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Beta-ed by xenosaiyan
Darkness.
For so long… there was only darkness. Bursts of consciousness, floating in a tank of clear liquid, hooked up to tubes and tentacles.
And outside…
"The Sphere was able to stall the poison but not cure it, your grace. They're dying, both of them."
"No! I refuse! I will not be powerless! I will not let that White Bitch take them from me!"
"I… I'm sorry, your grace. The bane particles have had too long to nest—"
"Bane particles… bane particles cannot harm a demon. Prepare Hell's Core."
"My lady, they're barely alive! They'll never survive the process!"
"I've stored something away that will help Natsu. As for Happy…"
A hand, stark white and pulsing with putrid black veins, pressed against the glass tube.
"Happy, your partner needs you. To save you, I will have to put you through a process that could rend your very being. Be strong. Persevere. You are a Fairy Tail wizard and you must live. I will not tell the others that you are dead when I find them."
Fairy Tail… partner…
Natsu…
He had to help… Natsu…
There was pain later, agony. His body felt like every atom of its existence was being ripped apart and twisted inside out. His heart had stopped at least half a dozen times as his flesh was warped before his eyes.
Throughout all of it, he held on. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much he wanted to scream but couldn't, he held on. The instance his heart stopped, he pulsed a short burst of magic through his system, forcing himself to stay conscious, stay alive. He had to stay alive, no matter what he was when it was all over.
He was a Fairy Tail Wizard. And Natsu needed him.
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Carla could barely make heads or tails of what was going on. When she'd seen the vision, seen Happy standing before them, Buster Sword in hand, she hadn't believed it, couldn't believe it.
And then he had rained a Jupiter Cannon down on them and leveled a town, the dust and smoke of its remains still clouding the air. More importantly…
"What the hell are you doing, you fool?!" Carla roared, trying to keep the tears sequestered in her eyes. "You nearly killed Wendy with that stunt!"
The tomcat at least had the decency to look apologetic. "I'm sorry, my dear Carla. I've been asked to test you all, push you to your limits. If Jaune Arc had not intervened when he did, I would have halted my blade on my own."
"And the Jupiter Cannon?!"
Happy shrugged. "I knew you all could handle it. No different from any of the guild brawls."
"Wendy never participated in those, you reckless idiot!" Carla screamed, glancing back to her unconscious ward, a battered Jaune kneeling over her. "What… what happened to you?"
Happy sighed. "Well, obviously I'm a demon now."
Ruby cringed. "Yeah, it was kind of hard to miss that. Curse energy and all."
"Pretty much," Happy replied. "I don't have anything fancy like the Gates, but it does come in handy. Remnant doesn't have as much ethernano as it used to, and I need to supplement my magic somehow."
Used to? Did Remnant used to have more ethernano than its paltry amount? But how would Happy know that… unless…
"How long?" Carla whispered. "How long has it been since you were released from your Fairy Sphere?"
Happy shot her a sad smile. "Like I said, fifty years. What can I say? A demon's lifespan runs centuries. I'm still pretty youthful."
Fifty years. He'd been on Remnant, working for Salem if his mention of the Gates meant anything, for fifty years. And if his Fairy Sphere was released, that meant…
"Where's Natsu?" Ruby inquired. "Wendy said Lucy sealed you in the same sphere to save you. If you're out, then where's he?"
Happy flinched away, melancholy overtaking his expression. "That's… complicated."
"What do you mean?" Ruby demanded. "Is he alright? Do you know where any of the others are?"
"He's… he won't be hurt where he is," Happy said. "As for the others, Gray is with Weiss in Atlas. They'll be joining us soon."
"Weiss would never join Salem!" Nora shouted. "And I'm pretty sure this Gray guy wouldn't either, I don't know, I never met him."
Happy smiled. "One way or another, they'll find themselves before the Queen. She always gets what she wants in the end. She's looking for the rest of the spheres as we speak."
"Then we need to stop her!" Ruby yelled. She stabbed her sword into the ground and held her open palm towards Happy. "You may have been alone before, but we're here now, Happy. We're your family."
"You are," Happy confirmed. "So… how about you guys come with me and join Salem? She's already reserved you spots on the Gates."
Carla growled. "Listen to yourself, Happy! Do you know what she did at Beacon?"
"I know what Cinder did at Beacon. The Queen gave her far more of a free hand there than she should have."
"People died!"
Happy frowned, none of his usual glee present, completely submerged in despair. "That's what people do."
Carla reeled back. She felt like she'd been slapped. "You… you can't mean that."
"Of course I do. It's true. Cinder should never have gone as far as she did, but do you really think what happened was all that special? She made people afraid, angry. That was all she had to do. The Grimm did the rest. Like they always will," Happy pointed out. He gestured to Ren and Nora. "Hell, I saw the way you two reacted when the Nuckelavee showed up. Was your home particularly unhappy when it swooped in and burnt the place to the ground?"
Ren's eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything about it!"
"I know. That's why I'm asking."
Ren stomped forward but Nora tugged on his arm, holding him back. She gestured to Jaune and Wendy and Ren let out a feral growl. To see the boy so riled up, when he was normally so calm…
"What are you saying then?" Ruby demanded. "Because the Grimm are inevitable, we should just join their master?"
Happy rolled his eyes. "Please. If Salem was the Grimm's master, why would Cinder need to bother riling them up at all?"
"Because… um…"
That was actually a good point. From what Qrow had told them about Salem, the Grimm were supposed to be her foot soldiers. What kind of army couldn't have just the general give a command and march to war? Why did Cinder have to even bother with all the pomp surrounding the Fall of Beacon? Atlas' robots were taken over true, but the Grimm were overwhelming the defenses well before then and after they were destroyed.
Happy twirled his sword, the blade transforming into an intricate sniper rifle. "Salem has no desire to destroy humanity or whatever it is Ozpin told you all. If anything, she wants to push the species forward, the next step on the endless adventure."
Carla scowled. It was ridiculous. Mysteries in Grimm mustering aside, Salem had supported Cinder, who had instigated the Fall of Beacon and killed hundreds. No one who did something like that could possibly be working to help people. And certainly wouldn't be supported by any Fairy Tail member.
"She did something to you, when she turned you into a demon," she declared, had to declare. For her own sanity. "You're being controlled."
"I can confirm that she didn't. She did this to save me. But I suppose that's what I'd say if I was being controlled too," Happy shrugged. "Nothing to be done I suppose. Oh well, we still have a test to finish. And considering my rifle's recharged while we've been talking, and you've all been stewing in negativity—"
Another ear-splitting shriek tore through the air, the huntsmen and huntresses slamming their palms to their ears.
Happy smirked, his wings sprouting wide behind his back. "Good luck."
With a single flap, he shot away into the smog. And like a fiend straight from hell, the Nuckelavee charged out of it.
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Qrow staggered to his feet, brushing off loose dirt and plaster as he rose. He shook his head in an attempt to dislodge the ringing in his skull. He'd had his share of headaches in his day but being three yards from a gigantic magic blast that could level a town was one of his least favorite methods of acquiring them, right up there with hangovers, his sister in general, and reminding Tai about anything related to Team STRQ that did not include his wonderful daughters.
His life could be quite the minefield. Regardless, he seemed to be missing one very important red hooded pipsqueak.
"Ruby!" he called, only for a ghastly shriek to drown out his words. The Nuckelavee was on the hunt. And it this smoke, there was no way to tell where it was coming from. The rumbling thunder of its hoofs seemed to come from everywhere and its constant screeching didn't help matters.
Fortunately, unlike most people, he was not restricted to searching on the ground.
With barely a thought, his clothes and weapon turned to feathers and his body shrank down to a bird. The instant his avian form was ready, he shot into the air, pushing through the dust until he saw grey skies.
And also, a cat with bat wings and a sniper rifle climbing higher and faster than him? What?
Wait, it wasn't Carla, but the dark blue shade of the fur… could it be? The mystical signature he was giving off was a mix of magic and curse. But that didn't necessarily mean—
There was a puff of smoke and the small cat was replaced by a far, far taller faunus. His hands were coated with fur the same color as his earlier coat while a pair of cat ears stuck out of his mop of blue hair. His frame was large, and his muscles defined, but not overly so like Port or Hazel Rainart. His shoulders were broad, but his body was a runner's, not a bodybuilder's, with a dark green scarf, the shade of Anima's jungles, completing his look.
It was one Qrow had seen many times before, blasting sniper fire after while he and Raven were fleeing the Grimmlands.
His beak tightened with dread as the enemy set his aim on the section of smog right below them. The feline foe would be a difficult challenge to overcome. He'd have to play the situation as carefully as possible if they were going to survive. Because wherever that stupid cat showed up, his partner wasn't far behind. And there was no way in hell they could survive him.
Another shriek sounded from below and reminded Qrow that they were in enough trouble as it was.
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Ooooowwwwww.
Since he'd set out for Beacon, Jaune had experienced many painful things. Cardin kicking his ass in training, Pyrrha kicking his ass in training, getting ragdolled by Grimm in general, Pyrrha sending him away at the tower…
But he could say that being two feet away from a giant magic cannon blast was definitely up there. Very, very high up there.
His entire body screamed with agony as he forced himself to stabilize on his knees, Crocea Mors' sword and shield clattering to the ruined stone. His aura felt lower than it had ever been, and he no longer had the strength to carry them.
And from the looks of things, the rest of his friends weren't doing too much better.
The Nuckelavee had fallen upon them like a hammer, charging through their little section of the rubble with impunity, its negativity sense rending the smog a nonfactor. Meanwhile, that same fog kept them from catching even a glimpse of its attacks until they heard a hellish screech and felt a black claw smash them into the dust. Already Nora and Carla were straggling back to their feet and even Ruby had taken a few hits.
Ren stood alone among the rubble, frantically panting amidst the fog. His wide eyes darted from dust cloud to dust cloud, his hands clenching tighter and tighter around Stormflower. Seeing the Nuckelavee may have driven him into a rage, but now that it had become a phantom, a living nightmare lashing out from his past to destroy his present, he was paralyzed.
"Ren!" Jaune shouted, even as his lungs kicked him for putting pressure on his chest. "Use your semblance!"
It was there only chance. If the Grimm kept attacking them when they couldn't track it, they'd never be able to mount a counterattack. But if Ren could hide them, or even just some of them, long enough to get their bearings on this thing, they could line it up for a Silver Spirit Wail. Unless Happy (they were fighting a flying demon cat named Happy with a sniper rifle and giant sword. This was not how he pictured his huntsman career going) decided to intervene in this twisted test of his, it was their best shot of taking the Nuckelavee down.
Fortunately, whatever instinctive terror he was engrossed in, Ren was still a well-trained huntsman. And when your team leader gives you an order, a huntsman responds.
Ren's eyes widened and then narrowed on Ruby. He raised his hand, a soft light emanating from his palm as Ruby's body suddenly turned monochrome.
And that a gunshot cracked through the air. Once more, Ren was smacked to the ground, a shower of electricity racing across his body as his aura shattered.
"No!" Nora shouted, only for the Nuckelavee to race in and nearly trample her underfoot. Only Carla speedily dashing in and pulling her away from the demonic beast saved her life. And that relief was short-lived when another gunshot pierced the air and the pseudo-faunus was enveloped in sparks. The Exceed's transformation faded and she fell to the ruined stone, her aura crackling before breaking completely.
Nora glanced between the friend who'd just saved her and her partner who needed aid, her eyes flickering unsure. In the end, she raised her hammer and stood watch over Carla. It was the correct tactical move, though not one that would have come easily to her.
Ruby sprinted over to Ren, bursting into rose petals to avoid a sudden charge of the Nuckelavee and making it to the downed huntsman, who was doing his best to struggle to his knees. The silver-eyed huntress shifted her shield up to the sky. A flash of white shimmered over her short sword and Crescent Rose replaced it in sniper mode, leaning its muzzle against her defense.
Even still, Jaune could see his fellow leader scowl, and he understood why. No matter how high Happy was hovering, there was no way he was out of Crescent Rose's range, not if he was still hitting them with his own rifle. But the deciding factor, as it was against the Nuckelavee, was the dust cloud smothering the town. As it was, Ruby couldn't see anything above them with her naked eyes, let alone her scope.
But if the constant panging of lightning dust rounds against her shield and surrounding Nora meant anything, their foe was not so encumbered. Somehow. Maybe his scope had infrared sight or maybe he had some Grimm implanted in his body that let him sense negativity too. All in all, they had no way of finding out for sure at the moment, not with the Nuckelavee's shriek echoing through the fog and its claws streaking in to tear at Ruby's side.
Jaune felt like screaming. They were pinned down by sniper fire and a Grimm that could destroy towns, their enemy had fixed the environment against them, Qrow was nowhere to found and might have been killed in the Jupiter Cannon blast if their luck really was as shit as it felt like. His friends were in trouble, facing off against demons he'd didn't even know they had, and just like at the tower, he couldn't do anything! He couldn't even stand.
The best he could do was keep watch over Wendy. She'd stopped Cinder the night of the Fall. She'd done everything she could to protect them from the Jupiter Cannon, tanking enough of its power that his flimsy shields were able to divert it at all. Even now, if she was conscious, it would have been a piece of cake for her to blow away the dust cloud and let them see their enemies. She was amazing. A first-rate wizard, and proof that all the stories Team RWBY had told about Fairy Tail since they first got back were, if anything, understatements.
"Please, wake up," he whispered, grasping her hand tight. "You were right. Protecting people matters more to me, by a country mile. Helping my friends, keeping them safe, I'd do anything for them. They're priceless to me. But there's nothing else I can do. I can't even raise my weapon, let alone fight. I'm useless. Please, you can help them. Please."
Nothing. He didn't know what he was expecting. The Sky Dragon Slayer was bruised, battered, and unconscious. One desperate speech wasn't going to change that.
He stared back at the fight, hoping his despair hadn't drawn the Nuckelavee. Fortunately, or not, the demon horse was focused on Ruby and Ren, constantly forcing their most powerful remaining duo on the run in bursts of rose petal, ducking and dodging bullets of lightning. It was only a matter of time before either the monster or Happy got a lucky shot.
…
No.
No, he wouldn't let that happened. Pyrrha had nearly died because he had been able to do anything. Now, his friends were pushed to the brink and he would not let it happen again. He could not be powerless. He needed to do something!
It was then that he caught the glow, his gaze whirling to his hands, still clucking Wendy's. A soft white emanated from them over the Dragon Slayer's body, her bruises and cuts slowly fading.
At the same time, Jaune felt himself sagging, his sparse remaining aura draining away. It took him only a moment to figure out where it was going. But how? His Holy Barrier Magic was unrelated to his aura, it certainly couldn't transfer it to someone else, and he figured Pyrrha would have at least mentioned such a technique when she was teaching him. The only thing that might be able to do something like that was… a semblance.
His eyes widened. This… this was his semblance! Manipulating aura was his semblance! He'd done it! He'd finally unlocked it! Oh, wait until he told Pyrrha—
Right, life or death situation. Think about impressing his partner later. Though, now he was sure there was going to be a later, Wendy's face twitching as she slowly roused from her slumber.
This was his power, the essence of his soul. Supporting his friends, healing his friends, he couldn't have asked for anything better! This was his purpose. As long as he was here, they would be safe, and as long as they were safe, he would be safe.
Their bonds would protect them all.
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Never had Happy been so grateful that Watts had convinced him to go with the ethernano sight scope. Granted, in hindsight, an infrared would have been pretty much useless given his partner. The guy put out so much heat he would basically been staring at a brick wall.
Regardless, his rifle's current accessory was one that could perfectly well as a regular scope, but found its true usefulness against those deep in the Queen's game. The armament allowed him to see in the spectrum of ethernano, noting its regular sparsity throughout Remnant's atmosphere. Which made it all the more noticeable when any wizard gathered a large amount within their origin, essentially painting a bright neon bullseye over them that Happy couldn't have missed even if he hadn't spent the last half a century developing his marksmanship.
And that marksmanship was serving him well. Combined with the dust cloud from the Jupiter Cannon and the Nuckelavee's rampant offensive, Ruby and Wendy's group was backed into a corner. Every time they attempted to make a move to destroy the Grimm, he'd nail them from above. And whenever they tried to position themselves to defend from him, the Bane of Anima would wreak havoc, forcing them to abandon their fortifications to protect themselves from the new angle of attack.
In a fair fight, he'd have no chance against all of them. But that had been the case his entire life. He'd helped Natsu, Lucy, Gajeel, and the others whenever he could, but he even against the weakest of their enemies, he had to use trickery to survive. This was no different.
He noted the orange-haired girl, Nora Valkyrie if he remembered the Vytal Festival right, gathering ethernano within herself, casting some spell over herself and Carla. He smirked and fired a shot her way, the lightning dust smacking her into the dirt. The demon Exceed was grateful for the huntress protecting his dear friend, but if this test was going to mean anything, he couldn't take it easy on them. He had to push them.
Though given how things were going, he was honestly disappointed. The Jupiter Cannon had hit them hard, taking Wendy out of the fight as he'd hoped (they already knew from her fight with Cinder that she was in as strong shape as ever) and spreading the dust cloud as he'd planned, but they should have been able to do something. Either through ingenuity or pushing beyond their limits they should have been able to overcome this by now.
It was saddening that they were so mired. But, if that was the case, all he could do was put a round through the Nuckelavee's head and report back that—why was Wendy's origin filling with ethernano?
He double-checked his scope's display, only to find that Wendy's origin was rapidly refilling, probably as a result of her eating air. But she shouldn't be able to do that if she was unconscious.
The smoke around her was thinning due her consumption, so he was able to take a good look at her. The Maiden of the Sky was still laid out on the ground, but she was awake and eating her fill, her aura glowing white around her. Jaune Arc knelt beside her, his hands around hers as his aura flickered.
Could this be his semblance? He hadn't shown anything like it at the Vytal Festival and it certainly would have come in handy then. Could he have unlocked it just now?
Happy smirked. It seemed the test had borne fruit after all. If his partner really wanted more candidates for the Gates, this one might be a good choice.
But, if Wendy got back on her feet, she'd blow away the dust and then Ruby and the others would have no difficulty dealing with the Nuckelavee. He couldn't let the test end just as it was succeeding in its purpose.
He sighed and took aim.
"Hey there, furball!"
Shit!
Happy whirled around at the sound of the taunting voice, raising his rifle to meet the downward strike of a sterling grey greatsword. His teeth gnashed together at the sight of the juvenile crimson eyes behind the blade.
"Branwen!" he growled, shoving Ozpin's scout away. "I was hoping you'd died in the cannon blast!"
Qrow sank from the sky, only to instantly transform into a bird and regain his lost height. An instant later, he was human again and Harbinger was coming around for another slashed. "Bad luck on your part, furball! I'm not that easy to kill!"
Happy transformed his weapon into its Buster Sword form and met his enemy's blade head-on, their steel ringing through the clouds.
Qrow smirked. Harbinger bent back and its shotguns peeled out above the hilt.
Happy's eyes widened. He transformed to his smaller form and dashed away with a single flap of his wings just as the spread of birdshot splattered around him. His opponent transformed to keep airborne, but his work was already done.
A rush of wind flowed out from below and the dust clouds were blown away. Wendy sagged back into the rubble, but with the fog cleared, the Nuckelavee was plain for all to see, baying and shrieking as it prepared another charge. This time however, the huntsmen below were already turning to meet the umbral spirit head-on.
Happy growled, bursting back into his battle form and glaring at his approaching avian adversary. If he was to have any chance of keeping the Nuckelavee alive and continuing the test, he had to reclaim total air superiority. Which meant he had to cut Qrow Branwen out of the sky and fast.
A smirk split his face at the thought of that. Who said he couldn't love his work?
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Despite the chaos running through her head at the thought of their current enemy (they were fighting Happy!), Ruby couldn't help the smile that blossomed across her face when the dust cleared. She glanced over to Wendy and Jaune and beamed when she saw her first Beacon friend supporting her first Fairy Tail friend, a strange white glow flowing over both their auras. She'd have to ask them what that was later, but for the moment, their vision was back.
Which made it all the more harrowing that the Nuckelavee was stampeding straight for them!
Ruby made to pivot into its path, use Tulip's Aegis to withstand the blow and keep the monster off Ren. Her friend was recovering from Happy sniping him, but his aura was still broken, and he was only barely back on his feet. She wasn't the strongest person ever, but her shield would be able to take the hit, even if she was blown back several yards—
"Aaaaahhhhhhhh!"
Or Nora could jump in with pink lightning flashing over her skin, gingerly place Carla on the ground, and then ram Magnhild into the Nuckelavee's hoofs just as it was bringing them down. The Grimm whined, its front legs straining against the hammer.
Nora growled, sweat running down her brow, the shattered ground cracking even further under feet. Finally, with a furious roar, she gave a mighty shove and forced the beast back. The ghastly creature stumbled a few steps and let out a rabid shriek, its empty hellish eyes now entirely focused on the hammer wielder. She merely bared her teeth at the monster.
Ruby's mouth gaped open before a wide and eager smirk blossomed across her face.
"Help your uncle!" Nora commanded, tugging Ren to her feet. "We'll handle this guy!" She glared at her partner. "This time, we take him together."
Ren's eyes widened, glancing back and forth between his partner and the Grimm about to attack them again. Nora tightened her grip on his arm, and he gazed into her iron eyes. He took a deep breath, and with his face much closer to his usual calm, nodded.
Ruby grinned, but a thought struck her. "Where's Uncle Qrow?"
"He's fighting the cat," Nora stated, causing Ruby to raise an eyebrow. Happy was in the sky. How the heck was Uncle Qrow fighting him?
The Nuckelavee threw its arms forward before Nora could explain anymore. She had one catch Magnhild in its claws and smacked it into the other, throwing the attack of course. Ren seized that moment and stabbed Stormflower into the black flesh, dragging the limb to the ground. Once it was pinned in the dirt for the briefest instant, he let go of his weapons and slammed his palms into the limb.
"Crushing Evil: Seek the Truth."
A grid of white light surged throughout the lanky arm. A few moments later, the entire limb exploded in a scattering of black gob. The Nuckelavee screeched in agony as the scant remains of its limb faded into smoke.
Ren and Nora shared a confident look and charged the nightmarish spirit.
Ruby grinned and turned her attention skyward. She gazed through Crescent Rose's scope and her eyes widened at what she saw.
Uncle Qrow could transform into a bird! That was awesome! Why had he never mentioned that before?!
Indeed, her uncle was currently engaged in a ferocious airborne duel with Happy, Harbinger clashing blow for blow with the Buster Sword as sparks flew through the sky. It certainly explained why they hadn't been pelted with sniper fire for the last few seconds.
Still, the battle wouldn't end well. Without anything to act as his footing, Uncle Qrow couldn't apply traditional balance to the fight or strength to his strikes. Not to mention he had to constantly transform back and forth between his bird form to fly and his human form to actually fight. Meanwhile, Happy had a single form, constant support against gravity, and a sword that could spontaneously elongate at any moment. It was only because of her uncle's tremendous skill that he was holding his own as well as he was. But the conditions of the fight were against him. If it continued as it was, eventually attrition would overcome him.
But just like he'd saved them, she'd help him. They were in this together.
It wouldn't be as simple as just shooting Happy. The two were dueling so fiercely, constantly exchanging positions, that she wouldn't be able to fire into their battle without risking hitting her uncle.
But there might have been another way. She'd only done it with Full Magnolia and its specially made lacrima before, but if she could do it… could she do it with dust… only one way to find out.
She opened the chamber of her beloved scythe and her vision became tinged with silver. Carefully, she slipped wisps of mystical energy into her bullet, the dust within taking on a light all its own.
"Alright, here we go," she muttered, locking her aim just to the side of the sky battle. "Argentum Flash Shot!"
She pulled the trigger and the bullet flew into the air. And when it was beside the battle, right behind Uncle Qrow, it erupted in a bright flash of silver light. However, unlike her wail or other magic, this light was just… well, light. It was a flashbang fired right in front of Happy's eyes, forcing the demonic Exceed to pull back his sword as he shut his eyes.
Uncle Qrow capitalized on the intervention. He pulled down Harbinger's blade and fired blast after blast from its shotguns, bombarding Happy with fire and using the recoil to push himself higher into the air.
The blue-furred cat man's aura crackled with strain. Uncle Qrow transformed to get into position above his foe and then became human once more, his sword raised to come down on Happy's head. It'd break his aura for sure, and with how disoriented he was, they could force him to the ground and figure out exactly what Salem had on him that was making him act this way.
It was only afterward, when that chance was good and lost, that Ruby would remember the subtle increase in the air temperature at that moment.
A sapphire fireball, seemingly from nowhere, streaked across the sky like a shooting star. Uncle Qrow's eyes immediately flew up when it approached and he dove out of the way, abandoning his attack on Happy. The demon Exceed didn't capitalize on the evasion, instead transforming into his smaller form and dashing away. The flames flashed past where the two were grappling and far off into the distance, exploding in an enormous blaze that painted the grey sky a vibrant blue.
Ruby cocked an eyebrow at that. Where had that come from? Did Happy summon it somehow? No, he was just as surprised as Qrow was when it came in.
A shriek from the Nuckelavee, weaker than its previous yells, drew her glance. Just in time to watch Nora bash the horse's head into the stone, while Ren wrapped his hands around the rider's visage. Its skull crackled with white light, streaking out in a grid-like pattern until, finally, the Grimm exploding in a mass of black sludge. The half of Team JNPR crumpled to the ground and nearly keeled over.
Ruby grinned. With the Nuckelavee gone, they could focus their attention on the threat from above. With Happy and Uncle Qrow separated, she could fire on the Exceed with impunity—
"Move!" Uncle Qrow shouted, landing on the ground and taking off in a run. He dashed over to Jaune and Wendy, pulling them both up as leaned on each other before snatching Carla up in his arms.
"What?" Ruby exclaimed. "Uncle Qrow, what are you—"
"I said move!" the huntsman commanded. "We have to get out of here!"
"We can take him! Together!" Ruby insisted. "I'll get on my armor and—"
"It's not him I'm worried about!" Uncle Qrow roared. He glared off into the distance, specifically the direction the fireball had come from. A line of sweat dripped down his face. "It's his partner."
"Aw, I'm hurt, Qrow. You don't think I'm threatening?"
All eyes shot up into the sky. Happy flew hovered above them, his sword sheathed on his back. "Ruby, I don't know what Ozpin told you, but this man doesn't have your best interests at heart."
Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "Uh, I'm pretty sure he does. He is my uncle."
Happy tilted his head to the side. He glanced rapidly between the two of them for several seconds before his eyes widened. "What?! Qrow Branwen is your uncle?!"
"Yeah," Ruby said. "Why is this a surprise to you? I talked about Uncle Qrow all the time at the guild."
"I didn't know that was this Qrow! He's an asshole!"
"He is not! And how many other 'Qrows' are there?" Ruby shouted back, before a questioning look came over her. She turned to her uncle. "Are there any other 'Qrows' on Remnant?"
"Not that spell it with a 'Q'. There's a few that spell it with a 'C', including this one professional card player who—that isn't important!" Qrow yelled. He pointed into the sky. "You know this furball?"
"He's Fairy Tail."
"What? He works for Salem!"
"We're still figuring that out!"
"Well, it'll have to wait for now," Happy said, glancing off into the distance. "He wouldn't have interfered unless he was declaring the test to be over." The Exceed looked towards Jaune and Wendy and smiled. "Some of you did better than others. Don't worry though. Unless he decides to drastically change his plans, you should be safe until you hit Haven. Unless you want to come join our side now?"
Ruby glared. "No."
"Worth a shot. Haven it is," Happy waved at them. "See you then!"
"Happy!"
Everyone whirled around to Wendy. The Sky Dragon Slayer was clutching at her arm, but she managed to shuffle herself off of Jaune and limped out in the destroyed town square.
"Wendy…" Carla whimpered. "What are you—"
"I need to know!" Wendy yelled.
Happy raised an eyebrow. "Need to know… what?"
"You know what!" the enchantress said. "The Fairy Sphere. You came out of it, just like we did."
"And?"
"Did it work?!" Wendy demanded. "Did… did it… did it work like a Fairy Sphere is supposed to work?"
"Wendy, what are you talking about?" Ruby asked. "Of course, it didn't, otherwise you wouldn't have ended up here—"
"No, it did. The Fairy Spheres worked exactly as they were designed to," Happy declared. His face was morose and melancholy, sadness seeping off him in waves as he looked down upon his guildmates. "I'm sorry, Wendy. We can only move forward. And Salem is our path."
With that, he blasted away towards the horizon, a meager dot beyond their sight.
Ruby cautiously approached Wendy, reaching her hand out for her friend's shoulder. When she placed it there, the blue-haired girl whirled around and engulfed the huntress in a hug. She smushed her head into the crook of her friend's next, tears already falling from the Maiden of the Sky's face.
"That was what you suspected," Carla muttered, staring blankly into the distance. "That's not… we can't be…"
"Can't be what?" Nora inquired. "What did he mean?"
"A Fairy Sphere's purpose is to protect the target by pulling them out of time," Wendy murmured. "Ours worked perfectly."
It was only then that it clicked in Ruby's head. The Spheres, Ozpin having knowledge of Fairy Tail, Kyouka having no knowledge of the book when they'd fought, and what little Sitara had told them about the book's intended purpose, all of it suddenly came together to form an utterly horrifying picture. Her eyes widened and she pressed her guildmate even tighter against her.
"I don't understand," Jaune said. "Why is that a bad thing?"
"The Sphere worked perfectly," Carla explained. "Which means it didn't cross dimensions. It only preserved us in time."
Ruby watched as all her friends' eyes widened, their minds coming to the same terrible conclusion that she had. The book hadn't sent them to another dimension, it had sent them back in time.
Their world wasn't separate from Fairy Tail's. It was its future. Their world was Earthland's Remnant.
RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFTFTFTFT
The Ophiuchus leaned against a tree when a sudden gust of wind announced his partner's return. He turned towards Happy, only to find the demon Exceed in tears.
He sighed and knelt beside his friend, reaching out a clawed hand to gently pat him on the head. "Don't worry. They're confused. They'll come around in time."
"I know. I know," Happy murmured, wiping the tears from his face. "It's just… telling Wendy and Carla the truth about the Sphere, about how we've lost the guild… it brought back bad memories."
The Ophiuchus nodded. While he didn't share his friend's excessive fondness for the Fairy Tail guild, he understood better than most what those bonds meant to him. He was well entitled to his grief.
"Just remember, they're not all gone," he comforted his partner. "Wendy and Carla are with Ruby, and Fullbuster is safe in Atlas with Weiss. The Gate of the Maiden will bring them to us."
"And Lucy? Erza?"
The Ophiuchus grinned, a hungry thing that reeked with bloodlust. "Fairies attract Fairies. Titania and… Heartfilia will be within our grasp soon enough. We just have to keep moving."
"Right," Happy sniffed. He smiled up at the Ophiuchus. "Thanks, Natsu!"
He froze, his gentle hand suddenly tightened. "What?"
Happy's eyes widened. He flapped his wings and blasted into a nearby tree, his back splayed against the bark as he shook with terror. "End! End! I'm sorry! You were just sounding so much like him and—"
The grass beneath his feet went up in flames, his curse leaking out with his rage.
"I am nothing like him," he hissed.
"I know, I know!" Happy panicked. "It was just a slip of the tongue! I got caught up in the moment!"
He pulled his hand close and tightened it into a fist. He closed his eyes and took a dozen deep breaths, just like Salem had taught him. He had a right to his fury, but not a right to take it out on his partner. The former Exceed had demonstrated their friendship more than once over the half a century they'd been together. It was an honest mistake.
The flames quietened around him, leaving only the black cinders of the foliage.
"I'm sorry," he said, slumping down on the burnt ground. "But it's been fifty years, Happy. You should know better than to call me his name."
Happy halted his shivering and nodded. "I do. Like I said, I just got caught up in the moment."
"It's fine," he sighed, before popping a smile. "You did great. Wendy and Ruby are as impressive as I remember. And those others proved themselves quite capable. That Jaune boy in particular… he has promise."
"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered. "But did you know Qrow Branwen was Ruby's uncle?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Um, yes. Yang's mother is Raven Branwen. Qrow is Raven's brother. That makes him their uncle. Did you not know?"
"Uh…" Happy suddenly started whistling. "Sooo, if the test's over, what's our next move?"
The Ophiuchus shrugged and rose to his feet, cracking his neck. "Well, Wendy and Ruby shouldn't have any trouble reaching Haven. We can have Lionheart keep an eye on them there until we're ready to move."
"Okay, but what do we do until we are 'ready to move'?" Happy inquired. "We're not just going to sit around doing nothing, are we?"
"Of course not," he grinned. "Ruby said that Yang is on her way. We just need to double back and pick her up. And maybe, just maybe, help arrange that reunion with her mother she wants so badly."
That was her purpose after all. If anything would help sway her over to their side, it would be assisting her in accomplishing that. After all, he knew better than most what it was like to have a purpose. To have one drive, one singular instinct that drove every waking moment of one's existence.
And when that destiny was so close… to have it all snatched away. To be used as a battery, his body a shell for an idiot who pranced through existence on the merit of his power, and then to be cast aside without living a single moment.
He'd had to evolve past that tragedy, that indignity, past Heartfilia's attempt to erase him from existence to preserve her precious fire breathing imbecile.
Salem wanted the Celestial Spirit Wizard alive, and for good reason. But if his friendship with the Queen was not so precious to him… he would take great pleasure in educating that wretched bitch. He was not some fragment of Natsu Dragneel! He was not just Etherious Natsu Dragneel! Not E.N.D.! He was greater than that fool could ever have been!
He was the guardian of the Twelve Gates of the Eclipse Etherious, right hand of the Queen of the world yet to come, the great Ophiuchus!
He was End. And no one would take that from him.
Behold! The big twist that will come as a surprise to no one! (I promise, not every story I write has this twist, it is just coincidence that this one and RWBY/Zero were the back-to-back weekly stories).
This chapter was surprisingly easy to write. Like, done in two days when it usually takes me four to five, sometimes longer. I know it isn't my longest one, but still. The tactical fight was a nice change of pace from the grander slugfests that I'm used to writing. The party together could have defeated Happy together head-on, but he was able to use tactics and the environment to maintain the advantage. At least until they began to adapt and remove obstacles until End felt he had to intervene.
Speaking of, all of you who thought the Ophiuchus was Natsu... you were sort of right. It is his body, but it isn't him in the driver's seat. End is someone I'm looking forward to exploring in this story, the consciousness of Etherious Natsu Dragneel before Zeref shoved his little brother's soul into the main consciousness of the body. Since Larcade was stated to be an E.N.D. prototype and he certainly had sentience without Natsu, I don't find it too much of a stretch that there was a more traditional being in control before Zeref was satisfied enough to put his sibling's soul into it, the same being that started leaking out when Natsu thought Lucy was dead and E.N.D. partially emerged, only to be shut back inside when Erza brought Natsu and Gray back to their senses.
As for the fact that Lucy seemingly rewrote the Book of E.N.D. so that Natsu wasn't a demon anymore... well... as it says here, it was an attempt. Why it failed falls under spoilers.
Please feel free to check out the TvTropes Page! As a first for one of my stories, it has an Awesome Moments page, so don't let it be incomplete. Head on over and add any trope or awesome moment you see to the list!
An extra huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction, Annaya Chan, Nora Okonus, Paula mandel, KefkaesqueXIII, Christian Howard, SanyaBane, and Matthew Blevins.
Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!
Go Forth and Conquer!