Arc III - Light At The End
Chapter 21: The Legend Rises
[Team RWBYS' Dorm]
The room was all but silent, the only two occupants included Ruby and Weiss, the former nervously rubbing her thumbs together on her lap, a small rosy tint on her cheeks as her eyes constantly avoided any eye contact with her best friend, who sat with a rare, soft expression towards the awkward girl before her.
"-That's e-everything, Weiss," Ruby muttered, her head lowered to fixate on her twidling thumbs. "From how it started...how I-I feel about him...why I'm...afraid to say anything."
Weiss breathed out through her nose, keeping a straight poker face due to her own knowledge on the subject at hand. For the last hour or so, Weiss sat to listen to the worries of her friend about her own more recent development of emotions towards Sky, more-so how she cared deeply for him now since figuring out why she was acting so weird leading up to after the dance and to the day after The Breach.
"Tell me, Ruby?" Said raven-haired girl looked up to face Weiss' neutral expression again. Yet in Weiss' own mind she thought back to how Sky had confessed, how he truly felt despite his own self-loathing. "What is it you feel when you're around him. A guy who had kept secrets from you, who probably hides more or the fact he has suffered so much, why is it that you feel this way around him?"
At first, Ruby didn't say a word, yet her thumbs ceased twiddling in her palms as she thought with her eyes to the sunset through the open window.
"I feel...that even after everything he's hidden from me, all that pain he felt for years without anyone to talk to other than his family...I felt I got to see more of himself each time, the real Sky that I know is somewhere inside of him, where his courage and inspiration pours from," Ruby then felt a smile tug at her lips, her heart racing again. "When I fought beside him or talked with him I wasn't afraid to speak my mind, I didn't feel the pressure of failure anymore if anything...I was happy to have someone so kind beside me, who made me feel this way despite all my flaws."
"I know I'm...well I'm not as smart and trained as you, or strong like Yang or even as calm as Blake, but Sky made me feel freer to be who I am, a girl who wants to become a Huntress, be the hero I read from books." Ruby finally let out the breath she had held, not realizing Weiss stood directly before her with a kind smile to her leader
"I'm not as smart as you say I am, and I'm no expert in how people feel, but I know that how you feel isn't wrong," She rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder, reassuring her of the doubts that burdened her leader. "Don't rush this, just be you, that's already been more than enough for Kai, and for yourself."
Without warning, Ruby enveloped Weiss in a tight hug, her arms around her friend as Weiss struggled to keep her composure, but she soon gave into the hug, rubbing Ruby's back in small circles.
"Thank you, Weiss."
"You mention this to anyone and I will hurt you." Weiss half-joked, feeling Ruby push back to give her a goofy grin
"Mention what?" Weiss grinned at that, just in time for the two to scream when the door to their room shot open with a yell from beyond the doorway
"You know what!? Screw this! Screw that Legend 27 bloke! Screw the game! To hell with this world!" Sky screamed his head off, kicking the ground as he fell backward and onto the carpet, rubbing his eyes, completely unaware of Weiss' startled expression and Ruby's crimson face
"Did he hear me!? Oh, no-no-no-no-no, please tell me he didn't hear that mushy stuff!?" Her thoughts raced as her silver eyes saw Yang and Coco walk in too, all falling to the floor around Sky with a loud huff. "Y-Yang? Coco?"
"And me, Red!" Sky spat, making Ruby sigh with relief at the change of voice and white eyes
"H-Hi, Iota." Ruby waved meekly to the personality hijacking Sky's body
"So...today was a wasted effort," Iota grumbled as he sat in the middle of the floor, a scroll resting within his limp hand as he squirmed on the carpet of their room to get comfortable. Another two heads also sat against his, forming a triangle of bodies that all shared the same, exhausted, defeated expression
"Agreed." Yang sighed in defeat
"Bloody...typical." Coco spat, her hand resting against her forehead
Yang, herself bruised from something striking her forehead earlier that day, with Coco beside her, a broken pair of shades still against her face, with one of the lenses missing, herself gave up in all hope of moving before the perplexed Weiss and red-faced Ruby, embarrassed for her own reasons.
"Okay, now will you three explain what happened to you today? And why I need to report a splintered door, several windows and possibly damaged books?" Weiss grumbled irritably at the three, with Iota raising his hand in a very out-of-character attitude
"Well, in our defense this outcome would be unavoidable, given how fruitless today's efforts have been." He elaborated further by plucking a shard of glass from his hair, tossing it into the bin at the foot of Yang's bed. "Tell us, have you played that game that cooperation put us into?"
"You mean that 'Amity Arena'? No, but I was never fond of video games." Weiss replied, trying to piece together why the three looked as though they ran through walls and windows all day
"Oh! That super awesome app that has my army of me's in it!?" Ruby gushed over her mini hers, holding out her loadout for the three to audibly groan at, making the Huntress pout. "You're just jealous my team is awesome."
"Sorry, sis, you were the first to be ruled out, alongside Ice Queen." Yang pointed out, not seeing Weiss' visible twitch, while Ruby tilted her head
"What list?" Coco then sat up, throwing her scroll over for Ruby to scroll down the list of Beacon Students, all of which had their names crossed out. "Why are they all crossed out?"
"Because, there's some crazy-skilled player, the 'Legend 27', who's been kicking our sorry asses, and most of Beacon's since the game came out," Coco explained, rubbing her temple. "We were tagging along with Iota after he got very salty-"
"Like you're one to talk!" He barked
"-So he was salty and we were also victims of his guy, so we spent all day trying to pinpoint the exact loadout the guy never seems to change, so far...we've given up." Coco clapped her hands, resting back on the carpet with a sigh. "Always fun 'till you're knocked on your ass."
"Okay, that doesn't explain where the glass shards and bruising Yang suffered came from?" Weiss pointed out, so Iota sat up to begin telling them what happened
"Simple-" Iota began with a pained looked in his eyes
[Eariler In the Libary...]
We had spent most of our day wandering around for the most likely of suspects, from their intelligence to battle tactics out on training missions, just about everything that makes the Legend27 near unbeatable, well...until we could find a way to beat him.
"Argh! This is so frustrating!" Yang yelled, ruffling her hair with a burning sense of anger, one I can relate to as I watched more lines cross over names at Coco's swipe, each seemingly more heavy and distraught by the twitch in her eye under her shades. "Not a single person has been anywhere near this guy's level, we sure he isn't hacking?"
"I can access Remnant's most advanced technological mainframe to be conceived," I pointed dryly to Cognitum. "Believe me, I've. Checked. EVERYTHING.
"Yo, you two mind calming down, getting some creepy looks here." Coco's advice made my hardened stare turn to the several people watching us, either with books in their hands or on scrolls as their own intellectual glares mirrored mine poorly, but there was something else hidden under that vail, not that I could pinpoint
"What are an infestation of intellectuals going to do to me? Enforce knowledge and righteousness down my throat?" I mused with a smirk, looking down at my scroll that had Amity Arena on the screen. So far I had my own loadout set, and if my choices and progress made in the arenas was correct, I should be very formidable if I played my cards right
"So, any news of L27?" Yang asked, peering down the table to look down at my screen, so I merely opened it up on Cognitum, then with a pinch I threw the holographic screen before us, allowing us all to view the screen fully instead of using this scroll, don't know why we have one, but whatever it can do, Cognitum can amplify
My loadout consisted of all Level 6s. Sycthe Ruby, Ice Weiss, Echo Sky, Beowolf Alpha, Baby Death Stalker Swarm x15, AK-200, White Fang Thugs and White Fang Gunners. Overall, I had my aces and my cannon-fodder for opposing troops, most people would end up panicking upon seeing so many ground enemies on the left and right that it gives me time to deploy my aces to utterly demolish their line of defense on the weakest side.
But the problem was that Legend27 is...almost inhuman, he's as calculative and logical as myself, hell he might even be more so, I may represent Logic and Anger, a very bad combination, but even I'm limited by both myself and Sky's original personality, if only we were the same as back then...back when I ceased to be...
"Nooo!" The sudden alarm of Yang brought about mine and Coco's attention, the latter just finished snooping around those who were playing the game too, and due to Yang's outcry more of those swine were looking our way. "Iota, heeeelp~!"
"Don't tell me..." I ran over the table, coming to rest behind Yang and peer over her to see the name that gave me a chill. She was up against Legend27, crap. She had also lost her left tower to a Scythe Ruby too, double-crap! "Yang, deploy cannon-fodder, now!"
She quickly used five points to deploy a swarm of deathstalkers, alongside a Jaune, but by the time the Scythe Ruby was gone, the main tower had suffered greatly, and now more were heading for the right tower...cleaver move on his part, wanting us to divide our power so he could flank the weakly guarded left wing.
"Right, deploy some long-range troops on the right, then save up points to deploy an ace on the left, your right tower will take damage but it won't be destroyed, not if this Legend wants to lose a tower too," I commanded, seeing Coco look between myself and the screen nervously
"Man, remind me not to get on your competitive side, buddy." I'll take that as a compliment, looking back, Yang was beginning to do really well, she had destroyed the left tower, the only problem was...he used that against us...and I felt my skin pale. "Uhh, did he just bait us?"
"I think he did..." Yang gulped, all while a cold flame burned around me like a soaring flame of my unyielding rage! In seconds, Yang's main tower was wiped out as I continued to watch with furious eyes at the sight of my own logic being outmatched, he had stocked points at the beginning and had been using them sparingly, all so he could deploy an armada at the end. "Noooo...my trophies..."
"That...This Guy..." I growled, my hand tightening on Yang's shoulders, causing the girl to shiver
"Man, that's cold!"
"Hehe...y-you okay...?" I turned to look at Coco, seeing her smile falter completely. "Yang...Iota's lookin' pretty upset."
"GRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHH!" I screamed, slamming my fist through the table completely, feeling my rage burning out a little from the act of anarchy. "How many times!? How many times do we have to go through this bullshit!?"
*SMACK*
Both Coco and Yang looked to me with expressions of petrifying fixtures of horror, the small, handheld book sliding off my face and onto the floor by my feet with a resounding echo, I didn't blink...I didn't make a single movement over than the craning of my lips. All while my hair clouded my eyes for a moment.
"This is a library, not a canteen!" I felt my head turn to look at some four-eyed boy who nervously looked in my direction as I felt my eyes become mere pins in my sockets
"You there...what do you think you're doing?" I asked in a strained, calm manner. This made him gulp as others looked at with wide eyes, and Yang held a hand over her agape mouth. "I...can understand the need to silence another, I have countless times in the past...but I fail to see how you can stand there...throw...what at me?"
"U-umm, Grimm Investigations...sir, I was distracted along with others so I took action to silence you in a place of learning, s-sir." He had guts...or lack of them on the floor
"Why...I can't comprehend. Why would you throw it at me?" Something in me was snapped like a cord, and I don't know if this hollow pit would cease expanding now
"..." He said nothing, the whole library was caught in a painfully long standoff between this student who looked into Death's eyes and didn't waver, as if a murder was about to break out between them. "P-Please, sir, try to keep the noise down for others, please."
"..." I had no words left
*SHATTER*
Yang pulled Coco and Iota out the window as the books continued to rain upon them, just as the three landed in the walkway outside the complex, all while Iota thrashed in Yang's arms with a murderous glint in his eyes.
"I KILL YOU! I FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL SLIT YOUR STOMACH OPEN AND STRANGLE THE LAST MOMENTS OF YOUR LIFE AWAY WITH YOUR OWN GUTS, YOU UTTERLY USELESS GNAT, LEACH, BLOODY WORM!"
"Iota, calm down!" Coco attempted to ease with, but the man vented for atleast ten minutes afterward, even as Professor Goodwich attempted to scold the uncaring being about breaking a window and threatening several students, others merely watched with amusement at the personalty's uneasy way of handling situations too.
[Back in the dorm...]
"In the end, we made it back to square one, how fitting." Iota's constant bemusement of the day's events left them all with a sense of time lost to a pointless endeavor. With a bored glare, Iota pushed himself to his feet, kicking off his shoes and throwing his jacket onto the chair next to Weiss' bed. "Oh well, it was...fun, being free for a while, even had the opportunity to threaten a life again, haven't done that since Red was a pain...wait, no, still is."
"Wait, what are you-" Iota then grasped the top of Ruby and Sky's bed, lifting himself up and rolling into the darkest end of the bed and out of the sight of them all, while Ruby continued to look on with confusion. "What did you mean by that - And not the whole me being annoying?"
"...You spend as much time as me inside a body that is not quite your own, that senseless motion of freedom beyond your fingertips, the taste of air to a set of lungs that weren't yours, to begin with, that is not freedom, but it is so close the very seconds spent are painfully precious." Iota drawled on, looking at his hand, but knowing it was Kai's. "I have no sense of true freedom, why else would I too be mad all the time, not just for the fragments I represent but because I too envy the man that gave me life."
"Wow, you're as depressed as ever." Coco mused, knocking the edge of the bed as she walked towards the door. "Look, way I see it you're just mad you didn't get a good ending, so what?" With a final wave, she grinned. "Next time, I'll take you out on the town, I'll bring Yang and Velvet too, how about it?"
The others all looked to her with an odd expression, wondering what she was trying to pull with the school's most cynical and mad being. Even the personality himself lacked understanding of her motives, but was that how he perceived it? Just a ruse? Or was this what Sky and Ruby meant, about companionship?
He finally got his answer.
"So long as you don't try to pull anything...why not..." She looked back to see the white eyes peering over the bed, no longer a hardened glare, but one of curious intent. "I...I'd like that."
With a small chuckle, Coco gave him a quick wave and made her way out the door. "Seeya then, buddy!" The rest watched her leave, Yang crossed her arms around the back of her head, Ruby looked kindly towards Iota, while Weiss nodded with a content smile, all while Iota snaked back into the shadows of the covers
"Yes...see you then...Friend."
To Be Continued...
This marks the end of the nice stuff and onto the dark and twisted side, I do apologize for the two week skip, but I was having a hard time getting my new job in-place while dealing with the crap of my old one, ah well, onwards! Hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: The Dark Path Forward
A new mission was given to Team RWBYS, too bad the results ended with them awakening on an island without communications, the only solution is to break the jamming and find a way to contact the school, if only the island's residents weren't so dark and metallic, alongside a plague in pursuit.