RWBY: LUCID

Gula's strange declaration hung in the air for a moment, absurdly casual against the backdrop of a battlefield that looked increasingly like the end of the world.

Pyrrha and Blake both stared at him, each apparently trying to determine whether there was some hidden meaning behind the words, some obscure property that made the statement perfectly reasonable, or whether Gula was simply capable of saying the strangest things with a completely straight face.

Pyrrha eventually sighed.

"This is Gula," she explained, gesturing toward the shadowy figure beside her.

"He's... Jaune's shadow, of sorts."

Blake's eyes shifted toward her.

Pyrrha continued before the explanation could become even more confusing.

"He's a Stalker from the Shadow Realm. Not one of the contemporary Stalkers that stalk people like creepy weirdos but one of the actual creatures from the Shadow Realm itself."

Recognition immediately crossed Blake's features. She had heard of them. Of course she had. The Shadow Realm expedition had been one of the most heavily discussed events within LUCID after the surviving members returned, and the mission reports had contained enough information about Stalkers to make anyone who had read them understand that they were not creatures to be taken lightly.

Yet the reports were words on a page.

Pyrrha's retelling had been a firsthand account. Neither quite prepared Blake for actually standing beside one. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked Gula over again, this time with considerably more scrutiny.

His body possessed no flesh, or visible organs, no recognizable biological structure at all. He was simply darkness given shape, an entity composed of Umbra that somehow possessed the silhouette of a human being.

More specifically, Jaune's silhouette.

"So you're..." Blake trailed off, then shook her head slightly. "Huh. I've never seen one in real life. The mission report and Pyrrha's story was one thing..."

Her gaze traveled from Gula's head to his feet.

"...but you really do look like a walking shadow."

Gula glanced down at himself as though only now remembering what he looked like.

"Well, I am made of Umbra, after all. It would be a little weird if I wasn't in the shape of a shadow."

Blake stared at him for a moment and even Pyrrha's lips twitched faintly.

Gula seemed entirely sincere.

Blake's attention lingered on him. Jaune's shadow. That phrase was strange enough by itself, but the more she looked at Gula, the more questions it generated. She had known Jaune for long enough to understand that nothing about his circumstances was particularly simple anymore.

Yet even by the increasingly ridiculous standards surrounding Jaune Arc, having a Rank 2 creature from another realm fused with his essence and walking around wearing his silhouette was an entirely new category of strange. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she examined Gula's features again, trying to reconcile the creature standing before her with the boy she remembered.

"Jaune's shadow, huh?" she asked. "Is he here?"

Her gaze immediately drifted across the battlefield, almost instinctively searching for a familiar flash of blond hair among the masses of awakened and Grimm. She scanned the distant fighting, the enormous Grimm bodies, the streaks of runic energy, the figures of LUCID operatives moving between them.

For a brief moment, she thought she might catch sight of him somewhere in the chaos, perhaps standing atop one of the enormous Grimm or moving through the battlefield in one of those impossible bursts of speed she had heard described.

But there was no Jaune.

Only war.

Blake's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a weak cough from the crater behind them.

All three turned toward the sound. Adam Taurus was moving. Slowly, painfully, he pushed one hand against the crimson ground and tried to lift himself from the crater Mecha Pyrrha had created in him.

His movements were labored enough that even without any medical knowledge, the extent of his injuries was obvious. His breathing was uneven, blood ran from his mouth, and his body trembled beneath the effort of simply sitting upright. Dozens of bones were either broken or fractured badly enough that every movement must have sent another wave of agony through him. His Grimm mask had shattered completely during the impact, leaving his face exposed for the first time.

He was, as Blake remembered, a handsome man. Blue eyes, sharp features and red hair. Except those blue eyes were now bloodshot, and his face was smeared with blood and dirt. There was something almost grotesque about seeing the familiar face beneath the mask after everything that had happened. Adam looked at the three of them and gave a faint, breathless laugh. Then, despite the state of his body, he suddenly pushed himself backward.

A portal opened behind him. Adam's damaged body launched toward it with the last reserves of strength he could muster, but Blake reacted almost immediately. Purple-black runic energy flashed around her hand, and a portal appeared directly in front of Adam's own portal, occupying almost exactly the same space. Adam's momentum carried him through the wrong opening. His eyes widened a fraction as he realized what had happened, and then he emerged directly in front of Blake.

Blake's fist was already moving. Adam tried to raise his sword, but his body simply could not respond quickly enough. His arm barely lifted before Blake's fist struck him squarely across the face. The force of the blow sent him crashing back into the crimson ground, his sword tumbling from his fingers and landing several meters away.

Blake walked toward him. There was no hesitation in her stride. When Adam attempted to move, she planted one boot directly against his diaphragm, pinning him to the ground. Adam coughed violently, blood escaping between his teeth. Blake lowered her katana until its edge hovered close to his face. Her expression was difficult to read. Anger was there. Pain was there too.

But beneath both was something else, something that had survived everything between them. She wanted answers. Adam coughed twice more before looking past the blade and meeting the eyes of the woman standing over him. His expression held defeat and derision in equal measure. Then he laughed, though the laugh immediately became another cough.

"Well..." Adam rasped. "What are you waiting for, Blake? Do it. End it!"

Blake's eyes tightened.

"Adam..." Her voice was quieter than his, almost painfully so.

"I want some answers. How are you alive? I thought you died. And now I find out you're a part of Sleepless?"

Adam grimaced as her boot pressed more firmly against his chest. Despite the gentleness in her voice, her actions were anything but gentle.

"Did you think that just because you beat me, I have an obligation to tell you anything?" he asked bitterly.

"What? Congratulations, you won against the boss, and now you get your reward?"

He gave another strained laugh.

"This isn't a fairy tale, Blake. Wishes don't happen just because you want them to."

His voice grew quieter at the end, the anger draining away until something resembling grief remained. Pyrrha and Gula stayed silent. Neither interrupted. They both understood that this was something Blake needed to confront herself.

"Don't you care at all about your family?" Blake asked.

Her voice began to tremble despite her attempts to keep it steady.

"It's one thing if you joined Sleepless, but think about all the people you left behind. When you died in the Dream Realm, your family had to be told that you were killed in a car accident because they were unawakened. LUCID had to alter their memories. I watched them lower your body into a grave without knowing the truth of your death."

Her breathing became heavier.

"I was fucking broken because of it, Adam. I had to move to Vale of all places just to forget about it."

Pyrrha quietly placed a hand on Blake's shoulder, recognizing that the conversation was becoming more painful by the second.

Blake bit her lip but continued.

"If it wasn't for the friends I made in Vale, I would've been a sad sack of shit. Just like what you currently are."

Adam watched her coldly.

"If you were alive," Blake continued, "then at the very least, why didn't you go back to your mom and dad? Why didn't you tell them you were alright? Why join a world spanning terrorist organization like Sleepless?"

Adam looked away from her. His eyes drifted toward the battlefield instead, watching Grimm tear into awakened and awakened tear through Grimm. The crimson moon seemed almost indifferent to their conversation. After several seconds, he finally spoke.

"My family, huh?"

Blake's brow furrowed.

"When was the last time you saw my family, Blake?" Adam asked. "Four years ago?"

Blake's expression tightened. She opened her mouth, but Adam interrupted before she could answer.

"Considering how you're talking about them, it seems you haven't even realized it yet." He looked back at her. There was something profoundly empty in his eyes.

"You see, Blake... my family is dead."

Blake froze.

Adam continued quietly.

"They died not long after you left for Vale."

Blake's eyes widened.

"By my own hand."

The words seemed to strike Blake harder than any physical attack could have. Her foot slowly lifted from Adam's chest as she staggered backward.

"What?" Her voice was barely audible. "You killed... your parents? W-why? How could you do such a thing?"

Adam's expression changed into something that almost resembled sadness. "I did it because it was in accordance with his will." He coughed again, blood staining his lips. "Like I said, Blake. You're better off killing me, because I'm not answering anything."

He fell silent.

For several moments, the only sound between them was the distant roar of the battlefield. Pyrrha remained beside Blake, her hand still resting lightly against her shoulder. Gula, however, looked toward Adam with an expression that was difficult to interpret.

Eventually, the Stalker sighed. An odd expression considering that he didn't need to breathe air.

"I suppose this is where I explain things."

Blake and Pyrrha turned toward him.

Gula's white eyes settled on Adam. "The Adam Taurus that you know is indeed dead," he said. "This body of his is akin to a puppet."

Adam's lips curled upward and the smile was bloodstained.

"Hah." His voice was weak, but there was satisfaction in it. "I was wrong, Blake. Maybe you will get your answers after all."

His gaze shifted toward Gula.

"A Stalker from the Shadow Realm was it? Truly remarkable." His eyes narrowed. "Jaune Arc's shadow huh? The son of Nicholas Arc. I should have known that the Grand Strategist would betray us. He always did seem to have a soft spot for his family. What a shame..."

He coughed, then smiled again.

"So you already know what our leader's runes are, don't you?"

Blake looked between the two of them, confusion immediately replacing the anger on her face.

"What do you mean?"

Gula's expression became considerably more serious.

"I'm sorry, Blake." His voice had lost its previous casualness.

"Jaune knew you wanted closure, but he also knew you would be disappointed by the answers that came your way, which was I was sent here. To explain everything and give you that closure that you need."

Blake's brow furrowed.

"You see," Gula continued, "all of Sleepless ties back toward two entities. The Sleeper... and Tyrian Callows."

Blake's eyes widened slightly.

"If you didn't know, Tyrian is the leader of Sleepless."

Blake looked toward Adam again, then back to Gula.

"And the one thing Tyrian did while building Sleepless was use his Meta Rune, Puppeteer, to take control of people's minds and bodies."

Gula pointed toward Adam.

"It's a sinister rune, encompassing two aspects: Mind and Body. A person's personality is retained, but their mind serves only a singular purpose."

Gula's gaze remained fixed on Adam.

"Salem's will."

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