Gamer4 in. I'm in the best state of mind to be kicking off a new world right now- which is to say I'm high on cold medicine, my sister's pupper is rushing me for attention, and I can't feel one of my thumbs. This is gonna go great. Let's rock!
Disclaimer: Metroid is owned by Nintendo, we should know this by now. Go away, Jaffe.
Episode XXXIII
The Most Dangerous Game
"What do you mean, to the-" Weiss started, but was interrupted by a sharp rapping at the door.
"I'll get that," George stood up and went to the door. They heard a vague chatting, a loud thud, and the door slamming as he rushed back up the steps.
"What was-" Ruby started.
"Just had to take care of something," George interrupted evasively before the door crashed open again, revealing a bedraggled, furious-looking Monika storming up into the room.
"He pushed me down the freaking stairs!" she accused, pointing an accusing finger in George's face.
"Instinct. Had to do it," George responded simply.
Nora, however, was transfixed by the creature in Monika's arms. "What... is... that?!"
"Oh, this?" Monika glanced down. "This is Echo."
"My sister's new dog," Crazy supplied. "Wants me to take care of her, huh?"
"That would seem to be the case, yes," Monika nodded brightly, placing the small dog on the floor, where she immediately began running in front of the guests, looking excitedly from one new face to the other, doing an odd dance involving folding herself in half from side to side. Her eyes were a bright blue, and her fur was in patches of white, grey and black.
Weiss reached out and snatched her up. "Mine," she said quietly, holding her tightly. Echo responded by licking her face- specifically, her nose. Weiss squealed and held her tighter.
"It's... gonna be a while before we get the chance to hold her, isn't it?" Jaune guessed.
"It would seem so," Pyrrha gave an awkward smile.
"Fine by me," Blake muttered, pulling as far away from Weiss as she could.
"So... we were gonna go see a new world?" Yang piped up.
"Oh, right!" Crazy clapped his hands. "I looked over the worlds we've seen so far, and it looks like only two of you haven't really had a world of your own yet, so I thought we'd try fixing that!"
"Who?" Nora asked, tilting her head and placing it on a fist curiously.
"Well, let's start it up and see, shall we?" Crazy suggested.
"...I wanted to hold the pupper..." Adam (TM) muttered under his breath.
The new world began with a lingering shot of the stars, and words that typed themselves out as if into a computer:
THE PIRATES FLED ACROSS THE STARS,
AND THE HUNTER FOLLOWED
The audience instantly turned an accusing gaze onto the innocently-whistling Crazy. "Alright, Hand, how closely tied is this world to the Dark Tower one?" Yang asked scathingly.
"Not at all!" Crazy said quickly. "I mean, to an extent, they're all connected to the Tower, but- no, no, this world isn't tied directly to that one."
Yang put her fingers to her eyes, then pointed them at Crazy's.
The words faded away. In its place, what seemed like a large portal- a rip in the fabric of space itself- opened up, ejecting a large ship, nearly as large as the gateway itself. It moved silently towards its unknown destination.
Shortly behind it, a far smaller ship followed- if the first was comparable to a cruise liner, the second was a one-man sailboat. It was a sleek crimson, trailing behind, exiting the rip just as it closed.
"SssssssssssssssssPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!" squealed Ruby, eyes turning into tars, appropriately enough. "Space, Yang, SPACE! Wanna go to space! Wanna see it all! Space, space, SPAAAAAAAACE!"
Jaune chuckled. "You a fan of space, Rubes?"
"You have no idea," Weiss rolled her eyes.
"What's with the stargates?" George asked, quirking a brow in Crazy's direction. "I don't remember anything like that in this world."
"Kind of a holdover from another world I'm gonna try to connect," Crazy whispered. "Try not to draw attention to it."
"If you didn't want to draw attention to it, you'd have cut this whole section out," Adam (TM) pointed out dryly.
The camera moved into the cockpit of the smaller ship, where someone sat in a full set of powered armor. Dangling from the ceiling was a set of dog tags engraved with a name the audience couldn't quite make out. The person in the suit was operating the ship's controls entirely with their right hand- the left was encased in what seemed like a large arm cannon.
"Ohhhhhhhhh..." Ruby moaned. "Yang, I like this world..."
"Stop being weird," Weiss instructed, raising a hand with the threat of a patented Weiss-sap on the wings. Ruby quickly silenced herself, while Echo seized the opportunity to dash across the sofa, where she was eventually grabbed by Nora.
"Ohh, she's so snuggly!" she grinned contentedly.
Behind the visor, the audience could make out a pair of large, green eyes. Their suspicions were confirmed when a voice spoke through the cockpit: "Pyrrha, if I could make a reccomendation, maybe it would be for the best if you took a nap. You haven't slept in nearly forty-eight hours."
"Oh- I'm the hunter?" Pyrrha asked, sounding somewhat less than thrilled to be the subject of a universe herself.
"'Bout time!" Nora beamed, thumping her on the back (Echo propelled herself over to Blake, who hissed and leapt up onto the cabinet behind her.)
"And the ship's computer is... me?" Jaune asked, surprised.
"Well... that is interesting," Pyrrha admitted, perking up a bit.
7Pyrrha raised her free hand and touched something on the back of her helmet- it released with a hiss, and she pulled it off of her head, revealing her long, crimson hair, tied in a ponytail. "Are you certain, Jaune? You can keep on track without me?"
"I'll keep to a safe distance," Jaune agreed. "If anything happens, I'll awaken you immediately."
Pyrrha reluctantly nodded her assent. She pressed a button and her seat reclined, taking on the form of a rudimentary bed. Above her, the stars she had loved so much ever ince childhood spread out infinitely in every direction. She was glad she couldn't see the ship of the pirates she'd been pursuing for a solid week now, at the bidding of Admiral James Ironwood.
"Ironwood?" Pyrrha blinked. "I work for Ironwood?"
"Hmm... I'm guessing it's more like working with him," Weiss speculated.
She recalled his contact with her clearly, informing her that, after a great deal of trouble, the Galactic Federation had finally located a Space Pirate frigate travelling through the Miltian sector. The Space Pirates represented the greatest threat to the galaxy's peace. They branded themselves as warriors of justice fightning against the Federation's oppression, but if there was anyone who knew far better, it was Pyrrha Nikos.
"So... these pirates... are they like..." Blake asked tentatively.
"Roughly analogous to the White Fang," Crazy nodded. "Though not entirely the same- it's far more of a mish-mash than the Fang is. Side effect of being in a bigger universe, I suppose..."
There was a reason, after all, that of all the bounty hunters in the galaxy, it was her Ironwood had set after this frigate, with the end-goal of finding and infiltrating their base. It wasn't just that she'd made such a name for herself since leaving the military- not just that she'd become The Woman who Made the Impossible Possible... no, there was something far deeper, something she reflected on as she slipped into a brief rest.
"Oooohhhh, a bounty hunter!" Nora beamed, impressed. "Way to go, Pyrrha! Bounty hunters are cool!"
"Thank you, Nora," Pyrrha mumbled shyly, trying to hide herself behind Echo, who was nowhere near still enough to allow such a thing.
"I wonder what happened between her and the pirates?" Ren pondered over his folded hands.
The screen abruptly cut from the sci-fi scene to a scene of a young red-haired girl running through a forest alongside another girl with hair a slightly lighter shade, far horter and messier compared to Pyrrha's tidy ponytail. "Hurry, Pyrrha!" the other girl was calling, a wide grin on her face. "The chozo are coming, the chozo are coming!"
"Omygosh, Pyrrha and I are so cuuuuuuuuuuuuute!" Nora gushed, eyes wide. "We must be... what, six? Seven?"
"You're six," Ren gauged.
"Well, assuming our ages match in that world as well, then I suppose that makes me six oo," Pyrrha calculated.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Ruby muttered, glancing over at Yang and smacking the stack of papers from her hands. "No, Yang, you are not adopting new baby sisters!"
"But Rubyyyyyyyyyy!" Yang whined, looking through starry eyes at the young Pyrrha and Nora on screen.
"No! Stop! Bad Yang, you're being weird!"
Pyrrha kept decent pace with Nora, though the shorter-haired girl had pulled ahead by about an inch. When Nora noticed, she laughed a little. "Ha! I'm pulling ahead, Pyrrha! You're not so unbeatable!"
Pyrrha narrowed her gaze a bit and forced herself to move just a little faster, catching up and matching Nora's pace. "I'm gonna see the chozo too!" she said firmly.
"So cuuuuuuuute!" Yang and Nora reiterated, while Pyrrha blushed furiously.
Perhaps noticing, Blake offered a lifeline: "I wonder what chozo are..."
Overhead, another large ship was cruising, coming in close to land in a clearing at the forest's edge. A large group of their village's people were gathering to greet the newcomers, and the two girls didn't intend to be left behind.
The ship landed as the girls were fighting their way through the crowd, and the passengers disembarked- a race of beings that resembled a fusion of human and bird. Unlike classic faunus, they possessed far more than one trait- their heads were the heads of birds, up to and including their large beaks. Their arms ended in birdlike talons, as did their feet. From their backs protruded large, feathery wings, currently folded against their shoulders.
"Oooohhhhh, pretty!" Ruby squeaked.
"Those... aren't faunus," Blake hesitantly stated the obvious.
"Neither faunus nor humans- they are far older and wiser," George remarked with a smile. Abruptly, there was a series of beeps and whistles from somewhere nearby, to which George responded by unleashing a bloodcurdling scream and diving out the nearest window. Everyone turned to see Monika wearing a rather evil smirk and holding a phone currently displaying a screen reading E.M.M.I. SOUND EFFECTS.
"Push me down the stairs, will you?" she said simply.
An awkward gaze later, and everyone agreed to just keep watching.
Two chozo seemed to take the lead, taller than all the others- a male and a female, though the difference was far slighter than in more mammalian creatures. The heads of Pyrrha and Nora's village moved to greet them, with a salute- they placed their arms over their chests and bent with a slight bow.
"You grace us with your presence," greeted Reinhardt Valkyrie, the large, bearded leader of the colony.
"You grace us with your hospitality," responded the lead chozo, with a very familiar voice.
"Gramps!" Nora piped up again, eyes gleaming. "He raised me after... stuff happened..." she trailed off a little, but she brightened up quickly at a light touch from Ren. "Yeah, he was cool, he taught me to use a hammer!"
"And that chozo- that's Ozpin's voice!" Ruby pointed out. "Ozpin's a chozo!"
Pyrrha and Nora fought their way through the crowd towards the chozo. "Ren! Ren!"
Pyrrha, however, hesitated at the edge of the crowd, taken aback by the sight of the chozo before her. Her eyes widened, and she took a step back.
"Oh dear- I'm sorry!" Pyrrha quickly apologized for her other.
"I mean, it's not that bad," Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder. "Probably just a little intimidating for a six year old who's never seen them before."
There were four chozo in the center of the crowd- the two leads, and what seemed to be a father with his child. It was to this latter pair that Nora was dashing. "Ren! Renny!"
The smaller chozo seemed to brighten when he spied her, and the father, who had a pattern of feathers in what seemed like the form of a mustache, gave a light chuckle. "Very well, my boy, go to her."
The younger looked up at the elder, nodded, and approached Nora, who quickly pulled him into a bone-breaking hug. "Renny, it's been too long! You said you'd come back more often! Pyrrha, this is- Pyrrha?"
She had turned around to realize Pyrrha had hesitated on the edge of the crowd.
"So that chozo is Renny?" Nora turned and beamed at Ren. "Renny, you're a chozo!"
"So it would seem," Ren agreed.
"Oh, dear," Pyrrha lamented. "I hope I don't end up avoiding you forever..."
Nora seemed nonplussed to find her friend so far away. "Pyrrha? Come on, come meet Renny!"
The older chozo chuckled as he gently stroked his moustache-like feathers. "I think I understand. There's no need to be afraid, dear child- we mean no harm."
Slowly, Pyrrhamoved forward, standing before the father and son. Shaking, she raised her left arm and placed it across her own chest, mimicking the salute she'd seen the others performing.
The father smiled warmly and returned the gesture.
Everyone glanced over at Ren- whatever emotions he was feeling at seeing this depiction f his father, he hid them remarkably well, simply motioning them to continue.
Li Ren glanced at Ozpin of his group, who nodded gently, seemingly granting him leave before returning his attention to Mr. Valkyrie. "So, what brings you to this part of the galaxy, Oz?" the latter asked.
"Our ships requires some repairs," Ozpin explained. "K-2L is widely known for its fine metals- we wish to do trade."
"Ever the flatter!" Mr. Valkyrie roared with laughter. "But if you think that's gonna cut the price, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to shut you down!"
When he saw Ozpin's face retaining its serious look, he became more solemn himself. "Bad news?"
"Space Pirates," Ozpin reported. "They're the ones that caused the damage."
A dark cloud seemed to pass over the sky. "The Pirates? They're on the move?" Mr. Valkyrie asked.
Ozpin nodded gravely. "They're pursuing us- once we move on, they should follow. But we should move quickly."
"That... doesn't sound good," Jaune noted.
"No... no, it doesn't," Nora whispered, quietly reaching out for Ren's hand- he quickly provided it.
The camera returned to Pyrrha and Nora romping through the forest alongside the ens. Nora had taken a rather jaunty lead, guiding them towards one of her and Pyrrha's favorite haunts- a clearing out in the woods where she and Ren began running around, recommencing a game Pyrrha recognized as Noraball, a game where the only consistent rule was to never play the same way twice. She hung back a little, watching them quickly begin a game, Ren sliding into it quite as quickly as ever she did herself, and glanced at the larger chozo by her side. "I... Sorry, sir... for..."
"You've done nothing wrong, child," Li interrupted. "Fear of the unknown is all too natural- it's only giving into that fear that is shameful."
"He sounds... just like I remember," Ren whispered quietly.
"I'm glad Pyrrha's warming up to ya, though!" Nora injected a note of joy into the situation.
Pyrrha gazed up at him. "Where did the chozo come from?"
Li chuckled. "Well, that's a tricky question, isn't it, young one? My comrades and I come primarily from the planets of Zebes and ZDR. If you wish to know where my species comes from... well, that's something entirely different."
Li glanced between Pyrrha, his son, and the sky. "There are more stars in the sky than anyone could ever count. And ponder this- around each is a system of planets offering even more varieties of life. We few races have mastered dominion over this galaxy, but beyond this are many others- how many more forms of life must lie beyond are small, narrow slice?"
Pyrrha gazed up at him, awestruck.
Ren allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Yes, he always talked like that. Ever a philosopher."
"It is beautiful stuff," Pyrrha smiled, patting him on the shoulder.
"It's why space is so cooool..." Ruby put in, stars in her eyes.
"Have you everlooked up at the sky and thought such things?" Li asked, glancing back down at her.
Pyrrha nodded. "I... I always wanted to go to space one day..." She allowed a smile to cross her face. "I want to see it all!"
Li chuckled. "Quite an ambitious one, aren't you? Well, I suppose you've taken your first step today. If you do go exploring, you're sure to find things far odder than myself and my brethren- just bear my words in mind. There is no shame in fear, only in letting it control you."
"Hey, Pyrrha!" Nora called, beaming. "You gonna join in this game or what? The score's already J to 12!"
Pyrrha visibly brightened, and rushed in to join.
"I hope father wasn't being too weird," the younger Ren whispered as they launched into the game.
"No, no, he's really cool!" Pyrrha giggled.
"I wonder how many other races populate this galaxy," Blake pondered.
"...Twelve," Yang guessed.
"I think... there might be a couple mor than that," Weiss rolled her eyes.
The scene cut to later that night, as Pyrrha returned to her home, welcomed by a pair of red-headed parents, Helen and Troy Nikos. Troy was just back from a day in the K-2L mines that granted the planet its noteriety, and took a long shower before coming down to dinner. He was a burly man (though not quite so large as Mr. Valkyrie) with a large beard matching his messy crimson hair. His wife was her daughter all grown up, her hair long enough to tuck into her belt, only a shade lighter than her husband's.
"I hear the chozo dropped by today," Troy Nikos grunted as he took his seat.
"They did," Helen agreed with a smile. "Pyrrha joined Nora in playing with one of their boys, didn't you, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha nodded quickly. "They were really cool!"
Troy threw back his head and laughed. "I've heard the chozo described a lot of ways, but I don't think 'really cool' is one!"
"They seem to be a well-regarded entity," Blake noted.
"They look just like my own parents," Pyrrha reflected wistfully.
"Did they, er... bring any news?" Troy asked, directing a pointed gaze at Helen, who flicked her own eyes towards their daughter before answering.
"Yes... they had some things to say. They had to move quickly."
Pyrrha gazed up, nonplussed at the nonverbal communication passing between her parents.
Troy cleared his throat. "So, Pyrrha, tell us- what did that friend of yours come up with this time?"
Were she older than six, Pyrrha would likely have seen straight through the blatant effort to change the subject- as things were, she gleefully began recounting the latest game of Noraball until it was time to go to bed.
"They don't want to talk about the Pirates in front of her," Jaune whispered.
"I don't blame them," Weiss muttered. "If they're anything like the Fang..."
Blake remained resolutely silent.
Troy and Helen followed her to her room to tuck her in. Pyrrha looked up at them. "Can you tell me a story?" Her eyes seemed to form into stars for a moment. "The one about Treasure Planet?"
Troy chuckled. "You must have that one memorized by now!"
"But it's best when you tell it!" Pyrrha insisted.
Troy and Helen glanced between themselves- they needed to talk urgently- they didn't have time for that story tonight.
"How about I sing for you instead? We'll do Treasure Planet tomorrow night," Troy promised.
Pyrrha pouted, but nodded. "Okay..."
Nora leaned back as if she'd been shot. "I can't... my heart... Pyrrha baby is too cute!"
Echo seemed to notice and clambered over onto her, commencing to ensure that her nose was clean as well. Nora looked down and squealed, pulling the pupper into a tight embrace. "So... much... cuteness!"
Troy cleared his throat, and began to sing a gentle tune.
"Close your eyes..
Have no fear!
Monster's gone,
It's on the run,
And Daddy's here!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful girl!"
"Oh... I know this one!" Ruby said quictly. "Dad used to sing it for us, didn't he, Yang?"
"Yeah..." Yang nodded, eyes misting over as she recalled those happy times. "Yeah, he did."
"Before you go to sleep,
Say a little prayer.
Every day, in every way,
It's getting better and better out there.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful girl!
Across the ocean, sailing away
I can hardly wait
To see you come of age!
But I guess we'll both have to be patient,
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful girl!"
He glanced down and saw Pyrrha's eyes closed and her chest steadily rising and following. He leaned forward and punctuated his final line with a kiss.
"Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful... Pyrrha."
There was hardly a dry eye in the audience. "So... so sweet!" Nora blubbered, blowing her nose into Echo's fur- who quickly proceeded to lick it up before hopping onto Ren's chest and looking up into his eyes. Ren met her gaze before beginning to gently stroke and scratch at her.
Helen and Troy rose to their feet and gently moved to the door, closing it as quietly as they could.
From Pyrrha's perspective, it was only a second later that she was being shaken awake, her parents' urgent voices looming over her. "Pyrrha, wake up! Wake up now!"
It took a moment for her to gain the will to open her eyes, but once she did, she lost all desire to go to sleep. Something was very clearly wrong- a red light was filtering in through her window, and there were... sounds outside. Loud bangs... shouting... screaming...
"Oh, no..." Jaune whimpered. "I thought something like this was coming..."
"What's happening?" Pyrrha asked as she leapt to her feet.
"No time- we'll explain later," Troy grunted- she noticed he'd grabbed a knife and a plasma rifle kept for home defense. Her sense of dread heightened. "Helen, take her and run."
"Right!" Helen nodded, steeling her eyes. She held tight to Pyrrha as she dashed downstairs. "Pyrrha, sweetie- put on your shoes. Don't take your backpack- we're just going on a short walk."
It was clear she was struggling to remain calm for her daughter's sake, but it had already become all too apparent that something very bad was happening. To her enormous relief, however, Pyrrha refrained from asking any further questions, nodding quickly as she pulled on a pair of boots by the door and followed her mother out into the village square.
It was a scene from a nightmare- a small army was marching down the village streets, blasting away at every person and house they came to. The primary force seemed to consist of odd humanoid creatures, hunched over with praying-mantis like limbs, but they were far from alone. There were creatures more akin to lizards on their hind legs, wearing body armor with rifles of their own out and blasting, and even what seemed like humans and faunus.
Pyrrha wanted to scream, but fought it down- she knew it would only draw attention.
"My God..." Ren gaped, wide-eyed.
"Those... those monsters," Weiss hissed, her fists clenching.
Helen guided her daughter towards the village's edge, towards the woods, where, in theory, they would be safe. However, a man stepped out from behind a building, wearing a bone-white mask and a dark grin. His hair was scarlet, a pair of horns protruding from his forehead- a bull faunus. "Hello, my darling."
"No!" Blake yelped. "No- what's he doing there!"
"Taurus," Yang growled, eyes flaring up.
His hand lowered to his sword as he casually stepped towards them.
"No... no!" Helen whimpered. "Please... she's innocent... let us go..."
"'Innocent' isn't a word that can be applied to the likes of you," Adam sneered. "'Innocent' is- hm?" He was distracted when Pyrrha stepped forward, clearly quaking in her small boots, eyes wide and terrified, tears leaking from the corners- but she stepped forward anyways.
"Pyrrha, what are you doing?!" Helen screamed.
"Yeah, what are you doing?!" Nora agreed, seizing Echo from Ren's lap and holding her even more tightly.
"I... I have no idea," Pyrrha admitted.
"Mister... I..." Pyrrha stammered. "I met a nice chozo yesterday, and he said... he said I shouldn't be afraid of people who are... who are different. That... there's no shame in being afraid, only in giving in... so... I don't know what we did, but I'm sorry! Can we... can we please be friends?"
She extended a violently shaking hand towards the man before her.
"Oohhh... Pyrrha..." Jaune whimpered. He reached out and pulled his Pyrrha into his arms.
"He'd better not... he'd better not..." Yang growled.
Adam tilted his head slightly, taking a few steps around her. "Sweet child... but far too ignorant."
He lashed out with his sword and ran it through Helen Nikos's chest. She let out a strangled cry, which abruptly cut off when he pulled the sword back out- blood splattered across the ground, and onto Pyrrha's shocked white face. Helen crumpled to the dirt, and moved no more.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUCKEEEEEEEEEEER!" Yang roared- she seemed to have taken everyone else's will to curse Adam out and used it to belt out the loudest curse yet.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" came a scream. Adam turned, almost amused, as Troy Nikos rushed him, opening fire with his rifle. Between his shaking hands ruining his aim and Adam's own agility, not a single shot landed before Adam had stepped forward and sliced off one of his arms. Pyrrha collapsed onto her butt, watching in horror as Adam proceeded to plunge his sword into her father's chest as well.
Troy's eyes were wide, his face white from blood loss, but he leaned forward, doing his best to glare into Adam's face. He used his good arm to grab his knife and plunge it into Adam's shoulder. Adam glanced at it, more amused than anything, then turned back to Troy. "Any last words?"
"One of these days..." Troy choked out, "someone like me... is going to kill you... and your whole fucking-"
Adam pulled the sword out and finished Troy by beheading. "They're welcome to try," he said coldly.
"I... I..." Pyrrha choked out.
"Another world, Pyrrha- another world!" Jaune said quickly, holding her tight and rubbing her back.
The Pyrrha on screen was doing little better- she could no longer hold back her bloodcurdling scream as she watched the remains of her father's body fall to the ground beside her mother.
Adam turned to her, gazing down with barely-disguised amusement. "I believe this is the part where you run away."
Pyrrha staggered backwards as she forced herself to her feet. Tears flowing freely down her face, she turned and ran in a random direction- as it happened, directly towards town hall.
One of the praying mantises stepped up to Adam's side. "Gonna shoot her from behind?"
"No. Let her into the hall... then flatten it," Adam ordered.
"That son of a bitch..." Yang growled, her eyes almost turning red even without her semblance. "That son of a motherfucking-"
Ruby's eyes were wide and watery- it was very fortunate Echo chose that moment to jump over to her. She held the dog tight, up in front of her, almost like a shield.
Pyrrha entered and slammed the door behind her, and was on the verge of looking for a place of greater refuge when the world around her was consumed by fire. She flew backward through the air, landing flat out on the floor as the building collapsed around her. She was cognizant of a piercing pain in her leg before something collided with her skull and she knew only darkness.
A long, drawn-out silence. "I..." Nora seemed to be the only one capable of speech. "I think I get why she doesn't like the space pirates now..."
"How... how did she survive?" Weiss finally asked shakily.
As the screen faded back in, the sun rose over a grim sight- the entire village had indeed been razed to the ground. The Pirates, it seemed, had spared absolutely no one, everything reduced to rubble, corpses lining the streets. The smoke from the fires- some of which were still burning- was blotting out the light struggling to filter down.
Nearby, a ship landed, and several chozo emerge. First out was Ozpin and an incredibly aged chozo they had yet to meet, leaning on a cane.
"I was afraid of this," Ozpin fretted. "We foolishly assumed they wanted only us- that if we moved on, they would follow, and pass this colony by..."
"It is difficult to truly know the mind of the pirates," muttered the old chozo at his side. "We made a gamble and lost."
"And now these villagers pay the price," Ozpin said, his voice full of remorse.
"That... that's that Maria woman from earlier..." Blake identified, her voice hollow.
Next out were the Rens. Ozpin glanced at them. "We must search for survivors. My hopes aren't high, but maybe... just maybe..."
Lie Ren's eyes widened, and he rushed out towards the village. "Nora- Nora! Nora, can you hear me? Nora? NORA!"
"Crap!" Jaune yelped. "We were following Pyrrha's story, so I completely forgot- where's Nora!"
"I- I'm sure Renny'll find me!" Nora tried to sound confident, but fell more than a little short.
Ren rushed down into the rubble, desperately searching for any signs of life. He bypassed every corpse on the street until he heard a faint mumble coming from a pile of rubble nearby. "Father- FATHER! There's someone alive over here!"
Li was at his son's side in a flash, the two of them working together to dig through the debris of the collapsed town hall until they located a young girl- but not Nora. It was Pyrrha, her hair camouflaging the blood leaking from what looked like a severe head wound. Lower down, her leg had been pierced by a length of rebar, forming an even nastier-looking injury. There were plenty of other cuts and bruises from the falling rubble, but miraculously, none of them looked serious, and even more miraculously, she was clearly still breathing.
Ozpin and Maria approached, gently pulling her free. "We'll get her to medical," Ozpin declared. "Continue your search."
"Well... that explains Pyrrha's survival," Blake said slowly. "But... everything else..."
In the medical bay, the chozo worked quickly, safely removing the rebar and bandaging up her wounds. Any treatments for potential head trauma could wait- for the moment, the greatest concern was the blood she'd lost.
It took several hours for the search party to conclude their business and return to the ship, whereupon Ozpin, the Rens, and a scarce few other chozo gathered in the med bay to more closely examine Pyrrha's injuries.
"Hmm... I don't see any signs of severe head trauma- this one's lucky," Maria assessed. "It was a glancing blow. The building collapsed around her just right to give her a safe little pocket. She's not unharmed, but it could have been worse- far worse. The biggest concern is her blood- she's lost a lot, especially for her age. If she's going to survive, she'll need a transfusion."
"Hmm... well, we don't exactly have any human blood just lying around, do we?" asked a taller chozo, with a clearly female voice. "What are you going to do, give her chozo blood?"
"That voice- that's-" Ruby stammered, looking at the chozo.
"Salem," Ren nodded gravely. "Less cartoonish than the Despair Academy incarnation, but it's definitely her."
"Hmmm... true, it's never been done before, but I see no other method for her survival," Maria explained. "She needs blood, and she needs it quickly. If chozo blood is all we have, that's what she'll get."
"Give her some of my blood," Li stepped forward. "My son... he took a liking to this girl and her friend during his visits to K-2L. If I can do anything to save her..."
"Ever the altruist, Li," Maria smiled, "but her blood type is O. A very rare type, as I'm sure you know, and can only accept O-type blood herself-"
"My blood type is O," Li insisted. "Give her some of my blood."
Maria looked him up and down. "...Very well."
Salem moved forward, clearing her throat.
"Yes, Salem?" Ozpin asked, glancing at her.
"It occurs to me that, if we are to take her to Zebes, she may want a little more chozo blood than just one donor can provide," Salem suggested. "It is a very harsh environment, ill-suited for humans, as I'm sure you know. However, were she to accept some blood, not just of the Thoha tribe, but of the Mawkin as well- we are a hardier lot, all things considered, and I believe that is exactly what she will need."
"Are you volunteering?" Ozpin asked, quirking a brow.
"As it happens, I am," Salem agreed. "My blood type is O as well."
"How... unexpectedly courteous." Ozpin's words thinly veiled a tone of suspicion.
"But she's right," Maria interjected. "If you're really volunteering, Salem, then lay down on her other side."
Salem obeyed.
About ten minutes later, the transfusion was complete.
"Alright, everyone clear out," Maria ordered. "Ren... you stay. I daresay she'll need a friendly face when she awakens."
"It doesn't seem like Ozpin trusts Salem all that much," Pyrrha noted, happy to latch on to another topic.
"Given all that we know, I'm inclined to agree with him," Ren muttered.
It took an additional four hours after the transfusion for Pyrrha to finally awaken. Her eyes slowly opened, and her head tilted to the side. "Mr... Mr. Ren?"
He sat at her side, looking down soothingly at her. "I am here, child."
"I... did that..." her eyes teared up, begging for him to tell her it had all been a nightmare, a hallucination- that any moment now, her parents would walk in and hug her, and everything would be okay.
Li, however, did not offer false hope. "I am afraid it was very real, child," he whispered, allowing the words to stand on their own.
Pyrrha seemed to struggle to sit up, but she lacked the strength. "A...yone else? N...Nora..."
Li solemnly shook his head. "We found no other survivors."
"Oh..." Nora felt her stomach go hollow.
"Another world, Nora," Ren whispered, holding her tightly- for his benefit as much as hers. She latched on and hugged him tightly back.
Pyrrha's eyes filled with tears, her chest bobbing as she broke into the loudest sobs of which she was capable- in her condition, they were still rather quiet.
Li reached out to her, running a finger along her face to brush some hair away from her eyes. The chozo were a deeply psychic race- as he touched her, he sensed a song lurking in the back of her mind, one that may be capable of soothing her. He took a deep breath, and began to sing for her.
"Close your eyes,
Have no fear.
Monster's gone, it's on the run,
And Daddy's here.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful girl."
He opened his own eyes, surprised at how naturally the words came to him. Pyrrha did seem soothed, if only a little- the tears had stopped, and she was leaning more fully into her pillow. He decided to continue.
"Before you go to sleep,
Say a little prayer.
Every day, in every way,
It's getting better and better out there.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful girl!
Across the ocean,
Sailing away,
I can hardly wait
To see you come of age!
But I guess we'll both have to be patient,
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful girl!
He hesitated again, gazing down at the sleeping face of the child who had lost everything, and quietly came to a decision. Brushing her hair aside once again, he whispered,
"Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful...
Pyrrha."
Once again, there was not a dry eye in the audience- for quite different reasons this time around.
As the song drew to a close, Pyrrha opened her eyes- but not the child Pyrrha. Twenty years in the future, the Pyrrha lying in the rudimentary bed in her ship awoke to the sound of her computer.
"Pyrrha, the Pirates have made port," he informed her. "They have landed on the planet Zebes."
Pyrrha rubbed her eyes a little as her seat rose up to grant her access to her ship's controls, returning her helmet to its proper place. "Zebes? I half-suspected..."
She resumed her ship's controls and guided it through the atmosphere towards the planet she had, for over a decade, called home. Scanning the planet, she spied what was very clearly a space pirate compound- and nearby, amidst a sea of mist and gray crags, an ideal landing spot that would provide excellent cover for the hours she intended to spend here.
She made an expert landing, a hatch on the top of her ship opening up to allow her egress. She gazed around, and jumped down, nailing a three-point landing.
"Well... at least future Pyrrha's badass?" Yang struggled to find a bright side to what they were seeing.
Pyrrha glanced around, scanning the area. There was a tunnel nearby, which she made her way for, only to find herself impeded by a large, hulking creature- one of the mantis-like beings that formed the main force of the space pirates. It started when it spied her, and raised a rifle to fire, but before it had even aimed, Pyrrha had raised her arm cannon and blown its head off with a single shot.
"Well, Adam, here I am," she said coldy as she moved along. "The one who will kill you, and your entire organization."
The camera panned back, allowing the darkness to swallow her up.
As the world ended, the audience glanced between each other. "Well, that was... certainly..." Pyrrha searched for words, but failed.
"I... I want another lighthearted one, please," Ruby whimpered, holding Echo close to her chest.
"Yeah, let's give 'em a more lighthearted one," Adam (TM) suggested. "'Sides, we don't want people accusing us of being 'too dark' again." He used massive air quotes and rolled his eyes.
"Don't be like that," Crazy chided. "But... true... whaddya think, Monika, you want to show 'em that one?"
"That one?" Monika's eyes lit up. "You mean, 'that one, that one?'"
"That one, that one," Crazy nodded, turning to smile at the audience. "Don't worry- I think you're in for a real treat."
XXXX
This took... far longer than it reasonably should have. Cry pardon. Regardless, we know what next episode is over here- like I said, it'll be absolutely sweet, heartwarming, and totally have nothing whatsoever to do with the Dark Tower world, I swear! After that, in the spirit of the season, I'll give you guys a present by letting you choose some worlds to revisit- and actually do it this time! It's been a while, and while there are other worlds I'd like to start, there are also plenty I'd like to continue. I'll go ahead and put up the poll now- be sure to check it out and vote on what worlds you want to see revisited this December! Until next time's extra-wholesome absolutely non-violent episode, don't you dare go hollow! Gamer4 out.