START OF CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Eden...
I felt my eyes roll back as pain coursed through my spine, filling every fiber and every molecule with unfiltered agony. My whole body was aflame with remorse, and no lack of oxygen would put out this fire that sapped my strength and my spirit. My fingers gripped ash-covered streets, seeking purchase in an ever moving flow.
"Fuck." I cursed, clenching my stomach with one hand and balling the other into a tightly-coiled sign of unholy oppression. As the last of the debilitating pain washed over me I squeezed open my eyes, looking at the spire. My anchor to this world. My mission. The source of my nightmares. "I'm tearing that damned tower into scrap metal."
Sinderra hungrily agreed, helping me stand up and start walking again. I needn't explain the mental hoops that made me go through. We never agreed on anything, ever. So the fact that he was helping me was a pretty big deal. I just had to figure out where its weak points were so that I could use them to my advantage. Thtrain of thought ended up with me clinging to my revolver's handle forty thousand feet in the air, knocking against the iron hull.
"Sinderra, can you knock-"
The side of the hull I was on imploded, revealing the clockwork machinery on the inside. I glared at the air next to me, sighing and starting to climb up to a...more intact portion of iron.
"Whoops."
"Don't you 'whoops' me. You did that on purpose."
"And I would lie about that...why again?"
"Good point." I grunted, climbing on to a hand-hold and knocking harshly against the hull. My ears picked up on several structural weak points, all of which Sinderra obliterated the second after I found them. As the tower started to crumple and twist apart from the inside, I tore free a twenty foot chunk of Ideanian iron out of the hull, depositing it into my back pocket. I swore I could hear Sinderra laughing maniacally as the tower tore itself apart, crashing into the streets below and taking them with it as the spire fell into Sigma-17's core. I landed at what remained of the base of the tower, brushing off the dirt and grime that had stained my clothes during my climb.
"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?"
I looked up at the sky; four bright dawns shone over the city, bathing it in their radiant glows. Sigma's four suns stared down at me. At the ruins of this once thriving, graceful city. At this Eden we had destroyed. I couldn't help but feel a sense of resignment wash over me. I would always have the nightmares, the fears. But I would also have the suns to remember. They were the days to my horrid nights.
"It's quite beautiful. Quite beautiful indeed." I responded, taking off my hat and sitting down on the ground, my eyes locked with those of the suns. Their brilliance warmed me, filling me with a wash of comfort.
"Not as beautiful as me though, right?" Iota inquired, sitting down next to me and coiling her hand around mine.
"Nothing could ever come close." I replied, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I guessed you were following me. You saw, huh?"
"Yeah. I did. But, as much as I want to help, I trust you. And I trust you'll get through this."
"...I wish I trusted as easily as you. I'm not going to get through this on my own. I need help. But it can wait. I have a job to do." I responded, struggling to my feet and pulling out the large chunk of iron. "I need this forged by someone else. And I know just who to go to."
Sanctuary appeared overhead, a voice coming in through the earpiece on my ear.
"I guess we missed the party, huh?" Soliloquy asked, my alter piloting the city-ship down to ground level and extending the ramp that would bring us aboard. Inside waited Ariad, Braliza, Brutus, Clement; hell, almost all of my characters were there, with Soli waiting at their forefront.
"Hey guys. Didn't think you'd come after me." I stated, dragging myself up from the dust.
"Well that was dumb to think; we're family. We look after each-other." My alter-turned-adopted-sister said. I smiled, tears rolling down the hills of my cheeks. I hadn't had a family in a long, long time. Maybe now, at the end of it all, I could try again.
High up in the Vytalian forests, in the village of Datearth...
A woman wrapped in cloaks picked up two mugs of hot chocolate, making her way back to a table in the back of the inn. Her grey eyes scanned the room, but held no ill or good will. Instead, within them were simple curiosity. She brought one of the mugs to her small lips and took a hesitant sip, giving a small nod in response and going to her table. She set the second mug down on the table, closing her eyes and checking the time in her mind.
She should be back by now...
The woman took a deep breath and waited a few more minutes. Just as she was about to get up, a small cat faunus, around eight years old, bounded over to her and threw herself at her shoulder. The woman looked down at the child, who was wearing a maniacally large smile, and grunted, taking the second mug and giving it to her.
"You're late," The woman muttered, and quite strangely, with little to no emotion.
"Sorry," The girl replied, taking a sip from her mug.
"I was..." The woman stopped, looking down at her hands and staring at them, as if straining to get the words out.
"Worried?" The little cat stated, the woman looking at her and nodding. "It's new, isn't it?"
"I'm still getting used to...this."
"It's definitely different." The girl stated, looking down at herself. "So what do we do now?"
"We improvise."
"Hey Grey?"
"Yes?" Grey replied, looking down at her younger compatriot.
"Do you miss her?" Innocence inquired, finishing off her drink.
"...I don't know. I've never had feelings before." The Grey Storm muttered, folding her hood down to reveal a pair of torn and patchy lynx ears. "But we can work through it, together."
"Together." Innocence smiled, running her fingers over Grey's.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Right. Still new to the emotion thing. We'll work on it."
In another dimensional universe entirely...
I felt myself rematerialize, the winds dancing pleasant tunes through the air. I landed on the blocky ground, solid and aware. I had came to the dimension for a reason, and that reason was to find a...friend of mine. The grass crunched beneath my feet as I walked, taking a step down and once again touching the dirt comprised of blocks. I walked for a while, maybe a few hours, before homing in on the bright burst of emotion I felt off in the distance.
As I crested a hill of sorts, the land platued, trees stretching on for miles, with a large house in the middle of a clearing. I smiled as I approached the house, memories of the person inside it coming to mind. He was fun, and while he could be eccentric at times-
"Xeñ! Is that you?" A rather excited and luminous female voice inquired. I turned around to see a girl around the physical age of twelve, with rainbow-colored hair and a large smile.
"Hey there, Yuusami. How've you-" The rest of my words were cut off as she used her wings to barrel into me, arms wrapped around my waist. "Been?"
"I missed you so much! How long has it been? Years? Decades? Ah, who cares! You have to tell me all about your adventures!" Yuusami demanded, shaking me violently by my collar.
"And I will. Have you seen Felix?"
"Oh yeah, he's in his house over there." Yuu stated, pointing behind me. I nodded my head with a forced smile, making her go 'oh, right' and dropping me.
"Thanks," I replied, straightening my jacket and walking towards the house. Yuusami followed after me, leaving contrails in her wake.
"So what did you need him for?"
"Well, I'll tell it to you straight. An Und Tiemer foot soldier showed up and nearly killed two of my third best characters."
"Oh, Xeñ...I'm sorry." Yuu responded, her overly cheery tone becoming downtrodden and depressed.
"Yeah. It sucks." I muttered, the fairy Deserved pulling me into a hug. "Thanks."
"All stories have their end. Some when they're not meant to."
"Well, that's what I'm here for."
"What do you mean? You can't fight them." Yuu stated as if it was set in stone. Which to her, it was.
"You're right; I can't, but my characters can. Given the right tools, that is. I need Felix to forge me some gear."
"No, no. Hold up. You're saying-"
"Yes." I replied, interrupting her.
"And you didn't tell anyone?" Yuu exclaimed, grabbing me by the shoulders and throttling me. "Do you have any idea what this could mean for us?! For our stories? Roosevelt, use your head for a second!"
"Seems I forgot how to do that."
"How'd they do it?"
"Well, they stabbed it to death with a rusted sword. However, they died in the process. I've resuscitated them, but it was pretty close. I have a theory, however, that each invasion force uses metals from the Deserved's home planet. That means they're vulnerable. Of course, my characters are ridiculously overpowered, but that didn't really matter when they went up against the Und Tiemer."
"You know what, you go talk to Felix, I'll spread the news. And Xeñ?"
"Yes?"
"Congratulations on the marriage. I'm coming to your wedding b-t-dubs." And with that, Yuu blinked out of existence, leaving me in front of the house. I sighed, reaching to knock on the door when it suddenly opened.
"Yuu? Are you out the-" A boy called out, opening the door, his cockney accent a relief to my troubled nerves.
"Hi Felix." I stated, Felix blinking several times and pulling off his welder's mask to get a better look at me.
"Xeñoirê Dealphene. It's been a while." He replied, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. "So what brings you to my doorstep?"
"Fe, don't be like that-"
"I don't want to hear it. You left. I wanted to help you, and you ran."
"I know." I said, staring at my shoes. "I know I did. It was a cowardly thing to do, and I'm sorry. I wanted to deal with it on my own."
"And that didn't work out, did it now?" He asked, fire in his voice. He was right. It hadn't worked.
"I-" I tried to speak, get out simple reasons that would all be shot down with ease. I couldn't lie to him. He had been my first friend as a Deserved.
"Did it?"
"No."
"You want to talk to me," Felix rummaged around in his back pocket before pulling out a pair of spectacles, resting them on the bridge of his nose. "You'll have to face your problems."
"I don't have time, Fe. Later-"
"No. Now." He growled, grabbing my collar.
"An Und Tiemer foot soldier showed up in my dimension." He looked at me. I could see it in his eyes; hurt, pain. I never realized... "What do you want me to say, Felix? Sorry?"
"It would be a start."
"I," I swallowed, my mouth dry. "I'm sorry." I hoped he could see that I meant it.
Apparently he did.
"Come on in." He stated, opening the door for me. I quaked on the inside but went on in, taking out the shard of iron, only for it to appear as a three meter tall and wide block of greyish make, with a small 20 on the left hand corner. I looked at him and he shrugged, gesturing for me to follow him. "So I heard about the wedding."
"Felix,"
"You really want to get married in your condition?"
"She thinks I can get through it on my own." I replied, shaking my head with remorse. Iota meant well, but what I needed was help.
"And?"
"You think I'd lie to her?" I inquired, fire in my words.
"I don't know what to think Xeñ. Before, you were the kind of person that kept their promises. Now..." Felix shrugged, more depressed than angry. The fire in me died out, replaced by a hallow pit of emptiness.
"...I won't promise you anything. But once this is all over, I'll come to you for help." A resigned sigh escaped his lips.
"You mean that?" He asked aloud, as if to the world rather than myself.
"Yes, Felix. I mean it." I answered with the weight of the world.
"We'll see."
Blinding pain seared through my chest.
Attacked and burned and tore a gaping hole in my mind.
Currents seized my limbs and I collapsed.
Kind words were heard, but not accepted.
Wishing for the nightmares to end, for the pain to stop.
I could not think, could not move.
The scar in my chest was leaking.
Heat built in my brain and dulled the sensations.
Once I could feel again, the tears flowed like rain. Like blood from an open wound.
Underwhelming relief is welcomed, for once.
Rating an eight on the debilitating pain scale.
Felix was at my side in an instant.
"Xeñoirê! What the hell was that?!" He demanded, holding my shoulders as I gasped from the receeding pain.
"P-Please...don't. Fe...c-can you help me stand?"
He looked at me, flabbergasted.
"You're in no position to move, much less stand." Why? Why couldn't he understand? I needed to save them all.
"Fe, I have to-"
"Xeñoirê," Iota said aloud, tears in her eyes. I hated that. I hated it even more, knowing that I was the cause. "It's okay. You don't have to go back."
"I do. I owe them that much." I replied, struggling to stand. Not a single neuron fired, nor a muscle moved.
"You don't owe them anything."
"Yote, you don't understand. They're like children to me. My children. I have to do whatever's necessary to protect them. Don't you get it? The children we could never have." Desperation was clear in my voice, but they could see the truth; I was broken, a hallowed shell of my former self.
"I...I see. I would agree with your actions, except for the fact that we can have children together. Genetics need not apply when it comes to sentient god suns. We can have a family now, Xeñoirê. Together."
"I don't know what it means to be a father. I never had one. Look at what I've done to my 'children' so far; I've tortured them, maimed them, broken them. Why...why would you want to have me be a father in my condition?" I sneered, Iota smiling smally and getting down on her knees to face me at eye-level.
"Xeñ. Nothing is static. Your condition, we can fight through it. We were dead, and we came back."
She could see me gearing up to fight back with words; ugly, meaningless things that were there just to bite deep and ravage the heart, to invite doubt into the mind.
"We Deserved a second chance. We got it. Let's not waste it."
"That...That was a shitty pun." I muttered weakly, wiping the tears from my eyes. "But you always were my rock. Something to hold myself to. I tried to find new ones, but the only thing that ever worked was you. And...You were far more stubborn than I ever was."
"Always will be." She cracked back, a smile flickering to life on my visage. It didn't last. The guilt, the screams, the stench. I wrapped my arms around her and bled the last of my bitterness out with sobs and gasps. Nothing felt quite like her; holding on as all the years of accumulated pain washed away down the metaphorical drain. A tentative "Xeñ?" brought my head out of the fog.
"Yes?"
"How long? How many times?" I shook my head, a croak leaving my throat. "Xeñ,"
"For the first ten thousand years, a thousand times per year. For the next five thousand, five hundred times." I rattled off clinically, a depressive drawl in my voice.
"How...How did you function?" Felix asked aloud, echoing a roomful of disbelief. I gave a harsh, hoarse chuckle.
"I didn't. But you, Iota, Yuusami, you all helped me control it. Keep it in check. I can keep moving because of you." The ground beneath me parted, Sinderra climbing out of the crack and helping me stand.
"None of you saw anything. I have a reputation to uphold." He stated, brushing the dust from my coat and clawing off the tears from my cheeks.
"Thank you, Sinderra," Iota responded, the alabaster giant looking down at her with surprise and a tinge of shock. "What, I can't thank you?"
"I...excuse me." The daemon muttered, crawling back down into the earth. I watched him leave, a small part of me concerned for the King.
"That was very much unusual." I stated, deciding to discuss it later and focus on the matter at hand. I returned to my tired state, energy leaving me. "Felix, if you will?"
"Yes, of course. Please, come with me." He stated, Iota wrapping her arm around my waist and carrying me with her as we followed Felix. He was more concerned for me than even Iota. I could hear it in his voice. I had missed that voice for a long while.
Back with our main characters...
"Thank you for coming, Clement." Ariad said, the younger, deader version of herself sitting down next to her.
"Hey, no problem. I lost a part of myself too, you know?"
"Yeah? I lost all three parts."
"No you didn't." Ariad shook her head and blinked back tears, resting her head against the chamber's walls.
"I've been with them for so long...do I even know who I am? What am I without them? What makes me...me?"
"I didn't find that out for a long time. You...she, left me behind. I was...angry with her, for a long time. But I realized why she did it. She placed all that guilt, all that blame, solely on herself. It wasn't Grey's fault. Innocence never did a thing. That Ariad, my Ariad, chose to give us another shot at life." Clement stated, clenching her fists.
"You're saying that she was better than me?" Ariad inquired, a little offended at her words.
"What I'm saying is that she trusted us enough to live our lives without her to watch over us."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you should trust them. If they need you, they know where you are."
"And what about me? What if I need them? What if I don't know who I am anymore with them gone?!" Ariad exclaimed, looking at her deader self for guidance.
"Whatever the base you is, that's you. Gray and Innocence, they don't flow over at all. You are you." Clement calmly replied, standing up and pulling her original into a hug. "Never forget that. Because when you take everything away, that's all you have left."
The chamber door cracked open, letting out some steam and assaulting the intruder with hot air and vibrant fragrances. A few tufts of blue hair ran themselves through the steam, Brafez's face penetrating the two lynxs's cover.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you two were chatting. I'll just-"
"Actually, I was just leaving. Finally knocked some sense into that old noggin of hers." Clement stated, passing by Brafez and closing the door behind her, giving the two privacy.
"Hey B. How you doing?" Ariad requested, resting a tired hand against her cheek.
"Not...not good." He spat out, his palms shaking. "I've always had this feeling, but I've never been able to place it. Mangeele, he made me what he wanted me to be; the ultimate weapon. I'm great at fighting. I love it. It's just...sometimes I get this idea that I love it too much."
"You're saying that you like hurting people?" The lynx both stated and asked.
"It makes sense, doesn't it? You want the ultimate weapon to like its job, don't you? Why not make it a sadist?"
"You're not an it. Or a weapon. You're my friend. My lover." She replied, fists balled.
"I know. But that doesn't erase the fact that I was created to end war. Which is why," He stopped, reaching behind his back and taking Fenrir from her holster. Ariad looked at him quizically, before he held the axe out to her. "I'm giving you Fenrir. I can't keep fighting. It feels good and wrong and I don't want that. I don't want you to see me like that. I'll continue my studies at Beacon, but after that I...I'll become someone who helps others, not hurts them."
"I...Brafez. You're giving up on fighting?" She muttered, looking down at Fenrir and then back to him.
"Yes. I'm sorry." He responded, his heart bleeding from his eyes.
"You don't have to be sorry. I understand why. Just...Are you sure?"
"Yes. I don't...I can't..."
"Brafez?"
He struggled for breath and sat down, a few tears streaming down his cheeks.
"In the forest, when you got shot...I felt good. I hated that feeling. I was afraid of what it meant, and disgusted by what it was. I just...I can't feel that again. So, no more fighting for me. Perhaps it's best if I just train myself to heal people. I'm okay at that."
"Whatever you decide, I'm right behind you."
"Me too." Pandora stated, Olivia by her side. The rest of team RWBY stood behind them.
"And you?" Brafez inquired, gesturing to the team.
"To never fight again...that's impossible. Wherever you go there will be fighting." Blake responded. He hung his head.
"I know."
"Why don't you do some soul-searching? That should help you out." Olive suggested, surprising mostly everyone. "What? I was afraid and unsure of myself, so I went out and walked the world. I learned to control my feral side...well, I'm frankly still learning, but I'm better than I was before. So, I figure if it helped me, I bet it would help you too."
"Okay. Then it's decided. Time for some soul-searching." Ariad stated, clapping him on the back.
"Ariad, you don't have to come with me."
"Nonsense. We're a couple. We're going together. Besides, I could use some help too. When we fought with that bat dude, his wings could hit me in Elsewyre. I don't want to be caught off-guard like that again. I figure maybe I'll figure out how to prevent it if I go with you. And... I need time to figure out who I am."
"Okay." Brafez replied, taking a deep breath. This could help him control his lust, his hunger. It was that or... He didn't want to think about it.
"Going on an adventure is great and all, but the semester break ends next week. You'll never get back in time." Yang pointed out, putting several holes in their plan.
"Fuck school. We're adults, we know what's out there-" Ariad replied, taking Brafez's hand in hers.
"No, you don't." Welsha stated, walking upon them with a grim expression. The group looked at her with worry. "About twelve years ago, I faced a horror in the depths of the Snowbrow mountain range when I tried to rescue my brother. It was no innocent Beo or Ursi; no, it was a beast meant for killing humans and faunus, by attacking their very souls. I know because it happened to me. It struck my soul and nearly killed me. Luckily, I had some friends helping me out, who, sadly, are no longer with us."
She took a breath and continued. "They all died fighting the Grimm. We at the Sect have named it 'Hydra', and wherever it shows up, we evacuate. So far we've only had one sighting, and we lost twelve Exterminators trying to bring it down. It vanished, with not even a scratch to blemish its hide." Several of the group visibly paled at that. "There were no bodies to recover. However, we believe this means that Salem is getting desperate, which means, for once, we're succeeding. My brother is leading a charge up north to deal with the slave-master. This means that the Hydra might be used once more, and with devastating effects. I want any of you, if you see it, to disengage and retreat quickly. If it finds you, it will end you and everything you love."
"You have any suspicions as to where it would show up next?" Olive inquired, no trace of worry on her face.
"None. It appears and disappears without a trace." Welsha replied, sighing a long, delirious sigh that spoke tones of her efforts. "I don't know how General Ironwood does it. Waging war is a tiring business. After this I'm going to need a long vacation."
"I think we all need one." Pandora stated, a chuckle in her voice. It wasn't very funny, but soon enough the entire room was laughing, a chorus of chuckles resounding throughout the halls of Sanctuary. Thankfully, there were no windows, otherwise they would have seen a blocky world below them.
Back with Felix and the gang...
Felix wiped some sweat from his brow, the leather gloves he wore a mere aesthetic choice, since the fires of his forge couldn't hurt him anymore than a pebble could kill a mountain. I sat off in the corner, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I was shivering, but it wasn't because I was cold. No, it was far more soul-rending.
"This might take a couple days, just so you know." Felix said. I smiled. He was lying through his teeth. I knew the rate he worked at. He could have my request done in an hour. "I understand if you want to go spend time with your characters. But..."
He stopped pounding at the lump of metal in his hands, the form resembling a dagger with an ornate, bone-like handle and a curved blade. It would take him a while to get over how he had felt about me leaving.
"It was good to see you again, Xeñ."
"Thank you Felix, for everything. I'm...I don't think I'll ever be able to say how sorry I am. How ashamed I feel."
"I already know how you feel. I can see it in your eyes."
"Everyone can read me through my eyes." I chortled, a rare tease of joy shining through my dim mind.
"It doesn't help that you're rather emotional."
I huffed at him. He looked back at me, eyebrows raised.
"Just because it's true doesn't make it hurt any less." I muttered, tensing myself as I felt another wave of pain come crashing down on me. I bit my lips shut, pained groans flying from between my cheeks. Felix, Iota, Yuu, even Sinderra were at my side in an instant. I stared at the Obsidian King, my jaw hard. "Why are you here? Don't you despise me?"
Sinderra chuckled. The sound sent a shiver down my spine. I didn't even know he could laugh.
"What ever gave you that idea?"
"We're at each other's throats constantly."
"And despite that, I'm still here. So how do you explain that? I'm a Deserved too. I'm bound to you no longer. And yet here I remain. I suppose in the bottom of my rotted, black heart, I care for your wellbeing."
"You...You're Deserved?" I whispered, looking from him to myself, clutching at my chest. He chose to stay. He...cared about me.
"Don't get all doe-eyed on me, you hussy! You're going to ruin my reputation."
"I hated you for so long. You ruined my life. And now you tell me you cared about me all along. Well then." I muttered, confusion etching itself on my face. "I'm not quite sure how to respond to that."
"You don't have to. You just need to find peace. To sooth your heart from it's ache." The Obsidian King spoke, a certain, unusual tenderness in his rough voice.
"I...I, yes, I should. But that wouldn't be the end of it. I still need to deal with my flashbacks, and the pain." I replied, trying to support myself with one hand and resting the other against the scar in my chest. I felt it leaking red, but when I pulled my hand out it was clean. I shook my head.
"Xas, you okay?" Iota inquired, looking at me with concern. She had a right to it. I was a mess.
"No, I'm not. That's why I'm here." I said, standing up. I looked at Felix and Yuu. "Can you fix this?"
"Well, it's a combination of severe mental trauma and nervous system flashbacks. To fix an issue that's been mounting for over a thousand years, that'll take a while. More time than your characters have. I'd suggest that they could stay here, but if they leave Sanctuary, they'd slowly destabilize until they were nothing more than motes of Crea. And even in there, they're in danger. Sanctuary's a marvel of engineering, but it's not perfect. Even with the stabilization fields-"
I held my hand up, silencing Felix. "I know. I can't keep them in there forever. At best, they have three Human years. Thankfully, keeping them in RWBY's dimension will keep them stable. But when the Und Tiemers come, they'll take my power and force Sanctuary to land, and then it'll be a bloodbath. I can't let that happen. I can't lose them." I stated, feeling my knees strain to keep me upright. I sighed, limping over to the door and pushing it open, nearly bowling over the persistent lynx Faunus. "Ariad, how'd you get off the ship?"
"I...I uh, jumped?" She shrugged impishly, rubbing her arms as a buzzing traveled through her core.
"I see. How much did you hear?"
"Um, all of it." Ariad mumbled, not looking at me. I sighed once more.
"Did anyone else follow you?"
"No. But I bet I set off the alarms."
"Well, yeah. You feel that buzzing in your body?"
"Yeah. I heard about destabilization and Crea particles. Does that mean I'll disappear if I stay out here too long?"
"Essentially, yes. So if you'd like to talk, on the ship." I stated, pointing at the door that lead outside. She stood up, holding onto one elbow with her hand. I smiled and lead her outside, Felix teleporting her up onto Sanctuary since I could not do it myself. "When I'm better, then we'll talk. I owe you, most of all, the truth." I hung my head, my merry band of Deserved behind me.
"Tomorrow I'll go up with you and explain it to her." Felix said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I smiled at his touch, grateful to have such caring people in my small group of friends.
"I think she'd like that. But for now, let's try and fix me."
"Yes, let's." Yuu agreed, taking Felix's hand and dragging me along, Iota following me and Sinderra melting into the floor. I smiled. Perhaps, maybe one day, I would be better. But today was not that day. It would take many upon many of steps before I was healed. And so, I took a step, following my friends into a room with many leather adornments and furniture, and despite their square-ness, they were quite comfy. As the rest of the Deserved filed into the room, I sighed, fingering the scar on my chest, remembering a time back before I could walk between the stars.
"What are you thinking about?" Felix asked, taking a seat beside me.
"Before... When I was alive."
"How often do you think about it?" He inquired, adjusting his bifocals.
"Almost every day. I feel...cheated. I didn't deserve this second chance. I don't know why Teddy chose me. Iota I'd understand, you as well. But there were so many bright unfulfilled minds that died that day that he could have chosen. Why me?" I said, my voice full of shame.
"You could ask him yourself when this all blows over. But for now, you could try asking those closest to you. Why they're still around if you consider yourself such a bad choice of Deserved. But I have a feeling that you'll be a bit stubborn about this." Felix snorted, resting a hand on mine. "So I'll say it and hope to get through that thick skull of yours. You're vigilant, willing to do whatever it takes to do the right thing. And you don't pull any punches. You explain what you're going to do before you do it. You ask people for help instead of forcing them to do things. You want me to keep going?"
"I'm not sure he'd listen." Iota and Sinderra muttered at the same time.
"Hush you two." I stated with faux anger. It felt good to see everyone coming to help me. I didn't think I deserved it, but still. The effort was nice.
"And when have I ever listened to you when you told me to be quiet?" Iota smiled, placing her hands on her hips as she waited an answer from me.
"I can count the times on one hand." I replied, a small smile growing on my lips. They were more stubborn than me. No matter how hard I fought back, no matter how ashamed I felt, they would be there to beat a whole lot of sense into me.
"Now as for those flashbacks..." Felix mentioned cautiously. I bowed my head, folding my knees up onto the couch.
"I'll describe them to you. They...won't be pretty." I cautioned them.
"Nothing ever is in real life. Only if someone wants to sell you something." Sinderra muttered, leaning against the wall. I shooshed him, focusing on the deepest recesses of my mind, drawing out that horrid memory.
"We're here for you Xen. We all are. So don't hold anything back." Yuu stated, placing a hand on my back as Iota did the same.
"Are you joining us?" I inquired to Sinderra, my eyes closed in meditation. The white giant shook his head.
"I was there. I saw it fall. I don't need to see it again." He muttered in hushed tones, anger in his tone. I held off my questions for later. Right now it was my turn to heal.
"I understand," I replied, trying to calm my breathing as I smelt smoke in the air. The crackle of fire built in my ears. "Is everyone ready?"
"I'm ready." Felix whispered. He had heard of what had happened, but experiencing it through another's eyes would be more...visceral.
"All ready to go." Yuu said with cheer. She was always trying to be cheerful. Her homeworld had been destroyed by it's own hubris, much like mine. Felix was the one who had found her, a single atom drifting in space. That had been all that had remained of her. Coming back to life had been a shock, just like it was for all Deserved. She had been a slave before her death. Her freedom had given her newfound hope. Felix was born on Earth, to a rather wealthy family. He had died early in life from heart complications, but before that he had always tried to do the right thing for those who were less well off than his family.
"Iota, you gonna be okay?" I inquired, squeezing her hand gently.
"It's not everyday you relive your death from your lover's eyes. But, yeah. I'll be okay." My love and life responded tersely. It had been rough at the end. Reliving it would be dredging up old feelings.
"Okay," I said, bracing myself as I felt my mind and the others drawn out of our bodies and into a memory of a time long forgotten.
At the end of the world...
I took in a deep breath, looking around me. Yuu and Felix were behind me, but transparent. They wouldn't be noticed in the memory. I glanced to my left, squeezing Iota's bandaged hand. She swallowed her fears and squeezed back as a large Differential stepped in front of us, his onyx skin highlighted with white tattoos across his body.
"Our king." He said, his voice quiet but able to be heard throughout the bridge. Around him, Differentials were running to and from consoles, trying to keep the captured ship in the air.
"I am no king," I replied, looking at Iota with dread. "Just a boy with dead hope."
"And who killed that hope?" Viktor Sankeni asked, raising his voice so that it would be heard throughout the ship. His Daemon helped it reverberate throughout the ship.
"Lurid and his Identicalias!" The roar resounded back, the extremists' rage breaking the air. I couldn't believe myself when I heard my voice roar with them. How far had I fallen?
"And now they threaten us with extinction! So now we answer back!" Sankeni declared, pulling from his back pocket a box wrapped in satin. I glared at it with unseen hate. He held it out to me. "Xenoire, you should be the one to do this. They have taken the most from you."
"And now I will take everything from them for what they've done to us." I didn't recognize my own voice, so filled with hatred and vengeance. I felt like my very soul had been tainted by it. By my hatred for Lurid and his dogs. For what they'd done, for how they'd tortured Iota, nearly driving her to the brink of madness. For how'd they'd erased my heritage as the great great grandson of the freer of our people from Humanity's rule. For how they had worked against me to deny equality to those who had needed it, simply because it didn't fit their agenda. And because of their hubris and hatred, they all died. I took the box, unwrapping it. It was coated in sliver, runes dug into the metal. A bright red button lay in the middle of it. I walked up to the massive viewport, eyes on the ship that floated in front of us, way above the city.
"Sir, Lurid's sending an incoming transmission." A crewman stated from his console, Sankeni looked at me, spikes forming at his shoulders as his Daemon slowly took over him. I snarled, Iota flinching. I reached for her mind through the memory and gave it a gentle caress.
"Tell him he can go to hell. I'll be there waiting for him." I replied, pure unfiltered rage flowing freely from my tongue. I looked down at Eden, sections of the city on fire. The sections had held Differentials of all ages, and General Lurid had burned them to ashes because of his hate. I would do the same. I pressed the button, the roads down below starting to smoke and glow as ancient gears rumbled and poured fuel into a massive incinerator that lay beneath the streets. The smell of smoke came through the air filters as the fires started to burn down everything. I ignored the fresh smell of burning flesh as wails were heard from the burning city below. I didn't stop Iota as she backed away from me, trying to understand who I was and how I had become so twisted. For so long I had ignored the hatred from being put down and humiliated for all my life, but now it was boiling out, seething from every pore as Eden burned to ashes.
"Sir, something's wrong!" Another crewman cried out over the roars.
"What is it?" Sankeni asked, leaning on the back of the panicked crewman's chair to see his readouts.
"There's energy building in the base of the tower. But I can't figure out what..." The crewman's eyes widened, looking at the rest of the crew, his face morphing as his Daemon took over. "Everyone brace yourselves!"
I felt Sinderra rise from my mind, my skin getting whiter and my body growing taller as tentacles held Iota's feet in place. A few seconds later a green wave of energy washed over us, and the crews' Daemons faded back into their bodies as the ship tilted to the side, throwing us to the floor. The pilot was rapidly adjusting his controls, trying to steer the ship over the walls and away from the fire. The crew along with Iota and I were thrown against the deck as something crashed into the ship, sending us flying over the perimeter walls as a voice radioed over the intercom.
"This is what you've earned, you damned fools! You killed us all!" General Lurid's voice cried out as we fell, the collided ships plummeting from the air as metal groaned before the viewport cracked and blasted open, taking me and Iota with it. We fell into the snowdrifts hundreds of feet below as the two ships started to smoke and tear apart, sending the last Ideanians into the air and to their deaths below as cannons on the sides of the ships opened fire, blasting each other to bits. I blacked out for a few seconds as I hit the ground, the screech of metal tearing and ash falling on my face bringing me back to consciousness. I stood up, looking around. White was everywhere. I could barely see through the ashen rainfall. I tried to ignore the growing wetness in my coat, trudging through the snow as I searched for my lost love. The rage and hatred had died, replaced only by horror. Horror at what I had done. At how I had treated my love. At how the extinction of my species lay on my head. I shuddered, my footsteps slowing as my breathing slowed.
"I'm sorry Iota... I'm so sorry." I whispered under the howling of the winds and ash and fire. I barely heard the footsteps behind me. I barely felt the blade of Lurid's sword cut through my chest as it was dragged up in a foot-long gash. I collapsed as he pulled it from my chest with a wet finality, my vision blurring as I hit the ground.
"Why couldn't you just be a good little Diffy and stay in line?" Lurid hissed, cleaning off his blade with a red handkerchief.
"Evil is allowed to rise when good men do nothing." I groaned out, clutching the hole in my chest. "But on this world all good men do is die, so I sank to your level. I brought your worst fears to life. All because you couldn't accept a Diffy that was trying to help everyone. Well, here you go. Now everyone's dead because of what you did to me. I hope you're fucking happy!"
Whatever Lurid was going to say cut off with a dreaded finality as a hole the size of a dinner plate was blown in his chest. He staggered backwards, once and then twice, and then fell into the snow behind him. I was too weak to turn my head to see my tardy savior, but the crunching of boots made it clear to me they were getting closer. I could feel my body getting colder, and see my sight growing dim. Breaths came and went in ragged gasps, only momentarily halted when my savior shifted me onto my back, the snow steaming in my guts.
"Dear god...Xenoire," My dearest muttered in barely-hidden horror, the contents of her stomach evacuating into the snow beside me as she saw the extent of my injuries. "You..."
"I'm dying," I whispered, planting my gloved hand on her cheek and leaking a shaky trail for tears to follow. I was dying; nothing would heal such a grievous wound. But truth be told, I had died long before, in small parts each time. I barely felt like myself. The world had broken me, bit by horrific bit until only hate and rage and a lust to see it all burn was left. I barely heard what Iota said, but the sound that followed was as clear as freshly polished diamonds.
"Then I shall too," She uttered, removing her spear's blade from her chest in a gargantuan pull that had crimson stain the white dunes. Iota smiled weakly as she dragged herself up my failing body, every inch feeling like crossing a continent. "Sorry about the stains in your coat."
I chuckled weakly. This was it. We were dying; every last one of us. Sankeni, Lurid, Iota, me... Every last Ideanian on the planet. And it was all my fault.
"I don't think you could make it any worse," I replied, feeling her lips graze my cheeks in a melancholy kiss that held a single sputtering flame in it. But it felt...alien. I knew how bad I had hurt her. "I am sorry, my love. For everything."
"I know. But it would always end this way. Someone would get pushed too far and it just so happened to be you. It's not your fault." Iota said in a tone unworthy of me; forgiveness.
"But you didn't deserve this-"
"I'm an Ideanian, no matter what my genetics say. Any human in me can go straight to hell." She coughed, staining my coat even redder than before. "I guess...it's time then, huh?"
"I suppose so." I whimpered, gasping as my vison went dark and my senses turned to white noise. I could feel death's old achy appendages reaching up and pulling me down, down into an ocean of onyx. I was dead but I could see the currents pulling me, flinging me apart like wet cardboard in a match off against a chainsaw. I could feel...something. Warmth. A bright light. I was dead and yet I was alive, able to see and feel. I hesitantly cracked one eye open. I was in a street, with thousands of people milling about. They looked like Ideanians but they weren't. They were shorter, and their eyes didn't have letters in them. I felt snow hit my coat and pulled it tight. This weather was nothing compared to the snowstorms in Eden.
Humans.
I snarled, reaching inside my mind and yanking Sinderra out into the cold.
"I thought I was free of you." I hissed, ignoring the stares directed my way. The white giant looked at me with his sightless face and pulled his cheek muscles up in an invisible smile.
"Guess not. But now that I think about it, this city looks familiar."
"Great, that always sounds good when I'm around you." I muttered, folding my arms and huffing. He couldn't stop pestering me when I was alive, now he had to do it when I was dead too?
"We're in...New York City. How in the hell did we get here?" The alabaster bastard said with unconcealed awe, looking around with his blank face.
"New York City? What's that?" He stopped and looked at me, surprise in his frame.
"Kid, welcome to Earth. Homeworld to my kind."
"Earth?" I shuddered to think how I had wandered up here. But if I was here, then maybe... "Well, Earth or not, we're going to find Iota."
"As you wish." The Obsidian King replied, sinking into the ground and returning to my mind. Now, shall we?
Back in Felix's living room...
I relaxed as I felt my mind pull away from the memory. I blinked and found myself surrounded by my friends; they really didn't know when to quit, did they?
"Sinderra, watch where you're grabbing," I muttered in a lame attempt at a joke. Sinderra growled and slapped me upside the head.
"Brat."
"Guilty as charged," I replied, my body struggling to breath as the hug I was in folded in tighter. "Guys, some air please?"
They shuffled away awkwardly, but held me in arms distance. I didn't blame them, the bunch of doting hens.
"I heard that," Felix stated, drawing a sly smile from my lips.
"Whoops." I replied.
"So now that we know what we're dealing with, how do we fix it?" Iota asked aloud, all eyes turning to Felix.
"Well, I would suggest trying to find the key sources of these flashbacks. Then I'd try and repair whatever damage is in there."
"And the only way to repair that damage would be to visit Dullahein." Yuu stated, the Deserved in the room all sighing. Dullahein was where all Deserved resided when they were not morphing stories to their liking. "And that's not an option, since if you leave,"
"They'll end up defenseless back in Remnant. All ready and ripe for an Und Tiemer assault." Felix finished.
"You could transfer control over to me." Iota said, looking at me with hope in her eyes. I closed my eyes, my face grim.
"I'll do that, then I'll go to Dullahein. But first, they deserve an explanation of what we are." I stated, looking at Felix for an assist.
"Very well. Then we'll give them one." Felix replied, ice in his voice.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Yuu asked aloud, glancing at the others. I nodded my head, rising as the rest of them did.
"Come on then. No time like the present." I stated, walking towards the door, the rest of the Deserved following in tow. Except, for Sinderra, who sighed and stared at the seemingly innocuous apple resting on the coffee table.
"Get up, you worm. I know you're there." The white giant stated, and by the tone in his voice his patience was running thin. The apple morphed, a small silhouette with a pointed face sitting in it's place.
"Sinderra. A pleasure as always." Azeroyth replied, standing up. His form morphed until it was the same size as Sinderra, black daggers staring at a white landscape.
"What are you planning? Remnant was no where near creative enough to draw their attention."
"I want the Und Tiemers gone. Extinct. Wiped from the map. To do that, I need to spring a trap," the Time God-turned-Deserved stated, standing up and walking over to the boxy couch and taking a seat. "What that trap entails..."
Sinderra growled, his claws tight and his muscles clenched. "You would sacrifice an entire world just for a chance-"
"Not a chance," Azeroyth clarified, his dagger-face unreadable. "A guarantee. We would win. I swear this, by my unlife."
"If you're so sure, then explain this plan. I cannot tarry long."
"Gladly," The Deserved replied with a smile in his voice. It was not friendly. No, it was feral.
Onboard Sanctuary...
The wail of alarms was accenting as we teleported onto the Trans-dimensional ship, the red lights blaring like gore splashing against a bathtub. I clapped my hands, the alarms cutting off as the rest of the crew finally let go of their ears.
"Petunia, how long has that alarm been going on?" I asked, the Rabbit faunas walking over to me with a hand on Surkov's hilt. From the look on her face, it had been going on for quite some time. That had to have hurt for her enhanced hearing.
"About a day or so. I managed to find ear plugs around an hour ago or so. I'm glad you're back. Better?" Petunia inquired, her bunny ears twitching in a question.
"Not really, no. But I will be once everyone's in the hanger bay." I stated, my voice clipped and uniform.
"I'm assuming that's an order. I'll get right to it." The bunny girl replied, bounding off to get to her job.
"What are you going to do?" Iota asked me, taking a few steps to stand beside me. I gripped her hand tightly, my knuckles white as the cold depths of space.
"I'm going to tell them the truth. About us, about them, about everything."
"You know what this would do to them." Felix stated, his tone remorseful, of the innocence that would be lost today.
"I do, but it is needed." I stated, taking Iota in my arms and walking down the hallway with my entourage in tow. All around us, Characters filed in line, walking with us towards the hanger. Among them I saw Ariad and Brafez, along with Welsha and Pandora, Olivia walking next to her. Team RWBY was with the rest of the crowd. As we reached the hanger, my characters filed in and waited for me to take my place at the head of the crowd. I waited for all of them to enter the room before speaking. "You can sit. This'll be a long talk."
"What are we talking about?" Ariad asked, raising her hand in inquiry.
"Good question. We're going to talk about us, the Deserved, you, the Creations, and our enemies, the Und Tiemers." I replied, taking off my fedora and passing it to Iota. My children looked at us with suspicion, and doubt. I didn't blame them. I wasn't all that truthful when it came to, well, us. "First off; the Deserved. We were once just like you. Living, breathing, and fighting people just like you. And then, we died. But...we came back, whether we wanted to or not. All because of the First. He was known as Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States before he died. When he died, Death did not take him, and instead he lived on as an energy form capable of interdimensional travel. He was gifted, or cursed, based on your point of view, the ability to make more of himself, those who he felt Deserved a second chance, so to speak. As for how this happened...we don't know. And Teddy doesn't know or doesn't want us to know."
A hand raised up; Claudette's from the dust marks on it.
"Yes, Claudette?"
"What are your abilities?" She inquired in her lovey French accent.
"I'm glad you asked. To go down the very long list, we can affect the flow of time, teleport, create any object one would require with our minds, as well as having the ability of not caring when something hits us. Consider us the love-child of the unstoppable force and the immovable object. But that is just combat wise. Deserved can warp reality at will, as long as they have some semblance of influence on that space. So, for example, I can make Sanctuary look like Vale, but I can't make Vale into a floating fortress. Normally, Deserved are impervious to damage. However, when one Deserved inhabits the same reality as another, the Deserved who was there first controls the reality, while the second Deserved can be harmed, so to speak. We cannot die, just...fade in and out of existence if we take too much damage. As a result of fading, the creations a Deserved controls, like yourselves, falls under the jurisdiction of the first Deserved, who can do as they see fit."
"What are those things we fought in the forest? What can they do?" Ariad asked, her voice small as Brafez held her tight.
"They are Und Tiemers, destroyers of civilizations and bender of wills. They herald the end of a world. They show up when a world has been affected enough by a Deserved. Which is odd... I haven't affected your world enough for this to happen. As for what they can do; without a Deserved's power to siphon, they are just like any other human without an Aura or Semblance. But they cannot be killed through normal means, only by weapons made from the Deserved's homeworld that they are attacking."
"What are we? Are we real, or just toys in your game?" Jaune asked, standing up.
"You are not toys. I cannot affect your lives, only the characters that I create. And I prefer a more hands-off approach. While yes, other Deserved can, and do use their characters as toys or props in a play, I do not. I have been used like that. Abused like that. I was much like you, a Creation. Creations are made by the energy we Deserved put off. Who here has taken astronomy? You know stars? We are essentially walking stars that make worlds. The rest of us have made worlds and suffered for them." I stated, my merry group of Deserved nodding their heads.
"Why have you suffered?" Ruby inquired, her small silver voice bouncing around the hanger. I sighed and nodded my head, standing up and pacing in front of them.
"Once an Und Tiemer shows up in the world, the end is imminent. Once it has begun, it cannot be stopped. The Und Tiemers steal our powers, draw from us and lock us in place so that we cannot save our Creations. Once they have our powers completely, they start the slaughter. We feel as you feel during this time. Your cuts, are our cuts. Your deaths, are our deaths. The end of a world is extremely traumatic for a Deserved, not to mention their Creations." I spoke in a whisper, clutching my arm in a vice grip.
"Can we do nothing?" Pandora asked aloud, rage in her voice. "I will not stand by as the world crumbles around us."
"Then you will die. You can do nothing. Not unless you had the tools to do so."
"Then help us!"
"I cannot. Even if I made weapons fit for soldiers, the Und Tiemers are not Grimm. You have never faced them before. You, and you, and you, all of you would fall."
"So what do you suggest?"
"I am taking you few away from here. To another dimension. One that has not been touched in a very long time."
"So we're running while the rest of the world dies?" Yang had fire in her eyes, but it would not help her. It would help none of them.
"Yes, we are. I cannot lose you, any of you. You are family to me. And I will lose no more family to these heathens." I stated, my breath cold and my heart colder as they looked at me in terror. "I am sorry. But it must be done." I turned to the hanger bay door, my hand touching the metal with the strength of a feather. "If you have any more questions, please, meet me in my office. I am doing this for your survival. So please, do not waste it."
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT