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".)

225. Tragedy

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in these emotional scenes… especially for the one who can go no further.

~保護者~

"Tragedy"

~保護者~

Eila tried not to be so brash, even though it was in her nature to be… but Wave having been in danger was worrying. The Hexan was powerful, immensely so, and skilled in her own right. For her to be nearly killed meant that she'd been approached by someone very dangerous, and that more trouble was likely to come. She couldn't shake her own fear of that happening, so she now found herself rushing through space to get close enough to actually find Wave. It was stupidly risky.

The mage paused suddenly and raised a hand up, drawing upon her magic while her gaze sharply searched around to figure out what she'd just sensed. A powerful malignant force suddenly appeared at her back, accompanied by an armor-clad hand closing around her throat from behind without actually squeezing yet. "Surprise…" a decidedly bored-sounding person whispered in her ear. "Your life is about to be over."

She took in a breath and scanned over the person with her magic and psychic power. "I'd venture to guess you're not one for words, then?" the cat asked, surprisingly calm in the face of this danger.

"Speak what you will," the person answered just as quietly as before. "I care not what you do with your voice as your life fades."

Eila knew danger, when she wasn't likely to escape with her life. She let out a sigh, feeling quite inconvenienced as she silenced her communicator with magic and sent a message to everyone to find Wave. "In that case, should I ever return and you still be alive, expect a similar fate to befall you," the cat explained simply, flashing a small smirk over her shoulder as she sent away the cloak Jet had given her. A friend of hers would likely need it more than her, given her circumstance. "However, don't expect me to go silently."

The general suddenly tightened their grip on her neck and dragged her backward a few inches. "Nareish is not watching… so listen closely," they murmured. "I was taken long ago and cannot disobey my orders to kill… but I can tell you this much. More of your friends are going to perish. Others will be turned into demons. The Immortal of Time has already met such a fate. Should you ever return to life… It would be in your best interest to act on this information quickly. Understand?"

"I wish you the best of luck if my allies find you," Eila bit out, not deigning to physically try and struggle. It was hard to breathe with this grip on her neck. "I will keep it all in mind, but I could try and interfere if you can hold off the orders long enough."

With extreme difficulty, it seemed, the general stiffly released her neck and moved a few paces away from her. "You have mere seconds… at best," was the tense reply. "Ensure they find me. My life should have ended long before now."

Eila made two quick decisions, immediately throwing her psychic prowess at the general's mind to try and take it over as well as sending out an alert with her communicator. Trying to stop this person from being forced to obey Nareish's orders was the only path forward that she could see if she was to survive… if it even worked.

In the end, Eila was only able to stave off the attack for so long before the depths of Nareish's control over her general overpowered everything else. No longer able to express or even just possess any free thoughts, emotion, or will, the person suddenly lunged forward with their axe and brutally slashed her across the front of her torso.

Eila collapsed to her knees when the blow landed, barely keeping herself from being thrown away by the force. She retracted her influence from the general. "Hah… shit…" the cat grumbled, wrapping her energy around the axe. "May you die a much swifter death than mine," Eila coughed. "Maybe a bit more painful… but swifter."

The general's tone was harsher now. More… wicked, for lack of a better term. This was no longer them talking, but rather their corruption. "Shut up and die." Another brutal slash close to the first one was delivered, but it wasn't enough to instantly end her life still.

Eila laughed, blood bubbling up in her throat. "Just making sure…" The cat replied, trying still to hold back the axe. She was sure someone would be here soon, but she wanted to make sure someone found this person, if she could manage, even as her vision rapidly grew darker and her body colder. A flurry of fearful messages were already reaching her communicator, but so far no one had shown up. The general prowled closer, apparently ready to deal the final blow.

A hand wrapped around the general's axe, holding it tight and firm, not budging an inch as a green hedgehog appeared in front of them. Fierce green eyes glanced between Eila and the person he'd assumed harmed her. Before he could speak, Eila did so for him. "Kill them, quickly… They're being forced…" The cat whispered, looking up to the hedgehog and offering a small smile. It took the last of her energy, giving that request, and then she was collapsing on her side. Her attacker, meanwhile, wrenched their axe free and looked on with dark, emotionless eyes. It was a telltale symptom, a hallmark of those who had spent the longest under Nareish's intense control. Control which, for better or for worse, prevented this person from speaking.

"Under any other circumstance, this would be far worse for you," Steam said, apologetically. He had every reason to feel this intense anger, seeing a friend perish as well as coming across a person who was being forced to commit atrocities for Nareish. Steam whipped magic around them and stepped in before they could swing their axe, grabbing the general's head with both hands and snapping their neck with no hesitation, intent on following Eila's dying request.

Once he was sure the general was dead, Steam picked their body up, as well as Eila's, and teleported himself back to Mobius to deliver the news. He gently set the general down outside of Tails's house, and cleaned up the blood from Eila's body a bit before taking her inside. Already, the people gathered there looked to be expecting the worst. Seeing Eila's limp form only confirmed their fears. It was Amy who spoke first, but all she got out was a weak, "Oh, no…"

Rouge's steps were measured as she approached Steam, but her eyes betrayed her pain when she asked, "What happened to her?"

"One of Nareish's generals caught her… From what little Eila said after I got there, they were forced to do it. Seems like they'd been under her control for a long time," Steam replied quietly. "She asked me to kill them quickly. I brought both bodies back, out of respect."

Though usually quiet during hard times like this, Kohaku spoke next. He was frowning in concentration, eyes aimed at the front door. "Their memories are fading now that their soul has left their body, but… this man's mind was tortured by guilt and pain. He had precious few moments of clarity and control over the years and, from what I'm seeing… he tried to disobey and spare Eila's life. He even… all but asked her to ensure someone ended his." Wery, along with Tails and Amy, was silent as this news came out, heart broken by the horrible fate that had befallen both Eila and this man.

Steam didn't know what to say, staring down at Eila's body. He was no stranger to loss, but it still… felt terrible. "Are there any others we know of that she's gotten close to recently?" He asked aloud, looking around.

While Kohaku continued searching the general's memories for information, his father let out a shaky breath. Grabbing his communicator, Silver placed a call to Cyril. He didn't wait for Cyril to speak, instead speaking over him as soon as the call was answered. "Hey… listen. I know you've got a clone running around somewhere already, but is it too taxing for you to make another one for maybe five minutes? I'm… I'm so sorry, but you need to come to Tails's house. Like… now." While he spoke, Sonic began trying to get ahold of Rose and, by proxy, Kial.

The call was ended abruptly and a clone appeared immediately, right beside Silver. He looked confused for a moment at the congregation, then his gaze finally landed on Eila. He tensed, taking in a deep breath. "Who… who did this?" Cyril all but demanded, tears welling up in his eyes.

A tear of his own slid down Kohaku's cheek. "His name was Kairn," he reported quietly. "Nareish 'took' him eons ago, just after wiping out the rest of his race. This isn't his fault. He tried to resist her, but he couldn't. She was too strong, both then and now."

The clone walked over to Eila's limp form, setting a hand on the cat's shoulder and completely cleaning both her clothes, fur, and skin of all the blood, as well as closing up the wounds that had ended her life. It hurt, but he couldn't imagine anyone else having to see her like this, especially since her sister wasn't here yet. Still, his muscles were trembling with barely kept rage, the constant wear and tear on his nerves leaving him emotionally raw. "I… I'm so sorry, Eila…" Cyril whispered, momentarily swapping his real self in place of his clone. Notably, he was wearing the cloak Eila had been gifted by Jet. "Maybe… maybe if I'd been there…"

With Rose not answering his calls, Sonic let out a tense sigh and shifted his attention to Steam. "Eila and this Kairn guy… they deserve to be buried, but I don't know where. Just somewhere where Nareish's disgusting hands can't touch them again."

"We can guard them the same way Jet did with Gardenia," Steam explained. "Protect them from notice if you've never been there. Smaller scale… but effective. Should be enough to keep Nareish away." The hedgehog took in a deep breath, then released it. "We can talk to Jet about that. He knows how to do it."

On that note… his parents seemed like they were starting to really care about Eila. They should know about this. Sonic nodded in acknowledgement of Steam's words and placed a group call to both hawks. Alana surprised him by both answering him immediately and letting him talk first. "Hey, I'm… sorry to dump a tragedy on you both like this, but Eila… Eila's dead."

There was silence. A long, almost awkward silence. Then Alana did something he'd never heard her do and heaved a heavy, world-weary sigh. "I'm truly sorry to hear that," she murmured. "But just now… we cannot come to see her. We are grappling with our own tragedy right now. Our family was dealt a vicious blow and we are attempting to… cope with it."

Steam stepped a bit closer, just to make sure he'd be heard clearly. "I'm sorry… but… can I ask a favor?"

"Ask," Alana answered. "I will facilitate the granting of your wish if I can." Meanwhile, Sonic went ahead and just texted Sein the bad news since he hadn't answered the call.

"I'm not sure if you or Sein can do it, but Jet's done it before. We want to make sure these bodies are buried without being found by Nareish. I'm… sure you understand why."

"Jet is the only one between the three of us who possesses any amount of magic," Alana responded carefully. She'd no doubt noticed his use of the term "bodies" instead of "body", but she didn't question him on it. "You will need to speak to him. Or, perhaps, to a powerful vampire instead. Their magic can do similar things, albeit usually to hide structures. Sein and I cannot aid you this time."

"I understand," Steam replied. "We'll figure that part out shortly. Thank you for your time, Alana."

Silver piped up again before she could reply or hang up. "Hey, Alana… speaking as another friend of Cyril's… you ought to tell him what's going on where you are. He's here and, well, he cares about you guys a lot. Can't get him to shut up about you all after every visit he makes there."

His attempt at a joke to lighten the mood didn't seem to work. In fact, Alana uncharacteristically hesitated before replying. "It will pain him," she said. "I admit I am not the best at caring about the emotions of those outside of my family, but friends are always an exception. I do not wish to do this to him."

"I'll be there, shortly," Cyril called out gently. "I don't care how much it hurts. I want to know."

"You're overextending yourself a bit," Sonic corrected him, but not unkindly. "You need to cut that other clone off soon. Your body's not used to the strain, and I'm pretty sure we can all sense the impact it's having on you. And, with that in mind, it might be best if she just tells you now so you can spare the energy."

"I've got a clone on New Babylon already," Cyril replied, a bit more shortly than he'd intended. "I can cut this one off here soon, unless she is okay with telling me now. That's her decision to make."

Alana hesitated a second time. Then sighed again, more heavily than before. "For the record, Cyril… I am sorry about this." There was a slight pause before she came out with it finally. "A powerful demoness attacked the palace. We know not who she was, but she was capable of going toe-to-toe with my husband for a couple of minutes. You may not remember since she knocked you out instantly and did not stick around to be healed afterward, but you attempted to come help us. She was fighting my father at the time while the rest of us were trapped. He was attempting to protect you and us, but this left him vulnerable. She corrupted him and they departed shortly thereafter."

Cyril stood there silently for several seconds, shaken to his core. He'd expected another death, had steeled himself against the idea, but now his nerves were completely wracked. This was… worse. "I… My god…" the finch replied, his hands tightening into fists. "Do… do we know where he is?"

"A Faein arrived and imparted that information to us," Alana confirmed. "It is some demonic world, far from the heat of that solar system's unusually powerful sun. Though, he may have since travelled elsewhere."

"I'm sending my clone to you," Cyril replied quickly. "I can't keep them both up right now. See you soon." He vanished suddenly, leaving a note in Sonic's hand to message him when they were ready to bury Eila.

This is such a shit-show. With that grim thought, Sonic looked over the note and then passed it along to Steam. "I can't seem to get ahold of Rose," he revealed. "The only other people I know she's spent time with lately are Wave and Shadow, and they aren't answering, either. Pretty sure my brother's just asleep, but I don't know about the other two."

Almost as if on cue, Rose called Sonic back. The moment he answered, she spoke up. "Sorry. I was working on meditative skills with Aniko. Is something the matter?"

Sonic couldn't help but grimace. I hate delivering tragic news. "Listen, before I say anything, I need to know if Kial is there with you. If he's not right there, go get him. Please." For your own sake.

"He is close by and approaching," Rose replied. "Explain."

Only once he was sure enough time had passed to allow a person to walk over to her at a reasonable pace did he speak. "I need both you of to come to Tails's house right now," he murmured. "Do yourself a favor and do not leave without Kial. This isn't… This isn't going to be easy for you to see. And… I'm so sorry that I can't soften the blow any more than this, Rose."

"I will be there momentarily. I will inform Aniko of my impending absence." The call ended immediately after.

Steam decided to speak up. "I'm going to take Eila outside. Rose's emotions tend to be more aggressive… I'll also take Kairn's body away just in case," he explained, already heading for the door.

"That's why I insisted she bring her partner along," Sonic mumbled, looking away. "Any hope of her eventually calming down even a little bit is going to lie with him." He glanced at Steam, then said, "Send Kairn to Gardenia for now. Rose has never been there. She can't trash his body even if she wanted to, so long as it's hidden away."

"Good point. Be back soon," Steam said, settling Eila down against the outside wall before collecting Kairn's body and teleporting away with him.

Soon after, Rose appeared with Kial inside of Tails's home, immediately turning her attention to Sonic with confusion evident on her face. "What?"

Amy stood and walked over to Rose, her eyes misty but her overall disposition strong. "Steam is going to be out front again in a minute," she told the couple. "You should go talk to him, both of you. He can best explain what happened."

Rose seemed far more confused now, but ultimately headed for the door. Kial passed a worried glance toward Amy, blind eyes somehow conveying the fear that he knew what happened before following his partner. Taking the chance that he might allow her to, Amy briefly connected her mind to Kial's. "The fear in your eyes… is correct," she revealed. "Please… help Rose however you can. This is going to break her heart and more… and we're so, so sorry."

"...Fuck." Kial moved swiftly after Rose, having paused briefly to ascertain the source of the unusual intrusion in his mind - an intrusion that ended as swiftly as it had taken place. By now, Rose was outside, stuck in place from shock.

"...What?" Rose asked after what felt like minutes of simply staring. "How…?" She'd always thought her sister to be unkillable after all these years… Running into Malevolence's realm alone, dealing with Kaden as a demon, taking on the Immortals… she'd thought there was no way that Eila could… die. She didn't believe it, dropping to her knees and checking for a pulse, for breath, any signs of her powers. Anything to indicate that this was all some kind of sick ruse or joke. Anything to tell her this wasn't real.

"Rose, I'm sorry," Kial murmured softly, dropping to one knee beside her and wrapping an arm over her shoulders. "I can't imagine the kind of pain you're in."

"You're right," Rose whispered, still too shocked by the grief to cry. "You-" A brief moment of clarity was enough to remind her that what she was about to say was mean-spirited, especially toward someone who had done nothing but care for her. The cat took a long breath in and released it, closing her eyes as she picked Eila's body up, held it tight. "I'm sorry…" she whispered.

Kial stroked her back as the emotional dam slowly cracked, watching as Rosalline slowly began sobbing. He really couldn't imagine what she was experiencing, though he could feel it rolling off of her in palpable waves. He was aware of Steam's arrival, and the fact that the hedgehog stayed a distance away so as to not bother them. It was probably for the best, too. He certainly believed that Rose would react much worse to anyone else.

Steam stood to the side at a distance, watching over them both. Kial seemed to be holding up well, as expected… and Rose was doing… better than he'd initially expected. Only once her tears began to die down did he dare approach, however, taking a seat. "Do you want to know what happened?" He gently asked. "Or would you-"

"Tell me," Rose snapped, baring her teeth at him. She hadn't expected him to be there nor noticed his approach. Her nerves were too frayed.

He gave her a moment to calm down, then spoke once he felt she was stable enough to hear. "Wherever she was going, one of Nareish's generals caught her." He sensed that Rose was about to cut in, so he spoke faster. "She found out this general in particular was controlled by Nareish for a very long time, and then he was forced to kill her. She tried to save him, but couldn't do it in time. When I got there, she asked me to kill him quickly because it wasn't his choice to do it."

Rose stared at him through watery eyes. Her first instinct was to strangle him, to throw her anger on him for not saving her sister, but she was swiftly reminded by Kial's soft hand clinging to her shoulder that she'd just been learning about controlling such emotions. It didn't make it easier, so she didn't speak, didn't move. She couldn't trust herself to not hurt someone if she got to her feet. I sought you for so long only to have you ripped from my arms…

"She's going to be buried somewhere, under a protective ward to prevent her body from being tampered with. I'll message you when that happens, okay?" Steam asked softly, trying to tread the thin line of Rose's patience. She only nodded in reply, doing nothing more as Kial slowly helped her to her feet and guided her away. Steam didn't stop her from taking Eila's body. He knew she wouldn't travel far, and out of everyone he knew… She was the one who would need this time the most.

~保護者~

Locating Kaden took a bit of doing. It wasn't an impossible task, however. He was walking toward Shadow's house with Zareil by his side and was seemingly lost in thought. That last detail was completely par for the course, which was a promising sign that maybe, maybe, Kaden was doing a bit better now than he had been. Jet made sure to approach the man slowly and cautiously, determined not to startle him.

"...Dad?" Jet hadn't called Kaden that in an extremely long time. It almost felt foreign on his tongue, and Jet hated that. Because, like Sein, Kaden simply was his dad. He and Analia (not to mention Sonic and everyone else) had accepted Jet into their family, treated him like one of their own, shown him love and care and consideration and all these things that Ross never had. Jet had been absolutely hellbent on saving those two for a reason. For Sonic and Shadow's sakes… and, selfishly, for his own. He just… hoped that Kaden wouldn't flee.

Kaden seemed tempted at first to do just that when he whirled around to face the younger man. There was alarm in his eyes. Guilt. Shame. Regret. Pain. Surprise. So many things, not all of which Jet could even name. But one proper look at Jet's face (was he really giving that much away?) convinced Kaden to stay put. "Are… Are you alright?" he asked after a moment's pause. He sounded so small… so broken. So unlike the willful, independent, strong man Jet knew him to be. It was heart-wrenching.

Jet tried not to focus on that. He clearly needed to work on getting his mask back into place. He was letting too much show. But he was going to have to deal with that later. "Can we talk?" he asked quietly without answering the question. "Please… it's important."

Kaden flicked a glance at Zareil, somewhat wary of her potential reaction to this. However, he made his decision immediately without her input and utterly in spite of all the emotions swirling through him. "Yes. You have never needed permission to come to me for any reason, Jet. That isn't changing now." It was so damn hard to try to talk to this man as if he still had any right to act as a father figure toward him. He didn't, in fact, have that right anymore. Not with any of his children, adopted or otherwise. Not even the twins, Sen and Sarai, who had been deceased for so long that they'd mercifully been spared being harmed by him. Still, though… he was capable of putting up an act to some extent. That would have to do for now.

Despite Kaden's reaction and permission, Zareil still was poised to fight if things went that way, hand gripping tight on her spear. However, she made no move. "Relax," Kaden silently told her. It was all he had time to say before Jet responded to him.

"A demon attacked New Babylon," he explained. "One I never once saw when you were in charge. I wasn't there, but my parents said she was powerful. She was powerful enough to corrupt Kaicha and get him out of there without either of them being able to stop it. Do either of you know anything about her? Who she is, what her motivations are, anything?"

Immediately, Kaden was tense for a whole new reason. It didn't even have anything to do with the reminder of his own corruption, for once. That sounds like… Feeling alarmed, he flicked a glance at Zareil. That sounds like Ki'aala.

"You've got a damn problem on your hands if that bitch is active again," Zareil grumbled, straightening her posture and leaning on her spear. "Lots of magic?"

"From what I heard, yes," Jet confirmed. Their demeanors are… off. I don't like this. He held his tongue in spite of this thought, waiting to see if either of them would volunteer any information.

Kaden came through for him after a lengthy pause. "Her name is Ki'aala," he mumbled. "The reason why you never saw her with either of us is because… I knew to leave well enough alone. Ignoring one another was mutually beneficial at the time."

"That, and she's monumentally difficult to work with," Zareil subtly reminded, glancing over at Kaden. "She likes to work in the shadows and weave her own little fucking plans while playing nice. Would be fine if she wasn't always undermining us. Was easier to not be involved in that and just let her do whatever. She showed up when it was convenient for her and nothing more."

"What does she want with my grandfather?" Jet demanded tensely. He refrained from using the word Kaicha again, if only because he'd remembered that neither of them would even know what that word meant.

Your- …Fuck. "She took Kath?" Kaden muttered, even more alarmed now than before. This is… Fucking hell, this is bad.

"...I mean, hell, he was always an interesting mortal," Zareil shrugged. "Did anything special happen, recently? Anything change with him?"

"Nothing that you both weren't already aware of," Jet reported with a frown while crossing his arms. "His Immortality and time powers aren't new news anymore."

That much was true, but… There has to be something else. What could she have been after? What was her goal? Kaden's arms also crossed, then he brought one hand up to his chin in a thoughtful manner. "This goes beyond merely finding a target interesting, Zareil. We went after him because we sensed his latent strength. Strength that, as Jet said, is common knowledge now. Something else is at the root of this."

"What can time powers even do?" Zareil decided to press, never quite understanding the breadth of such abilities. "Do you know, Jet?" It felt weird to converse with an Immortal she would have tried to maim any other day, but this felt important enough to ignore that for now.

Jet slowly shook his head. "I've no idea," he was forced to admit. "My grandfather is a… secretive man at the best of times. Assuming he himself learned anything at all about what he's capable of, he clearly opted not to share it around."

Hearing this didn't make Kaden any happier… not that he had much room to talk. Again. He himself was often guilty of this sort of thing. Had the circumstances been less serious, he would have half expected Zareil to make a snarky comment on the matter. "She has only ever been loyal to herself and the very first God of Demons," he revealed quietly. "Whatever she has planned, it is to serve one of those two purposes. The trouble lies in finding out any further specifics than that." While he was going to leave it at that for the moment, a thought soon twigged and he demanded, "What happened immediately after the corruption? Anything of note whatsoever?"

Jet turned his head away to frown at nothing in particular. "Mum said he didn't take off with Ki'aala when they left," he said. "And that… his eyes were golden. It bothered her for some reason, though she admitted to not knowing why at the time. She was later told that that, apparently, signifies the strongest demons." As I'm sure you know.

Zareil would have laughed, but she presumed that neither of the two present would take kindly. She instead decided to try and be helpful. "He probably can't fucking stand her, like the average demon. You wanna figure out what she's up to, talk to Kalek. Demon through and through. I won't do it, but he always quite liked Kaden. Probably wouldn't pick a stupid fight with an Immortal, either, if it meant undercutting Ki'aala."

At the mere mention of Kalek's name, Kaden did something he'd never once done as a demon but had done very occasionally in his life prior to being corrupted. Namely, he groaned softly in exasperation and rolled his eyes toward the heavens. "I'll deal with him," he grumbled. "For your own sake, Jet, stay the hell away from him. He'll drive you up a wall."

"...Noted." Jet sighed and drummed the fingers of one hand against his opposite arm. Eventually, he shook his head and murmured, "Thank you for your time. Just… tell me if you find out anything else."

Kaden nodded a little. "Same to you." Jet started to turn away, only to be stopped before he could complete the motion. "Jet," he called quietly in order to get the hawk's attention. "You need to relax."

Surprised, though almost not visibly so, Jet blinked at him. "What?"

"Your stress levels are too high," Kaden said. I'm one to talk. "Your health will suffer if you let it continue."

Jet looked away a second time. He knew Kaden was right. And, frankly, he wasn't keen on the idea of having a seizure any time soon. I'd rather be conscious than convulsing on the floor, thanks. "...Fine. You do the same, though. Your aura is drowning in stress, Kaden. Among other things. You're in far worse shape than I am."

Now it was Kaden's turn to look away. "...I know," was all he said. Only then did Jet finally vanish.

Zareil looked at Kaden, eyebrow raised. "I'm unsure why you care for him so much. I can get Sonic and the others… but he's not even blood related."

"I care because he is family, all the same," Kaden explained quietly. "I adopted him eons before I was ever corrupted. He and Sonic are practically brothers. Jet has long been one of my sons." Which is why I cannot bear to be around him now. I cannot even count how many times his blood was spilled by my hands, how many times I ended his life…

She fought with several thoughts and confusing revelations. Some came more naturally as she untangled the webs that clouded her other thoughts. "Would it be easier for me to talk to him instead of you?"

"I will not force you to do something you are neither keen on nor likely to enjoy in any capacity," Kaden answered her quietly.

"You were uncomfortable during that conversation," Zareil pointed out. Picking up on that much had been hard with her wary gaze locked on Jet the whole time. "I would not wish you to suffer such emotions."

"...I made him suffer," Kaden said softly, eyes on some indeterminate point on the ground. "That is the reason for my discomfort. Because he and I both know what I have done. He may be willing to forgive and move on… but I am not. Nor do I feel capable of it."

"You are not the same man I originally fell in love with, Kaden," Zareil huffed, crossing her arms. "You are different now, and I still do love you. You are not that man."

"I was," Kaden reminded her, turning fully away. "That cannot be erased or forgotten."

"Had I harmed one of your children, would you shun me the same way you do yourself?" Zareil asked, genuinely confused. "Seriously harmed. Killed, even. Where we are, now, would you?" She wanted to understand. Zareil couldn't comprehend his thoughts clearly here. This was all too new, and that concerned her.

Kaden's emotions had already been swirling around, threatening to plummet back down into a dangerous place, prior to her speaking those words. Her asking such an emotionally-charged question right then made several of those painful emotions spike, though he did his level best to ignore them and keep them hidden. Don't ask me that now. That isn't fair. Shoving that irrational thought away, he mumbled, "I can't answer that, Zareil. I don't know how to."

"I apologize," Zareil responded immediately, moving closer. The shock of seeing this emotional change left her frantic, but she knew she needed to keep her own level head. "I don't… understand these emotions. I… I don't know what is okay and what is wrong to say." The former demoness murmured, hesitating before slowly reaching out to him. "I dislike seeing you in this state and wished to help you feel better."

Only after taking several deep breaths did Kaden dare to try to respond. "You don't need to apologize," he told her, voice even quieter now. "I'm just…" Lost. Broken. Apparently unstable. "It isn't your fault."

"The origin is not," Zareil huffed, a touch unsure how to handle her apology being rebuffed, even if it was gently so. "I… will be more careful in the future. There are still things I don't… feel. I will learn."

Eventually, Kaden offered a nod. He wasn't sure what to say, but at least this way she'd know for certain that he was listening to and acknowledging what she was saying. He felt pangs of guilt over having caused her to be upset as a result of his upset, but he had no idea how to help her feel better. I cannot even help myself these days, much less anyone else.

Zareil, largely beyond her own upset already, started looking around, squinting into the distance. She took a bit of a bold chance, practically scooping him off his feet and teleporting them both to a hill some far distance away that she'd caught sight of. There was a whole lot of nothing around them, something she hoped would help as she flopped down on the grass.

While he'd been a bit too startled to say anything initially (seriously, Zareil had never done this before), Kaden found he'd regained his voice as soon as they impacted the ground. He twisted around to get off of her, leaving him propped up on an elbow while giving her a disapproving frown. "What in the hell was that for?"

"You were unwell," Zareil pointed out simply. "In such moments, you often would seek areas devoid of activity. This seemed fitting."

Suppressing his sudden urge to groan again like he had earlier, Kaden gave in to her latest whim and reluctantly laid down beside her. Sneaky asshole, he mentally grumbled, some of his troubles very temporarily forgotten.

"Stay as long as you want. If anyone bothers us, I'll serve up their body over a flame," Zareil proclaimed, hovering an arm near without touching him. "Once you are ready, we can go once more."

He'd been planning on visiting Shadow again. That was where they'd been walking, in fact. But, given the time of night… he supposed it was alright to stay out here for a while. With any luck, his obstinate son would be sleeping now, anyway. Still, Kaden didn't let himself totally relax. Not yet. There was just one more thing that he felt needed to be addressed sooner rather than later. "...Kath has golden eyes," he murmured, gazing into the sky. "I can count on one hand precisely how many such individuals have ever come to be. Not even you or I had them." Four individuals in total… The first god, their eldest child, Ki'aala, and now Kath.

"We can do little about it," Zareil replied. "Being involved will likely mean the death of us… and my concern is that Kath isn't the one to be afraid of. Ki'aala has been scheming for as long as either of us have lived - longer, even. This is either so deep that digging would take too long to undo… or so deceptively simple that it will become obvious once it shows itself."

"She wants her god back," Kaden told Zareil for the first time. It was information he'd gleaned long ago but never once cared about prior to now. "More than anything, that is what she wishes for. And what she wishes for, she typically gets. My concern is that… she has her loyalties. Certain lines she will not cross if ordered not to. He has no such restraints or limitations… and there has never been an Immortal demon before. We have no idea what he may be able to do."

"Yet, at the same time… he is a demon with demonic whims. There may yet be a method to draw his attention without gaining his ire," Zareil replied, ever one to argue for the sake of it. "A single failure in judgement would likely result in death, of course… but perhaps he can be persuaded in the same way that Ki'aala will likely try. Though I certainly do not believe her to be capable of ordering him around successfully."

"You underestimate the depths of his self-control and discipline," Kaden murmured. "Whatever urges or instincts he now has, he is very capable of resisting them should he choose to. However… you are correct that he isn't likely to be controlled in any capacity. But that does not make Ki'aala a greater threat than he is."

"I fear plots more than whim and desire because I never learned to quite clearly see through people. I also never encountered golden-eyed demons without damn good reason, and… you never let me face Immortals directly. I know little of what this man is truly capable of, so I cannot bring myself to be concerned with what I do not understand." She knew it was a lame excuse, but it was hard to get those ideas through to her head.

Clicking his tongue, Kaden resigned himself to using energy he probably should have been saving. It was for a good cause, though. At least in a way. He needed her to understand, if for no other reason than her own safety. Not that it was the only reason, but still. Shifting his arm, he grumbled, "Give me your hand."

"Why?" she asked, doing as he said regardless of the reason.

As soon as physical contact was established, Kaden used his mental powers to link their minds without actually sharing his powers with her. He also wasn't sharing his memories, thoughts, or emotions with her, merely allowing her to adjust to this new sensation. "This is likely to be uncomfortable for you," he warned. "Tell me when it has eased."

While she hadn't expected this, she simply shrugged. Whatever discomfort she felt, it could wait. "Continue."

Kaden closed his eyes in a mixture of concentration and effort. It was rare that he tried to extend his mind so far away from his body. He wasn't even sure how long he could maintain such a thing, but for now it was manageable. Reaching out to the demonic worlds they had once inhabited, he searched at incredible speeds for the person he sought. As soon as he found him, he simply allowed himself (and, thus, Zareil) to feel the sheer vastness of what was contained within without ever trying to enter it or establish contact. In this way, they were less likely to be noticed or rebuffed. "That, Zareil, is the mind of the man Ki'aala corrupted," he muttered. His tone, however, was born of some level of strain rather than any sort of irritation or the like. "He is no ordinary person, even by Immortal standards. And now he has been turned into a demon, one with no reason to be loyal to anyone or limit his malevolent acts whatsoever. Do you understand now? That is why Ki'aala does not scare me. Because even she cannot match this."

It was rare that fear ever registered in her mind, and this was no exception. It wasn't as if she didn't understand now. On the contrary, it made much more sense. She just… didn't feel like it mattered. Not for them, not to her. But… Kaden obviously cared. "We can't do anything if you're dragging yourself with a rope," she murmured. "Stop the power and rest."

Not needing any further encouragement, Kaden swiftly disconnected their minds and ceased stretching his own out so far. He winced at the sudden pounding headache he had. "One final thing," he told her as he rubbed at his eyes in an effort to assuage the pain. "You have some level of understanding of how strong Jet and his parents are. Kath is comparable to them now. I don't know how or why, only that it is true. I sensed it just now while we were viewing him. It is another reason for my concern."

"Mmh. He is just a fledgling Immortal, however. That's one thing Jet and his parents will have in their favor. Kath is still learning, for however long that will matter before he closes the knowledge gap," Zareil murmured, rolling and putting an arm over him protectively.

"From what I sensed… that gap is very nearly closed already." Kaden was fresh out of warnings to give after that point and so fell silent once he said that.

"I do not know what else to say," Zareil said gently. "I am trying to be considerate of your feelings, but the topic has become stale to me."

"I was only making a statement," was the huffed reply. "Calm yourself." Giving up on massaging his headache away, Kaden simply laid an arm over his eyes to block out the meager light of the stars and moon overhead. His other hand was still lightly holding hers, a fact which he had no desire to change as of now.

"I am not upset. It was only a statement as well," Zareil explained, nestling up closer to him and allowing herself a moment to decompress. Kaden just huffed again, more mildly this time, but otherwise let the subject drop. "I will remain awake, regardless if you fall asleep. Do take this chance to rest."

Her partner let out a sigh, but didn't fight her on this just this once. "Fine." He supposed it was alright for him to sleep… at least for a little while.

~保護者~

Shadow woke up from his surprisingly deep sleep with a minor jolt. He wasn't sure at first what had startled him. His usual nightmares rarely came when Toru was beside him like this. Even when they did come, their typical intensity was less than half of what he experienced when alone. It was even better when they didn't come at all, which seemed to be the case this time around. Which… meant he still didn't know what had woken him up to begin with.

Only after a couple more seconds passed did his drowsiness wear off enough for him to realize that both Lia and Elize were awake. While the oldest of his daughters was entertaining herself in another room, his youngest was squirming and whimpering almost inaudibly. He stifled a yawn and very carefully took the baby out of Toru's arms. Then he waited for a breath or two to make sure that this didn't wake the chameleon up. Satisfied based on the other man's pulse and breathing that he was still asleep, Shadow stood up and went into the kitchen where he set about feeding their child.

He had scarcely finished with that task when Lia came running full tilt into the room with him. "Daddy, you have a kitty?" she demanded loudly. Shadow swore she was almost vibrating with excitement. "She's so cute! What's her name?!"

"Stop yelling, Lia," Shadow was quick to tell her. His own ears were protesting against both the pitch and volume of her voice, so he doubted Elize was enjoying it either. Lia pouted at him. "To answer your questions… Yes, there is a cat that lives around here. She lives in the forest but sometimes comes inside when she is hungry or the weather is poor. Tails looked up name ideas shortly after I found her, and he named her Minako."

Lia pursed her lips together and frowned in thought. She'd learned a few Japanese words and names from her grandparents, Shadow suddenly recalled, so he wasn't surprised when she suddenly perked up and declared, "That name means 'beauty'! I like that name. She's really pretty. She's all white like snow or clouds or- or- like an angel."

Huffing softly in amusement at her assertion, Shadow inquired, "Where did you see her? She has not been inside."

"Oh, she was on the balcony outside your room," Lia said, "so I opened the doors for her, but she ran away when I got excited."

Her pout was back in full-force, which made Shadow smirk faintly. "Just leave them open for now. If she decides she wants back in, she will return. But do not be so exuberant if you want to be near her. She is not used to people for the most part in general, much less children."

"Okay," Lia grumbled. "I just wanted to pet her."

Soren chose that moment to enter the room. "I told you not to run at her," he gently chastised his sister. "Cats don't like that… basically ever." Yet more pouting answered him. He smiled, shook his head, then looked over at Shadow. "Why do you have a cat, anyway? I always kinda thought that animals would get on your nerves or something."

Shadow shook his head. "Unless the animal in question is some sort of violent beast that won't leave me be, no. I can tolerate them far more easily than people." People are complicated. Animals have always made far more sense to me. He briefly mulled over that and everything Sul had told him and Toru about his nature as a Black Arms hybrid. …I suppose that the reason for that is apparent now.

Soren suddenly changed the subject. "By the way," he said, interrupting Shadow's thoughts, "Satsuno's doing better. He was up and around a bit earlier. I asked him if he was still hurting or anything, and he said he's mostly just tired still. Seiko made him go back to bed eventually. Thought you might wanna know that he's okay."

That was good news, actually. Shadow had been wondering, albeit somewhat fleetingly, while feeding Elize how his apparent grandparents were doing. Now the reason for them being in bed still (or rather, again) made sense. "Alright."

Anything further he might have said following that never had a chance to be voiced. A high-pitched whistling sound met his ears. It started off in the distance somewhere far above the house but no sooner than he'd registered hearing the sound the attack that whatever was creating said sound slammed full-force through the roof straight to where he and all three of his children were. Only a combination of sharp reflexes and sharper instincts on his part saved them from harm, as his Darkness had flared to create a protective bubble around them just before the debris caused by the impact could collapse down onto them.

But the attack didn't seem to be finished yet. Whatever hard thing had just destroyed his roof detonated as soon as it impacted the ground beside his barrier. The ensuing explosion not only tore apart his kitchen (effectively obliterated it, in fact), but also ripped open an impressive crater in the ground. Lia and Elize were both screaming and crying by the time it was all over just seconds later. Soren was wide-eyed and visibly rattled. Shadow, meanwhile, was equal parts fearful for the safety of his kids and Myriu… as well as goddamn pissed.

That anger, however, didn't trigger any transformation or loss of control. There was no magic rising up within him. No desire for blood, nor for unnecessarily bloody vengeance. His vampirism, it seemed, was fully removed already. Needless to say, that was a good thing. It meant he had one less thing to worry about and could focus. He focused first on doing his best to put up another barrier, this one hopefully capable of shielding the whole house. It felt doubtful to him that it would hold.

I need to send the children away. With this thought in mind, he didn't hesitate to send Soren and Lia away. It took a second longer with Myriu, purely because he had to figure out where in the house she even was. But she was nevertheless sent off, too. They were all three safe. Only Elize wasn't. But something was utterly blocking her from being whisked away to safety. Something that was decidedly not benign. His concern increasing, he appeared beside Toru in a burst of speed just as more of that telltale whistling sound met his sensitive ears. Shit. Another one is inbound.

Toru was standing by now, naturally. Unlike Shadow, he had transformed. The chameleon was already in his dark form with his blade drawn and brandished in the other. He briefly examined the two before vanishing through the damaged roof to survey the incoming threat. It was right about then that the sound Shadow had been hearing became audible to ears with normal sensitivity as well, but by then it was more or less too late to prevent the strike from occurring. The source of the damage, apparently a rock-hard ball of energy, crashed through both his barrier (which shattered like glass) and another section of roof before promptly exploding. This time, Seiko and Satsuno's room was blasted away with them in it. Considering the level of power released by the blast, they were likely at least dazed… if not also injured.

Shadow teleported one of his handguns (it happened to be the one Toru had engraved) into his hand and looked around warily. He couldn't seem to pick out anyone nearby, nor could he teleport Elize away still. That had him tense and on edge, as if he hadn't been already. And, of course, that tension was completely valid and warranted. A fact which was proven to him in fucking spades when an armor-clad individual suddenly appeared not five feet in front of him and threw their sword at him like some sort of a barbarian. Only his high speed allowed him to dodge the attack swiftly enough to avoid being wounded.

Toru dove down and whipped threads of his Darkness across the handle of this individual's sword, catapulting it back at them as he took a quick slash at their nape, aiming to get between the cracks of their armor. The person caught Toru's blade in their hand while dodging his throw and began powerfully pressing against it in an effort to bend or snap it. Shadow's sensitive ears could hear the metal beginning to strain under the pressure, so he lashed out with his own Darkness to knock their attacker back before damage could be done.

Taking a page from Armaris's book, Toru threw his blade into the darkness below him before making a quick decision he assumed Shadow may dislike. The remaining roof and walls around them all were torn down at the enemy as his blade shot up from below. It went without saying that Shadow did indeed dislike that, but it wasn't as if he had any better ideas. The only thing he could really think to do that wouldn't get in the way or put Elize in further danger was leave to check on his grandparents.

He started to do just that, only for further attacks to force him straight back into the ruins of his home. His own teleportation was blocked now as well, which was lovely. Plus it gave him a sneaking suspicion that he might know what at least one of this person's goals were, given who had first been prevented from teleporting or being teleported. Are they… after her? he thought with a sharp glance at the wailing child in his arms.

At about the same time, the general was recovering from Toru's attacks and also busying themselves by casually reclaiming their sword. Then the person actually spoke. "Nareish… I request a sliver of your strength to handle this one."

There was no audible reply. But it hardly mattered, as any fool with a working set of senses could detect the sharp increase in this person's (one of Nareish's generals?) own level of power. Their speed seemed to have been temporarily enhanced, too, for when they lunged for Shadow he had a truly difficult time getting out of their way in time. He aimed and fired a flurry of shots, but they had no visible effect despite piercing that armor and drawing blood. It didn't even remotely slow the guy down. Shadow threw a glance at Toru, only to find that some of that borrowed power was forcefully pinning the chameleon in place. Based on what he could tell, his partner would need mere seconds to break free and no more. So for those few seconds, Shadow was on his own.

One.

Shadow narrowly dodged another stupidly fast swing of a sword. He fired again at his opponent, aiming squarely at their forehead. It managed to stagger them only slightly, but it was enough for him to put more precious feet of space in between them.

Two.

Another lunge. The bastard managed to slash across Shadow's side, leaving a deep gash. Cursing, Shadow blasted them away from himself and Elize before that sword could get any nearer to her than it had.

Three.

The general had apparently already had enough of this. They gathered up all of the extra power they had been lent, even going so far as to draw back in the energy that had been pinning Toru. The ensuing attack happened so fast that no one present could have had time to react. A concentrated blast violently slammed into Shadow somehow managed to come even faster than all the earlier strikes. It was utterly impossible to dodge.

He was carried off of his feet and hurled backward and out of sight, leaving a deep gouge in the ground while his gun clattered to the ground near where he'd been standing. Multiple trees fell all along the path and a cloud of dust and dirt rose into the air at the point where his momentum finally died out. And in the aftermath of this powerful act of brutality, all was silent. Apart from that cloud of dust, everything in the forest surrounding the building went still. Based on what could be detected from said building, Shadow didn't seem to get back up.

However, all wasn't yet lost. Toru had been released. Silver and black flashed up beside the attacker, caring no longer who or what they were, what they wanted, or what else they planned to do. All that mattered was getting them away from Shadow, and Toru did so with a blindingly fast haymaker of a punch to send them in the exact opposite direction. The general somehow managed a fairly clean landing despite the fresh damage they'd sustained, as well as in spite of the fact that they had used up all of the power they had been lent. With an audible scoff, they teleported straight to where Shadow had landed. Toru followed instantly, but he was briefly ignored.

"He stole my leader's child away," the general commented while trapping Toru within some sort of barrier. It likely wouldn't hold the chameleon long. "It's time he learns to never do such a thing again." With that said, he approached Shadow and bent down to grab Elize… who was somehow, miraculously, unharmed. Grabbing a fistful of the blanket she was wrapped in, the general yanked her away. Shadow didn't even so much as twitch a finger as the infant was grabbed, further proving that he was indeed unconscious.

However… Elize wasn't in danger for long. A barrier of energy that could only have come from Rusen flashed into existence around her. Then her tiny body was somehow phased out of the blanket before being gently floated over to Toru. The peaceful energy surrounding her even quieted her cries for now, though tears were still filling her eyes.

Toru held her tight and close to his chest as his darkness rippled against and through the barrier holding him. He'd guessed it wasn't meant to hold him long. For the first time in a while, he tapped into his shinobi training much more intensely, making a blade of his collected energy and slicing the general into pieces without a further thought as he approached Shadow. "Are you awake?" he called, kneeling down. Unfortunately, there was still no response. The dirt beneath and immediately surrounding Shadow was dark and wet with blood, blood that was continuing to soak into the ground as Toru watched. And Elize, almost as if she could sense how bad this situation was, promptly began crying again.

After only a moment more of inspection, Toru risked scooping Shadow up and teleported straight to Babylon. Rusen's energy seamlessly spread to him, shielding his skin from ever making direct contact with the blood so that it didn't harm him. In the next instant, he was standing in the midst of the medical ward. His Darkness flared to grab everyone's attention. This worked like a charm, for Alana was there in an instant. Her eyes widening subtly at the state of Toru and his small family. She teleported Shadow straight onto a bed (which Rusen's protection transferred to straight away) and began trying to heal him while simultaneously demanding, "What happened?" Meanwhile, she sent out a mental call to her husband. "Sein, come to the medical ward now. Shadow was attacked by what feels like Nareish's energies. It is not entirely dissimilar to what happened to Jet, and I need your help if he is to live."

"One of Nareish's generals," Toru replied as Sein landed right next to his wife. "They attacked the house. I need to go and check on Seiko and Satsuno, as well as the kids. They were wrapped up in the midst of it all," he explained. "Am I good to go for now or do you need to know anything else?"

Alana frowned in concentration even as she replied to him, "Leave if you must. I understand your predicament. However, given the danger, I ask that you bring the rest of your family here when possible. They will be safer. Especially the children."

"Go," Sein said, offering a bit of a strained smile to Toru. "We've got him. Bring everyone here and we'll get you all situated, okay?"

The chameleon nodded and was gone in an instant, leaving the two to their work with Shadow. Only now did Alana dare to voice the concerns she was having about her newest patient. "Sein… I meant what I said before. The internal and external damage this man suffered is too much like what Jet sustained, and I do not know if you and I are powerful or skilled enough to heal it."

"We have to try, at least for now, to keep him alive until we can drag in someone else," Sein said, joining in now that he'd gotten a chance to survey Shadow's injuries. "Do we know where Wave is?"

"I assume she is still in the Hex recovering," Alana murmured, recalling what Jet had told them about the recent attempt on his friend's life. "I do not know how she is doing, but… the Aether has acted independently of her before. I will see if I can reach my mind out to it. I want you to call Steam while I do that. He may not be able to help, but he still needs to know."

"Both of these attacks, back to back… I don't like the insinuation. She's ramping up to something again," Sein murmured, taking a bit of focus away just to operate his communicator and calling Steam. "I only hope we can keep up." Alana merely nodded in answer to that statement, since she was paying more attention to the mental conversation she was having - and, of course, to her healing efforts.

"Hey, what's up?"

Sein could hear in the hedgehog's voice that he was expecting the worst. It made sense, really… He couldn't blame Steam, and that's what made it even harder to explain what he was about to say. "Shadow, Toru, and their family were attacked. Shadow is alive and hanging on for now at the medical ward. We're reaching out to the Aether for help. Seems like Nareish got directly involved, whether by gifting power to someone or… doing something else. Toru seemed fine, as did the baby he had with him, and he's going to check on everyone else to bring them here."

There was a long, drawn out inhale from the other side of the line that made Sein wince. "Shit. Fuck. Guess this little stint of peace is over. I'm gonna try to corral everyone so we know where everyone is. Thanks."

"How are you doing?" Sein asked, trying to catch the other man before he hung up. "I know things are going sour… but are you holding up?"

"I signed up for another war, I'm gonna get you guys through it." Sein at least liked the determination in Steam's voice, that tonal shift being somewhat lighter than before. "I'll manage. Promise I won't go overboard. This part is… the surprisingly easy part for me. Being there for everyone is what I'm better at."

Sein managed a small smile. "Do what's good for you, too, no matter what you signed up for. Try to take it easy where you can."

"Sure. Anyway, unless you've got something else, I'm gonna get these two to a safe planet. I snatched attention from someone already to protect them."

"Steam," Alana suddenly called over in a quiet voice, "I am afraid there is further bad news to share. You were there when I told everyone what happened to my father, but in truth that was not the only thing that occurred. Jet told Sein and I that Wave was also attacked, more specifically by generals working under Nareish. He said she would be fine… but also that she was nearly killed. We do not know how she is now."

They both listened to the sharp intake of breath, followed by the carefully restrained reply. "Where is she?"

"She is in the Lost Hex with her family," Alana reported. Her frown deepened when Shadow suddenly coughed several times. Bloodily. Her fear over the situation only sharpened. "Jet stated he could not remain there any longer due to the threat of that realm's magic. He said it tears apart all those who are not native to that place."

"I'll find a fucking way. Thank you, Alana. I do appreciate it, and I hope my irritation isn't seeming like it's pointed at you. Just… fuck."

"I did not take it personally, Steam." Alana said nothing more, as she was again concentrating too much on internal words to speak out loud that much. "Please hurry, Aether. His condition is trying to deteriorate."

The creature appeared on her shoulder, sitting down. "Sorry. Put a spell I learned over Wave to help her recover. I'm here." It explained, looking over Shadow with an appraising eye before slowly and steadily adding its own energies to their efforts as it examined him more closely.

Sein nodded appreciatively toward the help. "Steam, I'm gonna let you go for now so we can focus on Shadow. I'll shoot a message over once he's stable. But if you need anything, call. I'll be paying close attention."

"Absolutely. Wonder if vampire magic can shield me from all that magic in the Hex…" He didn't allow anyone to reply to that, hanging up immediately after the last word left his mouth.

The hawk let out a small sigh, then glanced over as Toru showed up with what was apparently his new family in tow. Sein winced at seeing so many kids, knowing that meant they'd all been placed in danger. Rather than wasting precious time or letting the kids see their father in such a dire state, he teleported them all to a room with more than enough seating and bed space for them to rest in the aftermath of this. He trusted that the adults could assess any of their own injuries and seek attention as needed, considering they all seemed relatively well. That much is good.

"He will likely be back soon," Alana murmured, eyes never leaving the wound she was trying to close. "Please ask him to leave his Dark form when he returns. You are better at sounding… kind in such situations than I am, and I do not want to upset him further. But I also do not want other patients suffering from his aura."

"I expect him to. I'm sure he'll listen. Probably doesn't even realize that he's still in it," Sein replied softly, watching as the Aether hopped down and took on a form much more like… Amy's. He had to blink a few times, but seeing that the creature was getting more directly involved in the healing process and more actively closing wounds, he chose to not distract it. This effort was relieving to see.

The trio had the chance to work together in silence for… about ten or twelve seconds. Maybe less. Then the small hedgehog girl suddenly appeared in the room, eyes wide and already full of unshed tears. "D-Daddy?" she whimpered.

Before she could take more than one step toward the bed, the oldest child just as suddenly teleported into the room. He all but snatched his sister up and hid her face in his shoulder. "Lia, you shouldn't be in here!" he worriedly scolded her while carefully averting his own misty-eyed gaze.

"But Soren-!"

"No, Toru told us to stay put!"

Toru appeared swiftly behind the both of them and, carefully, snatched them up off the floor. This grab made the teen sort of squeak in surprise. "Soren is right, Lia. You need to give your dad space while he recovers," he chided, but in a rather soft tone.

"But I want my daddy," Lia answered, now sobbing into Soren's chest. "Why is he sleeping? I want him to wake up!"

Sein nudged Alana's shoulder and motioned toward them to make sure she knew he was going before walking over to help. Getting the kid calmed down was in everyone's best interest, and Toru's energies weren't going to help either. "Shadow's okay. We have a friend here that's really good at healing people," he offered, trying to buy himself a second to think of how to explain the situation away. "He's already doing a lot better even though he got hurt."

Toru noticed that Soren was tense, now that he was forced to focus on something that wasn't Lia, letting the teen back onto his feet. Soren mumbled an awkward thanks, cleared his throat, and adjusted his hold on his sister. She said something incoherent into his shirt, probably in response to Sein, that he didn't bother trying to decipher. "He's right, Dad's gonna be fine," he promised her. But his eyes drifted to a spirit he'd been watching and listening to ever since entering the room. I'm such a liar. The ghosts of doctors are all over the place here, and they don't think Dad's improved much at all. I just… can't tell her that. "Come on, we should go back to the other room. We can keep Myriu company. Satsuno and Seiko, too."

Toru knelt down to Soren and Lia. "I'll be back soon once I know a bit more about what's happening. Head on back, and listen to Satsuno and Seiko. They're in charge."

"We understand," Soren said. He teleported away before Lia could even think to protest.

They couldn't have chosen a better time to do that, in Alana's opinion, since Shadow suddenly suffered from several more bloody coughs right then. She winced at how painful they sounded. It is for the best that he is not awake to be in pain for the moment, she privately reflected.

Sein stepped in front of Toru when he tried to walk closer, shaking his head. "Nothing wrong with you being here, but you need to get out of your Dark form. Doesn't bug me, but it'll stress the other patients out and likely wouldn't do Shadow any good. You're all wound up."

Although irritated, Toru obliged, almost appearing to just step out of the transformation as he walked past Sein. He'd apologize later. Right now, his mood was far too gone to be willing to do so just yet. "Fine." The two went back to Shadow's beside, with the chameleon politely standing as close to the bed as he could be without being in the way.

Alana tossed the chameleon a glance. Though she wasn't lacking in sympathy for the man, she knew one thing for certain. He deserves to be told the full truth. "I do not know if you are aware of the condition Jet was left in following the first raid on Nareish's realm… but his condition then is not unlike the wounds we are treating now. We will do all we can, but it is likely that we will not be able to heal everything." We had so much more help back then, too…

"I get it," Toru answered, surprisingly calm despite the tension in his voice. "Do what you can. If I need to bring someone else, I will."

"Understood." Having nothing left to say, Alana fell silent so that she could fully concentrate on her work. It was the best chance her patient had.

~保護者~

Sothan wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. He briefly reflected upon waking that, in fact, he didn't remember falling asleep at all. He remembered suddenly starting to cough his lungs out, Xin coming in to check on him, eventually coughing up some of that disgusting blood he'd been forced to drink, and Xin leaving shortly afterward. Prior to that last bit, though, he seemed to recall the other man pushing him until he was laying back down. But that was about it. Having gaps in his memory wasn't a terribly familiar experience, nor was it pleasant. This sort of thing rarely happened. The same went for the sensation he had right now of being feverish. He'd gotten fevers from wounds before, sure, but that had mostly be when he'd been in Nareish's-

No. Fuck no. He refused to think about that, or about her. A couple associated memories tried to surface, but he swiftly and expertly shoved them away in the mental box where they belonged, right alongside all the other memories he'd unwillingly formed back then. Only then did he decide to open his eyes and, feeling a bit more awake now, he was able to answer his earlier private question. He had an innate sense of the passage of time, and that told him it had only been a few hours or so. In truth, he'd expected it to have been longer. Not that he was complaining.

Mindful of the headache his fever was causing, he carefully pushed himself into an upright position while mulling over something that had been on his mind as he'd slept. Creative inspiration sometimes came to him in the form of vivid, detailed dreams. They usually were geared toward his passion for smithing, but this time had been a little bit different. He turned the idea over and around in his head for a few minutes, but in truth his decision had already been made. The corruption coursing through him seemed to be taking a backseat for the moment, for reasons unknown, and that allowed him to think about this no differently than he would under any normal circumstances. Whether or not it manages to help… I need to try. For both their sakes.

Using his magic to make a potion wasn't something he'd ever attempted before. It was certainly possible, of course, since with creation magic all he had to do was decide to do it… but that didn't necessarily mean his half-brained scheme was going to work. Especially not with him having become a mortal, for the first time ever in his life, after passing his deity role down to Li. Mortal magic against Nareish's corruption… This is a stupid idea. There isn't a chance in hell it's going to work. Despite the uncharacteristically pessimistic thoughts he found himself having, he called upon that very magic from deep within him and closed his eyes in concentration.

Focusing his thoughts, he willed a small corked vial of medicine into existence within his right hand. This… shouldn't have affected his energy levels very much. If at all. And yet, he suddenly felt drained in a way that he didn't think he'd ever experienced before. It was a combination of woozy and lightheaded and dizzy, which quickly prompted him to lay back down. Several waves of nausea passed through him. Thankfully, all of these symptoms ebbed just as quickly as they'd begun, though the exhaustion he was left with remained oppressive even after several minutes had passed. So much so, in fact, that he found himself struggling to stay awake. Unable to even so much as keep his eyes open anymore, he called upon energy he really didn't have right then and teleported the medicine to Li. Whether it worked or not… this was a chance to help Novei. He just hoped it wouldn't amount to a wasted effort. But that was all he had a chance to think about before sleep claimed him again.

To say that the younger wolf was… really confused… would have been an understatement. This was not a normal thing to have happen, even with the creative sort of family he'd been surrounded with since birth. He sniffed at the vial a few times, then inspected it with his eyes and magic before getting up from where he'd been sitting. He'd taken a brief break from fixing Sein's gauntlets (he was actually in the midst of upgrading them), so he went to where he'd assumed the medicine had originated. After just a moment, he was in Sothan's room, carefully closing the door in an effort to not disturb the man much more. He slowly stepped toward his uncle, lightly nudging the man's shoulder. "Sothan?"

As ever, his uncle tended to crash fairly hard the few times he did actually sleep. As such, he was groggy and sluggish when he first woke up, which was another unusual similarity he and Kath shared. This resulted in him tiredly rubbing at his closed eyes and mumbling a half-asleep, "...What…?"

"You were the one who made this medicine," Li said, keeping his voice soft and quiet out of respect for his uncle's tired state. After all, Sothan very clearly still had a fever. Rest was something his body needed. "What for?"

Sothan mumbled something semi-unintelligible for just a second before saying a bit more clearly, "It might help Novei… maybe."

"You want her to drink it?" Li asked, just to be sure.

"Duì," was the exhausted response. ("Yes.")

"Alright, I'll give it to her and let you sleep." The younger wolf walked away quickly so his presence couldn't keep his uncle awake, heading back to his room with a quick teleport.

Novei was in the same place he'd left her, scribbling away in an empty book (where she'd found it, he'd never know). Li moved beside her and set the medicine vial down on the table, looking over the obviously arcane scripts she'd been doodling out. It seemed so incredibly… complex. Whatever it was, he was mildly worried it was something she'd concocted in one of her more violent moods. "Hey, Sothan made this medicine and told me to give it to you. I'm not sure what it is, but…"

"It's an Immortal's medicine," Novei answered without skipping a beat, never even lifting her pen. "That smell is potent. I'll trust it, however, since it's his. Anyone else…" Novei scoffed, glancing to the wolf with a raised eyebrow. "The hell are you staring at?"

Li was a little startled, turning his attention back at her with blinking, confused eyes. "Oh, uh… the stuff you drew."

"Came to me in a dream." The Therian woman lifted the vial up and inspected it, crinkling her nose a little. You'd better fucking appreciate that I like you, Sothan. She moved it to her lips and popped the cork off with her teeth, letting the liquid within wash over the object and down her throat so she wouldn't have to taste it as much. When she didn't notice an immediate effect, she set it down and continued doodling. "Get Xin. I want to show this to him," she explained, motioning to what she'd made.

"Yeah, I bet he can make sense of this better than me," Li said with a smile, teleporting away. If she had an interest that would further help her connect with his family, he was going to facilitate that every time. Especially during the corruption, when keeping her calm and stable was important. Anything to keep her in a neutral mood. He landed decidedly more loudly, only enough so to wake the other man, than he had with Sothan when he reached where his father was.

Xin had unintentionally dozed off on the couch in the living room. His son's abrupt arrival startled him awake and he reflexively sat up before his brain could catch up with him. Then he was yawning and grumbling, "Don't scare me like that, lad." It's been years since I passed out with the rising of the sun… I was more tired than I realized.

"Figured I could mess with you a tiny bit," Li said with a soft smile. "Got something to tell you, but Novei might bite both our heads off if I don't take you to see the thing she made right this second. She's probably wanting your opinion."

"Alright, I'm coming," Xin answered with a halfhearted glare over at Li in response to his first sentence. But that expression faded almost immediately while he stood up and indulged in a quick stretch. "Lead the way, Li. I imagine she won't want me waltzing in first."

Li shrugged. "Not a bad idea," he answered, heading on back toward his room and leading the way inside. This time, she was splayed out on the bed, face down, groaning under her breath. "Uh… hm…" The younger wolf approached Novei, nudging her shoulder a little. "You okay…?"

"Bleh," she replied unhelpfully, raising her head long enough to look at them before flopping it back down on the bed and pointing at the book on the nearby table.

Xin entered the room and grabbed the book in one hand, picking up the vial in his other. His eyes roamed over the symbols Novei had been drawing while he curiously sniffed at the glass with a nose far more sensitive than that of an average wolf. Magic symbols and a powerful cure… What in the world did I miss while I was sleeping? I wasn't even out for that long. In the meantime, Li gently stroked Novei's back as she grumbled irritably.

"I couldn't make sense of the symbols, but it definitely looked like some of the more ancient magics I've seen, and a bit inspired by the runic spells she's done before. Can you piece any of it together?" Li asked aloud, looking over his shoulder to Xin.

"They aren't much on their own, per se," Xin said thoughtfully. He set the vial aside (he didn't pay attention to where) while his mind puzzled over what he was viewing. "But these could… perhaps serve as a foundation for a spell of some sort." His head canted and he shifted his curious glance to Novei. "Not any sort of spell I've personally come across, mind you, but even so." …She smells as though she is returning to normal, he realized while he finished speaking. The cure is working swiftly. Much more so than any ordinary medicine could. I should like to know how Sothan conjured up the energy needed for such potent magic. The more complex and/or powerful the thing he makes, the more energy is required. I didn't think he had the power in him to counter Nareish.

Novei rolled suddenly, taking Li down as she moved on top of him, making him squeak in confusion. "Figures. It's probably one of these random ass new magics I've got mingling with my old stuff. Might be why it's got the runic script."

"Aye, that could be," Xin agreed easily. "We can work on it soon, if you wish to. But I'd rather you rest a while first. That medicine needs a bit more time to fully work its way through your system."

"Ugh, fuck off," she groaned, rolling back off of Li and making him squeak again while scrambling back up into a sitting position. "I don't need rest. I've been doing too much of that lately. I need something to do."

"Novei, you're recovering from corruption and you're a newly turned vampire who isn't used to staying awake during the daytime," Xin countered mildly. "You should be able to sense the fact that, on our native homeworld, the sun is very much up right now. Your body is naturally attuned to the time on that world, and will be for a while. Even if you don't sleep and instead continue working in this book, you'll do yourself a favor by taking it easy."

She mocked him by moving her lips as he talked, but ultimately just flopped back down, landing her head against Li's side which further surprised him and made him jump a little. "Fine."

Xin quirked a smile at her antics and set the book back down where he'd found it. "Rest well," he murmured. He turned to Li and, before leaving, promised quietly, "I'll mind things around here if you'd like to rest as well. I don't intend to sleep anymore, myself."

"Eh, not a bad idea, but I'll probably stay up for a bit. Just laze in bed and relax, while the chance is here," Li said, offering a lazy shrug with a smile. "Appreciate it."

"Sounds good," Xin chuckled. He waved farewell to them both and made his way out of the room, shutting it fully behind him.

Novei yanked Li down to lay beside her, cuddling him close and fiddling with the blanket to pull it up on them with her legs. "Mmh… my body feels weird after drinking that medicine. I think Xin was right."

"Well… there's a reason he said it, y'know," Li chuckled, wrapping his arms loosely around her. "You should get some rest."

"Meh," Novei replied, shrugging. "Might."

Li smiled and rubbed the back of her head, earning a delighted sound from her as she nestled her face into him, slowly relaxing away into a quick slumber. He avoided saying or doing much else, considering she was generally a fairly light sleeper. It was nice to see her feeling better, and he had every intention of enjoying it.

He'd have to thank Sothan for this later.

~保護者~

Syren awoke on the ground with a soft sound of pain. Unable to recall when during his flight he'd blacked out, he pushed himself up on his elbows and glanced around. The area was dark and mostly deserted. Some demons were lurking about, none daring to come closer than about fifty feet but all eyeing him intently. A show of weakness here would incite an attack, especially as he'd yet to reestablish himself as the ruler of the legions. He wouldn't allow that to happen.

Flaring his aura sent a few of the younger individuals skittering back into whatever cracks and crevices in the ground that they'd emerged from. Even the older and more powerful individuals backed away warily. Still… they were demons. Spying weakened prey had enticed them, stoked their bloodlust, and they weren't keen on giving up so easily. Have it your way, then. With a flick of his fingers, a whip of pure Darkness flashed outward. It struck one demon in the face and sliced the entire body in half from there. That finally made the survivors scatter. Good riddance.

Alone again at last, he shifted into a sitting position with his legs crossed. The protests of his wounds forced him to recall the battle that had led to his death - the battle with his own daughter. While he'd fully intended to allow her to take over his role, he'd forced her to work for it. To fight to the death for it. If she couldn't take him down while he was at least somewhat trying, then she wasn't worthy of ending his life. That was all there was to it.

In the end, she'd succeeded. She'd done quite a number on him in the process, too. Being revived had involved the Immortal healing some of Syren's most lethal injuries, but the rest remained. His right wing was badly broken, along with various bones in his leg and rib cage on that same side. He was covered in burns, slashes, bruises, stab wounds, claw and teeth marks, crushing injuries, and blunt force wounds.

The pain and exhaustion he was suffering now were excruciating… but, while demons only rarely felt any measure of care or other positive emotions toward their offspring, he couldn't help the spark of parental pride that glowed darkly within him. I raised you perfectly, Yora… and you performed well. Perhaps I should have dragged our fight on longer. That would have been fun.

But those thoughts were going to have to wait for another time. Taking stock of his physical condition, he looked over all the injuries he could personally see. Still bleeding, it seems… but I'd likely scar if I resorted to cauterizing them. I'd rather avoid that. He pushed that out his mind for a moment and gingerly tried to unfurl his wings. Every second of this motion was agony for this incredibly sensitive area of his body. His right wing, to make matters worse, refused to open more than just slightly. The bones seemed to be badly broken now. Granted, he was pretty certain they'd been broken already before, but it was worse now. So much for flying to his old home. With him lacking the energy to teleport, it appeared he was going to have to walk. Letting out a huff, he forced himself to stand. Lucky me.

His body was weak from blood loss. Walking was a slow, difficult, and shaky affair. Nonetheless, he made it to his destination after several long hours. It went without saying that his old home was in shambles. Actually, no. It was in proper ruins, but that was fine. He didn't need the structure itself, merely to see what possessions of his were still around. He didn't doubt that this place had been looted many times over, almost certainly starting with Yora, but that was also fine. Whatever was left, he'd make do with.

After confirming that there was indeed some stuff left inside, he cast a barrier over the building. He'd pick through everything later. Right now, he just… needed to sit. For the umpteenth time that day, he felt woozy and unbalanced. Sinking down onto the ground, he struggled to make his vision stop spinning. Lightheadedness was currently kicking his ass. It took veritable ages for it all to stop. Rest was probably something he needed, but he refused to give in to that urge. He wasn't weak, and he refused to portray himself as such. The fact that those demons earlier had seen him in such a sorry state was already unacceptable. It wasn't going to happen again.

In order to make sure that was the case, he really did need to deal with his wounds. With that in mind, he pressed his hands into a rather large wound on his abdomen and tried to staunch the blood flow. Maybe scars wouldn't be so bad. At least it would stop the bleeding. So, with this thought in mind, he gathered up some volatile energy into his hands and began using that to burn his wounds shut. Though unpleasant, he'd done this sort of thing before. All he needed was a mental distraction.

He found that distraction quickly and easily by closing his eyes and concentrating his senses well beyond this world. More specifically, he focused his attention on the planets of Mobius and New Babylon. With Darkness specially cloaked so as to prevent anyone from knowing just who it belonged to, he slammed attacks into any and every civilization he found. Untold scores of people were obliterated. Then he expanded his attacks to all over the damn place, striking at any people he could find just to let off some steam.

While it wasn't his specific intention to seek out and harm any of Kath's allies (whether they were close or not), that wound up happening regardless. His intensive stalking as a ghost allowed him to know the names of everyone he injured. Cream, T'alo, Laralei, Pyros, Althea, Sonic, Blaze, Tails, and Thane were all grievously injured. The mere awareness that blood was being spilled increased his aggression and amusement to a significant degree. Death was now inevitable for someone. Which, in turn, meant that his attacks escalated.

All the stalking he'd done had revealed to him a special hidden place where some deliciously vulnerable individuals were hidden away. He started there, on the planet of Gardenia. No children of any of the Immortals were targeted for now so as to keep them from instantly going into a protective rage, but the others were fair game. Anthea and Anya, daughters of the Sun God Locke, were the first to be torn apart by his Darkness. Alec, son of the Hexan sorcerer Han, was the only other child to die this time around. Following that, he again attacked Kath's adult allies. Or rather… his former allies.

Next to die was Lin, who he understood to sometimes be called "Maizey" or "Lyn". She was the frail, feeble sister of the God of Thieves. Utterly worthless, given her bedridden life. The girl died alone, and she did so bloodily. That pleased him, it enticed him to do more. He had every intention of following through, too, if not for the fact that he'd finished with his wounds. Removing his hands, he looked himself over and allowed his thoughts to briefly wander over the carnage he'd caused. Not much of a grand reentrance into life… but it'll do for now. With a cautious, pained stretch, he went ahead and stood up.

A very familiar presence appeared at his side, not at all perturbed by his identity or the risk of retaliation in response to her simply showing up unannounced. "Well, what a way for you to show you've returned. To think that you'd try and hide such work from me… tsk," Ki'aala teased, leaning closer to him.

Syren was careful to turn his body so that she couldn't inadvertently brush up against his badly damaged wings. "I had no intention of hiding that," he huffed in tired amusement. "I was merely having a bit of fun."

"It's not as if you could have hidden it from me, anyway," the demoness further teased, settling into a sitting position beside him. "As it stands, you went and created quite a commotion earlier that I am most likely to have to deal with myself. I'm a touch disappointed that you'd put such on me."

Rolling his eyes, he gingerly reclaimed his earlier spot on the ground. His wings practically screamed in protest when they inevitably brushed up against the hard ground, but he did his level best to ignore the pain lancing through him there and in other places. "Tell them to think twice before considering feasting upon their God, and perhaps I will not have to cause such a ruckus next time," he huffed.

"They're more likely to listen to me anyway," Ki'aala laughed, dragging her claws against the ground beside them. "Most of them know better than to play stupid games with me. I will set the record straight for you shortly, so long as you promise to actually handle your wounds."

"There is little else I can personally do for them," was the terse reply. "Without a Black Flower to retreat to, they will have to heal on their own."

"It's a shame that one of your greatest allies just so happens to know more than any of the previous deities in regards to such a thing, now isn't it?" the woman asked in reply. "I wonder what you might have to do to get that information from her…"

That finally teased a measure of his usual good mood out of him and he cracked a slight smile. "I do wonder," he mused, playing along with her game for the time being. "Perhaps if she would deem it necessary to tell me, I might be inclined to make it worth her while afterward."

"A demon of contracts would never make such a blind deal…" Ki'aala huffed, leaning in closer to his face, baring her fangs eagerly at him. "Though, dire times do require more dire measures."

Syren bared his own fangs in response, more playfully than aggressively, as he took in her scent. "These are not dire times," he murmured. "And you would do well to hide your eagerness from my nose if you wish to fool me on any level."

"I have no need to fool you. You know my intentions, though I cannot get my desires without you being healed. You shall be sent away soon to rest and heal, be assured," Ki'aala teased. "I have my eyes on a few of those who will oppose us, and I stand in a good position to gain access to new powers."

"Do what you will, then," he told her, not that she needed his permission. All he said beyond that was, "I caught a glimpse of the future earlier, by the way… An Immortal and some God of Magic may soon try to approach our new friend. Monitor the situation if you can, though I doubt that they will get anything they desire from him. His corruption has set in far too deeply already."

"It will be good to have a face-to-face meeting with the God of Magic. I wished to keep my attention on him, but his magic continues to ward his presence from me," Ki'aala murmured. "Intervening should be possible, even if they manage some progress. I've already fought one of the Immortals."

"They will not make progress with him," Syren assured her. "The pair of them are due to be sorely disappointed in that regard. Given that… only intervene if it is needed. Kath may just drive them off himself."

Ki'aala chuckled to herself. "That would be amusing enough to see."

"Indeed, it would be." Syren adjusted his position somewhat in an effort to get a bit more comfortable, reflexively trying to shift his wings in the process so as to accommodate the movement. Additional pain lanced through him and he hissed softly under his breath.

"Though it would be a pleasure to drown myself in the suffering of those around me, namely you at this moment, I suppose getting you aid sooner rather than later would be a good idea," Ki'aala huffed, waving a claw up into the air and conjuring a portal in front of them both, leading directly to one of the few remaining Black Flowers. "Whenever you feel ready to stand, go."

Syren felt as though he had displayed far too much weakness in one day as it was, so he forced himself to stand immediately. Before leaving, however, he muttered, "My flower withered when I died, as does every flower that births a demon like me. Keep any nosy bastards in the area away from it while it recovers." Now that my life has been restored, it will rejuvenate as well… provided it's left alone.

"A simple ward of death should be enough to dissuade any pesky demons," Ki'aala answered. "Or other intruders. It will be done." Nodding in curt satisfaction, Syren stepped through the portal and snapped it shut behind himself.

Once he was gone, Ki'aala stepped seamlessly onto another world, drawing up wards onto the ground near where Syren's flower would be. Any creature, short of Immortals and other very powerful magic users or semi-Immortals, that wandered too close would simply perish. Work completed here, for the time being, the demoness set her sights on finding Kath, simply for monitoring.

Then, as she'd promised Syren, performing an act she'd only done twice before in the past. Ki'aala pressed a claw to her temple and connected herself with the demons left after the last mass cullings that had occurred. She made a point to only contact those who were full demons, despite knowledge of creatures such as the interesting cat amongst the allies of their enemies existing. They weren't currently worth her time "Listen closely. Though our last few leaders have been disappointing or deposed - often both- you should all be pleased to know that our first God has been returned to us. Any who follow Kaden still for the fact that he is alive, know that should I discover your lack of loyalty I will end your life quickly and painfully."

"From here on, your loyalty is to Syren."

~保護者~

Cyril didn't know he could move this fast. The speed would have killed an average person, that much the finch could ascertain. Even still, he hadn't thought it was possible. He'd seen people fight like this, however, he reflected. Gods, the amount of training he'd have to catch up on to get on everyone else's level was unbelievable. But how he was now would have to suffice for the moment. After everything that just happened… he wasn't going to let anyone else slip through his fingers if he had the chance to stop it. The God of Magic barely realized he'd made it here, to Nareish's realm. Wasn't sure when he'd swapped between this one and the one he lived in, either, but he chalked up to a bit more luck. Now, he walked with a bit of caution, keeping his senses sharp as he sought his father's presence again.

It happened that Quinn wasn't actually too far away. His aura even felt normal now, showing no signs of him still being under Nareish's influence or control. However… it was weak and flickering, which was usually a clear sign that someone had suffered substantial injury. He didn't seem to be unconscious, not fully, but he also wasn't resting. Instead, he was slowly moving down what was likely a corridor or hall (based on the straight path he was taking) somewhere nearby.

The finch's vision went black for a second, and when it returned, there was a clear wave of destruction that stopped cleanly right before it could ever have threatened Quinn, his arm outstretched and still glowing from the use of his magic. What…? Cyril asked himself, only pausing for a moment to look at his palm before hurrying over to his father. Worry about it later.

Needless to say, his actions didn't go unnoticed. Quinn was standing against a wall, leaning heavily against it (or, more accurately, on the arm he had braced against it) when the dust cleared enough for anyone to see. He was covered head to toe in blood and unusual but no less vicious injuries, and his gaze was wavering as he fought to remain awake. Still, he nevertheless managed to spy his son amidst the wreckage and debris. "...Cyril…?" he mumbled, swaying dangerously. A trail of blood along the wall clearly indicated where he'd been walking, but for now he was no longer trying to go anywhere.

"Don't move," Cyril answered, fighting with his trembling arms as he approached. "It's me." He walked close to his father and stretched out his arms. "C'mon. We're getting you out of here. I'm not playing these stupid games with Nareish any longer."

Whether Quinn had intended to reply or not, he was in no condition to. The moment Cyril approached him and he was no longer running on the pure instinct of needing to keep himself alive and reach safety, he lost his private battle to remain awake. His knees suddenly buckled and he crumpled to the floor, entirely unconscious in an instant as though a switch had been flipped.

Cyril hadn't expected that and let out a shocked cry when his dad collapsed, tears streaming from his eyes at the unexpected change in the situation. What would Wave do?! …Logic - help him, then get him out. The first thing he thought to do was weave bandages into existence before using his magic to apply them to the worst injuries he could find, making sure his father couldn't have any more serious bleeding in case the wounds reopened. Then, once his nerves were settled and he felt he could do it without dropping Quinn, he lifted the older man up into his arms and teleported away with him. He had to do it in short bursts, each of his teleports more frantically erratic with his jumping, speedy thoughts. He let out a small shout of frustration at himself, resisting the urge to tense up and ultimately letting out a sob of so many mixed emotions that he couldn't hope to count them.

He finally arrived back on Mobius after taking another few seconds, then remembered he needed to go to Babylon, thoughts scrambled enough that his mind had wandered back to Eila. He appeared in the medical ward this time, beside Teyan (who was asleep under the effects of medicine again). Then he used his magic to create an unoccupied bed for his father and set him down in it before crumbling to the floor with his hands over his head.

When the finch finally recovered, he found himself staring up at Sein, laid out on a bedroll in a side room. His entire face felt numb, and his eyes swollen from crying. It took several seconds, too, for him to realize that the hawk was talking to him. "-gonna be okay," Sein was assuring him softly, a comforting hand set gently on Cyril's chest. "It's okay. You back with me, Cyril? Can you hear me?" Cyril only nodded. His throat was hurting, and when he opened his mouth to speak it was dry. "Good, good. I think you passed out for a second there. Might've had a bit of a panic attack, too, or just some really bad anxiety. If I leave for a second to get you some water and a snack, you gonna be alright?" Another nod, to which Sein stood and hurried off to get what he'd promised the younger man.

This left Cyril with a moment to think. What happened? His thoughts had been running so fast that he couldn't keep up with it. Eila's death, Kath's corruption, and now, the state of his father. He knew more had been happening. So many things were going on with magic as of late, but he couldn't keep up with everything. All he could do was try to piece it together later… He had half a mind to call Wave, for just a moment, but Sein came back with the water and some crackers. When Cyril saw this, he summoned as much energy as he could for a moment to sit up, picking up the glass. He didn't expect his fingers to tremble, and it nearly slipped from his grasp, but he kept hold of it. Drinking it was a whole other story, accidentally spilling more than enough to soak clothes before he whisked it away with magic. Next came the crackers, which he steadily munched on as he leaned back against the nearby couch for support.

"We've got medics working on your dad already. You did a fine fucking job with the bandages, especially considering the fact that you don't have a medical background. You helped him a lot," Sein said, trying to lighten the mood for the other man, offering a warm smile. "But you seem really rough. I… can't imagine you're feeling okay lately."

"No…" Cyril mumbled, hiding himself in the crackers as he crunched away at one. "Not really."

"I won't make you talk about it, but I'm here for you. Alana is, too. If you want, we can even snatch Laralei. I'm sure she'd be glad to speak with you."

"No," The finch replied quieter, pressing his face into his knees. "Don't want to talk."

His plan to shut down was summarily upended by the soft padding of footsteps entering the room. A weight climbed onto Cyril's bedroll and settled down up against his side. Fur gently leaned against him, soft and plush and warm and unable to belong to anything other than a Celestial Wolf. The aura proved that it was Azerel, specifically. He did a little more than just lean against Cyril in silent solidarity, however. He used his nose to nudge Cyril's head several times, trying to get his attention in a mostly unobtrusive manner.

The wolf was… a bit bigger than Cyril had been ready for, even though he'd sensed who was there. He knew Azerel was big, but here he was, hunched over. The finch yelped as he flopped over from the nudging, having already been teetering a bit. "Oh, uh… hey… Azerel."

An audible huff answered him. I didn't push you that hard. Kath wouldn't have even budged. Taking care to be even more gentle than he'd already thought he'd been, Azerel carefully rested his chin atop Cyril's head for a moment in an effort to communicate his sympathy and support. But he didn't let the contact linger long, just in case this too proved to be too much for Cyril.

The finch accepted the contact without too much issue, realizing that the slight withdrawal was likely related to Azerel having learned to comfort Kath in this way during times of duress. He moved a little closer, then lazily flopped himself against the big wolf and wrapped his arms around the creature in a vague approximation of a hug.

This was… something Azerel rarely experienced. Even as a child, Kath had almost never hugged on his partner. He just wasn't a huggy person. Still, Azerel adjusted quickly to the experience and let himself relax. He even went so far as to give the top of Cyril's head a lick in response. It was a natural behavior, one that Azerel rarely indulged in due to Kath's lifelong inability to handle anything that felt slimy in any capacity. Since he doubted Cyril had the same issue, he saw no reason not to do it this time.

Cyril didn't outwardly respond to this, but his aura did noticeably relax and lighten in response. He took in a long and deep breath, then let it out slowly. Various joints could be heard popping as the stress leaving practically decompressed his body. "...Thanks…" Azerel gave him a second, more confident lick in response, now that he knew it didn't bother Cyril at all.

Sein let Cyril stay like this for some time. The kid was tough, but he was still a kid in some ways. He desperately needed this sort of relaxation to avoid some of the same scars his closest loved ones wore from their own pasts. This is as much reprieve as I could give you this time, bud, Sein thought to himself as he lightly nudged Cyril's shoulder. "Hey, you feeling better now?"

"A bit," Cyril answered softly, letting out a hefty sigh before finally sitting back up. "Sorry. I've… never done something like that."

"You're young, no experience with this kinda war. You keep shocking your brain by throwing yourself at the worst of the worst. Gonna need to slow yourself down a little," Sein said softly, squeezing on the finch's shoulder with a firm grasp. "You're doing a lot of good and killing yourself at the same time."

Cyril frowned in reply, not sure what to really say. Sein was right. He'd always been told he was selfless, even to a fault. "Yeah… I just don't want to see anyone hurt."

"You have a good heart, kid," Sein said, nudging him with a fist, holding it out to the younger Babylonian for a fist bump. "Just don't let it lead you by the strings. Use your brain and let your heart empower you to take care of everyone."

The younger man smiled and returned the gesture. "Good point. I'll try to commit that to memory."

"Good," Sein echoed, grinning wide to Cyril as he watched the man's aura lighten further. It was still tarnished with pain and anger, but it was better. More like the loveable goofball that Cyril was. "Now, I'm gonna ask a hard question. Do you think you can handle seeing your dad again? If not, you can chill out here. I've got no idea how he's doing, but nobody came to hunt me down so I'm assuming his condition is better. He still might be in rough condition, though, and I don't want you to feel like you're forced."

He had to think long and hard about that. Not because he actually had to make a choice, but more out of concern for if he could handle it. His ultimate decision was that, no matter what, he was going to check on his dad again. "Let's do it. I might even be able to help, if needed."

Sein stood and offered his hand to the younger man, hoisting him up when it was accepted and walking with Cyril. Strong kid. Gonna make a fine deity as you learn more about your powers and the universe around you.

Soon enough, the two were at Quinn's bedside, Cyril having taken a long moment right before it came into view to take a deep breath. There was a doctor standing there, and she motioned at the pair to get their attention. "Excuse me," she said to Cyril specifically. "Are you family? I couldn't help but notice that your auras are similar."

"He's my dad," Cyril offered politely, inclining his head.

The doctor looked away from him so as to refocus on bandaging a wound on Quinn's arm. "The patient is still in serious condition," she reported quietly, "but he's stable now. He was somewhat conscious for a short time while we worked on him, but he seemed… confused. What little he managed to say didn't make too much sense. He didn't seem to know where he was or even what year it was. My hope is that this will clear up as he recovers, but I would rather you be warned just in case."

Cyril answered with a gentle nod. He was angry all over again, but the doctor didn't do a thing wrong. "Thank you so much for everything. I'll help keep an eye on him. Another friend of mine is resting here, so I'll be nearby most of the time."

She managed a mild smile. "Yes, my colleagues and I have seen you at Lady Teyan's bedside. By the way… she's doing much better. I don't understand the nature of Chaos and how it works, but it's doing wonders for her recovery. She should be awake again before too long."

"Glad to hear it," Cyril said with a soft smile. "I'm gonna step outside for a bit." His sudden shift was accompanied by him grabbing Sein's hand tightly and lightly pulling, something that the other man understood immediately.

Shortly after they made it out of the room, Azerel rejoined them at a faster pace than usual. Namely, a brisk trot. Some of his fur was standing on end, almost as though he'd been bristling and hadn't quite relaxed himself fully after the fact. He walked right up to Sein in particular and sat down in front of him, waiting with visible impatience for the man to pay attention to him.

Sein gently grabbed Cyril's attention by squeezing the man's hand. Soon, they both were turned to Azerel and politely waited for him to say something. Doing so was frowned upon by his kind since these people weren't the person he was bonded to, but Azerel nevertheless connected his mind to both of them so they could communicate. "I need to speak with you both, preferably away from Alana. She needs to be able to focus on that chameleon's partner." Without thinking on it further, both Sein and Cyril attempted to teleport the three of them. Sein tried to take them to the observatory, but Cyril's teleportation came a second later and dropped them all in a courtyard outside.

Azerel let out a huff at them over this slight confusion, then rapidly refocused. In order to head off any additional confusion on Cyril's parts, he launched into a very quick explanation. "So long as Kath isn't killed or otherwise incapacitated in such a way that it renders him unconscious, I can use my mental connection with Kath to help keep track of where he is. However, that's a door that very much opens both ways." He shifted his paws in an antsy manner. "Because we're bonded, Kath can also keep track of where I am. We can freely read into one another's thoughts as well. It takes a lot of conscious effort for either one of us to block the other out, and it's immediately noticeable when it's done. Do you understand so far, Cyril?"

Cyril offered a quick nod. "Uh, yeah, sounds about right. Makes sense."

Satisfied with that response, Azerel focused on the matter at hand. "He has been blocking me out," he revealed, "ever since that woman got ahold of him. However, that is not the case right now. He is putting all of his focus onto a major fight that he is having. He seems to believe his opponents are part of Nareish's army. Their high levels of power are certainly indicative of that. And considering that the man Alana is tending to is also a fledgling Immortal and her people did that to him…" He trailed off, fur bristling a bit again.

"It may well be one of our best chances to get ahold of him," Sein murmured. "Not to mention that means he's in danger. Nareish is absolutely going to attempt to test him with fights like this, if I had to guess." Cyril simply nodded. Sein had covered everything he'd thought of in this moment.

"Approaching him will be dangerous," Azerel warned, "but I intend to go with you if you choose to do such a thing."

Cyril nodded. "Absolutely. I want to go, too."

If Azerel could have frowned, he would have. He settled instead for narrowing his eyes. "Don't make such a decision lightly," he said. "You have been through much already. Make certain that you can handle this before jumping in and volunteering yourself."

"I don't make this decision lightly," Cyril argued. "I can't ignore the chance to help with one of my friends, especially not when others are putting themselves in danger. I can help, and I want to."

Almost sighing, Azerel stood and stretched. "...No," he murmured. "You are family at this point. That is why I wanted you to be sure." He changed the subject immediately afterward and said to Sein, "The Faein that was here earlier showed you a planet and said Kath was there at that time. He is no longer on that one, specifically. With this mental connection we're sharing, are you able to determine where to teleport?"

"Without a doubt," Sein said, taking a breath. "You ready, Cyril?"

"I just need one moment." Rather than focusing on this matter, for just a few seconds, he focused on the medical ward. While he wasn't particularly skilled in this kind of magic yet, he felt comfortable trying. The entire room was encased in an enchantment, one meant specifically to aid those recovering there in healing and restoring their own energy. Then, he turned back and nodded. "Let's go." With nothing left to say, the trio vanished.

They had no time to waste.

~保護者~

20,345 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support, and I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 1:15 a.m.) 01-14-25.