21 Regroup and Recover

Around Knothole sanctum, the front door opened as Ashewyn, and the others were arriving. The red haired boy looked to his allies, as he let them enter, holding the door for everyone to step inside. Closing the door after everyone stepped through, he followed them all down the long staircase, to the bottom level.

"You guys can sit wherever, I gotta talk to my old man 'bout this." Ashe said, as he proceeded over to the bar, where Runfaust was stationed.

Solitaire uneasily watched Ashe head over, fidgeting a bit, as she turned to Miles. The feline seemed pretty worried about Nye, pocketing his hands with a grunt, before he walked over to sit at one of the tables near the stairs. Solitaire furrowed her brows with a sigh, as her gaze shifted up at Zyron.

He peered her way, as they exchanged an abrupt glance. He turned away from her, with brief hesitation. "Quit staring at me, would you." He grumbled under his breath.

"That's all you can say to me, after all the shite that happened? You're really starting to brass me off, you cheeky bastard!" Solitaire huffed, with a twitch of her brow.

"Well fucking excuse me for having to get dragged into all that crap." Zyron looked back at her, with a disappointed glance. He decided to go take a seat alone, away from other people.

"Arsehole..." Solitaire crossed her arms, harshly, but suddenly shrieked when she caught Nikolai blankly staring at her. "Eeeeekkk! Oy, don't do that!"

Nikolai only snickered, before warping upstairs, to stare out the window. Solitaire pouted a bit, not understanding fiends. She decided to proceed over to Miles, joining him at the table a few seats over. Approaching the table was Ashe's sister, Molliana the little cyclops girl.

"Hello. Would you and your friends like something to eat?" Molly greeted, timidly.

Solitaire turned her attention to Molly with a grimace, glancing briefly at Miles. "Um, I suppose so. You hungry, mate?"

Miles' ears went back, as he averted his eyes from her. "I don't normally pass up food, but I'm worried about Nye..."

"Look, I'm worried too, but it's better if we fill our bellies while we wait." Solitaire tried to reassure him.

"I guess you're right... starving ourselves would be pointless..." Miles shrugged.

Molly smiled happily. "Then I'll bring you both something good to eat. I'll be right back."

Molliana scurried off to the kitchen of the location, and everyone sat there with stoic expressions of concern.

Ashewyn was sitting at the bar, looking to his adopted father. Runfaust seemed to be contemplating a bit. "I don't understand why the wild ones would behave in a manner like that. You're absolutely positive that our Queen couldn't control them?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. What's weird though, those fiends acted like it was an ambush. Hive mentalities aren't smart enough to come up with a strategy like that." Ashewyn leaned to his palm.

"Don't you think you're overthinking this, Ashe? You're insinuating that there is some conspiracy amidst." Runfaust replied, knowing his son's antiques.

"This isn't me being paranoid pops, something's not right. Nye should have been able to handle them. There is definitely something wrong, and I want to know what." Ashewyn scoffed, pushing off of the bar table.

He proceeded across the floor, and took a seat with Miles and Solitaire. They both glanced his way, as Molly sat some biscuits and gravy onto the table for them.

"He's not taking me seriously, like it was some fluke or something. I don't know about you guys, but I think it's best we stay here until we're sure that Wynorex is vacated." He said, rubbing finger tips over his eyelids in frustration. "First things first, we need to find Nye."

"Yeah, there's no telling where she's at right now." Solitaire leaned to her palm with a grimace.

"Finch better get her out of there safely, that's all I'm gonna say..." Miles grunted with his mouth full of food, as he looked to the window, seeing rain hitting the glass outside.

Somewhere in the marshlands, Jack was carrying Nye is his arms through the pouring rain. Both of their hair and clothes had been soaked from the amount of rainfall. The expression on Jackyn's face appeared agitated, wiping his cheek to his shoulder, attempting to remove the trails of water from his brow. His gaze peered down at the unconscious maiden anxiously, as he struggled to keep his boots from sinking into the moist earth of the marsh. Her veins seemed to have gotten worse from the Nightshade poisoning, but Jack's eyes turned ahead as they reached the entrance of the nearby swampy woodlands, trekking onward.

Back around Knothole, Miles and the others were all still contemplating what to do next. Their faces showed that they were all really trying to figure out what to do from here. They knew they needed to locate Nye, but weren't sure where to begin, since the last time they saw her was in the deep roads with Finch.

Miles slammed both his palms down on the table, rising from his seat. "We can't just sit around here, and do nothing! Nye's out there somewhere, and we NEED to find her!" It was clear he was stressed out, and anxious about the whole ordeal.

"Look Stripes. I know where you're coming from, but she could be anywhere by now." Ashe shrugged, leaning back in his chair slightly.

"...But, what if she's still down there?!" Miles grumbled, with his ears backwards.

"Simmer down mate. Don't forget, Spooky's got that Finch bloke with her." Solitaire scoffed, in irritation.

"I-I know that! It's just-" Miles began, but before he could continue, the entrance door opened.

Echoing from up the stairs, was the sound of wet boots trudging down the staircase, along with the sound of the entrance door closing behind the person who entered. As the group turned to look over abruptly, they were surprised to see it was Jackyn. Nye was still in his arms, unconscious, and soaked from the rain.

Miles leapt quickly to his feet, rushing over. "Uh!? N-Nye!" Miles gasped, but shot an angry glare at Jack, expecting an explanation. "What did YOU do to Her, and where the heck is Finch?!" He demanded, as he got into Jack's personal space.

"Hmph." Jack could only scoff, as he brushed passed the shorter male.

Zyron was still seated away from the others, but seemed uneasy about Jack's presence. "(Fuck... It's that guy from before... Shit... What is a Dream Weaver doing here anyway!?... Okay Zyron, chill out. It's gonna be fine. They seem to know him, and the girl he has with him.)"

Miles turned to Jack, whose back was now facing the feline. "Get your filthy hands off of her! I want answers!!" Miles hissed.

Ashewyn and Solitaire had gotten to their feet, and drew closer, with the look of uncertainty to the Angel of Death. They too wanted an explanation.

Jack halted, slowly shifting to gaze back at Miles with an annoyed expression. "I don't have time to deal with you right now. So back off!" He growled.

"Something's not right here, look at Spooky's veins... They're almost black..." Solitaire timidly spoke up.

"You're gonna make this worse if you don't explain, and quick." Ashewyn took notice too, intruding with a stern tone. There was a few others in the lower level, watching the situation, including Nikolai upstairs.

"Then you best shut up, and listen. That 'friend' of yours, the doctor. He infected her blood with some type of toxin. The more time you waste, the less she's going to have. I'm your best bet you have of saving her, so stay out of my way." Jack retorted, coldly.

"You mean with ichor magic. That's risky, and besides that, for all we know, YOU did this to her!" Miles was growling angrily.

"Stripes. Let's not jump the gun here. Remember, Finch has knowledge in this field of things, so it's possible this guy's not lying. (If what he says IS true, then maybe my theory is right...)" Ashewyn tried to calm the feline.

"Listen to your friend, you're just wasting time here." Jack shifted away from the group.

"That doesn't explain what she's infected with!" Miles snapped, getting passed Ashewyn. "She NEEDS medical attention!!"

Zyron seemed annoyed with the banterings, and stumbled to his feet. He was still uneasy about this, but decided to approach, stopping not far off from Jack and Miles. His knees quivered slightly, and he tried to remain calm. He decided to turn his gaze to Miles. "It's Nightshade poisoning. Fuck, I get that guy, Finch, may have saved me... but, it seems likely that this guy's telling the truth. Trust me, I've been around enough of that kind of shit to know what I'm talking about."

Miles seemed surprised, letting his gaze shift to Jack; as did the others. Jack looked away in response, preparing to head upstairs.

Zyron crossed his arms, looking back to Jack. "Look. The only way we're going to be able to cleanse her of that shit, is if we use charcoal powder. To do that, we're going to have to disembowel a Venember to get the mineral. Problem is, it's a fucking risky encounter." He explained.

"I don't like this, but if that's what we have to do, then we need to try." Miles groaned, concerned about Nye's safety.

Jackyn however, turned back around, walking up to Ashewyn. "Take her." He said, passing Nye off to the surprised red head. "Just keep her alive, and I'll deal with the rest." He said, phasing off into shadows as he abruptly left the safety of Knothole, slamming the door right behind him.

Ashewyn watched Jack's abrupt leave, before glancing to the others. "We're gonna have to trust this guy, but in the meantime I think it's best we get Nye upstairs to rest. Pinkie, mind getting a damp cloth from my sis?"

"Me?" Solitaire blushed a bit.

"Yeah you. Go grab one, and meet me upstairs. She's burning up." Ashewyn shrugged, proceeding to carry Nye up the stairs, to the second floor.

Solitaire nodded quickly, hurrying over to Molliana. Miles was left standing there with Zyron. The feline had his arms crossed, glancing over to the canine. "So. You know about toxins and remedies?..." Miles inquired, trying to open up, but serious.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah. I believe you met my former master... So... I'm sure you can put two and two together with that." Zyron looked away from Miles, feeling a bit of shame.

Miles furrowed his brows, relaxing a bit. "The witch... I see, so you must have had it harder than I thought."

"Let's not get into crap like that right now." Zyron replied, seriously.

"Yeah, we got other things to worry about at the moment. Like Nye, and what happened when we got separated. I don't trust Jack, but what if he's telling the truth about Finch?" Miles seemed worried.

"Just ask her when she wakes up then. Simple as that." Zyron stated, with a soft groan, as he noticed Solitaire heading up the stairs to help Ashe.

"What if he wasn't lying though? That would mean there's something else going on... and if it is, you're just about the closest thing we got to someone with medical knowledge." Miles admitted, sheepishly.

"I get it, you want me to stick around to help out. I don't exactly like being around people, but it might be safer here, than out there where Inferna can find me again." Zyron replied, hesitantly.

"You mean it?" Miles was surprised.

"Yeah, just don't make me repeat myself." Zyron closed his eyes, with a slight shrug.

Elsewhere, within the nearby dreary woods, combat was commencing between Jackyn and a massive Venember. The rain was picking up, and the battle was getting heated. Jackyn's boots skidded backwards along the gravel of the ground, as he was slammed back hard into a rotting tree trunk. It broke upon impact, and Jack was hurled right through it. Looming closer was the gigantic horned reptile, slithering it's body around the broken trunk of the tree, before peering down to the rubble Jack was laying in. He had several cuts and bruises, with blood beginning to form a small puddle. The Venember's body was just barley in the blood as it opened it's mouth, to lunge for a bite. However, as it's face came close, Jackyn shifted fast, rolling out of the way right at the fangs collided with the debris.

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 he slyly 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, and Miles' 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."