Tyr's eyes continued to stare at the felines in a striking manner, as his hand slowly retreated from Nobou's cheek. Miles and Minerva weren't sure what to expect with this fiend, who had appeared to even the odds; as well as their allies lingering together not far from their position. Anxiety felt like it was creeping in with those dark eyes staring into their souls with unknown intentions lying in wake. Nobou however weakly glanced to Tyr, his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

Trailing back into the dragon's memories, Nobou found himself in a younger point of his life; perhaps ten or fifteen years ago. He was with a group of other Terras, such as Manik, inside Dragon's keep. Before them was the war table, with Eclipse leaning over it, as she positioned the chess-like pieces resembling various factions; allied or otherwise. The elven spy master's hair seemed much shorter then, but due to their species none of them truly looked to have aged a day since then.

"There." Eclipse spoke, before looking to the dragon soldiers around the room. "Nobou. Manik. I have an assignment for the two of you to practice team unity. Our Lord has instructions to eliminate a particular beast. A daemoniorum. They usually don't get too close to civilization, but one has been causing trouble at the cross roads. I would send Gaigas to handle this, but the two of you need to learn to work together."

"Consider it eliminated." Manik spoke swiftly without a moment's hesitation.

"Very well, lady spymaster." Nobou replied, seeming a bit conflicted in tone.

Elapsing forward, the two arrived to the crossroads. The train tracks appeared to be in working condition, despite the snow around them. There was many trees nearby, but no sign of any beast.

"There's nothing here... Waste of time. She could have sent some grunt to investigate." Manik hissed. "I should be assassinating threats, not wasting my time hunting in this frozen wasteland."

"As someone who is a stealth expert, you seem to complain a fair deal." Nobou spoke softly, his pointed ears adjusting backwards.

"Don't act like you know me, samurai." Manik growled, before pushing Nobou down a hill. The smaller dragon tumbled down it, rolling in the snow before reaching the bottom of the valley. "Freeze to death, you disgusting freak." Manik's words echoed off from above the slope.

Lifting his head, Nobou could just barely see Manik turn away and leave, but his leg seemed to have been injured severely. Nobou could do nothing but lay there for what seemed like hours. However, just as Nobou seemed to grow faint, he could just barely hear the sound of feet or perhaps paws crunching through the snow towards him.

His hidden eyes wearily opened to a low growl, quickly noticing a large skull faced dog looking down at him. This beast was Asmodeus, albeit much smaller than in present time. The horse-sized daemoniorum pup nuzzled Nobou's shoulder, seeming to be attempting to get him back on his feet. Nobou was too weak from hypothermia though, only shivering as he weakly laid there in the snow.

"What did you find there, Asmodeus?" Tyr's teen-aged face came into view, as he peered down at Nobou's shivering body. There was a brief pause before their eyes met, through the unintended parting of Nobou's hair. Nobou's eyes were rather unusual however, with Fuchsia colored pupula duplex. "Did someone just leave you out here like this? You're freezing." Tyr asked, unphased by the oddity of the eyes. Without any further words, Tyr removed his coat, to wrap it around Nobou, before scooping him up, and taking him to shelter.

Some time after that when Nobou's leg had been wrapped up, Tyr was encouraging him to pet Asmodeus as he recovered.

"He won't hurt you unless I tell him to." Tyr chuckled, taking Nobou's hand to guide it to the small daemoniorum's snout.

Nobou seemed to blush as Tyr's hand took his, allowing him to take control. They were growing closer as they spent time together, seeing that the fiend had bothered to take care of Nobou. Time elapsed again, where Nobou returned to Skyworld with his leg healed, only to encounter a sudden embrace from his worried sister.

"Nobou! Where have you been?! We thought you were dead. Manik told me that..." Talis' words trailed off as Nobou realized the betrayal of his former comrade staring at him with what seemed to be a a glare of hatred. Why did Manik hate him so? Nobou couldn't understand, was it his eyes or was it something else...?

More time went by as the knights eventually hunted down the daemoniorum. Nobou had been sent to the field, as many Templar had Asmodeus tied down to the ground. The beast was whimpering softly, but his gaze quickly took notice of Tyr threatening the Templar from a restrained position, by a familiar female Templar. Tyr's arms had been held back, as he was forced forward into the snowy ground.

"Get you hands off him! Asmodeus-" Tyr shouted with hostility before a firm back hand to the face followed.

"Shut your mouth demon! Your kind should be dead!" Spat out a higher ranked Templar general.

"Leave him alone, Salem!" Nobou pleaded, urgently placing himself between the surprised Fiend and the Templar, named Salem.

"Did you just give me an order, freak?!" Salem practically roared, as he clutched to the smaller man's scarf.

Nobou quickly pulled back and unsheathed his blade, holding it to the blond haired lady Templar that was restraining Tyr. "Astrid, you must understand what he is doing is wrong."

"Commander Salem's orders out rank you, Nobou. Stand down." Astrid spoke firmly.

"This man saved my life. He's not a monster." Nobou explained, motioning to Tyr, whose expression now seemed conflicted.

"Is that so? Remove your katana from Astrid's neck at once, or perhaps you'll join this savage." A voice talked down to Nobou, before he realized it was Aoba.

"Grand Master? Please understand... Salem's discrimination is without warrant." Nobou tried to reason with him.

"Do not defy me, lest you wish to be branded a traitor." Aoba kept a stern expression focused on the dragon. "What gender were you again? Sorry, I always find it hard to tell."

"Please... Don't patronize me... Aoba, be reasonable. Astrid. You understand, do you not?" Nobou was nearly begging, which came to a surprise for Tyr behind him. "Tell him. Tell him this is wrong." Nobou went on.

"Disobedient cur!" Aoba snapped, hitting Nobou backwards into the snow beside where Tyr was restrained. "You know well enough what betrayal condemns in MY kingdom. As Grand Master, I hereby strip you of your title and rank. Templar soldiers, I order capture of this traitor. I will make a point out of you, dragon. Your screams will echo through the kingdom, to prove why it's unwise to challenge me.

With the command, the surrounding knights turned their focus to Nobou in complete unison of the Grand Master's direct order. Tyr's ears twitched, as his eyes focused on Nobou. Tyr could feel the turmoil bubbling inside the dragon, as Nobou staggered back to his feet. Nobou withdrew a second sword, making it clear that he wasn't giving up so easily. Several Templar came rushing at Nobou and Tyr as Aoba watched with a cold gaze of hatred.

Nobou deflected incoming blows, fending off the miniature army that came at him with fury. His katakanas spiraled around like a whirlwind, knocking back as much incoming attacks as he could parry. His tail pulled a dirk from his belt, back flipping out of the way to cut the ropes with it, that held Asmodeus. Nobou's hair concealed his unusual eyes, but with the beast acting as a distraction as it fled into the woods, he quickly rushed at Astrid to knock her away from Tyr. In the process he collapsed not far from the fiend, with his leg injury reopened. Blood dripped into the snow as more of the Templar began to close in on him.

Quickly, Tyr got to his feet and snatched Nobou up from the snow, as he dashed into void he opened with haste. Without delay it closed behind them, blocking out all the hostile forces from pursuing them. It was certain Aoba was beyond livid, but Nobou wasn't there to witness it. Nobou came back to reality, as Tyr shifted to pick him up into his arms. Talis took notice of this seeming shocked, but yet also somewhat relieved in a way.

Tyr's ears twitched as he looked down to Nobou, clearly reading his soul like he had done with Solitaire. "Go." Tyr spoke sternly. His opponents stared in confusion, seemingly uneasy. This began to frustrate the fiend. "Get outta here!!" Tyr commanded.

Miles seemed stunned, as he held to his open wound. "You're just letting us go? I'm not complaining here, but we nearly just killed your 'friend'."

"Pretty dumb response to someone who's sparing your life. Look. I don't exactly like following orders, but I have more important things to worry about besides following the directive. So get lost already!" Tyr insisted, coldly.

Minerva looked down to Miles, and his bleeding hand. "I don't think now is the time to be arguing. He's letting us go, we really should get Eclipse back to your base." She said.

"Right. We should get out of here, before he changes his mind." Miles skeptically agreed. He sheathed his sword, before gripping back to his hand wearily. He kept his eyes on Tyr and Nobou, as he proceeded over to the rest of his party with Minerva.

Talis watched her brother as their groups parted ways, seeing Tyr turn from them to phase off into darkness with the dragon, as they ventured deeper into the bog. "(Nobou... what happened that day when you were banished from the kingdom..? I have to wonder though, who was that man that came to your rescue..? Does he know you're different... in more ways then one?)" Talis thought.

She glanced back to the party, as they paused for a moment. Minerva took this time to bandage up Miles' bleeding hand, before continuing on their way. Finally after trekking through the bog's woodlands, they reached the entrance of Knothole. As they entered the hideout, Miles lead the girls inside, but Minerva ended up having to carry Eclipse in on her back, seeing that Ember was too big to enter now. The phoenix had been sent around back to her nest in the stables instead.

As they entered, there was only a few of the group still down stairs. Adam was keeping to himself in the corner as usual, but peered over as they reached the dining area. Ashewyn was just walking down the staircase with Molliana, immediately taking notice of them in utter surprise. Runfaust and Pneuma however were still by the bar, and peered over.

"Look who finally decided to return." Runfaust scoffed. "Bringing outsiders into our home no less." He remarked in a foul tone, as he got closer to the wounded feline.

"H-Hey settle down." Miles grew nervous.

A hand was placed to Runfaust's shoulder, as Ashewyn stepped up behind him. "Dad, it's cool. They're friends. You wanted me to deal with Miles anyway, remember?"

"Very well." Runfaust crossed him arms as he took a step out of the way.

Ashewyn turned to Miles, who wasn't sure what to expect from this. His ears went backwards nervously, but was surprised that Ashewyn extended his hand, as if to greet him. Miles seemed relieved as he shifted his palm out, but suddenly hesitated as his eyes trailed to his bandaged up hand. Ashewyn noticed this too, before Miles slowly retreated it backwards.

"Didn't think we'd be seeing you back so soon. With a new face even..." He said, retracting his back into his pocket, as he turned his attention to Minerva. Immediately he realized she was carrying Eclipse on her back.

"We didn't exactly have many options-" Miles began, but was interrupted.

"Is she okay?" Ashewyn asked, growing concerned as he walked over to relieve Eclipse from Minerva.

Minerva allowed Ashewyn to take her. "She's wounded, but she should be fine after her injuries are treated."

"I'll go get some herbs from the garden!" Molliana chimed in, before hurrying up the stairs.

"Molly, be careful out there!" Pneuma called to her.

"I will, mommy!" Molliana replied, going outside.

"How did this happen?" Ashewyn inquired, seriously to Miles.

"I was getting to that... Some Templar attacked the camp, and she got hurt in the process." Miles admitted, nervously.

"You're going to lead the Templar right to our doorstep! My little girl just went out there! Do you have any idea how much of a risk you're pulling!?" Runfaust spouted out, clearly livid.

"I didn't know what else to do!" Miles cowered, keeping distance as the tall fiend came his way. "I'll go after her, alright? Just settle down!" Miles pleaded.

Minerva got in front of Miles, looking to Runfaust sternly. "No Templar followed us. I made sure of that."

"You're a stranger in our home, do NOT try to reason with me on this!" Runfaust retorted.

Pneuma got to his side, making him turn to face her. "Faust. It's already been done. I'll go find Molliana. She's just outside, she should be fine."

"....." Runfaust turned off from the others. "I'm still not thrilled about this." He said, heading into the bar area.

"He means well, don't let him get to you." Pneuma said, before glancing to Ashewyn. "Ashe, you handle things with your friends, I'm going to check on Molly." She insisted, before heading out after the cyclops girl.

"Alright. I need to get Eclipse upstairs. Miles, could you get Zyron?" Ashewyn asked, before glancing to the girls. "The rest of you can make yourselves at home." He said, proceeding up to one of the spare rooms with the unconscious Eclipse in his arms.

"On it." Miles nodded, following after to head to look for Zyron.

Ashewyn reached the top level ahead of the feline, placing the wounded elf into the fur covered bed. He took notice of the rushed bandage work on her arm, that was barely covering the burn scarring from her duel with Gaigas. Ashewyn furrowed his brows, as waited for Zyron's arrival.

Miles had been looking in nearly every room, before turning his attention to the one Solitaire had claimed. His ears went back, before he knocked while pushing the door ajar. As soon as he was able to see inside, Miles spotted Zyron and Solitaire kissing, with the canine's hand under the sheets, clearly between her legs.

"U-Uh!?" Miles gawked.

"BLOODY HELL MATE!!" Solitaire reared back in full panic, behind her rosy red cheeks as she realized Miles was staring at them. She urgently covered herself.

"Hey, I knocked!" Miles looked off uncomfortably, as Zyron got up to pull his trousers back on.

"You could have fucking knocked, asshole!! What the hell is your problem!?" Zyron growled.

"I did, you idiot!! It's not my fault you were-" Miles retorted.

"You say one word!" Zyron before he sighed, "What are you even doing coming in here? I thought you stayed with the resistance?"

"Sheesh, I'll explain later. Red needs your help in the other room right now. Eclipse got pretty messed up." Miles crossed his arms.

"Shit. How bad is it?" Zyron asked, realizing the urgency of this interruption. He pulled the rest of his clothes on before following after Miles, leaving Solitaire in the bed alone. "What kind of an injury are we dealing with?"

"A real nasty burn." Miles tried to explain.

"Burn? Well shit. I need you to go grab some aloe leaves from the downstairs. I'll also need to make it into an ointment so bring the supplies while you're down there. Don't forget the wrap, got it?" Zyron instructed, as he continued to the room where Eclipse was at.

"Uh right, I'll get that." Miles replied, before he hurried downstairs, Zyron parted with him as he entered the room Miles lead him to, seeing Ashewyn looking over the wounded elf.

"Just tell me what to do to help." Ashewyn spoke up, as he glanced over to Zyron.

"How about just warning me if you see any 'visions of rain'?" Zyron replied, as he drew closer to look over the burned arm, noticing that fabric of her clothes had been tarnished as well in the process. The wound seemed in pretty bad shape, as he unraveled the bandage that was placed on her some time prior. Blood was dried onto the fabric of it, and tearing as he tried to gently remove it. "Crap. Okay, we should remove her coat, in case there are any concealed injuries besides these burns."

"Let me get it." Ashewyn reluctantly replied, as he shifted to remove the coat from Eclipse.

Ashewyn helped to remove the coat, leaving Eclipse in little more than her bikini top and her striped trousers. Under her coat however revealed she was hiding more injuries than she let on. Her torso had several bruises along with partially healed up scars and scraps covering her pale skin, albeit not as fresh as others. There were a few new wounds besides the burn on her arm, along with a massively swollen bruise on her upper rib cage. With her chest exposed this way, her visible breathing appeared staggered.

"Any sign of rain?" Zyron asked, cautiously.

Ashewyn shook his head. "Not yet, just make sure she gets through this. That wound might be infected."

"Shit. I'll do what I can." Zyron replied, glancing to the door to see Miles enter.

Miles came up to them to deliver the herbs, and other healing agents as Zyron had instructed. He felt kind of weird in this situation, and quickly decided to leave Zyron to mending Eclipse. As Miles turned to shut the door behind him, he took notice of Ashewyn's demeanor, and was surprised how adamant the red haired Amygdala seemed in this moment. The feline shrugged it off and returned back down to the lower level of the hideout, keeping distance from Runfaust to avoid as much conflict as possible.

He glanced around as he descended the staircase, noticing Nye wasn't around, it was fairly early, so she may have still been sleeping, he thought. As his eyes trailed around the location, he took notice of Talis and Djinn, who had fallen asleep. The two girls were sitting at one of the tables closest to a wall, leaning against each other with the egg nestled in it's mother's arms.

Miles attention shifted around, noticing Solitaire on the upper level leaving her room after dressing herself. She stepped to the railing, peering down, but her attention didn't linger on Miles. She soon shifted her gaze to the room Eclipse was being looked over in.

From behind, Minerva's arm was wrapped over Miles' shoulder. "You did good getting your friends here, kitten." In her opposite hand she held a pint of beer, and seemed pretty content when she peered down to Miles with a subtle smirk, as she took a drink.

Miles' mind seemed to completely forget what he was doing, as his attention was now on her. "I don't think I could have done it without you." Miles smiled to her.

Minerva smirked before giving him a quick kiss on the nose. "Sounds like you need me."

"Reow. Well, maybe I do." Miles flirted back, playfully placing his arm around her waist, which she allowed, before nipping to his ear. This of course made Miles purr.

Meanwhile, Zyron was upstairs finishing his work on Eclipse. He had cleaned her infected wounds and wrapped them up once he was done. "That should about do it." He took a breath, as he wiped sweat from his blond brows. "Might be good to keep an eye on her for a while, just in case."

"Leave that to me. Go make sure our other guests aren't wounded." Ashewyn looked to the canine, his expression difficult to read.

"Fair enough." Zyron nodded, before exiting the room to go check on the others as directed.

"Why do you feel like I'm your responsibility?... Is it because I showed you my vulnerable side sometime ago in the woods... and once more in the castle?..." Eclipse weakly spoke up.

"You're awake?" Ashewyn turned his gaze to her elven woman laying in the bed.

"Only for a short while now..." She replied, softly. "Won't you tell me why?... I just... I want to understand."

"Do I need a reason?" Ashewyn asked, sitting back down beside her.

"You're an Amygdala... but again... I suppose not. We are allies now." Eclipse closed her eyes.

"Why did Aoba hurt you? Before the betrayal I mean." Ashewyn inquired, looking to her in concern.

Eclipse opened her eyes to look to Ashewyn. "He does that... If Aoba's not happy, he takes it out on others, especially the women in his harem... He claims to love us, but if we even remotely disagree he... He can turn very violent. We... had a few arguments... So he'd hit me continuously... Until my screams ceased..." She explained, in a soft, yet scared tone.

A tear suddenly trailed down her cheek, Ashewyn shifted his hand to stop it with his index finger as he looked to her. "He's not going to hurt anymore." Ashewyn said, causing Eclipse smile in response.

There was an abrupt knock at the door, followed by a voice. "Oy, Smokey! I think we need your help our here." Called Solitaire.

"..." Ashewyn went silent, before getting to his feet. "Just rest for now. I'll check in on you in bit." He said heading for the door.

As he opened the door, Solitaire gave him a stern yet concerned gaze.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Your sis. Runfaust is concerned, so he wants you to go help look for her. He's already sent Nye out. Seems dodgy innit?" Solitaire explained.

"... Shit." He stepped passed Solitaire briefly. "Look after Eclipse, and get Fluffy if anything seems off. I gotta go find Molly!" He replied sternly, before hurrying off to join Nye and Pneuma.

"Oy! We might need a bigger search party!" She shouted, but her words failed to reach Ashewyn as he had already made his way to the lower level with haste.

As Ashewyn reached the outside portion of their domain, the muggy air of the nearby swamp lands festered around him. A chilly breeze blew passed him as he made his way to search for Molly.

"MOLLY! ANSWER ME!!" He heard Pneuma's voice calling in the far distance.

"Molliana!" Another voice called, this one much closer, from seemingly the opposite side of the upcoming trench. Judging by the tone it had to be Nye, just as Solitaire mentioned.

Ashewyn proceeded in Nye's direction, moving through the brush of the muddy terrain. He came up to a woodland pass, taking notice of Nye standing on top a tree branch to get a better view of her surroundings.

Her eyes spotted his movement, shifting to peer down to Ashewyn. "Ashe."

"Any sign of Molly?" He inquired, his tone out of breath.

Nye closed her eyes and shook her head. "No."

"..." Ashewyn was clearly worried, but he had a lingering determination. "We'll find her."

"Then let's keep looking." Nye replied, hopping down to the ground beside him.

The two of them resumed their search around the swamp, trying to help Pneuma find Molliana. If Pneuma was struggling to find her then something may have happened, they assumed. However, there didn't seem to be any Templar anywhere to be seen, and the forest was pretty quiet outside of the wildlife and monsters occupying the area, as well as their voices calling out to the missing girl.

"MA-MOMMY!!!" Cried out a staggered shriek from somewhere ahead of them. It sounded like Molliana's voice.

"Molly?!" Ashewyn gasped seriously.

"We should be swift." Nye stated, as they two hurried in the direction of the her voice.

Deeper into the swamp, Molliana was being restrained by a man she could not see. Her eye was blind folded, and her arms bound behind her back. Tears seeped into the shroud, as she cried for help. A hand touched her head as dark eyes focused around them.

"That a girl, keep cryin'. 'Bout time we get these shits movin', eh?" The voice of Pythagoras chuckled softly as his elf-like ears wriggled to listen carefully.

"I...I want my.... my mommy..." Molliana whimpered, snot running down her lips with the tears that managed to escape being sucked into the cloth.

"Shh-shh-shh. She'll be here kiddo. Don't you worry your pretty little head. Mommy's comin', I can smell it." Pythagoras grinned, as he pinched her cheeks into her face with his more human shaped hand. "You can scream all you want, but whimperin' ain't doin' nothin' for ya." He said, pulling roughly on one of her pigtails.

"EEEKKKKK!!!" She yelped, as her sobbing voice cracked in panic.

"Get your hands off her!" Ashewyn's voice demanded, as he and Nye finally emerged from the brush.

"A-A-Ashe?..." Molliana whimpered, her voice trembling with terror, as she continued to sob profusely behind the shroud.

"it's okay Molly, we're here." Ashewyn tried to calm her from afar.

"Well now, you two took your sweet time gettin' here. This little one must be yours, am I right?" Pythagoras grinned, with a soft cackle under his breath.

"Let her go, before we make you." Nye insisted, preparing to summon her wraith-edge.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." Pythagoras waved his finger back and forth, as his claw like hand gently placed around Molliana's neck. "I'm here to talk, so listen or this squirt gets popped."

Nye retreated her hand back before the sword could form, letting her eyes pan to Ashewyn, who kept a serious focus on Pythagoras. "What do you want?" He begrudgingly asked, in a defensive manner.

"What I want? Ahahah!!" He cackled wildly, before shifting to a menacing gaze to them. "Involves someone else, but that ain't why I'm here. Not entirely. Mistress has an offer for you, and it gets me what I want."

"What might that be? You're part of the cult, no doubt." Nye inquired, preparing to take action if it was required of her.

"Depends. Either your allies can join us, or you'll have to play the Queen's game on our turf. Now, don't make any any rash decisions just yet. Before you do, did'ja want this squirt alive or dead? You comply with the offer and she goes free, but betray us... or decline, well-" Pythagoras drags his thumb across his neck, as he mimics the sound of a blade cutting into flesh. "Shhhhhhhhttt... Hahahhaahah, catch my drift?"

"Hnn...hnn....Ma...Mommy..." Molliana was shaking, as she continued to cry in fear.

The sound of flapping was subtlety hanging overhead as a massive bastard sword came crashing down with one great bound. Before it could meet it's target however, the sword was deflected by several strands of green hair tendrils. The hair continued to coil around the sharp edge, as the wielder struggled to keep grip on the hilt of the blade. Pythagoras' eyes loomed over to Pneuma who was determined to strike him down. Ashewyn and Nye were stunned on her entrance.

"Did'ja want the kid to die?" Pythagoras asked, boredly. "...Wasn't I clear on the terms, hag? I know you've been watchin', I ain't stupid."

"Pneuma, he's not fooling around!" Ashewyn tried to reason with her.

"Let her go. NOW!" Pneuma demanded, completely ignoring Ashewyn like an angry mother bear, struggling to save her cub.

Pythagoras scoffed with a faint smirk, as he sent Pneuma flying back into a tree, with her sword getting stuck on far from her in the muddy ground. His tendril-like hair slithered back around him after forcing Pneuma away. The action had taken Ashewyn and Nye's attention from Molliana briefly.

"Ahahaha... Consider this a formal invitation to the underground. I warned ya 'bout this." Pythagoras grinned, as he gripped tightly to one of Molliana's ponytails, forcing her to look at them.

"EEEEK! No... Please.... don't...." Molliana pleased, as she cried out. All three of them immediately turned their attention back to her with the feeling a trepidation rolling in.

"Say 'bye', squirt!!" He cackled as his eyes widened crazily.

Without a second thought, the claw crunched into Molliana's neck like a guillotine. Panic rose in their eyes, watching as the young child's head was clipped from her shoulders. The movements happened so quick as Molliana's head dropped to the ground, rolling from her body as it fell.

"No.... No..... Molly...." Pneuma frantically began to sob. Blood started to coat the ground, but Pneuma's anguish turned to rage as she grabbed her blade, and rushed at Pythagoras like a hellbent demon ready to slaughter. "You're going to regret EVER CROSSING ME!!!!!" Pneuma screamed out, with tears of rage flying from her vengeful eyes.