26 Fragments of the Unknown (2/2)

Nye held her head. ”Have it your way then, but we should leave before he wakes up.” She groaned, heading in the direction of the harbor. ”Let's be on our way, shall we.” Nye was holding back annoyance.

”Nye? Oy, are you cross with me!?” Solitaire ran after her friend, uneasily.

Adam, however, stared down to the unconscious dragon, before hearing Nye call. ”Adam.” He turned, hurrying after the two girls, and leaving Gaigas alone; but as soon as they were out of view, he shifted his arm to push himself up with the look of disdain.

Meanwhile, Miles and Ashewyn were just leaving the entry way to Wynorex that they had closed. They were traveling through the woodland area of the bog now, on their way back to Knothole.

Ashewyn glanced over to Miles, as they walked. ”There's something I can't figure out.” He stated, lighting a cigarette with his fire magic.

”What's that?” Miles panned his eyes over to Ashe.

”Just kinda odd how you get so possessive of Nye, yet you were asking if you could get a piece of Solitaire. Just can't place what your deal is.” Ashewyn replied, taking a drag.

”I don't see what the problem is.” Miles placed his hands behind his head. ”It's pretty normal if you ask me.”

”Might seem that way to you now, but sooner or later you're gonna realize that it doesn't work that way. I can tell you get jealous easy, well thing is, it works both ways.” Ashe explained, continuing ahead through the brush.

Miles scrunched up him face with irritation. ”Oh, as if you'd know!” He scoffed, as he followed after Ashe.

The two continued ahead, before hearing a commotion not far from them. Ashewyn held a finger to his lips, as he placed out his cigarette. They snuck ahead, peering through the brush. Ahead of them was an ongoing conflict, the Templar Spy Master, Eclipse, was engaging in combat with a familiar purple haired fiend.

”Vex!?” Ashewyn gasped, in surprise.

Dark voids began to appear around, as monstrous claws came through them. They flew at the elf, but she quickly dodged the strikes, moving out of the way. Eclipse rushed at Vex, slashing her sword. ”You aren't involved in this, so stay back!” She shouted, but her blade was caught by one of the claws. It was quickly shattered, as she was flung back to the ground. She was already severely beaten up state, blood coming down her lip as she winced. Her hand reached shakily for her necklace, but as her fingers pressed against the purple gem, she fainted.

Vex's eyes shifted from Miles to Ashewyn, silently looming there as his tail swayed. ”Long time no see, Ashe. I see you're still wasting your time with that imposter's group.”

”What's gotten into you, Vex! You disappeared, and I had to find out from a woman I didn't even know. Where have you been? We've been worried sick about you!” Ashe demanded, in frustration.

”Do you think I actually give a damn? I wasn't about to waste my time, when I had all the answers right in front of me. Darkness told me where to go, so I asked her to get you the message. I was hoping you'd follow, but guess you didn't figure that much.” Vex scoffed, snapping a finger to open a vortex behind Miles, pinning him down with his massively ghastly void claw, which came to Ashe as a surprise. ”You're either with us, or against us. If you're really my kin, you wouldn't even think twice about abandoning that Leashed, and coming with me back to Wynorex.”

”Wynorex... Then you're with Cult of Ghestro?!” Ashe clenched his fist.

”Fairly obvious, but you always did have a knack for being paranoid about conspiracy theories. We're planning a revolution after all! I came here just for you, ya'know. Was just biding my time, when I ran into this knife-eared bitch.” He motioned to the unconscious elf on the ground, by kicking her in the stomach. ”So, what's it gonna be, bro? You with me?” Vex smirked, devilishly.

Ashewyn hesitated, breathing heavy as he tried to think about this. His eyes were shifting around, as his mind was flooding. Miles was struggling in his bindings, just behind him though. ”Hey Red! You better not be seriously thinking about this!!” Miles hissed, as he tried to get loose from the giant claw that had him pinned.

Ashewyn suddenly came back to his senses, snapping out of his daze. ”What about Pops and Molly? You haven't said a word about them!”

”Pfft, really? If they were worth recruiting, we would have taken them in the beginning. An old man and a little girl don't mean shit to Cult! The weak will only perish, it's the strong that will survive! Join us, Ashe! You don't need to protect people who are as good as dead!” Vex retorted, without pause.

Ashewyn grew more serious, in response. ”Is that really what you think, Vex!? Can't you see that they're only pitting us against each other!?”

”I know where my alliance lies, bro. Seeing there's no reasoning with you, I'm done wasting my time. Now if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of something.” Vex shifted his gaze back to the weakened elf laying across the way.

The ghastly claws formed over his hands; like gauntlets, before he lunged for Eclipse. Ashewyn quickly bursted into flames, as he rushed for Eclipse; tackling her out of the range. The flames had cleared, revealing him in his dragon armor. He was hovering over the unconscious elf, with a sharp gaze aimed at Vex. ”I wasn't done discussing this!” He sneered, getting to his feet with the fire sword in hand.

Vex only smirked, as Ashe quickly rushed his adoptive brother, ready to battle. A vortex formed above the right side of Vex's head, dropping down a pistol with flame details, into his hand. ”Missing something?” He chuckled, as he pointed the gun point blank to Ashe's forehead, as he abruptly halted. Sweat perspiring Ashe's face. ”This IS yours, isn't it?” Vex teased, coldly.

Vex was about to let off a shot, but was suddenly undercut by Miles' sword. The gun had been knocked out of his grasp to the ground below.

Vex's eyes shot like daggers to the unexpected feline. ”How did you escape!?” He demanded, angrily.

Vex quickly spun, slashing out his claws at the Leashed. Miles fumbled backwards, loosing grip of his sword. Vex had grabbed Miles' head, slamming him hard into the ground. Dirt rose into the air, causing Ashe to rear back, while coughing. As it cleared, Vex could be seen holding Miles to the ground.

”Leave him out of this!” Ashe snapped, flames rising in his elevated palm.

”Then he shouldn't have interfered.” Vex's claw shoved Miles' face harder into the soil, causing him to wince loudly.

”VEX!” Ashe shouted, rushing as his brother, like a wave of fire. Dark voids opened above him, as two pistols appeared, hovering within the aura of purple darkness. They took aim, firing upon the aggressing Amygdala. Ashe had managed to dodge, and counter the attacks, by blocking with his blade.

Vex released Miles, after the cat's face had began to bleed. He held his hands out, as if daring Ashe to come at him. Taking the hint, Ashe resumed his assault, slashing his sword at the purple haired fiend. However, his blade was caught, being broken upon getting flung back to the ground. Ashe had sustained damage, nearly as bad as Miles now. He was flaring his fangs, as Vex stepped closer to where he laid. His fire was going out, and the armor disengaged.

The fiend hovered over head, looking down as if disappointed. ”I guess I was wrong about you. You're just as pathetic as the rest of them.” Vex said, turning his back to Ashe, as he began to walk away.

”Vex... Think about... What you're doing...” Ashe coughed up, trying to shift his body.

”I'm well aware of the repercussions. Next time, I won't be so charitable.” Vex said, glancing back to Ashe. His hand rose, opening another vortex, which he stepped through. The portal spiraled inward, before vanishing from the location.

Ashe glanced to the side, with discouragement, before shifting his body to turn to Miles. ”Hey...” He called, with a grunt. ”Stripes, you okay?”

”Y-yeah...” Miles groaned, sitting up. He held his bleeding face, before glancing over to Ashe.

Ashe slowly began to rise to his feet, dusting off some of the dirt. ”Man...” His eyes panned back to Miles, who was also getting up. ”I'm surprised you were able to get out of his hold like that.”

”Got lucky I guess.” Miles shrugged, his gaze shifting to Eclipse. ”So, what do we do about the elf chick?”

Ashewyn stepped over to Eclipse, crouching down to examine her. She still seemed to be breathing, but didn't flinch as his hand touched her face. ”Not sure, but seems like she's unconscious. I wonder what she was doing fighting Vex though.”

”Maybe he attacked first? I dunno. He always came off like a jerk to me.” Miles licked the top of his hand, before rubbing it along his cheek. His eyes wandered to her chest however, as he stood behind Ashe.

”Hey, I think she's waking up.” Ashe's voice echoed in Eclipse's ear.

Her blurry eyes slowly peered open, hearing a sharp ringing in her ears. The elf blinked, coming back to her senses, with the haze clearing. Then she took notice of the two boys before her. A sharp sting of panic ran through her body, forcing her to pull away from Ashe. With great speed, she somersaulted back to a distance, and reached for her necklace.

Ashe quickly held up his hands, ”Whoa, just take it easy now.” He said, trying to calm her down. ”You got hit pretty hard there, you alright?”

”It was you who fended him off, wasn't it?” Eclipse was looking between the two, as she began to lower her hand from the necklace. ”My apologizes, I'm a little on edge, after I was attacked by that fiend... I would have surely died if it was not for your aid. You have my gratitude.” She bowed her head to him.

Miles decided to sit back in the grass, licking his wounds. His eyes panned off, seeing he was clearly being ignored in this conversation. It annoyed him, but he knew that's just how people were to leashed.

”Don't sweat it. What were you doing out here by yourself anyway?” Ashe pocketed his hands.

”It would be unwise to disclose my movements, with a man whose name I do not know.” Eclipse smiled.

”Fair enough. It's Ashewyn Highlander, and you are?” Ashe chuckled, keeping his eyes on her.

”Eclipse Lunar.” She replied. ”It was very chivalrous for you to come to my rescue, Ashewyn. However, I do not know of your alliance, and my duties are not to be known to just anyone. Please understand. I do hope that we meet again, you are much more kind than anyone else I have met on my travels.” Eclipse admitted, before turning from them.

”Hey.” Ashe called, getting her to halt. ”You're just gonna leave?”

She kept her back to them, but paused for a moment. ”I have said too much already. It's time that I departed.” Eclipse explained, before vanishing off into the forest's brush.

Ashewyn somewhat watched her, as she left. His gaze shifted to the side, before he noticed Miles waiting with the look of boredom in his eyes. ”... She could have at least flashed her tits or something.”

”...” Ashewyn huffed, turning from him. ”We should be getting back to Knothole, and get these wounds looked at. Let's go.”

Miles got to his feet, with a shrug as he followed the red haired Amygdala back in the direction of their hideout. The two of them arrived back at home, getting their wounds cleaned up by Molliana. Miles was sitting at another table, continuing to groom his face just like any cat, while Molly cleaned up Ashe's injuries first. Upstairs, Nikolai was removing the portrait of Lenault from the wall, while Zyron stood by one of the tables, grinding some medicine up in a bowl. There was one person missing however, Jackyn was no where to be seen.

”Big brother did this to you?” Molliana asked, nervously, as she used the herbs on Ashe, from the bowl that sat beside her.

”He's no longer our brother, Molly. He's with them.” Ashewyn explained, solemnly.

”But...” Molliana whimpered, bandaging up the open sore on her brother.

”Molliana. Ashewyn wouldn't tell you this, if it were not true.” Runfaust walked over to them, from the bar.

Molliana lowered her head, sniffling a bit. She wiped her face with her sleeve. ”I know daddy...”

Miles was sitting at a table still licking at his face, when Zyron walked over. ”You're gonna get an fucking infection doing that, idiot.”

”Gonna stop me?” Miles grumbled, the cut on his cheek was surprising small for how much he had bled out earlier. All the licking was cleaning away the blood at least.

Zyron set down a bowl, that had something inside. ”Here. I crushed some herbs. Just stop licking, and let the kid look you over.” He said, walking off from Miles.

Miles pouted, with a grumpy expression. His eyes wandered to see Molliana approach him. She tried to smile, taking a seat, and began to wipe his face with a cloth. ”Poor kitty.” She said, removing the rest of the blood, before using some of the herbs on his face.

The back door abruptly began to creak open, and it caught everyone's attention that was present within the hideout. Nye and Solitaire were standing there, but Nye pushed the door open further, glancing behind her. Following the girls inside was Adam, which came to a surprise for everyone. Nye turned from the monstrous appearing man, to face the others from the doorway. ”This is Adam. He's with us now.”