May I axe you a question?

Sky stood amongst the carnage. Why did this have to happen? Maybe Sky would've found her answers if the others were alive. But that all blew away in the wind when she killed them in a blind rage. All she felt now was complete and total numbness. No emotions, not even anything physically. Her brain was beginning to lose control and her body was giving up. But something felt off. It wasn't quite like her body was giving up of its own free will, almost as if it was someone else was taking control.

Then, as if being dragged away against her own will she began to walk out of the maze and into the dense forest. She wandered the forest in a daze, dragging the axe behind her. For whatever reason her body would not allow her to let go of it. Or maybe it wasn't her that couldn't let go of it but whoever was sending her on her way on this cursed trek.

She continued to wander through the forest for several days. Sky could still see what was going on but it was almost as if she was watching through someone else's eyes. By the time whatever had its hold on Sky lifted, a few weeks had passed. In that time, when her head began to clear, it was also when she spotted the first signs of civilization she had seen since everything that had transpired.

As the fog completely lifted Sky took in her surroundings and it was in this moment that she realized that she was standing before a tavern. She had heard about these from Meredith, as she liked spending her free time at these places. But what was one doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?

A couple of people were sitting out on the benches outside. Sky began to panic a little. How would she look to them, or any of the others inside? A half robot lady carrying around a blood stained axe, along with blood stains on her body, would certainly look suspicious. But the ones that were sitting outside didn't pay much attention to her.

At this point her body was catching up to her and Sky began to realize how weak her body was becoming. Now that she was part human she was required to eat and drink like one, but not as regularly due to still being part robot. Sky tried to reassure herself, for all she knew these people probably thought she had gone out hunting. It wasn't like they could read her mind or anything. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself.

So she used what little strength she had to climb up the steps the entrance. As she got closer she saw a notice on the door. It read:

Welcome traveler!

We hope you can make yourself at home here. All creatures alike are accepted here. This is a safe haven for all! But to make this place as safe as it is we request that all drama and fights are to be left behind before entering.

We also require that any and all weapons are to be left in the box to the right off this door. No need to worry about any of your items being stolen as a protection spell has been cast so that you, and only you, may only grab out the items you put in. As you enter through the door any spells that were cast on you will also be stripped.

Please keep all of this in mind as I'm sure there are many of us here that would like to keep places like this up and running as there is already enough darkness in the world. Enjoy your stay and remember, there may be consequences if any of our rules are broken.

Sky looked too her right and there was, indeed, a box. Many weapons were already scattered within. If she wanted to fit in and not raise any suspicion then she would have to do as they said. Even if something was telling her that this axe was important and she shouldn't let it leave her side. But her hunger and thirst won over so she, very carefully, placed the axe into the box with the other assortment of weapons.

The moment she walked through the wooden doors all of her senses were welcomed with multiple sounds, sights and smells. Many creatures alike were busy chatting with one another. A small group towards the back were merrily singing with their choices of beverage in hand. Not far from this group was a bard who seemed quite miffed that others were enjoying his songs. Even though this place seemed so far away from any other civilization it was still quite crowded.

The giant fireplace out towards the opposite end of the tavern lit up the room, the warmth emanating from it felt very welcoming. But the most important thing that drew Sky more into the tavern was the smell. The meat roasting above the fireplace was make Sky's mouth water. There were also many other odors that Sky had never smelt before, making her stomach ache even more with hunger.

One of the staff behind the bar noticed Sky and merrily waved her over. Sky walked over and sat on one of the unoccupied stools. Everyone around her were in high spirits, maybe due to the strong smelling drinks they had. But they all seemed very friendly. Once the lady that had waved her over finished serving another patron she directed her attention, once more, to Sky.

"So how may I help you young lady?" She tried to raise her voice to be heard over all the noise but still managed to remain cheery.

"I would like something to eat and something else to quench my thirst."

"I can certainly do that for you! Anything specific you want?"

"Just give me your specialty." Sky wasn't fussy with what she got.

Whatever was eventually put in front of her smelt much more better than the stuff Meredith and herself had to eat. But the smell was nothing compared to how it tasted. It made her mouth water as she began devouring the meal like a rabid animal. The drink she downed the meal with tasted unlike anything she had tasted before. It tasted very sweet yet had a slight tang to it. But whatever it was made her feel all warm inside and there was plenty left in her large tankard.

The meal pleased Sky greatly and she made sure to tip generously, it wasn't like she was going to spend much of her money elsewhere. Her brain began to feel fuzzy again but this wasn't the kind where she was getting taken over like before. Whatever it was making her very happy, and she certainly wasn't complaining about that!

Some time passed as she merrily joined in with the others who had been singing. Everyone was in high spirits that night. At some point Sky passed out at the bar. Was it because the exhaustion finally caught up to her or was it because she had become very drunk? None of that matter anymore as she was in peaceful bliss.

Many hours had passed by the time she had finally woken up. The crowd had mostly dispersed by this time. The only ones that were left were a few of the staff, the bard and a few creatures who were now passed out like she had just been. A few new creatures that had turned up while she was sleeping though. She felt a bit groggy and her mouth was now dry, even though she had drank quite a bit last night.

"This is on the house." The lady that had greeted her when she said had a kind smile on her face as she said that, putting a mug of water in front of Sky.

Sky drank it up, making her feel a little refreshed. She had been here long enough and Sky felt it was time for her to take her leave. As she stumbled to her feet she bid her farewell to the lovely bartender and slowly made her way to the door. Sky had no idea where she was going after everything that happened but she could start with figuring out what was up with the axe that she has been so drawn too.

But when she reached into the crate, her axe didn't show up. She tried rummaging around for a bit more but it could not be found. Her heart sunk, there wasn't any way that her axe could've been taken. The notice on the door had said so. She had also made an attempt to take any other weapons but with no luck.

Sky headed back inside, hopefully the people who worked at this place could help her. As she asked around they seemed just as confused as she was. One of the workers asked if she could have possibly taken it out during the night as she did have a fair bit to drink. Unfortunately he wasn't able to answer much more as he, and many more of the staff, were very busy last night. So they weren't able to keep a track of what everyone was doing the night before.

So back out Sky went. Her heart was pounding at this point. She wanted to leave this be, but why was this axe so important? She thought she was going crazy but if it wasn't so important, then why was it taken? One thing Meredith had taught her was how to track. So, after some searching, Sky noticed on one of the nearby bushes was a small amount of blood. To be honest it could be blood from anything, but the coincidence was a bit too much. She also didn't have much else to go on.

She had no idea if whoever stole the axe were careless or setting a trap for her, but Sky found it a little too easy to track these beings. It didn't take long for her catch up with the thieves, only a few hours at most. It also wasn't too hard as Sky heard them long before she spotted them. They appeared to be arguing over something. Meanwhile Sky spotted the axe laying the ground nearby the thieves.

"Could you be anymore fucking useless!" The hushed shouting came from the person on the left. Her black hair was hard to make out with the very little light coming from the moon, But her pale, white skin on the other hand was impossible not to miss. At this point her eyes were red with anger.

"You're the one who knows about all this tracking shit! It should've been you who was covering our tracks!' The burly man facing the lady growled. For thieves that were able to get pass a magical barrier they didn't seem too bright.

Sky couldn't see much of the man's face behind all the hair the fell onto his face. Along with his scruffy, unkempt beard. But over his missing right eye was a very large bite mark. One that was left by some sort of large, dog like, animal.

"Well, whatever. It's not like they're going to be catching up with us anytime soon. They got pretty drunk last night. I made the bartender see to that." Sky should've felt upset by that revelation but she was no longer surprised. It was like nobody could be trusted in a world like this.

"Maybe I should've taken him up on being my partner instead." The man muttered.

"You can shut the fuck up Axis. I don't like this partnership as much as you do, but we have the axe now. So let's just get out of here."

"Ok, Crystal." He said mockingly.

They now took their leave as they took a few steps towards the clearing towards a dirt road. There Sky could make out a horse carriage. Sky began to panic as she realized she was losing her chance to get the axe from them. But before she could make a move Crystal suddenly stopped in her tracks. Axis had said something but they were too far away for Sky to hear what had been said.

But whatever it was it really upset Crystal. It was enough to anger her as the next thing to happen was she raised the axe, before quickly swinging it down. It hit Axis' neck with a sicking thud. It only went about a quarter through but it was enough to debilitate him as he collapsed to his knees while clutching his bloody neck.

In a split decision Sky took the opportunity to take a shot and grab the axe in the midst of this chaos. Sky moved quickly and silently, putting her training to good use. But it wasn't good enough because, as soon as she got in range to be in Crystal's peripheral vision, she swung at her. Sky quickly dodged as she fell to the ground. She tried to get up but the moment she did Sky was kicked back down.

"And what do you think you're doing you little bitch?" The lady barked at Sky.

"That axe doesn't belong to you!" Sky replied back to her.

"Yeah, no shit! But it doesn't belong to you either." She pointed the axe at Sky as she said that.

"Even if that's so, how did you even get past the spell lock?"

"Let's just say that there are some out there that owe us a few things, and I just happened to procure one such favor."

"Can I please have it back. I'll do whatever you want! This axe is very important to me!" Sky pleaded.

"Yeah, about that. I think we know more about this axe than you do. Otherwise you most certainly wouldn't have left this unguarded. I also don't know what deal you have with your faction but ours need it a lot more than you do. At least, with it now belonging to us, it'll will actually be put to good use. But anyway, as much as I would love to stay and chat I must get going. I've got something to take care of."

It was obvious that Sky had the disadvantage here but that didn't mean there wasn't anything else she could try. She must get that axe back by any means necessary. This was the only moment she before she lost the axe for good. All she had to do was hopefully not fail this time. With her quick agility she leaped back off the ground before jumping on Crystal's back, and latching onto the axe. The lady was caught a little off guard with her speed but quickly snapped back and began fighting against Sky, trying everything to get Sky off of her.

She could only hold on for so long before Crystal managed to shake her off. Sky landed on her feet like a cat before pouncing at Crystal once more. But this time Crystal was facing her. And, unlike before she was more prepared. As Sky was about to latch onto the axe once more Crystal, in a quick sweep, brang down the axe on Sky. Unfortunately Sky was not quick enough to dodge this attack as the axe burrowed deep into her shoulder.

As Sky laid there she noticed that, where the wound was, it was incredibly wet. Once she replaced, then removed, her hand from her injured shoulder she looked at it. It was a little hard to see with her vision blurred from tears of pain, but it looked like there was a red liquid on her hand. Was she bleeding? Sky hadn't thought about this as she wasn't human before, so didn't need blood within her to survive.

But there seemed to be something else going on, and possibly the reason that she hadn't been finished off yet. Some yelling could be heard in the distance, or maybe Sky was going crazy due to blood loss. Whatever was happening seemed to startle Crystal. As her vision began to fade Sky heard Crystal run off, possibly to be never seen again. Along with the axe.