'm seeing…" Cyril murmured, pointing out the bits of distinct Darkness in the crystal. "Can you fix that?"

With a flick of his ear, Sonic frowned down at the block. "In theory? Sure. In practice? No idea. I've never tried to use my powers on objects before, beyond channeling attacks through my sword now and then. I've never tried banishing Darkness, either. My access to Light is nothing like you will have seen from people like Rose, either."

All at once, the crystal was put back together in full and Cyril handed it back to Sonic, standing up. All of this was his doing…

"...Whatever you're about to do, I'd advise against it," Sonic said, eyeing Cyril closely.

"He killed Kira and Tarin," Cyril mumured softly. "He hurt our friends. I hate that. He caused so much pain in an instant."

"There's no one available who can help you right now," Sonic told him, "and it's dangerous for you to go alone."

Cyril didn't initially reply, lifting his communicator and sending a message to Wave. "I'm about to make a bad choice. Meet me on Mobius in ten minutes."

The response he got was almost comically simple. "?"

"Just be here if you can, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. But this had better be good, Cyril. I don't like leaving Jet's side right now. He's in rough shape."

"Oh, crap. I didn't think about that. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I just don't want to leave him if this isn't something important. You doing something dumb could range from a silly prank to an 'I might die' situation, and I never know which to expect."

"...Do you want me to tell you what I'm going to do?"

"Just say if it's actually something important. If it is, you can explain when I get there."

"I'm gonna go fight Tianak."

"Dumbass. I'll be there soon."

"Crap." Cyril glanced over to Sonic. "I'll be back." Rather than wait for the potential disagreement that Sonic was about to pose, the finch teleported away to avoid such thoughts being thrown his way.

It turned out that "soon" translated to "right away". Wave appeared beside him, a grim look on her face, within seconds of him arriving in another location. "Okay, I'm here and I'm listening. Say whatever you're gonna say. I'll wait until you're done before trying to hammer it into your brain that this is a stupid idea."

Cyril took a deep breath. "Okay, so, I just fought Eila, who was corrupted by Tianak. Long story there, but he attacked and corrupted and killed people. I hate that-" Cyril's train of thought was cut short when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and he destroyed Kohaku's favorite block."

"...I understand how awful all of this is," Wave said slowly, "but none of it make it a good idea for you to do this."

"I can't let him do something like that again, though!" Cyril protested. "He killed two people right in front of us. Wery is devastated because her best friend died! I can't just sit by when I know I can do something!"

"Cyril, you could die!" Wave protested back. "Don't you get that?"

"He can't kill me," Cyril retorted. "There's nothing he can do against magic!"

"Are you certain? Because K-" Wave cut herself off, then continued, "…The last God could."

Cyril nodded immediately. "I sensed no magic from him. He couldn't protect himself from the vampire. He won't be safe from me."

His last sentence took Wave aback. However, she did her best not to focus on that part. "I still don't think this is a good idea. But… I guess I can't stop you, regardless."

The finch pulled Wave close, letting out a sigh. "I know exactly what to do. I'll be fine, but I… can't let him keep running around freely. Not after what he did." I'm a God, now. I should be able to do something.

Hearing this thought, Wave smiled faintly. She hugged him back and said, "I guess I keep forgetting that you have responsibilities now. But I want you to promise me one thing, alright? The moment you're in too much danger, if it comes to that, you'll leave right away. Promise me that, please."

"You have my word." Cyril hugged her a bit tighter. "I won't let myself get killed. I promise that."

"Good," she murmured. "And once you're done, once you and Eila are both doing alright, come see Jet and I. Alright? You could use a break from stress, and I'm sure she could, too. Plus, I'd love for you and him to get to know him better." She paused, thinking, then added, "I know he and Eila won't want to see each other, but she could always go meet Kath instead. There's a lot she might be interested in learning from him."

"You got it. I haven't seen Jet in a while, anyway…" Cyril pulled back and smiled. "And yeah… Eila might could use some company from someone really intelligent like her."

"Yeah, exactly." Wave gave Cyril's arm a squeeze, then fully let him go as well. "Take care of yourself in the meantime. Call on me if you need anything."

Cyril nodded. "Of course. You're the person I'll go to every time. Best friends and all, you know?"

"And don't you forget it," Wave said. She tossed him another smile. "Now get going already. The sooner you get this done and over with, the sooner I can stop worrying about your dumb butt."

"Got it." Cyril raised a hand and a staff of magic appeared. He gave it an experimental twirl before jumping and teleporting away.

You great big dummy. Sighing in an effort to release some of her nerves, Wave teleported back to New Babylon. All she could do now was wait. Jet still needed to be watched over, otherwise she'd have gone along. Be safe, Cyril. Seriously.

Meanwhile, Cyril landed on Tianak's world, gripping his staff. He'd prided himself for a long time on not being one to resort to violence or anger. The finch usually had a good control of his anger. Now, though… He took a long, deep breath as he waved away the debris of the destroyed citadel, watching Tianak stand up. "You," he muttered, staring down the evil god. "You killed and hurt my friends."

Tianak brandished his blade, frowning. He wasn't fully recovered, for sure. It hadn't been all that long since the fight had ended. Maybe a couple minutes. "What about it, huh? You already came and took them back. What's it matter what I did?"

"We can't just get back the friends you killed," Cyril bit out, pointing his staff at Tianak. "You killed my friends, corrupted my friends, hurt my friends, and you don't give a single fuck." He took a second to compose himself, realizing just how irate he was. "I know you won't apologize. I know you won't, but I want to give you one last chance. Do it now, and I won't have to go through with my plan."

"Your friends are worthless worms that were more useful in the few minutes they were corrupted than they've been in their entire lives," Tianak spat. "They're just as worthless as the three I killed. And who knows what others died in the fires where the chameleons live?"

Three? The Highlands? "You set fire to the Highlands?! Families live there!" Cyril snapped. "You just set fire to places where babies and families lived? You're sick!" Tianak opened his mouth to reply, but a force in his gut silenced him. Next thing he could see was the sky as he was slammed into the ground, rainbow colored magic pinning him down. Cyril appeared beside Tianak, anger visible in his eyes. "I didn't want to have to go through with this, but you can't be allowed to keep roaming freely, if you're just gonna kill and corrupt people."

"You little fucking bastard," Tianak choked out, blasting the area around him with Darkness. The attack forced Cyril to jump back, letting the God of Demons recover. Fuck. Why the hell did he come back? "You know that if you kill me, you'll become me, right?"

"I don't have to kill you," Cyril answered, standing atop a platform of magic. "I've just gotta teach you a lesson."

Tianak didn't honor Cyril's words with a reply, simply leaping after the bird and swiping at him. Cyril deflected the blow with his staff shakily, leaping back off of the platform. The chase soon began, Tianak pressing the advantage of staying up close and keeping the bird from casting spells as Cyril fought to keep the blade away from his body.

One particularly nasty blow knocked the staff out of Cyril's hands, and he had to duck down to avoid the follow-up. It was then that he realized he had to change plans, doing a backflip and drawing a card from his tarot deck. All of a sudden, there were two of Cyril. The birds landed on the ground and shot off in completely different directions, forcing Tianak to choose one.

He went left, a barrage of playing cards flying after him. Ice, flames, electricity… all manner of elements appeared from the cards, forcing him to try and avoid them. The ones that connected didn't quite hurt… but they were slowing him down, and Cyril was getting away. Rather than continue taking the hits, he let out a wave of Darkness and manipulated the world itself to erupt in front of the finch, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"I don't have to kill you," Cyril answered, standing atop a platform of magic. "I've just gotta teach you a lesson."

Tianak didn't honor Cyril's words with a reply, simply leaping after the bird and swiping at him. Cyril deflected the blow with his staff shakily, leaping back off of the platform. The chase soon began, Tianak pressing the advantage of staying up close and keeping the bird from casting spells as Cyril fought to keep the blade away from his body.

One particularly nasty blow knocked the staff out of Cyril's hands, and he had to duck down to avoid the follow-up. It was then that he realized he had to change plans, doing a backflip and drawing a card from his tarot deck. All of a sudden, there were two of Cyril. The birds landed on the ground and shot off in completely different directions, forcing Tianak to choose one.

He went left, a barrage of playing cards flying after him. Ice, flames, electricity… all manner of elements appeared from the cards, forcing him to try and avoid them. The ones that connected didn't quite hurt… but they were slowing him down, and Cyril was getting away. Rather than continue taking the hits, he let out a wave of Darkness and manipulated the world itself to erupt in front of the finch, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Cyril ducked under a blade slash, rolling backwards only to receive a harsh cut to his abdomen. Though he clutched at the wound, he reached down and tossed another card in Tianak's face, causing a jagged block of ice to form on the demon's head. Fueled by rage and literal hellfire, the ice evaporated a moment later and Tianak grabbed Cyril by the throat when he tried to relax, plunging his blade through the bird's body.

The body vanished suddenly. There was no blood. Nothing. No trace of Cyril left. All that remained was the bits of water vapor slowly disappearing. Then, he got slammed in the back of the head with something heavy. He stumbled forward and formed a dome of Darkness around himself, turning around to face whatever hit him. There was nothing there. Again, in the back of the head, a heavy blow, something that managed to get past his barrier. It kept coming, over and over, forcing him to stumble around in an effort to not get clobbered. He soon realized it was a fist hitting him, then realized it was a familiar one. Saethrim?

He was suddenly sent flying through his own barrier, a final blow strong enough to send him tumbling away. Throwing himself up to his feet, Tianak turned in time to face Cyril again, spitting up blood. "Not strong enough to fight alone? Needed to get help?"

"Nope, just a lucky coincidence." Cyril looked around as the ground began shifting, a frown. "You really think that you're gonna accomplish much by manipulating the earth that much?"

"Worked well enough once," Tianak answered. "You've got a lot of tricks, but there's not a lot of power behind any of it. You should've done something while Saethrim was hitting me."

"Wouldn't be fair." Cyril summoned his staff once more. "Now, come on. I got a woman to get back to and a friend to prove that I'm alive to."

You won't live to tell the tale. Tianak leapt back into action and brought his blade down against the bird's staff. It was a shaky stalemate, but that much was intentional. Pillars of earth rose up and crashed together with Cyril between, Tianak tossing him away and through the collapsed pillars with a thrust forward. He pushed his advantage, once more manipulating the demonic world to trap Cyril under debris.

Hellfire set the ground ablaze that Cyril was trapped under, and Tianak watched in satisfaction as it was all quickly reduced to ash. "Moron." He turned to walk back toward the destroyed citadel, sheathing his blade. Then, he frowned a little, glancing over his shoulder. Hatred boiled within him and he gripped his sword again. Cyril was still alive. "You just don't fucking die, do you?"

"Not exactly my thing," Cyril replied, shrugging a little. Before Tianak could respond, Cyril grabbed one of the cards from his gifted deck. "You may have had a chance when you stayed close, honestly, but you made the mistake of not paying any attention. You fight like you don't have a clue what you're doing." Tianak immediately launched a wave of flames at the bird, but it wasn't soon enough. Cyril presented the card and let it burn in his hand. "Yokai," the bird muttered, vanishing from sight.

The God of Magic realized all too happily that he now had every advantage, charging in at speeds Tianak couldn't comprehend in time. Several blows landed before Tianak could even think to bring up a shield, and by that time Cyril was ready. Magic tore through the shield, allowing the barrage to continue. Tianak rose his arms in defense, but not a single attack was blocked. He couldn't manage to recover with how many times he was being hit, so he was forced to simply endure the attack.

The card's power faded in due time, and Tianak took advantage of this, using his battered body to snatch Cyril up and off the ground by his neck. He didn't realize soon enough that was a mistake. A violent explosion of magic sent him rocketing into the sky. It was followed by another, then another. Then, it all stopped and he was left to quietly float through space. It was unbelievable, the amount of pain he was in. He didn't bother trying to go back to his world, knowing it would simply result in more pain. Then, he felt his blood boil.

"You done yet?" Cyril asked, sitting on a platform of magic beside the God of Demons. "I didn't enjoy this. I just… couldn't let you hurt my friends again."

"Get out of my sight," Tianak growled, reaching for his blade, only to find that he couldn't quite close his hand around the handle. "I'm sick of your voice."

With that said, Cyril stood, letting out a sigh. "Guess that's about as good of an answer as I'll get." The bird turned to the demon and waved a hand, creating a field of magic around Tianak. "I'll warn you now. Come back to my friends and this will happen again. They're under my protection. Do you understand?"

"I said get out of my sight!" Tianak snapped, throwing Hellfire into the magic surrounding him. The magic cracked a little, but not much more.

"Don't break it," Cyril huffed. "That's going to heal you to the point of you being able to at least walk. I don't want some other demon coming through and killing you just because you're weakened." Though he said all this, he ultimately did leave, teleporting away and leaving Tianak to his own devices.

I don't need your help. Tianak let out a groan, sitting up slowly. Everything hurt, but the bird didn't lie. He was being healed, even if it was slowly. As such, he chose to simply sit here, holding up his weight with hands on his knees. I'll fucking kill you. Bratty fledgling god.

~保護者~

14,736 words this time. Hope you all enjoy, and many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 4:45 p.m.), 05-11-22.