Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this traumatizing confrontation… especially for the one who has to end a life.
~保護者~
"Tears Shed"
~保護者~
Cyril arrived in a flash of his rainbow magic, feeling his recently gifted power course through him stronger than ever before. It was… different, but in a situation like this, it was welcome. The staff he'd become so familiar with pulsed in his hand, and he tightened his grip. Focus. You have a job to do here. This is it… Don't get overwhelmed. Beat the Widow, save Han. Get them both done before it's too late to act. With his short internal pep-talk over, Cyril let his gaze meet the Widow, narrowing his eyes. "You've been trailing him."
Smiling, the Widow let out a laugh. She was standing in an isolated place on some nondescript world, seemingly doing nothing but walking before he showed up. Now she turned to face him. As always, her entire body was shrouded in shadows. No significant details or features could be made out. "Indeed I have. What is it to you, little birdie?"
"I'm going to ask you kindly to leave him alone," Cyril said, watching her carefully. "Once."
She smirked darkly. "And if I say no?" she drawled. "You haven't the courage to truly stop me. I could sense your distress from miles away."
Cyril took a deep breath and clenched his fist. "You don't know me, and you never will if you stay down this path. I… I will kill you if I have to." He didn't like the feeling of saying that, shaking a bit in frustration. This is my duty. I… I can't save her.
The Widow's smile grew. "That isn't quite fear that I'm detecting… but it isn't confidence, either. I have very little faith that you can follow through, birdie."
This is it. I have to do something. I have to act. "What's your name?" Cyril dared to ask. Knowing was better than the idea of treating her like some nameless monster.
"Mm, I suppose it's been too long since anyone has used it," she admitted with a thoughtful hum. "I don't believe even I recall it anymore. It isn't as though I miss it, though I am a bit curious now about what it was. Oh, well."
"That's… sad," Cyril said slowly, twirling his staff. "I wish I could help you, but you're so… so far beyond saving." Focus. Focus.
"You act as though I ever wanted 'saving," the Widow responded. "I chose this life. This is what I wanted. You don't get to feel sorry for me over it."
You don't get to tell me how I feel. Cyril lifted his gaze to her and took another deep breath. "You should prepare yourself."
She shifted her stance and raised her hand somewhat. "I should be the one saying that to you."
He knew better than to stand still, launching himself to the side and turning the ground into ice with nothing more than a thought. Don't hesitate. Don't mess up. You have friends to come back home to. Live.
With a huff, the Widow melted his ice and threw a fireball at him. She followed that up with a sly comment. "Elemental magic is child's play, birdie. Surely you have more than that in your arsenal?"
Don't listen to her taunting. Cyril raised a hand and dispersed the fireball before it reached him. The water from his ice trembled and launched at the Widow. Focus. You won't get anywhere moving this slow. She's too strong.
She disappeared briefly and reappeared a short distance away. Raising her hand again, she shot a beam into the sky that created a false moon, then used summoning magic to call forth a pack of werewolves. They were directed at him with a mere point of a finger. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were ignoring me. Am I that boring?"
Rather than letting her do what she would with the werewolves, Cyril snapped a finger, collapsing the moon in on itself. He then teleported the creatures elsewhere, nearby to Finis, and walked toward the Widow. "I figured you were just monologuing. Tuned you out for a bit there."
That made her openly laugh. "My, you are bold. No wonder my lady sees you as so amusing. I can see it now." She flicked her fingers, causing the ground to erupt into an explosion underneath his feet. This was the same spell she'd used to finish Saran off in ancient times, a fact which she remembered well. But she knew that this individual was much stronger than he had been then. Interesting indeed.
Cyril outright ignored the explosion, warping it around himself as his rainbow magic flowed around his body. "Try again," he challenged. "Because I'm starting to wonder if I was wrong to come so prepared."
Laughing some more, the Widow allowed her magic to form a visible aura around her. It looked sickly and disgusting, as though full of toxins or something equally repulsive. She vanished again, only to reappear a second later just centimeters from his face. From her palm she loosed a blast that sent him rocketing backward with undue force. He reappeared behind her in due fashion, however, magic exploding from the palm of his own hand as he ripped through the aura she'd created. "Again, Widow." If I can get her to overexert or overextend herself...
A flurry of attacks answered him, all magical in nature. Bolts of lightning, summoned creatures, crushing force, and multiple blasts were all aimed at him. The attacks had the distinct air of having no rhyme or reason to them, and it wasn't untrue. She was, after all, just about as unhinged as her leader. Just way less organized and cautious. Cyril took great care to redirect whatever attacks came at him, removing the summoned creatures from the battle entirely and counteracting the forces thrown at him.
The finch wasn't quite aware of the explosion of magic that surged from his body, cloaking him in a billowing rainbow. He slammed his staff into the ground and summoned an arcane storm, pelting the Widow with cutting winds, his own lightning, and piercing rains. When these managed to actually hurt her, her smile abruptly dropped and she scowled at him. She recognized the power of an Immortal when she felt it. "You have Privilege," she accused, almost in a hiss. She threw a myriad of bolts of different kinds of magic at him.
"You hurt my friends!" Cyril snapped in return, blasting the bolts out of the air with several controlled explosions. The finch shot toward her, keeping up the pressure with his storm and lashing out with kicks laced with untold magics, fully intent on making her regret what she'd done.
"And you fancy yourself capable of stopping me from doing it again?" she grunted, shielding herself as best as she could from the blows. Why is my Privilege from Nareish not protecting me more? How did he get so much?
"I won't let you touch anyone ever again!" Cyril slammed his fist into the ground suddenly, loosing a wave of magic under her feet. This is do or die! I have to kill her! This attack knocked her to the ground before she could catch herself, but she tried to cover her mistake by slamming her magic into him almost as a physical force.
A tear fell from Cyril's eye when he shot up to her and brought his fist to her face, throwing her back with every ounce of strength he could muster to break the force she'd aimed in his direction. He quickly followed that up with an explosion that pinned her to the ground along with arcane shackles that snapped around her wrists and ankles to keep her in place. She struggled, letting out a sound somewhat akin to a growl from between her teeth. It went without saying that she continued hurling attacks his way, but her options were limited now thanks to her position.
The finch destroyed her attacks with his staff until his grip on the thing shattered it. It only took one of them connecting for him to wave a hand and catch them all together, bundling the magic into a massive ball and crushing it within his own. "You've crossed the line, Widow."
Death appeared to be inevitable for her for the first time ever in her laugh. Rather than remaining angry about it, she smirked and chuckled lowly to herself. "So that's how it is… I see. Let's hope hell will be as fun as this realm was, then, shall we?"
Cyril raised one of his hands and pointed it at her, feeling the way his magic-filled tears streamed from his cheeks onto the ground. "I'll be sure to visit you…" He hated this, and it filled him with dread. He couldn't leave it there. "Goodbye." The God of Magic chose to spare her a painful death, tapping into some latent desire within himself and simply whisking her life away all at once.
He was shaking and sobbing, but he could see with his magic. Cyril waved a hand and buried the Widow carefully, causing a purple flower to sprout up where she was laid to rest. May you never be allowed to hurt another soul…
There was more to do before he could let himself be overwhelmed. Reaching out to Ylden, he made sure the man knew that the Widow had died. He knew his message was heard, so his focus turned and he teleported to Han. Maintaining a careful control of his emotions all at once and clearing any sign of his previous pain wasn't exactly difficult (he'd done this sort of thing with his magic shows in the past), but it was hard to keep the sound out of his voice. "H-Han?"
Han didn't react much (outwardly, at least) to Cyril's abrupt arrival. Promisingly, he didn't make any effort to attack despite the corruption filling his magic. That corruption was ebbing and flowing rather severely, proof of his internal conflict as he sat cross-legged in the dirt with his head in his hands. He still had Alonei's blood on him. "A'te vari?" he muttered after a long silence. ("What do you want?")
"I can stop this," Cyril explained. "If… if you let me act quickly, I can help you. I borrowed the strength of an Immortal, but it won't last much longer. I killed the woman who corrupted you."
The Hexan looked ready to argue or ignore him. He was prevented from doing either one when another Hexan, the one who had claimed to be his brother, appeared several feet to Cyril's left. Thane was badly wounded from the attack Han had launched against him and Alonei, but had cauterized the worst of the bleeding wounds with his magic already. As ever, he was hiding his aura. Despite his limp, he marched over to his twin and said sharply, "You will do as the boy says. I will not allow you to continue as you are."
His younger brother started to argue, but Thane wasn't having it. Stomping closer, he grabbed Han's hair and yanked his head up so that they were glaring into each other's eyes. "You. Will. Do. This," he bit out. "This is not up for discussion, do you understand me? This ends now, Han."
He stopped talking there, but that didn't mean their communication ended. Like most (if not all) twins, the brothers shared a deep connection that didn't require words. Their argument continued in silence for several moments before Han swatted his hand away and shoved Thane out of his personal space a bit. To Cyril, he forced himself to say in a strained voice before his thoughts could be influenced again, "Just get it over with. I don't want this."
Cyril hadn't planned on listening to anything else, appearing beside Han and grabbing one of his wrists firmly. If Han's mind changed again, it was important to prevent him from easily leaving. He allowed his magic to flow through Han carefully, working to tear away the corruption as rapidly as he could manage. Once it was clear that everything was gone, Thane sighed heavily. Whatever anger he'd been displaying petered out until the usual Hexan indifference returned. That was probably as close to relief as someone like him could get.
The finch blinked once. The power was gone, but… he didn't feel like he should stop. He extended a hand in Thane's direction and began working healing magic into his wounds. "Stay still."
Thane didn't pull away or try to stop him, but said, "You don't need to do that." There was a poignant pause. He dragged his gaze away from Han and looked Cyril over. "...Thank you for helping my brother."
"...Oh, you're his brother," Cyril repeated aloud, blinking slowly. "Just… just crap…" He realized suddenly that his body was swaying a bit, but there was one more thing on his mind. "You should come with me. Both of you."
Considering this didn't take long. Thane walked back over to Han and pulled him up to his feet by an elbow. The younger of the two Hexans was a touch out of it and trying to recover still from the sudden absence of corruption, but plainly fine. Thane cast a small Hex that cleaned him off before channeling some of his own energy to Cyril… if only to keep Cyril from outright collapsing. "Where?"
"With me," Cyril repeated, wrapping them both in his magic and teleporting the three of them onto Babylon next to Wave.
Naturally enough, this caused Wave to jump. "What the he- Cyril, don't do that!" she exclaimed once she'd recovered from her surprise a half-second later. Then she saw her father and uncle, neither of which were spared from being dragged into a vice-like hug. Already, tears were starting to flow down her face. That Han soon made the effort to try and calm her down despite not remembering her at all only made her cry harder.
Seeing this made Cyril shed a few tears. He moved to Wave's side and gently wrapped an arm around her. Seconds later, he fell asleep, leaned up against her. Sniffling, Wave let go of her relatives in favor of taking hold of Cyrils shoulders to give his sleeping self a much gentler hug. "Dummy…" she mumbled affectionately. Reaching out with her mind as best as she could, she tried to contact Eila. "Hey… I've still got a situation going on here with Jet's family, and now I have a sleeping Cyril on my hands. Think I can send him to you guys to rest? Poor thing's exhausted."
The reply was instant, and Eila fully connected them both. She sounded exhausted in her own right, even replying mentally. "Yeah. You okay? What's going on?" It took a few seconds, then Eila seemed to think of something. "Holy shit, is Cyril alright? He came back from fighting the Widow?"
Learning that that was what her friend had been doing was equal parts jarring and terrifying, but Wave vied for calm focus. "He's completely okay," she assured Eila, sniffling softly. "I don't know how he did it, Eila, but he must have taken her out since he came back in one piece. He even purified my dad somehow… and now he and my uncle are here, too. Everyone's alright."
"Oh my god… Fuck." It was evident that she was distracted, considering her next words were far more quiet. "He never ceases to impress… Just what the hell is he?"
"I mean… a deity?" Wave offered weakly. She went ahead and teleported Cyril her way before adding, "That's all I've got, sorry. You won't get useful information out of me on that one."
"...You weren't supposed to hear that."
"Too late. Get some rest, too, okay? At least try?"
"Probably can't, but I'll try. I might have an idea to help Han… maybe. With his memories. No guarantees, sadly."
Despite the warning, Wave couldn't help but feel hopeful. "Duly noted, but… I'd still like to hear more about this when we have a better chance to talk."
"Yeah… It'll have to wait until after I erase the Nocturne Clan from existence. After that's over, I can sit down with you for a few minutes."
There was… probably no point in even attempting to dissuade Eila from doing that. Wave just sort of sighed and said, "Alright." Eila simply ended the connection after that, leaving Wave to her family. Wave took that opportunity to say aloud, "So, uh… You may as well come out now, Aether. This is as good a time as any to meet tae and my dad." "I realize you met my dad a little already, but he doesn't remember right now. Go easy on him, okay?"
"Ooh!" The Aether appeared beside Wave and leaned down to inspect Thane. "Woah, so you're an uncle?" it asked, amazed.
The brothers exchanged a bewildered glance. Then Thane regarded the Aether with an odd sort of frown before answering, "...Yes."
"Woah," the being replied, smiling brightly. "That's super cool."
"I suppose." Thane slanted a mild glare at Wave. "What is this thing?"
"Um… would you believe it's a friend?" she offered. When his reaction was nonplussed, she sighed. "Existential energy. Aether. It's friendly, I promise."
It bounced on its paws, managing to not make a sound. "This is awesome. Han is safer, I get to meet an uncle, and things are so good!"
"Tell you what," Wave smiled. "Why don't you stay here and get to know them while I go check on Sein and Alana? Sound good?"
"Woo!" the Aether beamed, moving closer to Thane and Han.
With that matter settled, Wave turned and hurried out of the room before anyone could complain. Here's hoping tae's temper doesn't flare. Good luck, Aether.
~保護者~
Pyros landed with a heavy thud on the grassy ground outside some random forest he didn't recognize. He wasn't here out of any sense of familiarity. Dropping down into a crouch, he lowered himself forward onto his hands. A deep inhalation brought a myriad of scents to his nose that it took him a moment to sift through. Foxes, Mobian hedgehogs, Tokarians, cats, echidnas, some mixed species… Sheesh, how many people're crammed into one building? Another inhale. Huh. Kaden's been in the area recently. Wonder why. …Wait, his kid's hanging around the area. That explains it.
He moved back into his previous crouching position, arms crossed while he thought. Mostly, he was debating whether or not to continue into the forest and the den deep within its heart. Something's up with this place. Natural magic isn't rare on this world, but this feels vaguely sinister. Might be the sort that causes illusions, disorientation… that sort of thing. Best not to walk through it. Flying over the canopy should be safe. Now the only remaining question was whether or not he even wanted to go to that house in the first place. Following the scent trail Kaden had left behind when he'd traveled out of the area was also an option.
His wings stretched out behind him as he stood up. No matter what he chose to do, he was going to need to take flight. He was just about to give a powerful downward push with said wings to get airborne when a new scent reached his nose. It gave him pause. Another dragon? How the hell? Turning quickly, he lifted his nose toward the sky and breathed in again. No… a half-dragon. Corrupted with something, too. What is that smell? Something demonic?
Already, he felt a territorial growl building deep within his chest. He may not have recognized this place on sight in this era, but on an instinctive level he knew that this was part of his clan's home. This was their ancestral lands. However this newcomer was, they didn't smell like a member of his clan. He wasn't sure which clan they were from, exactly, but it wasn't his own. That meant they were trespassing. Modern rules be damned, he'd defend his lands if he had to. It all depended on what the stranger chose to do when they arrived.
The other dragon he sensed slammed into the ground nearby and immediately started toward Pyros. "Well, I'll be damned. Another dragon in this day and age? Thought I was the last of 'em alive!"
After a pause, Pyros snorted at him. Loudly. "You might've been. Hell if I know." He crossed his arms, eyeing him with suspicion. Definitely a demon. "What the hell do you want? You're on my land."
"I used to live here, too," Kalek chuckled, straightening himself up and staring up at Pyros. "Not just your land, bud."
"The hell it isn't," Pyros retorted. He didn't shy away from the staring, instead returning it full-force. "This was my clan's land. You weren't part of my clan."
"Your clan's a bit fucking dead," Kalek pointed out in return, snorting out a puff of smoke. "Kinda hard to claim land when there's no trace of your ownership."
"Territory claimed is done so forever," Pyros reminded, following a common line of thinking for dragons of his era. Then he huffed out a small flame mixed with a small growl. "The hell do you want, anyway?"
"Just wanted to come meet another dragon." Kalek flexed his muscles a bit. "Last one I saw was some dumbass I had to beat the hell out of. Left for a while, then everyone was fucking dead."
"...You weren't even on Mobius at the time, were you?" Pyros frowned. "Everyone who was was fully aware of our impending extinction. Even the damn foxes knew, and they always avoided us like the plague out of fear, like they did with many other things."
Kalek shrugged. "Wasn't my choice. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a demon. Got forcibly pulled away and the rest was history."
"You don't seem the slightest bit upset about that," Pyros said.
"Very observant of you," Kalek laughed. "Nah, don't give a fuck. Demons don't do that."
"All the more reason to hate their guts." Pyros flared his wings again in preparation to take flight. "Now get lost. I'm busy."
"No, you don't get to just leave, and I think we're heading to the same places anyway." Kalek spread his own wings, arms behind his head. "You got some allies here, eh? I got someone who's supposed to help me find a good fucking fight, and he's an ally of the 'heroes' in this forest."
"Yeah, no. I'm not tagging along with you while you debate going on some murder spree. I've got better things to do with my time." Pyros pushed down powerfully with his wings and took off high into the sky with that one motion.
Rather than take off like Pyros had, Kalek simply launched himself into the air with his legs, gliding on towards where he knew the home was. "C'mon, asshole. This way."
Pyros stayed where he was, his wings effortlessly keeping him aloft. "I said I'm not going with you. You can piss right the hell off." He turned around and started flying in the direction Kaden's scent had gone instead. At least he knew enough about Kaden's fighting abilities that he was sure the guy could defend himself should something go wrong.
"What? You think I'm just gonna go kill people?" Kalek asked, keeping himself airborne briefly.
"That's what demons do, jackass. Even foxes used to know that shit."
Kalek straightened for a moment, focusing on what was in the direction that Pyros was going. He chose to ignore Pyros. "What the hell is Kaden doing here?"
"He lives on this dumb rock, same as us," Pyros grumbled. There was a few seconds of contemplation in Kalek's expression before he suddenly shot past Pyros, pursuing the same thing the other dragon had sensed. Growling, Pyros focused on catching up. Once he had, he demanded, "The hell's your issue now? Thought you were hell-bent on going into the woods."
"Kaden was in another realm for a bit," Kalek muttered. "Fact that he's out means something happened. Shit might be going sideways."
"He smells fine to me, and so does the area around him," Pyros refuted. "If your nose is even half as good as a pureblood's, you should be able to tell that."
Kalek chuckled. "Nose doesn't get it all. Seems you're still a bit new to the universe."
This earned another growl, but Pyros entertained this line of dialogue. "In case your eyes don't work, it should be damn obvious that I just barely reached adulthood before I died. Not like I lived as long as you seem to have."
"In that case, listen to your goddamn elders," Kalek smirked. "You might learn how to do some shit right and live a lot longer."
"The only elders I listen to are my damn parents," Pyros grumbled. He left out the part about mostly just listening to them out of a sense of duty and not actual obedience. In truth, he'd always been too stubborn for that sort of thing, despite his love and loyalty toward them both.
"You'll probably change your tune once some of Nareish's soldiers get their hands on you," Kalek challenged. "But who knows, maybe you'll be too stubborn and get yourself killed. It'd be a damn shame, though. Your naivety is pretty fucking funny."
Pyros growled once more, much louder this time, and snapped his long tail across Kalek's side like a whip. "I don't know who you take me for, but I have no intention of getting my ass murdered again. I'll survive just fine without your damn 'advice'."
Kalek could only laugh. This man is hilarious. Maybe he'll get some shit done around here. "Better prove me right, or I just might have to prove you right about demons."
"Just shut up and fly," was the muttered reply. "I'm sick of your crap."
"Aw, kid can't talk and fly?" Kalek sneered. "Don't worry, it comes with practice."
"I'm more worried that the geezer beside me might crash and burn if he keeps getting distracted," Pyros responded in kind.
"Only time I've ever crashed was when a wing was ripped clean off my goddamn back," Kalek laughed. "Took a hell of a lot of work and 'convincing' to get some dumbasses to heal it back into existence."
"Idiot. How the hell did you managed to fuck up so badly you lost a wing?"
"You ever fight a creature meant to rip planets apart?" Kalek asked, as if it was a day-to-day action.
"Once. Didn't go well for our kind, in case you haven't noticed."
"Yeah," Kalek chuckled. "Doesn't work out well sometimes. I was flying away from an attack and the thing snatched me with its Darkness. Tore my body up."
"Hmph." Pyros left his reply there. He had nothing else to say to that.
"Don't get yourself killed," Kalek stated simply. "Shit's worse than it was when you were alive last. Don't feel like becoming the last of our race. Again."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Smelling the genuine intent behind those words, Pyros sighed and softened just a little bit. "I get it. 'Duly noted' or whatever the hell Kaden'd say."
"Nailed it on the head." With both dragons now out of things to talk about, they fell into silence and continued on their way. At least for now, they had a shared destination in mind. Now it was just a matter of getting there… without biting one another's heads off first.
Who knew, it might even just be possible.
~保護者~
It was hard to not notice the sudden increase in the number of spirits in the home. Hell, he could see them all, seeing as he was one. Myriu's father stood with crossed arms, watching as they moved about… seeming to follow around Satsuno. He figured that, since it was likely going to be difficult to get to him, he'd approach the other person he knew could see spirits in the home.
With this thought, he approached Kaden, speaking up. "Hey, I know you don't know me, but can I ask you a question?"
Kaden had been seated in the dining area, keeping half an eye on Zareil and Lia. He hadn't fully managed to save his partner from the child, though she was spared from doing any dress-up… this time. Blinking once, he turned his head to look at the spirit who had spoken to him. "You may do as you please," he murmured after a small delay.
The chameleon took in a deep breath (as little as that mattered). "I… I am worried about my daughter. It was discovered that she can see spirits, and I have noticed that they sometimes… wander a bit closer and interact with her more than I think is okay. Is there anything I can do on this side to help her?"
Kaden frowned at this. "...Spirits can physically interact with one another just like the living do," he said. "If you feel she needs protecting, it is well within the scope of your abilities to pull or push other souls away from her."
He blinked at this and looked around a little. "I've had very little luck with that. As it turns out, there's a lot of other souls here."
"So I noticed," Kaden sighed. "This is not typical behavior. I've seen nothing like it before."
"I wasn't surprised for a bit because of how many here could interact with my daughter and Satsuno, but… well, it seems to be worse than usual."
"It may possibly have something to do with a rumor I once heard, but…" Kaden trailed off with a shrug. "I never had any way of determining its veracity."
"What rumor?" A voice asked from above Kaden. It was Myriu.
Emerald eyes glanced upward. Kaden raised an eyebrow. "I assume this is your daughter," he said to the man's spirit.
"Heh, yeah," the man replied, looking up to his daughter. "Sneaking around as always."
"Like any shinobi," Kaden murmured. Then, looking at Myriu, he said, "My father, Satsuno, is someone I assume you know by now. I would hazard a guess that you have some awareness of his spiritual capabilities as well. Is that correct?"
The girl shrugged. "I mean, he's a conduit or whatever. Spirits are drawn to him, even worse than how much they're drawn to me."
"Yes. That is the rumor I was speaking of." Kaden tapped a finger lightly on the table in thought. "I never knew him or my mother back then. That information, whether true or not, could only have ever been hearsay to me. If he has told you that himself, however, then that is proof enough."
Myriu blinked a few times, then scurried off suddenly toward Satsuno, who was in his and Seiko's room. Her father stood in confusion for a few seconds, then looked at Kaden. "So… what am I missing with all of this?" Kaden gave that some thought, then offered another half-hearted shrug. The man shrugged as well after this, offering a hand to shake. "By the way, my name's Tae. It's been so long since I used it, that… well, I almost forgot."
Although he normally never accepted handshakes, Kaden went ahead and did so this time. "It is good to hold onto memories like that," he murmured as a word of advice. "Spirits who lose their sense of self too greatly become much like the souls you have been seeing here as of late. Lost, unstable, and potentially violent. Take care of yourself for your daughter's sake, Tae."
Tae smiled a little and nodded. "I'll try my best. Only just started being able to interact with my kid since she awakened her powers."
"She did so quite young," Kaden observed. "She has more potential than many I have met."
"She's always been talented, but got ignored," Tae said. "She's… I hope that she comes out of this okay."
"As of now, she is no longer ignored. She has you now, as well as everyone else who lives here. With this degree of support, I believe she will be alright." Kaden stifled the urge to frown at what he'd just been told. The implication had been clear. What kind of mother ignores her own child? What kind of parent of any kind?
Tae managed a smile and simply nodded at this. "Glad to hear it. I'm gonna go check on her." He looked in the direction she'd gone, then back to Kaden. "I appreciate your help, even if it was just advice."
Kaden inclined his head, then added one last thing. "During times when I am not here, speak to my father if spirits are bothering your daughter. His partner… My mother," he corrected himself (getting used to the idea of having living parents at all kept tripping him up), "can use her magic to get rid of them."
"I'll keep that in mind," Tae said, already turning to leave. "By the way, your partner has been staring," he pointed out.
Now that earned a huff. "She knows I can speak to the dead," Kaden grumbled both to him and to her. "She can stare all she likes."
Tae snickered a little and left the room, while Zareil simply raised an eyebrow. "Kid's father is dead?"
"It would seem so," Kaden acknowledged. "He has been dead for so long that he had nearly let the memories of his name slip away. With how chameleons age, she must have been only a baby or so when he died. It is possible she was not quite born yet instead, but I have no idea."
"Hm," Zareil hummed, shaking her head. "Curious."
"I suppose so," Kaden agreed.
"Tae is weird," Lia suddenly declared. "I could hear a little bit. How come he's so worried about ghosts if he is one? Can't he just kick their butts?" She looked up at Zareil. "You'd kick their butts if you could, right?"
Zareil blinked. "Er- I- I guess?" She scrambled, not sure how to answer that question.
"It is not so simple, Lia," Kaden answered in her stead. "Violence is not the solution to every problem. Even when it is warranted at times, it is not always enough to resolve things. But be that as it may, you do not need to concern yourself over it."
"Okay." Lia considered his words, then popped to her feet. "Alright, bye-bye pretty lady! I'm gonna go wake up Soren so we can play!" She dashed off without waiting for a reply.
With an exasperated sigh, Zareil leaned back. "Fucking hell. What kind of energy does that child run on? I cannot be asked to handle this as much as I have already."
"Many children in my family possess boundless energy at that age," Kaden said. "It is likely tied in with our high capacity for speed. She is just a bit more… expressive about it than most."
"No fucking kidding," Zareil huffed, nudging him as if to knock him over. "Your fault."
"How is it my fault?" Kaden asked with just a hint of complaint in his tone. He managed to keep himself from losing his balance in the chair despite her strong push. Full-on pushing hadn't been her intention and he knew it, so he didn't gripe about that.
"You know it is," Zareil answered without hesitation. "And I do not want to hear arguments from you." Kaden just responded by returning her earlier gesture with a huff of his own. In the end, the pair fell into a somewhat lighthearted silence. It was a moment of peace that they both sorely needed.
~保護者~
Holy shit… the Widow is dead. Ylden reeled from this information, the weight of such a revelation completely throwing him off balance. And it was Cyril that killed her. What the fuck is that kid made of to have taken on someone like her? He couldn't focus too deeply on that thought while sealing up the realm that contained spirits like the Widow. She couldn't be allowed to escape. Absolutely ever. He'd captured most of the others that had escaped already, but there were still a notable few missing. Namely, Amnikaribah.
Opening up a window to check on his daughter once more, the cat sighed. He couldn't let his thoughts roam, considering that would lead to him simply getting upset right now. Instead, he decided to take a short break from the hunt and check on something else entirely. A portal appeared at his side and he walked through, searching for a particular soul.
Sifting through the many spirits wandering the realm, Ylden was soon left in a panic. He moved faster, searched harder, but to no avail. My father is missing? Is he one of the escaped souls? With this knowledge, the cat stepped through another portal. He needed to move a bit faster and return his father's soul before the man's spirit was destroyed by something. Or maybe even someone.
~保護者~
"You're tense," Kial observed from where he leaned up against one of the outer walls of New Babylon's palace. Rose had just recently returned from purifying people and was giving them all a chance to briefly rest. "And worried. What's on your mind?"
"Something does not feel quite right," Rose murmured softly, hands on her hips. "I have no reason to believe something is wrong, but I feel it."
Kial tilted his head. "You worked alongside Steam to recover those who were corrupted, yes? And we both have reason to believe now that whatever issue was occurring here with Alana and Sein has been mostly resolved. What is bothering you?"
"I am unsure," Rose quietly admitted, staring into the sky. "And that is what I dislike about it all. I cannot quite grasp the feeling."
"I understand," Kial said. "In that case, why not go speak to Jet's parents? They are both knowledgeable and strong. They may be able to make sense of your feelings."
Rose didn't quite like that idea. In fact, it sounded like a miserable idea. Especially after so many years of relying only on herself and no one else. She frowned and looked back at Kial. He also appeared troubled. "What do you make of it?"
"You are a powerful being of Light," Kial answered. "One of the most powerful, in fact. Your main 'competition', so to speak, is the living incarnation of Light and her descendants. On top of this, you are becoming an Immortal. You may be slowly gaining access to new powers."
"I suppose there is some… truth to your words," Rose sighed, running her fingers through her hair to fix it after a breeze blew it aside. "I will likely need some form of training in due time, but…" Her eyebrows furrowed, and she shivered. "I cannot focus. Not with this… anxiety welling up within me."
Kial walked over to Rose and took hold of one of her hands, gently tugging her along. "Then come with me. We will go speak to Alana and Sein. I do not wish to sit idly by while you worry your life away."
The white cat blinked and followed, allowing him to lead for some several feet before wrapping him up in a firm, loving hug. "Thank you," she whispered. "I… thank you."
A small smile broke across the bobcat's face and he wrapped an arm around her. "Of course. I am here for you."
"I love you."
"Love you, too."
~保護者~
Right. This should be no different than reaching out to the Voice- Crap, I mean Ythene. I keep forgetting she's a person, not just some formless entity… thing. Sonic sighed and leaned back against one of the walls on the outside of Tails's house. He did his best to relax, despite how focused most of his mind still was on his family. With Amy and Blaze still actively in danger, everyone still grieving, and all those hasty burials… In truth, he wasn't doing well. It mattered more to him that everyone else wasn't, either.
Steam had urged him to contact Teyan for training. Hell, even Eila had told Sonic directly that she believed he had potential. Whether or not her belief was the same as the truth wasn't important. Becoming strong enough to stand on his own two feet and help stop Nareish might have been impossible… but wasn't facing impossible odds and overcoming them just part of the job description at this point? And besides that, he owed it to his family and friends to try. If he could improve enough to be able to protect them all, wasn't that the most important thing?
Okay, here goes. Let's see if she can even hear me. He took in a deep breath, let it out slowly, closed his eyes, and focused. "Hey, Teyan… it's Sonic. I'm assuming you know about me, at least a bit, from Ythene? Are you able to hear me like she can?"
Silence answered him. However, it didn't do so for long. An unfamiliar voice was soon echoing within his mind, sounding equal parts excited and surprised. "Sonic? This is Sonic?"
"Uh, yeah," Sonic replied. He was now also surprised. For some reason, he'd expected a more… formal tone. Maybe something like how his mom spoke. "Not too sure how this mental connection stuff works for the most part, but I'm assuming I reached the right person, yeah?"
"You most certainly did!" was the quick response. "Ah, I assume I know what this is about. You need training, don't you?"
"Yeah, actually. Someone named Utavi did… erm, something… weird, so I have the knowledge I need to use my Chaos and all that. I just don't have any actual practice." He crossed his arms in thought. "Oh, and I'm pretty sure at least something like ninety-five percent of my Chaos is contained within the Chaos Emeralds. If not more."
"Oh, those. I know all about those. I had them 'commissioned', you could say, in preparation for the birth of someone like you. It was inevitable that someone would be born who would surpass me." Despite how huge of a reveal this was, she sounded very casual about it. As if all she was saying was that she'd observed with her own two eyes that the sky was blue. "I, in a way, worked with one of the ancient Immortals to craft those jewels. She did all the actual work, of course, but I still know all their little secrets. We can and will release what they've stored since your birth once you're ready."
Sonic started to agree. Then his eyes popped open. "Wait- Wait, will that affect that weird Realm of Death thing within the Master Emerald?"
"Not at all," she assured him. "You made that without the need for that emerald, or any of the others. Even if you had used one of the emeralds to make it, you used Chaos to alter a small portion of existence, else that realm couldn't exist. It's a permanent fixture now. It's not going anywhere."
He heaved a heavy sigh, relieved all over again. "Okay… great. But, um, anyway… How do we do this? Like, when do we start?"
"Hm, soon. I have a few things going on right now, as do you. I'll contact you about this soon. Alright?"
"Alright. Sounds good."
The conversation ended with no fanfare. Already feeling a little better than he had earlier now that he'd gotten something worthwhile done, he moved to head inside. It was time to check on Silver and Kohaku again.
~保護者~
Eila, Cyril, Li… anyone after that is going to be difficult to reach. It won't take long for someone to realize that Li is in danger and arrive. I can certainly evade people like Cere, but I will have to move quickly for each and every other target. There is always the potential of those like Rouge or Wery, if they get separated from the group, but those are the three I can certainly deal with in due time if I move quickly. Steam blinked away the golden sheen in his eyes. If it wasn't for Pyros's sudden revival, he would've sent Kalek off to fight the Light users in hiding. That would have resulted in plenty of death, but that opportunity was gone now. He just had to focus on everything else. "Nareish. I'm ready."
"Understood," she replied. "Your intent is to strike at Eila first, is it not?"
"Have to. If I don't, she'll know something is up and take me out before I can act. Cyril should show up when he senses a magic user attacked, and that's when I'll take him down, too," Steam explained, crossing his arms.
"Very well, then. I will freeze the other members of that household where they stand so that you may engage with her. She, however, will be free to move. It's much more entertaining that way."
"Mm… Not like anyone in the house besides her is a direct threat to me. Worst of them is Tails, Kohaku, and Sonic." His assertion was ignored, though her amusement was easy enough to sense. "As soon as they're unconscious and I've dealt with Cosmo, here's the people I'm attacking in order… assuming I don't get stopped. I'll need almost all of them separated from their groups. Tara, Amy, Wery, Rouge, and Blaze. There's certifiably no way I get beyond these people because someone will show up and stop me."
"Go on, then," Nareish invited. "Give me a splendid show."
Steam took a deep breath and focused. He looked into Eila's room, peeking past her magic with a bit of training that the Eila of his timeline had given. Seconds later, he appeared in her room and wrapped her into a chokehold, bending back and slamming her head first into the floor of her own room. The woman hadn't even gotten a chance to react before she was rendered unconscious, and he discarded her body to the side. Crouching down, Steam waited.
Cyril appeared only a second or two after Steam had assumed this stance, hardly able to conjure up a shield before Steam brought a fist to the finch's chin. Cyril's body hit the roof, then fell to the ground in a similar state to Eila. When he was sure that the two weren't getting back up soon, Steam arrived at his next destination. Flames engulfed his hands and approached the great tree that was Cosmo, setting fire to the planet wherever he walked.
No sooner than he had arrived at his destination, Cosmo projected a see-through image of her previous body. It floated weightlessly above one of her roots. The serious look on her face proved she was fully aware of the danger. Her eyes never left him as she raised an arm and commanded the nearby Gardenians, "Maple, Holly, take the children and leave as fast as you can. Twig and Oak will accompany you. Go now." The four individuals grabbed the kids and departed immediately.
"I'm not here for the kids," Steam muttered, watching them all go. He turned his gaze back on Cosmo's projection and aimed a hand at her roots. "I'm killing Gardenia."
"All the more reason for them to run," Cosmo murmured. "Such innocent eyes should never bear witness to these things."
"Sad that the universe doesn't care," Steam replied simply, launching his flames across the roots he saw. He watched as they spread rapidly for the next couple seconds, then turned away. "Goodbye." The hedgehog didn't stay much longer than this, simply teleporting himself away. Such was the power of his attack that, by that time, the Goddess of Life and Nature was already dead.
Steam was given no time to say or do anything else. As soon as Cosmo was dead, the Faein stepped in. Or, more accurately, just one of them did. An unseen force ensnared Steam and pulled him far away from the planet. It wasn't a rough action, nor did it result in him being harmed in any form or fashion. And, by the time he was out of the solar system and well within a neighboring one, all traces of his corruption were gone. She was sure to rid Kath of his corruption at the same time, since any corrupted Immortal was a threat to existence by merely, well, existing.
Aethra, it turned out, was the one responsible for the intervention. It also turned out that even the Faein were capable of seeming vaguely drowsy under the correct circumstances. Nevertheless, she made quick work of simultaneously releasing Steam and reaching out her powers beyond this realm into another. "Nareish will no longer have the ability to corrupt others," she explained for his benefit. The power in question was removed from Nareish before she'd even finished her sentence. "Nothing comes of it but suffering. The need for balance to be protected trumps her need to have her free will not trampled upon by us. Therefore, I have done what is necessary. I have severed her control over her remaining victims and purified Kath as well."
"As for the people of that world…" She sighed softly. "I will sustain them and their planet. With or without their Mother Tree, they will not wither away. None shall perish, and I will personally revive their Goddess when I have the strength. In the meantime, I will inform the parents of those children she was guarding that they are safe."
She opened her eyes and turned around to fly over to Steam. She knew he didn't have a good relationship with his biological mother, but that didn't stop her from carrying out a potentially unwanted motherly-ish gesture. Namely, brushing her fingers across his cheek while glancing over him to ensure he wasn't harmed too seriously. She then removed her hand from his personal space.
"How do you fare, young Steam?" she asked him quietly. It went without saying that she knew the answer already, but there was nothing wrong with letting him speak his own mind freely. "You have been through a great deal as of late."
He didn't want to answer that question, fresh tears welling up in the man's eyes. He didn't want to admit his pain, so he refused. "Can't the planet be maintained by a similar God or Goddess?" Steam questioned. "Cosmo managed it for so long…"
"Ideally, yes… but my kin and I need a very short time to find someone new to take on her old roles," Aethra murmured. "Cosmo had not yet managed to heal the planet from the wounds the Metarex caused it so long ago. A new deity is needed for now. I believe Rusen and I can handle finding replacements."
"You already know, I'm sure, but Kial is a candidate to consider for God of Nature," Steam explained. "I know without a doubt that he can be trusted."
Aethra smiled softly. "You are correct, Steam. He is indeed the best fit in this era. I intend to speak with him very soon."
Steam wasn't quite sure on who could take on the Life role, so he didn't attempt to provide any sort of answer. "That's good…" Fuck, Eila's going to kill me…
"If you feel ready, I can return you to Tara now," Aethra said. "And I can send you two to a quiet space so that you may sort out your emotions in privacy."
The hedgehog was quiet for several seconds, then simply sat down and put his head on his knees. "I don't… I don't really want to talk to anyone…" he admitted quietly.
"Would you prefer to go somewhere on your own for now, in that case? I will personally ensure your safety while you are away from your allies."
"...Can I stay where you four have been resting?" Steam asked quietly, shrinking into a tighter ball.
"Of course you may," Aethra agreed. She seamlessly warped them there and formed a chair. bed, and bedding for him. "My only request is that you not wake Sul or Utavi unless something urgent comes up. They must rest a bit longer before they can be up and around again."
Steam nodded softly and curled up under the blanket, wrapping it tightly around himself. "Okay."
"Take care, Steam. I will inform your wife that you are safe." With that final farewell, Aethra disappeared.
He chose to shut out everything once she was gone, falling into a weak sob. I just killed Cosmo… I was going to kill Tara. I hate this.
~保護者~
It had been maybe two minutes since the attack on Cyril and Eila, and Steam's subsequent departure. Teyan appeared on the scene with a flash of rainbow-tinged white energy, Chaos in a nearly pure form. That flash faded away into nothing while she rushed to Cyril's side. "Cyril?" she demanded. Her eyes were wide, particularly when she saw that he wasn't the only one who was hurt. A girl, too… but at least Sonic is tending to her. Everyone else appears to be recovering from some sort of paralysis. What happened here? "Are you alright?"
Cyril more or less refused to stand up for the moment, holding a hand to his head. "My head is killing me. Feels like I got hit by a boxer or something."
The term "boxer", being as unfamiliar to her as it was, didn't garner any reaction from Teyan. She conjured up a small amount of Chaos in her hand and held it over his body. "My apologies if this feels strange, but it should be enough to heal you."
"Whatever it takes to kill off this migraine," Cyril whined, pushing himself up to his feet. "It was so bad I couldn't see."
"Stop moving, you big baby," Teyan reprimanded him with great gentility. "Moving makes headaches worse, you know."
Cyril waved that off with a huff, shifting forward and yelping in surprise when he simply bumped into Teyan. "Oh, crap, sorry!"
That got Teyan laughing. "Calm down, it's alright," she smiled. "But I am serious about you sitting still for a minute. You are capable of that… yes?"
"Nah," Cyril replied. "Not at all." He managed a short lived smirk, then got a bit more serious. "I'm worried about what's happened after we got attacked. He targeted Eila, then waited for me to show up. That's bad."
"It is, yes," Teyan sighed. "Whatever happened or didn't happen isn't within my power to sense, though. I'm not connected to the deities, Immortals, or anything else of the sort. Only my sister, and she has no awareness of this attack at all."
Cyril clicked his tongue and waved a hand. What should have appeared was a sort of window that would let him trace the magical energy of whoever had attacked him, but what actually happened was merely a few sparks and a pop sound as the spell failed. The finch was briefly caught off guard by this, standing up a bit straighter. "Is… is that man dead?"
Teyan's eyes went big and she shook her head. "I think… the Faein may have stepped in. There's no way such a simple spell, especially cast by you, should have failed unless they took that person to their 'realm' or whatever it is."
"Woah," Cyril said, waiting a couple seconds before admitting, "I don't understand a word you just said aside from 'spell' and 'you'."
"Okay, quick life lesson, then," Teyan said as she withdrew her Chaos. "You know about the Immortals, and I assume you know how many are allowed to be in existence at once, right?"
"Uhh… yes," Cyril answered, trying to buy himself a precious few seconds so he could properly remember the answer. "Four?"
"Mm-hm. Now, the Faein were essentially the first Immortals ever. They were the first… anything, really. They're omniscient, can't be killed by absolutely anything, can create life, worlds, realms, and so on at will, created the first four races - including yours, by the way - and so much more. They also gave every living being free will, and they protect that free will as much as possible." Teyan crossed her arms. "But… when something happens that threatens existence, such as a normally good Immortal suddenly turning very evil or something like that, they can take action. Those are emergency situations, and they'll take drastic action if they have to. Something must have happened with this situation that fits the criteria if they saw fit to intervene."
All of this somewhat sunk into Cyril's head, but the main thing he got out of it was, "Oh, right. Now that power I got from them makes sense," he chuckled.
"You're something else, Cyril," Teyan said with an amused shake of her head. "But, anyway… Now that you're better, I can leave you be to check on all your friends. I've got to go check in with Cere and the others to make sure nothing else happened."
Cyril nodded to her and smiled, shifting closer long enough to wrap an arm around her in a hug. "Be safe. I'll be more careful from here on out."
"You'd better," Teyan agreed, poking him in the ribs for emphasis. She returned his friendly hug for just a moment before backing away, giving a polite farewell, and vanishing.
The finch smiled a bit more, then turned his focus to tracing where that magic had gone. He had to know what happened. Where did you go…?
~保護者~
Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap. Sonic dropped onto his knees beside Eila's prone form and laid a hand on her shoulder. His sharp ears could pick up the sound of her heartbeat and breathing with supreme ease. That brought him some relief. Okay… he didn't kill her. She's alive. Thank god. Mindful of her injuries, he tried shaking her just a bit to see if she'd wake up. "Eila? Can you hear me?"
The woman didn't shift for several seconds before ultimately groaning. Her psychic powers suddenly yanked Sonic up off the ground. "Fuck you!"
"Whoa, hey!" Sonic yelped. "Dude, chill out! It's me!"
Eila blinked once and cleared her vision, looking up at Sonic. She gently set him back on the ground, then groaned. "Fuckin'... My head hurts."
"I'll bet it does," Sonic said. "If Amy were back yet, I'd ask her to help heal you… but she's not. Think you can take care of it yourself?"
"No," Eila muttered, stumbling her way to her feet.
Sonic reached out a hand to steady her. "Then take it easy and sit down. Pushing yourself isn't going to help anything."
"I'm gonna fucking kill him," Eila snapped, eyes glowing dangerously. "I'll fucking-" She cut herself off with a cry of pain, hands gripping at her head.
"Okay, that's it." Sonic marched over and (albeit carefully) forced her to sit back down. "Don't make me tie you down with Chaos, Eila, because I will. Stay down and give your body a freaking minute."
Eila glared hatefully at him, but otherwise listened. Her anger was quickly muted the moment that Rose appeared in the room beside her. She had just sent Amy and the others back here now that they'd recovered a bit, then sensed the panic. "Holy fuck, what happened to you?" Rose asked softly, immediately taking her sister into a hug.
"Steam showed up and blindsided me," Eila bit out, immediately leaning into the touch of her younger sister. "Attacked me, then did the same to Cyril. That's all I've picked up from the few thoughts I could read when I woke back up."
"Can you heal her?" Sonic was quick to ask. "She said she can't handle it herself just yet."
"Already am," Rose answered, tightening the hug on Eila a little more. "Where is Steam? Do you know?"
"No," Sonic answered truthfully. "And I'd prefer that you guys didn't kill him. He was obviously corrupted. No way he would have attacked you guys otherwise. It doesn't make what he just did any better, but he doesn't deserve to die when none of this was his choice." Just like with Dad, Amy, and the others.
Eila hadn't quite recognized that corruption might have been the reason Steam did this, and it quelled her desire to spill his blood well enough. "He knows more than we thought, then," she mumbled. "He knew to come after me."
"Yeah, he did," Sonic acknowledged with a sigh.
What the hell did he do after coming here? Eila asked herself, tapping her foot on the ground. When she didn't speak aloud, Rose did.
"I am very glad you are okay, sister," Rose said gently. "Truly. I was deeply worried that worse had befallen you and that I was too late."
Eila looked up at her sister and managed a soft smile. "I'm okay. Thank you for coming to check on me. Please, don't stay long, though. I'm sure that whatever you were doing is much more important."
Rose shook her head. "No, I will stay here for a few minutes. I want to make sure you are really okay. You took a nasty hit and my healing does not cure all, not always."
With a huff, Eila nodded. "Alright, fine. We'll check around and make sure everyone else is okay."
"Of course." Rose pulled her sister into another firm hug, relishing once more in the fact that her sister was alive and there in front of her. It felt good to be here with her sister. I'm so glad you're safe…
~保護者~
There was one more thing Aethra felt it necessary to do before returning to her kin. All of Steam's allies need to know who has been corrupted… and just how bad it is. Spreading the information to everyone who was conscious was a simple task. However, she left Eila and Cyril out of this message for the moment. The pair had only just regained consciousness and were being checked on. She knew their allies would get them all caught up soon enough.
Actually, this one ally may handle almost everything on her own. You have quite the tenacious descendant, Eona. It would seem it is well past time for someone to lend her a hand. Aethra focused her powers on Analia from a distance. In no time at all, she was healed and so was her exhaustion. There you are, young one. May you never face such prolonged torment ever again. With her work finished for now, Aethra disappeared as though she'd never been there at all.
Analia, meanwhile, woke from her slumber within Nier's guest room the very instant she was healed. A grim revelation was echoing in her mind. "Silver, Cream, Laralei, and Saran are all corrupted. They have mercifully been spared from doing anything at Nareish's behest, and I removed her ability to control them. I have no energy to purify them after all I have done already today. I must regretfully leave that matter to you all. And I must advise caution as well. Saran's corruption is far deeper than the rest. He will not go out of his way to hurt you all, but please be careful regardless."
Cold fear rushed through Analia. That had never been enough to freeze her up. If anything, it spurred her into immediate action the vast majority of the time. That was certainly the case now. She wasted no time in getting out of bed, stepping into her sandals, and teleporting straight to Tails's home on Mobius. In truth, she was sort of reeling and it was a touch hard to focus as a result. Grandfather is alive? I haven't seen him since I was just six or seven years old. She wasn't going to see him now, either, as far as she could tell. If he was here before, he is not now.
There were other victims to focus on. Quick as Lightning, Analia filled Cream and Silver with her Light and purified them. Doing so was… more difficult with Silver. Light cannot affect other Light users, but he has a large enough sliver of Kaden's Darkness within him for this method to work. Much to her relief, it was indeed enough. The pair were purified before anyone in the building even had a chance to react to the Faein's earlier warning.
Sonic scrambled to his feet and rushed to them both, but his eyes were on her. "Mom?"
"Just a minute, please." Another teleport took Analia straight to New Babylon and the person who was the source of the rest of her shock. Queen Laralei lives again as well. How long have they been back? I was not aware of this in the slightest. Purifying her, as had been the case with Cream, was a quick and simple process. As a result, she was able to return to Sonic and the others again in no time at all. She greeted her son, grandson, and apparent great-grandson with warm smiles and hugs, then turned her full attention to Cyril and Eila. "Are you both alright?"
Eila looked to Analia and nodded. "Yes. We were both tended to, but the both of us were specifically targeted. It seems as if most others were ignored in favor of putting us down."
"It would seem so," Analia agreed. "I am glad that you both have recovered, however. It is good to see you all again. And you as well, Rose."
Rose passed along a soft smile, while Cyril winked and snapped his fingers. "Pleasure to see you as well, Analia. Been a bit too long."
"Certainly, it has…" Analia gave her son in particular a very apologetic look. "However, I cannot stay long. I have someone else that I must try to lend aid to. This cannot be delayed."
Hearing this, Eila narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "Who?" She likely wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't required to have immediate attention.
"Regrettably… my grandfather," Analia answered with a heavy sigh. "He was corrupted by Nareish, but the Faein who spoke to me was unable to forcefully purify him." She turned to give Sonic, Silver, and Kohaku one last hug each before starting toward the door.
When Cyril started after her, Eila made a split-second decision and shut down the mental faculties of the finch before he could so much as respond. He was swiftly teleported to a bed as Eila herself moved after Analia. "It's Saran? He was corrupted?" Sorry, Cyril. You desperately need sleep and we don't have time to argue.
Analia didn't protest against her newfound company as the pair emerged outside. "Yes, he was," she confirmed. "I do not know how or when, only that my Light will be unable to affect him in any capacity. My hope is to convince him to accept help elsewhere, assuming the corruption has not set in so deeply that he will completely refuse."
Eila frowned deeply. "That's bad. If it's anywhere near as serious as you're making it out to be, we…" She didn't want to explain her thoughts, leaving them in silence.
"It is dangerous, yes," Analia told her. She stopped walking and turned to face Eila. "That is why I must recommend now that you turn back if this is not something you wish to be involved in. I cannot in good faith drag you along if you desire to remain safe."
"I've resigned myself to the idea that I may well never be safe again," Eila murmured. "I wish to be involved, for reasons beyond the fact that he has helped me once already."
Upon hearing this, Analia regarded her with quiet eyes. Then she sighed. "We will speak more about the matter of your safety another time. Come, we must hurry." She teleported with Eila in tow.
Finding Saran didn't take long. It wasn't like he was hiding, after all. He was standing amidst what little remained of some ruins from his own era, using his magic to "see" the myriad of engravings on what few stones were still sitting there in the dirt. If he had some connection to this location, she couldn't guess at what it was. He had just one unguarded thought that Analia was able to hear with her telepathy before he sensed that he was no longer alone. So much history in this place… all tied up in words and left to decompose. Just like the mortals who left them here.
Almost as soon as the thought was finished, he turned slightly to face those who had interrupted his quiet contemplation. Analia was struck in equal measure both by what she did and didn't sense in his aura. There's so much evil… only tempered by extraordinary coldness. But for how long? He still has some emotions… to an extent. How long until one of them causes him to do something his real self will always regret? How do we even purify someone who cannot be affected by Light?
Stepping forward had the potential to be risky, but she did so just once. Seeing him had rattled her more than she'd anticipated it would, and she was eager to avoid confrontation if at all possible. "Grandfather…"
There was no change within his aura. He clearly knew who she was, recognized her as easily as she recognized him, but he had no emotional response to it. "Leave me be," he warned her, turning away again. "I will make you bleed if I must."
"I… cannot…" she murmured. Rallying herself, she spoke again. "Grandfather, we need you to come back with us. We must find some way of purifying you, before you do something-"
"Evil?" he finished for her. He turned back around to face them a second time. "Nothing I may do that you deem 'evil' will haunt my dreams, Analia. None of it matters any more to me than the dirt beneath my boots. I don't mean that to be a metaphor, mind you - my words are completely literal. Accept it or don't, but this is the truth."
The emptiness of his tone and his words gave Analia chills. This was so completely unlike the reserved but ultimately warm man she remembered from her childhood. Still, she didn't show any outward signs of discomfort or fear. With no emotions currently at play within him, he was uniquely unpredictable. There was no telling what he might do or when or even what his motivations might be. Especially not if he were to spot a chance for an easy kill. Would he strike, as those with normal responses to corruption typically would? Moreover, her grandfather had always been the type to bark after biting. He wasn't one for idle threats, the very few rare times he saw fit to make any threats at all.
It was better not to chance it.
"Do you remember what you always used to tell me when I was small?" she asked him once she felt steady again. Blind eyes blinked at her. "'Your choices today will shape your tomorrow, little one. Choose wisely, always.' This doesn't just apply to children, and I know you know that. Would you like to stay this way forever, despite how it will affect your future?" When he didn't answer her, she pressed the issue further. "You are more than what you have become, Grandfather. You remember what it was like to be your true self, don't you?"
"Perhaps," he admitted both softly and vaguely, turning his head away as though to contemplate the horizon he couldn't actually see. "Who knows? There isn't a point in spending the time to figure it out."
This wasn't working. This line of dialogue just wasn't working. She wasn't getting through to him at all. It wasn't inciting any internal conflict whatsoever. And yet he was still here, entertaining the conversation for some reason despite having threatened her with violence not two minutes before. If she could just discern why he was doing that, perhaps she could figure out the right thing to say to him to make him listen. "Before the Faein intervened and returned your free will… did you speak with Nareish?"
Saran crossed his arms and tilted his head. It was a posture she recognized, one that nearly always indicated curiosity or thoughtfulness. She suspected the latter this time around. "I did," he soon confirmed.
"What about?" she asked him. Is this even the right line of questioning? Will this give me the insight I require?
He shrugged but answered. "I went searching for the truth," he told her. He was being vague again. "And, like a fool, I found it. But some questions are best left unanswered, I suppose." Despite what emotions such words would have carried with them for most, there was still absolutely nothing in his own heart. A flicker of curiosity that she hadn't previously noticed, perhaps, but that was all. It petered out almost as soon as it came to life, anyway.
Eila decided to join the conversation, another deep frown set upon her face. I can't… just let him go on like this. Now that she was focused, she could teleport the book that Saran had taken from her before into her hand, holding it in front of her. "Saran, do you remember taking this from me?" she dared to ask. "Do you remember why you took it?"
Saran regarded her silently for a moment before acknowledging the question with a simple, "I do."
"You stopped me from becoming like your father for the second time in my life," Eila murmured. He didn't seem to have anything to say to that and instead gave a light shrug. It came across as very dismissive and unconcerned. "Do you know what lies in the future of those who are corrupted?"
"I don't particularly care," was the blasé response.
Don't get emotionally invested. Emotions will do nothing for you here. "What do you hope to do with yourself, walking this sort of path? For what purpose do you live?" Eila pressed.
"I do not need a 'purpose'," Saran told her coolly. "I will do what I choose, when I choose. That is all that I need."
"Then what is the point?" Eila continued. "Why not lie the fuck down and die?" Stop. You're getting wound up.
"You fool yourself into believing that everything has a point to begin with when the opposite is often true," he answered.
"When is such an idea ever the truth?" Eila muttered. "What things have no point?"
He opted not to answer that question, instead asking one of his own. "What exactly do you believe this will accomplish, either of you? I know what it is you want, but my stance on the matter will not change."
Eila glared openly, teleporting the book in her hand into her room. "I believe that some part of you understands logic, but you've firmly planted your feet in the ground of stubbornness. You refuse to see that the only thing awaiting you is oblivion or death."
"I understand perfectly," Saran informed her, still expressionless. "Your mistake is assuming I care."
Then someone needs to stop you... before you can take another step. Eila would have raised one of her hands, but she heard Rose's voice within her mind and grimaced. Shit. Forgot she can do that. She has those telepathy powers…
This still wasn't working… but Analia had to give it one last try. Taking in a deep breath, she said, "You were always at your best when you were living your life to protect and love others. I may have been small back then, but I remember that clearly. Does losing all of that truly not bother you in the slightest?"
Saran sighed. Almost, he seemed annoyed. But just like with the previous few times emotions had revealed themselves within him, it was there and gone in a flash. "I'm fine with being the way I am. I neither want nor need anything to protect or love."
Eila gently gripped Analia's wrist and pulled on her. "We should go," she murmured.
There was no use arguing. Analia knew the truth of her companion's words. "You are right," she conceded softly. To Saran, she said, "But I will seek you out again. No matter what it takes, I am going to find a way to resolve this. I will do what I must for your sake, whether you want me to or not."
Her grandfather turned away. "Stand in my way again, and I will bring you pain. This is not a threat, mind you, but rather a promise." He vanished as soon as he finished speaking.
You won't lay a finger on her. Eila stared at where he had been standing, then tugged on Analia again. "I'll figure this out. Give me time. I can come up with an answer." I won't let this go, either. I can help. I know it.
"It may not be possible to do alone," Analia said, shaking her head. She went ahead and teleported them both back to Tails's house, but she kept them both outside for the moment. "I have never seen corruption such as that before. His behavior was… strange. Very strange."
"I won't do it alone," Eila murmured. "Not a chance I can. We'll need an Immortal. Someone like Sein. We can't wait for him to be enough of a threat that the Faein can save him." By that point, there won't be a reason to save him anymore.
"No, we cannot," Analia had to agree. "However, virtually all purification methods rely on using the hatred and anger caused by corruption to undo it, by undoing them. That cannot work this time."
"Well, Cyril discovered how to simply remove the corruption from a magical being, so maybe his brain will have a fucking answer."
"I suppose we will have to ask him once he has slept an adequate amount, then." Analia thought the situation over for a short time before continuing. "In the meantime, there are people I should inform of this situation, lest something happen because of him that people are unprepared for."
Eila glanced to Analia and nodded. "I'll come up with something while you do that. If he returns for one reason or another to bring harm, I will protect the people here. Return when you're done."
"I will. Thank you for all of your help and effort, Eila." Analia offered her a smile and a polite bow before teleporting away. The deities had to be informed… just in case.
You deserve every bit of it. Eila teleported herself to her room once more, summoning up her magic. She still had two races to make extinct once more, and now another corruption on her hands. For now, further sisterly reunions would have to wait.
~保護者~
13,586 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support, and I hope you all enjoyed. Also, Happy New Year, everyone! Posted (at about 11:20 p.m.) 12-31-22.