IMPORTANT NOTE: I DO NOT OWN TLH. IT BELONGS TO EVIL-BAT-CAT. No characters belong to me except for Ruby, who is my OC. Also this plot is not canon but my own ideas and even theories. This story will also have mistakes as I don't understand everything about that world and it's rules.

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“You did really good today, Dawn!” Lexus said, a smile on their face.

“Thanks! I think I’m getting the hang of it now,” Dawn replied. Puzzle scoffed, earning an immediate glare from Dawn.

“All you did was fail. All day. Repeatedly. That’s literally all you did,” Puzzle scoffed.

“Puzzle,” Lexus frowned at him. “Stop putting Dawn down so much.”

“It’s not putting down it it’s the truth,” Puzzle muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“Why do you have to be such a-” Dawn started but cut herself off when Puzzle’s eyes began to glow. His eyes turned a brilliant green and Dawn couldn’t help but stare. She had gotten used to everyone else having pretty eyes, but for some reason that effect seemed even more amazing with Puzzle, especially when you factored in his horrible personality and annoying-.

His eyes were brilliant in comparison to the rest of him. Dawn honestly tried not to judge him, but really, the guy was just so annoying-. She let out a sigh. She was being mean again. Lexus stared at Puzzle in concern before their eyes drifted to Dawn’s upon her sigh. They raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dawn muttered. Lexus nodded and turned their gaze back to Puzzle, looking alarmed at the horrified look on Puzzle’s face. Dawn herself froze at the look. She still didn’t know Puzzle all that well, but she could assume that it took a lot to make Puzzle appear horrified.

Puzzle’s eyes returned back to the normal grey, but the horrified look remained.

“What did you see?” Lexus immediately asked, worried and seemingly scared.

“Daniel,” Puzzle breathed, and before he could say anymore, Lexus grabbed his arm and yanked them away, heading in the opposite direction they had been heading in. Puzzle stumbled at first, still disorientated from whenever he had seen, but caught himself and began running with Lexus.

Dawn stood there, frozen on the spot for a second before she forced herself to follow, slightly scared of what was to come. Both Puzzle and Lexus sprinted at full speed back home, Dawn struggling to keep up. She huffed, slowing down.

“I’ll catch up!” She yelled, slowing down. As worried as she was, she really couldn’t keep up. She just wasn’t that good yet.

“Okay!” Lexus yelled back, sparing her a glance as they ran. They were too worried to stop. Dawn huffed again, kneeling over slightly and placing her hands on her knees.

“Man, you… guys are fast,” she breathed, sucking in more air. She quickly gulped some more air before sprinting off again, already knowing where the two had been headed.

Just as she thought, the door to the squad house was wide open and Dawn knew the two had burst in earlier. She was just about to run in when a frantic Lexus burst out. Dawn let out a surprised yell, jumping back out of instinct - which she felt a sense of pride from as her reflexes and instincts had begun to get sharper, making her reaction time quicker.

“He’s not here,” Lexus breathed, scanning the area with their worried purple eyes.

“Maybe he’s with the elder?” Dawn suggested. That was the only other place she could think of. She honestly didn’t know what else that guy did with his time. Lexus nodded, desperately trying to calm themself down. Puzzle burst from the house a second later, looking a lot more calmer than earlier, though he still had a troubled look on his face.

“Before you run off again,” Dawn quickly started, noting how both looked ready to bolt. She looked to Puzzle. “Can you please explain to me what’s happening? What you saw?” Puzzle looked over to her for a moment, eyes scanning her for something before his eyes flickered away. Dawn frowned; normally he would have no problem with eye contact. What had he seen exactly?

Jay walked through the door, confused to what all the noise was about. He raised an eyebrow but remained quiet, in hopes to understand what was happening from the conversation. Puzzle pulled his glasses from his pocket and placed them on his face, shielding his eyes from sight. “Daniel is being targeted. He might die,” Puzzle explained, still looking off to the side. Lexus turned around to face him, wanting to know more.

“Who? And why?” They asked. Puzzle shrugged.

“They want him for some reason, but I don’t know who. I don’t think they want him dead, but they’ll go to any measures to get him. Even if means bringing him half-way to death,” Puzzle continued, frowning. Dawn took a deep breath, her heart dropping into her stomach at those words. Dawn didn’t know how strong Daniel actually was, but from what she had heard; he was quite strong. Extremely strong. But Dawn also knew that no matter how strong someone, there was a way to take everyone down.

She also knew it had to be way worse than just that. Even if there was a target on Daniel’s back, whatever Puzzle had seen made him horrified. Dawn recalled what Jay had said about Puzzle’s Trait being broken. It should take a lot to make him feel anything at all and Dawn was sure he hadn’t felt nothing at that moment.

“Is that it? Anything else?” Dawn asked, feeling a surge of confidence in her theory.  She wanted to know. Puzzle shifted slightly and Dawn was sure he was looking directly at her. Maybe even glaring at her. She felt as though something was physically weighing her down and Dawn was sure, for a split second, she almost blacked out. She felt dizzy, her eyesight turned dark and hazy and there was something literally weighing her down, a feeling of bloodlust even, and as quick as it came, it was gone.

Dawn stood there, frozen, terrified. She was sure she hadn’t just imagined that. She forced herself to calm down a second later. It wasn't bloodlust. It couldn't have been. Even if it was, Dawn wasn't even sure what bloodlust was like so there was no way she could just identify it so quickly. Surely.

She took a staggering breath, much calmer. If anything, she was probably just tired from training. She had been working really hard recently, after all.

"There was a few other things..." Puzzle looked off to the side and Dawn couldn’t tell what was going on in his mind. But whatever was, it was bothering him. Which really concerned her, because from what she had heard; it took a lot to make him feel anything. "But I need some time to figure them through.  Everything kept... overlapping, and I don't know why. There were a lot of voices too. There shouldn't have been. I shouldn't be able to hear voices too, and yet..." he mumbled, looking to the ground.

Jay walked from the house, now officially joining the small group. He had a basic understanding of what was happening now. "What did the voices say?" Jay asked. Puzzle frowned but said nothing. He sighed and started walking.

"Let's just find Daniel. I need to check something," he muttered, walking towards the direction of the elder's hut.

The three shared an uneasy look but decided not to question it. Well, Jay and Dawn decided not to question it anyways.

Lexus immediately leapt to walk next to Puzzle. "What did they say?" They asked, concerned. Puzzle shrugged.

"C'mon, Puzzle, you can tell me," Lexus continued. Puzzle ignored them and continued walking. Lexus huffed but refused to give up.

...

.....

........

"Would you shut up?" Puzzle snapped, keeping his eyes firmly locked on the elder's hut a few feet ahead of them.

"Would you just tell me what you heard?" Lexus fired back. Dawn sighed, tired of this one-sided conversation. Jay walked next to her, his hands locked behind his head as he found amusement in the situation.  Neither of them  could deny they were interested in what Puzzle had heard and seen, but they could also agree maybe a different method would be better. Though Dawn also knew that if she had been in Lexus' situation, she would have been just as persistent but more frustrated. Lexus had more patience than her, she noted.

They stopped at the hut and Lexus looked annoyed at not being able to get their answer.

"Please, Puzzle?" They tried one last time. Puzzle gave an irritated huff but to their surprise, he actually answered this time.

"Someone said something about beating the final wall," Puzzle stated. Lexus blinked, confused. Dawn stared at him, more confused than Lexus. The Final Wall? Did that mean something in this world or was Puzzle just making no sense? Puzzle looked annoyed at having to explain himself.

"It was something about beating the final wall of this war. A person. No, two people. The originators," Puzzle continued. Lexus took a deep breath. Jay stared, unsure of what to think.

"The war is ending?" Dawn asked. Lexus suddenly looked hopeful and they bounded over to Dawn.

"Because Dawn is here, right?!" They cheered. Dawn felt her heart flutter at that,  hope filling her being. Her eyes glowed more, a hopeful red color. Puzzle merely frowned, staring at them.

"Maybe. I can't say for sure. Don't take my word for it. Besides, there was something about the war only truly just beginning. The rest of it..." Puzzle suddenly cringed, his body beginning to shake as his hands struggled to his head. He gripped at his hair and bit his lip, drawing blood from the pressure. He choked on something and he seemed to physically be in pain. Lexus, immediately alerted, ran straight to his side, Jay following a second after.

"Puzzle? Hey, Puzzle? Snap out of it!" Lexus yelled, shaking his shoulders. Puzzle shook his head desperately and let out a sound Dawn honestly couldn't identify.  It sounded like a groan, a gurgle and him yelling while choking all at once. Lexus sent a hopeless look to Jay, who could only shrug uselessly in reply. A few passerbys sent them worried glances, concerned.

"It's foggy..." he muttered, calming himself down. Puzzle took a deep breath, steadying his breathing. He pulled his hands away from his head and wiped the blood from his chin.

"I can't tell you right now. It hurts too much. I need some time to figure this out," Puzzle explained, shoving his hands into his pockets, immediately clenching his fists. Lexus nodded, not daring to press the subject anymore. Puzzle sighed.

"Now, where's Daniel?" Puzzle turned around again, walking straight into the elder's hut without a care in the world. Dawn blinked. That guy really didn't care sometimes. That was a total change in personality just there, she was sure of it!

...

.....

......

Lexus sighed. "I forgot he'd be in a leader meeting."

"How long do they usually take?" Dawn asked. She was beginning to get paranoid.  She felt as if they had already wasted too much time.

"It doesn't matter. It's not an immediate threat anyways. We have some time," Puzzle added, leaning against a nearby tree.

"How much time?" Jay asked. Puzzle shrugged.

"Enough," Puzzle replied. Dawn frowned. His uncaring attitude was beginning to bother her, but she knew he couldn't help it. That, and he probably did care somewhere deep, deep, deep down, and then even deeper-. She needed to stop.  Dawn doesn't huff in her annoyance like she usually does, and instead opts for a different option.

"How about we return to the squad house and wait for him there?" Dawn suggests instead. Jay nods, finding the idea agreeable.

"Actually..." Lexus interrupts nervously. "Maybe we should go to the Dining Tent? We should eat dinner at least. Daniel would probably head there first. Plus, Daniel would also probably get mad if we don't eat."

"Now that's a plan I can get behind," Puzzle grinned and walked towards the Dining Tent. Dawn sent a look to Lexus, worried. They offered her a smile in return, before heading after Puzzle, Jay already by his side. After a few seconds hesitation, Dawn followed after them.

...

.....

.........

Just like Lexus had thought, Daniel eventually joined them in the dining Hall. Dawn was relieved to see him and felt like a weight had been lifted from her when she scanned him and saw no injuries or anything of the sort. She breathed a sigh of relief, releasing some tension. She was so glad.

Daniel placed his plate down down on the table, sitting at the end of the table next to Lexus. He scanned the table and raised an eyebrow, instantly realising something was wrong.

"Care to explain?" He asked instead. The table was silent for a few moments.

Lexus was the first to break the silence; "Puzzle... saw something," They said nervously. Puzzle suddenly stood up, his chair screeching on the floor and almost toppling over. Dawn cringed. Jay decided to stay quiet and instead focus on his new piece of art he was making on his plate. He would continue to listen though.

Daniel raised an eyebrow at Puzzle as he approached. To Daniel's confusion (and everyone else's), Puzzle grabbed Daniel's wrist and pulled his arm towards him.

"You wanna explain?" Daniel asked as Puzzle rolled up his sleeve. Daniel turned to face the rest of the table, sending them all questioning glances. Dawn could only stare back, completely baffled on what Puzzle was doing. Puzzle had stayed quiet the entire meal, lost in his own thoughts. No one had dared to disrupt him after what had happened earlier, instead opting to remain quiet and allow him to sort through his thoughts.

Puzzle inspected Daniel's forearm, staring at it so intently he was practically glaring at it.

"Puzzle, stop being an idiot and explain what you're doing," Daniel snapped, already tired of this bullshit.

"You're being targeted," Puzzle started, satisfied as he found no mark. "I don't know by who exactly since the people were different but it looks like someone put a bounty on you. Luckily, alive only," Puzzle moved to the other side of Daniel. Lexus shifted, moving away slightly so Puzzle could inspect Daniel's other arm.

"So?" Daniel asked, unimpressed. He could care less if someone put a bounty on him. If it was his subordinates, however.

"So, this is bad because it's not a normal bounty. It's the kind of bounty that would make people ready to destroy the entire village to get to you," Puzzle continued. To this, Daniel's eyes widened. "I saw you. You were bleeding. There was a lot of blood. There was fire, the village was burning. You were being taken. There was a virus, he was different from the rest," Puzzle continued, glaring at Daniel's other forearm. He was relieved to see no red mark, however. Puzzle took a deep breath. "I... I think I knew him. He seems familiar. He came here for some reason. It wasn't just for you. He came you others too. It was specifics. He was dangerous," Puzzle explained. Daniel immediately stood up, alerted.

"What?!" He demanded. The entire table stared at Puzzle in horror. He hadn't mentioned that earlier. As if knowing why everyone was looking at him the way they were, Puzzle explained himself with a shrug.

"I couldn't see everything properly earlier. It was all muddled together," Puzzle said. Dawn felt her heart dropping into stomach. There was no way.

"...We're going to the Elder. Now," Daniel hissed, grabbing Puzzle by the arm and immediately yanking him away.

~~~

So many words yet so little done. ;")
I'm proud though, I worked really hard on this. I might as well get into it instead of prologuing shit. Keep it interesting. OwO

- Lilly.