*Crawls desperately out of the grave.* I'm alive! What's going on everybody, I'm M12R0R, and after this long wait, I've returned to bring to you Chapter 7 of Brightest in the Dark! Finally, after almost six months of me procrastinating and wasting an entire summer getting myself stuck in platinum in Overwatch, I am back to continue this fantastic series. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the support I've received on this. I never thought that this story would gain such a following like it has and it pains me I've made you all wait so long. But with the upcoming Volume 6 of RWBY and the Forsaken DLC coming in less then three days, I figured this was the time. I have one announcement. I thought this up months ago, and to all you out there with an Xbox One and Destiny 2, and are looking for a clan, I am proud to announce that I have created the Brightest in the Dark clan. Named after this story, you can explore the new DLC with others following this story, and me, the man himself. If you'd like to be a part of things, you can message me and we can go and exact our revenge on that bastard prince together. but without further delay, please enjoy the newest chapter! (Sorry if there are a lot of typos this chapter, I wanted to get this out as quick as possible before I had to leave for work, I will be going over the chapter later and fixing any issues later on.)
"We didn't just kick the hornets' nest, we've dove head first into it." Stratus thought to himself as he watched the hordes of glowing eyes peer down upon him and his fireteam. But he inevitably had his eyes fall back to where the body of his partner Addilyn lay. He could spot her faint outline over the ledge. The monster that had slain her clawed the edge of the ledge, looking down onto the group. Its teeth were stained with Awoken blood.
"What are you to do now, Guardians, the shadows are entrapping you. We will suffocate what remains of you Light." An enormous pressure fell upon the team in that moment. The familiar feeling of the Darkness overpowering their Light. In that moment they knew that they needed to be careful as their Ghosts would not be able to resurrect them on their own, and that they'd need to work as a team now more then ever.
"Ready up Guardians, this is about to get rough." Stratus warned his team, his fellow Guardians listening well to his words. Cronus tilted its head, taking its first steps towards the group. Its central eye flashed with a glow of red, and simultaneously the beasts eyes did the same. Then, as if activated by this, the once patiently seated creatures above bellowed forth, dozens leaping and pouring from the darkness from all sides. The Guardians started unloading their weapons of choice at the beasts, energy and kinetic alike. The Guardians thought that their weapons were dealing with them rather efficiently as they were beginning to fall one after another. As the hoards started to thin, the Guardians laxed momentarily.
"Stratus! Get Addilyn, we got the rest!" One of the Strikers called out as one of the wolf beasts lunged forward towards him. Without looking, the Titan took his Crown Splitter and swung the blade upward, impaling the creature through the neck. Stratus looked back at the Nightstalker and nodded towards the upper cliff. The Nightstalker placed a hand on Stratus' shoulder, then reached to his belt, taking hold of his smoke bomb. He tossed it on the ground, the device activated and concealed the Hunter and Warlock, making the two vanish from sight. The last of the creatures descended from the dark. The Strikers and Voidwalker kept the monsters at bay, drawing all attention away from Addilyn's corpse. Stratus and the Nightstalker reappeared, the Void Hunter stood guard, his pulse rifle trained on the shadows, Stratus appeared knelt beside her body.
"Shade? Are you nearby?" Stratus looked around in a panicked demeanor, until a Ghost in a Graylight Shell unveiled itself. It's expression filled with fear and worry
"Stratus, that thing is right, the Darkness is too strong! I- I can't-" Addilyn's Ghost was very childlike, in all aspects, especially in the voice itself.
"Shade, she'll be okay, we've done this before, you just need to focus on my Light." Stratus reassured her Ghost, trying not to add more pressure then was already there. He's known this Ghost for years now, enough to know positivity was the best way for it to preform well, ironic it being Addilyn's Ghost.
"O-ok. I'll do my best." The Ghost's shell expanded outward, focusing its power on igniting its Guardian back to life, Stratus held his hand out, and a barely visible stream of the Warlock's Light was noticeable. It channeled into Addilyn's Ghost, then into her body. Stratus looked up to the Nightstalker, who saw the process working as usual, he hustled over to the side of the machine wall they stood on and gave a thumbs up to the rest of the fireteam.
The Striker with the Crown Splitter saw the signal from his Hunter counterpart. And let out a sigh of relief under his helmet.
"She's alright." He said turning to the other Guardians.
"Yeah..." The Voidwalker spoke happily, he stopped for a moment to strike down the last of the beasts with his Man o' War Fusion Rifle "...so are we." They were surrounded by the corpses of the creatures, all lifeless with their crimson glow of the skull-like masks completely gone. The pressure of the Darkness suddenly lifted, indicating that the worst was over. They looked up towards the Gate, where Vex being still stood, just watching. They'd be lying if the said that it wasn't one of the most disturbing sights they've seen in their many years as Guardians. Through their entire firefight with the creatures, it only stood there, unwilling to join in the carnage.
Shade and Stratus had finally made progress with Addilyn's revival. With one final pulse of Light, her life returned to her body. She jolted upward from the ground, gasping for air. Stratus placed his hand on her shoulder, this startled Addilyn, and she reached for her Hunter knife. She drew it and tried to lunge at where Stratus was, acting solely on instinct. Her arm was stopped short of Stratus' visor. Addilyn's instinctive reactions were fast, but the Nightstalker's were faster.
"Easy there, Hotshot. You never were one who did well with resurrections. Welcome back." Addilyn looked back and forth between Stratus and her fellow Hunter.
"What happened? Where is that...thing?"
"It along with its friends are just about dealt with. No worries. And the Vex is just standing there, probably upset we put its pets down."
"We need to get out of here! Those things will come back!"
"Addilyn what are you saying?" Stratus was unsure of what she meant.
"The Vex knew we were coming. Its a trap!" Addilyn, still weakened, dragged herself in the direction of the ledge, looking down towards the other Guardians as well as the Vex being.
Meanwhile, after what felt like hours of it staring, Cronus spoke once again.
"Impressive, you easily handled this new threat with minimal effort."
"What the hell are these things, Vex? Where did they come from?" The other Striker called over, it being the first time they or anyone they knew of communed in a real conversation with a Vex. Cronus turned its body to the side, waving its human-like left hand at the Gateway behind him.
"From what you've so ignorantly nicknamed "Tartarus". On the other side of that Gateway, there is a Darkness like you've never seen. Its where I've dragged your fellow Guardians, and where they have all met their demise." The Crown Splitter Striker angrily tightened his grip on his blade.
Electricity surging slightly from his palms.
"Why are you telling us that?" The Void Warlock was now growing timid.
"Because its a preview...of how your story will end." Cronus' eye intensified with glee. A silence fell between them. Until the crackle of lightning began to emit from the front Striker, furious with the Vex's arrogance.
"Shut up! If you claim to be so powerful!..." The Striker threw his arms down, slamming his fists into the ground, this caused seemingly a lightning strike to surge from his body. His Arc Light trailing from him, becoming a miniature thunderstorm. "...then show me what you've got!" The Titan took off, charging after Cronus, blinded by his rage and leaving the other two behind.
"Dammit Barak! You'll get yourself killed again!" Barak leapt up into the air as he came close towards the Vex. He reared his fists back over his head, preparing to strike the ground beneath him and incinerate Cronus. It refused to move. Just before he struck, however, the being sprang into its action, it dove beneath the Titan, and shot its hand outward, it caught the Striker by the throat. It turned to the cavern wall by the Gateway and effortlessly tossed the raging Guardian into the stone.
"Dammit!" The other Striker yelled.
"Lets back him up!" The Voidwalker smacked the Titan on the shoulder and they began to sprint towards Cronus. The Vex looked back at them without much of a care.
"Excuse us. We have some things to discuss." It spoke as its eye once again grew in luminosity. As it did, around the floor, walls, and ceiling of cavern, Vex shield generators formed into reality. They began to project a massive and impassable transparent energy barrier, similarly to Brakion's in the Pyramidion that was located less then a mile away. The other Striker ran up towards the barrier and sent his fist into it. The barrier reversed the shock of his attack and sent the Guardian staggering backwards. They stopped in their tracks, scanning around the corners for an opening, another noise started up behind them, a faint, mechanical one. They turned, and watched as yet another energy barrier box them off, stuck in the room with dozens of the monsters' bodies.
Stratus and the two Hunters watched helplessly as their fireteam was sectioned off.
"Well, it couldn't get much worse, right?" Cayde spoke over the comms of the Vanguard that Cirrus was still broadcasting.
Barak, the Striker Titan, fell from the wall that he cratered, small bits of rock and pebbles dropping along with him, his Arc lightning jolting and striking against these rocky pieces. He looked as if he was already defeated, his body limp as he dropped. Right before he smacked into the floor, his feet caught himself, landing into a crouched position. He panted for a moment. But shot a glare up through his visor at Cronus, who was casually walking forward towards him.
"You're an overzealous Titan aren't you, running into battle without any regard for your team." Cronus began to taunt the already emotionally charged Guardian.
"Shut up!" Barak ran forward again at Cronus. This time, rather then striking the ground with his fists, he funneled his energy into his knee, trying to ram the Vex. Cronus leaned to the side at the last second, avoiding the collision. It swung its massive right forearm forward into the back of the midair Guardian.
"You are all so predictable. And I'm not just talking about Titans. I knew you would send a team to try to rescue your lost comrades. It solidified something for me. Do you want to hear it?" Cronus walked up behind the Titan, who was on his hands and knees. Barak rose up, delivering a charged Arc punch into the abdomen of Cronus. The Arc energy being immediately absorbed its body. The Arc Light that covered was cascading from him faded away. He looked up at Cronus, horrified. Cronus knelt down, leaning in just inches away from his visor.
"Your all doomed, you are so quick to jump on the opportunity to snuff out change, that you blind yourselves at the fact that change is something inevitable, nothing lasts forever, including you immortal beings. As for myself, I'm only here to help that change along." Cronus rose up, walking around to the front of the Guardian. "Is this what my true plans are? Is this what I truly want? Unfortunately for you, you won't live long enough to see. What you will see is what happens when you try to play hero." Cronus paced back around the Titan, grabbing his helmet and forcing him to face the other Striker and the Voidwalker. Cronus looked on as well and his eye started to intensify yet again.
The trapped two watched helplessly as Cronus completely bested their teammate. They were frustrated, which soon turned to confusion as Cronus forced him to face them and the Vex's gaze became locked upon them. They were oblivious when some of the bodies of the creatures around them began to twitch, their limbs beginning to show the slightest of movements, and the glow of their eyes indicating a rebirth. When the eyes on their bodies became fully illuminated, something triggered within them, a burning aura enveloped their bodies, one by one, these things were encased in the fiery glow.
"Oh great." The Striker pulled his massive auto rifle, Sweet Business, up to his hip, and sprayed a flurry of bullets at these creatures, but it was no use. The aura cloaking them was disintegrating the rounds before they could even reach them.
"What the hell are these things?" Stratus asked with a cracking throat as they as well watched helplessly from their cliff face.
"That energy, it reminds me of..." Addilyn's voice was breaking as well.
"Hobgoblins..." The two looked over to the Nightstalker as he spoke, surprisingly composed. "Those things are Vex."
As the creatures rose up, their burning aura dispersed, revealing the truth to the other Guardians, their all black fur was charred off, revealing the bronze-like exoskeleton of the familiar Vex. Their bony skulls melted away like plastic, as they did metallic fans jutted out and extended from their newly revealed mechanical head. Whip-like tails akin to those of the Hobgoblins whipped around wildly. These beasts' midsections were very slender but quickly bulked up as it reached their torsos. Their front arms were thick, rivaling the size of the much larger Minotaurs. Its claws were unlike other Vex, having more opposable digits then most, but their back legs were similar to those of Minotaurs, with longer claws that effortlessly dug into the stone. Their heads were much like their original appearance, large gaping maws with rows of large dagger-like metal canines. And sticking with the Vex's theme, a large central optical lense like Cronus', however with additional red receptors fading to the back of the skull.
"Shit!" The Striker shouted as he looked around at the Vex hounds. Their Ghosts previously could offer little information on them, but now that they shed their abyssal black coating, they could afford to make a proper tag.
Chimera
The monsters were also displayed with a yellow bar, rather than the red one just seconds before, signifying that these were not walk in the park adversaries, and they were surrounded by dozens of these.
"Shit! There is no way out!" The Striker called out as he fired his Sweet Business into one of the Chimeras, his auto rifle making no significant dent in the thing's health.
"There is though..." the Warlock sighed as he removed his helmet and threw it to the ground beside him, his green Exo eyes looking sympathetically up to the cliff at the other three. "...just not for us." The Striker looked up as well and understood, he glanced down towards his fellow Titan, he ripped off his own helmet. He smirked at him, then looked back to the Voidwalker.
"Whenever you're ready." The Warlock nodded and drew his hands back, white light filled them and he thrusted his palms downward, a rift of swirling Light empowered their beings. The Striker chucked his helmet forward at one of the Chimeras, It dinked weakly off one of their heads, it roared forward at them, and the other Chimeras powered forward, lunging on top of the two Guardians. Pretty soon, they were completely engulfed in the swarm.
"NOOO!" Barak, the last remaining Striker bellowed in agony. Cronus looked down to him, then back handed the Titan to the ground behind him. It stood over him, and looked at its Scissor, and plummeted the blade into the Striker's chest. It watched as red started to waterfall down off his armor, and he waited, serenaded by the pain he was delivering on this helpless Guardian. Suddenly, several feet above him, the familiar noise of a Ghost uncloaking itself made Cronus' tail shoot out instantaneously, without even looking, the needle-like head of his tail pierced through the Ghost's core, shish kabobing the little Light. The Ghost's energy could not even expel outward, Cronus' tail was just to precise, it killed it viscously, but left the Light stored within it unruptured.
"That's too bad." It brought its tail forward and waved it smugly in front of Barak's face, his Ghost still struggle to get to its Guardian. Barak tried to say something, but ultimately could only produce the sound of him gargling his own blood. Cronus reared back its left arm, as it got back to an appropriate distance, Cronus' left side began to crackle with an Arc energy, it channeled up into its fist. "Ironic, is it not." Barak's eyes widened as he tried to reach his hand up and stop Cronus, but it was no use. Satisfied with the torture he has delivered, the Vex plummeted a deadly punch into the visor of Barak, shattering and not stopping the fist from traveling straight through into the ground. The Arc Light surged and then instantly vaporized his armor and his body, leaving nothing but faint burn residue and some bloody smudges on the rocky surface.
As he felt his life slipping away, the Exo Warlock decided that it was time, as the Chimeras continued to tear apart his body and maul that of his Titan counterpart, what remained of him started to emit Void Light, he channeled it into what remained of his nearly severed arm.
"Keep moving, Guardians" He spoke softly with what remained of his life, his eyes dimming and flickering. At the last possible moment, he waved his hand slightly forward, enough to release a massive Nova Bomb, one that annihilated not only the two Guardians, but the majority of the Chimeras with it. Cronus chuckled slightly to itself, admiring the effort.
The three watched in horror at all the sights before them. Stratus threw his fist into the energy barrier, only to have it recoil against him. Addilyn stayed knelt, speechless. The Nightstalker turned away, refusing to look as his fellow Guardians fell one after another in such horrific fashions. Even the Vanguard comms were silent. The energy barriers deactivated. Cronus' Arc Light fade from its body. Its tail snaked around to its front, Barak's Ghost still skewered. The Vex plucked its body from it, it looked to its right arm. The hatch on Cronus' Scissor opened, and it tossed the shell into the canister, the lid closed, and the barrels on the weapon began to rotate, melting the Ghost. Cronus trudged over to where the Nova Bomb was casted. Its explosion devastated the area into a small crater, some pieces of the Chimeras were scattered about. Some of those that piled furthest out were fully intact. As Cronus past the complete ones, some of them regained life. They rose from gravel and dirt, shaking off whatever landed from the blast. They drug themselves to the sides of the Vex. Cronus rolled its shoulders back and forth, as if it was stretching, like if he hadn't even began to try.
It seemed to have completely forgotten about the three remaining survivors. They stood frozen, fear coursing throughout themselves, completely mortified from the carnage and overall helplessness. The Guardians knew that they stood no chance, they needed to escape, but the couldn't move. Each one thought if they moved then Cronus would catch them, and most certainly grant them each their final death.
"Haven't you finally seen the futility in their efforts." Their terror induced trance was broken when the Vex began to speak once again. Their eyes shot down at the Vex, but strangely, he wasn't fixated on them as he spoke, as he had been when conversing with anyone previously. "Do you still think humanity has a chance at this rate, Guardians are dying, their City will crumble, and the Darkness with swallow their Traveler in its entirety, yet you still cling to this hope. It would be better if you just gave up..." Cronus was pacing back and forth, his Chimeras fixated on him as he did.
"Guardians...you need evacuate now." There was a desperateness in Commander Zavala's voice, riddled with regret and defeat. Cirrus rushed to Stratus' side and vanished, as did Shade to Addilyn. The Nightstalker and the other two exchanged glances, then they all looked to the cavern's entrance, the large rocky split in the wall. Without any more hesitation, the three Guardians ran and leapt from the machine wall. Cronus was pacing the other way, but they were still sure that it was aware of their movements. The descended, but right before they struck the ground their light boosted them into the air a little longer, making the force minimum. They kept their stride, sprinting to the exit. They thought their was hope, but when they came within reach, it was snapped from them. Conflux energy surged in the exit, and yet another machine wall manifested itself, covering the way out and completely trapping the Guardians.
"No way out." Cronus' voice echoed. They turned back towards where the Vex was, but the rocky outcrop blocked their sight, its outline illuminated with the soft blue glow of the Vex Warp Gate.
But this shifted quickly, the rock becoming covered in a raging and viscous orange, shadows cast by the approaching Chimera danced in distortion. They stretched forward, as if they themselves were straining to grab the Guardians. Jolting shockwaves resonated immediately as thunderous booms collided against the opposite side of the outcrop. The stone starting to crack, the orange breaking through and shimmering on the machine wall.
"Anyone got any ideas?" Addilyn desperately asked, feeling as though there would be no response. Another boom echoed throughout.
"I haven't the slightest..." Stratus' helmet lowered. He felt like he failed everyone, that he's the reason they'll all die here. The rock fractured further. The partners were frantically searching their brains.
"Eyes up, Guardians..." Yet another glow entered their vision, it was bright, extremely close, and of a violet color. Stratus and Addilyn's eyes shift to in between them. "...we aren't dying that easily. As long as I draw breathe, Darkness will never conquer Light!" The Nightstalker conjured his bow, one that manifested the Light of the Void. He drew the Shadowshot back, aimed at the center of the outcrop.
"Ha...Hamutal..." Addilyn turned rather surprised at her fellow Hunter. The Nightstalker, Hamutal, shot glances to both Stratus and her.
"The only way out of this is through THAT gateway. We need to hit these this hard if we are going to delay them long enough to get there. We have one chance at this. I would rather not be these things' new chew toy. We strike...TOGETHER."
His words were like a rallying cry. As he spoke, his fellow Guardian's bodies started to exert a pressure, one similar to the one he currently was. The rocky outcrop experienced several more blasts that shook it dramatically, the fractures soon connecting in the center. The totality of stone began to crumble, and one last explosion forced the remnants of IO's crust to be sent flying in all directions. The dust that followed was thick nothing physically able to be seen, all except for the faint glow of the portal and the penetrative gaze of the Vex.
"I knew I had missed some of you. Between that girl and you three I've lost my hand at genocide. Allow me to right that wrong, will you?" Cronus broke through the cloud with leisure. It swiped its scissor to the side, the exhaust valves on the arm flared up in flames, and the other arm still crackled with some resonating Arc lightning.
"I'd like to see you try it, you damned machine!" In that defining moment, Hamutal lowered his bow and burst himself forward. The light of this Void bow dissipated, he threw his arms back, and in his grasps formed two Spectral Blades, followed by a great pulse of violet energy. The Nightstalker vanished once more, without the aid of his smoke bomb. This unexpected shift caused Cronus to react rather oddly, it seemed surprised. It's optical lense, along with those of its Chimeras, amplified in luminosity, as they began to pan the floor around them.
"You think that your tricks wil-!" Cronus' words ceased projection as a Solar round collided in a fiery explosion along the side of its head's fin. Its head jolted back, disjointing from the whiplash. Addilyn wasn't going to allow this Vex and its abominations to snuff the Light from anymore Guardians on this day, while Cronus was distracted searching for Hamutal, she slung out her Golden Gun, popping the Vex quickly, giving it no possible chance to react. Her actually seeing this monster take some form of damage was an unexpected joy, but this moment of hesitation in the face of slight success would not last. She shook herself loose of this thought, her eyes refocusing, her Light burning brighter, and she once again let loose on the Vex. However, unlike her first shot, Cronus was prepared. Its left hand shot forward, its palm extended, not in any form of attack, but rather purely in defense. As the rounds of the Sun's radiation left their solar revolver and struck their target in a fraction of the second, they were intercepted by the human-like palm. Unlike when it struck its head, the Light was instantly absorbed into its hand, and any kinetic energy was immediately dispersed. Addilyn's brightened oranges eyes flickered and her Light dispersed. Cronus' head snapped back forward, a clear hole punched effortlessly through its head fin. Its optical lense flickered, as the attack also skimmed the edge of its cannister, causing some of the internal mechanisms to get destroyed. Though emotion was something that was lacking from Cronus' face, rage was something that was present and then some within its gaze. "Your going to suffer for that!"
Arc was replaced with Solar, and Cronus twisted its hand around like it was gripping something, and a Golden Gun started to manifest. Not wanting it to have a chance to fire, Stratus unleashed his own power, his Arc light surged as Cronus' did, but even more raw potency. He slowly levitated from the floor, and cast his hands forth. His Arc Light traveled forth, conducting into the Vex bodies' like lightning rods. Cronus took the brunt of it all, and the Light continued into his Chimeras, making the electricity fill their beings, making these abhorred creatures cry out in a disturbing mixture of bestial roars and mechanical screeches. Cronus struggled to point its weapon forward. Its internal systems were scrambling unable to directly process anything. As best as it could, it tried to shift its aim at the Stormcaller. The Chimeras trudged forward taking heavy steps as they tried to reach him.
"Any time now, Hamutal!" Stratus could feel his strength waning. From behind the Vex and its dogs, the Nightstalker's cloak faded. Spectral Blades still in hand, he threw his Void daggers into the back two Chimeras, partial causing their bodies to disintegrate into the unknown of the Void. Feeling its expansions under attack, Cronus shifted around, and unlike its usual calculated strikes, it fired its Golden Gun at random, the first round struck the wall to the left of the Vex Gate, the second hit one of the injured Chimera's completely incinerating it. This appeared to cause pain to Cronus, as it clenched its body immediately. Its eye intensified as it straightened its arm, pointing directly at Hamutal's head. Hamutal composed himself, straightening his arm and manifesting his Void bow once more. He saw the Vex's aim, as did Stratus, who with all of his remaining energy, pushing himself beyond his limits, his lightning grew in strength, and slowly concentrated. He gripped his right bicep with his left hand, and channeled his remaining Arc Light into a tremendous beam, one that ripped straight through the core of Cronus, overloading it. This did not deter the Vex from taking its final shot, but that made it all the more predictable. When Cronus finally fired, Hamutal release his violet arrow, the bolt traveled forward, on a direct collision course with the Solar round, but as all Guardians know, a Nightstalker's arrow was a unique tool used by the Void Hunter. The two projectiles collided, and Hamutal's bolt tore through the Solar Light, rendering it useless, as if it fell into a blackhole. It traveled forward, and before Cronus could react, the arrow struck the Vex in the right shoulder. The arrow collapsed in on itself, imploding then expanding out, a hazy Void aura manifested around Cronus, and from the initial impact a series of tethers sprouted out, hooking and anchoring Cronus and its Chimeras into place.
"Addilyn! Stratus! Finish it!" Hearing his words, Addilyn took no chances, her Ghost, Shade, materialized the weapon that they designated as simply "Last Resort", also known as the Tesla Coil. As Stratus continued to release all of the Arc he could, Addilyn took aim and pulled the trigger, launching a volley of rockets into Cronus' pack, though they were flying all over the place, wherever they struck because of the tethers, the damage was shared between them all. The floor of the cavern erupted once more in a puff of dust from the impacts, and the glow of Void faded. Deciding to take this opportunity to get the hell out of there, the three Guardians made a mad dash towards the Warp Gate, as they approached, they could feel the energy surging from it, a pressure that no other Vex Gate has ever emitted.
"All we have to do is jump through, right?!" Stratus yelled over as he continued to hustle.
"If its like any of the other Gates then yes! And whatever is on the other side of that thing, we can take care of! Right, Hamutal?!" Addilyn's words gained no response. She and Stratus both came to screeching halt. The two spun around, only to see Hamutal frozen in place, with a horrifyingly familiar glow forming around him. "Hamutal…no…" Their fear was soon confirmed when they saw what appeared to be a tether trailing off his back and leading back towards the falling dust, but they did not have to see to realize what was the cause.
"You two…d-AGH-don't worry about m-me. Get through that p-portal…" The Nightstalker strained to form words. He tried to move, but the weight of this unfamiliar Void made anything other then a crawl impossible.
"BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?! We can't do this without you!" Addilyn rushed forward towards him, see tried to reach out to him, but Stratus causght her arm before she could touch. She shot a gaze back, glaring through her visor at Stratus, appalled that he would even consider stopping her from helping him.
"Does it really look like I'm getting out of this?' Hamutal pushed himself, but only managed to extend his hand out.
"We aren't leavi-." Addilyn remained defiant of this reality. Stratus stayed silent, knowing the inevitable, the same way that Hamutal did.
"Addilyn, I taught you everything you know, you are more then capable to handle this on your own. Protect your teammate…" Addilyn reached out to his hand, holding her palm open underneath his. A small sphere of Void Light formed in his hand. The ball fell from his, and landed softly into hers. When it made contact, the Light grew in brightness, and when she closed her fist on it, the Void Light shot up into her body, becoming one with the Light in her body. Her eyes, which normally shined like the Sun's Solar radiation, was replaced with a cosmic glow from the darkness of space. That same glow, which once shimmered in the eyes of Hamutal, were now blanked. "At least that bastard won't take my Light. Now go." Addilyn hesitated, but with some slight pull from Stratus, she relented. They made her way to the portal, but she never took her eyes off her former mentor. Even as Cronus trudged out of the crater the Tesla Coil caused, she refused. The Vex had some damage present across its body, but it just seemed more irritated. As it approached the Lightless Guardian, the Void tether began to retract into its palm. Stratus and Addilyn were now steps from taking the dive, but Addilyn still refused to take her eyes off Hamutal. Status grabbed her shoulder and shook her a bit, making her refocus on him.
"I'm sorry, but we have to go." He had the utmost sincerity in his voice, with an odd mixture of terror sprinkled in. She took one more glance, then she was pulled into the Vex Warp Gate along with her partner. The portal flashed, filling the room momentarily with its light. Hamutal stood, still tethered to Cronus, and a smile grew on his face beneath his helmet. He removed his Hunter mask, and let it drop beside him. The aging Awoken glanced backwards at the Vex as it lumbered towards him.
"You know they'll beat you…" Cronus didn't answer, his only response was the clanging of metal growing louder. "…no matter how many probabilities your mind tries to comprehend and simulate, no matter what odds you THINK you have. They'll beat you. The Light will beat you. Just like it did with all those before you. And all those to follow you. What makes you special?" Rather then a swift and merciless jab through his chest, like the Hunter expected, he was met with a hand being placed gently on his shoulder. Hamutal turned and looked behind him, he was met with a glowing Vex lense, but he had no fear, so he stared into its face defiantly, studying the details of this being. Something peculiar caught his gaze, he squinted, looking into the blackness beneath the Vex machinery. There was something there, something he couldn't quite make out. But then he recognized a tonal shift, and his eyes widen, he tried to back away, but Cronus had him locked into place. He struggled, beginning to panic, screaming as he did. "No! Let me go! What did you do?! In the name of the Traveler, what are you?!" Seeing he figured it out, the Vex let out a low guttural chuckle.
"Retribution…" In a flash, Cronus' tail jutted from its backside and flew overhead like a scorpion's. Hamutal's legs, which were kicking defiantly in death's face, now dangled without the slightest spark of life. The body was tossed to the ground. Cronus' tail slowly retracted back into its body, as it did, it stared at the portal. "… a retribution they all will never forget."
The day finally arrived, the day that the new semester at Beacon began, Yang and Thorne couldn't be more excited for Ruby, herself on the other hand, not so much. She wanted to go to the school more than anything, but the upstarting Huntress was worried for how she'd be perceived. While yes, she was jumping ahead two years for the reasons Professor Ozpin explained as her skill and bravery. She was worried about how others would see her actions, would they see her as Ozpin had, or would they see her as nothing more than a girl who got lucky?
These were several thoughts passing through her head as she and Yang boarded the airship to Beacon Academy. Thorne kept himself cloaked as they boarded, but stayed close to the sisters' sides. Normally, he'd be fine with large crowds, being able coast in the sky above with little effort, but in this airship's crowded spaces and low hanging ceiling, it was proving to be a challenge. So, Thorne stayed between them, knowing that this was the best guaranteed safe zone that he could float freely. He swore he wasn't going into Ruby's backpack again.
With Ruby wrapped up in her thoughts and Thorne focusing on staying unnoticed, the two were staying unusually quiet, this left Yang to deal with her excitement on her own, and she couldn't take it anymore. They walked forward through the main passenger area of the ship, about midway through, Yang stopped in her tracks. Ruby glanced back to notice her sister, stopping as well to see what was the matter. In that moment, Yang lunged forward, catching the little red hood wearing girl totally off guard in an overwhelming bear hug. Thorne managed to squeeze out from between them. Ruby's shocked, embarrassed, and somewhat fearful face said it all. Yang tightened her grip, relieving Ruby of any breaths she had left in her lungs.
"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"
"Please stop." Ruby strained to release any sort of vocalization.
"People are looking at you two." Thorne's voice echoed through both their heads. Ruby noticed the passing faces of people as they glanced over at her, and her face only reddened from even more embarrassment. Ruby struggled to be released, but soon was let go by Yang's own accord. She backed away, standing proudly with her hands on her hips, looking over her sister.
"Its just that I'm so proud of her!" While Yang stood tall and proud, Ruby was opposite. Her shoulders slumped and her body shrank, like she was trying her best to stay unnoticed.
"Really, you guys, it was nothing." Yang tilted her head, raising an eyebrow to her.
"Yeah "nothing", you just went toe to toe with a time travelling, murderous, Light-stealing robot. Really nothing."
"It was incredible is what it was." Yang refocused on Ruby. "Everyone is going to think your the bee's knees." Ruby groaned slightly at Yang's words.
"I don't want to be the "bee's knees", okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees. I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees." Ruby pleaded to her sister. Yang looked around, puzzled by her tone.
"What's with her? Why isn't she excited." Yang directed her questions to Thorne, who she felt would have a better understanding of Ruby's strange attitude.
"Well she is excited, to be fair, she's just worried about people judging her for being a natural born prodigy."
"I just don't want people to think I'm special." Ruby shrunk in on herself, refusing to make eye contact. Yang took a few steps forward and wrapped an arm around her sister.
"But you are special." As she reassured her sister, the two amongst their own silence managed to listen in on something interesting, the two looked up to see a holographic projector that had the VNN news channel broadcasting. Once again, a disturbing image marked that they were talking about Cronus.
"It has been at least two months since the last incident, and already the Vale PD is easing up as they revealed to us. The once unstoppable force that hunted down our kingdom's finest has official vanished of the face of Remnant. Authorities confirmed t-." As the broadcast started to explain all the details, it cut out, being replaced with a holographic projection of Glynda Goodwitch, the Huntress that saved Ruby's life. Thorne, upon seeing the broadcast followed by her, made images flash into his vision
"ITS YOU." The Vex's strange words from that night still echoed in his core.
"What did it mean by that? How did it recognize me? I can't even recognize its name, Cronus. It's a Vex, but something about it just seems…off. It operates like no other being I've ever seen before. Its actions are too deliberately forceful. Its almost as if it has a grudge." Thorne tried to run the options, trying to process it as best he could. But in this moment of deep concentration, the Ghost unknowingly decloaked, appearing out in the open. Ruby and Yang's eyes widen in surprise, and acting solely on instinct, Ruby snatched him from the air. Luckily for them, most of the students to be were being mesmerized by the sight of the ever-fading city of Vale, including Ruby's old school, Signal academy. She too saw the marvel of the view.
"Oh, wow! Look, you can see Signal from up here!" She rushed over towards the window, seeing the busy streets below. She held onto Thorne, who now snapped out of his trance, and shifted his eye to be able to see what she saw. A child like sense of awe over came her, but as it deep, the worries that still plagued her mind came back to her. "I guess home isn't too far away after all."
"Beacon's our home now." Yang came to stand by the side of her sister, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, and we'll be fine, as long as we stick together."
(5 minutes later…)
"Well... actually, my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. 'Kay, see ya, bye!" Not even two mintues of the airship and Yang, along with her so called "friends", the likes of whom Ruby and Thorne could not recognize, took off in a mad bustling dash towards the school, leaving her little sister and Ghost in the dust. Ruby, spun around in confusion with her questions pouring from her mouth like a river. Thorne just hovered there, shaking his shell back and forth in disappointment.
"So much for sticking together." A crash from behind made Thorne turn a glance backwards, only to see Ruby on her back, white briefcases surrounding her, engraved on the sides of these was an emblem resembling that of a snowflake. Several rapid heel clicks made the Ghost turn again, only to see another girl standing over Ruby, with irritating clearly furrowing her brow.
"What are you doing?!" This clearly delightful girl shouted down at Ruby, not even apologizing for having her cart of suitcases parked right behind her.
"Uh, sorry!" Ruby sat upon, and being the sweet girl she was, apologized instead for actions, but that clearly was not enough for this one, who after examining carefully and with the emblem on the luggage, Thorne pieced it together who this girl might be. In the meantime, this new girl continued to
"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"
"Uhhh…" Ruby appeared confused, possibly gaining a head injury from the impact. She fumbled with one of the briefcases as she tried to return it, but the ever-increasing agitation of this girl grew only further.
"Give me that!" She snatched the case from Ruby's hand. She popped it open, to revel a plethora of different dust types, all of which were held in a velvet lined causing, each vial stamped with the same logo as the cases. "This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!" The sight of this pampered princess solidified something for Thorne, he has had enough of her attitude. As the girl picked up a vial, and Ruby once again responded with an uncertain groan. "What are you, brain-dead?" Thorne flew down to the side of her head.
"Guess all of that money can't buy you some manners." Thorne spoke confidently and clearly. The girl's eyes widened as she spun around, looking for the owner of this voice.
"Who said that!" Ruby's eyes were wide too, she could not believe that Thorne would willingly speak out in public so loudly. She even started to giggle, seeing that this girl was freaking out more and more as she saw nobody around who could match a voice like that, there just a girl who was reading a book on the other side of the courtyard. The girl could not hear the source, but she honed her attention in on a different sound. "What's so funny?" She snapped back like a ferocious beast, her eyes sharpening back onto Ruby. This quickly made Ruby shrink into silence. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"
Thorne could see that his comments only made it worse, but this only made the Ghost more agitated. He hovered lower, just beneath her hand that the Dust vial was being held.
"Well, I-I..." Ruby tried to speak, but this girl was ready to cut her off once again, Thorne decided he was tired of her rudeness. He rocketed upward, striking the edge of the vial, knocking it up into the air. The sudden surprise made the rich girl drop the case in its entirety, one of the vials popped open, sending a cloud of fire Dust into the air, and into Ruby's nose, causing her to react. In a single sneeze, the force from it caused the Dust to react mildly, sending spurts of flame and lightning in all directions. Soot fell onto both of their outfits, being much of an issue for the rich girl, who's primarily white clothing and asymmetrical ponytail looked worse for wear. Infuriation was putting the girl's emotion lightly.
"Look what you did! You're a complete dolt! This isn't a school for clumsy and stupid kids! We are training to fight monsters! So maybe, instead of staring at you imaginary friend, learn to watch where you're going!"
"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!"
"Hey, she said she was sorry, princess!" Thorne and Ruby's layered perfectly over top each other you could barely tell they were separate, aside from the slight difference in word choice of the two. This confused the other girl, but she quickly shifted attention to another voice inserting itself in the conversation.
"Its heiress, actually." The girl they had previous saw reading a book was approaching, in her hand the vial that Thorne launched into the air. Opposing this heiress, this other girl had long, freeflowing black hair that had a similarly colored bow on the top of her head. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world…" Thorne beneath his cloaked state rolled his lense, he felt as though he'd have to speak crudely in her ears too now.
"Finally! Some recognition!" Weiss smirked in smug triumphance at Ruby.
"…The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Thorne's opinion quickly shifted. He laughed to himself faintly above the three. Ruby also started to again. Getting very flustered, Weiss was apparently lost for words, unable to come up with any true comeback.
"Wha- How dare- The nerve of... Ugh!" Weiss stampered forward to the girl with the bow, who's golden eyes were trained on her every move, as she got up in her face and swiped her vial back. The heiress then turned, stomping off towards the school, followed by some well-dressed gentlemen, frantically trying to pick up the luggage and place it back on the cart, assumed to be under her employment. Thorne flew around to Ruby's shoulder, who was waving off to Weiss.
"I promise I'll make this up to you!" She called out to Weiss as rushed off, refusing to look back. She sighed. "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day... So, wh-" Ruby continued to speak, but was cut off at the last moment by her invisible best friend.
"Uhh…Ruby…she's gone." Ruby turned to see the black-haired girl walking off, going back to her book, this left Ruby and Thorne alone in the courtyard. Ruby turned again to the direction that Thorne was hovering, "Soo…first impressions?" Thorne tried his best at humor. Ruby, instead of laughing, collapsed in defeat on the tile below. "I'm going to take that as a 6/10."
"Just welcome to Beacon, soooo excited now." Ruby rolled her eyes as she laid defeated on the ground.
"Well, it can't get much worse then this." Thorne said without acknowledging the footsteps closing in behind him.
"Hi…I'm Jaune." A scraggily blonde boy stood over Ruby, a smile on his face and a hand extended to her. Thorne's lense expanded in horror.
"Never mind, it got worse! Boy alert!"
As the day went on, Thorne and Ruby got to know more of how starting at this big new school was going to be. Ruby made acquittance with the boy known as Jaune, all be it to Thorne's disapproval. Not saying that she could not take care of herself, but Thorne, over the years and especially since the Vex incident, has developed an over protective streak. He watched him like a hawk as the day went on, and also the Schnee heiress, Weiss, who Ruby had yet another incident with in the auditorium. But throughout the day, Thorne could tell that she was gradually reverting back into social awkwardness, and as she and all of the other students settled into their sleeping bags in one massive slumber party, she hit her lowest point.
Alone amongst the sea of hormonally charged teenagers, Ruby sat alone, notepad open and beginning to write a letter back to her friends at Signal Academy. Thorne hovered just next to her head, watching every word that she wrote.
"You know that we can go and visit them anytime that you want to, or just call them on your Scroll? Wait, and who still writes letters nowadays?" Ruby didn't respond to Thorne, and not just because she was focused on her writing. Thorne sighed, his attempts lighten her mood failed. He sighed, his lense dimmed as if he closed his eyes for a moment. He hovered to just above her notepad, and without warning, uncloaked himself. He managed to snap Ruby out of her current state, by making her erupt in a panic. She squeaked, as she almost jumped into the air as she tried to conceal him. Her one option; her Corgi pillow. She threw the plushie down overtop her Ghost, hiding him from all of the other students, a few of whom turned and were staring at her, as she had been making a bit of a scene. She smiled nervously around at the people staring, who all began to lose interest. Her eyes shot back onto Thorne, who was looking up at her from beneath the pillow.
"You can't just uncloak like that, Thorne, you have to warn me." She double checked to see if people were still watching.
"You're right and I'm sorry, but I need you to be able to see me for this. Ever since we've board that airship this morning, something has been off with you. I thought coming to this school was what you wanted more than anything."
"It is." Ruby refused to look him in the lense.
"Then why are you here acting like you don't belong." He looked at her with curiosity.
"Thorne, you know why." Still not looking.
"I do, but I don't understand. As far back as our time together can take me, you wanted this. Who cares what others are going to think about you, you did something no one here even wants to think about doing. If anything, they should worry about what you think of them."
"Th-." Thorne cut her off before she could continue.
"You don't need to say anything, please, just think about it, and finish your letter to your friends, I'm sure they'll LOVE to hear about that Weiss girl." Ruby furrowed her brow at him, but she knew it was all in fun.
"Okay, what are you going to do?"
"We're in school, I'm am going to learn" He seemed mischievous.
"Are you going to hack into anything?" She rolled her eyes, knowing full well he was.
"You know me so well."
"Please don't destroy the computer systems like at Signal"
"No promises." With that, Thorne reentered his cloaked state, he flew out from under the pillow, causing it to drop completely to the ground. Floated to well above the reach of any of the students and off towards the spiral staircase that Ruby was faced away from, on the way passing above Yang. He turned and watched as she made her was back over to Ruby, who got right back to work on her letter. Thorne scanned the room, looking over each of their faces and committing them to memory. Eventually, he caught sight of the girl from the courtyard, who still was burying herself in her book. Thorne was just about to turn and fly out, but out of the corner of his lense he noticed what he thought was that girl glancing at him from the corner of her eye, as if she had known he was there. He shook this off as his sensors playing tricks on him, and he finally flew away. He soared out of the main hall's staircase. He flew out the same way that the students had entered. He pressed his shell against the great wooden door, managing to push it just enough for him to get out. Thorne looked around at the night sky, it was incredibly clear, not a cloud in sight, leaving the moon to completely enveloping the architecture in its soft light. Thorne thought it was an impressive piece of work, like how he always admired the Last City, but deep down, nothing could compare to that special place in his core. Before arriving at Beacon, Thorne did as much as he could when it came to researching where everything was, acting as the map for Ruby and Yang, but apparently, he efforts were unneeded to them. However, now, it was coming in handy. Thorne's desire to hack into Beacon's systems wasn't born out of just a whim, but out of a feeling that was born the first moments that he and Ruby had met the Headmaster. It could not place it, but he did not trust Ozpin wholeheartedly. Therefore, for the girls' sake and safety, Thorne needed to know if there were any skeletons in his closet. Thorne made his way into the base of the central spire, the one that was topped with the Headmaster's office. He flew unnoticed, making his way to the elevator.
"Well, lets see if I still got this." He prepared himself to fire a beam of Light into the control panel, in order to bring the elevator down to him. But just as he was, he heard a ring from inside the shaft. The doors opened, and inside the car, two people stood, and they were none other then Professors Ozpin and Glynda. Thorne could not be happy.
"So, preparations for the initiations tomorrow are all in order?" Ozpin asked as he walked out of the elevator, coffee mug still in hand. Glynda kept up pace with the Headmaster.
"Yes, all instructors have been briefed, and the Grimm presence in the forest as not been altered in over a week. However…we have reports of a larg…" Their voices trailed off as they left, Thorne hovered casually into the car and activated it to take him to the top floor, finally arriving at the office. He kept cloaked as he continued over towards the desk, passing under and past the large array of cogs and clock parts, ever moving, but this was not Thorne's target. He hovered over the chair, and scanned the desk, and as he thought, it was a holographic projector as well, and a computer. He began his plan. He accessed the desks codes, his mind filled with more data then he could comprehend. While such a task would take hours for a human being, Thorne was able to explore them in less then ten seconds. While many of these were transcripts of students, past present and future, there were some things that proved to be a bit more interesting. He found several folders, all of which were password protected and behind some serious firewalls. All had some form of label to them, indicating what could possibly be held within said files, and all being related to chess. One of these were particularly ominous, "The Queen's God." Thorne decided that this was the filed he sought. He ran every password possible, and in several minutes passed through, but now he wished that he hadn't. In said document, Thorne was flooded with report after report, police, Huntsmen, and Huntress alike. These files, some of which were just over a decade old, and all of which, followed the same topic, Cronus. Though not named, photographic evidence and video showed that it was indeed the Vex monstrosity. The reports were accounts from all across Remnant, but the first of which took place in Vale…only a month before when Ruby had found Thorne.
"What is all this…" Thorne decided to delve further into the first report, he accessed it, and an image of a familiar face flashed in his mind. At first, he thought this was Ruby, but upon closer examination, he learned that this was not Ruby, but someone very close. He scanned through, digger further and further, each passing word was like being shot, dread was filling his core, guilt coursing all throughout the Ghost's systems, the same feelings that he tried to bury all those years ago being reborn in a new and horrifying light. Thorne almost overloaded, but snapped back into reality, he uncloaked, his shell lowered in weakness and his lense dimmed to nothing more then a faint flicker. "C-Cronus…" It burned to even say the sentence. "Cronus killed Summer Rose…Its because of me. I killed Ruby's mother."