"Follow the light." Sat in a pair of grey shorts and a black shirt Alex sat on the edge of the examination table, the Omni ranger winced as the light was brought to his eyes but complied nonetheless, moving his eyes to follow the small torch left to right then up and down, nodding in satisfaction the doc, a humanoid standing just over seven feet with pale blue skin that faded to purple around his hands and dark black eyes, passing the torch down to one of the smaller sets of hands poking through the front of his lab coat, the left arm disappeared back inside while the right reached out plucking a small data-pad from the tray beside him, and passing it up into his left-hand.
Haa'ri Typhon, -although most people around the base just called him Harry and he hadn't corrected anyone yet- the resident medical officer of Earths Plumber branch, stone-faced and to the point like a certain Ice Queen he knew, at least until you got on his good side. "How long am I going to be stuck in here, doc"
"Until we have finished your examination." He said, typing away at the screen he pulled up the test results from his earlier scan and bloodwork. "Normally I'd give you a once over and send you for a de-brief, but prolonged use of a Bio-Vivification Capsule can result in some unforeseen side effects, so I must be thorough." He said while nodding along with the scan results.
"What kind of side effects?" Alex asked, somewhat worried by the doctor's words... he wasn't going to suddenly grow an extra arm, right?
Harry shook his head almost dismissively, Alex didn't hold it against him his species weren't exactly known for being all that emotional after all "Nothing too drastic, I assure you" He replied evenly "The side effects are rare but not to be overlooked, while the capsule took care of most of your bodies recovery for you, the hormones the brain naturally produces during the human body's healing process can sometimes lead to a chemical imbalance." He glanced down at the pad once more "Though from what I'm looking at here, you seem to be clear" he added swiping through the results one slide after another, nodding slowly as he found nothing amiss.
Alex nodded back slowly, that was one less thing to worry about right now, however, the fact the full body scan and bloodwork needed to be performed at all was a little concerning in more ways than one. "Harry... how long was I in there." Seeing as his last memories were of being in the middle of a warzone he needed to know how long he'd been out, more importantly, what the situation was like back on Remnant, had they been able to push back the Grimm? Were Ruby and the others okay? When would he be able to get back in the field?
Harry paused for a moment staring down at the data-pad in his hand for a few moments, the revelation would no doubt be... difficult to accept, he would have questions or more likely demands about the current situation, Maxwell would be here shortly to handle that, he'd contacted him just after the young man had reawakened, along with those listed in his next of kin.
"Harry." Alex said some small amount of dread in his tone, pulling the doctor from his thoughts and back to the conversation at hand. In a rare show of concern, something often found upon among his people, he reached out settling a hand on the young man's shoulder
"When you arrived back to base your body had been heavily damaged in battle, the life support systems in your armor were the only thing keeping you alive, if barely." He began to explain, Alex listened in silence "Given the extent of your injuries I was forced to place you in a coma while you recovered... that was just over nine months ago."
Alex let out a shuddering breath, nine months, he'd spent almost a year inside that tank, his head fell into his hands as he tried to wrap his head around all of this. "Take your time." Harry advised, it was one of the more tamed reactions he'd seen over the years, but still a heavy one nonetheless, to know so much time had passed in what must have seemed like an instant.
Alex sucked in a slow steady breath forcing himself to stay calm. "Do you know what the situation is on Remnant?"
Harry shook his head lightly "I am for the most part unaware of the situation regarding the Planet Remnant, I hear whispers from time to time from my patients, but you'll need to check in with your superiors if you want anything concrete." Alex made to rise, Harry gently pushed him back into his seat "But I strongly suggest remaining here for the time being I've already contacted Maxwell he will be arriving shortly, I'm certain he'll have some of the answers you're looking for." Alex nodded along with the doc's words.
Alex sighed that was a start at least "What about Koan, how's he doing." Harry was painfully silent
Harry winced slightly "Operative Seinaruyami, did not return with you."
Alex's gaze snapped back to Harry, pushing off the examination table despite the doctor's resistance Alex stumbled slightly, having spent the good part of a year inside a tank he was uneasy on his feet, steadying himself against the wall, Alex took a few deep breaths before looking back up at the doctor in a mix of worry and disbelief "What do you mean he never came back, what aren't you telling me?"
"Be careful." Harry hissed slowly guiding the young man back to the examination table. "After you and operatives Tennyson and Blonko returned to my knowledge the 'Gateway', as you might call it was dismantled."
"That can't be right." Reconstructing the portal had served two goals, the first to get team RWBY back home and the second to allow them to scout and report back to command about the Psycho rangers and their movements while Magister Tennyson and Peteliday worked on putting a task force together for an excursion to Remnant.
Why would they abandon the operation, especially after the news of Psycho Yellows death had reached them, what had changed? "Magister Tennyson wouldn't just abandon them."
"From what I understand the order did not come from him."
"Then who?" Harry didn't have an answer, despite how much he might have wished to know for himself, word had spread quickly following his and young Seinaruyami last return from this uncharted world beset by the threat of those monsters, accompanied by four of its denizens. Given what he knew of those creatures, their nature and the number of plumbers who had lost their lives, loved ones and even their home world to those monsters, denying them the aid they so deserved was nothing short of despicable.
A small series of beeps pulled the doctor from his thoughts, pulling his plumber's badge off his belt he glanced down at the device "One moment" he said before stepping away out of earshot. Alex lay back down on the examination table staring up at the ceiling above, he still couldn't believe one of the higher-ups had given the order to cut off contact with Remnant, didn't they realize the severity of the situation, the Psycho rangers reputation wasn't just given, it had been earned.
That alone brought a chilling thought to mind, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Koan...Blake, were they even still alive?
Who's to say they'd just pulled out after raising Beacon, what if they moved onto Vale right after and brought it down with the academy, those screw heads had taken on armies a dozen times the size of the Atlesion garrison posted in Vale and come out on top.
Even if the portal hadn't been shut down, would there even be much of a Remnant left to go back to? Nine months was a long time and the Psycho Rangers had been able to do far more in less
Twelve planets, each hosting a population in the billions had...fallen in the three years they'd been around, it started with Anur Transyl, then they worked their way through one system to the next getting closer and closer to earth, the Plumbers had intervened on four of those occasions and while they might not have lost the planet they couldn't exactly call it a victory either, the destruction had been massive, the losses beyond count, some worlds still hadn't recovered, others had been abandoned altogether.
'No... stop it, don't think like that.' he told himself, after all, it was Cinder and her people who started the fall of Beacon, the destruction of the mine combined with Ben and Rooks attacks on their other outpost had the Psycho rangers on the back foot and with Koan and the other rangers around to help even the odds they had to have made it.
"Ahh yes, that's the spirit now." Alex's eyes snapped up towards the all too familiar voice, it was only then that he noticed the state of the room around him, everything seemed duller as if some of the colors had been sucked out of it, and then there was Harry, the doctor was frozen in place badge still in hand and lips twisted to form his next word, yet no sound came.
All that paled in comparison to the man standing across from him leaning forwards on his cane, a small smile gracing his features "I've been checking in on you from time to time, though I was always worried I'd be late when it mattered." Professor paradox began, the time-travelling scientist glanced down at his watch. "Though it seems I've finally got my dates right, it's good to see you back on your feet young Alexander."
"Professor...what did you do?" Alex asked glancing around the infirmary in a mix of shock and curiosity, his eyes then shifted back towards harry, he pointed towards the doctor nervously "Is he going to be okay?"
The time traveler waved his hand dismissively "A small parlor trick I picked up some eons ago, it's perfectly harmless." The professor paused, rubbing his chin in thought "Or was it a few eons from now... these conversations can be so confusing at times." he lamented rubbing his brow in what seemed like frustration.
"Prof?"
"Ah yes." Paradox snapped back to attention. "Forgive me there's been much to do and so little time to prepare, events are moving ahead far more quickly than I anticipated." The time travel glanced down at his pocket watch again his face twisting in a rare show of frustration. "In short, your work and that of the plumbers is not yet done on Remnant."
"Thank god." Alex sighed in relief at his words, if what the professor said was true then Remnant was still in one piece, which meant the others were alive.
"Hmm yes, though I wouldn't go praising celestial intervention just quite yet." Young Alexander and his allies had played a far more crucial role in its survival than those that once held dominion over that world, their history was known to him and like so many like them that he'd stumbled upon before it was one of blood and cruelty.
"What's been going on there while I was out, is Ruby okay, what about Koan and the others?" Alex rattled off one question after the other. "I've been gone so long they must think I'm dead."
The time-travelling scientist offered a small comforting smile "They remain in good health, your fellow Rangers are seeing to their safety personally" Among other things, though perhaps that was a conversation left for a later date "And indeed they each mourned your passing, some more than others" He lamented his thoughts drifting back to Miss Belladonna, the thought of revealing young Alexanders survival had crossed his mind more than once, if only to ease her pain.
But had he done so, she would likely demand to be brought to his side.
Cruel as it may seem he would be unable to grant her wish, she was where she was needed for the time being, and any changes made at this point in time could have drastic consequences. Though that was not to say she was without hope, they would see one another again in due time, they need only be patient.
"Blake" Alex whispered; his grip tightened around the edge of the table leaving a small indent on its surface. After what happened to him when he lost Kate he could already imagine what she must have been going through and given what he knew about her personality a lot of that blame and anger she was feeling had probably been turned inwards.
"Can you send me back?" Alex asked
"I can" Paradox replied "But cannot " The Time traveler raised a hand silencing the young man before he could give his retort, Alex scowled but allowed the professor to continue. "The situation upon Remnant has grown worse during your absence, Beacon has fallen and much of Vale was left in ruin though the kingdom has survived, as for our shared adversary they have further wormed their way further into their ally's good graces."
"Cinder" Alex assumed
"Yes and no." Paradox replied, his thoughts drifting back towards the creature that had been pulling the strings behind the scenes for some time. "While miss Fall might have been the figurehead for the attack on Beacon, she herself is little more than an envoy, her true master has been the one to orchestrate much of what you and your companions encountered during your time upon Remnant" And yet despite all that she had done over the millennia, he still could not help but pity the woman...they wanted her to understand the value of life, yet robbed her of the very thing that gave life meaning, turned the one man who could have pulled her back from the brink against her, twisting the poor woman into what she was now. "And thanks to their aid they are now working towards a repeat of Beacons Fall."
"All the more reason for you to send me back" Alex argued
"It's not as simple as you think, the beings who control that world were most unwelcoming of my presence, it would be too dangerous for me to transport you there myself and even if I were capable of transporting you back, with how you are now the result would likely be disastrous." Paradox explained. " Even if you had time to regain your strength, I fear your aid would do little to shift the tide." The young man glowered at the floor, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You have to be able to do something, I can't just sit here and do nothing while the others might be fighting for their lives." Alex argued, even if he hadn't met the others the first time around he'd still be heading back there, he couldn't let the Psycho rangers add another world to their tally.
"Nor would I expect you to, even with my warning I imagine you are already concocting a plan to reach Remnant with or without aid." Paradox said knowingly, the young man in front of him looked off to the side, neither confirming nor denying the doctors statement, he only smiled shaking his head in mirth. "Maxwell will likely try to dissuade you as well."
"Not like he'd have much of a choice." Alex added, if someone higher up the chain of command then the Magister had ordered the portal be shut down, then as Plumbers, their hands were tied.
"Indeed, were he able I imagine Maxwell would have already launched an incursion into the system housing Remnant." Paradox frowned, and while he could not intervene directly this time around that did not mean he couldn't advise those who could "Though if you do plan on going ahead with this course of action, might I suggest you first look to bolster your ranks, I imagine there are just as many who are dissatisfied with this decision as you are, Miss Takagi is already on her way here, you may want to start with her... I doubt she'll allow you to run off on your next adventure without her."
"Akira" He whispered a small feeling of guilt welling up inside him, he'd been so caught up with everything going on, on remnant when he and RWBY first arrived back in Bellwood the thought of getting in contact with her and the others hadn't even crossed his mind, hell he'd half expected her to be out on another assignment with the rest of her team, then again looking back on it now, with him and Koan a world away, it made sense she'd have stuck around to see if they made it back okay.
Her families restaurant was her place to destress, a place to distance herself from the job and just pretend like she was a normal teenager again after a long mission, when they met up again that night while out with Blake, he would have liked to be able to talk a bit more openly with her, especially given everything that had happened up until then, but with it being a public place with too many eyes and ears around, their reunion had been reduced to a mix of code and half-truths.
Then he'd dropped off the face of the earth again the next morning without so much as a word, that guilt was slowly beginning to shift into dread, Akira was one of the most level headed people he knew but even she had her limit and given the state he'd come back in the second time, he was probably in for a hell of an earful.
"Great" And professor Paradox wanted him to ask her to join him on a mission that would more than likely get them branded AWOL, he couldn't ask that of her, or the others, they'd already followed him into the plumbers after he'd been 'Recruited' and that had cost them Kait...and now that they finally had their lives back on track, he couldn't ask them to risk it all for him, not again
"I know that look" Paradox went on "Your hesitant to bring them into your affairs, you worry what it may cost them."
"Wouldn't you?" Alex shot back "You've seen like a billion timelines; I'm guessing there's a few where things might have worked out a whole lot better if you hadn't involved people."
"More than you realize" Paradox frowned sadly, he had walked countless timelines, countless earth, fought injustice on a scale he could scarcely fathom and in that time he had made more mistakes than any living man, mistakes that had doomed worlds, erased timelines, and cost good people their lives a thousand times over. "But we cannot cling to the mistakes of the past, no matter how much they might weigh upon us, we must press on or the sacrifices made by our allies may mean nothing."
"I know, but... I won't drag them into another one of my fights." The idea of pulling more people into a shit situation didn't exactly appeal to him. "After the occupation ended... when the plumbers picked me up and locked me in that lab, they came to break me out, they could have been arrested, hell they could have been killed, they would have never seen their families again, because of me." Alex slapped his hand down on the table, Akira, Isaac, Owen, Vanessa and Kait, his closest friends and the ones he never deserved, they'd risked everything that day to set him free, and when that failed they all but demanded they serve alongside him, something that cost them all dearly in the end.
"They did that for me, and I will never forget it, but I can't ask them to follow me down this road, not this time." It would be the equivalent of asking them to walk through the gates of hell beside him, no guarantee of survival, no guarantee of victory, the only thing he'd be able to promise them was a road filled with suffering and death.
"Who's to say they'll be willing to let you walk it alone." Paradox countered, he'd watch miss Takagi come and go day by day, sometimes alone, sometimes accompanied by the other members of her team, he still remembered the look in her eye when she'd first laid eyes on young Alexander after he returned, the shock, the sorrow, the rage at what had been done to one of her oldest friends, and then the determination, the drive to see that it never happened again, a sentiment shared by her comrades. "You are all quite the stubborn bunch after all."
"Yeah." Alex laughed bitterly, that much there was no denying "I guess we are."
Paradox nodded at seemingly finally having broken through that thick skull of his before reaching out to rest a hand on the young man's shoulder "Then perhaps it's time to share this burden you've been carrying these past few years now." Patting his shoulder, the doctor took a step back a sad smile coming to rest on his face "Even begins such as I need help from time to time."
Alex nodded along slowly, but... if he was even going to consider doing this he'd need a plan "I'm gonna need a ship, something the plumbers won't be able to track... among other things." Food, weapons, medical supplies and a dozen other things on top of people willing to put their lives on the line for what many would likely already believe to be a dead world, Ben and Rook might be up for it, Akira, if Paradox's words were anything to go by, but four people against what was basically an army, wouldn't be enough and that's without even talking about how they'd get back to Remnant in the first place.
"If it's a ship your looking for, Maxwell may be able to help you."
Alex quirked an eyebrow at the time travelers words. "I thought you said he was going to try and stop me"
"He may certainly try, at least so he may say so to those above him." Paradox replied, even after all these months Maxwell was still at war with himself over that decision, even if it hadn't been his own. "But I think you and I both know what Maxwell would rather prefer." Glancing down at his pocket-watch Paradox then turned his attention back towards the door leading into the medical bay. "In fact, he was just on the other side of that door when I arrived." He then looked back at Alex "I suppose I don't need to remind you to keep this conversation and your plan confidential for the time being."
"Play dumb for now" Alex reaffirmed "I got it."
"Then I will wish you luck moving forward, cheerio." With that, the professor snapped closed his pocket watch disappearing into a flash of white light, almost immediately the color flooded back into the room and time began to move forward once again, and like he'd said the door to the medical ward slid open, allowing Magister Tennyson to step through, the ageing plumber let out a sigh of relief at the sight of him Alex offered a small salute back in greeting.
"Magister" The ageing plumber offered a small smile in return.
Max smiled his relief all too clear as he stepped into the room, pausing in his conversation Harry turned back to regard the Magister with a neutral expression, turning back to his commlink he gave a quick "I'll call you back" before disconnecting the call and returning the badge back to one of the slots on his belt "Maxwell." Harry greeted the magister "I wasn't expecting your arrival for another half hour, I understand there was a disturbance in the hanger earlier this afternoon, I trust it has been resolved."
"As best we could, given the circumstances" Max replied, before turning his attention back towards the reason for his arrival. "Good to see you back on your feet son, how are you feeling"
"A little numb in some areas" Alex replied rolling his shoulder slightly for emphasis, he still felt groggy and a little off balance while upon his feet, but that seemed to be the extent of it. "But other than that, nothing feels out of place."
Max nodded along with the young man's words, his last stent inside one of those tanks hadn't been all that different, when he'd finally stepped back out onto solid ground again his limbs had felt a lot like jello. Getting back to the point of him being there, Max turned his head towards Harry a look of urgency in his eyes "How long before we can get him out of here."
Harry glanced between the magister and his data pad for a moment before replying "Everything seems optimal, no changes in brain chemistry nor organ function, hmm, yes.." He trailed off typing away at the pad for a few seconds before continuing "With what I have here I can safely say you may be discharged from the infirmary, though I suggest you take a few days of rest before even trying to return to active duty."
Harry gestured towards the sliding door towards the back of the infirmary "I had some of your personal items transferred to the locker room shortly after you re-awakened, container X-084, you should find a fresh change of clothes inside." He then gestured back towards the entrance " Maxwell, if you wouldn't mind I'll need your signature, to sign him off."
"Of course," Max replied
"I'll be out in a few." Alex nodded back to the Magister, pushing off the table and back on his feet he took a moment to steady himself before moving towards the sleek silver door, swiping his hand over the controls the censor flashed green and the door slid open, stepping through the doorway, the door sliding shut behind him Alex found himself faced with 12 rows of shelves, each holding a matching number of sleek white containers standing side by side one another.
Moving along the rows he quickly found his section, moving down the aisle his eyes scanned over the container numbers 'X-079, X-080, X-081' He read off before finally stopping in front of X-084, pressing his hand against the cover there was a small hiss of pressurized air the front panel split down the middle and then slid apart revealing a small section of shelves, true to the doc's words a fresh change of clothes were waiting for him, a pair of fresh socks and boxers, a blue shirt, grey jacket, black cargo pants and a pair of dark brown combat boots.
It took a few moments for him to change out of the medical scrubs and into the clothes inside, but as he was lacing up his boots he heard the door into the locker room slide open once more, a pair of footsteps far lighter than the Doc or Magister Tennyson quickly made their way towards him, Alex glanced back over the shoulder just as the source arrived at the start of his row, Green eyes met Black and Akira Takagi clad in what looked like a slightly bulkier version of Rooks proto-tech Armor sighed in relief.
"...Hey" She whispered
Finishing up with his boots Alex rose back to his full height and smiled back at her "Hey." he replied, Akira looked like she wanted to say more her mouth moving to form words before stopping for a few seconds then repeat the process all over again, eventually she decided to forgo any words and just walked forward pulling him into a hug, Alex returned the embrace.
"...Idiot" Akira whispered, pulling back from him the blue-haired girl brought her on hand down on his head "Knucklehead" then again "Dummy" and again.
Alex laughed, catching her wrist before she could go any further "It's good to see you to Akira."
Akira pulled her hand free, planting her fist on her waist she leaned towards him menacingly "Oh really, you have a funny way of showing it around people." She replied crossing her arms over her chest plate, she glared up at him a tick mark flashed across her forehead.
Raising a finger out towards him she counted off " First, you drop off the grid for six months after the base was attacked" A second finger rose "Then you come back and the only reason I know is that you drop into my families restaurant on my day off." A third finger rose "Then after I help the two of you give your little stalker friends the slip, you disappear again on a classified assignment without calling or texting me or any of the others beforehand, telling us you were alright or that you would be going."
Alex glanced off to the side scratching the back of his head nervously "Okay that was my bad, but I had to leave when I did"
"Oh, don't give me that old 'I had to focus on the mission' line, I know for a fact you're still in our group chat." She slapped a hand to her chest plate "Meanwhile I had to deal with Isaac and V playing 50 questions when I don't even know the answers." She punched his arm lightly "What are we to you, roadkill?"
"My friends." Alex replied griping her shoulder tightly "The best friends a guy could ask for."
The blue-haired girl glanced off to the side with a frown "You have a funny way of showing it." Akira replied dejectedly
Alex's smile fell "I'm sorry, for making you worry." Akira shook her head slightly before looking back up at him "I really am, I just got caught up in something big while I was there, and I couldn't leave things as they were without knowing if the people on the other side were safe."
"So..." Akira mused "The stories are true; those crazy fuckers actually built a portal to another world."
"Yeah" Alex sighed, and they'd basically been running rampant on it for at least a year now with little to no outside intervention.
Akira narrowed her eyes, she knew that look the same one he had when they were younger, the one he got when he could never just leave well enough alone "And you're going to try to go back there, aren't you." She smirked slightly "That girl you brought to the restaurant, Blake, it's her home world isn't it."
"Yeah..." Alex nodded back slowly, recalling his previous conversation with paradox and his warning to keep quiet about events for the time being, but Akira... he trusted Akira. If he told her what paradox knew then he knew it would stay between them. "I know it might seem like a long shot given how long they've been there, but they're alive, Paradox said so."
"Paradox." Akira said recalling the time-travelling professor, despite his often-whimsical theatrics and cryptic nature, there was always a constant when it came to that man, he never lied, not once, so if he said those people were alive they were alive, though with the Psycho Rangers planeside and by the sound of it stirring up trouble how long that would last was still up in the air right now.
She knew far too well what they were capable of, they'd taken one of her closest friends from her after all and left someone who may as well be a brother to her scarred, so if Alex was going to be running off after them on his own again, she knew what she had to do. "So...When are we wheels up."
"Wha... just like that?" Alex couldn't help but ask
Akira cocked her head to the side studying the look of surprise on Alex's face. "You were going to go back there no matter what I say or do to try and dissuade you." Akira replied evenly, before a smirk formed across her lips "The best thing I can do is make sure you come back in one piece."
"What about the others?" Alex asked
"V's gonna want to kick your ass, Owens probably going to get into it over how stupid of an idea this is and Isaac well... there's no telling what goes through his head half the time." Akira explained giving a so-so gesture when it came to the final member of her team. "But they're not just going to let you roll solo on this and neither am I" Plus the chance for a little revenge against those freaks for what they did to Kait would help sweeten the deal, that still left a few big issues thought "But I doubt the five of us are gonna be enough for this." She rubbed her chin in thought "Ben is probably one of our best bets, he practically threw a fit when word came down for the portal to be shut down."
"That's still only six people, nine if we can get Gwen, Kevin and Rook on board with this." The first two might be up for it but Rook was the far more straight-laced of them, and what he was suggesting wasn't just far out of the way of protocol, they'd be going against direct orders from high command, if they messed it up if they got caught, that's not only their lives and careers ruined but they could be looking at some serious jail time.
"Then we work on that as we go" Akira replied "I know for a fact there'll be more than a few plumbers out there who'd chip in if they know what's going on." Mannie and Hellen were the first to spring to mind, they were close with the brother and sister duo, so they could trust them to hear them out without going to report their actions straight after.
"A ship might help grease the wheels a bit, at the very least, it'll show them we're serious about this." Akira cupped her chin in thought, the blue-haired plumber nodding along with her friend's word. "Paradox mentioned the magister might be able to help with that."
Akira narrowed her eyes slightly "He did seem upset about the whole thing, him and Patelliday." And it defiantly wouldn't be the first time the magister had 'looked the other way' regarding some of his own grandsons more unorthodox methods over the years. "But what you're suggesting here isn't just outside of normal protocol, even just talking about this could land us hot water."
"It wouldn't be the first time he's stuck his neck out for us." Alex reminded her
"No, it would not." Akira smiled in response, Max was one of the few plumbers who'd stood up for them after they'd broken into the command center in search of their missing friend, they'd spent weeks trying to reach him through the 'official channels' but time and time again every attempt they made ran into one brick wall after the other.
A denial of any involvement in Alex's disappearance or just feigned ignorance towards even knowing who they were looking for, turns out in the end, the last one had been far closer to the truth than they realized, but by that point, they'd already put there back up plan in action, looking back at it now she knew it was a dumb plan, but at the time it was the best they had.
They'd already broken in once before, and she had all the codes Rook had used for the maintenance shaft memories, so getting in a second time hadn't been all that difficult, getting out though was a whole different story. The base had been put on high alert after the Incursion occupation, the tension between the extraterrestrial and Human population in Bellwood had been sitting at a boiling point and a bunch of teenagers showing up to make trouble defiantly didn't help the situation.
He didn't have to help them, hell he didn't even know that Alex was being kept in the base, at the least they'd have been reprimanded and sent home with a slap on the wrist and at worst arrested and tried, with their chance of seeing Alex again being nothing more than zero. Instead, he put a lot on the line to protect a bunch of punk kids he didn't even know, he didn't have to do it, but he did, not because it was his duty or whatever but because it was right. "I'll talk to the others, see if I can get them on board with this crazy plan of yours." Akira sighed looking up at her friend with a small smile "Vanessa is going to kick your ass, you know that."
"Don't I know it..." Alex sighed, the road ahead was a rocky one, but they couldn't afford to let themselves waver now. In the past, the Plumbers had gone toe to toe with War Mongering Tyrants, Extradimensional Cultists and Monsters from the darkest reaches of space, and never once in the face of such overwhelming odds had their drive to see their mission carried out wavered.
The threat of the Psycho Rangers had only reached Remnant due to their inability to stop them on their end, even if Remnant wasn't a part of Plumber controlled space they had an obligation to intervene, to refuse to do so, to abandon Remnant and its people in the face of such a calamity would betray all that their organization stood for, the ideals it had been founded upon, the ones he'd fought and bled to uphold over the years.
If the highest authority in five galaxies turned a blind eye to such... evil, who would be left to stand in its way?
If not them, then who?
/
Closing the holographic camera feed down on his badge Max quickly swiped through the settings bringing up the layout for the security system for the medical wards locker room and the hallway outside where miss Takagi had entered, tapping at the display for a few seconds he highlighted the last ten minutes of camera footage and audio records from both, more importantly, Alex and Akira's discussion about their 'thoughts' regarding the situation on Remnant.
With a swipe of his finger, the audio and video recordings of the conversation had been erased and the cameras placed on a small loop of their initial interaction after being reunited and with that, any incriminating evidence towards their plan was gone.
Max sighed swiftly slipping his plumbers badge back in place on his belt, he already had an idea about what 'ship' Paradox had referred to Alex. It was something the plumbers had been attempting to keep a lid on, ever since they'd first discovered the link between it and the artefact clinging to the young man's wrist.
Not even Azmuth himself had known what he was looking at when they first brought it to his attention, the technology that made up that device was ancient and yet somehow more advanced than anything the Galvin had seen throughout his long life, he'd spent a month examining it and then much to his surprise and a few of the higher-ranking members of plumbers dismay had actually experimented and improved some of the baser functions of the design, before returning it to Alex much to the young man's surprise.
He still remembered standing in the observation room beside the Galvin watching as Alex went through various combat drills while shifting through one different ranger form after another, allowing him to cut through a small army of training droids in a matter of minutes 'Do you remember what you told me when I first tried to remove My Omnitrix from your Grandson, how you claimed to see the seeds of greatness take route inside him, at first I thought it a grave mistake, his immaturity and rashness painting a rather grim picture of what my creation could be used to do in the wrong hands..."
"Yet as time passed by and I watched him grow, using the Omnitrix in ways I had not even fathomed, I began to see what you had in the boy all those years ago, true he stumbled and fell at times, his Ego and Pride dragging him down into the mud, yet he never stopped pushing forward... I see a similar quality in young Alexander, but don't think me some nostalgic fool attempting to recreate one lucky accident." The Galvin had waved off
"I did not make the decision to gift him this added arsenal on a whim, his actions during the incursion occupation and my own findings spoke well of his character, that boy possesses a strength, a drive I have seen few and far between." Azmuth had looked to him knowingly " If we help to cultivate this drive, and guide him down the correct path, he may become a force of good to which this universe has never seen."
The sound of the locker room's automatic door sliding open, pulled him back to reality. He watched Alex and Akira part ways, with the young woman making her way down the opposite hall with haste in her step, reaching into one of the slots on her belt she drew her cellphone and began typing away at the screen, just as she rounded the corner he saw a look of relief flash in her eyes.
His gaze shifted to Alex, the young man straightening up slightly Under his gaze "Magist-"
"Hang on a second there son." Max interrupted, causing Alex to blink confusion glancing past the Omni ranger down the hallway behind him max turned and gestured for the young man to follow "We need to have a talk."
/
Cinder trailed along the darkened halls of Evernight Castle, her way ahead lit by the dull light of the violate crystals lining the walls of her Queens home, in the days following her arrival within her queen home she'd spent much of her free time exploring the various hallways and tunnels stretching far beneath the barren landscape above and deep down within the earth, into an endless labyrinth of dark tunnels and vast caverns, where no light could be found.
From what she'd learned over the years from both her own findings and her Queen when she'd seen fit to entertain her curiosity, these tunnels had initially been meant as a means of escape for both Salem and her followers in the unlikely event they ever came under siege and were forced to flee. Now a fool might question why a being unburdened by the concept of death as her mistress would require such a thing?
Because Salem understood that despite mankind's failings they were not to be underestimated. Should they ever unite, the threat they posed to her could not be ignored and as such preparations had been made to ensure that if such an event ever came to pass, the survival of her most valuable pieces and her own escape would be assured.
Now, however, this section of the labyrinth of hallways served a new purpose for her queen, as a place for their most dangerous allies to carry out her twisted experiments, yet always within her sight should the thought of turning against them ever cross their mind.
Arriving outside a pair of double doors Cinder clenched her fist slightly before reaching out towards them, the doors opened just as her fingers brushed against its surface, the air within was somehow scalding yet frigid across her skin, stepping through the doorway she stared down the stone staircase at a large circular room that looked to have been torn straight from the pages of a fairy tale.
The room itself was lit by a large violate crystal jutting up from the floor in the center of the room, the right wall was occupied by a series of racks each occupied by a number of herbs alongside various other... items, resting beside these racks was a small table containing a mortar and pedestal, and a small cauldron directly to its right resting atop a small firepit, the broth inside already bubbling and frothing about the rim, a dull green miasma rising from within.
The left side contained a number of bookshelves occupied by various books and papers in front of which sat a large stone desk, a pile of peppers scatted across its surface, at the very back of the room and perhaps its newest addition was the large stone doorway that had been carved into the back wall, a series of complex runes and glyphs running across the edges of its surface, in a language she had no hope of deciphering.
Though what caught her eyes the most was the pedestal stood before the doorway, atop it sat a dark jet-black crystal orb, a mix of dark red and amber light pulsing from within. Making her way down the stairs her eye never strayed from the orb, its presence drew her in, called to her, soon enough she found herself standing before the orb, the light, the power housed within calling to her.
She reached out towards i-
"You don't want to do that." A hand clamped down on her wrist before she could lay her hand on the orb, Cinder gasped tearing her arm free from the other she stumbled back, pulling her arm back into her chest. Psycho pink tilted her head to the side a small, amused giggle leaving her as she turned to pick up the orb, the light within went out leaving the crystal dark, crossing the room back towards the study she opened one of the cupboards and placed it on a small stand inside. "Most of what's in this room can kill you if mishandled, but a Phylactery well... let's just say if you see it out next time don't touch it."
Cinder pinched her brow slightly shaking off whatever hold, that thing had over her and fixing the Pink Psycho ranger with a questioning glance. "I see your voice hasn't returned yet." Cinder didn't miss the pleased tone of her voice and glared back at her.
"Relax" Pink replied "There's no need to get yourself so worked up, not when I called you here to address said issues, among other things." The pink Psycho ranger flicked her wrist a familiar dark violet aura surrounding her hands. suddenly a set of stone chairs and a table rose from the floor behind her. "I can help with that if you'd be so inclined." She added gesturing towards the newly formed furniture with a small flourish of her free hand.
Glancing between the furniture and her host before slowly taking a seat at the table. 'I'll indulge her for now' Cinder thought to herself even if she'd have to admit the thought of having her vision fully restored was more than just appealing. Psycho pink reached out gripping Cinders chin and tilting her head from left to right examining the scars peeking out from beneath her black mask, the largest of which ran across the bridge of her nose stopping just beneath her right eye.
"You're lucky, any higher and Salem probably would have cut her losses with you." Cinder scowled in response earning an amused titter from the Psycho ranger, that scowl depend as pink reached for the glass mask covering the left side of her face, pulling the mask free Psycho pink was greeted by the burned pale flesh covering the upper left side of her face and the empty socket that once housed her left eye. "Hmm, it's not too bad..." She trailed off brushing her fingers over the scarred flesh, pressing down just above her brow. "Feel that?" she asked
Cinder shook her head slightly, it was one of the few things she was grateful for from her injury, the nerve endings around that area had been so damaged by... whatever that girl had done, that she'd lost the ability to feel pain across the left side of her face and much fo the feeling in general for her entire left arm, though as her queen had said her new appendage would rectify the latter allowing her full movement and the ability to wield a sword in her left hand once more, though the same could not be said for the rest of her body.
"Let's fix that shall we." Psycho pink replied the same flaming aura enveloping her fingertips once more, and before the Fall Maiden could think to react she had already pressed her hand against Cinder's face and in an instant, her whole body lit up in agony
"HRRGHH!"
A strangled scream forced its way up through Cinders throat, her back slamming into the stone chair as she attempted to pull away from the Psycho ranger fire bursting to life in her human hand, immediately a pair of stone shackles formed out of the arms of the chair locking her limbs in place. "I forgot to mention." Pink began the aura around her hand growing in intensity "This is going to hurt... a lot" Tears threatened to spill from her remaining eye as the fiery aura spread down from the point of contact and down her neck encompassing the majority of her upper chest and abdomen, before branching out to her left leg and down her left arm stopping just above her elbow.
She could feel it, by the Brothers she could feel it all over again, the light, that blinding, burning light washing over her setting her body ablaze, she couldn't move, she could hardly breathe, her world overtaken by the agony of reliving quite possibly the worst pain of her life, yet had she the sense of mind she would have noticed her once strangled gasp had slowly evolved into an agonized wail, her voice echoing off the walls around them, though this revelation was quickly overshadowed by the world around her growing darker by the second.
'no...No!' she fought to stay conscious, she'd come too far, she'd sacrificed too much to die here a victim of one of those demented creatures, she started kicking her right leg out at her attacker while continuing to thrash and struggled against her restraint. " You're almost there, you're almost there." Pink replied to her onslaught, if Cinder hadn't known better she'd say her tone sounded almost comforting.
She could feel her left cuff beginning to give way under the strain of her body, just a little more than she could-
The hand-pulled away, the fiery aura that once enveloped her body dissipated, and the agony running across her body began to fade away replaced by an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion, Cinder slumped forward in her chair panting for breath her relief was short-lived as she caught Psycho pink move in the corner of her eye, even as her muscles cried out in protest she began pulling at her restraint once more fire sprouting to life around her eyes as she glared up at the Psycho ranger. "I'LL KILL YOU; NOT EVEN SALEM WILL BE ABLE TO PROTECT YOU, I DON'T CARE WHAT... SHE... I...I'll..." Cinder trailed off her eyes widened further in realization, with another quick to follow soon after, the dark spot in her field of view she'd come to know day by day was gone, almost as if...
She looked up at the Psycho ranger, who stared back down at her in what she could only assume was admiration, though clearly not for her. "Yes, that much better now isn't it, you should be able to at least stomach looking at yourself in the mirror again now." The Psycho Ranger reached out once more tilting Cinders head from left to right, releasing her chin the Psycho ranger set a small hand mirror down in front of the Fall Maiden, the cuffs that once held her in place receding back into the stone allowing her to move once more. "Tell me, what do you think of my work?"
Cinder stared down at the mirror for a moment before slowly reaching out to take it in hand, yet she still hesitated to raise it, a small part of her dreading what she might find staring back at her. Forcing those feelings down she swallowed and slowly brought the mirror into view, twin amber orbs stared back at her, accompanied by a pale unblemished face, a face she'd thought she might never see again, she reached up with her Grimm's hand just to be certain this wasn't some trick.
She flinched back slightly as the Grimm hands' callous skin and jagged nails trailed down her cheek, yet that feeling was overwhelmed by the smooth warm skin she felt beneath her fingers. "How?" she whispered almost scared that if she tried to speak any further she'd find herself almost mute once again.
"I should say it's obvious." She said raising her hand the fiery dark aura returned "Then again different world, different types of magic, heh, even your queen might not have realized this was possible, or if she did well..." She left the statement hanging in the air, how Cinder decided to interpret that was up to her, all she could say was the procedure had been a success.
Cinder slowly set the mirror back down in front of her and took a slow breath to calm herself, now wasn't the time to be overwhelmed, if the pink one had decided to... restore her, then there must have been a reason, she must have needed her to do something. "What do you want?"
"Hmm?" Psycho pink hummed.
"You wouldn't just do something like this for nothing, so what do you want from me." Cinder demanded.
The psycho ranger tittered in response "Nothing, this was a gift from us to you." Psycho pink replied
"Don't patronize me." Cinder snarled "I'm not some foolish child who'll buy into that kindness of others crap, why would you do this if not for your own gain." You didn't just give something like this away without asking for something in return, so what did they hope to gain from her, information, more resources, her loyalty?
"Maybe so." Psycho pink relented "But not this time, so if you're looking for a reason chalk it up to gratitude for dealing with a rather big thorn in our side, I think you know who."
"Then are we done here?" Cinder inquired, her free time around the palace was about to end and she had duties to attend to, the biggest of which included coming up with how to explain her sudden 'restoration' to her queen, speaking of which. "You realize I'll have to inform Salem of this, and she will have questions?."
"Then she can come down here and ask me." Psycho pink waved her off, leaning back on the table behind her she crossed her arms over her chest and gestured to the room around them. "She knows what I can do, that's why she gave me this place, so she could keep an eye on me while I document information about the magic of my world for her, she's developed quite the interest in adapting it for her own use." And in exchange, she'd been allowed to poke around the Grimm pools outside of the castle, Gold and Silver had been wanting to get their hands on some raw samples of Grimm essence for a while now and she had a few of her own ideas in the mix.
Cinder sighed. "Fine." Turning to leave cinder began the climb back up the stairs towards the double doors, pausing at the edge of the platform she glanced back over her shoulder at the Psycho Ranger. "And... thank you."
Pink smirked beneath her helmet. "You are very welcome."
AN: Not even a day out of that tank and he's ready to go to war, then again after everything he's learned can we really blame him, something is amiss at plumber high command, with unseen forces moving behind the scenes things seem stacked against our young protagonist, who knows what awaits him in the days ahead...