บท 126: 28
Chapter 28 - Jaunnequin
Out in the streets of Vale it was actually quite impressive how much weirdness people would accept. Perhaps it was because of the presence of so many hunters, each with increasingly bizarre semblances. Or maybe it was just that they chose to ignore the black and white dressed girl walking down the street talking to a golden teddy bear – for fear of catching whatever crazy she had.
Who could tell?
"So first of all, what do you have to do to possess someone?" Jaune, in bear form, sat on Blake's left shoulder, one hand touching her hair to keep him in place.
"It's not exactly something I understand; it just sort of happened instinctively. I didn't even know I could do it until Sun went unconscious." Blake hummed as she recalled that time. Before then he'd been consigned to a spirit form around her. Had something changed, or had the ability always been there? "I only went up to him to see if I could wake him up somehow, since you were in danger. I couldn't touch him so I decided to see if I could phase into him to shock him awake. Next thing I knew; I was Sun."
"You possessed Sun? Or you were Sun?"
"I don't know, I don't!" The last was added as she gave him a sharp look. "This doesn't exactly come with a manual. I could move his body but it wasn't the same as when I'm in the bear. I didn't have to actually move the legs. I just wanted them to move and they did, almost automatically. It felt like I was actually him – and his body was just doing what I wanted, like our bodies do."
Or did, in his case. Some kind of muscle memory perhaps? Or was it just a result of him possessing a living organism like the brain? It made sense, in a convoluted way. Possess something that isn't alive and you need to force it to do something unnatural – move on its own power. But the brain already knows how to do all that, and what's more, is hard-wired to be capable of it at a moment's notice.
That was why humans didn't need to think about where or how they wanted to move. They just walked around.
"When you fought though, you were able to use Sun's weapon. I know you don't know how to fight – not since you faked your way in. Did that come from Sun too?"
"Pretty much," he confirmed her suspicions in a heartbeat. While dumb luck could explain away some success there was just no way he could have used a weapon as complicated with so much skill. Mecha-shift weapons were just awkward like that. Since a wrong button press or even bending them the wrong way could have them snapping from an inter-continental missile to a cheese grater. "Sun knew how to fight, so I just sort of did too. It wasn't mind reading though… more that it just felt familiar, and I was blocking strikes without having to think too much on it."
Muscle memory then? Or maybe something else… could she really apply real-world logic to something that was so clearly unnatural? Maybe it wasn't mind control – maybe it was. Maybe it was something in the middle; something that didn't have a word of phrase to describe it.
Hell, mecha-shift hadn't existed at one point in history. Maybe this was the same and she was the first to discover it?
Or maybe… maybe this was common. And everyone just kept it as secret. Just like she was.
And maybe this train of thought is pointless, and doesn't help me in any meaningful way.
"We're here." Blake could feel the bear on her shoulder looking up at the sign of the store, no doubt wondering what they were supposed to do at a clothes store. Or worse… maybe he was imagining that he was about to get a free show. "I want you to try and see if you can possess a mannequin," she explained.
"Oh… right, sure. I mean I can try – but this isn't going to really help, is it? I mean look at those things."
"I'm not saying I'll be bringing this to the dance," though she did understand his point. The joints on the plastic statue were clearly fake and you could also see that it didn't actually have eyes or a mouth in any way. It was just a lump of material in the vague shape of a woman, with clothes draped over the top. "I just want to see what you can and can't do."
A more realistic mannequin would probably be much harder to acquire… not to mention she'd have to pay for it or – more realistically – steal it.
She wasn't exactly rolling in lien. What with being a homeless, ex-terrorist, student.
"Okay, keep hold of me," the bear slipped from her shoulders as he left it for the display before her. She caught it with one hand, the other stroking her chin as though considering the clothes on display. Some pink number, with flashes of orange. It was honestly quite painful to look at… not to mention she half-expected Yang would go into apoplectic shock if she saw her wearing it.
Right before the blonde knocked her out and burned it.
"Jaune?"
"I'm trying," it was decidedly odd, hearing his voice coming from the mannequin. It sounded muted somehow, muffled. "I can't do anything, it's solid plastic. I'm not even sure you could bend its arm by doing it manually."
"Damn, worth a shot – come back out." That was one idea of the list, although if she were able to find one capable of moving or being posed, then maybe it would be okay. That said, how easy was it to locate something like that? There weren't exactly full-size mannequin stores across the city. These were probably from some kind of wholesale supplier for commercial business.
Nothing's ever easy.
Jaune's ghostly face suddenly became nervous. "Don't look behind you. Don't!" he quickly repeated once she instantly tried to look. `Yang?` she mouthed, only to get a shake of his head in return. "It's… shit, it's that girl from the warehouse. The one with the White Fang and Torchwick."
Blake's blood turned to ice. The multi-coloured girl, the one Jaune had found a news article on?
The murderer…
Is she here for me? She was there to rescue Torchwick when Miss Goodwitch appeared but did she come to finish the job?
"What is she doing?" Blake whispered, keeping her eyes locked on the mannequin before her. Jaune floated behind her back. Just out of vision, but keeping an eye on the girl.
"She's… no… I don't think she's here for us," a breath of relief, "I think… honestly I think she's shopping for underwear." One brow rose, wondering if this was another perverted comment from him. "I would not suggest that one though. I get that bright pink is her thing, but it's a little too frilly – even for me."
Wait, she really was just shopping? Blake wasn't sure why that surprised her so much – at the end of the day they were all normal people, no matter what life choices they'd made. It wasn't like by virtue of her criminal nature, the girl's breasts would defy the rigours of gravity.
Also… "What do you know of fashion in women's bras?" She had to wonder, "I thought you never had a girlfriend?"
"I didn't," Jaune admitted without a hint of embarrassment. "But I spend my time in a room with four teenage girls. You pick things up."
"You've been watching us!?"
"You've been getting dressed and undressed around me!" Jaune defended. "Is it really watching when you do that to me?"
"Yes! It is. Ugh, forget it – this is our opportunity!"
"It is?" Jaune sounded unsure. "We're going to steal her body to be your date? Even for you, this plan seems a little out there."
"Not the date," Blake hissed, "the…" a brief look around to see if anyone was listening, "the Fang. We can follow her and find out what she's doing – where Torchwick is!"
"And then be killed," Jaune finished.
"You can't even be killed," Blake argued back, though she knew what he really meant. Judging by the arch look he gave her, he knew full well. "Look, I'm not suggesting we fight her – not if she's that powerful. But we can at least try to find out more about her."
"This still sounds pretty dangerous," Jaune looked back towards the girl – who Blake still couldn't see. "You promise no risk? Besides, we still need to sort out your dance problem."
"No risk, we'll just wait until she leaves and follow her from a distance. This is in the middle of Vale, if she gets wind of me she will probably just vanish." Much like she'd done with Torchwick that night. Even if being recognised put her at further risk… well, it didn't even really matter. Torchwick knew who her by face and Adam knew her by name.
She was already knee-deep in this. So what did it matter if one more person had her on their list?
"Well in that case you might want to be quick. She just left."
What!? Earlier warning forgotten Blake span around, amber eyes darting across the store. The door was still swinging, suggesting someone had passed through it but a moment ago. "Why didn't you tell me? Gah!" She didn't wait for his answer, rushing after the girl.
Left, right – where had she… there! Pink hair pushing through the crowd. She was hardly inconspicuous, but she did have a lead on her pursuers. Blake tried to look subtle as she ran after the girl, though to be fair it was hard when you were pushing your way through crowds of people. The pedestrians around her complained and shouted abuse, but it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. So long as she kept the tri-coloured girl in sight then she'd be fine however.
She just had to –
"Oof!" Something collided with her. Or, to be more accurate, the speeding faunus collided with something else. It felt like a car from her point of view. Though that was unlikely given the fact they were in the middle of a shopping precinct. Whatever it was, it dropped when she hit it – dragging her along for the ride. A hiss escaped her lips as her hands hit the concrete, aura protecting her from any damage, though it still stung like mad.
"Sorry," She said automatically, trying to locate Torchwick's partner.
"Salutations!" The figure below her yelled – several thousand decibels louder than her delicate ears (both sets) realistically needed. "I am a virgin, so I would appreciate it if you were gentle!"
"What!?" Blake managed, glancing down to the girl. Bright orange hair, green and black clothing – completely serious expression…
"Hey, it's the robot." Jaune said, utterly nonchalant.
"What!?" Blake repeated, this time looking up at him.
"Blake! You can't molest my friend!" The voice of her leader whined.
"Wh-!?" Blake started, before letting out a long sigh. No… it wasn't worth it. Better to just accept the insanity for what it was.
"Well, well, well… look what the cat dragged in," the accursed voice of her partner cooed. "Just in time for our shopping trip. How convenient~"
Ah crud.
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