Edge of Life.

Chapter Twenty four

Once More

Kira gripped Mortems left arm tightly as the blond haired boy screamed in obvious agony, she herself in a wheel chair and face covered in dark bruises. But they had nothing on her only friend, he was an absolute mess. Argentums deep sapphire blue eyes were freely leaking both tears and blood, and a deep cut above his slightly singed hair was oozing blood and matting his golden hair.

Mortem wailed in horrid pain once again, Kira gently rubbed his left arm in the hopes of calming him "shhh… its okay 13" she said soothingly "its okay… the pain will pass, im right here."

Mortem, or 13 as it were, was currently laying on a clean silver operating table without his customary minotaur armour. He was completely nude and had numerous scars across his pale, yet well defined and toned chest. The largest of which being a long gash that ran from his left hip to his right shoulder.

But Mortems currant state of nudity didn't matter to the young man in the slightest, his mind was consumed by the pure agony that spread like fire across the right side of his body. A tall thin skeletal machine stood over him and worked diligently over his most grievous injury to date: having his arm ripped off.

The severed limb was about to be reattached, but the auto doc couldn't do that quite yet. First it had to remove any foreign materials such as sand or dirt that may have gotten into the wound, then it had to tear away the destroyed muscle and ruined bone. And most painful of all the auto doc then had to fuse what remained of the bone to a sturdy metal rod which would act as the replacement bone.

And only then could the arm be reattached.

The un-armoured Mortem screamed in pain again as the medical robot pulled out the torn muscles, the pain was unreal, Mortem would gladly take being riddled with bullets over this. Instantly Kira was at his side whispering soothing words "I know it hurts" she cooed "its okay im right here, just squeeze my hand"

And Solus did so with all his might.

Even if he were fully aware and in control he wouldn't be able to hurt her at all just by squeezing her hand. Even if he were wearing his armour Mortem would be hard pressed to compete with Kira in terms of raw strength, she had gotten the full upgrade years ago, and just like the director had promised her already great power had increased to absurd levels.

It was a testament to the creators of android 15 that they had managed to build something powerful enough to injure the overpowered girl.

But none of that mattered, all the boy could feel was the blinding pain of ruined bone fragments being plucked from the bloody stump of his right arm. As he screamed the edge of his perception felt the soft soothing touch of Kira, her kind words slowly quelled the painful screams that echoed through the facility. His love for her had never been greater as she slowly whispered quiet comforts into his maimed body, he felt as her aura washed over him in a comforting embrace.

After what felt like years but was little more than a few moments, Mortem felt the machine re-attach the arm. It was agony, but he didn't scream, not this time. The soothing words of Kira had calmed Mortem enough for clear thought to take over again. And with such clarity of mind Mortems thoughts turned towards the being that had caused him such injuries – Android 15, whatever the hell Atlas had been thinking when they had created a machine of such power he would never know, and frankly he was inclined to kill the scientists responsible.

When he was whole again that is.

Agony rippled through his body once more, but with a clearer mind Mortem was able to apply the first element of the directors training – pain is an illusion. Mortem was aware of the pain, aware of the feeling it should cause, but he detached himself enough that only his awareness of it existed and not the actual feeling.

Even through his seething hatred of the director Mortem could find it in himself to respect the man, his intelligence was just as much a weapon as his subjects had been.

Suddenly the flickering hologram of Summer appeared next to Kira, she held the emotionless face that all the copies did, but Mortem knew that she only came to him out of concern. "worried question: oh 13, why do you continue to do this to yourself?"

Kira, whom had never really gotten on with Summer as well as Mortem had, battered her free hand at the pale imitation and said "begone Summer this is a time for the living, not the dead." Then she went back to quietly comforting Mortem.

"Sorrowful statement: I never wanted this for you, I never wanted any of this for you." If Summer was hurt or offended by Kira's words then she didn't show it. Not that she could anyway.

Mortems thoughts turned to his utter failure with Summer, but unlike a few years ago when the guilt was fresh Mortem was able to dismiss the lingering negative emotions with practiced ease. "Kira" Mortem croaked before Kira could get a word in edge wise. "Summer" a harsh cough racked his muscular frame "please don't"

He could hardly tolerate their arguments when he was at is best, as it was now Mortem felt like he was dying, so this was not what he needed.

Both females hushed upon hearing Mortem make a sound that wasn't a scream, Kira nodded her head and acknowledged that Mortem probably didn't need to hear this right now. Summer did the same, with holographic form shimmering slightly as she did so.

The argument between the two had been going on for years now, Mortem was fully aware that both ladies only wanted what they thought was best for him. Kira wanted him to get the full upgrade like her, something both he and her realised that would make him nigh unstoppable in his armour. Summer wanted him to refrain from anything the director had wanted to do, going so far as to say that he should cease doing bounties and move into one of the kingdoms and try for a normal life.

Mortem hated the director with a burning passion, the man had stolen his freedom, which was something Mortem would never forget. So anything related to the directors wishes left a bitter taste in his mouth, so getting the upgrade was out for him, despite how powerful he knew he could become.

But what Summer suggested… it was too much. A normal life was something Mortem could never do, he could feel the call for blood and violence in his bones. He relished in the conflict, the pain he caused, the pure chaos he created. Violence was a part of who Mortem was, it came as easy to him a breathing, there was nothing more exhilarating than the hunt, the adrenaline, the pure lust both he and Kira felt after such violence.

It was just… beautiful.

It was an ugly thing Ruby decided. The way Solus fought, his moves weren't graceful, everything was intended to end the fight as fast as he could. Ruby noticed this as Solus viciously stabbed at the ursa's face, there wasn't a moment's hesitation, he just did it. All this was observed as she was charging said ursa in the hopes of aiding her obviously wounded partner. With a battle cry her scythe gouged at deep cut into the leg of the massive beast, it roared and howled in pain, its paws also swatted at its face in an attempt to remove Solus.

The Merc, seeing he was about to be mauled jumped from the beast and onto the ground near Ruby, when he hit the ground a pained grimace covered his features, but it was quickly covered by a determined expression.

Rubys already high levels of worry about Solus rose upon seeing his maimed face up close, the younger girl was hard pressed to find anywhere on her partners face that wasn't swollen or bruised. Just what had happened to him to put him in this kind of state? And how bad was it if he still looked like this over a week later?

"Dodge!" Solus suddenly yelled, Ruby had been too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice the angry and now injured ursa swipe at both young hunters, Solus evidently had been paying attention.

Ruby jumped backwards, moving clearly out of range of the attack and fully expecting Solus to do the same. But he didn't, he tried too. Something was wrong, he was moving far slower than normal, Solus couldn't clear the attack quickly enough and was battered to the side with bone crushing force. The whole ordeal sending him tumbling to the ground in front of one of the other ursa's.

The other ursa stood before the fallen Solus and roared in challenge as it swiped downwards and attempted to crush the merc. Despite the obvious pain Solus was in he was able to roll onto his back and hold his sword up, making the ursa impale its own paw on the blade.

Ruby tried to help, but she had her own problems to deal with, namely the other two ursa that had their sights locked firmly onto her. The uninjured one took a lumbering step towards the crimson clad girl, ready to inflict suffering onto its human prey.

But it never got the chance.

Before Ruby had done anything, before she had even moved, a thunderous explosion engulfed the back of the single healthy ursa, the beast staggered forward and almost collapsed. But before it could right itself a scream of utter rage cried out over the clearing, followed immedently by a flaming Yang crashing into the back of the beast and peppering it with both fire and bullets.

Blake quickly made herself known too, by throwing her weapon into the ground next to the still pinned Solus with the blackened blade digging into the ground next to the merc. Solus saw the opportunity to escape his currant predicament and quickly grasped onto the black cord that connected the blade and gave a slight tug signalling Blake to pull him out of danger of being crushed.

It almost worked, Blake, being ever the pessimist had expected Solus to weigh quite a bit, despite the fact that the merc was as thin as a whip. But even expecting a struggle the raven haired girl was literally staggered at the mans weight, he barely cleared the massive ursa's fist, and she almost face planted at the staggering amount of strength it took her to move the heavy male.

She tried to rectify her mistake by providing the merc with covering fire so he could move away from the pissed off beast. But obviously something was wrong, because despite his best efforts to scramble away he was still very slow, and the ursa promptly kicked him across the small clearing and through a few trees.

With her sharp cat like eyes Blake could see Solus spit out a large wad of saliva and blood, but otherwise he seemed fine, so she focussed her efforts on the beast before her.

Surprisingly in the brief time all that had taken Ruby and her sister were able to kill 'their' ursa and with the aid of team PRWN were engaging the first bear like grimm that Solus had stabbed and began attacking it. Blake quickly got Rubys attention and gestured to the downed Solus, a look of panic covered the young girls face as she used her semblance to speed out of the fight and towards her downed partner. Briefly sending Blake a thankful smile as the elder girl took her place.

"Solus are you okay?!" Ruby all but screamed at the fallen mercenary.

Solus, whom had dragged himself against a sturdy looking tree gave a slightly wet sounding cough then spat out some more blood and said "yeah, fan-fucking-tastic Ruby, never better."

Ruby had the humility to realise that it was a stupid question to ask, but had other, more pressing matters to attend too. Such as the massive grimm that both teams were trying to kill.

"Okay, you just stay here, if you can try and snipe the ursa" Ruby said ignoring that Solus looked ready to pass out.

Solus drunkenly brought his sniper rifle out from his belt and took aim, Ruby really didn't want to leave him, but she knew that despite the fact that he was injured he could take care of himself and she was needed with the others.

The battle was won, thanks to the slightly questionable aim of Solus and the lucky timing of Professor Goodwitch. The elder hunter had not been pleased with Solus and his sudden departure, but for whatever reason had decided against commenting.

Both the other teams had quickly converged on Solus after the death of the last ursa, smothering him in questions about his health and where the hell he had been and why he left. Solus had surprisingly been almost… polite. Well not quite polite, he had promptly told PRWN to fuck off and mind their own business, but to his team he had been… more laid back.

Currently he was limping towards the bullhead that would take them to Beacon with the aid of his sword. Ruby constantly tried to help him, but he 'firmly' told her not too. That he didn't want help, or pity.

"want a hand onto the bullhead?" Yang asked when they had finally gotten to the airship.

Solus looked sour for a moment and although he hated it, nodded in acceptance. The strong blonde girl pulled him up onto the airship with a muttered "damn you're heavy"

Once all the members of team RSYB had settled into their seats and the aircraft had gotten moving, Ruby finally decided to ask about the proverbial elephant in the room.

"So Solus… what… err, happened?" she asked ever so tactfully.

She and the other girls had a suspicion of course; his injuries were just too coincidentally timed with the arrival of Mortem and the highway battle that took place. So there must be some connection.

Solus took a deep breath and closed his eye, slowly, tiredly, he said "I fought a battle I couldn't win."

The three girls shared a look, that statement pretty much confirmed what they suspected, Solus must have fought with Mortem before the silver behemoth had been pushed into a retreat. It was a wonder he was still alive, even injured as Solus was, that's still a testament to his skills if he was able to battle the Slayer of Independence and survive. It was a feat that not many others could boast about, Mortem was a feared man, both for his power and his ability to create utter chaos even in the most orderly of situations.

"Ruby" the merc said suddenly, his eye alight with purpose "I have a gift for you" he slowly brought a plain cloth wrapped item off his back, holding it out to Ruby, with an almost Pleading look.

I will not fail Summer, not again.

A/N

Which begs the question, how exactly did he fail Summer in the first place? I wont tell you, not yet anyway, but its gonna be big. Something most of you have probably realised by now is that Solus knows quite a few game changing secrets, and… well… you'll see.

This chapter may have felt a bit rushed, because it kinda was on my part, I tried to cut out the unimportant bits such as the fight, but it still feels… poorly paced. Regardless, next chapter the teams will probably be back at Beacon, and the simulation for Blake is ready, so that will be a laugh to write.

So this chapter I showed the slightly more tender side of Kira, I tried to show that despite some of the things she may say to Mortem, she does care for him. Its not quite the mushy teen love most writers go for, its… almost a level of dependency between two horribly damaged young people.

Speaking of pairings, a friend of mine whom I have been having a delightful PM conversation has been asking after what the main pairing of this story is. Yes, you read that correctly, there will be a Solus x ? pairing down the road. The only hint im giving is this: the 'lucky' girl in question has been in, or mentioned, in every chapter except chapter 2. beyond that I wont tell you, work it out yourselves.

Onto the reviews…

Lord Corvo Attano:

Thanks for reviewing

Haha yes im aware that im rather vague most of the time, I always find it amusing to watch other people come to their own conclusions. I dislike stories that give all the answers in the first few chapters and the 'heroes' succeed in everything they do. Everything in this is a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, cloaked in mystery haha.

MrHoneyXBadger:

Thanks for reviewing.
He is rather good at making an entrance isn't he? Even if he is fairly suck-y afterwards.

eugenio4079:

Thanks for reviewing.
Just... no. No offence, but that is just... no. Im leaning towards a realistic kind of story, meaning that there is no God and Jaune isn't special compared to anyone else, just another random person trying to survive.

Fanfic shuffling:
Thanks for reviewing.
Nope. Its still just because he feels he owes Summer, he cares little for the others. At this point Solus still would hardly care if Yang or Blake died, he'd be upset if Ruby died or was injured but that's only due to his debt to Summer, not because of Ruby herself.
As for Weiss, well, you'll see soon enough...

Nik41:

Thanks for reviewing.

CDRL will get what they deserve in the end, just wait.

And indeed, Solus will have a bad time, but what do you think Blake could put together? Its not like she knows that Mortem was injured.

Blaiseingfire:

Thanks for reviewing.
She and the others deserved it. Winters death is simply an attempt to right a wrong, but two wrongs don't make a right. Yes i realise that's quite... direct. But im serious when i say that Jaune was in the right when he killed them, what the Schnee's did was beyond any crime Jaune ever committed.

The American Wolf:

Thanks for reviewing.
I admit i was in a bit of a rush this week; i did the best i could though. Yeah, don't worry it will be touched on soon. Solus is good at what he does, but he's not perfect, he will be caught out at some point.

Neutral40:

thanks for reviewing.
Yes, but not without good reason. He did what he thought was justice.

Jaune age 1 to 8: with parents at Dorme. fly's into rage and kills Grimm, nearly dying in the process. Has two eyes.
GAP
Age 10: Known as subject 13, meets Summer. Has two eyes
Age 10: Summers death, her mind is copied into the system along side every other subject.
Age 10: 13 delivers Summers cloak to young Ruby.
Age? subjects 13 and 8 conduct a political assassination in Mistral. Has two eyes.
Age? injured child raids military complex. Has two eyes
GAP
Age 13: Known as Argentum Mortem. Battle of fort Independence. Looses left little finger. Has two eyes.
Age?: televised death of councilman Anderson at the hands of the Red Lady.
Age 14: Fights android 15, arm torn off, nearly dies. has two eyes
Age? impaled by Schnee.
Age 15: wanders newly formed glass deserts looking for something. Has one eye.
Age? meets and defeats Penny in Vacuo.
Age? meets and saves Sun in Vacuo
Gap
Age 16: Known as Solus Superstes. Returns to the kingdoms. Has one eye
Age 17: presumably kills Roman, recruited by Ozpin for Beacon.

I hope that clears things up. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Don't forget to leave a review!