The Shadow Over Beacon:
With his parents captured by the strange townsfolk, Jaune must steel his nerve and brave the odd harbor town to rescue them. He makes plans to build up some allies before then, offering a way out to a familiar drunk. With time not on his side and the odd sensations and eerie feelings he's getting, Jaune must act fast to save his family. From what, he does not know. But, by now Jaune has noticed how the townsfolk act, how they seem to be eerily fixated on that symbol of there's, and how the church seems to be the center of it all. Bracing himself the young man ventures forth, into a fate too diabolical to speak of.
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The silver haired freak didn't even hear me coming, and by the time my arm wrapped around his neck there was no escape. I dragged the young man into a nearby alleyway before depositing him roughly onto the asphalt with a grunt. I had taken shelter under a small overhang and stood menacingly over the now shaking guy, he seemed to recognize me and was about to say something but I beat him to it.
"Where are you taking my parents you pale bag of shit." I growled, hauling him up and slamming him against the old brick of a nearby building.
The ghastly man seemed to stammer out a reply, only making coherent sentences when I slammed him again against the wall. "I-I don't know what you're talking about man! I was just out for a walk, I swear!"
"A walk? Because of the nice weather right?" I punched him hard in the stomach, earning a wheeze. "Don't fuck with me pal those are my parents, and I'll tear this place apart if I have to you-"
"The church!" he cried out, hands blocking the expectant punch. "If they're being taken anywhere then it's the church!"
"The church? Why?" I asked, remembering how odd it seemed to be at the time.
"Everything that goes down is at the church, it's our..." he seemed to search for a word until I raised my fist again. "I-It's like a community hub, man! Like, if people are going to meet up it's always at the church!"
I hummed for a moment, knowing these circus freaks that place would be crawling with them. And without a lot of weapons, or an ally, it'd be suicide to try and charge that place, I'd end up on an altar before morning. I rubbed my chin as the man below me cowered, thinking on it for a moment if I let him go he'd raise hell throughout the town, but could I really shoot him?
Regardless of the moral aspect to that dilemma, I'd be wasting one of my few remaining bullets. If I killed some nobody here would that mean I wouldn't have a bullet when facing down some summoned demon or whatever? Deciding it wasn't worth it, I slammed the grip of my gun down on the man's head, action movie style and knocked him out swiftly.
Well, actually I saw a lot of dark blood ooze down his head and hair but I'm pretty sure he was unconscious for now. Still, this presented yet another dilemma for me, this rain provided good camo but if I didn't find Qrow soon we'd both be in deep shit. Now that I had time to think, I had begun to feel this deep pit in my stomach, a dark hole that had opened up ever since I found out I was walking in circles.
Sticking to the alleyways, I slowly maneuvered around town as fast as I could. Occasionally I would see one or two townsfolk walking about, seemingly enjoying the massive downpour and conversing with eachother. It all seemed very odd, the way they seemed so close to humans but then you started to really look at them, the angles of the face, the skin, even veins just started getting more and more... odd.
It would have been fascinating if it weren't for the fact I was pretty sure they were evil. Eventually I snuck my way back into the park, where I had originally found Qrow, and began to snoop around trying to find the drunken man and ask for his help. By the time I arrived back at the bench I had originally found him, there were two of those freaks in his stead.
I recognized one, that green guy, the giant one, from before. With him was another woman in a dark brown beret and a matching corset, the two seemed to be conversing and, against my better judgement, I inched forward to listen to them over the rain.
"-Geez Yatsuhashi, weren't you supposed to mellow that dude out?" the girl asked the giant next to her. Both were taking refuge under a large tree as they sent on the bench,
"Hmm, Pyrrha has said that he reacted most... disagreeably. I have a feeling that we might have scared him off." "Yatsuhashi" apparently, stated.
No shit, oh yeah "let's hunt down the new guy and try and abduct him guys!" Jaune thought to himself sardonically. The two continued to talk, unbeknownst to their third party.
"Well whatever the case, he's bound to wind up back here when he figures out the barrier." the beret girl said, flicking back a lock of hair. "Once that happens we just need to run him down and tell him the score of things."
"Yatsuhashi" frowned slightly. "I still don't know about this Coco, we could be sending him the wrong message. We haven't exactly been acting very trustworthy."
"Yeah well, he shot at Russel so he's not acting very trustworthy either." Coco scoffed. "Whatever, I just hope this'll be over soon, I've been waiting all my life for this moment and I don't want it ruined because this guy started getting antsy."
I scowled at their conversation, it seems they had taken special interest in me, more so than I originally thought. Call it superstition, but I had a feeling they needed me specifically for whatever godforsaken ritual they wanted to do. Yatsuhashi shifted slightly and seemed to focus on the rain, white skin seemingly radiating light as he inclined his head.
"He was speaking with Qrow earlier." was all he said, but the simple sentence caused Coco to scowl something fierce.
"Ah, that my explain why he's so freaked out. Stupid drunk always prattling on about how "evil" or "demonic" we are, like he doesn't know the beauty of the goddess." she spat. "Probably told the guy a shit ton of lies just to scare him off, fucking asshole."
"Yes, I heard the elders have finally had enough and had him taken down below." Yatsuhashi nodded sagely.
Down below? Were they torturing the poor guy just for talking to me? Either way, I had a new objective: find Qrow and have him help me get out of here with my family. If they had taken him "down below" perhaps I should try and sneak into the church, it seemed as likely a place as any for this "down below" to be located.
Coco sneered. "Ha, perfectly ironic if you ask me. Sewage dying amongst sewage, sounds like how he'd want to go out."
Sewage? They must mean the sewers beneath the town, although that realization didn't comfort me any. I needed to find a way down there and rescue Qrow, before they killed him or ate him or some equally horrible fate. I slowly started to crawl away but froze at the sound of a twig snapping, looking down in abject horror, the remains of a small branch lay snapped beneath my knee. I could hear the two freaks behind me move from their spot, the feeling of two bodies starting to close in on me.
"Hello? Is someone there?" Yatsuhashi asked to the tree I hid behind.
"Tch, it's probably just that Cardin creep trying to spy on me again. Hey, Cardin! If it is you I'm going to kick your ass so hard you'll have to sit on your eyes!" Coco growled, marching in front of her friend towards me.
I was fucked, if I bolted now they'd catch me no matter which direction I took off in. I only had one choice now, even if the thought of it did make me want to vomit. Steeling my nerve I got to my feet as fast as possible and stepped out from behind the tree, gun raised at the two ghostly people. The effect was immediate, Coco stopped in her tracks and Yatsuhashi's mouth settled into a thin line.
"W-Woah man, take it easy-" Coco started but I cut her off.
"Shut the fuck up!" I snarled, causing the girl to flinch. "You're gonna tell me everything I want to know, or I'll send both your asses to hell here and now."
Yatsuhashi raised his hands trying to calm me. "Ok, go ahead and ask your questions. But please, don't do anything you might regret."
"Where did you take my parents?" I asked, shaking the gun at him.
"Your parents? I heard some word of two travelers coming to town, if they're related to you they must've been taken into the church." Coco butted in, looking between the two of us warily. "Look, they'll let you inside if you just ask, there's no need to threaten us."
"Yeah? And I'm sure we'll all sit down for a nice long chat and some tea, will we?" I laughed just a tad crazily. "Nah, I know you freaks probably plan to sacrifice me to some weird elder god of yours."
Yatsuhashi blanched, if that were possible given his skin, and recoiled. "N-No, sir, you misunderstand us. We mean you absolutely no harm, and we would never even think of harming you or your own. Please, allow us to take you to your parents and we can sort this out."
"I don't think so asshole, so here's question number two: Where can I find Qrow?" Yatsuhashi swallowed and looked to his friend who just shook her head.
"I- Sir believe me Qrow is not the person you should be talking to-" he was cut off by the hammer of the gun clicking back. "I-I believe they took him down into the sewers, but it would be a fool's errand to try and navigate that place without our help."
"I don't need your or anyone of your kind's help thank you very much." I spat, slowly stepping back before bolting across the park back to the safety of the alleys.
As I ran I glimpsed the two behind me run off in a different direction, most likely to scrounge up some more people to come find me. I sprinted forward, looking for the nearest manhole cover I could pry open until I saw it at the end of a crumbling street. I dashed towards it, hoping to make it before anyone could learn my location, but life was not so kind to me.
Stepping out from what looked to be a tailors, the girl with the red hair and green eyes exited the shop with a small bag. She was directly in my way and I had no time to try and talk my way out of this, she turned to me and flashed a smile. It died an ugly death when I leveled the gun at her face and screamed at her to move, she did so, with great haste, and I sped past her. I reached the manhole cover and, with a strength I jotted down to pure adrenaline, I ripped it off and jumped in, not making myself hesitate at the awful stench.
Cursing at myself for not closing it, I sped off along the edge of the large tunnel, vaguely hearing some distressed calls from the girl I had shoved past. I ignored them, and drove deeper into the sewers, hoping beyond all hope that I'd find Qrow before it was too late...
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I ran for what must have been an hour straight, my adrenaline keeping me from getting tired or even sweaty during the entire time. Looking down, I noticed that the running had caused me to grow a tad bit pale at the exertion, forcing me to stop and catch my breath. I looked all over the place and didn't even hear so much as a peep from Qrow or any other villagers. Occasionally I'd hear the clamoring footsteps of those who ran over the manhole I dashed under, but other than that it had been total silence in the labyrinth.
That was until I heard the gruff cursings of a familiar man from nearby. Qrow's voice echoed throughout the network of tunnels and I resumed my run in an attempt to locate their source, eventually I came upon a scene where below, in what looked to be a large room, Qrow sat tied to a chair and surrounded by older townsfolk.
"Y-You bastard, lemme outta here!" Qrow thrashed back and forth, earning the disapproving looks of the cultists around him. "When I get outta here I'm gonna rip your fucking heads off!"
"This could have been so simple Qrow, we allowed you to remain the drunken fools of the town despite the high priestess's wishes so long as you didn't cause trouble. But we cannot, however, overlook you planting such filthy lies into Jaune's head." oh fuck, they knew my name. That's changed the battlefield a little bit, but I continued to spy on them regardless, waiting for a moment to strike.
"I didn't tell him any lies! You fucking creeps have been brainwashed by that degenerate religion of Rose's!" Qrow howled in rage, earning a punch to his jaw for his trouble.
"How dare you!" a younger man seethed, only stopped by the apparent ring leader. "Our goddess saved this town, our very souls you ungrateful wretch!"
Holy shit, these people really were crazy. It was one thing to see it, but to hear someone go so absolutely fucking nuts over some "goddess" really made my stomach churn, these guys full on were about to slaughter Qrow for simply not submitting to their cult! I withdrew the gun, and aimed downwards, although I decided to let things play out a little longer. I needed as much info as possible.
"Enough," the ring leader stated, towering over the bound man. "Qrow you know I can't simply let you continue like this."
"Fuck you Jimmy." was all Qrow responded with.
The man ignored it. "Since we were friends at one point, I'll offer you one last chance to rejoin our glorious religion."
"Fuck you James! My wife "disappears" just because she didn't agree with you batfuck crazy religion and you motherfuckers conspire to throw me outta my own goddamn home, and now you have the nerve to demand I join your lunatic cult! You're outta your fucking mind Jimmy, go ahead and kill me you useless fuck! Let me go home to my sweet Winter." by the end of Qrow's tirade his tone had burnt itself out and he hung his head low.
"Hmm," James hummed to himself. "Disappointing to say the least, but unavoidable."
He raised a gun to Qrow's head, the man below resigning himself. I needed to act, and fast.
"Hey!" I shouted as loudly as possible. The echo of my voice filling the room with a thunderous roaring.
As one, the three of them turned around and it wasn't until James caught my face that he lowered the gun with a jovial smile.
"Ah, Jaune. I'm so glad you could join us-" I cut him off with a gunshot. The bullet piercing his exposed chest, gun dropping uselessly to the cement floor.
The two others, too shocked to even move made for easy targets. They fell with two more cracks and the only one left now was Qrow and I, we eyed eachother momentarily before I doubled over with a gasp. I retched violently before dumping whatever contents I still had in my stomach onto the floor, trying to block out the image of the three dead things before me.
Qrow let me calm myself down before he motioned for me to untie him. I did and the two of us shared a look, he seemed to unsure as to what to say before he shook his head and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks kid, glad to see I wasn't the only sane one in town." he smirked roguishly.
"Yeah well, you won't have to stick around this dump for much longer. We just need to grab my parents and get the fuck out of here."
He nodded with a frown. "They're probably at the church, heard ol' James talking about it."
"But why? What could they want with my parents?" I asked him, looking for answers.
He seemed at a lost for words for a moment, two answers warring in his mind before he shrugged. "I guess they think they can draw you in there if they have your parents kid."
"Yeah well, they're damn right." I picked up the dropped gun and checked it for bullets.
A full clip, and another one on the dead man that Qrow kindly looted for me. I shoved the other pistol into the waistband of my pants as Qrow picked up a bowie knife off the body of some green haired kid.
"You any good with that?" I asked incredulously, eyeing him warily.
He chuckled with a smile. "Kid I was a hobo, part of the job is knowing your way around knives."
"Well, I guess it's off for the church then." I chuckled back.
I stifled it as my phone buzzed in my pocket, warranting me to open it up to see my parents calling. A dark knot tied itself in my stomach as I felt the device buzz once more in my grip, hesitantly I opened it and put my dry lips up to it.
"Hello?" I croaked out, there was silence on the other end before someone came on.
"Mister Arc, it's so good to finally make your acquaintance. My name is Summer Rose, and I am the mayor of this fine town." "Summer" stated cheerily. "I've come to understand you're just a little bit jumpy, perfectly understandable we haven't been the best hosts. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, all of which I can answer if you simply come to the church. Your parents are here too and they're being taken care of most assuredly, they're waiting for you themselves."
"Let me talk to them." I ground out, teeth clenched at the words.
"Oh dear I am so sorry, but if you want to come speak with them then you just come right here to the church and they'd be happy to catch up." she waited for a moment to see if I would talk, after a period of silence she spoke again. "Mister Arc...? What are you going to do?"
I licked my lips for a moment, eyes flicking towards Qrow who nodded in solidarity, before answering.
"What am I gonna do? I'm gonna rip your fucking spine out I swear to god." I let that hang in the air for a moment before ending the call...
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I believe it was one Vanitas50 who asked for another installment of this series. Honestly, it's been too long since this one got an update, Beacon in the Night as well so if you're a fan of that stay tuned! Of course, Serendipitous House Pet and I have engaged in a new telling of "Needle in a Haystack" renamed "A One in a Million". I'll be beta'ing for it next chapter so stay tuned folks, and go check it out!
Until then!
XOXOXO
CoffeyJoe