Chapter One: I'm Addicted to You, Don't You Know That You're Toxic?
The world in and around the ranch betrayed the feelings inside the estate.
The sun shone brightly, warding off clouds and rain and all that depressing weather. The forest was alive with sound, with birds trilling high notes and wild bears growling low notes as game, large and small, ran around the chaparral. Unless they were emotionally close to the occupants of the estate, most of the people travelling down the avenue in front of the ranch whistled and skipped their way down the path.
Even Zephyr- the wind- whistled and blew about playfully and in high spirits, unimpeded by the towering oak, the fields of crop, the violent bull grazing just meters away from other- female- bovines, and the towering windmill and silo. It blew all around the ranch, spreading its bliss through all the acres.
All throughout, except for a small, central location.
The house, too big to be a simple two-story yet not large enough to be a manor- its size was akin to a townhouse-, was well-kept and clean. The paint coating the walls was a deep beige- after all, the occupants thought having an icy white house in the middle of a ranch would be a bitch to keep clean. The porch was wide and covered by a canopy supported by two lone marble columns. The roof sloped gently in a unique curved shape- a design choice made by one of those younger people living in the house. Underneath one of the windows, there was a small hanging garden that grew plant matter for… recreational uses. Over a decade had passed since it was added to the building, and on today of all days, the sagging garden almost looked like tears.
Inside the home, the occupants were in very similar manners of dress- formal, highly formal. The clothes were mainly colored a very neutral and balanced gray, and secondarily colored a very pronounced dark yellow- in their opinion, highly symbolic.
Their breakfast was dreary and somber and separate from each other.
The lone twin, sitting in front of the unlit fireplace, sighed as she ate. Her mother had not yet left her room that morning- her only sign of occupation was an empty tray with crumbs on it. Her father was eating on the porch, surveying his own land as he consumed his grits to distract himself. The two eldest children were occupying the dining room- she could hear their arguing. The triplets- bless their younger hearts- were eating silently in the foyer. Her other sister was holed up in the library. She was probably looking at the old photo album with an untouched bowl next to her.
She herself was sitting in their grand living room, staring wistfully at the sword and shield hanging on the mantle over the fireplace. Her mind roamed back to the days where he would do nothing but stare at the pair all the day, enraptured by the stories his father used to tell him about their family's proud lineage, of all the prestige their ancestors earned that culminated into obtaining a humble ranch somewhat near the city where their descendants could live comfortably until their swords were needed once more.
She missed those halcyon days.
To think that, exactly one year ago, just one year ago, her twin brother disappeared from Remnant. And on today of all days…
For a moment, her eyes drifted towards a big picture on the side table. There, in front of her and her twin, she smiled. A party horn was placed in front of him- a throwback to his penchant for playing jokes and making events infinitely more fun and like a party. Even that cold, uptight Specialist Schnee that often accompanied her father's friend Lieutenant General Ironwood cracked a smile every now and then at her brother's antics.
She wiped away a tear.
No need to dwell too long on the past; if she wanted to become a Huntress, she'd need to suppress negative emotions as much as possible.
But she still hurt. She still missed him. But if no amount of time could remove this pain, she'd try her best to dumb it down herself.
With that in mind, she decided to do some training with the sword and shield her brother revered so much. As she looked back up at the pair, however, she gasped.
The shield was intact like always. But the sword- was stolen. In its place were massive claw marks and a weird black ooze. Slowly, she got up and approached the scene of the crime. As she felt up the ruined wall, and as she tried not to touch the ooze, she heard a noise. Craning her head, she saw that the window- one she had previously opened to let out the stuffy air- had been closed. More ooze was left behind.
"Oh… oh my… B-B? Noir? MOM AND DAD? GUYS!"
In a different neck of the woods, most of the surrounding wildlife had fled upon sensing… it.
For part of it's journey it swung and shot through the trees with expertise and precision, while for another part it crashed and stumbled through the underbrush.
Aside from the shaking up the homes of poor critters, it was coated in a swirling, almost sentient mass of dark liquid. In some parts of its body the fluid ran smooth; other parts, the fluid was like a maelstrom; in other other parts, the head especially, the fluid was like liquid flame.
However, over the head and chest and over the elbows and knees, there was no dark liquid. Instead, there were only solid masses of the most discomforting shade of ivory available. Each one was irregular in shape, but formed some basic armor- elbow and knee guards, a breastplate, and a facial plate, each one with different bumps and ridges and the occasional spike.
But it was not the appearance nor the disturbance that emptied the forest- it was the commotion. Despite its mouth never opening, it made the most horrible noises imaginable. It moaned dreadfully, and gave painful grunts accompanied by occasional unholy screeching.
Scratches and claw marks were left behind on trees as it passed by, carrying with it a prize. Within the fluid of its body, there was an gleaming sword of white and gold.
As it fell victim to another fest of screeching and growling, it saw a puddle. Clutching its pained head, it hobbled over to the small body of water. The area around its mouth, which was sealed and unseeable, split apart to reveal a sickly white tongue and jagged, serrated dentition within its maw. As it lapped up the water, it saw how the sun reflected off the water and was absorbed by the sword's pommel, which glimmered like white embers.
Black tears fell from its face as it recalled everything.
It recalled the events one year ago that led to its creation. It recalled its attempts to establish an identity, to reign in control of its madness- a struggle that still went on.
And then it recalled the raw emotions it felt when it went near the ranch. Not only those of the occupants, but its own emotions as well.
"D-damn it all, I just wanted to go back."
"They would have never accepted us." Its- or their- reflection in the water spat back out
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! Mom would've… and dad would… and then poor Soleil and Blanc and Violet and Noir and all the rest- I could've been with them again!"
"Look at us! WE WERE NEVER NORMAL. You would've slipped, and our instincts would have made mincemeat out of them!"
"I don't care! This-" They pulled out the blade. "I wanted to earn this, not steal it from my own family!"
"You wanted to see them again. But we would have had to leave anyway. Listen to yourself wail- you don't even sound the same anymore. Not since we came to be."
"No… no… it was ever since they corrupted us. WE have been running, surviving and living all to remove this… this…"
Another banshee scream rippled throughout the forest as they clutched their head and their heart. "This pain! We… revenge RARRGH!"
Trees fell all around them as they clawed and smashed their surroundings to remove themselves from their pain and suffering… or at least, wait it out.
Nearly an hour had gone by before the pain became manageable again, at the expense of their mind.
"No… I thought we were over this already!"
"In time yes. But now? While we're still young? HAH! We'd have more luck trying to separate without you having to tear your own skin off."
"Urgh… ngh…" Frustration at their predicament was not doing them any good- they knew it wouldn't. But still, they whined and complained about the constant aching… and hunger… and- "HAAGH!"
"Quit- nghh- acting as if you- rrgh- were the only one in pain! Gah…" They wanted, no, needed another distractor before they clawed at themselves in another attempt to remove the pain.
And then they saw it. Shining in the sun was the sword, embedded in a tree, flung there by their thrashing.
Walking towards it, a hand stretched out, they almost choked out a cry. Once more, their sanity was beginning to slip. After one year of care, a single day spent trying to see family again, trying to regain humanity again, nearly broke them once more. This is why they never wanted to go near civilization again, why they wanted so much space to themselves- the part that was human wanted be with other humans, wanted to be only human again.
But that could never be. Not while the Grimm substance covering them kept raging every now and then.
"... I need a distractor…something to help discipline me aside from swinging and running and camouflage training..."
"Heh… why not play with that puny human sword of yours? Who knows- it might make a good addition to our talons and chelicerae."
Without a word, they picked it up- light as a feather to them despite the heaviness of the Carbalite used to forge it- and began to swing it around in a wide Arc.
Three years later
*click!*
Soleil Arc's face shone with determination as she did the final adjustments to her garb. It consisted of an open saffron racer jacket over a beige tank top. Yellow fingerless gloves with metal plating covered the back of the hand while lustrous elbow guards covered the jacket. Rounding out the main clothing set were desert-camouflage trousers and dark-olive boots protected with titanium over the shins and toes. All the metal on her clothing was a nice off-white color, matching the hair tie that kept her blonde locks in a ponytail.
Adjusting the straps one last time, she smiled, satisfied, and exited her room. As she did, she made sure to stoop down and pick up her weapons: Crocea Vita, the family shield that was not stolen; her Blank Dust 12 millimeter bullets; and Viridi Arma, her personal high-powered 10-shot revolver with a 35 centimeter long barrel.
Walking out of the room, she noted that it was still really early in the morning- the shattered golden moon was still in the sky, and the silver sun was barely peeking over the horizon.
She stopped herself at the foyer of the house.
This is it, she told herself. The moment I walk out this door, I leave home for the next four years.
Well, it's not all bad. I already said my goodbyes to everybody else last night during the send-off party, so the rest of the family shouldn't be THAT sad when I leave… gosh, maybe Cramois is gonna bawl when I leave. She wouldn't stop crying last night. I hope Emeraude and Lilas can keep her from losing her voice this time. Heh, she can be too emotional sometimes.
I wonder if Celeste can keep Blanc and Noir from fighting without me to help her? Well, it's not like those two will ever do anything more than yell at each other- they'd never actually come to blows. Especially not while mom and dad still run the house…
Oh Brothers, will the house be okay if only mom and dad run it? Both of them are too klutzy to help out with housework- surprising given all the crops and animals we're able to grow and harvest and sell- and are more hindrances than help! And I'm the only person who ever did the chores around here whenever grandma leaves for business… oh man, the house is going to be burned down, won't it? Maybe I better just stay here and-
"Soleil?" She stopped and stiffened. She looked behind her.
Her father's figure was not what it used to be. Yes, he was still rather fit, given the fact that he was a farmer and all. However, when he was younger and before the disappearance of Jaune, his figure was more… hulking. He was large, athletic, sinewy, but with a hint of gentleness to him that allowed him to handle his small children with ease and allowed him to hug his wife without harm… not much of an achievement, really, considering her mom was the more muscular of the two anyway.
After the disappearance of her twin, however… his figure grew more lean. He wasn't skeletal, as his work made sure he kept muscle- he just wasn't as big or lively anymore. And the gentleness was still there- not that anything could ever get rid of it- but it was much more subdued. He was weary, and his hair had become a nice shade of brown and silver. Losing a child did not do anything for a parent that loved that child… a thing that Soleil and all her sisters saw.
"Hey… dad."
"You're still here."
"Yeah, I… uh, I…"
"You're hesitating, aren't you?" She didn't need to say anything, really. She knew he could see it in her eyes- a person like him, who keeps a careful watch on his crops and his cooking and his animals and his children, would definitely see it. He laid his hands on her shoulder as tears were beginning to form on his face. "Seeing my little Sun grow up like this is putting tears into this old man's eyes. Seeing her leave the house like this… seeing her grow from a girl into such a fine wo- wo- woman…"
"Dad," She took his hand off her shoulder, and latched onto it with both hands. She held him gingerly. "Stop. You're starting to make me cry too."
"I just- you know I love you. And you know I support you. But… it's just so hard letting go, you know? I… I… I can't."
"Dad-"
"But I know. I know I have to. I can't keep the Sun at bay forever. I don't want you to have an eternal night over you. I… when Jaune disappeared… you know what I did to him and you and the other girls. I kept you all here. I kept you all as simple farmers because I thought you could be protected." He shook the tears from his eyes. "But I was wrong, and I know it now. Even protecting you here, that's not realistic. I can try my best, but unless you and your sisters can protect yourselves from danger, I am not a parent." In his eyes, Saffron could see him looking at a memory of Jaune. "I have to teach you all, and when I can't anymore I have to let you go to learn it yourselves. I- I'm rambling, aren't I?"
"Well… you kinda are. But it's okay! You can let it all out. You can talk to me, and I could talk to you."
"But that would just make you late for the airship." He pulled her into a hug. "There is SO much more I want to tell you. So much. But, for now, I guess I'll be content with saying this: You know you're always free to visit us again whenever you're homesick."
"... Dad…"
"Shh. Please. I refuse to hold you back, like I did to Jaune." Another wave of tears rolled down his face. "It was always his dream. A dream that was snuffed out too early. A dream-"
"A dream I've taken on for my own." She looked at him with reminiscent irises."I know."
Training was difficult.
And it wasn't just him mastering his blade, no. It was also his and his other's abilities that required blood and sweat and tears to understand- and am accident to discover.
For instance, being face-to-face with an Aquillian- noted for insane flying abilities and shit senses except for taste, touch, and vision- in its territory. Had Jaune not discovered he could alter his coloration to blend in with his environment, him and his other would never have escaped.
Or, for another example, falling down a cliff because the soil at the cliff's edge was piss-poor and terribly weak. Had he not learned to stick to walls, him and his other would've been- at best- seriously injured.
Both of these abilities found active use above the main entrance to the Arc Mansion foyer.
As he and his other listened in, a dark gurgling could be heard emanating from the back of his mind.
"Mmm… their anxiety and sadness is such a HOT DAMN delicacy! Alas, it is simply a- *slurps*- snack. Tell us, Scraggles, when is our next hunt and our next meal?"
"Stop it."
"Aww, is the widdle wascal weeping at his famiwy? Crybaby!"
"Hush for a damn moment, will you? I'll find us a pack of despair-rich Nevermores to snack on later, okay?"
"But I DON'T WANNA EAT fried wings! And we've been feeding on nothing BUT despair for the past eleven months, I'm TIRED of it! I want something with more of an affinity towards rage, like an Ursa!" Other went quiet for a moment. However, Jaune felt a feeling of smugness from it. "Or maybe Siegmund here wants a Beowulf, some lustiness, for his Sieglinde!"
"How many times have I told you I DON'T HAVE THE HOTS FOR MY TWIN. In the names of the Brothers, how many times do I have to repeat to you my-"
"NO MORE, WE SAY. I don't want to hear that bullshit about how your twin-liness grants you a damn connection. I don't care what you think fate has in store for you two, super-stalker, I REFUSE TO LISTEN TO THAT EXPLANATION. It don't make no lick'a sense, anyhow.I honestly doubt that you too being twins affords a fated connection similar to soulmates or eternal rivals or any other thing out of our dark mucl."
"Then piss off. Crawl back into the corner where you belong." The other made some sort of giggling, babbling, gurgling sound. It grated on Jaune's ears, just like everything that the other spewed out of its mouth.
"Alright, I will. But only so that we don't get killed by your family- I need your body alive, after all. And then the day will come where I shackle you inside our mind!" The voice rescinded. Jaune let out a sigh.
He heard the doorknob jangle. Forgetting he was invisible, he quickly scampered up to the roof while still keeping his auditory and visual senses trained on what was going on below.
As the early radiance of dawn enveloped the land, Soleil Arc stepped out into the world, bags and weapons and gear at the ready. Her face looked confident, if a bit weary and tear-stricken; Jaune couldn't ignore the puffy red eyes and the rivulets of tears on her cheeks.
In all honesty, it pained Jaune. Rather than the dull throbbing he could always feel trying to breach their way into his heart and soul, it was like a lance through his cardiac muscles. He so wished to go down there and show her comfort, so wished to explain that he was alright.
Except he wasn't alright, and he knew it. Because of his other, Jaune believed he could never be among the normal ever again Together they would be outcasts, shunned ones. After all, a being coated in a mass of moving slime would turn away most of the general population- except for law enforcement, apathetics, and the odd scientist.
Jaune stowed away his simmering wrath as he focused on another reason- she had little other purpose. Her dream of being a world class ballet dancer was permanently put on hold the moment he disappeared. Now, there was only a drive to uphold his memory- a future sacrificed for someone else who was believed to be dead. If, at this point of her life, she were to know the truth… well, it is a severe understatement to say that she would not be happy, Jaune thought to himself.
Just as he told himself one night while she wept at her window clutching a photo of her beloved twin in her hand, it was better for him to live the lie.
Jumping off the roof and performing a well-practiced silent landing, Jaune and his other followed her as she packed her things into an old hover-jeep. They crawled under the jeep as she started it up.
As Soleil Arc drove to the nearest town with an airship pier, she could've sworn the jeep rode a little lower to the ground than normal.
A/N: Updates random.
Somewhat inspired by Venom.
Since the audience now knows the basics, it's less of a "who is this guy and where's Jaune?" and more of a "how will they meet up? how will they act? when will all the things happen?"
Part V Never