New story. I've had this idea on the backburner for a little bit, but was never quite sure how I would be able to pull it off. Ainz is too established to do the changes and things I want without turning him OOC. And I really want to avoid using an OC. I had thought of a fic starring Edward Elric or Roy Mustang from FMA, but there are a lot of limitations. But I've also wanted to do a fic featuring Jaune following his journey after Volume 9, and deal with his traumas.
I think this fic will combine some nice juicy elements to help me do just that :)
One another note, I will be updating my other fic The Grimm Whisperer at some point this week, likely not Monday, because I've been away from writing sick. Wish I could say the same with work, but I kinda fill an important role and my absence would cause issues, especially since we are currently understaffed, and another member is away on holidays. Oh well. At least I get paid for my troubles, so it's not like I've been suffering for free XD.
Let me know what you think.
Also, OxT's Wheeler Dealer for the new Overlord movie goes so hard, and I love it!
Chapter 1:
Remnant was a world that taught its inhabitants at an early age to not take life for granted. Not their friends and loved ones, and most certainly not your own.
As a Huntsman, Jaune knew that better than many others. He had lost so many friends and people that he cared for. That he had loved as family.
If Pyrrha's death was the first crack in his psyche, then plunging that blade into Penny's heart was a shattering point for him. There was no going back, even if deep down he knew it was the right thing to do.
It ended the suffering of a friend, transferred the power of the Maiden to summon to Winter who was much more combat-ready than Penny, and it stopped Cinder. But it didn't save the world. Atlas was still going to fall, even if they evacuated everyone.
Salem was cornering humanity, funnelling it into a single corner like rats to be exterminated in one fell swoop. Even he knew that.
And then he lost everyone again.
First Yang fell. Then Blake and Ruby.
And then Weiss fell. His first crush.
He had long since come to terms that was all it was, but despite everything, he still kept a warm kindle of love for her in his heart.
It wasn't necessarily romantic, but more of a familial bond. Like that of a brother towards a sister.
He supposed it was because of his friendship with Ruby bridging their teams together.
So it hurt hard to hear Weiss' sister, Winter, scream out her name with gut-wrenching terror.
And it hurt to realise that once again he had lost more people he had come to care about. People he loved like family. That he fought and strived to protect.
And once again, like Pyrrha, he could do nothing to protect them at all. Because once again, he was useless.
So when he fell into the abyss, as much as he was afraid, he felt at peace. Oddly enough, perhaps it was time for him to see Pyrrha again….
He felt selfish for thinking that, but just for once he wanted to be happy again.
That was until the cold ground of a sunny beach slammed into his face and had him back begging not to die.
And thus began his new life, and hell, in the Ever After as he would soon learn it was called.
Day one. He wandered around, hoping to find civilization. He didn't. So he slept the night away in the cold, all alone.
Day two. He woke up early and began his search again. He was getting hungry. Still, he persevered. He had to. Who knew how long it would be until everyone showed up, and he had to get ready to fight the good fight again?
Day three. He fucked up. Big time. This place was cursed. The place was growing clocks, and now he was positive he had just set back his arrival to this cursed place by a very, very long time. Was it days? Hopefully so. If Ruby, Weiss and the others had landed here, then it was very likely he just botched his chances of encountering them. He could be looking at years for all he knew! Gah! Curse this stupid place!
Day Seven. He found it. Civilisation at long last. And it was disappointing, he wouldn't lie.
Day Eight. Okay, somehow he found himself imprisoned by this Red Prince and forced to play his sick games? Well, screw that. He had to find a way out of this cursed place. He needed to find his teammates! HE NEEDED TO SAVE REMNANT GODS DAMMIT!
Day nine. He escaped. He cut down those crazy soldiers of his. What even were they?! They certainly weren't human, nor faunus. It didn't matter. He was stuck in this crazy place, but he would escape.
Day fourteen. He was going nowhere. Everywhere he went was insanity, and he still wasn't any closer to finding out how to get out of this cursed place. He had to slow down and pace himself. He had to get back to training and sharpening his skills.
Day twenty. Something was wrong. The world was reacting differently for some reason. He had ventured out even further than he normally did to try and find some answers, maybe even his team. But the nature was quiet. Deathly quiet. That's when he encountered it. The Jabberwalker. And what a freaky thing it was. Damn thing nearly tore his arm off. Would have killed him if not for his armour. But he survived. He had to.
Day thirty. He intensified his training. He wasn't strong enough. He nearly fell off a cliff and killed himself earlier in the morning because he wasn't being disciplined enough. And he was getting frustrated at the lack of people to talk to. At least, ones that weren't hostile.
Day thirty-five. He had accepted he wasn't leaving this place any time soon. He kept trying to get closer to the Tree, but no matter what he did, he never seemed to get there! Gah. What to do, what to do….
Day forty-two. He kept searching. He kept training. He allowed his hair to grow out fully, and he was sporting a beard. His armour was beginning to show some signs of neglect. He tried his best to maintain it, but between his training regimen and scouting, he found time was beginning to slip. He couldn't afford to rest. Strange creatures appeared at night that seemed to haunt him. Like they were Grimm or something. Either way, they made effective training when he cut them down. But when exhaustion inevitably hit him, they entered his dreams. And there was no fighting them there. He always woke up more tired than when he went to sleep.
Day fifty. He encountered another civilization of Afterans. In all his time, he seemed to miss them, not that he was complaining. Everything here seemed set against him. But these ones seemed more amicable. Maybe he could trade with them?
Day sixty-eight. It all went south. He had worked out a trade deal with the small community of… dishes and cutlery... only for the Jabberwalker to arrive and slaughter everything. He couldn't even save a plate for fucks sake!
Day 112. He had let his hair fully go, and he was now sporting a full beard and moustache. Heh. He felt like his dad at times. He often wondered how his family was doing. Vale hadn't been doing too great after the Fall of Beacon….
Day 262. He felt like he was crazy at times. He acknowledged he sometimes rambled on to himself, but now he was hallucinating. He was seeing two people, kids, wandering around.
Day 263. He wasn't crazy. Even if he was, it didn't matter. What mattered was he finally encountered people. Humans! And not of this realm, but from Remnant!
Alyx and Lewis. The first humans since it all went wrong. He was overjoyed and relieved. That was also the day he met it. The Cat. The Curious Cat.
Two weeks had passed. And it went wrong. Oh it went so wrong. The cat was evil. The tree was evil! It was all evil. And cursed. Lewis was gone. Alyx turned out to be plotting his death all along. And the Cat! He hated it. The manipulative, twisted, evil little FUCK! And now here he lay, dying as he vomited his guts and blood up. He only wished that death would grant him peace….
He didn't know the day, but it was a day he would forever remember. He found it, or rather, she found him. A strange beast. Quite tentative and wary, yet after sniffing him for a bit, trying to figure out what he was, and he it, it finally picked him onto its back and carried him off. He was too weak to resist it anyways.
He woke up the next day near a river, feeling completely replenished. He was able to move now, and so he did just that. The creature, resembling a jackelope, followed him.
Day 280. Since it wouldn't go away and was keen on following him, he decided to relent. Or rather, he had no choice despite his attempts to shoo it away. He named the strange animal Juniper. After his team. She provided him with comfort over the next lonely days and nights. She was the only Afteran that seemed to not want to hurt him.
Day 301. He found another civilization. And he was wary when he approached it. Only to relax his guard. Paper people? Really? How messed up was this place? Trees that produced clocks that wound back time, strange jackalopes, ridiculous weather? The list went on, but by now he was fairly certain he was hallucinating. Either that, or he was trapped in the world's longest fever dream.
Day 302. He learned they were called the paper pleasers. Or at least, that's what he called them. And. They. Could. Not. Go. A. Single. Minute. Without. Trying. To. Kill. Themselves.
Why?!
Day 311. He was at his wits end, trying to do his Huntsman duty and save these morons from killing themselves. Honestly, he was tempted to let them at this point! But, he remembered his vows and promise as a Huntsman; to help those in need of help. Jaune did not discriminate. And an Arc never went back on their word.
Day 342. He knew all of their routines by now. Like clockwork every single day, each and every single one of them followed an exact routine, and with careful timing, he was able to intercept and stop them. They weren't overly creative nor adaptive to his attempts, feeling that since they failed today there was nothing more to be done other than try again the next day. Honestly, it was getting a little easier now. That didn't stop some of the more clumsy amongst their ranks from stumbling into water, getting crushed by rocks, or catching fire. Or they would have, had he not been reactive enough to save them. A bunch of them were willing to let themselves be blown away by the massive storm that came through the other day for god's sake!
Day 356. When he wasn't busy saving the paper pleasers or scouting, he was training. Juniper would sit and watch him for hours until either he collapsed from exhaustion, or she fell asleep.
Day 367. He had left the paper pleasers to journey closer to the tree and learn more about this strange realm. And that's when his journey finally took him to the tree. The things he saw…. The things he experienced….
There was no way he was going to be able to escape this place. The tree was definitely evil!
Day 408. He was back with the paper pleasers. So many had killed themselves. They were all gone. He had hoped that maybe, just maybe, they would survive without him. They didn't. Now, there was a new generation of them left. Their kids he supposed. And as they grew up? They tried to emulate the exact same actions as their parents. He refused to let any more harm come to those under his care. No more! There was no escaping this place. For all he knew, those blasted clocks had sent him back over a thousand years ago, never to be seen again by his team. By his friends. So, he made a promise. No matter what, he would never allow someone to die again. And to those that tried to do his wards harm, he would kill them. Plain and simple. That was all it took, really. Just kill them. Why hadn't he done that in the first place? Against Emerald. Against Cinder. Against Mercury. Against Ironwood. Against Ozpin! It was his fault in the first place! That lying, manipulative bastard.
It was because he was weak. That's why. Plain and simple, he lacked the strength, and will to do it. No, if he ever saw any of them again, he would kill them. Because he would never allow another Pyrrha to happen again. Another Penny again. He glanced at the shattered blade that was Crocea Mors. Never again.
Day 410. He had taken to naming the paper pleasers after people he knew. People he would never see again.
Ren. Nora. Ruby. Yang. Blake. Weiss. After his siblings. His parents. Aunts, Uncles. Hell, there was even a Cardin in the mix. That was reserved for the most obtuse of the Paper-Pleasers, but even then he couldn't bring himself to hate that one. Cardin had just been a misguided jerk. But he wasn't evil. Not like his enemies.
Cinder. Emerald. Mercury. Ironwood. Salem. Ozpin. Cinder. Ozpin. Cinder. Ozpin. CinderOzpin. CinderOzpinCinderOzpinCinderOzpin!
He shook his head. He had to be strong. He couldn't let himself be dragged down by the weight of the past. That's what his friends would have said, right?
Day 463. Who was he kidding. He wasn't getting stronger. He had encountered the Jabberwalker on one of his forays out, and the thing had trounced him nearly just as easily as it had the first time. Nevermind the fact it caught him while he was sleeping. Nevermind the fact that it retreated. He had failed to defeat the foul thing. So he limped back to the town. He was an hour late, and to his horror, three of the Paper-Pleaser, no. His friends, had killed themselves. Why?! Why wasn't he strong enough! Cardin, Velvet and Scarlet. All three floated in the water as soggy remains.
Why was he so weak! He trained! He pushed his body to the limits. His physical strength was at its peak! His blows were precise, but it was never enough!
Because you're not enough, he realized darkly. Pyrrha hadn't truly cared for him, right? She took pity on the fool that he was. And he still couldn't please her, even years after her death. Ren openly revealed his disgust and disdain for him back in Atlas, or Mantle rather. Days before everything went to shit again. Sure, they had reconciled, but the words were true.
Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss? They all had rejected him. He had tried his best to be strong, but he had needed saving from them, and so once again he had proven to be the weak link. The failure.
He was a disgrace to his armour. He couldn't even save some stupid paper mashes from fucking water! NO! Not paper. People. They were his friends. Remember? Nora, Pyrrha and Ruby were still there, remember. He could even see the paper forms strolling around. So he hadn't failed them. Right?
Day 500. He wasn't worthy of the armour he wore, and so as punishment to his stained honour, he refused to clean or repair it anymore. A reminder that he wasn't some shining knight in armour. A hero. But instead a disgraced failure. The urge to run his broken blade across his own throat was so great at times that he had taken to stop shaving entirely just so we wouldn't apply a bit more pressure and succeed. He didn't deserve the easy way out. He had to live with his regrets and mistakes. His failures. Besides, how weak was he to want to kill himself? Hehehe. How weak was he to fail at even doing that and ending his own miserable life….
Day 689. Or was it 688? It didn't matter. What mattered was his hatred. That was how he found the energy to continue forward. To train harder and harder. He pushed out and fought any of the world's hostile creatures he could find, even if their aggression was minimal. Saving whatever communities nearby that he could while always returning in time to stop the Paper-Pleasers from killing themselves. It was his hatred for his enemies that kept him going.
He hated Ironwood. He hated Emerald. Who cares about her sob change of heart bullshit! She helped that BITCH murder Pyrrha! And he hated her with a passion.
Cinder. Oh how he dreamt of running a blade through that foul creature's abdomen. NO! He was a Huntsman! Huntsmen didn't dream of revenge, they fought to protect and save lives, just as he was doing!
Still, that didn't stop nor simmer his anger towards Cinder.
And Ozpin. That lying manipulative, twisted, parasite! He pushed for Pyrrha to become a Maiden and got her killed. He dragged him and his friends on some hopeless journey to fight an enemy he himself admitted was all but impossible to defeat. And then he had the audacity to demand unity and trust, when he had LIED to them all. To HIM!
He hated everyone. But the two he hated the most were Cinder and Ozpin. Only one other person topped that.
Himself.
Day 3244. Or was it 3056? Nonono! It was 3181. It didn't matter. Only his training and mission did.
He actively hunted anything remotely hostile in the Ever-After. What once was frightening and challenging was now laughably easy and crumbled under him.
Did he sleep? Hardly at all. Did it matter? No. Was he definitely crazy and insane and whatever other label people would throw at him? Most certainly. But he didn't care. So he kept training.
Day 5000? 6000? How many years had it been at this point. Fifteen? It felt like a lifetime at this point. That's when it happened. He met them.
Team RWBY. After so many years trapped here trying to… what was he even trying anymore? It didn't matter. They were here. It was them, right? It wasn't the fucking Cat playing with his mind again was it?
Day fucking whatever. It was Team RWBY alright. Come to save the fucking day with their genius fucking plans. Yang was a brash headstrong idiot more interested in hooking up with Blake than actually trying to help her own sister and save Remnant. Speaking of Ruby, the girl was absolutely delusional! Weiss was acting strange. And Blake…. He seethed. She seemed more infatuated with Yang than saving Remnant!
Day… why bother keeping track? He would remember this day, if only because Ruby and everyone else saw fit to kill them. His friends. The paperpleasers. Once again, he was Jaune-useless-fucking-Arc.
They encountered the blasted Cat again. The Jabberwalker. And Neo. That caught his attention.
The Cat could hide. The Jabberwalker could run. But Neo would not be allowed to escape justice for her part in her crimes. For destroying Beacon. For helping Cinder kill Pyrrha. For destroying Vale. For destroying Atlas! For killing so many people, including forcing his hand with Penny!
She would NOT be escaping him. He was going to kill her. There would be no mercy. He wasn't going to grace her with an opportunity to surrender.
And true to his word, when they did eventually clash, where Team RWBY struggled, he barged right through and bashed her Aura down with sheer fury.
Her arrogance quickly turned to concern as she realised that she was outmatched against him. He wasn't a little boy, or helpless Huntsman-in-training anymore. He was a warrior. And so, for the first time, he saw his training show results when he tore through her Aura. He would have very nearly succeeded in killing her if it wasn't for her SUMMONING THE JABBERWALKER?! WAS THIS ALL A MINDFUCK AGAINST HIM?! HER! FUCK OFF!
The Tree loomed ahead, and everyone was tense.
They fought Neo. But they were too late. She had Ruby. All she had to do was run….
She killed herself. She fucking killed herself.
Ruby, who had always been so dependable. Who was always the beacon of hope for him. For everyone! Who motivated him and everyone! His first friend at Beacon. And the one he yelled at not even a day ago….
She killed herself. All while that smug bitch Neo and the Cat watched.
DAMN THEM ALL!
So in heavy despair, Jaune found himself in a final showdown with Neo, now possessed by the Curious Cat. Perfect. Two evils with one sword strike to make everything right. At least for himself.
Somehow, throughout this entire rollercoaster of emotions, it turned out Ruby was still alive! She just needed to find herself, whatever sort of bullshit that was. But he would take it. He just wanted his friends back. All of them. He couldn't bear to lose anymore.
The fight drew near, and victory was in sight as Ruby awakened and burst forth, her signature style of combat making him falter as the sheer nostalgia hit him.
Everything was going to be alright, he realised with a smile. Every single sacrifice, every hardship? It was worth it as his friends were with him, and he with them. And now with the Cat defeated and Neo bound to be trapped here, he was free to leave the Tree and go home….
He should have known better than to dare think he could escape with his friends. The Brother Gods were always watching, interfering, and cursing him.
Right as he went to step through the portal back to Remnant, he was pulled from the world once again. He could only listen as his friends cried out in horror as once again he was snatched from his family. His friends….
He didn't know where he was again this time. Somewhere different. Somewhere strange. Somewhere he didn't belong. A void. Much like the one that he originally fell into, only much more depressing. There was no light, only ever-pervading darkness that threatened to swallow him whole….
He wanted to cry, but he had long since expended his tears, so all he could do was resign himself to whatever fate he was now cursed to wander.
He awoke in a new world. He knew it was a new world because of the way it felt to him. Remnant was normal. It was home. The Ever-After was… trippy. Like a fever dream, and not just because of its strangeness, but in the way he always felt light-headed and off.
This place was much like the last, only it was much more restrictive. It felt like he had no autonomy over himself. Not fully anyways.
He couldn't breathe, but oddly enough, it felt as if he didn't need to. He wasn't choking or turning blue.
He couldn't feel the weight of his armour as much as he normally did. It was is if he were moving naked. That's how fluid his movements felt. And yet, on the other hand, they felt stiff and disconnected from what his mind demanded. Like he was experiencing a sort of lag that he used to get in those stupid old videogames he used to play as a little kid. As if his body had to process what his mind asked of it.
And then there was the general fog over his mind that seemed to supress his thinking for some reason, like he was drugged or concussed. It prevented him from focusing on his situation fully.
He still had enough situational awareness to check his surroundings for danger, but it didn't stop him from feeling as if his mind was somehow shackled. It was an odd feeling. No, scratch that.
Everything he was feeling was strange. And not in a way he was overly comfortable with.
Now that he actually looked around and took in his surroundings, he observed his new world location.
To say it was extravagant was really underselling it, even for a basic conference room.
He was stood in a large room with a massive circular conference table, dozens of chairs pushed in around it. All while colourful tapestries and artwork could be observed adorned marble walls with gold-inlayed support pillars.
And seated directly in front of him, yet somehow still tall enough to be meeting his confused gaze at even eye-level, was the biggest humanoid Grimm he had ever seen.
It was dressed in purple robes that exposed an angry glowing orb within its ribcage, while flaming red eyes glared across at him.
"So, I have decided to accept you as Guildmate at Hero-Hero's suggestion."
The Grimm talked.
The Grimm fucking talked.
He took a surprised step back, all while reaching for his sheathed sword. Crocea Mors, broken or not, would still do its job. Even if he died trying.
It was clear this Grimm was highly dangerous if it was capable of mastering complex speech, beyond even the Hound back at Atlas.
His reactions felt slow. That strange disconnect between his mind and body was showing as he was only just slowly starting to move.
And then a voice exploded in his head.
DO NOT UNDO MY HARD WORK, WORLD-WALKER.
He felt himself freeze.
His days in the Ever After were clearly catching up to him, because now the voices in his head were getting much louder.
The Grimm continued to speak, its voice sounding ever so human.
"Normally this isn't something we grant, but considering it's… well… it's the last day, I suppose we can bend some rules. Your friend here vouches for you," the Grimm gestured with jerk of its head towards to a purple blob shimmering at a nearby chair.
"Will you give me reason to doubt you?" it asked.
Jaune wasn't overly paying much attention to that, however, on account of the insurmountable pressure being applied on his mind by the voice.
He fought two battles. One in his mind to ease the mental pressure, and another with his hand to reclaim control of his motor-neurons and draw his sword and kill the creature before him.
CEASE YOUR PITIFUL DISPLAY.
"Never," Jaune gritted out.
He was a Huntsman. He was a warrior. He will never stop fighting, until the day he inevitably dies.
HMPH. THAT COULD BE TODAY IF I SO DESIRE.
"Ha, well that's a relief," exclaimed the Grimm with an exuberant voice.
"Hopefully you'll like what you see. I know you won't be able to see everything, but if you're interested when Yggdrasil 2 is finally released, hit me up and we can reform the guild."
LISTEN WELL IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE, WORLD-WALKER.
It wasn't like he was going to get a choice.
YOU HAVE DARED TO WALK INTO MY WORLD. BUT I AM MERCIFUL.
Funny. He wasn't.
"Anyways. Hero-Hero said he's going to log off. Might as well show you something impressive before it's shutdown time. Come follow me."
The Grimm was rambling. It was just as touched in the head as he was. Great.
AS YOU HAVE INTRUDED UPON MY EXPERIMENT, YOU ARE THEREFORE MINE TO DO AS I PLEASE WITH.
The Grimm stood up and Jaune stepped several more paces back. Painfully slowly and sluggishly.
YOU WILL START BY GOING ALONG WITH YOUR OTHER HOST.
Other host…? What in the Brother Gods was going on?
His head exploded in pain, and he doubled over in pain, clutching his helmed head.
DO NOT EVER MENTION THEM AGAIN! The voiced seethed. Its fury was apparent in the major migraine it forced upon his mind.
As the giant skeletal Grimm began to stroll out of the conference room, the pain subsided and Jaune felt himself stand up slowly.
The voice returned, this time much calmer.
SO YOU ARE THEIR SPAWN….
Jaune instantly knew what the voice alluded to as a creation of the God Light. That didn't mean he was any less resentful of being denigrated as an experiment for petty gods.
The voice was silent. Seeing the reprieve, Jaune bolted.
He flew out of the conference room, only to come to a grinding halt as he was met with a massive carpeted hallway adorned with artwork, busts, statues, and other expensive furniture that travelled its length. Chandeliers hung from a high ceiling and illuminated everything evenly and fully.
The skeletal Grimm was waiting for him, but it didn't seem interested in attacking him.
Beside him was an elderly man dressed in a black suit, with sharp features and grey hair. He locked eyes with Jaune, or at least tried to. The visor to his rusted helmet was down, obscuring his features.
IF YOU WISH TO SURVIVE, I WOULD SUGGEST KEEPING IT THAT WAY….
Well, that wasn't half ominous.
Still, now that he got his bearings and thought about, the giant Grimm had not attacked him. And there was a human male seemingly following the giant creature in lock step several paces behind.
With reluctance, he stayed his blade. The creature said to follow him, did it not?
Perhaps then he would get some answers.
Jaune cautiously trudged behind the giant creature and old man, all while his mind took in the very ornate and elaborate surroundings of his environment.
The hallways and rooms he passed screamed wealth beyond imagine.
Even the Schnee manor paled in comparison to the sheer exuberance of clearly expensive artefacts on display.
Everything seemed to be inlaid with gold, made of gold, or designed to be paired off with gold.
And it was all sitting in open display. A thief like Emerald or Roman would have had a hayday.
His face soured at their names.
Roman was dead. Emerald deserved death too, frankly.
"Well, here we are! The Throne Room."
The giant skeletal figure boomed out excitedly. Its robes swished around as it wheeled on Jaune and threw its bony arms out wide.
He braced himself for an attack. One that never came.
The beast was merely showboating, he realised.
"Hmm," it seemed lost in thought as it turned to look down at the sudden row of colourful maids lined up against the cavernous double doors.
"Normally you are not permitted entry into the Throne Room. Ah, but I suppose I can grant an exception today. I already am with everything else."
Jaune quickly glanced at them.
At first glance, they seemed human. But there were many differences he was quick to spot.
A stern looking woman with glasses wore heavy plated armour and gauntlets, while the blonde one had sharpened high-heeled boots. The ginger with an eye-patch seemed analytical in her gaze, and was likely a cyborg, if not a full automaton like Penny originally was.
The redhead was clearly a faunus judging by the ears atop her head. Another wore a strange mask and… was that a faunus-trait concerning the hair? He didn't get a proper look before the giant skeleton pushed open the massive doors and strode into the room.
"With me," it commanded, and instantly the maids and old man followed it.
They were loyal followers, Jaune observed.
And likely trained as he paid heed to the armaments some of them sported.
With nothing else to do, he sceptically followed everyone into the Throne Room.
The ceiling was ridiculously high, and dozens of massive pillars, each with a flag, travelled down either side of the long carpet up to dais where a massive throne could be seen perched at the top. There was a figure in the distance next to said throne, but it was too far to make out.
As they walked, Jaune's mind was abuzz with questions.
Where was he? Who was the giant creature. What was the giant creature? Why were these people loyal to it? How could he get back home!
OH FOOLISH MAN. THIS IS YOUR HOME NOW.
What?!
I HAVE DECIDED TO ADD YOU TO THE EXPERIMENT.
He couldn't take it anymore. They had all barely reached the bottom of the dais, and the maids and man instantly knelt as the strange skeletal figure ascended the stairs. That was when Jaune blurted out in barely kept anger.
"Experiment? What experiment?!"
"Hmm? I beg your pardon?" the bony visage turned to lock its fearsome gaze upon him, but he paid it little heed.
No, maybe he should. For all he knew, it was the source of the voice in his head.
"Who are you?!" he demanded.
The creature seemed to recoil slightly.
"I'm… Momonga? I'm Hero-Hero's friend and Guildmaster. We've known each-other for years? Don't you remember?"
The creature, Momonga, seemed convinced it knew him?
Well, he didn't!
DO NOT RUIN MY HARD WORK FOR YOUR OPPORTUNITY!
Oh fuck this voice. If he had a gun, he would probably shoot himself in the head if it meant making this voice shut up and get rid of the headaches it was inducing.
It recoiled at that. Violently.
INSOLENT! THE EXPERIMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, AND ALREADY YOU ARE TRYING TO RUIN IT! BE SILENT, AND LISTEN!
Suddenly he felt himself unable to speak. His tongue ceased to work and his lips remained locked in place.
His eyes widened underneath.
Was he dealing with another Afteran, or worse, another God? Like the Brother gods or the Blacksmith?!
His mind exploded in white fury and he collapsed to his knees with a groan as the voice roared in his head. Its scream grated at the back of his mind and echoed inside his skull like a hand-grenade that had gone off in sealed room.
I TOLD YOU TO NOT EVER MENTION THEIR NAMES!
The words echoed in his mind, and the words seared themselves deep into his brain.
By the time his vision cleared and his hearing returned, the creature – Momonga, was standing around, busy talking to itself or the winged woman in a white dress.
TO GIVE YOU A FAIR CHANCE, I WILL GIVE THE NAMES OF THE MONGRELS IN THIS ROOM. THE LEADER OF THE MAIDS IS CALLED YURI. HER SUPERIOR IS THE 'OLD MAN'. SEBAS. HIS PEER IS THE HORNED WHORE, ALBEDO.
Wait, what?
AND NONE OF THEM ARE HUMAN.
That wasn't necessarily a problem. He had worked with faunus before –
THESE ARE NOT FAUNUS, FOOL. The voice was irritated, and Jaune could feel the creeping mental pressure steadily resume as it let its ire be known to him.
PERHAPS TO GIVE A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT I MEAN, I SHOULD PULL IN A LOVED ONE YOU CHERISH AND LET YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS ONCE THE EXPERIMENT BEGINS.
His blood chilled.
What was this voice saying….
Suddenly, a shimmer of light was observed out the corner of his eye.
With mounting dread, Jaune turned to see what had just been summoned.
It was his jackelope, Juniper.
She just sat there in a hunched position. He felt his heart drop.
His normally strong mount and companion was nervous. He could see it in her hunched posture, and the way her eyes darted sporadically, eying all of the rooms occupants fearfully, and him with desperation.
Momonga turned to face Juniper with sudden interest.
"Oh? That's a unique summon? Is that the rumoured mount of the Rusted Knight?"
By now, Jaune had way too many questions.
He didn't know what to say. This Momonga knew of him. Was it another one of these fucking gods?!
He wanted to scream and ask, but unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans as Momonga spoke up again.
With a saddened sigh, Momonga stepped away from the woman, Albedo, and faced Jaune.
"Ah well. It's a shame. I don't have time to show off my own summons unfortunately," he lamented, a wisp of nostalgia hinted in the undercurrent of his voice.
"Thirty seconds to shutdown, huh? Well, guess I'll see you in Yggdrasil 2. Don't be a stranger, come visit me in person. Hero-Hero said he was going to meet up with me in a couple months."
Jaune was slack-jawed.
"What are you…" he trailed off. He never got to hear what the skeletal figure was about to say as the strange voice in his head roared with thunderous glee.
DON'T EVEN BOTHER! I ARTIFICALLY ALTERED HIS MEMORIES TO RECOGNISE YOU HERE, JUST AS I WILL ALTER THEM TO FORGET YOU LATER. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.
The voice cackled in his head, and he winced in pain as the sound of a time counting down T-minus 10 could be vaguely heard.
I AM CURIOUS WHAT A CREATION OF THEIRS WOULD HAVE TO OFFER ME. HOW WILL YOU FARE IN MY EXPERIMENT. OH BUT I SUPPOSE I BETTER GIVE YOU A FAIR CHANCE. ENJOY MY ONE-OF BOON, WORLD-WALKER….
And just like that, the voice faded away as the counter hit zero. The pressure on his mind lifted like a bullhead suddenly pulling out of a nosedive. Instantly, his mind cleared up. The fog was now gone, and his movements lost their sluggishness from earlier.
They weren't the only changes however.
Juniper let out terrified squeal as she reared onto her hind legs, the maids all turning their attention to her with murderous expressions.
Albedo let out a desperate scream of "Lord MOMONGA!" And Sebas looked as if his heart had been suddenly wrenched from him.
His own heart plummeted as fast as his hand did to his sword.
He didn't not know what the hell was even going on, but he was damned if he was going to let Juniper be hurt!
With a furious roar, he leapt forward in front of Juniper protectively.
The sheer speed of his movements nearly caught him off-guard, but he wasn't about to question his luck.
Crocea Mors came out of its sheath with well-practiced ease. He landed in front of his terrified companion and swung his sword in a powerful arc to push the maids back. All of whom looked surprised. That surprise turned to sheer terror when he spoke with feral fury levelled at them.
"Don't you dare fucking touch her…."
Well, we'll see how this fic turns out.