The silence of the night was broken only by the muffled screams that occasionally escaped the prison block before he heard heavy, hurried footsteps thumping against the cold ground drawing his attention. Looking up his gaze fixing on Rebecca who was leading a group of four equally weary figures towards him. Their approach was swift and their faces a mix of desperation and faint hope, illuminated by the flickering firelight.
"This is the guy I told you about," Rebecca announced, her voice a rush of relieved excitement, he was honestly a bit surprised she still managed to recognize him. "I owe him and he's also the reason why I felt I could come rescue all of you from this place." Her words soon faltered and died out as her eyes landed on the two formidable, hulking figures seated quietly beside Lesh, each seemingly sharpening mean looking blades with their bare hands, her own instinctively flew to the hilt of her blade, drawing it with a metallic whisper that sliced through the quiet that had once more fallen over them. Her stance became defensive, her body tensing with every muscle coiled as she stood protectively Infront of her group.
"Don't worry Braedon," she whispered, her voice low and tight with fear, yet laced with a fierce protectiveness. "I may not have known they had such monsters under their control but I won't let them hurt you, I don't think they can see well and they seem distracted so slowly come over here and get behind me." Her focus remained locked on the two demonic looking beings, their presence an oppressive weight in the night well her companions huddled together behind her, their eyes wide with terror and petrified into silence by their presence.
"Bonzie!" The sudden, ebullient cry of Alice pierced the tense silence as she landed with a flourish, her scythe held high above her head in an impressive and dramatic pose precisely between Lesh and the now-frozen Rebecca. Her arrival was a whirlwind of vibrant energy, a startling contrast to the grim atmosphere that had settled over the group and would have no doubt drawn a lot of attention by the volume of her voice alone. "What? No applause? I do my best to clear the place out, even get some blood on my dress and even do a super awesome landing thingy but not even a clap or cheer or anything? She asked with a pouted, her disappointment palpable before a loud, slow and clearly deliberate clap echoed through the night.
"Thank yo—" Alice began, her face brightening with eager anticipation, but her words caught in her throat. Her eyes widening as they lost their playful sparkle, fixating on the source of the applause. It was the two large, menacing figures, their massive hands slowly coming together as they looked at her causing a shiver to run down her spine under there focused gaze before it seemed to return to what lay before them: two bubbling and sizzling puddles where their reforged weapons, a large cleaver and a pair of odd, bulbous knuckle dusters now sat in place of the large broadswords. The puddles pulsing gently before slowly creeping up the new weapons, over their arms and sealing up the wounds they came from.
"Wha-wha-what are those things!" Alice stammered, her voice barely a whisper as a instinctive and primal fear, the dread that evolved along with humanity that always bubbled up when facing the unknown horrors of the dark reared its terrifying head. Even her usual bravado seemed to crack under the weight of their silent presence before returning as a fire wanting to see how she might match up against them.
"Well now, that's rather rude, don't you think?" Lesh drawled, a hint of disdain in his hoarse voice as he sighed. "Butcher and Carnage even clapped for you rather impressed by your landing and you call them things? Tsk, but then again, you humans are often are like that even if you are… Different." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, his gaze lingering on the spots the puddles once sat before examining closely how the ground they existed on reacted to them. "So you're the meat sack that's been with him since the change? And the tin of meat over there is the new one Braedon had us come out here for? Not really impressive if I'm being honest but what can you expect from humans. At least you're proving some use for the long run and did save him well working well and balancing him out, that earns you quite a few points with us little miss blue. So, tin can," he said, gaze meeting Alice's before turning towards the knight with a smirk playing on his lips, "tell me who those three with you are. We have some time while we wait for the brothers in chains to finish with there captor." Lesh said well leaned back, once more settling down comfortably to stare at the starry sky, seemingly unconcerned by the palpable tension, as if the sword in her grip and the fear in her eyes meant nothing to him.
Rebecca, her frustration now overriding her fear couldn't help but demanded to know who this was. "Who are you? What did you do to Braedon!" Her grip on her blade remained tight, her eyes narrowed in a fierce glare directed at Lesh.
"You're another of those personality things from his head, aren't you?" Alice posited, bouncing over and crouching down to examine Lesh with unabashed curiosity, her earlier fear momentarily forgotten in the face of a new enigma. Her nature was to dissect puzzles and Lesh was a fascinating one as she began to poke him.
"Personality things? What are you talking about? And what are those two things!" Rebecca's voice cut through the air, her voice sharp with a desperation to understand as her innate frustration battled her lingering fear for dominance. The situation was far to surreal and her mind struggled to grasp the bizarre reality unfolding before her eyes.
"Really? 'Personality things'?" Lesh scoffed, a dry, almost academic tone entering his voice. "We may reside in his head and have originated as tiny fragments of him but only two or maybe three of us are actually remain fundamental parts of John's psyche. The rest of us, including myself are a kind resident or refugee, our original energies either allowing us to continue our existence in his fractured psyche or blending with a fractioned element of his personality to become something new well remaining independent, anchoring to him in a sense." He tried to explain before pointing at himself. "John is a kind and pure soul. His strong spiritual ties and a bloodline deeply intertwined with the supernatural from both sides of his family lineage along with his open embrace of all things supernatural and spiritual mixing together with his own fractured mind led to something truly unique. His mind is somehow able to withstand the immense strain our existence and residence within his mind puts on him, rather than breaking it strains till it manages to adapt and then is strained once more, working it repeatedly like a muscle to make it stronger and handle more." He explained before pausing, lowering his arm and looking back at the vast, star-peppered canvas above them, visibly taking care in selecting his next words. "Before everything happened, all we could do was converse through dreams or thoughts, only forcing control over him in the most extreme of cases. Occasionally, he would end up in his mindscape, a place he has created and allows us to reside that exists subconsciously. Those like me who don't leave or have taken a tiny part of himself and become part of him and him part of ourselves call ourselves residents, it truly is interesting."
He continued, his voice taking on a more narrative, almost storytelling quality. "This mindscape isn't just a simple mental construct but rather a living, breathing extension of John's very being given form in his subconscious, a nexus point where his unique spiritual energies and hereditary predispositions converge. It acts as a sanctuary, a bridge and even a prison for those who stumble into it with ill intent and… that thing. Imagine a boundless internal world, constantly shifting and reforming according to his will and subconscious influences, yet possessing an undeniable physical presence for us who inhabit it. We, the residents, have built lives within its ever-changing landscapes and found peace in its strange serenity. Managing to forge a unique community all our own. But the key distinction to separating our existence from that of parasites is that we could never directly influence him, not truly and certainly never take over his physical form like this unless under the most extreme of situations and even then, it was never more than a minute at most. Well, the small part consisting of his core personality could nudge him slightly, an instinctual whisper of sorts but not the external residents such as myself even though we hold a tiny fragment of him. Our connection was always one of observation and subtle communication until the change happened." He finished, shedding light on the nature and existence of both himself and those in John's mind for those present.
Alice, her boundless curiosity fully ignited, pressed on. "Who are you, though? And you said refugees? From where? And is Braedon one of those three personality thingies or a resident?" Her questions tumbled out in a rapid-fire succession, her mind racing to process the new information but eager to probe deeper into this fantastical explanation.
"You can refer to me as Lesh," he replied, his voice still holding that undercurrent of dry amusement. "As for where we all came from, that would be various places on the plains and various realms over many years since he was much smaller in many ways. Some of us, in desperate efforts to escape our own crumbling realities or relentless pursuers wound up within his mind. His susceptibility to spiritual realms and the unique origin and core of his soul, coupled with the malleable nature of his mind made it almost like a miniature realm all by itself before a few years ago he nearly ripped himself apart creating a rea one for them to reside in, truly it was an interesting sight. Albeit what he originally had was a false or half-realm due to its lack of true stability and a few essential components, but the mindscape was good enough for most of us at the time. Even now it proves to be so pliable to his will that he literally gave homes to us who needed them that are now used for any newcomers who stumble their way in." Lesh's tone softened slightly, a hint of genuine respect entering his voice. "Honestly, he lets almost everyone and everything that stumbles into it leave when they want, often forcefully in most cases if they seem like they could create conflicts or problems but a few, such as myself were lucky to be allowed to reside there permanently due to various reasons as long as we help to ensure others are made to leave when needed or deal with the truly unpleasant folks that end up there from time to time. As for where those who we send away go, it's either to the new plane where he's set up a refuge-like camp that's slowly become a city in his own little part of the plains, its where he would fought each night for almost three months straight to establish his foothold, or they go wherever it is they can go to on their own. Sigh, I just wish he could have learnt and used the various things he was taught in his reality yet the laws of reality didn't permit it." Lesh explained, his voice calm but tinged with a weariness born of long observation, yet also laced with a vast, undeniable pride as he spoke of John's incredible accomplishments.
Rebecca, utterly lost in the labyrinthine explanation, shook her head, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait, I don't think I understand any of this. What city? And what do you mean, 'in his head'? Is this something related to what he chose when things changed?" She tried desperately to make sense of the fantastical narrative, her mind struggling to bridge the gap between her reality and Lesh's.
"Just pretend John has multiple personalities and Braedon, the guy you met before, was one of them and this is another. That should keep things easy for that simple little head of yours," Alice chimed in, walking over and playfully patting Rebecca's helmet and earning a sharp glare from beneath the visor for it.
"Uhm, sorry to butt in but Rebecca said you came here with her to help us and rescue us, also that you could, well, maybe have, uhm, something almost like—" One of the younger girls Rebecca had returned with stammered, uncertainly tripping over her words, her voice barely audible. Before she could finish though the only guy in the group, a lean, wiry figure named Vick, harshly cut her off.
"She told us you don't have the Elysium's Vitalis herb but rather a possible equivalent. So, you're going to take us to that greenhouse, give us all the food you have there, along with all the healing herbs you possess. We will judge whether you really do or don't have the Elysium's Vitalis or a suitable substitute." He said, his voice hard and uncompromising, devoid of any trace of gratitude or fear but rather full entitlement before, to everyone's shock, he pulled a gun from his waistband, the dull gleam of its barrel reflecting the firelight as he pointed it directly at Lesh.
"Vick! What the hell are you doing!" Rebecca screamed, her voice a mixture of shock and utter disbelief at her friend's treacherous actions.
"Stay out of this Rebecca! I'm doing this for us!" Vick snapped back, his eyes steely and cold. "He's clearly tired from fighting or doing whatever he did and mentally unstable! I'm not going to chance this. I will get us all we can and we will try to find a better survival camp, maybe that government city will be a good place to settle." His tone was harsh, leaving no room for argument, causing Rebecca to visibly flinch and look down, her shoulders slumping. Vick's grip tightened on the gun as he shifted his aim, keeping it firmly on Lesh.
"Hmm, so the reason you are strong when fighting but subservient when it came to Braedon earlier is because of this man?" Lesh mused, his gaze drifting from Rebecca's bowed head to Alice, his hoarse voice now holding traces of keen interest, an almost predatory glint in his eyes that sparkled with newfound excitement as he completely ignored Vick and the gun, treating them as if they held no importance or impact whatsoever. "Clear signs of conditioning and abuse, an ingrained dependency upon him. When the 'know-it-all' encountered you his tone, mannerisms and personality no doubt triggered that conditioning. Little Miss Blue," he addressed Alice directly, "when you had her get cleaned and changed earlier before we had come here, tell me, were there marks on her? Any noticeable cuts or bruises, or even weird-looking tattoo marks or anything?"
Alice, her surprise from seeing the gun was quickly broken as she snapped back to attention at Lesh's question, slowly tapped her chin in thought, her brow furrowing but an amused look now tugging on her lips, interested in how this would play out. "Yes, she had a mix of old cuts and bruises along her arms, thighs and a few across her back. Some seemed fresh but I thought it was from her fight with Elena and just having had a rough time surviving out here. But no weird tattoos or anything that I could see, only some scars that have healed over. Wait," her eyes widened as the implications dawned on her, "are you saying that they weren't caused by fights but by this guy!" Her tone went from thoughtful to dangerously high and angry as she glared at Vick who, in turn, swiveled the gun to aim at her, his face a mask of desperate resolve under the now infuriated girls murderous gaze, the madness giving way to pure, uncontained fury.