Kim woke up to the spinning ceiling fan of his room, the hum of the small motor soothing his mind nearly falling asleep again.
"WHAT?!"
Nearly.
Kim heard his mother's loud voice, his eyes widen as he realized he wasn't in the cage anymore. The events in the cave slowly trickled in.
The dead livita, the four arm man.
"Can it still be called an armpit if his lower arms are in them, or does he have two?"
Kim's random thought was interrupted by a scream.that wasn't his mother's, it was familiar but it still escaped him. Quickly getting up Kim burst through the door, Valeo and Cho cho was huddled over the twitching form of-
"ANA!"
Kim quickly tried pushed Valeo out of the way.
"Dear chime Ana, what the fuck happened to you."
Kim held the unconscious body of Anastasia as her body twitched in his grasp, scars starting to form down her body.
"You need to get that...thing off." Valeo motioned his upper arm at the collar, with any words Kim picked up Ana, his malnourished body protesting but he didn't care, he entered a room and slammed the door shut.
Valeo attempted to follow but was stopped by Cho cho clearing her throat.
"Boy, he needs total concentration, leave him."
"But we." She pointed to herself and Valeo.
"Are going to continue to talk about why THE FUCK THERE'S PEOPLE ON MY FRONT LAWN!"
Cho cho opened the front door to for Valeo to see small tents and campfires spiraling the front lawn, the people he and Kim saved had smiles on their faces.
"Uh we....uh."
Cho cho slapped her forehead when Valeo tried to explain.
"Forget it, just tell me what happened."
With a sigh Valeo explained what transpired in the tribe hideout.
* * *
"HAHAHA THATS MY BOY, taking down a dead livita."
Cho cho took a sip of her mug.
"Tyr- Valeo."
Valeo titled his head.
"Thank you,I really do appreciate it but..."
The grip on her mug tightened.
"Why, just why?"
Valeo looked confused.
"In Bale lake, WHY?"
Cho cho reached over the small table to grab the collar of Valeo's cloak.
"WE DIDN'T DO THAT!"
"THEN YOU DID, BECAUSE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY IT WAS SAID YOU SPOTTED IN BALE LAKE!"
Valeo scrunched his face.
" 'Y THE CODE WE TRIED TO STO' THAT!"
Cho cho gained the face of someone who saw a ghost, pulling away from the loosen grip Valeo stomped his way outside, briskly walking past the variety of people.
"Did he say...."
* * *
Sparks flew in the dark room riddle with paper and machine parts, it was only illuminated by the over head lamp above the unconscious form of Anastasia and the window to the left of him, Kim who was barley clinging on consciousness himself had a face of pure determination.
"By chimes grace Ana, I told you...I told you she wasn't your sister."
He turned when he heard shouting outside his door, not paying any mind to it he went back to work. He finished when the front door slammed making the decently size cabin vibrate.
"There."
Kim slowly removed the collar and threw in a box labeled 'Spare parts' and let out a heavy sigh, all that transpired was finally weighing on his shoulders.
Shadows entered the corner of his vision before he passed out the thought of Anastasia entered his mind.
"I'm glad your back...Ana."
Unconsciousness washed over him, his head rested on Anastasia's chest, her rhythmic breathing put a peaceful expression on his exhausted face.
Cho cho saw this when she opened the door to his workshop and had a small smile of her face.
The snap of a camera didn't stur the two so Cho cho slowly closed the door her smile still present.
"Teenagers."
But her smile dropped when the words of Valeo echoed throughout her mind.
"How does he know that phrase?"
* * *
Valeo was sat up against a tree, his thoughts all over the place, but centered around one thing.
The hooded figure.
It's voice like gravel irritated him to no end, the sound of a twig breaking brought him out of his thoughts, it was Cho cho.
"WAIT!"
She practically shouted when Valeo tried to get away, when she saw Valeo stopping she had a sigh of relief.
"Look, I'm sorry."
Valeo huffed but still stayed, he sat back down which Cho cho joined.
"I.....I just want to know what happened in Bale lake."
"Like we said, it wasn't us."
Cho cho nodded her face growing serious.
"Then who?"
Valeo looked at the clearing, it's lush grass and tall trees calming his nerves.
"It was a...'erson? We couldn't get a good look due the hod it had."
"It had 'one hands if we can recall."
"Own like hands?"
Valeo's eyebrow twitched.
"No, 'one like hands."
Cho cho had realization plastered on her wrinkled visage.
"Oooooohh you mean bone ha-"
She cut herself off when the information registered, Valeo turn from the clearing to see the dread on Cho cho's face.
"Valeo, did it have a symbol on it's back?"
Valeo went back to when he and Anastasia was in Bale Lake town, it was vague for a few seconds until the memory became clearer.
"Yeah, it did, three eyes in a....circle?"
"We think that's what it was called."
Cho cho picked up a nearby stick and started to draw a the same symbol Valeo vaguely remembered.
"This?"
When Valeo nodded Cho cho got up and ran back to her home confusing Valeo, the sounds of distant chatter of the people he and Kim saved echoed the empty clearing.
Until it was broken up by a loud rumble from his stomach, getting up Valeo felt the familiar ache of a empty stomach, the smell of something being cooked invaded his nostrils.
Following the smell Valeo spotted large piece meat on a rod over a lit campfire, walking out of the tree line Valeo caught the attention of multiple people, their eyes boring into him.
Some backed away, their eyes shine with the familiar expression.
Fear.
"Why do they fear us? We.....we saved them."
His question was answered by whispers, one word echoing in each hush sentence.
Tyrant.
Somehow they got word of his infamy, and they fear him just like the rest.
"Always a monster."
A chill ran down Valeo's spine, the same voice he's been hearing a lot lately, this time it sounded....sad?
It still had the heavy feeling of bloodlust but yet it held a certain sadness to it.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
The eyes finally got to Valeo and he went back to the clearing, this time it was occupied by a beautifully bizarre creature.
Legs of a mountain lion, body and head of a deer, and fluffy longs ears of a rabbit. It's golden brown fur gleamed in the setting sun.
The creature and Valeo stared at each other for what felt like forever, until it was interrupted by a little noise, a smaller version of the creature.
It's small frame wobbled, it seemed to have been birthed not that long ago. This made Valeo's eyes cress in slight joy, when the little fella started to make its way to Valeo he knelt down to the curious creature.
The creature stood wobbly in front of Valeo staring at him in curiosity, the peaceful atmosphere was brutally interrupted when and massive creature sets it's maw on the neck of the parent creature.
It's wails was drowned out by the ripping of its flesh and blood in its throat, the scaly jaws of gator clamped harder making the vertebrae in the parent creature's neck crack and break.
The sound echoing throughout the clearing, the copper smell of blood enveloping it once blissful scenery, the baby creature hid behind Valeo.
When Valeo saw the pure fear in its tiny eye something snap, a image of himself when he was younger flashed in his head.
This wasn't about the creature anymore, it was about the fear it instilled, the threat to life it propose.
"Pathetic."
Valeo ignored the voice in his head and charged at the creature who stood up on its hind legs, it's green fur body resemble that of a silver back gorilla matching Valeo's height.
It banged on its chest and roared, the sound nearly stunned him but Valeo still charged at the creature, both meeting in the middle.
Valeo threw a dual left haymaker while the creature opened it's maw, his top arm was caught and ripped off making him grunt in pain, while the creature's mouth was full Valeo sent a kick straight to its throat making it choke.
While it's choking Valeo summoned his gunbai, the crashes in the distance went ignored, when his gunbai was in his hand Valeo slashed down to divide the creature in two.
His eyes widen when it caught the gunbai between its hands, it made gutteral growl and glared at Valeo, his arm growing back he glared back at the creature, Valeo jumped back letting go of his gunbai.
He channeled the feeling into his hand again making the gunbai and the creature who held on to the weapon instinctually soar to him.
Letting the staff part of his gunbai sail pass him Valeo grabbed the neck of the creature and slammed it on the ground, his glared boring holes into the creature.
"We, will, end you."