Hey! RGQC here with the official rework of my first-ever story of A Shattered Soul. A story I just want to have the chance to rework but couldn't because of reasons. Well, not any more. Thanks to triscythe59 for reminding me of its existence and my intention to rework it.
So, yea! This should be good, and for those who read the original, I will explain my intentions in this story, and there will be some changes compared to the original. The main one is that Jade is no longer a shattered soul but an amnesiac because I found the original idea strange and wanted to change it.
The second is that he was no longer born and was left in an orphanage in Mistral due to the brother God's plans. So now he starts in Menagerie with actual parents pre-vol one. And that means that he would come into contact with the Belladonna family earlier.
So anyway, I'm done talking, and let the rewrite begin!
As with all my other stories, I do not own RWBY, only my OCs in this story. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.
All life has a story to tell, a song, of who they are and how they came to be. But what about those whose pieces are woven into another entirely? Whose threads are initially someone else? Does that make the new cloth similar to the old or something new entirely? Or does the new cloth retains the memory of what it once was?
And like a story, it has to begin somewhere, and it starts in the continent of Menagerie.
POV ?
"Where am I? Wait, who am I? Do I have a name?" I felt my mind awaken from the sudden bright, blurry lights of everything, and why is everything so loud? Why do I feel something on my head?! "What am I to begin with?" I did realise it at the time, but I was crying as loud as physically possible.
The next thing I felt was something covering my body before something picked me up as I continued to be in a state of confusion at what was happening. How do I… Wait… How do I know certain things yet not others? Nothing makes sense right now!
I then felt my body being carried by something before someone spoke. "Congratulations Mrs Grayson, you've given birth to a healthy baby boy." Baby? Is that what I am? And… Mrs Grayson? Is she my mother? But how do I know such terms?
I felt my body soon handed over to another set of arms right as the blurriness in my eyes slowly faded away. I still can't see much, but I can see the outlines of someone holding onto me. Is this… my mother? And there's something on her head.
Another shadowed outline soon came into my vision. Who is that person?
"My baby boy…" I heard the woman speak tiredly as I tried to make out who she was. "you even have your father's eyes." She lets out a soft giggle.
"Yes, he does, my dear. What shall we call him?" Is he my father?
The woman who held onto me hums. "How about Jade? Jade Grayson?"
"Jade Grayson, huh? A great name for our son."
I'm feeling sleepy at the moment. Am I tired? Perhaps some rest would be nice.
And so, my consciousness was left taken by the void, whether from my confusion about my identity or exhaustion from being born, I do not know.
Ugh. How do I know all these things but not who I am?
Jade Grayson.
That's my name now.
It has been a month since I was born. And I still tried to figure out what was happening, and it appeared that my mind couldn't keep up with my constant thinking and would pass out after minutes. The moments when I was awake were when I was hungry, upset as to why I couldn't remember things or needed a diaper change.
I am not sure why, but I feel disgusted and ashamed. Am I supposed to react like this?
Even then, my mother would regularly come by to check on me, and if I were in a foul mood during that time, she would pick me up and rock me until I went back to sleep. Even so, I can start to see things again, and the first thing I noticed was that the place I was in resembled more of a wooden hut.
The next thing was my mother. She had brown eyes and hair, which didn't seem that odd, but what was on her head attracted my attention. She has fox-like ears with white fur on the tip of her ears, and I could only stare at her in sheer bafflement.
But my mom didn't seem bothered by my bewilderment at her ears as she gently picked me up and held me at arm's length. "Oh? Are you curious about our ears, Jade?" My mom asked as her fox ears twitched, all as I tried to reach for her ears.
They have to be fake, right?
"We're Faunuses, Jade." My mom then sat on the bed and placed me on her lap as her hand reached over my head. "Your mummy is a fox Faunus, while your daddy is a snake Faunus. And you have cat ears, so you're a cat Faunus."
My mum explains as she gently rubs my head, and she's right. I felt something sticking out of my head as her brushing my head made me instinctively flick it. But excuse me?
Uhm… What's a Faunus? My mother's a fox Faunus? And father's a snake Faunus?
What's that?
And… I am a cat Faunus?
As if my mother could read my even more confused expression as I continued staring at her, my mom sighed as she picked me up. "You are still young and have much to learn about this word, Jade. Get some rest, dear."
I felt exhausted and yawned as my mother placed me back in my crib and watched me as I slowly fell asleep. "Just what kind of world am I born into?" I wondered.
Another two months passed, and I finally understood why my mother said my father was a snake Faunus with black hair. And I learned this when he picked me up to see how I was doing, and I noticed that he had reptilian scales patches on his arms! I also learned that I got my father's eyes and hair while my skin resembles more of my mother's, which was fair-skinned.
But… I don't think that's how biology works. How does a fox plus a snake equal a cat?
…
You know what? At this point, I stopped questioning why I seemed to know much more despite not knowing who I was for the sake of my mind. Because I have more things to worry about, like where exactly am I?
And besides, Jade Grayson sounds like a good name to me.
Anyways, it was during that time I finally learned my mother's and father's name. Amranth and Melo Grayson. Those are interesting names that remind me of colours. Besides that, Mother, at the time, decided that it was time to take me outside of our home since Father works with the local militia.
And so, my mother wrapped me in a green blanket before placing me in a basket on her back as she opened the door and took me outside. And wow! This place is enormous as the dirt road is cramped with various Faunuses with different animal traits. I saw a bunch of them that look a bit like fishes. I saw Mom and Dad eat yesterday!
Sure, the place smelled of sweat it did not stop me from acting so absorbed by the surrounding.
The surrounding engrossed me, making my mother giggle as she gently brushed my head. "I understand if all this is a bit overwhelming, Jade, but this is Kuo Kuana. Our home." And so, my mother took me through the crowded paths and towards the markets filled with customers and vendors.
And as my mother walked through the crowds with me on her back and took us to what looked like a market in water. I quietly watched as she stepped into the salty water as the water went up to her knees. But she was wearing a knee-length skirt, so it was ok.
"Hello, Mrs Grayson! What can I do for you?" Asked one of the vendors selling fish, who looked tanned as I peeked over her shoulders. He has fish gills on his neck… why do I find that unnerving? My curiosity immediately brought the vendor's attention away from my mother and onto me. "Oh, I didn't know you were bringing your kid out here." He said as my mother chuckled.
"Yes, it's Jade's first time out here, and I wished to show him around. He's surprisingly attentive for someone of his age." I watched as my mother turned to the side to give the vendor I had just met for the first time a better view of me.
"Jade, huh? That's a great name for him." The vendor smiled, and my mother agreed as I silently watched them. "And he's adorable." The vendor smiled at me while my mother agreed with his comment.
"It does, Tanner." Tanner? What kind of name is that? "But I should go now. I still have more places to show Jade around. If you need any medical help, you know who to see." My mom smiled as she and Tanner waved goodbye as she departed from the water market.
Medical help… So, is my mum a local doctor or nurse? And my father's part of the local militia.
Anyways, my mum soon left the markets and began pointing out the various sights in Menagerie, with the occasional stops from her previous patients and friends she made here. And the occasional residents stopping by to coo at how adorable I looked in the basket.
I do not like the attention.
Hours passed, and it was rapidly approaching evening at this point, and my body was starting to feel tired as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Yet according to my mother, there was still one more place left to go, even more so when father met up and joined us as we made our way towards the massive mansion where her friend stayed.
Which I found strange since most of the houses were huts, yet there was only one, which was a mansion. Mother began to describe the mansion as the home of Menagerie's chieftain. She also mentioned something about the chieftain recently having a daughter earlier this year.
"Is the kid the same age as I am?" I sleepily wondered as Mom met up with Dad along the way and arrived at the chieftain's home together.
"Looks like Jade's had enough for today." I heard my father point out as he checked on me.
"Well… I did take Jade out the entire afternoon to show him the places in Kou Kuana." Mom sheepishly admits as Father shakes his head and takes me out of the basket and into his hands.
"You know our boy needs his sleep to grow well, yes?"
"I do, but you should have seen our son earlier. He was so immersed in Kou Kuana when I took him out. I just couldn't help myself but show it all to him." Mom explained as I watched Father roll his eyes and bang on the door knocker.
A second or two passed before we heard a feminine voice behind the door. "Coming!" Seconds later, the door opens to reveal a slightly tanned woman in a black dress. If I were to guess from her ears, she is another cat Faunus with black hair and amber eyes.
"Kali!" Mom suddenly says as the woman called Kali responds.
"Amranth!" I could only watch in my father's arms as Mom and Kali walked and hugged each other.
"What brings you here, Amranth?" Kali then asked as mom used her finger and pointed at father holding me.
"Hello, Kali." Father greeted Kali as Mom continued,
"Remember I told you I gave birth to Jade a while back?" My mother explained as Kali nodded and turned her amber eyes towards me and watched me curiously. "I want to see how you and little Blake were doing. It has been a while since we talked."
"Oh! That's wonderful! Come in! It's almost dinner, and I made extras!" Kali smiled as she walked back in while Father looked at Mother as if she had done something wrong.
"You knew she would make extras, didn't you?"
"Well… it would be rude to reject Kali's offer now, wouldn't it?" Mom instantly defended her actions as she walked into the Belladonna mansion. I silently watched as Father rolled his eyes before gazing at me.
"When you grow up, please don't be like your mother," I could only bink and tilt my head at my father's comments as he followed in and closed the door. And as Father took me in and shut the door, my eyes were taking in the entrance.
I noticed the walls were made of two materials soft, brown wood for the bottom half and cream-coloured plaster for the top half. Around the room at the midway point of the wall is a plant bed with wood lattice rails, filled with various leafy plants, including maroon flowers.
This place feels relaxing…
I felt myself yawning as I closed my eyes for a moment while my father gave me a small smile before I found myself in a dining room. My mother sat cross-legged, talking to a man with a goatee while various food filled the table with food. But I can't eat them, and Mom usually feeds me milk in the meantime.
"There you are, dear! I wondered if you're taking your time with Jade in hand." I heard my mother calling out as my father spoke up.
"I had to close the door before walking in, now do I, dear?" My father paused for a moment. "Ghira Belladonna. A pleasure to meet you again."
"Likewise." I heard a gruff voice as he continued. "Come and sit with us. Amranth has been telling me much about your son."
"Jade's still a three-month-old baby. I doubt there's much to talk about him than his attentiveness to his surroundings, Ghira." My father spoke before he walked and sat down. "Where is Kali? It would be rude of us to eat without her." My father then asked as I felt him passing me to my mother.
"She is retrieving Blake right now, Melo." My mother spoke as my eyes opened to see Ghira watching me with his stern amber eyes. Why are you looking at me like that? I do not like that. And I ended up letting out a whimper as my mother let out a titter as she held me closer and patted my head.
"Oh dear, looks like your intimidating size scared Jade, Ghira"
Ghira let out a grunt as I heard footsteps approaching us. "Ghira? Did you accidentally scare Jade?" Kali asked as she sat down with a baby cat Faunus wrapped in a purple blanket in her arm.
"Nothing like that, dear." Ghira explained as my mother commented upon seeing the baby Faunus in Kali's arms.
"My goodness! Blake has grown larger from what I last saw her!" My mother cooed as I blinked absentmindedly at the baby cat Faunus in Mrs Kali's arms. I feel like I should know her from somewhere…
But all this thinking made me feel tired, and I got breastfed by my mother before I fell asleep while my parents talked to their friend. You know, perhaps I could get used to this simple life.
Years passed, and due to his unique circumstances, which Jade no longer let hold him back, he quickly learned how to crawl when he was old enough, and it wasn't long till he was up on his feet and learning to speak.
And as such, it made his parents think he was a prodigy due to his growth rate and unusual maturity, which they picked up on and began bragging to their friends about how well-behaved and mature their child was. Yet, Jade didn't like it instinctively and asked them to stop even if he didn't understand why he hated it.
That only made his parent love him even more for his humble nature, and Jade took it in with a smile. That wasn't all. On days when both his parents were working, they would drop him off at the Belladonna's household under Kali's care, and most of the time, he would spend his time in their library reading up on all sorts of topics.
Blake was also there as he was meant to be her playmate, as Kali puts it. And at first, both kept to themselves due to Blake's quiet nature and Jade's unwillingness to interact unless necessary.
However, that soon changed when they learned about the other's shared interest in books, and that earned the attention of Kali, who would tease her daughter at her expense. And despite it all, both of them developed a budding friendship as Jade would occasionally request that he can visit the Belladonnas.
At the moment, a five-year-old Jade is sitting in the library on his lonesome, reading through a story of the Infinite Man, which recently caught his attention, when Blake suddenly walks towards him with a newspaper.
"Jade." Jade heard Blake calling him out as he turned his eyes away from the book to face his friend.
"Is there something I can help you with, Blake?" Jade asked as his ears twitched.
Blake nodded as she placed the newspaper down for Jade to read.
Mass shootings in Vale. 14 Faunus were killed and 12 wounded.
Mass protests and marches organised by the White Fang launch protests demanding justice!
A frown quickly grew on Jade's face as he read through the contents. He had learned and accepted that he was but a Faunus, but the idea of people he came from getting hurt for no reason made Jade upset.
"Why would they do this?" Blake's voice was shaky as she asked. "What do we do to deserve this?"
"I don't know," Jade admits. "Mummy says that outside Menagerie, there are good and bad people. But I don't understand why some humans hate us?" Jade stared at his book as the library became silent. Since Jade had become friends with Blake, he learned of the White Fang and its goals to improve Faunus' rights overseas.
And most importantly, how Blake's father is the leader of the White Fang.
Jade had also heard of his parent's support of the White Fang's goals from Kali and how they were active participants until they had him. But he still finds it strange why they never mentioned their past allegiance to him.
"We don't deserve this…" Blake muttered as Jade nodded his head.
Yea. I hope your father succeeds."
"Uh-huh." Blake agrees before they hear Kali calling them out to them as she walks into the library.
"Blake, Jade! It's lunchtime, and I got salmon!" Jade's ears perked up as he stood up.
Salmon? Blake! Aunt Kali's got salmon for us!" Jade smiled as he thanked her and ran past Kali while Blake followed. Yet as the two children left the library and left their belongings behind, Kali walked towards where her daughter and friend were and noticed the newspaper her daughter had in her hands earlier.
Kneeling, Kali picked up the newspaper as a frown grew on her face. She's aware of her daughter's growing obsession with what's happening overseas, especially regarding how Faunus were treated in the other kingdoms. And it appears her daughter expressed concerns about what's happening outside to her friend.
It's not wrong for Blake to do that, of course. Her daughter always preferred to keep to herself when she was much younger, and Jade is one of her first friends. It just makes sense for her daughter to talk to Jade about it. And then there's the White Fang.
Ghira has been going overseas more often to organise the White Fang's civil rights movement ongoing. But it frustrates her to no end that little progress has been made in the last few years, and a local minority is requesting a more violent approach against humanity.
Her husband bluntly rejected it and explained how such actions make them no better than the humans who oppressed them. Kali sighed as she stood up and left the library to attend to the children.
As much as she wanted to dwell on how things were getting more challenging, a part of her hoped that their goals of achieving better rights would be on the horizon.
After another few more days and Jade found himself in an inconvenient situation. "Well, this is awkward." Jade awkwardly thought to himself when his father caught him with his swords out of their sheaths. He was curious about it as their design was unique from what he had seen when his father took him to where the militia was training.
Unlike the plain metal swords most Faunus militia used, Jade's father had two.
One of them gleamed in pure white metal mixed with gold and a Lapis lazuli stone embedded in the blade guard. While the other was the complete opposite. It used metal as black as obsidian and had a ruby gem embedded into them, and it was also several inches shorter than the first blade.
Yet, despite their apparent differences, both were decorated with engravings that made each of them attractive in Jade's eyes.
"Jade Grayson," Melo spoke sternly as Jade's ears sank from the look he was receiving from his father. "Just what were you planning to do with my swords?" Jade could only sheepishly glance at his father and back at his swords before sinking.
"I… was curious about your swords, Daddy." Jade admits as the staring continues before Melo sighs and walks towards his son.
"My boy, you could have hurt yourself if you don't know or have the strength to wield them properly. But what about them that earns your interest?" Melo asked as he knelt while an ashamed Jade looked down slowly before he shifted the sword towards his father and spoke.
"Why do you have these two swords, Daddy? They are pretty." Jade asked as Melo reached for his son's head with his hand and began gently stroking his son's head, as Jade let out a squeak as his ears flickered in response to his father touching them.
"Do you really wish to know my son?" Melo asks again as he gets a response.
"Mmm!"
Melo chuckles at his son's enthusiasm as he returns both swords to their sheaths before hanging them back up on the wall. "Very well then, I suppose I can't hide it forever from someone as perceptive as you." Melo wryly states as Jade slowly stands up from the wooden floor, as his father walks over to one of the cabinets and takes out his scroll.
"Your daddy was a Huntsman," Melo explained as he turned and faced his son before passing his scroll over to Jade, who took it to see that his father had a Huntsman License. "We are trained to fight monsters of darkness called Grimm, and our duty is to uphold the peace of our world."
However, Jade noticed that something was different and asked. "Was? What changed, Daddy?"
"Well… I fell in love with your mother, Jade. And I figured that the Huntsmen life was not for me with all the risks involved."
Melo explained as he knelt towards his son. "And so, we moved to Menagerie and married there. Soon I joined the local militia as a trainer under the Belladonnas, partly the reason we are close to them. They hired me to help train their militia to fight the Grimm as an effective force."
"Fighting monsters and upholding the peace?" Jade tilts his head as it clicks, and he lets out an ecstatic gasp. "You're like the good people in the story books I read, right?!" Jade chirped as his ears twitched again while his father laughed at his son's enthusiasm.
"You could say it like that."
"Can I become a Huntsman like you?" Melo started to regret telling his son about Huntsmans and how they are like heroes in storybooks. He doesn't want his son to potentially lose his life on the job, as it is not all sunshine and rainbows.
He knows it first-hand.
"Your mother won't be pleased by this, Jade." Melo explained as Jade's mood sank momentarily.
"I know… but mummy told me there are bad people outside. But should we be able to defend ourselves, like how you teach others here to defend themselves? It doesn't hurt to learn how to protect myself, right?" Jade points out as Melo was left with a difficult decision as his boy did have a point.
It shouldn't hurt for his son to learn how to defend himself from anyone who threatens him. A couple of seconds passed before Melo spoke. "Alright. Let me talk to your mother about it first, ok? She needs to know about it."
"Ok!" Jade just had a smile on his face before he rushed over and hugged his father's legs. "Thank you, Daddy!" Jade smiled as Melo rubbed his son's head again. The question now is how he is going to bring this up with his wife.
And the first chapter of this rewritten story of mine is done! So, for those who followed my original story, what do you think of this version instead? Is the starting good right now? Do let me know in the reviews!
And I intend to start with lower words per chapter before they grow as the story progresses. I don't have much to say, but we're done here. If you enjoy this story and wish to show your support for more in the future, do Follow and Favourite this story.
And while you're at it, leave a review about what you think about its grand return!
With that, I'll see you all in the next chapter!
RGQC out!