Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this tense time… especially for the one who continues to grapple with his past.
~保護者~
"Troubled Memories"
~保護者~
Kaden wasn't sure how he'd been doing so… "well" lately. First he'd been spiraling, then he'd gone numb, and now he was just… sort of in between, he supposed? He was still depressed. He was still angry at himself. He still hated himself with every fiber of his being. He was still deeply afraid of what the future held. He still… wanted a way out. Permanently. But he was at least functioning right now, even though he very much hadn't been before.
He couldn't place what had sparked that change over the last few days, but it was a welcome reprieve from the crushing weight of everything he'd been enduring before. It had all temporarily lessened, and for that he was grateful. At least he was able to focus on his daughters now, something he hadn't been able to do much since they had all been purified.
They were so young still that they were spared from suffering through most of what he had been. Still, they were scared. Uncertain. Confused. It made sense. Strong though they were, these were small children. And I treated them with nothing but contempt and disdain. Those emotions were now firmly directed at himself, but he did his best not to let on to any of it. Not in front of them. They didn't need that, especially not right now.
His daughters were struggling to understand the changes to their lives, and to reconcile his past treatment of them with how he was promising to treat them going forward. He sought the words to help them understand. "You were born into that life through no fault of your own," he murmured to them, eyes searching their young faces. "You did nothing to deserve the way you were treated by me or by anyone else. The way I was raising you to believe that it was okay was wrong. Being a demon alters the way you think, feel, and act, but that does not make it excusable. I was neglectful and abusive, and it will not happen again."
Shyrr was the first to speak up. Given her unique ability to read clearly into other people's hearts, it came as no surprise to him. "I believe you," she said, voice soft. Leaning forward, she caught him off-guard by hugging him tightly. "I believe you, Daddy." Being so suddenly called that name of all things made Kaden suddenly want to cry. Tyrnn, by far the quietest of the bunch, nodded her agreement straight away. She even managed a smile. The realization that he had never seen his daughters genuinely smile before only further shredded his already destroyed heart.
"It isn't your fault, either," Alynn asserted, a small frown on her young face. As always, she was wise far beyond her years. "Or Mother's. She didn't ask to be born a demon, just like we didn't. And we've heard the story of how you were corrupted. You didn't ask for that. So… it's nobody's fault. Nobody's here, at least."
Swallowing thickly, Kaden turned his head away for a moment. He used one arm to hug Tyrnn back finally, and seconds later he was doing the same for the other two with his free arm when they, too, moved in to hug him. Though they seemed comforted by the gesture, he wasn't as much so. He was too wracked with turmoil. Why are they being so forgiving? I treated them almost as badly as I was treated as a child. That isn't forgivable.
It was about this time that Zareil wandered in, having been allowed to explore in her brief bout of boredom while trapped her. She didn't quite understand the emotion in her chest at seeing Kaden with the triplets, but it caused her to walk over immediately and sit down by them all. She wrapped her arms around the four of them gently. "Is everything alright?"
"We're alright," Shyrr told her. "We just talked."
Zareil cast her gaze to Kaden, confused and vaguely concerned. "What did you talk about?" Kaden just shook his head and gently resituated the girls so that they were hugging on their mother instead of him. Zareil didn't mind hugging her children, but she was quick to frown. "Kaden, please. I want to know what is happening."
Kaden pursed his lips together, ready to refuse again, but abruptly found himself relenting. However, he used his telepathy to answer her rather than his voice. "...I… treated them horribly… in the past." He turned his head away, refusing to look at her. "I wanted… them to understand that it was wrong. That it won't happen again."
The woman blinked several times. This wasn't… something she knew how to handle. Something about the way he communicated this to her made her eyes water a little. All she could do was pull one arm from her children to take hold of one of Kaden's hands. "I think that… they have forgiven you." Whether they had or hadn't, Kaden only shrugged and moved to stand so as to at least temporarily separate himself from this. He headed into the second room of this small space without a word, hoping to get his emotions under control before they began to bother the children at all.
Zareil carefully separated herself from their children and murmured for them to stay, attempting to follow Kaden. "I cannot say that I understand what you are feeling, but I at least want to try," she said.
Fighting not to let himself start shaking, Kaden sank down into a sitting position against one of the walls. He was quiet for a long time before finally saying, "Demons normalize abuse toward themselves, others, and even their own children. It is not normal outside of their ranks, nor is it accepted. Such behavior is…" He trailed off, looking away again. Eventually, he finished with a quiet, "...Scarring."
Taking a seat beside Kaden, Zareil tried to make sense of it. "I… suppose that I do not fully understand, being born a demon. That is the only life I have ever known."
Kaden had no further explanations to offer initially. He caught himself almost shying away from her presence by his side, but managed to make himself stop before he actually moved. "I cannot make or help you understand," he said quietly after a time. It took a lot of strength to continue and admit to her, "I just… I know too well the damage I was doing to them."
Zareil nodded. This was outside of her ability to really aid, so instead she simply offered her presence. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"What is there to talk about?" Kaden sighed. His voice had taken on some of the dull, empty quality again that it had had for much of the time that he'd been purified.
"How it is that you understand what that kind of treatment causes," Zareil explained after a moment. "There are… many things I do not know about you."
Once more, Kaden fell silent. That silence persisted for much longer this time. "...I was… abducted," he finally, finally said. Getting the words out was difficult, though. He'd never actually talked about this with anyone other than Locke and Analia. Two people he didn't want to believe would ever want to see him again. "I was an infant at the time. The people who took me saw fit to raise me as their private weapon. Abuse, neglect, and… torture were their preferred methods of teaching."
The thought of this was more than irritating, but Zareil gave no room for those thoughts to fester for now in favor of listening. "Is that all?" Kaden didn't… want to answer that, to go into any more detail than this. It was hard enough just thinking about that time in his life even all these years afterward. Rather than press for information, Zareil simply set a hand on his back. "I won't let anything like that happen to you or our children."
"I already did to them some of the same things that were done to me," was the bitter reply. "I laid my hands on them with the intent to cause them harm. I forced them to fend for themselves when they were far too young. I was willing to let them participate in war. I did that, Zareil."
Zareil gave a frown. "Would you do it now?" He shook his head with a faint, almost imperceptible shiver. "Then don't. Just do what you should do from here on."
That does nothing to erase what has already been done. I can never make their earlier years better. Rather than say that, Kaden shifted to look further away from her. He'd somewhat retreat inside of himself once again, though not so completely this time that he was no longer aware of his surroundings. At this point, Zareil was at a loss for what to do. She was inexperienced with emotions outside of rage and lust, truthfully. It was hard for her to see his viewpoint, but she was trying.
"Kaden." A dark blue ear reflexively turned in her direction, just a little. "I trust that you will be better. I will try to follow in your footsteps, but I need you. This isn't a life I have lived. My experience will not suffice to raise those three in the life that you wish to give them."
"I cannot be trusted to do it," Kaden answered, voice soft. "I failed them too many times already. I will never harm them again, but that does not mean I have any right to get another chance with them.
"Having the right and making the choice to do so are different, Kaden," Zareil murmured. "I was no loving mother and never the kindest partner. I ensured that you survived and that we could spawn further if you desired. That was all. If you don't have the right, neither do I."
Stop talking. The thought was there before it could be stopped, but Kaden saw no reason to voice it.
"If you know how to raise them right, I need you to show me the way."
"It shouldn't be me. I don't…" …Have the right to call myself a father. Much less act like one. Rather than tell her that, he said instead in a very quiet voice, "Young children shouldn't be left alone for long. You should go be with them."
Zareil wrapped her hand more fully around his. "I don't want to be left without you for long," she grumbled. Kaden took in a breath and, with a small nod, made his silent promise to not let it go that way. She squeezed his hand. "Please… don't make me go alone."
Kaden drew in another breath, willing himself to get his shit together… if only for her sake and that of their daughters. "...I won't," he finally said, though he still wouldn't meet her gaze. He pushed open the door with his Darkness to allow the three girls entry. They promptly took him up on his silent offer."
Zareil was quiet as she watched their children enter. It was bittersweet. Not something she was used to. Kaden being in pain like this… bothered her. She didn't like it. "Thank you," she whispered. All he did in reply was nod again, but when one of the triplets climbed into his lap he didn't hesitate much this time to return her hug.
Watching him do this, Zareil made a decision. It was brief, that was certain, but she leaned in and kissed him softly. This startled Kaden into abruptly ignoring all of his thoughts. He was unprepared for the sudden influx of good emotions that were teased up by her actions, but for the moment he couldn't focus on that. All he could really focus on was kissing her back until she decided to stop. She pulled back after a few seconds, then glanced away a little. "I care about you," she murmured. A little breathless, Kaden nodded and soon managed to quietly repeat her sentiment to her.
How was it even possible to be feeling something... positive again?
~保護者~
Not long after being sent away from Tianak (and thus thankfully being too far away to be controlled), attention had been taken off of Finis for a short while. The fight had still been ongoing, after all, and he was restrained. Cere and Ghune hadn't followed Saethrim here. Saethrim had returned to the battlefield. That left Finis alone for a little while.
He supposed it was a small comfort that he'd at least been taken back to his own realm. It was dark here, not to mention mostly quiet. Gone were the fires, the demons, the shouts, and the general sounds of battle. In its place was the sort of peace only a being of Darkness or the Night could ever truly understand. This wasn't, after all, a place anyone else would find "homey".
A pair of skeletal horses grazed on the meat of some fallen undead prey while an equally bony dragon circled languidly in the black sky above. Several vampires directly native to this realm, like Ghune was, were occupying themselves near the edge of his senses - likely working on perfecting new spells as per usual. In the distance, a werewolf's eerie, unholy howls could be heard echoing out. Spiderlings, the sort of mythical kind governed by Spider-Queens, filled a woodland close by where one such Queen had long since taken up residence.
On and on the list went. The familiarity of it all eased much of Finis's uncharacteristic irritation from not long ago. That emotion was replaced with cold disinterest, yet also a degree of contentment. He was, after all, most comfortable when home… like most anyone else. But this solitude and mild peace weren't destined to last too long. Cere and the others would be back for him sooner or later, and he knew it. That they had left him bound was proof that they had no intention of leaving him alone. He hadn't expected them to begin with. What he did expect was that he'd be able to find a way out of these bonds sooner or later. The real question was whether or not that would happen before they returned.
It happened that the answer was a resounding "no". A portal opened up not too far from his left side, drawing his attention in that direction with a small scowl. Rather than any of those who had been present during the battle, a different person emerged, a raven perched atop their shoulder. "Finis, what in the world has happened?" she asked softly.
Though he recognized this person, Finis reflected that it was only her title he'd ever known. Not her name. As such, he didn't attempt to use the latter to address her while replying. "Nothing you need to know about. Leave me."
"I will not leave," the woman said, walking closer. "I want to know what happened to the god that governs me. You are corrupted." This earned a sort of scoff (albeit one that was communicated through thought-speech as usual), and Finis irritably turned his head away. "Finis," the woman said firmly. "I thought we were closer than that, or do I need to have my ravens inform me?"
Glowing eyes narrowed at her. There was sudden spite in them, maybe even a dose of actual hatred. "I don't care what you do."
She sighed vaguely and brushed a hand over the head of her nearest raven. Soon she was shaking her head. "Corruption from the God of Demons. I figure you are aware that the way you are acting is not normal for you."
"I don't care," was the somewhat distracted response. Finis was focused again on thinking of how best to counter Ghune's magic and free himself.
"Then I suppose you will have to handle the others instead of simply speaking to me. I am far easier to speak to than Ghune." The woman disappeared without a trace just as Cere and Ghune appeared. It didn't take long for the pair of women to cross the space to Finis.
Tch. Nosy fucking… Finis let that thought trail off and cast a decidedly baleful glance in the women's direction.
Cere arrived first, arms crossed and doing her level best to remain composed. "Finis, I presume that Tianak's influence isn't reaching you here?"
"No," he muttered, if only because there wasn't any substantial reason to avoid the question.
"Good. With that being the case, we have only one option to have you purified. You simply need to be willing to allow the Faein to purify you."
"No," he said again, more harshly this time. It wasn't clear what the cause was, but there was a sudden uptick of corrupted energies in his aura… proof that said corruption had just spontaneously spread further and deeper than before.
"Why?" Cere pressed, frowning at him. "Staying corrupted leaves you susceptible to Tianak's influence. You were willing to let us capture you, so why would you make your own situation more difficult?"
"He cannot control me when I am realms away from him, and I am not interested in your help or anyone else's."
"What is to stop him from coming here?" Cere replied. "We know damn good and well that Kaden was able to get into the forge. How long was Li gone? Decades? What the hell are we going to do if he finds a way here and takes control of you again?" Finis didn't answer her, his thoughts too clouded in the moment by the spreading corruption for him to formulate much response beyond hate-filled emotions. "If you intend to simply be taken by the God of Demons once more, that is your choice, but remember that there are beings under your control and protection that will likely suffer as a result."
Having no doubt heard her words, the two skeletal horses that had been feeding nearby finally dared to approach. One nudged Ghune's shoulder affectionately on the way by. Both went momentarily ignored by Finis as he struggled to cope with all the foreign emotions raging through him. Ghune decided to approach, silencing Cere with an upraised hand. Her other hand gave the skeletal horse a loving stroke along its spine until it was out of reach. "Finis. The matter is more dire than that, as well. I care not what happens to Tianak, but your survival is important. You have a life that you were taken from that cannot be regained unless you are purified. This hatred, the rage burning inside you, will not fade either. You will be trapped in a well of your own torment that was forced upon you."
Some measure of weak conflict became apparent in his aura, but it most petered out almost as soon as it started. "I don't care," he told her, voice dripping with venom.
"You do, and you will," Ghune replied. "You have spent your life caring for those around you, the creatures born of your energies. You have watched civilizations rise and fall around you. You are practically timeless, but nothing will ever buy back the time you spend like this. I have lived a life of hate. I wish every day that I had spent those years living a more productive life. I will not stand aside and let you do the same as I once did."
Finis slowly shook his head, most of him trying to block her words out more and more the longer she spoke. I don't care, he repeated yet again, this time solely to himself. I don't fucking care.
Before Ghune could continue, Cere cut back in. "There is more to your life than just the creatures you care for as well. Li is like our child. When his uncle and mother died, we were all he had left. We cared for him, and we cared for each other. That was what we had to hold onto during the times when we were in dire straits. That is all I ever had."
"Leave me alone!" Finis suddenly snapped. Something happened then that never, ever had before. Not with him. A shockwave of decided offensive energy erupted from him, violently blasting both the women and the horses away. He then went back to angrily fighting with himself with gritted teeth.
Ghune landed neatly on her feet, using her magic to spare the horses the injuries of landing poorly. The horses then, perhaps wisely, turned tail and fled once they regained their feet. Cere, however, fell onto her knees after she landed, holding a hand to her chest as she tried to deal with the pain of being attacked by Finis of all people. W-what…?
The God in question, meanwhile, squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth harder when another wave of added corruption rushed through him like a hot wave. Dammit… All of this struggling and fighting was starting to make his head pound. That was just another item to add to his newly created list of hated things in existence.
The vampire chose to leave Cere with her existential crisis and approached Finis once more. "Tell me this, Finis. What in the world is there to your life with this corruption holding you so firmly?"
"I don't… know," Finis bit out, his voice strained.
"You will have nothing," Ghune answered. "Your love will be absent from your life. The creatures you care for will need to avoid you. The wolf you helped raise cannot be near. You will live a lonely, hateful life."
Finis gritted his teeth again, visibly starting to fight with himself a bit harder than he had been before. However, another surge of fresh corruption put a stop to nearly all of that in short order. It left him a bit breathless from its sheer intensity. The evil glow in his eyes now burned deeper and brighter, a very clear and visible sign of how much this was worsening - not to mention how rapidly.
Cere finally collected herself, walking over with a distinctly pained expression. "Finis, I love you, and you love me," she murmured. "I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you."
Love? That word and the memories associated with it made the conflict within Finis intensify sharply. His head was pounding harder now as well, leaving him torn between wanting to lash out more and not… wanting to bring harm to her, ever. "I don't-..." He had started to tell her that he didn't love her, but instead of following through on that urge, he instead cut himself off. He didn't fully understand why. He hated her. Hated her. He… loved her? Love? What did that even mean? It didn't make any sense, not anymore.
"Finis, you know me better than anyone," Cere pressed. "You know that I love you, and I know you love me. Please."
"I-..." Finis again cut himself off, his head pounding yet still. A small amount of the glow in his eyes wavered, but it lasted for only a brief moment before he was biting out a harsh, "I don't love you." The corruption was rapidly trying to worsen, but some part of him was fighting hard enough to prevent too much further spread… for the moment.
Ghune glanced over her shoulder briefly, feeling her magic briefly respond to a massive fluctuation before deciding her attention was needed here more. "Finis, I have never seen you show love like you have to Cere," she murmured. "You love this woman with all of your shadowy heart."
Gritting his teeth tightly, Finis fought to make sense of his wildly conflicting emotions. The negative ones slammed through him again and again with building force until they caused him to snap at the women a second time. There were no words this time. There was only another brief moment of violence, one that resulted in both of them being somewhat bloodied by raging, razor-sharp energies. Some part of him fought (and soon succeeded) to reign the attack back in, but even as that happened he quietly seethed, "I hate all of you. There is no love."
Saethrim apparently decided now was his time to enter, walking up and staring Finis dead in the eyes. Burning animosity answered him from his friend's still glowing gaze. The da Asani walked closer and crossed his arms slowly. "You're really struggling to fight all this, huh?" Finis gritted his teeth and didn't reply. "I figured that maybe these two, with how much you care about Cere and with your duty to care about Ghune… that maybe they'd do it for ya. That wasn't enough. What if I told you Tianak was just taken down and can't do anything for a short bit? That make you happy?"
"Good," Finis muttered darkly. He felt another flash of anger. Emotions like it and hatred simply weren't ones he was ordinarily capable of feeling. Because of that, he had no idea how to cope with them. That made his tone immediately grow harsher. "He deserved it."
"And what do you deserve, huh?" Saethrim suddenly pressed. "You wanna just live this life? I thought we were friends. Just gonna throw that away? You're the only reason I didn't beat the shit out of Cere all the time. You didn't want us fighting, but now we're having to fight you. Is that what you want?"
For now the third time, Finis's emotions and energies wavered. "I don't… know," he eventually forced out, repeating what he had told Ghune earlier.
Saethrim shook his head. "You damn well know the answer. Deep down, past all that damned demon's corruption, you know what you care about. You want the corruption gone. You want to be free of it." Energy flared in response to that, but unlike during the previous incidents Finis was able to catch himself before he was able to follow through with the attack. Still, the brief surge of anger he'd felt left him softly cursing. "Make the decision, Finis. This corruption is not going to beat you. Realize how you actually feel."
"Please, Finis," Cere begged. "I don't want to lose you to this. Please."
Her words caused more fluctuation and back-and-forth uncertainty. During one of the small moments when he leaned clearly toward wanting to be rid of the corruption, there was a flash of heavenly blue light. When it faded, the restraints were gone and he collapsed. In explanation, an exhausted sounding Faein explained very briefly, "Apologies. If I could have intervened less suddenly, I would have. I sensed his plight in my sleep and acted as soon as I could."
"Don't worry 'bout it," Saethrim said with a shrug, kneeling down by Finis. He outstretched an arm to make Cere hold off for a moment before she could start rushing to the man's side. "Go back to sleep." He didn't get much, if any reply. With that handled, and after having personally ensured that Finis was okay, he more than readily let Cere approach and kneel by the man.
"Are you okay?" Cere asked softly, setting one of her hands on Finis's (as much as was possible, anyway). When he didn't reply, she instead decided to help him at least be laid on his back, glancing up to Saethrim and Ghune. "The purification left him unconscious. It will take time."
Saethrim suddenly turned away, walking off. "Tell me when he's okay. I've got some business to handle." Before anyone could speak or stop him, the man vanished.
Ghune let out a soft sigh, deciding it best to ignore Saethrim for the time being. "Inform me as well. I will allow you permission to enter my world or the Hive if I am not present here." She sat down, glancing at Finis. "I will be here for some time, however I will not be directly present so that you may have your time with him."
Cere glanced away, nodding. "I appreciate that," she answered. "I'll make sure to get you both when he's okay." With these words, Ghune vanished into the darkness of the world around them.
~保護者~
Eila was safe and unharmed. That was what mattered to Cyril and Rose. Aside from the emotional turmoil of having been corrupted, she was okay. In fact, she was doing better than either would have expected.
The older cat engaged in conversation, despite her obvious exhaustion. She talked to them openly about how she felt, and she apologized for what she did. All was forgiven in an instant.
Eila didn't really like that, though. In fact, she hated how easily they forgave her. She preferred Sonic's approach. The approach of others. Making her prove herself. She felt like she had something to work toward.
Both of them didn't make her do that. There was no road to travel… No effort to have to put in. It didn't matter, though. She didn't let herself care right now. Her tiredness was catching up rapidly.
Soon enough, Rose parted with the soft, loving words of a younger sister. Eila hugged her, and then she left. Cyril wanted to speak to her about their relationship, but she politely asked him to stop.
She didn't want to talk about this. Not now. He respected this and left her with a friendly hug.
"If you need me, I'm here for you."
Those words made her cry.
~保護者~
Whoever wound up purifying Aniko gently deposited her within Shadow's home. The portal Steam had opened in the hedgehog's bedroom was still there and wide open, and it was through that that Espio was able to sense her arrival. He wasted no time in appearing by her side, dropping onto his knees since she was also down on the floor. No doubt the Light needed to save her had caused her harm. "Mother?" he asked, concerned, while tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder.
The woman's eyes didn't open for a long moment. Soon they were slowly cracking open as she let out a long groan. "Fucking hell, those bastards did a shit job of not making that hurt," Aniko grumbled, stretching her arms out.
Espio let out a breath, more than a little relieved to see that her eyes were as normal as her energies. Still, he had to ask. "Are you alright?"
"No," she grumbled. "Everything fucking hurts. Saethrim beat the fuck out of me, and I was purified…" " Espio was taken aback by her unusual use of such language and removed his hand somewhat quickly. It took Aniko a moment to realize his reaction, far longer than usual for her to assess something. "Sorry. Just… in a lot of pain and I'm tired."
After a short pause, Espio nodded his understanding. He helped her up, then helped her to sit on the nearby couch. Only then did he give her an update about what had happened after her corruption. "Father and Armaris are alright," he told her, "but Hyale burned to the ground. There is nothing left but ash. Numerous people died."
Aniko stared blankly at him for a long moment. She didn't quite comprehend his words, but it was plainly obvious that her eyes were welling tears. "...What?" she demanded softly. "Hyale has been destroyed again…?"
"The demon set the village ablaze with Hellfire," Espio sighed. "I don't know what was done to extinguish the inferno. Father took me away from the smoke."
She visibly grew more upset. It was lost, then. There was no saving their home… "I-... I am glad you are all safe." She looked properly at him finally, a deep, concerned frown on her face. "What of Ryuji? Is he safe?"
"He seemed to be," Espio said. "Armaris and I stayed in his home briefly."
Aniko took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Good… That's… really good." She shakily forced herself to shift positions so she could wrap an arm around Espio. "I'm so glad that all of you are okay."
Espio nodded and, for once without hesitating, returned her hug. "I'm glad you're alright as well," he admitted quietly.
The woman relaxed when her son returned the hug, closing her eyes. "Where am I, though?"
"You met my friend, Shadow, once or twice," he reminded her. "He is the multi-colored hedgehog. This is his home. Toru entered a courtship with him not long ago. Things are… going on, and I was asked to be here to help them. I promised them that I would stay."
Aniko frowned for a long moment, before deciding that understanding what was going on didn't quite matter. "My safety is guaranteed, son. Please, honor their request."
Murmuring an agreement, Espio pulled out of her hold. "I intend to," he assured her. He stood up, then added, "The others will want to know that you are alright."
"I will make sure. Where is your father?" Aniko asked softly.
"He left briefly to get his emotions and powers under control," Espio answered. "From what I could sense, he was achieving both well enough on his own. He should be fine by now."
"Do you know where he went?"
"Not exactly. He was somewhere near the lake he used to take me fishing on when I was small."
"I will be going there, then. Let me know when you are done here," Aniko said. She gradually stood despite the intense pain it gave her.
"Understood." Espio started to walk away, paused, then slowly said, "...You understand that I view Toru as my family, yes?"
"Correct," Aniko replied. "You two have been like brothers since you met, unless I am mistaken."
"And you know of his mother," Espio continued. "How she was to him, that is. With what is going on, it may… benefit him to have someone far better than her here as support."
"...Yes?" Aniko asked, understanding that he was building toward a point.
"He has a child coming," Espio told her, finally being direct. "I do not claim to fully understand how, beyond that his partner's biology is largely not of this world. Toru is… stressed and afraid. To the point where even I can tell, Mother."
Aniko blinked. She wasn't quite understanding most of the point. Of course Toru would be stressed and afraid. "Why do you explain this…?" she asked.
"I have been present for the births of many children," Espio revealed to her suddenly. "Time and again, I have seen that the support of parents is instrumental during these times. Toru has his father, assuming he returns here anytime soon, but it may benefit him to have someone like you around as well. I am not asking you to be in there, merely to return here when you can just in case."
The woman blinked once more. It took her some time to fully grasp what he was saying, perhaps only because she was genuinely tired. After it became clear, she nodded. "I will return if I am able."
"Thank you." With this said, Espio vanished via teleport back through the portal Steam had left open in Shadow's room, leaving Aniko free to make her own departure.
~保護者~
It had been… a long time since he had exhausted himself this much.
Haru reflected on that fact only briefly, his mind too focused on other matters for the time being. He didn't know how many Spawns of Malevolence he had killed, nor did he particularly care. What he cared about was the fact that the beast itself seemed to have deigned to ignore him. That was fine. Haru didn't care what the bastard did, so long as it didn't in any way involve his son… or his apparent grandson. Provided they were uninvolved, that was what mattered to him.
Right now, he was floating somewhere near Zyr. He didn't know where, exactly, since it had been so damn long since he'd been out here. Not since the massacre… Deliberately. Sheathing his sword, he cast an almost wary glance at the garden. I sensed Grandfather during that raid. Has he awakened? If the first chameleon had, in fact, woken up… I doubt that means anything good, he reflected grimly. …For our enemies.
An unseen force all but exploded against his back and sent him hurtling forward. He slammed chest and head-first into the ground well within the Garden of Darkness so quickly that he hadn't had time to try and stop it. The sheer brutality of the impact left him winded, resulting in him coughing and gasping for breath. Damn… What the hell? That same attack hit him again, pounding him deeper into the ground. He felt the sharp heel of a woman's shoe biting into his spine not a moment later.
"I really ought to kill you for your role in that little stunt before," the owner of that shoe muttered, "but I'm not here for you, pest. Get out."
Everything happened so fast that, again, he was unable to react in time to save himself from taking damage. He was flung upward no sooner than the foot was removed from his person. A portal ripped open before him, and he was hurled through it. This time, he was sent flying by an impact on his chest and stomach, which further succeeded in robbing him of breath. Then he was crashing back-first through the almost impossibly thick and tall trees of the Highlands before finally slamming into the ground.
Coughing anew, Haru let out a groan between his teeth. "Mother… fucker," he bit out between pained gasps for air. Chest heaving, he (quite wisely, in his opinion) did his best to roll onto the side so that he could push himself up. This attack stirred his once-calming Darkness, but he successfully pushed it back down. He wiped some blood away from his mouth with the back of one hand and then set about getting to his feet.
However, no sooner than he'd gotten onto his hands and knees, he wound up coughing again. Several thick globs of blood splattered the ground near his hands. Damn… worse than I thought. He did his best to stifle a third cough, only for it to force its way out of him regardless. Damn. Damn it all. They can smell this shit from miles away.
On the lookout for Hollows, Haru unsteadily moved himself into a more upright position. He was sitting on his knees now which, while an improvement, wasn't enough. He needed to be able to stand if he wanted to have even half a chance, way out here. This deep into the wilderness, where the forests were their darkest and most impenetrable, Hollows were everywhere. Conversely, his people weren't. Unless the area served a strategic purpose in a war or it was necessary to execute some degree of population control on these beasts, the chameleons generally didn't waste their time trying to travel through this place. Living in this area was an even more wasteful attempt.
He had no intention of being one of the few people fool enough to die out here. Still, his options were limited. The attack he'd suffered seemed to have caused much more internal wounding than external. As such, he couldn't adequately assess his own condition. All he knew was that his legs refused to cooperate. A quick glance at them proved that they weren't injured on the outside, but they had no doubt still been damaged. And yet, he felt little pain in them. Just weakness and sharp tingling sensations. He sincerely doubted that was good.
A Hollow decided to reveal itself finally. It was brutish and fast, but despite that he should have been able to sense it coming. Not to mention the fact that he should have been able to defend himself against it. But no. Instead, it rammed into him, its apparently horned head pinning him bloodily to a tree. The motion of this caused his hood to, for once, fall off of his head. Oh, fuck off.
While his right arm had wound up pinned along with his torso, his left one hadn't. Using it, he grabbed his recently-stolen sword and unsheathed it as much as possible using the limited space available. It couldn't come even halfway out, but that wasn't the goal. He focused on using as much speed and strength as he could muster in that one action, which resulted in the handle hitting his attacker hard enough that several jutting horns were shattered on impact. This was enough to mostly free him. The beast rearing back in a fit of rage and confusion did the rest.
Already, Haru was coughing again. He hit the ground hard and, because of the state of his legs, nearly toppled over. Though he caught himself on one of the tree's roots, he was distinctly aware of still being unsteady. His vision and head were both suddenly… swimming. He felt weak, unfocused, shaky… hell, even nauseous. That last symptom, coupled with his rapidly building sense of drowsiness, was ringing faint alarm bells in his head. I can't… go to sleep. I have to… For at least a brief moment, everything faded to black.
When he regained awareness, he was being bowled over. Heavy paws beat him soundly into the ground before trampling over him when the Hollow decided to move about a foot away. It was staring out into the woods, posture tense, while Haru struggled to regain his bearings. Once again, he was breathless. The difference was that instead of just coughing up blood, he found himself in a constant struggle not to choke on the stuff. He couldn't take in or release a single breath without great effort because of all the blood filling his mouth and throat. The last time he'd been injured like this, he'd… He'd been fighting Shei's mother, hadn't he?
But that hadn't been her back at Zyr. If things kept up like they had been, he would never find out who had done this to him. He had his guesses, though it didn't matter now. None of it would matter if he couldn't find some way to save his own ass. If he couldn't fight through his own weakness and get up, he was going to die here. Dying a second time, not to mention so soon after his life had been returned, would be pathetic. But the energy to care was quite literally bleeding out of him.
The hollow's head abruptly dropped to the ground with a thud, sliced cleanly from its body. "Can you stand?" It wasn't until that moment that Haru realized he'd allowed his eyes to drift shut. With another choking cough, he forced them to open in an effort to see who had spoken. It was about all he could do for the moment. He couldn't have answered vocally if he'd tried. Ryuji stood, blade buried deep in the chest of another hollow that had appeared. "Stay still," was all the other chameleon said before bolting to Haru and collecting him off the ground, teleporting away from this area.
All of this movement did nothing to help Haru's condition improve. He barely bit back another groan of pain. When the hell… did he get here?
Once Ryuji knew that they were in a safe place, he made sure Haru was laid down very gently while he carefully used his hands to assess the damage. "Who attacked you? The injuries you have sustained cannot be from a Hollow, primarily."
Unable to talk, Haru forced his hands to work long enough to sign, "Don't know."
"Do not sleep," Ryuji firmly ordered. "Do your best to relax."
Haru coughed some more, and just like before he found himself struggling not to choke as a result. In the midst of that, he managed to sign a shaky, "Can't." Ryuji let out a slow sigh and thought quietly to himself before shooting up a small beacon of his Darkness into the air. Hopefully someone else would see and be able to help. Haru, meanwhile, found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. More than once, they drifted shut and he barely had the strength to force them to open back open.
Right about then, Espio appeared beside Ryuji. Though he had no idea what had happened or who the man on the ground was, simply seeing a chameleon in this sort of condition alarmed him. It seemed he'd been right to temporarily leave Toru and Shadow, if this was what Ryuji was calling for help over. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, kneeling down to look over the victim.
"I do not know. He was attacked, presumably by a person. I found him in the Hollow territory, but only a sparse number of his wounds were inflicted by them. He is also having difficulty retaining consciousness, and he has coughed up a great deal of blood," Ryuji stated rapidly, ensuring that he was covering the scope of this from his own knowledge.
Espio muttered something in Japanese under his breath, wiping blood away with his hands to look at the dark bruises covering this man's body. His shirt was ripped enough in places for some of the aforementioned injuries to be seen. What could have done this? Gritting his teeth, he listened to the ragged, shallow breathing and watched as the man's eyes started to slip shut. Damn. "Keep him awake," he directed. "He needs a doctor or a healer. I'm going to find one." He promptly vanished.
Ryuji nodded a bit and moved right back beside Haru. "Keep your eyes open," he muttered. "We do not die this easily. Do not dare give in to this."
It took a moment too long for his words to register. By the time they did, Haru found himself really having to fight to open his eyes again. The word "easily" lingered in his head. He wasn't sure why, at first. Something about the way he'd been attacked… so… easily…? That caused a thought to twig in his mind and, though he was barely able to move anymore, he managed to sign a vague approximation of the name, "Nareish."
Taking note of this, Ryuji simply continued. "Whatever thoughts going through your head that keep you from falling asleep, use them in this moment. Do you understand?" He didn't get much response, though Haru did initially attempt to sign something else. Whatever it was, he couldn't manage it and didn't have the strength to keep trying. He coughed some more, the pain of it wracking his whole body briefly. Ryuji simply sat by and watched, not daring to touch Haru again lest his actions harm the other man further.
A few short seconds later, Espio reappeared. "Can he be moved?" he was quick to ask.
"I would take extreme caution doing so," Ryuji answered. "Doing so is assuredly going to injure him further, but I do not believe he would be put in any worse a condition than he is now."
"There is a hedgehog woman named Amy," Espio told him, "who is a healer. She is at a home where some of my allies have been staying. I can take him there, but I cannot stay with him. I made a promise to be elsewhere."
Ryuji nodded. "I will go with you, then watch over him when you leave. Honor your promise."
"Understood." Espio decided against lifting the other man off of the ground, and instead placed a hand on his least injured shoulder. Using that connection to make the job easier, he teleported himself and said man to Tails's house. Or, at least, whatever was left of it. He'd at least managed to find a clearing in the rubble. Once there, he caught Amy's attention with a motion of his arm and said, "This is the person I spoke of. He is in dire need of treatment."
Amy's eyes went wide and she rushed over, dropping to her knees to be on at the same height as the man she'd been brought. Before she could ask Espio anything, however, he vanished. Typical chameleon, she griped. However, she was already rolling her sleeves up and starting to look over her new patient.
When he appeared, Ryuji took the time to speak to Amy about what all he knew about what Haru had suffered, much like he had to Espio. Only once he had covered everything did he go silent. Amy pursed her lips together and gathered her bright pink healing energy into her hands. However, when she laid them on Haru, she was startled to find that her powers were doing nothing. Zilch. Nada. Absolutely nothing. "What…?" she mumbled, more to herself than to Ryuji.
"What?" Ryuji demanded to know. "What is the matter?"
"My powers aren't working on him," Amy replied in that quick, crisp tone she was known to use when in full "doctor mode" as Silver liked to call it. Turning her head, he called out, "Eila?" No immediate answer. She raised her voice, determined to be heard. "Eila?"
Tired eyes peered out from behind some machine, the cat not really understanding the situation for a moment. "...What?"
"I need your help," Amy all but ordered. By now, her patient's eyes had slipped shut once more. Every breath he took resulted in the coughing up of more blood. "He's bleeding out internally and my healing powers aren't helping."
Eila did something to herself, judging by the way she suddenly seemed far more alive, teleporting over and staring at Haru with glowing eyes. He's approaching death rapidly. Did an Immortal harm him? She didn't have time to debate this, hovering her hands over his body. If healing wouldn't work, other methods would have to. She set about stitching the internal wounds shut while literally teleporting the excess blood out of Haru's body. "Keep him awake," Eila muttered. "I don't have the energy to do so and handle this."
Amy redirected that command to Ryuji before saying, "I need to find supplies. I'll be back. Don't let your friend go to sleep." She hurried off before Ryuji could potentially protest.
Ryuji looked down at Haru. The wounds were certainly far worse than he'd thought originally. "Haru, you have a child and grandchild to look after. Are you going to allow yourself to die without being able to ensure their safety?"
Despite his shallow, ragged breathing and the fact that he was barely conscious, Ryuji actually got a reply out of Haru. It was only one word, barely audible and almost not coherent. His eyes didn't open. "...Shei."
"If you don't stay alive, who is going to protect him? You seemed quite adamant that you wanted to protect him, right? You want to be there for him?" The answer he got was more or less limited to a weak cough but, if nothing else, Haru at least seemed to have heard him.
It was about then that Amy rushed back over. Heedless of the potential danger she might face for ordering an unfamiliar chameleon around, she sharply directed, "I need to get a knife, a dagger, or something to cut open his shirt so I can get at those stab wounds easier. The fabric is in the way." As she spoke, she readied the bandages she'd located.
In a brief show of spite (or some other emotion) at being ordered around, Ryuji did what she wanted but didn't actually grab a blade. He instead simply used his Darkness to cut the shirt off. His attitude either went ignored or unnoticed. Either way, Amy didn't react to it. She focused instead on tending to the wounds in question. "Eila, how are his internal injuries? Are you able to close any of them?"
Eila blinked a few times before finally seeming to comprehend that she was being spoken to, looking over at Amy. "Progress is being made." Her vague answer went without explanation, but she was certainly continuing her work.
The hedgehog nodded. Her hands glowed a soft pink, but she wasn't trying to heal Haru again. It was instead an attempt at examination via energy. "I'm sensing some sort of spinal damage. Is there anything you can do about that?"
The cat frowned and bit her lip. "More time. Bleeding first." She was absolutely exhausted, her eyes drooping.
"I know, but this is also serious," Amy muttered. She finished bandaging the stab wounds for the most part, then told Ryuji, "I need you to keep talking to him. We cannot let him pass out when he's this close to dying."
Eila decided to add to this, her tired gaze falling on Ryuji. "And if you cannot, I will. He will not die, even if I have to handle this myself."
Ryuji didn't quite like the cat's attitude, and he didn't know what to say - to her or to Haru. This wasn't something he'd ever dealt with before. "Haru, can you hear me?" he asked. Alarmingly, he got no reply this time. Not even so much as a flicker of the eyelids.
When Ryuji visibly panicked, Eila stepped in. Her eyes glowed and she mentally pushed Haru to stay awake. "Do not die on me," she bit out, strained from her effort. This effort of hers to wake him back up resulted in a soft groan of pain and then a soft, barely audible curse of some kind when Amy tightened a bandage over one of his wounds.
Ryuji gently grabbed one of Haru's hands, squeezing it to get his attention. "Haru, can you hear me?" he repeated. This time, he got a weak and very slight nod in reply, though it did take a moment to happen. "Focus on whatever it takes to stay awake, whether it be my voice or the pain or something else. Do not go back to sleep."
With considerable effort, Haru managed to say something in reply. "M'not… …sleeping…"
"Better not," Ryuji huffed. "You worried me." Haru tried to say something else, coughed, and wound up just shaking his head. "Just focus on staying awake, alright? People are handling your wounds."
Haru was briefly quiet, and it soon seemed that him trying to build up the energy to speak again was the reason why. "Where's… Shei?" he eventually to get out.
"If I am not mistaken, he is safe somewhere." Ryuji didn't like that he wasn't sure, but it was definitely the truth. Haru nodded faintly again.
Eila once more decided to extend herself, eyes glowing faintly. "Shei is safe and well within the Highlands. I can assure it."
Since she had nothing to add to that point, Amy focused on medical matters. "How are those wounds looking?" she asked. "His pulse is improving a bit now that he isn't bleeding so much… And he's breathing a little easier." Still, that damage to his spine has me worried… He's horribly pale, too. I'm almost afraid to ask Eila just how much blood she removed.
"I began a third needle," Eila revealed. "The wounds are rapidly being closed."
"Good," Amy breathed, a note of tentative relief in her voice. "Do what you can, but don't go any further with it then you can. I don't want you to overdo it anymore than you already have."
Too late. Eila nodded slowly, devoting her full attention to Haru now.
Ryuji frowned softly toward Haru. "Are you able to remember what happened to leave you like this, Haru?"
It again took time, but gradually he was given a fragmented answer. "I was… at Zyr. …She… was there. And attacked… violently."
"Nareish attacked you at Zyr?" Ryuji asked, merely for clarification.
"Not… there… for me," Haru mumbled.
"Do you have any idea what she was there for?"
Haru coughed painfully for a second, but for better or for worse forced himself to keep talking after that. "Grandfather was… the… the only other… person…"
The first chameleon? Though he wanted to know more, he decided against asking further. Haru was pushing himself more than he should. "I see."
Amy, meanwhile, was listening quietly with a frown. Who's Nareish? Is she the one Steam took people to fight in that raid?
Eila entirely stopped her work all at once, looking down to Haru. "Nareish?" she demanded to know. "You were attacked by Nareish?" All Haru did in answer to that was nod a little. Eila let out a strained sigh, her hands wringing through her hair. Fuck, no wonder his injuries are so bad. "This is bad. Amy, have you gotten ahold of any of the Immortals?"
Frowning, Amy shook her head. "The only one I have any personal contact with is Jet, and he's out of commission right now. I texted Steam when I left to go get bandages, though."
That'll have to do. Eila snapped her fingers and stood up, swaying a little. "I've done what I can, and placed my magic over it to keep the internal wounds from breaking open or his spine from being affected by movement. If an Immortal doesn't heal him, though, this kind of work won't hold up. I'm facing Immortal levels of injury, and I'm barely a semi-Immortal."
"I know who to speak to, it is a matter of finding her," Ryuji murmured, watching Eila quietly. "I believe her name was Alana."
The cat didn't answer, stumbling off to go back to wherever she'd been before. Amy watched her go. She had no idea who Alana was, much less how to contact her, and so was at a bit of a loss for what to do. She focused instead on Ryuji. "I'm sorry for ordering you around like I did," she sighed. "But I genuinely hope your friend gets better."
Ryuji shrugged a little. "Simply do not make a habit of it. I will excuse you due to the severity of the situation." He chose not to address it further, eyeing the surrounding area before returning his attention to Amy.
"I understand from Espio how important promises are to your people… so please believe my sincerity when I say that I will heed your words." From the delivery of her response to him, it was clear that she'd picked up a thing or two about chameleon manners from the aforementioned shinobi. She, too, then decided to drop the matter.
The man watched her for a long moment before shrugging minutely and glancing away. Moments later, he sensed someone else appear in the room. "Do people come and go from here often?"
"More or less," Amy confirmed. "Before it was destroyed like this, this was the home of an ally of ours, that fox way off that way with the twin tails." She gestured toward Tails as she spoke. "Everyone in our group knows him really well, including Espio. So it's one of the easiest spots to have people meet up, since we all know where to go."
Ryuji nodded slowly at this explanation. It made enough sense. "I see." He chose to fall silent again, a hand shifting over Haru as a green hedgehog approached.
Seeing this same person, relief washed over Amy's face. "Steam," she called quietly. "Thank goodness. I'm so glad you came." Seconds later, an echidna woman Amy couldn't not recognize appeared by his side. Although, she had the distinct feeling that this wasn't the same Tara she had once known.
Steam knelt down by Haru and inspected him quietly, biting his lip. He knew what happened, but there was one major concern he had. "Ryuji, did he act unusual at all aside from reacting to his injuries?"
"Not that I could tell, but I have spoken to him a scarce few times so far," Ryuji answered slowly.
"I'll get ahold of Sein and Alana…" Steam said after a moment. "One of them should be able to heal him, but he definitely should stay near someone so we can make sure she didn't corrupt him."
Ryuji blinked once. Corruption should have been obvious if it was there. "I will stay with him. It shouldn't be difficult to keep him busy for a day or so. Is that enough time?"
Steam clicked his tongue. "Maybe. I doubt she had that much interest in him, but Haru is… strong. There's reason to be concerned."
"Everything in his mind seems normal," Amy revealed quietly. "I know that isn't enough proof on its own, but it's at least a good sign." She then said, "Ryuji mentioned knowing Alana from some prior incident. It might be best to just call her for now, unless you really feel that both of them are needed."
"Alana should do fine," Steam said. "It would be better to leave at least one of them on Babylon, anyway." Already he was tapping away at his communicator, sending a message to Alana.
Because of Jet? Amy wondered, though she didn't see a need to ask the question aloud. She spoke to Ryuji again about something else instead. "I won't take any offense if you refuse, but I'd like to extend an offer of sorts. You're someone Espio seems to trust, from what little I saw. So I think it's safe to say that you're at least an ally to him, if not more. Because of that, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that if you ever want or need to come back here, for any reason at all, you can. Alright?"
The chameleon was quiet for a long moment, directly assessing Amy before giving a slow nod. Aside from one person, he found no reason to openly dislike those present. "Understood."
Amy flashed him a smile not two seconds before Alana appeared. The hawk blinked, then sighed. "I do wish we could meet under less serious circumstances," she told Ryuji, already moving over to kneel by Haru.
Ryuji shrugged a little in reply. "Sometimes these situations occur," he stated easily. "I am merely glad to know there are those around who can aid when they occur."
"Indeed." Alana checked Haru over thoroughly before beginning to heal him. She started first with his most dangerous internal injuries, but already she knew this was going to be too difficult for her to handle alone. "Sein," she silently called out, "I need your help. Will you please share your healing abilities with me? The more I can add to my own, the easier this man will recover."
While waiting for a reply, she continued to work on healing what she could. How in the world did he survive long enough to receive help? His bones are so badly broken that they stabbed into nearly all of his organs, and his lungs appear to have been filled with blood at one point. There is substantial damage to his spine as well. Not enough to threaten his life, but I would be surprised if his legs are working right now… given which part of his spine was injured the worst.
Sein soon reached out to her with his power, sharing with her his abilities to heal. His wife continued to work while simultaneously reaching out to the Aether with the same request. She needed as much help as she could get if she was to stand any chance of healing wounds dealt by Nareish's hand. The Aether responded immediately, an orb of its yellow energy appearing in front of Alana and fading into her chest.
Seeing this made Tara blink and speak up for the first time. "What was that?" she asked Steam. "Is the Aether already active here?"
Steam nodded. "Incredibly so. I think it's growing faster as well," he answered, tapping his fingers against his thigh. "Bonded with Wave, which was a good choice."
"I see." Tara thought this over, then asked Alana, "Are you making any progress?"
"Yes, I am. Sein and the Aether have both lent their abilities to me. I don't think I could have done much otherwise." Alana frowned a little in concentration. "The wounds are closing faster than I expected."
"The Aether's aid was probably the kicker to this," Steam said. "It was practically brought into existence to heal."
"Whereas Sein and I are very combat-oriented, rather than possessing a talent for healing," Alana agreed. "Either way, this man will survive. Though, he is exhausted and will need to rest for a day or two."
Steam nodded to this. "Definitely."
Ryuji let out a soft sigh. "I am pleased to hear he will survive."
"So am I," Amy admitted. "He had me pretty worried, there."
"Will you please remove Eila's hold on his mind?" Alana asked her suddenly. "He does not need to be forced to stay awake any longer. His life is no longer in danger." Amy blinked and reached her own mind out to ask Eila about this rather than wasting time trying to accomplish the overall task herself.
Eila did not respond for several seconds, a loud clattering noise accentuating the release of Haru's mind. Steam grimaced a little, moving to check on the cat. Ryuji, meanwhile, frowned visibly. "She did what to his mind?"
"She was forcibly keeping him awake," Alana murmured. "I cannot say that I agree with such a method. However… had she allowed him to lose consciousness, he may have succumbed to his injuries."
The chameleon certainly did not appreciate what she did, if only because of what it insinuated. Still, he had to concede that it may have been for the best. "Hm."
Things grew quiet for a while. Eventually, Alana removed her hands and said, "It's finished. I was most concerned, at the end, with the damage done to his spine, but the Aether succeeded in mending that as well. Had it not, your friend here may never have walked again. As it stands now, he will recover fully."
"Good." Ryuji didn't say more. There was nothing more to say. Haru was alive and would stay that way. The only thing left to be concerned about was his family.
"You can take him back to the Highlands, in that case," Tara decided. "I assume you and him both would prefer that over remaining here for the next day or longer."
Ryuji nodded easily. "That would be for the best. Our kind much prefers the solitude."
"And the nature, as I understand." Tara gestured for him to do what he wanted while adding, "He's stable now. Feel free to move him without concern."
Granted the permission he hadn't asked for, Ryuji simply leaned down and teleported away with Haru.
~保護者~
11,376 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support, and I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 7:25 p.m.) 05-15-22.