RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.
CHAPTER 32
"Cherri! Get-" Ignis yelled before being thrown into the air by a blast of wind that tore through the moonlit dunes around them. He fell back to the ground with a hard thud. Shiro flashed past the Bloodline, kicking up dust as she rushed towards Cherri. The Maiden waved her hand upwards, creating a wall of thorny cactus-like plants between her and her assailant.
"That's not going to stop m-" the pale woman started. Her sentence was cut short as she felt something sharp dig into her leg and trip her into the sand. Shiro rolled onto her back and sent a blast of fire searing towards Ignis as he disentangled his whip-blade from her ankle. The ghostly woman's injuries fully sealed themselves as the Bloodline was engulfed in a ball of flames.
"It seems the old Summer Maiden's powers are quite effective at removing annoyances," Shiro smiled to herself. Her grin faded as she felt a surge of energy come from within the roaring inferno she had thrown at Ignis. The flames began to flow inwards, sucked towards the Bloodline's silhouette among the burning glow.
Cherri felt the air around them grow increasingly uncomfortable, quickly bypassing the temperatures that seared the landscape during the day. Ignis stepped out of the embers of Shiro's attack, the sand at his feet turning to molten glass. His blade glowed as the metal heated in his hand. Shiro's right eye visibly twitched.
"Another one!? Did I miss a memo or something?" the pale woman cried in annoyance. "Fine, no point in waiting. You withstood a Maiden's flames, so that means your power must be worth taking." Shiro rushed forward and delivered a leaping kick to the side of Ignis' head, sending the fiery Bloodline skidding down the side of a dune. Ryan replied with a swing of his blade. The weapon slashed by Shiro's midsection, leaving a cauterized trail in its wake. He snarled as the wound quickly closed itself.
Shiro took the opportunity to try to leap onto the downed Bloodline, but a powerful kick to her chest sent her flying back into the sand. Thick roots sprouted from under the dunes, coiling around Shiro's body. Cherri stood at the top of the sandy hill, panting from the heat around them.
"Well," the pale woman said nonchalantly, "I guess I have to take this a little more seriously." A blast of wind and flame sent Cherri's wooden binds flying like a grenade blast. The Maiden ducked to avoid being impaled by a particularly large piece of shrapnel. Smaller fragments bounced of Ignis' armor and immolated on the spot. Shiro waved her hand towards Cherri, causing a box of light to appear around the Maiden of Spring.
"Wha- What is this!?" Cherri smacked the bottoms of her fists against the transparent enclosure.
"Drained that one up from a nomad I met on my way here," Shiro shrugged and dodged a slash from Ryan's weapon. "I thought it might prove useful. His screams were so cute."
"You- You're a monster!" Cherri yelled, muffled by the box.
"Thank you," Shiro smiled, creating a small shield of the hardened light to block a stab from Ignis. She sent the Bloodline flying with a gust of wind, the ex-Lord snarling angrily as he picked himself up off the ground. "Still, you're not one to be talking, Miss Spring Maiden. Just look at how you and the others were treated. All alone and locked up. You know, the Summer Maiden was so happy to see another person after so long, she didn't even know what hit her until it was too late." Shiro laughed.
"That- That isn't true," Cherri said, falling to her knees. "Our powers are just too dangerous to-
"Is it?" Shiro grinned at her as she managed to catch Ignis in another box of light. "The truth is, you're a monster, just like me. I'd say it's safe to group your fiery friend over there into that category too." Flames engulfed the inside of Ryan's box as he attempted to break free. "Hm, now how to drain you both safely... Maybe I should make the boxes smaller and break your limbs first?" Ignis' fists and blade smashed into the side of his cage. Cherri could hear his bones cracking even through the box.
"Well, that might work for your friend, Maiden, but you can probably heal just as fast as I can. So, I'm going to deal with him first so that he's out of the way, sound good? Good," Shiro cocked her head and smiled sweetly.
"Leave him alone!" Cherri yelled as she watched helplessly. Ignis' box began to shrink in volume, slowly beginning to crush him. She could hear sickening cracks. "Ryan!" Cherri redoubled her efforts of hitting the box. Ignis' burning glow faded from his weapon and armor. Shiro released him from the box, unceremoniously dropping the Bloodline face-first into the sand. Blood seeped into the desert through cracks in the ex-Lord's battered armor.
"If you're still able to talk," Shiro knelt beside the crippled Ignis, "you should say your goodbyes to the Maiden." Ryan glared at her. "No? Okay then, let's get start-" The pale woman was cut off as an orb of blood-red energy slammed into her side. She had been so preoccupied, she hadn't noticed new energy signatures approaching.
A Bullhead screamed overhead, its side hatch opened with a red-haired woman hanging out the side. The transport circled to level its nose-mounted gun at Shiro and opened fire. The pale woman summoned a thick wall of light to protect herself, the high-caliber rounds impacting harmlessly against the surface. Two figures dropped from the Bullhead, the redheaded woman and a man in wearing the colors of a Mistral soldier.
"Aegeus! Get those two to safety!" Eve commanded. "I'll deal with her!"
"You got it!" the Mistral soldier responded readily. Shiro unleashed twin blasts of flame from her hands, one of which impacted the side of the Bullhead, and sent the craft towards the ground. The pale woman vaguely registered that the craft's pilot must be skilled, since the transport landed relatively unharmed.
Shiro's second fireball had been intended for Eve, but the ex-Lord jumped into the air above the projectile with a pair of owl's wings made of transparent blood-red energy. A blast of sand was sent high into the air as Shiro's attack smashed into a nearby dune.
The pale woman became aware of Captain Aegeus smashing the butt of his rifle into the box of light surrounding Cherri. With her concentration split in so many ways, Shiro was having difficultly maintaining the Maiden's enclosure. Slowly, but surely, cracks were beginning to appear on the surface of the box.
"No!" Shiro yelled, slashing her hand towards Aegeus. A concentrated blast of wind slammed into the soldier, leaving a bloody slash across his armor. With her attention elsewhere, Eve took advantage of Shiro's opening to fire a spear of red energy at the pale woman. The projectile buried itself through Shiro's right shoulder and dissipated. A small dark splotch appeared on the pale woman's clothes before the wound sealed itself.
Shiro jumped to avoid an icy javelin, courtesy of Peleus, who had extracted himself from the crashed Bullhead. The Senator pulled a small handgun from his waist and opened fire on the pale woman. Shiro suddenly sensed a third powerful energy source closing on the area. Just what the hell were these people!? And why did they keep getting in her way!? A grimace of anger flashed across her face for a split second, before quickly returning to her regular smile. A circular barrier of light sprung to life around the pale woman, causing both bullets and energy to deflect harmlessly. Cherri's box suddenly vanished, dropping the Maiden into the sand.
"Fine," Shiro said through a strained smile. "I'll just get the Maiden when she's alone. Let's see how many of you can survive this." The pale woman slammed her foot into the ground and began to run, her barrier moving with her. Shiro threw several slashes of air behind her. Two attacks struck Eve, one of which cut through her left wing, while the other left a gash across her chest. Peleus ducked to avoid having his head removed.
Cherri rolled down the side of a dune, desperately working her way towards Ryan's unmoving form. She couldn't see Shiro any more, the pale woman had seemingly vanished into the desert night. The ground beneath them began to shake violently, the sand shifting as it fell down into an unknown chasm. Cherri grabbed tightly onto the injured Bloodline of Fire as a massive hole burst open beneath them. The Maiden, Ignis, Eve, Peleus, and Aegeus all began to fall. A sudden stop was waiting for them, as they all came crashing down into the sand that had fallen with them.
"Ryan!" Cherri yelled, frantically beginning to heal the Bloodline with her power. Broken bones and open wounds knitted back together before the Maiden's eyes as she worked her magic. Ignis let out a sand-filled cough. "You're okay..." Cherri breathed.
"What... happened?" Ryan choked out. "I thought... I sensed..."
"Hello to you too, Ignis," Eve greeted, deactivating her ability as she pulled herself out from a pile of sand. She reached back to yank Peleus out as well.
"Despair," the ex-Lord nodded. "I suppose I should be grateful for the rescue..."
"Thank us once we're out of this hole... Captain!" Eve called out into the cavern they had fallen into.
"Captain Aegeus!" Peleus joined the female Bloodline, "Report!"
"I'm here!" the Mistral soldier yelled from somewhere out of sight. "Everyone alright?"
"Both Eve and I are fine," Peleus answered. He turned to Cherri and Ryan shortly after. "How about both of you?" He extended a hand to each of them. "Peleus Nikos. I assume you are Eve's friends?"
"Who?" Cherri asked.
"I am," Ryan nodded. "Though I'd call us old allies, not friends..."
"I see," the Senator replied. "Which means that there is still somebody missing." He turned his attention to Cherri. "If you aren't one of Eve's friends, may I inquire who you are?"
"I'm Cherri," the Maiden answered. "Ryan showed up near my home around six weeks ago, and I've been with him ever since."
"Hm," Peleus said. "Captain! Do you need some help?"
"Just having some trouble getting myself out of this sand, Sir!" Aegeus' voice answered. "I can-" A loud skittering sound echoed off the walls. "Shit! Sir, get out! It's a nes-" The soldier let out a choked scream of pain and fell silent.
"What the hell?" Ryan weakly pushed himself up, grabbing his sword out of the sand. Peleus and Eve scanned the darkness of the cavern. Multitudes of red eyes lit up around the four Humans, just within their field of vision. Peleus summoned a spear and shield of ice and stood at the ready.
"It's a Deathstalker nest!" the Senator yelled. "We need a way out!" A surge of skittering scorpion Grimm crashed forth from the darkness. The beasts ranged in size and age, but Peleus could clearly pick out some Grimm with stingers over a meter long. Cherri grabbed Ignis by the arm and pulled him with her towards the Senator and Eve. The Grimm suddenly came to a halt and looked around, searching for the prey that had just been before them.
"They just stopped?" Eve asked, keeping her clawed gauntlets at the ready. "Why?"
"Er, that would be because of me," Cherri rose her hand. "Grimm can't see me or people standing close."
"What?" Peleus looked positively shocked. 'I've never heard of a semblance like that..." His head whipped around to warily eye a man-sized Deathstalker that began to crawl up the wall of the cavern.
"It's..." Cherri hesitated. "That's because..."
"Are you sure you should be telling people about your ability?" Ryan asked, angling his blade at a particularly large Grimm as it passed within twenty feet of them. The Bloodline's stance relaxed once the creature had gone its own way.
"I-" Cherri looked nervously at Peleus and Eve. The Maiden could probably trust the other Bloodline, since she was Ryan's friend... but, when she looked at Peleus, Shiro's voice repeated the word "monster" in her head. "N-nevermind. Forget I said anything, please."
"We've got more pressing matters than 'how'," Eve cut in before the conversation could continue. "We need a way out of this nest."
"So these are Grimm, right Cherri?" Ignis asked. "Do they have some sort of weakness we can exploit?"
"If they can't see us, why not just kill them all?" Eve suggested.
"If we cause a panic, they might trample us," Peleus answered. "And someone could step outside of Miss Cherri's protection and get swarmed."
"What about light?" Cherri suggested. "These Grimm probably spend most of their time underground, so we might be able to chase them off with some bright light..."
"It might work," Ryan replied, "but there's a problem. Unless one of you has the ability to emit something bright, we're out of luck. Fighting with that pale woman drained my power completely." As if to support his point, the Bloodline of Flame staggered on his feet. Cherri grabbed his arm to steady him.
"We could wait until sunrise..." Peleus suggested weakly. "The hole we fell through in the roof of the cave might let enough light in..."
"That's a lot of time to wait for a 'maybe' and hope nothing else happens," Eve said, staring at the hole in the ceiling. Suddenly a silhouette of a person, backlit by the light of the moon, appeared to stare down the hole. Eve and the others tensed. Had that pale woman come back?
"Hey!" the outline called down to them. "Ryan! Eve!" The two Bloodlines visibly relaxed as they recognized the voice.
"Elise!?" Eve shouted. The Deathstalkers scurried around in confusion, searching for the source of the noise. "Wait, this is perfect. Elise, can you flood this cavern with as much light as possible?" Eve was careful to keep her voice quieter, as to not disturb the sea of Grimm around them.
"Sure, just let me get a rope down to you guys first." Elise's silhouette vanished for a moment before reappearing. She tossed a sturdy-looking line down into the cavern. "I secured it to that aircraft wreck, so you should be good. Ready?"
"Peleus, you go first," Eve said. "Cherri, you go after him. Then Ryan, then I'll follow." The others nodded their heads in agreement. The Senator grabbed the rope with his hands. "Now, Elise!"
Eve's "sister" flared a blinding orb of light to life and shined it down into the cavern. The Deathstalkers squealed in pain at the sudden brightness, covering their eyes with their claws and skittering deeper into the darkness. Peleus began to climb, quickly pulling himself out of the cave. As planned, Cherri followed, joining the Senator on the moonlit sands above. Then, the two Bloodlines extracted themselves with no trouble. The five Humans stared back down into the hole as the Elise extinguished the light and the Grimm began to move about again.
Elise's first action was to throw her arms around Eve, wrapping her "sister" in a warm hug. Peleus suddenly became puzzled at how Eve could doubt that Elise was her sister in any way. The two of them had nearly identical features: long, straight blood-red hair, sharp emerald-green eyes, and a spattering of freckles. The only real difference between them seemed to be maybe two years of age.
"Found... targets..." a soft voice whispered painfully. The group whirled around to find Enigma standing a short distance away. Her expressionless helmet was pointed directly at them. Bladed claws poked out from the cloth of her armor. Eve and Elise both dropped into readied stances, the former drawing a spear and buckler from her back. Ryan stepped in front of Cherri and drew his blade.
"Out of the frying pan..." the Bloodline of Flame breathed.
How dare you and that insufferable brat defy me like this! You arrogant, worthless, good-for-nothing- The woman's voice in Chaos' head ranted on and on, having undone whatever the small boy that also occupied the ex-Lord's brain had done to silence her temporarily. Still, Chaos wasn't paying her much mind. Instead, his thoughts continuously puzzled over a single statement.
The reason that the boy and I look so similar is because he is me... Chaos thought to himself. What did the boy, who Melody had taken to calling "Mini-Chess" or "Mini" for short- What had he meant with that statement? Was it just about the appearance he was using? It was undoubtedly a young Chaos, but was there more to it than that?
"Hey, Chess?" Melody shook the ex-Lord from his thoughts gently and sat down beside him on the floor. Rain seeped in through cracks in the walls and ceilings of the apartment complex in Mountain Glenn where the two had been hiding out. They'd returned earlier the day before, but had neither a destination or the desire to walk out into the torrential downpour that had swept over Vale. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah..." Chaos nodded slowly. It had been an extremely odd three days for the Bloodline. He'd gone from yelling at Melody, to saving her, and now was afraid of leaving her alone. To say the least, he had a bizarre mixture of emotions floating around in his chest. Furthermore, despite being with Melody again, the Bloodline's powers had not disappeared. It was strange to Chaos, that he had the power to leave her, but found himself unable to.
"Is Mini having trouble with keeping that other voice busy?" Melody asked, tilting her head worriedly. Chaos wasn't sure why he'd told her about the voices, but since she had seen "Mini-Chess", she had seemed to find the notion of a second entity floating around in his head easier to accept. Melody placed a hand softly on Chaos' knee.
I am attempting to handle it. Mini-Chess' voice said. Of course, she is being uncooperative. Don not worry yourselves with it, I will quiet her eventually.
"Okay, just be safe," Melody said with a small smile.
Your worry is unnecessary, but thank you. Melody sat straighter and noticed Chaos giving her an odd look.
"What?" she asked. Chaos paused for several long moments, trying to phrase a question.
"Why?" he finally asked. "I've been wondering for a while... Why are you still here? After I've given you every chance and reason to leave, why didn't you?" Melody stared at him. The Bloodline's tone was exceptionally earnest and soft... perhaps even a little sad.
"Because you're my friend," Melody said. "You- You're the first person who didn't treat me like some sort of monster..." The silver-haired girl edged slightly closer to the ex-Lord for warmth as frigid winds lightly rocked the apartment complex. "How did you deal with it? When you got your powers?"
"I would be lying if I said our circumstances were the same," Chaos replied, steeling himself to reveal yet more information to Melody. "If you haven't realized it yet, this world is not my birthplace." Upon seeing Melody's befuddled expression, Chaos began to explain Earth and the Auras that lived there. Slowly, the silver-haired girl nodded her head.
"So, you know what it's like... to not be wanted by anyone because you're different?" she asked.
"In a way, I suppose..." Chaos replied. "No one in the Order ever tried to chase me out before... but... it was pretty obvious there were members who did not want me there. At the time, though, I didn't care about being alone." He stared down at his feet. "I don't understand. It's my past, but it feels like I'm looking back on somebody else's life."
"Maybe because you're trying to become a better person?" Melody said.
"That's your doing," Chaos replied. "Before, I wouldn't have given a second thought to anything I did... I would have just... moved on..."
"Do... you wish you could forget?" Melody asked after a long pause. "If you could erase your old memories, would you?"
"Yes," Chaos answered, looking at the floor. "Yes, I would..."
"Me too," the silver-haired girl said sadly. "I- I wish I could forget-"
"Come on, Mel!" a teenage girl with curly golden hair beckoned for Melody to follow her. Another girl, with light brown hair, like Melody's, and glasses brought up the rear, taking in the outside world. Melody stumbled over a twisted tree root, the bespectacled girl, her sister, catching her.
"Thanks, Aria," Melody said.
"What kind of big sister would I be if I just let you eat dirt?" Aria asked with a smile, brushing a strand of her shoulder-length hair out of her eyes. "Let's keep going before Gyllene gets herself eaten by an Ursa."
The pair of sisters followed their bouncy childhood friend through the woods around their hometown, a small frontier settlement several hundred miles North of Vale. Technically, the trio of girls should never have ventured beyond the wall, but what the adults didn't know wouldn't hurt them. The friends enjoyed frequent visits to the top of a hill around half a mile from their home, where they would often gaze at the clouds. There were Grimm in the area, of course, but it was nothing that the fourteen-year-old Melody and her companions couldn't avoid.
"Come on, slowpokes!" Gyllene shouted as she began to climb the hill they always visited. "We're burning sunshine!"
"We're coming!" Melody yelled back happily. She and Aria began to work their way towards their friend. After reaching the peak of the hill, the trio laid down in the grass, soft breezes caressing their faces.
"Look at that one," Gyllene said, pointing to a cloud. "Doesn't it look kinda like Mrs. Verde?"
"The bakery lady?" Melody inquired, squinting at the offending puff of vapor. "Eh... a little."
"So, Ari," Gyllene rolled onto her side. "You excited?"
"For what?" Melody's sister asked.
"Duh, Huntress training? At Beacon Academy? You start in a couple months? Any of this ringing bells?" the golden-haired girl asked.
"Oh, yeah..." Aria said. "To be honest, I'm more nervous than anything... and it doesn't feel right to just leave you both here."
"Then you'd better kick so much ass that people quit and make it easier for us to get in in three years," Gyllene grinned. "Right, Mel?"
"Right," Melody nodded, her light brown hair picking up a few leaves from the ground. "Then we can go help people together!"
"You're still holding onto that, huh?" Aria asked kindly.
"Yup," Melody answered. "It'll take a while, but once we all make it, we-" Melody suddenly contorted in pain as her veins suddenly felt like they had been filled with ice.
"Mel!" Gyllene jumped to her feet and shook her friend frantically. "Mel, what's wrong!"
"Melody!" Aria held her sister as she flailed and let out a scream. Before their very eyes, Melody's long hair began to change into a radiant silver hue.
You are worthy. An old man's voice spoke three words in Melody's head, but she was in too much pain to fully register it. Melody's spasms subsided. She blinked dumbly at the sky, her sister and best friend's faces hovering worriedly over her.
"Melody! Are you okay?" Aria grabbed her sister by the shoulders.
"What happened to her hair?" Gyllene asked in befuddlement. Her friend's long light-brown locks had been completely changed to a glistening silver.
"That doesn't matter!" Aria said, continuing to shake her sister. Melody let out a soft groan.
"Every- Everything hurts..." the now-silver-haired girl mumbled. "What- What happened?"
"We don't know," Gyllene answered. "You just sorta... collapsed and started freaking out..."
"I- I did?" Melody placed a hand on her forehead. Her palm felt cold to the touch. The three girls' head whipped towards the woods as a loud howl drifted through the trees. More calls joined the first.
"Beowolves," Aria said. "We need to get out of here."
"No kidding," Gyllene replied. "Let's cut through the Southern clearing, we'll get home faster."
"Right. Melody, can you stand?" Aria helped her sister sit up.
"I- I think so..." Melody answered dizzily. Aria pulled her to her feet, and the trio of girls made a break for home. Twigs cracked underneath their feet, but they soon realized that there was far too much noise for it to just be them. Melody's eyes widened in horror as she caught sight of a pack of Beowolves chasing them down.
"Keep running!" Gyllene shouted. Being the most athletic of their trio, the golden-haired Gyllene kept a decent lead on her friends as they sprinted towards their town. Suddenly, a Beowolf pounced from the side, grabbing Gyllene with its jaws.
"GYLLENE!" Melody screamed as her best friend hung limply in the creature's mouth. A look of shock was frozen on her face. She tried to stop, but Aria kept pushing her to run. The sisters left a trail of tears in their wake, having no other choice but to leave their friend's body for the Grimm.
Melody's vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. She suddenly felt herself fall forward as her foot caught on the same root she had tripped on before. Aria ran several paces further before realizing her sister wasn't beside her anymore. She stopped and turned. A dark form emerged from the trees behind her. Melody watched helplessly as the Alpha Beowolf slashed her sister with its claws.
"Aria!" Melody cried and struggled to disentangle her foot from the tree root. The Alpha continued to maul her sister. Then, just as Melody rose and ran forward, the Beowolf stopped. It looked at the spot where Aria lay bleeding, her glasses shattered and bent. It searched and scanned as if it could not see the dying girl. After a moment, it seemed to give up and loped back into the trees.
Melody rushed to her sister's side and held her. The silver-haired girl called her name over and over, but Aria remained limp and lifeless. It took Melody a moment to process that the Beowolf had broken her sister's neck with its powerful swings. She buried her face in her sister's chest, tears streaming forth without end.
"WHY!?" Melody screamed at the sky. "WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE LEFT!?"
Melody walked back towards her town with a lifeless expression on her face. Aria's body had proven too heavy for her to lift. Her sister's blood had seeped deep into her clothes. Without thinking, she limped towards the main gate of town. As the guard at the entrance saw her, Melody collapsed from exhaustion onto the ground.
The next thing she knew, Melody was laying in her bed. Frightening sounds filled her ears. People yelling. Gunfire. She was able to pick out her mother's voice shouting, but not the words. Melody weakly pushed the bed's covers off her body and pressed her feet against the cold floor. She vaguely noticed that her clothes had been changed. The girl picked her way towards her mother's angered voice.
"-lutely refuse!" Melody's mother screeched. "She is a child!"
"She's cursed! What else could it be!?" another voice yelled in response. Melody's heart dropped. It was Gyllene's mother.
"M-mom?" Melody said hesitantly, stepping out to find her mother facing down a terrifying mod of their neighbors.
"There she is! The demon who killed my daughter!" Gyllene's mother screamed and pointed at Melody. There was a madness to the woman's eyes that the girl had never seen.
"Mom, what's happening?" Melody squeaked.
"Grimm are attacking the town," her mother replied.
"Because of her!" Gyllene's mother yelled. The crowd behind her made sounds of affirmation. "She disappears with her sister and my daughter, returns alone with recolored hair. She has either been cursed or is a witch!"
"Listen to yourselves!" Melody's mother shrieked. "Blaming a young girl because you're afraid! Melody has nothing to-" A single gunshot rang out nearby, and Melody saw her parent crumple to the ground. A man stepped out from the mob with a smoking rifle in his hands. The crowd descended on her, roughly dragging Melody towards the main gate.
"Return the cursed child to the Grimm!" Gyllene's mother screeched. Melody couldn't process what was happening as she was thrown over the side of the wall around her town, landing hard on the dirt ground. Red eyes of Grimm were everywhere around her. Beowolves, Ursas, Boarbatusks, and every other nightmarish horror that she had heard about. The horde surged forward towards the town. Melody covered her head with her arms and waited for the end. An Ursa's foot came careening forward and struck the girl in the head, sending her sliding out of the way of the rest of the swarm. Melody's vision was consumed by darkness.
When Melody had regained consciousness, there was nothing left of her home. The gates lay bettered and bent over thirty feet from the entrance. Bloody stains and drag marks littered the ground, evidence of the Grimm dragging bodies away to feed. Melody limply walked home, only to find her house a half-collapsed ruin. She curled up on the floor of her room and cried, tears leaving dark spots on the dust-covered carpet.
For the next few days, Melody scavenged what she could from her home and the surrounding buildings. Every hour or so, she'd yell out the names of anyone she could think of. Eventually, she even started screaming the names of her neighbors' pets, hoping that anything had survived. As it turned out, no one ever answered.
Melody slowly came to the realization that there was nothing for her here. She packed as many bags as she could carry with clothes and supplies. As she walked down the dirt road out of town, she threw one last desperate look over her shoulder.
Then, Melody walked, and kept on walking. With no goal or destination in mind, Melody wandered aimlessly. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months very quickly turned into four years. Melody didn't spend all of that time alone, but inevitably, people turned against her. The fact that Grimm avoided her frightened them. They'd curse her and throw things. She'd, more than once, had to avoid bullets. Over time, she learned to live off the land. Her bags slowly broke into useless pieces of leather and cloth, eventually leaving her with just one, a small satchel Aria had gotten her.
Then, one day, Melody had come across an old mining town. Desperate for supplies or companionship of any kind, she had ventured into the seemingly abandoned town. She quickly regretted it, as the town was littered with bodies. Still, she was running low on food and water, so she continued. Sudden sounds of gunfire caught her attention, and she rushed towards the city hall to investigate. Upon cracking the door open, she saw a boy, not much older than her. His hair was an unnaturally bright white, he had pale skin, and blood-red eyes that scanned the room. Shadowy blades flicked around him. She caught sight of a black wolf beside the boy, which vanished into thin air. Was that a Grimm!? A sudden excitement built up in Melody's chest. This boy, he was like her! She threw caution to the wind, she'd found somebody who might understand! She pushed the doors open.
"Um... Excuse me..."
Melody shook and held Chaos' arm tightly. After she had said she wished she could forget her past, she'd fallen silent. Tears streamed down her face. The ex-Lord saw many emotions cross over her face, pain and sorrow being the most evident. He wasn't sure what was driving him, but the Bloodline did something he had never tried before. He took his arms and put them around Melody's shoulders.
"Ch-Chess?" Melody squeaked out quietly between sobs.
"I'd like to change my answer," Chaos said. "I wouldn't give up my past. My experiences are what make me what I am, for better or for worse. And... without my past," a hint of color tinged the Bloodline's pale cheeks, "I probably would never have met you. I wouldn't have a name. I wouldn't have found a person that actually cares that I exist."
"Chess..."
"So... I guess what I'm trying to say... is... Thank you. Thank you, Melody."
"You-" Melody trailed off. She grabbed Chaos' chest and began to cry into him. "You said my name... for the first time..." The pair sat there together for several long minutes, Melody slowly calming down and readopting her usual personality. "You know..." she sniffed and wiped the corner of her eye, "you're terrible at hugging..."
"I'll work on it."
"I'll be sure to teach you," Melody whispered, leaning into the Bloodline once more. Before he knew it, Chaos was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling while Melody slept on his shoulder.
How adorable. The woman's voice sneered. How worthless.
Get the hell out. Chaos thought in reply.
No. You clearly still need "Mommy" to hold your hand. This girl should have died long ago! She is vulnerable, kill her now! The woman snarled. Chaos closed his eyes and concentrated.
The Bloodline found himself standing in a dark-gray void with no apparent walls, floor, ceiling, or end. The only other thing in the void was a woman. Much like Chaos, she had red eyes, pale skin, and white hair.
"So, you've decided to speak to me like this?" the woman smiled. "All the other Bloodlines apparently do this so that they can speak face-to-face with their dearly departed. Did you miss 'Mommy' that much?" Chaos didn't respond at first, instead he waved his hand and black chains suddenly wrapped themselves around the woman. "What are you doing!?" Chaos wasn't sure how he was doing this, but the actions felt natural, as if he'd known his whole life.
"Listen, Mother," Chaos flashed forward so he was inches from his parent's face. "This is my body. My mind. And no washed-up has-been hag is going to control any of it!" Shadowy blades burst to life at Chaos' sides. A maddened smile graced his lips, and he laughed. He dug one of the dark spikes into his mother's arm, another into her leg. He was so filled with elation that-
Chaos dropped his arm, and the blades disappeared. His crazed grin faded. What on Earth was he doing?
"What? Not going to kill me a second time?" his mother sneered. "When you did it the first time, back when I was still flesh and blood, I thought you might actually have potential." Chaos did not respond, and simply turned around and began to walk away. "Where are you going!? Release me!" Shadows began to form into a complex safe-like prison around her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"What's right," Chaos replied without turning. "I won't kill you. Instead, I think I have a more appropriate punishment. I'm going to take this power that I inherited from you, and I'm going to use it in the exact opposite way you taught me."
"Do you fancy yourself some kind of hero, you filthy brat!?"
"Nah," Chaos turned to her, a calm clear smile on his face. His image began to fade as he withdrew from this part of his mind "I'm never going to be a hero, but at least found someone I want to protect. See you around, Mother, hope you enjoy your new home."
A/N:So, uh, yeah. Is this long enough yet? I literally wrote this in six hours, and I love how it turned out. I actually debated splitting this chapter around the 4k word mark, but then ultimately decided to keep it as a single chapter.
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