Elizabeth
I woke up chained to a wall. Surprisingly I felt fine, no grogginess at all, on the contrary my mind felt clear. Discarding those thoughts I looked around me. The room was dark and wet, but I could just barely make out the two other people. Genevieve and Victoria were also waking up looking around them.
"What in the hell is wrong with this god damn family?" Victoria said, pulling on her chains in vain.
"Don't waste your strength, look at these bricks, we aren't getting out of this." Genevieve had a
point. The room was built of large stone bricks that screamed medieval castle dungeon. "Also why are we in combat suits?" I couldn't see there clothes so I looked down, indeed I was wearing a skin tight combat suit, the kind that the Nimo wore when we were attacked.
A light turned on above us."Because we intend to have you fight." I looked up to where the voice was coming from. A woman was standing on the grate above us with a flashlight. "This is a test, don't think for a second that we would let some high school students take care of those two weapons. They are far too strong for you. I don't think we shouldn't even bother, but Elder says so."
I couldn't see her face, but her voice was harsh, yet nonchalant. She didn't care about what happened to us, but would be happy if we didn't survive. One more person that reinforced the stereotype that the Nimo clan were horrible people.
"Release their chains." Our handcuffs released letting us move around the room. "Try not to die, that would make Jasper and Aaron angrier, and quite frankly we need those two."
"Is that the only reason you care about our lives? Not that we're fellow humans?" Genevieve looked up at the woman.
"HA! Fellow humans? I could care less." She walked off the grate. A door opposite me opened, I hadn't seen it in the darkness of our dungeon. We walked out of it into a forest. Massive trees all around, we couldn't see the sun through the thick green canopy, and there were no structures around except the tower we had just come from. I breathed in the earthy smell around us, preparing for whatever.
"The task is simple. Find your partners before nightfall, at the same time there will be groups of Nimo at each location trying to stop you. Name the first person you want to find and we will point you in the right direction. After that you will have to interrogate those at different points to find the others." The voice came from a mega phone at the top of the tower.
"Aaron is probably the best choice, especially if we need to get information from people." Genevieve made a valid point.
"I agree, what about you Liz?" They turned to me for the decision.
I pondered it for a moment then realized something. "No, it has to be Jasper. She said she wouldn't trust them to us, so we should go for who they view as most important, which is Jasper." I turned to the tower. "Jasper is our decision."
"Congratulations Elizabeth Ekler, you have passed the first trial. The Omni Weapon is the most important person in your squad, even if he wouldn't want it, we expect you to give your life for him. Head straight from the door of the tower to find him." The mega phone gave us our directions and we set off.
"We should take inventory."I said after I took notice of the pockets on the hips of our suits. In the right was a water pouch, in the left, zip-ties. My companions had the same exact items.
"So every part of this is a test?" Genevieve was climbing over a rock in our path. "If we had answered wrong there we would have just failed? They didn't even tell us it was important, really underhanded."
"They drugged us to bring us here. What did you expect." Victoria held her hand out to help Genevieve down. She took it cautiously and slid down the moss covered rock.
"They won't play fair. Every decision is most likely a challenge, along with any and all combat. Be wary when we find Aaron and Jasper, they will probably be targeted and we will be expected to defend them." I looked around the area, it was actually extremely beautiful, large trees loomed all around us casting shadows that fell across the ground. The sounds of animals surrounded us, the thick brush, large rock formations. All of it looked amazing, but in this situation I couldn't enjoy any of it. The shadows were hiding places, the animals masked the sounds of our enemies, the rocks provided them high ground. We were unfamiliar with the area, but it must be owned by the Nimo if they brought us out here and had buildings. We were at an extreme disadvantage, numbers, terrain, familiarity, they were all against us.
"How many Nimo are there even?" Victoria turned to me.
"Around 1,200. They are apparently quite numerous."
"That's insane! If there anything like Aaron and Jasper, then there is an army just, around. I had never even heard of them." She echoed thoughts I had a when I first met the cousins we were now trying to save.
"Over there." Genevieve pointed out a clearing to our left. Inching closer we saw to people standing at the door, the one on the left had a rifle in hand the right one had a curved blade at his side.
"There must be more. We need to draw them out, I have a plan."
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"What the hell are you thinking?!" I yelled at Genevieve.
"We need to find them quickly! Victoria already ran off to find Aaron, why can't I go find my partner?" She yelled back.
"We need Aaron and she can handle herself! Carter can wait and you'll get yourself killed!" She was about to retort when two men jumped down from the trees. One had a ring with a bladed edge, a chakram I think, the other had a flail.
"Seems like you girls got in a little tiff. Shame really, we knew you couldn't be trusted with tho-" The guy with the chakram was talking before Victoria planted her foot on his back. He was knocked to the ground and Victoria started fighting the other one. As he got up he went to attack Victoria but I was behind him. I raised my arms and brought my elbows down on his shoulders. He didn't get back up, instead moaning in pain. Victoria had taken out her own opponent with a kick to the head. We tied their hands with the zip-ties then tied that together.
"Good job, the people in the clearing probably think we got taken out here, lets drop in on them." Genevieve started walking toward the clearing. We were right behind the tower, inching closer hoping to surprise the gunmen. As soon as I heard Victoria attacking the guy with the rifle I ran forward tackling the guy with the sword. We were grappling on the ground, then I heard a click from inside the tower. Jasper ran out kicking the guy off me. He quickly handled him then walked toward the rifler.
"Neil right? Tell me where my friends are, be a shame if your child got kicked out of training for some strange reason." Jasper held him by his suit.
"Please no! She's a blue!" Neil was kicking out but not far enough to reach Jasper.
"Then tell me!" Jasper slammed him against the wall. I winced at the sound.
"Okay! There in building 2 and 5! they form a triangle with this one at the top!" Jasper dropped him and started walking away. Like us he had been given a combat suit. "Aaron?" Neil pointed to our left and we moved out.
"I'm sorry about this. I didn't think Grandpa would do something like this. The other clansmen must have pressured him into testing us as a squad. This won't be over when we find the others."
"You warned us, I didn't think they would really go this far, but I knew it was possible." Genevieve tried to comfort him. He just grimaced and walked on.
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We found Aaron's tower relatively quickly, it had the same amount of guards as before, this time instead of a distraction Jasper climbed up the tree using blades formed from his hands and feet. After a few minutes and some scuffling two people dropped down with their hands tied, Jasper followed them.
"What about those two in the clearing?" This time both guards had guns, we couldn't ambush them both and just hope it would go well.
"I have an idea. Genevieve and Victoria go to the left and right. Throw a stone or something to get there attention, at that point Elizabeth and I will shoot them. Let's go." Jasper transformed into my pistol, and we waited. When the distraction happened I fired at the one on the left, knocking him into a wall. The distraction made it so the other guy didn't react in time, and I hit him as well. "Good job." He returned to his human form.
We went forward and released Aaron, he was disappointed he didn't get to attack anyone. Next we had to go the same distance we did for the others to get to Carter. This time things weren't as simple. Even before we got there multiple Nimo dropped in on us, we weren't prepared but Jasper and Aaron took them out, from then on they traveled in weapon form.
It was sunset when we got there and we noticed a large bump up in security. Now there were two guards at the door, two circling the clearing, and another four posted in the middle. They all had knives and swords, no guns."Standard limited personnel three layer defensive. These guys will all be at least blue. Probably meant to trick you into thinking this was me or Jasper. They don't view Carter as a threat, so if you did clear this, the massive effort would yield little reward." Aaron was looking around in the trees. "No one in the canopy, Genevieve can you take the two by the door?" She nodded nervously.
"Okay, Victoria when one of the outer guards passes us, take him out. Drag him back into forest, then Elizabeth will shoot the one on the other side of the field. After that we charge in to take the four in the middle layer. Genevieve, your on you own for the inner layer, Elizabeth may take one out with a bullet but that's the best we can hope for." Aaron explained our strategy, we moved into position.
As soon as I saw the one guard circling get dragged back, I fired to the other side of the clearing. The first layer down, we charged in. I fired at the first middle guard I saw, taking out another, Genevieve had gotten past the middle while Victoria distracted them. I started firing toward the tower to freak out the inner layer, they scrambled away from the door. Genevieve didn't bother attacking and ran straight in. I saw a flash a few seconds later, just before the inner guards got the courage to charge in. I trusted them with that, I turned toward the my last target. He was running at me blade raised. He jumped, I ran forward, pushing the barrel into his stomach, and fired. He was sent flying, I looked over to Victoria to see her land a kick to her last opponents stomach.
We ran toward the tower, when we got there we saw Carter pin a guys arm to the ground with his blade. He wasn't getting up. As we left the tower a loud booming voice rang out.
"Congratulations!" A group of Nimo came out of the forest. Grandpa Nimo at their head. "You all passed! I knew you could do it." The many of the people behind him ran to their family with medical equipment.
Jasper returned to human form and walked forward. Stopping about ten feet in front of the group. "Whose idea was this trial?" He was calmer than I expected.
"That would be I." An older man also in a combat suit came forward. His hair was dark and I could see his green eyes from here. "This was necessary, you two are among the strongest in the clan and most definitely our strongest weapons. Do you have a problem? Just because you are the Omni Weapon means nothing, you are young and inexperienced, and until you reach age your rank means little." This guy was smug as hell. Even though I could only see his back, Jasper looked pissed, he reached behind him and took out a slim iron rod out of his suit.
"Jasper. Are you sure?" Aaron called to him. He turned to us, pure fury in his eyes.
Turning back he said. "Being the Omni Weapon means nothing to me. But this is inexcusable." He threw the rod at the man, it landed at his feet with a soft thump. "I, Jasper Nimo, challenge you, Quentin Nimo to a duel. Do you accept or do you resign from your station and leave the Nimo Clan?"
"Leave?" Victoria whispered to Aaron.
"Yes. Jasper just issued the biggest challenge clansmen can. If you don't accept a challenge to duel you become an outcast. Just so you know Jasper has never lost, and he only does this when he is horribly angry, meaning he's brutal in the fight." I looked to the older man, he looked extremely nervous. He bent down to pick up the rod, his hand hesitated before taking it.
"So be it. What are your terms?" Quentin stood back up.
"If I win, you will renounce your right to make decisions in any matters of the Nimo Clan. If you win, I will serve you." Jasper stood tall, despite what he just said. Quentin's eyes bulged.
"That damn idiot." Aaron hissed under his breath. "What if he does lose? Quentin would make him do every little thing, just to say he had an Omni weapon under his thumb. Does he want to cook meals for that fool?" He looked up at the trees. "Well, then again, not like there is a chance he'd lose."
"I accept." Quentin was smiling like a mad man. He knew he had one hell of a chance.
They took their stances, Jasper had the same one from before, left hand up, right hand prepared to strike. Quentin took a boxing stance, similar to Aaron's but he didn't lower his knees as much. They were inching closer while everyone around backed up. Quentin threw the first punch, Jasper grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, landing a knee in his stomach. He let him go for another try.
Quentin pulled back his left arm, charging forward, just before he got to Jasper he jumped early and threw the punch, the momentum added to the spinning kick aimed at Jasper's head, but it didn't matter. He ducked under it, rushing forward to deliver a kick when Quentin landed. After rolling across the ground Quentin swiped at Jasper with his left hand. Jasper caught it, twisted his arm so he couldn't get away, then brought his elbow down on Quentin's. Quentin screamed in pain, and fell to the ground, but Jasper didn't let go. Realizing that, Quentin's eyes bulged. I took the opportunity to look at his soul, all I saw was a dread, he knew he was finished.
Jasper made sure he couldn't move by maneuvering his arm, then sat on his back, pressing his arm down. Quentin was screaming, begging for mercy. I heard a pop, then he got even louder. I looked in dread, I had to do something. "JASPER!" I yelled at him, he whipped his head around, he didn't seem any less angry. "That's enough! You won!" Jasper turned back but didn't apply more pressure. For a few seconds I couldn't move, I was afraid of what he would do. Finally he stood up and moved away, grabbing his rod.
"Victor! Jasper Nimo!" Aaron called out. The Nimo around clapped, they were applauding one of their family for… hurting another. This was their world.
Jasper walked past us, only stopping to say "Sorry you had to see that." Then he walked into the forest leaving us behind.
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I was laying in bed, a plate of food sitting next to me, but I wasn't hungry. The plushness of the pillows, the softness of the King size white comforter, the smell of pork and potatoes, the light of the moon in the window, these were all details I was aware of but didn't care about. Tonight I saw a side to Jasper that I couldn't get out of my mind, a side that I feared. If he got that angry again, I wasn't sure that he wouldn't hurt me if I got in his way. Those thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door.
"Who is it?" I would have said come in, but I didn't want to speak to Jasper.
"Victoria. And Aaron's here as well."
"Come in." I turned over onto my stomach so they wouldn't see my face.
"You okay?" Victoria sat on the bed and rubbed my back. Reminded me of the old times.
"Yes."
"You're lying to me. You never show your face when your upset." I turned to her. "Yep, upset." She seemed just as caring as she used to be. Looking at her, her soul was even lighter color than last time, and it was overcome with an emotion, close to pity but not quite. "I know your upset about Jasper, we all are. Want to talk about it?" I looked at Aaron who was standing in the door, he took my queue and went out the door.
"What if something makes him that angry again?" I looked at her, wanting an answer.
"I suppose he'll beat the hell out of whatever or whoever made him that way. Aaron said he's been like this with the clan for awhile now, and when you came into the picture, it got worse. He wants to protect you Elizabeth, he doesn't want you involved with them." She paused for a moment. "Apparently they sent him one of those combat suits we were in today, and it was for you. Aaron took it to him, and he got really angry, he doesn't want you to deal with the same responsibilities that he has."
"But I can handle it!" I was frustrated that he never told me anything about his family, past his curse. They wanted so much from us and he refused to talk about them.
"Liz, he doesn't want you to have to be able to handle it. Fighting Kishin is one thing, a part of being a meister, but THIS. This is a whole nother game, and they play hard ball. He wants to shield you from it. If you want him to tell you about it, you need to confront him, right now." She was right but I didn't want to listen to it. I grabbed a pillow and hugged it to my body. "So what will it be? Are you going to let him, shield you, or are you gonna stand as partners, side by side?" I threw my pillow back and got off the bed.
As I came out the door Aaron called "Gym, go straight, take the third left, at the end of the hall."
"Thanks." I turned my head back to him and ran forward. The Nimo main house where we were staying was extremely large, and extravagant. All the floors were hardwood with carpets going the entire way of the halls, the ceilings were unnecessarily high and arched toward the top. I knew the place was expensive and I hadn't even gone to the dining areas like the others. I found the gym exactly where Aaron said it would be, looking through the glass doors I saw a large room with all sorts of machines, most of which I couldn't identify. I walked in to the cries of people in a sparring ring. Jasper was surrounded by multiple opponents with bladed weapons, all he had was a bow staff.
I watched him as he took his opponents out one by one, when he was finished he walked toward a bench on the opposite side of the gym and grabbed a water bottle. I moved closer and started hearing the guys he had just fought. "Man, I guess that's what we should expect from the Omni weapon, we didn't stand a chance."
A girl in a maid like uniform came forward handing them towels and drinks, they took them without saying anything in response. "You did not lose because he is the Omni weapon, you lost because he trained harder and more than you. You lost because you were inferior." Despite looking like a servant, she wasn't afraid of aggravating them. The look on their faces showed their surprise.
"Listen here, even if we are only brown and blue ranks, a white like you should know their place." One of the guys took the lead.
"There are no rules saying a White is below you, just that we are not combat fit. I do not view you as superior and neither should any other white." The girl held her head high. I was getting closer now.
"I said know your place!" The guy reared back his fist, the girl flinched. Before the guy could hit her I ran forward, grabbing his hand, taking advantage of his own momentum I let him move forward and twisted it so he couldn't move. I pushed the guy back. "Who are you? Get out of my way!"
"She out ranks you as my partner, now leave or I'll let her put you on the floor." Jasper came up behind him. "Besides, I've made it clear how I feel about you brats mistreating whites." They grimaced and started walking out of the gym. "Uh, thanks for helping her Elizabeth. Jen, could you give us some time alone?"
"Of course Jasper." I decided to get a better look at her. She was quite short, maybe 5' 3" at most and her dark brown hair was in a ponytail, but it was when she turned that I saw her most striking feature. Her iris was white, only her pupil and a thin black line around her iris kept it from blending in with the rest of her eye. It made her pale skin that almost all Nimo shared look even paler, like Aaron's hair did.
Jasper could tell that I was confused. "All Nimo are like that. Even before the curse this family was weird, the clan could always tell the potential of a meister or weapon based on eye color. Brown is the most common, it means that you are of average strength, you can be a meister or weapon, or become a civilian. At blue, they expect you to become go to DWMA and be trained. Green are the strongest, they are all trained, the clan requires it. Then there is gold, only I have that, its apart of being the Omni weapon. Finally the rarest color, white. They are completely normal humans who lack particular strength and soul sight. There is no reason for them to be meister and are not trained, instead they live in the other positions of the Nimo clan, maids, cooks, anything the meisters view as unworthy of them." He looked away at the last part. "one more tick on the list of sins..."
I looked around the gym. No one else was here, thankfully. "Want to talk about what happened out there?"
He walked toward a bench and sat down, I joined him. "I lost control, I'm sorry." He hung his head in shame, but I didn't comfort him, he was right. "I told myself, if I ever found my partner I would never let the Nimo touch them. And I failed, I underestimated how loyal my Grandfather was to me in comparison to the clan. I never thought he would do something like that."
"Okay I get it. But, was that really necessary? You broke something."
"Actually I dislocated his shoulder, hurts like hell but it can be fixed pretty easily, which will hurt like hell again." He was still looking at the ground. "And his elbow is gonna have to be repaired, probably surgery."
"Jasper, please don't make gambles like that. What if you had lost? Even more than that you can't hurt your family like that."
"Why? They are no more than strangers to me, I don't care about them. If they intend to meddle in my life even after I found my partner, I won't show mercy." He was serious, he didn't intend to do anything for the Nimo, or let them be a presence in out lives.
"I won't act like I know what it's like to live like that, but I don't.. I don't.." I was choking up, trying to hold back tears. "I don't want to see you like that. Please… Please Jasper. I don't want to be afraid of you." I was getting emotional, I couldn't control my Soul Sight at all. I looked to him and all I saw was his soul, so powerful, so large, filled with remorse and self-loathing. He grabbed me in a hug and let me cry.
"I promise you, More than anything else, I couldn't stand being a person you feared. I'll never make you feel like that again. I promise."
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"You did well Quentin, I'm sorry you lost your right to trial decisions, but it was worth it. I'm sure." I looked down from behind the glass wall at Jasper and his partner. Turning to Quentin I narrowed my eyes, he had some cuts on face from rolling on the ground, and his arm was in a sling.
"Of course. I agree completely Elder. We need those two for missions, they will be the strongest pai-" I held my hand up to cut him off.
"You don't seem to understand, Elizabeth would see the monster that is Jasper's anger, better that is against a group that she can also dislike, this was not meant to make them colder, or more brutal," I looked back to them. "it was for them to grow as a pair. I'm not interested in using Jasper's power, if the Nimo clan needs that curse, then we may as well fade from existence." I left the room, frowning, knowing full well Jasper would not accept why I did this, despite it being for his own good. I discarded those thoughts and focused on more immediate matters, their squad was strong, but they needed more training.
One week was all I had with these children. In that time I would have to bring out as much of their potential as I could. It was going to be a long week.