Fandom Grimm Hunter Part 2: Twin Tendency

[CapRock]

Aslan

Things descended into little more than a blur ever since Koni left. I remember some people talking about trust, some mention to a pun and not much else. My mind was stuck in a lock, obsessed by that one moment when I was needed the most and didn’t do anything. At some point, I was in a hospital bed next to window. It hurt a lot to get it open and get through it but I sure as hell didn’t care; I had to find her.

“Koni! Koni, where are you!” I pleaded as I half-ran, half-limped my way around Atlas, not really heading any way in particular since I didn’t even know where to look for. I hadn’t realized just how cold and thin the air is there. Made me lose my breath way too quickly, it even felt like I was drowning thousands of feet above the water. After a while, even my voice had gone down into a sad muttering: “Koni, please show up…”

Eventually, my leg failed me and I tripped, landing clumsily on the ground. I could probably have used some more rest after the fight. Looking around, I see Sonora Jr. coming my way. I probably scared the folks back there, yet another instance of me messing up. Was I about to get scolded? I felt so weak that the idea wasn’t even scaring me, so I just shuffled myself to lean into the wall and talked to Sonora:

“I’m sorry… I know I’m being a dumbass. I just can’t rest while Koni’s out there.” Was what I managed to tell her.


Midori

Meanwhile back in the hospital, very little had happened after Sonora Jr. exited the room. Left hanging between the wholesome energy of Tristan’s little speech and the worrying of both Koni and Aslan running amok in a fragile emotional state, it would be safe to assume that their current situation felt weird.

“…So do you think they’re gonna be alright?” Verde asked, never one to cope with silence.

“Insufficient data.” Midori said, scribbling something on her notebook. “And we have other worries to attend.” She took her eyes off her scribbles for a moment to stare at Kyla, who joined up with them after the ride to the hospital. “Kyla, what exactly did Ironwood say to you?”

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"I know, but I cannot let you walk around Atlas alone. Especially with those injuries." Sonora said as she then slapped him in the face. "THAT, is for making everyone worry about you." She then picks him up, and leans him over his shoulder. "We should find her before you freeze to death."


The two walked for some time before she picked up a distinct smell. She took a big whiff before her tail starts wagging. "Yep. That is her, should not be too far from here." She made a mad dash, following the trail of smell. She can feel the scent getting stronger, as well as the smell of bread and sweets being made. "What the...? Is she at a-" She was cut off as she stopped in front of a bakery, with Koni sitting alone, with a cup of hot chocolate sitting in front of her. "A bakery? What is she doing at a bakery?" She asked as she walked in, the bell ringing.

"Hello! Welcome to-" "We are looking for someone, dark skin, red paint on the face, seen her?" Sonora asked bluntly before the owner could finish her greeting. "Oh! Yes, she is at the table over there. She seemed sad, but wouldn't tell me what was going on. And with the weather getting worse, I had to bring her in to warm her up so she does not freeze!" The woman said with great concern as Koni looked at the two with the greatest of sadness. "Thanks, we greatly appreciate you taking care of her. Her husband here tried looking for her with his "Crippling" Injuries. Gotta say, quite the hero. Missing the green hair and a bubbly personality." She said with sarcasm with a smirk on her face.

Koni watched as Sonora sat Aslan down next to her, and she sat in front of the two. Sonora knew that one of the aliens had been messing with her, but it was all drowned out with the sounds of the battle, and her own blood pumping. She looked Koni dead in the eyes, as serious as possible, and spoke, "Koni, Something is wrong. Aslan was willing to put himself into hypothermia to look for you. Now spill it, what did he say to you that upset you?" She asked, her no BS attitude coming into full swing.

Koni looked at her, frozen in place as she looked at both Sonora Jr. and Aslan. Then tears ran down her face as she tried to hold them back. Sonora Jr. sighed. "Let it all out, killer. He is right here." Sonora then glared at him, and gave him a look that said "Do your thing, lover boy." as Koni then buried her face in aslan's chest as the waterworks started up.

Meanwhile, Sonora took out her phone, and texted Cherry. "Sis, I found Aslan trying to go after Koni. We found her at a Bakery. Gonna be a while, so stay where you are."

"Oh, um... well... Ironwood was basically scolding me for my defiance, and basically saying Egon can walk a free man. On one condition." She paused and looked at Egon, who nodded and looked at Verde and Midori, his eye studying their reactions. "That I be by his side wherever he is. Like a sidekick if you will. And do not worry, whatever relationship you have with him, I will not come between. But when orders come in, I must follow them." Kyla said as Egon looked at her, and then at the girls.

"He has seen what I am. A man forced into a body made for war. My eye revealed what little humanity I have. And Kyla told him of the burning memory that drives me." He said in text as kyla nodded in agreement. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

I didn't do much of anything when Sonora Jr. Got to me. Even when she slapped me, all I could do was keep myself quiet and looking down, up until she mentioned looking after Koni. So she wasn't dragging me back to the hospital? Thank you, Sonora, I owe you one.
When she found the smell and sprinted, I could barely believe my own eyes. Were we getting there? Could she really be here? I got through all of her snark and made my way to Koni in a flash. I was shaking, terrified she would shut me out one more, running off to never be seen again. So when she did bury her head in my chest, I started to cry with relief.
"Koni." So many feelings were stuffed in that one word that I couldn't possibly explain them in a day. "Whatever it is that's troubling you, please tell me, I beg you! I just can't stand seeing you like this without knowing what it is."
My words felt clunky, selfish even, but they were straight from the heart. With that done, I wiped the tears from my eyes and her her shoulders, waiting for the answer.

Verde

"Keep a watch on him, huh..." Verde replied to Kyla. It felt a tad disappointing to know that she and her sister weren't trusted to take care of Egon in their own. "I'll take it. Soon enough, Ironwood's gonna realize that Egon is a lot more than an overpriced war toy with a dark past."
"Besides, his worries are hypocritical." Midori added. "There isn't much of him left either."
"Guys,guys!" Cherry interrupted yet again, speaking with excitement and with her hand over the scroll's speaker. "Sonora found As and Koni! She's bringing them back."
"What a remarkable woman." Kin said. "I'm really lucky to have her. But for now..." He let out a sight and rested his head a bit. "I suppose everything is in order. We still have a few tenno to worry about, but after this defeat it'd be unwise to strike again, so I suggest we give ourselves a little break."

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Koni looked at Aslan as she wiped her tears, and took some deep breaths to calm down. "when we were fighting those people... one of them broke me... he broke my pride... and made me feel..." She stopped, and clutched him in her strong grasp, and pulled him into a head as she rested her head on his shoulder. "He made me feel unworthy..." Koni then looked at Aslan, and then buried her head onto his chest again. Sonora clenched her fists, her ears dropping down. This was not her usual grouchiness, this was pure anger from seeing one of the nicest people she knew being hurt so badly. She did not know what to say, and just walked out, leaving the two of them alone.

"He will see soon enough, just be patient. Besides, I may be effective alone, but 2 is even more-so. It will also give you a chance to learn a few things about ms. Azura, so there is a positive." Egon said as he then looked to the twins with a nod. He then turned his attention to Cherry and Kin. "They will return, no doubt. We must be ready, but we must also rest." CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

So that's how it feels, huh? You look at a person and see all their amazing qualities and they stare back at you and tell you they're worthless. Did mom and dad really endure all this from me in silence? Sini too? It's heart-breaking, to be honest. Her pain was quickly mine and it felt worse than anything I had ever gone through myself. Holding Koni to his chest, I took a moment to search my heart for the right answer. Like a massive thunderstorm, it raged out from my chest into my throat, and words just poured out as I held her tight:
"Don't you ever tell yourself that. What can a man who saw you for a moment know about you? He's just babbling out of his mouth." After that, I pulled Koni away and said: "Koni, I love you more than anything of this world, and a big reason for that is because of how much of a strong woman you are. How much you earned evertything you are and have, espcially your family. But you don't have to take my word for it. Come on," I say, tugging her towards the exit. "I'm going to take you back to the hotel, and I want you to look into the eyes of everyone when they see you back again. And then you can tell me if you're worth anything or not, alright?"

Sini

- A few minutes later -

Sini was laying down on her bed, belly down, looking up at the cards on her hand. Her gaze shifted dramatically from Tristan, to Noctis, then to the Russet twins, and then to Kayla, a million machinations going through her mind. Kin was reading a book, some old fantasy novel, and occasionally glancing at the game with amusement, and Verde was constantly babbling to Egon, explaining to him the rules and strategies. There was still no sign of Sonora Jr. or the lovebirds left, but they should be returnign soon. After that tense moment, Sini stared Midori down again, asking:
"Do you have any 4s?"
"Go fish."
"F&@#!"
Sini grabbed a card, looked at it, then cursed again.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

During their game of Go Fish, Sonora Jr. opens the door for Asalan and Koni as they walked in, with her then slamming the door shut. She gave off very tense vibes as she looked at everyone, and then found a chair to sit in, muttering to herself as she walked over.

"Hey guys! Where have guys been? you are missing out on the Go Fish game here!" Noctis received a very angry glare from Sonora Jr. Before she sat down in a chair, and pinched the bridge of her nose and shaking her head.

"I... I am sorry I made you all worry." Koni said as noctis shook his head. "Don't apologize. You needed some space, but you sure as hell worried Lion over here." Noctis gestured to aslan before recieving a smack on the back of the head by tristan. "Do you even have an ounce of tact?" Tristan scolded. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Cherry

Cherry had been a bit quiet ever since Aslan left, glancing at the window or the door every now and then as if it'd help bring them back sooner. When they did arrive, her face lit up faster than a firework exploding; she ran up to Koni and tackled her with her signature bear hug. There were a few tears sprouting from her eyes already when she said:
"Koni! We were sooooo worried! But it's ok now, because you're here! So wh-"
"She's very tired," Interrupted Aslan. "So let's all get some rest for now, alright?"
"Oh... Ok." Cherry agreed with a nod. "Come join us, then!"

Kin

Kin smiled at their return, but he was mostly worried about his Sonora Jr. he carefully escaped the pleasantries and squatted next to her. After a moment of silenc,e he reached out for her arm, hoding it softly, and said:
"Hey. You were great fetching those kids there. You should give yourself a break." After that, Kin fell on his behind and glanced at everyone else. "Maybe we all should."

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"Break my a$$, Kin. I am LIVID right now. Not because of Koni or aslan, but what one of those inhuman ingrates said to her!" at this point she was fuming, heavily breathing to try and cool herself. That wa when Koni walked up to her, and gave her a hug as tight as she could. "I'm sorry for what I did... please... Forgi-" "You are not the one I am angry at. I understand how you must have felt. Trust me when I say, that being a Faunus in this world is no fun and games. Even cherry can tell you that. Right now, I think we need some rest, and maybe bring in the adults...." Sonora said as Noctis perked up. "But Egon is an adul-" "She meant the parents dumba$$!" Tristan said as he sighed. "I do agree that we need some rest, I am exhausted..." He said as everyone started to get ready for bed in their rooms.

The next day
Everyone was woken up by hospital staff to check vitals, and to eat breakfast. The usual Bacon and eggs with toast. Koni woke up, but had no appetite. "Sweety, you gotta eat. You can't regain your strength if you don't eat." The nurse kindly said as Koni forced herself to eat. She was having a hell of a time in Atlas, but with Aslan there all the way through, she felt somewhat better about herself.

Then the sounds of the adults coming echoed throughout the halls, even Gamora and Wayne's voices were heard, filled with concern and worry. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Midori

Our heroes were set to rest, but the truth was, the Russets rarely truly rested. Midori and her sister were talking over their breakfast, already setting up their next improvements for Egon, completely oblivious to everything happening around them. Verde lead the conversation while she took down all the notes:
"Hey, maybe we should implement Dust pockets in his suit!"
"The current model has low compatibility, we'd be risking the armor integrity."
"Eh, alright. Options for the blade?"
"Strengthening the temper, electric current.... Barbs?"
"How about a chainsaw?"
"Ooh, that's pretty good." Verde said, then stopped. There were only supposed to be two people in that conversation. Both twins glanced to the side and their faces lit up instantly and they said in unison:
"DAD!!!"
"Come here, you brats!" Peter said, hugging them tightly and pulling them up. Peter had gotten quite different from his Hunter days; he had grown a respectable beard and was now wearing full Monster Hunter armor, which made him look massive. "I missed you so much!"
"We did too." Midori said. "Much happened."
"Yeah, so I've heard!" Peter said. "Missions, kidnappings, interdimensional attacks..." He then glanced at Egon. "And who's that?"
"That's Egon!" Verde replied happily. After a bit of hesitation, she added: "...He's kind of our fiancée."

Aslan

Ever since that time, my mind's been stuck on Koni and the things she said. I spent who knows how long last night staring at the ceiling, wondering how she was feeling, if she was getting any better and what could I do about it. It never feels like it's enough, you know? Just being there. Even now, watching her force the toast down her throat, it pains me to not have anything meaningful to say about it. This whole 'patience' thing is a lot easier than it sounds. So when something happened to change the mood, it was actually a huge blessing; mom and dad were with Gamora and Wayne and, even though they were worried, seeing us alive and well seemed to soften that somewhat.

"You kids just can't help it, can you?" Mom said, hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. "We let you out of our sight for one second, and you're already run into life-threatening danger. Multiple times."
"Actually, it was more like the danger ran into us." Sini protested. "These dumbasses won't leave us alone!"
"Well, I'm happy to see we taught you to fend off for yourselves, at least." Mom siad. She hugged Sini and held my hand from the bed, rubbing my forehead. "Well, more or less."
"i'm pretty sure I'd be dead if it weren't for your training, mom." I replied. "So, are you here to visit or do you plan on sticking around a bit?" Before I could answer, a massive scream cut out all the conversations:
"FI-FIANCÉE?"
...And then Peter collapsed into the floor.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Egon watched as Peter fainted, all because of the fact he was basically their fiancee. He looked to the twins, and held up his hand with some text, "Is he alright? That was quite a scare coming from him."

"You kids are lucky you made it out alive! Next time, please be more carefu- WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Clifford noticed Sini's injuries, and rushed to her, obviously very worried.
"Can you be any louder, Cliff? I swear you are over- OH MY GOD! NOCTIS!" Gamora shouted, doing the exact same thing as clifford did. "Hi mom... I was a bit of a dumbass... as usual. Sini fried someone with her semblance, and I ran in because I thought about keeping her safe. I did not care about what happened to me, Sini was my only concern." Wayne put his hand on his son's shoulder, and sighed. "Son... you are so much like me it is scary. You cannot be so reckless. If I know Sini well enough, she can handle herself just fine. Especially being an Ancient like her dad." Wayne said as Noctis put his head down. "I know... but I have this... urge. this urge to make sure she is safe no matter what." Noctis said as a tear rolled down his face, where his father hugged him. "I know, I know. I may not see you and Tristan much, but I know that you are better than that. But I cannot fault you for doing what you did." "Wanye, do you even hear yourself! Look at him!" "Gamora. I know. But he did what he thought was right at the moment, which is keeping Sini safe. If you are going to scold him for having a heart bigger than a Grimm, then go ahead. But I will not condemn him for doing what he should do as a lover. Same goes for you and me." Wayne said as he glared at Gamora with a serious expression on his face. "I... I'm sorry... At least you and tristan are alright..." She said as she walked out, with wayne following.

Sonora Sr. and Damian come in after the two left, and notice that sonora Jr. seems angry over something. Sonora Sr. Walks over to Jr. while Damian went to Cherry. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Sini

Sini wasn't very happy to see Noctis getting the blame on his own. She turned to the Wayne and Gamora and said: "Don't be so hard at him. If he hadn't jumped in there, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead meat! Ain't that right, honey?" She said, looking at Noctis with a smirk. Surely the king of pranksters wouldn't have a hard time figuring out her little white lie. Then, to her dad: "But I'll be fine, dad, I promise. i'm already feeling pretty strong again!" She added, flexing her arm and patting her bicep. After that, there was yet another concern. "He's... Not taking this very well at all, is him?"
Peter, that now muscle-bround, deadly hunter, was now going through all of the room's napkins to try and wipe his melodramatic sobs as Midori and Verde held on to him.
"I can't believe this!" He whined. "My precious young girls, all grown up and getting married..."
"There there, dad." Said Midori.
"I promise you're not old yet, dad." Verde added. "At least, not in spirit."
Meanwhile, Yukari walked over to Egon and offered him a hand.
"I'm Yukari. It's nice to meet you, Egon. Take good care of our children." She added, politely but firmly.

Cherry

"It's good to see you again, dad!" Cherry greeted him with a hug, of course, and he rubbed her hair.
"Good to see you're being more careful this time around." Damian replied. He crouched down to her and said: "Listen, your old man here and the folks are going to be sticking around Atlas for a few days. They'll want to take you on tourist attractions, visit museums and all that... 'fun' stuff with you kids."
"Dad, what are you saying?" Cherry stared at him with innoccent eyes, but a mischievous smirk.
"Oh nothing at all!" He said, dismissing with a way. He then leaned in closer to whisper: "You and I both know how aunt Gamora is around you when it comes to safety. So if you need to catch a break, just send the signal and I'll handle it for you, ok?"
Cherry agreed with a nod and giggled. "Thanks, dad. We appreciate it."
"Alright, kids." Cassie said, getting back up. "We are just passing by before we settle in town. We'll come back in a few minutes to take you to lunch, alright? See you soon!"
"Bye, mom!" Aslan replied before she and Damian left. Only after all adults had left that he made the question to the others: "...Wait a minute. 'Settle in'?"

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"R... Right... I did save you in a way..." He said as he watched his mother and father walk out, Gamora clearly being upset. "Noctis, You know how she is with the both of us. Overly protective and over reactive." Tristan added as he hugged his brother, and smiled at Sini. "Besides, You and Sini are a better fit than I originally thought. You do have quite the eye for girls if I do say so myself." Tristan joked as Noctis chuckled a bit with a half smile. "Thanks Tristan... And thanks Sini... you saved my ass back there, I guess..." He said as he wiped a tear from his eye. "And hearing dad say what he said... That made me feel good. I am not just a goof who lazes about to him..." He said as a tear ran down his face, his father's words hitting him a little harder than they should have.

"Sonora, baby. What's wrong? You are looking a little steamed." Sonora Sr. asked as she walked up to Jr. "Hey mom... It's... it's Koni... the jackasses we fought totally crushed her confidence. And I am angry about it because she has no trust in herself now, and I do not know how to help..." Sonora Jr looked at her mom, her scowl lightening up to a face of confusion. "What should I do?" She asked as her mother had a smug look on her face.

"Apparently not. I would be grateful someone would marry my kids. That would mean that you can do things without me around all the time. Y'know... give you a chance to figure things out on your own without me holding your hand. Then again, when have I ever done that?" Clifford muttered as he looked at Sini. She has grown a lot since she was a child, and here she was, showing how strong she was to him as if it was nothing.

"I plan on it. They are good girls, but have much to learn in terms of cooperation. Our initial friendship was.... bumpy. But we worked it out. Luckily I chose both instead of just one. In all honesty, I had two wives before.... well... before I was forced into being this abomination..." Egon said in text as he nodded back to Yukari.

When the adults left, Sonora Jr. began to ponder Aslan's question. "What could they mean by that?" CapRock