aurabble | IC Inbox ☽☽ genessia

[ The first blast of water sends her flying back. She's not thinking about traumatizing him, she's thinking about taking him down. She warned him. Emerald did everything she could have to tell him that this was what was going to happen if he attacked her. The hit with the water knicks at her aura, but by the second hit she's already dived into a backflip, both feet aimed at his chin in the opening left from that rushed, sloppy, desperate punch. And then she seems to be gone again, but this time not to the weapons table. If Jaune isn't fast enough, he's going to get his own knife, retrieved from the floor by Emerald, sliced into his side, then back and forth on either side at a rapid pace before she throws it at his shoulder. The scream doesn't even garner a surprised look from her, her entire focus on survival and the fight right now- even if she's still holding back. He's too emotional right now to need to do anything but. ]

[If he can send her back, he can eventually stop her. Good. He's no longer thinking calmly, or rationally about what he wants, he just wants to make her pay. Someone has to. If he doesn't stop her, she'll kill him, and he'll be back to square one.

He does his own flip to lessen the impact of her kicks, sliding to the ground and punching it hard enough to crack the surface as a method of stopping. But it doesn't matter, because there's a blinding, white hot fire that eats away at his skin and it keeps happening, going up his back to--

He feels like his entire arm just shattered. He stops trying to get the acid off, not even thinking to douse himself in water, the scream tearing through his throat raw while the world seems to fade in and out for a moment.]

I'm going to fucking kill you.

[His aura is working on reversing the damage, but the it still lingers and it takes every bit of effort to yank the knife out of his shoulder with another scream as he rushes to the weapons table, throwing a vial of earth Dust to create a rock barrier so he can grab some wind Dust and put it into his gauntlet. His weapon glows a paler blue than before and he starts blindly shooting ice crystals in Emerald's general direction.

Combined with his mental state and over-reliance, his aura can only take so much.]

[ The rock barrier was a mistake for Jaune, though. It may have stopped Emerald from getting to him, but it also meant that he would lose sight of her. And when Emerald has a visual advantage, that's bad. Because now Jaune doesn't know where she is, he doesn't know where to look in case something doesn't look right, because she's the only one who can physically manipulate the environment in a way that doesn't match with what she wants him to see. If he doesn't know where she is, she doesn't have to worry about kicking up dust. She doesn't have to worry about running around or him losing track.

The ice crystals just hit the warehouse wall, causing a scattered sparking in some leftover electrical wires, now broken by the ice. It's almost deathly quiet until the door opens and Pyrrha walks through the door, looking concerned as she hurries to his side, Miló drawn and ready to defend. ]

Jaune! I heard you screaming from down the block, are you hurt?

Edited 2017-01-28 09:26 (UTC)

[Some of the dust falls from the ice crystals, catching the light, and for a moment Jaune is left alone, looking for Emerald. He still feels as if he's been burned, but it's more tolerable now. He can catch his breath. He can calm down...as much as possible anyway.

He sees the last person he'd ever want to see now, and he just stares at her completely lost and hurt before the anger sets in again.]

Why the hell do you suddenly care?

[It's impossible to keep the sadness out, his voice seeming to crack, but he speaks through grit teeth regardless.]

Go away-- It's dangerous in here. You need to leave.

Jaune, I...

[ Pyrrha looks hurt, her hand clutching as if he's said something hurtful, but that she blames herself for.

Right, left. Right, left.

The distraction was more than enough to give Emerald time to scale the newly formed rock wall and fire a nail at either of Jaune's shoulders (right, left), then jump down on him with either foot touching down first as if to hammer the nails in deeper (right, left). Her full body weight plus the increased pressure of gravity from the jump and the edge of her blocky heels slams down on those shoulders.

Apparently she also had time to go back to the table. Shouldn't have brought so many weapons, Jaune, because whether he falls from that or not, a garrote wire is going to be pressed against his throat as Emerald pulls up, using her weight on his shoulders to push him down. ]

Stop. [There are tears in his eyes. Livid, resentful, heartbroken.] You don't get to be upset, not when you went and-- and helped that bas--

[It doesn't matter. Whatever he meant to say is halted by explosive bursts of light in his eyes. Is he screaming? He doesn't know. He just knows that he can't feel his hand anymore.

He's in hell. He's always been in hell, ever since that night in the cabin, maybe even before. He just did a very convincing job of lying to himself. There's a flash of white, his aura too damaged and over-exerted from all of his bad habits and reliance on it that it depletes and fails him. Auras are a reflection of the soul, and the failure he feels is crushing.

The perforations to his shoulders don't heal in time. They can't with the nails still embedded in muscle and bone. The skin on his neck doesn't mend, stinging pinpricks licking at his skin as the blood starts to trail down. But that, and the throbbing waves of pain that threaten to make him pass out are nothing compared to the terror he's experiencing.

His pupils are dilated. He doesn't see Battler this time, and he stares at Emerald, defeated and empty.]

Go ahead.

[ For a brief second she pulls harder, just enough that it digs in just a little more, but she stops. She wants to kill him. Her instinct tells her that if she doesn't, he'll just come after her later. This is Jaune- he's a deputy guardian, someone in a position of power. Even if it's only half of him, it's still a half that exists. It's still a half that's there, that wants her dead, that will stop at nothing to get to her. Someone in a position of power like that is exactly why Cinder's wishes to take power from those who have it instead of simply gaining her own? That's one of the reasons Emerald can completely understand it. This is a part of Jaune, just like that murderer is a part of Mercury and the other part of Mercury was the one who told her where to hide in Nova City because he didn't want her to be the one to get hurt.

This being a part of Jaune is exactly why she decides not to kill him, though. It would make sense, but too many people would blame her. It didn't matter what reality was, everyone except perhaps Grell was bias against her, and if Jaune decided to resent her for it, that was it. There weren't enough places to hide here to get away with murdering a Deputy Guardian. And if it came back on her, it'd come back on Mercury, so even if she managed to hide out in some subarchway and get lost for the rest of her stay, he was supposed to be a Deputy himself now. He was trying to change, trying to be a better person, because he didn't want to become his father and he didn't want Emerald to be him. She wasn't going to be the one to hold him down because of her actions.

So she dropped the garrote, though a second later he'd feel a heavy weight hit the back of his neck- the butt of the nail gun. It's carefully placed to knock him unconscious so she can drag him to the hospital and insist on restraints. ]

[He doesn't know if he wants Emerald to kill him or if he just wants it to be over. Any desire to move forward belongs to his other half. They share the same depression, but all that drives him forward is his own resentment which quickly leads to burnout. But he's also terrified. The oblivion he thought he would meet never comes. It passes by indefinitely and there isn't any sacrifice.

Waking up is difficult at first. He doesn't particularly want to. Nothing seems to hurt here and he'd rather stay but his body won't allow him to. He wakes up slowly, blinking his eyes and staring at the walls he hoped he would never have to see again. He's vaguely aware of some discomfort, but the panic from being at the hospital sets in as he tries to get up in a frantic hurry, only then noticing the restraints and Emerald.

The remorse hits him so jarringly, so abruptly, that he doesn't even consciously realize that he's whole, just that he hurt so many people. Emerald included.

Why was she here?]

Edited 2017-01-28 23:39 (UTC)

[ Emerald was only half paying attention, her focus moreso on whatever game she's playing on her phone. The hospital staff had argued against her staying since she was, technically, Jaune's assailant but Emerald was a little too much for them to handle in terms of getting rid of her. She wanted her weapons back.

So she sat there, waiting. It was as safe a place as any, and if he woke up and decided to try to kill her again, she knew where he was instead of waiting for another hair-brained attempt on her life. Once he seems to calm down a little and she loses anyway, she shrugs and puts away her phone. ]

About time you woke up. I didn't hit you that hard.

[ Okay she did. But. ]

You didn't kill me? [It's the first thing that comes to mind, and he blurts it out, wishing that he didn't because it makes the pressure on his neck more obvious. It doesn't hurt right now, it just feels heavy and wrong.

It's not like he's going anywhere. He thinks about trying to leave, or at least asking to be unrestrained. The regret and guilt is what stops him from trying.

He tried to murder Emerald. He deserves this.]

Emerald, I-- [No apology can possibly make up for this. He's still horrified that the side of him capable of that is still there. It hasn't gone away. He's no better than many of the people he despises. His head sinks back against the pillow again in defeat.]

It was more trouble than it was worth, and I figured you wouldn't tell me where you put my weapon if you were all butthurt about getting killed.

[ Just so he knows she's not a good person. She doesn't want him bothering her, she's already long since decided that they're not people she wants to be around. It isn't as though she's forgiving of him trying to kill her, but she knows who came out on top and she's not going to fault anyone for wanting to take a life. ]

I'm positive I have no room to be butthurt.

[Oh, right, her weapon.] It's in the Guardian Skyrise in my office. I kept it there in case Weiss-- in case she decided to do something to her other half and I needed to frame her to protect her. [Looking back now, his logic was convoluted.]

Look. Before you go, we don't have to like eachother. But we've both done terrible things. I've done some horrible things that I can't undo or fix. I wish I could. And you didn't have to do that, especially not after everything. I don't care what your reasons are, I won't forget what you did so can we just...I don't know. I don't want to do this anymore.

[People have the autonomy to make their own choices and anyone who believes in destiny is afraid to accept responsibility. He doesn't state that he thinks she's capable of being a decent person, or that she's less terrible than he thought before, because he doubts that would appeal to her.]

So your plan was to murder me and frame the heiress for it to protect her from herself. [ Just so they're clear. ] You've got guts to actually try to come after me, but you need to attach some brains to it.

[ Either way, Emerald looks like she immediately wants to object to him remembering her being merciful forever, but she doesn't and instead gives him a frustrated look. ]

Give Mercury a chance and never tell him or anyone else I said that and you can remember it all you want. As much as none of you want to believe it, I think he means it. Not becoming a goody two-shoes like you all, but he wants to do better and for whatever reason, he thinks that's his chance to try to push himself and channel his energy. I don't personally care to try myself, but if you could just tell your team that you think he should stay even though he was hired from your boss drinking psycho water, I'll try not to harass your group anymore. Deal?

I didn't say it made sense. You don't need to know the whole story, but yeah. [He scowls a little, but bows his head, looking down at the blanket.] That's fair.

[He glances up at her, biting his lip. He really wants to ask her...]

I don't think Mercury's a completely terrible person. I can't choose for him, but I can give him a chance. There are some people I can't forgive, but I can try with him. Besides--

[Pyrrha seemed to trust Mercury enough to help him. Which still feels like a blow to the chest. He just refuses to act on it now.] Anyway, do you like Mercury?

He's a bad person. The side of him in that video is pretty normal and has been since the day I met him. Like I said, though, when he came to Weiss to ask for the job it wasn't a trick. He's not a monster. I know plenty of those personally for comparison.

[ She makes a face like he just said something that could actually make her throw up. ]

No. I just don't actively hate him.

We're all capable of doing horrible things. It's just-- Why Weiss? There are plenty of other ways he can try to be a better person without working with people who might despise him.

[He either doesn't notice, thanks medication, or more likely he does and decides to make it worse.]

What would you even be called? Precious metals?

It doesn't have to do with Weiss, it's probably just because it's literally a job to legally beat the crap out of people. It's fun for him, and he needs an outlet so it doesn't end up coming out in public murder videos. [ Or at the wrong person. ]

Jaune, there is absolutely nothing between Mercury and I. No one will have sex with him, so he hits on me, and I remind him that no one will touch his dick because he is one. Anything else is in your imagination.

[ Aaaanyway. ] I'm leaving now that I know where my stuff is.

I want to think you're right, but I don't know. [He's still thinking about Weiss.] I guess it doesn't matter. I said I'll give him a chance, and I'll try to talk to the others about it. [If they'll actually want to talk to him after this.]

That's kinda sad if that's true. I heard not having sex makes some people dumber.

[He pauses, looking away.] Yeah. Thanks for not killing me when you had a reason to.

[ She doesn't say thanks, even if she's appreciative. ]

Uhg, that's even grosser than the idea that he wants to have sex with me. Not having sex doesn't make anyone stupid. Being stupid makes people stupid.

[ She shrugs, getting up to head toward the door, then looking up thoughtfully before she actually exits. Hm. She still hates all of them, but somethings' bothering her. She doesn't know if she should just leave it, just let them do whatever they want but at this point, whatever happens to Everglade is her fault. At least if she says something without incriminating herself, it'll be a decent peace offering beyond not killing Jaune. She wasn't sure anyone else would buy not murdering this person in this one instance is much of a grounds for leaving her alone. ] Watch out for Everglade's mayor. Whatever's going on there, they're liars. None of what they said happened with the previous mayor or acting mayor is what actually happened. I don't have any proof besides my word, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Edited 2017-01-30 01:46 (UTC)

He said it was only like that for people who rely on it a lot. But thinking about Mercury and sex is pretty gross.

The mayor... You mean Oz? [He just sounds completely caught off guard and sad, but he shuts down before groaning loudly, hitting his head on the pillow.] Ow-- No, you know what? I am not trusting anyone with the name Oz or any variation again. Nope. Especially if they use a cane. F-- Darn that. Stupid bird faced emo suit lover. I'll keep an eye out on him.

Who said something like that? It sounds like something someone tries to convince people of at a bar so they can guilt someone into laying them. [ That said, Emerald is definitely impossible when it comes to sex. There is no one she would even want to. ] He says it because he thinks it's funny when I'm mad anyway.

The guy who waddles around like.. I don't know, a duck. [ What if they just started calling him The Duck instead of Penguin? ] Okay.

Ed wouldn't do that. [Oops.] Huh. I think it's funny when Weiss is mad of me.

Yeah. Duckman. [They should.] I keep my office unlocked because I always lose my keys. But the ones to the safe should be in my wallet.

Men are depraved. [ it's a fact. ]

[ She holds up a hand with his wallet. ] Already got them then. Bye.

What's that supposed to mean?

Wait-- hey, I need that. [And he can't move. Groans mumbles complains about itching.]

[ BYE JAUNE SHE'S NOT COMING BACK ]

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aurabble - 2017-01-30 05:22 (UTC) - Expand