Hunters of Ryzoth (Pasta Sauce) Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Alliances and Whispers of War “So what’s the game plan?” Lui asked, sounding a bit uneasy. Nova sighed, running her fingers through her hair,”We need to assess whether or not the hunters are close enough to worry about or not. I do believe eventually we will be taking Slender up on his offer.” Lui seems to bristle at the thought of going to Slenders mansion. “Lui what’s wrong?” Nova asks, cocking her head to try to meet his newly adjusted gaze. Lui looked at Nova, nearly laughing at her inquisitive expression. Nova gave him a slightly annoyed glare, only resulting in him chuckling more. “Lui,” she whined, getting him to shake his head as Ember silently stalked into the room. “It’s just a part of my past, not sure if I’m ready to face it yet,” Lui finally admitted, earning him an understanding look from the former aster. “K,” Nova said, rubbing the bridge of her nose in thought,”I guess you and Jeff had it pretty rough. We don’t even know if he’s been freed either….” “You don’t have to worry about it,” a calm voice echoed in an ethereal manner,”He’s still under their control, I can tell.” Both Nova and Lui looked over at Ember, her eyes looking at both of them in an oddly calm way. “Ok, this is the second time you’ve spoken Em’s…”, Nova replied, walking over and kneeling to her level. Lui watched the 2 of them, trying to piece together the same things that Nova was. “You picked me master,” Nova said bowing to her,”And I’m grateful so I’m trying to make things easier on you.” Nova seemed to have a realization causing her to go still, but not rigid. “Yep, I need to learn to read things ahead of time,” Nova said between small chuckles. Lui cleared his throat, getting the attention of both Nova and Ember. “Ok,” he said looking at both of them annoyed,”What do you mean Nova?” Ember began to growl, only for Nova to say,”At ease Ember.” Ember looked away slightly miffed, but silent nonetheless. “I got Ember at Elf Forest when I saved Puppeteer. My objective at the time was to kill the previous head of the auction scene, and I just so happened to pick Ember. I just should have paid attention to the fact that she was to be sold as a familiar.” “So you have a ‘proxy’ basically?” Lui says almost laughing, understanding the humor of the situation. Nova nodded, blushing slightly,”Yep.” Lui raised his hands apologetically,”Sorry…” She shook her head, only replying,”I thought it was funny too, I’m just feeling embarrassed now.” Lui nodded, though a part of him that wasn’t entirely true. Nova clapped her hands on her face, before turning to Ember. “Help me understand how you choose to use my powers, in tandem with yours,” Nova said, calmly changing focus. Ember looked over excitedly, she lept to all fours in an almost playful way before saying,”Your minor connection to plasma, and radiation means I can feed off that fire to keep track of those you’ve come into contact with. So I know which pastas you’ve battled, and whether or not those hunters of Ryzoth still have control over them!” Lui stifled his laughter as Ember bounced like an excited puppy. Nova smirked, trying not to laugh herself, as she asked,”So if we were to train together, you’d be able to access more combative abilities, similar to mine?” Ember barked, not talking anymore as she was overjoyed by this conversation. Nova and Lui laughed a little, as Ember slowly calmed down, seeming to be very embarrassed. “Oi puppy!” Lui called, knowing that she would potentially snap at him. “What,” Ember half growled, and half barked. Her jaws snapped loudly in her anger, as Lui replied, choosing not to flinch,”We were laughing because we thought you were being cute, take it as a compliment.” Ember looked away, but said,”Fine, I guess…..” Nova sighed, just relieved that a huge fight wasn’t ensuing. “One more question, Ember?” Nova asked, relief still evident on her face. Ember looked back toward the 2 of them, practically giving them a side eye to try to look dignified. Nova sighed at this cute display, but shook off the urge to gush about it out loud,”This might be a stretch, but can you tell me what the hunter’s plans are on travel?” Ember faced them both more fully this time, her tail laying still behind her. She looked a bit lost in thought, seeming to be processing her request. She bowed her head, seeming to feel a little bit bad. “I’m sorry, I only know where 2 of the groups are, and even then, the ability doesn’t spread beyond people you’ve fought or, come into contact with.” Nova was about to tell her it was ok, when Lui came over and pat her skeletal head. “Knowing Nova,” he said, his gaze seeming gentle,”She knows that you can only do so much, and she’s not mad.” Nova smiled at Lui’s surprising display, when Ember licked his hand and looked over to her. “He’s right, I mean geez, I was the goofball that didn’t know I had a familiar for this long,” Nova admitted laughing a little. Ember pounced on her, licking her face, only stopping occasionally to thank her. Lui watched this and snuck a photo with a phone he’d stolen during one of his last kills. After things had calmed down, the group resumed discussions about what to do next. “Ok, so if we’re going to Slenders, do we leave now or later?” Lui asked first. Nova placed a hand on her chin in thought, then sighed,”We’ll need supplies, and regardless of how close they are, we’ll need to travel on foot anyway.” “More trips to Elf Forest?” Ember asked, looking at her with a fearful look. “We can’t avoid it unfortunately,” Nova admitted to Ember,”That said, You’ll be safe ya know.” Ember nodded though her fears were still evident on her face. “So long haul for travel, though that makes sense considering how long between being home, and being at Slenders over the past several months.” Nova nodded,”You’ll be coming with me too ya know.” Lui nodded begrudgingly, though his confidence in leaving was better now. “With that settled,” Nova said addressing them both,”If we run out of time, what do we want to do for a game plan?” “Honestly,” Lui spoke first,”Since we can’t kill anybody, granted hunters are excluded from that rule, we should try running towards Slenders off the typical path you take.” Ember barked for a clarification,”You mean one of the paths you explored while Nova was gone?” Lui nodded, causing Nova to pull out a map that she had made ages ago, when she first found the place. It looked a little childish, but Nova had pride that she could do better this time. Lui covered his mouth, a smile creeping across it as he barely prevented himself from laughing. Nova shot him a glare, saying”I have been practicing cartography since then, so shove it.” Lui shook his head, his shoulders shaking between stifled laughter. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, trying not to have his laughter grow,”Ok, are you going to redraw the map?” Nova gave him a look that gave him his answer, only causing him to burst out laughing. Nova crossed her arms in annoyance, watching him gradually regain his composure. “Oh ga-!” He exclaimed, finally able to breathe,”Sorry, it’s just not what I expected.” Nova sighed, rubbing her temples, and shaking off her annoyance. Then she gazed at the old map she had made. Nova smirked, now feeling a little less vulnerable about his laughter. “Right,” Nova said calmly,”Where are these paths you found Lui.” In between laughter and confusion, Nova was able to mark them on the map. Around the time that Lui had gone to bed, Nova sneaked back downstairs, and began rifling through her things quietly. “What are you doing?” Ember yawned, woken up by the noise. “Sorry Ember,” Nova whispered, looking into the glowing eyes of the blaze hound,”Just looking for a new sheet to redraw the old map.” As Nova returned to her search, Ember stretched before leaving the room. She had seen some large chunks of paper lying around earlier. She was almost certain that Nova had forgotten about them completely. When she found them, she carefully wrapped her jaws around them before returning to her slightly annoyed master. Nova looked over, seeing Ember holding a large sheet of paper. Ember put the paper down gently, and whispered almost inaudibly,”These are in the basement, I believe you forgot you had them.” Nova had never investigated the home too deeply, she had only made it a base, and was used to finding hidden treasures in its walls. “Thanks Ember,” she replied, petting her skull head, and the fur between her ribs,”I still have a bit of investigation to do of this old place before we leave for good.” Ember's tail lightly thumped on the floor until the petting stopped, she then said,”No problem Nova,” before returning to lay down and sleep. Nova took a deep breath, before walking into the kitchen with the old map and new paper. She turned on the light so it was only dimly lit, and began to rework the map. She felt exhausted by the time she finished it at 2:30 AM, and finally crawled into bed. Later in the day she was scolded by Lui for her poor sleeping habits, only for her to retort with the fact that they only ever killed at night anyway. A day or 2 later they spend several hours getting Lui’s blades reforged and strengthened. Then gathering food, and other supplies for their trek to slenders. When they get home, they use the new map to determine the best path there, and the best escape paths if things get too dangerous. It’s a whole week later when they have to flee, as hunters surround the house at 3 in the morning. “Nova!” Lui’s voice whispers harshly in Nova’s ear. Nova looks at him, more awake than one might expect as she’s usually a sound sleeper. “What?” She asks in near silence. Ember whines giving Nova all the info she needs. “K, grab what you can,” she orders bluntly,”Leave the lights off, and we’ll meet by the back door.” Lui nods, quickly and quietly leaving her room like a ghost was chasing him. Nova shoots to her feet and signals to Ember to come over to her. Ember trots over while barely silencing her steps,”I know you just started to be able to use a pseudo version of star vision, but please use it for as long as possible while we grab stuff to go!” Ember doesn’t bark, she just gives her a hasty nod, before leaving the room to start keeping watch. Nova then sneaks herself over to her closet, she throws her hoodie onto the bed, not planning to change with there being no time to spare. She sucked in a breath, looking around her room wildly to make sure her black and red combat boots were there. When she spotted them by the door she sighed in relief, before getting down on her hands and knees to reach underneath her bed. As her hand searched for what she was looking for desperately, she could hear the hunters moving. “Comeoncomeoncomeon!” She muttered impatiently, until she felt the leather binding of the old journal that she had collected many months ago now. “You’d think since I’ve had you since early November, and it’s now March that I’d have found you quicker!” She breathed out in frustration. She grabbed an old leather backpack from the closet where she kept her few clothes and belongings, hastily shoving what she could into it. After she had, Ember scrambled into her room following lounge cracking and banging sounds by the from door. “Time to go!” Nova demanded, following the blaze hound down the stairs. Lui was waiting for them, and as the hunters entered the house, they left. The hunters took notice, sending mind controlled groups after the 3. They booked it for the emergency path they laid out, only for it to quickly be blocked off. They were being cornered when a set of golden threads began to dangle from the trees. The group only had a few seconds to look up and see Puppeteer on Slenders shoulder in the trees. They didn’t even have time to process it when they suddenly found themselves outside of a large mansion. “We heard they were coming for you guys,” Puppeteer said coolly whilst jumping from his perch on Slenders shoulder. “Though he insisted on the plan, and it went well, you aren’t to speak of this,” Slender said in a semi-venomous voice. Nova wanted to laugh, wondering how Pup had convinced Slender to let him ride on his shoulders, but she didn’t dwell on it, only nodding. Slender sighed in agitation and then said,”Make yourselves comfortable in any of the empty bedrooms, please. I’ll send Kate and Charles to check on you 3 later.” Not more than a second later he vanished, leaving them outside the large eerie looking place. Puppeteer only giggled, going to follow Slender inside, while the other 3 studied the outside. The place was mostly dark gray, and black, twisted vines crawled up the large walls, and the windows were lit ominously. The place dripped with a foreboding aura, and the main doors sat slightly ajar to let them in. “Welp, got here quicker than expected huh?” Lui asked, breaking their collective silence. Nova nodded, turning to look at Lui, then noting his tension returned. “We'll be fine,” Nova said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder,”He’s not going to cause any problems, given the circumstances.” Lui gave her a nervous smile in return, only saying,”That maybe true, but not everyone is going to have the same mind set.” Ember leaned her head into his hand, deciding to have her own input,”We’ve got each other's backs, so if things go up in flames, we’ll be able to confront it.” Lui, and Nova smiled more calmly and confidently, and then the 3 headed inside. The place was cleaner than one might expect, the same dark theme filling the houses inside, but all in all it held a slightly different feel. The group of 3 found themselves taking pauses in front of some of the rooms, even BEN’s which allowed them to see the tired pasta sleeping. Most of the rooms they did look at were empty, but also seemed to have missing inhabitants. Eventually the group of 3 found 2 rooms adjacent to each other, with Lui stating while they looked that he wanted them nearby. Lui chose the room closest to a room a few feet away, a white door seemed to mark its place, with Nova’s slightly larger room directly on the opposite side. “Good luck on settling in Nova,” he said nearly numbly. Nova gave him a sympathetic look, and said,”You too, drop in anytime though…just-“ “Make sure to knock, I know,” Lui said smugly, disappearing into his chosen room before Nova could tell him off. Nova just smiled, shaking her head before looking down at Ember. “Shall we?”, she asked, getting a nod from the blaze hound before they headed inside. The room had a single bed in the left hand corner, right next to the window, a vanity sat on the opposite wall, with a closet close to the door they had just entered. Nova began to sort through her belongings in silence while Ember fell asleep next to the bed. As Nova dug through her bag to find the journal, she heard someone clearing their throat behind her. Nova found the journal before turning to face Slender, who stood behind her calmly. “What can I do for you Mr. Slender?” Nova asked, kind of stunned by his sudden drop in. “The Puppeteer and I would like to talk with you, if you don’t mind Nova,” Slender asked, calmly and quietly. Nova nods, sensing the movement of Ember behind her, she signals for her to stay put. Slender silently leads her to a room on the other side of the house, that appears to be like an office. He calmly motions her inside, before saying,”This isn’t going to be the only place where meeting are held, but with where we are now, it made the most sense.” Nova smiled at his business like demeanor about the whole thing, she thought it was interesting that he felt the need to explain. “No need to explain to me,” Nova replied calmly, a strange level of respect coming from her voice,”It’s your space, and I thank you for sharing it.” As Nova walked into the room, she couldn’t help but wonder if Slender were human, would he have smiled. That question faded quickly when Puppeteer spoke up, reaching his hand out to shake hers. “Good to see you again Ms. Nova, even if we haven’t been apart for very long.” She laughed softly noting how he was trying to defuse the tension with a bit of humor. “You too, my darling Puppeteer,” She joked back, earring her a genuine laugh. Slender cleared his throat, wanting to get down to business, so the 2 of them focused. “With reintroductions out of the way, we have quite a bit to discuss,” he had a matter-of-factly tone while speaking. “Where to begin though Slendy,” Puppeteer asked, his tone held the slightest bit of annoyance. Slender seemed to growl slightly before Nova cleared her throat loudly, startling the both of them. “Boys, put your badges away…what topic do we start with at this juncture?” Both of them looked at each other, then seemed to sigh in annoyance with her briefly. “What do we know about those collars now Ms. Nova?” Slender asked, breaking the silence. “You’ve already experienced one of the side effects with BEN,” Nova started,”However, this will be the case with almost any ghost or undead individual. The collars are set up with curses that the hunters use to control those who they have placed them on. This particular problem pertains more to the undead, ghosts, Zombies, human dolls,ect. With demons and others, they strictly limit strength, individual thought, and or abilities unless instructed or allowed to use them. Removal of collars can injure those they control to varying degrees, it’s just that the curses do the most damage to those who have died and come back. Damage done to others, will mainly come from the wearers resistance to orders or control. We need to prepare for every scenario.” “With Silver, was it different?” Puppeteer asked, curiosity filling his mind. Nova shook her head, only to answer,”No, as Sliver, EEeEE, and Lonliness weren’t being controlled, but were being attacked by a mob of mind controlled pastas.” As she finished this sentence, the door to Slenders office creaked open, revealing a half skeletal boy that Slender and Puppeteer knew all too well. Nova looked at the boy, and saw a child once filled with such promise, a future even. She noted the proxy symbol crudely etched into the remaining skin on his neck. Then his voice entered the room, a mix of a young boy, and sobbing sounds leaving his mouth as he spoke. “Is everything going to be ok? I know I’m not supposed to be in here, but are we all going to…” As his voice trailed off, Nova felt a mixture of sympathy, empathy, sadness, and concern. Nova saw Slenders movements from the corner of her eyes, and felt his anger as he stood. The boy flinched, seeming to know what was coming, when Nova calmly stood up, and got between them. “What’s your name kiddo?” Nova asked in a tone that came naturally to her, even after 2 years of butchering and murdering others. The boy looked back at his master, who stood frozen behind the lady whom he perceived to be very nice. He giggled a little, then he answered,”I’m Charlie, my full first name is Charles.” Nova smiled softly, pulling the boy’s attention away from Slender altogether. “Well Charlie,” she said sweetly,”We’re going to do what we can. I know you’re scared, but you’re stronger than you think.” Charles laughed, leaving the room while saying,”Thank you!” The door closed behind him, and once his footsteps were no longer heard, Slender spoke up,”You didn’t have to deal with my proxy, I could have handled him.” The anger was evident in his voice, causing Puppeteer to watch both of them in a trance of sorts. He wondered if a fight would break out, dissolving the discussion they were having entirely. Nova stood up, turning on her heels to face the demon who was much taller than her. “Your proxy was scared, same as you. And, you were going to boldly, and maybe even violently, punish him for entering a room,” Nova said, her gaze seeming to pierce through the faceless demon without fear,”Do you deny it?” Slender didn’t answer, only eventually standing down after what felt like several minutes. He cleared his throat shortly after the event,”With the knowledge of the collars that we do have, how do we proceed? We need more fire power, and the risk of proxies being controlled is too high.” Nova seemed to relax back into the conversation like nothing had happened, Puppeteer following her odd example. “Unfortunately that’s true,” Puppeteer added,”both of my proxies would easily be victims of the curses they can inflict, as would your only 2 remaining proxies.” “We might be able to find out more if we could gain some more trust from outsiders who weren’t captured,” Nova added, seeming to hint at a few other pastas that were unlikely to be imprisoned. Slender seemed to groan at the thought, but nodded in a way that told her they would look into that next. “With that in mind,” Slender said, deciding to change subjects,”Do we know any information or weaknesses for Ryzoth, if the worst is to pass. As it stands, Asters were only barely able to banish him, even with our help.” “Nova, you do know the most about him,” Puppeteer added, looking at her. Nova was about to say that she had something she needed to retrieve from her room when she remembered it was on the chair she’d left behind when comforting Charles. “I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached to my body,” Nova said sheepishly, reaching to grab the journal off the chair and place it on Slenders desk. “What’s that?” Puppeteer asked curiously, reaching his hand out to touch it. As Slender glared at him Nova explained,”That journal comes from the father of a young girl. As you know Slender, Asters are given the job of protecting humans, on my only job the young girl was killed by her father. It was over 2 years ago now, he had abused her, and then killed her to be a vessel for Ryzoth. His death was a mixture of my rage, and promise not to let him do that to anyone else. When my father brought Ryzoth to my attention back in October, I explored the old house. Hunters were searching it too, but the journal seems to hold rituals for summoning Ryzoth. It’s the only information I have, but I have never been able to decipher it…” Slender carefully picked up the journal, skimming the pages briefly before saying,”It’ll take me some time, but I think I’ll be able to figure it out.” As they were about to discuss what their next steps were, when finding the information they heard people freaking out. Slender, Nova and Puppeteer quickly left the room to investigate. BEN was the first one to leave his room after seeing Ember run by, with Lui close behind her. He didn’t know much about the strange demonic dog, other than the fact that she had been sticking close to Nova when he was still healing at her place. “EMBER!” Lui cried after her, trying to get her to slow down, but she wasn’t having it. “You her new master or something,” BEN joked, earning him an annoyed glare from Lui. The glare sent a minor shutter through BEN, it reminded him of the multiple times that Jeff would kick his ass for stupid jokes. “No, she bothered me, then took off!” Lui replied, still chasing her. BEN was thoroughly confused now, not by Lui, but by the demon’s strange behavior. When they got downstairs, and out the now open front door, they saw Ember barking at a group. Among them was Sliver, EEeEE, Lonliness, Eyeless Jack, Smile Dog, and Zero. Sliver had a few deep wounds across his torso, Lonely had a blade sticking in his side, and was limping. Meanwhile EEeEE had one of his eyes hanging from his body, EJ laying limp on the eevee’s back, seemed to be soaked in blood. Zero still wore her scarf, but only to stop bleeding from her side, and Smile was dragging himself along while his own blood dripped from his mouth. Fairly close to the immediate group was a woman in a black nurses outfit, a black mask with a red cross in the middle was evident. She seemed to jump between injuries, trying to keep all of the group alive. Embers barking stopped when BEN approached the group. “The f**k happened Sliver!” He cried as he seemed to manifest something from his game to begin healing him. EEeEE laid down slowly, so as not to injure himself or the man on his back more. “They had a bit more fire power then we could handle,” EEeEE muttered, feeling dizzy from his awkward vision. “The hunters attacked us directly,” Lonely rasped attempting not to lay on the blade,”They used bats, and cursed weapons.” “Long story short,” Silver winced, as BEN treated his wounds,”We bit off more than we could chew, and there was definitely demonic energy behind those weapons they used.” As this conversation finished, Slender, Puppeteer and Nova were outside. “BEN,” Slender called, earning BEN’s attention,”Make sure everyone gets inside.” BEN didn’t argue, nodding before returning to trying to heal his fellow game pastas. “We have to discuss our alliance agreement, despite the timing of everything,” Puppeteer mumbled calmly. Slender sighed begrudgingly at this, but didn’t argue, and turned to Nova,”I assume you’re going to help them then.” Nova nodded, and Slender left with Puppeteer. As she looked around, she could see Lui trying to figure out how to help, and she noted the nurse clothed in black. She was about to offer her assistance when a familiar voice filled the area. It was weakened, and raspy sounding,”Seems like war is whispering loudly lately.” Nova’s eyes cast over to the red and black demon husky, she was about to tell him to conserve what little strength he had, when Ember was suddenly in front of him. “Save your strength Smile,” Ember growled at him sternly. Nova watched their interaction carefully, making sure that things weren’t going to take a turn for the worst. “Why should I listen to-!?” Smile started to argue, only to cough up blood. Ember chuckled triumphantly as Smile became silent. Nova shook her head with a smile, before walking up to Lui, and the young nurse. “Lui go up into my room, and grab my bag, there should be some stuff in there.” Lui would have argued, but he didn’t really know what to do otherwise so he left to retrieve her bag. The Nurse looked up at her, piercing red eyes glinting under the moonlight. Nova kneeled down next to her, as the woman’s gaze followed. How can I be of help Ms….?” Nova asked, causing the woman to stare at her slightly harder. “Anne, and you’re helping why?” She asked, her voice sounding numb and annoyed. Nova didn’t let her tone bother her, she just replied,”We have to stick together, whether you like it or not. Those hunters will kill us all, so if I can help, I’m going to help.” Anne sighed, giving her instructions as she worked. Those instructions extended to Lui when he came back. Once the group members were all stable enough, they were brought safely, and carefully inside.
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