The only sound that could be heard throughout the Branwen camp was the sound of Caine racing out, nobody moved. I maintained a smirk on my face as my eyes looked at the tribespeople, most of them had simple swords or guns, only Raven and Vernal had actual huntsman-grade weapons. Yet, I knew that the tribespeople themselves would be no threat to me, it would take one spell to deal with them.
Vernal and Raven were another story, but I knew how Raven fought, and while I had never gotten the luxury of sizing up Vernal, we all knew what this was. It was going to come down to two people, and I knew I was going to lose, but there was a reason that I wanted to fight, other than bravado. The more damaged and destroyed this tribe was, the easier time the others would have descending on it to try and gather more information about me. The spell would help them track me, but it didn't give specifics on exact location.
Raven's hand was on her sword, still in its sheath, a frown was plastered on her face, "Last chance to drop your weapons. You're out-numbered, one idiot versus thirty tribesmen." She waited for me to respond, although I could tell she knew that I wasn't going to back down.
My amulet flared and shot out a massive fireball, and just like that all hell broke loose.
The fireball slammed into a cluster of tribesmen and sent them flying in every direction, ten gone. Embers set a tent alight and another several tribesmen fired at me, my body moved on its own and the afterimages were all that they saw. The shock in their eyes was evident, but I didn't give them a chance to follow up. I raced towards the tribesmen armed with guns, five total, and Horizon coated itself in fire before I slashed outward with it. The five were hit with a wave of flame before immediately being met with the force of my cane as I swung it out, the impressive kinetic force of the weapon sent one flying right into the others. None of them seemed able to get up, that made fifteen.
The remaining regular tribesmen were hurrying to close the gap and Raven looked ready to jump in herself, with Vernal similarly moving to jump into action.
All but those two stopped as the temperature dropped to absolute zero, emanating out from me and to the rest of the camp. The fire ceased and a pulse of shining emerald magical energy blew back the bandits, sending them sprawling on the ground gasping for air and grasping at their throats. I lowered my semblance, keeping it freezing but not as cold as I could make it, in order to conserve energy.
Raven growled at me, a moderately horrified look took hold of her before it was banished and replaced with anger, "What did you do?!" Instead of waiting for a response, she charged forward, drew her katana, and swung at me in one fluid motion. I blocked her strike with my cane and stabbed outwards with Horizon, connecting with her stomach and causing her to jump backwards. As she jumped backwards, time slowed down and her name appeared over a raven with its wings spread.
Raven Branwen
Matriarch of the Branwen Tribe
The Spring Maiden
Time sped back up and I looked at the fallen tribesmen, now unconscious, and shrugged, "Made them take a nap. Don't worry, I'm sure their auras prevented any serious lung damage." Was I being cruel? Maybe. Did I care to extend my kindness to a band of murderers and thieves?
No, I didn't.
Vernal fired a yellow beam of energy from her weapon which prompted me to roll to the side to dodge it. Above me formed several crystals in much the same manner as they did for Cinder, except instead of obsidian these were made of ice. They fired out at Vernal and she didn't have time to react before they connected, the force of the attack causing her to gasp in pain as she staggered backward. I checked my talisman's mana, 60/100, I was still in the green for the most part.
Raven took that opportunity to race towards me, using the wind to speed her along towards me. Her katana glowed with wind dust and as she reached me and swung, I blocked her attack with my cane. This caused a burst of wind to roar out, knocking over several structures, as well as Vernal, and forcing me to dig my heels into the ground. Raven yelled, "Stay back, Vernal! I'll deal with this!" She then glared at me and growled out, "You and I have a score to settle now, Oz… Nobody messes with my family."
In spite of our clash, I smiled, "Oh, I agree. Good thing we put the kids to bed, now we can finish this." I intended for my words to get under her skin, and they did, judging by how she gritted her teeth. The two of us broke from our clash, jumping back before using wind magic to launch us both forward again.
In something of a twisted mirror of my fight with Cinder, we began to enter a pattern. Strike, move, strike, move. We moved so fast and struck so hard that the force from our strikes did even more damage to the surrounding tents and structures of the tribe. Eventually Raven managed to slip past my guard, she slashed at my stomach and though my aura blocked it, I felt the force of the attack. She tried to follow up with another strike, but I let out a pulse of fire magic and sent her skidding, giving me the chance to jump back.
Not wanting to leave myself vulnerable, I reached back under my coat with Horizon and heard my serrated blade connect to the other via gravity. Then, I brought the conjoined blades out and threw the serrated one towards Raven. Of course, she dodged, all it took was a sidestep. She smirked and looked back, "Really? That's your-" Her eyes widened as she saw me speeding towards her, using the gravity to assist me.
I reeled back with my cane and thrust it outwards towards her while channeling some of its kinetic energy into it. When she blocked the strike, the pulse of energy had enough force to send her flying back. She slammed into the wooden wall of the compound and I pursued, attempting to follow up.
Yet, she recovered quickly and rolled to the side, Horizon stabbed into the wall and I was forced to let go of it in order to jump away from her attempt to stab my side. However, as I found my footing, she followed up and slashed towards me. Another hit at my aura caused me to grit my teeth. I followed up and swung my cane at her head, managing to connect. I checked how I was doing, my talisman's mana was at 40/100 and my aura was at 100/200, still healthy but I was quickly losing mana, and I knew for a fact she hadn't gone all out yet.
We stood across from each other in the middle of our arena and began to circle, looking for an opening. I chuckled, "You said it was one on thirty earlier, but I think your math is bad, Raven."
She raised an eyebrow, "Are your pawns going to come and ambush me now? I'd expect that from you, Oz. I could beat them all the same." She sheathed her sword but kept her hand on the hilt, ready to draw.
I shook my head and laughed, "My friends aren't coming. No… You have two mistakes. One, calling me Oz, my name is Neve, got it memorized?" I tapped the side of my head with my free hand, "Second, this isn't a one on one." Abruptly, I lunged at her, as we clashed, cane on sword, I finished my thought as Oz's voice layered with mine, "It's one on two."
Raven snorted as we both pulled back and began to trade blows again, cane clashed against sword and the metal toned the melody of our fight. She got in a few slashes on me, I got in a few strikes on her, eventually we both jumped away again. That was when she sheathed her blade and began to create one of magic, elementally aligned to ice based on the color. It was a large blade, one I remembered seeing before, and I responded by surrounding my cane in pure magic, enshrouding it in green.
We raced at each other and connected our weapons, the clash caused a massive explosion of energy around us. We weren't spared, sent flying back into opposite walls, my aura was a lot lower now, that single clash brought it down to 50/100. I gritted my teeth and knew that this was going to reach its end soon, but I wasn't done yet. I still had 20/100 mana left in my talisman.
We pulled ourselves off the walls and Raven laughed, "Well, you're no pushover, at least. I expected that much out of you." Then, she grabbed the hilt of her blade, the maiden fire ringed her eyes, and I knew she was gearing up for something big, "I think it's about time we put an end to this."
I was panting as I responded, my voice back to normal, "So glad I don't… disappoint." Then, I grinned, "You're a far better fighter than you ever were a mother." That quip didn't seem to phase her that much, I knew it wouldn't but I couldn't help myself. I lowered myself slightly as my grip on my cane tightened, "You're a better fighter than you were a student, too. You never did get anything better than a B on academic courses. Just like Yang."
We both sprung forward, closing the distance as we did so. I braced my cane as I reached her and we both struck out at the same time. My cane connected with her sternum while her blade connected with my side, both of our auras shimmered. Then, quick as a flash, we jumped back again, her blade still humming with magical power as we raced towards each other again.
She ducked under a swing with my cane and slashed at my side while still running. She came to a stop behind me and I slowed to a stop myself. We both stood still for a few moments….
Then the pain surged through me as my aura dissipated and I fell on one knee, using my cane to keep me up. I laughed tiredly and painfully, feeling the blood pooling at my side, "Hah… Still not fast enough." I fell forward, darkness overtook me.
I knew no more.
(Note from Neve: Cinder wrote her own account of many events to come, I have incorporated her writings into the book.)
Cinder POV
As soon as I felt his presence go from the vault to somewhere further out in Anima, I started to move.
I told the others what happened, because I knew that's what Neve wanted me to do. They were on their way to the Branwen camp as well, but I was much further ahead thanks to my ability to fly. I gritted my teeth and tried to quell the burning rage in my heart.
How dare they? How dare they try to take him from me?
The Branwen tribe had gone too far, and Salem's new pet, Orchid, had gone too far as well. They would all pay. Orchid would take longer, but Raven was right there just waiting for me. I could feel it, I don't know how, but I knew Neve wasn't going to go down without a fight. He was a clever and strong man, but he was also too kindhearted; It frustrated me to no end when he would refuse to go all out in a fight. If he fought with the intent to kill, I bet he could have overwhelmed Raven.
Yet, I suppose that wasn't the point.
He was supposed to get captured, because, being the loveable buffoon that he is, he recognized that the best way to ambush Salem's maiden was to track her down. So, maybe being angry wasn't the way, but still, I was.
You would be forgiven, and later burned, for thinking that my love and affection for Neve makes me weak, makes me soft, like some sort of kitten or civilian girl who followed at the heels of her love. I am Cinder Fall, Fall Maiden and future wife of Neve Cadere…
…And I am done playing nice.
I found the Branwen clan was in utter disarray, Neve wasn't there, of course he wasn't. The average clansmen were still unconscious, but I expected that. From my view in the sky, I could see that Raven was standing and looked somewhat haggard but otherwise relatively unharmed, the other one that Neve had called Vernal was standing up too, she appeared somewhat tired as well.
I raised my hand and created a javelin in it, one formed of fire as I flew towards the tribe. Perhaps it was how weak and tired they were that they didn't notice, or maybe they were just fools, but they didn't see as I aimed for Raven's underling and threw the javelin.
I could see the shock in their eyes as it connected and pierced the girl right through the heart, her eyes wide and her mouth agape as she gasped in shock, she hadn't raised her aura. I touched down towards the entrance of the destroyed compound and Raven turned towards me, her eyes burning with hate and the fire of Spring, "Who-" She took one look at the fire ringing my eyes and gritted her teeth, "You're the damn Fall Maiden, aren't you? The one that ran away from Salem." She grabbed the hilt of her katana, "If you were too weak to commit to your plan, what makes you think you're strong enough to kill me?"
I drew Midnight from behind my back and smirked, "I stopped running, I found the place I belong. You… Neve told me about you. You ran from Beacon, ran from your family, back to this tribe, and then you offered Neve up on a silver platter to run from Salem. But there's no running from me." I grinned, "It's time to accept and abide, today's the day you die, Raven Branwen."
Raven growled and then lunged towards me, using wind magic to propel herself towards me. She slashed out at me swiftly, but not fast enough. I raised one of my blades and blocked it before striking out and hitting her arm, causing her to jump back before she sliced outward, sending waves of fire towards me. I responded by slashing and sending waves of ice, the two connected while I raced toward.
The ice had turned to steam that obscured me. Raven had anticipated my move and slashed out with a wave of fire this time. I didn't have time to counter, so I sailed right through it and gritted my teeth as my aura protected me. I stabbed outward with one of my blades and, predictably, Raven parried it with her blade. Acting quickly, I stabbed out with my other blade and connected with her chest, causing her to gasp in pain.
Before she could try to disengage, I released a pulse of magic laced with fire, the force of the blast sent her flying backwards. I followed her closely and slashed out with Midnight. She tried to block but the force of my attack caused her to lose her grip, sending the katana flying away. As she smashed into the wooden wall of the compound I let out a yell before barreling forth, channeling all of the magic I could into myself as I went.
The wooden wall shattered into splinters as I connected with Raven. She rocketed backwards and slammed into a tree, gasping for air as her aura broke and dissipated. I had expected her to fall, yet instead she squeezed her eyes shut.
When she opened them again, her eyes glowed red, completely overtaken by the Maiden Fire. She growled and her voice, layered with several others I couldn't recognize, boomed out, "I will kill you, Cinder Fall!" I had seen this before, and felt it before too. When the Beetle was ripped out of me, it was this 'Maiden State' that had saved my life.
Now, it seemed Raven was making a last ditch effort to save hers.
She exploded forward, destroying the tree behind her in the process. She looked desperate, more like a cornered and dying dog than the Spring Maiden. I touched down on the ground and awaited her approach.
When she was about to reach me, I used the wind to allow me to dodge to the side quickly, she flew right past me. Then she skidded to a stop, turned around, and roared an angered, near demonic sounding roar as she charged at me again. She created a katana made of solid ice as she did so. She tried to strike at me, but her strikes were just as desperate as she was.
I blocked each wild strike as they came, her desperate shouts and burning eyes never ceased. Her attacks had become erratic and yet, because of that, became so utterly unrefined that I would have been embarrassed if it wasn't so, so satisfying to see.
Finally, she tried to stab me, lunging forward with her katana as she did so. I sidestepped her attack and twirled behind her before stabbing my blades straight through her back. One impaled her through the chest, the other through her stomach. I heard her gasping for air, choking on her own blood, and leaned forward to whisper in her air, "Do you know why you lost, Raven Branwen?"
"...Because you fight for nothing but your own survival, like a stray dog."
I yanked my blades out of her and she stumbled forward a few desperate steps before collapsing face-first on the ground. I looked at my bloodied blades and used magic to clean them before walking back into the camp and looking around.
The regulars weren't dead, of course Neve wouldn't kill them. They didn't seem to be in any position to fight me, not that they would be a serious threat if they were able to fight. Only one was conscious, a boy who looked about the age of a Beacon first year. He was laying on the ground, and when he saw me he gasped and tried to push back on the ground, away from me, "S-Stop! Don't!" He coughed, "Don't hurt me!"
I sheathed my blades and walked over to him, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." As much as part of me wanted to, I knew Neve wouldn't be happy if he found out that I killed someone like this boy. Instead, I smiled, "At least, I won't…"
"...So long as you answer a few questions."
(The following is not part of the book 'Shattered Assumptions')
The Forests of Anima
They told her to stay behind, to wait until they came back. They said that it was too dangerous, that in spite of all of her training that she was not ready for what could be waiting for them at the Branwen camp. They expected her to listen.
That was funny, because Shi Cadere never much liked listening to adults when they tried to keep her away from her family.
She had been following behind them, jumping through the trees and staying out of sight as she went. Really, she didn't need to, she just followed their footprints, but she felt it was better this way. Uncle Qrow had told her that staying out of sight and keeping calm was a good way to avoid Grimm. Her black irises darted around her surroundings as she continued to move, neck-length orange hair flowing behind her as she hurried on her way, her gunblade strapped securely to her back.
She was wearing what Auntie Ruby had called her 'travel gear', which was really just an emerald green cloak that bellowed behind her, an off-white tunic, a pair of black pants, and matching boots. She hadn't had a reason to wear it yet, due to not actually going anywhere since January, but now was as good a time as any!
It was just a few months shy of a year since Uncle Neve had come into her life, yet she felt she was very different from the scared girl that he rescued. Her aura made her faster and stronger than anyone else her age, the training honed her even more, and while she was nowhere near any of Uncle Neve's friends and especially nowhere near her adoptive father, she figured she was far from defenseless
Shi couldn't believe it when she heard that Neve had run off like that, whatever he did the others said that he had to. Yet, she still couldn't help but be a bit upset, he promised he wasn't going to leave! She promised herself that she would call him a meanie when she saw him again.
She knew the others were much faster than her, but that was okay. She didn't need to be as fast as them, she just needed to be fast enough to not fall too far behind. So far, she'd done a good job at that. Eventually, though, something caught her attention and made her pause.
There was a Beowolf, two of them actually, and they looked to be waiting on something. From what she'd been taught about Grimm from her mentors, they weren't very smart, but they still had some rudimentary ability to lie in wait for their prey. So they were waiting for someone, but who?
Shi swallowed a lump in her throat, she probably should have been more afraid of Grimm than she was. Her dad, rather, her uncle had displayed concern at her general lack of fear and willingness to go the extra mile, and while Shi wasn't quite at the point in her life to be super introspective, she still wondered what else he expected. She had been kidnapped and held by slavers, she saw the Attack on Beacon and was willing to attack Grimm even before she knew what happened to her parents. Now?
She found some strange sense of joy in what she was about to do as she grabbed the grip of her gunblade and slid it out of the sheath she had on her back.
Then, she reached into the satchel she had at her side and fished out some of the dust cartridges that Auntie Ruby had gotten for her. She was supposed to not use them unless she had to, but there were Grimm, so she had to, right? Six cartridges went into their respective chambers, then she closed the revolver cylinder and readied herself.
Shi jumped off the tree branch she was on and brought her blade back, once she was close enough she swung it forward. It connected with the first Beowolf and she fired off a round into it, the beast barely had time to roar before it was sent flying back into its compatriot.
The other beast roared and knocked away the body of its fallen comrade before it began bounding towards her. From what she'd been told, Beowolfs liked to pounce, so she'd wait.
Her patience was rewarded when it leapt at her, and she used her small frame to her advantage to duck under the thing. In the split second it was overhead, she stabbed upwards and fired off two more shots, one after the other. She might not have been strong yet, but the blade was sharp and gunshots didn't discriminate based on who was firing them. She pulled away from the beast as it fell to the ground, black mist rising from it.
It was strangely euphoric, having actually killed Grimm, it was like she was getting revenge for what had happened to her parents. She was so distracted, she almost didn't notice the pair of red eyes glowering at her from the treeline behind her. Yet, her aura did its job in alerting her and she whirled around just in time for the beast to leap at her. She braced herself…
Only for the beast to get shot several times in the side by dust rounds, causing it to get sent flying away before landing on the ground and rolling, dead where it lay. Shi looked to the source and saw a familiar brown haired boy, he looked haggard and was breathing heavily, his mouse ears twitched. She smiled at him, "Caine!" She sheathed her blade and hurried over to him.
Caine smiled haggardly at her, "Shi, what are you doing out here on your own?" He looked back, "I met with the others, they wanted me to go back to Mistral to make sure you were safe…" He didn't seem too upset at her, "...You've been following them, haven't you?"
Shi nodded a few times, "Yep! They were being dummies! Trying to keep me from Uncle Neve!" She huffed, "It's not happening." Then, she rested her hand on the grip of her gunblade for a moment before letting it go, "I killed a couple Grimm, although I kinda want a cool scythe like Auntie Ruby…"
The boy chuckled, "I'm sure once your upper body strength is better Ruby and Qrow would be happy to make you a scythe. Maybe sooner than you think." Then, he turned back the way he came, "Well… I won't try to make you go back, the others will be a bit upset but…" He shook his head, "...I think they expected you to follow behind them, honestly. Maybe that's why they sent me back."
Shi nodded and walked next to him before smiling, "Let's get going then!" She then suddenly bolted forward. Caine huffed but still smirked as he ran after her, at least now he could make sure that she wasn't going to be in any real danger.
Although, based on how she dealt with those Grimm, she would have probably been just fine.
(The following is part of the book 'Shattered Assumptions')
Cinder POV, Branwen Camp
The tribesman had given me what I wanted to know, and as promised I hadn't hurt him. None of the remaining tribespeople were in any state to fight, and without leadership I doubted they were going to be much of a threat to anyone ever again. The Branwen tribe had met its end this day, and I felt satisfied in that knowledge.
It took another thirty minutes of waiting for the others to appear, their eyes wide at the destruction wrought on the compound. I was standing in the middle of it all, and Qrow was the first person to approach me, his eyes wide, "What happened?" He sounded more shocked than angry. I expected that, he had abandoned his tribe of murderers and thieves long ago, after all.
I looked around, the tribespeople were starting to come around again but they were still too weak to stand, "Neve had done most of the damage before I arrived. Although…" I cast my gaze back towards where Raven's corpse lay, just outside the compound, "...I did what I had to do when I got here."
Yang was the next one to speak, approaching, a torn look on her face. She took a deep breath, "I had a feeling this was going to happen, but still. It feels… weird. Mom's… gone." She closed her eyes and looked down, prompting Qrow, Ruby, and the others to gather around to console her. Then, she added, "That's not all, though… I knew she had died." I had a feeling as to what she was talking about, but I just crossed my arms and waited.
Sure enough, when she opened her eyes, I saw the Maiden Fire ringing her eyes, glowing as yellow as the sun. It quickly dissipated and I nodded, "I suppose that was expected, you were likely the last person she thought of. Whether or not that's a good thing, however… Depends on you. How do you feel about all of this?"
Yang looked down at her hand and clenched her fist, "I still feel her, part of her, and the others… The ones from before her. It's… like I'm part of something bigger than myself now in ways I never thought I could be. It…" She smiled ruefully, "It feels kinda good, actually. I'm not sure how I feel about that. That I like it."
I chuckled, "Worry not, Spring Maiden. I will help you as best I can to gain proficiency in your powers, and once we obtain Neve, he will be of assistance to you as well." I sighed, "As much as I hate to admit it, him fusing with Ozpin has its benefits."
That was when I heard another voice I recognized, yet one I had hoped not to hear out here, "Auntie Cinder!" Shi ran up to me, with Caine following close behind, both of them were panting and had clearly been running for some time. Shi hugged me, and I hugged her back, "Where's Uncle Neve?"
Then, I sighed, "You know we told you to stay back…" Yet, Neve had warned me about what she was like. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, so instead I answered her question, "Uncle Neve's been taken, but we're going to get him back." Shi looked worried as we parted, but then that look of determination crossed her face and she nodded. It was that fire in her eyes that Neve had spoken of, burning brighter and hotter than the spirit of many a huntsman.
Lunus spoke next, being one of the people consoling Yang, "So… where to next? We heard from Blake on our way here. Apparently she's looking to link up with us again, but wants to know where."
I hummed and supposed that I was the de facto leader of this group until the real leader could be retrieved. I looked up at the sky, "We need to split up, somehow. Too many people moving together will raise every alarm a pack of jumpy terrorists would have." Then, I looked back, "I need a group who is willing to go to Atlas and alert them that Vacuo could be in danger in the coming months. Who is willing?"
There was some silence and contemplation before Jaune spoke up, "I think it'd be best if my team goes." Pyrrha looked at him with a slightly worried gaze, but he smiled, "Hey. We won't be gone forever, and if Atlas has anything they need to sort out before they can help Vacuo, it's better if we're there to speed things up, right?"
Pyrrha frowned, "I suppose… I don't see why we couldn't just alert them via CCTS. Is there a problem with that?"
Ren piped up, "The CCTS network isn't exactly the most secure form of communication. If we tried to reach out to Atlas, we could get eavesdropped on. If Salem and the White Fang know that we've figured out what they're planning, they might change everything up on us."
Caine joined in, "I'll come. The more people who go, the faster we can get things squared away in Atlas and then be on our way to Vacuo. Besides, it won't take us that long, hopefully. We might even beat the others there."
Ozza smiled, "I'll come too." She sidled up next to Caine, who smiled shyly at her. She added, "Like you said, the more the merrier."
I nodded, "Very well. Try not to get bogged down, we're going to need all hands on deck if the severity of the planned attack is to be believed." Not that two teams with two maidens were going to run into any trouble, it was still better to over prepare than under prepare, "Are we all in agreement, then? Shall we go find our leader?"
Violet grinned, "Neve's done a lot of good for all of us! It's the least we can do, right? The Neve Retrieval Arc begins!"
Lunus nodded, "He's my best friend, as if I'd let that creepy weirdo mess with him!"
Jeanne pumped her fist into the air, "Yeah! We'll kick the asses of anyone who stands in our way! Nobody can mess with us, we're the Saviors of Remnant!"
The others joined in one by one, until eventually the consensus was abundantly clear, their merry band had been named and given a clear goal. A fever pitch was reached, and that was the situation that led me to turn on my heels, "Okay, we'll return to Mistral to gather our things and take a train to Argus. From there, we'll split up, to Vacuo and to Atlas. Let's not waste time…"
"We've got to save my Coffee Boy."
Neve POV, a few days later
Consciousness came in pieces.
I knew I was in the brig of a ship, but what ship and where it was going was a mystery to me. I was stripped down to my pants, even my talisman was gone, which would have been worrying had I not known that it wouldn't work for anyone other than me. I was chained up in a cell, right now the chains were loose enough for me to walk around the small cell they had made mine. Yet, whenever one of them came to question or torture me, the chains were tightened so I was stuck against the wall.
This was one of those instances, in a fleeting moment of consciousness I found myself unable to move my arms. I blinked my eyes open and looked around, finding I was chained to the wall of my cell. Who else would be there other than Hazel, who glowered at me, "Ozpin… Hiding behind someone else, like a coward. You wouldn't have to suffer like this if he would emerge, boy."
Then, he punched me in the stomach and caused me to gasp in pain. My aura was blocking it, but there was only so much my aura could do in a situation like this. Especially when the man delivering the punches was the large beast of a man that was Hazel. This time around, there wasn't much in the way of questions being asked, most of those came from Orchid.
They were pointless questions too, asking about my life, or lives, and other similar mundanities that served to do nothing but tire me and keep my brain occupied. Even as Hazel's fists slammed into me repeatedly from several different angles, I knew that there would be questions not soon after. Pointless, pointless, pointless…
…Hazel wasn't even the worst person to torture me, either, as I had come to find out over what I believed was my three days in captivity, sure to grow longer as my sense of time distorted. Hazel spoke up after delivering a dizzying blow to my cheek, "Why did he do it? Why." A punch to my gut, "Did." Another, "He." Another, "Do it?"
"He must know we had nothing to do with Gretchen's death…"
'...He doesn't want logic, he wants someone to blame.'
He stopped his punches long enough for me to form a coherent response as I breathed a ragged breath. I had no HUD, no way to tell how weak and close to the edge of consciousness I was, but I knew I was hurting. The pain was immense, "H-Hazel…" I managed out, my hair falling over my eyes as I looked down, "You're… a good man… with a good heart. You're…" I coughed several times, "You're too blinded by grief… to see… the truth."
Then I heard her voice, Orchid, "That's enough, Hazel. It's my turn." Hazel stepped back, still glaring at me, as the woman herself approached. She was wearing a black sweater with black and yellow combat pants, matching her hair with its horizontal stripes. She was also wearing my talisman. It was ironic, to see a terrorist dressed so casually, she held a combat knife in her hand, "Why don't you tell me about yourself?" She smirked, "For example…" She walked forward and drove the knife into my stomach, causing me to yell in pain. I knew that if I had blocked it with aura, she would have come up with something worse. At least this way, I could heal it fairly quickly, "How do you know so much? I'm told you stopped Salem's plans at every juncture until the Attack itself."
She withdrew the knife, but not until she twisted it in the wound and caused me to bite back a scream of pain. I responded with a gasp, "Fuck… you." Predictably, she stabbed me again before pulling back and allowing my aura to begin healing me.
Orchid giggled a disturbingly sweet and innocent giggle, "Oh, Neve. If only you were as pliable as Adam… Nevermind that, though." She stepped forward and kissed my neck, biting into it, I held back a gasp. She whispered in my ear, "If you want that, all you need to do is ask." Then she stepped back again, "How about another question?" She looked at her knife, "Where is Cinder Fall? Her power is rightfully mine." She chuckled, "At least, that's what Salem tells me."
I laughed a weak and pained laugh, "As if… I would ever… tell you- GAAH!" I screamed as she stabbed me again, this time in my arm. She knew I wasn't going to tell her anything, but she was going to keep asking anyway. Maybe she thought I would break, eventually.
She grinned, "Oh I know, you silly boy. Cinder sure knows how to pick them… You're just the cutest." She traced her fingers along my jaw, sore and bruised as it was, "Too bad you'll be mine, sooner or later… You will break, and you will kneel before me. Adam is an obedient man, but… I've never had a human before." She had Weiss as her girlfriend once, but apparently they never went all the way, which I could only say was a good thing. To that end, I spit some blood at her, it found its way onto her cheek.
She laughed, "Feisty. Very well, I'll leave you to recover. We'll begin again in a few hours." She turned on her heels, "Or maybe sooner. It depends on how I feel." She didn't want me to get used to a routine, she wanted me to keep guessing.
Hazel loosened my chains slightly after Orchid left and muttered, "You're lucky I can't get my revenge if you're dead, kid." He frowned, "That coward really dragged you into this. He has to hide behind others, he has to make them his disposable pawns." If only he knew…
As Hazel left, I slid to the ground and sat there, wanting unconsciousness to take me, but it hadn't given me the luxury of escape, not yet. I blinked my eyes a few times as I cast my gaze down to the ground.
I didn't expect to see someone standing there, somewhere wearing running shoes, jeans, an azure t-shirt, and with the familiar blue skin and eyes of a relic spirit. Their fluffy light blue hair that went down to their ears looked as messy as always. Assistant smiled somberly as she walked over to me and knelt down, "..Hey."
I managed a weak smile, "Didn't… expect to see you here."
He sighed and moved, sitting next to me, "If I could free you, I would, but it's against the rules." She sounded frustrated, "I never liked rules… Not even when I was a normal person, a very long time ago." I tried to think of something to say, but they had a different idea as they looked at their ring, "...I never told you how I got this."
I knew what they were trying to do. Trying to distract my mind so I wouldn't cave. It was the best they could do, and I had no way to express how grateful I was at the time. She leaned against me, her head on my shoulder, "It's from Sebby." She giggled, "You remember when I joked that his name was Sebastian? Turns out that's actually his name!" She laughed softly, "Lucky guess on my part. I was just making a dumb reference." Then, her laughter died down, "...He and I got to talking, we had a lot of time to do so in the Inbetween. We… hit it off." He sighed, "Turns out, for as prudish as he is, he's a sweetheart. Plus, he's fun to tease."
I would have never expected that, but then again I had no idea what spirits did in their free time, nor did I know what the Inbetween was at the time. Then, they spoke softly, "...I never told you my name. I think you've earned it. Every spirit used to be a regular person with some kind of magical capability. Silver eyes, magic, black eyes if you're from one of those worlds… I was no different. I'm from what you'd call First Humanity. And, my name…"
They took a deep breath, "...My name is Alex." A name as vague and androgynous as them, "I think after everything you've been through, you more than deserve to call me by name…" They sighed, "...I checked in on your family for you. Your original one."
My eyes widened, the unconsciousness that had been beckoning me before was gone, "...H-How are they… Alex?" I was going to have to get used to calling them by their name, but it was leagues better than just calling them Assistant all the time.
Alex patted my leg, "They're doing fine. Time… moves a bit differently there. It's been two years since you visited them in their dreams, back on Earth. Serina wears your scarf every day, the other two do whenever they can, but… I think your mom is afraid that if she wears it out too much she'll lose it, so she keeps it home most of the time. She gave birth to a boy, your little brother…"
My eyes widened and I felt tears welling up in them, "A brother…?" Now I could imagine what I would have done with him. I could have taught him to play video games, beat the hard levels for him when we couldn't, I could have taught him to play sports, and read him my favorite stories… I could have seen him off on his first date, just like I could have with Serina, and I could have… I could have done so much… "...W-What's his name?" My breathing was growing shaky.
Alex wrapped her arms around me in a sideways hug, "...Neve Osiris." I was shocked, and he explained, "I planted the idea in their heads using magic, I figured… It would be best if they named him after you as you are now. I hope that was okay…"
My tears started to fall freely as I bowed my head, I felt my shoulders shaking, "Y-Yeah… Th-Thank you, Alex…" I took a deep breath, "I miss them all… I miss them so much…." Call me a pansy, if you want, call me weak, say that I should suck it up. I won't, I can't. Even now, even as I write this, the pain never truly subsided.
Alex squeezed me tighter, "I know." She whispered, "They miss you too. Every day. Your sister…" She chuckled and I could tell even she was feeling sorrowful, "Your sister says goodnight instead of goodbye, still, most of the time… Unless she's mad at someone. Your whole family misses you so much, but… I think Serina misses you the most."
I took a deep breath, "I wish I could go back to the start…" I raised my head and looked at the ceiling, "...I wish I could see them again. I wish… I wish I could have been there for them more, I wish I had been a better brother, a better friend…" Tears stung my eyes as I lowered my head back down, "...So many days, still… I dream about them. All of them."
Alex sniffled, "I know, Neve… I…" She thought for a few moments, "I'm going to cast a spell so I can take you somewhere else while you're asleep. Not physically, but mentally. I can't bridge Earth and Remnant again, but… It's the least I can do to help. And, hey…" She moved so she was kneeling in front of me, so I could look into her eyes, "...You were the best brother she could have ever asked for. She loves you, Neve… Your whole family does. They could never have asked for a better son, or a better brother."
In spite of the tears streaming down my face, in spite of how I felt colder without them, and in spite of the fact that I was crying I felt some strength swell in my heart as I nodded. They wouldn't want me to give up, this was all part of the plan, I wanted to see them again someday, but… I couldn't face them if I failed. Alex smiled, "...There's something else I can do, too… It's not much, but… Give me a second." Then, she vanished.
I was left alone with my thoughts, not just of my family but of Shi and Cinder. Shi would be worried, and I felt bad that I had left her like that, especially when I knew the kind of pain that losing family could bring. I promised myself that, when I got out, I would treat Shi to however much ice cream she wanted, and I would spend as much time with her as I could, because I owed her that much. At this point, it wasn't even because of the guilt I felt for what happened to her parents.
It was because she was my family, just as much my family as the one I had on Earth was. I had to be strong for her, I had to push back my fear for her, I would banish the darkness… for her. Because somewhere along the way, even if I didn't deserve it, I started to feel as if I could call her my daughter. It didn't make any sense, but I couldn't control that. It was something I'd wrestled with before, plenty of times, but I figured that maybe it would be better to just make peace with it.
"You know Alex was right. You were a great brother, and you're a great father figure for Shi. You try your hardest to teach her to be better, and you give her everything you can and more."
'...Thank you. I try my best.'
"At the end of the day, that's all anyone can do, even us."
Alex returned, in her hand was what looked to be a physical photo, "...I'll get this sent to your scroll, once you get it back. For now though, I figured it would be best to just show you and hold onto it until you're free." She knelt down in front of me and showed it to me.
My breath hitched.
It was my family, Dad, Mom, Serina, and my little brother in Mom's arms. They were all smiling happily, although I detected tinges of sadness on their faces. Then, Alex turned it around, and I noticed there was a note.
"Osiris,
I got the urge to have us take this picture for you. I don't know how, but I have a feeling it's going to reach you. I just wanted to let you know that we're proud of you, and you're the bravest and best of all of us. We don't know what you're going through, we don't know what 'life' is like for you, and I don't know if we ever will. I just want you to know that we're rooting for you, and that someday we'll see each other again, some other winter. Until then…
Goodnight."
It was signed 'Mom' and I managed a pained smile, "...Thank you, Alex." Though it stung to see them, it also brightened my mood to have some physical reminder of their existence, a picture that I could hold on to and never let go of, a picture that would give me the strength to carry on, "You… You don't know how much this means to me."
Alex smiled and slipped the picture into her pocket, "I don't, but… I'll keep it safe for you until I can give it to you. Don't worry about it getting crumpled up or anything, I'm magic, remember?"
I managed a less pained and more genuine smile, "Yeah, I remember." There was no point in being so saddened and so lost, not anymore. I had people I needed to look out for, people I needed to be strong for, and people I considered family, just as strongly as I did my Earth family, "Thank you again, really…"
Alex grinned, "Get some shuteye, okay? I'll see you soon." Then, she vanished and left me to try and do just that.
It wasn't easy, but eventually I felt sleep starting to come to me. When I blinked my eyes and they grew heavy, I thought I was dreaming when I saw someone standing across from me at the entrance of the cell, somebody I never thought I'd see.
He had a medium-dark skin tone, and he seemed to be about my height (5'10''). His hair was messy and brown, the same color as his eyes. He wore a blue-green tunic, a blue cape, and black trousers with brown boots. His tunic and cape both had golden markings, and over all of it he wore metal armor held by brown belts and straps, the armor etched with ornamental patterns. I knew who he was, and he seemed to know who I was, looking right at me as he was.
I muttered with wide eyes, "Ozma…?"
"Neve?"
Ozma stepped towards me and knelt down, he regarded me for a few moments and then nodded. He didn't say anything, and when I blinked he was gone. Seeing him shook me, and I had no idea what it was supposed to mean.
'I saw him… I saw you… Ozma. The original Ozma.'
"What…? I don't think that's ever happened before with a reincarnation…"
'...I don't know what it means, but it's worrying.'
"Indeed it is…."
Ultimately, though, neither of us had any idea what it meant, and there was no sense dwelling on it. I had some speculations on what it could mean, but I hadn't the slightest idea, in truth. It was kind of scary, if I'm being honest, almost like I was looking in a mirror…
…Or maybe a reflecting pool.
Still, I ultimately decided to try to get some sleep. I was going to need all the strength I could get for the coming days.
When I finally fell asleep, my mind took me somewhere else.
I blinked as I looked around, and I knew I wasn't on Remnant. As I looked around, I found myself in a lavishly decorated penthouse with an oval shaped layout, it was very… relic themed. Lots of blues and golds everywhere, the couch was an azure blue, there were pictures framed with gold, and more still. There were also a lot of windows and a skydome that looked out at a beautiful blue sky. When I looked out the windows, my breath hitched.
The penthouse overlooked a sprawling city with towering, gleaming skyscrapers that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The streets were clean, and people walked around going about their business. It looked very modern, like Atlas, or a city back on Earth, except far cleaner than anything Earth had.
I found myself staring at it with wide eyes and barely even noticed that I was dressed in my regular outfit again. Only someone clearing their throat pulled me out of it, and I whirled around to see Alex standing there with a smile on her face, she was wearing the same outfit as she was before, "Welcome to the Inbetween, and my home."
I looked back out at the city, "So this is the Inbetween, it's… beautiful." Then, I looked back at her, "So… this is where I'm going to end up when I sleep?" She nodded and I smiled, "Thank you… I guess I could use an explanation."
Alex nodded and walked over to look out at the city with me, "The relics all have their own city, this one is for yours… The Relic of Progress. As the spirit of the relic, I have something of a… high status here. Each relic has its own city, in total there are twelve." I looked shocked and she giggled, "Don't worry. Not all of them go to a world like yours, that is, a world of light. There are the relics you know, Creation, Destruction, Knowledge, Choice, and Progress. There's another called Hope that appears on light worlds, but neither your relic nor that one are 'major' relics, they cannot be used to resummon the Gods. Then, there are the opposites of those relics. Destruction, Creation, Ignorance, Obligation, Despair, and Stagnation. Those appear in dark worlds."
My confused expression made her grin, "Creation and Destruction both have negatives, after all. I suppose I should explain the worlds to you…" She turned and walked behind me. The whole world seemed to go up in blue smoke and suddenly I was standing in a white void with several mirrors surrounded with a blue fog, displaying different events.
Alex explained, "There are several different worlds, each with a Light and Dark variant. The Light worlds are like yours, the Grimm are the primary enemy. The Dark worlds are the opposite in almost every way. The Nephilim are the primary enemy, and light is constantly threatening to smother dark. Nephilim are… warriors of the God of Light."
I started to follow her and looked through the windows as I went.
The first one I saw showed Lunus holding Ozma's staff and dressed a lot like the Pretend God reincarnation of Ozma, he was staring out at the moon. Ruby was with him, a hand on his arm as she smiled contentedly.
The second one showed a girl that looked alarmingly like Lunus, albeit she was wearing gear that looked very much like a classical Witch, rimmed conical hat and all, her hair fell to her shoulders. She seemed to be enjoying a festival of some kind, it was night and the place was lit up by lanterns and street lamps. A bright smile was on her face as Jaune, Nora, and Ren followed behind her. They all looked happy.
The third one was the strangest, it showed a girl with blonde hair that reached her nape and the tips of her ears, and deep blue eyes. She looked thin and with sunken eyes and held a blue energy sword that looked like a lightsaber to me, she was walking through what appeared to be an empty mining town. Close behind her was Penny, Neon, and Flynt.
There were more, I saw a woman that looked a lot like Ruby with a scythe that appeared to be a relic killing a bunch of Grimm in Vacuo, for example. The final one I saw was the one that gave me the most pause.
It seemed to be in the STRQ days right now, I saw Raven slicing several strange warriors. They were entirely golden, gleaming with what looked like holy light. They had angel wings and wielded two handed swords. There was also a golden lion beast, also with wings. Raven was able to beat both of them, but still, they were strange creatures… They must have been the Nephilim.
I heard Alex walking up to me, and once she saw what I was looking at, she frowned slightly, "Ah, yes. This is one of the Dark Worlds, the Thirteenth. It is… somewhat infamous for being a world where almost everything went wrong. It's not far along yet, as you can see it's in the days of Team STRQ. Worlds do not follow the same timeframe. Hmm… See." She pointed to another window.
I saw Atlas falling into Mantle, the land being covered in melted glaciers while Qrow panicked and sobbed, and I knew that had to be the actual show. I supposed I should have expected that it would be here, but it was still a bit surprising. The place where we were faded into blue mist and then we were back in the penthouse, Alex smiled, "So, that's basically how things work here. It's… a bit complicated. Worlds, relics, a lot of stuff different from what you're used to." She smirked, "But you're used to not being used to things, aren't you?"
I nodded and looked out at the city again, "It's… all very eye opening. So what about this place? Is it its own world, or…?"
Alex hummed and moved to stand next to me as we looked out the window, "Sort of. The Inbetween is a constant, that is, there is no 'other' Inbetween. It's a bridge between all worlds. The Gods have turned this into their home, so have a great deal of people from before and after First Humanity was destroyed. They can also have kids, so… In a place where people stop aging in their twenties and almost never die, you can imagine that the population is massive. Way bigger than Remnant."
I nodded, "Well… I guess we have a few hours until I wake up. What should we do?" I figured that they would probably have some interesting things to do here. If I was going to be coming here every night for a while then I might as well figure out how best to have fun.
Alex smirked, "I thought you'd never ask, you're in luck. The City of Progress is the city best known for its nightlife and for its entertainment in general. We can hit up the town, or play some games or something." He shrugged, "Up to you."
I hummed, "Okay, but first, I have a question. Are you a guy, or…?" It might have been a bit rude to ask, but I was genuinely curious! I'd known her for almost two years now and I had no idea what pronouns to use, so I kept switching them up on him!
Alex burst out laughing and clapped her hands together a few times, he looked away as he took a deep breath and then put his hands on his hips. Then, she looked at me and grinned, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
I groaned and she laughed some more before I finally accepted that I was probably just never going to know for sure one way or the other. Then, we set about finding some games to play.
Our visit was interesting, we played some games, got drunk (somehow) and in general just had some fun. It was nice having the 'Assistant' actually become more than just a snarky brat. I felt like Alex was doing it because he knew I was going through something extremely difficult, but honestly I appreciated that greatly. I knew that she probably shouldn't have, given that she could get in trouble with her… boss? But he did, and for that he had my eternal gratitude.
Eight hours later, I woke up. I blinked a few times as I looked around, it was actually surprising I got a full night's sleep. Usually they would wake me up well before that to keep my mind weak. Yet, in spite of their efforts, I now felt better than ever. Alex had taken me from feeling rather low and getting close to breaking already, to feeling as good as I did before my torture started.
With their help, I knew I was going to be able to get through this for however long it went on. It could have been weeks or even months, but even then, with the ability to go to Alex's home whenever I slept would leave me feeling completely refreshed.
Eventually, Orchid, Hazel, Haimon, and Astra appeared. Orchid was leading them, Hazel looked angry, and the other two looked rather neutral on this whole thing. Orchid stood in front of them and placed a hand on her hip, "Well, ready for another day, Neve? You're lucky we had to take care of some… business today, otherwise you'd have already been awake for a while." She grinned, "I think you'll break soon, regardless. Then you'll be mine…" She took the combat knife off of her side and smirked.
I looked up at them and narrowed my eyes, in spite of the pain I still felt, I grinned before speaking.
"Try me, bitch."
