Moments of Epsilon

[Creator_Drake]

A sweatdrop developed on the back of Mary's head, loosing a nervous giggle as Myriad cackled. Niri on the other hand stared at the sisters, blinking as a small tick appeared above her eye.

"Ok, could one of you please explain what just happened?"

"I believe they had a bet concerning our Master." Mary soon held her hands up as Niri laid a deadpanned look upon the DemiElohim, the tic running full tilt now.

"Oh I understood that much Mary, what I want to know is the why and how." She turned to Natsume and Yumiko with a sigh. "If that isn't too much trouble?"

=========================================

"Riiight..." He gave Elohim a flat look at the dismissive wave, though he developed a twitch similar to Niri's at the sight of the Author's Mini me. Shaking his head with a sigh he placed Niri's pokeball in the last open slot in his Tamer glove, gazing at the glove with a contemplative look. He then looked at the pair of Primes.

"So what can you both tell me about you sister, Lucifell?"

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Natsume snorted. "Yumiko has a running bet with me that any truly unusual Tamer is from another world," she said. "She bet more this time because she was dead certain about it and..." She sighed. "Apparently she was right. For once."

Yumiko giggled. "Seriously, it's really cool," she said.

Natsume rubbed her temples. "And honestly, an otherworldly Tamer isn't that weird compared to some of what I've seen working for Chronos."

=========================

Elohim snorted, blushing in a manner that showed that there was affection behind her harsh words. "Lucifell is a pervert and a hedonist of the highest order. She runs her Lair like a night club, casino, brothel hybrid, and is a sneaky little shit. About the only thing I can say about her nice is that she's loyal to her sisters."

[Creator_Drake]

"Huh. Well, I can tell you as soon as we start training you'll see how...unique Drake can be at times. Outside of that though, his situation is stranger than he himself is." Niri leaned back as she spoke, sounding almost whimsical. Mary herself gave a solemn nod.

"Indeed, good example would be how this world's version of him is already gone, in no small part thanks to Lady Ameterasu. The Drake Denson of this world was the same man who seduced, tortured and killed Lady Ameterasu's daughter." Niri suddenly sat up straight, shock clear on her face.

"MARY?!? What the hell!" Her exclamation made the Demi reel back, flinching at the tone.

"She-she needed to know Niri I-"

"I know that! But you could have done that with more tact! Or at least done it when Drake was here!" Her eyes were smoldering at Mary, clearly not happy at all.

========================================

Seeing the blush Drake gained a sly, knowing smile.

"That's not the only thing you find nice about her, eh Elohim? I bet sh-" He paused as the combined feelings from his girls came through the bond without warning, along with the reason why.

"Huh, so Natsume knows now..." He muttered to himself, making a mental note to speak with those 2 when next he could. Shaking his head he looked back to Elohim, placing his hands on his hips with a brow raised.

"So I'm to understand that whichever reason she isn't returning your calls has for an alliance to deal with whatever Chronos will be working on tomorrow, or are these 2 completely different subjects?"

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Myriad snorted. "Hey, Blabbermouth and Colonel Klink," she said. "Instead of yelling at each other, why not focus on Samurai Spooky and Stink Cannon: Preggo Type over here?"

Natsume and Yumiko stared at Niri and Mary, stunned looks on their faces.

"...Okay then," Yumiko said, chuckling nervously. "Obviously, we have reached the realm of secrets that I'm gonna need a memory editing spell to help keep..."

Natsume shivered softly. A part of her wanted to question whether Mary would be safe with/from Drake, knowing this, but she had seen her herself the Recognition level bond that Drake and Mary had. The DemiElohim was Drake's soulmate, and would know instantly if something was amiss. And then she realized something. "...You intend to visit all the Primes, don't you?" she said softly.

Yumiko eeped, rubbing her immense stomach nervously. "Hope your insurance is paid up. Sis and I have seen a Prime in a full rage. It is fucking SCARY."

======================================

Chronos just nodded solemnly. "Niri will need placating," Chronos said. "Most of the timelines most likely to occur have her trusting Mary again in short order, but how long depends on your efforts and reconciling them."

Elohim blinked. "What? What happened?"

Chronos sighed. "Mary blurted out Drake's secret to Natsume and Yumiko," she said.

Elohim sighed, facepalming. "She never learned the value of a lie..."

[Creator_Drake]

She leveled Myriad with a heavy mix of a mild glare and the stink eye.

"Yeah yeah." She sat back down with a huff, her tail waving side to side in agitation. Arms crossed over her bosom she looked away from Mary, but kept the Demi within her peripheral as she looked at the stunned sisters.

"Yeah we are, Drake already met with Elohim yesterday which was were he bonded with Mary here. He brought me from home after that though so I never got to meet her until late yesterday. After dealing with the fucking devilbuk or whatever the hell you call them we met Mainframe and Abyss. That's where we found out about Drake and his already dead dimensional double; not exactly a nice moment." She shook her head, her sigh sounding more aggrivated than she really was but she didn't care right now.

"Regardless you've seen and talked with Master so you should know that he isn't ANYTHING like this world's cheap imitation of him, so don't you even think for a second that they could be alike in any way. As for insurance..." she gave a snirk with a feral smirk. "...you have NO idea the level of punishment he can take then get back up ready for more. And while I don't mean anything against the Primes but, pray you're never present to see someone piss HIM off; I've only seen it happen once and it still makes me shiver when I remember what happened." Taking in a light shuddering breath she then took out her left breast from her top earning heavy blushes and confused look from all around, especially Mary as the flesh bounced.

She took quick notice however, of a large scar that stretched a few inches across near the top edge of the areola. The light colour of the scar tissue contrasted heavily with the colour of her skin making it fairly easy to spot. For a moment Mary tried to recall where she had seen such a scar before but when it finally clicked, she released a horrified gasp, eyes wide as her hands reached to cover her mouth. She looked to Niri's face to deny how bad the scar truly was, only to have that hope dashed as she looked into the Leviathan's face.

The feral smirk was still present, and there was still anger in Niri's eyes at her slip up minutes earlier, but it was overshadowed by what looked like grim pride at the scar.The Leviathan stroked a finger over the scar, sensually, tenderly, releasing a mirtless chuckle.

"This scar is the only thing left from my closest brush with death, and is a reminder of how terrifying a force Master can be when those he cares for are harmed under his watch."

==============================================

'Smooth Chronos, cover your sister and change the conversation at the same time. Time travelers...' Thankfully he gave no evidence of his thoughts as he gave Elohim a nod while crossing his arms.

"Indeed, she'll learn though it'll just take time. Besides, I'm not fond of holding secrets this profound from those I'm working with on such an intimate level; every girl on my team will know who I am, my origins and what connects I have if any here, if only to help them prepare fo-" He stopped mid sentence, his head turning sharply in the direction the girls were, roughly. He felt the combined horror from Mary and Myriad, along with the strange sense of grim pride from Niri; his eyes widened a little.

"Well, that's certainly surprising. Didn't expect Niri to reveal that so soon..."

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Myriad didn't even flinch under the glare, having endured worse 'looks' in her time. She, Natsume, and Yumiko listened as Niri explained Drake. It made sense, although Natsume, Yumiko, and to a lesser extent, Myriad, privately doubted that Drake could take on a rampaging Prime. When she popped out her breast, however, all of them flinched.

And when she told her story, Yumiko felt the color training from her face.

"...Okay then," she said. "Good luck with your adventures, sis. I'm more than willing to admit that I don't have the nerve for this sort of thing, even if I wasn't overly bloated right now.

Natsume took a deep breath, closing her eyes and calming herself. "It is... comforting to know that Master will defend us should something arise," she said, going for the most neutral response she could think of.

Myriad stared at the scar for a long moment, her face expressionless while a myriad of thoughts flitted through her head.

==============================================

"Reveal what?" Elohim asked, curious.

"Never mind," Chronos said. "It's not important."

Elohim scowled. "Is Mary in..."

"No. It's unrelated to her. It's not important," Chronos said, fixing her with an intense stare. "Trust me."

Elohim stared at her for a long moment... and sighed. "Very well, my sister. I will trust you."

[Creator_Drake]

Myriad didn't even flinch under the glare, having endured worse 'looks' in her time. She, Natsume, and Yumiko listened as Niri explained Drake. It made sense, although Natsume, Yumiko, and to a lesser extent, Myriad, privately doubted that Drake could take on a rampaging Prime. When she popped out her breast, however, all of them flinched.

"It happened about a month or so after he had started training me, I had been asking for about a week or so to take me on another one of his trips. He agreed mainly because the last 3 times had gone off without a hitch; not so much this time. Can't remember the name of the world but it was similar to his own time and tech wise only it was also populated by Vampires and other monsters. He was asked to take care of this one Vampire coven that had begun growing too fast and usually it wouldn't be that hard cept for one thing. Mayor's daughter caught the major hots for him and was majorly jealous of me being by his side. Master's refusal for her advances made her desperate enough to make a deal with the Vampire Lord; she promised to join the Vamps and sacrifice her entire town so long as she had the chance to kill me and keep Master all to herself. Needless to say the deal was made." Niri and Mary both clenched their fists as the memories played through their minds, Mary gaining the understanding through the bond. The Demi's eyes glowed faintly as her own temper began to rise; she held it back though in order to listen to the rest.

"Needless to say Drake wasn't too happy when he found out, arguing with the bitch a bit when she revealed herself as a brand new Vampire. It was a trap though, and we were then surrounded by the Vamp lord and all his strongesst members, plus a good number of low goons with guns. In the split second it took for him to look around the bitch pulled out a short sword then stabbed me in the chest with it."

"Memories slightly fuzzy thanks to bloodloss but from what he told me Master had rushed to me as I fell and began healing me, ignoring everything else. Once that was done though I was strangely coherent enough to watch what happened next. Lying on the ground I couldn't see he face as he stood facing them but I could easily hear him say the words 'Bad move'; the Vamps just laughed at him then the goons fired on him. He just stood there, not even trying to defend himself from being peppered by bullets; I couldn't say anything as I watched him be reduced to nothing more than a pile of flesh. The goons all just laughed and mocked him once the bullets stopped, but that all changed when he quietly called out 'That all ya got?' . We all watched silently as he began standing up, wounds regenerating and bullets dropping to the ground." She shivered at the memory, catching Mary looking a little green at the memory.

"After that it was nothing less than a bloodbath, there was nothing they could do to stop him. Bullets he soaked up then spat them back out, blades he took from their owners and cut them down. Didn't matter who they were or what they tried, one by one he killed them all. And the funny thing? The whole time he didn't say a thing, not a peep. When I caught a glance at his face there was nothing there, no glee or anger or anything; it was colder than a void, like a machine. If you want an accurate picture think the original Terminator with the healing ability of Alucard from Hellsing. He decimated them all with precision and unrelenting force, and the scary thing? Not once did he use other abilities, just his hands and whatever was in arms reach."

...Yumiko felt the color training from her face.

"...Okay then," she said. "Good luck with your adventures, sis. I'm more than willing to admit that I don't have the nerve for this sort of thing, even if I wasn't overly bloated right now.

Natsume took a deep breath, closing her eyes and calming herself. "It is... comforting to know that Master will defend us should something arise," she said, going for the most neutral response she could think of.

Myriad stared at the scar for a long moment, her face expressionless while a myriad of thoughts flitted through her head.

Niri's eyes then became soft and tender, staring ahead at nothing.

"After we got back home and recovered enough, he broke down, apologising and asking over and over again to forgive him as he cried. I was stunned; after all that carnage and bloodshed, all that killing he returned to be being that lovable schmuck that I wouldn't trade for anything in existance." She then looked Natsume in the eye.

"As for defending us, he'll do more than just that. He will train us, teach us, help us overcome our doubts and fears as best he can, all because he understands that he isn't perfect and that he can't solve every problem we all face himself, as much as he'd rather take the brunt of it all instead." She then smirked with a very heavy blush.

"Master also gives the greatest make-up sex marathon when he feels he's nearly lost you. Couldn't walk or morph my legs for a week after we were done." She giggled as she fixed her top, catching the sight of Mary turning a healthy shade of Magenta, the Demi beginning to giggle herself as her eyes glazed over, a small bit of blood escaping her nose.

Niri turned to Myriad. "Myr I think I broke her."

=======================================================

Drake sent the Prime of Time a quick smile in thanks and was about to speak before freezing again, eyes widening as a bright flush enveloped his face and neck. Shaking his head Drake pinched the bridge of his nose while chuckling in exasperation.

"Geeze, she just HAD to bring up the sex marathon we had too." Looking down with a raised brow he caught sight of a rather large bulge, something that made him sigh in exasperated amusement.

"Not surprised; I just can't catch a break can I?" He asked rhetorically.

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Natsume, Yumiko, and Myriad listened to Niri's story, Yumiko becoming more and more glad she wasn't coming along with her sister. This was the kind of adventure she didn't want to be a part of. Natsume shivered softly, and swore that she would never let herself be put in a situation where her new master would have to go into that kind of a rage.

Myriad still had mixed feelings on the matter. The story, it was a horrific one. On the one hand, it meant their master cared about anyone under his care. On the other hand... on the other hand, did he actually need them? She needed to be needed. Her master was so powerful...

At Niri's comment, she looked over to Mary and snickered. "Well, when you create that kind of imagery..." A quick glance over at Natsume revealed that the Yami Bake Samurai was in a similar state, her legs actually spread slightly, her hand drifting towards her crotch. Yumiko just snickered at her sister.

=======================================================

Elohim snickered. "Learn to control yourself, boy," she said. "You need to have better control over your libido, like me."

"Last Christmas at Orochi's," Chornos said simply. Elohim blushed a brighter red than Mary's eyes. Chronos gave an amused smirk.

[Creator_Drake]

Looking at Natsume, Niri failed to hold back a snicker of her own as she leaned down towards the Yami Bake's ear.

"Just wait until you're alone with him tonight..." The reaction gained a laugh from the Leviathan. She then turned to Yumiko.

"I know the story was brutal; I'm not going to sugar-coat things and to be honest neither would Drake. Unfortunately it's the kind of thing that comes from his line of work, although, it's gotten to the point that in most places he's visited his reputation did most of the work for him and fights like that don't occur that often. Besides, while he can enjoy a good fight when the opportunity comes up he mostly goes diplomatic, hell last 3 times I went with him it was nothing but talks that solved everything." She caught sight of the conflicted feelings shown on the faces of Myriad's shell. Tipping her head to side she questioned the Legion.

"Penny for your thoughts Myr?"

============================

A barking laugh resounded in the room as Drake looked at Elohim blush, greatly amused by the turn around.

"Considering everything that's happened already I think I have a good grasp on my libido. I think you'd agree that anyone would have find it a challenge when faced with the combined arousal from 1 Recognition bonded girl and 2 Delta bonded girls through the Bond. And Chronos, mind sharing the story?"

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Natsume let out a strangled squeaking noise, Niri's comment startling her enough to make her thrust her fingers, already on the way underneath her armor's skirting, hard enough to break her panties. She blushed brightly, Yumiko hugging her and laughing. "You're too easy sometimes, sis," the Skunk said.

Myriad smiled a little. When Niri spoke to her, she made some of her frontmost shell bodies shrug. "It's nothing," she said. "Just... random thoughts..."

============================

Elohim gave her a pleading look. Chronos chuckled and shook her head. "Private moment between sisters," she said. "Suffice to say liberal amounts of alcohol were consumed and much sex was head." The time legendary smiled. "Beyond that, it's not your affair."

[Creator_Drake]

Niri looked at the Legion a moment before giving a slow nod.

"Alright, if you're sure. We're in this together now so you can always talk to me if you need it."

============================

The Traveler gave the Mistress of time an accepting nod.

"Fair enough, I won't ask further. So other than visiting through dreams, any other way for The Author to contact you?"

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Myriad nodded. "I just need to work out some things on my own," she said, smiling. Inside her shell, she hugged her plushie and sighed, the sound muffled by her shell.

Yumiko shook her head. "So much chaos to live through..."

============================

Chronos nodded. "We should be going soon to take care of some other matters," she said. "Elohim's going to threaten you once more, in a manner that will actually scare you, and then she'll leave as well."

Elohim gave Chronos a confused look, and the time traveler sighed. "Can you honestly tell me that you're going to be able to keep your temper under control with the topic you want to discuss?"

Elohim frowned, her wings curling around herself slightly.

[Creator_Drake]

Niri let out a soft sigh before chuckling.

"Understatement of the year but it's not all that bad. He makes his trips at random a bit, one week he'll jump 2-3 times overall, the next week he'll just stay home and the one after that he'll make jumps 3-4 times a day. Outside of that and his part-time job though he stays at home with me mostly, either helping me train, working in the garden at home or plowing me stupid." She had a dopey grin on her face as well as a wild flush on her face at the last bit.

=================================

"I'll take your word for it Chronos; I never said I couldn't be scared but that most things don't scare me as much. The judgemental wrath of a pissed off mother on the other hand is one of those exceptions. I've got faith in Elohim though, Mary told me how she's been working on her temper so I know Elohim will have a damn good reason for losing it if the topic is as serious as I believe it'll be." He still held a smile on his face, though his eyes were serious. He had a feeling as to what this would be about but he wasn't completely sure, so he'd wait until Elohim brought it up.

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Myriad shook her head, giggling. "Being plowed stupid I don't mind," she said. "I don't mind that at all."

Natsume was blushing at the imagery again.

=================================

Chronos nodded, and floated away, gently squeezing Elohim's shoulder. Elohim watched her leave, and then took a deep breath before fixing a stern gaze on Drake.

"When you were injured fighting Typhonna, you severed your bond with my daughter and your other girls. Why?" she asked.

[Creator_Drake]

For a moment Niri laughed at Natsume's expression, despite being a 'Maiden she was just so innocent! Simmering down until she only tittered lightly, the Leviathan was about to speak before catching Mary in the corner of her eye. Her Halo was slightly dimmed as she looked to the ground, biting her lower lip. Her wings wrapped themselves lightly around her as Mary rubbed her hands together nervously.

"Mary? What is it?" The Demi, noticing that the attention was on her, hunkered a little before looking down again.

"It's Mother she...she's asking him why he, why yesterday..." Realisation dawned in Niri's eyes, she knew exactly what Mary was talking about. She cursed lightly with a sigh.

"Dammit, of course she would ask about that." She tisked while rubbing the back of her neck with a hand.

=============================================

Taking a breath Drake breathed out slowly, resisting the urge to cross his arms and kept them at his sides. He returned Elohim's stern gaze with a serious one of his own.

"I did it because the alternative, doing nothing, would have left all 4 of us in a catatonic state due to a constantly growing feedback loop of pain, with the possibility of leaving us brain-dead. I did it because I had to make a split decision for their sake, and my choice has kept us alive and gives me a chance to make it up to the girls in whatever way I can, even though I don't deserve it. And for the record I didn't brake the bond in any fashion, I don't have that kind of power. All I did was hold back whatever pain was going through me from traveling through the bond, like a river gate holding back the water from flowing."

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Myriad shivered softly, realizing what Niri and Mary were talking about. Natsume and Yumiko traded confused looks, but decided not to ask.

=======================

"Your ignorance... is staggering at times..." Elohim said softly, her voice remaining low and even, but containing a barely restrained fury, her halo glowing brighter as her anger grew. She took a deep breath, something that did nothing to dissipate her growing rage, and began to pace.

"You know nothing of how the bonds work," Elohim said. "Or why they are so precious." A look of sadness crossed her face. "We Primes... we were born complete souls. We cannot form Delta bonds, and we have no soulmates, as we were born with complete souls. Even Mainframe, Abyss, and Echidna. It is why we visit each other so often. To stave off the constant feeling of being 'alone.'" She shivered softly, her eyes starting to radiate pure, unadulterated, godly energy.

"I fought Typhonna," she said. "I was stupid. Arrogant. She tortured me. Tried to tear her way into my soul and turn it toxic. If Tiamat hadn't freed me in time, I would have..." She shivered fearfully, her wings curling around herself for a moment. She shook it off, and turned her angry gaze back to Drake.

"Others have done the same. And they took a shorter time to recover, despite having less strength than I. Because they had Harem sisters and/or Tamers they were bonded with," she said. "A Bond... A true, proper Bond... It can diffuse the pain. It can hasten the recovery from it. I don't know why, but a Bond between a Pokegirl and a human can help lessen the effects of pain and poison."

Her eyes narrowed. "Hated Face," she said softly. "When you restricted the bond, you made my daughter feel the same kind of loneliness that haunts we Primes throughout our eternity. You HURT my daughter. You broke your promise."

A Heaven's Gate began to spin into existence. Whether or not the divine Pokegirl was even aware of it was still not yet evident

[Creator_Drake]

"I think...I think it would be best if we went to our room for the time being. Yumiko, you're more then welcome to join us while we wait for Master." Niri then stood, soon enveloping Mary in a hug as a tear fell from her eye. Despite what had happened moments earlier Niri knew this wasn't the time for arguments. The Demi welcomed the embrace, her wings curling around the Leviathan.

"Mother...please...." He voice was only a mere whisper.

=====================================

The whole time Drake didn't move, keeping his eyes on Elohim as she spoke. He didn't hide the frown that formed on his face as she described the bond in a different fashion than the Author did, and the significance was finally hitting home on what he had done. When she had finished speaking Drake had closed his eyes, brows furrowed.

'So, even that time for Niri...'

Opening his eyes with heavy shoulders he sighed as both his blades and the belts that held them broke down into particles of soft light, disappearing into thin air. Shoulders slumped he gazed once more into Elohim's narrowed eyes. He fought off the urge to look away, he had to do this.

"...You're right. With how much I know of the soul I should have known, but I didn't. Even though I've never been in a situation before now that would have shown me it doesn't matter now, since it was explained to me in full; that I can thank you for." Taking a breath, breathing out through his nose Drake straightened his back while holding his hands behind him.

"And I did break that promise, so I'll keep the other that I made right after. Go right ahead, lay it on me."

===================================

Mary suddenly froze with a gasp, eyes wide. Without warning she pushed herself out of Niri's arms and dashed down the hallway.

"MARY! Wha-dammit! Myr, you and Natsume take Yumiko back to our room stat! I'll get Mary." With that she stood then booked it down the corridor after the Demi.

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Yumiko frowned. "What? What is it? What's going on!?" she demanded.

Myriad frowned. "...Later," she said. "Let's just go." Natsume stared at the Legion for a long moment, but nodded, helping her sister upright and leading her to their room.

Please be okay, she thought, praying for her master's safety.

============================

The Heaven's Gate fully manifested, opening and bathing Drake in its holy light. But the energies weren't the peaceful warmth one might expect from something connected to Heaven. The light was hot and burning, like standing next to a furnace.

Elohim was visibly shaking, energy forming arcane, runic patterns around her fists, the glow in her eyes becoming more and more intense. Rage and logic were fighting for dominance inside the Prime's thoughts. The arrogance, even though it was unknowing, grated on her nerves. And his well-intentioned foolishness HURT HER DAUGHTER, something she couldn't bring herself to forgive.

She cursed the Author for leaving out the details to the Bonds they were unable to have. She cursed Drake for being too foolish not to try and research the bonds once he had them. She cursed herself for her short temper, which she thought she had gotten under control ages ago.

With a scream of rage, she brought her fist down. The power was divine, a power Drake couldn't adapt to. The blow would be a deadly one.

The blow missed Drake's head by millimeters, the force of the blow creating an impact crater far away from the punch.

Elohim didn't hear her daughter's cry. Tears of rage at what happened to Drake and shame at her reaction to it flowed down her face.

"You get one more chance," she said, her voice ragged. "Hurt my daughter again, and you will learn the hard way that there is no paradise beyond Heaven's Gate."

Before anyone could react, Elohim vanished in a flash of energy, leaving only energy feathers which swirled around a bit before fading.

[Creator_Drake]

Even if the blow hadn't touched him, the force from it flung him bodily through a pillar into the wall. Blood and spittal flew from his mouth as he lay embedded in the wall, eyes shamed at the revelations. A set of tears dropped from his eyes as they glowed, what internal damage he sustained healing in recod time.

He remained quiet, muttering a quite thanks when Mary and Niri worked to bring him out from the wall. Before going down the stairs he stopped and looked at both girls, eyes beginning to water as he watched Mary's own tears falling. At that point he didn't care any more, falling to his knees he broke down, wailing softly as everything came all at once. Mary and Niri didn't hesitate, holding him in a tight embrace; Mary at the front, Niri from behind.

He latched on to Mary as if his life depended on it, apologizing over and over as he cried into her shoulder. Both could feel the sadness that flowed through him, the shame at the pain he caused when he felt he was actually helping. Even if she couldn't hear him, Myriad felt the same feelings through the bond as she and Natsume helped Yumiko entered their room.

Neither Mary nor Niri knew how long they stayed there, holding their lover as he wailed in grief. AT some point though his cries quieted, becoming soft sobs until he fell limp in their arms. For a moment they panicked until Mary felt his breath on her neck.

"He's... asleep. He..." She let out another sob as she clutched his sleeping form. Niri grit her teeth in anger as she stood, helping Mary position Drake in the Demi's arms. Unconsciously he gripped her dress with a hand, bringing himself as close to Mary's warmth as he could. Tears still fell from his closed eyes, apologies coming from his mouth in soft whispers.

Helping Mary stand with one hand, the other was clenched in a fist so tight her arm shook. She would find later on that her claws had pierced her palm. To see her Master brought so low... she growled low in the back of her throat as they walked down the stairs. Niri would be thankful later on that no one else was in their path, she was on full blown Protection Rage right now and it wouldn't take much to set her off.

Mary was much the same if not more so. She cradled Drake firmly to her bosom as they walked, a pained frown marring her features. Her ebony wings curled around him like a protective shell, trying to use their warmth to calm him despite how fultile it was. Nothing she did changed the look of his face, nor stop the tears from falling. For once in her life Mary wanted to curse her mother and her temper but left it for now, she had something far more important to focus on. She and her sisters had a Master to take care of, and she had a Soul Mate to heal.

[Fanfic Fetishist]

Myriad waited impatiently, her shell gone, just outside the door to their room as Natsume and Yumiko waited inside. Once she had gotten them down there, she waited. She eventually saw Mary and Niri bringing their master back, supporting him on their shoulders.

"What... WHAT HAPPENED?!" Myriad said.

Myriad listened through the explanation and closed her eyes, sighing wearily and facepalming.

"...I really think we should leave first thing in the morning," she said. "In the time we've been here, Mary and Master have faced off against fucking TYPHONNA and gotten a goddamn PRIME mad at us. We can eat at the Pit."

Once everyone started to settle in, Natsume sat crosslegged by her master's bed, one hand on her sword's held as she meditated.

At the question about her actions, she answered, "Spirit types don't need that much sleep, and I have sworn to be Master's yojimbo. Sleep well, my master, I will protect you."