A/N
There will be bolded music in this one, as in, it literally coincides with the story, for the text will be the lyrics or... most of it anyway, tho pacing will of course be different. Again, use it or not, just a recommendation thing I came up with out of a whim. If you guys can't concentrate while listening to music. It's cool.
"I-I did good, y-yes?" Tyrian trembled as he knelt down on both knees, his hands clasped together as if in a prayer as he bent his back completely. His back itched from where his tail once was, but made no move to reach for, or even acknowledge it. "T-tell me, did I please you?"
"Goddess, please!" He begged. "Please give me another chance!"
The divine presence in the room didn't even glance down, wearing a bored expression as she propped her chin on one hand up on her chair. Her leg shifted, but that was less than visible on the outside. Her black drapes seemed to defy gravity, if only a little, as it floated and hovered above ground a foot or two, torn and tapered on the edges as it flapped aimlessly.
"G-goddess?"
Even as he begged on his knees, face nearly touching the ground as he pleaded, the pale figure wreathed in black didn't even glance his way.
The crazed man's threw his head back, bending his spine in an uncanny angle to let out a shrill and anguished screech as he stared defeatedly towards the ceiling and crumpled on his knees.
With both hands, he grabbed his face, his eye peeking over the space between his pinkie and ring finger as tears cascaded down the sides of his face.
Without warning, he then used the long table as a stepping stone as he scampered off the walls of the chamber. His boot marks smeared mud and sand across the glass windows, leaving it to dribble down with a soft squelch as he escaped through the doorway.
"Well," Arthur stated as he stared out the large ornate doors. "That was-"
"Silence."
Everybody present stiffened.
"Tell me," Salem slowly stood up, then, she seemed to hover from her seat and stopped by the edge of the room. She gazed out the windows that overlooked the neverending spawning of Grimm from the black viscous pools. "How did you all fail, oh so miserably?" The pale woman's neck seemed to snap in their direction, her gleaming red eyes sharp and unrelenting, boring into every single being currently sat in the room, before returning to her initial posture, linking her hands behind her back and turning her gaze to the barren landscape.
"Was it a mistake to have taken too many under my wing?" She asked herself as her pupils eyed a muscular Beringel shaking off the black mud, scraping any residue left off it's bone mask with one beefy arm. "Is this the quality of work that I should be expecting coming from your current generation? Does a dog not know how to obey, even after being fed aplenty? Was being under my protection, my home, my roof, and my land, not modesty enough? To add on to that, under the protection and support of creatures your kind so clearly struggle against from the beginning of time? Is this all not enough to sate your selfish desires?"
"Your grace, I-"
Arthur didn't get any further. His face instantly slammed into the table, causing him to clutch his now bleeding nose. He grit his teeth, and forced down a curse as one eye popped open in pain.
Mercury winced while Emerald jumped back and unbuckled her weapon from reflexes alone.
A black tendril slithered as it retracted, sliding off his neck and into the swirling black pool below. It chittered, before the dark portal closed with a malicious hiss.
What remained was the same dark purple tiled ground, as if nothing was there in the first place.
"Did I give you permission to speak?" Salem asked.
"N-no, your grace."
"Then why did you disobey?"
"My apologies your grace." He said as calm as he could while he wiped his nose with a burgundy colored napkin which he pulled out of his breastpocket. If he was caught of guard by it, it wasn't visible on his face, just like how his blood wasn't visible on his napkin. "It will not happen again."
"See to it that it does not." Salem agreed without looking back, then continued to look out the window, her focus narrowed on her own reflection.
After a moment of long silence, Mercury and Emerald both shifted in their places uneasily. Both of them chose to stand by Cinder for either the sake of her security or their own.
"Cinder." Salem's voice called out, piercing the silence.
"Yes, Your holiness?" Cinder dared to look up.
"How?" She asked without turning back once, her voice resonating through the tall room. "Even after allowing you to bring along added support, not to mention relying on a complete and unpredictable stranger, how had you failed to bring me results?"
"I..." Cinder glanced at Hazel for support, but the burly man had his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he faced down at the table, while the Atlesian scientist sat silently and looked to her, not seeming keen on helping her explain.
She further confirmed that suspicion by nodding over to Salem herself, the moustached man not wanting to open his mouth lest he wanted his skull to be split open in two.
"I have no excuses, your holiness. I have failed." Cinder hissed through her grit teeth, closing her eyes as she stared at the ground, as if a prisoner waiting for the guillotine to drop.
"I did not ask you to confirm of your failure. I would have to ask you not to waste my time of things I already know." Salem's tone had an edge that told her that her patience was already at it's limit, despite being an immortal entity with no respect for time. "I asked how." Her glare pierced Cinder's through her reflection. "I will not, and shall not repeat myself."
"There was a new foe we faced." Cinder admitted, closing her eyes as she recalled it's appearance, how it had made her doubt herself both in her cunning strategies and combat abilities. "A foe we could not ever anticipate to neither encounter nor defeat. Some kind of... of hybrid."
"Even with half of the Maiden's powers?" Salem raised a brow, curiosity visible through Cinder's eyes by the pale woman's reflection. "That sounds unlikely. Not to mention you have the assistance of both Arthur and Tyrian at the time."
"Your grace, if I may."
"You may." Salem allowed with a wave of a hand, getting Arthur's shoulders to relax as he expected another assault.
"I can confirm on my behalf that this thing was indeed, a formidable foe." The Atlesian man admitted, and a quick glance towards Cinder telling her that he's doing this for both their sakes, and not her own. "It managed to stand up against the 3 of us along with the owner of the sword I brought to you not 2 weeks ago. I doubt Hazel's involvement would make much of a difference."
"And you said the current Fall Maiden awoke to assist such a mindless creature?"
Cinder gnashed her teeth so hard they might've shattered. That power could have been hers, would have, if it wasn't for that... that thing!
"Not assist." Arthur answered, choosing to ignore Cinder despite noticing. Unsaid, was the fact that the woman before her produces creatures of similar characteristics. "She was saved by it. And went on a complete rampage the moment the girl with silver eyes had been stabbed by a sword."
"She lives?"
Salem's tone remained calm and unreadable, though everybody could tell by the way her shoulders rose and fell and the bated breath that went out her nostrils that it was said with barely restrained scorn.
Nobody dared cross her unimpeded wrath.
"It doesn't matter." She finally said after what seemed like a few minutes of dead silence, causing Emerald's shoulders to relax, and Mercury to release a breath he didn't know he was holding. "What of Ozpin?"
"Dead." Cinder confirmed as she looked into Salem's eyes. "I saw the body. Burnt to a crisp."
Salem's gaze pierced hers, but made no move to advance. After a long pause, she turned to the Atlesian scientist.
"Arthur."
"Yes, your grace?
"Make Tyrian a new tail, make sure he gets accustomed to it soon," The way she stated it made it clear he didn't have long. "And assure the one with silver eyes gets brought to me alive. Whatever. It. Takes." Those last words were delivered with a tone that told Arthur that should he fail, there will be no further redemption or forgiveness from his overstayed welcome, and what awaited him was something worse than death.
"If it is in your deepest desires, then I shall see it done."
"Good." She turned to the lumbering man that seems to be in a meditative state of calm. "Hazel."
"Yes, my liege?"
"The one called Evans," She felt the words roll off her tongue, and tasted it."Seek him out, and see to it that our new member makes it to the Land of Darkness safe. If he so wishes to assist us in our cause and is clearly able to kill for it, being a Seer, his arrival is best not delayed. I shall see for myself to determine if his skills are worth even putting him on the board."
"As you wish."
Cinder's POV
"Cinder." She called out once both men are out of the room.
Both Emerald and Mercury stiffened.
"Yes your holiness?"
"Your objective as of today, has changed. You shall seek out the Relic at Haven first. Get in touch with Leonardo Lionheart and seek out the Spring Maiden to unlock the vault. It is the closest by far from the Land of Darkness."
"What of the Fall-"
"Forget about it." Salem said with nothing but a hushed whisper, but with it's firmness it somehow resonated around the room, causing Emerald to gulp and Mercury on edge, ready to take her and bolt.
"My Queen, I do not doubt your judgment." Cinder said carefully, sharp eyes focused on any sudden movements the ancient entity before her might make. "But I believe that if I want to assist you at my prime, the powers of the Fall maiden should still remain my utmost priority. Only then could I be on par against someone as powerful as Ozpin. The other headmasters won't make it easy."
Leo had been able to come along peacefully out of fear, Ozpin was dead by, as much as she hate to admit it, dumb luck. Had the students not been there he would've been able to go all out and kill her with the assistance of that Nikos brat. Ironwood is as stubborn as a rock, and there was no way in Remenant he would join their cause, not to mention who she would have to face in Vacuo.
"You are correct."
Cinder's eye lit up.
"However, our end goal remains as it always had been." Salem said as she made her way across, causing both her lackeys to take a step back. "If we keep going in a certain direction, you'll cross paths and run into her sooner or later." Her razor sharp nails made their way past her cheek, and her palm trailed down the side of her face.
It was as cold as ice, causing the feeling of a burning frostbite not a few seconds after they made contact.
"You will do as I say, no?" Her fingers clutched her chin, the tip of her fingernails grazing her Aura and then, punctured it, causing the skin under her neck to let out a trickle of blood.
"Y-yes..." Cinder struggled to get out.
"Good." Salem released her grasp, and immediately Cinder took in a deep breath and rubbed her throat where she was pierced. "Leave." Salem commanded. "Now."
Mercury took one look at Emerald, and they lifted their employer by her shoulders, escorting Cinder out.
Shift
Salem turned back to gazing at her life's work.
"Such incompetence our kind had become." The pale woman, baring her fangs for a moment, before her alabaster lips returned into a thin line.
"What are you planning Ozma...?" She asked as she looked out the window, though it's obvious that her mind wasn't in it. "Who is this new piece on the board? Am I not punishment enough for you to learn from?" Salem's let out a harsh breath as she closed her eyes.
"Just what other monster have you brought upon this world?"
Louis's POV
"A Queen of Grimm?" Pyrrha gasped, green eyes wide and bewildered. "That's not possible! The Grimm bow to no one! They are mindless."
"No one you know of." I corrected. "Until today."
"Why tell us this now?" Her boyfriend asked from beside her, his gaze and expression telling me he was undecided on the hard facts we bombarded them with. "What could we- what could mankind do against something like that...?"
"Would you rather not know at all?" I questioned as I turned to the blonde knight. "I thought it would be best you knew who's in charge."
"Salem..." Ruby tasted the name as she paced around the room and grimaced as she realized something. "She was the one who got mom killed..."
"Now Ruby..." I raised a brow when she looked around the room. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah..." She mumbled as she sat down at the foot of the bed and dangled her feet over the edge. "You were saying?"
"I was saying..." I slowly tore my gaze away from her to look at the others, though keeping her... weird actions at my peripheral. "She's more responsible then more than just your mom's death, she's responsible for a lot of liv-"
Ruby winced and looked around the room again.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Y-yeah!" She hopped off the bed and flexed one of her small arms and tapped it. "Strong as ever! See?!"
"My... apologies." I looked sadly into her eyes as I realized that I might've triggered her PTSD. "I shouldn't have talked about Summer so openly. I didn't consider your feelings." I tried hard to bend forward, despite my back aching. "I'm sorry."
"I-it's okay!" She waved off frantically. "I might just need some fresh air, that's all!"
"Do you need company?"
"No, it's alright!" She said quickly, before zipping out the door.
"The hell was that about?" Kevin asked as he wore a curious expression.
"No idea." Amber shrugged.
Ruby's POV
That was close.
"Salem..."
It's the same voice. The one from before...
"Hello...?" Ruby said aloud with her back to the door. "Is... someone there?"
Silence.
Nothing but pure silence.
"Well... must've been my immagina-"
"Must... Kill... Salem..."
"Eep!"
"Ruby...?"
"Get out of my he- Oh..." She scratched the back of her head as she spun around from her crouched position. "Hey Yang."
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing!"
"Rubes..." Yang sighed as she gently closed the door behind her. "I'm not your sister for nothing. I can tell when something is bothering you, just like how you were bothered with keeping your feelings hidden from Louis afraid to be turned down, but wanting him to know."
Ruby felt the heat rushing up to her cheeks, turning it a bright shade of pink.
"You got that out of the way through, I'm proud." In any normal circumstance, the blonde brawler would've given her a congratulatory smirk or pat her back with the strength to launch her across the room, or even a hug that'll bury Ruby in her bust, but this time her lips were set in a thin line, her eyes dead serious. "So since that isn't the case, not sure why you're so jittery and embarrassed. Now tell me, what's wrong?"
"I..." She linked both hands in front of her as she tore away her gaze. "I... don't know."
...
"Is it what Louis said, about this..." Yang rotated her wrist as she tried to recall what he said. "Queen of Grimm?"
"Salem..."
Ruby manage to swallow a wince behind a cough.
"Not that."
"Then it's about what Uncle Qrow said?" The buxom blonde put both hands on her shoulders, though she didn't specify what. "You handled it well, or so I was told." Yang rolled her eyes. "Even though Louis did save our asses there at the end, I'm sure the Dragon Grimm would've spotted you guys sooner or later, so Qrow putting all the blame on you is sorta unfair."
"Yang, it's not that-"
"Then what is it Rubes?
"Kill..."
"It's..." The small reaper sighed as she kicked the floor without much intention but to rid of her frustration. "It's... my own thing. I just... need some time to understand it."
...
"Is it that time of the month for you already?"
"What- no!" She pouted fiercely as her eyes snapped to meet lilac ones staring back down on her.
"Looks it." She smirked as she reached for the doorknob. "Come on, let's go back in. I need to listen to his complete reasoning as to why he's been so discreet before I have Nora break his legs."
"Yaaaaang..." Ruby complained.
Louis's POV
"Welcome back." I greeted the small reaper and the blonde brawler back with a nod and a faint smile. Ruby hid behind Yang with flushed cheeks and I could only assume their conversation went well.
It unwittingly reminded me of the not so pleasant conversation I'm about to have with Yang, since the whole tournament arc is over.
"Anyway, as I was saying, Salem couldn't be reasoned with, no amount of negotiation is going to convince her not to destroy mankind. She is Grimm, and unless we can find some voodoo that undoes that, we're stuck here fighting her minions for the rest of our generation, to the next."
"How do you plan to stop her?"
It was the blonde knight who asked, a skeptical thinker as always.
"I... do not." I admitted, causing them all to balk. "And unfortunately... neither does Ozpin."
"He knows of her existence?" Ren asked from beside, trying to soothe Jaune's back, that of whom just choked on some cold water.
"He does." I answered carefully. "But that is exactly why he must not know of ours."
"Your deal ol' headmaster may be older and wiser than most of you," Kevin stated. "But that doesn't make him infallible or untouchable. You'd all be wise to consider that."
"If he knows of our presence, our origins, he would most likely try to hunt us down to not only answer his questions which we don't have the answers to, but also hide us from the rest of the world, just like how he had with the Maidens." Amber explained. "There's no telling what he would do to silence us."
"Professor Ozpin wouldn't do that." Ruby chuckled mirthfully, before she cracked open her eyes to see everbody else meeting her simple gaze and returned it with a serious one. "ehe... Right...?"
"If he's willing to make a vessel out of the likely victor from the Vytal Tournament, what is to say he even has boundaries?" Jaune spat with a furious snarl.
"Jaune..."
"No Pyrrha, Jaune speaks the truth." I sighed, causing all their attention to gather on me. "Salem and Ozpin they've... they've been at odds for a long time." I explained to the best of my potential. "I do not wish to condemn him, for he is only doing what he believes is right. He'd grown desperate, back into a corner with his hands tied. And anybody in that situation would do nothing but lash out with whatever they have left."
"Are you saying he never had a plan?" The eastern gunman asked. "And that yours is better?'
"I'm saying his plan was destined to fail, and that mine works."
"Worked?" Yang laughed bitterly with an overly hoarse throat. "Yeah, that's one way to put it."
"Yaaaang." Ruby groaned. "We didn't- wouldn't, listen to what he had to say at the time. What else could he had done?"
"Not listening to me was part of it," I admitted, getting Yang to cross her arms under her breasts and let out a bated breath with a hiss, and Ruby to shoot me an apologetic shrug as if to ask 'What can you do about her? It's Yang.' "But I would never had allowed you guys to join us. What we did was out of desperation of our- my own." I amended after a quick look to Amber.
...
"When?" Jaune broke after what seemed like a full minute of silence.
"Hm?"
"When did you plan on telling them about this? About all of this? Salem, the contingency plan, the thing inside you?"
"You guys told them...?" I raised my brow and glared to my and my right, both of which looked away.
"There was no other way Lou." Amber said. "It was eating at you. They need to know."
"Jaune has a point." Blake agreed with a nod. "When? When were you planning to come back and tell us?"
My fingers clutched the white sheets tighter.
I couldn't meet her eyes.
It was the redhead champion who answered for me.
"He wasn't."
Everybody stared at her, then at me for confirmation.
"Everything has a story to it." I stated. "And in most stories, there are characters, and come with it, problems."
"The characters in the story are defined by problems, they are built by problems, and if the end of the story gets to see the light of day, solve, all of their problems," I stated as I made sure to bore this into their minds. "But rarely, are they the problem."
Flashback
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Evans confirmed. "I could-"
"You don't have a presence inside of you powerful enough to retain your sanity as you spiral into madness."
"That doesn't even make sense!"
"After what we've been through? What does anymore?" I smirked as Evans secured the final gauntlet with a few clicks and a loud snap.
I waved my forearm to make sure there was nothing loose and stretched my arms to get used to the restraints and the additional weight that wearing the armour brought. Being used to fighting with lightweight weapons such as Obsidian Nova didn't help, but at least I could move in it. Once my helmet was put on and the suit activated, it was all going to change.
It wouldn't matter.
I won't be me.
"Besides, we never did anything by the book in our world, why start now?"
"You could die!"
"And they would live." I shrugged easily.
"Tch..." Evans grit his teeth. "Your main power source is here." he tapped at my jutting breastplate, which had thicker steel compared to the rest of my body. "It contains the StarDust that would regulate through the rest of the suit, acting as a battery and at the same time, life support. It's not that big in size, about the length and width of 2 USB's, but that's super compacted Dust so it'll sting a bit once you use the transmission function to lure in the Grimm."
"So about the size of the bullets that go in Ruby's rifle. Cool. How many charges do I get?"
"3." Evans replied with a scowl, not so confident in his own engineering and knowing the fact that his friend was about to suffer from it. "Once you let it take over, a charge will be used and the StarDust in your chest will trigger at a frequency that only Grimm can hear, and transmit it all over Vale, luring the party to you. It'll keep the suit going for a while, just not indefinitely-"
He was cut off as the plane swerved to the right, causing the lot of us to lose balance and stagger, eventually piling us on top of one another and thanked our lucky stars that neither the hatch wasn't open, and that I wasn't the last to fall.
"The... fuck...?" I groaned from underneath the other two. "Professor, what happened?"
He made a very audible gulp.
"What the hell?" Evans asked after me when the Professor made no attempt to reply, and scrambled off me to gaze at the windows.
"Oh..."
"Oh?" I asked. "Is that a good thing?"
"You... might wanna take a look at-"
ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR
"Nevermind."
The Dragon Grimm? It's here?
"It didn't notice us?" I asked as both me and Kevin made to look out the windows. "How?"
"Commanded by Cinder I believe." Evans said. "It's priority is to make it to Beacon. Nothing can obstruct it's path now."
I cursed under my breath as I looked to Evans. "Does that mean that even with the armour's sonar, it won't be lured towards me?"
"I... have no idea." The shaggy man admitted as the Ancient Grimm moved further and further away. "You're not planning to take that thing on are you?"
"If I have to."
Evans looked like he regretted even making it in the first place as he found his eyes trailing over to the floor.
"Not everything is your burden to bear Lou."
"Guys..." Kevin said as he pointed at the Dragon, which is getting closer and closer to becoming nothing but a black dot in the horizon. "Is it just me? Or is it spawning more Grimm?"
"It's not just you." Evans sighed. "That thing spawns Grimm by spewing black pools as spawn points."
"Well..." He blinked owlishly in rapid succession. "The rain is definitely not blessed in Remenant." He then made to stand and cross his arms as he stared into my eyes. "It's now or never."
Evans felt the cold, gauntleted claw rest on his shoulder, for he looked up and his eyes met mine.
...
"If..." I grit my teeth. If I had to do this, I'd do it right. "If I lose myself and hurt the girls..." I clasped his hands around something. His eyes widened as he realized what it is. "Don't hesitate. Right through the chest."
"Lou, you know I can't!" He tossed Obsidian Nova on the floor with a furious snarl and jabbed his finger at my chestplate. "Even asking for you to do this on your own isn't something I want to do!"
"I know, but you can fight alongside me." I smiled as reassuringly as I could. "There's gonna be way too much Grimm for even White Knuckle Ride to handle. This.." I grabbed both black hilts to place it in his hands once more, and tapped it gently. "This is just a failsafe."
"Grh..." He grit his teeth, but eventually nodded and accepted it.
"Take care of the girls for me while I'm out. Please." I said, grasping his shoulder. "I'm trusting you with them from now onwards, okay?" I asked as he turned around, not giving me any response. "Adrian and the rest?"
"In position at Beacon, Friend Louis." Penny confirmed as she observed what seemed to be a tablet too large to be a scroll. "Friend Neo had teleported them to their respective positions. But you should be careful out there." She warned with a wave of a finger. "Friend Ruby would be very upset if you do not come back."
"Penny." I sighed. "I... I..." Green orbs eyed me curiously with the sweetest and most innocent smile as she cocked her head.
Well... second most.
"Be a good friend for Ruby okay?" I drew the ginger girl in for a hug, being careful to use my side lest I want to impale her with the sharp end of my breastplate. "And don't be afraid to make more. Her team will accept you, I just know it. That's what friends do. They accept, and once you're close enough, you'd watch each others backs, just like how you had with us." I smiled. "With Ruby."
"I... will miss you." She didn't cry, but I felt her arms wrapping tighter around my back.
"Me too." I chuckled as she went back to the cockpit.
"Kevin." The rotund man was oddly silent and breaking the awkwardness, I brought him for a quick hug and whispered in his ear. "If Evans can't do it, you'll have to. Promise me."
As I released him, I saw him nod subtly, leaving me satisfied. "I'm leaving the girls in your care." I gave a 2 finger salute. "Promise me you'll take care of them."
"Was there ever a doubt?" The rotund man chuckled. "I promise."
"We are approaching Mount Glenn." Penny's dad announced from the front of the plane. He sighed as he brought the plane to autopilot as the ship hovered idly.
"If you want me to be honest, never in all my days would I have expected to see my own research used against me." He growled with a deep raspy voice as he scratched his aged pale hair, marveling at the large armour up and down. "He didn't even tell me he'd made something like this till the last second." Pietro Polendina shot Evans a dirty look for that, but Evans just gave an annoyed shrug back as if he'd given up.
"Once Louis has his eyes set on something, he overcommits, not overthink." Unlike a certain Headmaster remained unsaid. "If I didn't make it for him, he'd just find a way around it without informing us anyway."
"I am, however, grateful that you forewarned me about Penny's 'accident', and that you gave it your all to prevent it." The old man admitted as he took off his hat to grasp it in front of him. "I wouldn't want your efforts to go to waste, so be sure to prove me wrong and come back. You're not the only one fighting. Be sure to remember that."
"I thank you for everything you have done for us, Professor." I chuckled back, my voice resonating into an echo as I put my headpiece on. "You have my word that if I go down, I'm taking this suit down with me. Nobody would know it was you."
Evans shot me a dirty glare, and even Kevin frowned as the doors to the hatch opened with an eerie screech.
"You're not afraid." Penny mused.
"Trust me, I'm this close to pissing myself." I said as I pinched an 'Ok' sign.
"That suit does not come with a toilet."
"That's not what I... Nevermind." I said, shaking my head as my lips tugged into a small smile. "Point is, I've never been so afraid all my life. On Earth, the closest thing to this are oversleeping on my deadlines, and that's saying a lot." I looked outside into the failed city of Mount Glenn. "But if I don't do this now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
That made them clamp their mouths shut, waiting for me to do something.
I knelt on one knee, bending down in a marathon runner's position with one leg outstretched as I reached with one hand the stone cold floor.
"For even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
"Alright..." I breathed out nervously.
Go time.
"Let's do this."
I bolted out of the plane and leapt.
My feet found solid ground a few seconds later as my legs slammed into the ground and formed 2 small craters, causing me to wince from within.
"Well..." I lifted my arms slowly, then my legs.
"Would you look at that, the one time suspension actually works." I twisted my toes just in case, causing it to scrape and clank against the concrete floor.
A loud howl piercing through the night told me I wasn't alone.
Right...
Most of them went to Beacon, but that didn't mean all of them.
"Evans!" I yelled as I craned my neck to face up. "Time for a test run!"
No more words were exchanged as a loud thunk in the ground from behind me told me my weapon had arrived.
Lodged to the ground at a 90 degree angle, was nothing but a solid chunk of sharpened steel, spray painted jet black in the middle, and left unpolished where Evans had ground it down to a razor sharp edge, leaving it full of scratches.
There wasn't time anyway, and as long as it's usable-
I tugged it out of the ground as the entire girth rattled, feeling my muscles ache as the length of the blade slowly moved inch by inch.
It was as heavy as it looked.
Damn... how does... Nora... even do this?! I yelled as I finally managed to pry the dark steel out of it's place, only for me to wobble backwards and fall on my rear with a loud thud.
"Yeah, I'm not going to get anywhere with this." I said as the plane started to turn around in the direction it came from.
"Good luck!" Kevin shouted over the loud humming of the engines.
"Friend Ruby will be waiting for you!" Penny yelled after him. "Don't take too long!"
I waved back.
"H-hey, brother!" Evans yelled, visibly choking back a sob. "I'll race ya!"
"Bullshit!" I laughed as I laid my hand on one of the armour's chestplate. "You have a head start!"
The claws clenched against it, causing claw marks to appear before anything even began.
"Sorry guys."
I saw the crimson visors lit up before my very eyes, allowing me to see an Alpha Beowolf sniffing the air for potential prey, and felt an unbearable pain as thick Dust tipped spikes pierced the back of my neck.
I felt immense heat as something injected, forcing me to let out a pained howl as my vision swam and I saw a flash of red.
Then, nothing.
Evans's POV
"It is done."
"Evans-"
"Shut up and do your part." Evans said with teary eyes. "Make sure nobody touches the girls while I go possess the maiden."
"Hey man, I'm just saying if you need to let it out..." Kevin said sympathetically.
"I know, you'll be there." Evans managed a faint smile, and it instantly died. "But right now, we have a school to save."
? POV
I held out my hands to nothing but darkness surrounding me.
Grasping the air, I held it close to my chest, and took in a deep breath.
...
Has it always been this empty inside?
A shadow cast itself in front of me and it took a few seconds to register that it was my own, and that there was a faint glow from behind me.
Instantly, the room lit up with dazzling white light.
I appeared to be in a dome cinema of sorts, and what appeared to be rectangular monitors flickered to life, causing me to reel back and fall on my rear.
It took me a while to blink the spots out of my eyes and adjust with the antithetical change and even then, further outstretch an arm to shield my eyes from. Once I finalyl adjusted after a minute or two, I stared dumbfounded at them, and the first thing I did was gasp.
They showed of distant memories. Some fresh and recent, others trapped in my subconsciousness.
Most, I'd almost forgotten over my time in Remenant.
They sharpened into a vivid, yet hazy feeling that brought me back through memory lane.
The first thing I sought out was one where I saw me and my family having a picnic in a grassy plain overlooking large clouds that puffed up like cotton candy, lazily swimming through the skies like a school of fish in the sea. The sun was already setting, and I was laughing.
My eyes darted to another, showing me a memory of when I and Evans were but children, running around and chasing each other in a game of tag by a fish pond. It felt so long ago, yet I remembered it as if it was just yesterday. I tumbled as I was pushed in, coming out all wet and accusing him of being a cheater.
Hmph... that bastard. I chuckled.
Then... my eyes hovered to the more recent memories here in Remenant, where Blake was in front of me, refusing to eat her fish and chips even though she stole a couple of glances at it. The square-bound monitors beside it showed her happily munching on some tuna at the cafeteria, giving the most adorable face I've ever seen her made as she claimed it's freshness. 2 down, Ruby was happily licking her ice cream, pouting cutely at me for warning her it wasn't good for her of a disease she'd never heard of.
To it's left, Yang kicking my ass during a spar as she put me in a headlock, and almost breaking my neck as I called my defeat, and above it, showed Weiss was lecturing me with some history of Remenant back by the table in our dorms.
And then...
Simultaneously, they all seemingly froze in place.
None of the moments on the screens lined up in any particular pattern as far as my eyes can see.
The videos they play all just stopped in random moments, causing me to question what just happened.
And then I heard it.
"Hm?" I asked myself as I scanned the area. Nothing but the vast expanse of darkness, except for the screens being the only sources of light.
A low rumble caused me to glance over to the dark floor, where slowly, a crimson orb then rose out of the ground and popped out, causing the once dark floor to bulge and stand out as the air tinted with a dark red hue.
It sleazily looked at me.
Observing me.
Judging me.
Thinking of eating me.
Slowly, the magnitude grew as I felt the tectonic plates shift beneath me with an audible shatter, causing me to lose all my balance and fall on my knees.
The air was no longer breathable.
I doubled over from the overwhelming miasma, as if I was surrounded in a sea of bodies and was inhaling straight from the mouth of a rotting corpse, and gravity just multiplied tenfold.
No, not gravity, I know how multiplied gravity felt like thanks to the courtesy of Miss Goodwitch.
It was as if my hands were glued to the ground and my body, just like the monitors, was frozen in place.
When I looked at the ground, I saw the reason why.
The ground had already swallowed my palm, engulfing it in what felt like black tinted cement, anchoring me in place.
I retched as most of the air was pushed out of my lungs, but despite all odds, I forced my eyes to look at the sludge that was taking form just a few meters away from where I was.
[Devil may cry 3- Cerberus battle theme]
One by one, the screens started to buzz noisily and flicker harshly, most of them ending in white noise while the others lay desaturated.
I forced myself to look away, for each and every time I decide to stare and blink, it'll cause me to see stars that further distorts the figure taking form before me.
The gelatinous figure slowly took shape, crimson eyes splitting in two as it went to either sides of it's lupine cranium as a sharp snout took form. It rid off the remaining black liquid that had the consistency of mud as it's huge paw detached completely out of the ground, and when it slammed down, no longer was it a singular entity.
It was standing on solid ground, not even bothered to have ripped itself out while leaving no traces behind. It swayed it's mane from side to side, then an audible crack told me that was to work some kinks out of it's neck.
The very ground it stood on was seamlessly black, the air felt heavy and musky. It vibrated along with every exhale it took to snort some hot puff of air to my face.
"You got nothin' and nothin's got you," It claimed with a deep snarl that seemed to reverberate from it's throat.. "I can see your fear, it surrounds you..."
"Built with strife and insight, but it's not enough." It lumbered, circling me so close that I could feel the scalding heat resonating off it's fur. "I'll defeat and discreet your every move."
"Instinctual," I found myself standing and held in front of me, was a small black dagger. "Just take your life. One. Step. One. Breath, you're under my knife."
"Killing slow is the way I conquer." The black creature disappeared from sight. "The torture test can't wait no longer."
Cautiously, I eyed around me, then took a step forward.
"With your first step you will BURN!" A pillar of scorching black fire erupted from in front of me, blasting me off my feet and knocking me back several meters in an instant. "Can't control the hate you have learned."
"Killing slow is the way I conquer." It cackled mockingly at my defeated expression as I stared at my charred hands. "Until you know the meaning of SUFFER."
"Step twice you invite and welcome death." I felt something fleshy and burnt touch my sides, as if two invisible hands were trying to squash me. "Pay homage to me with your last breath."
"Say goodbye to a life that you once knew." It sneered with it's tongue out as my vision swam and blurred, the last thing I saw being void like doors bound to a shape of a sphere shutting in my face while the last monitor that showed a group picture of me and Team RWBY flickered off. "Along with every being that was before YOU!"
Then, I blacked out.
What am I?
Who... am I?
...
Names
I need a name.
My name...?
Ruby?
...
Weiss?
...
Blake?
...
Yang?
...
...
Is that my name?
No, I was sure it was-
Wait...
"Who were they again?"
AAWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Shift
"And... you know the rest." I sighed as I met their unforgiving glares, which was a surprise to see Ruby can pull it off if she really was pissed. "Look, it was never my intention to hide this all away from you guys, that would've just made me another Ozpin. I just... never wanted to see any of you hurt, and tried my best to save as much as I could, keep casualties to a minimum. Going back with it fully awakened would just..." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blake flinch.
Ignored it, and gave them my best apologetic look as I tried to bow down. "I'm sorry."
Despite luring the Grimm away from the assault, some got hurt during the attack from Atlesian units running rampant, while others went missing till this day.
"Never in all my life would I ever expected all 4 of Salem's elite to appear in Beacon, and I'll admit that's something we overlooked. On the bright side, we know now more or less what we're up against, and will be better prepared for it the next time something like this happens."
"A next time?" Ruby blinked. "But, Beacon..."
"You didn't think Beacon was it's only target did you?" I asked, getting the students to exchange nervous glances at each other. I sighed. "I'll leave the explaining of relics and the brother gods to Qrow, but for now," I said as I looked at the remaining 3 members of my team. "I need to fix this first. Could you forgive me?"
Yang scoffed and crossed her arms. Blake's gaze was locked to mine, though something tells me her decision was up in the air. Ruby looked away.
"We're still a team right?" I asked weakly. "I did all of this to try and prevent deaths that we know would happen during the Fall, but there won't be any second chances."
"What do you mean?" The ever so dense Jaune asked.
"We know more or less what happens in the show if 'this' and 'that' happens. It's what a story is made of, decisions." Evans explained, getting a nod. "Well, we just altered the 'this' and 'thats', so anything that happens after this gets thrown out the window."
"Wait..." Pyrrha's eyes lit up. "Is that why Evans had to kill you? To be a spy?"
"More of a literal sleeper agent, really." I admitted. "His semblance will allow him to possess and talk through Amber' body if he's afraid of getting caught via scroll, but he needs to be asleep to possess bodies."
"It's delaying at best." Evans said through Amber. "We still have no clue on what to do with Amber, the real Amber, and we're not sure if she'll ever wake up, but I'm sure Penny's dad will come up with something, being an Aura expert and all."
"Wait a minute..." Yang drawled on, her eyes narrowing dangerously on the Fall Maiden's body. "Evans's semblance is to possess people."
"Mhmm." Amber confirmed with a nod.
"And you discovered this... after your training in the Emerald Forest?"
"Yeap."
"So that means, you could use it before the tournament."
"Yes...?" Amber raised a brow, not seeing a point. "Only humans or faunus's though, tried Grimm and it didn't work."
"That means..." Yang stared. "The night where we didn't remember anything and woke up next to Louis..."
Her cheeks coloured, and Blake caught on if the cough into her fist was any indication. She tried to look into the other direction and muttered to hide her fierce blush, but I'm sure I caught a sign of gratitude somewhere in there. Ruby immediately tried to cover herself under my covers.
"What's wro- oh..." Amber's eyes widened. "Ohhh..."
"We are having a talk about privacy later on." Yang snapped as she tried to fight down her own blush.
"Ah shit." I almost completely forgot about that as I felt my own cheeks heat up at the unwanted image. "I don't think now's a good time to increase my blood pressure though."
Team JNPR just blinked owlishly. "Haven't you always woken up next to Louis?" Jaune pointed out, not seeing a problem. "He does stay in the same dorm."
Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "What's wrong-"
"NOTHING!" Everybody in the room shouted simultaneously, causing the sister team to flinch.
"Okay, so am I forgiven for both cases now?" I laughed nervously as I scratched the back of my head. "I really need to just get this out of the way. If you need time to discuss and consider, it's oka-"
I felt someone slam into my side.
That someone had puppy eyes.
"Only if you buy me more cookies and milk. Oh, and ice cream! And candies. Sweets!"
"That might have to wait, Vale is sort of... abandoned and in ruins at the moment." I pointed out.
"Then until then, I won't forgive you." She huffed without any real heat to it. "It doesn't come for free!"
"Ugh, okay fine. Yeah." I waved off, rolling my eyes as I ruffled her red tipped hair. "I'll get it as soon as we get access to some."
"Books." Blake said immediately.
"Excuse me?"
"Get me limited edition books by my favorite author. And make sure he signs it."
"Not you too..." I grumbled under my breath, and when I made to look, she was smirking. "Just get over here."
"Yang?" Blake called out as she joined in for a group hug.
...
"I don't know." She used her fingers to make a frame. "You look like the guy who could barely handle two. You sure you could handle a third?"
"Yaaaang." Ruby groaned as her cheeks flushed once more.
She peered one eye through her makeshift finger frame and closed the other. "Looks to me like a happy family already."
"Yang!" Blake growled as her cheeks coloured with specs of bright pink.
"Alright alright." She laughed off for what for me, felt like the first time in forever as she made her way to our side and engulfed us in a tight hug. "Thank you, but next time you do something this stupid, talk to your team. We'll listen." She added after I made to complain.
"I don't think Weiss would agree with you guys executing 'something stupid' or even agreeing with me. Buuuut... I'll be sure to keep that in mind." I chuckled as I basked in the comfort of their presence.
Thank god that's over.
Everybody made it out safe and happy, and even JNPR looks like they want to join the-
"DIBS!"
"Ooof!" I felt the air get blasted out of my chest.
"NORA!" Ren complained as he tried to pry off his childhood friend from the blonde brawler, who shot her an exasperated glare. "Jaune! A little help here!"
All I could do was gave a chuckle, even if my sides hurt like crazy.
Everybody was laughing as Yang tried to steamroll Nora over, but she just kept switching positions, always being on top.
Their smiles, all genuine.
They all look so happy.
And I made this.
We made this. I thought as I looked to Amber, who gave me a thumbs up from the corner of the room, immediately getting up the moment Nora announced her presence in wanting to divebomb us.
Nothing can stand against this. Seeing them happy, no one can fault me for the wide grin that was forming on my face, or the small chuckle I produced.
Nothing can possibly ruin this mom-
"Yay guys!" The door slammed open and Dwiki barged in. "We did it!"
...
...
...
"Evans." I deadpanned.
"Yes Louis?" Amber asked, equally deadpanning.
...
"Do me a favour."
"What is it?"
"Give Clumsy D a good ol' Supplex for me."
"Consider it done!"
"Wait wait wai- AAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Dwiki found something slithering into a tight knot to his waist, the arms of a woman. A very, very strong woman that couldn't help but smirk slyly as Dwiki hovered about 3-4 feet in the air with a panicked expression.
"Isn't this what you always wanted D?" I chuckled as everybody stared in awe at the sight of the Maiden using her powers. "To have the affection of a woman's touch?
"WHHHHHY MEEEEEEEEEE?!-"
CRACK
A/N
Huh, a lot of people unfollowed after last chapter. Wondered what I did wrong.
Maybe they didn't like the Neo scene. Damn shippers xD.
Anyway, this will be a bit of a long one.
So this is going to be the end of a 'book' in a sense, since Volume 3 and Aftermath just concluded. Thank you for those of you sticking throughout the entire time from start to end. (Sacke110 shoutout to you if you're reading this but idk where you went off to after 2020.) (DankAnon you too, since your fast but long and funny reviews on every chapter posted also kept me motivated in writing throughout.)
For those of you reading but idly not reviewing, of course thank you as well for faving and following and sticking throuhgout this journey.
Time for me to follow other Fanfiction writers examples and go on an eternal hiatus for life and let others assume I'm dead muehehehe. Jk, this will continue, but after some time (A month tops, probs won't take that long) of planning since, y'know, I'm taking this down my own path.
Stuff here and there might follow canon, might not, some people may like it, might not. But hey, it was gonna diverge from canon eventually.
Also, need to catch up with Vol 7 haven't watch a single episode of that.
A couple of mistakes were made in making this fic, but hey, you live and learn.
(Lack of info beforehand and not following Chenkov's gun) - This mistake was pointed out early by Evans himself (Kudos to you brother), but I couldn't find it in myself to correct it at that point, since the chapter is already posted and read by over 300 people, while the next few were already half written. I also never expected for me to get more descriptive along the way, whoopsie me.
(Chapters being too long and overdramatic) - Can't help it in some cases, since they are teens and will always lead to some drama, but some I might've overexagerrated some chapters a bit.
(A ton of things aren't consistent) - There were a ton of changes and improvising as time goes by, and I know this is natural for writers and story tellers, but sometimes I forget to look back on chapters and be like "Oh, wait, I wrote that? That happened?!" and people who read the book in a day complain.
This is just a footmark to look back to as a reminder of what to do and what not to do, and see how far I've come. Anyways, keep being awesome, I'll cya later!
Reviewer Sessions
LordDemolitions: Hmm, I don't think I've gotten to that point yet, where someone gets laid. But tell me honestly, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Cuz I'm sure I saw your comment on a fic before this that said you didn't agree with harems, since that's 80% of the fics here and it's annoying.
zeldawolffang: Thank you! Sadly not all people saw it the same way, and I can understand why. Thank you for sticking through tho.
DankAnon: Damn bro I don't have an xbox to play it with. I hope we get to see more of Neo soon though I'm not sure when xD. I'm not sure how I'll manage to rain a bulletstorm but... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for you comment as always!
Gabe2000: Thank you! I shall eat this honoury sacrifice and hope that it doesn't contain a certain sponge. Ikr, I still shudder till this day.