Gamer4 in. Well, here I am in the Splatoon 3 lobby, waiting for a match to start... what do? Start up the next episode, of course! Something I meant to say last episode, for my fellow Xeno fans out there- in response to complaints, I have updated chapter 20- the first Road to Shambla/Xenoblade 2 episode. Maybe you'll be able to find the change, maybe you won't. For myself, I have a new episode to get started- as many of you guessed, we're doing Trails in the Sky, baby! As promised, I'll change my PFP to an image of Echo. Now, for those of you familiar with Trails, this probably raises a lot of questions for you- questions I'll do my best to answer... in the end notes. For now, it's time to dive in! (Get it? Dive? I'm playing Splatoon? Hey, it's a better pun than the new sign-off...)
Disclaimer: Trails in the Sky belongs to Nihon Falcom, and all their screwery when it comes to western releases. The song partway through belongs to... Funkist? Okay... and the translation is by GiveHeartRecords. That oughtta cover everything of note.
Episode XLVI
Miracles in the Sky
"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha smiled, turning to her teammate. "How does that sound, Nora? You're finally getting a world starring you!"
"Soooon... with Renny..."
"Er..." Jaune coughed. "Ren? You wanna wake her up?"
Ren didn't move- he was still frozen in the same hand-steepled pose, seemingly seeing nothing in front of him.
"Er... this could be a problem..." Jaune decided.
Yang smirked, and pushed Ren back onto the sofa, taking a seat in his lap. "Oh, Renny, whisper more sweet nothings to me-"
"BACK OFF, MILK JUGS, HE'S MINE!"
Nora leapt to her feet and knocked Yang out of the window- based on the sounds that followed, she landed in a bush with an "OOF!"
"Well, that worked," Blake commented drily.
"Nora... stop punching people out of windows."
"Oh, Ren's awake, too!" Ruby beamed.
Nora blinked. "Oh- uhhh... what happened?"
"The last world rendered you comatose," Weiss explained monotonously, through half-closed lids.
"I... seem to recall something to that effect," Ren nodded hazily.
"And the next world is gonna star Nora!" Ruby explained perkily.
"Oh- me?" Nora blinked. "Er... is this the part where I say I never asked for that, Renny?"
"Do you not want to lead a world?" Ren asked.
"Nah, of course I wanna see a world starring me!" Nora insisted, eyes wide. "But I never did ask!"
"That is... indisputably true," Pyrrha shrugged with a giggle.
"So, no objections to this world?" Crazy clarified.
"Fire away," Ren shrugged.
"Good!"
The world opened on a sprawling shot of a large continent. A narrator spoke: "Anima. The largest continent in the world created and protected by the goddess, Mother Sophia, most known for the technological advances born of the orbal revolution."
"Orb...al...?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
"For once, can't you just be quiet and allow the story to explain it?" Weiss asked exasperatedly.
Nora was giggling. "It looks like a peanut!"
"Hm?" Ren asked, looking at her.
"It totally does! Two circles all mushed together like that! A peanut or one of those circle chart thingies-"
"A venn diagram?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, one of those dealies!"
The others looked- yes, if they tilted their heads and squinted, they could see this continent looking like a peanut- or the outline of a venn diagram.
"Fifty years ago, the world changed drastically with the rediscovery of ancient technology- orbments, and the ether upon which they run. From the Erebonian Empire to the west to the Calvard Republic in the east, and all the land between, orbal technology has become a staple of everyday life, revolutionizing the way the lowest commoner to the highest king lives. Perhaps the most notable change, however, is the rise of the bracers- a continent-spanning guild of ether masters who have chosen to dedicating their lives to the protection of Anima and its people, from matters as mundane as finding lost items to acting as a neutral position during international conflicts."
"So ether is dust, orbments are the devices it powers, and bracers are hunters," Weiss summarized.
"Basically, yes," Crazy shrugged.
"So, not too different from our world!" Ruby beamed.
"...Yeah, sure, let's go with that."
The camera began to zoom in. The narrator returned. "Far to the southeast, the kingdom of Liberl, divided iuto five key provinces: Atlas, Mistral, Menagerie, Vacuo, and Vale." As he listed the provinces, they lit up in a counter-clockwise motion.
"Wait, so Remnant is just one kingdom in this world?" Weiss asked, aghast. "All the kingdoms of our world are simply provinces?"
"This is a big world," Crazy nodded his agreement.
"I mean, it's not exactly Remnant, either," Blake pointed out. "It sounds like the kingdom is... Liberal?"
"Liberl," Crazy corrected, with a long I sound. "Important distinction."
"Within the Province of Vale," the narrator concluded, "our story begins..."
The camera zoomed in towards the province between Atlas and Vacuo- in the middle of a small patch of trees was a tiny, two-story house. On the inside, the bottom floor was mostly taken up by a large kitchen, at the table of which was a girl in a pink skirt, sitting on a tall chair, kicking her legs with a very bored look on her face. "Maaaan... Daddy said he was gonna be home by now... even Yang already went home..."
"Baby Nora!" Ruby squealed.
"No... twelve-year old Nora," Ren corrected after a second of observance.
"Seriously, how do you two do that?" Weiss asked.
"It sounds like my dad's still alive in this one, too!" Nora beamed.
"Not just him," Crazy commented. "We won't see her around for a while, but even Summer-"
"Mom?!" Ruby turned to him, her eyes shining.
"I mean, yeah-"
"We're sticking to this world!" Ruby declared. "Everyone suck it up, we're sticking to this one!"
Nobody felt like offering any objections.
Nora sighed. "This is laaaaaaame..."
She perked up immediately when she heard footsteps outside. "Daddy?"
A second later, the door opened up, revealing a tall man with matching red hair, both on his head and upper lip. He was clearly dressed for travel, and had a large bundle slung over his shoulder. He beamed when he saw his daughter before him. "Ah, Nora! I wondered if you'd still be up!"
"That's him, alright!" Nora smiled, a little wistfully this time.
"I think he was clean-shaven last time, was he not?" Weiss pondered.
"Yes, a clear contradiction," Blake rolled her eyes. "It's absolutely impossible for a grown man to shave off a moustache."
"Oh- that's not what I meant!" Weiss snapped back.
Nora bounced up to her father's foot. "What's that? What's that?!" she asked eagerly, pointing at the bundle.
"This?" Her father jostled the bundle a little. "Oh- had a bit of trouble on the way home, so I got you a present!"
"A present?!" Nora's eyes lit up. "What is it, what is it, whatisit?! New sneakers? A new hammer?"
"Does it look like any of those things?" Weiss asked exasperatedly.
"Just asking that question shows how little you truly understand her..." Jaune sighed heavily, Pyrrha and Ren nodding in quiet agreement.
Mr. Valkyrie sighed. "Perhaps I raised you wrong, my dear... aren't little girls supposed to be interested in jewelry, clothes, things like that?"
"Those things are cool," Nora shrugged offhandedly, "but pretty clothes get dirty and rip when I play outside, and jewelry just breaks!"
Ren smiled. "Yes, this is quite the Nora I remember."
Mr. Valkyrie left it at that. "Well, it's none of those things. Observe..."
He shifted the bundle into his arms and lifted the blanket on one end, revealing the face of an unconscious boy with long, dark hair.
"Wha..." Nora asked slowly.
"Wha...?" matched most of the audience.
"My present's... a boy?" Nora asked, clearly caught off guard.
"Well, if he agrees to live with us, of course," Mr. Valkyrie clarified. "He's in a bad way right now- I could hardly leave him."
"So your father found an unconscious boy and decided to take him home and adopt him?" Blake asked bewilderedly.
"I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Pyrrha forced a smile, rubbing the back of her neck as a bead of sweat formed on her forehead.
"Are you sure he's still alive?" Nora asked, poking at his cheek a bit. "He looks kinda dead to me."
"Nothing a little chicken soup can't cure," Mr. Valkyrie beamed. "Set up some water to boil, would you? I'm going to set him up in the guest room."
"Kay!" Nora nodded brightly.
The scene then cut to what they presumed to be the guest room, a rather cluttered chamber with a bed that Mr. Valkyrie was gently laying the boy down in, unraveling the bundle to reveal green, eastern-style clothing beneath.
"Yup, that's Renny alright!" Nora beamed.
"What happened to him?" Pyrrha asked concernedly.
"Looks like he got beat up pretty bad," Jaune fretted.
Nora's smile became colder. "Well, whenever I find out who did that to him..."
In an uncharacteristic move, she didn't spell out her intentions, allowing that frosty smile to speak for her.
A second later, Nora entered. "Water's ready!" she chirped.
"Quiet," her father gently chastised, raising a finger to his lips. "You'll wake him up."
Nora's eyes widened, and she clapped her hands to her mouth as she approached. "Iunno," she faux-whispered. "He looks pretty asleep right now..."
"He's roughly your age, if I had to guess," Mr. Valkyrie ventured. "With hair as dark as his... I do believe he may come from Southern Erebonia."
"Huh..." Nora mused. "So, how did you find him, then? He's... he's not an ill-jit-mate child, is he? You weren't cheating on mommy, were you?"
Many spit takes were had. "Wait... Renny's my brother?!" Nora panicked.
"I don't suspect that is the case," Ren shook his head, taking in Mr. Valkyrie's reaction.
Which was more exasperation than panic. "Oh, dear, perhaps you've been spending too much time with Ms. Xiao Long after all. No, no, I met this boy while I was on business. To be perfectly honest, I don't even know his name."
"Oohhh... bracer business?" Nora's eyes lit up as she spoke the word.
"It looks safe to assume Nora wants to become a bracer," Blake commented.
"Just like I wanted to be a huntress in our world!" Nora beamed, flashing a peace sign.
"Quite so," Mr. Valkyrie nodded, then looked to the boy again. "Ah- if I'm not mistaken, he's waking up!"
Nora quickly turned just in time to see the boy's eyes slowly opening, his head rising ever so slightly from his pillow. "Wha... what..."
Nora broke into a grin. "His eyes... Daddy, his eyes are pink!"
"Magenta, but close enough," Ren gave a long-suffering sigh.
"Where... am... I...?"
"I'm glad to see you awake," Mr. Valkyrie smiled gently. "My name is Klaus Valkyrie, and I welcome you to my home. I promise you safety during your stay- please, try to rest and recover."
Strangely, the boy's eyes narrowed. "What kind of trick... are you out of your mind? You should have left me to die."
"Don't say things like that, Renny!" Nora cried. "It's just too sad!"
Mr. Valkyrie seemed contemplative. "Well... those are some difficult questions, I'll admit. I don't suppose you'd accept 'things just turned out that way' as a valid answer, would you?"
The boy shook, as if trying to move limbs that simply weren't responding. "Don't toy with me, Valkyrie! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"What, is he a werewolf, or something?" Blake asked.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "The fact that that's what your mind leapt to first, I think, speaks more to you than to this situation."
Nora seemed excited. "Oh, God, please let him be a werewolf! Werewolves are badass!"
The other Nora didn't take as kindly to the boy's sass. "Hey!" She stomped up and flicked Ren in the face as hard as she could. "You're doin' a lot of shouting for someone who's supposed to be hurt! Screaming and rolling around is just gonna make it harder for your body to heal!"
The boy was so taken aback that he fell momentarily silent.
"Your bedside manner... leaves something to be desired, Nora," Pyrrha sweatdropped again.
"Hey, he's quiet now, isn't he?"
Finally, he spoke in a quieter tone. "And you are?"
"Nora Valkyrie, future greatest bracer the world has ever seen!" Nora proudly declared.
"My darling daughter," Mr. Valkyrie smiled dotingly. "I believe I told you I had a daughter around your age."
The boy leaned back into his pillow. "Yes... now that you say so, I remember something like-" He froze, then sat bolt upright. "No, wait, stop trying to change the-"
Nora interrupted by flicking him in the face again- with both hands this time.
"Ah!" he cried, falling back into the pillow.
"No yelling!"
"I am rather concerned for Ren's continued well-being at this rate," Weiss sighed.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop yelling!" the boy raised his hands over his face. "Just... stop with the flicking! It's hardly going to help me heal faster, you know-"
A dark smile crossed Nora's face as she rose her hands slowly in flicking position. The boy could see the dark aura around her as she said, "Do I hear Y-E-L-L-I-N-G?"
The boy sighed, plopping back on his pillow. "Forget it..."
Mr. Valkyrie roared with laughter. "Rule Number 1, my boy, don't ever try to argue with my angel here! I'm sure she could even overwhelm me, if I were between her and something she really wanted!"
"So I see..."
"So!" Nora chirped, sticking her hands behind her back. "Now that that's out of the way... isn't there something you should be telling us?"
"How he got beaten up?" Ruby guessed.
"No... I'm guessing she wants to know something else first," Blake speculated.
"What's that?" the boy asked.
"Your name, of course!" Nora grinned. "We can't just call you 'the black-haired kid' forever, can we? We already told you our names- what's yours?"
"Indeed," Mr. Valkyrie agreed. "Hiding something as fundamental as your name can only serve to your detriment in the long run.
"Very well," the boy sighed. "My name is..."
The camera faded to black.
"Weeeeaaaak!" Nora called out.
"Nora, you know perfectly well what he was going to say," Ren pointed out.
"Besides, the world's not over," Jaune pointed out. "Looks like we're getting another animated intro."
Indeed, the camera was now showing sweeping shots of wide fields, and various people- Nora practicing with her hammer as Ren watched with a smile from beneath a tree, her father from the entrance to their house. Yang fiddling with a deck of tarot cards, Jaune brandishing a sword almost as large as he was, Ruby looking into an object full of gears and crystals. A girl greatly resembling Pyrrha stepped out of a large building and raised her arm- within seconds, a falcon swooped down from the sky and landed on it. A young man with crimson hair stepped off of a ship with wings after it landed in a port. And someone was singing over all of it.
"Hey, that's me!" Nora beamed.
"I've told you you actually have a very fine singing voice," Ren supplied.
"Shush, I'm trying to hear the words!" Weiss hissed.
"Hey, fairy,
Where are you going?
I'm trying
To assemble all this light!
I'll shine it down and make tomorrow
Bright!
(Oh, yeah!)
Can't you hear those voices calling out your name?
(Oh, yeah!)
'Cause I lost my voice while I was doing the same!
(Oh, yeah!)
I'll never quit until I feel your beating heart!
(Oh, yeah!)
(Oh, yeah!)
The sun and moon have joined in celebration!
Have you forgotten their affiliation?
When you're not here to share your laughter with me...
I just can't find my inspiration!
Now it's snowing,
Keep going,
Be honest,
Keep smiling, 'cause
We're approaching,
The clock keeps on
Ticking,
And never stops!
Hey, fairy,
Where are you going?
I'm trying
To assemble all this light!
I'll shine it down and make tomorrow
Bright!
(Why? Why? Why?)
Don't say goodbye!
The song ended on a screen of all those who had appeared throughout the intro standing beneath the title:
Legend of Heroes
Part I
Miracles in the Sky
"That was a nice song," Ruby smiled.
"It does sound rather like something she'd sing," Ren agreed.
"I can do that with my voice?" Nora asked, surprised.
"With practice, I'm sure you could even outsing Weiss," Pyrrha suggested with a smile.
"Hmph! We'll just see about that," Weiss crossed her arms and looked away.
"So, now we have the prologue and a title for this world," Blake summed up, "it's time to see the meat of it..."
The camera returned to the same house- onto the porch stepped Lie Ren, now matching his other in terms of age. His clothing was a larger version of what he'd worn five years previously, and he now had a single lock of magenta hair matching his eyes. He stepped towards the banister, draping an arm over it with a soft smile.
He spent a moment gazing into the sunrise, before reaching into a pocket and producing a harmonica. He steadily raised it to his lips and began blowing a melody through it.
"Hey, it's the same song he was playing in the last world!" Nora pointed out.
"It sounds a little different on a harmonica..." Weiss mused, "but yes, that's definitely the same song."
In her room, Nora Valkyrie's eyes creaked open to the tune of the harmonica. She smiled gently... then the smile broke into a manic grin as she leapt out of her bed. "I'm gonna be a bracer!"
"Just like Nora," Jaune sighed with a smile. "0-100 in a second."
"I'm the baby, gotta love me!" Nora bopped herself lightly on the head.
She leapt to her feet and got dressed in record time, before dashing out onto the balcony just as Ren finished his song. He lowered the harmonica with a smile when he heard her clapping. "Bravo! Bravo! Encore! Encore!"
"I thought I heard you wake up," Ren said calmly as he turned to face her. "I hope that wasn't on my account."
"One of the better wake-up calls I've ever gotten," Nora assured him. "I'm surprised you're so awake, really- you usually like to sleep in as long as possible, and the chickens probably still have sleep in their eyes!"
"Well, someone had to play a siren's song to lull you out of your slumber," Ren chuckled lightly.
"I'm queen of the castle, and you're my loyal follower!" Nora proudly declared.
"Indeed... how fortunate for you."
"Of all the worlds we've seen so far, I think this is the one where these two are most on-point," Jaune commented.
"Me and you- a two-man crew!" Nora began singing, holding Ren tightly to her side. "Side-by-side, we're unified, and we will never be divided!"
"I've always liked that song," Nora smiled, draping her arms over the porch's railing. "Cheerful, but wistful... I mean, I like all your songs, but that one's definitely my favorite! Good ol'... er... what's it called again?"
"Ballad of the Wind Fish, an old Erebonian folksong," Ren laughed.
"Good ol' Ballad of the Wind Fish!" Nora perked up. "Man, I wish I could play the harmonica like you do..."
"To tell the truth, I find more amazement in the way you swing that hammer of yours around," Ren smiled.
"Maybe..." Nora pondered. "It's just... whenever I try doing something that doesn't involve my whole body, I start gettin' so... sleepy..." Her eyes started to droop on the spot, earning her a light smack to the back of the head. "I'm awake!"
"ADHD... almost certainly," Weiss speculated.
"A rather severe case, at that," Blake agreed.
"The thought has crossed our minds," Ren nodded.
"But I don't wanna be like one of those lame-os on the DustNet who just says they have everything under the sun!" Nora crossed her arms.
"...The second I can get an official diagnosis..." Ren sighed.
"There are times it pays to relax a bit, Nora," Ren chided.
"Yeah, but you need to be a bit more active!" Nora retorted. "You're always sitting around, reading books, playin' the harmonica- no girl's gonna be impressed with just that, you know!"
"Well, excuse me, princess," Ren chuckled. "But my luck with the ladies sounds like a 'me' problem. Besides, let's not cast stones in a glass house- a girl who loves fishing, sports shoes, and collecting bugs is hardly the highest on many boy's wishlists, after all."
"Who are you to say something like that?" Blake bristled.
"I mean, Nora kinda started it," Jaune pointed out.
"And I know someone who likes girls like that," Pyrrha giggled under her breath.
Nora flushed. "Okay, enough talk about hobbies! Besides, I gave up bug collecting a long time ago, when I finally caught the Super Ultimate-Level Insect! I had nowhere else to go!"
"Super... Ultimate-Level... Insect?" Weiss wrinkled her nose.
"If there's one memory I'd rather forget altogether..." Ren sighed.
"Oh?" Ren quirked a brow. "Then please, explain the stag beetles I keep finding wandering the hallways."
Nora flushed, but ended up being bailed out by a call from below. "Nora, Ren!"
Nora brightened, and leaned over the railing. "Morning, Pops!"
"Good morning, Father!" Ren offered his own greetings. "Is breakfast ready?"
"Father?" Ren raised his eyebrows.
"It seems he truly did adopt you," Pyrrha smiled.
"Ren's my... brother?" Nora asked tentatively, sounding very much like she didn't know how to respond to this.
"I see... a step=brother, is it?" Blake pondered, a drop of blood coming from her nose- only to receive a smack with a baseball bat.
"Go to horny jail," Weiss scoffed, throwing the bat over her shoulder.
"Yup, it's ready and waiting!" Mr. Valkyrie called back. "Wanna get down here before it gets cold?"
A quick cut took them to the dining room, where the table was creaking under the weight of the pancakes atop it. "Thanks, Dad!" Nora grinned as she applied enough syrup to fill a pool.
Ren stared as she tore in. "Do you think she even tastes them...?"
"Kids who eat and sleep a lot, grow a lot!" Nora declared. "I'm not sure who said that, but I'm sure they were smart!"
"Well, as long as you put some of that energy into your work," Klaus Valkyrie smiled, his moustache twitching as he smiled. "You two are wrapping up your training today, aren't you?"
"I believe that's the plan," Ren agreed. "We're to meet with Yang at the guild to review everything we've learned."
"We're finally about to graduate!" Nora squealed in excitement.
"Though, we seem to be the same age as we were when we first arrived at Beacon," Ren commented.
"I guess this world operates on different rules when it comes to these things?" Jaune speculated.
"When we're done, we'll be bracers, just like you!" Nora was quivering with excitement. "No more treating me like a kid, old man! I'm coming for your representation as the best bracer ever, of all time!"
"Maybe," Mr. Valkyrie chuckled. "I think you've still got a ways to go before that. You'll be starting as a junior bracer- a bracer-in-training. It'll take some work to start building up your own legend."
"If clearing out the Augean Stables is what I gotta do, clearing out the Augean Stables is what you'll get!" Nora declared firmly.
"Ojay-what now?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
Weiss sighed. "An old legend- a hero was forced to clear out a stable full of countless giant horses, and did so by adjusting the course of a mighty river."
"Not exactly a glamorous job..." Pyrrha noted.
"But I'm sure Nora would definitely do it if it meant getting what she wanted," Ren confirmed.
"So watch your back!" Nora continued to insist. "'Cause it won't be long until Anima only knows you as 'Nora Valkyrie's father!'"
"I'll be eagerly awaiting your challenge!" Klaus roared with laughter.
Ren groaned. "I suppose it falls to me to make sure you don't actually kill each other... Nora, try to stay focused on the task at hand, will you? We have a test later today, remember?"
Nora froze, her next bite of pancake halfway to her mouth. "T...T... Test?"
Ren sighed heavily. "The final test to determine if we're ready to become bracers? The one that will result in a great deal of homework should we fail?"
Nora gulped- though that might have just been swallowing the latest mouthful of pancake. "Er... yeah... that kinda slipped my mind... But now that you bring it up... I guess I kinda remember Yang saying something about that..."
"So she's willing to clean a mountain-sized pile of dung," Weiss rolled her eyes, "but a simple test has her quaking in her shoes?"
"That's Nora for ya," Jaune agreed heavily, Pyrrha and Ren nodding along.
"But whatever! I'm sure we'll manage somehow!" It sounded more like Nora was trying to encourage herself than Ren.
Ren groaned. "I worry for you, Nora... your brain is like a colander at times."
"How can I release such an unprepared child into a harsh, cruel world?" Klaus moaned, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Hey, you're the one who raised me!" Nora bristled. "If it's anyone's fault, it's yours!"
"The fact that she's right only makes me more depressed," Ren sighed. "You two are so alike it's frightening."
He swallowed one last mouthful before standing and taking his dishes to a nearby sink. "Well, we ought to get going to the guild, Nora. I'm sure Yang doesn't want to be kept waiting."
"Yeah," Nora shuddered. "I remember what happened last time someone did that..."
"She's impatient, that's for sure," Ruby nodded, matching Nora's shiver.
Nora wrapped up her breakfast as well, and as she placed her dishes in the sink, something seemed to occur to her. "Oh, right, it's my turn to cook dinner tonight, isn't it? Either of you craving anything?"
Klaus's eyes lit up. "Menagerie-style scalloped fish in balsamic vinegar."
Nora sweatdropped. "Menagerie-style whadda what now?"
Ren cleared his throat. "Perhaps something a little less likely to catch fire, if you please."
"There's a reason we never delegate cooking to Nora," Jaune shuddered.
"The... appetizer..." Pyrrha trembled.
"Of course," Klaus chuckled. "I just wanted to see how she reacted. "The usual omelet will be perfectly fine, dear. I don't need anything fancy- just edible."
Nora pouted. "I think I'd be less upset if I didn't know you had a point..."
"My cooking's not that bad, right guys?" Nora objected. "...Guys?"
"Appetizer..." Pyrrha whimpered, curling up into the fetal position. Jaune took charge of caring for her, gently running his fingers through her hair.
"There, there... it's alright..."
"Tell ya what- I'll foot the bill for the ingredients," Klaus beckoned her closer, rummaging around in his wallet. "While you're at it, pick up the latest issue of the Liberl news from the store, would ya?"
He handed her fifty lien. "Anything left over, consider it your allowance. Just try not to spend it too wastefully."
"Got it- thanks, Pops!" Nora beamed.
"Thank you, Father," Ren agreed. "We'll see you later."
"When you see us again, we'll be bracers!" Nora reiterated, pumping her fists. "Saving people, hunting things- the family business!"
Klaus chuckled again. "Work hard and send Yang my regards!"
"Will do!" Ren promised over his shoulder as he and Nora left the house and set off on the short path to central Vale.
"Such a nice family," Pyrrha smiled.
"Yeah..." Nora agreed wistfully. "That's the daddy I remember..."
Central Vale was a small village built around a large clock tower. The rest was loosely constructed into rings- the initial ring around the tower was dedicated to the various businesses- a hotel, a general store, a clothing shop and weapons shop, and, of course, the bracer guild hall. The final, largest ring belonged to the families that lived within Central Vale itself.
"Vale's... a pretty small region here," Ruby observed, surprised.
"I'd imagine there's more to it than we're seeing," Weiss put in, "but yes, as a central area, this village is quite small compared to our Vale City."
"We made good time," Ren commented as they stepped through the village's walls. "Not too early, not too late."
"A Valkyrie is never late, Ren!" Nora boasted. "Neither are we early! We always arrive exactly when we mean to!"
"I love that movie," Nora smiled happily. "...That new series can go straight to Hell."
Nora extended her hands to the sky in a great stretch. "After all that time in Sunday School, it all comes to this! I never dreamed it would take all those years of study to become a bracer!"
"Sunday school?" Pyrrha wondered. "They only have school on Sunday?"
"Lucky..." Ruby pouted.
"Even bracers need to understand the basics," Ren reminded her. "Still, I get being nostalgic on the last day of training."
He led them to a building with a sign out front- a gauntlet bent to show it was being worn. He pushed open the door, revealing a small lobby with a couple bulletin boards filled with requests. Behind them was a desk, behind which was a young, brown-haired woman in sunglasses and a beret. "There you are!" she called, glancing up from the paper she'd been flicking through. "Morning, you two!"
"Morning, Coco!" Nora greeted.
"Coco as a guildmaster?" Blake pondered. "Hmm... I didn't really take her for the type. I'd figure she'd want to be out on the front lines."
"Yang's upstairs waitin' on ya," Coco said, turning another page. "Probably caught up in those cards of hers. One last day of training 'til you become full bracers, huh? Well, I'll wish you good luck- we can always use a couple more hands around here." She jerked a thumb at the request board.
"Thanks!" Nora waved, heading towards a flight of steps nearby.
Upstairs, sure enough, they found Yang with a spread of cards on the table before her. She turned two of them over. "Let's see... Star... Hanged Man... The Hermit and the Magician... the inverted Wheel of Fortune... Nope, I've got no idea how to interpret this."
"Hmm, I never took Yang as an aspiring fortune teller," Weiss mused.
"I think I've heard her going through the horoscopes before," Blake shrugged, "but that's about it."
"Morning, Yang!" came Nora's voice from the stairs. Yang grinned.
"Ah, I was wondering when you two would show up! Nice and early, good, good!"
"Of course!" Nora grinned, flashing her peace sign. "I'm ready to get this show on the road and become a real bracer!"
"Points for enthusiasm," Yang nodded. "Here's hoping you can keep it through what I've got in store for you!"
Seeing her evil smirk, Nora's confidence began to flag. "Enthusiasm... dropping..."
"Well, someone's gotta make sure this information sticks in your brain- it'll just filter right out otherwise," Yang pressed.
"You're all bullies!" Nora sobbed.
"They do seem to have similar concerns," Pyrrha agreed.
"Very well-founded ones, I assure you," Ren sighed heavily.
"Try not to worry so much, Yang," Ren spoke up. "Of course, Nora hates studying, shirks her homework at every opportunity, acts rash, naive, and overly nosy, she does learn with practical experience- it shouldn't be too hard to teach her to use orbments."
"Orbments?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
"Devices that run on ether, Ruby, try to keep up!" Weiss rolled her eyes. "We already went over that!"
"Oh, yeah..." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "Kinda forgot that part."
"Well, we can always hope," Yang shrugged.
Nora turned her attention towards Ren. "Hmm... for some reason, I don't feel like you were exactly singing my praises there..."
"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean," Ren evaded.
Nora raised her fingers to her eyes, then directed them at Ren before turning to Yang. "So, what were ya tryin' to predict?"
"Nothing in particular," Yang brushed off. "Just some general info about what might be happening soon. Maybe I'd have gotten something more useful if I did have something I wanted to look up... how about I give you a quick reading before we get down to business? For luck?"
"Oh, oh, I'm a Cancer!" Nora eagerly declared.
"I don't believe that's the kind of reading she means, Nora," Ren shook his head.
Yang quickly shuffled the cards, then fanned them out. "You know the deal- pick one, any one."
Ren and Nora glanced at each other, then took a card each. Yang took Ren's card and turned it over. "Ah, the Moon... mystery, hesitation. But will you be solving a mystery, or are you the mystery?"
"Renny's pretty mysterious!" Nora giggled.
"We know, we know," Ren sighed. "And Nora?"
Yang turned Nora's card, revealing the image of a man dancing on a ball at the edge of a cliff. "The same card I always get with her- the Fool."
"I am not an idiot!" Nora objected.
"I've told you before, that's not what it means," Yang shook her head. "It means you're starting from zero, yet have infinite potential- that's exactly what I'd expect from a new up-and-coming bracer."
"I don't really get it," Nora admitted.
"When we get a break, I'm sure I can pull you aside and more thoroughly explain the tarot," Ren sighed.
Yang clapped her hands together. "Alright, enough of that- let's get to your final exam, shall we?"
"Yes, let's," Ren nodded his agreement.
Yang cleared her throat. "Alright, let's start with the bare basics- there are plenty of rules and guidelines bracers have to follow, but there are three that are the most important of all. You know what they are, Nora?"
Nora grinned, and struck a pose. "Rule 1: Stay thy blade from the flesh of the innocent!"
Yang blinked. "I mean, that's not wrong..."
"Rule 2- Conceal thyself in plain sight, and rule 3: Never compromise the brother- oof!"
"My apologies," Ren muttered as he shook his hand after delivering a light chop to the back of Nora's neck. "I'm sure she knows the real rules, she's just rather excited."
"I wonder where she could have gotten those rules..." Weiss rolled her eyes heavily.
"...They really need to wrap the main story up already," Blake sighed.
Ren whispered in her ear. "Remember... more school if we fail..."
Nora paled. "Right... rule 1! Do not harm the citizens of Anima, or through inaction, allow them to come to harm! Rule 2: The client's word is law, unless it conflicts with rule 1! Rule 3: Do everything to protect yourself, as long as it doesn't conflict with rule 1- conflicts between rules 2 and 3 should be judged on a case-by-case basis!"
"See, you can do it when you try," Yang commented drily.
Blake drummed her fingers. "Those rules sound strangely familiar..."
"Well, I swung by the orbal factory earlier and picked you up a present," Yang smiled. "Don't say I never did anything for ya."
She produced a pair of small, bronze circular objects and passed them over to Ren and Nora. "Tactical orbments!" Nora's eyes lit up. She pressed a button on hers, and it flipped open like a pocket watch, revealing a set of complex circuitry running through several slots, only one of which was currently occupied- the one in the very center. "You even put an ether gem in them!"
"I'm not sure a basic questionnaire is enough to earn a gift on this level," Ren agreed, looking over his. The gem in Nora's orbment was a bright green- his was a deep black.
"Call it a coming-of-age present," Yang smirked. "Just remember, Nora, these things are tools, not toys. The most important tool in a bracer's arsenal."
"So, that's what allows them to utilize this ether?" Weiss clarified.
"Yup- any sort of dust or semblance-like stuff they do is done through those orbments," Crazy agreed.
"You know how they work, right, Ren?" Yang prompted.
"Depending on the types of ether gems we slot into these, we can use different arts and receive different effects," Ren nodded. "Gems are refined ether crystals that can be found around the world. There are four basic elements- earth, wind, fire, and water- and three higher elements- time, space, and mirage."
"Straight out of a textbook!" Yang clapped a hand on his shoulder. "As you can see, I loaded your orbment with a time gem. Nora, I got you a wind gem- closest thing there is to lightning."
"You're the best!" Nora beamed, her eyes alight.
"For a brute, she can be rather thoughtful when she decides to be," Weiss mused.
"Holy exposition dump," Blake rolled her eyes- as she quickly scrawled down everything she was learning about this world in her journal.
"Now, orbments come with the ability to hold seven gems at a time," Yang continued, "but for what I have in mind today, one should be enough."
She headed to the stairs and led them down.
"Oy, you two!" Coco called. "Before you get going, another present for ya!"
Ren and Nora stepped aside, as Coco produced a pair of books, handing one to each. A quick flip-through revealed that they were blank. "Your bracer notebooks," she said, adjusting her glasses. "Anything of note that happens, you put it in there. You never know when even minor details might come in handy."
"Right, sure, of course!" Nora nodded brightly. "...I'll leave that to Ren."
Yang tilted her head. "Oh? Doth mine ears deceive me?"
"Er... what did your ears say they heard?"
"Nora, keeping track of everything that happens on jobs is a necessity for every bracer. Try to get with the program here, would ya?"
"Right, of course!"
"I suspect that went in one ear and out the other," Ren groaned.
"I'm surprised to see Yang acting so responsibly," Weiss noted. "It's so... strange."
Blake's ear twitched. "...Am I the only one who gets the feeling we're forgetting something?"
"Okay, now, the boards," Yang instructed. "Go pick a job."
"I'm sure there are plenty to choose from..." Ren muttered, turning to look them over. His eyes immediately fell on one that was in the center of a large clearing, entirely on its own with a clear three inches of space in all directions. There was an exhale through his nose that passed for a snort from him as he reached out and took it. "I see... Nora, it seems there's an elderly lady who needs a recovery job out behind Vale Church."
"Subtle as a trainwreck, as my dad would say," Jaune chuckled.
Ren led Nora out of the guild and around the building, where there stood a large, white building, from which the sound of hymns were currently emanating. Just behind it, they found Yang- she must have taken a backdoor. She was hunched over, pretending to hobble on a stick. "Oh, dear bracers!" she said in a shrill voice that any true elder must take offense with, "I'm so glad you've come!"
Ren laughed, glancing at Nora. "Would you like to do the honors?"
Nora was fighting back giggles as she approached. "Hello... ma'am... we saw your request at the guild. What can we help you with?"
"Oh, my darling grandson said he was going to send me a present all the way from Garreg Mach!" Yang cried. "I haven't seen him since he went off to school in Erebonia, it meant so much to me- but then, on my way home, I tripped and dropped my precious boy's package in the sewer! I'm just a feeble old lady, I can't go down there on my own! Won't you kind bracers pleeeeaaaaase help me?"
"She put way too much thought into this backstory," Blake scoffed.
"She's always been one to ham it up," Ruby sighed.
"Don't worry, ma'am!" Nora couldn't hold the giggles back any longer. "We'll get right on that!"
"Just remember- there are all sorts of nasty monsters down there!" Yang pointed out. "Buncha sewer-dwelling rats, gators people flushed down the toilet- go down and show 'em all what-for! Yeah, I said what-for, I'm old, get over it!"
"A lot," Ruby groaned.
Nora glanced between the open grate and Yang. "So... this is it? No paper test?"
Yang seemed so off-guard, she straightened up and slipped out of character. "Did your dad drop you on your head?"
"I sometimes wonder," Ren shook his head.
"I thought I told you there wouldn't be any paper tests anymore- this is a practical test of real experience!"
Nora looked like Christmas had come early.
"I worry so much for you..." Ren groaned.
"Oh, all those years of study under Mother Goodwitch... it all seems so distant now, those halcyon days of my youth..."
Ren delivered another light smack to the back of her head. "We should get going, Nora."
"Alright!"
They descended through a manhole into the sewers- a wide underground area, various platforms and walkway over the sewage below.
"I don't think sewers are usually that roomy," Pyrrha commented.
"Why is this so strangely familiar...?" Blake wondered.
"What, going through sewers?" Ruby asked. "I know I've never been-" She faltered when she saw the same look on everyone's face. "What, is everyone going through the sewers except me?"
"Ugh, it stinks down here," Nora complained, pinching her nose.
"Nobody ever said the work of a bracer was always clean," Ren pointed out. "Let's find this package of hers and get out as soon as we can, shall we?"
"No complaints here!"
There were a few stray monsters here and there, but nothing that Nora and Ren were unable to take care of with their hammer and knives, respectively. They followed the pathways, doing their best to allow as little sewer-air as possible into their noses, until, at the end of a narrow path, they located a wooden chest. Nora grinned as she flung it open, reaching in and producing an immaculately wrapped package. "I got the thing!"
"So you did, Nora. Congratulations."
"Coco must have been the one to wrap it," Blake commented. "Yang would just throw a sheet over it and call it good."
"No arguments here," Ruby rolled her eyes.
Nora glanced around shiftily. "Say, Ren..."
"Whatever you're about to say, I can almost guarantee the answer is 'no.'"
"What? I was just gonna suggest we open it up and take a little peek!"
"I stand by my previous answer."
"Come on, don't you want to know what's inside?"
"In an actual job, that package would be property of the client. We have no right to look inside unless we were specifically requested to."
"You can do it! It'll be just like looking at our Christmas presents early- you open it real gently, then seal it back so nice nobody notices!"
"Nora, I have something to tell you... Father figured that act out the very year we started doing it."
"Gah!"
"I'd also like you to consider the following- should we fail this test, it does mean a return to training- some of which will likely be behind a desk. So, if you think sating your curiosity is worth the risk, then very well, I'll attempt it."
Nora held the package to her chest, looking between it and Ren, then heaved a deep sigh. "No, it's the property of the client- we have no right to look at it."
"Good girl. Let's get going."
"I do find it somewhat depressing that you have to threaten her with further schoolwork to get her to actually follow the rules," Weiss groaned.
"Try living with her," Jaune and Pyrrha said in unison.
"I'm not that bad, am I?" Nora blinked innocently. "Ren?"
Ren rose to his feet. "I'm feeling hungry, I should really go get something to eat."
"Ren- no, don't do me like this!" Nora leapt to her feet and followed. "Ren!"
"Can't hear you, the sink is running!" Ren called a second or so before turning the sink on.
She turned to begin leading them back to the exit, and froze when she nearly ran head first into a giant rat. "Oh, hello, friend!"
"Nora, get back!" Ren yelled. He tapped his orbment- a cloud of dark energy formed in his hand that he threw at the rat as it attacked- it almost immediately seemed to slow, giving Nora ample time to leap backwards and dodge its swinging claw.
"Thanks, Ren! Good to know you always have my back!"
"Yeah," Nora grumbled, coming back in and sitting down in a huff. "Always have my back..."
"Popcorn, anyone?" Ren offered, returning to the sofa with a basin-sized bowl.
She spun around, air spinning around her hand- a bolt of razor-sharp wind flew from her hand towards the rat, decapitating it and sending its head into the sewer water below. "You can't have this!" she declared, patting the present gently. "It's for the client!"
"We're all glad to find such an upstanding bracer, Nora," Ren smiled. "Let's get going."
"Wow... those orbments are so cool..." Ruby grinned. "Weiss, do you think-"
"No," Weiss interrupted. "I'm certain that dust works on completely different principles from this ether and these orbments."
"Aw..."
A few minutes later, they had climbed back out of the manhole, and presented the package to Yang. "Oh, dear, thank you, you fine young'ns." She made a show of wiping her forehead. "And you didn't even go peeking in there- wonderful, wonderful!"
She straightened up and dropped character. "Though, I'm guessing there was a bit of intervention necessary there."
"As if!" Nora chuckled nervously. "Rule 2- The client always comes first, right?"
"Right you are!" Yang thumped her on the back, sharing a sly wink with Ren. "Well, with that taken care of, how about you open this package up and see what you went to such great lengths to retrieve!"
She handed the package back to Nora, who looked from it back to her. "For real? No tricks? You're not still testing us, and, I don't know, opening this up means I have to spend another year in Sunday School?"
Yang raised her hands. "No tricks."
"I think I have an inkling of what's in there," Pyrrha giggled.
Nora started slowly, but as Ren approached and began helping, she quickly tore the rest of the paper off and tossed it aside. Beneath was a jewelry box, which, when opened, revealed two shiny badges with the same symbol as the one over the guild hall.
Nora looked up to Yang with shining eyes. Yang grinned as she reached out and tapped them twice each- once on each shoulder. "Congratulations, you two- you're bracers now."
Nora looked like she was going to explode with excitement. "Ren! Ren, we did it! We're finally bracers!"
"I'm aware, Nora," Ren smiled as he took his badge and fastened it to his clothing, just over his heart. "Congratulations."
Nora quickly grabbed hers and tightened it on her left breast as well. "Ren, Ren, how do I look?"
"Like... a bracer."
"Like a bracer!"
"It's so nice to finally see something wholesome in these worlds," Jaune sighed happily, reclining into his seat. Echo took the opportunity to yip in agreement and hop up on his chest.
"Well, bracer in training," Yang reminded them. "It's gonna take more than a little jaunt through the sewer to get full bracer privileges, you know."
"Oh, I know!" Nora adopted a serious look. "Tell me what I gotta do- I'll strip down and crawl across a field of broken glass if I gotta!"
"I don't know about that," Yang laughed. "Traditionally in Liberl, new bracers go on a pilgrimage around the five provinces and get a letter of recommendation from each guild hall for accomplishing something big. But, you'd have to start out here, of course. So, how's about we go back to the guild hall and start picking out some real jobs, huh?"
On Ren's gentle smile and Nora's shining face, the world came to a temporary close.
"Jaune's right," Pyrrha nodded. "It is nice to have a simple adventure going on sometimes..."
"Yeah, I wanna see more of that world!" Nora nodded brightly. "Simple and clean!"
Crazy coughed.
"Especially since Mom is still alive in it!" Ruby nodded gleefully. "Though... I still can't help feeling we forgot something..."
All conversation ceased with a sharp rapping at the door. Everyone jumped a foot in the air. "Crap, we forgot to let Yang back in!"
XXXX
I didn't initially plan on bulli-ing Yang this episode, it just kinda worked out that way. Again, as promised, I'll be changing my Avatar to a picture of Echo to reward those of you who correctly predicted this episode. Next episode, we'll be doing the reader's choice! Now, the poll tied between Xenogears and Persona 5, and you know what that means...
I let Adam and Georgie act as tiebreakers. They chose Persona 5. Those of you who voted for Gears, I cry your pardon, but as compensation, I'll point you towards my other story, The Last Conact, where I've gotten significantly farther into the story than I have here. It doesn't have the reactions, of course, but if you're just eager to see what happens next, it's there for you. Alright, I think that's enough waffling- see you next time with more A Student, A Friend, A Thief. Until then, don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out!
Addendum- I wanted a new pic of Echo, but the image uploader wasn't having it, so it's the same pic I had before. Cry your pardon. Still, hope it doesn't make you go hollow- Gamer4 out.
