There was a brief gust of wind, that came from the shattered facility's roof. Nye and Solitaire disengaged their weapons, as they decided to investigate further into the room. While they drew closer to the tank inside, Nye placed her hand gently to the glass. "I think that might be a fiend inside there. I wonder how long he's been trapped here for?"

Solitaire glanced to Nye, with an uncertain look in her eyes. "Why would-"

Suddenly alarms began to sound inside the facility, forcing Nye and Solitaire to hold their ears tightly. It was so loud, and the flashing alarms stung in the darkness. "Solitaire! What's happening!?" Nye spoke loudly, so that she could be heard over the blaring alarms.

"I-I don't know!!" Solitaire replied, in panic.

"UnAuThOrIzeD AcCeSs dEtEcTeD, DiReCtIvE cOdE 10-12 iN pRoGrOEsS! TeRmInAtIoN oF all pRoJeCt DaTa AcTiVaTeD! W-WaRnInG eMeRgEnCy PoWeR sTaBiLiZeRs f-F-fAiLiNg!" A garbled voice synthesized from the speakers above. "InItIaLiZiNg ReAnImAtIoN oF SuBjEcT SeVeN! ReCoMmEnDeD aCtiOn fOr aLL PeRsOnAal To eVaCuAtE iMmEDiAtElY! ErRoR!! SyStEm ErRoR!!"

The tubes in the tank began to detach from the body, but the system started sparking up. A wave of breakers began to burst with smoke flooding the room like steam. The system then abruptly crashed, with the sound of everything powering down; this sent the now silent room into complete darkness. Nye and Solitaire slowly lowered their hands, staring into the dark abyss.

"Keep your guard up, we don't know what we're dealing with here." Nye urged her friend, in a hushed tone.

"R-Right." Solitaire swallowed, nervously.

Bubbles began to appear in the vat, rising from the nose of the creature inside. His single eye began to hazily open, gleaming at the girls through the dusty glass of the tank. Without warning, he began to violently jerk inside the tank. His body shifted hastefully in the liquids, holding his head with both hands, almost like he was screaming. The water inside began to tremble, right before he started pounding onto the glass.

"Nye!" Solitaire shrieked a bit, clinging to her friend's arm tightly in panic.

They both took a step back, watching the beast continue to bash his massive claw into the side of the tank. The glass suddenly shattered, with the liquid inside escaping near the bottom, as the monsterous man was hunched at the base of it, almost like he was gasping for air. The red growth was resting against his spiked feet, as his long elf like ears flicked, before lifting his head. The liquid substance on his skin dripped down his body, as the red growth on his collarbone lifted slowly. Creeping out from the darkness, came the large eyeless snake shaped head, that was partially cloaked in shadows.

"That-That fiend is bloody lethal..." Solitaire stammered, not releasing Nye's arm.

"Just remain calm, Solitaire." Nye tried to comfort her friend.

He held no emotion, but his body language seemed more curious as he crouched slightly, gripping to the base of the vat with his massive claw. The monstrous mouth loomed closer, opening it's jaw as he spoke. "Fiend?..." He repeated, in confusion. He had an oddly distorted tone to his voice, that sounded rather alien.

"That's creepy..." Solitaire shivered, hiding behind Nye.

Nye glanced back, before looking to the fiendish man ahead of them. "If you can understand us, what do you remember?"

The man's eye panned over to Nye. "Experiments. The rest is faded from my memories." He replied, as a jolt of memory surged into his mind. He was strapped down to a table, as scientists were looking over him. Many of them were holding scalpels and other tools; ones of which he could see his reflection in. He appeared human, but his left arm was bloated with some kind of infection.

"You don't need to be afraid." Nye tried to reassure the man.

"Afraid?" The fiend repeated. "You should be the one whose afraid. Do you not understand what those scientists did!? Look at me!" He hunched down, holding his head to the floor. "I'M A DISGUSTING MONSTER!!" He cried out, screaming into the ground, with complete misery. "All those endless hours of being picked apart like some lab rat... No sane person could go through all that pain and SUFFERING!!..." His voice was badly cracking, from his wailing of anguish. Tears were actually streaming down the one eye he had on his face.

Both Nye and Solitaire seemed stunned by this. "This poor man knows nothing, but a life of torment..." Nye spoke softly, understanding his pain. She decided to approach the fiend, leaving Solitaire to stand by the entrance of the room.

"Nye?" Solitaire timidly called.

"It's alright." Nye glanced back to reassure her friend, before moving in closer. She crouched down to the man, looking to him. "Those people are gone now... You don't have endure this anymore. You're not alone, so why not come with us?" Nye held out her hand to him, with a kind expression in her eyes.

The mouth lifted, as he peered up to Nye's face. "Your friend shows fear, yet you ask this of me? Aren't you concerned that I might SNAP?" He spoke softly, but his emotion was very hard to read.

"There's another whom my friends fear, but that doesn't mean anything. I trust him. People are not always as they seem, so why should I treat you any differently?" Nye explained.

Another trail of tears rolled down his face, as he stared to Nye, with what seemed to be a surprised expression. He gently extended his right hand, cupping it with Nye's, before pressing his forehead against the top of it. His long hair hung in his face, as he tried to gather his nerves. "Thank you... You're a very kindhearted person." He finally choked up, through his shaken tone.

"How about we get you something to wear?" Nye motioned over to Solitaire, who timidly brought over her bag. She took out a pair of pants, with some fancy looking boots, along with a few other articles of clothing.

"You sure about this, Nye?" Solitaire whispered, nervously.

"He's just as afraid of you, as you are of him. Can't you see that?" Nye explained.

"I-I guess you're right." Solitaire stammered, extending the clothes to him.

He glanced up to Solitaire, shyly, before slowly taking the stack of clothes from her. "Thank you for your kindness. I'm sorry if I scare you..." He said to Solitaire, softly.

"I-It's okay mate. I just scare easy, that's all." Solitaire explained, nervously taking a step backward.

"We'll wait for you to change out here. Everything will be fine." Nye encouraged him, before heading into the previous room to wait.

After changing, the man stepped out after them. He had his ears covered by the scarf, as he tried to shroud his face the best he could.

"We should probably get introductions out of the way. I'm Nyghtmare, but my friends mostly call me Nye." Nye looked to him, before motioning to the girl beside her. "This is my friend, Solitaire, and who might you be?"

"...Subject seven... I mean... Adam... My name's Adam." He replied, cautiously.

"I'm sure you'll fit right in, Adam." Nye stated. "Everything will be fine."

"I hope so." Adam tugged the hood over his face slightly.

"So, what now?" Solitaire shrugged.

"I think our next objective should be finding a boat of some kind." Nye mentioned, turning for the nearest exit.

"Smashing idea. No way you'd be able to carrying both of us." Solitaire agreed.

The three of them decided to leave the facility, making their way down the hill that they came from. However, in the distance there was a trail of smoke rising to the early morning sky.

"Is that a fire?" Solitaire held her hand over her brow to get a better lock, she seemed surprised.

"Might be. Which means, there could be someone else here." Nye replied. "You good to investigate with us, Adam?"

He was staring to the sky of the city, before glancing to Nye. "Ready as I'll ever be." He admitted, second guessing himself.

Without another thought, the group proceeded in the direction of the smoke. They quickly reached the area of the destroyed city, that wasn't too far from the bay. One of the taller buildings was burning out of control, and smoldering ashes were falling like snow around them, as they gazed up to the flames. Unexpectedly, the windows bursted out, as fire roared through them, escaping to the wind wildly. From the burning open window, a black figure shot out, torpedoing through the air, with great speed and velocity.

The black wings suddenly halted, hovering ahead of the three, several feet above the ground. The black dragon, Gaigas flapped his powerful wings, with his eyes locked onto them like targets. "Here I thought I had this junkyard to myself. Tzz." He scoffed, leering down at them.

"A Terra?" Nye muttered. "He must be another Templar operative."

"What?" Solitaire glanced to her briefly, before looking to the dragon in the sky.

Gaigas licked the corner of his mouth, as he narrowed his eyes, coldly. "A woman who works with a fiend. Well now, you must be the Queen, that I've heard so much about. Was getting bored anyway." He scoffed.

Without warning, Gaigas took a deep breath; spitting out a wave of green fire that forced them all to jump backwards. The ground ahead was coated with the oddly colored flames, but Gaigas didn't let up. He raised his claw, forming a sphere of dark matter for a mere second, before casting it their way. The shots scattered around them, coming at lightning fast speeds. Quickly, Adam got in front of the girls, and deflected the attacks using his over-sized arm. The blasts ricocheted off, exploding on impact with the ground around them.

Gaigas gritted her teeth, with angered gaze. "YOU'RE GETTING ON MY NERVES!!!" He roared, lashing out another wave dark energy blasts. The shots connected this time, just barely scrapping by their flesh.

Solitaire stumbled backwards, loosing her footing, as she was trying to form the blades from her body. Nye got by her side, forming her wings. "Keep close, this one could be a problem." she stated.

As the girls turned, they saw Gaigas preparing yet another strike. However, Just as he was doing so, Adam leaped to the nearby building, as he was parkouring higher; before rushing skyward in the dragon's direction. Gaigas' eyes shot at him in panic, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge; being brought back to the ground with a heavy throw.

He landed ahead of it, glancing back as flames roared it the sky from the newly formed crater. It spiraled back down, coming Adam's way like a burning tornado. Gaigas slashed his claws, as he weaved into close range, before getting to a distance to avoid counter attacks. He circled back, this time near the girls, striking with his spiked tail. Solitaire quickly ducked as she let out a shriek, using her blade arm to defend herself from the attack. Adam and Solitaire were left having to defend themselves from the merciless clashes of attacks.

Nye had other plans however. She soared in from above, striking back with her wailing wraith-edge. The spirits of her blade screamed, as it connected, sending Gaigas crashing into the crumbled pavement below. Nye took a breath, as she descended to her friends.

Gaigas rose from the rubble, glaring angrily to Nye. "I'M GONNA MAKE YOU SCREAM!!!!" He roared, before rushing her way in the sky.

Adam decided to counter, using his massive claw slash back, and forcing him to back flip away from Adam. Gaigas moved swiftly, firing more dark matter orbs at the fiendish man. It blasted right through Adam's left shoulder, causing Gaigas to grin. However his emotion quickly changed, as the injury healed instantly. It was surprising to the girls as well, seeing Adam completely unfazed by it.

"OUT OF MY WAY!!" Gaigas shouted, pelting out more blasts, leaving massive crevices in the already damaged streets. He flew at them, with a heavy pressure of air pushing them down.

He rushed at Adam with a violent rage, but when he came into range, the massive claw caught him by the neck. Gaigas let out a loud gag, as some drool came from his mouth, through panicked breaths. His eyes began to grow weary, before closing.

"Adam, don't." Solitaire got to his side, nearly begging him.

Adam didn't answer, but anxiously dropped Gaigas to the ground, before taking a step back. Nye came up behind him, glancing to Solitaire, who was now checking the dragon.

"I think he's still breathing." Solitaire said, as she was crouched beside the dragon.

"What are you thinking?" Nye seemed concerned.

"I just... I don't want to see anybody die... I'm sorry..." Solitaire got to her feet, as she crossed her arms with a soft pout.

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."