Hello, this is J. Van A. This is the newest chapter of A BLZEing Remnant and I sort of threw this chapter together today because I am going to be busy for about a week meaning I won't be able to write chapters for a while.
Enjoy this blunt work that gets its point across and sets up the next chapters AKA we are going to start nearing the Breach
"So let me get this straight," Sedric said sitting across from Blaise. "Lucius is still alive and is working for your little friend's father."
"Basically," Blaise responded.
"You forgot Marilyn, Clara, and Sonia," Lucia added confusing Sedric.
"What?" he asked looking at Blaise.
"Right, he also now has a wife and kids," Blaise said. Sedric stood up and walked toward the door pulling his long coat off of the coat rack. "Where are you going?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sedric asked them tossing both of them their coats. "Aren't you coming?"
"You know, I'm pretty sure we should be getting good frequent flyer miles if we keep doing this trip," Lucia said looking out the window of the commercial airship as it started descending onto the airstrip of the Mistral docks.
"Well, at least you didn't have to go through a full body search," Sedric complained rubbing his robotic shoulder feeling the individual parts functioning. "They had me take off my arm and leg so they could check them for weapons."
"And?" she asked.
"The weapons are all concealed in the robotic parts when the limb is taken off so what they saw was two prosthetic limbs, not two prosthetic limbs with several aura cancelling blades, retractable claws, grapple bits and built in flamethrowers."
"You have flame throwers?" Blaise asked looking at his brother.
"Yeah," he replied flipping his wrist around into his arm revealing a small flamethrower. "It only lasts for a little bit, but it can be useful for burning someone after cancelling their aura."
"So, your hand is able to shoot off of your arm and turn into a flame thrower? How do you get the fuel into the flamethrower if it is connected to the arm by a cable?"
"The cable is the fuel line. It is protected by a triple weave titanite thread so nobody would be able to cut through it unless they had a beam saber," he explained mentally praising himself for his ingenuity.
"So, theoretically, you could use it as a sort of flame whip," Blaise said causing his older brother's face to form a blank expression. "That was the first time you ever even heard that, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Sedric pouted flipping his hand back to its original position.
Then the trio of siblings could feel the airship land on the dock and waited for the monitors to tell them to leave.
"Marilyn, dear, where are the kids?" Lucius asked coming out of the bathroom to see the two cribs empty.
"Eva and Helena had volunteered to babysit today while we go into town," she replied putting her hair into a bun on the back of her head. "Your siblings are coming to Mistral for the afternoon and I thought we could meet up with them."
"Do I have a say in the matter?"
"No."
"Then give me a few minutes," he said grabbing a spare change of clothes before heading back into the bathroom.
"So, have you noticed something off about Eva recently?" she asked her husband waiting a few moments for a response only to receive silence. She sighed. "You're not fooling anyone by pretending you can't hear me through the door. We're both wolf fanuses. I hear perfectly fine while I'm in there. And you didn't listen to blaring punk rock for five years."
"I was pulling on my shirt, I think we got the size too small again," he said from the other side of the door, "And now I have to comb my hair again." Though she would never admit it, whenever the Coopers (AKA Campiones) would go clothing shopping if Lucius picked out a shirt, as soon as he would turn around Marilyn would swap the shirt for a size smaller. Her reasons behind doing this whole thing originally started out as a prank at her husband, she soon realized that he looked better. As it turns out Lucius preferred loose clothes originally to conceal thin body armor, which was justifiable because he had been stabbed with his own swords nearly a year before. So in order to break him of that habit, Marilyn made that decision on her own, and enjoyed the after effects.
"You still haven't answered my question," Marilyn said applying eyeliner.
"Well, I have been noticing Eva was a tad bit tired when she arrived and just went directly to her room, but I just assumed it was jet lag," he answered exiting the bathroom wearing his light green t-shirt, black vest, and plain blue jeans. "Why? Do you think something happened?"
"We really need you to work on your observation skills. What you saw tired, I saw depressed," she replied finishing her makeup. "I don't exactly know what happened, but I thought Blaise might be able to answer what is going on."
"Well, if you think I am dense and insensitive," Lucius said grabbing his car keys, "You do realize my younger siblings are much worse."
"So, why are we meeting them at a café? Isn't that some sort of a cliche?" Sedric asked then took a drink of his espresso.
"Sort of," Blaise said taking a bite of his blueberry scone. "Last time we were here, Lucia and I met them at the park then went to a restaurant where Lucia nearly decapitated a waiter with the serving tray."
"It was a reflex," Lucia defended herself.
"A rather interesting reflex," a voice said from behind them. Turning around they saw Lucius there with a large grin on his face standing in front of a Marilyn who was currently waving to the three.
"Lucius!" Lucia exclaimed jumping from her seat to give her older brother a quick hug.
"Hey there, sis," Lucius greeted patting her on the head. Then he looked over to his brothers for a moment, then to his sister. "So, are long coats the Campione family unifrom?"
"Well, it can be," Blaise shrugged. "It's not really a requirement, Mr. Cooper. You did have a your own trench coat when we went against that robot army."
"You went against a robot army?" both the Campione women asked simultaneously.
"Why didn't you bring me along?" Lucia asked Blaise letting go of her older brother.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Marilyn asked her husband.
"You were on a mission," Blaise replied to his sister.
"I didn't want you to yell at me," Lucius told his wife then Sedric quickly made a whiplash sound causing the two younger siblings to laugh and the older one to glare. "I'd like to see how long your rebellious attitude will last when you get married," Lucius said pausing for a moment as a smirk appeared on his face, "That is, if you can ever find someone to marry." He let that comment sink in. "But, whatever, I'm sure you've already attempted some advances on some other unfortunate soul. I'm surprised that you're taking it this easy."
"Well," Sedric began as he stood up taking off his coat and placing it on his chair, "Lucia and Blaise both told me their versions of your story, and they were both very similar. It was probably a good idea I hadn't known since I was working with the White Fang continuing your work, but after I cut my ties to them and joined the Beacon staff they told me." He extended out his right hand. "It is good to see you again. Don't you ever die before me again."
"It's good to see you again too," Lucius said shaking his brother's hand. "Also, it appears you're way ahead of me. You've already got one arm in the grave."
"The phrase is one foot in the grave," Sedric corrected him, "Which is also true. And they aren't in the grave, probably under a highway somewhere outside of the city of Vale courtesy of our youngest sibling."
"You were trying to kill me," Blaise interrupted.
"I'm not complaining, I deserved it," Sedric said to Blaise then turned back to his older brother. "It was a minor inconvenience at first, but I did get these cool prosthetics."
"Nice. Now that we have that sentimental greeting done with, what shall we do now," Lucius said slapping his hands together.
"So, Blaise," Marilyn said getting the youngest's attention as the other three were in the middle of catching up, "Did something happen with Eva before she left to come home?"
"Why? Is there something wrong?" he asked before she gave him 'the look.' "Well, she did want me to come along with her and stay with you, Lucius and the kids. I declined her offer because I had to watch Sedric and Lucia, so she left."
"Oh Blaise, you are a different kind of dense," Marilyn smirked then turned to Blaise's older siblings before he could even ask her what she meant.
After their little catching up session, the Campione family went and had lunch and watched a movie before the three youngest had to catch their airship back to Vale.
"Good bye, and don't be a stranger," Lucius said waving them off before returning to his car with Marilyn. There was about ten minutes of silence before Lucius sighed and turned to his wife. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, not really," she sighed. "I believe I know why Eva was acting differently. Your brother does not seem to understand when a girl is trying to get his attention."
"So that's what's going on," Lucius said chuckling as he turned onto the highway leading to the Manos Estate. "I think the main reason he doesn't notice these things is because he can't even see her. I mean, from what he's told me, it seems like the last time he actually looked her in the eyes was when she slapped him after stitching up his face."
"That is an interesting idea," she replied placing her hand under her chin beginning to thing. That nearly caused Lucius to throw the car off of the road when he realized what she was thinking.
"Don't you even dare think about doing that," he said taking the exit to the roads leading to the Manos Estate.
"I have a PhD in Human and Faunus Biology, and another PhD in Biochemistry. I know what I have been doing, not to mention we also had several other specialists in that field working on that project. We have had thirty-five successful human trials with no failures," she tried to reason with him as they pulled in the driveway to the employee parking garage.
"And she is our Boss's daughter. There is no way in hell he would allow us to perform that experiment on her."
"You never know, maybe we should bring it up with her first and tell her the benefits it would have on being a hunter."
"We're not doing it," he said before she started to glare at him for thirty seconds. "Fine, we'll do it."
Quick little note, if this chapter seemed a bit boring, I am so sorry. I had very little time to finish this.
If you want to check out something else that I have done, just swing by my profile and check out the only other story there: Shine Bright Like the STARs. It was really fun writing it. Basically, the OCs are based off of video game characters and I am setting something up with that one. There are five chapters up on that one with the most recent being a fun one filled with pervy jokes along with JOSEPH FREAKING KIDMAN!
I decided to bring him back since he was one of my favorite side characters. Anyway, I don't have much time left.
-J. Van A