RWBY: Grey Chapter 19 (Part 2)
"You see... it's like this... Marx and Diana kinda met when they never should have, Marx's family was 100% human, and Diana's 100% Faunus." The man began. He pulled a half-empty bottle of golden whiskey from beneath his counter. He waved it at Ruby and Blake. "I don't suppose you two drink?" He asked. When they shook their heads, he sighed, then poured a bit of whiskey into a small shot glass near the bar's edge.
"Well... anyway. Their parents were the children of soldiers who had fought in the Faunus Wars... if you've met them already, I'm sure you can deduce which side they each come from." He said. They nodded and he did the same. "Their families, since birth, had tried to instill a hatred towards the others' race. But... it never quite took with either, in fact, after meeting Marx, and knowing him long enough, it was clear that his tastes were quite... exotic." He laughed.
"Exotic?" Ruby asked. "He refused to even give a girl the time of day unless she was a Faunus." He explained. "Ah, I see." She said. "Well, as I was getting to... At some point, the force of their parents trying to enforce their worldviews on them made them uneasy, and they both happened to end up here, trying to get away for a little bit." He said.
"And they ran into each other and fell in love instantly, right?" Blake asked. "They despised each other, for the good part of a year too! I think at one point they both said that the other made them think that their parents might have been right." He laughed. "So what happened?" Ruby asked. "To be completely truthful, I don't rightly know. They disappeared for about six months, then when they returned, Diana was pregnant with the twins." He said.
"I can't imagine what changed between them in that time span, but they were truly smitten with one another." He said. "So... they just disappeared for half a year, and nobody knows where they went or anything like that?" Blake asked. "No... I know that they ended up running to Vacuo... but they're pretty... well... tight-lipped about what happened afterwards." He said with a shrug.
"So... they came back, then what?" Ruby asked. "Well... their families eventually decided that they just wanted them to be happy, especially when they found out that Diana was pregnant." He said. "I suppose that makes sense." Ruby said. "Yeah, well... they sort of settled down and started getting along. When the twins were born, it was like they had been a friendly group all along." He laughed. "Oh you should have seen her. Miana was spritely, and always had a tiny, toothless grin on her face."
"What about Yuri?" Blake asked. "He was sick, born with an illness that should have ended his life before he left the womb... but I'm sure as you know, he's rather stubborn, so he survived despite the poor prognosis." He said with a grin. "You could tell that he was in pain, even when he was just a baby. He would never, ever, cry, but you could see it in his face." He said. His cheerful visage had become considerably somber.
"I feel like this is about to get dark." Blake noted. He nodded. "After a few months, Diana suggested to Marx that they take their newborns to the wilds, as Drake might need to get away from the city, what with all of the pollution running rampant around here." He said. "I didn't see Drake for the next nine years... but in that time something happened, and I have a suspicion as to what that might be." He finished.
He cleared his throat before beginning once more. "After their second round of children, Marx and Diana decided that they needed to return to the city, which they did, hoping that the time they had given Drake was enough." He said. "So they came back... then what?" Ruby asked excitedly. "So, they came back, and stopped in to see me once they did, you know, to introduce the new additions." He started.
"Drake had grown up, and I'm talking a massive change. From a tiny infant to someone who looked like they were about to start puberty, keep in mind that at this point, he was six." He said. "What was he like at that time?" Blake asked. "Hmmm... let's see, he... was very quiet, I think he greeted me when his parents explained who I was. Oh, he also asked about the taste of alcohol, which was a very strange question, especially for someone of his age." He said.
"Ummm... what happened next? Let's see... ah... they left after introducing the newborns... then I didn't see Drake again for a few months." He started once more. "He came back... just kinda walked in, after they'd been here a while... sat down on one of the stools... that was it... he just sat there... staring off into space... after a few hours... he stood up and left." He said.
"But that was just the first time he came in... the second time... I talked to him, even though that goes against my policy." He said. "Policy?" Blake questioned. "This is a bar... people come here for two reasons... to drink, and to meet others... if I'm talking to them, they can't very well do either." He laughed. "But Drake was the son of two people I had considered friends. So his apparent distress weighed on me. You know what he told me?" He asked them.
When they both shook their heads, he began. "He said that Miana was being bullied... and it bothered him." He said. "But that wasn't the weird thing... it was what he told me after I explained that some people are just pieces of shit... he said that he should be the one getting bullied... that because he was strong, he could take it... something about that... didn't sit right with me..." He said. "Eventually, I realized what it was... his eyes were different... darker... angrier. But I realized it too late... by that time, what had happened was already in the news." He said.
"What did happen?" Ruby asked. "The police had gotten word that some families had seemingly disappeared over the course of a week... when they searched the houses, they found them... alive, but grievously mutilated... I'm talking impalement, immolation, dismemberment... what a horrifying sight that must have been." He shook his head, attempting to dispel the images that arose.
"Are you sure he did it?" Blake asked. He nodded. "He told me he did... but he had changed again by that point... he had become somber... more like he is now." He finished. "Did he tell you anything then... something that could explain why he took our friend?" Blake asked. "That depends, I'd need to know who exactly your friend is before I could say." He said. "Weiss Schnee." Ruby answered. The man's face paled as the name left her lips.
"I see... that bodes poorly for you girls." He said. "Why... what does he want with her?" Blake asked. "Well... I don't know specifically. I can only repeat what he's told me in person." He started. "Hurry up! For all we know he's moving right now, and we can't spend all this time listening to stories!" Ruby groaned. "Alright, alright! Jeez... kids have no patience these days!" He said.
"After he came in that time, he disappeared again, about six months, then I started seeing him around regularly. He was... kind of just watching, helping people who were... you know, garnering undesirable attention." He said. "People getting harassed by gangs and petty criminals." Blake translated. He nodded. "Everyone was so much more at ease when he was around..." He continued.
"I didn't think much of it until a girl came in for a drink... she struck up a conversation with another patron who had just come in from being saved by Drake. She asked him what Drake requested in return for saving him, and the guy told her he just squeezed his arm really tight for a minute." He said. "When the guy asked her the same question, her response is what baffled me." He continued. "He told her to sleep with him, and that was after she had offered him money." He said.
"It seemed strange to me that a teenager would be asking for something like that... then I pieced it together." He said. "He was using them to help kill his pain?" Blake asked. "Well now... you sure figured it out quick, Miss." He said. "Yeah... he was just using them to have a break from his poor health." He explained. "Anyway... he disappeared again, another half a year... but when he returned, he had a group with him. So I asked him about them." He started.
"I'm guessing this was ORB." Blake said. He nodded. "That's right... One Righteous Blood, was what he probably told you it meant, right?" He asked. Blake nodded. "That wasn't what it used to mean, it meant "Our Royal Bond" but... he changed it after they died." He said. "Regardless... this is the part you're gonna want to listen to, little Missy." He directed at Ruby. He ensured that he had her full attention before continuing.
"One particular memory is still fresh in my mind. It was a day that they were the only ones here." He started. "They were talking about their experiences with Royalty, and what it meant to them, so the five of them discussed it like a round table, going to each member and asking them about it." He said. "Four of them saw it as a nuisance, but were willing to put up with it, as long as they could use it to do some good." He said.
The man shook his head softly. "But Drake... was obviously agitated by his, he ranted about how it would whisper to him when he was alone, it would tease him, taunt him... I thought he was crazy until the others verified his claims with their own. They had the same problems when they were children... but they were able to block out the noise, and eventually the voices died down." He said.
"But Yuri's didn't." Ruby guessed. "Right... hell... even a few months ago when I saw him again I asked him about the voices, and he told me they were still there." He said. "So... so what?" Ruby asked. "Uhh... well it got a little deeper, he came back a few years later... after the others in ORB were killed, and he was talking to himself, saying that someone, two people, to be specific, had to die so he could be free." He finished.
"And those people?" Blake asked. He put up his hands. "He never said any names, just referred to 'em by color. Black and White." He said. "Said that Black had to die cause they hurt him, and is the reason he's alone." He said. Blake sucked in a breath, the old man's words slashing into her as if they came from Yuri's own mouth. Ruby turned to her slightly, but didn't refocus her gaze. "You alright?" She asked. Blake didn't respond, her long black hair shivering silently.
My eyes darted across the street from the rooftop.
Four bodies lay there, their blood pooling in a massive puddle.
Adam's group had long since disappeared back into the shadow...
The young man didn't get there in time to save them...
He was just standing there... looking at them.
His shirt and hands were stained with blood.
I think he had clutched the green-haired girl to his chest and spoke with her.
His face was covered in blood too.
One side from the girl's wound.
The other from the kiss she planted on his cheek just before she passed away.
Wait...
Now...
He's...
Looking this way...
No...
Looking at me...
He's saying something...
What is it?
Oh...
"I'll kill you."
Blake sucked in a breath, her head rising up sharply from the bar where she had passed out. "Hey, welcome back to the world of the living... you okay?" Yang's voice rang in her ears. She turned to see the blonde smiling ear to ear. Blake shifted herself up. "Where's Ruby?" She asked. "She went back to Vale... Ozpin wanted to talk with her." Yang replied. "Why? Did something happen?" Blake asked, worried about a multitude of things.
"Yes... but in order for us to do something about it, our team leader needs to request time off... for all of us." She explained. "You found him, then?" Blake asked. "Not exactly, he turned on his location data for us... he's in Atlas... in his parents' home." Yang replied. "Are we... going after him?" Blake asked. "Ruby said she just wants us to talk to him... she wants to help him." Yang explained. "Alright... can we get going?" Blake asked. "You two are leaving now? Well... have a good night... I hope you can help Drake... he's not a bad kid, after all."
As they made their way out of the bar, Blake stumbled aggressively, as though she were intoxicated. "Ruby said you turned down a drink when you two arrived, did you decide otherwise when she left?" Yang teased playfully. "No." Blake said quietly. They continued their walk to the landing pad in silence, before Yang grabbed her from behind, wrapping her arms around her neck and nuzzling her cheek to the quiet girl's. "You feelin' okay, hon? You look like you've seen a ghost." Yang laughed nervously. "I... don't think I've seen a ghost... but... maybe... I've remembered a demon."
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"Hey... Yuri... I thought about what you said... I'll do it... I'll help you." Weiss called into the darkness of the room. She was lying on the bed, with the sheet pulled up over her head, but she was still freezing. She heard the door open, followed by a flood of light on the wall. A shadow was prominent on in the middle of the light. "Thank you, love... I'm glad... we'll leave tomorrow... since I'm sure Ruby will have to ask Oz for permission... and he'll give it to them, but they'll have to wait until morning." He replied.
He turned to face his twin sister. "Besides... it's not like they know what's actually going on."