A week had passed since the incident by the docks, for seven days the Belladonna house mourned. As per tradition for most in the small continent; a family would mourn the dead for half a fortnight, and on the seventh day the body would be laid to rest. Though, after the discovery of who the boy was, there was resistance. Prominent White Fang members demanded a dismissal of such honor for 'filth' as they called it. To which the immediate response was a spine-shivering glare and a barely withheld Kali, nearly physically lashing out at those who would dare dishonor her son's name.
In keeping with the tone the sky was a dull gray, matching the mood of the family burying their kin. The seventh day had very few of Kuo Kuana come out to pay their respects, and even then those who did show came out more out of respect to their Chieftain, than for the blond. It was no secret now; the Chieftain's adopted son was a Reaver, such news sent ripples of both anger and confusion amongst the populace. It was clear the people held the Reavers to a light similarly to the way humans felt towards them. And as far as anyone knew, he was the last. The last Reaver died in Menagerie, at the hands of the White Fang and a mob of his own neighbors who viewed him with hatred and disgust simply for who he was. The irony in that statement had not made its impact on the people, and Ghira was sure they'd be too stubborn to admit it.
Near the outskirts of the town, within a small cemetery, Ghira stood beside his grieving wife. Her sobs were painful to hear, and the bitter truth of it all; he let this happen. The blond had begged and pleaded to be allowed to be given a chance to make a life for himself in the town. And for the first time around, he did. At first working at a small restaurant in town, and soon after, thanks to his white-haired mother, Jaune was able to open up his shop. But in allowing this, the blond was no longer under his watchful eye. Yes, there were the occasional visits, the Sunday dinner's Kali made both her children attend, and the often lettered complaints of a few White Fang Generals displeased with his son's words against them. And yet, he did nothing. Ghira had placed too much trust in the boy's resolve to adapt and learn from whatever came his way.
Therein, he felt, was the problem; he gave his kids too much freedom. He let them do as they wished in their free time, so long as they behaved maturely. Granted, he never expected Blake to remain in the White Fang, or for Jaune to have gone to such lengths to send the Fang a message.
As they lowered the coffin, the Chieftain felt his chest tighten. The cold air against his skin was nothing compared to the trembling caused by the mere thought of the man that took the life of his youngest cub. The most he could do without stirring up attention from the kingdoms, or inciting conflict within the faunus community, was exile Taurus. Thankfully, Blake stayed behind, willingly. After the death of her brother, she became deadly silent, and refused to speak or see anyone. It was only for the burial that she chose to leave her room, but even so, she made no sound, spoke to no one. And all the while, she avoided having to look her parents in the eye. How could she? She was still reeling in from the fact that she discovered her brother's corpse with Adam's blade embedded in him. And Taurus made no attempts to hide or negate it. In fact, he seemed proud to have killed Jaune, declaring his actions to have been for the greater good. Suffice to say Blake slapping him across the face in the aftermath of the fire, sent a clear message; they were done. This was something Ghira found great pleasure in, but, he found himself unable to savor any positive sentiments as he watched his only son be buried at so young an age.
The service was small, with few if any who came to pay some sliver of respect. There were a few humans present, two actually. One was the brown-haired girl that would often frequent the blond's shop. And beside her, a grey-haired man dressed in mourner's clothing. It was odd seeing a human in traditional Faunus clothing, but it wasn't unwelcomed.
Within an hour the sermon went, praying to whatever deities were popular nowadays. Once the preacher finished the blessings, they began to cover the hole. With each patch of dirt shoveled in, Blake felt a piece of her die inside. She never wanted this to happen; she was promised this wouldn't happen. Adam swore no one would die...and yet, here she stood. As the dirt had finally covered the coffin in its entirety, Blake felt all of the pent up guilt and pain burst forward. Though she had cried for days, she still had tears to shed.
Only four shed tears openly, the Belladonnas, and the brown-haired girl who frequented the boy's shop. As the final bits of dirt were placed gently atop the grave, the few that came dispersed. Their reason for being present had concluded, and the small flock chose to leave once the last shovel of dirt had been placed, much to the chagrin of the Belladonna matriarch. She eyed those that left from the corner of her eye, many of whom had once claimed to be 'friends' with her little cub. Why they chose to come when they showed no apparent respect for his funeral was both degrading, and an insult to the Belladonnas. She loved her boy, practically raised him for the Schnee that adopted him. It was one thing for the council to show such disrespect, but it cut deeper to see such lack of honor from those who once called themselves 'friends'. Even so, she payed them little mind, her attention was solely on the grave before her.
For days, Kali couldn't bring herself to accept what had happened. That night, her daughter finally returned home, after months of following Taurus and his ideals. But, upon seeing the running makeup, the reddened eyes, and a burnt picture frame of her two little ones, Kali had felt her world come crashing down. A small glimpse of orange and red, albeit small and possibly contained, shone from the docks. There wasn't much that needed to be said, she already assumed the worst. And when Blake kept mumbling apologies between her sobs, she too broke down in tears. As if to further torture her, there was little, if any of the body to examine, leaving the coroner to conclude that it had been the blade in his chest that led to the boy to bleed out, the fires did not take him; he did not suffer through the flames, but that was of little comfort to her. Piling on to her stress was the council openly opposing her son's burial in Menagerie. With their choice of words, she had been close on numerous occasions to lashing out, physically. Councilmen Ryner, especially, had garnered much anger from the Belladonnas for his role in the mob that was gathered against the blond.
Taking a glance around, she noticed that only her family and the two humans had remained. The preacher paid his respects, and left. With everyone gone, the grey-haired man approached the Chieftain.
"Ghira, you have my condolences. Truly, I am sorry." The man spoke, adjusting his glasses as he addressed the Chieftain of Menagerie. "If there's anything I can do, you need only ask."
"I appreciate the gesture, Ozpin. But for now, my family and I must grieve." The Chieftain responded, withholding his urge to lash out at the headmaster who had TWO of his own agents in town that could've easily lent their help to his son that night. And yet, one was getting plastered, and the other was babysitting the aforementioned drunkard.
"I understand." Ozpin bowed to the family, and left with his companion not too far behind.
Staying for longer to pay their proper respects, the Belladonna family took their time leaving. Although, the day remained cloudy, with the cold winds and feeling of droplets upon their skin. It was as if the sky as well wished to mourn for the loss of a species. And it wasn't only the humans to have sent the Reavers to extinction, but the faunus as well played a role. But for what? What was the point in hating the Reavers? It was a question Blake asked herself numerous times, both in growing up with Jaune, and many times since his passing.
As the family arrived in their home, Blake could hear her father attempting to speak to her, but she ignored him. She walked towards old memories, ignoring the pleading voice of her mother. The guilt in her heart did not weigh down her intent to ignore her family, rather, it seemed to further her isolation. She locked herself, not in her old room, but her younger brother's room. It stayed relatively the same, something Kali did in case he ever decided to come back home. Just seeing it made the teen's heart ache all the more. Jaune, as per his namesake enjoyed the vibrant color of gold, mixed with the Belladonna colors of black and purple. The entire room matched the outfits he and Kali wore. A testament to the many traits he picked up from her, that and their playful mother's sass...and their father's stubbornness. Though, the latter was a trait they both displayed with pride.
Too much, sadly.
She sat atop his bed; on the nightstand was a framed photo of the blond and her, this one of the two celebrating Jaune's first birthday as a family.
It wasn't long after he was taken in that Blake was made aware who he was, where he came from, and why he often cried himself to sleep. And it made her protective, to a fault. She remembered dragging him everywhere she went, trying to get him to talk to her, and often to play with Ilia as well. Those memories seemingly resurfaced after she finally came home. What were once warm memories that brought a nostalgic smile to her face; now only haunted her dreams.
-Present day, Xolotl-
Sitting idly, with his arm on the armrest of a backless throne, a blond ponders on why he was dreaming of home. Of Kuo Kuana. It wasn't unwelcomed, he longed for those days; times where the Fang were of a different ideology, where his sister and he weren't at one another's throats over what was immoral and what was justice. But those times were long over, the world moves on, ever forward to its end. Having read through the better half of the book, the blond discovered a few useful sections. And therein lay a rather interesting development; magic. Or, at least something akin to such. Though, he felt reluctant to use it; both the overused word, and the power itself. Considering the outcome for those who relied heavily on the lost art, he preferred his current appearance as opposed to becoming a grimm color scheme. His companions were unaware of its existence, of that the blond made a mental note to correct. Well, Ilia mostly, Emerald was still a wild card. Yes, she agreed to join them, but the blond wasn't too sure whether she'd stick around. Even with all the gold he seemingly gave her access to, he didn't latch onto the naive idea of immediate bonds.
Nevertheless, he'd start off with something simple, a relatively easy and mundane spell. Funny enough, for a book, an archive of his people's history and advancements on the unknown, such a ridiculous passage was one of the first he learned. Still, he did see the potential it could bring forth. Of course, he knew of a certain few who would definitely enjoy what this little spell affected, particularly for him. But then, it wouldn't exactly be a heart-warming reunion.
His eyes shifted to where he felt a small toy landing gently on his lap. Summer had her eyes fixed on him. Or rather, his silver eye. She'd been quiet, eerily so. It could've been to keep Emerald in the dark about what Summer was. Still, now that the two were alone, Jaune expected her to say something, but, she remained mostly silent.
"What? Nothing to say to your son? I assumed you'd have questions." His tone wasn't hostile or condescending, simply neutral at best. Summer's attention was focused on his silver eye. And in many ways, that irritated him. He placed his right palm just beneath his left eye. Her eye lids, an unnecessary addition unto her facial features, flickered.
"You...have...my...eye..." She almost sounded joyful, had the haunting echo that came with her raspy voice not prompted the idea of another sentiment.
The blond sighed, tiredly. "...since birth. Gramps told me to keep it to myself...pa did too." The mention of his father garnered the doll to furrow its brows, another unnecessary feature he added, but was prideful of. "But then, I didn't want my tribe to have another reason to dislike me. It's bad enough I was born a half breed, but for me to-" The blond felt a cold wooden palm press tightly against his lips.
He glanced to Summer, her brows narrowed at him. "…I'm sorry…when you're reminded each day, by your own family no less, that your existence was a mistake; at some point you start believing it yourself…especially when there's no one to tell you otherwise…" That jab wasn't solely aimed at her, though, it certainly appeared as such. But before she could respond, a voice called out from the doorway.
"Found him!" The sudden shout from the minty-haired girl broke the boy's train of thoughts as he glanced towards the door where emerald and Ilia walked through, both with slightly irritated expressions directed at him.
"I swear this place was built like a maze 'cause it took us forever to find this damn room...uh, you alright there?" Emerald asked, taking a better look at the room where the blond sat in. The stone throne by which the blond sat on was placed in the middle of what appeared to be a room of collective smaller seats. It could've been a meeting room, or perhaps the throne room. The two teens waited for a response from the blond, only to see him lost in thought again.
Rather, Jaune's eyes closed, his breathing relaxed as he sat straight. "Yes, just thinking of what we're gonna do moving forward." He responded, closing the book in his lap calmly. The trio sat in collective silence, with the girl's gazing awkwardly around the room before turning their attention back to the blond.
"Sooooo...no lesson this time?" Emerald referred to how Jaune would often give them an insight of whatever bits of his people's culture he could remember, mostly ones pertaining to traditional customs. In a way, it was like having a tour-guide for a leader, but only mildly annoying and none of the happy-go-lucky, Davey, attitude.
In response, Jaune smirked and stood up, slowly. "No, not this time. How are we on supplies?"
"We have enough rations for two weeks, three if we don't mind missing breakfast." Ilia commented, coming across with a playful tone. Emerald retrieved a map from her pack; her eyes scanned the surrounding area, darting from land mark to ridge, as if searching for something.
"Nearest village is a day's hike from here. Awfully close to a pariah race, don't you think?" she remarked.
"The people of Xolotl didn't make a habit of killing their neighbors. At least not the ones who stayed on their side of the miasma." Jaune leaned over and took immediate notice of the settlement Emerald was referring to. "We'll take the south-eastern route, make our way to back to a nearby town to pawn some of the gold, and from there we'll take an airship to Mistral." As his finger trailed their path, the first to make a comment was Ilia, beating Emerald to the punch.
"I thought we were headed to Vacuo, something about looking for a dusty old crow."
"Change of plans." Jaune responded, grabbing his bag beside the thrown before making his way to the exit. Leaving his two companions alone in the room.
"Damn, and I already packed warm." Emerald murmured. The two shared a faint look before rushing after the blond since neither knew how to navigate the ruins.
All the while they were unaware of a singular crimson orb glaring down on them from the ceiling. It made no movement, it showed no interest in attacking, it merely hovered and observed; as per its orders. Its focus for the entirety of the exchange, and since their arrival, was the blond leading them.
-Eight hours later-
The walk was long, mostly quiet, and uneventful. This was a pleasant thought for the blond; however, what he could do without was the small groans and mumblings from his companions. For a while they discussed using the gold to purchase a vehicle, to avoid the need for walking. Their first suggestion was a car, a reasonable idea if not for the fact that they lacked one crucial item besides money; a license. Though, it was entertaining to hear them speak civilly and not resort to mind-numbing bickering. What made him scoff; releasing a curt chortle was when they suggested an airship. Aside from the fact that not only did they probably not have enough for even a personal airship, he was quite positive driving a car versus driving an airship were two extremely different circumstances.
Regardless, they continued their walk deeper into the thickets; a small strand of light shone their exit from the overgrown forest. Though it was just a ways away, the trio took their sweet time, stopping to rest before proceeding.
Emerald leaned against a tree, taking a small nibble from one of her rations to sedate her current hunger. After which, she retrieved one of the gems she had taken from the treasury, fiddling around with it to pass the time. Ilia sat on a tree's root, choosing instead to take a sip from her canteen, her eyes fixed on the blond she had chosen to follow, he remained standing in place, showing no signs of fatigue or need for nourishment. It was odd too, considering he was hefting another of his damn dolls secured neatly in a gold and ebony wrapping. And she wouldn't say it aloud, but something felt off about him since they left the temple, his movements almost jagged, forced. And to top it off, all but his eyes were covered, and even then when she gazed into them, she swore they almost appeared lifeless.
"Soooooo…I couldn't help but notice a lot of carvings and emblems involving spiders in that Reaver city. What's that about? Your people had a thing for blood suckers?" Emerald asked, twirling the gem in her hands out of boredom.
Jaune spared her a side glance. "That's a long story."
"We got time." Ilia called out, showing no intention of getting up at the moment, and Emerald shared the sentiment.
The blond remained silent, this particular part of his people's history was known only to them, mostly because the outside world had forgotten the history the Reavers once played, and chose to alienate his people. Granted, there was a reason for their fear, but to go as far as to banish them into the wilds. "Before I answer that, let me ask you something; who writes history?"
While Emerald groaned at the prospect of some form of a history lesson, Ilia showed more intrigue. The two said nothing, mostly 'cause they knew he'd answer his own question not too long after. "The victors. Case in point, the derogatory titles the kingdoms cemented into my people's image, leading to our race being renamed; Reavers."
The two were now genuinely curious; it sparked when he uttered the word race, as if separating his people from humans and Faunus alike. More so, hearing him say that the tile Reavers was a name given to his people by the kingdom's made the name sound more and more derogatory now that they thought about it.
"But, to be whole-heartedly honest it's not much different from the name they dubbed us when our species first met." A faint hum escaped his lips. "Did you know they once called us Weavers."
A pregnant silence followed that little revelation, followed by a faint chuckle escaping Emerald's lips, the names were only different due to a single letter, but it made Ilia think harder on the subject. Did her people always have the name Faunus? Or was it something given to them by humanity? And if so, what name did her people have for themselves before humanity's brand stuck.
"We were given the name because of this." Blue strings extended from the blond's finger tips, slithering outward and encircling the surrounding area; giving off the impression of seemingly endless threads. "Aside from a shared genetic ability, my people were rather gifted artisans and scholars; primarily craftsman by trade. It kind of makes sense if you know the patron animal my people based our culture around. But, as I said, Weavers was just another name the outsiders called us. From what my grandfather told me, humans at the time couldn't pronounce our race's name without stuttering or looking like absolute fools." And in that moment, as the blond chuckled, the two companions could've sworn they heard an echo in his laugh, not to mention he appeared perfectly still. "So they branded us with their own words, it fit at the time so there wasn't much issue on that front…problems only started coming up when scholars began looking into arts most folk would rather leave undisturbed." As he said that, Summer hovered just beside his head, her silver eyes practically glowing; an indication of what exactly the curiosity of one people could result in.
Aside from the disturbing thought, as Ilia was slowly getting used to her partner's haunting quirks, she leans towards him with her interest peaked. Rather, one specific topic he brought up caught her attention, and it raised quite a few over her own people's history as well. "And what is it your people called themselves before you were branded by humans?" She didn't know what it was that separated the Rea-…Jaune's people from humans, but it was enough of a difference that brought genocide onto their doorstep. However, that didn't mean his people's culture should die with him, not while he still breathes at least.
"I don't remember much, but I know the Vacuon and Xolotl word for our people is Irañas, for my tribe it was Locke…those are the only two that I know of; the other tribes had their own translations, but they are lost to me. Simply put it, the name means; spider-kin or silk-folk, either name fits." Jaune stopped, his head reared back as if contemplating something. "I suppose studying as an acolyte had its merits, I got to learn what little was left of my people's history." His head slowly reared forward, Summer landed gently atop his head.
"Soooo…" Jaune's eyes turned to Emerald, the minty-haired thief was tossing a jewel in the air whilst keeping her attention fixed on him. "Which do you prefer?"
"There's no point; the line ends with me." His tone was stern, and the way he said it made the girl's assume he was determined to uphold that statement. "Humans and faunus won't care either way; I'll always be a 'Reaver' to them." Without warning, both the blond's and doll's head turned towards the thicker bushels of the forest. Giving no indication of his intentions; Jaune began walking deeper into the thickets, causing his two companions to bolt from their seats. Neither was too thrilled with having to move again, but the sudden erratic behavior of their leader had them curious.
Though, as they delved further into the forest; Ilia could've sworn she caught a whiff of smoke. As they were reaching a clearing, a house came into view or rather, a currently burning cottage on a small hill. Outside the burning building was a lone figure, face first in the dirt with a trail of blood leading to a young boy, silver haired, and judging by his bloodied metal legs; the apparent killer lingered.
Upon seeing the new arrivals, he took a step forward, both Emerald and Ilia reacting with gripping the hilts of their weapons. Though, the blond did not waver, rather, he merely mirrored the boy's actions. Ilia's hand shot towards Jaune, gripping his arm.
"Ami." He gave her a sideways glance. "I'll behave, promise." She wanted to believe him, but his lifeless eyes made it all the more hard to. Hesitantly, she let go, keeping her hand firmly on her weapon.
As Jaune took a few steps closer to the silver-haired boy, the aforementioned killer noticed something eerie about the blond approaching him; apart from the human sized object on his back, the ridiculous cloak his little group wore and the Mistrali styled masks; he looked almost dead. He couldn't tell through the guy's face, but through his movements, it almost felt mechanical. And it sent an unnerving chill up the boy's spine; as if a lifeless husk was approaching him.
Once the two were a few feet from one another, the blond's eyes glanced towards the corpse for a moment before refocusing back on the killer.
"You know…" The blond spoke first, somewhat catching the silver-haired one off-guard. "Most preteens tend to just wear black."
The boy blinked.
The girls blinked.
Jaune remained stoic. It would appear he was taking an odd approach with this one. "So, who's this?"
"What's it to ya?" The boy responded, though he held no visible weapon, he appeared as though he went about this kill through a different method of fighting. It was a curious thing, and Jaune intended to uncover how this one went about killing a full grown man.
"Nothing really, just curiosity."
"Didn't think the White Fang would be poking their noses around here. You looking for Marcus Black's bounty?" He inquired, earning no reaction from the blond, but indeed from the masked minty-haired girl if her widened eyes were of any indication.
A faint, if not eerie, chuckle escaped the blond's lips, further frightening the small group as they could've sworn they heard an echo as well. "I'm afraid I don't follow on the bounty, though, I can assure you no one here is White Fang. Mister…?" The venom when he mentioned the Fang was a clear as day; he had no warm sentiment towards the faunus group.
"Mercury. And if you're not Fang or bounty hunters, then I'll just be on my-" As the silver-haired boy was attempting to walk past the masked blond, an arm shot upwards, blocking his path.
"I'm afraid our business has not concluded." The girls partially unsheathed their weapons, leaving the boy to remain in place lest he be ganged on by these masked creeps. "You said this man had a bounty on his head? How much?"
"What do you care?" Mercury snarled, recoiling only when he noticed the seemingly soulless pupils staring directly at him. The masked blond gave no response, instead waiting for an answer to his question. Realizing the situation he was in, Mercury growled lightly before answering. "350k." He had hoped that would've satisfied the masked creep, although, given the small chuckling that followed with his response; he wished it didn't.
"And you managed to kill him? Impressive…care to fight me?" By then Ilia was internally cursing at her partner, wanting to knock some sense into him for challenging a kid who just sent a high priced bounty to an early grave. Visibly, she was shaking, less for Jaune's safety, more for Mercury's. Jaune's tactics revolved around hit-n-runs, and most often surprise ambushes. In this scenario, while he was in clear view of this kid, there was something she only now took note of; Summer was nowhere to be seen.
Emerald for the most part was curious, more to see how her boss would handle this kid, and wondering if he had a plan to bring this silver-haired preteen into their little group. A little piece of her was against it, but she chose not to voice her objections. Yet.
"You seriously challenging me?" He was confident, good; it would make his defeat all the more enjoyable.
"Hmm, I'm so confused as to what I've been doing so far." Jaune mumbled, still joking about, and it was beginning to irritate his opponent. Seeing this, the blond made a rather bold attempt at his next choice of words, knowing full well the ramifications should he lose. "I know; let's set some stakes, that should motivate you. If I win you lend me your services." This caught the small group completely by surprise, more so Ilia. "Putting it simply; you will work for me until I say otherwise."
"And what if I win?" Mercury was testing the waters, at first glance these few weren't exactly clear threats; if anything they just looked like dressed up kids playing the part of a small gang. Although, from first glance at their quality of weapons the masked blond's companions had, not to mention the odd package on his back gave an indication they might have something worth his time on them. And even if by some chance he lost; he didn't exactly have anywhere to go.
"Well…that's not going to happen, but I can humor you with something if it'll help you feel better…perhaps; I'll let you walk away from all this…or crawl." The amount of shock was evident on all present; no one expected that response from him, least of all his companions who were seeing their leader in a new light. Well, one of them was, Ilia held on to the blond's word that he wouldn't kill needlessly, and she hoped this was one of those occasions where the boy was pulling a risky convincing bluff. The last thing she wanted was to be working for another Adam.
Emerald on the other hand was somewhat impressed, though, she waited to see if his bark had any bite. Talking was one thing, action was another. And if the past few days with this blond taught her anything; he only ever had one chance to gain a single finishing blow against an opponent. And since she couldn't see the little silver-eyed doll on his head, she simply stood back and waited for the inevitable to occur.
Mercury, surprisingly, still kept up a façade. "Gee, aren't you a charmer. I never agreed to a fight either way."
Just like that, out of nowhere, the blond burst out laughing, shocking and scaring those who heard his outburst. After enjoying his little fit, he locked his eyes with Mercury's. "How amusing of you to assume I would just let you walk away like that." Fear seeped into the silver-haired killer. The body at his feet was a ruthless kill, and he still had a good ounce of fight in him, but, the way this guy went about, the toxic aura humming around him; turning tail and running felt instinctively the most viable option. And yet, he remained firm thanks to his pride unwilling to back down from the blond's challenging tone. "You see, Mercury, when you take out a man with a bounty of a little over a quarter of a million lien on his head; it automatically makes you viable threat. And I would rather deal with an issue now, rather than allow it to become a hindrance later on." Mercury swore on his remaining limbs he saw the blond's lifeless eyes glowing. The blond removed his wrapped doll, standing it upright beside him. "You can either fight me, or you run and I hunt you down. There is no in between." Extending out his arms, a set of claws sprung from his sleeves, sharpened and glistening in the sunlight.
A pregnant silence followed, neither party made a move. That is, until Mercury felt a stinging pain originating from his upper left thigh, his eyes darted only for a split second to see the cause of his pain; three needles embedded into his skin. A strange purple liquid oozed from the wound as his eyes returned to the blond, only to recoil as the masked creep had made a bee-line for him with a set of claws aimed at his head.
Reacting on impulse alone, Mercury skid backwards, avoiding what would've been a rather splitting headache; metaphorical and literal. In retaliation, and seeing the blond stagger, possibly due to the weight of his fancy claws, the silver-haired assassin swung his leg at Jaune's head. Though, as his foot was to make contact, the blond's arm rose up, shielding his head with a metallic clank echoing in the valley.
With unusual speed, Mercury delivered a set of consistent attacks, most of which were by use of his legs. He'd taken an offensive approach, wisely speculating that the blond would be deterred by his current attire. Though that observation proved to be true, the blond still reacted managed to keep standing despite the repeated blows struck across his body.
This would go on for several minutes; Emerald and Ilia remained on the sidelines, watching the fight between these two continue with parried attacks, and small hits here and there. The silver-haired boy was fast, striking the blond on more than one occasion. Though, he assumed his opponent must've been wearing heavy armor since most of his attacks did little to no damage to him from what he could see. To add on to the disturbing traits of his opponent; Mercury could've sworn he heard clanking wood with each of the blond's movements.
As if the oddity of his opponent wasn't enough, he had begun to feel light-headed, drowsy even. And an excruciating pain ringing across his body, the epicenter of the sudden pain originated from his thigh, where the needles were still embedded, taunting him. Somehow his opponent poisoned him, and without him seeing from where the attack came.
Seeing the change in his opponent's strategy, Jaune purposely allowed one of his arms to wander ever so subtlety, giving his opponent a small opening. Mercury caught this little aversion; as did Ilia. Seizing this small window of opportunity, Mercury swung his left foot as hard as he could, not only striking the masked blond's head, but also seemingly knocking the boy's head clean off with a sickening crack.
Ilia stood frozen, shock and anger were what dominated the cyclone of emotions wreaking havoc in her head. This couldn't have been the end, the damned blond wouldn't just drop his guard like that, and he most certainly wouldn't pick a fight unless he had a plan. And yet, just seeing this all transpire induced a great deal of fury within Ilia. She felt her body react on its own; unsheathing her dagger and taking small steps towards the silver-haired killer. She was prepared to dive in, had she not seen something that proved a hunch of hers correct.
In that split second, as the head flew through the air, Mercury felt an unnerving sense of dread course through his veins, more so since he saw no blood from the sudden decapitation. Worse yet, his body felt frail, his vision growing more distorted with each passing second. Within seconds of swaying and desperate attempts to remain awake, Mercury collapsed unto his knees, his eyes locked on the rising body he just decapitated. The body froze, as did the head, the mask had fractured from the attack. As it crumbled, he was greeted with a face lacking in flesh. The sounds of clanking wood echoed in the clearing as the limbs disjointed, visible sets of blue strings connected, not towards the floating torso, but from the now shifting doll that blond had been carrying. To the shock of the three watching, Jaune unraveled the bandages, revealing himself to have been under wraps from the beginning.
"The poison took longer than I expected." He commented, flexing his fingers; blades were drawn from the wrists of his puppet's arms. They moved swiftly, pressing the edge of their blades firmly against Mercury's neck. Coupled with the fact that he couldn't move, and the blond he decapitated was actually s lifeless husk; Mercury felt an unnneriving realization hit; the bastard had won from the start. His challenge was nothing more than bait; and it indeed snared his prey. Speaking of, his actual opponent was walking slowly to him; twirling in his hands was a set of needles, the tips coated in some violet liquid. Locking eyes with his damned opponent, Mercury saw a sight that caused all hatred and anger to dissipate, replaced with unbridled fear as he looked upon the right half of the blond's face; veins pulsating and very much a deep shade of abyssal ebony. His left eye was a glowing silver orb, however; the right glowed a sickly crimson shade.
"Now then, Mercury…" If his appearance wasn't enough, the eeire factor of it all was topped with a shivering echo with each word the blond spoke. "Stand."
He did so, but not of his own accord. The only thing he held control of was his wandering eyes, pleading for either clarification, or release. Jaune raised his palm, as if beckoning the boy to approach him. And with the wave of his finger, Mercury found his body moving independently, the pain from the poison strengthened with every movement he made. He hissed, groaning while the venom surged throughout his body, and the blond seemingly pleased with the occurring events. It wasn't until Mercury noticed a light blue string emanating from Jaune's fingers, leading towards him that he realized; he was just like the headless husk, a puppet.
Emerald felt an eerie sense of empathy, having been in a similar situation, though; she could only imagine what it must've felt like to have venom coursing through a body whilst being forced to move. Still, even while watching all of this unfold; she had to wonder just how much aura her leader must've had to be able to control his puppet from the temple to now. Granted, there were moments when a few of them separated to...alleviate certain facilities, however, she hadn't noticed the switch between himself and the lifeless husk.
Ilia was unusually quiet, aside from watching the blond's head come clean off, regardless of it belonging to his damned puppet, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly his plan was now. Would he actually force this kid to follow him, under fear of hunting him down and repeating this scenario should he attempt to escape? In many ways, seeing him act like this was surreal.
"Now, this can only end two ways." Mercury tensed, realizing now he was in no position to resist, even if he wanted to. He had no control of his body, and this blond made it quite clear he wasn't going to let him leave so easily. Another flex of Jaune's fingers had Mercury uncomfortably close. And it was only then that he noticed the blond's attire. A rather daring choice of wardrobe, a helpful distraction to the current predicament, but a bit confusing as now he was mildly curious as who he or she was. "So here are two options you can chose from; you can join us, accompany my group and myself in our travels. I cannot promise a safe and quiet journey, but I can promise you a place to rest your head, money to earn by whatever means, a hot meal every day, and a team to watch your back."
There was another silence that followed with his sudden offer, though; Mercury was at a loss for words. It was true he had no place to go from here, and he wasn't exactly thinking ahead when he burned down his own home. In actuality; he didn't think he'd make it this far. And yet, here he stood; at the mercy of an ambiguous leader to some group he next to nothing about. The promises the blond made were all appealing, no question there. But he wasn't exactly convinced of it just yet.
"Doesn't bother you that I killed someone?"
"I don't believe in killing needlessly. But if the man had a bounty on his head, who am I to complain whether he's dead or not? Actually, I would say his fate is justified." Jaune reached into a pouch by his left thigh. After a moment he retrieved a vial of light-purple liquid. With no hesitation, the blond reached down and yanked the blond yanked off the three needles. Dripping two drops on each wound opening, Mercury felt the effects instantly; the pain in his thigh ceased, and the pain was fading from his limbs as well. However, while a bit of his strength returned, he still had no control over his body.
In forming a fist, the blue strings snapped, freeing Mercury as he fell unceremoniously to the ground, clutching his chest. Glancing upwards he took note of the two companions of the blond at his side, their eyes locked on Mercury as Jaune kneeled down to eye level, his unsettling smile made the silver-haired boy shiver just by being so close to it. "Granted, I have no intention of forcing you; when I said I'd deal with you; my goal was to reach an agreement where you will not pose a threat or hindrance to my plans down the line. Death is not the only alternative. You can, at this very moment, simply say no to my offer and that'll be all. We leave you to your devices, and we will be on our merry way…or…" Jaune's hand extended towards the boy. "You can accept my offer. What say you, Mercury?"
Let me start off by saying I am truly sorry for the long wait. The device I used to write this and several of my other stories decided to break down on me. Several chapters were lost, I worked pretty hard on them to assure there wasn't only exposition and that the stories had that extra bit of fun and keeping a mystery…six chapters for this story alone gone…it was depressing to see all that work just go like that. It left me in a rut, and I chose to create another story, that's actually been really fun for me to write as well, it kept me in the spirit to attempt to rewrite what I remembered. But I digress. I will attempt to maintain a good upload schedule, but with my shift change and a few other promises throughout this month, it might be a little slow in the beginning. Once again, I'm sorry for the long wait.
Also, real quick, there will be time skips in the coming chapters; the events of the first season will be reached, once all members are recruited. Well, the important ones.