Dirt & Grit
Chapter 8
Silence filled the room.
A beat passed.
And then another.
And then, finally, Myron broke it.
"You want us to what?" He shouted.
Roman stuck his arms out in a placating gesture, "Now, now I know what that sounds like, but hear me out for a second – "
Before he could finish, Myron had already picked Roman up by his jacket and slammed him against the wall causing me and Neo to jump back.
"No! You listen to us, you stupid bastard!" He slammed Roman again, causing him to choke on his words, "We nearly didn't even make it past the fucking gate because of how much travellers ain't welcome here, and you want us to paint an even bigger target on our back?"
Roman tried to speak again, but Myron choked him harder against the wall, not interested in what he had to say.
"Imagine that! 'Gypsy's murder Mayor of Vale' we'll be hounded out of Vale, and not just us but every caravan across Remnant will be targeted!" Myron looked as though he was going to kill him as Roman began wheezing something.
"Put him down, Myron," Amon said while approaching them.
"But- "
"Now, Myron," He nodded towards Roman, "I don't want to explain to Rozalia why you caught a bullet through the kidney,"
Huh?
We all looked down to where Myron's kidney was to see that Roman had a gun pressed into it. Roman wiggled his eyebrows up and down before Myron growled and dropped him.
"Al dracului de cap de morcov…" Myron muttered before stalking off towards the corner, still watching everything.
Roman coughed as he picked himself up and dusted off his jacket, "Well, can't say that I didn't expect that to happen," He said as he turned towards Amon, "But at least one of you has common sense."
Myron spat on the floor in response.
He moved back towards his chair and slumped down into it, "Now let me state for the record that I have thought this out and not looking to throw you under the bus," He reached into his draw and fetched out another cigar to light, "Every criminal and lowlife knows not to screw over a gypsy."
Taking a puff, he leaned forward onto his desk, "I'm not asking this because I'm arrogant; I'm asking this because I'm desperate."
Amon moved over to sit in the empty seat in front of him as me and Neo hung back by the door glancing at each other. But something about the look on her face was throwing me off.
She looked...
...excited.
"Desperate? Why?" Amon asked as he sat completely still, looking Roman dead in the eye, who, in response, began rubbing his forehead.
"You want to know why I'm desperate?" He leaned back and gestured around him, "Because I'm in charge of a criminal empire that's being run from a shithole pub, the guys you saw today were all I had left of our organisation, my old man is becoming more senile and paranoid trying to lead us off over the cliff, Rice; the fucking shitbag is clamping down even harder on the gangs for his campaign to run successfully and…." He took another pull from his cigar before he exhaled again, "…It's just not in my nature to go down." He finished with a charming smile.
"Cute," Amon replied, "But say I accepted this job; what's in it for us?"
Roman glanced away momentarily before making eye contact again, "Besides the small fortune I just offered you? Well, numerous things," He put his cigar into an ashtray and leaned forward with his elbows on the table and a grin on his face, "Think about it; with Rice dead, there will be pandemonium for a while, the council will be running around trying to figure what happened and in the meantime I and some of my…colleagues will be able to instate our candidate into the mix."
"Our guy will be much more receptive to our donations and would be very wise not to ignore his donor's wishes, allowing us to get back to our business." Roman licked his lips, and I couldn't see the face Amon was making, "You get money and a friend in a high place who will be very eager to let our gypsy pals come in and out of the gate more easily." He leaned back.
"I see this as a win-win, don't you?" He asked.
Amon grunted, and I felt my stomach drop out of my shirt as I continued listening.
They're going to kill someone? That doesn't seem right…
Amon stood up abruptly, "Give us a moment to think about it," He then marched over to the door with Myron following close behind him, shooting a glare at Roman as he left.
Me and Neo followed quickly after them as I nudged her, "Did you get what they were saying? They're going to kill someone!" I whispered loudly to her.
Neo looked at me like I had grown two heads, "So? Did you not hear what we're getting from it? We'll be able to come and go from the kingdom as much as we want." She put her hands behind her head as we walked, "That's a win in my book, especially when it's that fat bastard." She sped up ahead of me as I processed her words.
"But…but I don't understand?" I looked down at my feet, staring at the leather, "Isn't that wrong?" I asked the nothingness around me.
Amon managed to find us a quiet room which had him and Myron arguing back and forth about Romans' job while I sat there quietly, and Neo next to me was laying her feet on top of me, reading some old magazine.
"You're not going to accept it, are you?" Myron questioned as he stood before Amon, who sat in a recliner chair.
"…Maybe I am," Amon replied, "What would be so bad about it?"
Myron scoffed, "Oh jeez, I dunno; how about the fact we got two kids with us right now, and we haven't got any of the shit we came here for?" He crossed his arms, "Oh! And he's asking us to assassinate the FUCKING MAYOR?"
Amon raised his hand towards him, "Easy, Myron, I told you already," He leaned back, "I'm just thinking about it,"
Myron rubbed his eyebrows his frustration before opening his mouth to speak, "I just think that this isn't just something that we can do," he walked over to an empty chair and slumped into it, "There are way too many variables we'd have to consider that would take longer than a day to figure out," He leaned forward towards Amon who was sat silent.
"Let's just get what we came for and leave, Amon; this has shit written all over it."
I watched Amon stare at the ceiling briefly before standing up and marching over to the door. Myron jumped up to run in front of him.
"Hold on! What are you doing?" He asked as me and Neo looked at each other before looking back at them.
"We're leaving," Amon stated, "I'll go up and tell Roman what we're doing, and then we'll go," He moved past Myron and opened the door.
He didn't look back as he continued speaking, "I'll finish up our business here, you take the little bastards out to the markets to get supplies, and then I'll meet you back near the alleyway where I reappeared the first time," He didn't wait for a response as he marched back up the stairs.
Myron stuck his hand out before sighing and rubbing his head.
"Well…" He turned to us, still sitting on the sofa, "Let's go shopping, yeah?"
Walking through the markets, we found most of the stuff we needed; clothes, extra blankets, medicine and other essentials that the camp ran low on. Usually, we would all be talking – well, more like Neo and Myron would do most of the talking, and I would listen in – but there was an awkward silence that followed us around.
I guess everybody else is thinking about what happened…
I was walking behind Neo and Myron as they walked next to each. I focused on Neo and thought about what she had said earlier;
"So? Did you not hear what we're getting from it?"
It's like she didn't care that they were talking about murdering someone…someone who hasn't done anything to us.
I watched as she began talking to Myron about something, but I was too far back to hear, and the sounds of the city were also drowning them out.
I'm not a stranger to death, and gods know that when I catch that piss-eyed bastard, I'm going to fucking kill him, but I would never kill someone who wasn't in my way…It's not right.
I refocused on Myron as he waved his arms up and down exasperatedly at Neo's questioning while it looked like she was yelling at him and stomping her feet.
Not to mention what Amon and Myron were doing here anyway. What were we even doing with a criminal? I know that wasn't flour…was it drugs? But why were they selling drugs? They're bad…did we really need the money that bad? Amon, Myron and Rozalia are good people.
Aren't they?
I shook my head and began speeding up towards them. I had to know why they did it and what was wrong with Neo!
As I got closer, I began hearing snippets of their conversation:
"-at's final Neo! You don't get a say in this!"
Neo stomped her foot,
"It's so stupid! We could easily pull it off if I helped!"
"No. Amon is finishing up, and then we are going home." Myron shot back as he kept walking.
I forgot what I would say as Neo spun around and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me away from Myron.
"Woah! Neo! What are you doing?" I asked as she pulled me away from Myron, who watched with a raised eyebrow.
"Where do you think you're going?" Myron shouted as we went further away; I noticed his shouting caused some people to look at us.
I felt my ears heat up at the attention but shook my head to ignore them and refocus on getting back on my feet.
"Away from you!" Neo shouted back while marching forward, "Come on, Grit!"
I saw Myron shake his head, "Fine!" He dropped the bags from his shoulder, "Just make sure you get back to the meeting place in two hours, or I'll leave you here!"
Neo let go of my hand and sped further ahead as I quickly waved to Myron, who nodded back as I tried catching up to Neo.
I could hear her muttering as I got closer:
"Stupid fucking coward…." She had a nasty scowl on her face as she ground her teeth, "…Why can't he see that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,"
I put my hand on her shoulder, which caused her to spin around and glare at me before softening as she recognised me.
I shook her slightly, and I tried smiling but found that I couldn't bring myself to do it, "Neo?" I began, "What's going on with you?" I asked, slightly scared to hear the answer.
She stopped to turn around and smiled at me, "Hey! How about we get that haircut, we talked about?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out some Lien, "I swiped some of this off Myron so we can easily pay for it,"
What the hell is she talking about?
"Neo-What are you-" I couldn't finish my sentence as she dragged me away again.
"Great!" She exclaimed as we went down the high street, weaving in and out of passersby's cursing us as we bumped into them.
I could only groan in frustration.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror as the barber finished buzzing off my hair. I couldn't comprehend that it was my face staring back at me in the mirror. The 'birds nest' that everyone affectionately called was gone from my head and was instead replaced with an even surface which the barber called a 'number 1 buzzcut'.
"Wow!" Neo sang from the sofa behind me before rising to stand next to me and lean into the mirror reflection, "Look how handsome you are!"
The barber – A man who looked like he was in his fifties – nodded his head along, "A strapping young lad, I'd say," He nudged my shoulder, "You'll be fighting off with a stick when your older, haha!" He laughed, and I swear I saw Neo glare at him briefly before returning to her grin.
They started talking about payment and other fingers while I still stared at my reflection. With all that hair, I could see my face clearly for the first time in however long.
I looked so…different.
There was barely any fat on my face, or anywhere on my body, my features had gotten sharper, and my jaw was becoming more defined. Little scars peppered my face but didn't disfigure me and my skin, which had a shade darker than my naturally tan skin colour from being outside constantly.
I didn't know who I was looking at in the mirror.
The only way I could recognise this boy was because of the gold necklace hanging from his neck.
My neck.
I felt someone shake my shoulder and turn to see Neo looking at me worriedly.
"You good?" She asked as I brought myself out of my funk.
"Y-yeah, I'm good," I got up from the barber chair, "Let's get out of here," I moved towards the door before Neo stopped me.
"But you haven't said what you think about it yet."
I looked into the mirror again as the stranger stared back at me.
Ugly
Weak
Pathetic
Loser
Coward
I looked towards Neo and smiled, "I think it looks pretty cool," I waved to the barber, who waved back, "Thanks for the haircut! See you again,"
"Of course! See you, kids, again soon!" He called out as we left the shop.
We walked down the street a bit, just wandering around looking to do…anything really until we had to meet up with Amon and Myron.
I wasn't paying attention and just looked up at the sky.
What am I even doing right now? Where am I even going? I have no idea where that bastard is, and I don't even know his name.
I thought about how much I had changed in the last few years travelling with the Nomads, training with Amon, learning from Rozalia, Amon, Toby and the others while also becoming closer with Neo.
But what was next? Would I eventually leave them to avenge my family? When would it be enough?
I didn't know anymore…
'Coward'
I spun round to where I heard that voice and made eye contact with a glowing silver eye glaring at me from the opposite street. The eye dangled from the socket belonging to the small chewed-up and bleeding girl standing across the road from me.
Autumn…
Behind was the ghostly armoured figure of my dad and the burnt corpse of my mother standing behind her.
They raised their fingers and pointed at me.
She is accusing me.
She is damning me.
He was calling me out.
I looked away in shame and anger as their rage-filled words haunted my mind. I turned back the opposite way, not making eye contact with them as their eyes tried digging into my skin.
Where's Neo? I need to get the fuck out of here.
I realised that she hadn't been walking next to me for however long I was thinking. I returned to find her standing before a local board, reading some…paper.
"Neo?" I called out, and she looked up like a deer in headlights, "What are you reading?" I asked.
She hastily stuffed them into her pocket and smiled at me, "Oh, nothing, just some random shit I'll look at later; what do you want to do now?" She asked in a sweet voice.
What was that about? Probably nothing, I guess…
"I've been meaning to ask you something," I started as she cocked her head at me, "What were you arguing with Myron about?"
She opened her mouth briefly before closing it and looking around us, noting the people around us, "Not here, follow me." She said as we ducked into an alleyway. We passed by a man who reeked and was surrounded by syringes mumbling to himself.
Yeesh…poor dude.
I followed her as we went up a fire escape using our aura to jump up to the retracted ladder and pull it down. Eventually, we got to the top of the building, where she sat on the edge.
I joined her as I sat down and took in Vale with both our feet dangling off the side.
Buildings of various shapes and sizes greeted me as airships flew by and the sight of regular ships pulled into the docks. I watched as the people living here lived their lives, unaware that I was watching them from so high up.
I felt like a bird.
"Cool, huh?" I heard Neo say next to me.
I turned to her and watched as the setting sun reflected off her eyes, giving them an extra shine.
Pretty…
"Yeah…I guess so," I said, shrugging my shoulders which made her giggle.
"Heh, your funny Grit. You know that, right?" She leaned her head on my shoulder, and for a moment, I completely forgot what I was even up here for.
We sat silently for a moment, taking it in, and I found it hard to swallow as I tried to work up the courage to talk to her.
"It's so weird being back here," Neo began speaking again but wasn't looking at me but instead out at the city. "Last time I was here, I was just some rat running about looking for scraps to eat," She spat off the side of the building, "When I wasn't doing that, I was staying in some shithole orphanage with the rest of the starving kids ever since my mother died."
"Do you know what story the older kids used to tell us? To try and make our lives a little less miserable?" She turned to look at me.
I shook my head, which made her turn her head back towards the city.
"It was 'The Sword in the Stone'," She had a wistful look on her face as she looked deep into her memories, "The kids younger and more desperate than me loved to hear this story over and over again," She turned back to me again as I listened.
"Would you like to hear it?"
I nodded, and she cleared her throat.
"Long ago, when the King of Vale still walked the land and put an end to the Great War, he foretold of a time of great trouble that would happen in the future of Remnant. Knowing that he would not be around to protect the people, he plunged his mighty sword 'Coronwr' into an unassuming rock in the centre of Vale, proclaiming:
''When the light fades and hope begins to wither, know that the blood of my blood will return to bring order back to chaos by wielding my blade."
He soon vanished after that, but what was understood was that only those that shared the King's blood could withdraw the sword from the stone. Unfortunately, the King had never married or had any children, so it was assumed that he had sired a bastard in secret. Only time will tell when the future King returns to save us from our nightmare."
I listened, transfixed, as she told me the story, wondering if it was true. I began to feel embarrassed as I thought that maybe I was the secret bastard but soon realised that it wouldn't make sense if I were.
"Nice story, huh?" Neo smiled at me, "It managed to keep all the other kids going daily, filled with the hope that maybe they were the future king, coming to save everyone." Her eyes zoned out, "Or maybe they thought that the future king would be coming soon to save them from their hell," She scoffed, "Little did they know it was all bullshit."
She stood up from the edge and stared out at the city, "This whole place stinks of shit, Grit; it always the same voices 'No more crime!,' or 'The Huntsmen are saving us!' tell me something, Grit," She waved her arm in front of us sweeping over the city, "What about all the people drugged out and sleeping in the alleyways out of sight? What about all the little kids starving, dying, abandoned and being kidnapped daily? Are the Huntsmen saving us? HA! How many burned-out and destroyed villages have we passed travelling around? How many times have we been attacked by Grimm that was supposed to have been killed? It just lies after lie after LIE!" She was spitting as she shouted at me or, more like, through me.
"Neo, I think –" I tried to speak, but Neo cut me off, not listening to me.
"Those fucking idiots thought someone was going to come riding in, pull out a magical sword, and fix everything?" She threw her head back, "Hahaha! What a fucking joke…." She laughed bitterly while wiping her eyes, "…It's all just a fucking joke." She whispered while sniffing.
I didn't know what to say as I watched her cry quietly while looking away from me.
Was she always feeling like this? How much do I even know about her?
It was strange watching Neo cry, as I had no idea that she had thoughts like this or that I barely even knew how hard she had it growing up. I couldn't imagine being that hungry or that left behind. It made the rest of her behaviour over the years become more apparent in my eyes.
How she reacted violently when I called her a tramp; how she was so desperate for me to be part of her family; how she would do anything for them.
She doesn't want to be alone…
Watching her cry, a memory popped into my head of my sister crying in her room all alone. It tore me up, and I didn't know how to make it better besides just trying my best.
I walked over and pulled her into a hug which caused her to stiffen for a bit before returning it, crying quietly into my chest.
I didn't realise how much taller I was than her now.
I let out a small laugh at the thought, which made her look up.
"What are you laughing at?" She pouted up at me.
"Just laughing at how short you're going to be forever," I replied, which made her giggle.
"That's fine; at least I'll be able to sit on your shoulders when we're older."
"True," I buried my nose into her hair and inhaled her smell; somehow, she always smelled like strawberries, vanilla and chocolate. Some would say it was overly sweet, but in my mind, it was perfect.
"Say," I began as she looked up, "Where is the sword anyway? Is it real?" I asked.
She nodded her head, "Yeah, it's in front of the council building; you aren't allowed to touch it anyway as A: It genuinely can't be moved, B: Too many people kept messing around on it, so it's guarded 24/7 and C: The council thought it would be better as a tourist attraction." I nodded my head, listening to her explanation.
"Well, I guess that's good," She titled her head in curiosity, "Can't let the peasants spoil my arrival by getting their grubby fingers all over it." I put on a posh voice while sneering, which made her giggle into my chest.
"Oh? You're the long-lost bastard prince, then?" She asked with mirth in her voice.
I nodded, "Of course! Couldn't you tell by how handsome I am?" I replied, wiggling my eyebrows.
"Hmm, a king? No. But a bastard I could believe," She shot back.
"Hey!"
We stood there momentarily, laughing at her joke before breaking up and just looking each other in the eyes. I felt like I could look at her forever as my heart began to race, and I watched her face go a bit red.
"So? Did you not hear what we're getting from it?"
The moment was ruined as I recalled Neo's uncaring words.
I had to know what she meant, surely, she wasn't who I thought she was. Focusing back on her, I noticed that she had realised that I had something else to ask.
"…Neo, do you want to kill the mayor?" I asked, already feeling like I would be sick, as my knee shook.
She closed her eyes and sighed, "…Yeah, I do," She replied, stepping away from me.
"But…why?" I asked, not understanding why she wanted to murder someone so badly who was innocent.
She turned back towards the city, "Were you not listening to me?" She shot back as I stuttered.
"I was. I just…" I swallowed, "Why would you kill someone you don't know? He hasn't done anything to you." I explained, trying to find the right words.
She didn't say anything but I could tell that she wanted to say something but decided to roll her eyes instead, "No, he hasn't," She didn't speak for a moment, "But it's not what he's done to me but what he can do for me-for us,"
She turned back around to me, "Imagine it, Grit, we can finally travel into the city and not be worried about an angry mob chasing after us or being able to rest under a clean roof instead of constantly fighting for our survival outside of these fucking walls," She got closer and closer to me. I had to look down to maintain eye contact with her.
"Now we've finally found someone who has the vision to stick it to that-those fuckers in their fancy towers," She moved away and focused on the most prominent building near the centre of the centre.
I stepped towards her with an unsure step, "Is that what you were arguing with Myron about?" I asked.
She nodded, "Yeah," She closed her eyes and breathed in, "Grit, how much do you know about our living situation?"
"At the camp? What's that got to do with anything?"
"You know that Gypsys aren't welcome anywhere within the Kingdoms on Remnant, right?"
I nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
She closed her eyes and reached into her pocket to pull out the crumpled bits of paper she had hidden earlier.
I could make out the words 'WANTED' but nothing else as she unfolded them.
"Well…for us, it's especially hard to do anything when they're actively gunning for our camp," She spread the posters out, and I felt my stomach drop through my feet as I took them.
Three faces that I had seen every day for the past few years stared right back at me;
WANTED!
DEAD OR ALIVE
ROZALIA BRANWEN
FOR CRIMES OF:
BANDITRY, MURDER, ARSON, ROBBERY, GYPSYISM & HERETICAL BELIEFS
REWARD:
150,000 LIEN
WANTED!
DEAD OR ALIVE
MYRON ALDIS
FOR CRIMES OF:
ASSASSINATION, TREASON, MURDER, SEDITION, GYPSYSIM & DESERTION
REWARD:
250,000 LIEN
WANTED!
DEAD
AMON 'GYPSY PRINCE' OSGAR
FOR CRIMES OF:
MURDER, TERRORISM, TREASON, SEDITION, ARSON, ASSASSINATION, GYPSYISM, TORTURE & DESERTION
REWARD:
750,000 LIEN
"Wha-what is this?" I stuttered, unbelieving of what I was seeing.
The faces might have been younger, but they were still the same faces that had looked after me for the past three years. It just didn't make any sense.
...Were they bad people the whole time?
I looked at Neo's sad face as she took the papers out of my hand and stuffed them back in her pockets, "Now do you get it?" She asked.
I shook my head.
"Because of these lies, the people we love will be chased forever with nowhere to call home!"
I felt so confused, "B-but the poster said that they murdered people, that they-"
She slapped me in the face, "And you believe a piece of paper over what you've seen with your own eyes?" she shook her head angrily, "It's a bunch of fucking lies, Grit, open your eyes!"
I stared at her, "It's just lies?"
Is it all just fake? Yeah, it has to be! Bad people wouldn't have saved me. Bad people wouldn't have fed me, clothed me or kept me safe!
It's all just fake!
She nodded back at me, "Yes! This is what the Kingdom does; it lies and destroys the lives of those who don't even have a fair chance of fighting back!"
"T-they do?"
"They do," She cupped my face in her hand, "But we can get them back for it, Grit; we can finally save Rozie, Myron and Amon! We can get the respect we're owed from those fuckers!" She stroked my face, and I leaned into her hand.
The kingdom did this? Why would they do this? Why does everything want to hurt what I love? It's not fair! It's not fucking fair!
I could feel the old rage bubble up as I thought of Myron, Rozalia, and Amon being chased forever, never allowed to rest. Even when the whole world was against them, they still managed to save a young boy who had lost everything.
"Grit," Neo called, "I need you to help me with this..." I stared at her, willing to do anything.
"The people who come after us will never stop until we're wiped off the face of Remnant," She stepped back and bowed her head to me.
"Please, Grit," She begged, "Help me save them,"
I watched as she kept her head down, begging me to help her.
I thought of all the memories that I shared with these people, how they saved me, trained me and even loved me...
Could I do something like this? Murder is wrong...but...
...I would do anything for them.
"Ok," I replied, causing Neo to look up at me with gleaming eyes, "I'll help you,"
Neo only responded with a bloodthirsty grin.
"Alright, that should be his house over there." Neo pointed over to a large manor that was surrounded by large gates. Not only that, but guards were patrolling up and down the perimeter.
"Neo, this is impossible," I pointed out to the defences, "We won't be able to get within farting distance before they blow our heads off!" I explained while readjusting my cloak.
She shook her head.
"It'll be fine, Grit; listen," She reached into a satchel she was wearing, where she pulled out two masks for us; one was that of a crying man and the other laughing, "Put these on and just follow me, ok?"
I looked down at the mask of the crying man and put it on where my vision was now constrained to two peepholes. It was uncomfortable, but I would have to adapt as Neo began scaling down the building wearing the other mask.
I ignored the rolling feeling in my gut as I followed her, thinking of Myron and Amon as they wondered where we were.
...sorry.
We eventually reached the bottom and ducked into an alleyway, still watching the manor and the guards. I nudged Neo.
"So what now?"
I couldn't see her face, but I knew she was thinking of something to do. She clicked her fingers and pointed to a guard standing by himself, having a cigarette away from the patrols and cameras.
"Him," She declared, turning back to look at me, "I'll sneak up behind him, knock him out, take his I.D and then use my semblance to disguise you as him," She got ready to move, but I grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Yeah, that's great, but what about you?" I asked, not understanding how she would get through the guards at the main entrance. She poked me on the head.
"Let me worry about that, ok?" She replied, and I decided to trust her for now. "Ok! Let's go now before he finishes."
We crouched low, crossing the street and getting closer to the guard where he was taking the final pull of his cigarette.
I watched Neo leap into the air and spin kick around the head, where he gasped and crashed to the floor with a sickening crack. He wasn't entirely unconscious as he let out small groans, which caused Neo to kick him again in the head, keeping him silent.
I took a deep breath to lean down and rummage through his pockets until I pulled out his I.D:
'Cliff Bark'
I showed Neo, and she nodded before raising her arms towards me, causing a glow to form around me as I noticed I was getting taller and was wearing different clothes. I had become 'Cliff Bark'.
I looked down at my hands and the distance I was away from the ground from normal. It was disorientating to see that my hands weren't mine, and I looked to Neo to try and explain.
"Neo, this is-Neo? Where did you go?" I asked - my voice a few tones deeper - as she had disappeared from my sight.
"In front of you," I heard her voice whisper as I tried looking as hard as possible in front of me. I didn't notice anything until I saw the air shimmer before me.
"Are-are you invisible? I didn't know you could do that!" I exclaimed and was also secretly jealous that she had such a cool semblance.
Her voice sounded strained as she talked, "Shh! Keep your voice down," She hissed, and I quietly apologised, "I'm not invisible; I'm just blending into the surroundings; people can still see me if they look hard enough."
I nodded, now understanding what she was doing.
"Now come on, It feels like my head is being stamped on the longer I hold this," She said as I watched her slightly shimmering form move towards the gate where I could make out her clambering over the side.
Panic overtook me as I whispered to her, "Neo! What am I supposed to do now?" my palms were getting sweaty as I waited for her response.
"You go through the main entrance and flash your I.D," I heard her gasp slightly, "I need to get inside quickly before my camouflage wears off, and so do you!"
She dashed off before waiting for a response.
"Neo! Neo!" I whispered loudly as she disappeared from view, "...Fuck."
I swallowed the lump in my front and walked towards the front gate, where a single guard with a rifle was stationed.
Ok...you can do this... play it, cool Grit...
I cleared my throat as I got closer and showed my I.D to the guard, who smiled.
"Woah, look at Mr Proffessional over here," He chuckled, "Not even a how do you do to your brother-in-law?"
My ears became hot as the revelation these two were related kicked me right in the balls.
FUCK! WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?
My dad's old advice rang through my ears;
'When in doubt, divert.'
I cleared my throat and groaned, "Yeah, sorry, buddy, I've just been exhausted lately; you know how it is." I said, lying through my teeth.
Please stop talking.
The guard chuckled, "Yeah, I hear that; I'm surprised you're still standing; what with that new baby of yours? What is she? Four months now?" He asked as guilt welled up inside me as I remembered Neo brutally kicking Cliff in the skull.
I shrugged, "Heh, it feels like a thousand years, in my opinion." I replied, which caused the guard to chuckle.
"Ha! Well, anyway, what can I do for you?" He asked in a much more relaxed position.
Shit...I didn't think of an excuse...uh...
"I need to take a shit." I lamely supplied.
He stared at me for a moment before laughing again, "Man! You are on fire today, Cliff! How did you get so funny? It must be because you wanna take a shit proper bad, huh?"
He slapped me on the shoulder and pointed his thumb towards the Manor door.
"Well, go on in the first door on the right, NOT the left. I don't want you getting in trouble again for messing up the cloakroom."
I nodded, "I'll keep it in mind,"
He laughed as I walked past him towards the main door, ignoring my knees shaking like crazy as the adrenaline pumped through me.
Thank god I'm in the clear...
"Wait!"
My heart froze.
He saw through me, its over, it's all fucking over, I knew this wouldn't work, fuckfuckfuck-
I turned around to the guard, ready for a fight.
All he had was a smile on his face, "Let me know when you are free soon; I would love to come to see my niece and my sister again." He rubbed the back of his helmet in embarrassment, "I feel bad that I've been working so much that I haven't had a chance to see them yet and...you know..."
I smiled, "Of course, mate, come round whenever you like; they've been dying to see you."
He grinned back, "Great! Anyway, I'll let you get back to your shit and see you back here in a minute."
I nodded back and speed-walked towards the door, opening it quickly and rushing in, my heart going a million miles a second.
"Fuck, that was close..." I whispered before I felt something pull me into the left room, crashing into boots and coats.
My body started shimmering and then shattered like glass as I felt a hand cover my mouth. Looking up, I saw Neo uncamouflaged and unmasked, wiping her nose with her hand where I saw blood stains on her sleeve.
She had a scowl on her face, "About fucking time you got here! What took you so long?" She hissed as she put her mask back on.
I shoved her off me, "Because I had to lie my ass off to the gate guard, WHO was also the fucking dude's brother-in-law, you asshole!" I stood up from her, and she followed suit, "I nearly didn't make it."
She pointed her finger in my face before dropping it and turning around, "Whatever...just keep up, or this whole thing is blown." She opened up her satchel and pulled out two daggers and two pistols. She handed one of each to me.
"Here, we might have to use these." I took them out of her hand and stuffed the gun in my waistband, and kept the dagger in my hand, whereas she kept both in each hand.
Neo crept over to the door and peeked out of it slightly before turning slightly to nod towards me to follow.
I followed, but so did the gnawing feeling in my gut that something would go wrong at any second.
Creeping through the hallways, we managed to avoid the few guard patrols and were nearly caught a few times, but luckily we managed to avoid them as we passed by different rooms.
Neo was becoming more anxious and would snap at me every few seconds over little mistakes I would make or nothing at all. It was starting to grate at my nerves, and I couldn't stop jumping or slowing the panic in my body.
I was becoming suspicious that Neo had ulterior motives regarding this mission; it seemed...far too personal to be about the others at camp.
No...
There was something more to this as I could hear Neo gnash her teeth and mutter under her breath:
"He's here somewhere...where are you...you bastard..." She spoke so quietly that if I weren't used to her voice, I wouldn't have known it was her talking.
But it was too late to ask questions now that would come later.
Eventually, after going up another staircase, we walked past an open door where I heard a woman's voice speak, causing me to slow down for a minute.
"...I don't know Celia, he's got a lot on his plate right now...I don't think now is the right time to bother him with this now..."
I peeked through the door to see two Faunus women; one had dark red hair and was sitting in front of a mirror holding...pictures in her hands? And the other was behind her combing her hair and humming.
The one sitting down was, for lack of a better word...beautiful as her furry tail swished back and forth.
"I believe that he has a right to know, mistress," The one doing her said as she finished combing it, "And besides, what kind of husband would he be if he wasn't excited about this type of news?"
The beautiful woman sighed and held her hand out, showing off a shiny ring, "We're 'engaged' Celia, we're not married yet," She turned around to face her maid, "I just worry that maybe this is all a dream...that all the things I did in my past are going to come back and ruin what I have..." She stuck her head in her palms.
"I'm just not used to things going so well, I guess..."
The maid knelt to her eye level, "Marilyn..." She held her hands and smiled, "If anyone deserves this, it's you,"
They smiled at each other, and I felt myself get yanked away to find myself face-to-face with Neo, whose eyes were glowing with anger.
"What the fuck is up with you right now?" She whispered harshly as I found myself with nothing to say as she cuffed me around the head, "Stop fucking around already and let's go. I won't have you ruin this for me."
She snuck off, leaving me stunned momentarily before shaking it off and following her as her words repeated in my head.
'I won't have you ruin this for me.'
'Ruin this for me.
'For me.'
'For me.'
'For me'
'Me'
Something blared inside me to give this up, to grab Neo and jump straight through a window and run away back to Myron and Amon, begging for their forgiveness.
But I ignored it.
I squashed it down somewhere I couldn't see it anymore.
No weakness.
I followed Neo quietly as we went up another flight of stairs and came across two guards standing in front of a door at the end of a long corridor, with two more going opposite directions from where we were. Neo stopped moving and hung on the corner with me behind her, slightly poking my head out to get a look.
Neo glowed for a minute before camouflaging to cross to the wall next to us, so we covered both sides of the hallway before reappearing. We sat there watching, and I looked over to Neo to see her nod at me and jerk her head towards them.
He's in there.
My hands felt clammy as we were now so close to the end. The question now was...
...how do we get there?
If, by some divine miracle, I watched the door open to see Mayor Rice poke his head out with his phone pressed into his neck, telling his guards to do something before returning to his office.
It seems he told them to go away for privacy as they began to march down the hallway, with one pulling out a pack of cigarettes and the other seeming to be complaining about something.
I looked towards Neo, and she jerked her thumb at them and made a sleeping gesture to describe our plan.
Knock 'em out...okay, I can do that.
We waited for them to get closer, and I could hear their voices get louder and louder as they approached.
"-Telling you, man, there's something shifty about Rice," One said to the other getting more audible.
How am I going to do it? What if they have an aura?
"And? We don't get paid to ask questions about our employer, and you know that," The other replied with a cigarette in his mouth.
I'll use my semblance to overpower him, shatter his aura and choke him out.
"See that right there, man," The other man stated, "You're what we call a drone, an NPC, someone who doesn't question anything!"
I watched Neo tense up as they were now only a second away.
I swallowed.
"Yeah, well, I guess I'm a drone that likes to eat, and anyway, weren't you - "
NOW!
I felt my aura rush inwards, and a burst of inhuman strength rampaged through my body as everything went in slow motion.
The guard, without the cigarette, looked at my incoming fist coming towards his throat.
I noticed that his eyes were blue.
The shock was the only thing I saw in them.
I wonder what he sees in mine?
He couldn't do anything as my fist made contact with his aura-covered throat.
Or it should have.
Where was the shatter?
I felt nothing as my fist continued pushing through the softness until I noticed that hand went further and further into his neck.
Huh?
I glanced over to see Neo staring at me wide-eyed as the other guard's neck spun a full rotation and collapsed to the floor with a sickening crack.
Time resumed.
I looked back towards my target as his hands reached up, clutching at his throat as he coughed out blood. He fell to the floor, trying to reach out to me, tears streaming down his eyes.
I stared numbly at him as he tried clawing his way to me, trying to wheeze out any word he could before collapsing to the floor with a thump, blood pooling around his head and creating a crimson puddle.
I stared numbly at the man as he lay there.
He wasn't breathing.
Why isn't he breathing? I don't understand...why didn't he have his aura?
He wasn't breathing.
He was supposed to have had an Aura! Everyone has an Aura...Don't they?
I couldn't breathe.
My knuckles were bloody.
Did I cut myself? No.
No, I didn't.
I looked back at the man's body.
He wasn't breathing.
Do people always have this much blood in them?
Why am I moving? Whose leading me?
I saw a petite pale hand lead me down the hallway that seemed to go on and on and on.
Is someone talking to me?
"-need you to focus right now, ok Grit?" The voice said, "Don't think about what just happened, for now; just focus on me,"
Just focus on you?
Okay...you...Neo...
I returned to see Neo kneeling in front of the door, gesturing me to listen as well.
I might as well, I guess.
You killed a man.
Is this voice behind the door?
I pressed my ear against the door to listen as a gravelly voice spoke.
"-understand that Mr Two but...No, I swear I understand, and I appreciate the effort that your organisation has put in for my campaign, but...right...right of course, but...please understand that it's not that easy just to reallocate funds from the budget...yes, I understand the consequences...thank you, Mr Two, I'll...hello?" The voice snarled and slammed something against the wall.
I looked at Neo, and she nodded before opening the door to march straight in.
You killed a man.
I kept my eyes on Neo only as we walked into the office.
It was...lovely to be inside, the desk was made of polished wood, and books lined the shelf. Behind the desk was a large window overlooking the city, its bright lights momentarily blinding me.
A clock was hanging from a wall.
11:52
"Who the fuck are you supposed to be?" A gravelly voice cut in, and looking to the source was a man.
A man who looked to be middle-aged and greying.
A huge scar crossed vertically on his left eyebrow, but it didn't affect his eyes.
His eyes.
His eyes were a familiar shade of pink.
Neo?
I looked at her to find her stalking towards the man, who stood up straighter and tenser as she approached.
"Do you remember a woman named Carmel Vanille?" She asked coldly.
You killed a man.
Rice took half a step back, looking confused, "What are you-?"
"She was a prostitute that you used to pay for in the red light district regularly," Neo asked another question as she approached him.
Rice's eyes widened as something of...recognition played through his eyes.
"One day, she gave birth to a little girl," Neo jumped up onto the desk, and I moved closer to the right to stop Rice from making a run.
I'm here now...we're here now...see this through.
"Carmel begged you to recognise this child again and again and again, but you refused to hear it," Neo unstrapped her cloak to pull out her pistol and dagger.
"Eventually, it became too much after the years of her begging, and you couldn't have some prostitute slander your name in the elections, so you put an end to it,"
I watched Rice look away briefly before focusing back on Neo; his hands were shaking.
"So you killed her, strangled her in the brothel where there were no witnesses to see you do it,"
She leaned in,
"Except for the little girl in the closet, terrified as she watched her mother murdered in front of her, unable to do anything but play the image repeatedly in her mind for the rest of her life."
She reached up to her mask,
"A little girl trapped on the streets fighting to survive until one day she swore she would avenge her mother, no matter what it took!" She was shouting now as she yanked her mask off,
"That girl was Trivia Vanille!" She pointed her gun at his face as I watched, flabbergasted, "And I'm going to fucking kill you!" She screamed as she pulled the trigger.
Rice was faster as he ducked the bullet, causing the window behind him to shatter before immediately grabbing Neo's leg, pulling it out from under her and making her head slam against the table before being flung across the room opposite me into the bookshelf.
I was already leaping before I could comprehend what had happened; my fist was coming straight towards his face as he turned to me, catching it in midair, causing me to dangle from his grip. He didn't stop as his other fist slammed into my stomach, making my aura flash, then twice and then a third time, causing it to shatter as I coughed up salvia before letting me go to boot me across the room.
I felt something hard hit my back as the wind was knocked out of me. I pushed myself up to my elbows, trying to catch my breath.
"Your mother was a regrettable sacrifice Trivia," Rice's deep voice spoke as I tried shaking off the dizziness, "For what it's worth, I apologise for what I had to do,"
I looked at Neo, frothing at the mouth, "SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" She screamed at him as he dusted himself off.
"You are just a child, so you know nothing of how the world works," He said in a voice that resembled a parent admonishing a child, "But understand that it was for the greater good in the end," He gestured behind him to the window.
"Soon, all crime and violence will be eradicated in the city, and if I have to step over a few dead bodies to make that vision a reality," He unbuttoned the top of his dress shirt and rolled up his sleeves, "Then so be it."
I felt my Aura return slightly as Neo jumped back to her and ran straight towards him, splitting herself into three different versions of herself to try and attack him from different angles.
I pulled myself up using the bookshelf and took a deep breath before charging straight back in. I watched as he shattered one of Neo's illusions as another sliced at him from behind, making him grunt before spinning around quickly to strike that version of Neo with the back of his fist.
He glanced towards me, running at him before quickly grabbing the last Neo by the throat and choking her out as she dropped the dagger out of her hand.
"NEO!" I couldn't help but scream as I watched her try and claw for his face while he glanced back at her gasping face.
"Neo?" He said before refocusing on me to boot the desk back at me as papers flew off it.
"Shit!" I swore before sliding underneath to dodge it and getting ready to leap up to attack him.
Only to be greeted by his foot coming downwards to my face to stomp on it, which I was too slow to avoid.
The wooden floor beneath me cracked as he increased the pressure, and I could feel my bones cracking as his foot somehow got heavier.
"You know what they used to call me during the Revolution?" He started as the pressure around Neo's neck and his foot on my face increased.
I could only snarl and gasp at him, which he ignored.
"They called me the 'Heavy Handed' as a testament to my decision to make the hard choices and also because of my semblance."
I was blacking out, and his voice became more muffled.
Is this how it ends?
"See, my semblance allows me to increase the weight of my body by up to around ten tons which allowed me to crush the heads of my enemies,"
I guess I couldn't do anything...
"So it stuck to me like shit on a blanket," His muffled voice, from what I could hear, turned into a snarl, "Did you think that two little shits from the streets would be able to kill me?"
Sorry, Mum...
The darkness was coming faster.
Sorry, Autumn...
I was slipping away.
Sorry, Dad...
This was it...
...I'm sorry, everyone...
.
.
.
.
.
NO.
NOT YET.
WE AREN'T FINISHED YET.
Are we not?
NO.
THEY NEED TO PAY.
Who?
THEM.
Sick yellow eyes laughed as my Mother burned to death in front of me
A putrid monster snarls as it holds me down to watch my life crumble in front of me
All I feel is rage
Rage
Rage
RAGE
RAGE
RAGE
RAGE
RAGE
YES.
DON'T LET ANY OF THEM ESCAPE.
MAKE THEM ALL PAY.
.
.
.
.
NO! I CAN'T DIE HERE!
I WON'T!
NOT UNTIL IT'S DONE!
The pressure on my face became lighter as I used my hand to push it off me.
I turned to see his face sneering back down at me, his yellow eyes laughing at me.
Stop laughing.
He laughed harder.
I said stop laughing.
He laughed even harder.
"I SAID STOP LAUGHING!"
I raised his foot above me and swung my other hand into a fist right into his shin, feeling it buckle and crunch.
The laughs turned to screams, and I felt my spine shiver.
He dropped something, but I couldn't see it.
All I saw were yellow eyes lying on the floor, grabbing his leg bent in the wrong direction.
"I'LL FUCKING RIP YOUR GUTS OUT!"
I leapt at him as he tried putting his arms up to defend himself.
Pathetic.
I slapped them out of the way and pressed my thumbs into his eye sockets to get rid of those filthy fucking eyes.
He screamed and threw me away from him but not far enough.
"DON'T RUN FROM ME!" I scrambled back towards him, feeling empty that I wasn't causing him more agony.
The agony that he caused me.
He stood back up, glaring at me with bleeding eyes and a snarl as he hobbled towards me with a dagger.
He said something, but all I could hear was this fucking ringing in my ear that wouldn't go away until he died. I had to kill him. I had to kill him now.
I swung my fist at him, which hit him in the ribs, making him cough up his blood on my face, blinding me for a moment. I wiped the blood from my face and saw that my arm was near me, which I grabbed and squeezed, feeling the bone turn to dust beneath my grip.
It looked like he was screaming as I watched his hands-
Where was the dagger?
-I looked down to see it sticking out of me.
Did he get me?
I looked back up to see his free fist sailing towards my face. The impact sent me flying towards the wall, where the brick cracked from my impact.
I tried to move, but my body wouldn't follow my commands.
Get up.
Get up.
I watched him stumble towards me with a pistol.
GETUPGETUPGETUPGETUP
He aimed it at my face, and I watched the hammer start going back.
I'M NOT DYING HERE I'M NOT DYING HEREI'M NOT DYING HEREI'M NOT DYING HEREI'M NOT DYING HEREI'M NOT DYING HEREI'M NOT DYING HEREI'M NOT DYING HERE
Those fucking eyes were laughing at me still.
I'M NOT FUCKING DYING HERE
*BANG*
.
.
.
.
.
Huh?
I looked up to see his face had a gaping hole where his right eye was supposed to be.
Bits of his skull and brain dripped from it as he stared at the gun and back at me.
He looked shocked.
And scared.
But he didn't say a word as he collapsed before me.
Blood pooled out of the hole, creating a halo of gore, and I looked towards where the shot came from.
A girl stood there.
...No. Not a girl.
"Neo..." I found myself whispering as I took in her appearance.
Her head was bleeding, and her clothes were torn in different places, but what stood out were the bruises around her neck and chest.
I couldn't imagine what I looked like.
My body felt numb as I watched her glaring at the corpse of...
...of Rice.
Oh, right...it was Rice we were fighting.
I did it again...I completely forgot who I was fighting again.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
I jumped at the gunshots as Neo continued firing into his corpse.
She killed him...
She collapsed onto the ground, still pointing the gun at him as she debated reshooting him.
I found the strength to pick myself up, coughing out blood and groaning from what I assumed was a broken hand.
I tried flexing it and had to bite down a scream.
Yep, definitely broken.
I stumbled over to her picking up the gun Rice was going to use on me, and put my hand on her shoulder, which made her jump slightly as she looked at me and then back to Rice.
He lay there unmoving.
She looked back at me again and tried saying something.
"...ah...ah...uh..." She tried to speak, but only hoarse groans could come out of her throat.
"It's okay," My arms trembled as adrenaline was still pumping through my body as I sat beside her.
I watched Rice's body waiting for it to jump back up and attack us.
I waited and waited.
I looked around the room to see the clock on the floor and its glass cover shattered.
11:59
Seven minutes...
...It took seven minutes to kill him.
*CREAK*
"Darling, what's - "
*BANG*
Before I could catch up to what I was doing, I had already fired my gun at whoever was coming through the door.
I watched as the door opened fully to reveal a beautiful woman holding a hand over her chest and the other clutching her stomach, holding a pile of pictures.
She looked lost as she stared at her blood-covered hand and then back at me.
"Wha-what?"
She dropped to the floor with a thud, and the pictures in her hand scattered towards me, lying face up to me.
I felt numb.
Who was that?
My hand shook as I looked at the gun in my hand before looking down at the black-and-white pictures.
I recalled a memory long ago.
I wandered into the living room as my mum called me down from my room.
I walked in to see her with a swollen tummy and dad sitting on the sofa holding a bunch of pictures that were black and white.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing at the photos.
Mum smiled as she pulled me in between her and dad. She handed me the photos to hold as I looked at them.
She pointed at them as I tried to figure out what they were.
"That," She hovered her finger over a weird little potato, "Is your baby sister!"
I looked up at her, horrified, "It is?! She looks like an alien!"
Mum poked me in the cheek as dad laughed at something I didn't understand.
"No dummy," She pointed at her stomach, "She's in here growing up like you were when you were in my tummy." She explained.
My dad ruffled my head, "So that means me and you have got to keep mummy safe until your sister arrives, ok?"
I saluted before I continued looking at the pictures, "Yes, sir!"
He leaned in towards me and whispered, "It also means we have to defend ourselves from her because she's going to be a little bit," He looked up at her raised eyebrow, "Crazy." He said quietly.
Mum heard him anyway," Crazy? CRAZY?" She poked him in the chest, "How about you try growing a human inside you for once, you big ape!"
They began arguing, and I drowned them out as I stroked the pictures.
"...A sister..." I grinned, "Can't wait to meet you!"
My eyes stung as I looked at the picture and back to the woman lying on the floor.
My words failed as I tried to say something.
"I'm..."
I'm sorry.
"I...
I'm so sorry.
My words were stuck in my throat as I tried apologising to her.
I looked down at my hands and noticed the blood.
Was there always this much blood?
I reached towards her.
But fire engulfed my vision.
Authour notes: Woah! What's going to happen next!
