Author Note: *Peaks out from the side of a wall* Psst. Hey! You! Wanna hear something cool? No? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. I've been slacking off~ All the live long day! Ahem. Besides that, here's another chapter of A Dark Soul & A Painter Within Remnant! And I've reached the milestone of followers! It's a plus in my book, I suppose. Sorry... This is just very amazing to me, so much so! *Skips happily like Chibi Pyrrha* And, I've got an interesting proposal, but I'm still thinking on it. Let's just say that this rookie is beleaguered with the choice of getting an actual person to help point out mistakes in this poor hollow's story. Perhaps next Saturday I'll maybe find one of those legendary 'Beta-readers' as they're called. But I am rambling and taking much of your time. Without further adieu, enjoy!
Also: I don't own RWBY or Dark Souls. They belong to their creators!
Simple405: Wonderful to see ya again, mate! And who knows? The Junior Detectives are amazing, are they not?
"Whatever your choice… It will not change my sense of gratitude, or how I think of you." - A certain Witch
Dajorn was so close to leaving the damned gates of Vale's city. Only to be thwarted by two young men. Extravagantly dressed, well-built men who stopped him from leaving. They proclaimed themselves as some sort of minor faction, similar to that of this place's local guard. Whatever the case may be, what are they stopping him for? They were nearly there, the blissful noises of wind coursing through the trees in the distance, so much preferable than the foreign magics here. Those cars kept going by, blaring horns or screeching wheels, simply unforgivable. Dajorn honestly preferred to have ridden a rickety carriage with malnourished horses, than get on another metal contraption here.
"Hey, bud! We asked you a question!" The blonde one said, fake mustache clearly visible on his lip.
"Yeah! You're violating a ton of city codes right now!" The blue-haired one added, also sporting a loose, fake mustache. It made Dajorn scratch his own genuine beard.
"What may the purpose be, prithee I ask?" Priscilla standing beside her older companion, whose own amusement can be clearly seen. Those mustaches would've befitted a jester in a court.
"You're littering! We saw Gramps here littering two blocks down!" The monkey's tail was swinging in both faux anger and determination.
"We also witnessed your vile act of swiping that weird bug-leg thing off the other kind gramps earlier!" The red-jacket said whilst pulling out a notepad. The pad itself had scribbles of illegible chicken scratch handwriting in it.
"What are the names of the two who've witnessed this supposed crime?" Dajorn asked, his hand placed upon the newly acquired chaos weapon's hilt.
"Neptune Vasilias! Proud agent of the Junior Detectives!" Neptune proudly stated, his eyes fascinated with the plastic badge given to him.
"Sun Wukong! Also agent of the Junior Detectives!" He pointed a thumb towards himself.
If they had admirers applauding them, they weren't there. Just the occasional car passing by in complete awkward silence.
Dajorn could just pick up Priscilla and bolt from the two, but considering the weapons on their persons, they'd likely win the fight just as easily. Not to mention their speed would be akin to that of a mighty creature. He always wondered about the strange 'aura' Jade told him about. How it is connected to one's soul and armaments. What would a vow of silence do to them? He'd already witnessed the effects of aromatic ooze on Jade's own self.
Would duel talismans work as well against these type of foes? He doubted a Lloyd one would do anything, they ne'er required flasks to heal from, their damn lucky selves had that aura to do it for them. But, Dajorn would already guess that Alric was experimenting on that front. These people are not at all like home. Too friendly, too powerful. And not for their own good either. As long as its just Alric and the sorceress, he wouldn't have trouble from them. The sorceress deemed sorcery an integral part of her fighting style, and only brandished a toxin-infused dagger to finish off foes too arrogant to notice. He'd assume that she vastly spends time using sorcery. As for Alric? The man was dangerous as he was unpredictable. Miracles were never a part of his forte before, that just made things more complicated. Much so with the way he wields daggers, a parrying dagger and a barbed one to dish out additional damage to those foolish enough to not wear good armor.
However against a heavily armored foe? Alric would shy away and use other methods. He was never that great against their hunts with those types of opponents, but there wasn't anyone like that here fitting such a description. Most fighters here prioritized speed over power, exactly what Alric would benefit from. His dextrous ways would have them already caught in his webs of disgusting gutting.
"Hello!" Sun wove a hand over Dajorn's face, trying to the man out of his thinking stupor. "Do we have the handcuffs?" Sun asked, Neptune, then shrugged and looked everywhere. "C' mon, dude! The one thing a junior detective has to have is cuffs!"
Priscilla gazed to Dajorn, who was still spacing out into the distance.
Tis a usual thing that occurs, thou always hast to think during distressful moments.
Priscilla gave a warm smile and looked back towards their supposed pursuers, who were checking every nook and cranny of their outfits for shackles.
By the time Teams RWBY and JNPR returned to their dorms, it had already been past curfew. They had wished to stay longer, but Jade went into another panic attack when the mysterious hooded figure was mentioned, or rather brought into the conversation.
As for Ruby, she and her team felt a pang of guilt for being unable to help. Especially Ruby herself. They all hopped in bed and agreed to talk over it tomorrow morning. Ruby, however, kept thinking. Her gut kept telling her that something wasn't right.
Old dude with a beard and had a stern expression across his face. Where have I seen that before? Ruby pondered whilst hanging from her 'accident waiting to happen' bed, which is what Weiss declared the moment it was built. She's surprised that it hadn't fallen and crushed her teammate yet.
"I'll leave tomorrow's problems to tomorrow's me!" Is what she said to the heiress before happily jumping onto it when they all first got the darn dorm.
Eugh! I'm getting off track! Think Ruby! Where have I seen someone with that description? Jade said something about greying hair and a scruffy beard…
She searched her memories: The Fro'Go shop? Nope, not there at all. Yang's sketchy club that she visited a long time ago? Definitely not there… The From Dust Til Dawn shop? That's super old! He'd never be there. What about the breach? Was there anyone running away for their lives that fitted his character? Tall, old-looking dude with a hobo's beard? Wearing an old Vytal festival black t-shirt and blue jeans and very old leather shoes. Maybe using a small helpless little knife that kinda seemed to use hard-light dust and a water-shield against a swarm of creeps and beowolves? Nah, he'd never… Never...
Wait a minute!
That man who was fending off those creeps and beowolves! Ruby slapped her idiotic forehead, "Duh! Where else would I have seen someone like that!"
"Can you like, not be so loud and annoying when I'm trying to get my beauty sleep? Someone has to wake you all up tomorrow morning!" Weiss hissed with irritation, her usual hair let down to compliment her sleeping gown. Her eyes filled with drowsiness and annoyance.
"Sorry… Just," Ruby chuckled, "brainstorming here…"
"Well do that tomorrow! Or else!" Weiss threatened. All Ruby could hear was a very aggressive turn of blankets and pillows before a huff of anger was let out.
The young leader had a lead, but what to do with it? Search the area of where the breach was and ask anyone who saw him? What was he doing out fighting Grimm when he could've been visiting Jade? Did he live for the thrill of battle? No. That wasn't it, his eyes kept frantically looking around for someone. Was he being chased? All this thinking made Ruby sigh and consider the many things her brain could muster, but it was all in vain.
"Go to sleep!" Weiss kicked Ruby's bed from underneath, which was to some, may seem like a terrible idea. Thankfully the laws of gravity and physics somehow didn't apply to their beds. Still got to question Oobleck or Ozpin on how that works.
Ruby let out a yelp before slamming her face into her pillow. Weiss was someone who despised those who ruined her only reprieve when she's not constantly trying to maintain their team's reputation and grades.
I'll tell everyone first thing tomorrow morning! And deal with Weiss' scolding later…
With that, Ruby slowly let the darkness envelop her vision.
Jade's wolf ears fell flat to her head as another dream came to be. However, she knew that this wasn't an ordinary dream. It was one of the strange ones that had no connection to her at all. This one was filled in a very dark, terrible place. A misbegotten ruined city of some sort. The dampness could be felt in the air, silent trickles of water stirring around in a large vicinity. Paranoia filled her thoughts as she slowly trekked down a pathway leading to a cobblestone walkway leading towards a door.
"Ours. Ours. You are ours." A voice whispered in her ear. She turned her back instantly; the same pathway with claustrophobic walls enclosing her line of view. Jade's feet could feel the wetness of the ground beneath her. It made the every now and then slosh through her long walk. Her hand reached for the door, only to be opened by a tall figure. Her entire being felt like cold water had washed over her. She saw its face, no it had no face. Just pure bone and empty sockets. An ugly hood covered the remaining bits of the head, and as she looked down, its figure was covered in ghastly armor.
"Don't leave us! He needs you! We need you!" The creature extended its bone-encased hand to Jade, who was frozen still in fear. "You belong here. This is where you will remain! Where you will stay and be together with us." The voice whispered so deeply into her wolven ear to the point that she could feel its chilling breath.
What did Jade do? Did she give in? Did she fight? No, she ran as fast as she could. As fast as her Faunus agility could take her. She ran like no other time before. But all there was were more archways, cobblestone bridges, and water. Jade tripped, only to land into a big puddle. The coldness matched with aching legs and calves, making it harder to get up. The horrific figure stalked ever closer to her.
Looking down into the puddle, Jade noticed that the reflection was not her own. It was that of a young man, remarkably handsome with shoulder-length black hair. His eyes were filled with desperation and worry.
Got to find Evelyn! Got to find her before they do! These thoughts invaded her mind but were not her own. What's happening? What is this supposed to mean?!
"You will never leave us! You need us! Please! Come back!" The voice was filled with desperation and anger, and a hint of betrayal. Its voice felt parasitic and disgusting as it kept entering her ears. A sharp raspiness that felt so hoarse and dry.
The skeletal creature finally caught up as she gazed upward. A long, dark blade was unsheathed as it went directly into her eye socket. The blade began piercing flesh, tendon, and muscle in one simple thrust.
Jade awoke to her pitch black hospital room, the only lights being her heart monitor and the hallway light just outside.
Just a dream. That's all it is. Nothing more, nothing less.
"I need to get out of here. I've stayed long enough to the point that I'm just moping around and letting these nightmares grow." Jade narrowed her eyes when the thought of Dajorn came to mind. She knew it'd be terrible to go after him, but she demanded answers. Who was that damned bastard who killed everyone? Who was it that beheaded her mother like nothing? She wanted to know who, even if she was afraid and still shaking while thinking about it.
I will leave tomorrow morning. I don't care what the Doctor will say, I have to leave.
She checked the time to notice that it was three in the morning, the darkness still encroaching ever still outside.
Dajorn's left eye kept twitching as the two men that he believed to have been wonderful warriors distastefully held onto his right ankle with desperation. The blue-haired one kept trying to give him threats of taking him downtown if he still didn't cooperate. But the old knight did find it amusing with their shackles which didn't take that much strength to break.
"Okay, listen those plastic handcuffs weren't cheap, sir. I'll let you off with one warning for that, but ya gotta return that bug thing back to the kind gramps down the road."
"Yeah!" Sun grunted as his stomach was scraping against the concrete floor; aura protecting his only viable physical trait, otherwise known as his abs. "Just give it up! We'll really get serious!"
Priscilla slowly trailed behind, pulling on Neptune's coat to get his attention and attempt to state that the 'bug-thing' was Dajorn's property. Neptune patted her head and chuckled, "Don't worry kid, I won't fall for his lies and tricks. I'm a bonafide detective attempting to crack a case. So, there's no need to help him! He's the bad guy! Get it? He stole something that wasn't his and now's he's manipulated a poor child to tell lies. Totally not cool, dude. "
Neptune put his attention back to Dajorn and even helped in trying to hold Dajorn back. They didn't want to use force on the old dude, but he was one powerhouse to hold them both back.
Meanwhile, Dajorn was finally in a good mood to see that his destination was in close reach. He picked up his pace and so did Priscilla.
"Stop!" An atlas guard in a red color-scheme stood in Dajorn's way, accompanied by a blue one. "Why are you two abusing this elder? What on Remnant is wrong with you!"
"He's… Stealing… We're trying to stop him… from leaving…" Neptune grunted at, trying to plant his feet down, as did Sun. Dajorn didn't stop until the red guard signaled to halt.
"Is that so?" The red one chuckled, "What an interesting night to see this, right Joey?"
"Oh yeah, this is a first, Greg." He sipped some coffee out of a simple cup that said 'World's Greatest Dad'.
"Where's this proof at, Blondie?" Joey asked, smirking and ready to shoo them away. Both he and Greg were almost done with their shift. General Ironwood being placed as head of security has been more of a downside for the actual human soldiers that worked here.
"He's stolen that bug-leg… from an antique store… little help here?" Sun asked, ready to use his semblance if the two idiots said no.
"Hah! You see, bud, Joey and I are about to leave, so skedaddle on outta here." He shooed with his hand.
The guards laughed and yawned, with Greg speaking up, "Yeah, we got a new shift for the Vytal tournament coming up next week. Gotta be nice and woke for the tourists, and this elder here is just leaving, so let him leave." He gestured towards Dajorn with the mug.
Sun and Neptune groaned, "Looks like we gotta do it, dude."
"I know, just tackle him with your semblance and I'll get the actual fuzz on the line."
Sun was already on it, meditating to do so. At least until…
Ting. Tang. Tong. Ting. Ting. Tong. Tong.
"What in the holy turd was that?" Greg said, looking around, "Church ain't supposed to be ringing around this time."
"You idiot, why in the hell would you think Church would be ringing 'round this time? Even your little faithful son oughta know better!"
Sun and Neptune stopped as well, scratching their heads in confusion.
A loud warping sound could be heard and Dajorn had already stopped his fooling around and unsheathed Quelaag's fury sword and his aquamarine dagger. His eyes scowling at the forest ahead. The trees moving bristly from the cold chilling wind.
"Whoa whoa! What're you doing, buddy?" Joey unhooked his dust pistol and stun baton. "You're doing something that's kinda stupid right about now- Geugh!" A barbed whip wrapped around his neck, digging into his flesh and tightened. He struggled to undo it before dragging him into the darkness of the forest beyond.
"Joey!" Greg unstrapped his pistol and went to the radio on his left shoulder. "Hey, gonna need some backup on the south gate! I repeat the south-" A large figure came behind him and from above, an obtusely large weapon came crashing down.
Splat.
His body turned into instant mush as blood splashed everywhere. Some landed onto Dajorn's jeans and a tad bit onto Priscilla's cheek.
Neptune and Sun's eyes widened as they prepared their weapons. Sun's nunchucks and the latter's glaive.
"Holy shit…" Sun muttered.
The wielder of such an obscenely large weapon emerged from the darkness. Its armor looking like it was built from solid rock itself. Inspecting further, two bubbles covered the feet, masking the noise generated from the undoubtedly superiorly heavy armor. In its hands was a club made from shining gold. The thing looked cartoonish but brutal as Greg's gibby remains peeled off of it.
Another figure came out and was wearing a robe that concealed their appearance. A dark-blue robe with a golden belt wrapped around their lithe form. A glowing fire coming from their left hand. In their right was the whip that snatched Joey away. Bits of skin still dangling from it and blood dripping down the handle and lightly onto the concrete.
"Umm, you're under arrest by the Junior Detectives?" Sun asked sheepishly, Neptune dead-panned at him, "Dude… Not cool."
Dajorn spoke at last, "Whatever you want, we don't have it; leave us be and trudge along somewhere else." He twirled the fury sword to add emphasis.
The two didn't answer and slowly walked towards them.
"One of you will take Priscilla and get her to safety. The other stays with me and deal with these two. Got it?"
"Alright, I'll take care of her." Neptune quickly added, Sun throwing him a bewildered and shocked expression. "What?! You got the handy semblance suited for this! I'll be back with some back-up, I promise."
"Fine! But you owe me big time!"
Neptune picked up Priscilla and carried her under his arm like a sack of potatoes. Which elicited a frown at being escorted in such a manner.
"Prepare for anything. All I know is that one with the whip dabbles in the pyromaniac arts."
"The what now?" Sun asked as he chose his opponent; the Witch glaring at him under her hood.
Dajorn sighed and forgot that these people don't know much about pyromancy, much less sorcery. "She uses a ton of fire. Watch out for that. Leave the big one to me. He's mine." Dajorn prepared a stance, ready to fight and possibly get beaten to a pulp in the process.
The heavy-armored rock fellow did something unexpected though. He ran, although not from them specifically, but towards… Towards…
"Oh by Gwynevere's fake bosom… That's not good."
"Oh, you're in deep trouble, Neptune... Uhh, want me to go after him? I'm much faster." Sun pointed in the direction of the scarily fast rock that sprinted after his best friend with little effort, and no noise whatsoever.
"Please do."
It couldn't get any worse. Could it?
And that's the end of the tenth chapter of A Dark Souls & A Painter Within Remnant! But, wow. Allow me to say it once more: Thank you all for joining along on this hollow's dreadful journey on his first ever story. Truly, you all warm my heart with this. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If so, great! If not, darn. We shall meet again, whenever that may be. I won't promise the exact due date or anything, but just be on the lookout for Saturday. And don't get yer self killed. Neither of us wanna see you go hollow.
Also, I'm still thinking on a Beta-Reader, but I've not the faintest clue on whether I should or not. Only the spirits will deign to tell me. Okay, maybe some independent research as well. Until then, PRAISE THE SUN! *Disappears into the ground*
\[T]/ PRAISE THE SUN!