(You know. I think I may be moving at some point, not like I'm gonna miss where I live. That's not important right now, so let me just keep going here.)
Open The Floodgates
I'm not sure if a day has passed yet, but I still hurt so much. So tired. They've done a lot once Roman and Neo left, their doctor Donn fixing me back up...but it was like hell came for a special visit.
Flaying, pinioned with knives, burning, freezing, acid, electricity, just thinking about it gives me aches and pains. There's still a dozen or so needles between my fingers, the pain was burning and sharp at first with them being red hot the first go around going in. But it ended up stopping and led to just dull and numbness.
"Wakey-wakey sunshine!~" Ash comes in, sing-songing as the door opens up. He throws boiling hot water onto me. And I scream in pain so high even my own ears hurt from the sound of it, like a high-pitched shriek that's like a knife being driven into your ears.
"Awwww, that hurts don't it?" Ash asks in sadistic sarcasm, "Okay old man. Fix him riiiight up." He says drawling. And the old man comes over, pulling the needles out from my hands and wiping off the water.
And he starts to rub me in places where I'm injured, my wounds being healed with fleshing squish sounds. With me just breathing slow and steady.
"You ready to start talking now?" Ash asks, "We can keep doing this until it gets boring, then we can go onto more fun things!: cutting off pieces of you to make you eat, maggots writhing around in your flesh, ohhhh so many choices!" He coos out, the doctor finishing his work and leaving.
"I'm telling nothing." I murmur quietly, Ash's eyes flash and he comes closer.
"What was that? Speak up?" He asks
I smash my head right into his face, he stumbles back and looking to his now bloody nose. And just lets out a weird breathing noise, like he just loved that happening...freak.
"Well...I kinda expected that really." He says sighing wistfully, "It's a shame you're too much of a stubborn mule to join up. You could be a great asset."
"What'd you have me be doing?" I ask sarcastically, "Burning down orphanages? Kicking puppies to death? Eat babies?"
"Already have someone doing the last one. No worries. And turns out he's a good chef, specialty is pork." He chuckles, and just tilts his head. "What's wrong? Pain still there?" He asks in an innocent tone
"Why?"
"Why what? Who? Where? When? Or how?" He asks sarcastically, "That's the big question isn't it?"
"Don't toy with me. I mean, why are you doing all of this? What's the big plan?" I spit out at him, he smiles and chuckles.
"You want me to say I'm doing this for the 'greater good'? That I have a sad backstory? No...none of that shit, I'm just a black hearted bastard who just wants to have his fun. Is that so wrong? And if someone loves me? Thinking I can be fixed? Pfft, delusional and stupid."
"Amen to the last part."
"And I bet you're wondering, 'Mr. Ash! Mr. Ash! Why am I being tortured when you could just look through my thoughts and memories?': Well buddy...they're kinda blocked. Seems like a mix of your own willpower and something in your head...almost like a fire wall." He says smiling, oh no.
"But anyways." He says sighing, "I bet it was fun having you watch me whip your little red friend...her screams are beauty. Wails of despair, cries of agony, it's a symphony worthy for angels!"
"You spineless, baby-killing, sociopathic!-"
"Monster? Thank you. It's a pleasure being called that, y'know? And have you heard the delusional shit the three guys I gotta work with? I mean: One big gorilla motherfucker wants to find 'a good foight' or some shit like that, another wants to kill your headmaster and then I guess himself, and the Doc as you met wants to be a god!" He says chuckling at the end, "A god!"
He lets out a wild, cruel laugh echoing a bit in the room. He shakes his head and takes a breath.
"And the Doc wants things to be orderly, precise, and organized. A world of test subjects that worship him. For me? No...not that. I'd rather give people a more proper deity to worship. One who provides the ultimate freedom...I'm sure you'll understand once it does happen." He says, rubbing my cheek.
In through the door comes four fish people. Carrying trident-like weapons, and hooks. And a woman who looks deathly pale, but serenely beautiful. Tall and blue haired. She's wheeling someone in, he looks completely crippled. Like he can't move any part of his body, burns all over him.
"My lord, savior, king and god!" The lady says utterly ecstatic, kowtowing before him.
He just smiles and lifts his hand, "Rise my prophet." He says plainly and she does so, "Who's this you brought before me?"
"Child Aero your grace, he wrote down a request to be healed." She explains gesturing to the one in the wheelchair. Ash looks at him, emotionless, distant.
"You wish for me to heal your wounds my son?" He asks, dispassionate. The burned man tries to nod, "Nuh-ah-ah! You have to say. It. Out of your wheelchair." The lady dumps him over, and he struggles to adjust himself. Looking up with pleading eyes to his master.
"You wish to be healed."
"...s..." He whispers, a wheezing, scratchy, weak voice
"What was that? I can't hear you."
"Es..." He says, louder this time. Sounding pained, my heart sinking down into the pit of my stomach.
"Well! I guess you don't want to-"
"Yes...please...father...Ash..." He wheezes out weakly, tears streaking his face. Ash looks at him, pulling out his chest...something I saw in one of my dreams. A weapon of black and violet lightning, fire and shadow. It forms into a massive hammer, and I look away from what's to come.
"No." Ash says, followed with a sickening crunch. It takes me a moment to get my courage back up to look at the demon in human-skin, beaming with glee.
"He was not worthy." The woman says in disgust, "Shall we my lord?"
"Yes. It's time I leave." Ash says wistfully, "You four keep watch on him."
"Yas suhr." One of the fishmen says, sounding dull and hacking in it's voice. Like it's hearing a frog croak. These things are more than likely the real idiots.
"If you'll excuse me dear friend, I need to be a good boy for Nyarlathotep." Ash says walking but stopping in the door way, "But...I should tell you. Though I think you've figured it out by now. I might as well share it anyway." He turns his head to look at me, his eyes having no light to them. Just whites, amber irises, and pitch black...soulless pupils.
"No one is coming to save you, Axel."
Uriah's POV
Things have been quiet, but not in the good way. We were supposed to go on our whole 'Vytal missions' today but...we didn't, it's strange really. First Axel is gone and now this?
Are you sssssure thisssss isssss not a casssssse of a friend turning to evil?
I'm sure Yig. It's out of the blue for him to just up and be found in the CCT with some mystery lady.
"Uriah?" A voice takes me out of the conversation with a slithering, possibly smiley, smelly, scaled, serpent who's hisses would lead to spit. Seeing who the culprit is, it's Weiss.
"Hey. Something going on?" I ask the lovely lady coming up to her, she nods.
"Just uh...coming to check up. You doing ok?"
"Of course, doing amazing now that you're here." I tell her smiling, she grins and rolls her eyes.
"Flattery will get you nowhere."
"Well I got you, so I got to somewhere." I reply dryly, maybe...maybe I should tell her about what I used to do. Haven't exactly told anyone yet, I should start with her. "Weiss, mind if I-"
"Hey guys." A voice cuts in
"Yes Silas?" Weiss asks with the two of us looking to the wolf Faunus
"Mind coming back to the dorm?" He asks pulling his thumb back, "Little meeting."
"Aye-aye." I say saluting, with me and the winter lady coming back in. Seems everyone's taken a spot...one empty for Axel. Even Cheshire just laying on Blake's lap. And Yang looking more than furious.
"We can't just wait!" She shouts stamping her foot
"It's dangerous! It'll be walking into a trap!" Blake snaps back
"What's uh...what's going on?" I ask utterly confused, the cat Faunus and the dragon lady looking toward me and Weiss
"TELL THEM I'M RIGHT!" The two say in unison leading me to jump
"Errrr..."
"They're trying to figure out the Axel situation." Cheshire lazily states, "It's quite the show really."
"We can't be going after them! We have to deal with Torchwick and the White Fang first!" Blake says
"While he's out there in the hands of guys worse than them?" Yang asks pointing out the door then shaking her head, "I don't think so!"
"Yang's right. We can't just leave him there!" Ruby says getting from her seat
"I'm sorry Ruby, but I'm with Blake." Roy states calmly, "We can't be dealing with more enemies."
The whole thing keeps going back and forth, all of us just arguing and fighting with one another like a pack of wolves fighting over food. 'We need to stay!' "We need to find him!', it's all just a
"SILENCE!" A voice roars out, loud and powerful into my mind causing me to grab at my head along with everyone else and bringing us to our knees. And we end up looking at the source, Cheshire. He's just staring with a frustrated glare with his red eyes burning like the sun itself.
"All of you. Calm. Your. Selves." He growls out, "We can't be searching for Mr. Lind now, nor can we just idle while he is in danger, a compromise: Do it first thing in the morning. No arguments, no delays, that's it." He hisses out in frustration with all of our arguing and outright caustic attitude.
We each give a silent nod of agreement, first thing in the morning. Coming for you boss.
Axel's POV, Hours Later
"I don't understand why we can't kill 'im now!" One of the fishmen complains
"Da mastahr's still gonna need 'im! You moron!" The lead one snaps
And here I am, just waiting around. No one is coming, like Ash said...son of a bitch was speaking the truth. And I'm just being discussed on which parts of me would be the tastiest to eat. Ain't life grand?
"Alright, we wait. Just until the bossman comes back, then we pull out pieces to eat." One of them points out, the rest nodding and making noises of agreement. And the door opens up for...Neo? Torchwick?
Neo pulls out the needle blade from her parasol and quickly skewers three out of the four fishmen, leaving the lead one to quickly turn around.
"What are?!-" He gets cut off by Roman putting the end of his cane against the fishperson's chest
"We quit." With that one-liner Roman blows a hole out of the fishman, with it slumping to the ground with it's partners. The two criminals coming over quickly, and undoing the rope.
"You guys?" I ask more than just a bit surprised, "Change of heart?"
"Ah shut it." Roman says dryly, "You were right, I was wrong, whatever." He says still dry, and the bindings come loose around my arms and legs. "Can you stand?" He asks coming back to the front of me along with Neo.
I try and take a stand up, my legs wobbling but I collapse to the ground. In the corner I see...a valve, could be gas...I have a nice idea for all of this. Neo and Roman pick me up over their shoulders.
"Well isn't this peachy?" Roman sarcastically asks, Neo giving a dirty look in response. "Alright kid, let's get ya outta here." He whispers, and starts to drag me along. As the just drag me, I look for the small pipe valves and knock them off...oddly weak, guess that's why you gotta pay bills.
The two end up pulling me outside, it's night out and there's one inconspicuous building there marked with a snake. I'd say it's been long enough for the gas to be in there, one valve broken open will probably end up spreading and causing the explosion of this place.
"Roman." I say loud enough to be above a whisper, the orange-haired convict takes a look at me curiously.
"Yeah kid?"
"Let me see your cane for a bit." I say grabbing onto said cane
"I don't-" I pull it away from him and start to slowly walk forward to the building, "Uhm...T-Tangerine? What're you doin'?"
"My name's Axel you know." I tell him, the scope flipping up for the thing as I hold the thing like a rifle.
"W-W-Well then! Axel! Can I ask what in the actual hell are you doing?" He asks in a panicky tone
"Juuuust making things warmer for them." I drawl, firing a flare out of the cane. And in result there being a sound like a booming crack of thunder, a fireball taking place of the building and the shockwave knocking me off my feet. And as the adrenaline fills me up and whoop and hollar.
"YEAAAAAH!" I shout out, fishpeople screaming in agony as they come running out of the blaze. "BURN YA BASTARDS! HA-HA!"
A hand grabs me and picks me right up, "I have an honest question." Roman says, deadly calm. "Are you CERTIFIABLY INSANE?!"
"I was tortured, I decided to hurt them back." I spit at him, he sighs and shakes his head.
"Got a plan to help with this now kiddo?"
"Well...there is one."
Third Person POV
The Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training of teams RWBY and ASUR are fast asleep. The middle of the night leading them to have dreams of fulfilling desires, hopes, and aspirations. The others nightmares of failure, terror and misery.
A Scroll buzzes with a message, leading Ruby to lazily take ofd her sleep mask and eye the message tiredly.
Call me. Right now.
Ruby stares at it in contemplation at it for a moment. But she ends up calling the number that came with the message, and the other line picks up almost immediately.
"Heeeeey, Little Red! How's it going?" Torchwick asks from the other end, Ruby's internal feeling of dislike for him surfacing.
"Torchwick." She says sharply, "How did you-"
"Your buddy Axel gave that to me!" He admits sounding more panicked in his tone, "Before you say anything: I'm tryin' to save him. So if you and your friends could come down here that'd be great! Gave a little tracker to-" on the other end there's a deafening roar and a pained shriek, "AndAxelsaystobringhisswordwithyouguysOKBYE!"
The line goes dead, things are taking a turn.
"So...guess it's time then?" Roy asks groggily, waking up slowly. Ruby giving a firm nod of confirmation.
They don't know what to expect yet.
Besides danger of course.
Axel's POV
"Can't we go any faster?!" I ask more than a little worried, guess Ash didn't like me turning his hideout into his namesake. And from those sounds that'll haunt my dreams for at least the night, he's sent Grimm after me and the two reformed...conscripted...I don't know. They're after me, Roman and Neo is what the possible Grimm are doing.
Ain't life grand?
Roman glares at me, "You wanna carry me? Be my guest! But I should point out that you're heavy!" He hisses earning an annoyed hit on the shoulder from Neo, "Alright alright. Let's get back to running now!"
And so we do, more like they did really with me just getting carried along on Roman's back. But we keep up on the escape. The three of us keep going and going until I can see someone, familiar armor for the little tinkerer.
"ROY! OVERWHERE!" I shout out, he snaps his head toward where I shouted and makes his run toward me, Roman and Neo.
"Glad to see you again Axel!" He says happily, "And for you two...I'm not so sure."
"We're used to it." Roman says dryly, Neo giving a nod
"Okay, let's get going now before-" I get cut off by an earth-shattering roar, looking behind it seems one of them caught up. The thing being gigantic, long white and red horns coming out of a bull's head.
The bull having burning red eyes, black skin, predatory white teeth in it's mouth. The rest of it being muscular arms with clawed hands, and of course bull legs with hooves.
The four of us gave a silent agreement: to run more, we just sprinted away in the general opposite direction of the damned thing. It felt like an eternity but the rest came into view: RWBY, Silas and Uriah. God I've missed these guys.
"We got him!" Roy calls out, "We got-" another interruption comes in with something landing behind us and sending us sprawling forward toward the others. Looking to what it is...not a pretty sight really.
The thing looks like a mishmash of Grimm. Wings and legs in varying proportions across it's body along with heads, spikes sticking out of it in random patches. Beowolf heads snarling at the heads of Ursi and butting with Borbatusk heads, Nevermore heads pecking at it's black fur and feathers, and claws idly grasping the air.
"Hey er...Boss? I got something for ya." Uriah says a bit cautiously and a bit freaked out, I climb off of Roman's back and he hands me back my sword. Good to see this thing again.
"You sure you're good to fight kid?" Roman asks
"I think I'll be fine." I say shrugging, "Hey Ruby, you got an idea on how to handle this? Because I may have one."
"Team attacks?" She asks grinning, I give the little red warrior a nod
"You know it." I tell her, "Roman, Neo. Think you two could handle the Bull while the rest of us deal with the Abomination?" I ask the two of them, Neo gives a nod and Roman lets out a sigh.
"Welllll...sure, seeing as we're probably gonna die here. Might as well do it with a bang eh?"
"I think you mean with a Yang." Said person playfully 'corrects' leading to Roman and Neo grimacing.
"She do that often?" Roman asks flatly
"Yeah. Quite a bit, same with me really." I tell him honestly
"...Shit."
Ok, joking is done for now. I hold up four fingers, I'll take a guess people'll know what to do when zero hits. Time to shake off some dust
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Let's jam!
"Freezer Burn!" "Dogwood!" Ruby and I call out in sync, with it two pairs rush to the Grimm. Yang and Weiss, and Silas and Uriah rush the damned thing and let out synchronized attacks.
The first things that they do include Weiss forming an ice circle and Uriah making a portal above the thing on a near by building and one near him, Yang leaping up into the air and smashing down into the ice circle leading to a mist to be made. And Silas to jump down through the portal and end up on the other side landing a wild flurry of chops on some of it's wings while Uriah starts pelting it with bullets, leading to a shriek and the Grimm whipping off Silas.
It roars and starts charging toward us, time for something new.
"Checkmate!" "Howling Thunder!" Ruby and I call out in sync again, while Silas and Weiss stay in the fight Blake and Roy switch in. Starting off with Silas landing onto Roy's hands while Weiss and Blake going for the Grimm's legs. Roy ends up tossing Silas who transforms mid-flight into his wolf form and tears off the Borbatusk head, with him getting bit and Blake nearly getting crushed.
But Weiss saves the feline Faunus with a glyph trick to stop a foot from smashing her, Silas tears his leg away from the Grimm's mouth and jumps back. The Grimm now flinging out Nevermore feathers, some hitting Silas but doing nothing since he pulls them out while the Heiress and Blake make their way back with Weiss forming a yellow clockwork glyph underneath Blake who then proceeds to slice apart the oncoming feathers.
"Ladybug!" Ruby calls out now charging into the fray
I need some fun too, Cerberus switches from sword to scythe and I charge in as well. "Lightning Lads!" I call out, Roy gives an affirmative nod with me. Grabbing me and tossing me, I speed myself up with a rocket-propelled strike and hit the Abomination on the Nevermore head with the scythe.
I can see Roman and Neo dealing with a now armless Bull Grimm, "Hey! You two doing alright?!"
"Never better!" Roman calls back dodging a kick but coming back in to repeatedly hit it before blasting it in the stomach. With Neo skewering the thing repeatedly with her needle sword, so far so good.
Ruby and Blake in the mean while circle it while attacking before landing a double attack to decapitate the Ursa head. I take a jump upwards, Roy sending out lightning from his hands to my scythe to fry it. I land back down soon and pull my scythe out of it's head and backflip toward everyone else.
Yang however, leaps back into the fray and starts wailing on it with shotgun blasts. The Grimm roars and bashes Yang, sending her flying like a bullet into a building near Roman and Neo.
"Blondie's down!" Roman calls out
"Roman buddy!" I call back, "You should know that what doesn't kill you makes you a helluva lot stronger."
And out of the rubble comes Yang, hair glowing a brilliant white. Grinning and clenching her fists. This Grimm is in for a very, very bad time.
Yang holds her arms back and is sent forward by her Ember Celica's blast, speeding back to the Grimm. It all seems to slow down, just in time to see Yang blast the Nevermore head into smithereens. Sending it flying back several feet, but it rolls back onto it's back and starts to charge again.
"This thing just won't stay down!" Uriah complains, "Somebody put the brakes on it and then brake it!"
"Read my mind." Ruby says, "Weiss! Ice Flower!" She calls out setting Crescent Rose into position. With Weiss forming a series of white glyphs while the Abomination still charges. However, Ruby fires and when the shot hits icicles start forming on the Grimm to slow it down a bit.
She keeps firing more and more until the Grimm is frozen solid, and I have Cerberus transform into a rocket launcher. And fire, causing a fiery explosion. Pieces of frozen Grimm scattering across the place.
What a finish.
I look back and see that Roman and Neo are done, the little multicolored girl smiles tiredly and gives a thumbs up.
Hello? Helllooooooooooo? Hey! You're back Axel buddy!
Cthugha, there you are! Where've you been?
Kept in hiding, now that you're out. Seems you're gonna be better now eh?
Yeah...I'm so happy to see these guys again.
"So!" Roman starts up, with a bit of a pant. "Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen."
"Hey!" Weiss whines out causing me to grin
"You all ready to get outta here?"
"I can't believe that I'm agreeing with you on this, but...yes. I am." Blake states, with all of us giving our variation of yes.
Good to be back.
(Why didn't I get this out sooner is simple: there was a days long power outage, rolling blackouts happened where I was at. But better now than never eh? Next chapter I bring the most important and adorable character you know.
Zwei!)