I am so, so sorry; so many things happened since last chapter that I wouldn't even know where to begin. But this chapter turned out incredible, so I'll keep it to the footnote. - Darthkvzn
As the tip of her own blade sprouted from her chest, along with all sorts of chaos inside her head, Neo thought this might well be the worst day ever.
- EARLIER THAT DAY -
Today was the day. Friday had come, and with it, the confrontation. Neo usually woke up early, but last night, she had simply not been able to sleep. Irrational, given that she was a very...enhanced human. The nerves were definitely getting to her, and that bothered her, much more than she'd care to agree.
The first issue was the most obvious one. Looking at it logically, Denari was no different to other Faunus; marginally stronger than the average human, heightened senses, instinctively animalistic behaviors that added at least a sense of predictability to their species. She was narcissistic, cruel, sarcastic, determined, and above all else, scorned. She would likely want to inflict upon Roman the same punishment she'd received, or worse; it was to be expected. Neo knew she was crafty, though. From what Roman had told her, the woman was skilled in stealth, manipulation, and planning.
Speaking of whom, Roman was onto her, she was pretty sure. She'd said nothing, no pun intended, but Roman had come to know her exceptionally well in a little over two weeks, something Pink found worrisome. Brown was happy, no doubt about it. While no actual talking about their feelings had happened, their budding relationship seemed to be one implicitly stated. He knew where she was, and viceversa; they fit into their roles like two puzzle pieces, and their banter was the subject of many a discussion by the complex's staff and inhabitants. Pink found this annoying, and potentially dangerous, but the worst to her, was the fact that she couldn't bring herself to stop. She should be able to rebuff Roman's attempts at conversation, or isolate herself and train in secret, but she didn't find it in her to do so. In fact, Pink was somewhat fearful that her command of the situation had really relegated to a supporting role, while Brown surfaced, triumphant, not to mention annoying.
And, White, she was just silent; not trying at all to wrestle for control, not roaring in defiance, and not being an all around bloodthirsty monster. It was as if you could tranquilize a Beowulf (which doesn't happen, because they have no circulating blood...or internal organs, for that matter). White was, quite simply, contradicting everything Neo knew about her, and that was the most unnerving thing she'd thought of when insomnia struck her last night.
She had a really bad feeling about today. And if the superhuman had a bad feeling, catastrophes tended to happen.
She got up, out of bed, at seven AM sharp. She showered quickly, not enjoying it like she usually did. She put her clothes on immediately, not wandering around the mansion naked, like she'd do every now and then, just to keep Roman on his toes. She dressed casually, not using her "uniform". She scribbled a message to her sort-of-boss, sort-of-love-interest, stating where she was going, and that she was "...going to end her."
And she left, stealthy as a fox.
Roman was having a terrible day.
The deal with the Chief of Police had gone south, so he and his henchmen would have to lay low for a while. Bunce, his most trusted thug, had appeared beaten up in an alleyway, two black chess pieces impaled in his eyes; he'd have to take care of expenses, and break the news to his wife and three sons. He'd found out that Neo had gone around the complex asking what a sexual relationship consisted of, and, much to his chagrin, they'd all given her advice behind his back. He'd even forgotten his holophone when he went to the bathroom this morning.
You'd think the universe would have given him a bit of a breather, but no, no. When it rained, it had to be a category five hurricane.
He'd seen Neo running around, and she'd looked only slightly less focused than usual. Like a laser that was one nanometer off target, to be sure, but still, off balance. It'd all started when she'd gotten that dreaded alone time with Denari. Nothing good could've come from that, he was sure. Not that he blamed Neo, of course, but the Faunus was a whole 'nother matter. Neo had come out of the room with an angered expression, which he expected. He was not, however, expecting the smug smile on Denari's face. Roman had, for a split second, been terrified then.
Nothing compared to this.
He'd found it odd that he hadn't been greeted by a naked rainbow girl prancing around his house, so he half-heartedly tried to look for her, needing a bit of comfort from all the terrible events going on. Inside her open room, however, he immediately noticed something out of the ordinary: a note, in Neo's infamous squiggly font, saying he was going to "end her". Roman's eyes shot open in terror, not wanting to believe the address in the footnote.
To top off a terrible day, he was going to have to visit his old neighborhood.
For a tiny millisecond, Neo thought this had all been an elaborate prank. The street she'd been told to come to was filled with simple, one story houses, that had clearly seen better days. She was about ten miles outside of Vale, past the safety of the Kingdom's walls, hence the "WARNING, BEOWULF PACK X-ING" warnings everywhere. There were clear signs of daily combat, walls filled with claw marks and houses half in ruin from what had been presumably the worst attacks. No one walked the streets, and the businesses that seemed open, were covered in spikes and steel bars. Neo shuddered at the thought of being caught in the open, so she kept to the sidewalk.
The house she'd been summoned to was one of the larger ones, which wasn't saying much. It wore a faded pastel orange paint coat, had only one window, and what looked like a heavily reinforced door, one even she couldn't possibly knock off. There was nothing that suggested foul play, and she certainly wasn't going to ring the doorbell on her enemy (though there wasn't a doorbell anywhere, anyway), even if Denari was clearly outmatched.
She'd been standing in front of it for five minutes, studying the structure and pondering scenarios, when a little girl came down the street. Neo considered her warily, since she couldn't fathom what kind of small, sane child would jump around a street like this one, but the girl seemed blissfully unaware. She had shoulder length, teal colored hair, and dark skin. She cocked her head, as if curious.
-"I like your hair, miss." -she said with a smile.
Neo didn't quite know what to make of her, but she did return the smile.
-"The blonde Faunus lady told me to tell you that you can come right into the house. Oh, and that I could have a Lien from you, maybe?" -she half said, half asked, hopefully.
Neo's smile wavered, but the girl was so sweet, she couldn't help herself. She dug into her pocket and claimed a couple of Lien from her small wallet, giving them to the excited girl. She couldn't have been more than 9 or 10 years old. In her head, Brown sighed sadly at what she could've been if she hadn't been experimented on, and the childhood she'd missed out on, both hers, and that of any child she might've wanted to conceive in the future. Pink just rolled her eyes again. She turned to look at the girl, but she was gone already. She shrugged, and turned to the door. Neo braced herself and swung the (unsurprisingly) unlocked door open.
She took a step inside, her eyes carefully analytical.
And that's the last thing she remembered.
Roman had to get there fast, so he left alone. Grabbing a motorcycle from one of his mooks, he gunned down the driveway, and left, skidding tires and all. There was no way that the address was a coincidence, and this just smelled like dog Faunus revenge plot all over. He was outraged that she'd somehow managed to outsmart him, and vowed to flay the guards he'd surreptitiously posted nearby his childhood home.
More than anything else, though, he silently promised to destroy that Dust-damned woman once and for all.
Neo's mind was obviously fragmented, so it took quite a while (in superhuman terms, about ten minutes) to regain consciousness. White was up first, but she was still silent, if radiating anger. Pink came back next, but her senses were fogged up; she couldn't make sense of her situation. When Brown snapped out of it, though, she was the least disoriented, and so she took command.
Neo was tied up, hanging from a low ceiling by her hands. She'd likely been in that position a few minutes, because her muscles were beginning to hurt. Her feet were also tied up, and she'd been bared to her underwear. Pink was settling back into her place, and so she managed to quickly analyze her situation.
-Someone had knocked her out without a fight, and without any blunt force. This meant someone had inside information on her weaknesses. The burning pain in her chest, which she was barely beginning to notice, was a good indicator.
-Someone had stripped her down, which meant they wanted her humiliated, or they had a very deviant side.
-They knew to hang her, and not to tie her down to a chair, which meant they were experienced in torturing. However, they'd used regular rope, which she could snap with some effort, so either they'd made a colossal mistake, or they had purposely given her the chance, in which case they were either stupidly courageous, or smart enough to subdue her again.
-They were still in the same little house, albeit further in. She could barely remember this, but the half a second she stared into the house told her she was in the living room directly in front of the door, so the perpetrator was either very practical, or had a motivation to keep using the place.
A second was all it took for her to reach this conclusion, just as confirmation came, lazily strolling through a door to her right. She was holding a sandwich in one hand, and Neo's parasol in the other, and smirked once she was just outside the reach of Neo's knees.
-"You know, at this point in the movie, most villains would say 'I've been expecting you, blank', before cackling madly. But I'm a bitch of simple tastes, and the last thing I want to do is insult your intelligence, so I'll just welcome you to the old and most sacred Torchwick household, Neopolitan." -Denari said, munching noisily. Her half-lidded eyes roamed Neo's body, and Neo involuntarily blushed. Denari almost choked with laughter. Neo desperately hoped she would, because the struggling against the ropes wasn't working.
-"Oh, that's just rich! You've been naked half the time you've lived in the outside world, and little old me can make you blush? Oh, you are just hilarious." -she said between giggles. Neo thought if she made it out of this, she would never hear giggles the same way again. Denari feigned wiping a tear. "Did you like the little girl? I think she's named Emerald. A rival of mine lent her to me for this particular occasion; she's quite the actress, but she's an even better pickpocket. I'll bet you didn't notice that she took every Lien you were carrying." -Neo refused to look at Denari, instead struggling to break her bond. "Now, Neo, I'd save your strength if I were you. I figure I have about ten minutes with you before you regain it, and I'm fairly sure you wouldn't want this to take longer." -the Faunus said, circling her. Neo heard her blade unsheathing, and braced herself, frantically trying to break her bonds. Denari gave a muffled (munching) chuckle.
-"You have no idea how utterly enjoyable this is. Maybe you know the joys of torturing someone, but, someone you know? It lets you see said someone in an entirely different light. Brave people wet their pants, parents cry for their children...killing machines turn...harmless." -she whispered to her ear. "And you are a machine, aren't you?" -she laughed, and stabbed Neo through her spine.
As the tip of her own blade sprouted from her chest, along with all sorts of chaos inside her head, Neo thought this might well be the worst day ever.
Even though she'd suddenly lost all control over every part of her body underneath the wound, the pain was still very much there. Every nerve ending felt like she was being burned. She wanted to scream so badly. Denari smirked at her; her hands, now covered in blood, held a familiar black book.
-"You know, when I grabbed this little trivia book, I had no idea how useful it'd be. Not only is it filled with all sorts of interesting tidbits on you, it's 'basically an owner's manual'. Shows how much your parents cared for you, but then again, I suppose you already knew that." -she said, idly perusing the volume. "Ah, yes, this chapter in particular is quite fascinating. 'How to terminate Project Neopolitan'. I have to say, I'm quite impressed; it's virtually impossible to kill you by any conventional means. Let's see...'marvelous healing factor', 'unbreakable bones', 'higher density tissue'...your folks were pretty proud of their little science fair project, weren't they? 'Internal organ compartmentalization', 'vital function prioritization', yadda yadda yadda, oh! It looks like you can be killed by being decapitated, completely drained of blood, or burning you up. I'd like to add 'Being vaporized' to that list, because, well, that's what happened to me. Half of me, anyway." -she said, reading off the facts. Neo felt herself starting to lose consciousness again, which Denari noticed. She rolled her eyes, and walked behind Neo again. Neo felt a tug at her back, and the Faunus suddenly pulled the sword out of her. The younger woman felt the blood flow down her back.
-"See, that's the 'vital function' thing. When you sustain considerable damage, your mind starts to prioritize the more important functions, so you don't, well, die. It's pretty sweet, none of us lowly mortals can do it, obviously. It's quite the comprehensive function, too. Do you wanna know what happens if I stab you again? Because I kind of do." -the Faunus said, except this time she stabbed Neo through the heart.
She'd never quite experienced pain like this. She wasn't keen on repeating the experience, either.
Warm blood started to ooze from the wound, and every heartbeat hurt like she was being stabbed over and over again. Denari casually finished her sandwich in a bite before taking the blade out again. More blood poured out.
-"See, I love the fear in your face, but it's mostly unfounded. Your heart will beat really slowly until your healing factor takes care of the bleeding. You're not going to die, sadly; I kind of need you to live for the next half hour. Luckily for me, you can take as much punishment as you give, so something as trivial as a pierced heart isn't going to end you." -she said and pulled a remote from her pocket. Neo was getting very tired, but she managed to scowl at it. Denari sneered at her.
-"Please, I'm not that well prepared. This is just the remote for the speakers around the TV, which you can't quite see from your precarious position. I thought some mood music would be nice." -she said, pressing play.
A loud electric guitar started playing.
It was just fine, we lived in peace,
Looked to a happy ending;
The days were bright, they shined like gold,
Every step ascending.
Denari talked along the song. "Beautiful lyrics for a beautiful voice, right? Some kid named Williams sings it, though I hear they're crediting the Schnee brat with it; a real shame, if you ask me."
Our dreams came true, our path was clear
The moon watched safely from above
-"Keep listening, here's where it gets interesting." -she said, humming along.
But every smile is not the same
And every heart's...not...filled...with...love
For mankind!
Denari brandished the sword, and slashed Neo's back. She arched with pain, while the Faunus just kept humming.
Look around, it's getting very hard to find.
Not every open wound is simply healed by time;
But revenge is always sweet, and chaos is the prize!
The torturer kept slashing, her arms, her legs, her abdomen, all while idly humming.
Feel it everywhere, and you see it growing,
Enemies arise, and the hate is flowing,
Shattering the moon, and bloodying the skies.
Neo was losing both blood, and her consciousness fast, only mildly aware of the damage being done to her body. She did notice, just before she blacked out, that Denari started to sing out loud:
The machines of war will fuel both sides,
And the greed will only grow more lies.
Farewell to days of peace, 'cause now it's time...to...DIE!
When Neo came to for the second time in half an hour, she was hurting all over. She tried to sit up, but found she couldn't move without massive pain wracking her body, so she lay where she was (presumably the floor), unmoving. She felt warmth and stickiness all over her, so she opened her eye just a crack, and saw a nightmarish image: her whole body was covered with angry red slash marks, and she was drenched in her own blood. The slashes were no longer bleeding, and looked to be healing, somewhat, but there were just so many. She heard Denari somewhere behind her.
-"Well, that was quite fun. We're actually really similar, you know? Both hopelessly smitten, both incredibly powerful women (albeit in different ways), both proud of our own bodies. At least, we used to be. Roman took my pride away, along with my arm. Not every open wound is simply healed by time, indeed. Yours will heal, as you've probably concluded. But the scars...those will remain. With my timetable, I'm afraid I couldn't afford to take a limb off, but those nasty scars will be a reminder of what happens when you get involved with our resident redhead. I'd like to see you prance around naked now!" -she said, gleefully. Neo wanted with all her heart to tell her off, but all she could manage was barely a whimper. Tears of frustration slid down her cheeks. Inside her head, Brown felt broken, and in panic. Pink was frantically trying to turn the situation in their favor, and White was still silent. Denari sat next to her, stroking the tender skin with her metallic arm.
-"You wanna know how I knocked you out? I was reading your little instruction manual, and, apparently, you have what's called an 'Ardens Anima'. A hot soul, if you will. Your enhancements are awesome, but they have a drawback: you are incredibly susceptible to overheating. The book mentions how you fight best when unclothed. I swear to Dust, that's the weirdest justification for being a nudist I've ever heard. In any case, I had to pull in a few favors, steal from the police and all. It turns out, the Riot Control Department of Vale's police has these cool little antenna looking emitters. They're technically called 'Directed-Energy Weapons' - given enough energy, they're deadly, but that's not very cost effective. They're quite adept at crowd control, though, because you can actually use them in what I like to call, microwave mode; even made my sandwich with it, which I can't say I recommend. It also brought you down. I placed it right in the roof of the house, out of your view, and you went out like a light. You missed the terrible pain of your blood boiling inside you, but I'd like to think I made up for that." -she said, and she motioned to something Neo couldn't see. She could feel her strength coming back, but she was still too weak to do any lasting damage. Pink decided to bide their time.
-"I know you appreciate your combat lessons, or at least one of the 'yous' inside your head does. So know this: your mistake was being cocky. Mine was, too, back then. I was in my prime, swimming in Lien, and with a man I couldn't wait to call my husband. And you know what? I was happy. But that wasn't meant to be, and I'll tell you why, so you can walk away from this with something new in that thick skull of yours: life is the best murderer in history. Not the humans, not the Faunus, not the Grimm. Every little circumstance, every detail, every part of our existence, will eventually sum up to kill us, whether we're good or bad or anything in between. And I don't exactly want to spoil you, but us bad guys don't get to have a happy ending." -the Faunus said roughly. Neo was so close to getting up, but she still needed time; Denari seemed to notice her starting to struggle, and she smiled. She turned to leave the room, and Neo immediately made the effort to stand. Denari came back, looking unsurprised, but now accompanied by thirteen other people. Twelve were distinctly White Fang: white and black attires, a stylized Grimm mask, swords and guns at the ready. Neo scowled visibly, which could only mean Pink was starting to run out of options.
The last person to come in, was Regina Torchwick.
The older woman smiled sadly at Neo, who was now very confused. She'd expected to see Roman's mother, but not unbound and looking unharmed. Denari sneered at Neo.
-"Well, I believe all of us ladies have met. The old hag here asked me to tell you something, before she dies." -Denari drawled. Regina harrumphed at that, looking back at Neo. The elderly woman sighed, and started to sign along what she talked.
-"I'm really sorry our last meeting happened like this, dear." -Regina said.
= I need you to go full crazy = Regina signed.
Neo's eyes widened. = But I could kill you!=
-"I really wish I could've seen you and Roman together for longer." -she mourned.
= My death is inevitable, and I don't wish to prolong this pain. I'll make a distraction and pass you the sword, but you can't waver = she signed, resolutely.
Denari looked bored, but she was right beside Regina. If the older woman managed to take the sword at Denari's hip, Neo might be able to take them all down. Pink started to plan out her attack, but the sudden, growing pressure from White was distracting her. Brown continued to be broken. Neo signed, = Ok. Three seconds =, to which Regina nodded slightly.
Neo was just about ready, when Denari suddenly piped up. "In case you haven't finished plotting, I have a tight schedule. I'll gladly help you along." -she said, and she unsheathed Neo's sword, stabbing Regina through the chest.
A second, if that, was all it took for the Torchwick matriarch to hit the floor, gasping. To Neo, it was an eternity; to Pink, a bitter failure. Brown had not, in her shock, even noticed yet.
To White, it was the opportunity she'd been waiting for.
When she'd been seven, she'd gone to school, like a normal girl. Unbeknownst to Neo, her purpose in life was to integrate herself in society, develop above average fighting abilities, and integrate herself into one of the Hunter schools, where she'd recognize and target the Faunus with exceptional potential who would likely join the White Fang or help their cause in some way.
She never fulfilled that purpose, because she killed everyone at her school: teachers, guards...children. Her parents (and handlers) arranged for the whole thing to look like a freak attack, even attracting creatures of Grimm to the scene. Her White persona had caused it all, then, and it relished the opportunity now. Bullets flew, swords slashed, and people shouted. None of it mattered to White; the entity wanted only one thing, and that was bloodshed. No rational thought passed to her limbs, no reasoning stayed her hands. Pink and Brown cowered in terror, far inside Neo's head. Far enough that they couldn't see the utter carnage occurring outside.
Far enough that they failed to see Roman walk into the house.
I would like to believe that is the most evil cliffhanger I've ever written, published or not.
First of all, I really am sorry. I was down to write this chapter two weeks ago, but then the whole situation with Mr. Monty Oum happened, and I couldn't find it in me to write anything. When he passed, it was quite the contrary: I was inspired to write everything. Risk of Rain took a bit of a breather while I read, drew, wrote, and played all that I could. Only the latest review I got snapped me out of my stupor, and I spent the last three days making this. I think it turned out great, if horrifying. It's not easy to do this to characters you love, I'll tell you that.
A couple of things, in case it you were wondering:
-I haven't talked about what Regina and Neo signed about when they met. That'll happen a bit later on.
-If you were expecting a typical romance, I'm sorry. This isn't it. I like to describe this relationship as "a couple in all but actions". Two broken people, so different and yet similar in ways. In my head, they are a couple. Their relationship is just implicit. Never kissing, never touching.
I don't know if I should make this an M-rated story. I don't think this chapter warrants it, and this is as bad as it gets. There's a lot of blood, sure, but no gore or anything worse. I'd like to know what you think on that matter.
Finally, did you catch all the references? Shoot me a review if you did! Or don't. It's fine either way, but reviews are always appreciated.
Until next time! - Darthkvzn