Beta: hirshja
"Who are you? How do you know Ruby?" Nora asked, cocking her head to one side. Ren almost laughed, recalling the woman's opinion that Nora had some idea who she was.
Nevertheless Ren's mind was reeling, it didn't make sense. There was absolutely no way that Weiss Schnee, was on Remnant. She had no way to get there, not to mention she looked quite different. Even if it did explain the white hair.
The woman looked mildly surprised at Nora's question. A wry grin appeared on her face. Ren supposed it was supposed to look friendly, or amusing, instead it looked downright terrifying.
"You're almost as big a dolt as Ruby." She said.
"Hey! Only Weiss is allowed to call her that!" Nora said a smile on her face.
Weiss seemed to not recognize the sarcasm. She stare din shock before turning to Ren. "How is she alive? How has Grimm not eaten her yet? How does she know how to breathe?"
"I think she was being sarcastic Weiss." Ren said calmly.
He was uncomfortable with calling this person Weiss, they didn't look at all alike, but for the time being he would play along and find out if this really was Weiss, or just some trap Fenrir had set up.
Weiss groaned before reaching for the cell door. It opened with a crack and she walked inside. Undoing the cuffs with practiced speed she began to speak.
"I'm sure you have plenty of questions. What am I doing here. Why do I look like this, what am I planning, why didn't I return to Vytal-"
"Do you have pancakes?" Nora interrupted.
Weiss spun to stare at the goddess. Her face contorted into something between rage and confusion.
"I'm sure we can make some later Nora." Ren stated. The face was typical Weiss, his doubts eased slightly. He rubbed his wrists as his cuffs were undone.
"But yes, an explanation would be extremely helpful."
"Then follow me." She began leaving the cell. She paused for a moment "And on Remnant, I am called Salem, use that name anywhere that isn't private."
"Isn't that the name of the evil witch from the story you always used to tell Ruby?" Nora asked.
Salem smiled fondly, "Yes, yes it is." She whispered. Her face-hardened into a regal expression and she strode back in the direction she came from, Ren and Nora followed.
"I got cut off from the others on a mission. There were too many Grimm and communications were down." Salem began.
Weiss rushed through the forest, bounding over a nearby Grimm, A quick slice and the Grimm fell, fading into darkness almost immediately. Weiss let out a gasp; she was exhausted and drenched in sweat. She glanced left then right. She heard a growl and began to sprint again. She bound over a fallen tree, struggling to continue forward. Her legs burned and she felt like if she stopped she would never begin again.
"Where is that dolt?" She muttered as she stumbled upon a clearing. Her heart sank as she saw Grimm come out of the wooded forest behind her. She turned to face forward, and saw several large Grimm, she couldn't get through all of them in her condition.
"Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Yggdrasil had other plans for me."
In the middle of the clearing, Weiss saw the air start to warp and bend, as if there was a crack in the fabric of reality. She immediately recognized it as the beginnings of a portal like those she walked through to get to this hellhole of a world. She dashed for it leaped in just as the portal opened. But where she went was not Shade tower as she had expected. Instead, in front of her was a vast old tree, It looked aged and withered there were countless branches reaching up to somewhere she couldn't see. But the tree was the only thing she saw, all around her was darkness.
"You see, the world tree feeds off of strong emotions, Joy, anger, fear, love. The feed the tree and keep it alive, in turn, it sustains the worlds, such as Valhalla and Vytal."
"And Remnant."
'Actually no."
"No?" Ren asked as they stopped at the end of the hallway. The stone flooring uneven beneath them but Weiss, or Salem, seemed to have no trouble walking through them in heels. Ren wondered why they stopped.
"No, Remnant was formed from the remains of the worlds after the last Ragnarok. It is, for some reason, not connected to the tree and as such, the laws of Yggdrasil do not necessarily apply."
"But Yggdrasil would be destroyed by Ragnarok, its laws would not apply to any worlds. Besides, there is still gravity here!" Ren said tapping his foot on the stones.
Salem nodded. "That is why I said necessarily. But that is not the most relevant part of Yggdrasil, at least not right now.
What do you know of Lord-general Ozpin?"
"He was a war hero, he fought in the last war and served under Odin, King of the gods."
Salem laughed. "Well, I suppose that it true. What if I told you he is trying to initiate Ragnarok again?"
"Bullshit." Ren said, gritting his teeth. He had little idea of what was going on with this Salem person who claimed to be Weiss, but he would never believe that Ozpin wanted the deaths of everyone. He knew Ozpin, he always fought for the best interests of the gods even when it made him unpopular, he always did what he believed was right.
"It's not. He may not be intending to bring back Ragnarok, but he is."
"I don't think you need to explain this. I've heard enough" Ren said turning to leave. "Let's go Nora."
'Nope, sorry Ren." Nora said calmly. Ren paused to stare at his friend. She had her arms crossed; her face wore a serious expression.
"Explain." She demanded, staring at Salem. A slight smile showed on Salem's face.
"Thank you Nora. Now, as I was saying Yggdrasil is connected to all the worlds. It feeds them and the emotions of their inhabitants feed it."
"What does that have to do with Ragnarok." Ren asked, wishing to rush this conversation he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
"It is absolutely imperative that Yggdrasil is fed heightened emotions constantly. It does not need a lot, but sometimes, it needs a push. And so, it creates grimm."
Ren froze, Grimm were created by a tree? What were they fruit?
"So Grimm are fruit?" Nora asked.
"Nora, I know you are screwing with me, please stop." Salem asked
"Nope." Nora replied popping the P. Salem rolled her eyes.
"Grimm cause strong emotions such as fear and anger, they are also attracted to those emotions, and their presence understandably heightens them. Same goes for those who kill Grimm. What does a person feel when they are saved from a Grimm?"
'Hope." Ren muttered.
Salem nodded. "Exactly."
'but Ozpin is killing the grimm at an unprecedented pace, and the enforced peace on many worlds under the protection of the guardians means that most people do not feel those strong emotions, without a sense of hate there is no sense of love, same goes for other emotions. Therefore, Yggdrasil creates more Grimm to make up the difference."
"and the lord general becomes more aggressive, causing a cycle." Ren surmised.
'When the number of Grimm are too low and Yggdrasil cannot get enough energy for an extended period of time, Fenrir appears. Fenrir is the incarnation of Yggdrasil." Salem explained
"In effect, Fenrir is Yggdrasil." Nora said calmly. Her face betraying a sense of concern.
"Of course, the more Grimm Fenrir has access to, the more he can control and the more fear he can elicit. Fenrir then tries to resolve the problem by removing whatever is causing the lack of emotions."
"Which just so happens to be the gods."
"Thus the fall of Valhalla. If he can't remove the problem he takes more drastic measures and destroys everything, the emotional power reaches a critical mass, and new worlds are born in the ashes of the old."
"So how do we stop it?" Nora asked. "that is what you are trying to do right?"
Salem nodded.
"Remnant had survivors from the last Ragnarok, and it is not connected to the tree, but the fear created by the Grimm feeds the tree anyway. So while the tree does not sustain Remnant, Remnant sustains the tree."
"However since it is the emotions tied to the Grimm that reach the tree, that means fear and other negative emotions." Ren said.
"you're catching on." Salem said. She opened the large door the had been standing in front of. It lead to a tall marble staircase.
"Until recently, I had trouble eliciting enough fear due to a certain School's headmaster. He opposed my goals at ever step, killing the Grimm under my control. Fortunately he has been removed from the picture. Unfortunately, the group he led still remains, and they will cause problems."
"But isn't it too late? Fenrir is already here."
"Like at Valhalla, Fenrir will go dormant when enough Emotional energy is absorbed by the tree. My goal is, simply put, give Yggdrasil a sustainable amount of energy." Salem reached the to and looked out onto darkened skies. She turned to look at the two gods who had followed her.
"If I can make a sustainable amount of emotional energy on remnant alone, Grimm should stop appearing elsewhere. There will be no need for the gods to intervene. A balance will be created."
"And Ruby won't be put in danger like you were."
Branches wrapped around Weiss as she screamed, this wasn't how she wanted to die. She didn't ant to die alone, without her friends, with her teammates, without Ruby.
"Hush my Child. Take my knowledge, take my power, and protect those you hold so dear." A deep voice whispered. Images flashed before her eyes images of Valhalla, of burning buildings. Images of grimm, mauling and tearing their way through entire worlds.
"A balance must be maintained, there are those who wish to upset it, ignorant of the consequences. Help me, for I have none else to turn to."
The branches loosened and one spread below her, presenting itself as something for her to stand on. She looked at this tree, this being that was alive and yet not alive, that thought and felt like her and others and yet was beyond comprehension to gods and mortals alike.
"now go, I promise you will you see your friends again." Weiss was thrown through another portal landing on a grassy field. She looked at her hands, her skin paler than normal. She realized what she had to do. What she would sacrifice. Buts she would return, while there was life there was hope. She clung to the tree's promise, that she would see her friends again, but more than that, that she would see Ruby again.
"Yes."
"Why not go back to Vytal? Why not tell everyone the truth? Your sister is the Director of Intelligence you were the Winter maiden! People would believe you." Nora asked
Salem smiled slightly. "What do I look like to you?"
"A corrupted god." Ren said, already coming to a simple conclusion.
"I don't know what Yggdrasil wants, or if it even has higher thinking abilities beyond concern for its own survival. I can only assume that granting powers to lesser beings results in a more… Grimm-like appearance. I'm quite sure that if I appeared in Vytal, assuming I had a way to get there, I would not be welcomed warmly." She paused before looking at them her gaze fierce.
"Now, will you help me? Will you help me to save billions of lives?" She asked.
"By turning this world into a hellish place, and ruin the lives of everyone here?" Ren asked.
"The old worlds had their time, one world, and a few innocent lives to save countless more? It is not a pleasant choice, but it is the right one." Salem said. Ren looked at her, wondering exactly what had caused Weiss Schnee to become the woman, Salem, that now stood in front of him. He saw certainty in her eyes, as if she had desperately tried to find another solution and had failed.
"Do you truly believe this is the best solution? That what you are doing is a necessary evil?" Ren asked.
"Yes, I do." Salem said calmly. There was a hint of guilt in her eyes, as if she wanted nothing more than to not do this. Ren was lost, help a friend commit a act of evil to save everyone they knew and cared about, or fight her right now, and possibly condemn everyone they ever cared about to death.
Ren looked at Nora, Nora looked back. Salem stared at them both, uncertainty in her eyes, but a sliver of hope too. With Professor Ozpin rotting in the cells beneath them, his group would quickly fracture, and then, after stopping Lord-General Ozpin, she could go back to Vytal and reunite with Team RWBY. They could be a family again. She couldn't think of a better outcome.
She waited for their response, hoping for, yet dreading the answer. What she was doing was a necessary evil in this world necessary for everyone, but she would rather not have to do it alone.
Thanks to Hirshja for feedback and beta-ing this chapter, it makes a huge difference.
Summer is an extremely busy time for me, so while I will try to get a chapter out every week, I can't promise it. I'm sorry for the scheduling change. In other scheduling news, the new Pyrrhic Legacy chapter may be delayed by a few days, I haven't written as much as I expected to.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please follow, favorite and review!