START OF CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Menargerie...
He coughed as smoke clung to the inside of his lungs, his head pounding. Brafez opened his eyes, the scorched walls of an alleyway meeting him. What had happened? He had been inside a Bullhead with Ariad and Olivia and Pandora when an alarm had sounded and then...he ended up here. Wherever 'here' was, he had no clue. Out of the smoke came a figure wrapped in robes, his bulky form distorted underneath the mass of cloth and fabrics.
"W-Who are you?" Brafez inquired, struggling to his feet. The figure stopped a few feet away, taking out a glass filled with pitch-black liquid.
"Drink this," The figure ordered, throwing him the glass. Brafez caught it, but didn't drink it.
"Answer my question." He replied, holding the glass off to the side. The figure said nothing, but removed the hood around its head, revealing an organic-looking knight helm. Through the cracks Brafez saw blood-red eyes, light around the edge. "You're not any kind of Grimm I've seen before. Barsküld? Or...one of Mangeele's creations?"
"The second." The figure replied, his helmet's visor raising up and revealing an exact copy of Brafez's face, except with black hair.
"You're a clone," Brafez stated, bowing slightly in a show of brotherhood.
"I am what I am. Perhaps a synthetic Barsküld, or something else. But enough talk. Your girlfriend needs you."
"Where is she?!"
"Drink first. Then, follow me." With that, the clone snapped his visor shut and pulled his hood back up, turning around and walking away. Brafez shook his head but chugged the glass, feeling his energy coming back to him as Dark coursed through his veins.
"As you were saying?"
"You looked to the sky yet?" Brafez looked up, and saw a grey streak of color flying through the air, followed by a golden line.
"Did...Did I fall into an anime? Nevermind that, but is Ariad running?"
"IT'S A TACTICAL RETREAT!" Ariad called down from above, throwing herself from one building to the next. "Now Xinhua, why didn't you tell me I'd be fighting an anime battle?"
"I have no clue as to what that is, but I'm sorry." The shade replied, floating after the irrate lynx faunus.
"Apologies accepted. As for what an anime battle is, -HOLY SHIT!" Ariad exclaimed, throwing herself forwards to just barely dodge a golden wing bisecting a building in half. After a swift recovery, she spun, throwing waves of infrasound at her assailant. Though it seemed to do nothing, a few seconds later the attacks stopped, the golden line breaking off and flying away. Ariad took a deep breath, sitting down for a second. "So, anyway, an anime battle is when attacks that would normally kill someone are just shrugged off with no consequence. Anyway, how did you beat this asshole last time?"
"I didn't."
"Wait. What?"
"After a three day fight, he poisoned me in my sleep."
"Three days!? This means I can go all out!"
"Well, before you do that, I suggest you let me take over."
"Okay. Just remember, this body isn't as durable as your old one. So, try not to, you know, kill me?"
"Noted. I've been waiting for this moment, this final rematch, this-"
The golden line returned, and slammed directly into Ariad's waist, sending her flying through a ridiculous amount of buildings, billboards, and anything else that happened to get in her path before Xinhua took over, landing expertly and stopping the golden line dead in its tracks with her hands. As the dust settled, two bat wings plated in golden armor drew back to their master, no expression on his face.
"Xinhua Greyhound. Last time we met, I showed you mercy. This time, none shall be spared." The giant stated with a voice like granite, rough and patterned.
"Ameadius Demarcio. Long time no see. Are you prepared to finally meet your maker?"
"Only when the last drop of Greyhound blood spills in the dirt-"
"Well you're going to have a tough time doing that!" Came the voice of Olivia, from down in the streets. After a few seconds, her and Pandora reappeared behind Ariad-controlled-Xinhua, and then Brafez landed next to them.
"If she's going to fight, then you better be damned well ready to face all of us." Brafez snapped, Fenrir drawn at the ready.
Ameadius looked at all of them, his beady red eyes tracing their weapons and armor before he smiled and stood up, his wings unfurling.
"All right then," He stated with a calm demeanor, crouching low to the ground. "Bring it."
At the Kanasia estate...
Nielsen rapped his knuckles against the doorframe, a smile on his face. "Oh children! Guess who's home?"
After a few seconds, the ground started rumbling, followed by the pitter-patter of children's feet against a hard ground. Indiana watched as what appeared to be a mass of multicolored hair tackled the cyborg to the ground, squealing with joy and delight.
"PAPA!" Echoed the voices of twelve children, all very pleased to have their father home at last. Indiana didn't think she'd ever seen him so happy before, his eyes shining beneath his children's bodies.
"Hello...my children...could your papa breathe for a second?"
"Okay Papa!" The children chorused, scrambling off of the poor boy.
"Thank you-"
"Who's that?" One of the children asked, pointing at Indiana. Nielsen chuckled and ruffled his blonde hair, making the young boy squeal.
"She, my little Jakobi, is a friend of daddy's. Why don't you say hello?"
"Hi!" Jakobi said, giggling.
"Why hello there young man. You're Jakobi, right?" Indiana inquired, holding out her hand. He wrapped his hands around her finger and shook it, smiling.
"Is she our new momma?" A raven-haired girl asked from the back of the crowd, standing on her tippy-toes so she could see the new arrival.
"E-Eh? W-Well..."
"I don't like our mommas. Sometimes they don't feed us-"
"Itzal? You would'nt be lying, would you?" Nielsen asked with a defensive and worried tone, his hand on the hilt of his dai katana. His third son shook his head, Itzal's white mane whipping a few of his siblings in the face. "I see... Indiana, would you look after my children for a second?"
"Of course. I would be delighted to."
"Thank you. Itzal, who hasn't been feeding you?"
"C-C-C...Caedo?" Itzal responded, not sure if he was saying that right.
"Caedo Argonisi? You mean, the cook hasn't been feeding you? I'll take care of this. Itz, are you hungry?"
"Yes. I have the best brothers and sisters ever. They give me their food even though I never ask."
"Now that's the family I know." Nielsen muttered, smiling appreciatively at his sons and daughters. "Speaking of family, I wonder how Sis is doing?"
Menagerie...
"Hold still, you quivering asshole!" Olivia exclaimed, smashing the ground where the winged man had been milliseconds before. Ameadius cackled, slamming his right wing into her neck and drawing blood.
"Such a descriptive mind you've got there."
"If I wanted witty rhetoric, I'd talk to my godfather." She muttered, swinging her hammer around with all her strength and catching him in the leg, leaving behind a bloody impression of her hammer's head. Ameadius grunted, reacting by drop kicking the girl into the horizon. Pandora roared, swiping at the bat with her claws.
"You're obviously not a fighter." The bat man muttered, easily ducking and dodging the Grimm woman's viscious attacks.
"That doesn't matter as long as I'm willing to protect the ones I love!" Pandora exclaimed, her claws catching him in the chest but leaving nothing more than a scratch.
"Then you can die with her!" Ameadius replied, drawing one wing back and crouching low to the ground. As the Grimm woman pounced at him, he threw his wing forward with all his might, and would have disintegrated Pandora had Olivia not flown back to her with the fury of a thousand suns and punched Ameadius right in his chest.
"NOBODY hurts my Pandora!" The furious cat faunus declared with rage, and also somehow managing to add some sweetness when she said Pandora's name. In addition to putting an imprint of her fist into his chest, the force of her punch also sent the ancient man flying away. With a simple flap of his wings, he was rightened again. He sniffed the air, searching for his enemy's scent before a lightning bolt caught him in the back.
Ameadius gave a shuddering cry of pain, falling to the ground as Brafez stormed out of an adjacent alleyway, Fenrir at the ready. The bluenette swung his axe, and the bat man countered with a slash from his wings.
"You remind me of a fighter from long ago," Ameadius stated, blocking Fenrir's blade with the flat of his wings.
"Do I now?" Brafez inquired, twirling his axe as he effortlessly rolled under one of the bat man's wings to strike at his exposed back. The vampire bat smirked and slapped his wings shut, intent on crushing the young man. But before such a fate could befall him, Brafez tore the skin off his left arm and reformed his wrist into a massive graphene blade, swinging it at Ameadius' left wing and cutting it in half. Or, at least he would have, had Ameadius not spoken two distinct words.
"Za Warudo." Ameadius uttered, time screeching to a halt. The vampire bat faunus retracted his wing, before slamming one into Brafez's side, shattering ribs and crushing organs as time resumed, the young man crying out in pain as he was launched into the air from the impact. Brafez, however, had a few tricks in his side. Mid-cry, Brafez spun until his injured side faced Ameadius, and then ejected his punctured organs and broken bones at the bat faunus like a living blunderbluss.
The bat faunus raised his gilded wings in defense, only to cry out in pain as the bones and organs went straight through the protective casings, reducing his wings to bloody flaps. Ameadius screeched his vile words and stumbled away as time stopped once again.
"I seem to have greatly underestimated these individuals. No more. Once I regain my strength I shall-" The bat faunus stopped on the side of a bridge as a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hey bitch! Where ya going?!" Ariad inquired, standing between him and the rest of the city.
"I don't have time for this! Za-"
"ZA WARUDO! TOKI GA TOMERU!" Ariad exclaimed, her finger bending uncomfortably as it pointed at Ameadius. Then, for once in his life, a feeling of pure terror overtook him as time stopped for him. In the frozen time, Ariad gave control of her body to Xinhua, the shade leering as she pulled out two massive sickles.
"And now, Ameadius, you shall finally pay for your crimes against my dynasty. NINE SILVER TONGUES!" Xinhua drew herself low to the ground, nine cat tails rearing up, each bearing a sickle that spun in hypnotic motions. She threw herself forwards, each sickle rending and tearing flesh until she stepped back from her work, storing away her sickles. As time resumed, Ameadius fell to his knees, blood covering his copper skin.
"You know it's not that easy," He stated to his ancient foe, blood leaking from his thin lips. A ghost of a smirk traced them.
"I know. I figured I'd let my eventual great granddaughter do the deed. Besides, our fight ended long ago. Goodbye Ameadius. It was a pleasure fighting you." With that, Xinhua departed, leaving an exhausted Ariad in her wake.
"Jesus fuck! You're not dead?" The lynx faunus exclaimed, hands on her knees.
"No." Ameadius choked out through a mouthful of blood.
"Dude! Gross! At least swallow!"
"Did you know-" The bat faunus stopped and spat a golfball sized ball of blood on to the ground, before continuing onwards. "The last time I tasted iron was two thousand years ago? I've almost missed the taste. The rush. Xinhua was a worthy opponent, and, had I you given time, so would have you."
"Thank you."
"You are quite welcome. I missed these chats. I used to have them all the time with Xinhua, every morning as we ate breakfast together before fighting to the death. Have you suffered, Ariad Greyhound?" The bat faunus inquired.
"...you could say that." She replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Then I am truly sorry. I might have wished the end of your bloodline, but I would never wish an enemy to suffer. It is not in my nature. I've heard of what the present world thinks about me-"
"They don't give a fuck." Ariad stated, interrupting him.
"Well, yes. It seems our history is lost on them. I guess having more Grimm to deal with does that, destroys history. A sha-"
"Oh, no, not like that. There's a museum down the street chronicling the Fifteen Day War in its entirety." Ariad pointed past the bridge, at a large stone slab of a building. "It's where Xinhua was buried. You did that, correctomundo?"
"...yes. I felt I would have done a disservice to her if I had not buried her body. You say they turned it into a museum? What is that?"
"Oh, right. Well, a museum is where history is shown in exhibits. You probably don't know what exhibits are-"
"Don't be daff! I do too."
"O-Okay." Ariad sighed, sitting down in front of the kneeling giant. "You know, I never really get to talk to my assailants. We usually just fight to the death and that's it. Maybe it's just been lost to us. I wish I could do this more often. So, you ready?"
"Quite."
"Alright." Ariad got up, walking over to the bat faunus and helping him to his feet. Once they were both ready, the two combatants walked out to the middle of the bridge and waited. Thankfully, they chose the one bridge that never saw any traffic to fight on, so no one else would be injured. Once Brafez, Olivia and Pandora showed up behind Ariad, she nodded her head, Ameadius nodding back.
"Whomever wins, it has been an enjoyment speaking with you, Ariad Greyhound." The bat faunus stated, calmly settling into a boxer's stance.
"The same to you, Ameadius." Ariad replied, taking out Calypso and Bessie, holding them loosely at her hips. After a few seconds, she whistled, and her team dashed forwards, weapons at the ready. Before one of them could land a single blow, Ameadius had stopped time. The bat faunus walked over to each of them, cutting off Pandora's legs and arms, breaking one of Olivia's legs, and attempting to cripple Brafez before he just decided to knock the blue bastard out. When time resumed, Olivia and Pandora flew off in one direction, with Brafez flying in the other.
"This is between you and me. No one else." Ameadius growled, gasping as Ariad ran him through with Calypso's fiery blade.
"No-one hurts my team." She hissed, picking him up by the hilt and throwing him into the ground. As he struggled to get up, she punched him in the temple, adding a bit of infrasound to improve the blow. Then again, and then again, before finally she grabbed him by the arms and severed his tendons and ligaments with infrasound blades, and then brutally tore his arms off in a spray of blood. "NO ONE!"
Ameadius threw himself back, swinging with a wing and catching her in the arm as she tried to deliver a final blow. When she stood up, her lower left arm dangled on a thread of skin just below the elbow, blood leaking from the wound.
"Okay. That one hurt." She muttered, fully seperating her lower arm and throwing it to the ground, taking Calypso and cauterizing the wound. "But I don't need my left hand to kill you. Besides, I'm much tougher than a Xiao Long; a simple separation won't knock my ass out."
Ameadius gave her an incredulous look, before she roared and charged him.
A few dozen feet away...
Olivia hauled herself to her feet, crying out as the broken bone of her leg scraped against sensitive nerves.
"Ol-Olly. I can't move." She heard Pandora say from her left. The sight of an armless and legless Pandora broke her heart, and she cried out again. "Olly. I can't do it myself. I need your help."
"Anything."
"I need you to kill me." All thought processes in Olivia's brain ground to a halt. The mere thought was enough to get her to shake her head and start bawling. "Olive. Please."
"I CAN'T!" She exclaimed, her arms giving out beneath her.
"Olive. You know I'll come back." Pandora stated, trying to calm her down. But there was no calming her down, because she was asking her girlfriend the unthinkable, and she knew that.
"It's...it's not that. I would never hurt you on purpose. Without you I have no reason to live. I can't go on without you. "
"I know. I know. But we need to get back up there and-"
"PAN!" The Grimm woman stopped talking, the utter pain and agony in Olivia's voice rendering her speechless. Olivia trembled as she glowed bright grey, pushing against the ground as she dragged herself beside her girlfriend. She lay her head on Pandora's chest, crying into the fabric before she looked up at her lover with a torn expression. "You know I love you, right? That I'd never hurt you, right?! That every fibre in my body is telling me that this is beyond wrong?"
"I...I know. And I hate to ask you this-"
"Twelve seconds, right?" Olly inquired with a sniffle, lowering her eyes to the ground. Pandora blinked, but nodded her head.
"Yes. Exactly twelve. I swear, if I come back and-"
"I love you." The ginger-haired girl whispered, kissing Pandora harshly on the lips as she shoved a nanomachine spike through her heart. As the Grimm woman returned the kiss, she burst into black dust, flying off in the breeze.
By one second she was hyperventilating. By two, she had curled into a ball and screamed her throat raw. By three, her entire body started shaking. The next nine seconds were her own personal hell, compounded by the guilt and fear of never seeing her beloved ever again. When Pandora reformed, she immediately went to Olivia's side, rocking her as she held on to her lover as if she could not live without it.
"I'm so sorry," she stated over and over again, kissing away the redhead's tears as they formed and fell. What more could she do?
Once Olivia had relatively calmed down, she turned to her girlfriend with teary eyes and said, "Don't ever make me do that again."
"I won't. I won't ever ask you again." Pandora replied, squeezing her lover tightly. Olivia squeezed back, but stood up, pushing her leg into place as she limped towards the bridge. "Olly! What are you doing?!"
The redhead turned back to her beloved and smiled, angry tears in her eyes.
"I'm going to kick his fucking ass and tear out his goddamn heart." And with that said, she turned and continued limping to her destination. Pandora gave a soft sniffled chuckle and stood up, going off to look for Brafez.
At the bridge...
Ameadius was pleasantly surprised that Ariad really didn't need two arms to "kick his ass". A fact he was sorely reminded of as she punched a hole through his left wing the size of a dinner plate. He realized then that she was holding back. Through careful observation, he had learned that her Semblance was the manipulation of infrasonic frequencies. She could easily kill him without even moving a muscle if that was what she wanted. But...she wasn't. And Ameadius couldn't figure out why.
It wasn't as if she wanted to die, because if she had, she would have done so by this point. And there wasn't any other reason he could see-
"I took an oath." Ariad stated, throwing a roundhouse kick at his chest, the impact sending him flying. Even with his wings in tatters, he managed to quickly recover and regain his footing. That didn't mean he was able to block a heavy right hook that left him reeling, however. The lynx faunus kicked away a strike from his right wing, and followed it up with an infrasonic punch to his chest, rupturing his lungs.
"Mom!" Olivia roared, running over to them as best she could and kicking the bat faunus in the rear and sending him flying away like a ragdoll. "He's mine."
"Go right ahead. Just don't get yourself killed." Ariad replied, sitting down and taking a deep breath. Olivia nodded her head and chased after her quarry, murderous intent in her eyes. A few dozen feet away, the bat faunus was struggling to stand. He could feel his time coming to an end, and seconds later that feeling was cemented as he was spun around and his chest pulled open.
The cat faunus smiled as she grabbed his heart and tore it from his chest, Ameadius gasping for breath. As she crushed it in her hands, he fell to the ground, dead.
"Don't touch my girlfriend." She hissed, before falling to the ground, her leg bending at an awkward angle and bringing with it unimaginable pain. "Mom! I need your help! My leg's broken!"
"Yeah, well, I'm missing a hand. So, get in line." Ariad stated, walking over to her daughter and lying down next to her.
"This was one hell of a day." Olivia muttered, Ariad nodding her head in agreement.
"The only reason I'm still here is because I'm exhausted. Otherwise I'd go looking for the rest of my family. But I guess that can wait." She turned her head to the left, hearing the sounds of footsteps. "Oh. Hi Pan! Hi Brafez!"
"Hi!" The two called back, leaning on each other for support.
"I take it we missed the party?" Brafez inquired, looking at the bloody wreck of Ameadius.
"Yep." Olly replied, giving her girlfriend a bloodied thumbs up. "I told you I'd tear his heart out!"
Pandora gave her a smile and nodded her head. She had expected nothing less from the redhead.
"I can see that." She replied, collapsing onto the cat faunus as Brafez did the same with Ariad. "Think it's safe to just sleep in the middle of the road?"
"Nope. But we've never done safe, so, fuck it."
"Hey Ari?" Brafez asked aloud, looking at where her arm should be.
"Yeah?"
"You're missing an arm."
"Eh. I can rebuild it-...wait, that was my fingering arm! Damnit!"
"Well, you have me for that now, so..."
"Aw. Thanks sweetie." Ariad raised her head and wiggled her nub at Olivia, who snorted with amusement. "Look! We're nub buddies!"
The prospect of nub buddies had everyone giggling, and then they all started laughing aloud in the middle of the road. Eventually they all tired out and fell asleep, a snoring mass of limbs and blood on a bridge in Menagerie.
Atlas...
Caedo hummed a simple tune as she cut up some carrots and pushed them into a stew, adding some flavoring as she thought of how *sensei was doing. Her brown eyes traced the edge of her knife, her lips pulled tight as she ran a finger hard against the serrated edge, cutting deep into her finger, slicing through the bone and into the rest of her hand, running the knife down to her elbow as blood covered the wall and she cried with relief-
*Ohmygodthisparodicaldepictionofanimebullshitiskillingmeinside.
A knock, hard and full of anger, resounded from the doorway, bringing her back to reality. Her finger was still attached, the wall was a stark white, and she still felt that deep, knawing guilt.
"Hai! Come in!" She said aloud.
"I wasn't asking." Nielsen growled, a dagger being shoved into the wooden cabinet next to her head, with a note that read "Feed my kids."
She swallowed, turning around. Nielsen...was not happy. Despite his height, he was still capable of overpowering her, and much less was to be said of when he was angry.
"Yes?" She asked, meek and thin-lipped.
"Itzal said you haven't been feeding him." He said it as a fact, not a question or statement. "You have an issue with his mother, there's a room for that. But a child of four years old should not be hungry."
"I don't-"
"Don't lie to me," Nielsen stated with a cold collectiveness, his arm a blur as it grabbed the noted dagger and held the blade millimeters from her carotid artery. "Because the next time, you won't have a tongue to tell lies with."
Even though he had put his dagger back in it's holster, she would not move for fear of her life. Even if she tried to hurt him, and she never would, that dagger would be firmly in her throat before she could lift a finger. He didn't need to see her move, he just needed to see her eyes. Maybe she should? To end her suffering.
"I would like some food made for Itzal and our guest. As usual, I will be overseeing your work." With that said, Nielsen hopped on to the countertop and folded his legs, eyes watching her every move. Her hands shook as she got to work, taking out various spices and meats as she fell back into her former occupation as a master chef. Within a few minutes she was stacking her creations on plates and whistling for a maid.
Once the maid had left she waited for Nielsen to leave, jumping as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Good job." He stated, letting his hand slide off her shoulder as he left. Once the door shut she slid to the floor, sobbing and shaking as she reminded herself of the evil that she had committed. She didn't know why she was still alive, why he had allowed any of them to live after what they had done to him. But she could feel it in her gut, that their days were numbered. And when death came for them, she would accept it with open arms.
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A.n. So, yo. I saw episode eleven. Ariad would like to give a shoutout to the blonde herself.
"Hi Yang! We're nub buddies!"
I'm sure she appreciates the thought.
"I can just grow you a new arm!"
Ariad, you don't have to do that.
"Oh yeah! Cause none of that happens in this Alternative Universe."
Right...thanks for spoiling that.
"No problem!"
