A/N: Ever heard of the Interceltic Festival of Lorient? It's been going on where I live since the beginning of August. I've been out enjoying myself quite a lot, but I still managed to find the time to write this.
Hope you enjoy it.
Days passed.
As Manus was traveling around in the campaign, he wondered where to start.
He didn't know where to search.
He couldn't just travel around blindly, the wild-lands were too big.
"Hmm… I need something to follow…"
However, it wasn't like Zone left any tracks behind.
"Maybe I can somehow sense him…?"
So Manus climbed a hill.
There wasn't any human around. So no negative emotions.
No Grimm around either.
It was perfect for meditation.
Manus sat at the top of the hill and closed his eyes.
Without negative feelings or Grimm around to bother him, his Grimm sense was considerably sharpened, so it would be easier to sense Zone.
What did Weiss say again?
"Quietly sit, body still, speech silent, mind at ease, and allow thoughts to come and go, without letting them play havoc on you. If you really need something to do, then watch your breathing."
"…"
Breathe in. Breathe out.
"Watch my breathing? Easier said than done."
"It's very simple, Jaune. When you breathe in, know that you are breathing in, without supplying any kind of extra commentary or internalized mental gossip, just identifying with the breath…"
The noises of birds singing started to fade away.
The wind brushing on his skin now felt enjoyable and welcome.
"But Weiss, what's the point of all of this? Is it really necessary?"
"The point? The whole point is called "getting used to"."
"To what?"
"Your true nature, the flow of your Aura, and the depth of your soul, so that you know yourself better, be yourself better, and ultimately, unlock better access to your Aura, widening the flow little by little. Now, stop asking questions and get to it!"
A small smile formed on Manus' lips as remembered the scene.
His breathing slowed down.
Steadiness, calmness.
Feel the Aura.
This is Zone's Aura.
Help me find Zone.
The Aura started flowing through Manus's body.
With it, a vague sense of perception, and a feeling of absence and longing.
Manus opened his eyes.
"…"
…The feeling was gone.
But just for a moment, he was able to grasp the general direction he needed to go.
Manus sat up, facing south.
"That's so far." Manus sighed. "And this wasn't my Grimm sense… Was it something else? Is it because we have the same Aura?"
Manus hummed quietly and raised his hand. The white Aura flowed easily into his limb and shined a little, making Manus remember the feeling of longing.
It was like the Aura in his body was telling him where to go to reunite with Zone.
"Let's call it… Aura sense." Manus decided.
Nodding to himself, he started heading in the direction his Aura sense gave him and broke into a jog.
It was too slow to walk, so he would jog all the way.
Days later
"…!"
Manus suddenly stopped his run.
Looking around, Manus had a weird sense of déjà-vu.
"… This place."
The road was going along the edge of a forest to the left.
To the right were large grasslands.
"This is… Where I attacked Zone the first time we met."
Turning to the trees, he looked into the forest.
A flash of memory surged in Manus' mind.
Prey! Prey!
Attack! Jump and fly!
Clunk!
Human protected himself!
Confusion.
Pain.
"Just a snake… Phew, scared the crap out of me!"
Killing intent! Incoming attack!
Roll out of the way!
Jump!
Bite!
Dig through the flesh…
Reach higher…
Reach the brain!
Possess…
Blocked…?
Can't go through…!
…
Complete possession... failed… Only partial…
Disappointment…
"Urgh!" Manus groaned in pain as the memory faded.
Shaking his head, Manus eyed the trees warily.
That memory was from when he had been a snake.
It was the first time Manus remembered something from his old days so clearly.
Since when had he forgotten? He didn't know.
"…" Manus hesitated.
Should he go to investigate?
Devoured by his curiosity, Manus stepped into the forest.
It was quite a sinister forest. The sunlight barely reached through the trees.
"Hmmm… Where should I go?"
As he hesitated, another memory flashed in his mind.
Whistling.
Crawling.
Whistling.
Struggling.
Death, imminent.
Want to survive!
Need to find a body… soon…
"Urgh…" Manus shook the memory away.
At that time, had he been about to die?
He had come this way…
"…"
Manus headed in the direction of the memory, continuing to explore the forest.
Gradually remembering, Manus continued to follow his memories.
As expected, a parasite needed a body to survive. It seemed the snake had been struggling quite a lot.
The snake had been dying.
Why am I calling it 'the snake'? It was me…
Manus started to feel apprehension as he continued to follow the memories.
Should he really explore this forest?
Where did Manus come from, exactly?
That snake Grimm was not listed in the human's glossary of Grimms. Which meant it was very rare… A unique kind of possession-type Grimm.
"…Maybe I should wait for Zone before continuing."
But what if the memories didn't come back?
…Manus had to press on.
Before, he didn't care where he came from. The only thing he cared for was survival, power, and knowledge.
But now… he wanted to know. Where he came from.
It was probably a feeling specific to humans.
After some time, Manus reached a small meadow.
There, a metal… what?
"What is this…?"
Approaching and inspecting the metallic box, Manus was able to determine its nature.
"…Some kind of… chest?"
It was slightly open.
He glanced inside.
Those were… broken incubation chambers?
"Grrrrr…."
Suddenly sensing killing intent, Manus turned away from the chest towards the noise.
Red eyes glowed from within the darkness between the trees.
"Grimm…" Manus groaned and turned his arm into a sharp claw, ready to fight.
"…"
"Grrr…"
"Not attacking?" Manus frowned. "Come out."
Slowly, the Grimm came out of hiding.
Black fur, sharp canines, smooth muscles.
Manus was quite surprised by the appearance of this Grimm.
"A wolf. This is a wolf?"
Not a Beowolf, mind you.
A regular wolf, standing on four legs.
This wolf was completely normal, except for the dark, black fur and red eyes.
Yet… It was a Grimm, Manus could sense it.
That wolf was staring at him cautiously, slowly walking around in a circle.
"You… You're weird." Manus pointed a finger at the wolf. "Why aren't you monstrous-looking like the other Grimm? Why don't you have white, spiky bones coming out of your body? Why don't you attack me?"
Manus took a step forward.
The wolf showed its teeth.
Manus ignored the warning.
"Grrr…!"
Manus stopped.
"Grrrr!" Manus growled back.
The wolf froze, its ears standing on his head, attentive.
"Grrrr!" Manus continued to growl.
The wolf whined hesitantly until he decided to make his way to Manus.
As the wolf approached, Manus knelt.
The wolf sat in front of Manus, tilting his head to the side curiously.
Manus reached his hand towards the wolf slowly, gaining its trust.
The wolf reared back for a second, before he allowed himself to be touched, reluctantly.
Manus gently laid his hand on the wolf's head.
And crushed it.
The wolf died without a sound.
"How naive... Hmmm, it bleeds black blood, too." Manus observed coldly.
The body of the wolf started to wither in black fumes.
Though a part of its body seemed to be still moving.
Twitching unnaturally.
"...What's that?" Manus frowned and leaned forward.
Ssssssss!
A snake jumped out of the body, whistling loudly and flying towards Manus.
Manus protected himself with his hand in reflex.
The snake bit him.
Manus swiftly crushed the snake's body with his other hand.
"…That hurts."
Manus frowned at the wound of his hand. A gaping hole, from which black blood was leaking out abundantly.
Surprisingly, his hand started turning black on its own. Like it was being corrupted.
Something was crawling under his skin, making its way higher, digging through his flesh towards his shoulder.
"This situation feels very familiar," Manus smirked. "But, it's too bad. You attacked the wrong person."
With a silent twitch of his flesh, Manus hardened his muscles, blocking the parasite.
Mansu assaulted the parasite crawling under his skin, compressing it into his arm and piercing it with tentacles, transforming his arm into a mess.
Closing his eyes, Manus felt the parasite die in his arm.
Like a hungry glutton, Manus devoured the parasite's body with his arm.
Pshhhh…
Releasing the last couple puffs of black smoke, his arm came back to normal.
"How curious." Manus shrugged, completely uncaring, and looked back to the chest.
It contained six incubation chambers within it.
Maybe these snake-like Grimms escaped from it.
However, these parasites were quick to die, as they couldn't survive outside of the chamber without a body, so they had latched onto the first animal they found.
For the one Manus just killed, it had been a wolf.
For Manus, it had been Zone. Though Manus had failed the possession.
Which meant… Judging by the number of incubation chambers... There were probably four more around.
If any of these parasites had found a human…
"Hmm… This is getting quite worrying." Manus frowned, looking around cautiously. "Though they shouldn't be able to reproduce…"
Six months had passed since Manus had tried to possess Zone.
The other parasites could be far now.
…Or perhaps they could have stayed here, just like this wolf…?
"But, this chest, in the middle of nowhere… How did it get there in the first place?"
Probably carried by humans… Right?
If that was the case, then the parasites could have possessed these humans.
Maybe one of them had possessed that strange woman with ashen hair and amber eyes at Beacon?
No, the parasite in her arm had felt different… weaker.
Another type?
"Crap. This complicates things…" Manus sighed.
His eyes landed on the symbol on the chest.
The symbol was a hexagon around which three circles were connected with lines.
Under that symbol was written something.
" 'Merlot Industries'. Building a better tomorrow." Manus read, and frowned. "Never heard of it."
Whoever this corporation was, they created these parasites.
"…This… So these parasites were created by humans?!"
That made absolutely no sense!
No… They weren't created by humans.
Humans can't create Grimms.
They were modified by humans.
Yes, that made more sense.
However, if this company had screwed up so much, it was possible they'd want to erase their failures… Which meant, if they learned about Manus and Zone, they'd probably want to kill them or capture them.
So… Let's not investigate any further. This could get very dangerous.
"…"
Manus should still find Zone as soon as possible.
This whole parasite thing was interesting, but it was very low on Manus's priority list.
Even if there were more Grimm parasites possessing humans around, they would be different and entirely Grimm… Unlike Manus and Zone, who had become human-Grimm hybrids.
For now, Zone was the one he needed to find.
What happened to Manus and Zone was unique, and could not be replicated.
These other parasites were completely Grimm.
Manus remembered one of the first things he had said to Zone, back when he struggled to even talk properly.
"We're enemy to both species. Need cooperation for survival."
In short, this discovery changed nothing. They were still alone.
They could only trust each other.
"…Let's go back." Manus decided.
With that line of thought, Manus left the forest and returned to jogging his way towards the direction he had sensed.
Days later
As he ran towards South, Manus felt a wave of negative emotions hit him all of a sudden.
"This is more intense than usual…What's happening?"
Frowning, Manus decided to make a slight detour to check it out.
As he headed in the direction of the negative emotions, he noticed a black smoke rising from the horizon.
A fire?
Manus stopped his jog, and flexed his legs, augmenting his muscles' strength.
Like springs releasing tension, his legs powerfully unflexed and his body bolted off the ground, several dozen meters into the sky.
As he reached the peak of his jump and slowed down in mid-air, Manus was high enough to determine the source of the smoke.
It was indeed a fire.
A lonely house was getting assaulted by a horde of Grimms.
Most likely, the fire provoked negative emotions, which in turn attracted the Grimms.
Manus had been approaching the frontier, so it was normal to find more Grimms in the area.
He grinned.
"All right… Experiment number two. What can this body do against a horde of Grimm?"
As he started falling, Manus focused on his body's muscles, and his back started releasing black smoke as he crafted new bones.
Crrr…
With a violent twitch, his skin and flesh violently expended, until eventually two giant limbs were extracted from his back and deployed into the sky.
Wings. Black feathered wings, like a Nevermore.
Naturally, this was Manus' first try at flying, so he fell towards the ground.
Manus gritted his teeth and willed his newly crafted wings to flap.
His fall slowed down for a moment.
"…Faster!"
Manus flapped and flapped his wings, slowing his fall more and more.
It didn't seem to be working.
The wind blowing through his hair, Manus decided to change the wings' angle to be more aerodynamic.
This changed everything.
As soon as he oriented the wings the right way, Manus' flight stabilized instantly, and his fall transformed into a flight, soaring into the sky.
Gliding horizontally, Manus watched the grass a few meters below him pass rapidly before his eyes.
He was so light.
His wings carried him.
Though he was still slowly losing altitude.
Manus flapped his wings one time.
And suddenly he rose higher into the sky, easily making up for the gradual loss of altitude.
"...This is amazing!"
As he flew high into the sky, Manus found himself laughing.
The joy of flying was something incomparable to anything else.
Feeling the wind on his face.
Seeing the world becoming smaller and smaller below him, providing a marvelous view.
How much control he had on his movements.
How he felt everything.
Yang's Bumblebee was nothing compared to this.
This… This was even better than killing, honestly!
I could do this forever. Manus realized.
"Wooooooohhooooooo!" Manus screamed as he let himself fall before spreading his wings at the last moment to soar again, successfully performing a chandelle.
He continued to play like that and made a few loopings to have fun, until he remembered the smoke.
Right… The experiment.
With a flap of right-wing, Manus changed his direction and headed towards the house.
He turned his head to look back at his wings.
These black wings were quite huge, each bigger than Manus himself.
He… kinda looked like a Nevermore.
That was no good. What if the humans thought he was a Grimm?
Manus concentrated for a second and turned his wings white.
It was harder to do because feathers were fundamentally different from human hair, but he still managed to do it.
With this, there shouldn't be any confusion.
"All right… Let's go."
Manus leaned forward and dived towards the house.
In a matter of seconds, Manus flew over the horde.
It seemed the horde was constituted of Beowolves only.
A Beowolf started barking at him.
Manus sent a feather into his neck.
And missed.
"Dammit… I'm not used to this."
It was hard to aim in mid-air.
With a flap of his wings, a rain of white feathers fell on the Beowolves, swiftly killing three of them.
How weak...
Manus landed in front of the entrance door, where Grimms were trying to destroy the walls.
It seemed the family was still inside the house even though it was burning.
Manus took two seconds to retract his wings, and dashed to a nearby Beowolf, sharpening his hand's nails.
He easily pierced through the Beowolf's hide.
That method was much more precise than firing feathers from the sky.
"…They're not even paying attention to me."
Manus gritted his teeth and consciously increased his blood-lust and killing intent.
The Grimm turned to him, growling aggressively.
Manus smirked. That was more like it.
It was relatively easy for Manus to decimate the horde.
"How many was that?" He wondered as he extracted his hand from the Alpha's chest. "A good twenty?"
Either way, it seemed like this body was quite powerful.
Easily penetrating through a Beowolf's hide.
Though he would probably have trouble piercing through an Ursa's bone armor in one shot.
Next time, he'd have to find a more powerful enemy. He didn't learn much from this fight.
The family came out of the house, coughing and taking large breaths.
A whole family, father, mother, and three children.
The father rushed to Manus.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, you saved us!"
Hmm… These humans were weak.
There was no use in killing them.
No need for a third experiment.
"How can I thank you enough! There has been quite an increase in Grimm activity these past few months..." The big man sighed and grasped his hand gratefully. "Are you the huntsman we requested? You came here so fast!"
"I'm no huntsman," Manus replied as he looked at the house suspiciously.
There was someone else in the house, not coming out, Manus could sense him.
Probably nothing worth worrying over... But...
"R-really? Then, whatever you need, we'll do our best to provide it to you!"
"I don't have time to laze around. I need to continue my journey." Manus still staring at the house.
Someone still inside... even though the house was still burning?
Something wasn't right here.
"B-but… Surely we can do something for you! You could stay for a day or two to rest! Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry. There is nothing you can do for me. Stop bothering me." Manus said coldly, causing the man to back off.
Walking towards the house, Manus was confused.
Why... Did he sense someone in there?
Zone? No, surely not.
He glanced at the family. They all seemed relieved, not worried that there might be someone else left inside.
Manus approached the house.
...It seemed to be coming from... the first floor?
Manus jumped on the roof.
As he climbed on top of it, his eyes landed on...
A crow.
"..."
"..."
Manus stared at this weird crow.
It was so faint... but the negative emotions...
No... The negative emotions had vanished...?
But... Where did they go? Manus swore he had felt someone.
"Croa!" The bird croaked innocently.
"Just a crow...?" Manus sighed, trying to discern the feeling from before, looking around. "I thought... That's strange."
Shaking his head, he stepped down from the roof, and...
A tile cracked under his foot.
"Gaah!"
The tile broke and Manus fell and tumbled down to the ground.
"M-mister! Are you okay?"
The parents of the family rushed to help him.
"I'm fine! I'm fine! Get off me!" Manus groaned as he stood up, annoyed. "Your roof broke under my feet!"
"W-well.. our house is burning, so it's not surprising..."
Good point.
Manus brushed off his leather jacket, still annoyed.
Looking up, he found the crow was still observing them.
"M-mister... Your jacket is pierced." The mother noticed.
"Hm?"
"In your back. Would you like me to-"
"No. It's pierced because I deployed my wings."
"Wings?"
All right. Let's not linger here.
Closing his eyes and focusing on his back, Manus deployed his wings again, causing some gasps from the family.
It was much easier than the first time because Manus had memorized the construction pattern.
"A-an angel!"
"Mom, it's an angel!"
Manus eyed the father of the family. "Grow stronger to protect your home yourself." He advised. "You're weak."
With that, Manus flexed his legs, jumped into the sky and flew away, leaving the family to deal with the fire alone.
Days later, with Manus.
"Is this it?" Manus wondered, flying over yet another village.
On his way, he had kept meditating every so often, both to rest his body and to pinpoint more precisely the direction Zone was.
Now, he estimated that he had more or less traveled all the way. Zone should be around here somewhere close.
But… This wasn't the wild lands. This was just a big village, on the frontier of Vale. Why would Zone be here?
Thinking that, Manus expanded his Grimm sense, but he still didn't feel Zone's presence.
There were humans in this village, so meditation was not an option since Manus would be disturbed by their negative emotions.
It was a case where the Grimm sense was a lot stronger than the 'Aura sense', so Manus wouldn't be able to perceive the weak calling of Zone's Aura through all the negative emotions.
"Hmmm… I should try to learn more about this village."
If Manus had to give an estimation, he'd say about 300 people lived in this village.
For a simple village, it was quite a lot.
Lands surrounding the village were farmed.
There was a large chapel in the center.
The cars seemed relatively old, and the technology overall seemed lacking.
"Hmmm…"
Confused, Manus decided to land in the village.
In the middle of the place, in front of the chapel.
People gasped and pointed fingers at him.
…Was there some kind of law regarding Faunus with wings? Manus didn't check but there should be no problem, right?
Retracting his wings into his back, he looked around curiously.
Quite a few people were staring at him, pointing fingers.
Maybe it had been a bad idea to display his wings in public?
"Young man!"
A man suddenly called Manus.
"Hm?"
"Greetings! Those are splendid wings that you have! Welcome to Ansel! Spare a coin for an old man?"
"I don't have money," Manus replied.
The man laughed good-naturally. "That's fine, that's fine! You don't seem to be around here…"
"No…"
"Hoho, what a shame… If you had money I could have told you more about this place… What a shame!"
"… I really don't have money." Manus shook his head, "But… Here, I'll do this instead."
Manus reached his hand towards the man and focused on his Aura.
With a slight touch on his chest, Manus unlocked the man's Aura.
Just like that.
With a semblance like Aura Amplification, it was a very easy thing to do.
"O-oooh! What is this? I feel great!"
"I unlocked your Aura. It can protect you, heal you, and makes you stronger overall." Manus explained. "For a homeless man like you, it will prove very useful and convenient, increasing your chances of survival in the winter."
However, Manus was slowly running out of Aura. He had to find Zone quickly.
"Indeed, indeed!" The man gaped, staring at his hands glowing blue. "I never felt so good in all my life! My god, you are just like an angel!"
"Now…" Manus leaned forward, almost menacingly. "Tell me about this place."
"Of course, of course…"
The homeless man proceeded to guide Manus through the village, providing him with all kinds of information.
But nothing seemed out of place. The village was very normal. Why would anyone want to come to this village?
The reality was, it was a crappy village.
"Goddammit." Manus cursed. "This is useless."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you…" The homeless man apologized. "If I may ask, what are you searching for?"
"A friend of mine." Manus replied, "He has light blonde hair, red eyes, pale skin, and a rather tall figure?"
"I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone fitting that description…"
"… You're useless." Manus sighed, and waved him away. "Leave me alone."
"S-sorry."
"Leave."
The homeless man hurried and left Manus alone.
Manus sighed and sat on a nearby bench, in the central square of the village.
He watched as the residents walked by, doing various things.
There was something weird, about this village, but Manus couldn't put his claw on it.
Why in the world would Zone come here?
"Hmmm… I can't see it. There's no valid reason." Manus frowned. "Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way?"
It was Zone we were talking about.
A human.
As a human, he was bound to take actions that had no sense.
For example, wanting to become a huntsman.
"It's his dream to become a huntsman."
Maybe Zone had a dream of coming to this place for some weird, unknown reason?
Maybe it was a place with so-called 'sentimental' value?
Maybe it was just a place he loved for no particular reason, just like he loved Weiss?
"Hmm..."
As Manus was thinking, a commotion could be heard on the other side of the square.
"…?" Manus frowned as some voices came to his ears.
"You old bastard! How did you unlock your Aura!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Because of you, I hurt my hand! What, you think you can fight back now?"
"…"
It seemed the old homeless man was getting bullied.
A group of kids was throwing bottles at him.
"You're useless! The only thing you're good for is drinking and lazying around! You should leave the village already, you damn parasite!"
Manus' eye twitched at that particular name, while the man kept wincing under the blows.
Though his blue Aura did its best to protect him and heal him… without Aura control to properly engage a defense, it didn't do much.
Why didn't this old man stand up and beat up these kids?
With Aura, he was clearly the stronger one.
"Stop it!"
Another child stepped in to protect the old man.
"Why are you always doing this! He hasn't done anything wrong!"
The tallest kid stepped forward with an expression full of contempt. "That old man, usually he doesn't put up a fight, but this time he used Aura on us! He's getting arrogant, I won't let that go!"
"You're sick!" The girl in front of him replied stubbornly. "There is no need for violence, leave now! Or I'll kick your butt!"
…And now, why was this girl protecting the old man?
Although she seemed reasonably older, she was alone. She was going to get beaten up.
Once again, humans made no sense.
"Hmph, you think a girl like you can stand up to us?"
Manus stood up and decided to walk over to the altercation, getting interested.
"You bitch!" The leader of the bullies attempted to slap the girl, only for her to catch his hand. However, another kid joined in and punched her in the face, making her cry in pain and fall on the ground.
"Stop," Manus called.
Everyone fell quiet as he stepped forward.
"I was the one to unlock his Aura," Manus stated, looking at the bullies' leader. "What's wrong with that?"
"U-ugh… Let's leave, guys." The leader decided.
Manus' hand flashed, gripping his shoulder.
"I heard it's good manners to answer someone when they ask you a question. Why are you beating up this man? What do you get out of it?" Manus questioned. "I'm really curious."
"A-ah!" The leader started crying while his friends were running away. "U-um, um, I-I'm sorry, I won't do it again!"
Manus blinked.
Human kids sure were easy to impress. But…
"I didn't ask for an apology." Manus corrected the kid. "I asked, why are you doing it?"
"Bwaaaaaah!"
The kid started crying.
'He's calling for other humans to handle this in his place.' Manus realized. It was just like that guy who drew a gun in the cafeteria and fired a shot at Manus, that guy had gone directly to Goodwitch afterward.
I see… When faced with someone stronger, humans call other, stronger humans for help.
In some cases, Grimms were capable of doing that, too, especially Beowolves and Nevermores.
"Stop! Let him go." The girl who had gotten punched demanded. "It's no good if you're doing the same!"
"…Is that so?" Manus wondered.
"Yes, bullying is wrong!"
"…" Manus let the kid run away and turned to the homeless man. "You should fight back."
"A-ah… If I fight back, then the parents will come for me instead…"
Manus frowned. "Then why not leave this crappy village?"
"Th-this is my village, my home. I will stay here. Thank you for saving me, mister Angel…"
"Mister what?" Manus blinked, confused, while the old man bowed to Manus and walked away.
The girl beside him sighed. "Poor old man, he's always having it rough…" She turned to him. "You can't use force to get your way, you know. Now they ran away crying and the old man will have even more problems."
"…Why did they do that?"
"...Who knows." She shrugged. "Maybe because they don't have their scrolls to play around?"
...What do you mean, they don't have scrolls?
"..."
Dismissing the thought, Manus took a good look at the girl by his side.
Short blonde hair, green eyes, a look of determination. About fifteen years old.
As expected, there was a sense of familiarity coming from this girl.
"...Hey, you. What's your name?" Manus questioned.
"Eh?" The girl blinked and crossed her arms. "You should give your name first before asking mine! Mister Angel!" She chuckled sarcastically at the name.
Fair enough, Manus supposed.
"My name is Manus." He answered. "What is your name?"
"Cherry."
"…What is your last name?"
"…Arc. Why do you ask? Doesn't matter."
"… So that's how it is…"
Cherry Arc.
So this girl was one of Zone's sisters.
And that kid had slapped her...?
Hmm.
...
I should have beaten up that kid.
Though it was probably too late now. Let's not waste any time.
Considering Cherry was only fifteen, the Arc manor shouldn't be far from here too.
So… Had Zone simply gone back to his family?
"Where is your brother?" Manus asked.
"Jaune?" She tilted her head to the side, scratching her head. "Why do you care?"
"I'm his friend."
She frowned. "…There's no way Jaune would be friends with someone like you, using force to stop kids."
"Are you sure?" Manus smiled. "After all, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."
"Ah…" Cherry's emerald eyes widened in recognition. "You're really his friend, huh?"
"Zone's gone. I was searching for him." Manus explained.
"It's Jaune." Cherry corrected. "And yeah. I know." She rolled her eyes. "It's been six months now!"
"Uh, no." Manus frowned. "He's been missing for a week now."
"What?"
"Is he not home?" Manus questioned.
"No! I don't… think so…" She mused, before turning her green eyes to him, "Why… What happened to him?"
"We were attacked," Manus explained. "It's possible that he's come home."
"…!" Her eyes widened. "You think so?"
"I've followed his tracks, and they lead here. Why else would he come to this village?"
"Then… We need to check!"
With that, Cherry dashed away.
Manus followed after her. "Hey! Where are you going!"
"Follow me, mister Angel!"
"It's Manus!"
Manus chased Cherry out of the village, and up the hill, on top of which stood a large manor he hadn't noticed before.
The Arc manor.
"Mooooooomm!" Cherry shouted as she barged in through the front door.
"This…" Manus stopped at the entrance. "So big…"
Zone's family was actually rich?
"What is it, dear?" A woman's voice came out of the house.
"Jaune, is Jaune here? His friend came for him!"
"What are you talking about dearie… Jaune has us left six months ago, you know that already."
"He's not here…?"
"No, Cherry. No…"
Huh?
What are those negative feelings rising up suddenly?
…It seemed like the mother was quite sad…
And Cherry was angry and disappointed.
"Aaaaah! Liar! Liar!"
Cherry ran out of the house and started punching Manus.
Manus blocked the tiny fists effortlessly.
"I'm not lying." He stated.
"Shut up!"
"Cherry, calm down!" The mother ran out too.
"Liar!"
"What's that, suddenly attacking someone you don't know." Manus frowned at Cherry who continued to throw tiny punches at him. "And you were lecturing me about using force just a minute ago."
This made her stop, breathing harshly. She looked down.
"A-ah, please excuse her," the mother patted Manus' arm gently. "We didn't hear about Jaune for six months so it is quite a surprise for us…"
Manus' eyes fixed the hand on his arm.
He remembered when that girl at Beacon, Reese, had grabbed his arm.
He had wanted to twist it in a painful way.
But here, somehow, it was not the same.
It was warmer.
Zone's mother smiled at him. "You look a lot like my son…Haaa." She sighed nostalgically. "You said you are one of his friends?"
"Yes." Manus nodded.
"Hmph!" Cherry walked away angrily and hid in the house.
It seemed Manus wasn't going to be friends with Cherry.
Well, it wasn't like he wanted to be friends with her or anything.
"Please come in." Zone's mother grabbed his hand. "We can talk inside around a cup of tea!"
This hand was so warm.
As Manus was led away by this hand, he couldn't help but follow.
Inside the manor, it felt so warm, too.
Ancient wooden furniture, and cosy kitchen.
Comfy sofas, along with swords and armors hanging in display.
In addition to the mother and Cherry, Manus sensed two other people in the house, upstairs.
One of them felt very...
...strange?
What is this constant stream of negative emotions coming from that human upstairs?
What a weird feeling. It was a constant, low buzzing.
"Please take a seat," Zone's mother sat him on a sofa. "Tea or coffee?"
"U-uh, okay… I mean... Coffee?"
"Coffee it is!" The mom giggled.
Uncharacteristically, Manus felt incredibly shy.
This house, this family, this mother!
Manus had been basically raised by Zone, so Zone was the person he respected the most.
But that woman was Zone's mother.
The woman that raised Zone.
In other words… In the hierarchy, she was even higher than Zone!
Manus started shifting his body awkwardly in the sofa, glancing around.
He was nervous!
"Who's that?" Someone asked from the kitchen.
"Ah, this is one of Jaune's friends, so I invited him in. We'll finally be able to hear some news!"
"Ooh, is that so!" A woman poked her head in the living room to peek at Manus. "He kinda looks like him, doesn't he?"
Long blonde hair, blue eyes like the ocean, and big round glasses.
Another sister? This was happening too quickly for Manus! Give him some more time to prepare!
The girl adjusted her glasses and decided to step out of the kitchen.
"Good afternoon, my name is Viride Arc." She tended him a hand. "You're one of Jaune's friends?"
"Yes. I'm Manus." Manus shook the hand and the girl sat in front of him. "I understand Zone isn't here?"
"Jaune." She corrected, "And no." She shook her head. "We haven't heard of him in six months."
Manus frowned. "Then… Did Ebony inform you of the current situation?"
She scoffed. "We haven't heard of Ebony in six months, either."
Oh.
"After she stole Crocea Mors to give it to Jaune, our father was furious," Viride continued with a bitter smile, "So I guess she's taking her sweet time before giving any news."
But... They had met in Ozpin's office...
"What about your father? He came to Vale and spoke to Ebony."
"Is that so?" Viride mused. "That must have been awkward!"
"Surely he must have called his family to inform you?" Manus insisted.
Viride winced. "Um... No, actually."
"Why not?"
"Ah... The thing is..." Viride scratched her head, embarrassed. "The... the CCT doesn't actually reach Ansel."
"What?" Manus widened his eyes.
"Hahaha..." Viride laughed awkwardly, scratching her head.
What the hell?
"...Who knows. Maybe because they don't have their scrolls to play around?"
Come to think of it, Manus hadn't seen anyone with a scroll in the village.
"So... This place is basically cut off from the rest of the world." Manus stated. "With no access to the online web... or even other means of long-distance communication... or even TV or radio?"
"...Yep." Viride sighed. "There was a support tower to relay the signal before, further into the wild-lands. The signal wasn't great since we were right at the limit of the signal's range, but it had been working. However... it got destroyed a few months ago by a Grimm attack."
"Really? Humans should really put more protection around these towers."
"Uuuugh, I know, right?" She threw her arms in the air. "This is so frustrating. Apparently, the Grimms directly sneaked into the station! Can you believe that? These monsters are a lot smarter than they let on."
"Indeed..." Manus frowned.
Grimms sneaking into a relay tower? Scary!
Grimms weren't smart enough to do something like that!
No, this was caused by humans.
Or perhaps... By parasites possessing humans...?
The timing certainly matched.
"The whole thing was covered up." Viride sighed dramatically. "They don't want people to panic, I guess... but because of that, I have to make a trip to the next town every other week to publish my work on the net!"
"Are they going to repair it?" Manus asked, "The relay tower."
"Maybe." Viride shrugged. "In a few years, I guess. These towers are big."
A few years? Damn, that was long.
"So, Manus…" Zone's mother finally came back with a platter of coffee cups. "Tell me, how did you and Jaune meet?"
"…He… saved my life." Manus admitted as he watched her serve them.
"Ooh~" Viride grinned.
"Really, a tall, strong boy like you?" The mom smiled.
Manus shook his head. "… No, I was pretty weak at the time…"
"I see, I see!" Zone's mom laughed, delighted. She gave Manus a cup. "He always wanted to become someone's hero."
Manus accepted the cup of coffee.
And drank it all in one go.
"A-ah, careful, don't burn yourself!" Zone's mother warned as Manus was gulping down the coffee.
Manus finished drinking and sighed contently, a little vapor coming out of his mouth and nostrils.
Viride gaped at him, eyes wide. "…Isn't that hot?"
"…Extremely." Manus nodded, unfazed.
"…"
"…"
Silence.
Manus probably did something wrong again.
"S-so! How has my boy been doing?" Zone's mother asked, "We only know he's been attending Beacon."
"He's placed eighth in the student rankings of the first semester," Manus answered.
"Eighth?!" Viride gaped. "That... dork?"
"Goodness…" The mom muttered, blushing.
"It wasn't that hard…" Manus shrugged, looking around, getting bored.
He was really starting to feel like coming here was a waste of time.
Talking to Zone's family wasn't of any use to the search if they didn't know where he was.
"Listen." Manus finally spoke up, willing to end this talk. "I understand you want to learn more about what Zone has been doing," Manus declared, "But right now, he has been reported missing to the police by Ebony, and people are actively searching for him."
Zone's mother's expression stiffened, negative emotions skyrocketing. "What happened?"
"We've been attacked, and he's been injured," Manus answered.
"How bad?"
"Uh… Enough to be suspended from school." Manus stated.
Manus wasn't sure if he was going to make Zone a new arm or not, so he didn't say anything about it.
"Jaune... Did he do something bad?" Viride asked.
"He's going to be okay, right?" The mom questioned.
Not good, not good. Their negative emotions were rising rapidly.
Let's try to be tactful.
"…I've been following a track on my own, and it lead me here, to this village. He has to be here…" Manus stood up. "Even if it's not in this house… he's somewhere close, I assure you."
"How can you know for sure?" Viride asked. "If he had come back here then surely he would have stopped by to say hello…"
"Sorry... I can't tell you why. But I know he's here," Manus said as he approached the window, through which they had a clear view of the village. "Are there any locations he could potentially visit?"
"There are several…"The mom mused.
As she started listing every place he could possibly be, Manus found none of them seemed relevant enough.
"I'll continue searching for him," Manus told them. "I can't linger too long, I'm sorry."
"No… We'll start searching, too," The mom suggested. "Oh gosh, I hope Jaune is okay…"
"I don't think you'll find him…"Manus sighed, before an idea suddenly popped in his mind.
If he's close… Then how about I lure him?
It's a bit of a long shot… But I suppose it doesn't hurt to try.
"…Can I check the garden?" Manus eventually asked, a plan forming in his mind.
"Sure…" The mother accepted.
Manus stepped outside and looked around, eyes narrowed. The garden was nothing impressive, mostly just a meadow surrounded by various plants, with trees in the corners. A smaller house made of rocks was standing on the opposite end.
"He's obviously not here…" Viride groaned. "This is boring. I'm gonna get the others."
With that, Viride headed back inside.
"I'll keep searching around for a while," Manus told Zone's mother. "Is it okay if I go back in a couple hours to inform you of what I found? I'll have to meditate here for a bit."
"…Are you sure? Then, please do your best!"
The mom seemed to trust Manus, it made him feel warm.
However… Manus wasn't actually going to meditate, it was too close to Zone's family to be effective, especially with one of the sisters upstairs radiating negative emotions like a dirty bomb.
Instead…
As the mother turned away and headed back into the house, Manus stared at her back.
He narrowed his eyes on the back of her head, his irises started glowing red.
Kill her…
Sharpen the nails, and pierce her body through the heart… Visualize it.
It would be so simple.
I could simply kill her.
Manus was consciously increasing his killing intent.
Will this work?
The mom disappeared inside the house.
...It didn't work.
Just as he was sighing in disappointment, Manus heard a sudden movement behind him.
Scrash!
Manus coughed, and vomited blood, pain surging through his body.
He lowered his eyes to his chest.
A hand had pierced through his chest.
Through his armored chest. The armor of white bones that Manus wore under his skin. Piercing two layers so easily…?
"B-bwrgrl…" Manus' mouth was filled with blood, and he couldn't speak.
"…Black blood? You are just like me." A cold voice spoke from behind him.
Manus felt himself being lifted off the ground.
In a few seconds, the scenery changed to a nearby forest.
S-so fast…
"I've pierced your left lung." The voice continued, extracting his hand from Manus' chest. "Even if you're the same as me, you're going to die in a few minutes. Now… Who are you? What do you want with my family? Were you sent by Salem?"
"Bwargh!" Manus spat blood through his mouth again.
Focusing on his chest, dark fumes started coming out of his wound, regenerating the wound.
Too slow… He needed to heal faster.
Gritting his teeth, Manus let his Aura spread into the wound.
Emitting white, ethereal smoke, the wound healed extremely rapidly, while Manus raised his hand.
In his hand, he crafted himself another lung to replace the old one and stuffed it into his chest.
Manus released a soft sigh as the organ connected itself correctly and the wound closed.
"You…" The man's voice was filled with surprise now. "…What the hell are you?"
"It's me! Me!" Manus shouted angrily and spat out the remaining blood he had in his mouth to the side. "Don't you recognize me?!"
"…No?"
"Take a guess!"
"Uh… Salem's husband?"
"…Who the hell is Salem?!"
"…I don't fucking know!"
"It's me, Manus! Manus!"
Zone narrowed his eyes. "Manus...? He wouldn't want to kill my mother!"
"It was to lure you out, you idiot!"
"E-eh?"
"…Goddammit Zone!"
Zone widened his eyes in recognition at the familiar expression.
"…Manus?!"
"Yes! Finally!"
"Y-you…"
"I've survived the fusion and created a human body for myself!"
"It really is you…"
"I've been searching for you everywhere! Why did you-"
Before he could finish, Zone swung his arm around Manus, drawing him into a hug.
"M-manus!" Zone gasped, "I thought you were dead…!"
"…?!"
Wha-?
What is this?
What's happening?
"I thought I was all alone…" Zone sniffed on Manus' shoulder. "I thought I had become… someone else… I was so... lost..."
Manus' chest tightened.
"…"
Slowly, hesitantly, Manus raised his arms… and hugged Zone back.
"You can't even manage a few days without me." He sighed with a small smile. "You're really hopeless… Zone."
A/N: Thanks for reading.
I'm guessing people won't like the fact that I'm 'adding' more parasites to the story, because it would tone down Manus' uniqueness, so to say. But, after the near-fusion at Tukson's book trade, Manus has become something incomparable to these parasites. In short, he is still completely unique, because of his bond with Jaune.
For those who don't like Manus' point of view, don't worry, Jaune's point of view is coming back next chapter.
Next chapter: in about a week. And don't shout at me in the reviews because I'm one day late, goddammit! When I say 'in a week or so', it's just a rough estimate!