Disclaimer: RWBY and Hollow Knight do not belong to me. They belong to RoosterTeeth and Team Cherry respectively.
Chapter 11: The Kin
Is it change you seek…
Bodies were common in the ashen grave that lay beyond the edge of Hallownest. Most rained down from the Coliseum high above, shattering against the ground or sinking into the lakes of acid. But a few drained in from the waterways of the kingdom, flushed away with the kingdom's waste. Even in a dream, this was true.
A small black shape flitted around desperately over one of the canals that drained into the acidic rivers. It flitted over a body dressed in scarlet and black, golden hair pooling around their head. Despite its desperate mewling the body did not stir from its slumber. The end of the canal grew closer, as did the sound of the bubbling and hissing of the great acid lakes below.
Just moments before the body was swept over the falls, a dread chime rang out across the canal. Red glyphs sparkled over the body and lilac eyes snapped open.
Yang managed to snag the edge of the canal just as she fell. For an arm wrenching moment she hung there, cold waters roaring past her and her fingers desperately pressing into metal. Sheer aura and the remains of the strength she had stored from the Sanctum master's blows fueled her. It wouldn't last her long.
Just as her fingers gave out, a slender black carapaced hand shot out and grabbed her.
"Argh! How much does this thing weigh!?"
"Do not falter! Quick, pull her up!"
"Don't tell me what to do woman!"
"Want that I should push you off?"
"Ngg!"
"Then pull!"
Yang's saviors pulled, nearly wrenching her arm out of its socket. But they managed to pull her onto the stone platform nestled into the sheer cliff side. Yang lay there for a moment, propped on her elbows. She heaved, fingers aching as someone had taken a hammer to them.
Yang startled as a fever hot body landed on her neck and pressed against her face. It wasn't till she heard the desperate mewling that she realized who it was. Grimm's child mewled, wriggling into the damp curtain of her hair and wrapping around her neck. Despite everything, Yang couldn't help chuckling.
"Worried about me bud?" she rasped, brushing away some hair to scratch the child. Grimm hadn't given her a name for them, so she'd probably have to come up with one or something.
"Eagh, what is that thing?" a nasally voice asked.
Yang looked up to meet the white eyes of a bug she'd never seen before. They were thin, like a beanpole. Nothing of their face could be seen but their eyes, hidden in the depths of a large blue-green hood. They wore heavy looking metal armor, with exaggerated shoulder pads. In their left hand was a large shield that looked to be made from a bug's shell.
If she could've seen the bug's nose, she'd bet it would've been scrunched.
"What a wretched looking thing that is."
Yang had only known the child for perhaps an hour. But it had been a long hour, the child had grown on her, and in any case she didn't appreciate the bug's tone.
She got up to her feet, carefully so as to avoid stumbling. To her displeasure, the bug was nearly as tall as her. Nonetheless she planted her fists on her hips and gave the bug a look.
"You got a problem, pal?"
"Feh! Are you trying to be intimidating? Strong words for someone half drowned."
If this kept up, part of Yang noted with grim amusement as she felt her aura crackle and heat up, she wouldn't need to worry about being sopping wet. Before she could snap at the bug, the large bug from before that had landed the devastating blow on the Sanctum's master walked past Yang and batted the other bug over the head.
"Ouch!"
"Cease you rudeness," the other bug scolded, before turning towards Yang. "Are you alright, miss?" she asked.
"I..." felt like shit.
She and the Hollow Knight had to fight through waves of Sanctum scholars, Mistakes, and one prolonged battle with a rapier wielding warrior that had almost disemboweled her. After all of that, they had ended up on the roof of the Sanctum; rain pouring around them, cavern ceiling above them. That had been when the Sanctum master had appeared in a thunderclap of light. The lunatic had raved about 'the king' and 'immortality' before doing his damned best to turn them into paste. It had taken the Hollow Knight launching her at the bug's face to finally take him down. And even that hadn't worked.
"I'm fine," she said at last. The slender bug made a disbelieving sound, grunting as the fatter bug elbowed him.
"Good. We had a close call there. My name is Cloth. What is yours?"
"Yang Xiao Long."
"Do all your people have such ostentatious names?" the slender bug scoffed.
"Tiso," Cloth rumbled a warning. Tiso grumbled but said nothing else. That's when Yang finally noticed the distinct lack of anyone else.
"Wh-Where are the others?" she demanded, exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
No one answered her immediately, and Yang took a step towards Cloth and Tiso.
"Where are they?!"
"We're not sure," Cloth said sadly as Tiso grunted, looking away.
"B-But we'll find them! Don't worry, I wont rest till I see them safe and sound," Cloth insisted, stepping towards Yang and patting her back. Yang stumbled, but she couldn't help but relax just a fraction at Cloth's reassuring.
"Feh. If we are truly to find these friends of yours, then we should not delay."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Yang asked Tiso. Tiso gave her a look that rankled her.
"You look ready to collapse, soft, squishy thing," Tiso scoffed.
Yang blinked at the bug. Of all the things she'd been called in her life, soft and squishy weren't on that list. Similar words, but not quite the same, and the people who had used them never used them more than once. With that in mind, Yang stepped forward and slammed her fist over Tiso's head.
"Oh dear," Cloth said as Tiso fell to the ground with a strangled scream, clutching his head. Yang, fist twinging a bit, reached down towards his hood and yanking.
"Listen here," she said sweetly, "Tonight was supposed to be a fun little night at a ball. I am not in the mood. Now, you'll call me by my name. If you can't manage that, then 'sir' will be more than good enough. Got it?" she growled, eyes flashing red.
"Get off of me, you crazy-" Tiso yowled.
"Understand?" she demanded, shaking him like a kitten.
"...I understand," Tiso grunted.
"Understand what?"
"I understand, Yang Xiao Long!" Tiso snapped.
Yang let the bug go and smiled at him.
"See? Now we're friends."
Tiso's muttering only grew darker as Cloth laughed.
"Haha! You've got spunk, Yang!"
"Thanks," she said, smile turning genuine. The child mewed happily and Yang's attention turned towards the waterfall she'd almost fell from. Clear waters bubbled over the dark metal of the canal. It was clear that it was artificial. You didn't often find metal in the shape of half-pipes embedded among black stone in nature. Even without that little clue, the same symbol she'd seen in the Sanctum was engraved at the bottom of the canal, distorted but still recognizable. Yang walked towards the waterfall itself, and thus caught sight of the world outside the cave.
There was light. Not light like the outside world, but like Greenpath. Plenty of light to illuminate the massive cavern. Massive was perhaps too small a word to use. The cavern was roughly conical in shape, so large that Yang couldn't make out details on the other sides of the chamber. A forest of black stone pillars jutted from the base of the chambers, all of various heights. The base of the chamber itself was…
Yang had once seen a picture on a postcard. It was advertising some scenic thing in Anima, near Mistral. A bunch of mountain hot springs. Yang remembered memorizing the location on the postcard and adding it to the map she kept in her room. A list of places she'd visit as soon as she became a huntress. From a distance the bottom of the cavern looked like that same idyllic locale. The cavern base was also composed various pillars of varying heights. Large lakes of steaming liquid stood where the majority of pillars were the same height. There were hundreds of little waterfalls, draining into smaller ponds which drained into even more waterfalls. It was beautiful.
It was also acid. If the colour of the liquid, oh so resembling Greenpath's own pools of acid, hadn't tipped her off then the smell certainly did. A sharp, irritating smell that had no other discernible qualities. As Yang looked down at the lakes of acid with something approaching disbelief, a body fell past her head and splashed down into a puddle. She watched as the broken body of a bug dressed in armor sank into the depths, dissolving as it did.
"What the fuck was that," she demanded after a moment, turning towards Tiso and Cloth. Behind her was another splash.
"That'd be the Fools," Cloth said.
"Is that supposed to mean anything? I mean, I guess it's pretty dumb to fall into a pool of acid-"
"That's not what she's talking about – Yang," Tiso hastily added at the look Yang gave him. He walked up to the ledge and stared up into the cavern.
"High up above us, at the top of this chasm, is a coliseum. Warriors of great skill come far and wide to test their skills against each other in that den of Fools. It is a home of brutal combat, and the source of the bodies that end up calling this ashen cavern a grave. Those that lose their lives within the Coliseum are dumped into the chasm, like refuse. Fitting, in a way," Tiso said bitterly.
Yang followed his gaze, watching the snow fall from the 'sky'. The two of them stood in silence for a moment. Distant splashes rang out, no doubt more bodies from this coliseum. Finally Tiso scoffed, turning away.
"If we're going to find these friends of yours, we better set off now. Can you handle it?"
"Easily," Yang countered, before turning back to the snowy landscape before her.
"Hang on Weiss..."
Is it change you seek...
It wasn't snow.
Weiss knew snow all too well. And not just because she was an Atlas girl. Schnee. Atlasian for snow. It was said that the family founder, who's name was lost to time, had been born in the Atlasian wastes in the dead of the blizzard. And that it had been those circumstances that had protected them from the Grimm and dyed their hair white. So it was said, anyway. In any case, snow had been part of her family since the beginning, down to their very glyphs. And Atlas, perpetually blanketed in glittering white snow, had provided plenty of educational opportunities for a small girl who hadn't yet had the future of the company pressed onto her shoulders.
That time seemed like ages ago.
When she had first woke up, the ceiling of a tattered tent above her and the wind howling; as unconsciousness still clouded her mind she thought that the shining white particles falling into the tent from the large tears in the canvas were snow. It wasn't till the Hollow Knight and their miniature loomed over her that the contents of the night rushed into recollection and Weiss noticed how wrong the snow's shimmer was.
Weiss sat up, head almost slamming into the Knight's, who jerked back. The winds outside howled, shaking the tent around them, and Weiss hadn't imagined that Hallownest had such wind. They were in a cave, weren't they?
The Hollow Knight and the little knight glanced at each other as Weiss rushed towards one of the many openings in the tent, peaking outside.
They were still in a cave. It was a massive cave though. The ceiling was crowded with stalactites but the cavern walls were lost to the gloom. Strange white plants without leaves grew from sheer black stone. The wind whistled, carrying flakes of shimmering white. Weiss looked down at the 'snow' covering the stone beneath her. Grabbing a handful of it, she found another clue to its nature. The cold did not bite at her fingers. The flakes were the temperature of their surroundings. They didn't melt in her hand. They felt strange.
Weiss fished around her pockets with her free hand, pulling out one of the empty dust vials. Scooping up the strange 'snow', Weiss firmly corked the bottle. She'd have to look at it more closely, when she got home…
Weiss abruptly remembered where she was and turned around. The Hollow Knight and her newest summon stared at her. Weiss felt her ears turn hot and cleared her throat.
"Ah...Wh-Where are we?" she asked, sliding the notepad forward. The little knight watched as the Hollow Knight wrote in the pad, tilting their head at the Valish script.
'THE KINGDOM'S EDGE'
"The edge of the Kingdom? How in the world did we get here from the capital?"
Both knights stared at her blankly. Weiss sighed.
"Well, whatever the way..." It was then that she noticed a distinct lack of gold. And, part of her thought, she must've been real out of it not to notice Yang's absence.
"Where's Yang?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level. Judging by the way the Hollow Knight began to reach towards her before stopping, and the way the little knight stepped forward to stand next to her, she hadn't succeeded. Weiss hugged herself and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths till her heart stopped echoing in her throat.
"Alright..." she exhaled and opened her eyes, "Okay...We have to go find her. Her and Cloth." Weiss stood up, the top of her head almost brushing against the tent sides. Absently she reached out to brush a hand against the canvas, and found that while the material looked similar it was more like cloth than anything else.
"Let's go."
Weiss was about to walk out of the tent when the little knight grabbed her dress. She looked down at them in time to see the Hollow Knight tense, reaching towards their miniature.
"It's fine," she insisted quickly. The Hollow Knight looked at her before pulling back. The little knight stared at the Hollow Knight, before tugging on her dress once more and pointing towards a wooden plank on the ground. Weiss leaned in closer and the little knight pushed away the plank to reveal a hole in the ground. A faint breeze emanated from the opening.
"You want to go this way?"
The little knight nodded. Weiss turned towards the Hollow Knight.
"Is that alright?"
The Hollow Knight stared out into the distance for a moment before nodding. Weiss frowned. They seemed...distracted. And while Weiss could hardly blame them, considering the events of the night, the Hollow Knight hadn't even been distracted in Deepnest. What could possibly cause them to become so now?
Is it change you seek…
The acid lakes weren't any better up close.
To get to the other side of chasm, where Tiso insisted was a safer way to traverse the 'Kingdom's Edge', required playing an upsized high stakes version of hop-scotch – jumping from pillar to pillar of black stone while greenish acid bubbled violently under you, fumes as bad as freshly cut onions. Yang had to sacrifice more of her dress just to make the worst face mask ever. At least Grimm had already ruined the damn thing.
Right away a problem became apparent. Where Cloth and even Tiso were happily able to jump high in the air, climbing up in those rare moment they couldn't make a jump, Yang did not have the freakish ability to jump several stories or climb sheer stone. Not without Weiss helping, anyway.
Thankfully they had managed to come up with an idea.
"Ngg!"
"You better not drop me," Yang warned Tiso as she balanced on his shield like a surfer. Tiso clicked in a tone that indicated cussing, and Yang would've aimed a kick at his face if it wasn't for the fact that it'd probably send them both plummeting into the acid. Also Cloth, who was holding Tiso up, and that wasn't fair to her.
"You better be keeping your eyes all polite like."
"What does that mean?!"
"Are you two ready?" Cloth asked.
"No!"
"Yes! Launch us!"
With a cry Cloth sent Tiso flying into the air, and by consequence Yang. Before she could loose her balance she leapt, flying through the air. She felt like she was hanging around motionless for a moment, before gravity made itself known and she fell. Sending a silent thanks to Headmaster Ozpin and his 'landing strategies', Yang landed right in the middle of the towering pillar that had been an obstacle but a moment ago.
"Yes! It worked!" Yang cheered. The child sitting atop her shoulders chirruped happily, and Yang took a moment to admire her surroundings. If you removed the fact that this night had been filled with nothing but mortal peril, this was the sort of hike that Yang lived for. Alien as it might've been.
Yang looked up towards the 'sky', observing the frankly massive flies that hung over them. When she'd first seen them, she'd thought they were hot air balloons or something. They were in fact large flies, with bloated black bodies, small white faces, and even tinnier petal shaped wings. Seriously, the wings were about the size of Yang's hands. They clearly couldn't keep such a massive creature airborne, and it didn't look like they were seeing as how the wings were barely beating.
It was strange, she mused. She was by no means a fan of flies. Quite the opposite really. A fly the size of a car should've freaked her out. But these – booflies, Cloth had called them – looked different enough that they didn't immediately trigger disgust. The way they were just bumbling about, placid as cows, helped too.
"Gah," Yang turned her attention from the booflies in time to see Tiso climb his way onto the pillar. He was sending her a truly scathing look, and she gave him a grin and a wave. Her smile turned more genuine as Cloth landed next to her, the stone under her feet shaking a bit as she did.
"Watch it!" Tiso snapped.
"Sorry," Cloth said sheepishly.
"How much further to this path you were talking about?" Yang asked.
"It is over there," Tiso motioned irritably. They were about halfway across the lakes, and it took Yang a moment to spot what he was pointing towards. A cave carved in the chasm wall, right at the shore of one of the lakes.
"Bit of a ways away," she said.
"Tired already?"
"Nope," Yang said, with a bit of forced cheer. She'd be damned before she let him see her keel over.
"It doesn't look like there are many other tall pillars in the way," Cloth, ever the mediator, pointed out, "We should be able to make it there without issue!"
Cloth had scarcely finished speaking when several shapes darted up into their view. They were bugs, unlike any Remnant bug she'd ever seen before. Right away she noticed their bulbous red-orange abdomens, bright compared to their grey bodies and white faces. The faces themselves reminded Yang of pictures she'd seen of old Valish plague doctors – birdlike despite their two pairs of eyes and small horns. Three pairs of wings, small compared to their bodies, beat effortlessly, propelling the bugs across the air faster than she would've thought possible.
Right away as her companions saw them, they tensed up as if they'd seen an Ursa. Tiso holding his shield at the ready and Cloth nervously clutching her club.
"Primal Aspids!" Tiso bit out.
"Oh, this isn't good..." Cloth murmured.
"What's wron-?" Yang began. It was then that the Aspids, hovering in the air, screeched and spit out globs of searing liquid at them. Each one hocked up three globs, nine of them hurtling towards them. Glowing orange balls the size of her head arced towards her with deadly accuracy and Yang stumbled back. Tiso appeared before her, saving her from one that had come this close to nailing her in the head. A good thing too. Those globs that had landed on the ground sizzled, eating away at the stone.
"Damn nuisances!" Tiso buzzed, shaking his shield free of the corrosive liquid, "Neither of you would happen to have any projectiles, would you?"
"I'm afraid not," Cloth apologized.
"Not with me," Yang said, watching as the Aspids circled around them. Well out of reach of any physical attack.
"Just fantastic!" Tiso threw his arms up.
"It's not like you can do anything," Yang snapped.
"That's where you're wrong," Tiso said, unlatching the shield from his arm. Holding it like a discus, he watched the Aspids carefully. Yang, looking around, managed to find a decent sized rock. Just as one of the Aspids was about to spew once more, Tiso tossed his shield. The deadly discuss sliced through the air, cutting the Aspid and bouncing back towards Tiso. Who fumbled the catch, almost dropping his weapon into the pit.
Just as another enraged Aspid was about to spit at his head, Yang lobbed the rock, pushing just a bit of her aura into the pitch. The missile whistled and struck true, popping the Aspid's abdomen and sending it plummeting to the lakes below. The last Aspid hovered away as Yang picked up another stray stone, and Tiso clicked.
"Out of my range! This is why I hate these things..." he grumbled.
"Can it still hit us?" Cloth asked.
The answer became apparent as she stumbled out of the way of a searing glob, almost walking into the Aspid's other projectile had Tiso not shoved past Yang to block it. Yang chucked the rock, missing by several feet as the Aspid flew further back. And there were no other stones in sight.
Just as the Primal Aspid began glowing again, no doubt preparing for its next deadly accurate blow, a piercing cry echoed. A blur rocketed towards the Aspid from the pillar of stone below it, slamming into it. The ensuing weapons grade explosion sent Yang whirling towards Tiso. Grimm's child, woken by the explosion if not the fight, chirruped.
"What. The fuck."
"Belfly," he said, trying to shake the Aspid's liquid from his shield.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"They're these small critters, highly territorial. They're bodies are filled with a sort of explosive that they use to destroy trespassers," Cloth at least sounded properly nervous about living, flying bombs, "I wasn't aware that they lived out here."
"They're are a lot of them, but they mainly live near the roof of the cave. So we should be fine," Tiso said.
"And if there turns out to be a few more of them down here?" Yang demanded. The child curled around her neck tighter at her tone.
"Well then we either dodge or die, what do you want me to tell you!?" Tiso snapped.
"Perhaps we should make our way to this path of yours hastily," Cloth interrupted, meek. Tiso and Yang whirled towards the larger bug, before they both turned away.
"Of course. We're wasting time right now anyway," Tiso sniffed.
"I don't want to have to deal with anymore of these Aspids or Belfies. Not over pools of acid anyway. Come on, let's hurry."
Hopefully wherever she was, Weiss wasn't in nearly as much danger…
Is it change you seek...
The wind grew stronger the further they went into the caves. Weiss couldn't wrap her head around this, as the further they went the smaller the cavern became. For her life, she couldn't figure out the source of the wind. She could only be thankful that it wasn't a biting wind. The dress she wore had been designed for an early fall in Vale.
Even the wind wasn't the strangest part of her surroundings. The edge of the kingdom proved to be the strangest local of Hallownest. For a start, it was bright. So bright! As bright as an overcast evening, which was practically dazzling after the gloom of the City of Tears and the darkness of Hallownest's other caves. Stranger still, much like the wind, Weiss couldn't pin the source of the light. It seemed all pervasive. Omnipresent. It was sort of driving her mad.
The wind carried the shimmering not-snow, depositing it as a blanket over the ground. This was despite the fact that the cavern ceiling was so low that the Hollow Knight could've reached up and plucked one of the tar black stalactites that crowded the ceiling. As far as Weiss could tell, the source of the not-snow was the same as the source of the wind, but that didn't make any sense.
Weiss resisted the urge to kick one of the many stalagmites that popped out from the cavern floor, as dense as blackberry brambles. They had elected to travel horizontally rather than vertically, though that had been an immediate option once they had left the tent. The little knight had lead them past a hole that would've taken them further down, walking against the wind. Weiss noted that it seemed like they knew where they were going. At least, more so than Weiss or the Hollow Knight.
Weiss glanced back at the Hollow Knight. Her tall companion had not faltered in their footsteps even once, but they seemed lost. They kept looking around their surroundings, looking back every so often.
"Hollow Knight?" she asked.
The Hollow Knight met her gaze and tilted their head.
"Are you okay?" she asked. She frowned further as the Hollow Knight nodded. She was certain that they were hiding something from her. The trick would be to get them to actually admit it.
Weiss startled as the Hollow Knight suddenly walked past her, long legs quickly outpacing the little knight. Soon they had to ran to try and catch up with them, till just as sudden the Hollow Knight stopped. They were staring at a metal pole, about as tall as they were. More important however was what stood atop the metal pole.
"That's the symbol. From the Sanctum," Weiss muttered. Near identical. So busy she was, staring at this symbol that seemed to be appearing everywhere, that her heart stuttered when the Hollow Knight swung their arm, ripping the pole from the rock.
"Hey!"
The Knight swung the pole, now an impromptu weapon, several times before turning towards her. Weiss felt the beginnings of a headache. The howling wind around her wasn't helping matters.
"Warn me next time..." she growled, halfhearted. Hollow Knight nodded, and the little knight, who'd been observing them silently, turned back and continued forward.
"I don't suppose you'd tell me where we're going?" Weiss asked. As she expected, silence. "Don't know why I even bothered," she mumbled.
The wind suddenly picked up fiercely, sending clouds of not-snow into the air. Weiss screwed her eyes shut and turned away, holding her arms out as if it would shield her. The world around her seemed to howl, a mournful keening sound that caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise.
Opening her eyes slightly and wiping away the not snow plastered to her face, the sight revealed made her heart flip. Scant feet away from her toes was an open drop in a large pit. The wind, still howling, erupted from the pit like water from a geyser, buffeting them. The Hollow Knight stood behind her, hunched against the wind. The little knight was at the very edge of the pit.
"What?!" Weiss began, yelling to be heard over the gale. The little knight turned towards her, before looking back down in the pit. Then back towards her, and again into the pit. This continued several times before Weiss realized what they were asking.
"You want us to go down?" she cried out.
In answer, the little knight jumped down.
Weiss rushed towards the edge, barely avoiding slipping as the wind pushed against her by the Hollow Knight. As the Hollow Knight held onto her shoulder, Weiss got a peak at the pit. There were several ledges leading down to the base. The little knight stood on one of them looking up. The not-snow danced and sparkled as it was buoyed up out of the pit and around her.
"...C'mon!"
The Hollow Knight startled as Weiss leapt. She landed on a glyph, and then another and another as she made her way down to the bottom. As she descended the little knight fell besides her, using their ephemeral wings to slow their descent just before they hit the ground. Just as Weiss was several feet above the ground, a dark comet plummeted past her and the Hollow Knight slammed into the stone. Landing as daintily as she could with the treacherous gales, Weiss gave the little knight a look. The little knight was unaffected, tugging on her dress and pointing down the cave from where the winds blew.
"This better be something important," Weiss muttered waspishly.
Pushing their way through the gale, through the dark of the cave, the three of them entered a chamber illuminated by that same ephemeral light that had filled the previous cavern. Yet the light was brighter than before. The wind surged, filling the air with that strange snow, before abating just as quickly. Standing before them was a familiar face.
"We meet again," a pink cloak swished as Hornet turned to face them, "My birthcursed siblings."
The diffused light caused Hornet's mask to shine with a stark light that Weiss felt familiar, though she could hardly put a memory to it. Next to her, the Hollow Knight tensed, improvised weapon in hand. The little knight, on the other hand, just stared at Hornet. Not a single move to unsheath their nail. Weiss bit back fear at seeing the formidable warrior while unarmed. Hornet had yet to show hostility.
"So you have decided to root further into this dying kingdom," Hornet said, voice as severe as ever. "Are you truly so desperate to know, Weiss Schnee?"
"How do you know my name?" Weiss began, her growing annoyance stuttering in surprise.
"It is polite to answer before receiving an answer in turn," Hornet said. Weiss felt a vein throb in her head. For a second, she was thrown back to being a small child under the 'tender' care of governesses who would day after day iron into her Etiquette and Manners. It was a testament to Beacon's fine education, Weiss felt, that rather than making a fool of herself she held out her hands and let glyphs spin into being above her palms. It was a bluff, at best. She had no dust to turn them into anything but obstacles, at best. But Hornet didn't know that.
"I cannot help but think back to how you behaved at our last meeting, Hornet," Weiss said primly, "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
The Hollow Knight and their little counterpart stared at the two of them. Hornet was nigh impossible to read, for reasons obvious, but Weiss could swear that the bug had tensed at her words.
"Hah! The Pale Court would've loved you," Hornet said, every word dripping with scorn. "Yet I have to wonder, do you have the strength that those pompous fools lacked? Does steel hide beneath the silk?"
"You have come to the edge of this dying Kingdom," Hornet continued after Weiss said nothing. "The ashen grave where it all began. I applaud you for your determination to seek the truth. But do you have the will to see it through? Oh Hollow Knight, are you willing to let your new master see the truth of Hallownest? Do you have the resolve?"
The Hollow Knight faltered for only a moment. Then they whirled the makeshift weapon they had created, grey metal gleaming as they leveled it at their sibling. Weiss was so busy keeping an eye on the Hollow Knight, making sure they were alright, that she almost missed how the little knight was staring at Hornet. They had yet to unsheath their own nail.
The lethal hiss of spooling silk and the deadly swish of Hornet's weapon were almost lost to the wind.
"Prove it. Your resolve, your will, your strength. Prove that you are able. I will not hold back this time. Should my nail run your through, I will not weep. Tears are wasted on the weak," Hornet crouched down, her mantle flourishing around her.
Weiss's eyes snapped onto the several badges pinned to the dark pink cloth. As if from far away, she remembered Ren's description the 'charm' that he had found and what it did. The charms on Hornet's breast were too small and far to be seen properly. One was bright gold, the other a ruddy red, one burnished bronze, and yet another stark white. As if the charms were waiting to be noticed, they twinkled. Hornet slashed the air with her weapon, Weiss noticed how the stone ground was scored despite the weapon's edge being far away. This observation screeched to a halt as, seemingly from the very air itself light condensed into glowing strands of silk, writhing in the air before tangling and becoming three tiny things that looked like spiders and looked like they belonged in the Deepnest.
"H'egale!"
Is is change you seek…?
The Gendered Child rushed forward, needle ready, intent on skewering the Lady Weiss Schnee. Just as the Lady twirled away, it charged towards Hornet, swinging the makeshift weapon it held at her head.
Hornet leapt over its blow, jabbing at it. Despite the edge of her needle being far from its being, it felt the sting of a blow and heard the rip of thread.
Something liked annoyance mixed in with wariness as the Hollow Knight swung again, forcing Hornet to retreat further. The leader of Team Coffee had spent quite some time on the outfit it wore right now. It would have to be careful – when Hornet had gotten the Mantis Lords' Mark of Pride, it did not know.
The other charms were cause for alarm as well. Hiveblood had been gifted to the Hornet of old long ago, but Fury of the Fallen was yet another new charm. And though it did not know the last charm by name, it recognized the work of the Deepnest. So the Gendered Child finally accepted all three of her lineages?
The Hollow Knight whirled the broken signpost it held, trying to mimic the staff play of Lady Isma. Hornet jumped back several times, drawing her needle back and throwing it in one swift move. The Knight moved a step to the side, the needle flying inches away from its mask. As such, it was wholly unprepared for the Deepling that stuck to the thread and jumped towards it.
The Knight reeled back as the Deepling clawed at its mask, trying to sink its legs into the eyeholes. It heard Lady Weiss shriek and rush of wind as Hornet pulled her needle back towards her, and the Knight dropped its weapon to grab the Deepling.
Rather than carapce, the Knight's claws closed against woven thread, warm and squishy, the thrum of soul pulsing underneath it. Ripping the fake Deepling free, it threw it to the ground, crushing it under its feet before whirling around.
The other two Deeplings were corralling the failed vessel, keeping it away from Lady Weiss. Hornet advanced on the Lady Weiss, who was pressed against the cavern wall. Her glyphs spun in the palms of her hands, but the Knight recognized the empty threat in the gesture. In Hornet's claws, thread unspooled lazily. Not stopping to grab the makeshift staff the Hollow Knight rushed towards its half sibling. Soul flowed through its arm, crystallizing in between its fingers.
Without looking back Hornet leapt over the Hollow Knight, landing on its back. It watched Lady Weiss's face morph into an expression of shock seconds before silk wrapped around its horns and its head was tugged back. The Shining Daggers in its hands blinked out of existence as Hornet tugged on its head, trying to drive the Knight into submission. The Knight bucked wildly to and fro, trying to throw off the Gendered Child.
Pain radiated through its chest as Hornet plunged her needle through its back, and the Hollow Knight heard Lady Weiss scream. The needle was pulled out and plunged in again. Hornet had become far more vicious in the intervening years, it would seem. The Hollow Knight focused on the emptiness that sat forever in its being, teleporting away. As it clutched its chest, white ichor seeping through its claws, it watched Hornet land on her feet, flicking her needle free from the Knight's blood.
"You disappoint me, my birth-cursed sibling," Hornet tsked, "What happened to that strength of yours? Has the Plague truly brought you so low?"
The Knight did not answer, instead focusing its Soul. Hornet swung her needle, scoffing.
"No matter. I will put you out of your misery, and we will both finally be-"
A glyph formed underneath Hornet. Seconds later she went flying into the air. By either chance or Lady Weiss's will, Hornet had been catapulted over the Knight, just as its had focused its Soul completely. Soul flew out of the Knight in an explosion, washing away its wounds and pain. Tendrils of white light coalesced in the air, forming runes and exploding in turn. In the cacophony Hornet's grunts of pain were almost lost, and the Knight picked up its staff as Hornet fell onto her face.
Its half-sibling scrambled up to her legs, her posture furious as she glared at Lady Weiss. Lady Weiss glared back, breathing heavily.
"Shaw!" Hornet cried out, rushing to skewer her. The Knight intercepted Hornet, swinging the metal pole at her head. Hornet ducked, jabbing at the Knight's legs and trying to force it to its knees. The Knight ignored the pain, swinging the pole once more. Hornet leapt back, just in time as the pole gouged through the cavern floor. The Knight cursed silently as the pole snapped and Hornet laughed.
"What happened to your nail, sibling!" she taunted, throwing her nail at its head. The Knight stepped to the side, tossing away the broken pole, the edge of the needle scrapping against its mask. Before Hornet could reel in her weapon the Knight grabbed the silken line. Ignoring how it sliced into its shell the Knight twisted its hand for better purchase and pulled. Hornet flew towards it even as she braced herself and the Knight let go, forming a Shining Dagger and aiming for her eyes.
The white missile torn through Hornet's mantle as she double jumped, narrowly avoiding the dagger. Cartwheeling over the Knight Hornet skid across the ground, scrambling for her needle and running as another Shining Dagger plunged into the ground where she had been but a second ago. Hornet ran around the Knight as it throw Dagger after Dagger at her. Twirling out of the way of another missile Hornet launched her needle at the ceiling, flying into the air after it as it anchored into the ceiling. The Knight looked up in time to see Hornet, hanging from a thread by her legs, reach into her mantle and toss several bundles down at it.
The Knight watched warily as the bundles of pink cloth littered the cavern. It heard the twang of snapping thread in time to look up and see Hornet lunging towards him in a manner painfully reminiscent of her namesake. The Knight took a step back, narrowly avoiding a skewering, and took another step back as Hornet swung at it. Hornet thrust the needle, slicing its side open and in retaliation the Knight swiped at her face. As Hornet twirled away, another glyph formed underneath her and she stumbled to the side to avoid being launched again. The Knight took a step back, curling the Soul in its claws into several Daggers as it did so, when its leg exploded. Soul sloughed through its claws in its pain and the Knight fell to its knees.
"Ha!" Hornet laughed, then cursing as another glyph formed behind her and sent her flying.
"Hollow Knight!"
The Knight turned its head around the see Lady Weiss running towards it, taking care to give one of Hornet's bundles a wide berth. The reason was clear when the Knight looked at its leg. One of its sister's bundles clung to the back of the leg like a burr, had burrs been made of twisted blades and hooks.
"Hold still!" Lady Weiss shrieked as the Knight tried to twist around to remove the burr. Ill fortune that the afflicted leg was the left one. Lady Weiss stared at trap, hands trembling over them as she searched for a way to remove it.
"How low an end to the mighty Hollow Knight."
Hornet walked towards them, slightly ruffled and favoring her right leg but otherwise unharmed. Lady Weiss snapped towards her, hands clenched into fists.
"You-!" Lady Weiss hissed.
"Lost for words, pale one?" Hornet did not stop as she flourished her weapon, "In a moment, you will never have need for words ever again."
"Not if I silent you first!" Lady Weiss seethed, bringing her hands out. The glyphs that turned in them spun jerkily and the Knight saw how her legs shook.
"Look at you," Hornet scoffed, "Your eyes are glazed with pain, and your flesh pallid. I hadn't thought that possible. You have but enough Soul left for one last measly spell. Save your strength, so that your end might be dignified."
"If you expect me to lay down and die, you're more deluded than I thought you were," Lady Weiss bit out. Hornet stared at her before nodded.
"Good. Die as a warrior!" Hornet lunged. Weiss threw out her hands, launching her spell as she fell to her knees. For a second, its had seemed like Lady Weiss had failed, and the Hollow Knight formed a Shining Dagger, swinging it to cut out the burr. Time seemed to turn slow, maddeningly so. Hornet would reach them before its would be free-
A black blur slammed into Hornet, sending her skidding across the cavern floor. Spots exploded in the Knights vision as its ripped the trap out of its legs. Propping itself with its arm as if focused Soul to heal the wound, the Knight watched its siblings fight.
The failed vessel was doing a remarkable job, considering its lack of training and the false Deeplings clinging to it. It swung its nail to and fro in an attempt to drive them off, unheeding of how they swiped at it. Hornet had stumbled to her legs, a gash down the front of her mantle. Viscous gold blood seeped from the wound and the Knight knew that this was its chance.
Standing was a herculean effort, the flesh and shell of its leg still frail and sensitive. It would be easy to succumb to the molten pain coursing through the appendage. Flexing its claws, the Knight instead leapt high into the air. Distantly it heard something crack. Hornet's gaze snapped towards the cavern ceiling, a twinkling white star shining against the darkness.
The Hollow Knight descended.
Hornet just managed to avoid being crushed by the Knight. She could not avoid its spell, however. Blades of Soul that erupted from the floor. As quickly as they had appeared, the pillared blades disappeared. Hornet and the Hollow Knight stared at each other.
The Knight felt exhaustion eat away at it. Its leg wound had reopened and the spell had torn through its reserves of Soul. At the same time it could not help but feel a twinge of pride. Its sister stood in front of it, an arm hanging limply, golden ichor dripping down it, and her mantle torn nearly to shreds. A deep gash had been gouged into the side of her mask and her breaths came out ragged.
"Do not...," Hornet gasped out, "Do not think you have won..."
Fury of the Fallen shone on her chest, a bundle of baleful embers in the Knight's fading vision. Her useless arm twitched.
"This match," she bit out, "is mine!"
She lunged forward, red light seeping out of her wounds.
Her needle met the failed vessel's nail with a painful crash. Hornet stumbled back with a gasp. The failed vessel stared up at her, the threads of the broken Deeplings draped across it. The vessel made no move to finish Hornet, nor did it move aside.
"..." Hornet's breath rattled even as the red charm's glow grew. She looked away from the eyes of the smaller vessel, into the gaze of the larger. The world around the Hollow Knight faded blurred away as it met Hornet's gaze.
Footsteps echoed across the cavern. Lady Weiss Schnee stumbled next to it, staring at Hornet.
"...Have we proved our resolve?" Lady Weiss asked.
The Gendered Child's laugh was bitter and labored, "You have. But you may wish that you hadn't, Weiss Schnee."
The wind picked up, turning into a keening howl in seconds. As the air clouded with the shimmering flakes, Hornet disappeared.
"My birthcursed siblings..." the rest of her words were lost to the wind.
Lady Weiss Schnee was saying something. The Knight reached out towards her.
The world went dark.
Is it change you seek…
"Ohrm…You three seem quite ruffled."
Hallownest would never cease to run out of surprises, Yang was beginning to learn.
"What brings such small creatures so high up?"
The voice was a low rumble, like idling construction vehicles. It permeated everything, and soothing as the voice was Yang couldn't get past who it belonged to.
"We're...running away..." Cloth gasped out.
"Ohrm?"
"Hoppers..." Tiso wheezed, face down.
"I see. Nasty little creatures. Indeed, I can feel them trying to attack my tail."
"Are you alright?" Yang managed.
"Rest assured, the sensation is not painful, hrrmhrm."
"I see..."
He was a caterpillar. Had to be. Normally caterpillars were the one sort of bug Yang had absolutely no problem with. A caterpillar so big that he could fill Beacon's dining hall stretched the boundaries of that comfort. Yang wasn't sure what upset her more – how bulbous the jiggly Bardoon was, how large he was, or the fact that his face looked like a stop sign sized childish frowny face.
Yang couldn't help but stare at him. At the very least the feeling seemed mutual.
"Rmm...Never seen your kind before," Bardoon rumbled as he stared at Yang, "Perhaps you are native to this strange dream?"
"I'm a human," she offered, "And I've never seen anyone like you ever before."
"Hrmhrm. The world still holds surprises, it seems. What is your name, human?"
"Yang Xiao Long," she sat up with a wince. Grimm's child tumbled off her stomach and onto her lap with an annoyed chirrup.
"Sorry," she scratched them behind the horns. The child made a pleased mew before curling up once more.
"I recognize that light," Bardoon stared down at the child, "Though I have only seen it once before. What might you be doing with the spawn of the Nightmare?"
"It's a long story," Yang sighed.
"Hrrm, I can fathom."
"You know about Grimm?" Yang asked, leaning towards Bardoon despite herself.
"I know many things, Yang Xiao Long. I have spent my life learning, ohrm...And I have lived for a long time..."
"Really? Mind if I ask you questions?" Might as well, while they rested. Rushing around trying to find Weiss and the Hollow Knight in these winding caverns was getting them nowhere fast, and if they were exhausted they'd die fast, and then no one could help them.
"Hrrm, feel free, Yang Xiao Long."
"Who is Grimm?" she asked.
"Ohrmhrm! You want to know more of the Nightmare Heart? Of all the Higher Beings I am afraid I know precious little about him. He is not of these lands, or any other. Ohrmm..." Bardoon concentrated, ""The expanse of dream in past was split, One realm now must stay apart, Darkest reaches, beating red, Terror of sleep. The Nightmare's Heart"," the words chilled Yang to the bone, even if Bardoon's low rumble was nothing like Grimm's sibilant speech. "Ohrm...I had heard those words once long ago, from a moth. A curious tribe, the Moths. You will never find those more attuned to the Dream. With their loss, much knowledge is gone."
"Wait, loss?" Yang asked, remembering the old moth Weiss had mentioned.
"The Moth Tribe died out. Old age, in the end, hrmm...A melancholic end in a land filled with such violence. Much like this melancholic grave, hrmhrm."
Yang tried to imagine it. An entire people, lost by time. Then her brow furrowed as she registered Bardoon's other words.
"Grave?"
"Hrmm...This ashen place is grave of Wyrm," as Bardoon rumbled Yang looked down at what she had first thought was snow and realized was not. Ash was not the word Yang would use to describe it, but it was as apt as any she supposed. "Once told, it came to die. But what is death for that ancient being?" Bardoon shook his head, sending peddles flying off the cliff, "No, the Wyrm came here for rebirth."
The wind picked up and Yang rubbed her arms.
"Who is the Wyrm?" she asked.
Is it change you seek...
The wind howled.
She walked. The weight of the Hollow Knight joined with her exhaustion, making each step feel like walking in lead shoes.
The wind howled, turning her vision white. Despite the blizzard, she was not chilled.
"Arrogant girl!" The sound of a slap somehow echoed over the wind. Weiss flinched, the Hollow Knight almost falling from her back. Something brushed against her ankles and she frowned. Father would be angry...he didn't like pets…
"Weiss," Winter's voice was younger than she remembered, "You must be strong. Promise me that."
"Sister..." she mumbled.
"You are now Heiress. You cannot afford to be less than perfect."
The wind howled. They had to get out of the blizzard. Had to keep walking. She wasn't cold. That was a bad sign. Acute hypothermia…
"Damn filthy beasts!" Something shattered.
"What should we do, sir?"
"...I want them hunted down. Hire anyone who'll take the job. Mercenaries, huntsmen, I don't care! There's no cost too great to destroy those White Fang!"
The wind howled. Her hands ached.
"You what?" Though her vision was naught but white, she could practically see her father's sneer.
"I want to become a Huntress..." she mumbled.
"Speak up!"
"I want to become a huntress."
Weiss fell to her knees. Something fell beside her, and something was tugging on her arm.
"Just a small break..." she mumbled. The tugging grew insistent, and Weiss looked up.
The Arma Gigas stood before her.
"Should you defeat the Arma Gigas," her father's voice boomed, "Then, and only then, will I allow you to attend a Huntsmen's Academy."
The possessed suit of armor stared down at her. Weiss stared back, the wind streaming across her face. She...She had to do something….
The Arma Gigas raised its sword high in the air. Weiss watched as the sword came down-
-Resting on her shoulder. The Arma Gigas began to dissolve, a blinding light shining from its insides. Even as the remains of the Gigas fragmented into that stark light, the possessed armor knelt down. A warm, hard hand cupped her left cheek, a thumb brushing the skin under her left eye. Another hand gripped her right shoulder.
"Rise, my vessel."
The wind stopped. The light grew blinding. The hand burned.
The world went dark.
Is it change you seek…
"Ohrm...The Wyrm," Bardoon made a low sound that shook dust off of Yang's hair, "Another Higher Being. Now gone. This falling ash is moult. From the Wyrm's decaying corpse."
Yang felt several flavors of revulsion shudder up her spine as once. Bardoon continued as she tried to dust herself off.
"With its like gone, the world is smaller. Sadder."
"Did you ever meet this Wyrm?" Cloth had caught her breath, sitting up and looking at Bardoon, "Are you a Wyrm?"
"Ohrohrm...Don't mistake. I am no wyrm. Far too small to be one, ohrmm," Yang wondered incredulously how massive this Wyrm must have been, "Too many limbs, as well. No foresight like those old things either."
"What happened to the Wyrm after its...'death'?" Yang asked, wondering how such a massive creature died, or whatever happened to it.
"Took a smaller form," Bardoon rumbled, "These lands are the creation of the Wyrm's successor."
Yang stared at Bardoon for a moment.
"You're not talking about this ashy place, are you?"
Bardoon's laughter was a soft thing, relative for his size. It sounded more like a backed up engine than the high grades explosive Yang had been expecting.
"Indeed, orhrm...Little cicada, you might know of the Wyrm's new form. Though he was before your time, the light of Hallownest's king can still be felt in his kingdom..."
Cloth gasped and even Tiso looked up at Bardoon, incredulous.
"Wait," Yang began, the dots connecting in her mind and painting an unbelievable picture, "The King of Hallownest was the Wyrm?"
At that moment, the winds stopped and the ground gave a mighty heave. Yang immediately curled over the child, bracing herself for falling stones. Cloth cried out and Tiso cursed vehemently. The cave heaved and buckled, horrible echoes of stone grinding against stone scraping her ears. After a long breathless moment, the shaking ceased. Slowly, the winds began again, keening and higher pitched than before.
"Owww..." Bardoon rumbled. He casually batted a rock the size of Yang off the cliff they were standing on. Miraculously, no other rocks had fallen on them.
"Are you alright?" Cloth asked Bardoon as Yang scanned the chirping child for any signs of injuries.
"I am fine. With how many visiting me today, I have given up on rest..."
"We have to get going," Yang told Cloth. Cloth took a look at her face and nodded.
"Worried about your friend?" Tiso grunted, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yes, actually!"
"Seek to explore the caves?" Bardoon made a sound, "Unwise. What creatures might have been released by that tremor..."
"Listen, I appreciate the warning," Yang tried to keep the impatience from her voice as as slipped the child into their sling. They made a displeased hiss but otherwise didn't put up a fight. "But I have a friend somewhere out there, and I have to find her."
"I can dig through any tunnels that have collapsed," Cloth added, "And Tiso here is an excellent fighter."
Yang had no clue if she was being sincere there, and neither did Tico, judging by his expression. All three of them turned towards Bardoon as he rumbled again.
"Tenacity is admirable, orhm...Wait then, a little while. Another visitor, from before you three, should return...He will be of help."
Yang was about to politely, and firmly, tell him that they didn't have that time when she heard something approach from underneath them.
"Just so, ohrmhrm..." Bardoon chuckled.
A massive maroon and purple shape rocketed up from below the cliff, landing next to Tico. Yang would've taken the time to enjoy his shriek if it weren't for what the massive, armored bug that had just appeared was holding.
"Weiss!"
She ran up the bug, who handed her Weiss. Yang held the smaller girl close, feeling her throat catch. There weren't any new injuries – in fact, her old injuries had been bandaged, thank god - but the girl was as pale as a ghost. Paler ever. Ashe covered her from head to toe, and when Yang hurriedly rubbed it away the skin underneath was chalky. Placing the back of her hand to Weiss's forehead and Yang swore.
"S-She's burning up," she looked up, instinctual searching for some help. She blinked the armored bug knelt down with her. They were still heads above her in height, and wide as they were tall. Their deep blue carapce was covered in maroon armor that had seen plenty of battles, and a thick cape of blue fluff hung from their shoulders. For the first time she was the massive broadsword on their back, but any unease the weapon might've caused was dashed as the bug spoke up.
"You are a friend of hers, aren't you? Tell me, what is wrong with her?" the bug's voice, unmistakably masculine, was warm and worried, "Neither she nor her companion have roused once since I found her."
"Her companion?"
The armored bug shrugged his shoulder's gently, letting the Hollow Knight off his back and onto the ground. Yang hissed between her teeth. The knight looked worse than Weiss. Their dress had been torn apart, revealing a torso completely bandaged. Their left leg was also wrapped up, and blue liquid stained the bandages.
"I have given this one," the armored bug nudged the Hollow Knight, "a bit of lifeblood. I wasn't sure if that would be the best for your friend, however. I have naught ever seen a bug like her!"
"Where did you find her?" Yang demanded.
"In the depths of these caverns. They were at the epicenter of the cave-in, and had the little one not found me I would have been too late."
There was a soft rustling of feathers, and a tiny version of the Hollow Knight landed on the cliffs. She heard Cloth gasp behind her, but before she could ponder what the hell was happening, her attention snapped back to Weiss.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" the armored bug asked gently. Cloth sat down next to Yang, silent support. Yang thought desperately. The steady look the small knight was giving her wasn't helping.
"I-I don't know," she cried out, tears prickling behind her eyes, "We have to get to a h-hospital, or something!"
But Beacon was worlds away, and the only one who could take them there was the one in trouble. Yang stared down at Weiss, despondent. She didn't react as the child squirmed out of their sling, sliding down onto Weiss and pressing themselves into her face. Nor did she move as Cloth and the armored bug glanced at each other, Cloth reaching out to squeeze Yang's shoulder.
Bells chimed.
Yang almost dropped Weiss, the urge to scramble to her feet almost overpowering. She was not in the mood to deal with Grimm-!
Cloth, Tiso, the little knight, and the armored bug had beat her to the punch. All four of them stood in front of her, weapons at the ready. The armored bug, so warm before, now cut an indomitable figure.
"Come no closer!" he bellowed, "I am Nailmaster Mato! These children are under my protection, and should you take but a step closer I shall rend you in two!"
"There is no need for that."
It wasn't Grimm. The glyphs that fizzed into existence around the being were the same rosy colour as the Dream Nail. The being herself seemed to be made of pure light, a slender figure whose only features were large wings and antennae. With each flutter of her wings she nearly faded away, the ringing bellsong emanating from her rolling in and out like the tides.
"A butterfly?" she mumbled.
"A moth," Bardoon rumbled. Mato looked back at Bardoon. Despite the bone white mask, his surprise was clear.
"A moth?"
"Indeed," the moth's lilting speech was followed by the twinkling ring of a hundred silver bells, "I am a moth."
The moth fluttered closer, stopping as they tensed. Her chiming turned softer.
"What a day you have shouldered, dear wielder," with a start Yang realized the moth was speaking about Weiss, "Yet despite your trials and tribulations, your light still shines bright. And the Dream Nail's light has grown sharper. Still it is dull, but one day...Little one, you are not meant to sleep just yet. A grand destiny awaits you."
"Would you shut up!" Yang exploded. She could feel her hair grow furnace hot and felt her eyes burn like coals. All but Bardoon and the mystery moth backed away.
"You! You've done this to her!" she snarled, "All of this is your fault! If she'd never discovered this Dream Nail, none of this would've ever happened! So you can take that destiny, and-!"
"Yang..."
The rest of her words crowded in her throat, stuck. The child mewled as Weiss opened her right eye, frowning.
"Too loud..." she slurred.
"Weiss!" Yang fretted. Mato took a step closer to them, nail still pointed at the moth. Weiss stared up at Yang, slightly unfocused.
"Yang…?"
"Hang in there," Yang demanded, "Save your strength."
Weiss's frown grew and her head lolled to the side.
"Hollow Knight…?"
"He's fine," Yang lied, "Just resting."
Weiss caught sight of the moth.
"It you..." she breathed.
Before Yang could tell her to ignore the moth, the specter spoke.
"Cut your way through the dream, Wielder. Cleave yourself free," the moth urged.
"Will you-" Yang began, another bolt of fury sending her steaming. Seconds later Yang froze as Weiss held a hand out and summoned the Dream Nail.
"Weiss, don't-!"
The Nail thrummed, shaking as it turned into a veritable geyser. With each beat of ts feathery plumes a bell rung in the distance. The moth glowed just as bright, till the light of the Dream Nail and the moth turned the world away. When it came back, no longer was Yang sitting on hard grey rock. Grass rustled beneath her, the nascent due seeping into her skirts. As the wind blew, it carried with the it the rustling of countless leaves. High above stood no ceiling, but the night sky filled with billions of twinkling lights. The sight of launch pads, silent and dark, gave Yang an idea as to where they were.
Weiss sighed, falling back asleep. The child chirruped at her, nudging her again.
Yang took a startled breath, before growling.
"I am going to throttle you if you don't wake up, Ice Queen."
"My word..."
Yang looked up in surprise. Nailmaster Mato was staring at the sky, sword trembling as his hands shook. Yang looked around her. The Hollow Knight was with them, thankfully, though still unconscious. And the little knight was looking up at the sky with what Yang assumed was similar wonder. Just as Yang realized that Tiso and Cloth were nowhere to be seen, she heard the crash of a thousand trees underneath them, and the cliffs crumble as something massive scaled them. Bardoon reared his head, crushing several of the launch pads as he settled his weight on the cliffs.
"Ohrmm...What strange sights..."
The Mark of Wyrm you bear.
Is it change you seek?
Or to save this ruin?
It's been a while. Hell of a writer's block, and not at an opportune time. But we're back! And what a chapter!
Fight scenes are difficult for me. Part of the reason this chapter took so long was that in addition to classes, I was trying to force the fight through Weiss's lens. The moment I switched into the Knight's perspective, things just Clicked. So remember, if y'all ever have writers block, either change the perspective or the weather.
And what a fight! Way more violent than I had planned! That's all because of Hornet, mind you. Unlike the Little Ghost, Hornet has unresolved issues with the Hollow Knight.
The Kingdom's Edge is so big, it would be difficult to cover it all. Even still, I tried to capture its beauty. Team Cherry did a great job at portraying how large the location was in the game. And the forever falling ash is a wonderful setting detail. Plus, two of my favorite NPC's: Mato and Bardoon!
Thank you all for reading! Tune in next time for: "The Memory".