A/N- Felt extra motivated with this story, so here's another chapter.
Now, given that there are a few parallels that can be drawn between Hollow Knight and RWBY, such as the use of Soul, things might not always match up in comparison, but I'm trying my best.
Also, I can't really keep calling the King and Queen just by their titles forever, it would just be too awkward. So in this chapter I gave the Queen what I hope is an appropriate name, and I'm still working on the King's.
So, I hope you enjoy, and be sure to review!
Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!
(-)
"Progress demands sacrifice. Whether it be resources, individuals, or morality, something has to be lost in order to move forward. Some might think it cruel to willingly throw away a single life in order to save ten. They might say; what if there was a way to save them all? Such foolish ideas will only waste time and cause a situation to deteriorate all the more rapidly. A cure to a disease will only work if someone is willing to be the first test subject. As despicable as it may be, so long as the desired result is met, the populace will care little for how it was reached, even if blood was spilled in the process."
-Monomon the Teacher
(-)
Despite all the strange things he'd been through over the years, Ozpin was starting to think that he was a bit in over his head. Although he hid his concern well, the very nature of his current location was something that defied logic, and kept him on edge. An enormous castle buried deep underground, that was home to the King of a race of giant sentient bugs. The structure was designed unlike anything he had ever lay eyes upon, but what really grabbed his attention was not the castle, but what was contained inside it.
It was as if Soul itself was wafting off of nearly every surface. The very energy that was thought to only be present in living beings, was radiating from statues, lights, and floating platforms. The inhabitants of the palace were saturated in the stuff, and Ozpin almost felt as if he could reach out and touch it in the air.
Another thing he took note of were the barely noticeable slits and holes along the ground, walls, and ceiling. If he hadn't been looking for something like it, he never would have noticed. The faint glint of metal that reflected from the crevices clued Ozpin in to what might be hidden inside.
But by far the most alarming discovery came when they passed by some of the guards. Even by the standards of the strange bugs who resided in the Kingdom, these soldiers were of another breed entirely. In fact, Ozpin was almost entirely sure that they weren't bugs at all. They towered over all others, clad in heavy armor that was bleached white, and armed with a large curved blade that looked not unlike a claw. Though they seemed to imitate the shape of a bug, given the second set of arms, they acted more like those new robot sentries that Atlas has started development on. Their movements were stiff and precise, as if they were nothing more than puppets. Yet the most damning piece of evidence was their faces. Or at least, what could be seen of them.
Ozpin had already taken note of how a majority of the bugs of Hallownest wore white masks that were coincidentally reminiscent of a Grimm mask, or their faces resembled a mask. However these soldiers had no proper mask. Their metal helm covered most of their face, only allowing for a strip of their face going across their eyes to be seen. And what could be seen was rather unsettling.
An inky blackness the was filled with a sense of all-consuming emptiness whenever Ozpin looked straight at it. An almost unnoticeable shiver ran across his skin upon drawing a comparison to the Grimm and their relentless pursuit of extinguishing life. But whereas the Grimm were beings of pure malevolence, the unnatural guard held a sense of a bottomless pit of nothing, that would pull everything into its embrace, never to be seen again.
For a brief moment, the glowing orbs of white that were its eyes, met with Ozpin's.
The ancient man couldn't remember the last time he felt as unnerved by something as he did right then and there.
His gaze must have been focused on the guard longer than he had thought, as one of the bug soldiers escorting them turned his head slightly to face him.
"It would be in your best interest not to pry into matters that don't concern you." he whispered in warning. "Gaze too long into the Abyss, and the Abyss will gaze back at you."
Ozpin's eyes narrowed. "..."
A quick glance to his students confirmed his suspicions that they lacked the awareness to pick up on the unnatural soldiers 'aura'. Summer was too focused on the strange weapons and armor, and Taiyang was still shifting his eyes about nervously, trying to anticipate any incoming danger.
Eventually they arrived at a large ornate doorway that was guarded by another set of the unsettling guards.
The lead soldier who escorted them grabbed the handle to the door. "Her majesty will see you now. Be on your best behavior."
Taiyang gave a stiff nod with a whimper, Summer replied with a quick 'got it', and Ozpin affirmed with an 'of course'.
As soon as Ozpin stepped through the doorway, he felt it. Power. An energy unlike anything he had ever encountered before. The very same power that was radiating from the glowing roots which grew throughout the palace. But in the meeting room, the power hung in the air like a thick fog. While it did not seem to cause any adverse effects to him or his students, it was still something that was impossible to miss.
It only took a moment for Ozpin to discern the source and snap his eyes to it. Standing at the far end of the room and gazing out a window that overlooked the palace grounds, was a being that defied description.
It slowly turned to face them upon sensing their entrance, and regarded them with a gentle smile.
"Ah, it seems that our guests have arrived. Welcome to Hallownest."
Her voice was soft, but each syllable that left her mouth was filled with power.
This was obviously the Queen. She was dressed in a long white robe that slightly hugged her features, and wore a short light-grey shawl around her neck. Her face was lacking in features for the most part, but what stood out about it most were her eyes, which looked like glassy marbles that were ovoid in shape. Rather than hair, the top of her head was covered by root-like appendages. The only other part of her that was visible, was the ends of her hands, with her tendril-like fingers ending in soft tips. She easily stood ten feet tall, towering over all who were present.
With a slight bow of the head, she then gestured for them to take a seat at the large table in front of her. "Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss."
Once all were seated, the doors to the room were closed as the guards took up positions around the table.
"Once again, greetings, I am Alba, Queen of Hallownest. Though most refer to me as the White Lady."
"A pleasure to meet you, your majesty. My name is Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy of the Kingdom of Vale." he then gestured to Summer and Taiyang. "And these are two of my students, Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao-Long."
"Students?" the Queen repeated in confusion. "You brought your students as your attendants?"
"They are not exactly students in the sense that you are thinking of, but we can circle back to that later. For now, I have come to inquire as to the nature of your... arrival, for lack of a better word, to our Kingdom's land."
"Ah yes, is it worth assuming that our shift caused something of a stir up above?"
Ozpin adjusted his glasses slightly, allowing the light to obscure his eyes. "In a way, yes. The appearance of your Kingdom was not exactly what one would call subtle. Fortunately enough though, no one was harmed during the event, so I suppose we can be thankful for that."
The Queen nodded. "Indeed. It would be quite unfortunate for relations between our Kingdoms to start off on the wrong foot."
"Though back to my initial question; for exactly what reason have you come to our land?"
After a brief look of melancholy at the inquiry, the Queen turned her head up once more. "We were forced to flee our previous homeland in order to escape a terrible evil. A relentless force that sought to bring our glorious Kingdom to ruin."
Ozpin raised a brow slightly. "Might I ask as to what this evil was?"
Shaking her head in the negative, the Queen spoke with slight worry. "My apologies, but it is forbidden to speak of Her."
The was a brief flash of worry across the headmasters face. Her? Could it be?
"Why is it forbidden?"
After seeing that Ozpin would press the issue further, the Queen elaborated. "It is the memory of Her that allows Her to come into existence. Just speaking Her name gives Her power, and to the weak minded, a brief thought of Her is enough to surrender control of their body. So while we are certain that we have escaped Her clutches, it is best that we not tempt fate. I hope this is answer enough to your question."
Ozpin mentally breathed a sigh of relief. The evil of which the Queen spoke could in no way be Salem. Her description did not match up at all. "Yes, that will do. Forgive my rudeness. I was just concerned that perhaps your fleeing could have effected us in an unintentional manner." he lied smoothly.
If leaving the evil forgotten is the only way to stop it, then it would be best if he not look into it. Hopefully there were no records of it anywhere on Remnant.
"A perfectly understandable worry, but I can assure you that there is nothing more to it."
"Very well." Ozpin responded as he drummed his fingers on the table. "Though I must ask you this out of concern; did you have to deal with the Creatures of Grimm at your past location?"
The Queen's eyes widened slightly. Had Grimm somehow come to this world beforehand? "Are you perhaps referring to the members of the Troupe? Because to my understanding they are not outright malicious."
Ozpin and his two students quirked a brow. "Troupe? I'm talking about the violent beasts that roam the surface, whose only purpose in life is to kill."
"Oh, then no, I have not. The bugs of Hallownest were forbidden from going beyond the Kingdom's borders."
"Then what is this 'Troupe' that you just spoke of?"
"Nothing, just a collection of odd bugs who are part of a travelling circus. They utilize a dark theme in their performances, so they are known as the Grimm Troupe. So this was just a misunderstanding."
While Ozpin was curious about such an odd thing, he decided to chalk it up to the bugs culture. As of now he had very little to go on concerning them. "I see, back back to what I was saying; the Grimm are a race of monsters that appear in various shapes and forms, and desire nothing more than the destruction of all Soul-bearers. And though they come in a myriad of forms, they can all be identified by their black bodies, white masks, and red eyes. Although they have fled the area for the time being because of your arrival, I would suggest you bolster your defenses at some point."
"Thank you for the information Mister Ozpin, I will let my guards know right away." and with a quick head gesture, one of the rooms guards took his leave.
"Now that that is taken care of, perhaps we can move on to other subjects now. Such as the possibility of trade relations and the like?" he suggested.
"I'm afraid that such things will have to wait for the time being. Until we can get the populace settled and adjusted, things will be a bit too chaotic for anything of that scale. The most I can offer is the possibility of building an embassy or something of the like on the surface in Dirtmouth, but even that will take time to approve." she said with a slightly apologetic tone.
"I suppose I can work with that for now. Although keep in mind that nothing like this has ever occurred before, and the other Kingdom's will be quick to send troops to investigate once word reaches them. So you can expect quite a few visitors in the near future. But seeing as how this isn't their Kingdom's territory, I will do what I can to keep them out of the way."
The Queen gave a slight bow of the head. "For that I thank you Mister Ozpin. Our Kingdom has always been isolated from the outside, so it may be somewhat difficult to adjust."
"Understandable. Now then, I suppose we should move on to discussing other subjects."
(-)
About an hour had passed by the time Ozpin and the Queen had finished their meeting, and the headmaster and his students were finally led back to the surface, leaving the Queen to return to her other duties. Their conversations were mostly spent explaining the nature of each ones Kingdom. Ozpin informed her that the 'humans and faunus' as the sentient surface dwellers were called, had developed technology that held quite a degree of difference to their own, and had explained that the 'flying metal contraptions' they may see in the sky, were one such thing.
Truth be told, the Queen felt somewhat guilty about the information they exchanged. While Ozpin was honest in the information he provided, the Queen had resorted to half-truths and omissions for most of her answers.
While most would consider it unwise to lie to potential allies, the same could be said about telling truths to potential enemies. They have twenty years to bring one of the other Kingdom's to ruin, meaning that they will have to make enemies of one of them. And it would be quite effective if they were able to integrate themselves with their target so as to attack from the inside. So for the time being, Hallownest needed to keep their cards hidden.
The sound of the door creaking open garnered her attention. Standing in the doorway was the King, and trailing just behind him was their child that was chosen to be the Hollow Knight.
"My apologies for having to leave the greeting of our guests to you. I had become somewhat fervent in my desire to start my new project." her husband said as he walked inside with the Hollow Knight and shut the door behind them.
"It was no trouble. Anything I can do to help lift the burden you shoulder."
"Truly, you are too good for someone such as myself."
The King then looked down to his son, who was looking up at him expectantly. With a gentle push, the knight was ushered over to the Queen, where upon he stood still and gazed up at her in silence. A few moments passed, and then the knight reached his arms out and gave her a small hug.
The Queen could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes as she stared at her husband. Words were not needed to convey her question for him.
"With his original purpose no more, I intend to right the wrongs I have committed." he answered softly. "It will take some time, but I swear upon my life that he will be a proper child."
Looking back down at the Hollow Knight, the Queen gently pulled him in to a gentle embrace. "Thank you."
(-)
A week had passed since Hallownest's arrival on Remnant, and several important events happened during that time period. Firstly; Master Balritch of the Arcane Society would be deposed after his sick experiments with Soul were exposed to the public. Several other high ranking members of the Society would be ousted as well, and the Soul Sanctum quarantined until such a time came that it was deemed 'cleansed'.
Second; Hallownest began the process of filling the crater that surrounded the mountains with water, making it impossible for ground based Grimm to approach.
Third; one of the denizens of Greenpath would make his way to the surface and into the wilds. Eventually as the years would go by, there would be constant reports of a fearsome monster slaughtering Grimm across the continent, inadvertently saving the lives of numerous Huntsman and civilian settlements.
And lastly; Lord Scirseth of the Mantis Tribe would go against his tribes law, and flee to the surface with a contingent of followers. However during the chaos of it all his daughter, Mirin, would be left behind and would eventually grow up to become the new Fourth Lord.
But for the time being, such things were not of the King's concern. The Mantis Tribe are perfectly capable of handling their own problems, and the odds of Scirseth and his followers surviving very long on the surface without proper aid was unlikely, and Balritch and his cohorts were safely locked away in the Iron Nest prison.
At the current moment, the King was meeting with Monomon and Lurien to discuss future plans. Herrah, of course, kindly denied the invitation to the meeting via a response that was impaled into the corpse of a dirtcarver. Apparently she cared little for her violent neighbors in Deepnest.
"Thanks to Isma's initial reports, we have a basic understanding of this worlds status." the King said as he shuffled several maps across the table. "Four main Kingdoms, along with a pseudo Kingdom that acts as the homeland for the faunus race."
Monomon picked up one of the maps and studied it. "Situated in the frozen north is Atlas, across the desert to the west is Vacuo, to the east is Mistral, to the south is Menagerie, and to our direct north is the closet Kingdom to our position, Vale."
"From what we understand, each Kingdom differs vastly from the others." opined Lurien. "Atlas has a military based society, whereas Vacuo is known to be something of a criminal hotbed."
"So we have five Kingdoms to pick from..." the King surmised somberly.
"... My Lord, are you sure this is the only option? I can tell you are quite conflicted about thi-"
"My decision has been made." he interrupted. "In order for us to survive, a sacrifice must be made."
Lurien bowed his head in deference. "As you wish my Lord."
"Given the large technological gap between us and the rest of Remnant, we have to pick our target carefully. Not to mention the possibility that the other Kingdoms may attack us in retaliation, so we need to bolster our defenses." he then scrawled an 'X' over Atlas on the map. "Atlas is the most technologically advanced Kingdom in terms of military, so that one is out."
"Vacuo might be a good candidate, but it the furthest one from our location. It would be difficult to deploy and recall our forces fast enough should something go wrong." added Monomon.
The King crossed out Vacuo as well.
"Menagerie, while essentially the weakest in terms of military might, does not exactly qualify as a Kingdom. I feel it's not a risk worth taking. Grimm was very particular in his request." spoke Lurien.
Another 'X' was put on the map.
"So, that leaves us with two options; Vale or Mistral."
"Being that they are the closest to us, it is worth assuming that our relations with Vale will grow quickly over the years, allowing us to earn their trust... and eventually use it against them." Monomon said in suggestion.
With his resolve hardened, the King circled Vale on the map.
"... Have you informed any of the Knight's yet?" asked Lurien.
The King shook his head. "No. For the time being, this stays between us. We have nineteen years to prepare before we act. I plan to spend at least the next ten preparing the Kingdom and building up our military by utilizing whatever technology we can obtain from the other Kingdoms."
Monomon nodded in agreement. "An excellent plan. I am quite eager to see just what kind of new machines can be found up above."
"You will get your new lab equipment in due time, but we have other matters to attend to." as he said this, the King brought out a new sheet of paper. "Dust and Aura."
"Yes, quite the strange adaptation of the use of Soul." nodded Lurien. "Rather than mould it to the users will in the form of multiple spells, they seem to have individually mastered a single 'spell' that is for the most part unique to each individual."
"And this Dust resource sounds similar to crystals of Crystal peak. Although Dust seems to have multiple different properties to it, such as fire and ice." Monomon said as she tapped her chin in thought.
"I will see about having Isma procure you some samples at the earliest convenience." responded the King.
"My thanks."
"Next on the list," the King said as he pulled out another sheaf of paper. "Grimm. The monsters that roam the surface that is."
"The moat is almost finished. Once it is done, land based incursions will no longer be a worry." answered Monomon. "As for the air, the sky-based Grimm don't seem to be as skilled at mid-air combat as they are at attacking the ground. They seem to have evolved only to deal with surface threats. Which means that our air forces have the advantage for the time being."
"That should buy us enough time to come up with contingency plans."
"It is also worth noting that the beasts are extremely determined to attack any source of Soul. That includes containers of it. In fact, the beasts preferred to go after the energy form and completely ignored our forces who were on site." added Lurien.
"A curious trait that is. Rather than destruction of life, their actual goal is the destruction of Soul." noted Monomon.
Lurien nodded. "So it would seem. But as soon as the containers were breached and the Soul dispersed, the Grimm turned their attention to our forces."
"... If we are able to build reinforced Soul canisters that are capable of withstanding the Grimms assault, then herding and capturing the beasts will be a feasible tactic." spoke the King.
"Yes, I would very much like to be able to study these monsters in my lab."
"It would be prudent of us to research them better beforehand. From what our soldiers have reported, after sustaining fatal wounds, the Grimms body begin to decay at a rapid weight until nothing remains." added the Watcher.
"Hopefully my stasis tank can remedy that problem."
"Regardless, I want you to treat them with extreme caution. I don't want them escaping and causing chaos in the Kingdom." the King said sternly.
"But of course my Lord. I will have guards on duty at all times and prepare a lockdown system for my Archives."
He nodded. "Good. Lastly, have we anything else to go on concerning the Abyss?"
Monomon shook her head in the negative. "Reports say that for the most part the disturbance has settled down. Though it is rather curious that it came with us in the shift. Either the Abyss itself had latched on to the Kingdom, or the Abyss is present on this world as well and this is just a different one that reacted to our arrival."
"Do you think it is worth returning too? It would be unwise to ignore a potential bomb sitting beneath us." suggested Lurien.
The King drummed his fingers on the table as he pondered the predicament. "Perhaps... But I want the entrance prepared in case the Abyss tries to escape." for a moment, there was a distant look in the King's eyes. "Especially It..."
Lurien tilted his head in confusion. "It, Lord?"
Letting out a slight sigh, the King leaned back into his chair. "We all know that there were Kingdoms that existed long before Hallownest. Long before the time of the Wyrms even. My knowledge of them from my time as a Wyrm is patchwork at best. But from what I could glean, there is a primordial entity that lurks deep beneath, at the very bottom of the Abyss." he explained as he looked down at his trembling hand. "I shudder to think what would become of the world should it awaken."
(-)
The sun was shining high in the sky, the birds were chirping, and not a cloud to be seen. Yep, it was the perfect day if Summer Rose had ever seen one. The third-year Huntress was bouncing on the heels of her feet as she and her team waited by the Bullhead docks with their fellow third-year team, JSMN (Jasmine), Prof- err, Doctor Oobleck, and Headmaster Ozpin.
From the explanation that was given to Summer, Ozpin had arranged a sort of cultural exchange event with Hallownest. It took some time to organize and communicate about it, given Hallownest's lack of a long-distance communication system, but it seemed that the King of Hallownest had agreed to the proposition.
The King and some of his attendants would join him and be given a tour of Beacon and Vale, with Summer's own team acting as escorts. Meanwhile, team JSMN and Doctor Oobleck would be allowed a trip into Hallownest in exchange.
The thought of meeting actual royalty was an exciting prospect for Summer. Sure, she was kind of bummed out that she wouldn't be returning to that amazing city underground, but meeting with an actual King would more than make up for that.
"So, what do you think the guy'll look like?" asked Qrow as he took a sip from his canteen. One that suspiciously had an odor of alcohol about it.
"I'd wager a guess as to him being the kind of guy that you'll instantly notice. Probably the guy with a crown on." answered Raven with a snark.
"Seriously? You think he'll actually wear a crown here?"
"What, you think he prefers a tiara?" Raven responded sarcastically.
"Well, we met the Queen, and she stood out quite a bit." opined Summer.
"So what? Are you saying the King will be some kind of root-person as well?" Qrow wondered aloud, remembering Summer and Tai's description of said Queen.
"Well you won't have to wonder much longer." Taiyang spoke up as he pointed at the sky. "Pretty sure that's them."
Heading directly towards the docks was a larger model airship known as the hammerhead. It was the very same one that had been dispatched to Hallownest to retrieve the King and his companions.
"Alright boys, time to straighten up and make yourselves presentable!" shouted the leader of team JSMN. Being the only female on the team, it was a surprise to many that she managed to command such respect from her rough-housing teammates. Truly, Jeanne Arc was a woman you didn't want to piss off.
Her three teammates immediately stiffened at the woman's command, garnering a snicker from Qrow. He then swung his arm out a made a *WPSH*! sound like a whip being cracked. That earned him a smack upside the head by his sister.
He growled and glared at his twin, but let it go since the ship had just landed and they needed to greet their guests.
Immediately Summer and Taiyang were assaulted by a familiar sensation. It was more restrained from the last time they felt it, but the hair on their skin was standing on end.
A quick glance to her side was enough to confirm that her other teammates, along with team JSMN felt it too.
Even the teachers reacted to it. Oobleck had a look on his face that was a mix of worry and excitement. Like the prospect of witnessing the source of the feeling both frightened him, and demanded that he study it. As for Ozpin, Summer noticed how his grip on his cane had become so great that his knuckles turned white.
After what seemed like an eternity, the door to the hammerhead opened up and revealed its passengers. There were a few of the white-clothed bugs that Summer recognized from the palace, along with two guards.
They were both dressed in pristine white armor, and carried themselves with an air of power. The first looked female in appearance. She wore and armored skirt, greaves, vambraces, and a white mask that had curved points going upwards. Sheathed at her side was a simple looking blade that was reminiscent of a rapier, but was obviously of a high-quality make.
The second guard was hard to describe. Their entire body was obscured by a flowing white robe with extended sleeves. Not one bit of their form was discernible, including their face, which was concealed beneath a plain white mask that lacked even eyeholes. The only other noticeable trait about them, were the four antennae-like protrusions that floated in the air. On the persons back was an enormous blade that looked like an ultra-greatsword, and looked to be even taller than them.
The two soldiers moved out of the way and bowed slightly towards the airships interior as the final occupant exited.
Regal white robes. A tall and imposing figure, yet not as large as the Queen. And a featureless mask that obscured their entire face, before growing upwards to form a jagged crown.
It was a figure that both Summer and Tai recognized.
Ozpin was the first to catch his bearings, and quickly gave a slight bow of the head. "Welcome to the Kingdom of Vale. I am Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and current representative for relations between Vale and Hallownest."
The King gave a nod of the head in acknowledgement. "It is good to meet you Mister Ozpin. I am the monarch of Hallownest, the Pale King."