This is a serious chapter.
It involves serious stuff.
You can tell it's serious, because I'm saying serious using a serious voice.
And that's serious.
I'm serious.
Small warning; prepare for ZALGO. I might have used it too much.
RRCF(That's 'Read, Review, Critique, or Flame' for PWCUS[People Who Can't Understand SURNA{Sudden Use of Random Nonsensical Acronyms}])
High above the world, held aloft by means not yet known to Man and hidden by the shine of the Sun, something floated. Something ancient and primal.
Something that hungered.
It was watching without eyes, and- barring a few mind-twisting, head-scratching swirls of red that ran through its body- it did so invisibly. There wasn't a man or woman alive who could tell you what it was. Not in this world.
There had been a mighty few people that could have. Once upon a time. They were long gone now, simple creatures unfortunate enough to have been noticed on a tiny speck that happened to float into sight of the cruelest being of a larger collective of entities so unimpressively powerful that they could only be described as unknown Laws of Physics, Space, and Time.
They could have told the people of today what it was. Some of them would have spoken its name with an unhinged reverence, the same reverence that fewer of them gave to their species' executioner, even as it brought the blade of extinction down on their collective necks.
The rest would have whispered it in a hushed and hesitant voice tinged with fear, a fear that was rightly due.
The people of Remnant were used to Fear. Physical manifestations of destruction sought to slaughter them everyday. One did not live in that environment without knowing Fear at some point. It was only natural; it was a survival instinct.
But Fear was also a hazard. That same instinct of survival caused by a grimm's presence brought more grimm in kind. It was a double edged sword that- in this world- was as likely to warn you of danger as it was likely to bring danger. Rampant Fear had been the death of many tribes. Fear was an enemy, and the people of Remnant waged war on it just as often as they did the grimm and themselves. They discovered religions to soothe the soul, and created festivities to cheer the heart. They trained up methods and mantras to clear the mind. They had meticulous fail-safes to take refuge in, theorized and designed by figures of wisdom at some unknown point in the past and continuously studied, tweaked, and improved upon through the ages.
Their second most recent war had started partially due to disagreements on how to overcome Fear.
For Humans and Faunus alike, Fear was a well studied adversary at this point. It wasn't leaving any time soon. It would always be there, for it was part of them. But Civilization would have died long ago if it hadn't figured out- and had yet to stop trying to figure out- ways to deal with Fear.
And yet, for all their ways, all their plans, all their religions, their methods, and mantras, they wouldn't have a clue how to deal with the thing that floated now.
For the thing that floated didn't use Fear. Fear was just too dull for its arsenal.
It used something greater.
To gaze upon it- were it able to be seen- was to feel something unnatural. To glimpse it from afar was to stand in wilderness untouched by Man and catch distant figures watching you, heralds of the terrible news that you weren't alone, nor welcome. If it were closer, it would be akin to staring into the eyes of the dead and seeing them blink.
To hear it was worse.
This thing- this madness- was practically an animal. An evolutionary master of terror, a hidden alien predator so mindless and apathetic in its utilization of dread that it was sadistic, as were most things that came from its universe, sentient or not.
Not one complex thought coursed through its body. It's mind was like that of the early Cambrian creatures of old, unshackled by morals and higher intelligence, running only off instincts so archaic as to have been lost to the genes of modern fauna. It was titanic like a creature of the ocean deep. It wouldn't have looked out of place in an aquatic pre-historic setting, like a bastard child of every cephalopod and invertebrate ever conceived.
And it hungered...
This world was terrible for food. There was only one source of sustenance viable for it here, and it was so small in number, yet so grouped together as to make hunting almost impossible. Not without a fight. This thing's species hadn't evolved to fight. It hadn't needed to. Its hunting grounds were so unbelievably vast and ancient. Competition could almost be ignored. Predators were completely ignored. If it was to be targeted as food in the inky depths of space, then its fate was already sealed.
Even then, they all usually hunted similar things anyways. Prey had been plentiful in its Universe.
But here?
It was almost the reverse. It didn't know how or why, it wouldn't have bothered to ask if it could, but Instinct was dimly dimly aware that this planet- this universe- was different. It couldn't find prey to hunt like it normally could.
It still fed. One or two morsels were always brave enough to venture from the groups.
The one who lived alone might have been considered delicious if it could taste.
But it wasn't enough.
It was never enough
It wouldn't be enough until its entire body was a raw vibrant crimson.
It had yet to be fully crimson.
And it hungered.
Far, far below the thing sat a quaint little town, ignorant of the ancient killer's non-existent gaze.
It stayed away from the town. Too many. Too grouped. Dangerous.
But the group by the river?
The Sun was shining. It never hunted during the day. Instinct knew that it had fed recently, and could now be seen. The grouped prey would easily notice, but how it starved!
Instinct was the thing's only operator. Instinct noticed hunger. Instinct noticed prey.
Instinct had a plan; it always did.
Divide one from group, harry, demoralize, consume.
Repeat.
Instinct put the thing into action.
It dove with a squeal of ear-rending giggles that promised violence, and could make a corpse's skin crawl.
It hungered.
And it would not be denied.
The Combat School had trained her for dealing with fear.
Her father had introduced her to the embodiment of fear not too long ago, when he had brought her deep into the woods to watch Daphne fight a grimm; an Ursa that had been bigger than a truck.
One of her first hazy memories of fear had been her brother, his body splotched with deep red as he bit another boy's shoulder.
Fear didn't faze her anymore.
Amberly Crotta Arc didn't feel fear.
What she felt now was beyond fear.
It was a needle-toothed and savage thing, an ugly rampant monster, freezing-hot in temperature and unrelentingly eating at her soul.
It was thanks to training from the few authority figures she respected, and admittedly sometimes still feared as well, that she was still alive.
"-hihihihihihihihi-" Came the sound again, and she moved faster, sliding under a low branch and vaulting over the immediately following boulder. When she landed, she kept running.
She had shown something remarkable recently, something that would make many of her forefathers proud, and when she finally met them they would give her firm nods of respect and understanding at the decision she had made; one that was presented all too often for the people of Remnant, and unfortunately often denied.
She had shown courage.
It wasn't the courage of heroes in legend. It certainly wasn't the type of courage that was standard to a barely fourteen year old girl.
No, it was the type of courage that tore people of all ages apart inside. It was the terrified courage of a father or mother who knew of only one way to keep their children safe. It was the resigned acceptance of an elderly person on a sinking ship who knew there wasn't enough room on board for everyone.
It was the courage of Sacrifice.
She was playing bait.
She had to do it. The others didn't have Aura. They wouldn't make it otherwise, especially her friend Pearl, who- despite being even fiercer than Amberly in temperament- had always been the smallest and weakest among them.
It wasn't anyone's fault. She didn't blame her friends for how they had panicked and started to bolt at that first sinister echo of a giggle that seemed to come from everywhere; they weren't training to be huntsmen.
She was training to be a huntsman, and had nearly reacted the same as them.
But despite the terror attempting to cloud her judgement at the time, she was still an Arc. The blood of heroes and leaders flowed through her veins, and she had been quick to herd the group towards the ever-so-slowly-expanding walls of Ansel.
They had only moved about fifty yards or so when that evil laughter had bubbled through the trees between them and the town.
It had cut them off.
The group had nearly scattered at that, most of their reasoning shaved down to crude biological action from the unearthly hysteria caused by their pursuer. The Arc daughter had barely kept them together.
They had tried going around.
It had cut them off again.
They tried doubling back, and the laughter of whatever was chasing them faded, but in the worst way, springing out softly every now and then from what were once friendly and familiar woods.
It didn't come from behind them either, but from directions that were as nonsensical as they were frightening.
It had been toying with them.
It was when they were cut off from home for the third time and Pearl had tripped from exhaustion as they fled that Amberly's mind reached a terrible level of bone-chilling clarity and realized how bad their day might just be and what the real problem before them was.
It didn't come to her immediately, she was busy grabbing her friend.
But in those few seconds, she had heard it come closer as Pearl fell, like it was targeting Pearl specifically.
And when she had gone back to help her close friend, she had seen it. It was a flash between trees, nearly a blur from its speed, but she had seen it.
It wasn't a grimm.
Grimm weren't red.
Only their eyes were, and the red she could see was too large and in no way was even close to the shape of eyes.
The sight alone almost made her flee in her own panic; hearing the giggle actually forced her to look away as if it were evil magic. Only through sheer force of will had she been able to grab her friend and lead the stumbling, crying girl- practically dragging her- to catch back up to the fleeing group.
As she caught up to the group, the red pulled back; that- that mockery of laughter receded. But not nearly as much as before. It was hanging back closer to them after that. And it was then that the awful revelation struck Amberly.
It was trying to separate them.
And it was losing patience.
She was fast. No doubt that should she go for a Hail-Mary sprint she would reach Ansel safely. Maybe.
But the others?
Pearl was beginning to cause a terror of her own, winded and breaking emotionally, her fall being the final straw to break the camel's back. The normally fiery girl had become an absolute mess that gulped down air and and puffed or hiccupped it back up in choking sobs. She was the definitely the worst off, but the others weren't much better.
They would never make it. And though Amberly felt almost as delirious as the rest of the girls, she was still an Arc, and the loss of friends was unacceptable.
Amberly had made her decision then, a frantic shaky plan hissed at almost a thousand words a minute to Almond, a girl who was level-headed enough to have almost called the teachers on a playground bully on a very infamous day when they were six but barely holding onto that rational mind during their flight.
There had been no room for discussion; she had made sure. Almond was a very good friend, and would have tried to object even through her fear.
But Amberly had already put her plan into motion by then.
It had been nothing but a gamble. Many men and women might have called her stupid for taking the risk.
But it had worked. All too well.
It was what the thing had wanted.
Did she regret it?
She couldn't say no. Not with complete honesty.
She was only human and she was absolutely terrified, dealing with something beyond her scope of comprehension. She had heard dark and chilling stories of similar sacrifices before, made by hundreds of people the world over every year, but she had never thought that she would ever have to make it.
No one ever did.
"h̷i̶h̸i̶h̴i̷h̵i̴h̶i̴h̶i̶h̶i̴h̸i̷h̷i̴h̷i̶h̸i̶h̴i̷h̵i̴h̶i̴h̶i̶h̶i̴h̸i̷h̷i̴" It was getting closer again. There had already been a couple times where it had been right on top of her, snapping branches and cackling not twenty feet behind her, fraying her nerves and battering at mental resistances that were already starting to crumble.
Several times she tried to look at her attacker, she tried.
But that... that... giggle.
"H̶̳͐i̶̦͙͊̈́ͅḦ̷̲̜́̐̈į̵̖̋̾͒Ḥ̷̉̉ǐ̸͖̼͠H̸͍̣͙̔i̵̱̒̚H̴̨̛͊̀͜ḯ̶̫̩̿H̷̝̏ȋ̸͕̇H̵̱̗̿́ĭ̴̹̜H̷̳͐͊̇ͅĩ̵̢̈́̍H̴̺̓i̷͈̾͝H̸̩̠̐͜i̸͕̺͌H̶͖͇̆̈ȉ̶͚̼̍H̴̼́͋̃͜ĩ̴͉͆͠Ḩ̵̤̼͌̑i̴͖̅̏-" The sound tingled her brain, and pounded on her ear drums when it didn't even have the proper volume to do so.
It was getting closer than before.
I'm too young to die.
It was such a stupid sudden thought.
So silly and cliché. One of the first things she had learned at combat school had been that no one on Remnant was actually too young to die. That she should be having that ridiculous line running through her head now almost made her want to laugh, despite how her vision suddenly blurred.
Her foot hit a rock.
She stumbled and her aura flared a moment later afterwards.
It had just tried attacking her.
"H̸͍͗̐̃̌I̴̼̣̞̍͒̈́ͅḨ̸̪̝̽̉̾̌̈́Ị̷̦̽̆͗̓H̸̞͈̎̓I̶̪̖͓̣̾̿͒̀̾H̶̟̪̲́̿́̏̈́Î̶̧̥̻̖̦̑̿Ḣ̸̙̘̱͙͖̀I̵̩͉͛̉̈́̚ͅH̸̖͍͔́I̷̹̘͕̱͒͒ͅH̵̙̩̝̪̅̆Ï̶̳̮̺̪̈ͅḦ̷̨̞̣̪͇̄̓̈́I̸͍͐H̷͉̏̉Ì̶̺̖͉̙͍̿̔͆̃H̵͕͈̗͖̆ͅÍ̶̠H̴̺̲͚̣̯̅Į̸̯̭̫̲͒H̵̰̺̞̬̙̚͝I̴͙̩̐̋̉̓ͅH̵͔̘́I̵̯͌̉̈H̵̻̗͖̖̊͒͘͜͝͠I̷̠̪͛̄͒͛Ȟ̷̛̛̤̙͓̩͇͒̂Ĭ̸̡̧͜ "
She couldn't keep doing this.
Physically, she was fine. She could probably endure the physical strain of this for another ten minutes, if she kept her pacing and breathing rhythm.
But... mentally?
...I don't want to die...
She didn't have to do this anymore, did she?
I don't want to die.
The others should have made it to safety by now, right?
I don't want to die.
Surely, she could start heading back now.
I don't want to die.
Why? Of all days, why did their group decide to go to their old hangout spot?
'-that's out of town!'
This time she did laugh, regardless of how broken it sounded, remembering how her brother had wanted to come with them. She was glad that he didn't come. At the time, it was because several of her friends had school-girl crushes on him that were more than a little embarrassing to watch and she didn't want to deal with that.
Now she was glad for entirely different reasons, running through a part of the woods that she'd never been in before, practically blind from all the tears that began to flow unchecked.
No, she couldn't do this anymore.
She was scared.
She was starting to tire.
She was done.
She was...
She was running through a part of the woods that she'd never been in before.
Her level of terror began to increase exponentially.
The group of girls were reckless, but not stupid. Their hang out spot was 'by the river', but it was never actually by the river. The river was more than a mile away from town. Actually hanging out by the river was too risky, even for them. They never really explored much of Ansel's surroundings either. Outside the walls, the wilderness became unsettlingly dense, and it did so very quickly.
Much like it was doing so now.
Where was the town? Was it this way? That way? She didn't know.
She didn't know!
"
H̵̛̟̘͉̙̔̋̊͑̑̊͋͝I̵̠͇̘̐͊̈́̎̕͘͝H̴̳̖͎̱͈͖̭͎͂̅̂͌̉̑̌̅̀͑͘Į̶̯͍͙̞̣̦̫͓̻̋̎̍̍͐̀̒̚̚Ḧ̷̢̱̤̼͇̱͓́͊́͌͘̕ͅḮ̷̛̬͕̰̳̔͗̾̀̊̇͘͘͝͝H̷̥͓̪̝̥̳̞͈̘̱̀̇̆͆̅̈́͝ͅI̸͚̮͖͙̙̞͇̗̼̞͕̚H̷̛͇͗̈́͗͂̉̒̒͆͊̕I̷̡̼̪̪̻̮͔̖̳̥̋Ḩ̶̛̫̪͇̪̭̳̝̭͈̞͖̐̈́̀̀̆̕͠I̴̥͇̽̂Ḧ̶͇̞̱́͌̏̿̀I̷̧̧̹͍͙̟̝̻̬̮͔̗̜̿̈̆H̷͓̥̜̬̘̖̙̊̈́̉̈̆͂̿ͅI̶̡̛̛̹͉̖̿͆̌̿̒̚H̶̰̪̱̱̰͚̀̈́͋̀̂̈̉̏̀̏͝͠Ỉ̴͎̗̓̇̐͑̐͝H̸̥̞̮͚͈͚̩͗̔͗̇̈́̈́͜͜I̶̡͕̣̦͈̮̙̩̩͉̋͐͐̈́͘H̷̻͊̑̋̽̉̂̑͛̌̕I̷̠̬̯̲̤̳͙̯̣̪̭͑̆͐͂͑̽̌́͜͝͝Ȟ̴̪͕̤̫̯̥̱̥̹̠ͅÌ̸͔̝͇͈̪̾͛H̸̛͎͓̳͙̲͇͕̙͉̽͋̍̏̅̉̀͜Ì̵̘̤̰̯̍̀͑̋̒͛͛̒H̶̢̢̘͓̣̹̜̝̜̱͎̉ͅ
"
Her Aura flared again. Tiny flashes of something danced at the edge of her vision. Her Aura was more than fine; the Arc lineage was always known for having large amounts of it.
But that last poke of her physical defenses was all it took to completely shatter her resolve.
She was done.
She was done with playing bait.
She wanted to go home.
Her rational mind all but shot, Amberly Arc's hind brain picked a direction and- despite her cloudy vision- she ran. Her pace more than doubled to the protest of her legs and lungs. The high-pace flight turned into an all-out desperate sprint for survival as she ignored leaves and branches, only barely dodging blurry tree trunks and lumps of grey on the ground.
In only a few seconds, the giggling started to recede.
"
H̵̢͔̰̹͈̳͌̾̾I̶̛̱͙̪̊̇̔Ȟ̶͚̉I̶̩̜̜̿͊ͅH̵̦̘̠̜̍̀̆̍̀̎͝ͅI̴̮̬͇̫̔̀͆̎͑͑̚͘Ḥ̴̨̞̰̠̖͐͒͐̕I̷̲̺̟͓͚̜͎͆͒̈̚͝Ḫ̴̼̳̤̲̎̓̒̍̓I̷̲͍̳̞͕̝̗͇̅̾̅̀͘͘Ḧ̴̥̫͉͕͉͚̞́͌͆̇̐̉̋I̵͇̖̪̼̮̦͍̓̄̆H̶̘͖̮̼̣͈̍̍̕I̴̧̘̰͖̬̐̅̑̑̆̊̆̋Ĥ̵̺̾̋͛̍̿̎͠I̶̯̹̳̰̱͈̥͖͌̏͗Ḧ̷̡̥͒Ị̸̳̦̂̌́̌̀H̸̢̭̽͆̔͑̔̌̑ͅĪ̷͈̱̩̼̳̈̿̃̀̓̓Ḧ̵̡͔̪͇̫͔́͊̀̽̈́͑I̸̯̝̭̹͔̥̓͋̿̕͝H̸͎͉̫͎̅̊Ǐ̸͇̝̜̫́͂H̷̡̢̟̞̦̔Ĭ̷̫̳̠̽̕͝H̵̫͚̤̯͖͗̕͜
"
It was receding, but she was quickly using up all her remaining strength as well. She could maybe do this for another five minutes.
If she was lucky.
Those minutes trickled by slowly.
"H̶͙̱͔͊̈̄͠Į̶̲͇̦̄̍H̷̗͛I̸͎̮̊̒̈́̒H̵̪̬͎̓́̕Î̸̮̤͈̒̈H̸̦̀I̴͍͉̙̪͊̓H̸̤̹̾ͅI̸̪͍̰̞͌͊Ȟ̶̡̠̳̮I̶͔̩̩̳̎͂̆͊H̶͎͒I̵̧̳̓͒̆͝Ȟ̶̡̛̙̀I̸̡̅Ḫ̵̭̭̓I̷̧̻̩̲͌̉H̴̱̞́͘I̶̲͙̩͇̊͋̈́H̵̻̝̥͔̒I̴̡̥͎͍̍̈́̒̓H̴̳͐I̷͎̼͌̂H̵̻͇͖̀̄̊̈I̶̫̘̙̞̋Ḧ̸̥́͘ͅ "
She was running on fumes now, furiously pumping her legs and swinging her arms. Her steady breathing had long departed.
"h̷̨̉ǐ̴̥h̵̡͒i̴̱̿h̶͈͆i̶̹͒ḧ̵̤́ī̴̟h̵͉͋i̵̬̎ḧ̶̯i̶̭͌h̵̦̔ȉ̵̝h̵̭̚ì̵̼h̶̘̾i̷̜̽h̴̢̎i̶͌ͅh̶̗̒ȋ̸̼h̵͕̄i̴̢͊h̴"
This was the right direction to town, right?
That rock shape she passed looked familiar.
"h̷i̶h̶i̷h̸i̴h̴i̸h̵i̴h̷i̴h̸h̷i̶h̶i̷h̸i̴h̴i̸h̵i̴h̷i̴h̸"
She hoped it was familiar.
"...hihi..."
With the giggling practically gone, her senses slowly started to return to her. She still couldn't look behind her, and were she not so focused on survival, she would have taken the tiniest moment to try and get her bearing.
Suddenly, Amberly burst from between trees that had started to thin somewhat, her energy almost completely spent, with just enough to make it back to the town walls.
It should go without saying that Amberly Crotta Arc had immensely exceeded her original goal.
She sought to buy her friends time, and she had done that; leading their attacker in wide circles between the river and the town for twenty soul-clutching minutes.
It wouldn't seem like a long time to be running to people who did so every morning; Humans were built for endurance.
But normal men and women would have died if they had tried to run at her speed for as long as she did.
There had once been a few men and women who held fame for being able to run a mile faster than the rest of their entire species.
Amberly had beaten them all in the past two minutes alone.
Aura was unfair like that.
Twenty minutes had been more than enough time for her friends to get back safely and alert the man on guard that day that their friend was in danger.
To say it again, they were reckless, but not stupid. They never dared to make their official hangout spot actually by the river. It was too far from the town to be safe. Their spot had been chosen with quite a bit of forethought, as far away from the prying eyes of adults as they could get without being in danger. They had even poured over a map to get a good measure of distance for an idea of where to go.
It was thanks to that map that Amberly Crotta Arc knew, huffing and puffing as she was, barely managing to jog into the clearing, that the particular bend of the river in front of her was three miles away from town.
She pulled to a stop, staring at the running water in bewilderment for a moment, her shoulders heaving. She didn't know what to think of the water, save perhaps that it looked so clear.
When she blinked she found that she had fell to her hands and knees.
She had gone in the wrong direction.
She could only look at the ground beneath her, all her strength had vanished.
How had she fucked up this badly?
"...hihihi..."
Her vision blurred at the sound.
That evil, evil sound.
"h̷̝̋ḯ̴̲h̷̫̚i̶̮̚ḧ̸̜́ī̵̭h̴̻̊í̴͉h̴̲͘i̵͚͠h̸̺̕i̷̲͗ȉ̵̢̻͊h̸̤̀̂ỉ̸̫̺̙̅͆ĥ̷̟͖̞͂i̵̬̲̔̚h̴̗̜̼̑i̷͓̲̍̅͝h̷͖̺̀́͠i̴͍͉͈̔h̸̜͊i̴͓̙̤̊h̷̫̐į̷̹̈́ȟ̵̦͋̓ḯ̶̹̮h̸̥̠̜͊i̴͉̓̒h̵̤̓̍͝i̶͉̓ĥ̸͙̚i̴̡̜͗h̵̻̔̆͝ĭ̵̧̚͝h̷̗̃̋i̴͉͙̜͋h̷̖͙̖̉̈ȉ̴̡̨̬h̷̢̛̼̺̅ī̷͙̩͈"
This wasn't fair.
"
H̸̨̳̣͋̅͒͌͂͘͝͝I̵̢̘̺̘̘͎̞̍͐͐̀͆̎͂͝H̶̨̞̦̗͉͒̈́͑͐̀̾̀I̷̧̬̳͔͈͑ͅH̴̢̨̢͛͗́̈͘Ĭ̸̻̣̊͊͠͠Ḧ̸̡̢̠͔́͑̾̌̀̕͘͝Į̴̽͋̆̅̓̓H̷̹̙͕̲̖̝̑I̵͈͆̈͠H̴̟̻̹̺̻̻̾̈͂̀͘İ̴̲͎͙̥̞̈́̔̓͘͜ͅH̶̭̭̯̟͈̓͊͒̊͘I̶͍̯͗̌͘Ḥ̴̲̯͇͖̠͋̐͜I̷̫͎̺̱̓̀̌̃̓̕͜H̵͖̞͕͙̫̹͐ͅI̶͚̱̰̺̍Ȟ̶̠̼͖͉̞̭̭̃Ĭ̸͓̆́Ḩ̶̡̧̞̝̯̰͆̊̀̏̒̅I̶̢͌̈͋̈́̚Í̴̖̭̱Ḧ̷̤̩ͅȞ̶̠̼͖͉̞̭̭̃Ĭ̸͓̆́Ḧ̷̤̩ͅÍ̴̥̩̒̍̔ͅH̵̰͎̱͋͜͝Ȋ̵͇̻͉̥̹H̷̜̣͕̱̑ͅI̵̡͙͔̹̱̬͎̍̄̽̽̀̓̾͜H̷̺͇̙̪̘̪͊̀̏́̈́̂̅͘Ị̵̢̐̇́̄̾͘Ȟ̵̦͂I̴̝̎H̵̱̟̯̮̞̣͝ͅĪ̶͎̭̈́H̴͎͈͋̒̅͑̂̅̆̈Ị̷̩̺̥̹̀̅͐̕H̴͎̯̄̉̀̒I̸̛̛̝͈̩̬͖͓̖̮̾̓̿́̓͝Ḣ̴̨͚͎̟̟̏̏̊Ȉ̷͙̥̕Ḩ̵̨͇̤͕̑͆͒̀͒̀̈́͝Į̶̭͆͌H̸̫̹͌̂̀͋I̴̯̹̪̦̘͉͎͐͗̾Ḧ̶͓͇̬̰̬̥̻́͊͂̉̌̒͘͜Ḭ̷̡̫̟̯́̃̈́͝ͅH̵͈̬̤̓̔̒̓̇Î̵͈͙̹̩̪̝͔̃̚H̸̩̻͓̒͆͗̏͆̊̂̕Į̶̱͇̦̺̻̫̖̅̉̂͑H̶̨̥͖̖͈̎͐̍I̴̧͖̭̫͈͍͊ͅḨ̴̛̇I̸͓͊͒Ḩ̵̩̲̹̠͍̈́͑̉̅͑͒͘I̷̡͓͔̔̿̀̍̐Ḧ̶̩̫̤͈̣̰̱̠́̒̾Ḭ̴̢̥̰̮̠͔̜͌̓̓̉"
"
This wasn't fair.
What did she and her friends do to deserve this?
"
H̴͉͈̟̿̏̔́̃́̆͑̏̋I̸̡̬̩̞̱̩̝͇̋̆̆͝H̴̦̬̟̣͍͂́̌̆̾͘I̵̢̯͉͆̎̾̂̉͑̔͋̾͘H̴̡̛͕̬̲̤̺͖̫̩́̽H̵͚̹͈͎̟̟͉̬̜̰̝̀̑̌́̽͛̂͐̃͛̍I̴̧̡̲̲̱̪̓̈̍̾̓̚͝͠H̷̰̆́̊̐͝I̵̧̹̳̙̤̜̺̺̩̝͗͂H̶̛̟̓͑͆͂̍͊̂̚͠ͅȊ̸̧̺̼͆̐̍̈́͛̕͝͝H̷̗͂̓̏̀̅͂͛I̶̙̥̳͛͆͝H̴̛̖̪͉͐͐̑̒͐́̇̉͛̈́Ị̸̡̯̭̖͈̝̼̠̈͠ͅH̸̝̮͈͑͜I̵̢̧͙͎̹̺̟͆̀̾̎͝H̷̨̨̛̰̖̾̿̔̆̍̍̕Í̸̧̑͆̚H̶̢̫̺̓͛͋́̅̿̔͊̉̀͋I̴̢̢̛͓̬̠͔̹͑́̑͆͜͠͠H̶̰̪̻̪͕̑̒̀͐͆̒̚Ǐ̶̧̧̧̢̹͉͓̘͉͈̍̆H̶̢̰̱̽Į̶̢̢̖̫̪̳̘̪̹̝̋̉͒H̶̨͔̫̺̗̦̬̺̮̙͆̌̔͗̒̈̀̏̀I̷͔̜̱͂͂͐́̍͐̈́H̸̢͇͔͖̺̮̘̥̓̐̾̃͘͜͝I̷̛̯̖̭̳̤̫H̸̝̳̩̻̰̜̭̬͓̺͗̐̄̎̏̕͘͝͠͝Í̵̖̃̓I̵̡̺̤̿̾̂H̵̟͙̗̿̑̽̑̊̏̈͘ͅḬ̶̃͋̈H̵̡̡̬̺͍̝́͝Ȋ̸̛̯̟̎̆̓̾̔̇I̶̡̛̭̝̠͐̀͗͐̀̽͝H̸͍̞̗̪͍͈͈̍͊̈́̄͊͘͘͜I̵̡̡̠̼̣̥͈̥̘̺̜̍̓̑͛̑͐͝H̷̨͖̺́̀͒͋͊͑̽̋̕͝I̶͖̮͍̪̦̲̭̣͎̟̥̾̉̓̍̔͗̏͘̕͘͝H̶͓̘̜͚̝̜̦̩̻̓̈́I̶̡̢̘̺̝̱̣̠̅̊͋̕͠ͅH̴̛̦̳̮̳͇̾̀́̐͝͝ͅI̴̘̞̻̫̖͉͕͠Ḫ̸̙̗̺̩̹͇̣̥͙̍͋̀̕I̵͈̺̜̼̥̦̍̆̆͗̌H̸̨̡̙͖̫͖̅̆̑̽͐̕̕͜Ḯ̶̙̰̠̖̪́̈́̄ͅḨ̵̛̟̜̺̬̣̺͇̻͇̀̅̽̈́̅I̷͉̜̣̍́̈Ḩ̷̨̤̥̝̫̋̒͂͋͋I̵̜̬͊H̵͚̹͈͎̟̟͉̬̜̰̝̀̑̌́̽͛̂͐̃͛̍I̴̧̡̲̲̱̪̓̈̍̾̓̚͝͠H̷̰̆́̊̐͝I̵̧̹̳̙̤̜̺̺̩̝͗͂H̶̛̟̓͑͆͂̍͊̂̚͠ͅȊ̸̧̺̼͆̐̍̈́͛̕͝͝H̷̗͂̓̏̀̅͂͛I̶̙̥̳͛͆͝H̶̨͔̫̺̗̦̬̺̮̙͆̌̔͗̒̈̀̏̀I̷͔̜̱͂͂͐́̍͐̈́H̸̢͇͔͖̺̮̘̥̓̐̾̃͘͜͝I̷̛̯̖̭̳̤̫H̸̝̳̩̻̰̜̭̬͓̺͗̐̄̎̏̕͘͝͠͝Í̵̖̃̓H̶̨̢͎̹̬̩͇̝̋̇̄́̐͋̀̌͜͝I̶͙̣̜͈͌̾͌̓́̀͐́ͅH̵͓̠̩̐͒̐͛͊͝I̸̮͓̲̟͚͆͒̑̈H̸̡̦̺̳͛͆́͘I̵̛͖̯͚̼͚̙͚̺̠͘H̶̹͙̲͆́͒̆́̒Į̷͓̰̺̦̲̬̂͂̆̆͒H̴͉͈̟̿̏̔́̃́̆͑̏̋I̸̡̬̩̞̱̩̝͇̋̆̆͝H̴̦̬̟̣͍͂́̌̆̾͘I̵̢̯͉͆̎̾̂̉͑̔͋̾͘I̶͖̮͍̪̦̲̭̣͎̟̥̾̉̓̍̔͗̏͘̕͘͝H̶͓̘̜͚̝̜̦̩̻̓̈́I̶̡̢̘̺̝̱̣̠̅̊͋̕͠ͅH̴̛̦̳̮̳͇̾̀́̐͝͝ͅI̴̘̞̻̫̖͉͕͠I̵̜̬͊H̵͚̹͈͎̟̟͉̬̜̰̝̀̑̌́̽͛̂͐̃͛̍I̴̧̡̲̲̱̪̓̈̍̾̓̚͝͠H̷̰̆́̊̐͝I̵͗
"
The answer, of course, was nothing.
The Universe just doesn't care about people.
"
H̵̛͔̖̝̊̈́̐͌̿̂̑̾͠͝͠I̷̢̨̡̛̟̯͎͙̠̗̞̮͉̫̙̰̊̅̓̓̾͊̐ͅH̴̞͕͇̽͑̓͑͑̍̐̈́́͋Ḭ̶̈̽́̚H̴̡̡̘̤̹͓̩̜̭̉͌̋̍Į̵̛̝̘̫̰̼͜H̵̥̦̤̮͈̯͚̩̜̮͈͇̃̑̓̄̄͒̄̿̏͠͝ͅI̸̡̭͍̱̣͐̌́͊̕̕H̶̨̦̳͕̫̼̹͈̜̳͓̾͆̆̋͑̔́̃̒͐̽͜͝I̴̢̙̟̱̥͇̭͙͓͖̤̦͈͑̔͗́̐̀͌̇͑͝H̸̛͒̌͐̐̀̂̈́͋͋̎H̸̨̧͉̘͕͙̩͎̩̖̟̬̞͌̽͗̑̊͛̋̎̊͜ͅĮ̵̡̭̠̪̭̼̯̩̫̖̲̲̤͐̇̌̈́̔̄̎̾́̔̇̕͠ͅH̴̢̧͓͖͓͚͓̘̭̤͙̻̞̑̈́̓̔͛̈́̔́͛̍̐̕͜I̴̠̜̦͖͈̤͇̯͎͈̐̆H̶̩̬̹͓̫̘͈̙̗̮͓̓Î̸̡̗̫̠͚̭̀̎́̀͐̓͌H̴͎̤̝̗͙̅̇̆̈́̈́̃̇̍̈́̔͘̕̚ͅỊ̸̧̦̖̝͇̫̖͇̫͍̽̈́Ḫ̶̡̢̘͔͖͎͈̟̪̥̅̈́͜͠Ĭ̸̧̯̭Ḩ̷̡̝̠̯̭̝̪̘̗̫͍̬͔̈́̃̽̈́̆̊͗͒̐̆̇̽I̵̧̜̼͊͂̓̈́͋̽̀͒͠H̶̳͙̹̙̳̬̩͎̫͛̆̑ͅǏ̴͑̔́̀͆͘͝H̷̨̛̓̈́͆́̐̏̀̾̾̐I̷̢̹̲͇̞͚̜͉̾H̸̡̧̨̨̧̛̫̻̱͔̰̲̱̫͍͗̈̽̋͜͠Ī̵̢̢͇͍͚͔̝͇̟̫̼͈̾̾̌̎͗͗̅̏̌͑̈̕͝H̵̗̭̝͍̦͓̠̳̘̹̭̎I̵̛̛̟̘̟͙̬̬̖̅͐̅̃͒̔̚͝H̸͇̣̻̪͈̬̍̒͛͆̎́͊̀̓͘͠Ï̶͉͎͆͌̉͘H̶̐̿̓̽́́͊̔I̸̛̳͎̦͛͛͆̄̒̓͋͝͝͝ͅH̸͍̪̬̯̙̲͚̳̣͎̺̚ͅH̴̛̥̬̩̀̃̋̍̏̏̉́̂̀Ȋ̶̡̯͚͇̩̺̲̝̈̓̂͋̆͊͘H̴̢̥̲͇̘̼̳̮̹̆̆͐́̀̂̀͊̂͐̍̈́Į̸͓̖̹̞̹̭͇̣̈́͂H̶̡̗̘̳̣͇̭̘̺̼̎̆̊̅͝ͅI̶̞͇̖̫͍͊͗̋̉̓͝͠Ĥ̴̪͉͓͍̺͚̠̳͌̈͋͛̌̕͠I̸̛͕̮̅͗̈́̉͌̇̈́̚Ĥ̵̢̨͓̯͇̲̞͍̊̀̋̈́̈́̔̓͆͂͘͝͝͠͝͝Ḯ̸̡̹̗͉̩̝̺̅̇̏͘̕H̴̢̟̫̳͖̝̲̦̳̜͌́̎̓͝͝Ï̸͖̦͙̆͊͑̏͐ͅH̸̛͙̔͛̓͒́̐̊̾̌̚̚͘͠͠Ỉ̵̐̓̔̍̾̔̀͊͝Ḯ̸̩̩̖̳̗̠̉͌H̵̻̤̄̉̂̏͗̑̓̈́͝͝Í̶̛͇̪̎͌̾͜͝͝Ḩ̴̢͚̹͖̫͚̰̜͎̝͇͔̌̈́̎̈́̏̈́̐͝Ȉ̶͚̻̥̻̜̝̘͉͓̻͚̰̓̚͜͠ͅH̵̭̍I̶̢̙̘̱̝̙̰͙̳͕̯̯̽̐͝H̴̦͉̳̯̱́̈́̀͑͒̆̾͒͋͌̋͘̚ͅÍ̶̛̤̊̒̾̆̅̿̒̊́̈͊̕H̷̺̫̩̱̰̩͈̟̬̼̘̍͌͂̋͛ͅỈ̸̡̝̗̲̜̣̣̹̲̯̇̌͂̓̽͑̿H̴̛͈͖̬̳͚͂̆͒́̐̿̾̅̚͝Ì̶̗̩̯̣̘͙̑͗̀͆̈́̅̿̈́̎̆̔̐̓͑̕Ȟ̷̟̝̖̥̌̍̈́̇̒͛́̆̓̈́̂̈́́͝͝I̴̜͈̖̪̰͉̲͙̻̟̝̟̪͋́̀̊̋̐̄̀̄͌̊̂̌͜Ḩ̵̡̦̝̹͙̱̼̟̱̽́̉̈́ͅI̷̢̧̯̯̣̺͍̖̕͝H̶̭̣̝̙̖̤͒͑̊̊͐̐̕͜I̶̼̰̋͑͆͑͑͐͒̓̊͘͝Ḩ̷̼͚͚̟̺̜̞̯͎̬̤͍̦͊̉̓͌͊͐̐̓̕͘͘͝͝Į̸̧̧̧̥̖̰̼͗͋̇́͗̍͌͠͝H̵̛̲̠̯͇̖̟̜̥̯̗̮̞̤̐͋̿̉̈́͂͂̚I̸̢̛̠͎̤̙̰̫͚̘̔̄́͌̕̚̚̚͝͠H̷̡̡͖̱͓̘͈̞͗͌̑̅̐́̏͛͌̒̈́̐̋͒̅̕I̸͓̗͕̓͑͐̅̓̌Ḧ̵̻͈̘̠͔͙̮̯͍̖̪͙̈́̽͆͋̎̃̄͆İ̵̧͓̩̲̱̠̤̱͇̤̾͆̔͜H̴̦̝̹̰̾̊̈́͐̿͋͒͒̒͛̇͘͝Ī̶̦̪͇̭̝͕̖̬̰̱̩̙̻̽̀̇̈́̂̔̈́͂H̵̢̹̟̦̥̦̜̱͕͍̠̘̙͝Ḯ̷̧̼̗̖̬͍͒͒͘ͅH̸̢͓̦͑͊̃̈́̋̍͋̿̍ͅI̵̡̮̰͕͇̯̮̻͌̈̈́͜H̶̢͉̩͕̪̬͖̗̘̪͎̫̑̅I̵̡͚̯͎͚̮̳̝̪̲̪̺̠̼̖͇̍̓̀̓̏͆͗̑͂͠Ḩ̷̧͉̖̣̹̮͙̺̲͊̄̇̌̔͐̃̎̊̚͝͝ͅI̷̢͙͙͖̘̤̎͒̔ͅH̷̨̲̪̙̳̲͇͕͍͍͐͑́͊́͂́̒̄̇͋̇I̶͉̐̆̐̌̀́̉̆̽͐́͘͠͝H̸̢̘͔͛͊̔̄̍̀̎͑̅͂̈͒̄͌͘͝I̶̤̬̪͕̙̹͈̫͓̗̤̠̫̓̆̃̽̈͑̄͆̋̀͐̚͘H̵̨͙͓̭̲̥̝͉̯̳̟̔̿͊́͗͜Į̸̥̰̼̻͎̜̥̮̣̼͍̤̓̀͂̆̉̉͜H̷̛̩̳̖̠̬̖̱͋͌́͑͘͝͠I̸̤͕̥͉̦̦͔̋͆͝H̸̫͕͇̃̾̎̀̔͒͊̇̒̃͝I̶̖̳̤̦̤͇̹͆̿̎͜Ḧ̸̪̞̺́̇͠Ì̵̡̛͍̱̼̜̠͖̼̯͗̌̿̏̿͊͌͂̕̕ͅĤ̵̍̆̈́̒̓̍̎̄̆̀͒̐͊͗͜I̷̦̘͇͋H̶̛͍̐̍̿̅͒͗͗̉̌̒͊̒͊͆ͅI̷̬̮̗̭̣͇͙͑̅͛H̶̨̟͐̿͘Ḯ̸̛̩͇̽̀̊̍͂̾͑͒͜Ḩ̷̼͉̱̀̃͘͘Ǐ̸̻͇̫͖̹͑̋̈́̀̀̑͜Ḩ̵̺͚̯̬̼͚̗̘̥̯͉̹̟̘͓̍̽̍͘I̷̛̖̰͇̬̥͔̘̮̫͐̌̇̑͒̔́̓̐͝͝H̶̜̫̣̘̹̦̳̥̩̻͇̀͜I̴̭̳̳̠̍H̷̢̨̦̫̣̘̭̒̾̉̀̾͂̐̒͠Ǐ̶̦͓͖̟̩̩͍̘̗̣̰̆̀́̽̀̇̇̀͆́̄͐͗H̷̺͎́̇̏̾͘Į̵̜̝̗͓̺̜͙̯̝͕̃̐̄̔͆̾̑H̴̬̃̐̓̽͋̿͝͠İ̴̜̮̪͈͓̤͕͗̽͊̓̋͐̍͒͆́̔̚͠Ḩ̴̝̣͖͚̣̝̼̙̜̃̀̐̈̿I̴̪̰̯̖͐̄ͅH̵̪̙͎̫̦̻̖́͋́̐̋̎̃̍͊̇̒I̴̘̱̳͔͓͉̣̙̳̭͍̓͘Ḩ̵̢̡̬̱͖̖̙͎̜̫̻̣̗̣͒͗̑̎͂̒̀̂̿̀͌̀̐͒̇̊͜Ị̷͈̺͔͚̦̲̰͔͕̼̖͔̝͆͒́H̶̨̧̝͓̖̝͉͇͕̹͎̜̤̺̫̤̾͗̽̃͛̓̿͒̈̀̽̚͘͘͠͠I̷̲̤͕̪͎͇̦̙̘̙̝̝͌̽̄͗͒̋̈́̓̃́͘͜͜͜Ḧ̴̦͚͖͉̹́̐Í̷̧̳̻̱̠̟̥͎̃̈́̽̉̂̒̕͘̚͠
"
Even when it was directly behind her, she still couldn't look at it and it wasn't fair.
Amberly Crotta Arc had always thought, ever since she came into contact with the idea of death, and privately to herself, that if she was to die in a way that wasn't surrounded by a loving and still-living family of her own, then she would at least do herself the honor of looking her attacker in the eye.
She never had the chance to.
She could just make out at the edge of her vision a shadow on the grass to the right, mind-melting in shape and far larger than her own, when her aura began to flair.
Repeatedly.
The Arc lineage was always known for its members having large amounts of it.
And through it all, she still was never able to do anything to her killer.
Aura, one of the world's greatest and most trusted defenses against the grimm, betrayed her, aiding her murderer until it broke by helping it mentally torture her.
It spoke volumes of how good of a family she had, that she wanted nothing more than to have at least one of them nearby. It would have made it all just a tiny bit less scary.
And when Amberly's aura finally shattered, she almost felt a sense of relief. One of her last clear feelings in that little clearing by the river.
And then she herself shattered.
"
Ḥ̶̡̡̛̛̮̞̂͆̐̒́͋͆̌̽̑͘͠͝İ̶̻̈̈́͋̽̆͗̅̄͆̆͝H̶͖̖̖̩̃͌̌́͆́̈͛͝I̶̪̥͉̦͎̳͕̪̳̰̞̖͎͐̓̋͂̑̔̀͑̾̒̊͂̊͘̕͜͝Ḥ̵̲̹̻̝͍̬̪̅̇̃̆͌̂̇I̵̡̡̖̦͍̤̲̣̹̥͚̗̎͌͂̀̚Ḩ̶̙̙͇͓̰̫́̓͐̇́̈́̔̿̄̉̎ͅÏ̸̡̛͍̭̞͍̬͓̟͕͗͆̈́̓́͘H̷̨̛͖̥̬̞̻͌̐̈́̄̂͌̏͒̍̾̄͝Ị̸̢̨̛̹͎͉̔̊͌̽͒̒͋̀̽̉I̷̢̬̜̩̬͎̟͚̥͔͎̅̉̈́̑͛̎͗̎̈́̔̆̚Ḩ̶̦̬̯̭̯̝͇̰̲̟̔̍̓͂̇̑́̂̚I̸̙̭̫͎̜͓̣̩͒̀̈͌̅͊̓̈́̃͝͝Ḩ̴̼̳̟̮͈̻̭͖͓̭̲̭̊͜͝I̵̘̪͎̊̈͌̊̏̾̕Ḥ̸̪͚̠̄͋̓̈͑̅͘͘͜ͅȊ̵̧̛̛̲̼̜͕̺̒͂̅̍̋̓̈́̾̄̉͌̕Ḩ̷͓͖̟͇̝̝̼̖̣͈̦͐͗̈͊̐͂̈́̌͆͊̋I̶̯̹̠̮̟̩͎͎̫͓̜͈̦̩̰͒̂̊̇́̇̕͜͜H̷͙͍̦̙̺̙̝̘̼̩̑̉̓͌̔͜Ỉ̴͚̞͚̘͔̟̙̺͚̙͖̒̏̓͒͆̑͆̄̄̑͝͝͝H̸̙̟̱̹̣̗̝̣̫̯̆͂̾ͅI̷̛̛̤̝̹̪͔̒̋̂̐̽H̸̗̹͇̝̙̲̍İ̶̢̫̠̺͔͍̑͛ͅḤ̴̡̧̰͇̙͔̫̩̖̩͉̘̥̾̐̓Ḯ̴̛̠͕͇̼͔̺͖̐͂͗̈́͌H̷̱̥̩̤̠͋̒̈͌̅̒Í̴̙͎̣͗͝͝H̶̛̪͖̮̣̘̬̽̊Į̴̧̢̻̳͖̺͕̭͈̲̳͖͍͈̮̒̑̊̓̄̾̏̕͜͝H̵̦͉̖̭̱̟͋̓͑̾͑̃͌̕͜͝I̵̡̛̝̗̬̱͚͎͉̺͒́̑̽̽̅͂͠H̸̨͍͙̝̺͍̦̬̺̟̦̣̏̃̇́͌̿̅̅̂̎͑̾̋͘͠ͅI̵̢̨̧̨̼͚͙̯͎̜͇̻̪̭̦͂̚Ḩ̶̡̬͍̯͖̩̊Ȉ̶̧̦̈́̀Ḫ̴̨͕̰͇̌̄̈́̓́̀̀͐͋̏͛̅̕͝͝Į̵̛̭̙̺͂̉͌͂͗́͘͘Ḧ̴̡̧̡͓̤̞̘͉̯̦̥̣̲͕̥͎̪́̅̑̈́̌̏̋̂̔̆͆͊͊͗̍͘͝I̷͈̒̌̄̓͌́̿͜͜͝Ḥ̷̨̖̟͇̙̻͕̝̮͚̘̂͌̿̉͂̉̊̍͜͝ͅI̵̢̬͚̹͉̮͙̳͉̪̜͙͔͘ͅH̴̠̮͋̄͋͌̊͑I̶̧̝͓̰̗̳͖̞̙̭̪̱̰̟̗͙̽͋̆̀́̌̈́̒͝ͅH̷̢̼̗̽̀͑̈̄̑͑̀͠I̶̢̖͚͓̝̓H̴̢͔̬̤̺͇̞͎̼̮͕̜̿̏̉̅́̍̔̆̒͘̕̕Ĩ̵̧̡͇̭̬̖̘͙̟̰̝̺̤̩̤͌̀͋̾̒͋̚͝ͅH̶̢̢̞̹͚͈̦̲̤̘̜̬̟̤̲̥̗͋͌̒̑́̉̒͘I̵̧̡̱̫̖̰͙̲͈̯͖̎̈́̊͑̉͑͌̂̀̊͘̚̚͝͝ͅḪ̷̡̛̝̠̠̲͙̝̻͍̟̦͇̈̅̅̏̏̓̒̓̍̆̊̔̚͘͝͝ͅÏ̵̧̙̫̳̜̞̪̯̼̫̙̝̂̅͋́̆͊̓̎͐̈́̽̆̇͘͝H̸͇̯͚͉͎͠Ī̴̡̻̤̝̫̜̝̣̝͔͓̺͓̮̙̈͋͝H̸̜̪̟̏̃̑̆͝Į̸̧̛̲͓̳̗͕̰̳͚̲͖͓̟̣͌͑̾̇͂͜H̴͕̜̮͈̰̅̽̉̆̽̉͑͝Ī̴̻͚̱͓͎̦̫͇̆̎Ḩ̷̗̳̟̭̮̣̮̞̱̙̠̩͓̈́̽̈͜I̸̹̠̮̺͍̟̓̂͐̒̈̊͋́͊̈́́̔͝H̷̥͉̪̤̥̃́́̎̍̇̀̅͒͜͜ͅI̸̧̧̛̬͉̎́̌̈̽̊͊̈́̚͠H̷̢̨͉̝̫̯͙̻̪̎̾͗́͆͑̌̂̐͝I̴̡̧͇͓̖̋͒̈̂͒̓́͒͝͠Ḫ̶̈̿́̄͑̆̀̓͛̐̎͗̚Į̵̣̯̀̆͑̉͒̄̏̌̾̑́͐̃͜H̵̢̹̱̬̺̋̅̑͐̓͝I̷̪̠̻̟̺̮̪̩̱̩̒̎̈̊̉̓̈̈́̓͘H̷̥̊͗̊̌I̸̥̙̦͖̟̲̱̞̗͍̥͎̙̬̞̤̊̇̈́̐Ḥ̶̩̜̙͎̬͚̭̘͍̓̀̀̓̓̆̽̌̆͑̐͘͝͝Ï̵͈̞̦̩̜̦̥̗̯͓̦̌͋͐̋̌H̸̨̹̹̝̜̹̰̣̹͉͚̊̑̀̏ͅĬ̵̡̢̻̜̫̗͕̯̙͍͔̻̮̽́͌͒̈́̍̐̓̒͛̌́̈̄̂̚Ḩ̵̰͕̣̜̜̜̝̼͛͂̑̒̔͗̏͗̕Ī̸̧͎̝̞̠̪͖͖̟͍͕̳̫̣̫̈́H̷̨̧͇̹͚̺̼̹͎͔̟̭̖͔̬̓̊͊͑̋͜I̴͉̹͍͖̒̿͝͠H̸̬͙͉̤̆̋Í̶̮̦̍̃͘H̴̘̎̊̈́̉̈̃̓̅͝Ȋ̸̛̯̘͈̗̱̻͖̫͍̺̼̬̩͐̎͊̎̌̍͗̎́̅͌͋̌͜H̶̢̥̙̬͆̈́͗̌̿̾̇̒̽̑̚͠͝Ḯ̶̥̙̬̻̘̹̫̥̺̰͍̩͓̪̠̟͊́̑̄̇̈́͘͝H̵͉̻̖̱͓̖̼̫̹̲̤̺̥̰́̍̅̋̐͆̽͘͝I̵͙̚H̷̡̳̟̯̟̜͖͎̥͂̍́̏͆̌̍͝Į̵̨̢͚̪̣̱̗̬̹̖̼͔̇Ḧ̵̟̻́͜͝Ḯ̶͚̭͚̹̎̅̅́͆́̆͌̿̾̎̓́̊̅̈́ͅͅḦ̸̢̧͉̻̼̠͈̮͇͉̹̩̰̼̪̉͂̈͒͆̉͒ͅĮ̵̹̯͓̭͈͚̤̻̱̎̓̾̐̓͋̃̋̕Ḩ̶̯͚̘̖̘̜͇͗̏̋̀̈́̌̿I̵̪͉̠̗͍͚̰̲̲̙̞͂͋̋͝H̷̨̛͇͈̘͔͈͖̼̱͙͖͚̥̖͖̩̠̃̃͛̔̒͋̕̕I̵̧̡̛̛̛̺̣̼̙̪̰͍̊̅̿̃̈́͋̀̓̔̈́̆̍͘͘ͅH̸̨̢̯̯̖͙̭̪̱̤̤̭̠̺͙̓̉͑́͑̾̓͑̽̎͆͜͠I̵̲͂̽̅̓͑̄̊̾̈́̑̈́̂͝H̵͙̀͊̊̂͘İ̵͎̦̞̩̮̠̯̞̫̩̰̣̲̗͕̿̅̔́͛̏̀̈́͋̍͊͗̌͛̕̕H̵̛͚͚͙̼̩̳̥̯̬̿̽͂̒̎͐̑̌͗̿͐͐́͋̕I̵͍̞̥͍̼͕͙̦̥̋̄̋̔̓̔̉̒̄̐͑̿̈̈́̕͜͝ͅH̸̳̓͊̀͒͗͆̀̓͌̈́̓̍͌̕͘Ï̵̡̧͎͈͔͇͈̬̊̾̇̏͘̕H̷̡̨͖͈̥̣̟͉̺͍͎͔̫̭͉̾͂͒́̉̿̓͌̒̕͝I̷̛̛̲̞̜͎̩͛̑̀̈́̌̀̂̓̅̆̓͂͘̕͝Ḣ̸̢̥͖͙͇̖̫̔̈̓̀̑̃͊͗͆̈́̾̔̇̕I̷̡̻̥̖͓̻̘͍̍̒̊̐̌͗̉̀͘̕̚H̸̡̨̧̢͍͎͖͕͖͓̭̥͍̙̉́͛͋͂̑̈́̊̕͘̚Í̴̩̥̟̳͓̫͋̑̈́̿̈́̄͝͝͠͝H̴̬͚̩͇̰͕̍I̷̢̪̲̭͎̘̬͎̹͊̊̾̑̈̾̂́͑ͅͅH̸̛̖̱̠̮̟͇̓́͐͒̓͋Ī̵̩̖̞̪̞̭̥̲̻̭́̊͐́͒͊͋́͊̀̚̚̕͘͝͠H̵̨̟̥̅̇̆̍̎̓̒̏̓̅̀̍̄̈́I̷̢̢̧̧̢̥̪͉̻̣͎̥̪͍͒̐̿Ḣ̷̖͇̀̑͒͗̀͆I̷̭̙̾̓̏H̷̜̘̺̊̍̎̈́̿͒͆̌̈͑̈͒̓̋̚̕͝ͅI̷͎̖͔̟̳̞̼͐̆̐̇̃̈́̒̔̆͘̕̚͜͠͝Ḧ̸̡̳̜̹̝̱̝̬́̉̎͛͑̈̊̉̽̂̒͘͘̕Ì̷̡̱͓͓͉̣̹̞̃͗̀̈͠͝͠͝Ḫ̸̡͗̑̅ͅÌ̸̡̛̛̛̱̠̳͈͋̔͗̍͆̋̓͑̈́̈́̕ͅH̸̢̨̦͕͈̦̱̲̘͓̤̾̈̌I̸̡̧̻͍̗̗̯͆͐̌̎̓͌̈̓̆̇͝Ḧ̶̟͕͙̣̟̯̘͍̟͇̬̈́͌͘ͅͅͅI̴̧͔̪̬̗̅̅́̉͆̑͘̕͜͠H̶̖̪͚̞̻̱͓̮̖̱̒̑͜Í̸̢͕͎͓̩͔̻̹̘̱̳̄̿̾̆͂͌̓̕-
"
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-"
A figure, covered in scratches and panting, opened ocean blue eyes to a terrible wet sound, easily discernable above the gentle roar of the gentle river close by.
They looked around frantically, desperately searching, but could not find the source.
The noise had been too brief.
And their surroundings offered no answer.
There was a feeling of something now missing.
They looked around more, a knot of dread forming in their stomach from the world which seemed to have gone mute.
They saw nothing but grass and trees.
Quiet and menacing trees.
Such evil looking trees.
They heard the noise again, this time accompanied with ear-splitting shrieks of pain.
The figure stiffened at the new sound.
They knew which direction it came from now.
It came from-
"RUN AMBERLY!"
Amberly Crotta Arc, still alive and still disoriented, couldn't put a name to the voice. But she leapt up from it regardless, despite her fatigue. The past twenty minutes had been a lifetime, a non-stop blur of horror for her, animalistic terror and looming vegetation being her only companions, backed by stinging squeals of demonic giggling.
The newest noise sounded familiar.
And compared to that evil inhuman giggle, it sounded worse.
It brought images of all things that made her cower and quiver. Not images of ungodly and grotesque monsters, but of the things that humans understood. Things that she understood, and remembered with a nauseating unease.
Her father's booming voice after an argument between two sisters had resulted in a broken wall.
Repairing it had not been cheap.
Her mother with that dreaded look, staring down at her imperiously after she had tried sneaking in late one night.
She had quickly learned her boundaries that day.
A young boy, a gentle soul who she loved dearly but would never openly admit, battered and bruised and glaring at her like a rabid animal while he straddled another begging child.
There had been red in his teeth.
"RUUUUUUUUN!" the voice roared again.
Amberly Crotta Arc, a rebellious teenager, a fourteen year old huntress in training, didn't feel fear.
But right now?
Right now she was little Amby, the girl who used to bring her dolly to school, a girl who had just been given an order from a very angry elder, and that order would be followed or there would be hell to pay.
So she fled. She didn't flee in a random direction; that might get her lost and that was scarier than the angry parents and older brother.
Because the dark trees didn't love her and her family did, even when they were angry.
She didn't run in the direction she came from, with the tunnel of broken tree limbs that hung just about a foot over her head. That path had almost gotten her killed.
She took the second path, the one that went almost straight back to town. She ran on that path and didn't stop, pushing her body to its limits once more, not bothering to question the occasional tree that was missing a part of its splintered trunk or simply toppled entirely. She didn't stop until she reached Ansel, where she would be greeted by an emotionally drained and battered looking group of girls that swarmed her and cried rare tears of joy and regret upon seeing her, and a bewildered town guard that was would take care of them while still wondering if he had actually seen someone leap over the wall and into the surrounding forest and- if so- just who the hell it was.
And when she was finally home with an alarmed family that seemed to be missing a member, it would dawn on her just how close she had come to leaving this world, and she would cry again.
But ultimately, Amberly Crotta Arc would live to see another day.
Behind the fleeing girl, a snarling scraggly boy grappled a semi-invisible giggling kraken in cold running water.
"
Ḧ̷̗̘̲́̿̔̽̕Ǐ̵͎̩̏̅̔H̷̠̗̙͚̑̇͝Į̷͎̲̫̇̐̕͘H̶̢͓̪͕̉̋͛͜͠Ḯ̷̫́Ḩ̸̺̙͕͒̓͝I̴̹͍̖͉͝H̵̱̫̥͐̑͂́̚I̸͈̤͊̉͂̄̏Ḧ̸̨͍́͋̉̏̊Ị̵͎̯̱̓̕̕͘͝H̶̛͓̖̞̞̤̐̓I̶̢̼͋̈H̵͈̃̈̃ͅI̴̺͇͛̾H̷̪̘̙͙͐̕͝ͅȈ̴̖H̷̨͕͔̹̫́I̶̪͖̜̟͖͆̾̚Ȟ̸͈̉͌̇͝Ḯ̶͉͎̜͓͓̾̊͑̇H̶̭̟͇̟̲̊̔̔͠Į̷̲̭͎͛͐͆̊͐ͅH̴̨̫̪̩͒I̵̲̙̲̿̋Ḧ̵̡͖͈̩̀̽̓̀͜Į̶͇̰̻͕̿̿́̃
"
Mind the teeth. Nyarlathotep quipped idly.
Jaune gnashed his own in response.
He didn't know what the thing was. He hadn't bothered asking, too focused in getting here as fast as his legs could carry him, bowling through the forest like a runaway train. Now that he was wrestling the thing in the river, he still didn't bother. He didn't want to.
It didn't matter that he didn't know what it was; it could have been the second coming of Christ for all he cared.
It had been doing something to his sister, and that was a big fucking no-no.
Family was off limits.
I'm telling you, mind the tee- oh, for the love of-!
"
"Ḧ̷̗̘̲́̿̔̽̕Ǐ̵͎̩̏̅̔H̷̠̗̙͚̑̇͝Į̷͎̲̇̐̕͘H̸͒͝Ǐ̵͎̩̏̅̔H̷̠̗̙͚̑̇͝Į̷͎̲̫̇̐̕͘H̶̢͓̪͕̉̋͛͜͠Ḯ̷̫́Ḩ̸̺̙͕͒̓͝I̴̹͍̖͉͝H̵̱̫̥͐̑͂́̚I̸͈̤͊̉͂̄̏H̶̛͓̖̞̞̤̐̓I̶̢̼͋̈H̵͈̃̈̃ͅI̴̺͇͛̾H̷̪̘̙͙͐̕͝ͅȈ̴̖H̷̨͕͔̹̫́I̶̪͖̜̟͖͆̾̚Ȟ̸͈̉͌̇͝Ḯ̶͉͎̜͓͓̾̊͑̇H̶̭̟͇̟̲̊̔̔͠Į̷̲̭͎͛͐͆̊͐ͅH̴̨̫̪̩͒I̵̲̙̲̿̋ "
"
Something, several somethings, latched onto Jaune, all over his torso, arms, and legs as the thing he fought giggled. He didn't see them, but he most assuredly felt the sharp pricks of pain that accompanied them.
Were those the teeth?
They didn't seem that bad...
Those aren't the teeth I'm talking about and-THINK-BEFORE-YOU-WORD-YOU-BRAINLESS-LITTLE-
Nyarlathotep's hasty criticism was cut short, as between Jaune and the swirls of red, the air seemed to almost shimmer. It was like watching someone pull something out of a pocket- a rabbit out of a hat made from nothing- as suddenly, there were more teeth. They just 'slid' into existence.
If the things gripping into him right now were teeth, then these were teeth, a gigantic maw that almost looked like a human mouth, if you were to replace every single one with a strange fang that was riddled with holes and was also several inches long.
He didn't like the look of those teeth.
Especially when they tried to chomp onto his chest.
His hands shifted from gripping nothing to grabbing those strange alien fangs, barely keeping them from piercing his torso. It wasn't the smartest move, as then he had to strain to keep the thing's jaws from clamping down on his own hands.
He was beginning to think that he couldn't hate the thing anymore than he did right now.
Those teeth. The Outer God commented.
"Not... helping..." Jaune growled out loud.
H̸̦̩̊̀͜Í̶̲͚͠H̷̢̛̝͍̭͎̅̀̈Ǐ̶̝͗͜H̸͙́I̸̻̥̰̻̰͌͝H̷̡̉̓̍̾͘ͅI̶͎͗͐̑̉Ḧ̴́ͅI̷͚͍̊͋H̶̙̭̊͋I̵̝͉̟̽̉H̸͖̿̒I̵̹̟͑H̸̭̱͋͆I̶̯͍̺̔͊̆̈͘Ḩ̴̡̌͋̓͆Ì̵̟̅̋̾͝H̵̼͍̹̎Ḯ̴͕̣̫̲͒̓̅̀H̴̨̘̹̹̃̉͝ͅÎ̷̧̧͈̲̈̏H̸̖͎̪̔̆Ỉ̴̢͍̹̇̾H̵̯́̃̐̚I̷̹̐͑͝͝H̵͔̮̟̜̀͑I̸̟̯͚̭̎́̅̚-" Even now, the monster was still giggling.
I would say that I am, considering that you currently possess the ability to hold the thing back at all.
God, did he ever stop the comments?
...I'll ignore that. Now, to be quite genuine, I highly suggest that you get out of the Shambler's grip befo- ah.
The thing wasn't in the river anymore.
And neither was Jaune.
Past the strange swirls of red and even stranger teeth, the world spun wildly around them as the Jaune's foe lifted them out of the river and sent them spiraling through the air. Jaune quickly learned two things of importance:
1) He did not like flying whatsoever.
2) Thanks to learning the first point, he also learned that he could in fact hate the thing even more.
Jaune started turning green. He could feel the lunch he had eaten at school wanting to leave his body.
The way it wasn't supposed to go.
The unfun way.
He didn't like that way.
This was gonna have to stop.
But Jaune was in a bit of a dilemma. He wanted to be back at an elevation that humans were supposed to be at, yet he had no way of getting there.
The thing wasn't going to drop him willingly.
His hands were busy, that left...
His legs!
Jaune rocketed his knee up into where he thought the thing's body might be. Maybe the pain would get it to drop him?
It was the wrong move.
Oh, it worked in a way, but it was the wrong way, much like how vomiting was the wrong way for the body to dispose of food.
His knee connected with what was, apparently, a part close to the thing's jaw, causing it to almost bite down on his hands. At the same time however, the spot he struck was almost like chopping someone in the jugular in its effectiveness.
"H̸̦̩̊̀͜Í̶̲͚͠H̷̢̛̝͍̭͎̅̀̈Ǐ̶̝͗͜H̸͙́I̸̻̥̰̻̰͌͝H̷̡̉̓̍̾͘ͅI̶͎͗͐̑̉Ḧ̴́ͅI̷͚͍̊͋H̶̙̭̊͋I̵̝͉̟̽̉H̸͖̿̒I̵̹̟͑H̸̭̱͋͆I̶̯͍̺̔͊̆̈͘Ḩ̴̡̌͋̓͆Ì̵̟̅̋̾͝H̵̼͍̹̎Ḯ̴͕͒̓̅̀-GIK!"
The pair dipped, spinning even more wildly.
Right into a particularly high tree branch.
The monster took the brunt of the impact. In fact, it took all of the impact, for all the damage that it did...
But it had been enough of a jarring motion for the wrong reason.
Jaune's gut clenched.
He tried to stop it.
He failed.
And he spewed, directly into the thing's mouth.
The monster disliked it as much as he did.
"H̵̛̰Į̵͖̓H̵̬̆͝Ĭ̶͍̜͊̓Ḧ̴̥́̅̇Ì̷̘̊̾͜-GIKAGKR-"
They fell from the sky, spinning over each other in a chaotic ball of visible and invisible limbs until-
*THUD!*
They were back on blessed ground again, with the small blessing of Jaune being torn free from his adversary's grasp, tumbling several feet away and stopping mercifully short of a rock the size of his head.
His vision swam, it swirled, and various spots on his body stung and began to bleed freely.
He tasted bile.
...I... I'm genuinely at a loss for once.
Good. Jaune didn't want to hear anything right now.
"GAK! KACK! ...H̸̦̩̊̀͜Í̶̲͚͠H̷̢̛̝͍̭͎̅̀̈Ǐ̶̝͗͜H̸͙́I̸̻̥̰̻̰͌͝H̷̡̉̓̍̾͘ͅI̶͎͗͐̑̉Ḧ̴́ͅI̷͚͍̊͋H̶̙̭̊͋I̵̝͉̟̽̉H̸͖̿̒I̵̹̟͑H̸̭̱͋͆I̶̯͍̺̔͊̆̈͘Ḩ̴̡̌͋̓͆Ì̵̟̅̋̾͝H̵̼͍̹̎Ḯ̴͕̣̫̲͒̓̅̀H̴̨̘̹̹̃̉͝ͅÎ̷̧̧͈̲̈̏H̸̖͎̪̔̆Ỉ̴̢͍̹̇̾H̵̯́̃̐̚I̷̹̐͑͝͝H̵͔̮̟̜̀͑I̸̟̯͚̭̎́̅̚ "
He groaned on the ground before moving. Even with that... disaster... the thing still giggled.
The boy staggered to his feet, having to put a hand on the nearby stone for the tiniest bit of support on his way up, all the while glaring at the monster.
"
H̶̛̬̑͆̒Ĭ̴̧̝̱̣H̵͉̯͈͑I̸̭̼̫̾̉̾̆Ḥ̵̡̥̲̐I̴̘̿͌H̶̹̘̍̄͌͝Ĭ̴̠̪̯̖̈́͘͝H̸͕͊̅̒̚Ḯ̵̢̜͕͖͋̈́H̴̢͋͛͊̕I̷̮̯͉̙͆̔̂H̷̨̞̅I̵̩̗̼̦͘H̸͍̙̎̓͂I̴̲͈̥͒̔̽H̸̭͕̔Ȋ̵̹̺̦̜͋͐̀Ḧ̷͓̦̫͗̔ͅĬ̶̘̮̖H̸͔͠Ỉ̷̝̖͚H̵͉̜̳͔̾͝I̵͉͉͓̻̚H̴͔͇̀I̴̱̱͑̎͒̂ͅḨ̷̦̣̝̃̕͝I̵̖̺̫͒
"
He could see that it had definitely taken their landing worse than he had, tiny splotches of red that he knew weren't his dripped down from it, teasing him as too the thing's actual size. He knew it was big, but he didn't know how big.
It 'unsheathed' its maw again. Jaune passively noticed that one of the fangs he'd been holding onto had been ripped out.
But then it did something.
*KLACK! KLACK! KLACK!* It chattered.
It looked like a gigantic version of those toys of human mouths with the feet and the wind-up gears, if it had been built up by a psycho. To say nothing of the sound. The thing looked atrocious, but the sound just now was disgusting. It brought goosebumps to Jaune's skin and his own teeth hurt from hearing it.
Well, that's a good sign. Nyarlathotep was positive. Jaune couldn't see why he was positive.
...How? Was all he could ask, eyes fixed directly onto the source of that unholy noise. Neither opponent moved, like they were waiting for the other to do so first.
It's an intimidation tactic. It means that it thinks you are an actual threat. Honestly, I had forgotten that they actually were capable of doing that. They're not suited for open engagements. They're ambush predators.
It's an abomination. Jaune tried not to shudder when it chattered again. They still hadn't moved.
And how is that a good sign? he added.
Oh, indeed. Quite the abomination. The fact that they managed to not go extinct despite not evolving for literal eons is almost insulting... Excellent word choice by the way. Jaune's passenger was unusually talkative today, commenting on Jaune's own comment before continuing. And it's a good sign because it thinks you are an actual threat. Ambush predators don't enjoy facing threats directly.
What the fuck even is it? He asked. He honestly didn't care. The image of it floating over his sister was fresh in his mind. There was something that he might care about though, and that was-
And why the fuck can't I see all of it?
Well, I'll ignore the pointless use of explicatives by saying that that Jaune, is a Star Vampire.
...A...
...A what?
Don't make me repeat myself. You know I detest that as much as you detest a certain three words. As for why you can only partially see it: they're naturally hidden on most color wavelengths; it helps with catching prey. Though a horrendous foresight is that when they do catch prey, their natural covertness is rendered completely moot, since their victims' fluids are not invisible and-you're not listening anymore.
No, Jaune was not listening anymore.
He stiffened, standing tall and rolling his shoulders back. The 'Star Vampire' chattered again.
He ignored it.
He didn't need to listen to anymore.
Because he had put some things together in a very short time.
He still remembered Mr. Waker, had heard the man screaming in terror and agony over the scroll. He had silently hoped- when he hopped over the town's wall- that his speed would let him do what he felt deep down would be impossible: that he'd save Amberly and the teacher that everyone knew and liked.
He knew now that he was indeed far too late to achieve that.
H̶̛̬̑͆̒Ĭ̴̧̝̱̣H̵͉̯͈͑I̸̭̼̫̾̉̾̆Ḥ̵̡̥̲̐I̴̘̿͌H̶̹̘̍̄͌͝Ĭ̴̠̪̯̖̈́͘͝H̸͕͊̅̒̚Ḯ̵̢̜͕͖͋̈́H̴̢͋͛͊̕I̷̮̯͉̙͆̔̂H̷̨̞̅I̵̩̗̼̦͘H̸͍̙̎̓͂I̴̲͈̥͒̔̽H̸̭͕̔Ȋ̵̹̺̦̜͋͐̀Ḧ̷͓̦̫͗̔ͅĬ̶̘̮̖H̸͔͠Ỉ̷̝̖͚H̵͉̜̳͔̾͝I̵͉͉͓̻̚H̴͔͇̀I̴̱̱͑̎͒̂ͅḨ̷̦̣̝̃̕͝I̵̖̺̫͒
Because this thing... this thing had already taken a life.
This thing had killed a man that he knew, drained him of blood like a pack of juice...
This thing had just tried to do the same to Amberly.
Jaune was... was...
...
...He wasn't angry...?
...Hmm...
No. He definitely wasn't angry. He didn't think it would help him. Getting angry- getting absolutely, balls-achingly, mouth-frothingly furious- certainly wouldn't help him right now.
No, he wasn't angry.
He was more... upset.
"You..." he began, quirking his mouth to the side for a moment before continuing, "are a very disrespectful thing, aren't you?"
The Vampire cackled in response.
As much as I... understand your emotional state right now, Jaune, it would be most rude of me to not inform you that you are wasting your breath on an animal. It can't even understand pictures.
"I don't care." The way he said it was almost positive. If he- in another time and place- had said those exact words in that exact tone to a police officer after running over a hapless old man in a school zone, the officer would have probably nodded in understanding and then put the handcuffs on on his own wrists.
Because Jaune didn't care.
"Nyar-buddy," he continued, unknowingly adopting his mother's patented look, "it may be an animal. You got me there. I'm no expert. But thankfully there's a language that everything understands."
As he talked, the swirls of blood in the monster shifted, a mesmerizing display as they slowly travelled out to the thing's tentacles, revealing it as the alien squid that it was, and hiding the main bulk of its body.
Jaune didn't mind. That would actually make this easier.
Oh? Well... Laws of conversation demand that I must ask; what language is that Jaune?
Jaune took his eyes off his foe, looking down next to him. He reached down, and took hold of the rock he had almost crashed into. Its appearance was harmless and utterly unassuming by itself, but it easily became terrifying when you saw its realized potential. Lumpy, jagged, yet slightly rounded and worn, and covered in bits of dried lichen. If its description as a weapon could be fitted down to two words, they would be 'ugly' and 'inhumane'.
...Oh my... Yes... Yes! YES! Cried Nyarlathotep, two steps from ecstasy, How wonderfully quaint! How simply pure! Stone is ancient! It is raw! The patriarch of weaponry! The father of Human WAR!
Jaune didn't bother responding to the shapeshifter, tossing the hefty rock up, watching it sail in a straight trajectory, up and down, and then easily catching it with one lanky arm, an act only achievable through other acts unnatural.
"I... I fucking hate rocks," He started again, beginning to advance on the horror that still guffawed in unintelligent glee.
Oh? Nyarlathotep sounded like someone sitting in the front row seat of world's hottest drama, responding to every word and action as though enthralled.
"And when I'm done," Jaune nodded surely to himself, ignoring the god, "You're definitely gonna see why."
Toothed suckers that were now visible flared, a gaping mouth tittered in hideous faux-delight, and Jaune's stroll lengthened to a silent charge, his foe mirroring him with shrieking fervor.
The two slammed together, twisting around from the force of an uneven collision and nearly rolling to the ground. A sucker darted towards Jaune's face. He grabbed it, bringing Mankind's earliest weapon up in his hand and crashing it near the base of the boneless limb. Soft and rubbery skin tore from the jagged edges. Red fluid with the smell of metal burst from the opening, spraying Jaune's face and hands.
For once, the laughter- that terrible and consistent noise- ceased.
An ear-piercing shriek of pain took its place.
Jaune's face, like his weapon, was almost stony, but the slight widening of eyes and parting of his lips betrayed his satisfaction. More tendrils swirled, teeth latching onto Jaune's arms and sides. His face twitched from the faint pricks he could feel, no doubt muted in some way by the 'grace' of his upstairs resident. As incisors pierced his skin, and that loathsome maw loomed to try and bite him once more, he narrowed his eyes. He was not going to let this happen again.
He struck forward, the stone bludgeoning the Star Vampire at the base of its upper teeth with a horrible cracking noise. It shrieked again, several teeth falling loose with strings of crimson.
It tried again.
Jaune smacked it again.
There was a third attempt.
Followed by a fourth.
Like early Cambrian creatures of the past, the monster was nearly incapable of learning.
Nearly.
It suddenly shrieked into his face, slightly disorienting him from the sound, and spraying more flecks of blood and even a bit of his old vomit onto him. Jaune noted that one of those droplets flew between his parted lips, a one-in-a-million chance.
He hoped it was his vomit.
But-
His name was Miles Trevor Waker, and he had been born during the War. He had lived in a quiet little settlement, far away from the fighting with his good friend Amos. There had been nothing of strategic value near the settlement, so there had been no need for all of the settlement's capable warriors to stay...
So when the grimm came-
-The teethed suckers detached from him, pulling away swiftly along with the rest of the Vampire's body.
It was trying to run.
Jaune allowed himself to snarl once more.
That was un-fucking-acceptable.
His free hand reached out again, grabbing a whole mess of feelers and keeping the monster close. It shrieked again.
Unacceptable.
Jaune's countenance was merciless, crashing the stone once more into a disintegrating maw. The blow sent the monster back only a few feet, kept somewhat in place by a firm hand.
And then Jaune stepped closer.
And hit it again.
And when it flew back, he did those same two actions again.
And again.
And again.
And again, and again, and again, and again, and again.
The pair was moving because of this one way exchange, slowly shifting in a single direction. A familiar direction.
Back to the river.
Things were starting to break apart. The Star Vampire's dreadful teeth were little more than stumps of porous bone now, and a few crimson-coated flaps gave away the secret of its flayed skin. Jaune's stone looked not much better, having lost little chunk by little chunk, blow after blow, until it was barely the size of the hand that carried it. A few of the tentacles that he was gripping had actually snapped, spilling the late teacher's life onto the grass.
Un-tasting, hungry grass...
The Star Vampire was beyond wounded. Its body, shredded and stained with its former meal, was barely hovering scant inches from the ground.
As the pair reached the river, Jaune struck with his damaged weapon again, and the tentacles he held tore free.
The shrieks he heard were almost euphoric.
Now free, the maimed animal turned and attempted to flee.
Jaune didn't give it the chance, dropping the now-useless stone before leaping and tackling it mid-air.
It didn't have the strength to support them both anymore, and they crashed into the water, the starting point of their brawl.
The river bubbled. It roiled and frothed, wisps of red dying the stream in small areas before Jaune emerged once more, grappling what was now little more than a gurgling worm.
It wasn't dead yet.
And he didn't like that.
Anyone who attempted to harm his family would not go unpunished.
His hand gripped the monster's jaws, firmly grasping the remains of horrible hideous fangs.
And then he began to pry.
There was a resistance. There was shrieking and fidgeting. The thing was still alive and didn't want to die and he didn't like that so he pulled.
Over the sound of wet running water, a different kind of wet, terrible, tearing noise was heard.
And Jaune's foe stopped moving.
The crimson soaked the water, and then it faded away, floating off down the gentle river, like dust in the wind.
Jaune... didn't really do anything for a moment, just stood there in crystal clear fluid that cleaned away the proof of what had transpired without judgement.
It had been barbaric, like his fight against the Night Gaunt, like the fight against Nathan, but it was done.
Jaune was done.
...You're going to be late again.
He snorted.
"I'm telling you, it wasn't a grimm! I'm not crazy!"
Despite the fact that her voice was already raised, Amberly Crotta Arc felt like screaming.
Standing in front of her, Daphne Arc looked like she wanted to sigh.
Amberly was sitting on the couch. On one side of her sat Jasmine, on the other, Coral. Despite how much she had practically burrowed into them when they had first sat down, she wasn't touching either of them now.
Because they weren't listening.
"We are listening Amby," Jasmine confided. Apparently, she had said that last part aloud.
Her eldest sibling continued.
"And we're not calling you crazy. No one is calling you crazy."
Coral hummed. Jasmine shot her a warning look over Amberly's head.
"She's right, Amberly," Daphne started softly, having been silent almost the entire time. She hadn't had enough alcohol yet to use the nickname comfortably, "No one is calling you crazy. But-"
Daphne's younger clone looked at her in betrayal.
"-Remnant is largely unknown, you know that." Amberly tried not to whine in protest. "Huntsmen are still coming across new types of grimm occasionally. It isn't that uncommon. It could have just been an undocumented aquatic one."
"Yeah. Speaking of," Coral cut in, turning her spectacles to her inquisitively, "Why were you by the river anyways?"
"Coral." Jasmine warned. She had always been like a second mother.
"What?" her sister protested, "We all know we're not supposed to go there! Remember how Mom nearly tanned Jaune's hide?"
"I don't need the reminder," Daphne commented flatly. They were all sure that they had been about to lose one of the only males in the family that day.
They weren't listening.
"That's not the focus here." Jasmine also chimed in.
"Well, it will be! The only reason Mom and Dad aren't grilling her right now is 'cause they're out looking for Jaune!"
The universe loved little cues like that.
The main door opened. The sisters of the Arc family turned as one entity and froze.
"...Oh...my...gods..." Coral eventually said. The others agreed, even Amberly.
"Hey," Jaune simply greeted, sauntering up to them absolutely soaking wet.
It shouldn't need to be said that it hadn't rained in some time, nor was it expected to.
They stood there for a second of stunned and awkward silence until Coral blinked and raised an accusatory finger.
"Where the heck were you!? Mom and Dad are looking for you!"
The lone brother shrugged noncommittedly.
"By the river."
Amberly looked up sharply.
Jaune wasn't looking at her.
There was another second of silence, this one with expressions of disbelief, before Jasmine put her face in her hands.
"...She's gonna kill him..." She mumbled, "Gods, she's gonna kill him and then we'll somehow be involved as well."
Daphne stared at him silently, in either fear or awe. Maybe both.
Coral stared, working her jaw silently before throwing her hands into the air.
"Why!?"
This time, Jaune did look at Amberly, and her own eyes widened at his relieved gaze.
"Looking for Amby."
Three huffs answered him, two to his face, and one from behind a pair of hands that still cupped their sister's own. All three were mixed with both exasperation and pride.
It was a stupid reason.
If there was grimm, there wouldn't have been anything that Jaune would have been able to do. It was stupid of him to run out blindly rather than grab a huntsman like a sensible person.
But he had done it for their sister.
Mom was still gonna ground him. That was set in stone.
But at least he had a valid excuse.
Arcs look after each other after all.
"...Please go clean yourself." Jasmine pleaded/commanded and Jaune shrugged and left to do so.
But before he left, he gave Amberly another look.
Amberly saw care in those eyes. She saw and felt love.
But hidden among that, she felt something else.
It wasn't directed at her, she knew that. But...
When she looked at those eyes, she felt something similar to that single lonely day, just over eight years ago.
Her brother had done something, something besides just 'going to the river'. He had done something that nobody would ever expect of him, and she had a feeling that no one in the family would like it.
She had the same feeling when she looked into the eyes of some of her combat trainers in school.
As the boy passed through the entrance to the living room, he suddenly stiffened.
Coral's eyebrows rose at the sight.
"Finally realize how much trouble you're in, I take it?" She asked dryly. Jasmine's face sunk further into her hands.
When Jaune looked back, Coral un-characteristically stiffened as well. Jaune quickly looked away.
"...Something like that." He eventually admitted.
And then he left, leaving three sisters to eventually fuss over their younger one once more.
Trudging through the hallway of the house, Jaune took a moment to pause and sigh.
How far? He asked.
An estimated three of your miles, Nyarlathotep responded, his voice all business for once.
Can't get a more accurate idea?
It's moving erratically. I gave you what is merely the average number.
What is it?
I cannot tell you without the risk of being wrong. It's familiar to me, but at the same time, it is not. I can tell you that it is moving around a great deal, but overall, it's actual 'movement' is slow.
The Outer God was silent for a moment before he continued speaking.
I know of several hundred different things that this new whelp could be, and for any one of them, you had best be careful.
Lovely. A warning from the monster in his head.
Off to a great start.
...Any possible plan?
Nope. Not one bit. He never did have one. He didn't have a plan earlier today. He didn't have a plan for the Night Gaunt.
And he certainly had no idea for now.
Smashing. Improvisation has always been the most uncontaminated form of invention.
Jaune thought he might like that.
He continued walking to the bathroom, wondering just how the hell he was gonna get through this one...
...and what of your sires?
We'll burn that bridge when we get to it.
Behind my cliff hanger is...
Another tiny cliff!
It's tiny tho.
...Pls don't leave me.
Weren't expecting this, were ya? thought I'd disappear off into space again for another year, didn't ya?
Well too bad.
I am a spiteful thing.
Now it's time for actual serious talk though. I've seen it happen in a couple stories where they stray away from their genre tags. I don't like doing that. I want a fun whacky romp of classy whit and brainless snark at the cost of everyone's patience and sanity, and we WILL get back to that. However, I will say that most of the next few chapters will be serious in tone.
On another note, I've started class back up again. I've... been thrown back a lot farther than I thought I would be. Like, probably-not-graduate-until-March-far-back.
I'll try and write when I can, but expect a short pause. For real this time.
And uh... that's about it.
Have a good day!