Chapter 6: Right From Wrong
Arc 1: Lights In The Sky
The void, an empty white abyss where only pure nothingness can belong, this was what some of Sky's dreams were. Nothing. Only him…or, that's how they were before 'he' came back. The fixation of his logic and hatred...Iota.
"So… you have new 'friends'?" Sky turned at the echo, noting the mirror he looked at, yet no frame existed, only himself, but with pure, white eyes, a scowl on his face. Unlike Sky himself, Iota stood with white hair, a jacket of white, and blue details, and a light-blue shirt, the rest was still black. "How long I wonder...would it take until they do the same?"
"I've been over this, no, 'we've' been over this, Ruby and everyone are different." Sky responded with a harsh tone, but Iota sighed
"They will betray you, just like all the rest… I'm the only one who you can truly trust," It responded as Sky groaned, rubbing his head over the repeated words
"Are we really doing this!?" Sky snapped, not wanting to go through the same ordeal with Iota, much to his headache
"Yes!" Iota shouted, his eyes narrowing, a frown permanent on his face. "You know what the world did to us! I am your only, 'TRUE' companion!"
"And what of Erika, what about her!?" Sky snapped back before adding quickly. "Ruby, and the rest! They are the only people I have now, without Erika…I've got no one…"
"You. Have. Me." It stated as it turned Sky to face Iota, that scowl still present with those narrowed eyes. "I won't let that happen again, Erika and I… are the only ones who can make it end… without pain or betrayal,"
Sky then narrowed his own gaze and shoved the duplicate away from him, its face never faltering.
"No! I trust them! Not you!" Sky snapped then added with a spit. "Iota. Actually, Eric was far better to talk to, mind replacing yourself with him?"
"Not likely, the idiot hasn't had the proper 'motivation' to appear yet, but he will, until then, I'll still be waiting to hear I'm right, or when I take control, whichever comes first." Iota shrugged, a small smile of dark intent on his features. "Fine, do what you will, but when they turn their back on you, I'll be here, waiting."
"Then you're in for a long ride, cause that ain't gonna happen, I won't let you." Sky growled, yet Iota smiled all the same
"Have fun in your little dream, Kai."
When Sky woke, he felt the rays of sun peer through the crack in the curtains, his eyes slowly adjusting to the light. When he did, he saw the others slowly do the same, from up high?
"Wait? Where - oh…ooooooh!" Sky thought to himself as he felt his face turn red, his body freezing in place when he noticed who was yawning beside him. "Yep. I'm dead."
Ruby slowly got up as she rubbed her eyes, notes falling to her sides as she looked to her right and saw Sky sitting there as he smiled sheepishly. Then Ruby smiled hesitantly, as she scratched her head.
"M-Morning," Sky spoke hesitantly as Ruby smiled warmly at him
"Whoops…stayed up too late again, huh?" Ruby asked as Sky nodded as he yawned, rubbing his eyes
"Well, that's what happens when you rely too heavily on coffee, that and…you have a note stuck on your face," Sky sighed as he pointed to her cheek, to which she shook it off and jumped down from the bed
"Well then, who's ready to go to Forever Fall!?" Ruby cheered as the rest quickly cheered with anticipation, Sky still puzzled by the dream before quickly joining in
"YEAH!"
"Kill me now..." Shut it, Iota
[Forever Fall]
Sky stared at the forest in awe, he had seen many amazing and breath-taking sights in his rather, mundane life, but the forest was just…beautiful. It was an endless sea of red, his favorite colour, the leaves constantly drifting slowly towards the blanket of red that covered the entire surface.
"This is…" Sky spoke in amazement as he looked around the crimson forest
"Awesome…" Ruby finished as Sky rolled his eyes
"I was gunna say 'Mystical', but that works too," Sky responded as the gang slowly followed Professor Goodwitch
"Yes students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful," She began as they continued to walk deeper in the forest. "But we are not here to sight-see, Professor Peaches asked all of you to collect samples from trees deep inside their forest. And I am here to make sure that none of you die while doing so," Professor Goodwitch explained as she stopped to face the students
"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so to be sure to stay by your teammates," Professor Goodwitch informed with her rather bemused face
"We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock, Have fun!" She ended as everyone decided to split into large groups
"Ok, I say we try over here, it looked like a clearing was only a small walk away," Sky informed as the rest nodded and proceeded to follow him, whist Sky poked away at Cognitum, noting the minimap that came with it, then he thought to himself. "Despite having no clue on where this came from, its functions are really handy."
"Not surprising, given how the make-up is far more superior to this world's technology." That got Sky's attention, luckily, none of the others had noticed
"You know where it came from, Iota?" While Sky didn't like the fact that his, ahem, 'Split-personality' was back, and far more aware of his existence, it didn't mean he out-right hated him, he did keep him from being bullied for years to come, mostly
"No, but the tech is not matching anything we've seen so far, to compare, a scroll is like a Nokia to it, only good for throwing like a brick." Iota's blunt comparison did make some logic, but that still left Sky clueless on where it came from
[Sky's POV]
As the team worked away at the task, I decided to keep lookout for any Grimm that might approach, so I used this time to think about something that had been bothering me since the day I got to this world.
"Why don't I have an aura?" I whispered to myself, looking at my hand, a frown plastering my face. "Do I have to unlock it naturally? Or is it something more?"
"An aura is a manifestation of the soul." Gah! I jumped when I saw Ren walk up to me, an empty jar in his hands, whist Nora held the full ones with a drooling expression, her eyes aglow. "Some believe it to be the gift of the dust we were made from, whist others believe it to be the work of Gods, the answer is never clear."
"What do you believe?" I asked, looking around at my...friends, still getting used to saying that out of kindness and not fake message put together for a purpose, they truly cared and I want to feel the same...but... Ren then moved to start tapping into the dark-pink tincture in the tree, still talking
"I believe there is an answer, but that its what you believe your soul represents. What do you believe it to be? How do you chose to view yourself, the world, the people around you? Some say that your thoughts and emotions can be what unlocks not just your aura, but your semblance, a manifestation of your soul and yourself."
For a moment I didn't speak, only looking at my hands curiously, how I viewed myself and others, my beliefs and ideals. For something they can do without second thought, there was such a layer of depth to its power, but how much is there? Was their depths that not even the most skilled huntsmen have found?
"Thanks, Ren, that...was quite insightful." I had alot more to think on, and, a little less to dwell on too, he nodded though, before noting how the jar in his hand was now empty, with Nora giggling, holding a hand to her mouth
"Nora..." Ren sighed, and she burped, making me laugh a little. Then, the screen of Cognitum came alive, so I raised my arm, only for my gaze to turn sour, and Ren caught wind of it
"Problem?" He asked, and I pointed to the big, red dot on the blue grid and shapes of tress
"Grimm, and a big one." Not wanting to waste time, I pressed down on a singular button, allowing my black armour to form, which I rightfully clenched my fist to test my movements. "Guys, we have a-"
*ROOOAR*
"-Problem...nevermind."
Just before any of us could react, we saw three of the members from Team CRDL running away from the direction of the roar. All of them looked like they saw the mother of all Grimm as one yelled out.
"Ursa! Ursa!" The one in green yelled as Yang instantly lifted him up as she stared at him with worry
"What? Where, Lark?" She asked as he shakily pointed back the way they came. Oh, fun fact, since everyone liked me a whole lot more than the Sky from CRDL, I was introduced as 'Sky' he was introduced by his surname
"Back there, it's got, Cardin!" He responded with fear clearly in his voice, then Pyrrha gasped in shock
"Jaune!" Oh bugger, the guy's not quite as skilled as the rest, that includes me to a certain point, and against an Ursa that size, he'd be dead, so I looked to Ruby, nodding once
"Yang! You and Blake go get Professor Goodwitch." Ruby ordered as Yang dropped the guy and nodded
"You two, go with them! There could be more." Pyrrha commanded as Nora and Ren nodded and followed closely
"Ok, Ruby, Pyrrha, Weiss, let's go get these idiots before I have to perform Surgeon Simulator on an Ursa!" I commented with a hint of sarcasm as we quickly ran off towards the roar's location
When we arrived, we stared in shock at the size of the Ursa, it had massive spikes protruding from its back, its claws, inches in length. But it ignored Jaune, as it slowly made its way over to Cardin, who tried to crawl away.
"Oh, no." Pyrrha in surprise as it inched closer to its incapacitated prey
Its claw raised, it slashed down, only to make contact with Jaune's shield as he held it at bay, much to my surprise. But Weiss wasn't going to stand around as she readied her rapier to strike.
"Wait!" Pyrrha spoke suddenly as Weiss stopped, and looked in her direction
"Oh yes, let's watch what happens when face-meets-belt sander! Brilliant!" I spoke with as much sarcasm as I could muster
Jaune then threw the Ursa off balance and brought his sword upwards, striking the beast as it stumbled back. The Ursa quickly regained its footing as it struck down, only for Jaune to roll at the last second, the attack shaking the leaves into the air.
The Ursa then swung its paw again, only for Jaune to jump, avoiding the blow. But he wasn't prepared for the second claw, as it struck him in the chest, sending him backwards. But he quickly rolled back to his feet, charging head first at the Grimm without restraint.
Jaune jumped to attack, but was swatted away and sent flying into the crimson floor once more. Me and Ruby wincing at the fall, yet he persisted, clambering to his feet, yet noting that his aura was most likely critical now, so Jaune released a battle cry as he and the Ursa charged each other.
Time slowed as Jaune pulled his sword back to strike, but he left himself wide open for the Ursa's massive claw, as they inched closer to their targets. I was about to jump in, but my HUD caught the attention of a 'magnetic disruption'. Pyrrha had raised her right arm, a black vibrating aura surrounding it, her semblance! Her black aura had coated Jaune's shield, and pulled it up to defend his head, and shoulder.
The Ursa's attack scraped the shield's surface as it missed its target, Jaune however, stood firm as he let out a yell of willpower and swung his sword upright, decapitating the Ursa completely, its body falling in a heap on the floor, and flashing a fountain of crimson leaves.
"Uh, what?" Ruby just sputtered as I looked at Pyrrha in surprise, not that she could see his face
"How did you…" Weiss began, but failed to find the words as Pyrrha looked at the three
"Well, Ruby has her Speed, you have your glyphs. My semblance, is polarity," Pyrrha explained, an interesting thought making its way to my mind for a chuckle
"Please don't." Sorry Iota
"Magneto the second!" And yet only crickets were heard, so I deflated. "You're no fun..."
"Ah, you can control poles…" Ruby spoke quietly, making me face-palm
"No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism," Weiss briefly explained, Ruby whispering to herself
"Magnets are cool, too." Ruby responded, but we noticed Pyrrha walking away
"Wait, where are you going?" Weiss asked
"Yeah, we have to tell them what happened." Ruby interjected, but if that smile didn't give it away, I don't know what will
"We could…or perhaps we can just keep it are little secret." Pyrrha suggested with a smirk, and I raised my hands in defence
"Hey, fine by me, dude did go up against an Ursa the size of a fat guy at an all you can eat buffet." My shrug earned a smirk from Weiss and Ruby, the two following us to leave Jaune to tie up loose ends. Today was...certainly interesting
Yet, when the others pulled ahead of me, I stopped, looking off towards the right. Within the cradle of the dark wood trees with crimson leaves, I saw something under its red spotlight from the sun and trees. It was hard at first to make out, yet it was clearly there, watching me.
A man, I think, stared back at me, cloaks of varying shades of black stood there, his hood covering his face, yet allowing me to view two, white eyes, their eye-lids unblinking, always stern. I blinked shaking my head over the image, and...he was gone, remnants of light danced off into the air, leaving me with a sense of confusion.
"Sky, what's the hold up, Nora's going to eat all the sap!" Ruby called out to me, and I shot out of my trance, quickly catching up to the hooded-girl
"Strange, who was that?" I don't know, lets hope that's the last we've seen of him. "I doubt that."
"Yeah, I do too."
To Be Continued...
And thus, Iota has made himself known, and things are only going to get worse. Surprisingly, this arc is very short, almost like the small pilot to the next volumes to come, hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: The Truth Hurts
The preparations for the Vital Festival are underway, yet mysteries and bonds are to be tested. And when it hits the boiling point, someone is bound to get burned.