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".)

207. Stay

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this dangerous time… especially for the one who has to make a terrible choice.

~保護者~

"Stay"

~保護者~

Toru had been more than aware of the whole reunion between Kaden and his parents, even picked up on the fact that it was Kaden due to the similarities in all of their auras. Rather than bother them, Toru let them all have their moment. He didn't feel like it was his place to be in the middle of that.

When he heard the knock, he appeared at the door and opened it. Normally, he would've become hostile at the sight of someone who had attempted to take his life, but instantly he could see the difference in, well, all of Zareil. She was not the same person. As such, he turned his attention to Kaden and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't expect to see you both. You can come in," he invited softly, stepping out of the way.

Kaden hesitated, though he hadn't intended to. His anxiety had a tendency to make him grow stiff and still. Subtly sinking his fang into the corner of his bottom lip provided enough pain for him to force himself to move. He wasn't able to say anything in response just yet, though. All he could really do was nod and uncomfortably step inside. Zareil watched Kaden quietly, merely following beside him.

They hadn't even been inside for two whole seconds, Kaden swore, before a small body slammed into him with so much force that it carried him off of his feet. He fell unceremoniously onto his rear with a loud cry of, "Papa!" ringing in his ears. Wincing and reeling from shock in equal measure, he could initially only stare. Then it fully clicked that he really was looking at a strangely de-aged Lia. What the hell? "Lia? What-?"

But Lia was already clambering off of him so that she could speed over to Toru and exclaimed in a voice of pure joy, "You found Papa! You did it, you found him!"

Toru set a hand on Lia's head and softly rubbed it. "Hey, hey, cool it for a second, alright? They've been through a bit recently. Try not to go bouncing off the walls." Immediately, Lia gave him one of her signature pouts.

About the time he got those words out of his mouth, a voice came down from the ceiling to Zareil and Kaden. "Yo."

Zareil looked up and saw… a child clinging to the roof, having obviously crawled there. How the hell this thing had snuck up on her, she didn't know. She didn't appreciate that. "Uh, hi? Who the hell are you?"

"A'tamei," Kaden swiftly corrected her in his native tongue. Then he clarified so she could understand, "Don't. Curse at children, that is." He picked himself up off the floor and glanced up at the girl. A relative of Toru's. …A sister?

"Meh, heard worse," Myriu replied, waving it off.

"I see," Kaden responded noncommittally. He was a touch distracted as his eyes darted around the room, landing on each of the home's unseen inhabitants one by one. Fifteen, sixteen… Twenty-two? Why are there so many spirits gathered here?

Toru glanced to Myriu, who was also looking in the same places. It didn't take him long to guess what was happening. "Spirits?'

Kaden nodded, then noticed Myriu's own gaze on the deceased people in question. She can see them? It was probably better not to ask, since it was none of business and… well, quite frankly, he felt like he was walking on incredibly thin ice even just being here. It was best to keep quiet. It isn't my place to question her.

With the silence, Toru decided to take a risk. "Hey, Lia, go talk to the big lady. I wanna talk to Kaden for a second."

"Big la- Oh-h-h, okay!" Lia darted to Zareil and took hold of one of her hands in both of hers. "C'mon, miss pretty lady! I like that better, 'cause you're super pretty! But c'mon, I wanna show you all my toys!" She began tugging Zareil toward her room without any further delay.

Unwilling to hurt the child and even more unwilling to go, Zareil was conflicted. In the end, the decision was made for her and she was taken away to whatever den this little creature had. Meanwhile, Toru walked closer to Kaden and spoke. "You alright?"

Kaden glanced at him, but only briefly. He wanted to avoid eye-contact even more than usual right now. "I'm fine," he said with a sort of subtle sigh. It wasn't… entirely a lie, but wasn't really truthful either. He made a mental note to get better about the lying as soon as possible. He'd spent so many years as a demon lying to so many people about so many things…

"I won't pry," Toru said after a couple seconds of thought. "I can tell you're anxious, and I want you to know that I'm not upset with you. I know you've been through some shit, and I won't hold any of that against you." He glanced to Myriu, who was already scuttling off to watch Zareil's "torture" with Lia. "I can tell you're a better person than the one I met."

That's… debatable. Rather than say that, Kaden nodded a little. He didn't at all want to dwell on that topic, so he decided to cautiously ask, "How long has Lia been like this?" This is about the age she was when Amnikaribah took me. She shouldn't be this small again. Stretching his senses down the hall, he located Soren as well. The other hedgehog appeared to be asleep. He's also younger. Why?

"Before I answer that question," Toru swiftly answered, "seriously… You're welcome here. I've heard nothing but good about you from Shadow. Don't let the past ruin your chance at being part of his family again."

Slowly, Kaden took in a breath and let it out. "I will… try. For their sakes. I made that decision already."

"Do it for your sake, too. Only so much can come of doing things just for someone else." Toru immediately swapped topics back to Kaden's question so as to give Kaden no time to argue like his son would have. He out a sigh. "She's been small again since she was revived. There's some sort of illness she has, and when she was brought back she was returned to an age where we could have a chance to deal with it to save her."

An illness? Kaden frowned and focused all of his senses on his granddaughter again. "...There is powerful magic working within her. Did one of your allies do something?"

A low groan escaped Toru and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "A woman by the name of Ghune. A vampire."

"I… see." Kaden frowned a bit more. Is this related to the fact that Shadow was turned not long ago? With the extremely limited information he'd gotten from Ylden regarding that, he really had no idea. It was possible the woman had been an ally prior to this, but it wasn't all that likely. It probably didn't even matter. Shadow apparently trusted her enough to be around Lia and Soren, so that was the most important thing to focus on, he supposed.

Toru nodded. "We're waiting to see if that fixes the issue." The chameleon turned to Kaden more fully, frowning. God fucking damn. I really can feel the pain off him and Zareil. What the hell happened? "You've been resting for a bit, yeah?"

"Very little," Kaden admitted after a lengthy pause. "I am not… particularly adept at it."

"You should try to get some while you're here. It's been quiet, so I expect some shit to go down here soon enough, but this'll probably be the best chance you have." He glanced down to where Lia's room was, listening to the sounds of mild discomfort from Zareil. "She's out of her element, it seems. You gonna save her or are we leaving her to the wolves?"

This managed to get an amused huff out of Kaden and a very, very faint smirk. "Even if I attempted it, Lia will find a way to drag her back. It is one of her… 'talents'."

Toru chuckled a little and shrugged. "In that case, guess we'll just let them go at it for a bit. I assume you wanna see Shadow, yeah?"

His amusement faded and Kaden grew more solemn again. Still, he didn't hesitate to nod. "I want to at least… check on him."

"You should talk to him if he's awake. He will want to see you," Toru said. "It'll be good for you both."

Kaden looked down the hall for a moment and made a new observation. "Is he beyond that portal?"

"Mhm," Toru replied. "A woman named Eila created the space for him, because of Black Arms blood being corrosive. Been nice to have it for all of this."

Almost, Kaden winced at the sound of that name. He managed to cover up the reaction, but just barely. All he could really think to do in response to the information was nod and start walking down the hall. Hesitating again wouldn't do anyone any good, so he forced himself to just go. This visit hadn't gone badly so far… somehow. But even still, the worst was potentially still to come. He was resolved to do one of two things depending on Shadow's reaction to him. Either he would stay as long as his son wanted or needed him to, or he would immediately leave for his sake. There could be no middle ground.

Calming himself was important too, actually. Shadow had just been through a lot. On top of that, he had a vulnerable child with him. Kaden's emotions would do nothing but rub off on and disturb them both. As such, he immediately began shoving them down into their bottle where they belonged while walking into what appeared to be his son's bedroom. A portal floated silently at the far end of said room.

Toru followed behind Kaden, murmuring a soft, "It'll be okay," to the other man. Just make it through… it'll make everything feel so much better. Kaden didn't acknowledge the statement this time and just stepped through the portal to find himself in a small entrance hall just beyond the room where his son was resting.

It turned out that Shadow was awake. He was in a call with Sonic at the moment, and the pair was mid-conversation. Even those without Tokarian-level hearing could pick up on the discussion. Sonic was laughing so much that he could barely choke out a response to whatever it was Shadow had said to him before. "Wait, so if I was going through something you wouldn't be there for me?"

"Absolutely not," Shadow answered with a tired but audible chuckle. It went without saying that that was an exceedingly rare sound, coming from him. "Whatever you wind up going through, I hope it sucks for you."

"You ass!" Sonic gasped between fresh fits of laughter. "Why would you want that?!"

Shadow wasn't finished with him, it turned out. A sliver of his sometimes dark sense of humor was revealing itself plainly for any and all to see. Or at least hear. "I hope it emotionally scars you for the rest of your life. It's the least you deserve for all the bullshit you put me through."

His brother almost couldn't speak again. "But what if I specifically reach out to you for help, huh?" he demanded once he'd caught his breath a little.

"I hope you do so I can get some amusement out of ignoring your ass."

"Shadow! You fucking-" Sonic dissolved into yet more laughter before he could finish whatever he was saying. "What the fuck?!"

The younger hedgehog had one last statement to truly finish Sonic off. "I can't wait to go to your funeral, knowing I could have changed that outcome but didn't."

Now that did it. Sonic couldn't take it anymore. He cursed Shadow out breathlessly through his laughter and then promptly hung up. Whatever in the hell had brought this exchange on, it had managed to cheer the brothers up a good bit. Shadow was smirking to himself and shaking his head when Kaden and Toru entered the room. Walking in revealed that Elize had somehow slept through the whole thing and was entirely unbothered.

Toru chuckled a bit and walked over, sitting down in a chair beside the bed with a smirk. "Jeez, you two argue more than anyone I've met, and Espio knows me."

"He brought it on himself," was the only explanation Shadow decided to give him. "It was entirely deserved." He shifted a little and subtly winced at the pain that caused him, but said pain wasn't as bad as it had been just hours before. Elize, meanwhile, was more disturbed by the movement than the talking and let out a tiny whine. At about the same time as that, Kaden walked over without a word when it became clear to him through silent cues that Shadow wanted him over there as well.

Rather than addressing anything more serious right off the bat, Shadow collected the baby and handed her off to Toru to give his tired arms a break. "It's your turn," he said by way of explanation. Elize, for her part, didn't protest against the transfer. She snuggled up to Toru straight away and yawned contentedly. If anything, she seemed even more comfortable and happy now than she'd been before - and it wasn't as though she hadn't been both of those things prior to this moment.

The chameleon shifted in his seat to get comfortable and held Elize close, smiling a little. "Makes enough sense, I suppose," he chuckled.

Kaden hesitated again for several moments before finally moving just a little closer and looking at the baby. "What's her name?" he murmured.

"Elize," Shadow answered. He did his best to sit up a little, mindful not to move too much due to still being in pain. Ultimately, he was only able to prop himself up a little before he had to stop, unable this time to cover up his wince and clenched jaw.

That cut through Kaden's nerves more than anything, and he was by his son's side in an instant. "Knock it off," he said quietly, a touch of paternal firmness in his tone. "Lie still."

"I know," Shadow grumbled. While he typically argued with Toru about things precisely like this, he didn't bother making the effort this time. If there was one thing he'd learned about his father by now, it was that the man could effortlessly outlast him in terms of sheer stubbornness. He had more pressing matters to bring up, anyway. "Father… where are the triplets?" he asked cautiously.

As Shadow had worried would be the case, something in Kaden's eyes closed off and he looked away. That confirmed Shadow's suspicions before Kaden even spoke. "Dead," he answered softly. "Nareish killed them." He looked at Elize for a long moment before asking his own question. "I know about the deaths that occurred on this world. Was anyone in this house threatened?"

"No. Nothing even attempted to come here."

"Good."

"Were you only attacked the one time?"

"So far."

Shadow didn't like the implication that his father would be attacked again sometime in the not-so-distant future, but… it wasn't as though that wasn't the truth. "Will you be staying close?"

Silence initially answered him. Then Kaden gave in and let out a sigh. "If that is what you and your brother wish," he conceded.

Oh, Shadow wasn't at all buying that neutral reply. He wants to stay. He fears rejection if he says so. "It is," he said firmly. "I for one will kick your fucking ass if you try to take off." Normally, he would never speak like this to either of his fathers but, dammit, he really needed to drive this point home. He needed to make his father understand.

"And I'd help," Toru answered easily, fixing Kaden with a direct stare. "I didn't say you were welcome here without reason. You damn well should stay nearby."

Kaden's right ear flicked and he let out a bit of a sigh. "I will stay," he told them both, as opposed to arguing.

"Good," Shadow muttered. "Tell Zareil, too. I understand that she goes where you go. She can stay as well."

"...I will," Kaden answered, looking away. This was a situation where he realized he had to take the threats he was faced with seriously. While he wouldn't have been tempted to fight either of them anyway, idly considering how such a confrontation would go soon indicated something to him that he'd managed to not notice before somehow. "Shadow, how has your strength grown this much?" he questioned with a frown. "Merely awakening your Darkness should not have done this."

Shadow looked tempted to sigh but he refrained. "Immortality," he said. "Supposedly. I'm 'transitioning' or something akin to that."

Hearing this, Kaden sort of stared at him. "That… should not be possible."

"That's what I said," Shadow grumbled. "Multiple ancient beings have insisted otherwise. …And Steam."

His son's last addition to that statement got Kaden thinking. Steam certainly knew a lot of things he otherwise shouldn't have, by virtue of having lived through similar events already in another timeline. Or, at least, that was what Kaden had heard. It wasn't as though he'd ever asked. But still, if that was indeed the case, then an assumption like this had some merit… as difficult as it was to believe. "How long has this been going on?"

"I don't know," Shadow admitted. "I haven't been keeping track of time much lately. Things have been too… hectic."

Although Kaden suspected that that wasn't a strong enough word for how things had really been around here, he didn't press for more details. The important thing was that Shadow and his family were clearly safe and well. Or, at least getting to be well, in Shadow's case. This would explain how rapidly he seems to be healing from what he apparently went through to have the baby. Speaking of the baby, Kaden glanced at her again. "Do either of you realize what this means for her?" He did his best to communicate through his tone that it was nothing bad.

"That she is born to an Immortal and semi-Immortal?" Toru asked, eyebrow raised.

Kaden huffed. "I meant beyond that."

"What are you getting at?" Shadow asked him.

"The children of Immortals grow and mature very quickly, in terms of their abilities, mental capacity, and so on," Kaden explained. "Having an Immortal as a parent makes them faster, stronger, and more intelligent than other semi-Immortals. They often possess rare and unusual poweds they otherwise would not, as well."

Shadow considered this and then he really did sigh. "This will be interesting, then," he said, more to Toru than to Kaden. "She may start walking, talking, and using powers well before she reaches her first year of age."

"So, it'll be like some chameleons… kinda," Toru murmured in thought.

"Somewhat, but it will be more advanced than that, if we are assuming my ally's situation truly wasn't just a fluke," Shadow said.

"It wasn't," Kaden told him. "This sort of situation has come up time and again throughout history. It was the case for my sensei, as well as other important figures throughout history as well. That they mature more quickly and are much more powerful than other normal semi-Immortals is simply a fact. Not an assumption."

Toru shrugged. "This is all fine to know, but the truth of the matter is that we can't do much more than take it in. Appreciate the information though," he said, looking more fully to Kaden. "It's good to know."

Elize suddenly squirmed and whimpered, kicking her little feet as though in petulant protest against all of their talking. Then she turned her head and somewhat buried her face into Toru before relaxing again. Kaden couldn't help but huff in amusement. "We appear to be in trouble."

"Clearly," Shadow agreed.

Toru managed a chuckle at this. "Maybe you two, but obviously not me."

"Evidently not," Shadow conceded. "She appears to have decided that you are the only one allowed to make noise." Toru only smirked at this.

"Has she eaten anything yet?" Kaden suddenly asked. "That could be part of her issue."

Shadow shook his head. "She has not tried to yet. And I still have no idea how she eats."

Kaden frowned in thought. This wasn't a problem he could do much to solve, nor did he really have any advice. All he could have suggested was keeping an eye on her, which he knew Shadow and Toru would be doing on their own regardless. So he let the matter drop and instead asked, "Have you fed recently?"

"No. I've not been hungry." Shadow moved just a little and, like with the other two times, was swiftly made to regret doing so by the pain. Said pain was, unfortunately, the likely culprit behind his loss in appetite. But since he was healing, Kaden wasn't too worried overall.

Toru glanced at Shadow. "Do make sure that you don't delay feeding when your appetite returns, then."

"Whatever," Shadow grumbled rather than trying to argue. This time.

A huff was thrown in Shadow's direction, Toru deciding it was best not to pester his partner further. "Anyway, Kaden, do you need to eat? Some people in this house don't appreciate my cooking and it would be nice to have someone that does." Shadow shot Toru an immediate glare, but he said nothing.

Kaden was quick to shake his head. He had no appetite, either, but for very different reasons. "No," he refuted quietly. Then he added a touch more politely, "But… thank you."

Toru nodded. He'd expected as much. "In that case, just let me know if you'd like anything anytime soon. I have a distinct feeling that you haven't eaten recently." Whether or not that was true (it was, but Kaden didn't say so), all Toru got in response was a sort of half-shrug.

After that, Shadow decided it was time to change the subject one last time. "You had better go save Zareil. It sounds like Lia is attempting to convince her to play dress-up." Straightening his ears, Kaden quickly picked up on the conversation as well. He let out another amused huff before walking out for now to go retrieve his partner from his granddaughter's well-meaning clutches.

The chameleon snickered at that, watching as Kaden left. "Gonna be interesting to watch Zareil deal with Lia. Obviously she doesn't wanna hurt the girl, but she's also uncomfortable. Funny shit."

"She will no doubt adapt with time," Shadow said. However, he didn't manage to say anything else before Elize went back to fussing and squirming. She only stopped when he stopped talking, which caused him to form a small smirk. Demanding, aren't we?

Toru gave another chuckle at that, shaking his head. "Perhaps we should try to rest some, then?"

"Perhaps," Shadow agreed. In line with that thinking, he carefully shifted himself so that he was laying down like he had been earlier. This caused him to hurt yet again, but at least he wouldn't have to do it again anytime soon. Just this once, he didn't even attempt to argue against the idea of sleeping. Instead he closed his eyes and tried to let himself drift back off. With this, Toru was content to lay back in his seat and relax, allowing himself to attempt to get some sleep.

~保護者~

With Cere busy and Finis having again managed to return to his normal form (hopefully for good this time), Finis decided he had things he needed to do as well. Ghune had told him about the attack on her people. That knowledge had stabbed through him the instant he'd received it. Which… wasn't a surprise to him. It was no secret that he and Cere were the unofficial parents to many people. Other deities, past Immortals, perfectly ordinary mortals, and more had long fallen under their protection - not to mention been gifted their love.

Things went deeper than that between him in the creatures of the night. Vampires, werewolves, Spider-Queens and their spiderlings, some species of giant snake, kelpies… There were many, many other kinds of creatures who fell under his domain. Every one of them had not only that in common, but also one other thing: he was the creator of their races.

None of it had been intentional. In fact, he hadn't even known for quite a long time that he had made anything, much less anyone. When he and Cere had come into being, they had been just children. Small children at that. Zenith, Eona, Ythene, and Teyan had taken great care to protect and raise them. Cere had always needed to sleep, though much less frequently now that she was older. Finis had often succumbed to such a need back then as well. Usually, his sleep was an empty but not unpleasant thing. But when he dreamed…

When he dreamed, new beings were created.

Ghune was the very first being to enter existence in such a way. Even though she'd been "born" fully grown when he'd been just a child, he'd found himself always feeling somewhat fatherly toward her ever since discovering what had happened. It helped that they'd both only learned of it well after he'd reached adulthood. But that wasn't the point. The point was that she and the other vampires… They were all like his sons and daughters. He cared about them deeply. That was why he was now taking it upon himself to warn every vampire not living within Ghune's society that danger was afoot. Even more so than usual.

He'd already found quite a few so far and warned them. A couple had been aware. Most hadn't been. It worried him that so few were aware of what had happened on Ghune's world. The ones living within his realm had all known, despite next to none of them having ever spoken to Ghune or her associates literally ever. Why were the vampires living in other realms so unaware? Communication between these disparate populations needs to be improved… greatly.

Now wasn't quite the time. Finis focused next on finding one of the vampires he personally knew quite well. The Raven Queen was highly unlikely to be uninformed, but that didn't mean he had no reason to double check. Finding her was easy for him to do, anyway. It took no time at all for him to locate her and a flock of her beloved birds. Only then did it occur to him that this was the first time they'd spoken or seen each other since his recent corruption.

He still had no memory of the events that had transpired and only knew of her brief involvement courtesy of a Spider-Queen that had been in the area at the time. That same woman had told him he'd somehow managed to physically hurt Cere and Ghune, which struck him as unbelievable at best. Impossible as well. Still, the thought nagged at him. He was forced to wonder now whether the Raven Queen had been injured as well. When he arrived where she was, he was tempted to ask… despite not seeing any injuries on her. In the end, he stuck with a more general question. "Are you well?" he asked quietly, unable to entirely hide the concern in his tone.

The woman watched as one of her ravens dissipated into smoke, then turned to face Finis. "Hm… I suppose I am well. This war has not killed me, yet."

"So I can see," he answered. "You are well beyond that, I presume?"

The Raven Queen stroked her chin and tilted her head. "I suppose, yes. I have had a distinct craving to feed as of late, but I will survive."

"Then you should do so. Attempting to ignore it for too long will cause a loss of control no matter how strong your control normally is." Finis mentally sighed and shook his head after that. "Those matters aside… I did not come here to lecture you. I merely came to see for myself that you are safe, and to inform you of what happened on Ghune's world. Though I will spare you that particular rant if you are already aware like I assume you are."

"Hmm… my kind were attacked and many were killed. Yes, I am aware." The Raven Queen stood from her "throne", which was really a number of twigs and branches carefully woven together with Darkness. "I suppose it is time I do something. Ghune is in no shape to lead them, and her little friend is… well, Ryint is respectable but not a leader."

"Indeed not," he had to agree. "But I will require that you do not start any major quarrels with Ghune. She has been through enough already, and I am not interested in mediating between you both as of now."

She smirked a little and chuckled. "Oh, we both know that a confrontation between myself and her would begin with her attacking me."

Finis gave her a bland look. "You know as well as I that that would not be the full story. There would be more to it than that."

"Heh, you know me so well," the Raven Queen strode over to him and flashed him one of her common, predatory smiles. "You know I love myself a little strife, just a bit of conflict."

"Now is not the time for it," Finis huffed. "And I mean it. You will not be permitted to circumvent my demands."

A little irritated growl rolled out of her throat and she waved him off. "Fine. I will find my amusement elsewhere. Perhaps that little cat I spied some time ago. I dare say I have seldom seen a non-vampire with that much raw destruction magic aside from… hm… I believe his name was Dion? He has been dead for quite some time, however."

Finis blinked once. The name was unfamiliar to him. "Who exactly are you considering trying to seek out?" he dared to ask. So long as it wasn't the one cat Cere had recently taken under her wing it would…. probably be fine? Maybe? He had a sinking feeling about this.

The woman merely grinned, flashing her teeth to him. "I believe you know, with the way you smell." She cackled to herself and created a raven in her hands, sending it off. "I wouldn't dare threaten her in any way, but she will certainly be amusing."

So it was Armaris, then. Finis internally sighed. "Frankly, if you do something to her that pisses off Cere… you're on your own."

"You assume her chameleon boyfriend wouldn't tear my head from my shoulders before Cere could even get to me," she giggled, shifting a little closer to her. "I won't cause a scene, but I'll definitely let her cause one or two. She's got some untapped potential."

"If you're going to be reckless with your life and risk Cere's fury, be my guest," Finis grumbled. "Just wait until Armaris has healed, at least. I heard she suffered serious injury earlier. If you bother her so soon, Cere may actually kill you."

The Raven Queen rolled an eye, letting the other creepily stay focused on Finis. "I understand. I would not wish for that woman's fury, much less her mild irritation."

"At least you have some sense," Finis answered, though he wasn't being serious. He wasn't bothered by her display of "creepiness", given that "creepy" was one of the main characteristics of most of the beings in his domain. And of his realm itself, pretty much. "I will leave you be, then. I merely wanted to ensure that you were aware of the state of things and to be more cautious than normal."

She merely smiled to him again, cackling. "Finally. Perhaps I will finally gain some entertainment." Her arms twisted and morphed into wings, allowing her to flap them and begin flying. "Is that all you had for me, Finis? I wish to go bring my presence to existence."

He waved her off. "Yes, I am finished. Be gone with you. We can speak again another time if need be." Without waiting for any further confirmation, a portal opened above the woman and she flew on through it, leaving the realm entirely. Finis soon disappeared as well. He had other vampires to contact.

~保護者~

Talking with Shadow had been an unexpected relief from all of Sonic's recent stress and other emotions. He'd managed to get Silver and Kohaku to sleep and then had decided it was well past time to check on Shadow. Yes, Shadow was likely resting and their dad was supposed to be there to check on him soon, but Sonic had decided to call him regardless. It went without saying that he hadn't gone into that expecting to get any laughs. But boy, did he get some! Fucking hell, Shadow. It's so easy to forget that you're capable of being funny when you actually want to be.

He did his best to cling to his lightened mood, even as he braced himself for a lot of pain. I've gotta check on Sein and the others, see how they're doing. Drawing in a deep breath, he scrolled through his contacts on his communicator until he found Sein. Once he did, he tapped on it and waited for the man to pick up.

The man soon answered the call, his voice softer and quieter than usual. "Hey, what's up?"

"Hey, Sein," Sonic greeted. Man, he doesn't sound well. "I was calling to check on you guys. How are you all holding up?"

"... It's not good," Sein answered vaguely. "At all."

"I know about Jet," Sonic murmured. "Eila seems like she has some sort of plan to try to help him, but I don't really know what it is. Still… she's pretty determined to do something for him."

"Hope he doesn't kill her," Sein mumbled. "All things considered."

"No kidding," Sonic sighed. He hesitated before continuing, "Listen… I hate to ask, but how bad is he right now? Do you know?"

"I don't. It's probably worse than what I saw."

"What did you see, Sein?" Sonic dared to ask. But… he was pretty sure he didn't want to know. This might be real bad.

"He's… not himself," Sein said.

"How, exactly?" Sonic pressed, though he tried to be gentle about it.

"He found his kids… dead. He was surrounded with the Void's energy, then… he just lashed out of me." There was a loud sound from Sein's side of the call, followed by a harsh, "Fuck!"

Sonic winced sympathetically. "Sein… we will get him help," he murmured. "I promise we will. We're gonna help him be okay again if it's the last thing I ever do."

There was silence from Sein, followed by a weak, sobbing gasp. "Thanks," was all he said in reply.

"Try to breathe," Sonic murmured. "Let it all out however much you need to, but try not to hyperventilate."

"There's only so much that can be let out, Sonic, and I'm about fucking dried up of emotions."

"I get that. Believe me, I do. But it's still important to let the tears out instead of shoving them down. That's all I'm saying."

"I can't cry anymore, Sonic," Sein mumbled, letting his exhaustion become more apparent in his tone. "I can't… I feel so numb and… I can't do anything about any of it."

"Then maybe you should try to get some sleep," Sonic said. "Do you feel like you can at least try?" Sein didn't answer this question, ultimately just ending the call seconds later. Sonic heaved a heavy sigh. Dammit… I think all I did was make it worse. With nothing left that he could do, he set his communicator aside and went to check on his own family again.

~保護者~

Arkiri's eyes opened and he looked around in surprise. He wasn't quite certain when he'd fallen asleep, but now it was plainly obvious he'd been sleeping for some time now. The man slipped out of bed and pressed his head against the door, eyes closing as he focused on the auras in the palace.

Kath's seemed to be back to normal, compared to what it had been when he was a child recently. That much was good to know, but there was someone near Kath who his hazy mind didn't fully recognize. They were nearby one another… and the emotions he sensed were obvious. I see… They are enamored with each other to some degree. It has been some time since Kath felt such love, I'd wager.

He would've been pleased had he not then sensed Sein's aura. The man was assuredly asleep, but he was radiating pain in what was obviously a restless slumber. Arkiri made a note to address that sometime soon, focusing on checking on everyone else.

It took several seconds to recognize that Alana was present due to an alarming lack of emotion in the woman's aura. He didn't like that, but there was no telling what the issue was. It didn't feel like numbness, either, so that worried him further. Laralei also seemed to be okay, though, so that much was… good to know. He left that fact be, especially when he became distracted by his thoughts. Usually, he didn't have much reason to check on people's auras, so he hadn't done it in some time.

That only reminded him that Tarin was dead again. Once more, he felt that sharp pain in his heart. I miss you… but one day we will be reunited, whether in death or in life. Until then, I will live on for you. This thought passing along with his tears, Arkiri emerged from his room, rapidly approaching the youngest of the troubled hawks he knew. I'll do everything I can to help you both.

On top of being the only one of the two awake, Alana also happened to be physically closest to Arkiri's room at the moment. She was in a sitting room with a book, just calmly reading as though nothing was amiss at all. Which was, of course, completely at odds with the way her husband was feeling further down the hall in their room. Arkiri walked over to the room and stepped inside, sitting across the room from her. "Hello, Alana."

Blinking once, Alana looked up from the page she was on and closed the book. "Hello," she greeted neutrally. "Did you need something?"

He watched her for a moment before letting out a gentle sigh. "I presume I am not the first to notice your apparent lack of emotions, yes?"

"No. This has been discussed before." Alana set aside her book on the couch cushion next to her. "Nareish is suspected of being the culprit."

"Ah." Arkiri thought this through for a long moment before tilting his head. "In that case, it's likely severe enough that you don't feel as if you are without something, yes?"

"I suppose that is true, yes," Alana agreed.

Arkiri shook his head in dismay. "If this is the case, I don't know if there is much I can do for you. I may have been able to help if instead it felt like something was missing."

"It does not," she said. "Nothing feels amiss to me."

The owl thought this through, then gave a soft sigh. "I wish I had something to do, but I simply cannot do much to aid you."

"It is alright," was the simple response. "Did you need anything else? If not, I believe your services would do more good with my husband. He has not been well."

"The issue is that he's asleep right now," Arkiri pointed out. Though, she may have a point. No telling what he's dreaming if he's that restless.

Alana saw no point in pressing the issue, therefore she didn't. "Alright." Completely unbothered, she picked her book up again.

Arkiri quietly stood and bowed his head to Alana. "If I think of something, I will certainly attempt to come by and speak with you again."

"Very well," she agreed.

The owl stepped toward the door, then put his hand out in front of him and pressed against an invisible barrier that certainly hadn't been there before. There wasn't long to think this through before he stepped back to allow someone made of aura to walk in. "Oh uh-"

"My name is Rusen, and I am here to help," the being said gently to Arkiri, taking a seat beside Alana. "Alana, would you object to me returning your emotions?"

Alana blinked at him and tilted her head. "I suppose not."

Rusen nodded to this and took one of Alana's hands in his own, allowing his energy to flow through her and undo what Nareish had done. "You should feel more like yourself momentarily."

"Thank you," she told him quietly. Everything started coming back slowly so as to prevent her from being entirely overwhelmed. As such, she was able to cope with it.

Arkiri quietly approached Rusen, the latter gently extending a hand. "It is nice to meet you, Arkiri. You have done many great things for people, and I distinctly admire you for your life."

"Oh-" Arkiri murmured, a bit off guard from the suddenness of it. "Well, I certainly try to do my best. Thank you for helping Alana."

Rusen gave a small nod. "I had every desire to help her, as doing so will greatly help Sein." Alana stayed quiet as her usual worry for her family returned. But she didn't let the feeling fester too much, choosing instead to try and stay hopeful that things could get better for her husband. Rusen turned his gaze to Alana and smiled. "Your presence will help him greatly. He is currently resting, so perhaps you should go check on him?"

"I will," Alana murmured. She got up, said a polite farewell, and left the room.

When Alana left, Rusen turned to Arkiri. "I must be going now, but I will come to speak with you once more soon."

Arkiri nodded slowly to this. "I understand. Have a good rest of your day."

Rusen smiled a tiny bit wider at that, chuckling. "Thank you, and I wish you the same." He vanished without another word, leaving Arkiri to his own devices. The man walked away and began seeking out Kath. It would be good to see his adopted son again.

~保護者~

Just as Ryint appeared on New Babylon, Nier happened to do the same thing. He sensed her straight away and teleported to her exact location with a weary smile on his face. The God was battered and bruised from his most recent foray into Nareish's realm, but overall not that worse for wear. That he had virtually nothing worthwhile or useful to report to Cere and the others was something he did his best to put out of mind for the time being. "Hey," he greeted her. "You're a sight for sore eyes. Doing alright?"

Ryint gave a two finger wave, smiling to him. "Well, there's the missing bastard. You vanished for quite a bit there," she teased, walking over to Nier and nudging his shoulder. "The hell happened to you? You didn't go around messing with other girls, did ya?"

Nier let out a snort that was also a laugh. "Nah, just had to go back to my job for a while is all. Sorry I didn't have time to tell you before I had to take off."

The woman laughed and bumped her hip against his. "Good. If other girls were roughing you up, I'd have to get involved."

"It's fine," he assured her with a chuckle. "I'm fine, too, for the record."

"Figured you were," Ryint said, chuckling softly. "Looking kinda hot, too, all roughed up like that. You know anything about makeup?"

"No thanks, I'm good," Nier answered her. He stuck his tongue out for a second in a playful manner. "I'm not interested in wearing any, if that's what you're getting at."

Ryint clicked her tongue. "Damn, just when I thought I could make ya look like you've been in a fight whenever I wanted."

Laughing, Nier shook his head. "You're something else, y'know that?"

"That's how I like it," Ryint grinned, swaying around a little. "Keeps people on their toes."

After huffing out something in very ancient Babylonian, Nier asked her, "Anyway… what brings you here? Something up?"

Ryint smirked a little and pressed a hand to his shoulder. "Just so ya know, you can't get away with using the ancient language with me. I can understand you." She deliberately avoided answering the question, trying to keep the subject on Nier.

"I figured you'd be able to," Nier smirked back. He nudged her shoulder as well. "But, you know, distraction doesn't usually work on me. I still want an answer."

She clicked her tongue and sighed, taking hold of his hand and pulling him along. "Some shit went down with Saethrim and it set Ghune off, on top of a lot of other things. I came here to try and help lead Ghune's people while she's resting and protecting someone."

"Jeez, that bad, huh?" Nier crossed his arms. "I'm sorry to hear it. Need any help with anything?"

"Eh, I can probably handle it, but I've never been super good at the leadership stuff. Ghune's had the knack for it since day one," Ryint answered with an idle shrug.

"Want some company for a bit, at least?" he asked her. "I shouldn't have to take off again for a little while."

Ryint smiled. "Sure. I can get us some tea going, assuming I can get ahold of a few things, too."

"Sounds good to me," Nier said. He was quick to return her smile. "Lead the way."

Grabbing his wrist firmly, the woman launched herself across the area, firmly intent on taking him along. "Let's go!" Chuckling, Nier followed along after her. After all, it was no longer like he even had a choice.

~保護者~

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Nareish chuckled to herself. She had only just appeared within Saran's new home, mindful as ever to hide her presence from anyone, and looked at him. He was sitting in a chair against a wall, one leg crossed over the other. Apparently he'd been exploring some random knickknack or another with his fingers. "Even when corrupted, you insist on false pleasantries? You are as unusual as your father once was, Saran."

Saran answered her with a small smile. It was fake and she knew it, though she wouldn't have if she'd been relying on basic senses alone. She was rather curious about that. "I see that the corruption has affected you quite differently than it affects most. While most become angry and hateful, your uniquely mild and limited emotions have made you vastly more cold than anything else now. Quite interesting… but about what I should have expected, given how your father was."

"I suppose you of all people would have been familiar with him," Saran commented. He shifted in his seat and uncrossed his legs. "If I may, did you two personally know one another?"

Well, this line of discussion wasn't her original intention when she'd come here. But she'd entertain it for now. I am curious to see the depths of your newfound coldness. Are you capable of caring anymore? "I was very interested in that man and the chaos he could sow if ever driven down such a path," she admitted flippantly. "Cold though he was, however, he was oddly attached to you and your mother. I later discovered that his love for you both was the one emotion he'd managed to develop in his life up until that point. Courtesy of your Light-wielding mother, I'm sure."

She leaned against the nearest wall and continued. "The emotion was nowhere near as strong in him as it is for most, but it remained present. It kept him… stable, I suppose. Morals that meant nothing to him before falling for your mother suddenly mattered because she did. Then you came along and stabilized him further. He became as good a person as he was capable of being as a result of you both."

Blind eyes blinked slowly. "Eila implied to me that that did not remain true."

Now Nareish was smiling. Unlike his earlier expression, hers was genuine. "Not after you died, no. I had your murder arranged for that very reason."

There truly was no emotion anywhere within him when he took in this news and replied, "I see."

"Your mother's death when you were a child left that man in a rather fragile state," Nareish told him. "When you also died, it broke him entirely. Something in him snapped in a truly glorious fashion, and he became willing to do absolutely anything I wanted so long as I promised to bring you back at the end. I approached him with that very offer just days after he found and buried you, in fact. He, rightfully, never believed me… but he was shattered and defeated and desperate in a way he had never been before. So much so that he was willing to ignore logic and succumb to his emotions, to do whatever it took to have a chance of seeing you again."

Oh, she was grinning now. Reliving this was an unexpected treat. "By doing my bidding, he gained a reputation for torture, murder, and all manner of other despicable things. He was what Mobians or Babylonians might call 'severely mentally ill' or what have you. I don't believe he was truly aware of anything after the day he found your corpse. But even so, I ensured that those in charge of reaping his soul when he died would take none of that into consideration. It never even crossed their minds."

"They may have chosen to send him straight to hell without my interference, regardless," she continued after a thoughtful pause, "but I wanted to guarantee it. He served me well, but like Jet and Kaden… I found that the man suffers beautifully. In order to continue that bit of amusement forevermore, he could never be allowed to see his family again." Her grin faded from one of pure enjoyment to something more sly. "But you don't actually care about any of this, do you?"

As ever, Saran proved to be a very honest sort of person. "It was a passing curiosity," he admitted with a shrug. "Beyond that, none of it makes any difference to me."

"Good. Now, onto more important matters. When I arranged your death, I sent the Widow after you. Why do you think she was able to so soundly defeat you, hm?"

"Her powers and skills rivaled my own," Saran told her frankly. "What was powerful on Mobius in ancient times is clearly nothing compared to what was and is powerful elsewhere."

"How very astute. That will no longer be an issue, however. I unlocked your full potential when I corrupted you. Assuming you are ever purified, this will regrettably extend to your Light as well… but for now you will have to adjust to not having access to that power." Nareish crossed her arms. She did this purely to be comfortable, nothing more.

"I lost it as soon as you corrupted me. I've been aware of that from the beginning. Adjusting may take a bit of time, but I will make do."

"As you should. I will have a job for you soon. I expect you to be ready."

"Very well."

Nareish smirked a little to herself. "You understand that your hands will be sullied with the blood of all those who stand against me, even those you have been befriending recently… yes?"

"I understand that," he confirmed.

"And it truly does not bother you?" she further questioned.

This caused him to shrug again. "I have no opinion one way or another. Whether they live or die is of little consequence to me."

"Fascinating. This form of corruption truly is quite entertaining, I must admit." She pushed off the wall and walked over to him. With one finger under his chin, she tilted his head up so that he was 'looking' at her. "The Faein cannot save you. Enough Light has been brought back into existence through the likes of Analia, Rose, Kohaku, and others that your corruption doesn't at all threaten the balance. Do you understand? That means you're mine… and I intend to keep you forevermore if I am able. Someone as amusing as you are now cannot be allowed to simply slip through my fingers. The loyalty you have already been showing me is precisely what I, shall we say, 'programmed' into you. I expect you to continue to bow to that influence no matter what happens. Are we clear?"

"Completely."

"Good. Very good." Nareish stepped back in preparation to leave. "Continue guarding your mind from being read by others, as well as following my previous orders. Let no one know that I was here, or that you were corrupted. Hiding your aura and powers from the senses of others has always been a normal behavior for you and draws no attention. Continue doing that as well. The moment anyone senses your lack of Light, they will know that I have taken you. I don't want them to figure you out so soon, pet. Keep living life as you ordinarily would and keep up your apparently remarkable acting skills with regards to the emotions you longer feel." She chuckled to herself. "In short, they suspect nothing as of now. Keep it that way." With that said, she vanished before he could reply.

There were others she wanted to visit.

~保護者~

Marthal's anger was abated… for now. More or less, anyway. But the grief wasn't gone. The pain wasn't gone. How could it be? He'd not only seen his daughter die, which was horrific enough, but he'd smelled and heard it as well. For the first time, he was regretting being given his recent replacement hearing aids from Tails. When and how Tails had found out he needed them, he had no idea. Same deal with how Tails had gotten the devices to him. He suspected a teleporter. Not that it even mattered. This whole line of thought was nothing more than a bit of distraction. One that had already run its course.

Right now, he was seated beneath a tree. Ylden was long gone by now, leaving Marthal alone with Tyria. His knees were hugged up to his chest and his tail was coiled loosely around his ankles. His arms, meanwhile, encircled his knees to provide a place for his head to rest. This was how he'd been sitting since Ylden's abrupt departure. Only now did he finally lift his head to look at Tyria. He'd been given plenty of personal space again, and his nose told him she was close by. It was just… good to confirm that to himself.

Tyria dangled on a branch above him, calmly meditating and giving Marthal as much space as she reasonably could. She was pleased to know that he was relaxed now more so than earlier (not to say he wasn't upset), but keeping an eye on him was important to her. As such, she merely stayed right where she was, swaying in the silent wind. He took in her scent several times, working out the various nuances contained within it before lowering his gaze again. There was no point in bothering her, most likely. What would he even say? Nothing worthwhile, probably.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was one thing he could say. One thing he probably straight-up needed to say. He glanced up at her, even though for the most part he could only see her feet and tail. "Hey… Tyria? I'm sorry I lashed out at you. …And at the trees." He lowered his chin to rest atop his knees again, his tail tip twitching in response to a falling leaf he happened to catch sight of. His eyes followed its slow, drifting journey toward the ground.

I barely even remember attacking anything, he privately reflected. That's not… good. I haven't lost control that badly since I was a kid. How much did I wind up destroying? His stomach sort of twisted when he realized he didn't know. The chameleons really treasure their forests. They've been gracious enough to let me stay here, yet I just royally fucked up and probably burnt down who knows how many plants.

The chameleon didn't respond for several seconds, then she dropped out of the tree to land in a sitting position on the ground beside him. "I care very little. It is not an uncommon matter for a parent to lash out when something like this happens. I have personally witnessed it many times." She looked to him, setting her hands on her thighs. "I appreciate your concern, however."

Marthal didn't meet her gaze. In fact, he took care to avoid it. "Doesn't make it okay," was all he wound up saying.

"Then take care to avoid doing such in the future, if it bothers you so greatly," Tyria answered. "I can assure you that most would not be upset considering the circumstance you were placed in."

"It's not so simple to just magically prevent it," he told her with a frown. "I can't always control my actions and reactions to things. And not for lack of trying, either. Halfbreeds like me have a reputation for being dangerous and volatile for a reason."

"I didn't tell you to prevent it," Tyria answered gently. "I understand. I simply said to take care. Do your best. There are some things that cannot be controlled, like how my inherent Darkness is plain evil, and it affects me."

Marthal let out a heavy sigh. "Guess that explains why your Darkness smells so different from what I'm used to encountering."

"You likely would have noticed such with any chameleon," Tyria commented. "It is in our nature, though I have awakened mine. It would be more noticeable than most."

"I always noticed chameleons had a different smell to them, but you were the first one I'd knowingly encountered with active Darkness," Marthal shrugged. "I've met Espio before plenty of times, but I didn't even used to know he had Darkness if that tells you anything."

She snickered a bit at him, finding that amusing. "Heh, is that so?"

"When powers are dormant enough, it hides their scents," Marthal told her. "How was I supposed to know he had that?"

Tyria gave a little toothy grin, waving him off. "You couldn't have known."

He huffed at her in an effort to seem more annoyed, only for an amused mrrow to escape him instead. How this discussion of all things was managing to kind of cheer him up, he had no idea. "You just hush, 'kay?"

She smiled at him, watching Marthal for a few seconds. "I do not believe I will."

He huffed again and shook his head. "Yeah, fine, whatever." Things were quiet for just a moment before he asked, "Hey, so… where will you go now that your house is wrecked? I know your people fix their own houses and all that, but that'll take a bit of time. Plus it looks like it's gonna start raining any minute now."

Tyria shrugged. "I'll figure something out. I am usually not bothered greatly by rain, either."

"Well we're not all chameleons. I happen to mind rain quite a bit. Fur doesn't dry as quickly as skin, you know." Marthal put his arms up behind his head. "Wet conditions make it hard to use much fire, too."

She clicked her tongue and stood, sighing a little. "Alright, fine. Get up." He did as commanded, scrunching his face up a bit when he felt a droplet hit his nose. Tyria watched him for a moment before holding out a hand. "I will acquire us some shelter. Come with me."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Rather than take her hand, Marthal moved onto all fours in preparation to follow her. Tyria huffed, bent down, and grabbed one of his wrists before teleporting them both away.

~保護者~

With everyone except for himself, Tempest, and Calypso asleep, Sothan had been keeping busy in the forge. With an ease borne of an entire lifetime of experience, he'd swiftly yet expertly created a brand new mold for a magical staff. His earlier intention had been to make a sword with Li based on an idea he'd gotten from all their talk about chameleons. Putting that off for now was no big deal. He was a bit inspired by the potent ice magic he'd seen Xin using when the man had reappeared, so that was the idea he decided to run with. Funny how I've made so many weapons before, yet I've somehow never made a weapon that exclusively channels the so-called "basic", elemental magics at any point. How odd.

And speaking of elements… was that a spark of electricity he'd just seen? He stepped away from any and all metals that were immediately surrounding him and waited. There was another spark, only now he realized that it hadn't originated from within the building. A third spark flickered to life for just a second. It was then that he realized he recognized the approaching source of power. Ah, Eirza. It's been so long since she last came here that I forgot the effect her presence has on the materials and things.

Since he knew the woman would reign her powers in once inside, Sothan wasn't worried about it at all. He just walked to the door and opened it, which he happened to do just as she alighted on the rocky ground outside. He assumed that she, like Saethrim, was here to see Tempest. "She's inside," he told her briefly, already stepping aside to let her in.

Eirza took a moment to change her form from one of pure lightning, wind, and water to something more physical. It wasn't entirely, but at least the lightning was gone for now. "Thank you," she said as she walked by. He shut the door behind her. Without another word, he returned to his work and she walked to where she sensed Tempest sitting. Feeling haggard, she intended to only stop by for a few minutes to check on the other woman… but that plan was soundly derailed when she spied Calypso. She knelt in front of the couch Tempest was seated upon with her sister and demanded quietly, "What happened, Tempest?"

"Which part?" Tempest dared to ask. "Me getting ambushed or my sister losing her child?" She was visibly irritable just from thinking about it, but there was not an ounce of malice pointed in Eirza's direction. "'Cause it's all a load of shit."

Trekk is dead? Eirza took great care to control her emotions for the sake of both sisters in that moment. Her temper would do neither of them any good. "You appear to be healing alright… but she appears to be in shock. How long ago were you both attacked?"

"Not sure with Calypso," Tempest replied. "It was recent. Come to think of it, I don't know how long I was comatose, either. I was floating through space half-dead before Novei found me."

Eirza clicked her tongue. "Comatose? You? How could such a thing have happened?"

"Ah, some bastard with magic," Tempest said, waving it off. "We both know that's some of the only shit that can do a thing to me. Think it was similar to Ylden's magic. Destruction."

Eirza grumbled something under her breath before saying, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Therians recover from trauma very quickly do they not?"

"Mm… usually," Tempest replied. "I will be fine. I do worry for Calypso, however."

"That's who I was referring to, actually," Eirza murmured. "Most would take years to recover from the loss of a child… if they managed it at all. I expect it won't take that long for one of your people, especially since she has the support of her beloved sister all the while."

Tempest turned her head to look at Calypso. It made her blood boil to know that someone would do such a thing to Trekk and her sister's home. Her barely contained anger caused the floor to rumble, until she reigned herself in. "She may recover, but I do not know how long it will take."

"So long as you stay with her, I believe she will at least regain awareness sometime soon," Eirza said. "That means you mustn't take off. She needs you here with her. In other words, do not be reckless and take off, for her sake if nothing else." Rather than continuing to press this issue, Eirza sighed and changed the subject. "All that aside… I'm sorry I was gone so long and that you both were harmed. It wasn't my intention to not be able to help you defend yourselves."

"Meh, I'll be fine," Tempest sighed. "Not your fault, either. Doubt you coulda done much for her."

"Even so…" Eirza grew quiet and stood up. "Listen, and listen well. My realm has not fallen, but it has been… compromised, in a way. I have been locked in battle since the last time we saw one another. Nareish's soldiers managed to withstand the storms and invade. I chased them off for now. However, more will inevitably return. You can no longer seek sanctuary there under any circumstances. Am I understood?"

Tempest immediately glared. "Why do we not work together to drive them off? Surely the both of us together would be too much for most in existence. We have proven that we are a difficult team to overcome in the past."

"As I told you, they have already gone. And even ignoring that, you are not on your own anymore." Eirza returned Tempest's glare. "Your child and your sister need you. Here and alive. I will not permit you to jeopardize your own safety when I am perfectly capable of fighting on my own."

The Therian grunted and flipped Eirza off. "Fuck you, asshole. As if I'd die."

"I will not chance it, Tempest," Eirza answered, "and that is final."

"Never said I'd fucking listen," Tempest grumbled hatefully, turning her gaze away. Despite her words, she distinctly knew better than to challenge Eirza. It didn't matter whether she'd win or lose. What mattered was Eirza being right.

Eirza put her hand atop her friend's head affectionately, then removed it. "I'm afraid I must be going now, Tempest. I have not heard from Cere and the others in some time. And that goes both ways, I suppose. I want to go check on them."

Tempest grumbled a little under her breath about Cere, then waved her off. "Fine. Go on."

"Try to get some rest. Both of you." Eirza waved farewell and vanished in a gust of wind.

Don't you dare die. Tempest didn't give word to this thought, wrapping an arm more firmly around Calypso and settling in.

~保護者~

Haru woke slowly to the feeling of rain sprinkling down on him. Once the sensation fully registered, he pushed himself up just a bit and looked around. He was sitting on the same tree branch he'd been occupying earlier, the same one he'd apparently (not to mention unintentionally) fallen asleep on. What held his attention more, though, was the fact that Ryuji's house was currently empty. Where the hell'd he get off to? …Well, whatever, not like I'm his keeper or some shit.

Rain continued to fall. Soon, his new clothes were soaked. He looked down at the sack of garments Eila had left him with, and which he had subsequently left on Ryuji's roof. I'll have to hang everything out to dry once the weather clears. Sitting up the rest of the way, he stretched his senses out to check for any signs of danger. His apparent grandson and the cat he was always with, Shei and the woman who had claimed to be his partner… They were all safe. There was no danger. What there was insead was an annoyance - and it was headed right toward him. What was his name again? He considered that briefly. Right, Caer. The hell does he want?

The man appeared nearly as soon as that thought was over, standing at the base of the tree. "Yo! You're up there, yeah Haru?"

There was likely no escaping this. Especially not when he was still trying to heal from internal injuries that had already been reopened once today. Haru heaved a heavy sigh and reluctantly called back, "Yeah. Get your ass up here if you want to talk. I can't jump down to you right now."

Caer made quick work of getting up near Haru, taking a seat precariously on a branch that… certainly shouldn't have held his weight. "You doing alright?"

"I'm fine," Haru dismissed. He wasn't surprised by the branch Caer chose. Being able to stand, sit, kneel, or whatever else on precarious perches like that was a very basic shinobi skill, after all. "What do you want?"

"Figured I'd come see how things were going, since you've had some time to recover and cool off after everything that happened," Caer explained, smiling a little.

Haru huffed at him. "Like I said, I'm fine. Now that you've confirmed that, you don't have to stick around."

Caer shrugged. "Don't have to," he agreed with a slight smile. "All that aside, have you checked in with your son at all?"

That earned a sigh. "No. I haven't exactly been able to travel much since I got back to the Highlands."

"What happened?"

"An attack back in Zyr," Haru muttered. "I'm healing from it just fine." More or less.

"In Zyr? Who the fuck attacked you there?" Caer asked, immediately more concerned.

Haru was quiet for a long moment before relenting the information. "Nareish, I think," he admitted. "I don't really remember, but apparently I said something about it to the people who helped me after the fact."

Caer winced a bit. "Damn. Says a lot that you're still alive, though," he pointed out. "Not many could come out of something like that, even with help."

"Yeah, well, I got lucky. Supposedly an Immortal decided to lend a hand, too, for whatever damn reason."

"Hm. That's an unusual thing to hear."

"It doesn't matter anymore, for the most part," Haru said. "Point is that I'm alive and staying that way for the time being. I don't care much about the rest of it."

"Keep it up," Caer replied, giving a soft chuckle. "If you were dead, I couldn't come and bother you relentlessly."

Haru let out a huff that came out more amused than he'd intended. "Asshole."

Caer snickered a little. "Where's that other guy? The one that showed up and threatened to knock me out if I kept bothering you the last time we saw each other."

"Ryuji," Haru supplied. Then he asked, "Why do you want to know?"

A shrug served as the initial response. "Mostly just curious, really."

"I'm not his keeper," Haru said, following his earlier line of thinking. "He was gone when I woke up. None of my business where he decided to go."

"Fair enough. I figure that means you two are hanging around one another, aye?" Caer observed, glancing at the nearby home. "I can feel the remnants of his Darkness here."

"He 'politely requested' that I stay here while I recover," Haru replied. "That's his house." His mind briefly returned to Ryuji's offer of him living there as well. He still wasn't sure what to make of that.

Caer blinked a couple times, then tilted his head. "Figure if he was living there, he'd fix the holes and such."

"He doesn't see them as a big deal," Haru huffed. "Idiot's content to ignore them for the most part."

"Not a good thing, but then again… He seemed kinda troubled when I met him," Caer explained, shrugging. "Might have a lot going on in his head."

"Seems to," Haru said. He didn't elaborate further with what little information he had. It wasn't his place to do so. When the silence persisted for some time, he sighed and asked, "Did you need something else? If not, I'm gonna get back to my nap. I'm still tired."

Caer shrugged. "Nothing much. Take it easy and try to relax. Maybe those wounds will heal up quickly enough on their own."

"Yeah. Maybe." With nothing left to say, Haru laid back down and closed his eyes to return to sleep. Caer, meanwhile, teleported away to check on his son once more.

~保護者~

Keeping his flames at bay was difficult. Steam was shaking with anger, knowing now that he was about to go onto that accursed world. Still, though, he reigned in his emotions and sent a text to the Jet of his timeline. "Hey, I wanted to ask you to go get some sleep. You've done a lot lately, and I may need your help again sometime soon."

It took maybe a minute for him to get a reply. "Since when do you get to police my sleeping? You're even worse than me half the time."

"I get to since I know your wife. And that's beside the point."

"Whatever, Steam. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, then. I'll make you regret it if you do."

"I can't make that promise and you know it."

"Just try, dumbass." There was no reply after that.

Steam let the conversation end there. He'd already gotten the aid of Rose to collect their allies once he incapacitated them, and all that was left was to draw Kalek's attention. He focused his attention instead on the planet's surface, allowing himself the chance to look over the area he was about to appear in. At least five demons… Probably the best place to drop in. They've started spreading since everything went down with Kaden. Everyone's less organized. To some degree, he appreciated that. It meant he was far less likely to be swarmed.

The half-dragon he'd been waiting on appeared. Kalek hovered in space directly in front of him with his arms crossed. "Damn, didn't think you'd seriously follow through. Can't say I'm mad, though. Not a damn soul that'll oppose Tianak getting his ass beat."

A snort answered Kalek at first. "He's disorganized and weak," Steam muttered. "Can't hold a candle to any of the previous Gods or Goddesses of the demons."

Kalek took notice of the rage so carefully contained within the smaller body of this hedgehog. It almost made him smile. "Hah, yeah. Anyway, ready to get this show on the road?"

Steam cracked his knuckles and drew his blade. "Yeah. Use common sense when determining which of these corrupted bastards you kill. Mobian races for the most part are a no-go until I give the signal."

"Wasn't part of the deal," Kalek said immediately. "I'm fighting Tianak."

"It is now. Don't kill indiscriminately," Steam replied, clenching his free hand. "I'm here to retrieve my allies. You kill any of them, and I'll make sure your ass gets forcefully purified."

Oh, how he loved the spark of temper in Steam's voice. It made sense now why the hedgehog smelled like a demon. "Fine, fine, I'll play by your rules."

"Good." He didn't spare another word, appearing on the surface with a violent explosion of golden magic. Instinctively, he twisted and sliced the head of one demon clean off, then spiked the decapitated skull through the body of another. The last three he'd scoped out had died in his initial attack.

Cold, calculated anger had him at the hastily rebuilt citadel in an instant, kicking a door off of the wall and stepping inside. "Tianak!" he demanded. "I'm here to take back my allies. Hand them over now and I will make this far less unpleasant."

Tianak sat upon the ruined throne and stared down at Steam. A semi-Immortal, and not even a strong one. He's a Balancer… I believe. "What makes you believe I should listen to one such as yourself? You don't have the authority to demand something of me, imp. Sit down." The God of Demons could barely contain his shock when Steam simply was not fazed by the order he'd issued. But he's demonic… that should have had some sway over him, even with how little demonic blood is within him.

Steam walked forward, fists aflame. "Here's the one and only chance I'm going to give you. Give me back my friends peacefully, and I'll make sure you don't get beaten into the goddamn ground. You make this difficult, and it's going to be a nightmare for you."

When Steam was at the foot of the throne, Tianak stood and faced him, staring the other man in the eyes. "I'll delight in watching you have to kill your stupid friends to make it out of here, if you can even manage that." Throwing up a shield didn't protect him from the sudden punch, Steam's fist cracking through it immediately and sending him flying through the throne, destroying it anew. When he got back to his feet, he immediately issued the command for the demons to swarm and end this pest.

Tianak also couldn't have predicted the body that came crashing through the roof of the building, forcing him to sidestep to not be crushed. An unseen force then dropped him to his knees, one that he recognized quickly to be caused by Kalek's Darkness. "You traitorous bastard!"

"I'm not a traitor if I was never loyal in the first place," Kalek remarked easily, punting Tianak out of the citadel. With that, the two demons engaged in their brawl. Meanwhile, Steam simply walked out of the building, furiously cutting his way through whatever demons were foolish enough to listen to Tianak's orders. They hardly stood a chance in his eyes. Not if they were that moronic or weak-willed. He didn't quite care about the blood splattering over him, and soon his sights were set on another.

Locke was in the distance, steadily approaching. He'd sparred with the Locke of his own timeline plenty, so Steam understood it would take a lot of effort to stop him. Sheathing his blade and throwing the corpse of a demon at the echidna, he shot forward with a shout. "Leonas!" As Locke knocked the body away from himself, Steam slammed into him full force and drug the larger man into the sky surrounded by the body of a lion comprised of magic. While the spell protected him from Locke, it didn't do the same for the echidna. Steam relentlessly pounded at the man's chest (wisely avoiding his head) before pulling Locke into an unshakeable headlock until the man passed out.

He teleported Locke to Rose, then let his spell dissipate. None of his allies here could fly as fast as he could, so all of the demons that pursued him were swiftly engulfed in Light-fueled flames. Any that survived that were quickly dispatched with his fists. Steam then appeared on the ground behind Amy and grabbed her hammer before she could turn around, kicking her knees out from under her and dropping her to the ground with a well-placed hit to the side of her head. This was followed by him teleporting her away, like he had with Locke.

Steam snatched another demon from behind him and kicked it, pulling the demon into his attack and ripping it apart. Gah, fuck. Disgusting. Rather than assault his approaching wife with the half of a corpse in his hand, he tossed it back over his shoulder and rolled past her and under a swipe of her sword. When she pursued him, he literally punched the hilt of her sword to knock her off balance. There was no chance he'd remove that blade from her hand.

He whipped around and shot his own flames into the midst of Blaze's, twisting to dodge around another sword slash from Tara. Steam rapidly analyzed the situation he was in and ducked under another burst of flames. Tara was forced to protect herself from that, and it had her vision temporarily blocked. He used this time to close the distance on Blaze and pin her to the ground, trapping her in a headlock much like he had with Locke. Only once she was unconscious did he send her off.

His brief mistake was realized when a sword left a cut across his neck in the middle of him rolling away. Shoulda known she wouldn't be held back that long… With his fists aflame, now he had to face his corrupted wife. Like Locke, she was tough. It was one of the reasons he loved her, but right now he had to overcome it. Mind racing with possibilities, he found his chance after he stumbled over a rock. His foot shot up and kicked her blade back into the air. Steam rolled and twisted, slamming his fist against her defending arms. I love you, Tara, so forgive me. A foot came up and he winced as his kick connected with her chin. With her off balance, he grabbed her wrist and threw her to the ground, trapping her in the same headlock she'd done with Locke and Blaze.

With Tara now off of this planet and Rose taking them all to be purified, he only needed to check on Kalek and make sure the man didn't kill Tianak. Furious though he was, the man couldn't be allowed to die. Someone competent having that sort of role would be dangerous. Crouching down after teleporting onto the top of the citadel, he watched as Tianak was forced back further and further to avoid Kalek's powerful attacks. Neither seemed particularly injured. Kalek is playing with him like he's a damn toy.

Steam teleported over to the one-sided brawl and walked closer to Tianak, grabbing the man up by his neck. "You've already fucking lost. Leave, and never come back."

"I'm not going to listen to you," Tianak spat. He pulled at Steam's hand, trying to get free. What the hell? Why is this bastard stronger than me? He wasn't capable of thinking for several seconds after Kalek struck him on the temple, leaving him limp in Steam's grasp. He was vaguely aware of being tossed on the ground and repeatedly trampled and punched until Kalek apparently got bored and stopped.

When Tianak opened his eyes, Steam was crouched over him. "If you give up now, I can call Kalek off. I know people that he'd be far more interested in fighting."

The god coughed up blood, then spat it onto Steam. "You can't save your friends. They can't be purified." He was pleased by the sight of Steam's eyes shifting to a more demonic yellow hue… until the hedgehog had a death grip on his skull.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Steam demanded harshly, dragging Tianak up off of the ground. "Why can't they be purified?"

"Nareish said they couldn't be purified until I die," Tianak said, grinning. "You can't kill me."

"Like hell I can't," Steam snapped, throwing the demon's body directly into the ground. He was shaking again, thinking about every route he could take here. He settled on the best one, teleporting to the place he had last been with the Faein. "I need your help."

Utavi moved to speak, but Rusen beat her to it. "You can be granted aid, but only when you come down from the state you are in. No good will come of you killing him in cold blood." Aethra and Sul would likely have agreed with him, had either of them been awake as of now. The pair were sleeping nearby.

Steam took a look at himself in the mirror that Rusen conjured in front of him. His green fur being marred with blood was… well, that was expected. What he didn't like was that look and color in his eyes. He brought up that little bit of demonic instinct in me… I hate that…

Rusen and Utavi watched as Steam slowly and methodically calmed himself. Once he was calm, Rusen allowed Utavi to speak. "I'll remove his role from existence," she said bluntly. "Since there are more than enough beings bearing evil Darkness for the sake of balance, and the role of God of Demons has done nothing but harm that balance since sometime after it came into existence and our rest began… I see no reason for it to exist. You are free to kill Tianak and remove that threat from this war."

Utavi followed up those words by removing the coating of blood covering Steam's body, effectively cleaning up. Steam nodded to Rusen and Utavi. "Thank you very much." He chose not to wait for a reply, instead returning to Tianak. He and Kalek merely stared at the unconscious demon, both understanding that he no longer was the God of Demons.

"So… whatever you did, he's nothing special now, yeah?" Kalek asked.

"Never was. Just an impostor for something special," Steam replied, lifting Tianak off the ground. "And he won't amount to anything." He unceremoniously snapped the former God's neck, dropping his lifeless body once more. And he won't hurt my friends anymore.

Kalek blinked a few times and shrugged. "Eh, fair enough." With nothing better to do, the demon simply left. He needed something new to interest him.

Steam took in a deep breath and attempted to teleport back to Mobius, only to be forcibly held back. Mere seconds later, Nareish appeared beside Tianak's corpse and looked it over. "I must admit, the little roach held out a touch longer than I'd anticipated. Still, that fight was somewhat less amusing than I would have liked on his end." She turned her head to look at Steam, smirking faintly. "You, however, exceeded my expectations quite a bit. I'd intended to kill you before, but now… Now I'm thinking there's more fun to be had in keeping you alive."

"You're probably the first enemy of mine that actually gives a shit," Steam muttered, glaring at her. He didn't dare struggle against his bonds, knowing they were there without attempting. "But I'll give you one very simple warning. If you corrupt me, when I get purified, I'm going to take everything I can from you. Your realm, your followers, anything I get my hands on will be destroyed. Do you get that?"

"You're not the first person to threaten me with such, and you won't be the last," Nareish replied flippantly. "Besides, I've already taken far more worthwhile things from you than you can from me. You saved a tiny handful of your friends this time, I'll concede that… but the ones I've taken in the meantime are far more important than those ones were."

Steam briefly debated the idea of trying to trigger the medical alert on his communicator by forcing himself into a meltdown or anxiety attack, but quickly realized he wouldn't have the time. Nareish would certainly act far too quickly. "Let me put it this way, then. I'll be the first to succeed, and I will make sure that I take back what's been taken from me. Learned at a young age that you never let someone get away with taking anything from you."

"Hm, good luck with that," Nareish chuckled. "Only one of them can be forcibly saved by the Faein, unlike with the corruptions I carried out in the past. And I have every intention of keeping at least one of them even long after I've ended your little life."

"Good luck with that," Steam echoed. "Good fucking luck. You'll need it."

"No… you will," Nareish answered in kind. Her usual amused mood was growing. "I have a second Kathros, so to speak, working for me now… and I truly do not see any easy way for you to overcome that no matter what you do."

Though he understood what she meant, Steam merely gave her a smirk. "Then you obviously don't know who I am. I will do it." The fact that it's gotta be Saran… that fucking sucks, but I'll fix it. I promise. Especially for Analia and Kaden's sakes. It won't be easy, but I have to.

"You can keep telling yourself that all you like," Nareish said as she approached him, "but that does not change the reality of the situation. Now, I believe your friends will be missing you soon. Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Steam let his smirk fade, fixing her with a dark glare. "You'll see. Like I do with every person I face like I am with you, I will prove that I'm right. Let's get this over with."

Laughing, Nareish held a hand over his head and poured corrupted energies into him until the process was completed. For the sake of her own amusement and nothing more, she left his personality and attitude entirely intact. She then released him and said, "You are not to reveal any of this to anyone. Guard your thoughts and memories related to this from all, especially Eila. Understood?"

"She's gonna be the one that notices," Steam ultimately said. "I can't stop that, no matter how careful I am."

"No, but you can delay it," Nareish answered. "That's all that I require for now on that front. The main thing I want you to focus on is determining who you can take down and preparing to end them at the soonest available opportunity. Take down Eila first if you must."

Steam frowned a little in thought. "The issue is how clumped together people are. There's a lot of people that I could kill, but they're under protection. Like Li and Sona."

"Then tell me who you wish to target. Separating them from others will be a simple thing. You have until tonight to make your decisions." Nareish paused, then added, "The only person I am ordering you to take down is Cosmo. She currently holds two deity roles like Kaden once did, that of Life and Nature. I understand that Jet and Wave had hidden her world away so that none who were unaware of its location previously can find it… and I am also aware that you know where she is. Kill her and leave her world to wither away without her. I don't care who else you decide to kill beyond that."

"Yeah, sure," Steam said, waving his hand at her. "Your presence is irritating and I can't think with you around. Go the fuck back to your realm and let me figure this out."

Nareish chuckled. As an extra precautionary measure, she removed all traces of her scent from him. "Very well, then. We will speak later, wayward Balancer." She teleported away without wasting further time.

Steam groaned to himself and flipped her off behind his back, taking mild joy in the fact that she might have seen that. "Fucking asshole." He teleported himself back to Mobius and began his work, idly surveying the planet to see where everyone was. He had a job to do.

~保護者~

Cyril should have been anxious, but Eila quickly realized that the only emotion she could sense from him was raw determination. She, however, was terrified. They were not only approaching the man that she… no, Astra, had tortured for who knows how long, but also the only being in existence with a tie to the Void. And Jet was under the influence of said energy as well. Eila had every reason to be concerned. The woman latched onto Cyril's emotions rather than her own, knowing that her only chance of making this all work was to stay calm and rational. As such, she let any of her natural spells fade away and focused on silencing the fearful thoughts in her mind.

Whether or not she realized it, Cyril was just watching and waiting on her. He could feel in her presence just how shaken up she was over all of this happening, but he chose to not bother her or speak. It was apparent enough to him that she was overcoming it all. Once he was sure that Eila had collected herself, Cyril made the final teleport for them both. He could feel that unusual energy, so tracing it wasn't exactly difficult.

The pair immediately found themselves in the company of Jet and the Void. Jet had been flying through deep space to destinations unknown, but he stopped as soon as they appeared. For whatever reason, he didn't immediately attack them. There wasn't even any particular reaction to Eila's presence. He just crossed his arms and coolly demanded, "What do you want?"

Eila looked to Cyril, who then motioned for her to go ahead. She was the one with a plan. "I… I came to ask you something. I've been wondering about it for a long time." Her hands trembled at the sight of Jet, but she refused to let her anxiety overtake her right now. If she was going to have a panic attack, it wouldn't be in front of anyone else. The hawk in question, meanwhile, just waited for her to get on with it. "When you purified me, while you were in that awakened state… Why did you do it? Why didn't you just kill me when all I've ever done to you is hurt you?"

Glowing purple eyes narrowed at her, but even now Jet refrained from attacking. He seemed to give the matter some thought, less about the answer to her question and more about whether or not to reveal it to her. In the end, he did the latter for whatever reason. "The Faein see all things - past, present, and future - at once. For a brief moment, I was able to do the same. Your future was almost guaranteed to be nothing like your past. I chose to preserve that potential rather than simply end your life."

She paused for a few seconds before staring at him, brief confusion outweighing her crippling anxiety. "I… I see." Rather than question him further, she shrunk away a bit and motioned for Cyril to do what he was going to do.

Cyril quickly spoke up for Eila's sake, looking over at Jet more fully. "I came to ask a question… and for a sort of favor. I want the power to deal with the woman who keeps corrupting Wave's dad. I… I hate seeing someone do such horrible things to magic, and I feel like I have to stand up to it, but I can't face her like I am. She'd kill me."

Now Jet was frowning. He knew immediately who Cyril was referring to. "You expect to be able to fight the Widow, of all people, alone?"

"...Yes," Cyril answered. "I think that, if I was strong enough, I could stop her on my own. That's why I came to you."

"This fool has quite the spark," the Void silently commented. "Interesting."

"Shut up. I'm thinking." Jet was quiet for a moment before unceremoniously transferring the necessary Privilege over. "Do what you will. Kill her if you can, or die trying… it makes no difference to me."

"Wait, wait, wait," Cyril immediately cut in. "Kill? I can't like, contain her or something?"

"No. Even pretending it was possible, it isn't enough. She, like her master, needs to die or the danger she presents to her victims will never truly go away." Jet leveled Cyril with a cold glare of sorts. "This is the nature of war. Death is unavoidable and inevitable. Get used to it."

Cyril felt a bead of sweat slip down his head as cold fear began washing over him. He could handle this attitude, he'd met people like this. It was the thought of killing that bothered him. "If that's how you're thinking, then I have something you need," he murmured, twirling the metal ball from Eila around one of his fingers.

"That thing is full of magic," the Void observed. "What do you make of it?"

Jet ignored the Void in favor of telling Cyril, "I'm not interested."

"Woulda been easier if you were," Cyril said, closing his hand around it. "'Cause I definitely don't know what's about to happen."

Jet subtly shared a glance with the Void, though only he was able to see the being. Neither was quite sure what to make of this comment, and both soon decided that they didn't much care for it, either. They debated rapidly back and forth for just a second or two what to do about it, with the Void heavily in favor of just killing both Cyril and Eila and Jet temporarily uninterested in doing that. In the end, he just started to teleport away rather than bother with this situation any longer.

Cyril snapped his fingers and launched the metal ball at Jet while doing his level best to tap into his luck power from the Faein. Jet instantly sensed the Faein's influence in a way Cyril and Eila couldn't. His eyes were able to see the way that reality changed itself briefly to suit Cyril's needs, causing both his teleport to inexplicably be blocked but also that strange metal ball to hit him even faster than he could react.

It was that damn luck power and he knew it, but the lack of surprise on that front didn't prevent him from being somewhat pissed about it. Not that he was able to focus on that for very long, though. Memories suddenly started slamming through him, causing him to wince and put his head in his hands. They were all memories of the Void, and they were coming too fast for him to immediately make sense of them all.

Protective as ever over him, the Void dragged Jet away from Cyril and slammed an attack into them both to knock them away. An unheard snarl accompanied the act, then it vanished with its companion in tow. For whatever reason, it didn't bother even attempting to actually kill them right then. Cyril was able to draw up a barrier that protected them both from most of the attack, and even then he took the brunt of whatever was left and went floating through space.

"What the fuck, Cyril?" Eila demanded, staring at him. "I understood that you could shift reality but you just interrupted the teleport of the most powerful Immortal to exist!"

Cyril shrugged from his upside-down position. "Dunno. Some sort of power from the Faein. Luck. Seemed to come in handy."

"You could have gotten us both killed with that act!"

"But I didn't," Cyril grinned, watching her.

Eila pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. "For god's sake, Cyril. You ever try a stunt like that again and I will kill you."

"Fair enough." The finch righted himself and focused his senses, tracing the source of the magical corruption he'd sensed within Han. "You should go, though. I don't know what I'd do if the Widow did something to you or Wave."

She watched for several seconds before floating closer, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get killed, Cyril. She's… she's gonna be tougher than Tianak by a long shot."

"I've got a bigger reason to stop the Widow," Cyril replied. "There's no holding back this time. I…" He tensed up and shook himself a bit, fighting off the tears in his eyes at the thought. "I'll kill her if I have to. Jet was right about that. She… she has to go."

Eila winced at the thoughts racing through Cyril's mind, frowning. I can't help you… but I wish it was me. Not you. Such a pure soul doesn't need to be tainted further. She could only grimace when he suddenly vanished, knowing full well what he was walking into. You better not fucking die. I still care about you.

Seeing that there was no use in staying here, Eila returned to her room. With nothing keeping her held together, no need for containing herself, the woman collapsed against her bed onto her knees and sobbed. Jet's appearance and actions had only served to dredge up the memories that she reburied after her own magic item brought them back to the surface the first time. She couldn't feel anything except for the sensations thrown upon her by her own past. Eila was rapidly overwhelmed and soon succumbed to an unrestful and nightmare-filled slumber.

~保護者~

17,424 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support, and I hope you all enjoyed. Since we won't post on Christmas Day, Merry Early Christmas everyone! Posted (at about 6:37 p.m.) 12-23-22.