"Please… we need your help…" the woman said only those things the first moment her eyes met Darian and the others. She was breathing heavily and her whole body was full of multiple scratches. It felt like some injuries had already been treated, but others were still being healed by Bianca and Rusty.
After the woman finished the sentence, she coughed up some blood again, which splattered on the table in front of her. Rusty immediately went to clean it up. "Wha… what happened here?" said Darian, confused, as he immediately rushed next to Rusty to understand what was happening inside his base. Lily and Vane, confused, didn't know what to do, while Liro rushed towards Bianca to understand what happened.
"Bianca? What are you doing here?" asked Liro as he reached her. The woman with the wings sitting on the bed was watching Liro with pain in her eyes; she looked like she was in her twenties.
"She help- cough cough," the woman tried to speak, but she ended up spitting some more blood, now on Rusty's body. Her vision was currently becoming blurred, her head was becoming dizzier, and everything was feeling surreal for her.
Suddenly, without giving any warning, the woman passed out again. "Woah, is she alright?" asked Lily, worried, as she got closer with Vane next to her. Bianca nodded her head. "Don't worry. Rusty, can you bring her down?" asked Bianca. Rusty, without hesitation, grabbed the body of the unconscious woman and brought her through the door below to where the beds were located.
"Bianca… what happened here? What are you doing here? And who was that woman?" As Darian watched Rusty go to the room below, he had so many questions in his mind. He looked at Bianca with a confused expression.
Bianca breathed out heavily as she was feeling extremely tired. "We've never seen that woman… is she someone from Skar-Zhul?" asked Liro, believing that she could be a new member of the Shakurn, but Bianca immediately shook her head.
"She isn't from Skar-Zhul…" she said, before being interrupted by Vane. "Lily, do you remember someone like her in Yalemba?" he asked. "No, I would remember…" Lily answered without hesitation; she didn't even need to think.
Liro remained silent for a moment while the others were speaking until he realized something. "She isn't from Therya… neither from Yalemba nor Skar-Zhul… this means!" he whispered as he realized he had arrived at a conclusion. Bianca, realizing that Liro understood everything, spoke again.
Darian, hearing Liro's words, was able to understand too, even if he wanted to hear the truth from Bianca. 'How was the last city called… I don't remember.' Darian, lost in his thoughts, tried to remember if the others had ever told him the name of the last city. Just as he suddenly remembered it, Bianca began to speak.
"Exactly. She isn't from any of our cities… she's from Ardoris." Hearing this name, the others all felt confused. "Wait… the last city isn't called that. What are you saying?" asked Liro, confused. He was sure he had read that the last of the four main cities was called Karyuz.
"Are you saying that another city could-" Darian began, imagining in his mind a fifth city of humanity, something that no one knew about, but Bianca immediately interrupted him, destroying all of his dreams.
"I know that the last city was called Karyuz… but it isn't called that anymore. Now, as I've told you, it's called Ardoris," said Bianca.
"And you said that woman was coming from there, right?" asked Lily, curious about the truth regarding that woman.
Bianca nodded her head. "From what she has told me, she escaped from there." Hearing this, everyone gasped in surprise. "Escaped? What do you mean?" asked Darian, confused, as his heart began to beat faster; he realized that this city might be an actual dangerous place.
"Lady Bianca found Lady Catripple gravely injured in the forest some hours before I sent you the text, Master," said a voice behind them. The moment the group turned around, they saw Rusty, who had just returned to this higher floor.
"Catripple? Is that the name of the woman?" asked Liro, confused.
"Exactly. I was exploring around when I suddenly heard some footsteps…" Bianca began telling them about a few days before, when she had randomly found this girl gravely injured in the wild, all alone.
'Let's see… where should I go?' thought Bianca. She was currently in the shape of a Krukspy and was searching for another group of Krukins which she would be able to join. Her objective was once again the Black Planet; after the Skar-Zhul's attack, she had never been able to reach the Black Planet again, and now that she had the chance, she realized it was the right time for her to discover some important things.
Suddenly, while she was going around, she heard something. It was as if something had fallen from a tree. What is it? thought Bianca, scared, as she immediately jumped into a bush next to her. Sticking her head out, she tried to see what had happened at the place where the object fell from the tree, and what she saw made her heart beat faster.
In front of her was a human, completely covered in blood and scratches. Her leg was bleeding heavily and she could no longer stay on her feet. The first thing that immediately caught Bianca's eyes were her wings. Apart from the beautiful color, they were in terrible condition; it wasn't like when Darian and the others first saw her. Currently, the woman was missing some feathers, and there were literal holes in her wings.
The woman leaned against the tree and started to look at the sky above her. "Is it the end… no one will ever know the truth…" Suddenly, Bianca decided to come out of the bush, still transformed as a Krukin.
The woman, in surprise, moved her eyes towards the creature. "Hey… you're one of the Krukins, right? It feels great to see a new Krukin rather than just him, at the end of my life…" Just as she was about to close her eyes, Bianca turned back to normal. Seeing that, the woman opened her eyes wider. Before, she had just accepted her end, but now seeing a human in front of her made her fight back for her life.
"What… a human?" whispered the woman, confused, when Bianca grabbed her. "I'll bring you to a safer place," said Bianca as she started to carry the woman towards Darian's base. 'Darian might not be there, knowing what happened to Yalemba recently… but I'm sure that Rusty will be there no matter what.' With that, Bianca started to walk very slowly while carrying the woman on her back. "…Thank you…" whispered the woman before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
It took around two hours for Bianca to reach the base; during this time, the woman hadn't woken up yet. The moment Bianca returned to the base, Rusty was about to enter the house when he suddenly felt someone nearby. When he turned around, he saw Bianca carrying someone on her back that he had never seen before.
"I don't know either… just help me heal her up." Bianca didn't even give Rusty time to ask before she answered and opened the door behind him. "Come inside," said Rusty with his metallic voice. The moment Bianca entered the house, she laid the woman on the bed and sat next to her.
"I've got something to cover most of her injuries, wait here," said Rusty as he immediately went outside to grab some medical supplies to heal the woman. Bianca nodded her head and patiently waited for Rusty to return. Suddenly, she heard a voice.
"Am I alive?" whispered the woman, confused, not realizing where she was.
Bianca, realizing that the woman was awake, remained calm. "You're safe… can you speak?" said Bianca. She knew that the woman had to rest and it might be hard for her to speak, but she wanted to know more about what had happened to her.
"Yeah…" said the woman as she positioned a hand on her forehead and whispered, "I did it… I escaped…" she murmured in an extremely low voice. Bianca tried to hear what she was saying, but it was almost impossible. Suddenly, the door opened and Rusty came into the house. "I've got everything."
The woman looked at Rusty with her eyes wide open and with a lot of confusion in her mind. "Is this a dream?" she asked, confused. Bianca slowly positioned a hand over her shoulder while Rusty was getting closer. "It's better for you not to ask any questions." Rusty watched both of them, confused, as he had just brought the medical kit for her.
"By the way… where are you from?" asked Bianca, confused, as she started to cover her body in bandages while Rusty helped her. In her mind was the scene where she first met her, and the words she said were stuck in her mind. 'She said a new Krukin rather than him… Krukspies are found everywhere, I don't get it…' thought Bianca, confused. Suddenly, the woman spoke up again.
"First, thank you… I am grateful for everything. My name is Catripple," she said.
"I'm Bianca, and he is Rusty," said Bianca as she introduced both herself and Rusty. As Catripple moved her eyes towards Rusty, he moved his hand in a warm way, waving at her. The more she looked at him, the more he seemed strange to Catripple.
"I'm from Ardoris," said Catripple. Bianca, hearing this, remained confused, as she was sure she had never heard of a place called that. "Ardoris? What do you mean? Is it a new city?"
"Oh, right… you probably know it by its old name. I'm talking about Karyuz," said Catripple. Hearing this, Bianca realized that it was the last main city that remained in this world.
"But why do you call it Ardoris? And what do you mean by its old name? What happened to the city?" asked Bianca. Suddenly, Catripple's body began to shake.
"It's because of him…" she whispered while bad memories played in her mind again. A black spear near her throat was threatening her life. "Do you understand that you must not escape anymore?!" said the creature holding the spear. Bianca, realizing that Catripple had started to shake, slowly removed her hands from her body, and the woman began to scream.
"NO!! NOOOO, STOP!! GET OUT OF MY MIND!" she shouted as she began crying. Suddenly, without realizing it, the woman passed out. "What?" whispered Bianca, confused, as she saw the unconscious body of Catripple on the bed.
"It seems like she remembered something bad," said Rusty as he went near her wings and started to inspect one of them. "Rusty, this woman was calling for help… do you know where Darian and the others are?" asked Bianca.
"I can try to reach the others in Skar-Zhul, but we've got many other problems going on…" she said. Rusty, without any problem, answered her, "They aren't far from there; I'll contact them immediately." With that, Rusty began typing a text to Darian in which he said: 'Master, you need to return immediately.'
"Contact immediatly? What do you mean?" asked Bianca, confused.
"It is a long process, do you want to know?" asked Rusty.
"Well, it's not like I have anything important to do… I guess I'll stay here until the others arrive," said Bianca. With that, she started to talk with Rusty.
"And today she woke up for barely thirty minutes, she gained consciousness right before you arrived…" said Bianca as she finished telling the story.
As Bianca finished the story, everyone else took a seat as they couldn't believe their ears. "And who the hell is she talking about? Who is this person?" asked Liro, confused, as his head was exploding with information.
"It might be a Krukin. Remember what Bianca told us: the first time she saw Bianca as a Krukspy, she said that it was nice to see a new Krukin…" whispered Darian, confused.
"But it doesn't make any sense. Krukspies are the most common ones, right?" asked Vane.
"That's what I thought too. During these days, I was able to remember that Karyuz used to have a lot of expeditions in the mainland too, so it feels strange that she didn't know about the Krukspy," answered Bianca. In these days, she had remained stuck with this question, with no answer to be found.
"But who was she escaping from…?" whispered Lily as she shook, thinking about what creature might have reduced her to that condition.
"Could it have been a Krukin? Maybe Kyujin?" suggested Liro. Everyone, remembering that creature, could only shake in fear.
"I guess we will ask her tomorrow…" said Bianca as she realized that they could just wait for Catripple to wake up.
"By the way, Bianca…" said Darian as he remembered one of the questions he received from Poisudonom. "Do you know something about the ninth Black Defender?" asked Darian. "Exactly, it felt like the Krukins were searching for him," added Liro.
"I know that the Krukins are searching for him…" said Bianca as she started to remember something that she had discovered in her travels. "Oh, right! I actually know something more than you," she said. The others looked at her with curiosity in their eyes.
"I know that he escaped three hundred years ago with something from the Black Planet… but I don't know anything more," said Bianca.
"What? He stole something?" shouted Darian in surprise. Bianca nodded her head. "That's what I believe…" she said. "By the way, you had a talk with a Krukin?" she asked in surprise. "Oh, yeah…" With that, Liro began to explain to Bianca what had happened since they left Darian's base.
Darian noticed that Rusty had already gone outside. "I'll leave you here for a moment, Snowy," he whispered as he left Snowy in his small bed and went outside to talk with Rusty.
"Master… do you want to know about the feathers on that person's back?" asked Rusty as he noticed Darian coming towards him. "Exactly… are they?" he said, hoping that Rusty would answer him immediately, but the answer surprised Darian.
"No, they aren't related at all to the ones we already have," said Rusty as he created a projection of the DNA of the feathers, which looked completely normal.
"Then what is that?" asked Darian, confused.
"I believe it's because of her power that her body started to change. From what I've heard from Bianca, it isn't the first time the body of a human has changed because of its power," said Rusty.
"Oh, right, there was Allen too… by the way, did either of the two feathers activate while I was away?" asked Darian, hoping that the feathers would activate so that they would discover something more. "Sadly, still no…" said Rusty as he removed the projection of the feather and returned to work.
Darian headed back to the house. 'I need to focus more on what will happen now… what the hell happened in Ardoris? And why does that woman need help from us?' thought Darian as he returned to the small house of the base.