RWBY: Dual Eclipse
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Scene Change
Chapter 16: Revelations, Part 1
Deep within the recesses of Nelius's heart, his munsell-eyed doppelganger was still floored by the recent actions taken. Its skin had mostly healed over, albeit with plenty of scars still displaying the underlying muscle tissue.
"W..why..." It barely managed to cough up an attempt at a question, faint wisps of smoke trailing from its mouth each time.
"Now do you see?" To the doppelganger's consternation, Belderiver could be seen walking up to it. "Your plan was fated to fail from the start. You very clearly don't know him as well as I."
"Sh-shut it..." It tried to get up, but each and every scar and muscle protested the thought of moving, keeping the doppelganger from being able to follow through with its attempt. Much as it wanted to ditch this form and revert back to the beast, it knew that doing so would result in even worse injury. "If... if you're here to... gloat, then... g-get on with it."
"Far from it. You wanted to know why my soul-host doesn't tread the usual demonic path? Then I shall show you one reason why."
With that, Belderiver made a gesture with its right hand, and at once the surrounding destroyed town faded away, only to then settle on an old memory.
A young Nelius was seen in the middle of training with his father, the green-haired demon. The two of them were seen practicing magic out in an area several miles away from the Midnight Town.
"Take a good look at his father... he carries something that most others do not."
The doppelganger strained its eyesight to view the scene playing out before it. So far, it hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, up until both father and son had spread their wings to begin working on aerial combat. While Nelius's wings appeared to extend more outwards from his back, his father's wings looked to droop downwards slightly... and unless it was still delerious from taking a Big Bang to the stomach, there appeared to be a significant difference in their structure as well.
"...those wings... they're... different."
"Indeed. Now, exhibit two." The memory shifted away, only to return to a different time. Nelius and his father were practicing magic once more, only this time the two of them were seen in a far different field, surrounded by a few other demons of the Netherworld.
Nelius's father had his hands outstretched, palms facing toward a Female Warrior with one hell of a nasty gouge in her side. As her skin and muscle began to regrow and knit together, Nelius could be seen observing his father's casting method, and begin to weave together his own Healing spell.
However, one could see a difference in the casting method. Nelius had begun to use the Healing magic spell commonly spread throughout the Netherworld thanks to the Healers, his father was using something completely different, the healing power of his technique seemingly coming from within.
"Hold a moment... was that..." The doppelganger was quickly catching onto something. "Not a usual spell... that was innate?"
"And we have a winner." Belderiver dispelled the memory, returning them back to the Midnight Town, which was still fairly damaged. "Now, use your brain for this one... if you really have been paying attention, then what sort of being has both those kinds of wings and innate healing ability?"
The doppelganger's eyes widened slightly as realization began to set in.
Vale, The Base
Tuesday, September 20, 10:42 A.M.
Nelius carefully placed the Dual Diver within a travel case he had purchased late the other night, making certain to remove the Dust Crystal and place it within its own compartment to prevent jostling. Once both were snugly fit into the case, he closed it up and locked it before picking it up by the handle to test for any issues, namely anything coming loose.
"Looking good." Making certain everything else had been shut down and had their Dust Crystals removed, Nelius finished preparations for his trip up to Beacon Academy. "That's everything. Time to get going."
Case in-hand, he exited out the side door of the house and quickly made his way towards the heart of Vale. Entering into the Residential District, he headed a bit further north before heading east. Up ahead after about fifteen minutes of walking, a port could be seen where several Bullheads and other ships were on stand-by, ready to take visitors and students up to Beacon Academy.
'No path to just walk up there?' Nelius took a moment to look around.
'Hmm... from here I don't see any walking paths. Too bad there's people around, otherwise I'd just jump it.' Seeing few other options to reach Beacon, Nelius ultimately decided to head over to the ships, which were busy loading up other people.
From the assortment of people loading onto the ships, it seemed to be a mixture of students and civilians. He tried to find a ship that was relatively light on passengers.
One of the pilots was working with the port crew, finalizing a double-check over the equipment and state of his ship. He could hear some idle chatter about how this Vytal Festival was had several more attendees compared to when it was held in Vale eight years ago.
There was another ship that was looking relatively light on passenger load, so Nelius decided to take it. A few others ahead of him were also able to get onto the ship with relative ease, and he proved no different, able to get a seat for himself with no fuss, his case not even drawing any stares.
About three minutes later, the ship shuddered slightly as it began to take off for Beacon.
'Security seems a bit lax, especially for a gathering like this...'
'It'd explain how Cinder and her cohorts were able to get in undetected. Either way, we're here to get more details.'
"Oh. Wasn't expecting to see you again." Looking up from his thoughts, Nelius's eye met those of a familiar-looking young man clad in green and brown.
"Hm?" It took Nelius a moment for it to click. "Ah, from the clothing store. Don't think I caught your name back then..."
"Um, Yatsu? Who's this?" The soft voice of a female caught Nelius's attention, drawing his gaze to a young brunette woman whom was sitting next to the one identified as Yatsu. She was clad in a short, long-sleeved brown jacket with a golden zipper, brown shorts with golden detail and black leggings. Beneath her jacket was a black, semi-translucent undershirt, along with golden spaulders and vambraces on both arms, as well as a matching belt.
However, the most distinguishing feature was a pair of rabbit ears that, aside from matching her hair, extended several inches from the top of her head, identifying her as a Faunus.
"Remember last year when Coco designated me as her pack mule for the costume party?" Though he was trying to keep the tone light, there was a slight undertone of irritation in his voice.
"Oh, I remember all right... Coco kept me awake for hours helping her get the costumes 'just right', as she put it."
"That was when he and I crossed paths." Nelius answered in turn. "He helped point me in the right direction. Nothing life-altering, if that's your concern."
"I see." Her eyes quickly flicked down to see the case he had brought. "So what brings you out to Beacon, anyway?"
"Business with the Headmaster. He wanted a follow-up on something that went down around two weeks ago."
"Ah."
The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence, aside from the chatter of the other passengers. Several minutes passed by before the ship landed at Beacon's port, and everyone on-board began to shuffle off.
'Whoa...' Epsilon found herself a bit star-struck as Nelius stepped off the ship, taking in a much closer look at the campus as a whole. 'I've seen images of this place on the Scroll, but seeing it up close is something completely different.'
'Looks kind of like a repurposed castle. Probably happened long after the Great War.'
"Quite a sight, isn't it?" The brown-eared rabbit Faunus piped up as she disembarked with her teammate. "Headmaster Ozpin's office is in the central spire, also where our CCT is located." She pointed to the tallest tower Beacon had. "There's an elevator in the central building that'll take you up."
"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be on my way, then." Politely bidding them farewell, Nelius set off.
It was a relatively straight shot towards the tallest spire, which from this distance also had the appearance of acting as a clock tower, the time reading 11:32 A.M. As Nelius made his way towards Ozpin's office, he took a moment to look around at whomever else was out and about this day.
Over on his right he could see a few students here and there taking a moment to enjoy the good weather, a couple of them doing a double-take on seeing this new presence before returning to whatever activity they were engaged in with their cohorts. On his left, though, as he prepared to pass by the fountain display-
"Zwei, stoooop!" A blonde-haired young man dressed in what looked to be white armor worn over a black hoodie and blue jeans was busy trying to chase down a small dog, a breed of Corgi if its body structure and tail were any indicator. The black and white pooch appeared to be having the time of its life as it outsped the blonde, whom fruitlessly called for it to stop running away from him.
'Pet troubles, eh... never would've imagined this place allowed for 'em.'
'Hang on a second... wasn't that pooch also seen when that train car poked up from beneath the center of town?'
'You mean the whole "Breach" incident... come to think of it, I believe that one is the very same... what purpose did a Corgi serve down there, anyhow?'
The blonde was eventually forced to slow to a stop, hunching over in sheer exhaustion as he tried to catch his breath. The Corgi, Zwei as it was apparently named, slowed to a stop as it took notice of Nelius. It began to approach him, and Nelius was content to remain still and allow the canine to sate its curiosity.
The tiny dog sniffed at his right leg, before circling around to sniff at his left. After about twenty seconds of this, it sat down and looked up at him, as if expecting something.
"Friendly little thing, aren't you?" Nelius reached a hand down to scratch behind the dog's ears, but Zwei suddenly perked up, as if sensing something, and got to its feet to make a mad dash away when an orange-haired girl dressed in white and pink suddenly lept out of the blue to try and catch it. Although she had missed, she was back up on her feet and proving very quickly able to keep pace with the pooch far better than her blonde compatriot.
"This... last time... I pet-sit for Ruby..." The blonde student managed to gasp out between breaths. "All yours... Nora..." He eventually flopped down onto a bench with a groan.
"Righty-o, Fearless Leader!" The girl known as Nora continued her pursuit of the tricolor Corgi.
'I envy neither that guy, nor whomever that dog belongs to.'
At the same time in Vale's Commercial District, Ruby Rose let loose one hell of a sneeze, drawing a concerned glance from her older half-sister.
With that distraction over and done with, Nelius continued heading forward. Passing the Main Ceremony Hall, he headed into Administrations. There were a number of people here, but his goal was to shortcut through and reach the central spire.
As he headed through towards the center of Beacon, he once again had that feeling of being watched, but wasn't fully able to discern who or what was causing the feeling, ultimately causing him to dismiss it for the moment being. It was probably one of the staff members wondering who he was.
Either way, he made it to the central spire, and entered.
A couple of students were seen hanging out here, Scrolls in-hand, whilst a few other people were using the terminals in the center of the room to search up information. One or two of the students might've spared a glance at this new figure, but ultimately focused their attention back on their personal matters. Sighting an open elevator to his right, he took it.
As he set his case down, the elevator doors closed. He prepared to get out his Scroll to send a message to Ozpin...
"Hello." A woman's voice emanated from a speaker next to the floor selection buttons. "Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?"
"I'm here to speak with Headmaster Ozpin. I'd like to be taken up to his office, please." There was a moment of silence before he got a response.
"Could you please hold your Scroll up to the Terminal to verify your identity?" Reaching into his coat, Nelius produced his Scroll and held it up. After a moment or two...
"Thank you, Mr. Raoul. Headmaster Ozpin has been expecting you." The elevator car began its ascent as Nelius put his Scroll away.
Unbeknownst to either party, something had slipped in...
Several Universes Away
Random Netherworld, unknown time
"Well, that's everyone back home who wanted to go." At the helm of a massive violet-colored ship with multiple guns on its exterior was a black-haired woman with red eyes. She was dressed in a red shirt striped with dark blue vertical lines, a miniskirt, and a borderline black coat that reached all the way down to her ankles. She was in the middle of cleaning her glasses. "Hey York. How're things looking back there?"
"A hell of a lot better than when were stranded on that world, dood!" A semi-high pitched voice responded back over the intercom. "This baby was in desperate need of repair and upgrades, no thanks to Kurosugi running it into the dirt, dood."
"Overall status?"
"Overall it's gonna take a bit longer to get everything installed, but once it's ready you'll be the first to know, dood."
"Good. If anything else is needed, you know to contact me." Closing communications with York, the demon woman double-checked the on-board systems, looking for any anomalies.
A beep from the communications caught her attention, and so she opened the channel.
"Mita, how're things with the Yoshitsuna?" A man's voice asked.
"Hey Raph. York's getting pretty close to completion. What about your end of things?"
"Michael and Aliya are safely back in Celestia. Is there anyone else who's planning to come with us for the search?"
"Right now, it's mostly Zio, Brutus and York. Farris said she was taking Stonewall to see a friend of hers before she came back to join. I believe Cordelia and Hilde are out grabbing supplies before we set off."
"Understood. I'll be there shortly." The channel closed, and Mita took one final look over the ship's computer systems, seeing no anomalies thus far.
'Hm, might want at least two more people for this... if I could get a hold of Atreya again she'd be on the list without a doubt.'
Well, now was the opportunity to toss out a few lines and see if she could hire some people.
Nelius Raoul's Netherheart
Time Unknown
"A Fallen Angel?... that is why he... he refuses to act like the others?"
"One part, yes." Belderiver took a seat upon a lower-hanging branch, eyes still focused on the doppelganger of his host. "One part teachings from his parents, an admittedly curious paring... another part teachings from others in what not to do."
"...what?"
The Midnight area faded away once more, to reveal the interior of the Overlord's Castle. Among a throng of other vassals, Nelius could be seen, anxiously awaiting the return of the Overlord.
"I still know not what happened during that week...The Overlord, Sirea, had made mention of wanting to investigate a new area that had caught the eye of the Dimensional Gatekeeper. Armed with many of her best vassals, the others remaining behind to keep tabs on matters back home, she set off."
A swirling, light blue vortex opened up near one area of the main foyer, and out stepped a demon woman whom stood just under half a foot taller than young Nelius at the time. Messy dark blue hair nearly obscured her crimson-colored eyes, and for her height she was packing a fair bit of muscle tone, all the better to make use of her blade. Her outfit was one more made for battle, a custom set of light armor that allowed for both mobility and protection. A pair of horns curled forward from her temples.
"When she had returned, all seemed well for a while... but then things went south."
Small snapshots of long-buried memories flashed by, showing a gradual progression of Sirea going from benevolent and helpful, albeit with a tone of teaching the other how to solve an issue, to tyrranical and cynical, with such being reflected in her face, hardening and sharpening into something manaical.
"It was as if the Overlord my host had sworn himself to had perished in that trip, and what returned was but a monster wearing her skin."
One particular memory cropped up. A trio of vassals had found the courage to finally speak up on the Overlord's sudden change of heart. They pleaded with her, trying to find what had hardened her heart and soured her outlook.
The last thing they had seen was a disappointed look from their Overlord... before they were messily slain. Sirea didn't even look to have a smidge of guilt as she sat back down and gave the order for several Prinnies to clean up the resulting mess.
"That incident was what kicked off his mission to get out of there, and in turn it was what lead to our existence. He knew that remaining there was no longer an option, especially if she were to catch wind of his plan."
The memory faded away, and soon the Midnight Area reappeared all around them.
"...so that is why... such a strange demon I've awoken to..."
"There is much more to the story, but that is the basic gist of things." Belderiver hopped down, strolling over towards the doppelganger. "Yet at the same time, if the chaotic power that shaped you could be turned towards other ends..."
"What are you getting at?"
"Soon enough, I will disappear into his subconscious, and you may follow suit. That which shaped you could be an immense boon to him and those he considers allies, but only if you are willing to take that step, and show him how to take this curse intended to kill us... and make it into something all our own."
The doppelganger was silent. Such an idea had never once come to the forefront.
"How... how do you know this? Why are you so confident, full of hope? Why..."
"I am what he was supposed to become, but the events thus far have thrown such off the rails. At the same time, it doesn't mean our projected course must end in a crash... indeed, we now stand at a brand-new set of paths, but to make this our own, to turn that curse into a powerful boon, we must align in all aspects. You must ask yourself now... are you willing to align?"
Vale, Beacon Academy
11:51 A.M.
The elevator doors opened up as Nelius stepped forth, case in hand. The doors closed behind him as the car began heading back down. He brought his Scroll up to the office door to request access, but it immediately opened, and greeting him were Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood.
"Welcome, Mr. Raoul. As soon as our last person gets here, we can begin." Ozpin welcomed the tall demon in, and as he entered the room, he could see the multiple gears working to keep the clock outside ticking.
Nelius set the case down, put his Scroll away, and set to waiting for their last character to show up.
About two minutes later, the elevator opened back up, and out walked someone familiar to the pair.
'Hey, it's that Qrow-guy.'
'So he's also working with Ozpin.' Almost as if hearing his thoughts, Qrow turned to look over at the new face in the room.
"So this is the guy, Oz?" As Qrow looked over to Nelius, an almost-imperceptible look of recognition flashed over his face before settling back to neutral.
"Indeed, Qrow, this is Mr. Nelius Raoul. Mr. Raoul, Qrow Branwen."
"To business, then?" Nelius spoke up.
"To business... but first..." Ozpin gestured to Nelius. "I think it prudent we all get on the same page. Mr. Raoul, care to fill Qrow in on a little something?"
"Eh?" It was Qrow's turn to look a little confused.
"Oh, right... this little plot twist." Nelius reached up and undid his eye patch, choosing to keep it held in his hand rather than pocket it. For about three seconds Qrow got to see a hollow eye socket with a glowing orange dot floating in darkness... before said darkness flowed outwards to coat Nelius's entire body, turning him into a figure Qrow had been expecting the least.
"Greetings again, Mr. Branwen." For a brief moment Belderiver stood before them all, before the darkness receded back into his eye socket, and Nelius Raoul stood before him once more.
Qrow, for the most part, was stunned silent. He'd already thought his eyes were playing tricks on him last year, but to see this happening now... at first he thought maybe his new liquor was a lot stronger than it lead on to be.
"Yeah, that was me last year." Nelius reapplied his eye patch. "So we don't have to dance around the subject about Cinder trying to steal the magic that Amber has."
"Speaking of which..." Ozpin made an attempt to steer the conversation towards what was on his mind. "Mr. Raoul, in your time here on Remnant, what have you observed about the Grimm?"
"Aside from what the records and testimonies of others mentioned? Mostly that it seems these smoke monsters are always cropping up somewhere. Slice several down and more come to take their place... you'd think someone or something was constantly churning them out to harass everyone."
"And while we're on the subject-" Epsilon spoke up from within Nelius's left arm, appearing before everyone through a holographic projection. "...how was Cinder able to command that insect to work for her?"
"Geez, how many other "plot twists" you got?" Qrow was still processing that strange, Grimm-like form, and now this guy has some kinda AI living in his arm?
"A whole host, but it'd take me a fair while to lay them all out." Nelius answered back. "Anyway, Ozpin... Epsilon has a good point. Last I checked, Grimm consider humans and Faunus as walking snacks, so why would one be in a human's service?"
Ozpin mentally sighed. Inwardly, he had known this moment was coming. All he could hope now was that Nelius wouldn't turn on him, as many others had. He just needed to choose his words carefully...
"Miss Epsilon isn't wrong. Normally, the Grimm are more than content to feast upon this world's denizens... but the Grimm do indeed have a master, one whom took the position..." Ozpin took a moment to take another swig of his drink, before continuing. "...and one I'm personally sworn to deal with."
"How so?" It was this simple inquiry from Epsilon that made Ozpin pour another drink, as the Headmaster knew he was going to need it to get through this particularly sore spot. However, before he could answer, something began to ping desperately from within Nelius's case.
"Hm?" Ironwood had been the first to look at the case Nelius had brought. "What did you bring?"
"Just the Dual Diver, since I was planning on giving a demonstration of it... but I already took out its power source before I brought it up." Opening the case, the Dual Diver could be seen by all in the room as Nelius extracted the machine to figure out what was causing the sound. "Maybe it was residual charge from the Dust Crystal I was using?"
He rotated the machine around to check the control panel, but it was completely blank. At that, he began to look over the case... maybe something got loose?
Without warning, the Dual Diver came alive, the control panel reading "Destination Set", and in less than a second everyone present in the room was transported elsewhere.
Unknown Space
Time Unknown
The first thing Nelius was able to register the moment his senses came back was white.
A lot of white.
"Ozpin? Qrow? General Ironwood?" Only the echo of his voice answered him. It felt as though he were stranded in a void, albeit one color-inverted from what he had been used to. "Hey, Epsilon, you're seeing this as well, yeah?"
"Without a doubt... this is weird, even by our standards."
"Headmaster? James?" Glynda had found herself in a different part of this void, but still tried to find the others.
"Oz, Jimmy?" It was Qrow's turn to try and find the others.
"Welcome." A calm voice greeted the entire group. It seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"...Ozpin?" Both James and Glynda had locked onto the voice sounding familiar, but it took Qrow a moment to make the connection.
"In a way... yes, and no."
Suddenly the void began to fade away, and now surrounding them was what looked like Vale, but much, much less advanced. Gone were the cars and high-rise buildings, and replacing the pavement was stone-lined roads. The sky was set in sunset.
However, the environment was muted, in drab colors, as if the place had all color washed away a long time ago. In an instant, everyone found themselves in what looked like the main square of the town. Someone stood there, as if waiting for them.
This new character appeared to be a man with tanned skin, unkempt brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a blue-green tunic with a tan undershirt, a blue cape and black trousers with brown boots. His tunic and cape shared golden markings, metal armor held by brown belts and straps over it. Ornamental patterns adorned the armor. In his right hand was an ornate brown staff with metal details and adorned at its top with a large emerald, roughly the size of someone's fist, give or take a few inches. The floral pattern running the length of the wood, from what could be seen, seemed familiar to Glynda.
"Who..." Glynda was increasingly wary of this character, despite his seemingly less than threatening stance.
"Someone... whom has grown tired over a long time." He spoke in a quiet, yet almost strained kind of voice. "Please, this way."
"Where is Ozpin?" James got right to the heart of the matter. He was personally cursing his decision to leave his weapon back on the ship that had brought him to Beacon today for the meeting.
"In a simple sense, all around us." This response didn't sit very well with Ironwood, but before he could voice his displeasure the new figure continued. "In a complicated sense..." He pointed with his staff towards a building in the distance, one that looked way too familiar to everyone involved. "There, having to relive one of his worst memories."
"Hey, is that..." It was Epsilon's turn to connect the dots.
"Come. This way." With that, he began leading everyone towards the destination he had in mind. "Everything will be revealed there."
The group followed this man, each of their own minds wondering what was going to be revealed.
Atlas Transport Ship
12:09 P.M.
"...signal unresponsive?" One of the pilots of the ship frowned, unable to get in contact with General Ironwood.
"Maybe his Scroll is off? The General did say he had an important meeting with Beacon's Headmaster." One of the other soldiers piped up.
"No way. He'd always have it set on standby, in-case important messages came in... like the one we're trying to patch through. Is the CCT down for repairs?" At that, one of the other soldiers brought their Scroll up.
"No, I'm connected." At that, the pilot switched communications channels, re-opening a call that had come in just a few minutes ago.
"Apologies, Miss Amber, but we may be waiting a little while longer."
"Had a feeling that'd be the case. Call me back when things are patched through?"
"Fair enough."
At the other side of this call, in a small abode in Atlas, Amber fiddled with her staff as she listened to the Atlesian Forces discuss Ironwood's current unreachable status before the call went on mute again. As lovely as Atlas was, the place simply proved a touch too cold for her liking. Even with some new, thicker apparel to combat the cold, she was getting a little antsy to get away from Atlas.
As she waited for the call to come back, she thought back to last year, when that woman in red and her two associates attacked her out of the blue. It was only through the fortune of fate that something saw fit to intervene and save her life... she didn't want to dwell any further on what that insect was going to do to her.
'Belderiver, it called itself... what is that creature's motive?' Grateful as she was for its rescue, something that did indeed cloak itself in half the colors of the Grimm was something in dire need of figuring out.
All she could hope was that it was benevolent through and through. Maybe she was entertaining a pipe dream at best, but if it was strong and skilled enough to fend them all off, then perhaps it'd be willing to part with some combat pointers? The first part of that would be hoping it hadn't already moved onto another area by now.
Location Unknown
Unknown Time
Down the halls of an elaborate, luxurious castle the group traveled, following the man in armor. Glynda and Qrow were already beginning to get the feeling they had seen this place before.
"It was through these halls I once walked... back during a time since lost."
A scene began to play out in front of the group. The armored man strode through the halls, several guards making their way towards him, swords drawn. Nelius held his hand out, and as one of the guards passed through it, this confirmed his suspicion.
"Back in those times... I was what many called a hero, someone whom righted wrongs and challenged tyrants... never for any reward, but to free the people from oppression."
With blinding speed and swift, fluid movement, the armored brunette easily dispatched the soldiers. It was as child's play for him to parry each sword swing, use the sharpened tip of his staff to exploit an opening and disable his foes, and when push came to shove, he pointed the emerald of his staff at the remaining guard...
"...was that magic?!" Epsilon nearly burst out loud as the brunette launched a blast of energy at a knight in ebony armor, the energy effortlessly knocking the knight off its feet and onto the ground, where it didn't get back up.
"Indeed it is. There was a time when even the common folk could use this gift."
The group was lead up through a tower, where another scene played out, this time of the armored brunette finding a door that appeared to have no real handle to open it.
"I had come to this region after hearing of a cruel, spiteful leader that had locked their daughter away in this tower. The rumor of the time was that her magical potential could surpass that of the ruling family, so to keep her from realizing such and inciting a rebellion, she had been locked away in this tower, her sense of self-being and self-confidence purposefully eroded to keep her passive."
"This is all well and good..." Nelius began, "..but I thought we were being sent to see Ozpin."
The armored man opened the door to the room, which had no handle and a lock on the interior, and inside was a rather spartan amount of furnishings - a bed, a dressing table with a vanity mirror... and two occupants.
The first of them was a rather breathtaking young woman with fair skin, pale platinum blonde hair and light blue eyes. The majority of her long hair had been put up in a half up-done bun style, with a small, simple bun on the top, and the remainder hanging at the bottom. Most of her bangs were tied back, barring several large locks framing her face to her left.
She was clad in a white, two piece dress consisting of a sleeveless, diagonally overlapping white backless pleated top with a raised, pale blue halter-top square collar adorned with an aquamarine colored rhombus-shaped crystal on the clavicle, surrounded by two smaller white rhombuses. Her long, high-waisted skirt was white with a faint purple tint - adorned with white diamond emblems and white wavy lines near the bottom hem, ruffled around the waist and completed with a purple sash. For accessories, she had on gray, circular earrings and a pair of dull brown bracers, and her long fingernails were painted a pale lilac.
"Whoa..." Qrow couldn't help but notice that she was rather good-looking.
The scene continued playing out, as the brunette man offered up his hand to lead the blonde out of this tower and to a new life. She accepted such, and the two began to leave.
"Ozpin!" James, however, proved much less distracted, and sighted the headmaster grimly looking out the tower window. "Where are we?"
"I told you..." The brunette man from before spoke up. "We are within him." James turned to meet the man.
"Explain how."
"Guess it's my turn to explain, then." Nelius spoke up, catching their attention. "The Dual Diver, that machine I had in the case, got its name for a reason - one part was to conduct Item Dives, the ability to improve one's equipment from within. The other part was to delve within one's own soul, their heart, to confront problems of the mind and resolve them... which is where we are right now."
"...what you just described sounds utterly ridiculous."
"Yet here we are, General." Nelius made a sweeping motion.
James wanted to respond to that, but nothing he formulated would come close to a response. He would remember this for later.
"Anyway, that places us inside Ozpin's heart." He turned his attention to the armored man. "I'd ask how you were able to make the Dual Diver work without a power source, but that can wait for later." Inwardly, he thought about how he needed to ask Belderiver something similar. "So what does that make you?"
"A simple question, with a complicated answer. I'm certain those three-" The brunette man gestured to Glynda, Ironwood and Qrow, "-already know the answer, as he has told them. But with you, this is a proper introduction."
To that, the armored man set his staff out of front of himself, hands clasped together overtop the emerald.
"My name... is Ozma, the first of many incarnations Headmaster Ozpin has taken."
"Then who was the blonde chick, and why does Ozpin look like he's gonna hurl chunks at thinking of her?" Epsilon piped up, equally curious as to why the blonde seemed to be linked to any kind of horrible memory for the Headmaster.
"She... she was our first love... the imprisoned girl called Salem." Ozpin spoke up, taking over for Ozma.
"Our first love... and also our eternal enemy."
Chapter 16 - Complete