Alright guys, this is it, for real this time. The final chapter of Volume 1 of my Shadows of Remnant series. I know we have been here before, but I've made peace with the fact that if I will never be totally satisfied with any ending I write so for the sake of continuing the story, I just did my best.
Now that Volume 1 is finally wrapped and I'm really done with it, I can move on to Volume 2 which I already have started. Not to mention the several short spin offs I have planned (mostly one offs revolving around some backstories and certain OCs)
Thank you for reading, seriously. I know I say it all the time but I don't think I could ever say it enough. Whether you only follow me for my stories or you follow whatever I put out like my art, whether you've been here since the 'Fast Love' days (wonder how many remember that title lol) or you just recently started reading. I offer a sincere thank you and I hope you enjoy this finale even with it's faults and are looking forward to what I am cookin up next!
Please Enjoy!
WEISS SCHNEE
I sit on the edge of my bed, my bag all packed and ready to go. Yang snuck out hours ago to ride back to her house and pack, she said she'd drop by and grab me afterward.
With everything I need in tow, I start sneaking down the hallway to Grandfather's room. Once I am sure he is asleep, I sneak over to the bedside table where I know he keeps the key to the ship.
I carefully dig through the drawer and eventually I finally manage to snag it. Grandfather groans in his sleep which startles me and almost makes me drop it but I breathe a sigh of relief when I manage to catch it before it hits the floor.
I sneak back over to the door and as I am half way out of the room I am startled by the sound of Grandfather's voice.
"Weiss Dear, is that you?"
I consider ignoring it but decide it's better to at least talk to him. I set my bags down on the floor outside of his room.
"Y-Yes Grandfather, I was just checking on you."
"How considerate of you." he offers a sad smile. "Weiss, please come and take a seat."
"Y-Yeah.." I walk over and sit down in the chair next to his bed. I must have sat here dozens of times since moving here but something about this time feels different and not just because of the topic at hand.
"Weiss..I heard about poor Ruby, I'm sure it weighs heavily on you"
"Y-Yes…it's fine though, I'm sure the adults can handle it.
"I'm sure they can but I'm also sure that is little comfort from where you are sitting. If I was in your position at your age, I'd be rushing off to try and save my friend."
"You would?" he just chuckles weakly in response, I can tell even the simple act of laughing is hard for him now.
"Indeed, it would have been foolish and reckless. However no matter how much others tried to warn me against it, I'd be too thick headed to listen, nothing would stop me."
I just stare at him in a surprised silence…is he getting at something?
"Regardless, there is something admirable about wanting to protect your friends no matter the cost..if I were to give myself back then some advice though, it would be to remember the people back home who care about me and would be devastated to see me get hurt."
"I…I'm sure you would take that to heart."
"I'm sure I would..and I'm sure I would promise to make it back home with all my friends, safe and sound."
He and I both share a knowing look.
"Enough about me though. I just want you to know that no matter what, I am so proud of you Weiss."
"Proud?"
"When you first came here you seemed so unsure of yourself..but look at you now. Sure it took the influence of your friends and unfortunately some very harrowing experiences but you've become so strong and confident, not to mention determined."
"Grandfather…" I smile. Coming from someone as accomplished and strong as him, that means a lot more than I think he realizes.
I lean forward and hug him as gently as I can. I know he wants to hug me back but it's just too hard for him right now.
"Just remember Weiss…I've built my castles and written my stories, I've played my part. I want you to be able to do the same."
"I'll remember..I promise."
YANG XIAO LONG
I decide to walk through the front door, a bit risky but judging by the fact that the lights are off I assume Dad and Qrow have already left. Zwei runs up to me as soon as I walk through the door.
"Hey buddy, you're gonna be staying at Weiss' place for a bit." I pet him on top of the head and he responds with a happy bark.
I head upstairs to my room, grabbing my camping bag from my room. It's big enough to hold what I need but won't slow me down. I pack some clothes and some dust before heading downstairs to the kitsch, grabbing whatever provisions we might need.
I also decided it'd be a good idea to grab one of Dad's old maps. Just so we have a good idea of where we are going. As I finish packing my bag I take one last walk through the living room.
Memories flooding me of all the good…and bad times we've had in this house. Ruby and I playing games on the couch, birthday parties, Dad calling us into the kitchen for dinner…Mom leaving for her final mission.
The years after that were hard on all of us, it was like all of our happy memories were just put on pause…I promised I would never let us go through that again. What did I do though? I let those freaks take my baby sister away.
I have been holding it in all this time because I'm supposed to be the strong one. I'm supposed to be the one that keeps it together, I can't cry in front of them…but I can't help it anymore. I fall to my knees and start repeatedly hitting the floor as the tears fall down my face. I failed her…I'm supposed to protect her, it's the one job I have and I couldn't do it.
I keep punching until my hand hurts and then I just start wiping away the tears, trying in vain to make them stop coming. I feel a gentle nudging against my hand. I look to see that it's Zwei, making sure I'm okay.
I force a smile and bring him in for a hug. "I'm okay buddy, don't worry."
I look at the series of photos Dad keeps on the mantle in the living room…there is one from when Mom was still around, not too long after we moved into this house actually. There is one of us with Uncle Qrow and one taken not too long after Ruby and Weiss met.
My favorite was the one on the dresser below them, its all of us. Me, Ruby, Weiss, Inu and even Alan…our weird little group. Over time I guess they became part of our family…it's a shame that one of them has decided to hide things from their family..for who knows how long.
"Come on Zwei, time to go." I walk outside, Zwei following closely behind. I tie my bag to the back of Bumblebee and place Zwei inside a small backpack, the only way I can think for him to safely ride along.
I take one last look at our house. "I promise Ruby, you'll be home before you know it."
Inu Stahlhund
I finish packing up anything I might need. Some food, some medical supplies and plenty of dust. I still can't believe we are doing this..but it's the only option we have. I mean we could always wait until the signal comes back and try to get a message out..but who knows how long that would take.
No, we have to go after Ruby and the only way to do that is Weiss' plan. Even if it is risky, it's our best bet.
I quietly walk by Mom's room, taking one last peek inside. She looks like she only recently fell asleep. I hate to make her worry and I know that this course of action will devastate her but...she and the other adults aren't leaving us much choice.
After slowly closing her door I sneak into Azu's room. I smile as I kneel down next to him, his face is so peaceful. I hope he is having sweet dreams right now. At risk of waking him up, I brush the hair out of his face and lightly kiss him on the forehead. It'd be bad if he woke up right now but..this is the closest thing to a proper goodbye I can give him.
"Goodbye little bro...I promise, your Big Sis is coming home…look after Mom for me until then." I whisper as softly as I can before getting back to my feet. As I leave the room I take one last look back at him. "I promise."
I step outside and look up at the stars in the night sky, probably the last time I will see them over Patch for a while. I feel tears start to pool in the corner of my eyes at the thought.
"Something wrong Inu?" I hear Alan's familiar voice. I turn to see him looking genuinely concerned. I quickly wipe the tears from my eyes before they have a chance to fall down my face.
"Oh Alan…it's uh..it's just that…I think I'm already starting to feel homesick." I try to force a smile. Judging by the look on Alan's face, he doesn't buy it. "Why are you here anyway?"
"Oh well I just went by my place and grabbed what I could, figured I'd stop by and see if you were still here…you know since it's on the way and all." He scratches the back of his head. I can feel myself blush at the gesture.
"That's sweet of you. We should probably get going, yeah?" I start walking off towards the dock, linking my hands together behind my back and gesturing for him to follow.
"Y-Yeah, good call." He quickly rushes to catch up. I sneak a glance at him and…well I have always thought he was handsome, can't deny that. At this moment though, something is different. It's something I can't quite place my finger on but he's making my chest flutter even more than usual.
I can't help but smile but it fades as soon as I remember our discussion at the hospital and the argument he and Yang had…it does kinda hurt to know he isn't telling us everything, even after everything we've been through.
WEISS SCHNEE
"Where are those two?" Yang asks, growing more and more anxious with every passing minute.
"I'm sure they'll be here soon, we just have to be patient."
"Every minute we aren't in the air is another minute that Ruby gets farther away from us besides I don't trust him."
"I know that Yang..look I get it but you are going to have to try and let it go for now."
"Right.." she looks away. I know she acknowledges I'm being logical but it still pisses her off.
"Hey guys." We hear Inu's voice and turn to spot her and Alan walking down the trail together.
"Nice of you guys to finally show up." She shoots Inu an annoyed look.
"Sorry I was just packing my things and Alan showed up-"
"Whatever it doesn't matter right now." She completely brushes Inu off, she's letting her anger at Alan be projected onto Inu. "Anyway Weiss lets go over the plan one more time just so we are all on the same page."
"Okay so my Grandfather keeps a privately owned ship in a private hangar, if we can make it inside then we can…borrow it, to get to the mainland."
"Sounds easy enough." Inu says. "You just get me to that ship and I'll get her in the air."
"Yeah, only one problem." Yang says.
"Yang and I have been scoping it out and security is pretty tight right now, plenty of guards."
"Well we'll just have to hope nobody sees us." Alan shrugs.
"We need to try our best not to make too much noise, it'd be great if no one knew what we were up to until we are long gone." I sigh and pull out my scroll showing everyone a photo I took of one of the warehouse doors. "Then there is this."
"What's the problem?" Alan asks.
"There is a computerized lock." Inu answers before I get the chance.
"Sooo simply lockpicking won't do the trick..." I nod in response.
"Isn't that what you got that key from your grandpa for?" Alan asks.
"No, that was a key to the ship." Yang responds.
"Yeah…that lock looks fairly new." Inu says, looking closely at the picture.
"Inu...I know this might be a bit of a tall ask but I know you are pretty tech savvy, is there any way you can get us past that lock?" I ask.
"I mean if I had the right equipment then maybe but I can't just hack into it with my scroll...If I had time maybe I could rewire the lock?"
"How much time would you need?" I ask.
"Ten minutes?" She answers, apparently unsure. "Keep in mind I can't guarantee it'll work."
"It's better than nothing." I say. "Let's give it a shot but be ready if things go south.
Once we make it down to the docks we move into stealth mode. Some of us take to it better than others.
Alan looks like he has been sneaking around his entire life while Yang…well she is certainly trying. We have several very close calls with the guards. One even almost shined his light right on us when Yang accidentally kicked a metal can as he was walking by.
Luckily we manage to eventually make it to the hangar where Grandfather keeps his ship. Alan takes one direction while Weiss and I take another, keeping a look out.
"Alright Inu, do your thing."
"Got it." she kneels down in front of the lock and pulls out a tiny screwdriver from her bag. She carefully removes a panel from the side of the lock and despite clearly being very anxious she gets to work.
"What do you say Inu?" Alan asks.
"Might be even trickier than I thought, this is pretty complex stuff. Almost looks like it came straight from Atlas."
"Don't stress, just do what you need to do." I try to reassure her.
"I'll try"
We nervously watch our respective directions, being extraordinarily lucky for a while, with very few guards walking past and none coming down this way. Our luck will eventually run out though and that becomes more and more lucky with each passing minute.
Eventually it happens. A guard turns to start walking down the path we are on causing all of us to immediately go into panic mode.
"Inu I don't want to rush you but we really gotta go!" Alan whisper yells.
"I'm trying but I told you this wouldn't be easy!"
"Just hurry it up!" Yang says as the guard gets closer and closer. "Come on, we gotta get in there!"
Suddenly there is a loud noise back towards the front of the docks and the guard turns and runs. Only a minute later it's followed by the sound of a blaring alarm.
"What the heck was that about?" Alan asks, going to peak around the corner.
"Doesn't matter right now, what matters is it bought us a bit more time, keep at it Inu-"
"Uh guys..we might be out of time for sneaking around." Yang and I sneak over to where he is and as soon as I see what he does, it makes my blood run cold.
It's Grey and Shira, not to mention at least a dozen Beowulves. How in the heck did he escape from jail?! More importantly, why is he here?! He couldn't have known about our plan right?
"Alright, we don't have time for quiet anymore!" Yang runs over to the door to the hangar and starts blasting away at it, trying to brute force it open.
"Inu, you and Yang get that door open and get that ship in the air." I toss her the key. "Alan and I will distract those two."
"Got it!"
"Hey Grey!" Alan shouts, stepping out with his pistols drawn. Quickly I step out to join him, loading a round into Myrtenaster.
"Oh look boss, it's the Ice Queen and the stray." Shira smiles gleefully. There is something about him that's different. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's a lot like what happened to Grey. Speaking of whom, he really does look much worse for wear.
His one eye is closed, almost like he is unable to open it and that half of his body is covered in cracks. It almost gives him the appearance of a cracked porcelain doll. He definitely looks much angrier than Shira, his eyes are chilling.
"Stand down Shira." On his word Shira backs down if reluctantly.
"How did you get out of jail huh?" I ask.
"Not relevant, we are here to get a ride off this island, don't get in the way or this time I will kill you." He seems strangely calm, on the outside at least. What Ruby did must have really had an effect.
Alan and I share a look and nod subtly, agreeing to not even mention that we are here for the same reason. We just need to keep them busy until Inu and Yang manage to get that ship in the air.
"You think we'll just let you leave Grey?" I ask, pointing my blade toward him and Shira.
"So be it." Grey points in our direction and Shira gladly, almost hungrily, charges toward us. He roars at us, sending a sonic wave right for us, forcing us to seperate to dodge it.
He launches himself toward me, swinging his massive blade. It's coming too fast to dodge so I go to block it. I managed to stop his blade from hitting me but the force of the impact was great enough to knock me back a good way.
He's always been strong but this..he's on another level from before. He's alerted by the sound of gunshots. He blocks the shots from Alan's pistols.
"You're gonna have to do better than that!" Shira charges at him and the two start exchanging blows. Alan is keeping up pretty well, even outpacing him which is crazy. The only thing giving Shira the edge is raw strength and just how relentless he is acting.
I load up some ice dust and prepare to help Alan but before I can I am forced to block a bullet from Grey.
"What are you brats doing here anyway?" he asks, charging at me and slashing at me multiple times. I manage to block each attack but only barely. If I'd been even a second slower my aura could have taken a serious hit. "Shouldn't you be at home, licking your wounds."
"That is none of your business, besides I see you have plenty of wounds yourself." Clearly a sore spot since he reaches up and touches the scarred half of his face.
"I swear that silver eyed bitch is going to pay for what she did to me and I won't rest until everything she ever cared about is destroyed." he points his weapon at me. "Starting with you!"
Suddenly we are interrupted by the sound of loud engines whirring and a huge burst of strong air. I brush my hair out of my eyes and turn to see an airship with the SDC snowflake plastered on the wing.
"Guys, over here!" Inu is hanging out of the side door of the airship, waving us over to her.
Alan and I nod to each other. He musters all his strength and delivers a strong kick to Shira's stomache, sending him flying into Grey who was too distracted by the sudden appearance of the airship to dodge it. I follow up by creating an ice wall with all my remaining ice dust, making it as tall and thick as I can to buy us some time. We both turn heel and make a dash for the ship.
I create a series of glyphs in the air and signal for Alan to use them to make his way up to the ship which he does. Clearing the last jump and landing squarely in side of the ship.
I follow suit as I hear the sound of shattering ice behind me. I look back to see a pretty angry Grey and Shira standing there. I pick up the pace but trip up on the last glyph. I nearly fall but Yang quickly grabs ahold of my hand.
I breathe a sigh of relief but then I see that Shira is reving up a roar. If he hits the ship with that attack dead on it could be enough to knock us out of the air. Suddenly though, multiple beowulves start circling them out of nowhere. It serves as enough of a distracting for Yang to pull me up into the ship.
"Let's get this bird out of here Inu!" Alan quickly slams the side door shut.
"Yes captain!" she playfully shouts as she pushes forward on the controls, maybe a bit too quickly, I just barely managed to stop myself from falling over. Inu giggles in embarrassment."Oops, sorry."
As we fly further and further away, we all collectively breathe a sigh of relief. I wonder why those beowulves suddenly turned on them like that? They seemed to ignore them entirely at first…I guess I should just feel lucky that they did. That whole situation could've turned out a lot worse.
"All right now that that's over, Inu, set a course for mainland Vale." I sat down in the passenger seat next to her.
"You got it." She steers us confidently in the right direction.
"Let's just hope we can get there before she's moved somewhere else." Alan sits on the floor, leaning against the walls of the ship.
"Don't worry we will." I say just as much for myself as for him.
"Yeah, heck knowing Ruby she might have already gotten away on her own and is just waiting for us to give her a ride." Inu says, just trying to raise everyone's spirits.
"I highly doubt that but...I do want to believe we can get her back and I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen." He lays back on the floor and I swear I hear him repeat 'whatever it takes' under his breath.
I wonder what Ruby is doing right now?...I can't imagine what she must be feeling, captured by a bunch of villainous inhuman monsters and taken far from the only home she has ever known.
I look out the window of the airship and watch as Patch slowly begins to fade away into the distance. It feels strange, sad honestly, to be leaving the place I've called home for the last few years. The place where I created so many amazing memories and met so many wonderful people.
I wish none of this had happened, that we could all just be together on that island for a little longer but..Ruby needs us. Part of our family has been taken away and no matter what we are going to do everything in our power to get her back.
So I guess, for now at least, this is farewell for now Patch. I hope that one day we can return to you…all of us.