CHAPTER LV
This Song I Sing
"Are you sure you're okay?" Yorath said to Ivory as they recovered in an infirmary.
She nodded, taking a deep breath. She most definitely wasn't okay, but she couldn't allow the enemy to know it.
Enemy? Was Yorath really an enemy to her now?
"Where are we?" she said, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Third deck, research wing infirmary," he said.
The research wing. She was nearby. Rather, what was left of her was nearby. She tried to push those horrible images out of her mind, but every time she closed her eyes, all she could see were those chunks of flesh floating around in that vat of liquid, flesh that somehow, perhaps due to some foul magic, was still alive.
"Yorath," she began.
"Yes, Sturmbannführer?" he replied.
"Stop that."
"But, your rank—"
"It's not my rank. This uniform is stolen, remember?"
"Right, but the Oberstgruppenführer—"
"It doesn't matter what he said. The fact is that I was given this rank. I did not earn it."
He shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned, it's rightfully yours. Much of what the country is today is thanks to your ideas years ago, even at such a young age."
She didn't need reminding of the part she had played in sculpting Atlas into its present form. From the prison camps to the labor and human experimentation, they were all her brainchildren. That latter part wasn't directly her idea since she found the concept abhorrent, but it was a mere heartbeat away from forced labor. As far as she was concerned, her hands were stained with blood.
Forgive me, Elise. If your suffering was because of the ideas I came up with years ago, I cannot even face myself in the mirror.
—
Lilly winced in pain as she fell against a wall, putting a hand to her head.
"Lilly!" Ingrid cried before supporting her combat partner. "Are you okay?"
"What happened?" Leon said.
"I'm fine," she said. "I think." She winced again. "Ow. I've never had a migraine like that before."
The group watched as her eyes flashed gold and her demeanor shifted.
"Lilith?" Yuan said.
"Yeah," she answered. "Sorry. It wasn't just Lilly. I suddenly got a headache, too. Not sure what it was."
Echo's scroll rang and she picked up. "Ariadne? Hang on, I'll put you on speaker."
"Okay," Ariadne began, "I just ran a quick scan of the ship and found Ivory. She's in an infirmary several levels above you accompanied by one of her old teammates, Yorath Schtolteheim. From the little I dug up about him, he's quite the fanatic Atlas acolyte. Be careful with him. I'm sending the images to your scrolls now."
They all looked at their devices.
"What the?" Ingrid said.
"That's an SS officer uniform she's wearing," Perseus said.
"The all black thing actually looks pretty good on her," Lilith said.
"It figures," Athena said. "Remember when we were defending Mistral not that long ago? Ivory was the only one out of our team with specific training for warfare against other humans instead of Grimm."
"You're thinking she's probably dressed like this to fit in," Xanthus said.
"That's what I'm hoping. I don't wanna believe that she's really gone over to the other side."
"She hasn't," Lilith said.
"Are you trying to reassure us or yourself?" Perseus said.
"Neither. I'm stating a fact. You guys didn't spend those first few days with her the way Lilly and I did. Down in Mantle, she didn't even recognize the country she grew up in. And she might be good at hiding what she's really thinking underneath that poker face of hers, but she can't stop those thoughts from showing in the Labyrinth when we were over there."
"In any case," Leon began, "we know where to go. Let's get to her ASAP."
"First things first, though," Perseus said as he lined up next to Athena, the two raising their shields to engage a group of enemy soldiers alongside Lilith's knight.
—
Penny stood back to back with Weiss. The latter's magical power was vast, but not infinite. Penny, too, did not have unlimited energy reserves. Had they been fighting only the Grimm, this might be too easy, but there were uncountable numbers of battle androids and those godforsaken Übersoldaten, which the standard Coalition infantry stood no chance against, even in groups.
"I'm sensing magic from some of these special troops," Weiss mumbled.
"Yeah," Penny said. "I'm detecting the same thing. What worries me, though, is the fact that they're able to use it in the real world. Far as any of us knew, only you and Lilly could do that. Not even the youngsters' Wraith-Knights could use their power in this world."
"It must have something to do with whatever enabled the kids to manifest runes on their hands earlier and allowing everybody else to use those rune-embedded gems."
They looked to the distance. The mammoth floating structure was slowly, but steadily approaching them. It wouldn't be long before it was directly on top of Castle Vytal.
"What the hell is their goal?" Weiss said.
"I can think of one thing," Penny said as they turned to each other.
"The Nexus."
Penny nodded. "Still, what exactly are they trying to accomplish with that?"
—
Ivory stood up, surprising Yorath.
"Ivory, I'm serious, you're in no condition to fight," he said.
"I don't care," she said. "I need to get out of here."
"Please—"
"You're not stopping me, Yorath."
"No, but the two of us can stop you together," a familiar voice said from the doorway.
Yorath and Ivory turned to face Demetri, who was dressed in an Atlas infantry officer's uniform. He bore the rank of Oberleutnant.
"Demetri Holland," Yorath said before standing at attention and exchanging salutes with him. "Für immer Atlas."
"Atlas für immer," Demetri said before turning to Ivory, who could barely contain her rage at the sight of his uniform. "My father was right. You do look amazing in that uniform. Although I might have preferred if you were Oberstgruppenführer of your own specialist corps instead of working under someone else."
"Demetri, what are you doing here?" Ivory said, calm as she could possibly be right now.
"Contrary to what I said earlier, I'm not here to stop you."
"What?" Yorath said.
"Yorath, you may have been her teammate for nearly four years, but I grew up with her, and I have been fighting in that other world alongside her for some time now. I know better than most that what she needs to do is not stay somewhere cooped up. Ivory Schnee has always dealt with her troubles by doing."
Yorath glanced between them. "Hmm. You do have a point. Forgive me, part of me is still treating her like someone to be protected when, rather, she can never be kept from spreading her own wings."
"Don't apologize for desiring to keep her safe. I, too, feel the same way. But it is important to realize what must actually be done as opposed to what we wish we could do."
"Absolutely."
Both young men turned to her.
"We are at your command, Sturmbannführer Schnee," they said together with simultaneous salutes.
Ivory made an about-face before marching out of the infirmary with them in tow.
—
Lilith was grappling with an Übersoldat when a splitting headache caused her to lose her balance. Athena saw the misstep and was immediately at her side, but Echo had beaten her to the eye stab with her arrow.
"I forget about your Semblance sometimes," Athena said, finishing off the Übersoldat with her spear.
"Thanks, you two," Lilly said as her eyes flashed gold.
"What happened to Lilith?"
"Ugh, my head."
"Again?"
"Hey, Echo?"
"Hmm?" she said.
"Does your Semblance feel weird right now?"
"Weird how? Cuz I'm getting danger all around us, although of course it spikes whenever the danger is imminent. Why?"
"Never mind. It's nothing."
—
"All right," Yorath said as the trio joined a reserve battalion in a launch hangar. "We'll be launching in five minutes. Our destination is Castle Vytal and our primary objective is to secure the building and occupy it."
"Do we know why?" Demetri said.
"According to the Oberkommando, Castle Vytal holds major military significance. There were no specifics, but my suspicion is that it has something to do with the Nexus underneath the building."
"Another potential rune extraction site, then."
"Perhaps even more than that. I don't think I was meant to see the files, but Castle Vytal's Nexus apparently is even more unpredictable than the ones in our control."
While the two were mid-conversation, Ivory took the chance to run and hop into the latest generation of Atlesian battle-suit, the Paladin-1000.
"Captain!" Yorath yelled, running in pursuit with a number of other SS troopers, but they were all stopped by Demetri, who fought them off physically before hitting them with his Semblance at full power, completely depleting all of their inhibitions. Two of the soldiers began laughing maniacally before gunning down their comrades, but Yorath was quick to cut them down, though it was too late by the time he gained control of the situation.
"Demetri Holland!" he yelled. "What the hell? Are you out of your mind?"
Demetri kept his guard up, glancing over at Ivory. "Get out of here," he said. "Save yourself. And then save our country."
"Demetri!" she yelled. "Don't be a fool!"
"I don't have time for this!" Yorath yelled before activating several runes on his spear. The magical power boost was enough for him to overpower Demetri, even in spite of the latter's close quarter combat prowess. Ivory was helpless to do anything, watching as Yorath repeatedly kicked Demetri in the side until the latter coughed out blood.
"You're the son of our country's Premier!" Yorath spat. "Why? Why would you do such a thing?"
"Because my father is being led astray," Demetri panted, "but you wouldn't know that, since you seem to be in love with Colonel Franz Gottfried."
Yorath kicked him one last time before turning back to Ivory.
"Captain," he pleaded. "Please. This is where you belong. There's no need to run away from your home a second time."
"Home?" she scoffed. "I barely recognize this place you call 'home'."
He winced before activating his runes once more. "I didn't want it to come to this. But I will change your heart. I don't care what it takes. I'd rather it be me who stains my hands for this cause than anyone else. You're my responsibility, after all—"
With the last of his strength, Demetri grabbed onto Yorath from behind with a powerful bear hug.
"What the?" Yorath demanded. "Unhand me at once!"
"Ivory!" Demetri yelled. "Swear to me! Swear you'll live through this and save Atlas! Save the country I love with all of my heart!"
"Demetri!" Ivory yelled, unhooking herself from the battle suit. "Stop! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Stay back!"
Yorath glanced at his captor, recognizing the dark purple light emitting from his forehead.
"You fool!" he yelled. "Are you trying to kill yourself as well?"
"Do you remember him at all, Yorath?" Demetri said.
"What?"
"Your old teammate. Your old combat partner. Your old friend. This is exactly how he chose to die after you betrayed him."
Yorath's face quickly morphed into absolute rage. "Viktor betrayed me! He betrayed this country! When he sided with terrorists against Atlas, he ceased being my friend and became my enemy!"
"You really are lost, aren't you?"
"Demetri!" Ivory screamed as the ultraviolet light on his forehead intensified. "Stop!"
"Mein Körper ist ein Opfer für dieses großartige Land," Demetri muttered as he completed the spell amid Yorath's crazed yelling and cursing.
Ivory shielded herself as the Darkness Rune, powered by Demetri's soul, exploded, leaving a crater of buckled steel on the floor and twisted metal all around. It was exactly like that town square, when she watched her old teammate, Viktor Nikolayev, blow up the gallows and the attending SS officers with a kamikaze rune attack before he could be executed.
Her eyes opened wide as the smoke cleared. There was no trace of her childhood friend, but Yorath was still there, bloody and battered, but alive.
"God damn it," he coughed out blood.
"Demetri," Ivory seethed.
"Fortunately, he didn't feed the Darkness Rune with as many souls as Viktor did. Otherwise, he may have vaporized this entire hangar." He began walking toward her. "Ivory. I'll be the one taking responsibility for you from now on. You may outrank me right now, but I'm taking command since you are clearly unfit for duty until further evaluation."
"You stay the hell away from me!" Ivory yelled, drawing Elfenbein and aiming it at her old teammate.
"I'm sorry, Ivory, for what I have to do now."
He drew his spear, but before he could attack, Renata appeared out of nowhere, stabbing him from behind with her katana. He let out a scream, turning to her with rage on his face before he returned the gesture, plunging his spear into her chest.
Renata winced before pulling him closer and unsheathing a knife she had hidden before stabbing him repeatedly in the side.
"Wasn't exactly how I saw our relationship going," she said to him with a grin.
"Renata!" Ivory screamed.
She turned to her old combat partner. "Sorry, Captain," she said. "I was hoping to get killed in the process of assassinating that Gottfried asshole, but I guess I'll have to settle with the traitor."
"Traitor?" Yorath coughed, his eyes wild with frenzy. "How dare you refer to me that way!"
"Oh, shut the fuck up," Renata said before activating the Darkness Rune on her forehead, upon which Yorath began flailing, but there was no way he was getting away, not with both their weapons impaling them together. "Captain. Sorry to have to leave you like this, but we're counting on you to keep the real Atlas alive. Save our country, Ivory."
Ivory watched helplessly as the explosion of purple light engulfed both of her teammates, leaving no trace of either. A numb feeling took over her, but not for long. The numbness rapidly gave way to the kind of anger she had never allowed herself to feel in her entire life. She found herself screaming at the top of her lungs as something clawed away at her soul from the inside out.
—
Lilly nearly lost consciousness as she fell against the wall.
"Hey!" Echo yelled, catching her before she hit the ground. "Are you all right? Lilly!"
"Y-Yeah," she managed. "I'm just...so cold."
Athena moved to help Echo support Lilly, but enemies were closing in from all sides. Dozens upon dozens of Übersoldaten along with SS special troopers and hundreds of combat androids marched at them.
"Guys!" she yelled. "We need to get to a better position!"
"There's nowhere we can use to funnel them!" Perseus yelled. The Rune of Atonement began to stir. "What the? What's happening?"
Before anyone in the group could react to his Primal Rune's eye opening, they all flashed with their respective colors as their clothing changed.
"Why are we dressed like this?" Ingrid said. "I'm pretty sure we aren't in the Labyrinth."
"Who cares about that right now?" Leon said. "At least now we can fight against these big fuckers!"
—
Team RWBY stood side by side with Team JNPR as the titanic floating fortress settled in place above Castle Vytal. None of their weapons could pierce its shields and their ground defenses had long since been routed. Only the Knights of Remnant could stand against the battalions of magic-wielding SS special soldiers and Übersoldaten, not to mention the swarms of Atlesian Knight-1000 androids.
"Any ideas?" Yang mumbled as she stood back to back with Weiss. Despite the fact that they were surrounded by enemies, they mostly seemed to ignore them, heading straight for the castle's beleaguered defenders instead.
"We have to head to the castle," she said. "We might stand a better chance there."
"What makes you say that?" Jaune said.
"I think I get it," Penny said. "I'll take up the rear. Weiss, can you handle the front?"
"Of course I can," she said before cutting a path through the thick enemy formations with Teams RWBY and JNPR close behind.
"I don't like this feeling," Ren said, standing back to back with Nora, who pulled out her Earth Rune-embedded diamond.
"It's glowing brighter than before," she said, quickly turning her attention to an Übersoldat marching at her. She swung her hammer at its head, surprising herself when she sent the giant thing flying across the castle's upper courtyard.
"What the hell?" Yang scoffed.
"It's not just her," Blake said, noting Ruby's own increased strength. "I think all of our runes just increased in power output."
"Weiss, is that you doing this?" Jaune asked her as he fought against his own Übersoldat.
"No," she said. "What in the world is going on?"
"This is Winter!" their headsets sounded. "Does anyone out there hear me?"
"Team RWBY and JNPR checking in," Weiss said.
"Thank goodness. Are you nearby? The castle perimeter has been breached and they are now heading for the Nexus beneath the structure. We need all available manpower down there at once!"
"What about you?"
"Don't worry about me, Weiss. Defending that Nexus is critical!"
"Could you at least fill us in while we're heading down there?" Yang said, leading the charge.
"It's not an ordinary Nexus," Ariadne replied to her. "I did some cross referencing while the battle went on and, as far as I can tell, the Nexus underneath this castle may very well be a Nexus that is native to Remnant itself."
"That isn't possible," Weiss said. "Nexuses originate from Ecumene. There's no way one naturally occurred on our world."
"According to the knowledge you were granted by the Schildmaid, but there is a lot happening these days that doesn't match anything Lilith knows, and I believe her knowledge matches the knowledge you've been bestowed. I believe that this Nexus, born from the very soul of our own world, is a direct result of all the magical interference originating from that other world."
"Those Greater Daemons," Penny mumbled.
—
"Oberstgruppenführer, we have reached Castle Vytal."
"Our Nexus is now directly over their Nexus."
"As we have predicted, the alignment is causing some kind of reaction. We're still not sure what these readings mean, though."
Franz Gottfried smiled to himself. At last, the ritual could commence.
My master. The time has come for you to descend upon our world.
—
Ivory's cries echoed throughout the hangar as she began floating in the air. Her body was blanketed by a layer of glowing mist as something within her awakened, filling every fiber of her being with power unknown to her. Lightning flashed as thunder shook the foundations of the earth below. A blizzard grew all around her, encasing every single thing nearby in ice. Still, the power continued to grow, fed by her unspeakable fury.
—
Lilly came close to fainting when Lilith rapidly took over.
"Shit," she mumbled.
"Lilith?" Ingrid said.
"I have to go."
"What are you talking about?" Leon said.
Lilith made eye contact with Athena for a brief moment before the two nodded in assent.
"We'll catch up to you," Athena said. "Go do what you gotta do."
—
"Ariadne, what's going on?" Winter said to the youngest of the Jupiter Family as they both gawked at the readings on all of the monitors.
"I...I don't know," Ariadne said, adjusting her glasses. "There's, uh, there's some kind of interaction between the two Nexuses, but there's also something...wait a minute. If this is correct, we're witnessing the transfer of power between the former Winter Maiden and the new one."
"What did you just say?" Penny's voice sounded in their speakers. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I heard you say Winter Maiden. Is that right?"
"You've been listening, I'm assuming. Yes, I did say Winter Maiden."
"But how?" Yang said through the communicator. "Didn't Weiss kill that girl twenty years ago? I mean, we all watched her slice her up into bits—"
"Yang!" Ruby's voice sounded.
"I'm not trying to joke around. We all saw what happened."
"Nevertheless," Ariadne continued, this is the power of the Winter Maiden I am picking up on the monitors. I'm sure you're picking up the same, Penny."
"Uh, guys!" Hollie's voice came in through the speakers. "We can't hold them off out here forever!"
"We're almost to you," Hillphire said.
"Is my baby okay?"
"I'm fine, mom," Astor said. "This powered armor is actually pretty cool."
"Winter, the command room hasn't been breached, has it?" Raven said.
"No," Winter replied into her microphone. "Whatever you guys have been doing out there, keep at it."
"What about the rest of Castle Vytal's defenses?" Tai said.
"Don't worry about that. I have everything under control."
That was a bald-faced lie, of course. There was nothing the Coalition's meager defenses could have done against such a vast ocean of enemies. But they didn't need to know that. Whatever the cost, neither the command center nor the Nexus just beneath it could afford to be breached. Once again, they were relying on a younger generation to decapitate this attacking force. Still, Winter couldn't imagine how those youngsters could do it, even with their Wraith-Knight power.
—
Ivory's magical energy continued to swell as Wrath boiled over. The Winter Maiden was no longer operating alone. Something else was invading her soul, something foreign, alien to Remnant. But in spite of how very wrong it felt to her, she could not deny that it also felt so right. Her Wrath was accompanied by a kind of pleasure that made her feel vile to the core, and yet she had no control over herself.
Hate.
That was the only thing she could feel right at this moment. Pure, utterly abominable hate.
Her eyes glowed with the combined power of the Winter Maiden and that other, alien thing attempting to indwell her soul. She could never have imagined Wrath to simultaneously be so abhorrent and alluring. She welcomed the sentiment into her heart, allowing the mania to consume her entirely.
She let out one final scream, unleashing a magical force that was sufficient to vaporize half of the hangar she floated within, exposing the guts of the Ragnarök to the world.
—
"Guys!" Jaune yelled as he looked back at the Nexus behind himself and his fellow defenders. "Something's happening!"
Weiss's eyes widened as the Nexus revealed itself to them, manifesting as runic letters and geometric patterns on the ground, which extended up into the ceiling and floating in the air between both. The space around the Nexus began to warp, distorting their view of the other side of the room.
"Don't get too close!" she yelled.
Before anyone else could react, several beings appeared in the room, beings they all recognized.
"Cinder!" Penny yelled.
"You all know what to do," Cinder said to the rest of her team.
"I don't think so!" Weiss said before her power exploded outward and she engaged the Fall Maiden in direct combat.
"You might still have that power," Cinder said, matching her blow for blow, "but you should probably know that this fight won't end like last time."
"I heard about you selling your soul to those creatures," Weiss said, clashing swords with her. "Tell me, Cinder. How does it feel? How is it to have been hollowed out and have your insides replaced by something as foul as those Greater Daemons?"
Cinder's face twisted in anger, but quickly changed to calm, and then gave way to a maniacal smile. "You can't even imagine it, Weiss!" she cackled. "I may have given myself—flesh and all—to that disgusting son of a bitch, but god damn it was it worth the cost!"
"Look at how it has corroded who you are."
"Enough! I refuse to hear anymore of this garbage from a pampered bitch like you!"
—
"The ritual is nearly completed, my master," Gottfried said.
"It only took so many years," Asmodeus said. "And to think that it required all of this, from the death of the Winter Maiden to the restructuring of an entire geopolitical order, just to provide me with a vessel."
"It was quite the complicated ritual," Ashtaroth said, appearing beside his fellow Greater Daemon. "These are, after all, world-altering magics we are playing with."
"Anything to serve you and your cause," Gottfried said.
"I shall see you on the mortal plane soon," Asmodeus said.
"Please expect a grand welcoming ceremony."
—
The power of the Winter Maiden took full root in Ivory's soul and she floated toward the gaping hole she had torn open in the side of the Ragnarök with her magical ascension. She sent her gaze all around, testing out her power first on the town below. She projected a small, laser-like blast at a building, reducing it to rubble. Now that the test was complete, she needed to bring judgment to those that truly needed to be punished.
She floated forward for a bit before turning around, facing the massive floating Atlesian structure. She held out her hand, projecting a powerful blast that crippled the ship's defensive shields. A second shot collapsed the force field completely.
—
That explosion was enough to tear apart the area that Teams LILY and APEX were battling on, but their Wraith-Knight power kept them safe, fortifying not only their auras, but their physical bodies' resilience.
"What the hell is going on?" Perseus said, bracing himself against his shield as he and Athena protected their entire team.
"That's why," Echo said, staring at the glowing object in the sky.
"What are you sensing?" Xanthus asked her.
"Danger. Lots of imminent danger. But it's the kind that's associated only with...Greater Daemons."
"But wait a minute," Ingrid said, "isn't that Ivory out there?"
"What?" Leon said, breaking ranks before running to the broken edge of the floating fortress.
"Leon!" Athena yelled before they all joined him, their defenses still raised.
"What in the?" Leon said as his eyes widened.
Floating out there in the sky, blanketed by a magnificent cloud of magical energy, was their friend, Ivory Schnee, burning brightly with the power of the Winter Maiden. But there was another magic about to completely consume her, the magic of a Greater Daemon.
—
"Is it almost done yet?" Mercury yelled as he and the rest of his group battled against Teams RWBY and JNPR around the Nexus of Castle Vytal, all of them careful not to fall into the glowing field of foreign letters and distorted space.
"Have patience," Emerald said. "Don't you trust in our masters?"
"I don't know how any of you can talk about trusting those freaks. But whatever."
"What exactly are you all planning?" Weiss said, exchanging blows and magical attacks with Cinder.
"Why would I tell you that?" Cinder said. "Anyway, it's not as if I know. It's some kind of ritual."
"The kind of ritual that summons magical energies enough to tear the world apart?"
She shrugged. "I frankly don't care. I really just wanna kill you. Badly."
"I'd like to see you try, False Maiden!"
—
Hate.
Hate.
Hate.
Hate them all.
Give yourself to your anger, your rage.
They deserve it.
Your country turned its back on you.
Corrupted one of your teammates.
Executed your comrade.
MuRdered your CombAT partneR!
KilLED youR ChildhOOD FrIEND.
Die.
Die!
DIE!
KILL THEM ALL.
PUNISH THEM.
Ivory began floating in the direction of Atlas with the intention of annihilating the capital and everyone in it. As far as she was concerned, the entire nation needed to be destroyed and a new one planted in her image.
But before she could muster up the power to fly at full speed, someone grasped her gently from behind. The touch alone was enough to dispel the laser focus of her heart.
"Hey, little cousin."
"W...What? Is that...Lilly?"
She shook her head. "I think you can sense who I am."
"Lilith?"
She nodded.
"Why? Why you?"
"Lilly's a little wrapped up in something right now. But, well, I'm still your big cousin, aren't I?"
Ivory paused for a moment. "Are you trying to stop me?"
"So, you're lucid. That's a start. You haven't let Wrath get to your head just yet."
She looked to the side.
"No, I won't have any of that. You haven't fully given in just yet. That's why that asshole hasn't completely taken over your body."
"I know what's happening."
"I know you know. And I know it feels fucking good to give in to all of that hatred. Believe me, I know, better than anyone. But...it's not a path you want to go down."
"What makes you so sure?"
Lilith smiled. "I'm sure. I just am."
Ivory looked outward in reminiscence. "It's why you insisted on shielding Lilly from all of that back in Vacuo."
She nodded. "Let it go, little cousin. I know that's not what you want to hear right now, especially after what you just saw with your own eyes only minutes ago."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Like I said, Lilly's wrapped up in something."
"My Labyrinth."
"Eh, it's not quite a Labyrinth just yet. You're still you, after all. But sure, something like that."
"Lilith...I don't deserve this kindness you're extending to me. Especially not after—"
"Okay, shut the fuck up. Look, I know I tried to kill you the first time we met. But things have changed. A lot has happened to all of us."
Ivory stared into space, her thoughts a complete mess. But she couldn't deny that her big cousin holding her like this—even if it was Lilith—brought so much warmth and peace to her soul. Wrath no longer had a hold on her. The darkness quickly began to fade away before all that remained in her heart was the power of the Winter Maiden, and an immeasurable quantity of pain.
A dull ache throbbed in her chest and she grasped at her heart, wrinkling the stolen SS uniform she wore. She closed her eyes, allowing her elder cousin's warmth to engulf her soul and thaw the winter she had encased herself with.
"Thank you," Ivory mumbled.
"That's what family's for, right?" Lilith said.
She nodded.
Together, they floated back down, heading for a broken part of the Atlesian ship where Teams LILY and APEX stood, watching them.
"Leon," Ivory said as she and Lilith touched down.
"You're okay," he said.
"Here we go," Perseus mumbled from the back of the group. Ingrid and Echo elbowed him from either side at the same time.
"You know what," Athena said, resting a hand on her hip, "even though that's the enemy's uniform, I can't help but admit that it looks pretty slick."
"Please don't compliment this godforsaken uniform," Ivory said.
"Yeah, I threw up in my mouth a little when I said that."
"Lilith, are you all right?" Yuan said to his team leader.
"How do you know it's me?" Lilith said.
"You're my team captain, after all."
She grinned at him. "Yeah, we're okay."
She's in so much pain.
I know. I didn't have to go rummaging around her Labyrinth to know how much pain she's in. I felt it just by touching her.
Is there something we can do for her?
Dunno. Didn't you just clear up her Labyrinth?
That wasn't me. There wasn't any real way to bring it down, but it collapsed on its own anyway. I think...you did it, Lilith. And you didn't even have to go through the Labyrinth yourself.
Heh, I am pretty awesome.
We sure are!
Echo's scroll rang and she answered.
"Teams LILY and APEX, do you read me?" Ariadne's voice crackled through the scroll's speaker.
"What's up, sis?" Perseus replied. "And what's with the interference?"
"I just managed to break through that a minute ago. Listen, whatever it is you're in the middle of, I need you all to return to the castle immediately."
"We're not that far from the bridge," Athena said.
"Never mind that. The Nexus itself is under attack. We believe the Greater Daemons are attempting to commandeer the Nexus of the planet itself."
"What did you just say?" Lilith said.
"There's no time to explain."
"Are you sure that Nexus is native to Remnant?"
"No, I am not, but my suspicions are very high."
"Goddammit, that explains a lot. C'mon! We have to—"
"Lilly?" Ivory said as her cousin's eyes flashed gold for an instant.
"Yeah," Lilly said. "We have to go!"
"Lilly, be careful," Winter's voice came through.
"Mother?" Ivory said.
"Yes. I see that they've recovered you, but there's no time for pleasantries. You need to defend the Nexus at once. Teams RWBY and JNPR are already there, but Cinder and her forces have breached the defenses, and you are needed there."
"Very well, we are on the way."
—
"The ritual is a failure," Watts's voice came through the group's magical communicators. "But...wait a minute. All right. Ashtaroth is saying that there's still a chance. We must have full control of Castle Vytal first."
"Is my mistress with you?" Tyrian demanded.
"Yes, and she has a reward for you if you can accomplish your mission."
"Please don't rile him up," Adam said. "He's creepy enough as it is."
"Hey, fucker," Yang said as she and Blake faced off with him. "If I push your ass into the Nexus, it might turn you into a blob, right?"
"Think you can do it?" Adam said with a grin before turning to Blake, whose face showed a calm indignation. "Ah, there's that fire. I was afraid we had extinguished it back in Menag—"
"Go fuck yourself," she spat.
Yang gave her a high five. "Let's kill this asshole together, yeah?"
"Let's."
—
"Armored Grimm?" Athena said as they fought through all sorts of armored Grimm, which fought alongside SS forces and Übersoldaten. "This seals it. They're the ones responsible for what happened back in Mistral."
"Team LILY," Ivory began, "please, move on ahead to the Nexus. We will hold the fort here and join you when we can."
"Are you gonna be all right?" Lilly asked her.
"Yes. Thanks to you and Lilith. Please, you must hurry."
"Okay! Be safe, you guys!"
Lilly led her team through the castle. She summoned her knight, which took point while Yuan and Ingrid took up the rear.
"Are you both all right in there?" Leon asked her.
"Yeah," Lilly said. "Ivory's gonna be okay, too."
He reddened.
"Leon, I know she means a lot to you. She means a lot to me, too."
"Lilly—"
"Either way, now isn't the time to talk about this. We need to concentrate on the fight."
—
"I told you it wouldn't be so easy," Cinder said as she and Weiss faced off.
Weiss panted, holding her great sword at low ready. Cinder was correct. Not only had she seen no combat in the past nineteen years, Cinder was at an advantage with the combined might of the Fall Maiden and Azazel's power. Given that she was softened up by the preceding battle outside, it was all she could do to mount a defense against her opponent.
"Weiss!" Penny yelled, clashing weapons with Tyrian while Ren and Nora recuperated.
"Don't worry about me, Penny," Weiss said. "She's not gonna take me down that easily."
Cinder grinned before vanishing, moving fast enough that only Weiss and Penny could perceive her.
—
"It's just down this way, isn't it?" Ingrid said.
"Yeah, but we're not alone down here!" Leon said.
Yuan turned to his team leader. "Go, Lilly," he said. "I know your mother is at the Nexus as well. They need you and your power right now. We will join you soon."
"Are you sure?" she said.
The three of them nodded together.
"Okay." She held out a hand, projecting a brownish aura at all of them, increasing their strength.
"Thanks for the buffs!" Leon said. "See you in two minutes!"
—
"Weiss!" Yang cried out as she and Blake pushed against Adam's sword.
"Do you all understand now?" Cinder said as she floated above Weiss, whose armor was broken in several places, her sword in three pieces. "As I said before, you have nothing if you do not have power."
She held out her hand and projected a fireball at Weiss, who disappeared and reappeared behind the Fall Maiden, but the latter was too strong and she countered, sending Weiss back down into the ground, barely missing the edge of the Nexus.
Cinder stood across from Weiss, who made her way back to her feet, projecting a rune in her hand to continue fighting. Determination was written all over her face. Hours earlier and she might have had physical strength to accompany that determination, but not now.
She sensed an attack from behind and she turned around, rapidly projecting a number of glyphs to slow down the projectile, but every single one was shattered, and the spear of Dust broke through all of her defenses. She let out a gasp as the spear pierced her abdomen.
"No!" Ruby screamed. "Weiss!"
The door to the room exploded inward, revealing Lilly covered in the blood of the Übersoldaten, Grimm, and SS soldiers out in the corridor. Trailing behind her was the rest of Teams LILY and APEX and Ivory.
Lilly's eyes widened as she looked upon her mother, whose armor was broken, sword shattered, a spear of Dust protruding from her flesh. She could see nothing else in that instant, only that her mother had just suffered a mortal wound. Her mind raced as panic gripped her.
And then dread.
Terror.
Desperation.
And for the first time since Eternity gave way to Time and Space, both Darkness and Light were in perfect union. As Lilith and Lilly Schnee shrieked out in horror, an indescribable swirl of energies unknowable radiated from their body, swallowing whole everyone and everything within eyesight.
