Author Note: Still here? Hand it over. That thing, your immeasurable patience. For my own studious sake. Okay! References aside, I am so sorry for the long wait. Waiting since the beginning of February astounds me that you're all here. Probably... Regardless, I've returned from being woven into laziness and academic work. Just a fair warning as before that it has been an ungodly amount of time since I've written for creative purposes, so there'll probably be some mistakes here and there. Without this hollow interrupting your beloved time reading, enjoy!
Also: I don't own RWBY or Dark Souls. They belong to their owners!
OutL0ud: Thank you for your compliment! It makes me happy ;)
"I am powerless, but I will do all that I can. Please… Save us all… Please." - A certain Firekeeper.
Team RWBY couldn't believe the events that had occurred to their fellow members of JNPR. Were it not for the damned mission in Mtn. Glenn, perhaps they could have helped them save a lot more lives back in that Faunus village.
It was only after the Breach that Ruby and her team heard of JNPR's involvement in something that no first-year team should've witnessed. As for Jaune, he couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for not having enough strength to eliminate the Grimm that swarmed the area. Had he at least been able to smite down more than just two minor beowolves and an Ursa, maybe those Faunus would've been alive. Yet, they lay deep beneath the earth, with their lives stolen by another soulless creature of darkness.
Both teams were gathered up in JNPR's dorm, where they either sat upon the beds or stood with arms crossed on the chest. The room itself was deathly quiet, and nobody had the courage to say anything else. Not even Nora could cheer everybody up. Everyone was in their own head, contemplating with mixed feelings of regret, sadness, fear, or even anger.
Thankfully, Pyrrha broke the silence that felt like hours by asking Jaune a question. All eyes went to him and her alone.
"How about we go back to the hospital and see how Jade's doing? We never got to fully introduce you to young Priscilla."
Her leader stood up from his bed and looked out towards the window next to their dresser. He saw his reflection within the mirror, only marred by the bright lights of Vale city. Remnant's moon looking overhead with its shattered appearance.
He sighed and cast his gaze downward, "Okay."
"Would you guys like to join us?" Ren asked, leaning off the wall near the doorway.
Weiss answered for the rest of RWBY, "Yes. I believe we'd all like that." She gave a slight comforting smile to Jaune.
The moon kept him on edge. It always did, no matter how calm it looked to others. His eyes always felt the need to squint and stare directly at its shattered image. Still, that was only the second thing he kept his mind on. His thoughts always pertained to the Dark Soul of Man. How its sublime calling echoed throughout his entire being. It made him furious after what his sorceress companion told him what she saw. A painter held onto the pigment, one from Ariandel no doubt. But why? Why waste such a powerful soul on something as worthless as a painted world that will wither away in time? Why not use it for something else entirely?
Beside him, the female sorceress' hand was upon the forehead of an innocent looking man. His flailing arms desperately grasping the cloth covered arms with the intention of breaking it. Behind him, a woman and a child of no older than eight sit on wooden flooring with fear plastered onto their faces.
To the sorceress, once she activated the dark hand, the ecstasy of many powerful souls flowed through her. These people possessed something that all dark spirits craved. Souls filled to the brim with absolute power. Along with that, the man, whose face began to wrinkle felt nothing other than a sharp tugging pain. His heart felt like it was continuously pounding away as if under cardiac arrest. The meat under his skin burned, like hot coals were placed beneath it. Muscle and sinew drained away; toned muscles and well-built physique wilted into nothing.
The mother and child witnessed as their loved one deflated like a meat balloon.
Alric towered over them, a barbed dagger in hand. He twirled it with glee but kept a calm face and demeanor about the situation.
"We were merely asking for lodging," he paused and gestured towards the dead man's weapon, "once I heard the talk of retrieving an ax, I felt offended."
"B-but…." The mother stuttered.
"But what?" Alric replied, looking back to see that his companion had finished and tossed the now hollowed corpse like a ragdoll aside. She took a few moments to clench and her hands, trying to calm the nerves after feeling such vigor.
"You've…. Got blood… on you…." She pointed with a shaky finger.
Her husband's murderer glanced at his apparel and stared back at her. "I fail to see how that's an issue. This could be my blood." He sighed, "This could've been avoided if you had just let us stay here until morning. Now look where your actions have taken you, or rather more specifically, your husband's actions."
Ten minutes earlier.
"Daddy, look what I made!" A little girl in pajamas happily showed her father a crayon drawing of him, her, and mother holding hands and smiling. The ground they stood on was asymmetrical and colored a deeper green in some parts, showing some form of haste in its creation.
"That looks amazing, sweet pea!" He looked at it and chuckled at one part of her drawing. "I think your mother would disagree on her hairstyle there."
"What about my hair?" She arrived from the kitchen, placing down plates of steak, rice, and green beans down onto the small dining table.
Teal eyes glanced at the stick figure that was supposedly hers, which had pointed arrows instead of naturally curly hair. Plus the dress was all wrong in her opinion; anything of a dress that looked more like a plastic bag covering your entire body is a big no-no.
"At least I'm taller than your father!" She grinned, earning a burst of laughter from both treasures of her life.
"Let's eat shall we?" He asked, however before they were about to dig in, the small child raised her a hand stopped both of them from eating.
"Can I say grace before we eat?! Can I?! Can I?!" The second set of tiny teal eyes eagerly looked back and forth between her father and mother.
The dad shrugged, "What the heck, I got the time."
"So do I," the mother added.
"YAY! Okay: Dear Oum, I want to ask you to really bless my family tonight with amazing luck. I hope that they will live a long life together with me, maybe even past a hundred. And… umm, to meet new friends along the way, and that my Mom and Dad don't ever fight. Amen."
"Amen-"
Knock. Knock.
"Coming! Go ahead, eat. I'll get the door." The man said, kissing his daughter on the forehead, "That was good sweetie." He backed out of his chair and headed towards the door.
"Mmm!" She replied and got a mouthful of rice.
Knock. Knock.
"I said coming!" He opened the door and saw two estranged figures waiting. One stared blankly off into the sky, a woman by the looks of it. And the one knocking, a tall man with blackened robes and a mask that covered abyss-colored eyes.
Getting a whiff of the man in front of him, he stunk of dried blood and rot.
'Maybe they encountered Grimm.' The father thought, 'No….' he got a quick glance at his weapons. They were caked in blood, and Grimm blood would've evaporated by then.
"Greetings." He spoke in a deep voice, "My companion and I require a place to stay. Would you be so kind as to allow us to rest here till morning?"
"I uh…." The man paused to stare deeply into this hooded figure's eyes. Crickets and the occasional bristling of wind were the only sources of sound outside.
"Who is it, darling?"
"Ish it ze mew fwends I athed for!" His daughter said, mouth full of steak and rice.
"Hold on! Give me a second!" He turned his head towards his family and went back to his current guest. "Forgive them, we're just now getting ready for supper. May I have a moment to speak with my wife?"
"Take all the time you need," The hooded man said.
"Thank you. It'll be just a quick minute." He left the door open and quickly strode over to his wife and child. "I need you two to head on into our bedroom and stay there! Got it?" He whispered. "Can you get my ax?"
"Why what's wrong?" His wife asked in concern. Her eyes looked behind him and saw two people looking over him.
"A shame. I truly thought that a peaceful solution would've worked. Oh, well. Do what you wish with the man. I intend to have a little chat with his betrothed."
The petite girl who looked like a teen nodded and proceeded to grab the husband's face when he looked back.
Present time
"This could have been avoided, but now? There's no need for you to stay here any longer either." His hand glowed the same hue as it did for the sorceress. He grabbed a fistful of her curly locks of hair. Pulling the mother away from her child, who had been crying in the corner of the room.
"P-please…. H-have…. M-mercy!" The mother cried out, clawing at his arm to no avail.
"Once I'm done with you, she will be next. Do not fret. I will let her see you one last time." He looked to his companion, who had finished calming down from her extraction of the man's soul. "Grab the child, she will suffer along with her mother."
The mother realized what he had meant by that. Her little Skye would watch as she slowly suffered in pain and wither into a dried corpse, and after that, she'll experience the same horrifying fate.
"N-no! No! Please! She's just a child! Don't do this!" She flailed as best as she could. It was in vain, her strength was waning. Her vision blurring by tears. The last thing she saw was that monster of a girl holding her daughter's head straight, a pale-white light enveloping her tiny skull.
The sorceress couldn't really describe how she felt about assisting in killing a child that hadn't possessed the chance to experience life to the fullest. Their corpses lay in the corner, hollowed out with the trademark wrinkly and discolored skin tone. In exchange for their deaths, she and Alric were able to glean a tad bit of the power that these amazing people possessed. Pure ecstasy is what should describe how one felt during the absorption of the strange ethereal shield they had surrounding their persons.
Of course, she couldn't ease the anger that radiated from her companion. There he sat in the chair facing the fireplace. Its embers flickering away into the air.
"Remember, these people are nothing more than abundances of power. They could've stopped us at any time they wanted. Yet they didn't. Mourn not for their death, but for the loss of what we're currently focused on." He addressed her with a growl in his voice.
"Yes, Alric…" She looked off into the window overseeing the rich forest full of life, beauty, and peace.
"Sooo, who's this Priscilla?" Yang asked, curious about the strange girl that the three members of JNPR met at St. Mercy's hospital.
"She's a bit on the strange side," Pyrrha replied, in response, team RWBY stopped and stared at her with confusion.
"Whaddya mean?" Ruby asked before gasping, "Is she like the shy type of Blake that won't let me get that book that's supporting her bed type of strange? Or mean and sometimes nice, but also not during studying time type of strange Weiss?" She whispered to Pyrrha while glancing at said teammates.
"Hey!" Weiss said in the background.
Blake whistled not so innocently while looking away from Ruby as if trying to look inconspicuous.
"She's not at all like that. Priscilla is more or less-"
"An aspiring painter! Much like Baron Canary!" Nora interrupted, her partner Ren, sighed with a facepalm. "What? It's true, isn't it? Isn't it?!" She shoved the same horrifying art on her scroll to Ruby's eyeballs.
"Wha.. I… Uh…." Ruby didn't bother looking at the thing that can't be considered art, much less a work of imagination. Instead, she tried looking to her teammates, who had since abandoned all hope for her in this particular shenanigan of Nora's many outbursts.
Ren grabbed Nora's shoulders and pried her off of Ruby, "What Pyrrha means is that while Nora's addition about Priscilla being a painter is indeed true, she has a strange way of speaking."
"Strange way of speaking? What?" Ruby asked, "Does she have very big words that don't have much in a conversation then?"
"So, like Weiss basically?" Yang added, getting a glare from the heiress herself.
"Hey! It's not my fault that you can't understand the meanings of words like reciprocate or lavish!"
"I think you're proving their point," Blade said. The ice queen scoffed and threw her hands in the air, a frustrated glare tainted her face. "Unbelievable!"
"Not so much as using unique vocabulary words, but rather possessing an old way of speaking." Ren continued. "She talks with 'thou, thine, doth.' Much like Knights of the past did."
They continued walking down the busy streets of downtown Vale. It had only been two days since the breach, yet everyone continued on their daily lives as if the damned thing hadn't even happened. There were waves of conversations going around, cars going by, and the occasional smell of restaurants' foods wafting through the air.
By the time the teams got to their intended destination, Team JNPR mostly was disappointed that Priscilla, as well as her guardian, left without even saying anything. The doctors and nurses had told them of how Dajorn simply barged in, sweat profuse on his face as if he'd been running the whole time, grabbed Priscilla, and got the hell out of dodge.
On the flip-side, Jade was recovering remarkably well after Dajorn and Priscilla left. Her random habits of panic lessened, but she was diagnosed with PTSD. Whatever happened in her village left quite an impression of fear.
Team JNPR can attest to the events of the Faunus village. Nobody should have to witness what the Grimm can do to those unlucky victims, especially first years.
Doctor Pearson was happy to know that the poor girl would at least have company after waking up.
He showed them to her room, the sounds of the heart rate monitor still beeping. A television was on and placed above in the ceiling's corner, showing the latest episode of X-ray and Vav.
He knocked on the door frame, "Miss. Jade, you have visitors." He turned back to them, "Please, be mindful of her situation. I notified her of what had happened to her parents yesterday."
Nora's usual beaming smile faded when she remembered what had happened to Jade's unfortunate mother. Just one swipe of that blue blade and her head popped off like a melting snowman. She informed Peach about the one who killed Jade's mother and the one who walked beside said killer. She assured her that he'd look into it. Ain't usually like her to be serious, but the situation demanded it.
"We understand," Ren replied with a solemn tone.
They entered to see the wolf Faunus in her medical gown staring at the show that Ruby and Jaune are fans of.
"Ahem," Pyrrha decided to get the girl's attention, in which it did. "Hello!" She waved, "I don't think you were awake when we visited, but we came to visit you."
Jade leaned forward to get a better look at the group of teens around the same age as her.
"You must be the ones who saved me, right?" Her voice hadn't been in use for quite some time, but it was barely comprehensible. They nodded in reply, "Thank you so much…." Her head looked behind JNPR to see RWBY. "I'm guessing they're friends too?" They nodded again.
"How have you been?" Pyrrha asked once more, her bravery of breaking the utter silence and awkwardness should be commended.
"I've been doing okay… Everything still feels sore, but I'll make it…" Jade's measly constitution spelled out the worst for her. Whatever that blue stuff she saw used against her, it's ruined the chance of fighting on even ground permanently. Were she to ever combat Grimm or those people that visited…
I don't think I'd stand a chance.
"So… Mind telling me who are your additional friends hanging in the back are?" She glanced past Team JNPR to witness the four girls lounging about. Ruby looking in the cabinets for doctor gloves to make balloons out of, Yang assisting in the childish behavior, Blake being well… Blake, and Weiss scolding them.
"I swear you two are five years old!" She turned around to face Jade, all the while trying her best not to throttle the two behind her. "I'm so sorry for these dolts, I'm Weiss Schnee, a pleasure to finally meet you!" Weiss extended her hand out to Jade shaking it.
"I'm Ruby! The leader of Team RWBY!" She held out a pair of blue latex gloves, blowing into them to make balloons. "We thought that by making you balloons, it'd make the place a little less gloomy than it should."
"Yeah! I think Ice Queen over there doesn't know the value of the little things in life, right Rubes?" The blonde smirked towards her younger sister, who in turn did the same. "I'm Yang Xiao Long, but call me Yang! That over there is Blake, she doesn't talk much. But speak of Ninjas of love-" the cat-faunus' hand immediately covered Yang's mouth.
"Say another word and I'll end you!" Blake hissed, her eyes glinting with absolute hatred. "And yeah, I'm Blake, teammate to this… dysfunctional group."
"Hey! Don't bunch me together with those two!" Weiss complained.
"That's hurtful, Blake!" Yang mocked fake distress.
"Totally uncalled for!" Ruby whined and pouted.
Jade chuckled at the interesting group of people in her hospital room. She didn't even know these people, but they already felt like good friends. What of everyone back home? Her parents? Dajorn and Priscilla? Why had they left her here? Jade just couldn't help but feel angry and betrayed by them, mainly Dajorn. She tightened her grip of the blankets and vividly remembered the man who did this to her.
The whole landscape changed back to that fateful night. Beowolves howling, Ursa roaring, and Creeps shrieking in the night, accompanied by her people's cries in the fiery darkness. Smells of ash, blood, and fire were heavy in the air.
Her heart beat rapidly in remembrance of that monster in human form. Abyss black and blank eyes stared deep into her soul. His eyes were filled with nothing but hate and a need. Hers were of desperation and fear.
"I ask once more: Where is the Dark Soul of Man? Tell me and your death will be less painful." He flicked the remaining bits of torn insides off of his barbed blade. Another Faunus companion dead at his feet. Jade's hands were shaking, nausea swelling up within her stomach and face. She took a step back and he, in turn, strode forward.
"No answer? A shame. I only hope you aren't as a disappointment in combat."
Their fight was swift after he slashed at her and saw aura flare up in reaction. That blue substance that he used, it felt like a vacuum sucking away her very being.
Before he was going to deal the fatal blow, he caught sight of Dajorn. Only to quickly mutter his name and disappear in smoke. Did Dajorn know the man who ruined her life? Her quiet, safe, and boring life in seclusion from the world?
Jade awoke when Dajorn returned to take Priscilla, yet she didn't show it. She didn't want to interrupt a private conversation, much less eavesdrop on them, but after hearing of Dajorn's words.
"She can't come with us, Priscilla… We'll come back for her when she's in better health." Those were his words, but they felt detached. He wasn't coming back for her, and she knew that. Dajorn saw her as a burden, what else than seeing his eyes go over her weakened state in scrutiny?
Damn it! I don't wanna treat him or Priscilla that way! But something's off about them. It never felt right the first time meeting the two, especially Dajorn.
She sighed and sunk lower in her bed, waving off the concerned looks of JNPR and RWBY. "Forgive me, I'm just a little glum that Dajorn and Priscilla left without telling me."
"Were they family friends of some sort?" Pyrrha asked. Jade shook her head, the pure white blanket creasing as Jade's grip tightened.
"No." She said suddenly, never meaning to take on an aggressive tone towards them. "Sorry… They weren't anything of the sort."
Jade regaled both teams of her encounter of finding Dajorn and Priscilla in the forest. One man wearing rent pieces of rusted metal armor and the other appearing out of nowhere with a golden glow. It was a bliss to find out that Dajorn had survived the Beowulf ambush, let alone against a small horde. She had yet to ask him of his fire-like semblance.
Ren added on how this Dajorn and the hooded man, much to her ears, were cooperating in taking down the Grimm incursion over the village. Only after being dealt with, did the two continue their estranged duel. As for Nora, she feared telling Jade of how her mother left this world again, that is. She was sure Doctor Pearson told her of the corpse's state.
"Did you know who the other one was? Or… the woman?" Jaune inquired. Jade's eyes looked to his direction, offering only a shake of her head again.
"The man with the hood kept asking me of a 'Dark Soul,' but I had no clue as to what he was talking about. He kept insisting on that single question!" The same horrible memories flooding back into her head. Visions of him goring her fellow defenders and Grimm massacring any unlucky bystander. It was enough to bring back unwanted tears of grief and fear.
"Please… leave me be…" She asked, concerned glances and nods from both teams as they left the room to her lonesome.
"Well… That was a… thing?" Yang added, "Nice of ya to ruin the mood, Vomit boy." She drawled out, getting a cup of water from a dispenser.
"I didn't mean to trigger that! How could I know?!" Jaune went off, flailing his arms in the process.
"Woah!" Yang held her arms up in defense, "I meant no offense. Just trying to lighten up the mood…"
Pyrrha placed a hand onto his shoulder, trying to ease the build-up of anger rising in Jaune's mind. "She didn't mean it, Jaune."
"I… Sorry." He apologized, scratching his head. "It's just… I could've stopped this from happening if I helped her or kept the villagers safe."
Ren came beside him, "We all know that Professor Peach did her best in trying to get everyone to safety. However, those Grimm were too ferocious for all of us to take on single-handily. We never knew that this would've happened, Jaune."
JNPR's leader sighed and closed his eyes. He and the rest of team JNPR know that it would be futile to even track down this hooded man, let alone bring him to justice. If only there was something they could do to help Jade.
It had taken all of his willpower to not steal Quelaag's old weapon from the rather elderly merchant. But, with a little help from Priscilla, he had managed to swipe the thing off of wall whilst she inquired after the many old antiques far in the back. If he had a bottomless box again, he would store that bow as well. It wouldn't be possible to just haul out into the open, much less with eyes all around.
He would just have to return whenever the chance presents itself. Five minutes it took for the old man to notice, but the two were long gone.
There have been slight changes to his goals that interlock with Priscilla. The first: Get her a canvas to paint upon. Second: Find some estus, both normal and ashen to refill his hopes of evening the scale, should he encounter any warriors of this place. Third: Ensure that Alric never gets his hands on the Blood of the Dark Soul. Plus, that Ironwood would probably send out some men to find him, but they'd hopefully leave civilization and set up elsewhere. Somewhere the General wouldn't interfere and lock him behind bars. And lastly: Let the painter-no, Priscilla finish the painting and bring those residing in Firelink to it. As well as finding some sort of bonfire or way back home.
Everything else came as secondary or optional objectives. It pained him to leave Jade, it truly did. Were he any other person, he'd gladly take her along, but he wasn't that kind of individual. Unable to admit the fact that she would become a burden to their journey, he simply grabbed Priscilla and left. Not leaving a parting letter or saying goodbye to her unconscious form. She undoubtedly would hate him, but who hasn't?
Dajorn appreciated some of the many companions that accompanied him during his travels, yet they either fell to the ever-encroaching threats of Dark Spirits or left in fear of their own lives. Some died to falls, while others were impaled, mutilated, or burned by the endless amounts of monstrosities that lurked in every corner. He could contribute to experiencing the same things.
He did remember one fellow falling to a creature's petrifying breath; it did not feel nor look pleasant. He could relate to that. But here? The people here were happy and thriving as if nothing was happening. Unaware of how brutal those dark Grimm creatures prowled within the outskirts of their cities.
Things were going smoothly. He and Priscilla were almost out of this dangerous city that wants to imprison him and it would've gone perfectly if not for…
"Stop right there!" A blue-haired teen yelled, pointing a finger towards Dajorn.
"Yeah! Junior detective agency wants to have a talk with you!" The other, a blonde-haired monkey boy said.
The two bumped fists and turned their attention back onto him.
How fate seems to smile upon his misfortune, even here.
And there's the end of the 9th chapter! Please, I shall even bow before your greatness. Forgive this decaying hollow for his impudence as he is amazed by your godly patience. Had you a chaos zweihander, then I'd worship you far greater than Miyazaki Sama himself. Just kidding! Don't take it seriously... I hope this chapter pleases your senses. If not, then darn. If so fantastic! We shall meet again. Don't go hollow, there's still time for jolly cooperation! *Disappears into the ground whilst praising the sun*
\[T]/ PRAISE THE SUN!