'BBBBRRRAAAGGGGSSSSHHH!' I feel something strong lift me off my feet. I can feel the air whipping past my face as I see the ground growing further and further away. I feel the heat bruning against my skin - stinging me. I can hear a loud ringing in my ears. This feels... Familiar. Like deja vu.
"Bbbkkkrrraasssshhhkkkkk!" I hit the ground hard. Everything blurs together as I roll and skid along the dirt. I can feel a stabbing pain in my right leg, just below my knee. I can see colors. Like brown, and green, and black. But I can't see anything but vague shapes towering over me.
'It's here!' I place my hands against the dirt as I push myself onto my knees. I double over as I begin to cough. My neck burns, but at least there's no blood this time. Just hurting. My hands clutch my stomach as I groan - I feel sick... I fight back the urge to heave.
"Bzzzzz... Bbbzzzrrrzzzrrrzzzz... BBBBZZZZZRRRRZZZZZ!" I can hear an electric humming. It's growing louder and louder... That's not good, is it? I grit my teeth and push with my legs. I use my right arm as support to help stand. My legs shake, my fingers trembling, but I manage to keep standing. Barely. I struggle to take a step as the world spins! The shapes thin down - I can tell what's a tree and what isn't now - but everything is spinning so fast! I can't tell what's up or down...
I stumble to the ground. I catch myself with my hands before hitting the floor. I push myself up slightly with my left arm and lean over to my right. I'm sitting now, with my legs spread out in front of me. My right thigh... Has a spike in it. A stone debris. It's maybe three or five inches long, half as thick, and stabbed deep into me. I squint as I slowly lower shaking fingers to wrap around it.
"Hhhuuussss!" I hiss when my fingers wrap around the rock. It burns! It feels like someone is stabbing knives into my skin! B-but... I've hurt worse. Way worse. I bite my lower lip and grab the rock with both hands. This is going to hurt... A lot.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
'Sssshhhhhhstttthhhhssss!'
Blood shoots up and out of my wound. The bloody rock is in my hands, my fingers clutching it tightly. I can feel hot lashes of fire shooting up my leg! It trembles... Blood pouring out and pooling around me.
"Termination imminent. Please, do not resist." I raise my head and look backwards. It's darker now then when I first saw the city. Barely enough sunlight to let me see the trees and dirt. I can hear heavy thumping around me. I can't see it. I can smell something weird. Something that makes my hairs stand on end and tickles my nose.
I feel myself rising without standing. Tendrils extend from my back and to the ground. They raise me above the floor before gently lowering me to my feet.
'Move slowly.' I feel a tingling all over my body. I feel... Light. Like I weigh nothing. I look down to my hands but I don't see them. My chest is gone, too! Even my legs. What—
"Target lost. Initializing thermal scans."
A bright red light shoots out from the trees. I cover my eyes with my hands. The light shines over me for a few seconds before shifting away. I lower my fingers and see it's source. Two red orbs in the dark; behind the trees. It moves side to side as if looking for something. It is looking for something... Someone. Me. No... Us.
'We cannot be seen. Run.' No. We can fight it! Kill it... I'm gonna take it down!
'No! It will kill us both!' I run forward, dashing behind a tree. I step on a twig as I hide. The snap echoes into the dark Forest. I see the red light oozing around both sides of the tree I'm behind - lighting up the Forest in front of me.
'You cannot hide. Please, do not resist.' It's voice is deep. Really deep. It hums when it speaks. Like a lightbulb! I can hear the thumping growing closer.
I crouch low to the ground and move slowly. I would use Petal Burst but that kicks up a lot of wind. It's loud, too. If I can sneak up on this thing than I could—
"BBBBRRRRZZZZZZZZZZ!" I fall to the ground. My stomach hits the dirt as I cock my head back to see. Just a few feet back, right where the tree was, there's now a flaming hole. The tree feel over and into another tree - propping it up. The grass is burning and the dirt around where I was is now shiny. Reflective like glass.
"Shit..." I whisper as I grab a rock with my right hand. I look to my right, past the trees, and see the shape of a man. Something like a man, at least. It's massive! Nine or ten feet tall... And skinny. Really skinny! It's eyes glow yellow. Something on It's chest glows yellow, too. Orange firelight faintly relfects off of it and back towards me.
"Target designation: Ruby Rose. Reveal yourself and your termination will be swift." It... It knows my name!? How!? I turn over, onto my back, and rise into the air. Tendrils hold me up - above the... Thing - and up into the dark treetops. I'm still invisible. I can use that...
"Please, do not resist. Your termination is necessary for the safety of the Kingdom. Your sacrifice will be honored." Sacrifice...? Kingdom? Safety!? Wha... How - they want me dead? The entire Kingdom... Wants me dead? Everyone... Everyone wants me dead! H-how many - since when!? T-the... Who!?
"Pheromone signature detected: Target lock." It's right arm points up at me. It starts glowing gold. Move! We gotta—
"BbbbbBBBBBBRRRRRZZZZZZ!"
"Whoooooaaah!" I'm flying through branches as the tendrils pull me forward. It's hard to see. My nose tingles again. That weird smell it back. Wind whistles past my ears. I can see trees racing past me - I can't hear that buzzing anymore.
I stop before a rock wall. Apart of the cliff I climbed down from earlier. I turn my head back to see a distant golden light hidden by dozens of trees. It's split into hundreds of sparkles. It's almost... Pretty. I feel myself being lowered towards the ground. My feet touch the grass as the tendrils are sucked back into Shadow's skin.
Pheromone signature... What's a pheromone? 'A form of scent,' Oh! Like a smell... So that thing smells me? So, it can find me even when I'm invisible now? That's... Not very fair, 'No. It isn't. We must leave.'
"No!" I'm not going to just run away! I-I... If there was one thing Taiyang and Summer taught me that was right, it's that running away from your problems never fixs them! O-or kills them, in this case, but you get the idea! Do you get the idea...?
'In principal,' Good enough! I look out into the woods. The golden light has died down. That's... Good? I don't think it is. I can't hear anything but a faint whistle from the wind. Can't see nothing but shadows cast over tall trees and sparkling moonlight cutting through the branches. Kinda pretty, if a little creepy, 'But we really should go.'
"Shadoooow! You know I ca—"
"Audio detected. Target lock." My nose tickles. I can feel my hairs standing on end. I can hear metal clicking into place as gears quickly grind and shift in place, "Please; remain stationary."
"BbbbbbbBBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZ!" I throw myself to the ground. I hear crackling above me as the ground glows yellow. Or is it gold? I always mix those two up. I can feel Shadow tightening around me. I can feel a strong heat wafting onto my back. It burns a little. It's easy to ignore. I start crawling away towards a boulder. I hide behind it, pulling my invisible legs behind it.
"Target designation: Ruby Rose. Are you alive?" Does it seriously expect me to answer that? What kind of an idiot would? I bet Yang would answer that. She'd go all-
"Right here!" And then she'd- Oh... Oh... Shiiiit! Why'd I say that out loud!? 'Most inappropriate timing. Running is still—' No! I'm not—
"BbbbbbbbBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZ!" Tendrils shoot out of my stomach and against the ground. It launches me up. I'm flying so fast the wind is whistling! I can't see much except the stars in the night sky. And the broken moon, too. It's looking down at me like a giant, scarred, eye. Maybe... Maybe it is an eye? A silver one. I always liked the moon... And the night sky, too. Meteors, comets, stars, and the cold, night air. Huh... Meteors...
"I got an idea!" In a instant I turn into petals. Hundreds of little petals all held together in a ball shape. I move at supersonic speeds towards the ground. I can see the robo-thing. I think it's a robot... I'm pretty sure it is. It's standing between a few trees facing towards the rock wall. It's a hundred feet or so from the cliff. I'm at an angle. Down and forward - so I'll land behind it! Then I'll see how he - it? - likes being stabbed in the back! I'll rip it's heart - power core? - out!
"Target designation-" I can hear it I'm so close! So very close... Fifty feet. Thirty feet... Ten feet... Three feet!
"-uby Rose. Please—" I turn back into me and hit the ground with my feet. I quickly crouch down before throwing myself forward with allllll of that momentum I just built up! My fist tingles as I thrust it forward with my fingers clenching shut. Spikes shoot out from my knuckles as I punch the robo-thing in it's lower back. My hand tears through it as metal rips open like cardboard. Wires rip apart and get tangled around my fist-claws. Sparks light up the woods blue. It's arms go slack as it leans forward and onto me.
I grit my teeth as I pull my hand out of it's back. In the same motion I plant my hands against it and push. I groan as it's weight sinks down onto me. It's... Pretty heavy... G-guess it is made of metal. I hear grinding as It suddenly begins to shift.
It's stomach, chest, arms, and head begin quickly shifting in place until it's back has become it's front. I shove it forward and yet it catches itself. It's legs barely bend from my push. I bite my lip as I put my hands up and ball them into fists. Hey, Shadow, could you mak—
"Whhhooooossssshhhh!" I duck under it's left hook and shoulder charge into it's wounded stomach. It barely shifts before both it's hands clamp shut around my shoulders. They squeeze.
"Crrrraaakkkk!"
"Ahhhggg!" I bite my tongue to cut off my scream. I force my eyes to stay open as tendrils shoot from my chest and impale into it's own metal chest. They don't get very deep - the metal is too thick. But the robot is still shoved back onto one knee as I hit the ground.
"Ssssoooorrrkkkk!"
"Uggghhhh! F-fu..." I cut myself off. Shadow's tendrils - the one's inside my chest, I guess? - are oozing underneath my skin. I can feel them pushing and pulling the broken bones into place as my shoulders fix themselves. The click and snap, "Ahhgghhgghh..." It hurts, but I'm not too bothered by it. I watch my shoulders go from crushed stumps to rounded knobs to full blown shoulders again.
I look to the machine. It's standing already as tendrils begin to raise me into the air. I spread my healed arms out and look between them, "Good as new..." They work well enough, I guess. I look down to the robot-thing as it cocks it's head slightly. Our tendrils lower me down to the ground. I drop to a crouch. Hey, Shadow?
'Yes?' Don't stab it this time, 'Why?' I'm trying something new, ok?
Another set of tendrils - thinner, yet longer ones - extend out of my stomach. They shoot forward as it lunges towards me. The tendrils hit it head on! Grab it, Shadow! Now!
The tendrils - I really gotta come up with another name besides tendrils, don't I? - wrap around the robot's arms and legs. The pull it's limbs out as another a thicker one - it's as big as my head! - shoots out of my chest. It hits the machine and knocks it back onto the ground. My tendrils hold it there as I quickly run forward.
I jump on onto the robot - straddling it. Shadow's still pinning it down. I pull back my right arm and punch it in it's ugl—
"Ow! Sugarhoneyicetea!" I clutch my right hand with my left, "Owww! Ow! Ow! Ow! Owww!" My hand stings! Probably because punching metal WITHOUT moving at supersonic speeds is... Is a pretty bad idea, honestly. Owie... That hurts!
"That... Hurt!" My fingers tingle as they turn into flat, shovel-shaped... Eh, fingers? Shingers? 'Cuz it's shovel fingers? Whatever! I extend my shingers and throw my hand forward. It rips into the robot's neck. My shingers rip and tear out wires alongside a... A mechanical voice box? I clench my shingers before punching it in the throat, "Fucking! Die!"
"U-un... Une-ex... S-sy-system f-fa-fail-failure..." It's voice is stuttering and higher pitched now. It twitches for a few seconds before going still. I push myself off of it and onto my feet. Our tendrils let it go and slither back to meld into our skin. The robot's eyes begin to dim in the light. I look down at it as I tilt my head. It's made of a silvery white metal, and thin. Thinner than me. It's shorter than I thought it was. Closer to seven feet than ten.
"Boring... I expected you to do more... Guess I was asking for too much." I turn away and towards the... The trees. And more trees, I guess. It's all trees around here. Nothing but trees! I'm tired of trees... And forests! Stupid woods! I can't wait for a new view... Buildings! People...
"I wonder who will try to kill me next?" In the city, that is. Probably no one as cool as the robot, but... Hopefully someone more interesting. But that can wait for later, can't it? Shadow... Is that really what you were so scared of? That little tin-man? It was a joke! Easy as pie to kill. W-well, not kill but destroy, since it's a robot so it's not really alive, but... Same idea!
'We also said that about the Metal-Eyes. Then we lost our heart.' T-that... Ok, you got me there. Maybe I shouldn't talk smack if I'm not sure the other guy's actually dead or not...
I glance back towards the robo-thing. Yeah, it's not moving. It's still sparking, though. I think we're good, Shadow. I think we're safe.
'No we're not. Not until all of them are dead. All of those who seek us harm,' Ok. Correction: I think we're safe right now. Happy? 'No.' Of course not... Your never happy!
'That's false,' Really? I've never seen you smile! W-well, you don't have lips or a mouth so you can't smile, b-but... It's the principal of the matter, ok! You never crack jokes, or act excited about anything but killing people. It's honestly kinda sad... 'Sad? No. It is expected. Besides, we are happy enough for both of us.' I... I'm not very happy, Shadow. I, uhhmmm... I thought you would've noticed that by now, 'Happy enough for us both. Doesn't mean we must always be happy - just happy enough.' I... I guess so. Can't really argue against that, can I?
"Have you ever felt happy?" Even once? Have you ever felt... I don't know. Like you can say your life's been worth all the hurting you've been through?
'We would've said no to that question... Had we not found us,' I... That's... Thank you. The feeling goes both ways. But... You do feel happy then? With me? 'Happy enough.' How much is enough? How do we know when we're suppose to be happy enough? How can any amount of happiness be enough?
'Easy. It is when—'
"T-ter-termin-termination!"
"BbbbbbbBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Burns! It - I can't - burns! Not any - b-b-burns! 'Light! Ca-can't - stooooop iiiitt! N-n-NO! Get it away!'
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Can't - not any - no one is - burns! Burns! Dark - I don't - where!? Can't th-t-t-think! 'BUUUURRNNNSSS! Can't - m-mus-must noooot! Ge-g-get it aw-awa-a-away! STOP IT!' H-h-hurts! BURNS! Everything stings! I can't see! I can feel my skin burning!
"Arrrrrhhh! Ggggaarrrrrhhhhhhssss...!" 'N-n-no! Bu-burns... Fig-fight... RUN!' Dark... S-so... Dark. Blood. I... Smell blood. Copper. Copper smell. Blood smell. Can't... F-feel my... Anything. I-I... Burns. Hurts. Ringing. I can hear... Ringing.
"Term-termination... Im-immin-imminent." I can feel the ground shaking. Moving. It... It is - the robo... Robo-thing - is... Walking? Going to... T-to... Kill me? Kill... Kill.
"Sh... S... Sh-S-Shad-Sha..." Shadow... It hurts. I-I don't... I don't wanna die. I can't move. I can't see very well. My whole body stings...
"Tar-t-ta-target i-in-i-inca-incapacitated. Ter-te-term-termin-termination im-i-imminent." I don't... Why does everything hurt again? My eyes are blurry. My arms and legs are sore. I can't... I can't breathe!
Shadow? I don't... I-I'm gonna d-die. Shadow...? W-why won't you talk to me...? Shadow! I don't want to die! Shadow!
"Mo-mod-modul-modulating... M-modu-modula-modulating... Complete. Vocal systems restored." I... It can fix itself!? That's bullshit!
"S-Sh... Sh-Sha..." Shadow! SHADOW! DON'T IGNORE ME! Shadow...! Wh-why... Why are you quiet!? I-I'm gonna die! I—
I open my eyes fully. I can see clearly again. The pain is going away... Colder now. I smell burning meat. My skin? I can smell that weird scent again. The one that tickles my nose. I can hear spinning gears grinding against each other.
"Sssstrrraassskkk!" I push myself onto my side. I see the robo-thing standing over me with a sword in it's hand. It's raising it's arm into the air. It's gleaming silver from the moonlight... It's pretty. Almost—
"SSSTTTRRRRAASSSHHH!"
"Uggmmm! O-ow..." It's sword is lodged into my right shoulder. It's in pretty deep. A few inches, at least. Probably would cut my arm off too if Shadow wasn't holding me together. It hurts but... Not a lot. Not enough to cry over. I should... I shouldn't be sitting here. I gotta do something!
"Ssssssttttrraaaa!"
"Uuhh... Ugh!" It hurts more being pulled out than it did when stabbing me. Slashing? Doesn't matter. I kick the robo-thing in it's robo-nuts. It stumbles back, blood dripping from it's sword. Huh... It's not holding a sword. It's hand IS a sword... Cool! That's pretty cool... I wish I had a sword for hand. B-but I gotta focus! What do I do!? Uhmmm... C-claws!
"Hrrraaagh!" Tingles spread over my fingers and into the shape of claws. I slash at the robot's chest as tendrils push me up and onto my feet. The robot stumbles back and holds it's arm out. My next swipe hits it's blade causing the metal to rattle. It responds by thrusting it's knee into my stomach.
"Uaaaghh!" It's my turn to stumble back. I grab my stomach with my left hand. I spread my fingers so my claws won't cut into me. I look down to my belly before raising my eyes back up.
It's left arm is raised and it's fist is whistling through the air. I duck low to the ground as it's hand races through the air where my head had just been. I quickly stand while pushing forward.
My arms wrap around it's waist as I charge into it. We both go falling forward and over each other. I dig my claws into it's sides before kicking it's chest. We both go for a little tumble down a steep hill.
I look down to the robo-thing. It's falling as it reaches it's right arm back. I look up towards the top of the hill - too far to grab.
"Ttttrrraaassshhh!" Metal fingers wrap around my left ankle. We both look into each others eyes for a moment before it pulls me down. I kick at it with my free foot. It quickly swats aside my limb as it pulls itself up my left leg. It raises it's free hand into the air.
"G-get off me!" It's hand clenches around my right wrist. It pulls me towards itself as we fall. We're spinning now. I try punching it with my left fist in the the neck. It headbutts me back, "Uhhhgg!"
My ears ring as I glare at the robot. Tendrils shoot out of my chest and send it flying backwards and away - past the treeline. I hear it thump as—
"Aaaaggghhh!" I hit the ground hard. Dirt and dust shoot up around me as little rocks are kicked into the air, "Uggghhh... I'm getting really sick of falling... Like, all the time!" I struggle back to my feet. I flex my arms. I look around out towards the nearby trees. No sign o—
"Bbbbbbbzzzzz-"
"Petal Burst!"
I'm gone. I'm not me anymore. I'm flying forwards faster than most people can think. I'm dashing left and right, in-between as many trees as I can. I can hear cackling behind me and the air feels... Hot. But I don't look back. I can't really 'look' while using Petal Burst anyway.
Shadow... Why are you ignoring me? D-did... Did I do something wrong...? Is it because I didn't run away? I can't! I won't! If we don't kill that thing than we'll never be safe! Not really... I'm sorry, ok, but I have to do this! For us! I just—
"-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"
I fly down. Golden light shines over me, around me, through me. I can hear cackling. I can feel heat against me. I push against the ground and become me again. I'm crouched, on my hands and knees, with my stomach low. I roll onto my back. I see a beam of yellow lightning arcing just a few feet above me, slicing through trees, setting bushes on fire! I grab onto the grass tightly. S-Shadow... Now would be a good - no, great! - time to turn invisible!
"ZZZZZZzzzzzzz... zzzz... zzzz... zzzz..."
The beam flickers and dims until it's gone. It's quiet now. And dark. I can hear the whistling of the wind. It's cold against my face. I close my eyes.
S-Sh-Shadow...! What's wrong!? What happened!? This isn't like you! I-I... I need help! Come on... W-was it... The lightning? You said it... It hurts you. Causes... C-cellular? Cellular instability... Is that it? Come on! Talk to me!
"-Termination imminent. Please, do not resist."
"F-fuck... Fuck!" Guess I'm on my own this time. For now, at least... Please get better Shadow! Soon... Very soon. If your hurting, then... I'm sorry. I-I... I'll make it hurt twice as much! A hundred times worse!
I raise my right arm up. The moonlight shines over it and casts a shadow onto my face. My new skin - Shadow - is looking... Wetter than normal. Bits of them are dropping and dripping away like water droplets. Sometimes enough falls away to make a little hole or rip appear - exposing my skin underneath. When that happens tendrils cover up my pale skin to fix the tear. It almost looks like the holes are filling with black worms. It's weird... Watching them move. The tendrils wrap around each other until their black ropes. Then the ropes cover each other over and over until they're a black sleeve. It's almost... Pretty.
Is Shadow pretty? That's a weird questi—
"Target designation: Ruby Rose. Reveal yourself." Oh... Yeah, the robo-thing... I'm not falling for that trick again! I quickly jump to my feet. I look left and right. Nothing. I can't see it. You'd think it's glowing eyes would be easy to spot, right? I hate how quiet things are now.
I raise my arm and shoot a tendril from my hand. It connects to a tree and retracts back into my wrist. I zip over to the tree with my hands planting against a large branch. For a second I'm doing a handstand! But I let my legs droop down. They hit the tree's side so I bend them until I am standing straight. Horizontal? I'm definitely not standing straight... More standing sideways.
I'm standing sideways on a tree with my back facing the branch I was just handstanding on. I didn't know I could walk on walls... Or trees! I was expecting to—
"Target designation: Ruby Rose - you are violating the law of the Kingdom. You must turn yourself in. There are consequences if you do not." T-that... That little shit! I'm breaking the law by defending myself!? I'll... I'll... I'll...
"I hope you have a very, very, VERY bad day!" I yell down into the darkness. I hear my voice echoing. Bad day...? That's a pretty weak insult... It's not even daytime either! A-and I gave myself away! Damn it!
"Your locomotive abilities are admirable," I can hear it's voice echoing everywhere! It's all around me. Below, up above, from my sides even! What's going on!? "But that alone does not ensure you success. Prepare for termination." No! I'm not- screw this!
I use Petal Burst to turn into a clumping of rose petals. I zoom through the air and around trees. I become me again as I fall to the ground. I roll to my feet and run forward. I'm probably getting low on what little Aura I still have. Gotta conserve it, right? That thing can be anywhere! How do I find it!? M-maybe... Try bringing it to a clearing? Give myself a better view... Yeah, that would be a good first step!
I turn around and around. Everything looks the same! Trees! Trees! And more stupid trees! Where do I go!? I don't know! I'll just pick a random direction!
"U-u-uhhh... T-that way!" I run between some rotting trees and through a thicket. I jump over logs, ducking under old, hollow trees that fell. I zig-zag between the the larger trees. I can feel the air... Getting wetter? Moist. Sometimes that happens before it rains... Hopefully it's not waterproof.
I slide under a tree that fell against another tree. Not enough room to run through without face planting against a branch or five. When I'm clear of tree limbs I feel myself being raised back to my feet. I can feel the gentle push against my back of tendrils being sucked into my new skin. It tingles a little whenever that happens.
I can see a thin layer of mist against my feet. Not much, only a few inches worth. Some puddles, and a lot of mud, too. I can smell... Pines? Pine trees... Like back home. Home? No, not home... Their home, not mine.
I glance back to see nothing but the trees I just slid under. I look forward and see a lot more trees... And more trees. And MORE trees! And did I say more trees yet? And a few extra trees for good measure, too.
"I think this Forest could a few more trees..." It's not crouded enough. I don't feel trapped or claustrophobic enough. A few hundred more and then I could only crawl or squeeze between them! That'd be a thousand times more panic inducing! Suppose I'm too lucky for that, ain't I Shadow?
"I wish you would talk..." Or even yell! Or even... Even... I don't know! Just make a sound... I hate the quiet! I hate the quiet! I hate it! I-I just... I wanna rip it apart! Cut into it with Crescent Rose and-
"W-wait!" Cut... Cut into it? Cut it down... Cut the trees down! I don't need to find a clearing when I can make one myself! Why didn't I think of that earlier!? Maybe I really am stupid... I must be! It's obvious!
I raise my hands and look to them. Shadow's not dropping anymore or ripping! That's good... Still quiet, though. I hope your listening Shadow, because... I really need you.
"Crescent?" I close my eyes and tilt my head back. Scythe... Scythe... Scythe... Sweat. I was really sweaty when I built Crescent Rose. Stinky, too. I spent alllll day AND night around Signal forge. It was an old one. A classic. The one where you gotta pull down on the chain to shoot air into the flames to keep them burning. Roaring... Taiyang said a bright flame roars. I remember hammering the metal into place, and lowering Crescent's blade into the water to let it cool. I remember the first few blades snapped. Too hot, or too cold. The last one was just right... I burned my hands when I touched that one. It hadn't cooled all the way and I was too excited to wait any longer. It hurt. No... I thought it hurt. I know what real hurting feels like now, and by comparison those blisters were pretty nice.
I... I can feel tingling around my fingers. I guess Shadow is done?
"Not... Scythe." That's weird. There's no scythe even though my fingers tingled! That's a weird sentence... But still! Tingling fingers equals Shadow scythe! Right? All I got are these lousy claws... Sharp, six inch long, curving claws for fingers. Claws longer than kitchen knives! I guess they'll do. But I'm not good with my hands, though... Don't gotta be as long as the claws can cut into it, right? I look forward into the Forest. All right... Let's put these babies to work!
I use Petal Burst to quickly dash between tree after tree after tree. Each time I near one I quickly turn into me, cut it down in one hit - awesome! - and move onto the next. Five... Twelve... Seventeen... Twenty three! Thirty one!
I turn back into me. My feet hit the ground and I lose my footing. I stumble at supersonic speeds and begin tilting forward. I can see the ground racing forwards - the mud reflecting my silver eyes. I try to raise my arms but I'm too slow. I grit my teeth.
"Hhhhhuuuuhhhh!" I gasp but the ground and my face never meet. I'm staring at my reflection from centimeters away. The tip of my nose is dipped in the cold, brown, mushy mud. It tickles...
I'm pulled back to my feet quickly. I stumble back but catch myself this time. I can feel tingling against my upper back as the tendril - the one that stopped me from face planting - is sucked back into the rest of Shadow. Your still watching out for me... That's good. Nice. You always have me protected, don't you? I—
"Bbbbaaaaggggghhhh!"
"Aaahhh!" I jump a few feet into the air as the trees - all at once! - crash into the ground! Smoke spews into the air, the ground trembles, and my ears ring. I stumble forward and cover my mouth with my left hand to stop myself from breathing in the smoke and mud-air. I look around quickly at the newly made clearing. MY clearing! There's a bunch of tree stumps - uneven ones, too - and newly cut trees littering the ground. I can smell pines reeeaaalllly strongly now! Too strong. My nose twitches and I sneeze.
"E-exc... Excuse... E-excuse.." I sneeze again while trying to excuse myself. Manners are important! Even in a creepy woods, late at night, while hunted by a killer robot, "Excuse me."
"BbbbbbBBBBBBB—"
"N-not again!" I use Petal Burst to fly up into the air. I quickly soar backwards as a beam of lightning shoots at me. It almost hits me! I dodge it by a few feet. It's strafing up to try and cleave me in half! I can see the robo-thing at the edge of my clearing. I zoom towards it.
"-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!" I fly over and under the beam. I let gravity push me even faster. I hone in on the robo-thing. It's right hand is a cannon now! With rotating gears and shifting pistons and pulsing blue tubes. It looks complex... Advanced... Pretty. I'd like to take that cannon apart and see what it's made of!
"Hyyyaaahh!" I'm me again as I come racing down. My right arm is held high, my fingers extended, arcing down. My left hand shoots a tendril from my palm and into it's face. The robot stumbles back as it's left arm - the cannon arm - points to my chest. A tendril shoots from shoulder and too the ground. It barely pulls us out of the way of the blast as it grazes my shoulder.
"Uuurrraaahhhh!" My feet skid as I pull with my left arm, flexing it, and throwing the machine into an arc. My supersonic momentum causes the robo-thing to fly overhead. It embeds into the mud. It's buried in the brown goo as my tendril slithers back into my palm with a tingle.
"Ugggghhh!" I growl as I step forward. I raise my foot up and stomp it's head into the mud. I do that a few more times before stepping back. I bend over and stab my claws into it's back, rakin my spiked fingers down it's backside. I stop just before it's thighs.
I grab it's left ankle with my right hand. I step back, hoisting it into the air, and spin in place a few times. I let go. It flys further into the clearing before crashing into a human-sized tree trunk. The trunk explodes into a splinters causing it's back to plant against the ground. I smirk. I lick my lips. This is fun...
"Cloaking engaged." It disappears! It's eyes blink out, it's body shines white, and then... It's gone! Invisible! Like I was. I look left and and right. Nothing... Of course there's nothing! It's invisible, idiot me! I raise my fists into a fighting stance, letting my left leg lean back. My back tingles as tendrils extend out. I can feel them swaying against the air. I see the tips of the longer ones dangling in front of me by a few inches. Hey, Shadow, can you make these... Spikey?
Thin black spikes stab through the tendrils in front of me. I assume the spikes run along the entire tendril down to it's base. That should help... Now if it attacks from behind I'll have these bad boys to help! Nice...
"Wwwwiiisssss!" I hear whistling. I don't have time to react before something strong hits me in the neck. I stumble back and gasp. Before I know it that 'something' is grabbing onto my face with both hands. It begins to squeeze.
"G-get... GET OFF!" Tendrils wrap around it's invisible arms. They pull the limbs back as I thrust my right hand forward. The claws tear into metal. I pull back my arm and rip out a now sparkling machine with glowing green traces inside of it. I throw it down as I shoulder charge forward.
The tendrils let go as my momentum shoves the robot back. I hear the mud squelching as it begins moving. I - obviously - can't see it. I can, however, hear it. Walking around me.
"Just... Just wait! When I... I get you... I wish I could see!" Not that seeing would really help much, but still! Just pale moonlight and shadow-y trees! Ugggh! I wish I could-
Everything turns purple for a second. Like when Shadow... C-controlled me that one time. But I close my fingers, take a few steps, and jump. I'm still in control. Good. But why is everything purple colored now? The shadows and dark are gone - I can see the faint, blue glowing outline of objects all around me! The ground, trees, stumps, boulders, and... A human shaped thing. A few feet in front of me. Huh... And it has a white outline. Huh... I should punch it.
"Hhuurraaah!" I lunge forward as our tendrils stab at the white human-shape. It side steps them - batting one away even! - but it's too slow to dodge my claws! I sweep my left fist through an arc - my spikes ripping into it's stomach and tearing away more metal and wires. Sparks fly as it falls to one knee. I rear back my right arm, clenching my fingers, and go to punch it.
"Ah!" It catches my fist with it's left hand. It bends my arm back as it stands and towers over me. I try pulling my arm free but it doesn't let go! I look up to it and try not to smile as I feel nervous, "E-ehhh...U-uh-uhmmmm... I-I... Eeehhhaaahhh?" Whatever Shadow did to my eyes is stopping me from seeing it properly. Only it's ouline. But if I had to guess, it's... Probably not happy about that?
"Ahhh!" It backhands me with it's left fist. My face veers right, spit flying from my mouth. My cheek burns and stings. I hear metal ripping as the tendrils thrust forward and impale it in the chest. It crushes my right hand until I hear my bones snapping, "Uggh! O-owww..." It doesn't hurt as much as you'd think, Shadow. It stings but not NEARLY as much as the electricity did. I look up at the robot as sparks fly from where the tendrils are stabbing it. I grit my teeth. I've never been slapped before... I've never been slapped before!
"Fuck you!" I punch it dead center in it's chest! It flys back but not before a tendril cleaves it's left arm off at the shoulder. No cannon for you anymore, asshole!
I raise my right hand. I watch as little tendrils wrap around my crushed and crooked fingers. I wince as they snap the digits back into place.
I can feel a cold, wet brush against my cheek. The one that was slapped. I graze the fingers of my left hand against the wet feeling. I feel little tendrils the size of my pinkie finger... C-caressing... My hurt cheek. It... I remember mom doing that after I fell and hurt myself when I was little. I remember mom... No, not our mom! She was more Yang's mom than ours! She never helped me with anything!
'H-hel-help...?' Shadow! Are you ok!? You sound... Weird. Distant. Is everything alright!? 'H-hu-hurt... Light... Ning. Us. To-tough... Think. Simple now. Will. B-be-better... Get in. L-little... Days.' I look down to the red rose on my chest. The lightning? It's... Making it hard for you to think? 'Ha-hard... Be. Am. I-is. Slow-slower... Now. H-hurt... I-ing. Now. Much. I-it... Hur-hurts. Ne-n-need... H-hel-help...' I-I... I... I'll make things better! It's ok! You can trust me! I know what I'm doing! I'll make things ok again! I... Yo-you can count on me! I'm Blood Flower... I can make things better! You saved me... Now it's time I save you!
"Target... Lock." I look straight ahead. I see it's outline extending it's right arm forward. It's fingers shoot out of it's hand! Like little rockets... I raise my left hand to cover my chest. Shield! Make a shield, Shadow!
"Bbrraaassssshhhwwwoooo!" My hand-tingles barely have enough time to make a square shaped shield out of tendrils before it hits us. Most of the finger-missiles hit our shield. One hit my right shoulder - ripping into my skin. A few hit the ground in front of me. All of them explode.
"Hhuuuurrrrhhhh..." I groan as I stare into the night sky. Hundreds of little silver stars up there. No clouds, though. I can see the moon hidden behind a tall tree. The tree's branches cut the moon into dozens of little pieces. The night air feels cool against my throat. I slowly turn my head right, "Y-yeah... About my luck."
My arm is dangling by a few tendrils and strands of pinkish red meat. I think they're tendons? They're black like the tendrils but they don't move. But they are bleeding red. It's weird seeing the crimson ooze out of the black... I look lower to see the rest of my arm. What's left of it. A fractured bone tears through my elbow, cracked fingers - missing fingers, too - and a large chunk of my skin was ripped off. Both my old skin, and new skin. I can see my own muscle as it twitches. That's red, but not my tendons? Weird.
"Haha! G-guess... We're even now, huh?" Tendrils push out of my back and against the ground. They raise me back onto my feet. Straight ahead is the robo-thing. We're both down one arm now, soooo... Fair? Fair!
"Tttrrraaaaahhhhh..." It raises it's own arm stump into the air. It looks at it's torn wires and dented metal-skin. It looks back to me. One of it's eyes are cracked, Haha! G-guess... We're even now, huh?"
I step back. That's my voice! But not my voice... It's distorted. A little deeper then it should be, too. It tilts it's head as it motions to my torn arm. I look to my broken shoulder. It is a dangling piece of skinless arm with tendrils worming through it. They're pulling and pushing the bones back inside me. I groan a little as blood spurts from my wound.
"Pain? Target designation: Ruby Rose—"
""Target designation: Ruby Rose" just call me Ruby! Do you know how annoying it is to hear you say that EVERY SINGLE TIME!?" It takes a step back. It looks to it's good arm - it's right one - before looking to me again. It beeps.
"Understood. The terms are acceptable. Ruby Rose - are you still capable of experiencing physical discomfort?" I squint my eyes. I cock my head.
"Uhmm... Y-yeah?" It goes quiet for awhile. Something inside of it hums loudly. I hiss when I feel a sharp jolt in my shoulder, "O-ow..." I see tendrils extending from my arm socket and wrapping around my broken limb. The pull it into place, "Ow! OW!" I grit my teeth as I feel something stabbing into my muscles. Little tendrils... Inside my arm... Filling in the cracks inside my bones. I hear a snap.
"Noted. Is your hostility avoidable? Do you understand reason?" I shake my head as the suit covers my skinless muscles under cold black water. I take in a deep breath.
"Well... Aren't we talking right now?" It steps forward. I step back. It steps back. I step forward.
"Noted. New orders have dictated a new ultimatum: do you know of Specimen 1?" Ehh? I flex the fingers of my healed arm. I stare the robo-thing in it's yellow eyes.
"Specimen what?" It hums again, "New orders? Who do you work for?" It nods it's head. A red light blinks on it's chest.
"Irrelevant. Specimen 1 is the inorganic mass you are being controlled by. A parasitic species of predatory, xenomorphic, entites." Parasitic? B-but... Shadow doesn't like that word...
"Shadow's not a parasite! Take that back!" I point at it with my right hand. It tilts it's head before beeping.
"Shadow? Elaborate." Oh, yeah... It doesn't know your name.
"The, ehh... Suit? My friend! Shadow is my friend." It beeps as it's eyes flicker red. It taps something on it's head causing it's eyes to turn orange instead.
"Friend? Noted. Does it communicate?" I nod, "How?" I purse my lips. W-well... They, uhhmmm... They... Think? And I hear it.
"I-it's a little tough to explain, but... I hear them in my head. Like my own voice! But not my voice... Ya know?" I doubt it does. The robot's eyes look down at me as it's nozzles hiss.
"Noted. Is it aggressive? Has it—"
"No!" Aggressive!? No! Never, "Shadow wouldn't hurt a fly! U-unless that fly deserved to hurt..." Stupid robot! Shouldn't it—
"Inaccurate. It is highly aggressive. You are suggested to return it." Return... Them? My... My Shadow...? Return... Shadow? They... They—
'N-no... N-n-no... No! No! Ne-never! Back! Back... De-death! Murder... Lies!' I feel Shadow tightening against me. I wrap my left hand around my chest. Shadow! Shadow... It's ok! I won't let it take you! Never! I promise...
"You hurt Shadow! You hurt me! You tried to kill us! Twice! Why should I trust you!? Your a killer robot!" I stomp my foot as I glare at it. I can feel a tingling against my chest. I can feel... I feel scared. But I'm not scared! I'm angry... But I feel scared. Not me, but inside me... Like... Like Shadow is scared.
"You? You. You?" It points to me then to itself, "Designation: You?" I... What? I wipe away sweat from my brow - when did I start sweating?
"You... Are... You? It's... Who you are?" It looks up to the moon. It looks down to me. It points to itself.
"Self-designation: You. New concept broached. Filing away for investigation," What is up with this guy? I hate robots... "Hurt Shadow? Confirmation that Specimen can express physical discomfort. Please, remove the Specimen. Return the Specimen and you will be spared. You will return home. You will be with your biological caretaker. Return to Signal Academy. Give You the Specimen." H-home...? Home... Patch. Signal... Yang. Dad. Uncle. Zwei... Sunlight and the smell of pine cones. A comfortable bed, warm blankets, milk whenever I want. I... I can go home. Where they hate me but pretend to love me still. I... I... I miss dad.
I look down to my hands. I can feel Shadow tightening further. It's a little tough to breathe. I... I... I want... I miss home. But I love Shadow! I need Shadow... But I wanna go home! I wanna have a normal life again! B-but...
"I-I... I... I—
"Duuurrsss!"
"Shadow!" Tendrils shoot out of my chest and towards the robot. The tendrils stab into it's knees, it's neck, and into the nozzles on it's chest. The tubes hiss as white smoke spews out of them, "What are you doing!?"
'LIES! LIES! LIES! IT LIES! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL ALL THE LIES! OURS! OURS! NOT THEIRS!' I grab the tendrils and try pulling them back, but I'm not strong enough. They rip off the robot's leg, splitting it's neck open, prying off it's chestplate. There's an exposed circle shaped machine inside of it. Something glowing yellow with blue sparkles around it.
"SHADOW! STOP!" I need it! I need it! STOP KILLING IT! I pull a tendril as hard as I can. Shadow doesn't stop. It rips out the core and crushes it into a tin can. Shadow keeps ripping pieces away, "S-Shadow... No! No... N-no..." I can feel tears swelling in my eyes. The purple light fades as everything goes back to being dark and misty.
'LIES! L-lies... Li-lies... Need! Us! It lied. H-ho-home... Hate. Hate. Hate!' You killed it! I-I... I needed it! It could've brought me back home! It could've gave me my old life back...! 'BACK!? GO BACK!? NO! NO! NO! Nnnnnrrrrrrrrssssssrrrrrrssssss... N-no... No. No back,' I wanna go home! 'Home!? Kill... Us! Kill us! K-ki-kill... Hate. Us. Home hates us. We - y-you tried to... L-leave... Us.' No! I-I... I wouldn't of let it take you! Never! I-I... I... I don't what I would've done! But letting it take you wouldn't be it... I would've found a way for us to both get what want! I-I... I could've gone back.
'Go...Back... Where? Home? Home is... Hate. It should be love. Home... Love. Love can still be home. We are our home. Home is we. Understand?' I... I just - it's not... It's not fair. It's really not fair! I wouldn't EVER give you up! I love you! But... But... I want more than this. I don't wanna have to hurt every day and night! I just... I want to feel like I finally matter! Like I did something right for once... 'Thought... We knew. Better. There is not... Rightness... Without us. Need us. Need we. We are us. Change... City. Then Kingdom.' Yeah... Y-yeah. I-I just... I was - I wanted to - I... I... I was weak. I let it get into my head! I let it trick me... I should know better. I was acting stupid! if I did go back they'd still hate me! They'd still try to kill me...
I push myself onto my feet. I wipe away a few tears as I shudder. The robot is dead. It's torn apart into too many pieces to count. A foot here, an arm there, electric tubbing lying everywhere! I can smell that weird smell again.
"Stupid... Stupid!" I stumble towards it's chest. I kick it. It jolts a little but remains in place. It's head is still attached, but most of it's neck is gone. It's not glowing anymore. Stupid...
'Would... We... Leave us?' I kick it's head. What? Would I leave? No! Not you... I'd never leave you! You won't leave me, so why would I leave you? 'Thought about... I-It... When machine made it's offer. We - you - thought about... R-rejection...' No I didn't! Not once! I-I... I thought about Patch. The island. I didn't - it never even crossed my mind! I'd rather die! 'Feeling is... Thinking. Felt angry. At us. Why if not for rejection?' W-well... Yeah, I get angry... At you. But you get angry at me, too! I-I... I only - it's not like I hate you! I get mad when you yell at me... I like to have a little more... More freedom, ya know? Some... Some control. I don't like having to do everything you say!
'But we don't. We did not run even though we suggested it. We do what we want too. As we should,' Yeah, I mean... It's the principal of the matter, ok! You always demand things from me... You get scary sometimes. I don't like to get angry, but... I get mad thinking about it, 'Natrual. Anger is ok. Good. Strong. So... We did not... Desire the... R-rejection? We were only angry...? At us.' Yeah! I-I mean... Yeah, I was angry. That's what I've been telling you this whole time! But just because I am mad that doesn't mean I will ever get rid of you... Never! But... I would like it... I-if you just... Stopped being so... Needy? 'We... Will relent. To that desire.' Thank you... And... I'm sorry. About feeling like that... I... I love you, ok? 'We... We understand. We love us. We always will.'
I lean over the robot. I poke it's head a few times. It does nothing. What... What way is the city? I look around as I stand. It could be anywhere...
I guess... I point to my left. That's the way I came from. That's... Where the rock wall was, right? 'Yes.' So I have to go right! Easy. Easy!
I take a long step forward to begin my walk. I hope this is the way of the city. I can't wait to get there! Take a bus ride, or... Call a transporter? Yeah, I could... Taiyang and Yang never let me ride one without them being there. 'Crowds are dangerous!' They said! Then they turn around and tell me to 'Meet new people!'! Doesn't that contradict the first thing they told me?
'Yes.' I'm glad you agree. Uncle... Qrow and Arceus would always say it's because 'They love you,' But I don't think so. I think they just wanted me to be confused! So I'll act stupid... Just like that robot did! I look back to the robo-thing. It's has pistons impaling it's stomach that pump out fresh oil. I think it's oil... Could be your long lost sister, Shadow.
'No. We have no siblings,' Your lucky, 'We rarely are.' Neither am I. Maybe our bad luck combined will cancel itself out? Reverse itself into good luck? I hope so.
I turn back to the path. I flex my shoulders as I walk - hearing a pop from my left as I do. I wince a little. I look back to it and...
"That's not suppose to be there," A large shard of metal is stabbing into me, "Not at all." I grab onto it with my right hand. I pull free with a quick wrenching of my arm. It stings a little. I see torn skin and exposed muscle with my blood and Shadow goo leaking out. They mix together to turn a weird shade of dark maroon. Lighter than it should be yet it stops flowing. It looks thick and sticky.
Little black tendrils slither out of my shoulder hole and begin wrapping around each other just in front of the wound's exit. The make a ball shape that swells out of my wound. They meld and mix and flatten until it's a black wall of slime instead of a gaping hole of muscle. I nod my head.
"Cool." Almost kinda gross. Almost. But after eating a dear with my bare teeth, I don't think I can fairly call anything gross anymore. Do you think I would-
"Hey! I just though of something, Shadow. Could you fix my head if it's cut off? Or my lungs if their shredded? What about my spinal cord?" Is there anything you can't heal?
'Yes. We can heal our head-ball and our brain. We can mend shredded lungs, or a broken spine,' What if my soul gets sucked out by an evil wizard? Could you heal that, too? 'Maybe... Not so much. Healing a soul is a very... Very... Much. Tough. Difficult for us,' So you can't just... Poof a new one for me? 'No.' Fair enough. Everyone only has one soul, anyway, so losing it is game over.
'But what of this... Wizard? What is it?' Oh, wizards? People who use magic... Spells! Shooting fireballs from their hands, or turning into a crow! Summoning evil ghosts to possess people! Making thunderstorms appear during the middle of the day! Turning you into a frog if you make them mad. Wizard-y stuff... Ya know?
'Do... Do we know any wizards? These abilities sound most impressive.' Wizards aren't real, Shadow. They're just legends... Probably. I like to believe there's a real wizard out there! Somewhere... In a tall tower, with a loyal knightly friend, and his princess daughter. I like to imagine he fights a giant, red, firey dragon every day!
'Dragon? We sense a certain form of... Respect here. Are dragons mere legend as well?' No. W-well... Kinda. Depends on what you mean by 'dragon.' If you want a giant, fire breathing, lizard with wings then... No. That's - sadly - not real. BUT their are some types of Grimm that LOOK like dragons! They even breathe fire, too! S-some of them do. Others shoot lightning, or ice, or wind, or nothing at all. But that's close enough, right?
'We do not have an opinion on this matter.' Oooook then... What happened back there? With the lightning. You went quiet, and... It scared me. I'd rather you yell then be quiet.
'The pain of... The Lightning. It purges us, remember?' Yeah. But you never said it made you quiet, either, 'The pain is overwhelming. We reversed to a more primal state. Difficult to compose ourselves even now. Our hate for the Metal-Eyes is how we recovered so quickly.' So quickly? Not nearly quick enough! I-I just... Why don't - wait! Wait! I just remembered something... I raise my hand to my cheek to feel it.
"It... It slapped me!" I can't believe it slapped me! That... That - it actually - I've never been slapped! Never! It slapped me! It hit me in my face! WITH IT'S HAND!
"And not in the way it's suppose to in a fight!" That - son of a bi... No. No that's too nice of a word! It's... It's... It's... It's-
"It's a cunt!" A miserable, little, ugly son of a cunt! A cunt! CUNT! No one's - how dare it slap me!? ME! I should've - how could I forget!? "Your a FUCKING CUNT!" I yell down path I had walked. I can still see the clearing. And the silhouette of a broken machine. Silver gleams off it's eyes, "I'm glad your dead!" As dead as a robot can get... "Fuck you!"
'Cunt?' Huh? Wha- 'Word? New one. What is meaning?' I... I-I... Oh, screw it. It's not any worse than anything else I've told you.
"A... Lady's private parts," My cheeks feel a little warm, "I, ehmmm... It's a girl-thing, ok?" Guys have their own... 'Part', too. The, ehh... 'Peen'. That's what Yang calls it.
I look to the ground. I shift my feet. Taiyang never gave me the 'talk' about private parts. Mom died before she ever could. Uncle didn't - I don't blame him, though. We're not even related, but he's Yang's uncle, and she's my sister, so... I don't know.
'How are we related to her but not him?' Because Yang's my half-sister, remember? You were there when I told Velvet, 'So he is of our sister's mom's side of our 'family'.' Yeah. Her mom's brother. I always wondered about her... Uncle's sister. She must've been a pretty bad mom like mine if she left. Or maybe Yang's just that bad of a daughter? Or ma—
"AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWAAAAAAAAWWWWWAAHHHHHHWWWWWHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I claw at my ears, 'SSSRRRRRAASSSSHHHH!' I fall to my knees. I bite into my tongue. It hurts! My ears hurt! Ringing! 'RRRRRRAAAAAUUUUUUSSSSSHHHH!' It's so, so, so, sooooo loud! I clench my fingers around my ears and pull. It hurts! Like an explosion is going off inside my head! I can feel Shadow slipping. Pouring over me.
"AAAAAAAWWWWWAAAAHHHHHHHHWWWWWHHHH!"
"HHHUUUAAAAAAAHH! UGGGHHH!" I can feel myself heaving as I fall forward. I barely catch myself with my trembling arms. I'm on my hands and knees. I am shaking. Streams of black water pour out of my mouth as I cough. My eyes are watering. Shadow is peeling off my arms in thick strands - oily black slime giving way to pale skin. Very pale skin. Sickly pale.
I see my fingers - my actual fingers - and some are missing. My right hand has no thumb or pinky. My left only has a middle finger and a stump for my index finger. The blue veins in my right wrist look flat and some are look too thick causing them to bulge.
"UUUUUAAAAAGGGHHH! HUUUUAAAAHH!" More streams of slime spew out of my mouth. The electronic scream is gone now. Doesn't help us any, though. I'm on my stomach. I can still hear the ringing a little. I can barely move.
"Sh... Shad... Shhooowwwhhh..." Shadow pools around me like a black pond. They're freezing against my skin; enough to make me sting. I roll onto my back with a grunt. I feel damp air blowing against me. I raise my trembling arm-
"Sha... Dggghh!" Again!? My right arm - from the elbow - is hanging on only by a few threads of tendon. Blood is pouring out and into Shadow, "F-fu- Ugggh!" I'm coughing and hacking. A few spurts of black shoot out and across my chin. Some dribbles down to my stomach. My arm is covered in strands of slime. Little twitching tendrils. I let my limb go limp as I rest my head back.
"Fukhrr..." My body aches. I can feel a thumping in my chest. My throat feels tight. Dry, too. I can't feel my toes. Something somewhere between my right thigh and abdomen area is burning. Or it feels like it's burning, at least. I can feel Shadow oozing around me and into the ground.
I struggle to raise my head up. I look over to my arm. It's still torn and broken, but... But there's something new. Burn marks. My skin looks charred at certain places. I wince. Huh...
"Wh... Whrs... Shrrt...?" My sleeve isn't there. I should have my shirt on underneath Shadow, right? So how come all I see it my arm and slime...? If... If my arm isn't covered, then... Huh. I look over to my chest-
"W-wha- Ugh! Huuuhhsss!" T-th-that's... What!? I-I-I... I'm... My... M-my... I am - my chest - where are my clothes!? I'm not - my chest is... E-exposed! My left arm rises up - strands of black goo connecting it to the oily pool around me - and I use my hand to cover myself. Why - my - where!? My clothes!?
"Shaaaa... Shooww... Saaadddd... Sha... SHADOW!" My throat burns when I speak. Even the cool air against it only makes it worse! I look down my to chest. My exposed chest... That isn't - why am I...!? Ughh! We're going to talk about this, Shadow! Shadow...? Shaaaadoooow! Not again!
I lower my arm down to my stomach. I close my eyes and let it slide down to the ground. It splashes against the ooze. They feel so cold... So nicely cold. I wish they would speak, though. I hate the quiet! I HATE IT!
"Huuusss... Uhhhhh... Hsssss... Huuuhhh..." I'm wheezing. My chest feels tight. I feel lightheaded. Everything is starting to blur. It's getting hard to breathe... O-or concentrate...
I try grabbing a hold of Shadow. I feel you slipping between my fingers and pooling back into the pond. I do it again. The feeling of that slime oozing between my fingers - all one and a half of them - is... It's nice. It helps. To know they're close even if... We're hurting.
Lightning... Lightning hurts? Them. Yeah, makes it hard for... F-for Shadow to focus. What did sonics d-do again? Uhmmm... T-they... Made Shadow... Like water? Looks like water. Feels like cold, thin, sticky water. Pa... Paralyzed? Frozen. It freezes them. And they are my heart. That's not good... Having my h-heart paralyzed.
"Huhhh... Huhhhh... Huhhhhh..." I can't see much. Just small orbs of silver. Stars? Maybe. Dozens of them... Hundreds, actually. Thousands, probably. I wanna... I wanna grab one. I squeeze onto Shadow. Maybe... Maybe we can go out there on day? You and me... I-into the stars... An adventure! Y-yeah... That's n-nice. An adventure to the stars...
'Stars? Our little, starry-eyed, Blood Flower...' Shadow? Shadow! That didn't... T-take as... Lo-long as last t-ti-time, 'Only sonics. We recover quickly from those.' G-good! Good... Gr-great!
I can feel cold tendrils slithering up shoulders and over them. I don't see it but I can feel them slithering up my legs, too. Over my arms. Down my chest. I feel them oozing around my throat, my fingers, my feet even! I can feel Shadow grabbing onto me tightly and wrapping themselves closely. It feels... Weird. Cold. Really cold. Colder then the air. Or ice. But a nice cold, ya know?
"Huhhh... H-ho... Ugh!" I can feel the coldness spreading up chin. I can feel it oozing over my cheeks, into my nose, and through my lips and down into my mouth. I gasp when they slither into both of my eyes, "Huh!" I feel tingly. My brain does. I can feel Shadow touching my brain with little tendrils. I-It's... It is... Like... Like... Lightning! But not the bad kind... The good kind! I-if there is a good kind of lightning...
"H-how... How long," I cough as I sit up and look down to my right arm. It in one piece now and covered in black slime. I smile a little. I open and close my fist. I frown, "How long... W-was... I... N-naked?" Underneath... You? So your - we are... You know what I... L-look like? My... P-parts?
'Yes. Did we not know this?' No! 'Are we upset?' Y-yeah! Kinda... It's weird! A-and... And gross! 'Yes, we are gross. Our body is. But organics are like that,' That's not what I meant! A-and... I'm gross? Gr-gross? How... H-how? I-I... I'm not - I always shower! A-and I clean up well... H-how am I gross!?
'Teasing,' A-asshole! 'Asshole? We-' You're an asshole! A... A... A jerk! 'We are not a - listen to us. It was a jab; an attempt at 'humor'. This is new to us... 'Jokes'.' How can you joke at a time like this!? Or about something so... So... Ya know! 'We... Try... To lighten the mood...?' Really? That's your excuse? 'Y... Yes?'
"Look, I get your... Your an alien. Your not a person - not like I am. You... I'm sure where your from things are different. But here - on Remnant! - undressing someone, o-or... Dressing them with new clothes without telling them is... It's extremely rude, ok?" I don't - I'm not - I... Ugh... I'll say sorry about calling you an asshole if you say sorry for not telling me I was naked, ok? That's - it's weird!
'Sorry,' T-then... I'm sorry, too, 'Good,' Yeah, good... Do you still see me? My... Ya know? Right now? 'Yes.' Oh... Oh... Oh.
I squint and purse my lips. I cross my right leg over my left thigh. I do not like this. When we get to Vale, we are... Buying clothes! Right away! I'm okay with staying together, but... With n-nothing between us? No. I need something! At least underwear and a bra.
I push myself up to my feet. I shudder as I clutch my elbows. Gross... K-kinda... Definitely weird. I feel a little weird. Like... Like... I don't know. Not a bad weird, but not... Not a good one either. Maybe both? I don't know. It's a weird feeling. I don't like it.
I look back to where the robo-thing is. It's propped up a little, pointing towards me. It's not moving. Maybe it used up the last of it's energy? I don't know... I'm not gonna wait to see, either!
I use Petal Burst to zoom right in front of it in less then a second. I grab onto it's torn shoulder and exposed chest hole. I lift it up, spin it around, and throw it! I watch it fly over the treeline and...
"Boooossshhh..." I hear it crashing down in the distance. Good. I hope it stays dead! Stupid robot... I hate it! I'm glad it's dead! Finally! We're done with it... Vale...
"Vale!" Time to... To head to Vale. The city. Probably won't get there till morning, but... I've waited this long! I can wait a little longer.
I start walking. I don't know what direction it is and I'm too tired of it all to care. I hold my arms. I shudder.
"N-naked...?" I don't... Shadow, was I like 't-that' when you found me? In the alley?
'No,' So you... You... T-took of my clothes? 'No.' Then when and how did I end up naked!? 'Several things. The fire burned our clothing. The Grimm that tore into us early on during our bond shredded what was left,' I... I guess that does make sense. I don't - ya know, Shadow, no one's seen me... Like t-that. Not since I was just a little girl, 'Ok.' Yeah, 'ok'... I just...
"A-am I really gross?" You sounded pretty serious when you said that. It didn't sound like a joke. It wasn't funny, either!
'Of course not. If we disgusted us so then would we remain?' N-no...? 'Is that not our answer, then?' N-no...? No! I just - it hurt... Even if it was a joke, it still hurt. I don't like feeling judged. I don't - I hate the stares! F-from judgers... 'We do not judge. Not us. Not our body or our spirit,' Don't joke like that then! It's just... I don't like feeling judged.
'We respect this desire,' T-thanks... 'What will we do once we arrive? To the city.' I don't know. Get some new clothes first! But after that... I don't know. I don't know where that scumbag would be! Or where to start looking, either. That shop maybe? The one where he and me started our fight in... Probably not. He's a thief. He's not gonna hit the same store twice, would he?
"I'd like some real food, too..." And some milk! Some sweet, cool, pretty milk. Some cookies to go with that would be nice, too. Maybe a comic or a magazine to read on the side? Yeah. That'd be nice... A warm bed to lay down on after I'm done eating. And a shower! A warm, relaxing sho... wer...?
"Huh. That's gonna be awkward..." How am I... Are we gonna have to shower together, Shadow? Will you like... Be drained down the into the pipes? Will that water wash you away? I wear you, so if I shower than would I really be showering at all? Wouldn't you stop the water from hitting me? And the soap, too... How well do you mix with soap? Or conditioner? Or shampoo?
'Yes, we will shower together. Water is nothing to us. We do not know 'soap' or 'conditioner' or 'shampoo'. We do not know the answer to the final question,' Weird... I don't... Do we have to shower together? 'Do we have to eat to survive?' Yeah, but that's completely different! 'Not for us. Contact is our survival. A moment alone is most... Sobering.' I just... It's weird! It's so, so, so weird! L-like... Super weird! That's... Only 'couples' shower together! And you said we're not 'together' together, s-sooo...?
'We did say that,' Yeah, you did! 'Indeed so.' Shadow! Stop avoiding the question! 'Avoiding? No. Only contemplating...' What? What are you thinking about? 'Much and more. We believe, Blood Flower, that perhaps we should focus less on menial things like 'showers' and more on the criminal.' Maybe... Maybe I should. B-but the question! Your trying to distract me, aren't you? Are you... Are you nervous?
'Us? Never,' Then why don't you answer me? 'Well... It is a complex question. Many moving parts. Different angles to look upon it from.' It's a yes or no question. Only couples shower together, Shadow, s-so... What are we? 'We are two-in-one.' Y-you... You little-
"Ah! Your impossible!" I kick a rock into a thicket. A squirrel jumps out and runs away, "Just! Answer! The! Question!" I can feel my cheeks burning up. My breathing is picking up a little. I can feel my heart - S-Shadow's heart? - beginning to beat faster, "A-are... Are we... 'T-together' together or not!?"
'We are as we are,' I stomp my foot against the ground. I cross my arms. I glare into the dark of the woods. Your starting to make me angry, Shadow... 'Anger is a pure emotion. Honest. We are most perfect and pure within it's embrace.' My cheeks grow warmer. I bite my lip. I feel my fingers twitching a little. My throat feels dry. I try to swallow.
"Th-thanks... I... Yo-your... P-pretty, too." I raise my arm up a little. I watch the silvery rays of moonlight sparkling along Shadow's skin, "I... I... I like h-how you... You look at night." In the moonlight. The sparkles. It's... It's like the sky. The little sparkles are like the stars in the night sky. It's... It's pretty.
'We appreciate the compliment,' W-welcome... I... You still didn't answer me! I... Ugh! We're talking like we're 'together' so are we or not? It's getting frustrating! One minute it's l-like we're almost a 'couple' then next we're just friends! It's confusing! 'We can be a friend. Or a 'partner' if we so desire. We have done both before,' I... I can chose? 'Of course. We will always give us the final choice - purity is equality, after all,' I'm... I... I-I don't know. What... What are we right now? 'That depends entirely on our choice.'
"I... I, uhmmm..." I place my finger to my lip. I can feel Shadow hugging me. I can feel little tendrils caressing my cheek. I close my eyes. I-I... I don't want... I don't want to lose what we have right now. I don't wanna chose one and regret it, o-or... Not chose, either! What if I pass this up and regret that, too?
"I guess, S-Shadow... I-I... I t-th-think..." C-can I chose... F-family? 'What?' I... I don't think of you like a 'partner' partner. Your too close to be just a friend, either. So... What about being family? Like... Like... S-sisters? I-I know your not a girl, but you do use my voice to talk, s-sooo...?
'Family...' Yeah, family! Y... You can... Can you be my... S-sister? My new one? Like Yang, but if she actually cared about me. Your smart, your strong, your older than me, too! Your everything a big sister should be! Except the not being a human part, but... Who cares about that! R-right?
'We... Family?' D-do... Do you not like it? I-I... It was a silly idea! I'm sorry... I-I just - I thought that... M-maybe I spoke too soon. I'm—
'Do not be sorry,' I... Ok, I won't be, 'We have... Many things have been asked of us. Many roles we have fulfilled. Many identities for many others. But... But family? None have asked for that,' Is it bad? Do you not like the idea? 'We are uncertain. We have never worn the mask of a sister before. We... We have not played this role yet. We do not know it's purpose.' Sisters don't have a purpose! Except to be there for their family, I guess. But that's what's family is for, ain't it? I mean... Do you wanna be my sister? My family? Do you... Do you wanna be... With me, as family?
'We... We would like to try,' Yes! I throw my fist into the air as I do a little jump. S-so... So what now, Shadow? C-can... Is it ok if I call you sis? 'If we so desire.' Ok, sis! S-so... We're family now! Sisters! I... I'm happy to have a sister I can rely on, Shadow. I know you'll be a better sister than Yang ever could be! A nicer, smarter, calmer one... One who actually loves me.
"W-what... Should I give you a last name then?" Cuz' I got Flower or Rose. Shadow Flower...? I kinda like that one. Or Rose Shadow? Nah. Shadow is your first name and we can't change that! "Hmm... Which do you like more, sis?" Rose or Flower?
'We are not confident in any such name,' Shadow Flower-Rose...? No. Shadow Rose-Flower? Rose Shadow-Flower? Flower Rose-Shadow? I'm not sure which one yet... What about you? 'We... Desire Shadow Rose. Or, perhaps, Blood Shadow?' Blood Shadow? Sounds like a comic book villain, but... It does have a nice ring to it. Why not both? Since I got two names, you should as well! 'Indeed. We agree to these terms.' Great!
"Your fully named, we're sisters, and we're gonna... Go for another walk," I frown. My legs feel sore. I hunch forward as my arms dangle, "Shit... Shhhiiit! I hate walking! And foreeeesssssts!" Especially this one! So many stupid trees! A-and monsters! And robots! And fire! And... D-dead deer. Poor deer... It really didn't deserve to die.
"Walking... Walking... Walking!" I loooooove me some walking! I sure do! It's grrrrrreeeeaaaaat! So much... Much... Fun... With walking. Walking! WALKING!
'We sense we do, in fact, not enjoy this walking,' Yeah, yeah... You could say that, 'So proclaim otherwise?' Because why not? I guess... I just LOVE walking for days on end! So fun! So fun...
Aria of Ashes here.
Hi! Hope your all doing well. Not too many comments to address this time, sadly. Oh well... Such is life, I suppose.
Dhestrya - Thank you again, thrice over!
That aside, there really isn't much for me to say. Next chapter will be about Ruby's arrival to the capital of Vale - so be excited for that! Otherwise, yeah... That's really it.
Goodbye, and all that. I hope you all have a wonderful time! And be safe.
For now: I will return to the void and fade into ashes.
