Chapter 37 – Son of the Fractured Eclipse
Hyde
It lingers in all their minds…
The Apathy…monsters that were lurking inside of the city, and nobody even knew about them. The six of them – Hyde still extended from Kassius' body – are all sat outside the Hotel on the step. Luckily everyone is asleep now, but the situation is starting to secure itself once more. People are talking more often than not, and that constant feeling of defeat in their hearts has finally subsided. Velvet has a bandage wrapped around one of her ears that they got from the first aid kit inside of the Cellar, her aura slowly healing the puncture inside of her bunny ear. Coco is sat beside them and Emerald is stood up with her back to the wall, arms crossed as she looks at Hyde.
Kassius is sat beside the Demonic Entity that has become like a brother to him, and Cardin sat on the path, still feeling strange after losing the Hym. Not like he misses it, but like an organ has been ripped out of him, at the end of the day the body is going to notice that something that was inside of him for so long is gone suddenly – it may take him some time to get used to that. The six of them all sit there in a pregnant silence as they all contemplate on the monsters that lurked down in that Wine Cellar.
Velvet stammers as she asks the question. "W-What were…those things?" She questions, and Hyde gives them a very detailed answer, showing to them all that the memories of the Ebony Berserker are coming back for him.
"The Apathy." He answers as he looks across the path at the houses where so many people are sleeping, and cars parked outside them. The distant lapping waves of the ocean being the only sound that they can hear apart from the occasional gales from the sea itself. "They're not strong or ferocious like Beowulves or Ursae…no…" Hyde explains, looking over his shoulder slightly at Velvet. "…they drain you of your will to go on."
Cardin looks down at the ground and he squeezes his eyes shut with a heavy sigh, realising that they must have been the reason why the Hym's hunger increased to such an explosive stage. "They…make you give up?" Coco questions with disbelief and Hyde nods his head.
"I have seen cases…or…the Ebony Berserker did…entire cities claimed by the monsters, all of them just shambling around an underground Metro Tunnel. They spread their curse throughout the entire city, causing their Apathetic Thoughts to claim everyone inside…millions died in their sleep at the exact same time." Hyde explains, shuddering as he remembers some of the memories of his past life, ones he never wished he could have – hell he never expected to have memories of his own that he never experienced with his host.
"How the hell did they get into Queen's Cove? This place is secured, there's no way in hell the Grimm could have entered this place and not one person noticing." Emerald states, remembering how difficult it was for her and Cinder to infiltrate this city years ago when they were still working for Salem.
"My honest guess?" Hyde asks them, and they all wait for his answer and he looks at the book sat on Kassius' lap – the one about Bartleby and his many ideas. "I think this was a test by Vir Nominis Umbra."
"What? Why?" Coco inquires.
"He wanted to test our valour, our determination to keep going despite knowing what he is. He likes playing games with his enemies, forcing them to make difficult choices, tear them apart from the inside. More enjoyable than just killing them." Hyde explains, and Cardin scoffs as he looks at Hyde where he sits.
"You get these from your memories too?" Cardin questions, clearly still struggling to trust Hyde right now. They have so many questions to ask him, but they simply need to know what the purpose of those Grimm could have been.
"No, this is simply from experience with Kassius. Most of the Ebony Berserker's memories of Vir Nominis Umbra…are…oddly hazy. They're coming back slowly, but they're the hardest." Hyde explains, looking at Cardin. "I am on your side, I may have once been one of his disciples, but I am not that monster. And even then, the Berserker betrayed him. But either way, I am with you." Hyde promises.
"Sorry, Hyde – but after what you and Kas told us about what happened at Beacon? Umbra took you over with ease." Emerald comments as she looks at him.
"Yes…I know. But that was different, I just found out I was a Demon, one of his Higher Demons to be specific…I didn't want to believe…I made myself vulnerable. I will not make that mistake again." Hyde states as he looks at Emerald and they all look down at the ground. "I also don't think he wants to control me again."
"What do you mean?" Kassius asks him curiously.
"Well he could have done the same to me again if he wanted to…you guys were being affected by the Apathy, I wasn't. He could have taken me over, used your body and used us to kill all of you." Hyde explains as he looks at them, all, and they ponder on that fact – because he is right, Umbra has the power to do exactly that, but he doesn't. The reason why?
They know why, because that would be too easy and thus boring.
This is all like some kind of disgusting game to that Soothsayer, all they need to do is learn his weakness, whatever that may be.
"The other reason behind why I believe he was behind all this, is because he appeared here a couple times. Following us, blending in with the crowd – hell I bet he was the one who specifically placed that book Kassius has so then he would read it. Remember, he can affect our choices." Hyde explains, and Kassius opens the book as he reads it.
"What book is it?" Cardin asks.
"A Journal, he found it in the Library. It's about a man called Bartleby who owned an estate of Farmland called Brunswick Farms, it was a recorded history of it…and how it all ended." Hyde explains, then Kassius begins to read the book in his hands to them.
"Bartleby's Estate was haemorrhaging money towards the end, he was always quite the schemer to come up with ways to beat the odds. And in every single way it worked…but this one was not the way he had hoped." Kassius explains. "He wanted to cut costs on Huntsman Protection, but in such dangerous territory in the mountains with scared family and workers – Grimm would locate them almost every single weak, attacks growing in size ever single day. So, he deduced the only way to fix the problem was to keep everyone calm…always." Kassius explains as he looks at what Bartleby wrote all those years ago.
Velvet listens and she nods her head.
"I think…I may know where this is going." She sighs, since they have been talking about the strange links, they experienced between Vir Nominis Umbra and the Apathy's Presence here. Kassius begins to read out a specific extract from Bartleby's Journal.
"I managed to get two of them away from their pack, ride home was miserable, but I got the bastards in the cellar. Wife thinks I was out sealing the waterway entrance, I'll do it tomorrow and tell her the truth after these things take the edge off everyone…I'm…tired…" Kassius reads, the words give them all chills, and Hyde continues to explain about the Apathy to them all.
"The next page proved he did, but not before the rest of the pack followed their missing pair all the way back to Brunswick Farms. They made their way under the estate and into the sewers through the Waterway Tunnel…that Bartleby sealed up the following morning." Hyde explains, knowing exactly what happened and they all look at Hyde as he says it, and Velvet sadly closes his eyes. "Bartleby's plan worked."
Hyde looks up at the Fractured Moon. "No-one was angry, or sad or scared…no-one was anything…and then…no-one was left." Hyde concludes, and Kassius sighs as he looks at the book, closing it, and concluding the story of Bartleby, Brunswick Farms and the Apathy in general. He sets the book down at the foot of the stairs and they all look at Hyde. They have to ask him now, it has been racing in their minds.
"Hyde…"
"I know what you're gonna ask me…and I don't know how to answer you." Hyde tells them as he looks at his hands, they are no longer enflamed, in fact he looks almost human. The only part of him that does not look like he is human at all is the fact he is partially translucent. When he erupted from Kassius he was engulfed in the Ebony Berserker's Flames, and he looked more like the Crooked Man that Kassius would see in his early nightmares. "It just…happened…I tried to take over Kassius' body but I couldn't. The Apathy had their hold on him…so I tried to stop the Apathy…and…well you all saw." Hyde explains, remembering it all so well. The way in which he rose from Kassius' body and ripped the Apathy apart, one by one…
…if he were there enemy it would have been terrified.
"But I guess it means I could one day…free you…" Hyde says to Kassius, looking at his host and he softly smiles.
"Never thought I'd say it…but I dunno if I'd want that. I'd miss you." Kassius says, and Hyde chuckles.
"Oh, worry not, I'll still bother you. But for once…maybe I can finally have my own journeys…my own stories." Hyde says to them all as he sits there, then he looks at the stars, more of them fading away every single night that passes by. Entire Solar Systems being extinguished one at a time, running out of time with every chunk of the moon that breaks away. "If we survive to destroy him first." Hyde states.
Bringing him up again…it makes Velvet look at her knees, she does not bring up her confession to Kassius to everyone, and neither he or Hyde do either. It is simply not their place to do so, but she says something else. "I'm…sorry about what I said earlier…about giving up." She says, and Cardin stands up before them all with his fist clenched.
"No…you're right. We can't give up, otherwise it's all over." Cardin says as he looks across the place, turning to look at them sat behind him.
"Cardin…I'm so sorry." Coco says to him.
"Don't, please. I know you know now…but it doesn't matter. What I did, it happened…I get that." Cardin states, killing the Hym will not relieve him of his grief and regret for doing what he had to do, but by telling Velvet and in turn allowing them all to know – they now understand and respect what he did. He did not do it out of some sick blood lust like the world, he is a hero, and was betrayed.
"I…I don't just mean for that, Cardin. I judged you…before knowing the truth." Coco apologises as she looks at him, and Cardin scoffs.
"Can't say I didn't deserve it, especially after how I treated Velvet back at Beacon." Cardin says as he looks at her, and then he looks at his mace leant against the wall.
"Even still…" Coco says as she looks at him, but he shakes his head.
"Don't worry yourself, Coco. What happened…it happened. All we need to worry about now is stopping our enemy." Cardin says as he approaches his weapon. "So…we gonna…get going?" He asks them, his determination has always been the factor that has kept Cardin going, and despite feeling like a part of his body has been forcefully removed from his system…he knows they cannot sit around any longer than they must.
Umbra is not going to wait.
"Alright…let's find these towers." Emerald agrees as she stands up, and Kassius stands up as well. Hyde looks at him and they both agree before they even need to say it.
"Probably arouse less attention wouldn't it?" Kassius asks him, and Hyde nods his head.
"Read my mind." Hyde says, as his Spectral Body passes towards Kassius and fades back into him. Kassius does not flinch, if anything it is a symbiotic relationship between them now unlike the Parasite that haunted Cardin. "C'mon, brother…let's do this."
Whitley
Unaware of the arrival…
A trio of Acolytes of Lien Dropships soar across the night sky towards Queen's Cove, their thrusters glowing a bright blue as they propel them over the oceans from Atlas Borders. Inside of it are mainly Mercenaries, but sat down in some seats are very important individuals.
Kannix Volantis.
Neopolitan.
Whitley Schnee.
Donovan Gele.
And Kelham, his real name completely unknown to the world. Everyone has just named him Kelham for as long as they can remember.
Whitley – now a mind inside of a mechanical body – is experiencing something he has never known, something that he may never get used to. Whenever he has been on an Airship, flying to different locations across the world for business deals and sorts…he had thought he would grow accustomed to it. But now that he is no longer a human being, a machine with a human mind instead, he has realised he has lost one of the most fundamental senses a living thing has.
Touch…
He cannot feel anything anymore, he cannot smell or taste anything. All he has now is hearing and vision, whilst everything else is gone. He cannot feel the constant thrumming vibrations through the floor as the Airship soars across the sea. He will never be able to feel the warmth of another person's skin again, taste or smell the luxurious delight of food and drink. Something that Kannix is clearly making use of right now, as he eats some noodles he warmed up with his flamethrower, eating them in front of Whitley and exaggeratively exhaling in delight as he swallows it. Whitley stares at him, with a face that carries with it no real features.
Just a visor that glows…that's it, he does not even have emotion reactive panels like the robot that the Architect is inside of. He is just a plain old Atlesian Knight that has been modified for the Transcendence Project his Uncle has been working on. Who has not said a word this entire trip, he has just been looking out the window whilst some of the soldiers talk. Kelham has been sharpening his red claw blades he has on his wrists, similar to those that Militia Malachite use, however these blades are Blood Blades – like Adam and Raven's.
Neo is sat beside her fellow Assassin with one leg crossed over the other as she looks at her nails and her scroll in the other hand, scrolling through the C.C.T network and the many things that pop up. Whitley stammers as he sits there, he never really thought about these things, how different things would be now that he is a machine. He expected they would be better, because he is stronger now and could actually pose a possible threat to Weiss and Winter…unlikely…but in fact he has never felt so dead than ever before.
Kannix finishes up the noodles and he sets it down on the floor, kicking across to Whitley's metal feet. The Silver Eyes Assassin scoffs as he looks at him, and Whitley clenches his hand into a fist. "Got a problem?" He questions.
"Me? Why ever would I?" Kannix asks, and Whitley just shakes his head and looks away.
"Stupid Assassins…" Whitley mutters and Kannix pauses and so does Neo who just glances at him with her bright pink and brown eyes.
"What did you just say, boy?" Kannix challenges as he gets up and he walks towards him slowly, and Whitley stares up at him as he approaches. He snarls within that mechanised body and he stands up as well.
"Uh-oh, fight on deck." One of the soldier's chuckles as they watch it happen, Donovan and Kelham don't do a thing. The Doctor does not even break his look out the window, whilst Kelham looks just as intrigued as the rest of the Mercenaries in here. Even though Whitley is in a Robotic Body, Kannix still towers above him, staring right into that visor with his silver eyes. Neo watches but she also does not step in, she just looks back down at the floor as she waits for the Airship to finally land.
"You keep looking down on me…thinking your so much better." Whitley snarls at him, and Kannix scoffs.
"Yeah, funnily enough that comes from experience." Kannix replies. "What experience have you got? Other than being just a talking oven?"
Whitley yells in anger and he swings his metal fist towards his face, only for Kannix to catch his hand in his own cybernetic one, twisting his arm round and slamming him down on the ground and throwing him over his shoulder and down into the deck. The Mercenaries cheer with excitement as the fight continues, and Kannix presses his boot against the neck of the Atlesian Knight, pressing the barrel of his cannon against his chest.
He leans down as he pushes the weapon against his chest, right where his power core is resided. "What're you gonna do now?" He asks him, and Whitley writhes desperately underneath the Spectre's weight.
"G-Get off me!" Whitley cries out desperately, trying to move his cybernetically enhanced leg, the man is more machine now than man.
"There it is…the little shit who thinks he's top dog…realising he's nothing more than an ant under our boots." Kannix scoffs, making the other Mercenaries laugh at the boy at his mercy. He continues to desperately writhe, and Kannix stares right at him. "Tell me…can you cry in there?" He asks him.
"W-What?" He whimpers fearfully, staring right at Kannix in return.
"You heard me…you're nothing more than a walking refrigerator now. Must drive you crazy, mustn't it? Realising you can't cry in one of these things." Kannix chuckles menacingly atop Whitley as he pushes him further against the ground. Kelham smirks monstrously with the rest of the soldiers as they watch the Businessman's Son being abused this way, despite everything he has been through – dying and coming back…
"Stop!" He cries out.
"All you are is a weed to me…and weeds should be ripped out, root and stem. You have all the bark, but you have no bite to back it up…you pay us soldiers to do your dirty work, but you look down on us like you're better. But kiddo, I could kill you right now if I want." Kannix says, and then he brands a grin across his face as he charges up his cannon. "You know what…I'm gonna." He says as he prepares to fire.
"NO! Please! I don't wanna go back! Please!" He cries desperately, he can hear the attempted sniffles but there is nothing, no real tears, just whimpers as he tries to cry. But there is nothing at all, he is just terrified, heartbroken – and cannot cry. Whitley's number one fear…is returning back to the nothingness of death…
"I'm curious…are you even human? If you can't cry? Or Sleep? Or Dream?" Kannix continues to ask him as he questions the young man's existence one question at a time, breaking his resolve once and for all. The boy who initially thought he could challenge the Spectre of Arkhonex now is a snivelling wreck on the ground. "Can you even feel the heat of the barrel on your chest?"
Whitley cannot even find the answers, and Neo is the one to stop him. She grabs his arm and pulls him back from the boy, staring him in the eyes with anger. Her presence stops him from doing anything, and despite the fact that she does not reciprocate the feelings he has for her, it does not change the fact he cares about her. He stares back at Whitley who is curled up on the floor, his metal hands held close together, and Kannix scoffs. "What kind of a man are you?" He questions. "Good thing she has more mercy…because the only reason I wasn't gonna kill you was so then these boys get paid." Kannix informs, deactivating his Cannon and approaching his seat, sitting back down.
Whitley staggers back to his feet with the help of Neo, but then he pushes her away. "Get off me!" He cries out, all the Mercenaries looking at the Businessman's Son. Kelham turns when he sees in the window that the pier of Queen's Cove is approaching, so he stands up and he clears his throat.
"Alright boys, enough of the entertainment. We're about to land at Queen's Cove." Kelham tells them as he grabs onto the handle above his head, Donovan looks at his nephew and he just scoffs and rolls his eyes.
"Of all the people that technology could have saved…we gave it to a coward." He states, and Whitley stares at him – he heard every word – but he does not react. But there is a flicker of red inside of his visor, and his voice crackles for a second as well. His fist clenches and twitches as he glares at his Mad Uncle, and he sits back down, his fists shaking as he sits there.
The Acolytes of Lien Dropship approaches the docks of Queen's Cove, passing by another beautiful statue of the King and Queen, held in each other's arms, his arms around her waist and her eyes gazing up at his. Lips nearly touching and her dress swirling around the two of them like a cloud. The three Vessels descend down towards the landing pads on the docks, their landing gear folding out and the huge thrusters rotating round into a Landing Formation. The dust and litter get blown from the surface of the pad and into the salty water beneath them.
Stood on guard are many more Acolytes of Lien Mercenaries, armed to the teeth with Military Vehicles everywhere, including some Gunships that are currently landed. They have missiles and machine guns at the ready, fuelling up on Dust provided to them by the Schnee Dust Company. The side door of the Dropship opens up and the Mercenaries exit with their weapons, from Juggernauts to Seekers to Whiplash Marchers. Even some Tremor Troopers and Gliders are on the field with the normal soldiers.
They are ready for a battle, no doubt about that.
And with morning soon approaching, and nobody aware of the Apathy being cleared out of the Stanley Hotel – that brewing battle is most certainly on the way. Whitley emerges from the ship last, behind his Uncle who walks with his arms behind his back, looking around at the city. "This place…everyone here calls this place the land of romance." Donovan scoffs as he glances at the beautiful statue of the King and Queen of Vale, and he rolls his eyes. "What a childish belief."
Whitley looks around, seeing some Faunus and Humans happily coexisting, even a couple together as they walk around. Neo looks at the mechanical man who glares at them and she narrows her eyes in disgust. She walks with Kannix towards some of the other soldiers, following Kelham. Whilst Whitley remains with his Uncle, showing his disgust for the Faunus that he has obtained from his father.
Donovan stares at him and he scoffs. "What? You as weak as your Father?" He questions, and Whitley flinches when he hears his sharp voice. He rarely ever saw his Uncle but every single time he ever did, mainly when he was in prison, he would be met with some rather harsh words. As would his sisters – it was one of the few things that they could relate to on the matter. "Children are supposed to be better than their fathers, did I save a Racist as well as a coward?"
"After all the things you've done…racism is where you draw the line?" Whitley questions, his voice softer spoken than before when Kannix put him in his place. And Donovan shows no compassion, no pat on the back and to tell him that Kannix is a dick. No, not a word – if anything he just expresses his own disappointment towards the young man. Donovan stares him in the eyes and a smirk brands his cheeks.
"I care not for someone's race or sexuality…all are good test subjects, boy. Their screams all sound the same to me." He says, and it gives Whitley the shivers when he hears him say those words. Very few people would speak so callously about another individual like that…but there was a good reason behind why his Uncle was put in a Supermax Prison.
He is a monster.
Whitley stands alone, feeling his mind racing, like something biting into his brain at all times. Something is happening and he clenches his hand into a fist, his optics flickering between blue and red constantly, staring at everyone around him.
But then he hears the voice of a Mercenary behind him, and then the motion of him being shoved. "Lookie here, it's the baby Businessman. Gonna start crying again, little baby?" The Mercenary questions, and Kelham glances at the soldiers picking on the mechanical man. "Thought you would be a big strong robo-man? You can't even fight back." The soldier scoffs as he punches him again. The impact cracks against the visor, making it flicker constantly now and his voice crackles as he speaks.
"I-I a-am war-ning you…" Whitley crackles with anger, his head twitching and his fist tightening, the other mercenaries laughing at him.
"O-Or what? Gonna cry to daddy? Little zombie coward? DADDY AIN'T HERE!" The soldier yells, swinging at him, when suddenly Whitley's optics flick from blue to red in an instant and he catches the armoured fist of the soldier and his eyes widen, then he shrieks in agony as he feels the robotic hand of Whitley crush his human one. The skin splits and the bone shatters and snaps, breaking all the fingers, and blood runs down his steel hand.
The soldier screams desperately, until Whitley punches him in the face extremely hard, knocking him onto the ground. "N-No! PLEASE!" The soldier screams in horror, only to be silenced by a deafening crunch as Whitley punches him in the head over and over again, so hard it cracks the concrete ground with every strike. Even after the Mercenary is killed from the punches, he keeps hitting him, causing the skull cavity to collapse, and blood to splatter everywhere, across his metal body and his visor.
The soldiers have fallen silent in terror of Whitley, from what he just did. He has a bloodlust in him, an anger he can only take out by killing someone. His metallic panting screams continue as he punches the splattered brains and skull on the floor, completely unrecognisable as a head anymore.
Kelham walks towards him with a smile on his face, and Whitley eventually stops, covered in the man's blood. Kelham smiles more, and he claps his hands as he looks at Whitley, and when he stops clapping, he points at him. "That's more like it, son." Kelham tells him with a smile.
And all that revolves around his mind…
…are these thoughts.
I'm not a coward.
I'm not weak.
I will prove them wrong…I will prove him wrong…I will prove her wrong.
Weiss
Weiss stands firmly with Myrtenaster in her hand, it has been quite a while since she has had the pleasure of holding her weapon again. The others have all gone to rest – and Weiss asked Neptune to get some sleep, to which he reluctantly agreed – for this is a moment for just the Schnees to share together. But the Undertaker watches Starla nearby as she holds her two Tonfas in her hands, walking around Weiss as she keeps the tip of her sword pointed at her ancestral Aunt. "Your stance is well centred, I see that our family has not forgotten the finer styles of combat – even if you are all much smaller." Starla comments as she slowly circles Weiss with her blue eyes fixates on her little nephew. Weiss looks at her body and then at Starla.
"Is…that a bad thing?" Weiss asks her curiously as she circles her.
"Not at all, if anything it makes you harder to strike. Smaller the target, the nimbler you are." Starla states as she walks around Weiss.
"Is that what made you a great fighter?" She asks curiously, and Starla chuckles, before suddenly thrusting forward and striking, their blades colliding in a spark. She scrapes her blade across Weiss' fencing sword, and she slides past her and kicks her in her lower back. She falls to the ground, and Weiss groans with a thrown as she pushes her hands against the soil of green blades. She looks back with that frown still gracing her face as she stares at Starla who smirks playfully behind her.
"Interesting theory…but in Arkhoni Terms I am actually quite small." Starla states, despite being actually six feet tall, which dwarfs Weiss in comparison.
"How big did your people get then?" She questions, and Starla taps her chin as she thinks.
"Most men reached Seven Feet. It's why Krekras, Rylen and Axzura dwarf you lot." Starla explains as she walks around her some more, as Weiss pushes her diseased body back up with Myrtenaster. They are unaware that despite the fact they are meant to be sleeping, everyone is actually watching them right now – guess they are just wanting to see two Schnees training. "I enjoy these talks."
"This is what you call talking?" Weiss questions, flicking the dirt from her sword as she points it at Starla again.
"We can talk while we work." Starla replies, her footwork is absolutely inspiring, most warriors tend to keep their eyes on the ground for a second to make sure their feet are going in the path they want. Starla however does not, her years of training have really made her quite the graceful combatant, even when she has become a Knight of Grimm…disgraced of all honour.
Even though all four tend to show more honour than most of their enemies they face.
"Y'know…I don't think it's particularly clever to train your enemy." Weiss tells her, when Starla suddenly rushes forward again, jumping in the air and spinning round with her Tonfa arched back, slashing down towards her. Weiss gasps and she parries the strike with a metallic twang, stepping back before twirling on the spot and jabbing forward. Starla slides aside and she kicks Weiss in the chest, knocking her back down. Weiss grunts as she hits the floor again, her long white hair falling on her face as she sighs.
"In all honesty, I do not see any of you as my enemy. It is as I have told you, my curse forbids me from controlling my own body when the time comes. I always try and try to stop my own body, but it is like someone has me shackled. If my training will help you defeat him, defeat me when you have to fight me…then it is worth it." Starla explains, since she has made it very clear that she wants them to win, and she wants Vir Nominis Umbra to fail. At heart she is still that kind woman, and despite the mistake she made for cheating on her husband – she is still a good human being.
"Then why do the others not always kill us on sight? Krekras hasn't…Fury hasn't…hell even Fear hasn't. Why bother?" Weiss questions.
"Because we see that the eight of us are not so different. Have you ever noticed that there is a familiar trait that seems to bind us all together? The Knights of Grimm and your team?" She asks Weiss, and the Schnee raises her brow.
"Well you're my ancestor, so I guess there is that." She states.
"No…think deeper than that. What are the things that our curse links us to?" Starla asks Weiss curiously, and then she strikes once more, but Weiss rolls out of the way, and Starla slides her heels across the ground, cutting deep slashes into the ground beneath her. Weiss stops and she keeps her sword pointed at Starla as she continues to circle the child.
"Death, Loss, Fear and Fury." Weiss comments, and Starla nods her head.
"I believe Vir Nominis Umbra cursed us for more than just our misdeeds in our lives – I believe he did it because he knew the four of you would play a major role as his antagonists. So, he required a counterforce – Four Knights that represent the darkness that hides in all of you. The darkness that forged you…but not the light that refined your beauty and your kindness." Starla explains as she walks around her.
"Meaning?" Weiss questions, with a sigh.
"Well, Ruby Rose has one goal in mind, doesn't she? To save people from dying terrible deaths, to save the world and assure everyone gets a happily ever after?" Starla asks her as she walks around, Weiss glances and sees the rest of the Afflicted now walking outside and sitting down as they listen to what Starla has to say. Since it is actually quite intriguing when they think about it.
"The Knight of Death…" Weiss deduces.
"You…you fight against your own sadness that has smothered your life. From your abusive father, to your alcoholic mother and the pre-decided future that was planned out for you. Opposed from your own decision…meaning I am the embodiment of your inner conflicts – against your sadness and loss of freedom." Starla explains, and Weiss uses her powerful intellect to figure out how Fear is linked to Blake.
"Blake was always afraid to open up to people about being a Faunus, she was scared of the White Fang, of Adam and everything she did when she was younger. So, Rylen is her Dark Side?" Weiss assumes and Starla nods her head, and then Weiss looks at Yang before turning her eyes back to her mentor.
"And Yang Xiao Long has been filled with rage, why her very semblance and beloved have possessed similar traits around this emotion in that regard. Her inner anger for her mother abandoning her as a child and losing her stepmother. Finally meaning the Knight of Fury is Yang's shadow." Starla explains, and Yang looks down at the floor as she realises this fact – the Knights of Grimm are Team R.W.B.Y's dark side.
Starla strikes once more, and Weiss backs up, blocking the strike with Myrtenaster, and Starla scrapes her curved blades down the long and pointed blade of her needle. Weiss uses the strength of which that magical potion the Witches concocted to her best usage against Starla, she drops and rolls past Starla, swiping her blade across her legs, knocking her down to the ground. She then goes to stab her in the heart, but then she feels the sharp point of Starla's blade against her belly. "Dead." Starla tells her, before kicking her in the chest instead, and as she falls to the floor, she spins round and kicks her once again in the belly, sending her crashing and rolling across the floor.
Weiss groans. "You see now? We are the same, not on the outside but on the inside. We once yearned for the same goals as you, until our mistakes caused us to become the monsters we are now." Starla explains, but Weiss stubbornly shakes her head.
"We're not the same." Weiss tells her with a groan as she tries to get up.
"Perhaps not…we did once have different ideals to you. I have noticed the motivations of your generation vary but none are like that of the Vanguard." Starla explains, mentioning the ancient name the Huntsmen once had, before they became what they are now. When they were respected and given everything – treated like warriors or even Gods. Starla lowers her blades and she looks up at the Fractured Moon with a sigh. "Do you know what a Vanguard's most vital possession is?" She asks her.
Weiss gets back up and flicks her tail of hair back over her shoulder. "Uh…her blade?" She asks as she looks at Starla's Tonfas. Starla scoffs, looking back to the little Huntress before her.
"Her honour." Starla answers as she looks at her. "A Vanguard can pick up another blade, or repair their bow – but if one loses one's honour…that is much harder to repair." Starla explains as she looks at her, and Weiss exhales through her nose.
"How did you lose yours?" Weiss inquires, and Starla sighs.
"I was…young…and naïve." Starla tells her. "I was unhappy in the marriage I was in, I loved my children with all my heart…but my husband? I never realised what I had until I could never see him again. The things I complained about…he never gave me enough attention, he's never in the house, I do all the work." Starla mimics her own younger voice as she gestures her arms around, and then she sits down on one of the old broken stones by the colonnades, and she looks down at the ground. "I fell for another man – Krekras – and every mission we went on, he and I would sleep together."
Weiss looks at her and lowers her head. "I remember hearing Ruby mention something like that, something she saw in one of the Visionary Books." Weiss says – if her memory serves her correctly it was the one at Vacuo, in Professor Theodore's Vault.
"On our way to the Volcanic Chain Isles…yes…" Starla sighs, sounding so disappointed in her life choices. "There were many unforgivable sins in Arkhoni Culture – Rape, Adultery and Drug Abuse."
"Not murder?"
"No, at the end of the day it was…expected." Starla scoffs, shaking her head. "If a Vanguard dared to commit one of these sins, even a Knight – and their honour would be pillaged if the truth came out. It was so bad that there were those who would spread lies of their rivals to break their honour…out of spite." Starla explains as she looks at her, and Starla stands up tall again. "I broke my oath to my husband, because he simply did not sleep with me enough. That is how much of a child I am."
Weiss looks at her and she shakes her head. "That shouldn't determine why you were cursed." She states.
"Oh, but it did, Little Flake. Umbra enjoys punishing those on their smallest mistakes." Starla tells her, something Sun knows all too well. His attempt to lighten the mood when Umbra arrived lead to the deaths of four good people – not his fault, but it still feels like it was his fault. Hazel watches them from afar and Glynda walks up to his shoulder, watching Starla speak with them.
"I can't believe we're allowing this…a Knight of Grimm…right there." She says with her head shaking.
"I know Starla – if she was gonna kill them they would be dead already. And she doesn't want any of this…" Hazel assures, since out of all their enemies, Starla is the one they can trust the most.
Back at Starla and Weiss, she looks at her descendant and she sighs. "And for my adultery…my weapons were rewarded with these…" She says as she lifts her Tonfas that also connect together into a Bow.
"Are they…better?" She asks curiously, and that seems to trigger an anger inside of Starla, something rare. Her eyes flare and she grits her teeth.
"You tell me!" Starla yells, swinging forward and punching Weiss in the chest, launching her back again. Starla glares at Weiss as she gets up, and then she continues. "These blades…cursed…caused us to become the monsters we are today. And for my naivete, my children and my husband died…and when I tried to drown myself to join them…my body died but I continued to go on." Starla explains as she stands before her, and it explains why her skin is a pale blue as well.
"I'm sorry…I didn't…" Weiss softly says as she gets back up, and Starla shuts her eyes with a sigh.
"I know of your insecurities Weiss – but please…go easier on yourself. Because at least you didn't lose your honour, and in turn lose everything you loved. Because that is the hardest thing of all…learning to live with it when they are all gone." She tells her, she then swings her blades round and aims them at Weiss and the younger Schnee readies her sword as she stares at Starla.
The Knight of Loss charges forward and she swings her Tonfa across where Weiss' head was, but she ducks down, and she jabs her blade into Starla's kneecap. She then slides aside from her own attack, stabbing at where Weiss' leg was, and then she slashes Myrtenaster up her back. Starla asked her to go all out on her, with all her strength, but to be ready for an injury if she fails.
End of the day, when you are already dead…
…you do not fear dying anymore.
Weiss bounces back and she arches Myrtenaster back and she thrusts towards Starla, stabbing into her shoulder, pulling it out and kicking her Tonfas from her hands, and pressing the blade against her enemy's throat. Starla holds her head back and she softly chuckles with a smile. "That's better." Starla tells her, but then her face turns mischievous. "However…"
She then takes her hand and tickles a point on her leg that has always gotten her to yelp, and it does exactly that, causing Weiss to fall to the floor. Starla chuckles as she stands back up, rolling her stabbed shoulder as she looks around. "Your skills are vastly impressive, sweetheart. Especially when infected with Horridus Morbus – still can be improved, next time I will teach you on how to meditate." Starla tells her, and Weiss raises a brow.
"Next time?" She asks.
"What? You didn't expect this to last one night, did you?" She chuckles, but it is more that she did not expect Starla to be so happy to teach her. But at the same time, she is essentially having time with her family – something she has not been able to do since her family was alive.
"And…meditating?" She questions.
"Seriously? Spectre of Loss standing before you and you're questioning the point in meditating?" Starla questions with a scoff, something that Weiss can't even argue against. She crouches down beside Weiss as she sits on the grass and she crosses her legs. "I must return to him though." She says
Weiss looks at Starla with worried eyes, she knows that Umbra will most likely punish her for this…and now she does not want her hurt. "Don't go…stay with us." She begs, and Starla smiles, caressing her cheek gently. Her hand is cold, yet not repulsively so.
"I wish I could, darling. But it is my duty…and I will accept whatever punishment he decides to inflict upon me." She says with a sigh, standing up as she prepares to go. "Get some rest…you've all earned it." Starla requests as she walks away from them, but then she stops when she hears Weiss.
"Wait…" She says, and Starla stops, looking back at her. "…you didn't lose your honour…not to me." She says, and Starla smiles, for that really touched her soul. She does not say a word, she just turns and transforms into her Spirit Animal Form – the Mourning Dove, flying away into the sky.
Starla
The sky is as blood red as ever, the moon broken apart and infinite screams filling the wind as the Mourning Dove glides across the Charred Forest. She descends down towards the broken remains of Beacon Academy, some kind of dark reflection of what is coming to their world, or an alternate universe, where Beacon fell, and the rest of the world followed. As the Dove descends, she transforms back into her Knight form and she lands on her feet, walking across the shattered ground where she sees him standing, exactly where Weiss was standing. The ashes falling from his hand and a broken crown – Weiss' crown – in his hand. Clearly, he has destroyed a version of their universe in the past, and Weiss and the rest of the team did not survive.
Vir Nominis Umbra lets the crown fall and it clangs against the ground, before he speaks. "What is it you hope to achieve by helping her, Starla?" Vir Nominis Umbra asks her. "By helping them?"
Starla stares at him and she answers him honestly, for she knows he will already show more respect for her if she tells him the full truth. "Because I believe they deserve to win." She tells him, and he turns to look at her, and as she predicted he is indeed honoured by her honesty. Then she adds another part. "Well…that and you never said I couldn't." She says, and he pauses, and realises she is one hundred percent correct.
"Fair enough…but even still…you know that they cannot stop me…so why are you trying?" He asks her curiously. "Arkhonex fell…countless others tried and failed." He states as he walks towards her once more.
He holds his hands together as he stands in the ashes of what could possibly be Team R.W.B.Y. "They did not make the same mistakes as the Arkhoni did, they do not have to suffer the same fate."
"The Arkhoni…the new world…it doesn't matter anymore. They must face the same fate as the rest of Universes that came before you joined the cause." Vir Nominis Umbra tells her, and she scoffs.
"Joined? We didn't join anything, you corrupted us." Starla states, and he chuckles with that terrifying smirk on his face, his eyes faintly glowing red behind those brown irises.
"And yet, you believed you could get away with all your misdeeds without necessary punishment waiting for you?" He asks her.
"I knew the truth would come out…and I hated myself for what I did. But my family did not have to die as well." She states with a snarl, gritting her teeth as she glares at him. She is no fool, it was the curse of her weapon - Arcus Autem Trisitia – that is responsible for her family's death.
"Death is a natural part of life, as is fear, sadness and anger. There is no point in trying to deny their existence…at the end of the day…their fate was decided long ago." He says as he walks around her, the caws of the Diamond Beaked Crows echoing for miles as he circles her. She closes her eyes and sighs.
"If you're going to punish me…then just get on with it." Starla demands, tired and just wanting him to do it already. Vir Nominis Umbra looks at her and his eyes narrow – there is something happening, and he knows it. People are…not being manipulated as easily as they once were. It is not just the Four anymore, there have been so many moments when his enemies have managed to get round his plans…and they have had nothing to do with it.
What is happening?
Vir Nominis Umbra sighs and he walks past her, looking at the destroyed remains of Beacon, and then he looks back at her. "You may go." He reveals, and her blue eyes widen with disbelief…she was expecting agony…not for him to just let her go.
"Wait…you're…what?" She questions.
"As you said – I never said that you couldn't help them. So, you technically never went against my orders." Vir Nominis Umbra states as he shrugs his shoulders. She is filled with distrust towards the entity, but she turns and is about to leave.
"But remember, Starla…when the time comes…you will have to kill them." He tells her, and she closes her eyes with the glimmer of tears.
"Then I pray that time never comes."
Ruby
The Asylum…
As they make their approach it already has one hell of an intimidating feel to it, the size of it and the huge walls. It makes sense why going through this place is faster than going around, it is huge after all, and also has a huge roof, covered in barbed wire, meaning that going over would be just as difficult and dangerous. They make their way towards the entrance, seeing the guards stood outside – luckily, they are neither Atlesian nor Acolytes of Lien. They are simply hired Security Guards, who ask them for identification before entering. "Halt! Identification." The Guard demands, it is as if they are robotic in nature from how they act. All four of them hold up their Hunter Badges that they have from Beacon, and they let them pass, scanning it and stepping aside.
Pyrrha looks around as she walks with Jaune, Oscar and Ruby, looking at the many cells occupying countless inmates. They can hear some of their mad screams from hear as they walk into the place. "Yeah this ain't sketchy at all." Jaune comments beside Pyrrha as they walk down the stone steps, seeing the Warden approaching them. For a Warden she is much smaller than they were anticipating, almost as short as Ruby in fact, and she smiles and bows her head to them.
"Hello, Huntsmen and Huntresses. May I ask what your business is here?" She asks.
"We simply need to get through here, ma'am." Oscar replies. "There's a location nearby and this is the fastest route there."
"I see, alright then. Well follow me, I will show you the fastest way through. Luckily I know this place like the back of my hand." She says as they walk through the huge place. They can hear some of the cages rattling where the crazed inmates are trying to break out, some of them are almost feral. Pyrrha is the one to bring up the first question on all of their minds.
"Ma'am, I have to ask…but why does Argus still have an Insane Asylum in operation. I thought they were demolished years ago for unethical treatment of patients." Pyrrha asks as she walks through the place, when suddenly a hand erupts from one of the bars, almost grabbing hr and she yelps, stepping aside when she sees the woman inside, trying to grab her long red hair.
"You…You smell nice!" The woman laughs as she tries to sniff her hair, when a guard slams his baton against the iron bars.
"Get back!" The Guard yells angrily.
"Apologises, Miss. Some of the inmates are a bit energised today. And to answer your question, yes this was put out of commission a long time ago. I have been working here for many years, and I remember all the patients. We looked after them as best as we could, but other Asylums across the world were not the same. Now it was retrofitted into a Supermax Prison." The Warden explains as she takes them along, and Ruby looks at the many people in here, seeing Roman inside of one of the cells, laughing as he paces back and forth, in a jumpsuit too.
"Wow, Red! Look at this! Better than some of the apartments I've lived in. Come on!" Roman calls as he looks at her, grabbing onto the bars as he stares at her, but she ignores the annoying hallucination as they turn a corner, when they see a large book on a pedestal by one of the walls. Not a Visionary Book – unfortunately – but a ledger of all the inmates who have been admitted to his Asylum over the years. She stops by it and looks at the many names.
"How many people have been here, miss?" Ruby asks her, and the Warden stops and sees her standing there and she walks over to see the ledger.
"Around two hundred thousand a year." She answers, and Ruby's eye widens with disbelief when she looks at her.
"Two Hundred Thousand per year?" Oscar questions.
"Yes…we did good work here for a while but there were some patients…some we could not cure." She explains, which is when Ruby stops on a certain name and her eye widens with disbelief.
Patient Number: 2728
Name: Tyrian Callows
Race: Faunus, Scorpio
Age: 13
Admitted here for: Son of the Fractured Moon, aggressive tendencies, arson and the killing of a pet dog
Ruby cannot believe it, it is Tyrian Callows' name…and she nearly staggers back, and the sight of his name causes him to appear in her mind. He walks over to the ledger and then looks around at the many cells. "Ah…good times…" Tyrian's Phantom says as he looks around at the place. "They've changed it up a bit though, I don't like it." Tyrian says as she looks around, and then she starts to focus on her breathing.
"Oh gods…" Jaune shudders.
"Is there a problem?" The Warden asks with a worried tone.
"Um…" Oscar looks at her, as she covers her mouth, feeling like she is about to be sick, until she swallows it and builds her courage.
"He…kidnapped…and tortured me." She answers and the Warden's eyes widen, and she sighs.
"I'm so sorry." She apologises as she looks at her, and she walks over and gently squeezes her shoulder.
"What's this? Son of the Fractured Eclipse?" Pyrrha asks, since even she has not heard of this, however Oscar has heard of this old legend.
"It's a Myth. During a Fractured Eclipse, if a baby is born in the shade they would be cursed with madness." Oscar says, remembering some of the stories that his Aunt read to him when he was a little kid. Jaune scoffs as he scowls at the name, even though he is long dead now, the very sight of the name makes them angry.
"Well that clearly was true." He snarls, wanting to spit on the name, until the Warden says something, something none of them were expecting.
"It wasn't…it's is just a myth. None of it was true." The Warden states, and all eyes fall upon her. "There was no curse bestowed upon those who were born under this curse, people just assumed he was."
"How do you know this?" Pyrrha asks her.
"You remember I said I've worked here for most of my life? When I was younger, I worked as his Psychiatrist. He was one of many patients I wanted to help, and he told me he just wanted someone to look after him. Everyone in his village shunned him for a non-existent curse, he was beaten, yelled at, named names, shunned. He had nothing – and so when they all hated him, he decided he would become the very thing they hated." The Warden explains as she looks at the name and there is a glimmer of pity in her eyes.
She sighs. "I had such high hopes for him…but then he started killing again…and nobody could catch him." She explains, then she looks at Ruby and she gently caresses her shoulder. "I am so sorry…that I didn't do better."
"Don't apologise…it wasn't your fault. This…actually explains…a lot." She says, since at the end of the day he looked up to Salem like mother. Perhaps she was the one person in his whole life that actually looked after him, raised and spoke to him when nobody else would. None of this excuse the horrors he committed, but now they know.
Tyrian Callows was a Son of the Fractured Eclipse.
The Fractured Eclipse is an event where the Fractured Moon passes in front of the sun, but instead of blocking out the sun completely, pockets of light shine through. But most of the sky is darkened. Ruby walks back to the book, looking down at his name and she inhales a shaky breath.
"Can I…is his cell…occupied?" She asks her, and the Warden looks at her friend.
"Ruby?" Oscar asks her.
"No, the entire wing has been abandoned after an outbreak of Black Mould killed most of inmates. Now it is just left alone. His cell is still left exactly as he left it." She tells her, and Ruby nods her head as she fiddles with her fingers.
"Can…Can I see it?" She asks her.
"Ruby?" Oscar asks her.
"I need to see it…I need to…I don't know why, I just need to." She stammers, and the Warden nods her head and she walks down the hallway towards the stairs towards the skybridge. Ruby follows and the others follow her as well. The skybridge stretches across the courtyard outside and into the second building, the one that is locked up tight. She unlocks the door and they all walk inside, and the place is horrific to look at. Black mould everywhere, but luckily, they will not be here long enough for it to affect them.
The paint has peeled away over the years, crumbling off and falling onto the floor, breaking into a hundred pieces. Graffiti tattooed everywhere, some of it beautiful and some of it absolutely horrendous. Ruby follows her, and then she stops by one of the cells, the door still open…and Ruby feels everything fade around her. The scratches on the walls and the drawings made of old blood – his blood.
He was an extremely troubled individual, this much was clear. Ruby walks inside slowly as she looks around, and Oscar stands behind her. "Do you…want some time…alone?" Oscar asks her, and Ruby looks back at him and she smiles with a firm nod.
"We'll be right outside." Oscar assures, walking away with Jaune, Pyrrha and the Warden so then Ruby can have a moment. Oscar may have been tortured as well, but not on the same level as Ruby was – he hurt her because of his tail, because he was meant to capture her the first time. Because she was smaller than him and younger and a girl – weaker than him in his eyes. As Ruby walks into the room though, the hallucinations return, seeing Tyrian sat down on his old rusty bed with his arms resting on his knees by the busted window that still has some old hairs stuck them where he must have smashed his head into it.
"Hasn't changed a bit here…look at that…all the tallies. Of how I would picture killing people, every dream was something new. All those little brats who hurt me for when I was born…I made sure they paid…she gave me that." Tyrian says, and that is all Ruby needed to hear to know that the people that he killed that the Warden mentioned must have been the little village he was born at. The ones who treated him like dirt because he happened to be born under the shade of the Fractured Eclipse.
Tyrian is not the only one appearing either, as Roman appears as well, leant against a wall with his arms crossed as he looks at her. "I remember being in cells like these, grimy as hell. Ever think you would be here, red? With us grunts?" He asks her.
"I'm not like you." Ruby hisses.
"Oh, come now red, how long are you gonna hide from the truth?" He questions, pushing himself from the wall as he walks towards her.
"I…I do not kill people for no reason." She states with anger in her silver eye as she stands there, staring at the mirror that was smashed by Tyrian when he was a kid.
"Tell me, Little Red – how many people have you killed now?" He asks her curiously as he crosses his arms. Ruby does not answer, and Tyrian stares at her with that sinister smile on his face, the one Ruby had wished to never see again. "I know how many – two hundred and seventy-six people. That's how many you have killed, chopped them up with that oversized gardening tool of yours." Roman answers with a smirk, staring at her reflection before he walks aside.
"Shut up…" Ruby softly says.
"Remember back when you reunited with your beloved Team R.W.B.Y? In Mistral? How you cut off that Mercenary's head with absolutely no hesitation? You were treating it like it was all a game…and you look at me and him like we're the monsters." Roman scoffs, and Ruby shakes her head.
"Accept it, my little flower. We're the same." Tyrian whispers.
"I'm not your little flower…you're dead." Ruby snarls with anger as she looks down at the ground.
She then looks back up at the broken mirror, seeing his face looking at her, standing right behind her. "The Hero of Beacon Academy murders a mentally challenged patient. Won't that make for a fine title for the next paper about you?" Tyrian asks her, remembering how she dropped him and watched him fall to his death all those years ago. She exhales through her nose as she looks at the reflection.
"You made your choice." Ruby tells him.
"Yet you did hesitate before you did it." Tyrian points out. "What were you waiting for? That your mother would descend from the heavens to stop you from killing a defenceless man? Were you disappointed your mother never arrived to save you…or relieved, to finally spill more blood to smudge those hands of yours in?" Tyrian asks her, and she closes her eye and turns away from the mirror and walks towards the bed he slept it, sitting on the edge of it, hearing him again.
She may not look at him, but he is sat atop the windowsill with his leg bent up and his tail wrapped around his knee. "You're not strong enough to defeat Vir Nominis Umbra. You're not strong enough to kill Salem. You couldn't do it alone, you couldn't do it with your friends. Your father, never knew when to lay down…he was too proud, and like Ilia Amitola…you will die the same way." He tells her, and with every word she clenches her fist and stands back up, trying to escape the voices that keep speaking to her.
She walks towards the open door…
…but she stops, and parts with some last words to him.
"Then I'll die if I have to. That's the difference between you and me, Tyrian. I'm not afraid to die, if it means it will stop him. I will do whatever takes…no matter the cost."
She walks away from his cell, leaving it behind.
And nothing more than dust and silence settles upon the Son of the Fractured Eclipse's Cell.
Author Note - What did you think of that revelation?
I wanted to do some development for Tyrian, just because he is dead now does not mean he cannot be developed. And I also love developing villains that are gone now. I was really happy with some of the stuff I came up with here and the concept of the Son of the Fractured Eclipse is another favourite too. I will always love writing the Ruby hallucination moments, with Roman and Tyrian because I love moments like that in anything. When a character is haunted by a villain that is gone now.
The Starla and Weiss training bit was nice too, I love Starla she is one of my favourite characters in Knights of Grimm because she is so heartbreaking. The idea of being unable to control your own body is horrifying because she does not want anyone to die. And the Whitley stuff...man that stuff is fun. Whitley is growing to be one of my favourites to write because of his descent into madness. And of course the bit at the start with Hyde, couldn't resist to do the Bartleby Story but with Kassius and Hyde telling the story.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you would like to join my Discord lemme know, there we can chat about my stories, your stories or other stuff! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter - The Eight Towers
- Matt