Cr00cy, once more into the breach?
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Chapter 6
Momma Always Said
Cinder Fall was his wife.
Jaune Arc knew this. He also knew that she was in danger, that he had to save her.
He sat up in his bed with a start, gasping for breath. The young man's gaze traveled around the strange, white room, trying to take in his surroundings.
His breathing slowed and calmed as he found what he was looking for. His wife, asleep in a chair pulled up next to the bed, her head resting on his thigh. He smiled as his hand reached out to brush the hair out of her face.
Thank the Gods, he didn't know what he'd do if something happened to her.
He frowned. Was that...ash on her cheek?
His gaze shifted across the room, finding the others. A smile crossed his lips.
Mercury was laid out in a chair against the wall, mouth wide open as he snored loudly. Em sat beside him, half sprawled across the small night stand next to her own chair.
He shook his head. He hadn't meant to worry them.
Something small and colorful on the table next to him caught his eye. He reached out and grabbed the handmade card, looking over the crude drawing of Cinder, Mercury, Em, and himself next to their house.
He chuckled to himself, briefly wondered who had drawn it, before shifting his attention to the flickering tv.
"Lisa Lavender coming to you live from the warehouse district, where police are investigating a possible case of arson, after a multi-story storage facility was burned to the ground. Despite being a facility that served as a dog food distribution center, the building was occupied at the time of the fire. Here to describe the event is a local produce merchant who lives in the area, Thomas Generic. Thomas, how would you describe last night?"
The camera panned over to a wide-eyed, grey-haired man who had his arms wrapped around himself.
"The screams, oh Gods the screams. They lasted for hours, I don't even think the fire had actually started before-"
"Fascinating. Folks, it's always interesting to see how muddled events can become from the perspective of eye-witnesses, especially the elderly."
"-The horror…the horror."
"Apparently, a local gang had taken up residence there, and was unable to evacuate due to the exits being blocked. The Fire Marshall could not be reached to comment on how this oversight in safety could have occurred."
Jaune sighed as he flicked off the tv. It was times like these that he was glad they lived out in the suburbs, away from all this craziness, despite the longer drive.
"Jaune?" He heard a groggy voice call, as he felt his wife shift from her place on his leg.
He smiled down at her. "Hey baby."
"Jaune!" She cried as she shot up to the head of bed, wrapping him in a fierce embrace.
"Ow ow ow!" He yelped, as she pressed against his many bruises.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" The dark-haired woman apologized as she pulled back.
"Wazzat?" Mercury mumbled as he stirred, his eyes slowly focusing. "Bro!"
The silver-haired man shook his partner. "Em, wake up!"
"Goddammit Merc, what the fuc-"
"Morning Em, I think you might want to tone down the language while you're on dates." The blond laughed.
"Jaune!" The girl shot up out of her chair, racing Mercury over to his bedside.
"Whoa, whoa!" He said, throwing his hands up. "Still tender."
Mercury nodded. "Sorry bro, we were just-"
"-worried about you." Emerald finished.
He smiled ruefully. "Yeah, not my shining moment."
His wife tsked. "You were very brave Jaune."
"Thanks honey, I-"
"And also incredibly stupid. Those men could have killed you."
He shook his head definitely. "I wasn't going to let them touch you."
Amber eyes narrowed. "I would have been fine my knight, you needn't worry about me."
"You're my wife." He stated simply. "I'll always worry."
"We should have run."
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, kinda hard for me to argue with that logic from my hospital bed, huh? But you're ok, that's all that matters."
"It is not all that matters. YOU matter." She growled.
"Cindy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." He comforted, before sighing. "I'm sorry I wasn't stronger too. I got lucky. I should have-"
She pressed a finger against his lips.
"Not another word Jaune Arc. I don't need you to protect me. I need you. I've always needed you, just that."
The blond opened his mouth to protest, before a hand found his shoulder, and he turned to see Mercury nodding along.
"She's right man. Besides, I think this is the part where you stay quiet and agree with her."
Emerald slipped her hand into his.
"Don't scare us like that."
"Guys-" He choked on the words, taking a moment to collect himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'll be better...I'll be stronger. I promise."
Cinder Fall was his wife. This was his family.
Jaune Arc knew this, and he'd do what he had to protect them. And he knew just where to start too.
Cinder Fall was a monster.
She knew this, and now the city did too. Unfortunately, that came with consequences. She'd received the message that she'd been expecting about an hour after Jaune awoke.
'We need to talk.' - R.T.
'I'm busy, will be with you shortly.' She'd sent back.
She knew that the questions would come. Such an overt action against an element of the city's underworld raised questions. Questions that she'd have to answer sooner rather than later, or risk upsetting the delicate balance of the city.
She wasn't sorry about it. She'd never be sorry about it, just like she'd never be sorry about making Roman wait the remaining hours until Jaune fell asleep again. She instructed Emerald and Mercury to watch after him, to make sure he wasn't foolish, as was his nature, till she returned.
Sure, the doctors had told them that he'd be cleared for release soon, but he was her husband. She had a right to worry.
That was not the only thing that worried her at the moment however. No, a certain murderous imp occupied that space as well now.
She couldn't comprehend the woman, but she did know this…
She knew the truth about Jaune, and that made her dangerous. She also knew that she'd acted in his defense, and in retaliation against those that dared to touch him.
She didn't know what that made her, but as walked toward the meeting location, she was determined to find out.
Neo was a Monster.
She knew this. Several people had tried to remind her of the fact last night.
She appreciated their concern and enthusiasm in the matter.
Currently, she was a very bored Monster. She could only watch Roman pace back and forth, muttering about his plans and distribution networks that had been broken up, for so long before it ceased to be entertaining.
She wasn't particularly surprised by him being upset. He got that way sometimes when people disappeared. She'd never let it stop her in the past, and she wouldn't let it stop her in the future. He'd get over it...eventually. He was good about things like that. It was one of the reasons she'd adopted him.
It was really for his benefit anyway. She knew her attention could be...a bit much to handle, so she'd gone out in search of something else entertaining, and what had she found? Blondie.
Unfortunately, Blondie had been accompanied by Fire Bitch at the time, which had prevented her from approaching directly. But stalking? That wasn't a crime! Not one anyone had ever effectively enforced on her anyway.
And Blondie, as always, was entertaining. He positively showered the Fire Bitch with attention, while at the same time, managing to engage just about everyone he met, making them feel like they were special.
She wanted to feel special.
So, she did what any reasonable person would do. She dragged Hoppy into a supply closet and helped her get some much needed rest. That girl was far too spun up for her own good. Weren't rabbits supposed to like sex? Was that racist? She'd always strove to be an equal opportunity Monster.
She'd shown up at his table, and he'd been excited to see her, which she thought was the appropriate reaction. That or terror. It really varied from person to person.
Fire Bitch had been neither. Fire Bitch had been pissed. She probably would have been too, but if you weren't strong enough to hold onto the things that you owned, then they weren't really yours, now were they?
Unfortunately, Fire Bitch had made her retreat to voyeur distance again, watching the rest of the meal while borrowing other people's alcohol. She'd followed them outside, and listened into what was next for their three person date. They were all going to the movies apparently. She'd never been a huge fan, but the dark of the theater was full of so many...opportunities.
They'd taken a turn down a dark alley, because apparently Blondie wanted a tragic backstory, and sure enough, they'd run into trouble. She'd been excited. She'd get to see what Blondie was made of!
It turned out it was blood. A good deal of blood, that the two men in the alley were more than happy to help him get out of his system. The man kept standing up though, time and again. He had a lot of 'fuck you' in his system as well apparently. She liked that. It's what made her make her decision.
She was going to adopt him.
She'd watched in confusion, waiting for Fire Bitch to react. To defend what was hers, but she'd held back, until Neo had to step in and defend what was newly hers.
Why?
As the door to Roman's office opened, revealing the woman in red, she supposed she'd find out.
Cinder took a deep breath as she stepped through the portal of Roman's office. She hated explaining herself, especially those beneath her. But, she cast a glance over to the his desk, where the imp sat, legs dangling off the edge as she kicked them, she knew she had no choice.
And she HATED that.
She'd sold her soul for power. The power to decide. The power to not be afraid.
She'd paid her price, paid in blood.
And yet, there she had been, standing in an alley powerless last night, and here she stood in this small-time gangster's office, under the thumb of this imp.
Life, much like herself, was a bitch.
"You asked to meet Roman? I hope it's worth my time."
The man tsked at her. At HER.
What an asshole.
"You know what this is about, let's just skip to the good part."
"And you wonder why you're not more popular with the ladies." She drawled.
The imp had a good little silent chuckle at that. Good, she could use what good will she could get from the mysterious woman.
"Hilarious." He deadpanned. "What went down at the docks? Why are the 'Departed' recently departed?"
She supposed she'd set herself up for that pun. Time to see how far the imp would let her stretch.
"Who says I had anything to do with it? More importantly, what concern is it of yours?"
"It's MY city, and Neo told me." He said, jerking a thumb back towards the petite woman. "Also told me that you dragged her into it."
Ok, apparently not that far.
She hummed. "It WAS your city. What else did the little darling say?"
The heinously dressed man turned back to imp, watching as she went through a series of pantomimes that she would have bet anything weren't actually sign language, before turning back to her.
"She says you offered to pay her."
The imp shot a thumb skyward.
"A lot." Roman clarified.
This bitch.
"Yes, that is true."
The imp continued to make motions, causing the ginger to scowl.
"That can't be right."
She sighed. "What else did she say?"
"Said you'd owe her a favor."
What was she-
More hand motions.
He raised an eyebrow. "A very personal favor."
She was going to strangle this bitch.
His eyes shot back over to her. "Why? Them being gone slows us down. I relied on them for muscle and transport."
"I don't answer to you Roman." She growled.
The imp slowly shook her head behind the man, wagging a finger back and forth.
Would let it go at that, eh? Time to try the lie again.
"If it bothers you so much, know that they were talking to the police. They had to be dealt with, so I dealt with them." She stated.
The midget shot her a confused look, before Roman rounded on her, and she shrugged and nodded.
The man sighed. "Yeah, ok, but did you have to take out the whole gang? Why not just the rats?"
Wasn't that a good question? She mentally shrugged. He thought she was a bitch? She'd play the bitch.
"Oh Roman, it's about sending a message. People think they can cross us? Now they know what happens. I'm not a woman of half measures...neither is your partner."
The little monstrosity beamed at that.
The thug rolled his eyes. "Don't I know it." His gaze narrowed. "But why so public? Why so loud? Why not come to me?"
Clockwork Orange was smarter than he looked. Her amber eyes met pink and brown as she searched for an explanation.
Today was fun.
She was getting to make the Fire Bitch squirm, which is something she'd been hoping for for a while now. Turnabout is fair play and all that.
She'd had to fight from falling off the desk when the woman had tried to suggest that she didn't have anything to do with the attack.
This bitch was crazy.
Roman shot that down pretty quickly. Then she'd throw to ball back to her, asking what else she'd said. Neo raised an eyebrow. She wanted to let her decide? Ok, time to see how far she could push it.
She asked for money first. Not like she really needed it.
Fire Bitch brushed it off.
Oh?
She asked for a LOT of money.
Fucking nothing. Ok, time to raise the steaks.
She asked for her favorite thing, the thing that made people the most uncomfortable, and therefore was the most entertaining.
A favor.
Ooh! Scratch that! A favor involving Blondie!
Unsurprisingly, Roman didn't have the balls to fully translate that one.
Fire Bitch was not a fan of that at ALL.
But why wasn't she doing anything? Why not call her bluff? Why not threaten to burn them both to ash? She had the power, it was what made her a Monster, so why not use it?
She OWNED Blondie, so why wasn't she fighting for him?
She made up some nonsense about messages and power, but Neo doubted anyone had ever really been confused about what crossing them meant. And then Roman asked the good shit.
Why?
She leaned in for that one.
Her mouth felt dry, her hands sweaty. She hadn't felt this way since she was a little girl.
She had nothing.
There was no logical explanation. No witty remark to save her. She was stuck with an impossible question and a living lie detector in the back of the room.
Why had SHE chosen to go burn down the hideout of a group of the city's worst with a very recognizable Neo in tow?
For love.
Wasn't that ironic?
But she couldn't answer that way, and she couldn't tell him that she'd chosen to do so to advance their agenda, not without the imp calling her on it.
So she chose a half-truth, something that had served her well over the past few years, and hoped. Gods but she hated relying on hope. It was so...weak.
"I was angry." Gods but it rankled her to have to admit such to the man. "I decided they disrespected us, disrespected ME, and I decided to deal with it. Nothing more, nothing less. I wouldn't take it back if I could."
They sat in silence for a moment, before the man started in on a low chuckle.
"Always knew you had a temper, but didn't take you as one to act on it."
Good, he was buying it. She looked to the imp, who was tilting her head and staring at her.
Roman's grin grew. "How does the man of the house feel about it?"
Not disemboweling his smug ass was going to be feat of will power.
"Do not try to bring yourself into my personal life, unless you want me to come into yours Roman." She warned, earning a flinch from the man. "How much of a slowdown in operations are we talking?"
He huffed and shrugged. "I dunno, I'll have to see who I can scrounge together. I'm betting on a few weeks though."
Shit. That would be hard to explain to the council. More importantly though…
"You'll make do. You always do. I'm confident in your continued support."
Amber eyes met pink and brown. The smaller woman nodded cheerily...a little TOO cheerily for her taste.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the pep talk boss." Roman grumbled.
She was barely listening anymore. She had what she came for.
Neo watched the woman with rapt fascination.
She'd lied, but she hadn't lied.
There was an art to that she supposed. She'd never had to master it of course. Killing people that didn't like her answers was considerably simpler.
But that wasn't what was so interesting. What was interesting was that Fire Bitch was apologizing.
Oh, she'd never actually use the words. Neo doubted 'I'm sorry' had crossed those lips to anyone outside of Blondie in a long, long time.
But there it was, wasn't it? Blondie.
She was willing to debase herself for him. To make herself weak for him. Monsters didn't do that, especially towards things that they owned.
The problem raced around her mind like a soon-to-be victim, till it came to its only reasonable solution.
She didn't own Blondie, she allowed Blondie to own her.
Neo shook her head. People were weird, and complicated. But still…
It was interesting. Entertaining even.
She sighed. There was only one reasonable choice left to be made.
She'd have to adopt them both.
Emerald closed her eyes and slowly sipped her coffee in the cafe of the hospital, which meant that it was shitty coffee, but she needed the caffeine.
It had been a long twelve hours.
But now it was over. Jaune was ok, Cinder had satiated her bloodlust, all was right with the-
"Em, we got problems!" Mercury shouted as he burst into the room.
She was always curious which God in particular hated her so.
She sighed. "Merc, calm down. What's the-"
"I lost Jaune!"
Holy shit.
"YOU FUCKING WHAT?!" She roared.
"It's not like I meant to!" He defended.
"How Merc? How did you LOSE Jaune!?"
"It's a funny story actually."
It wasn't.
"See, he said he wanted to play hide-and-seek, which I thought was weird, right? But I could tell that he was tired of being nannied, so I was like, 'what the hell?'" The silver-haired man spread his arms wide. "And now he's gone! No one could have predicted this!"
"Anyone could have predicted it Merc! Anyone!"
"Geez Em, I know you got a thing for the guy, but-"
She placed a finger on his lips. "Shhhhh. You hear that? It's the promise of me making your life a living horror film if you so much as say another word. One starring your dad. Do we understand each other?"
He nodded slowly.
"Good, now let's go find Jaune before we're playing hide-and-seek with Cinder." She grimaced. "And she plays for keeps."
Cinder Fall was a monster.
Adam Taurus knew his. He also knew that she was a necessary evil, one with the power and connections to help him finally free his people from their second class status.
Adam snorted, blowing the stench of the city out of his nose. It smelled like Atlas.
He hated Atlas.
He hated asking for help too, especially from a human, and yet here he was, waiting meet with this woman, this monster, to make his deal with the devil.
And she had the audacity to be late.
Oh, her peons had tried to explain it away, to say that she was meeting with another partner, one that be crucial to their plans, but he recognized a power play when he saw one.
He was about to turn and leave, to go back to Fang, where he belonged, when something peculiar happened. Someone recognized him. That was almost never a good thing in his line of work, but what was so strange about this occurrence was how excited they seemed about it. He'd seen terrified before, but excited? That was new.
The man approached him without hesitation, with a confidence that made him unconsciously reach for the hilt of his blade. He wore a crop of messy blond hair, looked to be young, and had piercing, knowing blue eyes.
"Sadam?" The blond asked.
Just like a human to play mind games.
"It's Adam."
The blond tsked. "Damn, was sure I remembered it right."
Remembered it from where? Who was this man? Atlas Specialist? Vale security? A shadow faction?
"And you are?"
The blond slapped a hand against his head, still content to play the aloof fool.
"Sorry about that. I'm Jaune Arc." The man said as he held out a hand.
Adam stared at it.
"And you know me how?"
The man chuckled. "Honestly? I guessed. My wife gave a pretty accurate description though."
His wife? He couldn't possibly mean…
"Cinder?" He guessed.
The man made finger guns at him. Today was a strange day already.
"Got it in one!"
"And what did she say?"
Jaune coughed. "Uh...that you were tall, dark, and broody. Kind of dressed like a vampire. You pull it off though!" He quickly amended.
He grunted. The man was choosing to tell him the truth. A new tactic for a human.
"I suppose it's good to know how others see you."
The blond laughed. "Ain't that the truth?"
He hummed. "And you are here because..."
The man shrugged. "Any friend of Cinder is a friend of mine."
"I wasn't aware that we were friends."
Jaune wore an easy smile.
"You know what my mom always said? Strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet."
His eyes scanned over the man's various bandages and bruises.
"And did your 'friends' give you those?"
To his surprise, the blond laughed.
"Ok, fair point. She's accurate most of the time though."
"Somehow I doubt it."
The man shook his head. "Damn, you are angsty."
His hand brushed against Blush.
"What did you say?"
The blond blushed. "Sometimes I don't have a great filter. She said that you were pretty sore over some breakup, and…" He paled. "Shit, I did it again, didn't I?"
He could feel his rage bubbling up, his fury about to overtake him. How dare this human?
"First of all, my justifiable rage comes from the lot of the faunus in Remnant. The lot assigned to them by your kind." He growled.
The man nodded. "Yeah, you guys have gotten a pretty bad break. So, there's no girl then?"
"She is immaterial."
The blond's eyes widened.
"So there IS a girl. What's she like? Must be pretty special."
She was beautiful, strong, cunning, pure…
"That's hardly what matters. What matters is the fight for the oppressed. The fight for the cause." He argued.
Jaune cocked his head. "How are you going to fix that?"
How dare this human taunt him?
"By being strong. Strength is the only thing that humans understand. We will make them feel the fear that they've instilled in us for so long." He spat. "Perhaps if you'd been stronger, you wouldn't be in the state you are in now."
Then the man did something he didn't expect again. He shrugged.
"Hey, when you're right, you're right. I'd love to have been stronger, I probably need to be. But you're not exactly weak, are you? I mean, you won the faunus war, right?"
He'd never, ever heard a human bring up their species loss before.
"What of it?"
Jaune shrugged. "So, what did you gain?"
"The ability to be discriminated against in the location of our choosing."
The blond nodded. "So what's the plan now?"
Where was he going with this?
"Strike until our equality is undeniable."
"Even though it didn't work out the first time?"
Ah, now he understood. The man liked to talk in circles, to confuse you until you let your guard down. His swordmaster, Martin, had taught him such techniques during their time together as he instructed him in counter-fighter. The best option was to cut straight to the source.
"And what would you have us do human? Nothing?"
Jaune shook his head sadly. "Of course not. I'd be crazy to ask that."
Accurate.
"Then what are you saying?"
The blond hummed. "I mean, if it was me? I'd try to legitimize. The White Fang, those guys are powerful-"
He was surprised both by the human's admission of their power, and the fact that he didn't directly associate him with the group. He was allowing him deniability within the city, within this meeting. It was subtle, but clever.
"-But right now they're considered terrorists. People can always hate a terrorist. But, if they changed, if they became a union, one that enforced the laws that are already supposed to be in place? How do you argue with that?"
Another logic trap...albeit a clever one.
"And if the humans don't agree to comply? What then?"
The man chuckled. "Then I'd go on strike I guess. I mean, the faunus are what? Half the population of Remnant? Not quite? They certainly make up over half the workers for the SDC. I think you could bring most companies to their knees without firing a shot."
That wasn't wrong, but…
"And I suppose that makes up for years of abuse and mistreatment? Of discrimination and hatred?"
"Of course not."
He had the human!
"So you admit the need for the cause!" He half-shouted.
"I guess that depends…"
"Depends on what?"
"Depends on what's really important to you. Is it equality or revenge?"
"What do you know of it? When have you ever wondered where to next boot from your 'betters' would come from?"
"Whoa, whoa!" The human pleaded, hands raised in surrender. "Calm down Sadam, I mean Adam! Look, I don't know anything about it, ok?"
Of course he didn't. No human did.
"But, my dad used to always say something about being in a relationship. You can be right, or you can be happy, but you can rarely be both."
He was going to stab this human.
"Are you saying that faunus and humans are...in a relationship?" He asked, unbelieving.
The blond shrugged. "I mean, aren't we? We share a home, we depend on each other, we're both united against the Grimm."
He snorted. He couldn't believe how simple the human thought it all was.
"Also, it's not just the cause your upset about, it's the girl."
His hand was halfway to Blush before he stopped himself.
"That bad, huh?" The human said sympathetically. "She doesn't agree on the cause thing I take it?"
"She doesn't understand the important of the cause!" He snapped.
"Does the cause keep you warm at night? Does it ask how your day was? Does it laugh at your shitty jokes?"
The cause certainly did not.
"So, I should abandon it all for a woman?"
The man, infuriatingly, shrugged again. "I won't tell you what to do, not my place, but you've got the strength to protect your family...so why fight further? Fighting for fighting's sake just seems like continuing the cycle, doesn't it?"
Martin would have liked this one indeed, he struck for the heart. His words weren't without a odd wisdom though…
"You're a strange man."
The blond laughed. "So everyone tells me." He grinned. "I'm not wearing a mask though. What are you hiding under there? A cool scar or something?"
No one asked about the man under the mask. He mentally shrugged. What could it hurt?
His slowly removed the mask, brown eyes meeting blue.
"...Goddammit, you're handsome too?" The blond sighed. "Why can't I pull off broody? That girl doesn't stand a chance if you just go apologize."
He tsked. "I don't think it's that easy."
Jaune hummed. "I guess you won't know until you try. You gonna tell me about her or what?"
And to Adam's surprise, he began to.
Mercury let his arms fall to his sides in defeat.
"He's gone. He's in the wind. He's a ghost."
Emerald slowly rubbed her temples.
"Merc, shut up and keep looking." She growled.
"What's the point? We've been everywhere! The guy's too fucking good."
"Merc! The is Jaune, Jaune Arc, that we're talking about! Sound familiar? The husband of the scariest woman we've ever met, your dad complex, and apparently - cause I've been told it enough times, the fucking love of my life. That Jaune Arc. That's the one that you're submitting to me is a mastermind that can't be found?"
The man stared at his feet as they shuffled around nervously.
"Well, when you put it that way…"
She groaned. "Look, the good news is that it's Jaune. How much trouble can he…" She trailed off as watched Mercury start to play with his Scroll. "What the fuck are you doing?"
He hummed. "I got an InstaScroll notification."
"I'm going to kill you. Then Cinder will kill me. Then she'll find a way to resurrect us both, and kill us again."
"Um...you might want to hold off on that. I think I found Jaune." He said, turning around the Scroll for her to see.
Sure enough, there was Jaune Arc, his arm wrapped around a what looked to be a VERY unwilling red-headed man with a grin on his face. The caption read:
'Getting my boi some non-black threads!'
"We're boys." She vaguely heard Mercury grumble as she focused in on the other man, before the light bulb went off in her head.
"Is that Adam Goddamn Taurus!?"
There were so many questions. How? Why? Why again. Probably why a third time.
Unfortunately, they'd have to wait, as her own Scroll chose that moment to start ringing. She winced as she saw who it was before answering.
"H-hey Cinder. What's good in the hood?"
"...Emerald."
"Yes ma'am?"
"That's better. That animal Adam stood me up. Can you believe the audacity? What else could he possibly have to do?"
Mercury held up another post, this one with Adam in an all white suit, and a caption:
'Don't know how Big Daddy and Broman pull it off. Gotta try something different'
"T-that's crazy."
"Insane, I agree. He will know my displeasure." Her voice softened. "How's Jaune? Did you check out of the hospital yet?"
Another post. This one a blurry picture of Adam choking a sales clerk, reading:
'Ok, I probably should've figured red was a poor choice.'
"He's great! Never better! Excited to see you!"
"Excellent, I'll head straight home."
Oh Gods.
"H-hey, take your time. See the city!"
"...I live here Emerald."
A picture of Jaune and Adam looking at jewelry was held before her.
'Gotta say sorry the right way!'
"Tell you what. You'll probably beat us home. We're going to pick up food. Mistrialian. You like Mistrialian right? Great!"
"Emerald-"
"Love you too! Bye!"
She clicked the Scroll off and looked at Mercury with eyes wide with terror.
"What are you staring at!? Go! Go! Go!"
Siren's Call
A boy looks up to me, confusion in his eyes, and a question on his tongue.
"Sir?"
"Yes, boy?"
He nods to the men standing on either side of me, lashing me to the mast.
"Why do Sir Crooc and Demy tie you to the ship?"
"Because they're kinky like that." I laugh, before letting out a yelp as the men tighten the bonds more than strictly necessary, shooting me annoyed glares.
"But sir...why?" The boy questions.
"Ah lad, it's because of our destination!" I gesture with my nose. "Do you see that island there in front of us? The one that Burk steers us toward."
"Aye, sir."
"That be Sirens' Cove boy. A place all ships must pass through if they wish to continue on."
"What is there, sir?"
I chuckle. "Why the Sirens of course. They will sing their song and temp us to leap from the ship onto the jagged rocks below. Many an unfinished ship resides there."
The boy nods. "And so they tie you to the mast to prevent this?"
"There's a smart lad. These two won't let the tale go unfinished, for better or worse."
The boy's eyes sweep over the deck. "But sir, what of the rest of the crew?"
"See there, the bear of black and white and the amorous father? They hand out rope to tie yourself to the rail and wax to plug your ears for those that wish it. But no man must stay, not even the Captain. It's about choice lad, it always is with ships."
"Will you take the wax?"
I shake my head. "No, I must listen to the Sirens, lest the trial remain incomplete." The grave master of arms blows his horn. "Now, we approach! Make your choice boy!"
He considers it for a moment, before taking a length of rope and ball of wax from the bear. He doesn't hear my sigh of relief, or my muttering.
"Good, it would have been awkward if my narrative device jumped ship."
"WHAT?"
"NOTHING BOY! HERE WE GO!"
We cross into the high walls of the channel, and they begin to appear, propping themselves up on the rocks and taking deep breaths before starting their terrible song.
"You fucking suck bro! You're a bargain bin comedy writer at best!"
"You're not going to be able to pull off the drama, might as well give up now!"
I squirm against the restraints, grinding my teeth as their song rages in my ears.
"Why not just let a better author do it? I wonder if Coeur is free. Oh wait-"
"Fuck you!" I shout back at them.
The boy looks at me with panic. "ARE YOU OK, SIR!?"
"You know what we could be doing? Watching YouTube for hours." One sings.
"BOY! THE THINGS THEY SING! THEY BURN!"
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE SIR! I CAN SEE THE END!"
"Hey Carl? You ever see a good KnightFall story before?"
"Nope."
"Well guess what? Now you still haven't."
I howl as I rage against the ropes, foaming at the mouth like a madman, almost blacking out in my fury.
"WE'RE THERE SIR! WE MADE IT!" The boy cries as he pulls the wax from his ears.
I slump against the ropes, exhausted.
"Sir! Are you alright?!"
I give him a weak smile. "I will be lad, I will be. Help me down, will you?"
The boy nods and begins to work on my restraints. "What now sir?"
I hum as I rub my wrist. "We see if there's anyone left on the ship, lad."
"Then what sir?"
"Why, then we chase the fleet."
He tilts his head to the side.
"Which fleet is that sir?"
I grin. "The fleet of better authors."
Feeding the Crew
Cr00cy keeping us in line
Crooc hummed, lost in thought. It was time to give the crew another meal. The main dish was ready, but what seasoning should he use?
He picked up a black bottle, and considered it for a moment, before adding a few drops to the stew. Yes, a bit of sour drama would make the sweetness of comedy stand out more. Afterall, it wouldn't do to go overboard with either.
Make it too sweet, and dish would become bland. Make it too sour, and… Well, he would prefer to not walk the plank, thank you very much.
He took a sip of the stew, and nodded. Yes, it was good. Now just to spice it up a bit… would foreshadowing be better? Or maybe action?
No, action wouldn't fit for this one. Foreshadowing it is then.
One last sampling, and… yes, this was good. All the seasonings blended nicely together, no single one overpowering the others, but working together to bring out dish's taste. This would do, for now.
A few minutes later the dish was ready. Now, how would crew like this one? Only one way to find out.