Vol: 7 Chapter 16: A Lot Left to Say.
(Play: Red Fraction from "Black Lagoon" Eng cover by AmaLee)
I have a big gun
I took it from my lord
Sick with justice
I just wanna blame you
(A somewhat dirtied image of a Lien card flashes momentarily before it swaps to a blood stained wall of the Schnee manor a cigarette being smoked and an image of either Weiss or Winter from behind holding their weapons which seem bloodied. This then switches to a panning shot of Wolf's Pack going down its barrel.)
I am your angel
Only a call away
You make wanna break you
No matter who you are
(A bullet casing goes flying, showing Weiss' reflection before it cuts to a newspaper article mentioning a shooting in the Forgotten Shore with Weiss being shown holding a side arm, which she fires a few times)
It's all up to you
No one lives forever
Been burned in Hell
By all the pigs out there
It's always been Hell
Ever since I was born
They make we wanna break them
No matter who they are
(The next shot shows the same side arms barrel as Weiss points it at the area in front of her and a cigarette that she had in her mouth falls out as she pulls the trigger and then drops the magazine.)
Get down on your knees
Got a good head on your shoulders
If for you, I'd
Go to the end of the earth
Do what you want
Do it with dedication
I'll put out your misery
(The next shot shows a blood splatter that stains a flurry of feathers that had been blown away by the force of either a gust of wind or gunshot. Another shot shows that an empty bullet casing is rolling on the ground of the streets of Mantle in a pool of blood before it's blown away by the same wind that carried away feathers)
You made a mess
For Christ sake, this rotten world
Shit out of luck
Go with my vision
Light up the fire
Right on the power
A weapon … I have it all
(Weiss is seen sitting in the middle of the streets of Mantle for reasons unknown as the feathers drift through the air around her as the sunset flashes a few times. Then images of Jaune, Sky and Wolfgang are shown before 'Rise of the Iron Wolves: Forgotten' appears on the screen… And is shot at a few times and filled with bullet holes.)
-Forgotten Shore, just outside the Dreaming City-
As Team ARSN and Sky flew over the drop zone for the Dreaming City, both Joan and Oscar were talking to Jaune. "You know what's down there. The watchtower, the Necromancer, Torchwick." Joan started to say. "The end."
"Yeah. I know." The blonde nodded. Sky and the others did the same as they were listening to the conversation.
"Justice or revenge, Torchwick deserves what's coming to him. There's no debating that." Oscar added. "But… Jaune: the "why" of what you're doing is just as important as the "what"." He added. "I don't know what you're thinking but… Just… Remember that."
"Yeah… Right." The Knight nodded. As they landed the group quickly disembarked as Corrupted fought Sienna's associates, who had brought two spider walker tanks. "Approaching the Watchtower on foot!" Jaune said.
"Coming in from the air." Winter told them. The gang fought their way through the Corrupted alongside Sienna's associates before they arrived at the entrance to the tower, where the Necromancer appeared in a flash of lightning.
"You enjoyed killing them?" The undead condor faunus rasped as he stood to full height. "You enjoyed putting them in the dirt—where you belong?" He questioned. "Did it make you feel good?" He added as Corrupted appeared everywhere. Immediately, the group started fighting against the horde. "Salas, Rex Khan, Cheetara, Mink, Hawkeye, Charlotte and William. Tell me that killing my friends made you feel good—TELL ME!" He roared, attacking them directly.
"This guy's nuts!" Sun explained as he bashed several Raiders in the head.
"What'd you expect? Half his brain is rotted." Foxxianna quipped as she cut several Marauders down. This kept going on as Neptune used his rocket boots to stay above the hoard and pick them off more efficiently, his retractable helmet helping him with targeting.
However as they kept fighting, Carrion suddenly pulled them into the watchtower with his powers. "I will pay any price—to be there when you die!" The zombie growled as he lunged at Jaune and started fighting him, his height dwarfing the young knight.
"I'd like to see you try and kill me!" The boy retorted as he tried to fight the larger faunus, but was having difficulty. Quickly everyone started attacking Carrion from all directions, making him constantly lose balance and have to turn his attention to the others, and they surrounded him.
The condor Faunus roared as he was knocked to his knees by Sky, Sun and Neptune, before Jaune charged and swung his sword, causing a shockwave blade that destroyed what was left of the man's Aura and slashed him in half, causing him to fall in two pieces.
"The Corrupted… Are… Forever…" He said faintly as he died.
"We did it. Only one name left… Roman Torchwick." Joan said.
"It's time to end this. For Wolfgang." Winter said. As they continued forward, they soon reached a room with some sort of solar system model.
"Jaune, no one has stepped inside here since Oz and Salem first abandoned the city. You're the first human to step inside for a very long time." Oscar told them. Gurren floated up to the model and analyzed it.
"This is a communication device, but the coordinates it's broadcasting to… Shouldn't even exist." He noted. They kept moving until they were suddenly transported into the Ascendant Plane by a portal that opened.
"Open the door, beloved." A voice said in the distance. "OPEN THE DOOR." It pressed harder.
"I can't… No…" The voice of Roman said reluctantly.
"Who's that talking?" Sun questioned.
"And how are we in the Ascendant Plane?!" Neptune said as he tried to get the hang of flying through the wonky dimension.
"The line between dimensions is thin here. Probably due to all the powerful magic." Sky said as they got back to the material plane through another portal, Neptune and Sun falling flat on their faces and Foxxianna landing on Sun's back.
"Okay, but who was Torchwick talking to?" The kitsune asked.
"I have no idea." Jaune shrugged. The group kept moving until they were suddenly attacked by the same black and white Enthralled from Faustus, only now they read: "Enthralled by the Voices of Riven."
"Who the hell is Riven?" Tripitaka wondered as the gang took cover.
"The last living Ahamkara that Oz originally kept as a pet. He locked her inside a room that allowed him to make bargains with her without her bending them." Oscar said. "But recently it seems that she's become tainted by the same energy that turns beings into the Enthralled." He added. This caused Sky to blink.
"Hold on, how is that possible? I've never sent anything Enthralled related here." He questioned as the group started shooting.
"It could have been Akka. He did know how to Enthrall before you did." The farm boy suggested.
"That's certainly in the realm of possibility." The King shrugged. Quickly he used his sword's dark slash ability to dissipate the remaining Enthralled, allowing them to keep moving. Not a moment later, they came across a chunk of rock with an ore of unknown origin. Joan decided to scan it and see if she could learn anything.
"This crystal doesn't match anything in Remnant's geological database." She noted.
"It wouldn't. You'll see." The Specialist told them. Continuing on, a large group of Enthralled Thralls appeared.
"Riven Enthralled the Hive? WHY?!" Sun said as he started gunchucking the ones who came near him.
"Who fucking knows! Let's just kill them!" Foxxianna barked as she shot arrows into the Thrall's heads… When they weren't being annoying little shits that blurred around really fast.
"Oh fuck this!" Jaune yelled as he used his shield's gravity function to cause a gravity slam that killed the rest. But before continuing on, they took note of a really old looking tree, which they scanned.
"This tree is several thousand years old." Oda noted.
"According to what I learned, that tree was planted shortly after the new humans rose." Winter explained.
They soon came to another portal and the plane was full of Enthralled.
"Obey me." The female voice said again as they fought their way through. "Free me!" It continued demandingly.
"No, no no no no!" Roman said frantically. "Something's wrong!" He added.
"Free me, O Lover Mine." The voice growled harshly.
"What in the world is going on?" Neptune wondered as they jumped from rock to rock.
"I have no clue, but I think it could have something to do with why Roman's here." Sky said.
"Didn't the way it talked seem familiar to you at all?" Jaune asked as he stabbed and shot a Enthralled Knight before they jumped back into the material plane.
"Yeah. It sounded almost like… Neo?" The fox girl said incredulously.
"But she can't talk. Can she?" Sun asked.
"No. And she was using the same wording of the Worms and Ahamkara." Sky told him. That's when it dawned on everyone.
"Oh shit." Was all Jaune could say with wide eyes.
(Elsewhere)
Torchwick opened his eyes, his face covered in dark veins and was Snow White, his eyes were nearly completely blacked out. "You have no idea how fortunate you are to be my chosen." The Neo illusion told him as he held the moon shard. The real Neo making her way into the doorway. "You hold the power of a god in your hands. You are mere steps away from our salvation." It continued. "Only light and dark, together, will unlock my way back into your world!" It added with a stern look.
Roman started walking towards the gateway in front of him almost mindlessly. "Yes. That's it. FREE ME!" The illusion said as Neo tried to run towards him and stop him, but it was too late. The shard floated to the gate and extracted the Grimm corruption from the man, causing him to return to normal and fall to his knees, as well as blow Neo back.
As the thief looked up, he saw the illusion floating towards him. "... Neo?" He breathed.
"Roman. You devoted, pathetic fool." The illusion said to him as she took his arms into hers… and it was then revealed to actually be the monstrous combination of Enthralled a giant security sphere drone, the mouth of a leech, and just way too many tentacles. The second Roman opened his eyes and saw what was holding him, he screamed in fear and frantically tried to grab Wolf's Pack to shoot it, only for it to be smacked out of his hand as he was devoured by it.
Neo watched this unfold in horror, tears running down her face as she let out a silent cry of agony… and felt something in her change. Her eyes turned red and she transformed into Yang as the creature started shooting energy orbs at her, which she absorbed the impact of before her hair was set ablaze and she swatted the rest away. She was using Yang's semblance: Burn!
'I'll kill you, you bastard!' Neo thought angrily as she readied herself to fight.
(Elsewhere, same time)
"Did you hear that? It sounded like screaming." Jaune said as they were following a huge spike in paracausal energy.
"And something involving paracausal energy happened. Double time!" Sky barked as they rushed up some stairs and through a door… And were shocked by the sight of the Enthralled chimera and…
"Yang?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Sun gasped in surprise, drawing 'Yang's' attention before she manifested a sign.
"I'm Neo, you idiot! Now help me kill this thing! It just ate Roman!" It read.
"Again? Man, that guy just cannot catch a break can he?" Sun groaned.
"How is Neo using Yang's semblance?! And her weapons?!" Foxxianna asked as she and Neptune started fighting Enthralled that appeared.
"Let's worry about that later! We have a beast to kill!" Jaune barked as he fired several shots at his target. They kept fighting until the Chimera sent them to the Ascendant Plane, leaving Sky and Neo behind to fight the chimera on their own.
"Nooooooooo!" Roman's voice screamed.
"Shit! Neo, to me!" The King exclaimed as he took cover. "I'm going to summon my Lieutenants here and some Enthralled. Attack with them when they get here." He told her. The ice cream girl nodded as she readied herself.
Sky opened a portal and all his generals stepped out of it, and so did a hoard of Enthralled Grimm. "Veridas, Xeronas, execute that thing!" He ordered.
"Yes, my lord!" The two nodded before they charged at their target. It was around this time that the others got back just as the Grimm were keeping their target busy.
"Alright, that should make things easier." Jaune nodded as he and ARSN joined in the fight.
"NEO! HELP!" Roman's voice yelled once more.
"Wait… You guys don't think he was following that thing's orders thinking it was Neo, do you?" Oscar asked as everyone activated their supers.
"That's certainly what it looks like!" Sky exclaimed as he sent a wave of ice at the chimera. This was followed by everyone using their supers to deal damage to it. Jaune blocks the tracking orbs with Banner Shield, Neptune redirecting the Void orbs back at it with his arc staff, Foxxianna tying it down with Void tethers, and finally Sun and Neo blasting it with heat blasts. Roman's voice let out another scream as they kept fighting.
With one last throw of his shield, Jaune caused the Chimera to explode, sending Roman crashing to the ground, his aura shattering upon impact. Jaune spotted Wolf's Pack nearby and picked it up before walking over to a crawling Roman. Everyone else surrounded the thief to make sure he couldn't go anywhere, not that he could.
"Congratulations, you have my undivided attention." The redhead said as Jaune pointed Wolfang's gun at him as he sat up. "Now where's Neo?!" He questioned angrily. As if to answer his question, Neo promptly glomped him. "N-Neo?" He gasped in shock as he hugged her back.
The ice cream girl hugged him tightly as tears ran down her face, refusing to let him go. "Don't think that she can save you, Torchwick." Winter said as she walked up to the group, sidearm ready. "Because she can't. You better move Neo, it'll make this much easier." She growled, pointing her gun at them.
"So, is this supposed to be a reckoning, kids?" Roman asked, holding Neo close to him.
"Wait." Gurren spoke up. "This isn't necessary. Look at him—He's finished. And you know what will happen if you kill him with Jaune around." He stated, referring to the Knight's Law. "Even with everything he's done—."
"You have no idea what he's done!" Winter snapped before looking at Jaune. "If Wolfang was here, I know what he would do, Jaune." She told him. "Do you?" She asked.
"Yes. What would the notorious Wolfgang Amadeus Prowl do? You have his gun. Seems like you get the last word." Roman chuckled, hugging Neo tighter while looking at her. "Everything I did, I did for you Neo." He told her, patting her head before turning back to the kids. "Heh, funny. The line between light and dark is so, very thin. Do you know what side you're on?" He asked.
Jaune glared at him as he pulled the engraved bullet from his pocket and loaded it into the chamber before raising the gun to the two as everyone watched in tense anticipation, not sure if he was willing to risk his life just for revenge.
That was when he had a vision.
-In Jaune's mind-
Jaune suddenly found himself standing in the world between worlds, and as his eyes adjusted, he saw that Aether the God of Light was standing before him. "So, you are the Knight that my prophecy spoke of." The god said to the boy.
"I suppose?" The boy replied as he scratched his head.
"The choice you are about to make will change the course of reality and history forever." Aether told him. "Are you sure you're willing to throw away the chance of humanity's salvation from Salem for a selfish desire for revenge?"
Jaune looked down at this. Was his desire for revenge worth throwing away humanity's salvation? Was it even worth killing himself? "But what he did to Wolfang… it doomed the—." He tried to argue before the god interrupted him.
"It made the prophecy's fruition inevitable. The conditions were for the chosen King of Seasons to die once and return once, this was all foretold, boy." The older brother said.
"Then… How is he to return?" Jaune asked with a tired sigh.
"Ask your Grimm Knight friend when you return." Aether told him before everything began to fade.
-Back in reality-
Jaune snapped out of it before he looked at Neo and Roman again and rose Wolf's Pack and cocked the hammer back, loading the engraved bullet into the chamber. "I know what side I'm on, Roman. More than you do." He said, before he pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The bullet went flying… Missing Roman and Neo's heads entirely and burying itself into the ground behind them.
"Huh?" Was the general response of everyone gathered.
"I've been smothering myself in revenge for far too long." Jaune sighed tiredly. "But after seeing how it would make the people around me feel, I know it's wrong." He continued before looking at Winter and Sky. "So much that I've lost my taste for it."
"Good. It takes a strong spirit to pull yourself away from potential self destruction." Sky nodded as Neo let out a sigh of relief and hugged Roman tighter.
"This still doesn't diminish the fact that he needs to pay for everything he's done!" Winter snapped, her grip on her sidearm tightening.
"And what would you have him do?" Foxxianna questioned.
That was when Neo raised her hand, causing everyone to look at her. "I think I may have an idea." She told them.
"What do you have in mind?" Neptune asked.
"Sienna helped me get here, but in exchange she said I had to work for her and I had to bring Roman with me." The girl told them.
"So that's where you were this whole time." Jaune said in realization.
"Well that explains a lot." Sky nodded before turning to winter. "What do you think, Winter? Do you think that having these two work for Atlas through Sienna?" He asked the specialist as he tried to get her to lower her gun. Winter hesitated for a moment before sighing in defeat.
"Fine." She conceded as she holstered her sidearm. This allowed everyone to let out a sigh of relief. Thank god that the Law of Pacifism wouldn't be claiming their lives today…
(Later)
Later on back in Atlas, Jaune was back with his team and they were standing in front of Ironwood and Deus, giving them a mission report. The two leaders listened intently, making sure to commit everything important to memory.
"So Torchwick is still alive and being kept on a very short leash in the Forgotten Shore?" Ironwood asked.
"Yeah, Neo's there too. She'll keep him in line. Assuming they don't go back to their old Bonnie and Clyde ways." Sky nodded.
"I suppose it'll do." Deus sighed.
"And you mentioned that the one responsible is an actual living Ahamkara?" Fey asked.
"According to Oscar, that's the case. Something's gonna have to be done about that." Jaune nodded.
"This means that this hellscape won't be over until Riven's dealt with." Leopold sighed, burying his face in his hands.
"We'll deal with her later." Sky said. "For now we have to deal with the Necromancer, who's somehow back, first."
"Right…" Jaune sighed before the sound of a coin being flipped could be heard. Everyone turned around and saw Nomad standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, his usual sly smile spread across his face.
"Oh great. What do you want, Nomad?" Sky asked with a sigh.
"Me? Ah nothin' brother, just wanted to see if I could talk to team RWBY real quick." The man said, flipping his coin again. "You too, Ace Ops, I think y'all might wanna get in on this." He added.
"Why? What's up?" Clover asked.
"It's the Prison of Elders. Ya old friend Indigo Valley's pet project is starting to make reclaiming the damn place a real hassle." The man said.
"Wait, the Warden Servitor is still active? How?" Harriet asked.
"Um, what?" Nora asked in confusion.
"Servitors are old mining drones that were repurposed into artificial Dust synthesizers." Winter explained. "The SDC planned on using them to replace human labor, but the project was mired with complications and was abandoned. So the military decided to use them for surveillance and security." She finished.
"Why have we never heard about those until now?" Pyrrha wondered as she scratched the side of her head.
"Their existence was classified until recently." The woman replied.
"Yeah and we need to get rid of the Warden Servitor before we can reclaim the prison." Nomad nodded before turning to team RWBY. "So sisters, whaddya say? You up for a job with ol' Nomad? Cuz if ya are, I'll make sure y'all get paid big."
"That would depend on the nature of the job." Ruby stated.
"Simple search and destroy, sister. You find the Servitor, scrap it. And that's it." The rogue huntsman said. The girls looked at each other for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. Give us some time to gear up and we'll be boots on the ground in the prison soon." Yang said.
"Alright alright alright! Now that's what I'm talking about!" The man grinned.
(Later)
"Man, Wolf's Pack is in really bad shape. Haven't seen this much corrosion since… Can't remember." Leopold said as he examined his little brother's gun, noting how rough it looked.
"Can it be patched up?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah. Wolfang woulda kept spare parts in his personal loot stashes. Yours too, now, by rights." The man told him. "Track 'em down, bring me the parts. We'll get this piece purrin' again."
"Where do I find the caches?" The blond boy asked.
"From what I remember, he hid 'em all over Remnant. But you'll find the main ones in the deep caves of the Titan ocean banks of Anima." He replied.
"Then I guess I have my next stop… After I take some time to rest." Jaune said before signing as he thought about just sleeping all day, which made him feel a sense of bliss.
"After what you just managed to do? I don't blame you." The man told him as the boy left to go sleep.
(Elsewhere)
Sky sat down on his throne and let out a heavy sigh. "When it's time to go after Riven, I think I'll sit this one out. In fact I think I'll sit the rest of the missions out." He said to Yang, Sun and Blake.
"Good idea. You've been putting yourself through the wringer, so you need some time off." Blake nodded.
"That means more cuddle time." Yang said with a grin as she pressed herself against her King.
"Which I have really missed." Sky sighed as he sat his Queen in his lap and held her close.
"Group hug!" Sun smiled as he and Blake joined in, the duo couple hugging each other as they enjoyed each other's warmth.
(Elsewhere)
In the lair of Sienna Khan, she, Neo and Roman were currently in bed together, with both on either side of him as they had just finished five hours of passionate fornication. All three of them were underneath the covers and unclothed.
"Well… I didn't expect my life to take this kind of turn." Roman breathed as Neo snuggled into his chest with a peaceful smile.
"Well I don't think you're really complaining about it, are you Roman?" Sienna asked him, laying her head on his chest beside Neo.
"No not really." He replied with a shrug.
At least everything was finally over… Mostly, at least.
Dragon Emperor0: And that's it. Now we enter the transition period between Forgotten and Terramind.
ThermalsniperN7: Brace yourselves, cuz things are about to get bumpy.
Dragon Emperor0: Also before this chapter was posted I also posted a bonus chapter. Please let me know what you think of it. Anyway, see you all next time.