[Nujabes – Battlecry (feat. Shing02)]
残り:四の影/ Remnant's Four Shadows
Volume 4, Episode 4: Pine Valley
[Pine Valley, Mistral]
Oscar Pine surprised his aunt by taking her reveal to him rather well. For others, it would be the talk of the town, but Pine Valley was not really the place in need of more drama. He simply bucked up and went for a walk to clear his head.
"Hey. Oscar!"
Oscar turned to his friend running up. An older girl who ran a neighboring farm in the valley. A freckled redhead with short hair that nearly covered her hazel eyes. Dressed in short shorts, cowboy boots, a red shirt in a knot tie, and brown gloves; she more looked she belonged in the adult fantasies of people into that kind of thing. Of course, seeing it was Remnant, she was armed with a pair of sidearms. Oscar was among the guilty in that regard. June Bug was a rather attractive women with her body all formed by years of farm work.
"June." Oscar said turning to face her.
"I just wanted to check in on my friend's doing. You were looking a bit down there." June said concerned.
"It's about my father. Remember Uncle Brodsky?" Oscar asked.
"He's nice for a city mouse. He was always mighty close with Dorothea…pretty sure they've been f-" June said as Oscar bellowed that Brodsky was his father.
June paused before Oscar looked red-faced for shouting. He did not need to hear about his father's sex life.
"Look, it's not too bad. He was there and he had his reasons for hiding it from me. My aunt told me as much…he'll be here in a few days after he does something in Atlas." Oscar remarked. "I just have to deal with it. Not like he was absent from my life."
"Still, that's a lot to unpack." June said ruffling his hair. "I'll admit. You took it better than me when my dad remarried."
"You loved your mother, and you didn't want her replaced even after she passed away." Oscar said as June sighed heavily.
"I know…at least she and I get along. I just wish she and my pop were not so noisy." June said before seeing something in the sky. "What in the hell?"
A bright blue streak zipped across the sky and into the woods.
"What is it?" Oscar asked.
"I just saw something flying across from the sky into the nearby woods." June said racing off ahead of him for the woods.
Oscar got out his collapsible metallic bo staff giving it a swing before chasing after her. He was pleased his un-no father got him this weapon.
[Cues: Metroid Fusion OST - Environmental Tension]
Oscar caught up to June nearing the woods as they slowed to a brisk walk inching their way closer to the crash site. It was quiet…too quiet for them. Oscar tightened his grip as staff as they got the crash site…which had no crater. Just a glowing and floating blue sphere.
"By the maker, what is it?" June asked.
"Something we shouldn't mess with." Oscar said holding on to June's shoulder. "Maybe we should get the adu-"
His words died when that blue dot grow with cracks forming mid-air as it gave off electricity and a power that knocked them both to the ground. It tore wider before spitting out two people hitting the ground. June and Oscar got to their feet looking down at the two strangers. One was a clear chameleon faunus with tanned skin with darker spots resembling scales, short brown hair partially dyed blue styled into a large faux hawk, and a rather muscular body with a very fit yet slight buxom physique. She seemed to be rather below average, not that it stopped Oscar from eyeing her up. She wore a lime green sweatshirt with a blue and yellow line decal on the chest, a black bandanna around her neck that had a painted image of an intimidating set of fangs, a black short-sleeved leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders, fingerless dark brown leather gloves with metal braces, blue patched pants with a large black leather belt with a small Grimm skull buckle, dark brown steel-toed boots with yellow leg warmers, a worn grey backpack on her back, and three golden earrings in her right ear. An image of a magnolia flower outlined a white circle was on the back of her jacket.
The second woman was a bit on the average side and with paler skin compared to the first with shoulder-length hair dyed in a gradient of purple and pink with a ponytail contained with a red band, a purple beanie, a pink wristband on her right wrist, a white t-shirt with a pink and purple decal on the front, blue jeans with a purple band around the left calf and a red belt, white steel-toed high-top shoes with purple soles and blue laces, leather fingerless gloves, a dark grey bomber jacket, metallic arm braces on both arms, and a purple duffel bag was on her back. Her jacket sported a purple hummingbird outlined in a white diamond on the back of her jacket.
Both women were groggy as they awoke with headaches. Ilia wondered what happened as she felt like she took a hit to the noggin.
"Oi, Niko? What happened?" The faunus said coughing a bit.
"No idea, Ilia. I see nothing but…green." Niko said getting up to her feet. "By the desert sands, it's a real forest."
Ilia got a whiff of the air feeling it crisp and not arid like the long and winding deserts and wastelands. She also got up to her feet seeing the frightened youngsters in front of her. Before she could explain, another female figure lunged out of the portal floating on air.
"Oh piss…" Ilia said weakly as her and Niko looked on in horror.
[Cues: Metroid Prime 2 Echoes OST – Dark Samus Approaching]
The new female figure was a tall one seeming to tower over the four already there. She was a pale-skinned woman with delicate facial features with clear amber eyes gave off an appearance of innocent and eyebrows that were cut very short and round. Her black hair was long and sweeping going down to her shoulders befitting her ruby red lipstick and black nails. She wore a high-collared wine red hime-kimono which has black Grimm-like patterns running down the center and edges of the gown adorned with intricate black and amber lines. She also had black armor with numerous metal plates, forming protective guards along her chest and shoulders.
"You two thought you could escape me, but all…you did….was merely delay me of my destiny." She said softly.
"Oi, we did what we could to stop you…Cinder." Ilia said with her accent being more pronounced.
Cinder's eyes hardened as dark purple veins that formed on her face and arms like the Grimm Queen of the past as on her forehead revealed a third eye that was red with jet black sclera and two white horns came out of her head. The soft look was gone.
"Where is it, Ilia? WHERE IS THE OTHER FABLE STONE?!" Cinder roared as a blackened tainted aura flowed around her body.
The cackle of bio-electricity surged around her as Oscar and June cowered in fear. Ilia had warned Cinder that the two Fable Stones must not meet in the middle…or else. Cinder grabbed Oscar by his collar threatening to kill him if she did not receive the stone.
"Wait, I'll give you the stone!" Niko said. "Just let him go!"
Niko produced a pure white jewel as Cinder tossed Oscar aside to take the jewel, but the portal had reacted to the jewels being together with both were glowing blue before shattering. Niko and Ilia both looked confused as they experienced Cinder to well…explode. The portal even fizzled out as Cinder just had a blank look of disbelief.
[Music Ends]
"We should run." Ilia mouthed as Oscar, her, Niko, and June bolted to get away from Cinder.
It took five minutes for it to hit. The realization, the fact that Ilia and Niko did not even know it would happen, the fact that all she worked for was shattered and gone in front of her. Then came sadness, then came anger. The bloody scream that came out of her lips sent Grimm running in fear, the air crackled, and the sky went dark. Cinder broke out into a flight not caring for direction leaving the sound of her screaming in the air.
[Cues: kudasai – tenchicolor]
"Well Coliburi…I think we're going to live another day and we don't even need to worry about those accursed Fable Stones." Ilia said as they were panting. "But Cinder is still out there."
"Just not as stupidly strong as before and without the Fable Stones…she's no longer invincible. She may possibly be 'immortal' but she's not going to be brushing off blows now." Niko said deviously. "But we have another issue. The portal. Wherever we are…I don't think it's our Remnant. Oi, farmboy? Where in Remnant are we?"
"Near Pine Valley. In Mistral." Oscar said.
"Yeah, alternative universe. For all we know, we could have alternative counterparts." Niko said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should look into it. Maybe the Ilia Amitola is a badass like you or not."
"Whatever the case may be, I'll have to use a different surname. I always did say if I thought your last name was cooler sounding Niko. Not like you'd say no to that." Ilia said holding Niko's hand.
"Of course, love. You are my world." Niko said sweetly.
"Man, I'm just glad we're still alive." Oscar said panting.
(A/N: Yes, I'm pulling a Crash 4. There's a reason for this as I wanted a second chance to do something with the characters I killed off. Namely, Ilia. While I do like the darker route, I took with her, some see it as problematic even if Ilia was a cheap clone of Adam. Ironically, this idea I got to reintroduce dead characters through alternative counterparts may have potential for greatness. Right now, I have plans for eight characters (Niko doesn't count as one, she's an extra) to make a return through alternative counterparts. I'm going to leave who those are a guessing game for you readers. For some, it's easy to guess…others not so much.)
Ending Theme – LOZ Twilight Princess OST – Midna's Lament
