Hello everyone! Another day, another chapter. I hope that all of you are enjoying both Nazjatar and Mechagon as much as I am. Which is a lot. No reviews to respond to, so let's get right into it.
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Chapter 3- Welcome to Menagerie
The Skyfire surged forward, the waves crashing off of its hull and churning the waters around them. A flock of seagulls flew around them, squawking loudly as they circled the boat like a vulture over a carcass. Blake stood at the bow of the ship, her eyes tired and baggy. She had barely slept last night. And judging from the lethargy of nearly everyone else, she wasn't alone.
She told herself it was down to the attack by the Elemental, that it had everyone on edge. A shock like that could be damaging for someone's psyche. But it wasn't the attack that had her unsettled. She'd lived with the constant threat of death on her doorstep for most of her life. Truth be told, when she first stopped in Beacon, surrounded by walls on all sides, she had struggled to sleep then. No, it wasn't the attack that made her lose sleep.
It was the nightmare.
At first, it started the same as it always did; her running through Beacon as it burned. Grimm tearing their way through anything that moved, Atlesian Knights and Paladins mowing down Grimm and civilian alike. And Adam, taunting her as she ran. And as she ran, the nightmare had taken a new turn. The sky was no longer red with fire, but red with blood. She no longer ran through the halls of Beacon, but the streets of a new city. And whilst Adam still taunted her from behind, it wasn't Adam. It was something else. Something ancient and powerful. And when she turned, there was a flash of fangs, and then darkness.
It was this nightmare that kept her awake now.
She leant against the barrier and stifled a yawn, doing her best not to let the tiredness take her. She wondered if this nightmare was plaguing the others, she wondered if perhaps they all shared the same dark dreams. She was knocked out of her train of thought by the loud bellow of the ships foghorn, causing her to shift her gaze to the bridge.
"Land-ho!" Captain Crestfall shouted through the ships intercom, causing a number of murmurs to cascade through the ship.
She turned back to the sea, and saw in the distance the faint outline of a large island. Even through her sleep ridden eyes, she could recognise the shape of the peaks in the distance. It was home.
"Is that what I think it is?"
Blake gasped as she turned around, only to see Sun standing there, looking as calm and confident as he always did. She could tell just by looking at him that he hadn't been plagued by dark dreams. He had turned to face her, a look of concern now plastered on his face as he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, you okay? You look like you haven't slept." Sun asked, his brow raised slightly.
"I'm fine, just a bad dream." Blake half lied, brushing a strand of hair away from her vision. No need to trouble him with her problems, she told herself.
"Yeah, you're not the only one." Sun responded as he let his hand slip off Blake's shoulder. "Been talking to some of the crew, apparently a load of passengers were having nightmares all night, some were even too scared to close their eyes."
"That sounds horrible." Blake replied, her gaze once again focused on the approaching island. She could make out more recognisable features now. The crevices in the rocks, the outlines of houses.
"Tell me about it." Sun half laughed, placing his hands behind his head as he stretched slightly. "So, you grew up here?"
"Huh?" Blake murmured as she turned to face Sun, who merely nodded to the island in response. "Sort of. I lived here only when I was younger. Before I joined the White Fang."
"And your parents?" Sun pressed.
"Last I heard, they were still living here." Blake answered, though her voice was quiet. Something was wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something off with the encroaching city.
And as it finally came into full view, Blake suddenly realised what was wrong. Nearly a third of Kuo Kuana was gone.
"What the hell?..." Sun whispered as he too noticed the disturbing sight. And then it struck him. "Of course, the Sundering."
"What?" Blake asked, turning slightly to face him.
"The Sundering, that massive Dragon that attacked Beacon, it screwed up the mainland continents, even fucked up a couple of islands in the process." Sun explained, letting out a small puff as he slumped forward slightly. "Honestly looks like this place got off lightly, I heard half of Patch had sunk."
"Patch? That's where Ruby and Yang lived..." Blake murmured, feeling a pit of sorrow forming when she recalled the team-mates she had abandoned. She prayed that they were safer now.
Eventually, the ship slowed to a halt as it docked onto the port, the ships anchor dropping as the gangway was lowered, allowing people to depart. Blake and Sun were amongst the last to leave, the ships captain personally seeing the pair off. And as Blake finally set foot on the docks and onto solid land once more, she was surprised by how normal it all was.
The markets were packed to the brim with people looking to buy their goods, ranging from Dust to food. On more then one occasion did they accidentally bump into someone, quickly apologising as they tried to navigate the market to find a more open space.
"Sure is crowded." Sun grunted as he tried to squeeze his way through the maze of people. "Is it always this cramped?"
"Well when you try to take an entire species and put them on an island that's two-thirds desert, it can be cramped." Blake responded as she effortlessly made her way through the gathered people. "Besides, this is nothing compared to most days."
"If you have that much land, why don't you use it?" Sun asked as he finally found enough room to move freely. He felt like he was going to suffocate in there.
"The deserts are dangerous, more so than the ones you'll find on mainland. Even the jungles aren't entirely safe." Blake explained as she walked past a stall selling animal skulls. She recognised every single one; Sabertusks, Ravasaurs, Saurids, Saurolisks, Diemetradons and Ankylodons. All of them had killed Faunus in the past.
"So, they gave us a terrible island in the middle of nowhere to try and shut us up?" Sun summarised as he gazed at the same stall as Blake, tapping the closest Ravasaur skull on the tip of its nose.
"That's...actually a pretty good summary, yeah." Blake replied after a bit of thought. She turned away from the stall and walked away, Sun close behind her, muttering something under his breath. No doubt it was a colourful expression he'd rather not say in public.
They passed where the aquatic quadrant of the city had been before, where Faunus of an aquatic nature would frolic in the waters and have their own markets. Now all that was left was a crack in the sea bed, the aquatic section gone along with all that had lived there. Flowers and offerings had been left at the waters edge, around a small memorial shrine etched with too many names for Blake's liking.
As they pressed through the city, Blake was seeing things that made her more and more concerned. The first and most obvious was the large walls that now surrounded the city. They had never been there when she was younger, but now there were two sets of wall that caged the city in. Had animal attacks gotten that bad? Or was it something else.
The second thing were the men and women swathed in purple robes standing on podiums, shouting dark prophecies to gathered civilians. She recognised the banners that flew behind them as belonging to the Twilight's Hammer, and the sight made her sick to the stomach. She had heard the stories of the Cultists from the mainland and the profane sacrifices they performed. How was it that they were allowed in Kuo Kuana? Did they have a similar deal to the White Fang? But what unnerved her most was how large the crowds were.
The final concern though was the number of missing posters that were plastered around the streets. Menagerie had a low crime rate in comparison to other cities, with the biggest crime really being repeated thefts. There had never been a kidnapping in Menagerie, especially not one on this scale. She prayed that the missing would be found, but she had a feeling her prayers would not be answered.
"Hey Blake, what's this?" she heard Sun ask, who was looking at a large wicker statue.
Blake let out a disgusted sigh at the statue, approaching the wooden figurine, which was stood with its arms wide in a menacing stance. It had a pair of tusks that protruded from its jaw, with razor sharp teeth jutting out its mouth. And in front of the statue, in a glass plinth, was a mummified arm.
"This, Sun, is Menageries very own 'boogie-man'." Blake replied, a hint of disgust in her voice. "According to legends, they used to live here before we did."
"You sound sceptical." Sun matter of factly stated, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Blake.
"It's because it's all nonsense." Blake flat out rebuked. "There's no proof that they ever existed. Just a marketing campaign to attract tourists and make Menagerie seem more exciting."
"I dunno, Blake. That arm disagrees with you." Sun replied, pointing at the caged arm as he did so.
"That was from a group of hunters that tried to prove their existence, only to come back delirious with an old Ravasaur arm, claiming they'd captured one, but it cut its arm off to escape." Blake explained.
"Right..." Sun muttered as he stared at the effigy. "You really like to suck the mystery out of everything, don't you."
"You shouldn't have asked." Blake replied with a shrug, turning to walk away from the statue.
"Point taken." Sun acknowledged, giving the statue one last look before running off to join Blake.
As the pair made their way through the city, they became less crowded, and the houses began to look more modern. Eventually, they found themselves in what appeared to be the city centre, with multiple roads leading off to different avenues and venues, the largest road headed to the largest and most modern house. Blake had seen all of this before, and was expecting the reaction that Sun was about to give.
"It's...beautiful." Sun half whispered as he took it all in. "I take it all back, this place looks great! Why would anyone want to leave?!"
"That's not the point, Sun." Blake sighed, lowering her head slightly as she shook her head. "We asked to be equal, to be treated like everyone else. And in response, we were given an island and told to make do. It doesn't matter how nice it looks or how much everyone gets along, it's still a reminder that we're still not equal. That we'll never be equal."
"You never know, Blake." Sun responded, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe in our life time, maybe not, we'll be given a chance to show the rest of the world that we're not some slave race or second class citizen. That we can kick just as much ass as everyone else can."
Blake let out a sigh as she slowly nodded her head. She'd heard similar speeches before, maybe not in those exact words, but they never came to pass. Not without violence.
"Time to go home then..." Blake wearily responded, resigning herself to the eventual confrontation with her parents.
"Really?" Sun teased, pulling Blake in closer as he pointed at the closest house. "Is it that one? I really like what they did with the windows there."
"Actually, it's..." Blake began, pausing only to move Sun's pointed hand towards the central building in front of the town square. The largest building in all of Kuo Kuana. "...that one."
Sun nearly fainted right there and then.
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After Sun had recovered from the revelation that Blake lived in one of the biggest homes on Menagerie, the pair approached the house. It looked simple enough, in contrast to its large and intimidating size. Blake approached the large double doors, hand reaching out for the brass door knocker. She froze just as she was about to touch the metal, fingers ready to retract, wondering if perhaps this was the wisest course of action. She hadn't left on good terms with either one of them, more so her father. How would he react to her?
Well as nearly everyone she met liked to say, only one way to find out.
She grasped the door knocker, lifting it before letting it drop, causing a loud resonating bang to reverberate around the pair. It was an intimidating sound, to say the least, even to one who was used to it. She took a step back, hands folded in front of her in a polite manner. Sun adopted a similar stance, though he seemed to be much more awkward. There was the sound of footsteps approaching, light and fleet, and Blake knew who was about to answer the door.
The door creaked loudly as it opened, and out stepped a cat Faunus wearing a black hakama and shrug. She looked almost identical to Blake, though her hair was shorter and her face older, with more wisdom in her eyes. The woman at first had a neutral expression, but the second she laid eyes on Blake, they quickly went wide.
"Blake?" the woman asked, almost unsure as to if she truly was standing in front of her.
"Hi, mum..." Blake quietly replied, awkwardly holding her arms out in greeting. She didn't know what reaction she would get from her mother, she didn't if she would be angry or not.
Then, before she knew it had happened, her mother had stepped forward and embraced her, holding her in tight. She didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this, that was for sure. Then, slowly she accepted it, wrapping her arms around her mothers frame, returning the hug. And then she heard it, the slow and heavy footsteps of the one person she truly dreaded seeing.
"Kali? Who is it?" a male voice called out, getting louder as the speaker approached.
A large Faunus soon followed, with a long fur-lined purple overcoat, and a regalia that seemed to give off a royal feel. His chest was bare, with a dark patch of fur covering it, and his long beard and hair gave off the appearance of a mane, a big cat Faunus if Sun had to guess. Maybe a puma...whatever that was.
When he had first appeared, he had stood with confidence, with a neutral look on his face, but the second he had laid eyes on Blake it had melted away almost instantly. And then slowly, he began to smile.
"Blake? Is that...really you?" the man asked, hand reaching out slowly, almost as if he thought that Blake wasn't truly there.
"Father..." Blake replied, breaking away from her mothers embrace as she moved to hug her father.
She wrapped her arms around his massive frame, pulling the titan of a man towards her in the process. Her father merely looked at her, confused slightly as to the action his wayward daughter had taken. He turned to Kali, who merely nodded at him, and he too slowly returned the hug. After a moment of silence, she withdrew from her father, before turning to face Sun.
"This...this is Sun..." Blake said, gesturing to the Faunus in question, who gave a small wave as both mother and father gave him a scrutinising stare. "He's a friend."
"Right..." her father responded, staring at the monkey Faunus with narrowed eyes.
"Dad, what's going on outside?" Blake asked, gesturing to the outside world as she spoke. "What's with the walls and the missing posters?"
Both her mother and father exchanged glances at one another, before her father let out a sigh, nodding for the two to come inside.
"I think it's best if you two came inside."
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And done. Didn't really know how to end this chapter honestly. I was going to end it originally in a similar manner to the episode where Blake reunites with her family, but decided to save that for the next chapter. Liked it? Leave in your reviews and constructive criticism is welcomed. Any questions? Either PM or leave in your review. Next update should be July 27th. I know I usually update every fortnight, but that would land on my sisters Birthday and family has to come first.
Raging Archon out.