Buckle up kids, this one's a fucking journey I'll tell you. Enjoy our newest member to Salem's group, a madman! HAHAHAHA! But seriously, this one is going to fry your brains. So be warned that this one will be a whole lot different from the usual stuff.
Also, to Remnant7, I have the vague idea that you are talking about my new favourite Centurion. But so far I cannot confirm nor deny anything, you just gotta wait buddy.
The land that was Salem's domain was barren and desolate, nothingness for as far as the eye could see. Grimm roamed freely as they pleased, without a single worry in the world. One such Grimm, a Beowolf, sat on the rocky ground and simply stared at the ground. Peaceful, such a beautiful sight to see. Slowly, the sound of a car engine approached. The beast perked his ears up and started to stand, only to have the front bumber of a rundown, barely held together car smash into his face and splatter it. The car swerved around a large rock and drove over another Grimm.
The car's left door suddenly flew off and clotheslined a Ursa, stunning the beast as it watched the car fly towards its master's tower. The vehicle shuddered about a half-mile away, then promptly shook itself to bits. The single living driver skidded along in his seat, the skull of a large cow bouncing alongside him. Somehow, the man skidded another five metres before stopping and standing up.
"What a day!" He said enthusiastically, walking comically towards the tower of doom that housed Salem. "What a lovely day!"
Watts was both silently celebrating and terrified. The girl that his Mistress had trusted to get the Fall Maiden's powers and the boy who begged for assistance were both dead, but that meant that his Mistress was angry because her weapon was dead. So he decided it was best to stay in his study and tinker with something, to let his Mistress calm down. His hands nimbly worked on his computer, making files and deleting them. He was so distracted with being distracted, he didn't notice the faint whistling until he paused his tapping.
"Who is whistling at this hour?" He mumbled and stood up from his seat, flicking imaginary dirt off his coat and crossing his room to the door. He opened it and peeked out, looking down the left and right halls before spotting someone turning the corner on his right. For some reason, one that he couldn't explain, Watts followed after the person. He walked quickly and walked around the corner, finding nothing but a Beowolf hunched over and prowling the hall. His eyes narrowed, there were never any Grimm in the upper levels that he knew of. "What do you think you're doing in here?" He asked as he neared the beast, which stopped and slowly turned.
Watts froze mid-step as his eyes darted over the specks of black mist that were slowly floating from the Grimm's hide, then his eyes snapped to the Beowolf's. They were closed. Suddenly the beast threw itself at Watts, causing the man to kick the Grimm aside. The corpse fell to the side and Watts saw a figure dart away around another corner, arms flailing wildly.
"I will not be outwitted by some... some idiot!" Watts stated and chased after the person, now very much interested in finding the identity of this stanger.
Hazel slowly walked through the halls of Salem's tower, heading towards his room. He knew that talking with Salem at the moment would end in pain, so he left her well enough alone. Watts would probably be working on something and Tyrian was out of the picture to talk to, so with nothing or no one to talk to, Hazel thought this was a good time for some rest. Then he looked up and saw a man sweeping the floor ahead of him, whistling a cheerful tune. The man wore a large trench coat and scruffy mantle around his shoulders and a wide brimmed hat.
"Who are you?" Hazel rumbled and the man looked up slightly, hat covering his eyes but revealing a smile.
"I'm Steve, I'm the janitor remember?" He said and Hazel stared at the man with a scowl. "Ah... I'm new?" The man tried and Hazel started towards him. "Abort the mission! Abort!" Immediately the man threw the broom and sprinted away down the hall. Hazel started to jog but stopped when the man skidded close to the ground and ran back at him, he found the reason why when Watts came running around the corner. The stranger's run was surprisingly quick, as he passed Hazel before he had the chance to stop him. The huge man turned and watched the man disappear down another hallway, then heard Watts stop next to him.
"Who was that?" Hazel asked in his deep voice and Watts shrugged.
"I have no clue, but I would love to know before our Mistress finds him." Watts stated breathlessly and Hazel realised the smaller man had a point, if she found the stranger in her halls she would be less than happy with her servants. They split up to find the man, now on edge as they now fought against the clock. The clock of Salem finding the stranger and kicking their asses. They charged after the man, not spotting the slightly open door as they ran through the hall.
Inside the room was the sleeping, curled up form of Tyrian Callows. His room was pretty bland, with only a few posts and other knick-knacks around. But he wasn't the only one in the room. Slowly walking towards the man's bed was the stranger, whose hands slowly moved towards Tyrian as he neared. The man stopped above the bed, his eyes glinting as he looked down at the peaceful faunus. Then the man reached down and tore the sheets off the bed, wrapped them around the now much awake Tyrian and dragged him out of the room.
"Wha- Who dares?! I'll have your eyes!" The faunus screamed out in rage as the stranger hauled him down the hall.
"Shh. I'm hunting wabbits." The stranger announced to Tyrian after kneeling down, then continued on his way. Tyrian's tail unraveled itself and stabbed out from the makeshift bag, startling the man. "Now now, we don't need that." He said in a disappointed tone, then kicked the bag twice before the enraged faunus burst from the bag.
"Now, heh, I'll be killing you!" Tyrian said with a grin, only to be dumbfounded when he saw a mirror-like expression on the stranger's face.
"Dog, get back in the cage!" The man demanded, pointing a finger at the destroyed bag before giggling. "Can't do that now!" He stated, Tyrian decided that this was enough rambling and jabbed with his bladed gauntlet. The stranger took the offered attack like a handshake and shook the surprised man's hand. "The name's Chirpy friend!" He introduced before flipped backwards and smashing his boots into Tyrian's face, then sprinting off. Tyrian gasped angrily, wiping his face with a hand and snarling.
"You have made a GRAVE mistake!" He stated and charged after the stranger, a scowl on his face. But that changed, once again, to surprise as he was yanked into the air by something. He looked dow- up and saw that his feet were bound by rope, hung over a metal ring and weighed down by a rock. Tyrian screamed in rage and cut the rope, landing on his face and grumbling.
Watts and Hazel wandered the halls quickly, hearing the distant angry screams of their insane comrade. They soon found the familiar walls of their home now unnerving, as every echo could've been them or the stranger. They heard chuckling ahead, so slowed their approach and walked cautiously towards it. Watts reached the corner first and slowly peered around it, his eyes narrowing when he spotted the coated figure hunched over in the middle of the hall. Hazel reached the corner and spotted the man too, but was smart enough to see a trap.
Watts gestured to Hazel to move forwards, but the huge man remained where he was. Instead he pulled out a small dust crystal and tossed it down the hall, both men watched it slide across the floor until it hit the man's shoe. Instantly, the cloaked figure erupted outwards, chains slammed into the walls, roof and floor with blinding speed. Hazel cocked an eyebrow and looked down at Watts, who was intrigued by the trap.
"Fascinating." He murmured as Hazel walked forwards, his footsteps thudding on the stone floor. Hazel approached the strung-up cloak with extreme caution, noticing the chains had tiny but numerous spikes along them. Suddenly, the chains retracted into the cloak, whipping across Hazel's arm. He barely flinched as his Aura flashed, meaning he saw the grinning stranger hiding behind a door.
"Found him." Hazel rumbled and walked towards the door, which closed quickly when its occupant noticed the hulking form of a man approaching. Watts hurried to the man's side and smirked.
"About time, this little chase has gone on for long enough." Watts stated and opened the door, walking in with roaming eyes. It was a storage room, one of many within Salem's home. Boxes were stacked everywhere, making the space tiny and even more unnerving for the two men searching. Chuckling echoed around them, like a hundred insane men in an asylum. "Enough of this! Show yourself!" Watts ordered and the laughter stopped, now only silence reigned.
"Negative." Was the reply, a deep sounding but monotone voice from the dark.
"Who are you?" Hazel asked and looked to his left, looking for movement.
"The other one calls me Slate, I am Slate." The voice answered, sounding like it came from Watts' left.
"Why are you here?" Hazel asked, his fists clenching as he stared at a shadow that moved slightly. He lunged forwards and slammed a fist into the shape, only for it to move and dash past his face. Hazel locked eyes with the stranger known as Slate, only to find a pair of dark, road goggles staring back. Slate leapt towards Watts and knocked him down before sprinting out the door, leaving the pair in his wake.
"This is getting annoying." Watts commented as he got to his feet, wiping his coat of dust. "However, we have a name. Granted it's only his first, but we can work with that to see who he really is." Watts said, only then noticing Hazel's thinking stare. "What is it, Hazel?"
"That laughter, it came from a different voice." He noted, looking back at the crates around them. "Not from that man."
"Well do you want to wait here and find this mysterious different voice? Or would you care to help in finding that one?" Watts asked sarcastically pointing out the door, then without waiting for the answer quickly walked out into the hall and started left. The huge man followed his companion, but turned right. More ground covered that way.
Tyrian charged down the endless hallways, eyes darting everywhere as his arms pumped along. His grin, which was the usual for him, was now an angry snarl. His prey had disappeared, but he'd find it, he always did. He may not be hunting for his goddess, but so help anyone who stood in his way... Suddenly Tyrian slammed into somebody, sending both people onto their backs.
"Ha ha! I have you now!" Was Tyrian's first words after he flipped back onto his feet, his weapons ready. Only for him to realise who he had bumped into. "Oh, it's just you." He mumbled as Watts got to his feet.
"This has been the second time in five minutes." He stated with a huff, glaring at Tyrian. "Are you looking for 'Slate' as well?" He asked, getting a confused then evil grin in return.
"Is that his name? I though it was Chripy!" Tyrian sang cheerfully, Watts sighed as the insane faunus giggled. "Oh yes, I'm looking for him after he put me in a bag!" Tyrian snarled and Watts smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"Is that so?" He asked, amused.
"YES!" The faunus exclaimed waving his arms above his head, eyes wide and wild. The pair were interrupted by a faint chuckled, sending Tyrian into a rage. "Back again!? This time I'll have you!" He yelled and ran towards a closed door, slamming it open. He blinked in surprise as a crouching man stared back, wearing a familiar wide brim hat.
"Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour, Gaben?" The stranger asked quickly, a wide grin on his face. The faunus in front of him roared and punched forwards, knocking the man back into the room. The stranger rolled till he stopped in a cross legged position, clapping like a dad would do to a son. "Good hit, friend!" He cheered as Tyrian leapt into the room, Watts moved to follow but the door slammed shut in his face. The man blinked in surprise and reached for the doorknob, but before he could wrap his fingers around it the doors burst open... or more like, blew off its hinges and send him flying into the opposite wall.
"I... almost had... him." Tyrian murmured from on top of Watts, who was trapped under the door that the faunus lay upon. The stranger stepped forwards and sighed happily, clicking his knuckles.
"That was mediocre at best, mate." The man stated, spitting to the side with a smirk. "Better luck next time!" He said cheerfully before starting off down the hall, only to bump into a large shape. "Oh fuck." Was the man's cheerfully spoken words before Hazel smashed a fist into his chest and sent him flying back, landing with a groan.
"Hazel! We need him in one piece to interrogate!" Watts snapped from under the door and stunned Tyrian, Hazel grunted as he walked towards the downed man. Only for him to once again roll back into a cross legged position, but now he had an emotionless scowl instead of a smirk.
"You will regret that." He stated and jumped up to his feet, turning and walking away. "Especially when your boss wakes up." The stranger said over his shoulder, causing the three other men to freeze.
"Oh no." Watts simply said.
"Our goddess!" Was Tyrian's imput.
"Stop him." Hazel rumbled and charged after the man, not waiting as the other two struggled to get up. Nobody had time to question the two different voices from the same man, because they had to find him before he found Salem. If they didn't well, then there'd be hell to pay. Soon Hazel lost sight of Slate, or whoever the stranger was, but did not stop his run. He skidded around the corner of a hall that his mistress' room dominated, just spotting the back of the man entering the only door on the hallway. He quietly, but quickly approached the doorway, hearing both Tyrian and Watts behind him.
"So... who goes in?" Watts asked and Tyrian looked surprised.
"We cannot enter our goddess' chambers-"
"Do you want her to be angry, Tyrian?" Watts snapped and the faunus looked away, hurt on his face. Hazel grunted and slowly pushed the door open, ignoring the pair. They all were silent as the door opened, letting a dim light fill the room. Inside was a beautiful rug, crimson in colour with a black trim, covering most of the wooden floor. A set of drawers and a large closet to the right while the left was bare, leaving only the massive bed in the centre. Under its black covers was their mistress, but above them on the headboard was the stranger, who was squatting and staring down at the pale woman with a small smile.
"Get down-!" Tyrian began to demand, but the strange man raised a single finger to his lips in a 'shh' gesture. He moved along the wooden board to the sleeping woman's right, now with a growing grin on his face. He spread his arms out towards the three men, in a welcoming gesture.
"We need to be careful." Watts stated in a hiss, looking at his companions then back at Slate-Chirpy- the stranger. He was the first to step into the room, low to the ground and arms spread out to balance his tiptoeing (That's an actual word.) as he took another step. Tyrian was next, crawling along the floor silently with a scowl. When Hazel tried to enter, his foot caused the wooden floor to creak slightly, he wisely stepped back. Tyrian and Watts neared the halfway point of the room, that was when the stranger moved again. The man slowly raised a finger and shook both it and his head, either a warning or a taunt. Eitherway, the pair continued their approach, reaching the end of Salem's bed.
They were even more cautious now, as they crawled alongside the bed and towards the stranger. The man was now furiously shaking his finger and head, his grin threatening to tear his face a bit. The two loyal servants reached out towards the man, now right next to Salem. Only for the man to yank a massive boombox out of his coat, slam it on his shoulder and press play. That was when all hell broke loose.
Ear blasting music thundered through the room, causing it to shake. Salem woke with an enraged scowl and rose from her bed. Tyrian and Watts both fell back and tried to leap at the stranger, who calmly jumped over them and landed before Salem's bed then sprinted towards Hazel. The massive man got ready to grab the man, but the stranger slid between his legs with a loud laugh. The man took a bow before the assembled group, before saluting and disappearing down the hall. The three servants slowly turned to their Mistress, who glared at them.
"You have a lot of explaining to do." Were her only words.
Salem, Watts, Hazel and Tyrian walked through the winding halls towards their meeting chambers. Salem had gotten a short version of the story, but wanted more, that meant finding the stranger that was known as both Slate and Chirpy. From Hazel, she figured that the man was here for something, because he didn't seem to be fighting them. That was when Watts put in the trap, Tyrian put his own two bits in as well. So Salem, with her wisdom, labeled the man as insane.
The doors to the meeting room came into view, opening upon Salem's command. The large doors creaked as they moved, swinging into the room and revealing the table and chairs. The men quietly followed their Mistress, their eyes scanning every inch of the room for the mysterious stranger. After they took their seats, Salem took a long look around her gathered servants then directly at the twin doors across the table.
"Do not hide out there, enter." She ordered loudly, there was silence for a minute before the doors burst open. The stranger did jazz hands with a wide grin then walked towards the table, causing Salem's followers to rise from their seats. The pale woman raised a gentle hand and the men sat back down, she looked at the man with interest. Whoever he was, he dressed to travel.
He wore a black padded vest under his well-worn, tanned trench coat, covered with a black scarf. Over the coat's shoulders was a torn brown mantle, which fluttered around his upturned collar. Though it more loosely hung around his left shoulder, exposing a black shoulder pad made from the same material as his vest. His pants were muddy, but were still clearly once a pair of blue jeans. On his feet were a pair of, what appeared to be, military grade boots. Then to top it off what the wide brimmed hat on his head, similar to either a preacher or Amish hat, and a pair of dusty goggles. His exposed face was dirty, with scars running up under the goggles and a rough goatee over his grinning mouth.
The stranger slowly neared the end of the table, when he did he placed both hands on the purple surface and leaned over it, not once breaking eye contact with Salem. Then he spoke, as cheerfully as ever.
"I want a job."
Guarantee that you'll all be wondering what the hell is up with this guy? I'll try my best to explain Mr. Slate/Chirpy. So this boy has a split personality, one crazy and idiotic and the other serious and stoic, but he is basically me but with less resistance to being a fucking idiot. So its me! He'll be important in these coming chapters, the next of which is going to be moving the plot along at a faster pace. I'll give you a hint, JNPR comes back! Cheers.