RWBYond Generations

AN: Last chapter of this arc. Per usual there will be a teaser for the next arc to hold you over while I take a much needed break from this story. BUT, keep an eye on my profile because I have something different planned for when I'm on Spring Break here pretty soon.

Chapter 52: Come to Me My Fallen Master

Levi wandered around the halls of the hideout. Avis had wished to speak with him. Perhaps the alchemist had finished recovering from his two and a half millennia or sleep. Levi had reluctantly slowed down on his training. Lately it's just been standard warm ups and maintenance, keeping him ready without pushing him.

Levi was a little disappointed in Cloak. She had talked up her master for twenty years. To find out it was Avis Bran, an impressive man no doubt, but not the kind of being Levi was expecting. He was expecting someone on par with Salem or Ozpin. Not this person who had been slain by a single Argentware. Though, as Levi was discovering, that wasn't the whole story.

He didn't bother knocking on the door. Avis may be Cloak's master but Levi was still the Cipher commander. That was another thing that puzzled Levi. Despite his reputation, Avis seemed to not care about the organization he started. He didn't care about pride or power or even possessions. The only thing he seemed to care about was science.

"So, what makes you think you'll succeed where others failed?" Dr. Watts asked Avis. Avis took note of Levi's presence.

"Whatever do you mean?" Avis smiled.

"The Grimm." Watts mused. "All this…research you are doing. There's only one reason anyone has tried to study the Grimm so…intimately. As you know, I was once a conspirator with Salem. She achieved the power of a god and still failed."

"Oh, my dear diluted doctor." Avis laughed. "You mistake my curiosity for some convoluted conspiracy of some ambiguous ambition." Avis said.

"You are the same man whose ambitions rivaled that of Avarice, are you not?"

"Ah, that I am but that reputation is a misnomer. True, my ambition surpassed that of the Grimm of Greed…in a sense. Avarice wished to rule over this realm. My sights were set…elsewhere."

"No matter." Watts stood. "It was a pleasure meeting your acquaintance."

"Always a pleasure to meet another man of science." Avis shook his hand. Watts walked out of the room, paying no mind to Levi.

"What was all that about?" Levi asked.

"Oh, catching up with over two-thousand years of scientific advancements." Avis said. "You have quite the impressive array of associates."

"Cipher has had a long time to fester. After the Grimm War, so many people who had worked with Salem, were willing to join anyone with disregard for the law."

"The vacuum of power…Cloak informed me of that much." Avis sat at a microscope. "Do you know why they call this realm Remnant?"

"It's supposed to be a reference to the primordial, the one who gave power to the world, creating dust and the Grimm."

"Precisely." Avis quipped. "But hath you thought about where He came from."

"My interests do not go that far back in time." Levi said.

"Well, two millennia later and science seems to have caught up with my theories." He looked in the microscope. I found that when a Grimm dies, it's memories seemed to be passed on to all Grimm-kind. This is how they keep progressing through the ages."

"A super organism, with a hive mind. But it takes many years for a Grimm to develop that level of connection with that pool of experience." Levi recounted. Avis giggled.

"Of course, as an Argentware…you would be much more familiar with that phenomenon than I was at your age." He mused.

"The Battle of Demons Run, when my people first slaughtered all seven Grimoire." Levi stated.

"When I first met Aero Seerlivey, I pondered the actual methodology of her magic. But not until today could I see what silver eyes do on a microscopic scale." He gestured for Levi to step closer. Levi looked through the microscope and saw Grimm essence. "I was right, Grimm, dust, Redstone it all comes from Oblivion."

"We discovered that much some time ago, even the SDC has been looking into breaching into that domain."

"So, I've heard." Avis grinned. "Look closely." Levi did and saw the black sludge go rigid and dry. "It is because you looked at it. Even in its shapeless form, it remembers. A psychological effect so strong that it physically changes the body. Isn't that amazing?" He bellowed.

"Yes, most impressive." Levi rolled his eyes. "For someone who hasn't lived a single day with this power, that is." Avis snapped his fingers and an apple appeared in his hand.

"Don't get snappy with me Seerlivey." He mused. "You are strong, the best fighter Cloak hath ever seen. But I am the greatest mind Remnant hath ever produced."

"A Bran has never beaten an Argentware. That is fact."

"Such ambition for greatness. I find such trivialities exhausting. Oh, how I miss being young." He sighed. "I think it time to move on with my plans."

"I have discovered that the Eye of Truth has changed hands from the Arbiters to the Huntsmen in Vale."

"I don't need the Eye of Truth for what I have planned." Avis put a finger to his lips. "Though it never hurts to have it."

"It was the prize in some competition. A thinly veiled challenge to bring me out into the open."

"You did well to bide your time." Avis complimented. "We'll have time to steal the Eye at a later date."

"Then what are we doing?"

"You, hath quite the nasty reputation. I'm afraid nowhere in the four continents is…safe…to conduct my research. We need land, our own slice of heaven. Somewhere where we can conduct our business in peace. I'm also fascinated by these…artificial humans…Mantle hath developed."

"Avarice felt the same way." Levi interrupted.

"We really were two birds of a feather. Anyway, Dr. Watts tells me the two of you have a mutual acquaintance named Merlot, who could be of use."

"I'll send Issabella to find him." Levi said. "He probably won't come for anyone else."

"Also, this…Shadow in a Flask."

"Will have to wait." Levi said. "It is currently sitting on the desk of Raven Branwen, a troublesome descendent of yours and the sitting leader of the Arbiters."

"I see…and to my understanding her twin currently watches over Ozpin's old home."

"Ironic that your two closest relatives have taken the place of two of your greatest rivals." Levi smirked.

"Hmm…I don't know about closest…red eyes and the name Branwen aside…I'm much more interested in the one who has inherited the power I unlocked from tempering with the Black Gate."

"Yang Xiao Long." Levi spat the name as if it were venom. "The Blessed White Raven is a troublesome power. She and her closest allies have long been a thorn in my side."

"Cloak told me that it was her partner who provided the last necessary Faunas DNA sample that gave me my body."

"She put up a fight." Levi mused. "But Dagger was even better."

"And that brings us to your problem. Ms. Xiao Long's sister…the Rose."

"Ruby Rose is my kill. But any assistance you can lend in clearing my way is appreciated."

"Oh Seerlivey, I can do so much more." Avis laughed. "The flood gates will fill and we'll be well on our way to achieving all that we desire…" He lifted his hand up, with his thumb and middle finger pressed together. "With but a snap of my fingers."

AN: To be continued. It's been a blast. Next arc will continue in a few weeks. Until then, here's a preview.

Vale rooftop

Nephrite stands looking out into the sea. Ren joins her.

Ren: Is something troubling you?

Nephrite: No, it's just…I'm eighteen now, and I don't feel any different.

Ren: You're not going to change overnight.

He runs his hand through her head.

The moon shines on the ocean.

Team CTEN and JANS sit at the beach having a good time.

Nephrite cooks food in the lounge for her team.

Citrine wakes up and looks at the sleeping Eiess.

Prim and Glade train together while Ruby and Jaune watch.

Yang trains with Nova.

Avis holds his hand up to the moon and snaps his fingers.

Levi: This will be my finest hour.

Ruby: This will be your final hour.

Water rushes through city streets.

Topaz is launched into the air by a massive Grimm.

Jet Black dodges punches from this same Grimm.

Helios struggles to his feet against the monster.

Ruby and Levi clash blades.

Raven swings her sword at Cloak.

Qrow fires his gun at Dagger.

Johnny fires his light into a crowd of Grimm.

Citrine blocks a blow from the Grimm from before.

Nova screams as she slashes through a horde of crab-Grimm.

Yang sends an uppercut into Avis' stomach.

A nuckelavee screams into the air.

Ren watches from the front of a crowd of people.

Nephrite palm strikes a Grimm's face off with tears in her eyes.

Nova bounces into the air while fighting the massive Grimm others were fighting.

Helios: I don't care how many times you put me down. So, long as I draw breath, I will not let you touch these people. Because that's what being a huntsman means to me!

Citrine slashes through a large Grimm with the light of the Argentware shining in her eyes.

Citrine: That's what it means to me too.

Eiess summons a Griffon to take out a nevermore.

Nora smashes through a large crustacean Grimm.

Ruby drops to her knees, her arms scathed and bleeding.

Cinder: It's time we find our own slice of heaven.