CHAPTER XXXVII

Failure Is Not an Option

"Okay, does this thing go here?" Perseus said, examining the puzzle piece as Demetri and Lilly held off the Corrupted and other monsters swarming the area. They were deep within the ancient ruins formed by the lowest layers of the Labyrinth and progress was blocked by puzzles of all sorts.

"I don't know!" Lilly said, pushing against a lesser ogre's sword. "Just try it!"

"Wait," Demetri said. "This is an ancient ruin, so be careful. You don't wanna trigger a complete collapse of the building."

"Oh, now you tell me," Perseus said as the ground began to rumble. He had already placed the tile they had found in the rest of the mural. "Let's hope that doesn't kill us all."

"Frostatem!" Lilly cried, projecting a blast of frigid air that froze her enemies ahead. Demetri didn't waste time smashing each and every ice statue with his gauntlets. "Nice work."

"Do you still have the energy to fight?" he asked her.

"Yeah. You don't have to worry about me. I've been through much worse than this. Although I have to say, this is a lot of Corrupted."

"Maybe the spawn rates are affected by the number of party members," Perseus said, to which both Lilly and Demetri sighed.

"You need to stop playing so many videogames," Demetri said.

"You know what. Hey, Lilly, can you buff me?"

"Buff?" she said.

"Yeah, you know, that thing you do with your magic that makes us stronger and stuff."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I just didn't think it was necessary since you two are actually doing really well. I was gonna save it for a tougher fight."

"Like right now?" Demetri said, pointing to a giant, armored beast emerging from the gate that Perseus had just opened.

"Oh, hell!" Perseus said, backing away toward the rest of his team.

"Perseus, you're sure that was the right puzzle piece, right?"

"I don't friggin' know!"

"I think now's the time for some magic," Lilly said. "Gehärtete Verteidigung! Stahlknöchel!"

An earth rune appeared beneath everyone's feet, bathing the whole team with a brownish glow. The first spell increased the toughness of not only their auras, but also their physical bodies. The second spell boosted their offensive capabilities, granting each one greater swing strength and movement speed. It was enough to ensure victory against the two-story-tall giant they had released.

"I guess that thing was guarding the gate," Lilly said, hopping off of the giant monster's lifeless body. "Let's go, team!"

"We're short a member," Demetri said, following after Lilly.

"Hmm," Perseus mumbled. "Team PDL. Team DLP. Team DPL. Team PLD. LPD. LDP. I'm sorry, I got nothin'."

Lilly giggled.

"Clearly Lilly's name is first anyway," Demetri said. "There's no way she's not our leader right now."

"Yeah, but none of those letter combos make any sense," Perseus said. "I mean, I guess PDL can be 'Pedal,' but we're not a team of bikers so that makes no sense."

"Hey, is there any reason your parents' Labyrinth would be an ancient ruin?" Lilly asked.

Perseus shrugged. "My mom's always been fascinated with ancient ruins. My dad, too, I guess. I mean, a lot of the Dust deposits that opened up twenty years ago were along ancient ruins, so that might be it."

"Huh. Well, it's a million times better than going through another gross building with blood everywhere."

"No kidding."

Demetri stopped the group at a corner, pressing himself up against the wall as he peeked around.

"Two armored Corrupted," he said quietly. "How do you want to approach this, team leader?"

Lilly scanned around. There were no other ways to go besides straight ahead. But wasting energy was not the smart thing to do. What would Athena do if she were here? How would she command her troops?

"Perseus, your Semblance is that super strength thing, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it saps the shit out of my aura," he said. "I barely use it because of that."

"Demetri, what's yours?"

"I have the ability to lower other people's inhibitions," he said.

"What the heck kind of Semblance is that?" Perseus said.

"He could use it in battle against other people," Lilly said, "making them more reckless and prone to making mistakes. Am I right?"

Demetri nodded. "That's precisely what I've used it for in the past."

"Does it work against Grimm?"

"Only against the older, more cautious ones. The younger ones are already reckless enough as it is and the effect is negligible."

"Try it against those Corrupted."

He looked at her and she shrugged. He had no idea if it would work against these abominations, but there was only one way to find out. He focused his Semblance on both of the Corrupted down the hall. Normally, his targets would have locked on to him and started attacking in a blind rage, but the effects on the Corrupted were far different. The one on the left broke down and began crying uncontrollably while the other descended into a burst of hysterical laughter.

"What the hell did you do to them?" Perseus said.

"I, uh, I just used my Semblance," Demetri said.

"Hmm," Lilly mumbled. "I see."

"What?" the two boys said together.

"The Corrupted are technically nothing more than representations of some of the worst trauma people experience. That's why some of them laugh and cry or scream."

"It's the way people cope with trauma," Demetri said.

"Yeah. And you using your Semblance to drop their inhibitions makes it impossible for them to control their emotions."

"Because they're practically the embodiment of whatever it is they represent."

"Yup."

"I mean," Perseus said, approaching the two Corrupted, "that's great and all, but I can't bring myself to kill something that's bawling its eyes out like this."

Lilly decapitated both Corrupted with Myrtenaster.

"Oh. Well, then. I guess that solves things."

"We don't have time to waste," Lilly said. "We need to find your parents."

Heeding her command, both boys continued on with her. Demetri picked up another artifact that might be useful down the line. Perseus did the same with a Dust crystal shaped into a statue of a regally dressed woman.

"A queen piece," Demetri said, eyeing the yellow figure. "And mine is a gear. What could this all mean?"

"It's a reference to chess," Lilly said as she led the way. "Perseus's dad probably sees the whole world as a chess board, being a leader of a mega-corporation. And the gear might be how his mom sees herself."

"That's impossible," Perseus said. "Mom has always been supportive of dad's business."

Lilly said no more. She didn't have it in her to break apart Perseus's illusions of his home life. But his flight from home to attend Beacon Academy instead of Shade told her that he probably knew, at least on a subconscious level, that home wasn't entirely idyllic. His mother's current work in real estate must have been a recent development. She deduced that the family's early history might have been fraught with his father being domineering rather than the loving man he had come to be.

"That's why this place is a temple," she mumbled.

"Hmm?" Demetri said.

She looked over at her companions. Perseus was ahead of the group, keeping his eyes peeled for enemies.

"This place," Lilly began, "instead of the family manor, it's an ancient temple ruins, right?"

"Yes," Demetri said. "You said before that the personal Labyrinths tend to be manifestations of what the physical place represents, right?"

She nodded. "Perseus mentioned before that the family didn't start off at the mansion. They used to live with everyone else. But from the way their home has been built and how they treat the place, I'd say his parents must see it as a kind of temple. Their money has separated them from the masses and now it's a place to worship success."

"Even his mother sees it that way? Despite this?" He held up the gear piece and the queen statue.

"Possibly. After all, she's reaped what her husband has sown as well."

"So, she's happy to have been a cog in the machine, a piece on his chessboard."

"Maybe. Some people find fulfillment in playing a small role in a larger picture."

"A single thread in a tapestry can make the whole image fall apart if removed."

"Yeah. I'd say she was pretty central in making the company what it is now, even if she's suffered for it in the past."

"She thinks it was all worth it."

"I'd like to hope so."

"Hey, guys," Perseus began, "it would be cool if you could stop gossiping about my family, thanks."

"S-Sorry," Lilly said.

"Also, I think we've got something here."

They stepped into another large chamber. More murals and altars lined the walls.

"I think this goes here," Demetri said, walking up to a massive wall sculpture of random machinery. There was a single gear missing from the whole image.

"And the queen piece obviously goes here," Perseus said, standing before a chess board filled with pieces carved out of Dust crystals. "Dad, is this really what you thought of the world?"

"It's not a bad thing, Perseus," Lilly said. "Your dad had to compete against the Schnee Dust Company. If he didn't do the things he did in the past, he might never have gotten anywhere."

"Thanks, but still. I knew a businessman could be cold and calculating. I guess I just didn't wanna see it that way."

"For what it's worth, I think your family's done a lot of good for the world. After all, the SDC's monopoly on Dust was ended. Also, you've improved relations with the Faunus by a lot."

"That's all just PR bullshit."

"No, I don't think so. Besides, that cold and calculating businessman you were talking about? I don't see it. The Kronos Jupiter I've come to know loves his family and would do anything for them. I think the partnership he's struck with Queen Blake Belladonna is genuine."

"I hope so. I'd hate to think my family had something to do with that incident that nearly killed her daughter."

Lilly bit her lower lip.

"I know we never found any proof either way, but I just can't—"

"Perseus, stop. That's enough. None of that is on you or your family."

"But—"

She walked right up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked into her soft, hazel eyes. There was that smile again. It was different from the old smile she used to have for everyone, but at least she was smiling again. The difference wasn't negative either. Rather than the old, pure smile she had for the world, this smile was filled with assurance. It was all he needed to regain a bit of his own confidence.

"Thanks," he said, managing his own smile.

"Now, let's get your mom and dad outta here!"

—

"Thank you for your help," Dr. Cherenkov said. "All of you."

"It was the least we could do," Orion said. "Besides, it's about time I put my brother to work around here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dionysus said.

"Ariadne, are you all right?"

"Yes, I am fine," she said, fixing her eyeglasses. "Where did those Grimm appear from anyway?"

"From the rift," Dr. Cherenkov said as he took a seat on a nearby chair. "At least, one of the rifts. We experienced a malfunction earlier today and the Rift Engines went out of control."

"Is that why you dropped the emergency containment dome?" Orion asked.

"Yes, but that had no effect. Rifts opened up everywhere, not just in the center of the rift chamber."

"And you said that Grimm came out of the rifts?" Dionysus said.

He nodded.

"That makes no sense," Ariadne said. "The Grimm are from our world, not from the Labyrinth."

"My hypothesis is that the rifts opened randomly, perhaps pulling Grimm from other places around Remnant."

"Is that possible?" Orion asked.

"Under normal circumstances, no. The Rift Engines are specifically calibrated for ingress into the Labyrinth, not other locations on our planet. But given the system-wide failure, anything is possible."

"Can the system be fixed?"

"In time, yes, but for now I think we should hold off on it. At least until we can figure out what might have caused the malfunction."

"Hey, does this mean anything?" Dionysus said, looking at a computer monitor.

"Please, brother," Ariadne said, getting in his way. "Try not to break anything."

"I wasn't even touching anything!"

"Hmm," she said, squinting through her glasses. "This is strange. The sensors picked up a massive space-time anomaly."

"Naturally," Orion said. "This whole lab just experienced a storm of rifts."

"No, not here." She turned to her brothers. "At the manor."

"Makes sense," Dr. Cherenkov said. "That's why everyone there was drawn into the Labyrinth."

"No, this is much different from the usual readings when a rift is formed. This is...look, Dr. Cherenkov."

He rolled his chair to join her at the monitor. "Incredible. These particles only lasted for a short time, but the energy is quite intense."

"It's the same as what Dr. Hillphire has published in his articles, isn't it?"

"Indeed. Whatever it was that happened to your home, it is intensely magical in nature."

—

"Is this...?" Perseus began.

"Yeah," Lilly said. "This is the core of this Labyrinth."

"Mom! Dad!"

"Wait, don't be too sudden."

"But..."

Lilly surveyed the giant chamber, which was in the form of a temple's inner sanctum arranged like an office room combined with a warehouse containing endless rows of boxes stacked up to the ceiling.

"Look closely," Lilly said. "Your parents don't notice us."

"What are they doing?" Demetri said.

Perseus's father appeared busy with something while his mother followed him without a single complaint.

"Something's different about this Labyrinth," Lilly said. It dawned on her that neither of Perseus's parents were chained to the world with those red tendrils. The reason must have been that it wasn't their alternative selves that were in this world.

"What's the matter?" Demetri asked her.

"This is the first time I've ever been in a Labyrinth where it's not the person's soul here," she began, "but their actual physical bodies."

"What do you mean?" Perseus said.

"Every other Labyrinth I've ever gone into, it's the person's soul that's stuck in this limbo. I free them and they return to their bodies in the real world free of whatever burdens they'd been carrying around. But this is different. That's not a mirror image of your mom and dad. That's actually your mom and dad."

"What do we do, then?"

"Normally, there would be, uh, I guess what you would call a 'boss fight', usually a guardian that represents the trauma that the captive person harbors. But in this case, it's actually them, so..."

She walked forward. She tried to take hold of Perseus's mom, but she failed to notice at all the hand that was grasping her wrist.

"Wait, maybe I can..." She stepped back from both of them before pointing Myrtenaster in their direction. "Clarity Rune, I call upon your power. Brechen Sie diese Illusion!"

The rune she summoned appeared in the middle of the air centered at the tip of Myrtenaster, glowing gold before exerting its magic upon both of Perseus's parents, but neither of them could be freed from the delusion that this Labyrinth projected into their minds.

"Is this what it means to be lost in the Labyrinth?" Demetri said.

Lilly glanced at him. She figured he must have been thinking about his team, Paolo, Theo, and Raiden. They, too, were lost in their own respective Labyrinths, though what that meant to actual people trapped in this world, Lilly had yet to know.

She gasped as she finally remembered her own failure, that girl who had taken her own life after Lilly failed to save her soul from her Labyrinth. The despair that gripped her soul transferred across the veil into the real world, pushing her over the edge. What would happen if she failed this Labyrinth as well?

She was going to ponder the matter more when she realized that Perseus was standing right in front of his parents, watching them closely as they went about their delusion, which the rest of them could not perceive.

"I get it," he mumbled. "I get why you're both stuck in this infinite loop. We all have regrets, mom, dad. You both have stuff you wanted to do and ended up not doing, or stuff you did that you probably shouldn't have. But there's no point in regretting what we've done in the past. What's done is done and there's nothing we can do to undo that. And besides, it's not like we live a crappy life. Look where Orion is. He's probably gonna become the new headmaster of Shade Academy once Neptune moves on. DJ's enjoying life to the fullest because of what you guys have provided for us. And Ariadne's a brilliant scientist. A bit weird, but brilliant."

His parents seemed to slow down what they were doing, as though they could hear him, though it wasn't enough to break out of their delusion.

"I know I'm not everything I could be," Perseus continued. "I left and went to Beacon even though you wanted me to stay. Mostly, I guess, it was my way of leaving my own mark on the world. I dunno. I wanted to make you guys proud in my own way."

"Perseus...?"

He looked up at his mother, who had tears in her eyes. She was looking through him, but his voice seemed to reach her somewhat.

"You guys don't need to live with any regrets anymore," he continued. "You've done everything you thought was right for the family, for us. And thanks to all the sacrifices you've made, all four of us have the ability to change the world for the better."

"My son..." Kronos managed.

"Perseus, is that you?" Juno said.

"Mom? Dad?" Perseus said with tears in his eyes.

"What is...what is happening?" Kronos said.

Without answering, Perseus stepped forward, locking both of his parents in a tight embrace. He didn't let go for a long time, allowing his tears to fall freely. As he shared this space with them, he was able to fully absorb the regrets and pain that both of his parents harbored. For at least this moment, their pain was his to bear as well.

"Where in the world are we?" Juno said, looking around.

"Were we dreaming?" Kronos said.

"No," Lilly said to them. "That was no dream. What you were both experiencing was a fully fledged alternate reality created by the Labyrinth. It was very real, but thanks to Perseus's intervention, you've both broken out of it."

"So, this—" Kronos said before he was cut off by the entire structure rumbling.

"What's going on?" Demetri said.

"Crap!" Lilly said. "I forgot about this! Any time a Labyrinth is conquered, it begins to collapse!"

"C-Collapse?" Perseus said in a panic.

"Everyone, stick close to me!"

—

Taiyang Xiao Long was the only one in his group who didn't stand out so much in Vacuo. He knew how to blend in with the population a lot better than both of his companions. It was the reason he was the one out and about on most days, but at nighttime it was much easier for all of them to blend in. He glanced over at his daughter and son-in-law. They kept their distance from him as they mingled with the night crowd at this bar, mining for any information regarding the rumors of impending war between Vacuo and Atlas.

There was talk of a growing movement toward centralization and militarization, support for national security drummed up by the increasing belligerence by Atlas, especially after their increased tariffs against all imports from Vacuo.

Tai pulled out his scroll, looking at pictures of both of his daughters and his two grandchildren. He sighed to himself, recalling how his girls and their friends had participated in the previous war and put a stop to it. It seemed that his grandkids might have to do the same despite his wishes that they would never have to experience the hell of war.

He downed the rest of his bottle before leaving the bar and sitting in his truck. After ten minutes, his companions joined him and sat in the backseat.

"Find anything, dad?" Ruby said.

"Yeah," he said. "Support for war is rising. Fear's a powerful motivator, I guess. What about you two?"

"Same thing," Jaune said. "But there's something even more troubling. Apparently, Vacuo's had two towns go completely abandoned. Like, everyone just dropped everything they were doing and disappeared."

"Another incident?"

"That's what we're thinking," Ruby said. "Sis was talking about the same thing happening all around Mistral, right?"

"Yeah, and Winter said it's happened in Atlas, too."

"And Vale, and Menagerie," Jaune said.

"What in the world could be going on?" Ruby said.

"Either way, the fall quarter's about to start back home," Tai said. "We should be heading back soon."

"Let's take a shuttle back tomorrow, then," Jaune said. "Although, Ruby and I can stay. You're headmaster of Signal, so you can't exactly abandon your job."

"I guess," Tai said. "Do you two wanna stay out here and keep scouting?"

"I don't mind," Ruby said. "Besides, I've missed the whole adventure thing. Teaching is cool, but it's so boring."

The two men laughed.

"Okay, let's head back to the motel," Tai said. "We'll decide what we're doing tomorrow."

—

"We're not gonna make it!" Perseus said.

"Don't say things like that!" Demetri said.

"Not gonna happen on my watch!" Lilly yelled. "Verbreite deine flügel und fliege durch den himmel!"

The entire group found themselves with runes at their feet and they launched forward with incredible force. Perseus and his parents along with Demetri had barely escaped the crumbling of the temple ruins, but when they looked back, Lilly was nowhere to be seen.

"Lilly!" Perseus yelled. "Lilly! Where are you?"

Demetri looked around. Their leader was out of sight. Only rubble remained where the temple once stood.

"Goddammit, not when we just got you back!" Perseus cried out. "Lilly!"

A mound of debris exploded outward as a bright, white light shot skyward before heading in their direction. It wasn't until the object was near enough that they all recognized what it was. It was Lilly's knight.

Perseus and Demetri let out a heavy sigh of relief in unison as the knight touched down with Lilly in his arms. She hopped off, giving her knight a smile before turning to them.

"Whew, that was a close one!" she said.

"Young lady, you should be more careful," Juno said to her with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry! I had to put most of my magic into you guys to get you out of the building and I didn't have enough power for myself, but I guess things worked out!"

"What do you mean you didn't have enough for yourself?" Demetri said.

"I had just enough magic to propel the four of you out of the building before it fell."

"How did you get out, then?"

"Oh, well, when the temple fell apart around me, I didn't get smushed by the ceiling cuz I was in, like, I guess a void cuz of how the blocks of stone fell around me. After a second or two, my knight sorta just...I dunno, appeared? And he was the one who exploded everything and got me out of there."

"Are you saying," Perseus began, "that you did all that again without any concern for your own life?"

She didn't answer for a while. "Look, I failed that one time with that Faunus girl and she ended up killing herself but this time was different because it's you and your parents and I wasn't about to—"

She gasped as Perseus cut her off, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She could feel him trembling as he sobbed lightly, a few tears landing on her shoulder. She returned the embrace.

"I wish you'd stop being so damn reckless," he said quietly. "How do you think we would feel if you had died saving our lives?"

"Sorry," she said. "I wasn't really thinking about that."

"I, for one," Demetri began as he stepped forward, "am eternally grateful."

She looked at him as Perseus let go of her.

"Lilly Schnee, if you would accept me, I would gladly be your knight."

"Huh?"

"My vow is to you and you alone, to serve you as you require."

"What is going on?" Perseus mumbled.

"Shh," Juno said. "Don't ruin the moment."

"Listen to your mother," Kronos said.

"D-Demetri, you don't have to—" Lilly began.

"Please, hear me out," he said. "You refuse to let anyone lend you their strength because you don't want anyone else coming to harm, and yet at the same time you put yourself in harm's way without any regard for how that might affect those you end up leaving behind. During the entire three days you were in a coma, people around you were deeply hurt. Perseus, in particular. My team is likely dead or worse, thanks to this Labyrinth. I, too, now have a vendetta against this thing and I would greatly appreciate it if you would not turn me down."

Lilly stared at the ground for a moment. Everything he said was true. Although her motivations were ostensibly selfless, her blatant disregard for her own safety was anything but. After all, what would her friends do if she ended up dead because of what she does?

What would her mother do?

"Demetri," she began, hesitating as the searched for the words. "I don't wanna see any of you get hurt. And this thing, this Labyrinth, it does more than inflict wounds on your body. It gnaws away at your soul."

"I'm aware of that," he said. "We all are. We see it happening to you."

"And you're okay with that happening to you?"

"No, I am not. But it's a small price to pay if it means protecting your soul from complete erosion."

"He's not the only one, Lilly," Perseus said. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again. You have so many allies. Don't push us aside."

"Lilly Schnee," Demetri said as he genuflected in front of her. "I, Demetri Sergei Casimir Holland, son of General Sergei Holland of Atlas, swear to be your knight, now until the day I draw my final breath."

Lilly looked over at Perseus, who had since knelt beside Demetri, his sword driven into the earth.

"Yeah, same," he said. "All that fancy stuff he just said."

Demetri had his head bowed. He was serious about his oath. She didn't want any harm to come to any of her friends, but Perseus was right. She had to stop pushing people away. After all, it would be rude for her to reject this oath that these two young men just swore by.

"Okay, then," she said. "I won't turn you away."

Demetri and Perseus rose to their feet before the former gave her a salute. Much to her surprise, her knight returned his salute.

"Oh," Perseus said. "He likes Demetri more than he likes me, huh?"

Lilly chuckled before projecting a rune beneath their feet. "Let's go home."