Hello again and welcome back to HellFall. Finally, a chapter that is on time! Unfortunately it eight-thirty at night at the time that I am uploading this so it will likely still feel late to most of you (as in you'll probably read it tomorrow instead of today). Most chapters will come out later in the evening however, as that is when I have time to do other stuff.
So in the last chapter we got some idea of who could be involved in the main conflict, and this chapter (obviously) continues off of that. I won't give any spoilers, and instead get right into it. Enjoy!
Night fell over the village, and as it did everyone finished their work and went into their homes to sleep.
It was the perfect opportunity to strike.
I stood atop a high boulder, one that gave me a great vantage point, but was too high up for anyone to easily be able to see me on top. I sat, hunched over and watching over the village. Hours passed, and nothing happened. Finally they appeared in the distance. I saw faint lights illuminating the path before them. From my distance it was impossible to make out any clear features about each person. It was hard enough to even see them.
They arrived at the village. The lights were very subtle, but most didn't carry one. Most likely a bunch of Faunus, I thought, watching them intently. They came out from the cabins carrying sleeping bodies.
Once they had gathered together again they ran away. They had taken about ten people.
It's time, I thought, pushing myself off the boulder and onto the ground. Landing silently, I sprinted forward, following the group from a good distance. Just to make sure I scaled the boulders around them and leapt from boulder to boulder, making minimal noise. I was careful not to knock over any pebbles.
They walked for a while, and about an hour later began to run. I heard one mumble something, and I was forced to speed up. I pounced across the boulders like a cat, moving silently and gracefully, travelling on all fours. Despite our similarities, I am not at all related to cats, or any sort of animal (other than humans).
I leapt to the next boulder, but slipped. As I started to slide off I clawed at the side, and a few small rock chips tumbled down. They hit the ground, making small clink, clink noises. I froze as someone from the group stopped and turned.
"Oi!" One man called in a deep voice, "What's going on? Why'd you stop moving?"
"I heard something" another voice replied. It sounded more like a woman's.
"We're in a rush, get moving!"
"I know that the potion is wearing off, but what if we are being followed? Then it won't be worth it"
"Oi," the deep voice said again, "Make it quick"
I heard footsteps. They grew increasingly louder as they neared my boulder. I had caught the top of the boulder and shuffled along until I held onto the back of it. As I did so the person paused by my boulder and stared at it.
Another rock piece chipped off the boulder. Catching it, I threw it towards the group of people.
The person perked up, then ran in the direction of the noise. After not finding anything, the group continued on their way.
Scampering to the top of the boulder, I continued to follow them. After a long while of jumping and running they stop at a dead end.
Dead end, now what? I wondered.
The person at the front of the group touched a boulder with something and it opened up, revealing a ladder leading into the ground. Everyone climbed down into it, carrying to bodies over their shoulders.
Once they had all disappeared I dropped down and stared at the boulder as it closed up. It wouldn't be too hard to shatter the door with Thunder Cyclone, my hammer.
Turning around, I ran back to the village to inform the people of the situation. By the time I arrived it was still nighttime, so everyone was still asleep.
I hid myself behind a large rock and fell asleep. I hadn't had any sleep at all yet tonight, and all the running and jumping made me tired.
The next day everyone awoke panicked. They called out the names of their children, and the ones who hadn't lost their children called out to me. Eventually someone found and shook me awake.
"What are you doing?" The person asked, "We're not paying you to sleep! They came by just last night!"
"I know," I replied, standing up, "start gathering everyone at this rock"
The person left to do just that. I climbed to the top of the boulder, looking out over everyone. Some people looked up at me expectantly.
Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth, "ATTENTION!" I screamed. Everyone who hadn't already turned was facing me.
Once I had decided that everyone was listening I started talking. "The kidnappers came last night!" I called. Everyone began to talk and yell at me. "Excuse me!" I yelled, gaining their attention again, "Allow me to continue!" I stopped to make sure that they were all listening again, "I followed them last night and found their hideout. I plan to leave as soon as I've had some breakfast!"
Several people volunteered to feed me. Everyone wanted their lost family members back. I smiled and surveyed the crowd. I like how it feels to be on top, I thought, literally.
I sat down in someone's home, eating a large breakfast that they had prepared for me. I felt quite stiff from the running last night, and the food helped.
After washing everything down with water I stood and headed out. Everyone gathered around to watch me leave.
Turning around, I called, "Go about your daily routines, if you can. I will return as soon as I can!" Turning back towards the path, I started moving. The crowd didn't move, but instead watched me go.
I walked for a few feet, then broke into a sprint. As I ran, I gained energy and used that to run faster. I reached the dead end and boulder in a matter of minutes. Like last night, the boulder was sealed up.
Drawing Thunder Cyclone from my back, I got ready to swing. Holding it tightly in both hands and holding it behind my back, I took a step forward, swinging the hammer and slamming against the boulder. The rock cracked severely, but didn't break.
Backing up, I stared at the boulder. That's one tough rock, I thought, preparing for another swing. I swung again, this time shattering the front of the rock. Behind it was a heavily dented metal door. Seriously? I thought, swinging again, bending the door inwards so much that I was able to reach into the sides and pull it out.
Replacing my hammer on my back, I dropped down into the hidden base.
You may have thought something would happen, but very little did. However, the story is progressing as usual, and that's good. It may feel like this one is going to be like the other colors, with the climax in the next chapter. If you did think that, then you are sort of right. The climax actually (sort of not really spoiler alert) spans over three chapters, so look forward to that.
Also, for the next color, Green I, I actually thought up a storyline for it. Originally (if you remember) I was just going to do a little one-chapter introduction, but when I started writing it it felt awkward. I don't like to rush my stories too much. (I know you may be thinking of Azure I now and how rushed that was, but that was actually an incomplete version of it. The complete version is in the form of a comic book that I made. Don't worry, everything will be revealed in due time). However, Green I will likely be another two-chapter color.
I've been thinking about writing Grey I as well, although that'd be a very short one-chapter thing. If you want me to write it, I'd release on the same day as the last chapter of Green I, so you wouldn't have to wait a week for a couple sentences. Tell me what you think in the reviews or send me a PM.
Anyways, thank you all for reading this week and as usual favorite, follow, review, tell your friends, tell your enemies or don't if you don't want to and I'll see you all in the next chapter.