It's good to get my groove back. Thank you to my knew favorite, and to Ginger and Aincient, who I can always trust on to review. I won't lie this chapter isn't my best work, but I hope its not as bad as I think it is. I hope to hear from more you soon. Until then, enjoy.
That night at Minerva Taurus's secret hideout, Darron was still crucified, as he watched the throne room, immobilized. At the moment the throne room was empty aside from Darron and the large iron chest which stood next to Minerva's throne. Darron had managed to doze into slumber when the large doors entering the throne room slammed open. Darron groaned loudly as Minerva and her chosen walked in.
"Yay bitch squad." Darron sassed, earning him a dirty look from Minerva.
"We'll it's good to know that it's not that easy to break you, makes you more worthy." Minerva said, evilly.
"For 1 get out of psycho lair free card?" Darron guessed, feeling like provoking her today.
"You disrespectful bastard." Sexton growled, stepping forward.
"Uh oh, better calm your bitch before he ruins the merchandise." Darron teased, until a bullet cracked the stone right next to his head.
"Sexton!" Minerva shouted, gesturing for him to stand down. Reluctantly Sexton obeyed.
"You'll be happy to know that Dreamwalker succeeded at retrieving your sword." Minerva boasted, smiling up at Darron. Darron did his best to shrug, but on the inside he was really concerned about what might happen.
"So now what?" Darron asked.
"This." Minerva answered quickly. On cue, goliath walked forward, a giant ladder in his hands. Darron watched curiously as Goliath ascended the ladder until he was eye level with Darron.
"Sup." Darron greeted, not showing any fear to his enemy. Goliath quietly, reached out and, with surprising ease, ripped the massive screw from one of Darron's hands. Daron screamed as he felt his weight fall on more on his other shoulder. Goliath made quick work of the second and used one hand to hold Darron upright as he extracted the one from his feet. Darron breathed through his teeth, and glared up at Goliath. Goliath grabbed him by the neck and tossed him down to the floor. Darron cried out as he hit the ground and rolled to Minerva's feet. Restrainer walked behind Darron and yanked him up, so that he was forced to face Minerva.
"You ready to be mine." Minerva said, running her hand under Darron chin.
"You couldn't handle me." Darron smirked. Minerva rolled her eyes.
"Let's see who can handle who." She suggested. She grabbed Darron's chin roughly and forced her to stare into her eyes. Darron couldn't look away as her pupils turned into large red x's. Around the room. The eyes of the chosen in the room glowed similarly. Darron grit his teeth again, as he felt Minerva try and wriggle her way into his mind. Each and everyone of his thoughts were being slowly consumed by those of servitude, and obedience to Minerva.
Inside Darron's mind, Minerva was having a field day, trying to force all the thoughts from his mind. Thoughts of Blake, gone. Thoughts of the team, gone. Thoughts of Beacon, gone. Everything replaced with Minerva Minerva Minerva. As she continued her cleansing throughout his mind, she could feel his futile attempts to push her out.
"Blah blah, just subm- oh what's this?" she asked rhetorically as she stumbled upon a small black box. It was locked with a heavy padlock, and hard dark runes inscribed all over it. Minerva stepped towards it cautiously and inspected it. It was locked off from the rest of Darron's mind, but Minerva could see the blackness within it seeping into the surrounding memories.
"A dark secret huh? This might be just the thing to rope him in." Minerva reached out and harshly ripped the lock of the box. As she did its runes began to glow with an shinning red, and an oppressive wave of power rushed out from the box. Minerva cautiously stepped back at the top of the box exploded off, unleashing a torrent of negative energy. Her eyes widened in surprise as a mass of black liquid rose itself out of the box and splashed on the floor. As Minerva stepped back to avoid the black substance she noticed that all of Darron's memories were being unrelentingly tainted. Each one painted through a new lens of blood lust and insanity. Most people who lived more than a minute in her presence, and there were few, thought she was a psychopath, but even Minerva was begging to become disturbed by the raw darkness that surrounded her. Needless to say, she totally regretted opening the box. Minerva found her vision fixed once again on the mass of liquid began to rise. It twisted, and distorted itself as though it were sculpting itself into something. Eventually a figure rose up. It was in the shape of a woman, though her features were totally covered. The liquid dripped off her, revealing someone who could only be described as stunning. The remaining liquid stuck to her body like a shimmering dress. Minerva drew her sword, feeling threatened.
"Who are you?" She asked, pointing her blade at the new figure. The woman flipped her shimmering pitch black hair over her shoulder, and stared at Minerva with scorn. Minerva could feel herself shaking with uncharacteristic fear.
"I am the one upon whose domain you have trespassed." she said, her voice of silk laced with such a subtle, yet intense malice, that lesser warriors would've died from fear on the spot. Minerva gripped her sword tightly and stood up straight, regaining her composure.
"I am here to claim this mind as my own. I will remove you from his mind just like everything else." Minerva declared. Despite her confident demeanor, Minerva looked genuinely offended at the Woman's enchanting laughter.
"I told you that this is my body. I will not have worthless scum ruin it with her delusions of grandeur." the woman answered.
"Do you know who I am?" Minerva asked angrily.
"Powerless in here. That is all I need to know." The woman responded.
"I am Mine-" Minerva growled, before she was cut off.
"As I said,your name is of no concern to me. I only care about your sudden, and prompt departure from this mind." The woman scowled. Minerva raised her sword and pointed it at the woman.
"I've no time for your games illusion of the mind." Minerva said, hoping this was nothing more than Darron's mind trying to scare her out. The woman rolled her black irises, and held out her own hand. The black liquid around her feet immediately jumped to her command, slithering its way onto her hand, and forming itself into a sword. The woman gave the sword a test swing before pointing it back at Minerva.
"Then come. Destroy me. Show me you're worthy of taking that which is mine." She challenged.
"I'm not surprised that Darron's mind is strong enough to force me to actually fight it, but he's got nothing on my skills." Minerva smirked, as she stepped forward and took her first slash at the woman.
In the outside world, The chosen still stood around Minerva and Darron, watching her ritual to consume his mind.
"Does it normally take this long?" Goliath asked, looking over at Sexton.
"No… Something is definitely wrong." Sexton answered, watching a bloody slash appear on Minerva's shoulder. He stared at the wound, hoping for his mistress's safety.
"What the fuck!" Minerva cursed, as she leaned over her sword, spitting up blood. The cuts covering her body evidence of her clear defeat. The woman hadn't taken a single step, yet she was decimating her. Minerva hadn't even managed to get her blade close to the woman.
"Do you understand your place?" The woman asked, seeming bored with the encounter. Minerva just glared back. The woman smirked as black liquid began to circle around the blade. With the flick of her wrist the liquid shot out in a wave of devastating power. It was all Minerva could to do jump out of the way. She cried out as she landed hard on her already wounded ribs.
"I will… control...him." Minerva whispered to herself, painfully standing up, and breathing through her teeth. The woman sighed.
"You sure are persistent, but very well. I will destroy you." The woman said, her voice growing increasingly dark. Minerva raised her sword in a feeble attempt to defend herself, but offered little resistance as the woman's blade extended sharply. It pierced through her blade and subsequently, her heart. Minerva could feel her power fading as see was being pushed from Darron's mind. As her vision blacked out the last thing she could see was the woman getting close.
"Pathetic." she said, as Minerva finally gave out.
Back in reality, A sudden wave of power erupted from Minerva and Darron, knocking Minerva, and the chosen clear across the room. As Darron's consciousness returned, her fell over to one side, propping himself up with his hand. Minerva slowly rose to her feet and stumbled towards Darron.
"Mistress." Sexton said, concerned for the multitude of her injuries. She simply raised a hand, indicating for him to be quiet. Minerva walked forward until she was directly in front of Darron. Darron looked up at her.
"Damaged good aren't I?" Darron asked rhetorically, and was answered with a punch across the face, laying him out on the floor.
"What did you do?" Minerva demanded.
"I don't know what you mean." Darron answered from the ground. The chosen looked on and drew closer, as a look of anger flashed across Minerva's face. She sharply kicked Darron right in the side, uncaring if she snapped his ribs or whatever.
"What the fuck was that in your head!" She screamed angrily. "What kind of semblance, power, magic, anything has that power." She demanded to know. Darron quietly pushed himself to his knees, the holes in his hands and feet making the feet ever more difficult.
"If you couldn't even handle my memories of her, then you have no place fighting her or any hope of controlling me. I've already been marked by the darkest of owners, and She's not going to give me up without a fight." Darron explained, falling back on his stomach. Minerva stared at him for a moment, and burst into a round of angry screaming. Just raw unfiltered screaming at his nearly unconscious body. Even the chosen were too scared to approach her. Finally Sexton decided to brave the storm. He approached her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Minerva mercilessly grabbed onto his wrist, and jerked her head to stare into her eyes. Slowly, her eyes became softer, and she finally passed out. Sexton quickly caught her and lifted her in his arms. He turned around and gave Darron a sharp kick before ordering the rest of the chosen.
"Let's go. She needs us." He ordered, as he, followed by the rest of the chosen, left the throne room, closing the massive doors behind them, leaving Darron alone, broken and weak. Darron just laid there, struggling just to breath.
"Need to get out." Darron thought to himself, as he began weighing his options, however none of them seemed very appealing at the moment. All thoughts of escape escaped his mind as a heavy beating rang out from behind him. Darron roughly turned his head over to see the massive coffin that always stands near Minerva's throne. The main lock which kept it locked had been smashed off. Darron quickly deduced that Goliath must have been the one thrown back into it by the energy wave. After a few more hits the large steel door of the coffin flew off, landing across the room.
"This is bad This is really bad. I can't fight. If it's another of her damned chosen, I'm so fucked." Darron thought, dreading the revelation of whatever was inside. It was so much worse than anything he could have imagined. From within the coffin stepped an unwelcome face. The man before him had two metal legs from the knee down, a cybernetic eye, and a metal bottom jaw, but Darron know exactly who he could hate that much. Adam Taurus looked at Darron with utter hate, and stepped down the marble staircase. Darron could feel his anger kick in and his power multiply. Black liquid coursed from his pores and formed a defensive barrier around him. Adam drew his sword and with a single stroke, blew away all of Darron's defensive. Darron looked up angrily in Adam's eye, daring him to kill him. Adam raised his blade as though he was going to run his blade through Darron's skull. Darron refused to break eye contact as the blade came down and pierced the stone right next to his head. Darron smirked.
"I knew you wouldn't." Darron said.
"Be glad I hate you too much to let anyone else do the work of killing you for me." Adam spat, sheathing his sword.
"So this is where you ended up." Darron noted.
"I can see that you didn't do much better." Adam retorted.
"I'm fine." Darron said. Adam rolled his eyes.
"Get up. Laying there like a dog is unlike you." Adam sneered. Darron scoffed and tried to push himself up. His most hated enemy helping his power to stitch together the holes in his hands and feet, pulling them closed. Darron swayed back and forth, panting. Adam casually stared at him.
"At least you're not a total asshole." Darron chuckled.
"I still hate you." Adam answered.
"Same, but it seems that we have a much bigger problem." Darron reasoned.
"That's why you're not dead yet." Adam answered, still trying to intimidate Darron. Darron quickly glanced over Adam's new… enhancements.
"I see you've been upgraded. Maybe now you'll have half a chance of beating me." Darron joked.
"Don't get cocky." Adam warned. Darron shrugged, and coughed harshly. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees. Darron glanced up at Adam and saw his amused look. Darron rolled his eyes and raised himself up.
"Let's just focus on getting out of here ok. We're reasonable people… mostly." Darron suggested, holding out a hand.
"We get your sword back, kill my sister, and then I kill you." Adam responded, taking Darron's hand, and shaking it.
"Deal." Darron smirked, acknowledging the start of the strained and bloody truce.
Just outside the door to Minerva's throne room, six guards wearing thick black armor stood, vigilant against any attacks. None of them spoke a word to one another, until, without warning, one of the guards fell face down on the ground. Each of the guards looked shocked, at the long red stuck in the guards back.
"The hell." One started, when Adam dashed out of the room, looking like a red and black blur, grabbed his blade, and split the soldier from hip to shoulder, the armor providing little to no resistance to Adam's enhanced strength. The guard standing behind Adam saw the opportunity, and reached down for his sword. His face filled with bewilderment as his hand grasped nothing but air. He looked at his sheath, and saw that it was indeed empty.
"Looking for this?" Darron asked, forcefully spinning the guard around, and stabbing the blade into his eye. The guard started screaming in pain, but Darron quickly silenced him by plunging his hand through the opening between the helmet and armor, his hand piercing the man's throat. Darron ripped the sword from his victim's head, and let the gurgling mass fall over. Darron inspected his newly acquired blade with a snobbish look. Without breaking his fixation on the blade, he ducked under an incoming attack, flipped the blade in the grip, and shoved it up through a small chink in the armor, piercing through the guard's, chest. Darron pulled the sword out and rested it on his shoulder. Darron looked across the hall at Adam, who was finishing up with the last of the guards. With a harsh ripping sound, he ripped the guards head from his body with his bear hands. Adam let it fall to the ground carelessly, when he noticed Darron watching him.
"Feeling better?" he asked, snarkily.
"Much." Darron laughed. The two of them started walking down the hall and looking for an exit.
"Sword work for you?" Adam asked, needing Darron to be at his highest efficiency.
"It'll do." Darron answered, monotonously.
"Good." Adam said, kicking open the first window they came to. "This way." Adam instructed as the two of them jumped out the window into the night.
Roughly three hours later, Minerva came storming back up towards her throne room, with a crazed look in her eye. Her trusty chosen following her as always.
"When I get my hands on that asshole, I'm going to make him wish his parent had never even thought of him." Minerva seethed as she continued walking.
"That sounds delectable, where do I sign up?" Restrainer asked, falling in step with his angered leader.
"Nowhere. He's all mine." Minerva answered. Restrainer looked sad, and allowed himself to fall back a few steps.
"I thought the point was to hijack his powers." Feuer Brennt asked.
"It is but I'm going to need to break his spirit first." Minerva answered, growing more impatient by the second as they arrived in the hallway, leading to her throne room.
"Who the hell opened the window?" She asked, prompting Goliath to walk over and shut it, deciding that angering her further would be hazardous to everyone's health. She continued down the hallway, until the slight stench of blood hit her nose. She quickened her pace until she soon of the dismembered bodies of her guards.
"Oh no…" She whispered, dashing forward and slamming open the door to the throne room. Her eyes immediately snapped to the open coffin standing there. Minerva trembled with rage, and drew her sword.
"Find them find them FIND THEM!" She screamed at the chosen, as she began using her sword to deface the corpses in the hall. Goliath, and Feuer Brennt immediately departed, leaving Restrainer to join his master in the disfigurement, and Sexton to just watch the scene in awe. He slowly clenched his hands quickly around the two revolvers sitting on his belt.
"Darron… You will pay." He swore to himself before turning and leaving his mistress to her wrath.
The sun was well into the sky by the time that Zade returned to the Beacon academy. After the incidents of last night, he felt it best if he went for a walk and tried to find a way to process it all, from how to explain losing Darron's sword, to hiding his mysterious benefactor from everyone else.
"Well at least I know how Darron feels to some extent" Zade chuckled as he pushed open the doors. As soon as he stepped through the door, Winter practically jumped on him, wrapping her arms around him.
"What's up." He asked, genuinely confused, as he looked around and saw a generally lighter air in the infirmary.
"That's right you haven't heard." Allister said, approaching, as Winter stepped back from Zade.
"What?" Zade asked again.
"This morning both Weiss and Blake woke up." Allister said, causing Winter to break out into a large grin again. Zade stood motionless for a moment, until the information finally registered in his brain.
"Oh…. OH!" Zade exclaimed, as he raced down the hallway towards his wife's room. He kicked opened the room, causing Wiess to gasp, and shoot up in her hospital bed, totally surprised.
"Zade!" She exclaimed, smiling at him. Zade jumped forward into a slide up to her side, taking her hand.
"Madam. It blesses my heart to see you in such an agreeable condition. Might I make your stay more pleasurable." Zade professed, littering Weiss's hand with kisses. Weiss rolled her eyes and laughed.
"You're too cute." Weiss complemented. She had planned on adding a snarky remark or such, but felt thought leave her mind when Zade pressed his lips against hers. He gently laid her back down on the bed, and jumped on the bed, so that he hovered above her. Zade couldn't have cared less that his father was sitting in a chair across the room. The only things he knew now were Weiss's lips and how much he had missed them. Zade continued to kiss Weiss passionately, until he finally felt her hitting his arm. Zade gently lifted his head, and Weiss pantted.
"Trying to put me back into a coma are we." Weiss stammered out her insult, as her face burned a searing red. Zade just smiled and kissed her again, which she was more than happy to return. Qrow looked on approvingly from his chair, until he was forcefully yanked from the room by his own Schnee.
Down the hall Yang, Ruby, and all of team JNPR were visiting Blake, who was genuinely happy to remember that she had so many friends.
"I'm so happy you're awake!" Yang bawled, as she shoved her head in her partners lap. Blake sighed and pet Yang's tangled hair.
"We're all glad to have you back." Ren added, giving a slight nod. Blake took a mental roll call and immediately noticed those who were missing.
"Where's Weiss and Za-." She started, before deciding she'd rather not finish the question, which made Ruby and Pyrrha giggle.
"They're fine. You know Weiss is too pure for that." Pyrrha commented. Jaune gave Pyrrha a sly look, which she immediately noticed.
"What!" she demanded. Putting her hands on her hips. Jaune just shrugged and laughed.
"Where's Darron?" Blake asked, shutting down the mood of the room.
"He's…." Nora started, but trailed off.
"Oh so he's gone. Kidnapped most likely." Blake deduced.
"Well…. Yeah." A rather struck Ruby confirmed.
"Ok then." Blake said, surprising everyone with her nonchalance.
"You're not worried?" Yang asked, raising her head.
"A little but not really. When you've been through as much as we have, and know Darron like I do. He'll either be saved by us and his team, or He'll break out and go on a rampage, it's really fifty fifty." Blake reasoned.
"Always fifty fifty." Yang smiled, dropping her head back down, acting more like a cat than Blake ever had.
"I think you're being a little optimistic." Jaune warned.
"Am I?" Blake asked, looking over at Allister, who shook his head.
"Nevermind then." Jaune added, holding his hands up. Blake sighed.
"That idiot loves to keep me worried." Blake crossed her arms. Allister reassuring placed his hand on her head.
"He'll be fine." he said. Blake smiled at him.
"Well if that's all, then I'm going to go finish analyzing some data. You need anything before I go Blake?" Max asked, standing up.
"Nope. Do what you do best." Blake encouraged. Max nodded, as he grabbed a hold of Titan and walked out of the room, while the rest of the gang continued to keep Blake company.
In a nearby empty hospital room, Max sat down with Titan in his lap, and once again analyzed,organized,and sifted through data. His fingers work masterfully along the keyboard until he finally found a small locked file.
"Weird." Max muttered to himself, as he clicked on it.
"This file has nearly 100 more layers of security than anything else." Titan warned.
"I guessed, but we need to know what's in here." Max said, cracking his knuckles and starting to hack.
Back in Blake's room, everyone was chatting cheerfully as Zade casually helped Weiss into the room. Blake smiled and waved at her teammate. Weiss smiled back, as Zade set her down in the chair next to Blake's bed.
"Hey." Weiss said, settling herself down.
"You ok?" Blake asked.
"Yeah I'm good, what about you." Weiss answered.
"The same." Blake replied. While team RWBY reunited, Zade stepped back across the room, and tapped Allister on the shoulder.
"Outside." Zade whispered, Allister gave a subtle nod, and the two of them stepped out of the hospital room. Once the two of them were outside, Zade took a few deep breaths as he paced back and forth.
"What's up?" Allister asked, sensing his friends nervousness.
"Nothing crazy." Zade chuckled, stalling.
"What happened." Allister demanded, doing his best serious Darron impersonation.
"We may or may not have gotten attacked last night, and I may or may not have been able to stop them from stealing Darron's sword." Zade answered,biting his tongue. Without warning, Allister reached out, grabbed Zade by the collar, and yanked him in.
"You what!" He exclaimed, holding Zade about an inch off the ground.
"Yeah I lost Darron's sword." Zade confessed. Allister stared at him for a moment, and dropped Zade to his feet. Allister put his hands on his head, and calmed himself down.
"Sorry about that." Allister said.
"Don't worry about it, we have bigger problems right now." Zade answered.
"No we don't. No one can know about that sword. It is priority number one from now on." Allister explained.
"Oh...oh shit." Zade said, flashing back to the time when he had accidentally touched Darron's unsheathed sword.
"Still, tell me exactly what happened." Allister instructed.
"This chick snuck into the infirmary, and she wasn't nearly as sneaky as she thought she was. I kept an eye on her to get a glimpse at her objective. She snuck into Blake's room, took Darron's sword and raced out the hospital. I tried to pursue her, but she resisted. We were fighting, and she grabbed my leg. It was terrible." Zade admitted, giving Allister a worried look.
"What was?" Allister pressed, wanting more information on their enemy.
"It was like having 1000 nightmares at once. It was horrible, fortunately I was able to snap myself out of it, since it was some kind of illusion. Honestly it was exactly like when I touched Darron's sword." Zade finished, not wanting to worry his friends about whomever had actually saved him.
"Alright, we'll keep that in mind, any Idea where she was taking it?" Allister asked.
"None." Zade shrugged.
"I just hope they don't unsheath it, idiots." Allister muttered.
"THAT BITCH!" A scream came from inside the infirmary, and the two rushed inside, ready for action.
Allister and Zade burst into the room where Max was working, and were immediately surprised. Max had laid Titan down on the bed and had apparently punched a hole in the wall behind him. Everyone else was hovering just outside the room, waiting for new information.
"What?!" Zade and Allister asked, simultaneously.
"Show everyone." Max instructed, motioning everyone to come closer. As everyone found a place around Titan, she began replaying the video which sat open on her screen. The video was nothing special, just a silhouette who took up the entire screen.
"Dear Darron's people." The now obviously female silhouette began, drawing everyone's interest. "My name is Minerva, and I'm here to tell you how stupid you are." It started laughing.
"Who the hell is this bitch?" Zade asked, a little vexed by her mocking tone.
"Just watch." Max instructed as the video continued.
"I am someone who's constantly been described as slow to admit her faults, but I will admit this. You little assholes are the biggest threat to my empire. I know this isn't the first time you've killed my men. I've been preparing this for years, and I'm not gonna let you little shits ruin it. You think that I would send people who could actually lead you anywhere important to kill you. Do you think I was born yesterday? No! Everything you've done so far has been for naught. I've cut you off. There's no useful information in these documents. Dead end, cold trail. Good luck finding me, or your precious leader… before it's too late." The voice finished, leaving everyone in the room awestruck.
"Oh we so messed up." Allister admitted, facepalming.
"Yeah this is a problem." Blake added, who was hanging off of Yang's back. Everyone looked down in disappointment, until the sound of a cane rapping against the doorframe caught their attention. They all turned to see Professor Ozpin standing there.
"I do not wish to see my student so discouraged. This is indeed a set back, I cannot lie. Do not think, though, that this is by any means an excuse to give up. The investigation will be ongoing, and I promise that I will not keep any of you in the dark. However, regular school proceed will be resuming." Ozpin explained. Everyone felt a little more reassured, knowing that Ozpin was just as unhappy about the situation as the rest of them.
"Thank you professor." Allister said. Ozpin gave them all a small smile, and turned out of the room, his cane clack all along the way. Everyone stood there silently, until finally Weiss decided to speak up.
"You heard the man, back to normal all of you." she commanded, evident of her normal self. Everyone laughed, and suddenly felt more optimistic about the future.
Up in Ozpin's office, he gently sat down at his desk, and took a sip from his mug, while Goodwitch gave him a suspicious look.
"What?" he asked, resting his cane against the desk.
"You gonna not keep them in the dark?" She asked, a little perplexed.
"Not about this." Ozpin answered, showing her the message she had already seen before. It had come in the middle of the night, and was quick to the point.
"Ozpin. This is Darron. I'll be brief. I am alive. Do not tell anyone, I escaped and do not need my location compromised. I am currently with Adam taurus(yeah I know I hate you too asshole) and don't need anyone knowing that either. We are proceeding towards the north from Vacuo. Once I've recovered my sword. I will come back, and we can discuss what to do from there."
"This is certainly unexpected." Goodwitch agreed.
"Just be honest with me through Glynda. What kind of collateral are we looking at here?" Ozpin asked, sighing.
"Honestly sir. The amount you'd expect when the world's two most prolific murderers team up." Goodwitch said. Ozpin slammed his head on the desk.
"I'm going to jail." He moaned, hoping desperately that Darron wouldn't let thing get too far out of control