Over 8000 views! You made this hollow being happy, like, really happy. I can't begin to think of the words that could describe how thankful I am for getting to this milestone. To me this means alot, so come on! 10,000 here we go! Enjoy this week's chapter. Kanpai~!

Arc II - Barons Rising

Chapter 15: Overcoming The Grief

It was the new year, has been for a few weeks and the missions shadowing Huntsmen are up, though not before another training lesson, slash, qualification for the Vytal Festival. I didn't really see why we needed more training when are spots have been placed, bar myself given how only teams of four can enter, but aww well, the price for having an awesome team and friends I guess.

Still...what was the Vytal Festival? I, Eric and Iota have heard this that and the other, but never a clear answer, should probably get right on that. I mean, why watch a fight between Team CRDL when I knew the outcome was going to end the same? Pyrrha was their opponent.

"It's about unity." Jesus! Nearly jumped out of my seat at that, but the earpiece I forgot to take out rung with an all too familiar voice. "It's nice to speak with you again, Sky."

"..." She does realize I can't respond, right? But then how did she...? "You have a neural connection, albeit faint, to Cognitum, it's how I can talk to you without the need for you to speak."

"Great, another voice in my head, why not give me a metal?" I thought to her, but I did here her giggle at that

"Dry humor as always." Vague answers as usual. "Touche."

"What does the woman with an annoying name want with me?" Specter...I swear she did that to annoy me

"You wanted an answer to what the Vytal Festival was, so I was going to tell you during with fascinating match." You say 'fascinating' as if watching a pen of monkeys fight a gladiator is inspiring. "Call it what you wish, but anyways." Sure, let's hear it

Pressing my chin to my palms to watch the fight mindlessly, I listened to Specter.

"After the end of the Great War, which was brought about through the conflict between questions of individuality and self-expression, hence why almost all of Remnant's generations since the end bare a similarity to a color." That part makes sense

"The title 'Vytal' was due to the small island where the treaty between the four kingdoms was signed, from that point on, every two years the 'Vytal Festival' became a time where a Kingdom opened it's borders to all, sharing in celebrations of unity. It was one of the few acts of man where 'Race', 'Kingdom' or 'Background' mattered little, it was a time for peace." That last part sounded...sad coming from her

"It can't last. Someone plans to destroy everything, and Roman, The White Fang, they're involved." I thought grimly, scratching my cheek with a cold chill up my spine

"I only hope we can prevent it in time..." With that, static struck my ear, dying out as quickly as Specter came, leaving me to see Glynda stare up at me curiously, a holo-pad in hand

"Mr. Zaffre, if you are quite done staring off into space, you have a challenger." Huh? What? Who? Turning my head left and right, I soon found myself staring back at... "Mercury here will be your opponent."

"-And I said, we need a bigger boat! But noooo, Iota just had to bring a brig to a legendary fi-" Eric argued in my head, as I heard Iota sigh in annoyance. Guys... "Oh, hey boss, what's up?"

"Putting our meaningless argument aside, it seems we are going into combat." Iota was quick to change the subject, as mine and Mercury's eyes met with an uneasy feeling glazing his eyes, but what?

"Alright then...guess if it means I get out of this boring class so be it." With a shrug I stood up, waving back to my team as I descended the steps. Yang gave a thumbs up, Weiss nodded once with confidence, Blake, while tired gave a small smile, and Ruby waved happily, and once more I felt a buzz of energy pump through my veins

Once I had mentally prepped myself, I walked out into the arena, alot looked at me with confusion as to why I came out looking the same, along with no weapon...well, not like they could tell, then I looked to Mercury, he looked unarmed also, but I still kept an eye on him.

"Don't let him fool you, there's something 'off' about him..." You seem on edge, Iota? "Call it what you might, but he doesn't seem right, not like anyone else in this room..."

Once I was done chatting, I looked to see Mercury in a readied stance, so I did my own by hitting a button on Cognitum, that got gears turning. My body was soon wrapped in its black armor, blue highlighting my features, as my eyes came online, and with that, I activated my twin blade-gauntlets, taking a stance that Weiss had taught me

Right foot forward, knees bent slightly, eyes to my target, keep a flexible center of gravity

At first, nothing happened, we just stared at each other, both waiting for a defining moment to strike. And what felt like a pin drop in the distance, we ran for each other, but what I didn't prepare for, was for him to strike with his foot. As he brought an axe kick down on me where my chest felt and heard a shotgun blast emanate from his foot.

But as I stumbled, he went from a target to a monster, he did movements not meant for any human to perform, with agility to boot as he shot round after round into my blind spots, and all I could so was block the brunt as I took the hits.

"Duck-Left-Right-Jab!" Got it!

At Iota's commands, I bent back, avoiding a roundhouse, then I swerved to the left and right, avoiding more, much to his surprise, then in a rapid motion, I struck him with my blade, the metal leg of his clash with my arm, wait, metal! As in cybernetics!?

But my thoughts were left to dust as I swung left to right, bringing my arms down on him, but he easily blocked them, but so did I as we kept up a standpoint, only then did my own leg manage to strike his side, knocking him back, and at that I heard my team cheer.

"That's it!" Yang cheered for me, as I heard Ruby too

"You got him now!" I hope to god I do

For a moment nothing occurred, instead, we just stared at each other, but it wasn't long before his lips moved in a hushed tone to my ears.

"You know I get it, what it means to not fit in to a perfect system, to want to work outside that system, but that's where our similarities end." He then glared at me with a sickening grin. "Why don't you stop holding back?"

I - What!? I stopped for a second to eye Mercury again, he...how did he know I was...

With a small shrug, his left leg swiped across the ground his hands placed between them as they spun his body around, lifting an arm each time for his legs to move under him. I jumped only to have both legs strike my neck, smashing my face into the ground, followed by two feet pushing down on my back, a rattling crunch of metal against buckshot rung through my armor.

Kicking me over onto my back, I was forced to wince at the bright flash of the hidden blunderbuss in his right foot, striking my visor before he repetitively stomped on my chest, the blast ringing through-out the arena and my armor as I winced from the shockwaves, but I then mentally switched to my grappling hooks, the chains pulling me out from under Mercury.

As I flew to the wall, I spun to press my feet against the wall, my body weight pushed against my toes, with a push I charged back towards Mercury with my arms down to my sides. He simply hopped from one foot to the other, taunting me with a hand, so I charged ice and fire dust into my hands to try something new, another combo of my own. He shot three more slugs my way, but as he was similar to Yang I narrowly ducked and spun around them, sliding down onto my back with my hands trailed across the ground, spreading ice and fire as a thin sheet under him, obviously it didn't do anything.

"Fire-Ice Dragon's..." I pushed my body back around, my right fist slamming into the ground to overclock the dust with an unstable amount of ice and fire again, the cracks splitting from under him as Mercury looked at me with a nervous smile. Suddenly, a geyser of both elements shot forth from the ground, showering the arena in a misty blast. "Tectonic Surge!"

I looked to my now shaky arms, that attack wasn't as devastating as Brilliant Flame, but anymore and I might have damaged my arms again. Standing back up I watched the mist dissipate, and a black shadow lurching through the smog. The sudden heel of his boot blinded me again, throwing me back slightly, yet again my head was sent spiraling from a fist to the side of my face, then a kick to my back threw me to my knees.

This was bad, how can he move so fast!?

[No-Ones POV]

"What's going on? Why did Sky just stop like that?" Yang questioned the scene before them, after his Dragon move with dust he just froze on the spot, the easily avoidable moves Mercury used looked like they caught Sky off guard, and it only escalated, each fist or kick had him jumping back like a deer in headlights

"Something is clearly wrong, Sky is hardly one to take obvious hits without a plan." Weiss spoke sternly, but mentally she was really worried for him, the concept of what she told him weeks ago still felt so real and meaningful in her head, so seeing her 'brother' being beaten down like this angered her

"Sky...what's wrong?" Ruby didn't know how to think or react to this either, it was like his perception had been effected in someway

Then...He Stopped.

[Sky's POV]

"You know, for a guy with a cocky attitude, you sure do know how to work for it." I breathed, shaking my head clear to come face-to-face with him, only he looked...sinister, his aura, it wasn't normal again...it looked warped

"Come on, I want to see why everyone finds you amazing, why it is someone like you can be as good as you are?" He boasted, then...he...he vanished!? "Or are you really nothing without that tin suit?"

I moved back to my feet again, but now that smog has returned...I couldn't see the audience anymore. Strange, this guy's semblance is tricky, quite literally too. I stood firm again, keeping an eye on my blind spots when I could, my blades at the ready.

"Hey there, Ki, been too long, eh?" !

N-n-no...n-not...no-no-no-no...

I felt my entire body freeze, my back only flared with invisible pain like a flurry of strikes to my soul...my heart was pounding against my rib-cage again, it hurt...this...spiraling, electrical torment in my chest hurt! N...not her...please...stop!

My eyes met green. Hair a raven tone. A sweet voice hiding it all.

"R...Ri..ka..." I felt bile turn in my insides at the sudden force of images and voices in my head, I felt my entire mind scream...I wanted to scream my lungs out in fear...I...I wanted it...her to go away

"Aww, not happy to see me? I thought we were friends too?" Stop it...stop it-stop it-stop it-stop it-stop it-STOP IT!"

My legs fell out from under me and my hands held my head in agony...this migraine was accompanied by a sharp pain in my chest again...I was hyperventilating...I...I don't...

"The Match Is Over!" She finally disappeared, revealing a single glimpse of Mercury's smirk, which quickly turned to fake concern as he backed away from me. I still sat on the floor clutching my head and chest, my entire body felt cold and shaky. "Mr. Zaffre, Sky, breathe!"

I heard the Professor try to calm me down, her hand rested on my plated back, but it didn't do anything to stop my descent into something far worse...I was afraid...I didn't want to be here...I...please, make it stop...

...

...

My vision...my feelings...all of it was numbed with the one thing I could feel other than pain, agony, torment, paranoia...it all meant nothing now...I only felt it grow...fester...she took me away...I'll wanted to take her away...make her disappear...make her scream...beg...bleed...die

Die.

My hands, my entire body slowly began to glow again, the highlights a sickening amalgamation of red, white and blue. My eyes droned on him...that boy made me feel like this, I wanted him to feel this to, understand what I do...pain.

No-one dared to make a sound, Mercury had no time to fully comprehend how fast I moved to coil my hand around his throat, cutting off his air supply quickly. I did feel him punch and kick me, but I didn't move, my body never flinched under the numbing sensation in my bones. I only held my vice-like grip as I burrowed my vision through my helmet and into his sockets.

I can feel it. His air was gone, he was beginning to struggle desperately, that's it...more...I want you to keep struggling against me, Iota, Eric, Cognitum. You can't win, you never could win against something you have no idea how to control. You can't live, you've not earned it!

"SKY!" Someone hit my back again, it wasn't Mercury since I felt my hand release him, allowing the man to coughed and gasp for air on the ground as people whispered among each other, but nothing else was said, say for the growing sensation of warmth across my back, even through the armor I felt someone press their body against me. "It's okay...please stop."

Ruby...again those faint glimpses of my own blood against a dark floor resurfaced...but they were overshadowed by her again. Ruby, she coated those dark images with something colorful and new again, it was all of them but...Ruby...Ruby...

I felt to the ground again, this time I was completely drained...I didn't want to move...and I didn't want to stay awake either.

[Later that evening...]

I was in the ward again, wasn't I? God my head hurts...I need to get up

"When you get up I will kill you." Nevermind I'm going back to sleep

"I had a panic attack, didn't I?" I know it was Weiss, the others weren't here though, good...I...what have I done

"You went into a psychotic state and nearly broke Mercury's neck, so yes, you did." Weiss sounded exhausted by how she said that. "They wanted to bring in a psychiatrist when you woke up...but I told them it wouldn't have been necessary."

"Thank you, I hate therapy, not once had it worked back home, I doubt they could fix me, Iota and Eric either," I replied with a sigh, then I opened my eyes to the ceiling above. "Iota? Eric?"

"You don't need to say it."

"We lost it too. Just...that was so real...so...scary."

"It's over...she won't hurt us." Blinking, I sat up against the back of the bed, sitting up to see Weiss quickly turn to embrace me, a sudden action I wasn't prepared for, but as I already guessed, no one else was here. So I wrapped my arms around her too, holding my sister close. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"I know, please don't make me worry like that again, you idiot." Back with the insults? Okay, I am...

"How did the others take it?" I was curious as to why Yang hasn't tried to kill me, Blake giving me a bemused expression, and Ruby...probably doing what Weiss is doing. Moving to sit in front of me Weiss stared with equal concern

"I explained in little detail as to why you had a panic attack, but not anything beyond a girl who did something horrible to you..." She knew. I showed her a while ago what Rika did to me...I could still feel the pain just thinking of it. "Are you all okay?"

"We are...for now."

"We are...for now."

"We are...for now."

A breath and smile of relief from Weiss. "That's better; Now, to change the subject, I noticed something lately."

"That being?" I raised a brow, stepping out from under the sheet to stand and stretch again, feeling my joints pop with glee

"Almost all of your moments of despair, every time you have bad panic attacks, Ruby was always there to calm you down or assure you." Huh...yeah, I guess she was

"So were you, Blake, Yang, heck, about everyone who considers themselves my friends," I added defensively, I turned to stare out the window to the falling sun ahead of us both, my hands on the windowsill. "I owe all of you my life...I...ever since I came to this school...met all of you, I've felt closer to who I was before in all the years since that night."

I didn't think, I just spoke. "Ruby though, I'm the worst person in the world, the things I've done and have suffered because of others, I always push others away, but despite my fears and my continuous slither of doubt, she still managed to get me to rid that shell I hid in, Iota and Eric trust her too, Iota I never expected to trust anyone...but...he does, I do...I only hope she feels the same."

"You like her, don't you?" Huh? What kind of question is that, of course I do

"Well, duh..." I lazily answered, but she shook her head, looking at me evenly from my left

"No, I mean you 'Like' her, you care more about her than anyone else, don't you?" And like that...my world froze in that moment again and I couldn't quite understand why my mind froze, why I felt my heart beat increase

"W-What?" I blurted out, leaving Weiss to stand next to me, resting her hand on my own

"Every time you saw her in danger, you saved her, you sit and listen to her nonsense, you care about her friendship towards you by trying to hide Eric and Iota away, and now, you fear she'll hate you for losing control," Weiss then paused, thinking about something to say, and from this moment on, I finally realized how important those words meant to me. "...You love her."

Like hitting the nail on the head, she finally put the words I could never find, together. Everything that's happened, all the things we've done together, all these months of trying to adapt and control my life, and yet, she's been the one that stood by me. And so I smiled, more brightly than ever before, as I felt my eyes reach the sun again, a glow that looked far too beautiful now, how I laughed lightly at the sight, as if the realization sat on the sun's face. But this feeling...it didn't fade away.

"Yeah...I guess I do love her..."

To Be Continued...

Yay! Just like every other guy, he finally realized the truth! But how will that effect Sky now? And what did Mercury (But let's be honest it was Emerald) do to Sky? What did 'Rika' do to Sky to make him who he is? Also, with the dance coming up I needed to make one of them realize their feelings for the other, but when Ruby finds out, I'll make it awesome! Hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!

Next Chapter: Take My Hand

It's time to dance. Both with who you love and the devil himself. Sky just happens to be stuck with both.