Chapter 29: Seeing_Double
(A/N: I would like to take a moment and wish everyone good health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Additionally, you know how I said that the April Fools chapter was not going to be canon?
Well, later that night, I had a better idea.
Two Words: Time. Travel.
Also - the text being different for the last chapter wasn't exactly because it was an April Fools chapter. I had to upload that chapter from my phone instead of a proper computer.
Without further ado, onto the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Starbound, I only own this story, Poaling Mono, Iris Virtuas, and Erisa Mono (technically), as well as the backstory explaining the Game. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum (R.I.P.) of Rooster Teeth, Starbound belongs to Chucklefish.
On with the show!)
"External Speech"
'Internal Speech/Commands'
Gamer System/Devices
"Iris The Intern External Voice"
"Iris The Intern Internal Voice"
Name: Party Chat
(Timestamp "A")
Name: Erisa Mono
Race: Human (Former Erchius Horror)
Title(s): Sister of the Gamer, Mended Heart, Dust Maiden
Level: 30: 48.8%
HP: 600/600 (VIT * 15)
AP: 600/600 (VIT * 15)
MP: 4500/4500 (INT * 15)[((INT*15)*5))]
Lien: 1200
HPR: 4.5 (9) every 30 seconds (((VIT * 0.1) 0.5) * 2 when AP 10%)
APR: 4.5 every 30 seconds ((VIT * 0.1) 0.5)
MPR: 30.5 every 15 seconds ((WIS * 0.1) 0.5)[((WIS*0.1)*5))]
STR: 15
DEX: 30
VIT: 40
INT: 50
WIS: 50
LUC: 15
I'd gone back to the same empty box canyon I'd been practicing my 'Maiden Powers' in for the past fifteen days. It was hot, dry and isolated (due to being in the desert of Vacuo), so it seemed a perfect practice ground with almost no risk of being caught commanding the forces of nature.
So far, I'd done some… drastic redecorating to the majority of the canyon.
I'd managed to conjure some basic walls and barriers for the sake of training after I'd almost taken the phrase 'don't make a mountain out of a molehill' to another level. I somehow managed to set fire to the sand, which was now a layer of scorched glass. (I'd then, in my panic, caused a thunderstorm and flash flood while trying to put out the fire, before I remembered I could've just cut off the flow of energy to the flame.)
ahem*... Moving on, usually, the canyon was uninhabited and secluded from watching eyes. Usually.
However, as I was about to begin climbing down the canyon wall, Markus faded-in before me, hopping and looking at a scuff in the dirt.
I blinked, looked closer, then my eyes widened. Not a scuff - a footprint. A shoeprint from someone else!
I gave Markus a grateful pat on the top of his chassis before he resumed his invisible state. It would have been bad, for someone to see me using my newly awoken powers.
'I guess I'll have to find someplace else to practice.'
Turning, I was about to hike to a safe distance - so as to not be spotted as I beamed back to the ship, when I came face to face with a woman, wearing a burgundy dress and a smirk on her face.
Cinder Fall
Race: Human(?)
Title(s): Maiden of the Queen
Level: ???
Ominous Intent Detected!
It was all I could do to keep my body from trembling as I hid my unease with a curious tilt of my head and feigned ignorance. "I didn't think anyone else was out here."
Cinders smirk only widened as she shook her head. "But don't you know better than to be alone out here? After all, it is quite dangerous out here for an individual."
I carefully nodded, not taking my eyes off of the woman in front of me. "You're right." I began stepping around her, wanting to get away from her as soon as I possibly could. "In fact, I should be heading back now. My big brother knows I come here often, but if I'm late coming back, he'll probably tear this desert apart to find me."
I then switched to a serious expression. "Seriously - he's killed Beowolves with his bare hands, so his level of strength whilst armed is ridiculous." 'Of course, said kills were whilst he was a giant body of boulders, but she doesn't need to know that!'
"Well then, do tell me." She leaned forward, her amber eyes narrowed and cupping her chin with her left hand. "Why is he so protective of you? Does he know?"
I froze for a split moment. "Know… what?" My voice was starting to tremble, despite my efforts.
"That you're a Maiden."
Before I could even respond, I was knocked sideways by a powerful kick to the head.
HP: 600/600
AP: 490/600
MP: 4500/4500
I scrambled to my feet, dizzily spinning to try and find whoever had struck me, only to be struck in the gut by a grey blur that appeared out of nowhere for a split second before vanishing again.
HP: 600/600
AP: 385/600
MP: 4500/4500
'Is their Semblance invisibility?!' I frantically conjured up a sandstorm and ran in a direction I hoped would allow me to escape under the cover of the blowing sand.
HP: 600/600
AP: 390/600
MP: 4450/4500
Erisa Mono: POALING, HELP ME!
Just as I'd mentally cried for help through the System, hoping that my brother was able to come to my rescue, I found myself knocked down on my front and pinned as I felt a heavy metal boot stomp on my head.
HP: 600/600
AP: 320/600
MP: 4450/4500
The blow to my head broke my concentration and the sandstorm thus died. My attackers, of course, wouldn't give me the chance to fight back, stomping and slicing away at my aura while I was dazed.
HP: 450/600
AP: BROKEN/600
MP: 4450/4500
Status: Concussed!
My senses immediately became a whirlwind of pain in the moments after my aura shattered as I felt my arms and legs getting mangled by bullets, forcing the breath from my lungs as I screamed.
HP: 120/600
AP: BROKEN/600
MP: 4450/4500
Status: Concussion, Broken Arms, Broken Legs
My vision swam from my tears and concussion as I fought to remain conscious. Two blurred figures - one grey and black, one brown and green - roughly forced me to my knees to face a burgundy blur - likely Cinder Fall.
Thu-thump*
It finally dawned on me, in that moment, that I likely wasn't going to get out of this alive.
Thu-thump*
I'd heard that humans see their lives flashing before their eyes when they feel that they're about to die. Now, I was experiencing the same thing.
The miners stumbling upon the home of my mother and I…
My mother being consumed by rage and hatred…
Mother being destroyed by the Protector…
Then… came the happier memories…
Poaling finding and comforting me in the dust mine…
Giving and receiving gifts with my brother and Iris…
Watching movies on the beanbag next to Poaling...
Meeting Ruby…
Perhaps the reason people saw their lives flash before their deaths was so they could take comfort in the meaningful moments they had experienced.
Thu-thump*
Cinder was now holding her right palm toward my face, a black writhing something emerging from it.
Thu-thump*
'I'm sorry for breaking my promise to be there when you woke up, Poaling…'
The black thing spat some kind of burning, black bile into my eye, before I found it somehow removed. I was released from my two captors, whilst a hooded figure stood between my would-be murderers and me.
But… something about them (no - HER - something told me) felt strangely… familiar?
(Back at Timestamp "A")
(POV: ???)
When I finally dared to open my eyes, I was almost overwhelmed with a sense of relief upon seeing the familiar box canyon, just as I'd remembered it being on that fateful day all those years ago.
I then shook my head and suppressed those feelings. 'Just because you managed to go back far enough doesn't yet mean you've fixed things! You've still got to save yourself, woman!'
Sucking in a deep breath, I retrieved my weapon - Elementa - from my Inventory.
Elementa is a staff made primarily of Aurasteel - an alloy made from Aura, and an alloy that the rest of Remnant still didn't have the means to mass-produce. Its shaft was ringed with Hard Light Shield-Emitters that were glowing the same cyan as the Dust they used, as well as small disks of Erchius-Dust Crystals between every other ring. Additionally, at the midpoint of shaft, there is a grip set in a ring a few centimeters wider in diameter than my fist, allowing the grip to spin at high speeds inside the ring. The head was the part that had taken the most mental effort to create; a three-inch long Rainbow Erchius Dust Crystal carefully cut, condensed, tempered, and strengthened into a beautiful-yet-deadly spearhead that doubled as a focus for my powers.
I gave my apparel a last lookover.
Green Propulsion boots infused with high-grade Wind Dust for extra speed, check.
Black Kinesis Gloves infused with Gravity Dust for extra oomph in my punches, check.
White hooded cloak infused with Spirit Dust to allow me to hide from normal eyes, check.
His old Protector-Infiltration-Suit - now infused with Pure Erchius Dust to convert any Dust-based attacks that connected into additional Mana, check.
Confirming my I checked my Inventory.
Markus - remodeled into the design of what the System called "AKO-LITE", check.
Half-dozen vials of Accelerated-Healing Tonic, check.
Memory Dust Drive housing all my journal entries and memories, as well as all the research and designs Markus developed over the years after I woke up alone, check.
Hoping with my fingers crossed that my preparations would be sufficient for the battle ahead, I activated the Dust in my cloak and became invisible.
All of my current equipment was connected to my Aura. Once I'd figured out how to get my Aura and equipment to link up, it had only been a matter of practice and experimenting before I was able to command and control it all as easily as flexing another set of muscles.
'No time to lose! You don't have the means to travel through time for another do-over if you mess this up!'
Spurred on by my memories of the future I'd left behind, I dashed across the canyon floor and up the wall, as quick and graceful as the wind.
Completely unseen, I maintained a close-yet-careful distance from my past-self as she said those very words that I'd once thought would be my last. "Know… what?"
I gripped Elementa tightly, tensing for the incoming frenzy. 'Remember, you can't intervene too early! Wait. Until. The right. Moment.'
"That you're a Maiden."
I then had to hone and focus on dodging everything and everyone while readying for that moment. Sure, as I was now, their attacks wouldn't likely harm me enough to be a problem, but I couldn't afford to be discovered yet!
Fortunately, dodging was easier as I was now than I was then, as I was not being tricked by Emerald's Semblance due to her being unaware of my presence.
I'd then quickly closed my eyes before my past self even conjured the sandstorm, now relying on the flow of energies to 'see' where everything was.
Then, the sandstorm died, and I watched with a suppressed wince as the Erisa before me suffered blow after blow. 'I know it hurts, but you need to learn from this, assuming I succeed.'
Once she was no longer able to fight back, Emerald and Mercury forced past-Erisa to her knees as Cinder approached with the Grimm Parasite emerging from her palm.
'Steady… Steady!'
Then, the split moment the first of the Parasites leeching venom made contact with Past-Erisa, I rammed the two cronies into Cinder, interrupting the ritual at the right moment to leave a sample of the Parasite in Past-Erisa, yet leave her alive and conscious.
"What- how-?!" Cinder rose to her feet, looking outright pissed. 'Sorry, brother!'
"How. DARE. YOU." The False Maiden growled, before her expression shifted to a smug and amused one. "Do you really want to die, like she will?"
"No, Cinder, I do NOT intend to go through THAT experience again." I allowed myself a moment of amusement as I watched Cinder's grin revert to a shocked frown. "In fact, you may not realize it, but I just saved your life, potentially. Had you succeeded in stealing all of this Maiden's powers and killed her, you would've inadvertently created a force that even the Grimm would fear. A force that would've killed you in about two-to-three years by crushing your neck in a titanium grip, before blowing all of Salem's Domain to oblivion."
All three of my had-been attackers had taken stances which showed that they were now going to take me seriously. "I don't know how you know of us, but I'm afraid I cannot allow a loose-end such as yourself to live."
Cinder held her hand out, palm facing me and charging up with the mere fifth of our full power she'd been allowed to steal - putting her just somewhat above a typical Maiden in terms of power, but only barely.
"Goodbye, Huntress."
She blasted an Energy Beam - unlike our own pink variant, hers was a dark, demonic crimson - no doubt expecting that her newly acquired powers would ensure her victory.
I simply held forth Elementa by the central grip and switched it to 'shield-mode', the circular barrier generated by the fast-spinning staff absorbing the energy of the attack and canceling out the attack altogether.
The beam persisted for a few seconds more before Cinder dismissed it, looking utterly shocked at her seemingly-powerful attack being blocked with little effort as Elementa ceased its spinning and returned to its Primary Balanced Mode.
"Oh, Cinder, Cinder, Cinder…" I chided, smirking as I threw back my hood, revealing the upper half of my face. The area around my left eye was heavily scarred from when I'd been killed by Cinder in my timeline, and that eye was a brilliant silver instead of the ruby-red it had once been. Additionally, my hair was tied into the same type of braid my timeline's Iris had before she… left.
"Did you really think you would be able to harm me with that power, when you've only just come to possess it?"
With an Aural command, four lights flew from Elementa's spearhead before bursting into dozens of sharp shards of Erchius-Dust Crystals, each one pointing directly at Cinder and her cronies, charged and ready to slice them apart with Energy Beams.
"But I like to think that I'm a merciful Huntress, so I'll give you a choice." My expression darkened, my smug look replaced with a cold gaze. "Either leave, or be sliced apart like cold butter."
…
"Tch." Cinder grit her teeth in frustration. "Fine, but don't even think that I'll forget about this! You've just involved yourself in something bigger than you realize."
I mentally deadpanned. 'Actually, it's SIMPLER than you realize. It's Remnant's longest, bloodiest divorce gone wrong!'
I remained alert and guarded even as the three failed murderers vanished under Emerald's Semblance, waiting for their energies to put sufficient distance between us before finally turning to my past-self, still sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily and in severe pain.
I retrieved a vial of red fluid - an advanced medicine from my timeline capable of greatly boosting the rate Aura healed the user's body for a half-hour - before popping off the cap and inserting the mouth between Past-Erisa's lips. "Drink this, it should help."
She did so with little to no hesitation - probably because she was in no condition to refuse. She almost coughed it out, but most of it was now in her system. I watched, oddly fascinated, as her wounds and various injuries began rapidly knitting back together with the aid of her Aura enhanced by the AHT. No matter how many times I saw it, it still seemed somewhat surreal.
Groaning, Erisa tried to sit up. "Who are-" The moment her eyes opened, they immediately widened dramatically. "... you?"
I gave what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "Hello, Erisa. I'm sure you probably have questions, but you'll have to wait for answers until we get somewhere more… secure."
I turned to send a glare to the Raven flying overhead, raising my voice. "SOMEWHERE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LITTLE BIRDIES LISTENING SO THEY CAN CHIRP ABOUT US."
Raven squawked, while Erisa looked up at me, wary as I held out a hand. "Can you stand?"
"I… think so?" She accepted my hand, wobbling on her just-barely mended legs as I pulled her up.
"Good, try to keep quiet, and let's go." Not giving her time to react, I pulled her up against me and pulled the cloak over us, rendering us invisible as I turned to place my mouth right next to Erisa's ear as I whispered. "Try to stay quiet, we need to wait for your brother to get here."
Erisa went rigid, hardly daring to breath. I hoped I hadn't come off as another agent seeking to exploit her powers. It would've been unfortunate, but nevertheless harmless if she thought that of me.
A few minutes passed, neither of us making a sound.
Then, finally, a beam of light struck the sand a few meters away from us, before revealing a figure in a familiar Aura RIG, armed with his old chaingun-chainsaw combo.
'It's really him…'
(POV: Poaling Mono)
I looked around, frantically. "ERISA!"
"POALING!" I heard her voice behind me as I spun to see my sister running towards me with a limp, her clothes tattered and bloodied.
Overwhelmingly relieved, I met her open arms, embracing her. "Are you okay? The moment I woke up the System said you were under attack! I came as soon as I could!"
"I'm… I'm okay now." Erisa nuzzled into the crook of my neck. "Someone attacked me… A woman with black hair named Cinder, and two other people… I thought I was going to die…"
'CINDER?!' I fought down my rush of anger as Erisa continued. "But then…" Erisa pulled away to point toward a figure in a white hooded-cloak, whom I'd failed to notice in the moment. "She came out of nowhere… and threatened them into leaving… then gave me something bitter that I guess was some kind of medicine."
I stared at the figure, my mismatched eyes wide under my visor. 'That cloak… is she-?'
Processing Data, Please Wait…
'That's… new.' Then, almost gingerly, the woman lifted off her hood, revealing her hair and face.
'Not Summer Rose, then.' I continued to stare at the young woman, who stared back - like she'd seen a ghost. 'But, she seems… familiar, somehow.'
She began to take small steps towards us, her red-and-silver eyes never leaving my visor for a second.
Now, less than two feet away from me, I saw she was trembling, tears beginning to bead in her eyes.
"It's really you…" Next thing I knew, I was barely keeping my balance as the oddly-familiar girl narrowly avoided squishing Erisa as she hugged me tightly - like she was terrified I'd be gone the moment she released me. "You're really here!"
"Um…" I didn't know what to say.
"I'm Erisa Mono." She finally loosened her grip to look in my visor. "And I've come from what might've been the future."
(A/N: Alright, so I've made the ending from the April Fools chapter kinda canon, I guess? I mean, now it happened. But then future Erisa managed to develop time-travel, so she came back and intervened in the key event that led to that future. And now it's back to 'not gonna happen' I think?
Anyways, the point is: the Erisa from the April Fools timeline pretty much pulled an Endgame-Captain America.
Stay healthy, and I'll see you in the Game(s) from a minimum distance of six feet!
-poaling12
