Darkbloom
Chapter 8
"Rise and shine."
Jaune let out a groan as the blinds were pulled back from the windows, the light shining down on him. He turned over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow to try and block it out.
"Please let me go back to sleep…" he begged, his voice muffled by the pillow.
He heard Cinder step over to his bedside, her heels clicking against the wood floor. She stopped a short ways away from him. "I am afraid that I cannot do that just yet," she reported.
"Why is that?"
"I must check you over and make sure you are healing properly."
"Do I really need to be awake for that?"
"It would certainly make things easier. Now, are you going to turn over on your own, or must I force you to?"
Jaune immediately obliged, flipping over onto his back. Cinder pulled the covers off of him, and he blushed when the cold hit his bare chest and legs. He was dressed only in his underwear, which he assumed was because Cinder wanted to better look over his wounds, though at this point, he couldn't be entirely sure she wasn't doing it just to make him uncomfortable.
She suddenly reached out and rested a hand on his heart, and Jaune let out a small hiss when he felt her cold touch against his bare chest.
"Hold still," Cinder commanded.
"I'm trying," Jaune insisted. "Why are your hands so cold?"
"It is cold out. Naturally, that means my hands are going to be cold."
"You couldn't at least warm them up first?"
"You are certainly one to complain," Cinder retorted. "I saved your life – twice, in fact – and this is the thanks I get?"
Jaune's heart skipped a beat. "...Thanks for saving my life, Cinder."
"Hm. You are welcome."
Jaune watched in amazement as black surrounded her hand and then began to flow into him, his Aura flaring involuntarily. He hadn't had a chance to really explore his Aura until his fight with his father – he hadn't even noticed that it was black until then. What that was supposed to mean, he wasn't sure, but something told him that Aura was not supposed to be the kind of pitch-black that his was.
"Is this your Semblance?" he asked.
Cinder shook her head. "I do not have a Semblance, in the traditional sense."
"Oh. But you have Aura, though. Have you just not unlocked your Semblance yet?"
"My Aura is not the same as yours," Cinder explained. "I am not human, and my soul is tainted from being cast down to hell. It is an extension of my soul, yes, but my soul is limited in ways that yours is not. However, I am able to make up for those limitations with magic. Those chains you saw when you first summoned me, for example – those were magic."
"And those weapons you can summon, too," Jaune realized.
Cinder nodded. "Yes. My weapons are forged from the depths of my soul and can be called upon at will. I used to be able to do much more than mere chains and weapons, however my powers have waned over the past several thousand years of my imprisonment. It will take time before I am able to cast magic the way I used to be able to."
"And the soul bond?" Jaune asked. "Is that an extension of your magic, too?"
"Contracts in general are an extension of my magic," Cinder explained. "Did you truly think they were not binding in some way? There had to be some mechanism in place to ensure neither party went back on their word."
Jaune looked out the window. "I guess Arcs truly never go back on their word…" he said.
"How humorous," Cinder mused. "One of your ancestors said the same thing to me once. And yet, the old man did exactly that, many years later."
"From everything you tell me, the old man is an outlier," Jaune noted.
"He is in every way inferior to you," Cinder growled. "More powerful, perhaps, but power means nothing when improperly wielded. I shall have my revenge against him someday, and you shall assist me with it. After all, I can think of nothing more poetic than a man being struck down by the person who he betrayed, with the help of his descendant."
"You've put a lot of thought into your revenge scheme."
"I had thousands of years with nobody but myself for company, and sheer nothingness that stretched out into infinity. Thousands of years of the ultimate form of solitary confinement. The old man perhaps expected me to lose my mind, but no – I retained my faculties, despite his best efforts. Believe me, that prison was an improvement compared to hell."
The memory from the day before flashed through Jaune's mind, of Cinder trapped in ice. A chill lanced through his body, and he nodded slowly. "...I can imagine," he said.
Cinder finally took her hand off his chest, allowing his black Aura to fade back into him. "How does it feel?"
"Better," Jaune noted. "I still feel terrible, though."
"That will be the case for several days. Your father did a number on you. Shall I read off the list of wounds I was able to ascertain?"
"I'd prefer if you-"
"Compound fracture of the right arm," Cinder rattled off. "Multiple broken ribs; multiple more fractured ribs. Severe lacerations and deep cuts across the entire body. Concussion. Need I go on?"
"I get the picture," Jaune said. "I should've figured pissing Dad off was a bad idea…"
"On the contrary – you got exactly what you wanted out of that little exchange. It was quite the success."
"Thanks to you."
"It was my plan, but you were the one to execute it flawlessly."
"I wouldn't exactly call getting absolutely demolished by my own father a flawless execution of your plan, but thanks."
"You are so quick to put yourself down," Cinder noted. "But we shall address that in time."
"How so?"
"Worry not; it is all part of my plan."
"You seem to have a lot of those."
"Only as many as are needed to be successful. I shall need you by my side if I am to take down the old man, after all."
"Makes sense, I suppose," Jaune admitted. "So, what are we supposed to be doing, then? More odd jobs?"
"You will be doing nothing of the sort," Cinder insisted. "You must spend the next few days resting and recovering after your bout with your father. I shall send the girls out to do missions on their own."
"That's… probably not the best idea," Jaune offered.
"You are correct, however we have limited options at the moment. And besides, with any luck, the two of them will kill each other in your absence."
"You don't mean that."
"You have no idea what I truly mean or not," Cinder pointed out. "Anyway, breakfast is being prepared for you as we speak. I shall depart shortly and be back this afternoon. In the meantime, I believe Weiss and Blake wished to speak with you before they left."
"Tell them I'm dead, please," Jaune begged.
Cinder shook her head. "If I must deal with them, then so shall you."
"Cinder-"
But it was too late – she'd already left the room. And no sooner had she opened the door and stepped outside than did Blake and Weiss enter, both of them staring at him with wide eyes.
"Geez," Weiss commented as she approached the bed. "You look like garbage."
"Thanks, you look good, too," Jaune deadpanned. "How about you, Blake? Any snappy comments I should be made aware of?"
"That was a heck of a fight," she noted. "That was your dad?"
"It was."
"What was it about?"
"Cinder didn't tell you that?"
Weiss shook her head. "She just told us that it involved family troubles between you two, and that you'd tell us more when you woke up."
"Of course she did…" Jaune grumbled under his breath. "But yeah, that's the gist of it – my dad didn't want me wandering around the woods, hunting Grimm and generally getting into danger. That fight was supposed to be him trying to convince me to return home."
Blake raised an eyebrow. "And he figured he'd do that by beating you to within an inch of your life?"
"He didn't mean to go that hard," Jaune argued. "I know my dad, he'd never intentionally hurt any of his kids, let alone that bad… I just have a knack for making him really angry at the worst possible times."
"Still, I do have to commend you on it, to a certain degree," Weiss conceded. "Since it did work, after all. That's one way to break free from your oppressive family's expectations, though you'll forgive me if I mention that I'm glad I didn't think of it, myself."
"Believe me, if it worked for me, I would have done that again," Jaune grunted. "But as it stands, I tried that once and it bought me about a week, so there's no way it would've lasted quite as long for me as it did for you."
"Shame."
"Quite." Jaune turned towards Blake. "What about you? Something on your mind?"
Blake flinched, apparently surprised at having been addressed so directly. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "...Not at the moment, no."
"Alright, then," Jaune announced. "As you both have probably noticed by now, I'm a little hurt. So I'm not going to be going into the field for a few days, especially because if Cinder finds out I got out of bed and tried to fight Grimm like this, she'll make me regret it. So that means you two are on your own for today, and most likely for the next couple of days, too."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we get it – we can put our animosity aside long enough for you to recover."
"Good, because the last thing I need is for the both of you to get hurt out in the field, too," Jaune emphasized. "Especially because I doubt Cinder will go looking for either of you the way she would for me."
"What makes you say that?"
"No reason," Jaune hurriedly added. "Look, just do me a favor and try to cooperate, would you? Watch each other's backs long enough for me to recover and we'll be good. And, please, don't get yourselves injured."
"Alright, we know," Weiss said, impatient. "We'll get out of your hair now and let you sleep for a bit. Right, Blake?"
Again, Blake flinched, having apparently been lost in thought. She hurriedly nodded. "Yes, of course. Let's go."
With that, her and Weiss left the room. Jaune watched them go, the whole time wondering what was going on with Blake – clearly, something was bothering her, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was just yet.
"I have decided that I do not like Solaris."
"Ah!" Jaune exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his skin as he looked towards the door, where he'd heard Cinder's voice. "Where did you come from?!"
"The door was open," Cinder stated. "Or am I no longer allowed to simply drop in and make sure my servant is recovering nicely?"
"I was recovering nicely, until you decided to give me a heart attack," Jaune emphasized. "Seriously, it's not enough that Blake does the same thing? Now you have to do it, too?"
"Do not attempt to deflect from my statement," Cinder pointed out.
"Okay, I'll bite – why do you dislike Solaris so much?"
"Because there is nothing here," Cinder said. "And the novelty of drinking good wine is beginning to wear off."
"Well, what is it you're looking for, exactly?" Jaune asked. "I'm sure there's something exciting around here."
"Truthfully, I would not be opposed to a good fight," Cinder mused. "Not to the death, mind you, but something close would be nice."
"Never mind," Jaune amended. "So, I take it you want to move on to greener pastures, so to speak?"
"That would be ideal, yes," Cinder said with a nod.
"That might be a bit difficult, then."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, we're traveling with Blake," Jaune emphasized. "She just left an entire organization of terrorists. Somehow, I don't think they'll be too keen on letting her just go free."
"So then we shall simply leave her behind," Cinder said dismissively.
"I can't do that!" Jaune insisted. "They'll kill her for leaving them! And let's not forget that Weiss is here, too – condemning one person to death is bad enough, but two people, let alone everyone else in this town? I'm sorry, I can't do that."
Cinder's eyes narrowed. "Hm. Admittedly, I see your point."
"Good, because-"
"Though, if you should insist on staying, you shall have to make it worth my while."
"And there's the kicker…" Jaune sighed. "Let me rephrase – we don't have to stick around for long, just enough that we'll be sure the White Fang aren't after Blake. Once we've either confirmed that they're not after her or we've dealt with them enough that she can get away, then we can leave without issue."
"Very well. My statement still stands, however – so, Jaune, what will you do to make it worth my while?"
"I'll figure something out," Jaune emphasized.
"Will you, now? Interesting. What would you get a woman who wants for nothing except revenge, Jaune?"
"Admittedly, I don't have a whole lot to offer, especially not from my bed like this." Jaune gestured down at himself. "But I suppose I could tell you a bit more about the state of the world."
"You have my interest," Cinder said. She took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Go on?"
"Uh, sure," Jaune said, slightly taken aback. "Well… admittedly, I don't know much about ancient history, myself – that's more your department. But I can tell you a bit more about some of the more modern stuff that's been going on around Remnant, at least."
"Yes?"
"Well, there's the Great War, for one," Jaune explained. "About eighty years ago, all four kingdoms went to war against each other – it was Vacuo and Vale against Mistral and Atlas, though I think Atlas went by a different name back then… Solitas, maybe? Can't really remember…"
"You are not the most reliable of narrators," Cinder commented.
"Hey, I remember the important stuff, alright?" Jaune insisted. "Anyway, they went to war over free expression – Atlas and Mistral were under the belief that since Grimm were attracted to emotions, the most logical thing to do was to stifle free expression and basically create an entire world of nothing but unfeeling stoics."
"A plan that was doomed to failure from the beginning," Cinder commented. "You can no more remove the emotions from a human than you can remove the wings from a bird."
"Yeah, well, they certainly tried to do it, to the point where the whole world was fighting against itself for the better part of a decade," Jaune continued. "I don't think I need to tell you that a whole lot of people died during it. Between the war itself, the Grimm, and everything else going on, it was a disaster. Finally, the King of Vale ended it in one fell swoop by personally striking against the leaders of Atlas and Mistral. History is still unclear about how he managed to do it, but all we know is that one night, the leaders of those two kingdoms all turned up dead in their beds. A ceasefire was called the next day, and from there, a truce was brokered."
"Interesting," Cinder stated. "The King of Vale… that was one of the old man's reincarnations, I am sure."
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Jaune commented.
"Still, though, something does not add up… I would have thought him to be far more pragmatic than that, and yet you claim that he allowed the war to continue for nearly ten years? That is unlike the Ozma I knew. Something else must be going on."
"What makes you say that?"
"The old man – Ozma – always knows what he is doing, or so he thinks. I am not sure what his plan is at the moment, only that he is certainly planning something. Unfortunately for him, he did not count on one of his kin releasing me from my prison. And that will be his undoing."
"As you keep saying every time he comes up…" Jaune muttered. "Should I continue?"
"Yes, do go on. I am curious what else you have to tell me."
"Alright, sure. So, after the Great War, there was a period of relatively uncertain peace. Truthfully, I think everyone expected another war to break out, but it never did – I assume that's because they all suspected the King of Vale would just kill them like he did his former enemies, but whatever the case, things were pretty peaceful up until he died," Jaune explained. "Once that happened, the Faunus decided to stop sitting idly by and instead begin making a play for their own independence. That began the Faunus Rights Revolution."
"As is to be expected," Cinder mused. "I take it their status before the Revolution was decidedly on the lower end of the spectrum?"
"If you're asking whether they were treated poorly, the answer is yes," Jaune said. "Mistral and Atlas pretty much kept them as slave labor. Those who managed to escape to Vacuo and Vale had it easier, but prejudice runs deep, I'm sorry to say. Even they still had difficulties acclimating. That didn't stop them from fighting in the Great War, however – many Faunus fought alongside the armies of Vale and Vacuo. Faunus naturally had excellent night vision, so they were feared whenever the sun went down, especially because they were fighting for far more than just their own right to free expression – from everything I've studied on the subject in school, at that point, the Faunus were fighting for the right to exist."
"Ah, I see," Cinder said with a nod. "How foolish of Atlas and Mistral to do such a thing – declare them as subhuman, I mean."
"Yes, that's pretty much what happened," Jaune confirmed. "It turned pretty much all the Faunus against them instantly."
"No one ever accused petty tyrants of being smart, I suppose."
"In any case, after the war, the Faunus expected to be rewarded for their contributions," Jaune continued. "And they were… barely. For their efforts, they were granted the island of Menagerie – a nigh-uninhabitable desert infested by Grimm."
"Menagerie," Cinder echoed. "A loose collection of animals. Even the name was a thinly-veiled insult to them."
Jaune nodded. "Yup. As you can imagine, they weren't happy. Sure, circumstances had changed for the better for them, but not by much, and certainly not to the extent that they'd expected. I mean, put yourself in their shoes – they just got done fighting a ten-year-long war with massive casualties, and all they get is some stupid little island in the middle of nowhere? I'd be insulted, too. Of course, that doesn't justify what came after."
"And that was?"
"I've heard it referred to as the Days of Dust," Jaune said. "Basically, radical Faunus assassins started gunning down and bombing anyone who opposed them. Of course, given the circumstances, I can't really blame them for it – I mean, they went through all that, only for their own comrades to spurn them and turn their backs on them. I'd be mad, too. I can't agree with what they were doing, but I can at least understand why they were doing it."
"It makes sense," Cinder said with a nod. "That they would react to such a betrayal with violence, I mean. I can understand the rage."
"Well, it worked," Jaune admitted. "They got a few concessions made in their favor – not much, but enough to stop the killing, at least until recently. And that's about where my knowledge ends, I'm afraid – if you want to know more about the White Fang, you should ask Blake, though I suspect that she won't appreciate you asking."
"Were I to ask her, she would have no choice but to answer," Cinder declared. "But I shall refrain for now, since you seem inexplicably fond of her and Weiss."
"Believe me, if I could get rid of them and not feel bad about it, I would," Jaune said. "They're both a huge pain, but I'm not about to leave them to die if I can help it."
"How altruistic of you," Cinder said dryly. "I have no such qualms, myself."
"And yet, I recall you getting mad about the Grimm killing innocent people," Jaune pointed out.
Cinder's eyes narrowed. "That is a different matter entirely," she said. "Tell me, Jaune – do you know how the Grimm are created?"
"No."
"They come from a far-away place called the Grimmlands, out of pits called Pools of Destruction… or at least, that is what the more in-the-know humans believe. The fact of the matter is that there are many ways for a Grimm to be created, that just being one of them. For many Grimm, they are birthed from a different method entirely. Namely, their construction is fueled by the souls of those sent down to hell."
Jaune froze. "Wait, hold on – you're telling me that the people down in hell are, what, reincarnated as Grimm?"
"Not quite," Cinder explained. "Imagine this – after your death, you are judged and deemed unfit to enter Heaven. You are therefore cast down into hell for an eternity of unimaginable torment. I am sure you can imagine – the fire and brimstone, the wailing and gnashing of teeth… you mortals speak of it with far more familiarity than some might expect. But I digress – imagine, if you will, being sent down to hell for your sins, and what awaits you when you finally arrive."
"I'm imagining it," Jaune said with a shudder. "And… that's what awaits me?"
"Not quite," Cinder assured him. "Now that I am free, your fate shall be different, assuming you serve me well in life, of course. But that is beside the point. In any case, the God of Destruction needed some way to fuel his creations, and what better fuel than the souls of the damned?"
"So, you're saying-"
"Exactly," Cinder finished. "The Grimm are made up of the shattered souls of the damned, dragged straight out of the abyss and formed into the monstrosities that walk this earth now."
Jaune stared at her in shock, unsure of what to think. He brought a shaking hand up to wipe the sweat from his brow, then exhaled.
"...I don't know how to respond to that," he muttered. "I just… I always thought they were just monsters-"
"They are," Cinder emphasized. "They are monsters made up of dozens – possibly more, depending on the Grimm – of tortured souls. It is no wonder their minds are set purely on annihilation."
"That's horrible," Jaune couldn't help but say. "Even for people as wicked as them… Gods, what a fate…"
"Indeed," Cinder stated with a nod. "Be thankful that I shall spare you from it, should you serve me well in this life."
She reached for her nearby bottle of wine and poured him a glass. Jaune downed it in just a few gulps. Cinder raised an eyebrow, but poured him another, which he similarly drained.
"Pace yourself," she chastised, pouring him a third. "You do not want to make yourself sick."
Her warning, as it turned out, fell on deaf ears, because by the time Jaune had drained his third glass of wine, the rest of the night passed by as a complete blur.
"Jaune."
Jaune let out a groan as his eyes opened. He turned away from the door, then covered his head with his pillow.
"What is it, Weiss?" he managed to say. "Can't you see I'm busy dying?"
"Quit being so dramatic," she told him. "I wanted to check up on you and make sure you were healing fine."
"Did you really need to wake me up to do that?"
"Admittedly, no. But there was something I wanted to ask you."
Reluctantly, Jaune pulled his pillow away from his face and set it aside, then sat up. He winced at the sudden pain in his head, but did his best to shake it off. Once he was settled, he turned towards Weiss.
"What is it?"
"It's Blake," she said.
"This again? I thought we established that you two need to get along, and-"
"Yes, yes, I know that,' Weiss told him, impatient. "But that's not what I'm concerned about."
"Alright, then lay it on me."
"Don't you think she's been acting weird?"
"She's a Faunus in a settlement in the backwoods of Sanus," Jaune pointed out. "And a former White Fang member, to boot. I think it'd be stranger if she wasn't acting weird."
"I know, but even for her, this is extreme."
"Extreme how?"
"Well… I don't see her around, unless we're going on a mission," Weiss informed him. "The last time I saw her outside of a mission is when we both visited you right after you woke up. Past that, she just disappears for the rest of the day. I have no idea where she's going."
Jaune brought a hand up to his chin in thought. "Hm… I suppose that is strange, even for her…"
"So what should we do?"
"I mean, what can we do?" he asked. "She's not exactly doing anything wrong, and I worry that trying to follow her or pry answers out of her would just drive her away." He paused for a moment. "...Why do you care, anyway? You two don't like each other."
"That's true, but… I don't know," Weiss confessed. "It just strikes me as odd, that's all."
"I do see your point," Jaune admitted. "But I don't think there's much we can do at the moment aside from wait for her to come around."
"If you insist," Weiss said reluctantly. "Very well. I'll be heading out shortly, I guess - I suspect she'll be there too. If she's not, I'll come find you."
Weiss turned and left the room. Once she was gone, Jaune let out a sigh.
"I know you're here somewhere. Did you get all that?"
Cinder stepped out from the periphery of his vision. Where she came from, he had no idea - it was almost as if she'd stepped out of his shadow. At this point, he knew better than to question it.
"How interesting," Cinder observed.
"That's all you have to say?"
"Did you expect me to say more? I care not for the affairs of mortals, with but one exception."
"I understand that, but Blake is helping us out," Jaune insisted. "If something's going on with her, then it's probably best we figure out what it is sooner rather than later."
"And you want me to figure it out?" Cinder asked, crossing her arms. "You have quite the nerve, asking your master for a favor."
"I did get beaten up by my own father for you," Jaune reminded her.
"How insolent," Cinder commented. "Were you any other mortal, I would have forced you to kneel and swear your fealty to me. But seeing as you have already done that, I will have to figure something else out."
"I know how much you like your deals and contracts," Jaune said. "If there's something you want, I'll do it for you."
"Owing a demon a favor is quite the debt to be saddled with," Cinder told him. "Even if that demon is already your master."
"How much worse can it get?"
"You would be surprised. But very well – I accept your terms. A favor for a favor… I shall follow the Belladonna girl and see if I cannot discern what she is doing."
Jaune relaxed slightly. He gave her an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Cinder."
With that, Cinder turned and left the room without another word. Jaune watched her go, the whole time hoping he hadn't somehow just made things worse.
Special thanks to Ickbard for the help with this story, as always.
Bit of a filler chapter, but I figured it was warranted after the last one. Plus, there's at least some worldbuilding and some lighthearted moments, too.
As far as the rest of this story arc is concerned… IDK lol. I'm not planning for this first introductory arc to be super long or anything, but you know how it is – no plan survives contact with the enemy.
Also, I need to amend an announcement – I recently announced another crackfic starring a character none of you expected, back in Plastered Paradox. I am here to tell you now that that character was Pyrrha, and that that story will not be coming out because it was bad. Seriously, I tried super hard to write it, and it was just not good, so I'm scrapping it and replacing it with something else – another, hopefully far better crackfic. I legit tried to be nice to Pyrrha and give her a day in the limelight but she just would not cooperate with me. What a bitch.
I will not be alluding to the contents of the next crackfic either, because I suspect I jinxed myself by doing so last time. So instead I'll just tell you it's being worked on and refuse to elaborate further until it comes out. I doubt it'll reach the highs of the homophobic Ruby fic, but I don't need it to be quite at that level, I just need it to be entertaining. That alone would put it above the shit-tier Pyrrha story I just scrapped.
What else, what else… next Plastered Paradox update should be next week. Next Black Sun update should be out soon as well – no definite release date on that one, but probably some time in the next few weeks. That update and the update immediately after it are also going to be really good ones, I think. I don't mean to shill myself or anything, but if you're not already reading Black Sun, I recommend it, and not just because I'm writing the thing – legitimately, I think Black Sun is some of my finest work. That story just flows the way I want it to, dude. I don't know what else to say about it.
I'll go ahead and leave it there, I guess. See you all next time, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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