Chapter 55: Falling Back To Earth
"Say your last goodbyes—I won't be back again..."
"You're not serious, are you?" Roman said, his voice rasping over the scroll—the result of too many cigars.
"Dead serious," Nex said. He watched the combatants in the ring duking it out with their flashy swords. "I'm out of the business. We both knew this day would come."
"We did," Roman said. "But fuck."
"What happened?" Nex said.
"We need you for a thing," Roman said.
An explosion rocked the stage, Goodwitch marching towards the unlucky guy with the smoking bazooka.
"Go find someone else," Nex whispered. "It's not like I'm the only guy on the block, right?"
Weiss shot him a glance, arching an eyebrow.
Nex shrugged, mouthing, thief business.
"I may have," Roman said, coughing, "spilled that I have a friend in Beacon. You know, some guy who could be trusted."
Nex gripped the railing tighter. "For fuck's sake. Were you drunk or just out of your mind?"
"Is drunk out of my mind a good enough answer?" Roman said. "Help me out and I'll—"
"My partner's the heiress of the SDC," Nex said. "And she knows. You can't bribe me with dust anymore."
Weiss giggled at that, resting her elbow up on the railing and watching him—just watching him and no one else—as he talked to Roman.
"How about a favour then?" Roman said. "Or is the high and mighty Artificer not taking those as payment anymore?"
"I'm not him," Nex said. "I'm just a normal guy now."
Roman chuckled, huffing at his cigar on the other end. "The N in your name stands for Nex, not Normie."
"I'm trying to live a normal life, Torch," Nex said, his eyes crinkling as his partner grinned. "Maybe you should give it a try."
"We both know that's a steaming pile of crap," Roman said. "Once a rogue, always a rogue."
"Maybe," Nex said. "But that won't stop me from trying."
He flicked his scroll off, dropping it into his pocket.
"I'm proud of you." Weiss pecked his cheek. "And I realize I'm sounding like a broken record here, but I have to give you all the positive reinforcement you can get."
Positive reinforcement, huh? Maybe she was on to something there.
"Nexus Shade," Goodwitch said from the stage. "Care to start the year with another one of your enlightening spars?"
All eyes turned to him. More this time. Since every school had their representatives attending the same classes. Jaune and Ruby grinned at him across the ring. Yang and Nora cheered even as Ren tried to quiet them down.
Nex groaned. He placed his hands on Weiss' shoulders, shuffling behind her. "As team leader, I volunteer Weiss Schnee as tribute."
Weiss held back a laugh, swatting his forearm.
"Nice try, but it doesn't work that way," Goodwitch said, her lips twitching. "Who among you wishes to spar with the best huntsman from Beacon's first years?"
Nex chewed on the inside of his cheek. She was definitely making a power play. Showing off Beacon's best—no matter how much his brain protested that the rankings were arbitrary—to their visitors from the other schools.
It was a small wonder Goodwitch failed to call up Pyrrha Nikos yet. His female counterpart. Who politely smiled at him from two rows below, waving ever so slightly.
"I do," a tanned, red-eyed girl from the crowd of Vacuo's students said. "Let's see what you have, hotshot."
"You are..." Goodwitch glanced at her scroll. "Miss Emerald Sustrai from Shade Academy, yes?"
Emerald hopped over the railing, landing on the stage with her knees bent. "Yep. That's me, prof."
Nex let go of Weiss' shoulders—which he had been unconsciously kneading. In front of an audience. Much to her reddening face.
"Good luck," Weiss said. "Try not to make this another Cardin, will you?"
Nex smirked. "She's not wearing armour."
Weiss snickered and pushed him to the stairs like a train. "Go on then, lover boy."
He jogged down the stage. His adversary stood across him, her stance loose. Easy. She had a pair of sickles attached to her belt.
Nex drew Hrunting with a quick swipe, letting it rest by his side. No need for his shield. There was nothing to gain from wrecking the woman like he destroyed Cardin. He could even lose for all he cared.
Pareidolia cackled. It tapped into everything around him—the world itself. From the musty smell of the ring down to the smallest molecule of dust on his adversary's green vest.
"Ready," Nex said, yawning.
"Good to go," Emerald said, spinning her sickles.
"Begin!" Goodwitch's riding crop snapped.
Emerald Sustrai kept her distance, the chains of her sickles clanking as their blades dragged on the floor. She stepped to the right, squinting at him.
At his face.
"Have we met before?" Emerald said.
"Don't think so," Nex said, thumbing his sword's pommel.
Emerald charged at him, raising her sickles high above. They arced towards his head. A pincer. Almost unavoidable. Ready to kill him. Or at least put his eye out.
Nex swayed a little bit to the right, letting the sickles miss his fringe by a hair's breadth.
"Oh. Damn." Emerald tugged her sickles back, the chains sinking into their handles. "You are good."
Nex shrugged. "You're good too."
"Don't be so modest." Emerald chuckled. "It's annoying."
She slashed at him. A barrage of blows that were definitely more half-hearted than anything. Like she was testing him. Feeling him out.
Damn.
He was the one supposed to be doing that.
Nex rolled his eyes, batting her sickles aside and lunging past her guard. He spun into a roundhouse.
Emerald bent her back, letting his calf brush her nose.
Hrunting howled.
The recoil twisted him mid-kick. This time, his other leg dug into her chest. Her aura stood firm as she skidded across the stage. She held her sickles up into a shaky guard. A little too late, but still. It was the reaction that counted.
"First strike and it's a kick," Emerald said. "You sure you're a swordsman?"
"A sword's only as strong as its wielder," Nex said, flexing his wrist.
"You're starting to sound like someone I know," Emerald said.
She rushed towards him, her sickles blurring faster. Fizzling. Almost like they were coming from somewhere else—at a different angle, at a faster velocity. But it mattered little. As long as she did not move like that scorpion assassin then he could deal with anything she could dish out.
And dealt with it he did. He weathered her blows, breaking them with his form—all ten minutes of the spar. It was almost, gods forbid, boring.
Emerald raised her sickles, a what the fuck expression on her face—gaping mouth and all. She sighed as she said, "You got me. I surrender."
Nex sheathed his sword. "Good fight."
"The match goes to Nexus Shade," Goodwitch said, facing the crowd of students. "In the real world, it's best to regroup when faced with an opponent that you know very little about, or one that seems insurmountable."
Emerald walked off, returning to her partner—a grey-haired man who was definitely smirking at her for losing without even landing a hit.
He was about to climb up the stairs when Goodwitch asked him to stay behind.
"Would Miss Nikos please step into the ring?" Goodwitch said. "I assume you're well enough to participate in another match?"
Nex took a deep breath, fingering his weapon. "Sure."
It was high time he paid Pyrrha Nikos back for giving his partner that bruise on her face.
Some of the students cheered as she came down. Others booed—though that portion of the audience was smaller. Apparently, being the ever-popular Invincible Girl had its cons.
"Your sword," Pyrrha said, smiling as she stood across him—ten meters. She slid her blade and shield off her back. "It is what the true-blades of my homeland would call natural."
Nex snorted. Natural. Yeah, right. How would she even know natural?
Now that he was closer, he could see that Pyrrha Nikos was too stiff. Almost like every single one of her movements had been rehearsed a thousand times before. Stiffer than even Weiss. She had her chin raised and her back arched as she shifted into her stance. A stance he had copied before. A style he even used before. Back when he fought Neo in Mantle, no matter how short it might have been.
It was a stark contrast to Emerald, whose fighting style was something born out of the streets. Loose. He could tell. It took one to know one, after all.
Nex flicked Hrunting out of Vigilance, easing it into a two-handed grip. "Yours is what I'd call pretentious."
"You are..." Pyrrha's lips tightened. "Offended by what I said. I'm sorry. May I ask why?"
"All those times you fought on TV," Nex said. "What was running through your head?"
"Victory," Pyrrha said. "Anything else would have demeaned both me and my opponent."
Nex growled. He snatched Vigilance, slamming his sword into its sheath. Gears creaked and clanked as he pressed the trigger, echoing throughout the hall. Hrunting's barrels sank into Vigilance. The sides of the sheath narrowed into golden, razor-sharp edges, glinting under the sterile light.
He ignored the shrill scream from one Ruby Rose, saying something about pulling out his scythe and kicking Pyrrha's butt.
"Ready," Nex muttered. His extra pair of ears flattened as he glared at Pyrrha. "I'm taking your title away."
Pyrrha's smile grew. She stared at his sword in all its gilded glory. "Then may we have a fair and honourable match."
"Remember that this is a friendly spar," Goodwitch said, her eyes darting between them. "You may begin."
Nex slid his backfoot against the floor, crouching into a lunge.
Pyrrha held her shield up. Her eyes narrowed.
His aura surged, spiralling around him. The world turned grey and the air thick with the bite of a raging storm.
His weapon trembled, almost in excitement, the wolf's eye flashing red.
Pyrrha braced her shield, ready to deflect his first strike. She had her spear poised behind her for a staggering riposte. If he let it land.
She was looking for a trade. A probing exchange. Practically bread and butter in the tournaments she fought.
Bad move.
Even Neo understood that he fought defensively not because he had to, but because he could.
Nex kicked off with a deafening boom, zigzagging towards Pyrrha. Sharp winds whipped in his wake and blew Goodwitch's hair all over, the cracking of windows filling the hall. Glass littered the stage, purple, green, and gold shrouding his entire body.
Gravity. Wind. Thunder. The elements entwined. A crude inspiration. Of Weiss' glyphs fused with Ruby's speed.
Funny enough, give a man enough dust and enough skill and creativity—and most semblances could be emulated, even combined.
And else was Pareidolia but a perfect shortcut?
Nex slammed into Pyrrha's guard—faster than a speeding bullet. His sword screeched as it raked across her shield. It left a deep gash, the bronze sparking ablaze before she could even react.
The top half slid off.
It clattered away, bouncing off the stage.
The crowd sucked in a breath.
And in that nano-second—a moment of fractured time—Pyrrha's eyes widened.
Nex grinned. His momentum carried him into a blinding slash. He spun, heaving as he brought his sword down across his shoulder. One handed. A move stolen from his father.
Break the shield and poor Invincible Girl would have half her armaments—almost exactly like what Weiss did.
Then again, Pyrrha Nikos was best huntress among her peers for a reason.
Pyrrha swerved to the right. She weaved around his killing blow, thunder crackling as his blade dug a smoking crater into the floor. Her spear flashed. She stabbed at his spine, feet already angled for her follow-up.
Nex twisted on his heel, wrenching his blade out of the hole. He walled her spear with the bulk of his sword. The bronze sizzled, fire sparking and drawing a soft growl from Pyrrha.
His next slash had him spinning like a top—sword on one side and a kick on the other—chasing after his adversary, her follow-up already derailed by arcs of hard light bursting from Hrunting and Vigilance.
Pyrrha Nikos slipped up. Caught by surprise. Now she was locked into the defensive. A bad defensive. Maybe she was shit at it. And as long as he played the tempest—
Something tugged at the tip of his sword, moving it just an inch away from taking her head clean off.
Pyrrha took the chance to skip backwards, clearing half the stage. She eyed him warily. But still, a jagged burn adorned her cheek, the colour of crimson, exactly where she left that bruise on his partner's face.
Pareidolia cackled as clumps of red hair fluttered down the floor. No doubt sliced cleanly by his blade as well.
His grin stretched up to his eyes.
So that was how his partner lost.
Invincible Girl's secret was not being invincible at all.
"Nice trick!" Nex yelled, letting everyone in the stands hear it. "Let's see how Invincible Girl does without her polarity semblance, shall we?!"
Pyrrha's supporters gasped.
The ones who were booing her were already screaming his name, their voices like thunder in his extra pair of ears.
Pyrrha's jaw clenched as she glanced at the remains of her shield—and the chipped, melted end of her spear. "What have I done that has offended you so much?"
"Anyone who's been out in the frontier can tell you that!" Nex said, waving his sword at the crowd. "People fight everyday so they could survive!" He pointed his sword at Pyrrha, the hilt quaking in his hand. "While you fought so you could win! You tell me why I'm pissed!"
The screams of his adoring fans only grew louder, drowning the murmurs of the other students.
"I—" Pyrrha stammered, taking in the sight of the crowd. Cheering. But not for her. "I'm so—"
"I forfeit!" Nex said, putting his weapon back to his belt. It groaned as Hrunting and Vigilance broke apart, white-hot steam bubbling through the joints. "Invincible Girl wins yet again!"
The clamour of his audience reached its peak, students from all four of the huntsmen academies—Vacuo and Atlas being the loudest—chanting Nexus Shade! Nexus Shade! Nexus Shade! Nexus—
"Order in the hall!" Goodwitch barked. She cleared her throat. "Letting Miss Nikos spar with Mr Shade has allowed me to remind you all of some valuable points." She paced around the stage, her eyes fixed on his fellow students. "We must remember that we fight not solely to achieve victory, but to serve a greater purpose."
She paused, placing a hand on her hip.
"Thus, I'm requiring a two-page essay on the purpose of huntsmen and huntresses," Goodwitch said. "Of the sacrifices we've made—will make in our line of duty."
The students up front groaned.
"None of that now," Goodwitch said. "In fact, I'll be dismissing you well ahead of time for this."
"Really?" Yang said, grinning as she elbowed Blake's arm. His cousin had been bugging the ghost ninja while she was reading another one of her books. Fun for both of them, probably.
"Yes, really, Miss Xiao Long," Goodwitch said, a rare smile on her lips. "You may go. Remember to prepare yourselves—adequately—for the busy calendar ahead."
Nex yawned as most of the students filtered out of the room. Some of them remained behind, chatting with their friends.
Pyrrha Nikos heaved a quiet sigh. She cradled her broken shield, dragging herself out of the back exit.
"That was..." Ruby clutched his arm, roses swarming as she raised the poor appendage. "Awesome!"
"You beat her alright," Blake said, walking up to him with Weiss. "Was the showmanship really necessary?"
Nex shrugged, trying to pry Ruby away from him—and failing. "I learned from the best."
Weiss smirked, holding a hand to her breastplate. "And whoever might that be, Mr Shade?"
"Only the woman who claims to have been trained in the fine art of diplomacy," Nex said, winking at her.
"Oh, my, I never!" Weiss said. "I certainly wouldn't encourage such overt methods. Perhaps you've been taking lessons from someone else?"
"When I have you?" Nex smiled. "Nope."
Ruby gagged into her fist, still attached to his arm. "What does Blake say again?" Her high-pitched voice deepened, sounding a lot like the quiet ghost-ninja. "Go get a room?"
Blake fixed her a deadpan stare, whispering, "That's totally not what I sound like."
Weiss giggled. "You know, you have a point. We should make reservations. Once a month in Vale's most scenic spots, perhaps..."
They exited into the hallway, joining Team AXRN by the vending machines. Yang and Nora were arm-wrestling—on the trash bin—for some reason. Jaune had his face buried in his hands while Ren patted his shoulder.
"Whatcha doing?" Ruby said, hands on her waist as she loomed over Nora and Yang. Or under, considering that they were taller than her.
"Nothing," Nora said, grinning. "Only deciding who gets to take our fearless leader to the dance!"
"Yep!" Yang said, her arm quivering. "I'm taking him! Just give up already!"
"Ohhhh!" Nora growled. "You're so gonna lose!"
"Don't I have a say in this?" Jaune mumbled. "Look, guys. It's okay. I don't need anyone to—"
"Bullcrap!" Nora grunted, the bin's lid crunching. "You deserve to be happy—" Her arm bent towards the lid. She managed to recover just as quickly. "Darn! How sneaky of you, Yang Xiao Long!"
"Go, Yang!" Ruby whooped. "Go, Nora!"
"Are we really watching this?" Blake said.
Nex shrugged as he took a sip of his soda. "Don't have anything else to do."
Weiss chortled, leaning against his arm. "You're taking me, right?"
"I won't if you make me wear a you-know-what," Nex said. "I'll just stay in my room and work on my ACD stuff. Let Rubes take you or something."
"Hmph. Fine. We'll compromise then," Weiss said. "How do clip-ons sound?"
Nex grinned. "Perfect, Miss Schnee. May I have the honour of taking you to the dance then?"
"Hmmmm..." Weiss placed a finger on her chin. "I don't know. But perhaps you can..."—her voice sank—"...convince me, Mr Shade?"
Nex chugged down his soda. "Later. When we're alone. I'll show you just how convincing I can be."
He wrapped an arm around Weiss' waist, shuffling closer against her. A small crowd gathered around them, watching Nora and Yang. Some of them were even placing bets while the others were just getting an eyeful. Apparently, watching two bruisers arm-wrestle was enough of a distraction for most of them.
"Oh no!" Nora laughed. Her arm crashed onto the bin. "I lost! How terrible!"
"Aha!" Yang smirked and pointed at an invisible Jaune. "I guess I'm... taking you to the dance?"
Ren shrugged. "He left a minute ago."
"Awww... That's too bad," Nora said. The look she gave Ren would have made shivers crawl up anyone's spine. "I guess I'm taking you to the dance, Renny."
"No, I, ah," Ren said, slowly backing away. "Thank you. But I'm not planning to attend."
"Nonsense." Nora had her arms around Ren's shoulders—in what was definitely not a chokehold. The poor guy gasped for air as she dragged him through the crowd. "Of course you're coming. You wouldn't want to leave lil' old me helpless and all alone, would you?"
Yang sighed as the crowd went about their business. "Partners, amirite?"
"Uh..." Ruby said. "What's wrong, sis?"
"Something's up with Vomit Boy," Yang said, licking her lips.
She actually licked her dry lips.
Nex grinned. So it was hereditary.
"Well, yeah," Blake said. "It's a dance. And he doesn't have a date."
"But he has a date," Yang said, frowning as she pointed at herself. "You know"—her voice cracked—"me?"
"Maybe he's seeing someone else," Weiss said. "Did you happen to ask him?"
"What?" Yang said, averting her eyes. "Pffft. No way. Jaune can't talk to other girls without, you know, tripping over his pickup lines."
"I think I know what this is," Weiss said, a hand on her hip. "Yang Xiao Long. Tell us the truth. Are you jealous of some girl that Jaune Arc may or may not be seeing?"
"Ohhhhh..." Ruby said. She giggled and poked Yang's breast. "So that's what happened in Mistral."
Nex clamped down on the urge to cup his forehead. Were they seriously gossiping about Jaune's—and maybe Yang's—love life?
"Nothing's happened in Mistral," Yang said, red dusting her neck. "Have you been reading Blake's books, Weiss-cream?"
"Leave my books out of this," Blake muttered, hugging one of said books to her stomach.
Weiss crossed her arms, flushing. "I'll have you know that Blake's books are perfectly valid pieces of literature. I think they're quite nice, actually."
She thought they were nice? Huh. Maybe he could pirate—no, buy himself a copy of Ninjas of Love. Or whatever it was called.
"Thank you, Weiss," Blake said. "If nothing happened in Mistral, then why are you deflecting so hard?"
Yang scowled. "Okay. Fine." She started tapping the floor with her boot. "Me and Jaune kissed. It was dark. It was hot. I think we may have been a little bit tipsy?"
Weiss gasped. "I can't believe he took advantage of you!"
"Yeah!" Ruby said, reaching for Crescent Rose. "No one takes advantage of my big sister and lives to tell the tale!"
"Seriously?" Blake said.
Nex took another sip of his soda—his only comfort as the world around him fell into madness. Jaune taking advantage of Yang? Yep. Sure. As soon as pigs rained from the sky maybe.
Yang frantically waved her hands. "No, no, no! He didn't take advantage of me, okay?"
She drew deep breath, her chest puffing up.
"Whatever." Yang shook her head. "Just forget it."
"Hmmm. I know that look," Ruby said. "You kissed him. And now you're chickening out."
"Am not!" Yang said. "I didn't kiss him either! It was—"
"But you said you kissed." Weiss smirked. "So did you or did he?"
"Ugh!" Yang stomped off, her mane swaying behind her. "I'm gonna look for him before he does something stupid!"
"Stupid. Yeah, right." Nex chuckled. "Did you tell her about Raven?"
They strolled down the hallway, passing by Oobleck's classroom, the man zipping around the stage as he lectured some poor students to sleep.
"Yep," Ruby said. "Do you have any idea where her camp was?"
"Mistral." Nex hummed. "The grass in her camp only grows on Anima soil."
"Really?" Weiss said, her eyebrows shooting up. "You can tell just by the plants alone?"
"I've hiked around Anima before," Nex said. "Trust me."
"That means she literally missed her mom," Ruby said. "If we could've just called her, then..."
"Yang would've wrecked Raven's camp?" Blake said.
"She's not that hotheaded," Ruby said. "I think they'll just talk. Yep. They'll just talk it out. Yeah..."
Like he talked it out with his father? With swords flying everywhere and dust sparking around him? He was no hothead. Sure. But he still lost control before his semblance managed to cool him down. Had it not...
Well, had it not, maybe he could have buried him beside her. Far be it from him to hold a grudge against the departed. Or even to spit on their grave.
"You look like you're about to fall asleep," Weiss said, prodding his arm. "I thought you were done being a sleepyhead."
Nex shrugged. His eyes flitted half-open, the curtain of red parting away. "Just daydreaming. Sorry."
"Well, no harm done," Weiss said. She held his hand as they joined the end of the line. "Ruby and Blake went to find us seats. We should get something for them too."
By the time they got the food, ten minutes had already passed. They carried the trays to their table—a long one at the back of the mess hall. Robyn's team sat on one wing while Blake and Ruby sat on their right, chatting with Fiona about her extra pair of ears, and comparing them to his while she ate.
"Hey there," Robyn said, bits of ketchup dripping down her chin. "Heard you kicked invincible ass."
"Not invincible," Nex said, pulling out a chair for Weiss—and she beamed as she plopped down. "Overrated."
To be fair, he was a killer. There was no denying that. While Pyrrha Nikos was nothing but a fighter who happened to be a little better than most.
"Well, congrats," Robyn said. "You're pretty famous now."
Famous?
"Famous?" Weiss said, splitting her utensils apart. "In what way?"
"Have you checked the web?" the blue-haired woman—May Marigold—said. Another rich girl, if his memories of the party could be trusted. "Your fight's gone viral. It's on a million views after only like five minutes."
"Ohhhh!" Ruby said, stars practically twinkling in her eyes. She placed her scroll on the table so everyone could see. "I told you it was super cool."
Her scroll showed a shot of him cleaving Pyrrha's shield in half, then blurring into a flurry of attacks. It even went to his little speech at the end—where he was staring straight at the camera. The video stopped as soon as the roaring of the crowd died, his mug sitting smack dab at the middle of the screen.
"Shit," Nex said, ignoring the stream of comments. His eyes roved over the title. "Weiss Schnee's Faunus Boyfriend Destroys Pyrrha Nikos, Unveils Invincible Girl's Cheat Code."
Yep. Cheat code. Of course they would see her semblance like that. If only they knew what his was.
"You're kidding," Blake said.
"I know, right?" Ruby said. "It doesn't even have Nex's name on it."
"I think his name is in the description," Weiss said, scowling as she tapped the scroll. "And there it is. Heaven knows why they don't just put Nexus Shade instead of—ugh—Weiss Schnee's Faunus Boyfriend." She crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair, letting out a sigh. "I refuse to believe that they still don't know who I'm dating."
"They know," Blake said. "That's probably why."
Robyn poked the bone on her porkchop. "Honestly, if we really want to turn things around..."
"We should go big," Blake said. "Like the White Fang."
"Oh!" Fiona said, gasping. "You mean we have to, uh, start our very own revolution?"
"We're not going to be terrorists," Weiss said.
"It'll be just the White Fang," Nex said. "But with extra steps."
"I know, I know," Blake said, raising her knife. "How about a club instead."
"I got it!" Ruby said. "We could be the Robyn Hoods of Remnant!"
Robyn's teammates laughed.
Her eyes rolled to the back of their lids.
"I hope that's not a pun on my name," Robyn said.
"I'm not Yang," Ruby said, grinning. "Come on. How hard could it be?"
As they spoke and ate, only one thing ran through Nexus Shade's mind. An answer to Ruby's question. One that would have put a damper on her cheer.
What they wanted to do—
What they wanted to do...
Was impossible. For a group of students at least.
But maybe that was just the corpse in him talking.
Eretein here with the odd author's note. And, no, what follows isn't an April Fools joke.
The next act overlaps substantially with my other fic, Guardians of the Unknowing. Feel free to check Guardians out if you'd like to see the next arc told from two POVs narrated by two entirely different protagonists (that's around 60k words, culminating into possibly one of the longest and most grandiose chapters in Artificer).
Well, by now, I imagine you're asking: what is Guardians of the Unknowing, why should I read it, and how is it related to Artificer? Seeing as I've piqued your interest, Guardians is a story that turns the Gamer-OC formula inside out into a fresh, fun, and surreal experience—description abridged from the words of a few generous readers. Basically me unearthing another 'criminally underrated' (read: won't ever be popular) diamond in the rough again. God, it's been practically my niche ever since I picked up the quill. And I've been writing since I was seven.
Well, anyway, how is Guardians related to Artificer? Easy. Because of spoiler and more spoilers. No, but, seriously, for those who don't know, Artificer is only a small part of the Loreverse Chronology, a fanfic series that spans multiple worlds and multiple fandoms, sharing plenty of themes, characters, and an overarching plot. Guardians is also part of the LVC, and it's probably the centrepiece of the entire series, given that Fiona Schnee–Shade, its deuteragonist, appears in every other story via time-travel hijinks. I think I've also mentioned the LVC in the first chapter, yes?
Without further ado, let this arc be known as the Why The Lucina Mask Isn't Effective Arc. Get the three-pronged reference? Great, you're done with the primer. Now off you go.
As always, thanks for reading. And feel free to leave a review. What do you guys think?
Cheers,
Eretein
PS: I can't believe we just broke past the two-thousandth follower mark. Awesome. You know, when I published Artificer, I never expected that it'd get more than ten readers considering that it doesn't have Jaune or Bumblebee or White Rose or Generic Gamer SI Power Fantasy #69420 on the front page or something. Plus it's a CCxOC fic. Yep. I'm gushing right now. Love you, guys. Couldn't have done it without you.