Chapter 57: Degeneration
Volume III Finale! The really dark stuff is over!
The trophy (Blake Belladonna)
She looked at the mask as it laid on the ground, the bright blaze of flame skittering over the edges of her vision as the woman set the genitals alight, grabbing a hold of the mask and holding it up. It had belonged to Adam, she knew its edges and curves. It had been a sign of him hiding the marks on his face, the cruelty that the world had done to him. His coat, the sign of him being the wilting rose, someone who had led the troops and who did not bow for the Human oppression...
Lifting the heavy coat up, she shook it out. Adam's remains fell out like dust, as she looked at the material. The fabric had been Huntsman-grade, something that he had pooled the money for and bought once he had been assigned to the White Fang's Vale division. She had been the one who had kept it in perfect state... but now he would need that no longer.
She was free.
She was free from his spectre, the shadow that hung over her. She put the mask in one of her pouches, feeling its weight against her side. It was what she had earned, what she could do.
Gazing at the woman as she stood there, checking her weapon's blade over for nicks and cuts on the metal, she could feel that feeling inside her well up. A woman that she could follow.
Sienna Khan had the same presence, that same command.
The mask, the cloak…
They were signs of someone who could wield power.
She watched the younger sister's brief glance in her direction, the facial features sharp and pointed. An intimidating gaze, yet Blake did not fear it. She looked at the woman again, a light smile playing on her lips.
There was so much strength in her. A goal, a purpose, with singular dedication.
'You freed me.'
Adam was gone. Adam was dead.
She felt like the world had opened to her, to make her world even brighter and more vibrant. Yang would need to see the beauty of this woman. Yang was her partner and her best friend, someone who had been there when she had been broken, who had been the one to guide her like a beacon..
She needed this, this direction…
'Perhaps it is time to hang the curtain on the White Fang…'
She would follow the woman.
Strength demanded servitude.
Adam's coat she pulled on over her own, as the mask rested within her pocket.
'Freedom...'
The ordering (Sage Aaron Arc)
There was a rush of flame dust from a military-grade flame cannon coming his way, the shield put up in the proper form as he blocked against it, motioning for some of the other Huntsmen to move in, as the White Fang Faunus insurgents came at them, their military hardware no match for professional Huntsmen.
Compared to several of the Huntsmen, these untrained animals were merely children with guns, the weapons blazing through their flesh, the professionals easily dealing with the targets under his command. The order had been given and he, Sage Arc, would obey.
He knew his duty and he knew it well. No matter what would be given, it would be given with the blood of the enemy knee-deep and a snarl on the face of those who perished.
The tactical overview of the situation was already starting to make a point of reinforcement.
"Left flank, advance three meters, using the cover provided to keep them under suppression fire. Right flank, advance!"
The orders were shouted, as the logical progression of the world continued. Like the soldiers that they were not, they obeyed the orders. He had tactical command and he knew that his noble status allowed him to issue the orders. Three of the Huntsmen had fallen, yet there were four hundred Faunus who had perished, to his count. Bullets pinged off the shield he wielded, as he changed his grip.
A blade cut into the belly of the Faunus as it came at him, a dispassionate look at the falling body before the blade pierced the heart, the other body pushed away, as he shifted his stance a little. An explosion occurred nearby, as ammunition exploded and someone was screaming was filtered away, not even leaving an impression on him. The lives of civilians mattered little, compared to the lives of those who served the grand scheme of the world.
Everything made sense, life, death and birth and murder. If he had to kill his children by the Grandmaster's design, he would. It was all what was ordered and what would make this world a better place.
Rowena had been the success that he had hoped for. His first daughter and strongest daughter, unflinching in her resolve and in her dedication. That she had fallen in with the wrong kind of friends had been… regrettable, in some part of his mind at the time.
It had been a task that she had been corrected on, of course. Others did not need to know of the work that they did for Remnant, nor did others need to see the grim task that they held for their own sake. Isaac had met with his wife's approval, stating that Rowena had needed a friend outside of the family.
Weakness had been caused by her having friends. He had ensured that there was no weakness in his life. Rowena had seen the truth about her friend, as the Vessel grew within her belly. His daughters would obey or they would be forced to obey. Azure, as willful as she was, would obey his wishes. She was one of the few daughters that could be called 'sensitive', but he knew that a correction might be needed.
Cremea had been the one who he had enjoyed the presence of the most. She had seen sense, her semblance being so much akin to his own that it had been a good sensation that might have been pride upon later reflection to teach her some of the tricks of manipulating the logic-based Semblance, though he felt nothing of those emotions anymore without the medication.
It was a shame, but Heather would bear the family an inheritor of the name. If Heather would not, then it would be the duty of the twins, or of his other daughters. It was a true pity that Rowena was unfit for breeding purposes after she had mangled herself in such a fashion. He should have drugged her before landing on Patch island but it had not surfaced in his mind that she could rebel. A fate that would not happen with his other children.
Rowena was worthless now for the grand scheme, yet still a pawn to be used.
Her rage against the Grandmaster was only tolerated due to her skill at eradicating threats from this world. Her madness was a shame on the family, yet his hand was stayed by her sheer skill at weaponry. Pride in her skill as an exterminator was one thing that he could feel on those rare occasions when the medication was strong enough to balance out that issue, the disgust with her for allowing herself to be abducted and despoiled coming as well with that pride.
The Grandmaster tolerated her presence, relaying his orders through Heather, his second daughter that held more reverence for the Order than his oldest did. Rowena and Heather were one of the best, a prideful feeling accompanying that thought, though he felt it not within his emotional blankness.
The heat of a Dust round passing by his cheek as his head moved to the side was felt, barking another order at the Huntsmen. Another rifle flash and he felt a round fly right past him. He was in control, he was logical and he worked for the benefit of Remnant.
The world needed order, the world needed guidance. At that moment when he had destroyed the weakness inside him and he had become strong, he had become what the d'Arc-Night family needed. He was the lord of the household, until It had come along.
A small surge of pride at the sacrifice's attempt to be just like his father was suppressed, when his daughter went with the vessel to every appointment she had scheduled. His own presence had been marginal in the vessel's life. It had wanted to learn how to fight. It was prevented from learning to fight.
There could be no interference with the duties it had to the world.
The duty to the world was more important than a child's feelings. His oldest daughter had been the one who had instructed the Vessel in the etiquette as befitted the male child of the noble line. It would have been regrettable if the Vessel did not have the instruction and the Grandmaster chose for a different option. It might have made a decent member of the Family, if given the proper guidance.
The Vessel had died. It had been weak, it had its Aura awakened when it should not have even known of its existence and the Family had mourned its passing, as if it had been something worth more than the breath it expelled. He had caught himself be emotional for a moment as well, undoubtedly just a minor Semblance issue, watching the flame consume the only flesh left of the Vessel.
'A minor aberration. Emerald was compliant as always. To the children who had been saddled with the burden of caring for the Vessel at Beacon, a suitable replacement was to be sent. Death happens to all of us.'
It had been a waste of resources. He had accepted that. Rowena was more compliant now, even in her fugue state. Weakness, rather than strength. He might have felt something for the Vessel if he had considered it to be a member of the family, yet it was what had been done.
'We are all doing as we must according to the grand design.'
He had killed innocents before. The final test for Rowena and Heather, before they would be given to the final training had been to slay humans. Rowena had been efficient and calm, fighting and killing with no difficulty. It had been a minor surge of pride within his fading emotions to watch her dismember the child. Heather had more hesitation in her task.
It was necessary for a back-up, so Ashley and Heather had been given two dogs to raise. They had obeyed when the order to twist their canine companion's neck had been given. Their weak emotions had played up, yet they had obeyed. They were the failsafe, even if their weaponry was mostly at medium to long range for Bianca and in the melee for Ashley.
The crying girls had gone to their mother after they had done the deed. Emerald had been frustrated, but she had accepted his judgment. He had told her that it might have been a child rather than a dog. It was important to desensitize them to the death that they would visit on others. They were his children and they would be strong. Emerald did not complain. Four would be enough, she had said. He had agreed with her plea. She was still his wife and should be given a modicum of respect.
He fought because he could fight, for the survival of this world.
Remnant was a beautiful place, and he would not wish to see it fall to the Grimm. The Grandmaster never lied, nor did he ever lead them wrongly. Calavera and Rose knew only of fragments, yet they held the core. They were the dark night in which the blades of the skull and the thorns of the rose lurked for those unwary enough to cross their path.
The orders had been given. The Good Witch had been present and had been instructed. They were going to win this fight as well, given reinforcements. Logic dictated that, with the reinforcements from Beacon, there would be a win eked out. These Faunus were nothing compared to Huntsmen-grade material.
The Faunus came once more and he barked the orders with a loud voice.
The order of things continued, as it had always been. He would obey, without involving his feelings. He would be the one who would guide the world as he had.
'It is the order of things as they should be.'
Her choices (Whitney Esmeralda Schnee)
Another round smashed through the armoured plate that the Faunus had worn, as she reloaded with a fresh clip, stalling the advance of the people who had dared to invade this city. Her daughter needed her, her daughter was in need of aid and comfort, not some sort of Faunus revolution.
'Animals...'
Her weapon had been marked with red gore from the times she had been in close combat, the small army of bodies in motion shambling along, the bright Glyph that glowed above them manipulating them like a puppet. It was still something that held little joy for her, as she began to push forward, towards where the thick of the fighting was.
Her steps were steady, her feet making a clicking sound with the soles of her shoes on the stones of the street, the horde moving along, as shouts and screams started to mix together. Already, she could feel that bitter sensation work through her, as she judged the time it would take to get to her daughter.
'She needs her mother...'
That was most important right as of this moment. As Beowolves appeared, her horde of shambling corpses moved to intercept it, being torn apart before the advancing horde of creatures of the Grimm, her shots dealing with them. They were not like the creations that her love was making, Grimm that they could link with... But they were raw and powerful in their own right.
Standing in the evaporating haze of that dark power, Whitney let her eyes search for more, as her supply of corpses dwindled. The drain on her Aura was larger than she expected, but the haze of anger still found her, her body alight with that rage still.
"Help me!"
Someone shouted and Whitney watched how a civilian boy ran from the Grimm, the fear and terror that the boy felt like a hot meal for the Grimm. A bullet shot past the child's ear, hitting one of the Beowolves in the mask, the creature exploding in a fiery explosion as the Dust reacted, Whitney's eyes following the child's motions.
She reloaded, and the child went flying, a Beowolf catching up and tearing through it. A casualty, she supposed. She'd almost still had a full magazine, but if it had run faster it would not have been too bad. It was just a child. Not something really important, like her daughter. It should have ran harder.
Another shot took care of the Beowolf, as she continued along, the body of the child motionless, as her eyes searched for the spot where her daughter was, feeling the Glyphs in the distance where her father was. He would keep the women safe.
She moved along, forgetting about the boy immediately. Her daughter was far more important. She didn't care much for those who were caught up in the madness that lurked within this place now, as she had to make sure that Weiss was alright. If Weiss wasn't...
There would be blood spilt.
The betrayed (Cardin Winchester)
They made their way through the city, the blonde woman still leaning against him. The members of his team had been quick to get there, as he functioned as the bulwark. Professor Goodwitch was mumbling something about needing to get something, because it was the requirement for... whatever, he didn't quite understand the wording, continuously mumbling the words.
'Whatever he did to you, he's going to make sure that it'll be fine.'
The feeling of that power invading his body, the strength restored to his body with a simple droplet of that power, was like a drug, as he watched the people. Civilians were hiding in their homes, afraid to go out. The Grimm did not care, as they roved and roamed, hunting down the civilians that had not been aware, the bodies that laid around like puppets with their strings cut, the blood already starting to dry.
"We're coming up on the group-up point. Hey Cardin, your girlfriend's there too."
He stiffened, as the anger flashed through his body, his steps not as light as they could be, coming heavier, as he looked at her in motion. She was hanging back, not a single sign of the mask that she wore, her hands busy, as she handed ammunition to her team leader for her machinegun-handbag.
"That's my ex-girlfriend you're talking about."
He could feel the darkness creeping through him as he pushed Professor Goodwitch away, his hands on his mace, rolling his shoulders a little. A Grimm dissipated from the hit, as he caught the eyes of Yatsuhashi, the stoic Mistralian native giving a nod, as he slew an Ursa that came too close.
'Good, they haven't been briefed on Harmony's duplicity...'
If he could just take her head whilst they were unaware, it would all be over. She'd get what she deserved in hell...
A soft clank of his armour, and her head turned. Her face turned paler, as he could see fear and madness in those eyes, even from a distance.
"Coco! Leap left. Incoming!"
The woman moved, as he threw his mace, the swing not as elegant as he could make it, but the Dust crystal primed and ready to bring forth the flame towards the target. Harmony dodged out of the way, like the scared little psycho rabbit she was. She got back up, looking at him with a nervous expression that made the wrath inside him grow fiercely.
"What's the big idea, Cardin!?"
An annoyed Coco said, looking at him whilst Yatsuhashi took care of the Grimm that were coming.
"Velvet's been replaced by a Faunus infiltrator."
He said, as he looked at Harmony, who looked back at him, a skittish and innocent look on her face. Just like with him, she was acting again.
"I am asking you on behalf of the house of Winchester to arrest her until the authorities of Vale can confirm whether she is who she says it is, in accordance with the emergency powers granted by members of the Council and their direct heirs."
Coco looked at him for a few seconds, before she turned to Velvet, looking a little more dubious. With the animals out here killing people, it would be normal for her to be suspicious.
"I'm me, Coco! Remember when we were under the showers and you asked me to lick you out?"
The look on Coco's face turned more reasonable, as she smiled faintly. Whatever it had been, it must've been private, as he'd not heard any of it.
"It's her, but... Sorry Velv, we've got to be sure. If there are infiltrators..."
He could see her look at Coco and the look on her face changed, her eyes glancing at him for a moment as he advanced. Death would be good for her, but as it was, her team still would guard her.
"It's okay, Human. I'm sure that you will die."
The voice was a little rougher, a little lower. Matured, perhaps a little, as she smiled, Coco turning away from her. Daggers shimmered into existence in the Faunus her hands and Coco stumbled as Harmony Tallow drove the daggers into the body of the team leader of team CFVY.
He could see it in Coco's eyes too. Betrayal. Hopes dashed and without even a flash, as Harmony pushed them in and then backed away, dodging the mace that was coming for her. Anger flashed and froze inside him, as he saw Coco drop like a stone, his anger and wrath driving him onwards, his body in motion. He caught sight of Harmony already skittering back, standing at a distance.
'She'd fast and agile...'
"Coco!"
Yatsuhashi shouted, as he turned around. Cardin could see the blood already flowing around the daggers, driven into the body. He didn't know whether Coco would make it, but he had a rabbit to kill.
"TALLOW!"
The anger in his voice was present, as she looked at him, her expression turning wrathful.
"You should have died! I hit your spine, you should've been dead!"
The hateful tone that she used was loud and she was rattled, as she ducked under another strike, her leg coming up and kicking him, his armour ringing.
"Death comes for me when it comes!"
She ran. With his armour weighing him down, he would not be able to give proper chase, but he had already prevented her from making a bigger mess. Harmony, being allowed entrance to Beacon as a student again after what she had pulled, would just spell disaster for the institution... He wouldn't allow that.
She looked back at him, a set of thin blades in her fingers that came with an additional glow of Dust, giving him a look and snarling like the wild animal she was.
'I should have never trusted you...'
He was livid, yet the anger burned still through his system. He turned to Coco and her team, Yatsuhashi already applying triage. There were things to do now. Professor Goodwitch straightened up, her eyes looking around and coming to some conclusion. He felt a wave of impossible force press against him and pin him into place, before the woman assumed command.
"Form a perimeter and hold it. Winchester, at the front. Daichi, make sure that Miss Adel is stable."
The woman was back in business, even as he felt a fading echo inside his mind, a voice added to the chorus through his head, worming itself over the voice of the one who he owed fealty to.
It was time to forget about Harmony for the time being and focus on keeping Vale safe. His King would not wish it otherwise.
The things we do for equilibrium. (The Lady Formerly Known As Glynda Goodwitch)
She became aware of a rushing in her ears, hearing the whispers of someone that could not possibly be real. Slowly her awareness became more pronounced, pulsating and throbbing, as memories came flooding back. She'd been hurt, someone had hurt her badly and there had been students...
'What was I doing?'
Her eyes caught sight of young faces, students that she had under her protection. She was... Was she really Glynda the Good Witch?
'No... I don't sense her.'
She remembered briefly, the brush of pain, the splintering of herself. An old soul pulled away and consumed by a dark maw. Red eyes that looked down at her and made her feel like the Shadow had come for her, like her father had told her.
"What is this?"
The description had puzzled her, as Glynda looked at her with a soft expression on her face. The woman had taught her everything that there was to know, and now there were stories that she had to read.
"The Shadow, dear. Little Glynda, you need to know this. It is insidious and nefarious. If you ever meet a person with the veins of darkness running through their body and their eyes the colour of blood, you must fight. The Grand Wizard will want you to."
She had her duty, she knew. Father was looking worse every day as he drained his blood into the siphon. It would be time for the coven to gather, to invest her. Miss Glynda was ready to teach her, as she let her eyes feast on the image of a pale woman, the ancient word for Shadow written below it.
"Oh, okay. I'll check up on big sis."
It wasn't really her big sister, but the wife of her older brother was a nice woman. Warm and kind. The Good Witch let her go, rubbing her head with a soft little brush of the fingers.
"You should enjoy the time you have, before you become me."
She heard those words, even with her eyes looking at the baby. It was so darn cute, so darn cute and fluffy! It looked like a little angel baby, looking up at her with those pudgy little features and that cute little set of hands.
"Do you want to hold her?"
Her sister-in-law asked, and she nodded. The weight was so little, as she supported its little head.
"I'm pregnant again. He wants another child. He's such a great man."
Her brother was kind of mean. He wasn't so nice after her other older brother had disappeared. He'd been sent away after her oldest brother had attacked him.
"I'll be the best aunt to them that they'll ever have!"
The woman smiled, as she looked down at the little baby, whose eyes were looking at her with wide-eyed astonishment.
"She will be the heir to the family name, as your brother is the oldest... Are you upset?"
She didn't care about that. She was just Glynda, after all.
She shook herself out of her daze, as she barked orders at the children. Dark power surged through her veins, power that had been gifted by the young man who had been wrapped into the Shadow's power... a gift that had kept her alive.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
She roared at him, as that link was established, as vile blackness rushed through her veins, saving her. The oblivion of death slowly began to lessen, as her body grew stronger. The images of those who had gone before her flashed into her mind.
A woman who desired, another who had lost everything and brought fear as a shroud. A woman whose wrath was bouncing beyond sanity with wild bounces, another whose love for him overflowed. A woman whose mania defined her, as silver eyes brought madness with them, another whose cowardice and values contrasted...
And her now. She felt the link snap into place, as she beheld him.
A throne made out of darkness upon which he sat, looking at her with mismatched eyes. The blue colour that she had seen before within the eyes of the Arc family patriarch, a young man whose skin was now the colour of the moon, the dark veins showing clearly below the skin, his eyes judging her.
She realized that she was bared to him, her whole body exposed, yet that was not embarrassing, as her eyes looked at him. Words that she wished to say died within her throat as he merely gazed upon her as he would at a friend, a pain in her chest welling up and suddenly closing. She swallowed and felt the power go through her.
Words were unneeded, her body responding immediately to the energy, forming it in the ways that the soul had taught her. It was her power now, as the leech had been torn free. She let her eyes wander, leaving not a single shred of herself in control. She felt free now, free to be someone else than the Good Witch, free from the burden of being the artillery to those who died in droves for the Mission.
"What will you do, Professor?"
The voice of the young man who had died too young, whose body held the Shadow that would have set her blood alight with the Light within her, curling around in her mind. She wanted to...
A ghost of an image, of a body brushing against that of the Master, the body not belonging to her, yet blue eyes and white hair showed clearly to whom it belonged. A name, Whitney Esmeralda Schnee drifted to her mind, as a ghost-spectre of a response tickled along her spine, her body tingling with new feelings.
She had been a pre-teen, barely growing into puberty... She had been naive and innocent, yet she had seen so much. The things she had done as the Good Witch were distasteful, cruel to people, yet she had done them.
Her eyes looked at the man on the throne, the shadows curling into the five who had been blessed.
Pale skin that seemed to barely be touched by the sunlight, silver eyes looking with that deadly intent, a Slayer, the bloody Rose of Summer, a woman who had been forged through the ancient ways into a weapon that had no other... Mania in her eyes, insanity of the purest degree. It tickled along her mind, whispering of the power, of how good the killing felt.
Pale alabaster skin and haughty blue eyes, assurances of power and the ability to wield a Semblance passed down through the blood. A woman whose presence was like a member of the upper classes, whose elegance and passion warred with each other. Desire and craving, a lustful expression for one man alone. A stirring in her loins, not suppressed by rigid discipline, perhaps the first craving she had ever had since she had been but near-ten.
Golden eyes staring at her from the shadows, as pale skin was marred with the signs of the Master, the darkness wrapping around the body like a dress, as Faunus ears stood atop her head as a sign of a Faunus, a shadow in the darkness that came wrapped within the shroud of fear. She felt fear, a deep and intense horror as the spectre of that fear brushed past her.
Golden eyes of a different shade and with more of an orange intensity, a body that had been half-shrouded in those very same shadows, ears twitching in that manner of alertness, burning wrath within those eyes that seemed to shroud everything in a mass of murder and pain. She felt that wrath, and it was righteous. The cause that it was put to use was for this man.
She could see the mask being worn by the woman, pulled away to unveil similar features to the young man on the throne, a cloak the colour of blood worn, the Beowolf mask hung from the side. Hair as golden as her own, framing blue eyes that slowly turned to silver, a look on that face that showed the power that the woman held, as well as a feeling of pain and death.
Her gaze returned to the owner of the throne, the one who had held these five women in his grasp and made them into what he had let them become. His expression looked at her and there were no words needed, as he stretched his hand out.
"What is your name?"
She knew her name, but she dared not utter it. She had been Glynda the Good Witch for so long that it had been like a fading memory...
She moved, the riding crop pulling the turned-over cars back into a formation, making for a good barricade. The power of her Semblance was enhanced by the gift, as she saw them come for her. Her frailty was no objection with the power that she had with her. As long as she had the power inside her...
A tremor ran through the earth as she flexed the power inside her. Everything around her was for her to use. A purple glow shimmered into being around her, burning around her as a corona of power as she lifted off the ground.
'I am power.'
She was the one who kept the balance, the one who could restore what had been broken and the one who would keep the children safe from the horrors of the world whilst they trained. As she levitated up, her Semblance stretching out and giving her a bird's eye view, she started to manipulate the world. Streetlights were torn out of the ground and raised, spearing down into the Grimm, elegant like javelins, repairing with a flex of her Semblance. What had been broken, could still be mended.
'I am skill.'
The children did not need to see the wreckage that she was creating, but they would. Huntsmen other than those she had seen at the courthouse stared in awe, as she forged with the power the defences that would stand there.
A speeding van, coming right at the barricade. Her eyes spotted the Faunus behind the wheel, the mask on his face. It was easy. The van crumpled under the force of her Semblance, as the raw and untamed power surged through her.
'Good Witch?'
The blood leaked from the metal ball, as she slowly unwrapped it. Mashed flesh and bone and juices leaked down, as she reshaped the metal, back to its original configuration, the metal twisting back to how it had been before.
Why had she not considered it before? That which could be broken, could be fixed. The Grand Wizard had kept her small and contained, whilst her power could have been used to fix... to heal and to restore.
'I am-'
A shiver went through her body as the high slowly faded and she felt her Aura slowly running dry. The power expenditure was heavier on her body than before, but the darkness that bristled in her veins like an exploding Dust refinery's heaviest flare-up was enough.
She settled down on the ground, a smile on her lips. Probably not a proud smile, as she had just robbed nearly ten Faunus of their lives... but one that would inspire the children.
'You will come no harm whilst I am here...'
She had been young once too. She had been hearing the tales of heroics and of the loves that were gained within the noble profession of being a Huntsman. Her father's touch, the fading memory of what it had been like to be just...
"Professor Goodwitch, what..."
Her eyes met with the young man who had been supporting her, his red hair a little peaky. She might have to comment on his dishevelled state, but it was not the time for that.
"Ensure that there are none who pass, Mister Winchester. Your team leader will be able to provide you with more instruction, should you need it."
She had to make sure that there was a stable defence set up, spotting the team leader of team CFVY down, one of their teammates performing emergency triage.
Her outfit was a mess, but she was always aware of the power that she held now, as her fingers placed themselves on the wound. There was no Lux Aeterna to bind the wound together, but she could do something of an emergency fix.
"She just... turned on us? She just turned on us, and she stabbed Coco."
Trauma, undoubtedly from the betrayal of their Faunus teammate. CVFY had been tight-knit, she had heard, knowing that they had been betrayed by one who had been with them from the start...
'We should check the Faunus students better... Ozpin said that-'
Anger welled up inside her at the thought, knowing that-
'It was all a lie...'
She didn't know what made her think that, but she remembered the faintest of shards of conversation. Something about the plan, about the Mission. Briefings that she had been at, yet could not recall. It was all for the greater good, because she did not need to know.
'It was all a LIE. Where is the glory in being a meat puppet? Where is the glory in having someone to hold the reins over your life?'
"She is stabilized. Make sure that she gets to the hospital."
Gentle, she was not. She knew that her Semblance could fix some things, but organs were delicate little things, and she preferred not to mess with them. The wound had to be pulled closer, in order to keep the girl's intestines from spilling out. There would be scars... But the girl would live.
"We will. Thank you, Professor Goodwitch."
Alistair seemed to be of a stable mind, as Daichi merely cared for his fallen team leader by following the procedures that he'd been taught for battle triage.
She was no Good Witch.
More of the Grimm came and her Semblance moved. Javelin-like streetlights pierced through the Grimm, spearing them to the ground. She was raw power, and she was right.
She was the darkness in the night.
'My name...'
She beheld the creatures of the Grimm, mindless creatures that perished before her. She was the Witch, the one who held power beyond the average. The Maidens were stronger still, yet she held her own against them...
'Gloria. For mine is the glory.'
And glorious she would make her life, freed from the shackles that had bound her.
Victory? (Cinder Ella Fall)
The fear in the eyes of the people as they fled before the Grimm was something marvellous to behold. To see them whimper and scream as the Grimm tore into them, her own pace as slow as it could be, her weapons cutting through Grimm flesh with no lock of her hair marred by the beasts...
'Is this not elegance? Is this not power?'
She had been chosen to wield power. A power that was hers alone, a power that set her above the others in this world, a gift from the woman to whom she owed much. She did not care for the people who made the law, nor did she care for those who loved others. Mercury and Emerald and even the stupid girl that had no sense yet was the sister of her dearest Emerald... They could not see the beauty in this.
The Grimm that she had created was already dashing through the streets, almost an hour's labour of focusing the power into the shape, as she worked her will. Emerald had thrown up, the poor dear... But that did not matter.
It was what set her above the others, what had made her better and special... Salem had not given her the blessing because she was weak, no... It had been because of her capability. Something in the air, the fear and the terror, all seemed to work around her.
"Take the flank."
She said, Mercury moving to that side whilst Emerald kept a close eye on the people around them. Many of them had perished, yet the power inside her was like a living flame, the body of the Fall Maiden still holding a large store of the power... But the Grimm that she could make were special.
"Trouble up ahead."
Mercury said, and she looked at the street in front of her. A young man stood there, wielding a staff-like weapon with a single orb on it, maybe for the focusing of Dust, she didn't know.
Eyes that were red looked at her with a look that was recognizable as... pity?
'Why don't you fear me?'
She looked at the young man who still kept his position, his eyes not stopping with that darling glance, that burning brush of that gaze never fading from his sight, as his gaze never left hers.
"Do you want me to deal with him? If he's the opposition..."
Mercury spoke up and she nodded. She didn't need any of Ozpin's little do-gooders in her path... They had a mission to complete, after all. Torchwick needed to be in place, a suitable plan B for when the Faunus had failed in their little genocide. It would be a shame, but Taurus and Tallow were extremists...
"Hey there, pal... Holding the line for us, are you?"
Mercury's voice was light, jovial and with that hint of surety in it that would put people at ease. An assassin that spoke to the heart, even whilst there was a deadly weapon going to be used.
A humourless smile, as the young man fixed the assassin with a glance. "You'd best not attack me. You'll end up like all the others." The warning was there, present and firm. The young man did not look like he was joking, as his weapon was shifted from hand to hand. Cinder could see something in those eyes change, a deeper, darker sensation.
Mercury moved and suddenly, froze, the darkness wrapping around him from the man's shadow and then throwing him away, slithering back once again into the night's shade.
"I've got him..."
Emerald spoke, yet Cinder could see something in the man's eyes. Her Grimm came, and she ordered it to attack, testing to see whether he would be able to deal with it as well. A hand rose and the Grimm exploded, red eyes looking at her. A sense of unease, of unwelcome feelings, something that might be discomfort coursing through her.
"Cinder Ella Fall..."
Her name, as it was known now, as she had taken for herself. She would become the Fall Maiden, give the power a home.
"Or should I call you..."
The name that was not to be spoken, the name that belonged to a weak girl that had been drowned and smothered in the power slipped from his lips, an utterance that held the disdain of a mother who had died, sisters who had loathed her and made her weak. The power that the Mistress had given her had belonged to her and she did not remember that name anymore, nor did she think that she would ever be that weak girl again.
Two Grimm appeared, Beowolves that were malformed and hastily made, speeding at the young man. Mercury was getting up again, warily looking at him, and then suddenly, the Grimm evaporated and she found herself face-to-face with the young man. He looked down into her, and she felt something strong inside her chest, as he looked into her eyes.
"Weak... Why are you so weak? Why did she not give you the power that she has at her disposal?"
Anger rose inside her as she hissed and screeched, aware that he was holding her in a grip that merely raised her from the ground. Red eyes peered into hers and a flash of surprise went through them as he seemed to realize something. Her legs kicked against his own, but he seemed not to notice.
"Oh... You don't know, you innocent child..."
She felt herself drop, her legs weak and trembling, as he appeared once more. She noticed that her body as flush with sweat, her eyes looking at him with something that she idly recognized as fear in them.
"Cinder?!"
Emerald's voice was in her ear, yet she could only look at the young man. Grimm pulled themselves from the shadows around him, leering at her with their soulless eyes. She could see variations on the standard Grimm that Salem had shown her.
'So powerful...'
Her mouth was dry and she looked at those red eyes, took in the shape of his features. He was young. He was strong. His eyes bored into her own, her own golden orbs looking into his own, strength in that gaze. Strength that made her feel things she had thought long-since forgotten.
She was...
She wasn't strong enough.
He took a few steps closer to them, Mercury looking at him with a warning look.
'Do they not see the Grimm? Why don't they see the Grimm?'
She could see them, and they were leering at her. So many, with such little essence within them and yet so strong. It was hard for her to form two, nearly impossible... It would kill her, leaving her breathless and gasping, but he did it so easily.
"Cinder? Cinder?!"
She was looking at him still. The ashen hair, the red eyes. The skin that was much like the woman who had bequeathed her the power. He stopped before her and looked into her eyes.
"You are weak."
Her eyes widened, as Emerald raised her weapons to defend her. Cinder merely watched, the casual ease, the dismissive manner that he treated her as if... as if she was weak. As if she was an afterthought.
"Why?"
Her voice sounded choked to her own ears, as she looked at him, those eyes looking into hers. A smile flickered onto his lips, a twisted smile that made her blood sizzle.
"I came here to find a witchling... Someone who was sent by Her to guide this mess to completion..."
She was Salem's executor! She would have power, but- why couldn't she speak? Why didn't she speak up? She spoke after a second.
"Salem is strong! She's given me power!"
A mocking laughter, as his hand grabbed her by the hair. She whimpered, a feeling of helplessness. Emerald could not move, frozen, arms pinning her to the spot, Grimm arms. The Mistress had only shown it to her once, the power that she held.
"You don't even know her true name, child. Why should she grant that which is Hers to someone like you, a girl who merely was the fairest of three?"
She looked into his eyes, seeing that power and she tried to burn him with her Semblance, trying to harm him.
Cinder Fall would not bow before someone who-
He let go of her suddenly, as he walked past her. The Grimm dissipated, their oppressive power leaving her. It was the power that he held, raw power that burned and ached inside her with its absence, his head turning to her with a look in those eyes that reminded her so much of the Mistress.
A smile, perhaps a touch warmer, not stopping her. She watched, as he looked at her with those eyes, a smile curling on his lips that was as wicked as her own.
"When you are ready for true power... Come and find me."
He walked, steps slow, his back facing hers. Emerald looked at her, questioning, her weapons trained at his back. She was...
'Such power...'
She was aroused. She had been toyed with as if she were the prey and he was the one hunting her, and he had not...
'I need new underwear. I need...'
She felt weak. She felt... vulnerable.
'Was it true?'
It had felt like she had met the Witch again, the one who had sprung her free. Her request for more power, granted. She felt like she was at home once more, with her stepsisters...
'Can he...'
She was desiring of this man, whoever he was. The Witch had spoken of a challenger, someone who upset the balance between her and Ozpin. It was not supposed to be... this.
"Cinder? Are you okay?"
She looked at Emerald and then shivered. She wasn't okay. She was wetter than she'd ever been, the power that had radiated from that man being like an aphrodisiac. It was...
'Thrilling...'
"It seems we have something else to consider, Emerald."
She wouldn't show weakness to anyone, even as she got up. She felt a little out of it, feeling the shivers go through her. Red eyes and pale features, boring down into her.
'Perfection...'
Oh, that was going to be her entertainment for when she got in the shower...
"Other players on the board..."
The look on Mercury's face was readable like an open book. A grim realisation that he was out of his depth. "A new player has entered the game."
"Do we need to eliminate him? Can we even eliminate him?"
Emerald spoke, like the stupid girl she was. She didn't see what a man that was. That power, that finesse... It made her feel like a woman, like she was weak and he held the flame that would light her up.
"No... I will see whether we can forge an alliance..."
He manipulated the darkness much better than she could... Perhaps an arrangement could be made. A strong man needed a woman to partner with, she supposed... and it would be such an utter shame that no other women were woman enough for him.
The verdict (Jaune Ozymandias d'Arc-Night)
Disappointment was all that he could feel as he walked past the woman, the brief bit of illusionary trickery fading away with an ease that he had only obtained through the Relic. To fully let go of his control and to truly summon a Grimm horde that would wipe out the Kingdom would be to tread upon the path of the Grand Witch...
'Such a weak woman...'
She wasn't even worth giving the blessing of the Vitae Tenebris to. He had standards for his women, and she did not meet them. The look in her eyes had been fearful, the power within her had been but a dreg of the dregs. It was impure and ill-refined, not even given the final purification through absorption...
'Truly, you have outdone yourself, Grand Witch...'
There was no reason why the woman would not use the puppet that had been given, but to have it be so weak... Whitney would be able to execute the woman if she tried with some exertion, and Whitney's level of infusion hadn't even reached to the level where she could be counted as an Acolyte...
'Your standards are slipping...'
He was sure that she would have more agents, but to see that Cinder Ella Fall, the one assigned to gather the maidens, was so weak was disappointing. She wasn't strong enough to be anything more than a mere afterthought... so perhaps it had been for that reason that Ozymandias Pinnacle hadn't detected her.
"Master..."
Kali's voice whispered in his ear, as he rounded the corner, leaving the acolyte of the Grand Witch and her followers behind. He felt the touch of Kali as she hugged him from behind. Her body was weightless as the shadows clung to her.
"Your father is a kilometre to the east. Do you wish to speak to him?"
It was a request from a mother to one she cherished to meet with the man who had given him life, and he could feel that faint yearning sensation inside him burn. If he went there, it would be to expose himself to his father, to let him know that he was still alive.
"No."
Meeting his father would not bring him happiness. Meeting his sisters might, but his father...
He would provide answers for the crimes that he had committed against his child. Jaune d'Arc-Night was a sacrifice and it had been nothing but that thus far. Meeting his father again would only complicate matters.
"Your oldest sister is to the north-west, together with the daughter of Raven. White is making her way towards Weiss."
She reported the truth to him, he knew. It was not going to be a happy reunion for Whitney and her daughter, but it would be something. He should probably head back to the hotel...
'I somehow doubt that I'd like to be spotted by someone who knows me...'
It would be explaining why he was still alive, or silencing the witness.
"We'll go to Pyrrha and Nora. I need to know what happened to Ren."
The Faunus woman nodded, before they drifted into the shadows. She was warm and comfortable as she wrapped around him, the sensation slithering over his skin as she left him to emerge from the shadows. The Relic's hum was light as he watched the scene of carnage, bodies already broken and busted by the hammer that Nora wielded, her mind yearning for the touch of a guiding force. She was calling out to him with the cry of someone broken, someone who needed his assistance.
"Nora, stop."
His voice was soft but Nora obeyed. A half-pulped body laid there, horns having bounced off the stones before, a Faunus. He could smell the fear from the young man who stood with them, a smile on his lips.
"Viridian."
His voice was smooth, Nora and Pyrrha looking at him with their devotion. Their attention felt good, as their voices whispered in his ears. Pyrrha's low hoarse whisper was like a rustling flame to Nora's screeching, as the unquiet moment made her spiral further into the darkness.
'You poor, poor thing.'
They stopped before him, and he caught sight of Neptune's lover's gaze, watching the two young huntresses approach without any sort of hesitation.
"John, they've gone mad, they've..."
He could see Pyrrha's head snap around, a low hiss coming from her lips. There was a faint hum in the air, a twang of something snapping, Pyrrha's whispers in the mindscape increasing.
"You're not worthy to speak to our leader, Wisteria."
The dark tone of her voice showed to him that she was in need of guidance. His hand reached out, the ash-pale skin light against Pyrrha's bone-pale skin. Nora and Pyrrha were perfection, as the Vitae Tenebris had pushed through their system.
"Your l- He's the one who led your team first? Isn't he like... dead?"
He looked at Pyrrha, who smiled, his finger stroking through her hair. Nora was at his other side, a low moaning sound coming from her lips, pleading with him.
"Rennie is dead, Jaune... Rennie is dead, can you fix him?"
Her voice was pleading for a miracle, yet he was not a god. He knew not what it would take to revive someone, nor did he have the skill to make it so. Ren would be missed by all of them.
"I'm sorry, Nora."
He could feel the power inside Nora. She had drank Ren's blood, his Vitae Tenebris. He hoped that it would strengthen her more, to gird her against the things that snuck in the shadows. He checked her internal pool of strength, noticing the corruption that had ran through her. Black ichors pulsed through her veins, an increase in potency.
'A danger...'
"It hurts so much, Jauney... It hurts so much. I can't hear him anymore, I can't hear his voice anymore..."
It was pity that he felt for Nora, pity and sympathy. As his friend had fallen, Nora and Pyrrha only had him left. They required him to be their leader, as he'd sworn.
"It'll be okay again."
He looked at Viridian for a long instant, giving a comforting smile, or rather a simile of it.
"I am their team leader, yes. Juniper was my team."
He approached, and the young man inched back. He could feel the fear, could feel that terrible terror work through the young man's system. It was so easy to feel, as Kali lurked within the shadows. The weapon that the young man had in his hands was raised.
"I won't tell anything! I won't t-"
Magnhild froze at an inch from the young man's head, as he stopped Nora. The look in her eyes was magnificent as she looked at the young man with the wide fearful eyes, ready to kill at his command. The power over life and death was intoxicating.
'A hero shouldn't feel like this...'
"You won't know a thing, Viridian. Pyrrha, Nora, back up a little."
He tuned to the Relic, as he looked into the eyes of the young man.
Initializing Memory Purge. DD/YY?
A selection, as he felt the effect of the Relic pump through his system. He gazed into the eyes of the young man as the memories grew dull and the knowledge faded.
'The last gift that I can give you is of ignorance...'
"Hit him, Nora. Rattle his head a little. He won't remember anything before Ren perished."
The body hit the ground as Nora executed his order, leaving him with them aware at last.
Pyrrha was on her knees immediately in a formal bow. He could see the darkness spreading through her, the whispers of her mind adding a chatter to the network, her worship pleasing, yet worrisome.
'That isn't good...'
A love unbroken(Pyrrha Nikos)
She looked at the man who owned her soul, feeling the tremors go through her body with every breath he took, with every utterance of a word. She could feel Nora at her side, numbed to the world with her frenzy. The blood that coated her weapon was a sign of her submission to the man who was their leader, their lord, their saviour.
'I love you!'
A whisper, sent to him, as she felt her body float on that current of love. She loved him so much, so much that she'd gladly make sure that he got what he wished. She would train her body to be perfect for him, to make the world a place where she could serve him.
Her body was ready, as she knelt before him, awaiting his touch. The blonde bimbo would see too, when she was finally captured. She'd spread the girl and he would plunder her like a Mistrali temple maiden... The pain of the infidel would make her feel better, whispering in her ears that she was the Master's, that her body was but a vessel for the love of the Master.
Eating his gracious gift from the useless flesh-waste that was Yang Xiao-Long would be something exquisite, as the Master would seize her and rail her like she was but a maiden of the streets. Her body was ready, fit and pure, ripe for the seizing... and she knew that the blonde would not resist.
"I don't think Yang would like that, Pyrrha."
Denial from the Master... The bimbo would die then, if the Master wished it. She uttered a soft sound in her throat as his hand seized her hair, his presence enriching her mind. It felt so damn good. The feeling of his hand through her hair, of that moment when his mind touched hers...
'I will make sure that they love you as much as I love you.'
A soft laugh, as he heard her thought sound through his head. She laughed with him, happy that she could please. She would drown anyone in their own blood if they disagreed with her that Jaune was the best. "I'm not sure whether I am that lovable, Pyrrha. You're much better than I am." She wasn't. He was the one who had jerked her from the darkness. With Nora and Ren, she might have forged a relationship, a carnal threesome in which she would not feel the emptiness anymore, but with him?
"No, you're much better, Jaune. You deserve my love. I love you."
She spoke the words that mattered to her the most and he smiled, his fingers seizing her ponytail. It felt warm, it felt hot, her whole body was lit up with that craving and she just dripped.
"Be careful what you say... There are a few women who might disagree with that..."
Her voice was like a low hiss of displeasure before a claw-like set of fingers seized her neck. She could feel fear lance through her, as cold breath tickled through her locks
"We'll allow it... But you must remain the Master's..."
The words of the Faunus tingled her ear, as she inhaled and exhaled, looking at the only man who mattered to her. She wanted it, she wanted him. Her pussy burned and squeezed, leaking and dripping.
"I want you. I love you more than I love my own life. If you want me to die, I will cut my throat here and die." An oath, given to one's overlord, one's own god. He was bigger than those stupid concepts, he was someone who was her everything.
He smiled at her, lightly pushing her weapon from her throat. It was his blessing. His touch was like the heat of the sun, as he smiled at her.
"Now, I do want you to look perfect, Pyrrha."
She would have to get a dress. She'd have to get lingerie. She'd...
'Nora will join.'
He would enjoy it. Just the three of them, and Nora would feel better too, even if she moaned Ren's name... Yes, it would be nice for Nora. Something to fill the hole as she got filled...
'You'll be happy too, Nora.'
Nora looked at her, catching that thought. A smile on her lips followed, as she looked a little more at ease. The darkness was working through Nora's body, the pale skin slowly turning a healthy colour once more, as Nora's gaze went to Ren.
"I love you, Ren."
Pyrrha heard Nora whisper, before she looked at the Master. She could feel Nora's distraught emotions level out, as Nora looked at him.
"I love you too, Jaune."
The Master smiled, and Pyrrha felt the urge rise within her to ensure that he smiled at her the whole time she was around. Her head nudged against his hand, feeling his fingers on her scalp. It felt wonderful, the touch of her man on her scalp. He loved her, as a woman should be loved. She wouldn't believe otherwise, and nobody else was needed to pleasure him.
"We'll remember him. He was your boyfriend, your lover, your partner."
The words were what Nora needed to hear. The Master spoke them with that love he had for her. No matter what, she would serve him. She would be whatever he wished her to be.
'Perhaps the Schnee needs to have a good hard shaft between her legs? He did find her appealing...'
A sick and twisted feeling inside her came, as his hand jerked her head up, looking into her eyes. There was something like disappointment in those eyes, as her eyes widened, fear clasping her heart, a shiver going through her.
'No, no, no! Her partner too! Both the cheery little bitch and the Schnee! Yes, yes... He'll love them, they'll love him too! The Master deserves something better, and I'm just being silly! Why not make it a whole team? They will all love him!'
"Pyrrha, you're more than enough. Nora, only if you want me to sleep with you, we can do so."
He was a kind and generous master. She'd have to make sure that she was prepared. Apologies had to be made to the master's mother as well for thinking she was retarded, yes... She'd be the best one he'd ever have, the best woman that he'd need. Nobody else needed to be there for him, when he had Pyrrha Nikos.
"Okidoki, Jaune. Anything to... make it hurt less."
Pyrrha could hear the hopelessness in Nora's voice, and she knew that the Leader would be able to soothe that hurt. Jaune made everything hurt less, even if she had to kill everything that would hurt him.
He was such a good man.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't protect him."
The apology was wonderful. She could feel the regret in him, getting up and holding him. A soft whisper from her lips, a whisper that carried with it the empathy that she felt for him.
"It's okay, Jaune. You're still here."
She could feel Nora brightening a little, that darkness within them lurking in their depths, yearning to return to the man that was so close by. Nora's eyes were wet, Pyrrha noticed, as she hugged the young man who meant so much to her.
"Thank you, Jaune. Let's... Let's make you someone amazing, shall we?" Nora's voice was hesitant, but Pyrrha knew the truth.
'I'll have to prepare! He'll make love to me. He'll make love to us both!'
She wanted to make him happy, she wanted to see that smile on his face. She was going to be his partner and she was going to love him. She already could feel his fingers burn on her skin, making her be marked with his heat and warmth.
"I love you, Nora, Pyrrha."
A small stab of jealousy came through her before she calmed herself. Nora needed it more. She knew that he would come for her, come for them.
'Yes, yes... We're going to be alright. Ren is dead, but we'll be alright. He's here with us, yes.'
Anyone who dared to hurt her Jaune, was going to suffer.
"My... You should calm those thoughts, girl..."
The hands grabbing her around the throat were enough as someone's cool breath wrapped around her.
"Hmmhmmm... Pride and obsession..."
A set of claw-like hands forced her head away, peering into someone's golden eyes. Fear wrapped around her, as her lips felt the burning inside her. A slow, sensual kiss, a feeling that was like the darkness warping and twisting, a slow tentacle of power sliding down her throat, the struggle stopping as the claws wrapped around her.
She felt emptier now, as the tongue and whatever it was pulled out, the woman smiling a little.
"My, what a rush. You should be careful... Loving him is fine, but this..."
A toothy grin, showing teeth that were designed to rip out flesh and make nightmares happen.
"But it was just so little..."
Jaune said, and Pyrrha shook her head, feeling a headache slam through everything in her thoughts. She'd felt... angry?
'But what?'
She looked at him and felt the warmth blossom in her heart, looking into his eyes. He was here for her and that was all that mattered. She was going to be a good partner to her partner, yes.
'He's so warm.'
"I'm sorry, Pyrrha."
He apologized, but he didn't need to apologize to her. She was fine. She was more than fine and she felt... fine? Nothing was wrong with her. She loved him, she knew that to be true.
"Diluting it probably would have been better. I'm sorry that you were-"
She kissed him. She wanted to kiss him and she needed that kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she just held on, letting her tongue push into his mouth, a low guttural groan coming from her mouth. It was what she deserved, a kiss from her leader, the young man who she had given her soul to.
"Go Pyrrha! Kiss that man like you love him as much as I love Ren."
Nora's barely enthusiastic addition to her state of mind was there, as she felt her head be pulled away.
"Pyrrha, I-"
Jaune started, but it was fine. She felt more than fine, brushing her fingers over her lips. He'd kissed her back. He loved her. That was enough, and she would understand. She needed to think, to-
'Perhaps I might've been a little too... hasty.'
"Was I wrong?"
She asked, and received a swift reply from him. He was concerned, his eyes still as red as the morning sunlight during dawn's early hours.
"No, no... I- If Whitney or Kali had given you the gift, it wouldn't have affected you as badly, and..."
He was stammering a little, undeniably cute. She smiled at him, knowing that he was caring for her. That kind boy that she had awakened the Aura of, the young man who had seized her by the heartstrings and raised her up, the one who had been the focus of her life ever since she met him...
"It's okay. Anything you give me is a blessing."
She knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her.
"It's powerful, but it makes you... a bit more inclined to be darker in your emotions." She didn't care. If it brought her with him, he could do whatever he wished with her.
"That's okay. It's okay. No matter what, I will always be there for you Jaune."
She knew that he was someone worth following, someone worth loving. The ancient people of Mistral had always followed the leaders who showed the most promise, who could conquer and keep to the traditions.
He smiled at her with that half-hesitant smile of his and turned to Nora, whose body seemed to light up with activity, a flash of something burning through her system, as she took a step back.
"No, no... I'm good. I can deal with this. Rennie won't be lost if I don't let go of what he had..." A soft whisper from her lips, as Magnhild came up, the shadowy fear-spectre shifting its gaze.
"Nora, Pyrrha was a wreck. She was starting to lose it..."
He sounded concerned for her. She wasn't losing it. She felt a little bit less like giving bimbo tits something to scream about, but that didn't mean that the young man before them would need no tribute.
"No! You won't take my Rennie from me!"
Pyrrha used her Semblance, the heavy war hammer slamming down onto the ground. Nora wore enough metal to pull her down, making her disabled easily. Nora's frustration was visible.
"I'm just going to take what Sienna gave you, and leave you with what Ren gave you, Nora. I should've foreseen it... The average human body isn't designed to hold this much..."
Pyrrha could understand. One made mistakes, but she wasn't going to make the mistakes. She wanted to have his babies.
"Kali, can you?"
The Faunus woman restrained Nora, tilting her head back and Jaune's lips met Nora's, the blood on those lips like a red smear, her pale skin slowly paling further, as the kiss lasted. It was the power transfer, she could feel it. Even with her body feeling weaker than it had been and the rush lesser, there was still that connection.
Nora felt sedate, a soft whisper in the neural network that was between them. Pyrrha felt calmer, as she straightened a little. She would be the best partner that Jaune would want. She just needed to get stronger...
'She's strong.'
The dark-clad Faunus woman looked like her daughter, caressing Nora gently and whispering something too low for her to hear. Nora quietened down a little, as Jaune pulled from her lips, and looked at them. His eyes were so nice and red.
'I love you.'
She would never stop loving him either. She was going to be the best instrument for the man who owned her life. He would be the one who would be able to command her to do whatever he wished, because he was someone who would not be bothered by her unsightliness.
"That should do the trick... I'm sorry, Nora, Pyrrha."
He should not feel sorry for being a strong man around these weaklings. She knew that she was the best. She knew that she was the strongest. Nobody would be able to stop her, if she wished to kill.
She was proud of him. He was the one exalted above all others, after all.
"It's okay, Jauney. You... You just want what's best for us." Nora said, and Pyrrha knew that it was the truth. Nora always knew that she should be truthful in her words.
Pyrrha was happy now. Even with Viridian with them and his degeneracy, being with Jaune and given what she deserved from him... It was wonderful.
'I love you so much.'
"You should take her to bed soon... She looks like she wants you, my dear Zhu."
The whisper of the shadow-creature called Kali Belladonna came, the Faunus woman giving her a smug look. He gazed at her and smiled.
"Only if she wants... I mean, I'm not-"
She didn't want to be left out!
"Of course, whatever you want. Even in the wrong hole, no matter what, I'll be yours."
She would make sure that she had him, even if she had to do horribly degrading stuff. It would all be worth it for the touch of the man who made the moon and the sun move in their pattern, one who controlled her world with his smile and his frown.
"Even in the wrong hole, Pyrrha? You're becoming like Viridian, eh?"
She gave Nora a heated look. It wouldn't be a good thing, but if Jaune wanted it, she would. She should get some nice lingerie first though.
"No. But if you want me to, Jaune?" The laughter of the Faunus woman was light, as her man flushed a little.
"Well, we didn't really try that yet..."
He mumbled, flushed. She smiled. She'd have to get prepared then. It would be empty in the dorm without Ren, but... But she'd make it work. Whoever they gave to them to fill up the blank spot in their team, it would be her way or no way. She was still the team leader.
'You're going to be a king, Jaune... Our king. The man who will guide us as your generals, who will love us like a beast... I'm so proud of you.'
Where there had once been an obsession, there was now pride within her. She looked at him and she saw the small smile on his lips, that look that told her that things were going to be alright.
Even Nora could feel it, as she straightened out. The blood and gore on the outfit that Nora wore made stains, but Nora straightened up, as the Lady of Terror grabbed a hold of their Master and leader, whispering something in his ear and slithered into the shadows with him, fading into the obscuring darkness.
The first robots came raining down from the skies, from the Atlesian ships.
Pyrrha Nikos watched, and she beheld a brief smile on the lips of the Faunus woman.
"You will get what you want, little red..."
The whisper trailed in her ear as she felt her Jaune move away, carried by the Faunus woman.
She would get what she wanted, and she was proud.
Mother and daughter (Whitney Esmeralda Schnee)
She could feel the presence of the Glyphs nearby, coming to a passionate defence of the streets of Vale, her weapon cooling slightly from the barrage of shots that she had fired. She was nearly out of ammunition, but it didn't matter. She would be the one to make her daughter be safe, and that needed little ammunition if her team was still there to shield her.
Huntsmen, varying in age and in weaponry, wearing cloaks and masks for some of the older generations, kept the line, a tall blonde man directing the defence, several of the Huntsmen already in line. A brief glance and her own blue eyes met those of a man so similar to the one that she loved. The small patch of hair on the chin she could do without, though. Totally not her style. It brought to mind the proposal that she had received from the young man.
'A proposal must be made... So it might be best to formally introduce myself, once things quieten down...'
She would have to track down Jaune's parents, but that would not be too much of a problem. Whitney spied her daughter in the arms of a blonde girl. Her daughter didn't look very happy and she was nude except for a cloak.
'What did they do to you, my child?'
She stepped forwards, noticed by the blonde immediately, and she felt for the emotions that her daughter felt, the anxiety and nervousness of everyone around being like a blanket, before she cleared the distance and watched her daughter. The blonde looked somewhat unnerved, unsure of what she would want.
"Dad needs all available Huntsmen to help with the defensive line."
The words weren't something that would be unusual, but she nevertheless only focused on her daughter's face. Eyes were looking away from her, and she sighed.
"Weiss?"
Her voice quivered a little as she spoke her daughter's name, seeing her daughter's eyes widen and her head turn to her. Tears came from her eyes as well as her daughter's, as she exhaled with a shudder, her eyes gazing into those pools..
"Mom-mommy?!"
The soft voice of her daughter, a wheezing and crying sound, as Weiss let go of her barriers and she could feel the scared girl that just needed a hug.
'My sweet daughter...'
She took the girl from the blonde's arms, the winces and hisses from her poor daughter's lips not stopping the mumbling of her daughter. She held her daughter, kissing her cheek softly, as a mother should to comfort their child.
"It's going to be fine, Weiss. Mommy is here and she's not leaving again..."
She would be the one to guard her daughter from anyone who would dare to harm her, because it would not be on her watch that her daughter would be hurt.
"You're her mother?"
The suspicion in the blonde's voice was there, as Whitney's hand rose and she materialized a Glyph. It was as good an identification as it could get, the blonde's suspicion fading immediately.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
She shook her head. Explaining would be troublesome, whilst her daughter needed her, her gaze turning down to her. Weiss looked so fragile and tender, but there was nothing that she could do to mend the body a little.
"Mommy? Mommy? I love you, mommy."
Fear and terror gripped her daughter's mind, and she kissed her daughter's cheek again, just holding her, kneeling and making sure that the child was stable. Her daughter was not going to be someone who would be broken so easily. She was a Schnee after all.
"Mommy is here, my little Weiss. Mommy isn't going to leave again, but she had to hide for a while."
Her daughter made a strangled sound, as she hugged closer. The red cloak that she wore was heavy, and Whitney supposed that it would be some time before Weiss could be dressed in something a little more modest.
"Mommy, they tried to hurt me. I said no but they just wanted to... They hurt me, mommy. The shadows came and the eyes... They keep on watching me, mommy. They keep on hurting people."
Her daughter's voice was small and desperate, the emotions inside her warring. Whitney felt bad for her daughter, her fingers brushing through the long hair of her daughter.
"Nobody's going to hurt you anymore, Weiss. Mommy is here and she'll make every bad person go away."
She would. No matter whether it would expose her allegiance to the greatest man in the world or not, she would defend her daughter with her life.
"Mommy came for me."
She kissed her daughter's forehead, just as she'd done when Weiss was still young. It was nice to be with her youngest daughter again, she knew, but sometimes...
"Grandpa Nick told me to make sure that you were safe. I never wanted to leave you alone, Weiss."
She didn't. Weiss was family, and you didn't hurt your family without good reasons.
"I love you, mommy."
Her daughter's voice was broken, as she could feel the tears drip into her outfit, stroking softly over her daughter's back. The girl had been through so much, but she would learn that things were going to look up.
'And when you meet your new stepfather, everything will be alright...'
A happy family would be something that her daughters needed. Winter might come home, Whitley would have someone to look up to...
"I love you too, my little snowflake."
She spotted people coming, a wolf-masked woman taking the lead, a dangerous-looking war-scythe on her back, ready to be used and pulled out, the woman's steps easy and with a lithe grace. The mask didn't come off, as the woman stepped to up to the circle of Huntsmen.
"We're going to seal the breach. Heather, use the liquidized Magma Dust. If anything's coming through there, it'll be nice and grilled..."
The huntress at her side, wearing a similar Beowolf mask, pulled a special canister out of a pouch, slotting it into the flamethrower that she wielded. The sword on her back looked dangerous, but the woman's methodical manner showed familiarity with the orders.
A flare of heat that she could feel over there, the Huntsmen leaving the breach, as the flames flowed from the hose-like weapon, filling the hole with globs of slimy burning Magma. It was a little like filling a hole with cement, but this stuff burned hotly.
"I love you, mom."
She was aware of a red-cloaked girl standing nearby, looking at them with eyes that seemed to ask questions that weren't voiced yet.
"Yes?"
She inquired, as the girl cleared her throat. An older man with a scythe stood nearby, his eyes looking carefully around, and Whitney mused briefly on some thoughts.
"You're Weiss' mom?"
She nodded, brushing her hand over her daughter's darling face. Weiss quivered a little, and she stiffened a little under the touch.
"I am. Lady Whitney Schnee, at your service... Though I suppose there's not much to be of service here."
The bright smile and the flood of words that came from the girl's mouth was a surprise, as the girl started to talk about how good it was to have Weiss' mom here, because Weiss was really sad and just needed to be held.
Weiss was a great friend, or so the girl claimed, but Whitney didn't think that this girl was fully all-there. Her daughter needed medical attention, a counsellor and hugs. Not just a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the back.
"Hey, my name's Taiyang, I'm this little huntress's father. You're Weiss' mother?"
The man was not wholly undesirable at the face-value level, but she absolutely did not think she'd ever voluntarily pick him. The man's eyes were warm and emotional and she could detects the highs of emotion within him.
"I am, yes."
The man's eyes looked at her and a hint of sadness entered them, as it did in his body. It wasn't something that he consciously did, she noticed, his Semblance probably emotion-powered.
"She suffered a lot. I was going to eh... yeah, second-year huntsman stuff. Ruby went first, and she's been a good girl, right?"
The girl smiled at her father and Whitney wondered briefly whether that was because it had been enjoyable or whether it had been something that the girl had been wanting. Whatever it was, it didn't really matter much to her.
"Best girl, daddy! Weiss will love it too, I just know she will!"
The man looked at his daughter for a moment and gave an indulgent smile, before he patted her head softly.
"Just let her heal up a little, sweetheart. We wouldn't want her to hurt whilst she's doing that, right?"
Whitney didn't think much of the girl, but Weiss shivered a little, as she nudged her head against her mother's shoulder.
"Don't wanna. I don't wanna, mommy."
She sighed and caressed her daughter's head, smiling sadly.
"You don't have to, sweetheart. We can work something out, right? Mister Taiyang, is it really mandatory?"
The man shrugged. Whitney frowned at the man, not going to budge from her stance. If Weiss did not want something, she would not have to do anything.
"No, but it's good to have some grounding. Ruby understands the stakes and she's a good team leader for your daughter."
The man sounded convinced of that. Whitney caught sight of the blonde girl, the man's daughter apparently, looking at her father with a look of disbelief on her face. It wasn't something that was immediately noticeable, as several of the masked and cloaked individuals started to gather, whilst the magma dust was being put into place to seal the breach.
"We shall see. The Schnee Dust Company thanks you for keeping the heiress safe."
The standard rote response, as she looked at the man's features for another moment before she dismissed him.
"We should join up with the main defence at the south gate. There's stiff opposition there. Do you think you'll be able to keep your daughter safe?"
The man's voice sounded worried, the man's eyes going to her, as she looked down at Weiss for a moment. Her daughter was not in any combat-ready state right now.
"I'll join you. There is power in groups and the Schnee are pretty much at the top of every White Fang member's kill list... I do not wish to have to suffer the loss of my daughter, Mister Taiyang."
The man with the scythe spoke up then. He'd been lurking in the background, making sure that they weren't ambushed.
"I'll personally keep you two safe then. You're a ranged fighter, aren't you? Might need a hand."
She appreciated the gesture. A light smile on her lips as her head inclined towards the man, her eyes glinting with the feelings inside her for her daughter swelling. A light little touch of the darkness to Weiss and she'd feel better...
But she could not. Her daughter ached and hurt, and she'd gotten broken bones. "Thank you, kind sir." A blonde woman gave her a look, one that wasn't very friendly. Probably a girlfriend, if she'd pegged her right. There was desire within that one for the man who had just offered her that, and it wasn't too bad to stoke those desires too.
"Qrow, the name's Qrow and I'm this ragamuffin's uncle."
The man ruffled the cloak and scythe girl's hair, Whitney feeling the spike of happiness from the girl. The girl seemed to be under the delusion that everything was okay as long as you were happy... or that much she'd gleaned from the brief flash of emotions.
Her Weiss did not need a simple girl around her to mess her up. Weiss was in need of someone who did not forget that Weiss was a girl that had feelings, who might not want to do what her leader commanded her to do.
'Yes, I think you're going to love your stepfather, Weiss.'
She would make sure that Weiss would be happy. Winter and Whitley needed someone to look up to in their life, so she would ease them into the state of events...
'And when I am back in Atlas, I will make sure that nobody will ever associate the name of Schnee with oppression ever again...'
Reunions (Yang Xiao Long)
She watched how mother and daughter reunited, a warmth inside her now at the sight of the two of them just there. Weiss looked small in her mother's arms, the woman seated on the cold stone, but neither of them seemed worried. It was nice, just as her own mother had spoken to her only earlier in the night.
'I'm happy for you...'
She knew that there were things in the path of their reunion, her mother had intimated as much in their brief chat. The woman had looked conflicted, but sure. The cloak still remained with her. Ruby would have to accept it, as Yang knew that there was no longer merely a single cloak-wearer in team RWBY.
"So, new coat?"
She asked Blake, who had donned a black coat over the white one that she'd gotten from Weiss' grandfather. Blake smiled softly, as if something good had happened. It was curious, but Yang didn't seem to feel that sense of foreboding anymore.
"It was Adam's. She's carrying his head."
A shy smile, as her Faunus teammate and partner looked at the oldest Arc sister, who currently was gesticulating to some of the other members of the Order, relaying some sort of orders.
"That jerk-bag who did that to you?"
She inquired, looking at Blake, who smiled, something in those eyes more liberated than before. Yang felt lighter now, as Blake's eyes lit up. Yang could see the head in Rowena's hands, held by a horn.
"She killed Adam. She hacked his cock off and then decapitated him..."
A giggle, as if it was somewhat funny, Blake's eyes looking at her and then returning to the Beowolf mask-wearing woman, a look that was definitely something that Yang had seen before.
"It was wonderful. She's safe, Yang. She'll protect you."
Yang could understand that, but it was not something that was a wrong assumption. Rowena had been like a mother to her for a few brief months. If Blake saw something like that in her too, it was good for her.
Weiss looked like she weighed very little as her mother lifted her up, her legs and arms dangling a little. Weiss kept on looking at her mother, as Yang watched carefully for the signs of something being amiss, the mother of one of her teammates looking like she required a good bath, the garb of the Huntswoman looking a little familiar.
'Did she nick it from a movie or something?'
"We should get going, guys. I've got an update from the man leading the defence effort for the south gate, and we're expected... Things are getting pretty hairy out there."
Her dad spoke up, getting a fresh batch of Dust shells into his weapon, switching to the alternate mode to slot them in. It wasn't as cool as her Ember Cecilia, but it was alright, she supposed.
They were a large group, she knew. Easily ten people, with one injured and one carrying the injured. She was alert the whole time, as she watched the streets, the many bodies that had fallen in the incursion of the Grimm, the response that was had. Coming up to the main square and watching the bodies that'd been carried away from the frontline, where stiff opposition was still being given to the invading Grimm. Several White Fang bodies had been left where they had been, a tall blonde man ordering the people with a voice that carried far.
The man's silhouette was grave, as blood covered his face, his attention going to them as they entered the field of combat.
"Taiyang Xiao Long, reporting in."
Dad sounded formal, as the blonde man regarded him with a passive look. It was different from the warm man that they'd met at the funeral, a grim kind of look, as if they were all but pawns on the board.
"Where do you want me, Sage?"
Informal words, spoken to someone in control. That sounded like her dad at least, or her uncle. The emotionless stare that she saw the man give her father was something that made her get a shiver rolling down her spine.
"You and your daughter will assist me with breaching through and getting to the next street. Do not fail at this, Taiyang of the Xiao Long."
The man's voice was without inflexion, as her dad looked at her and then grinned. The man patted the other man on the shoulder.
"Ruby, go and reinforce the front with Qrow, make sure that it's safe for us. Yang, we're going to go and get things back in order again. Get yourself ready whilst I talk to ol' gloomy here."
The oldest Arc sister stepped forward, a formal bow that looked stuffy in nature, as she righted herself again.
"Father, permission granted for deployment?"
A shake of the man's head. "Family fights together, Rowena." The words were sharp and pointed, and she watched the man's metal hand shift the shield a little, her father speaking in calm tones to the others. The head of the Faunus in Rowena's hand was tossed to the side, laid there as a trophy. A cloak was thrown over it, the head wrapped in it by one of the other masked women, their faces still unseen, but like the family that would guard her.
"Functionality has been restored, Father. The man who raped me lies dead. The file has been sent to my sisters. Peruse it for proper protocol."
There was a small smile on the man's face, a sign of twitching cheeks that showed what was approximatively something of approval.
"Good, daughter. Hold the line whilst I and the Taiyang and his daughter go to breach."
She didn't need to hear more, her dad nudging her away with a proud smile on his face. For some reason, she felt a little queasy in her stomach, but she couldn't pin down what had caused it. Her father started to talk about something with the man, going to Blake and plucking a fresh cartridge of Dust shells from the pack that they shared between them as emergency supplies.
'Now... Let's Yang out with dad...'
The ghosts we carry with us(Whitney Esmeralda Schnee)
She carried her daughter as gently as she could, the girl whimpering with every step that she took, her eyes searching for enemies. Her weapon was strapped to her back, a good decision that she'd made, because carrying Weiss was making her functionally useless.
"No enemies detected within the immediate vicinity."
She could feel the presence of people around her, their emotions heavy and yet restrained, the blood inside her clogged with the darkness, yet not enough to sate her craving. She wished that she could bring Weiss to Jaune, to make him bless her with the power that he held. They would be a mother and a daughter and they'd like the same man. Weiss needed a good, dependable hero.
"Sage Aaron d'Arc-Night spotted. Semblance active at 95%, complete lack of empathy and understanding of emotions. Challenging when engaged at close-quarters, challenging when engaged at long-range when facing towards us."
It was a strange thought. It didn't seem like it belonged to her at all, and she wondered where it had come from.
"And what, exactly, does that have to do with me?"
She replied back to the strange thought, and she received a faint spark of something that might be amusement, before someone spoke up.
"If he is allowed to learn of the existence of Jaune Ozymandias d'Arc-Night, he will bring him to the Grandmaster for the final connection to be made. Elimination of the d'Arc-Night patriarch allows for a 54% chance of Jaune Ozymandias d'Arc-Night's survival."
Whitney supposed that it would be a bit of a delay in her plans to officially announce herself as the youngest child's bride-to-be. She'd have to talk with the sister that she had spoken to earlier on the Scroll.
"So... I need to keep his existence hidden. I guess this is a bit like Oreo and Julep."
A mild sound that could be humour flickered in her mind. The dull dry tone of her thoughts replied.
"Ideally, yes. The Mission dictates that all shall serve the plan of the Grandmaster. Father explained to me the details because I was to be the one to continue the Family. The odds of our side's chances for victory are increasing the longer Jaune lives without being in the view of the main players of this game. The Shadow's presence is thoroughly eliminated wherever it is found."
It was a strange way of referring to things, but it clicked... and a sudden sense of horror wrapped around her. That wasn't how she'd refer to anyone, but she'd heard it before from Summer.
"Who are you?"
There was a pause, as the voice seemed to hesitate.
"I am Cremea Arc, inheritor of the Creed and one of Jaune Ozymandias d'Arc-Night's sisters. It is a pleasure to be aware and able to speak to you, Lady Whitney. I am at your disposal, should you require tactical advice."
The voice of a dead woman. She remembered the body that she had briefly touched, the awkward sensation. Father had the spirit of mother there to support him, so...
"Do continue to aid me. Is there anything else I should be cautious about?"
Muted amusement, as the answer waited for it a little, as the blonde man went for the father of her fiancé.
"Atlas. Someone with your pedigree and financial capacity would be requested to take up another spouse, after a set amount of grieving time has been allowed."
She knew that. A mother of three, with the title and the pedigree and the wealth of the Schnee Dust Company behind her... well, it would be something that would be dealt with once she got back to Atlas, preferably post-wedding. The women she had saved...
"They will provide ample support, should you need it. Their life was saved, thus gratitude will compel them to support you. A seat on the council should suffice, in order to push through legislation."
Whitney didn't know whether that would be the right thing to do at this point. General Ironwood still controlled the military and held seats on the Council, so it would be a hard bargain to sell. Still, if she shut the supply of Dust off, it would allow her some bargaining space.
"I've got a plan..."
If she had enough support... The economy would be hers. Dust was an invaluable resource, after all.
"As you wish me to be, I shall be. Cremea Arc does not go back on her word. It is the best option."
She would have to trust in Jaune's older sister. Granted, he was the baby out of eight children, but she knew that his sister probably meant well for him.
"I love him, as I love all members of my family, though I cannot really show it. Statistical data analysis shows that it is normal for humans to experience such attachment."
That answer was enough for her. She'd be part of the family, she would fight for that right, if it came down to it.
Kali would be there beside her, when it came down to that fight.
"I love you mommy."
Her daughter whispered softly, and she smiled down at her wonderful little Weiss.
"I love you too, Weiss. You're going to be safe again. You're going to heal up and we're going to have fun together."
She would make sure that nobody except those she trusted would ever touch her family.
Tying Xiao Long with a raven's daughter's song(Yang Xiao-Long)
She was ready, watching several of the Beowolves come ever closer to them. Next to her stood her dad, who was side-by-side with Sage Arc. Jaune's father stood there with an easy stance, his emotionless face showing not a single twitch of dissatisfaction, as he glanced at her. Ruby was taking shots at the Grimm, several Nevermores turning into Grimm smoke, her dad looking at her with a confident grin.
"Remember, Yang... As long as you've got confidence, no matter Xiao Long it takes, we'll punch right through."
A grin on her face, as she pulled herself to that combat state, before the shield and sword-wielding man gave the signal for them to move.
They were in motion, the sound of the sniper rifle marking the start of the fighting. Her body was in motion, her father catching her eye with a bold grin, sprinting with her. Sage Arc was faster, his shield in front of him, a Beowolf slammed into with the flat of the shield, her father's weapons discharging, blasting the Grimm apart, before she was on the next one. It yielded, as the explosion of the Fire Dust round came, and she felt the heat wash over her. The shield-bearing man continued along, hacking through another Beowolf with his blade.
"Ursa at the left, take care of it."
The emotionless voice was there, as her father sprang into motion, explodinating the Ursa, her body in motion, the gauntlets clicking with another round as her punch shattered the exterior of the Grimm, leaving only smoking black guts to evaporate.
"Sage, Beowolf from the right."
Her father's voice sounded concerned, as it always did. The man mechanically turned around and the shield came down onto the Beowolf's head, slamming it into the ground and cutting through it, the edge flashing with a hidden blade worked into the side.
"I do not need the advice from an emotionally incontinent fool."
She could feel the irritation in that voice, as the man continued along, her father's smile slightly more wooden and stiff. He tried to hide the mumble, but she caught it due to her close proximity.
"Still a stick up your asshole, Sage? God, I should've pulled that out years ago."
The man mumbled, seemingly to himself. He caught her eyes and grinned. He winked afterwards, a good-natured smile on his face.
"Worked with him a few times back when you were still a wee babe, Yang. He's a good man, but he's... not the best at showing his emotions. Things were rough when I was younger. Really skilled with his weapon too, and his wife's pretty g-"
The man's emotionless voice cut through her father's tone when her father tried to explain. The man's face was still set in that stoic expression, his eyes searching for enemies as he spoke.
"Focus on things that matter rather than talking with your offspring."
Her father's face showed more annoyance, as he looked at the man. Yang didn't quite know what to think of the man, as he looked at the opposition. Ten Beowolves, a Tajitu that looked like it wanted to take a big bite out of some nice Xiao Long thighs... Yeah, that was not going to be easy.
"Stay back, Yang. Sage, do you think it's time for that?"
The emotionless man looked stern, as he judged the situation. A hand rose behind him and motioned for the other Huntsmen to advance.
"It would be best to deal with that, Xiao Long. It would seem that your years of malaise have barely dulled the training you received whilst at Beacon."
Her father's easy smile, as he looked at the man, sighing deeply at the words that were being used. She didn't care much about the cold stoic man, who was already rearing up to take the front. Her father's legs braced themselves, as Sage Arc moved forward a few yards, before kneeling, the shield facing upward.
Her father took a sprint and then leapt, hitting the shield. With a grunt that sounded manlier than she'd expect from the stern man, her father was thrown into the air, nearly flying, his gauntlets starting to switch to the alternate mode. Dust rockets rained down on the Grimm, exploding in heated flashes, as the man rose up. The Huntsmen moved to his signal and she took a deeper breath.
The first of the robots started to fall down from the sky then, landing with dull thuds and deploying. Atlas security forces started to come, as her father mopped up the last of the Grimm, returning with a jovial bounce to his steps. Sage Arc merely had a passive look on his face, the man straightening his armour a little, the shield put on a strap at his belt, blue eyes peering at the robots as they made short work of the Grimm. Several of the Huntsmen already were moving into position to support the robots.
"A modest work, I see. It seems there was some use for you anyways..."
Her father smirked broadly, as he hugged the stern man all of a sudden, without warning. The man went still, as her father opened an arm for her to come and join them.
"Come and give him a hug too, Yang! He needs a hug! He did great today as our battle commander, as always!"
She wondered whether the man did, as the older man struggled a little, her father's grip on him rather tight. The man's armour looked like it was going to dent. Her father's Semblance was a little like hers, though her father's emotions guided his strength more than anything.
"Verdigris, this is highly improper! Didn't I tell you not to hug me in public? Some allowances are made, but this is still public!"
There was a shudder that went through her, as the man mentioned a name that was not the one her dad had. A similarity of the features she noticed, the two men face-to-face, her father's stubble and patch below the lower lip contrasting with Sage Arc's blonde hair that was turning grey, cut shorter and to regulation standard. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Similar facial structures, and...
Both looked at her, her father's face smiling whilst Sage Arc's eyes were merely cool mirrors of blue, as the familial connection clicked.
"Give your uncle a big hug, Yang. He's being a gloomy asshole, but he's nice when you get to know him. We'll have to go up to the family residence a few times... Can't forget to pay respect to your granddad too. Brave man, he died for the good cause."
'Oh.'
She had an uncle. He looked like her dad, but older. Her father smiled at her, pulling her into a big hug. The man struggled a little, her father more muscular in build, as well as being younger.
"See, Verdigris? She does not desire a hug. Now let go of me! This is improper. Emerald is the hugging type, not me. You can hug her."
She hugged the man, reluctantly. This was awkward but dad didn't deny that he was called that, nor did the man stop calling her dad that name.
She had an uncle and his name was Sage Arc.
Volume III, DONE. The reveal of Verdigris Arc was carefully hinted in several of the earliest chapters, so, yeah. Here we have him. Taiyang of the Xiao Long, Verdigris Arc.
I'll duck behind something to avoid the barrage of rotten tomatoes that'll be coming to me for this unveil. Blartubus and Second Ghest probably will have something to say about that unveiling of someone's backstory... Yeah. Eazy, thanks for being a frequent flyer on Cyanide Review Airlines! Randomname, thanks for the support too!
I appreciate all of your reviews, people! Here's Sage Arc's character theme! Slow music, with a deep manly voice, which you'll have to use your imagination.
The Order of All Things (Sage Aaron d'Arc-Night Character theme)
I was born into this world to set right what had gone wrong,
born into the d'Arc-Night, to cause the family to not be undone.
A brother, a sister, I shall not hold them dear,
for I will be the bastion that stands against all that they will fear.
It is the order of things, it is how it must be,
what I do for this world, is a gift for you, from me.
Chorus
It is the order of all things, it is how it shall be.
One order, one rule to guide, a gift from us and from me.
The order of things, it is as how it should be,
a world that is ordered and neat, where we are all free.
The Orders will guide, and we will determine your fate,
to sacrifice all we have for the people, before it is too late.
It is the order of all things, it is how it is supposed to be.
(Sang by Emerald Arc)
Husband of mine, I care for you much,
our daughter grows with every day,
to crave your touch, if you give it as such.
I breathe the air how you wish me to be,
my soulmate, to be without you is to never be free.
You claim it is the order of things, but it is not what it must be,
my eldest daughter's life, chained and never to see.
(Sage)
It is the order of things, my wife, my dear delight,
even if I must sacrifice everything for this world,
never will my heart feel tight. I will do what I must, it is what it must be,
an order of things, even with the number being merely three.
Birth the heir, bring forth that male child,
to become one with the saviour of this world.
Chorus
(Rowena)
You took from me my child,
handed me the mask and told me to go wild,
chained like a bird with broken wings and never free,
is this how it is going to be?
I bore you a child, my life forfeit and no longer wild,
my sister enchained in her own life,
do I even fit within this order of things,
or am I merely the reaping scythe?
Chorus
(Sage)
A child born from my line, to be a vessel for a grand master,
to hurry on the saving of this world of Remnant, ever faster.
A sacrifice, to be brought to this world to create what is right.
With the magic within him, what was wrong will be banished,
the eternal oath to guard finally ending with the enemy vanquished.
It is the order of what we are all striving to be,
the cloak and mask our badge of office, for all to see.
It is the order of all things, for you and me.
Chorus
I feel nothing, as those around me perish.
I feel no emotions, as my Semblance orders the world.
It is the order of things, as it all should be.
Seven daughters, a child of my line gotten from one,
an order to things, a route taken to bring peace for all.
This is the choice I have made, as it is the Order from on high.
For the peace and prosperity of mankind.
Feelings are not needed, as I do what must be done.
Come what may, I know my task will be taken up when I am gone.
Daughters seven, of which the Order has not claimed three,
to do what must be done, whilst the youngest remain free.
A sacrifice for the Grandmaster of my fate,
but one I bear with my mate.
I am of the dark night, one of those who guards the truth of what is right,
the shield against everything that will harm those under my care,
for the bright morning that we all will share.
The Order of all things...
And the peace and prosperity that it brings.
End
Sage Aaron d'Arc-Night's Fairytale Allusion is Bluebeard.
Leave a review, and I hope that you've all enjoyed Volume III! Onto Volume IV, which is 'lighter' in theme!