Hello everyone!
JEIT93 here ready for another exciting chapter of RWBY: Grimm Reaper.
What's the fate of Kaiden after his battle against the Soul Reaper? Let's see.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and the cameo of Monty Oum in this chapter.
All your reviews are welcome!
Chapter 25: Hello from the other side
I had heard so many theories about what happens when a person dies: Heaven (or hell if you had been a bad person), purgatory, Elysian Fields, complete void, among other examples.
My favorite was the one that was described in the Supernatural series, where the final destination of a person was a place that one had loved through the previous life; be it a bar, the house where you had lived during childhood, or a bookstore. Apparently, this one turned out to be right.
Before me was the cabin where I had trained for years in Aztlan. The same cabin where Alice lived and died, where I spent countless forging to take the huntsman's path, where I took Ruby and the others that last summer of my life.
I begin to walk towards the same old wooden door to enter the house when I visualize something that I had ignored at first. A hooded figure in a black cloak stared at me with the face hidden in the shadows of the clothes. That being said nothing to me. Just looking at me.
"So," I started talking not sure what to say but I still tray something. What is the worst that can happen? Die? "May I come in?"
The figure nodded.
"Go ahead." the voice of a man answered me with a gesture with a gloved hand that before was hidden in his clothes, inviting me to go inside.
The door opened smoothly and sided with incredible gentleness as if the door handle and door hinges had been lubricated recently.
Inside, the temperature is perfect: cold enough to take a hot chocolate, wrapped in blankets and enjoy a good book, but without having to shake cold after a while. This only happened when it rained in the first months of the year in Aztlan.
The whole place is spotless. No dust. The windows and floor are gleaming as if they had just been cleaned. In the living room, the television is much larger than the actual version (but it was Heaven so I don't mind), and yet there was an extensive shelf with movies, TV series and retro video games with their consoles, everything separated in each section and in alphabetical order.
But what leaves me to stop talking is sitting in an armchair.
Her dark hair was glistening, falling over her shoulders while the green eyes looked at me with happiness. She wore a brown sweater with gray relaxed pants, with beowolf-shaped black slippers on her feet. The same clothes she wore after arriving from a mission and she wanted to relax.
"Hello, Kaiden." Alice Noir greeted me. "Good to see you gain."
My only response was kneeling with a knee down and looking at the wooden floor. I was not worthy of being before her. Not after what I did. Not after breaking my promise.
"What are you doing?" she asked amused "Stand up."
I didn't move.
"You must hate me. It's my fault you died and I promised you I wouldn't use the Overdrive. I'm sorry."
I could hear her getting up the chair and the steps coming in my direction, before stopping in front of me and giving me a good view of the slippers.
She squatted down, looking at me with our eyes at the same height.
"Hey, it's in the past." Alice cheered me up "You had your reasons and what happened that day was inevitable."
Suddenly, she lunged at me and wrapped me in her arms.
"I could not hate you, Kai. There is no reason to apologize."
When I heard these words living from her, a reaction occurred that invaded my whole body. I let everything out. So many years of pain. Of loneliness. Of anger. Of sadness. All that faded into a long cry on the shoulders of my teacher.
I do not know how long I've been like this. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours, or even more. I am in heaven. I doubt there is anything like the sense of time. By the time I'd finished, my eyes were red and swollen and my sobs had subsided, but not before I'd smeared Alice's sweater with the sweet mixture of tears and snot on one shoulder. However, I felt better. The burden of all years faded and now I felt something new. Inner peace.
We sat on opposite sides to the table that was in the room and enjoyed a cup of tea; which appeared out of nowhere. No one said anything but it was not an uncomfortable silence, it was a quiet and peaceful.
I take the mug that was in front of me seeing that there was only hot water and a tea bag that did not infuse its contents into the transparent liquid. The cup Alice took was the same, but she still exclaimed a sigh of satisfaction as she took a sip. As I laid my lips and sucked a little of their contents, I was surprised that there was mango tea inside; my favorite and the one I hadn't drunk in a long time.
"So," she broke the silence looking at me. "is it over?"
I was surprised by such a question.
"Yes." I affirmed "The last Soul Reaper is dead. The cycle is over."
I could still remember the nightmares I had in those dark days. Each one of them showing me the souls of all those people who had been marked and devoured by the grimm. Also of how he met with all of his class and began the carnage to decide which of all was the supreme Soul Reaper; It is not necessary to say which of them won. All those images repeating in my head every night before starting to medicate with antidepressants and stop dreaming.
"I see." My master observed. "And did you sacrifice to achieve it?"
My hands began to tremble with the cup clinking over the small porcelain plate on which it lay.
"My life. My future. My dreams. Every moment I could have had with my family, friends, and..." I trailed off thinking about someone.
Alice understood my silence.
"There's someone special. What's her name?"
I could not help smiling, remembering a certain silver-eyed girl.
"Ruby Rose."
"Huh." She exclaimed realizing something curious about that name. "Summer's daughter."
I was surprised she knew the name of Ruby's mom.
"Did you know her?"
"Know her?" She scoffed "They were my next-door neighbors in Beacon."
"What?!"
"Yep." She took another sip of her tea "Teams STRQ and AERO were friends and rivals from day one. As leaders, Summer and I were good friends even after we graduated. Taiyang Xiao Long and Estral Grimes were the worst nightmare back in Beacon with their pranks. Rowen Traus was Raven Brawen's rival and every match they had ended in a tie (and both teams taking them to the infirmary). The sweet Okin Vert had a crush on Qrow after certain… 'incident' about him using a skirt. However, she started swinging another way few years later, if you know what I mean."
"T. M. I. So, you had a team and you were their leader. Where are they now?"
Her smile faded and her face darkened.
"When the Reaper put your mark on you, you saw my memories. Do you remember what you saw?"
I shook my head.
"No, I remember seeing something but I think my mind blocked those images."
"It is understandable. What you saw must have been too much for you." She set the mug on the table along with her plate. She sat propping her elbows on her legs and sighed sadly. "It was a while after we graduated. We decided to take a contract between the four of us as a small meeting and catch up with our lives. Rowan had been in Vacuo helping in several communities that had been devastated by grimms, either by helping or making them laugh with their lousy sense of humor. Estral began working as a teacher's assistant in Haven and was doing very well in addition to being engaged to a cute girl. Okin was still as cheerful as ever, as well as having the nickname "Green Terror" in the southern part of Mistral. And me… well, I told you my stories."
"Just a hundred times." I mocked.
"Anyway, that contract was going well. We cleared a nest of grimm easily, until…"
Silence.
"Until the Soul Reaper appeared."
She nodded.
"It caught us off guard. As we fought, more grimm came for us. It was difficult since our aura was low and we had to keep alive and it was a long time before we were falling before the beasts. First was Rowen by a Big Ursa, then Okin among several beowolves. Estral was the last, not without before giving me his engagement ring to give his fiance, before sacrificing himself and giving me a chance to escape. I ran endlessly. Whenever I could, I used my semblance to travel more distance in less time. I continued until I felt that they were not following me. It was only a second before the Reaper lifted me from the arms and put the mark on one side. Having done that, the asshole just left me lying in the middle of the forest before getting up and walking without meaning until I reached a town where I passed out."
She wiped the tears from her face and continued.
"Unfortunately, that was not the only time that grimm tormented me." She only looked at her cup. "Tell me, Kaiden: does October 27th say something to you?"
"My birthday."
"For me, it's the day that my dream of being a mother vanished."
A wave of sadness ran through my body.
"Two babies were to be born on that day in Aztlan, but only one lived. You were one of them."
"Alice," I felt so awful and guilty for being alive all that time with her suffering for her child "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, Kaiden. By having the mark, I could no longer have a normal life. That is why when I saw that day, begging for me to take you as a disciple after stealing my spear, I couldn't help but look at you as the son I never had. Every birthday of yours that we spent together was also honoring my son, feeling that he did not want me to be sad that day and to smile at life. The day I met you, I vowed to teach and protect you with my life, promise that I kept until the last moment. Even having to use the Overdrive."
"Wait…" My mind processed the last part slowly "YOU WHAT?"
She shrugged, smiling sheepishly at me "Hehehehe… Oops. Like teacher, like student. At least I had two minutes of unlimited power."
I looked at her fiercely for a few seconds before I gave up and smiled at her. I couldn't be angry with her after all that had happened and less in that place of peace.
"So," She looked at me with a malicious grin "Kaiden and Ruby sitting in the tree, K-i-s-s-i-n-g! First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes baby in the baby carriage~"
"Shut up!" I exclaimed with a faint smile, feeling my face burning. However, that feeling faded when I remembered my last moments of life. Ruby begging me to stay with her as we both confessed our feelings. I couldn't take away that guilty feeling of leaving her with that pain. "What's gonna happen now?"
"What do you mean?" Alice asked confused.
"I mean, I died and now I'll be in this version of Heaven until the end of times or what? Not that I was complaining about this place as it is so great."
My teacher analyzed my words by closing her eyes and crossing her arms, just as she always did when she needed to meditate on something.
"Well, there are some curious things about it. First, this is my resting place. I told Monty that as soon as you appeared here, he would bring you with me. The reason for this has to do with the second issue. You have two options." She raised her hands with her palms up as if she were a scale, then raised her right hand "Stay here in Paradise with a corner created from your happiest moments" the left hand raised "or return to the world of the living."
The second option left me in shock. To be able to return to life? It was too good to be true.
"Is that possible?" I asked standing up sharply.
Alice nodded, but I saw hesitation in her eyes.
"Possible yes. However, there are some conditions... First, let me introduce you to Monty." She looked up at the front door and called aloud "Hey, Monty. Come here for a second!"
The door opened and the dark figure I received earlier entered the cabin with its cloak waving behind him. Upon seeing him carefully, I could see that he had a completely black sword hanging on his left side.
"Kaiden, I introduce you to the Grim Reaper, or as I like to call him, Monty."
The figure lowered its dark hood to let me see a face of Mistral (or Asian for us) features with dark hair that almost covered the dark brown eyes.
"A pleasure to meet you, Kaiden Azabache."
He greeted me with a slight bow, which I replied in the same way.
"The pleasure is mine." My sight returned to the unexpected sword "I thought you used a scythe, but you actually have a sword."
"Actually, my weapon changes based on my needs." He started explaining unsheathing his weapon and raising it so all of us could see the dark blade "It took the form of a scythe for several years before the Great War broke out in Remnant and I saw I had to change it to a sword to have greater mobility to collect the soul of the fallen and take them to their rest. From then on, I let him take that shape."
"Bla bla bla" Alice interrupted the explanation annoyed. "Enough of such chatter. Once you start there is no way to stop. I was about to speak to Kaiden about the agreement so that he could return to Remnant."
Monty glared at my teacher for not letting him finish his story with a grunt of frustration before turning his gaze to me.
"Fine!" He said with a sigh "You can return to your resurrected body and come back to life. However, it is necessary that there be a soul that is willing to give you a little strength to heal the wounds you have..."
"Which I willingly offer myself." Alice added raising her hand.
"And you will also have to give something in return."
"Like what?" I inquired. "Blood. A piece of my soul. My recipe to cook cheese fingers."
Not that I wanted to boast, but anyone who tasted the cheese fingers I prepared always ended up asking for more.
"It all depends on what is most valuable to you." Alice stated worried about what I'll choose. "You'll understand when you be back."
"And what will be taken away... can I get it back?"
"I don't know. It all depends on you." Monty said with a cold earnestness in his voice.
I still had doubts about what I was willing to sacrifice. What could they take? Eyesight? Hearing? My aura? Or could it be something material? Like a person? Just to think that I would be exchanging something valuable for me (whatever it was) to get back to life made me feel restless. But that also means being able to be with my family again. With my friends. With Ruby. A price to see them one more time. It was a fair deal. After all, you cannot get something without giving in return something of equal value.
"Fine." I agreed willing to take the risk. "I'll do it."
Monty nodded, acknowledging my decision. "I'll be waiting outside while you finish what you have to do here."
Without waiting for a reply, the man went to the door and left the cabin. It was just Alice and me.
"In the end," Alice broke the silence "you're going back."
"Sigh… Al… I know you want me to stay here but…" I started to say it before my teacher got up from her seat and sat next to me on the couch, wrapping me with an warm embrace.
"Hey, kiddo." She assured me. "I understand. You have very good reasons to make this decision. The next time you come, I want you to tell me each of your adventures and the emotions you have had in your life as we eat your famous cheese finger; I got curious to taste it. Just be careful and don't come back here very soon until you've had grandchildren."
I let out a small laugh as I pictured children laughing as they stared at me with silver eyes. That was a future for which I was willing to fight.
"I will."
At the end of the long hug, I stood up and went out the door to the meeting place with Monty with Alice following behind me.
The exterior was almost the same as it was today. The trees that formed the forest radiated life with the bright green of the leaves, accompanied by the soft song of the birds that resounded everywhere. That didn't surprise me, it was the paradise of Alice Noir.
"Everything ready?" Monty asked as I approached towards him. I just nodded. "Alright then."
Monty put a hand on his sword and drew it with the dark blade shining in the sunlight. I wondered what he was going to do to send me back.
I looked at Alice one last time. She had her arms crossed with concern on her face. I understood how she felt. It was not known what the price of living would be.
"Bye, Alice." I waved good-bye. "See ya later."
"See ya, Kaiden." She replied.
I turned to see Monty, who had his sword high above my head. His face was once again covered by the hood of his black cape, but still his eyes glowed bright red.
"Kaiden Azabache, you have accepted the agreement to return to life. Your body and aura will be restored by the energy of the person who was known in life as Alice Noir. The price you have to pay for it will be…"
Before I could know what I shall give, the sword came down quickly and everything went dark.
"See? Much easier than swinging a scythe."
…
"Sir, we got pulse!"
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Beep.
I could not feel anything.
Beep.
I could not move.
Beep.
My mind came and went, managing to hear voices.
I heard the voice of a woman.
"Hey, little fox. Here's mom. Everyone is waiting for you to wake up. No matter what happens, I will always be supporting you, as I have been doing all these years. Regardless of what your dad and sisters say, you are my greatest pride as a mother. Please, come back to us."
"Hello, Kaiden. It's me, Velvet. Coco and the guys will be here in short so prepare to wake up in a hospital room with the latest in fashion. I don't know if you can hear me but I want you to know that we are all here for anything you need. I still remember when I met you when I defended Cardin and his team, also the date we had and that at the end of the night I gave you a ... never mind. What you have to know is that we all miss you."
"Hello, Kaidy. Nebby here. How have you been? Besides continuing to sleep, of course. I always remember with affection the time we spent together in Aztlan when we were children. Playing, climbing the trees, and reading one or another of your books. When I had to move, I was very saddened to not be able to see you more and I think it became a reason to become a hunter, to be able to travel the world and maybe to see you again. When I heard your name in the library and I saw you, I only felt happiness to have you once more in my life. Kaiden, please... come back."
"Come on, Jaune, let him know you're here." I hear the sweet voice of a girl.
"Alright." A boy responds "Hey, bro. It's me, Jaune. I have missed you so much these days. The classes are still boring, I have improved a bit in my abilities and Pyrrha continues to lash me to the ground while we train. Hehehehe… Sorry, Pyrrha."
"What Jaune is trying to say..." the girl continued "is that everything has not been the same without you. However, you have become popular in academia and everything wants to challenge you, so be ready. Only Jaune and I are here after Nora was playing with the controls on your bed and almost launched you to the ceiling, so Ren was watching over her outside."
"Anyway, we won't take the eye off the next time we all come together. Until then, get well, brother. We'll be waiting for you."
My mind came back when I heard another voice. Now another girl and her voice sounded happy.
"Heyo, Kaido! Here is the best roommate you've ever had. I know you've missed me. Things have been quiet since ... you know. You made a good number in the cafeteria so now we eat outside like a picnic, giving Nora another reason to love lunch. The classes are suspended this week in which the repair work is done so we do not have much to do. We could be training but we were not in the mood for it with you here and Ruby still hospitalized. She's fine, just to make sure she's in good shape after being branded by Reaper. For now, she has only had a slight fever but will soon be released."
Now the voice came loaded with a little sadness.
"About what you did, about giving your life to end the grimm. I do not know if it's the dumbest or the bravest thing you've done in all the time I've known you. Maybe I'm the strongest to hit with my fists, but you're the strongest of all when it comes to having courage.
Get well soon and don't worry about your locket. I'll keep it until you wake up."
Another voice. Another girl. But this time she was fraught with mistrust.
"Who are you really, Kaiden Azabache? What else have you hidden from us?"
"Hi, Kaiden. How have you been? You know, besides being in bed…unconscious. Honestly, I don't know what to say. When I first met you, I thought you were a stubborn and presumptuous boy. But after going through many things, I have realized that you are someone who is always willing to help a friend, to defend anyone who requires it and to listen if you have problems. About what happened, I want us all to talk when you're better. For now, we will be waiting for you."
"Hey, Kai. I managed to escape from my room to come and see you. Do not tell the nurses. It's been 4 days after all that and the doctors say your body has almost fully recovered and there is not much left before you wake up, which is good news. I do not know if you have noticed but everyone has come to see you, even Ren left me some cookies to not go crazy with the hospital food. Even my dad came after Yang called him telling him what had happened, but it's a shame Uncle Qrow is on a mission and we cannot reach him. Maybe I'll be discharged in two days and go back to the bedroom even if there are no classes for now. I'll still come to see you until you wake up."
A door opened and someone entered.
"Miss Rose! You are supposed to lie in bed. Even if your fever has gone down, you shouldn't strain your body. You will be able to come and see Mr. Azabache once you have relieved yourself. Please, come with me."
"Oops. Sorry." The beautiful voice says before listening to it near my ear. "I'll come back later. I love you."
Then I could feel a warm sensation on my forehead before fading once more.
"Doctor, what is the patient's condition?"
"The truth is I'm very shocked, General. The internal wounds were closed in a day. The bones had complex fractures that would take weeks to heal even with Atlas technology and still recomposed within 3 days. I have no words to express all this. For the amount of injuries, a full recovery should take months. He only took a week to do it."
"Any theory of what's going on?"
"One might think it is the boy's aura. However, when we were able to have a pulse again, the scanners detected two auras inside."
"Two auras?"
"Yes. One in greater quantity was absorbed by the small one, allowing a rapid recovery process to heal the body's wounds."
"So, will he wake up soon?"
"It's uncertain for now. It all depends on your will to live. But what worries me most is the cost he had to pay for this second life."
Slowly all my senses come back to me as I open my eyes. I was lying on a bed in a white room with various devices connected to me as they rang with constant buzzing and humming. Screens showed lines, other numbers. My left forearm had a needle stuck with a hose that connected with a bag containing a transparent substance. The window at my side showed me the panorama of a city bathed in the morning sunlight. I could see some ships floating above as if they were watching the peace that reigned in the city.
I tried to sit up but I fell feeling my muscles numb as if I had been lying down for a long time.
What happened?
Where I am?
I tried to sit up again despite the stiffness of my muscles as I listened to my joints creaking as I left the position where I had been for who knows how long. Once this feat had been achieved, I could see that I was wearing a hospital gown with the sheets of the bed covering me from the waist down. I had not noticed that I had a mask on which seemed to supply me with oxygen, which I slowly removed before feeling the strange combination of the smell of alcohol, disinfectant and chlorine.
I had barely managed to assimilate the environment around me before the door of the room opened slowly and someone entered. The person did not see me at first. He went straight to a table where there was an empty vase and placed flowers of various colors inside. After admiring the natural beauty of the plants, one silver eyes remained fixed on me. There was no word from her lips. She just ran at me with great speed leaving a trail of rose petals before being wrapped in her arms, causing me to fall back on the bed with her face buried on my chest.
"You're awake." She exclaimed sobbing. "You're awake. You're awake. You're awake. You're awake."
She lifted her face, smiling intensely, her eyes overflowing with tears. It was the very face of happiness.
However, I could only whisper the only thoughts I had in my mind.
"Who are you?... Who am I?"
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ARC 2: LIFE OF A REVENANT
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Kaiden is back... kinda. How's going to be his life without his memories? There's only one way to find out.
By the way, sorry for the delay. I finally got The Last of Us and I've been playing it. It's so awesome and some scenes are very touching. Like the one when Sarah... Sarah?... Sarah!... SARAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
*lies on the ground in fetal position and cries*