Another chapter for you readers. Not much to say, hope you enjoy it.
Vacuo; located on the western end of the continent of Sanus, and lies west of Vale, another kingdom in the world of Remnant. Vacuo is located in the center of a vast and harsh desert, and although once the site of a hospitable oasis, many years of unchecked human activity have changed its climate into a barren wasteland indistinguishable from the desert surrounding it.
In the past, Vacuo was founded in a large oasis with lush jungles, abundant resources, natural barriers, and the largest Dust deposit ever recorded in Remnant's history. These favorable conditions allowed the people of Vacuo to flourish, and nomads would travel across the harsh desert surrounding Vacuo in hopes of reaching the verdant paradise.
These conditions however bred complacency in Vacuo's people, who had no inclination to develop and adapt as others living in less idea conditions were forced to. After years of warfare, mining and ecological disasters exhausted Vacuo's resources and transformed the once rich Kingdom into a wasteland of heavy industry and makeshift settlements. It's people frequently moved from to place due to scarce resources and attacks from Grimm.
It was following the end of the warfare that a formal government was finally established in Vacuo, but its actual ability to govern was limited due to the people's disregard for its laws. The only widely accepted source of order was Shade Academy.
With a lack of formal governance for most of their history has given the people of Vacuo a disregard for laws and order. However, they live by the philosophy that anyone who is able to survive the harsh conditions of Vacuo is welcome to live amongst them.
One thing that is commonly known throughout Vacuo is the extreme weather deep outside of the established settlements, it being so fierce that travel through the use of bullhead is looked at being a much higher risk then encountering Grimm across the sands. Because of this, there are many traveling groups that are always ready for hire, and if single travel is desired, desert traveling animals or contraptions are also widely sold.
Since the use of bullheads are so dangerous, a certain trio is currently waiting as one of them attempts to procure a set of mounts for them to travel to their destination.
Even when blinded, one's true sight always lies elsewhere, wherever that might be; only the one who sees can answer that question.
"So, what you're telling me is that you and your friends over there," The man points towards the two cloaked figures. "want to ride out into who knows where, a place that is nowhere near any settlement except for this one, and is said to house some of the most dangerous amounts of Grimm."
The hooded man in front of him simply nodded his head as he pulled out a flask and taking a sip from it, letting the cool liquid soothe his throat, only to close it and speak.
"I thought you had a policy to not ask about business Bruno?"
The man named Bruno sighed. "It's...It's not the same in this situation Qrow. You're a good customer of mine, and even though you've done this before, that was case, it was just you. I would be fine with just losing one of my babies, but this is different. There's three of you!" He held his arms spread out.
The cloaked man, Qrow reached into his back pouch and pulled out what looked to be a heavy sack, the sounds indicating something very valuable inside. "It's not the normal type of payment, but this should cover us yes?"
Bruno stared at the bag questioningly before grabbing ahold of it and opening it, going wide-eyed before closing it quickly and stuffing it into his own personal bag. "Where in Remnant did you get these, they..."
"Will they work Bruno?"
Bruno stared at Qrow before quickly looking around and back to him. "They're a fine investment, and it'll do more than what you originally were going for my friend." He motioned towards Qrow before walking around a corner within his shop.
Qrow looked behind and motioned towards his two cloaked compatriots, signaling them to follow as well. They walked up and one of them spoke. "Was that necessary to use that Qrow?"
He only shrugged as they began to walk into the shop. "I've worked with him enough, he knows what he's dealing with now." The three turned the corner and immediately stopped as Bruno was lifting a saddle onto the large humped creature. "These are two new ones I haven't seen before, I see that you have my favorite here though." Qrow commented as he continued to walk in.
Bruno turned to the three. "I always keep Betsie reserved for you whenever you're in town, and these two," He patted the two animals. "are the top quality I keep on the side for the highest paying customers. I present you with Marigold and Primrose, they'll hold up in mostly anything. Now the question is, have either the two of you ridden camels before?"
The two cloaked figures looked at one another then back to the man, nodding their heads yes.
Bruno nodded his heads. "Alright, let's get you folks moving then. Riding in the dark is never good. I'll finish getting the things you will need, just give me a few minutes." He walked past them and back out of the store. After they were sure that he left, the cloaked figures removed their hoods revealing a man and a woman, both of varying age. The woman has light-blonde hair that was tied back in a bun and a curl handing down on the side of her face, and has bright green eyes along with a pair of thin ovular glasses. The man has tousled silver hair and thin brown eyes, along with him sporting a pair of small, shaded glass spectacles.
"Not to be imposing or anything you two, but do you really have any idea how to ride these things?" Qrow asked the two walking up to the animals. The two turned to look at them before the older man spoke up.
"I can't say I have, but then again, I've always wanted to experience it." He ran his hand along the animals back.
"No, I can say that I have not ridden a camel before Qrow, nor did I plan too until we got out here and you told us that we couldn't make it to our destination with a bullhead." The woman said with a slight tinge of annoyance at the end of her sentence. The two men stared at her before looking at each other and chuckling slightly.
"Well then, I guess you'll learn as we ride." Qrow said as he ran his hand across the cloak that adorned the saddle, and over a strange emblem which caught the attention of the three in the room. "Huh, never seen something like this before."
The symbol upon the cloak was a red skull that appeared to be flaming, and upon the skulls face was a sharp looking pair of black sunglasses. "I suppose we should ask Bruno about it, then shall we?" The three nodded as the man began to appear, the two putting their hoods back up before he could see them.
Bruno walked back into the room carrying three large packs of what looked to be supplies for them to take with them. After setting them on the ground, he turned around and noticed the three of them were staring at him. "What, not satisfied with my beauties?"
The older man waved his hand towards Bruno getting his attention. "Would you mind telling us what this symbol represents, or possibly where it's even from? Not to be imposing on you, but it looks rather out of place in, well Remnant."
Bruno glanced from the man to the symbol on the cloak then back to the man. "Ohh, you mean that symbol... Well, I have no idea. I just bought it since it looked interesting."
This earned a sigh from the three, and yet also, a question. The old man asked again.
"Where did you acquire it then?"
Bruno bent back down to the bags and began to look through them while speaking. "There's a bombshell of a woman slightly older then you down the street. She's said to have been all around Remnant. She apparently teaches children of all ages everywhere she goes, and also sells these things as well to make a living since, well, she teaches for free that is."
The older man glanced between his two compatriots and nodded. They decided amongst themselves to visit the woman before leaving, a small stop like that shouldn't take up too much time.
"Thank you for the information. If it wouldn't be too much of a hassle, would you mind giving us some time to visit the woman before we take off?"
Bruno sighed as he dropped his hands to his side. "Alright. Don't say that I didn't try to get you out of here as soon as possible for your safety. It's your life, not mine." He stood up and gestured towards the three too follow him once again. The three complied and followed the man outside. "You're going to want to go at least two houses down. I would normally say not to worry about her since she looks like she wouldn't do anything because of her age, but my god, she's probably the most dangerous thing in this place besides you Qrow."
This earned a questionable glance from Qrow as he looked at him then back to the other two before he shrugged his shoulders and walked on, the other two following behind him. They followed him and began to walk down the street he was pointing down.
Bruno yelled from behind them. "Remember, be back before it gets dark or it's gonna be a dangerous ride if you decided to head out!"
Qrow only waved his hand back towards the man, showing his casual attitude towards the remark as he continued his way down the street along with his two companions. When they made their way farther down the street, the woman turned to the older gentleman.
"Remind me why we're visiting this woman?"
Qrow turned around and spoke in a sarcastic tone. "To learn of her wisdom from her many years of living. What comes with Age is wisdom, come on, I'd expect at least you to understand this?"
The woman seemed to become infuriated until a hand the man next to her spoke up. "I wish to learn about where that symbol originated from. As I said before, it looks out of place on Remnant."
Qrow and the woman glanced at the man before nodding in agreement. They continued to walk down the street until coming upon a large red tent, the same symbol sitting on the outside. When compared to its surroundings, it stood out extremely. "I swear, if this has been around all of Remnant than I must be a blind man not to have noticed it at all." The other two nodded.
The symbol looked as if to make up the flaps of the tent when closes, the white clearly standing out to the red alongside the black. Qrow walked up to the tent, not even needing to bed over since it stood taller than him, and before he could say anything; a voice called out.
"Don't you know that stealing is wrong?"
They quickly turned around and was greeted with a middle-aged woman, and to Bruno's words, was most definitely a bombshell. Her age not ruining her bodacious body. The woman had red hair with a strands of black and a single green colored eye, and a comic skull eye patch covering the other. Her clothing consisted of a red poncho that sported the same symbol that was pushed behind her, and baggy brown pants. Her hair was straightened down and waved in the wind as she walked towards them. In her hands looked to be a mix of books and journals, along with a few pencils. Qrow began to open his mouth but was stopped as the older man stepped forward.
"We would never think of doing such a thing Madam; we were just wondering if we could take a moment of your time?"
The woman walked passed the three and up to the tent, lifting a single flap. "Come on in, I've been out in the sun all day." She waved the three of them in as she went behind the flap. The trio shared glances and nodded before following her inside.
When they entered the covering, their eyes opened upon the display they were shown. Within the tent was a display of many paintings of what looked to be of a different Vacuo, one that was less hills of sand, and one of cracked stone that stretched for miles with mountains that looked the same, of underground towns with little to no light but many people living throughout it, looking as If they were mining the walls. Many more depicted scenes of fighting between many people against what appeared to be a massive mech, towering high above the crevasses in the mountains that they hid in. Many of these pictures were drawn on pieces of fabric and stretched around the tent instead of being held in one place. In a corner of the tent sat a cot with a simple covering and pillow upon it, and below it sat a large bag. Sitting next to the cot was something large covered by a dull, brown tarp, hiding everything beneath it. In the middle sat a unlit fireplace and four chairs surrounding it, as if the woman was expecting visitors, or more specifically them this whole time.
The woman went to the cot, bent over and pulled the large bag onto the cot. Opening it, she placed the contents she had in her hands and put them into the bag, then removing a long object that was covered in the same material the tarp next to her was, placing it next to the bag before turning to the Trio while gesturing to the seats in front of them. They walked around the chairs and taking a seat, the woman following suit. "Now then, how can I help you?"
The cloaked older man responded. "If it wouldn't be too much, would you mind telling us where the symbol we've seen around town and on the front, is from?"
The woman shifted in her seat, bringing one leg over the other. "Before I answer that, could you tell me what you think about separate lives?"
Qrow's face twisted into one of confusion but before he could say anything the man spoke up once more. "While like something out of a story, I do believe in those who have lived in past lives living in the now."
The woman chuckled. "There's no easy way to explain this, as well. Let me just start a small story if you don't mind." She coughed into her hand to clear her throat. "When I was little, I had the dream to travel the world. From about the time I turned twelve, I realized that I wasn't just me anymore." The trio looked from one another then back to the woman. "Something that is exactly from a story is what I experience to this day; an entire life that isn't mine." Her hand waved to the paintings on the walls. "These places; I've never even seen them, let alone know their names."
"What are you talking abo-" Qrow was stopped by the woman, her hand raised towards him to quiet him.
"You interrupt me again and I'll shut those lips with something else." She said fiercely. "The life I live is someone from somewhere entirely different from Remnant. This all happened to me so suddenly the day it happened, the change, or rather realization of it caused me to lose my sight in one of my eyes." She pointed towards her eye patch. "And over the course of the three years after that my hair slowly changed from its original color of black. It was the strangest thing, as if the newly found memories just slowly took over my body, even my own name." The woman clapped her hands together. "Oh, how rude of me, I never introduced myself. My name is Yomoko, well, at least the name I use now. I can't even remember what it used to be anymore."
Qrow began to speak once more. "Now 'Yomoko', what you're saying soun-" He was immediately cut off by the woman lunging towards him, his hand reaching for his weapon on his back while her hands wrapped around the side of his head. Before he could draw it, he felt a warm sensation on his lips, then a massive flood of what could only be told as a memory overdrives. The other two didn't do anything while Yomoko was forcing herself upon Qrow, only sitting there with their faces still underneath the cloaks, but the situation was certainly one full of confusion.
After what was about an entire minute, the woman release Qrow who collapsed onto the ground. She stood on her feet and stared down at the man. "Qrow Branwen. Age thirty-nine, coming up on the birthday I see. Both parents are deceased, a single sister, step-brother and two wonderful nieces I see."
The two cloaked individuals were now standing while looking at the woman as Qrow was still making his way to his feet. "Using a rather interesting weapon I see, not my cup of tea personally, but whatever works for you." Yomoko chuckled as she walked over to the brown tarp. "Don't worry you two, he kept your identities rather well hidden, not so much about where you're going." She pulled the tarp off revealing what lied beneath it. A large rifle and a pair of orange connected shades sitting atop it. Underneath it was a brown duffle bag closed tightly. The largest thing revealed would be the futuristic scooter that was sitting on the ground, wheels absent.
The cloaked woman spoke up while making her wave over to Qrow quickly. "What did you do to him?" Lifting him off the ground, she looked towards Yomoko.
Another small chuckle came from the woman. "While not the most useful, my Semblance allows me to see into one's mind through contact upon another's lips. At the same time, the receiver can see everything in my mind as well. While strangely specific, it serves its purpose."
Qrow finally made his way to his feet and began walking towards Yomoko. "That was something that wasn't necessary and just... AGHHHH" Qrow collapsed to his knees while holding his head in his hands.
Yomoko turned around while slinging the rifle over her shoulder. "The sudden increase in information has overloaded your brain and you're currently experiencing extreme migraine pains. Before you ask, I've experience my fair share of these, but I've learned only to take in so much at a time."
Qrow looked at her. "Just who are you; I'm seeing, my god! I just want to forget it all, there's just so much." He reached to his flask and quickly brought it to his lips, quaffed down the liquid.
"It'll pass, in the meantime, we have somewhere to be, don't we?" Her hand reaching over to the scooter and flipping a switch, it humming to life and raising off the ground. "As you've already been told, the night isn't a time to be traveling, and we still have plenty of light out." She began to walk the scooter out, the rifle and bag slung over her shoulders, leaving the trio in the tent.
Qrow finally let the flask slip back into his pocket and stood up, stumbling slightly. "Whatever the hell I just saw, is something that'll even blow your mind." He pointed to the cloaked man.
The man laughed slightly. "Let's go. There's no reason to argue with a woman once she's made up her mind, and hopefully she'll give us a clearer answer in time." He turned and walked out of the tent, the woman following, then Qrow as well. Outside Yomoko was sitting on the supposed hover scooter, messing with her rifle. "Are you three done meddling? I haven't done this in a while, so I might be a tad bit rusty." She smiled.
Qrow walked up to her and pointed a finger in her face. "Listen, traveling with us isn't..." He was cut off by Yomoko, a long sigh coming from her. "I know plenty about your semblance Qrow; seeing how things have gone though, hopefully the bad luck will collide and nothing will happen. [1]"
The trio stayed quiet before the cloaked woman spoke up. "I believe it is time for us to continue moving forward then. A pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Yomoko, let's make this a safe, and comfortable trip while it lasts."
Yomoko nodded her head back as she slung the rifle onto her back and rode the scooter ahead to the edge of where their rides were currently awaiting. After a few more steps down the path, the cloaked woman stepped in front of the two, holding her hand out.
"Something's not right. Why're they just sitting out?"
The two glanced at where Yomoko was currently at waving towards them. She was right, they didn't leave their rides out like this, and they doubted that Bruno would've done so. The older man pushed past the woman's arm and spoke to Yomoko.
"Ms. Yomoko; is Bruno there with you?"
She stopped waving and turned her head before lowering the scooter and setting it against the wall on the house. She quickly disappeared into the house, leaving the three in anticipation of what was to come. Seconds turned to minutes and Yomoko had still yet to leave the house of the man Bruno.
"All right, screw it. I've already dealt with more than I want to today and I'm not in the mood to deal with more." Qrow started to walk forward, ignoring any sort of attempt that the cloaked woman tried to make to stop him. A few more steps forward and he was almost at the door, and after placing his hand on the corner, Yomoko's face appeared in front of him, making Qrow take a step back.
"Ah, sorry about the wait. You're friend here called some unwanted trouble, so I took care of it." She gestured her thumb behind her, and lying in the house was a pile of what appeared to be unconscious bodies, Bruno's lying atop of the masked figures.
"What?" Qrow said questioningly.
"Right, you three just got here. This is a popular spot for those White Fang fellows to sit around at. They usually get a call from your 'friend' here then hit em while their out in the sand flats. Sickening honestly." She walked past Qrow, leaving him to stare at the unconscious mass that was the body pile. The other two cloaked figures finally made their way up to them and glance into the room, the woman being the first to speak.
"So Bruno is your friend Qrow and you didn't know of this?"
The man sighed and pushed past the woman while grumbling. "More like he was a business partner. Damn fool." He walked into over to the man and pulled the pouch off his belt before attaching it to his. Bruno didn't need it, so why not just take it back. Qrow climbed his way on the crouched animal, patting its side making it rise to its full height. The two watched as it rose, the two then sharing a glance and climbing upon their own mounts repeating the same process. Thankfully to the trio, there wasn't any problems in this and glanced down to see Yomoko glaring at them.
"I thought he was lying when he said that you two have never ridden these before, but I guess not." She shrugged and allowed the scooter to hum to life, floating off the ground and pushing out in front of them. "Let's go! There's only so much light in the day, and from the looks of it; it's hardly even an hour's worth of traveling." Her scooter started to move forward, and with a gesture from Qrow, the three of them started to trail after her.
….
The sun was beginning to set, the orange tint lighting up the sand flat. By this point with so much distance between the trio and Yomoko, the two cloaked figures decided to remove the facial cover of their cloaks. Though this removed a covering of their cloak, the sand blowing around them served as enough cover to still maintain their appearance and continue on forward.
After what seemed like a couple of minutes passing, they came upon Yomoko who was standing next to her scooter with her rifle unslung from her shoulder. After coming up closer to her, the three unmounted and stood next to her. The older man spoke up, "Why did we stop Ms. Yomo-"
Yomoko held up her hand to silence him. She kneeled down and dipped her head towards the ground, looking as to listen to the very vibrations of the sand. They saw her eye widen and in a split second, she shouted towards them. "MOVE!"
They all split in multiple directions, and almost immediately a sand pillar shot up from where they were standing, engulfing the camels and scooter along with it. The trio heard the woman shout. "Shit! This is not what I wanted to deal with!"
The sand pillar began to dissipate and in its place was a large black streamline of white protrusions continued to shoot up into the air before stopping and beginning its fall towards them. The beast had no eyes, but instead a massive mouth lined with crystalline like teeth that looked like it would shred up anything inside of it.[2]
"It's a Sandworm Grimm. Surround it before it burrows again!"
The three pulled out their weapons, the older man pulling out a long cane, the woman a riding crop, and Qrow his sword. Yomoko held up her rifle, loading up a clip into the bottom of it with a lightning symbol on the side of it. "If you have any lightning dust; use it!" Then she fired.
Sand kicked up all around her, her cloak flying off of her body from the sheer force of the blast. It connected with the side of the Grimm but it hardly even earned a reaction from the monster. Large boulders surrounded with a purple aura flew from behind the beast, impacting it and slightly swinging it downward before it turned around to look at what hit it. The Grimm finally impacted the ground, throwing up sand all around it and partially blinding the four for a second before the older man blinked forward, running up the back of the massive Grimm.
Each step he took he would strike the Grimm, only to be reward with a rebounding of his weapon. He hopped off the beast and landed next to the others.
The worm was a massive beast, its skin practically like steel to their weapons, making them useless in their attacks. Yomoko shouted over the small sandstorm created by the Grimm.
"Aim for its neck; we remove the head or at least damage it enough, we'll be fine!"
The trio nodded their heads and waited for the Grimm to resurface, their weapons at the ready. Minutes passed and the ground began to rumble once more. A sand pillar masking the Grimm shot up between them again. Immediately the old man and Qrow launched themselves towards the sandworm. They landed themselves up onto the Grimm and around the base of it's moveable mandibles.
Before they could begin their assault on its neck, a large black blur followed with a red flash appeared next to them. A loud shot rang out, and the once black blur turned into mist instantaneously. Yomoko shouted to the woman standing next to her, "The Sand worm stores other Grimm inside of it. Keep an eye on the two and keep them covered, I'm going to do my part."
She started to run off towards the work; the woman calling out to her. "What are you talking about?!"
Yomoko stopped and turned to face her while smiling. She reached up to her skull eye patch and pulled it off, throwing it off to the side revealing out what lied beneath. An amber eye now shown to the cloaked woman before she slid her orange tinted sunglasses over her eyes. "I'm used to these kinds of things, well at least she was."
She raised her arm and from it shot out a line towards the worm, earning a gritty *Clink* before she waved and was launched upwards. Yomoko slipstreamed through the air towards the sandworm before the line was unhooked from and sent her flying above the large open mouth.
The two men stared at her for only a second as she saluted to them right before falling face first with her rifle pointed downwards, firing as she fell. Yomoko entered the mouth the moment it closed, leaving the trio in suspense as they waited for the woman to resurface.
Only seconds after she entered the Grimm, shots could be heard as they resounded from the inside of it. The sandworm finally impacted upon the ground from its second surfacing allowing the trio to commence their attack with better footing.
Lighting flashed across the sandworms massive body making it convulse only slightly from the thousands of volts stretching through its body, gun shots still coming from within. Smoke bellowed from the Grimm's mouth with each shot, a shot a steam erupting ever time it bellowed a roar.
After a final barrage of boulders, slashes, and impacting stabs, all went silent as the Grimm's violent movements ceased and it collapsed stopped moving altogether. The trio wondered for a second for what happened to Yomoko before the Grimm lurched one last time startling the three while opening its tri-mandibles as far as they would open. A scream that could only be described through its pain erupted from it, followed by a figure launching itself out of its open mouth and landing upon the ground.
It began to make its way towards them, and upon closer inspection appeared to be Yomoko on her scooter that was thought to be devoured by the Grimm. The scream died down, and with it began the dissolving of the sandworm, the black particles floating into the sky.
….
Yomoko finally reached the trio and the four of them rounded up next to the still dissolving Grimm, exchanging smiles and handshakes. Yomoko walked up to the older man and took ahold of his hand, shaking it firmly. "I've got to say, for being a headmaster and a couple of teachers for an academy, you're pretty good…"
The three looked at her with surprise, and for a second Yomoko looked confused before smiling sheepishly. The cloaked woman started to speak. "I thought you said-"
"I… I got to look at his memories Glynda Goodwitch. Honestly, I'm more surprised that you simply accepted the answer that I gave you. You're a teacher of teenagers are you not, shouldn't you be able to diffuse a little lie like that?"
The woman now known as Glynda Goodwitch remained slightly flabbergasted as Yomoko turned to the older man.
"Though I am astounded by your surprise Ozpin, seeing on the position you have and the things I've not only heard about you, but now seen; disappointing really." The two removed the hoods of their cloaks, revealing themselves to the woman.
"I had my suspicions, but I'm but a man Ms. Yomoko, nothing more, and nothing less." Yomoko glared at Ozpin with a smirk, clearly looking through his words.
She waited for a moment before letting out a sigh. She turned around and spoke something under her breath before turning back around to face the trio. "Thank to Mr. Branwen right here, I know you three can be trusted." Qrow shrugged while pulling out a water pouch and drinking from it. She glanced around once more looking for anything that could possibly listening in, even if in the middle of a desert.
"I haven't been entirely true with you three. While I was true about most of what I said, my name that I gave wasn't her real name; that would be Yoko Littner of Littner village, a place farther than you could imagine. As for myself, that would be Ebonis Littner. I wasn't lying when I said that some of my memories have long since been gone because of this, but… it's almost like a shared life at this point. Even though I still retain my old self, I've found it easier to become Yoko, or Yomoko. A badass teacher/sniper, it's been a most invigorating life honestly. Secondly, I already knew about where you were going; Doctor Oobleck contacted me before you arrived and asked me to guide you there. The message you received should have included that, as well as instructions on how we would've avoided the sandworm. You did read it didn't you?"
Glynda and Qrow turned to Ozpin who was currently pulling out his own scroll, holding it out while playing the message she was talking about.
"Ozpin. I have found a phenomenal discovery that could-change-everything! Come to these coordinates, and bring whoever you need to. AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!"
Below the video message in text was a large sequence of numbers. One shorter line to indicate the coordinates they were currently following, and the next was what they were unsure of. Another sigh came from Yoko making the trio glance towards her.
"What is it Ms.-"
"Just Yoko, Qrow."
A pause came from the man before he spoke again. "Alright. What is it Yoko?"
She pondered for a second before grabbing ahold of Ozpins scroll and looking at it closer. "I would say I'm surprise, but I'm not. The second set of numbers is the sequence of steps and speed variations to take at certain intervals of the desert, the same ones that the Doctor took. Of course he didn't explain it to you, he didn't even explain it to me." She handed the scroll back to Ozpin, who collapsed it and stuck it on his person again.
The absence of words floated around for a few minutes, only the blowing of sands around them spoke the silent tales. "No need to delay the reason behind why you're here. Let's move on shall we?"
Glynda was the one to speak up. "What are we to do about out transportation Ms- Yoko?"
She stopped for a second and held an arm in front of her. The sandworm now completely dissolved and in its place behind it, a massive igloo-type structure, one that the trio was surprised to even have missed.
"The Grimm generate harsher conditions when it moves around above, and below the ground, making it harder to locate certain areas such as these. While I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not, it most certainly served as a good way to cover this place."
The four started their walk towards the large stone igloo, and upon approaching it, they saw a small tent with a generator leading a wire through a large crack in the wall. Walking closer, a familiar mess of green hair and glasses poked their head out, peering at the new guests. A wide smile grew on their face and they stepped out into the open sun while holding their hand to cover their eyes. What once looked like a white shirt, now gave the appearance of a black and grey stained shirt, the shorts he had on sharing the same stains. He gestured to the four to follow him quickly before disappearing into the crack once more.
Glynda and Qrow shared a glance before starting forward towards the crack in the wall. Before the other two could walk forward, Ozpin placed his hand on Yoko's shoulder and spoke. "Ms. Littner, I want your word on this. Can I trust you to keep what you see in here between only us? I can take from what I've seen that you, or rather the other 'you' is connected to whatever might be in there, am I correct?"
Yoko stepped a few steps forward and smiled back at him. "Don't know till I see it, don't you agree?" She then walked forward and through the crack in the wall, leaving Ozpin outside and alone with the desert winds.
Walking inside, the man known as Doctor Oobleck was hunched over a table full of scattered papers with both Glynda and Qrow on either side of him while Yoko was glancing at the carvings that covered the walls of the building.
Oobleck quickly turned around and saw Ozpin, rushing over to him with a strong smell of coffee on him. "Did you bring it?"
Ozpin nodded and reached into the small tote bag he had sling around his waist. He pulled out a small container that shined a bright, dark green, giving the appearance of a viscous fluid. Glynda was the first one to speak up upon seeing it.
"Ozpin, what is that?"
Before he could respond, Qrow spoke first. "A pure dust crystal of no element, filled with aura of a large number of individuals or a large quantity. Point is, whoever loaded this, and how long it has been being filled, it's packed extremely tight in there and looks like it's going to burst honestly."
Ozpin nodded as he handed over the container to Oobleck who took ahold of it with great care before rushing back to the table. "Since the Great War, a long line of individuals have been looking over this crystal, filling it with their own Aura in hopes of completing what we're here for currently. That's all that I am allowed to share with this."
The other two stayed quiet until Oobleck broke the silence. "Marvelous! I knew it would work. Everyone, come with me." He gestured towards the four to follow him as he walked towards the second closed door. Oobleck pulled out a small drill shaped stone, except to those now currently here, the stone shown a bluish-green bright color, practically flowing out of it. He held it out and pushed it into the circle key hole that sat on the door, except instead of leaving it there, he turned it like one would a key. A very different reaction occurred from the last time he used it.
The carving on the door disappeared and was replaced with a spiral of the same colored energy as the drill, lining the entire door, and quickly sliding the doors open to reveal the contents inside. They only glanced inside and the entire globe like room had its previous state changed, and like the door, the entire room was covered with a spiral like design starting from the top to bottom in the same bluish-green color.
The large mech in front of them was no longer holding the smaller one above the ground, but was now holding it down on the ground still on its hands. The smaller mech in its hands while once closed, was now wide open revealing the inside and its two occupants much clearer to those around.
Before Oobleck and the others could even move forward, Yoko dashed ahead of them; a face of worry on her face while muttering something under her breath, while dropping her rifle on the ground in the process. Oobleck started to say something but was stopped by Ozpin when he placed his hand on the Doctors shoulder and shook his head.
The woman in front of them cried the opposite of it entirely; her tears flowing like that of a teenage girl that they would find at Beacon academy. Words flowed out of her mouth, many of which they couldn't comprehend over the crying she had going on right alongside it. Only slight snippets of it they caught such as 'I'm so sorry,' and 'It was my fault'.
An entire hour almost passed, the four turning back to the original room to give her time alone with what they deemed as old friends, even family. Yoko eventually walked back out of the room with her head down, holding her rifle in one hand, and her orange glasses on her face with another red pair in her other hand. Ozpin was the first to speak up.
"Ms. Littner. We're going to bring them with us back to Beacon, you're more than welcome to join us and be there-" He was cut off by her holding her hand up to him.
"I…I can't be with them. Their not my memories, and- and I don't deserve it. I've seen both of their fates in one place, and I can't let myself watch it again. It's selfish, I know, but I just can't do it." Yoko reached up to her neck with the hand with the red, strangely shaped glasses and pulled out the skull pin off of its chain. She placed the pin and glasses in Ozpins hand and placed the rifle on the wall next to the door. "They'll know who's these are, so please, give it to them. The taller boy; he may not be the best shot like me, but he's most certainly capable."
She turned around and started to walk to the door before Qrow called out to her. "You're not being what I've seen Yoko. You should know better than this, where's your-"
She quickly turned around and launched her fist into the man's face, knocking him onto the ground along with her sunglasses. Tears were flowing out of her eyes at this point.
"Didn't you listen to anything I said dammit! I'm not here, and I don't deserve to be. I don't have what they do, none of us do! It belongs… it belongs to only the residents of that place. What we have is only a fracture of it, and nothing more. I've seen what it's capable of, and Aura… Aura can do nothing of the sort…" She quickly turned away after picking up her sunglasses, moving towards the door before stopping one last time, her fists clenching. "I'll… I'll try to stop by…" And with that, the woman also known as Yoko Littner disappeared through the large crack in the door leaving the other four by themselves in the room. It was quiet for a tad bit longer before Oobleck spoke up again.
"How are we going to move them Ozpin? From the looks of it, these boys are tied to these machines, and I'd even go as far to guess that if separated to far apart, there will be some sort of health problems."
Ozpin waited for a second before responding. "I suppose a quick job for some hunters-in-training right before the Vytal festival wouldn't hurt them too much would it?" A smile on his face while he said this.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter everyone. I wanted to do a slight insight into things to show that there are a multitude of universes, and just like it, a multitude of timelines as well. This would explain on how the memory of Yoko had seen the life of the entire experience of Kamina and Simon when compared to them leaving at the pivotal moment. Anything you'd like to say, just say it. I'm more than open for comments and such.
