Atlas at the Schnee manor
{Justin/Achilles' perspective}
I woke up to the sound of thunder. Normally it doesn't bother me since I was born in Arizona. However, before I woke up I had a dream. It wasn't very long nor was it direct like my others.
An Arizonian Cardinal was resting on my shoulder as I looked out onto a seacliff. The Cardinal was singing a tune that sounded vaguely similar to Alright by Darius Rucker. A storm cloud formed in the distance and inches only closer.
So I did what anyone would do after that, I got up, put my arm on, then threw my coat over my shoulders, mostly because I didn't feel like putting it on all the way at that moment and went for a walk around the mansion.
Luckily no one is awake at this hour, I'd rather they not see me at this moment.
And so there I sat in front of the Schnee manor's statue in their backyard. I sat there staring at the shattered moon and the clouds forming underneath it for god only knows how long until I felt a tap on my shoulder.
My fiance joined me, sitting beside me. "Hey love, are you alright?"
I shook my head. "I had a dream… And this one was more vague than my previous ones."
She gave me a puzzled expression. "Ok… So what was your dream?"
I took a moment before answering "A cardinal was resting on my shoulder singing a familiar song."
She was still confused. Of course she is.
"Cardinals symbolize the death of a loved one." I explained. "And I have some pretty good guesses as to who it is."
"Oh…" Her expression softened. "Well… if you need anything, I'm here for you, ok love?"
I smiled and nodded "Thanks I appreciate it."
She seemed unsatisfied with that answer. So she grabbed me and pulled me into her chest. "I mean it, you can talk to me. Don't do what you always do and be Stoick the Vast though it."
"I don't always-"
Jocelyn cut me off "Yes you do. You always hide your emotions until you explode, it's unhealthy for you. Happened before, happened recently at Beacon, and I refuse to let it happen again."
I found myself unable to resist her embrace. She's definitely gotten stronger.
"So… Just for tonight, let yourself fall apart." She told me with sincerity.
At that sentence, I couldn't hold my tears back.
She picked my head up with a smile and told me "I'll be here to pick up the pieces."
Just like that, I let myself fall apart. I couldn't help it, I was a mess. I don't know who died, but I know there were people there I was close to.
She held me close and let me let my emotions out.
Morning came faster than I expected. She tapped my shoulder to let me know she had to leave. I went back into the manor where Weiss was looking for me.
"Where have you been?"
I held my head as I answered, "I needed some fresh air, and I ended up falling asleep under the stars."
She took a closer look at me. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered.
She crossed her arms at me. "Then why are your eyes all red?"
"I smoked a bit of cannabis." I answered half-hazardly as I walked past her.
She blocked my path once again. "What is cannabis?" She asked.
"A drug, one that can relieve stress. Now if you'll excuse me." I turned the opposite way Weiss was "I need to be alone for a while. I'm not exactly in the right headspace."
I then walked away towards the front door.
I spotted Jacques trying to stop me or something. I don't really know, I don't really care. I brushed past him and out the door.
Eventually I found my way to the gate and walked in a general direction.
I put in my headphones and listened to a random playlist I downloaded.
On my walk, I glanced up at the sky. Not with any thought, but with serenity.
Eventually I guess I found my way into town. Which wasn't far all things considered.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned to see some well dressed boys who seemed angered by me.
I paused my music with a sigh "What do you want?"
"You're the Vermilion staying at the Schnee manor right?" One of them asked with their hand in their pocket.
I don't think he's being as inconspicuous as he seems to think. "How many times must I answer this question? It's getting rather annoying."
One of them stepped up to me "Is that a yes I'm hearing?"
I rolled my eyes "Sure, just hurry up with… whatever you're planning. I've got places to do and things to be."
They laughed "He's not educated!" one of them exclaimed.
I then turned and walked in the opposite direction.
They stopped me.
"Don't you boys have homeless people to harass?"
Their leader, or whatever they are, stepped up to me "What's wrong? Scared of true power?"
I glanced around before asking "Why where is it?"
He gestured to himself "You're looking at it, peasant."
"All I see is someone trying to look intimidating but miserably failing at it and looking about as intimidating as burnt toast with the butter side down on the sidewalk in the middle of Vacuo."
He raised an eyebrow at me out of confusion.
I sighed "You're gross to look at is what I'm saying."
He got very angry at that "Oh you think you're so clever. You don't have any power here in Atlas. If you lay one hand on me, Ironwood will see you behind bars!"
I raised my left arm and asked "Oh the same one who provided this to me without me asking? That Ironwood?"
I then lowered it "In case you couldn't tell or are too dense to see it, I'm a huntsman. I was at the VYTAL festival. I fought one of your teams and WON. So forgive me if I'm not shaking in my boots at some soy boys who want to feel like a three-bit gangster. But coming off as privileged boys who have never been told no all their life."
That got them riled up.
The one with his hands in his pockets pulled a knife and pointed it at my neck "You think you're being cute with us?"
"Bitch I'm adorable."
Knife guy went to attack me. He swung overhead which you should never do with a knife like his, since the blade was only 3 inches.
I grabbed his knife by the blade with my robot hand and pulled him close to disarm him and throw the knife away.
A guy behind me yelled as he charged at me.
A swift kick to his abdomen made him fall to the ground.
Then the last guy I grabbed by the collar and as I raised my robotic fist, I heard the sound of the blade popping out of it.
I glanced back at it then him.
I then threw him to the ground as the blade retracted "No, your blood isn't worth soaking my hands in."
I then turned back to the Schnee manor. Because APPARENTLY I can't just go for a walk without some entitled asshole trying to mug me or something.
So eventually I made my way back and to my surprise, Weiss was there.
She spoke up but I didn't hear anything.
I made my way back to where their symbol was and eventually heard Weiss ask "What has gotten into you lately? You've been way more silent than before. Please just talk to me!"
I turned back to her to see a white feather fly across our vision. I stared at it hovering just above the ground for a moment before flying off again.
I tracked its movements until I could no longer see it.
"Where did that come from?" Weiss asked.
"A family member." I mumbled.
I turned back to Weiss "I just need a day of silence, then I'll answer your questions. Ok?"
She gave an understanding nod "Alright, I trust you."
And with that, she finally left me alone to think.
Village in Anima around the same time
{Aaron's perspective}
"So you want Ruby on the roof, and the rest around your house?" I asked.
Victoria nodded "Of course, If there's one thing Vermilions are good at, it's not going down without a fight."
Unlike what your family's history says.
It was then we heard something that sounded like thunder. Followed by a hole being made throughout the house.
It made the rest of us jump except Victoria who just stared at the hole annoyed.
So we went outside with Ruby using her semblance to get onto the roof.
We were greeted by the sight of thousands of hooded individuals who had their weapons drawn.
One of them stepped forward "If it isn't Moon Shadow, the one who only delayed us at the warehouse."
Everyone turned to me.
"Wait, you did what?" Victoria asked.
"They kidnapped that girl up there, Ruby, I wanted to rescue her and break a few bones to release all my stress." I answered.
"Did it help?" She asked.
"No, not really." I answered truthfully. "I need to break more bones before that happens."
The leader of the pack held his hand out "We could use someone with your skillset. Just tell us where that other Vermilion is and turn on your party and we'll gladly accept you into our ranks."
"Yeah no thank you, I don't want to sell out my friend. And I definitely will not turn on my party."
The leader chuckled "The Vermilions need to pay for what they've done. They are not your allies."
"None of that was proven!" Yelled Victoria.
I turned to her inquisitive of what happened "What wasn't proven?"
She shrugged "There's been rumors we committed atrocities to humanity and faunus kind. But like I said, none of that was proven."
Oh my god… the Vermilions may have committed war crimes… But if it isn't proven then I guess I'll have to find a way to help Justin clear the Vermilion name. Which will be tough considering the only thing that it states is something happening with no context.
The leader seemed to have noticed me figuring things out and said "We will redeem you! Just tell us where Achilles Vermilion is."
I then yelled "You can redeem deez nuts!" While thrusting my pelvis at them and gesturing to it.
Everyone aside from Yang, who was quietly snickering, stared at me in shock.
{What hell is like- Fozzy}
Their leader seemed pissed "Very well. You've sealed your fate. Men, Advance!"
And so, the chaos started. I stuck with Yang and Nora due to us being the heaviest hitters.
Yang on my left threw a right hook into a cloaked guy who was trying to flank us. Nora on the right sent one of them into a home run.
Somewhere behind me I heard Ruby taking shots at any target she saw. As well as hearing Victoria firing her revolver she named Nemesis.
Yang and I ended up back to back as we were surrounded.
We glanced back at each other with a nod.
One tried to slash at Yang. She dodged as I threw a punch at his face which made him go flying into some other guys charging us.
She grappled a guy and threw him at me while she morphed into another hook to a second guy.
I punched the guy Yang threw in the gut then grabbed his throat and slammed him into the ground.
Nora slammed her hammer into one guy, then a second, then a third.
I loaded Okada with lightning dust ahead of time. So I teleported to Nora and sent a bolt of electricity towards her.
The bolt hit her hammer which turned from yellow to pink as it translated into her semblance. Which hit three guys in a row, sending them into the trees.
I eventually found myself face to face with the leader.
I could see his yellow eyes glaring at me with disgust "Why must you fight us? We only wish the best for Remnant!"
"Because you guys scream "We're an evil cult." and I ain't gonna be a part of two cults."
He gave me a confused look.
An opening.
I charged in with my right arm raised.
He raised his weapon, which was just a blade that looked like one of the ones that Junior's goons had. And tried to hack at me.
I teleported behind him as his blade almost touched my head. I kicked him into the dirt which prompted him to dodge my follow up attack and try to hit at me from the side.
I dodged that with my semblance and said "Dude you suck."
Enraged he continually swung his weapon at me which I dodged until Victoria came up behind him and pistol whipped his head.
She leveled Nemesis at the man as she deadpanned "It's over Saffron. Your troops have fallen."
He growled as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a bomb.
I went to try to block the explosion, however the man named Saffron threw it to the ground. The result was an eruption of smoke which made me cough.
All of the troops he brought with him did the same with his voice echoing "You may have won this battle Victoria Vermillion, but know that Apostolis will win the war!"
Victoria looked around as she retorted "I look forward to seeing him when he decides to stop being a coward."
I glanced around to see that Pyrrha was being tended to by Jaune. The two were having a conversation that worried me.
I ran over to them "What happened?" I asked louder than I anticipated as I ran towards them, ending my momentum with a slide on my knees until I was right next to them.
Jaune flinched with my voice "It's just a couple of scratches. Pyrrha's fine."
Glancing down at her wounds, some of them weren't enough to pierce her flesh too deep. Which is good.
Last time I'm going to lose track of where she is though. I'll have to check in case any of them were cheap and poisoned their blades.
Victoria cleared her throat. "Aaron was it? May I speak to you?"
Victoria pulled me aside and handed me Nemesis.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I want you to hand this to my son." She answered.
I glanced down at it. Now that I have a better look at it, it's got red and black all over it. The overall design reminds me of the Wingman from Apex Legends and Titanfall 2. "Why though? Isn't this yours?"
She shook her head "It belonged to my father, and his father before him." She explained. "It's gotta stay in the family. And as much as I hate to admit this, I'm an aging woman, I can't keep fighting much longer."
I picked it up and inspected it some more. It had quite a few scratches, probably from the years it's been in service. Both from Grimm and humans alike. She then told me "Tell my son when you see him that I love him. And I wish him the best."
I nodded at her "I will. Don't worry."
She gave a sweet smile. She then turned around and walked through the crowd "Feel free to make yourselves at home. Afterall, the village might think differently about you now that you've helped me."
"Thanks, We appreciate it." Ruby thanked Victoria while she was heading back inside.
"Anytime. You know little red, you remind me of my younger self." She then yawned, "I'm getting too old for shit like this." She then disappeared inside.
We soon followed with our stuff from the room the villagers gave us, which they rebuked due to what they considered "Behavioral problems"
So yeah, we're crashing in Victoria's house for the time being so we can recuperate.
Atlas, Schnee Manor
{Justin/Achilles' perspective}
So I settled down on the floor beside Weiss' bed.
"Are you sure you don't want to be on the bed with me?" she asks.
I reply "No, I'm fine Weiss, I've slept in worse conditions."
"It won't do your back any favors."
I shrugged " I'll be fine. This might even realign my spine."
She raised an eyebrow out of concern.
"Well not important at the moment. Good night."
And like that, I shut my eyes and eventually drift off into sleep.
Eventually I heard the crackle of fire. I opened my eyes to look around, however, it appeared I was in a void. With only a bonfire and a man sitting beside it. "It's good to see you again Justin" The old man said with a smile.
I immediately recognized him as my grandpa from Arizona. "Papa…?"
He patted the area next to him and beckoned me "Come sit with me. Tell me all about your adventures."
I scooted closer. Normally that would result in the smell of cigarettes from his breath. But here, I guess in the afterlife, it changes people to be as healthy as possible.
He looked about as I remembered him from when I was young. Gray haired and balding. The clothes he was wearing were his blue jeans accompanied by his navy colored shirt. And his signiture leather jacket from when he was a teenager.
I couldn't help but shed tears "This means you and I are now dead like me…" I mumbled.
He nodded "I heard about the crash. I prayed you weren't in that plane. But my worst fears came true when yours and Jocelyn's were among the most recognizable out of the 292 that were recovered."
I drifted my head down below me to see that we were above the A380s from Delta suspended in time before the disaster. "I should be with them… not in another dimension or world or whatever."
Papa placed a hand on my shoulder with a smile on his face. "I think God had other plans for you in that world. If he wanted you to live another life."
"That's the thing Papa," I said with my palm open upwards. "I wouldn't remember my past life if I was reincarnated by him. So why am I able to? And more importantly, why the world of one of my shows?"
I then glanced back down at the accident plane "Something isn't right. I can just feel it. Like my soul as well as my friends and fiance's souls. But… why? Why us?"
He shrugged "That's for you to figure out now. All I can offer is guidance." He glanced at my left arm "You lost that recently right?"
I gave my left arm a good look. Surely enough, it was there, all fleshy and all. Minus the scars left by my cats. "Yeah this one more precisely." I struggled to calm my nerves before explaining "It was cut off by a terrorist. And I've been… struggling."
"It's been hard for you to adjust to this new way of life. Having an arm that isn't organic."
I nodded in agreement "Yeah, it has been. But I've learned to move past my trauma. And try to get back on my feet."
He tilted his head to the side. "So why don't you pick your blade and guns back up?"
"Wait, you know about that?"
He nodded "When I died, God showed me what happened to you recently. He told me to talk to you when I get the chance."
I was too stunned to speak.
"And now I do. And so I will say this:" Papa grabbed my hand and told me "The best way to live your life is to not think of the past or future, but the present. The here and now. You can spend all your life looking over your shoulder worried about what might happen. Or you can prepare yourself for when it does. Remember when I said that?"
I nodded along to his words.
"And don't let your fears rule you. Nothing good will come with it."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, looking back I wish I wasn't so afraid to go on that Transformers ride with you. Or any of those rides from that week."
Papa gave me a warm smile. Then glanced at the fire we were in front of. Oddly enough it gave no heat.
Of course my initial question was "What is this?"
"The flame of ambition." He turned to me, "More specifically yours."
I raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
He then explained "Every living being has an ambition. Some by their own well being, others by others' needs. Yours is to help those who need help. And heal those who need healing." His smile never faded. "Your mother raised you well to make sure you were the best person you could be."
I nodded in agreement once again. "Probably had something to do with my bio dad…"
He glanced up at a sudden bright light that made no noise. He returned his gaze at me and said "Our time is at an end."
"Wait, I still have so many questions!" I yelled.
"All in due time Justin. For now you have a world that needs you." He began to rise as he said his farewell "I'll see you soon. I love you."
"Love you too!"
After that, I awoke with Weiss next to me in her bed. She was rolled over while I was on my back.
She was under her own covers it seemed.
So I turned over not really wanting to get out of bed myself and drifted back to a peaceful sleep.
