The End of Yardale

The Surprise Guest

Mole and Estella stared up at Gregory with no clue of what to say or do. They didn't know why he had decided to show up now rather than before or why he had stabbed Estella. They didn't know what his intentions were, but they assumed that they couldn't have been good. 

Whispering to Estella, Mole said, "Go back downstairs and get some help. I'll deal with him." Estella nodded and, although strained in her actions because of the bleeding wound in her back, went down to get help. 

Mole, meanwhile, stood up and looked Gregory in the eyes. He could tell something about him was different. Gregory stared with no hint of emotion in his eyes. He had before been like the sun to Mole, but now the only form of light radiating off of him was the light reflecting off of his sword. Now, instead of feeling warm and welcoming, Gregory felt cold and terrifying. The star in the sky that Gregory once was had burnt out and turned into a black hole, destroying everything in its path. 

"Where have you been?" Mole first thought to ask. He had so many other questions, but this was, to him, one of the most important. 

Gregory gave no reply. He simply glared at Mole until, suddenly, he brought up his sword and slashed it towards Mole. Quickly reacting, Mole defensively held up his shovel and prevented the sword from hurting him. 

Seeming to be annoyed by the fast reaction, Gregory again took his sword and attacked Mole. Mole did the same as before, tightly holding his shovel in front of himself. The two went on like this for a bit, Gregory moving to attack Mole and Mole carefully blocking his attacks or dodging, not wishing to fight back and hurt Gregory. 

Throughout the fight, there was something Mole had noticed. Gregory wasn't fighting in the same way he had used to. Before, his movements had always been careful and calculated. Now, he was aggressive and rugged. It was as if he had forgotten everything he originally knew about fighting and completely re-learned the skill. It scared Mole. Gregory was strong, and could easily kill him if he made a mistake in the placement of his shield-like shovel. 

Mole knew he would lose the fight if he didn't get help quick. There wasn't much he could do other than dodge and defend, and, because Gregory was quickly adapting to Mole's movements, his tactics wouldn't last long. He had nothing else to do, knowing that he would never be capable of hurting Gregory. Becoming more and more scared, Mole made a mistake in the placement of his shovel, and Gregory's sword made a cut in his cheek. Thankfully, as Gregory had been becoming more messy and angry with his attacks, there hadn't been too much damage, but it was enough to give Mole the confirmation that he was running out of time. 

Just then, the slashes stopped. Gregory stopped moving and fell to the floor, being knocked out by whoever Estella sent to help Mole. Mole looked up and saw Leslie staring back. 

"Are you alright?" Leslie asked. 

Mole rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. You didn't have to do that- I could've handled it."

"You're lying." Leslie stated. When Mole gave her a confused expression, she added, "I can tell when people are lying. I've noticed people tend to lie a lot." 

"Oh." said Mole. After a moment, he asked, "You didn't just now kill Gregory, right?"

"No. I just knocked him out. He'll be asleep long enough for us to come up with a plan on what to do with him. He'll be fine." answered Leslie. 

Letting out a sigh of relief, Mole replied, "Good. I just had to make sure after you... um-"

"Killed him last time?" asked Leslie. "I understand. I'm really sorry about that. I couldn't control anything that I did."

 "I know. It's just-" began Mole, "it's hard to forget."

Leslie nodded. "I haven't been able to forget about the people I've hurt. I never wanted to be their weapon." 

"At least you're better now. I think." said Mole, slightly beginning to trust the robot. 

"I am." replied Leslie. "I don't want to kill anyone else. I won't do it." At that moment, Leslie had a thought. "I hope they're not using Gregory as their weapon now. 

Mole then looked at the new Gregory. "I do too"