Merry Christmas all and happy new year. Sorry for the late update. To tell the truth I hoped i'd finish the story before the end of season 2 but well, laziness reared their ugly head and you know how it goes. That and the fact I haven't heard from my beta in months who normally reminds to write but moving on. Any ways, here's hoping i'll finish it before season 3 ends. This was a long chapter that ended up as two chapters and some scenes were cut so I could get it posted before Christmas. Also, I know my typing's bad so no need to remind me. I'll probably edit this some time later.
-(/)-
It was two weeks after the report they had been assigned and all 12 members of teams RWBY, JNPR and PTRN received passing grades on their reports and as a surprise to some students, Yang had gotten an A+. One student had said it was a sign of the apocalypse before they found them self being sent across the room by one of Yang's punches. The school was now on a week long break and students were either heading home or staying in the dorms. A rumor had started to spread that two teams from other Hunter academies would be arriving to see how training at Beacon was handled. Some assumed that this was to prepare the students to interact with visitors from other academies who would be coming for the Vytal Festival in the following months. Others though had the idea that Ozpin just wanted to show off Beacon. Either way, a few students decided to use the week off to train rather than relax.
In the case of team RWBY they were using the week off to relax for the most part. Blake was catching up on her reading, Ruby was doing maintenance on Crescent Rose, Yang was reading a magazine while Weiss was going over the notes she had taken so far. As Weiss read her notebook she heard the sound of some one running up and down in the hallway. She did her best to ignore it but it didn't stop. Putting her note book down, she walked to the door and opened it before she looked into the hallway. Trudy was running in a way Weiss could only describe as being like an excited child. She looked down the hallway and saw Rona walking down the hall.
"What is she doing" Weiss asked.
"My apologies if she disturbed you" Rona said as she adjusted her glasses "she's just excited for tomorrow. Parkin suggested that she work off some excess energy."
"Why is she excited about tomorrow" Weiss asked.
"You weren't told" Rona asked.
"No. Is some thing going on" Weiss asked.
As far as she knew, the school had nothing planned. She hadn't heard about team JNPR doing any thing nor PTRN. She thought that it might be some movie or comic book Trudy had interest in was being released but that'd be no reason for Rona to ask if Weiss knew. Rona looked aside as she thought before she put her arm out and grabbed the collar of Trudy's shirt as she ran past her. Rona pulled on the collar causing Trudy to stop and look at her.
"Trudy, weren't you supposed to tell them" Rona asked.
"Tell them what" Trudy asked with a confused look on her face.
"Think back" Rona said sounding a little exasperated.
Trudy thought about it before she gave a weak smile.
"Sorry. I forgot" Trudy said.
"Did you at least remember to tell team JNPR" Rona asked.
"Um… No" Trudy said shaking her head.
Rona didn't say any thing as she let go of Trudy's shirt and pointed to the door of team JNPR's dorm room. Trudy turned before she walked over to the door and knocked on it.
"So what's going on" Yang asked from her bed.
Rona turned from watching Trudy to look into the RWBY dorm to see that the conversation had caught the attention of Ruby, Blake and Yang.
"Nigel's home town is holding an annual festival this week and the Godin family has offered invitations to PTRN, RWBY and JNPR to stay with them for 3 days. Trudy was assigned to inform all of you" Rona said.
Behind her Weiss saw Trudy talking to Ren. From the sounds of it Nora was excited about the idea of going to a festival.
"Well, what do you all think? It could be too late but we might be able to get permission to leave the area but it might be fun" Ruby said.
"Well, I've got nothing planned and there's nothing interesting going on in the city" Yang said.
"It might be nice for a change of pace to see where Nigel grew up" Blake said.
"I guess I'll go come along as well. I don't see a reason not to" Weiss said.
"Alright, i'll inform Nigel" Rona said as she nodded before she looked at Trudy "we're returning to the dorm room."
"O.k" Trudy said before she waved to Weiss and started walking down the hallway with Rona following.
The airship vibrated slightly as the 12 students rode inside of it. It was a small cargo type that was at least twice as old than the ones currently in use. They had ridden for 2 hours in a normal airship before they moved onto this one for the rest of the trip. Weiss had complained about the smell while Jaune was worried about the age of the machine. Nigel told Weiss that it was normally used to carry farm supplies and tried to calm Jaune down by telling him that he had been ridding in the thing since he was five and that it worked fine. That was reassuring but didn't help Jaune much. The group of students were either standing or sitting on long metal benches inside the cargo hold. The exception was Jaune though who was laying down trying to keep from spilling his lunch.
"How's the ride back there vomit boy" the pilot asked from the open door of the cockpit.
"Fine, thanks" Jaune said with his eyes closed.
When they had boarded the airship Yang had made a joke about the return of vomit boy and the pilot overheard. This had led to Jaune saying that if the name some how spread among pilots and they all started calling him that then he'd bring about his swift vengeance down upon her. No one believed him when he said that but they decided to humor him. Not to far from Jaune was Nigel who was playing his guitar and singing.
As the riders loped on by him, he heard one call his name
"If you want to save your soul from hell
A' ridin' on our range, then, cowboy, change your ways today
Or with us you will ride a-tryin' to catch the Devil's herd
Across these endless skies."
"Nigel" Jaune said interrupting Nigel.
"Yes Jaune" Nigel asked.
"Can you stop singing about flying cursed ghost cowboys" Jaune said as the airship shook.
"Sure thing" Nigel said with a chuckle as he continued playing.
Parkin looked at Jaune before she walked over to Pyrrha.
"So, how come you're not over there with him" Parkin asked.
"What do you mean" Pyrrha asked.
"I'm sure you can guess" Parkin said as she smiled "Sitting on the bench with his head resting on your lap. Maybe you stroke his hair and hum to help him relax. I'm sure he'd enjoy it and fall asleep easily."
"Must you start this again" Pyrrha asked as her cheeks gained a red tint.
"Yes I must. Until you do it I wont stop" Parkin said smiling more.
As Pyrrha tried to think of how to get Parkin to stop, she heard Nora jump at where she was standing next to a window.
"Ren, Ren, there are clouds on the ground" Nora said looking at her partner.
Ren got up from his seat and walked over to see what she was pointing at. He looked out the window and saw several sheep standing is grassy fields.
"Nora, those are sheep" Ren said.
"Sheep? But they're so white and fluffy. They looked like little clouds. I bet they'd be really comfortable to use as pillows" Nora said happily before she looked at Nigel "Hey Nigel, can you ask if I can use one of them as a pillow?"
Nigel wasn't sure what to say so he decided to wing it.
"I'll ask but I don't think their owners will accept you using them as pillows" Nigel said shaking his head.
"Aw" Nora said a little sad before she looked back out the window.
"We'll be landing soon in the town of Spica" the pilot said as the airship started to descend.
A slight shudder went through the airship as it decelerated and came to a landing. Once it stopped moving the door at the back of the airship lowered and touched the concrete. Nigel put Little Baby back in its case and closed it before he picked up the case and his bag.
"Hope you all have a good time and Nigel, tell your dad thanks for the roses. They saved me from the wrath of my wife" the pilot said with a laugh.
"Will do" Nigel said as he walked off of the airship.
The others picked up their bags and followed after him. As they followed him, they saw that they were at a small landing site. Around them there were several small airships like the one they had rode on either being loaded or unloaded.
"Come on. My place isn't to far from here" Nigel said happily as he started walking.
"Well he certainly has a spring in his step" Yang said as they followed him.
"I think it's from the fact that he's home. If we were heading to my place I'd be happy to" Parkin said.
Yang nodded as Nigel led them out of the landing site and into the town. As they walked several people greeted Nigel and a few even stopped to talk to him.
"I take it you're popular around here" Ruby asked.
"Nah" Nigel said shaking his head "it's just one of those small towns where people know each other."
As they walked down the street they asked how long Nigel's family had live there or if he had any fond memories. He told them that his family had lived in the town for a long time now which was probably the cause of the town's people being familiar with him. Besides that, as far as he knew he was one of the few people there who ever tried to become a Hunter. Before he could talk about any fond memories a group of people walked up to them.
"If it isn't the run away musician. What? Came back with your tail between your legs? Couldn't handle the training" a teenager about their age said.
"Guys, this is Jordan. We, lets just say knew each other in school. Jordan, these are my friends. They were invited to see the festival and are staying at my place" Nigel said.
"Knew each other? More like I used to used use you as a bridge over puddles" Jordan said getting a laugh from his friends.
"The main word there is used to or don't you remember what happened that caused you to stop" Nigel said as he twisted his right arm.
Jordan grimaced as he rubbed a finger across the bridge of his nose. He then looked at the group, seeming to just notice they were there, and stopped when he spotted Yang.
"Hey beautiful, how about you ditch the looser here and come hang with me and my friends" Jordan said.
Nigel just shook his head as he watched while Ruby muttered 'here we go.'
"Sorry but I don't think you could handle a woman like me" Yang said giving him a wink.
"Oh come on. Give me a chance. I'm sure we'll have a good time" Jordan said.
"Well, how about this. Nigel took one of my strongest punches, got back up and didn't complain. If you can stay standing from one of my weaker punches then sure" Yang said shrugging her shoulders.
"Sure. Give me what you got" Jordan said smiling.
Yang turned and handed her bag to Ruby before she started stretching her arms. Nigel sighed as he rested his left had on his hip.
"You know, I'm torn between wanting to see him suffer and calling the hospital" Nigel said.
That was the truth. He could call the hospital and prepare tell them some one with some broken bones needed treatment or just let Jordan go there and tell them that him self. Nigel was generally a good person but he saw no reason to be so towards his former bully.
"I'm sure a strong guy like him can take it" Yang said smiling.
"Hopefully my chest wont hurt your hand to much when you take your best shot" Jordan said as he stood in front of her.
Yang took a boxing stance as she looked at Jordan. She moved her arm back before it shot forward hitting Jordan dead center of his chest. He was struck with enough force to send him off his feet and knock his friends behind him over. At the sight of this Nigel did his best not to laugh. Parkin how ever did laugh and used hes scroll to take a picture. Jordan started coughing as he touched his chest and got off of his friends.
"I guess we wont be going out on a date" Yang said as she got her bag from Ruby.
Jordan looked at Yang before he glared at Nigel who was smiling before he and his friends left.
"So how is it exactly that you know that jerk" Yang asked as she faced Nigel.
"Him? He was a bully to me during the end of elementary school and the beginning of middle school" Nigel said shrugging his shoulders.
"How'd you get him to stop" Jaune asked looking curious.
"I broke his nose. It felt really good and he stopped messing with me after that. Was still a jerk though and still is" Nigel said as he clenched his right hand and started walking again.
Yang smiled as the group walked behind them. 10 minutes later they were walking along a wall Yang estimated to be about 20 feet tall with light fixtures set about every 10 feet.
"Hey Nigel, what's this wall for" Trudy asked.
"The wall" Nigel said as he looked at it before shrugging his shoulders "It's doing what it was built for. Keeping people out I guess."
"O.k but what does it go around" Parkin asked as they saw a metal gate ahead of them.
"Oh. It goes around my place" Nigel said as he stopped at the gate and opened a metal panel on the wall.
The others stood behind him and saw a long drive way leading up to a mansion.
"Small town my sweet ass" Parkin yelled "You're family is the richest one here aren't they?"
"I guess so. I've never really looked at the finical books" Nigel said shrugging his shoulders.
Behind the panel he had opened was a number pad, a key lock and a speaker. He took a key out from his pocket and turned the lock before he entered a series of numbers in.
"For a guy who comes from a rich family he certainly doesn't act it" Yang said glancing at Weiss.
Weiss caught what Yang meant and glared at her.
"Nigel has told us that the members of the Godin family take other jobs while they work as musicians. More likely than not the mansion is a sort of family heirloom" Rona said as she watched Nigel.
"So wait, does that mean he'll go berserk on us like when some one touches Little Baby" Ruby asked as she looked at Nigel.
Nigel ignored them as the gate opened and he took out the key. He closed the panel before he started walking. Once they were all past the wall the gate closed behind them.
"Nigel, how is it that you never mentioned living in a mansion" Jaune asked as he looked around.
Several trees and bushes were set up along the drive way and the grass seemed to have been cut recently. There were flower bushes here and there but no other forms of decoration.
"Not really sure" Nigel said shrugging his shoulders "I've never really seen the place any different from a house."
"There is a difference between a house and a mansion. How many rooms do you have here" Weiss asked.
"Let's see. There are the 6 rooms for the family, 20 guest rooms, the gym, the pool, the small movie theater, the recording studio, the study, the dining room, the dining hall, the living room and the game room" Nigel said as he counted off fingers.
This information caused a few among the group to look at him, wondering how it was that he listed all that off and still compared it to a normal house. Before any more questions could be asked there were several voices screaming attack. They all looked ahead and a group of kids armed with water balloons and squirt guns came out from behind trees and bushes. Both Parkin and Pyrrha drew their shields and blocked the first wave of water balloons. Jaune dodged the first water balloon thrown at him but the second hit him in the face before he could draw his shield. Yang, Blake and Rona hid behind Pyrrha and Parkin while Ruby, Ren and Nigel just dodged them. In the case of Trudy and Nora they caught a few water balloons and started throwing them back as Weiss used her one of her glyphs to block them. Off to Weiss' left a trap door hidden in the grass opened and a girl about 8 years old stuck her head out with a large water balloon resting on a shoulder mounted launcher.
"You do not want to do what you're thinking about" Weiss said as she looked at her.
"I really shouldn't" she said looking down before she looked at Weiss and smiled "but then again I really, really want to."
She then pushed the trigger and the band pulled the water balloon forward and launched it at Weiss. Weiss quickly used one of her glyphs to catch the water balloon before she sent it back at her attacker. The water balloon hit the girl causing her to cough water.
"Retreat" the girl yelled before she went back down.
Another trap door opened and all the kids went down them. Nora and Trudy ran towards the trap doors but they closed and the two of them weren't able to get them open again.
"How do you open these? Is there some sort of hidden lock or some thing" Nora asked as she looked at Nigel.
"O.k. What is up with this place" Parkin asked.
"Oh, that's just the way our home is" a voice said behind them.
They looked back and saw that Nigel's aunt Caroline was walking towards them wearing a blue sun dress, a wide brimmed straw hat, sandals and was carrying a suit case. Jaune took a towel out of his bag and started drying him self off as she reached them.
"Hello every one. I hope you're all doing well" Caroline asked with a smile.
"Except for the ambush I guess we're fine. Since Nigel's not giving any straight answers can you" Parkin asked.
"Excuse me but straight answers on what" Caroline asked confused at the question.
"Well he's never mentioned growing up in a mansion before and we're curious about the trap doors Ms. Carol" Weiss said.
"I see how that might be confusing but as for not mentioning it, I'm the same way. In truth the Godin family has lived in this town since the very beginning but back then our home was just a normal house" Carol said.
"How'd it get replaced with a mansion" Ren asked looking back at the building.
"Well it's a simple story. As the family grew and its members left home they would send funds back to help to pay for bills or any repairs needed to be done on the house. Its family tradition to hold reunions regularly and when ever one was held the family would come back home. As you can expect a growing family wouldn't be able to stay in the same place. The funds sent back were used to tear down and build a new house but even then funds were continuously sent. The house grew and the surrounding land was bought for the expansions. In the end the house was gone and replaced with the building you see. While it looks like a mansion on the outside the furniture, decorations and so forth are the same as any you'd find in a house. Hence the reason we speak of it as a house" Caroline said.
"And the tunnels? Were they built along with the mansion" Pyrrha asked.
"They were" Caroline said as she nodded "Originally my grandfather wanted a castle, a moat filled with half starved piranha and several cannons to be built here but his wife would have none of that. So the mansion was built instead with tall walls surrounding it. The original reason he wanted a castle was that should the town be overrun by Grimm, the townsfolk could take refuge till help arrived. The Grimm attack never came but we still maintain the tunnels none the less. On estimate we have enough supplies to last about 100 people for 3 months."
"I know where I'm hiding out in the event of a zombie apocalypse" Parkin said with a smile.
Nigel ignored her while Caroline smiled and giggled.
"Well, besides the tunnels there is one more thing" Caroline said.
"Please don't" Nigel said holding his hand to his face.
Parkin looked at Nigel before she looked at Caroline.
"Is this another story from when he was young" Parkin asked.
"It is. Would you like to hear it" Caroline asked smiling happily.
There were several voice among the group saying yes.
"I hate my friends" Nigel muttered to him self.
"My uncle was a bit of an eccentric. He loved stories of spies and super heroes who had secret identities and such. This came up to the point where he even had plans for a 'secret lair' to be built under the mansion. He even got my father to help him by building several special cars. The plan was to have a car filled with various gadgets that could fly and even act as a submersible. While he never accomplished his dream before his death he spread several rumors among kids in the neighborhood that his secret lair was finished and that there was a hidden door. Of coarse father decided to help the rumors by destroying the prototype cars and saying that the final car was left in the place it was meant to be upon his brother's death. For a long time children ran through the mansion trying to find the hidden entrance" Caroline said as she closed her eyes.
"And Nigel was one of those kids wasn't he" Parkin asked as she looked at her friend and team mate.
Nigel was facing away from the group, hand still over his face and seemed to be praying for the humiliation to end. He really did not need any one outside of his family hearing this. Even if it happened when he was a kid it was no less embarrassing.
"Yes and he was so cute" Caroline said as she opened her eyes and smiled more "he ran around the mansion with a towel tied around his neck like it was a cape, calling him self Captain Awesome and that he had to return to his Fortress of Greatness to prepare to face his arch enemies. I believe there are still videos around."
"O.k. I kinda want to see those" Jaune said barely holding back his laughter.
Nigel lowered his hand and glared at Jaune. While he couldn't do it here with his family around, when they got back to Beacon he would introduce Jaune to a new definition of the word pain.
"In that case I'll be sure to look for them but if you'll excuse me I must go say hello to my sister" Caroline said before she continued walking to the mansion.
Once she left them the others couldn't hold it back any more and started laughing. Nigel clenched his hand into a fist as he tried to calm him self down.
"I was 5 o.k. Let it go damn it" Nigel yelled as he quickly walked away from them.
"Hey, I just thought of some thing" Parkin said as she followed after him "the adventures of Captain Awesome and his side kick Vomit Boy."
"Not funny Parkin" both Nigel and Jaune, who had stopped laughing, yelled.
"O.k. Every one, I think he's had enough" Blake said with a smile.
Neither herself, Rona or Ren had joined in on laughing but she would admit that she found the information on Nigel amusing.
"Fine, we'll stop. At least until we see the videos" Yang said with a grin.
"Isn't he going to try to find and destroy them now" Ren asked.
"It certainly seems like it" Pyrrha said.
"So we'll have to stop him-" Trudy said smiling.
"Or find them first" Nora said finishing.
"I don't think he'll appreciate you two tearing through his home" Rona said as she adjusted her glasses.
"Well, there's already a bunch of kids running all about so I don't think he'll mind" Yang said as she looked at where the trap doors were.
The others ran and caught up with Nigel and Parkin as they reached the doors and walked inside. Waiting for them was a man and a woman the others assumed to be Nigel's parents. The woman had brunette hair tied into a pair and green eyes, was bearing a blue blouse, a blue ankle length skirt and simple leather shoes. Next to her was man with short cut black hair and brown eyes, he was wearing a white long sleeved button up shirt, black dress pants and black dress shoes. Between the two of them it was easy to see that Nigel took more after his mother in terms of appearance.
"Hello. I'm-" Nigel's father started before he was cut off.
"William Godin and I'm Nigel's mother, Catherin Godin but feel free to call me Cat" Catherin said happily.
William looked at his wife before he turned back to the others.
"We hope you enjoy your stay here and we'll do our best to be hospitable" William said before he turned towards his son "also, Nigel-"
"You sister and her friends are running about" Catherin said.
At being interrupted again William held his hand to his face and shook his head. It was easy to see where Nigel got the habit from.
"Yeah. I know. We got ambushed on the way here" Nigel said as he smiled.
He was happy to see his parents hadn't changed while he was away. Catherine sighed and shook her head.
"I'll have to talk to her later but moving on. Let's see if I have this right your team mates Parkin, Trudy and Rona" Catherin said looking at Nigel's team.
"Nice to meet you Cat" Parkin said.
"Yup. That's us" Trudy said.
"Thank you for inviting us" Rona said giving a slight bow.
"And his friends from team JNPR, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora" Catherin said looking at the other team.
"Um, do we have to worry about any other ambushes from the rest of Nigel's siblings" Jaune asked.
"Come on Jaune. We'll get them next time. All we have to do is raid their water balloon supplies and-" Nora said.
"Nora" Ren said.
"Yes Ren" Nora asked.
"You're not starting a water balloon war here" Ren said shaking his head.
"Alright" Nora said sadly.
Pyrrha looked from her teammates then back to Nigels mother.
"I hope we're not putting you out" Pyrrha said.
"Not at all. I enjoy having guests over and playing host and no Jaune, you don't need to be worried about any ambushes from my other children. Out of my four children Josephine is the most active" Catherin said with a giggle before she looked at the last group gathered "and the girls of team RWBY, Weiss, Blake, Yang and of coarse Ruby. My sister is right. You do like a little doll."
"Um, thanks" Ruby said a little nervous wondering if Nigel's mother was going to have the same reaction as his aunt when they first met.
"Which one of those kids was Josephine" Yang asked looking at Nigel.
"My sister was the one who took a shot at Weiss. Also, she hates being called Josephine so call her Jojo instead. Trust me" Nigel said closing his eyes.
"Wait, what happens if we call her by her real name" Weiss asked.
"Well, the last time some called her Josephine she super glued them to their chair" Nigel said.
William grimaced before he let out a sigh.
"Yeah, I heard a rumor her principal cursed a lot when she found her chair stuck to her pants. The only one who can get away with calling her Josephine is her mother" William said as he scratched his cheek.
"O.k, only refer to her as Jojo unless you want to find your self pranked. Got it" Parkin said with a smile.
"We'll since our introductions are done if you'll follow me I'll show you to your rooms" Catherine said.
With out saying a word to Nigel she took Little Baby's guitar case from him before she led the others up a set of stairs. Nigel and his father watched them go as silence filled the hallway.
"So" William said.
"Some thing up" Nigel asked not bothering to look at him.
"I see that –" William said
"Most of my friends are girls. And" Nigel asked.
William looked at his son before he spoke "… You shouldn't-"
"Act like mom and interrupt you? But it's so much fun" Nigel said as he held back a snicker.
"I am not predictable" William said as he glared at him.
"Sure you're not" Nigel said as he smiled.
The silence came back for a moment before William spoke again.
"Are you still a virgin" William asked.
"Dad, is that some thing to ask your son" Nigel half yelled as he blushed.
"What? I'm your father and you've been gone for a few months. It's my right as your father to know" William said crossing his arms and put on a serious face.
"Well not that it's any of your business but I am" Nigel as he looked away.
"You dating any of them" William asked.
"No" Nigel said.
William looked surprised as he turned to face his son.
"Really? With how they look I figured you would have asked one of them out" William said.
Nigel shook his head before he covered his face in both of his hands.
"Can we not talk about my dating life" Nigel said.
"O.k. fine… So, you interested in any of them" William asked.
Nigel was quite as he started thinking about a way out of this conversation. After a few thoughts some thing came to mind. Nigel lowered his hands and stared at his father.
"Dad, you wouldn't happen to be in a betting pool with Marcus would you" Nigel asked.
"Oh like I'd be the type to bet on what kind of girlfriend you'd get" William said.
"I never said any thing about the pool being related to me" Nigel said as he glared at William.
William looked away and muttered crap. Nigel's right eyebrow started twitching as he got angry.
"That's it. Who else is in on this pool? Are mom and aunty in on it as well" Nigel asked.
"Like those two would be in on it. If they knew your mother would throw me out for a week and your aunt would raise hell for the others" William said as he started thinking of a way out.
"Others? How many others? My father you may be but damn it, I will show you what they've taught me at Beacon then I'll tell mom an auntie. We both know that the only time those two generally get along is when they're both angry at the same thing and you don't want that" Nigel said.
A look of fear came to Williams face as he started going through ideas faster. Both William and Nigel had heard stories of what happened to people who pissed off both Godin sisters from their little brother and father. Most of the stories ended with the person hanging upside down naked from a streetlamp with some thing shoved into a very uncomfortable place. When William couldn't come up with a way out he did the only thing he could think of.
"Look at the time. Gotta go" William said before he ran.
Nigel watched him run off before he sighed and made his way up the stairs. Yeah, before he left he was telling his mom and his aunt about the bet. For the mean time he'd enjoy being home.
Catherine led the group of students through the hallway towards the rooms where they'd be staying. As they walked Parkin looked around and understood what Caroline had said about seeing the mansion the same as any other house. There weren't any chandeliers, valuable looking paintings or statues you'd expect to see in a mansion. On the walls were family pictures and various knickknacks. There were even toys scattered about in the hallway. It wouldn't be that hard to forget you were in a mansion.
"Sorry about the mess. I told Josephine to clean up earlier before you arrived but I guess she got distracted when her friends showed up" Catherine said.
"I don't think any of us really mind but if you don't mind me asking, where's Nigel's room" Parkin asked.
"Now, why would you want to know that" Catherine asked with a bit of an edge to her voice.
She turned her head enough so that she could see Parkin from the corner of her vision while still looking ahead. It seemed like the question sparked a protective thought in the woman's head. Parkin wouldn't be put off by it though.
"Just because he's home doesn't mean I'm not going to miss with him" Parkin said with a smirk.
"Oh, that? I'm fine with that" Catherine said smiling.
Parkin looked at her a little bit confused before she smiled her self.
"Went around pranking other people your self when you were younger did you" Parkin asked.
"I did my share" Catherine said with a giggle "I still do my share of pranks. Mostly to my husband, my brother and of coarse my sister."
"Any good stories" Parkin asked.
Rona shook her head and put her hand on Parkin's shoulder.
"You don't need to get any more ideas into your head. I don't think Nigel will appreciate you learning practical jokes to use on him from his mother" Rona said shaking her head.
Parkin let out a breath before she crossed her arms and started mumbling about her partner not being any fun. Catherine didn't loose her smile as she came to a stop in the hallway and turned to face them.
"These are the rooms that we prepared for you all to sleep in" Catherine said as she gestured to the open doors "Should you need any help or have any questions feel free to ask."
Parkin nodded and went into the one of the empty rooms. As she put her bag down on a small table she heard the others move into the rooms.
"Nora, don't jump on the bed" Ren could be heard yelling.
Parkin just laughed as she started wondering if she should ask Catherine again where Nigel's room was.
Nigel walked through the hallway where the rooms for the family were. The others would probably be settling into their rooms and unpacking. He'd probably be expected to show them around so he had to drop his bag off then go check on them. As he neared his room he saw that the door was open and when he looked inside he saw Trudy looking around. Inside the room was a small desk and chair, shelves with various books, comics, small containers and models on it while against the wall was his bed and a door to his closet. Hanging from the walls were some framed pictures and sheet music.
"Um, Trudy, why are you in my room" Nigel asked as he walked into the room.
Trudy turned from the book shelf and looked at him.
"Hi Nigel. Your mom told us where you room was if we needed to find you" Trudy said smiling.
She didn't seem to find any thing wrong with being in his room but he didn't expect her to. She probably had the idea that being in his room was the same as sharing a room back at the dorms. As he walked over to his desk and put his bag down on it he heard movement coming from under his bed. He already had an idea of who it was.
"Parkin, what are you doing under my bed" Nigel asked.
"Looking for indecent material of course" Parkin said as she moved her head from underneath the bed with a smile on her face.
"What kind of guy do you take me for" Nigel asked as he crossed his arms.
"Apparently a very boring one now" Parkin said as she lost her smile and pulled her self out "Seriously, not one mag under here or in your closet. You're preteen years were boring weren't they?"
"I had a normal life style growing up" Nigel said as he glared at her.
"You sure? Both of my brothers had magazines hidden in their room when they were growing up. Their friends did to from what I remember hearing" Parkin said as she stared at Nigel.
"Out" Nigel said point at the door.
Parkin snorted before she walked out of his room.
"Come on Trudy. Let's check on the others" Parkin said from the hallway.
"Do I have to" Trudy whined as she left the room and followed after Parkin.
Nigel closed the door behind her before he went to his bag and started unpacking. A few minutes later he walked into the hallway carrying a small cloth bag and started walking towards the guest rooms. As he walked he saw Yang walk down the hallway and when she spotted him she smiled.
"Finished unpacking" Yang asked once she reached him.
"I did. Are you and the others fine with the rooms" Nigel asked.
Yang nodded as she turned and started walking with him.
"Clean rooms and soft beds. I didn't hear any complaints from the others. Had a talk with Parkin and she said she didn't find any thing interesting in yours" Yang said with a wider smiled.
Nigel shook his head as he muttered some thing to him self about dealing with Parkin. His reaction just caused Yang to start laugh a little.
"Hey, you invited us into your house. That pretty much gives us free range to search your room for any thing embarrassing" Yang said as her laughter died down.
"But to look for that kind of stuff specifically" Nigel asked.
"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't try to embarrass you with some thing now and then? Besides, it's not like you have any odd sort of kinks or any thing like that do you" Yang said.
"I don't have any odd fetishes if that's what you're asking" Nigel said as he blushed a little.
"Sure, I'll have to take your word on that" Yang said with a smile "moving on though, what's up with that frilly bed room with all those porcelain dolls?"
"Was there a doll in a pink and white lolita outfit, red hair and green eyes" Nigel asked.
"Yeah- wait why does it matter if that doll's there" Yang asked as she looked at him.
"That room belongs to auntie. As for the doll, that would be Alice. There have been a few rumors about this place because of her" Nigel said with a sigh.
Yang remembered back to when Caroline had seen Ruby and then back to what Katherine had said about her. Since the woman collected dolls their comments made sense.
"What kind of rumors" Yang asked.
"Well, the first one was years ago, back when mom and auntie were in middle school I think. Grandpa gave Alice to auntie as a gift he picked up while traveling. Not soon after auntie's best friend disappeared and a few days later auntie had a doll that looked just like her" Nigel said.
Yang's eyes went a little wide at the story. She really had no interest in the idea of staying in a place where there was some sort of demon doll that abducted people to turn into dolls. She had no problem with fighting Grimm but wasn't really a fan of those kind of ghost stories. Like any other girl she played with dolls as a kid and didn't like the idea of them being evil and out to get her.
"Wait, you're not telling me-" Yang said before Nigel spoke.
"That's the idea people had as I heard it. They thought that Alice turned the friend into a doll. It was eventually tossed aside by her family saying that she went to a private school and sent the doll to auntie as a reminder of her. From what I hear the two still write letter to each other" Nigel said.
"Oh, that's good" Yang said as she relaxed.
Nigel shrugged his shoulders before he continued.
"A year or two ago my sister and her friends played hide and seek and one of her friends accidentally locked them selves in aunties room. They were in there for a few hours and got creeped out by the dolls. Once they were let out they kept saying the dolls were staring at them the whole time. When the story spread to the adults who went to school with auntie they started a joke where they told their kids that if they didn't behave Alice would come for them and they'd never be seen again" Nigel said with a smirk.
"Did the truth ever come out" Yang asked.
"Yes and no. For awhile Jojo's friends wouldn't come by so she put two of them in headlocks and dragged them here for a sleep over. When neither of them disappeared the story was put to rest. Of coarse her friends make sure to avoid going near the room" Nigel said.
"Isn't it normally the old run down mansions that get ghost stories" Yang asked.
"I guess but in truth I've never seen a letter from aunties friend and I've travel around with her for a few months and mom doesn't remember her getting any letter's either. To add to that when I was little I had nightmares of Alice sitting at the foot of my bed just staring at me while humming or giggling…. Now that I think about it the only times I hadn't had that nightmare were the times I was away from home" Nigel said before she shuddered.
"O.k, if that's a joke it's not funny" Yang said as she glared at him.
Nigel blinked before he smiled at her.
"Is the big powerful Yang afraid of ghost stories" Nigel asked.
"Hey, I've got no problem with ghost stories. I just don't like the ones with demon dolls in them" Yang said as she shook her head.
Nigel just chuckled as he looked ahead.
"If it helps any, I think my big sister may have gotten Alice and used the doll to mess with me while I was half asleep" Nigel said.
Yang seemed to accept it and put the idea of Alice being some sort of evil entity out of her mind. Of coarse Nigel didn't tell Yang that, for the all the time he had known her, his older sister had never made a joke, done a prank or any other form of mischief. He didn't think Yang would be happy if she knew. The two eventually reached the others who were waiting for them. Before Nigel could speak up three small forms ran past them. One latched onto Nigel's legs while the other jumped and latched onto his chest. In his surprised he fell and landed on his back from the combined force.
"Nigel, your back" the two cheered.
Yang and the other only blinked as they looked the three kids. The one standing at Nigel's feet had green eyes and brunette hair, wore a blue shirt, a pair of black shorts and sneakers and from a guess would be 6 years old. Since he looked like a younger version of Nigel it was a safe guess to say he was Nigel's little brother. As for the two who had latched onto Nigel, they weren't much older and had the same colored hair and eyes as the brothers but not the same face. The one who was sitting on Nigel's chest was a girl who was wearing a red dress, and shoes covered in dirt while her hair was cut short. The kid who was sitting on Nigel's legs was wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and had dirty shoes as well while his hair was cut shorter than the girls. The two then started switching off as they asked questions.
"How's the academy?"
"Did you kill a lot of Grimm?"
"Are you causing trouble?"
"Do you have any cool scars?"
"Are you awesome yet" they both asked at the same time.
At this Parkin broke out laughing. This seemed to cause the three kids to finally notice the group of teenagers watching them.
"They're pretty" the boy said pointing at the Yang and the other females there.
"Are they your girl friends" the girl asked.
"He wishes" Parkin said with a smile.
Nigel glared at her before he lifted the kids off of him. He then got up and once he was on his feet his brother moved behind him.
"O.k, a couple of things. First, the academy's fine, second I've killed Grimm but I wouldn't say a lot, third, I'm not causing trouble, fourth, no I don't have any cool scars and lastly, wasn't I always awesome" Nigel asked as he looked down at them.
"Of coarse you are. After all, you're Captain-" Yang said before she was interrupted.
"Shut it" Nigel yelled as he looked at her.
This just caused the others to either smile or chuckle at him.
"Nigel, I think introductions are in order" Weiss said.
Nigel nodded before he introduced his friends to his family before looking behind him self "This is my brother Mathew. As you can see he's shy around new people."
Mathew looked from behind his older brother and waved.
"Next, these two are my cousins. Daniel and his sister Jaclyn" Nigel said pointing at the two in front of him.
"Jack" the girl said looking up at him.
"I thought you liked Jaclyn" Nigel asked looking back at her.
"If Josephine gets to be called jojo why can't I be called Jack" Jaclyn asked.
"Because your mother doesn't approve of nicknames and on that note, where are your parents" Nigel asked.
"Daddy said he had to come later because he had to balance the bank account" Daniel said.
"Mommy thinks he's lying and doesn't want to come because he's afraid aunt Cat will put him in the dress again like she did last year. She's going to help him then drag him here to see his sisters after words" Jaclyn.
"Wait, is he afraid that mom will put him in the blue dress or the red one" Nigel asked confused.
"Both at the same time" both cousins said together.
Nigel held his hand to his face and sighed. As he thought about what to say to his mother he heard Jaune mutter some thing about being reminded of his sisters.
"I'll see what I can do about helping uncle preserve his dignity" Nigel said lowering his hand.
"It seems your mother is some one I could never outmatch" Parkin said with a smile.
"I don't need you two entering some sort of competition" Nigel said as he lowered his hand before he turned towards his brother and handed him the bag he was carrying "this is for you."
Mathew took it and opened it before he pulled out a large fang. Yang looked at it before she turned towards Nigel.
"Hey, that looks like the taijutu fang we handed into professor Port for our assignment. Shouldn't that thing be gone by now" Yang asked.
"Oh, it is but after we handed it in I asked if he could get a mold of it made" Nigel said before he spoke to his brother "sorry that I couldn't bring you a real one."
Mathew shook his head and smiled at his older brother.
"I like it. Did you kill it" Mathew asked.
"Um… It's more like I helped. Yang killed one head and Ruby put a round through the other" Nigel said before he thought of some thing and looked at his cousin and his brother "also, let this be a reminder to the two of you. Just because you're boys doesn't mean you should be mean to girls. Trust me when I say that there are girls stronger than guys."
"Yes Nigel" both boys said as they nodded.
"And if you don't believe him ask Yang. When they first fought each other she punched his face in" Nora said with a smile.
Nigel just looked at Nora while Mathew and Daniel looked at the blond boxer before looking up at Nigel. Jaclyn however, was looking at Yang with a look of awe before she ran over to her.
"Can you teach me how to fight like you" Jaclyn asked giving off puppy eyes almost a match for Ruby's.
Yang smiled and nodded.
"Sure. I can teach you a couple of things before I leave" Yang said.
Nigel and Daniel looked at the two of them before they shook their heads.
"Should I be scared" Daniel asked with a look of worry on his face.
Nigel could only assume that his cousin was afraid of getting pummeled by his sister.
"Maybe but how do you think I feel? Once the guys at the gym find out about this they'll have a field day" Nigel said closing his eyes.
He would just have to take solace in the fact that it was his cousin learning from Yang and not Jojo. If she learned how to fight like Yang, he was pretty sure not even her teachers would be safe. He pushed that idea aside before he looked at Mathew.
"We'll talk later but can you keep those two company while I show my friends around" Nigel asked.
Mathew nodded before he put the fake Grimm fang back into the bag. He then got their cousins and the two of them left. Nigel watched them go before he looked at his friends.
"Sorry about that. I didn't know my cousins would be here but I don't really see them causing any trouble" Nigel said before he started walking "come on. I'll show you around."
The others followed him as he walked down the hallway. As he led them he pointed out a set of stairs that led to the roof where his father had set up a garden and told them they were free to go there if they wanted. When they reached the end of the hallway there were a pair of doors that Nigel pushed open. Inside was a large room with ceiling reaching book shelves lining the walls, a stair case leading to lower sections with the next section holding smaller shelves and in the lowest section chairs and tables.
"This is the study. The larger book shelves hold fiction books while the smaller shelves are none fiction and they're all sorted by category. Feel free to read any of the books here" Nigel said.
Seeing that he had given the o.k both Blake and Rona walked into the room. Rona reached the lower section and started looking at the non fiction books while Blake pushed a ladder along the larger shelves before she climbed up it to get a better look at the books.
"Guess we know where we can find these two during our stay" Yang said as she watched her partner.
"Come on you two. The tours not done yet" Nora said as she shook her head.
The two huntresses looked at their friends before they left the shelves. Blake had a slight blush on her cheeks, most likely a little embarrassed from just deciding that she'd spend the rest of the day there while Rona didn't say any thing. Nigel just smiled at them before he led them back down the hallway then down a set of stairs. As he led them he pointed out a point where the hallway split and told them that those two halls led to the garage and room with some gym equipment if they felt they needed some exercise. As they walked by the kitchen and the dining room Ruby stopped saying that she smelled freshly baked cookies. Before she could run off to investigate Weiss grabbed the back of her cape and dragged her young leader behind her which led to Ruby being asked to be let go.
When they came to another pair of large doors Nigel opened them and inside the group saw a large room with 30 chairs, an over head projector and a white screen at the end of the room. At the back end of the room was a door labeled videos/projector controls and next to it was a lit alcove that had a sign that said snacks over it. It was easy to guess that the room was the theater Nigel had mentioned when they got there. Like with the study, Nigel told them they could use it if they wished to before he continued with the door. A few minutes later the hallway they were walking through had a wide set of stairs leading down it. As Nigel led them down to the basement level he pointed out that at the end of the hallway was the pool if any of them wanted to take a swim.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs he led them recording studio. Inside were two separate booths, both had instruments inside while on the walls were photos or posters of various bands with some of them signed. At the far end of the room was a shelf with several books and what was most eye catching were a pair of guitars, one acoustic and the other electric, both in glass cases with bullet rounds as well. Ruby followed Nigel as he walked over to the shelf, took out a key and opened the cases.
"Let's see. First is Lone Gunman" Nigel said as he took the acoustic guitar out of its case.
He turned around and held it so the others could see it. The body of the guitar was the same tan color of sand while the neck was more of a dark wood color. At the bottom of the guitar was a small amount of padding while along the neck were what looked like a pair of triggers.
"It fires 7 mm bullets at about 5 rounds a minute" Nigel said before he held the guitar with the bottom against his shoulder like it was a rifle "as you can guess it's not very accurate and takes a lot of practice to use. As such we just keep it around for looks. Like this you use the trigger closer to the body of the guitar and the other while playing."
He then handed the guitar to Ruby who started inspecting the barrel that traveled along the neck, the magazine on the back of the guitar as well as what she could of the firing mechanism since it had two separate triggers.
"Does your family name all of their instruments" Pyrrha asked as she watched Ruby inspect the guitar.
"Not normally. That guitar was actually payment to my grandfather for playing at the birthday party of a fans son. Why he accepted it as payment is beyond me but he liked it and named it. The other one was from some charity auction a family friend went to. They got in trouble with their wife for buying it and sold it to us. Since the name was already on it we just went with it" Nigel said shrugging his shoulders.
He held his hand out and Ruby gave the guitar back to Nigel and he put it back in its case before he took out the electric guitar. The whole guitar was an electric blue color except for the white lines going over it.
"This one is Thunder Dragon. It fires shot gun shells, both buck and bird shot, hence the reason the neck is a difference size from other guitars. Unlike Lone Gunman it can't be fired like a normal gun. Firing control is actually done by a small computer system inside of the guitar. You connect it to a computer and program it to fire off the shells either when individual notes are played or when a specific group are played" Nigel said before he handed it to Ruby.
Like with the other one she started inspecting it as well. Parkin was looking at it as well and Nigel assumed she wanted to try using it.
"It doesn't seem like it would be very effective for combat. Have you ever used it before" Ren asked.
"I've played it a few times and unlike the other one it's been used during a few concerts. For safety purposes we normally load it with blanks or dragon's breath during those cases" Nigel said.
"Um, what's dragon's breath? It sounds cool" Trudy said.
"It's a type of shotgun shell filled with magnesium rather than metal slugs and creates a stream of sparks and fire up to 20ft long. Police normally fire them up into the air to help get a crowds attention. Even though it's used for crowd control it can do quite a bit of damage if it's used on some one." Blake said as she closed her eyes.
There was a tone of sadness to her voice that caused Nigel to wonder if she had any personal experience with it.
"Have you seen it used before" Nigel asked as he looked at her.
"A few times. Not really a matter to get into" Blake said shaking her head.
Nigel watched her for a few moments before he looked at Ruby who was inspecting where the empty shells were ejected.
"Can you show me how these work" Ruby asked as she looked up from the guitar.
"Sure but I'll have to get permission first. I was expecting you to ask if you could take them apart though" Nigel said with a smile.
"Actually I was going to ask if I could but I figured you'd say no" Ruby said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.
Nigel chuckled as he took the guitar and put it back in its case. He trusted that Ruby would put the guitars back together but he wasn't sure how his mother and grandfather would react to them being taken apart. Probably best to go with the safer of the two options. He made sure both of the cases were properly closed before he locked them and led the others out of the room.
"I'm pretty sure that the reason that so many of my sister's friends like hanging out here is this last room" Nigel said as he walked down the hallway.
When he reached the door he opened it and showed them the inside of a large room. Closest to the door were a pair of couches, a few chairs and tables in front of a pair of t.v screens connected to a couple of different game systems inside of the cabinets they were resting on. Not to far from the couches, in the corner of the room, was a small kitchen and a large fridge. In the middle of the room was a foosball table, pool table, air hockey machine and a dart board hanging on the wall while at the back of the room were pinball machines and several arcade games.
"Nigel, your place is awesome, you know that right" Parkin said.
"I guess" Nigel said shrugging his shoulders "that's pretty much it for the tour. You all have free reign of the place but try not to break any thing."
With that, Nigel's friends split into groups. Rona, Blake and Weiss walked off together, presumably to the study to find some books to read while Yang, Ruby, Parkin, Trudy and Nora ran to the back of the room with Ren following after them. Jaune watched them go before he and Pyrrha went to the pool table to play a game. As Nigel watched them he started wondering if Jojo still had her friends in the building. Figuring that she might, he left the room to check on his sister and tell her the game room had people in it so there wouldn't be any arguments on who used it.