Alright! RGQC here and it's good to be back and time we continue on where we left off. So, this is the start of a new chapter for a new yeah, and I suppose it's time to start on some major stuff. I only hope you'll enjoy it, since I've been crafting this confrontation for some time now.
Let's just say things will go deeper by the end of this chapter. But, like always, comments!
BrimazKing: Yeah, with no word from what I have heard on volume 10, I suppose it's bound that interest would begin to wane in the fanfiction department. Even I am even starting to wonder if I should bring my focus on other genres and other types of worlds to write on. As no doubt you have seen, most of my content has stuff from RWBY in it.
Nevertheless, yep. He got fragments of his memories back, but it'll be a long while before he fully remembers everything. Of course, his personality will continue to shift thanks to it and the environment he's in. For good or for worse. Only time will tell where Jade walks next.
Fenrir's Fang96: Well, to be honest with you, I don't have any intention to include anyone else from Earth in this story, unlike my other one. (As you no doubt know who.) This will mainly focus on Jade and, I suppose, how one person changes the story's path. Like motivations or even characters entirely.
With that done, we're done with the comments, and It's time we get this chapter on the roll! As usual, I do not own RWBY, only my OCs in this story. RWBY belongs to Viz Media now. (Come on. Do something already…)
Months…
That's how long that has been since Jade got a memory fragment of who he truly was when he accidentally knocked himself out. Months had passed, and he had become more proactive and tried again and again to free himself from his chains. His regained memories have brought new perspectives and new personalities to deal with, as much as it is unsettling to know that part of his memories came from another world that sees the future of Remnant as a story.
Well, that and apparently having the same crush on Blake, but it simply reinforces his love for her and made him more determined to get out of here to see her again. That and where he once hoped to wait out until his father could rescue him, now Jade will now at least attempt to use what he learned under his master to free himself.
Of course, being unfamiliar to the whole underhanded tactics of stealing and breaking through locks despite Harl's teachings as well as sneaking, the little cat Faunus has been caught every single time and his master would punish him severely for his attempts. Furthermore, Jade felt himself somewhat more mature and calculative, even more so than before, and the others even noticed this slight personality change.
Most importantly, his master himself, Harl.
Who only ramps up his training after his reawakening through the various arts of combat as well as firearms training, and Jade absorbs each one of these skills like a sponge. Even going to the point of ensuring that the little cat Faunus is literate enough, which honestly baffles him to the core since it wouldn't make sense for a bandit leader to teach him how to read and write, among other more intermediate topics.
It got to the point that Jade could only conclude that Harl is moulding him to become something else for him. What exactly remains unknown for now, but that won't stop him from trying to free himself. Even if he has to keep trying again and again. Currently, Jade was in his cell, which has dramatically improved in terms of living quality as he now has a proper somewhat comfortable bed, table and chair in it with a nice mat on the floor for him to meditate on.
Harl has been quite insistent on seeking to push the cat Faunus to his limit until he can unlock his semblance through this. However, every attempt has failed despite all sorts of aura training sessions and how exhausting each day can be. Through all those torturing training, Jade did pick up a glimpse of his master muttering something about his semblance being a game changer.
How he seemed to foresee what his semblance could be, he can offer to himself only theories, of various reasons how his master seems to know so much.
But today and the past few days were different, rumours about a Huntsman going on a one-man attempt to tear down the entire camp with many of their tributaries and gathering posts going silent and how Harl seems to be doing nothing about it which is causing quite the disturbance among the bandits. And hearing that made a sense of rising hope within the cat Faunus.
His father is coming to get him!
But despite that, new maturity tempered his excitement and now plans another breakout soon. However, it appears that Harl must have been aware of that because there were more guards watching him. Opening his eyes, Jade narrows them at the handful of bandit guards in Harl's own personal tent before picking up the footsteps of his master, which he has come to identify easily with how long he has been around him.
Pushing past the door curtain into his tent and without even acknowledging Jade staring at him through his cage, Harl walks over towards his personal rack which holds his halberd, other weapons as well as his armour. While still in his cage, the cat Faunus watches his master curiosity while he began arming himself and wearing his armour. "Why is he carrying them now?" Jade ponders to himself, since he has been muted for months at this point.
Yet, he got no answers because Harl soon left the tent without a second word, but he did pick up something from his master's expressions, and it filled him with worry. His master, unlike the countless times of seeing his face, is visibly silent with what looks like pain in his eyes. Almost as if he hates to do what needs to be done, but is what he has to.
Plus, the belief that his father is going to save him from this man, and that paints an awful picture that is bound to scare Jade to the core. And truth be told, as soon as Harl left his camp, he could only heave out a breath with sheer mental exhaustion as his eyes glowed rainbow again.
"Raven, you sly bitch. Planning to screw me over at this point with not only my buddy but with the Kingdom, huh? Guess I'll have to move the camp elsewhere soon, after dealing with my old partner. Besides, it's time for this dance of ours to end. I can't let you stop me, old buddy, not when I have come too far to lose now…" And thus, the bandit leader swiftly wipes all pain and exhaustion from his face as he begins sprinting ahead.
The battle between partners will never have a happy end should either party win this oncoming fight. One fighting out of revenge and taking back his child, and the other fighting to preserve every sacrifice he has made and make it all worth it in the end. Just with all things, there will always be a winner.
And a loser.
Melo POV
Days upon days. Weeks upon weeks. And months upon months. This war of mine has been taxing on me. Every time I took out a food outpost or tributary gang, another would spring up elsewhere. Harl's bandits have begun relocating and moving faster than I could ever have predicted, but to my utter frustration, he hasn't shown himself yet!
This is getting exhausting, constantly chasing after them.
It is almost as if they know my location and where I will attack next somehow.
Besides that, I haven't shaved in a while and started to sport a goatee. A messy one at that, but with me on the constant move dealing with his goons and liberating his slaves, I haven't found an opportune moment to rest my mind. After all, my baby kitten's still on my mind for weeks on end, and I found myself fearing for his body and mind. I still don't know much, but I did manage to squeeze some information out from my latest victims that my partner's training my son in his literacy as well as combat and survival skills for some reason.
What are you planning with my son, Harl? You were never like this before. You were closed off when we first became partners, yes, but you grew to care about the team. Throughout our years in Haven, you never seemed to unlock your Semblance, but you made it up with your skill with your weapon, and with me.
I hate you. Still do for everything you've done. But until now, I still wonder what happened to you? Why did you betray us all for a bunch of thieves and murderers?
Though calling you out for hanging out with murders would be hypocritical of me with my kill count rising. I think my kill count is in the forties at this point. But I got a mission to save my son and as I promised myself, no matter how much blood I must spill in my wake, I'll get him back from them and back to our family.
And my baby kitten… What is Harl doing to you? I remember he commented about keeping you as a pet, but that contradicts what I learned that he's teaching you all sorts of stuff. It is almost as if he has a plan to turn you into a weapon or something. And that thought alone scares me to no end. But I can't be afraid. Not just for his and my sake, but for my dear's sake at home and our baby bird too.
But now there's one last camp to take out, and his disgusting tribe will begin to starve. Harl better show himself, or I'll carve my way through his camp to get to him myself if I have to! Nonetheless, just in case if things don't go as planned, I can always retreat and try again, though not for long because I am not entirely sure if my baby kitten can take it all.
But please, my son. Hold on…
Daddy's coming to get you out of there.
In Menagerie, months had passed since Blake had officially talked to Adam and the two, while awkward at the start with either of them only talking for a bit whenever they met, had begun to get along well enough with their shared grief and pain and even overall just talking to each other about life. In a strange way, Adam and Blake had enabled both of them to gradually heal from their pain, with the bull Faunus becoming more talkative and the cat Faunus becoming less reclusive than before.
And while Kali and Ghira were understandably worried about their baby kitten interacting with someone whose allegiance is with Sienna's ever-growing control of the violent part of the White Fang, they were at least happy to see their daughter now slowly recovering and even opening up to not only them but to the Grayson family as well and even occasionally visiting little Bianca as well at her own volition.
Of course, that wasn't all.
It was also during this time that Ghira continued leading more rallies with the rest of the Fang all over Remnant, while Blake stayed behind due to her decision not to follow her father. Adam had started practising with her occasionally in their nightly spars at his request. This was funny to Blake because he was older than she was by a few years and yet, more skilled in a fight.
And it was during these few months that the cat Faunus learned more of Adam's background. How he and his parents were once working underneath the Schnee company under Nicolas Schnee, the original founder of the Schnee Dust Company, and apparently, he treated all his employees well, no matter if they're Human and Faunus.
However, that quickly changed when his son-in-law Jacques Schnee took over. Once he had fully secured the company, the new CEO began cutting corners and underpaying his employees what they earned. Especially those of Faunus heritage, by cutting their wages and also stripping any sense of worker protections in addition to making them work in dangerous conditions without proper gear or safety checks in place.
All that caused workplace accidents to rise at a staggering rate, all for a quick influx of cash to expand further on mining operations at the cost of increased worksite mortality.
Understandably, Blake was horrified that someone like Jacques would do such a thing when Nicolas had ensured that his workers were treated fairly. It got even worse when Adam revealed that his parents were the first to organise protests against the new changes to the law but thanks to Jacques having the Board of Directors and Altas behind him, those protests and strikes were quickly quashed and even more tragically, both his parents' died weeks after that day due to an 'worksite accident'.
But Adam suspected that it wasn't a coincidence that his parents were targeted to send a message.
Cease the protest, or you will be removed from the table altogether.
It got even worse after that when Adam took up the mantle which his parents had left behind at a young age and began organising more protests until he was swiftly arrested and shown why they should stop protesting. By branding his face with the SDC logo and sending him back to the others as an example.
Ever since that day he was branded and sent back, not many people were willing to launch a strike over their fears of being branded as such because he wasn't the only one branded. When others tried to organise as Adam once did, they were swiftly given the same fate and sent back and thus, Adam's hatred for the Schnee Dust Company grew and grew upon seeing his people suffer at the hands of this wretched company his family once worked for.
Eventually, when there's an opportunity to escape the mines, he took it and fled Atlas to join the White Fang in its goals of achieving the rights that they should have. Of course, seeing how his passive ways of change had only earned him nothing but loss and pain, he was all too willing to buy into Sienna Khan's more radical way of achieving equality.
Blake, on the other hand, could only balk at the very thought of the Schnee Dust Company committing such illegal actions, but this allowed her to understand why he chose to follow Sienna despite being averse to her more violent calls thanks to her own beliefs she held. Understandably, both she and Adam came to verbal debates over the White Fang's future, since the daughter of the Belladonnas still believed in her father's passive ways of achieving equal rights compared to Sienna's more violent approach despite the pain she felt at Jade's kidnapping.
Still, then slowly becoming friends was a good start for either of them to understand the other and understand their struggles. Adam even understood why Blake was so heartbroken about Jade's kidnapping upon learning how they have always been by each other's side since they were babies. They were, in short, inseparable, and not having him by her side made Blake more anxious than she should have been.
"Is there any news about Jade?" Blake could only ask while resting on the couch with a tea cup in hand while Amranth was in the middle of tending to Bianca. "It has been months at this point…" Her cat ears sink as she mutters out.
"I'm sorry, but there has been no news about him. My husband hasn't sent a message about it yet. But I know he is still out there looking for him." Amranth said before she sat next to Blake with a resting Bianca in her arms.
"How do you know he's still out there?"
Blake could only ask as she looked up at Jade's mother, who could only softly smile at her. "I just know it. My dear is not one to rest when he has his eyes set on something. Jade will return to us. I just have a feeling he would eventually." She says while brushing her baby bird's hair aside.
"Oh…"
…
A moment of silence passes by.
It is rare that they have a moment to talk it out. Mainly because Blake still doesn't like Leathad, but not to the point of hating her. Still, the cat Faunus would rather stay away than let her anger get the best upon seeing and reliving the maid's failure to protect him. The only reason she's talking to Amranth right now is that Leathad is out of the house dealing with some business given by her.
"I miss him…" Blake mumbled as she slowly held up a photo of Jade, which she kept with her all this time.
"We all do." Amranth muffled after a short while later. "He was always one to be by your side and, I suppose, be the mature one between the two of you." She giggles upon seeing the pout she got from Blake before she to giggles in agreement with a small smile.
"Yeah… I guess he was…"
…
Another moment of silence passed by before Blake took a sip of tea to ease the uncomfortable feeling she's feeling. Every day has become a struggle, not only seeking to make herself strong too, but also how conflicted the cat Faunus feels about this very situation she found herself in. She was born in the White Fang and truly believes in her father's goals through non-violence.
But the lack of results and now losing Jade to bandits had made her question herself. How long must her people suffer from discrimination and being nothing but second-class citizens? Hearing Adam's story of what happened between his family and the Schnee Dust company made her wonder why.
Why did they do that?
And why did the rest of Atlas support such inhuman treatment, all in the name of cutting costs and profit? Don't get her started on how those who hurt her people seem to get away scot-free time after time with minimal punishment. And yet, her father insists on not retaliating back.
She gets it.
Jade told her how violence causes more violence. Like a circle. They hurt them, they hurt back out of revenge, which only makes the first group retaliate back out of revenge and repeat. But there needs to be a line where enough is enough, change won't come by waiting for it. And Blake is starting to see that the White Fang needs to take a more proactive stance.
But not through the path the radicals under Sienna believe. But through humanitarian aid and showing that her people deserve to be seen as equal to Humanity. But they're lacking in Lien and resources to do just that. Blake remembered attending one of the radical's rallies to learn more of their plans, and they showed interest in targeting and taking everything those who are discriminatory against Faunuses
With a major focus on the Schnee Dust Corporation's cargo to secure the Dust, they need to keep going.
All of it doesn't fill her with confidence at all. But what can she do? Yes, she is the daughter of the Chieftain of Menagerie, but what else? She still has much to learn to fight and to eventually unlock her aura, plus learning as much as she could from her father to one day take over him as a worthy leader.
Even despite it all, it doesn't matter at all with her wish right now that Jade will be alright and by her side again…
But until that day comes, she will do her best to learn all she can and train as hard as she is physically possible, so that when they finally reunite, she will be stronger to protect him. Strong enough that another tragic problem like this can never happen again. Strong enough that she'll never have to stand aside and feel helpless to do anything while whom she cares the most for suffers.
Finishing all her tea with a single gulp with a tense look, Blake places the teacup on the table. "Thank you for the tea, auntie Amranth, but I need to do something." She excused herself, while the Grayson matriarch blinked with surprise.
"Oh. Well… I see… Thank you for visiting me anyway, I suppose I shouldn't take any more of your time."
"Yeah. I'll see you again soon." Breathing out through her nose slowly with her ears visibly flattened against her head and eyes narrowed slightly, Blake turned and left without saying a word. Just thinking about Jade makes her chest feel unbearably tight, and serves as a constant, painful reminder that she's helpless to save him from that fate.
There is nothing else to do here, and she needs to continue her training to become stronger.
Not for her sake.
But for those, she cares about.
This is it. This is the next encampment he needs to take out. Melo's gaze seems to narrow as he wanders through the forest and uses the local vegetation as cover to get closer. He had made much progress in the months, taking out bandits after bandits and liberating their slaves in the process.
And now one of the last few outposts lies within reach. If Melo can take it out, the tribe will begin to deplete their food supply and eventually starve with him constantly taking out their food income. Or at least, that's the plan if the snake Faunus didn't pick up the sound of someone walking straight at him. And it didn't take a fool to understand who was coming.
"About time you show yourself bastard…" The Grayson Patriarch could only back slowly and blend into the forest before Harl appears within the deep forest, all geared up and ready for a fight. Resting his halberd on his shoulder as soon as he stopped, the bandit chieftain, teal eyes, bounced all over the surrounding trees before finally calling out with a rumble.
"Melo. I know you're there. Show yourself." And just like that, the snake Faunus emerges from the trees, all while giving one hell of a glare to his 'partner'. Interestingly enough, Harl could only offer a surprised look at the state his partner was in. "Bloody hell, Melo. You really let yourself down the rabbit hole, didn't you? You look like shit."
Truth to his words, all the time Melo has been hunting for his son, he has begun to look much wearier and even his clothes are slightly tattered, and his armour covered in small dents from past skirmishes. It also didn't help that he had been so focused on finding a way to rescue Jade that his hair had grown long enough to be tied into a ponytail, while now sporting a goatee where once his face would have been clean-shaven.
"Yeah, and who do you think is responsible for that?" Melo sarcastically retorts. "Now where the hell is my son, Harl? If I have to tear through you and your pathetic tribe to get to him, I will." He growled at the end, all while drawing both Alpha and Beta out of their sheaths. But, Harl didn't seem that bothered at all, and instead raised an eyebrow at his partner.
"You tore through my boys like they're paper, you know?" Harl mutters with a slight tilt of his head. "If you want your kid back after hunting for my ass for months straight. You better show that you have what it takes, old buddy! We ain't the same boys we were back in Haven, and this cat and mouse game ends here!"
"Oh, it will end here, you bastard. With you dead on the GROUND!"
And with a thunderous roar, Melo charges in with such reckless hate that Harl immediately takes several steps back before charging ahead and clashing their weapons against each other. In the instant their blades clashed, Melo immediately brings Harl's halberd down towards the ground before spin kicking him away and throwing Beta like a javelin straight at him, all in one swift and blistering motion.
Understandably caught off guard by the sheer no-nonsense attitude his partner was showing, Harl immediately plants his halberd into the ground to slow his flight before tilting his head to the side as Beta barely misses his face. Only for his partner to appear before him with Alpha already drawn and swinging for his neck without any rest.
In what can be considered almost instantly, the Bandit leader leans back far enough so that Alpha passes just over his nose by an inch before swinging his head back forward and headbutting straight into Melo's chest with enough force to knock the raging snake Faunus stumbling back. And just like that' his eyes began shimmering rainbow again for a second, and he saw where his partner would do next with his back turned.
"It's a shame it took me having your child as a pet to drive you this far, you know. With your determination you've shown, I think you'll put everyone back in Haven to shame." Harl mused almost casually before Melo grabs a plant Dust grenade from his coat and throws it at him.
"That day had long passed, Harl!" Melo hisses before his opponent catches and throws the Dust grenade aside without even looking as it explodes before vines sprout all over the place and even new trees begin growing on the spot rapidly. And with that, the clash between the two partners rages on, with Harl swiftly blasting Melo with his shotgun while the snake Faunus swerves around them before the bandit leader sends a sidekick that misses completely.
Only for Melo to catch his foot before brutally slamming his elbow down onto Harl's knee and sending the Bandit down on the floor while groaning in pain. And without a time to spare, the snake Faunus swiftly sends a haymaker to his face, which was powerful enough to knock Harl down onto the ground before Melo grabs him by the back of his shirt with both hands and began slamming his face again and again onto the ground with his aura flickering in response.
Harl groans in agony as his face is repeatedly slammed against the ground for seconds before he eventually elbows Melo off him, and it is now his turn to return the favour as he pounces and straddles the snake Faunus before beginning laying down punch after punch in return.
"You think this will be all it takes to stop me?!"
But instead of responding, Melo simply swings his fist and decks Harl in the face before swinging the other arm and shoving the bandit leader off him. "No… But I can keep going. You can't." Melo hisses out before he and Harl stood up panting from the other beat down they gave one another.
"Perhaps. But you gotta try harder than that to take me down." Once both combatants had picked up their weapons, they charged in once again at one another and a flurry of clashes and gun fire. It even got more complex when Melo began using Second Wind to keep him going and in addition to utilising the surrounding forests to his advantage through hit and runs, while Harl' eyes would glow rainbow occasionally and would appear to know and predict where he would be attacked from.
Feeling the blood in their veins flowing and heart pumping to the limit, Melo and Harl found themselves in a constant back and forward, each side taking and delivering hits strong enough to shatter bones and tree trunks into fragments, but both stuck in constant stalemate for nearly half an hour straight. But with all fights, even this one must come to a close with both Harl and Melo in the red in terms of Aura levels.
"Looks like we are coming to a close of this battle. But this fight is a waste of time for the both of us." The bandit leader uttered while leaning against his halberd, while his opponent was doing the same with Alpha while still clinging onto Beta with his other hand.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You come a long way from home, but it is for naught." Harl states before sluggishly pulling himself back up right as did Melo who did the same. "Your son is long dead at this point."
"What?..."
Melo visibly froze, and his face began to pale with disbelief. His baby boy, dead? It cannot be the case! "You… No… You have to be lying! You must be lying! My son is never one to die! Not like this! I cannot trust your word for EVERYTHING you have done! You harmed my family, not one, but twice, Harl! Twice!" The fires of rage began to burn within the snake Faunus again to the point he was very sure that he would lose control and go charge in at his 'partner' if he didn't continue.
"You're right, Melo. Team BCMH were like family to me." Harl admits with anguish in his eyes. "But you don't know the true threat our world truly faces. During the time when we graduate. I unlocked my semblance after so long. And what I saw with it is terrifying beyond what you know."
"Semblance?" Melo could only pause for a second. His partner never seemed to unlock his semblance throughout their years in Haven with BCMH. But he unlocks it after they graduate? And why didn't he tell them? Just thinking about this just hurts the snake Faunus more than he is willing to admit. How long did he actually have it? And why didn't he share the news with everyone that he actually got a Semblance? "What kind to show you something terrifying?"
"Clairvoyance. The ability to see the future. That is my semblance. I see all possible futures from minutes from now to years ahead and your boy, he has an important part to play in the future. He would have played a key role in saving the fate of this world from a Grimm witch that lurks in the shadows! But I failed. I failed to ensure that he was strong enough to fight for the fate of this world, and he died. For that reason, our hope for the future became darker."
Harl admits with his eyes closed the whole time. But Melo was too caught up with his grievances and hate to think clearly. Not that anyone could blame him. "Grimm witch? Clairvoyance to see the future and MY son who is supposed to help save this world? Don't talk cock with me, Harl! If whatever you're saying is true, then my son is DEAD by your hand over your demented semblance! You could have told us about this, but you chose to hide it all and betrayed us!"
Melo was yelling out with pain in his heart and grief in his mind. He wants to deny it. Deny that his son is truly dead. But he knows his partner, and he's not one to lie. Everything he does has a purpose. And if Harl is truly telling the truth that he can foresee the future and that his son is truly dead… Then everything Melo has worked for months up to now is all for nothing.
But there's a part of him that cries out for some measure of justice.
Of revenge.
If he fails to save his son, then the best thing he could do is to avenge him. Starting with this monster before him. "You know me better than others, buddy! If I have a very good reason to keep secrets, I will! But never to lie! You know that as well." Harl chimes as he slowly gets into his stance, as did Melo.
"And if you know what's good for you, you will shut that mouth up before I shut it up for good!" The snake Faunus snarls, though small drips of tears are beginning to gather around his eyes, while gritting his teeth with grief and hate. "Even if my son's dead, all because you took him in and got him killed over some future you've observed that could or could not happen at all, I won't stop now. Not until you and your ill-begotten tribe are wiped from existence, you hear me!"
"And then what? Assuming you kill me and my boys, then what? Don't forget about the people who still need you."
"You will speak nothing of them…" Melo growls before pulling Alpha up and points it directly at his 'partner'. "You will die this day. I swear it." And so, with that, both he and Harl began to orbit around each other before the bandit chimes in.
"We all die one day… but I know that today is not that day I will die, nor is it yours." Rage courses through Melo once again as the snake Faunus roars with fury again and begins their clash once again. Or at least it wouldn't go as long as it should because Harl swiftly parries his partner's attack and fires his shotgun point-blank into Melo.
Shattering what's left of his aura and sending the snake Faunus stumbling back, Harl swiftly moves in for the finishing blow and sends a diagonal slash with everything he got with Melo going in for the block with almost desperation but then, it appears that the stress of battle was too much. For Alpha shattered into tens of metal shards upon short contact with Harl's halberd as it dug and slashed across Melo's chest.
Leaving a flesh wound that goes from just above the left shoulder all the way down to his right hip. Feeling the initial shock of a searing bolt of pain coursing through his chest, Melo felt the last of his strength wavered and, in that instant, he felt as if time slowed down with almost disbelief that his sword failed him. He wants to say something, anything that could just perhaps remove the weakness coursing through his veins
But nothing came out of his lips except a pained gasp before the snake Faunus stumbles back for seconds before collapsing with his back leaning against a tree that happens to be behind him. "Our dance ends here, Melo." Harl says mournfully, with blood dripping off his halberd all before he kneels before his partner, who only gives him a hateful glare of defiance.
"But your time hasn't come yet." And despite struggling to move or even breath, Melo grits his teeth and struggles to push himself back up, only for Harl to gently hold him down and reaches into his pocket to pull out a flare gun. Without even a second, the bandit leader points it into the skies and fires it.
Sending out a bright light and smoke of red into the atmosphere.
Melo felt his vision blurring slowly from the sheer pain in his chest and blood lost yet, this moment, he could only silently glance up at his partner, almost baffled all while still suffering from a mortal wound. "Do me a favour, will you, and for the sake of your wife and daughter. Never return. I'd hate to put you like this again." Those were the words the snake Faunus managed to pick up before Harl reaches down and gently picks up the shattered and bloodied remains of Alpha.
Feeling tears slowly dripping from his eyes and then slowly becoming puffy, Harl gives his partner one last look behind his back as he sheaths his halberd away. "We're done here." Then, the bandit leader disappears in the deep, dark forests. Leaving a mortally wounded Melo to choke in his tears at his failure.
Failure to save his son.
Failure to avenge him.
What is there left to do in this godforsaken continent?
Melo could only feel his mind swallowed by despair as he soon faded away, all while the sounds of a nearby airship caught his ears barely.
This took longer than it should have been, and I'm a bastard, am I? What? Did you think that Melo would succeed in saving Jade? Not by a long shot with Harl's ability to see what's coming. But the story doesn't end here just yet. Not by a long shot. There will be an interlude of what has happened here for the Grayson family, Blake and, of ultimately, Jade himself, and after that, a time skip before a certain cat Faunus goes on a rampage.
If you've been paying attention to the occasional quotes I put at the start of some chapters.
And who knows? Sooner than later, I think it's time for Jade to get a semblance and I have one idea in place. Of course, if you have seen the original, you should already have an idea what his semblance would be. But I intend to make it different, perhaps a prior evolution, before it becomes that. So, some new ideas would be nice if you wish to chime in.
Also, yeah, as you can no doubt tell, I decided to expand more on Adam as a character and his history since according to canon Blake, he was a decent person before becoming a monster in Faunus skin. Where his story will go from here, we will see soon. Perhaps further down the line, I'll even introduce Ilia into the picture as well.
Well, I don't really have anything else to say. So, if you enjoy this story and wish to show your support for more in the future, Follow and Favourite this story. And please tell me what you think of what I said because the silence is killing me about how you guys think of the plot so far.
And so I'll see you guys in the next chapter!