Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this dark time… especially for the one who may be stumbling into his first friendship.

~保護者~

"Dead and Gone"

~保護者~

Haru awoke with a jolt and quickly sat up, his mind running through his memories of what had happened to cause him to wind up here. He had precious little recollection of what had gone down after the Hollow attack. Beyond that, he mostly remembered being in pain and… maybe hearing some voices. He wasn't sure, however, about that last detail. It was strange, though. None of that explained how he was healed. Or why his damn shirt and hood were both missing.

All of this was determined in the span of a second or two. Enough time for his abrupt movement to be noticed and for his apparent observer to start to react. Haru could practically feel the other man's desire to say or do something, so he cut said man off. "Can this wait?" he muttered, rubbing at his eyes in an effort to refocus. He then shifted to stand up, more than ready to leave. "I'm annoyingly sober at the moment and I would rather not be."

"Hold on," Ryuji said, cutting him off in turn and moving a hand in front of Haru to keep him from being able to stand. "You just awoke from life threatening injuries. Sit your ass down, and I will bring you something." Haru muttered something under his breath, but ultimately stayed put. Ryuji promptly vanished for a few seconds before returning with a bottle. He set it on the floor. "I believe we could both use a drink or two."

After a second, Haru decided to give vent to some curiosity. "Why you?"

"Why not?" Ryuji countered, as if he'd been expecting the question.

Black eyes rolled. "You didn't strike me as the type to drink," was all Haru said.

"Hm… you may be right." Ryuji watched Haru for a moment, then added, "You at least appear to be normal despite your interaction with Nareish."

"She didn't try to corrupt me, if that's what you're getting at," Haru muttered. "She wasn't interested in me at all."

"Good." Ryuji pushed the bottle over to Haru. "That would've been problematic."

Haru let out a derisive sound that might have been an agreement and picked up the bottle. "That aside, why the hell am I here?"

"I figured bringing you here would be the safe bet, and that you would not wish to be amongst people you did not know when you awoke."

"You and I can't exactly claim to know each other, either," Haru pointed out evenly. He popped open the bottle but decided to let it breathe a bit before drinking anything. "Not well, anyway. We've met only once or twice before. Briefly, at that."

"Correct." Ryuji looked at Haru for a moment before sighing. "Regardless, I was told that I should keep you from moving around too much after you awoke."

Though it seemed like he wanted to say something unkind about that, Haru ultimately held his tongue. Instead he changed the subject and asked, "Do you have any cups? You said you wanted your own drink."

Ryuji glanced at the bottle. "Hm. That slipped my mind." He disappeared once more, then returned with two cups, tossing one to Haru. It was caught with ease.

"I'm surprised you have any dishes at all in this ramshackle place," Haru said while pouring his own drink. "Why are you staying here instead of in your own home? It's clearly been abandoned and not taken care of."

"You speak as if I have my own place," Ryuji replied calmly. "And I did not have dishes."

Well, Haru hadn't known that. He decided not to press for more information, either. It wasn't his place to ask about Ryuji's private life, nor to comment on his apparent thievery. He just pushed the bottle over to the other man and took a long drink from his own cup. Then he asked, "You going to explain why the hell you need a drink when you agreed you're not the type to drink normally?" It may have sounded somewhat like an accusation, but it wasn't one. He'd just noticed that something seemed off about Ryuji's demeanor and he was curious enough to want to get to the bottom of it.

"I didn't intend to, no," Ryuji said, pouring himself a glass and taking a sip. He didn't elaborate further for some time, as if he was simply going to let the topic die there. Eventually, he continued. "I was concerned."

"Why?" Haru pressed, determined to get a straight answer.

Ryuji thought deeply on the idea of simply… not answering that. He truly didn't think it necessary to answer, but ultimately it wasn't something to resist. It didn't matter that much. "I did not wish to see you die."

"What reason have you to care?" Haru challenged him. It was a calm challenge, but a challenge nonetheless.

"I simply chose to," Ryuji answered. In truth, this felt like the only answer he had. Why did he care?

Haru gave him an odd sort of look, but ultimately let the matter drop. He drained his glass, poured another, then spoke. "How about this, then. Why don't you have a home of your own? Even I used to have one."

Ryuji blinked once. "I don't because I did not have one after leaving here the first time."

"Then you should build one. Or at least fix this one up. There are holes in the damn roof, for fuck's sake. Makes for a shit shelter." Haru drained his glass again. "But it's up to you. If you want to keep living like this, be my guest."

He shrugged a little. "It doesn't matter much to me. I'm already living far better than I was weeks prior to this moment."

"Idiot." The mild insult issued, Haru let the matter drop. It wasn't his business, anyway, which he was quick to remind himself.

"Are you related to the first chameleon?" Ryuji suddenly asked, fully serious.

Haru's demeanor immediately became cautious. Though he looked ready to shut down that line of questioning right off the bat, he held off long enough to respond, "...Why are you asking?" he questioned stiffly.

"I met them," Ryuji explained, setting his glass down. "During a recent battle."

"What happened?" Haru dared to ask, not relaxing at all.

"They appeared and annihilated a number of enemies at once, then informed me that his grandson and my own were unwell." Ryuji blinked once. "So, you are related?"

Now Haru was frowning, but he relented eventually with a sigh. "Yes. You know the old stories, right? The rumor that he had a son and a daughter? That was true. The son didn't survive to adulthood, but the daughter did. She was my mother."

"Hm." Ryuji shrugged. "Explains the immense strength you possess."

"Don't go spreading this around, alright?" Haru responded. Nothing about his posture had relaxed at all. "Our people wouldn't dream of it, but there are many others in existence who have long wanted to wipe out my family's line. That's not something I want to deal with."

Ryuji fixed Haru with a bland look. "I hardly have a connection to our people. I will not speak of it."

"It's not our people who are the problem," Haru reiterated. He abruptly poured himself another glass and tipped it back. Getting even slightly buzzed was far preferable to dealing with thoughts, emotions, and memories that couldn't be dealt with easily in any other fashion.

"I have no intention of telling anyone," Ryuji corrected. Haru answered with a tense nod and little else. "That aside, I care little about that beyond sating my curiosity."

"Just regarding that," Haru replied, "or about something else as well? You may as well ask any other questions you have now, while I'm already here." When Ryuji said nothing more, Haru finally allowed himself to relax. He also changed the subject completely. "You mentioned a grandson the last time we talked," he said. "Espio, right? What's he like?"

"One of the best shinobi I've ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes upon," Ryuji answered, no hesitation in his tone. Haru listened quietly, waiting to see what else Ryuji had to say. There wasn't much else he had to say, at a loss for words now that he was trying to explain something.

Seeing this, Haru let it be for now. "I'll keep it in mind," he said. "For now, though, maybe you ought to get some fresh air or something. You seem like you've got a lot of crap on your mind, and I'm not going anywhere." He went ahead and finished his glass.

"Perhaps, but stepping out would likely expose me to that damned woman that insists on appearing at my side," Ryuji huffed, rolling his eyes.

Haru quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Got yourself an admirer, eh?"

Ryuji groaned a bit. "She shoots fucking arrows at me, makes food, makes fun of me, then leaves."

Now both eyebrows were raised. "Sounds… interesting," Haru eventually commented.

"'Interesting' is sure as hell a word for it." Ryuji grumbled. "I don't know what else I'd say about it."

"Is she actually interested in you?" Haru asked in a careful manner. He was treading lightly regarding this subject, due in no small part that this wasn't truly his business. But Ryuji had told him that the man's previous relationship was abusive. That alone had Haru questioning things. "Are you even ready for that kind of shit?"

Ryuji shrugged unhelpfully. "I don't know." If Kal gets ahold of me again, I might simply die. Any time spent on another relationship would be wasted.

"Oi. Whatever you're thinking, knock it off. And don't try to pretend you weren't thinking anything. I can see it in your damn eyes." Haru pushed the bottle toward Ryuji with a huff. "Seems you need this more than I do."

It was now that Ryuji realized his glass had become empty at some point. Whether he had drunk it or not was lost on him, but he found little reason to care, simply filling it once more and beginning to sip at it again. "I suppose you're right." He really did need that drink.

~保護者~

Though he wasn't sure how he'd managed it, Tails was sort of glad that he'd managed to slip away from Wery for a bit. He felt certain that she was more comfortably fully laying down on his workshop's sole couch as opposed to leaning against him. He'd even covered her with his lab coat as a sort of blanket. Hopefully that would also help. Still, he checked on her frequently in between checking on everyone else and assessing the damage above ground.

Everyone else was busy with their own things at the moment. Kym and Ava were helping each other tend to various minor cuts and bruises. Silver and Blaze were having a quiet conversation nearby while keeping an eye on Kohaku. Sonic was helping on the latter front while having his own conversation with Eila. Outside, Knuckles, Kayde, and Rouge were busy moving the largest pieces of rubble out of what remained of the house. Tara and Steam had gone up there not long ago as well, though Tails wasn't sure what they were doing. He was pretty sure that Cream and Amy were up there, too, but likewise their activities were currently a mystery to him.

All and all, things were pretty quiet in here. That was why, when he passed by a storage closet at the very far end of his workshop, he was startled to hear a soft noise akin to a cough coming from within. He paused mid-step, then backtracked to the door. It was slightly ajar. With a hand, he pushed it open some more, then promptly froze with his mouth agape. No… way.

There was no mistaking this girl for anyone other than she was. Tails had only ever found a single old picture of her in Gerald's files, but he could never forget this girl. Her long blonde hair and blue dress and shoes more than proved who she was, as if her face alone didn't. It was all the proof he needed. This was Maria Robotnik. She was alive.

Elation would have to wait. Maria was laying on her side on the floor in the closet, almost as though she had been placed there. The fact that she was carefully and perfectly laying in between various boxes and the like lent credence to the idea. No one sensed any Light, either. Someone would have reacted. There's no doubt about it. But who brought her here and why? For that matter, when?

His questions, too, needed to be saved for another time. She looked pale and feverish. That observation alone had him hustling to move his supplies out of the way to kneel by her. A quick feel of her forehead was enough to alarm him. Gerald's files had a brief mention of her having some supposedly incurable illness, but he never said what it was. If it's something genetic, Amy won't be able to heal her. All we'll be able to do is stabilize her and try to mitigate her symptoms, like Gerald probably used to.

Since Amy didn't have a communicator yet, Tails tapped rapidly on his own so as to initiate a call to Steam. He didn't give the hedgehog time to say anything before launching in. "Steam, I just found Maria. As in, the Maria. She's down here in my workshop, and she's definitely sick - just like Gerald's old notes said she was. She didn't react at all to me moving things around her and she's burning up. I need you to send Amy down here. If you think you can help, I have to respectfully demand that you come, too."

Steam didn't reply for some few seconds, but when he did, it was brief. "On my way. Already messaged Amy."

"Got it." Tails swore that he barely had time to put his communicator down before he heard footsteps hurrying his way. That didn't take them long.

The green hedgehog arrived almost immediately, appearing somewhere in the shop before teleporting directly over. Amy came running up behind him moments later, a touch winded from having taken the stairs. "Who is this?" she asked quietly, already kneeling down to examine her newest patient.

"Um… Well… first of all, she's related to Ivo and Gerald Robotnik," Tails hedged. "I'm under the impression that she was never even remotely like them, though. Her name's Maria."

"Do either of you know what she's sick with?" Amy demanded, already trying to use her healing powers on the girl.

Tails felt fairly confident in saying, "I don't think anyone does." He turned to Steam. "Did you ever see how Gerald treated her illness?"

The hedgehog shivered a little, thinking back to that man before pushing the thoughts away. Not now. "Some sort of medicine. I think he made it, all things considered. Not sure what it was, though."

"Well, crap. Erm… Amy, see if you can keep her from getting too much worse, alright? I'm going to get a scanner." Tails scooted out of the small space. Once free of the closet, he bolted off.

Amy's expression was grim. "I'm not sure how doable that is," she admitted to Steam. "She's very sick." Despite her words, she nevertheless continued to try to heal the girl with her powers. It was all she could really do.

Steam immediately moved to typing on his communicator, sending a message to the Tails and Shadow of his timeline. "What do we need for the medicine for Maria? She was brought here and is sick."

For once, he actually heard from Shadow far faster than Tails. "I attached a file with the relevant information," was all he said.

"Thanks. I'll update you when this is all handled." He immediately sent the file to Tails, who had yet to come back. "Alright, I'm going to get this together now. Keep her as stable as you can."

Amy glanced at him and nodded. "I can manage here. You and Tails do whatever you guys need to do."

Steam nodded and teleported away to handle this. He couldn't let Maria die.

~保護者~

Armaris was alone with Aku when Shei resurfaced. He jumped up into the tree with them, not saying a word, and ran his hand over a few of the old dragon's undamaged scales. Silence persisted, but not for too long. "He is not going to survive this," he told Armaris quietly.

The cat nodded to this. It was a truth she knew well enough. Her eyes had glimpsed death enough to see that this life was at its end. "I know," she murmured quietly. "I didn't have the heart to tell Espio. I couldn't, not with everything happening."

"Where is he?" Shei asked her. "He will not take this well."

"He's with Toru," Armaris answered vaguely. "That's what he said, but he's been gone for some time."

Shei nodded slowly. "...I see." He moved his hand away from Aku after a time, though he was reluctant to. He just didn't want to bring the old dragon any further pain, unconscious though said dragon currently was. "What about you?" he wound up asking Armaris. "You and Aku were somewhat close as well. Are you alright?"

"No," Armaris admitted quietly, turning her gaze away from the dragon. "I'm not alright. It kinda sucks to see this happening. I can't do anything about it."

"Is it something you want to talk about?" Shei asked her.

Armaris shrugged. "I dunno. Been a long time since I've had to think about this sort of stuff." Shei nodded slowly and decided not to press the issue. "It's just hard to think about. He was there when I was a kid. After living so long around people that… live this long, I kinda forgot it could happen."

"I understand," Shei murmured, almost sighing. He knew full well what she meant. "Perhaps it would be better for both of us to talk about other matters. A distraction may… make this more bearable for the short-term."

"Fair enough." Armaris let her head fall into a hand, propped against her knee. A sigh escaped the woman and she looked back at Shei finally. "Do you think I should really start trusting my dad?" She knew that he and Aniko knew the man, and Shei's opinion mattered a lot to her.

"I was under the impression that you already did," Shei admitted. After a pause, he added, "If you don't already… All I will say is that it may be worth it to work on reestablishing that bond. Misguided though he sometimes is, Ylden is your father and far from a bad man. Trust may not be such a bad thing, either."

"He ignored me for almost my entire life," Armaris argued. "I was on my own after I left here. He could have found me, but he didn't, and he chose to not see me while I lived here. That's… hard to get past."

"I understand that. But if this is a bond that matters to you, then perhaps it is worth working on all the same."

"I don't know if it should matter," she huffed. "I made it this far… should I care?"

"That isn't a determination anyone but you can make," Shei advised her. "It is your relationship with your father. Only you can decide if it is worth salvaging."

Armaris let out a long sigh. "I just…" her voice trailed off, the argument dying on her tongue. He meant well, and she knew that. She was just angry. This time, Shei didn't comment, choosing to be silent so as to give her a chance to think.

In the end, the cat decided she didn't want to think about that. Her father was still a touchy subject, and she figured that… maybe she should ask Espio and Aniko, too. "Speaking of, remember when I mentioned I met your father?"

Dark eyes blinked. "I do," Shei confirmed. "But I stand by what I said then, Armaris. I did not see him myself, nor do I see a reason why he would have been revived. Thus far, it has only been people who are unequivocally 'good' to their cores. My father was not a wicked man, but he had struggles that resulted in him not fitting that description. Why are you so convinced that it was him you saw, given that?"

"It's a feeling, one that I'm sure is right," Armaris answered, her eyes closing as she thought it over. "And, does it matter if he's 'good to the core'? I'm literally a demon. If someone like me can be a good person, then I'd say he could get there as well. And maybe that's part of why he was revived."

"It never mattered to me," Shei said. "He was a good father for the short time I was in his custody. He was protective and cared deeply. I did not mean my words as a slight against him, much less against you. I only meant… that my people have never been considered 'good' by those with Light. Especially not those who did not walk the purest paths in life. It does not make sense for whoever has been restoring long-lost lives to spend time on one of us."

"Not all beings of Light hate chameleons," Armaris countered easily. She didn't say much more than that. The cat felt as if her point was obvious.

"Apart from Rose, I have never met one that did not," Shei revealed to her. "Never once in my obscenely long life. It is not for no reason that woman confounds me and irritates Aniko."

"Maybe she's not the only one." Armaris shrugged. She didn't know the person reviving everyone, so she couldn't say whether or not it was true.

"Regardless, whether you are correct or not, why do you bring him up?" Shei asked her.

"I think you should see him," Armaris said. "If you think my dad isn't that bad, I'll trust your opinion provided you trust mine."

"I already said repeatedly that I don't believe he is," Shei said. "What I do believe is that you are likely mistaken about who you met."

"I'm pretty sure it's him."

"You have yet to tell me why you are so certain."

Armaris shrugged. "I dunno."

"What did he look like?" Shei suddenly asked.

"Very dark purple with the same eyes as you. Black pants, long sleeved shirt, a hood, and socks. Man after my own heart, I suppose." Armaris chuckled a little.

"That does… sound like him," Shei admitted.

"You should try to see him soon."

"...Perhaps."

Armaris fell quiet, without any real words to add. The point had been made, and… well, speaking more on the matter didn't really sound like something that would help. By now, Aku's breathing had slowed significantly. Shei returned his near-full attention to the old dragon, moving his hand to try to feel for a pulse through Aku's burned scales. Whatever pulse he found left him frowning and looking more troubled than before.

The cat tried not to focus on this situation. She scratched at one thumb with the other, tense. Her reprieve only came when Aniko appeared nearby and rapidly approached. That was enough to get her to look up from her feet. Shei spotted his partner and his shoulders sort of sagged in relief. He hadn't yet seen for himself that she was alright, although word had reached him that she was. Seeing that with his own eyes eased his own emotions a great deal.

After she had taken stock of the situation, a respectful bow was given to Aku (though Aniko knew he likely would not see it). You have been good to our family… Thank you greatly for your time and love of our son. She then shifted her gaze between Shei and Armaris, letting out a weak sigh. "The time has come… hasn't it?"

Her husband inclined his head, almost gravely. "Very soon," he confirmed. "He is not much longer for this world."

It was evident that pointing this out did absolutely nothing good for Armaris, so Aniko didn't mention it further. The point was made. As much as she wanted to be by Shei's side, the woman slowly took a seat by the cat and held her close. "He has lived a full life full of love and care for his family. He will not pass alone."

Armaris slowly retreated into her shadows as Aku's breaths grew more shallow. She didn't know what to do, so she quietly left. The thought of seeing him die… Armaris wasn't ready. Aniko didn't at all blame her, instead turning her gaze over to Shei. "Are you going to stay?" she asked gently.

"I had intended on it," Shei said. "He does not deserve to die alone. And… it would do nothing less than break our son's heart if he did."

"That was… part of why I intended to stay." Aniko supposed that much of the reason she cared was because Aku was family. He always had been. She couldn't leave him.

Shei stopped paying attention to the interaction abruptly when a thought occurred to him. I have not seen Atani in some time. Where is she? He frowned to himself before looking at Aniko. "Atani has not attempted to make contact with me since the attack," he informed her quickly. "It is… concerning. I need to check on her."

He left without waiting for a reply, trusting her to understand his need for haste. Though he didn't know her well, Atani was his sister. She had helped him to gain some measure of control over his powers when she didn't have to. In fact, she'd gone out of her way to aid him. In helping him, she had helped his whole family and firmly inserted herself within it. His family was something he protected to the best of his ability. He needed to find her.

Though he'd never been there before, he remembered the name of the village she'd told him was her home. It took mere moments to arrive there and make his presence known to the inhabitants. Only his identity spared him from having any sort of confrontation with any of these unfamiliar shinobi. The fact that Atani had apparently mentioned him to one or two of them was an additional saving grace.

None of them knew where she was, but he was pointed in the direction of her home. A quick teleport sent him straight to her house, one of the very rare few that any shinobi ever built - one that was, quite strangely, built on the ground. It was an oddity, but one that hardly held any of his attention. Apart from him, the building was devoid of life. Where is she?

More bothered now than before, Shei walked back outside and circled around the back of his half-sister's home. He was searching for a clue, any clue, when he saw a faint footprint on the dirt. Had she gone out in the woods? It seemed likely. Shei headed in that direction for quite a ways. He had to find her. And, honestly… more for the sake of her and others than for his own.

I know nothing of her family. She may have siblings, cousins, an adoptive mother… But if her past was anything like mine, then our mother was not the one to name her. Shei frowned in thought as he continued along at a rapid pace. It must have been her father or some other guardian. And to give her such a name…

"Atani" was a word Shei knew well, but not from within their own lands. It was the name of an extremely rare magical metal found by the Tokarian kingdom long, long ago. It was used to forge the royal family's crowns. Satsuno and Seiko had used it to forge their ancient swords and to forge Satsuno's armor.

To give such a name to a person was to consider them rare. Valuable. Strong. Perhaps a a mere name would hold no meaning to anyone else, but for chameleons every name was important and held great meaning. A name like this was nothing to ignore. They named her well. The love of her father or whoever took her in is obvious. To lose her would harm them greatly. Thinking about that did nothing to lessen the truth of the matter, that he would be hurt as well, but-

He skidded to a halt in the grass. There was a small amount of snow on the ground. Not all of it was white. It hadn't been for some time. A body was lying there in the open for anyone to see, but no one else was around to view it. Almost dazed, he stooped. Into his arms, he scooped up the body and teleported back to the unfamiliar village. He didn't know who he passed it off to, nor did he know what (if anything) they had said to him.

Emotions were starting to return. His energy was starting to react. He needed to leave. He needed to leave now. Breathing heavily, he teleported away, not at all prepared for another lengthy battle with himself… but knowing it was about to happen anyway. That meant he needed to be anywhere but on Mobius once again. Until he regained control, he couldn't return home. Causing his family further pain would be unacceptable. His own pain was inconsequential. For their sakes, he needed let it go as best as he could and not give in to it.

And this time, he would have to do it alone.

~保護者~

Black Doom awoke once again to sharp instincts raising hell within him. Shadow is in pain. That was his only thought at first, but it was soon followed by, The child is coming already…? Damn. He had hoped that being home again and in close proximity to his other children and Toru would help prevent this. Evidently, that hadn't been enough. Being returned to Gerald's clutches yet again had proved to be too stressful.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he debated what to do. He wanted to go, to be there with his son, but he knew his son to be a private person. Shadow wouldn't want any kind of an audience. Did that mean Black Doom would be unwelcome right now? He didn't know. That wasn't a fact that he liked.

If nothing else, he had every intention of being somewhere nearby. There was no way in hell that he wouldn't be close enough to help if something were to go awry. His thoughts on the subject were interrupted after that decision was made, however. He sensed Saethrim's approach and sighed. Evidently, he wasn't going anywhere just yet. Saethrim virtually never came here without a specific reason. And he especially didn't ever drop by "for the hell of it" when he was this angry.

The scent of Saethrim's anger set Black Doom on edge in a way he wasn't used to. Instincts again rose up, this time to urge him into moving away. Maybe even far away. He damn-near just blindly obeyed them, too. That was something he'd been doing a lot of lately, and for that reason he forced himself to resist their pull and stay seated. Saethrim hadn't taught him how to use that very skill just so he could stop using said skill.

He did his best to ignore the memories of his time with Gerald and Nareish, a time in which he had been forced to always obey every instinct without question in order to stay alive and somewhat safe. That was then. Focusing on the here and now was something he needed to do for his own sake. Still, the instincts remained and he was antsy. What was this emotion called? "Nervous"? Something like that. It was something he had very little experience with.

The only things that had ever caused that feeling before were issues pertaining to Shadow. It had always gone hand-in-hand with his desire and even need to protect the boy. But this was different. The feeling existed alone this time. Why, he wasn't sure. He focused for now on covering himself up. Once again, he created a pair of shorts out of Darkness. Then he idly teleported his recent meal away for the scavengers. That was all he had time to do before Saethrim reached his chambers.

Seeing Black Doom, Saethrim managed to calm down somewhat, a few fears immediately eased when things were confirmed. Had Nareish's attempt been successful, changes in Black Doom's scent would have been apparent by now. There were no such changes. Still, though, he didn't relax totally. "How are you feeling?" he asked quickly, with far less calm than he usually showed.

"...Fine," Black Doom replied after a long, wary pause. Whether it was a truthful response or not didn't matter to him. He wasn't eager to drag this conversation out any longer than it had to be. Why had his antsiness grown, even after Saethrim had calmed down to a degree? He had no idea. It didn't make sense.

"Keeping the story short, you had my blood put into your body. Luckily, you aren't having a spawn," Saethrim explained, rubbing at his face a little. "I was worried that you were gonna be forced to carry one again."

"I know," Black Doom responded soon afterward. He almost gave in to the urge to shift away, but clamped down hard on the instinct and remained firmly seated where he was. "I was aware of the situation," he explained when there was little else to say.

It appeared that Saethrim rapidly calmed himself, taking in a slow, deep breath and letting it out. "Are you still hurting?" He asked, a touch softer than before.

"I am sore," Black Doom allowed vaguely. "It is nothing worthy of your concern. I have been healing." It was only after he said that that it occurred to him how truly abnormal and impossible that was. This… should not be happening. Why is it happening?

"Goddammit," Saethrim mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are you also becoming an Immortal?"

Black Doom frowned at him, reminded of his and Ghune's shared suspicions regarding Shadow. "'Also'?" he echoed. "Who else are you referring to?"

"Shadow," Saethrim groaned. "Two beings under my watch are turning into Immortals. What the hell is going on with that?" He wasn't angry in the slightest, but he was thoroughly confused now. Since when did it make sense for… this to start happening?

We were correct, then. …I should inform Ghune. Assuming she does not know already. "You are certain of this?" Black Doom pressed. "This is not merely a baseless assumption?" His nose twitched a few times, drawing in Saethrim's scent and sifting through the emotions contained within it. Reassured somewhat that Saethrim wasn't as enraged as he had been earlier, he allowed himself to relax a bit.

"Considering that I know the scent of an Immortal and you both reek of it, yeah." Saethrim frowned a little at this. "Not that I'm sure why it's happening."

Being told he "reeked" of anything earned Saethrim a dry and disapproving look, but Black Doom didn't comment on it. "It can be looked into another time," was all he wound up saying. "I have no desire to deal with it right now."

"Neither do I," Saethrim answered honestly. "Everything I was directly concerned about has been answered, and I have every intention of trying to relax again soon."

"Good," Black Doom muttered. "Your emotions damn-near sent the entire hive into a tizzy. They only refrained from acting out to avoid making matters worse."

Saethrim clicked his tongue. "Sorry about that. Got riled up before I came over here."

"I noticed." Black Doom went ahead and let that matter drop. For a brief moment, he shifted into a different form so as to stretch himself in a way he was used to, as opposed to trying to figure out how best to do it in the hedgehog form. He changed back once finished. "Did you have anything else to say?" I am going back to sleep if he's done. I am too tired to care about this conversation.

There was an unusual amount of hesitation in Saethrim, the man pausing briefly before speaking up. "Are you doing okay after everything those two did to you?"

This caused Black Doom to look away. He was normally direct with his thoughts and emotions, as true animals typically were, but this time he was almost vague in a way. "I'm doing fine."

Saethrim let out a sigh. "Is there more to it?"

"No," was the muttered response. Rather than let Saethrim continue with that line of questioning, Black Doom attempted to redirect the conversation by asking pointedly, "Was there anything else?"

The da Asani watched Black Doom carefully before deciding to drop it. He would've smelled it if he'd been lied to. "Nah. Not really."

Black Doom nodded and moved to lay back down, grateful that this was finally over with. "Then go away," he grumbled. "I'm tired."

Saethrim blinked once and simply nodded. "Alright. Get some rest, then." He shortly vanished.

Sighing, Black Doom closed his eyes. Finally…

~保護者~

It had been an eventful couple of days. Tessa had been following alongside Locke at the ancient place she had found one of the Stones of Lore, recovering pieces of the relics to bring them back. The effort had been pleasant at least, considering that she was interesting to talk to.

Locke had been biding his time, waiting until life had calmed down enough for them to be able to approach Cere about all of this. And, honestly, he might have also been losing himself somewhat under the weight of all the pain and history of this place. It was incredible. It was devastating in its own way. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before.

In a way, he was grateful to be able to experience it.

He turned to Tessa after a long period of silence, random debris in hand, and asked, "How did you ever wind up here, anyway?"

Tessa scratched at the back of her head. "Honestly, 'twas prolly somethin' along the lines of me just travelin'. I liked to scour the lesser traveled areas."

"Yeah, but this is… This place…" Locke shook his head. He tried to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Everyone who knows anything about the first few generations of Immortals knows about Farenhel. But no one, no one, has laid eyes on these ruins in so many millions of years or longer that Cere and the others gave up hope that they would ever figure out where they were. …Are. To think that we're actually standing here, that such a relatively 'recent' generation of Immortals found this place and stored their Stones of Lore here… It's- It's insane." It was rare that he was this tongue-tied but, hell, this really was something insane no matter how one looked at it.

"It blows my mind too, but… I find that if I think on it too much, I'll never get anywhere." Tessa felt her foot press on something a bit harder, so she began digging where she was standing. "How old this place is… the history, it's so easy to get wrapped up in. I'd love to learn more about it at some point, though."

"I can tell you what I know in a bit, if you'd like," Locke offered. He, too, was working on digging up something he'd unintentionally trod upon. "There's only so much us non-Immortals are privy to, but we do know some things."

"Go for it," Tessa replied easily, motioning in his direction with a hand while she collected… whatever it was that she had found. What in the world…?

Locke started to oblige, only to pause once he also picked up what he'd been excavating. Looks like a piece of some blade or another… Definitely not an Immortal's. No telling who it belonged to. Setting it down, Locke stood up. "Hey, the history lesson may need to wait. There's someone who I really need to tell about this place. Aside from the Immortals themselves, she's the person who most deserves to know that these ruins were found."

"Mind if I tag along?" Tessa asked. "I'd definitely like to explain myself for not mentioning them sooner."

"Sure, you're more than welcome. I will say, though, that the way I travel is probably gonna be far from comfortable for you." Locke sort of chuckled and pointed up at the dim sun above. "I'll have to use that, so it'll probably be too hot for you. Just wait a minute for me to get where I need to go, and then you can teleport to me. That work for you?"

Tessa chuckled a little as well and motioned for him to go on. "Go ahead. I'm not too keen on walking into a sun."

"Didn't figure you would be," Locke answered in kind. If only because she was a being of Light and would be unaffected, he didn't bother telling her to cover her eyes. He simply left as he'd said he would, soon appearing where he sensed Cere to be. She was within Finis's realm. The God of Night was apparently physical again, which threw Locke for a small loop. And here I'd almost come to believe that the rumors about that happening before were false. He took just a second to compose himself before cautiously clearing his throat to get the couple's attention.

Cere almost spoke, but then Tessa appeared beside Locke. Her sudden arrival shocked the woman, having not seen a being of Light aside from a select few in… who even knew how long at this point? Ultimately, she did speak up, a visible frown on her face. "What is it, Locke? And who have you brought here?"

"Her name's Tessa," Locke introduced. "Turns out she's a bit of an explorer, like me. I have no idea how to brace you both for this, but she… she found it, Cere. Farenhel, and fragments of lost Stones of Lore." Already, he could see Finis's eyes widening.

The Hexan stood suddenly and walked over, immediately grabbing one of each of the echidnas' hands. "How in all of existence was Farenhel found?" Introductions could wait. Finis was quick to stand, though his new physical state left him a little wobbly and unbalanced.

Locke deferred to Tessa for this part, nodding for her to go ahead and speak. Tessa nodded in reply, looking to Cere. "In all honesty, I don't know how I found the place. It's been so long that… well, finding it was hardly a memory I had. Maybe I found it while just exploring new places, or maybe I found it out of necessity for somewhere safe to be. What I do know is that these… er, Stones of Lore are there. I've had a few stored, and we found a lot of fragments when we looked around again before showing up here."

"I saw a few whole ones, too," Locke further explained. "I didn't dare pick them up. We need to bring Jet there whenever it's possible. He's the only Immortal out there with the know-how about fixing those things. He might even be able to glean more from the ruins on sight than we can. Immortal-crafted locations, like their meeting place and library, are said to look very different to their eyes as opposed to ours."

Cere let out a slow sigh, releasing their hands and taking a moment to regain her composure. "Absolutely… he… definitely needs to get there soon, along with any other Immortals we have… It's too important of a place to not have them together for such a viewing."

"They have far more right than any of us to see it," Locke had to agree. It was their kin who built it and repeatedly died there. He chose not to voice that thought, all things considered. Cere had helped to raise and train many of the past Immortals. Maybe even most of them, though he wasn't sure. Finis had likewise been involved in their lives. They're practically parents, many times over. No parent who's lost a child deserves to be reminded so harshly of that fact. Still, he resumed talking. "Listen… as hard as it's gonna be, do either of you want to look for yourselves in the meantime? Tessa and I… we haven't moved anything since she brought me there. It's all how its last residents left it."

"Take me," Cere said immediately, pain echoing in her voice. She knew this wasn't the best idea, her emotions still a bit raw from everything happening with Finis recently… but there was no way she could ignore this. For all intents and purposes, those Immortals had been her children.

Locke straightened. He knew an order when he heard one. "Understood. You coming?" His gaze shifted to Finis.

The God of Night couldn't speak due to not knowing how to physically do so, and so had to relay his answer through Cere. "I'm not up for it right now. I'm exhausted, and I don't know how to walk like this. I never used to have… weight."

Cere relayed this quickly, and Tessa gave a nod. "When ya get back to your normal form or whatever it is, I can take ya." Finis answered with a small nod of his own and moved to shakily sit down.

Only after watching a moment to make sure he managed it without falling did Locke speak again. "Come on, then. We should definitely go now, since the sun is just rising over there. Daylight is on our side."

"I'll be back shortly, Finis," Cere murmured, already motioning for Lock to lead the way.

"I will wait for you here," Finis promised. "I will not go elsewhere." While he spoke, Locke motioned for Tessa to go ahead and teleport. He waited for Finis to cover his and Cere's eyes with Darkness before departing through the distant light of the nearest sun. Once he was gone, Finis let his Darkness fade. As soon as they were both gone, Cere teleported after them both, taking a second with her eyes closed to brace herself for what was to come.

She wasn't ready.

~保護者~

Akol awoke in an unfamiliar place. The style of architecture around him struck him as distinctly Babylonian. There was a young, sleeping Babylonian with green feathers in a bed across the room, as well as a woman with grey feathers. It was an oddity to find himself here with them, but he paid it no real mind. Ghune was nearby, lurking close to the bed he was laying in.

He directed his attention her way without looking at her. "He's dead… isn't he?" His normally relatively pleasant and relaxed tone was replaced with something hollow and monotonous. The answer to his question was one already known to him. That knowledge, his memories of what had happened… They made him so numb with pain that he couldn't conjure up any emotions at all. Not even negative ones. He just didn't have it in him to feel anything. It was possible for Ghune to bring his partner back, yes, but nothing… nothing could ever erase from his mind the memories of that moment.

Ghune didn't answer that, instead setting a hand on his shoulder. Saying the truth was already a bit too difficult for the emotionally dulled woman. "I've had to move our people here. The home we sustained was destroyed, and I… have to find a way to revive all who perished. I do not believe I can do it alone. Not without aid." The last time she'd revived so many people at once, she had needed powerful blood from another individual to succeed. Black Doom's specifically, in that case, but that would do no good this time.

Akol nodded slowly, his demeanor also dull. "I understand," was all he said.

She was quiet for a few seconds before finally speaking again. "I'm sorry that I could not be there to help. I know it was not my fault, but… I am supposed to lead our people."

"Nareish would have struck with or without you there," he mumbled. "You could not have prevented this. As you said, it isn't your fault."

Ghune had to resist the urge in her emotional state to have some form of outburst. She was on another world, in the company of people who had shown her compassion. Acting out was not something she could permit. Her tongue slipped into an ancient language, muttering words that roughly translated to, "They are my people. More may have been spared this pain had I been present." Her tone was plainly dripping with a burning hatred, but none was pointed at herself or Akol. She knew who to turn her anger at.

Knowing full well how she was, Akol asked only one question. "What will you do?"

"My people come first," Ghune answered, letting out a slow sigh. "I will revive the fallen and make sure they arrive here. Once this is done, I will ensure that Shadow's labor does not injure him, then I will find and obliterate any of Nareish's followers that dare not stay in the safety of her realm."

Akol nodded slowly. "Do not go alone," he sighed. "We know not what manner of monstrosities she'll have released in response to that raid."

"There are few beings in existence that would dare stand up against me," Ghune muttered. "Even Immortals had reason to fear me. I will resume living up to that legacy if it means that one of the few things I hold dear remains in my clutches."

With another sigh, Akol finally turned his head and looked at her. "Ghune," he murmured, "all of her cronies will be willing to fight you. Not all can be defeated as easily as we would like. And I know many who would not forgive you for a foolish death or injury."

Ghune took a moment to compose herself. That wasn't enough to bite back her rage. "You and Ryint were harmed. I will drain their blood from their living bodies and watch as they die. They deserve every bit of what is coming to them."

"And your close friend deserves to have you not rush off to a fight you potentially cannot win," Akol answered. While normally he'd have been rather passionate about this sort of thing, his tone barely held any inflection right now. He still couldn't muster up any emotions other than pain. "Frankly, so does everyone else you hold dear."

The woman wished there was something she could throw, something she could break that was her own. Anything that wasn't owned by another. A way to vent her intense frustrations. "You're right." That was all she said, going entirely silent.

For both of their sakes, Akol sought to change the subject at that point. "You seem to… care a great deal about Shadow already."

"I have plenty of reason to," Ghune answered rather quickly. Akol managed a vaguely inquisitive glance. "He was forced into being a vampire, spent much of his life in danger or in pain, and has very few people that he cares for greatly."

"You speak of him almost like a mother," Akol observed quietly, his gaze drifting away again. "As if he were your son or something similar."

"In a way, he may as well be at this point," Ghune answered, letting out a sigh. "Growing obstinate… but you are correct." Akol decided at that time not to question her about it further. He said some vague acknowledgement of her words, nothing more. The woman remained quiet for a moment before deciding that the time for conversation was over. "I must go speak to the queen before I take on any further endeavors."

"Go to his side when you finish," Akol told her with another soft sigh. "If the baby is truly coming, he will need support."

Ghune nodded. "I intended to, as I stated earlier. I could not ignore his situation." Akol mumbled an agreement. "Get some rest," she shortly continued. "If you are still exhausted when I return, I will be… sorely disappointed." She didn't quite know what to say there, and what she defaulted to made her wince a little. "Your wellbeing matters as much to me as Ryint's."

As ever, Akol understood her well enough to know what she meant by her initially brusque statement. "I know," he told her softly. "I will rest. You have my word."

"Good." Ghune quietly walked away, intent on not bothering him further and attending to her duties. There were things to be done, certainly, and ignoring them was something she couldn't stand to do. Her people mattered too much.

~保護者~

Nareish was still somewhat furious.

In her effort to punish the first chameleon for their involvement in the raid on her realm, Nareish had made certain to deal a significant amount of damage without killing them. They were so full of wonderfully potent Darkness. That was something she wanted in her new reality. So, for now, they were permitted to live… provided they never pulled such a stunt again. If they dare raise their weapon at my forces a second time, I will make them suffer.

Her uncharacteristic anger faded to mere annoyance as she thought back over his subsequent confrontation with Saethrim. Or, rather, his confrontation with her. The man had certainly been furious. Ordinarily that was something she would have found amusing to no end. Today, it was only mildly so. Still, the amusement was there regardless. He cares so deeply for his little pets, she mused. How long will it take for him to finally accept that they are my pets now, I wonder?

Granted, she had to concede that she didn't currently have a grasp on Shadow in any form or fashion, but Black Doom on the other hand… While he may not remember our encounters when they occur, his other forms are learning obedience well. How will you react to that when you realize, Saethrim? How will you react when his loyalty to you finally dies and is replaced by loyalty to me?

The plan to make Black Doom carry a spawn had unexpectedly failed, but that was alright. With Gerald gone for now, there was little point to it anymore. It mattered more to her that her training of him was working. Torture, abuse, neglect… all proved to be excellent teaching tools. If he obeyed, he didn't suffer. If he didn't obey, he suffered. Starvation, exposure to bright light, mental assaults, electrocution, stabbing… The list only went on. Every method employed was effective.

He had resisted hers and Gerald's efforts with a great deal of strength for many years. While Nareish had no true control over time itself, she had stolen an ability long ago that allowed her to affect the way time flowed within a space no longer than a certain size. The portion of the ARK she had used the power on had been just small enough for her to work with.

The place she had created for Astra and her Syxan comrades to take Jet sometime ago had been as well. In both places, much time had passed within while comparatively little time had passed on the outside. It had only been a few months in the case of Astra's endeavors, but when Nareish had gotten ahold of Black Doom she had put far more effort in. It had been necessary. He would never have broken as quickly or as easily as Jet had.

Bit by bit, her amusement grew. It helped that she had found success in another area as well recently. As she had once told Sein, she wanted Kath out of commission. As much as she wanted his powers, Kath potentially posed a risk of sorts to her with said powers. If he was granted an opportunity to gain any sort of mastery over them, it could spell trouble for her.

Injuring him had proved futile. His allies had simply found too many ways to help him heal. They could not, however, negate the very effects of time. A simple attack on his mind had been all it took to trigger an overreaction from his powers, not unlike what had occurred when they had awakened on their own the first time. They reversed his age to a time when he wasn't injured. It was pure luck that they had reversed his age by so much.

But, as successful as she had been in that endeavor, one of her other recent choices had proven to be less fruitful. The Tianak of that timeline simply isn't up to snuff, she thought, not for the first time. Assuming he was as strong as other versions of him was a mistake on my part. I should have observed closer. She sighed to herself. Oh, well. At least it has proven to be fun, watching him struggle to get by since coming here.

Still… she would have preferred it if he had been strong. That would have been far more entertaining for her, and far more fear-inducing for their shared enemies. Such was life, though, she supposed. And even if he had been as strong as she would have liked, it wasn't as though he truly would have been an ally, anyway. Just not an enemy. Which she would have been fine with, but it meant she wasn't really losing anything in this situation.

Lord only knew she had lost enough during that raid, anyway. For the most part, nothing she had truly cared about had been destroyed. Her space could be rebuilt, and she could gather more forces in time. What bothered her was that her Widow had been targeted and Gerald had been killed. Ghune hadn't truly been responsible for the latter's death, but Nareish had punished her for it regardless. Shadow and Toru were next on her list, but she had yet to decide how she wanted to get at them. That was a decision she would make soon enough.

As things stood now, she needed to focus on other matters. For one thing, she needed to decide how to proceed with her little hawk. Jet and the Void aren't nearly violent enough yet. Perhaps it's time I take a more active role in changing that. A slow smile formed on her lips. The situation with Han is sure to evoke no small amount of anger in Jet. Whenever his poor, sweet Wave is involved, his emotions grow so much more potent.

Her eyes drifted shut as her thoughts continued. So far as she and Jet both know, Han is still purified. I will enjoy their reactions when they learn the reality of his situation. Another thought gradually formed, and her smile immediately grew. I wonder how his parents will react once I let them know just how long Jet truly suffered. They know something was off with the age of his wounds, but failed to put the pieces together and he blocked everything out. I cannot wait to see the looks on their faces.

And then there is the matter of Steam… Quite a nuisance, that one. With the Faein and another version of Jet taking such active roles in supporting him, simply ending his life is not currently feasible. I will need to keep an eye on him and wait for an opportunity. Drumming her fingers on the armrest of her throne deep within her realm, she let out a thoughtful hum and then stood. This was all so very important, but in the meantime…

She wanted to pay someone a visit.

~保護者~

10,312 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 10:10 p.m.) 07-03-22.