A/N: What is up everyone! I am back with the seventh chapter of the story! I am glad you are liking this story which I am grateful for. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?
Henshin!
Third Person View
'Thought'
Greeed/Yummies
A wiry silver-haired man was walking out of a bakeshop with an assortment of sweets in his arms. For some time now, he had been traveling around the city of Vale since the morn to bask in its wonders and curios, intrigued by the fresh sights and sounds.
Finding a bench to sit on, the man laid out his purchases next to him to choose which one to consume first. He had bought so many that he was rattling his brain and chewing his lip with uncertainty. After much rattling, the man settled for a bag of freshly baked cookies. He giggled childishly at the treat he was about to indulge in, but suddenly thought that something was missing.
Rifling through his pockets, he took out a few Dust crystals which he had pilfered earlier from a group of men that were really mean to him. All he ever wanted was to see if he could play with them, but they all kept yelling and pushing him away, or trying to shoot him with those weird toys. They didn't even hurt. Their constant deterrence irritated him, never before had he ever met people that were so mean to him, except the King. He shivered at the memory.
Angered, he went on to teach them a lesson by beating them up until that red stuff started to come out. He always wondered why humans had that inside them rather than cell medals, but then he remembered how his mommy taught him that humans weren't like them.
Weren't like the Greeed. Gamel could only shrug at that.
After he had put all of the other meanies to sleep, the last of them that was still awake begged for Gamel to stop. The bad man started to take things out of his pockets and coat – those flat card thingies that the humans used today as money, a really sharp and pointy thing, and some of that shiny stuff too. What do the humans call it again? Oh, that's right; Dust. They were all so colourful and shiny to look at.
Gamel liked Dust when he first laid eyes on some a few days earlier. He really did. So much so that his curiosity led him to wonder how it tasted. To the utter bewilderment of the man that kept pushing all of their stolen loot at the Beast Greeed's feet, Gamel picked up a pretty blue one and shoved it into his mouth. At first, he was a bit taken aback by how…crunchy it felt as he chewed, but after swallowing, a sudden burst of pressure erupted inside him.
Cool, thick air steamed from his mouth as the feeling subsided. At first surprised by this phenomena, Gamel became absolutely delighted. He liked it. That was so fun that Gamel wanted to try out more.
The man, who had long been gawking at the sight, just sat on his knees in a flabbergasted stupor, unable to comprehend what he had just bared witness to. Anyone with a brain knew that Dust was dangerous to consume without proper control, but this guy just popped one into his mouth like it was candy.
'Is he even human?' he thought.
He was disallowed from answering that question when Gamel turned to him and asked if he could have more of the crystals. Terrified, the man happily obliged and gave him all the Lien he had as well, just in case. In another turn for the weird, Gamel questioned the man on why he even gave him money.
Was this guy an alien or something?
Coming to the conclusion that Gamel was probably just playing around with him, he told him that he could take all of his Lien so he could buy something for himself – beer, chicks, food. Gamel was confused by what the first two things were, but he instantly perked up at the word food and happily accepted both the bag of Dust and what had to have been a few hundred in Lien. With a spring in his step, Gamel happily bounded out of the small warehouse where the men had been hiding in, leaving a dazed and distressed gangster contemplating on what he was going to tell his boss.
A few hours later, he was now down to only a handful of Dust. He couldn't stop eating them, as they all reacted differently inside his stomach. Each one of the colors caused him to spew fire, electricity and even a huge gust of wind straight out of his mouth. To say that he was elated would be an understatement. Settling for a green one this time, he placed it carefully on top of a cookie, only for his ears to catch a strange noise.
Curious, he stood up from the bench with his cargo in tow to follow the sound. Around the corner of the street he was in, Gamel was immediately treated to a peculiar sight. A large congregation of people were gathered in front of a shop, noting silently that they were all faunus. He scratched his head in wonder as he sat down cross-legged at a nearby bench to observe the spectacle.
All of them were screaming, shouting and hollering at the top of their lungs, hefting up large wooden signs that read "WE'RE NOT ANIMALS!", with their only obstacle being a line of security guards barring their way.
Gamel scrunched his face in puzzlement; of course the faunus weren't animals, whatever gave them that idea? Relegating himself to resuming his meal, his attention was once again diverted by catching one of the protestors throwing a shoe at the guards. Why did that faunus woman do that? Are they playing some sort of game?
"Oh I get it!" The silver haired man wrongly grasped, a Dust laced cookie held up daintily near his mouth. The faunus woman shortly took out her remaining shoe and tossed it to the same guard, who deflected it with his arm. The discarded footwear then soared through the air and landed between Gamel's enclosed legs.
"I get it, I get it! That looks like fun." he bounced and giggled in his seat.
Smiling, a silver slot immediately formed on his forehead before chucking a cell medal in. With a resounding clunk, his form shifted for a brief second as he was surrounded by a grey aura of cells, allowing a Yummy to crawl out of his back.
Unlike the rest of his fellow Greeed, Gamel's Yummies were fully formed when they came out, and this one in particular was a hulking, humanoid bison with two spikes jutting out of each of its shoulders, a long black belt connecting between the large piercing of its nose and the ring dangling by the front of its belt, just above its loincloth. The horns atop of its head on the other hand were sawed off at the end, with a third by its forehead.
The monster bellowed loudly, directing some of the protestors and guards to its direction. Cries of anger were quickly replaced by fear as they beheld the gruesome sight, too panicked to even care about the man sitting right next to it.
"More!" Gamel pointed towards the crowd as he chewed on his treat. "Make more shoes fly!"
Remnants of Desires
Chapter 7: Reminisce and Footwear
"It's quiet," Ankh muttered, his eyes narrowed to slits as he scanned the courtyard. His eyes darting ever so slowly back and forth, his aura sense blazing like crazy. Today, he was dressed in a long sleeve unbuttoned shirt, with the right torn off by the elbow and dyed a shade of red. A long sleeved black shirt hugged at his frame underneath, with the right dyed lavender. A long silver chain could be seen dangling loosely by the loop of his red trousers and ending by his pocket. Black pointed leather shoes protected his feet as he stood on guard under the tree we were taking cover in.
"Too quiet," Ankh continued, with me rolling my eyes as I took another swig of orange juice from a bottle I acquired earlier from one of the Ridevendors.
"You've been going on like that for the past hour and a half. Give it a rest already," I grumbled as I screwed back the cap.
"Why should I?" Ankh grunted, earning a sigh from me.
"There haven't been any incidents involving the Greeed for three straight weeks already. Weeks that we've been spending the better part of training." It was somewhat unusual that we hadn't heard so much as a peep from them lately, which did not bode well for my avian comrade. To be frank, his paranoia was getting kind of annoying.
"Tch, if only I could make a Yummy, then I wouldn't even be wasting away here." I glowered at him.
"I always thought you could, seeing as how Blake mentioned the other day that you almost made a host out of her."
He threw his head back to heave a sigh. "I was bluffing. I was teaching her a lesson about talking to strangers." I snorted.
"What are you, her father now?"
"It was a test to see if she could be trusted with keeping information. Information that could leave her vulnerable to being exploited by just about anyone who's willing to lend an ear for some sob story."
I quirked a brow. "What do you mean? Did Blake tell you something important?"
"Let me respond to that with a lesson for you; mind your own Goddamn business and give me 30 laps around the school. Now!" I groaned.
"Can't you just settle for 20?" I pleaded.
He pivoted his gaze to bore deep into me. "You want me to kick your ass all the way? Besides, if you want to be ready for the RaToraTa Combo, you need to exercise your cardiovascular and leg muscles. Now run off already."
"Fine," I conceded, seeing his point. If I ever wanted to be prepared just in case I get to use Kazari's Medals, I needed to develop my stamina. I was wistfully reminded of the Gatakiriba Combo and how it took such a huge toll on my body. That's definitely a feeling I didn't want a repeat of.
My current attire was a black jogging suit that Ankh bought yesterday for just this occasion, since he had been meaning to widen the aspects of my training even further to better hone my endurance. All those times he was smacking me and Jaune around in the arena, he was just toughening us up. Needless to say, the results were showing as we actually lasted alot longer than usual and managed to land a hit each through Ankh's defences yesterday. It was far better progress than the first few days where he would literally curb stomp the both of us.
After doing a brief warm-up, I was off, leaving the grumpy 'Professor' to his brooding.
10 minutes later...
Well into my 5th lap, I was already working up a sweat and panting heavily; the foundation of Beacon wasn't exactly small. The temptation to stop was hanging atop my head invitingly, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to hear the end of a good thrashing from Ankh if he ever caught wind of me slacking off. Besides, I was getting better at the rate I was going, so what right did I have to complain?
When I was nearing into my 6th, I found myself passing through a more remote part of the school. Great, just 24 more to go and I'll be all-
Without warning, I felt a jolt of pain from my ribs as something hard knocked me off my feet. I bluntly fell to the ground on all fours. After all that running, that hit was more than what my lungs could take. I gasped several times for air as I struggled to turn myself over facing up, only to be met with the sight of four figures looking down as they cornered around me.
"What the-?"the following words died down my throat as the one at my right landed a hard stomp to my midsection. I buckled and convulsed from the throbbing. Even with aura that blow still hurt, and it probably would've been worse if Blake hadn't awakened mine.
"Stand him up." That voice; oh no.
I felt strong hands grab me by my shoulders as they lifted me up to my feet. Even in a daze, I could still make out the smug face of Cardin, with Dove right next to him sharing the same expression. Russell and Sky were flanking my sides, both of them locking me in place with vice grips.
"I've got a bone to pick with you. So, you think you're some kind of tough guy? Huh!?" he kneed me in the stomach as he trailed off, eliciting chuckles from the other three.
I coughed a few times as I endured the pain. "Tougher than you I bet." I rasped out. Wrong thing to say, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
He seemed to ignore it. "You may be hot in that fancy armor of yours, but without it you're nothing. No, you're lower than nothing." He followed with a punch straight in the eye; goddammit that hurt.
He continued. "You know, I've been thinking about what you said the other day, and it dawned on me. Since you're such an animal lover, why don't you get yourself a nice little faunus bitch and have a whole litter of little puppies," he cooed mockingly. "One big happy family, am I right fellas?" all of them laughed to their hearts content as they proceeded to lay a beating on me.
The next few minutes were like a blur, the pain numbing as my mind started to wander elsewhere.
By the time I awoke, Cardin and his cronies were gone. I let out a sigh of relief, clutching my aching ribs as best I could. This sucks. Those jerks really did a number on me. Again, even with aura I can barely hang in through the pain. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic about all this.
Resigning myself to just lying down to rest while staring up at the clouds, I started concentrating my aura to help heal my injuries. Small flickers of purple were all that showed for my effort, with me sighing in annoyance at my lack of control.
Who was I kidding? I haven't improved one bit. If anything, all I ever amounted to was becoming a better punching bag.
After a few more minutes of entertaining myself with a small light show, I heard the pitter-patter of footsteps approaching.
"Pathetic." I carefully craned my neck to look up at a new figure towering over me, the sun obscuring his features. An instant was all I needed to realize that it was Ankh, who had his hands in his pockets as he mercilessly scrutinized me.
"The least you could have done was kick him," he stated, causing me to look away – so he saw the whole thing.
"Hey," he gently nudged at my shoulder with his foot, "get up." I didn't bother to indulge him.
"Why?" I muttered faintly. I could feel the red Greeed rolling his eyes. "Because you're more useful to me alive than dead."
I clicked my tongue in irritation as I forced myself up, feeling my muscles tearing for every movement I made. My teeth clenched together tightly as I writhed in agony to stand – at least I can give Team CRDL some credit for not holding back.
Scores of civilians both human and faunus were desperately fleeing the scene where the once lively protest was held, cries for equality and fairness quickly transitioning to help and mercy as they were relentlessly pelted with shoes, trash cans, garbage, and all manner of debris that was within reach of the Bison Yummy.
The monster clapped its hooves together before slamming the ground, emitting another devastating shockwave that sent more objects flying all about the area, indiscriminately slamming against as many of the people as possible.
Gamel, who was still sitting on the bench and clapping in joy, watched the carnage unfold. "More! More!" He then shoved another cookie into his mouth.
His Yummy nodded, then delivered another shockwave, only this time, larger objects were added into the mix. Bicycles, cars, dumpsters and even a fire hydrant. No one was safe, including the nearby buildings as windows shattered and doors knocked off their hinges.
Gamel was having the time of his life. It had been a while since he had this much fun. Not even his old playmates could last long before they either ran away or fell asleep - a really, really long sleep.
Inside his body, Cell Medals jingled as they multiplied. As opposed to the other Greeed, whatever desire Gamel was living out through a Yummy, the resulting medals would be directly fed into him.
The Yummy sauntered near to the remaining crowd, who were either frozen in fear or moving as far as their legs could carry them. Gamel hummed as he reached for another cookie, his hand rifling through the now empty bag.
"Huh? Where...? No more cookies?" he whined. He then checked his pockets; no more Dust too? He scratched his head, the beginnings of a tantrum setting in. He then shot his gaze to his Yummy, who was now pacing around aimlessly as there were no longer anyone left to throw more stuff at, having driven the last of them away with another shockwave.
Gamel shot straight up from his seat as he huffed in indignation. "Hey, let's go find more playmates." he motioned for the beast to follow him, which it obediently did.
I limped my way back inside the school, my training regimen postponed until I was fully recovered. Ankh meanwhile was walking ahead of me, unusually silent for once. Tch, he's probably too disappointed to even bother. Huh, since when have I ever craved for his approval?
Before we could reach the door however, he stopped dead in his tracks and whipped his head around, expression slowly twisting into hungry smirk.
"Finally," he met my gaze, "it's a Yummy! Let's get going, come on!" uncaring of my current condition, he dashed past me. I sighed inwardly as I reluctantly spun on my heel to trail along, hoping beyond all reason that this wouldn't be as bad as I was sure it was going to be.
"Where?" I asked.
"It's in the city near the square, and I even recognize who it belongs to, Gamel." I stopped mid stride. "Wait, Gamel's out there?" I gulped at the possibility of being on the receiving end of the Beast Greeed's violent tantrums. Compared to what CRDL did to me, the grey monster could snap me in two without even trying.
"Just slot in some Core Medals to help you get back on your feet," he pointed out, shoving the King Combo into my palm. I shrugged before slotting the medals in. That's when we suddenly heard the ringing of Ankh's scroll in his pocket.
"What is it?" I asked as he rifled for the tablet.
The red Greeed's brows knit into a scowl as he read through the message. "Something's not right."
I grimaced. "With Gamel and his Yummy on the loose, only now you're saying that something isn't right?" what was Ankh getting at?
He held the tablet up close to my face, my nose almost grazing the screen. "See this? It says here that someone's found a green coin with strange markings on it."
My eyes widened. "You think it's a Core Medal?" hang on...why did this seem so familiar?
"Could be, but considering the situation right now, it's more than a little suspicious." then it dawned on me; of course!
"It could be a trap," I commented, earning an inquisitive scowl from my companion.
"Now why would you say that?" shit, this was just like in that episode where Kazari set Eiji and Ankh up. I bit my lip. "W-Well, like you said it's a little suspicious. Besides, what if Kazari's the one behind this?"
Ankh kept digging his eyes into me, probably skeptical on how I could have come to that conclusion. He turned his head away to tap at his chin thoughtfully. "Yes...it could be. It certainly isn't unlike him."
"So, do we take the bait or what?" I was earnestly vying for the latter, as it was obvious that Kazari was going for the 'divide and conquer' route.
Ankh hummed in contemplation. "I may still need to check it out."
Oh man. "What if something goes wrong?"
"I can handle it. Now go after that idiot Gamel already." he ordered as he ran off, not even waiting for my consent. I bit back a curse; what will it take for that guy to listen to some sane advice for a change? I took a deep breath to help calm my nerves, with the Core Medals already well on their way of revitalizing me.
When I made it to Vale, I rode my Ridevendor through the streets to where the disturbance was occurring, a Taka Candroid leading the way. When I finally arrived at the scene, I cringed in dismay at the littered streets, the whole place deserted with only a few strays picking at what was left.
The sound of cawing alerted me back on the trail. "Anything?" I looked up to the mechanical bird as it nodded for me to follow it. With the rev of the engine, I sped past the scattered dross to hasten my hunt for the duo.
Ankh surveyed the docks with a critical eye, the wind blowing at his hair not hampering his vision in the slightest. Arriving with plenty of time via a Ridevendor, the red Greeed treaded carefully about the pier, steadily raising his aura sense to its limit.
He smirked as he found the spike of a very familiar aura. "Uva..."
"Took you long enough." Ankh couldn't help himself a chortle as he spun on his heel to meet the gaze of a tall man clad in green and black standing atop one of the crates.
"It's been quite a while Uva. You're looking well." it was a shameless lie, as he could tell that the bug was missing a few of his Cores.
Uva could only smirk as he jumped off the cargo and landed in a crouch. As he rose up to his feet, Ankh tentatively laid a hand on one of his short swords tucked away behind him.
A calculative glance was all it took for Uva to read his former leader's movements. "Still settling for those knives? I would have taken you to be better than that after all these centuries" this earned him a scoff from the other man.
"You never were very open to other options yourself, that's what I always criticized you about, remember?"
"Still the smartass aren't we?" He growled amidst his transformation.
"So tell me," Ankh wondered as he now held up one of his blades casually, "were you the one who sent that message? I bet Kazari put you up to it, didn't he?"
He huffed. "Don't think you're the only one who has evolved." he brandished his right claw menacingly to lunge forward for a dive, which was met with the swift drawing of Ankh's blade. "Looks like your arrogance has dug your grave." He lit up his arm with electricity, paralyzing his opponent with the discharge of power.
'Damn, I didn't take Uva's power into account when I forged these things. Electricity and metal…' his thought was cut off by a powerful haymaker to his rib, being unable to block or weave with his other arm as the blades dug into him.
"Without OOO...you're just a baby! It's pitiful for you really, our once great leader, to be reduced to a mere parasite on this wretched meat sack." he drew his arm back for another stab, the blades dripping with Westborn's blood.
Ankh could only endure helplessly, with more blood trickling down from his mouth. "Damn…"
My search through the city led me near a rapid transit, with the Taka Candroid perching itself up by the right handlebar.
"This is where Gamel is?" I asked, getting a caw in return. I heaved a sigh. "Okay, but I can't se-" the loud churning of metal and screaming put me on the alert. It was coming from around the corner.
The both of us mounted off the bike to sprint deeper into the subway, where we found Gamel sitting by the stairs leading up to the city as his Yummy was busy harassing a small crowd of would-be passengers that didn't escape in time. The small crowd milled about the dim tunnel, scrambling around as they made their way to the stairwell; with some of them tripping over one another.
"Hey!" I called out, causing the Yummy to whip its ugly head in my direction. I swallowed a lump in my throat; it was just like in the show, only this was definitely not a costume. Nope - the hair, skin, even the hooves looked like they were genuinely parts of the live creature. This only meant that he was far more mobile than someone that was impeded by a suit.
Gamel, who was in his true form, looked up from his revelry to eye me closely. I blanched at how much the Greeed's body had been eroded by his diminished Cores, with the same tattered bandages wrapped around his bulky torso and down to his arms, with only his head and legs being intact. His "face" was grey with a black visor serving as his eyes, while his mouth guard resembled an elephant's trunk flanked by two small tusks. Atop his forehead was a small Rhinoceros horn jutting out.
"Ho? Who are you? Do you want to play with me too?" Uh oh, this wasn't good. As if responding to his wishes, the Bison yummy pounded the ground with his hoof, sending one of the nearby trash bins lying around to fly right at me. I dodged to the side, falling face down on the floor.
"Haha! Again, do it again!" Gamel cheered. I bit back a curse as I scrambled to my feet to weave from another projectile, this time it was was one of the dislodged benches.
Crouched down, I looked up to find that the Taka Candroid was still hovering above me, having also steered clear of the monster's wrath. "Find Ankh, hurry!" it bobbed in the air for a moment to nod before zooming as fast as its wings could take it out of the chaos. Thankfully, the terrible two ignored it as their attention was now focused on me.
"You're good, not many of those other playmates would move out of the way, so they got tired fast." I steadily rose up to my feet and lifted my shirt, having relinquished my jacket back at my bike's glove compartment. If Gamel was still in human form, I would have been sure that his eyes flew wide open as he spied a familiar belt hugging my waist.
"You! You're OOO." he quickly shot up from his seat to saunter down and join his spawn. "Kazari said that I might meet you."
"So it was a trap," I mused as I went through the motions. "Henshin!"
TAKA!
TORA!
BATTA!
TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!
Armor clad, I willed the Tora Claws out before launching myself to lunge at them. It was a reckless move, but I was willing to put some of what I learned in training to use. Now was as good a time as any I suppose, with me ducking just in time as the Bison swung at me.
I slid to the left with the Batta Legs maintaining my balance, allowing me to deliver two direct swipes at my foe's ribs and thigh respectively. The beast cried in pain, with two large visible gashes on where my attacks connected. Odd, no Cell Medals spilled out.
No sooner had I finished my assault, a large foot dug into my clavicle. It was Gamel. "Stop bullying my Yummy!" he huffed as he swung his fist straight for my chest. I flinched from as the blow launched me back to a wall, causing it to crack and for me to fall in a heap. Sweet mother of Monty, even with only a few medals missing, the big lug's still stupidly strong. As I wriggled myself to stand, I brought a hand up to check at the places where the blows connected. There was no pain. I was still dazed somewhat, but in all retrospect, his attacks didn't even hurt all that much.
Is this what having aura felt like? If that was the case, then how come Cardin and his goons still managed to injure me? Then, something suddenly clicked – the armor! That had to be it. With the power of the Core Medals combined with my aura, the protection was essentially doubled. Alright, now this was more like it!
With a renewed sigh, I lowered my form into a stance. "Okay, time for Round 2!"
After their brief clash, Uva lifted Ankh up by the arm. "Stand up!" he ordered. The red Greeed could only grit out a groan helplessly as the stab wound agonized him.
"You're making this a lot harder on yourself than me, so just die already so I can get your Cores." Ankh spluttered out a chortle. "Heh, then I guess you…wouldn't like to know…about what Kazari has then."
"Bastard!" Uva roared as he kneed Ankh in the gut.
"Shut up!" with two more sweeps of his claws by the human host's misshapen forearm, the resulting gash gave way to a few medals. Without so much as a huff, Uva released Ankh from his grip in order to claim his spoils.
The emerald brute normally wouldn't have passed up a chance to absorb a fresh bounty of cells, but two green and yellow glimmers beckoned his interest more. Plucking them off the ground, he hefted them up close to verify; Kuwagata and Cheetah. Not bad, now for more.
As he witnessed this travesty, all the avian could do was curse at his useless body as he curled up from the pain. His rage boiled even hotter as Uva slowly loomed over him, bouncing the newly acquired trinkets in his hand to further rub it in. "As if I'd ever fall for your mind games, now just give me more of my Cores already, and I might – justmight – give you a quick and painless death."
"The Kamakiri Medal…" Uva grimaced at the mention of his Core. "Kazari has it…I take it he's given it to you already?" Uva's silence was all the confirmation he needed when the insect grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Still, he couldn't suppress a smirk as it grew on his lips.
"You could be lying, but then again, he's always been a shifty kind of guy. But don't worry, I'll go check – right after I cleave you into PIECES!"
As Uva drew his arm back in what could only be the coup de grâce, Ankh's mind was racing.
'It can't end here. I still have so much to do…
'What…what am I supposed to do?' at a loss for an answer, the bird Greeed was only a hair's breadth away from resigning himself to his fate , if not for a black ribbon speedily wrapping itself around the insect Greeed's retreating arm, surprising not only him but his would-be victim as well.
Before the Greeed could even try to uncoil such an annoyance, he felt a swift slash run across his back, accompanied by the clinking of spilled medals.
"W-What!? OOO! HERE!? HOW CAN THAT-!?" he jerked around to see who the interloper could be, and instead of the armor clad fool that he was expecting, it was a young girl in black readily holding up a sword.
"Who the hell are you!?" he bellowed, still not letting go of his quarry. Ankh felt like a ton of bricks had just been dropped on him as he caught sight of the newcomer. "You…?"
I didn't have time to brace myself from the Yummy as it slammed its fist against my midsection, with the resounding shockwave adding to the force as I was driven off my feet and up the flight of stairs. I ungracefully fell on the asphalt, leaving me gasping for air. I guess even with my aura and armor, a sufficient amount of force was all that was needed to break through. I could only wriggle back as the duo clambered menacingly up the steps.
"That'll teach you to hurt my friends you meanie!" Gamel clapped in joy at my crumpled state, as if he was a child that had just won in a game. As they marched closer to me, the sound of a gun going off twice rang through my ears, with two shots each landing dead center at them.
"That hurt," Gamel dumbly noted, slowly looking down at his smoking chest, only to be pushed back a step by another shot.
I perked up at this new development, whirling my head up to see who my savior was. "Blake!?"
The raven haired kunoichi smiled down at me as she helped me up. "Blake what are you doing here?" it was then that my peripheral vision noticed someone else that was with her. "Ankh!? Ankh…what-"
Ankh was clutching firmly at his rib as he sat hunched on the backseat of a Ridevendor, the red of blood soaking his white shirt. "I'll explain later. Just nail those two already." With a reluctant nod, Blake and I stepped forward for battle.
"How did you get here?" I managed to ask.
"I was in the neighbourhood," she answered simply. I quirked a brow under my helmet. "I'll take that as code for 'following us and making sure we needed help'. Did I hit the nail on the head?"
She bit back a snort. "We'll talk later, heads up!" We split up to evade in time as the Bison Yummy launched a car straight for us, with Blake shooting at the giant twice in retaliation. I on the other hand, was left to handle Gamel.
"No, no, no! That mean girl just butt in and hurt me! That's not fair!" he bounded up and down, giving in to his tantrum.
Not willing to waste such an opening, I activated the Batta Legs to leap high into the air to deliver a dive kick to his head. It wasn't exactly a Scanning Charge, but I needed to soften him up if I was ever going to get a clear shot. Too absorbed in his outburst, he failed to react in time as my foot connected, driving him back a fair distance before landing on the bare asphalt.
"OW! Nnnnnnwaaaaaaaaaah! You meanie! Both of you are meanies! I'm telling Mezool!" he sobbed as he flailed about, rubbing his eyes..
"Now! Finish him off!" I heard Ankh yell out, with his tone cracking from his injuries.
"Right!" I wasted no time in taking the O Scanner out to swipe it over the buckle.
SCANNING CHARGE!
The kunoichi easily bobbed and weaved around the Bison as it kept hurling different things at her. "You're not very smart, are you?" she taunted, earning a boom of rage from the savage animal.
She shot at it a few times again, penetrating through the creature's hide, then quickly reloading a new clip after counting those as the last rounds. While Gambol Shroud might not have been able to do such damage to a Yummy before, the modifications she added courtesy of the Kougami Foundation were showing more than satisfying results.
To do this, a small mechanism that similarly functioned to Enrique's Medajalibur was installed inside each of their weapons, with a slot positioned at just the right angle where they would be able to insert a Cell Medal and imbue them with Core Energy. The funny thing that they couldn't help but notice about the silver coins, was the manner of how they could now be used, sharing an uncanny resemblance to Dust.
It could be said that Cell Medals were just another form of Dust, with Weiss being the most adamant in this comparison. Blake recalled haphazardly catching the heiress pocketing a few of her cells, no doubt planning to send them back to her family; another one for her to be wary of, and it had to be Weiss of all people. Out of all of them, Ruby was the most enthusiastic as she practically yearned for Crescent Rose to be able to do what Medajalibur could.
In her own way that was typical only of Ruby, she went through her entire allowance of cells that the Foundation provided each of them in just one sitting and swung her scythe around a few times at empty space, expecting to make a cut at reality. When no such thing happened, she slumped in defeat and curled up in her bed to brood for a full hour before gorging herself on cookies.
All they needed to activate the mechanism was one medal before it was ejected out of the slot. By then, it was just an ordinary silver coin that your run-of-the-mill collector would take an interest in.
Seeing as how her weapon hadn't yet spewed out the one she used to drive Uva away with, she lunged forward at her opponent with Gambol's blade mode. She struck true, making a clean cut on the Yummy's chest as it was readying another shockwave.
It lurched back in what Blake could barely interpret as a cry of pain, as its growls and gurgles made it unintelligible like an animal. The cat Faunus held such an irony putting down something that might as well be as mindless as the Grimm at bay. This beast wasn't a Faunus. For all she knew, this thing didn't even care who it hurt, so why should she be so lenient?
At least the Faunus always had a choice...whether they were ever willing to take it or not.
She shook all of those thoughts away as she dove in for another hit, only for her opponent to bob itself away to clap its hooves together at full force, with Blake unable to evade in time.
Using the Batta Legs once again to take to the air, I shifted into position for a side kick. The rings of power from the King Combo quickly aligned themselves straight down, set to empower me with their energies to dish out some much needed retribution.
Hell yes!
Or I would have, if it weren't for something knocking me off course. Judging from the yelp of pain I heard as we made contact, it could only have been one other person.
"Blake?" I bit out as I quickly reached out to grab for her, hoping to cushion her fall. We both went down in a heap, with me at the bottom while she was on top.
Wait...
Dazed but otherwise alright, she let out a soft groan as she held her head gently. I on the other hand was starting to feel the aftereffects of my attack. That charge would have been perfect, but I guess luck isn't always where you want it to be.
"Blake...you alright?" a soft groan escaped her again as she moved to sit up, whilst a cell medal jetted out of the slot just above the hilt of her weapon. Not good.
"Enrique? What..." as she was busy trying to regain her senses, my mind was racing. My body was almost drained, and it would be a good while before the Cores could fully replenish me, but that might as well have been the very least of my worries as the thought of two very strong and likely very angry psychopathic manchilds were marching towards us to finish the job.
"Now we're going to teach you a lesson for being mean to us," Gamel threatened, pounding a fist against his palm to emphasize. Okay, God of Remnant? If you're listening, I just have this to say; you're a lousy host.
This is bad, this is so very bad. I frantically but gently nudged at Blake to help sit her up, my heart pounding like crazy as I dreaded the world of pain in store for us. If I didn't do something quick, I'll have failed again.
Fortunately, it was then that I remembered the newly obtained Core Medal. Hinging my jaw, I pulled on Blake for us to roll away from Gamel's incoming foot, his stomp cratering the pavement. Up to our feet in a jiffy, I jerked my head to Ankh.
"Ankh, the Lion Medal, hurry!" I stretched out my hand firmly, counting on this one option to get us out of this mess. A few coughs instead of objections was all he could muster in his state, before flicking the needed item for me to catch.
I hurriedly went through the motions as Blake silently volunteered to give me cover, but without a medal empowering her weapon, all she could do was delay them with with hit-and-run tactics. Like our lives depended on it; and they did, I scanned the Lion in.
LION!
TORA!
BATTA!
A new helmet now sat atop my head where the Taka section once occupied, with gold adornments decorating the upper edges of my face to give off the impression of a lion's mane. The eyes, which were usually a tint of green, were now bright blue in color with a small yellow diamond lodged snugly between them. Three lines could be made out trailing up from each corner of the mouth guard, completing the look by resembling whiskers.
"Blake, get behind me and close your eyes, hurry!" the kunoichi peered over her shoulder looking ready to argue, only for her eyes to widen at the new part of my armor. "Just trust me!" with very little options other than to fight with everything we had; which would probably be our last leg anyway, she gave a firm nod at me before flipping out of the way.
"Here goes nothing." A lion's roar echoed through my ears as my helmet started to glow, before fully irradiating with what I could only guess was the intensity of a small sun. Ankh and Blake turned away as soon as they were able, holding up an arm to help block out the light.
The other two weren't so lucky. "GAH MY EYES! TOO BRIGHT!" Gamel could only clutch at his eyes helplessly with both hands, blinded by the potent rays, his Yummy also doing its best to shield its vision."WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH MEZOOL!" the Beast Greeed could only squirm in agony, futilely calling out for his mother figure to make the hurt go away.
Come on, come on, work. Leave already. With baited breath, we waited for them to flee from the light, but with what little energy I had left, I was scarcely hanging on from just keep this up. Seeing no signs of a retreat from either of them, I spoke back for Blake to rev up the Ridevendor. Not needing to be told twice, she leaped onto the seat, with Ankh leaning against her to help stabilize him.
"Come on!" she cried out emphatically as she roared the engine to life, with me being all too happy to power down and dispel my armor. Muscles burning from fatigue, I literally threw myself at the glove compartment and clung as firmly as I was still able. The Greeed and Yummy duo didn't even notice us as we sped clear out of the area.
(Back at the mansion)
Once again in his human form, Uva marched his way up the porch of the mansion, running a hand briefly over his pocket to make sure that the Cheetah Core was still there. He smirked despite himself, having managed some level of satisfaction out of today's excursion and his scuffle with that faunus wench. Since when have their kind displayed such insolence? As far as memory served, he was usually the one to deal a harsh lashing for any signs of dissidence from them, scornful of his leader's...softer approach.
It was a simple plan courtesy of Kazari, which Uva begrudgingly had to admit wasn't all that bad on paper. The first step was telling Gamel to do whatever the hell he wanted in the city. And whenever Gamel came out to play, trouble wasn't normally far behind. The second step, required that he send out a message of having found a green colored coin on the social boards using a scroll he pilfered from a guy at a bar he started to frequent.
He could hardly count himself to even remember the owner's name as he caved the guy's face in for pissing him off. Him? Pay? For a drink? Not even the old taverns ever charged him for so much as a pint of their finest cider, even though he could never really taste any of it. At least the girls were more hospitable compared to their employer, although he could easily tell that they only did it to calm him down from demolishing the whole building.
Kicking the door off its hinges (he could worry about fixing it later), he sauntered past the dilapidated hallways and peeled walls, barely able to contain the rising fury inside him as he found Kazari sitting by the window in human form.
The rogue, sensing one of his medals, whirled around to face his newly arrived comrade. "Hey Uva, how'd it go?"
For a moment, Uva just stood there, silently reading anything that could have been amiss with the feline humanoid. He quirked his lips to look away. "It went relatively well all things considered. I actually got one of my cores back in case you're wondering."
Kazari curled his lips into a smile that barely reached his eyes. "Good, and Ankh?"
Uva brought a hand up to stifle a chuckle. "That's actually the funny part. While I was busy trying to carve him open, he...how should I say this. Um, he told me - now I'm just humoring you here so pay attention - he uh...TOLD ME. THAT YOU HAVE. ONE OF MINE!" shifting into his true form mid-sentence, he charged straight for the other man who didn't even bother transforming, still too weak to even try.
Kazari could only cringe as he was hoisted up by the collar of his shirt. "Wha-What are you talk-"
"Don't lie!" he thundered, no longer able to control himself. Oh, how easy it would be for him to simply destroy the scheming bastard with their difference of power right at that instant.
"Give it back. Now. I'm giving you 5 seconds to comply, or I'll fry you like the worm that you are!" Kazari grit his teeth, feeling Uva's claws slitting his cheek. Without most of his medals, he might as well have been weak as any human.
"Will you two stop that? You're giving me a headache," Mezool called out from her seat in front of a dressing table she brought down from upstairs, with a makeup set she had stolen spread out in front of her. Her eyes were glued tentatively on a tube of pink rose lipstick, not even bothering with giving the two boys an audience for their squabble.
"Kazari, trade Uva his medals for yours," she offered.
"But I-"
"Now. I won't ask you again," she ordered, the air around her slowly thickening.
Outnumbered and outwitted, Kazari yielded and drew out the Kamakiri with a flick of his wrist.
"So you did have it!" Uva harrumphed as he morphed back, flicking his own to reveal the Cheetah. "I guess without this, you're just a scared little pussy cat." Kazari spared the green ruffian a scowl to counter the latter's sneer, tossing the green trinket over its owner's shoulder out of spite.
For that, Uva threw both man and medal to land callously on the floor. Uva's smirk grew into a fully smug smile as he whizzed around to pluck his long coveted Core from the floor. With a blow and a few runs through his sleeve, Uva flipped the trinket up to his chest for absorption.
Elated, his body swelled with power, feeling more of his old strength returning. "Ah, now this is more like it." he flexed his arms and fingers, like a great weight had just been lifted off his shoulders.
Kazari languidly reached for his own Core before consuming it as well, his mood not lightening in the slightest. The blow to his ego would have been more tolerable if Uva had gotten two back, but perhaps this was simply the latter's sick form of karma.
"There, was that so hard Kazari?" Mezool asked as she puckered her rose colored lips.
(At the docks)
Gamel, now back to human form, was sitting on one of the crates meant for shipping, still rubbing at his eyes; more from crying than blurry vision. "Nnnnnnnwaaaaaaah, OOO was so mean. All of them were mean to me. Mezool! Mezool where are you!?" he sputtered through his tears, voice cracking, having long forgotten where the mansion was, and with only his Yummy to keep him company. Bison (which it had come to refer to itself by that moniker) was doing his best to comfort its master. It hated to see him like this, because as much as he was its creator, Gamel was also its friend. It didn't know anything else other than what master wanted for it to do.
To throw stuff at people.
"OOO..." it growled, remembering how that meanie with the armor hurt its precious master. "His fault...OOO. Destroy OOO..."
"This should be enough…" I counted through the Lien I withdrew from my school account from a nearby ATM, aiming to pay for our expenses at the hotel we were staying at and the medical supplies for Ankh's injuries.
I was standing on a street from across the small and cheap building that Blake had found as she dragged us along to put as much distance away from the scene of battle. We were all too wasted to call in for a bullhead and wait for it to take us back. I looked up to the sky to muse at the coming twilight, minute specks of stars already shining at the distance. The moon; wow, I don't even know what to say about the moon. A shattered, misshapen crescent of a rock and a few flecks making out the faintest shadow of a puzzle.
It was unnerving to be honest.
I hung my head as I contemplated our next move. Gamel was on the loose, and if his Yummy was any indication, the chaos was still far from over. I took a moment to breath in deep, unease slipping through my drawn out exhale, pitilessly unsure if our situation was going to get any better.
With the wounds Nathan's body sustained, it was only a matter of time before he would expire. I shivered that possibility out, utterly shaken and terrified of allowing anyone to die on my watch. I literally had to strangle Ankh by the arm to prevent him from separating, with Blake backing me up, as it was only through their symbiosis that Nathan even stood a chance.
The return to the room we rented was riddled with melancholy, as I was forced to face the cruel realization that Nathan Westborn might as well be the real victim here. Caught between life and death, with probably family longing for his return, it was all just too much. Far, far too much.
Carefully creeping into the room, the sight that greeted me was of Blake attending to Ankh by the bed, rivulets of sweat trickling down from the mask of pain that was his face. His Greeed arm was also steadily decaying, small patches of the same bandages appearing all over.
"How's he doing?" I asked her, my voice barely above a whisper.
Her hand gently laid on his forehead to check for fever, she let out a throaty sigh before peering up to address me. "He needs immediate medical attention." I sighed.
"Here, let's clean his wounds and patch him up." I laid out the supplies I bought from a nearby drugstore next to her. She shook her head. "It's going to take more than that, stitches for one. You wouldn't happen to be handy with a needle, would you?"
I heaved a disappointed sigh as I sat on the floor to lean back by the frame of the bed. "No."
Great, this is just great.
"Enrique!" I perked up, pivoting my head around. "He's trying to tell us something." Blake beckoned, her tone urgent.
I scrambled up close on all fours to Ankh's head to listen closely. I leaned in, hearing his teeth audibly grinding from the struggle.
"C-" his voice was dangerously low and raspy.
"Take it easy Ankh," I steadied him gently, only for his arm to jerk up and grab me in a chokehold with surprising strength. Blake reacted in an instant, tugging at the Greeed's arm to release me as I wriggled for air.
"Ce-ell...cells..." he managed to blurt out, his grip gradually falling slack as he surrendered to exhaustion. I fell on my rear, bringing a hand up to grasp at my neck as I coughed for air, with Blake rubbing my back.
"Cell medals, he needs cell medals!" I bit out, eager for any chance that could save both Ankh and Nathan.
Blake's face fell. "But we don't have enough Enrique. I only have 3 left from the 5 I had with me this morning."
Damn it. Wait, that's it! It was a long shot, but if this didn't work, then I might as well forget all of the promises I've made, and that was not an option I was willing to cross.
I turned to Blake. "Give me your scroll, I left mine back at the dorm."
"Why?" she asked as she was handing me her tablet.
"I'm gonna call in a loan from the Kougami Foundation. Hopefully, they'll track us down here and send someone in." Midway through my explanation, I was already accessing the Foundation's emergency line that the company provided.
"Um...Enrique, I think I should tell you something," Blake stated.
"What?" I responded, eyes still glued to the screen.
I felt her pause, almost as if she was reluctant about something. After the receptionist prompted me to wait a moment, that's when I gave her my full attention. Blake lightly cleared her throat. "When we were training the other day after tweaking our weapons. I...caught Weiss pocketing some of her own medals. I think she's-"
"-planning to send them to her family. Oh great," I grumbled. This is just terrific, another headache. I seriously need to have a talk with that heiress once this is all over.
After an hour, I was rubbing the palms of my hands to a slow burn as we waited, with Ankh's weak groans and murmurs not helping matters. The faintest sparks of hope welled up inside me as we heard the rumbling of a motorcycle's engine from outside, which ignited to full blown relief when I allowed a familiar black and helmeted figure to enter the room.
A black briefcase was securely cuffed to his wrist, which was a telltale sign that it contained the loan I asked from Kougami himself. He was surprisingly amiable with me , with him even allowing to name the amount. I originally settled for a meager hundred, but it was his insistence and Ankh's desperate pleas that had it be risen to a cool 300. Once the deal was settled, he dallied not a moment longer and ordered the "Biker Guy" (I'm gonna call him that from now on, at least not out loud) to head for our location through our parked Ridevendor's GPS; no questions asked.
The man regarded the both of us for a moment before darting past me to the patient with almost startling haste.
"How long has he been like this?" he inquired, and although muffled, I could still sense a bit of unease under the rigidity. Wait, what?
Intimidated, I almost stammered out my words. "Um, a few hours now. Look, I'm sorry we didn't call you guys sooner but-"
"Then maybe you should have when you had the chance!" he barked, eliciting a blink of surprise from the both of us. Kneeling by the side of the bed nearest to Ankh's Greeed arm, he opened the briefcase after uncuffing it from his wrist. As agreed, a total of 300 Cell Medals were laid bare before us, aligned and gleaming under what little light the lamp provided.
"Hey, you awake?" he sternly asked the hurting Greeed, with the latter only managing a faint wheeze as a subtle "yes".
"Here." Biker Guy carefully hefted the briefcase under the Greeed arm after gently lifting it up to make room. A fleeting ambience of anticipation hung in the air, with Ankh heavily winded, working to absorb all of the cells splayed out for him. It was an amazing sight really, almost ravenous in his consumption from starvation - it might as well have been literally.
Once all of the medals were gone, we waited. The minutes felt like hours as I silently prayed for something, anything to happen. My prayers were answered as a faint red glow illuminated Westborn's entire body, the clinking of coins reverberating throughout the tiny room. I wasn't quite certain what was happening, but if I had to guess, it was the Greeed's way of healing injuries by burning through his reserves. Like Kazari pointed out to me and Ren a few weeks ago, they thrived on cells to fuel their power. This was simply Ankh's way of repairing the damage done to his host using his own aura.
When the light finally died down and the process completed, Ankh released a tired but otherwise relieved sigh. With a careful hand, Biker Guy checked the red splotch on Nathan's chest, and found to our relief that the wounds had closed up. His arm was also back to normal before seeping into his skin. For the first time since this morning, my entire body slumped on the floor to relax, leaning my head against the wall adjacent to the door.
Blake on the other hand was already by Ankh's bedside next to Biker Guy, who was busily packing up to leave. "He's stable. All he needs is some rest," the ebony kunoichi spoke up. I smiled at that news. Peering up, Biker Guy was just about ready to leave.
"Um...thank you, for saving him." Biker Guy halted midway through the door to glance back at me. "Just tell that bird brained idiot to be careful next time, and we won't have to meet like this again," he snarled. I arched a brow as he disappeared from sight with the slam of the door. That was...odd.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts for what might as well have been the umpteenth time, far too tired to even worry anymore now that Ankh was okay. Gamel and his Yummy were still out there however, probably causing more trouble, but going against them now in our condition was completely out of the question - not to mention stupid. I may be a depressed wreck on the inside, but I'm not that suicidal - now more than ever since meeting my friends.
Besides, Blake would probably rip me open a new one for just thinking of doing something that reckless.
About an hour and a half later filled with nothing but watching the news on Blake's scroll and eating a pizza we had delivered, my eyes were starting to glaze over while she was reading from a small booklet she kept in her pocket.
"You need some sleep too you know," I commented.
"In a little while," she replied, turning over another page over.
"That sure was a close call, huh?" I rambled awkwardly.
"I should say so. What was with those Yummies anyway?" I ran a hand through my face, a bit exasperated on giving an explanation about the absolute mess that was Gamel.
"One of them wasn't a Yummy, the guy with the bandages was Gamel." Blake immediately looked up from her book once I mentioned the name.
"That was Gamel? But he...he was..." she stammered, probably unsure on how to describe what was essentially a child in a grown...man's (?) body.
I snorted. "That's Gamel for you. Big guy on the outside, little kid on the inside." by the dim of the room, I could still see Blake wince at that implication.
"Why doesn't that sound so assuring for some reason?"
"Because when it comes to having the mentality and fascination of a child, along with that level of destructive power, I think it's just a little unnerving to even wonder what could happen with him on the loose." Whoa, when I actually put it that way, Gamel's a lot more frightening than I originally thought.
Hang on...oh snap!
"Um, Blake. Okay, don't try to freak out when I tell you this, can I count on you for that?" she narrowed her eyes in suspicion for a second before nodding for me to continue.
"Okay, don't tell Ankh that I told you this, alright? You can tell the others - okay more like warn the others so pay attention." I cleared my throat and gulped. "If the time ever comes that Gamel has all 9 of his Cores, he'll have the ability to turn anything, and I mean anything into Cell Medals." I held my breath to what her reaction would be, with her expression softening into a neutral stare as she seemed to process this revelation.
"You're kidding. Right?" I clicked my tongue and firmly shook my head. "No I'm not!" I barked with far more force than I wanted, eliciting a groan from the slumbering Ankh.
"At full power, aside from being able to cause earthquakes and control gravity, he can turn anything he touches to Cell Medals if he so wills it. That's how dangerous he, or any of the Greeed can be." I bit my the inside of my cheek, expecting another rebuttal, instead, she simply hung her head in thought.
She looked up again to ask me urgently, "Can the other Greeed also do that?"
"No, only Gamel," I confirmed.
That didn't seem to improve her mood at all. "This is...okay, Enrique? I just want to know one thing." She paused. "Do we have a chance?"
I shifted my eyes. I didn't want to, because I wanted to be reassuring. "Of course we have a chance. Just so long as we find the other Core Medals and prevent any of them from getting a foothold, we'll be okay," I gulped again. "I hope."
"That's not good enough!" I winced from her tone, only for her to turn away as her eyes gave way to regret. "I'm sorry, I didn't..."
I waved nonchalantly. "No, you're right. I'm sorry too. But if I hadn't said any of this to you sooner, it'll probably come bite us in the ass in the long run."
"Well, at least now we know, right?" she noted, and I couldn't help a grin coming on from that sliver of optimism. "All that's important right now Blake, is that we get some rest and stop Gamel tomorrow. Is that alright with you?" she blinked, before closing her book and placing it under the lampshade.
She sighed as she did a short stretch. "I guess reading can wait. Are you gonna take the bed?" I shook my head. "Not on your life. You take it." I nudged my chin towards the the one next to where Ankh was recuperating in.
"Come on, you two are the ones here who need it the most. I don't mind, really," she kept insisting.
I hung my head, not wanting to argue. "Look, I can sleep well on the floor because it's carpeted. Or on the off chance that it hasn't been cleaned or vacuumed; which I am willing to bet is an entirely moot point anyway, I can just sleep sitting up, no problem."
"That's actually bad for your back," Blake pointed out.
(A few minutes of arguing later)
This is just swell. Me and Blake ended up sharing the bed anyway. At least it's big enough, but that wasn't what I was worried about. I mean, I didn't want to give Blake any wrong impressions - I barely know her for crying out loud.
Okay, calm down Enrique. You're just sharing a bed with a friend, nothing more. "How you doing over there Blake?"
"Fine," she replied. Crap, she's taking this the wrong way, I just know it.
Then again, she's pretty levelheaded. I mean, she can't possibly misinterpret this as anything other than two friends sharing a bed, right? I mean, most people would have come to the wrong conclusions by now. And I really need to stop starting with 'I mean'. Sigh. Okay, just forget it, if I worry about this too much and start showing it, it's still gonna send out the wrong vibes. Time to play it cool, smooth and stop with all of the innuendos already too.
"Say, Enrique?" Blake spoke up softly.
"Yeah?"
"What were your days like before...well...all of this?" Oh man, of all the things.
"Normal I guess." Which was true. I didn't want to outright lie, but maybe a few half-truths will do; for now at least.
"Define normal," there was a hint of mirth in her tone. A small smile graced my lips. "As normal as any teenager living out his days; home, school...family."
"Where were you before Beacon? Signal? Haven?" Sigh, I'm a terrible person.
"Neither. I was...just a normal everyday kid doing my best to make my way in life. I didn't exactly attend a combat school, mind you...that is...until Ankh found me." I explained somberly.
"...I see."
"But I did have a part-time job."
"You used to work?" her tone slightly perked up.
"At a bookstore." She giggled, "I guess you weren't kidding about being into writing, huh?"
I countered her's with my own. "Not really sure if I still want to though."
"Hey, you promised remember?" I chuckled.
"Yeah. Say, Blake? Where are you from?" I actually expected for her to respond. When none came, that was when I looked over my shoulder as we were facing away from each other.
"Blake?" She kept silent, for how long even I didn't know. I lost track of time and hardly cared about it when Gamel was busy knocking me around. Was she already asleep?
Her much awaited answer came in a low, raspy murmur. "Somewhere in Vytal." Red light. Overstepping boundaries here. Gotta change the subject.
"Where are your parents?" Oh. My. God. I SUCK!
"They're living together," she answered more easily this time, turning over to face me. I could only smile at her for that, which she returned.
"Goodnight Blake."
"Goodnight," she breathed, drifting off to slumber.
"...I know but it looks like a storm is approaching." my mother explained, the clouds darkening and rumbling overhead. "Let's go."
"I don't want to go yet!" I talked back. "I want to stay here longer!" My sister was already at the car, having gone on ahead while I stubbornly refused to move away from my father's tombstone.
"Enrique, it's only going to get worse." Without even waiting for me to respond, she firmly gripped my hand and started dragging me back to the car. I was upset, more upset than I had ever been. Why did we have to leave dad so soon?
"Mom can't we go back, I wanted to stay," I persisted.
She sighed deeply by the wheel, her eyes to focused ahead on the road. "Like I said, the storm is only going to get worse. Now will you please let me drive in peace!?" she trailed off forcefully, maybe a bit more than she intended.
I huffed, not wanting any of it. "I wanted to stay!"
Right next to me, I hardly cared that my sister was squirming in her seat, frightened as she watched the spectacle of me and mom arguing. I don't think she's ever seen us go at it before, not even when dad was alive.
"Please stop...mommy...bro, don't fight," she pleaded.
I jerked my head to her, ready to tear my heart and lay it all out, but the urge evaporated when I saw how shaken she truly was. "Didn't you want to stay with dad more?"
"Mommy's right, it's going to get cold," her tone was ashen, almost terror-stricken.
"We should have just stayed. So what if we get soaked in the rain? It's just rain," I reasoned.
The moment my mother turned away from the road; the windscreen drizzled with heavy rain, was when we both failed to catch the subtle, but fast approaching light. Marie however…
"Look out!" the next thing I knew was being thrown around my seat, body slamming against the door. The rest was nothing but darkness; numb, unforgiving, and cold.
Cold? Why am I feeling cold? Wait, what happened? I stirred from what I could barely presume was sleep, only for my ears to be harangued by heavy rainfall. Why is it raining? My eyes, heavy and glazed, were opened to mere slits. I tried moving my head to futilely regain my bearings, but much to my ever increasing bewilderment I couldn't. What gives? What the heck is going on?
Slowly, but surely, I started to get some feeling back. First my arms, then most of my torso. Pain. So much pain. What IS going on? Where am I? I let out a dull groan, unsure on whether someone was nearby or not. I wanted to move. My legs, why can't I feel my legs? Help, I needed help. Someone, anyone?
...mom?
On impulse, I immediately thought of my mother. Where was she? Hang on...I remember...Marie? Oh god, Marie! I hinged my jaw tightly; darn it. The muscles in my mouth twinged all the way down to my neck and clavicle. I don't even know what happened. The growing throbs and aches only worsened as my body started to recover from the numbness. My chest was heavy and breathing thin, I moaned from the agony. Tears started spilling from my eyes.
"M-" come on, I have to say something. I swallowed a gulp of air, only to get a few light coughs for my troublefor my trouble. I snarled, my teeth baring, frustration piling up. Having had enough, I forced my eyes open. I blinked a few times to clear out the blur. On that day, what I laid eyes on would be forever etched in the darkest recesses my memory..
"M-Mom...?" she was on top of me, being suspended by a metal beam, blood running down her mouth.
The next sounds to plague my ears were nothing but screams.
Screams of anguish.
I awoke with a start, my eyes wide open and welling with trickles of moisture. It definitely wasn't the first time for me, but it sure didn't get any easier.
Sometimes I think this is just my brain's way of telling me how much of a jerk I was back then. "Not again..." I muttered morosely. Why did I have to dream about that day? Why now?
I wiped my eyes dry before swiveling my head to see a still sleeping Blake, lightly purring...wait, purring? I blinked, my drowsiness probably disorienting my senses. I then craned my neck to check up on Ankh, with him snoring more loudly. Damn, and me without a tape recorder. I gently laid myself back down, with my head feeling the warmth of the pillow.
It happens only once per night after all - usually.
When morning finally came, Blake and Ankh were already awake, apparently waiting for me to join them. The now fully recovered bird Greeed was currently gorging himself on some Vacuan takeout, having gone through several packets already judging from a pile by the foot of his bed.
Blake managed to salvage one for me, with her having already eaten. Stir-fried noodles; I guess some worlds just can't beat the classics, ooh! And it's chicken.
After having our fill, we were ready to head out and find Gamel and his Yummy; which reminds me.
Putting away our trash, I sat back down on the bed while Blake was busy fine tuning her weapon. "So Ankh, considering that you almost died yesterday, I take it your little trip didn't go well?"
The red Greeed, arrogant as always, scoffed. "Uva just got lucky that's all." So it was Uva, just like in the episode. On the other hand, everything that happened yesterday didn't exactly follow through with everything in the show to the letter. Why? The plan Kazari set up was practically identical to what was done in the series proper, so why-?
And that's when it hit me. Of course things wouldn't exactly go like they did on the show, I am such an idiot. This isn't TV, so why should I try to predict everything that'll happen when there's always going to be a variable that'll divert away from the canon story? Okay, gotta work a way around that for now. Just tread lightly and play my cards right.
I fell back on the bed groaning in exasperation, my shirt lifting to reveal the King Combo still slotted in the buckle. It was fortunate that Ankh actually allowed the Core Medals to stay with me overnight, and needless to say the results were more alleviating than I expected. I felt great, better even. "I take it I can't give you some heartfelt speech about not being reckless anymore after that fiasco?"
He harrumphed. "Tch, as if I'd even have the attention span to listen to such drivel." I grinned.
"Then...that only means you're not that smart, are you?" I felt him shooting daggers at me, and sure enough he shot up from his bed to tower over my limp form. "I could tear you open right now!"
"Go ahead...and then we'll see how good you'll do without any help." He growled before jerking away.
"By the way, what are we gonna do about the loan from Kougami?" I sat up cross legged, expecting Ankh to blow his top again from the mere mention of having to owe Kougami even more..
"As if I care about that right now. The only important priority is to find and destroy both Gamel and his Yummy. Unfortunately, unlike a regular Yummy, that big galoot is the one that gains medals directly into his system rather than the other way around."
Blake craned her neck over her shoulder. "Yeah, you already explained that to us, remember? Except the part about him being the only one to get medals. So what's our game plan?"
"Our game plan?" I chortled. "Staying alive would the first step. The second would be to find a way to get in a clear shot at that Bison Yummy without it blowing us away with another one of its shockwaves."
Blake nodded. "I already called in Ruby and the others, they should be here any mo-"
She was cut off by the boom of the door barging open, revealing an excitably worried Ruby with her foot extended out in a kick, along with a fiercely determined Yang right behind her.
Oh, and Weiss was there too.
Alright, the gang's all here. Now that RWBY and JNPR can hurt the Greeed now, the situation might not be as bad as I imagined it would be. How and why I even thought I could do this all on my own when I can't even so much as take on Kazari without an advantage was nothing short of arrogance - and Uva was just pure dumb luck.
These guys? They're Huntresses. This is practically their life. Me? I'm just a guy playing at being a hero. Blake was right, maybe I am the one who needs protecting. Still, that doesn't necessarily mean I can't get any better. Sure, I may not be that good now, but who cares? I sure don't, which is why I can't mope around anymore. Only through hard work and training will I be able to really get results. I need to get stronger.
I need more power.
After packing up, we all headed for the city on our bikes. The first problem was getting me and Ankh our own rides since we left ours behind during each of our respective battles yesterday, which Weiss didn't fail to remind us about once she heard the full story. Then came the fact that we could no longer access the Gatakiriba Combo since Ankh lost both the Kuwagata and one of the Cheetah Medals. That got us even more of an earful.
I really wanted to tell Ankh off that he shouldn't be so reckless anymore, but seeing as how Weiss wasn't faring any better in getting through to him, what chance would I have in giving him a piece of my mind?
Yang was on her own personal machine, Bumblebee; with Ruby in tow, while me, Ankh, Blake, and Weiss were on each of our respective Ridevendors. Our tour around the city led us through a completely abandoned disaster zone, with most of the people long evacuated. Who knew Gamel could cause this much havoc?. Through our viewing of the news earlier, a small contingent of the Atlesian Military previously tried to contain the absolute rampage that was the Beast Greeed and his spawn, but due to not having been provided with the same upgrades to their weapons as ours, they didn't stand a chance.
Missiles, gunfire, grenades - all easily redirected back to the soldiers, doing more damage than what could already be tolerated. Buildings were demolished , vehicles scattered and wrecked, miles of debris paving the charred and cratered roads, it was a miracle that we managed to trudge through it all. Gamel definitely wasn't a slouch either, as the massive boost in power he accumulated via his Yummy, a shadow of his old power returned. The sight was more horrific than what any of us could have fathomed as we viewed it all through the scroll earlier via a live broadcast; crashed airships, ground forces rendered immobile until they were crushed to pulps, earthquakes that ruined a few of the nearby roads and foundations.
It was like some messed up version of the Medic+Heavy ÜberCharge strategy from TF2, only with the constant amount of cells his Yummy generated for him through the ensuing conflict. In hindsight, it was brilliant as it was dangerous, and Gamel probably wasn't even consciously aware that he essentially hit the jackpot. Strategy was needed for this mission if we were going to take it, and boy howdy did we need it.
The Taka Candroid which I had previously sent to find Ankh, had long abandoned its mission and was roosting contently by the rooftop of the hotel the entire time. So, I gave it the new order of tracking down Gamel for us, as we were currently doing our best in keeping up as it soared through the air.
"Heads up!" I heard Ruby call out, forcing us to react and zip out of the way of an oncoming truck. I skidded to a halt by the sidewalk, almost careening off course and crashing by a wall. The truck bounced as it hit the pavement, spinning in the air before crashing again in a roll. I couldn't help but sigh in relief before removing my helmet to better scan the area, cringing at the destruction wrought.
I craned my neck to check on the others. "Is everyone alright?"
Ruby stood up from her seat and shot a hand up. "Yep, we're okay!"
Weiss grumpily shook away some helmet hair as she dismounted. "Ugh, I can't believe we're doing this again! And I thought the Grimm were pests."
"Stop complaining and focus. The more we wait, the more powerful Gamel grows," Ankh reprimanded, ignoring the heiress' scowl of indignation darted at him. I shook my head at the two. Peering on ahead, the ever mounting swathe of obstacles disabled our bikes from crossing any further. It didn't matter, because if that tank was any hint, we needn't even had to search long.
"You guys ready?" Ruby checked as she brandished Crescent Rose. Silent nods from all of us (except Ankh) was her answer. Okay, deep breath, no more kidding around this time. My mind made up, I moved through the usual motions.
"Henshin!"
TAKA!
TORA!
BATTA!
TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!
Armored once more, I brandished Medajalibur and swept a hand over the blade.
Wow, okay! Note to self, don't ever do that without gloves or protection because I swear I felt my middle finger brush against the sharp edge.
Resolve affirmed, our party hurriedly trekked through the dense remains of the city, with Blake by my side wielding her Gambol Shroud. Ankh wasn't far behind, although whether it was because he was still weak or simply didn't want to take anymore risks was irrelevant.
The Taka Candroid cawed proudly as it was nearing our destination, but as we scurried closer into the city's square, we all heard and felt the rumbling of the asphalt beneath our feet. We stopped in our tracks and took cover in some of the larger wreckages, while the mechanical avian shifted back into sleep mode only to be caught by Yang.
On impulse, me and Blake ducked behind an ice cream truck. I cautiously inched closer to the edge to peek on ahead. Narrowed to slits and magnified by the Taka Lenses, my eyes spied two large figures in the distance. Gamel was stomping and thrashing about in a small circle, while the Bison Yummy was silently resting down in a crouch. They were cornered by dregs upon dregs of what was left of the contingency, with the casualties strewed messily about the area.
This was probably one of the times where I wasn't that thankful about having enhanced vision, as smears and splashes of blood could be made out through the green tint. The soldiers weren't any better, as their bodies were literally crushed to gory pulps, the red of their blood dyeing their once pristine white body armor. I jerked away from the gruesome sight, gasping in some air.
"How is it?" Blake asked as she huddled near me. "Not good..." I bit out. "With the armor's enhanced sight I was able to scope them out. It's worse than expected. They slaughtered a lot of soldiers and civilians." I gulped in a huge lump.
Blake cringed as her features gave way to shock. "You got all of that Ruby?" she spoke to her leader through her earpiece. I could feel the distress coming from the scythe wielder's tone as she voiced her affirmative. I struggled to ignore the pangs of guilt welling up within me, cursing my negligence and allowing for this to happen. A firm hand on my shoulder snapped me out of it, with Blake's assertive nod helping me to assure me - at least for now.
Just as planned, Ruby signaled for Weiss and Yang to sneak in nearer. I then craned my neck to Ankh, who was hiding behind a mailbox, his thin frame helping in providing him with cover. Minding his own part, he passed the Lion Medal to me for later use.
Now this is where it gets tricky. With a pull of the tab, Yang activated the Candroid again. Peeking around the corner of an overturned delivery truck, she wordlessly pointed the bird towards Gamel which it took as orders to hover over the dimwitted Greeed. Complying, the fowl launched itself off from the blonde brawlers open palm and made a beeline for its target.
"Hm...where is home? I can't find home anymore...waaaaah Mezool! Where are you? So many people were mean to me!" the grey behemoth cried.
"Aw, the poor thing," Ruby cooed with misty eyes, her balled fists steepled under her chin. The rest of us sweatdropped.
"Focus!" hissed Weiss over her commlink, eliciting a wince from her partner. "Sorry!"
We all waited patiently as Gamel rubbed at his eye, before a sharp cawing drew his attention upward. "Hm? Ho! Wow, hehehe pretty bird. Come here bird! Come play with me!" Gamel bounced up eagerly, with his Yummy shortly joining him to share in the spectacle.
"What is with these two?" Weiss commented, perturbed by their bizarre childishness. "Shh, it's working," Blake quieted her.
"Don't fly away birdie, come here! I want to play." the candroid ignored the coaxing, resolving to continue its flight; more for its own safety than any ingrained programming. Gamel impatiently stomped in irritation. "I said come over here and play with me!" he raised a hand up in the air, activating his control over gravity to draw the small mechanimal in. All of us excluding Ankh gaped as an invisible wave of pressure emanated from the Greeed's palm, with his victim fighting valiantly to stay in aloft. After a brief struggle however, the candroid's body could no longer endure the constraints and unceremoniously shattered in two, with bits of its parts raining down to scatter.
"Huh? He broke...not again..." the Greeed whined.
I inwardly saluted that brave soul, a trooper to the end. Don't worry little guy, you will be avenged. A single tear trickled down my cheek under my helmet, even as Weiss was busily setting up a series of ice glyphs beneath the Yummy's feet, while Yang cocked both of Ember Celica and aimed them directly at Gamel.
"Now!" Ruby signaled. Yang blew a kiss at her target before blasting two cell and dust powered shells at full force, with Gamel being too late to react as they made explosive contact by his shoulder and stomach.
Gamel yelped in pain, pain that he hadn't felt from the tirade of artillery earlier as he was fiercely knocked back by the blow and slammed onto his Yummy, who also didn't notice in time. They both slid on the frozen pavement, falling on top of each other in a heap.
"Attack!" Ruby shouted as she made a beeline for our incapacitated foes. Her scythe fully extended, she took to the air in a jump to slice them down in one go. With a decisive swing of Crescent Rose, the attack connected. Huh, I guess that's it. That was surprisingly easy. Maybe we wouldn't have to fight after all.
Which is what I would have thought if it weren't for Ruby getting blown off her feet, and into my willing arms. "What the hell?" That should have worked, how did Gamel react that fast?
"He's become too dense," Ankh explained as he ran up to us.
"What?" me and Ruby asked. The red Greeed clicked his tongue. "When Gamel gains enough cell medals, his density increases, making him much more durable than what our usual invulnerability to conventional weapons can afford. Your upgrades might as well be next to useless."
"So we're back to square one!?" Weiss snapped.
Easing himself off his Yummy, Gamel sat up to look down at the foreign object protruding out of his chest.
"Owie..." he moaned dumbly, pulling the blade out as if it were an inconvenience. He rose to his feet and began idly fiddling with it.
"Hey! That's mine, give it back!" Ruby pouted, with me guarding her side. "Maybe Medajalibur can cut him down to size!" I quickly moved to slot in the three cells into my sword for the finisher, only for Ruby to push me out of the way as Gamel blasted us with a gravity wave.
H-How'd he do that? He wasn't even looking. Weiss was right, what the hell is with this guy!
My question was answered by Ankh crouching down behind us from dodging as well. "He's using aura sense. Never really did it that often before, but he can control it just as well as the rest of the Greeed. Case in point, he doesn't need to see you to target you."
"And you're telling us that now!?" me and Ruby voiced out in unison.
"OOO…" Huh? I looked to Gamel's rear where the Bison Yummy was slamming its hooves together menacingly. "It's your fault...make master cry!" the Bison Yummy thundered as it stood back up, and it sounded like it had a massive bone to pick with me. Story of my life, I guess.
"Looks like this is gonna have to be a team effort!" Yang stated as she helped the both of us up, with Weiss and Blake following shortly.
"Stick to the plan!" Ankh pointed out. "Rose, Xiao Long, Schnee, you're with me in taking Gamel. Enrique and Belladonna, you go for the Yummy!"
"Right!" we exclaimed in unison.
"Let's show this lummox what we're made of Blake!" I declared boldly as we readied ourselves. We lunged forward, splitting midway to flank it for an advantage. On to what were were doing, the Yummy punched the ground to spread out a shockwave, forcing us to distance ourselves. Unfortunately, that was only part of the what the Yummy was attempting as we shortly took notice of the scattered debris rising into a storm.
Blake motioned for me to help her put more distance from the other party, dodging and/or slashing through the barrage of rubble and dross, with our tenacious target trailing behind. Once within reach, Blake baited it with a clone as it tried to crush her in a bear hug, flipping over its head and digging her foot in the back of its neck. She and her double then coupled this with two mid-air spin kicks by each of their sides. Howls of pain were driven out of the Yummy as they rapidly alternated their blows.
Enraged, the beast caught the clone in a bear hug to crush her, causing the latter to disperse in an explosion of ice and freezing the giant's arms in place. The real Blake, who had joined me to provide cover as I did my part, placed two well aimed head shots to further disorient it. "Now Enrique!"
"You got it!" after feeding the three cells into Medajalibur's slot, I was only too happy to hear the familiar chime after scanning them in.
TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!
"My gift to you, HAH!" I swung at a vertical angle in order to keep from hitting Blake, bisecting reality along with the bestial Yummy. Without even time for a last breath, the latter exploded into oblivion, but no cell medals rewarded us for our efforts. Even so, just the fact that we managed to bring that menace down was more than satisfying.
"Come on, we have to get back to the others!" Blake ordered, with me nodding silently to follow her.
(A few minutes earlier)
"This is insane!" Weiss cried out as she tried gliding through the air to land a hit on Gamel, with the latter nullifying her efforts by disrupting the gravitational stability of her glyphs.
"This is fun! More, play with me more!" Gamel cheered.
The heiress grimaced at his unwitting innuendo. "Never in your life creep!"
Ruby, with Crescent Rose safely back with her (after tricking Gamel into playing a quick game of catch - "Note to self, never again use your head to catch the blade."), assisted in the skirmish with hit-and-run tactics via her semblance, but the Beast Greeed's "skin" was just too tough for her to even dig into. Yang was at least faring far better than the both of them, having managed to spill some cells through some of her explosive jabs with Ember Celica.
"We have to diminish his reserves, it's the only way we can do any lasting damage!" Ankh instructed as he coordinated their movements. "Yang, throw him off balance!"
"Roger!" the blonde brawler dug her fist into the already wrecked road, generating one of her own shockwaves directed at Gamel. But much to her annoyance, the latter only had to stomp the vibrations away with his foot.
"I thought this guy was too stupid to even fight back!"
"That's just it, he IS stupid. But this is all only a game to him." Ankh explained as he sliced a huge chunk of road that Gamel threw at them, forcing Ruby to double in her efforts of diverting his focus to her.
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked as she retreated next to him to load an blue Dust into Myrtenaster.
"Gamel was never trained conventionally in combat. His instructors had to treat all his lessons as a game due to his childish mindset! Don't let that put you at ease though, that imbecilic clod is just as skilled as the rest of us, but like I said, this is nothing more than play to him."
"That. is. it!" Weiss thundered as she held Myrtenaster at the ready. "It's high time I put this monster in his place then!" she launched herself off the ground with another glyph, aiming to skewer the boorish Greeed through and freeze his torso to disable him.
Gamel didn't even bother to dodge as he allowed the sword to hit its mark, with the blade penetrating just deep enough through his bandaged midsection. "Ow...that hurt!" it really did, but he was already past the point of caring, absolutely ecstatic to finally have playmates that didn't tire out or fall asleep. Ruby retreated next to Yang to catch her breath.
More incensed than she had ever felt, Weiss drew her sword several more times in rapid succession, dishing out a flurry of slashes and cuts that would have made any fencing teacher gush with pride. Shards of ice grew for every few shot she could get through, encasing the Greeed's arms.
"Owowowow, stop! Too fast, it hurts too much!" Gamel pleaded as he wormed about uselessly to block the incoming barrage.
"That's the idea you neanderthal!" Weiss huffed. "Now just hold still like a good boy!"
"Good...boy?"
"Oh no..." Ankh recoiled.
"NnnnnnNRRRRRRRR MEZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" Gamel bellowed, his aura flaring to its limit and casting away his glacial binds. Weiss flinched as she felt the massive pressure of power, unable to block or move away as shards of ice tore through her skin and clothes. She ground her teeth as she struggled to maintain her ground. The atmosphere soon became heavy, with Ruby and Yang starting to feel themselves being pushed down.
"I WANT TO GO HOME! WHERE ARE YOU MEZOOL!?" Gamel roared again, his form shrinking back to human.
"W-What's h-h-happening…?" Ruby gritted, her muscles screaming as she tried to fight back the pull.
"W-What does i-it look like? H-He's ha-having a tantrum!" Ankh could barely hold on himself, with Yang still proving her strength as she lumbered through with small, arduous steps.
"Weiss!" she shrieked the heiress' name in both anger and worry, arms held up front to help her see through the storm as everything around them was being crumpled, with the gravity growing heavier and heavier.
And throughout it all, Weiss was steadfastly fighting to stay alive. But alas, it was a losing battle as her body simply could not match her ever persistent will. She too fell on her knees, with tears and blood flowing from her face, her insides feeling like they could cave in at any moment.
Her magnificent sword Myrtenaster now lay bent, misshapen and broken in front of her, with its owner not all that far from ending in such a state herself. "H-Help...s-s-s-some...one..." her words died in her throat as she lost consciousness, her body finally surrendering to darkness.
(With Enrique and Blake)
"No...NO!" Dear god, please no! Blake and I had arrived from our fight too late as a large dome of gravity now enveloped where Ankh and the others were doing their best in repelling Gamel. To make matters worse, we could see all of it clearly. Weiss was the first to fall, with the others still valiantly holding on.
"We have to do something!" I cried, ready to jump in and rescue them. "We can't risk getting sucked in too!" Blake countered, minding the outside debris that was slowly approaching the dome.
"But-!" she grabbed my hand with both of hers. "Listen to reason! We need a plan-"
"The longer we wait, the worse it'll be and they'll all die!"
"Don't you think I know that!?" I flinched from her outburst. This was a nightmare. Damned if we do, damned if we don't!
"My, my, isn't this a heartbreaking scene. A lover's spat perhaps?" I gasped inwardly at the voice. We whipped our heads to the source and I was once again treated to the sight of the beautiful girl that wanted to meet me all those weeks ago. In human form and sitting atop an Atlesian armored truck, was Mezool; her head propped up by both hands steepled. She watched us with glazed and bored eyes. "What has my little Gamel done this time?"
"Who are you?" Blake probed, more distressed than surprised by this newcomer when their friends needed their help more.
"Mezool, what are you doing here?" Blake darted her eyes at me in growing panic at my mention of the Fish Greeed's name, no doubt skeptical that this girl, this young girl that couldn't even have been older than any of them was one of the monsters that was currently killing the people she cared about.
"I'm here to pick up Gamel," she answered nonchalantly. I didn't dare to leave my guard down, but for every passing minute we wasted…
"Is that it? Is that the whole reason you're here?" I asked speedily.
"Yes."
She jumped down from the vehicle and walked past us, our weapons on hand in case she tried anything. I sure as hell didn't believe for a second that she was only here to pick Gamel up like she was his mom or something. No, I didn't know what she was really here for, but I was not about to let the situation get more out of hand than it already did.
She rolled her eyes, seemingly indifferent as she traipsed past us and through the torrential sea of wreckage. This was so unreal. Blake and I could actually feel the pull of the gravity right where we were standing, and she was just walking through it like nothing.
A few agonizing minutes later, the dome dissipated, revealing the now prone forms of our friends and teammates. We scampered as quickly as we could to them, hoping beyond all doubt that they were still alive.
Blake attended to Weiss while I was left with the others. My concerns were appeased somewhat when I found that they were only unconscious; beaten, but unconscious. I then trotted up to Blake, who was frantically checking Weiss's pulse.
"Sh-She's alive, but she needs a doctor asap!" I swallowed a lump in my throat as Blake hurriedly keyed in her scroll for EMTs. That only meant that I was the only one left that could still arguably fight. You really don't like me up there, do you?
"There, there Gamel. I'm here now, don't worry. Did they hurt you?" Mezool cooed soothingly as she held the now wiry man's face tenderly between her hands, her de facto son unable to hold back the joyful tears.
"Nnnnn, Mezool, s-so many meanies. So many were mean to me. I just wanted to play with themuhuhuhuuuuu..." Gamle spluttered and sobbed, happy that his mommy was now with him.
"Well, let's get you home now dear. Come on, you're a good boy, right?" this instantly perked up the manchild, shying away from her touch in glee.
"Mhmhmhmhm, Mezool. Gamel happy with Mezool."
You know, if this wasn't so messed up considering the context, this would have warmed my heart, but the ensuing scene that played out only served to terrify me more.
"Let's go dear, and we can talk all about it at the hideout." she gently took Gamel's hand, with their difference in size and appearance giving out the impression of an older brother and his sister heading home. The image wasn't even remotely close to the disturbing truth.
I froze on the spot, my hand under the glove throbbing from crushing Medajalibur in my grip. This is...I don't even know what this is. "H-Hey!"
"Hm?" Mezool looked over her shoulder. "What do you want?"
Should I...no, I can't provoke them. I just can't. I shivered back a step, unable to look away. "A-Aren't you…?"
Mezool could only roll her eyes again. "Oh please, it's clear as day that you're all beaten. It wouldn't be that much fun so why bother?"
She then grinned from ear to ear. "Besides, the way I see it, we're all after the same thing. Are we not?"
"Th-The same thing?" I breathed.
"Of course, the Core Medals. The way I see it, our group has a better chance of finding more of our lost medals with Ankh's obnoxious stubbornness and your unwitting complicity. If you have one, then we'll just take it."
"You sure about that!?" I spat back, with the first drop of anger that I hadn't felt in a while.
"We'll just see then, won't we? Let's go Gamel."
"Yes, Mezool! Lalalalalala…" with a spring in his step, Gamel skipped happily as he was led by the hand, the demented mother and son's retreating forms being the final insult that destroyed whatever vestiges of morale I had left.
I was barely even aware when the armor was dispelled, unsure whether it was me or Blake who tilted it back to standby.
The trip back to Beacon was...well I couldn't really call it - what's the word again? Oh, right…'victorious'. That only happens when you actually succeed at beating up the bad guys and saving the day. The next thing I remembered was me and Blake sitting together in the bullhead, with the rest of our teammates in stretchers. The ebony kunoichi had long fallen asleep and was resting her head on my shoulder, but for the entire trip my mind was pondering on other matters.
"What should I have done…?"
Or better yet.
"Why didn't I do better…?"
I dimmed everything else out again after seeing the damage to my friends, idly recalling most of what went down back at the city. I was all too willing to just put all of it behind me, but...you don't exactly forget mistakes of that magnitude easily.
My next conscious thought was when I was staring from across my bed in the infirmary the slumbering form of the once proud and haughty heiress, hooked on tubes and life support. My injuries were minor compared to her, mostly due to the King Medals, so I was only there to rest and stew in my own musings. Ruby, Yang, and Blake were also there to get themselves checked. I offhandedly caught wind from one of the nurses that the doctors attending to Weiss were under her family's payroll. I counted her fortunate for that. If it had been anyone else less...affluent, I guess the reality would have been much different.
(Headmaster Ozpin's office)
"Well?" Ozpin asked from his desk, with Glynda; as always, by his side.
A ragged and visibly exhausted Ankh sat hunched in a chair from across them, his arms sagging and eyes glazed down at the floor. The intermission of silence only gave way to the crank of the gears.
With a clearing of his throat, Ozpin continued. "Ankh, I do not think I need to grill you on how everything went during that entire...fiasco back in Vale, so I'll be frank to spare us all the details. A few concerned parties are already calling in and inquiring to determine the full scale of the threat that the Greeed pose. Mind you, with the ever growing warning signs from the White Fang, things have only escalated. I was...not able to placate them as best I could so a representative has been sent here by the Atlesian Council to...provide us with assistance in addressing the matter."
The bird Greeed neither twitched nor budged save for a single blink. "Aside from that, we will be having a discussion regarding your performance as a member of our faculty, as well as your brief stint as Team RWBY's advisor on the field." Ozpin paused. "Is that alright with you?"
"Stop pandering to him Ozpin," a strong voice spoke up near the door. The headmaster needed only to shift his eyes to regard an all too familiar acquaintance in white marching up to them. "Ah, yes. Ankh, this is General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy as well one of their Kingdom's military leaders."
Ankh slackly tilted his head in a side glance to scrutinize the tall and intimidating figure, whose keen eyes had long been boring into the Greeed from the moment he entered the room.
Ironwood hinged his jaw to clear his throat, his expression tightening after sizing up the vagabond that Ozpin had the misjudgment to take in more closely. "I am General James Ironwood. I'll skip the formalities for now because time is short. To be quite blunt 'Ankh', we need to talk."
CURRENT MEDALS:
Taka (x1)
Lion (x1)
Tora (x2)
Cheetah (X1)
Kamakiri (x1)
Batta (x1)
(NEXT TIME)
"More bombings!?" I exclaimed in shock upon hearing the news.
"Let's do it to it, Enrique!." Ruby proudly declared.
RATA RATA…RATORA~TAH!
Next Time: Sharks and Bombs!? The Scorching Combo Arrives!
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as the battles. Don't forget to check out my other stories including Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road (Kamen Rider Drive x Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory). I will see you all in the next chapter! Stay in the shadows everyone!