Elena and Ronin fly over the Vizier estate. Guards stand on the border of the hundred acre property. Grimm are being dusted on the concrete barricade. The howls of Grimm fill the air, but Jed and company are enjoying their jobs.
"Kill off the stragglers." Jed speaks into his radio.
"Copy Jed. I was just thinking of a flash way to kill them. Over." These guys are sadists. It reminds Ronin of Salem's servants. He'll be right at home here. They land on the platform. Two suits await their arrival. Like Jed, these two wolf pups are about fifteen.
"Tin and Finn, reporting Uncle Jed." They salute. Their albino wolf ears are raised at attention as well. Tin, the speaking twin is clearly preadolescent, so his voice is cracking with every other syllable.
"Prepare her lady for our arrival." Jed orders. They head into the mansion. Elena is urging the cargo workers to be careful with her collection. Ronin stands next to Jed.
Guards around the estate, only one point of entry...this place might be prison.
"I can smell your fear. It lingers on you like a thick musk. You ought to control your emotions, lest you tempt the Grimm." Jed scolds.
"Can't help it. Fear fuels my semblance." Ronin says. Jed glances at him. Semblances should be weapons against fear and by extension the Grimm. It is unheard of to have fear as a requirement to use one's semblance.
"How much do you know of Miss Elena and her Lady?" Jed asks.
"Ronin, come help us." Elena orders. Jed urges him to help Elena to fulfill his duty as 'valet'. Ronin grumbles as he correctly lifts all of her Cuddle Bear cases.
They head into the mansion. Ronin and workers unload Elena's belongings in what was Morrigan's room. The two huntsmen sit on the couch awaiting Eleanor Vizier's arrival from the second floor to the living room. Jed enters, presenting the mistress of the house. She hobbles into the room with a cane in hand, coughing blood into her handkerchief, but shoos away a doting Jed. She pops a pill and chugs from her flask. It was too brown to discern whether it was tea, coffee, or alcohol. The old crone's eyes flicker with life. Definitely not tea. Ronin can't help but feel uneasy as Eleanor glares at him with discerning eyes.
"Hello Nana." Elena says with a genuine smile, trying to steal her attention.
"What's that thing doing here?" Eleanor blurts. She points her cane at Ronin.
"M'lady, he was accompanying your Granddaughter from Haven. To my knowledge, he was her teammate." Jed says. Eleanor pushes him aside.
"Jed, go supervise the others. I want to speak alone with my granddaughter and her...guest." Eleanor forced herself to say guest with at little disgust as possible, but it was poorly masked. Eleanor doesn't like Ronin. Everyone present knew that much.
"At once, M'lady." Jed excuses himself.
"Tell me, Elena. Why do you want to break my heart?" Eleanor sits in her chair.
"I'm sorry...I don't follow…" Elena says.
"Leave it to Morrigan to raise a ditzy girl." Eleanor says.
"Hold on. That's going a bit far-" Ronin intervenes, but Eleanor raises a cane-gun in his face. She urges him to sit down, but does not lower her firearm.
"Silence Grimm Spawn. I'm having a chat with my Granddaughter." Eleanor says.
"Nana, he's my friend." Elena says.
"Ha! A silver eyed warrior friends with a Ronin! Don't make me laugh…" Her eyes glint blue as she scans the two of them.
"By the gods...Your mother raised a failure. I was hoping to make amends, but you're a lost cause. Begone." She orders.
"But…" Elena stammers.
"Get out!" She screams. She falls to her knees clutching her chest. Jed, Tin, and Finn help her back to her room. Jed returns to a crying Elena. Ronin is consoling her.
"Apologies for her...harsh words. If I had known she would say those things, I would have not fulfilled her request." Jed says.
"Where does she get off?" Ronin confronts Jed. His eyes gleam red. Jed backs away.
"That's why she's so...You're one of her servants." Jed draws his eight knives, wielding them in between his knuckles. Ronin draws Grimlock. Their blades lock.
"YOU WANNA FIGHT, WOLFRICH!?" Ronin declares. Elena separates them with wind dust, and barricades them behind an ice wall.
"Stop it. I didn't want to come here in the first place. I thought if Nana sent her trusted servant, she would have changed, but she is as mean and cruel as mother told me. I want to leave." Elena says.
"And we aren't taking no for an answer." Ronin says from behind the ice wall. Jed sighs.
"You can't leave. Not in the state the Vizier estate is in. Her Lady is on death's door. She asked that her final wish be granted. She wanted to impart upon you her knowledge before she passes." Jed says.
"Whatever it is, we don't need it." Elena says.
"The rights to the estate and all who work here as well as the secrets behind the silver eyes. They will all be yours if you choose to stay. You are the only living successor to the Vizier line, Elena." Jed says. If Elena learns the secret, she too will be in danger.
"Don't take it. They will be after you." Ronin warns. Elena's semblance activates. Abnormal Grimm heading towards the estate. Elena decontructs the ice walls.
"There are Grimm. The guards will need our help." Elena warns. The trio head out
"Requesting reinforcements on western, eastern and southern borders." Ronin shadow travels to the worst hit area. Four guards are fighting with a Nuckaleev. More like it is fighting them. Two of them are permanently pinned to the tree. This variant of Nuckaleev spews spikes from its scorpion-like tail, each barb coated with a paralyzing toxin. Ronin ambushes it, slicing off the tail and impaling it into the black horse. He vanishes onto the next area needing assistance while the others finish off the Grimm.
Elena faces down a Beringel. It's armor is tougher than earth dust spears and resistant to flames, but are by no means flame retardant. The flaming Beringel swings at her. Jed assists her, throwing his daggers in various directions. Wires glint in the sunlight as he restricts the ape. With each twitch of his fingers, the metal reverberates the sound of piercing bone. Jed forces it to reveal its armorless neck. Elena dusts it with a stab from her sword. They move to the southern border to assist the guards.
Ronin appears at the Northern gate. He sensed the strongest sources of negativity from the North and rushed for assistance. The guards are all dead. A single person stands over the mound of corpses. It's Talia. The crazy eyed redhead is gauging a corpse with her battle axe. She takes notice of Ronin.
"Hey, Ronin. Just give me a moment. This guy called me fat." She laughs.
"ONLY AZRAEL CAN CALL ME FAT!" She screams, turning that guard into an indistinguishable pulp. She's still fixated on Azrael. Ronin thinks. She hops off the mound and cleans her axe.
"Give me a moment, Ronin. I have to keep ol' Dreadnought in good shape." She spit-shines the blade of its already crimson gleam. She rubs the blade down as if she were trying to erase the red. She stands up before her old comrade.
"Alright, where is that Elena girl?" Talia tries to walk past Ronin, but he stops her.
"Is that why you're here?" Ronin asks.
"Azrael said to just watch you, but that is soooo boring. I called up my friends and decided to have a party." She says
"You won't lay a finger on Elena." Ronin says. His eyes gleam red.
"Azrael said you were a traitor, but I didn't think you would be an even bigger killjoy than before you left." Talia shrugs.
"Alister, we need your help on the southern border." Elena chimes in from her scroll.
"She has your number? That's so adorable." Talia gushes. Ronin silences his scroll.
He raises Grimlock at her. Talia transforms Dreadnaught into two battle axes. They fight.
"Ronin isn't answering his scroll." Elena says behind her mini rock fortress. A Geist hurls boulders at them. Jed and four other guards hide with her.
"We're gonna die." A guard panics. Jed slaps Clinton, knocking the panic out of the twenty two year old huntsman. His dreams to be a great huntsman were shattered when he failed the licensing exam and had to get a job as a guard on the Vizier estate. He thought the job would be safe and not at all very life threatening. Between the stress and battles, he was going to quit tonight, after he received his pay for the month.
"I can see its core, but we need to break through its defenses." Elena deduces.
The earthen shelter crumbles. The Geist-Golem picks up another rock to throw. The guards open fire on the Grimm, not denting it in the slightest. The Geist lobs the boulder on top of the four guards. Jed jumps in the air. His eight knife's cleave the boulder into pebbles. He runs towards the Grimm. Elena backs him up with a tailwind and aiding his jump with an earth platform. He dusts the Geist. The zen garden rocks fall to the ground. Jed polishes his knives. The four guards grovel at his feet.
"Thank.. (Sniffle)... you always save us, Master Jed." They are on the verge of tears.
"Return to your posts while the remainder of the Grimm are cleaned up." Jed says.
They scurry to the safety of the border. Elena walks up next to Jed.
"Those weren't normal movements. Normal weapons surely would have bounced off of the Geist's armor." Elena probes.
"My semblance, Focus, allows me to channel my aura like a fine needle or blade. It allows me to cut through any material, regardless of durability or toughness. Paired with my faunus abilities, I was a formidable Huntsman. That is until your grandmother saved me. I owe her my life." Jed says.
"Jed, Come back to the mansion. It's bad." Tin says.
"I have to go." He excuses himself. Ronin should be on the northern border. In case something happened, she's going as reinforcements. The sight of what happened horrifies her. Twenty corpses lie on the ground. Ronin uses them as shields while a visibly annoyed girl cuts them down. When a 'shield' becomes unusable, he simply grabs another. Elena vomits.
"There she is." Talia kicks Ronin out of the way, lunging at Elena. The crazed girl's eyes are filled with killer intent. Elena dodges both swings, impressing Talia. No one amongst Salem's forces can dodge that, let alone most humans. Elena's eyes gleam blue.
"Let's dance, Elena!" Talia squeals in glee. She raises her arm to strike, but Ronin kicks her in the face. Always hit a distracted opponent. He kicks her axes away.
"Bind her up." Ronin orders. Elena sinks Talia's body into the ground, leaving only her head above ground. She struggles, but cannot escape the sedimentary prison.
"I ain't no snitch!" Talia screams. Ronin kneels so he can talk with her at a reasonable eye level. He sheathes Grimlock.
"I know you aren't. We're all friends here." Ronin placates. Between twenty something bodies, the corpses would disagree with that statement if they could. Elena vomits again from the stench of the human innards of several grown men.
"As your friend, I'm just asking why you would want to kill Elena here. Azrael asked you to just watch us. Why do you think that is?" Ronin asks with a soft tone.
"He doesn't want to make you mad." Talia says like a child.
"Exactly. Her Lady still hopes to rope me back into her circle. If you hurt Elena, that will never happen. Tell her that." Ronin says.
"You no longer wish to protect the Azalea girl?" Talia asks. Ronin pauses for a moment.
"Azrael has her in his clutches now. Her fate is sealed." Ronin says. Talia laughs.
"Azzy is just toying with her. Once she divulges the secret you have been protecting for her, Her Lady will dispose of that bitch and you. Once She has the secret of the silver eyed ones, Her endgame will be complete." Talia says.
"So that's his plan. Make me disposable. I can't very well let you leave alive." Ronin says, drawing Grimlock. He raises his Shadow Slice blade. Just as he motions to slash, Elena stops him.
"What are you doing, Elena?" Ronin struggles as she refuses to let him go.
"Stop. This isn't you." Elena says. Talia laughs.
"Where'd you pick this lamb up from?" Talia asks. She doesn't care about the threat of dying. She's had her fill of murder and carnage. So going down in battle isn't the worst way to die. At least she'll feel some inkling of pain. After all, she's grown numb to it all.
Ronin can only see a threat to his plan. Getting Elena to a safe place before he raids Salem's castle, but if this fortress isn't safe, nowhere else is secure.
"I see the Ronin is struggling with his nature." Eleanor says. She is in a wheelchair. Jed is urging her to return to her bed, but is constantly ordering him to leave her alone. Tin is only following orders, to his uncle's chagrin.
"That girl is a threat to this compound. Let the Ronin decide her fate." Eleanor coughs.
"Come on, Ronin. Kill me. Azzy will know the second my life ends and he will come rushing to avenge my death. He's romantic like that." Talia says. Ronin clutches his blade, seeing his reflection in the tinted sword. He sheathes Grimlock.
"Interesting. Jed, you know what to do. Elena, look away." Eleanor says. Jed stabs Talia's jugular. She bleeds out within the minute. She yells profanities at Ronin for deciding not to kill her and let some faunus do it for him.
"Have the servants clean this mess up. I'll send their families the money I owe them." Eleanor is wheeled back to the mansion. Elena doesn't say a word as they return.
They sit in the dining room. Eleanor has five different medicinal teas, chugging each one, before drinking from her flask as a chaser. Elena hasn't touched her food, but Ronin digs right on in. Elena may be a vegan, but old lady Eleanor is a meat eater.
"So, Ronin. Is there any reason you decided not to kill that girl besides to avoid being tracked by this 'Azzy' character?" Eleanor asks.
"Nope." He says.
"That's disappointing. I thought I would give you a chance. If you had humanity, you, Alister Ronin, might be able to change this old gal's mind about your kind." Eleanor says. Ronin stops at the mention of his full name.
"I never introduced myself." He says.
"You think my granddaughter is the only one gifted with the Oracle semblance? Of course, it seems filthy blood diluted it's potency. Morrigan could only make deductions of the future by analyzing the past and Elena can see the absolute version of the future. With training, she could unlock the other half she has been lacking, if not more abilities." Eleanor says.
"I wasn't intending on staying." Elena says.
"That's a shame. I wanted to reconnect with my long lost granddaughter after seventeen years of not meeting you. I'm only a dying old lady after all. Who cares about my feelings?" Eleanor uses the good old guilt trip technique, Dying Grandma edition.
"I wanted to visit Mother's grave." Elena says.
"You can visit after you unlock your full potential. That area is swarming with Grimm, kinds you likely can't take on with the two of you, let alone by yourself." Eleanor says.
"I'll only agree to stay if Ronin can stay." Elena says.
"Oh yes. I don't intend to separate you from your-" Elena shushes her grandmother. She frantically shakes her head as her face turns pink.
"I'm Elena's what?" Ronin inquires. Jed leads him out of the room.
"That boy's past is a maelstrom of betrayal and negativity. Are you sure it has to be him of all people? Can't you pick out a nice rich man like your mother?" Eleanor asks.
"I trust him. That's all that should matter." Elena says. Morrigan had the same look in her eyes when she said she was going to run away.
"Okay. Fine. The boy can stay. He won't be betraying us, although, he will make the guards work overtime. As for your training, you have to work on your semblance and your silver eyed abilities." Eleanor says.
"Thank you, Nana." Elena hugs her grandmother.
"If your grandfather were here, he would have given you a much warmer welcome. I'm sorry for being so heartless earlier." Eleanor says, from a script card no less. She wasn't the best at apologizing, and she asked Jed for help. They enjoy each other's company.
The next day, Elena is in a ring with a Boarbatusk wrangled from outside the border.
"The secret to using your powers is to just do it." Eleanor coaches. Ever so helpful.
Granted, Eleanor had instinctively used her powers, and thus never actually knew how to use her powers. She memorized the sensation, but failed to put into meaningful advice for Elena. She isn't allowed to use Destiny's Misfortune because it is a crutch for silver eyed warriors. She dodges the Boarbatusk's lunges.
Meanwhile Ronin is being taught by Jed to control his emotions. Ronin tries lifting a pebble with his semblance, but he isn't feeling very fearful at the moment. Shadow traveling is so much easier to use because he just needs to feel anxiety as the bare minimum.
"This isn't working!" Elena and Ronin scream in unison.
"I don't understand what my powers are to begin with." Elena complains.
"Fear isn't a readily supplied resource. I can't just conjure a mindset to make it appear like that." Ronin says. Eleanor and Jed sigh. They have two students that conflict with their base ideologies. Elena is far too methodical for Eleanor to coach her and Jed is too composed to teach Ronin. Tin and Finn appear with tea for them. Jed has an idea.
"You two, come over here." He orders. They whisper in a secret conference before instructing Ronin and Elena. Tin draws his scythe, Reaper's Embrace. Ronin's aura radiates from him.
"M'lady has told us of your past. You have a particular disdain for scythe wielders. This should allow you to manifest the requirements for your semblance while also learning how to control it. Show restraint, but do not lose to my nephew. He has enough chips on his shoulder as it is." Jed says. Finn places his hand on Eleanor and Elena. His semblance, mind link, allows him and people he touches to communicate telepathically. As a mute, this is an especially useful semblance. Eleanor's thoughts flood into Elena's mind and vice versa. The silver eyes ones are inheritors of the light, used to eradicate the darkness. Only positive and uncorrupted emotions may summon their power.
"Hello, Elena. M'lady. Is the connection established?" Finn asks. They nod.
"Elena has some underlying emotional trauma that prevents her from manifesting a purely positive memory. This may prove to be an obstacle to her training, so I suggest we focus on her semblance while she tries to find a positive memory from her time in this world." Finn says.
"So we should get rid of the Grimm? After all the trouble I went through to capturing it." Eleanor whines.
"Actually, Uncle Jed retrieved the Boarbatusk…" Finn corrects.
"Whatever. We should take a break is what you're suggesting." Eleanor pouts.
"I want to give it one more go." Elena says.
"I'll be on standby in case you need assistance." Finn says. Elena enters the ring. The Boarbatusk wakes up from its nap. It snarls at her.
"What is your happiest memory?" Finn asks. Elena wracks her brain. Ronin's words linger in her mind. Don't use a person as the source of your happiness. Those memories can be corrupted by betrayal and death. For a moment, her eyes faintly glow white, but it merely stuns the Boarbatusk. Elena falls to her knees. Her eyes radiate white mist before it evaporates completely. Eleanor and Finn wipe a tear after witnessing Elena's selected memory. A memory buried deep within her past that Elena had forgotten it was there. It was when she was given Destiny's Misfortune by her mother.
"I knew my daughter was a rebel, but I never realized how much she loves you. I just wished I could have seen her before she..." Eleanor says.
"You now know how it feels to activate your eyes. You must focus on training your control of the intensity and your mind." Finn says. Elena nods.
"Okay, that's enough of mind sharing. You may take a break, Finn." Eleanor says. Finn taps both of them on the shoulder. The mind link is severed. His aura dissipates.
"Now onto your semblance training." Eleanor says.
"Give me just a minute…" Elena collapsed from fatigue. Finn catches her. Ronin notices Elean collapsing. He shadow paralyzes Tin and reappears next to the Viziers.
"Is she okay?" Ronin says with a calm demeanor.
"Are you worried about her?" Eleanor chuckles, her eyes gleaming blue.
"Just take care of her." Ronin says before resuming his training. Tin is mad for being forcibly strangled and strikes at Ronin with more ferocity.
"You picked a good one, granddaughter." Eleanor chuckles. They take Elena inside. Ronin disarms Tin. His savage strikes were easier to read and that was the end of the bout. Jed enters the sparring ring.
"Tin, take a break. Good job." He pats his nephew on the shoulder.
"Ronin, is there a reason you don't use your semblance in the heat of battle?" Jed asks.
"I'm always using my semblance. I can't turn it off." Ronin says.
"I don't follow. Semblances are activated. You used that shadow paralysis technique and the shadow travel technique. Those are surely-"
"I sense the shadows. They speak to me and when they relay information to me, I react to them. It's not exactly something I choose to use. They say things without me telling them to. When I command them, the shadows obey my will." Ronin says. Jed scribbles notes in a pocketbook. Like a certain someone he knows. Jed scratches his chin in contemplation.
"Have you ever 'commanded' your own shadow?" Jed says.
"Yeah, but it's drains my aura-"
"No no no. I'm not talking about using your shadow to restrict others, but use your semblance to augment your fighting ability. Using your semblance to accelerate and strengthen your own movement. Controlled movements that would not drain your aura more than your shadow travel." Jed clarifies. Ronin hadn't thought about that. All of his training with his father focused on defeating your opponent by draining their will to fight. Not enhance himself and power through. The clan of Ronin were manipulators of darkness. They never thought of going on the assault. They only ambushed and backstabbed, emphasizing mobility and restriction of their prey.
"I see that glint of realization. Let's do a few trial runs. First, run a lap around the compound without using your semblance. After, you will run using your semblance." Jed chuckles. Ronin grumbles as he starts to jog. Jed records the time on his scroll.
"Color me impressed. Your time was ten minutes for a two mile run. As for the trial with your semblance, I will permit you enough time to figure out to augment your movement." Jed says. Ronin concentrates on his shadow. To augment his movement, he should focus on his legs and feet. The sensation of his aura flowing through his lower half...He takes a single step and craters the earth. After the dust settles, he's on the other side of the compound.
"Dial it down. I don't want you destroying the wall." Jed orders. Ronin focuses a bit more. He recalls the level of control he had to master to move a shorter distance with his shadow travel. One time, he meant to travel from his home to a tree ten feet away and ended up in the next town a few kilometers over. This sensation is familiar to him. The sensation of restraint. He takes another set step and disappears. Reappearing before Jed without so much as a dust cloud. Even when his parents are gone, their training is helping him to this day. Ronin is out of breath. His aura is shimmering, on the brink of dissipating.
"I counted ten steps. So it must be similar to ten shadow travels. Counting the one from earlier, eleven steps. A mix of eleven shadow travels, shadow slices, shadow strikes, and shadow steps is your aura limit. Keep that in mind." Jed records the upper limit of Ronin's technique. Ronin offers a shaky thumbs up.
"Alternatively, two shadow paralysis or shadow cleaves and a shadow travel." Ronin mutters. One shadow paralysis or shadow cleave is five shadow travels.
"Noted." Jed scribbles it in his book.
"After you've rested, I'd like to test your aura regeneration rate…" Jed says as Ronin rapidly steams.
"My aura regenerates pretty fast. I may have low aura reserves, but for whatever reason, I don't stay tired for long." Ronin winces in pain from a headache. Memories of his past bubbled to the surface, but he failed to recollect them.
"It is my theory that members of the clan of Ronin have an abnormality about them. Semblances of darkness are already abnormal, so it would stand to reason something about your bloodline would produce an absurdly high aura regeneration in you." Jed deduces. Tin returns from his break.
"I'm ready to fight again, Uncle." Tin says.
"Alright. I suppose the study can wait. Use what you learned Ronin, but don't be too rough with my nephew." Jed says. Ronin and Tin spar. After observing Ronin, it doesn't seem he fears the scythe as much as Lady Eleanor has divined. His interactions with Elena do not indicate he fears the silver eyed ones either.
Ronin utilizes shadow strike with ferocity. Tin can barely deflect the strikes and has since taken to dodging. Despite the advantage in range, Tin is being overpowered in speed and power. It is thanks to his semblance, Extrasensory, that he can locate Ronin at all times and correctly predict his next action. But his faunus muscles are not fast enough to move in time. This scythe is cumbersome. Before long, Ronin wins the bout.
"That's enough for today." Jed announces. Tin is panting on the ground. He doesn't want another beat down anyways. Ronin sheathes Grimlock. His stomach growls.
"Where's the food?" Ronin asks.
"Inside. We're having sloppy joes." Jed says. Tin salivates. Tin exits the mansion.
"Miss Elena is fine. She's just resting. Lady Eleanor is taking her nap." He reports.
"Show Ronin to his quarters. I'll check on the guards. Tin, take your break." Jed says.
The two salute before heading off. Jed scribbles his closing thoughts on today's training session, before heading out. Ronin is led to a room neighboring Elena's. It's a broom closet modified to house a person. Ronin is not surprised, but they didn't even give him the guest bedroom. Finn taps him on the shoulder.
"Down the hall is the bathroom to freshen up. You'll need it. Refrain from disturbing Elena or Lady Eleanor. A curfew is set at 9 p.m. so do not wander about the mansion after those times, lest you wish to be smited by me or Jed." Finn 'speaks' to him but his mouth isn't moving, which Ronin finds odd. But Finn taps his shoulder again and leaves Ronin alone. The mystery of Finn will have to wait. Of course, he disobeys Tin. He enters Elena's room. He navigates through the many cases, making his way to her bedside. She is sleeping soundly. Ronin's stench from training reaches her nose, causing her to sneeze herself awake. She blinks, seeing Ronin. She sits up.
"Why are you in my room?" Elena asks.
"I came to check up on you." Ronin says.
"You should take a shower first." Elena holds her nose.
"Food's going to be ready in a bit." Ronin says, making his way to the door. Elena grabs her staff and moves aside the luggage with wind dust, forming a clear pathway.
"Who was that girl you fought earlier and why was she after me?" Elena asks.
"Azrael enacted a plan to take you out. And he intends to find out behind the secret of the silver eyes to make me disposable. But I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Ronin says. By this point, nothing can surprise Elena.
"I'm still not forgiving you for almost killing that girl." Elena pouts.
"I'm not asking for forgiveness." Ronin says.
"I won't have my bodyguard murdering people." Elena says.
"If it comes down to it, I will kill anyone who threatens-"
"No." Elena says.
"Your-"
"No." Elena repeats.
"Life."
"I forbid you from killing people." Elena says.
"You can't be serious." Ronin says.
"Well I am. We are huntsmen, not assassins. Grimm are okay to kill, but not people." Elena says. Not only is she a vegan, she is a humanitarian.
"Yeah yeah, huntsmen protect." Ronin placates her. She won't have the man she has feelings towards be a murderer. It scared her to see him with that bloodlust in his eyes. It wasn't the Ronin she knew. It was something that was likely a byproduct of his past...His parent's training. Jed knocks on the door.
"Food is ready, Miss Elena...oh. I hope I wasn't interrupting." Jed apologizes. Elena gets out of bed and stretches, before standing besides Ronin.
"I'm starving." Elena says. Jed leads them to the dining room. He places down a sloppy joe before them. Elena grumbles at the sight of the meat. She pokes at it with her fork.
"Lady Eleanor had notified us of your dietary habits and had shifted the recipe accordingly. Your dinner is made without meat or animal byproduct." Jed says. Elena takes a bite of it. She can taste a rhapsody of vegetables and spices. She eats it faster than Ronin, asking for seconds. Ronin stares at her, shocked, but he refuses to lose to his ward. He gobbles down two sloppy joes. The sight of their contest prompts Finn and Tin to leave in disgust as joe shrapnel flies across the table only for Ronin or Elena to snag it midair and plug it into their beaver mouths. Jed offers them a bib. Elena and Ronin ruin them before continuing on. Elena doesn't know why, but her appetite is flaming. She is only thinking of sustenance. She doesn't contemplate on why, because her carnal urges are driving her actions.
"I'm afraid that is all we can spare for the two of you." Jed says returning without food.
Elena and Ronin belch. Jed forces a smile, but Ronin can detect his negativity.
"Thank you for the food." Elena says.
"Off to your rooms, while I...clean up." Jed says, staring at the once fine dining table. Now, it is covered in various juices and slobber. He sighs. Ronin and Elena return to their quarters. By Ronin's count, he won today's contest. He takes a victory shower.
Elena loafs around in her room. She has never eaten to the point of lethargy. It is the point between euphoria and nausea. She's never eating that much again. Ronin exits the shower and returns to his room without so much as a word to Elena. Usually, Ronin is bothering at this time…
"Jed's around the corner, so I'm going to bed." Ronin says. His fear of the butler has settled in. He does not want to be caught past curfew. Elena snuggles in her bed, drifting off into sleep.
Lucas is wracking his brain. No one else knew about him and Melody, but somehow the information leaked out to his mother. Freya is out with Melody picking wedding dresses, despite the numerous times both Lucius and Melody refused. A pair of handcuffs can force anyone's cooperation. They left before Lucas had a chance to accompany them.
"I hope Mel's doing okay." Lucas mutters. He cycles through the footage of his home's security camera network. He spots one moment. Through the crack of his door, he notices Rhapsody in the doorway just as he and Melody kiss. He storms into Melody's room. It is where Rhapsody stays when she's in the area. The older sibling of Melody listens to music whilst lying on the bed. Despite being twins, the two sisters dress differently. Melody always makes it a point to dress appropriately in Lucas' presence, but Rhapsody is only wearing a tank top and short shorts. And the air conditioning in the room makes it quite evident. Fortunately, Lucas is oblivious to these things.
"Why did you tell my mother about me and Melody?" Lucas demands. Rhapsody didn't hear the question or acknowledge his presence in the room. He removes her earbud and repeats the question.
"It was about time. My sister has been waiting on you forever. Think back. Would anyone in her position have felt any different if they had stayed as long as they did? You were a nightmare of a kid to manage." Rhapsody says. Lucas sputters in denial.
"I was not a nightmare." Lucas says. Rhapsody pulls out one of Melody's older reports.
"Lucas is afraid of spiders and begged me to kill it. I swatted at it, but it jumped on my face. It didn't help that his scream was more feminine than mine. Lady Freya thought someone broke into the house. I hate spiders now." Rhapsody says.
"I got over my fear of spiders." He mutters.
"We ran out of target dummies, so Lucas dressed me up in armor and performed target practice on me." Rhapsody raises an eyebrow at Lucas.
"It was completely safe. She didn't get hurt and I would ask if she wanted to take a break after every shot." Lucas defends.
"He cheated using my homework because he forgot to do it, but when he got caught, he threw me under the bus. I had to explain to them that he was one of those genius types that didn't bother with homework because he had more important things to do." Rhapsody says. Lucas remains quiet. He has no defense for that one. He had been reminded by Melody over the course of the week and he kept putting it off.
"You have to grow up before you have my blessing to marry my sister." Rhapsody throws the report journal at his face.
"Read up on the suffering you put my sister through. I'm going to visit Franky." She says before leaving the room. Ten years worth of journals. He has to get started somewhere, so he reads the first set of entries. He was a nightmare of a kid. Anything remotely scary, Melody was forced to comfort him. Cockroaches, spiders, big dogs, that one crow that always gave him a funny look, she had to ward them all away lest she be bombarded with cowardly pleas and incessant whining. He can barely stomach his past self. How was he this pathetic? It was until he read to a certain point in her journals that this answer became clear.
"Lucas is a smart kid. His father tried to instill the ideas of what it means to be a huntsman and thus, Lucas knows what it takes to be worthy of becoming an heir to his family's company. But he knows himself enough to recognize that he doesn't possess those qualities, causing him to be insecure of various things. Huntsmen do not fear bugs or being alone, but he does because he is more sensitive to those realities than most. It makes him more in touch with his emotions than others. Instead of shoving them down and plowing through the negative emotions, he takes the time to feel them, overcoming them bit by bit. Actively denying himself is his biggest flaw. Everything he does is to uphold the family tradition, falsely believing his strengths to be weaknesses, but when he does things his own way, instead of the Lumina family way, he shines brighter than any light. I think that he should have more confidence in his abilities." Lucas notices this was a recent journal. It was recorded right after unlocking his semblance.
"Lucas?" Melody enters the room. She wears a sundress and a bonnet. She throws away the bonnet the second she enters the room.
"I was just...Your sister told my mother about us." Lucas says.
"Yeah about that...I don't think this is going to work...Is what I would like to say. My sister and I don't have anyone else, so I can't quit. But, I want to establish several ground rules about my continuation as your girlfriend." Melody says.
"I'll talk with my father about it." Lucas says. Freya enters the room.
"Mel, I had so much fun today. I'm lookin-"
"Mother, You are harassing Melody. Please stop." Lucas glares at Freya with intensity. The lioness backs down to her cub. She scurries back to her room, questioning the death stare her own son gave her.
"Thank you." Melody hugs him.
"I'm sorry for everything. I was a major pain all these years and I didn't even know you were suffering." Lucas says.
"You read my journals, didn't you?" Melody asks. He nods.
"They don't hold any of my personal feelings towards you. It was strictly professional. All the mushy stuff is hidden in my own journal." Melody says.
"They don't? What do you really think of me?" Lucas scrambles around her room to find her journal. Melody laughs.
"You won't find it. I put it in a place where you would never find-"
"Got it." Lucas holds a bright pink journal in his hand. Just as he predicted, under her head pillow. Melody wrestles him to the ground, yanking the journal from him.
"You can't read this! It's too embarrassing." She turns bright pink.
"Why not?" Lucas squirms under her. She pecks him on the cheek.
"It's my secret." Melody whispers. She handcuffs him and blindfolds him. Is this really happening? All the Scroll Hub videos he 'researched' is becoming his reality.
"I'm going to hide this and I swear if you insist on reading my personal thoughts after I told you not to, I'm breaking up with you." Melody threatens. By the sound of it, she hid it in the third drawer under her Cuddle Bear Sticker collection and various signed autographed pictures of her sister. It's not that the place is well hidden, but well guarded. A single misstep can ruin the mint condition of either item. He's lost this one.
Melody removes the blindfold, laying on top of him. She's so soft and smells of divine coconut. He could die happy.
"Aren't you tempted?" Melody asks. Something hits her leg. She kisses him. The exact response she was going for. She would have done something horrible if he hadn't. But he doesn't need to know that. Their auras mesh to form green. Compatible indeed. Someone approaches. Melody frantically frees Lucas and they sit composed, him on the other side of the room and her on her bed. Lucius knocks on the door.
"Rhapsody said you were here, son. I want your opinion on a new product." Lucius says. Lucas follows. Melody grumbles in frustration. That was too close.
"The analysts found that your semblance is a great fuel source, so we created a design reflecting the new direction of our company." Lucius shows him the blueprint. It is a sleek sailless airship. Zero dust consumption. The cost of using an airship will go down drastically and it can house more people than current top of the line Atlas airships.
"This will definitely help our delivery department. Depending on how much we set the price at, it will be selling like hotcakes." Lucas says.
"Old Ironwood already has several thousand on preorder." Lucius says.
"One thing, Father. I noticed that the ship only runs on my light crystals." Lucas says.
"Yes. If we have a monopoly on the energy source, we can beat out the Schnees." Lucius says.
"We should have a dual energy system. One compatible with dust and my crystals. Sell them cheaper than dust, but allow for both to be used. I don't know the full capabilities of my semblance, but I know enough that they aren't as reliable as dust. In my notes, I said as much. The company needs to turn a profit, so if my crystals fail, the entire line will follow." Lucas says.
"Noted. I'll tell the developers. That time in Haven has done wonders for you. You're acting like a real Lumina heir." Lucius praises.
"Thank you, Father." Lucas says.
"I won't keep you from Melody any longer." Lucius says with a raised eyebrow.
"Mother told you, didn't she?" Lucas asks.
"Is it that obvious?" Lucius says.
"Speaking of Melody, she wants to set ground rules for being my girlfriend. I assume it's along the lines of having Mother tone down her enthusiasm." Lucas says.
"I'll notify you when I'm free. This project will have me grinding the midnight oil, so to speak. It's taken a toll on your mother. The other day, she tried to...never mind." Lucius is red in the face. Lucas gets the message. He takes his leave. An alarm on his scroll resounds. It's four o'clock. He heads to their private training arena. He wants to work on a few of his techniques.
"Mel, heading to the arena. " Lucas notifies on his scroll.
"This new episode of Atlas Girl is juicy." She eats popcorn.
"Is that Lucas? Hi!" Rhapsody waves. Francis offers a peace sign.
"I'll join when I'm done." Lucas says.
"See you then." They resound. Lucas signs off. The private training arena is a smaller scale version of the Haven training arena, but for Lucas' purposes is perfect for his semblance. Upon entry, he manifests the crystals he's been generating. Several thousand crystals float single file in the room. Lucas cracks his neck and stretches. He pulls up his personal files and overlays them on the projection screen.
"Five thousand 's ten times the amount I had in Haven." Lucas mutters. He scrolls through his notes. He wanted to try a few ideas. Growing up, he had always watched hero cartoons and they had various abilities. He wants to recreate them with his versatile semblance. He commands his crystals to form into a sword, gathering twenty crystals. A replica of Wonder Huntress' sword is formed.
"System: Manifest Dummy." Lucas commands. A Beowolf dummy appears before him.
He slashes it, but the crystal sword breaks. His crystal count decreases by the same amount. Lucas sighs.
"I knew it. I can form the shapes, but unless I forge them correctly, the weapons I create wil be brittle." Lucas mutters. He only has experience with dust related equipment and armor. He knows nothing about blade crafting. He can feel Aldin chuckling at him.
"System: Log Forging." Lucas commands. The projector shows Atlas methods of forging. Metal folding, heat treating, dust enfusion. Techniques to create stronger blades and cold resistant weapons. He tries replicating the method, but his crystals shatter when he tries to fold them, losing twenty more crystals.
"This might take a different approach." Lucas places his crystal on a scanner. It's composed of carbon as crystals are, but possess properties to store light and combine.
Durability is the main issue. Twenty crystals shatter on impact…
"System: Replay Training." Lucas commands. The footage shows him slashing the Beo, but it barely cut through it before shattering. Twenty crystals isn't enough. The durability is too low. He forges a forty crystal sword. This time, it cleaves the Beo, but breaks after.
Forty is the one sword use limit. It would stand to reason that eighty crystals enable two uses. He forges a crude eighty crystal sword.
"System: Manifest Dummy." Lucas commands. He slashes the dummy until his sword breaks. Four uses exceeds his expectation. His semblance compounds density and intensity with more crystals. This is more than enough information he could have wanted. He had a few ideas about his weapons, but now it seems like his semblance will become his weapon. He scribbles in his journal to research crystalline structure. His hypothesis is that using strong crystalline structures will increase if not magnify the quality of his crystals weapons without needing to expend excess crystals. He resumes his training trying to make a twenty crystal sword viable in combat. His crystal generate is now three minutes per crystal, so every hour is twenty crystals. Eighty crystals is four hours, so he wouldn't want to be forced to rely on those unless it was for something like armor. He creates a five crystal outline and overlays it four times. It gleams with light. One crystal for the hilt, one for each guard, and two for the blade. It forms a rapier thin blade, but with the guard of a broadsword.
"System: Manifest Dummy." Lucas commands. He slashes the dummy. Cleaving off its arm. He can feel the crystals about to shatter, but they persist. Technique is also a consideration in how the durable is affected. Katanas can only be wielded a certain way or they will shatter from misuse. Despite whatever forging technique is used, correct technique must accompany it. Thankfully, Melody has been drilling that into him since the academy. He may have used custom weapons, but he learned various forms of swordplay, gunplay, and martial arts to augment his varied fighting style. His aura has dropped below the 'safe' level. He decides to finish up his training and return.
Eleanor vomits into a bucket. It is much more than earlier. She can barely aim. Her stomach is weak, but it keeps churning with pain. Jed is by her side as he always is.
"Thank you...Jed." She says weakly.
"Please refrain from speaking, m'lady." Jed massages her back.
"I don't think I have much time left. Prepare a document." Eleanor orders.
"It's too hasty to speak so-"
"I know when I've hit my limit. I can't leave my granddaughter without guidance. It's in case I can't tell her what she needs to know myself." Eleanor says. The same intense stare she had when she fought through the Grimm to save Jed. She's serious.
"Right away." Jed gets her a document. Eleanor writes what will be her will and guidance for Elena.
Come the next morning, Eleanor passed away in her sleep. A ceremony was held for Eleanor Vizier. Every worker paid their respects when they were on break. The security had to be increased from the spike in Grimm. Ronin helped keep them at bay. By the end of the day, Elena is in her room, contemplating what to do next. She barely had the chance to spend time with her grandmother, but she cherished the moments she had. Jed handed her the final letter her grandmother wrote. She's afraid to open it. What could it tell her that will help her move forward? Will it tell her to not be like her mother and take care of the estate? Elena wouldn't hate the idea. This place is safe…
"Are you still awake?" Ronin knocks.
"Yeah." He enters.
"Before you say anything, I was planning to leave you here and then confront them. I thought you would be safe here, but Talia was able to find us. Meaning, they are tracking me to track you. I should-" Ronin says. Elena hugs him.
"I don't have anyone else. Don't go saying you're going to be trouble for me because I know I'll be safe with you, no matter where we go. Please. Don't go. If you don't come back, I don't know what I'd do." Elena sniffles.
"You didn't let me finish. I should stay with you. That is the safest option." Ronin smirks.
Elena turns bright red. She basically confessed her love to Ronin. She hides her face in her hood.
"Oh. I support your decision." Elena mumbles. Ronin removes her hood.
"I won't be going anywhere, Elena Vizier. So long as I draw breath, I will defend you." Ronin says. Elena's eyes gleam white. A white light fills the room. Ronin is on the ground. Black mist is radiating from him. He is severely scorched.
"Note to self. Do not make Elena feel excess levels of happiness." Ronin says.
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Elena asks.
"I can only tank one of those. So if you really want to finish me off, now would be a good time." Ronin chuckles. The burn marks fade as his body steams.
"You're an idiot if you think I'll kill you." Elena pouts. Ronin's stomach growls. Healing off silver eye damage consumes his energy.
"What did I tell you about using a person as your source of happiness?" Ronin scolds.
"It just happened. I couldn't help feeling that way." Elena mumbles.
"Would you prefer if I said 'I lo-" Ronin is stopped by Elena's hand.
"I will cut you if you ever joke about that. You of all people know how sharp my blade is. Are we clear?" Elena asks. Ronin nods.
"Good. I'm tired." She boots Ronin out of the room. He can't help but smile to himself.
"I love you too." Ronin mutters. He returns to his room to get some sleep. Jed wanted to talk to the two of them in the morning. Something about the estate and what's going to become of the workers. Ronin thinks back to all that's happened to him over the last few months. He was in a dark place after being expelled. He aced the entrance exams. But he was only working to survive. Not getting a step closer to saving his old team. His inaction let them fall into Azrael's hands. It's his only regret. He wouldn't have done anything else differently. He would break up with Tabitha and let himself be expelled just to protect his team. His scroll rings with a notification.
"Alister. Meet outside the wall. Tabitha-" Ronin does so. He can sense twenty Grimm and two people, both of them he recognizes. His hand rests on Grimlock.
"What do you want, Azrael?" Ronin ignores Tabitha, until he realizes she is bound with a gag around her mouth.
"Hold it, hero. I'm giving you a choice here. Let Tabitha here get eaten by the Grimm or warn the Vizier girl. I'm sure they would be able to ward off these Abnormals pretty quickly with a warning, but I'm not so sure about if they were ambushed in their sleep after a funeral no less." Azrael monologues. The imp Grimm chitter and toss rocks at each other. As the name implies, they like to cause chaos.
"Why are you doing this?" Ronin demands.
"Even when you're losing, you, Alister Ronin, are a pain in my ass. Tabitha wouldn't drop the topic of my past with you. Saying you only hate people unless they deserve it. To be fair she was right, but that's why I've had to advance the plan ahead of schedule. As to why we're here, you can't just go killing our comrades without consequences." Azrael says.
"I didn't kill Talia." Ronin says.
"I bet you didn't. But you see, I know who did. And he's been our spy this entire time." Azrael says. Jed drags Elena before them.
"Ronin, what's happening?" Elena asks.
"Jedidiah, explain why you chose to terminate Talia." Azrael orders.
"She went against your orders. She almost compromised our position." Jed says. Tin and Finn appear.
"Can I slice him up yet, Uncle?" Tin didn't appreciate losing to Ronin.
"Do you have the intelligence we need, Finn?" Azrael asks. He scribbles down on a pad. Tin reads from it.
"It's not as interesting as you thought it would be. It's-" A cold aura radiates from Ronin.
"You bastards." Ronin's eyes gleam red. The shattered moon shines down on them.
"Take him out before he-" Tin gets slashed. Elena and Tabitha disappear in a shadow. Azrael draws his weapon, Death's embrace. A body sized scythe with a massive crimson blade, but he swings it like it weighs nothing.
"Pathetic, Alister. You couldn't choose between them, so you saved them both." Azrael taunts. Ronin glares at him. Finn ambushes Ronin, only to be stuck midair with Shadow Paralysis.
"You have a few new tricks. Good thing Jed specializes in finding a person's weaknesses." Azrael says. Bright lights turn on all over the fortress. Ronin's semblance dissipates. Finn pins down Ronin.
"It really is a waste. If you chose to stay on our side, you could have had them as your pets-" Ronin spits in Azrael's face. He calmly wipes.
"We're returning to base." Azrael orders. Ronin tries to activate his semblance, but the lights focus on him. He lays there helplessly.
"You'll never find them. Ronin strains to say.
"If we threaten to kill you, I'm sure one of them will come running. We have the secret. This part is just for my entertainment." Azrael says.
"Just stay away." Ronin whispers. Azrael takes out a megaphone.
"If the silver eyed huntresses can hear me, I will give you three days to meet at the coordinates I'll send to your scrolls. If both of you don't show up, I'll kill Ronin here." Azrael announces. He tosses the megaphone to Jed.
"Cuff him up. We can't have our bait escaping." Azrael orders. Jed snarls at Azrael.
"I only served Her Lady. Stop acting like my superior." Jed says.
"Sheesh fine. Tin, cuff up this hooligan." Azrael orders.
"I only obey my uncle and he only follows Salem, so I don't have to." Tin says. Azrael groans as he takes the cuffs and drags Ronin along. They leave the estate.