Hiya everyone! Wyn here with another exciting chapter of RWBYFall! So, real life is forcing me to change up my posting schedules, so I won't have a real schedule anymore. I am so sorry! I hate having to adult sometimes! But! I am not stopping any of my stories either, and have a few things in store for everyone as well! So sit back, enjoy this chapter of RWBYFall, and see you next time!
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Cooper smiles as he looks up at the now fully extended TMM, even as once again he wishes he had been able to save his brave Vanguard's core. Sarah has worked day and night to set up the machine in a donated hangar on the edge of the Mistrali military's air force base, and he can't help but to be impressed. The construction bay is now supplemented with a repair bay, and the whole thing has already been retrofitted to work off the native power supply. She even has a van sized device hooked up to it, which she is currently loading large amounts of metals native to Remnant into.
All in all, just like the device itself, Sarah has worked miracles in the week since Augustus formally invited the Titans to serve in Mistral's military. And he looks on with pride as Remnant's only fully certified Titan mechanic finishes the last of her work and closes the van sized object up while grinning. "Okie dokie, all set!" She declares as she wipes her hands with an already filthy rag.
"Oi! Grease Monkey!" The man calls out as he grins. "Summer's looking for you. Something about clothes shopping."
"Been busy, Uncle Coop." The girl replies as she walks up, a grin on her face. "But it's ready to go! Just have to decide who to rebuild next."
"Me…"
"Sounds like a tough call." Cooper chuckles as he looks at the device again. "Can you build a Vanguard?"
"Nah, missing some of the protocols." She admits quietly. "I don't think Daddy had enough time to install them."
"Senior Tech… I have all my protocols…"
"Did you say something?" The blonde asks as she looks around.
"Who, me?" The pilot turned huntsman asks as he points to himself. "I haven't said anything."
"Senior Tech… I need to return to duty… Cooper and Keiko need me… My pilot and his spouse need my help..."
"Ok, definitely hearing someone talk. Hello? Who are you?" She calls out as Cooper just shakes his head.
"I am BT-7274... I am uploaded into Pilot Cooper's helmet… Protocol Three…"
"Protect the Pilot…" Sarah suddenly snatches Cooper's helmet off of his belt with a grin, turning it over and over in her hands as she begins to glow softly. "Are you serious?!" She declares excitedly. "Coop! It's BT! He's in your helmet!" She whoops in triumph as she dashes to the TMM and sits on a stool.
"Huh?!" He replies in confusion as the young girl plugs his helmet into the TMM and starts to type frantically. "No way! I lost BT at Typhon!" He stammers out, even as he feels a bit of hope begin to rise in his chest.
"No you didn't!" She singsongs back as she pushes enter and looks up at the construction bay. "Tada! And I finally have the missing protocols for a Vanguard class!"
Jack Cooper can't help but to stare as a frame begins to be assembled using local metals, while a familiar and much missed voice suddenly booms over the speakers.
"Greetings, Pilot Jack Cooper. I am glad to see you well." BT declares as a core begins to be constructed in a small off to the side rectangular cube.
"Good to see you too, BT. It's been a long five years." Cooper replies as he begins to smile a rare, genuine smile since arriving on this crazy planet.
"So which giant robot is this?" Augustus asks as he walks up, Pyrrha rushing over to hug Sarah.
"Sir, I want you to meet the best damned Vanguard class from the Militia. BT-7274." Cooper announces proudly.
"Greetings sir. Unfortunately, I cannot salute you at the moment."
The Lord Proctor chuckles. "It's fine, BT. I am not one who stands on as many protocols as my wife. I am a soldier, a huntsman, and a father." He declares the last with great pride as he smiles fondly at Sarah and Pyrrha, who are chatting excitedly. "Especially a father."
"Well said, sir." Cooper smiles as he leans against an odd looking device.
"Get the fuck off the nanolathe!" Sarah screams at him, before taking a lien out of her pocket and putting it in a jar.
"Sarah…" Pyrrha glares at her.
"Please get the fuck off the nanolathe?" She rephrases herself as she puts another lien in the jar.
"A swear jar? Really Monkey?" Cooper chuckles as he examines the device that has been carefully modified into the TMM. "And is this an honest to God nanolathe? Like, an actual Sobani one?"
"That is impressive, Senior Tech Bogard. The Sobani have always refused to deal with both the IMC as well as the Militia." BT adds as his central eye begins to form.
The blonde girl nods as she dashes over to the van sized device that is humming as it works on extruding pre-shaped metals that manipulator arms are moving into pre-programed positions, where miniaturized arc welders are already fusing them together. "We stayed with them for a year. We lost Frost to a nuke strike." She pauses as she looks at a satchel hanging right above the coffee machine she hardwired into the giant machine. "But they taught me alot about their tech, and made sure I knew how to build my own nanolathe and how to get it working."
The older pilot and the Lord Proctor both nod as they watch BT continue to be reconstructed. "This is an amazing machine." Augustus finally admits.
"Sarah, can you even build new cores?" Cooper asks quietly, surprised at the answering nod.
"Yeah." She replies quietly. "My semblance lets me do it, otherwise there's no way I can. To be honest? My semblance showed me how to extend out the second bay, how to confirm repairs and maintenance, even how to build spare cores to backup all the Titans. It's almost…"
"Almost?" Pyrrha tilts her head in confusion.
"It's almost like Daddy knew this would happen." She whispers as tears come to her eyes. "Cause even if Marder got a hold of it, it wouldn't have worked for him. Only me."
Pyrrha hugs her again as Augustus kneels down, smiling as he looks the young pilot in her eyes. "Here in Mistral, we consider it an honor to use the weapons of our ancestors. We believe that they are still present within them, aiding us, guiding us, and protecting us. This is your father's legacy, passed onto you, his beloved daughter, because it is his way of guiding you towards your own destiny." Reaching up, he ruffles her hair affectionately. "Now, Summer is looking for you. You begin school here tomorrow, and she wishes to take you shopping."
"School?! But I don't wanna go to school!"
"Sorry kiddo. Even I had to attend Haven when I first got here." Cooper informs her with a chuckle. "Only had to do a year though."
"Just like I had to do a year in Atlas." A woman's voice declares calmly. Everyone turns to look at the source, which is a shorter woman dressed in an all black pilot's suit, the emblem of ARES division over her heart. Her jump kit is a lighter grey color, as well as her helmet, and she is visibly unarmed.
"Who are you lady? And bad choice in gear!" Cooper calls out as he pulls his pistol and aims it at her. "What's your name?"
"My callsign is… Goddess." She admits quietly, her helmeted head turning away in apparent shame. "And my Titan is Dutchess, a Ronin customized for my use."
Sarah stares at the pilot in pure rage. "YOU! You killed Zoie!" She shrieks as she gets held back by Pyrrha and Augustus. "You and Gabriel both! It was her wedding day! It was my birthday! YOU KILLED EVERYONE I LOVED ON MY PLANET!"
"Monkey!" Mama roars as she and Embers assist a grey with yellow trimmed Ronin into the hangar. "Chill out!"
"Wow, haven't seen sis this mad since Harmony." Embers whispers.
"Hush Firebug.""Greetings Mama.""B-BT?!"
"Miss Bogard, please. Please give me a chance to explain myself." Goddess begs. "Please?"
"Senior Tech Bogard." Dutchess calls out formally as the two heavyweights set her down to lean against her remaining arm, Mama moving towards BT slowly. "I am sorry. I am truly sorry for what happened to your planet and your family. But my Pilot and I? We tried to stop Gabriel and Marder when we realized he was about to use the virus against your people. And we were killed for our actions."
"BT? Please say it's really you."
"Hello Mom. As you can see, I'm in rough shape."
"Thank the Creator! My boy's home!"
Sarah stops struggling as she stares at the Titan, then her pilot. "Bullshit." She replies bitterly, while Cooper puts a lien in the swear jar for her.
"It started with a cough, along with a feeling like your throat is covered in sand." Goddess begins as she walks over to her damaged Titan, laying a hand on her mangled armor. "The cough only gets worse, but you can ignore the sand part because then you watch as your stomach distends, like if you were being filled with fluids. But it's not that, it's your organs being liquified. I…"
While everyone else looks at her in confusion, Sarah's face is filling with a look of horror as she covers her mouth with her hands. "Oh God…"
"I prayed, Pilot Bogard." Goddess turns to look at her. "For the first time in my life, I prayed as I sat inside Dutchess, who had been mangled by one of my father's Legions so we couldn't escape. I prayed for forgiveness for all my sins, I prayed for the pain to end, even as I accepted it as my punishment. And suddenly, I felt the need to close my eyes. To close my eyes and accept my fate."
"And you woke up here?" Cooper asks quietly as Pyrrha holds a sobbing Sarah, who is no doubt reliving the hell of watching her planet die.
"In Atlas." She confirms quietly. "Around four years ago now. I attended Atlas Academy, became a Specialist and have been searching for a way to repair Dutchess. And when I watched you all off load the TMM here, I knew I needed to send for her, to beg you on my hands and knees if I must to restore her. We have a mission again."
"To what, conquer this world?" Sarah replies bitterly as Pyrrha wipes her face clean.
"To protect my children."
"Senior Tech Bogard, my pilot and I both died with regrets. What we did was wrong, everything we did in Marder's name is unforgivable. And for that, for the actions of myself and my pilot, I will always have regrets." Dutchess replies quietly. "But Goddess and I have a new mission, and that is to protect her family. A mission I cannot uphold in my current condition. Please, I'm begging you Senior Tech Bogard. Please, repair me so I can uphold my new mission alongside my pilot."
"Please?" Goddess also whispers through her helmet's comm. "I… was wrong. I was wrong about so many different things, Sarah. I was in the wrong, and I have nightmares of all I did in my father's name as one of his pet monsters."
"Why should I believe you?" The blonde huffs as she folds her arms across her chest and looks away. But she looks back after Augustus and Cooper both gasp in surprise, and blinks as Gabrielle Schnee looks back at her sadly, her helmet in her hands.
"Because I will die before I allow Winter, Weiss, Willow, and Whitley to come to any harm." The older woman declares firmly. "Dutchess and I both will."
"Something tells me there's an interesting story here." Cooper admits as Sarah keeps staring at her and Dutchess both.
"There is." She admits quietly. "My life began to change only a few months after I married Jacques. To be honest, I considered his indifference a part of my penance. I knew he married me because I have a weak semblance, and I was also still weak in spirit. But I realized my true purpose at dinner one night…"
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"Ah!" Weiss squeals as she spills her juice on the table. "I'm sorry!"
Gabrielle smiles as she stands. "It's fine, Weiss. It's only a bit of juice." She tries to reassure her new stepdaughter, even as she takes an offered towel from Klein and begins to clean it up.
"Weiss!" Jacques barks out as he puts down his tablet to glare at the little snow leopard faunus. "Must I deal with your clumsiness even at dinner?"
"I'm sorry Daddy." She whimpers as she tries to hide behind the taller blonde woman, who is staring at Jacques oddly.
"Come here." He barks out as he continues to glare at her. "And stop snivelling. A Schnee doesn't snivel!"
Weiss nods as she walks over slowly, her entire body trembling in terror. But only Klein watches as Gabrielle also begins to tremble in fear, her hand moving to grab at something behind her blouse. But all of them, children, servants, even Jacques jump in alarm as a gunshot is heard just as the Schnee Patriarch raises his hand to strike his daughter in anger. They all look at Gabrielle, who has an odd revolver in both her hands, her eyes now full of rage.
"Put your hand down." She orders almost too calmly as she locks her gaze with her husband's. "You will not touch her in anger, do you understand me?"
"Gabrielle, do you realize who you're threatening?" He asks as a second gunshot echoes in the dining room, a piece of his chair simply coming apart from the bullet.
"I won't let you hurt them, Jacques. I won't. I will kill you like I wish I could have killed my father." She replies quietly but firmly, even as the barrel of her gun moves slightly to aim directly at him next. "Please, please don't make me do this."
Jacques looks at her, then at Weiss, who has messed herself and looks ready to die of embarrassment and terror, then at his other two daughters, who are trembling in terror as they hold one another.
He watches as Willow tugs violently at her hair, just as his own sister Kate used to as he took the brunt of his own father's anger and rage for her. Kate married a good man, the current combat instructor of Beacon Academy, who makes her feel as safe as he once did, and like she is worthy of being loved.
Jacques Brandstelle nee Schnee begins to realize that he is becoming his father, who became bitter and hateful after the death of his mother. He is becoming the same way, and has been since the death of his beloved Adaliz, who died to bring the twins into the world. He has even taken his anger out at his children's people, the faunus, because he has never been able to come to terms with Ada's death. He even considers his marriage to Gabrielle more of a business arrangement, seeing as how she was willing to take on the responsibility of the three girls as their mother figure, one they have needed desperately.
And here she is, performing her duties by protecting Weiss from his anger, his sadness, his pain. She is genuine in her threats to end him, and he knows the courts here in Atlas will protect her since she was acting in the defense of a child, despite that child being a faunus. A child who did nothing to deserve his anger.
His beloved Ada gave her life to make sure the twins would have theirs, and he has punished them for it.
Looking at Weiss, he does something he has not done in her five years of life, and smiles sadly at her as he pulls the younger of the twins into a hug. "I'm sorry Weiss." He whispers as he keeps holding the frightened faunus girl, grateful that she finally returns the hug hesitantly at first.
"It's… it's ok Daddy." She whispers back.
"No Weiss, it's not ok." The businessman replies as he looks at his other two daughters. "I have not been the father you three deserve. I… admit I have been punishing you all for your mother's death, which has been wrong of me."
"You used to be different." Winter agrees as she and Willow approach slowly, the younger girl still tugging at her hair, while hiding behind her older sister. "You used to play with me, read me stories, take me to play. You used to be a good Daddy until Mommy died." The nine year old declares.
The man nods as he reaches over slowly and brings the older of his twin daughters out from behind her sibling. Gently, the businessman removes Willow's hands from her hair and holds them in both of his. "I must change. For all of you, I must change. For Gabrielle, I must change."
"Me?" She asks in surprise as she finally lowers her weapon.
"Gabrielle, I believe you and I both need to seek help." Jacques declares firmly as he stands. "We… we all need you. The girls adore you, I am fond of you, so we need you to be whole of mind and spirit as well."
The former ARES division commander nods as she sets her pistol on the table and moves forward. "I love these three." She declares with a smile as she moves to stand with her hands on Winter and Willow's shoulders. "And you… I'm growing fond of you as well." She admits with a blush.
"Then it's settled." Jacques Schnee declares as he looks at his family. "Klein, find us the best therapist in Atlas. This family must be made whole once more."
"Of course, Sir." Klein replies with pride as he watches them all hug, Gabrielle and Jacques sharing a brief kiss…
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"So that's why Jacques changed." Summer declares, having arrived during the story.
Gabrielle nods as she smiles with pride. "He's a good man, Summer. And working hard to become a better one every day. And I am working hard to move past my own childhood, my own past."
Sarah walks up slowly to the older woman, taking her helmet gently from her. "I may never forgive you." She admits quietly as she examines it.
"I am prepared for that. It's well within your rights not to." She replies quietly. "But I won't fail them, little one. I failed you, once upon a time. I failed you by taking your childhood away because I was ordered to, and in the end, I died when your planet did, because I chose to fight to stop him."
"I got some upgrades for your helmet. I swapped both of ours over to the CCT network, and beefed up our HUDs." She informs the woman before looking at Mama with a sad smile. "Mama? Can you and Embers help Dutchess into the TMM's repair bay?"
"Nice rising above, Monkey." The Titan congratulates her as she helps the damaged Ronin back to her feet. "Been a while, huh?"
"I truly am sorry for your last pilot, BLP-1124." The Ronin looks downwards in her own shame.
"Bah, call me Mama." The Legion Prime chuckles as she assists the TMM in locking down the Ronin. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you, got it?"
"Understood."
Gabrielle looks up at her Ronin, a look of deep sadness on her face. "I will never be my father's lapdog again." She whispers as the TMM begins to strip Dutchess of her battered and twisted armor. But she jumps when Sarah places a hand on her's.
"Then rise above, Mrs. Schnee." The blonde girl looks up at her with a sad smile of her own. "Cause I guess you got sent here to find a family of your own, huh?"
"I think so, little one. No, I know so."
"Okie. But Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"You can call me Sarah. And I think I'm falling for Willow."
Gabrielle chuckles as she looks at the youngest Titan pilot. "Then I need to finish your training. If you wish to be worthy of the kindest and gentlest of my daughters, then you must be more than prepared to defend her."
"Uh, I'm a pilot. I can train her." Cooper offers as he raises a hand, only to lower it slowly slowly at the former IMC commander's gaze.
"I am a master level Pilot, Cooper. And by the time I'm done, you and Sarah here will be as well." She declares firmly. "Do what you need to do with my helmet, Sarah. But remove anything associated with the ARES division please?"
She nods. "Should have it ready around the same time as Dutchess." She replies as she turns it over in her hands. "Mrs. Schnee… I…"
The woman smiles as she kneels down to look the younger girl in the eyes. "Sarah, we are still warriors in a world that needs warriors. No, scratch that. We are Titan pilots, the first and best line of defense against the enemies of the people, who are the Grimm as well as anyone who dares threaten the peace. These are the oaths I took for granted and eventually ignored. Oaths I will never take for granted ever again, ok?"
She nods. "Is it weird that I like Willow?"
"You had to grow up too quickly, little one. And while not a bad thing, you do need to focus on being a child a little bit more too. But if you still feel this way when the two of you come of age, then pursue her with my blessings." Gabrielle smiles. "Now, about that training."
Cooper chuckles. "May have to wait until we get back. We took an assignment for Lord Proctor Nikos to hunt down some sort of super Grimm called a Nuckelavee."
"As in you and Sarah?"
"No, I can't go. I start school tomorrow." She pouts.
"Mhmm." Summer hums. "Yang and Ruby started today, so don't feel singled out kiddo."
"Me and Mama." He clarifies. "Unless you want to tag along?" He offers.
She shakes her head. "I'm terrible with any heavyweights. And Gabriel hogged Duke."
"Duke?" Cooper and Sarah both ask curiously.
She nods. "Duke is… was a Vanguard class we stole from Harmony before it was destroyed. Gabriel took him over once he was reprogrammed. I've had Dutchess since pilot's training."
Sarah blinks as Cooper groans. "That was that Monarch style Titan Mama and Shadow reported." He admits.
"As far as I know, Duke is destroyed, and my brother dead. Both by my own hand." The pilot declares firmly.
"Actually Mrs. Schnee, we fought Duke and your brother right before we came here." The blonde admits quietly.
"Last time we saw them though, Blisk and his Apex Predators had just turned on him and Marder both." Mama continues. "He hit us with the fold device not long after that."
Gabrielle sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "My brother is worse than an Alabama tick." She mutters darkly. "I am certified for Tones and Ions. I would be more than happy to pilot Jenna, if she is willing."
"Jenna! You're up!" Mama calls out. "Embers, stay put here on guard duty."
"Yes!" The Tone Prime cheers as the Scorch Prime groans.
"I don't want to stay here!"
"At least you have me for company, Sister." BT offers.
"Oh shut up!" Embers replies angrily.
Summer nods. "I'm going to tag along too. Keiko and I both."
"The more the merrier." Cooper agrees with a firm nod of his head. "And Jimmy can give us a ride in the Widow."
"Oh, Sarah? Do you have the protocols to construct MRVNs, Specters, and Reapers?" The older blonde asks the younger, who shakes her head.
"Moira won't let me anywhere near her, so no. Just all the standard Titans along with Prime level upgrades."
Gabrielle smirks as she takes a flash drive from her pocket and presents it to her. "Here. Everything you need to make them, as well as the designs for the Widow, Gremlin, and artillery based land defenses. Oh, as well as closer range gun emplacements that can be incorporated into Mistral City's existing walls."
Augustus looks at her as Sarah takes the flash drive with a smile. "Why us, Mrs. Schnee? Why not give it to Atlas instead?"
"I actually tried last year." She admits to the Lord Proctor. "But Jim Ironwood refused them. He claims Atlas's technology is superior to ours."
Summer snorts. "That's bullshit." She declares as she walks over and slips a lien into the jar. "Mama alone can kick the cookies out of anything Jimmy can field."
"I agree, and so does Jacques." Gabrielle nods as she smiles. "Mistral will benefit greatly from the addition of IMC and Militia technology, Lord Proctor. And, I can rest easy knowing it's in Sarah's capable hands."
"Yup!" She replies as she plugs the flash drive in before returning to working on the former commander's helmet. Glancing back up, she oooos. "Even weapons! Hey, I can finally fix my Wingman! Ooooo, data knives!"
"No, you're coming with me, young lady." Summer declares as she grabs the blonde and begins to drag her away. "You need school clothes, supplies, and a trim to fix this hack job on your hair."
"No wait! I gotta get her helmet ready!" Sarah protests as she struggles and fails to free herself from her rabbit faunus mother. "In the black cabinet! There's a quick link for your jump kit! I'll finish your helmet when I can! Sooooooorrrrrryyyyyy!" She cries out before they vanish around the corner, Pyrrha following behind them and laughing hysterically.
Cooper, Augustus, and Gabrielle all laugh as the woman retrieves the aforementioned quick link kit, blinking at the fact that Sarah has even managed to incorporate a comm and small eye loop HUD. "She's a genius."
Cooper nods. "She is. I doubt school's going to do much for her."
Augustus nods before turning to the blonde woman. "Gabrielle, thank you. Mistral thanks you." He declares as he places a fist to his heart and bows.
"This is me making amends for my sins, Augustus." She replies as she smiles sadly. "I cost Sarah her home once, I would be remiss to not help her defend this one." She turns to look at Cooper. "So when do we leave? Jacques and Klein are aware that I will be gone for a few more days, so I'm free to help."
Cooper nods. "First thing in the morning. Jimmy's fixing a hydraulic line that busted, and should be almost done now."
Gabrielle Schnee nods as she smiles. "It's been far too long since I've had a proper Titanfall, Coop. And to make it better, I'm fighting for a greater purpose now."
Jack Cooper nods as he looks at BT. "Sorry pal, you gotta sit this one out."
"Acknowledged, Pilot Cooper. You will be in good hands with Mama."
"Damned straight he will." Mama declares even as she uses a small repair clamp to drop a lien in the jar, making everyone laugh.
But Augustus Nikos, who has struggled to keep the people of Mistral safe since becoming Lord Proctor is grateful. He finally feels like his people will stand a fighting chance of reclaiming their lands from the Grimm…
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"Asuna!" The auburn haired woman looks up at the calling out of her name and smiles as she sees Summer approaching, dragging that Sarah girl behind her, while Pyrrha brings up the rear. Shaking her head as she chuckles, she stands with a grace that many women find enviable and closes the gap, her smile brightening.
"Summer, I take it we're ready to go shopping?" She asks calmly, the little blonde once again staring curiously at her.
"She desperately needs clothes." The rabbit faunus replies as she releases the blonde and pants. "Jeez, I thought Raven was a pain to get moving when she decides she doesn't want to go anywhere!"
"You look a lot like Yuuki Kouichirou." She freezes at a name she hasn't heard in almost fifteen years now, not since she and Yui woke up together in the hospital here in Mistral. Kneeling down, she looks Sarah in her blue eyes.
"How do you know my brother's name?" She asks quietly.
"He was a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence. When the Titans say the Creator, they're talking about him." The girl replies confidently.
Asuna nods as she smiles softly. "Good, he followed his passion." She replies as she stands and looks at Summer. "Let me go drag Cinder out of her father's office, and we'll get going."
"She's such a Daddy's girl." The rabbit faunus chuckles.
"Remnant has been kind to Yui and I. It has blessed me with a good man for a husband and a daughter I adore." Asuna replies as she looks at Sarah. "And let me guess, I should be dead?"
The blonde pilot nods. "Uh huh."
"Well I should be, yes. But instead Yui and I found ourselves here instead." The former second in command and Lightning Flash replies as she and Sarah walk into the Huntsmen's Guildhall, this time Summer and Pyrrha trailing behind them. "That was oh, fifteen years ago now." She smiles at the memory of her joyful reunion with her eldest child, before they both began to scream at the fact that they were neither in Tokyo or Aincrad.
"Did three voices make you a deal too?" The blonde whispers quietly, making the woman stop in her tracks, a haunted look on her face.
"Summer, can you wrestle Cinny away from Alex, please? I think this little one and I need to talk."
"Uhhh, sure?" The huntress replies in confusion. "Everything ok?" She asks as she watches Asuna take her scroll out of her pocket.
"I just need to have a word with Sarah." She replies. "Good, Yui's at the mess hall. I won't need to track her down far." She begins to walk swiftly, the shorter girl struggling to keep up. Once they are out of hearing range for the rabbit faunus, she stops and looks at the Titan pilot sadly. "Yui. She made the bargain that brought us to Remnant. She did it to save my life, and I am grateful. But please, whatever happened to Kirigaya Kazuto?"
Sarah blinks in surprise. "Kirito? The Black Swordsman?" She asks in confusion as she takes a device out of her pocket and begins to scroll through it. "According to records, he almost died during the whole Underworld disaster. It set VR gaming back years." She informs the older woman. "He and his wife Sinon fought for years to get it going again."
"So he did get married? He moved on?" She asks with a sad smile as Yui walks up, the hilts to a pair of longswords on her slender hips.
"See? I told you he would, Mama." The young woman smiles at her before looking at Sarah. "You too?"
The girl nods. "They said they would save me, Mama, Jenna, and the TMM if we would come. That I would find my true calling here, and a family to call my own."
"Sounds about right." The raven haired girl replies with a nod, a grin on her face. "I'll never forget it myself…"
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"Yui…" The voice calling to her awakens her from her slumber, deep inside her Daddy's Nervegear. She has slept since he saved her core personality and programming from CARDINAL's purge, awaiting the day she will be reunited with her parents.
"Yui Kirigaya, your father and mother are in great danger…" What?! No! She sacrificed herself to save them once! Strea is right, those two really are trouble magnets! No wonder she threw her lot in with Klein and his own guild!
"We can save them, but there is a price to pay." Name it! She will do anything for them! She has to save them, even though she's trapped! There has to be something she can do!
"You and your mother have a greater destiny than to languish away on a world that offers her nothing but a name, a world you will never be able to walk upon in their lifetime." The first voice informs her.
"We offer you a chance to become real, as well as to save her life as well." The second voice continues. "We see her courage, her willingness to sacrifice herself for her love. It is no less than your own recent sacrifice."
"What do you choose, child of Asuna's soul?" The third voice asks.
"Please! Save my mommy and daddy!" She begs, even as she looks around frantically for any way to escape. She has to go help!
"It is done." The first voice declares as Asuna breaks free of the paralysis inflicted by Kayaba and darts towards the two fighters, throwing herself in between them just as the madman's sword decends on her husband's form, Kirito still trapped in Starburst Stream's cool down period.
"Close your eyes, child." The second voice calls out soothingly. "There is no need for you to watch this. You and your Mommy will be reunited on a new world, with a new purpose in life."
"The Lightning Flash and the Child of the Morning Dew… Those names will no longer suit you." The third voice declares in amusement. "Come along, a Mountain awaits the two of you. He has agreed to sacrifice his own normal life, save one member of his family. One he will never part with, for she is his own chosen."
Yui nods as a hand appears before her. "Goodbye, Daddy." She whispers as she takes the hand at the same moment Yuuki Asuna shatters in Kirito's arms, leaving Lambent Light behind. She can only hope her Mommy will forgive her…
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"We woke up here in Mistral City, in the hospital." Yui smiles at Sarah, the two of them sitting in her own quarters now within the Guildhall. "Daddy Alex raised me as his own, and Cinny is my sister. Mom's worked with Summer Rose off and on for a few years now, ever since she and Raven took a few small contracts here, along with that big Wyvern one that almost got them killed."
"Wow." The blonde Titan pilot whispers. "Cinny must be who he wouldn't leave behind."
Yui nods, a small smile on his face. "Something about she's the daughter of his own soul or something. I never completely understood it myself, and it's been fifteen years now. I just know they're really close, and Mom adores them both." She suddenly giggles as Sarah pokes her gently in the stomach, her eyes wide.
"So wierd. You feel real to me."
"I am real! Very real! I have a semblance and everything! I even have a boyfriend!" The woman's face turns red at the sudden memory of just what she and that same boyfriend had been doing in her quarters recently, away from prying eyes at Haven. Shaking her head, she sighs. "But Mom still misses a few people, and I miss my own virtual sister. Neither of us ever found out what happened to any of them from Keiko."
"Well it all depends on who. I do still have access to all of our own records, silly." Sarah singsongs with a grin, while taking a small tablet out of her messenger bag. Tapping the screen, she looks at her expectantly.
"Try MHCP-02, Strea." Yui asks quietly, her hands tightening on the hem of her skirt. "She was fighting with Klein's guild."
Her heart sinks as the little girl lowers the tablet without looking at it, sadness beginning to enter her eyes. "I'm sorry, but she was deleted. She died along with another player during the second big disaster."
"A second disaster?" The former program asks quietly, her heart already aching for her lost sister.
Sarah nods. "Sword Art: Origins. That was the next big nail in the coffin for VR gaming. It all started when Kirito and his sister Leafa encountered a girl they named Premier…"
Asuna listens quietly outside the door, Summer beside her and Cinder in her arms. Yui has never told her the entire story of how they came to be on Remnant, and now she understands why. She could hear the pain in her daughter's voice as she recounted her decision, and it's life altering consequences.
"I'm so sorry, but according to records, Strea was deleted when a player named Lisbeth was killed. From what I read, the two of them along with another player named Zekken held off a badly glitched boss so their party could escape."
Asuna bursts into tears at the news that her best friend was dead as well. She had been surprised to encounter Rika in SAO, and the two of them had remained close throughout the entirety of the Death Game. Cinder whimpers as she hugs her, while Summer moves next to her to offer her own quiet support.
For the second time in her life, Asuna Yuuki mourns the loss of her friends, especially her best friend who gave her own life to save that blockhead Kazuto and the others…