Queen's note: WELP I have to break this chapter up and it's still pages long. The main feels is in next chapter! mwaahaha

Garnets

Chapter Seventy Nine:

The Rage and Pain of the Sons

Valen looked so incredibly disheveled and wet where he was pinned, and just resigned to his fate that the Slayer, who just went through the same thing, laughed. The sound rasping and the voice breaking several times but it was a vast improvement from even that morning with the healing the Wraith had done. Valen grunted as he was unceremoniously dropped beside the Slayer and the mortal almost hidden his lap.

The Wraith was swinging her head up and locking onto a familiar soul, Mila froze in spot as she had been helping Zanin up to his feet. Staring at the blind Wraith's large muzzle coming closer to sniff.

"...is that…this, normal for, ah… wraith god things?" Lily asked in a small voice, staring at Valen as he tried to wipe his face and head clean. Feeling the sound of John's laugh as much as listening to it given her spot. Something was different about Valen, but Lily could not place it right away.

"Bastard King," The once Commander reached out to smack blindly at the Slayer's back, starting to roll over to sit up. "And for our Mother here… yes. Bastet has always been more hands-on than other Wraiths, Lily. Just without…hands."

"Bastet?" Lily echoed the name, recognizing it from watching documentaries with her family. She looked surprised and then confused, was that not one one of the old Egyptian gods? One tied to cats?

Lily starred up at the dragon like being with the crocodile, or alligator, like features. Something did not compute. She was feeling dizzy again staring at the massive creature, and then started as John moved. One large hand lifted and surprisingly gently rested over her eyes and head, blocking the view of the nearly titanic size scale of Wraith.

Reassurance. Affection.

The earthquake deep rumble of the slightly rough primordial was oddly comforting as the Slayer shifted his other shielding arm. Trying to wrap Lily's hands in his free one, letting her hold on as tight as she needed to be grounded again. Remembering what it was like to fully meet Bastet for the first time.

Admittedly John had thought she was a really old, strange wintherin at first. It took him an embarrassing long time to realize that she was a Wraith, even after seeing her full body.

Lily pressed her head into his palm, her breathing getting back under control as she calmed down with a blocked view. John shifted her in his lap and leaned over, almost like what he did with Gaia. Only there was not the same possessive air. He was notably calmer compared to then, but he was trying to be a physical shield against the world, and the sight of the giant Wraith.

John lowered his right hand from over Lily's eyes slowly, and helped her take her mask off. This chamber was likely the only place that had better air than the Fortress. The Slayer was pretty sure it would be good for Lily, and he bent to press his cheek against Lily on something like a hunch. Just to the side of instinct maybe, but that motion oddly helped his human calmed down best right then.

Flower. John signed carefully around his human, moving slowly as she held onto his left wrist. My Flower okay?

"I'm dizzy," Lily admitted to him, it was like seeing space for the first time on the bridge with no sense of feeling anchored. She focused on the smaller details in John's gloves, to help with that feeling.

The warn spots of where he held his weapons, and the groves in the metal on the edges and back of his fingers. The odd layering pattern of tan, brown and gray on the inside of his hand on the gauntlet. His hands still had some staining from fighting the different demons in his time so far on Argent D'nur. Lily became aware of the size difference between his hand and her own again, wondering when she had gotten used to it.

"Feeling any better?" Valen asked as he got up to move over in front of the two, missing his helmet as well, but he was being left alone for now as the Argenta man was not trying to get away from the blind Wraith. He watched Lily peeking up but trying to focus just on him, then curling up to press her head back against the Slayer's still open palm.

"I feel weird? Like when Gaia gave me the gift?" Lily tried to explain, gripping John's left wrist as tight as she could. She squeaked as Valen reached forward to press his right hand over top of her heart, his own wraith gift pulsing.

"Bastet smoothed out your gift," Valen said, not that surprised to find that unlike Gaia, this Wraith reinforced the bond between Lily and the Slayer. Instead of leaving it exposed.

"Hold still," The Wraith demanded from somewhere above.

"Mother Bastet!" Mila's voice protested from above as well, being moved, almost fully opening the massive jaws on her own strength. Unknowing that the Slayer's marks on her forearms were glowing bright red to the two primordials. "This is not needed-"

"Yes, it is. You all stink, and I will not have my children reek of Jakkad now that I am awake." The blind Wraith snorted, huffing a breath of energy at the Sentinel. "What drained your gifts? Who's been incharge of keeping our children on track while I was asleep?"

"Mother Wraith, please put the Captain down-" Zanin was asking, concerned as he stood back up with the Phantom, who also looked concerned.

Valen glanced up, tracking what was happening but he and John did not seem that concerned. Valen turned his attention back down to his human charge, then reached to pick something off the ground and looked over the two saplings O'ri and their container. "You likely can use your wraith gift a bit better now."

Lily suddenly realized what was different, Valen looked healthy. He had always had a slight ashen undertone to his darkly tanned skin, but it was almost completely gone. More copper and undertone? Definitely not a pink undertone like humans. Yet Valen definitely looked healthier than the last time Lily saw him, even the staining from so many ages fighting and having demon blood on him was gone.

Turning in John's lap, Lily stared up at him next. John tilted his head, arching an eyebrow back at the intense staring. Then huffed as Lily reached up, poking his right cheek that had the larger scaring mark and was still damp. Eerie blue eyes softened a bit as Lily rang her fingers over the line. "Hm?"

"It's not as dark?" Lily asked confused, looking back over to Valen again.

"Bastet is a Mother of Warriors," Valen looked up as the Wraith in question was using her tail to grab Malum. Demanding to know why he was hiding under his fur and the odd wolf armor instead of serpentine and feathers like his mother Ceres. "She and her younger sister Sekhmet were the founding mothers of the Sentinels, more or less. Energy from her will heal fighters the best.."

Sekhmet?

Again something fiddled in Lily's mind as she sort of recognized that name, but not fully placing more than a possible documentary. "If…Bastet is here, is Sekhmet in Taras Nabad too?"

John winced, looking down as his left hand closed slowly over Lily's other. Remembering one of the large bodies he had to climb in Hell, that painful crawl as the ember soul hummed to him and only really recognizing the feeling of the wraith too late. Remembered the feeling of what was left of that Wraith's soul curling around him to heal before seeming to wither away.

At the same time that Valen was cringing a massive shadow passed and then came back as Bastet was looking down at the three between her forepaws.

"My younger sister Sekhmet," The blind Wraith Bastet spoke with a soft tone that seemed to make Valen cringe more. "Is not in this world anymore young one, she has moved onto the Eternal. You are not to blame my son, neither of you are my sons. Sekhmet never placed blame on you Valen, and someday she will emerge from the Eternal when she's ready."

"It was my fault." Valen said softly.

Bastet licked his back, without dropping what she held, "That is not how I see it, because Sekhmet told me so in her songs. The question is who blinded you? And why?"

John tried to speak, to say something and struggled with the spoken primordial. Grumbling a low note and then flexing his hands. The earthquake-like thunder of his voice lowered, trying again to speak and seem to get something out. Lily looked up and seemed worried as what was 'said' seem to cause pain.

"Who's soul was held hostage?" Bastet asked as she gave the impression of frowning.

"My Son's. Vito." Valen rubbed at the back of his neck, letting some of the liquid energy off but it was absorbing faster with him like John, where as Lily was still damp as she was not a fighter.

"...yours and Tolin's son?" Bastet asked slowly with a head tilt, though her jaws did not move as she was remembering the small boy offered for her to see when lounging in the nearby wintherin nesting grounds. There was a pause and her voice growled a low note. "Who held his soul hostage?"

There was a pause, and seeing the pain on Valen's face, Lily's soft voice spoke up. "The Hell priests, I think. They used to be called something else… Order of something?"

The blind Wraith seemed to stare for a long uncomfortable twenty seconds. Focusing her senses on the three for that whole time. When Bastet spoke her voice was clearly controlled, but thankful for younger, non immortal lives that innocently got to the point far faster. "The Order of the Deag? Was that it, my little child?"

"Ah… yeah that sounds like it, right?" Lily looked up at John, who was watching Valen before nodding slowly.

"The Deag…" the Wraith said in that same controlled tone that had both Valen and John looking up in alarm suddenly. Bastet lowered her head and dropped out a very stunned Zanin from between her jaws with some of that liquid energy. Not dropped from very high and more like a crocodile mother letting out her hatchling.

Zanin paused and then at a questioning sound from John, gave an all clear hand sign.

"You, son of Ceres, tell me of the current generation of the Deag," Bastet demanded of the current Sentinel Commander still being held up, if sideways, by her tail.

"There is no current or new Deag, Mother Wraith." Malum said, his tone was impressively unbothered by his spot. "They are, technically, the same ones that were in power that had been when you were awake last."

"The Order of the Deag," Bastet rumbled low and deep, like a distant storm rolling near, "Were supposed to change every three generations…"

Lily blinked from on the ground as she saw color flushing through the Wraith predominantly. A shimmering flash through the body but her half opened wing membranes flushed through with an angry purple color. The edges of her wings and the scarring over her head and where once there had been eyes were edged with burnt orange. The titanic forepaws around the now four living beings, as well as the middle set out of sight were both digging into the supporting crystals under her. They cracked, then broken before being grinded into something like gravel.

The Slayer gave a warning sound as he shielded Lily from some of the fractured crystal splinters that were kicked up. John covered Lily's eyes and face and tucked her close.

The temperature of the air stopped dropping and the Wraith arched her head and neck high up. Taking several deep breaths as Bastet forced herself to calm down. It was surreal to realize that a nearly all powerful Primordial god creature had to stop and control her temper.

The dark purple was fading from her wings, more of a lingering lavender that would not fully fade.

"...is she okay?" Lily asked in a small voice, looking up at John's face once his grip loosened again. Watching his eerie blue eyes squinting upwards and studying the Wraith. He nodded as Bastet was gently setting Malum down on that walkway.

"I will be just fine, child of my son." Bastet hummed, and would have opened her eyes if she could have. The cresting horns were a notably darker shade of silver with her teeth as they were based. "More so after a lovely chat with what is supposed to be my Deag. Though I have a feeling they might be corrupted by Jakkad thanks to the Mykers. If those brats are still here."

"They are," Malum supplied as he sat up, shifting his armor to settle back into place. He sounded bitter from even down on the lower level. "They have a choke hold on the rest of our brothers and sisters. Many are still not corrupted but forced to kneel to the Khan Maykr to keep innocent lives tied to them from being fed to the fodder of the Jakkad realm. Or their souls ripped out for much the same to become Argent energy."

Malum snapped the last part, disgusted at the name of what was made out of his people. Disgusted with himself that the Sentinels had failed to find out what poisoned honey was offered to them by the Maykrs. The altered, giant man froze, all thoughts mostly stopping as he turned to look over the edge of the walk way. Scanning down to until he saw where the four were. Meeting the steady, glowing gaze of his War King and the mortal that was curling back up in his lap.

Human.

Humans were the descendants of his people and were currently being invaded. Invaded and harvested to feed that cursed realm and the Maykrs thirst for power.

It was a sudden awakening of Malum's protective instincts that reached out for not just wanting to protect his King's heir. His King's original people, Malum's own people's heirs? The idea of the humans' souls and bodies, being an overall smaller weaker sub-species being harvested like the Argenta…

The image of that little Lady Lily laying lifeless on an offering table flashed in his mind. Malum did not realize he clenched his hands so tight that he started to bleed until the wetness dripped on his thighs. Silvery tinted blood.

He unclenched his hands and flexed them until they healed.

"What in the novas is… 'Argent Energy?'" the blind Wraith asked and then tilted her head as it seemed like everyone, even the two phantom guards froze. As if breaths stopped as the reality that Bastet my ad been hibernating through most of not just the Unholy War, civil war but also the first false discovery of Argent Energy and then the real discovery of how it was made.

It was Captain Mila who took a breath and stepped forward to the edge of the walkway. Her helmet was off and set down on the ground. She took a breath again before starting to explain what was one of her creation gods, as clearly as she could what Argent Energy was. How it was made, how the Khan Maykr had offered it to the Argenta, the Order of the Deag. Then explained the history Bastet had unknowingly slept through up until the betrayal of the Deag to the Slayer King.

Bastet was unmoving at first, patiently waiting for the Argenta daughter to speak all the way. At first there was no reaction until half way through the pale Wraith had started to flush with color. The purple flushed back through her body and wings, and then through all of the still connected crystals in the chamber. Making everything look like an amethyst geode instead of white quartz. The color in the Wraith herself was visibly becoming like black amethyst in the body, and semi transparent like crystal in both sets of Bastet's wings. The silver of her visible horns and claws on her forepaws were also darkening to an aged pewter.

At least that's what it looked like to Lily as she was being held tighter and then not so slowly lifted off of the Slayer's lap and into his arms. Rocking up onto knees, eerie eyes scanning around, trying to see if his helmet was in an easy path to get to. Seeing how Valen had Zanin back on his feet, both watched the not so slow changes in the Wraith's forelegs around them. How it went from cradle-caging to spreading out as if she would get up, and her claws digging into the crystal ground as if going into sand.

Lily was shivering from the cold, and John let his body heat up as he turned to check the distance between the massive forepaws. Trying to bleed over some of his energy to keep Lily warm as she slowly backed up. Trying not to draw much attention towards them as Bastet seemed so focused on Mila's explanation.

It was not really a casual attempt, as the Slayer was willing to just let his helmet stay and maybe find it later on. Valen was the last to move, just a step or two behind Zanin. It was an honest, true tactical retreat and the three had the longer legs for it. John turned to scan around and shifted his hold, partly boosting Lily and was relieved that she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on.

John pressed his head against Lily's, trying to give that reassuring rumble he had learned she liked and responded to. Then he lengthened his stride the last few paces to get the momentum. John launched up almost fifteen feet straight up to grab the railing edge of the normal ground level. Smiling at the startled squeak and paused to look down, feeling Zanin catch his bracing right leg, just shy of making it the rest of the way. The Slayer rather unbothered that he had to be used as a ladder for both the other two Argenta.

Shifting once Valen cleared the railing with the odd sapling things, the Slayer then swung himself and Lily over the ornate rails too. Having a moment of satisfaction of being on solid ground again of his own power. Not stuck corralled between Bastet's forelegs. Turning he shifted to cradle his human securely in his arms to eye the Wraith and the now notable changes.

John wondered if the purple colors the Sentinels favored were because of Bastet, as he glanced at the borrowed up lavender shirt and pants that Lily was in. The darker shades he had been given when joining the Sentinels proper. The Slayer closed his arms a little tighter around Lily, taking as much reassurance that she was safe as he tried to give.

"I guess she didn't know?" Lily said in a tiny voice watching with wide eyes. Then jumped and pressed against her guardian's chest as the Wraith spoke in answer.

"I did not." There was a distinctly low, gravelly growl that vibrated the now cold air in the now cold forge chamber. Mila was the only one standing on the walkway, even Malum had carefully retreated with the two phantoms. She was not locked up but standing tall and waiting for what would happen face on.

Bastet flexed her forepaws then the middle set and shifted slowly. Making herself clearly calm down, but the black amethyst semi lightened into a violet shade but some edges of her frame were still that darker, or the lava like color. She looked down and was making a point to be very careful to pick up both Valen's and the Slayer's helmets. The massive head leaned forward to where they had retreated to in the covered path around the outside of the chamber.

The blind Wraith was clearly thinking as she let Valen lean out to pick the helmets out from the comparatively short fangs of the Wraith's jaws. Her forepaws scraped the crystal under her again as she sat back. The massive head lifting to look straight up and for the first time fully extended all of her senses to the greater world around her. Those in the chamber could see what used to be her eyes lighting up under the scarring, four sets. Two stacked dark blue ovals in the back, a dark purple main eye and a smaller one that would have been that same milky white like Gaia, only in the front indeed of the back set. Something like that changing shades of molten metal lit up a pattern on her forehead, like another eye spot but was a stylized moon pattern.

"That was what that corpse lord was doing…" Bastet rumbled, head turning down and seemed to lock onto the Slayer. "I can break through that barrier they made, but all that excess energy will feed Jakkad. The living corpse does not know I myself am here it seems, just that it used to be a Wraith nest in Taras."

The Slayer could not help thinking of the wraith bodies broken and degraded in Hell. The souls being siphoned off for ages. He looked up at the living Wraith and growled low in his chest, carefully setting Lily down, resting a hand on her head and trying to pat. The motion awkward as he was thinking, looking over at Valen as the man was carefully shaking out the crystal fragments out of their helmets. Putting them in that broken canteen for now as he cleaned them.

The Slayer looked down at Lily as she grasped his wrist with both hands. Moving the large hand to look up. He looked back to Valen. How do I keep my Flower safe?

"We either have to get out of the city, or find what the Corpse Lord, Lich is using to take over the portals." Valen guessed, turning a fragment of shimmering gray crystal in his hands. "Both have the same risk, though the latter Lily can stay in the reinforced protection of the Sentinels and Mother Bastet."

Lily shivered, pressing against John's side in an attempt to warm up in the air, watching that their breaths were all visible. Her guardian turned his attention back, both of John's hands grasped Lily's shoulders and he rubbed her arms and back, bleeding over almost hot energy to try and warm her back up.

"I think… it would be safer to stay in a secured place than trying to run blind in the… unknown." Lily said as she shivered again, trying not to chitter her teeth stubbornly as she felt cold both with the altered wraith gift and just the now cold air. Grateful for the heat almost visible rolling off John now, trying to hide in it.

The Slayer nodded, looking over at where the Sentinels that had followed him down to this level were. Recognizing Asin and Haco first with their different armor style, then blinking as one of the shorter Argenta were making their way over with a bundle. John looked up at Bastet, the Wraith's head once more losing the impression of glowing eyes from under the scarring.

"Are you going to help her?" Lily asked softly, not sure fully how anything like the massive wraiths could be trapped. Gaia back on earth seemed like she was willingly staying in that hidden place in the harbor to protect the kids.

John gave a firm nod, making up his mind as a thought popped up. Something that was interesting and he… might get several things he wanted. The not really man looked to his right as that one scout made it over to them, offering the bundle to him. The Slayer recognized it as the fur lined jacket that had been used by Lily before. There was a tare in the sleeve but nothing that could not be patched later.

He took it, wrapping the jacking around Lily before chuffing his way of a low chuckle at seeing her almost drowning in the fabric and brown fur. Grinning wide as the human shamelessly hunkered into the warmth of the fur and the bit more energy John bleed into it. A rough attempt to see if it would stay warm even after he left.

The demigod (god?) stooped to close his arms around Lily as tightly as he dared. Feeling her touch the Last Gift's help for a moment but not trying to take. An added layer of her trying to get some reassurance as the Slayer was thinking how to keep his adopted daughter safe. They could not get back to the Fortress, he was not sure the vAult would be safe, and the throne room was exposed in a few spots.

John looked down, remembering the other layers he had found a long time ago were the city's mechanic bays just under the surface level of the water way back when. Now it would be over the surface and at least in this building there likely would not be any breaches under Bastet that she would not notice.

Want? Curious-Protective?

The Slayer's primordial slipped out as he looked up at the Wraith. Drawing her own attention back to them and Bastet tilted her head, listening to what the others could not understand fully.

"Of course I would protect the child of my son." Bastet snorted, then noticed how Lily was back to shivering off and on. Head tilting back and forth as if to check the Argenta. Then took a slow breath that made her whole frame shift and move before leaning to one side, flicking her tail. Making herself settle back down after brushing the crystal shards away from her frame. The temperature was warming back up in the chamber as Bastet pulled her radiating power back.

"Well…" Haco spoke in the following quiet, looking over the rails at the almost gravel chunks of crystal. "At least we can make or recharge some batteries now?"

Commander Malum let out a relieved sigh, a hand over his chest as he came back as well. Glancing down and then over to where Captain Mila was still standing, not showing any signs of shaking. He was not so suddenly, but still vastly impressed at the woman to stand unwavering in front of a Wraith's building anger. Not flinching or loosing her words and voice while explaining everything.

That was a nerve he had only seen in a few.

Malum glanced to where Valen was leading the other group back around to the main entrance. The Slayer made it all of fifteen paces before picking his daughter up, letting Lily hold his helmet.

She looked so ridiculous in one of Sentinels' out of armor jackets. Yet cute too, if Malum had to admit.

"Don't forget to reforge your crucible while here." Valen's voice spoke when the Slayer seemed to hesitate looking between the two heavy doors and Bastet.

There was a long pause from everyone, even the blind Wraith, because everyone had forgotten about that.

The Slayer set Lily down slowly, only to those that knew his expressions, or lack there of, could tell he was trying to seem like he did not, in fact. Forget. Haco very much could tell, but was thankfully just grinning in his helmet.

There was a snort of cool air rolling over Haco as the Wraith leaned over to sniff him. With a bracing breath, Haco turned, as he was pretty sure he was about to get a treatment like that of Zanin and Mila. "Hello Mother Bastet."

"You stink of Jakkad as well." The blind Wraith snorted and sniffed again. "...And of my son? Did he throw a gift around at you too?"

"I was fighting them for the last few days." Haco happily supplied, spreading his arms in a very proud way as if to show off to the Wraith he was covered in demonic blood. Being the focus as the Slayer was walking around to the walkway, setting Lily down before stepping out onto it again.

"Did you win?"

"Why would we not, Mother Wraith?"

"...I like you child."

"Thank you!"

The Slayer chuckled as he looked over just before Haco got picked up.

Reviews!

XFireStoneX:
Glad you liked it! Hopefully the feels coming will be good too!

RavenShichiyou:
After meeting Grandma Bastet up close and personal, meeting Viola is going to be a lot easier for Lily at that point. More so with Doomdad there to encorage. And I'm glad you like grandma wraith!

ghostlord6977:
I do have something planned for new under armor layer for Lily, since she's not built like the Argenta for full armor.