A rainstorm hit this particular town that the four of them walked into, but they reached the destination they were hoping for.
"…Okay…so…he's gotta be somewhere in town…" Ivory huffed.
"...yeah; he lives here, right?" Trish hummed. "I mean... yeah, I never really kept in touch with anyone but Berta after the year ended, but... this has got to be where he's at."
"...unless he moved." Berta grunted, as she rubbed her neck.
Joy didn't say anything on the matter; she ached from all the travelling they had to do, and she was getting soaked in the rain, despite what Trish and Berta gave her to keep warm and dry. Ivory noticed the sorry and tired state that Joy was in, and she picked her up so that she wouldn't have to walk anymore. "C'mon, let's go ask around town," Ivory said, walking on. "I'm pretty sure people would know each other here."
"...right... seems small enough for it to sound plausible..." Berta grunted.
So they entered town, and they started talking to people. Most people knew Cowpoke, but not where he lived.
Ivory got tired of carrying Joy and set her down, with her to follow her. Ivory then ended up talking to someone else, and Joy looked around the area they were at.
Then her eyes fell on someone.
They were sitting out in front of a large bar in the rain with a large cowboy hat and a trench coat to keep themselves dry, and they had a bottle of something that they drank, with hiccups every now and then.
The person Ivory inquired Cowpoke about pointed at the said man, and Ivory turned around. Blinking, Trish and Berta looked towards that man as well.
"…so you're telling me…that drunk bum…is Cowpoke?" Ivory asked the one she was talking to, and they nodded.
Joy decided to walk on up to this man called Cowpoke. It wasn't until she stopped right by his feet when he looked up at her…and he gave a startled jump with wide eyes. Joy could see this man was a bloodhound, though he looked rugged, and looked like he hadn't seen a shower in a while. Joy just stared back at him while he gawked at her.
"...geez, what the hell happened to him?" Berta uttered, as he looked at him.
"Must've hit some hard times..." Trish observed.
Slowly, Cowpoke got up, a bit woozily since he seemed drunk, but he managed to rise to his knees so he could kneel down to Joy and look at her. Joy didn't move one bit, finding him vaguely familiar.
"…Joy…sweetheart…is that you?" he finally uttered with a hoarse voice.
Though Joy seemed surprised that the man knew her name, she nodded. Both Trish and Berta looked at him warily.
Cowpoke set down his bottle, which was an alcoholic drink, and he touched her shoulders. "…by god…you grew…you went from a little tiny munchkin to a…regular munchkin…"
"…Ivory said that you knew my Mama when I was a baby…" Joy said.
Cowpoke got a sad look, and he nodded. Then he hiccupped, but he covered his mouth so Joy didn't have to smell his bad breath.
Next thing Joy knew, she started to hear Cowpoke break into tears and sob. "Goddamn I miss that woman…I had no idea all of this was gonna happen to her…"
Joy just watched him in astonishment…and started to feel uncomfortable about this.
Just then, Ivory yanked Cowpoke to his feet, and slapped him across the face. "Get ahold of yourself," she snapped at him. "This isn't the Cowpoke I knew back in Safe Haven."
Cowpoke gave Ivory a startled look, but now he was much more coherent and sober after he had been slapped. He blinked a few times at her.
"...man, you must've hit the dumps really bad, Cowpoke." Trish noted, as she and Berta walked over to Cowpoke as well.
Cowpoke looked over at them. "…Trish? …Berta?"
"Been a while, hasn't it?" Berta hummed.
"…uh, yeah," Cowpoke answered. "…what have you guys been up to?"
"…didn't you have a boy to look after Cowpoke? Where is he?" Ivory grunted.
"…he's uh…with my buddies at the moment…" Cowpoke muttered.
Ivory glared at him. "…and how often to you get your ass wasted like this?"
Cowpoke was the one to glare at her. "Now wait a minute; are you accusing me of abandoning my son?"
Ivory then smirked. "There we go. That's the Cowpoke I know."
Cowpoke yanked himself away from her, and then looked down at Joy. "…what about her?" he asked. "What's going on Ivory? Why isn't she with her mother?"
Joy looked away uncomfortably, and Ivory sighed. "…it's complicated Cowpoke. It's really best that we try and explain it to you when we get to your house."
"…my house, right," Cowpoke answered, wobbling a little bit.
"...here, let me." Trish hummed, as she took Cowpoke's arm and hung it around her shoulder. "And after we explain what's going on, you should rest up."
"…right…" And Cowpoke walked with them, leading them through town.
Eventually, they got to a big house toward the edge of town, and he stumbled his way up there, opening the door. "…guys…we got visitors…" he called in.
Another bloodhound, who was much, much younger that Cowpoke but looked alike to him, ran around the corner in excitement. "Dad! You're home!" he exclaimed.
Then he stopped when he saw who else was in the door with him. "…Oh! Ivory, Trish, Berta! I haven't seen you guys in a long time!"
"Hi Mud-Pie," Ivory hummed. "You've certainly grown since I last saw you."
"You sure have." Trish hummed with a chuckle. "How's Smokey, Rott and Merde doing?"
"They're doing really good," Mud-Pie answered. "But I'm just glad my dad came home!"
Ivory looked over at Cowpoke suspiciously and he looked away.
Mud-Pie then looked over and noticed Joy. He stared at her. "…hey…I remember you…"
Joy looked back at him. "...hm?" Berta glanced from Mud-Pie to Joy with a raised eyebrow.
"…you're that baby, aren't you?" Mud-Pie asked.
Joy nodded. "Yeah."
"…wow, you're not a baby anymore," Mud-Pie said in surprise. "…and you look really hurt. Did something happen?"
"Listen, Mud-Pie, can you go tell the guys we got people that are gonna stay over here?" Cowpoke asked.
"Sure Dad!" and he ran out of the room.
Joy looked uncomfortable being here right now, and Ivory noticed it. "Don't worry too much about it Joy; we'll get things figured out, okay?"
Joy nodded in response, walking into the house with the others.
Cowpoke made a sad frown. "…damn it, I can't look at a face like that."
"Oh, grow a pair, will you?" Ivory groaned.
Cowpoke glared at her then. Trish and Berta just glanced at them with a silent hum.
"…So what's going on?" Cowpoke asked.
"We're gonna gather your buddies and your son up after Joy's gone to sleep before we explain anything," Ivory replied. "And from what I remember, Sage actually showed you Condit's past, so it'll be a lost easier to explain it to you."
"…right…" Cowpoke muttered, pulling away from Trish to walk into the house.
They all walked into the living room where a doberman, a pit bull, and a giant pug were sitting.
"...welcome back." the pitbull hummed as he looked at Cowpoke.
"And you've got some guests, too." the doberman hummed as he looked at the three women. "Ivory, Trish and Berta... haven't seen you in years."
"Likewise, Rott." Trish hummed with a nod to him, before she looked at the pug and the pitbull. "Nice to see you again, Smokey, Merde."
The pug, Smokey, nodded with a grunt. Then when Joy walked into the room, he looked down. "…it's the Condit's girl…"
"...what's she doing here?" the pitbull, Merde hummed curiously.
"Long story." Berta grunted.
"…Mud-Pie, do you think you could find a place for Joy to sleep?" Cowpoke asked, sitting down with a sigh.
"Sure dad," Mud-Pie said. "…c'mon Joy; you can sleep in one of our guest beds."
"…okay," Joy said, and Mud-Pie led her off out of the living room.
When they had left, Trish and Berta found some vacant seats to sit down on. "...so... where to start..." Trish hummed, as she glanced up at the ceiling.
"…okay…so Cowpoke knows the story behind Condit…but I don't know if the rest of you know," Ivory said.
"Don't worry…he told us…" Smokey replied.
"…yeah…a little after we saw the news about Metal Sonic's capture by GUN, I eventually had to tell 'em…" Cowpoke muttered.
Berta grunted, as she folded her arms. "...well, I don't know about it."
"Why not?" Merde inquired.
"Well, we were never as close to Condit as you were, Cowpoke." Trish hummed.
"…right…" Cowpoke muttered. "…well, to put it simply, Jill was involved with Miles 'Tails' Prower, Shadow the Hedgehog, Captain Charmy the Bee…and even Metal Sonic himself…"
Berta gawked at that. "...you're kidding." she uttered.
"…nope, I'm not kidding," Cowpoke replied. "The reason she got involved with them was because of a monster called Deity Novagod. He's a vampire that created a power called Corruption; a dark power that rip people apart from the inside and bring out the worst in them, as well as bring back the dead, create illusions, all that… When Jill got away from him, she was…a mess. Miles 'Tails' Prower took her in to nurse her back to health, and ever since, she had been with them… until Metal Sonic appeared to the public, that is."
"And the government was wrong about Shadow stopping Metal Sonic," Cowpoke added. "…Shadow had died in the battle with him. It was Jill who stopped him in his tracks back then."
Trish gawked. "...really?" she uttered.
Cowpoke nodded. "…she and her friends battled with Metal Sonic…and then a certain little troublemaker called Callous came into play and that's when things started going awry. You see, Callous is a chunk of Jill's soul that Deity ripped out to create out of Corruption; an alter-ego of her. She worked for Metal Sonic a bit, but then he knew that she was too much to handle, even for him."
"…then Deity Novagod came back…and Metal knew that he had to get rid of these new enemies," Cowpoke added. "…so he made a truce with Jill; the only one that could fight them."
"...huh..." Berta uttered.
"...wait, hold on... Callous?" Trish uttered. "I... think I remember that name. Didn't you say that name when Jill saved you from Hex five years ago?"
"…yeah, about that…" Cowpoke muttered. "…Metal Sonic was training Jill for a battle with her on a wager that if she lost, she'd have to give the chunk of her soul back, and vice versa. Callous decided to use a voodoo doll on Metal Sonic to nearly destroy him, as leverage to make Jill forfeit the battle. What you don't know is that Jill and Metal have bonded during the training…and through that, Jill actually started to change Metal Sonic, as well as grow fond of him."
"…so when Callous tried to make her quit, Jill stabbed herself to sacrifice herself for Metal, which also killed off Callous because of the soul they shared."
"...so, wait... both of them died?" Berta uttered.
"Yeah…" Cowpoke answered. "…but yet, she's alive, because you both know we saw her at Safe Haven those few years ago."
"…that's because Metal Sonic actually brought her back to life, and in doing that, Callous joined back with Jill," he continued, answering whatever questions the would've had on that. "The side effect was, though, that Callous' consciousness still resides in her…so that explains why she acts different when her eyes turn red. That's Callous taking over her."
"...oh..." Trish hummed, as she nodded a bit.
"…they took the battle to Deity then, and some guy from King's and the group's past. The guy's name was Johnny, and though he was killed in King's time, he was brought back to life by GUN, and then Corrupted by Callous. Anyhow, her death didn't bode well with this Johnny guy, so while it seemed like he killed Deity, Deity was only feeding on his hate and his energy to grow powerful enough for one final battle…one that Jill and Metal Sonic beat him at…"
"…but Deity pulled a dick move and stole her voice before he died."
"...so... that's why she's a mute..." Trish murmured.
"…Deity didn't stop there; his soul continued to rage against them, even after he had died," Cowpoke said. "…there's a thing you can do with Corruption, and I guess Unity… is that they can absorb souls. At first, Jill tried to absorb Deity's soul. Metal Sonic didn't want that…not after she sacrificed herself for his sake. So he pushed her out of the way and he absorbed Deity's soul, sealing the vampire away inside of him instead."
"...so... Metal Sonic actually decided to do something heroic to save Condit?" Berta uttered in disbelief. "...sheesh... must've been one hell of a bond they grew during training..."
"Yeah…and he held himself away from the public. That's why no one ever heard from him again," Cowpoke said. "…all that, along with losing Joy's father to some damn robbers…it messed up Jill really bad…"
Cowpoke grew solemnly sad and looked at the ground. "…that's why she came to Safe Haven…to recover from all that history and trauma."
"...well..." Berta uttered, as she rubbed her neck. "...shit... now I feel bad for bullying her back then..."
"Now's the time I get to explaining what happened," Ivory began. "Cowpoke, a few years after our year at Safe Haven, Metal Sonic showed up at Safe Haven."
Cowpoke shot a shocked look at her. In fact, just about everyone looked at Ivory in shock at that.
"Because she ran away from what happened to her lover and Joy's father, none of her old friends knew where she was," Ivory said. "So Metal Sonic got curious and came to Safe Haven, to find her and a 3 year old Joy. He felt guilty about what happened to Joy's father, and even though he still had that vampire sealed inside of him, he stuck around for their sake. King and his group had all been part of Jill's history too, so they were fine with it. Metal got to meet jerks like Raider and Hex and Spiel and whatnot…"
"…really?" Rott uttered. "What was that like?"
"Well, Joy was explaining all this to me, so I really don't think she knew what happened there," Ivory said. "…her mother disappeared for a few days, and though Metal told her that it was just a mission she was going on, Joy could tell that he was…really worried."
"...really...?" Merde hummed.
"...huh..." Trish rubbed her head upon hearing that.
Ivory sighed then, and looked at Cowpoke. "…Cowpoke, I don't know how to break it to you on this one…"
"…what?" He asked.
"…Well, Condit came back from her disappearance, and she and Metal…" she rubbed her neck. "…how am I gonna put this…?"
Berta narrowed her eyes as she quickly began fitting the pieces together. ...you can't be serious, Ivory...
Cowpoke's eyes widened, suddenly putting the pieces together too; "…wait a minute…"
Ivory sighed and looked at Cowpoke. "…yeah…they…got together…y'know…"
"...what." Trish uttered with wide eyes and a flat tone. "...how... the hell... does that work?" she added.
"…what do you mean?" Ivory asked.
"...what do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Trish sputtered. "Ivory, Metal Sonic is a robot. You tell me how that works on any kind of level!"
"…oh!" Ivory blurted. "Guys, haven't you seen the news? He isn't a robot anymore!"
Both Trish and Berta gawked at that. "...what."
"...yeah, it was hard to believe when we first saw it, too." Rott noted.
"…Metal Sonic has the ability to copy powers…naturally, he copied Corruption, Unity, and another power called Purity," Cowpoke uttered, though he was still trying to handle the news he had been given earlier. "…when…Jill died…those powers reacted to his grief…and it transformed him. Those powers react to the emotions of the user, and Metal's grief and guilt for her death was strong enough that it turned all of him to living, breathing flesh."
"…though from what we saw on the news, he has a mechanical leg and a mechanical eye," Ivory added.
"...so, what exactly made him into a half-Mobian, half-robot again?" Berta inquired; "If he was supposed to have become fully Mobian, then what happened there?"
"…that I'm not sure about," Ivory muttered. "…I'm guessing that Deity was more damaging on him than most people would think…"
"...hm..." Trish hummed, as she rubbed her head a bit in wonder.
"…I remember how that happened…" Cowpoke suddenly uttered. "…Ivory, you were right about Deity being damaging…when he absorbed Deity's soul into him, it opened up a lot of wounds on him…and even reverted some of him back to his mechanical state…though I guess it seems like only his leg and his eye remained mechanical…"
"...really, now?" Berta hummed.
"…yeah…" Cowpoke muttered, looking away.
Ivory frowned. She wondered if Cowpoke had still been waiting for Jill all these years, so that's why she wasn't sure about the news. "…but anyway…because of that, Deity was able to somehow go from Metal's body into Condit's body without any of them knowing…and Condit's powers started reacting to it."
"...negatively, I'm guessing." Trish hummed.
"Yeah," Ivory said. "Strange things were going on at Safe Haven, so King decided to have a tournament to help the soldiers relax a bit, though it didn't sound like the tournament itself was relaxing. Metal went up against Spiel and got brutalized…and just when Condit went up against Spiel, her powers came out. Believe it or not, she was a match for him."
Cowpoke didn't seem surprised with what he saw in Jill's past, but the others…
"...she could match Spiel?" Berta uttered in disbelief.
"…Yeah, I honestly wish I could've seen it myself…" Ivory hummed. "…but before we could see who'd win that battle, that's when the real hell started…"
Everyone fell silent; waiting for Ivory to continue.
"A fire broke out in the jungle, and that interrupted the tournament. Meanwhile…Diablo was a crazy fucker back then because of what this creature called Meta did to him; so was Kiri, and the two of them kidnapped Joy during that craziness. See, they wanted to draw out Callous from Jill, and when Metal, banged up as he was, tried to save Joy, they captured him too."
Cowpoke grew angry, clenching his fists.
"…but when they lured Jill to them, it isn't Callous they drew out," Ivory spoke. "It was Deity Novagod."
"...damn..." Trish uttered.
"Callous forced Deity into Diablo, and from there, Kiri, Raider and Hex got Corrupted," Ivory said. "And this huge outbreak of Corruption happened all over the island. Condit used her powers to create a barrier around the island to make sure none of it got to the outside world."
"...sheesh... heavy..." Berta hummed.
"…now, here's another surprising part, guys," Ivory hummed. "Condit and Metal Sonic have all these powers…but then there's Joy. She's Condit's daughter…so what do you think that means?"
Cowpoke looked back at Ivory. "…you mean…she has her mother's power…?"
"…that little girl…she was a really strong little girl back then," Ivory said. "…when Will's group got Corrupted, she was able to bring them back…"
Cowpoke's eyes widened at that.
"...seriously?" Merde and Rott could only gape when Ivory brought that factoid up.
"Yeah; in fact, each of the Corrupted they faced,; Hex, Raider and Kiri… all of them got brought back from those dark powers by Joy," Ivory said.
Then she looked away. "…even…me…"
"…Ivory? You got Corrupted?" Cowpoke stood up at this point.
Ivory growled. "…it's from the recent events that have been happening, but I'll get there when I get there…" She looked back at him. "Sit down, Cowpoke, and let me explain the rest of the story."
Cowpoke sat back down, but he watched Ivory while she continued. "The last one was Diablo… but at the same time, Spiel was planning to overthrow King and take over Safe Haven to make into his own domain of soldiers. Though his plan wasn't the best timed, because Diablo got to Spiel, and Deity decided that Spiel would be more of a worthy host…so he jumped bodies and tried to take over him."
"...shit... if he could take over someone like Spiel..." Berta grunted.
"…he didn't take over Spiel though…" Ivory said. "…Spiel repressed Deity and gained his powers…and he was then the most unstoppable soldier on that island."
"…no way…" Cowpoke uttered.
"...so, hold on..." Trish uttered. "...this unstoppable being who created Corruption and caused all this bullshit in Condit's life... you're telling me that Spiel was stronger than him?"
"Spiel's will was strong enough to repress Deity's control, with the benefits of his power," Ivory said.
"...holy shit..." Trish uttered. "...I mean... I knew that Spiel was strong, but this sounds absolutely ridiculous."
"Yeah…" Ivory said. "…well, Krieg got in the way of one of his attacks for Condit's sake, which is what killed him. Spiel got angry on a rampage, and did something that everyone else thought he did."
"…they all thought that he killed Joy."
Utter silence was their response to her.
"…technically, she didn't…I don't know how this works, but her soul was yanked out before she was hit," Ivory muttered. "…you see…the soul of her dead father was there, with her."
"...really?" Trish uttered.
Ivory nodded. "He told her that they needed to fight Deity inside to stop Spiel…and that's just what they did. Little Joy faced big bad Deity…and she beat him."
Cowpoke stood up again. "…you've got to be joking…"
Ivory shook her head. "I'm not joking…that's how powerful Joy was, and is."
"...holy shit..." Trish uttered again, as she rubbed her head.
"...so... what exactly happened to Spiel, then?" Berta eventually inquired.
"…Deity possessing him apparently sped up an illness that he happened to have…" Ivory said. "…and when Joy's soul returned to her body…Spiel died."
"...damn..." Berta uttered. "...he was that strong, all while being sick to boot? He never seemed sick to me..."
"None of us really knew about it…" Ivory muttered, "…but in the end, Joy used the legendary Seven Chaos Emeralds that Metal brought and she purified the entire island from Corruption. From there, Raider didn't remember being a bad guy, Hex left the island to think twice about the life she's lived, and Kiri ended up going with some of Condit's friends to Mystic ruins."
"…Diablo, though…he ended up in confinement because he was an absolute nightmare after Deity had possessed him."
"...hm..." Merde folded his arms upon hearing that.
"…to be possessed by a monster like that…I wouldn't be surprised," Cowpoke muttered.
"…okay…now we're gonna go into the details of what's been happening recently…and I'm gonna tell ya that it isn't pretty," Ivory muttered.
"...considering the story so far, I'm not surprised." Berta grunted.
Ivory sighed.
"…inside Joy…there's a dark entity…"
Trish blinked at that. "...you mean... like her own version of Callous?" she assumed.
"…yeah…" Ivory said. "…in fact, from what Joy told me, this entity told her that Callous and that guy Johnny are its parents…"
"…how does that work?" Cowpoke uttered.
"I don't know!" Ivory yelled back. "Joy told me everything that happened on Safe Haven but when it came to what's going on now, she didn't want to share very much!"
That sat Cowpoke back down in his chair.
"All I know is, because this entity is just as powerful as her, and able to use Corruption, she ran away from her friends and family afraid that it was going to hurt them, so Joy has been travelling all over the place just to figure out how to fight this thing," Ivory finished.
"...geez... and she's still had no luck, then?" Rott murmured. "Poor girl..."
"…I did my best to help her out, before that…bastard…showed up and corrupted me…" Ivory uttered with a shiver.
"…who?" Cowpoke asked.
"…he calls himself…Bulk…" Ivory muttered, holding her head, trying to remember. "…because of that outbreak of Corruption at that base…more and more are getting corrupted…Deity Novagod apparently had a niece; Patricia Novagod…and a few others…they're trying to build an army full of corrupted."
"...right..." Berta grunted. "...Ivory and this poodle showed up when Joy stumbled upon me and Trish. Joy managed to overpower and purify her before things could get out of hand..."
"…yeah…" Ivory muttered. "…King's entire group is trying to look for her…Metal's looking for her…but Condit? If I remember correctly, she's still at Safe Haven because it's shut down and supervised by the GUN military."
"...right... with the blockade, and everything..." Trish nodded.
"…So…Cowpoke…" Ivory looked at him. "…I came to you, because out of all of us, you really know Condit and her history the most…we need to know what to do here, because I can't help Joy any more than I already have…"
Cowpoke grew thoughtful, looking away from them. Trish and Berta looked back at him as well.
"…I'll have to think about it," Cowpoke said.
"…right…I can understand that…" Ivory hummed.
"…meanwhile…you guys make yourselves at home; you've had a lot going on…" Cowpoke muttered.
"...thanks." Trish hummed. "We appreciate it."
"…and what about you; gonna be able to process all this?" Ivory wondered, folding her arms.
"…just give me a bit…" Cowpoke muttered, walking out of the room.
The other three dogs watched him leave.
Smokey shook his head. "…Since we saw the news report, Cowpoke gets drunk…a lot…"
"...not a pretty sight at all." Merde commented.
"...yeah, I'll bet..." Berta grunted.
"…that doesn't seem like the best for his son…" Ivory muttered.
"...no..." Rott sighed. "...well... it's not like he neglects him because of the news; far from it."
"Then what the hell does he do all day?" Ivory sighed. "I only saw him this down after that incident he had with Hex back at Safe Haven…"
Both Rott and Merde fell silent, as they glanced at Smokey to elaborate. Trish and Berta glanced at the pug with raised eyebrows.
"…during the night…he gets drunk…" Smokey muttered. "…during the day, he sulks…unless he spends time with Mud-Pie…but after that, he has him stay here while he wanders around…that's not like him…"
"...geez... hard times for 'im, huh?" Berta assumed. "Wonder if he'll pull himself out of that habit..."
"…he'd better," Ivory muttered. "…but with all that being said and done…I'm gonna rest so that I can keep watch over the night."
Smokey looked at her strangely. "…why?"
"…because…while her friends and family are looking for her, she's also being chased by those corrupted maniacs…" Ivory muttered, sitting down on the couch and laying down on it. "…we need someone to make sure no one tries to sneak out with her…"
"...right. We should all be wary of our surroundings from here on out..." Trish nodded.
The walk away from the ruined Riverton had been a thankfully uneventful one, which, considering their current situation, suited Jack perfectly. No one to hound them, no one to ask any complicated question, no Corrupted soldiers trying to ambush them while Arsenic was still injured...
...still, wandering through the night, with quite a few hours spent just walking away from the town, was starting to take its toll on Jack; especially as he had to carry Arsenic all the way through the empty plains, and were now wandering through a forest.
As they came to a clearing by a flowing river, Jack eventually just had to sit down and take a breather; gently placing the unconscious Arsenic by his side, before he lay down on the grass to look up at the starry sky.
…then suddenly, he heard a faint pained grunt.
Jack perked upon hearing that, as he quickly sat up and looked down at Arsenic with wide eyes. "...Arsenic?"
Arsenic was holding her chest, and for the most part, it looked like she was just starting to wake up. Jack looked down at her with a growing smile; thankful that she was awakening.
Arsenic eventually blinked her eyes open. "...Jack...? Are you there...?"
Jack nodded, and set a hand on her. "I'm here, Arsenic... I'm right here." he said.
When Arsenic saw him, she sat back against the tree and relaxed a bit. "...where are we?"
"...south of where we started." Jack explained, as he looked around him. "It was getting late, so... I decided that we should take a break for the night..."
"...right..." Arsenic muttered. She cringed a little because she was still in a lot of pain, but despite that, she reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt and pulled out a rag. It looked like it had been in use a lot.
"...could you...soak this in that river water?" Arsenic asked; "so I can clean my blood off of me?"
Jack nodded a few times, as he gently took the rag from her, before he soaked it in the water. "...you've used this a lot, huh?" he assumed, as he glanced back at Arsenic.
"Yeah," she muttered.
Nodding, Jack wrung out the excess water from the rag, before he handed it back to her. "...here you go..."
"Thanks..." Arsenic said, taking the rag. Starting with her mouth, she proceeded to wipe off the dried blood on her body. She winced every now and then in her pain, but she didn't complain.
Looking at her as she cleaned the blood off her, Jack tilted his head. "...did you... ever get this hurt when you were alone?" he inquired.
"Not this badly...but...yeah," Arsenic answered.
"...I see..." Jack hummed, as he looked at Arsenic a bit sadly. "...it... must be hard..." he assumed.
Arsenic looked down at the ground away from him. "…once again…back then…it really didn't matter what happened to me…"
Jack remained silent, as he tilted his head a touch.
"…I must've looked like an idiot…" Arsenic mumbled.
"...no, you didn't." Jack uttered in a confused tone; wondering why she referred to herself as an idiot.
Arsenic didn't say anything else, but Jack could see that she was still depressed over what happened. Feeling bad for her, Jack scooted a bit closer to her, and set a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"…what do you think he did to them…Jack…?" Arsenic mumbled. "…are they zombies now…? Did he kill them…?"
Jack glanced away from her. "...the entire town was empty..." he murmured. "...I think... he took them back to their place... to Corrupt them..."
"…so…I don't have to assume they're totally gone…" Arsenic muttered. "…but…I can't really hope for the best right now either…"
"...probably not..." Jack murmured, as he sighed. "...worst case... they send them after us..."
"…they wouldn't waste a resource like them on us…they'd send him again…or that cat…or whatever stronger force they've gone…" Arsenic muttered. "…they need all the cannon fodder they can get…"
"...but... for what?" Jack sighed, as he rubbed his neck.
Arsenic sighed. "…they need useless numbers to take the damage so that the higher ups can still carry on without a care….that's what I mean by cannon fodder."
"...I know that, but... why are they building up so much cannon fodder?" Jack explained. "What are they building up for? To attack something? In that case, what are they gonna attack?"
"…they're probably gonna attack a force that is still capable of stopping them," Arsenic said. "…I don't think the GUN military is what they're aiming for, either…they haven't made huge attacks on everything yet, so something is holding them back…"
Jack sighed. "...and the really sad thing is that... we can't really do too much about their forces..."
"…nope…" Arsenic muttered. "…the only ones that can really do anything about that is the girl you're looking for, her mother…and Metal Sonic…"
Jack nodded a bit solemnly at that. Arsenic sighed after that, and just remained silent again.
"...Arsenic." Jack eventually uttered, whilst still looking away from her.
"…yeah?" Arsenic responded, though she didn't look at him either.
"...what you said... back in town..." Jack began a bit awkwardly, as he rubbed his neck. He seemed unsure on how to proceed, as if he feared that what he said could be taken the wrong way.
Arsenic looked back at him. "…what about it…?"
"...well..." Finally, Jack closed his eyes and tensed a bit; fearing the possible retaliation. "...did you... mean it?"
Arsenic looked at the ground when he said that.
"…yeah, I meant it," she finally answered, closing her eyes.
Jack looked back at her. "...really...?" he uttered.
Arsenic nodded. "…I thought I was gonna die right there…and…guess it was all that emotion finally crashing down on me from stuff I tried to hold back… so deep down, I meant what I said…"
"…but I felt like I had chosen to say it in the lousiest and pathetic of ways…" she muttered.
"...Arsenic..." Jack uttered, as he looked at her sadly. "...you don't have to beat yourself up so much..."
Arsenic just looked up at him in depression, not saying anything. Jack gently set his other hand on her other shoulder, as he looked into her eyes. "...you don't have to feel bad because you got emotional... no one's going to judge you because of it."
Arsenic looked back at him.
"...so please... don't beat yourself up over it..." Jack uttered, but the more he looked directly at Arsenic, the more he found that he couldn't look away from her.
Arsenic also couldn't pull her eyes away, nodding. "…okay…I'll try not to…" and she closed her eyes then. "…but I can't promise anything…"
"...as long as you try... that's good enough..." Jack hummed, as he still looked at her...
...and he began feeling a thumping in his chest; causing him to blush ever so lightly. Arsenic slowly opened her eyes back up, looking at him and noticing his blush. She could only guess what he was feeling right now while he stared at her…
…and quite honestly…she actually did feel her own heart quicken a bit and an unfamiliar warmth started up inside of her. It felt…soothing for her…
As his body warmed up in turn, Jack's blush grew a bit brighter, unbeknownst to him as he just gazed back at Arsenic. It was unfamiliar, and he didn't really know what to do in this kind of situation... but the feeling itself actually felt pleasant to him. While Arsenic had never really experienced this for herself, she knew where it could go…but she wanted to wait to see what Jack would do.
Vague memories came back to Jack, to when he had stumbled upon Ani and Striker while he was Corrupted. The two of them seemed to know what they were doing... but he wasn't entirely sure if he could handle doing something like that, even if the phobia was gone.
Still... there was this small, inner voice in the back of his head that urged him not to back off.
Gulping silently, Jack inched a bit closer to Arsenic; blushing brighter the closer he got. Arsenic watched him, remaining still like she had done so many times before…but even she had to admit at this point, her heart was beating faster.
Jack's breath and heart rate grew faster as it slowly dawned on him what he was about to do, but that didn't stop him from advancing. "...Arsenic..."
"…Jack…" she muttered back. Watching him, Arsenic didn't think Jack was so childish anymore… she realized him as someone else who really cared about her when countless didn't. It started to amaze her more and more the closer he got, wondering if he still had the guts to do this. His heart beating even faster than before, Jack closed his eyes as he subconsciously decided one thing... he would at least try.
With that, he finally managed to gently press his lips against Arsenic's. When Arsenic felt his lips, that's when she really was shocked, but she didn't move so she wouldn't spook him. The rush of emotions and feelings welling up in him was a lot for Jack to take, all through this seemingly simple action; making his heart beat even faster and his blush grow brighter... but he remained gentle; allowing these feelings to simply flow without doing anything to startle Arsenic. Arsenic felt weaker and weaker, realizing just how much she could feel in this; feelings she thought she could never feel.
Throughout this, Jack felt the need to just... hold her closely. Slowly, he moved his hands so that they wrapped around her, as he held her ever so gently and closely; the things he felt building up rapidly. Feeling him hold her, Arsenic warmed up a bit more. She wasn't really able to move because she was still so weak, but she actually felt strangely…comfortable. Jack felt a certain comfort in holding her as well, as he gently stroked her back with one of his hands. Arsenic let out a sigh of content…slowly starting to enjoy this. Jack seemed to be enjoying it as well; made more apparent as, on his end at least, the meeting of lips grew more heartfelt, whilst still remaining so very gentle.
Arsenic weakly put her hands on his chest while he continued. Just the feeling of her fingers against his chest sent chills down Jack's spine; especially as she could feel how quickly his heart was beating. Arsenic, while she shouldn't be surprised, was amazed to feel his heart. Out of curiosity, he moved one of his hands gently towards her chest; wanting to feel her heart as well. Hers was beating fairly quickly but it was faint compared to his that just pounded out of his chest.
He found that it was a strange contrast, but he knew that she was weakened, so that would explain the difference. Eventually, he moved his lips away from hers, so he could look at her with a slightly dazed look; the emotions he felt running higher than ever before. Arsenic looked at him with the same kind of look, feeling feverishly warm.
"...Arsenic..." Jack breathed; setting a hand ever so gently on her cheek. "...that felt... incredible..."
"…yeah…it did…" Arsenic agreed, breathing a little as well.
As he looked at her, he felt his heart racing further, and he grew warmer once again. "...um... c-can I... do it again...?" he asked in a slightly flustered tone.
Arsenic closed her eyes. "…yeah…you can…"
"...okay... thanks..." Nodding, Jack slowly moved in to set his lips against hers now; closing his eyes as he relished the wonderful feeling. Arsenic started to relax and really get into it, pretty much growing unaware of anything else but them. Jack, too, seemed to forget their surroundings completely, as he gently held Arsenic even closer.
Arsenic started to feel something build up she never imagined would…
…all the loneliness she had felt in her life.
She either had denied it all this time, or just never really realized how miserably lonely she had been, and now that she was here with Jack like this…she became more aware of it. It sent a surge of many different emotions in her so suddenly, like what happened hours ago. She felt an overwhelming emotional pain that she tried to keep a grip on, and a growing need for Jack's company. She clutched to him, just a little bit. Feeling her clutch to him nonetheless, Jack felt himself holding her closer; almost as if he felt even a tiny bit of what Arsenic felt right now.
Arsenic felt her heart ache, and soon, she didn't seem very relaxed anymore. She shuddered, and she felt her chest hurt again like it usually did. She held to her chest in agony. Feeling that, Jack opened his eyes and broke away again; looking at Arsenic in worry. "...Arsenic..." he whispered.
Arsenic pressed her face into Jack's chest so he wouldn't see the hurt look on her face again. Jack looked down at her. "...what's the matter...?" he uttered, as he still held her close.
"…I've never…felt so much jumbled emotions before…" she muffled in his chest. "…but I…I guess I was…really lonely after all…"
"...Arsenic..." Jack uttered, as he tilted his head ever so slightly.
Arsenic looked back up at Jack with that hurt look. "...you don't... have to feel lonely anymore..." Jack said, as he gently stroked her cheek with a finger. "...you're not alone anymore..."
Arsenic closed her eyes to feel the strokes on her cheek, actually calming down a bit and not feeling so much pain… Closing his eyes as well, Jack just stroked her cheek as if to comfort her now that she needed it. Arsenic pressed her forehead against his, just getting lost in the moment. In turn, Jack gently set his other hand on her other cheek; wanting to just be close to her.
"…I…never thought I'd have a moment like this…with anyone…" Arsenic whispered.
"...same here..." Jack whispered back to her.
"…you've…really grown up a bit…Jack…" Arsenic whispered.
"...you... really think so...?" Jack whispered back.
"…yeah…" Arsenic answered.
Jack breathed a bit at hearing that, as he inched a bit closer to Arsenic. "...thank you..."
Arsenic actually inched a bit closer as well, growing feverishly warm again. As his body grew warm once more, Jack set his lips against hers once more. Arsenic breathed at his kiss, touching his warm chest. Making sure to be gentle as he kissed her, Jack kept gently stroking her cheeks; shivering at her touching his chest. Arsenic even forgot about how much pain her body was in while they kissed.
As he kissed her, Jack's thoughts wandered. He found that, given that he had lived at least seven years in utter fear of this concept thanks to Milo, and even how he had pretty much been raised to be as innocent as a child... he was taking this fairly well. He didn't really know why that was, either; by all means, this should be foreign to him, and a small part of him wondered why he wasn't crept out by the implications this had...
...but while he was together with Arsenic like this, thoughts like that didn't really seem to matter.
Arsenic's own take on her experience didn't really take away from the moment. She found it curious, though, that after all this time of being tough, and alone, and indifferent to everything around her…she had eventually given in to the emotions she felt deep down inside of her that she ignored for so long. She was also with someone who had been totally sheltered from the outside world of reality, and had been traumatized… not the first person she'd imagine being here, holding her, kissing her…
She was right… Jack had grown a bit more mature… and it was just astonishing how he seemed to handle this so well… Arsenic couldn't help but be impressed on a personal level.
She was getting more lost into his touch and his lips, entranced by them, so she didn't do very much thinking after that. Jack, too, seemed to just forget thinking about it as he held and kissed her so gently, as he grew lost in just how overwhelmingly good it felt. Arsenic actually reached up and touched his cheeks while she kissed him back. Jack found her touch pleasant, as he kept stroking her cheeks so gently amidst their kiss. Arsenic started to stroke Jack's mane softly. He couldn't help but sigh pleasantly at her touch, as he held her closer. Arsenic kissed him dearly in the meantime.
The more he kissed her, though, the more Jack began thinking back to what the shade had taunted him with; how he'd enjoy touching her... and he found, just from stroking her cheeks, that he did enjoy it...
...but the shade was thinking from a skewed viewpoint. If both he and Arsenic felt the same way for each other, they didn't have to do just that...
...but... now that he thought about it, the thought was stuck in the back of his mind...
It didn't keep him from kissing her dearly in return, though. Arsenic managed to wrap her arms around him and touch his back. A tingling feeling shot down Jack's spine as he felt her fingers touch his back, as he held her closer still. Just the thought of her touching his bare back... it sent more of those thoughts through his head... Arsenic's hands stroked Jack's back, and even stroked the back of his shoulders a little bit. Just the feelings that came to him from her touch was pleasant enough, but Jack's thoughts had wandered to the extent that he wanted to touch her bare back as well...
...but he wasn't entirely sure if that would be right of him; especially with her being this wounded. Speaking of which, Arsenic's arms got weak enough that she couldn't hold him anymore, so she pressed them against his chest again. He still enjoyed the feeling of her fingers touching him, as he kissed her slightly deeper. Arsenic breathed when he kissed a little deeper, feeling weaker and weaker again. Slowly, Jack wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her tenderly; making sure to hold her close. Arsenic appreciated and enjoyed it, breathing even more with her heart quickening again.
Jack slowly stroked her back as best he could with her clothes in the way, as his own heart was beating rapidly once more. Arsenic sighed and breathed at that, growing even warmer. Growing warmer with her, Jack began stroking the back of her shoulders as well. Arsenic couldn't at all explain what she was feeling right now, but she was starting to enjoy it more and more. Jack moved a hand to hold the back of her head, and kissed her just a bit deeper still. Arsenic breathed a little more, feeling his chest a little. Jack breathed a bit too from her touch, as he began gently stroking the back of her head. When he stroked the back of her head, he accidentally pushed off her hat from her head to the ground, but Arsenic didn't even acknowledge it while she slowly stroked his chest. Jack shivered more at her touch; feeling content with holding and touching her this way...
...and yet, even if it were just a small part, the thoughts of what the shade had said were still nagging him... Arsenic had no idea what he was going through, and she, herself, was too lost in the moment to really notice, so her strokes went from his chest to his neck. Breathing as he felt her touch him more, Jack slowly began moving the hand stroking her back a bit downwards. Arsenic noticed this and breathed a little more. Though a bit hesitant, Jack eventually slid his hand within her clothes, just to feel and stroke her bare back. Arsenic breathed a little more in a little surprise, though she paid attention to what Jack was going to do. While his thoughts didn't go towards actually undressing her, Jack kept gently stroking his fingers across her back; just enjoying the feeling of her body. Arsenic enjoyed it too, and while Jack felt her back, he could feel that Arsenic actually had a fairly curved body that had been hidden underneath the clothes she wore.
It surprised him ever so slightly, as he kept stroking her and kissing her like this. He grew curious to actually see her body, but those thoughts were pushed back; above all else, he didn't want to do something that Arsenic wouldn't like. Eventually, Arsenic started to wince, and though she enjoyed Jack feeling her back, she was starting to feel the pain all over her body again. Noticing that, Jack slowly pulled away from the kiss to look at her in concern. "...are you okay...?" he asked; worried that he might be hurting her.
"…yeah…I'm okay…" Arsenic replied. "…I just…still hurt is all…"
Nodding slowly, Jack set his hand on her cheek again. "...do you... think we should continue...?" he inquired out of concern. "...if you think we should stop, then..."
"…I don't know is the thing…" Arsenic answered.
"...I see..." Jack nodded.
Arsenic closed her eyes again. "…why did you…stick your hand there?"
Jack blinked, as he glanced to the side. "...I... think that... I wanted to feel your back... like you felt mine..." he answered.
"…I see," Arsenic hummed.
"...um..." Jack closed his own eyes. "...should I... not have done that...?"
"…no, it's fine," Arsenic said, opening her eyes and looking at Jack. "…I just didn't expect you to do that."
He looked back at her. "...so... it's not a bad thing that I did that?"
"…no, it's not," Arsenic said with a nod.
Jack couldn't help but smile just a bit upon hearing that. Arsenic actually smiled a little back at him. Seeing her smile, Jack smiled more. "...you're smiling." he said; glad that she seemed to be getting better.
"…yeah, I guess I am," Arsenic murmured.
Jack tilted his head just a tad. "Seeing you smile... it's really nice."
"…is it?" Arsenic asked.
"Mhm," Jack nodded.
"…well…I'm glad you think so," Arsenic hummed.
Jack nodded again, before he looked up at the sky. "...wonder what the others would think... if they saw us like that..."
"…I don't know…" Arsenic murmured. "…though I'm sure we'll find that out eventually…"
"...yeah..." Jack hummed, before he let out a small yawn. "...nh... tired..."
"…yeah…me too…" Arsenic murmured.
Then suddenly, she felt a couple drops that fell from the sky. "…hm?"
Jack glanced up at the sky as he felt drops landing on his head. "...rain?"
Soon, more and more drops started to fall.
"…we should find a dry spot to stay at," Arsenic muttered.
"...yeah..." Jack nodded. Gently picking up both Arsenic and her hat, Jack looked around to see where the nearest dry spot would be in this clearing. Arsenic was actually a bit surprised that Jack picked her up, but she didn't say anything.
Eventually, Jack headed for a nearby collection of trees; noting that the rain wasn't getting to the base of those trees, which left a dry spot for him to gently set Arsenic down on.
"…thanks," Arsenic said.
"...you're welcome..." Jack said with a light yawn, as he slowly lay down next to Arsenic.
Arsenic looked out at the area they were at, feeling her own eyelids grow heavy. Then it started to get a bit colder as the rain carried on, and she shivered a little. Noticing that, Jack gently wrapped his arms around her to hold her closely. Feeling his body heat, Arsenic didn't shiver anymore, and her head rested on his shoulder. Slowly closing his eyes, Jack found himself gently stroking her back as he grew drowsier. "...g'night... Arsenic..." he whispered.
"…g'night…Jack…" Arsenic mumbled, falling asleep herself.
With that, Jack fell asleep as well; though not before two more words escaped his lips subconsciously...
"...love you..."
That morning, the group couldn't wait any longer. Vanessa memorized the direction that Jack and Arsenic had taken off to yesterday, and so she was walking down the direction they went, with the rest of the group deciding to follow her. She was getting worried again since they hadn't been back yet, so naturally, she was walking as fast as she could. Those who could fly, like Ani, Striker, Demi, and Charon were up in the skies, circling around to take a better look around in case they could spot Jack or Arsenic before Vanessa could, while the rest of the group followed her on foot.
As they wandered, Kiri remained close to Diablo as she looked around. "...hn..." she sighed; a bit dismayed that there still didn't seem to be any sign of either of them.
Just then, Ani looked off in one direction, and she blinked. "…hm…?" She took a closer look with a squint of her eyes. She saw a group of figures moving through the forest near Vanessa's area…
…then she sensed some familiar energies from them, and she broke out into a smile. "Guys! Guys! Look!" she pointed out in the direction the figures were.
"Did you find them?" Oblivion called up to her.
"No, but I see some of our friends!" Ani exclaimed.
"Who is it?" Kiri called as well.
Demi glanced in that direction as well, and hummed. "...well, I'll be damned..."
The ones in the air came back down for a landing by the rest, and watched as the group of figures headed toward them. At first, they didn't notice.
But the one in the front of the group turned out to be Hunter, and when he glanced forward, he saw them. "Hey, look at that!" he uttered, seeing Charon's group waving at them.
"Dad!" Ani ran to him and threw her arms around him.
"...well... I didn't see this coming..." Queen hummed with a bemused smile.
"Seems like they're alright..." Charon mused, as the two groups finally met together.
"Guys!" King laughed at seeing the other group. "Oh, it's good to see all of you!"
"Yeah, same here," Oblivion said with a smile.
"Nice to see you again Demi," Crystal laughed a little.
Demi chuckled a bit as well. "Good to see you guys, too."
"Kekeke! It's great to see you all again!" Ripper laughed.
"It really is..." Kiri hummed.
Basically, the two groups spent the first few minutes greeting each other with happy smiles and relief, nice to see that each group was doing okay. They even hugged every now and then with a few laughs.
Then Cal took another look at Charon's group. "…wait a minute…where's Jack…?"
Milo sighed. "…we're looking for him…and Arsenic too."
All of King's group stared at him.
"…who's Arsenic?" Dax asked him.
"...someone we met a few days ago." Demi explained.
Sage hummed, as she nodded a few times. "...I see..."
"What'd you figure out, Sage?" Fargus inquired.
"Oh, I'll let you figure it out for yourself." Sage hummed with a small shrug.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Toki asked.
"Later." Sage hummed, as she glanced towards where Charon's group had been searching; which, coincidentally, lead back through the forest. "You haven't checked the woods yet, right?"
"We were just about to, actually," Milo said. "Why? Do you sense them in that direction, Sage?"
"Yup," Sage nodded. "They seem to be asleep; I guess they must've taken shelter in the woods."
Vanessa sounded very relieved to hear that with a sigh. Still, she couldn't help but start off in a run in the direction Sage pointed out.
"Vanessa!" Diablo called out, but that didn't stop the lioness.
Cal hummed. "Better follow her then."
"Right." Natal nodded. "We should hurry."
The whole group all decided to hurry after Vanessa, and Vanessa at least made sure they could follow her, instead of taking off so quickly so that they couldn't see her anymore. They traveled for a bit; Vanessa using her sense of hearing and smell to try and track down her boy.
Thankfully, she found him finally with a few huffs. She stopped, staring at him and Arsenic, seeing his arms around her with her head on his shoulder against that tree. Vanessa could only assume that they took shelter here from the rain that happened last night…
…but seeing Jack huddled up to Arsenic like that was very surprising for Vanessa, and for the rest of the now giant group when they made it to Vanessa and saw Jack and Arsenic.
Kiri peeked out to look at the two. "...huh..."
"...so... that's Arsenic, huh?" Miser mused as she looked at the rat. "...but... why is Jack..."
Sage couldn't help but conceal a bemused smile, as she quickly found out what had happened the night before.
"…I don't know…" Oblivion mumbled. "…as far as we were concerned, Jack was terribly afraid of girls…he wouldn't let one near him like this…"
"…maybe…something really huge happened back in her town?" Diablo assumed. "…I mean…Arsenic looks pretty banged up…"
"...so, they were in her hometown?" King hummed. "Why's that?"
"...rumors had it that... it was taken by Corruption." Demi replied.
"...oooh..." King uttered in slight realization.
"…Arsenic knew it was a trap to lure her in, but she still wanted to go, and Jack just didn't want her to go alone," Striker muttered, and Snap's holographic head looked at Jack and Arsenic a bit sadly.
"…why would they lure her into a trap?" Cal asked.
"She's got these powers over chemicals and stuff," Diablo muttered. "Basically, she could make explosions at the bat of an eye. It was strong enough to keep those Corrupted away from her when they tried to "recruit" her a few days ago."
Nage shuddered. "Geez... if they got that kinda power on their side..." she murmured.
"...well, whatever happened there, it must've been brutal for them to look like that." Queen noted. "We probably shouldn't wake them up yet."
"…yeah…we'll hang around until they do wake up," Hunter agreed. Then he looked at Sage. "Maybe you could tell us how things happened for them yesterday then?" he asked Sage.
"...well, it's lengthy, but I'll summarize." Sage hummed, as she folded her arms. "Seems like the town was attacked by Husk; he was the one who ambushed the two of them in the town. He originally came just for Arsenic, so with Jack there, he had to keep him from fighting alongside her."
"So, they fought a whole bunch?" Fargus hummed.
"Yep," Sage nodded. "While Jack was trapped in a dark void, Arsenic had to throw everything she had at Husk... but it seems like he just overpowered her in the end."
"…Damn…" Cal muttered, looking back over at Jack and Arsenic. "…now I'm really hoping that he didn't try and copy her power…"
"...he didn't get the chance, actually." Sage hummed. "Jack stopped him."
Natal blinked, and looked back at Sage. "...Jack stopped him?" she uttered.
Again, Sage nodded. "He managed to break out from that dark prison he was trapped in, and when Arsenic was just overpowered, he blew Husk away before he could either copy Arsenic power or take her away."
"…seriously?" Hunter uttered.
"…we're…not that surprised, actually," Milo murmured. "Jack's been showing more and more that he can really fight…and…that he's actually very strong."
"…guess it really does run in the family…huh…?" Crystal mused.
"...seems like it." Demi hummed.
"...even more than that," Sage mused, as she folded his arms. "...his phobia... is gone."
"How?" Ani asked her.
"I'm guessing his fight in that black void had something to do with it," Milo assumed.
"Right; he got a chance to face his fears head-on." Sage nodded.
"...and he came out on top..." Miser hummed.
Vanessa smiled at that. "…that's good…that's really good…"
"...so..." Kiri uttered. "...does this mean that... Jack won't have to be awkward around us anymore?"
"…looks like it," Diablo answered her, rubbing her head.
"…thank goodness…" Oblivion said with a smile.
"...alright; I suggest we settle down until they wake up." King hummed. "I think after everything that's happened, we could all deserve a break."
"Right," everyone's response was.
So they all got relaxed a distance away, chatting away. They were just far enough away that they wouldn't disturb Jack and Arsenic.
Wow, you would not believe how hard it is to keep track of all these characters!