Tales of Raiverin: One

Chapter 5

As Leon opened his eyes slowly, he saw the inside of the lab again. He grunted when he tried to move his arms, noticing that his arms and legs had been strapped to the wall. Leon hissed at the thought of being trapped, he struggled to fight against the binds.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you."

Ashton spoke from the darkness, warping beside Leon and chuckling to himself.

"Wh- How did you-?"

"Ah. You don't understand? Leon, I'm not mortal like... some of us. I am a God!" He shouted, warping to now stand a few inches away from Leon's face. "And I'm starting to think you aren't mortal either."

Leon hissed once again, biting at the air to force Ashton back. "So, what do you want?! To kill me, finish what you started!?"

"No, not yet. I'm thinking of how to kill you, I haven't decided yet. But, I have some people I'd like to meet."

He stood on his hind legs, throwing his arms out and laughing softly.

A thin mist filled the room, Leon's eyes darting through every corner before settling on the center of it. He saw several pairs of eyes glowing in the shadows. As they all stepped forward in unison, he saw 4 cats all lined up beside Ashton. As he glanced over them, he saw the living body of the corpse that lay on the door earlier. A gray-striped cat, and two cats that he couldn't ever forget the appearance of.

Badger and Lana stood to the right of Ashton, their appearance alone enough to cause Leon's eyes to fill with tears.

The gray cat pressed against Ashton's neck, getting a soft purr in response from him. Ashton gently petted the cat's head, whispering something into their ear before they began to approach Leon.

"I am Res Auburn, a creation of Ashton Mayflower... the savior of our new world. I was taken by the collapse, but in the afterlife, I can never forget about my guardian angel." He spoke, his voice soft and quiet. He sounded as though he was recalling an old love, missing a partner who had passed. It made Leon sick, how could anyone think of Ashton as anything but what he was?

"I couldn't live a moment without him! Much like you and Badger..."

Leon winced, stammering to start an argument but unable to get a word in.

"You needed him to make life worth living, and every second you live without him is absolute hell," Res spoke, his voice now shifting to a cold and blunt tone. "You wish it was you, because you know he could live without you. And I feel sorry for you because I still have my guardian!" He purred, happily bouncing to Ashton's side. The black feline embraced him, putting a paw on his head.

"Yes, yes. I'm here, Auburn. You don't need to worry about anything."

"Yes, sir!"

Ashton smiled as his paw began to glow. Leon yelped, trying to break free of his restraints. "No! Res, he's not-!"

As he tried to speak his warning, a blade of light shot through Res' head, and the feline fell back onto the ground. Ashton kicked the lovesick cat's body aside, gathering some of the blood that had pooled out on his paw and letting it trickle into his mouth. He wiped his jaw and gestured for the brown cat to speak next.

They opened their eyes wide, and a deep shade of pink stared into Leon's own purple eyes.

They suddenly began to shift frantically, anxiously pacing back and forth. "No, no... wait, I remember now! I remember it all! The book, him, Ash-!" They gripped their head as they tried to fight Ashton's control. They writhed and shouted with fear and determination before soon dropping their arms and sighing deeply. "Wilbur Satana, but my leader gave me the name Isidore Gold. I search for the truth in the world. I hunted it down and I uncovered who I am. I'm just like you, Leon! I hide from the truth, I can't possibly see the world in any way that isn't what I wanted!" He whined, yet still mocking Leon. He hated it, he wanted to fight Wilbur but he still couldn't move.