The God of Remnant Chapter 17: After the Dust Settles
"" – Dialogue
'' – Thinking
Vale – Location/Time
"Renewal Taekwondo" – Technique
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"Wukong…" A disembodied voice said, reverberating through the darkness.
"Wukong… People still need you…" The voice asserted more clearly, now revealing itself to be distinctly feminine.
"Wukong!" The voice shouted, now coming through clearly.
It was this that roused Mori Jin from his slumber.
The Xiao-Long Rose Household, Patch
"Xuanzang!" Mori yelled as he sat up with a start, unknowingly jerking his arm free of a previously gently beeping machine that now released a series of long beeps as it fell to the ground with a clang.
'What was that?' Mori thought to himself as he put a palm to his sweaty forehead. 'Who was that?' Mori asked himself as he examined his surroundings. "More importantly. Where am I?" He asked thought aloud as he examined the room, he was in.
He was currently in a queen-sized bed that stood in the center of a brown room. The brown coloring of the room came from the fact that the room was constructed from wood, leading him to believe he was in a house rather than a hospital of some kind. The medical equipment and the dull throb he felt from where his tail used to be told him it was at least after his battle with Cinder.
Wait.
What happened with Cinder?
Pyrrha?
Seraphina?
Trying to remember what happened made his head throb as all he could remember was Ruby and then a blinding white light.
"I was wondering what that yell was." A voice he didn't recognize said from in front of him.
Lifting his slouched head, he was met with the sight of a blond man he didn't recognize. The man was dressed in clothes of a similar style to Yang, with hair that was a similar color to Yang as well as eyes of a similar color to a calm Yang… Was this guy related to her, by any chance?
"You had us all worried when you passed out like you did but given what you went through; it makes sense." The man rambled as he picked up the fallen medical equipment next to the bed.
"Uhm…" Mori mumbled, unsure what to say to the unfamiliar man.
"Oh! You don't know who I am! I'm Taiyang Xiao-Long, Ruby and Yang's father." The man introduced as he stood, holding out a hand for Mori to shake.
Taking the hand, Mori gave his own introduction. "Nice to meet you, I'm Mori Jin. You probably already knew that though." He added with a slight shrug.
Nodding at the boy's assumption, he continued "You probably have a lot of questions right now, so I'll give you the rundown and you can ask any questions you have left at the end. Alright?" Taiyang said, getting an appreciative nod from the boy.
"Alright, so first of all. Everyone you know is still alive." He said, dropping the most valuable piece of information first. "Pyrrha and Seraphina, were they? They were heavily injured, but alive. Seraphina was taken back to Atlas by her family when we found you all, and Pyrrha was taken by General Ironwood to be treated in Atlas." Taiyang explained.
This information caused Mori to fall back into his bed. His face held no expression as his brain rushed to make sense of the emotions he felt from those words.
"Thank god they're alright." Mori said as his face settled into a relieved smile. "What about everyone else? Are they alright?" He asked
"All of your other friends managed to escape without any major injuries bar one." Taiyang said as the expression on his face saddened. "Yang lost an arm fighting the leader of Vale's White Fang, a man by the name of Adam Taurus." He said, finishing with clenched fists. "As a result, she's still here recovering from her injuries…"
'And not just the physical ones…' he added mentally, withholding his pained expression from the tense young man.
"Adam Taurus…" Mori repeated, memorizing the name of the man who permanently disfigured one of his friends. He would remember that for when he, and he would make sure he did, runs into him.
"Other than that, the battle was relatively one-sided except for some civilian casualties on account of the bombs and the Fang." Taiyang summarized.
Mori's face fell at the sound of that news. Deaths were going to be a natural consequence of being a hunter, but to hear about a large number of casualties, preventable or not, left a bad taste in his mouth.
"I know that face, and I'm going to warn you now. Don't let them weigh you down." Taiyang chastised upon seeing Mori's expression harden from that news. "You and the other students stopped what could have been a complete slaughter from getting any worse than a couple dozen deaths. While it may not be optimal, it's better than what could have been. Remember that." Taiyang said, drawing from his own experiences to help the young hunter come to terms with his shortcomings.
"What about Cinder?" Mori asked, having to suppress the anger that came along with even remembering the fiery foe. "What happened to her after… whatever that bright light was." He asked, genuinely wondering what happened.
Taking a breath before he broke the news to the boy, Taiyang carefully worded his next statement. "Cinder Fall escaped." He said bluntly laying out the ultimate outcome. "She escaped, but we believe she was heavily injured from the combination of your attacks and Ruby's eyes." He spoke.
"Ruby's eyes?" Mori asked immediately. "What happened with Ruby's eyes?"
Realization crossed Taiyang's face at his mistake. "Oh, yeah. Remember Ruby's silver eyes?" Taiyang said, getting a nod from the bedridden teen. "Well, it turns out that they actually hold a lot of power capable of accomplishing untold feats, if properly harnessed." He said, giving the highly condensed version.
"If properly harnessed?" Mori asked.
"Yup, unfortunately she doesn't really know how she did it…" Taiyang said, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile. A mannerism he could easily see got passed down to both of the man's daughters.
"Man… if only Ozpin were still around, I bet he'd know something about that." Mori said. 'And I bet he'd be able to help me make sense of some of these memories…' Mori thought to himself.
Jin Taejin? Daewi Han? Mira Yu? He remembered these names but none of the context around them. It was so frustrating! It feels like he had the pieces to the puzzle but didn't know how they all connected.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Taiyang said as he stood with a start, knocking Mori out of his spiral of negative thoughts. "Ozpin left something for you." He said as he briefly excused himself from the room.
"For me?" Mori parroted back to the man.
"Yup. He had Qrow drop it off after… yeah." Taiyang said as he entered the room carrying Ozpin's signature cane.
"His cane?" Mori asked in a confused tone, grasping the offered cane in both hands.
"It came with a message as well." Taiyang said before clearing his throat. "'bring this back to me'" he quoted in his best Ozpin impression, earning a small chuckle from the faunus.
Inspecting the cane for a few moments, Mori's mind produced a blank. What was he supposed to do with this thing?
About to give up, he placed his palm on the rounded top and was rewarded with the sound of spinning cogs. Confused as to where it was coming from, he was surprised to find the cogs in the cane spinning slowly as the white top slowly illuminated. When the process finished, the top flashed a brilliant white as a hologram was slowly formed above the light.
When the hologram finished forming, Mori couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"O-ozpin?" He asked himself, Taiyang having vacated the room while Mori was messing with the cane.
"Mori Jin," Ozpin began, "if you are receiving this message, then that means that for one reason or another; I am dead." The miniature holo-Ozpin stated. "However, if you have received this message, then that means you have also regained some more of your former power and memories." Holo-Ozpin stated to the shock of the teenager.
'How does he know about that?!' Mori thought to himself.
"'How does he know about that?' I'll bet you just thought something along those lines." Holo-Ozpin accurately guessed with a mirthful smile. What he was unable to see was the pouting face Mori was making at the seemingly psychic hologram, although he may have predicted that too…
"Anyways, to answer your question, the reason I know about this is because I was there to witness you at the height of your power." Ozpin said, once again shocking Mori. "I was there to witness you become the strongest you've ever been, and I was there when you lost it all…" He continued. "You may have guessed it already, but I am the being once known as 'The Jade Emperor'." Ozpin revealed, pausing to allow Mori to absorb that information.
Mori needed that pause.
Hearing that title immediately activated more than a few neurons in Mori's brain. There were a lot of memories he had associated with the Jade Emperor, but one stood out more than the others.
"D-daewi…" Mori said softly as tears flowed freely from his eyes. The last thing he could remember about the Jade Emperor was his body being given to Mira and the mind going to Daewi. That meant that if Ozpin really was the Jade Emperor, that the Daewi he knew was…
"You may have deduced this already, but the man you knew as the Jade Emperor, Daewi Han, is dead." Ozpin stated calmy. "In fact, he has been dead for thousands and thousands of years." Ozpin revealed, causing Mori's tears to pause as he now looked at the hologram with more interest than ever.
"I have memories from thousands of years ago…" Mori quietly said to himself, none of this feeling real.
"Mori Jin, I will now explain to you the events that led up to now, beginning with your birth and ending with your birth into Remnant. Are you ready?" He asked, a graphic appearing that said 'tap once for yes. Twice for no'.
Taking a moment to dry his tears and compose himself. Mori tapped the top once and prepared for the story of his life. Literally.
-GoR-
Unknown
There was a land few knew how to access.
The land was a place seemingly eternally cursed to be in a state of perpetual night, with the sky died a strangely ominous hot pink. Complimenting this, the land was a barren wasteland composed of colors ranging from violet to black. The one thing that truly stood out were the swirling pools of darkness that occasionally saw a grimm crawl out of it.
Upon a hill in this barren land, there stood a castle that housed this place's lone permanent resident.
Within the castle there was a room, lined in windows on the sides and with only a long brown table and a crystal throne within. The throne was currently occupied, as was the ground directly in front of the throne.
Before the throne, kneeling, was a bandaged Cinder Fall. Half of her face was bandaged as well as most of her body, although none of these served to restrict her movement enough to hinder her kneeling.
In the throne sat Cinder's master and Ozpin's antithesis, Salem. Salem was a tall, imposing figure even while sitting. The length of her pure black dress made sure that those who saw her would have trouble gauging her true heigh, however. The black of the dress contrasted with her paper white skin in such a way that it made one wonder if she was even alive. Amidst the whiteness of her skin were red lines that looked similar to veins running down the length of her arms and slightly onto her face.
Red irises against black sclera made her gaze one straight out of a nightmare when combined with the tightly bound white hair that she had in a bun with six offshoots. She had the remainder of her hair hanging down, framing her face.
Those terrifying eyes were currently gazing upon Cinder with interest at the girl's report.
"A monkey faunus who's attacks penetrated your aura; you say?" Salem questioned a part of Cinder's report.
Nodding, Cinder responded. "Yes, a monkey faunus who's tail I removed somehow stood and gained power greater than a maiden's." Cinder re-explained. "His name is Mori Jin. I didn't include him in any of the reports because he didn't seem notable outside of his use of martial arts over a weapon." Cinder said with her head bowed, not seeing the widening of her mistress' eyes.
"Mori Jin, huh?" Salem said, a grin appearing on her face as she began to chuckle softly. Her chuckle soon evolved into outright laughter as she realized what had happened.
"Mistress?" Cinder asked, confused at her reaction.
"The maiden was just bait then…. Ozpin, you sly dog." Salem said, as she realized Ozpin's plan. "Cinder." She called out. "The Fall Maiden was just bait to make way for an enemy far more dangerous than we could have prepared for." Salem said, now serious.
"An enemy we couldn't have prepared for… Mori Jin…" Cinder said, remembering her defeat with a dark expression.
"In order for you to grasp just how dangerous of an enemy he is, you'll have to know what makes him so dangerous." Salem explained. "Thus, I'm going to tell you a story that pre-dates Remnant itself. Prepare yourself, this will be a long tale." Salem said as Cinder settled into a seated position.
-GoR-
"And that concludes the events up to where we split up after Ragnarök." Holo-Ozpin concluded as the hologram paused, giving Mori time to ponder the information he's heard.
"The God of Highschool, The National Competition, Jegal Taek, The Sage Realm, The Jade Emperor, Ragnarök, Mubong, Grandpa…" Mori said as he summarily thought of the major events in his previous life.
One thing didn't make sense to him, though. The way Ozpin explained it, the last they'd heard of him was when he flew off after having his power sealed into the holy grail. How, then, did he end up in Remnant thousands of years later? And Ilpyo, too? How did he end up here?
Sensing that he'd just form more questions the more he though, he just decided to continue the hologram so he could finish the recording.
"Now, I know that may have been a lot to process at once, but there is one more crucial piece of information that I need to share with you." Ozpin said in utter seriousness. "The locations of the rest of your power as well as how to find me."
Thinking back to his power just reappearing along with some of his old clothing, Mori thought he'd very much like to know the how behind it.
"Your power is tied to your clothing, much like before. To prevent anyone from taking them, I hid them along with the maidens below the huntsman academies of each kingdom." He explained. "In order to regain them, you just need to get close, and they should resonate with you, since they're a smaller piece of your power trying to become whole again."
Mori's eyes widened at the information. All four of the huntsman academies were in drastically different areas of Remnant. Trying to travel between them without opposition would take a while, so he couldn't imagine how long it would take with detours.
"Don't fret, however. You will have me with you on your quest… once you find me, that is." He continued, renewing Mori's interest in what he was saying. "I've modified the way my power transfer works in that, instead of being given to a person of my choosing; the process spawns my consciousness within a random person. This was done for a reason I'll explain at a later date, but unfortunately, it means you'll have to find my new host or allow him to find you." Holo-Ozpin explained.
"That is all the information I can provide for you at this time." Ozpin said suddenly. "I know you may have more questions and that there may be a lot you don't understand, but don't be hesitant to rely on those around you." Ozpin advised as he gained a knowing smile. "Until we meet again, my oldest friend." He concluded as the hologram shut off, leaving Mori in a surprisingly dark room. Night having fallen over the course of his long re-education about the world.
As if he were the god of time himself, Taiyang chose that moment to enter the room.
"You looked like you were having an intense few hours with that hologram, so I just backed off for a while, but it seems like you're done." He said to the now-determined teen.
"Yeah… Now I know what I need to do." Mori said as he hit his fist into his palm, feeling suddenly energetic.
Smiling knowingly at the scene, Taiyang responded: "I see, you have the look of a man on a mission now; far different from the scared teen that woke up here a few hours ago."
"Oh, by the way, is Ruby awake? I have something important I need to ask her." Mori said.
"That was actually part of the reason I came to talk to you. Ruby left for Mistral about 2 weeks ago." Taiyang revealed to Mori.
"Mistral? What's in Mistral?" Mori asked, confused by the seemingly random location.
"It seems like Ruby somehow gained some sort of information about something going down in Mistral, so she and a few of your friends set out." He explained.
"In that case, I've got to get moving!" Mori said as he lifted his sheets.
Hopping out of the bed, Mori bounded for the door… or that's what he imagined would happen. What actually ended up happening was Mori took one step out of his bed and found himself with a closeup view of the wooden floor.
"What the hell…?" Mori said as he shakily raised himself up on all-fours before falling back onto his ass, sending a shocking pain up his spine. "I can't balance right!" He spoke.
Chuckling, Taiyang decided to enlighten the boy. "You used to have a tail, right? Did you think you'd be able to walk just like that without it?" He asked rhetorically, causing Mori to furrow his brows.
"But I was able to walk without it on the roof…" Mori mumbled to himself before he got an idea.
Closing his eyes, Mori began to reach within. Searching for the power he'd used back on the roof, he soon found within a large source of power that he'd decided to tap into. Upon releasing it, Mori was rewarded with his eyes turning blue, his pain receding and an increased awareness of his surroundings. A mysterious presence in the forest around them caught his attention as well as a weakened presence a few rooms away.
"...Damn…" was all Taiyang could manage to say as he was able to feel the increased pressure being put out by the boy before him. 'Where did the extra clothes come from though…?'.
"Alright, now let's give it a shot." Mori said as he hopped to his feet with no issue. Tossing out a couple test kicks and punches, Mori smirked at his small discovery. 'So, if I'm in my god form, my body remembers how to balance…' he thought to himself.
Mori's thoughts were cut short as a wave of fatigue hit him, causing him to drop out of his god form and crumble to the ground, once again unable to balance.
"What…?" He asked himself as he suddenly felt weak, clenching his fist, and determining he was the same as before he stood up.
"Hmm…" Taiyang said, rubbing his chin. "It looks like you can't maintain that form for long right now. Most likely because you're still fatigued from awakening to the power, or something like that?" He theorized
"…probably." Mori said as he used Ozpin's staff to shakily stand to his feet. "I need to get this figured out quick… I'll give myself five days." Mori decided for himself as he found his way back to and sat on the bed, he'd awoken in.
"Five days? Aren't you being a little optimistic?" Taiyang asked with a skeptical expression at the boy's great confidence.
"Nah, I think I've got this." Mori said with confidence. "I can still control my legs and I know what balancing without my tail feels like thanks to my god form. I just need to get my normal self used to it." He concluded with a sagely nod.
"Heh. Well good luck with that." Taiyang said as he turned to leave the room. "Feel free to stay for as long as you like. I have more than enough room and I sure don't mind some company."
Pausing at the door, he looked back at the boy already attempting to practice balancing, with the aid of Ozpin's cane this time, with a somber expression.
'Maybe your determination will rub off on someone before you leave…' He thought to himself as he left the room, closing the door silently as to not bother the focused young man.
-GoR-
On a ship in the middle of the sea separating Vale's continent from Mistral and Menagerie, there stood two figures. Both figures were obscured beneath thin, brown overcoats as they overlooked the vast sea before them.
The constant salty breeze that blew over the wooden deck caused their coats to slightly flutter in the wind, never enough to reveal their identities, however.
"Are you sure we need these overcoats?" The taller figure asked.
"Are you seriously asking that?" The shorter figure asked incredulously, turning her head to look at her traveling partner of the last few months.
Turning to meet her gaze, the taller figure easily matched her look with one of his own.
"Yes, I am, because I don't think this is strictly necessary so long after the fall." He stated.
"You don't think people will still remember the face of the guy who literally changed from one race to the other on live television?" She asked her partner, saying that sentence in a hushed tone to avoid attracting undue attention.
"…Fair point." The one and only Ilpyo Park relented, turning once again to look at the ocean. "And I guess it doesn't help that I'm traveling with one of the main enemies of Vale's White Fang." He tacked on, earning a small glare from the amber eyes of his partner.
Those amber eyes belonged to none-other than Blake Belladonna, ex-White Fang member and now ex-Beacon student… and ex-member of team RWBY.
This odd pair was formed right after the fallout of the battle for Beacon, all on a whim.
Flashback Start
Escaping the burning cafeteria with Yang on his back, Ilpyo accompanied Blake to deliver her injured friend to the medical corps stationed near the exfil zone. Dropping his transformation and putting up his hood in an attempt to conceal his identity, Ilpyo ran along with Blake towards the zone.
While they were running, Ilpyo noticed that Blake did not cast a single glance towards him nor her injured ally.
In fact, her gaze never once left the ground in front of her. It not only seemed as if she was just trying to block out everything in the world except the path that lied before her. It also seemed like she was running away from him, or rather the person he was carrying and what she represented.
Finally reaching the medical checkpoint, Ilpyo handed the injured girl and her severed arm to the medical corps, shrugging off their thanks.
Looking around for the other girl he'd saved, he discovered that she was nowhere to be seen. Quickly scanning the area, he spotted a partially white clothed figure breaking into the nearby woods.
Giving chase, it didn't take Ilpyo long to catch up to the fleeing faunus. Briefly activating his transformation to up his speed, Ilpyo suddenly appeared in front of Blake, cutting her off.
"You're just going to run away and leave your team behind?" He asked in an even tone and with a piercing gaze. This contrasted the slight panting that could be heard from Blake as well as her shifty gaze which couldn't meet his.
"…You wouldn't understand…" Blake weakly protested.
"Try me. I can be quite understanding when I want to be." Ilpyo quipped back as he dropped his transformation, relaxing a little.
Catching her breath, Blake stood up straight and returned Ilpyo's gaze with one of her own. "Look, that guy who you fended off before? He has a personal vendetta against me. Look at what he did to Yang just for associating with me." Blake said, causing Ilpyo to remember the maimed girl's condition.
Releasing a sigh as he thought about her words, Ilpyo decided that he could understand her reasoning. Logically, if staying with the people you love would expose them to danger, you'd leave right? But Blake was forgetting an important part of that kind of logic…
"So, you're leaving to keep your team safe?" Ilpyo verbalized.
"Exactly." Blake confirmed.
"But you're leaving without telling them because you know that if you told them, they'd follow you." Ilpyo added on.
"…" Blake couldn't answer to that.
"But what are you going to do if the Fang target you as predicted? You'll be all on your own." Ilpyo continued.
"I'd be fine. I've managed to evade them thus far." Blake argued.
"That would make sense… If you were planning to evade them." Ilpyo countered. "Of course, I have no proof of this, but my intuition is telling me you're not simply going to run away from the Fang this time." Ilpyo said with confidence.
"…And if you were to be right? Then what are you going to do about it.?" Blake asked.
"Well, I guess I'd just travel with you then." He stated simply, interlocking his hands behind his head, shocking Blake.
"What? What about your team?" Blake asked, calling out the hypocrisy behind his words.
"They'll be fine." Ilpyo responded simply. "The situation being what it is, the school was probably just going to keep us on campus, so my presence isn't strictly necessary." Ilpyo explained.
"Besides, I feel like travelling with you will allow me to discover more about this power." Ilpyo said, looking at his palm as he willed it to grow claws. 'And it'll probably allow me to meet him again…' he thought to himself.
"…Fine." Blake said after a moment of silence. "It's not like I could stop you from following me anyway." She reasoned as she began walking past him.
"Nice! So, where to first, Partner?" Ilpyo said, matching Blake's pace.
Blake just sighed in response to the teen's sudden enthusiasm. She just couldn't get a reading on the mysterious teen.
'But it's nice to not be alone this time…' she thought to herself as she kept walking with her new companion.
Flashback End
"Putting that aside. You've noticed, right?" Ilpyo asked Blake, getting a small nod in return.
"You mean that cloaked figure that's been following us for the last month or so? Yeah, their stealth skills could use some serious work." Blake chastised.
Nodding in agreement, Ilpyo responded. "Really though… now that we're on a boat, with no place to run, should we confront them?" He asked.
"Definitely. The chances of them being someone dangerous are far too high." Blake said. "Let's head to the back of the ship where there's no prying eyes, just in case this gets… messy." She suggested.
Beginning to move without missing a beat, the two cloaked partners began to walk towards the back of the ship. Never feeling the eyes of their voyeur leave them, they knew he was still following.
The watcher stood on a higher deck than them, giving them the ability to watch the targets without too much suspicion as it appeared they were simply enjoying the view. The problem came when the watcher's marks passed below an underpass, breaking the line of sight.
Waiting patiently, the watcher was rewarded with the return of the targets. The taller one was now carrying the shorter one in a piggyback ride, however. This shocked the watcher enough that they didn't notice the figure that ran up behind them and slammed a dropkick squarely into their back. This sent the watcher tumbling to the lower deck right next to where Ilpyo was standing.
Groaning in pain at the attack, the watcher didn't get a chance to get up as a weight placed itself across his midsection. Looking down, the watcher was shocked to find the weigh to be the cloaked figure that was being carried in a piggyback. Pulling back the hood, the watcher was rewarded with the sight of a perfect stone statue of Blake Belladonna.
"Did you really have to make it out of stone?" Ilpyo asked as he pulled down his own hood, their identities pretty much being revealed at that point.
"Would you have preferred it be made out of metal?" Blake asked as she silently dropped from the higher deck.
"…whatever." Ilpyo relented.
"Blake!" A familiar voice called out, causing Blake's expression to darken.
'No way…' she thought as she angrily stalked up to the pinned down figure.
Pulling the hood back, she revealed the figure to be none other than Sun Wukong with a sheepish smile on his face.
"What's up?" He asked nervously.
He was never expecting the punch that came right after.
-GoR-
A white room was what greeted Seraphina when she finally opened her eyes.
Looking around, she immediately knew where she was.
'Atlas…?' she thought to herself as she looked around.
Seraphina could've guessed anywhere because hospitals were normally white-themed, but Atlas took this to another level. The floor, the walls, the curtains, the bedsheets, the equipment, etc. It was all a sickeningly pearly white that stood as a symbol of what Atlesian society was meant to be.
She hated it.
'What happened…?' she thought to herself as she tried to recall.
She remembered Cinder was insanely powerful. Mori and Pyrrha got defeated nearly instantly and Mori lost his tail… But what happened after that?
Clearly, they had somehow beaten Cinder since she was still alive, but why was she back in Atlas instead of at Beacon?
The plentiful amount of anesthesia she was under was no doubt impairing her mental capabilities, but she still wanted to know.
As if, hearing her mental plea, the door to her room opened. Two figures entered the room, both clad in mostly white: although in different ways.
The first figure was a nurse, her light blue hair tied back into a neat bun with a clipboard in hand.
The second was a surprise to her, however.
"…General… Ironwood...?" She spoke weakly. Her throat was dry and hard to use, likely from immense disuse.
"You shouldn't try to speak yet." The nurse lightly chastised as she scribbled on the clipboard with efficiency befitting a medical professional. "You were out for quite a while, you know?" The nurse asked without expecting an answer.
Seraphina tried to keep up with the words being said to her, but her wavering consciousness made it difficult to comprehend.
"Unfortunately, General, it looks like today's visit will have to be cut short." The nurse said as she finished her writing. "We'll have to run a few more tests now that she's awake…"
That was the extent of what Seraphina heard as she fell back into the realm of unconsciousness.
-GoR-
Five Days Later
The front door to the Xiao-Long/Rose residence opened and out walked a lone figure.
That lone figure was Mori Jin, walking on his own, with Ozpin's staff in-hand and with a blue backpack on his back. Mori was dressed in a yellow shirt underneath a black oversized shacket with numerous pockets. He completed his outfit with his usual blue jeans and red shoes and, of course, his signature sleeping mask resting on his head.
"I still can't believe you relearned how to walk in just five days…" Taiyang said more to himself than the faunus teen from inside the doorway.
"Hehe… I guess I'm just full of surprises." Mori said with a grin. "Are you sure I can have all this stuff, though?" He asked, looking himself over.
"For sure. I'm just a stay-at-home Dad now, so I've got plenty of reinforced clothes and extra hunting supplies that don't get used." He explained to the teen, alleviating any guilt. "I even threw in some extra dust in the jacket pockets, so don't be afraid to use it." He added.
"Thank you, sir! For this stuff and well… Everything." Mori said, looking at the man in an appreciative manner.
Waving it off with a smile, Taiyang responded. "Don't worry about it. Having you around was actually a nice change of pace." He spoke. "Besides, you've saved both of my daughters numerous times, so I should be the one thanking you." He realized with a small chuckle.
"Just one thing, though." Taiyang said, sticking his hand out. "Be sure to bring her… Bring Ruby back home safe and sound." He requested. "She's overexcitable, strong-willed, strong, and faster than most but she's still also my daughter." Taiyang said.
Looking at the man's hand for a second, Mori grabbed it without hesitation and squeezed tightly, sealing their deal.
"You don't have to worry about a thing! I'll make sure to keep Ruby safe, no matter what kind of trouble she gets into." Mori promised. "Oh, and Yang too! Whenever she gets around to joining us." He added on with a smile that surprised Taiyang.
Smiling softly, Taiyang released the teen's hand. "Be safe, Mori." He said as the young man turned to begin his journey.
Turning back to wave, Mori left with one last send-off.
"See you later, Taiyang!"
-GoR-
After making his way down the road for about ten minutes, Mori could no longer see the Xiao-Long house.
It was now just him and the wilderness… and one other.
"You can come out now." Mori said to seemingly no one.
The silence that followed seemed to confirm this fact, until the sound of glass breaking permeated the area. The breaking sound came from the very space in front of Mori shattering to reveal the diminutive form of Neopolitan, now sporting a familiar hat.
"Why have you been stalking me?" Mori asked calmy.
"… I need your help…" He heard as if she'd spoken, which was odd due to the fact that her mouth didn't move.
"Huh? How did you do that?" Mori asked.
"I'm mute, but my semblance is able to produce noise from the illusions I create. I use my semblance when talking to allies to make it easier to communicate." She summarized in a clearer voice since Mori wouldn't be surprised.
"That's an interesting way to use your semblance." Mori complimented, getting a light smile from the woman that faded shortly thereafter.
"Like I was saying, I was stalking you because I need your help." She restated.
"What could you possibly need my help for? We were enemies last time I checked." Mori pointed out.
"We were… But now I believe we have a common enemy." Neo said, clenching her fists. "Cinder Fall is not dead, and she took away something that was… very important to me." Neo said as one of her hands moved to touch the black bowler hat that she now wore.
"Roman Torchwick…" Mori muttered aloud as he caught on to what she was saying.
Nodding lightly, Neo looked the teen dead in the eyes. "Please. Let me travel with you so I can get revenge on her for what she's done." Neo pleaded of Mori.
"Sure." Mori said simply, shocking the woman.
"That easily?!" despite being a trained spy, even she couldn't resist reacting.
"Yup. You have knowledge that could help us get to Cinder and the Fang faster and derail their plans, so of course I would accept." Mori stated simply.
'Wow, he's more level-headed than he looks…' she thought to herself.
"I already have one question for you." Mori said, getting the woman's attention.
"How long has it been since the Fall of Beacon?" He asked with a tilted head.
He'd forgotten to ask Taiyang how long it's been.
Maybe placing all of her hopes in him was a mistake…
Chapter 17 – End
A/N: Here we are at the end of another chapter!
This one took much longer than I expected! Mostly on account of me moving in the middle of production, but it is what it is.
To summarize: Ruby and team RNJR are out on their journey being followed by Qrow like in canon, Yang is bedridden and trying to mentally recover, Seraphina has briefly awoken in Atlas, Weiss is in Atlas as well, Ozpin/The Jade Emperor is reincarnated somewhere, Salem somehow knows what went down before the formation of Remnant, Blake and Ilpyo confronted Sun on a ship, and finally Mori has awoken and sets out to join Ruby and co with an unexpected guest.
A ton happened and a ton is yet to come. What will happen when all of these groups collide in Mistral? Are there still those moving in the shadows to worry about?
I leave you all with those questions as I begin to write the next chapter.
As always, thank you all for the reviews, favorites and follows! They mean the world to me, and I read all the reviews so definitely keep them coming.
I'll see you all in the next chapter of The God of Remnant!
-Mango G.