The rain had come and gone from central Mistral, but the humidity outside was still unbearable.
Beryl washed the vegetables she had recently picked from the garden, her brow sweating as the water continued to run somewhat frantically from the faucet. The pipes were leaking again, so she had to use a bucket to capture the runoff. It was a frustrating process, but it had to be done. The shack was already falling apart, no reason to help it along further. She sighed.
"I hope Dee comes back from his job soon."
It had been roughly a week and a half since her older brother left to guard the Argus Limited. While Beryl had her reservations about him accepting such a dangerous job that took him through Grimm territory, he assured her that he would be safe. Dudley was going with him after all. This fact only made Beryl even more worried.
Her brother wasn't the best fighter – coming in near bottom of his graduating class at Haven Academy – but he was driven to become a Hunter, and that had to count for something; or at least that's what Beryl thought. If he did well on this job, perhaps he would be hired to do more high-profile work for some of the upper crust of society, at least that was what he told his worrying sister. She wasn't entirely convinced, but she wished him luck anyway. At the very least the money earned on this job would help cover their finances for a little while.
As she dried the tomatoes, she turned her attention to the spare room at the end of the hall. The door was ajar, allowing her to see just enough of the girl sleeping under the blanket. She had been asleep for nearly three days.
When Beryl found her by the lakeside, she was hardly breathing and had terrible burns along the right side of her body. It was a horrific sight. Had she been in some sort of fire? Was she attacked by someone? Beryl didn't know, but she felt she had to help the stranger at the very least. So she brought the girl home, cleaned her up as best she could, and let her rest. She also fed her every now and again and made sure she got plenty of fluids. Beryl didn't know when she would fully wake up, but she made sure to be there when she did.
She heard the covers shift and the girl suddenly rose up from bed with a gasp as if she had been brought back to life.
"Natsu!"
"It's ok. It's ok." Beryl said warmly as she entered the room. "You're safe here."
The girl turned to Beryl, her lone eye radiating hostility as she covered her blackened arm. She looked around in confusion. "Who are you?! Where am I?"
"My name is Beryl. I found you passed out by the lake. You're in a cabin on the outskirts of Shin'en. It's a small town underneath the cliff leading up to the capital city. Can you tell me your name?"
Cinder ignored the girl's request and focused instead on her location. "Shin'en." she said somewhat bitterly. I've returned to this place.
Shock was too light a word to describe the feelings welling within the hearts of Ruby and her travel companions. Jinn had told them many things, slowing time so that a tale that took place over centuries only lasted a few minutes in the real world. Some things were hard to believe, or rather many things were difficult to wrap their heads around, but their collective shock could be distilled into one haunting question.
"Salem…can't be killed?"
Yang was the first to speak, her mouth was so dry that the words practically forced themselves from her throat.
Out of everything told to them, that piece of information stood out the most. Along with the realization that their fight against her would almost certainly not end in victory. Their emotions were painted clearly on everyone's faces. Ruby was fearful, Pyrrha was perplexed, Maria was confused, but Yang was angry. Perhaps angrier than she had ever been in her entire life.
Ozpin – still in control of Oscar – knelt repentantly in the snow-covered grass. His eyes not daring to meet those of his students.
"I- "
"How could you hide so much from us?!" Roared the blonde, her eyes burning and the snow beneath her feet melting as her rage spilled out for all to see. "What were you thinking?! Did you think that was ok?!"
Ozpin remained silent.
"Say something!"
"Professor…"
Ruby's soft voice pulled his gaze in her direction, but her pitying eyes made him want to look away again. "Do you have a plan to beat Salem?"
"…I don't." The answer hurt his soul to say.
With a primal yell, Yang leapt towards Ozpin. He braced himself for her wrath, only to realize that she had destroyed the tree behind him with a single punch. When he looked at her face, he saw the tears evaporating in the corners of her blood red eyes.
"Miss Xiao Long, I- "
"Shut up!" Her fist trembled. "So many people died because they believed in you! They put their lives in your hands and you used them! You even used Salem!"
"I didn't- "
"Stop lying! We all saw it! You manipulated her and turned her into this monster, and now you don't know how to stop her! Qrow, Mom, Penny, Natsu…they died because of you! It's all your fault!"
Her words spoken, she finally stepped away from Ozpin. "Maybe Raven was right. We can't trust you after all…"
"I believed in you, Professor." Pyrrha spoke up. Unlike Yang she was much more conflicted about everything she had seen. "You said I was given these maiden abilities to protect people, but after what we've just seen…I don't know what to believe anymore."
"I don't either…" with those ominous words, Ozpin retreated inside of Oscar, returning the boy control over his own body.
"What happened?" asked Ruby. "Where did he go?"
"I-I don't know." stuttered the farm boy. "He's just…gone."
"No! He doesn't get off that easy!" Yang grabbed Oscar and held him in the air. "Come out, you bastard! You can't run from this! You need to own up to what you did!"
"Yang!" shouted her sister.
"He can't come out!" Oscar yelled. "He's gone! He's trapped in my head or our head, or something! I don't know! Let me go!"
Yang's glare softened and she dropped Oscar back into the snow. He cradled his head in pain.
"I…I hate this!" he cried. "I want it to stop!"
"You're not the only one."
Yang walked away, completely ignoring her sister calling her name as she recovered Bumblebee from the snow.
"What do we do now, Ruby?" asked Pyrrha.
The girl was at a loss. It was her job to keep everyone together, but she could only watch helplessly as they all fell apart around her.
"If everyone is done whining, we need to find a way out of his blizzard before more Grimm show up." Maria took charge, gathering Ruby's scattered thoughts as she helped Oscar to his feet. "Our Aura's won't keep this cold off our backs much longer."
"What did I miss?" asked Dee. He had woken up from his impromptu nap, surprised by the dejected looks on everyone's faces.
They ignored his question.
Maria pointed to what appeared to be a trail in the snow. "The sun will set soon. We should follow that trail before it becomes too dark to see."
Following the elderly woman's directions, Ruby, Pyrrha, Dee, and Oscar began to gather their belongings. However, Yang was still resistant.
"Look, lady, I don't know who you are but- "
Maria slammed the point of her cane on the ground, silencing the blonde's indignance.
"I understand your frustrations, girl, I share those feelings as well, but if we stay here we will be killed by either the Grimm or the cold. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not end up as a corpse at the bottom of a mountain. So suck it up, and get your ass moving!"
"You- "
"That's enough." Ruby interjected, getting in between her sister and Maria. "She's right. We need to get moving. The trail might lead to shelter."
"Fine." With a huff, Yang grabbed the handles of Bumblebee, but before she could start walking Maria jumped on the seat.
"What? You don't expect someone my age to walk in this blizzard do you?"
Yang rolled her eyes and started to walk with her new passenger in tow.
Ruby tried to hand Oscar Ozpin's cane, but he refused it.
"I'm just another one of his lives…aren't I?"
Ruby took a second to answer. "You're your own person. No matter what Jinn said."
"You don't believe that."
Oscar walked past Ruby; his depressed eyes obscured by his hair. She clutched the cane tightly in her hands and pressed on behind the others, the snow coming down harder than before.
While Jinn told the tragic tale of Salem to his friends, Salem herself had relayed the same story to Natsu from within the field of his mind.
There were a lot of things he didn't get – namely Gods, the formations of societies, the philosophy involved, and the supposed first set of humanity – but what he did understand fully was that Salem was sad.
"So if you're out there, how are you in here too?"
Natsu's question came out completely garbled, but Salem understood him well enough. A perk of residing within his body for so long.
"I am Salem's humanity to put it simply." she explained. "I am the part of her that was lost when she drank Ankhseram's elixir. Without me it was easier for the influence of the Grimm to overtake her."
Natsu scratched his head. "I guess that makes sense."
"Don't lie, boy." Igneel chided. "You have no idea what she is talking about."
"Yes I do!"
Salem giggled at their exchange.
"So if you're her humanity or whatever…why are you in MY body?" Natsu asked.
"It was not like I really had a choice in the matter. It was a sort of random occurrence. In all honesty, I possibly could have resided with anyone, though I am glad that it was you and not a bad person."
"T-that's cool. I guess."
Salem's warm smile made Natsu blush and look away in embarrassment. It was like he was speaking to his mother - or at least the woman who adopted him. He hadn't spoken to her in a long time. He turned to Igneel.
"Why are you here?"
"A story for another time. It will become clear once you regain your body and memories."
"Speaking of that, where is my body anyway? My real body I mean?"
"Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing at the moment." Salem answered regrettably. "Most of our power was used bringing you to this place. We cannot look outside without risk of bringing the darkness inside."
"So how do I get out of here? I need to find my friends."
"You must control both your demon and dragon seeds." Igneel explained. "In order to do that, you must defeat both Fafnir and END and regain what was taken from you when you came to this world."
Natsu slammed a fist into his open palm. "What are we waiting for then? Let me at 'em!"
Blake carefully walked through the cabin hall, a tray of food in her hands as the ship slowly rocked back and forth. The ship had recently hit some rough storm waters, so everyone had retired for the evening. Blake couldn't sleep if she tried.
They were still roughly half a day out from Menagerie's waters, so it made sense that they reached a bit of turbulence. Menagerie was set in the middle of rough seas and Grimm infested waters, another symbol of Faunus oppression according to Sienna.
"To reach paradise you must first travel through hell."
Her father had told her that once when she asked why more Faunus didn't come to Menagerie. When she was a child, Blake thought Menagerie was the most wondrous place in all of Remnant. Everywhere she looked Faunus were happy and living their lives to the fullest. When she joined the White Fang she cast off that illusion and saw her home as gilded cage it truly was.
In a way, her parents thought that as well, but they chose not to dwell on it and focused on making the best with what they had. Perhaps that was what it meant to be an adult. Blake didn't really know.
She reached a door in the middle of the hall and rapped her fingers against the worn wood.
"It's me."
"Come in."
Prompted by the familiar voice, Blake turned the knob and entered the somewhat spacious cabin. Inside, Neon and Weiss were sitting in chairs opposite each other around a single bed. Lying in the bed was an unconscious Natsu, looking much different than before.
The left side of his body was covered in red scales, and his arm and leg had morphed into what looked to be dragon claws. He also had a lone wing that peaked out from underneath the blanket.
He was like this when Blake and Weiss found him on that floating piece of driftwood. Once the initial shock of seeing him wore off, they quickly brought him back to the ship and placed him in Weiss' room. It wasn't surprising that the other passengers were frightened by the boy's strange appearance, but the Captain didn't seem to mind too much. All he saw was a person in need. That was more than enough to offer his approval for Natsu to come aboard. The ship's doctor managed to stabilize his condition, but was otherwise unable to find what was wrong with him or why he looked the way he did.
Blake suggested that he was possibly a Faunus, but Weiss and Neon quickly denied this. Weiss stated that if he was, not only would she have known about it, but there was no way her father would have adopted him. The former heiress earned herself a few glares for that last remark, but when her brother was involved she rarely – if ever – minced words. Nor did she care about their scorn at the moment.
"How is he?"
Blake placed the tray on the small table in the corner of the cabin. She assumed it would get cold before either of them ate – just like the other meals she had brought – but as along as they were eating she didn't mind all that much.
"The same." Neon answered, concern brimming beneath her emerald eyes. "I don't think he's even so much as twitched this whole time."
"As long as he's breathing he'll be fine." Weiss said firmly. "We just have to wait for the doctors to look at him once we reach Menagerie. Right, Blake?"
The snow-haired princess turned to her friend, her stern glare masking her fear. Blake nodded almost in spite of herself.
"Yes. I'm sure they'll be able to do something to help him."
"I wonder why he looks like this though." Neon pondered. She wanted to poke his cheek, but decided against it after a second or two. It was just bad manners.
"It had to be that Salem woman." Weiss spat. "She did…whatever this is to him when she stole his body."
Blake remained silent. She didn't know enough about Salem to confirm or deny her friend's assumption, but a small part of her was a bit skeptical of the allegation.
"I'm going to check and see how far we are from the island." Blake said. "Let me know if anything changes."
"Right!" Neon saluted. Weiss simply grunted in acknowledgement, her eyes not leaving her brother.
Blake exited the room, but before she could leave the hall, she saw Sienna and Ilia walking towards her from the opposite end. They did not look happy.
"What's going on?"
"We need to talk." Sienna said.
From her stern tone and serious glare, Blake could tell that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She looked to Ilia, who nodded in agreement with Sienna's request.
Blake sigh. "Fine, but not out here."
Salem once again found herself staring at the empty cell that had once belonged to Natsu. She had been standing here for hours; eyes never leaving the spot against the wall below the window that she would normally find him sitting. She had no way of knowing where he was or what he was doing. For some reason the roots she implanted inside of him had stopped responding to her calls. To be sure nothing was wrong, she activated the other roots she had implanted within her subordinates. They worked fine - except for Cinder's. So why could she not locate Natsu?
"Perhaps this was her doing."
Salem knew that her other self had lain dormant within Natsu since he arrived in Remnant as a boy. It was the main reason she had sought him out, though Ozpin had gotten to him first. She wasn't entirely sure if Ozpin knew of her other self, but because of his safeguards reaching Beacon – as well as the other academies - directly was impossible. So she had to lure Natsu away to Forever Fall forest where the wards were at their weakest in order to set her plan into motion.
The roots were used as a link. No matter how far he was, she could find him. That is how she was able to take his body from the Schnee estate and revive him. Though perhaps revive was too strong a word, it was more she had woken up something that was lying dormant within Natsu.
When he was brought to her, he had the faintest of heartbeats. Not enough for him to be considered alive, but not weak enough to be dead either. He was trapped in some sort of limbo, his consciousness waiting for something strong enough to pull it back to the surface. Salem did that, and Fafnir Dragion was born.
Fafnir was an obedient child, but he was not the one that Salem wanted. She wanted Natsu's true self. The monster that had slumbered since she first saw him. To her elation she had finally awoken that beast, only for him to fly away before her eyes.
Tired of ruminating on setbacks, Salem turned on her heel and headed back to the meeting room of Evernight Castle. The Grimm had returned the room to its natural state after Salem's outburst a couple of days prior. She sat at the head of the table, her own head resting in her right hand. She motioned for a Seer to come to her side from the corner of the room.
"Watts."
The clouds inside the Seer's ball shifted, forming the image of the disgraced doctor as he tinkered with his machines. When he heard his master's voice he quickly stopped working and bowed.
"Yes, Milady?"
"Gather the others and come to the conference hall in five minutes."
"At once." Watts bowed again and the image faded away. Salem sent the Seer away and awaited the arrival of her followers.
Right as the time limit expired: Watts, Tyrian, Hazel, Emerald, and Mercury assembled before Salem. She glanced at their faces. Their emotions ranged from content to frightened as to what she was going to say. This was normal.
"I suppose I should tell you why I suddenly summoned you all here." Salem began, standing up from her chair. "In short, I want your opinion on my decision regarding Cinder's punishment."
She was referring to her decision to have Neo Politan kill the girl for her blunder at Haven. Because of her single-minded obsession of Ruby Rose, they lost both the Relic of Knowledge, as well as the identity of the Spring Maiden. The request came as a surprise to the group. Not once had Salem ever asked for their input on such matters. Whatever she willed was carried out with no questions asked. That was how it always been. Salem noticed this, and tried a different approach. Discussion fosters loyalty, or so she heard. Even if their input was completely useless in the end, the idea that Salem gave their opinions the illusion of importance only served her for the better. The rank and file must be appeased for the ruler to prosper.
Watts, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak his mind.
"Personally, I think it was an excellent decision, milady." His arrogant smirk grew beneath his moustache when he felt Emerald's hateful gaze on him. "Honestly, we should have rid ourselves of her ages ago."
"I agree!" Tyrian added eagerly as he rubbed his hands. "She was much too unstable to be of use to you, my queen. Her disobedience could only go on for so long."
Salem looked to Hazel for his input.
"Troublesome as she was, I believe she had her uses. Though I will not dispute your judgement." He said, almost robotically. Clearly he didn't care one way or the other if Cinder lived or died.
Finally, Salem turned her attention to Emerald and Mercury. They were looking away from her, both too afraid to make eye contact with their leader's master.
"If either of you have something to offer, do it now. I will not ask a second time."
"Well…if you ask me…" Mercury shakily began. "I think it was the right move."
Tyrian and Watts were pleasantly surprised by the boy's confession. Emerald on the other hand was shocked.
"Tell me." Salem ordered. "What brought you to this conclusion? It was my belief that you were loyal to Cinder."
"I was only loyal to her because I had nowhere else to go." Mercury confessed. "She didn't want me. She wanted my old man, but when she saw that I killed him she just settled on the next best thing. She always treated me like an idiot or worse, a kid. She was just like my old man. So if you ask me, good riddance."
"Interesting." Salem replied neutrally. She noticed the complicated expression on Emerald's face. It was obvious she had something to say in response. "Speak, girl."
"It's just…" Emerald's words caught in her throat for a moment. She was the only one left who could defend Cinder. "I don't think it's fair for Cinder to be punished after all she's done."
An uncharacteristic laugh erupted from Watts. "Fair? Please tell me you still don't believe in such a naïve concept as 'fairness', girl. Surely you know more than anyone else here that that is just a fool's way of seeing the world."
"Watts." Salem's eyes flashed for a moment, her voice penetrating his ear and sending a tremble down his spine.
He quickly bowed in apology. "Forgive my outburst."
"Continue, Emerald."
"T-Thank you, Ma'am. W-what I was saying was that Cinder…she only did what she thought that's what you would have wanted."
Salem's eyebrow raised. "Oh? How so?"
Emerald could feel the pressure in the woman's stare, but she managed to gather enough courage to continue. "You would always tell her to 'take what she wanted', and she tried to do that. She…she went about it the wrong way, but she was only trying to please you. I don't think she should be punished so harshly for that."
She swallowed audibly, her body breaking into a cold sweat the longer Salem stared at her. When Salem turned around and headed back towards the meeting table, Emerald breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ridiculous." Watts muttered under his breath.
Tyrian chuckled.
Hazel remained silent.
Mercury tried his beat to remain composed, but he was freaking out internally.
Salem sat back in her chair. "According to the information Neo has gleaned, Ozpin and his followers are likely on their way to Atlas with the Relic of Knowledge."
"Why there?" Hazel questioned.
"They plan to give the relic to Ironwood." Watts deduced.
Salem nodded. "Ozpin is nothing if not painfully predictable. He feels Ironwood is the only one he can trust, and believes that by bringing the relic to the most fortified country in the world, that will keep it safe. Hazel."
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"I want you and the children to go to Vacuo. Find the Summer Maiden and retrieve the Relic of Destruction from Shade Academy. I will tell Neo Politan to change plans and go with Cinder to Vale to search for the Relic of Choice."
"As you wish." He bowed. Mercury and Emerald followed suit, a small smile on the latter's face because she had saved her leader.
"Watts. Suspend the search for Natsu for now. I need you and Tyrian to begin travel preparations to Atlas. You are to weaken their defenses and gather any information you can on the Winter Maiden and the Relic of Creation."
Both men bowed.
"It will be done, my Queen!"
"At once, milady."
"W-what are you going to do?" Emerald questioned.
Salem walked over to the window, looking down at the black pools dotting the blood red landscape.
"I'm going to prepare for war."
The snow continued to fall as Ruby's group searched for shelter. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the once pure white snow in an enchanting mix of orange, purple, and blue.
"T-this storm i-isn't letting up!" Dee said through chattering teeth.
It was only thanks to their Auras that the group hadn't frozen to death yet, but even that protection had its limits. If they stayed out past sunset, It wouldn't be long before they succumbed to the elements.
"Is everyone alright?" Pyrrha asked from the front of the line. Her body was completely immune to the fierce weather thanks to her Maiden abilities. It boosted her Aura to unimaginable levels, constantly heating her and protecting her from the elements. Even so, she still held Natsu's scaled scarf closely to her face.
"Just fine." Yang grunted as she pushed Bumblebee further along the covered path. She turned to Maria, who was still sitting on her motorcycle's seat. "I thought this trail was supposed to lead somewhere."
"Most usually do." Retorted the elderly woman. "Clearly we aren't at the of this one yet."
"Or you're at the end of your senility."
"Shh." Ruby shushed the pair. Her ears twitched as everyone stopped walking. "You guys hear that?"
"Is it Grimm?" Oscar asked.
"No. Listen."
Everyone focused their ears, picking up the faint, yet distinct sound of squeaking hinges somewhere in the distance. They walked a bit further ahead, arriving at a large farm in the middle of the forest. The sign above the creaking metal gates read "BRUNSWICK FARMS".
"Is this creepy to anyone else?" Dee questioned, his body still shivering.
"Creepy or not it's our only shelter for now." Ruby explained.
"It looks abandoned." Pyrrha pointed out.
"Only one way to find out." Yang said. She pushed her motorcycle and Maria through the gates, following the others inside the farm grounds.
The wind picked up, closing the gates behind them with a loud clang.
Blake followed Sienna and Ilia to the ship's upper deck. The sun had now set, but the lamps on the ship remained lit in case the crew had to do inspections, or the passengers needed something. They had made it through the rougher waters, so the ride was much calmer than before, but that didnt stop the ship from rocking every so often.
The salty sea air made both Blake and Sienna's noses somewhat sensitive because of their animal traits, but they endured, even if the cooler winds of the night also made them shiver just a bit. Ilia was cold blooded, so the cold didn't really bother her as much. Which was evident in the fact that she still wore her combat outfit even outside.
"What did you want to talk about?" Blake opened the conversation, but she already had a feeling about what they were going to say.
"It's about the boy." Sienna said, confirming Blake's suspicions. "He can't stay here."
"He's frightening the others." Ilia added. "Even more than the Schnee girl."
"I know it's an adjustment, but we're almost to the island." Blake argued. "They just have to endure for a little while longer."
"So you want us to not bring a human to the island filled with our people, but a monster as well?" Sienna pressed.
"He's not a 'monster'." Blake argued. "He's a person, and a friend. We can't just throw him overboard."
"Under what law?"
"We're not throwing him overboard." Blake repeated more firmly this time. "Once we get to Menagerie the doctors can look him over. It'll be fine. I promise Natsu isn't dangerous."
"We don't know that." Ilia pointed out. "All we have is your word, which to be honest hasn't been instilling the others with much confidence lately."
Blake's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what she said." Replied Sienna. "The Haven operation was a failure."
"We saved the school."
"But we didn't capture Adam. In fact, from how I hear it told, you let him escape."
"I didn't-"
"It was bad enough you insisted we bring that Schnee girl along, but now you want this random stranger to come with us as well? What if wakes up and goes on some sort of rampage? From what you've told me, it's not impossible given his past behaviors."
"Natsu's not like that." Blake defended. She tried to remain steadfast, but was slowly losing ground under Sienna's continued badgering. She wasn't completely wrong to question the validity of Blake's words concerning Natsu. If Blake was being honest with herself, not even she knew what would happen if Natsu woke up looking like he did.
Ruby told her that he had been brainwashed by Salem and forced to fight them while they traveled through Mistral. What if that influence was active? It was a very big risk to take.
"The people are starting to feel that you're too involved with these humans." Sienna continued. "Bringing them to the island will only increase that fear. Your Ghira and Kali might ok your decision, but don't expect the rest of us to simply fall in line. Did you forget that humans have been banned from Menagerie since the Faunus Rights Revolution?"
Blake's head dipped further into her shoulders. She felt her small piece of land shrink even further beneath her feet. "N-no. I didn't, but if we're going to make things better for our people we have to be willing to open up communications with humans. There are plenty out there that think like Weiss and Natsu. I've met them. We just have to reach out and build that bridge. Otherwise we'll all end up like Adam."
"That's an admirable stance, but what if that doesn't work? What will you do then?"
Blake paused for a moment. "I…I don't know yet, but I can figure that out later. For now, all we can do is try."
Sienna rolled her eyes. "Ridiculous. Your father said those same words and look how well that turned out for him."
Her words spoken, the former leader of the White Fang left the deck with her arms crossed and irritation in her eyes. Ilia remained behind.
"I said I'll follow you, and I meant that." She said. "So I'll accept your decision for now."
"Thank you."
"Don't. I'm not finished. You're gonna have to make a choice soon: us or them. I don't care if they're your friends. If they put you or any of our people in danger, I won't hesitate to put them down."
Blake could only clench her fists in frustration as Ilia left the upper deck as well.
As her friend thought over her options under the moonlight, a pair of small feet shuffled back to into the cabin hall.
Natsu looked over the new clothes that Salem had prepared for him once he put them on. A black and gold vest that exposed his bare chest and abs. A scarf with the same design wrapped around his waist and draped over bright white trousers. On his feet were sandals that made his toes feel a little cold.
"How does it feel?" Salem asked somewhat eagerly, apparently she had put a lot into this outfit's design. Even though she simply produced it from thin air when asked by Igneel.
"It's ok." Natsu replied somewhat flat. It was a nice outfit, but he felt a bit underdressed if he was being honest. "It'll get the job done."
"Natsu, where's your scarf?" Igneel asked.
"My scarf?" Natsu reached to his neck and felt around his throat. Sure enough there was no scaled scarf to be found. "I guess I lost it somewhere."
"You lost it?!" Yelled the dragon.
"You're too loud!" chided Salem.
"What's the big deal?" Natsu questioned as he cleaned out his ringing ears with his pinky. "It's just a scarf. I can get another one."
"Just a…" Igneel nearly fainted from Natsu's flippant words. "Listen, boy, that scarf is the last thing Anna made for you before sending you through the Eclipse Gate. It is extremely important."
Natsu was still not convinced. He had no idea who "Anna" even was. He guessed she was some sort of clothes maker or something. While it was true that he had the scarf since he was a kid, he never thought much of it. To him it was just a piece of clothing. Something easily replaceable; but if this massive dragon made such a big deal about him losing it, maybe there was something important about it after all.
"The significance of it will make much more sense once your memories return."
"Are you ready?" Salem asked.
"Yeah." Natsu nodded. "Let's do this."
With a complex wave of her hands, Salem opened a portal in the peaceful field. The initial wind nearly knocked Natsu off of his feet, but he managed to stand his ground and face it. His eyes met the darkness before him, not a speck of light could be seen from the other side. It was like staring inside a literal abyss.
"This doorway will lead you to Fafnir's plain." Salem explained. "Once you defeat him, you will absorb his essence, and then should have enough power to battle END. After you defeat both of them, you will regain your memories, your magic, and most importantly control of your body."
"Got it."
"This will be no easy task." Igneel warned. "You are already at a great disadvantage since you don't possess most of your dragon slayer magic. If you are defeated, your consciousness will fade, and you will never be able to return to your body or your friends again. Do you understand?"
"Yeah. I just gotta win right?" he smiled wide. "Shouldn't be that hard."
Suddenly, Salem hugged Natsu tight. She stroked the back of his head lovingly, similar to how a mother would their own child. Natsu tensed up at first, but slowly he relaxed in Salem's embrace as she spoke to him.
"I'm so sorry that you were dragged into this world's mess. It was not fair to you or to Igneel. Please forgive me for all the trouble I and my other half have caused you."
"It's not your fault." Natsu assured. "You got screwed over by those God guys. Don't worry, I'll find them and kick their ass for you when I'm outta here."
Salem let him go and sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye. "Thank you. I look forward to it."
"I promise to save your other half too." He declared, looking much more serious than before.
Salem nodded. "I believe in you."
"Now go and take back what's yours!" Igneel roared.
"Yeah!"
With a triumphant shout, Natsu jumped into the portal, not even looking as it closed behind him. In an instant he landed in the middle of wasteland covered in magma and rock. Even if this was something his mind had conjured up, the waves of heat radiating from the lava flowing around him felt very real.
"I've been waiting for you."
Natsu heard a voice and looked to a pile of rocks placed not far from where he landed. Sitting on them was a young man who looked identical to him, save for the mask over his face. He hopped off the rock and started to stretch as Natsu prepared for battle.
"No small talk? Good. That crap bores me." He motioned him to come closer. "Let's get this party started."
New Chapter! Things got kind of crazy since I last uploaded, right? I hope everyone is staying safe during this uncertain time in the world and I hope this chapter brings at least a LITTLE bit of joy to your day.
We're dealing with the aftermath of Salem and Ozpin's origins coming to light and how they affect the people involved. I tried to make things a bit more emotional than canon, but honestly I didnt really have to add much since the first half of V6 handled most things fairly well. Also wanted to give Salem's forces something to do other than sit around, so thats why I went with the divide and conquer approach.
Everyone is getting where they need to go: Ruby's group has reached the Brunswick Farm, Blake's crew is almost to Menagerie, and Natsu is finally on the road to reclaiming his body. As for Cinder, I think you all will be surprised by what I end up doing with her this volume.
As always, leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Stay safe! Stay healthy! And thanks for reading! :)
