Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this discussion… especially for the one who knows so much.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Eh, you can trust 'em just fine. Like you said, they have good reason for the lies. XD Yeah, lying in real life definitely does suck, though. I will agree with that.

~保護者~

"Age-Old"

~保護者~

Two days after retreating to Mobius, Sonic finally got an answer (via Tails) to a question that had been bugging him. "So… that freaky call we got was probably courtesy of a demon," the fox was telling him. The pair were standing in Tails's workshop, allowing him to work while they talked. "Specifically, Jet's concerned that it was a literal threat pertaining to that god of demons that we were telling you about."

Sonic frowned deeply. "...He thinks that thing wants to kill us and steal our souls?"

Worry pinched Tails's brow as he carefully cut a wire. "I mean, it isn't as though it's not possible." His worried look, much to Sonic's surprise, quickly faded after that. "Jet insists it's being dealt with, though, so we'll be alright."

There wasn't anything Sonic could think of that qualified as a reasonable disagreement to that, so Sonic just sighed. "Okay… new question, then."

Tails glanced up at him. "Yes?"

"It's about Shadow." That caught Tails's attention more thoroughly. "He wasn't home much yesterday, so I kinda explored the house a bit."

Before Sonic could even continue, Tails stated simply, "You found his arsenal."

Initially, Sonic was surprised… until he decided he wasn't. Of course Tails knew about it. He shook his head in open confusion. "He has enough firepower in that house to put guns in the hands of every soldier in a large army, Tails. Why?"

"Well, think about it," Tails shrugged. "Maybe that's just what he intends to do if and when he deems it necessary."

That made Sonic frown. "What?"

"Think about it," Tails repeated patiently. "Shadow's in the process of taking over your dad's throne, Sonic. That means that all the people on Mobius, every last one of them, are coming under his protection. As their leader, he'll need to be able to provide the means for the people of this world to fight for themselves in the event that they need to. The Tel'or haven't come here yet, but we all know they will someday… if they aren't stopped soon enough."

Sonic's frown deepened. "You think that he's anticipating some sort of war or something?"

Immediately, Tails shook his head. "No, I don't think that's what he's thinking." He turned to Sonic to give him a moment of full attention. "I think it's something different. See… when Jet was still king of New Babylon, he got involved in a number of wars. Mostly against the Therians, mind you, but it still confused me a bit because I know he always hated putting his people through that."

"So you asked him one day," Sonic guessed.

"I did," Tails nodded. "What he told me surprised me, but… it makes a lot of sense. He said that Kath had always told him, 'A wise king never seeks out war, but must always be ready for it'. And I think that that's the same mindset Shadow has right now."

Sonic had to admit… that made sense. That does sound like the sort of logic Shadow might consider following.

"We as a people been vastly under-prepared for large conflicts before," Tails continued in somber tones. "No one was prepared for it when Gerald crawled out of the woodworks to terrorize South Island, nor when Ivo later showed up to do much the same thing. We weren't prepared to fight forces like Dark Gaia, the beast Chaos, or the Metarex. We had no means of properly fighting against the Nocturnians, not without outside help. And we certainly couldn't combat Malevolence." At all of these painful reminders, Sonic winced. Tails dropped his gaze. "I think Shadow wants to prevent circumstances like those from ever arising again… and I do, too."

Emerald eyes closed heavily. "So do I," he admitted quietly. "I don't think I could stand a massacre like those happening… ever again." Once was already too much, back on South Island.

Tails nodded a little. With little else to say, he simply murmured, "Yeah."

Seeking to lighten the mood up a bit, Sonic eventually spoke up again and asked a new question. "...So, Jet's not the king anymore?"

"No, he stepped down years ago." Tails turned his head to look over the device he had been tinkering with. "Once Hannah was properly trained to take over, she did that and he stepped down. See, passing along the Babylonian throne is less about birth order and more about which one of the current ruler's children wants the throne and shows the most potential as a ruler. So she took over instead of Suri, who never expressed any interest in ruling."

"And Ten was never eligible because he isn't part of the family by blood," Sonic remembered aloud.

A nod. "Yeah, exactly. So, Hannah's descendants have been ruling since then. However, there have been three or four separate incidents in the past that forced him to take over again until the next of those descendants was capable of taking over again. But those incidents aren't important anymore these days."

Taking the hint, Sonic went ahead and let his questions about said incidents fall by the wayside. "And he's not ruling now, right?" Pretty sure Tails once mentioned there being a queen right now or something.

"Right," Tails confirmed. "One of Hannah's descendants, Syrin, is ruling. She's the current queen. Jet doesn't interfere with her rule at all. He trusts her implicitly to treat their people well and take care of issues as they arise and so on." He paused to think for a moment, then added, "But like I may have already said sometime before, he also doesn't visit too much, unless 'business' of various kinds require him too."

Sonic's right ear twitched. "For the same reason that he doesn't come here much, huh? Because of the memories?"

"I think so," Tails agreed, "but it really is only speculation on my part. He's never said anything about it one way or the other, after all."

"Mm, sounds like him," Sonic mused.

"Quiet to the bitter end, that one," Tails said, managing a chuckle.

"Got that right," Sonic responded, slowly smirking.

Tails turned fully back around in his chair to work on his device some more. "Some things really don't ever change, do they?"

After giving that some thought, Sonic smiled a bit. "No… but I'm okay with that for now. At least in situations like these."

"Agreed."

Sonic closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. Familiarity is its own comfort, he reminded himself. Comfort is… desirable during dark times. He let out a breath of air akin to a sigh. If only it would last, huh? After a while, he quietly asked, "Hey, Tails?"

"Yeah, Sonic?" Tails replied easily.

"How long has it been, anyway? It's really difficult to keep track of time in the emerald, and no one's mentioned how much time has passed since my death. At least, I don't think anyone has."

Tails appeared to think for a time. "Hm… I don't have an exact number like Jet probably does, but I do have the closest estimate anyone around here can give you."

Hearing that, Sonic opened his eyes again. "Okay. What's your estimate?"

There was a slight pause, then Tails offered Sonic a slight and apologetic smile. "I'll tell you only if you promise not to freak out."

"I don't 'freak out', Tails," Sonic huffed, eyes rolling.

"Sure. Just promise."

"Fine. I promise. Now tell me, would you?"

Tails once more turned around to grant Sonic his full attention. "This is gonna sound insane, but I promise you this is the truth. See… far more time has passed than I think you even realize." Blue eyes met emerald ones. "Sonic… it's been over eight million years."

Sonic froze.

~保護者~

1,355 words this time. Short, but important. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 11:35 a.m.) 11-05-18.