Tales of Raiverin: One

Chapter 4

One stared into the tall feline's eyes, they seemed confused, yet tired. As if they had just awoken from a deep sleep. They shook their fur, stretching out their paws and arching their back as they yawned heavily. They then slowly turned their head to One, a grin slowly forming on their face. One wasn't sure how to feel, what were they doing here? How did they get here?
The cat then bowed their head gently as their mouth opened.

As they spoke, One felt as though these were the words of someone who had been resting a while, their voice was deep, scratchy, and rough.

"Hello, hello... how are you today?" They asked, smiling as they raised their head again. One was unsure as to how to respond, his body shivering in fear.
"I-I'm okay, but... who are you?"
"Ah, my apologies. I forgot we haven't met before." The cat laughed softly, approaching One casually, wrapping their tail around his back. One shifted his eyes away, anxious about what this cat could or would do to him. The black feline laughed again, shaking their head. "My name is Ashton Mayflower, and may I say, you sure got a home here."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, the world sure is a lot more... barren? No offense, I'm sure you didn't cause this."

One paused, his ears dropping down as he reminded him just how desolate this world was. He turned his head to where Leon had landed, not seeing him there. Ashton gripped One's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes once again. He kept a smile on his face each time One would look at him, it was creepy, yet comforting in a way. "Hey, don't worry about anything. I got you, okay? Why don't you tell me your name?"

"Oh- I... I don't remember my name, but, Leon calls me One..."

Ashton froze for just a moment, barely even noticeable for an ordinary individual. He then looked at where One had glanced before, chuckling as he saw nothing. "Leon, huh? I know him, he's a good friend of mine. Do you where he is, One?"

One shook his head, unsure as to where Leon had gone. He soon heard soft footsteps coming from behind Ashton, the black cat was speaking, but One only heard the steps growing closer and louder.

"One, get away from him!" He heard Leon's voice yell for a moment before Ashton fell to the ground, Leon on top of him.

One shrieked and jumped up, backing away as Leon clawed furiously at the black feline. Ashton screeched and kicked Leon away, causing the smaller cat to tumble along the ground.
"Leon? 1 What's gotten into you? You need to calm down, we can't be fighting here." Ashton spoke, wiping his jaw. "Don't you recognize me?"

Leon hissed, his fur standing on end. "Don't start, I know what you are! One, back away from him!" He screamed, rushing back towards Ashton. The dark cat only moved to the side, letting Leon run past him. He shook his head dismissively. "Come on, don't take him away from his only friend." Ashton purred, grabbing One's paw. He winced as Ashton's claw skimmed his arm and caused him to bleed lightly. Ashton gasped and rubbed One's arm, putting his head down. "Sorry! It's been a long time since I've had to shake someone's paw."

One nodded, smiling a bit. "That's okay, I understand..." He said softly, his arm beginning to ache.

Leon stared, now backing off and sighing deeply. He tried with every fiber of his being to remain calm.

Ashton smiled at One gently, putting a paw on his head. "You know, One... I can help you understand who you are."
"You can? H-How!?"
"Well, it all comes down to Leon." He purred.

Leon stared at them nervously, he knew something he had been hiding.

"When you read that file, you must have seen something, right? I've seen it too, and I suppose that the scientists here wanted to know where you came from, 'One'. Because of that, they sent back an entire family tree. It's impressive, even I have to admit that. However, you must understand something, One... I don't hate you."

"You don't?"

"No, not at all. I just hate what you represent... you look a lot like my father, your brother did too. Me and my dad... we didn't have the best relationship. So, looking at you... makes me upset. You've met him, right?"

"N-No...

"Really? Oh, that's just like him... abandoning his children when they need him the most. Anthony Mayflower, does that name ring any bells? I am surprised you don't know him... considering he's your father too."

"W-What? What are you talking about?!" Leon yelped, shifting nervously.

"Don't act like you didn't know, Leon. You know he's part of the family, you know why I'm here. If you just hand yourself over, I'll let him live." Ashton grinned, grabbing One by the arm and holding him still.

As Ashton spoke, One felt his body growing weaker, his arm turning dark as Ashton's grip tightened on it. His chest grew heavy, his lungs struggling to get a breath in.

Leon stared, beginning to panic. "No! Let him go!" He shrieked, Ashton moving in front of him, keeping Leon away from One.

"Stop! I can save him!"
"You couldn't save her, and he's infected more than you are."
"Shut up! Please, don't do this!"

One's eyes began to close, his heart beating faster as he felt the cold of death approaching him. "Leon... how could... you do this for so long?" He whispered, his eyes closing as he exhaled slowly, his body slumping down as it fell onto the ground.

Leon shrieked, running up to him and gripping his now lifeless body. "No! What did you do?!"

Ashton looked down at him, crouching to meet his eyes. "I didn't do much of anything, I only infected him with the same disease I gave you. I guess someone born naturally couldn't handle it."

"Wha-?"

As Leon tried to speak, Ashton pressed a paw onto his forehead. "Remember this feeling?"

Leon gasped as a sharp pain ran into his mind, the same one he had felt years ago, but he was too weak to fight it now. He passed out from the pain, thousands of thoughts running through his subconscious.