RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.
CHAPTER 28
"Well, this certainly became awkward quickly," Chaos muttered as he stared down a wary-looking group consisting of Jerloh and an infuriated-looking Marcia. Melody stood beside him, close enough for the Bloodline to feel her body heat.
When Europa had been removed from the field, the Order's line had begun to crumble, allowing the Vale forces to push them into a retreat. Now that Shiro was also absent, Chaos found himself the center of attention to a mixture of befuddled and angry people.
"We can't just let Chaos up and leave!" Marcia said angrily. "Do you not remember how dangerous he is!?"
"Yes, but he also just helped us," Jerloh argued. "That has to warrant something."
"It warrants putting a bullet in his head!" the EDC General snarled.
"Wait," Melody spoke up hesitantly, "doesn't Chess get a say in this?"
"No!" Marcia yelled. "He lost his say after he murdered hundreds of people!" Melody flinched at the older woman's seething rage. "Do you have any idea what this bastard did!? How thick do you have to be to defend him!?"
"It seems I picked the wrong time to rejoin the party," Alex's voice cut in. The group turned to face the blond soldier, whose right arm and chest were both heavily bandaged. Smaller injuries stood out like sore thumbs across Alex's other limbs and face.
"Good to see you up and about, Alex," Jerloh greeted, "How're the others?"
"Arthur, Emerald, and Pyrrha got everyone back to what's left of the infirmary. Lots of fractured bones and stitches to go around. Ryland's been taken for an emergency surgery, but they said he should pull through," Alex supplied.
"There was another guy who was down when I showed up, did he-"
"Carbon didn't make it," the blond soldier shook his head and looked down.
"Damn. I'm sorry to hear that," Jerloh sighed.
"There'll be time to grieve for him once I'm sure everyone else is safe," Alex stated sadly.
"What's happening out here?"
"The Order's fallen back from the city," Marcia reported. "It looks like the local forces rallied and got them to pull out with their ship. Whether or not they'll be back is up in the air. Only thing left to do at the moment is to decide how we're going to deal with this piece of-"
"Hey!" Melody shouted as the EDC General gestured towards Chaos. "He's a person too! You could at least show a little respec-"
"He's not a Human! He's a damned monster!" Marcia spat back. "God, are you some sort of idiot!?" Sparks began to fly between the General and the silver-haired girl, while the two Bloodlines and Alex watched in exasperation.
"Marcia!" Alex shouted, getting her attention. "Go cool off. I'll deal with this." Reflexively, the General stood straighter.
"Underst- Wait, you don't outrank me anymore!"
"Doesn't matter. Do it," Alex said. "Please."
"Fine," Marcia gave in after a few moments. "We're going to talk about all of this later though. And you had better bet you're getting an earful."
"Of course," the blonde soldier nodded. He waited a few seconds for Marcia to storm out of earshot towards the academy. Alex turned to Jerloh, who hadn't moved from his spot. "What about you?"
"You and I are likely on the same page," the Terror Inheritor shrugged. "I'm in the camp of letting him off this time. I still would only trust him about as far as I could throw him, but he did fight on our side today."
"Then we are in agreement," Alex nodded and sighed. "As much as I never thought I'd say this... Thanks, Chaos... or 'Chess'... or whoever you really are. This doesn't make us friends or even allies, but since you helped us today... you're free to leave."
"So... that's it?" Chaos tilted his head.
"Rest assured that I will make sure you get what you deserve," Alex narrowed his eyes at the Bloodline. "Just not today."
"Good," the ex-Lord nodded. Melody looked at him oddly. "Then we'll settle things when that time comes." Without another word, Chaos turned and began to walk down the road away from the academy.
"Thank you," Melody bowed slightly to Alex and Jerloh before jogging off after Chaos' shrinking form. The pair quickly became dots in the distance.
"Guess that's the end of that for now..." Alex breathed.
"Seems so," Jerloh nodded. "So... you feel like sharing why your story about what's going on here?"
"I can give you a better rundown later... For now, let's make sure everyone's alright..."
Melody kept pace behind Chaos, eyeing him strangely. It seemed like he was distracted by something. He was constantly looking down at his side as if someone was standing there. Melody's gaze fell on the ex-Lord's hands. While he hadn't shown any indication that he was in pain, the silver-haired girl could only cringe as she saw blood drip down off his fingertips. It seemed that when the power Chaos had tapped into faded, the wounds from where the shadows had stabbed into his limbs had not.
Melody looked around them as they passed through Vale. Everywhere she looked, people sat and stood in shock. Rubble was strewn across every surface. Distant gunshots marked the presence of Hunters and police fighting straggling Shades or Grimm that had entered through breaches in the wall. She could hear the distant sounds of a child calling for their parents. Ahead of the pair, a young man was attempting to rescue what appeared to be his sister from underneath a slab of concrete.
"Hey! You over there!" the man cried as he caught sight of Melody and Chaos. "Please, I need your help! I can't get this off of her!"
"Chess, what do we-" Melody stopped in shock as the Bloodline changed direction and walked over to the trapped woman. He silently reached out a hand and placed it on the woman's forearm. In a moment, she vanished and reappeared several feet outside the pile of rubble. The young man began to vehemently thank Chaos for saving his sister, bowing deeply to the Bloodline.
"I can't thank you enough!" the young man said. "If I can repay you-"
"That won't be necessary," Chaos rose a hand.
"If you wish. I've got to get my sister to a hospital. Do you want to come with us? Your arm's bleeding pretty badly." The young man pointed to the blood dripping onto the ground.
"It's just a scratch," Chaos shook his head. "Go take care of your family." The young man bowed again before helping his sibling limp away towards the nearest medical facility. Melody walked over to the Bloodline, surprised when she caught a glimpse of a smile crossing his face.
"So, I guess you aren't so "evil and murderous" if you're helping random people in the street," the silver-haired girl grinned. Chaos turned to her, his face returning to a relatively unreadable expression. "You know, you can admit doing nice things feels good."
"Don't misunderstand. That was an opportunity to test out my power in a new way, nothing more," Chaos didn't meet Melody's gaze. The silver-haired girl saw an almost imperceptible amount of color tinge the Bloodline's pale cheeks.
"Uh-huh. Sure," Melody smiled softly. "I guess you aren't ready to admit you can be a good person..."
"Believe what you want," Chaos replied.
"So, where are we headed, Chess?"
"I was going to return to the building we were staying in in Mountain Glenn," the Bloodline answered. "After all, your bag and my supplies are still there."
"You kept my bag for me?" Melody asked. "Goodness, you're certainly being sweet."
"Are you trying to push my buttons or something?" Chaos inquired with exasperation.
"Sorry," Melody sighed, "I'm trying to cope with everything that happened today."
"I see..." Chaos looked down at his side again, and Melody saw a deeper shade of red pass over his face. He slowed his pace and cleared his throat. "There was one other thing... Back in Mountain Glenn, I lost my head and yelled at you... You shouldn't take that personally- Er, that is- Damn it..." Melody began to giggle uncontrollably. "What?"
"I'm sorry," she breathed between laughter, "I've never seen you get flustered like that."
"I'm trying to apologize to you. So... sorry... okay?" Chaos turned his head away for a moment. "I'm no good at this whole 'friends' thin-" He stopped as Melody suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head into his chest. The Lord stood awkwardly in place while the silver-haired girl embraced him.
"Apology accepted," Melody smiled.
See? That wasn't so hard, was it? Melody jumped at the sound of a young boy's voice. She released Chaos from the hug and looked around for the sound's source. The street remained devoid of anyone aside from herself and Chaos.
"Um, did you just hear something?" Melody asked. "Otherwise, I think I might have just started going insane." Chaos looked down to his side again for a moment. He held out his hand to her.
"He says that he wants to talk to you," Chaos stated. Melody gently took the ex-Lord's palm in her own. The moment she did, the form of a little boy with snow-white hair and blood-red eyes appeared next to Chaos.
Hello, Melody. It's nice to meet you. The boy's mouth moved to the words, but the sound seemed to echo inside Melody's head.
"Um, hello?" she answered hesitantly. "Who are you?"
"Don't bother," Chaos spoke up, "I've been trying to get him to explain that since he showed up."
You simply ask questions that you already know the answers to, even if you don't know that you know.
"See what I mean?" the Bloodline said. Melody tightened her grip on Chaos' hand.
"I'm still unclear on how I'm seeing... um, whoever you are..." Melody blushed slightly in embarrassment.
Your connection with Chess allows me to communicate with you. The boy tilted his head as if the answer was obvious. Though, I still have to siphon off some of his energy to appear as an image. I could have spoken to you with only my voice, but I assumed this would make you more comfortable.
"Uh... Thanks? I guess?" Melody answered, confusion evident in both her voice and expression. "But... why does how I feel about Chess make this whole thing work?"
A connection goes both ways, not one. Otherwise, this wouldn't work at all. Melody looked at Chaos, who immediately turned his head away to avoid her gaze. An urge to smile welled up in the silver-haired girl's heart. I sense you have a different sort of question.
"I- Wait, how did you-"
As I said, this connection flows both ways.
"Um, then..." Melody started. Something had been bothering her the moment she had seen the little boy's form. "Why do you look so much like Chess? Who are you, really?"
Well, that's easy. I-
"Wait a minute," Chaos said. "I've been trying to get that out of you for a while, and you just give her the answer?"
That's because who I am should be obvious to you... but it appears that you're more damaged than I realized. So, pay attention, because this is the only answer I will simply hand to you.
"Oh, just spit it out, alre-" Chaos' frustrated snap was silenced with a soft squeeze from Melody's hand.
"Don't be rude, Chess."
You should not concern yourself with that, Melody. One small outburst is not enough to frustrate me. Still, thank you for your words.
"So..." Melody started.
Of course... Well, the reason Chess and I are so similar in appearance... The boy paused a moment, as if wondering whether he was doing the right thing. Well, that's because I am him."
A/N: More Chaos and Melody. Chapter turned out pretty well, I think.
Reviews, Follows, and Favorites are always appreciated! Let me know what you think! Got a question for me? Go ahead and leave one in a review, or if you don't want to share the answer, send me a PM. I will answer as quickly as I am able.
REVIEW REPLIES
Dghornick: Yeah, that part was certainly a little underwhelming. As for where Chaos sent Shiro, he didn't have any sort of precise control over it.
Xenolis: Thanks, glad you thought so.
Stevealio163: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) You ain't seen nothing yet. Though in all seriousness, the line I went with was the lesser of two evils.
Skaana: Well, if Alex or Marcia sees him again, Chaos is in for more than just a punch.