A short chapter, but an important one.
The shattered moon was high in the sky over the majestic towers of Beacon academy. One would expect all the residents of the school to be asleep at such a late hour, but two young huntsmen trainees were still awake. It was time to get some answers.
"Okay Blake, what do you want to know?" Natsu asked the cat Faunus, silently thinking of ways he could bullshit his way out of the situation he found himself in.
"What was that thing you turned into when you went after Cardin?" Blake demanded.
"That was E.N.D., he's basically the darkest parts of my mind and soul brought to the forefront off my being… So basically a different personality." He told her.
"That's not what it said," Blake pointed out, "and that doesn't explain the change in your appearance."
The Dragon Prince sighed, "E.N.D. said that he was more than a second personality because he's an egotistical ass. Literally every part of his mind set and personality come from me, so really he's even less than a second personality. He doesn't hate anything I don't hate, he doesn't know anything I don't know, his only skills are my skills." Natsu told her.
"What about the change in appearance?"
"You can thank my brother for that. The guy makes demons."
Blake scowled slightly, "Yang never mentioned a second brother. And what do you mean he 'makes demons'?"
"Yang never mentioned one because she doesn't know Zeref even exists- which is something that will not change." Natsu told her with a glare, "And I meant it literally, Zeref's semblance lets him use the corpses of humans, Faunus, and animals to create independent constructs that follow set orders he gives them during their creation."
"Your brother can bring corpses back to life!?" Blake screeched.
"Yes, but not the way you're thinking. The memories, personality and even soul and semblance don't get returned, he implants a part of his power in them which then grows and develops a semblance but no soul."
"He creates super powered Grimm?!"
"Pretty much yeah. Though they don't look like Grimm, have insane strength, durability, each have a near endless reserve of power to fuel unique abilities and a high speed healing factor. They are a bitch to kill." Natsu told her.
"Th-that's incredible. A semblance like that could save countless lives if used to augment the huntsmen organizations, why has nobody heard of this?" Blake questioned.
"Because he's batshit crazy, suicidal, and wanted to kill every man, woman, and child in all of Remnant, Faunus and human." He said bluntly.
"Oh." Blake said quietly, "Wait, 'wanted'? He doesn't anymore?" She questioned.
"Last time I saw him I beat him to a bloody pulp and left him for dead." Natsu told her to her shock, "The only reason I didn't kill him outright is because Lady Mavis told me not too. Weather he's alive or not, I don't know or care." Complete lie, he'd burnt his brother's chest cavity to ashes, Mavis hadn't said a thing.
The former terrorist gulped, she never thought Natsu of all people would leave someone for dead, "Wh-who's Mavis?"
"My master. Sorta. I did my job for her, now I'm working for a man named Igneel. Kinda." None of that was a lie- other than the 'man' part. Mavis was the leader of Fairy Tail, even if only unofficially after she became the Fairy Heart, and he was doing a job that his original father gave him- he just wasn't doing it for Igneel, he was doing it for himself.
"Your what?"
"You sound surprised." Natsu stated the obvious, "Is it really that shocking that I don't just go around aimlessly all the time?" He asked her, "Yang told you about how I leave a lot right? That was me doing jobs for Master Mavis." 'And that's another track covered'.
Blake decided that line of questions could wait for another time, "And who's this Igneel guy?"
"Someone who trusted Zeref, was betrayed by him, and was killed with his help." The Slayer told her, "I took down Zeref, now I'm going after the one Zeref helped to kill Igneel."
"You're planning on killing him. Aren't you." It wasn't a question, but Natsu answered anyway.
"Yes, and unlike with Zeref, no one will come to his aid."
The way the red eyed teen said that did not sit well with the cat Faunus, "A wrong for a wrong never ends well for anyone involved."
"And leaving a dangerous nut bag with murdering tendencies and more raw power than a dozen huntsmen to run loose doesn't ends well for anyone involved or not."
Blake gulped again, "You said that every demon your brother creates is programmed and has no soul. What about you?"
"I wasn't dead when Zeref gave me my curse, so I kept my soul. As for my programming, Zeref was suicidal remember? He programmed me to want to kill him. I've already fulfilled my programming."
"I-I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
No more questions were asked that night.
Oswald Ozpin looked at the medical report in front of him intently, a frown marring his face. On the interactive screen that made up his desk was a copy of the medical reports that the school nurse filed after the incident at Forever Fall, both Ms. Rose's and Mr. Winchester's. They made no sense.
Ms. Rose had almost no Rapier Wasp venom in her blood stream but the side effects she exhibited showed she was injected with several stings worth. An injection of anti-venom would have neutralized the poison but it wouldn't have flushed it out like it seemed to have been, so it seemed that Ms. Xiao Long's story about her brother 'burning' the poison out of her system held more weight than he thought.
'But to be able to make his fire burn something that precise without harming the surrounding blood or tissue, and to slip through Ms. Rose's Aura without interference…'
Then there was Winchester's analysis, his Aura was completely drained and a scan of his brain shows an overload of his pain receptors as well but no burn wounds. Aura shielded the body from damage to an extent, meaning that it also prevented them from feeling the full brunt of their opponent's attacks as well. No wound, no pain. To be able to cause so much stress on the boy's brain would require his Aura to be drained, but with his Aura drained he would be burned. It didn't make sense. The only way for something like this to happen was if Salamander made Winchester feel pain though his Aura, something that was impossible. Aura was a spiritual thing, not a physical one so it had no connection to the nerves or brain.
'How did he do it?' Ozpin thought to himself, 'Qrow claims that Salamander's semblance changes properties with his emotions and desires, but this is ridiculous.' The headmaster thought to himself. He had promised Qrow to keep an open mind when considering Salamander's abilities but what was he supposed to think when the boy pulled things like this out of his ass? Ancient season magic originating from a hermit and passed down through the souls of young woman seemed the most likely answer… wow that sounded ridiculous.
'Who are you really, Natsu Xiao Long?' Ozpin asked himself, 'Are you the powerful protector that your family claims, or are you our deadliest enemy?'
He would not find any answers that night.
Cardin Winchester laid awake in his hospital bed, phantom pains and the jerks they caused his body keeping him from his rest. 'Damn Xiao Long' the teen inwardly raged, 'How dare he put me here! I always knew the bastard was nothing but a second rate freak!' He ranted in his mind, remembering the transformation the other student had undergone before attacking him and his team.
He was the heir of one of the richest and most important families in all of Vale! He was one of the strongest students in Beacon! That no name son of a bitch had no right to even think about even trying to touch him, let alone put him in the hospital!
He would get his revenge, and there was nothing that pink haired pyromaniac could do about it.
But not tonight, tonight he rested.
Yes it is short, but it gives some insight into Ozpin's and Cardin's minds and has the E.N.D. talk with Blake so I think we can all say this one is fairly important.
Starting Monday I go back to school so updates may become a little more erratic, just apologizing ahead of time.
There is a new poll for the fan choice up, please be sure to vote on it. And be sure to check out the actual story while you're at it.
And finally REVIEW!
Wingd Knight out.