Author's Note -
The reception to the first act was promising, it seems like those who have read it have enjoyed it. I warn you in advance that this chapter is mostly just character building and exposition but the plot will be picking up from Act 3 onwards; the start of the story's first 'arc' so to speak. These first two acts were mostly just to introduce the characters and get back into the swing of writing.
Also, sorry this one took a while to come out, I planned to do it within 5 days of the first act and I had about half of it done by then, but I just put off doing it for no real reason, but the speed at which I write should be picking up from now on.
Again, I hope you enjoy Act Two - Dual Reflections, and I welcome any and all constructive feedback!
The soft morning sun began to rise over the horizon, dulling the hellish fires that had kept the rocky wasteland burning bright for the whole night; volcanic rocks slipped and crashed into each other as the magma underneath them shifted and bubbled, giving the scorched black earth the look of a colossal creature that lay sleeping as the ground. Duat is the western-most province of Vacou, a dying wasteland consumed by the volcanoes that rip the flesh of the land apart leaving nothing but lava and stone.
The piercing light of the sun's rays penetrated the thin blinds of the train's carriage; the flimsy material not doing much to pose a barrier for it, the light freely touching the two occupants of the cabin. Xia laid on one of the tattered seats lining the walls, the weathered maroon contrasting with the stark black of her robes and striking blonde hair; sleeping as soundly as she could as the train rattled and jerked, constantly bumping and shaking her around. The beams of sunlight grazed her eyes softly, slowly irritating her enough into a drowsy wake.
Quacey hadn't taken the opportunity to rest like Xia, they weren't the only ones onboard the train and the others were the sort who would be the first to cause trouble; even though they were the only ones in the carriage, it didn't hurt to have a look-out. Sitting in a relaxed manner, he stared out into the fiery planes they rode above; embraced in the deep expanses of the memory that shook him every time it entered his mind; no matter how much he tried to forget it his mind always brought him back to that moment.
A single blow was all it took, the man in a blind rage throwing a punch at the frail woman in the door; the crash of a skull hitting metal ringing grotesquely in the ears of the young Quacey, all he could do was look on in horror as blood pooled out of his mother's head, killed by the impact. The man stepped over the corpse towards the boy huddled in the corner, hands gripped into a fist and teeth clenched; a look of uncontrollable anger in the man's eyes.
Then all he could remember was darkness, then coming to in the same room, yet different; horrible scars of blood streaking the walls, a second corpse on the floor with flesh ripped to shreds by nail and teeth. Quacey stood over the man's body, shivering in absolute terror; he looked down at his hands and wincing at the blood they were drenched in. Looking back up, he looks at the mirror at its reflection; what he saw was a young boy with a gruesome ring of blood lining their mouth, aligning with the iron taste of blood in his mouth.
His eyes met the images, the red-tinted sheen hiding the twisted pupils, it almost seemed like they were smiling.
Hearing a tiresome groan beside him, Quacey jerked back into awareness; throwing a glance into the window of the train he saw his eyes, a silent breath of relief as he noticed them in their normal grey hue. Turning to the source of the groan, he watched as Xia rolled out of her make-shift bed and pulled herself up; eyeing the dark figure with an initial confusion followed by a flash of resignation as she remembered who he was.
"Good sleep?" Quacey yawned, turning to face the bedraggled woman standing before him; the robes slightly tattered and a mild case of bed-hair drove him to a slight grin.
"Shit sleep; what the hell's so funny?" Xia snaps, seemingly alert despite her manner.
"Nothing."
"Better be." She responds, walking towards the carriage's small washroom and locking herself inside, the sound of water running kept a silence at bay. "Know how far there is to go?" She asks.
"About 3 hours last time I asked, that was about half-hour ago; you do the math." Quacey responds in his normal nonchalant manner, pushing himself up and walking straight for the door of the carriage; hearing the click of the door Xia pokes her head out of the corner she was in, the sun catching the water droplets on her face. "Don't mind me, just getting some fresh air."
"Don't blame you; this cabin's stuffy as fuck." Xia shouted from the bathroom; gazing into the water pooled in the cracked ceramic basin below her, the reflection looking back at her rippled with the movements of the train, yet even with the distortion her eyes stayed strikingly still; returning her gaze. She let out a brief sigh to herself before pulling the plug and lifting her head up to face herself in the grimy mirror in front of her; the fatigued image of herself staring back, Xia breathed deep and turned away. I need a break after all this. Strolling to join the solitary figure out on the small balcony of the carriage, she pushed open the door and looked at her partner. What the hell am I doing here with someone like him?
What the hell am I doing here with someone like her? Quacey thought to himself, turning to face the woman who had just joined him outside; taking a chance to study her appearance, the dark robes hugging the form of the amazon's frame. Standing at a considerable height only a couple of inches shorter than his six foot four inch body, the other obvious difference was that she had a stockier shape; not overweight by any count but nowhere near the slenderness of himself, and he had no doubt most of that mass was from muscle. The platinum blonde hair trailing behind her, flailing wildly with the wind of the train thundering on the tracks and the scorching gales of the Duat Plains.
"Not much better out here, I'm afraid." Quacey states, Xia turning around to face him; she gives him a momentary thoughtful gaze, before blinking back into her usual cold glance.
"I didn't expect much more from this place; it felt crap on the way to Shinewater too." She replied with a dismissive breath, sweeping the fringe from her face and revealing the vivid purple eyes that lay beneath.
"You don't carry the usual business-like demeanour of the average Lightbringer, do you?"
"I just had the worst night of sleep I've had for a good while, of course I'd be grouchy."
"Fair enough." He responds, looking at her face; he notices a slightly apprehensive look on it and thinks for a moment. "You look like you want to say something."
"Who are you?" Xia blurts out, containing herself for a moment then collecting herself. "You claim you're not with the Grimm Shadow, but all of you are. In fact, what the hell are up with you all anyway?"
"Us? As in Shades?"
"Of course 'as in Shades'! What the hell did you think I was talking about?"
"I dunno, just seems like a redundant question considering your training; you'd know all about what we are." Quacey tensed his grip on the rail slightly; Xia looked for any kind of meaningful emotion on his face, only to be met with the same apathetic nothingness he seemed to carry.
"Obviously, but I've always been curious how they see themselves." She elaborates, Quacey glances upwards and their eyes meet for a brief second, before he turns his glance upwards at the sky, wincing as the sun catches his eye.
"Well... most people consider us monsters, abominations, for what we are; the blackened marks in our flesh setting us aside from everyone else, the hatred of the Grimm makes us outcasts by nature. The majority hate that the world sees us that way and try to embrace our difference, take that as a reason to fight for respect like the White Fang do for the Faunus. Some of the more rational ones see us for what we really are; there isn't much that separates us from the creatures of corruption you find out in the wild... aside from our awareness and restraint, us and them are one in the same; we either hate ourselves for it, or ignore it."
"Well, I haven't seen you gouge out anybodies throat or tear them to shreds; I'd say there's some difference between you..." Xia stopped as she saw Quacey turn his head away, staring at the rails below the train; a harsh expression on his face. "Did I touch a nerve?"
"It's something along those lines." Quacey replied wistfully, returning his view to the woman in front of him; she looked uncomfortable, he decided to change the conversation. "So where do your roots lay, Lightbringer?" She faced him, their eyes meeting.
"The usual, they see a kid interested in becoming a hunter with a powerful light aura; kid gets shipped off to the prestigious Zenith Academy to become a glorified exterminator. I wanted to be a huntress, ended up as a tool to be used as pest control." Xia spat the last sentence; turning her head and giving an inquisitorial stare, she began to reply. "What about you?"
"Seems we've both trod the generic path for what we are; I was left as an orphan for my nature, treated like shit in an orphanage and left as soon as I could look after myself; doing odd jobs to get by until I was old enough to do some small private investigation work." Quacey said the words of his early life with venom in his voice; the words weren't a lie, just not the entirety of his history.
"You're stuck on a job with all this as well then?" Xia asked.
"Not entirely, this is all on more of a personal whim; I've always had an axe to grind with the Grimm Shadow, I tend to keep an eye on what they're up to... and something's gotten the hive kicking as of late; naturally I started looking into it." Quacey replied, leaning forward as a plume of smoke and hot air erupted behind him.
"Well, your business is yours, I guess." Xia sighed, crossing her arms and gazing out over the plains of the Duat.
"Yeah." The short gesture of agreement was met with a short nod from Xia, still looking away from the train; Quacey shifted to get a more comfortable position on the railing, taking off the thick scarf he wore and revealing the top of his coat, the dark brown collar relaxing out as it's freed of its confines. The thin jacket was made of smooth wool and went down to his waist, over it he wore a jet black overcoat that was made of a light-weight material; clearly intended for someone who relied on mobility.
"Say... did we just have a moment?" Quacey asked this apprehensively, cracking his knuckles under the fingerless black gloves. Xia's head snapped back to face him incredibly quickly, the cold glare returning and some kind of emotion pouring in. Quacey debated with himself, could he see rage? Embarrassment? Defensiveness maybe? Before he could think further, she pushed herself up and stormed into the carriage again, slamming the door behind her.
"Guess emotional connections aren't her thing. Works for me I suppose." Quacey whispered to himself, making sure his apparently touchy companion wasn't in earshot; slumping his shoulders in resignation, he turned and leaned outward onto the railing. Turning to briefly glance at the woman sitting in the opposite corner of the carriage, he turned back out at the volcanic landscape flying past the train. She's almost as volatile as this place.
The time passed quickly and without any events of note; before they knew it, their silence was broken by the screeching of brakes as the train ground to a halt inside the station, and the sound of the outside hustle and bustle awoke them from their bored stupor. They hadn't spoken a word to each other between their suddenly halted exchange and the arrival, however seeing the necessity of some conversation, Quacey ended the mental standoff.
"What now?" He asks, pulling back on his scarf and threading his hands into his overcoat's pockets, turning to look at his partner.
"This town has a ship port, we go there." Xia replied sternly, giving him the same glare that he had been receiving for the last two hours, when he had caught her looking at least.
"Sounds good to me." Going with the quick route of conversing to try and ease some of the tension, Quacey then began reaching for the door of the carriage; he looked over his shoulder at Xia, who was still sitting on a seat in the corner. Exhaling deeply, he began walking out towards the steps leading that led to the platform. "If you don't hurry up, I'll leave you here." He shouted in the general direction of the open door; turning to glance at him for a moment, Xia stood up and made her way out onto the dusty platform beside the train.
"Get going then." Xia snaps at Quacey, pulling out a small holographic device from a pocket at her hip, expanding the screen and pressing several buttons on the display; bringing up a live map of the town they found themselves in. "The port is close, should be a short walk."
"Alrighty then, you take the lead." Quacey replies apathetically, glancing around the old station; especially at the various indications of older Vacuan architecture, he had always liked their flare for the overly-dramatic.
Heading along the path set out by the scroll Xia held, they proceeded through several streets worth of markets that seemed to be flogging all matters of wares; from home-smithed weaponry to shoddy attempts to pass of various substances as a diverse spread of different rare forms of dust. Xia looked at one of these stalls and snorted to herself, enjoying a brief chuckle at a sign that read 'Refractive Dust! 250 Aurum per Flask!' Noticing her stifled laughter, Quacey enquired as to the source of her amusement.
"Some poor sucker will think he's getting a bargain on a rarity, and end up with a bottle of broken glass." Xia said, turning her view away from the market stall and continuing on her way, with Quacey trailing behind and taking in some of the views. Eventually they turned the street corner that allowed them to get a good look at the city's airship travel port; they quickly closed the distance between them and it, entering the grandiose terminal to see a hotbed of activity and frantic movement. The masses of people itching to get from the ground onto an airship off to some part of Remnant, only a flurry of colour at the bottom of the steps the duo found themselves watching from the top of.
The two made their way down the steps, heading to a booth without any kind of queue; the plaque above it reading a simple job description: 'Hunter Travel Authenticator', all it really meant was a guy sat on a chair making sure Hunters and Huntresses got onto their flights. The man in question looked quite young, and had seemingly fallen asleep on the desk they were working at, business evidently slow for him; giving a forceful rap on the window he jerked upwards to attention, brushing down his creased uniform.
"Welcome to the Southern Vacou International Airship Port; could you two show authentication to verify your Hunting status please?" The request was met immediately by Xia, fishing out a small golden card bearing the seal of the Vale Royal Family, stating her occupation as a Huntress; turning to Quacey, she begins waiting in anticipation of how he would handle the situation.
"And you sir..?" The man's sentence cut off as Quacey produced a tattered black card, bearing a white stripe signed with the official brand of one of Minstrel's various Tsars; declaring that he too was a Hunter. He's actually a Hunter? Xia almost spoke aloud out of surprise; she had expected him to try something with a bit more shadiness around it instead of pulling out official documentation. As the two started heading towards the gate they had been told would take them to Vale, she gave him a curious glance.
"What's up?" Quacey asks, returning the look as they continued walking, turning every few seconds to check they wouldn't walk into anybody. Xia cleared her throat, looked around and then turned back to him.
"You could have told me you were a Hunter."
"I would have told you if I was."
"Wait, what?!"
"I had a favour to cash in with a Tsar of Minstrel after doing some work for him, this thing was meant to be revoked after all was good and done, but he let me keep it in lieu of actual payment; I tell you, it pays for itself." Quacey pulled out the card again, looking at its metallic sheen under the artificial lights of the gate they were walking through.
"I'm pretty sure it's illegal to declare yourself a Hunter when you aren't." Xia replied, stiffening up slightly and looking away from him, choosing to further voice her annoyance through actions rather than words.
"You say that like we didn't kill an entire squadron of Vacou's elite soldiers; pretty sure that's illegal too." The quick retort shattered the high-and-mighty posture Xia had put up, she turned to him wide-eyed and mouth slightly open in shock; she looked more concerned than angry.
"Shut up, don't talk about that in public."
"Don't give me a lecture on ethics in the future then, 'kay?"
Giving a brief sigh, Xia hunched her shoulders in resignation and glanced at him, before returning to her usual manner and stance. "Fine." Digging her hands into her overcoat's pockets, she gives Quacey a nod to grab his attention before nudging her head to their left, indicating the gate they were heading for.
The duo made their way onto the airship moored at the port, the dull grey passage leading to a rather exquisite hall which served as the main chamber of the airship's passenger deck; the ornate dark wood lining the floors was accented by extremely detailed mosaics that illustrated many parts of Vacuan history, colourful accounts of heroes beating back the creatures of Grimm made up the majority of the stories they could see. The rich oranges and greens of Vacou's flag could be found in the furniture over the room, serving to bring some life to the otherwise pristine room.
They proceeded to make their way to the airship's information kiosk, a large map made from gold layered onto a fine white opal which held the layout of the vessel's interior; identifying the route to the Hunters deck, an area reserved especially for, as the name implied, Hunters and Huntresses. They made their way there and found themselves in a room not unlike the main hall, although the walls were strewn with portraits of some of Remnant's most renowned and legendary combatants against the Grimm. Not many Hunters had business out in such a remote part of the Vacou, a relatively rural province of the kingdom that rarely had notable Grimm excursions; this meant that there were few other inhabitants of the cabin.
Deciding on a small booth in the deck's bar, Quacey and Xia sat down on opposite sides of the opal table; taking off her overcoat beforehand, revealing a short-sleeved grey tunic with small amounts of golden embroidery; standard under-clothes for a Lightbringer, fitted to suit her form. She also removed the various straps of the combat harness she wore, consisting of her holsters and anti-projectile vest. Resting her elbows on the edge of the table, she immediately pulled back with a wince before slowly laying her arms back down with a hint of apprehension.
"What's up?" Quacey asked, after watching the small movement with curiosity; Xia looked up to reply, opening her mouth, but no sound came out; she quickly turned away from embarrassment.
"Table's cold." She muttered, turning her eyes but not her head in a subtle attempt to make sure he didn't laugh, he merely shrugged and pulled out his scroll; releasing her breath in relief, she regained her composure and faced him again. "What's our plan when we get into Vale? We have no leads except what Wolfe told us."
"I was just about to bring that up, actually. I have a friend who's an informant for one of the many Faunus clans who make up the Vale Faunus Mafia, he's one of their best too; if I ever need to know about something happening in that Kingdom, I just give him a visit." Quacey replied, standing up after he finished and sliding out of the booth; reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the black card.
"Strawberry Sunrise, no ice. Thanks for the offer." Xia called out to him, he wasn't facing her but he simply stopped, shrugged and started walking up to it again. After a few minutes had past, he made his way back holding a bright yellow drink with spirals of bright red crème and a glass filled with water with small chunks of dull yellow crystal in it; placing the first drink in front of Xia, he sat down with his own and took a sip.
"I said earlier about holding back on the ethics debates, that'll be a good idea for him as well; he's a light-hearted guy, but doesn't appreciate the good word." Quacey said nonchalantly, giving a quick chuckle as she threw her usual stony glare at him. "You know, it surprises me how someone whose combat style is so dependent on light is able to give such an ice-cold stare."
"Laugh all you want, I just don't appreciate being the butt of someone's joke." Xia replied, half snarling the other half. After taking a quick sip of her drink, she sat back and rested her hands behind her head, closing her eyes. "So we'll go meet your man, what happens if we don't find anything out from him?"
"Then we'll know the Children of Grimm are damn good at keeping secrets, which will be news; they never have been. I have no doubt he'll know enough to get us on our way." Quacey replied, glancing out of the window as the speakers linked to the captain's cabin of the airship crackled into life.
"Good Morning people, this is your captain speaking to welcome you aboard the Amber Falcon, we will be departing in just under 5 minutes, with no delays we shall be arriving at West Vale Airship Port within eight hours. Thank you for choosing Falcon Airships for your travelling experience, and we hope you have a pleasant flight."
"Eight hours? Looks like we're stuck with another long journey." Xia said, Quacey giving a simple nod in response before taking another sip from his drink, the dull yellow crystals fizzling with minute sparks as they melted; the strange substance was a simple mixture of ice and very small amounts of static dust. Xia gave a slight giggle at such a childish choice for someone who came across so unlike a child, Quacey looked up from his drink with a surprised expression on her face.
"She laughs! Didn't think you had it in you… what was so funny?" Asked the completely deadpan Quacey, the innocent enough question had Xia barely able to contain herself, standing up and reaching for her combat-harness, she strapped it on and threw her overcoat on over it.
"Nothing. I'm going to go have a practice on the firing range, I need to do something to pass the time." To which Quacey replied with a meek nod, still confused as to why she was laughing. "Come and find me if there's anything pressing." She added, turning and beginning to walk out of the small bar; Quacey placed his drink down on the table and slid down into a more relaxed pose, almost laying down.
"You know, for a Lightbringer you ain't all that bad." He remarked, gazing out the window; Xia turned her head to face the booth again and answered with a brief "Hm?" not hearing what he had actually said; in response he just held his hand up and gave a succinct wave, Xia continuing to head out to the firing range.
Xia found the shooting gallery to be fairly deserted, only one or two other shooters among the twenty available lanes; finding one suitable isolated from any contact, she pressed a small button which began to project targets onto the range. The monotonous shooting gave her a bit of time to think, and her thoughts drifted back to Quacey.
What is up with him? One minute he's a sombre and reserved, 'mind in the game' type; the next he's surprisingly casual and easy-going… he actually made me laugh, that was surprising, I don't remember having anything to laugh about since before being sent to Zenith… not since the last time I was with her.
The last part of her train of thought drove a fierce snarl onto Xia's face, causing her to increase her fire-rate as her rage began to seethe into her movements and actions. Stop it Xia, you told yourself she's dead to you, she abandoned you as soon as you got shipped off to that wretched school; you don't need to care about her anymore. Taking a look at the two guns in her hands, she began to become slightly entranced by the firing and she began to relax as the rhythm of gunfire soothed her nerves.
The barrels of Dawn and Noon spun to life as she began alternating firing modes, rapidly spinning on their axis between both a sideways configuration akin to a double-barrel shotgun which released powerful bursts of charged static dust, and a vertical orientation which allowed small amounts of her light aura to be channelled through the refractive dust in the cartridge, being angled into a small crystal at the hilt of the blade which then positions it to release a small but powerful bolt of light at wherever she's aiming.
She continued at the shooting range for a while, eventually re-calibrating the angle of the channelling crystal in Dawn after noticing it had been knocked ajar during the fight with the Angels back in Shinewater.
Meanwhile, Quacey sat in the booth still, sunk into the burgundy leather seat and staring out at the clouds as they flew by the moving Airship; he was reflecting on many of the thoughts he hadn't had the time to process with all the hustle-and-bustle of getting between one transport and another, he wasn't wasting the opportunity to stop and think.
What the hell could Grimm Shadow be up to? They've moved all their operations across an ocean and are posing enough of a problem that the Lightbringers actually have people investigating it. Snapping back into some focus with the word Lightbringer, his mind drifted to the woman he was travelling with. What is with her? She's not like the other ones I've come across, they tried to put a ray of light through me before I had a chance to speak; she hasn't… What's with you, Xia Xiao Long? With that last question to himself, he felt his eyes begin to close as he fell into a sleep, no doubt uneasy like every other time.
Whew, that was a long one; nothing like some good old character building! Dat angst in Xia's past tho.