The year was 2050 and humans had been living in a sense of peace not found for decades before, wars were no more and the world was flourishing, it was unsure what had happened but forests grew back in earnest in parts of the world that were once thought lost, there had been no wars for over 100 years and all the worlds armies had long since been disbanded.
The world lived in peace and harmony for these 100 years and life for humans prospered.
This all changed in the year 2050, creatures of the dark started to appear and as if the gates of hell opened itself they spread across the world converting any who were willing and killing those who still resisted, the creatures were controlled by sorcerers who themselves controlled a dark magic themselves.
The world fell in days as these legions walked across the planet, now only handfuls of humans still lived compared to the billions before the attack.
Millions had joined the dark legions while only thousands loved and fought back although small victories were had the humans still fought to survive, living in small clans across the world scattered across the world as the last beacons of hope amongst the human race.
A month after the dark legions had wiped out most of the world's population or converted them and the clans were set up a seeming mythical presence came into the world and a few humans flocked to these new mythical beings called Shaowseers in human tongue or Esdain as they were known amongst those who joined them, no one knew where they came from or the weaponry they used, which was more advance then the humans but also more ancient as well, but the humans didn't care as they aided humans in fighting back against the dark legions, uniting clans together to fight for the greater good and it was said whenever a troupe of a Shadowseers harlequins came to aid in battle it was a direr circumstance but would almost always end in a victory.
When they were not fighting they would perform intricate dances for clans in special theatres set up for that performance alone. It is said that those who feel the call are visited by tall being that would only appear when a troupe was near, the being would lead the new chosen if they heeded the call to the Shadowseer who would then proceed to induct the new person into the troupe, it is believed that this being is the Shadowseer inviting new people to the troupe but this was only rumour, and the person being chosen would have to leave everything behind to heed the call if they so wished.
The performers completed the dance, with the faceless Shadowseer narrating in the monotone voice that always accompanied a troupe performing for a clan.
Clan Remnant was one of the largest clans in the world and the theatre at which the performers were performer was called Beacon. Clan Remnant under the clan leader Ozpin were one of the foremost clans fighting back against the Grimm threat.
Ozpin was sitting in one of the balcony positions overlooking the performers as they performed the dance, 'The Fall' which showcased how Earth fell to the creatures of Grimm, it was the first time it was performed for this clan but they heard of others being shown such performances over the last year.
It was currently 2055, five years after the Grimm attacked and a large amount of people in the audience were stunned at the dance being performed.
Each member of the troupe were playing different roles with the Shadowseer playing the narrator, there was a lithe figure that seemed to play the humans while a large muscular figure played the role of the Grimm, as another figure a mix between the two performers played the role of the humans who joined the Grimm, with the last performer playing the role of the Grimm sorcerers.
The dance was well performed and perfect as all the dancers were in sync to their roles and following the narrators direction.
Ozpin was watching with curiosity with his wife, Glynda and daughter Neo who was 16 and was seeing the Harlequin troupe perform for the first time as before she wasn't allowed to by her parents.
Neo was in a trance by the performers dancing around the stage, lost in the way they moved and blur of colours as they moved around the stage.
Her eyes were most notably drawn to the narrator however, she took in to note that all the performers were female and the tall female seer entrapped her mind, the black and white outfit mixed with a red cloak and black faceless mask covering her face.
Of course she knew the stories of the mysterious Shadowseers, they appeared out of nowhere shortly after the Grimm killed most of the human race, they were said to lure humans to them and turn them into weird performers and amazing warriors whose prowess was unmatched even by the creatures of Grimm and there sorcerers.
The seers themselves were told to have mystical powers the same as the Grimm sorcerers but if this was true they were not as destructive but more for the use of distraction and to spread confusion in the ranks of the enemy.
It was also rumoured that while there weapons were more advance then general human weapons they still fought with swords that could cut through almost any armour, and pistols which made armour useless against them.
Neo was broken out of her trance when she felt something behind her, turning around she saw a tall figure hidden in the shadows beckoning to her to follow, but before she could stand up a man came running in through the figure who vanished into thin air.
"Leader, Grimm at the gate!" The man shouted as he started to breath heavily, running all the way from the gate to inform the leader.
Ozpin stood up and was about to ask the Harlequins for aid but saw they had already left the stage, seeing this Ozpin decided to sort out his clan members "Soldiers to your positions, everyone else to the bunkers." Ozpin shouted down at people who were already moving.
Ozpin turned to the guards behind him, "You two make sure my daughter gets to a bunker safely." Before Neo could protest she was being rushed out of the theatre and rushed outside and to the nearest bunker.
As the guards were leading the way through the streets of the town something must of happened as her two guards who were only a few meters in front of her suddenly vanished into thick black smoke and blood as an artillery round impacted in the street in front of them.
Neo ducked down as the guards covered her and paid for it with their lives, Neo suddenly lost saw the black figure appear again in front of her, again beckoning her to follow.
Following the tall figure she was lead through her home, watching as people ran the opposite way to her, it didn't register in her mind that she was going to the wall where the explosions, gunfire and as she got closer the sound of clashing steel were ringing out.
Neo followed the figure who led her up to the wall where soldiers were fighting back with guns as officers bellowed out for ammo, or at position to direct there firepower.
Neo watched as soldiers were caught by bullets fired by the Traitor humans working with the Grimm, or as she looked over the wall at the soldiers torn apart by creatures of Grimm, while there were not many they were still hard to kill.
Amongst all this chaos however Neo spotted the colourful blurs seemingly dancing around the battlefield. It was the performers she saw barely five minutes ago performing an intricate dance but now performing something else entirely, the dance of death.
Neo saw the large muscular performer with a pistol of elegant design shooting sharp discs at the traitor humans, the discs slicing through skin and armour alike, on her wrist was a container of sorts but thin wires that looked to cute through anything were spat out of it as the wielder charged into the different creatures or humans.
The lithe performer was the next Neo saw, dancing around her foes elegantly that nothing would hit her, nor bullet, sword or claw all of them couldn't touch her, however as she passed by those with swords that tried to stab her she gently, like a lovers touch would put her hand on the person, the hand in light and the hand would phase into the body of its target, and out with the hand came either a heart or a brain, still pulsing as it was simply removed from its owner.
The next performer was the one who played the part of the traitors, on her wrist looked to be a needle of sorts that she would plunge into her enemy for a few seconds before taking it out again, Neo thought nothing of the weapon until she saw what happened when the needle was removed.
The body that the needle had entered seem to cave in on itself as its insides were turned into a gory soup as tiny monofilament wires entered the body, destroying everything within, causing the body to collapse.
Neo saw the final performer who seemed to be the leader with a simple sword that cut through anything it came into contact with, and clearly with not much force behind the swings as shown how the performer was moving effortlessly around the battlefield.
Neo took all these details in, in seconds but what caught her eye the most was the Shadowseer herself, gone was the clean, faceless mask but replaced was an image of pure terror, the mask was covered in blood which only seemed to scare her enemies even more.
Her left hand glowed along the Miststave she wielded as she started to use her powers on her enemy, those traitors around her could barely hit anything as her powers were in full effect, clouding their minds with images or pure terror or removing her troupe from their minds completely so they ignored them and left them open to attack, in other cases she reached out and plucked blades of light from thin air and flung them at the enemy who were impaled on the blades and died quickly.
In her left hand however was an odd looking pistol Neo had never seen before, it looked like a series of crystals all formed together, which fired a bean of energy that burned away the nervous system of its target causing the target to scream in pain as they died.
Neo watched as the troupe were in there element fighting the dance of death, she didn't know where she heard the name or where the thoughts had come from as she had never seen fighting before, but what she saw with the Harlequins was amazing, they fought as if it was some dance routine but it was one they had been practicing for so long that they had perfected it.
Neo noticed the dark figure next to her, still encased in shadows the figure was watching with her, it seemed almost proud for some reason as it watched the fighting happen below.
Before she even knew it, the fighting was over and the troupe had finished fighting alongside the soldiers of Remnant, although the performers finished in elegant poses, as if the end of a dance routine and they were waiting for the applause to start.
The Shadowseer was speaking to her father when the performers finished there poses and joined her, Neo watched as the two interacted it looked as if her father was thanking them for the help while a soldier went over to her father and pointed up to the wall, right to Neo.
Neo looked at her father and waved weakly at her clearly annoyed father, who looked pissed off as he saw her daughter.
Neo noticed the Shadowseer cock her head to the side at the interaction between the two and turn her faceless, bloodied mask to Neo. Neo looked confused as to why she had drawn the attention of the being, and in the mask she saw the dark figure that led her to the wall.
An hour later found Neo in front of her father and mother, both annoyed at their daughter for the same reason, she had gone to the wall to watch the fighting instead of going to a bunker like she was supposed to.
In the hour after the battle those civilians in the bunkers had come out and they had returned to a more or less normal life again, those who had lost people in the attack were grieving as the battlefield was cleaned up and bodies were taken in and people informed.
Her father offered the Harlequins troupe a place to stay in their home for the night, but they had refused saying they would be ok on their transport.
For the last ten minutes Neo was being shouted at by both her parents before she was finally allowed to tell them her side of the story.
She told them what happened to her guards and that they protected her from the blast, causing her parents to make sure the guards families were compensated well for the sacrifice, however when Neo told them that she was following a dark figure who first appeared during the performance and then again after her guards had been killed, her parents went silent.
They told her to go to sleep and they'd talk about this tomorrow, Neo was shocked at the sudden change with them and wondered about the figure she saw and why her parents looked scared when she mentioned it.
The next day.
Neo awoke the next day and got ready for the day before going to breakfast only to find a note from her parents that they were busy with clan business and told her to enjoy the day.
Neo looked at the note suspiciously as she remembered how her parents were last night, shrugging it off she went about getting herself something to eat for breakfast before going to do her favourite past time, wandering around the town.
Leaving the large house that was reserved for the Clan leader, Neo went about town seeing all the damage that had been done during the attack now being repaired, she helped out some of the people in town with repairing shops and house.
Neo spent a few hours doing that, waving off any thanks from the people she helped before she went back to exploring the town a little more.
It was around midday when Neo saw the dark figure from the night before again, it was standing in an alleyway between two shops and it starred at her for a few seconds before turning around and taking off into a run.
Neo followed the figure as she chased after it, shouting out for it to stop so she could find out who it was and what it wanted.
The chase continued for another five minutes before the figure disappeared into the theatre, Neo followed the figure into the theatre until she came to the balcony she was sitting in last night, as Neo walking through she heard people talking.
Assuming it was the Harlequins that were currently in town, she had the intent to leave them alone, especially after seeing what they did last night to the Grimm but when she heard her father and mother speaking, she decided to watch.
Down on the stage Ozpin was speaking to the Shadowseer as the rest of her troupe looked to be practicing their routine, if it was for a show or for the battlefield Neo didn't know, both looked so similar.
"I am asking you to please leave my daughter alone, whatever you are trying to do to her, I ask you to stop." Ozpin, Neo's father asked the Shadowseer.
The seer only cocked her head to the side again, and spoke in the same monotone voice from the night before, "It is not I who lures your daughter to the ways of the Harlequins but the Laughing God himself who lures humans to join his ranks." The seer replied, but her reply didn't calm her father.
"I don't care, I don't want my daughter becoming involved in this war, that is not her destiny she is to take over the as leader of the Clan and lead them for the next however many years." Her father almost shouted at the seer, who had no reaction at all nor did her troupe.
The seer looked on confused, Neo could tell by the body language of the tall female as it seemed she tried to come up with words her father would understand.
"Clan leader Ozpin, Fate has laid out a path for each of us, yours is to lead this clan and mine is to perform and fight against the Grimm, however not everyone's path is clear even to the seers, it is down to the choices of the person which are constantly changing and the path of your daughter is unclear, if she wishes to join my troupe I shall not stop her from doing so, if she chooses not to join then we will be leaving in a days' time to move on to the next clan." The seer replied before turning her back on Ozpin and to practice and train her troupe for their performance tonight.
Neo quickly left the theatre and went back home to her room, her mind working through what she heard earlier that day, around two hours later she heard a knock on her door and her mother came in to inform her to get ready for a performance by the Harlequin troupe tonight before they moved on.
Neo got up off her bed to start getting dressed for the performance, choosing a long pink dress that reached down to just under her knees, and a pair of flat shoes instead of heels.
Once dressed Neo went to look out her window and saw the figure again beckoning to her, Neo thought over what she heard earlier that day and saw the night before and she found her mind was already made up.
Neo went to her draw and took out a necklace she was given when she was very young by her parents, it was from the world before The Fall, it was a simple necklace with a rose design and a rubies dotted across the flower. Her parents told her they found it while going to another clan for a meeting and they came across a woman who said she was a seer and knew the item would be important in the future and that their daughter needed to have it.
Neo was unsure what it meant or what the woman was talking about but it was a gift she cherished nevertheless and was the only thing she wanted to bring with her when she left.
Neo wrote a note for her parents to find later that night after the performance explaining her actions and where she was.
Once it was written Neo went downstairs to meet her parents and then go to the theatre again, Neo watched the performers taking in the details, it was the same dance as the night before and they looked the same but Neo noticed the Shadowseer had something attached to her hip, it was a new mask.
It was white and brown in colour with a pink jewel between and a little above the eye slits, for some reason Neo was drawn to it for some odd reason but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Around halfway through the performance she told her parents she wasn't feeling well and so was going home, when they said about the new guards going with her she said that they should enjoy the performance as who knows when another troupe would come to the clan.
They reluctantly agreed and so Neo walked down the stairs and snuck around to the stage, standing to the side she watched the performers up close as they played out the final scene, which was the humans and seer fighting back and winning against the Grimm, having slain all of them and humanity was saved.
Everyone watching rose up and started to applaud the performance, Neo herself joining in as she saw the performers bow to the audience before walking off the stage.
Neo followed the performers as they returned to the vehicle that transports them around from Clan to Clan, the vehicle was different to those she had seen from before The Fall, the vehicle worked on anti-grav technology that allowed it to skim across the ground, it had a space up front for a driver with a large compartment in the back where the performers could sleep and live.
It was larger than a caravan with six people, a full troupe to be able to comfortably live for a number of years.
Neo watched as the performers climbed on board, closing the door without a look behind them, even as Neo walked up to speak to them.
On board the transport.
The troupe master, second in command after the Shadowseer, turned to the seer. The troupe masters name was Coco, she was from a clan on the other side of the continent and had been with the Shadowseer, Red since the Grimm attacked being one of the first to join the ranks of the Harlequins, meaning the sword she uses fitted her perfectly as she could dodge and weave around other weapons and parry them with strength and in the same move stab the owner and allowed her to become the troupe master and as such use an elegant sword.
"I think the Clan leaders daughter wanted to speak to us, why did we ignore her?" Coco asked Red, the question on everyone's mind.
After Coco the longest serving harlequin was a tall woman called Yang, she was quite strong and with well-defined muscles but they didn't stop how agile she was when fighting and her performance, her brute strength approach to attacking her enemy, while elegant in its own way meant she could use the Harlequins Embrace to its full effect when she rushed into combat, her fist flying towards her target.
After Yang came Velvet, she was a very small and thin girl who used her agile and small nature to dance around the enemy and plunge her Harlequins Kiss into the enemies, she played the role of the traitors in the performance, 'The Fall of the humans' her dark outfit complementing this role, and allowed her to use the gruesome Kiss effectively on the Grimm forces.
Next after Velvet was Blake the most recent addition to the troupe being there only for two years, compared to the three or even five years of the others, before joining the troupe she had been a dancer and an agile soldier who used swords to meet the Grimm trying to attack her Clan.
Her lithe nature allowed her to play the role of fragile humans well and being able to dodge around the large humans she would go against, meaning her weapon the Harlequins Caress fitted her perfectly as she would give a gentle caress to her enemy and remove their hearts from their bodies, as if a surgeon working on a patient to extract an organ.
Finally was the mysterious leader of the troupe, Shadowseer 'Red' a stage name but the only name she gave to the others, she never removed her mask around others and would sleep in her own quarters a large amount of the time, but still interacted with her troupe members enough to get to know them well.
She was the only one who wouldn't remove her mask around others and no one knew if she was human or not. Coco who had been with Red since the start of the Grimm war knew the most about her and even then it wasn't much, Coco did know that whoever she was Red was the first Shadowseer and started the Harlequin troupes.
From knowledge that Red had given Coco, she knew there was around thirty troupes in the world all performing and fighting in various places and if somehow fate was for two troupes to cross paths at a Clan then everyone knew there would be trouble enough to warrant the need for two troupes.
Unknown to those outside of the troupes where they travel were not random but were in fact planned out, the seers while having powers for combat also had an almost future seeing power where they knew of certain events that were to happen, like attacks on Clan's that would require the aid of a troupe and as such all thirty Shadowseers worked together in some way to aid the clans without crossing paths unless the call was shown to more than one seer, although rare this happened.
That was as much as Coco or anyone knew about Red, but they all knew they were moving on soon and Coco saw the mask on Red's waist.
"I know, if she wants to talk to us then she needs to take the step and…..knock." Red gave a little gap, as if using an unknown term with her.
As if true to her word, they all heard a knocking sound on the door leading into the transport, Red gestured for everyone to take a seat in what was the living area for everyone to relax, she herself sat down as she rose her hand, opening up the door.
In front of them was a girl around the same age as Blake, 16 years, she had oddly coloured pink hair which was cut short to about shoulder height, she was wearing the same pink dress from earlier at the theatre and the same flat shoes as well.
She looked slightly shocked and blushed under the gaze of the five performers, finding the nerve to speak up she asked, "Um can I come in and talk? Please."
The five masks just looked at her curiously before one of them spoke up, it was the same voice from the show who would narrate the performance. "Come in and relax."
Neo slowly walked into the transport, shocked at how large it was and how nicely furnished the inside was.
An elegant set of couches filled the room, with two doors one leading to the front and another leading to a set of stairs for the second level, Neo guessed that as where they all had private rooms to sleep in.
As she got inside the door closed behind her and all the performers except the seer removed their masks revealing their faces for the first time.
Neo was in shock at how normal they all looked and how young they were, once she was introduced to each of them and learned a little about them before she was asked why she was there.
"Well I um, keep seeing this dark figure since I was at your show, the first time that is just before the attack and well it lead me to the wall where I watched you all fight and then it lead me to the theatre earlier where you and my parents were speaking." Neo told, looking away from each of them thinking that it must be weird what she was talking about.
Coco was the first to speak up as Red seemed content to watch how they all interacted with the girl, "It's alright, it's happened to all of us, a dark figure showing us to the Harlequins and making us follow them around the place and seeing them fight and perform, and then one way or another we ended up joining the troupe."
Neo looked at Coco understanding what she was being told, hearing similar stories when the Harlequins were being spoken about and how they lured people to join them.
The other performers told similar stories of how they joined the troupe, before being silenced by the seer.
"I'm guessing by now you know why you are here, it seems the Laughing God has finally thought it time I lead a full troupe into battle." Red spoke up.
"What do you mean by a full troupe?" Neo asked, confused about what she seer said.
"A troupe is led by a Shadowseer as you humans call us, after the seer it is a Troupe Master who has been with the troupe for a number of years and has proven their ability and loyalty to the cause. After that the troupe is filled with four Players, since the start of the Grimm war the Laughing God has not blessed me with a full troupe, but it seems now he has changed his mind." Red informed Neo, who looked even more confused.
"Who is the Laughing God?" Neo asked, curious as to the entity that the Shadowseer kept mentioning.
"If you join our ranks then I can answer all your questions, but only those in our ranks may know. If you decide to join us you must leave everything behind, family friends and any duties you had before. If you chose to accept this you will become inducted into the ranks of the Harlequins and will be fighting and performing alongside us, if you decline then you may leave now and you shall not be bothered again." Red told the girl, giving the same speech all seers give to recruits who may join the ranks of the Harlequin.
Neo thought over the proposal but she already knew her answer, "Yes, I accept I want to join your ranks."
It happened quickly, all the players stood up and donned their masks on, while Red took a little longer to stand up, but stood in front of Neo.
"Stand Neo." Red asked the girl.
Neo did as she was told and looked around at everyone who were standing in a circle around her.
Coco, the troupe master as if following a silent command went around behind the couch Red was sitting on to pick up a skin tight suit that the performers were all wearing, this one being a little smaller to fit Neo's size and coloured pink and white, a contrast to the mask Red suddenly had in her mind.
Coco came back into the circle and the rest of the players pulled a knife out of their waist bands and held them at their sides.
"Last chance Neo, do you still wish to join our ranks? Once this ceremony is complete the only way to leave is through death in battle or when the war is finally over, knowing these terms do you still accept?" Red asked, her voice taking on a small amount of emotion, one Neo couldn't work out.
Neo nodded her head, "Yes I still accept."
"Will you leave behind your family and friends, and devote your loyalty to my Troupe, and to fight and perform by our side for the foreseeable future?" Red spoke once more.
Neo once again nodded her head, "Yes I agree."
Red then nodded her head to the players in her troupe as she took the mask from her waist band into her hands.
The three other members of the troupe all moved forward with their knives up, Neo was scared at what they were going to do, but stood up straight looking into Red's faceless mask.
Velvet brought her knife up and cut straight through her dress, removing it from her body leaving her in only her underwear, which consisted of a pink bra and panties.
Next Yang raised her knife and cut away the girls bra, while Blake cut away the girls panties, leaving her stark naked in front of the other women.
She blushed as she was being starred at by the others, but remained stood up straight.
While this was happening Red was speaking, "With the removal of your old clothes, your past life is left behind and you are accepted into the new life as a member of a Harlequin troupe and will be recognised as such by others."
All five members of the troupe starred at Neo, she was unsure where they were looking as the masks hid their faces but she knew they were staring at her face, she didn't know how she knew but she just did.
What she wasn't prepared for when Red's body language showed she was stunned, she noticed the way the mask was pointed down that she was staring at an item sitting just above her breasts.
The rose necklace that Neo was wearing caught the attention of the Shadowseer, to the point she broke tradition and raised her hand to the necklace, this action shocked everyone in the room as Red was normally calm and collected.
In a soft voice they heard Red ask, "Where did you get this?" Sadness etched in her soft voice, a shock to everyone in the room.
Shakily Neo replied as best she could, as she was blushing under the scrutiny of the other women, "It was a gift from my parents, from a seer in another clan, they said she was young and had a white cloak." Neo said as she remembered as much as she could.
Red mumbled something picked up by her masks speakers, "Laughing God is surely laughing at me and messing with me like this."
Before anyone could question Red, she picked up where she left off. "With this new skin you shall be recognised as being a part of a Harlequin troupe and with my symbol they will all know which troupe."
Coco held up the suit to Neo, who took a hold of it only for it to mould onto her skin and cover her up in a matter of seconds, the suit was tight but it also relaxed to give her more space and was a comfortable fit.
"And with this mask you share take on a new identity, that of the seers that arrived at the start of the Grimm war in the performance of 'The Fall of the humans' and will be used as your mask in battle." Red stated as she presented the mask to Neo, placing it on her face.
When the mask went onto Neo's face, a series of images assaulted her, first amongst them was the faces of her fellow troupe members, with images of their masks next to them and only Red's remained the same faceless mask she wore.
Next she found a series of displays that would help her in combat and when performing together with the others, eventually they all settled down and she looked around to see her fellow troupe members.
They all had removed their masks now and were smiling at the girl, Neo who then removed her mask as well smiled as she was embraced by all of them, and lastly Red embraced her although hesitantly.
Whispering into her ear as she hugged the newest member, Red said, "Welcome to the Rose Troupe."
'Dear Mom and Dad,
I'm sorry but if you are reading this then I have left to join the Harlequin troupe, I have felt the calling and feel that my duty is to serve the Harlequins in stopping the forces of Grimm, if I ever see you again I hope you forgive me but this is what I feel I must do and I feel it will better aid the clan if I do.
Much love, your daughter Neo.'
A/N
Any questions, PM me or put them in a review and I'll response.