Act IV - Linked Horizons
Chapter 33 - The Cauldron
*Knock-Knock-Knock-BAM!*
With a heavy crane and slam, both rusted doors fell from their hinges, Summer twirling two twin axes around in her hands elegantly, sliding them back onto her belt - Must be her weapon. The sound rattled the vacant system of tunnels ahead of us, so if anyone or thing still roamed the place, they knew we were here now.
"Not to... you know, judge a veteran Huntress, but usually making alot of noise isn't a good thing when you're in enemy territory." My suggestion was met with her laughing a little, tapping a hand to a rusted railing leading up onto a pathway before a number of doors and shutters, indicating it was a docking bay
"No-one's been here since Mountain Glenn, Dr. Merlot wouldn't even care for this place, and besides, down here is something you need to see for yourself," She turned back, expression hidden under that mask. "Sky... down here, things will be confusing, and... it might come off in the wrong manner but I need you to trust me, and understand that this is all necessary."
I didn't like the sound of that. "You make it sound like I'm about to be told the end of the world was coming." She didn't reply... why didn't she reply? "...Oh... oh shit..."
"Vulgar but accurate," Without another word, she pressed a still functioning button on an old maintenance elevator, groans and hissing from within the shaft. After a short pause, it jolted and the doors slid open with a little resistance. "Don't worry, this place is old but sturdy, I've taken this lift before."
"When was that?" I asked, stepping in carefully while she hit a corroded panel for the lowest floor. Summer bobbed her hands up and down
"Eeeeh... one... two years?" I want to go home. With Yin/Yang online, I held onto the railing for dear life as we delved into the remains of the Cauldron
~*Static*... h-hello-o-o...*Static* K-Kai - Pleasure to speak after... well, not very I suppose~ No... not now! Dashing my fears of this deathtrap of an elevator, I turned my head toward the somehow functioning camera in the lift, Summer herself turned her head toward it, arms crossed tightly with a leg back on the wall
"Why am I not surprised - You knew we'd come here," I growled, tightening my fists. "So what now? Plan to drop the lift to kill us? Wouldn't be the first time you'd try some off-hand method before, right?"
~...~ Nothing? Really...
"Oh? Don't want to talk today? Did something happen, oh I'm so sorry," I doubt any more sarcasm was necessary so I turned around to face Summer, pointing up with a thumb. "Sorry, so are we calling this off or are we powering through?"
"The latter, Mars, even if he isn't here, wouldn't be able to access any of the old building's systems, most are eroded or have no direct power uplink, we can proceed without any worries." She assured me but with a rather monotone voice, but I decided it was best not to pry as the lift came to a stop, the door ajar as they opened out into a darker corridor
Just inside the small room was a large, hexagonal doorway of black metal, smooth and pointed outward like a pyramid, it was clean too, bearing the symbol I had recognized for months on end without anything more than a simplistic function, 'EC - 1101', this was it!
"This is why you brought me here..." I slowly grazed the door with a hand, almost afraid that this would slip away but not once did it, standing here was the answers to everything, just like Summer said. With a hand on my shoulder, Summer nodded once to me
"When you're ready, don't force yourself if this is overwhelming." Like Mother Like Daughter I suppose, always caring. I took a moment, bringing my heart rate down again before I proceeded with opening the doorway, moving for a small control panel, upon inspection, Cognitum blared to life
Alert - Central Conflux Detected
Beginning Broadcast...
Confirmed:EC-1101 Frequented Accepted
I quickly stepped away from the doors, seeing the compressed air release, before the six bolts turned counter-clockwise, the grinding of iron on the concrete ringing out, all the while, my eyes stayed fixated on the inside, a gust of wind releasing from the chamber as we awaited the cycle to cease.
Once the doors slammed against the walls, we both slowly made our way inside the strangely clean facility, the floors a smooth, shiny metal, whilst the walls arched to form a hexagonal tunnel, with pipes traveling in the corners, and grates covering ventilation shafts. Then red spotlights dotted the pathway towards a terminal on a hexagonal platform, the humming of machines vibrating the air.
"It's all still intact, not even a scratch," I commented as we continued to walk down the hall, my scanners unable to detect anything so far, leaving us in the dark of any traps or security systems. "I don't like it, why would there be no defenses in place? Obviously no one else could access the complex, but still..." I added my own complaint before we both stopped at the loud voice around us again
~So, after everything we've finally made it to the point of questions and answers, some of which will be... difficult to hear~ Again, Mars spoke as though we would be willing to answer my questions if I could believe him - Then again, he hasn't exactly given any reason to lie. ~You would know that, right, Summer Rose?~
"...That's true," Summer replied but remained by my side. "This place... was also where Mars spoke to me after so many years of trying to piece together both my life and a way to defeat the Horsemen, I... learned alot."
"Sounds promising." Atleast she knew what to expect. Clapping my hands I pointed to a camera up near the ceiling. "If you're so willing to talk, answer me this, why did you bring me here, to Remnant?"
~...Cognitum never would have worked on any of us, even Salem would not have been able to activate it since it requires a being that has been exposed to temporal energy, that specified energy would act as a catalyst for Cognitum to function properly~ Mars elaborated. ~Cognitum is comprised of Dark Matter and Ether, founded in both Human DNA and Grimm DNA left by the Brother Gods~
"So you dragging me through universes was the key, okay, I get that much..." Again, with a pinch of salt since this was difficult to take anything from Mars as fact
~Go on up and we'll see if you can maintain that witty personality of yours~ Mars dared, the coms cutting off as we stepped onto the platform. The second we did, the entire disk jolted up, rising toward the open room above us, just then, Summer removed her helmet, revealing an expression I didn't expect to see
"Sky... I..." Sorrow, guilt, they were written on her face as we rose. "I have been here before, Mars has told me alot and... with you here it made too much sense - Everything he's ever told me... is true, and... I was right to have him tell me to use you..."
...What?
"Is she... no..." Iota murmured in his own state of shock. B-but it can't be, right? "Kai..."
"Heh, Summer... you?" I tried to find something humorous but only found confusion and... pain. I stepped back a bit, just as the lift came to a stop within the massive complex of severs and terminals abound. Spotlights above us illuminated the columns around us, as they rested in lines upon lines, all processors containing infinite amounts of data, whilst catwalks stretched from our platform and around the large room before us
"No... no-no-no, y-you... you can't be." Each second made my eyes widen, as I kept my distance from the now guilt-ridden Summer. "I was used!?"
"Sky-" No! Shut up for a second! "Mmmkay."
"Sky, if I had told you who gave me the information I have on you, the Horsemen, the Vex, you would have-" I cut her off, slamming my foot
"I would have what!? What, Summer!? Lost my mind, 'Cause it wouldn't be the first time I was used, huh!?" I yelled, drawing my blades as I held my arms up. "Give me one reason I shouldn't regret this, right now..."
Summer held her hands out to me defensively, slowly edging toward me, but by now my hands were trembling, eyes wide and uncertain. "D-Don't... I-I've had someone mess with me before... not again, not now..."
"Okay... I'll stay here but please hear me out," I said nothing, her hands lowering to remove her weapons, dropping them out before me. "Two years ago I tracked down the place Mars used as a frequent vault for data collection, this Cauldron, when I arrived he spoke to me after all this time - Like you, I didn't believe a word he said, I had no reason to listen to the creature that took my life from me, I came here to ruin his plans for good."
"He kept speaking, however, asking me questions like my motives, why I didn't go back to my family, how could I stand against him if I failed before, this went on for hours before I managed to access this sever room, that's when..." Summer trailed off, looking toward the right, I followed her gaze and I immediately froze
"I told her, everything," Mars spoke, jagged, platted arms crossed behind his back, boots clanking off the ground. "I told her of us, the Horsemen, of Salem and her origins, the fate of Remnant and the Gods, and... about what they left behind."
"..." I couldn't breathe let alone make some kind of response. Again, he stood here as though to mock me, and I could barely lift a finger
"The Vex, a being created by them both before humanity, it was ultimately a failed experiment, its desire to snuff out imbalance was unimaginably strong, especially toward deities, this led to this immediate imprisonment within Remnant's inner core," Mars elaborated simply, and my jaw had unhinged completely. "Even Grimm fear its presence - This creature... it's waking and there is nothing on Remnant that can prevent its return."
"Except for what you're wearing on your wrist," My head craned to Summer, and I finally waved my hands, blades still deployed
"Wait-wait-wait... just... stop!" I stumbled again, head darting between the two. "All this time you've been... I-I don't even know what side, let alone why you two are working together! You tried to kill me! Weiss! Blake! Yang! Even Ruby Rose - Your fucking daughter was nearly killed multiple times, Summer!"
"I know... every single moment hurt me more than any Mother should feel, a title I don't deserve after all I've neglected to do..." She hung her head in shame, and finally, the words I used to comfort her hours ago had fallen apart on me. "I don't blame you for being scared and confused, or if you're feeling regret for saying those things to me."
"No... I... I do mean it - that you should see them again - I-I just..." I fell back onto my haunches, hands on my head. "This is too much..."
"We Horsemen have a curse, so to speak, when we were created by Salem," Mars began, tapping a finger to his chest. "We lack a soul, say for Tabus' unique case, and so our instinct to kill humanity remain and have grown with our power and intellect. Morana embraces it, Una has Tabus as a source of focus, and myself... I falter, and so I cannot stay long unless I risk my plans going down in flames."
"What plans this time?" I bitterly asked, not bothering to look at him
"I built Cognitum from the traces of this Vex, what I could find with Salem's aid led to the construction of Cognitum, the Eclipse Catalyst - Project 1101. The Vex is comprised of Ether and Dark Matter, and since it is a pure creation of the Gods, only a select few means can destroy it, either the Gods themselves, divine weapons on any end of the spectrum or the last option-"
"Me, because... I'm the catalyst, right?" Whispering my reply, I saw his shadow's head nod, and I sighed. "Why me? Why couldn't it have been anyone else? Someone not as... broken as me? The 'Why' won't stop playing on a God Damn loop!"
"Remnant... was your home... long ago."
The metaphorical pin had been dropped. The light clicked on. Glass somewhere shattered in my ears.
I was... from Remnant?
"Mmm, allow me to explain. The sole reason I chose you is due to the fact that you were one of two anomalies I could attempt the pull-through space and time, given your stronger resilience to temporal manipulation like any entity is, your sister was the first, a rare fluke but promising, but the stronger connection was you."
"I...W-what?" I breathed, there was... how could any words begin to... I can't be...
"For a while, the questions boggled my mind, somehow, you, a person born in Remnant from centuries ago had been sent to a parallel world, given your connection to Remnant, it made travel far easier, and perhaps Cognitum would have bonded strongly to someone from its own reality," Mars continued and... I didn't feel so good, why did everything in my stomach feel so... wrong? "Time flows differently in most cases, ours and your sister's world fluctuate constantly, not by much, but sometimes the flow can be stretched, as is the case why you are not dust and bones given how much time has passed since you were last on Remnant."
"I do wish there was a way to comprehend this in a far less, rushed manner, but time is not on our side, not anymore, and... well, I suppose I'll leave one last part for Summer to tell you when the rest has sunk in," Mars finished his explanation as I sat frozen on the ground, slowly digesting the information. "Very soon, Vale will be under siege, Salem plans to take that Maiden Ozpin's been hiding, or more importantly, her power. If you wish to prevent this, stop Cinder before she can claim it. As for why I never said anything sooner, if anyone else were to know of my involvement, stopping the Vex will be impossible afterward."
Mars concluded, my eyes couldn't move, I didn't feel like moving. Erika... wasn't my sister from home... we were completely different in nature... my semblance, why it was so interchangeable in power... my aura strength... my immunity to fire recently, did that have to do with my origin somehow?
"Mars," He stopped, as I stood up shakily, Summer moving to help me stand straight again, now smiling a little as I revealed my own. With my armor gone I completely laid out my trust to him, no weapons or protection, just as he probably planned I bet. "I don't understand you at all, maybe I never will, but even if I'm not from the world I thought I was..." I smiled more firmly. "Erika is still my sister, my family is here with her and my team and that's all I ever needed."
While he never spoke, I earned a single, solemn nod as the armored Grimm took his leave, while my legs finally gave out with Summer still holding onto me. "Heh, sorry... still... a bit shaken I guess."
"I understand, there's still time before Cinder's plan should be in effect, even if we don't know who she is directly, we atleast have time to plan accordingly," Summer announced calmly, helping me to rest against one of the servers. "Rest for now, you and I have had a long day."
"Yeah..." I should say it. "Summer, I am sorry... for what I said."
She just tapped me on the nose. "Now-now, no more of that; We're both in this together now so don't feel as though you have to shoulder all the burdens yourself, you've done alot of that since you ended up... I guess back home."
Despite the culture shock, I did manage a small laugh. "I guess... welcome home to Remnant."
"In a way, is it so different if we hadn't have known? Would that have changed how we looked at our friends?" No, I suppose not - When did you get all sentimental? "I-I can be nice, remember, anger and logic is what I am - Don't mock me!"
"Our point exactly best buddy Tsundere!" Eric beamed
"Ugh... I hate you both - AND I AM NOT A TSUNDERE!" Iota rattled my head with that, but that was okay... this was alot to take in, so much in such little time and moments like this helped to calm me down, to assure me that I still had my life here, despite the revelations and trials ahead of me
I promise, if any of what you warned me of is true, Mars, I'll prevent the fall of Vale, and then, I'll stop this Vex too. Bet on that.
To Be Continued...
Lots of revelations indeed, Mars is actually a semi-good guy and Summer's been working with him, AND Sky is actually from Remnant! So much in such little time and the event that altered the course of RWBY is on the horizon! I hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: Inevitable
With little time left to change the course of events in motion, Sky and Summer race against the clock to prevent Salem's assault on Vale to ultimately steal the Fall Maiden's power and possibly more. Sky has to try and put aside the revelations recently presented if he wishes to change fate.