An Enchanting Maiden Chapter 12: A Story, a Misc. Games + RWBY Crossover fanfic

….

They returned far faster than expected. The trip was presumed to be an all day affair, so seeing three people in the midday walking up to the wall was… unexpected. It was made more unusual from what happened after anyone continued looking for a second.

"HEYO!" Lucille called out, waving up at them gleefully. "We met an old bast-"

"Hello. My name is Captain Nemo. I am on the behest of my allies to support the witch, my coworker."

…

"Nemo, come on! Don't I deserve to jab you a few times? One per mission, at least!"

Nemo frowned at the maiden.

"Says the lass that spent her first meeting with me trying to invoke lightning at my face."

She frowned right back at him. "Says the frog that shot me into a crevasse."

They glowered for a second in a short burst of animosity, before returning to a more civil state.

"No insulting me when I have to make a good impression."

"Actually continue fighting alongside me and we have a proper deal."

…

"You're what?"

"He worked with me before I got here!" Lucy shouted up at the wall.

A crowd very quickly gathered behind the gate, and the four were brought in.

…Warily monitoring the new arrival.

"Hello, Captain."

"Huh! Got a new one."

"Is he a fro-"

"Stop that. It's insulting to call someone an animal."

"Lucille! Déa! Trip went better?"

Nemo shook a hand with his pad, and started a small conversation. "Greetings. Thank you for letting me enter. Your name?" He breathed heavily and locked eyes with the tall, bearded man.

Sigh….

…I miss hair. He looks quite well, despite the weather.

"Kuro. I'm the innkeeper."

"Hmm. That's quite interesting." Nemo nodded. He wondered briefly if he could give gold to pay for a room. He may be accepting of that…

"Now…" ahem… "How exactly do you know my daughter?"

Nemo brushed aside his thinking and looked attentively.

to-ii-ik… he croaked slightly, eyes widening slightly, but falling back on his old ways of politeness.

"Pardon?"

"I arrived later than others. I missed any opportunity to get much clarification on what was happening." he explained.

"Ah. Okay, okay. That makes sense." Nemo nodded.

…

"Could I take a chair somewhere inside first?"

….

…

Nemo say gingerly on a chair, turned away from the tables in the overwhelmingly brown room.

He was comforted by the clockwork and warm lighting.

He hummed a quiet tune, then got to work, looking at the two people sitting opposite of him, akin to the interrogation he had done a few months prior.

"Firstly, a question," he raised a finger limb and asked:

"She is your daughter?"

"We are Lucille's parents, yes," the woman said, watching his eyes shrink for a moment.

The witch calmly walked in between their seating, leaning on a table with a steaming cup of clear liquid.

"Witch?"

"Hmm?" she looked up at Nemo's frown, and watched him with some clear confusion. "What's wrong, Cap Ribby?"

She held her drink, dimly looking, before setting the cup down with a sloshing on her table.

Nemo's left eye glared vehemently as the other one dried up from the tiring comments.

…

"You want to know how I came to join your… daughter in her work?"

"Yes, we would. Everything, if you don't mind." the older woman smiled politely.

Nemo hesitated, noting what he felt was a subtle threatening tone in her voice.

"I met the witch after the loss of my ship and crew." he began.

"…"

"I was formerly a ship's captain. We encountered an… accident, and my crew were scattered or killed. I survived on an island away from the mainland, and stayed there until the witch arrived. It turned out that my ship had been repaired and used for battling against her and her allies, and so I made a deal with her to defeat the person responsible for the incident. I joined her organisation, and now owe her a debt in return for her actions."

He laid his hands back down, and waited for any questions.

…

The older woman spoke first. "You're in her debt for… how l-"

"He didn't actually fight." Lucy said, interrupting. "I had to fight… about a hundred trained fighters, and that's ignoring the four stronger trained enemies! It was horrible!" she complained.

"…"

"What?"

"Yeah. I even beat up my boss's pirate wife. Between all this, he just kept trying to escape saying he wasn't strong enough." she continued, bypassing the previously said bombshell.

The room felt colder to Nemo. He quietly raised an arm and began to explain-

"I am in her debt for nine hundred and eighty six days, or two years and joining her in eight combat events."

The older woman's eye twitched slightly as she stared at him.

"You didn't even help-"

"I couldn't help. Correct, Mrs." Nemo spoke grimly.

"Y-"

"And when I say I couldn't help, I mean I physically could not do anything about it."

Nemo stood, and turned to face the witch.

"You… are so focused on that one detail that you never even tried to know WHY."

The witch was surprised, and countered it with his earlier excuses."You said yourself, 'Lass, I can't help you here.' and just ran off!"

Nemo groaned and covered an eye. "I wasn't allowed to inflict any injury on anything that is my 'ally'," he said, clearly in order to avoid further complaining.

The lass gaped for a moment, then lowered her raised hand.

"…"

"…that makes sense." she muttered.

She frowned, and leaned back to the table, seemingly satisfied.

Nemo took a breath and returned to the interviewers.

"Now, where were we?"

There was a long, tense silence.

…

A quiet clock kept going, Nemo noticed.

…

Ahem-

"Why do you think we would have been told she was dead?"

"Mrs…"

"Vassa."

"Thank you," he said, before trying to give his personal opinions to the question. After trying to come up with a roundabout way to explain his idea, he just said exactly what it could have been.

"Because it was enjoyable to watch your pain."

They flinched at his direct response.

Kumo pinched his nose and harshly exhaled.

Vassa looked like she wanted to kill someone.

"Is this trying to be amusing?" Kumo whispered to him.

"I wish I could, but He is practically a child. They chose to drown my crew, make me this…

Nemo looked down at his mottled skin.

"… and torment this young lass and countless others for no stated reason than it being 'fun' for him."

"It is, as an aside, why I was crippled and unable to help your daughter. You see, upon seeing a young man floating above my deck in the middle of an inescapable storm, I did what I felt was a very reasonable and rational decision, and shot him."

"It did practically nothing, and in revenge, he cursed me into th-"

"WAIT."

Nemo stopped, and turned to face the witch. She was staring straight at him

with a rather… strange look.

"You… shot him. You SHOT HIM." she stammered.

Nemo slowly rotated his head back.

"I did, witch."

She kept watching him in his peripheral vision. He planned to ignore her for the rest of this conversation-

She laughed uproariously at his words and sighed.

"I think I respect you now for that."

"-Thank you." Nemo replied.

"I'm still going to force you to fight with me though." she added.

"I accept those terms." Nemo said calmly.

…

"Any other questions for me?"

….

Lucy Mantle, resident enchantress, froze silently.

Then, she tried to unobtrusively pull her encased hand away from the table.

…She glanced down at the blue ice.

Lucy frowned, and tried to explain her doubts to herself. It wasn't really doubts, though, and more like a sudden burst of fear.

We found Nemo. We fought monsters. What are we missing?

…they were really dumb monsters, though.

She looked up and quietly came to her solution.

I need to find the entrance. Where is it going to be?

With that, she quietly prepared her magic to flicker away.

….

"How did you… get here? Did you follow Luci..

… Lucy."

Nemo noted the stutter, but payed it little mind. "If you mean the witch, I did follow her, since I was able to fight alongside her after she made plans to leave by joining her motley organisation officially. Nobody else was either willing or particularly able to reach her, since we had to deal with various other incidents elsewhere."

….

Two years earlier, give or take a few days.

….

Nemo was sitting by the small river, watching it flow by silently.

"Captain!"

He looked up at the young woman waving across the bank at him, before she started running to reach his side.

Her hair was blonde, curled, and she wore a white rimmed dress in varied shades of red, and a blue ribbon-tie.

…

Nemo continued to watch the river.

"Where's your hat?"

"That's not important!"

He turned to look at her, slightly surprised. From all he knew about this young girl, she was incredibly focused on keeping professional appearance.

He watched her, and she glared at him.

Her hair isn't curls. That's strange.

"Did something… happen to your hair?" he wondered.

"…"

"I just didn't curl it." she muttered, looking away from his gaze.

Actually, upon his further reflecting, he hadn't seen this girl after the first few missions with the witch.

"Are you despondent?" he asked her. It was either despondency from the doldrums, or an illness.

"No." she said. "I'm not despondent. I'm upset."

Oh. I know how to help with this. "What's troubling you, lass?" he said, clasping his hands together and looking down at her.

"Curcifer."

Nemo unclamped his hands. "That sounds like a devil's name."

She grumbled and clenched her hands tight. "It's my name! You don't ever call me it! You are incredibly inconsiderate!"

Nemo frowned. "What did I do to cause this?"

The girl froze, before boiling up into rage. "NOTHING! You did NOTHING! You didn't do a THING and now she's gone to who knows where!"

He quietly turned away to watch the river.

"Don't just do that! Listen to me when I'm getting furious at you!"

Nemo followed a leaf that managed to fall in, swirling along the eddies and currents.

"-Could've gone after her or stopped her or done ANYTHING to pre-"

He sighed.

"Lass, if you had a desire, a truly heartfelt one… would you want someone to take that away from you?"

Her tirade sputtered out slowly. "I…uh…

…

No. No, I wouldn't."

She knelt down next to him and breathed out softly.

Good. Maybe I can try to get her to emphasise a bit further.

"Have you ever lost someone you loved?"

…

Perhaps that was a bit too out of the ordinary. She Is a rather young girl…

"Yes."

Nemo nodded briefly. It surprised him, but that helped with his explanation.

"My child wanted to be a sailor." he began. "They were rather skilled at it, and worked hard to try to travel with me. That was their dream, and I let them do it. Was I in the wrong to want to protect them and keep them away from the treacherous seas?"

Erk… "No?" she said. "That… isn't… that's not the main point I'm-"

"He died on my last voyage." Nemo stated. "The one that resulted in my time here."

He waved his hand, gesturing across the green grass, stone paths, and the small houses and various other buildings in the residential area. Some of the various passers by waved to him.

"I believe my wife might still be alive, back in my hometown. I likely will never be able to return there." Nemo continued.

She muttered under her breath as he set his arm back down, resting on the bank.

He didn't try to listen, and neared the end of his speech.

"The witch is the same. Whatever she had before arriving here is probably dead. Family, lover, frie-"

"She still has family." was declared next to him.

"We cannot prove anything though." Nemo said.

"She didn't have a lover, and she does have a family. They're waiting for her. I know that."

Crucifer was glaring at him once again. "If you ever told her her family was dead… I am going to th-"

Ah. I was getting distracted now.

"She wanted to get revenge. That was her driving goal. I did not stop her." Nemo said.

…

"Now… would you like to talk about your experience?" he suggested.

She looked away from him, and he waited quietly.

"I met them a few years ago. We… became friendly rather quickly, and I thought it was a good relationship. I made them some meals to eat when they went out to fight, and we talked about how we were and … things like that."

…

"And they died." Nemo said.

"NO! They're not DEAD." she cried out.

… "-they're just… missing." she added quietly.

Nemo lightly touched her shoulder. She pushed away and huffed in his direction.

"I'm… sorry for your loss." he said, staring at the water.

"You should be."

He glanced over to the girl, before looking back into the river.

…

"Ah," he whispered softly. "You are a deviant."

"…what?"

"You are a homophile." he said. "That is why you are angered with me."

She frowned and tilted her head in confusion. "I'm a homophone?"

He stood and turned to face her. "I, Nemo, am responsible for your dire loss."

"Yes. You are." she said.

"It is like my wife knew that her partner and son would never return." he explained.

"It is."

"So I will leave."

"Yes, you-"

She blinked and quietly stared at him. "You're going to do what?"

Nemo straightened his coat and began to walk along the riverbank.

He strode through the residential area's paths, and calmly walked to the town square.

"WAIT!"

Nemo waved behind himself and continued forward-

"Where do you think you are going, frog?!"

He stood still, and turned to his right, looking at the other female voice. Nemo took a few steps backwards, and observed the weapon gestured at his chest.

"Captain," he asked, "how are you today?"

"It is Deputy Captain Arya to you, criminal! You are under residential arrest! Explain yourself succinctly or I will gladly run you through!"

"I-"

Arya lunged with her rapier as soon as he spoke, missing his heart by centimetres. "That was not succinct! For your many criminal acts, I deem you guilty, and the punishment is a simple one!"

The rather beautiful woman's face smiled sweetly, and her eyes glinted.

"Execution."

Nemo strode back in a large leap, keeping his eyes on the deputy captain. "I have a very good reason on why I did this!"

She paused, rapier at the ready, and stared at him.

…

"Well?"

He exhaled, and quickly spoke. "I am going to return to the ocean a-"

She swung her left arm and pointed her sword at him once again. "Then you are a traitor to the cause!"

Nemo started jumping back repeatedly, making blinds so large he ended up standing on the stairs leading up to the large dias in the centre of the square. He noted the statues placed inside in case they could function as cover.

He focused on the deputy.

She stood there still, and called out to him, swinging her rapier like a metronome.

"That! Won't! Work! On! Me!" she sang crisply.

Arya smiled, and completely vanished from the square.

Nemo tensed. "You're not going to kill me, Deputy captain." He then hurriedly darted his head around to try to detect where she ran to.

Shingg!

A small sparkle floated past his vision, and he looked up at the slanted rooftops in the square to spot where the sun was reflecting from. He couldn't find any obvious spots, and so he stood near a statue to block the sun.

Shingg! Shingg!

Two more glinting lights floated by again, so he moved once again, this time across the dias to the opposite steps.

A low scraping came behind him as he monitored this side of the square. He was particularly wary of the garrison entrance that was now facing him, so Nemo could honestly say he hadn't expected something behind himself. He turned to look at the deputy captain badly sneaking up behind him.

Shingg!

…

Nemo found nothing. The stone dias was clearly empty of people. The scraping noise continued as he squinted and gritted his teeth. Where is she?

One of the statues broke apart and fell towards him. Nemo opened his eyes wider in surprise. Suddenly, each and every statue broke apart and fell towards him.

"What kind of madness is this?!" he shouted out in shock. "Deputy! Where are y…"

A quiet Shingg! came behind him, and a small sparkling light moved past his head.

He turned back around amidst the rubble, and a blue light burst in front of his face. Nemo looked down at a white hood rimmed with rubies.

He tilted his head an inch and looked at the yellow ringlets under the hood.

"Deputy captain Arya. Please remove your sword from my chest."

Nemo walked backwards as the sword, shaking hesitantly, slowly removed itself from his chest.

She stared unseeing at where he had been standing. "H…how? Explain this."

"Succinctly?" he said.

"…You didn't even flinch as I cut you. I hit you five times and you did nothing."

"Because I cannot hurt my allies."

Nemo paused for some dramatic effect, a thing he was quite good at after his adventuresome days.

"…and neither can they hurt me."

The deputy captain quietly took three steps back.

"Then why didn't you go?" she asked him, fury returning.

"I was going to go today, in fact." Nemo said crisply.

Arya stopped, and sheathed her weapon.

"Captain Nemo! Instead of your execution, I hereby exile you to a far off and distant land!"

ahem… "Where might that be, Deputy captain?"

"…"

She frowned at the question, but continued her speech with great enthusiasm. "Your exile shall be harrowing and treacherous! You most likely shall die! If you ever wish to return, there is only one…

…

Two!

There are only two ways to bypass this fate, but only ONE of them is permanent!" she vigorously shouted, marching around the steps with quick steps and rather excessive arm swinging.

She gestured violently towards him. "ONE! If you return here with the wayward enchantress, respectable though her actions are, you may be reevaluated as a captain!"

Arya paused, and began to glow with a vivid fire, gliding towards the still Nemo. She put her hand on his arm, and smiled at him, whispering softly.

"Curcifer wanted your head. You'll thank me for this."

"TWO! If you return here with our mightiest enemy defeated, you shall be fully pardoned of all crimes!"

Arya once again leaned closer to him, and whispered. "Please bring him back if you can. Everyone's invested in punishing him."

"…Are you asking me to capture a god and bring them all the way back here so you all can punish him?"

Deputy captain Arya raised an eyebrow as he tried to not smile.

"Let me take a shot at his head?"

She nodded.

Nemo laughed, and walked determinedly down the steps towards the city gates.

She appeared in front of him in a flash of light.

"…Captain. You need to go elsewhere."

She pointed at the gold doors of an ornate building off to their right.

…

Nemo grudgingly entered the church. He didn't really know why they had a church in their city that worships a god that everyone there hated… but it had to be done.

He entered, looked around, and froze.

A young man, eyes closed from the light streaming in, turned towards the sound. He was black haired and dressed in long, light brown decorated clothes like the religious figures on the entrance doors.

However, the boy's top was significantly cropped, and his shorts were bagged and gold rimmed. At first glance, his outfit seemed to look like the priestly garbs he noticed, but… they were far too familiar for his liking.

They cheerfully greeted him and ran up to him, arm outstretched in greeting.

"Hello! Would you like to-"

Nemo slowly held up his firearm and aimed it squarely at the boy's face.

PHOO-

The boy smiled angelically as the unfinished noise echoed through the church. He looked up, stopped his head as it directly faced Nemo's, and opened his eyes.

Unnaturally green, they were. Nemo rarely called anything inhuman, despite meeting undead, living metal, and animals that spoke like men. With his own changes, he started becoming more open minded.

-but those eyes were the one exception. If there were ever any emotions, he would have hoped that it could have been 'regret' or empathy, but he knew better now.

"Hello, Captain Nemo." the boy said vacantly. "Would you like to pray?"

"Taurudeus."

"That isn't our lord's name, Captain. How about you show proper respect for once?"

Nemo grimly smiled.

The boy smiled once again in mimicry, and spoke. "Good! Now, please come with me to the altar. Please repeat after me: 'Taurus, our lor-'…"

Nemo stayed still.

"Say it, please. After all, you need to in order to say a prayer to him."

They frowned sadly, and tilted their head. "Please?"

"No. I am instead going to preform an act of heresy."

"Ha!" The sadness melted away and the young lad was cheery once more, light shining as his eyes closed, and his mouth smiled brightly.

"Hahah-"

Nemo firmly lunged forwards on his feet, caught the boy's neck in one arm, and spun around with a fury.

K-KRAKKKKK!

The young man was flung through the church, flying past columns and pews until his body slammed against the wall, making an audible snapping reverberate through the room.

Nemo strode past the pews and stood over the lightly glowing body of the limp boy, rippling with waves of light around his skin.

The boy slowly rose, struggling with effort, before leaning against the wall and laughing thinly.

"Leave this place, if you don't want to be killed where you stand." Nemo declared.

"That… won't change… any thing." was whispered in reply.

"Fine, then," Nemo said. "Go to hell, Taurus."

The boy's spasms ended.

hoooooooooooooo-

-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

They straightened up, and looked Nemo in the eyes, smiling divinely.

"I thought you didn't want me to stay, Captain!"

Nemo stayed grim, and began to choke the boy.

…

He continued smiling, waving an arm around before resting it by his side. "Hello! I'm Taurus's Clone. Would you like to g-"

"Where is the witch?"

Taurus slid out of the chokehold and walked away from Nemo. Nemo turned around to face him, tapping an amber earring with a strange smile.

-…-

I can't turn around. I can't m-

"I'm still talking, Captain. It's rude to interrupt while the host is speaking." Taurus called out behind him.

"So… you want me, not this pathetic body? That makes sense. But… why do you want that girl? She's just one of many, many others."

Nemo turned around and faced Taurus. His arms moved back to his side, and he sat down at a pew.

Taurus leaned his arm against the armrest on the opposite side, leaning over the seat at him. "… That isn't that important. It just interests me. I can… tell you where she is…but I could also tell you how to get to where she is…." he murmured.

"Only one though. What're you picking, Captain?"

Nemo stayed quiet.

The boy froze, and blinked.

"Hello, Sir! I'm Taurus's Clone! Would you like my help with anything?"

"Can you help me find a friend of mine? A young girl named Lucy."

"Eh…. I..You really want my help?"

Nemo stared at the boy. What is this?

"Uh… I could… uh… You need to find some… OH! TAURUS! I can use Taurus's powers!

He grinned, eyes gleaming, staring at nothing and everything. "I can do this! Just sit right there! I can help!"

Magic burst from the floor, the stones shining as light shined from beneath them. "Okay! Location location location! Lucy! I need a Lucy! Where is she!I … AH! Okay! It's good, all good! I j… no…"

The boy's face froze.

"No. You changed the rules! I need to help people. I NEED to help people! …that's cheating. That's cheating. Why did you remove me fr…?"

Taurus' smile flickered for a moment, then their eyes widened in confusion. "No."

He started twisting about, walking in a furious circle as his mouth frantically chanted the same sentences.

…then, the boy fell like he had died on the spot with a soundless drooping.

…

Eventually, he rose.

They slowly walked towards Nemo and held his face in their hands. Nemo… looked away from him.

"Captain Nemo. I need your assistance. Do this and I will do both things."

Nemo's eyes slowly looked towards him.

"Speak," they rapidly said. "Speak my name. MY name."

"Why would I ever work with you, Tauridelezel?"

They stared, dead eyed.

"I am not Tau… Him. I am not him anymore."

He spoke with a somber breath, like a caring man who was told the world was ending.

They were becoming slowly, ever so slowly, more alive as they clutched his face as a support to not fall on the stone floor.

The eyes were manic as their hands bit into his head. "I'm not him anymore."

Nemo smiled.

"I'm not him anymore. Please."

"If I am not here, you can never go anywhere further than where you have already been! You will never find him! Please. Anicra. Say it. Call me my name."

Nemo felt their grip loosen slowly. The fingers' pressure wasn't as harsh.

"Please."

He looked them in the eye, and saw fear in the shaking.

….

"How does it feel, being so… weak?" he asked.

"What are you thinking, faced with being small and unimportant?"

"What does the boy feel, staring at the realisation that the world is vast, uncaring, and very very cruel?"

They stared at him, arms raised in a sort of… begging.

Reflected in his eyes was a sad, sad man.

That won't work on me. You're expecting some kind of mercy.

I have none.

"Honestly, 'Captain'… Nothing that you can do will prevent this. In fact, because of your lack of any sense of humility… I'll let you suffer.

Mercy, 'Please have mercy on a poor soul!'…

I have none for a wretch like you.

….

"How does it feel, knowing that I have good reasons to want you to suffer?"

They stared unseeingly, clutching at their face. "Please. Please have mercy o-"

Nemo leaned down to the pathetic wretch.

He made his choice.

…

….

"How does it feel, Anicra, knowing that I am not your lord?"

The gasp echoed through the church, and the subsequent coughing was quieted by a deep sigh.

"…thank you."

…

Nemo cleared his throat and looked down at the bo as he struggled to stand up, before they bowing deeply.

"Boy. What are you going to do?"

"I…"

"First you're going to tell me where the witch is, and how to get there."

…

Anicra looked up at him and nodded. "That is quite simple. She is in the snow."

"Where. Coordinates."

Anicra's face fell. "I.. can't tell where anymore. I know how to get you there, though, while I still have the capability."

With this, they swished their hands and walked over to the large, gold entrance doors. Nemo heard the sound of loud rumbling like a mountain was being pushed across the earth.

A wall of vivid white light blasted into the church, illuminating everything with incredible intensity.

Nemo closed his eyes, and went towards the light.

"This is his doors. It will bring you to where you desire.

… or it did. Now it's just going to set you down where the last one entering was placed." Anicra said this loudly, shouting practically in Nemo's ear.

"What are you going to do now? You are free, like how I wish to become?"

…

The boy nodded.

"I will not be feared, but loved."

…

"Good." Nemo said. It was a noble goal.

The two stood for a brief moment, then Nemo turned to speak.

"I-"

"I understand, Nemo. After all, you're only…"

…

"Oh! Wait! How good are you at being underwat-"

Nemo laughed quietly.

Anicra looked downwards. "I apologise." he whispered.

"I am very good at that. You don't need to worry." Nemo said.

"Good." Anicra said.

Nemo nodded, and entered the doors.

…in the end, he could've sworn the boy said something as he left.

….

…

Anicra exhaled softly.

He cupped his hands quietly, and looked up as the doors closed.

"…Thank you, Captain. With all I have left, be free."

….and so he left, to the death his whole body deserved.

Solitas continent, Remnant.

Mantle, (town) (Of the former Kingdom of Mantle)

The Present.

…. ….