You're all in for a treat with another update already. I kind of had to continue this story because of the sheer number of comments about a single scene. Seriously, like 99% of you were ONLY focused on that one particular scene and what was to come. For some reason, it seems like you all hate Adam and want him to get destroyed by a dragon. Because of this, I seriously thought about writing this chapter in a way that you wouldn't get to see the scene. I scrapped the idea quickly enough because you, the readers, make writing rewarding. It's always great to know my stories entertain people. There will be one more chapter after this one to end the arc, so make sure all ship names are in by then. A lot of comments are just pointing out that Adam is about to get wrecked. There's really not much I can respond to these without repeating myself over and over with short responses. Understand I did read them, just didn't post the same tired response up here.
M1nhTre37: It almost rhymed.
Sergio644: The after effects are more interesting to write than the fight itself.
Maelaeran: Remnant is a dangerous world. Deaths happen.
Guest: Why would she come now? Actually, we know why. How would she come?
A certain guest: There's lucky and then there are things beyond your control. No matter how careful you are, bad luck can still find a way to ruin it. If you let it control you, then it wins. There were some discussions with other authors I know about the dragons and if a different one will appear. We settled on how it's going to be done. Oh, the Grimm dragon has a purpose.
Thanatos 2018: Don't think I want to make a sentient (Or at least one Touma understands) IB.
JumpingToaster: Index fans know exactly how fucked Adam is.
Ahsoei: Accelerator awakening to save someone besides Last Order? Could never happen.
LL: Why do catgirls calm down with horror music? Most of those suggestions are something Yang would say. No one else would ever do them. Not without making a crack fic.
Fernandamichelleraya: That… is actually well thought out and deep. That gives me a lot to think about. I was always going to have Nora keep hugging Accelerator until he got used to it. Index and RWBY need battle scenes to keep the plot moving.
WiliamZ0: Hamazura gets all of Touma's luck. It took a while to work out how the dragons will show up, but I have an idea now. Touma has some misfortune here. He meets someone. Well, does Ruby know Touma unleashed the dragons? Oh, Salem knows now. Things will not be pleasant.
Wiliamsusanto: Easily passed that with last chapter. To be fair on Adam's part, no one could predict Touma has a cheat skill. Isekai characters: Am I right? I remember when that episode with the gods came out. Everything fit into place.
AznPuffyHair: Touma's right handed so he would naturally use it more often. Also, since it contains the IB, he's used to blocking with it. There are theories about the IB, the dragons, and how Touma can pull it back. Canon showed the IB goes back to Touma, so I know how I want this to play out. Hah! Yes, the portal had so many possible routes. I thought of having someone enter, but realized there are plenty of RWBY people here. So I went the partially completed route. When they make a new portal and test it later, that might be an opportunity to bring someone in. I actually have a way to fix the timelines between worlds. It will be explained later. Explosions? You mean…? NORA!
Guest: Blake's going to need some alone time with Touma to understand what's about to happen. Oh, that idea for the wings is pretty standard. But you need like a Grimm army. Accelerator needs a challenge.
TheB: Cliffhangers make you come back for more.
O: Your hate makes me stronger.
Christianlukebustillo: Been thinking about this for a while. It really depends how I decide on what's happening to Touma's Aura. Like is it restraining the dragon or is the dragon just kind of eating it while it's trapped behind the IB? Options like that make the answer kind of tricky.
SlothDGod: Dragging Neo off on adventures.
Awardedall: One step ahead of you.
escleto278: Time for her to show him why she should be more than friends.
no name: Blood loss is serious business.
Croniklerx: Or quality vs quantity? Is Adam worth multiple dragons? Adam will definitely survive. He has too much untapped potential. Good to see you coming back though.
Guest13: Accelerator would have wrecked him. It was why he couldn't go with RWBY. See, I plan stuff out. Sometimes.
AMTT94: As I told you in the message, I had to think about possible changes do to your comment. It didn't change a lot in the end, but there were some significant alterations.
Guest: Kami is referring to my other story where Kaori got killed.
Rajarshi Sarkar: Who else is going to show up multiple times in front of Touma to discuss gentlemanly things?
Mr. X: No. Just… no. Why do you want Eliza to live? She hasn't done much for people to get attracted to.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.
It didn't take long for Ruby to reach the base of the plateau. With her Semblance, the distance wasn't an issue. There also weren't any Grimm to impede on her progress. Zipping between trees was easy for her, even if she almost tripped on roots a couple times.
No one saw that and no one would ever know.
She stopped once she reached the outer wall of the settlement, peering upward towards the peak of it. There was a lift to take her up on the other side, but that would be too slow. Instead, she stepped backwards a couple feet, took a deep breath, and charged forward. A red and black blur flickered into existence as rose petals fell where she had just been.
The second the blur hit the base of the plateau it bolted straight up the perpendicular slope. The surface was pretty smooth from years of weathering, but the speed Ruby was moving at let her continue upwards, virtually defying gravity. Her Semblance must have had something to do with that. After all, this wasn't the first time she ran up a wall like this. Though, the last time she did this, she had some help from Weiss with several of her glyphs. In Ruby's defense, she had been dragging along a large Nevermore.
Once her feet hit solid ground at the top of the plateau, she took a moment to spare a glance behind her. There was no telling what happened to the others. For all she knew, they could still be fighting for their lives against that Beowolf. Even so, she refused to believe they would lose and turned her attention back to the task at hand.
Have to find Blake and Touma and explain what's happening , Ruby repeated silently. Then we need to warn the mayor about the situation. I hope he believes us. It's not like we have a reason to lie. She dashed up the wooden wall and stood at the top, looking around the city. She had hoped to see Blake and Touma patrolling the border, like they said they would. That had been their plan; but instead, she found something else.
White Fang?!
Several troops were patrolling around the city, knocking on houses and looking into windows. Ruby had no idea why they were here, but knew that it couldn't be good. Based on their movements, it seemed like they were looking for someone. The only person that she could imagine as their target was Blake, being a former White Fang member. Ruby snapped back to the present with a quick shake of her head. If she continued to stand on the wall, it would only be a matter of time before someone saw her. Ruby was about to step down and try to figure out where her friends were, when a sound blew away the silence.
A deafening roar came from the center of town.
Ruby, having lost her balance, ended up falling off the wall and came crashing down to the ground with a dull thud. The roar was loud but there was no way the noise alone would have caused her to slip up that badly. She had faced countless Grimm who roared, screeched, or screamed in her face. No, the difference was that this roar seemed to reverberate within her. Fear welled up from places she never knew existed. Her body had frozen out of more than just instinct. It was a fear of something people forgotten long ago only to return in full force. The only good thing about the fall was that her Aura absorbed the impact and jolted her back to her senses.
Resisting the urge to flee, Ruby forced her body up and looked again towards the city. The White Fang didn't seem to fare any better. The two within her line of sight were picking themselves off the ground and running toward the source of the disturbance. Ruby was about to follow them when the source of the roar revealed itself.
It took the shape of a large head that rose high above the homes surrounding it.
"Ahh!"
Ruby's scream was partially because of the monster she just witness. The sheer terror from it alone made her legs buckle beneath her. Yet, the second reason, was because her eyes had started to feel as though they were burning for no discernable reason. These factors combined caused her to collapse as everything started to become blurry. All she could do was raise a single hand, feebly trying to reach out to the city.
"Have… to warn…"
Her words trailed off as she fell unconscious soon after.
Adam had made a lot of mistakes in his life.
When he was young, he also dreamed of the day Faunus and humans could live together without prejudice. That naivety only led to witnessing firsthand how his kind was treated by the humans. As an up and coming leader of the White Fang, he trusted humans to meet with him in order to help solve some of the issues between the groups. His reward was the loss of an eye and a permanent reminder of his misplaced trust. While that one was bad and he was reminded of it everyday, it didn't hurt as much as one of his biggest mistakes.
Letting Blake leave.
That mistake still haunted him to this day.
The feeling of betrayal from watching her cut the train connector remained fresh in his heart. In hindsight, he should have chased after her. Blake had been talking about issues she had with the White Fang for months leading up to that. However he never he never would have thought she would leave. Everything he did for her was now being used against him. How to fight and how to sneak into enemy camps were all things she learned from him. He had treated her better than an apprentice, like family, and it only took a couple months at Beacon to lose her.
That boy's words had annoyed him; more than they should have. Adam never manipulated Blake. He had been honest about his intentions and one day they would have been together.
Now he had made yet another mistake; the gravity of which he had yet to comprehend.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Something told him not to approach the wounded boy in front of him. It wasn't just the expression on the boy's face. Adam had faced opponents who never showed fear or gave up until their last breath. Ignoring the fact Blake was now focused on the brat instead of him, which was a punishable offense, the blood coming out of his arm seemed to be slowing down. Drops of blood were moving in the air unnaturally. Adam's eyebrows narrowed as he felt his arm beginning to shake instinctively. He tried to steady it with his free hand, but the tremors persisted. As a trained warrior, he wasn't going to ignore this feeling. His instincts had saved his life countless times. Something was coming and the boy's warning flashed in his mind.
Run!
Adam jumped back as his body warned him of the threat. That instantaneous decision might have saved his life.
Something not of this world emerged.
From the stump of the boy's arm, an enormous head erupted out at him. Had the boy's blood not been outlining the shape of this...thing, it might have been truly invisible. Rows of razor sharp teeth snapped at the location Adam had been only moments before he moved. The beast's eyes seem to blaze crimson and with every second the monster seemed to glow clearer, like it was becoming solid. The blood covering its semi-transparent body gave the purple and black scales of its hide a scarlet gleam in the sunlight. The horns on the back of the head emerged as more of its hulking body slithered out from the boy's shoulder. Even though it appeared to be changing from a ghost to a living being, its terrifying presence only increased.
Adam had only ever seen pictures of a creature like this. Yet there was no mistaking what he was seeing here. This thing had a strong resemblance to that of a dragon.
The thing rose up, above the nearest house, and peered down at Adam with red eyes full of hatred and malice. Looking down at him, judging him, as if it were the incarnation of death itself, before opening its massive maw.
The roar ripped through Adam's body.
It threatened to overwhelm his senses. His body both wanted to flee from this monster and yet, at the same time, was paralyzed from the fear. He had never personally seen a creature like this before. No Grimm ever came close to terrifying him this much. A couple of his men arrived on the scene; seeking out the source of the disturbance. Turns out the creature wasn't a figment of his imagination. His eyes fell on a Blake for a second, who had an expression mirroring how he himself was feeling. The sight of his beloved enraged him. Anger replaced fear and he forced his body to move.
"Don't just stand there! Shoot it!"
Gunfire rang out as a couple of his men started firing. Their aim was rather eccentric, most likely that their fear of the monster was preventing them from aiming properly. It was hard to tell with their masks, but Adam knew what his men were capable of. The monstrosity, however, was either unaffected by the bullets or just didn't care. Its jaws opened as its eyes focused on Adam. Wind whistled as it dove toward him at speeds unexpected for something of its size. He gritted his teeth and, at the last moment, stepped to the side and swung his blade.
The red blade shattered to pieces on contact.
"Fuc-…AHH!"
His curse changed to a cry of agony as one of the monsters teeth tore into his arm. Of course it was going to hurt as a literal fang sunk into his skin and ripped a good chunk of flesh off the bone. The pain was only multiplied when his Aura just vanished around the wound and most of his arm. It was like the dragon was devouring his Aura alongside his flesh. Now he couldn't heal the damage like normal. The hilt of his sword clattered to the ground, dropped from the pain. The dragon didn't seem to care about his pain and circled around, knocking two of his men out just by colliding into them. Its focus was on Adam, not the rest, and so it came back at him with both jaws open; preparing to devour him whole.
Is this really how it ends?! Damn it, what the hell is that boy?!
Adam didn't have the strength to move. His body had finally collapsed under that oppressive fear, agony, and lack of Aura. He closed his eyes under his mask and awaited his imminent death.
"Stop!"
A death that would not come for him on this day.
When Adam hesitantly opened his eyes, he did not expect to find the source of the voice with his back to him. What he saw beyond that had left his eyes wide out of sheer amazement. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The dragon, that mass of terror and death incarnate, actually fucking stopped. More than that, it seemed to be retreating. The air around it shimmering, like another invisible force was pulling it back. The source?
The boy was still standing and somehow pulling it back with the invisible binding energy.
"…Why?"
Adam didn't understand.
He had been prepared to kill him. Now that same boy, who was about to defeat him with an unholy power, was willing to let him live? It didn't make any sense. Adam tried to think of a valid reason for this; doing his best to not to let the pain overtake him. Touma was still miraculously standing, even as the pool of blood at his feet grew larger. His hand was laying on the ground several feet away.
Adam's mouth nearly fell open in disbelief.
The hand he had severed was dissolving. Not into smoke, like the Grimm did, but into nothing. Dust that just vanished in the breeze. It didn't take long for Adam to figure out where the hand was disappearing to. The stump at the end of Touma's arm wasn't letting out blood now that the dragon was gone. Instead, the skin was beginning to reappear around the wound out of nowhere. As Adam watched, the boy's entire hand grew back. Judging from Blake's expression, she didn't expect this either. The words that came from the boy's mouth a moment later were even more unexpected.
In hindsight, Adam should have expected it after the drivel he spouted out earlier.
"There has been enough bloodshed today and I'm not going to add any more to it."
Adam's gaze felt to his arm as; gritting his teeth so hard that it hurt.
The White Fang...along with himself...they had lost today.
The power this boy wielded completely overwhelmed them. Dust rifles were useless and Adam's own prized weapon had no effect on it. His eyes fell onto the shattered metal that had once been his blade. He was one of the strongest members of the White Fang. If he couldn't do anything to that dragon, none of the troops he brought along could either. If it was just Blake and a couple Hunters, the fight would have ended in his favor. The only reason he was alive was thanks to this boy's generosity or mercy. Adam examined that boy's expression one last time as he turned to face him. The strength and conviction hadn't changed, but there was now a little apprehensive there. He was waiting with baited breath to see if Adam would take the opportunity to leave.
"…Fine," Adam relented after a pause. He glanced at two of his men who just arrived. Apparently they had seen the fight and had guns drawn, aimed at Touma. "No, we are done here. Pick up our troops that can't move and let's go; we are leaving."
They lowered their rifles and rushed over to their fallen brethren, making sure to leave a wide berth around the human. Blake had been quick to approach him; settling down to one knee beside Touma, who appeared to have lost the strength in his legs. Shock, fear, and disbelief had prevented her from saying or doing anything more than being there at his side. Adam told himself this was a mistake, but this wasn't the first time he had knowingly made a bad decision.
"This isn't over, Blake. I will return for you one day."
He staggered after his men, blood still running down his arm. Medical attention would be needed shortly.
Blake wanted to say something. She really did try to give a response. It was just every time she thought of something to say the words got caught in her throat. There were a great number of things she had to tell him. His words had struck her deeply. There was a part of her that believed what he said was true. She would have gone with him if Touma didn't stop her. Frantic amber eyes shifted to the said boy as his ragged breathing assaulted her ears. Somehow his hand and arm had reformed after Adam cut it off.
She shivered at the memory of that beast that emerged.
She should have done more but that very presence struck at her core with primal fear.
"Are you okay?"
She flinched at if she had been slapped. Touma's words had come out of nowhere.
"..Yes, but what was-…"
"That's good." Touma interrupted her as if he didn't hear anything after the yes. Without warning, he collapsed and Blake barely had time to grab him before he slammed against the ground. His breathing was labored, his skin cold and clammy, and he was definitely unconscious. After Blake was sure he was mostly okay, her eyes flickered toward the sound of Bullheads beginning to turn on.
"Touma, who are you?" She muttered.
An explosion followed by a loud banging alerted Accelerator of a nearby presence.
Having rested for a bit, there wasn't any immediate need to conserve his stamina. Several White Fang members along with the thief, Roman Torchwick, had fled from the base. Accelerator had thought about walking over and crushing them, but a few moments later, Bullheads were beginning to arrive for pick up. There was no sign of the others. The ground beneath him exploded as he propelled himself into the air toward the unknown noise in the distance. Subtlety was off the table and the White Fang were too occupied to pay him any attention. The only reason he didn't think Roman had found what they were looking for was due to his expression. Rather than smug or conceited, he was radiating fury.
Accelerator chuckled to himself knowing Roman had failed.
Does that mean the buffoon's group found something? He thought. In the distance, he saw a metal cylinder of some kind. Not too far past that, there was a large hole in the ground with overturned dirt that was probably concealing an entrance. That had to have made the noise. It can't belong to the White Fang or they would have come over here.
He landed roughly ten feet away and walked toward the container. As he began to draw near, a pair of muffled voices reached his ears.
Familiar voices.
"…the switch has to be around here somewhere."
"J-Jaune, that's not it."
"Can you see it? Wait, hold on, what it this? Why is it so soft here?"
"Eep! That's definitely not the switch!" The girl's voice went up an octave or so.
"Oh… OH! I-I'm sorry, Pyrrha!"
Pretty sure that was a switch for something, Accelerator thought.
"Just don't go any lower. I feel something hard in my back."
"That's not me! I swear!"
Accelerator raised an eyebrow but figured enough was enough. He reached down, touched the lock on the outside, and the door blew open. He was met with quite a sight. Pyrrha was laying on top of Jaune with a device clutched in her hand and her head resting right under his chin. Jaune was underneath except for one of his hands, which was on Pyrrha's butt. All three parties stared at one-another in complete silence for a couple seconds.
Until an involuntary smirk slipped onto Accelerator's lips as he looked at those two.
"...Bout damn time you two got at it."
"It's not what it looks like!" Jaune and Pyrrha cried out in unison, both a brilliant shade of red. Free from their metal coffin, Pyrrha pushed herself off Jaune and propelled herself out of the pod. Once she was standing, she reached out a hand and helped Jaune out as well.
"Jokes aside, what's that?" Accelerator pointed to the hard drive Pyrrha was still holding.
"Information on a device Merlot was developing to peer into other dimensions." Pyrrha answered. "It wasn't complete, but now we have a starting point."
"Finally, some good news." Accelerator crossed his arms, remembering all the annoyances he was forced to experience. "So, where's the chaperone?"
"She should be right behind us," Jaune answered. "We might have… set the lab to explode to prevent Torchwick from gaining access to the information here."
Accelerator stared at him for a moment.
"…Come again?"
"The lab is about-…"
"I HEARD YOU!" Accelerator thundered. "I was being fucking sarcastic!"
"She had to send us first since she was the only one who could operate the escape pods," Pyrrha elaborated. "One wasn't working so we had to share a pod."
"So the two of you didn't just decide to get close and personal on a whim?" Accelerator said mockingly. Pyrrha flushed and diverted her eyes while Jaune frantically shook his head back and forth in denial.
"There's no way I would try to take advantage of her in this situation!" Jaune protested. "This was a necessity!"
Pretty sure she wanted you to take advantage. Accelerator thought, noticing the girl's flustered state. It was nearly to the point that it would not surprise him to see steam shooting out of her ears.
Suddenly, Jaune's scroll went off. As only short range communication would work out here, possibilities of who was calling were few. There was also a chance that the news they were about to receive would not be pleasant. Jaune gulped and opened his scroll.
"Hey!"
"Eliza?" Jaune gasped and Pyrrha scooted over to peer at the woman. "Why are you still in the lab?"
"About the escape pods…" Eliza rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I may not have been entirely truthful. You see, only one of the pods worked, and it was the one you two took."
Silence met her statement.
"But we accomplished the mission," she continued, trying to put a positive spin on things. "I thought I might be able to deactivate the meltdown and I managed to delay it for a couple minutes. So there's that."
"I'm going back in for you!" Pyrrha declared, stepping forward.
"No!" Eliza shouted. "There's not enough time. I don't know how big the blast radius will be, so you need to get as far away as possible."
"Damn it!" Jaune cursed. Everything was going so well after chasing away Roman and the White Fang. Now they were about to lose someone.
"Hey, relax," Eliza continued, trying to cheer them up. "You're all still young. I'm… 29. It's better this way."
"Nothing about throwing your life away makes this better! There is a better solution than this, there has to be!" Pyrrha pleaded, looking around at the two boys in hope they would have an idea. Accelerator remained silent, his face expressionless.
"There's not," Eliza apologized. "As my last order, I'm telling you leave. There's nothing left that you can do. Now hurry up and get to safety!"
Lights were flickering around her and smoke was filling her room. Machines must have been going haywire and explosions were going off in the distance. The ground shook slightly under everyone's feet. They really did not have much time. Accelerator turned and started walking.
"You can't be serious!" Pyrrha yelled. "We can't just leave her down there to die like this!"
"Pyrrha…" Jaune muttered softly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "We can't save her. If we try it would just end with all of us…" He was about to make one of the toughest calls in his life.
In the end, Jaune was just not able to finish that line of thought. He blamed himself for forcing this to happen. Eliza would not have had to do this if he hadn't been knocked out by Roman. Now he was being forced to sit back and let her die for his shortcomings. It was bitter pill to swallow.
Accelerator, for his part, stopped dead in his tracks.
A vain throbbed in his head as pure anger coursed through his veins.
Not at Jaune specifically, but at his words. They reminded Accelerator so much of the scientists back home. While understanding how powerful he was, they always focused on his destructive potential. Saving someone was never discussed, much less believed. It took Last Order nearly dying for him to show everyone how wrong they were. He saved her. He prevented another person close to him from bleeding out. His power could protect people. It could keep that small group of people he cared about safe.
The group that seemed to be growing without his permission since he landed here.
"Accelerator!" Jaune called out to him. "That's the wrong way!"
He ignored him.
If he had been at one hundred percent, uprooting an underground bunker would have been possible. With access to the Misaka Network back home, he could probably have torn a good chunk of the bunker out of the ground. In his current condition? Neither of those options was feasible. He may have been a lot stronger than others, but he had lost a lot of his power. The side effect of Dust healing seemed to have merged his ability with his stamina. Still, from all his testing up to this point, there was one option available to him.
"Tell her to get as far into the escape tunnel as possible." Accelerator ordered.
"What?!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Stop talking and do what I fucking say!"
Accelerator ignored the other's questions and propelled himself to the location their pod had emerged from before crashing onto the surface. There was only a large hole and dirt visible, so the tracks probably didn't completely reach the surface. The ground exploded into a crater when he slammed his foot down. It took a second smaller crater in the center of the first before he finally caught the sight of protruding metal. Tremors ran through the earth as explosions went off in the distance. There wasn't a lot of time left. He touched the metal and began calculating the vectors along the tracks.
"Well!?" Accelerator yelled over his shoulder. "Is she in position!?"
"Yes!" Jaune answered. "But you can't expect to reach-…!"
"Shut the hell up!" Accelerator snapped.
He needed to concentrate.
It took a lot more manual calculations than he was used to. This wasn't just reflecting things or bending metal. He was going to tear the entire underground railway from the lab and bring it to the surface. In order to avoid the metal tearing and reduce what needed to be moved, he was going to rip it straight out of the ground. He was going to pull it out of the already existing hole. From what he could detect, it was a straight shot from the lab to the surface at roughly a fifty degree angle. Taking a deep breath, his head already throbbing from the strain, he grabbed the metal. His fingers sunk into it like it was made of playdough.
Then he yanked it with a roar.
"GGGRRRRAAAHHHHH!"
The screech of metal scraping against rock caused his teeth to shake. He had taken down most of the automatic reflection to focus on brain processing power. The metal tube surrounding the rails twisted and bent at weird angles as Accelerator tore the metal and threw it to the side. Pulling nearly a half mile of metal tubing several feet in diameter couldn't be moved all at once. Not with someone inside it.
"Holy…" Jaune's mouth fell open and words failed him.
Pyrrha would probably have been in an equal state of shock had her training not kicked in. She used her Semblance to help move the metal to ease the burden on Accelerator. Her interference had been noticed quickly enough and so he adjusted accordingly. His vision began to blur and his head began to feel like it was being split open. It took a lot of effort to remain conscious. His breathing became labored and something warm was running out of his nose. A rusty scent followed. At last, with one final burst, the end of the rails emerged from out of the ground.
"This beats surfing!" Eliza's voice rang out from within the tube before being followed by a yelp of pain as the metal crashed onto the ground. There was a period of tense silence as the debris and dust settled from the crash before her echoed voice eventually broke it. "I'm okay!"
While Pyrrha rushed to check on Eliza's condition, Jaune had opted to approach Accelerator.
"You freaking did it," he said in amazement. "I can't believe-…"
His words trailed off as he caught a glimpse of Accelerator's face.
His eyes were red and bloody; so much so that it was a miracle he could still see. Blood was running down his nose and his face was deathly pale. Who knew his pasty complexion could get worse? He was staggering, barely able to stand as his arms hung limply along either side of his body. With the last of strength, he glared at Jaune and uttered a few words.
"Don't... tell me… what... I can't… do…"
Jaune caught him before he crashed to the ground.
"Sorry, man," Jaune apologized, looking over at Pyrrha helping Eliza out of the metal tube and to her feet. "That won't happen again. Good work, you saved the day."
At that moment, an explosion rang out, shaking the surrounding terrain.
Roman's cigar fell from gaping mouth; eyes wide in obvious disbelief from what he had witnessed.
What the fuck is it with kids these days?
Holding on to a support rail in the Bullhead, Roman was given an aerial view of a phenomenal sight. An albino boy tore a half mile long metal tubing weighing thousands of pounds out of the ground effortlessly and tossed it aside. Just yanked it out. Like it was a large weed. The metal twisted and contorted as he tore it in the process to make it easier for him. He wasn't the only one to notice. Several White Fang soldiers were either gaping like he was or whispering frantically amongst themselves.
First a kid who scares Grimm, now one who can reflect bullets with super strength on top. What's next a demigod or something? Whatever happened to the old days when a thief could make an honest living robbing people? Things have gone downhill since. Cinder is not going to be happy and I need a damn drink.
He lit a new cigar as the lab finally exploded. Counting back the time, Roman was surprised it took so long. The explosion was also accompanied by an unusual color. Rather than fiery shades of red and orange, it seemed to be more of a flash of bluish-green light. The explosion was also odd. An underground explosion should have thrown debris in every direction while leaving smoke and ash behind. The ground had originally erupted, tossing metal, dirt and dust into the air, but after the light went off most of it disappeared. A large crater was all that was left where the lab and field had been.
It was more of an implosion than an explosion.
"Guess that's one way of keeping your secrets safe," Roman muttered. "Impressive. Shame those brats were outside the blast range. Would've saved me a lot of hassle." He took a deep drag of his cigar. Movement near the forest's edge caught his eye. It was a small black thing and he saw it just long enough to recognize what it was. "So it wasn't dead? Well, not my problem. I don't plan on coming back."
He wasn't the only one watching this scene unfold. From her position in a large tree, Raven was sitting on the branch watching as the events unfolded.
"That power is impressive. It seems he was just toying around with me. However, it's not invincible. He has a limit. That information will be useful."
She transformed into a black bird and flew off.
When Touma opened his eyes, he found himself lying in an all too familiar environment.
White walls and a ceiling surrounded him and he was laying in a bed with clean white sheets. Sun was shining in through the window right into his face. He blinked a few times and turned to his right, where an IV was attached to his arm. His body was wrapped up in bandages and his clothes were replaced with a green gown. Being a famous resident back home, he instantly recognized it as a hospital room. As his senses returned, pain ran along his body and he flinched.
Well, I'm alive, but where am I? Don't tell me this was all a dream and I never went to Remnant in the first place.
"Guess that means I won't be seeing Neo anymore," Touma muttered with a chuckle. A break from her pranks would be a welcome relief. To his shock and horror, he discovered he made a terrible mistake.
A girl's face with mismatched eyes appeared upside down over his.
Her expression was not one of amusement.
"Neo!" Touma gasped and sat up, almost hitting their heads together. This was a mistake as sudden movements doubled the pain he was feeling and he involuntary gasped. "Am I back at Beacon?"
Neo didn't answer, not that she could, but she didn't even try to mime a response nor write a message. Instead, she did something else.
"Ouch!"
She flicked him hard in the forehead.
"What was that for?" Touma demanded and she smiled sweetly at him before narrowing her eyes. He gulped. She was mad at him and he had no clue why. He opened his mouth to ask when another voice interrupted them from around the corner in another room.
"Is my patient up already? Who is he talking to? I warned that girl five times not to show up. I'm bringing the extra-large needles this time."
Neo waved, the air shimmered, and she disappeared.
"…Okay, what?" Touma was confused and now turned his attention to an older woman with brown hair. He quickly recognized her as a fox Faunus by her ears. "Um...I'm back at Beacon, right?"
"Cognitive awareness is a good sign," the woman told him. "Do you know you name, age, what you were doing, and last sexual encounter?"
"Touma Kamijou, 16, fighting the White Fang, and… WHAT?!" Touma's brain finally snapped into gear at her last request.
"Memories appear to be undamaged," the woman muttered writing on a clipboard. "Chance of a concussion minimal." She looked up and smiled at him. "Just a joke. It helps to see how people react to determine any possible brain damage."
Touma blinked as everything that had led up to him losing consciousness came back. He needed to know what happened.
"What about Blake!? The White Fang!? The town!? The rest of the team-…" The woman slapped a hand over his mouth so she could get a word in.
"First off," the woman warned him. "Keep your voice down. This is Beacon's medical bay, not the cafeteria. Second, everyone returned in one piece. From what they told me, you lost consciousness after chasing away the White Fang and the rest of your team finished their assigned mission. An emergency Bullhead rushed you back here and you arrived late Tuesday night. It is now… just after three on Wednesday. You've been sleeping the entire time. That's good. Rest is the best way to recover."
"Can I see the others?" Touma asked, pushing himself up slowly this time. He learned his lesson. "I'm fine now."
"I'll be the judge of that." The woman pushed him back down. "Name's Tsune by the way. Thanks for asking. I'm Beacon Academy's doctor."
"I'm fine, really," Touma tried to assure her. "I'm used to getting hurt."
"I can tell that from your scars," Tsune agreed. "Gave your entire body a thorough screening when I was patching you up. Gotta say, I do love a man who's not afraid to take risks." Touma shivered, glad he was unconscious. "Still, you can't leave until I give the word. If you try, you will be restrained." She jabbed her finger into his chest. "Understand?"
"…Yes," Touma answered meekly.
"Very good." She smiled kindly. "Now, tell me if this hurts."
She jabbed the bandages on his left arm.
"Ow! Yeah, that hurts!"
"You sure?"
She jabbed it again.
"Ow! Have I done something to you?!"
"You're not crying, so it's healing up nicely. How about this one?"
They repeated this process for an eternity. Well, it felt like an eternity for one unfortunate boy, but it wasn't even half an hour. Though Tsune was a little more hands on than what he was used to, she was still a fully licensed doctor. The students at Beacon were pretty much cared for by her and a few part time nurses. As long as they weren't dead, she did everything possible to keep them alive. Usually the only time students had to be transported to Vale's main hospital was in the event of a major emergency. Not all of the equipment at Beacon could handle certain injuries. Surgery was rare, but occasionally it was needed.
"My, your body is quite resilient." Tsune finally stopped poking and prodding all his tender areas. "Even without Aura, your wounds are healing at a remarkable rate. You could probably be let go today, but I want to keep you overnight for observation, just in case. If nothing happens, you can leave first thing in the morning."
"I guess I can't really complain," Touma agreed. "Can I at least have visitors? I want to ask my friends some questions."
"You mean like that little girl, Neo?" Tsune asked and crossed her arms. "Listen, I know you kids can be rather adventurous, but this is not the place for that sort of thing; regardless what your magazines tell you."
"We aren't like that!" Touma protested, waving his hand not attached to the IV out front.
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "So finding her crying by your unconscious body and praying for your swift recovery makes her just a friend?"
"Now I know that isn't true," Touma replied, rolling his eyes. "Neo's many things, but a crier? Never."
"You got me." Tsune laughed. "She did leave that apple though." Touma looked at the window sill and saw an apple with a small note. He reached over, grabbed the note, and glanced at it.
Once you're out, all bets are off.
"Okay, that sounds more like her."
"She's pretty tough," Tsune admitted, though with a tinge of annoyance. "Wouldn't leave when I told her to and was prepared to get violent. Had to inject her with enough anesthetic to take down an Ursa. Then I had to throw her out the window."
"Yeah, she doesn't like listening to authority." Touma said, deciding to ignore the last bit. "So, can I let my friends know they can visit?"
"Pretty sure they are waiting anxiously if their reactions when they first brought you in were any indication." Tsune turned and opened a cabinet. "I'm going to give you a little pick me up that should help with any leftover weariness and speed up your natural healing."
She turned around with a needle in her hand, withdrawing some purple liquid from a jar.
"Isn't that needle a little big?" Touma asked nervously.
"Ever try to puncture Aura? You need a lot of force. Normal needles just break."
"But I don't have Aura!"
"Ah, right." Tsune looked at the needle and shrugged. "It's out anyway and it would just be a waste to change now."
"Pretty sure that spear would cause more damage than it would help!"
"Huh. I remember someone else saying something similar. Now, hold still; it's going to hurt if I miss."
Touma's cry of pain could be heard down the corridor.
"There's a reason people tend to avoid Tsune," Yang said to Touma. "She's not gentle."
"You don't have to tell me," Touma muttered, rubbing his arm. "I found out it was some kind of Dust injection, so it wouldn't affect me anyways."
He was surrounded by Blake, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss. Last Order had stopped by but left earlier to wait for Accelerator. Neo was mysteriously absent.
This was worrying.
"Surprised Ozpin didn't tell her," Yang admitted. "Or maybe she just wanted to see it for herself."
"It's most likely the latter," Weiss huffed. "There's no way the headmaster would forget such an important detail."
"How did finding that Grimm go?" Touma asked. "It's good to see you all came back better off than I did."
"This is what we have been trained for," Ruby pointed out, oddly sounding a lot more reserved than usual. "What happened on your end?"
"I already told you," Blake muttered. "The White Fang showed up to do some recruiting, recognized us, and a fight broke out. It didn't help they killed the mayor for some reason." Silence fell over the group and many hands were clenched. "That action alone prevented the villagers from joining them willingly."
"I wanted Touma to tell us." Ruby huffed, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, Blake, you leave out way too many details." Chimed in Yang before directing her attention at Touma. "So? Come on. How did you get all those wounds? You usually see White Fang members use Dust rifles. Yet most of your injuries were from blades."
Blake's lips tightened from behind the others and only Touma had caught it.
She doesn't want the others to know about Adam.
"There's not much to tell," Remarked Touma with a shrug. "We were patrolling around the edge of town and noticed several Bullheads landing. At the time, we didn't think too much of it, until we saw a couple of soldiers bursting into houses. Blake knocked one out and we continued to investigate."
"Which was a rash decision," Weiss huffed and shot a heated glance in Blake's direction. "She should have known better than to put a civilian's life at risk."
"It's not her fault," Came Touma's defense, dismissing it with his hand and causing Blake to smile in gratitude. "I kind of pushed her to let me come along. You guys were out of range so it wasn't like we could contact you. More importantly, people were getting hurt, so we had to do something about it."
Ruby beamed at the sound of that, though Yang and Weiss rolled their eyes. Seems they heard something similar from Blake already.
"Yeah, yeah." Yang waved her hand. "We heard all the excuses. No time to get help. People were being dragged out of houses. Blake's good at making excuses." Blake replied by elbowing Yang in the ribs. "Good job you two on making them retreat though."
"At least Blake didn't hijack a Bullhead and chase them down." Weiss muttered and Yang covered her mouth with her hand to hide her snickering.
"He was injured," Blake stated firmly. "Providing first aid was a priority."
"Sooo, if he wasn't, you would have gone and stolen a Bullhead to chase them down?" Yang prodded.
Blake's silence spoke volumes.
"Damn it, Blake." Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. Ruby took advantage of her being occupied to push up next to Touma and lean on the bed.
"So, how did you get injured?" She demanded. "You were covered in cuts… like something chewed you up and spat you out."
"One of the White Fang was pretty good with a sword." Touma replied in all truthfulness. "I think he recognized me from Mt. Glenn and only wanted to scare me away, rather than actually kill me. I wouldn't back down and he had to get serious. Blake fought him a lot better than I could." He glanced down at his hand. "My powers aren't ideal for facing people."
"You need a weapon." Ruby told him plainly.
"I have no experience with any."
"We could change that while you're here." Ruby beamed at him.
"Just agree," Yang advised. "Trust me. She doesn't take rejection well. Go and get all sweaty with her in the training rooms."
"YANG!"
"Ignoring their juvenile drabble," Interjected Weiss. "No doubt we have kept you waiting long enough about the mutated Grimm." Touma nodded and sat up a bit straighter. "Our suspicions were correct. Wellen was responsible for it. From its increased intelligence, to ice powers, to the ability to lead other Grimm. How he did that, we still have no idea. That monster had to be taken care of. Qrow managed to behead it… and it still talked."
"Again, no idea how magic works." Touma said quickly.
"Argh… I'm not blaming you. I'm just frustrated." Weiss sighed and sat down on one of the seats surrounding his bed. "Listen, you know the situation on Remnant isn't the greatest. Now we have to deal with someone from your world causing even more troubles. To make matters worse, most of the people are unaware, which only increases the threat."
Touma opened his mouth but Ruby came to his rescue.
"It's not his fault!" Ruby protested. "He and Accelerator were forced here helping their friend."
"I know that and I'm not blaming them." Weiss had stiffened at Accelerator's name. "It's just Wellen is from their world and neither of them understand his powers enough to explain how he is doing any of this. Your uncle told us the implications of what that Beowolf represented."
"If a Beowolf could be turned into that," Ruby said, parroting what she had been told. "There is no telling what older and more powerful Grimm could be turned into. There's also the risk of multiple Beowolves being turned into that too. One was tough, but dozens at once?"
"That ice…" Yang rubbed the spot where the Beowolf's claw had scraped her. "It felt kind of like dry ice. It burned so badly with just a scratch. Aura only provided some defense against it."
"Isn't Aura one of your main defenses against the Grimm?" Touma asked.
"That's exactly the problem," Blake answered. "This 'magic' from your world isn't Aura, but pretends to be something similar. Humanity developed Aura to fight against Grimm. Now Grimm can develop their own power to overcome Aura. It's a biological arms race, one we would be on the losing end of in the long run."
"I take it you guys discussed this in detail?" Touma looked at each one of the girls in turn as they confirmed his suspicion.
"We had some time while you recovered," Ruby explained. "Weiss has full notes if you want to see them."
"Taking notes is a good way to organize one's thoughts!" Weiss protested.
"Perfectionist," Yang teased. "Still, it's helping to keep track of what we learned." She shrugged. "Maybe we can find out a clue on how your magician friend is doing all this."
"Sorry I can't be of more help." Touma apologized.
"We don't even know everything about our own world." Blake said. "It would be hypocritical to expect you to know everything about yours."
"Even if it is a little frustrating." Weiss added under her breath, causing Ruby to elbow her in the side.
"Oh," Ruby added, as if she suddenly remembered something. "Did the White Fang bring any Grimm or anything with them?"
"Huh?" Touma wasn't the only one confused. The rest of her team looked at her too. "Not that I was aware of. It was just a couple dozen troops. I think? Didn't really get a chance to count them." He frowned. "Why?"
"Well…" Ruby paused for a moment. "Uncle Qrow told me to head back to Relotem to warn you and Blake about the Ice Grimm thing."
Touma's stomach dropped.
Had she seen it?
Yang and Weiss didn't look surprised at the information, so they must have known. There was only a little curiosity aimed at her question. Blake, on the other hand, frowned and her eyes flashed for an instant. Touma knew Blake had seen that thing. There was no way she couldn't have missed it. She also seemed to have told her teammates a slightly different tale than what had actually happened. Ruby's question implied she saw it.
Subtly was not her strong point.
"When I got near the city," Ruby continued. "I heard something yell. It sounded like a roar from a large Grimm and I assumed the worst. I was delayed in getting into the city and by the time I arrived, the White Fang was already retreating. Blake was carrying you and I ended up helping her drag you to their medical facility."
"She did." Blake confirmed with a nod.
While her expression remained neutral, she knew Ruby was hiding something.
Ruby was not a good liar.
Technically everything she said was true, but Touma and Blake could tell she knew something more. Weiss and Yang didn't have any reason to suspect her. The question was how much she knew. Had she just seen it or had she witnessed where it had come from? Had she heard what Adam and Blake were talking about? There were a lot of unanswered questions.
Ruby on the other hand was proud of herself. When Blake had told the rest of the team about what happened, there was no mention of some weird semi-transparent dragon. There was no way Ruby had imagined that so the only conclusion was that Blake was hiding the information for some reason. Touma had been unconscious when she woke so he might have been in the same position. She had only asked that question to see if he knew anything. It didn't seem like he was lying but part of her felt like he just wasn't saying anything. He probably didn't want to frighten them if he did see that thing.
So noble.
"So how long you stuck here?" Yang asked. "Hope you don't have to endure the food here for very long. Trust me, it's bad."
"How would you know?" Asked Weiss skeptically. "Don't you normally send other people here?"
"Ozpin and Goodwitch make me hand them a written apology sometimes." She shrugged. "I've seen the food."
Weiss rolled her eyes. Yang sometimes got over eager during spars and then there were anger issues.
For example: never mess with her hair.
"What Yang means is that she's worried how badly you were injured." Blake translated.
"That's what I said."
"Most of the damage was only skin deep and healed up easily enough." Touma reassured them. "Tsune just wants to keep me under observation because of the blood loss. If there're no complications, which there shouldn't, then I can leave first thing in the morning."
"Sounds like there isn't any lasting damage," Ruby said with a smile. "That's great!"
"Has Team JNPR and Accelerator returned?" Touma asked conversationally.
"Haven't heard anything from them yet," Weiss said, once again stiffening slightly at the mention of Accelerator. "Our mission finished early due to… unforeseen interference." Blake's bow twitched. "They probably won't return for another day or two at least."
"Has Neo stopped by?" Ruby asked.
"Kind of surprised she isn't here." Weiss admitted.
"She was here." Touma pointed to the apple. "She brought that."
"Really?" Yang and Blake asked in unison.
Neo being generous? That was a new one to all of them.
"I find that hard to believe." Weiss admitted.
"I did too. Read the note."
Weiss eyed him suspiciously, but otherwise did what he asked. A second later she passed it to Yang, who gave it to Blake.
"Okay, I'm convinced."
"Then let's give him some rest," Blake suggested as she heard someone in the distance. "We can talk about these matters later with everyone else."
"I'll make sure to bring you something to read so you don't get bored." Ruby promised.
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Probably a weapon magazine." Yang suggested after the hospital door closed behind them.
"Naturally," Ruby agreed, completely missing the sarcasm. "He's got to see how cool weapons are so I can persuade him to let me help him make one."
"And here I thought you making people's weapons was reserved for family." Yang teased. "Is there something I should know about you two? Should I be expecting a wedding invite soon?"
"Yang! No!" Ruby protested, her face reddening. "I just want to help him out as thanks for helping us so much."
"I think she's already building something," Weiss added, tapping her chin in thought. "I saw some designs earlier today. Wouldn't be surprised if she already started on it."
"That's supposed to be a surprise!" Ruby cried and bolted off in a flash, leaving rose petals behind. She needed to hide her gift before the others blabbed to Touma about it.
"I have a few things I need to go over," Weiss told the other two. "I'll see you around."
Blake gave a small wave as she watched Weiss depart. She herself was about to head off to the library when Yang grabbed her shoulder.
"Not so fast, kitty-kat," Yang said seriously, pulling Blake after her.
"What is it now?" Blake demanded exasperatedly.
"Not here." Yang looked around and ducked into an empty classroom. "In private."
"...okay?" Blake raised an eyebrow. Yang sounded unusually serious. She hadn't done anything wrong lately so she was curious about what Yang wanted. The door closed with a click and Yang turned to face her.
"I know something happened between you and Touma during the fight with the White Fang." Blake suddenly felt her blood run cold. "I'm not sure what, but I'm pretty sure Ruby saw it. She hasn't told me what she saw. Whatever that secret is, she is guarding it closely." Yang's eyes bore into Blake. "What happened?"
"…nothing."
Blake was normally a good liar. This time Yang's sudden attack lowered her defenses.
"Bullshit." Yang slammed a hand on the wall over Blake's shoulder with a thud. "What… happened?"
"We fought the White Fang and he was injured, like we said."
"No, I know something else happened. Was there Grimm? That was a strange question she asked."
"No, not Grimm." Blake strained to avoid averting her eyes.
"Damn it." Yang must have seen something in Blake's expression because she turned around and muttered darkly. "I think I know what happened."
"…Which is?"
Blake, feeling confident, crossed her arms defiantly. There was no way Yang would suggest something like what she saw. The closest she could expect was a strange Grimm that might have caused the wounds on the boy.
"Ruby caught you two making out after that battle, didn't she?"
All defiance left Blake's expression as her mouth fell halfway open, her eyes widened, and her brain shut down. Out of anything that could have been said, she did not expect that. Any comeback was lost from the shock. Unfortunately, Yang took her silence as an indication that her guess had been correct.
"I know this was going to happen eventually." Yang sighed and shook her head. "We knew she had feelings for him and you like him too. It was bound to happen because she refused to make any kind of move. I'm not blaming you, Blakey. You two just finished fighting for your lives. He probably took a blow for you to save your life." Blake was surprised how accurate this part was. "After the enemies retreated; you rushed to his side, held him in your arms, and screamed his name. Consciousness fading, he reassures you by patting your head. You lean in, lips meeting his, and that is when Ruby sees you. Her mind probably would be imagining a lot more than just a thank you kiss."
The gears in Blake's brain began to turn again.
"Have you been reading my romance novels?" Blake asked.
"Your smut? Occasionally, when I'm waiting for Weiss to get out of the shower."
"It's adult-romance literature!"
"Smut with plot then."
"You're terrible." Groaned Blake, raising her hand to cover her face for a moment, before it was removed as she sighed. "Listen, that didn't happen. Ruby showed up right when I started lifting him up after he lost consciousness. I didn't kiss him, hug him or do anything remotely intimate in any way. Nor him to me. We were fighting for our lives."
"Nothing happened to cause her to freak out at you two then?"
"No!"
"Then what has her all secretive lately." Yang rubbed her chin.
I'm pretty sure I know, Blake thought, feeling guilty of lying to her partner.
"Well…" Blake finally admitted, knowing this was going to be a mistake. Yang's ears twitched and her expression seemed to glow in anticipation. "The part about him saving me was true. He pushed me out of the way of an attack after I made a mistake."
"Mistake?" Yang frowned. "That doesn't sound like you in a fight."
"I… lost my cool for a second after seeing what the White Fang had become." Yang made a sympathetic noise. "He pushed me out of the way and that's how he got most of his wounds."
"Ah. Hmm, that would upset Ruby, but it doesn't explain why she won't talk about it. Guess I'll have to wait and see." Yang locked eyes with Blake. "Thanks for being honest."
A stab of guilt pierced through Blake's heart at that. Nevertheless, she somehow managed to summon a small smile.
"So…?" The mischief returned to Yang's voice. "What are you going to do to repay him?"
"What do you mean?" Blake's eye narrowed.
"Just seems like he keeps bailing you out of situation after situation." Yang pointed out. "Add to the fact he understands your feelings. Don't think I don't know what you two talk about. You totally have feelings for him. When are you going to tell him? In case you hadn't noticed, he's pretty dense about those sorts of things."
"You want me to hurt your sister?"
"Of course not." Yang waved her hand dismissively. "At the same time, telling you to lay off of him when Ruby can't even confess would make me a terrible friend." She smiled and Blake knew the next suggestion was going to be advice from a terrible friend. "Why not sneak into the med bay tonight and pay him a late night visit?"
"…" Blake's eyes narrowed by a couple margins in quiet fury.
"I bet he's all sweaty," Yang continued. "If you offered him a sponge bath, in some revealing clothes, he wouldn't… can't say no. Tell him you want to repay him, maybe act out some of the scenes from you books."
Yang was lucky looks couldn't kill or she would be six-feet under by now. Because Blake was glaring daggers at her throughout her little 'suggestion'. Still, the cat Faunus couldn't stop herself from mulling over Yang's idea.
Not in the way Yang made it out though.
She needed to talk to him privately. Without the chance of interruption from her teammates or Tsune. That meant she couldn't go during normal visiting hours. Yang's idea of a nighttime visit would solve that problem. Neo would have heard them if she tried to talk to him in their room. Blake doubted Neo would be watching him all night. However, Yang would surely be waiting to tease her the moment Blake got back. Likely drilling her for details about all the erotic things the two had done. Thinking it possible to go on the attack first; a plan began to form in Blake's mind.
Shoot, Touma might even play along with it afterwards.
"Let's say I wanted to," Blake stated carefully and her words seemed to confuse Yang for a moment. "There's no way I could with you knowing about it. I would have to listen to your constant teasing and terrible puns."
"So if I promise not to tease you about sinking your claws into him you will do it?" Blake raised an eyebrow. "Had to get it out of my system."
Got her. The corners of Blake's mouth twitched ever so slightly.
"Alright," Blake opened the door and stepped out of the room. "If you do that, I'll go and visit him tonight; maybe act out page 195."
Yang's mouth fell open.
"Wait!" She cried, rushing out the classroom door. "How did you know which book I had?"
"I recognized the scene you described."
Ozpin had several issues to deal with.
The first was the report from Qrow.
"Are you sure killing the Intelligent Grimm caused this?" Ozpin tried to clarify.
"In all honesty, no." Qrow rubbed his head from the other end of the call. Ozpin had him stay behind while Team RWBY and Touma returned. They had to make sure the town was safe from all threats; whether it was White Fang or the Grimm. "After we killed it and Wellen took over, that fear comment… Grimm were still heard in the distance until then. After that, all the noise stopped."
"So you think it had to be something else?" Ozpin asked.
"We took out a large number of Grimm," Qrow explained. "Even if there were a lot more than what we were told about, the village should be safe. I did a sweep around the perimeter to check and see if there were more. You know what I saw?"
"What?"
"Grimm, fleeing away from civilization towards the heart of the Grimm Wilds." Qrow's face grew dark. "It was like when you showed me their reaction to the boy's hand. This time, he wasn't even there."
"I don't know if Mr. Kamijou has the ability to protect an area once he leaves." Ozpin said neutrally, though his mind was processing all the new information. "If he stays in an area for long periods of time, the effect seems to spread. I wonder if something happened during the White Fang attack that caused him to leave… a mark?"
"Like how dogs pee and mark their territory?" Qrow laughed. "Hey, if that's true, maybe get him to pee around Vale and see what that does."
"I don't think it would be quite that simple." Ozpin smiled briefly. "I will let you know if that is true. Can you say for certain that Relotem is safe?"
"Probably the safest place in the kingdom until his mark wears off."
"Thank you," Ozpin told him gratefully. "Sorry to have to make you do all this. Do one more sweep and then return. I have a feeling we will need you close at hand."
"Whatever. You better have a room with alcohol stocked for me or I'm demanding a pay raise."
"You will have to talk to Glynda about that. She handles our finances."
"I'll tell her you OK'd cutting the coffee budget."
"I'll see what I can do."
Ozpin cut the line and sighed. Of course Glynda wouldn't believe Qrow. She had been trying to cut their coffee budget for years. It's just she would use Qrow's statement as an excuse and pass off the blame. On a more serious note, the information about the Grimm's flight was something worth investigating. If Touma had indeed done something to guard an area, this could be a turning point. Its usefulness depended entirely on how long the effect would last.
"It's a shame his stay here won't be too much longer it seems." He muttered.
The reason for his statement laid on his desk. An unassuming black box laid there. It wasn't painted. The metal itself was black and unlike anything he had seen before. There were no markings and the surface was seamless. It wasn't big, maybe the size of a brick. If Ozpin had seen it laying around, he wouldn't have paid it a second thought. The reason it was a curiosity was how it got onto his desk. He had just been sitting in his office pretending to do paperwork, knowing Glynda would do it eventually, when he was interrupted.
Interrupted by a flash of green light.
He nearly fell out of his chair when the black box appeared out of nowhere on his desk. Unsure what it was, he tapped it with the end of his cane. There was a chance it was a prank by some of his students. Instead, a familiar voice seemed to resonate from the box.
"Hello, Ozpin."
It had been a number of years since Ozpin had heard that voice.
"It is a shame that the breach in the Veil between our worlds was only open long enough for me to send this short message. I do apologize if you have any questions. Thank you for creating a small interdimensional explosion for us to track down the missing students. Wellen Fischer, the individual who caused the incident, attempted to control forces he should not have. His meddling is what had caused the fluctuations which made it nearly impossible to track their disappearance. Now that I know the dimension they are in, you have saved me months of searching. Thank you. Once the dimensional irregularities calm down, we will be working to get those children home. Additional information will be sent to you in due course. Until then, farewell Ozpin."
Ozpin could replay the message by tapping it as he had done at least two times now. He sighed before standing up and walking over to the window. Aleister was a complicated individual. A genius but also an enigma. You always had to be careful of people from another world. Their morals and values may not match your own. Accelerator proved their powers can also be leagues apart. Ozpin enjoyed the view for a few minutes before starting a fresh pot of coffee.
He was going to need it.
Anger.
Hatred.
Hunger.
Touma trashed in his bed as those feelings made it difficult to sleep. Weirdly, he didn't think they were his feelings. It was like they were part of him and yet not. His right arm tingled as though something was moving beneath it. Yet, everytime he checked it, there was nothing visible. There was an occasional sharp stabbing pain that disappeared as fast as it appeared. Almost like an insect bite. It made sleeping difficult. The quiet was also getting to him. Beacon's medical bay was pretty much deserted excluding himself. Yang had been right about students trying to avoid visiting Tsune, not that he blamed them.
The place she injected that… needle didn't begin to describe that monstrosity… into him still hurts too.
He managed to get a little bit of sleep, but kept waking up with the strangest feeling that something was moving his right hand. Everytime he looked, it was completely fine. It was probably just nerves after the stressful mission and he still cursed himself for letting the mayor die. That guy may have been crude, but he was still a person who was entrusted to protect his home. Touma felt frustration well up within him at the thought. Not at anyone particularly but his own uselessness.
His wrist suddenly felt like it was on fire and he sat up in the bed instantly.
"Was I too loud?"
Touma nearly had a heart attack at the voice. He turned in panic to the window sill and saw a familiar girl.
Blake.
She wasn't smiling, but her face held a soft expression. A hand pushed some of her hair back over her ear. Touma's eyes then traveled downwards and took in what she wore. Instead of her uniform or combat attire that he was used to, she was wearing something else. A black, long-sleeved, yukata-style shirt with white edging over a purple undershirt, and a matching skirt. A black obi was wrapped around her waist and her usual bow still adorned her head. From her position, the yukata revealed a good part of her legs, up to her thighs, and his eyes lingered on the pale skin for a fraction longer than the rest of her. The fractured moon was behind her, casting her in its pale light and making her look all the more mysterious.
Okay, I'm still dreaming. There is no way Blake is here in the middle of the night. I'm not that lucky.
Even as the thought came and went through his head, Touma knew it wasn't true. Things felt too real. Neo might have been willing to play a trick like this to get Blake in trouble, but the girl actually talked. He calmed his nerves, forced his eyes up to meet hers, and managed to choke out a few words.
"Blake…? Why are you-…?"
"We need to talk."
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter. Remember, everything is SilverFang's fault.
SF88: Fuck you Dark, give me more Neo scenes you shit-bag.
Also, it came to my attention from a reader Tsune was invented by Coeur Al'Aran, a popular RWBY writer. I knew she was from some fic but couldn't remember which one. As she started to have more than a passing name in the story, (Might have also made a reference to the story she was in. Heh.) I simply wanted to make sure he got full credit for her. Anytime someone helps out with my stories or I get an idea from them, I want to make sure they get credit.
The following chapter will be the last one of this arc. Please have any last minute ship names by then. The next chapter will have my current list. Also, per SilverFang's yelling and threatening to steal my keys, next chapter will have some Neo scenes.
SF88: There damn well better be or I take your keys and quit.
Omake: Yang's Nightmare
Yang was making her way to Team TAN's dorm room.
Alright, Blake. Time for you to come back. It's been a week.
Yang had bribed Ruby to take Last Order and Neo away from the room. The last thing she needed was for one of those two to barge in as she was convincing Blake to come back. In all fairness, Accelerator would probably be onboard for Blake to leave, so his presence didn't matter. As Yang approached the door, she heard something that made her stop.
A woman gasped, followed by a very noticeable and erotic cry.
Oh, this is great.
Yang couldn't believe it. Blake was having some alone time while everyone else was out of the room. It wasn't like Yang didn't appreciate her own alone time, you just didn't do it during the day when people could walk in at any moment. Figuring this wasn't a good time, she planned to leave and come back in an hour, when another voice made her freeze on the spot.
This time, she heard a male grunt.
Immediately, Yang pressed herself against the door to listen. The sounds of both male and female were coming through, followed by a cry of ecstasy. Yang's smile couldn't be any broader.
Yes! They finally did it. Looks like Blake finally sunk her claws into Touma. Oh, Blakey. Good job. You needed some stress relief.
Her eyes darted to the doorknob and she grinned. It would be hilarious to barge in on them if they left the door unlocked. They sounded like they were done so it would be the perfect time. She slowly turned the knob and found it unlocked. Her grin widening, she threw the door open and barged in.
"Hey, don't mind me! Blake? You busy?"
"Huh?" To Yang's horror, it wasn't Touma that sat up in one of the beds.
It was Accelerator.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Heh." Yang rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Looking… for Blake. Didn't mean to interrupt."
"You always had bad timing. Ever since you were born."
Yang froze on the spot.
The woman emerged from the covers, her black hair spilling everywhere. Besides that, she looked very much like an older Yang.
"M-mom?!" Yang gasped. "W-what… h-how… why?!"
"Accelerator and I met during their last mission and hit it off." Raven answered, the sheets barely covering her naked torso.
"She promised listening to her would be worth my while." He put his hands behind his head and leaned up against the wall. "Turns out she was right."
"So say hello to your new dad." Raven added.
"Who's your daddy now?" Accelerator asked, smirking.
Yang's scream could be heard on the moon.
"What's wrong, Yang?"
Yang's eye bulged out of her head when Ruby's head emerged from under the sheets at the foot of the bed.
"I was just about to play with Aunt Raven's kitty and Uncle Accelerator's snake!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Yang bolted straight up in her bed that night only to be hit by three pillows from her roommates, who were trying to sleep.
