There were no victory bells chiming over the City of Shade. There was no cheering or crying while the Huntsman dragged their feet as they meticulously made their way back to the academy. Not a sound escaped the City of Shade, for none were aware of the battle that had raged on in the academy found in its center. Other than the increased number of Huntsmen patrolling the streets and borders they were unaware of the damage being made, or the lives being lost. The residents assumed that it was only some extreme training scenario of headmaster Theodore, he had always been the eccentric type.
Weapon fire and explosions had startled some but the Huntsmen had assured them it was nothing worth worrying about. Their faces had been a mask of calm as they said this. They had to keep the citizens calm. Unrest, fear, anguish- a whole city's worth of such negative emotions and the armies of Grimm that hunted the deserts around Shade City would attack. Theodore had sent them to keep the peace, although some of the less seasoned students had wandered off, the rest had stayed back to prevent the situation from worsening.
They had faith in Professor Theodore and the staff of Shade Academy that had trained them. The Huntsmen had to prove their trust in them had not been misplaced. Not a single Grimm would get past them that evening.
However this calm would soon be destroyed as news of what had unfolded within the academy began to spread,
Students and staff- injured.
Headmaster Theodore in critical condition.
Valerian Carrie- dead.
Doctor Bellamy Dell - appointed temporary headmaster of Shade Academy.
Doctor Dell had never been the type to choose to lead. Even when his father had made him the leader of his own team, he had never been particularly good at it. But that evening, as the broken moon of Remnant rose, he was the last remaining staff member of Shade even able to stand.
It wasn't a matter of ability but a matter of necessity.
Shade Academy had not seen such injuries since the last time Salem had attacked. His clinic may have been destroyed, but the main equipment had been kept in the medical wing where, usually, overnight patients whose injuries could not be treated with simple bandages and saline were kept.
He wished that the patients that lay before him could be treated by such simple means.
There was not a single bed that had not been unclaimed, some of those capable of moving even giving up their own to those in more desperate need.
Now that was how he had to begin. He was the sole individual at the academy who had any form of official medical training. Those with the most serious injuries had to be treated first. But, seeing the pale and injured around him, that would be the most difficult choice.
"Does anyone here have any form of medical training? He bellowed, his eyes falling on his brother. Sweat trickled down his face and he groaned in his sleep. A fever had kicked in, most likely the first signs of an infection. The bed sheets were red beneath his body. He was losing fluids, and fast.
"I've been around long enough to know the basics." Ozma responded. This boy- he had not had the time to comprehend what this boy had claimed he was back near the Vault. With centuries of life and memories, he would be a great help in the hours to come but two people would not be enough.
The way the other Huntsmen looked awkwardly at each other, he doubted it was from Ozma's words. Bellamy silently scolded his brother and the other academy headmasters. It was in times like this that some form of first aid knowledge would go a long way. Bellamy desperately looked around the bedridden patients, his eyes refusing to move past the bed that held his brothers. Theodore needed help fast and the others needed help just as desperately. Ech minute he wasted now, was a minute they couldn't get back to help them.
"Tell us what we can do." Blake stepped forward, stopping behind Ozma. She had spent most of the final battle trying to patch up Sun and trying to wake Weiss and the rest. Her hands were still covered in the Faunus's blood, but she wanted to help. She'd seen the hollow look Yang had walked in here with, the way Qrow's eyes could not leave the ground as he was led to one of the only free chairs left.
"Where's Ruby?" She'd exclaimed, looking for their team leader but, amongst the crestfallen faces, Ruby could not be seen.
"She's… not here." Yang had answered, swallowing heavily, obviously trying to keep her voice steady.
"Not here?" Blake had frantically reached toward Yang but the woman had walked out of her reach. " What does that mean?"
"There's a lot we will have to tell you." Ren had finally answered, hobbling beside Nora.
Yang had insisted she stay behind after their battle with Adam, and that the others would need her in the Academy. But not even in her more fearful imagination had she ever expected her teammate to return to her in this state.
Bellamy nodded his head, seeing the determined look in the eyes of all those still able to stand. Broken eyes, but their resolve was unquestionable, they would lose no other friends here.
Although their medical expertise was lacking, they had the true hearts of those wishing help. He figured the headmaster must have done something right.
"Shade students." He quickly called, his mind already running through what he would need. "Go to storage, kick down the door if it's locked. Bring back as many boxes of swabs and surgical alcohol as you can carry." His eyes then paused on Coco, she seemed the most capable of leading this ragtag group from what he'd observed before. "In the fridge you'll find a number of infusion bags labelled Gr-Sc-77. Bring every bag you find, we'll need them all."
"Gr-Sc-77? That sounds kinda top secret." Fox observed but Coco stepped forward, silencing her teammate.
"Consider it done." She answered. They had no time for questions. Right now they had to save Velvet's life, along with the lives of all the others stricken by the same sickness as she. Questions could wait, lives could not.
"You heard the man, Shade students- storage room." And with a stylish nod of her head she strode out of the medical ward, the other students shuffling after them, most unaccustomed to Coco's way of giving orders, but none complaining.
Bellamy took a deep breath. That was just the first step. He opened his mouth, looking at Blake, his next request already on the tip of his tongue.
The time passed in a haze after that. As he prepped his brother for surgery, catheters were set up, feeding the dark, cloudy Gr-Sc-77 fluid to those inflicted with the Scourge. This unwelcoming medication had been the accumulation of years of research and experimentation. It was no cure, but it would keep the sickness's symptoms at bay, at least until he found a more long term treatment for his patients. When he was satisfied that the students had grasped the general foundation of the infusion set-up, he'd looked down at his brother, at the wound that looked angrily back up at him.
He was next.
It was hours later that Bellamy stepped away from the table upon which his brother had been placed during his operation. A sea of blood stained swabs littered his feet. Scalpels and knives covered in blood had been collected in a bowl full of alcohol, slowly staining the initially colourless liquid pink. He wiped at his brow, a stethoscope pressed to Theodore's chest, silently counting.
Ba-dump
Ba-dump
His pulse was higher than normal but within the acceptable range, considering the situation.
"You stubborn bastard." He muttered, shaking his head. It seemed that both the Dell brothers were hard to kill. Satisfied that Theodore should not be going into shock or cardiac arrest, or any other life threatening condition, Bellamy wandered out of the operating room. The adrenaline coursing through his veins kept the fatigue at bay, his mind clear and already moving on to the next task. Theodore was stable but there were many more people that needed his help.
The students had done their best to follow his orders while he'd been operating and, since he'd last entered the ward, a number of the bedridden had actually gained consciousness. The white haired Huntress that had tried to protect him back in the clinic had not only regained consciousness but was even able to converse coherently with her teammates, although the creases in her brow told him that they were not talking about particularly pleasant topics.
Stethoscope still in one hand, a thermometer in the other, Bellamy filled between the beds, muttering numbers as he took their vitals, checking the infusion rate as dark droplets escaped the Gr-Sc-77 corning bag into the pipes attached to his patients. Thankfully, and by some miracle, all were within the acceptable range. They were all stable.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
He checked each person present, awake, asleep, standing, sitting, lying down. Help from the stationed Huntsmen outside had also eventually arrived, bringing with them more doctors and qualified personnel but, even though he was exhausted Bellamy wouldn't stop until he was certain each one of them would make it through the night.
"Dr Dell, you must rest before you collapse!" Ozma commanded, looking the older man in the eye. Or was Bellamy now considered the younger man? This reincarnation thing was somewhat confusing, especially considering his current body was younger than the Huntsmen present. "And you know better than the rest that we don't have the beds for another patient."
It was common knowledge that doctors always made the worst patients and Bellamy was no exception. However, the instant he stopped, the exhaustion hit him like a brick wall, he even wavered on his feet, a sense of vertigo washing over him accompanied by nausea.
He nodded his head, muttering that he may try to find somewhere to rest. The student's dormitories had almost comically been left unaffected by the overall events that had unfolded within the academy. Maybe he should find somewhere to rest his head, he could see that a number of the Huntsmen that had helped rescue him from the Vault were also in different stages of sleep. Qrow had his head hidden within his palms, a tube attached to his arm. Sitting against the chair in which he sat, his niece was sound asleep. Her cheeks were still red but barely visible under her long hair. Possibly she had silently cried herself to sleep.
Before Bellamy accepted that it may be best that he leave the ward, his eyes wandered past Qrow towards the bed that had been set up furthest from the rest. The only bed he had not allowed himself to approach as he'd worked. None had gone near that bed, most averting their eyes from its occupant in respect. Valerian Carrie was lying there, white sheets covering her face. They couldn't leave her down by the Vault. He couldn't and none had argued otherwise. Her body was taking up a bed they could not spare. But Sun had hopped out of it without question when he recognised the body Bellamy had carried into the ward. Valerian Carrie had never been an official staff member of Shade Academy but there was not a single student at Shade that did not know of her, or respect the Huntress.
Bellamy was actually surprised to see someone standing by her bedside. The rest had taken these calmed moments to rest or converse or to dwell on their thoughts but this woman stood alone, a solitary sentinel standing guard.
He could not understand the connection between a Maiden and her previous host. Maybe it was not just the powers that got transferred, maybe emotions? Feelings? That would explain why this woman had reacted so badly to Valerian's death.
The doctor stopped beside Nora, the latter stiffening to his presence without looking up. An awkward silence drawled out between the pair as neither spoke.
"You should get some rest." Bellamy finally said, noticing that this woman had not left the side of her companions as they had been getting treated. But then again, none of them had.
"Doctor's orders?" she tried to joke but she didn't smile as she said this.
"Don't beat yourself up about inheriting her power." He continued, recalling the weeks it had initially taken Valerian to adjust when she'd initially acquired the Maiden's power from Amelia. Throughout the nights she'd been plagued by his sister's dying moments, reliving them and cursing whatever had decreed that, for the power to be transferred, the former host must die.
He couldn't pretend to understand the process, but he knew, at a time like that Valerian had needed people she cared about, and cared for her, near. Valerian had had him and his brother. Nora had her companions. She should have been standing beside them, not Valerian.
Nora was silent, still unable to look at the man. Her mouth felt dry. She'd been desperately trying to think of how she'd finally talk to this man. What she'd finally say. How she'd say it. Her hesitance must have shown on her face earlier on, most likely in the way she'd kept looking up and swiftly away from the doctor. Ren had seen it.
She'd given him a grateful smile when he'd asked about her wellbeing.
"I know we agreed no more secrets between us." She'd answered, a confused expression crossing his face as she'd gently squeezed his hand, watching the dark liquid slowly trickling through the tube that was attached to his body. Ren may not have been showing any symptoms but he too had been bitten by the Nemusa. "But, this time I think I should tell someone in particular first, before you."
She wasn't particularly sure what would be considered correct in such a situation but it seemed only right that her father heard first that she was his daughter.
That still didn't mean she knew how to tell him.
"I met Valerian." She carefully began. "In some weird transfer of power thing. I got to talk to her."
"Probably gave you some snarky thing to tell me?" The doctor questioned. He'd imagine Valerian would reprimand him even from beyond the grave.
"Not exactly." Nora replied. " We kinda learnt my real name."
Bellamy barely knew this Huntress's current name but, if she felt the need to hell him, she must have thought it was something important for him to hear. So he remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
"Eleanora." She elaborated, finally looking up to see his expression as he said this. His face was a mask, impossible to read.
"It's a … nice name." He answered, although he seemed to swallow heavily as he did so. That name brought back memories from long ago.
"It's your daughter's name." She countered.
"Was." He corrected. " My daughter died almost fifteen years ago."
His answer was harsher than he'd intended. He was carefully trying to keep his calm. He was exhausted, both physically and emotionally after the events of that day. He couldn't let himself get distracted… with what? Whatever this woman was trying to tell him.
"Apparently not." Nora scolded herself. She knew this was not how she should have told him. There had to be better ways to tell him. But each time she tried to make self clearer, her voice betrayed her.
"That's … not possible." Bellamy snapped, not caring for the tone he'd used. He didn't want to hear this. This was nonsense. What she was trying to say was impossible. He should walk away now and refuse to hear her words.
Yet his legs refused to move.
"Valerian's final thoughts had been on her daughter.'' Nora tried to explain, hastily, fearful her courage would abandon her. "That's why the power chose me as its next host."
That… oddly made too much sense.
It was almost laughable.
"I couldn't remember her... or you... before that." She explained, taking it as a good sign that Bellamy had not argued further or walked off. " But I do now… you used to read me stories. Our favourite one was about sloths…"
Bellamy swallowed heavily. How could this woman know such a detail? Was it possible? Could it be true? He could see no reason for her to lie. He wasn't rich or powerful. Claiming they were of the same blood would give her nothing of significance… except a family.
"You could never figure out what sound a sloth made." He recalled, his voice slow and low. Was it possible? Was the ever skeptical Bellamy Dell believing this woman's words?
"According to Ren, I still can't." and she attempted a small smile, watching her father and she saw his expression soften. His dark eyes could not look away from her face. He really had been foolish. In that moment, looking up at him smiling, Nora looked like an almost copy of Valerian when she had been younger. He remembered a similar thought had crossed his mind earlier but now he could see why.
Nora Valkyrie was Valerian Carrie's daughter.
She was his daughter.
He tried to smile, his awkwardness twisting it into something unrecognisable but the meaning and emotion still clear.
"So I think this would be the part where we hug?" He shyly observed, unable to look away from Nora. Had this cursed world finally decided to gift him a moment of happiness? After all that loss, was he allowed this moment? Or would she be snuffed out and taken away from him as the rest had been?
"I get the feeling you're not much of a hugger." Now Nora did smile, a radiant broad smile.
His daughter's smile.
A beautiful, living smile.
"One of the most awkward forms of showing human affection." He scoffed, his reaction causing Nora to laugh.
His daughter's laugh, something Bellamy never thought he'd hear again.
"Then no hugs." She agreed, turning and outstretching her hand to him. "Not sure what name to use to introduce myself, but it's great to finally meet you again, Dad."
Bellmay couldn't help smile, a smile on the brink of tears. His mask crumbled on the word. He never thought he'd ever hear his daughter, his Eleanora, call him that ever again.
"Lie Ren?" Ren's body tensed when he heard the voice call his name. He could not say that it was a particularly intimidating voice, in fact it sounded much more like one you'd expect to speak the narration of some story. However Ren recognised the voice and his first thought had not been particularly welcoming
Oh no.
However even as such a thought ran through his mind, he forced himself to look away from his companions and towards the man that had called him- Bellamy Dell or, as he'd very recently learnt, Nora's dad. Nora had initially wanted to speak to the doctor alone and, it was only after that did the pair themselves speak in private. It was not that Nora did not wish the rest to learn of her parentage but, it seemed she herself was still wrapping her head around the whole thing.
Even he had found difficulty believing her words. In all the years he'd traveled with Nora, he'd always imagined her parents to be horrible people for, what other kind would abandon their daughter to Grimm?
He had never imagined they would be Doctor Bellamy Dell and the previous Summer Maiden, Valerian Carrie.
Her voice had cracked when she'd told him but she did not cry, for it felt as if she had no further tears to shed no matter how much she wished too. He'd held her when her voice failed her, allowing her face to nestle itself in his chest. Her breathing had been laboured, even more so when the tears refused to come. In all their years together the last he'd seen her so raw and beaten had been when they'd first met as children. Now, that wall of strength she'd so meticulously built had begun to crack. Ren had no doubt she'd build it again for Nora was strong that way but, back at Aneglus village he had promised to be there for her when she needed her and she had needed him.
After that the academy had entered a whirlwind. Thanks to the doctor's medication many of the injured had been healed or, at least, were asymptomatic. However the real game changer had occurred when one of the younger students had been clearing out the clinic. Unlike normal ice, that conjured by Dust was much more resilient and took much longer to melt. In one such capsule of ice was a Nemusa, perfectly frozen as Weiss had left it during their confrontation.
In the time since Ren had met the doctor, never had he seen him so excited. At last, after decades of work, he may have finally found the missing piece, not only to stop the symptom caused by the Scourge, but to cure it completely! He had been unable to create the antidote to save Amelia or Valerian but now he could save the rest. But, it would still take some time, and most likely some help from an acquaintance in Atlas.
"Doctor Dell." Ren politely greeted, this was the first time they had spoken since Nora had revealed he was her father and it had not been something he'd been looking forward to. Having believed themselves to be orphans for so long, they had never thought that they'd have to meet each other's parents concerning their relationship. But now it seemed Ren had no excuse or way of avoiding it.
With polite words to excuse himself, Ren stepped away from the group to better talk with the doctor.
"I'm glad we can finally talk." The older man explained, his voice awkward as he looked up at the taller Huntsmen. " El- erm- I mean Nora has spoken of you quite a bit."
Even Nora's name had now been questioned, how were any of them to address her? Should they continue to call her Nora Valkyrie as they had all these years? Or would they now call her Eleanora Dell as was the name given to her at birth? There was no distinction between which was real and which was not for they both were but they were simply owned by the same woman.
Ren shuffled his feet uncomfortably, not the slightest bit sure what to tell this man. What was it one said to the father of the woman he loved? To ask his permission for their relationship to continue? Did the man who had been, albeit not deliberately, absent from her life have such power? Could he disapprove of Ren for some reason or another? Maybe he was not the type of partner he had imagined his daughter to be with?
So many questions Ren never thought he'd find himself asking.
Ren opened his mouth but just as hastily closed it. No coherent sentences came to mind and, from the awkward way Bellamy stuffed his hands in his pockets in silence it seemed the doctor too was not too good at the talking part.
"I-I know I have no right saying this." Bellamy finally began to stammer out, finally looking away from his feet and at Ren's face. "But I wanted to thank you."
"T-thank me?'' Ren questioned. His brow creased in obvious confusion. For what could the doctor be possibly thanking him for?
"Yes." The doctor insisted, nodding his head."I wanted to thank you for keeping Ele- erm- Nora safe all these years. For keeping her alive during all those years we- Valerian and I- weren't there."
It hadn't been their fault. Ren wished Bellamy knew this. That he knew Nora did not blame them for what had happened to her as a child. They had not abandoned her, she had been taken away from them, leaving them to believe their only child had been killed. How were they to know she'd survived due to some twist of faith? But then, it must have been a twist of faith that allowed Nora to meet both her parents here in Shade.
"No." Ren finally answered, his short answer surprising the Doctor. "It was Nora that saved me. If-if she hadn't been there the night my village was destroyed… I don't think I'd be here now, talking to you."
Ren's voice felt heavy as he said this but he knew it was true. He had only made it this far, survived this long because he'd had Nora by his side.
"We saved each other." A soft voice interjected as Ren felt a pressure press against his side, slowly fitting it's fingers between his own. "We were always there for each other."
Nora elaborated, looking at her father, having overheard some of what the two men were saying. They had been so awkwardly standing there, they stood out like a sore thumb "And we alway will."
Nora smiled at her father as she said this and she felt Ren's hand close around hers, holding it, the pressure telling her that he agreed. Whatever was tossed their way, they would face it together, like they always did.
Bellamy smiled sadly at the pair, even to he who Valerian had so often called out for being unable to read the room could see how much these two cared for each other. That observation filled him with warmth, burning away some of the sadness that had made residence in his heart. He and Valerian could not have been there for her, but this young man had and he had no doubt he'd keep his word and continue to do so. Nora was strong like her mother, but even the strong often needed someone to lean on.
"I think Valerian would have like you." Bellamy admitted, his heart aching as he remembered the woman that had been taken away from him. But he had made her a promise, that he'd continue to live no matter how much living hurt, he would continue to live not only for Valerian, but also for the gift she'd handed him before her departure- their daughter.
"I think she would have." agreed Nora, leaning gently against Ren's side, looking at her father with affection. "She would have made your life a living hell, but she would have liked you."
"Oh, most definitely." Agreed Bellamy, nodding his head solemnly as the three burst out into laughter.
Yang silently walked down the desolate passage. Her each step breaking the silence like a thunderclap in the night. It was dark but the light of her Scroll provided enough for her to make out the next step. She paused when the walls on either side of her vanished, taking a step into the chamber in which the Vault stood. The moat of spikes had been deactivated after the battle, allowing Yang and her companions to return to the surface.
But not Ruby.
Her little sister had not returned to the surface with them.
Oscar… Ozpin… Ozma had claimed a series of trials awaited her, trials that even the greatest huntsmen would have difficulty handling.
And Ruby was expected to do it alone.
No, not alone, with Cinder Fall- that was far worse.
Ozma had also spoken of her mother… things her mind refused to comprehend, things it could not. Never in her life had she longed for her sister's company as she had those last few days.
Yang's grip on the item in her hand tightened further, her resolve strengthening as she looked at the Vault doors. She knew what had to be done. She took several steps forward but stopped. The signs of battle still littered the space around her. It had only been a few days since Ruby had disappeared but Ozma had warned them he did not know the exact physics of the place Ruby was in, time could pass differently there. Maybe years had already passed, or barely a second.
But that was already a second too long.
"A little late for a stroll, don't you think?" Yang almost jumped as the familiar voice filled the air. Soft and quiet but amplified by the wide open space.
"I forget cats are nocturnal." She answered, half turning to address who had spoken. "And shouldn't you still be in bed?"
"That was some miracle drug Dr Dell gave me." Weiss gave a thin smile as she said this. Her face was paler than usual and her legs were still a little weak, her hand was resting on Blake's shoulder for support.
The Gr-Sc-77 medication was capable of pushing back the symptoms of the Scourge especially since in most it hadn't incubated long enough for them to actually manifest. However, that would not stop its eventual progression. That had been the epitome of Bellamy research, until now. Maybe a cure was just around the corner.
Yang sighed, looking at her teamsters.
"How did you know I'd be here?"
"Faunus have exceptionally good eyesight, even at night." Blake elaborated, guiding Weiss until the pair were standing right in front of her. "And we heard you asking Nora about the spirit." She quickly added.
"We know she told you how to summon it." Weiss pointed out.
"You can't stop me." Yang stubbornly told he
She'd even fight them if it were necessary.
"Oh, we are not going to stop you." Weiss explained. "Ruby is our team leader. She may be annoying but we miss her too."
Yang raised an eyebrow at her.
"If you are going to try to get her back, we want to help." Finally concluded Blake.
They'd suspected what Yang's plan would be, considering the warning Ozma had given them. He'd explained how the relic worked and Yang had been nervous about how her plan would unfold. But, having Blake and Weiss with her gave her a little more reassurance. Whatever would happen now, they'd face it together.
Yang took a deep breath.
"Pied Piper." Yang recalled the name Nora had told her. The other Huntress could not explain how she knew how to summon the spirits of the Relics, it was just one of too many questions. Maybe that's why she had chosen not to question Yang as to why she wanted to know how to use the Relic of Destruction.
Or else maybe Nora had suspected all along and chosen to allow Yang to try.
Bright blue fog began to swirl from the top of the sword, slowly snaking itself around its hilt. It continued to spiral outwards and upwards until it finally hovered above the sword's tip, shifting itself into the vague form of a human.
Yang and the rest looked up at the spirit. As with the rest, the spirit's appearance was unique. Pied Piper wore a large, long hooded cloak. The thick material clung to his shoulders, allowing the small group to see very little of his physique while his face was fully shrouded in shadow. A single chain hung around his waist and, barely visible past his sleeves and hem, they could make out the remains of chains dangling from his wrists and ankles. When he spoke his voice was both deep and soft, raspy yet smooth making it impossible to tell if it were a man or a woman hidden under their cloak.
"I am Pied Piper, spirit within the Relic of Destruction." They began, "What is it you wish?"
Yang looked between Blake and Yang who were standing just behind her. They too took a sharp intake as they looked upon the spirit, each also knowing this hooded creature's abilities, and the damage it could cause. Weiss and Blake added their heads in reassurance, their presence giving her courage. Neither one had been there during that final battle yet none blamed Yang for what had befallen Ruby. Rather they couldn't help but blame themselves. Maybe, if they had been there, could they have changed something?
"We want you to open the Vault door." Yang called, craning her neck to look up at the hovering figure.
"Only a Maiden may open a Vault." Pied Piper answered, their cloak barely moving as they spoke.
"But you can destroy the door." Yang pointed out.
"That is an easy enough feat for me." Pied Piper calmly admitted. "But the consequences may be less precise. If you allow me to use my magic, these doors may certainly be destroyed, but my power may bring this whole chamber falling upon your heads. It may wipe out any surrounding settlements and the lives within it."
Yang desperately looked back at her teammates. Was the risk worth it? To risk the lives of those on the surface for the chance of saving Ruby?
"And what if we asked you to destroy only a small portion of the door?" Weiss piped in, trying to see past the shadow cast by the spirits hood.
"The energy released is equivalent to the strength needed to destroy the item." Pied Piper responded. "These doors of magic will require massive quantities of energy to break so the energy released would be devastating. However, a small enough piece would only release an equivalent portion of that."
"That surprisingly makes a lot of sense." Admitted Blake. They'd met the other spirits before, some had been far less reasonable with their conditions. "So if we asked for a small enough hole to be made in the door, at least to test and see if Ruby is still there, the spirit won't destroy the chamber. If Ruby is there we can slowly make the hole bigger and get her out."
"Smart." Weiss nodded her head impressed. "Multiple small bursts of energy like that shouldn't cause enough damage to reach the Academy or city."
"Better a bunch of small tremors than a massive earthquake." Blake agreed, the two looking up at Yang.
She swallowed heavily. Yang was so grateful to have them by her side. Ruby's disappearance had plagued her mind causing it to formulate a plan that had too many loose ends. Blake and Weiss had grabbed those ends and tied them neatly without worry.
Yang looked up at the spirit. "Would that be possible? To make a hole that small in the Vault Door?"
"Destruction is my speciality, my young masters." Piper said, nodding their head, the material shifting as if they were wading through water.
The spirit slowly raised their hand, the material falling towards its wrists to reveal a bright blue hand with long slender fingers. Grasped within it, a small golden item was held. It took Yang a moment to realise it was a set of reed pipes. The instrument was raised towards the spirit's face, disappearing within the shadow of their hood. There was silence for a moment until eventually a haunting, rising tune began to fill the air. The tune sent a shiver down Yang's spine as the song continued to play. It was haunting yet melodious, singing of times long gone, destroyed and carried by the sands of time. Beautiful and terrible like the destructive power it conjured.
A few notes had barely been created by the time the Huntresses felt the magic erupt from the spirit. It was a literal explosion. Power washed over them, knocking them off their feet, yelping in surprise as they stumbled across the ground, grasping for handholds that were not there. Dust showered the women as cracks began to spread along the wall and ceiling. Yang looked up warily, would the chamber be able to hold for much longer?
The tune continued but, as calmly as it began, it abruptly ended. As the final note vanished, as did the almost suffocating pressure it conjured. Yang raised her head, Weiss and Blake doing the same, looking up at the rock that surrounded them in concern. Ozma had not been lying about the Relic's strength, and the repercussions such power could have. Slowly, Yang used the sword to support her. She stood, extending a hand to help Weiss up. She had yet to fully recover from the Nemusa's attack. Weiss looked between Yang and Blake, slowly following them as they stalked towards the Vault doors, towards the light coloured stones and that appeared almost intact except for an almost incomprehensible blemish that now corrupted their surface.
Yang paused before it, looking up at Pied Piper who hovered there expectedly. All that power, and all the spirit could create was a peephole sized opening in the Vault door. The chamber could barely handle the power released to create something so tiny, what would become of it if they had made an opening large enough for Ruby to pass through?
"Well?" Blake carefully asked, watching as Yang leaned forward, her hands pressing against the Vault doors as she tried to peer into the hole onto the other side. Even if Ruby were there anymore, if they could get across the Vault they could go in after her and they could lead her back out. "Can you see anything?"
Yang held her breath as she peered into the opening, but all she saw was darkness.
"T-there's nothing!" She gasped in disbelief, looking back at Weiss and Blake before looking up at the spirit. "Did you actually make it to the other side of the wall?"
"Yes." The spirit replied, their voice monotonous and unphased by Yang's questioning tone. "All the way to the rock on the other side."
"Rock?" Blake repeated, confused. "There shouldn't be rock on the other side… this is a door… the Relic was held behind it for years!"
"She's right." Weiss agreed. "That's not possible."
"And yet it is." Pied Piper responded. "What reason would I have to lie to you?"
"That's because the Vault is not found in this realm of ours." A calm voice echoed from behind the, making the Huntresses jump and quickly turn. Walking out of the shadows of the passage, Ozma appeared. It was unnerving to watch him walk, with a grace and calm that Oscar had never possessed. It was unselling to look at Oscar and know he was no longer present. "The doors are simply the link between the two realms."
"What does that mean?" Yang desperately yelled, tired not only of Ozma's cryptic way of speech but also his secrets..
"Destroying the doors will not take you to were Ms Rose is." He patiently answered, understanding that the concepts of magic may be confusing to those accustomed to wielding it. "Although your plan to destroy them with the Relic was amendable, the doors must open themselves to reach the other side."
"You knew we would try this, didn't you?" Blake blurted out, noticing the ease with which Ozma spoke. He seemed unsurprised to find them lurking there in the dead of night with the Relic of Destruction.
"Let's just say that the Relic would not usually be so easily relieved from my possession." Admitted Ozma, walking past Blake and Weiss.
"So if you knew this wouldn't work why didn't you tell us?!" Growled Yang, fresh tears threatening to overflow. She couldn't look at this man, even if he bore her friend's face, just looking at him made her sick. If what he'd told her, about her Mother and the Vault was true… "Why did you let us-"
"Hope?" Ozma finished, stopping to stand beside the Huntress, to inspect the neat hole the spirit had created. "A ancient proverb used to say, even the word hopeless if not devoid of hope. Even in our darkest hour, it is hope that we must never lose, that we can't let vanish from this world."
"Also, I assumed even if I told you you'd still try to use the Relic anyway." Ozma added, his tone lighter as he looked around at the three Huntresses. "You forget I was also your headmaster. I know when my students are planning to go against my better judgement."
"So what do you propose we do?" Yang muttered, her voice barely a whisper, her hands shaking as she held onto the Relic. "Just wait?"
"We prepare." Ozma interjected. "So that when your sister returns, and I have fate that she will, we finally end this battle with Salem- once and for all."