The Adventures of Ace, Zeal and Candy

Battle

Ace was laying down in his bed, he had been staying with Zeal and Candy for around two weeks now and had grown to trust them but he was getting antsy. He wasn't really able to go outside and explore the world and see its beauty, In a way it was like being back in the facility but without having to sit in a cage all day and be experimented on. "Hey Zeal?" ace asked "yeah bud?" "when can i go outside?" Zeal looked at him and then at the floor tapping his on the ground "thats too risky ace....... im sorry...." Zeal walked out of the room and sat with candy in the living room "darn....." ace sighed and looked outside the window in his room "i just wanna go out there and see nature..... not be pent up here thirty, seven....."asleep. Ace paced back and forth in his room wondering about where he wanted to go and how long he should stay before returning so he wouldnt be seen by the knights or neyatene.
it was around 14:57 according to the clock on the wall, night would be around the corner soon and ace saw his opportunity to get outside of the house while Candy and Zeal were asleep. Night would hit soon and Ace would have his opportunity but he wasnt that patient anymore. It was as if he was coming down with cabin fever and would slowly go insane soon so he would have to make Candy and Zeal fall asleep but not by drugging them, ace wasnt that cruel, instead he would have to tire them out with a game and the house was big enough for a rather difficult game of hide and seek. He walked into the living room where Candy and Zeal were at "hey guys, could we play a game" "sure" they both said "what did you have in mind" asked Zeal "hide and seek" Zeal and candy both agreed to play "alright so whos seeking?" "maybe Zeal could go first as the seeker" Zeal sighed "okay...." he turned around and started counting down, "thirty, twenty nine, twenty eight....." Candy went upstairs into the attic and hid herself behind a few boxes of decorations for when the sykion new year would hit, ace went into the cellar and hid inside the same barrel he hid in when the knights searched the house "three two one, ready or not here i come"
Zeal went around looking through the kitchen first checking all the small places candy could be hiding in, he opened a cupboard and saw a little white ball "gotchya!" he grabbed it "wha..... its just a cotton ball...."  he frowned and continued his search and looked through the kitchen then moving on to the bedrooms. Candy was starting to get sleepy waiting for Zeal to find her and ace while ace was curled up in the barrel eating some of the fruits they had on hand, he picked up a small peach colored fuzzy fruit "ooh whats this?" he sniffed it "smells good?" he poked it "squishy" he licked it "outside has no taste but what about inside" he bite into it and felt the flavor of the fruit enter his taste buds "mmmmm! this is really good!" ace was starting to talk out but Zeal was in the attic poking around for candy "what is this fruit?" he looked at the inside of the barrel and saw the fruits name printed on it inside "peaches? this isnt a sykion fruit?" he bit into it savoring the flavor "must be a human fruit" ace a tried eating it all but found out that there was a seed in it "uh? is this a seed?" he pulled out the pit and looked at it "huh, thats a pretty big seed, this fruit might come from a tree"
Zeal walked around in the attic and looked around and saw candys ears sticking out from her corner "i see your ears candy" candys ears pricked up "aw man..... darn ears" she stood up and tugged her ears a bit "this is why i dont like hide and seek, i have the being small advantage but these ears...." Zeal chuckled and kissed her forehead "come on lets find ace" he yawned "tired sweetheart?" zeal nodded and went down to the cellar with her. Ace had eaten around three peaches now satisfied "man ive gotta try more human foods later on" he gave his stomach a pat and discarded the peach pits, Zeal opened the barrel he was in
"aha! found ya!" ace smiled and got out of the barrel "well that was a fun game" he noticed Zeal and Candy looked very groggy now and were about to probably fall asleep "hey why dont you two get to bed early tonight?" Zeal responded "sounds good, im enjoying this day off" he walked to the bedroom with candy, he picked up candy into a hug "my snuggle bunny" he spoke in a very soft tone of voice with care and affection making candy smile with a bright blush on her muzzle "not as snuggly as you" she clung onto him squeezing him a bit as they laid down in bed together getting under the covers falling asleep shortly after. Ace poked his head into the door and saw them both asleep snoring "aw.... their such a cute couple" he slowly slid the door shut and walked over to the front door opening it and peeking outside "almost night time" he grabbed his coat that one of candys friends made for him along with the new clothes he was currently wearing "good thing candy got these clothes for me, now i wont freeze my tail feathers off outside" he took a few steps onto the soil outside and walked off
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Ace was a far distance from the house and was having a small journey through the woods looking at the trees "these are beautiful" ace continued to walk looking at all the nature around him but he didnt know that he was being watched through the trees by some of the knights that had set up shop, they both left to go tell the neyatene since the knights didnt know how dangerous ace could be, ace continued to walk around observing all the things around him as the sun began to set "so this is what its like to be able to walk through here and get to enjoy the scenery" he took a deep breath and continued to walk through and observe his surroundings admiring the beauty of the world around him unaware of the few nights heading back to reverence
meanwhile candy and zeal woke up early "augh..... what time is it....." candy said Zeal looked over at the clock and looked at the time "its 20:34" man i wonder if ace went to sleep" Zeal got up and went over to aces room to see he wasnt in his bed and he immediately panicked "Candy! Ace is gone!" candy went over to him "what!?" she saw the empty room "uh oh...." Candy grabbed her coat and Zeal did the same as they both ran outside and looked around in the immediate area and tried to look for him "hes not at the market" Zeal spoke "he's not anywhere!" candy yelled as they both left the town and looked around the outskirts of the town "come on where could he be....." candy spoke in a worried tone "please dont tell me he was captured....." they both continued to search the nearby area
Ace was enjoying himself, he had eventually ventured so far he came across a railroad "so this is the means of travel around here" he looked at the tracks and was interested in what traveled along them and this was soon answered by the sound of the train passing through the area carrying cargo and passengers. The train itself wasn't a futuristic high tech vehicle that some sykions would think, they were actually comparable to normal human steam trains but were adapted for both humans and sykions to operate and control, of course there were certain trains for other regions that were strictly for humans and neyatene to use. Ace watched as the train passed along and decided it was time to head back so he started his trek back to the house, as he walked along the path back to the town he heard something in the distance but didnt know what to make of it and kept on going doing the path
Zeal and candy were on the path to finding ace since Zeal found his footprints in the soil and his super sniffer nose did the rest "come on" he sniffed "hes this way" he sniffed more as his nose twitched "i know this is a serious thing but you look so cute when you do that!" Zeal blushed "thanks" they saw ace walking back in the distance and ran over "ace" they both shouted aces eyes widened as he realized he didnt remember how long it had been since he left the house. He didnt take into account that they would wake up and then go looking for him "what were you thinking!" they were both speaking in unison like a hive mind "i-i im sorry.... i was just tired of being in the house all day never being able to leave...." "we understand but it was for your own good so you wouldnt get caught" ace felt bad going against what they had done in order to keep him safe "i-im sure nobody saw me" they both gave him the look of doubt
at this moment a figure started walking towards them,it looked like a sykion in a full body outfit, something they didnt recognize but could be compared to a ninja, the figure got even closer and started to charge "whos that?" candy said "i dont know" Zeal replied, ace however did know, it was one of the soldiers from the facility most likely here to capture him and possibly eliminate Zeal and Candy since they were the ones protecting him "guys run!" "why?" "JUST RUN!" ace picked up candy and tried to run but the soldier threw a stone hitting ace dead center in the head knocking him down "ow!" ace came crashing down holding candy still "hey thats mean!" she squeaked Zeal didnt move but instead stood his ground
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The soldier ran to him in an attempt to knock him down and eliminate him thinking that Zeal was just another ordinary sykion with no means of defending himself whatsoever, the soldiers hand fist flew out with tremendous speed but Zeal immediately grabbed the fist blocking the attack "im only gonna ask once, who are you and why are you here" the soldier remained silent and immediately kicked his feet out from under him making him fall but Zeal grabbed the soldiers arm and brought him down with him, they both jumped to their feet and clashed with each other. Candy was about to jump in and help her mate but ace held her back "Hey!! what are you doing!?" "candy listen to me! thats a soldier made by the neyatene, their sykions but their emotionless and created inside a machine and they have no soul, their specifically made for lethal combat, if you get in there he will kill you!" Candy was shocked "what are we supposed to do!?"
Ace watched the fight "Zeal looks like hes on an equal combat level as him but...." ace was curious about who the soldier was "Zeal get his mask off!" Zeal heard him and waited for an opportunity when the soldier would have an opening in his defenses, he blocked one hit and saw his opening "Now!" he sucker punched the soldier and ripped the mask off his face revealing it to them all, Ace recognized him "thats Forte! He's highly skilled in hand to hand combat! but he slips up and has open spots in his defense so wait for his openings and take your shot"
Zeal was getting tired and didn't want to use his power right now in front of candy and ace since he wanted to wait for the right time to tell them about it and this was not the time since Forte might report his power to the neyatene and send even more like him after them all and Zeal didn't want Candy in any danger at all since she was the most precious thing to him along with ace being a part of their new family. Zeal jabbed Forte in his sides as he would leave spots in his defenses open after a fast attack that would take him several minutes to recover from, Forte growled in pain as his arms became heavier and heavier after each of Zeals blows to his torso. Forte had had enough and decided it was time to end this and eliminate his opponent, he smacked Zeal in the stomach taking the air out of his lungs as Forte shoved him down and immediately got ontop of him, Zeals breath had returned but only after Forte had gained the advantage and started to try overpowering him
Ace and Candy watched helplessly as this happened, they both wanted to help but if ace went into it he might take him and run, if candy tried then he might kill her on spot. Zeal was terrified and wanted this to end with Ace Candy and him all leaving home peacefully. He was losing the battle as several good memories with candy flashed through his mind along with meeting ace
if he didnt turn things around now he wouldnt have new good memories, if he went down candy would get killed and ace would be captured. A new emotion started to burn inside of him like a match had just been lit and the fire in his soul was ablaze going out of control, his eyes shifted from their normal docile to a fiery red "your.... not.... taking them from me!!!!" he started growling and started to rise pushing forte back "t-thats impossible!" Zeal knocked Forte off of him with a powerful punch and immediately hopped up and started beating the soldier down "Aaaaahhh!!!!!!!" Zeal was like a feral animal, foaming at the mouth, Forte put his arms up to defend but Zeal was hitting so hard he couldnt hold them up anymore. Forte was severely bruised and beaten but Zeal lifted him up with one hand beginning to choke the life out of him "you'll die! I'll kill you!!!" his grip on the soldiers wind pipe tightened, Forte was choking gasping for air grasping at his throat unable to shake the wolfs grip off and his time was running out
At that moment Candy and Ace were more scared of Zeal than of Forte "Z-Zeal stop!" candy shouted and was actually crying but even that wasn't getting through to him as his mind was sealed off. In his mind Zeal was chained up to multiple tethers "Let me out!" he was struggling, a rather demonic voice spoke out to him "but why would you want to?" Zeal thrashed "Im not a murderer!! and your scaring Candy!!!!!" the voice laughed "wont she be safe once this pathetic welp is gone? wont you be happy knowing that?" Zeal stopped and began to cry "b-but..... she would be scared of me if Forte was killed...... thats not the me she fell in love with!" he cried out as the voice laughed at him "go ahead, cry and struggle". On the outside tears started pouring out of his eyes "Zeal please stop!!" candy and ace were both shouting at him now scared of approaching him. Chokio started to gather around his feet and glow but the glow wasn't bright enough for the others to notice. Inside of his head the voice continued to laugh at the crying chained up Zeal as a blue glow appeared. The voice stopped
"huh?" Salana appeared in front of him, she immediately put a her hands around his face seeing the state of fear he was in unable to control his rage as this was what got her attention to begin with "little one....." Zeal continued to cry "h-help me..... p-please...." Salana tried to break the chains keeping him restrained but she was unable to touch them "and just what do you think you are doing here......" the voice spoke she immediately stood up and turned around and shouted "STOP HURTING MY CHILD!" "im not hurting him..... im helping him!" the voice laughed but Salana raised her voice "you will cease this at once!" Zeal had stopped crying and was slowly getting his strength back with the help of salana "I will not!" the voice shouted
Zeal broke free from the chains "what!?" the voice shouted as more chains shot out to suppress zeal "im scared...." he hugged salana tightly as the chains dissolved and the voice stopped talking "It is alright little one..... I am here..." she slowly pet his head to calm him. On the outside Forte was nearly out of air as Zeals normal eye color returned and he dropped him. "T-this isnt me" he said in a shaky voice and fell to his knees as Forte got up to run but Ace smacked him in the face knocking him out "Zeal!" candy ran over and hugged him tightly, Zeal was crying "I-I didn't want to kill him, I-i lost control...." Candy held him
"sh sh..... its gonna be alright Zeal...." she was petting him, Meanwhile ace had picked up Forte and took him to another place far away from were there town was so that when he regained consciousness he wouldn't be able to track them, when ace came back Zeal had calmed down and was now standing with Candys help "A-are you alright?" Ace asked nervously and was a little scared from what had happened earlier "y-yeah.... im fine...." "come on big guy, lets get you home....." it was still dark out as they returned to the town, as they got inside candy and ace both put Zeal down on the couch gently. Candy turned around to ask something "how did you know who that Forte guy was?" she sat on Zeals lap, Zeal was silent since Salana already explained Aces origins to him "w-well...." he sighed and plopped down beside them "its time i told the truth.... about where i came from" the rest of the night went fairly good with Ace explaining how he one day awakened in the facility all the way to his escape and to when he met them "I just feel real bad about this.... all of it.... it wouldve never happened if i wouldve just stayed inside...." "no.... its out fault..." Zeal spoke
"for trying to keep you in here for so long, i mean we couldve found ways to let you see the outside world without being caught...." Zeal sighed "can you forgive us?" Ace nodded "i do and.... im sorry for not telling the truth sooner" "its all fine ace, no need for an apology" candy spoke "now lets just rest please..... we've had enough "excitement" for one day" he nodded and went to his room laying down in his bed falling asleep as the clock tolled signalling it was now 29:00. Candy helped Zeal to their bed "hey.... what happened back there? are you sure your okay?" Candy had a face of concern "Y-yeah.... i just need some rest alright?" "okay...." Candy trusted him, even after seeing Zeal become a feral monster she still loved him with all her heart, she knew that he wasnt able to control what had happened but was able to get a hold of himself before he did something horrible, she kissed his forehead and snuggled up to him as they fell asleep, before she dozed off she whispered into his ear "I'll always be at your side"