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".)

191. Blame

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this confusing time… especially for the ones who are struggling.

~保護者~

"Blame"

~保護者~

Everything was quiet for right now. Kath checked on Arkiri and Jet, only to find them both resting. With their rest being mostly peaceful, he opted not to disturb either of them. Instead, he walked to his observatory and closed the doors behind him for some measure of privacy. He expected Azerel to be there. The wolf was nowhere to be found, however. A quick mental check-in revealed the wolf had gone outside for some fresh air. Nothing to be concerned about, then.

He had no idea what happened next.

Almost as though waking from a particularly vivid dream, Kath blinked his eyes open and found himself sitting on the floor in confusion. He was dressed in a white-colored outfit visually reminiscent of a kimono, but in a distinctly Babylonian style. On his feet, he wore a simple pair of white ankle socks. His hair was about the same as usual, though his bangs were trimmed back a bit to keep them out of his face so much.

The once-adult, now-child looked around with no understanding of where he was or what was going on. He was no older than ten months old in his years right now. Having been forcibly rewound to this age meant that, like the first time his powers had activated, he had no memories of his life past this point on top of winding up tiny in size.

Still, he wasn't afraid about any of this. He shifted forward and crawled a couple of feet to the double doors. Soon, he braced his palms on the smooth floor and used that as leverage to get his feet and legs up under him. Once they were positioned, he moved his upper half upward. Just like that, he was successfully standing. From there he walked the rest of the way and executed a tiny jump to try to reach the doors' handles. Then he tried a second, slightly bigger jump. No such luck.

Even at this age, he was resourceful and intelligent. It didn't take him long to locate a chair that would make him tall enough to reach what he was after, though scooting it over took some hard work. Once it was properly positioned, he put forth further effort to create a few stacks of books leading up to it. He had to carry each book one at a time, but though it was somewhat difficult he was ultimately successful. Using those as steps, he climbed up onto the chair, opened one of the two doors, then climbed back down on the other side.

Now that he was freed, he began wandering down what was, to him, a truly massive hallway. "Daddy?" he called while looking around. "Dada?" A bit of carpet caught on one of his feet, making him trip. He landed on his stomach with a soft thud but, though the impact left him sniffling quietly, he didn't cry. Instead, he got back up the same way he had the first time and resumed walking and calling. "Mama? Dada?"

He wasn't getting an answer. There weren't any open doors for him to wander through, nor was there anything for him to climb on to open those doors. At a bit of a loss, he sort of just… plopped down into a sitting position on the floor and started sucking on one of his index fingers. The gears in his head turned for a while, but whatever thoughts he'd been forming were interrupted before long.

Something large and white and fluffy trotted into view, then froze and stared at him. He recognized what sort of animal he was faced with and felt a rush of delight. "Wo'f," he said, reaching his small hands out in a desire to touch. "Here wo'f."

Much to his further happiness, the wolf slowly approached. It ducked its head to sniff at him quite forcefully once it was close enough, nearly knocking him down in the process. Little fingers tangled in lush head fur in an effort to both satisfy curiosity and maintain balance. However, the object of his slightly painful affection was quick to pull away.

The wolf circled around behind him. Before he could even try to turn around and look at it, its teeth hooked around the back of his shirt and lifted him into the air like a pup. He was immediately off-put by this treatment and began to resist. However, no amount of squirming and fussing and "no's" resulted in him being released. His captor hastened down the long hall, only to stop at a new set of double doors. He was then (gently) dumped back down on the floor while the wolf scratched repeatedly at said doors.

Kath wasn't sure what to make of the position he found himself in. He was seated on his rear now with his legs stretched out in front of him and one of the wolf's legs firmly behind his back as support. His little feet were pressed up against one of the doors. Something about the bumpy, textured decorations he felt through his socks made him want to kick at them to see how it felt. So, naturally, that was just what he did. While he was distracted with that, the wolf continued to scratch, more urgently now.

Someone opened the door, interrupting Kath's kicking. Confused, he looked up. Above him stood someone grey, like him. She reminded him of mama a bit, but this wasn't mama. He didn't know who this was. She stared at him with wide eyes, then shakily called out, "Sein? S-Sein?" Before Kath knew what was going on, he was being scooped up and carried into the room.

With a wince and a barely restrained sound of pain, Jet forced his arms to push him up into a sitting position. It was the alarm in his mother's voice that convinced him to do this, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant. "Mom, what…" He saw what was in her arms when she turned to face them and froze. All he could do was gape at her. Or, rather, who she was carrying. Oh… my… god. There's no fucking way.

Alana spoke before he could, her expression one of shock to rival even Jet's own. "Father's time powers must have activated again," she said. "Though I do not understand why his age would have reversed by so much." Privately, her mind strayed for a brief moment to another matter. It is good that I spoke to Eila when I did. This has woken him up quite fully.

"Wait, back up," Jet replied. "This happened before?"

"Yes," his mother sighed. "You were… elsewhere, and Father grew ill from having spent time on Mobius. He was not yet transitioning into an Immortal enough to be able to recover well. When his life became endangered, his powers activated on their own and overreacted. He was reverted back into a teenager for an hour or so, if I recall. Perhaps two."

Jet briefly stared at her, then shifted to stare at Kath. His now baby grandfather (god, what a weird thought) was looking around quietly with a finger in his mouth, his free hand lightly gripping Alana's shirt near her shoulder. Just when Jet thought Kath might actually be content there long enough for them to talk some more, he suddenly squirmed as though to try and get out of her grip. "Is Dad still asleep?" Jet asked Alana quickly. It seemed evident that they weren't going to have much time to chat before Kath decided he was completely over being held.

"He might be," Alana said while adjusting her hold on the fidgeting baby in her arms. "I sent him to bed only a half hour ago. Since he did not come when I called for him, he is either still asleep or he went downstairs to find food."

Well, whether he was asleep or eating, he was about to be interrupted. Jet had no true mental powers to speak of, but powerful Immortals could still reach their minds out to other living beings for communication. It was something he did fairly regularly, though he'd never attempted it with either of his parents before. The irrational, anxious part of him hoped Sein wouldn't mind. The rest of him was at least mostly certain that he wouldn't. "Hey, Dad?" he silently called, giving the older hawk a mental nudge. "We really need you to come here. No one's hurt or in danger, but you need to see this."

As he said this, Kath managed to twist fully around in Alana's hold and was now using both hands to try to push away from her. "I down," he whined in complaint. That he was able to talk at all at this age further stunned the two adults in the room. Babylonian children didn't begin learning speech until nearly two. His size alone proved that he wasn't even quite half that age.

"Shh, little one," Alana murmured, trying to soothe him. "It's alright. You're alright."

"No, no," Kath protested. He was starting to tear up. "Down! I down!"

Sein swooped in right about then, scooping Kath up and out of Alana's arms to set him down on the ground softly. "Alright, what the hell is going on here?" he demanded, rubbing at one of his eyes.

"This," Jet said lamely. "You realize who you just grabbed, right?" As he spoke, Kath took in his new position on the floor for a couple seconds before sticking his finger back in his mouth, apparently content again for the moment.

"Yes," Sein answered. "I couldn't mistake that aura, no matter what."

Unsure if the sudden firmness in his tone meant he'd been irritated, Jet almost reflexively shut his mouth and stopped talking. He was quick to direct his gaze away as well. Sein had never been so short with him before. It gave Jet an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. I messed up, was the thought that instantly entered his mind. Logically, he knew it wasn't true. He hadn't done anything at all that was wrong. But it was hard to shake the idea regardless. He moved to lay down again with his back to them, wanting to shut them out so as to better shut out these emotions.

"What do we do about this, Sein?" Alana was asking her partner at the same time. "We cannot possibly expect him to be able to change himself back, can we?"

Sein glanced to Jet. He'd have to handle that matter in a moment. "The best we can do is keep him safe and see if there's so much as a way for him to."

"I do not understand how this even happened to begin with," Alana admitted. She glanced at her son while she spoke. His abrupt disengagement from the discussion had her worried, and she intended to ask him about it in a moment if he'd let her. "There was no danger, nor any other reason I know of for his powers to suddenly have activated."

"I don't have a clue," Sein answered, shifting his gaze to look and make sure Kath hadn't gotten anywhere. So far, the child was simply staying put, just looking around with open curiosity at his surroundings. "Fuck… I don't know…"

Alana started to say something else, but paused when Kath looked up at them and took his finger out of his mouth to ask, "Where Mama and Dada?"

Sein leaned down and offered a hand to Kath (this felt wrong). "Want your Dada?" Kath didn't take the hand, but immediately nodded. "I can take you to him." This convinced Kath to get himself to his feet, more than ready to find his daddy. Sein decided against picking up Kath, walking slowly as he began tracking down T'alo.

Kath hurried after him, unexpectedly chattering all the while. "Who you?" he asked innocently. "Where this? Where the wo'f go?"

"I'm Sein," Sein said easily. "We're on Babylon, and the wolf probably went to lay down."

"Nuh-uh," Kath refuted, shaking his head. "This not Babywon. Babywon wook different."

Sein gained a bit of a smirk. "I'm pretty sure we're on Babylon."

"Nuh-uh," Kath argued again. "It wook different." As they walked down the hall, they gradually approached the room T'alo had been using to sleep in.

"I bet you that it definitely is Babylon. Can prove it, too," Sein said, chuckling. Young blue eyes looked up at him. "Remember the wolf you saw?" Sein asked, looking down at Kath. The much smaller hawk nodded. "Those wolves are only found on Babylon. That means we are on Babylon."

"But here wook different," Kath insisted. "This place where Lari's mama and dada s'posed to wive, but it not the same."

"It definitely does look different, but I'll explain that another time." Sein used his aura to knock on the door to T'alo's room. "For now, let's get you to your Dada."

When there was no reply, Kath looked up at him again. "Dada s'eeping?" he asked, clearly disappointed.

Sein knocked a bit harder with his aura. "Seems so." There was still no reply. Nothing about T'alo's aura changed in the slightest, almost as though he somehow wasn't hearing the knocks at all. When it became apparent something was wrong, Sein grabbed the door and opened it.

Kath walked in after him, headed toward his father without any hesitation. He couldn't reach high enough to climb up or to even really see the man, but he still knew T'alo was there. "Dada?" he asked, reaching up on his tiptoes in an effort to see father. "Daddy?"

Sein soon scooped up Kath off the ground and reached out to Alana mentally. "I think Nareish did all this. T'alo isn't waking up at all. I'm going to keep trying." The man reached out and shook T'alo, admittedly a bit roughly, in an effort to rouse him. Kath initially whined and struggled, but stopped when he realized he could see better like this. Still, seeing his father refusing to move at all had him visibly upset.

"Is he injured?" Alana was quick to ask Sein.

"No, but he won't wake up." Sein was quick to look to Kath. "Hey, I'm gonna take to you Laralei, okay? I need you to be good for her while I check up on your Dada"

"Lari here?" Kath asked him, delighted. "Kani here, too?"

"Laralei is," Sein said easily. "Kani is… busy." He chose not to explain, speaking further. "I'll take you to Lari, okay?"

"Okay," Kath agreed before once again sticking his finger in his mouth.

Sein immediately teleported to Laralei's room, not thinking twice about simply appearing inside. "Laralei, kinda need your help," he said quickly. Just like with T'alo, he got no reply out of her.

Why she so big? Kath wondered, not at all aware of the severity of this situation. She wook wike her mama.

Are you fucking kidding me? Sein thought to himself. He instead teleported outside of the room, holding Kath close. "Actually, she's trying to get some sleep in, too. What I'll do instead is… I'll watch over you for the time being, okay? As soon as I can get one of them to you, I will."

"Oh." With this lackluster response, Kath was soon focused on other matters. "Where the wo'f go?" he asked again. "He fluffy and I wike him."

"Not sure, want to go find him?" Sein asked, breaking a smile onto his face with some effort. "Laralei is staying asleep, too. She did something to them both."

"Did what?" Alana demanded, alarmed to hear that her mother was also affected.

"I'unno," Kath responded unhelpfully to Sein.

"Let's go find Azerel," Sein said easily. He soon began walking, trying to keep communicating with Kath and Alana simultaneously. "They won't wake up. I've never known Laralei to simply sleep through things."

"Because she doesn't," Alana agreed, her own alarm growing. Had she not been staying with Jet, she no doubt would have rushed to her mother's side by now.

"'Zerel?" Kath asked. "That his name?"

"Try to relax. We can't stress Kath out. Whatever is happening, we will have to solve this. Have you explained this all to Jet?" Sein nodded to Kath. "Mhm! He's one of the biggest and fluffiest."

"He not let me pet him when I see him," Kath pouted. "He sniff me and then he take me to the wady who wook wike mama."

At about the same time, Alana said, "I am explaining it to him now. He is very troubled."

"Not surprised…" "Well, I'll make sure he lets you pet him this time."

"He says Nareish is behind this," Alana suddenly said. "He is very firm about it. Sein, I apologize for having to make you think about this, but did she tell you anything that may explain why she would have done this?"

Kath was quiet for a short time as he was carried. Eventually, however, he asked a new question. "Where our tepesh?" he questioned, using a Sa'tavi word. He was referring to a tribal home very similar to the echidna and Mobian style tepees that had come about much later - so similar, in fact, that even their names were closely related. A tepesh was a cloth home built around a tree, which made up the main central support. Branches were used as additional support when possible.

They had cloth floorings as well, and the bedding is similarly made of cloth. The cloth was all of the same make, though the methods of making this style of cloth were known only to the Sa'tavi tribe. Since the Sa'tavi people were extremely adapted to the cold, these homes didn't provide much warmth. All of this was, of course, among the few things Kath had ever taught Sein and Alana about his tribe. The topic had always saddened him, causing him to usually avoid it altogether. But he had definitely explained this much.

"We're a bit far away from them," Sein replied after a moment. "Yes. She said something along the lines of wanting him incapacitated… Suppose this counts." Alana fell silent, no doubt thinking all this over.

"Dada build ours," Kath continued, unbothered. "Mama wive in a house. We going see her in s'ping. I tell mama I b'ing her a p'esent. I make her someping wiff Dada."

"What did you make?" Sein asked, smiling to Kath.

"I make her a toy," Kath answered happily. "It wook just wike my toy, but her is yewwow. I wike that color."

"Wow, that's really cool," Sein replied. "I bet she'll love it."

Kath sort of idly picked at one of his sleeves. "Gamma wive there, too. She scare me. Mama scared, too. Dada not let me go when Gamma and Gampa there. I don't wike them. They b'eak Mama stuff. I don't want them b'eak Mama p'esent."

"Don't worry, they won't get to," Sein said softly. "I'll make sure of it."

"Okay." Kath looked up when they stepped outside and was soon delighted at what he saw laying nearby. "Wo'f!"

Azerel heard this and lifted his head. Immediately, he looked less than amused. "Don't you even dare," he groused, trying to communicate his thoughts to Sein with his eyes and expression alone.

The older hawk fixed Azerel with a bit of a "glare", more so just trying to express that he needed the wolfs help. "His name is Azerel," he explained softly.

Having been told this once already, Kath didn't question the name again. Instead, he quietly watched as the wolf stood up and stretched with a none-too-pleased expression. Soon he said, "Wo'f don't wike baby. But I not a baby. But wo'f don't want me pet him."

"I'm sure Azerel will let you," Sein said, fixing the wolf with a half-assed glare that didn't mean anything. "Right?"

"But he say no," Kath said. "I hear'd him."

"Tell him to take you to Arkiri," Azerel grumbled, laying back down.

Innocent blue eyes blinked at him. "Who that?" No answer was given.

Sein looked to Azerel. "What did he say?"

"He say to ask you someping," Kath replied. It didn't initially seem like he was going to explain beyond that, but in the end he did. "He want you take me to Arkiri. Who that?"

"Someone that I think you'll like," Sein answered gently, letting out a bit of a sigh as he moved to find the man.

It didn't take long for them to return inside and up the stairs, nor to make their way to the room Arkiri had been sleeping in lately. Kath was content to just watch the scenery go by at first, but when they reached the room in question he asked once again, "Who that?"

"His name is Arkiri," Sein explained. "He knows a lot about you, so I'm gonna have him watch over you, okay?" Kath blinked at him, offering no further questions.

Before the man was able to knock on the door, it opened and Arkiri raised an eyebrow from the other side. "...You're going to tell me that Kath is a baby… aren't you?" His assessment came from a short glance between the two, absolutely recognizing the aura of the small child on sight.

"Yep." Sein replied immediately.

"What him?" Kath suddenly asked Sein. "Only people wike us at home. "Sa'tavi t'ibe only have hawk. He not a hawk."

"I'm an owl, one of the types of Babylonians. My people lived outside of your tribe," Arkiri said, more than willing to satisfy the curiosity. "I would have been surprised if you'd ever seen one."

"Owl?" Kath repeated, plainly confused. He pondered this matter for a moment before starting to squirm in Sein's arms. "I down," he whined.

Sein smiled a little and nodded, kneeling down and setting Kath on the ground. "There ya go."

Kath immediately relaxed again and, as young children were wont to do, immediately walked into the room without waiting for permission. That he was curious about Arkiri's belongings was apparent.

Arkiri watched Kath go for a moment before passing a glance to Sein. "I got him. You guys go figure out how to fix this because, as cute as he is, I don't quite have the energy for a kid right now."

"Gotcha. Thank you so much," Sein said, pulling the older man in for a short hug before breaking away and teleporting back to his wife while Arkiri set about watching Kath, making sure that he didn't somehow get into trouble. When he appeared, a few things happened all at once. Jet jumped a little, then quickly covered up the reaction and looked away while Alana quietly greeted Sein. Neither asked about Kath right then, since they knew Sein would have left him with someone safe. Sein passed a glance to Alana before walking over to Jet and sitting down beside the bed. "Hey… I'm sorry about how I acted a short bit ago. I got shocked and just… I shouldn't have been so short and snappy," he murmured. "I lost my cool for a moment."

His son sort of startled out of his thoughts the rest of the way and looked up at him. After a short pause, Jet dropped his gaze again. "It's fine," was all he said.

"It's not, but… I won't do that again," Sein said gently. "I promise."

"It is," Jet rebutted, voice quiet. He then added a simple, "Okay," shortly after that.

Sein decided to let this topic go for now, not wanting to push it too much. "So, uh… we got the whole Kath situation on our hands. Currently, he's not even a year old. Arkiri is watching him right now, but what can we do to help fix this?"

"I don't know," Jet admitted after a short pause. "None of the rest of us can affect time like he can. But he's so young that he may not be able to figure out how to do it anymore." He sighed. "But at the same time… it's Kath. He's already apparently figured out talking and walking way younger than he should have, and has a grasp of two languages at that. If any baby could potentially figure this out, it'd be him."

"It is just a matter of helping him understand what we are wanting him to do," Alana murmured, "and us determining how he resolved this issue the last time."

"But, for all of his intelligence, he's still a baby. We'll have to find a way to have it make sense to someone young," Sein added.

"Yes, and therein lies the biggest issue," Jet said. "I'm not sure how to overcome that problem."

"I don't know either," Sein agreed. "Like, how the hell do you teach a baby to… grow up…?" He frowned at the fact that he had to even say that sentence.

"And you believe Nareish did this?" Alana questioned. "Why would she want him 'incapacitated'?"

Sein shrugged, wishing that he could be more helpful here. "I don't have a clue, but I'd have to guess it's something to do with his new time powers."

"Normally she would want unique powers to grow before she steals them," Jet informed him with a frown. "That won't happen as easily in this situation."

"But, she's got some sort of reason," Sein answered. "There's no damn telling what it is though, so our best bet is to do what we can to undo it."

"Which brings us back to the issue of how to do that," Alana said.

"Which, we also don't know," Sein admitted, groaning into one of his hands. "This situation is fucked."

"What about childcare?" Jet suddenly asked. "Arkiri can't be expected to handle this for more than a short time. Even that may be pushing it."

Alana wasn't at all surprised that Jet was lucid enough now to so easily determine where Kath was. Still, it lightened her mood a tiny bit, since seeing him so out of it earlier had been hard. "I suppose it will fall to Sein and I to deal with it," she answered.

Sein nodded easily. It was the most reasonable idea. For a moment, he had the thought that maybe that was the intention, but it faded when he thought of something else. "Kath seemed to respond well enough to me, all things considered. I think it'll be alright, overall."

"You are naturally very good with children," Alana agreed, "and you know him just as well as I do. You know how to respond to him and whatnot, meaning that we should be able to take turns with him without too much difficulty."

"Yeah, but where we can, we need to swap around with Arkiri. He's pretty good with kids, and did amazingly with Kath," Sein answered. "As long as we keep this up, we should be able to handle it well and work on figuring this all out in due time."

"Arkiri may not be up to it," Jet pointed out slowly.

"I would have to agree," Alana sighed. "From the way his aura is, he simply does not have the energy or desire to be involved right now. I cannot blame him for it."

Sein focused on that for a moment, looking at the older man's aura before frowning. "He's doing it because he cares about Kath… Yeah."

"Kaicha reads auras better than even I can sometimes," Jet said. "He's going to know that Arkiri is feeling this way, even if he's not noticed yet. He may read even more into it than we are. Children tend to take this sort of thing to mean that they're somehow unwanted. No little kid would react well to that, much less one who already doesn't respond to people well in general."

"Then, in this case, I guess we should recollect him, unless we've got more we want to discuss quickly," Sein pointed out. "I'd say it's best to avoid these topics around him, if only because he's not easily satisfied without an answer."

"That he is not," Alana agreed. When Jet only shrugged, she continued. "I have nothing more to say. If anything else comes up, we can deal with it then."

Sein nodded to this easily. "Want me to go ahead and go get him again?"

"Now would be a good time for that," Alana said. "If you want to, you can bring him back in here."

Once more, the man stood up. He stretched a little before chuckling. "Time to go pick up my baby father-in-law from daycare," he joked, hoping to lighten the mood before teleporting away once more, not wishing to be chastised by Alana for some reason.

Alana just huffed in amusement. You oddball.

~保護者~

There was a lot to take in. His plan had ultimately worked, but only somewhat. They hadn't been able to drag out all the targets he wanted taken down, but they did kill off Gerald. That mattered, to him and Shadow. Thinking of the man made Steam shiver a little, so he left those thoughts aside.

What was more important to focus on was what had recently happened. Haru had been attacked, Jet was still trapped in his bed, his own grandmother had died, as well as Kira. Kira had been close friends with Wery specifically in this timeline… so her death (fortunately? Unfortunately? He wasn't sure) didn't heavily impact everyone. It was the same with Tarin. They both knew what getting involved meant, but… could he have stopped this?

He had to shake his head at this, pinching the bridge of his nose. The God of Demons was a factor he couldn't control. If he'd been present, he might have been killed as well. There was no way to know if he'd have made it out. Still, he hated that they'd died because of all this. It felt like it was his fault, even if he knew good and well it wasn't. Steam banished further thoughts on this, knowing that deprecating his own mental state would do him no good. He didn't need to be strong, but he had to avoid hurting himself.

It was especially hard when he thought about Jet, however. Jet had agreed to his horrid plan and gotten severely injured for it. Luckily, Steam had planned ahead and had enough Privilege to heal the hawk, but… he couldn't always count on that. It wasn't feasible. He'd gotten lucky, barely scraped by as usual. He felt his chest tighten a little when he let his mind wander over the various injuries Jet had sustained. I'm so sorry… I'll make it up to you, I promise.

Sadly, there was yet still more to sort out. Haru had been directly attacked by Nareish, for sure. There was no being who could injure him in the way he had suffered aside from that accursed woman. He'd seen the injuries for himself. He flexed his fingers as he thought this through. What reason would she have had to attack him? It wasn't her style to nearly kill someone after corrupting them.

That much had proven to be true with Sein. She wanted it to be near impossible to notice. Where had he even been to have come across her to begin with? He didn't understand… but he was sure that Haru hadn't been corrupted. It didn't make sense for her to do what she did otherwise. One of them came across the other and she did this. The hedgehog let out a sigh. He needed to take a second away from these thoughts. Already they were consuming him with anxiety. "Tara?" he called, walking toward the echidna.

Tara looked up from what she'd been doing when she heard his voice. She was kneeling in the rubble of Tails's home, looking for any of his belongings that may have somehow survived the destruction. So far, she had only a very small pile of miscellaneous things. "Yes?" she asked.

Steam knelt down beside her. "Just wanted to be by you," he murmured after a pause. "Find anything?" he asked, carefully rooting through the pile. It went without saying why he wanted to be next to her, the way his hands trembled a little. He felt anxious.

"Not much," Tara told him. "Some little, unimportant things and nothing else."

The hedgehog let out a sigh, shaking his head. "My grandma got caught up in this," he mumbled. "I didn't even really get to know her…"

Tara frowned. "Your grandmother was here?"

"Tarin, a green hedgehog like me and my mother," Steam explained. "She got revived. Probably close to Kath in this timeline, otherwise I doubt Eona would have brought her back."

"That is… interesting." Tara was quiet, then said, "I am sorry that you did not get to meet her properly, Steam."

Steam shrugged a little. "Honestly… I just hate that I wasn't given the chance. Hurts."

"I know." Tara dusted her hands off, then reached over to gently hug him. "I understand what you mean."

The hedgehog leaned in, wrapping an arm around Tara as well. "Thank you." He looked around with a soft sigh. "Think we might be able to get Eila or Cyril to fix this…?"

"It's possible, though neither of them are here right now," Tara replied.

"You're right," Steam said, letting his gaze shift up to the sky. "Thank you, again, for coming here. I… don't know how to tell you how much it matters to me."

Tara gave him a small squeeze. "You don't need to thank me," she murmured. "Whether you wanted me to or not, I would have come to help you regardless. Always."

A breathy chuckle left the hedgehog and he rolled his eyes. "Don't need to, but I want to."

"Fair enough," Tara conceded, smiling.

Steam gently kissed her cheek before releasing a sigh. "I'll tell Sonic to have one of them take care of this. If Cyril realizes he can, he'll absolutely do it. Eila may just be too exhausted, but she would get it done faster."

"So long as it gets done and no one strains themselves too much, then that's what matters," Tara said. "I'm sure it will be fine either way."

"Fair," Steam relented, tapping his foot against the ground for a few seconds. He wasn't quite sure what to say. Other things on his mind needed time for him to deliberate over them personally. He wanted to have a thorough idea of what to say.

"You told Jet," Tara said after a short delay, "that you had some things you wanted to talk to him about once he's better. He's been awake and coherent for the last hour or so, from what I've been hearing. Now might be a good time to talk to him. He's hard to pin down when he's not bedridden."

"Yeah, mind going with me?" Steam asked, looking to her with a soft smile. "All things considered, a presence like yours might help him keep relaxing."

"Alright," Tara agreed. She stood and dusted her legs off with her hands.

The hedgehog stood as well and stretched a little. "So, we good to go?"

"I'm ready whenever you are," Tara said. Steam took one of her hands in his and teleported them both away to Babylon. They appeared right outside of the medical ward. Since his senses were superior to hers, Tara asked him, "Can you tell if he's awake?"

Steam nodded, already beginning to walk. "He is, no doubt about it." Tara followed him in.

Having no doubt sensed their arrival, Jet was already working on carefully sitting himself up in his bed. Once Steam was in sight he asked, "What is it?"

"First of all, wanted to see how you're feeling," Steam explained immediately. "Obviously, way better. Good to see you awake, at least.

"I'm only awake because I haven't taken more medicine," Jet said while Tara moved a chair over for Steam and then one for herself. "That shit is obscenely strong."

"I'm aware," Steam muttered. "Had to be under it once before. Nothing could wake me the hell up for a day or so."

"Mom said I kept waking up, somehow," Jet shrugged. "Might be somewhat less effective on full-blooded Babylonians… maybe. But, regardless, that's not important. Why else are you here?"

Steam shrugged. "Keep in mind that you're an Immortal, too." He chose not to continue that, knowing it wasn't important enough to drag on. "I came to talk to you about something serious, but it can wait if need be. I kinda actually need you and the Void to listen."

"It's awake," Jet revealed, gesturing vaguely to his free side. "It was somehow affected by the medicine as well, and that's keeping it weirdly docile for the moment. Now's probably your best chance of talking to it."

It's definitely how you're tied together at this point, but… no point in getting into that just yet. "I don't know everything about what you two have been through regarding one another. I won't even pretend to understand what it's like, but there's one thing both of you have to understand. You can't be at odds with one another. Starting soon, you both need to be able to work together in a manner that's going to let you actively have each other as an ally."

"That's not going to happen," Jet muttered, immediately frowning. "I have no desire to work with something only interested in death and destruction." He felt the entity in question nudge him. It was probably meant to be a hit. Whether that was true or not, he ignored it.

"Now, I'm going to talk directly to the Void here." Steam pointedly moved his gaze to where he knew the being was (thanks to Jet and his sense for danger/dangerous things). "You have to as well. There's a point where you'll have to cede to Jet, because it's not about just one or the other anymore. What happened to both of you, if that happens again, you're both going to suffer far worse than this. I personally haven't seen what happens if Nareish gets ahold of you, but we're fucked if she does. You will be fucked if she does, especially because as you are now, you're not strong enough to wipe her out of existence no matter how hard you try."

The Void muttered something drowsily that Jet didn't understand, then gathered itself to more properly reply. "She will not 'get' me. I will not allow it." After a pause, Jet sighed and relayed the message to Steam.

"I have to ask, though, how are you going to stop her if she just comes and takes you?" Steam pressed, frowning. "None of us can stop her as we are. You are the key to being able to get rid of her. Without Jet, if you keep working against him, you're just as fucked as everyone else."

"And what, then, do you propose we do?" the Void asked. Jet again relayed its words. "I do not accept his way of living. He resists accepting mine. That does not produce cohesion."

"'Resists accepting' is not the way to see it," Steam murmured. "You've paid attention to Jet's life. You've had to. He has things that he cares about in existence. He's an Immortal meant to keep things from falling apart. When you come and try to destroy everything, that's not something he, as what he is, can accept. Why not, when he needs something removed from existence, help him with that? Allow him to make use of your power without pushing him and get rid of it. You both would be benefiting, especially because it's not uncommon that Jet runs into foes that he needs to dispatch quickly."

"I have assisted him. Repeatedly." The Void was quiet for a short time, then made a spontaneous admission that caught Jet by surprise. So much so that he almost forgot to repeat the words back to Steam. "I do not understand what 'care' means. It is a foreign thing. Meaningless to me."

Steam thought about how to explain this before glancing to Tara, hoping she might be able to articulate the words better than he could. "Not… my strong suit to explain."

"Nor is it mine." Nevertheless, Tara straightened her back to sit up properly and said, "Perhaps spending some time with the Aether may be enough to at least help you start to understand. The Aether cares about many things. Perhaps even all things. It is the opposite of you, and so you may learn much from it."

"Honestly, that might be a good thing. The Aether can be a bit much at times, but if you genuinely want to know..." He chuckled. "I know it'll be irritating and tiring because it's so cheery, but it'll relax and lessen its energy just to be there. Also, both of you coming to understand each other and not just fight is important."

When the Void was quiet, Jet bit the bullet and spoke to the Void himself. "You've been curious about a lot of things since coming here. Fire, magic, languages, and so on. You've never hesitated to learn before. There's no reason to hesitate here."

"Shut your mouth." Despite this comment, no actual argument was voiced.

"Docile" indeed, Jet mused. Returning his attention to Steam, he shrugged and said, "It's not acting averse to the idea. I suppose that's a start."

"For learning about magic, might be good to drop around Wave and the Aether in general. The Aether is borderline magical, and Wave is a Hexan," Steam pointed out. "For fire, Pyrun for an obvious choice. Languages… hell, just finding people like Calypso, the chameleons, and Saethrim… Other races in general with other cultures is a perfect start, and it gets you more familiar with who else is around."

The Void was again quiet. Jet returned its earlier nudge with his aura. "Hey. You interested or not?"

He was immediately nudged back, but the action seemed more idle than aggressive. That probably meant the Void was thinking. Eventually, it conceded, "Somewhat." Jet repeated this to Steam.

Steam nodded a bit, resisting the urge to smirk. He'd figured this might work. His gaze instead fell over to Jet. "I know it'll be difficult at first, most likely, but please try to fuel any desire it has to learn, within reason. If it has questions, even if you don't have answers, seek them out. Message people, find books. Do all the things that you'd do if you wanted to find stuff out."

For the second time, Jet sighed. He had his own admission to make now. "I've already been indulging it," he revealed. "I have been ever since it first showed up. Fire was the first thing it ever asked me about, when it saw a candle on my desk. That was sometime ago now."

"Good. Just like the Aether, it's going to have a lot of questions. In terms of existence, they're both very young," Steam said, smiling. "Just do what you can, and if you have questions of your own, always feel free to shoot them over to me. I can try my best to help."

"Yeah, I get it," Jet agreed. He shifted his position a bit to accommodate a growing sore spot on his side. Sitting up less straight assuaged that feeling enough for now.

Steam nodded a little. "I figure you would, but it's always good to state it."

That wasn't a point Jet could argue. "Was there anything else?" he asked instead.

His gaze flicked over to Tara, silently asking if mentioning something was a good idea or not. She gained a thoughtful look, then nodded vaguely. He'd thought along the same lines and looked back to Jet. "So, I want to preface this by saying it's been handled the best I could manage. Alright?" Jet frowned and waited, listening intently. "The new God of Demons attacked Mobius and destroyed Tails's home as well as Hyale. In total, I know of two people that died." Steam paused for a moment before letting out a bit of a sigh. "Tarin, my grandmother, and Kira, a close friend of Wery. She's close with Tails as of late, if you haven't gotten the chance to properly meet her."

Jet hadn't met her at all, though he'd heard about her from Wave. He didn't comment on that, however. "...I heard some things about this," he said. "Cyril mentioned a few details. But he didn't mention anything about Hyale." There was a small pause, then he asked, "Did the God corrupt anyone?"

"Aniko, Finis, and someone whose name is best left unmentioned," Steam murmured. He didn't like referring to Eila that way, but bringing up the name would likely upset Jet worse.

Immediately, Jet understood who Steam was referring to. He fought back the stab of panic that that thought provoked and strove to focus on other matters. "Are they still corrupted?" he asked in as level a voice as he could manage.

"No, they are not," Tara interceded, voice calm and gentle in a way typically reserved only for Steam and their child. "It was handled, as Steam said. They are safe." Jet only nodded this time.

Steam nodded in reply. "Yeah. Everyone else is safe and okay."

Things once more fell silent. Jet broke that silence first. "Was there anything else?" He decided against asking about Hyale. While there was most likely damage and casualties were also likely, now wasn't the time to deliberately delve into something that would make him more tense and upset. This was information he could gather later on. Steam would have mentioned if anyone they knew had been killed or seriously injured, anyway.

"Nothing that can't wait for you to get better. Keep resting as much as you can. Once you're up and about again, shoot me a message. Sound alright?" Steam asked, offering a smile to the hawk. "I've gotta move around and handle a few things as usual."

"Yeah, fine," Jet agreed easily enough. He moved to lay back down since they were done talking.

Tara stood. "Are you ready to go?" she asked Steam.

Steam nodded to her, standing as well. "Yeah. I'm all good to." Tara nodded in return and said a brief farewell to Jet. He just sort of nodded. Steam, however, turned fully to Jet. "Sleep well, man. You need me, I'm a message away." He decided it was best to not engage in further conversation (knowing his own inability to stop talking) and teleported away with his wife.

~保護者~

He couldn't call this rage. It was anger, sure, but in a way, he was just disappointed. It didn't stop him from gripping his blade as tightly as ever, warping his way into Nareish's realm, just outside the inner boundaries. "I'm coming in," he announced, exerting his presence against anything that may deem him a target. "Alright?" Already, he warped space around his body in case she lashed out at him, his senses on high alert with his own emotions and the scents in the air.

"Saethrim, you should know that it's rude to enter a lady's home so suddenly when you don't have permission," called a bored voice.

"And you should know it's a fucking mistake to trample on my domain," Saethrim bit out. "Let me in because we need to talk."

"Since you asked so nicely…" Just like that, he was permitted entry.

Saethrim entered and flexed his fists. "Nareish, what the hell is wrong with you?"

The villain in question watched him without her usual sly smile. She exclusively looked the part of a bored, vaguely annoyed woman and nothing more. "Many things, depending on who you ask," she drawled. "Your point?"

"Why the hell are you fucking with everything that is under my domain?" Saethrim bit out, walking up to her and making his weapon vanish. "You have all the power to have already ended this and yet you choose to fuck with things."

"It should be obvious, Saethrim. Getting entertainment out of my playthings before the end is far more exciting than simply sitting around and plotting until the final moments of this dull existence."

"What even happened to you?" Saethrim dared to ask. "You were always a bit twisted and violent, but what got you here? How the hell did you become… this? You smell absolutely vile."

Her dark eyes rolled. "You truly think that I have changed?" she asked. "Or is it more that you once simply refused to see the true me, and now are forced to?"

"You weren't this bad," Saethrim muttered. "You know my nose is better than almost anyone else's. You've changed." He had to agree, though… part of her had definitely always been this way. "Why the hell are you going to these lengths, anyway? You're already strong enough to just force whatever you want. What more do you need?"

"The one thing that can destroy this existence, of course," she drawled. "I need it to grow stronger… and its partner to grow more willing. In the meantime, I am merely biding my time."

"And what is there to gain from destroying everything?" Saethrim pressed. "You gonna rebuild everything in your image? Are you that shortsighted?"

"That is a piece of what I want, yes," Nareish agreed easily.

"Then what else? Don't you realize that a life without some sort of conflict is boring? You're sitting here in the middle of a war you started, playing with people you could have already killed millions of times over. What are you gonna do when we're all dead, huh? Make new enemies? Make new problems?"

"That is hardly for you to fret over," she told him. "I am fully capable of handling my own problems when they arise."

Saethrim rolled his eyes. "That's not the point, Nareish. None of this makes any sense! All you're doing is playing with food. This is fucking pointless."

"Perhaps to you, it is," Nareish agreed. "I would not expect you to understand, nor will I try my hand at making you."

The da Asani shook his head. "I guess I'm just disappointed. I had hoped you might be able to do great things, but here you are forcing Black Arms to have children and pushing vampirism on other beings… among other things."

"And why shouldn't I? Their lives are far more entertaining when they aren't safe and happy."

"You're doing it for your enjoyment and nothing more," Saethrim replied. "You're not gaining anything from it."

"You can think what you will," Nareish dismissed. "I care not for your opinions."

"I'm going to kill you one of these days," Saethrim suddenly muttered. "I'll take pleasure in it, too. Make sure to visit you in the realms of Death if you even get the liberty of not having your soul removed from existence entirely."

"Idle fantasies should be saved for sleep," Nareish told him. "I care not for your dreams."

Saethrim shook his head. "You know better than most do. I don't say something when I don't think I can do it."

"I am aware, yes," was the simple reply.

"Then you know that I will find a way, even if it means stooping to the same levels that you have," Saethrim muttered, crossing his arms. "You will die. I'm not going to let you take existence away from me."

"Away from you?" Nareish let out a short laugh. "Love, I will be taking it from everyone."

"Do you think I care about half the people in existence?" Saethrim replied, glaring. "I have a select few people in my life that I care about and a select group of other beings who I afford the same care. I don't quite care what happens to most people that exist."

"And here I am considered to be the only heartless one…" Nareish twirled a finger in an idle motion, sending him roughly spinning out of this area. She had effectively sent him back to where he'd come in from. "Get out and stay out for a time, will you? I am busy." Just like that, his access was barred anew.

Saethrim, despite being sent away so harshly, landed neatly on his feet and said one last time. "Don't touch them again." With these words out, he warped out of her realm. He needed Calypso. Once more, he wasn't quite feeling like himself.

~保護者~

Finis woke gradually to the feeling of something pushing against his shoulder once and then twice. It was a very physical sensation, one that had him vaguely recalling something that had happened just twice before. He had managed to shift his normal form into a physical one on those two occasions, but to this day he didn't know how it had happened or why. It seemed… possible that it had happened again? The strange sensation of something pushing against his shoulder for the third time seemed to confirm it. He was a touch too out of it to think on it much, though.

A fourth nudge finally roused him enough for him to begin reacting to it. There was a skeletal horse there. He could feel their presence and their concern. That's enough, he groggily told them. I'm fine. Only… the words never reached the other being's mind. It was only then that he remembered that, in this form, he was limited to speaking in the same way that Cere and others did unless he was using their intrinsic connection to speak only to her.

His previous two transformations hadn't lasted long enough for him to learn how to speak that way. Which meant he was effectively silenced. That was a problem, but not one he gave much focus to just yet. Instead he focused on something more important. He couldn't quite recall where he was or what had happened. He remembered some sort of confrontation, a flash, and then… nothing. Before that, he only remembered the first instant of Tianak's attack on Mobius. What was he missing?

Slowly and carefully, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, then opened his eyes. The horse's head was close enough that it more or less filled his vision and demanded his attention. He reached out to reassure the creature with light strokes of his fingers between its eyes, then ran an assessing glance over his own body. It came as a surprise that, despite having been unconscious, he was uninjured. He wasn't sure what to make of that.

In this state he looked like the Babylonian falcon he was much more accurately, down to the slightest detail, though his colors remained unchanged. His body (more specifically his beak and feathers) remained pure black while his eyes were the same deep, dark purple. This form felt strange and uncomfortable, but as with the past two times he had no idea how to deliberately change back to what he was used to. Which meant he was stuck like this for a while.

All of this happened within the span of mere seconds in total. It took less than a minute for him to truly wake up enough to notice Cere and Ghune. The latter had gone off somewhere nearby… ish, but Cere was right there with him. That wasn't unusual. What was unusual were the emotions he sensed from her and even saw in her eyes. What happened? he was forced to wonder again.

Cere wrapped her arms around him softly, letting out a slow, shaky breath. "You really are okay…" she mumbled. Finis hugged her back and nodded. He might not have understood the cause of her emotions, but he certainly didn't like them regardless. "I'm… glad you're okay. You went through a lot in a short time…"

Since he could communicate with her at least, Finis was quick to do just that. "Cere, what happened?"

"You were corrupted by Tianak," Cere murmured, gripping him tighter. She didn't explain much more.

"Corrupted?" Finis echoed, stunned and confused. If this was true, and she had no reason to lie, then why couldn't he remember something so significant?

"Yes. You were… purified by a Faein," Cere explained after a long moment. She grew quieter, not wanting to broach the topic further. Finis relented with a soft sigh and lightly rested his chin atop her head. Cere quietly retreated into his hug, holding him close. Unsure what else to do for her, Finis gave her a gentle squeeze to try and reassure her that things were better now. Her breath hitched for a moment before she returned this gesture, relaxing a little with his touch. Being able to actually hold him and be held by him...

It was so nice...

~保護者~

Desperate word reached Ghune via the thoughts of another vampire. They barely managed to get their message across with what strength they had left before succumbing to their injuries and dying. "Nareish attacked. Ryint isn't here. Akol and his partner may be dead. Many others certainly are. We were helpless to stop her. It was too fast. We… were defeated." Nothing else was said. The mental connection faded away into nothing as the person's life ended.

Ghune wasted no time in leaving Finis's realm, appearing above her home with sword drawn. The thought that her people had so much as been injured was painful, but Ryint was gone. Akol might be dead. For the first time in so long, the breaths the woman took were labored as she surveyed the area. When was the last time she had genuinely felt fear? She didn't even know.

True to the other vampire's word, the place below her was little more than a smoking ruin. Aside from the flames and collapsing buildings, things were eerily silent. The people who moved about amongst the wreckage were too stunned to even scream or cry, no matter who or what they had just lost. Everyone was in shock. Ghune landed and waved a hand, stopping the collapse of the buildings and smothering the flames. Her eyes darted around and she bared her fangs. My people…

She extended her voice, knowing that the people needed her, even if she had every desire to attack who was responsible. "Begin evacuating, now. Our home is now unsafe. Those who can, tend to the wounded and take them to Mobius. Everyone else, focus on rescue of anyone still alive and bring the dead to me. I will do what I can." She took a slow, deep breath before speaking again. "Go. Now. We do not have time to waste."

Not two seconds after she'd finished talking, Nier appeared close by with Ryint by his side. That they'd managed to escape the overall carnage in the nick of time was pretty clear, but both were still wounded. With the vampires already moving to do as Ghune said, the woman walked up to Nier with a pointed glare. She scanned the man before letting out a slow, pained exhale, suddenly wrapping an arm around him tightly. It was apparent to her already what had happened. "I cannot express my gratitude enough that you protected Ryint."

The hug caught him off-guard, so much so that he forgot to even wince. "Oh, er… Yeah. I mean, I'm sure she'd have done the same, but you're welcome."

Ryint walked closer and slowly pried Ghune's arm off Nier. "Don't worry about me. We need to make sure Akol is okay," she murmured softly. "I am fine."

It was hard to simply ignore the state her closest friend was in, but she relented. Ghune stretched her senses out immediately, calling for Akol. "Where are you?" she demanded calmly. There was no response. "Akol. Can you hear me?" She still got no reply of any sort.

Before Ryint was able to get any words out, Ghune vanished, immediately moving to scour the planet itself. He has to be alive… I… Ghune ignored the tears welling in her eyes and continued searching. Eventually, the ruins of his isolated home came into view. Just like the city, it had been set ablaze. That fire had developed into a raging inferno by now. There were no signs of movement inside.

Ghune snapped her fingers and smothered the flames with magic like she had in the city, barging in without paying heed to the heat searing her skin. "Akol!" she snapped. "Are you here?" His aura definitely was. It was faint and weak, but present. The scent of death covered the spot where his partner was laying close by. She wasn't quite sure how she got there, but soon both of them were lifted off of the ground and she teleported back to the city with them. She held Akol close and examined his wounds.

The wolf was covered head-to-toe in wounds of all sorts, though the ones that most threatened his life were centered around his chest and head. In truth, he had only survived because his partner had protected him. The similarities in their injuries painted that picture very clearly. Ghune didn't clearly hear what Ryint was saying, her vision and senses so wholly focused on saving Akol. She couldn't risk a single moment. The Immortals were on Babylon. With this in her head, she teleported once more, rapidly moving her way through the palace to where she sensed them to be.

This quickly brought her into contact with Alana, who paused in her soft conversation with Jet upon seeing Ghune arrive. Ghune bit back every desire she had to be angry at Immortals in general and spoke as softly and clearly as she could. "Help me save him. I cannot lose Akol."

After trading a look with her son, Alana hurried over. She started to heal Akol immediately, already reaching her mind out to ask for help… but paused in that endeavor rather quickly. He is like Eila, she suddenly realized. Powerful in the ways of magic, but not physically. These wounds are grievous for him, but not something I cannot heal on my own. Relieved, she continued to heal him while saying, "I can heal him. Your friend will be alright."

Ghune fought to keep her breathing under control, her body shivering as relief washed over her. "Good. That… is good." She murmured, forcing herself to retract her fangs once more. She needed to calm down. She wasn't even sure when she'd gotten here, and she felt… somewhat dizzy. "Please… take him from me. I need a moment." Alana just nodded and carefully took the unconscious man from Ghune's arms. Ghune leaned back against a wall and gripped her face tightly, exhaling slowly. My people have been killed, my friends were almost killed. I am not calm, and I am not okay.

She wasn't really sure how much time passed before she let her hands down. She still couldn't really see all that clearly, and… she felt numb. Tired. It was hard to focus, but she had to. Her gaze fell to Alana and Akol, wanting to see how he was doing. He was already looking better, beyond the thick layers of filth and blood covering him. Most of his wounds were closed by now. Only a few nasty gashes remained, which Alana was working to close. Noticing Ghune's attention, she explained, "There is no permanent damage, but he will need to rest. I'm not sure for how long. A couple of days at the most."

Ghune nodded slowly, allowing herself to slowly sit on the floor. The relief crashing into her was almost painful with how deep it went. "That… That is good to hear. Thank you."

"Of course," Alana murmured. Before long, the gashes were closed and she removed her hands. "That is everything aside from minor bumps and bruises and the like. He is alright now."

She didn't move from the spot she was in, just slowly nodding for the moment as she leaned her head against the wall. She felt awful. "My people were attacked by Nareish. I… have to take them somewhere. Our home is unfit to live in."

Alana frowned in thought. "What sort of place is ideal for you all? Perhaps we can help find somewhere for you to go."

"Just… somewhere," Ghune murmured. "Anywhere that I could potentially keep them for an indefinite period of time."

"There are many places on this world," Alana said. "This planet is heavily populated, yes, but it is a truly massive place. There are many regions with few to no Babylonians present. It may be alright for your people to reside in those places for now."

Ghune let out a shaky sigh, forcing herself to stand. "Where is the leader of this world? I knew it once to be Kath… but I know not who stands with the crown now."

"It has been passed down through many other members of our family since then," Alana explained. "Currently, a young woman is in charge. She most often goes by the name of Saraya, though you may hear her called Syra or some variation of that as well."

"I will speak to her first," Ghune murmured, pushing herself toward the door. "I cannot leave them stranded."

"Understood."

The vampire stumbled for a moment, her body still numbed from her emotions. It was hard to walk, much less think properly, but she had no choice. Her body turned to fog and she made her way. She could certainly sense the blood relation to the royal family, and so she stopped outside the office and knocked slowly. "Queen Saraya."

Seconds later, a voice answered. It was hardly the voice of an adult, however, which Alana had of course known would be the case. She had met the fifteen-year-old, after all. "Enter," the girl sighed.

Ghune opened the door and walked in, trying to fully steady herself. "Forgive my sudden appearance, but I… I need your help."

Looking up, the young queen visibly paused at the sight of Ghune. However, she quickly collected herself and responded with surprising maturity. "What's going on? You're covered in blood. Are you hurt?"

I wish it was me that had been injured. "No, my home was attacked. Many of my people are dead, and I came here for the aid of an Immortal in saving a dear friend of mine from the same fate. I came to ask…" She hesitated for a moment. She had been independent with her world for… so long. It was hard to ask for this kind of help. Her people mattered more than her desire to stay independent. "I came to seek refuge for my kind, those that live. I was informed this world may have areas uninhabited by Babylonians."

"Tell me what your people require," Saraya directed. "Certain forms of shelter, food, whatever. I'll find a place that best suits their needs, or at least I'll try."

"Just leave the concerns at shelter. I will provide food." Ghune lifted her lip and revealed her fangs. "I would not expect another species to feed in the same ways we do."

Saraya frowned for one reason or another, but didn't press the issue. "Shelter, then," she agreed. "What do your people need?"

"Any form of place to live," Ghune murmured. "I will handle concerns of sensitivity to sunlight on my own."

Sunlight, huh? Saraya pulled up a hologram and pointed immediately to a certain place on the map being displayed. "This here is a vast wilderness, one of our densest and most impenetrable forests. The canopy is so thick that not much sunlight gets through to the ground below. I'd strongly recommend you take your people there if the light bothers them somehow. Next to none of my people reside anywhere near there."

Ghune examined it and nodded. "Good. Are there customs or laws in this world that must be abided by?" she questioned. "I highly doubt a citizen of my world would dare act in a directly irresponsible manner, but I wish to inform them before a single one sets foot on this planet."

"Just… refrain from causing trouble in general," Saraya said. "That's enough for now. If anything else comes up, I'll inform you then."

"Understood," Ghune murmured. "I will also inform them to refrain from the practicing of darker magics that my people use. I will not have them causing any form of trouble."

"We have a deal," Saraya told her. "Move them in whenever you want, and come to me or to Jet if you have any issues. Trust me, he can handle things just fine as well."

Ghune let out a slow exhale, nodding a little. "I appreciate your aid, and your lack of… disdain for me being a vampire."

This made Saraya blink. "Pati told me stories," she admitted, using a Babylonian title she often referred to Jet by, "of a few vampires who once terrorized him. That scared me when I was younger, but he always made sure I knew most of you aren't like that. It stuck with me, I guess."

"Most of those vampires are likely dead at this point," Ghune murmured, turning to leave already. "I made sure of that." Saraya thought it best not to comment on that and simply settled back into her chair. "I will return to you when I have moved them. They are currently working to tend the wounded and dead, so it may be a short time before this process starts."

"Got it," Saraya answered. "Take whatever time you need."

Ghune walked out of the room, then paused briefly and managed a weak smile to Saraya before vanishing entirely. She had… a lot of things to sort out.

~保護者~

Sonic barely had it in him to smile, even privately, while he watched his grandson play with his block. The older hedgehog still had so many emotions about what had gone on today. Strongest of all, at least for the moment, was sadness. People had died. Good people. Loved people. They were gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. Yes, revivals were a thing. But even with Teyan and Eona working on it together, it took so much time and so much energy… Today's victims could well be dead for years before they were given a fresh chance to live. It had happened before. It could happen again.

If only things had happened differently, back then. Sonic watched Kohaku carefully move his block from one piece of rubble to another, seeing where it would balance and where it wouldn't. If you hadn't been attacked back then… If you were still how you used to be… Maybe you could have helped us. But… is that even fair to be thinking? It feels wrong to say that I miss the old you. I still love you, like this or not, but I just… Sonic sighed to himself. I wish it had been different.

His mind drifted, recalling the life his grandson had once had. A wife, children, hobbies, hopes, dreams… He had had his fair share of difficulties, sure, but his disorder had never stopped him. He'd always loved using blocks and other stackable objects, and that simple act had always brought him happiness no matter what troubles he'd been facing. Nothing had ever been too hard or too serious.

But then he'd been attacked. It had happened so late into Sonic's life that he'd never been privy to all the details. He suspected he'd been shielded from the true gravity of the situation by Shadow and others, given how much he had been grieving Amy's death at the time. All he knew was that Kohaku had suffered some form of mental assault, one that reverted him mentally to the six-year-old boy he'd once been. His symptoms from his autism had been worse back then, and it showed clear as day due to the mentality he'd been pushed back to.

He was so vulnerable like this. So helpless. It hurt to see him trapped in this state. It hurt worse to see him so scared and confused and unable to understand what was happening around him, stuck in the middle of this war as he was. But what could they even do? Silver had caught himself up on the situation within the Master Emerald long ago, but had said time and again that this wasn't something he could reverse or otherwise fix on his own.

This was Silver, though. Sonic couldn't understand what could possibly have been done to Kohaku that he of all people couldn't undo. "Even with Cream's help," Silver had once told him, "I just can't do it. Don't get me wrong, she's powerful alright. But the vast majority of her psychic power lies in her ability to see the future and defend people with barriers and the like. She can attack too, as we all know. But none of that can be applied to a situation like this one. I'm on my own here, Dad. And I just can't do this by myself."

Sonic fought against the urge to sigh again and, with some effort, forced himself out of his thoughts. He might not have bothered had he not picked up on the sound of soft footfalls headed his way. A look to his right told him it was Eila who was approaching him. Seeing this, he went ahead and pushed himself up out of his slouch against the wall he'd been sitting by. "What's the matter?" he asked once she was close enough. He could see the look on her face, but that sure as hell didn't mean that he knew what it meant. She wasn't someone he knew well enough to read just yet.

She was quiet for a long moment before ultimately deciding to lean back against the same wall, holding her hands over her face. "I just… I just wanted to talk. I have a lot of respect for your opinion." Eila didn't quite know what to say beyond that for the moment, searching for any more words to say to explain why she was here.

He frowned in open confusion, his eyes searching hers, then looked away with a sigh. "You can go ahead and sit, you know," he started off with. Then he added, "I'll listen to whatever you have to say. I'm not busy with anything for the moment, so now is a good time."

After a long moment, she took a seat, letting herself slide down. "I… I just…" Her fingers clenched into a fist, then relaxed as she tried to piece it all together. "I don't feel like… I'm a good person. It feels like I'm getting abused for trying to do better."

Now Sonic was really frowning. "Abused?" he echoed. "What are you talking about?"

"I keep getting corrupted," Eila murmured. "Forced to return to attacking people that don't deserve it. I failed to save two different people at once, I've fucked myself over countless times, and it feels like I'm getting nowhere." She turned her gaze to him, eyes welling with a few tears. "I hate these thoughts of going back. I don't want to be Astra anymore, but it feels like the universe wants me to be."

"First off, there's no such thing as the universe 'wanting' anything," Sonic corrected firmly. "The closest equivalent would be the Faein wanting something, and can you really convince yourself that they want to see you become Astra again? Second of all, none of the rest of that crap was your fault anymore than it was mine, or even his." He gestured at Kohaku, who was paying them no mind. "The only person to blame for those deaths and your recent corruption is that demon God. No one else."

Eila sunk down a little at hearing all of this. It… made a lot of sense, even if her mind didn't want it to. Numbers of thoughts came to her mind all at once, fighting for her attention before she banished them with a wave of her hand. "It's hard to shake it, though. I spent so much of my life as such an awful being that the way I acted as a demon felt more natural than I wanted it to. I watched as Cyril got knocked down over and over again, all because he didn't want to hurt me."

"That's what corruption does," Sonic pointed out. "It warps everything about people, including the way they think and feel. Good emotions are turned on their heads and bad ones are made worse. The important thing is that you don't continue to think, feel, or act like Astra or a demon now."

"I know," Eila mumbled. "It doesn't make it easier to handle. I'm still… just as violent and impulsive as I used to be, too. I saw the metarex and just… crushed them." She glanced to the floor, disgusted briefly with herself. "I enjoyed it. They were pissing me off and killing all of them felt good."

"I'm going to have to assume that that's something you want to work on," Sonic replied. "If I'm right, then that's what you need to focus on. Not the fact that you messed up and acted in a bad way, but the fact that you're doing what you can to get better. I'm not saying that'll make things any easier, but it's still an important thing to do."

Eila nodded slowly and leaned her head back up against the wall, letting out a long groan. "I hate that this is what happened to me. All I ever wanted was to prove myself to my parents, and now I'm the polar opposite of my perfect sister…"

"She's not perfect, you know," Sonic told her. "Don't get me wrong, she's a great person overall. But there's a lot about her that needs working on, too. Stuff she probably already is working on, but still. For one thing, she seemed pretty quick to anger and battle-readiness for a long time after I first met her. Not exactly how an 'ideal' Light user is supposed to be. But the thing is that she's a person, and everybody has flaws. She's not perfect, which means you aren't somehow 'less than' just because you aren't, either."

"It's my fault, you know," Eila replied. "The reason that she's like that. I don't think she was even capable of anger as a kid. She spent her life chasing after me, cleaning up my messes. My mistake cost her so much, and I miss that beautiful little soul she had."

"Stop blaming yourself," Sonic told her firmly. "She doesn't blame you and is willing to let it be water under the bridge. But you know what? She can't fully move on until you do. It isn't going to be an overnight thing for either of you, and I'm not saying it should be. What I am saying is that you need to stop dwelling. Focus on what's here, right now. She's here. Cyril is here. They care about you and want you to try to get better. Even if you don't think you deserve it, don't they deserve to get an honest effort from you?"

Eila let a small ball of her magic form over one of her hands, letting it roll between her fingers. "They do…" She agreed quietly, tossing the ball over to Sonic. She didn't quite know how to respond to the rest of what he'd said, so she thought it best not to. "I miss my magic being white. This purple stain is a painful reminder every time I cast a spell."

Sonic caught the ball on reflex, then looked it over thoughtfully. "...Maybe it's possible for one of the Faein to help with that," he eventually said. "They've definitely helped with way more complicated stuff than changing the color of a power recently."

"It feels stupid," Eila mumbled. "Asking the creators of existence to change the color of my magic because it makes me feel uncomfortable. They could do so much more with whatever time they spend doing it."

"They may do it even if you don't ask," Sonic shrugged. "That's just who and how they are, from what I understand. They aren't just impassive observers or something. They care about every living thing, basically. Even the ones they have to take a stand against, if I had to guess. Like Nareish."

In a way, I hope they don't… She didn't give voice to this, knowing it was far from necessary. Her gaze shifted around them quietly, taking everything in. "I had the… pleasure of meeting Kath recently. Made an absolute fool of myself."

Why'd she say it like that? "I don't know the guy well, personally," Sonic said, "but I highly doubt he judged you or is holding anything you did against you. Just saying."

"I already know he doesn't," Eila huffed. "Azerel had to talk him through me being a b-" She paused herself, realizing that her emotions were getting to her. She was still upset with herself for it. "I panicked and broke down in front of a man who had only ever known me as Astra. I realized he could read my aura and hid it, then Azerel talked him through the emotions I was having. Then, me being me, I basically told them I was reading their minds." Eila didn't quite realize that she was admitting to such a thing to Sonic, too focused on her turmoil to think clearly.

"Did he act in any way upset about those things?" Sonic challenged her, though not harshly. "Because if he was even just a little bit annoyed, he would have displayed that plainly. If he didn't act like that, then that means he wasn't bothered by what happened."

"No," Eila breathed out. "He barely reacted to it!" She realized she was raising her voice a little, immediately quietening down with a glance toward Kohaku. The silver-furred hedgehog stopped playing briefly to look at her, but almost immediately returned to his previous activity without any sign of being bothered. Eila let out a sigh of relief, briefly pleased she hadn't upset him at all.

"That means," Sonic asserted again with a similar glance at his grandson, "that he wasn't upset at you or anything. You're berating yourself over something that clearly wasn't as big of an issue as you're convincing yourself that it was."

"I still-" She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't like that I did all of that. I couldn't hold a conversation without getting freaked out and panicking. I just collapsed…"

Sonic thought that over. "Are you really that sure it went like that the whole time?" he soon asked her. "Or was it just for a short time, and then things got better? If that is the case, then you need to stop telling yourself the whole thing was a disaster and let yourself accept that at least some of the meeting went well enough."

Eila had every desire to be upset with him, but she couldn't. He was entirely right, and so she completely dropped that topic. Her body slumped a bit more and she let out another sigh. "I'm so tired of being… tired. It feels like everything just hurts and I can't… I don't want to keep going like this. I'm scared of making a mistake and it costing someone like… you, Silver, or Cyril… There are people I care about and I'm terrified to let anyone down."

"Recover takes time," Sonic murmured, thinking back on his own and other peoples' experiences. "Having the people you're close to by your side will make things easier. Pushing everyone away won't make the fear any better. It'll make everything, and I mean everything, worse."

"Silver would never let me," Eila huffed. "And I somehow doubt you wouldn't at least take a shot at keeping me from pushing people away. From what I've gathered, that's just kinda how you guys are. Almost makes me sick." She wasn't quite sure if she was joking, but the delivery was dry and quiet.

A blue eyebrow quirked in her direction, but Sonic opted against answering with any degree of sarcasm. This wasn't someone well versed in that form of humor, probably. And even if he was wrong, this just wasn't the time or place for it. "I take it you're not very used to people," he observed. "Or to how they tend to treat one another when they aren't enemies."

"Considering that most of the other people I interacted with before are either dead or would kill me on sight…" Eila trailed off, turning her gaze to him with an upraised eyebrow. "No."

"This is just going to take some getting used to, then," Sonic shrugged. "You'll adjust in your own way eventually."

"I suppose so," Eila shrugged. "I'm not given a choice, regardless. It's either be amongst you all or be on my own. We saw how that worked out before."

It didn't seem like a great idea to comment on that. So Sonic didn't. "Speaking of you being alone," he said instead, "I'm going to hazard a guess that you were like that for a long time, right? And for the record, I'm not just prying. I've got a point to make here."

"Alone…" Eila thought for a moment on how to answer that question, blinking once slowly. "I was never truly alone, no… but outside of the voices and alter personalities… yeah. I was alone."

"That's more what I was referring to," Sonic said. "Anyway… I only ask because, if I had to guess, that all started when you were pretty young. Is that right?"

"I was a teenager when I first got corrupted," Eila murmured. "Something like that, but even before then, I always felt alone." She looked like she had more to say, but her eyes wandered and she distracted herself from it.

"Last thing. Would you say that your parents taught you pretty well about your mental powers, or was it more you teaching yourself everything?"

Eila finally glanced back to him. It felt like a stupid question, really, but it wasn't. Sonic would've had no way of knowing. "My parents were largely incapable of teaching me. My powers… though I derived them from their heritage, were nothing they could aid me with. My magic was the same."

Self-taught, then. That's about what I figured. "Right. So, listen." Sonic sighed before continuing. "I'm not here to lecture you or anything like that. Amy brought something to my attention because she was worried about it and, likewise, you. She told me you used your mental powers to control someone. It was a dire situation, life or death for that matter, but you do understand that in a general sense you can't just go around doing that to people. Right?"

She blinked once at him, slowly. "I…" Her answer felt ridiculous in the face of this conversation, considering Sonic was even bringing it up. She knew the right answer, yet… "I did not truly know this. I usually refrain from mind control, but… Ryuji could not keep Haru awake."

"Like I said, we get that it wasn't something avoidable this time," Sonic told her. "Amy just wanted make sure you knew, and asked that I explain if you didn't. That's all."

"Oh." Eila was quiet for a long moment, giving a slow nod. "I presume that also extends to reading people's thoughts, then…?"

"Yeah," Sonic confirmed with a nod. "Thoughts are supposed to be private. Unless it's something you have to do, people don't tend to like having their minds read by anyone. Even by people the like and trust. Silver lives by that same rule every day of his life."

"It's a lot scarier, not knowing what people are thinking," Eila admitted. "It's the only way I was ever able to keep myself safe for all those years."

"When you're actually in a dangerous situation, no one is going to fault you for reading the minds of any enemies you're faced with," Sonic said. "To use Silver as an example again, he makes it a habit to read enemy minds whenever he can. But in situations like the one you're in right now? There's no need for it. There are other ways you can learn to read people."

Eila nodded quietly. It made sense, but now she felt as if she needed to make one distinction. "I will state… I never delve deeper than surface thoughts when reading the minds of others unless it is something like… what happened to Kath. I do not wish to peer my eyes into pain more than I have made them suffer already."

"That's definitely for the best," Sonic answered her. "You just need to get yourself into the habit of not doing it at all unless you have to or have permission from the person whose mind you're reading. Or, you know, in danger like I mentioned."

She supposed this was as good a time as any to bring it up, considering the topic. Admittedly, she had been reading his thoughts earlier before the conversation even started. "Considering the situation with Kohaku… If you are all able to place enough trust in me, I would offer my aid in helping him… should I be capable of doing so."

This brought Sonic complete pause. After taking time to process this, he asked slowly, "You… can do that?"

"I can promise no results," Eila answered. "I cannot promise anything of that sort, but I can give you my word that I would aid you. You… and Silver, you two have been the greatest forces in my life aside from my own sister, and in many ways have helped me more than she can. I would… like the ability to repay you, even if you do not wish for me to. I would feel better as well, knowing I have contributed in some way."

"I'm not gonna object to this," Sonic said immediately, "but Kohaku is Silver's son. Well, his and Blaze's, actually. You'll have to talk to them to get permission. I doubt they'll refuse, and Silver will do whatever he can to help you. Knowing him, anyway."

Eila nodded. "I wouldn't do so without your express permission as well. He is your family as well. I would not act otherwise."

"Like I said, I'm not gonna object," Sonic reiterated.

She moved to push herself up, and upon realizing just how tired she'd actually been, decided against the idea. After a moment, she hesitantly reached out to Sonic, setting a hand on his shoulder. "You've been… a huge help, Sonic. I was worried I would never meet someone who… pushed for me to be better instead of just comforting me. Cyril and Rose, I know they care, but they don't… get it. You can see through my eyes better than they can."

"I'm glad I can help," Sonic answered, looking at her. "I'm still having my own troubles heeding my own advice and letting go of the past, but seeing you give a damn about doing better helps me out, too. It works to both of our benefits, I guess."

Eila almost cracked a smile at him, letting out a breathy chuckle. "Suppose so." She was content to sit in silence for a moment before using her magic to lift herself off the floor, allowing it to roll over her back and pop her spine in all the right places. "Sorry if that noise bothered you. It's something that… helps relax my body."

His ears definitely did react to the sounds, causing him to admit, "I've never really heard many people pop their backs and such. It's not a great sound, but it's also not a big deal."

The cat shrugged a bit. "When you move as little as I do, it's hard to avoid. I'm gonna go talk to Silver." She didn't care about her own sudden swap of subject, walking off to go do as she'd said she would. Sonic bid her a simple farewell and left it at that. For now, there was nothing left to say.

~保護者~

15,930 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support, and I hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 11:49 a.m.) 06-07-22.