RWBY: Grey Chapter 17
"Well... brother? What do you think?" Her sharp voice pierced the tender silence between the trees. I couldn't fault her for her pitch... she was just as young as I was, and it wasn't like my voice was much deeper. "It's a work in progress... I suppose. It's heavy... and the hilt is... well... rough." I said. My fingers brushed the steel edge of the blade. It was sharp, but had redundant tempers. I slid it back into its plain black sheath, where it settled with an ungraceful clank.
"Sister... you have to learn to use as little material as possible when you forge, the more you use, the heavier and less refined your blade becomes." I said. She looked at me, her cheeks puffed in frustration. "Can you fix it?" She asked. I pulled it back from the sheath. "With Runic?" I questioned. She nodded. "Your Semblance is incredible, and I really want to see this blade at its best." I sighed. Sliding my index and middle fingers against the long of the blade. "Dagaz." I whispered. A small symbol hovered at the tips of my fingers, before fading into the blade.
Its weight dipped immediately, the stress on my small arm alleviated. Her face lit up with glee, and I handed her the blade. She tossed it into the air letting the blade bury itself into the ground. "It's so sharp now... and light!" She giggled. She pulled it out, wiping the dirt from the tip, then handing it back to me. "Your Semblance is sooo cool, I'm just stuck being a Royal." She said. "Sister... my Semblance is unnatural. I was born with it, but not like most are. I feel... like it's... evil, like... uh... I just can't explain it." I moaned.
She ignored my complaint. "Hey, hey. Can you tell me the Runes you were born with again?" She asked. I sighed again, shrugging my shoulders. "I don't know why you care... but fine." I said. Sucking in a breath, I prepared my Semblance. "Dagaz... light, purifying body. Ehwaz, passage, movement without effort. Hagalaz, destruction, unstoppable energy. Jera, abundance, everlasting harvest. Ansuz, sight, unerring vision. Pethro, change, powerful evolution. Berkano, companionship, unfaltering devotion. Algiz, resistance, unbreakable will." I heaved out the air in my lungs, my small body ready to give in right there.
Yeah... I remember back then... we used to be so close. I remember when the quadruplets were born... we packed everything up and moved into the city. The change was drastic for Miana and I, her Faunus qualities and small frame made her an immediate target for the humans who still had ill intent towards Faunus, and I was unable to intervene due to my own lack of strength. Of course... I looked human... and the humans didn't bother me.
Even still, Miana was stronger than I would have been, and eventually, that was proven. I think it was... two years later, when I finally had enough. Yeah... seeing my sister and to an extent my other siblings be treated like sub-human trash... that changed me. That was when... I started hearing the voices... they echoed in my head like firecrackers, and it drove me insane. But even the insane can sound rational when you don't understand the world for what it is.
So they mislead me, telling me that they would give me the power to change the treatment of my family, but only if I listened. So I did listen, and it was one of the worst decisions of my life. I sat in my room alone for a few months, just listening to them. For some reason that at the time escaped me, I slowly lost my Semblance, my Runes losing their virility. The voices spoke of my own Royalty, the ability to have unstoppable Aura. They spoke of my latent strength, and that if I offered the right things, I could attain that strength.
Ehheh, if I'd known what it took for me to get my Royalty, I'd have stayed normal. I emerged from my room, and grabbed a rifle from my father's forge. I wanted to stop... but at that point... I had lost control. I had to watch in horror as the voices took over, forcing me out of my own body. I knew what was coming... and I couldn't stop it. I lost all of my senses to this... thing. When I finally awakened in that mass grave... I knew that I was lost. I remember the rotting flesh... the stench of death unmistakable. But I didn't run... no... for some reason I stayed... all the blood... I comforted me.
I want to go back.
Blake's eyes widened in shock and horror as Yuri became engulfed by the black mass. Miana backed away slowly from it, a smile still faint on her face. A blur zipped from the mass, slipping through the crowd and into her shoulder. The mass dissipated shortly after, and it was clear to Blake that the blur was Yuri. Miana realized it too, but only after her arm separated from her body and dropped to the floor. "Your strikes are unbelievable... Brother." She laughed.
Despite the grievous wound, blood seemingly refused to spill from it. Yuri stepped towards her once more, his blade slashing through her other shoulder. Her face contorted with pain, and she began mouthing a scream. Her now limp right arm dropped the blade that she had been holding, and the smile morphed into an angry grimace. "You... how long are you going to ruin his life?" She asked. Yuri gave her a grin. "He let me in... he knew the consequences." The voice that emanated from him was familiar to Blake.
"He let you in? You took control when he didn't understand what you were... you're a pure evil being... and I know deep down he didn't want you." She growled. "Well... he's got me... and right now... he wants Black and White to die more than anything, and I'm gonna make sure he gets what he wants." He laughed, then turned to Blake. "You... you fucked us quite badly that day... we will be sure to repay you tenfold for it... but for now... where is Taurus?" He asked.
She gave Blake a look, and shocked her brother's friend by reaching down, taking her arm off of the floor, and reattaching it. Her own black, thick Aura took a slimy quality as it slurped across her arm. Her other arm followed suit, and soon she seemed as able as when her and her brother were locked in combat. "Man... making me waste my Aura on healing... you prick. Why should I tell you where he is? It's not like he wants to see you here you-" "Not so fast, Miana... I've been hoping that you'd come here... Mr. Greymoor."
Blake turned to the door where they had entered, and most of the other members had flooded out, hearing a very familiar voice. Adam... he really is here... this isn't good. Yuri turned to him an excitedly evil grin plastered on his face. "Oooohhh, hey there, fuckface... I was wondering if you were really here... good to see you are." He snarled. "Come now... there's no need to get-" Adam's words were interrupted by a blade slicing into his side.
He spun around, clutching the fresh wound. Yuri, or rather, a second Yuri stood behind him. This one was clad in the same cloak as the original, yet white, and bearing an odd gait as he walked forward. "What... you thought there was just one of us? Heh, there's two... as you can see. He's Yuri... I'm Kallen." The figure smiled, then teleported to Blake. "The chip, hand it over." It said. Slowly, she followed the instructions, passing the chip she collected to it.
"Hmm... what do you think... stay and finish them... or wait?" It asked the darkened Yuri. "Let's retreat for now... as much as I'd like to kill Taurus here... this isn't the time, besides, we know his next move, and he's wounded... let's move out." It said. The black one turned to Blake, then jumped toward her. His fingers wrapped around her face, and she felt her consciousness slip away. The black one lifted her into his arms. "Sun... you remember what we talked about?" He said. Sun nodded. "Is it gonna hurt?" He asked. "I have a feeling you asked that once before... yes... it will." He said.
The white one dashed forward and did an identical motion to Sun, its fingers pressed firmly to his skull. Sun felt his vision fade away, and he slumped over. The white one lifted him over its shoulder, then turned to Adam. "Taurus... sister... thank you for your cooperation, as we said when we last spoke, Black and White must die. Are the terms still agreeable?" It asked. Adam grimaced, then nodded. "I haven't chased you out... right? So go, before I do." He said.
The two Yuri's waved goodbye to their sister, who seemed more than unhappy with the situation. Regardless, she nodded to them, and they carried their unconscious comrades out of the now empty building. "Should we give him back control now, brother?" The white one asked. "Not just yet, let's get these two back first, then we'll let him decide the next move." The other responded. "Very well, let us make haste then, the world isn't going to destroy itself... after all."
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Blake's eyes fluttered, her heart pounding despite her sleep being dreamless and empty. She knew something was wrong. She shot up out of her bed, met with a horrific sight. Yang sat at the edge of the bed, clutching her stomach in pain, and Ruby was lying in a small pool of blood, the backs of her legs covered with shallow, yet painful looking gashes. Blake gave a ragged gasp, and Yang turned to her. "Oh good, you're awake." She said. Blake looked around the room, then back to Yang. "Okay... I can see that everything is not alright... what happened?" She asked.
"Well... it's a bit complicated."
