Chapter [41]: Madness of the White Rose
Shirobara no Kyouki
Part 3
Ruby Rose awoke with a sudden gasp, finding herself thrust into a strange world. She was sprawled on the ground. Weary. Confused. Everything was wrong. Everything hurt.
Slowly, she forced herself up and onto her feet, coughing for air as she did. Glancing down, Ruby found with some surprise that she was no longer wearing her combat outfit. Instead, it appeared that she was in her pyjamas. Her weapon was nowhere to be seen, neither was her scroll.
Yet, neither were the grimm. Nor the crystals. Nor the devastation that had occurred in the dormitories. It was silent. Utterly silent, all around her. An uncomfortable lack of noise that seemingly blanketed the area, almost to the point of suffocation. A stillness that contrasted harshly against the frantic pace of her heart and the rapid thrumming of her nerves. This place was wrong. A reflection. A false mirror image.
She was inside the Beacon Academy dormitories. But they were not the dormitories she knew. That place had been destroyed in the wake of the explosion- by the bomb that had been set in order to destroy Kirakishou. But there was no denying that this place, twisted as it was to her eyes, was still in fact the Beacon Academy dormitories.
She walked, slowly at first, down the hallways, her eyes tracing the lines around her with a slowly mounting degree of bewilderment.
Ruby could see it all. The hallway, littered with an indentation on the side from when Cardin had pushed Jaune into the wall last week. The forgotten basketball, from that time when Nora tried to challenge the entire year of students to a competition, only to be shut down by Professor Goodwitch at the last second. The little tiny scribbles on each and every door, showing the personalisation of all the students. It was all there. Perfectly preserved.
Her feet moved, the only sound audible to her ears. Pitter patter. Pitter patter.
There were vines running throughout the building. They covered the hallways, the walls, the floors, and even the ceiling. Interwoven with the tapestry and stretching on forever, they seemed more akin to a network of veins in a circulatory system than any kind of natural growth of organic material. They all were moving inside this strange world, pulsing and contracting in planned movements that were, despite what should have been, utterly silent to her ears. Almost as if they didn't exist at all. Yet still, they were unmistakably, there.
Kirakishou's vines. They had to be Kirakishou's vines. They crawled along the walls, some growing outwards and pooling onto the floor in huge tangled messes. Others, however, grew into the walls, creating huge cracks and splinters where the bone-white appendages met harshly with the aged plaster, revealing the weathered brickwork hidden beneath.
They hung from the ceiling. They grew into doors. They crawled from underneath the doors, through the locks, through the gaps on the side. Some more than others, but they were all displaying some varying degree of growth. Not a single door had been spared by these vines. They were all connected, each and every one of them.
Moving forward, Ruby could make out the tell-tale blue glow of the moonlight, bathing the world in a unique colouration that seemed to resonate brightly against the vivid aggregation of bone-white thorned vines.
She was nearing the staircase now. The one that led up to the floor where her own dorm room was situated. A rather morbid part of her wondered just how her own room would appear in this bizarre mirror world. Would it be overtaken with vines, just like the rest of the dormitories? Would there be something different contained inside? Something unique for her and her alone? Crystals, perhaps? Or, possibly, her very own doll?
…Come to think of it, she could only imagine just how Kirakishou's own room appeared, within this mirror world. If the vines were indeed Kirakishou's own vines and they had been the source of this overgrowth, would the doll's own room be some veritable hodgepodge of growth and ruin? Destruction and creation, bound together by a pure rose? Would it not be beautiful? A grove unrivalled?
She blinked, almost tripping on a vine as she startled at the direction her mind had taken. That was a very weird set of thoughts indeed.
Nevertheless, Ruby pressed onwards, shaking her head to be rid of the errant wayward ideas. Now was not the time for imagining things. Wherever she was, in this odd mirrored overgrown imagining of the Beacon Academy dormitories, something was screaming at her senses to remain cautious. It was the same ever-present chilling discomfort present when Kirakishou had first shown Ruby her little reading room inside the N-Field. The nebulous feeling that slipped through her pores, creeping deeper into her body and saturating her very bones.
…What's that? Why does this feel so…
Ruby froze for a moment as she surveyed the second floor of the mirrored dormitories. It was almost exactly like that one night where she couldn't sleep. The one where she had walked around at three in the morning and stumbled across Kirakishou, who had been sitting on the balcony for some odd reason. At the time, Ruby had been far too overwhelmed by the intimacy of the moment to question just what Kirakishou had been doing out there. She had looked so solemn at the time.
"…Don't leave," Kirakishou had called to her that night. "Stay with me in this moment. Please. Just for a little longer."
Ruby glanced down, looking at her own black tank top and white pyjama pants. Even the clothes she now wore, were exactly the same as the ones she had worn that night. Raising a hand to her hair, she fiddled with the rose braid that Kirakishou had lovingly braided for her. Even though all of the battling in the Vytal Festival Tournament, through the numerous days that had passed since then, the braid in her hair still remained. Perfect and immaculate as always, just like her doll. It was the only part of her that was different, compared to that one night spent with Kirakishou on the balcony.
Nobody had asked any questions as to how Ruby Rose could maintain such a braid for numerous days on end. Not even her big sister Yang, who knew all too well how terrible her own hairdressing could be at times. All that had resulted from the braid had been a small conflict with Yang for a day or two, before the girl hadn't mentioned it ever again. However, the braid had remained, a silent reminder to her ever-flourishing bond with the seventh Rozen Maiden doll, Kirakishou.
Perhaps it was similar to the Rozen Maiden contract ring in some unspoken way? A display of their union together. It would certainly be fitting for Kirakishou to do something like that. It seemed that her doll enjoyed displaying their love in cute little ways like that. To show her support, even from afar.
She smiled to herself, just a little bit. That silly little doll…
Always there for her.
Ruby blinked away the tears. Whether they were happy tears, or tears brought into existence by the fear in her heart for the current state of her doll in wake of the explosion, Ruby wasn't certain.
Moving forward, Ruby found herself glancing around at the numerous doors leading to the rooms of all-too-familiar teams. The door to Team CDNL seemed damaged, cracks and splints littering the frame as numerous small vines had cobbled together to form a single thicker vine that pooled onto the floor near her feet and disappeared somewhere down the hall.
Team JNPR's door was simply more vines than door, the pale constructs shining brightly against the moonlight. It hurt her eyes to look at.
Her own door, the door to Team RWBY, lay perfectly preserved. There were vines, but none of them touched the frame, nor the door itself. Instead, they seemed to slip through the side of the door itself, as smaller individual vines. She could see a lot of cracks in the walls surrounding her room, along with a few vines that had curled in a way that vaguely looked like a cartoon love heart.
For some odd reason, one that most certainly escaped her small understanding of this messed-up mirrored world, Ruby found herself blushing bashfully at the sight.
Moving her gaze away, she found Kirakishou's room. Or, where it should be in the very least. There was no door at all. Nothing. Just an empty patch of wall, where Ruby instinctively knew the door should actually appear. Considering her numerous visits to the room, she knew where it was just by the distance it was from her own room. But, now, in this mirrored world, it was non-existent. There were vines, of course, but no more than any other wall.
It seemed… gone. Removed. A deleted space. Or, perhaps, a space that had never been there to begin with? She wasn't certain. Only that it was wrong. She tore her gaze away, marching forward and ignoring the uncomfortable feeling that seemed to be growing in her gut the longer her thoughts festered on the missing door. Just like the heart, the space surrounding Kirakishou's missing door seemed to conjure up emotions that made little sense to her.
Moving forward, she came to the end of the hallway. Her breath caught painfully in her throat.
That mop of blonde hair, glowing in the moonlight. The white silken nightgown. She knew those two pieces anywhere. It was her. Kirakishou. She was alright. Ruby could see the girl clearly, sitting down on the stone bench and staring up at the night sky. Like that one time so very long ago, her doll had a rather melancholic expression appearing on her face. No. Not that. Serene. Saddened, yet pleasant. An inverted mix that, originally, Ruby hadn't been able to correctly decipher.
"Ruby."
She almost fell at the sound of that voice. Kirakishou's voice. Calling out to her. The doll tilted her head to the side, turning around slightly in order to greet Ruby with a delighted little smile. "You came for me, once again. I knew you would, but I feared you wouldn't."
Nervously pushing herself forward, it took Ruby a moment to find the sense to control her limbs, deftly reminding her of the time when Kirakishou had first pulled her into the N-Field. This time, however, she was able to regain her control and soon found herself racing over to stand in front of Kirakishou. She wasted no time in pulling the smaller girl up out of her seat and into a soaring hug.
She's safe. She's here. She's alive. She's not gone… Not gone…!
The words repeated in her mind like a mantra, even as the doll giggled against Ruby's frame and embraced her tightly. She found herself shivering slightly. Kirakishou felt so cold. How long had she been sitting out here, in the night of this weird mirrored world? Would such a thing even matter? Was it like the regular world? No… she supposed it didn't matter, did it? Kirakishou was here. With her. They were together again. Who cared about a little bit of cold in the face of that?
Ruby and Kirakishou. Master and Rozen Maiden. Lovers. Bound together and bound again.
"Master, please, sit with me. Welcome, again, to this single abandoned moment held within your Beacon Academy. Or what remains of it in the very least. Please, sit with me again. I need you, as I needed you the first time we were here."
Steeling her mounting worry, Ruby opted to follow Kirakishou's request. It was the least she could do for her doll after everything that had occurred.
Moving alongside Kirakishou, shaking legs carried Ruby towards the stone bench resting atop the balcony, as the cool air from the distorted world licked against her pyjama-clad body. The two girls sat beside each other, with Kirakishou sitting on Ruby's left side.
"What's going on, Kira? What is this place?" Taking a brief moment to exhale a shaking breath, Ruby continued. "Where are we?"
Kirakishou turned to her, smiled, before leaning forward to peck her on the cheek. Her lips were cold cold cold, the sensation alone enough to send shivers running down her spine. The doll snuggled up against her affectionately, leaning down to rest her head on Ruby's lap and looking off into the moonlit distance past the stone railings.
They stayed like that for a while, twin lovers resting in silence within this mirrored alternative to the Beacon Academy dormitories. Ruby found herself feeling eerily detached from the situation occurring outside, as several months' worth of creeping desire for intimacy surfaced within her thoughts. However, the question regarding her uncertain situation continued to rattle around in her mind.
"You know the answer to that question, Master. We are inside the N-Field. Or, at the very least, a small little section of it. One that I have shaped to resemble your dormitories…" Kirakishou trailed off momentarily, smiling against her lap. "A pure rose at first did not like this area. This lodging of souls. She found it confining and in poor taste. However… there were moments like this one where she enjoyed having the chance to experience the touch of her Master."
The N-Field…
"…So, this is another area of the N-Field, like your reading room?" she guessed aloud.
Kirakishou nodded enthusiastically at her answer, the movement causing her long blonde hair to rub against Ruby's legs. "Yes! Exactly right, Master. We are in another section of the N-Field, one that resembles your dormitory. I knew you would understand. You're so very inquisitive. I do so love that about you, Ruby~"
She blushed and squirmed at the praise, embarrassed. Even now, her doll knew exactly what to say in order to get her flustered.
"Then, um, why does it look the way it does?"
In response to her question, the doll adjusted her position so that she was staring directly up at Ruby, with the back of her head resting against Ruby's lap. Her cheeks reddened immensely at the look that Kirakishou was sending her way. It seemed so energised. So adoring. It was as if the peach-blonde Rozen Maiden was overjoyed by her mere presence alone.
"Because I wanted it to be this way, Ruby. This balcony. This moment in our history. This was one of the first times you were able to seek me out after we bonded and formed the Rozen Maiden contract. You found me, came to me, kissed me. When you found me again, after the tournament, I wanted you to find me in this place. Because it is a treasure to our bond."
"…You would really go that far, just for me?" Her voice came out as a whisper. She stared down at the doll, even as a lone slit amber eye blinked in apparent confusion. After a moment of pause, Kirakishou smiled pleasantly.
"Of course, Master. I would do anything for you. I love you."
She giggled and squirmed happily, pleasant tingles running through her body at the news. Kirakishou was alright. She was safe. And the doll loved her. Kirakishou would do anything for her. It was everything that Ruby had wanted to hear. Come to think of it, the words were everything that she needed to hear.
Leaning down, Ruby slid one of her arms behind Kirakishou's back, pulling the doll upwards so that their lips could meet in a fierce kiss. She allowed herself to surrender to the sensations that the Rozen Maiden conjured within her, that overwhelming warmth that seemed to be inflamed by the unnatural cold permeating the area. She kissed the doll with every feeling, her worry and relief, her love and her fear, mixing together in a slew of released emotions and desire.
When she pulled back, the doll was smiling brightly, her face appearing noticeably flushed as Kirakishou held her own cheeks in that all-too-familiar gesture of elation.
"Master is so very warm~" the doll giggled to herself, seemingly lost in the moment.
Ruby giggled happily. Even with everything happening outside, she was still able to-
Everything happening outside.
The grimm.
The crystals.
The loss of her team.
The Rozen Maiden Contract ring flaring up.
The voice over the speakers.
The explosion.
The destruction of the Beacon Academy dormitories.
Penny's death.
It all hit her at once, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. What was she even doing here? She shouldn't be relaxing! She had to stop all of the crystals! If- she-
"…Master? What's wrong? You have the most peculiar expression…" the doll trailed off, confused.
"K-Kira…" Ruby choked. She found it hard to speak. How could she even begin explaining things? What could she even say? "D-Do you know something about what's going on outside? Outside of this place?"
To her relief and rapidly mounting horror, the doll smiled and nodded against Ruby's lap.
"Master, I've known everything that's been happening. I did tell you to come here after the tournament came to a close, did I not? Just like in the previous rounds, I have been watching every moment you experienced in your quest to grow into a beautiful Rose."
"T-Then… what is happening? T-The crystals… when… when that voice over the speakers started talking after Penny's death… all these crystals started appearing. T-They… they're out of control, Kira… What's going on?"
"The N-Field has been released," Kirakishou murmured against her lap, her voice sounding distant and oddly relaxed against the sounds of battle in the distance. "The voice that you heard, the one that stirred everyone into a panic, set up an explosive device in order to destroy me. Her name is Cinder Fall. You may recognise her. It was her device that was able to destroy the anchor to the N-Field, allowing my N-Field to encroach upon the world."
Cinder Fall. She knew of that name. How could she not? It had been the name of the leader of Mercury and Emerald's team. Practically a no-show in lessons, but her name had been mentioned in an increasingly irate tone by the professors during all the role calls at the start of each lesson.
So, that was how it was.
Ruby wondered if the two teammates, along with the other teammate that she had never seen, were in on Cinder's plan. Considering how they had acted against her and Kirakishou in the battle, Ruby had a sneaking suspicion they were all co-conspirators. Bombing the dorm rooms and, by extension, Kirakishou, had likely been meant as payback for their treatment in the battle during Glynda's sparring class.
They simply hadn't known about Kirakishou's powers and had paid the price. Now… something was happening around Vale. Possibly something even further. Ruby didn't know much about the N-Field, not at all, but what she did know pointed to the idea of having it released into the world being an overall bad event. The very atmosphere in just this little segment of the N-Field alone seemed to constantly assault her senses with just how wrong it was.
"What does that mean?"
The blonde snuggled against her. "The N-Field desires stability. It is originally an illusionary plane, you see, much like this one. It is not meant to manifest in the real world as it is doing at this moment. While my power enables materialisation, it requires a heavy cost. Now that the N-Field has been brought into the world, it will seek energy in order to establish a stable connection."
Energy. That didn't sound good. It didn't sound good at all.
"W-What… what kind of energy?" She almost did not want to know the answer. But she had to know. To make sure that the churning feeling in her gut had proven true.
"People, Ruby," Kirakishou explained. "As I said, manifestation is a costly endeavour. It requires more energy than a single rosa mystica, even when bound to a master, can produce on its own. My N-Field, my Palace of Beginnings, is searching out more and more souls- in order to fuel its growth in the physical world."
That was horrible. But, Ruby realised with a daunting realisation, if manifesting illusions in the physical world cost more energy than Kirakishou possessed, then how did she-
...How was she able to manifest all of those things? Had she-
"-Did…. Did you?"
Kirakishou recognised her question before Ruby had the chance to ask it fully, if she even could.
"All the humans that have pledged covenants with the Rozen Maiden have become my dolls. They've become a flowerbed where the pure white rose that I am may bloom. Or, they were, until Cinder blew it up with her bomb and forced the N-Field to start anew."
"You… killed people?"
Kirakishou giggled against her lap, squirming to adjust herself. "No, Master. When I was confined within the N-Field, I was at least able to peer out and gaze at others. I merely waited for them to come close to the end of their lives, then collected them in my garden so they could stay with me forever. They were safe. Protected from the end. They would live in peace, dreaming beautiful dreams while constantly fuelling the powers of the very doll that saved them. A fair trade, no?"
She blinked. Well. At least the doll laying atop her lap wasn't some kind of sadistic murderer out for blood. Ruby didn't know what she would do if the girl she loved turned out to be like that. But from a warped kind of perspective, she kind of understood Kirakishou's motivations. If only due to her own experiences.
After Summer Rose had been pronounced dead following her disappearance following a mission, Ruby had sequestered herself in her room for the longest time. She had trapped herself- too scared to go outside yet unable to stand the loneliness of confinement. Had she possessed an ability that would allow her to look outside and see other people, Ruby may have convinced herself to do some pretty terrible things for the sake of not feeling lonely.
When coupled with a power that quite literally required sacrifice in the way that Kirakishou was talking, then it made sense that inevitably the doll had continued gathering more and more souls for her 'garden' after discovering the effects it had on her.
She wasn't hurting them. Kira was just… relocating them, into a safer area. So they could dream happy dreams. Forever. Was that truly wrong? What would it be like, to be free of strife? To be peaceful? It prevented them from being lost forever… Was that enough?
…If the process was painless… if it granted them peace… could she truly be fine with it?
She wondered, what had it been like for Kirakishou to step out into the world with her own two feet for the first time ever since she was born, after watching from a mirror for so very long? The visceral experience alone was more than Ruby could ever imagine, let alone comprehend from a Rozen Maiden's perspective.
"...You're upset, Master," Kirakishou's voice gently shook her from her thoughts. "I am sorry if this revelation has saddened you. But it is a part of me. If you are concerned for your fellow souls, know that those within do not suffer any undue pain or hardship. It is akin to sleeping."
Ruby shook her head. Her eyes were blurry. Wearily she wiped at her eyes, the offending hands coming back wet with tears. She had been crying? Oum. She didn't even know.
"I-It's not that. Well. Maybe it kinda is. Just… it's a little surprising, you know? I don't really know what to do…" Ruby muttered, looking down at her doll. "I-I mean, I understand, I do. I get that you did what you had to do, in order to eventually escape from the N-Field. But… still. It scares me. There was this whole part of you that I didn't even know about…"
Perhaps in response to her conflict, Kirakishou pulled herself up from her resting position on Ruby's lap- moving to properly sit against the trainee huntress. There was a significant amount of worry in Kirakishou's singular eye, visible as it focused intently upon her own tear-stained silver eyes.
"I know, Ruby. I did not wish for you to learn of this. I know it is… difficult. No other doll needs to do this. No other doll would ever consider it," Kirakishou trailed off, looking down and breaking her eye contact with Ruby. "I simply could not remain within the N-Field, Ruby. Father trapped me there. He left me, alone, while allowing my older sisters to experience a world that he saw fit to deny to a pure rose. And for what? To discover what would happen? No. I did not want to play his game, whether it be his experiment with the N-Field or the Alice Game as a whole. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to be like my other sisters. Is that so wrong?"
Ruby gave a low, sad chuckle as she shook her head. It was all just too much to bear. Too much to even consider, let alone process in any kind of healthy or reasonable way.
"...And what happened to the ones that were already in your garden, after Cinder activated the bomb?"
She knew the answer. The doll had already told her. Ruby didn't even know why she had asked again.
Perhaps, she just needed to hear it once again. To confirm things.
Kirakishou looked down, breaking line-of-sight with her as the doll stared off into the distance. "They're gone, Ruby. The N-Field can't reclaim them. Instead, it is seeking those who possess aura in order to establish stability. In an earnest desire to remain, it has forgone my gentle touch and is actively attacking others in order to harvest enough energy. This force of spirit you call aura."
"C-Can you stop it? Can you bring the N-Field back to where it's supposed to go?"
The doll shook her head. Of course not. It would have been too good to just have Kirakishou snap her fingers and fix everything.
"I can stop the progression of the N-Field, if given enough time and strength, but even a pure rose like myself cannot anchor a field to a plane that no longer exists, Ruby. How much of the surrounding terrain and population is converted will depend on how quickly I can regain control. Even with the limited control that I have, it will take… time."
So no matter what happened, the crystals were there to stay. Considering what had happened with the crystals and Amity Colosseum, people would not take lightly to that news. But if she could stop the spread of it to-
"Wait. U-Um, just as a hypothetical, if w-we can't stop the N-Field from spreading… how far would it go?"
Kirakishou absently cocked her head at the question. "Hm? Ah, Master. In that scenario, my Palace of Beginnings would not stop growing. It would keep growing and growing until there are no more left that can fuel its growth, such is the strength of my Palace's desire for stability. It is like any other plant, albeit with a much greater reach. My Palace of Beginnings would grow to eclipse the world."
Great. So it was a worldwide threat. That was horrifying.
"T-Then I guess we better get to it…" Ruby grimaced. This wasn't going to be easy, was it? "Is there anything we can do to lessen how much time it'll take for you to stop it?"
Kirakishou gave off a smile. It was a particularly knowing smile, that conveyed to Ruby that the doll had anticipated her question. "The N-Field will be targeting those with an extreme amount of power. However, it will take time until it can grow out of hand. There is still time in order to take back control. In fact, we just need to accomplish a single task."
"Okay… and what exactly is this… task?"
Kirakishou's lone eye burned with vibrant intensity. "That is where you come in, Master. Tell me… do you remember the offer given to you by James Ironwood and your Headmaster Ozpin?"
Kirakishou is a Rozen Maiden. The Rozen Maiden are dolls. The Rozen Maiden fight each other in order to become Alice, the perfect girl. Ruby Rose is the Master of Kirakishou, the seventh doll. Ruby Rose is connected to Kirakishou through a Rozen Maiden contract, which is the ring that lays on her left-hand's ring finger.
The White Fang have invaded Vale, somewhere in the downtown area of Vale. The White Fang, which had previously appeared alongside the thief Roman Torchwick over at the docks- stealing crates loaded with Schnee Dust Company supplies. They were back and, likely, heavily armed. Also, Sienna Khan was involved. The High Leader herself. Supposedly, the one behind the current White Fang operation as a whole.
Laplace's Demon is possessing her Father's body.
…Yang didn't even know where to begin. It was all just sooo utterly fucked up, on a scale where it was difficult to comprehend. How much had been going on in the background, while she worried about her baby sister acting a bit strange? How much hadn't she realised? Was this all connected in some way? Or was it all some jumble of events just so happening to coincide at the same time?
She hadn't the slightest idea.
What she did know, was that Kirakishou needed to be stopped. As quickly as possible. Supposedly, she had masterminded a large variety of groups to all converge at the worst possible time. The creatures of grimm, the White Fang, civilians, and both trainee and fully-trained huntsmen and huntresses. It was going to be a slaughter. Or, suffice to say, it is a slaughter. Things had been going on long enough to where Yang knew, without a doubt, that the death toll was already growing pretty high. Coupled with the strange crystals, there was-
The crystals. Laplace hadn't even spoken about them. If they were connected to Kirakishou in some way, as the similarity to the crystalline dress that the blonde-haired doll had worn to the Vytal Festival Dance implied, then what purpose did they hold? Why were they appearing? What were they doing?
"Her N-Field?" Weiss had asked, her voice sounding faint.
Yang blinked at the phrase, her mind recalling a recent interaction with Kirakishou. It had been during the time shortly after Team RWBY had discussed things with Qrow Branwen, where Ruby had offhandedly decided to call upon Kirakishou through her strange teleportation semblance. When the doll had gone to depart, she had mentioned something about her N-Field. Kirakishou had called it her woven tapestry, having used it to temporarily connect their bathroom to her own room, using the water in their basin as a medium to 'nourish' her bone-white vines and grow them all over the bathroom mirror.
Teleportation… instant movement, using her vines to grow this N-Field… could that be what the N-Field actually was? Some sort of method the doll used to connect their two rooms?
Laplace must have caught the look on her face because it turned specifically her way.
"Yang Xiao-Long. I see you are most curious about this development. Speak your thoughts, so that we may all reach the same page."
Hesitantly, she nodded. It was more than a little disquieting to see this supposedly body-snatching creature possessing the body of her Father, but it wasn't like there was much she could do about it. Kirakishou had been the only one who had experience getting rid of Laplace from a host body. Considering everything that Yang had just learned about Kirakishou, she didn't trust the artificial doll as far as she could throw her. Thus, Yang was essentially stumped for the moment.
It was better to stay in the good graces of an unknown and potentially deadly creature than to risk antagonising it without knowing any possible method of defeating it for good. She wasn't stupid.
"…Fine. I just… I remember Kirakishou talking about her N-Field before. Mentioning it, really. During that time with Qrow…"
"That's right," Blake supplied. "She used it to connect her room to our bathroom. As some kind of instant transportation. Kirakishou mentioned it was through the use of her N-Field. The strength of her vines, supposedly."
Yang couldn't be entirely certain how she knew, perhaps through all of the years she had spent alongside Taiyang, but she had a faint suspicion that the creature possessing her Father's body was amused by the information that Blake had given. It was the first time that she had been able to register any kind of emotion or reaction outside of Laplace's seemingly endless bland delivery of shocking revelations.
"…But that's not the case, is it?" Yang guessed, getting a look of surprise from Blake and Weiss. But she didn't care for their reactions. "There's something else about this N-Field that Kirakishou didn't tell us."
Once again, Laplace looked at her. Only, this time, it seemed as if the entity was looking through her. Assessing her. And, judging by the low chuckles, Laplace had discovered something amusing.
"You are indeed correct, Yang Xiao-Long. It would seem that our dearest seventh has omitted a great many facts indeed."
"Then… if we are to be a part of this… Alice Game, in whatever scope you're planning, then you owe it to us to tell us what Kirakishou's hidden," Yang pressed quickly. "You've already told us about Kirakishou's status as a Rozen Maiden. And what a Rozen Maiden actually is. You said that it's in service of ensuring a fair game. It falls on you to correct things. You are the referee of the Alice Game, aren't you?"
Using another's words and throwing it right back at them. It had served her well as a younger kid trying to get what she wanted- especially from her Dad. Ironic, that she ended up using the same strategy against the creature currently possessing Tai. In some bitter, twisted way, it almost made sense. Even if it was all just bullshit.
She didn't give a damn about the Alice Game- or whatever this creature had in store for them. Provided that it didn't kill them, she could care less. Considering all the madness that Kirakishou had put them through, as was currently putting them through so far, if she ended up winning or losing the game it wouldn't matter in the slightest to her. What Yang truly cared about was rescuing her sister from Kirakishou's clutches and getting Laplace out of her Father's body. Somehow.
"Careful, child. Do not push me. I could easily negate your use in the Alice Game, if the need arose. You are not as indispensable as you believe yourself to be."
Not one to be cowed, despite the fear running through her veins, Yang pressed onwards.
"I don't care. Look, I just want to get my sister back. If you're going to tell us the truth, then tell us. Or else, just get lost. We've got other things to deal with."
Weiss and Blake shot her a look, seemingly too stunned by her actions to speak audible words. Yang was a little bit shocked by her sudden burst of bravado as well.
Chuckling.
The sound was horrid. Twisted and wrong. A discordant mix of Tai's own laughing mixed with the low tones of a creature that didn't belong. It was a sound that frightened her to her core, reminding Yang that she hadn't the slightest clue exactly what Laplace's Demon was, or any idea of how to possibly stop the creature should it decide to attack them.
It could walk away with her Dad's body and she wouldn't be able to do a thing. All because she had opened her big damn mouth and-
"You, child. I like you. You remind me of the eldest. So very boastful. So prideful. So willful. Perhaps, that is why our youngest dislikes you so, hm?"
She paused. Confused. Trembling. There was a cold sweat running down her body, despite the heat flooding through the bullhead. She could only hear the faintest sounds from the other passengers in the bullhead- as if all of the sounds had been dulled out except for the ones coming from Laplace and her team. Was this adrenaline? Surging through her, making Yang hyper-focussed on the task at hand? How in the world had this entity been able to conjure such a harsh reaction by simple amusement?
"T-Then…" Yang found it in herself to speak, "you'll tell us what we need to know?"
Laplace nodded, before absent-mindedly glancing off to the side and pulling out the pocket-watch once again. Pausing momentarily to glance at the golden device before nodding once again, seemingly to itself. Yang narrowed her eyes. This had been the third time it had checked the watch. She could only wonder as to why. Was it waiting for something?
"First of all, Yang Xiao-Long, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna… You must all realise a simple thing. Kirakishou's N-Field is no semblance. It is no power. It is the very source of her being. Her prison- from where once she was but a simple prisoner, she has now become the warden. It is everything to her. You may consider its value to her of similar value as the body is to you, or perhaps even the soul. Without it, you are nothing."
"But what is it?" Yang pressed further, a discomforting tremor rushing through her shot nerves and anxiety-ridden body.
"All Rozen Maiden possess an N-Field. Think of it as one imagines a home," Laplace explained slowly, glancing at each of the girls. "However, unlike homes crafted through wood or steel, these places possess no physical mass nor absolute connection in your world. They are metaphysical planes of existence- separate to that of Remnant."
Suffice to say, the subject of metaphysics was a little bit beyond what Yang had learned in her academic career. However, the concept of another plane of existence had been discussed in various lengths. Admittedly not in her academic career, but in a few random films she'd watched, but it was still more than enough for Yang to understand.
For Weiss and Blake, she could tell by their reactions that both weren't confused by the topic, so they had to have some degree of understanding. Which was good. The last thing she wanted to do was try and explain things from her perspective.
"…So you're suggesting that all Rozen Maiden possess some sort of… what, a pocket dimension?"
Laplace stared at her for a moment, unblinking. She got the sensation that it was unimpressed with her particular choice of phrasing. "Essentially."
For the first time in a while, the Schnee Heiress spoke up. "And how exactly does this… pocket dimension…" she smirked inwardly at Weiss copying her phrasing, "…have to do with Kirakishou's deception? Some sort of alternate world, stop pouting at me Yang this is serious business, has no relevance to the current situation. We have seen no such event. All we have to rely upon is your word."
"Oh?" the creature turned to stare at Weiss through Tai's eyes. "I would beg to differ, Weiss Schnee of Atlas. You have all witnessed the N-Field, albeit to your own separate experiences. Why, I dare say you all have been drowning in it ever since Kirakishou first arrived in Vale," that harsh laughter, twisted and wrong, escaped Laplace once more. "The N-Field is not as separate from your world as you would like to believe. Inaction disguised as contemplation. Kirakishou's N-Field, the Palace of Beginnings, has been pulling you all along like mere puppets on a string."
"…What are you talking about?"
As if in response to her question, Laplace-no-ma moved away from them, heading towards one of the windows on the bullhead. Quickly, the trio of girls followed Laplace, ducking and weaving through several groups of people. Oum. There were just so many people in the bullhead. Yang hadn't realised during their talk with Laplace, but this bullhead was absolutely filled with fear-stricken civilians and worried students of all schools.
There was not a doubt in her mind that the second the bullhead landed they would be fighting for their lives. One does not pack together such a large amount of negative emotions around a huge force of grimm without expecting a fight in the end. It was only a matter of time.
Ignoring her pessimistic thoughts for the meantime, Yang focussed on Laplace, as the creature had seemingly arrived at its chosen destination. As she had suspected from its original angle of movement, Laplace stood beside a reinforced window, looking down at the-
Crystals.
There are so many crystals.
They were everywhere. All shining that same eerie teal-green hue. From this distance in the air, Yang could make out the tell-tale specks of people as they fought against an absolute tidal waveof ravenous grimm. Crystals dotted the landscape- making up a wide majority of the actual landscape itself. They covered almost everything. Trees. Grass. Rubble of destroyed buildings. Almost all of it had been converted into that strange crystalline substance. There were crystals of all sizes, ranging from small clusters barely as large as a small sound system to ones as large as skyscrapers.
And they were growing. She could see it with her eyes. It was especially noticeable with the smaller crystals- doubling their mass in a matter of seconds. Just like at Amity Colosseum, the crystals seemed to be growing in the direction of large clusters of people. Just what in the world were they doing?
"May I present to you all, the Palace of Beginnings made manifest. Kirakishou's N-Field."
"…The crystals?" Weiss balked. "That's her N-Field? This is her doing?"
"Her Palace of Beginnings, yes. Kirakishou has manipulated an agent into destroying the anchor to the N-Field and in doing so, forced the N-Field to encroach upon the world in order to survive," Laplace answered. Yang narrowed her eyes. Even now, its tone was much the same as it had been when the creature had first spoken to them. Did it not care? "However, it is an unstable reaction. Manifestation of this nature, of Kirakishou's nature, requires an immense amount of energy. In this case, through the use of aura."
A gasp tore out of her throat. Judging by the widened eyes and the paling facing of her two teammates, both Weiss and Blake had realised exactly what Laplace's statement meant.
"Those crystals…" the latter breathed, Blake's voice low as repulsion filled her words. "That's why people are being attacked? They're targeting people for their aura?"
Laplace gave a curt nod. "Indeed, little faunus. Kirakishou's powers revolve around the use of the N-Field, which is primarily an illusionary world. Thus, so too are the powers she manifests. Materialising illusions requires more power than a single Rozen Maiden can ever hope to gather from their Master. Thus, Kirakishou sought an alternative solution…"
Her powers require energy in order to function.
Her powers require aura in order to function.
"…Do all of her powers have this requirement?" Yang asked wearily. Weiss and Blake immediately snapped their gazes to her, having noticed the low tone of her voice.
"Yes."
"T-Then," she choked, emotion constricting her throat, "S-Summer Rose…?"
"Sacrifices made in the pursuit of crafting a doll for her beloved Master. Seventy-eight wayward souls forcefully confined to her N-Field… all in order to bring forth a doll of the one her Master once lost yet never forgot."
A shudder tore through Yang's frame, as a cold sweat appeared on her body. It couldn't, could NOT be true, that Kirakishou had done such a thing… but the proof was right in front of her. Those crystals, blatantly the same as the ones Kirakishou had worn to the Vytal Festival Dance, continued to grow ever larger, ever more plentiful, as more and more people were swallowed up.
This wasn't some kind of sudden, accidental release, or an out-of-control power, this was a harvest.
Yang could only wonder…
If seventy-eight people had been sacrificed in order to bring back Summer Rose, even in the form of a Rozen Maiden, what could Kirakishou possibly want with tens of thousands? Was it all just to materialise her N-Field, or was it for something else?
"…Is that why you targeted the Summer Rose doll?" Yang blinked, drawn out of her funk as she heard Weiss ask that particular question. That was right. Kirakishou had said that Laplace had been the one to target Summer Rose. It had been what had led to her confinement in the dormitory. But, after that, nothing had happened.
Oum. She could still remember the look on Tai's face that day, as he walked in. His youngest daughter in the infirmary… his corpse of his wife in his arms… questioning if it was ever truly her…
What in the world must have been running through his mind at the time? Oum. He didn't deserve to go through all of that pain.
"I did not target what is not already gone."
"…Then you deny your actions? Kirakishou was lying?" Blake pressed forward all of a sudden, eyes narrowing. "Who else could have done it? Who else could have known about Summer Rose?"
Summer Rose. The Summer Rose doll. Which was it? Had her Mom been revived, or had it just been a duplicate all along? Yang didn't know what to think any more. Kirakishou had muddled everything. They had just all been so focused on her, that they hadn't even forced a concrete answer out of the doll about the most important thing of all.
"I deny nothing, child. How I went about it is of no consequence. The Summer Rose you speak of is a composite. A merging of stolen memories and the remnant of a soul, placed inside a false Rozen Maiden body. She is not the Summer Rose you knew. However, she is all that is left."
What.
It would seem that the other girls were equally confused by Laplace's statement. However, while Blake appeared to be completely thrown by the sudden explanation, Weiss seemed to be critically assessing what they had just been told. She knew that look, after all, having seen it far too many times during various lectures at Beacon Academy.
"A composite of stolen memories? What do you mean?" The heiress asked, shuddering when the creature turned to stare at her. Or was it due to the turbulence of the airship? No. Yang doubted that Weiss Schnee was anything but disquieted by Laplace's mere presence. She was much the same, really. This creature was helpful, however there was no denying that it was dangerous in ways she could sparsely understand.
"Our youngest can do many things, but she is limited by the memories of those inside her N-Field. She could not regain all of the original Summer's memories and thus sought to harvest memories from those who knew Summer Rose in the past."
"…Harvesting memories…" Weiss muttered. "…Though the use of her N-Field… which is a dream-world… does she harvest memories through dreams?"
Laplace nodded, making an odd pleased sound. "Correct, Weiss Schnee of Atlas. That is exactly what she has done, has been doing, with each and every soul that has been within the boundary of her N-Field. Kirakishou has gathered the memories of those who knew Summer Rose and used them in conjunction with her soul to create an imperfect doll of Summer Rose."
"Her soul, though?" Yang threw out, confused. "Where'd she even…"
"Ruby Rose. Although, I do believe you already knew that, didn't you?" Laplace nodded towards Weiss and Blake. "Kirakishou spoke such when these two went to interrogate her, one night. Our youngest did not lie. The soul of Summer Rose was indeed held by Ruby Rose, nurtured all of these years by her earnest desire for family. Albeit, it was just a small fragment of the whole, but it was enough for Kirakishou to utilise her powers."
"So… it really, truly, is Summer Rose?"
No. She couldn't believe it. Wouldn't believe it.
Rather than answer, Laplace remained silent. Yang was about to voice her mounting frustration when a sudden tremor tore through the bullhead. More turbulence?
The screeching of metal.
Alarms flared. Civilians screamed and whimpered. Huntsmen and huntresses, trainee and trained alike, readied their weapons. Weiss, Blake, and Yang looked around in confusion, all searching for the source.
A blade. No. Three. In a tri-shaped design.
Near one of the engine auxiliary maintenance ports, directly next to a frightened group of civilians, there were the ends of three blades sticking out of the metal. They were jutting through the armoured bullhead and poking into the compartment. She could recognise those blades anywhere. Oum, she had grown up looking at pictures of the very weapon those blades were connected to and wondering just how anyone could wield something like that.
"Hm," Laplace turned towards the disturbance, "perhaps it would be for the best if we ask her ourselves?"
"Forward! Into the breach!"
"Yes sir!"
This was it. This was the life. Issuing commands, moving forward with his grand agenda coupled with the full support and backing of the High Leader herself. Adam couldn't possibly imagine a more potentially prosperous situation for the White Fang as a whole. Now that the two pillars of the White Fang were actively working together, it almost felt as if there was nothing that they couldn't accomplish. It was a similar feeling to what he had felt alongside Ghira's daughter, so very long ago. Before Cinder had arrived and burned his resolve into ash.
Although, where Blake had failed to prove her resolve to the White Fang, Sienna Khan was a rising pillar of flame that threatened to consume the world in her burning fury. She wrapped up her soldiers, motivated his own banner-men and united even the newest initiates into a fully-armed and operational legion of White Fang troops that had cut through all opposition unopposed. It was all he could do to not be wrapped in her resolve, in her strength, and yearn for a moment that was not his to have.
He was more than a simple grunt. More than a simple foot-soldier. He was Adam Taurus- a valued member of the White Fang. Leading an entire branch of the White Fang in their grand conquest of Remnant.
For the longest time, he had believed that he would be the only voice that mattered in the White Fang, but he was now beginning to understand that Sienna Khan's voice was one that would unify the faunus. Alongside his own. They would be twin beacons, brightening the world in their fury. Unified. Together. One only needed to look towards their previous operation to see the fruits of their labour.
Mountain Glenn had, for the first time ever since their habitation of the dilapidated and ruined labyrinthine city, finally become a home. Free of Torchwick, free of Cinder, free of manipulation, they were able to unite as a whole. The White Fang had practically tripled in combat capability overnight.
…Wresting the location of Torchwick's stolen cache of dust had been a difficult moment. The infuriating scum-sucking stain of a human had been notoriously difficult to pin down, yet pin him down they had. All of the credit had gone to Sienna in that instance. The sheer versatility of semblance made it very difficult to lose her. A sort of localised omnipresence, from what he could understand. Sienna had been understandably sparse on the details.
It was not something that Adam could fault her for when faced with the results.
The resulting capture of Torchwick had been all that Adam had needed in order to relieve certain… pent-up stressors that had mounted during each and every interaction with Cinder and her little gaggle of human sycophants. Stressors that Sienna Khan was all too happy to assist with.
Together, they had beat him for what felt like hours. Though, in reality, it had only been for an unfortunately short twenty minutes before the man had given up the location of his stash. In the resultant time spent double-checking and promptly gathering all of the dust that Torchwick had gathered, alongside defusing Cinder's poorly-implemented explosive device, Torchwick's little psycho midget had somehow rescued him and the White Fang had promptly lost the trail. Though it didn't really matter any more.
Adam and Sienna had what they needed. For all intents and purposes, Roman Torchwick was dead to them now. Although, if he did happen across the ginger-haired supposed gentleman thief, Adam would relish the time spent slicing his body to pieces. One particularly painful cut at a time…
He shook his head. Now wasn't the time for such things. Adam could fantasise about such opportunities later, when he wasn't in the midst of a mission. Especially considering just how everything had gone so far.
Following their little… appropriation… of Roman Torchwick's resources and the man's subsequent disappearance, actions had needed to be taken in order to avoid arousing Cinder's suspicion. After all, the thief supposedly had some form of role to play in the amber-eyed bitch's stupid plan. Having kidnapped and tortured the man would have presented a rather difficult problem if not for… Perry.
He almost snorted. Fucking Perry of all people had saved the White Fang, through the use of his own little semblance. The same semblance that practically half of the entire Vale sect of the White Fang had relentlessly teased the man about had been their saving grace all along.
The ability to mimic voices.
Cinder hadn't even noticed that the Roman Torchwick on her little earpiece had been a little too compliant. Probably had just thought the man was in his rightful place or some other similar nonsense. Regardless, in thanks to Perry's numerous amount of hours spent around the horrid man that was Roman Torchwick, he had been able to pull off a relatively decent impression of the man. Enough to fool Cinder in the very least.
As a result, they were able to proceed forward and into Vale without having to worry about the amber-eyed bitch interfering. For the moment at least.
Thankfully, hijacking the train had been a simple affair. Neither Cinder, nor any of Cinder's little group had been present at Mountain Glenn at the time of Adam's coup. Supposedly due to some kind of last-minute alteration to Cinder's plan that required the personal attendance of everyone. She had left Torchwick and Neo- ah, that was her name- in command. A poor decision on her part, but Adam wasn't the type to deny an easy opportunity. Though he would have thought a schemer like Cinder would realise the danger of putting two volatile and outright antagonistic forces together.
Eh. Humans are strange creatures. Provided that Perry somehow managed to luck out and survive the invasion of Vale, Adam would be throwing the man one hell of a celebratory party. And giving the crew a stern talking to about teasing the man about his girly semblance. The same semblance had saved their hide, after all.
Regardless, the resulting breach had gone off relatively without fault. There had been some initial discussion between Sienna and himself regarding Cinder's plan to lure the grimm inside using explosives in the tunnel, but they had come to a decent conclusion in the end. At first, Adam had desired to scrap that part of the plan out of pure spite for the amber-eyed human, but Sienna had spoken of the merits regarding what was essentially an easy method to thin the herd of huntsmen and huntresses in Vale.
To most, the grimm can be a sizeable threat. To a group of White Fang who was quite literally armed to the teeth, they were little more than annoyances. With the proper training and enough ammunition, they could reliably fend off the grimm while simultaneously pushing the creatures further and further into Vale territory, where the creatures would naturally go after the fear-stricken and defenceless humans.
It was the basic nature of a predator to go after the weak, of course. Why race towards death, when you can race towards a free meal? Risk versus reward.
Little had Adam known at the time what an absolute fucking nightmare that he was leading the grimm towards. Perhaps, then, he would have pushed a little harder against Sienna Khan's decision to proceed with activating the explosives in the tunnel. As he had very quickly realised upon arriving in Vale, was that while the grimm alone were of little threat to his outfitted group, they were a kind of compounding factor that made every else significantly worse.
Whatever Cinder's plan had been, both Adam and Sienna were almost certain that it had gone completely ass up.
There were these… crystals… and they were everywhere. As far as the eye could see.
They grew from the walls of buildings. Rooftops. From the ground. From trees and brush of all sizes. And the size of the crystals varied wildly. From small clusters of teal-green crystalline structures shaped similarly to the unrefined form of dust- at the size of mere beads, to the size of giant buildings practically unseen outside of the finer areas of Solitas.
Civilians ran screaming about, barely paying any attention to the White Fang contingent as crystals seemed to actively grow towards large clusters of people- both human and faunus alike. In one moment a large crystal would grow and split up a group of hobbled-together civilians, only for smaller crystals to burst out of the silver-teal ground and capture several of them in forever-sleeping expressions, never to move again.
It was horrific. And, considering everything that Adam had witnessed in his life, that was saying something.
Combined with the grimm downright frenzied by the sheer overload of negative emotions from such a densely knit population and the wayward shots from huntsmen of all levels of competency, it was a complete clusterfuck from start to finish. All that Adam and Sienna had achieved in their presence and daring scheme to unleash the grimm was just adding more fuel to the ever-increasing fire.
Huntsmen that recognised the White Fang outfit opened fire on them immediately, yelling angered blame and hurling all manner of statements. All it did was attract the grimm, which in the middle of the two opposing sides of huntsmen and White Fang, devolved into a pileup of three varying factions all trying to come out on top.
"Keep pushing forward, Adam! We have to get to Beacon Academy!"
"Yes, High Leader!" the reply came shouted out of his mouth practically on automatic, focused as he was on defending his brothers and sisters from the ever-present threat of maddened grimm, enraged huntsmen, and bizarre crystal.
A particularly harsh shove from an Ursa Major sent Adam hurdling backward, barely keeping on his feet as he bumped against Sienna Khan. Over their shoulders, the two respective faunus leaders of the White Fang gave each other a solid nod before they switched targets.
Sienna had been trying to prevent a series of crystals from targeting the crashed train cart carrying valuable supplies for their mission, to little success. However, charged up as his semblance was from all the battling he had done in the past half hour, he knew what had to be done.
Gathering up all of the energy he had stored in his blade, Adam dashed forward with a rallying cry, leaping off a pile of rubble and charging at the crystals. The moment he entered a melee distance, he released the energy in his blade with a clean slash that tore through the crystal cluster with ease, ripping through the very concrete supports that the teal-green abominations had been growing off in the first place. The crystals flickered with-
Aura shielding. The crystals have aura shielding.
…This isn't some weapon or some strange appearance.
This is a semblance.
But, it has a flaw.
Stretching aura over such a large expanse naturally thinned out the thickness of the aura itself and this limited the protective capability of the aura. Whatever or whoever was powering these crystals did not possess the innate amount of aura required to fully protect the crystals. His semblance would be enough to slice through them. Or, possibly, any high calibre weaponry or similar semblances that his brothers and sisters possessed. They should be fine.
Though, he could not help but wonder, where did they come from in the first place? Why were they targeting people? What in the world was going on?
Turning back to support his High Leader, Adam could see Sienna Khan easily ripping through the Ursa Major, her semblance making predicting the grimm's movements an utterly trivial matter.
"Adam! Gather some of your men! Get those train carts unloaded. We need the supplies if we have any hope of completing this mission. You know the ones I'm talking about."
Yes. He did. The ones holding the stolen Atlesian Paladin mech suits. He could agree with the High Leader on this case. The more White Fang members that were armed up in Paladin suits, the greater the fighting chance they would have against the horde of adversaries practically swarming against them. The city of Vale was a complete madhouse, but the White Fang had prepared for severe resistance.
Provided that they kept up on the defensive and continued to act as a solid unit, they would survive.
It would be a difficult battle, that much went without saying. However, with both Adam Taurus and Sienna Khan working together, they had a chance. With the help of the High Leader, he would find out what in the world was going on and stop it, before it ruined their mission. They had come too far to stop now.
They had to survive.
They needed to survive.
To thrive.
They would become a beacon of hope for the faunus people. One way or another.
"Brothers! Sisters! To me! We must get to those Paladins!"
A/N:
Oh boy! What a journey this has been.
Ruby and Kirakishou, Laplace and WBY, Adam and Sienna. Three fun little PoV's to write and, hopefully, to read. They were all full of some spicy development during this chapter. We're moving into the deep combat sections now which, as some veteran reviewers may note, is a bit of a challenge for me personally. However, so far it's been going alright. I tend to write a couple of chapters ahead of time, constantly editing and fixing up pieces until the final copy is published here. So hopefully when it lands, it should be a polished piece of work.
Anywho, thank you all once again for your continued interest in my story. Writing Rozen Maiden has been a fun little challenge and has revitalised my interest in writing as a whole. Feel free to leave a review or a message to say what you thought of this chapter! Until next time!