Chapter 106 – Who We Become
Ruby
The Drift of Wandering Star rose high into the sky, soaring away from the Sanctum with the rest of the Fleet that came to help them in their time of need. Ruby laid in the bed; her leg was bandaged up after being tended to by some of the Medics. She looked out the window as the clouds started to part behind them… staring at Arkhonex as they moved further and further away from it.
It took us so long to get here… and we were there for so long… now we can finally go home…
She sighed softly as she closed her silver eye and rested her head against the pillow as the clouds closed together, leaving the city of Arkhonex behind them. The Airships and Dreadnaughts all followed them in unison. Ruby rolled over, turning to see the others who were in the Medbay with her. Neo was still asleep, healing from her nearly fatal injury from the Whisperer – however they had been assured that she would make a full recovery after all.
Ruby winced in pain, looking at her leg that was in the cast. It still hurt terribly, she clutched it as she felt the pain pulse up her calf. Then she rubbed her scratched eye after Raven pushed her nails into the scar tissue. She has a small bandage over that area once more, however it was not going to be there for awfully long, since in comparison to the last time she had a bandage there, it had to stay there for many months. This would most likely be the rest of the day until her aura could do the rest of the work.
As she grasped her leg, she turned as she felt the gentle warm presence of Oscar's hand, caressing her hand. "Hey… are you… argh… okay?" He grunted as he sat upright, they were placed in two beds next to each other. Ruby smiled with relief, gently holding his hand. She felt great concern for her boyfriend when she saw the state he was in after that fight, alongside Jaune who was still resting with Yang in the bed as well. Kassius was sat down next to Yang, and Pyrrha next to Jaune.
"Yeah… just hurts, is all." Ruby assured as she slightly moved her leg. The wound her knife caused was an awfully bad one, adding yet another scar to her ever-growing collection. She looked at Oscar and smiled, caressing his cheek. "How about you? I saw you injuries back at the camp… Salem she… she hurt you… badly." She softly said as she looked at his hazel eyes. He strained as he sat up, holding his shoulder and some of the slash wounds that had been bandaged up.
"I should be up and running again soon… those doctors can work some miracles, y'know." Oscar joked.
"Tell me about it." She gestured to her leg and the other bandages around her body, where she had been cut, stabbed and beaten. Oscar held her hand affectionately as they sat there, he then looked at Jaune.
"Jaune suffered a few hits too… so did Pyrrha… Hazel… pretty much all of us did." Oscar sighed as he looked at them.
Pyrrha looked at him with a small smile. "She fought to the bitter end." Ruby could hear the slight tones of what sounded like grief in his voice.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked him.
"I dunno… I just feel kinda… sad for her. Salem… I mean… Cynthia. I met her… she was never like that. I still can't really believe it was really her…" Oscar explained, squeezing his eyes shut.
"None of us did…" Ruby agreed, nodding her head. "But don't blame yourself for this, Oscar… Cynthia… she died an exceptionally long time ago. She said it herself."
"Yeah… it was that damn Stone in her head… the fragment of Salem itself. That spider that used to rule the Charred Forest." Oscar remembered.
"She's free now… Cynthia can finally rest." Ruby stated. Oscar smiled as he looked at Ruby and they held each other's hands tightly, not wanting to let go. As they sat there, Ruby turned to see Kassius beside Yang. He was holding her hand too, but he was not looking at her, not right now at the very least.
He was glaring at Neo.
He stood up and gently let go of Yang as he approached her, staring down at Neo as she slept, still healing from her stab wound. "Kassius?" Ruby asked her, Pyrrha turned her head as well to see Kassius staring down at her.
"How do you know we can even trust her, Ruby?" Kassius asked her. "I mean… sure you told her what really happened… do you seriously think she will just help us? Nearly Seven Years in a row now… she has been nipping at our heels, trying to kill us. There's bad blood on both sides… how can we trust her?" He asked as he stared at her.
"I trust her, Kas… you didn't see what happened. The Whisperer betrayed her and tried to kill her – and very nearly succeeded. She isn't running back to Umbra anytime soon." Ruby assured.
"I'd have said the same thing if Raven didn't betray us." Kassius explained as he glared at Neo.
Then… Neo's eyes just opened, revealing she was not asleep at all, and just resting her eyes. Kassius did not flinch though, he still stared down at her. Neo glared right back at him, narrowing her pink and brown eyes. He leant down, glaring at her. "Know this, Neopolitan… if you do anything that hurts my friends? My family? The girl I love? I'll kill you without hesitation… you get me?" Kassius asked her, Neo stared right back at him, not afraid of him in the slightest.
A small smirk contorted her face.
Her hands lifted and she started to speak in Sign Language. He glanced at her hands as the mute spoke. "Uh… what?" Kassius asked, unable to understand what she was saying, but Ruby chuckled. Blake had taught her a few things in Sign Language, only the basics, but she got the gist of Neo's answer.
"She just said – You stink, asshole. Have a shower." Ruby translated, Kassius then glanced back at her and leant away and then sniffed his armpit. His amber eyes widened.
"Holy shit… yeah… come to think of it… it has been around two weeks since, hasn't it?" Kassius chuckled. "That's the first thing I'm doing when we get back." Kassius said.
"Would you mind if I joined you?" Yang asked flirtatiously, he turned instantly and immediately sat beside her, frantically holding her hand again.
"Well… I'd never say no to you." Kassius replied, and he gently kissed her affectionately.
Ruby looked at Neo. "Psst." Ruby softly said, Neo turned and looked at her former foe. "He'll come around, don't worry. Hell… he probably already likes you for your sense of humour." Ruby chuckled.
Neo softly smiled and remained in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Is she gonna be okay?" Oscar asked Ruby.
"I hope so… we'll be there for her though. She realised she was on the wrong side… it's our job to help her realise this is the side she belonged on." Ruby explained.
"We did that for Raven, Ruby…" Oscar agreed. "I trust your judgement, I always will… I just don't know about her yet. Kassius wasn't wrong about what he said."
"Yeah… but Cinder and Hazel turned out alright. Just because Adam and Raven turned against us again… it doesn't mean Neo will. I mean… Ortega is on our side now as well." Ruby explained. "We've had so many enemies… and still have just as many, most of them are more powerful than we are… but the ones who genuinely want to make things right? The ones who really want to atone for past mistakes? They deserve the chance… that's what makes us better than Umbra. Forgiveness." Ruby explained as she looked at Neo.
"Yeah… you're right." Oscar agreed as he looked at Neo. Neo still laid there, she looked uncomfortable to be around the people she once was trying to kill – but in time, things could change for the better.
For all of them.
Jaune started to come to as well, he held his shoulder in pain and touched the new scars that Salem gave him across the side of his face.
"Ow…" He grumbled.
"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked with a concerned voice.
"Yeah… still hurting." Jaune admitted.
"Not surprising…" She chuckled as she gently held his hand, she then touched his cheek which had the bandages on the scars. They all turned when they heard the doors open and they saw everyone coming in to be with them. Sun, Weiss, Blake, Nora, Ren, Cinder, Emerald, Team C.F.V.Y and Penny.
"Hey… you guys are all up." Weiss said with relief she and Blake immediately rushed over to Ruby and hugged her tightly.
"Oh, hey!" Ruby laughed as they all swarmed her with a hug. "Ah, mind the leg." Ruby giggled, they all stood back, calming down as they looked at their leader.
"Are you okay?" Blake asked with a worried voice.
"Yeah, you know how it is. One more scar." Ruby shrugged her shoulders. Ruby then looked at her sister, she looked very heartbroken still – over what happened to Raven.
She deserved it… but I wish Yang didn't have to see it happen like that.
I hope Qrow is okay… that was his sister after all…
"We wanted to stay with you guys for a while, if you're good with that." Cinder said as she held her forearm, she looked at Neo and smiled. The Silent Assassin returned the smile with another small smile.
"Of course you guys can – you're all family." Ruby assured, they all either pulled up stalls or just sat on the floor.
"It's… crazy… so much has happened in only two weeks. Thank the gods you guys got the Embered Grove when you did, things were bad back in Vale. You saved our lives." Weiss explained with a smile.
"It wasn't easy…" Jaune chuckled.
"Well… we're all back together now… and we have one hell of a flight ahead of us. Might as well start filling us in on… everything." Yang said as she gestured her hand slightly.
"Which side?" Kassius chuckled. "I mean hell… sounds like we all had one hell of a ride, didn't we?"
"That's putting it mildly." Cinder chuckled as she patted her brother's shoulder.
"It was crazy… robbing a Criminal Cartel of their fancy Airship to Queen's Cove? That was crazy…" Kassius explained.
"Queen's Cove? You actually went there?" Weiss gasped. "I've always wanted to visit that city, is it as magnificent as they claimed?"
"Oh yeah, whole city built into the cliffs of Vale. Something to behold… wasn't all perfect though. Shit kinda hit the fan over there – like it always does." Kassius chuckled.
"And… that whole ordeal with the Apathy." Velvet shuddered, remembering the Hotel.
"Whoa, what?" Oscar asked with wide eyes.
"Dude… that was some freaky shit." Emerald chuckled. "Massive Hotel, but the whole thing felt off. Cardin… he started to have these weird little episodes, and we learned he had this deadly Grimm attached to him after what happened to his team? Hyde came up with the crazy idea to kill it inside of his soul, but during his fight against the… what was it?" Coco stammered, trying to remember.
"A Hym." Kassius remembered, snapping his fingers as it came to his head.
"That's a weird name." Sun commented with his head rested on Blake's lap.
"It was a weird Grimm. But when Hyde was kicking its ass in Cardin's head… weird shit was still happening around us in the Hotel, and the lights went out. Velvet went to turn them on and… the Apathy snuck up on us. It became nearly impossible to fight against them because of their willpower draining ability… that was when Hyde first managed to break free from Kassius and saved us from the Apathy." Coco explained.
"That was badass." Emerald admitted, Kassius could feel Hyde blushing inside his head.
"Well, well… I didn't know Hyde could blush." Kassius chuckled.
"Sh-Shut up, it wasn't that cool." Hyde stammered shyly in his head.
"Aww, Hyde…" Yang cooed.
"Aaaand then! The Acolytes of Lien showed up with your asshole brother who is a robot now… alongside Kelham." Coco explained, pointing to Weiss.
"Oh gods…" Weiss groaned.
"Yeah that was pretty crazy trying to get out of Queen's Cove… hopefully things are okay over there." Velvet said as she stroked her ear.
"Hey, maybe we'll go there again." Yatsuhashi suggested.
"Like a holiday?" Velvet gasped, her long bunny ears perking up.
"Yeah, maybe I can get you to finally get a tan, girl." Coco jabbed.
"You know I burn easy." Velvet pouted.
They turned when they heard the once intimidating but now calming voice of Ortega, who chuckled in the doorway. "How touching." He said with a smile, his arms crossed.
"Hey, Dad!" Penny greeted.
"I still can't believe that." Sun chuckled, shaking his head.
"Well… I never expected to actually get my little girl back, so hey… surprises all around." He said as he looked at them all. Ortega could not help but be astounded as he looked at each and every one of them. "Incredible… so many people from totally different walks of life… and yet… you are all family now. It's a shame that such terrible circumstances are what brought you all together." Ortega said with a sigh.
"You're a part of that family now too, Ortega." Ruby said as she looked at him.
"I dunno about that… I still have a lot of catching up to do… I lead an entire military against you for five years." Ortega stated.
"Well… my dad used to say – it doesn't matter how a story begins, but merely how it ends." Ruby said with a shrug.
"Yeah… dad did love that line." Yang agreed.
"Hmm… your father sounded like a very wise man." Ortega said.
"Eh, he could be goof sometimes. I miss him… so much… but I know he's smiling down on us right now." Ruby said with that optimism they all missed from her for so long.
Penny stood up and gently wrapped her arms around her father. Ortega held her close. "I'm happy… to have you as my dad…" Penny said to him softly, his heart warmed when he heard those words. He gently kissed the top of her head and ruffled her hair. She giggled as she stepped back.
"I'm afraid I did not just come here to socialise, though… Miss Belladonna… with you as the new High Leader… I would like you to come and join us. We're discussing our plans on how to prepare for the Shivering Dominion." Ortega explained, Blake looked down at Sun and he sat upright, nodding to her.
"Go on, High Leader." He winked.
Blake smiled and she blew out a shaky breath, pushing her hands against her knees to stand up. "I'll be right back." Blake assured.
"Good luck!" Ruby called to Blake as she followed Ortega through the halls of the Drift of Wandering Star.
A few moments of silence passed, but then everyone just stared at Ruby. She looked at them all then her silver eye widened. "Wait stop it!" She trembled nervously.
"No… I can't hold it any longer… you TRANSFORMED INTO A GIANT WOLF AND ATE A DEMON!" Ren erupted with awe, something exceedingly rare from Lie Ren.
"That was pretty badass." Nora agreed with a smile.
"Whoa, what did we miss?" Jaune asked with wide eyes.
"Oh uh… c'mon, don't act like you guys haven't done crazy stuff before!" Ruby rolled her eyes, cheeks blushing and wide eyed. She then pointed at the smiling Pyrrha Nikos; whose eyes also suddenly shot wide open. "I mean – PYRRHA NIKOS IS THE SUMMER MAIDEN! I MEAN THAT'S INSANE!" Ruby squeaked.
"Oh… Cinder and I have gotta show you some awesome Maiden Tricks." Coco said, gently bumping Cinder's elbow.
"I'd be down for that." Cinder chuckled in agreement.
"T-That would be… very nice." Pyrrha politely smiled, which made all of them – herself included – laugh together.
It had been an exceptionally long time since they could be like this – family.
Blake
She followed the Admiral up the stairs towards the Bridge of the Drift of Wandering Star. She looked ahead and saw the Holographic World Map of Remnant, with all the major Kingdoms and Cities marked on the continents.
Stood here were the main leaders of their alliance:
Ozpin, Kragen, Mazen, Cordovin, Ortega – and finally, Blake Belladonna. Blake might have been the new High Leader, but Mazen still had better experience when it came down to leading military than she did. But Blake needed to be here, as the Leader of the White Fang. "Miss Belladonna, thank you for joining us." Cordovin greeted.
"Please, you can just call me Blake." She assured.
"As you wish, Blake." Cordovin agreed as she walked around the circular table where that Holographic Map was being displayed.
"How bad is it?" Mazen asked, with his arms behind his back.
"In truth we have no telling, but we know that Vir Nominis Umbra is going to throw the entire Oncoming Shadow at us. It is going to be bad… unbelievably bad." Ozpin admitted, there was no room for lying to warm hearts – they had to be realistic about things. He then brought the Map closer. "Vacuo is still under Grimm Control… and I fear it is going to stay that way until we end Umbra and with him – the Grimm. Atlas is also still under Jacques and Whitley's control." Ozpin explained.
"How many forces of the Acolytes of Lien does he still have?" Kragen inquired.
"Well – when I turned against Jacques, half of my forces left with me. Arcturus Base was the Main Base for our forces, those that aren't dead are now with us. Alongside all the weapons and vehicles – however Jacques still had a reasonably large force inhabiting the Kingdom. But with the forces we have… they won't last long… especially with the threat of the Oncoming Shadow growing nearer." Ortega explained.
"Not only that, but I also received reports from Atlas. Back when we were still under Jacques' thumb." Cordovin explained, and she brought up a dossier. "This is Robyn Hill, a highly skilled Huntress who has been leading an Uprising against Jacques Schnee and his Acolytes of Lien, ever since you escaped, and half your forces escaped – it gave Robyn an opening. She has been fighting back against them, and the last I heard, she had practically formed a militia of Huntsmen, Huntresses and anyone else who could fight – in all of Mantle and many from Atlas – and they are trying to get to the Schnee Manor and Atlas Academy to shut him down once and for all." Cordovin explained.
"Robyn Hill? Weiss mentioned her from time to time. She had been causing problems for my father for many years." Blake remembered.
"And she has not stopped. I must admit, I admire her strength. Overwhelming odds do not seem to scare her one bit." Cordovin agreed.
"Then we can use her help when it comes to getting the Relic of Destruction. We need to get that Relic out of there and to Dragonspire Keep as fast as we can. Once we have it there, we can contain its power like we are going to for the rest. It may take days to fully contain the power they harness… so we need to do this sooner rather than later." Kragen explained.
"And once the Relics are contained – we get them to the Embered Grove." Ozpin added. "We use that time for us to figure out Umbra's weakness and we kill the son of a bitch…"
"But… so many people will die…" Blake stated.
"That is inevitable, Blake." Mazen stated. "The best we can hope for now is that the casualties are not too devastating. But from the stories I have heard about this Oncoming Shadow? Our Kingdoms will be destroyed, no doubt about it. We will have to rebuild a whole new world after this." Mazen explained.
That possibility? It made Blake feel sick, but he was not wrong.
"The best way we can ensure the most people survive what is coming is to use most of our forces as defence. We use literally everything we have to simply hold them back for as long as we can until they break through our lines." Ozpin explained.
"They decimated Arkhonex in a night, and that was a fraction of the force that is coming. What hope do we have when our level of technology is nothing compared to the Arkhoni's?" Ortega questioned.
"A better chance than we did – because the Oncoming Shadow hit us by surprise. We need to warn everyone. Use the Cross Continental Transmit Network and tell everyone about what is coming. That way… people can prepare." Ozpin revealed.
"That will cause immense panic… are you sure that is a viable plan?" Cordovin asked.
"Panic… means nothing now. The Oncoming Shadow will find the Kingdoms no matter how peaceful they are. But they deserve the truth – and they have two days to prepare. It's better than none. Some will want to fight… and others will hide." Ozpin explained.
"Those who want to fight could sign up and train…" Ortega suggested.
"And the non-combatants?" Kragen asked.
"Well… I have a plan for that." Ozpin revealed. He brought up the designs of the Academies, revealing the Vaults. "These Vaults once harboured the Relics, but now two of them are at Dragonspire Keep, I have Knowledge here and Destruction is still in the Atlesian Vault. These Vaults were specifically designed to be impenetrable… and could fit… maybe a few thousand people inside of each. We open the Vault Doors and let as many people in as we can." Ozpin explained.
"And… what about the rest? The ones who don't make it in?" Blake asked, and Ozpin sighed.
"They either fight… or run and hope to survive out there for as long as they can." Ozpin admitted. "I know it is a dark reality… but it is reality. And… a few thousand people with bloodlines that can help us start entire new generations? It's better odds than Arkhonex had, let me put it that way." Ozpin explained.
"It could cause carnage, Ozpin. Opening those doors? People could pile over each other trying to get in." Mazen stated.
"I know – but once it is at capacity, those doors close and stay closed until either Umbra is dead… or he wipes our universe clean." Ozpin's image he painted was not a pretty one, but it was the terrifying truth of what was coming for them in forty-eight hours time.
Cordovin tapped her fingers against the table. "We can defend four locations…" She began, highlighting four specific cities. "Vale, Mistral, Queen's Cove and Argus. All four locations have their own militaries, we can split our bulk forces here across them, and use what we have left to launch a full-scale assault on Atlas to get the Relic of Destruction." She explained. "It may not give us much time against them… but it's better than nothing."
"And… say we manage to get the Relics to the Embered Grove, and we learn the weakness of Umbra… what then?" Blake asked.
Ozpin approached the table and pressed his hands against it.
He looked right at Blake.
"We find the son of a bitch… and we kill him once and for all."
Coco
A few hours passed…
Team C.F.V.Y stood in the Makeshift Morgue in the Vessel, there were hundreds of bodies in black bags across the room. And they stood before the bags which had both Neptune and Cardin inside of them. Velvet gently pressed her hand against Cardin's chest, closing her eyes with grief for him. Coco gently squeezed her shoulder as she stood there. "I never thought… in my entire life… I would be mourning Cardin Winchester." Velvet softly said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I know… he really did change. And he died like a hero… they both did." Coco said, Fox stood by the pillar with his arms crossed.
"We… we never really got to know the man he became… but I could see it. He was better than the asshole I remembered." Fox stated.
"His own team betrayed him… tried to kill him because there was a bounty on his head. Because the Headmaster of Shade Academy lost his mind and was about to blow the caches of Horridus Morbus early." Velvet explained. "He saved the entire city, but his own team tried to kill him. They left him no choice… and then he was taken by Kelham and his tribe of monstrous Traffickers."
"I was proud of him… and you." Coco said when she held Velvet. The Faunus turned and wrapped her around her girlfriend. Yatsuhashi stood beside his body and sighed, closing his eyes.
"If it weren't for him meeting Kassius… he wouldn't have found you guys… and in turn you wouldn't have saved us. The man's a hero – whatever he was before doesn't matter – he was a good man." Yatsuhashi stated, and Fox nodded his head.
"I wish we got know him better." Fox sighed.
"Wherever he is, I'm sure he and Neptune are putting in a good word for us." Yatsuhashi assured as he approached Velvet. She wiped her tears from her eyes as she approached Cardin's body and she sighed.
Fox approached Coco as they stood there. "So… what's the plan, boss?" Fox asked her, she looked at him.
"What do you mean?" She asked him.
"Well… with everything that's going down? Where do we stand?" Fox asked.
"We're fighting." Coco assured, shocked at whatever he was insinuating.
"No, no… I didn't mean run… I meant more… where will we be fighting?" Fox asked her.
"Vale… we stay there and help secure the situation there. There are lots of Huntsmen and Huntresses still in training and they could use our help. They're only kids and they're gonna go up against the most dangerous force the world has ever seen. Including enemies that can only have their bodies destroyed. We need to teach them… it's gonna be a long two days." Coco sighed, pushing her hands through her hair.
"Well – we're not splitting up again, that's for certain." Fox assured with a slight nudge with his shoulder.
"Damn right we're not. I'm not letting you two out of my sight." Coco chuckled, which made them chuckle.
"Pretty hard with this big lump." Fox jabbed, poking Yatsuhashi's side.
"Hey… I've lost some weight." Yatsuhashi stated with a smile.
"Either way… we'll stand together. Doesn't matter what Vir Nominis Umbra throws at us, we will not run this time. We do this together." Coco said, and Velvet smiled, turning to them.
"Hell yeah – to the end." Velvet agreed, and the four of them put their fists in the middle, in union. The team began to depart from the Morgue, but Velvet slowed down and looked back at Cardin. She slowly approached his body and she gently pressed her hand against his chest, closing her eyes with a sigh.
"Goodbye, my friend…" She said to the man she forgave.
Velvet turned and walked away, leaving Cardin and Neptune's bodies behind, so then they could be buried back at Vale when they return home.
Qrow
He leant against the wall, staring at the bottle of alcohol in the corner.
It felt like it was calling to him, and after what happened with Raven, part of him wanted to just get completely drunk to try and block out the sound of her screams. But he fought the urge with everything he had. But as he stood there, he turned to see Kassius walking out from the darkness. "Hey, Qrow…" Kassius softly said to him as he walked over to the window, leaning against it. He stared out the window at the clouds that passed by them.
"Hey, Kas… how's Yang? Is she okay?" Qrow asked.
"Yeah… why don't you ask her?" Kassius inquired.
"I…" Qrow stammered.
"Because of Raven… right?" Kassius assumed, and he sighed, nodding his head in agreement. Kassius stood there and crossed his arms as he listened to him. "C'mon, dude… talk to me."
Qrow's red eyes glanced at Kassius and he sighed. "Raven betrayed us… I know… and I hate her for it. But… she was still my sister… and I listened to her die… screaming. I never wanted to hear anything like that in my life…" Qrow said as he rubbed his head, hearing her shrieks as the Tar Pit slowly dragged her down and consumed her. Part of him actually wanted to save her, it was a small part… but it was still there, and it gnawed at him.
"I'm sorry, man…" Kassius said. "She left you no choice though, you did realise that right?"
"I know…"
"She was gonna kill Ruby and Yang… hell she nearly did kill my girl. If Penny hadn't pulled her from that tar pit… the best thing that ever came into my life would be gone. I'll always owe Penny for that… but I also owe you, Qrow." Kassius explained.
"Me? For what?" Qrow questioned.
"You saved her life. More than once, but… the main time? Before I even met her… when she went out looking for Raven? You saved her life, and Ruby's. That was you. I'll always owe you for that… because if you hadn't… well I don't think I'd be here. I'd be… I don't even wanna think about it." Kassius said as he started to remember how low he had actually gotten once, when he lost his team.
Kassius looked at Qrow. "So don't feel like she… I dunno… resents you for what happened with Raven. End of the day… it was Yang who did it, not you. Right now? She just wants to see her Uncle." Kassius explained, and Qrow looked down at the floor, and then at the liquor. Qrow then looked at Kassius, and he noticed some of the pain in his eyes.
"What about you, Kassius? Are you alright?" He asked. "I know about… what happened with your dad."
"Yeah… that has been on my mind for a while now. Getting him back and then… losing him again? It stung… but he may have just given us the way to finish this." Kassius stated, remembering the chip of highly classified intel on Vir Nominis Umbra inside of it – the Map to the Fountain of Creation, and possible information on how to open it to find the secret.
"Let's just hope the Architect can actually decrypt the thing." Qrow said.
"He will – he hasn't let us down so far." Kassius said.
"No… no he hasn't." Qrow agreed. Kassius looked at his scroll background, a picture of Yang smiling with such a beautiful smile. He blushed slightly, feeling butterflies in his stomach.
"She's a rare thing… your niece." He said, and Qrow smiled.
"Well I'm glad Tai found you, Kas. Yang's happier with you than I've ever seen her… you better not ever let her go." Qrow told him.
"Never – and I'll never let anything bad happen to her. I'll die to stop anything bad happening to her." Kassius promised.
"Well… let's hope it never comes to that." Qrow said as he pushed himself away from the wall. He approached the liquor and Kassius reached out to stop him., until Qrow launched it against the wall. The liquor bottle exploded into shards, splattering alcohol across the floor.
"C'mon, dude. Let's go see Yang." He said as he walked with him back to where they were laid.
Night had fallen and Yang was laid in her bed, and Kassius sat down next her, he left to go and get Yang a drink and he gently stroked the blonde hair from her tired eyes. "Hey, firefly." He softly said to her, she sat up and held the orange juice in her cybernetic hand and sipped it.
"Thanks, Kas." She softly answered. Ruby was asleep in her bed with Oscar's hand close to hers as he slept. Everyone else was asleep as well, they were close to Vale by now.
Qrow sat down on the other side of the bed, and she looked at him with a smile. She immediately wrapped her arms around her Uncle, and he held her close as well. "I love you, Uncle Qrow." She softly said to him.
"Right back at ya, firecracker." Qrow responded.
Kassius looked at them with a smile, then looked over at Ruby – noticing a slight shudder as she slept.
She was having a nightmare…
Ruby
Ashes floated in the air…
And charred trees scraped above her, she looked around with her long black and red hair gently blowing in the gusts of wind as she walked. It had been a while since she saw the Charred Forest again, and as she walked through the eerie Realm of Death and Destruction… she could hear ghostly voices once more.
"Ruby…" Neptune whispered in the distance, she looked around for him as she walked past the trees, searching for her friends.
"It's easier to train an animal than a soldier…" The old voice of Cardin Winchester echoed, a fragment of the heroic man he became.
"The weak die… the strong live… those are the rules…" Raven's voice whispered in the darkness, Ruby turned round a tree, seeing the Grimm watching her from the woods, and hearing Raven's screams echo across the Charred Forest.
"Then you can party with us tonight!" Neptune's ghostly voice cheered through the flurries of ash.
"Greetings Ruby Rose, I would like to thank you for taking an interest in my sister…" Winter's voice echoed.
Dark shadows seemed to wander the woods, and their silhouettes seemed to resemble people they had lost. From Neptune, to Cardin, to Winter and so many more.
Ruby kept on moving through the dark woods, stopping when she heard Summer's Voice amongst the trees. "I love you honey; I'll be home soon – okay?" She echoed… and stood right where her grave was buried in her Universe… there stood Vir Nominis Umbra, looking down at the ash covered gravestone overlooking the cliff.
"Ah… Miss Rose… it has been quite a while…" Vir Nominis Umbra greeted as he looked at her.
"What is this?" Ruby questioned.
"Just me communicating to you from… my domain… fear not, your little family are all safe and sound… for now." Vir Nominis Umbra promised, he then held his hound out, offering Ruby to walk with him. She obliged, and they walked together through the woods. "It's been a long journey, hasn't it? From Beacon Academy, to Anima, to Salem's Sanctum, to Arkhonex? And now… the End of the Line draws closer and closer. How do you feel?" Vir Nominis Umbra inquisitively inquired.
"How do I feel?" She repeated, and he just bounced his brows as an answer. "I'm… terrified…" She admitted, because she knew the Shivering Dominion was even closer now than it had ever been. "But I'm not gonna give up. I will stand my ground."
"Oh I expect nothing less." Umbra chuckled. "However… despite that… I am going to offer you a deal."
"A deal?" Ruby questioned.
"Indeed. Give me the Four Relics… and I needn't unleash the Oncoming Shadow. All your end will be completely painless – and your souls will be freed into the Embered Grove." Vir Nominis Umbra offered; his hands held together like always.
Ruby stared at him, and she just narrowed her silver eye. "No… I will not sacrifice everyone in existence… not when we have a chance to beat you." She stated, and Umbra smiled.
"Many have… Miss Rose. None have succeeded, but your determination and optimism never ceases to astound me." He stated. He smiled, legitimately proud of her not accepting that deal as he walked ahead of her.
"The end draws near… and many will die. Are you prepared, Miss Rose? To lose everyone you hold dear to try and stop me?" He asked her curiously.
"I'm not going to lose them…" Ruby promised, that made him laugh.
"No… I think we both know… that is not true. The question will not be who will die, Ruby, but merely who will be left." He stated. He turned to face her, hands held together as the Charred Trees shattered around him, turning to burning embers and rising high into the sky. "So tell me – Are you ready to face the end of this journey?" Vir Nominis Umbra asked her.
Ruby stared him down, hardening herself, and narrowing her silver eye.
"Yes… and I will end you, Vir Nominis Umbra. I can promise you that… this time you will not win." Ruby Rose promised, glaring at him.
He smirked, eyes glowing red.
"We shall see, my friend. We shall see…"
Author Note - One Chapter Left Everyone
Act 4 is nearly over, and Act 5 will start roughly after Volume 8 is finished :) Decided to combine the penultimate chapter and the epilogue together into one, flows better tbh.
This was a nice chapter to write, a pretty chill one after the previous chapter XD The bit with the gang just being dorky friends again was really nice to do, been a while since they actually could be this way. And it's nice to show that Ruby - whilst still is a bit more mature than she used to be - she is happy again, and is able to be optimistic and silly again. They're gonna need that in Act 5.
As we saw with Blake at the War Council, the situation is bleak to say the least. It is a given now that millions are going to die, and it may be a case of having to restart their entire culture after this is done because their kingdoms will be decimated. However... if they do this right... and Umbra and the Grimm are gone for good? Then they will have a better chance of building something better than Arkhonex did.
But first they have to kill Umbra, and that will be no small task.
Team C.F.V.Y and Qrow's parts were really touching too. And Kassius is such a softie, I love him XD
And the end... haven't shown the Charred Forest in a while, especially not in Ruby's Dreams. That shows that Umbra is still capable of doing that to her, but Ruby is stronger now and will not let these monsters get in her head like they did before.
The End Is Near...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review and lemme know what you think!
Stay tuned for theEpilogue
- Matt
