21 Regroup and Recover (2/2)

Smoke began to rise from it's nostrils, as the beast leered Jack's way. Even though jack was tattered from the skirmish, he didn't seem ready to lose yet. He had this intimidating gaze on his face, darkened over eerily by shadows. Flames blasted passed Jack, missing him entirely, as he elevated his hand into the air. The brush behind him caught fire immediately, but he didn't shift position. The blood he had left on the ground, rose with skeletal archers. The Venember was surrounded due to it's positioning, and had no way of maneuvering out of this trap. All at once, the blood archers fired arrows at the horned snake, causing it to shriek out in pain before collapsing to the ground, along with Jack's bloodbone archers.

The flames were dying down from the rain, as Jackyn drew closer to the monster. The Venember tried to lift it's head, but it was in too much pain. Green blood was coating the ground around it now, as Jack crouched down to the beast. ”I'm sorry.” He muttered, before thrusting his left dagger into the snake's heart.

The Venember cried faintly, before falling limp. Jack paused a moment, looking to the beast, before cutting open it's stomach. He reached his other hand inside, til he found it's fire lung. Upon locating it, Jack ripped it from the snake's corpse, coating his hand with the green blood of the snake, as he held it's organ. As the rain was beginning to die down; Jack then took his knife, proceeding to dissect the bloody lung of the snake. Inside amongst ooze and flesh, was several chunks of black mineral. He examined one briefly, before deciding to pocket them all.

Rising back to his feet, Jack wiped the blood to his pants, preparing for his trek back to Knothole. Jackyn took a few steps, before he heard a crunch of leaves behind him, causing the Angel of Death to halt his movements abruptly.

”Well, well... Look what I found.” Chuckled a sinister tone from behind. ”Been a while, Jackyn.” Stepping over the Venember corpse, was none other than Jack's older brother, Jehxal.

Jack however, kept his back facing the older man. ”Jehxal... I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now.” He stated, sternly.

”Tsk Tsk, and here I thought you wanted to kill me.” Jehxal slyly peered over at his brother, with a devilish grin. ”Was that Venember too much for little Jackyn? Heh heh, or maybe you're just too afraid to fight me! MUWAHAHAHA! Let's face it, Jackyn, you're nothing but a pathetic waste of flesh... I'll place the final nail in that coffin of yours!” He cackled, rushing wildly at Jack.

Jehxal formed a poleaxe from the pauldron on his chest; and right as he got close, Jackyn shifted, countering the attack with both of his knives. There was a brief struggle, as the two of them tried to force the other backwards. Jack was gritting his teeth, trying to keep the attack from connecting.

Jehxal however, leaned his face a bit forward, with a menacing grin on his face. ”I'm gonna rip you apart!! HAHAHAHA!!!” He laughed, insanely. The atmosphere around the two was becoming rapidly distorted, and even Jehxal's face had became so twisted, to the point it was terrifying.

Jack was a bit unnerved, but was managing to keep his focus. ”You're resorting to using your fear manipulations to alter my perception... This may have worked when we were kids, but I'm not afraid of you anymore! So back OFF!!” Jack hissed, pushing back the poleaxe harshly, before back flipping to a distance. He was starting to pant heavily.

Jehxal didn't even seem fazed, as reality shifted back to normal around them. He only smiled wide, with an eerie gaze. ”You never learn, do you? This is all just a game for me, I want to make you suffer in every way imaginable. Heheh...”

”Oh Jex, don't forget why we're here now. O~hohoho, maybe you should leave him to me.” Chuckled a female voice, as a shadow took a form of a creepy, blue haired woman in a red, lace dress. There was massive spiders appearing from webs seemed to form from blood along the several surrounding trees, to accompany her.

”By all means, eat him alive.” Jehxal chuckled in a sing-song manner,as heslyly looked back to Jackyn. He formed the Poleaxe back into the pauldron on his chest.

”....” Jack grew more unnerved, upon the woman making her appearance. ”T-Titania....”

The woman turned to face Jack, in a chilling manner. Her blood red lips curled, in amusement. ”Awe, it seems he's quivering now. How cute.” Titania remarked, in a menacing tone.

”...Haven't you two tormented me enough?!” Jack was trying to remain calm, but he was definitely shaken about this meeting.

”Now, now, little brother, don't act so hasty. Under normal circumstances, you'd likely be at the end of my blade... However, this time is different. You see, we want to make a bargain with you.” Titania spoke softly, in a stern tone.

”...” Jack took a step backwards, gripping to one of his knives. ”Give me one good reason, why I'd even consider trusting any deal with you, or him?” He lowered his tone, with a growl.

Titania smiled again, with her snake like lips. ”We know you're trying to save that imposter's life, Jackyn. Why else would you kill a Venember? You don't think we're that stupid, do you?” She stated, in a cunning manner.

”What are you going on about?!” Jack sneered, keeping the defensive.

”Why, the bastard princess, of course. You know the one. O~hohoho.” Titania replied, with an unwavering gaze that stared him down, like a snake.

”....Nye...” Jack seemed conflicted, his grip loosening. ”Are you saying... that she lied to me?”

”Well, I wouldn't use those exact words. This 'Nye' you speak of, she had no idea that Lenault tricked her into this. She was too gullible to see that she was merely a decoy for the templar, and a tool to open the gates of Wynorex for the true heir of Ghestro.” Titania explained, playfully.

”What?... How do you know this?” Jack inquired, seriously.

”I have my sources.” Titania drew closer, looking to her younger brother.

”You're allied with that doctor, aren't you?” Jack's brow twitched, still tense.

”Maybe.” Titania circled him, but Jack's eyes followed her movements. ”Here's the thing, Jackyn, we want you to abandon this pretender, and join the cult of Ghestro along side us. We know what you're capable of now, and your skills are wasted with such a feeble thing.”

”So, you're basically the real heir's lapdogs, trying to steal loyalty from Nye's allies, is that it?” Jack sneered, uneasily.

”Say what you will, but consider this. That so called 'family heirloom' is nothing more than a curse, which is impossible to remove once it's placed on it's wearer. She was so easy for Lenault to manipulate her, do you really want to aid someone like that?” Titania smiled, stopping her movement, with Jehxal standing not to far behind her.

”I don't trust either of you, I'm sure you're well aware of that... For all I know, you could be lying out your arse.” Jack retorted, letting his boot slide back slightly.

”So if I told you, that even bastards of the royal blood line could speak with fiends, you wouldn't believe me?” Titania teased, provokingly with a smile. ”That's how she was lured in, by a reaper. It was all planned out, so don't tell me I'm not being honest, Jackyn. I'm just relaying the true heir's message. We're even putting aside our differences towards you, for her. Don't you want to be a family again, little brother?”

”...” Jack was a bit unnerved now.

”Think about it. You're either with us, or against us. Wynorex is ours now, we're building an army, and that girl you're protecting, is just gonna die. So let her rot, Jackyn... That bitch isn't worth it. Join us. You know you want to.” Jehxal spoke up, in a snarky dark tone.

Jackyn hesitated, as his mind rapidly was contemplating all of which he was told. Then an earlier thought crossed his mind. ”(The more time you waste, the less she's going to have.)” Jack's eyes shifted, seeming more confident now. ”No.” He said, firmly to his older siblings.

”What did you say, brat?!” Jehxal snapped.

”I said, 'No'.” Jack sternly stated. ”After all the shit you two put me through, do you REALLY think, I'd take your side, just like that?! Whether it's true or not, I don't care. This is nothing more than an attempt to stall me. I can see that now. If you two ever think of trying to pull this crap again....” Jack looked to them sharply, with an intense glare. ”I'll kill you in a heartbeat.”

”So that's how it is, is it? O~hohoho. Do you really think you'll survive another round of that? Whatever, go ahead and suffer. This was your one and only chance.” Titania chuckled, as both her and Jehxal held condescending gazes, poised at Jackyn.

”Hmph.” Jack scoffed, as he turned away, to phase off into shadows that trailed away into the darkness of the woods.

Meanwhile, back in Knothole. Upstairs, in one of the guest rooms, Nye had been placed on a bed, with a damp rag on her forehead. Solitaire was looking over her, while Ashewyn was leaning in the doorway, keeping watch for the entrance door. ”He's sure is taking his sweet time, isn't he?...”

Solitaire looked over to Ashe, ”You don't think he was full of rubbish, do you?”

”I can't be sure... The thing about this is, if something went down in the underground, then someone's conspiring against Nye... For all we know, he could easily be apart of that.” Ashewyn crossed his arms, with a stern shift of his brows. ”The part I don't get, is why would he bring Nye here?... I just can't place my finger on it.”

”I'm not sure either...” Solitaire shrugged.

There was a sudden noise downstairs, that caused Ashewyn to shift his gaze over in direction of the entrance. The door closed behind, as shadows emerged at the bottom of the entrance staircase, taking form of Jackyn. He adjusted his coat, taking out the charcoal, as he approached Zyron who was sitting at the bottom of the stairwell, to the top floor.

”Holy crap, you're back, and you actually got some!?” Zyron was astonished, getting to his feet.

”No shit. Now move it.” Jack insisted sternly, handing it to Zyron.

”Fuck... You do realize I have to grind it down first in to powder, right?” Zyron whimpered

Jack groaned, turning to the stairs to the top level. ”Hurry up then.” He said, coldly, before phasing to the top, like smoke.

Zyron sighed slightly, before going to a table and placing the mineral into a grinding bowl. As Jack reached the top, he noticed Nikolai lingering not far off, as his gaze turned to the balcony, where Miles was sitting. They made eye contact with suddenly, andMiles' ears shot back, as he leered to him. Jack looked away abruptly, which cued Miles to leap to his feet.

”Just... Just stay away from her!” Miles demanded.

Jack halted, letting his eyes pan to Miles. ”You really don't want to piss me off right now.”

”...” Miles was sweating, nervously, as his gaze kept on Jack.

”...” Jack kept the cold sneer, before shifting to face the room. His expression held a bit more concern, which caught Miles by surprise.

As Jack stepped inside, both Ashe and Solitaire were focused on him. Solitaire was a bit more fearful, than that of the relaxed Ashewyn. The redhead stepped towards Jackyn, passing by him with a brief exchange of words. ”Just because you're helping Nye, doesn't mean I trust you. So you better watch your back. First sign of deceit, and you're in for a world of hurt.”

”I'm well aware of that.” Jack replied, stepping over to Nye's bedside, as Ashewyn left the room.

Jack sat down next to Nye, looking over the infliction. His hand had to shift her hood away from her neck, so he could get a better look. The black veins seemed to have spread much further since he last saw her. However, his gaze shifted to the other side of the bed. Solitaire nearly shrieked, as his eyes met hers. ”........” Solitaire was sweating with the look of fear in her eyes.

”I need you to help me real quick.” Jack stated.

”U-U-Uh... W-W-What do you need?” She replied, stammering uncontrollably.

”Just help me get her coat off.” He responded, sternly.

”R-Right!...” She shakily replied, moving to gently shift Nye up, as Jack unfastened the ties.

They managed to get her coat off, and laid her back onto the bed. Solitaire sighed in relief, as she placed Nye's trench coat onto a nearby coat rack. Jack on the other hand was looking Nye over, shifting her face with his hand, to see how far the toxins spread. It seemed pretty severe, which didn't bode too well. Solitaire turned around, chills shooting up her spine.

”O-Oy! Bloody hell, what are you, some perverted creep!?” She yelped, pointing at him accusingly.

”What do you take me for, some human? Someone really needs to educate you on different species, girl.” Jack replied, in a more calm tone than usual.

Solitaire settled down, not expecting that tone of response from him. He was right though, she didn't know much about the species here. Behind her, Zyron nervously entered the room, carrying the powder. He walked passed Solitaire, going over to Nye's side. Outside the door, Miles and Ashe could be seen peering in. Ashe was more so watching like a hawk, while Miles seemed suspicious of Jack.

Zyron looked to Nye, seeming unsure. ”Oh shit... That's spread pretty far... I don't know how well this is going to work. Dammit...It might be too late.”