Jade stood alone at the edge of the lodge, watching her fellow students enjoy a nice hearty meal around a roaring bonfire.
"What am I doing here?" She moaned. It was a rhetorical question aimed at herself, but one that needed to be vocalized to justify standing in the darkness by all alone.
She was obviously waiting for Jaq, who told her to find an isolated place to discuss her "secret." She realized Jaq was holding a lot of secrets, but something told her this one was different from the rest.
"So you've made your decision?" A voice from seemingly out of nowhere called out to her.
Jaq seemingly phased into existence from the shadows beside her. It was a bit startling, but Jade managed to contain her reaction to an audible gasp rather than a full blown yelp.
After calming down, she hardened her resolve and looked Jaq straight in the eye. "Yes. What did you want to show me?"
Jaq had a moment of hesitation, then raised her hand and smeared it across her left eye. For a second, it almost looked like she was trying to take out her eyeball, which made Jade just a little tense, but as it turns out, she was just removing contacts.
Even before Jaq opened her eyes to reveal what was behind the contacts, Jade could feel a change in her Aura. It felt thick and sinister, but it wasn't the first time she got this feeling from her. Then, slowly, she opened her left eye to reveal a brilliant golden iris. However, it wasn't any normal heterochromia. The golden eye, in contrast to her normal red one, had a soft glow to it and the iris itself seemed to be shifting, almost as if it was alive.
"What is that-?"
There was a weird hypnotic feeling to the eye that made Jade almost want to lean closer to it, but Jaq suddenly turned away, snapping her back to reality. However, even when obscured, the faint glow was still perceivable.
"I don't know if there is a name for it, but it has been referred to as the Cursed Eye. Like the name suggests it is a curse, one that has been around the Hart family since...well...recorded history."
"What's the curse?"
"Hmm, well a curse may not be the best description for it. It's more like a devil's pact. It bolsters my Aura and enhances my Semblance, but it comes at a cost. You see, the eye is almost sentient, it's constantly bombarding me with negative emotions and tempting me to hurt others because pain and suffering is what fuels its power. The more damage I inflict, the more it appeases it."
Jade gulped. She dared not think about it, but it was impossible not to ask. "Have you...killed anyone?"
Jaq looked horrified. "Oh god, no. But that's not to say there were situations where it came close to that."
"What do you mean?"
"The eye's power is constant. It's not something I can turn on and off and so is the drive to take lifeforce. I've done my best to suppress it-" She held up the contacts as an example. "-but I can always feel that hunger, to rob the lifeforce from others."
"And what happens if you resist it?" She felt like she knew the answer to that, but she wanted to hear the words from her.
"I either chip away at my own life or…I lose control."
"Like back during the tournament." Jade vividly remembers the moment where she suddenly became maniacal. Not only that, she also recalled all the dark emotions that screamed out at her when she delved into her mind, feelings like hate, anger, jealousy, and all sorts of other negative emotions. It was enough to make her shudder.
"Yes, but that was only a mild case."
Jaq shifted uncomfortably, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say next. "When you came in contact with my Aura, did you see an image where you were surrounded by collapsed bodies?"
"...Yes." Jade recalled a vague image of something like that when they fought.
"Have you heard of a port town called Fairport?"
Jade shook her head.
"Look it up on your Scroll."
She did as she was told and looked up the town on a search engine. The first result that popped up was a news report title "The Ripper Incident." She looked up at Jaq for some sort of confirmation and she just nodded solemnly.
The news article was about an incident that happened almost two years ago in Fairport, which was located at the north east corner of the continent of Vale. The news said over eighty people were injured across the commercial zone and port by someone that was dubbed "The Ripper," who still remains at large. There were no reported deaths, but many of them suffered life-threatening injuries.
She turned her head back towards Jaq, confounded. "Over eighty injured!? This 'Ripper,' is that you?"
Jaq nodded sadly. "Yes, but the news hardly paints the whole story. What they failed to mention was that everyone I hurt was part of a crime syndicate that controls the town from the shadows. But that's what happens when they control the media as well."
"That's good, right?" There was a bit of hope in Jade's voice. "That means you don't just indiscriminately attack people. You have some self-control."
"Perhaps," Jaq stared at her hand as if the fruit of her actions two years ago was still there. "But even if I am somewhat conscious of my decisions, that feeling of pleasure whenever I sink my blade into someone, it leaves a vile taste in my mouth every time I think about it. And I grow afraid. Afraid that it might happen again, but I won't be conscious of it the next time."
Suddenly, things started to click in Jade's mind.
"Is that why you are always helping everyone, even at your own expense?!"
Jaq nodded. "I don't know how long I have in this world. So, if I'm cursed to always seek destruction and ruin, I want to go out knowing that I have done more good than harm."
She then looked Jade in the eye with all the earnestness she had. "That's my secret. It's also why I wanted to pass my sword arts to you. I wasn't lying about passing on the sword techniques to others who share my world view, but it's also a contingency in case-"
"You need someone to stop you…"
"...yeah."
"Wow…" Jade let out a big sigh. She leaned against the lodge wall, using it as support to stop herself from collapsing. This was not the sort of revelation she was expecting. It was all just a bit too much for her.
An awkward silence lingered over them as Jaq let Jade process all this information. However, Jaq soon started speaking again.
"There's...something else I wanted to tell you about." She had a look of uncertainty.
"There's more!?"
"It's not about me this time. It's about Ace. Even if it's not something I should be telling you, I feel like you have a right to know after everything."
Jade's ears perked up. "Oh?"
"You see, Ace and I…"
Jaq's voice suddenly trailed off as something caught her attention behind Jade. She furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion.
Alarmed, Jade turned around to see what was going on. What she saw was a shadow slowly lumbering out of the woods. At first the shape was indistinct, then it took on a humanoid shape. Finally, what came out was a person, a familiar person.
"Oni!?"
He had a limp and looked badly hurt. But what's worse was he was alone.
Other people started to take notice as he got closer to the light. Oni stopped just as he reached the edge of the camp. An unease slowly started to spread and when the tension seemed at the breaking point, he let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"GRIMM-!"
Just as he uttered these words a Beowulf leapt out of the darkness and snapped him up in his jaws.
The panic was instantaneous. Screams erupted from the students as they backed away from the scene while the teacher began yelling out instructions to each other and the students. Nothing was audible, nothing was clear. It was just chaos.
However, Jaq made no hesitation in rushing at the beast, felling it with one clean sweep of her sword. The beowulf's head tumbled to the ground, dropping a motionless Oni.
But that wasn't the end of the nightmare. Cries of help could be heard from other parts of the field as more Grimm started pouring out of the woods from all sides. Many of the students panicked and tried their best to run away while some kept their cool enough to grab whatever was available to serve as weapons.
Meanwhile, Jade ran over to Jaq, who was now defending the collapsed body of Oni from more Grimm coming out of the woods. She checked his pulse.
"He's still alive!" Jade cried.
"Thank god! But he won't be for long if we leave him here like this." Jaq said as she cut down another beowulf that approached her.
Thankfully, Jade's teammate came at that moment.
"Oh my god, is he alright?" Amy cried.
"He will be. Come on Diamon, help me carry him to safety."
Diamon nodded and slung Oni's arm around one shoulder while Jade did the same with the other.
At the same time, a teacher's voice cut through all the chaos through a loudspeaker, the same teacher from this morning in fact.
"All students, get to the warehouse! Whatever you do, do not go alone! And avoid the Grimm if you can! Don't engage in pointless battles!"
The announcement was enough to rein in the tumultuous crowd. Now with a clear objective, they started running towards the warehouse, the weaponless student doing their best to avoid the Grimm while those who had weapons stood on the outside of the group to protect them.
"We need to get our weapons." Amy called out as she watched the other students start to move away.
"No, go with the others," Jaq said while still in battle with a few Grimm.
"How the hell do you expect us to get him to safety with nothing to protect ourselves with. Besides, we're right next to the lodge, it's not that far of a detour."
Jaq was about to say something, but an ursa suddenly appeared from behind the group, forcing her to rush over to defend everyone. However, this left them exposed to the beowulf on the other side.
One of the beowulves rushed towards Amy and she prepared to defend herself with just her fist, when suddenly a bolt came flying from somewhere and blew the Grimm's head off.
They turned their head in the direction where the shot came from and found Ace rushing towards them, his hair still a bit damp from the bath.
"I take a break for 10 minutes and all hell breaks loose. What's going on? Where did all these Grimm come from?"
"We don't know!" Jade called out.
"And we'll never know if we just stand here defenseless!" Amy added.
However, Jade suddenly noticed something.
"Where's Yu?"
"He left the bath a few minutes before I did. I think he went back to our…"
His voice trailed off as he realized the same thing Jade was worried about.
"I need to go find him."
"Let's check the lodge. We can pass by our room on the way for our weapons."
"What about this guy?" Diamon shrugged the unconscious body he was holding.
Ace took a moment to consider the situation, then offered his head. "Go. I can carry him to safety easily. You guys go"
She made a face to Ace for making that decision on his own, but Ace just gave her a look that says "I don't care what you say." All this was done without Team JAYD noticing and Ace quickly slung Oni's body on his shoulder, almost unceremoniously, before nodding to let them go on their way.
Team JAYD ran into the lodge while Jaq and Ace guarded their backs.
"You guys go get the weapons, I'll go check on Yu's room."
Amy gave her a worried look, but she nodded and flew upstairs using her transformed dress.
Jade rushed down the left corridor, but she didn't need to go far to find the room. That was because the door was slightly ajar. Her heart sank when she approached. It was clear that someone had been here, but she did not feel the presence of anyone inside. She cautiously approached the door and slowly pushed it open further.
The room was empty, but there were no signs of a struggle. However, the back window was opened, letting in a soft breeze. What's worse, Yu's weapon was nowhere in sight. That meant…
"Oh no." Jade quickly approached the window and scanned the surroundings. It was difficult to see, but she could definitely make out indentations in the grass where someone recently landed, say, from jumping out a window.
What to do? Does she chase after him or does she head back and let Jaq know?
As she was thinking about this, she heard the hurried footsteps rushing down the hall towards her. A second later, Diamon and Amy appeared at the door frame, weapons in hand.
"Here Jade!" Amy tossed her fans to her. "Did you find Yu?"
"No, but I fear I know where he went."
Amy approached the window and swore under her breath.
"Well, what now? Wanna chase after him?"
"I want to, but is that the right choice to make?"
Amy suddenly grabbed her on the shoulders. "There's no right or wrong choice. You make the choice that just makes sense to you. And right now do you want to chase after your brother or not? You are our leader so whatever you decide we will follow. Right, Diamon?"
Diamon nodded behind her.
Amy's words wiped away the doubt in her mind. Her gaze sharpened and she looked into the dark forest. "Right. Then, let's go find that stupid brother of mine."
"Alright, now we're talking," Amy cheered.
The party all jumped out the window and after landing on the soft grass, they checked the surroundings to see where he went. Thankfully, it was easy to tell where he went by the slashed bushes along his path of destruction.
They started to follow the trail, but they didn't get far when a voice stopped them.
"I had a feeling something like this was going to happen."
Suddenly, Jaq appeared out from behind a tree with a stern expression. Jade stopped her team and met her gaze.
"I need to find my brother."
"And I need to tell you that is a poor decision. The forest is dangerous right now. You are putting you and your team in great danger. It's better for you to head back to the warehouse with everyone else."
"Then, what about Yu? What about the rest of Team ONYX? Are we going to let them fend for themselves?"
Jaq visibly tensed up. "Leave it to the teachers. They have it handled."
"That may be true. But there are about a hundred defenseless students they need to worry about as well. When will they get around to sending search parties? We are prepared right now, we can find them."
"You are really set on this path, huh?"
"Yes."
"Even if I try to stop you?"
There was a bit of gravity in Jaq's voice that made her hesitate. However, when thinking about what might happen to her brother, she met her subtle threat with conviction.
"Yes, even if I have to go through you. But, will you really stop us from trying to save people in trouble?"
A brief silence ensued in which both sides were tense as if ready to fight. Amy and Diamon looked a little concerned that a fight will actually break out, but their fears were quickly alleviated when Jaq suddenly relaxed with a loud sigh.
"You're right. There's no reason for me to stop you. But, I also mean it when I don't want you guys to run out there in the wild."
"Then…"
"I won't stop you. I wasn't planning to in the first place, but if you plan on throwing yourself into danger like this, I needed to test your resolve."
Jaq then pointed in a direction deep in the wood. "I can sense Yu's presence in that direction. If you follow where I'm pointing I'm sure you will run into him and perhaps the others as well. But be careful, there's something sinister there with him. You best prepare yourself for the worst case scenario."
Jade looked towards where she was pointing, then back to her. "What about you?"
"I will keep the Grimm distracted, both for your sake and the other students."
She didn't know how Jaq could do that, but she was confident that it was something she could accomplish, so with a nod of thanks, she began running in the direction Jaq pointed out.
Once the members of Team JAYD disappeared into the night, Jaq sighed again and stabbed her longsword into the earth. She let out a deep breath, preparing herself for what may come.
Suddenly, a slight rustle nearby caught her attention.
"You know, by sending them out there, you're dragging them into this whole mess." Ace said as he suddenly emerged from the shadows.
"That's fine. It isn't how I want it to end, but after the shit you pulled, they have a right to know. Besides, I think you wanted this outcome too, sending them to get their weapon like that."
Ace shrugged. "Who knows."
"Also, I didn't expect you to get back this quick. Where did you leave Oni?"
"Wow, I can't believe you have so little faith in me." He clutched his heart while acting like that hurt his feelings. "Don't worry, I left him with Kingsley and Queen. I just can't be bothered to explain why I'm running off into the woods alone to the teachers."
"Are they okay?"
"There's still some Grimm, but it looks like everyone will be fine, if that's what you're trying to ask?"
Jaq let out a sigh of relief, but her moment of respite was quickly disturbed by the sound of distant howls. What's worse was that it came from a direction near where she just sent Jade and her team.
"Looks like there's going to be a bunch of baddies in your friends' way." Ace commented
"I'm aware."
Just when she thought the fighting was dying down, it looked like a new wave of Grimm were approaching. Taking another breath, she removed the colored contacts from her left eye, revealing the golden eye its full terrifying glory. After tossing it away, she gripped her blade tightly and closed her eyes in deep concentration.
"Stop, what do you think you're doing?" Ace approached her in concern.
"I'm clearing the path for them," Jaq explained through gritted teeth. "One of the 'perks' of the eye is that the creatures of Grimm are attracted to all that negative energy coming from it."
"Yeah, but you're also burning away your life. You don't owe them anything. They aren't worth it!"
Jaq turned her head slowly to Ace with a weak smile. "If it took a portion of my life to save just one person, I think it is worth it."
Ace was dumbstruck for a moment. This was the first time he's seen her so forceful.
"You really want to do this?"
"Yes."
"If it's what you want, then I won't complain." He sighed as he drew his weapon to show his support. However, there was still a little doubt on his face. "But what if you lose control?"
"I'm sure the great 'Ace of Spade' got that figured out already."
His expression finally relaxed and he let out a small laugh. "Geez, when did you get so snarky?"
"Well, I did learn from the best."
"I wonder who that might be."
"Who knows."
Their light banter was quickly interrupted by the sound of shifting foliages some distance away. Jaq's mood quickly turned serious as she drew her blade from the earth. Ace also got his weapon ready, pointing his rifle into the darkness.
"Here they come."
"Number and composition?"
"Close to forty. A mix of several species."
"Hah, I can take forty in my sleep."
"You wish."
"Oh, alright. Let's make a bet then, on how many we take down."
"Loser is buying ice cream."
"The usual place?"
"The usual place."
Ace chuckled. They haven't bantered like this in a while and of course the one time it happens is during such a high stake situation. Perhaps feeling a bit sentimental, he wanted to get one last word in.
"Jaq?"
"Yeah?"
"See you on the other side."
She nodded. "Same to you."
The rustling got louder and the black of night soon became riddled with glowing red spots that grew brighter and brighter until it was as if the forest itself was consumed by it. The shape of the beast became visible as well, from wolves, to bears, to large apes even, and they all bore down on the pair with ravaging ferocity. In no time, they were surrounded, but they were not bothered at all. Instead, with a grand warcry, they bore down upon their foe with the same frenetic energy, turning their once peaceful clearing into a scene of chaos.
Beads of sweat started to form on Jade's cheek as she hastily dash through the dense forest. She couldn't tell whether it was from all the running or her growing unease, but she did her best to ignore it and focus on running. Luckily, they didn't encounter any Grimm even though they heard quite a few howling nearby.
Was it something Jaq did to stop them? She wouldn't be surprised if she could do something like that. It just gave her more reason to thank her later when all this mess was over.
"Look!" Amy suddenly cried out from her right side.
Jade stopped running and followed Amy's fingers. Not far away, there were clear signs of conflict. Shredded branches, claw marks on bark, and singed wood. Yu definitely came this way.
But that wasn't all.
"What's this?" Jade picked up a circular metallic disk that was attached to a tree.
It was some kind of electrical device, but the shell was damaged and the wires on the inside were completely fried.
"I believe that is one of the devices to ward away Grimm and other wildlife that the teacher mentioned this morning," Diamon explained as he took it from Jade's hand to inspect it. "This type of damage wouldn't be possible from Grimm or any animal for that matter. It's clearly destroyed with Dust."
"Did my brother do this?" Jade gasped. She didn't want to believe her brother would let the Grimm into camp.
"No," Diamon shook his head. He channeled his Aura into the diamond in his gauntlet to form a beam of light and slowly strafed it across the woods, revealing several similar devices. They all had similar damage.
"These were not recent and were definitely not along Yu's path of destruction. This was deliberate sabotage."
Jade let out a big exhale. On the one hand, she was glad her brother wasn't the cause of all this mess, but the alternative was worse. That meant that someone in this camp planned all this.
However, there was no time to think about that.
"We still need to find Yu and the other missing students. If I recall, the patrol's path followed these barrier devices, so they should be close. It's a bit too dangerous to split up, so I think we should secure Yu before looking for the others."
"Right, how far do you think he is?"
Jade concentrated on the ravished forest for some signs. Thankfully, there were still traces of Aura left.
"These marks are still fresh. He must be close." She pointed in a direction deeper into the forest away from the barrier. "I'm guessing about a minute away in that direction."
Without a delay, she started running towards where she pointed and her team quickly followed behind. It was definitely the right way because signs of fight became more apparent and condensed. Then, barely a minute later, something horrid caught their attention.
"Is that a Grimm?" Amy cried out in alarm and pointed at what was clearly a dead Grimm skewered by a tree branch.
Normally, Grimm would evaporate soon after they are killed which meant this was a fresh kill. If that was the case, then Yu should be here.
Jade rushed forward with renewed fervor, ahead of her teammates, and burst right into the middle of a large clearing.
And what a sight to behold.
Grimm littered the edges of the clearing, some dead and in the process of dissolving, but more stalked around a solitary figure, ready to pounce.
"YU!" Jade screamed, but got no response from her brother.
The Grimm surrounding him suddenly attacked, but he swat them away like flies. However, Jade found the way he attacked strange. He wasn't making precise and calculated swings. They were wild and almost...feral. And they packed a punch that seemed unnatural.
"Yu, what's going on?" Jade pleaded as she slowly approached him, but as she got closer, she was hit by an extremely nauseating feeling. It was dense and dark and it made her want to vomit.
"Watch out!" Diamon cried out, snapping her back to reality.
Without warning, she was tackled by her tall, nearly two hundred pound teammate, narrowly avoiding a tendril of darkness that shot her way.
"What the hell was that!?" Jade breathed out after recovering from Diamon's tackle.
"Look." He pointed at the space around Yu's feet.
Jade squinted at the spot and realized what she was seeing wasn't dirt, but a pool of swirling black miasma. It shifted and moved as if it was alive and whenever Yu took down a Grimm, tendrils shot from the pool and stealthily absorbed the carcass to increase its size. At the same time, it licked at Yu's heel as if trying to pull him in.
Suddenly, she realized that the pool itself consists of Grimm.
"I have to help him!" Jade yelled as she got back on her feet, but when she approached again, the miasma tremored angrily.
At the same time Yu screamed angrily and started swinging wildly fire shots in all directions. One shot narrowly missing Jade, causing her to stumble back. Tendrils started to rise from the pool, grasping at him while forming a barrier around him.
"Is it...consuming him?" Jade gasped.
Amy charged at the barrier and tried to pierce it with the spear, but it was no use. The tendrils conglomerate to deflect her spear.
"Aaah!" Yu's scream could be heard through the dark veil. Jade could barely see him flailing wildly through it. "Get out of my head! I'm not useless! I'm not a failure!"
In the middle of each word, he swung his blade as if trying to hit invisible enemies. His swings would dislodge a tendril that graped at his arm, but several more would come up to drag his arm down. And through it all, it didn't look like he was aware that a black mass had completely enveloped his legs.
Yu was definitely under some sort of hallucination effect, but was it an ability of this pool of Grimm or something else? She heard of certain types of Grimm affecting people's mental state, but nothing on this level. This was uncharted territory.
She tried firing a few wind blades to cut down the wall of tendrils, but every piece she sliced off, another took its place.
Meanwhile, the mass of Grimm now fully enveloped Yu's torso and arms, leaving only his head exposed which still spewed all kinds of profanities at some hallucinated entity. But, soon enough, even his voice was drowned out as the mass submerged him completely and began to expand in size, growing long lanky limbs with sharp claws and a long pointed head with a singular glowing red orb for an eye.
"What the hell is that thing?" Jade stared at it in horror.
"I don't know," Diamon replied, equally stressed. "But it looks like some sort of parasite that's using Yu as a host. Look."
He pointed at the monster's body. It was difficult to make out, but there looks to be some crystalline cocoon shaped core within its viscous body that can only be noticed when it twists its body enough.
"How are we going to defeat that thing without hurting Yu?" Jade asked.
"For once, I am not sure. This is the first time I've ever seen something like this."
The fully formed creature, now standing over fifteen feet tall, did not let them continue their conversation as it let out a mighty roar and swung its long claws down at the party, forcing them to split up. Then, with its singular glowing eye, it scanned the clearing until it settled its eyes on Jade. It made another angry roar and started lunging at her.
Jade did her best to dodge the large creature's swings, but the fervor of the creature's attack was quickly draining her stamina.
Suddenly, an electric bolt struck the creature's face, stunning it enough for Jade to take a quick breather.
"Hey, you stupid monster. Get away from her." Amy taunted.
The enormous Grimm briefly turned its long neck to see who fired the shot, but then completely ignored it and returned its attention to Jade.
"What? Why is it focusing on me!?" Jade yelled after narrowly avoiding its razory claws.
"I'm not sure, but if I have to hypothesize, because it is absorbing Yu's Aura, it likely gained some of his cognition, like memory or strong emotions."
"Great, so you hate me that much that you're making this monster attack me!" Jade yelled at the stomach of the creature. It wasn't really out of anger, but considering how escalated her emotions have been since the Grimm attack, she just wanted to let out all her emotions right now.
But, of course, the monster did not heed a word and continued swinging at her.
Desperate for something, anything, that could help in this predicament, she honed in her Semblance on the monstrosity. She knew that creatures of Grimm don't produce Aura, but if it was leeching from Yu, then there may be something noticeable. And what she discovered astonished her.
Just like any other Grimm, this thing did not have a visible Aura, but that was not the case with the core. To Jade, the core was glowing brilliant green, the purest green she had ever seen Yu's Aura be. However, the edge of the core had the muddled, dirty green shade that Yu exuded when he's stressed. What's worse, that dark color was slowly eating into the clearer color.
Jade had a feeling that if Yu's Aura was completely consumed by the darker shade, then it would be too late to bring him back.
But how can she bring him back?
Suddenly, she had a thought. She recalled Professor Aki saying something about Aura being an embodiment of our souls. And then she remembered when she grasped Jaq's Aura, she felt like she and Jaq were melding into one. She wondered if Jaq felt a similar thing.
It was a stretch, but if she could reach Yu's pure Aura and do something similar to what she did to Jaq, could she possibly expunged the darkness and bring Yu back to normal?
However, she shuddered at the implication of what she was trying to do. It was basically soul manipulation. She had no idea what sort of side effect it may cause. But, it was the only thing she could think of, so it was worth a shot.
"Diamon, Amy!"
Her two teammates turned their attention to her.
"I have something in mind, but I need you two to expose the core without hurting Yu long enough for me to reach it. Can you do that?"
Diamon and Amy looked at each other then back at Jade with a broad smile.
"Are you kidding me? Together, me and Diamon can do anything."
"Right," Jade nodded. "I'll keep it distracted while you two do your thing."
Just as she said, Jade started dashing away from the other two, causing the monster to follow her and leaving its back exposed.
"Amy, remember I told you there's a time and a place for 'that'?"
"Mmhmm."
"Well, I think this is that time."
Amy grasped the amethyst necklace on her neck. She looked at it longingly, almost sad to give it up, but she steeled her resolve and ripped it off her neck and tossed it to Diamon.
He snatched it from the air and popped the gem from its casing, placing the beautiful purple gem in the one empty socket of his gauntlet. Then, he took a moment to concentrate, causing all twelve gems in the gauntlet to glow brilliantly.
"Alright, this will be extremely taxing." He said through gritted teeth. "I think I can hold it for approximately three minutes. Do you think that's enough time for Jade to rescue him?"
Amy laughed. "I think that's plenty enough."
"Right."
Done channeling, Diamon raised his arm in front of him, giving him a good view of all twelve stones which trembled excitedly in their slots.
"Gems of the Round. Transform!"
Immediately after speaking those words, all twelve gems shot out and whizzed around him like planets to a sun. Then, one by one the gems stopped at different parts of his body and summoned forth ethereal armor pieces around his limbs.
Garnet and ruby formed gauntlets around each arm. Pearl and opal formed the pauldrons. Sapphire and turquoise formed the boots. Emerald and peridot formed the thigh-guards. Aquamarine formed the chest piece and topaz formed a full-helm with a v-shaped horn and large visors. The iconic Prisma Diamond returned to its original slot to form a kite shield and finally, the amethyst floated in front of his right hand, which, when grasped, turned into a longsword made of lightning.
What once was a well dressed young lad, now became a knight in literally shining armor.
While all this was happening, Amy also transformed into her fairy-styled dress and hovered above Diamon while he was doing his thing.
Once they were both ready, they rushed at the exposed monster back with a mighty warcry.
As if sensing danger, the pool of miasma around the monster summoned a bunch of tentacles to stop them, but they were quickly disposed of by Amy's gleaming spear and Diamon's electrifying sword. More and more appeared as they got closer, but they did little to impede their progress.
Then, when Diamon reached the edge of the pool, he made an unnaturally high leap as to not touch the miasma and bared his sword at the monster's back. A few remaining tentacles attempted to wrap around Diamon's limbs, but Amy swooped in and diced them before they had the chance. Then, Diamon made two slashes in an X pattern across the Grimm's back, scattering the viscous matter that constitutes its body and revealing the core inside. After the swing, Diamon utilized the gravity effect from the turquoise on his boots to make an in-air jump to land safely outside of the reach of the pool of ooze to examine his work.
The beast let out a howl of pain when its back was sliced open, but the exposed core was quickly covered up by the black matter from the pool.
"Shit." Diamon swore under his breath.
Now that it suffered a major hit, the monster couldn't ignore the other two members of Team JAYD anymore. It spun around, turning its singular eye to Diamon. It was impossible to tell emotions from the glowing orb, but Diamon could definitely feel the burning anger from it.
It made two swings at Diamon. He used his shield to deflect one then cut off the hand from the second swing. However, just as with the body, the black matter shot up from the pool and reformed the missing claw.
"We have to do something about that pool first before we can deal with the body!"
"I got it!" Jade cried out as she transformed her fans into the large shuriken. She did a spinning vault to gather wind into the weapon then used the momentum to throw it up to Amy, who was gliding near the monster's head. "Strike the pool!"
Amy caught the shuriken and her eyes opened wide when she felt the energy surging within it. Feeling what she should do with it, she infused it with her own Aura, making it spark with purple energy. Then she threw it down at the pool, causing a burst of wind and electric spark that scattered a large portion of the pool. The black matter splattered everywhere, but like ants, the specks started to crawl back to where they used to be. But Amy wasn't finished. Following the shuriken, she infused her spear with lightning from the Dust crystal at the head and dived straight down, plunging her spear near where Jade's shuriken struck. Tendrils of lightning shot out, eviscerating the scatter particles and leaving a bald patch in the pool.
"Raaargh!" Diamon roared while gripping the amethyst longsword with both hands, causing it to grow many times larger.
Using the patch Amy made, he rushed up to the monster, swinging the oversized sword from a low angle and sliced the belly of the beast from the base up. The body of the monster split open fully exposing the core, which showed Yu in a fetus position inside the crystalized core. Unlike before, the open wound was slow to close due to the missing patch of the pool.
"Now's your time, Jade!"
"Got it!"
She rushed forth, propelled by the wind, and she reached out towards the exposed crystal. Now that it was visible, she could tell the crystal was somehow formed by his Aura in an attempt to protect him. It was raw and pure, coming from the deepest recess of his soul. It was the "true" Yu and if she could just come in contact with it, she knows she will be able to reach him.
The gap was closing, but it wasn't enough.
"Come back to us." Jade pleaded as her hand touched the crystal.
She poured her Aura into the crystal, feeling her soul mingle with his brother's. There was a blinding flash of light.
Then, everything went dark.
Jade was falling through darkness.
She didn't know for how long, but it felt like an eternity.
Where is she? Why is she here?
Her mind was groggy and her limbs felt heavy.
Then, she started hearing voices.
We don't like you. You don't belong here.
The air started growing dense and oppressive. The darkness suddenly felt closer.
Leave and don't come back.
Jade recalled hearing those words somewhere.
That's right, it was from when she was training at the performing arts school. They belonged to the girls who were jealous of her skill and often bullied her.
Just as she remembered that, images of them appeared around her, staring at her with disdain like vengeful spirits.
Get out! Get out! Get out!
Their voices were like daggers in her ears. It made her curl up and cover her ears to suppress the pain.
But, as suddenly as they appeared, they faded away to reveal another person, this time in the likeness of Yu. Seeing him, Jade suddenly had a sense of deja vu. And not the good kind.
Yu's eyes twisted in anger as he looked. He said something, but there was no voice. However, she still understood what he just said.
I hate you.
Jade wanted to scream, but her voice couldn't come out. The darkness moved even closer, it now brushing against her, making her feel claustrophobic.
She wanted it to end. She wanted everything to end.
But suddenly, a speck of light floated down from the blackness. It had a warmth to it that held back the encroaching coldness of the darkness.
Then, a new voice came through, this time softer and youthful.
I will always be there to support you.
As if a spell was broken, Jade's eyes snapped wide open and expelled the encroaching darkness with her own sheer will. She remembered where she was and why she came here.
This was the space between Yu and her soul. And she was here to save Yu.
Now that she was aware of herself, she could move freely in the void. But now, the question was how will she find Yu?
She looked around. Everything was pitch black and empty, there were no clues at all where to go. However, somehow, she could feel where to go, as if there was a compass in her head.
Without hesitation, she flew in the direction her intuition told her, and almost immediately she could feel a change in the air around her. It was the same suffocating aura that the monster she was fighting earlier had. After going for a while there was a sudden change. The nauseating aura disappeared leaving her in a bubble of sorts with another person: Yu.
He sat on the invisible ground with his arm around her knees. His head was lowered and he seemed unresponsive.
"Yu!" Jade floated over to him and grasped his shoulders.
He made no response. Instead, the space around them warped, changing into images from their past.
First, it showed a scene from an unfamiliar school, probably the school he attended after she left home. It was some sort of running exercise and Yu was clearly lagging behind. It was difficult not to notice all the looks of disdain around him.
Then, the scene transformed to their old home being attacked by Grimm. The bodies of their parents laid lifeless below the claws of a bloodied ursa. Despite being dead, their voices could still be heard.
"It's all your fault…" Those words kept echoing around them.
"No!" Jade cried out in defiance. "It's not your fault!"
She continued to shake him, but he still remained in his lifeless state.
Then, the scene changed again. This time much more recent. It wasn't anything special, just an average school day, but there was a particular atmosphere that was conveyed through it.
She saw herself standing in the distance surrounded by other familiar faces. Diamon, Amy, Jaq, and a few other classmates. They were saying things, their voices were garbled, but it felt like praises and compliments, but it was all so far away, as if out of reach from this lonely spot they were looking from.
"Is this how you felt?" She said quietly.
She never knew. Or, at least, she was somewhat aware of the distance between them, but she never knew it would be like this.
More the reason to get him out of this state. She shook him more violently this time, but still, he remained unresponsive.
"Dammit Yu, I need you to wake up." Her voice started to rise. "I know you've been through a lot and I haven't been the greatest person to help you through it all. If I wasn't so scared of opening old wounds and just had a heart-to-heart talk back then, maybe all this wouldn't have happened. And I apologize for that."
There was still no response. Jade's duress bubbled and turned into anger. She doesn't recall the last time she ever got angry at him, but with him being like this and the memory of their fight a few days ago still fresh, she felt a little anger was warranted. Her gripped tighten on his collar and she brought her face closer to his.
"But you know what, don't act like you're faultless as well. Sure, you were going through a lot, but if you actually opened up about it instead of brooding all the time, maybe we could've done something about it. I said it before and I will say it again. How can I help you if you never tell me anything? I already said sorry, so you better get your ass out of this dark hole you are in and GIVE ME AN APOLOGY TOO!"
With her last word, she slapped Yu across the cheeks with all her might. The world shook violently with the blow and Yu toppled over on the ground.
"Oww…" Yu suddenly moved his hand to rub his red cheeks.
Seeing his brother finally move, all the anger just melted away into relief.
"Oh my god, Yu! You're finally awake."
"Yeah, no thanks to you." He got back into a sitting position and that's when he realized this wasn't a normal place, causing him to look around in alarm. "Where the hell are we?"
Jade paused, unsure how to phrase it. "I'm not certain, but I believe I'm in your soul."
"What!?"
"I'm not sure how it works, but basically I connected my Aura with your's then poured mine into you."
Yu rubbed his head in disbelief. "What kind of situation are we in for you to do that?"
She winced. "What was the last thing you remember?"
"I don't know. I got out of the bath, then my head started to hurt, so I went back to my room. Everything went blank after that."
Jade sucked in her breath. "Well, right now you are in the belly of an unknown Grimm, which is feeding off of your Aura."
"Oh." Ace looked surprised, but not altogether shocked. Then, his expression turned crestfallen, and for a moment, it felt like the space around them darkened a bit. "I guess I'm still causing more trouble for the team."
"No! It's not your fault. This was something out of your control."
Yu gave her a sour look. "You don't need to console me, alright?"
"Ah, sorry." Jade realized she returned to her old placating habits.
"I didn't-" Yu suddenly looked remorseful. A short pause ensued where he was lost for words. Then, he spoke up again. "How bad is it?"
Jade scrunched her face, unsure how to convey it without making the situation sound too terrible.
"Pretty bad." She decided to explain, but keep the details vague. "The camp is in turmoil. There's Grimm everywhere and several missing students. You disappeared, so the team went looking for you. We found you being consumed by this weird Grimm and it took all our effort so I can get this opportunity to possibly save you."
He took it stoically, but Jade could tell it was painful for him to hear, considering this is his soul and all.
"Maybe you shouldn't."
Jade couldn't believe her ears. "What? What do you mean I shouldn't? You're my brother, I will do anything to save you."
Yu's face tightened. At the same time, it felt as if the space around, though seemingly endless, shrunk to a claustrophobic level.
"I'm saying I'm not worth the effort." His voice rose in agitation. "Look at me. If this is truly my soul, then you've seen it, right? All my life, I wasn't able to do anything. I have no passion, no drive...no talent. Everything I've tried to do, I've failed. Everyone I'm close to, I hurt.
Images started to flash in the darkness again. They were the same ones she's seen. His school. The Grimm raid. Beacon. Then, a new yet familiar scene flashed before her eyes. It was that moment in the infirmary when he finally expressed his feelings.
"If this is all I'm capable of, then maybe it's for the best that I am gone." Then, he chuckled humorlessly, a morbid thought popping into his head. "The only thing that fueled my meaningless existence was thoughts of revenge against the Grimm, but look how that ended up. What a cruel joke. Maybe this is my just punishment. If it is, I will gladly accept it."
He closed his eyes and returned to his crouched fetal position. "Leave me to my fate. All I've ever done was hold you back. I'm sure you will be better off without me."
Jade stared at her brother quietly and emotionlessly. "Is that how you really feel?"
He nodded, not meeting her gaze.
Jade got up off her knees, still maintaining her glare at her brother. The darkness has gotten thicker and the space felt smaller. She felt that taking one step away will cause her to depart from this realm just as he wanted her to.
She placed one foot behind, ready to leave, her foot almost melting away in the darkness.
But then, she suddenly leaned forward, her expression furious, and slapped his brother across the cheeks again. While he was still reeling from the blow, she grabbed his collar and forced him to meet her eyes.
"Don't you dare tell me to abandon you! You think just because you are a little depressed that it's better if you disappeared from my life! How selfish can you be!? What about my feelings?"
Tears start to form at the edge of her eyes, blurring her vision. She quickly wiped them away and continued talking in a softer tone.
"You are the most important person in the world to me. The world will be a lonelier place without you in it."
"But…"
"Did you know," Jade cut off his brother's complaint with a story. "When I was training to be a dancer, there were times I thought about quitting. There were so many bad experiences in that school that it made me question why I wanted to dance in the first place. But I persisted because something in the back of my mind told me to. I didn't know what it was, but I felt that if I quit I would lose something precious. But, when I came back home after mom and dad died, and seeing you like that back then, I suddenly lost all my motivation to continue dancing. I didn't know why back then, but after everything that happened and a bit of reminiscing, I finally remembered what drove me to dance."
She let go of her brother's collar and gently clasped his hand. "You said that you never had any motivation in your life, but that simply isn't true. You simply forgot what it was, just as I have forgotten why I wanted to dance. But I remember now. Everything began on the same day. On that day."
Jade closed her eyes, letting the memory of their past fill her head. Suddenly, the dark void they reside became noticeably brighter and less restricting, while hazy images formed around them before coalescing to reconstruct the memory that she was thinking of.
There was a stage. A young Jade - seven years old - bowed as applause came from a sizable audience in the fancy auditorium. It was smaller than a typical concert hall audience, but the crowd made it appear larger. After the applause subsided, she quickly ran off the stage where she met a young Yu, who was smiling brightly.
"Wow Jade, that was amazing!"
"You think so?" Jade whispered shyly. "I was so nervous, I'm sure they noticed it too."
"Are you kidding? You looked perfect out there. Like an angel!"
"Really? Thanks," Jade blushed while shuffling nervously. "You know, when that important looking guy wanted me for this talent show, I was a little scared. I didn't think my dancing was anything special. All I did was follow the colors I saw from my Semblance, so I was afraid maybe not everyone would like it."
"Didn't you just hear the crowd just now? They loved it. I honestly think you have a talent for this thing."
"Hmm, I'm not sure."
"Believe it," Yu's voice grew more and more excited. "If you put your mind into it, I bet you will be better than anyone out there and will become super famous and go all over the world to show people how awesome you are. Everyone will know your name and they will all want your autograph or something. And, and, and…"
He stumbled on his words as he tried to fuel his imagination with more grand fantasies. He even started waving his hands wildly to keep his energy going until finally he figured out the next piece to this epic tale he is sewing.
"And I will be there to protect you. Famous people always need someone at their side to keep them safe, you know. I will become big and strong and stay by your side to stop all the bad guys from ever getting close to you. And together we will be, like, the best brother-sister duo ever!"
Jade giggled at her brother's enthusiasm. Something about his energy rubbed off on her and boosted her confidence enough to think that what he suggested can be a reality.
"I kinda like the sound of that. Maybe I will keep trying this dancing thing. But only if you promise to be by my side if I ever get in trouble, okay?"
Yu's eyes open wide in surprise. Then, a beaming smile spread through his lips as he pound his chest with his fist.
"Don't worry, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I will always be there to support you!"
"Is that a promise?"
"That's a promise!"
Jade then held out her pinky to her brother. "Pinky promise?"
Yu looked at her tiny pinky, then back at her, this time with a more serious attitude.
"Yeah." As he said that, he reached out and intertwined his pinky around hers, sealing the promise.
And then, the memory faded away, turning back into the endless void that it was before.
Meanwhile, Yu stared at the space where his younger self was just standing, an expression of shock frozen on his face. Then, his gaze dropped with a bittersweet smile.
"I said something like that, didn't I?" After seeing that memory, he seemed to vaguely recall that moment as well. "What happened? Where did I go so wrong?"
"It's not just you. I realized I am also to blame for things ending up this way. After that day, I would go to town for training, leaving you back at the village by yourself. Things were tough, for the both of us, but we never really talked about it. Maybe it was our childish pride, or just youthful naivete, but it led to what split us apart."
The darkness warped again and another scene appeared. The two of them were older this time, about eleven years old. The young Jade was applying some bandages to Yu's bruised face while he angrily sulked.
"Why did you fight the other kids?" The young Jade asked with an haggard look of someone who just had a long day. "Do you know how worried I was when I saw you like this right after coming home."
"They started it," Yu mumbled through his sore jaw.
"I don't care who started it, what made you think taking on two older kids by yourself was a good idea?"
"They made fun of you. Said you should join the circus and stuff like that. There was other stuff, but it just made me so mad."
Jade sighed. "Look, I'm fine if people make fun of me. I'm not that bothered by it. I can handle it myself, I don't need you to look out for me."
"But they are the bad guys. They bully everyone! Somebody needs to do something about them."
"And that's not your job. Leave that to the adults. I know you want to be a Huntsman and fight for justice, but I don't think this is the way." Jade finished applying the bandages and gave his brother a concerned look. "You don't need to try to become a hero."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying there's other ways you can help people other than fighting. Huntsmen fight a lot right? It's dangerous, and I'm worried something like this will happen to you, but worse. Maybe you can try something else."
Yu furrowed his eyebrow and he became aggravated. "And what do you want me to do instead, huh? Learn to dance like you?"
"Woah, why do you have to say it like that? Do you have a problem with me dancing?"
"Maybe." He suddenly slouched and talked in a muted tone with his head turned away. "Maybe things would be different if you didn't start taking dancing lessons."
Now it was Jade's turn to be angry. "Hey, I enjoy doing this, okay? This is my choice to make."
"Well, I want to be a Huntsman and that's my choice to make!"
The voices of their younger selves suddenly cut off there and the memory became blurry.
Jade knew they argued a bit more after that, but the damage was already done. As the remnants of that scene continue to fade, she addressed her brother once more.
"I guess I should apologize. I was so focused on myself back then that I didn't consider what you might be going through. The way I said things back then was selfish. I was worried you were going to get hurt if you continued down that path, but it wasn't my intention to deny you."
She grabbed her brother's shoulders and looked him in the eye.
"So, listen. You are you. You are not a failure, you are not useless. You have done more than enough during your time at Beacon, and I'm sure the others on the team can say the same. There's no reason to prove your worth to anyone else as long as you feel what you are doing has meaning."
Then, her expression turned crestfallen.
"What happened to mom and dad, and the entire village, you can't shoulder everything on yourself. Sometimes, things happen that are the result of many events building upon each other. I am at fault as much as you are, but I have forgiven myself and you should, too."
She held out her hand to her brother, her pinky extended, just like she did after her first dance performance as a kid, just as she did when Yu fell down the crevice, just as she did soon after they came to Beacon.
"All of that is in the past, though. You can't live your life always thinking about what could have been. You need to start thinking about what you can do from now on. You are my only family now so I want to live my life for your sake and I hope you can do the same for me. So, what do you say we renew our promise? Give ourselves a fresh start at living our lives."
Yu stared at her hand as if it was some wondrous treasure. He slowly lifted his own hand, wanting to reach out for it, but as his own fingers neared hers, he abruptly stopped.
"Can I say something first?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"I want to say sorry for what happened a few days ago. I don't know what came over me, but I was so angry and upset, and I lashed out at you. Everything I said were my feelings, but I did say one lie. I don't hate you. Like you said, you are the only family I have left and I don't want to lose you. Can you forgive me?"
Jade smiled. "You are forgiven."
For the first time in a while, Jade saw a genuine smile from his brother as he finally locked his own pinky with hers. And as if a lock was opened, light spilled from their locked fingers and banished the darkness. At the same time, Jade felt herself fading away, almost as if being lulled to sleep. It was a strange feeling, but she did not resist it because she had a feeling this was the end goal she was aiming for. She embraced it and, for a moment, her mind went blank.
She awoke in reality, her hand touching the crystal that imprisoned her brother.
However, the crystal was glowing bright green now and cracks were beginning to form along it. The odd Grimm also howled in pain and tried to engulf Yu once more, but somehow the light was pushing it back.
Crrrrk. The crystal started making crackling sounds as pieces started to fall off. Then, with one final large splinter, it completely shattered, the shards scattering everywhere before dissolving into nothingness.
And from it, the unconscious Yu fell from the beast's stomach and into Jade's welcoming arm.
"It's good to have you back." Jade said warmly as she gently lowered him to the ground.
However, the fight was not over. Despite losing the core, the Grimm still managed to maintain its form. Now extremely angry, it summoned all the tendrils it could muster and attempted to assault the pair.
Left in a defenseless position, Jade could only brace herself.
But not because of the enemy.
She may be defenseless, but she was not alone.
"Oh no you don't!" Amy screamed as she appeared before them, slashing away all the assailants.
"Alright, now that Yu's safe, let's end this! Just like we planned!" Diamon yelled from the background.
"Right-o!"
The Grimm redirected its attack to Amy, but she was too fast for it. Rather than retreating to avoid its attack, she rushed towards it, leaping up and jabbing its abdomen with her spear before firing a shot to launch herself away from it.
"Set!" She called out Diamon as she somersaulted through the air.
Diamon, still in his chromatic suit of armor, bent his knees low with his arms extended as if hitting a volleyball, and caught Amy, who nimbly landed in his palms, before launching her back into the air.
As she rose, her spear crackled with electric energy and she pointed it at the Grimm when she reached the pinnacle of her jump, just above the treelines.
She gripped the spear tightly, prepared to throw, when suddenly she became panicked.
"Oh shit, we don't have a name for this move yet."
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! JUST CALL IT ANYTHING!" Diamon's distressed voice echoed through the night.
"Alrighty," Amy smiled, a wicked smile, as she clenched her spear tightly once more, the electricity sparking with renewed intensity. "Here we go! METEOR SPIKE!"
She threw her spear at extreme speed, a trail of purple lightning following in its wake. The Grimm saw it coming and formed a shield with what remained of the pool it spawned from in an attempt to stop the spear. And it did. The spear dug deep into the shield, barely penetrating its main body.
Amy's attack seemingly failed, but that was not the full extent of the maneuver they had concoct.
After the spear's progress halted, lightning burst from the spear, shocking and stunning the beast, who howled in pain. While it was writhing, Diamon charged forward.
As he ran, his armor faded away and the gems that formed each piece began gathering around his fist, swirling around it like planets to a star, each gem still glowing brilliantly with energy.
When he got close, he leapt into the air, aligning his prismatic gauntlet of gems with the angle of Amy's spear, and with a mighty roar, swung his fist with a mighty roar.
"EAT THIS!"
His fist struck the base of the spear like a hammer against a nail and one could almost see the transferring of energy from his hand, through the spear, and into the monster.
For a split moment, nothing happened. Then, the monster just exploded.
The spear ripped through the beast with the power of a railgun and the speed of lightning, leaving everyone deafened by the subsequent sonic boom and blinded by the streak of superheated rod flashing through the night. The forest shook violently as well, both from the explosive force parting the air and immediate filling of that void in its wake. When everything finally calmed down, all that was left was the slowly dissolving carcass of the strange Grimm and a path of scorched, carved earth that is reminiscent of a meteor crater.
The battle was finally over.
Diamon let out a sigh of relief, while Amy slowly fluttered beside him to observe their handiwork. Strangely, she looked a bit dissatisfied.
"Hmmm, I don't know. 'Meteor Spike' is a little bit on the nose, don't you think?"
Diamon gave her a wild eyed look, exasperated that she was still thinking about the name of their combination attack after a life-or-death fight like that. But then he immediately chuckled at himself. Of course Amy would do something like that. That's just the way she is. But this was not the time for banter. One battle may have ended, but that doesn't mean they were safe. He approached Jade, who cradled his brother's head in her lap.
"Is he okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. There doesn't seem to be any abnormalities anymore. He should be waking up soon."
Just as she said that, Yu stirred and slowly opened his eyes.
"You're awake!" Jade exclaimed as she lifted him to a sitting position.
"Yeah, and I had the strangest dream, too," he groaned. After regaining his senses, he looked around and noticed the absolute chaos that surrounded them. "Or, I guess it really wasn't a dream."
He turned to his sister, who was smiling in relief, and gave her a bittersweet smile in return.
"Thanks for saving me. And...sorry for the mess I put you through."
"No, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you are safe." Jade cried as she embraced him in a tight hug.
He then turned to the rest of the team. "You guys, too. I know I've been...difficult to work with, but I promise to do better from now on."
Diamon smiled. He crouched down so he could meet him eye to eye. Then, with one quick motion, he slapped him across the cheeks, startling Jade in the process.
"Augh," Yu winced. "I guess I deserved that."
"Damn right you do," Diamon said with a stern expression, but then he soften it as he placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "But I'm glad you are back to normal, too."
"Ooh, ooh. My turn!" Amy giddily approached while brandishing her fist.
Jade was about to protest, but Diamon raised a hand to her to tell her it would be ok.
"Are you prepared to atone for your crimes?" Amy asked.
"Yeah."
"Do you regret being so distant with the team all the time?"
"Definitely."
"And lastly, have you apologized to Jade for making her cry?"
He looked at her sister, who turned away bashfully. "Of course."
"Alright, by the power invested in me, I shall deliver your divine punishment."
Yu closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain. But, it never came. Instead, he found her crouched in front of him with a bright smile, patting his head.
"As long as you know what you did wrong, you're good. I'm also glad to have you back. Just don't be a stupid head again, got it?"
Yu chuckled. "Got it."
Suddenly, Amy jumped back in shock. "Woah, you're smiling? And laughing? That's kinda creepy. Never mind, I take back my forgiveness so you can go back to your normal brooding look."
"Alright, alright," Diamon interjected and dragged Amy way. "Enough joking around. We still have work to do. Yu, can you stand on your own?"
"Yeah, I should be fine. A bit lightheaded, but not enough to not help out after everything I put you guys through."
As he stood up, his knees, still stiff from the prolonged stay within the crystal, almost gave out under him, but Jade reached out and steadied. She looked a bit concerned, but once she discerned that he was fine, she smiled and hooked her pinky around his.
"Welcome back."
Yu looked at their interlocked fingers, then smiled back at his sister.
"Yeah, good to be back."
A lone cloaked figure watched the team of four from the shadows within the tree branches. This person was observing them from the start, since before Yu was consumed by the Grimm. And now that the figure witnessed the conclusion of the fight, this person slid deeper into the trees, retreating through the branches as silent as a cat.
"Hmmm, I expected my creation to fall, but not in this manner. Jade Evergreen. It seems I have underestimated your abilities." A sly smile crept up his lips. "Heh, well looks like you have gotten my attention,I will make sure I won't make that mistake again."
The shadowy figure suddenly stopped after traveling a short distance away from Jade's party. The reason for this was because there were multiple people, bounded and blindfolded, leaning against a tree, unconscious.
"Well, looks like you guys got lucky," the mysterious figure called down to them despite them being unable to hear or respond back. "I was so enthralled by a fight, I have overstayed my welcome. My creation is dead and my army of distraction also appears to be depleted. Unfortunately, that means I can't reasonably escape while carrying one of you. Oh, well. It pains me that all my planning went up in smoke and I have gained nothing out of it, but I promise, this isn't the end. I will be back and I will get what I came for."
With a wave of this person's hand, all traces of this mysterious figure disappeared, leaving the bound prisoners alone.
"They should be nearby," Jade said as she flitted through the trees.
"Are you sure?" Diamon asked with scepticism.
"Yes, I felt traces of Aura coming from this direction, although it is too weak to tell whose."
"Yeah, I can see it, too." Yu backed up his sister.
"Well, it's good to know you share an ability with your sister. You were always super vague about how your Semblance worked." Amy remarked.
"...sorry."
"No, don't apologize. I didn't mean that in a…"
However, Amy suddenly stopped talking when Jade put up a hand to silence them. They all went quiet, listening to their surroundings. At first it was only the sound of rustling leaves and crickets, but soon they heard it as well.
There was the sound of movement. To be exact, it sounded like something was being dragged along the dirt and it was followed by a muffled scream.
Alarmed, they all rushed towards the sound with their weapons drawn, but what they found was different from what they expected.
The sound was indeed the sound of something being dragged, but instead of something being dragged, it was a tied up and gagged person dragging himself across the dirt.
"Yin!" Jade cried out. She quickly undid his binding and removed his gag.
"Xeno! Xeno did all this!" These were the first words that came out of his mouth immediately after his mouth was ungagged.
"What?"
"We were patrolling when we discovered the barrier was damaged. Then, all of a sudden Xeno paralyzed Professor Aki with a dart just as the Grimm showed up. We tried to stop him, but we couldn't deal with both groups at the same time. Nyles was taken down by a Grimm, Oni ran away, and I got knocked out soon after. The Grimm. Somehow, Xeno was controlling them or something."
Yin babbled hysterically and it took a moment for Jade to process the information. Xeno was the one who started all this and he was able to control them. Does that mean the weird Grimm they fought earlier was controlled by him too? Jade shook her head. There will be a time for answers later. Right now she needs to confirm everyone's safety?
"We found Oni, but where is everyone else? Nyles? Aki?"
"They might be near where I was. I don't know why he restrained us, but if he left me here maybe the others would be there as well." He points toward a particularly large tree where it looked like he dragged himself from.
Yu went to check out the tree. As he rounded behind the tree, he signalled to the party that Yin was correct. The party quickly rushed over to confirm.
Indeed, both Aki and Nyles were present, leaning against the tree. Aki was bound in a similar fashion to Yin, but Nyles wasn't at all. However, it wasn't out of any preferential treatment. It was more the fact that he was so severely injured, he couldn't possibly do anything.
Concerned, Jade checked his pulse and found a weak pulse. She let out a sigh of relief.
"He's still alive, but barely. Diamon. Amy. Can you stabilize his condition?"
The pair nodded and did as they were told while Jade moved on to Aki. Unlike Nyles, she had no exterior injuries save for a mark on her neck where presumably Xeno shot her. On further inspection, she appeared to be the least injured of the three and was only tranquilized.
Of course, Xeno was nowhere in sight.
Several questions came to mind. Everything that happened was precise and deliberate and definitely not spontaneous, so if Xeno really did all this, why did he do it? Also, was the thing that happened to Yu a coincidence or piece in this elaborate scheme? And finally, was he able to accomplish what he set out to do, or did they manage to foil his plans?
That last question loomed heavily on her mind. There was just too little information right now, but that's fine. Right now, she doesn't need to worry why all this happened. There are three injured people in front of her and all she needs to worry about is getting them to safety. As long as she could do that, then that's a win in her books.
She ordered her team to start carrying the injured back, but before they could move out, she heard footsteps approaching them. Everyone tensed up and looked towards the sound. It was dark, but the silhouette of a person slowly approaching them.
Could it be Xeno returning to finish them off?
Jade gripped her weapons tightly, ready to defend herself. Then, a bright light shone on them, temporarily blinding them, but when their eyes adjusted, they found themselves in the presence of a familiar person.
"Ace!"
Normally, she wouldn't be relieved to encounter him, but after everything they've gone through, he was a sight for sore eyes. He looked a bit haggard and his wardrobe was in a bit of a mess, but otherwise, it was the same Ace she was familiar with.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to find you guys. Looks like the situation with the Grimm is finally dying down, so I came to check if you guys were okay."
"What about Jaq?"
At the mention of her name, Ace frowned slightly. It was hard to make out in the darkness, but Jade noticed. "You know her, she's doing clean up duty. Making sure there's no stray around."
"Ah." Sounds exactly like her.
Ace scanned the party with the flashlight he brought, confirming that everyone was present.
"Where's Xeno?"
Jade looked at Yin, who seemed to have passed out from exhaustion, before turning back to him.
"We believe he may have been the one that planned the attack."
"Hmmm, I see." Ace did not look surprised at all. A fact which she caught and made her just a little wary.
Without another word, he approached the other members of her team, stopping when he got to Yu.
"Well, someone seems a little different." Ace smiled as he directed the light at Yu's face, causing him to wince and look away. "I see you found your purpose again. Good."
"..."
Ace wasn't acting snarky towards Yu, and Yu didn't appear particularly upset at Ace. Jade didn't know what happened between the two, but she was glad they aren't at each other's throats now.
Without another word, he fit in with the group and slung Nyles over the shoulder, ready to carry him back, as if he was a part of the party the entire time. Following his lead, the rest of Jade's team went back to their task and started moving the remainder of the patrol group back to camp.
However, as Ace passed Jade, she directed a single question at him, quietly and without letting the others hear.
"What do you know?"
Ace looked at her in surprise. Then, he gave her a sly smile. "I might. But I don't think I am the one you should be asking."
"Then who?"
"You'll find out when we get back to Beacon." He said with a casual wave of his hand and continued on.
She watched the mysterious boy, who had caused her so much headache ever since she arrived at Beacon, casually stroll back into the forest. She still wasn't sure if he was a good or bad person, but at this time, she had no choice but to trust in his words.
So, without further hesitation, she followed him back to camp with all the missing people successfully accounted for.
The worst was over and the rest of the night passed without issue.
What was supposed to be a two-night trip of relaxation ended in a single night of disaster and set the stage for things to come.
A/N: Phew, finally done with this chapter. Next chapter is the epilogue and I hope to finish that by the end of this month, or early next month. Anyways, look forward to the conclusion to Volume 2.
