Hey everyone, got another chapter for you! This one is a bit on the shorter end of what I've been getting out recently and I'm sorry for that, but I'll be making it up next chapter for sure.

I hope this chapter is interesting enough to tide you over, and apologizes if it doesn't. But don't worry, I guarantee the next one will be worth the wait. So until then, on with the show!

With heavy feet Neo dragged herself into the room they just rented and tossed down her bag before flopping down on the nearest bed. Her exhaustion was certainly warranted in her mind, nearly two weeks since they had fled from Shion and this was the first time since then that Neo could remember being off her feet for anything other than food or sleep. Fen had been acting like a man possessed as they'd traveled, always distracted and only focused on covering as much ground in a day as they could manage. Thankfully, having finally reached a sizable town by the name of Higanbana after only a couple hours of travel this morning, she knew she'd have at least a day to rest before being subjected to that quick pace again.

Or so she had thought.

Fen came into the room with a rushed energy, putting down his bag near Neo's before he turned back around towards the door and called back to her: "Come on Neo, let's get a nice meal and then we can rest for a bit; if we use our time well, we can leave in early afternoon and get some more distance down towards Mistral."

Neo balked at the thought of more travelling, her legs and feet in complete agreement:

Umm, how about no? Turning around, Fen started at her like she had grown another head; which she had done once to mess with him, but there was no funny semblance use this time. Fen, we've been travelling nonstop, let's take it easy today. We can't afford to overtax ourselves, you especially. I still don't think you're completely fine from dealing with that Nuckelavee grimm.

Turning away, he dismissed her words without even a reply. His hand reached for the door handle, but was prevented by a grip to his arm. He jumped slightly as he spun around to find that Neo had crossed the distance to prevent him from leaving; the action sparking concern in her heterochromatic eyes. With a small shove she turned him fully around to face her as she sought to read through the expressionless mask he had on.

I need you to talk to me, Fen. I can't see auras like you to tell me how you feel. I'm the mute here and I feel like I've 'said' more than you in the last couple weeks. She tried to joke to get even a chuckle out of him, but when he just turned his head away she raised a hand to move his gaze back to hers. You closed yourself off once to poor results, let's not repeat that mistake. Please?

Letting out a sigh, Fen pushed past her and walked further back into the room. Shedding his jacket and tossing it onto the closest bed, he turned around and threw open his arms saying: "Fine, we'll stay the day. Happy?"

The frown on his partner's face told him she wasn't, but Neo didn't stop there as she marched back up to him and poked him in the chest: Not until you tell me what the hell is wrong with you. I'm done dealing with your foolish 'I've-got-to-handle-things-myself' bullshit! So until you want to fess up, I suggest you get comfortable because you're not leaving without my say so.

Fen glared down at her before brushing her hand aside and stepping past her: "I told you I'm fine, Ne—!?"

His declaration was cut short as his vertical orientation was swiftly made horizontal as Neo grabbed him by the back of his collar and shoved her heel into the back of his left knee. As he was bent backwards, his fall was redirected as Neo grappled him in midair and landed him on what was her bed. The action stunned him into silence as Neo glared down at him with a violent sneer as she sat straddled over his chest.

Deflect one more fucking time, I dare you! I'm your goddamn partner and I have a right to know what the hell is going through that cement block you call a brain!

He figured he shouldn't be surprised, but the manner in which she had forced him down still had his mind playing catch-up as he stared blankly up at her. She had his arms pinned to his sides and sat ready to react to any attempts to throw her off. He could think of several ways to do so, but each one would have led to a brawl and Fen had zero desire to even remotely harm his friend. He tried to settle with turning his head away from her, but a hand reached out and softly but sternly forced him to direct his attention back to her. When he did, there was less anger in her expression, and it was instead replaced with one of stinging disappointment.

Am I not good enough for your trust, Fen? Do you really feel as though you can't tell me when something is wrong?

"That's not it!" Fen quickly dashed her worries, as he tried to instinctually sit up. Held down, he eventually slowed his breathing as he looked up at her with trepidation: "I… don't want to involve you in things even I don't understand."

Anger flashed across Neo's face once more: Well too bad! I've been involved from the moment you saved me from becoming grimm fodder over a year ago! Your issues are just as much my problem as yours!

He strained against her again: "That's not fair to say and you know it! What I've been feeling the last few weeks isn't something I want you anywhere near!"

So you are being influenced by something! Neo grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pressed him into the bed: I don't care if you want me around or not! If you're planning on seeking out whatever it is that's calling you, then I'm going to be right by your side to either fight it with you or drag your ass out of the fire. So stop making this difficult and just tell me what it—

"An Omega."

Wha!? Neo stared down at the calm but resolute visage of her partner as he gave up what she expected to have to monologue out of him. He managed to slip an arm out from her pin which he used to remove the patch from his right eye; and with the half-glowing stare, unwaveringly repeated:

"An Omega called out to me." She was just as shocked by his words as the first time, but this time he continued: "The same night after we escaped the Nuckelavee, I had a dream, or more accurately a vision, of a cave filled with more dust than I've ever even heard of being discovered. I was made to walk through it, before the light of the crystals vanished and I felt a presence. When I turned to face it, I was only met with one thing: the mask of another Omega."

There had to be more he wasn't telling her, but chief among her questions was: H-how could you tell it was an Omega?

"Well, two of my theories I'm much more confident in because of the experience: dust is part of the equation when a grimm becomes an Omega, and the dust alters their mask by the corresponding type of dust." Fen explained as he stared past her up at the ceiling. "I can't recall from my research what type of grimm it could have been from the mask, but it definitely had an extreme connection to wind dust. The cavern I saw only contained those crystals, and their purity was so refined that the SDC would have been jealous that nature could produce such a thing; if it was natural that is."

Neo's paranoia grew as her imagination did more harm than good at the news: Did it do anything? Tell you something? What are you planning to do? Shouldn't we just ignore it?

Fen placed his hand over hers, the action snapping Neo out of her ranting long enough to actually be given an answer to her questions: "Since I woke up from that vision, I've felt a pull drawing me presumably towards it. Even now, every second I'm not answering that pull, it grows stronger. The… hmm, I suppose calling the omega inside me just by its title isn't really an effective way to distinguish between it and the one calling me. My own name means 'black hound', which is ironic as it fits the Beo better than myself. What would be a name that works for—"

Fir… The single word from Neo caused a stillness in Fen. In seeing his reaction, Neo continued: I know how the pronunciation makes it seem, but it means 'dark' in an old dead form of Valean. It feels… appropriate.

Fen tested the word for himself: "Fir… So the 'black hound' has a 'dark' shadow. Yeah, I think you're right, Neo; it does fit pretty well."

Within him, he felt the Omega stir and fill him with a sense of satisfaction. As though granting approval of its new title of address.

Removing herself from his chest, Neo instead sat on the edge of the bed as Fen sat up. She pondered what to ask him next, but before she could, she felt his arms circle around her and hold her close in a hug. The heat that flooded her face made her attempt to squirm away lest Fen notice the shyness she felt, but he held her tight as his voice reached her ears:

"I've been a fool again, Neo. I'm sorry for that." The sincerity in his voice calmed Neo's thrashing, but only served to deepen her blush as he continued: "I always kept things about my semblance and the omegas away from everyone; even my own team. Only Thrud knew much of anything, and even then I only ever shared the bare minimum to satisfy her questions. You, in contrast, know me… it… us, nearly better than we know ourselves. I neglected that I can tell you when things happen concerning my semblance, but I'm glad you're someone who can get it out of me when I forget."

Blushing clear down to her toes, Neo did her best to at least maintain some semblance of calm in her tone: You're welcome. Now are you done being a sentimental asshole? I'd like my space, if you wouldn't mind.

However, she froze stiff as she felt his breath hit her ear:

"Are you sure? Seeing as your arms are over mine, I thought you were enjoying the attention."

Her head snapped down to see that yes, she had subconsciously placed her own arms over where Fen was hugging her, effectively preventing them from leaving. In a flash, that changed as Neo cocked an elbow and slammed it into the gut of her partner who flew off the bed and into the wall as she had decided to not hold back in the least.

A low groan came from Fen as he coughed: "Ok, I admit. *hhhagh* I might have teased a bit too much."

Neo rose and stomped over to him, leaning down so he could see the scowl she had on her face: You think? Hmph! She straightened up and marched towards the door. I'm not tired anymore. I'm going to secure us some travel provisions. You can stay here and sleep off that smart-ass mouth of yours and maybe I'll be nice enough to have dinner with you when I get back.

With a slam of the door, Fen was left healing as he lay slumped against the wall. Dragging himself up before flopping down onto the bed he had just recently been tossed from, he thought to himself: Moments like that I feel could go very differently if our relationship was something beyond what it currently is. Though admittedly, as I say that, I know our relationship is slowly changing. We both feel something towards each other, I'm fairly confident in thinking that much; but what the catalyst will be to push us over the edge to something else… I'm a bit afraid to find out.

..hat'.. lo..e m..mm..? He..e, so..e ..lo..ers ..o.. yo… I.. I c..n't ha..e ..ou t..en ne..th..r c..n sh..!

"The fuck!?" Fen cried out as fractions of words met his ears, in voices and tones that varied with almost every half-syllable he could make out. The room was silent just as suddenly as the voic— no — the noises had come. Until they came once again, but this time softer, clearer, but still heavily fractured.

..el..o. Di.. you he..r t..a.., Why do..'t ..ou lo..k .. su..h a dis..la.. I ..il.. en..e..ta..n yo..r wo..ds, Salem.

That name…! Suddenly, Fen's attention was focused razor sharp as out of habit his ears vainly tried to determine a source he knew came from within his mind:

F..nal ..udg..men.. is a.. ha..d. Da..dy, ..add..! We n..ed t.. Fig..t!

Where? This isn't from you, I suppose? Fen asked the recently named Fir, to which he felt a wave of opposition to the accusation, letting him know that was not the case. So instead, he rose from the bed and wandered around the room. Occasionally catching a snippet of sound, but one thing he noticed was that the intensity of the whispers always faded as he stepped away from the beds.

Ta..! You.. i..! ..our s.. bea..ti..ul. D.. you re..emb..r ou.. fi..st ..i..s?

Stepping up to what was to be his own bed for their stay in the town, Fen stared down at the one article of clothing that he had personally placed there: his coat.

There's no way… why? No, wait… this happened before, didn't it? Right when I put it on after I got it back from old Sable. Though, what does it mean?

He cautiously reached out for the coat, fearing it might flood his mind with voices once more, but after hearing the name of the one Neo told him was behind everything that happened at Beacon, he had to know if he could learn something. His decision was affirmed by Fir with a mixed wave of calm and resolution, giving him all the motivation he needed to grab the coat by the lapel and hold it up in front of him.

There was no immediate effect from his actions, and as he wondered what to do next the voices returned once again; though this time it was only a singular distorted line filled with a multitude of tones and pitches:

There's something you should see…

With the ominous message, Fen could have sworn he saw a glimmer race across the dust infused thread that accentuated his coat, though he supposed it didn't matter if what he saw was real or not. Because whether it was in answer to his own cluelessness or an invitation brought about by his contact with the coat, he anticipated he was going to experience a revelation of some sort.

There was a crackle along his skin as he slipped his first arm through the sleeve of his coat, which felt even stronger as his other hand traveled down its mate. Then, as he pulled it snug so that the entirety of the coat lay where it was meant, a certified jolt shot through Fen's spine as he felt his muscles freeze solid; soon followed by the sensation of falling backwards.

The freefall only lasted a moment, as Fen felt his eyes shut beyond his control, and the impact he mentally braced for never came.

It was a similar sensation to being within the void he existed in when Fir manifested, but unlike then, Fen still felt as though his body retained its sense of touch. In fact, it felt as though he was standing, and that his gaze was angled… down?

The void was replaced with blinding white, enough to make Fen wish he could blink, but his body was not currently his own. Though the scene did not remain white for long as reds, yellows, greys, and many others filled in one by one, almost as though someone was painting a canvas before him. Objects took shape, shapes began to move, and in just a few mere moments was largely able to recognize what lay within his view.

He stood in a grand hall, lined with great columns of stone, and at the edges of his vision he saw people dressed in exquisite finery; though in a style he could not recognize as coming from any of the four kingdoms. It felt overwhelming as his mind swam with theories and ideas as to what he was seeing, but it all was blocked out as he took notice of the single individual that stood down a series of steps.

A pale dress, adorned with emeralds in a way that was surely expensive but not gaudy, matched with flowing blond hair that showed care and wealth in the way it shimmered like gold, and all worn and styled to give prominence to her beautiful face which held two jade green eyes that put the gemstones of her dress to shame. Her presence captured the attention of every soul that laid eyes upon her, and Fen was made to regardless of his own will.

Though there was no way he had ever seen such a woman before in his life, he somehow immediately knew who stood before him.

"Salem."

A feminine tone came from his own mouth, surprising him greatly, but before he could think on it, he felt his body and mouth continue on its own as the scene played out.

"Tell of your deeds reached my court long ago, but your arrival is much more sudden. Do you wish to offer me a display of blood and death as well?"

The woman gave a smile, radiant in its appearance, but Fen could sense even through the eyes of another that there was a false cheer to it. Her lips spread to speak, but the image around him shattered to glass like he had been looking at one of Neo's illusions; however, unlike Neo's illusions, the pieces froze in their collapse before reconstructing themselves into drastically different locale.

It was one of a small town, pitifully underdeveloped by Fen's modern standards, but still it appeared to be flourishing. Children ran and played, and in fact, Fen's own perspective jostled around as though he were running after the other children. A spirited game of tag, but as he rounded a corner his vision went black for a moment as his host apparently collided with something; and somehow he already had a feeling as to what.

Seeing the hem of the dress was all he needed, but the child's gaze slowly craned up to reveal the resplendent visage of the woman Salem once more. Unlike with the previous scene, this time he heard her voice:

"Now now, young lady. One can't just be running around blindly. What if I had been a beast of darkness?"

As much as he felt he should hate himself, her voice was nothing but lovely. Commanding attention but with a subtle kindness that endeared itself to others. He already had a multitude of questions he felt would surely go unanswered. Though it was to his surprise however, that the response his host gave answered at least one:

"The grimm don't come out here, Miss. Daddy and the others always keep them far away from here. Daddy's magic is the best around!"

And then again, maybe not.

Magic? As in that maiden stuff Neo mentioned? Or is this even removed from that?

Salem appeared to say something more, but the sounds turned dull and the color bleached from their surroundings as the scene warped once more.

The change snapped into place so suddenly that Fen's mind was still swimming as the scene began to move. The first thing he noticed was that this time he was part of a crowd, or rather an army considering each and every person held a sword, bow, or staff tightly in their hands. Second, and how it had been second he didn't know, was the forms of two giant monsters; one of a skeletal black winged dragon, and the other a golden scaled serpent with stag-like antlers.

Their presence, even as a memory, weighed down on him as though he would be crushed for offending such beings… and then he heard the golden one speak:

"WHO HAS LEAD YOU DOWN THIS PATH?"

Its voice echoed through Fen's being, but he was merely a passenger to the memory he was witnessing. When a form stepped past him through the crowd, it was that woman once more… Salem.

The dark dragon roared in rage at her appearance, seemingly already acquainted with the silver-tongued enchantress. Though she seemed to pay it little attention as she summoned up from thin air a great ball of fire before launching it at the monster. Those around including his host raised their weapons and unleashed a volley of steel and magic that he couldn't imagine the result of what would happen when it all struck the beast.

What he saw happen however, defied all logic as the arrows and magic was absorbed into the claw of the monster and became an orb of swirling black energy. There was a gasp of shock at this, and murmurs around him tingled with fear. Some words vaguely reached his ears but he couldn't discern their meaning. The only thing he saw was the head of the golden serpent turn away from the dark dragon as it raised its claw that still held the dark energy and before crushing it. Time slowed from that point.

A giant pillar of dark energy swept out from the clutched claw of the dark dragon and enveloped everything in its light. When it touched his host, everything went black and Fen found himself once again within the void he began in.

Moment by moment he drifted, expecting to wake at any moment, but there was yet more to see. It began as a twinkling light, followed by another, and then ten more, increasing and size and number until the void around him was more akin to a sea of swirling lights, yet one thing was shared by each mote that Fen couldn't help but find odd; the only colors he saw was red and green.

The motes of light floated around like they were carried on invisible currents, wafting past him in chaotic patterns. As this continued, Fen began to notice sudden changes to the flow, though at first the cause appeared to be random. Then, shift by shift, he picked up on a fact there were no longer only motes of red or green; yellow motes had joined the mix. This fact came accompanied by another revelation in that there were fewer motes surrounding him.

His eyes searched for the truth, and it was shown to him before long as motes of red and green collided and merged into a single mote of yellow. As he watched it happen time and again, a shared quality became apparent between the yellow motes: their stillness.

As time passed in a manner he couldn't tell was long or short, he was suddenly left with a field of motionless yellow motes… and then he heard a sound.

Like a fragment of a word, that couldn't quite complete itself, and then a flash of an image in his mind; certainly not one of his own. The distracting sensations kept him from realizing his surroundings were changing once again. In that the motes of light had begun to move once more; directly towards him. For with each sensation, sound, or image that he experienced he began to realize the reason; the motes were entering him.

They became more frequent, motes entering him at both an increased number and a quickening pace, to the point that his mind was swirling with so many sensations that he didn't have time to think a single syllable for himself as he was forced to endure the seemingly endless stream of sounds and images.

Until suddenly...

Fen's eyes snapped open, and found himself once again back inside their room at the inn. He was even standing just as he had been before the visions had consumed him; though not for long.

As every sensation echoed through him like a phantom aftershock, his legs went weak and he stumbled to the side. He luckily avoided the floor by catching himself on a nearby table, though his panicked breathing would have told anyone that he was far from alright.

In pulling himself up to a stable position as his legs gradually regained strength, Fen raised his eyes up to a mirror that sat upon the table. In it he saw his normally pale visage appear almost ghostly with how worn his face appeared. The half-glowing gaze that was reflected back to him was one of harrowed pain and exhaustion; it was understandable that he wasn't prepared for what he saw a moment later.

The azure glow that he had lived with for so many years, and had until recent months been his most self-loathed quality… suddenly flashed golden yellow for a fraction of a second.

Fen threw himself backwards in shock and panic, landing with his back against the foot of his bed; his eyes just barely able to still catch his reflection. What he saw was just his own eyes, Fir's presence in his right eye gone for the first time in months, and that terrified him all the more.

There was a swirling inside his gut that he could tell was not from himself. Which relieved him somewhat, though what it meant he really didn't know. Still, it was a sign that Fir was there with him, and as the swirling settled he returned his gaze to the mirror to find that his right eye glowed once more.

In feeling calmed, he muttered out a single phrase that was just as much a question to the void as it was to himself and Fir:

"...What the hell is happening to me?"

WRW

And there we go!

Little clarification here, Fir is pronounced 'fear'. And if you're wondering what language I got the translation from... well I think I'll just keep that to myself. Can't go spilling all of my inspirational sources now can I?

Those of you more familiar with the lore of rwby might see the implications I've set up with this chapter. If it's still confusing you then no worries, all will become clear next time!

Yonder

Remember to follow, fav, and leave us a comment to let us know what you thought.

WRW

That too. Ohh! And before I forget. We got some more art in the work that will be shown off on my DA account. One is complete and will be shown off with the next chapter, and another that will be coming in one or two chapters after that. So be looking forward to checking those out!

Stay awesome everyone, WRW and Yonder out.