4,219Edited by: Priapus, Old man of the mountain, Marethyu, Mike Real God of Lore, Immortal Spank
I'M BACK, BITCHES!
This long break wasn't a break- it was me wanting to take writing seriously, so I decided to make my -pat re on- a real thing with genuine benefits. Currently, only three of my fics are in there (This, Like a Devil, and Draconic Impact). Each is actually five chapters ahead at the moment. There are also other benefits like early access to snippets and whatnot, but collectively, I've written 15 chapters, explaining the months of silence. I also had to get surgery, which added to the wait, but that ain't important.
Go get your fix of Reid being Reid there. Nothing will stay exclusive permanently, so no worries if you don't want to or can't afford it. I'll upload everything here and on FFN eventually. I should be back to the usual weekly updates now.
– Sienna –
If she had to be honest, Sienna had been rather nervous since waking up. Today was the day Titan Slayer Astera would visit Menagerie and tell not just them, but the entire world, which kingdom he was expanding to first.
She still wasn't exactly sure what truly drove him to pick them before any other kingdom. Atlas was the obvious choice with their wealth and power, but she did appreciate his decision. At least they wouldn't have to fight several Grimm invasions every few weeks.
The main city was safe, but everything else outside the walls wasn't. Potions should help them out a lot once they're distributed to their soldiers. The price wasn't exactly easy to pay, but if it meant it would get her the support of the most powerful man on Remnant, then she'd stop her operations.
Not everyone was happy with her decision, of course. Sienna fully expected a lot of angry voices within her ranks, asking why she would do such a thing. She understood them too, but she couldn't risk becoming Astera's enemy over this.
Especially not when he was so willing to help them. Sienna understood her people, but they couldn't possibly understand how this was the best course of action. They didn't see what she saw in the Titan Slayer's eyes.
No one malicious could have such an innocent look and idealistic point of view. If he truly wanted to trick her, he would've tried the realistic approach. Perhaps even threaten her into submission because she couldn't do anything to him, no matter what kind of brave front she put on.
If a man that powerful wanted to help, then who was she to argue?
It wasn't as easy to argue for the Schnee, though. Yes, she personally had to tell everyone that the girl would be coming as well, and she had to make it very clear that trying to attack or offend her in any way was completely forbidden. She really hoped that they'd listen to her.
But if they wouldn't, then she prayed that the Titan Slayer's presence would make them back off. Aside from his imposing physical build, he had this very sharp and powerful aura that demanded respect, regardless of how nice and innocent he seemed.
Wanting to take her mind off such thoughts, Sienna read the report for the sixth time. An antlion grimm's nest was spotted very close to the city, around ten miles east of it. They weren't particularly powerful, of course. Even barely trained soldiers could take care of them, but the implications were a bit worrying.
It meant there was a queen nearby.
Of course, antlions weren't nearly as aggressive as other Grimm, surprisingly enough, as they were mostly a hivemind that served their queen. For some reason, they were the type that captured prey alive and did not kill them. Not at all. Poison and incapacitate, perhaps, but almost never kill.
It sounded strange until you were dragged to their nest, never to be seen again. Nobody knows what happens to the poor sods who were unfortunate enough to be captured, but Sienna had a couple of ideas, and none of them sounded nice.
She did hear some rumors of another nest deep in the desert. It was said that the queen of that nest was so old and intelligent that she sent her servants to trade with the travelers and nomads, never being hostile to them unless attacked first. Sienna didn't know what a Grimm like that could want so much that it would trade, but this sounded as fantastical as most other myths she heard.
But she digressed. She needed to reinforce the walls soon and place more night guards in case some bugs tried to sneak in.
Then there was that 'Dreadnought' Spider problem in one of their mines. Hopefully, Astera's potions will help in dealing with that massive pain in the ass. She didn't know if that was some undiscovered Titan-class Grimm, but by the gods, it was huge. They had to close their mines until further notice because they'd somehow pissed it off.
Which wasn't a good thing. They were already struggling with the lack of resources, and that big bastard had already taken out several squads on its own. Thankfully, the mine was too far from the city for it to bother making the trek here. It would be a disaster otherwise.
…Why was Menagerie infested with so many bug-type Grimm?
Sienna's tiger ears twitched as she heard some commotion outside her office. Angry yells and swearing filled the hallway behind the door, making her sigh, put the paper down, and rub the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she recognized one of the voices. She knew she had to deal with him eventually, but she was not looking forward to it.
The door was kicked open, revealing a scowling Adam, who brought with him several of the brave guards who tried to stop him.
"How could you?!" He snarled, struggling to approach as the guards pulled him back. "How could you sell us out?! Give up so easily?!"
Sienna sighed again.
"Guards, let him go." She ordered.
"But High Leader–"
"Just do it." She insisted.
After a moment of hesitance, they obeyed, letting go of Adam. However, they remained in the same room, pointing their weapons at the bull faunus. He wouldn't dare, of course. While Adam had made a reputation for himself as a very unstable individual, he wasn't stupid enough to attack her. Everyone would go after his head if he did. He knew that very well.
Sienna put a hand on her whip, out of his view.
But it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I did what I had to do, Adam." She said. "Going against Reid Astera is not a smart move."
"So you bend your will to some human?" He gritted his teeth, somewhat calming down. "Let him do whatever he wants with us?"
"I didn't 'bend my will'; I accepted his help." Sienna frowned deeply. "He was kind enough to recognize us as a kingdom and even lend a hand."
"Because these people are afraid of us, Sienna." He argued. "The moment we started doing real damage to them, they sent their biggest front to tell us to stand down. Can't you see that you're being played?!"
"Astera isn't affiliated with any kingdom." She easily countered. "He works in Vale, yes, but not for it. He's fully independent. He's doing this out of his own volition."
"Bullshit!"
"Adam, use that useless brain of yours for once in your life and think." Sienna scowled. "If this was done by Vale or any other Kingdom, what makes you think they wouldn't just declare war and invade us?"
He paused.
"Do you actually think we stand a chance against a man who killed three Titan-class Grimm in the span of a few months? Are you out of your mind?" She pressed. "Even if he wasn't as strong as the public would like to believe, he'd still have the backing of an entire kingdom and his potions. With how much we're struggling right now, we'd get conquered in hours at best. There wouldn't even be a battle."
"I'd rather die fighting than submit to these bastards."
"For the last fucking time, I did not 'submit' to anyone." Sienna stood up from her chair, glaring at Adam. "I'm doing what needs to be done to protect our kind, and if that means I lay down my weapons and work with humans, then so be it."
"Even if that means letting a goddamned Schnee have her way with us?" Adam challenged with a hiss.
"I hate those slimy bastards as much as you do, Adam, but I fight to protect and save our brethren. Never for revenge. Not anymore, at least." She whispered that last part. "The Schnee girl offered to help, and I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Getting dust legally is a lot easier than trying to steal it."
If the Schnee was being honest, then there would be no need for any more bloodshed. They could do this in Ghira's way, through peace and kindness. If only that big lug was here to see this.
"You've become soft," Adam responded in a cold and quiet tone. "The Sienna I know would've spat on that Titan Slayer bastard's face. Big names and titles meant nothing to her."
"This is what Ghira would've wante–"
"Ghira was wrong!" He cut her off. "Look where this 'peaceful' method got him. Six feet under, like all the fools that followed his message!"
Having had enough of his disrespect, Sienna lunged over the desk at Adam, grabbing him by the neck as she snarled in fury. The guards all tensed at this, as did the bull faunus, grabbing the handle of his blade out of reflex.
"Enough of your worthless yapping, you disgusting mongrel." She hissed, tightening her grip as her eyes burned with rage. "Ghira was the most outstanding leader we ever had, and I will not let you or anyone else mock his legacy."
Adam's expression changed, his angry look disappearing and being replaced with one of guilt, as if he realized what he had just said out loud. It almost immediately returned to the usual scowl, though, but Sienna did catch that, which calmed her down significantly. Still, she had to make a point.
"If you do it one more time or be a nuisance in the next couple of days, then I swear I'll feed you to that Dreadnought." She warned. "Are we clear?"
Adam slowly nodded.
"Good." Sienna let him go. "Then get the hell out of my office."
He said nothing, rubbing his throat slightly before walking away and out of the office. The guards walked behind him, closing the door and leaving the High Leader on her own. Sienna groaned and rubbed her temples, already feeling like shit. She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen…
She quickly picked up her scroll once it started ringing, answering the call.
"High Leader, the Titan Slayer will be landing shortly."
Finally.
"Alright. I'll be there." She replied. "Keep an eye out on Adam."
"Understood."
She couldn't trust the moron, especially not after this outburst of his. He'd try to do something that'd fuck up everything for everyone, but Sienna wouldn't let him. She couldn't let him.
Faunus kind was depending on her, and there was no way in hell she was going to fail them now.
– Reid –
"You nervous?" I ask the girl next to me.
"No…" Weiss lies, then glances away. "...Yes."
"You'll be fine," I reassure her. "You crushed it in that meeting. You got this."
"But I don't know how the rest of the people are going to react," Weiss responds, clenching both of her fists anxiously. "I'm still not particularly liked there."
"As long as you're with Reid, you should be fine." Velvet quips, sitting opposite us and next to Kiryu. "Sure, they're not going to be all that excited, but it won't really make a difference."
"Exactly. This is a big opportunity for you, Weiss." I pat her on the back. "You can finally prove to everyone that you're better than your father."
Weiss doesn't say anything for a bit. It does comfort her a bit, from what I can tell, so that's good. Now, I'm not really worried, since even if something were to happen to Weiss, she's still strong and smart enough to take care of herself.
Like really. She's probably tough enough to beat most veterans with both hands behind her back at this point. Also, knowing I'm around her probably puts her at ease, so she isn't as skittish, especially in a hostile environment. Hostile for her at least.
As for me? I'm just excited. Aside from dungeons, I've never actually left Vale. And this is currently the biggest step for my business. Helping Menagerie will presumably make me a lot more liked by Faunus all around Remnant. This means more voters in Vale whenever I decide to take the throne.
You'd think I'd have to get into the council first, but honestly, fuck that noise. I'm heading straight to kingship and royalty. And once that happens, then I'll turn Vale into the strongest and safest city in the world. Impenetrable even by Titans.
Obviously, my work won't be done by then. It won't be done until I make all of Remnant safe. But that should give me years worth of time for planning and getting other shit done. It'll maybe allow me to relax a bit.
Sometimes, I kind of regret going this route. There's so much stuff to do, and nearly all of it is so goddamn boring. Why couldn't I have been someone like Superman or Batman? Secret identity and all that? But no, my attention-whore ass just couldn't ignore the spotlight.
…King Reid still has a nice ring to it, though.
Voting for a king. It sounds kind of weird, doesn't it? Can I be voted out? Imagine that. It would be pretty embarrassing. That's literally everyone telling you you're a shit king. I would never let it happen to me, that's for sure.
"Couldn't I have worn a dress for this occasion, though?" Weiss says, glancing at the military outfit I picked for her. "This looks a bit too… I want to say professional–"
"Intimidating?" Velvet helpfully supplies.
"Yes. That." She nods. "I look like an Atlas official."
Technically, she kind of is. I think. I don't know, I hate politics.
"I think you look great in it." I disagree. "Makes you look important. That dress you used to wear is a combat dress."
"This makes me look like I'm a specialist or a general," She argues.
"But it's not made for combat." I reason. It is enchanted for combat, though. "Clearly different. Also, that one is kind of too casual. It's why I'm wearing a custom suit."
"That's not what I'm saying." Weiss, in her infinite patience with me, still hasn't raised her voice. Or realized that I'm fucking with her. "I just think that maybe a dress or even a suit could've been better for this occasion. I don't want my first impression to be bad."
"You're overthinking it." I wave off her concerns, but seeing her still not convinced, I try one more thing. "But if you're really worried about it that much, then…"
I snatch her hat and put it on.
"I'll wear this."
"What?"
"Now both of us look like generals."
"That's not how this works." Weiss tries to argue, breaking into a smile and struggling to contain her giggles.
"Yes, it is." I cross my arms and look at my bodyguard, ignoring the chuckling Velvet. "How do I look, Kiryu?"
"Positively ridiculous, sir." He answers, smirking from behind his sunglasses.
"Excellent."
As the two girls snicker at my dumb look, the Bullhead finally lands, opening up its stairs for us. I immediately feel the hot and humid air of Menagerie, and as Weiss gives me one last grateful glance, the four of us make our way down.
Both Sienna and Kali are there to greet us, the former raising a brow as she sees my hat. Kali only chuckles, saying nothing nor making any mention of it in any way. She bows in greeting, her warm smile even making Weiss relax.
"Titan Slayer. It's our honor to see you in our land." She says. "Welcome to Menagerie."
"If you'll follow us, we'll lead you to where you'll be staying for the next few days," Sienna adds.
And so we follow them down the hill, looking over the ocean from one side and the whole city from the other. Wow, really nice view from here.
"We hope you'll enjoy your stay in Menagerie, even if you're not here for sightseeing," Kali says.
"Oh, I'm definitely gonna enjoy it," I respond confidently. "If anything, I already like it. I love the humidity a lot."
Probably my sea monster side talking.
"It's certainly something…" Weiss mutters, not at all used to it as she tugs at her collar. "...different."
Poor Weiss. She's Atlesian; she can't handle this. God, she's going to die if they don't have good air conditioning here. No wait, she has ice magic; she can handle herself with that. A few ice cubes down one's pants ough to help with this kind of weather.
As we make our way down, I finally notice the rope line keeping hundreds, if not thousands, of people waving and cheering at me at bay and pause. Sienna notices my glance and sighs.
"Don't mind them. They're…" She looks at them. "...big fans of yours."
"Isn't everyone?" Kali quips with a giggle.
Of course, I, as the great, modest man that I am, relish the attention and acknowledge them, waving back at them and causing their excited cheers to intensify. Hell yeah, everybody loves me, and I love everybody back.
"You all thought it was some baseless rumors, didn't you?!" I shout loudly, spreading my arms. "Well, here I am!"
The crowd goes wild, cheering and chanting my name. I chose the family-friendly image, so no swearing in public unless in certain situations. Honestly, it's really hard since I can't go two sentences without saying the word fuck or shit. Yes, I know; it's my fault for getting too used to it. Fuck off.
I'd be surprised they didn't just trample over the rope line if there weren't guards fucking everywhere. Nobody here needs them, of course, but I don't think I'd get where I'm supposed to go if that many people got in the way. Too many autographs and selfies.
I mean, what can I say? I can never say 'no' to my fans. I'm just that cool.
I think I already like Menagerie.
– Ruby –
Ugh, this sucks. She thought to herself with a pout, carrying a backpack, as she followed the professor through a forest's thickets with her class. I could've been in Menagerie right now, but noooo, apparently I was "slacking too much".
Ruby knew he meant well, but damn it, it just didn't make sense to her at all, and that annoyed her. School books were boring, and she'd already read all the fun and exciting workshop manuals. All five volumes.
She learned everything she needed from Signal. Why couldn't she do cool stuff like practice magic instead? Or learn that Haki stuff. Honestly, she'd prefer staying at home or with her dad over this pointless trip.
What does that even mean anyway? It makes no sense. Ruby frowned. I wasn't slacking; I was training with him 'n stuff. Who cares if I have bad marks? I don't even want to go to Beacon anymore.
She didn't understand his point. Not when she was a lot more powerful than most veteran hunters, even without activating Senketsu. Heck, she could probably beat up their professor if she wanted to. Reading some boring books wasn't going to change anything.
"Alright, juniors, I think this is a good spot to set up camp– Ms. Rose? Ms. Rose, where are you going?"
And so far, this trip has been kind of boring. They were visiting the sky islands of Sanus, kept afloat by massive raw gravity dust crystals. Well, somewhat. They couldn't exactly go to the biggest islands because of how many sky-type grimm like harpies lived there.
Ruby was confident in herself, of course, especially with her magic, Reid's training, and Senketsu. And honestly, after seeing a literal demon from hell, nothing scared her as much anymore. But there were a lot. Like tens of thousands of Grimm. And strong ones. Ancient-Class. They were, like, two stages behind Titan-Class.
The islands did look pretty beautiful, though—that much she could admit. There were even ruins made of marble left by previous civilizations. Nobody knew what happened to them, but they certainly had it bad.
"Ms. Rose, can you hear me?"
"I'll get her, Professor."
Oh well. She still didn't find anything that was particularly interesting. Thankfully, she brought some comics with her since the signal here was terrible, which should keep her entertained for a while. There were also lots of baked goods, like cookies and cupcakes, that Reid made for her.
He made her enough food to last the whole trip. He was kind enough to make her favorite meals too. Ruby found it very considerate, almost forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at him for not taking her to Menagerie.
"Roooose."
Ruby sighed after a few moments.
Oh, who was she kidding? She couldn't get mad at him, even if she wanted to. When he showed her the goods he packed in her bag, Ruby nearly pulled down his pants to give him a gift of her own and was only stopped by the fact that she was being watched. She hated how sweet he was to her sometimes, and she hated herself for falling for it every single time.
"Hello. From Remnant to Rose. Can you hear me?"
Of course, her good mood soured when she realized how boring this trip was. There weren't even any Grimm around to pass the time. Just walking, walking, and, you guessed it, more walking. They weren't walking that fast either–
"Rose!"
"Wuaha?!" Ruby flinched, looking at one of her classmates who was calling to her. Her name was Sunny, if she recalled correctly. Short blond hair, yellow eyes, and wearing a green combat dress. "W-what? What is it?"
"Gods, finally. You need to start paying more attention, y'know?" She sighed, putting her hands on her waist. "Where did you even think you were going?"
"Huh? Well, following the–" Ruby froze as she spotted no one but them. "...Ah…"
"Rose, we already made camp. Started a fire even." Her classmate said, pointing at the back. "You just continued walking for some reason."
"Huh…" Ruby's face flared in embarrassment. "I um… I guess I didn't notice."
"You think?" Sunny snorted. "Dunno what you were thinking about, but if I didn't stop you, you would've probably walked off the edge."
"That would've been really embarrassing," Ruby said out loud.
"It would've been lethal."
"I've been working on my landing strategy." She responded. "I would've been fine. Probably wouldn't be able to come back up, though."
…Maybe she should've jumped off and 'accidentally' fallen.
"You know this is a huge fall, right? Still, I like the confidence." Sunny said with a shrug as they walked back to the camp. "What were you thinking about anyway?"
"Oh, uh, nothing interesting, really." Ruby lied with a nervous giggle. "Just… trying to find ways to upgrade Crescent Rose, y'know?"
"Hmm…" She squinted her eyes. "You were thinking about Mr. Astera, weren't you?"
Damn.
"...N-no?"
"No way, that was just a random guess!" Sunny laughed. "You're really bad at lying, y'know?"
"Ugh…"
"Don't look at me that way; everyone is thinking about him these days." She said. "And like, you're his friend. You know him more than anyone in class."
"I guess…"
Ah, yes, that. When Ruby realized she was becoming the popular girl because of her relationship with Reid, she got a bit excited. True, she hated social interactions with strangers, but admittedly, she always felt a bit jealous of Yang since she was the popular girl in Signal.
She had all the attention of boys and girls. Everyone liked her, and she got along with everyone. Ruby was a mere afterthought, known as 'Yang's sister' and not as 'Ruby Rose'. It did hurt her a bit, but now?
Gods, she felt so dumb. Being the popular girl sucked so much. She couldn't have two minutes for herself before people swarmed her to get to know her or something. It was really annoying. She didn't know how the hell Yang handled it.
Then again, Yang went out of her way to talk to people. Maybe she liked it or something. The weirdo.
Ruby did want to be better at interacting and socializing with other people, but not like this. This was too much for the poor girl.
As they arrived at the camp, the students looked at her and snickered, which may or may not have made her feel embarrassed. Then, once Ruby started setting up her tent, she froze as she felt something in the distance.
She looked up, and from beneath the thick trees that nearly blocked out the skies, she saw a massive flock of harpies and other types of grimm like nevermores flying away. She paused and frowned– did something happen? It was not common to see massive flocks in one place like this unless something was attracting them.
"Professor?" Ruby looked at him.
But where were they going? No amount of negative energy could reach up to that distance. What was going on?
"Thankfully, it's too far away from us. I'm sure it's nothing too serious, but I've already sent a word to the hunter's guild just in case." He nodded seriously, closing his scroll. "They'll hopefully know what to make of it."
Hopefully.
Sure was a weird event to watch, though.
– Blake –
She had to move early for this because bullheads were much faster than boats. With her two teammates probably still waiting for her to show up for their daily training, Blake felt very guilty for lying.
She couldn't help but feel her heart twisting as she watched the docks of Vale getting further and further away. Blake sighed deeply to herself. She knew she shouldn't do this. She knew it was a very terrible idea, but goddamn it, she just couldn't help it anymore.
The fact that one of her teammates and her teacher were going to Menagerie meant they were most likely going to stumble on her past, and once they did, that was another path broken. Other people she betrayed. Another time she'd be forced to run away.
She lost her chance to tell them before they were gone, and now she either waited in her dorm room until they found out or somehow figured out a way to stop them from knowing anything in the first place. She couldn't let her relationships with them be destroyed.
She liked them. No, loved them. She loved her team, even Weiss, and she loved Reid. Blake couldn't imagine hurting them that way—making them think she betrayed their trust. She had to buy some time for herself. She wasn't… ready to tell them yet.
Blake was scared. So scared that this was what would ruin all her relationships and the future she dreamed of. But this was what she deserved, wasn't it? She wasn't exactly… clean, after all. She worked with terrorists, after all.
There was innocent blood on her hands.
Blake wiped the tears from her eyes and let out a shaky breath as she looked away, putting up the hood of the dark cloak she wore. Yang and Levi were going to blow up her scroll once they noticed she wasn't coming for training, but at least she left a message. For once in her damned life.
It was very vague, but it sure was an improvement.
Blake chuckled mirthlessly to herself. Gods, she hated herself with every passing moment. Her cowardice knew no bounds. Couldn't even take this punishment like a huntress, instead trying to run away again. That was all she did, but she knew it would never work. It never did. It'd only lead to more pain.
She still tried. Like an utter fool.