Episode Miles: Chapter 3: Isolated

Chapter 3 of Miles' story.

            Miles kicked a small pebble down the street as he and Rett continued on their patrol of the city streets.  The town was abuzz with the normal daily routine in the shopping district.  And amidst all that chaos, the two of them alone were supposed to watch for any thieves or violent people.  But more often than not, they stopped so Rett could buy food for random people on the street.  This had gone on for several blocks and a few hours.  And just like clockwork, Rett saw another kid and he ran over to buy him a loaf of bread from one of the nearby vendors.  Miles rolled his eyes and hit his head against a nearby pole and waited for Rett to finish up.  After a few minutes, Rett handed the kid some food, and walked back over to see Miles still hitting his head against the pole.

            “You don’t support helping kids make sure they don’t go hungry?” Rett said punching Miles in the shoulder.

            “If you did that for every kid and their families, I don’t think your family could afford to even feed more than a city block.  If that.”  Miles said with a groan.

            “Perhaps, but I do what I can whenever I can.  Now c’mon.  Let’s keep moving.”

            “We have a job to do, how would your bosses feel if they knew you were dawdling around?  Heck, your dad is the big boss, right?  I can’t imagine he’d be happy if he knew you were focused on random kids rather than the task at hand.”

            “You know, I figured you of all people would be more inclined to agree with what I’m doing, especially given your history.”  Miles raised an eyebrow in confusion, then tried to walk away.  “Losing your family, having nowhere to go, questioning where your next meal would come from, you of all people should know the importance of being willing to be there for those who need it most.”  Rett said trying to keep up with Miles.

            “You’ve lived a comfortable life, so let me give you a rude awakening” Miles said with a growl.  “If I did what those kids do now, then nothing would change.  I would just be wallowing in my own misery.  Refusing to move forward.  But I know what I must do.  I know how to move forward.  And I refuse to let myself be held back from doing what is right.”

            “That’s all fine and good, but I’ve also seen what that does to people.”

            “You?  Some pampered kid who knows about what it means to lose someone?  Give me a break.”

            “Look….” but before Rett could interject, Miles bumped into somebody and they both fell to the ground.  The stranger dropping something in their hands in the process.  Miles slowly got up and saw a small coin lying on the ground, the thing the stranger dropped.  He picked it up and looked over and saw the stranger also start to get up.  The stranger was wearing a beige robe that was made for traversing the wastelands of the desert.  It was clearly a girl, she had long flowing black hair, a black bow on her head, and wore a Grimm mask on her eyes.  Miles saw the Grimm mask, and looked down at the coin that the stranger dropped, and turned it over to see it emblazoned with the symbol of the White Fang.  Suddenly, he grew a gigantic smile, and drew his sword exclaiming,

            “Hello there beautiful” the stranger jumped backwards and started running.  Miles quickly took up pursuit.

            “Wait!” Rett yelled to no avail.  Miles was already running after the White Fang member.  The crowd was dense, but the White Fang member jumped up over the crowds and started using different awnings and carts to dodge the crowds.  Miles responded by jumping up into the air, and then changing the pull of his gravity so that he was falling towards the wall.  As soon as he hit the wall, he started running alongside it as if it were the very ground beneath his feet.  Miles kept running full tilt after the White Fang member, until they reached the wide-open square.  From there, Miles leapt up from the wall and tried to angle himself towards his target to try and tackle her, but she pulled out a small black blade, and threw it towards the central statue of the old King of Vacuo.  As the blade flew through the air, Miles could see that it was connected to a black ribbon that the woman was holding in her free hand.  As soon as the blade wrapped around the statue, she seemed to slow down for whatever reason.  Miles didn’t think twice and prepared to strike.  But the moment that his blade was within a millimeter of his target, all of a sudden she turned bright red, and for a moment, he swore that he could see the woman phasing away from him while some kind of fake took her place.  And then another moment later, the red figure exploded in a fiery blaze, causing Miles to fly backwards away from his target.  Yet somehow through the pain, he managed to keep his eyes fixated on his target.  He saw that the force of the explosion caused the White Fang member to be propelled forward, and using the ribbon tied around the statue as an anchor, she flew up into the air.  She then quickly released the ribbon from the statue and let the inertia carry her up to the roofs of the buildings.  She was practically floating through the air.  Miles landed hard, and quickly bounced back up, and stuck out his hand.  Suddenly, the stranger was not falling towards the roof, but back towards Miles.  Miles was drawing her back towards him.

            “Don’t think….you can get away….” Miles said gasping for breath as his nose started to bleed.  The stranger saw Miles struggling, and made a quick decision.  She pulled out her sword, and morphed it into a pistol.  She then fired several shots at the base of the statue, then took the ribbon part of her sword and pulled as hard as she could.”

            “Trying to….resist me?” Miles said with a cough.

            “Nope.” the stranger said with a smirk.  “Distract you.”  And with another powerful yank, the stranger caused the statue to start falling into the crowd below.  Miles saw this, and quickly diverted his energy to stopping the statue from falling.  This worked for a brief moment as he saw several people run away from the falling statue, but then noticed a little boy had tripped and couldn’t find the strength to get up.  Miles continued to hold the statue hoping the child would move, but suddenly, he felt something tighten in his chest, and he clasped it in pain, releasing his hold of the statue.  It began to fall, Miles looking on in horror as it seemed like it was falling in slow motion.  But before the statue hit the boy, Rett appeared almost instantly and used his body to shield the boy from the statue as it crashed into the ground.  But just when it looked like they both got crushed, Rett seemed to walk through the rubble without a scratch on him or the boy.  He helped dust the boy off and led him back to his frightened parents, then made his way back over to Miles.

            “I think you’re getting a bit more time on your sentence.”  Miles groaned and coughed more blood before passing out.

 

 

 

            Miles slowly awoke to the familiar location of the hospital bed with IVs running through his arms.  He sighed and looked over to see Rett sitting there reading over a mission briefing on his Scroll.  But he put it away once he realized Miles was awake.

            “Your Semblance did a number on you” he said walking over.  “Never seen anything like it.  Whenever you alter the pull of gravity, you literally crush your body and disrupt its natural cycle.”

            “Only when I don’t use it on myself.” Miles replied with a small cough.  “Usually, it doesn’t hurt unless I try to control something else.”

            “It’s an interesting phenomenon.  A Semblance is considered the lifeline for a Huntsman or Huntress in the field, but for you it can be your downfall.  But I think there’s more to it.”

            “Am I going to have to listen to you ramble on with your theories and predictions about what makes me tick again?  I’m not interested in your stupid opinion.”

            “It’s not just a physical hurdle, but a mental one as well.  You’ve pushed every last person away in your life.  And as a result, when you reach out to help somebody else, your fears increase.  You fear being close to others.  You fear that reaching out will somehow hurt them.  You fear….”
            “WHAT DO YOU KNOW?” Miles yelled at the top of his lungs.  “You’ve had it good all your life!  You’ve never had to watch a loved one die because of your failure!  You’ve never had to watch your home burn to the ground!  You’ve never had to watch others try to weasel into your life only for them to be hurt because you weren’t good enough!  Because you made a mistake!  This whole operation of yours is stupid!  You think you can just change the world by giving a few kids a loaf of bread every morning?  Wake up!  The world is full of people who will only look out for themselves.  Anybody who tries to help you has an agenda of their own.  I learned that the hard way these three long years.”  Rett remained unfazed by Miles’ explosion, and simply pulled up a chair next to Miles’ bed.

            “When I was around eight years old, my mother and father went out on a mission in the wastelands.  They were gone for days, and my friends here feared the worst.  But then, finally, my father returned.  But he was missing both his arm, and my mother.  She had died trying to save a caravan that was under attack by bandits.  Everybody in the alliance tried to help my father, but he cut them all off.  Instead, he made a makeshift prosthetic arm, and would spend weeks on end scouring the wastelands looking for the people who killed my mother.  And as time slipped away, so did my father’s kindness.  Every time he would return, he returned colder and angrier.  Sometimes he would take it out on anybody who dared even speak to him after another failed attempt.  Other times, he would take it out on our supply of liquor downstairs.  My father was a warm man before all of that.  Somebody who would be the first to lend a hand to those who needed it.  Somebody who would fall on the grenade before anyone else.  But after a year, I hardly recognized him.  He was a shell of his former self.  Drowned in his own anger and hate.  When people tried to tell him that his path was wrong, he would lash out.  Scream in anger.  Said that nobody supported him, even though he ignored the support from those around him.  And one day, two years ago, I decided to confront him.  I had kept my distance for most of the time, but I found I couldn’t act like nothing was wrong anymore.  So, I confronted him, we fought, and he gave me a souvenir.”  Rett pulled up his shirt to reveal a large gash across his chest.  “It took him almost killing me for my father to listen to reason.  After that, he stepped down as head of the alliance, citing his previous behavior.  The highest-ranking members of the alliance decided not to expel him, but rather let him do good amongst our numbers.  They still want him to lead, they just think having some time away from the job is for the best.  He’s been doing odd jobs here and there with the rest of the grunts.  Holding true to what my mother used to tell me when I was young.  That “we are all human, so we must do what we can each and every day” or something along those lines.  The point is, my father has spent his time doing what he can, and I strive to do the same.  It might not be a big accomplishment, but I do what I can, and for now, that is enough.  I’ve seen what happens when somebody shuts everybody else out.  And if you’re doing it now at the age you are?  I’m terrified for what happens once you become an adult.”  Rett stood up, and walked towards the door.  “Your injuries this time were far more severe than when we first found you.  Get some rest.”  With that said, he closed the door, leaving Miles alone.  Miles didn’t have any words to say.  He was just in shock.  He looked at the door that Rett had walked out of, and then looked down at his own hands, covered in cuts and bruises.  He saw his sword leaning up against the wall, the blade unsheathed displaying the character he was never able to translate.  The dim light of the hospital room was all he had left as company, and everything was quiet.

 

 

 

            Miles was sleeping soundly when he heard a door open and a nurse walked in.  She pulled out a clipboard and started to take notes.

            “Surprised my biggest fan didn’t stop in for a visit today” Miles said rolling his eyes.

            “Rett got an assignment that was top priority” the nurse said going over Miles’ vitals.  “So he isn’t in today.”  Miles shrugged his shoulders and let the nurse take the information she needed.  But as she was doing so, he noticed several alliance members were seemingly in a panic just outside his door.

            “What’s their problem?” Miles asked craning his neck trying to see more.

            “Don’t worry about it” the nurse said as she finished everything.  “Just get some rest.  Your natural aura did a lot in helping you recover, but you are still fairly weak.”  Having said that, the nurse left, leaving Miles alone again.  But this time, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.  He slowly got out of bed and went over to the door, and opened it just a tiny crack to try and listen in on the conversation.

            “……still haven’t heard from him.  It was just a reconnaissance mission in the foundry district.  Nothing major.”

            “That stupid kid we picked up the other day really got the White Fang nervous.  They’ve been extra cautious, so they might be more wary of our attempts to spy on them.”

            “You don’t think that Rett….”

            “I don’t think anything yet.  But I do believe the top brass are going to be really worried.  I’m surprised they haven’t tried throwing everything they have at this yet.”

            “Well, if they do have him, then we’re stuck.  That district is infamous for being a hive for criminals to hang out.  If the White Fang find out we’re wise to them, then we’ll have a real fight on our hands.  Not just with them, but with every last person in that sector.”     

            “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that and Rett actually makes it home.”  Miles closed the door and scratched his head.  He knew the district that the two were talking about, he had visited it several times during his search for the White Fang in Vacuo.  And given his previous intelligence, he had a pretty good idea which building they might have been hiding in.  He looked at his ankle bracelet, and looked at his sword.

            “I can’t believe I’m about to do this” Miles said with a groan.  He picked up his sword, and made a fast swinging motion at his leg.  He almost cut into his own flesh, but he focused his aura entirely around where the ankle bracelet was, and hoped it wouldn’t try to protect the bracelet.  Thankfully, the bracelet fell harmlessly to the floor without sounding an alarm, and Miles took a sigh of relief.  He then grabbed his black coat, opened the window, and started running across rooftops.  The alliance while not as high standing as perhaps some of the other groups or even the Huntsman Academy of Shade, it still was pretty high in the city, meaning Miles could go virtually downhill by running along rooftops.  He kept running until he reached a massive warehouse near the sand docks.  This was one of the places highlighted in his intel about the White Fang, and he was sure that this was where Rett was stationed.  He didn’t see him anywhere, but he did notice something interesting.  A small golden gleam caught the corner of his eye from a rooftop overlooking the warehouse.  He made his way towards it, and it was the golden Cougar that was normally on the armor.  It looked as if it had been cut off, or perhaps removed by force.

            “Looking for your friend?” a new voice cut in.  Miles slowly turned around to see the stranger he was chasing earlier standing before him with her weapon drawn.  She no longer had the cloak to disguise herself, but instead had a black outfit with a pair of cat ears and a Grimm mask.

            “He’s not my friend” Miles said drawing his sword.  “I just…. that idiot’s going to get himself killed.  And I’d rather that not happen just yet.”

            “Then you can join him.”

            “I’ve survived worse than you.  Bring it on.”

Author's Note

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