So, funny thing; I didn't realize it was the 21st until the day passed, so I am uploading this right now.
That trivial issue aside, how are you all? I hope you are doing fine!
Chapter 169 is here and as always, I hope you all enjoy it! See you all on the 1st of December (unless I mess it up again) with chapter 170.
Until then, be well and have fun!
Ruby's body was in terrible shape. Her wounds had stopped bleeding, but the amount of caked, pooling blood spreading around her indicated she had bled a lot before. Her skin was deathly pale, akin to a ghost's.
Her breathing had ceased a few minutes ago, probably before Gnastaur was killed by Yang's attack. Her heart had stopped beating- her life was slowly being chipped, fading into merciless and unending oblivion.
The altar was surrounded by thin lines of black goo pulsing to the dark rhythm of some unsung melodies. Waves of eldritch power moved in between them, resonating with the alien presence of the eerie chapel.
Wisps of green power danced over the unconscious girl's form. They travelled across the defiled stone, licking her marred flesh. Dozens of little mouths opened and they bit hard on her-
"No!" Yang jumped away, restraining the corrupted aura at the very last moment before it severely damaged her sister. She could feel them bubbling in hunger and disappointment at the loss of their fresh meal.
Her shoulders slumped. She could feel the alcohol drenching her flame-clad hand, pouring to the earth from the soaked cloth she had tried to sterilize Ruby's wounds with. She opened her left fist and it fell down.
What is this fucking nightmare? She felt her heart pound in her chest.
It was like before; she had tried to perform CPR on Ruby, but as soon as she had come to close proximity, the damned thing possessing her had reached out to feed on the hapless huntress.
She had tried to reach out with her metal arm but the mouths had tried to jump on top of Ruby as well. Her whole body was writhing in Elder power and she couldn't restrain it. She had tried to sterilize her wounds; no success. Even being near Ruby was putting the brunette into danger.
It was a fucking nightmare out of the deepest pit of her soul. Her sister, her beloved little sis, was lying comatose in front of her and she- Yang could do nothing to help without Grand Mother trying to feast on her.
Yang moved forward. The wisps danced in delight at the prospect. She stopped at once. Why is this fucking thing happening? She tried to dig her metal fingers inside the bulging eyes, but she knew it was pointless.
Her breathing turned erratic. That accursed thing; that hell-fucked and abyss-spawned monstrosity didn't let her help Ruby. Not only that; her eyes could see- oh DUST! Grand Mother was making her see it all!
She could see Ruby's life force slowly, painfully, leaving her body with every passing moment. She could see thin, ethereal lines leaving her beloved Rubes' body, traitorously surrendering her to her slow demise.
Her sister was dying in front of her- and she could do nothing to stop it. She couldn't stop her wounds from being infected with darkness. She couldn't try and make her heart beat again; her lungs breathe air again.
She couldn't hug her and whisper comforting words in her ears. She- she couldn't even tell her she loved her and she would find a way to save her. She was trapped. She was trapped. She was cursed. She was-
"I BEG YOU!" Yang screamed at the top of her lungs. "Whoever you are, wherever you are, please let me save her! I BEG YOU! Grand Mother or whatever you are, please!" her legs gave off and she fell to the ground.
"You want to torment me? Do it! I will take it. I will take everything! I will DO ANYTHING YOU WANT! Anything you desire! Only-" she gurgled and choked on her own saliva "-please let me save her! I BEG YOU!"
There was no reply. Nothing happened. Yang trembled in shock. Her eyes narrowed at Ruby, hoping to see a sign of her life returning. She prayed- for the first time in her life- that she would see her little sis stir.
But there was nothing. "No…" Of course nothing would happen. Why would a Grimm help her? "No…no…" Why would a Grimm care for her well-being? "Please… I will do anything… I will even accept you and-"
"I am begging you; don't finish that sentence" a cool voice resembling crystal clear water in the hottest summer day cut off Yang's delirium.
The lavender-eyed woman slowly turned around and stared at the dim entrance. The eldritch fire consuming her body was more than enough for her enhanced vision to clearly see the owner of that beautiful voice.
An angel was standing before her. She wore a torn combat suit with a plaid skirt and had disheveled pure white hair. Her sword was trembling in her thin hands as her heterochromatic eyes stared at Yang in shock.
"W- Weiss?" she didn't want to believe her own eyes. "Is- is it really you Snowflake?" "Yang- OH YANG! What happened?" she ran forth as tears streamed down her face. Her voice was filled in shock and horror.
"Ruby…" Yang recollected her jumbled thoughts as stood up "Ruby! She needs help, baby!" The alabaster woman reached out to hug- "no; not now!" the blonde girl roared startling Weiss before she stepped aside.
"Ruby is dying and I can't help her! Weiss; please baby!" she was talking like a kid asking for a favor, but her fiancée needed nothing more than a gaze towards the devilish altar to realize what her lover's cries meant.
She didn't spare more than a second to move past the crying woman and jump above the bubbling gooey remains. She landed next to Ruby's unconscious body and immediately placed her ear at the girl's chest.
She is not breathing! "Yang!" "Yes?" the voice was weak, but filled in a twisted mix of both hope and despair. "I will perform CPR on Ruby! Go get Jaune, Sun and Blake now! They are scouring the floor for you!"
Before the white huntress had even finished her command, Yang's feet had dragged her outside the accursed chapel. Now that a tinge of hope had appeared, she suddenly realized she could hear voices coming from all directions. They were definitely human and seemed to be in a hurry.
Why didn't I hear them before? She wondered in anger as she made haste towards the location of Jaune's voice. Was it you, you twisted and rotting asshole? Are you dulling my senses to your desire, you bitch?
As usual, there was no answer. Not that Yang expected any, of course. Right now, she only cared about bringing Vomit Boy to her sister. His semblance was their best shot at saving Ruby's life, she hoped.
"Yang!?" the astonished gaze in her future brother-in-law face was not welcomed, but also trivial at that moment. "I need your help- Ruby is…"
"Where?" he jumped up from the staircase he was examining and ran after her, shouting at the upper corridor for Sun and Blake to follow as they trekked the stone-paved passages.
They didn't even exchange one word. Even for the always weary Blake and the friendly Sun, seeing Yang in such a dreadful mental state was a sign of something urgent happening to their red-caped friend.
Their torches lit the grisly cathedral, Weiss' pale back standing out in the charnel altar. The alabaster huntress' breath came out rasped and strained as she was trying her best to keep Ruby's lungs functioning.
She knelt and breathed some air in the brunette's lips. She then took a large breath and repeated pumping her best friend's chest. She had a serious face, but adrenaline rush was slowly starting to overcome her.
Yang could barely see Jaune reaching out and gently pushing Weiss to the side as he knelt and kissed the silver-eyed girl's cheek before he sat and began pouring his entire aura into her. Would he make it?
Sun and Blake started moving the goo away from the altar, hoping they could assist Jaune by weakening the primordial essences that lurked in Gnastaur's private chambers. She could see them breathing hard too.
But still, for their exhaustion and bad state, they were doing something. They were trying, helping and doing their best in assisting Jaune. They were doing what they could to help Ruby. While she was- she shivered.
She was standing there like a buffoon, completely and utterly worthless to make any difference to her sister's condition. She was- she clenched her fists- unable help her dying sister. She was being cut off from her.
"How are you?" Weiss slowly moved and stood next to her, being sure to keep as much distance as needed to make Yang comfortable. "Does it matter when Ruby is that close to dying at any given moment?"
"Jaune is not going to let Ruby die in his arms. And yes, it does" it was a rather stern and cold reply, but the taller woman couldn't argue against it, with how she was acting at the moment. "I feel like I want to die."
"I understand" Weiss bit her lower lip. "But it matters not now, baby; if Ruby is alive, that's the only thing I care for." "You are talking stupid" a quick jab was the only thing she managed to blurt. We care about Ruby of course, but your situation is nothing but dreadful, my love."
"I know, but…" the blonde's lilac eyes fixed on her sister. Jaune's hands were squeezing Ruby and her newly-acquired vision was able to see a vast amount of magical power being poured into the unconscious girl.
"You can't think of anything else; I get it." Weiss sent a side gaze to the possessed woman. "That works for you-" "I know; just let me be for a while please. I will talk about anything you want once Ruby wakes up."
"Sooner than you think" Jaune's merry voice cut them off. He turned his gaze at them, smiling in mirth, ear placed at his girlfriend's thorax. In a heartbeat, they were all able to see her chest moving slowly.
Yang, through a storm of tears that drowned her vision, was now seeing the fleeting life force now circulating around inside Ruby's body. Wisps of energy were powering up her aura, slowly restoring her heart and-
"Thank DuST!" Yang cupped her face and knelt down, crying out loudly as her emotions broke like a dam. Happiness overwhelmed her, slowly forcing the wicked halo and eldritch fiery jaws into a gradual retreat.
Blake took a deep breath and crashed in Sun's arms, exhaustion having taken a significant tall on her body. Weiss ran towards Yang and hugged her, the blonde jumping in her arms in relief.
Jaune caressed Ruby's cheek, a pair of pained and exhausted silver eyes slowly opening at the knight. "Jau..ne?" she weakly said, her mouth still hurting from the curses. The taste of blood still lingered on her tongue.
"Yes. I am here, Ruby." He poured a bit more of his aura in her body. He could feel his humongous reserves slowly being drained- he had used it on two dying people in a short period of time after all. He didn't care.
"What happened?" she slowly stirred and moved her head around just enough to see her friends smiling and crying at her. "Is this some sort of trope you crying around me?" she asked in an attempt to make a joke.
"This is something we have to discuss at some point; you have started being reckless again as soon as Blake took over your position, Ruby."
His voice was calm and collected, but she could feel he was serious. To be honest, she knew he was in the right as well- she was running wild a bit more than it was healthy. She had almost died twice in less than a year and this time she had no excuse for fighting Gnastaur on her own.
As her mind slowly woke, however, she noticed an abnormality in the situation surrounding her and it had nothing to do with the altar, the collapsed granite columns and the annihilated Angel Grimm remains.
"Yang?" she called out to her crying sister, still cradled in Weiss' arms. "Why do you have horns on your head?"
-o—
"Do I have to spell out why am I so mad?" Blake stood before all of her friends, eyes narrowed in anger at the two sisters standing on opposite sides of their group. "No" they both whispered, averting their gazes.
"Good" she spat. "Because next time you wander off on your own and start taking on enemies based on hunches without calling for backup, I swear I am going to get mad like you have never seen me before."
"Blake-" "Not now Sun" the faunus turned her stare at Ruby. Silver rose and met her piercing gaze. There was no reason to tell more. The girl already knew what her leader wanted to say even without voicing it.
'Yang was your responsibility at that state. You went solo again at the worst time, Ruby'.
"I will be careful; sorry everyone" she blurted, stifling her pain. The cat girl turned on her heels and furred her brows to hold back her tears of sadness and relief. She stared around at the charnel mausoleum.
"Does anyone feel like saying anything on that matter?" she asked out. No response other than a few nods of denial. "Good, let's move on to the pressing matters at hand" the black—haired woman breathed out.
"Eidolon tells me she can sense the aura of an Elder down below; it is most assuredly the Mad King waking up from its slumber- if it hasn't fully awakened already. It will soon begin crawling to the surface."
"To make things worse, it would appear that Gnastaur was the Grimm responsible for maintaining the barrier. Yang killing it broke the spell and now Netherworld's Clayhorn is slowly returning to Remnant" Weiss added "along with the castle and all the Grimm sealed inside its walls."
"Which more or less unleashes an army of unknown size and power in dangerously close proximity to Vacuo; I doubt Headmaster Theodore is prepared to handle such an attack" Jaune finished "what do we do?"
"Here is the problem" the yellow-eyed woman replied. "We are both physically and mentally exhausted and beaten. We have been running and fighting nonstop for dust knows how long. We are not in shape."
"Our dust reserves and equipment are in pretty good shape, however. We still have a small arsenal of anti-Elder ammunition as well" Ruby countered.
"Yes, but even with that only half of us are in fighting shape. Jaune has used up his entire aura and I know you are in no position to fight at full force as well" the SHU vice-captain objected. "And don't let me even get started at Yang's situation and how unwise pushing her further is."
"Don't you think that I should be the one to decide that?" The blonde's voice argued. "Can you? Are you in a position to understand how much of a danger for you that would-" "Oh, cut the crap partner, will you?"
Blake opened her eyes wide. Yang narrowed her eyes beneath the long protruding horns. She exhaled and in the faunus' ears it sounded like a hurricane lashing out at the windswept Menagerie shores.
Blake hesitated for a moment. She knew- everyone knew- what had to be done. Still, she hesitated. There was no way she could ever propose-
"Hey Blakey." Yang walked forward and stood in front of her. Her horns covered with shadow the black-haired girl's head. Red vivid eyes filled her vision. Charcoaled black skin pulsed right in front of the cat faunus.
Yet, the voice was calm and collected. A bit tired, if she would say so. "I am not going to stand by and wait till whatever happens, happens. And I have no desire to pretend like everything is going to be fine, right?"
Yang turned around and met her friends' gazes. Love, acceptance and a lot of worry were thrown towards her. Dust, how much she loved those people! "So; out with it. What do we have to do?" she asked her friend.
"We-" she still hesitated. Blake knew exactly what their best option was at the moment. Fleeing would be pointless at this point; the Mad King's army would overcome them even if they got a head start. Besides…
"The right thing to do would be trying to seal that thing back in its tomb before it surfaces and replenishes its power" the cat girl admitted. "But that would put all of us here in mortal risk- the chances of pulling it and surviving are" her voice dropped and trailed off "…diminutive at best."
Yang knew exactly how her friend and trusty partner felt. To be honest, the idea scared her shitless in many ways. Sacrificing yourself to help the ones you love was something she could get behind. Dying and not saving them was a completely different issue, on the other hand.
"I will make sure nothing of that happens" she finally blurted, gathering a series of concerned stares. "Even if my body breaks I will get us all out of here. I will squeeze every inch of that Grand Bitch if necessary."
"And am I supposed to just accept that?" Weiss objected. "Didn't any of you learn anything at all from our previous battles?" she turned around in an attempt to find support on Ruby and the boys "these things need careful planning; not childish actions of self-sacrifice!" she whimpered.
"That's-" "Ok, stop it!" it wasn't Blake, but Ruby who raised her voice. She walked forward and, in a quick blur, slapped both girls in a rather shocking manner to all bystanders. "Get your grip; both of you kids!"
Speechless, Yang and Weiss stared agape at the red girl. "It's a Grimm! We fight it, kill it and go back home all together- or we die trying to do so! It's that simple- it has always been that simple! It's what all of us signed up to do! It's our duty- our way of life, for the love of all dust!"
"Ruby…" "Why are you trying to complicate matters in the worst and absolutely deadliest possible time? Yang may turn into a Grimm! So what? She is still Yang! Since when did we turn into whiny and rowdy children that argue about the very thing they devoted their life to?"
Everyone stood in place, looking at the silver eyes, shining in a familiar, lost spark of determination. A wave of power laced again Ruby's visage, her face shining in a way her friends hadn't seen in quite some time.
"If we die, we die together. No more second-thinking" she turned at Blake. "No more holding back" she glared at Weiss. "No more despair" she leveled Yang with a stare before she smiled at her "please?"
And then, all of a sudden, laughter was heard. A loud, booming laugh came out of Yang's lips as her mouth curved upwards into a big and warm smile. "Pfff… HAHAAAAA" she cupped her face with both hands but was unable to cease her laughter.
Surprisingly, Jaune followed her. He smiled and laughed in a rather odd way, trying to stifle his pain as his body contorted from the laughs. Sun soon followed in, as loud and clear as he had always been in his life.
Blake and Weiss followed suit with their own discreet ways. Anxiety and despair were washed off them and their bodies broke down in an amalgamation of gasps and excessive, uncontrollable laughter.
Ruby was the last one to fall prey to the wave of laughs that crashed on them. Clinging on her scythe, she buried her face in her hood as she fell on her knees in an attempt to suppress the inescapable giggle rising up.
Laughter boomed and cackled inside the dimly lit mausoleum. What started as a friendly, refreshing surge of laugh had quickly turned into a maniacal choir of cackles and irresistible fits of unstoppable paranoia.
The twisted parodies of merry sounds reflected on the pillars and walls of the crude chapel. Gurgles and giggles rose to impossible heights as if they were demented prayers offered to a King ruling over Madness.
The prayers reached the King of Madness as sure as the rivers reach the sea. The Strange Laughter curse uttered the words through its victims' bodies as if they were the most devoted acolytes.
As Ruby, Jaune, Blake, Sun, Yang and Weiss fell on the floor in primal exhaustion, bodies still shaking from the fits of irresistible malicious laughter, the residents of castle Sarkoses woke from their slumber.
The Mad King called and its retainers replied.
One by one, the heavy chains restraining the entombed horrors broke as the hidden abominations moved the humongous granite slabs aside to bathe in their ruler's power, now permeating the entire mausoleum.
The King waved its hand, gleefully admiring the feeling of power that surged in this body. Skeletal fingers caressed a golden mask and then ran across a series of tattered ancient bindings resembling royal robes.
Far above the castle, the stars shone. Their light pierced the sky and a malevolent hue seared the sands of Vacuan Desert.
In a far distant land, a pink-haired faunus stirred in her sleep. Her bright feral green eyes slowly opened as a feeling of excitement overwhelmed her chained body. She licked her chapped lips- she could taste blood.
"God of Fools; King of Madness Charon" she whispered. "Welcome back to Remnant, oh Essence of the Netherworld."
