Guardian

by yasha012

I used to want to save existence... I saw it as this beautiful place, capable of fostering life in all of its many forms. A place with the potential to nurture so much Light. But the closer I got to it... the more I fought for it… the better I could see the Darkness waiting within… the evil we would all rather forget. (Part 4 of the Hero series; sequel to "Eternal Shadow Falls".)

222. Instinct

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this trying… especially for the ones who are rampaging.

~保護者~

"Instinct"

~保護者~

The raid was over now. Malevolence could feel it deep within the darkest recesses of its soul (or whatever equivalent it possessed) that the fighting and bloodshed had ceased. No longer were people and creatures dying. A disappointing fact, one that needed correcting. Malevolence was just itching to dole out further suffering upon the peoples of this existence. It had been quietly lurking in the background after killing Tianak, true, but it was high time that it ventured out again. Especially with Nareish down for now. That meant the woman could no longer threaten it, could no longer steal its spawn, could no longer use said spawn to carry out attacks on Shadow or its other enemies when Malevolence itself would so much rather kill them itself. Yes, this time was truly ideal.

With that in mind, Malevolence began to consider its options. It's… "grandson" was called Shei, so far as it was aware. As the last surviving child of Malevolence's "daughter", the halfling needed to be tracked down and brought back to his true home. He needed training, to have all traces of his irksome goodness removed (even tortured out of him if need be), and more. That would take time. Something Malevolence had always had in abundance.

Prior to that, Malevolence needed to find the man's father. Haru had long been a source of ire for Malevolence. Its daughter had picked well in terms of finding someone truly powerful with such vast reserves of darkness. He possessed a remarkable evil streak as well. The issue was that Haru had tried his damnedest to kill the mother of his child and had, for far too long, succeeded in sealing away his son's latent powers as well as hiding his existence from Malevolence. That was reason enough for him to die. The fact that Malevolence's daughter was now dead and the only viable suspect it knew of was him (there could potentially be others, but it hardly needed a reason to kill this man regardless) further sealed his fate. He would die, and suffer, slowly.

Then there was a more minor, trivial matter to attend to. One of Malevolence's most powerful past victims, the former king of Mobius, was alive again. After all the effort it had put forth to raze the man's people, kingdom, and even world into the ground, it was far from pleased that he was again breathing air. That was something it would have to attend to eventually. The man known as Silver was back from the dead as well, and he still possessed great Light reserves… so Malevolence planned on paying him a visit. Between him and his son, it knew it would secure a wondrously satisfying meal.

Another group on Malevolence's hit list was Black Doom and its descendents. Black Doom was a wild, untameable, murderous animal at the time they had crossed paths. Malevolence respected that in a way, but it did not intend to ever let the creature escape its wrath. Not after Black Doom had wandered into the Twilight Cage through unknown means, savagely ripped apart many of Malevolence's strongest living spawn at the time, and then simply left before Malevolence could kill it in retaliation. Malevolence wasn't the type of being to forget, much less forgive. Black Doom's family would suffer and die, just like Haru. Shadow and his weakling son may have been revived, but it was determined for history to not repeat itself this time… and for the daughters and Black Doom to suffer the same fates.

First and foremost, however, Malevolence intended to find Eila. To kill her. To make her suffer. She had done so much to paint a target on her back that it almost wondered if she wanted to die. She had entered its realm, for one thing, which was already unacceptable. Then she had facilitated the killing of its favorite (and not to mention strongest) servant, Kethro - something that Wave needed to die for as well. Eila had wrought all kinds of destruction within its realm as well, killed a great many of its spawn, and just generally pissed it off. But her Light was weak. She relied on magic, something it was practically immune to. Ending her life would be easy. So, for all those reasons and more, it exited its home and began making its way to her.

Eila, meanwhile, was asleep on her bed when something deeply disturbed her mind. She always kept herself semi-conscious, and even now, while she was mentally working through the bonds holding Cyril's parents, something felt truly off. For the moment, she banished the thought, those feelings. She focused on the present, pressing her way through the control Nareish held over these two Babylonians. "Cyril. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Cyril replied, a touch more shortly than he'd intended. He couldn't take his eyes off of his mother and father, watching them with building tension. His body was starting to hurt from the stress.

"You should rest. I have this handled, and your magic will respond if they are in danger. Let me deal with it."

"I don't want you to have to do it alone."

She had to stop the words that would have come out, pausing momentarily to find the right thing to say. Cyril's emotional state couldn't take too much more of a beating. "It's okay. I have to do it myself. Nobody else, not that I know of, has the power to break them out." Even as she said that, she found herself struggling. Nareish was about as close to an Immortal as you could be without becoming one. All of the Privilege, all of the powers… It made a huge difference. Eila's abilities were quite vast, but this was the first time she'd truly come across something this perplexing - aside from maybe Jet himself, but she didn't want to think about that.

Cyril frowned and turned his attention away, just for a moment. "Yet even you are struggling."

"Please do not remind me… I would ask for the power to banish this control, but Jet and I are not quite on speaking terms."

"I can ask him for you, you-"

"No." The harshness of the mental statement grounded him and made the finch wince a little.

"Right, sorry…"

Eila mentally sighed to herself and woke her body with a simple command, sitting up. "Cyril, I can't just… I can't make him do something like that. I ruined so much of him, of his mind. I turned almost his best friend against him for a while and more. I can't even begin to express to you how badly I fucked his life up. Making him so much as think of me would be…" She had to think of the right word again, finding it so much harder around Cyril. "It would be cruel."

Cyril mumbled something under his breath and stood from the side of the bed, walking over to his mother. Eila had rendered them both… more or less unconscious, just to keep them inactive while she worked. It was the best way to ensure that they didn't respond poorly to her prodding. She'd explained that much, but it still didn't make him feel good. His mother's blank eyes, the emotionless void of his father's… It made tears well in his own eyes. "I'm sorry. There's just… a lot going on."

A pause, then a small sigh escaped Eila. "I wish I could tell you it will get better, but I am not the type to lie. It very well may get worse," she murmured, hating her own desire to be honest with this man. "I tell you because I care. This war, this is only another peak. We may have a brief period of time of safety and calm… but the battles will wage on. I need to know that you will take care of yourself."

I don't know if I can… Everyone I care about is being so viciously hurt or ruined. My parents aren't themselves, you're stressed and exhausted… Wave has enough going on due to the crap her family is being put through. Sein and the others finally caught a break, it seems, but Li and his family sure haven't. I need to check on them again, soon…

Cyril's thoughts were interrupted when Eila's head raised. She immediately stood and her gaze scanned an area seemingly beyond his own vision. An attack came hurtling toward the four of them, blasting through both Tails's house and all of Eila's magical constructs in order to make its way straight for the group. It's black and crimson coloring was utterly unmistakable.

Eila had a split second to decide. In that time, she reasoned out that her magic wasn't going to protect anyone. She also pieced together that this was precisely what she'd been waiting for, and for it to happen now, she had two options. One, ensure that she got out of the way to fight back the threat. Two, actually protect the people in this house by teleporting them out of the way. In the end, she found herself crumpled on the grass some distance away, laying in a steadily growing puddle of her own blood. She groaned under her breath, muttering several obscenities as she activated her magic to keep her body alive while steadily dragging herself to her feet. Really? Right the fuck now?

Her thoughts were interrupted. Malevolence strode toward her, its energy-based body taking on the form of some long-dead hedgehog like it so often did. A sinister grin was plastered over its face, but there was no glee or pleasure in its voice. Only malice. "You will die," was all it said.

Eila chuckled, then outright cackled. "Fucking hell… The only reason you hit me was because I protected the others." Though her body stumbled when she tried to shift, she wore a grin of her own on her face. "Even if I die today, I'm taking you with me, bastard. Come and fucking get me."

"You are incapable of killing me," Malevolence informed her. It raised its hand and blasted her deeper into the ground. Despite the violence of this attack, it was more of an idle strike than a serous effort to take her life at this point.

Another cackle emanated from the crater, the cat splayed out on the ground. Her eyes glowed with her signature psychic energies and she rose from the ground. "Maybe I am, but I'll make sure you can't kill me, either." The cat vanished immediately after her words exited her mouth, taking off across Mobius as fast as she could. Get away from Tails's house, Hyale, and the other chameleon places- Fuck, my mind is scrambled. That bastard hit hard. Her entire focus went into dodging as she soared over the ocean, spikes of ice rising from the surface just to try and impede its vision.

Attacks swarmed around her relentlessly in spite of her efforts. Every time any of them collided with the water or her ice, vast plumes of searing steam rose into the air. The ocean below them began to sizzle and animals began to float to the surface, dead from the boiling temperatures. And that was just the result of the stray attacks. Many others soared through the sky toward very deliberate targets besides just her. Already, multiple coastal settlements had been wiped off the map.

Eila could only do so much about all of this, but, in her mind, it was necessary. Maybe there was a better way. The cat spun in the air and shot up into the sky, briefly focusing her mind on surrounding Malevolence in psychic energies, only just realizing that one of her arms had been rendered useless as a result of the intense heat that emanated from the attacks. Note to self: Shield your body at all times…

No sooner than that thought had crossed her mind, a single much more serious attack blasted toward her. It was aimed squarely at her torso with deadly accuracy and power. If only because she recognized it when she did, Eila shoved herself partially out of the way with her magic, teleporting quickly after to assess the damage. Both arms… glad I don't really need them. She ignored the severity of her wounds, taking deep breaths in an effort to steady herself. Okay, maybe this is a bad idea… Her mind immediately reached out, unintentionally sending the message out to… well, almost everybody that she'd met. Malevolence is on Mobius.

It went without saying that Malevolence didn't have psychic abilities. Still, it reacted almost like it knew what she had just done. A weapon formed from pure energy in its hand and it lunged for her at max speed. Its weapon was mid-swing and about to collide with her when, instead of the sound of slicing flesh, a harsh metallic clang! rang through the air. A gleaming white blade was holding Malevolence's own weapon back, held by none other than Jet. He had appeared in between Eila and her enemy, and now hovered so close that the edge of his billowing cloak could almost touch her. "A'met elo," he muttered crossly under his breath in some obscure dialect of Babylonian, more to himself than anyone else. ("Goddamn it.")

"I agree," Eila muttered, taking in a sharp breath before lashing out mentally at Malevolence while rapidly backing herself away from the pair.

Jet glanced back at her sharply and, if only because he was so focused on doing what needed to be done here, showed no traces of fear or anxiety. All he did was throw a hand back in her direction, essentially "tossing" some high-level Privilege at her. "My magic is used for self-healing. Use it now before those wounds fester with Malevolence's energies." As soon as he finished speaking, he forcefully knocked Malevolence back and off of his sword.

"Both…" Eila wasn't sure what to make of the haze surrounding her mind, but she supposed it had to do with the loss of blood from these injuries. While immediately pouring the gifted magic into her wounds to heal herself, Eila simultaneously (and recklessly) continued her own vicious assault back at Malevolence, trying to rip her way into its mind. This bastard has to die. It threatened almost everything I love.

While she worked, Jet and Malevolence started violently clashing at speeds beyond her ability to keep track of with her eyes alone. He made sure, however, not to let their foe linger on the planet's surface any longer. A single powerful blow was sufficient to launch it out of the atmosphere and out into space, where the battle brutally continued.

Eila followed in short order, sensing the arrival of several others to the planet's surface. She couldn't focus on them, couldn't care. Keep attacking. I don't need to see Malevolence to attack its mind. As long as I stay close… She didn't like what she saw. Her ears folded and her eyes widened, before pure rage rippled through her being. She used her newly discovered way into its mind to unleash a torrent of psychic energy within it, all in the hopes of even just slowing it down for Jet to strike the damn thing dead.

Malevolence let out a nightmare-inducing sound of rage and pain, resulting in it blasting Jet in retaliation. He was sent spinning away for a couple feet before recovering. A vicious storm of lightning and aura energy together struck Malevolence in turn while Jet simultaneously took his magic back and healed his own injury. Like he'd warned Eila, wounds from this beast could not be allowed to fester. "Rusen!" he called out using thought-speech. He'd have spoken to any Faein, really, but this was the only one whose name he knew. "Is there enough evil Darkness for balance to maintain itself without this thing? It's going to target our allies endlessly if it remains alive."

Rusen appeared before Jet and existence around them stopped, just for a moment. That was all it would take. The Faein turned to see Eila, then over to Malevolence, seeming thoughtful. "What do you believe the answer is?"

Jet took a moment to calm himself now that he had a second to not be fighting. After all the stress of the raid, he knew he was a bit… tense, to say the least. The Void wasn't exactly helping either, as per usual. It wouldn't serve him well to remain that way, though, and he was well aware of that fact. "I don't know," he admitted truthfully. "I'm aware of Espio's role, but I have yet to have any opportunity to see how things with him or any of the others have been progressing."

"Then take another second and refocus yourself. You are certainly able to sense the balance itself, so focus on Malevolence and Espio individually… and tell me for yourself if you believe Espio to be ready to maintain that part if Malevolence should perish today."

That was far easier said than done. Jet could easily get impressions of the balance of existence, snippets really, but he'd never before been able to fully and deliberately sense the balance of things in the way he knew Immortals of old could do. Not even once had he succeeded at it, and not for lack of trying. "I don't know how, Rusen."

"You can sense the energies within Espio, yes?" Rusen gently asked.

"To some extent," Jet conceded. It did require some careful and focused effort on his part, but it was something at least.

"Focus on that, just a little deeper. Sense exactly what makes it up. The traits that only his Darkness possesses, the barest of traces of energy within him. All of the energy that makes Espio who he is," Rusen explained, a soft smile on his face. "You may not find it easy, but I assure you that you can do it."

Sighing a little, Jet went ahead and did what Rusen was instructing him to do. It wasn't like an opportunity to learn from older Immortals (much less the Faein themselves) ever came along anymore, so he refused to squander the chance. Focus, he told himself almost as soon as those other thoughts crossed his mind.

Rusen smiled more, trying to gently urge Jet along. "Espio is a being of immensity, in many aspects, when it comes to his energy," he continued. "His inherited Darkness, the Malevolent energies that spiral within him, the Darkness forced upon him by an old partner, and the traces of demonic Darkness from his corruption... Being able to separate out each individual one is important."

Jet silently worked on doing just that, frowning to himself in concentration as he did so. This is a pain in the ass. Realizing that he was letting himself get irritable again, he pivoted mentally by forcing himself to focus solely on what he was doing instead of how upset he'd been for the past several hours or so. Despite what he'd thought moments before, he was soon able to accomplish what he'd been instructed to.

Rusen straightened, proud already of Jet's accomplishment. "So, seeing what you can now sense on your own… What do you think?

Now Jet hesitated. "Part of him is ready for the added burden, but… part of him is far from it. He's still not found a balance between the two halves of himself." It went without saying that he himself was suffering from the same exact problem, a fact which occurred to him immediately but which also was wholly relevant at the moment.

It took no time for Rusen to make a decision, vanishing just long enough to bring Espio to their conversation. "Jet, I believe that Espio is the one who should be asked. Would you agree?" Jet… probably should have seen this coming, he reflected. But, rather than saying so or even verbally answering the question, he just gave a small nod of agreement.

"Ask me what?" Espio questioned them both. He was incredibly annoyed at having been taken from Armaris so suddenly, due in no small part to the fact that he (unlike Jet) had no idea who this man was. Chameleons were, after all, notoriously distrustful of strangers.

Rusen smiled to Espio. "A brief introduction. I am Rusen, kin to Sul, and one of the Faein. I brought you here to ask an important question. For Armaris, time has stopped entirely, and your family will not worry about your sudden disappearance." Rusen glanced back to Malevolence, frozen in time. "This is not a would you, but a can you question. Answer yes only if you wish to and believe you can shoulder such a burden in this moment. Otherwise, we will find another solution."

As ever, Espio was able to quickly and accurately deduce what was going on based on visual facts alone. It was standard fare for a shinobi, after all. "You're planning on killing it finally?" he asked Jet with a frown.

Jet crossed his arms. "If possible. It's wiped out multiple cities and towns full of civilians, again, and put those in Tails's home in danger."

Knowing full well that Cream was there created a spark of anger within Espio. But, for now, he was able to quell it. To Rusen, he said, "I can't control my Darkness when it flares up. It so far hasn't been possible to control." Although he was tempted, he refrained from making any blanket statements about it never being possible, though that was certainly how it felt most of the time.

Rusen thought, and he thought some more… frowning. "Do you think that, with control over it, you could handle such? I understand your concerns, of course, but I do wish to know your thoughts from your own words."

"Hypothetically," Espio muttered, "I might be able to handle it if I had control. Since I do not, it is little more than wishful thinking."

Utavi groaned as she materialized, half-physically there and half in her natural form. "What now?" she muttered to Rusen.

Her kin smiled warmly. "If Espio would allow it, I wish for you to reside with him and help contain his Darkness. He has so far struggled through it alone, as the help he has received simply cannot teach him fast enough."

The woman blinked once at him, a singular eye staring at Rusen before turning to Espio. Her physical form whisked away fully. "Only if you agree to it. I understand you've got your own personal space. I'd be passively handing off some knowledge and keeping the pesky spikes at bay."

Since he had no clue what any of this would entail, Espio shot Jet a questioning look. Jet sighed for what he believed to be roughly the ten-thousandth time that day alone and said, "You'd be sharing some internal space, in a way. That's all."

"You actually wouldn't even know I was there, aside from the fact that you're a shinobi and wouldn't simply… forget this conversation," Utavi said honestly, shrugging despite her intangible form.

In the end, troublesome emotions aside, Espio was nearly always prepared to be practical. This time was no exception, especially when so much was riding on the necessity of him learning to control his own power. The lives of his parents, grandparents, future partner, children, and friends all depended on it. So though he was far from pleased, even going so far as to cross his arms and openly scowl a bit, he agreed. "Fine," he conceded curtly.

Rusen, if only for certainty, added, "I ask once more as a courtesy to you, and wish to remind you that a solution will come even if you do not wish to take this on. Will you accept the burden if Malevolence perishes, as well as the aid provided by Utavi?"

"Any other solution will not be fast enough," Espio argued. Then he said, "I already gave my answer. I meant it, else I would not have said it."

"I understand. Thank you for your decisiveness. I will return you to your partner while the situation at hand is handled." Rusen offered a small bow, a show of respect for the chameleon. Despite the attitude he'd been showing since arriving here, Espio knew when to give and show respect. It wasn't for nothing that his parents had made certain to teach him basic manners such as this. So he returned the bow and gave one to Utavi as well. She was, after all, also deserving of one according to his culture's customs. Jet technically was, too, but they had long since stopped feeling the need to show or tell each other obvious things like that. They understood each other well enough without such formalities. Jet had never been fond of it, anyway.

Rusen did a lot of things at once. Espio was whisked away back to his home, with Utavi following shortly. Eila was freed from the frozen time and the information of what had just transpired was given to her so she could act as a messenger. Then, time resumed entirely, though Malevolence was shackled with bonds of pure aura, holding firm so Jet wouldn't risk further injury. Finally, he spoke. "Thank you, Jet." With those words, the Faein vanished

Jet frowned at the spot where Rusen had just been. You're the one who did everything. All I did was ask you a question. Confused but unwilling to dwell on it, he glanced at Eila again. He realized what she was doing and quickly looked away. With his mind no longer focused solely on combat, speaking to her was much, much harder than it had been the first time. Still, he forced himself to do it regardless. "...Tell me when you've finished so I can end this."

Eila only took a few more seconds (really, the amount of time she'd gotten when freed from the time stop had been enough) before simply offering a nod, turning her attention elsewhere. Jet wasted no further time. A single strike of his sword laced with his aura was enough to end the monster completely. The shockwave that was unleashed had no effect on him, and he made sure to hold Eila, the local planets, and other nearby celestial bodies in place with barriers until it died down. Once it did, his barriers vanished and he sheathed his sword.

The cat watched this all happen quietly. She'd created plans in her head for how to handle this mess, how to deal with Malevolence without Jet. It didn't matter anymore. After it was all over, Eila turned to leave. "Unless you can restore the damage caused by Malevolence, you should go back to your parents. I made sure… Your friends were safe."

Jet sighed yet again and actually turned to face her. Swallowing his nerves, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Eila shrugged, glancing in his direction. "It made contact with me. I teleported everyone out of Tails's house, sent Cyril to a harmless miniature realm that he wouldn't know how to escape to keep him away. Took the attack on my own."

"That was a stupid thing to do." It didn't feel right, getting on her case like this. Jet kept it up anyhow. "You would have died. Not could have, would have."

"It was," Eila admitted. "But it was a decision I made consciously. In that moment, I chose to protect everyone else, despite my own imminent death." She turned away, letting out a soft exhale. "Too many people that I couldn't bear the thought of seeing them die when I could stop it. Placed back in that situation, I'd do it again and again."

He understood where she was coming from. He really, truly did. But that didn't take away from his point in the slightest. "There were other ways to save lives without placing yours in jeopardy," Jet informed her, now looking away. "Just… don't do it again. There are people who need you. People who won't be able to cope with it if you die."

The image of at least one person came to mind immediately. Rose. Eila managed the energy to huff. "I'm aware. I wasn't in the best mental state, but I did what I thought was best, either way. I can make more sound judgments now."

For whatever reason, Jet actually had the gall to tut at her softly. But he didn't argue with her any further. "Do so, then. I purified you for a reason, Eila. You have a brighter future ahead of you. Stop trying so hard to throw that away."

Eila made an indelicate noise, shaking her head. "Fuck's sake. You inherited your family's stubbornness without a doubt," the cat grumbled under her breath. "I hardly think that Malevolence's thirteenth coming was me throwing it away, but I see what you mean."

Piercing blue eyes rolled. "One more thing." In an instant, Jet was mere inches in front of her and clasping a cloak not too dissimilar from his own around her neck with practiced hands. "Stop running around without protection. It's irresponsible." He backed off immediately after he'd finished and, without waiting for a response, he vanished.

"Fuck-" Before she could even comprehend what happened, the frozen up cat had to relax every muscle in her body in order to bring her gaze down to the cloak, running an anxious hand over it. Some tears stained her cheeks as she tried to process the intense stress she'd been under from Jet being that close in front of her, but also from the obvious show of kindness and care he'd shown her today. I still don't quite see why I deserve such things… But, maybe there is actually a good reason after all…

As Eila returned to Mobius to begin undoing the damage dealt by Malevolence, Rusen watched from afar. Eila's own progress was moving forward in leaps and bounds, even if she sometimes took a step back. Considering her past, it was excellent to see that she hadn't made a drastic turn back towards her old ways. The Faein briefly pondered her future, what it could hold, and the possibilities made him smile.

Jet certainly was doing quite well also, even if he was often being stunted by the Void. The influence that energy had on him was quite incredible, after all… Despite that though, Jet had managed to (even if only briefly) overcome the traumas of his past in order to show his compassion for Eila. Rusen tapped a finger softly against something that didn't truly exist, a warm smile gracing his incorporeal lips.

"Good job… both of you."

~保護者~

At the behest of his wife, Shei had taken up residence on the first uninhabited planet he had found that wasn't close to Mobius. He had since sat down, closed his eyes, and tried to meditate. Tried to clear his mind. Tried to ignore how viscously his instincts were still screaming and clawing at him to go after the one who had attacked him, to seek violent revenge, to attack over and over again until the threat was so very dead that their soul might never again awaken. Reminding himself that his attacker was Armaris, that he could never harm her like that, was proving to be only minimally successful.

These… desires didn't care about her identity, their relationship with one another, her relationship with his son, none of it. His instincts and desires only cared that he was driven to act on them, his latent Malevolence, and that he feel nothing over it. No remorse. No guilt or shame. No sympathy or empathy. No grief. Only satisfaction. Dark pleasure. Amusement. Even some twisted form of glee.

This was getting out of hand. In an effort to clear his mind and silence his thoughts, he took a series of slow, deep breaths. In. Out. Inhale. Exhale. It helped… but still not enough. And in far too short a time he realized that he was about to no longer be alone. Aniko was headed toward him, and he couldn't decide if that would help or entirely derail him. Don't attack her, he ordered (even practically begged) himself when the faint urge tried to make itself known. You can't. You love her, for fuck's sake. Only by reminding himself of that fact repeatedly was he able to quell that particular urge. And not a moment too soon, it would seem. She was quite close now.

Aniko appeared on the planet, eyes scanning the area quite carefully. She was satisfied to know that he had indeed sought out an uninhabited plane. Her gait was cautious as she approached, keeping her presence perfectly open to Shei (even though she was sure he had sensed her). "Are you okay?" she called out softly.

"Not… particularly," Shei bit out tensely. "I've never had to deal with… with instincts like these before. They won't simmer down."

Aniko wisely kept her distance, watching him for a moment. "What is on your mind right now?"

Shei gritted his teeth with a harsh degree of force. After a long silence, he answered her with, "I would rather not say. I do not approve of or have great control over my thoughts as of now."

"Then I will not ask further. You are uninjured?"

"Yes," Shei answered simply. But I want to hurt someone else. Anyone else. Especially-... Realizing where his thoughts were again straying, he made another concerted effort to get them to quiet down.

Aniko was quiet for a long moment, frowning a little under her calm expression. It was likely better to not continue that thought. "What else is on your mind?"

For close to a full minute, Shei was silent. Eventually, however, he rubbed at his temples and said, "Something is wrong. Malevolence is… furious."

That didn't bode well. Aniko immediately frowned and took in a breath. "Where, Shei?"

"I don't know," Shei muttered. "I can't pinpoint it." A second later, he stiffened and reported, "It attacked the fox's house. …Tails, I think. Eila is its target. She defended whoever else is there."

Aniko stood upright. "Those are Espio's friends."

There was a moment of silence. Then Shei further reported, "The bloody idiot is trying to fight the damn thing."

"I don't think she's really trying to fight it," Aniko muttered. "Fuck, this is bad." Her senses caught the appearance of her father and she immediately turned. "Go back, find Armaris and Espio, and make sure they don't get caught up in the whole fucking mess that just started up."

Shei, meanwhile, put his head in his hands and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to more clearly sense what in the hell was happening elsewhere on the planet. Eventually, he reported, "She is taking damage. If Malevolence has its way, it will kill her where she stands."

Ryuji, irritated though he was with all of this shit, vanished to go make sure Armaris and Espio were safe. Aniko focused on Shei. "It'll be fine. Somehow…"

More silence. Shei was so focused on what he was trying to sense that he barely heard what Aniko had said to him. He didn't bother even trying to pay attention to anything else around them. "It thinks she's about to call for help," he muttered. "It's prepared to stop her if it can."

Aniko waited tensely for a few moments. She had every reason to hate Eila for using necromancy on her and Shei, but she didn't want the woman to die to Malevolence. Going there herself was a death sentence, however… Then, her body froze as Eila's voice intruded upon her thoughts.

"Malevolence is on Mobius."

Not more than a second later, Shei let out a stiff breath. "An Immortal arrived. The green one, whatever his name was. He's fighting in her stead now."

She didn't intend it, but a small sigh of relief escaped her. "That's… good. He's the strongest one, if I remember correctly."

Her husband nodded slowly, then frowned in confusion. "He must have… done something. One second, he and Malevolence were locked in combat, and now it is suddenly shackled by aura energy that is not his own."

Aniko blinked once. "There's… no way Malevolence was stopped that fast by Jet alone."

"It wasn't him. It might have been-" Shei suddenly cut himself off with a hiss of pain. He felt it the very moment his ancestor's life was ended, but that was the very least of his troubles in that instant. In Malevolence's final act of life, it had seen fit to use their innate connection to cause Shei one last batch of problems. Every memory it had ever formed, every thought it had ever had, every emotion it had ever felt, it all hit him all at once. And it proved to be too much straight away. The end result was him suddenly slumping over, unconscious.

Immediately, Aniko took a sharp breath and cautiously maneuvered her Darkness, working to collect Shei off the ground. Just so he wasn't lying on the ground… "Fuck… What… what the hell am I supposed to even think about this…?" She was stuck here for now, making sure that Shei (and subsequently, everyone else) was safe in the wake of this small catastrophe. Please be okay… please…

~保護者~

It was far from difficult for the family to tell that Sein wasn't feeling well. Not emotionally, at any rate. On top of his physical exhaustion, he just seemed… worn down. As though he was feeling like crap, to put it very mildly. Which, in all fairness, he had every right to be. It was for that reason that Jet and Alana were sitting with him in his and Alana's bedroom while their clones worked in the medical ward to help heal Nier. Ryint and Jet were both incredibly worried about him, after all. Jet was also concerned for Sonic and the others, all of whom he'd briefly checked on before returning here. But worry for Sein kept his and his mother's real selves firmly in place by his side.

Meanwhile, Kath and Laralei had both briefly excused themselves. Knowing full-well that he wasn't equipped with the skills necessary to help Sein much and that he was also rather stressed after the raid, Kath had left the situation to others and taken it upon himself to go around checking on various allies. Laralei, meanwhile… She was doing what she and Sein did best. That is to say, she was snooping. And she had already found quite the unexpected piece of history within a certain person's belongings.

Not twenty minutes after she'd departed, Laralei waltzed back into the bedroom with a great big grin on her face. "Alright, come on Sein. We're going to go see something special I just dug up. Your father and I never showed this to you or Alana before, and it's really quite a treat. Alana, you and Jet are coming, too."

Jet looked between Laralei and his parents a couple times in mildly open confusion before asking, "...'Special'?"

"Yep!" Laralei declared happily. "It's some very old footage of an event only rarely seen by outsiders. I wonder who recorded it…" She tapped her chin thoughtfully while giving a playful wink. Jet understood the joke immediately for once and he huffed in amusement. "I suppose we'll never know for sure."

Sein didn't really seem to process what was happening for a moment before pushing himself to his feet with a small nod. Really, he wanted sleep, but he wasn't one to deny a request like this. "Lead the way," he murmured gently, offering a hand to Alana.

Alana took the hand and stood up alongside him. "I suppose this would be a welcome distraction," she murmured. "Will Father be joining us?"

"Eh, it can wait until after I show you," Laralei chuckled. "He won't like the fact that I dug through all his things. Oh, and Jet? Be a dear and fetch Arkiri, will you?" Jet blinked, then shrugged and wandered off to go do what she asked.

Arkiri popped up near them all in a flash rather shortly after, blinking. "Jet said I was needed?"

The younger hawk in question likewise appeared in the room, doing so just in time to hear Laralei's reply. "Not needed per se, but definitely wanted. I found a bit of family history, so to speak, and in an effort to cheer everyone up I want to share it with you all. To reiterate verbatim what I told them, 'It's some very old footage of an event only rarely seen by outsiders'. Truly special, if you ask me."

"Oh, so I'm an outsider? I see how it is," Arkiri huffed, feigning disappointment before chuckling. "I'm sure it's quite special, though. I must see it."

Sein glanced around, then focused his attention on Laralei. This was an odd amount of focus on something… He had a feeling what was going on, and it caused his aura to brighten just a little. "Same here, I suppose."

Laralei chuckled and motioned for everyone to follow. "Come along, children," she teased while walking down the hall. "We're off to an adventure in the observatory."

Though she tilted her head, Alana ultimately just shrugged and walked after her mother. "Very well."

Jet, meanwhile, walked by Sein so as to ask him in undertone, "So… what's happening?"

Sein glanced to his son, smiling just a little. "We're about to find out, and I'm thinking Kath will probably be very upset."

"Kaicha might blame you," Jet huffed, managing a slight smirk. As he said this, Laralei pulled open the double doors leading into the observatory.

"Eh, it's likely that he will, anyway," Sein responded in a casual tone.

"Come on, you two," Laralei called over to them. She'd picked up Kath's old camera-like device (or, at least, the old Babylonian equivalent) that Sein, Alana, and Cyril had all watched together when Kath had been de-aged the most recent time. "Lucky for me, I still remember how to do this," she mused to herself while tapping at the screen. Then she pointed and said, "Okay, so this video will be projected onto the wall there so we can all more easily watch. You all ready?"

"I am, I suppose," Alana answered easily. Sein shrugged, while Arkiri just raised an eyebrow in amusement. With that, Laralei went ahead and selected a file, then let it play.

The video started simple enough. Laralei's voice could be heard whispering something to herself about wanting to make sure she wasn't seen doing this. As she said that, she uncovered the camera lens to reveal thick layers of snow on the ground where she was walking. She trudged up a hill and knelt down, then did a slow panoramic of the sight below her. A sprawling tribal settlement extended to either side and quite a ways straight ahead as well. These were traditional dwellings, each known as a tepesh, belonging to none other than the Satav'i people.

She resituated a little and zoomed in on a gathering of people near the heart of the village. Each was clothed in pure white clothing not too unlike what Kath still wore to this day - though some had forgone shirts, socks, and shoes due to this tribe's resilience to the cold. They were talking animatedly amongst themselves. Laralei sounded almost giddy when she whispered, "I think things will probably get started in the next hour or so. God, I still can't believe how lucky I am to be here. I can't wait to see this!"

With that, the film ended.

Laralei selected the next file (the only other one she wanted to show them) and got ready to let it play, but not before turning her grin on Arkiri. "I bet you know exactly what they were getting ready for, based on those outfits," she said. "Even you were likely only privileged enough to see it once, just like I was, but I'll be sorely disappointed in you if you've forgotten about it."

Arkiri nodded easily, smiling. "I remember, Laralei." Sein glanced to Jet curiously, confused. In response, Jet returned the glance and shrugged. Laralei, meanwhile, played the other video.

By the time Laralei had resumed recording, the festivities were in full swing. All throughout the village, there was music and color. People sang and danced (some even danced with ribbons), some played instruments, some clapped along with the beat, and most threw fine, brightly colored powders into the air at varying intervals. Pinks, greens, yellows, reds, blues, and more carried easily on the breeze, dusting the people, their clothing, their homes, the snow, and more. This staining was clearly deliberate, for cheers often erupted to accompany the sight of great amounts of the powders being tossed up all at once. This was clearly some sort of celebration, one that each of the tribespeople were enjoying greatly.

More powder was thrown into the air. In unison, the people threw their left fists into the air and shouted in tune with their earlier singing, "A'ri ih'tu mori'a!" More cheers echoed out and the dancing and singing resumed with joyous fervor. It was chaotic, but at the same time it was very organized. Everyone knew the song and the dance. It was almost… choreographed in a way.

"Where is he…?" Laralei could be heard murmuring to herself as she zoomed and with the camera and slowly scanned the crowds. Moments later, she let out a triumphant, "Ah-ha!" when she suddenly spotted Kath in the crowd.

He was visibly only about twenty-one or right around there, meaning that was how old Laralei was, too, and that they were both just barely adults at this point. He was well within the heart of the crowd covered practically head to toe in color just like the rest of his tribe members. Amazingly, he wasn't just passively observing the events taking place around him. Instead, he was actively participating, singing along with everyone else, throwing a handful of powder into the air at one point along with a multitude of other people, and even taking part in the traditional dances. Even more amazingly, he was actually relaxed and smiling. Hell, he looked like he was having fun. It was an incredible thing to witness, being so far out of his usual character as it was. In a way, it was no wonder Laralei had wanted so badly to record it.

The video continued for quite a while past this point, but Laralei only let it play for a couple more minutes before going ahead and shutting it off.

Arkiri managed a warm smile, watching with quiet contentment. It had been so long since he'd seen one of these celebrations… It was hard to contain the joy that surged back at seeing it again. I always loved things like this.

Saying that Sein was pleased to see this would be an understatement, but it was hard to have a strong outward reaction. The exhaustion was weighing painfully on him after everything that had happened. He forced out a smile, though. Always good to see Kath happy. I don't get to see him show it so openly all that often. Thinking about much else was hard.

When no one else spoke up, Jet gave vent to his curiosity and asked, "What were they celebrating?"

"From what I understand, it's a sort of new year's event," Laralei said. "Kath told me about it once. The Satav'i tribe, you see, is one of the oldest tribes of Babylonians ever. They view the Faein in a lot of the same sort of light that many ancient cultures view their religious deities. So, this was all about celebrating the Faein and their efforts. The white clothes are representative of the empty existence the Faein were born into, and the colored powders represent all the things they created to fill that emptiness. What they were shouting can be roughly translated to, 'Praise be the creators'." She smiled again. "It's a really big deal for the tribespeople and they don't usually like letting outsiders participate. I didn't get to join in, but I was allowed to watch once since I was in a relationship with Kath."

"They're quite particular," Arkiri confirmed. "I was also allowed the privilege of viewing this amazing event once. It was certainly one of the highlights of my research, not that I documented much of it." He winked at Laralei, teasing, "Some people have a touch of respect."

"Pff, 'respect'," Laralei pretended to scoff. "Why, I've never heard a sillier concept in all of my life." Try though she might, she couldn't stop herself from smiling as she said this.

Alana tilted her head and spoke up before those two could continue their banter. "It was nice to see Father enjoying himself, but I did not expect him to participate in this sort of thing. It does not seem like him."

"He never did talk to you two about it," Laralei said to both her daughter and Sein, "but he grew up within that tribe, having very limited contact with the world beyond it prior to the raid that stole him away. His tribe means a lot to him. And besides that…" She smiled again. A was a smaller, more secretive smile. "Your father isn't religious in the strictest sense, but he believes in the Faein above all else."

Sein shrugged softly in reply. "That sounds about right, yeah. I never figured he'd be the religious type. Just logical."

"Generally, you'd be correct. Upbringings do influence people, though." Laralei set the camera aside. "I think I'll go fetch him now. Be right back." She walked out of the room without waiting for a reply.

A couple minutes later, she just about dragged Kath in by his long sleeve. They were having a soft not-quite-argument as they walked despite Laralei's ever-present smile, only for Kath to cease his grumbled complaints when he took in the way Sein's aura felt. He is… not doing well, he was forced to realize. To put it mildly. He glanced about the room for a moment, rapidly realizing what was going on in the process, before huffing at Laralei. "You're using my camera to do this, Lari? Seriously?"

"Yep," she answered cheekily. "Also, not sorry. Just saying."

Taking a moment to gaze between them, Arkiri walked over and leaned in, whispering, "Might I suggest 'weaponizing' Jet to your advantage for this plan?"

Kath raised an eyebrow, but gestured to Alana. "She plans to," he said vaguely.

Alana heard this and gave her son a smile, then turned it on Kath. "I told Father about something you like," she told her son. "He and I were both going to make one, especially once I had a chance to tell Sein and Mother about our plan, but I have not had time to do either. But I believe Father finished his. Am I correct?"

Kath frowned slightly at her while Jet looked on in subtle confusion. "I never said it was finished."

"Are you being indecisive?" Alana teased him. "That is rather unlike you."

Her father crossed his arms and huffed, managing to seem mildly defensive in the process. "I do not do this sort of thing typically, Alana. I would prefer not to be rushed."

This made Alana laugh softly. "What all is left, then?"

"It is not painted yet," Kath grumbled.

"That should be simple enough to do," Laralei grinned despite not knowing what they were talking about. "You're more than 'artsy' enough. Besides, you need the practice with freezing time. Give it a shot now, paint the train, and then you're good to go. Shouldn't take more than a second for the rest of us, if that."

When Kath just huffed again, Alana shook her head in amusement and connected to Sein's mind. "I had the idea for each of us to make Jet a train, like his children and this timeline's version of Father did him. We saw for ourselves just how much he loved them. I thought he would enjoy having new additions to his collection."

Sein managed a small chuckle and nodded slightly. "I guess the goal is to do it in a few seconds here?"

"Assuming Father is willing to cooperate and does not decide to be stubborn," Alana joked.

As she gave this reply, time froze around them. She was only aware of it having happened because, suddenly, Kath was standing in a different part of the room with a freshly painted and dried train hidden behind his back so that Jet couldn't see. Kath gave his daughter a dry look. "Happy now?" he huffed, though he was far from genuinely being annoyed.

"Moderately," Alana chuckled. She turned to her still confused son and said, "Your grandfather has something for you."

Kath tossed her some sort of look but nonetheless presented the object in question. In a flash, the train was no longer in Kath's hand. Jet was suddenly and inexplicably standing several feet away from where he'd been a split second earlier. He was looking at the train in great detail, turning it over and over in his hands so as to see every minute part of it. Then he turned to face his grandfather again with the train clutched close to his chest in both hands and his eyes full of hope and barely restrained glee. He was even bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, though he didn't seem to notice that whatsoever. "I can have this?"

Jet's clear excitement and other such positive emotions succeeded in teasing a rare, small smile out of Kath for a fleeting moment. As always, nothing in the whole of existence could soften him up like his family could. "Yes, you can. That is why I made it." Immediately, Jet grinned with obvious joy and vanished with his new prize to put it away in his room.

Sein had always been the most emotional of the family, in part due to his origins not being within the royal family to begin with. It showed clearly in the deep and warm smile on his face and teary eyes. Hah, dammit. You sneaky buttholes. Using my kid against me like that. He was amused, clearly, looking around the room with a raised eyebrow. "Weaponizing kids is hardly fair."

"Blame your wife," Laralei laughed. "It was her idea, you know." Arkiri, meanwhile, said a few quiet words to Kath and departed from the room.

"And I will not apologize for it," Alana informed him while giving him a sideways hug.

The man wrapped his arms around her, a hand on the back of her head as he pulled his wife in for a firm hug. "Thank you. I needed that."

"I know. We all did, Jet included." Alana leaned forward to kiss him briefly, then smiled. "Hopefully he's off playing now. I was informed by Wave and Sonic recently that he has not done that much as of late. I would like for him to enjoy himself for a time."

Sein chuckled a little and broke away from the hug. "That's good. He really needs the break from things."

"He does," Alana agreed. She stubbornly hung onto him for a moment longer before letting him go. Only then did she notice Azerel striding in, though the wolf did nothing more than lay down by Kath's leg. Then she noticed her parents seemed to be subtly communicating with one another using vague hand gestures and the like, as they often did. She was about to ask, but then they suddenly switched to verbal language.

"Is something the matter?" Laralei inquired to Kath. While she was genuinely checking on him (as she seemed to have picked up on something that no one else yet had), she was also clearly teasing - something he didn't quite appreciate. "You seem tense."

"I'm bored out of mind, Laralei," Kath hissed to her in undertone, clearly intending not to be overheard by anyone else lest their lightening moods be dampened all over again. But for some reason, their voices easily carried without either of them realizing it. Only belatedly did Alana realize that Azerel's magic might have something to do with that, judging by the wolf's smug look.

"The train was a welcome distraction and I did not mind spending time on it," Kath further said, "but I cannot take this idleness much longer. I need the chance to go out and do something. Anything, for mori'a's sake." It was exceedingly rare for him to get this worked up about anything, it was true. But nothing cut under his skin quite like stagnation and boredom did. He didn't just need mental stimulation, he absolutely craved it. And spending long hours shut in his observatory, while often enough to satisfy him, couldn't be reasonably expected to be a fix-all every time his inevitable boredom struck again.

Naturally Laralei, having known him most of their lives and having once been married to the man, understood all of this deeply. "I know," she murmured soothingly. "And I promise, it won't be much longer. Jet's pretty well on the mend by now, as you've seen, and Sein and Alana are both doing better now that Sein's not so gloomy. You shouldn't be cooped up for too much longer."

It wasn't that Kath didn't care about his family. He most certainly did with every fiber of his being. That was why he was subjecting himself to something he ordinarily rebelled strongly against, all with the express purpose of making certain his loved ones were safe, healthy, and at least somewhat okay emotionally. Still, even he had his limits. For whatever reason, be it stress or something else, he was approaching them at a rather quick pace now. But despite that, he made an immediate effort to reign himself back in and put a lid on his impatience. "...I know," he eventually said, sounding a touch more relieved than he managed to look. "I'm aware that they're doing better."

Laralei gave him a knowing smile and patted his arm. "Just bear with it a little longer, alright? I promise the hours won't drag by that slowly, especially if we get you and Sein up to any of your old antics." Alana hid a smirk by turning his head away and pretending to be focused elsewhere.

That earned a huff that was a mixture of derisive and amused. "I never involved myself in his antics," he stiffly refuted. "I only ever put a stop to them."

"Oh, then I suppose I must have imagined the time when Sein broke his ingenious little slime blaster and left it in the hall all disappointed to go complain to Li or whoever," Laralei grinned, "only to come back later and find it mysteriously fixed for him. Just in time for me to walk into shooting range, too."

Another huff. Kath's impassive mask was perfected as always. At this point, Alana found herself choking back a laugh. "I had nothing to do with that."

Sein decided that… perhaps a touch only he could provide was needed. The man vanished suddenly, leaving Kath, Laralei, Azerel, and Alana behind. He even went as far as to hide his presence, just to make him difficult to track. Kath's gaze flicked in the direction of where Sein had just been, then frowned down at Azerel with sudden understanding of what had been done. "Whatever is about to happen… know that I will blame you for it until the end of time." His companion had the gall to make a face like he was laughing.

As this happened, Laralei tried to suss out where Sein went. She came up empty and crossed her arms. "Hm. He appears to be hiding from us. We may want to disperse, lest he catch us in whatever prank he may be about to unleash."

"Mother, you should know by now that that would not save us," Alana said with a shake of her head. "He'd just find a way to round us up or, more likely, find some improbable way of getting us all simultaneously in different locations."

Just as the last word left her mouth, an explosion sounded off in a lower level of the palace. Kath pinched the bridge of his nose, then teleported down there without a word. Laralei sighed. "Oh, that reaction never bodes well for Sein." She promptly followed, causing Alana to join them.

Kath managed to narrowly miss the stream of bubbles that poured out of the room he appeared near. Sein's prank had already taken full effect here, and he was certainly gone by now… leaving the remains of this stunt of his oozing into the hallway at Kath's feet. Kath pinched the bridge of his nose a second time, his eyes closed with a scowl. "I'm going to kill him."

"I would rather you leave him alive," Alana said as she surveyed the damage. "Leave a sliver of life within him, if nothing else."

"That… may be asking for a bit much," Laralei chuckled. "Sein really outdid himself here."

A scream echoed out further down the hall, followed by a clatter of broken glass. Immediately, the group teleported to the source of the noise and chaos, intent on seeing what was going on. A woman was laid on a cushion of aura, two vases on the ground in pieces. Luckily, it seemed that Sein had protected people from being injured by his prank - a small but thoughtful thing to do. Alana set about repairing the vases while Laralei checked on the woman. That was when Azerel chose to appear beside Kath again, and the hawk cuffed his ear sharply with a hand. "There is a reason why Laralei and I did not want to be overheard, Azerel," he muttered.

"Oh, I know," Azerel retorted in obvious amusement. "But it's been far too long since I've had the privilege to witness Sein's unique brand of entertainment, so I thought I'd do all three of us a favor."

"Bastard."

Around this time, a few guards rushed into the hallway further down, yelling for someone to stop. It was clear even from a distance what Sein had done this time, an old favorite. He'd snatched their weapons and ran off. Alana surveyed this scene for perhaps two seconds before glancing at her father. "Perhaps now you can kill him," she allowed.

Kath grumbled something under his breath and vanished from sight. An instant later, he appeared beside Sein and took hold of one of his arms, forcing Sein to stop. He then snatched the weapons away and wordlessly passed them back to the out of breath guards. Only once he did that did he speak. "Are you quite finished?" Sein visibly smirked, then the clone and the apparently fake weapons vanished.

Laralei choked on a laugh. "Okay, that's something new. I wasn't expecting that one."

"Sein, where are you?" Alana called out in the hopes that he could hear. "You may want to quit while you're ahead."

"I'm already ahead! Of all the guards!" Sein shouted from the floor above them. The man had clearly done something else, considering the stomping and running sound that echoed after him.

While Laralei groaned and Alana scrambled for a quick (and preferably painless) solution to save her husband, Kath again teleported to Sein. He hadn't attempted to do this on a moving target since Steam had had him face Mephiles quite a while ago, but he nonetheless successfully froze Sein in time as soon as he finished his teleport. Or, well, he froze most of Sein. He left the younger man's face and chest free so he could speak and breathe. "That is enough."

Sein grinned cheekily. "Is it?"

"I recommend you not press your luck any further," was the disapproving reply. Laralei arrived on the floor and began sorting out the situation with the weapons and the guards, closely followed by Alana and Azerel.

"I did good this time," Sein chuckled. "Even fooled you for a second, there."

"Mortals cannot detect clones," Kath huffed. "That is not a sense I have developed yet. What you did was 'cheating'."

Sein huffed back at him, smiling. "I'm known to cheat at games like this. Sometimes you gotta break a rule or two."

"That is precisely why I will not play games with you." Kath went ahead and unfroze Sein, then crossed his arms. "You are impossible, Sein."

The man shifted to regain his balance, nudging Kath softly. "Oh, come on. You love playing games with me."

Kath rolled his eyes. "If this is what you count as a game, then I will adamantly disagree."

Deciding to not push his luck beyond reason, Sein simply shrugged, vanishing as the captain of the guard approached Kath. "Sir, did you see the culprit of theft from the armory?"

Huffing, Kath said, "The man who just departed is at fault. However… he was not intending to be malicious in his actions."

"...Sein?" The man asked briefly.

Kath offered little more than a nod as he set about trying to rewind time downstairs so as to clean up the bubbles. It took a bit of trying, but he soon succeeded. Not for the first time, he was forced to come to a simple and yet oddly troubling conclusion. Surely that should not be as difficult to manage as it keeps proving to be. Only belatedly did he speak, though he kept it brief. "He is likely long gone by now. You will be hard-pressed to locate him if you choose to try."

"I have to try, but thank you," the captain replied to Kath with a nod before walking off to set about getting Sein's pranks undone. He had a long day ahead of him.

~保護者~

Saethrim had spent many years chasing down vampires, mostly due to Ghune. She had often been problematic, to say the least, when she was still borderline feral. That aided him plenty here, as he was able to find Novei. However, what was confusing was that she wasn't doing any of the typical things he'd expect. He watched as the Therian lashed out at everything but living beings. Sure, she broke everything she touched… but she didn't even respond to his presence.

He walked closer as he stretched his energies toward her, working to quell her aggression slowly. "Hey, you alright?" the da Asani questioned lightly. "You're… acting weird."

She swung immediately at him, forcing him to duck to avoid her before taking a few steps back to avoid her wild barrage. "No, I'm not!" Novei snapped, ripping a tree out of the ground and throwing it at him.

Saethrim warped out of the way and hopped off of the tree before it hit the ground, frowning. "Cool it. Throwing yourself at everything isn't going to make this better. You've got all that cursed shit running through your body. You need help."

"I don't need anything!" Novei landed a solid hit to his stomach, and he had to admit… he was impressed with the strength of this mortal, considering it pushed him back a foot or two. It didn't really injure him, but… he felt like that was part of the point.

"Look, I'm here to help whether you like it or not. You need help."

"I do not."

"Then why are you not with Li, hm?" Saethrim suddenly demanded to know, pressing on a nerve. "Why are you out here ripping trees out of the ground and smashing boulders? It's because you're perfectly fucking fine, isn't it?"

Novei snapped, a particularly violent burst of her magic tearing through the ground around Saethrim. "Because if I'm near him, I'll hurt him! That stupid bitch fucked with my head, and now I can't be near the only person I fucking care about!"

Saethrim took the punch to his jaw without flinching, grabbing Novei by the arm and hoisting her off the ground. "Then get it together. If you want to be with him, you're going to need help. Otherwise, you're going to be alone. Do you understand?"

She wasn't sure she'd ever felt this way, but tears welled in her eyes at the thought of that as she kicked and punched at Saethrim. She didn't want to be without Li, but she was struggling. "I don't want to be alone! Let go of me!"

"I'm not letting go," Saethrim said with a frown. "I'm staying right here until we figure this out. Do you want me to take you to Li?"

"Yeah," she growled out, headbutting Saethrim with all of her strength. It still didn't harm him, but it made her feel better. That was all that mattered.

In an instant, Novei was next to Li, arms wrapped as tight as she could get them around his torso. That urge for violence burned in the back of her brain, but she simply used it to force herself to cling tighter, knowing he'd be okay… even if he struggled to breathe a little.

Li continued to hold her close. He didn't understand why she was leaning so low, but he didn't question it. What mattered was that she was here, that she was safe and okay. He'd never doubted she would be, but with this war… anything could have happened, even with her being as tough as she was. "Novei, are you okay?"

"No."

He winced, the choked sob barely audible but nonetheless ringing clear in his ears. A hand lightly rubbed on her back and he made sure to hold Novei nice and tight, clinging gently to her. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay. I'll make sure of it."

"Okay…"

The wolf wasn't used to hearing such short replies from her. At least, not like this… It shattered his already hurting heart to hear it, and he couldn't help but shed a few tears of his own, trying to quietly comfort her to the best of his ability. "I love you, Novei."

She glanced up, pupils dilated. Fighting against every new instinct she had as she whispered, "I love you too, Li." I love you so much...

~保護者~

Sothan felt like utter shit.

As soon as Li had uncorked the vials Cyca had handed him and the scent of blood had hit him, the cravings Sothan had been experiencing earlier in the day had returned and intensified. He hadn't been particularly hungry right that minute, but the craving he'd felt for blood was still strong at the time regardless. It had made it difficult for him to try to keep in mind to resist what was about to happen, but his resolve to do so had nonetheless remained. He'd refused to submit to corruption quietly. But now that he'd lost the fight and the corruption had fully set in…

He just didn't care.

All he cared about right now was satisfying his cravings for blood. The sheer intensity of them and the fact that they wouldn't stop made it feel like they were driving him insane. Yet he knew logically that his sanity was intact. It was his emotional control that was currently in shambles. He couldn't stop himself from desiring blood, nor could he seem to stop those desires from influencing his behavior. Prior to his corruption, control had been difficult but not impossible. Now he was fighting a losing battle… and having an increasingly difficult time working up the motivation to even just try and solve this problem.

Maybe that was more what the problem was. Not a lack of control, but rather a lack of totally genuine desire for said control. He pondered that almost idly as he released his bite on whoever he'd just fed off of. They dropped to the ground, pale, limp, and unresponsive. While he hadn't killed the person, he was certain they were going to die soon. But he didn't care about that, or about them. He cared about making these cravings stop so he could actually fucking think again. His still fangs ached with the desire to pierce skin, sink into flesh, and draw forth the object of his desire. And it was with that in mind that he disappeared back into the shadows of this random world's equally random city in search of another victim.

Meanwhile, a certain da Asani appeared on the planet, calmly following the trailing scent of blood. He knew well how to track a vampire, even without just directly locating them. His nose was just as sharp as Ghune's, if not stronger. It didn't take long for him to perch atop a building and begin stretching his powers out to begin trying to soothe the aggression Sothan had within him. His demeanor and expression were calm, almost cautious. If nothing else, he'd handle Sothan's desire for blood.

Owing to his many years of practice doing this sort of thing, Saethrim was able to quell the cravings (via calming the aggression that was, like Xin had predicted, fueling it) with relative ease and speed. As such, Sothan was able to force himself to release the latest person he'd bitten, though he was far from gentle about shoving them away from him. The person collapsed, unconscious, and was promptly ignored. Sothan appeared close to where Saethrim was (though he remained on the ground), looked up at him, and crossed his arms with a scowl. "What do you want?" he called out moodily.

Saethrim decided to not comment on Sothan being more open and willing to talk to him, despite how entirely abnormal it was. There were more important things to handle. "Came to talk, to check on you," the da Asani said simply. "I can feel that corruption rolling off of you."

Almost, Sothan scoffed. He refrained from actually doing so, however, in favor of teleporting his hammer to him. Or, rather, trying to. He was immediately met with resistance, and he immediately figured out why. Li had his weapon and was trying not to let him take it. A second and more forceful attempt easily wrenched it away from his nephew, however, causing it to appear in Sothan's right hand. He swung it up onto his shoulder and draped his wrist over the long pole with his other hand resting lightly on his hip. It was a common, usually casual posture he often assumed. This time, it was decidedly not casual. "I've no interest in dealing with you."

"Look, I get it, but we both know there's no chance of me going anywhere. Let's just talk this through and work it out. I can help," Saethrim replied, watching Sothan's body language with extreme acuity. If he hits me with that, it'll be bad. I can probably only take two or three hits and no more if I don't have some sort of regeneration active.

Sothan debated heavily what he wanted to do. The urge to cause injury was rather powerful but, unlike Novei, he wasn't completely out of control. Not now that his cravings had been handled, at any rate. So, for now, he held off. Instead he bit out in a stiff tone, "Not. Interested."

Li appeared moments after this was said with his own weapon in hand, interrupting the thought process Saethrim had. "Oh, I'm glad it was you that grabbed the hammer. Got worried it was Nareish," the younger wolf said with a sigh of relief, glancing between the two men. It was a terribly veiled lie. One that Sothan smelled easily.

Not deigning to reply to that, Sothan glanced at Li. His eyes, which were once warm and caring, were now cold and full of cruelty. Yet despite that, he still didn't immediately act. He was still trying to decide whether he wanted more to leave or to kill. Leaving is tempting, but…

His nephew stared for a long moment before he softly asked, "Would you please come back home? All of this stuff happening to our family hurts so bad. I keep watching all of you get hurt or corrupted or turned, and it breaks my heart to know you're going through something like that."

"No." The answer was short. Dismissive. Almost harsh, in a way. Sothan may well have said more than that, too, had Xin not chosen that moment to join his son.

Xin appeared by Li's side and took quick stock of the situation. This… does not look good. Careful to keep his voice level and his energies calm, he spoke. "I don't suppose you would be willing to return to the forge with us, Sothan."

"No," Sothan muttered, eyes narrowing very slightly. "I told Li the same thing. I'm not interested."

Saethrim took stock of the situation quietly, tapping his foot on the ground. They all knew each other better than he knew them, and it was likely that Sothan would be more inclined to listen to the other wolves. The da Asani made a quick decision and vanished, moving far away to give them room while also keeping track of the situation.

Right about the time he did this, Xin tried again. "Is there a specific reason why you're refusing?" he asked, attempting to be reasonable. "You're always comfortable in your home. Surely that hasn't changed. So why not come back?"

"None of your damn business." Sothan turned to fully face him. The wrist he had draped over his weapon's handle shifted so that he was now loosely grasping said handle in his hand. "Leave me be or I will make you."

Li decided to take a chance. "I'm not going anywhere, Sothan. You coming home is far too important." He thought for a second, then pursed his lips. "You're gonna play right into Nareish's hands. She was surely behind all of this. Don't you think she'd want you running off alone while being violent? Doesn't that sound like her brand of chaos?"

He knew that. Of course he knew that. It was just difficult to think with that kind of logic with such fresh and potent corrupted energies coursing through him. It was for that reason that Sothan found himself contemplating actually following through on his threat. Nareish's will be damned… I don't care what she wants, or what they want.

Seeing that none of this was working in their favor, Xin decided to play a different and much riskier angle. "You hate Nareish, do you not?" he boldly asked. Sothan leveled him with a cold, withering glare. "Hatred was not something you used to be capable of to my knowledge, much like how you are incapable of fear. Despite that, I've smelled hatred on you ever since I rejoined our family. She did something to you aside from just stealing you away and ensuring your death." Whatever that something was, I cannot imagine that you are willing to just let her get away with it scot-free. It is shaky motivation for an alliance, but even so… If you'll just come with us…

That hope was immediately dashed. "Yī bìzuǐ," Sothan told him sharply, temper flaring all over again. He didn't acknowledge anything Xin said beyond issuing that harsh command, but that level of sudden hostility seemed to indicate that Xin wasn't far off-base. He'd clearly hit upon something that struck a nerve within his brother-in-law. ("Shut up.")

On instinct (as instincts were very powerful among wolves), Xin flinched back a little and lowered both his ears and his eyes submissively. Sothan and Yuma, being the oldest members of the family (and thus, their pack) were the alphas. Obviously they weren't a mated pair, but that wasn't how it worked in this specific group regardless. However, Sothan had never, not even once, exercised that authority before. And he certainly hadn't done so in such a biting tone of voice, because that simply wasn't how he acted normally. But this isn't normal, Xin had to remind himself as he worked on forcing himself to relax. None of this is.

Li flinched as well, but he knew he had to push through that. It was rare for him to put in the effort to challenge authority, but he'd done so with Cere in the past. That at least made this a tiny bit easier. "Is it because of what she did to you all those years ago, or how I got forced to take your earring so Nareish could use it?"

Sothan shifted his glare squarely onto Li now but, for reasons known only to him, partially answered the question. "It has nothing to do with you."

A new presence and voice interrupted that line of dialogue. "Perhaps I can explain, hm?" Sothan whirled around just in time to see Nareish appear several feet behind him, and she chuckled at the thunderous expression he immediately began to wear in response. "Good to see you, too, Sothan."

Xin tensed and stared at her for a moment, then bared his fangs. "Why the are you here?"

Li bared his fangs as well, growling viciously - a rarity for him. "Get the hell away from my family." Rather than comply, Nareish (or, rather, what appeared to be a weakened clone of hers) began to move threateningly toward him. An attack formed and sailed in his direction not a second later.

Sothan was hit by a wave of protective instincts but, in his corrupted state, he didn't immediately recognize them for what they were. Not until they forced him to move, to put himself between his nephew and the attack and take the blow himself. He was largely unharmed by it, but the ordeal angered him nonetheless. Being corrupted, it seemed, hadn't successfully altered all of his instincts despite the way his emotions, thoughts, and so on had changed. But that wasn't something he paid much mind to at that moment.

Heedless of the fact that he was facing Nareish (in a manner of speaking, at least), he further inserted himself between the woman and his nephew, even going so far as to roughly shove Li aside with one hand. The push was rough enough, in fact, that it made the younger wolf stumble. He had never before laid his hands on Li in such a manner. Sothan didn't care about that, though, or the fact that he personally now had a multitude of bleeding wounds.

He was feeling equal parts angry and protective, and that caused him to glare hatefully at Nareish. His upper lip was curled in a lupine snarl, baring the elongated and sharpened canines that, like for all vampires, acted as his fangs. He kept that snarl up as he bit out, "You will not touch him again." Immediately, he was craving blood anew, though now for a very different reason (namely the fact that he wanted to kill her). And at the same time as this feeling struck, his pupils narrowed into dangerously thin slits. Unlike most newly turned vampires, however, he appeared to remain in control of himself.

Small comfort.

Nareish, damn her, had the gall to smile. Even to chuckle, on top of that. "My dear Sothan… Fearless as ever. One would think that spending so many eons with me would have remedied that at least somewhat, but clearly not. Oh, well. Even I cannot succeed at everything, now can I?"

Xin picked himself up off the ground, clutching painfully at one of his own wounds. A portion of the attack had veered off-course and struck him. It went ignored as he muttered, "Eons? What the hell are you talking about?" Sothan, meanwhile, snarled a second time and moved to again bar Nareish's way when she made a subtle move toward Li.

Li was in a state of shock, despite having recovered his footing. He knew protective instincts when he saw them, but… being moved in such a way, and by this person no less… For now though, he put those thoughts out of his mind - if only out of necessity. Then he turned to properly face Nareish, his growling resuming. "This isn't your style. What do you want?"

Laughing at everyone's different demeanors, Nareish saw fit to explain. "Yes, little vampire," she said to Xin while ignoring Li. "Eons. I assume you're all under the assumption that he died quickly by my hand… and you would be correct. But reviving him over and over again whenever he met such a fate, all without allowing him access to the power necessary to keep his beloved sister alive… That was quite a trivial matter. And besides, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to torture someone who cannot experience trauma in quite the same way as most others. Do you want to tell them how truly recently you died and stayed that way, love, or shall I?"

Sothan growled lowly in the back of his throat, but was strangely… quiet other than that. He didn't even attempt to refute her words, much less answer the question. If anything, he seemed to be fighting with himself not to simply lash out at her. No doubt the corruption was making that far more difficult than it otherwise would have been. "By my count," Nareish continued with a smile, "it was a mere three hundred years ago. Hardly that long at all, considering just how many years he was in my care."

"What the hell are you…?" Xin trailed off, unable to come up with a better response as his brain tried to catch up to what they'd just been told. Three hundred years ago? That's not… How could it have been so recent?

"I taught that man hatred," Nareish murmured, her voice and eyes full of dark glee. "I showed him how it felt to despise something with every fiber of his being, to experience nothing but sheer animosity when faced with the subject of his fury. I would have loved to teach him fear as well… but, alas, that is one experience it seems he will never have. Still, such hatred makes corruption far easier and more enjoyable to behold, don't you think?"

She chuckled again and turned her full attention onto Li, prompting Sothan to tense in preparation to react to any further threats that might come his nephew's way. "You think he still cares about you in any capacity, pup? While he may be protecting you now, I can assure you that it is solely an instinctual matter." She smiled a second time, the expression dark and menacing. "He has weighed the value of your life and found it worth… nothing." Sothan scowled at her, his eyes full of absolute contempt, but inexplicably he still didn't say anything. She smiled to herself. "This is no longer the man you knew. He lives in shadow now, and that is where he will stay. Forever."

Something in Li snapped at this moment. His pupils dilated and his ears turned back, offended. "Get. The fuck. Away. From my family." The growl in his throat intensified, despite knowing that he had no chance of fighting her. "I'm really tired of dealing with your shit, and of all of your toying."

When Nareish responded by again making a move to come closer and threaten Li with injury, Sothan reacted by shoving Li away for the second time and again and putting himself between them. "Gǔn kāi ba," he muttered darkly. As ever, his native tongue came to him easier when he was upset. Whether or not Nareish understood what he'd said was unclear, though. The smirk and accompanying chuckle she answered him with would likely have been the same regardless. ("Back the fuck off.")

Xin watched him, suddenly feeling even more worried than before. Sothan flip-flopping freely between Chinese and the Universal Language wasn't uncommon, but the reason why it happened this time had him alarmed… as did something else his senses were telling him. He's giving off disturbing magical energy. Being careful to keep an eye on Nareish at all times, he hurried over to his son and pulled him back a ways. Sothan only kills when there is absolutely no other choice. He doesn't kill if it can be avoided. He just doesn't. But just now… I don't think any of that could be further from the truth. Still… he isn't stupid, much less stupid enough to launch an attack against her. Or even one of her clones, in this case. There's just… no telling what else he might do instead.

Now for the third time, Nareish decided to threaten Li. She released another small but powerful attack, only for Sothan to slam it away with his hammer. This appeared to please her for one reason or another. Her pleasure no doubt increased when the attack struck some distant building and exploded. Anyone who may have been dwelling there was likely dead now. "I knew I chose correctly when picking you," she boldly stated, her dark eyes glistening with mal intent. "You certainly are the ideal father for my newest child."

Just like that, a fresh snarl erupted from Sothan as yet more protective instincts surged up within him. He clutched tightly at his weapon, yet forced his feet to remain rooted to the spot. No matter what his instincts were telling him about how badly he needed to remove this threat to his child and nephew, he refused to give in to them this time. He wasn't an idiot, unlike what she often seemed to think. This wasn't a fight he could win… a fact which he was well aware of. Still, that did nothing to stop him from responding to her words with his own. "Yuǎnlí tā fǒuzé nǐ huì hòuhuǐ de." ("Stay away from him or you will regret it.")

"Oh, is that a threat?" Nareish all but purred. It seemed she could understand him, after all.

"Bùshì," Sothan muttered. "Zhè shì yīgè chéngnuò." ("No. It is a promise.")

Suddenly, Nareish turned her attention onto Li. The reason for this abrupt change in focus was unclear, even when she began to speak. "Your uncle developed a wonderful ability to compartmentalize, you know," she told him. "Out of necessity, he grew extraordinarily skilled at tucking all of his memories and emotions and trauma from his time in my realm away into a neat little box in some dark corner of his mind where he could then refuse to acknowledge it. If not for this and his lack of ability to feel fear, I do believe I would have shattered him a thousand times over by now." Her mouth twisted up into a wry, malicious grin. "But as you've so clearly been able to experience for yourself by now, the hatred and anger are still there… And I do so love dragging them to the surface. Every time they show themselves, it will make his corruption that little bit worse."

Sothan decidedly did not like being talked about as if he wasn't there. Much less having it happen for the umpteenth time in one encounter. Still, though the temptation was there, he refused to blow up at her for it. Such rash, volatile emotions were more a demon's forte than his own. He'd displayed enough explosivity for one day. Instead, he settled back into his earlier coldness, something he did with almost supernatural ease. That last detail seemed to bother Xin immensely, but Sothan ignored it. And Xin himself. And Li. He focused instead on one simple thing. Namely, figuring out how to make Nareish leave. He was sure of one thing, though. She will not depart until she is good and ready to. She is enjoying this far too much.

Li stared at Nareish silently, his grip on his own hammer tightening. He was rapidly growing tired of being targeted with those attacks, and certainly wasn't pleased about what had happened to his uncle. "And you say all of this why?"

"Why would I not?" Nareish smiled. "I enjoy seeing people in pain. Lately, I have enjoyed your pain, specifically. And his, of course." Time froze around them with no warning, leaving only her and Li untrapped. "There. Now we can speak in private for just a moment."

Daring, brash, Li walked toward her, eyes narrowed with an intense fire behind his eyes. "I'm not in the mood for your games, Nareish. Stop playing with my family like pawns."

"You are not in a position to be making demands, pup." Nareish promptly froze his body in time, albeit without freezing the parts of him (namely vital organs) that would result in suffocation or other forms of death. She did also leave him able to speak, since she very much wanted him to reply. "I do, however, greatly enjoy the rage you're displaying."

He didn't cower, nostrils flaring. "If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me. My position doesn't matter except that you see me as below you. So, play your sick and twisted game with my heart for the umpteenth time and go. We all know you have other people you want to torture."

His use of that last word made her laugh. "This is less a game and more of an… act of goodwill, so to speak. There is information you desperately need, and as it happens I possess that information. I trust you do want to know how to save your girlfriend, do you not?"

Li took a moment and abated his rage, something he knew scarily little of containing due to how rarely he even experienced anger. As he did this, he stared unflinchingly at her. "Yes, I do."

"I've been working for a long, long time to get your uncle to this point," she told him. "Why would I pass up the opportunity to draw one of the single most ancient and powerful beings in all of existence to my side? Or, at the very least, close to it. This state he's in now, this malice in his heart… He will not be rid of it easily. Certainly not without substantial aid. But do you know what the real trick is?"

She gave him that same dark smile she'd been wearing earlier. "This type of corruption… The victim has to want to overcome it, or else they never will. Novei may well succeed, but Sothan? He is trapped and suffering in a prison of my making, and likewise in a well of his own emotions, yet he is choosing to no longer struggle for freedom. I suggest you ask yourself why that is… assuming you ever want him to love you again. As he is now, I do believe he is wholly incapable of such an emotion."

His pupils dilated further even as his eyes narrowed, biting back the urge to growl at her. "Is that all you have to say to me?"

Chuckling, Nareish set him free just as time resumed its standard flow. "Incidentally, it is. But there is one more thing you may wish to know. As I said, she may well free herself. But as for him… it isn't going to happen. You will be wasting your time." Xin looked on in silence, confused by the seemingly random dialogue between these two.

"And you've wasted your breath," Li muttered, lips twitching as he bit back the urge to snarl.

In one last weak ploy to cause massive problems, Nareish suddenly drew a knife and cut into her own throat. "I know what you're craving, Sothan. Come to me if you truly want it. Or don't. Your choice." Chuckling softly to herself, she vanished.

The temptation to give in and make chase was strong, especially since he had already tasted her blood once before - however unwillingly. Still, Sothan remained stubbornly rooted to the spot, refusing to let himself make even the slightest movement in that direction. "Tā mā de," he muttered bitterly under his breath while wrenching gaze away from the droplets that had splattered the ground. ("Fuck.")

Li walked over to Sothan. He only stopped once he was sure Sothan could at least turn his head to see him without having to see the blood. "I know you don't care right now, but I want to help you get her killed, even if it's not you that ends her."

Upon hearing his voice, one of Sothan's ears reflexively swiveled toward the sound and he glanced at Li. You could collect the contempt from his gaze in a jar, but his voice was more cold than angry at the moment. "As you said… I don't care."

The younger wolf looked over, trying his damndest to not show the intensity of the anger he was feeling currently. It wasn't like any of it was directed at Sothan, anyway. "I won't lie about this. You're gonna see me again if you leave. I'm going to find a way to get through to you, no matter what it takes. She can't just get away with taking and taking from everyone forever."

Xin took a cautious step forward. "Listen… I won't force you to say one way or the other, least of all right now, but if absolutely anything that Nareish claimed to have done to you was true… would it not be the wiser decision for you to return home with us? I cannot stand the idea of her getting her disgusting hands on you again."

"Not to mention, she wants you to stay like this, because it's better for her. You'd be playing into her game, letting her be right." Li's comment felt colder than he'd intended and he winced. Was this how Novei felt all the time? No wonder she's so aggressive. My heart feels like it's on fire.

Sothan responded to this coldness with more of his own. His expression hardened and looked away from Li. Yet, as he trained his gaze on the place where Nareish had just been, he didn't say anything anywhere near as biting as he could have. "I won't let her have her way," he muttered slowly, "nor will I let her or anyone else harm either of you. But that does not mean I am willing to go with you."

Xin again decided to play a different angle. "If that's the case, then think about it this way. We'd ultimately be safer with you around than we would be otherwise. Not many individuals think it wise to tangle with you, as I'm sure you recall." And that's even with not knowing about you somehow becoming an Immortal. I get the feeling even you don't know about that just yet.

"Even Saethrim once acknowledged that you're troublesome to fight. Extremely hard to hurt, very strong," Li replied, adding to the point.

Rationality was still a bit difficult to cling to due to the corruption. Despite that, Sothan knew full well that they were correct. He wasn't pleased about it, but he knew it was true. However, he had always been confident without ever crossing the line into being overconfident, arrogant, or egotistical. He simply knew what he was capable of… and what he wasn't. Kicking most of his enemy's asses just so happened to be something he was perfectly capable of doing. That didn't mean he liked being forced to agree with these two, though. Scoffing a little, he frowned to himself and thought the matter over. You bastards. "...Fine."

Li glanced to Xin, visibly concerned. "I suppose we need to make sure that Novei and Sothan aren't near each other, yeah?"

"That's… likely for the best," Xin agreed with a worried expression. I don't think he'll care enough to do anything aggressive toward her, but… that likely won't go both ways.

"Let's get back to the forge. I'll handle Novei. She seems willing to listen to me right now," Li explained, biting back the urge to sigh. This was all exhausting him rapidly.

"Alright." Casting a furtive glance at Sothan, Xin went ahead and teleported away. Please follow, he thought as he went. Please follow. It certainly took a moment, but Sothan eventually did so.

While waiting, Li had already teleported to the forge himself and ushered Novei away into his room, gently closing the door and subsequently blocking out her angered mutterings. "Man, this is gonna suck…"

Sothan promptly disappeared into his own room, slamming the metal door shut in a wall-shaking display of uncharacteristic temper. Xin winced, due in no small part to his enhanced vampiric senses (to include hearing), but thought it best to leave him be. Attempting to bother him more would likely just make things worse. "You can go ahead and stay with Novei if you'd like," he told his son with a heavy sigh. "I'll do my best to keep an eye on your uncle."

Li took in a sharp breath and released it, frowning. "Yeah… I'll keep her busy and see what I can do to help out. Just…" He sighed and began walking, reapproaching the door. "Just keep me updated. This whole thing is gonna suck."

Xin nodded a little, feeling pained. "I will. I ask that you do the same. Novei will not listen to me, I suspect, but I will nonetheless do my best to help if you need me to at any point." Sothan, however… didn't seem particularly inclined to listen to either of us for the most part.

"Novei will listen to me, that much I know… It's just… about whether or not we can really keep them both in check and cooperating with us even somewhat." Li sighed, running a hand over his face. "I can't imagine Sothan will want to play nice, considering what all he's going through."

This caused Xin to let out a heavy sigh of his own. Again. "He's been oscillating rather dramatically between violent aggression and cruel coldness… so, no, I don't think he'll 'play nice' at this point. Whatever trauma Nareish may or may not have truly left him with is no doubt to blame for it, in large part. Negative memories and emotions will worsen the effects of the corruption in him, and thus also in Novei." It's imperative that we try to keep them calm and emotionally stable. I just don't know quite how.

Li was quiet for several seconds before walking over to Xin and wrapping his father into a hug, one that was tight… seeking comfort. "I hate this, everything about it. How it makes me feel, how it affects everyone… I just want this to stop."

Xin hugged him back just as tightly for the very same reason. "So do I," he admitted. "This is all just… so painful. But we'll find a way to get through this, Li. I promise you."

A deep breath in, followed by Li slipping out of the hug. "I'm gonna try to keep Novei settled down, help her relax. I think getting her some sleep could help."

"That might be a good idea," Xin agreed. "I'm going to keep an eye on Sothan, like I said… and I'll also contact Ghune about what happened."

Li nodded. "She might know more about how to handle this. That's a really good idea." He offered a small smile.

Doing his best to smile back, Xin let out a tired chuckle. "So long as she doesn't bite my head off for not telling her instantly, yes," he said.

The younger wolf nudged his father with a bump of his fist. "We'll find our way out of this… somehow. Now, go, before she decides to get angrier for you being slow."

"Alright, alright." Xin chuckled a little more and motioned for Li to go on.

Li headed off, slipping into his room and walking to Novei to relax. Once he was gone, Xin exited the building to sit outside. He conjured up a magical screen to view his friend and quietly called out her name to get her attention. "Ghune?"

Ghune immediately glanced over, snapping her fingers. The scenery behind her changed, appearing to be outside now. "Ak- Xin?"

"Yes, I'm sorry for interrupting you," he sighed. "I've got… several pieces of bad news to share with you, however."

"You're gonna make me go repair my sanctum if this keeps up," Ghune murmured, half-joking in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Speak, please."

"First of all… I've regrettably come to the conclusion that Sothan is a so-called 'craver'," Xin murmured. "He's nowhere close to being a 'blood-junkie', but his cravings are intense and constant. He can control them, just not always easily."

Ghune frowned visibly. "How possible would it be to set up an alchemical laboratory in short order? I may be able to help it."

"Do you have a specific idea in mind?" Xin asked her. "I was never totally clear on how you treated individuals with this condition, on account of always being away traveling."

"It's a messy and complicated endeavor, but a concoction that alters the positive brain chemicals produced by indulging in those cravings can dissuade the desire… at least by a margin. It would be dangerous to do it to an extreme degree."

Xin nodded slowly. "Perhaps we can find a way to entirely cure it, in time. That would be preferable." He considered the matter for a moment, then said, "Adding a new room to the forge will be easy for Sothan to do with that creation magic of his. I'll see about asking him to do that, that way we can set up a lab for you. Perhaps a room where you and your partner can rest as well. With how dark and quiet it is here, I hope that Black Doom would feel relatively comfortable." Though, convincing Sothan to help right now will be… challenging, I fear.

"Doing so would be immensely helpful, though I do mildly fear that being in proximity of the forge may invite further threats to come his and my way… But it's hard to allow that to change my mind in the face of a war."

"I'll leave it up to you either way," Xin said, "especially considering my second and third pieces of bad news." He hesitated for a long moment before saying, "I may be wrong, but it seems that Nareish revived Cyca. Possibly Lior as well, though I only saw Cyca. She appeared to be working for Nareish, but not in a manner that was normal for her. It may have been some form of control. I doubt even she would have allied herself with Nareish willingly. But regardless of that, Cyca infiltrated the forge and force-fed Novei and Sothan vials of tainted blood. Two for Novei, four for Sothan. Novei is relatively stable at the moment, but they're nevertheless corrupted now."

Ghune's eyes darkened and she grabbed the magical screen that allowed them to speak, opening it into a portal that she stepped through. This succeeded in rousing Black Doom, who merely raised his head to watch them silently. "She what?"

Xin immediately stood up. "She did exactly what I said," he confirmed unhappily. "There's nothing about that which I would have fudged the truth about."

Her nails clicked against one another as she forced herself to calm down. Reacting in rage would worsen the problem. "Convince Sothan to expand the forge. I will begin work on that issue immediately."

Now, Xin was often fearlessly bold when it came to speaking to Ghune, disobeying her milder commands, and so on and so forth. But this was an order he knew better than to ignore. So he nodded without hesitation. "I'll do what I can, Ghune. He's been… struggling, however, to deal with the symptoms of the corruption. I may be able to get through to him, but I'll need a bit of time."

It seemed she was already working, a vial in one hand as she filled it with a steady stream of her own blood to the halfway mark. Ghune then teleported it elsewhere. "I understand. I'll inform Ryint… I just hope she listens to me. She knows best where to find the reagents I need."

Xin didn't doubt that that was the case, so he didn't say anything about it. He instead took a risk (one made more dangerous due to Ghune's potential reaction, he believed) by turning his head to look at Black Doom. "Would you be open to the idea of staying here for a while?" he asked softly.

Black Doom blinked at him, then glanced at the forge, then looked at Ghune. She was clearly comfortable enough in that place… and that more than anything else led to him just shrugging as opposed to answering with any form of a "no". Either way, though, he continued his recent behavior of just not speaking.

"It may be more defensible," Ghune noted quietly. "I will bring you here in a moment, Black Doom. Feel free to rest a while longer."

No substantial reply was given, so Xin returned his attention to Ghune. "I may be wrong, but… I'm almost certain that he and Sothan met once before, a very long time ago. I may be able to work that to our advantage in getting Sothan to agree to doing this. I'll get started with him now, unless there's more you want to discuss first."

"Please do. I have to contact Ryint directly and speak with her. She has been distant since our…" Ghune sighed. "Fucking hell… this is hard to handle."

"I understand," Xin told her sincerely. "Once things here have settled a bit more, I'll be more than happy to try and help the two of you as well. Things may be a touch rocky between you both now, but they can be mended with time and effort. I want to assist in that as much as possible."

She nodded slowly, not acknowledging the idea any further. "I have to go now. I will bring Black Doom here momentarily."

"I understand." Xin gave her a respectful nod (friends or not, she was still their people's leader, after all) and then turned to head inside. He was out of sight within seconds. Ghune vanished immediately, trying to distract herself. There was just so much to do now… and so little time to do it all. There was no other option than to try and prepare.

~保護者~

As ever, Espio found himself struggling to put his thoughts and feelings about private, vulnerable matters into words. Seeing Amaris so thoroughly corrupted, knowing that he could never raise a hand against her (much less lay a single finger on her), being forced to watch as other people put themselves at risk in his stead… He'd hated all of it. More specifically, he'd hated the way it had made him feel. And he'd especially hated that he hadn't been able to protect her from being in such a situation to begin with.

Vulnerable was a good word, actually. It seemed to describe at least some of his emotions with fairly high accuracy. He hadn't been afraid in the truest sense of the word, but what he'd felt was certainly stronger than mere worry. But, like always, he couldn't figure out how else to label any of his feelings beyond this type of lackluster definition. In truth, he was losing any and all inclination to try as well. The longer Armaris lay in his bed and peacefully rested, the more at ease he began to feel. Those negative emotions, whatever they were, had been fading for some time now.

Though he wanted to go to his bedroom and check on her again, Espio forced himself to stay where he was. He didn't want to disturb her sleep. However, the lack of activity made him antsy. He most often preferred to be doing things, even if it was just reading or meditating, as opposed to just sitting around. Yet he couldn't find the motivation to do much, not until he saw with his own eyes that she was awake, alert, and fully herself. Logically, he knew she was fine. His mind was just, for whatever reason, stuck on the idea of needing to see it before accepting it.

An especially loud groan interrupted his thoughts, emerging from the object of his concerns. Armaris roused from her unconscious state. "Espio," she whined. "I'm hungry."

Letting out a small breath (even he wasn't sure if it was a sigh of relief or not), Espio stood from the table and walked into the bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the bed and, ignoring her plaintive whining about hunger, asked her, "Are you feeling alright now?"

Armaris grumbled a little and rolled over, her darkness lightly coiling around Espio and attempting to drag him closer. "I'm cold, cuddle with me…"

Espio huffed and let her pull him down onto the bed with little to no resistance at all. Then he went ahead and draped an arm over her waist. "You complain too much," he chided her softly, though he didn't really mean it.

"Yeah, but I woke up to you not cuddling me. That's what you get," Armaris huffed at him, nestling her head into his neck tiredly. "Everything hurts…"

"Is the pain serious?" Espio asked her, concerned anew.

"I'd say yes, but I'm not sure," Armaris murmured. "It just all hurts. I can't really tell."

Espio didn't immediately speak, choosing instead to lean back a bit in order to re-examine her for any sign of injury. "It may just be from the purification," he eventually said. "The process is far from gentle."

Armaris whined in agitation. "I was so cool for like, five minutes," she joked, nestling in close. "Actually kinda keeping pace with chameleons gave me some hope to not be a weakling forever."

This made Espio sigh, and he tightened his hold on her. "You are not weak, Armaris."

She moved a hand mockingly, then let herself slump into a relaxed position, huffing. "I'm not good enough to take over Cere's role. She took me in as a student and for years has struggled to get me to a point where she believes I'd be safe to go and fight on my own."

"Armaris, do you truly think that Cere would have offered this chance to you if you were unfit?" Espio gently challenged her. "I, for one, highly doubt it."

"I…" Armaris sighed, just staring off elsewhere. "I don't know. She's kinda struggling as a result of this war being waged for so long. Tired of seeing people she cares about die."

Espio supposed he could understand that. But even so… "That does not detract from my point, Armaris."

"Maybe she got desperate for someone to be able to take her place," Armaris replied quietly, nestling her face against his chest. "I just don't think I'm good enough to be what she is."

"I know little about the woman," Espio admitted, "but she does not strike me as the sort of person to deliberately give false hope to someone, much less for her own gain. And I do not believe for a single second that she would do so to you, specifically."

Armaris knew he was right, and yet she wanted to argue against him. But she knew better. Cere was a good, strong woman. "I guess I just feel like I'll never be able to be like her. She's so… strong, powerful, in so many ways. I'm a demon, impulsive, violent. But I'm so, so weak. I don't have her willpower or drive. Can I even be enough to stand in such a position?"

"Armaris, listen to me," Espio frowned. "You are not weak, and I do not like that you continue to tell yourself otherwise. You are strong in all ways, whether you believe it or not."

Her gaze flicked away. "That's not what others think."

"They can take their opinions and shove them up their asses," Espio muttered in a very Toru-like fashion. "The only opinion about you that truly matters is yours. Everything else is background noise." It felt… hypocritical of him to be saying this, all things considered. Hell, it straight-up was hypocritical. But that didn't matter so long as it helped her. He hoped it would.

Armaris didn't say anything for a long moment, just cuddling into Espio with a firm grasp. "I guess so…" she murmured. "It just doesn't feel good to know that people overlook me because of… well, a lot…"

"No. It doesn't." Whether he wanted to be or not, Espio found himself acutely aware of all of Armaris's emotions. Hugging her closer only seemed to make the sensations stronger. He strove to ignore them for her sake, though. "But that does not mean that you cannot make it through."

"I just wish that I could prove them wrong," Armaris huffed softly. "I know this thought process isn't safe or good, but… during those corruptions, it felt like no matter what, I never really made progress in what I was doing. The most I've managed… that I can remember, was killing Rose. I don't really consider that a grand feat, though. She was stronger when we all met her."

Now Espio found himself at a loss for what to say. In truth, he was surprised that this hadn't happened sooner. He didn't know what else to do, so he focused on just being honest with her. "I'm sorry that I cannot help with those thoughts, Armaris."

"You already did," Armaris said gently, planting a soft kiss on his chest. "Just listening helps a lot. Sometimes I feel like people just let my words flow over them because I'm weird."

That earned her a huff. "I am far from 'normal', either," he pointed out mildly. You are, as Sonic once said, 'preaching to the choir'... Whatever that means.

"And I love that about you."

Utavi's voice lightly echoed in Espio's mind, deciding to poke into the conversation. "You can mention to her that every time she's been corrupted, she's become a much more immense threat. As unusual as it sounds, she responds well to knowing that she performed well, even if it was while doing less than pleasant things."

Armaris immediately noticed Espio being distracted, slipping her head up to raise an eyebrow at him. Only once the source of his distraction stopped speaking did he notice the look his partner was giving him. He huffed, already knowing the answer to this full well but deciding to ask anyway. "You won't be satisfied without an explanation, will you?"

"You read my mind," Armaris teased. "You don't get distracted easily."

That was true. It was also fine that she wanted to know what was going on. He'd intended to tell her, anyway, despite his dislike of talking at length. "Early into our conversation, time apparently froze. I only know this because I was freed from it at some point and taken to where Jet and a Faein were. They intended to kill Malevolence if possible and wanted to know if I could handle such a thing, with regards to my Darkness. I told them I could not, and that Faein suggested I allow another one to assist me. She was speaking just now."

"How is-" The cat's ears suddenly turned and she blinked. "Is she, uh… Like… Hanging out in you?"

"...In a manner of speaking," Espio answered slowly. "I don't know how to explain it and would rather not make the attempt."

"Hm, I knew I felt more gay suddenly," Armaris lilted, smirking. "And I was pretty sure that it wasn't you being a woman this time."

"The hell are you talking about?" Espio asked her. He was unsure in that moment if he was more exasperated, amused, or confused. Probably all three.

"I mean, if there's a woman inside you and I'm all cuddled up to you, it means I'm real close to a woman, too." Armaris winked, then whispered. "I could make it less so." Espio narrowed his eyes at her slightly, as if daring her to try and follow through with her pretend threat. She smirked and kissed his cheek, nestling against him again. "As long as it helps you, I'm fine with it. You deserve a bit of a break from the bullshit, anyway."

"This reprieve is likely temporary," Espio cautioned her, "but… it does seem to be helping so far." He shrugged slightly to punctuate this, being open for once with his uncertainty. There was a more pressing worry on his mind, anyway. I am more concerned about how Father will be affected by what was done.

Seeming to read him again, effortlessly, Armaris nipped his shoulder. "Look, there's not much to be done about everything going on, but for the moment… things seem to be somewhat okay. If we need to go somewhere, I'll go despite how much my body will bitch like an old lady."

"You will not go anywhere," Espio refuted quickly with another frown. Admittedly, the frown was slightly because of the bite as well, but mostly because he hadn't expected her to do that. "But that aside, things may be calm, but my father's energies still are not. It is reasonable to be worried about that."

"I know," Armaris said gently. "An old friend of mine told me it's not worth worrying about things you can't help. I think that's wrong, because it's impossible to stop yourself from worrying," Armaris said softly. "But you can try to let situations be what they will until you can help."

"This is not a situation where 'leaving it be' is generally a wise option," Espio pointed out to her.

"Just mentioning it because we can't actively change things." Her ears turned and she was quiet for a second, then she shifted to press her nose to his. "I think something happened, though."

Espio pursed his lips together and nodded. "I sensed that he abruptly lost consciousness. His energies did not calm themselves when this happened. If anything, they seemed… worse. Substantially so."

"Aniko is probably with him. If you want to go check on them, you should, since you're being so demanding that I stay home, but I feel like it's just going to worry you more."

"Not knowing things is worse than having a proper grasp on a situation," Espio grumbled. He mulled the problem over for a time before sighing. "Mother would likely take issue with me getting so close. And, besides that, I am not willing to leave you here alone right now."

"I'm a big girl," Armaris huffed. "'Sides, Ryuji is close and seems to be watching over us. I'd be fine."

"I know you can take care of yourself," Espio huffed back. He left it at that, though. Trying to explain the sway that chameleon protective instincts had over his people (and thus himself) wasn't something he felt particularly inclined to attempt at the moment. As far as Ryuji goes... I suppose I should not be surprised that he is doing that.

Armaris smiled warmly. She knew about the instincts well, and it was always nice to know he wanted to protect her. "Alright, then try to relax at least a little." Espio did little more than grumble in response, though he didn't argue beyond that. He went ahead and just held her a little closer. For now, all he could really do was try to enjoy the moment.

If nothing else, at least his partner was safe.

~保護者~

Pulses of magic held her in place, breath and heart in sync with the motions. Cere let herself float, absorbing magic and taking it in slowly as she rested. This was something she usually avoided. It tended to push her in a negative direction, altering her mood and making her act more cruelly.

But, it was a necessary evil right now. Alongside people like Finis and Teyan, Cere was one of the leaders of the deities. She held sway over a lot of them, especially the younger ones like Sona. Even ignoring the influence, many simply listened to her as a result of her wisdom and leadership. She needed to be around. Resting for short periods of time in her usual ways wasn't likely to get her back in the midst of everything.

She allowed silence to overtake her, nothing but the ambience of this borderline living force surrounding her. She could clearly sense something reaching out to her mind, and she sorely hoped that they wouldn't agitate her while she was feeling like this. Her eyes opened and she raised her gaze, looking around quietly. It was quite rare for her to feel much of anything out here, but a small smirk broke onto her face when she heard the voice.

"Cere?"

The Goddess couldn't help but smile when she heard Armaris's voice. As her student in training, she'd shared a bit of a mental power to her so that she could be in some degree of contact with the deities. Cere was the only person the cat had success contacting most of the time, if only due to how close they'd grown. "I'm glad to hear your voice, Armaris."

She could feel the smile in Armaris's tone, and it made her own grow. "It's good to know you're okay. I'm sorry about what-"

"No apologies. You were not in control."

"It was still bad, and it makes me feel better to say it."

"Right, sorry. Go ahead."

"I'm sorry for hurting you like that. The purification sucked, but I'm better now. Just… recovering."

"That's good. Very good, Armaris. I trust you're actually resting?"

"Debated just having sex with Espio, but he's being all concerned about my injuries, so that's not happening."

Cere found herself chuckling, taking a firm hold of the magic around her. "I too am resting, in the Lost Hex. I needed to regain my strength and prepare for whatever may come next."

"Well, that's important. I guess I should actually go to sleep and stop bothering you, then."

"You can bother me as long as you wish, Armaris. I promise."

"I stand by what I said. I should sleep. That's what you'd normally tell me to do."

The Hexan chuckled again, shaking her head. "Not a bad idea. I'll be by sometime soon to see you."

"Looking forward to it. Now, time for me to die a little. The pain is pretty bad. See ya."

"Goodbye, Armaris."

"See you soon, mom."

A smile graced her lips and she let herself relax, eyes closed. It's the little things…

~保護者~

Satsuno wasn't entirely sure how long it had been since he'd fallen asleep. He was damn certain, however, that it was a lot longer than his wife normally let him stay in bed. Then again, he'd apparently endured a severe possession. That likely meant a dangerous exorcism had been performed. She'd probably told him if it had, but his memories of his previous time conscious and aware were a little fuzzy. It couldn't have been very long after he'd been freed that he'd woken up, if that was the case. It didn't really matter either way, though. He shifted a little and opened his eyes to see where Seiko and Myriu were.

Upon seeing that Seiko was sitting where she was before (though he couldn't tell if she was actually asleep or not), he turned his attention briefly to Myriu. He vaguely recalled her curling up against his side before he'd fallen asleep. Apparently, she was still there. Moving slowly (lest he wake her up) he tugged the blankets up over her shoulders a bit more securely. Then he resituated a little and closed his eyes again. With everyone else still resting, it seemed prudent for him to resume doing the same.

Once more, he had no concept of how much time had passed when he woke up next. It wasn't even on his mind. What was on his mind was a memory - a memory from the time he'd been possessed. He normally remembered a grand total of nothing from his possessions, but every now and then some sort of memory would find its way back to him. Most of the time, it was nothing important. This time was different. Specifically because he suddenly remembered Amnikaribah's spirit had told him at some point after it had assumed control of him… and it sent a wave of anxiety through him.

"I am not angry that Kaden betrayed and killed me. It became obvious after a certain point that that was his plan. He led our kind well in my stead… just as I groomed him to do. However… treachery is a poison - an acid that will kill all who fall under its sway. But poison will have this traitor die far too quickly for my liking. He either pledges allegiance again or he dies, it's that simple. And since he will never do the former… My only recourse is violence. This body is strong enough to handle such a fight, especially when I channel my own powers through it. Kaden will not escape me. The bastard brought this upon himself."

Satsuno immediately took in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He didn't want to wake his partner, much less Myriu, so ceasing to feel this emotion was important. Amnikaribah must have been sealed away again by now, he reminded himself. Kaden is safe from it and me. He is alright. That demon cannot harm him any longer. These thoughts helped him for the most part, and he was able to relax a bit at that point. He opened his eyes to again check on the two people he was sharing a bed with, this time to make sure he hadn't disturbed them.

Myriu was staring back at him quietly, as if waiting for him to turn his attention to her. At some point she'd woken, obviously. "Are you okay?"

"More or less," Satsuno murmured back while rubbing at one of his eyes. "I just experienced an unpleasant memory... that's all. It's over now, so I'm alright."

To say that she didn't believe him would've been an understatement. The girl climbed up a little on him, nestling her head against his chest and wrapping her arms loosely over him. "I do not believe you."

Satsuno found himself feeling tempted to huff, though he wasn't sure if it was in amusement or something else. Either way, he refrained from letting the sound out and gently placed a hand on the back of her head. "It was not entirely a lie, Myriu."

"Then what was?" Myriu asked. "I don't like people keeping things from me." She frowned to as she said this.

"It truly was just a bad memory," Satsuno admitted slowly, "but I suppose I am not… quite as alright as I claimed. I am bothered by what I remembered in various ways, but I suspect it will ease with time."

Myriu frowned some more. "When I remember bad things, I usually read or just watch people," the chameleon girl replied.

"I used to tend to a pond of koi fish Seiko and I kept in a garden within our castle," Satsuno recalled with a slight smile. "I cannot do that any longer, though I will no doubt figure something else out. Even if I am not alright now, I will be eventually."

She made a contemplative noise, then shrugged. "There is something similar in the highlands."

"Oh?" Satsuno inquired, genuinely curious. Unlike Seiko, he had never spent much time in that region apart from the hours he had spent within Shei and Aniko's home with their then-toddler son.

Myriu nodded a little. "I can probably show you. My mom isn't around to stop me from going there."

That much was true, Sothan supposed, but it didn't bear mentioning. It probably wasn't ideal for a child so young to spend any length of time thinking about one of their parents being dead… specifically when said parent hadn't even been a good person in life. "Perhaps we can plan a visit there sometime soon. I am a bit too fatigued to manage it right now, however."

"Maybe," Myriu replied softly.

"Do you still need to rest?" Satsuno asked her when that line of discussion drifted off.

"Maybe," she echoed. "I'm not feeling super tired right now."

"I am," Satsuno admitted. "But I'll stay awake with you a while longer."

Myriu tilted and raised her head suddenly, frowning at nothing in particular. "I think someone is coming soon."

Satsuno found himself frowning as well. Whether it was because he was too tired or for some other reason, he wasn't sensing anything. "Are you certain?" he asked her.

"Yeah… someone absolutely covered in the same sort of energy that the spirits have," Myriu replied, relaxing herself further.

That knowledge caused Sothan to likewise relax. Rather immediately, in fact. Ylden, then. "It is an old friend of mine and Seiko's," he told her. "He works within the Realms of Death as the deity that governs said realms, which is why he possesses the energy that he does."

Myriu tilted her head. "Oh. Well… that's interesting. I figured he'd already be here, having sensed it…"

"It's possible that he's somewhere nearby already," Satsuno shrugged. "We'll see soon enough."

The man, as if on cue, appeared near the home, then appeared in the room near the bed. He seemed tired, but relieved. "Amnikaribah is sealed away where it belongs."

That was certainly relieving to know. "Thank you," Satsuno responded quietly.

Ylden looked to Myriu, watching the way her eyes roamed around his figure. It took him a moment to adjust his senses, focusing on the spiritual energies clinging to his very being. "Your senses are getting stronger, huh?"

The chameleon girl nodded. "I can see the spirits in much clearer detail than I used to."

"She's been able to physically interact with them to an extent as well," Satsuno added.

Approvingly, Ylden nodded slowly as an acknowledgement. "Sounds right. Can't say I'm surprised."

"I still am," Satsuno told him. "She is the first person outside my family to have these powers."

"So far as we know," Ylden replied, moving closer and taking a seat on the bed. "But, regardless, your point stands. It is odd. It seems, though, that her using her power more is causing it to develop rapidly." Satsuno nodded a little in response.

Myriu looked between them, then settled down against Satsuno. She idly watched as a spirit wandered close to the man near her. Her gaze narrowed, and it suddenly veered elsewhere, leaving the building entirely.

Satsuno watched the same spirit for just a moment before looking away. It had left, and he was frankly too tired to try to keep an eye on every soul wandering around them right now. Eventually he did speak, however. "That all aside… Have you been faring any better recently, Ylden? Even I have been aware of your stress and the like."

He glanced away immediately, shrugging. "Feels like everything is falling apart around me."

"Explain if you can. I may well be unable to help, but as always I can and will listen." While saying this, Satsuno glanced at Seiko to make sure she wasn't being woken up by their talking.

Ylden let out a small sigh. "I don't know how to pick up the pieces of my life that were shattered by my past. My daughter hates me, I can hardly speak to others… and I've relentlessly ruined other aspects of my life while believing that I've done the right thing."

Satsuno frowned a little. "I cannot speak much to the rest of this… but I cannot in good conscience agree with the notion that your daughter hates you. From what little I know of, she most certainly doesn't. Things may be strained, but she seems to want a relationship with you. She would not desire such a thing if she hated you."

"You actually care, too," Myriu replied, sounding more and more tired. "You need to show that. My mom never tried."

"Ylden, you've been trying so far as I can tell," Satsuno told him. "Continue making that effort. Continue to try and to care. So long as you both are doing that, things will improve with time."

Ylden was quiet for several seconds, then he murmured, "On top of that, my brother is hanging around somewhere… He just got purified from corrupted magic, but he's just… avoiding everything. I know for a fact that he hates me…"

Myriu raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She figured any comment she had might hurt his feelings. Satsuno immediately spoke, anyway. "Give him time," he murmured. "He likely needs that. Now that he is himself again, he must sort out many things. How he feels about anything he did while corrupted, where he wants to go now and what he wants to do, who he feels he can trust if anyone… among many other things."

"I get that… but I just… I don't know what to do," Ylden murmured.

"Don't try to know what to do," the young girl huffed. "If you don't know, you don't know."

Satsuno found it in himself to smirk faintly and he gave her shoulder an approving pat with one hand. "There is also that, yes."

Managing to groan, Ylden rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Feels like talking to a miniature Seiko…"

The former king's smirk grew marginally. "They do share similarities. But believe me when I say that she developed this maturity on her own, prior to this point. She put the work in, not Seiko."

Ylden narrowed his eyes at Satsuno, but otherwise chuckled… managing some amusement. "Yes, she has done well." A moment passed and he sighed. "I should… probably get back to the Realms of Death… help with that."

"Or… you could go check on your daughter." The snarky remark caught Ylden by surprise and he looked to Myriu instantly, blinking.

Satsuno nodded a little in agreement. "She's correct. It might be wise take some time for Armaris's sake."

A soft groan escaped, realizing that they were right. He ultimately just nodded in reply and stood. "In that case… I suppose I should go now."

"One more thing, Ylden," Satsuno said quietly. He fell silent briefly, then continued. "Thank you for helping Seiko with that spirit. What it intended to do… I am grateful that it was not given the chance to try."

"I couldn't allow it the chance." Ylden didn't say more than that, turning away. He vanished shortly after, leaving Myriu and Satsuno with the sleeping Seiko.

"He's weird," Myriu murmured.

"He can be perceived in such a way, but I prefer to merely think of him as a unique individual… the same as anyone else." Satsuno shifted to get a bit more comfortable. "And he is a kind soul. He is also, in many regards, one of my closest friends. You may see more of him in the future for both of those reasons."

"I didn't say he was bad."

"I'm aware. I was merely making a statement."

Myriu shrugged at him, nestling against his shoulder. "Same here."

Satsuno chuckled softly and closed his eyes. "We should perhaps try to resume resting. I, for one, am still tired as I stated before."

"I don't mind the idea… Would be good to get some sleep." she yawned, curling up against his side. Nodding faintly, he went ahead and adjusted the blanket to comfortably cover both of them and Seiko more properly. Only then did he allow himself to start drifting back off to sleep, now that they were more or less taken care of. He could really use the rest.

~保護者~

Therin was still in a coma. His brain injuries hadn't been treated fully, or in a timely manner, by Rose - not that that was her fault. Still, Analia had had to come by and try to finish the job. The God of Thieves remained both unconscious and unresponsive regardless, however. By Analia's own telling, there was no way to be certain at this point when or if he'd make a full recovery. Only the fact that it was possible for it to happen gave anyone any hope in this situation.

Locke was filled in about all of this when he arrived to where the younger god, Sona, and Azanae were. Once Azanae finished explaining everything, he walked straight over to Sona and laid a hand on her shoulder. "How are you holding up?" he asked her softly. "Eila informed everyone what happened. I came as quickly as I could."

The woman was silent for several seconds before shrugging his hand off gently. "I don't know. I don't know what to do, and I feel like there's something I should be able to do."

"Staying here with him like this as much as possible is what you should be doing," Locke told her. Respectfully, he withdrew from her personal space in full. "Your voice is familiar to him. So's your smell and your touch. If he's aware of anything at all right now, having recognizable things like those around him will help him be more comfortable and feel safer."

Sona's lips pursed and she let out a cry of irritation, flames erupting over her arms for a moment. "It's not fucking helping!" she bit out. "Nothing is! Rose, a fucking Immortal, couldn't help him! Not even Analia could! What, is the next person to check on him gonna tell me he'll never wake up?" Hysteria had wound its way around her thoughts, twisting at her in all the worst ways. "I finally get my shit together and tell him I like him, and then he's put into a coma? Fuck me, I guess!"

Immediately, Azanae walked over to her and knelt down to be a bit closer without touching the other cat. She wanted to offer comfort, but she didn't want to intrude in any way. "Sona," she said in a soft tone, "try to breathe. I know you're hurting. You're afraid and in pain and maybe even angry… and you have every right to be. It's okay to feel these things, but I don't want them to overwhelm you. Breathe as slowly and deeply as you can, okay?"

The breath in was met with her flames exploding out around her, the woman backing away just so she couldn't accidentally burn Azanae. "I'm tired! I've lost everything so many goddamn times!" Her body twisted violently and she moved to slam her fist against the nearest object, a wall, but she stopped short. No amount of pain could make her willingly destroy something Azanae had gifted to her. "I'm sick of it. I don't want to be awake, I never want to be awake."

"Sona, honey, keep trying to breathe," Azanae soothed. She went ahead and also stood up. "You can keep telling me about your feelings, please do in fact, but I don't want you to accidentally hurt yourself or do something you may later regret having done." Locke, meanwhile, banished the flames so that the house wasn't set alight.

"What is there left to regret?" Sona cried out, tears pouring down her face. They evaporated almost instantly as flames erupted from her body in bursts. "There's barely a damn thing left that matters! I bet Nareish is gonna send someone else here, just to fucking hurt someone else. Probably won't even kill anyone."

"There are still many things that matter," Azanae murmured in gentle refute. "Your friends matter. Therin matters. The things you enjoy doing matter. Your hopes and dreams matter. No matter what Nareish may or may not do, she cannot take such things away from you… not even by ending a life. The things and people you care for will always remain in your heart, always and forever." She sighed to herself very quietly. "Even if Nareish does harm more people, and she likely will, that does not make this situation impossible. It doesn't mean we're wasting time by hanging on to whatever hopes we carry. It doesn't mean that we are doomed to suffer. Things will get better. And you, my beloved daughter, will too. I will be here for you and Therin every step of the way, no matter what."

Locke nodded, his eyes solemn but genuine and steadfast. "So will I. You can count on that. Depression, grief, loss… Those're some nasty beasts to tangle with. Believe you me, I've dealt with them all enough times to know. Just try to remember that, no matter how bleak and isolating it feels, you're not in this alone. We're not gonna leave you here to do this thing by yourself. We're in your corner, Sona. It'll take a lot more than just Nareish to even come close to changing that."

Sona's hands clasped around Azanae's face, dragging her in close. Flames threatened to inch closer, but she wouldn't allow that. The worst her mother would feel would be warmth, and she made sure that was the case. Tears streamed openly and she choked on a sob, pressing her forehead firmly into the older woman's. "I'm afraid she'll take everything and leave me alone again. I'm so tired of being alone…"

"You will never, never be alone again." Her promise issued, Azanae fearlessly wrapped her arms around Sona and held her close. Heat didn't bother her. Flames didn't deter her. What she cared about was comforting her daughter in any way she could.

The girl's flames died away in an instant and she cried into Azanae's shoulder, clinging to her mother with a familiar, strong grip. No matter what the woman said, she was afraid of losing Azanae again. She didn't want to let go. And Azanae, of course, held her adopted daughter just as close and just as securely. Her continued murmurings may or may not have contained any real words at that point, but the comforting tone never changed at all.

Sona didn't have much more to say about all of this, nor much in the way of thoughts. A small apology was uttered to Locke and Azanae both as she sank down slowly, overwhelmed by the exhaustion brought on by her intense wave of emotions. She just wished the pain would stop…

~保護者~

25,136 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support, and I hope you enjoyed.

So, as stated once before, I'm doing my best with the Chinese and I may get some things wrong. I'm doing my best, though! Here's what I found online regarding a couple specific words: "Usually, 不是 (bùshì) is used when disagreeing with or disputing the truth of something someone else has said. If someone asks you a question with the intention of confirming a fact, you can respond with 不是 (bùshì) to indicate that what they've said isn't true." This is what I kept seeing, so I hope I used the correct form of no here. If not, sorry to all you native speakers! I'm doing my best. ^-^"

Also, "bìzuǐ" is the most "pure" version of "shut up" so far as I could find, but I have heard it said the way Sothan did here as well. From what I understand, it works the same. Hopefully that's true, but feel free to correct me!

Posted (at about 10:55 p.m.) 06-24-24.