Been really busy this week. Between staff shortages at work meaning everyone has max hours, and trying to setup my new PC that just arrived earlier this week in what little spare time I have left, and I haven't exactly had much spare time to write. As such, this week's chapter is a bit shorter.
Arc 1 - Chapter 4
Hei took each step forward miserably and with duress. Roman and Neo kept pace with Ruby ahead, doing their best to answer her innocent and child-like questions.
Every now and then she complained about her still healing chest wound, and she sometimes struggled to trudge through the snow. But, at everyone's encouragement, she persevered.
Hei took in the frigid landscape. Trees, dead bushes, mounds and hills. All buried underneath a vast white expanse of snow.
He had no idea what exactly lie ahead of him; even he had never been this far out of town. The closest he had ever come was when he had migrated from Mistral with the twins and Roman.
He fidgeted around in his back to feel the comfortable grip of his new weapon. It felt both soothing and exhilarating to the touch. It was as if he was in uncharted territory. Though, if he were being honest, he most likely was.
Hope Atlas doesn't come knocking for this...
He squashed that thought instantly. There was no reason for anyone other than that crazed old man to even know what he had, and regardless of his misgivings, he would credit his seller for knowing how to keep his tracks relatively clean.
So, with nothing else to do, he kept walking. He watched Roman and Neo to make sure they were fine, and he observed Ruby for any sudden actions. There were none, however.
They had long since passed the snuffed out remains of where Roman and Neo had originally found Ruby, and after careful consideration, worked their way slowly around the cliff face until an opening could be found to traverse upwards.
The hardest part was helping Ruby, who only had one viable and functional arm to pull herself up with.
After some back and forth between their group, it was decided that Roman would carry Ruby up to the top by essentially having her strapped to his back like an overgrown baby in a sling.
Neo silently cooed at the sight, whilst Roman grumbled about being relegated to a 'damn babysitter'.
Hei, however, had to force himself to swallow his nerves as Ruby was now staring back down at him as he trailed up the cliff behind her.
It was no better when they finally reached the top. Between the vast forest expanse and the heavy snow, Ruby was reluctant to be let down from her free ride the Roman Express.
However, Roman didn't budge, and even Hei felt himself let out a breath of relief when Ruby was detached from his back. The last thing he wanted was for Roman to be in ground zero if Ruby decided to act.
That never happened.
And so, with more walking ahead of them, Hei found himself mulling over Ruby and what he intended to do.
He knew what had to be done. It was to be a point-blank execution essentially. And it had to be done, no matter what Roman said. The risk of what she was capable of was too great to ignore. Besides, it was literal Grimm that she could control! And Grimm had no feelings, no emotions, and no love.
And yet, listening to Ruby's tale that she vividly recounted, and listening to her very human sounding banter and energy with Roman and Neo, he couldn't stop Roman's voice from repeating in his head.
What is the point? He started the orphanage to provide a place of refuge for the kids that were not accepted by society. Even those with gifts, regardless of the trouble it may land him into, were accepted. Like Neo and Emerald. And even Roman's special case.
If he was accepting of them, why couldn't he extend that same hand out to Ruby, who very convincingly came off as a sheltered child plunged into the depths of a cruel and unforgiving world.
He recounted Roman's words about how sad and terrified Ruby seemed when she was asked to recount what happened to her, and when he himself went to verify, the story matched. Even though she was so emotionally spent by the second recount, he remembered how authentic it sounded.
If it weren't for her silver eyes, he would have been convinced that she was another child worth helping.
And that made him pause momentarily, and for a second, he stopped and lagged behind everyone in the snow.
If it's just her eyes, then should it really matter? For a brief moment, he lapsed as he pondered the real meaning of his actions.
It was Roman suddenly hissing for Ruby to be quiet that brought him back.
Roman and Neo were up ahead with Ruby behind some trees, but they were all crouched low and peering through some bushes and branches.
Curious, Hei kept low and quickly caught up to them, the soft crunch of snow underfoot being the only sound made.
Neo shot him an annoyed glare, one of which he returned at her attitude.
"What's the matter? Why have we stopped?" He asked Roman.
"I think we found the kid's encampment," he whispered.
Hei looked in the direction that Roman gestured to, and with a nod of his own, he peered through a gap in the bushes.
What greeted him was carnage.
A small clearing in the forest laid before him, and with it, housed the remnants of what was clearly a small encampment of sorts. The snow was soaked crimson from dried blood, and all around were burnt-down tattered remains of tents.
"Is this the place, Red?" Questioned Roman.
Ruby nodded her head miserably.
Hei tensed his muscles, hands clenched tightly, as his heart rate began to increase.
This was the place where Ruby was attacked not even a whole 24 hours ago. Or more like where she conducted a massacre, he thought darkly as he spared a glance at the diminutive girl's frame.
He wanted to question how no-one even was aware of a battle raging on, but he reminded himself that they were a good few hours away from the town itself. And even if they were closer, it wasn't like anyone would be bothered to care at all. It was a slum town mostly, except for the merchants district which housed the mayor, a handful of wealthy individuals and the Hunter's Garrison.
"Is it clear?" Roman asked.
Hei scanned around for any signs of life, but the area was entirely devoid of any.
After a moment of tense silence Hei replied.
"Yeah, it looks clear. There's no-one here."
He narrowed his eyes as he spoke, and just as Roman was about to stick his head up, Hei spoke again.
"That's not right. There's no-one here at all..."
"Huh?"
"There's no bodies."
Roman and Neo looked over, and sure enough, there were no bodies.
There was plenty of blood staining the snow, and the large pools scattered around in the various snow indentations indicated that there were bodies occupying them previously. But now? There was nothing.
"Hey Red," called Roman nervously. She looked up at him curiously.
"You said your group was attacked, right? So, where are the bodies?"
Ruby peered through the bushes carefully, and Hei felt himself reaching for the weapon under his jacket as her back was turned to him.
She let out a tiny gasp and cowered back down.
"Yeah, it ain't a pretty sight," sighed Roman.
"So, where is everyone, then?"
"Non-existent, apparently," retorted Hei as he stood up to slowly push through the foliage and into the clearing.
Neo was quick to follow suit, and Roman was left to follow.
"C'mon Red," he shrugged.
"Time to see what the hell exactly happened here."
Ruby didn't move, instead staying stock still while clutching herself desperately for comfort.
"What's the hold up, Red?"
Hei glanced over his shoulder out of curiosity.
Ruby looked up at them fearfully.
"What if that bad man is still here?"
Roman glanced at Hei who looked unimpressed.
"I doubt anyone's here at all now, Red."
"But I don't want you to get hurt," she blurted out suddenly.
Roman chuckled confidently, while Hei only stood stock still at those words.
Impossible, he wanted to say. But Ruby seemed adamant.
"You've been very nice to me, and-and I don't want to see any more nice people get hurt. Like mom..." she trailed off shakily.
Roman crouched down to ruffle her hair.
"Nothing's going to happen to us. We're just going to take a look around and see."
"And what if we find my mom..." she began miserably.
"I want to see her again, I miss her so much, but after what that horrible man did, I don't want to see what he did to her..."
By now, tears were building up in her eyes.
Hei gave a gruff response.
"Can't spend your life just crying, hoping that will make things better. You're going to have to face things head on sooner or later."
That only made Ruby bite back a choked singular sob, unawares how much he meant that to himself.
Roman looked contemplative, and even Neo was glancing curiously.
"Tell you what, kiddo. If we find your mom, we'll give her a proper Mistral send-off. How's that sound?"
Ruby glanced up at him uncertainly.
"Mistral send-off?" she tested the words slowly, unsure of their meaning.
"It's a custom, from Mistral. When someone you care about dies, we cremate the body as a means of showing respect and freeing the soul from its body."
"Cremate?"
"Ah, right. It means to burn a body thoroughly. Sort of like washing it spiritually."
Hei snorted.
"Didn't take you for being spiritual."
Roman shot him a glare.
"I'm just trying to offer some comfort to the kid who lost her family and friends."
"Of which we have yet to see. C'mon." With that, Hei walked forward to investigate the clearing.
Roman frowned, before offering a small smile to Ruby.
"Don't mind him. He's just got some things on his mind. Not really in the best states of mind right now."
"It's okay," sniffed Ruby.
"I don't think he likes me. But that's okay!" she quickly tacked on upon seeing Roman's frown.
"It's not."
Ruby stood up with a sheepish smile.
"Thanks Uncle Roman." His eyes locked with hers strangely as she spoke. "But I'll be fine now, I think."
Roman highly doubted that if her puffy eyes were any indicator. But ultimately, he decided to let it go.
"If you say so kid... And I'm not your uncle."
"Oh," she deflated uneasily. "Um, sorry."
With that, he and Ruby made their way over to Neo.
"Neo!"
The mute girl in question raised an eyebrow.
"Can you keep an eye on her for a minute, I just need to have a word with Hei. In private," he stressed.
Hei only sighed.
"Roman, I know what this is about..." "Great! Red, you can help Neo out for just two secs, can you?"
Ruby seemed to sense the mood and wisely refrained from commenting. Instead, she slid closer to Neo.
Hei gave Roman a measured glance.
"Fine," he relented.
Roman quickly followed Hei a good fifteen metres away from Ruby and Neo to avoid any eavesdropping.
"You shouldn't get attached, Roman."
"And maybe you should grow a heart," he snapped.
"I said I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, Roman," barked Hei furiously.
"But so far, I'm not being persuaded."
"Then what will it take, already? We found her encampment, and it seems to check out with her story?"
Hei levelled a stern stare at Roman.
"We have yet to find the bodies, nor discern how this actually came to be. So no, her story does not 'check out'. Not yet," he placated at the end upon seeing Roman's exasperated expression.
Roman didn't budge.
"Ugh. Just, fine. I'll take her with me and spend some time to get to know her better while we search around. Will that make you happy, now?"
Roman pursed his lips into a tight frown.
"Just, maybe realise some things can be taken at face value." And with that, Roman walked back towards Neo.
Hei stared at his two people, before glancing back at Ruby.
Tch. Why does he have to have a point.
He cursed himself and his situation before walking back to the small group.
"Alright, let's fan out and have a look around. Bodies don't just disappear, right Ruby?" He levelled a questioning stare at the small child. She didn't respond and just instead began look uncomfortable under the scrutiny.
Hei, realising he wasn't going to get any confession or information from her, continued.
"We'll split up into two groups. Roman, Neo. You two search this area and the south. Ruby," she perked up at her name.
"You're with me. We'll investigate up ahead."
He turned back to Roman and Neo.
"Just search around the outskirts. No need to go fully into the forest. If you find anything... or anyone," he cautioned, "call out."
Ruby clung by his side with her head down, like she were a kicked puppy.
Hei frowned as he found the comparison to be apt.
She hadn't done anything at all other than act how a sheltered, scared child normally would.
It's just an act. Roman has no idea what she will do!
However, even he was beginning to find the argument weak.
He spared a glance down at her as they navigated through the destroyed tent husks, getting further and further away from Roman and Neo.
If he wanted to act, his opportunity was going to be now, and he found his right hand sliding underneath the back of his jacket as he grasped the handle of the fully loaded flintlock.
He could see some rocks ahead, and on the other side, the snow seemed to drop down into a slope if judging by the treeline.
A perfect ditch then, he thought.
"Hei," started Ruby in a small voice.
"I'm sorry."
He felt his heart-rate suddenly spike.
Was this it? Was this going to be how he died?
"I'm sorry I'm making you and Roman fight."
Whatever he was expecting, this was not it. He glanced down and saw the tears welling in her eyes.
"...?" He was at a loss for words.
"I know you don't like me. I don't mean cause you trouble, or-or be a burden! I just want my mom back."
He tensed his grip on the flintlock, expecting it be a ploy as she prepared to summon Grimm to kill him, or transform and rip his face off.
But nothing of the sort happened.
A quick glance around revealed the same clearing devoid of any signs of life, Grimm or otherwise.
"See! Even now you look scared!"
For the hundredth time that day, Hei cursed his luck.
She's a child, Hei. Quit overreacting.
"I'm not, kid. I'm just being mindful of our surroundings."
"O-oh," she stammered.
He relaxed his grip on the weapon.
Could he really go through with this? She acted so human it wasn't even funny.
Maybe... maybe I'll just wait to see what exactly happened to the bodies. Then I can make up my mind.
Gods he cursed Roman for making him go soft at times.
He was about to speak again, when something caught his eye over by the rocks he was going to lead Ruby to.
Ruby noticed his inquisitive glance, and followed his gaze.
Hei was about to call out when Ruby started to walk over to investigate.
"Wait, Ruby. Wait!" He shouted.
An arrow shot out from behind him, piercing deep into his left shoulder.
"Argh!" He let out a scream as he tumbled forward.
"Hei!" screamed Ruby in concern, racing back to him.
As he hit the ground, he tried to roll onto his back and pull the flintlock free.
It was a mistake as the shaft snapped under the weight and buried the head in deeper.
The rapid crunching of snow alerted him to someone else approaching fast, and when he angled his head to the left, coming out from the rock Ruby was heading to just a second ago, was a feral looking man dressed in furs and wielding a small crudely fashioned axe in one hand.
He let out an animalistic war cry as he charged, and soon, several more voices joined in. If Hei were to guess, he'd say about four in total. Three in front, and one behind where the arrow came from.
There was no time to get to a better position, and so he aimed the flintlock as he had been instructed to at the charging man, taking note of a second and third man appearing from behind the rock.
He aimed for the centre of mass, being his torso, and prayed to the Brother Gods that it worked. He especially prayed that the old man he bought it from didn't let him down.
And he pulled the trigger.
He didn't truly expect the resultant bang to be so loud. The recoil was also unexpected and sent his arm flying back, and a large plume of smoke and powder blew up in his face, obscuring his vision and sending him into a coughing fit.
Even though his ears rang, it must have worked as there was a pained scream followed by a heavy thud in the snow as his target was sent sprawling.
When the smoke dissipated enough for him to see, he was greeted by the man lying motionless in the ground, with a large ugly streak of blood etched out behind him on the snow.
Ruby collided into him with a fierce hug as the second man approached with a similar axe, and Hei could hear the crunch of snow behind him as the third, likely the one that shot the arrow, approached.
"Please don't hurt him!" She cried.
Why do you care?! Hei wanted to question, but ultimately, he couldn't as a man dressed in furs loomed overhead. He raised the stone axe up high to swing.
"Hei!"
He could hear Roman's panicked voice, and his eyes drifted over to see him and Neo racing over.
They were too far away, though, and they knew it.
He reached for the club under his jacket, but was instantly rewarded with another arrow deeply embedding into his hand.
He let out a scream.
So this was it. THIS was how he was going to die. Not by Ruby, not by the Grimm, but by a pack of feral bandits.
"I said don't HURT HIIIIIIIIM!"
Ruby's shriek pierced his, and everyone's, ears around him.
However, her shriek wasn't the only one, as what could only be best described as the roar of a monster grew alongside her voice.
Roman and Neo both faltered in their tracks, and Hei's eyes widened as inky blackness grew right behind the feral bandit before him. It rose out of his shadow, an inky swirling mass of promised death.
The man in question turned his head around in surprise as the beast roared in animalistic fury, mimicking Ruby's own feelings.
The beast was shaped like a giant bipedal wolf, with jet black fur, stark white bone plates with shining silver inlays and blood vessels that glowed.
The vicious teeth on its snarling visage were very real as well, as the man was quick to find out.
He let loose a panicked scream which quickly became muffled, before entirely dying outright, as it sunk its massive maw onto his face, its clawed arms holding his shoulders to keep him in place.
His head was outright engulfed in an almost comical fashion, like a curtain draping over a stage set-piece. However, instead of hiding it cleanly, the man's skull made a sickening crunch as it was violently crushed. Like a water-filled balloon succumbing to intense pressure, his skull exploded pressurised brain-matter, meat, teeth, and a fountain of blood. All of which proceeded to liberally coat a petrified Hei who could only lay there helplessly.
Ruby's eyes were squeezed shut as she clenched Hei in a tight hug.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She screamed, lost in her own world and oblivious to the carnage beginning to unfold.
The giant beowolf howled into the crisp day air, letting the now headless corpse collapse into its own puddle of gore.
I stand corrected. This is how I die, amended Hei in his state of shock.
The third assailant charging from the rocks quickly came to a terrified halt, letting out a horrified whimper.
The beowolf suddenly jolted with a sniff in the air before sharply turning its body in the second attackers direction.
The man was helpless as the massive beast took a menacing step forward, before it suddenly burst forward in a massive frenzied sprint.
The man screamed as he quickly began to run back, but it was to no avail.
The massive Grimm was already upon him, and with a predatory howl that overrode the man's screams, it pounced on his back.
They both collapsed in a massive plume of kicked up snow. Blood sprayed everywhere as the beast gorged itself on the still alive man, its teeth tearing into his spine with great bursts of blood, while its claws dug into his ribs and quickly tore out chunks of meaty organs, intestines, ribs and copious amounts of blood. All while the man squealed and screamed in agony and fear.
The sound of fast approaching footsteps in the snow didn't even break Hei out of his stupour, too lost in a daze from both the events and shock of his injuries.
Roman quickly crashed over-top him in a desperate attempt to get him upright, and Neo was quick to join in, all while sending frantic looks towards the Grimm.
"Get the fuck up Hei! We need to go now!"
He latched his hands under Hei's uninjured right shoulder, before pulling with all of his might.
"Goddammit Hei, get up!"
Ruby kept clenching him tightly as she sobbed angrily.
Neo shot Roman a desperate look.
"I'm well aware of the giant fucking Grimm, Neo! Help me pull Hei up! RED! WAKE UP!"
Ruby shot her head to look up at Roman, weeping silver eyes greeting his panic-stricken orange eyes.
"We need to go, now!"
Hei shook his head to break himself of his daze.
"Roman? Wha...?"
"No time, Hei! Get up while our friend over there," he gestured with his head over towards the giant Grimm, "is preoccupied."
Hei followed Roman's gaze, and his eyes widened upon seeing the beowolf.
"I still don't get where the hell the thing was even hiding," began Roman as both he and Neo got Hei into a standing position.
Hei shot his gaze down towards Ruby who was clinging to his right leg.
"She did..." he muttered in shock.
"What? Red? Hei, the thing was hiding in the snow or something. Red didn't summon it. She couldn't have! Right?! Things like that don't just spontaneously appear!"
Roman was trying so hard to convince himself that Hei was wrong. He was in denial. As was Hei. He wanted to deny it.
"I'm sorry," whispered Ruby tearfully amidst the chaos.
"I don't know what I did, but I didn't want to see you get hurt," she pleaded.
Roman paled, and Hei looked sick.
"You really summoned that thing?!" whispered Hei, his heart dropping.
"I'm tired of seeing nice people get hurt," she cried.
"You didn't want us to get hurt..." muttered Hei, briefly lost in his own world as shock overcame him.
Roman ignored the way Ruby nodded her head regretfully.
"Uh, guys? Reconciliation later! The big mean looking motherfucker is looking right at us, and I don't fancy our odds!"
Sure enough, the giant Grimm was done gorging itself on the hapless man and was now directing its hungry and soulless gaze at the four of them.
Hei craned his neck to look at the Grimm properly.
"Shit. Let me go. You all run. I'll keep it occupied."
"Like hell we're leaving you behind," hissed Roman.
"Then we will all die!" roared Hei.
An arrow shot through the air and embedded itself into the giant Grimm's cheek. It didn't even flinch at the measly annoyance the arrow posed.
Instead, it lowered its head slightly, hackles raising as it snarled loudly.
"What's it doing," dreaded Hei.
"Uhhhh. I think our remaining bandit friend just pissed it off..."
Sure enough, the final remaining assailant, the one with the bow and arrows, notched another arrow as he retreated deeper into the clearing's forest edge.
The second arrow embedded itself into its front right paw, and that was all the notice it required to charge forth.
Roman's eyes widened, and he tugged Hei down to the ground as he dove down low, dragging Neo and Ruby with him.
The Grimm soared by them, tearing right through where they had all just been standing nought but a minute ago.
The final assailant screamed as the Grimm bore down on him.
Roman was quick to stand back up, alongside Neo, madly gesticulating.
"Quick, down the ditch behind that rock!"
Hei wanted to protest that hiding wouldn't work, only dealing with Ruby would, but he was too spent to complain. So, with Roman and Neo's assistance, he stumbled towards the rock, with Ruby still clinging to his leg.
As they reached the rock, easily double their height and twice as wide, they got a clear view of what Hei and Ruby had just spotted before being attacked.
Blood.
A lot of it.
A massive pool of blood soaked deep into the snow, with a complete and deep bloody trail that evidenced something being dragged down the gentle slope of the now apparent hill they were on.
At the base of the hill, which was about the height of the rock they were now hiding behind, were all of the missing bodies that had been striving to search for.
About fifty bodies were piled up in various states of undress, and right beside them were their stripped gear and weapons.
"Scavengers. Should have known," Roman wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"How is that any different from what you do exactly?!" stressed Hei.
"Well, it's a matter of professionalism and dignity, actually," snarked Roman. "I don't steal from the dead."
Hei shook his head.
"Forget that. We have to deal with that Grimm."
Roman gulped.
"Right. So, ah, Ruby. Mind telling your friend it's time to leave?"
"But why would I do that? He's here to keep us safe from the bad people."
The air was punctuated by a vicious roar followed by a bloodcurdling scream as the Grimm tore into the final bandit.
"Yeah, I don't think we're safe, actually," chuckled Roman nervously.
"But those bad people�" she trailed off, as if trying to justify her summoning.
"Oh, we're totally safe from them now. Right Hei?!" panicked Roman as he shot a fervent glance towards the oldest of them.
"You promise?" pleaded Ruby.
Neo nodded frantically, and Roman was quick to agree, desperate to survive. "Absolutely!"
Hei spoke up, trying to keep calm.
"Ruby. Did you summon it to keep us safe?"
She nodded meekly.
"Then it's done its job. We're safe from those scavengers. However, I think it'd be better if we didn't have to worry about that Grimm."
The sounds of violence had died down by now.
"Oh. Um, okay?"
"Can you make it disappear?" he asked, trying his best to regulate his breathing as his heart pounded.
Ruby adopted a look of consternation on her face that, if the situation weren't so dire would have almost been adorable. After an intense moment of concentration, she exhaled tiredly as if she had been holding her breath. It was a worrying sign.
"Uh, Red? What's wrong?" asked Roman nervously.
"Well... I don't know how?" She offered meekly.
Everyone paled at those words.
The sound of something sharp scratching on the other side of the rock they were hiding behind reverberated out.
"What do you mean 'you don't know how'..." breathed Hei anxiously.
"Well, I don't really feel in control of him now," she explained, as if it were obvious.
"What do you mean you don't feel in control. You can control that thing, right?!" exclaimed Roman in rapid-fire.
"Well, he came when I was feeling angry and sad. But now, I don't feel as angry or as sad now. So I can't really feel him now," she elaborated uncertainly, likely because even she didn't know the specifics.
"Uh, in Valean, Red," prodded Roman.
The sound of panting grew louder above them, and with growing dread, they all turned to look at the soulless visage of a blood-drenched Grimm perched atop of the boulder they were hiding behind. It clung there, staring at them hungrily as a mix of blood and saliva dripped from its maw, massive muscles coiled and ready to pounce.
"What I think she means," began Hei slowly as everyone's collective hearts began to drop.
"Is that she is no longer in control of her pet..."
Again, sorry for the shorter chapter length, and if the quality seems a bit off. Not intentional, just busy right now. Still will be, too :/
Next chapter (hopefully): 21st August
