The Oracle Paths

His complexion was corpse-like, his one semi-functional leg slowly limping with an inverted ankle and knee joint. The rest of his body was as shapeless and unsightly as a snail after its skeleton had been crushed by the aftermath of their fight. To complete the picture, his face was completely caved in and beyond recognition, like some disfigured victims of ballistic trauma.

But it was indeed Trash. Jake would have recognized him anywhere. First, because his keen sense of detail could still make out most of his original facial features despite the colossal damage he had sustained, but more importantly he still had his armor on, albeit in shambles.

The Death Mark shimmered proudly across his forehead, branding him as one of the new Undeads of the fallen Lich. Seeing him wander around this place aimlessly, Jake briefly mused that it was the android necromancer's death that had deprived these Undeads of direction, but he immediately dismissed the notion.

Those Undeads had retreated long before the Lich's demise, but Trash had still been left behind.

"Oh Trash... Could it be that even dead, this Lich found you too trashy to be willing to recruit you?" Jake sighed as he approached the misshapen teen.

Elduin coughed in indignation and nearly choked to death upon hearing him sigh. Even dead, Jake was still humiliating the kid?

"Poor child..." Carmin sympathized, her eyes moistening again as she thought about her sister being kept in her Space Storage. At least, unlike the teenager, her body hadn't been too badly bruised.

[He's dead, but there's something wrong with his condition.] Xi warned. [If it wasn't the Lich who did it, then something unusual may have happened in the last few minutes. You should check, if the Undeads nearby are in the same state of bewilderment.]

"I was just thinking along the same lines." Jake agreed.

A long-range Oracle Scan brought him no results. These Undeads knew how to retreat and must not have slowed down for a moment. To be sure, he had to capture another one.

Explaining his intentions to Wyatt and the others, they approved the plan and even Bhammod, who had just regained consciousness, joined in. In the end, Wyatt brought back another Undead left behind, but the reasons for its abandonment differed greatly from those of the boy.

Apparently, the Wengol Undead had had its arms and legs severed during the battle and had simply fled more slowly than the others. Like the other mutilated undead, it must have been carried on the back by another Undead, but for some reason it had fallen and its carrier had not seen fit to pick it up.

Clustering around the Wengol Undead, which looked like a big log coated with a squid skin, the group watched with interest the behavior of the Undead before finally feeling some hope.

"Trash is indeed not acting like the other Undeads." Wyatt acknowledged, scratching his head. "But why? Could it be his Half-Leprechaun bloodline?"

" I can only see that." Jake shrugged looking as baffled as the Vampire.

'Xi, what do you know about the Leprechauns in the Mirror Universe? I only know what Irish folchlore says about them, but I've always thought of them as some kind of leprechaun or hobbit with a top hat and a penchant for gold. If it weren't for St. Patrick's Day, I wouldn't even know they existed.' Jake confessed frankly. Of all the fantastic creatures in literature and mythology, Leprechauns were probably at the bottom of his list of interests.

[Let me check the Oracle System database...] Her Oracle AI replied perfunctorily. A few seconds later, she exclaimed, [I think I know what's going on. As you already know, for all the fantastic, folchlore-like creatures in the Mirror Universe, anything that can be imagined most likely exists. Leprechauns come in different versions, but all civilizations describe them as small, bearded, prankster-like, greedy beings. Some of them would be able to produce illusions and certain physical phenomena to hide their treasure. Most often under a rainbow. This information doesn't help us much, since Trash is only Half-Leprechaun and was obviously unable to do so.

[But I did find a clue that might fit his situation. Some legends say that if you capture a Leprechaun, the Leprechaun must then grant three wishes to his captive. I believe the reason Trash didn't follow the Lich's orders is because he already has a master.]

"And who is that?" Jake darkened as he realized what she was getting at.

[In all likelihood, you.] Xi revealed, holding back a laugh. [When his mercenary group was wiped out and you saved his life, his life became linked to yours. And in truth, I think the leader of his former group knew that. Why would this alcoholic Uncle Oaf who was up to his neck in debt choose to take care of a needy orphan like him? Because that extra mouth to feed was most likely the only reason he hadn't been completely drowning in debt for the past few years.]

Jake's eyes lit up as he understood the implications. All Uncle Oaf had to do was tell Trash about his money woes, and the orphaned boy who felt indebted would then subconsciously wish to help his mercenary gang.

Then, and even now, Trash was no stronger than an ordinary native. His Soul Class was nothing special either. Still, status didn't tell the whole story. The Oracle Scan, by revealing his species to him, had already revealed more than enough.

As weak as Trash was, it could be that, like his Words of Power skill, his wish system was based on the intensity of his desires. Except that unlike his Words of Power, he wouldn't die on the spot trying to grant an unrealistic wish.

Despite his tiny powers, the child had surely done his best, helping Uncle Oaf three times during his hardships. According to Trash, their finances had deteriorated dramatically over the past three years, and that would match up with the expiration of the three wishes. Contractually, the Leprechaun side of him had fulfilled its part.

Jake repeated to his comrades the information he had just gleaned from his AI and Carmin put on an expectant face.

"Does this mean he can bring Lily back to life?" She fantasized optimistically.

Jake was gobsmacked by her naive enthusiasm, and although his first spontaneous response would have been to say no, he reconsidered. After all, Lily wasn't dead! She was just dead in that Ordeal.

If a Leprechaun used his magic to revive her, could he recall her soul from the Red Cube?

"Forget it." Wyatt mercilessly snuffed out her fragile glimmer of hope. "Even if it were possible, Trash is definitely not able to."

Well of course he wasn't. It was a given, Jake agreed inwardly. Now it was more a question of what they were going to do with this Undead Leprechaun.

'Technically, I haven't used any of the wishes, but even if I used all three I doubt I could bring him back to life.' Jake concluded, figuring it was a waste of time.

A scan through his mental sense told him that both his body and mind were irreversibly damaged. He could find a way to restore the body, but his mind was just like a vegetable. Even if his soul was somehow repaired, one had to seriously wonder what would be left of the original Trash.

"He's dead. Dead for good." Jake stated flatly as he moved the teen into his Space Storage. He didn't want to entertain any false hopes.

Carmin knew deep down that she was expecting too much and she didn't contradict him.

"By the way, aren't we missing some people?" Bhammod remarked as he uncorked a flask of homemade liquor.

"Now that you mention it..."

Then it clicked! Jeanie and Ruby! They hadn't heard from them in a while.

Luckily, Jake remembered leaving the fairy in a safe place nearby. The Oracle Shield protecting her must have deactivated a while ago, but that didn't stop him from turning livid as he saw the dwindling of his Aether fortune. After all those fights, he had only 190B and a few points left.

Unsurprisingly, when he dug up the Minmin from the bottom of her pit, an angry red fairy leapt out of her liquid alloy prison and pounced on his face, then began pummeling him furiously with her tiny fists. For Jake, these blows hurt even less than the drops of water from a gentle rain shower and he let her vent her feelings without resisting.

That left Ruby's condition to be checked. According to his Oracle Device, she was still alive and her Oracle Status indicated that she had been seriously injured but her HPs were recovering fast. Whatever the outcome of her fight, it was also over.

Gently stuffing the little huffing and puffing fairy poised for battle into his pet pocket, Jake told the others where he was going and they decided to sit back and wait for him. He soared into the air and in a flash flew over the mountain behind which Ruby and the other two Were-birds had been battling.

When he saw the devastated landscape, his face showed no surprise. He had expected this level of destruction from the start. At a glance he spotted the bodies of the two Undeads, but not Ruby. He furrowed his brow, but according to his Oracle Device she was close.

Landing near the two Were-beings, Jake stared blankly at the carnage. The two middle-aged warriors had returned to human form, but Trash's wounds were nothing more than a scratch next to them... How much did one have to hate someone to mutilate their corpse so badly?

Besides... He didn't want to speculate, but they were clearly missing some parts. Did her digestive instincts make Ruby a cannibal?

If so, he would have no choice but to kill her.