…
…
…
…
Thursday Morning…
"I see… I'm sorry to hear that," Doc said to Adrian as he finished up with his last client, another of the visiting Huntsmen; this one was a tall Vacuan man with red hair and oddly blank eyes. Everyone in town, whether they lived here or not, was allowed a free check-up before the big fight if they wanted one. Doc spoke as he took down a few numbers, "My parents both died when I was very young, so I didn't know them all that well. I can't imagine what it must be like to watch them split apart like that."
Adrian, having had his checkup but sticking around to chat, stood near the exit of the clinic with his arms crossed and said, "It's no fun, I'll tell ya that much." The tall Huntsman left without a word as Doc started cleaning up. "Nothing's been the same since," Adrian added.
"And no one's found any trace of your mother?"
"Not even one fucking footprint. It's like she just dropped off the face of Remnant."
"Gods… You know, my team and I met Terra back when you were just a baby, so this news is most disturbing. I would like to assist in your search if I can." Doctor Ren filed away the last of the patient records and joined Adrian at the door. Together they walked to the main gate of the town.
Adrian gave a shrug, "I'm not sure what good it'll do – Uncle Jaune's been running a fine-tooth comb over every inch of the Four Kingdoms over the past few months and come up with exactly dick."
"I have… other connections. The kind of connections that a Captain of the Police would not have. I admit, it may not turn up anything either, but it's always worth it to pursue every possibility."
"Can't argue with that."
Above them loomed gray clouds that almost hung low enough to reach up and grab. It was a gloomy day for sure, but fitting for the battle ahead. And at least it wasn't hot. Most of the town of Valley Glenn was already waiting at the main gate, but the two men were in no hurry.
Adrian said, "I assume you've heard about what's been happening at Beacon? With Ruby getting put in charge and everything?"
Doc looked into the middle distance for a moment, "I have, and I must say it's unexpected – Ruby never struck me as someone who would accept a high position like that, even if they tried to force her into it."
"Well… things did get a bit out of hand back there."
"I imagine so. And I know people do change over the years. The girl she used to be and the woman she no doubt has become… are probably entirely different people."
"Say, um… you mentioned you were an expert in Aura Studies, right?"
"I did indeed."
"Is there… by any chance… a way to defend against mind control?"
"…?"
Adrian leaned close and lowered his voice, "Before everything went down back there, Miss Rose told me she suspected someone was working behind the scenes to try and take over. Somebody who could make other people act entirely out of character, using something like mind control. She mentioned Vacuo-"
"Ah," Doc nodded. "She's referring to the Crown Incident; Jax Asturias and his sister once tried to destroy Shade Academy and take over Vacuo for personal reasons, but ultimately failed. Jax's Semblance allowed him to control the minds and thoughts of other people."
"I've never heard of that."
"This was intentional; those in power at the time didn't want to take the chance that the story might inspire others to follow Jax's example. But about your mind control question… unfortunately it comes down to the individual, just as with all matters concerning Aura and Semblance. What would help you defend against one might leave you completely vulnerable to another."
"Oh… well that blows…"
"Indeed. The only advice I can give is also, unfortunately, the most generic: Remain focused and aware. The mind can be a dangerous tool, but it can also be your single greatest defense if you can maintain control over it."
"You mean, like… meditation?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Centering yourself and devoting your attention entirely to a singular goal can be one of the most powerful things anyone can do, absent of any abilities related to Aura. Consider for a moment, Adrian… how do you think mankind learned to harness the power of their Auras in the first place?"
"I, uh… I assumed they just… figured it out one day? Doctor Oobleck never got that far with our history lessons."
"Pity… it's a fascinating topic."
A voice called out to the two men; Misty waited right next to the gate, glaring at Adrian with her arms crossed, impatiently tapping her boot. Everyone else had gathered as well, and Rusty could be seen giving a few directions to some other people; included in those was the blank-eyed man from earlier and a giant Mistralian with a two-handed sword as big as Adrian himself. A ginger-haired woman could easily be seen bouncing around from person to person with a smile, a truly massive hammer in her hands that may as well have been a toy for all she was swinging it around carelessly. That would be Doc's wife, if he remembered right.
Desi was there as well. She spotted Adrian and sent him a wink.
"Keep an eye on that one," said Doc.
"…?"
The older man sighed, "We'll continue this discussion later. For the time being, just keep your head up and remain vigilant; you all may be in your second-year, but the Creatures of Grimm have survived the ages for a good reason."
…
…
The battle lasted about 2 hours in total. At least, that's what they told him after it was all over.
Team MOCA was instructed to remain close to the gates of the town while the older, more experienced warriors went deeper into the woods to deal with the bulk of the monsters. The students were to clean up anything that decided to go around and try some kind of counterattack.
While it was a bit annoying they couldn't join the rest of the warriors – a group that included Desi Currant, Nora Lie-Valkyrie, as well as a few others Adrian wasn't familiar with – that didn't mean they could just relax. The Creatures of Grimm did, indeed, come to the gate.
Opal and Misty did most of the heavy lifting when the fighting started, while Crim had to keep changing positions in order to provide cover. Adrian dealt with a few stragglers next to the entrance, but much of his time was spent watching his teammates fight. Usually in awe.
Misty kept herself at mid-range most of the time, using a combination of shots from her revolver called Peacemaker and slashes with her hunting knife. She brought down three Beowolves with a shot to the head each, one with a slash to the throat, then used her Semblance on the last; this involved stowing her weapons, grabbing the monster's head with both hands and using the magic word Shhh. This, along with a hefty dose of her Aura, was enough to calm the Beowolf and even force it to see her as its pack leader. From that point on, Misty Montana rode her tame Beowolf and shot the rest of her quarry from its back.
Opal was pure melee; her Howlett claws tore through the Grimm like tissue paper. And she seemed even more manic than usual today, ripping and tearing with feral growls. She rarely went for direct kills, preferring to disembowel her opponents whenever she could in order to watch them suffer. Yikes. Her limited range was only an issue against groups that could split her attention, but fortunately for everybody, her twin brother more than made up for her blind spot.
Where his sister was entirely close-range, Crimson preferred to stay as far from his targets as possible. Boonestick, his sniper rifle, was on par with some of the most accurate weapons of even the Atlas Military, and his eye was always keen, though his accuracy had nothing to do with his Semblance; Adrian watched as Crim made a dash for a solitary tree but was cut off by two Beowolves, only for Crim to summon his Aura and take on a faint, yellow glow. When the monsters tried to gut him, their claws merely went through his image. He darted forward, phased right through them and into the tree trunk. Both Beowolves turned to stare at the tree, clearly confused, before two shots ripped through their heads from above. Crim, having used Ghostwalk to take his new position, reloaded the rifle and resumed his duty as team support.
Truth be told, Adrian was feeling rather useless.
His fighting style put him on the same level as Opal in terms of range, but without any blades he lacked the damage output of his shorter teammate. Duster was simply a pair of charged gauntlets and had little to no ranged ability, which meant his options for mid-range or long-range fighting simply didn't exist. Crim had proven himself to be a better strategist during their first year, mainly due to his typical vantage point giving him far a superior view of any battle, so that role was closed off. The only possible thing Adrian could do in a team setting was act as tank, but even that was limited as he had no more than an average physical build and moderate Aura Shield. Misty could often employ one of their targets to fight for them, and even one Grimm was twice as durable as the boy everyone nicknamed Double-A could ever be.
In all this time, Adrian still hadn't figured out what Doc meant about his Semblance changing. He didn't feel any different. Everything he'd done normally in a fight still worked… as normal… so he had no real insight on what to do first. He was never the kind of guy to just… stop and think it out.
Then again… no time like the present.
Adrian kept his eyes on the battle, but he glanced around to see if anyone else was nearby. There was no one. The nearest fighting was Misty, and she was a dozen yards away. He had some breathing room.
Meditation was never something he'd tried before, so he had no clue how to do it right. Still, he wanted to try. Taking a deep breath and trying not to zone out too far, Adrian thought about his Aura. His Semblance. The life force within him that responded to his will, that came forward to give him strength. He focused on this and muttered, "Alright brain… whaddya got for me?" He then closed his eyes for two seconds, no more.
Yang Xiao-Long appeared, the lovely actress from the movie they'd all watched last night, and smashed her fists together in her standard opening move right before a fight scene.
"Really? That's it?"
He really needed to work on this meditation thingy-
"Adrian! On your right!"
Crim's voice pulled his out of his thoughts long enough to realize a Grimm was coming. And this one was no Beowolf.
"GREEEEEE!"
If the thing stood fully upright, it would've been almost a foot taller than Adrian. All he could see at first was a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth, a pair of hand-like appendages with 6-inch claws, and legs ending in talons at least twice that length.
Adrian flared his Aura, shoving it into his hands on pure instinct. Duster came to life as his energy fed into it, and he reared back and let his fist fly in a haymaker. He hit the thing on the side of the head, the impact traveling back down his arm hard, like he'd just punched a tree. He'd filled Duster with as much Aura as it could hold and released it all at once-
A tiny burst of electricity was all that came out. Nothing else. The Traptor hardly even seemed to notice. All Adrian did was stop the thing from eating his face as quickly as it wanted to.
It darted to one side, no longer with the element of surprise to its advantage, and… turned and ran back into the trees.
A gunshot tore through the air, and a moment later a patch of grass near Adrian's feet burst upward from the impact. Another Traptor darted past, screeching, as it joined its friend.
"I missed…?" said Crimson from the tree. "How did it-"
Misty rode over on her tame Beowolf, watching where the creatures went. "Those damn things have ridiculous reaction timing. One tried to get at me a minute ago and I had it at point-blank range, but all I did was leave a scratch on its helmet. Thingy."
Opal joined them, her eyes locked onto Adrian's arm, "You're hurt. Again." She quickly pulled out some bandages and moved towards him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were doing this on purpose."
Adrian looked down in surprise to find blood pouring from a gash in his good arm. He quickly focused his Aura to stop the bleeding as Opal set about wrapping it with her bandages. Dammit… must have taken a claw during that absolutely pathetic attempt at a punch. That stupid, worthless, laughable, JOKE of an attack-
"Oi-" said Misty all of a sudden, "Lighten up. We all make mistakes."
Adrian growled, "Yours don't put people's lives in danger over and over again."
No one said anything after that. No more Grimm charged after them. The team spread back out, and Adrian was glad for a breather after that little encounter. He knew Traptors were supposed to be both large and smart, but that was on a whole other level than what he expected.
In fact, he was reminded of fighting Cliff. It wasn't hard to imagine that those lizard-y things would be particularly nasty if they were cornered, or that they would gleefully gang up on their targets to overwhelm them.
After a few minutes of utter calm, Rusty appeared from the gate along with a couple of civilians to check on the students. The sounds of battle still echoed from the distant woods, in particular were heavy impacts coupled with maniacal laughter from a woman. All in all, it was quiet at the town gate. Rusty and a few others handed out water to those that wanted it.
As Adrian took a drink of his water, the girl who gave it to him looked around, her short rabbit ears peeking over a pair of goggles. She muttered, "Where did those Traptors run off to, anyway?"
Adrian stopped and thought. That was a good question. "Hey Rusty… is there another way into to Valley Glenn?"
The giant man scratched his head and said, "Naw, this here's the only gate."
"Huh, weird… where did they go?"
"Unless nobody patched up that hole in the wall over by the park…"
A terrified scream drifted his way on the wind. Without any hesitation, Adrian flared his Aura once again and took off into the town at full speed. He knew those voices.
And if he was too late…
Well, he'd better not be too late.
…
…
Five minutes to the park on foot, three if you ran normal speed. Adrian made it in less than one.
He spotted the broken section of the wall as soon as he rounded the corner of the Inn. There was no time to consider his options – 5 Traptors surrounded the playground, one Beringal roaring at the monkey bars, all 3 of the kids huddled within. They wouldn't last five seconds. The Beringal grabbed the bars and pulled.
Adrian put everything he had into running, ignored the first Traptor on the edge of the area and barreled into the ape-like Grimm with a shout. The boost from his Aura was enough to knock the thing off its feet and buy the kids a few more minutes. He heard Dew screaming his name in a panic.
Unfortunately, all he did was annoy the Grimm – a moment after he hit it, the Beringal grabbed his head, roared and slammed its other fist into his face a full 3 times before hurling him away. Adrian impacted the merry-go-round hard, but his Aura Shield didn't break.
It wasn't far off, though. One more slip-up and he was dead. They were all dead. Opal could probably kill this thing quickly, but she wasn't here right now.
No time for regrets; Adrian stood back up, wiped the blood from his nose and charged again.
The fight was entirely one-sided; every time he swung, the Beringal either blocked it or ignored it and took the blow full-tilt, but each time it counterattacked, it chipped away more and more of Adrian's own Aura. After only a few seconds of exchanging blows, he was almost out of energy.
But he couldn't stop. The kids… the kids would die…
A second wind was enough to allow Adrian to see and dodge out of the way of two swipes of the Beringal's claws, and he jumped back a step to catch his breath. In that moment, he suddenly noticed that the five Traptors around them had made no move to interfere. Like they were waiting their turn or something.
Or they were waiting for permission.
In that brief moment of respite, the Beringal confirmed this to be the case; it apparently decided the fight was over, roared at the Traptors and turned its attention back to the kids who were still huddled within the bars. The Traptors moved to surround Adrian, cutting him off from the people who needed him the most.
Adrian could hear shouting from back the way he'd come; Misty and the others trying to get there and help him. They would be too late. One Traptor had almost torn his arm off by accident. Against five… he had no chance. It was over, and there would be no Ruby Rose to jump in and save the day.
In that case… nothing to do but go out in a blaze of glory.
Acting on the image his brain had conjured up a few minutes before, Adrian pulled what little of his Aura he had left and pushed it into his hands, then stood up straight, grinned, and imitated Yang's signature move by smashing his fists together.
Sparks shot out from the contact. For half a second, he couldn't pull his hands apart.
But when he did, everything changed.
Adrian suddenly felt supercharged. His body moved by itself as he darted forward and threw a punch, taking the first Traptor in the face, spinning its head a full 180 degrees, killing it. The other four roared and attacked, but they were almost moving in slow motion – Adrian lightly stepped back, moving easier than he'd ever moved before, and sent one punch into each one of their midsections. Two Traptors gurgled and fell over on the spot. The other two squealed in pain, stepped back, and tripped over each other to flee. Even with that, though, they moved like they were swimming through water. So slow…
His body… it wasn't moving by itself. Rather, it had become so light that even the slightest effort of any of his muscles created powerful movement. There was no longer any resistance. There was no pain. No fear. And nothing standing between Adrian and a monster ape that needed a good ol' fashioned ass-whooping.
Needless to say, the Beringal was pissed.
Adrian didn't care.
With his mind working at speeds he'd only ever dreamed of, Adrian suddenly realized what this feeling was; his body was vibrating from deep inside, thrumming like a car engine on a race track. It was the same feeling as when Uncle Jaune was healing his knee. Amplification.
The Beringal charged, bearing its fangs, both hands open and ready to rip him to pieces.
Years of training kicked in and Adrian instinctively forced all of his thrumming Aura into his hands one more time. With his left, he landed a blow to the Grimm's gut that made the very air around them vibrate. With his right, he slammed the thing's skull with a similar effect. Neither blow was hard enough to send the monster flying, but it was more than enough to finally make it shut up.
Adrian tried to dart back to avoid any counters, but found himself heavy and clumsy again. The effect, whatever it was, had worn off. But was it enough? Did he… do it?
The Beringal took an uncertain step back, patted itself to check for injuries… then laughed.
Adrian felt his soul sink and knew this was it. He was dead. He'd failed.
The Beringal raised both hands over its head, clutching its fists together to simply smash him into a fine paste.
Several voices called Adrian's name. They were finally at the edge of the park, but it was too late.
The Beringal suddenly stopped.
Adrian stared, mere seconds away from oblivion.
The creature's upper half suddenly inflated like a balloon and exploded. Black mist went everywhere.
Darkness and silence engulfed him as Adrian's strength finally gave out. He didn't even feel the impact of hitting the ground.
…
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Thursday Afternoon…
There were no words to describe what Jaune was feeling.
Although 'a deep, boiling rage' would be pretty close.
Before him stood a man who represented the exact opposite of everything Jaune was; brash, egotistical, and absolutely willing to throw others under the bus for his own benefit. He stood with that same insufferable smirk that he'd had all throughout their shared time at Beacon, that smile that said he knew he had all the power and there was nothing you could do to change that. Aside from remaining at least a foot taller than Jaune, the guy still looked exactly the same as always.
"Gotta say, Jaunny-boi…" said Commissioner Cardin Winchester, "Never thought you'd have the balls to pull something like this… 'specially after the whole Cafe Prime debacle. Didn't your daddy ever teach you not to put your dick in crazy?"
Jaune said nothing. He had more than a few things he wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. Hard.
Spread across his desk were photos that were, by any measure, damning – candid shots that featured Jaune entering Ashens' apartment, a few close-up shots of the two of them looking happy through the window, and worst of all was a photo taken at the exact moment Ashens had embraced him in pure gratitude for offering his help. From the angle taken, it looked more than a little romantic. It looked like they were making out.
Someone had followed him there after all. And they clearly had detailed instructions on how to most efficiently ruin his life. He could already imagine how badly Ashens would chew him out for being so careless.
Cardin tilted his head, "Nothin to say? This is your career on the line, you know."
Keeping his jaw clenched to avoid letting too many words fly, Jaune said, "It's not 'on the line' at all. You're just gonna fire me, so why bother making a show of it?"
"Now, now, there's no need to go that far. I'm a fair guy," said Cardin. He sat on the edge of the desk, "I know how much the people of this city look up to you, so I'll make you a deal: Just tell me what ol' four-eyes is doing in there with all those papers, I'll send in my guys to take her away and clean out her dump, and this will all be dust under the carpet. You'll never have to worry about Brand Ashens again."
Jaune's eyebrows went high on his head.
Cardin busted out laughing, hand on his gut. "Bwaaa-ha-ha, you shoulda seen the look on your face, dude!" He feigned wiping a tear from his eye and continued smiling. "I'm kidding; everybody knows that woman's just a paranoid nutcase, so all I'll do is fire her, nothing more. I still need to know what she's doing, though. Can't exactly fake a Search Warrant, not with her eye for detail. Help me out, man."
Jaune crossed his arms and remained silent.
If it were anybody but Cardin, he would have believed them. But this was the man who was handed the authority of the Police Commissioner due to nothing more than a favor to his old man from Councilman Knight. Jaune earned his position and his respect through hard work, determination and sheer dumb luck. Cardin's authority was gift-wrapped.
The Police Commissioner watched him stand there, grin fading only a little. He stood back up, clasped his hands behind his back and sighed, "Look dude, I know what you're thinking… you've always been the annoying prick who defended the little guy from the bullies, but this is different. Your Lieutenant is nuts, and it's pretty clear she's taking you for a ride. What do you think your wife will say when she sees all this?" Cardin waved a hand over the photos.
When. Not if.
Jaune wasn't as blind to the world now as he was back at Beacon, but that didn't mean he'd gone numb to it. He always tried to think of the bigger picture over whatever little problems were right in front of him, although more often than not he failed. This situation with Ashens was not like that – on the surface he had every reason to back out, to preserve his career, his marriage, and the status quo as a whole. Deeper down, however, he'd started to believe her. Especially now.
All around the two of them stood most of the precinct; Officers, Detectives, everyone had gathered to watch their bosses decide his fate. Jaune's glass-walled office had become a spectacle.
"What'll it be, Captain Arc?" said Cardin.
Jaune's rage had almost reached the breaking point, but he tried his best to keep his composure. He slowly removed his badge and pistol, carefully laid them on the desk, and turned to leave. The onlookers began a muffled chattering outside, a few of them shocked. Jaune didn't dare speak, nor did he have time to consider the options. His gut told him to follow through with what he'd started. Pyrrha was gonna be pissed either way, so what the heck.
Cardin, of course, wasn't phased in the least. "Aren't you gonna clean out your desk?"
Exactly 57 angry responses materialized in Jaune's brain in a single instant, but only one barreled its way out of his mouth: "Fucking BURN it!"
When he slammed his office door, one entire wall of windows shattered into a spiderweb. It sounded a lot like a gunshot. Everybody in the room quickly got out of his way.
Former Captain Jaune Arc left the VCPD and never looked back.
…
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Thursday Night…
Two x-rays proudly displayed Adrian's hands in bone form, but anyone in the room could clearly see that there wasn't much left in either of them; for all intents and purposes, it looked like they'd been run over with a steamroller. Cracks and fragments were all over the bones, all the way down to the wrists. They both looked like jigsaw puzzles.
"While I commend your courage, there is such a thing as going too far. Honestly you would've done less damage by trying to punch down a concrete wall."
"With the way I was feeling back there, I could have." Adrian stared down at his hands, both bound in so much plaster that they looked like two giant marshmallows. He still couldn't quite believe he'd made it out alive. "I was on fire."
"So I hear. And if Misty's account is to be believed, your Semblance is closer to your Uncle's than I expected. Rather than amplify the Aura of others, you amplified your own."
"It sure felt the same as when he fixed up my knee a week ago."
"That may well have been the catalyst for your change. We still don't know a lot about Aura, as I said…"
"But what I did at the end, there… what the hell do you call that?"
"In a word: impossible." Doc wrote a few more things down on Adrian's file, then rubbed his temples. "I know Aura can increase a Huntsman's strength and defense, and in some cases it can be used offensively, but this… I've never heard of Aura that can disrupt the very structure of a Grimm. They don't have an Aura to be affected that badly. What you did should not have happened at all."
"Well in any case," Adrian held up his bundles of plaster and pain, "…I won't be trying it again for some time."
Doc looked up at the x-rays again, "This damage… it reminds me of hard-body training. Some people intentionally cause their bones to fragment like this, then once they heal up the bones are more dense. More resistant to further breaking. If you can ease into this new ability, you may well exceed everyone's expectations. Of course, push too hard…"
"…And I'll be the one to break," Adrian muttered. On a second look, the x-rays weren't quite as bad as he'd first thought. At least there was nothing compound. "I'll keep that in mind, Doc. Was there anything else?"
"Against all reason, no. Your hands got the worst of it. Everything else is fine."
"I'd call that a win."
"And yet throughout your stay in town, you've probably spent more time in this clinic than you have actually doing your job as a Huntsman."
"… … …Nobody's perfect."
"I suppose not. Oh, before I forget… while you were unconscious, I made a call to my contact I mentioned. He agreed to help look for your mother, but only on the condition that he meet with you face-to-face. He'll arrive sometime tomorrow."
"…Is that a good thing?"
Doc gave a half-smile. "He agreed to help. As far as I'm concerned, that means we'll find your mother before the year is out. If a simple meeting is all he asks in return, then I'd call that a win."
Adrian grinned, pleased at the idea that his search might be ending sooner than he first thought, then sighed, "Anyway, I'd better get going. They'll be expecting me at the party, and I'm sure Desi will be trying to pour drinks down my throat all night."
"I would strongly advise you to prevent her from doing that. I know you'll need help eating, but-"
"No worries, I'm keeping as far away from her and her little 'Hail The Rose' mantra as possible."
Doc didn't respond right away, and Adrian looked up to see him staring hard and frowning. He said, "Did she say that to you?"
"Yesterday morning. Had no idea what it meant, though."
"Never repeat that out loud," Doc stood in front of him, somehow looking even more stern than before. "Unless you want the law breathing down your neck."
"As the nephew of a Police Captain, I would very much like you to explain what that means."
Doctor Ren sighed, rubbed his neck and said, "It's the… greeting of the Crimson Cult. It's how they identify one another."
Adrian's brow furrowed. "Desi's part of a cult?"
"I always suspected there was something off about that child, but now you've confirmed it."
"Are you gonna call the police?"
"No. Simply being a member of this group isn't enough to be arrested, but now that I know she's one of them, I'll keep a closer eye on her. The Cult has a… rocky history with the Kingdom of Vale."
"I vaguely recall the term in the news a few years back, but I haven't heard anything since."
"And I'm not the one to tell you about it. In fact, I'd advise you to forget it completely. The Crimson Cult is dead, its members are scattered all over Remnant, and simply knowing their history carries a bigger risk than you need right now."
Adrian blinked.
Doc shook his head, dispelling the negative mood that had built up over the last few minutes. "Never mind that. Go and have fun." He tried to smile, but to Adrian it seemed forced.
…
…
The town of Valley Glenn was alive with celebration… and not just because the Grimm were cleared out.
"There he is! Three cheers for Adrian!"
"Man of the hour, coming through!"
"Great job out there, kid!"
"Adrian I love yooooooooou!"
"Half my age but twice the man I'll ever be!"
It was more than a little jarring to be bombarded with so much positivity for once in his life, and that none of it was sarcastic. Apparently somebody had spread the news of his near-miraculous defeat of the bigger and stronger Beringal, making a special point to mention that he'd damn near laid down his life to save the kids. As a result, Adrian Arc got to sit at the head of the banquet table with most of the city toasting him every few minutes. They even gave him the Special Paper Hat to wear, hand-made by all three of the kids he saved.
Of course, he had another reason to be blushing.
"Say 'ah'~" said Dew. The child sat full in his lap, a fork full of roast meat aimed at his face.
"Ahh…"
She fed him the meat, then quickly went back for more. The kid was enjoying this a bit too much, if you asked him. Adrian tried not to squirm in the chair (despite how comfy it was) while the very young girl indulged herself. Nearby sat Rusty Hamer, his own place at the table filled with easily half the food in the entire town. Across from him sat the rest of team MOCA, all with far more reasonable portions before them.
Opal was quiet tonight, mainly on account of glaring daggers at Dew every time she fed Adrian. Anybody could see the jealousy radiating off the rabbit Faunus. Crim was laughing and enjoying himself like everybody else, but Misty was the true oddball; for the first time he could remember, she looked genuinely anxious. That was highly peculiar.
"Hey, hey now… don't feed him too much or he'll pop!" said Rusty with a laugh. He reached over and patted Dew's head lightly, and she giggled at the contact. "Go and find your brothers for awhile."
"Kay," Dew chirped. She leaned up and gave Adrian a peck on the cheek before jumping to the ground and running off. There was no danger; after the fight, the first thing the town did was fill the hole in the wall and reinforce it. On top of that, every inch of the settlement was lit up and decorated for the party. There really wasn't anywhere the adults considered unsafe for the kids to play tonight.
Rusty watched her run off and chuckled, "Heh, don't mind her. She's a sweet kid."
Adrian burped and said, "So I noticed."
"You feelin' okay?"
"For the most part," Adrian held up his hand-balls again. "I should've asked for a hook or something. Then I could at least scratch my head."
Opal leapt from her chair and said, "I can do that-!" right before Crim caught her and sat her back down with a pout. Adrian made a mental note to thank him for the save later; in her current mood, Opal would likely have scalped him without trying. Everyone on the team had consumed at least one alcoholic drink by this point, but Opal didn't stop with one.
Speaking of which… Adrian could just see the ginger-haired bartender, Poxy, standing at the edge of the clearing and chatting amiably with Desi. He tried not to stare at them.
"Well-" Rusty suddenly stood, and Adrian felt a tiny shift in the pull of gravity. "Much as I'd love to stay and chat, ol' Ebb is on his last legs. I'd better go an' get back to 'em." Against all logic and rules of reality, the food Rusty had gathered was gone. Adrian wondered if any plates had also been sacrificed in the maelstrom.
Crim looked up, "Already? We barely started the party!" His red face suggested that maybe he hadn't held back as much as Adrian first thought.
"Yeah, 'fraid so. I'm not big on these shindigs anyways. Didn't even want to be no mayor, I like my forge better. At least there I can hit my problems away with a sledgehammer. Hah!" The large man chuckled as he turned and left, leaving a faint breeze as he parted the atmosphere.
A silence fell over the table. Misty squirmed in her seat, looking like she wanted to say something, but decided against it.
The next hour or so was when the town wanted to dance. A local ensemble of musicians played a variety of lively tunes while Adrian ended up on the dance floor, a cleared section of road in the town center, for far longer than he wanted; everybody wanted to spend a few minutes with the town hero. They'd all been reminded to be careful of his hands, but some were a bit more forceful than others. Namely Doc's wife, who witnesses claim had been speaking normal words but was talking so fast that Adrian had no chance of understanding a word of it. Doc had to come and pull her away by the ear. One of these days they'd have to have a chat when she wasn't at full throttle.
As luck would have it, a slow number started up just as Desi came to take her turn. "I hear you pulled off quite the victory today," she said quietly as they shared a moment together.
"That's one way to look at it," said Adrian. "I blame sheer dumb luck."
"There are those in this world who put a lot of faith in Luck, Mister Arc," she replied.
"I suppose."
His mind raced with possible questions, all of which would have gone over about as smoothly as a grindstone over a gravel road. He wanted to ask about that phrase she used, about the Crimson Cult, about her measurements, about everything. He didn't care if Doc wanted him to stay out of it.
At long last, Adrian turned to his acting; he quickly formed a mask of a smooth-talking con man, and the right question formed in his mind a moment later, "Say… could we talk later? In private?"
Desi looked up at him and smiled, "About what?" Her hands lightly brushed Adrian's arms.
"Oh, you know… there's this… thing I was told to forget about, but for some reason it won't get out of my head. I was hoping maybe you could help me with that…?"
Her smile turned ice cold. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
Adrian kept his charm going strong, "Yeah, I guess not. Ah well… I'm sure there's other people I could ask. Doc might know a way. Or maybe Poxy…?"
"Don't go digging unless you're ready to find a skeleton, pretty boy," said Desi with a clear edge to her voice. "Fine. I'll find you sometime tomorrow and we can talk. But if I find out you asked anybody else about me… well, I'll think of a punishment when the time comes."
"Deal."
They ended just as the song finished, gave each other a polite bow and parted ways. Another song came on right after, and Adrian could see Desi joining Poxy off to one side; the older man raised an eyebrow as she approached. Must've seen them chatting. Adrian could only wonder what their relationship really was…
"You g-gonna stand there all night, or… are we g-gonna d-dance?"
Adrian suddenly found himself looking down at the still-shaking form of Misty, nervous as a cat in a dog shelter. Adrian sighed – he'd honestly rather just go sit back down – and held out his hand-balls. Misty lightly grabbed his wrists and clumsily started swaying to the music with him. It was a nice change from their normal interactions, but still super awkward.
"You seem nervous," said Adrian.
"…"
"Are you… bad with parties?"
"Naw… we had a f-few back home when I was growing up, but n-none of 'em big as this one."
"Well that's good to know."
"'Sides… I figured you'd be the nervous one here, fuck-nut."
"It was bad at first, but I've learned to unwind pretty fast in the right environment."
"So you can learn. Good to hear."
"I've put up with you for a year and a half. Nothing short of a raging Ursai could intimidate me for long."
"…"
"What? Did I hit a nerve?"
"…Shut up already."
"Don't wanna."
"Adrian…"
Words began to come out whether he wanted to say them or not. "You know, I told Crim that you hate me, but he didn't believe me."
"I do hate you. With every inch of my being."
"Pfft… that's not alot of inches."
Misty snarled and shoved him away, glaring up at him with pure rage in her eyes as she briefly returned to her old self, red hair blazing bright… for about half a second. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she turned and bolted from the dance floor, making a beeline for the Inn.
Adrian's head spun for a moment. Hmm… maybe he shouldn't have had that last Rum and Coke…
Or maybe he needed one more.
…
…
The rest of the night blurred by. More people came up and gave Adrian the same congratulations and hope-you-feel-betters as everybody else, but for the most part nothing of interest happened. All he knew for sure was that Misty hadn't come back. But he also knew she'd be fine. Something like this never bothered her before, so why should it now?
By the end of the night, much of the alcohol had processed and left Adrian with his senses intact but with a mild headache. He'd never been fully drunk before, so there was no telling what would happen if he tried. Especially with his Aura acting in ways he didn't fully understand yet. As such, he ended up back at his room in the Inn and kicked at the door – the twins had come back half an hour earlier – saying, "Crim, could you get the door?"
The knob turned, but Crim was not the one who answered. It was Misty. Her eyes were red and puffy.
"Aw, shit. Sorry, wrong room-"
"No it's not," she cut him off and pulled him inside. "I swapped with Crim for the night. Get in here."
Once inside he confirmed she wasn't lying; his stuff was present and accounted for, but Crim was nowhere to be seen. "Uh… why?"
"We're partners. Isn't that enough?"
"Considering what we've been through, no it's not."
"…"
"Misty?"
"By the Brothers, do you ever stop yammering?" The diminutive girl laid out Adrian's PJs (though why she knew where they were was anybody's guess) and said, "You can't get changed on your own, so sit down and shut up!"
"What the hell is all this about Misty?"
"I'm trying to be nice here!"
"And it's creepy as fuck! Who are you and what did you do with my partner?"
"If you want someone else, maybe I should go find Rusty!"
"I'd rather have a Grimm come in here and eat my face!"
"DON'T. YOU. FUCKING. SAY. THAT! ! !"
Misty turned and grabbed the lamp from the bedside table, aimed and threw it with all her Aura-fueled might. Adrian barely ducked out of the way as it shattered against the far wall, plunging the room into darkness. In his shock he nearly failed to notice that Misty was crying as she stormed over to the door.
But she didn't leave. She leaned against it, sobbing.
There was enough light coming through the window that he could see that she wasn't leaving. It wasn't clear why, though. Gradually the words they'd both said started to sink in, and Adrian winced as he realized he'd gone way too far. "Sorry…" he muttered.
"Don't ever joke about something like that," Misty said to the door. "Ever. That's how my Uncle died."
The weight of guilt suddenly fell on Adrian's back like Rusty himself falling from the heavens. "Oh gods, I… I didn't know."
"Like you said… I didn't want anybody's pity," Misty said as she turned around, eyes glimmering with tears, "…that's why I've kept it to myself."
Adrian staggered over to the bed, shocked at his behavior up to this point. The broken lamp was forgotten. If his hands were anything but hand-balls, he would've been holding his face in shame.
Misty quietly came back over and sat next to him and almost whispered, "If you've been… thinking like that… I want you to know that we're here to help you."
"Like… 'that'…?"
"Like you'd… rather have a Grimm eat you. Like you'd… rather die."
"Misty, I… I was just exaggerating."
"Were you?" She turned to face him, her green eyes full of anger. "How many times have you just run into danger without a second thought? How many times now have you put others' lives ahead of your own?"
"That's part of our job…"
"Not to you. Standing off to the side, watching you all this time, how can I see it as anything other than what you want to do?!" Now the tears were flowing again. "How can I see it as anything b-but… but… suicidal?"
"I…" It hit him before he got more than one word out. She was right.
He'd run into town the very instant he heard those screams. It didn't matter what was the cause, he'd been practically eager to get there first. And if there was one thing Professor Port had managed to drive home, it was that eager Huntsman were usually the first to die.
As he thought to himself, Misty leaned back and wiped her tears. Adrian put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "I've been an ass," he said.
"That is the single nicest way to say it," she quietly replied. "I would've used harder language. The kind that would make nearby horses panic."
"…Von Blücher?"
BAM. Misty punched him in the gut.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Adrian opened his eyes to discover Misty had stood up and removed her vest, tossing it over next to her boots. She carefully climbed onto his lap, straddling him as she leaned close. He could feel her breath on his face.
"I can't tell you how relieved I am… Adrian…" she draped her arms over his shoulders in a move that left the boy speechless. "You've had me scared spitless for way too long now." She leaned forward and touched her forehead to his.
"Uhhh… I thought you hated me?"
"I do. But we girls are a complicated lot; Mama taught me that ages ago." She leaned back and grabbed Adrian's shirt, pulled it up and off, then tossed it to the floor. She lightly ran her fingers over his bare chest, bringing forth a wave of goosebumps.
Another part of his body was also reacting to the touch, but so far Misty hadn't noticed. She was still up on her knees to better reach his face.
"This entire time, I've been on a knife's edge… sometimes I think you're the most wonderful boy in the world… sometimes I hate you so much I wanna stitch your eyes shut and feed you a cow patty…" Misty guided her hands back up to Adrian's head, running her fingers through his hair. "But after yesterday, I finally figured out which side I'd rather fall on. Gods it was hard to deal with. I hate being uncertain like that."
Adrian tried to fight back the reaction in his lower regions, but it wasn't working. "Umm… should I be worried right now?"
Misty smiled. "Should you be?"
"Well it just so happens I am."
"I can't imagine why…"
"I can imagine plenty well for the both of us."
"Oh yeah?" Misty finally sat back down on his lap, her weight pressing down on his trousers. "I've got a pretty good idea what that is."
"In my defense, I am still a red-blooded male. This is a natural reaction of my manly biology."
"And…?"
"And… uh… I've had a few drinks tonight."
"And…?"
"And… and… my Aura is acting up, so I can't be held accountable for everything I do…?"
"And…?"
"… … …You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"What makes you say that?" Misty's grin turned positively cheshire as she reached for his belt buckle.
"Won't Crim be wondering what's going on?"
"I gave him instructions to leave us alone unless I say otherwise. He'll behave."
"Uh… won't Opal hear us through the walls?"
"Rusty let me borrow a white noise machine when we got here. Crim has it at full power. They won't hear a thing."
Adrian's heart was pounding in his chest, but for some reason… he wasn't afraid. "One more question…"
Misty had his belt unbuckled now and showed no interest in stopping. "What?"
"Were you actually planning on… dressing me?"
Misty leaned in once again, put her arms back over his shoulders and kissed him. She didn't use any tongue, just pressed her lips against his as they shared their first moment of real intimacy. She leaned back and sighed, her eyes glittering in the moonlight.
"Nope."
…
…
…
…
"Ashens"
[Captain?]
"Drop the formalities. Did you get any rest like I suggested?"
[I, uh… yeah, a few hours. Didn't help much.]
"Sorry to hear that. Listen, by any chance did you go out anywhere? Lunch, coffee, anything?"
[You're not usually this curt, Sarge. What's this about?]
"Nothing important enough to discuss over the network. Answer my question, please."
[Well yeah, I went out an hour ago for a coffee. My machine's been busted for the last few days.]
"I see… I thought you might've gone out for some bug spray. Pretty sure I saw some ants in your kitchen the other day."
[…?]
"You know how it is with bugs, Lieutenant… they can easily get inside when you're not looking."
[…!]
"There were some in my office today. One big one, don't know how it got so far in the building."
[Do you… (oh gods) should I try something here? I've got some cleaners…]
"Nah, you'd need a professional for something like that. Tell ya what, I feel like getting some fast food and I could use the company. Care to join me?"
[Sounds lovely. I can-]
"You said your car was making some noises the other day, right? I'd hate to have you drive it if something were to break, so I'll give you a lift."
[… … …Y-Yeah, I can do that.]
"We can meet up at the precinct, unless you have somewhere else you need to stop first…?"
[I, uh… (shit)… I n-need to get some groceries soon. The stuff I have around here isn't fit to feed a dog.]
"Or an Imu?"
[Definitely not.]
"Alrighty then. Oh, and bring your purse – the wife is getting on my case about paying for other people's food when we're trying to save up."
[Oh… r-right. See you in 10 minutes?]
"Make it 5, I'm hungry. Oh, and Lieutenant?"
[Yeah Sarge?]
"…Watch out for traffic. Bye."
…
…
…
…
Author's Note: Adrian's new Semblance wasn't intended to emulate or parody anything in particular; as an Overthinker by trade, I simply took what was needed for the story and put it side by side with the abilities I'd already given him, took into account his relationship with Jaune affecting how he grew up, and the result is what you see here. I only added the damaging side effects to balance it out and make him a bit less OP. Of course, my editor pointed out that it's more than a little similar to a certain Fist Of The North Star, but I stand by my claim. :3
As a forewarning, the next chapter will contain the first major reveal of this story. I would like to take a moment and politely request that anyone who leaves a comment or review please, please do not spoil this reveal. Not everyone has the Good Sense to read the entire story before peeking at the review section, and I'd like to help any newcomers avoid having their experience ruined. Thanks in advance.
=^..^=