A low groan rumbled from the figure slumped on the makeshift seat Lesh had rested into in the office stirring Alice from her watchful perch. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she leaned closer and playfully poked his cheek. Bleary eyes, similar to someone waking from a deep sleep slowly fluttered open, struggling valiantly to drag the world back into focus.
"Wakey, wakey, sleepy head!" Alice's voice, bright and resonant, cut through the fog of unconsciousness causing John to react as if jolted by an electric current. He sprang upright, a flurry of motion as his hands frantically patted his body, a particular emphasis on his midsection before letting out a sigh of relief, almost theatrical in nature before the slight ache of such a rapid motion hit him.
"Oh, thank goodness, I'm still chunky," John declared in relief. "I honestly thought all those tortures under the pretenses of 'training' and 'healing' they put me through would have left me thin or even worse, muscular!" He imagined a gaunt or hardened version of himself and recoiled internally, finding the image deeply unsettling. It wasn't him and It never would be if he had any say on the matter.
Alice giggled, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet next to him. "Agreed! If you suddenly became thin or muscular you wouldn't be half as good of a hug pillow anymore, it would be like cuddling a bag of rocks!" She didn't wait for an answer, already launching into her next thought. "Oh, but I'm supposed to catch you up on things! So, welcome… to the future! A desolate hellscape of hate and pain where care and love is rare so appreciate my affection!" With a flourish, she launched herself at him, enveloping him in a joyous, 'glomping' hug that nearly knocked the wind out of him but still knocked him back as his arm wrapped around her.
John squeezed her back, burying his face dramatically into her shoulder. "Ugh, well, it's good to be back. But damn, Alice, you wouldn't believe what I went through! I was completely cut off from the real world while I was 'healing' and 'bonding' with only being told the bare bones details of things, it felt more like my so-called friends decided it was prime time to use their voices and put me through various hells with an intent to thin me out or rock me! I'm cuddly and that's how I'm meant to be! No way in hell do I want to lose weight or bulk up or some crap like that but it's like they insisted and even commented over and over how beneficial that would be! Why can't they understand that fat guys make great pillows and just accept that I like being chub's like you do?" He tightened his embrace, playing along with her dramatic flair, finding a strange solace in the familiar comfort.
A new voice, bright and overtly eager shattered his touching reunion. "Ooooh, what type of training? Do you suddenly have a soul slayer or a special spirit helping you? And how could you not know what was going on? Weren't you made aware of anything or looking out at the real world through various bubbles, mirrors or behind mystic bars?" Ash, the whirlwind of boundless excitement and other times somber solitude appeared beside them, her curiosity bubbling over as the prospect of someone like her ignited her excitement. Her questions tumbled out in a single breath and before John could even process them, she began to poke him all over, her fingers prodding with an almost scientific intensity.
John lightly pushed her away with the help of his chains, now back to being numerous and simple as his brow furrowed in confusion as he turned to Alice for an explanation. "Uhm, Alice," he began, his voice somewhat hesitant, "who exactly is this person? Is she a friend of yours?" He genuinely had no idea as no one made any mention of a new person, let alone a girl having gotten close with them, a fact that earned him a sharp scowl from Alice.
"She's an annoyance," Alice declared, her tone dripping with disdain. "A lost, shirt stuffing or cheating bitch called Ashley preferring to be called Ash. I was prevented from turning her into the literal part of her name though since apparently, she 'can be useful' or whatever and Lesh would often stop me whenever I tried to cut her away somehow, he even knew whenever I set traps for her! But instead of actually being useful like he claims she would be she's been nothing but a cow-breasted annoyance with an ever-growing chest that swells each day! I mean, seriously!" Her voice rose, indignation mounting. "These were the same size as mine when we picked her up and now just look at them! She's got to be fucken cheating and is so selfish she won't even tell me how she's doing it!" With startling swiftness Alice slipped behind her, hands brazenly and visibly groping and squeezing. A surprised 'Eep!' escaped Ash as she tried in vain to wriggle free, her face flushing crimson.
Rubbing his temples and letting out a long, weary sigh, John watched the bizarre scene unfold. He knew he desperately needed answers, but before that, he did what any straight guy might be expected to do in such a situation. He kept his mouth shut and began doing all he could to burn this image – of one girl groping another so enthusiastically that their clothes were slightly coming loose – into his mind. After all, it wasn't every day such a scene unfolded right in front of him, especially not after being "away" for so long. He figured maybe it was karma finally rewarding him for the hardships he had endured.
A few minutes later, once the unexpected skirmish had subsided and everyone had calmed down, Alice diligently explained all that John had missed, filling in the gaps that had been left out. The narrative flowed, from the capture of the imp and their unexpected trip in the Gods' realm a bit after Braedon had taken over, to their return two years later. She recounted the tense conflict with the Marauders, the pivotal emergence of Lesh and finally the current order of things three weeks later: his small budding force of people and their attempts at creating a stronghold.
John silently absorbed every detail, his mind racing. The time skip bothered him more than he would be willing to admit; it meant he had missed the early, crucial stages of preparation and establishment, moments where his leadership could have shaped the foundation and make a proper impact, to create their foundations of an empire of revenge. Yet, he was also somewhat relieved that they had at least begun to create some form of framework to work with even if it was so much later. The specialized classes the few people here would prove invaluable, he mused agreeing with Lesh's assessment in regards to there potential, plans already beginning to crystallize in his mind as he tried to plan out how to use them and how to train them. This would have to be his starting point and even though it was late he had no choice but to accept it.
"And there's been no retaliation or attacks or anything since they were freed by the Marauders? No random people attacking or threats or even raid attempts?" he couldn't help but ask, a frown deepening on his face as he knew that shouldn't be possible. The absolute lack of outside contact struck him as an extreme anomaly, a glaring red flag in the fabric of their current peace.
"Hmm, nope," Alice replied after a moment of thought, clearly not noticing the abnormalities that John had. "No people besides those we encountered when expanding or a few shady people trying to trade what they hunted but being turned down and then grumbling as they left, no one came close to our own base though or small expanded area after expansions. Some shelbies and farm wolves were brought in though, along with various building materials and the like from the surrounding areas." She shrugged, either oblivious or uncaring about the implications.
"I have a really bad feeling about this and I haven't even had a chance to go through the things here," John muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping the unfamiliar surroundings. "Okay, plan and think it through, the stuff here might be important but there's more important things to focus on first." He muttered to himself before turning his focus back to the girls, his expression shifting to one of grim seriousness.
"Where are the prisoners being kept?" he asked, his voice firm. "The Imp, the Bastard and the three girls he fucked up? Speaking of which, has there been any progress in helping them break there conditioning?" A sour look crossing his face as he mentioned the girls. The idea of keeping them imprisoned due to actions that weren't entirely their own sat very poorly with him. He firmly believed in second chances, especially for those caught in circumstances beyond their control but this wasn't even a matter of second chances as they hadn't had a proper first chance.
"Oh, oh, I can show you!" Ash exclaimed, practically buzzing with excitement. Her earlier embarrassment forgotten as she latched onto John's arm well sending a smug look at Alice. "My bestie, Saya, should be heading there soon to screw with the bastard! I've been giving her some suggestions from some of the brutal stuff I've seen before to help spice things up like the nail ripping from Higurashi." She exclaimed, practically pulling him along much to Alice's visible annoyance before she followed, her eyes narrowing at Ash's back well muttering various curses, oddly it seemed the annoyance and anger Ash caused proved to be effective in curbing her madness, something she had noticed two weeks back but still refused to accept as it would mean she was actually useful to her and not just the budding camp.