38 Divergence (1/2)

Chapter 38: Divergence

In the depths of what appeared to be a dank cave, debris of dirt trickled down from the ceiling above. Laying on the rough ground was Jackyn, who appeared to have lost consciousness from the fall. He laid there on his back, unaware of that resided nearby in this tomb. There was a slight dragging sound, gliding along the ground nearby, as what seemed to be a massive snake slithered around Jackyn's body. Some dust fell to his face from above, forcing Jackyn's weary blue eyes to peer open. The vast area around him was shrouded in darkness, but the air was so brisk it forced chills up Jackyn's spine. He shivered briefly, looking around to notice skulls and bones scattered around the cavern, but then he spottedthe snake-like figure hiding behind the veil of shadows. Four green heads of average sized snakes rose, peering through the curtain of blackness. Their tongues flicked from their lips, watching Jackyn as he struggled to his feet.

”You're different than the others that those Templar have sent me...” A hushed female voice echoed the cavern. ”You're not afraid... why is that?”

”...” Jackyn glanced around as he slowly reached for his dagger.

”I haven't been fed for so long... The scent of your flesh makes me feel so... Ravenous...” The voice spoke further, yet tone sounded so fatigued.

Meanwhile, Maxwhyld was continuing to flee from pursuing templar with three passengers hanging onto his back. ”We should be able to lose 'em ahead!” Max spoke up, right before the floor crumbled beneath his hooves, and he yelped out, ”CRICKY!!!”

Maxwhyld, along with Miles, Solitaire and Nye fell through, disappearing into the dark abyss below. None of them had anticipated the corridor to crumble in, as they fell out of sight with the look of alarm on their faces. Ashewyn and Eclipse weren't too far behind them in the air, staring at the unexpected event laid out before them.

”Oh no!” Eclipse weakly gasped, still in Ashewyn's arms.

”Hang on. We're going after them.” Ashewyn stated, flying into the caved part of the stairwell.

The templar foot soldiers soon caught up, halting at the destroyed chasm formed in the staircase. ”Where did they go!?” ”Maybe they fell through.” ”-and what if they did?! Do we go after them!?” The infantry clambered amongst themselves.

”Even if they did, there's no escaping the underground chasms. Seal the opening, you idiots. The snake Terra will handle the rest from here.” Skyletra came up behind them, seeming as confident as always.

”SER!!!” The knights saluted, before following orders to seal the cave in.

In the darkness below, Ashewyn finally reached the bottom of the cavern, finding Maxwhyld laying in a pile of rubble with the others laying not too far from him, almost in a triad. He quickly landed on the ground, setting Eclipse down before the two of them proceeded to dig him out. The centaur wearily shifted, holding his head. ”I'm gonna need a pint after this bodgy mess.” He grunted, stumbling up to his feet, but his ankle seemed to have gotten twisted. Max limped briefly, as he managed to catch his balance.

”Are you going to be alright, Max?” Eclipse asked.

”Yeah, bloody tin-arsed though. How's the others?” Maxwhyld asked, rubbing his head.

As he said that, Ashewyn looked over to Nye, Solitaire and Miles. There was far less rubble around them, but they seemed mostly unscathed from the fall; excluding their battle wounds, which were still fairly visible.

Nye had sat up from the fall, holding her arm. ”I'm alright... these stupid restraints wouldn't let me fly though.” Nye winced, peering over as Ashewyn approached Nye to help her stand up.

”We need to find a way to get those things off. No wonder you weren't fighting.” Ashewyn replied, before he walked over to help Solitaire stand up as well.

”Owww.... What the bloody hell just happened there?” Solitaire pouted, before she was pulled back to her feet.

”Pfft... A trap no doubt...” Miles grumbled, getting up on his own. He dusted himself off, before a sharp pain in his hand reminded him of the condition he was in. ”Ffff-” He winced, holding to his mutilated palm.

”Miles, careful.” Solitaire scolded him, looking to his hand.

”I'm fine-I'm fine.” Miles nearly bit his tongue.

Eclipse seemed disappointed as she looked off into the darkness. Ashewyn came up beside her, peering down. ”Hey, you alright?”

”Hm?” She glanced up at him. ”Oh... I'm just feeling a bit ashamed is all... I failed to stop him... What good am I as an assassin, if I can't do my job?”

Ashewyn shrugged, keeping his gaze focused on her. ”Everyone makes mistakes. He just out numbered us, it's not your fault. All we can do is regroup and try again.” Ashewyn tried to comfort her.

”I see. Thank you for that.” Eclipse smiled to him. She hesitated, before glancing to the others. ”If everyone alright, we should proceed onward. It's imperative we find an exit, we have no idea what may be lurking down here.” Eclipse urged them to continue onward.

”S'pose worse things can happen besides gettin' bogged... It must be mean as cat's piss down here for the Templar bail out.” Maxwhyld remarked, following after Eclipse, with a subtle limp.

”More of Aoba's dark secrets I'm guessing?” Ashewyn asked, following beside her.

”Undoubtedly. So we must continue forward with caution.” Eclipse nodded, in response.

Solitaire looked to Nye. ”Don't worry Spooky, I'm sure we'll find Jack somewhere down here. We should stick close to the others.”

”Aye. Let's not get left behind then. Miles? You coming?” Nye glanced over to the feline.

”Uh, Y-Yeah I'm right behind you.” Miles replied, somewhat surprised with Nye's attitude towards him. He quickly scampered after the others. ”Hey Nye....” He came up beside her.

”What is it?” Nye glanced to him.

”I'm know you're worried about Jackyn right now, but I really wanted to apologize about things from before. I was being a jerk, and I'm so sorry. I really hope you can forgive me, so we can still be friends. You're.... Like family to me. I shouldn't have treated you or Jack that way... I'm total idiot...”Miles admitted, his ears tucking back as he timidly apologized to Nye.

Nye patted his head. ”I forgive you, but you have to do something for me... okay?”

”Anything. Just name it.” Miles eagerly nodded in response.

”I think there's someone else who could use an apology...Jack's been through so much, and everyone gives him such a hard time as it is.” Nye replied, continuing after the others.

Deeper into the cavern, Jackyn stood there, as if waiting for the mysterious figure to make the first move. He held to his dagger, watching carefully as the massive snake coiled behind pillars in order to circle around him like a shark. She was keeping close to the shadows, making it near impossible to get a decent look at what he was up against. Briefly he noticed the tail's rattle segment waggling, as the snake being slithered by.

”What are you waiting for?” Jackyn finally spoke up.

Just as he verbalized an inquiry, the slithering ceased entirely. Without any given warning, a barrage of arrows came blasting his way. Startled, Jackyn leapt backwards, just narrowly evading instant impact. Immediately the arrows halted, as her tail began to rattle once again, followed by her slithering further into the shadows. Jackyn slightly slid his boot back, accidentally kicking a small pebble behind him. Again arrows flew, but this time where the pebble hit a distance behind him.

”Where did you go?....” The female voice called softly.

Jackyn seemed to be catching on, perhaps she wasn't able to see him in the darkness. Could it be she was relying on sound to locate him? He wasn't entirely certain, but kept cautious regardless. Then suddenly, the silence of the chasm was abruptly broken, with multiple sources of footsteps that came clambering their way.

”How many are there approaching?... Is it the Templar?... No, they can't find me... I must hide.” The female voice sounded concerned, urgently slithering off, further into the cavern.

The footsteps had gotten much closer, causing Jackyn to turn his body to face where they seemed to be coming from. As his body shifted around, he noticed multiple silhouettes coming his direction. Without much time elapsing, they began to flood into view; and to his surprise it was Nye and the others. ”Jackyn.” Nye smiled, as she came running this way.

As soon as Jackyn's and Nye's eyes met, he found himself knocked off his feet. Nye had leapt into an embrace, but Jackyn was unable to catch his balance, before he lost his footing.After a moment, realized she knocked him down and quickly sat up to examine Jackyn, to make sure he was okay. ”I didn't hurt you, did I?” Nye asked him, with a concerned tone.

”I've been knocked back harder, it's fine.” Jackyn reassured her, as he sat up to look to her. He cracked a smile, before pulling her into a hug. ”I was so worried about you...”

Ashewyn looks to the others, ”Let's give them a bit of time to themselves here. I'm sure both of them need this right now.” He suggested, leading them slightly ahead, so that Nye and Jackyn could have a bit of privacy.

”You won't get any back chat from me.” Solitaire replied, following after him.

”(I had no idea that the Angel of Death and Queen of Fiends were this close until now. It's so much different than what I'm used to with Aoba...)” Eclipse thought to herself, following after Ashewyn. She seemed surprised as her gaze shifted from them over to the red haired Amygdala, who was glancing her way.

Miles was the only one who stopped, staring to Nye and Jackyn together. Ashewyn turned around to look to Miles. ”Come on Miles. Haven't you learned your lesson?”

”I just wanted to... Apologize about before.” Miles shrugged, glancing at the taller boy.

”Behave yourself then.” Ashe replied, as he went off head with the others.

Miles kept quiet, watching Jackyn and Nye break from the hug. Jackyn reached for Nye's wounded hand, looking to the bruising, and then the magical restraints. ”That bastard has some nerve... Those Templar are fucking cowards, restraining you like this, and then bludgeoning up your hand... it makes me sick...” Jackyn remarked, clearly displeased.

Nye let her hand rest in his, as she looked to Jackyn. ”Their Grand Master is lucky. If I was able to summon my wraith-edge, I would have cut off his hands.” She replied, in attempt to comfort him.

Jackyn held back a laugh, looking to Nye with a smile. ”Heh. You're starting to sound like me.” He said, taking out a cloth to wrap her hand.

”Am I?” Nye smiled back, reaching her free hand to adjust a loose strand of hair that hung in Jackyn's face.

Jackyn glanced away, nodding in somewhat of a shy manner. ”How about we get these restraints off you?” He asked, letting his blue eyes trail back to meets Nye's.

Jackyn reached into his coat pocket, withdraw a lock pick. He shifted closer to Nye, holding her hand so that he could unlock the restraints on her wrists. After a short few moments he had the cuffs both removed, and tossed to the ground. Cupping Nye's face in his hands, he pulled her closer so that he could kiss her forehead.

After the action, Jackyn looked to Nye. ”I nearly forgot... There's something else down here.”

Nye shifted to stand up, taking Jackyn's hands to pull him to his feet. ”Then we should probably catch up and warn the others.”

Miles suddenly shifted, as he saw them stand up. In response to the noise, Jackyn turned his way, to notice the feline. ”Hm?” His surprise turned to fierce in a matter of seconds. ”What you looking at? Trying to start something again!?” Jackyn growled, proceeding over to Miles angrily.

”I-I wasn't... I just wanted t-to...” Miles stammered, urgently trying to explain why he was staring at them.

Nye quickly grabbed Jackyn's arm, looking to him. ”Jack. He's suffered quiet a bit while you all were trying to break me out of here. Give him a chance to explain.”

”...” Jackyn exhaled, as he shifted his gaze back to Miles. He seemed to be ease up upon noticing Miles missing fingers.

Miles seemed nervous, but knew he had to get this off his chest. So the feline took a deep breath, and finally spoke up. ”Look, Jackyn. I know I can't change the past, and I don't expect you to forgive me... but I wanted to apologize about how I was acting before. I was a real asshole, and I probably deserved this...” Miles paused, holding up his mangled hand. His eyes trailed off as he lowered his hand. ”I realize now that I was jealous of you, but not for the reason I thought I was. Every time you were around, Nye was growing closer to you, and because of that, I felt like I was losing my best friend. I was pushing everyone away by acting like such a brat... So, anyways... I'm sorry... I hope maybe we can be friends? If that's cool?”

Jackyn shrugged a bit, seeing the short feline peering up at him. ”...I'll think about it.” Jackyn replied, not entirely sure what he was supposed to say to Miles.

Miles seemed relieved, smiling a bit awkwardly as he glanced to Nye. ”So now that I've gotten that off my chest... Maybe we should catch up to Ashe and the others?”

”Aye.” Nye nodded, as they three proceeded further in.

Up ahead, Ashewyn and the others reached another chamber filled with even more bones scattered about. In the center seemed to be a stone statue, but not one that was carved. The person seemed to be in motion, fleeing from something as they screamed for help. You could depict the terror just from the look in their eyes alone.

”Blimey... W-Was that person turned to stone?!” Solitaire gasped.

”Ain't pretty, that's for sure.” Maxwhyld remarked, as he too stared at the stone statue.