"RUBY!" Raven screamed as she drew Omen and dashed forward, moving as fast as she physically could.
Her portal was too slow at this distance and would take too much time. She knew that, so all she could do was sprint and summon her aura and the magical force within her to move as fast as possible. But even then, as she saw the sword streaking toward the unprepared rose, whose attention had only begun to turn toward the slowly arcing broadsword making its way to her torso, Raven knew she wasn't quick enough.
She was about to be too late yet again!
Mother and Daughter.
She would fail them both!
What kind of partner was she?!
The worst kind!
She failed at everything!
Helping her friends!
Being good to her lover!
Even at being a decent mother!
Her attempt to be anything more than a bandit was a failure!
But something happened! The swinging blade stuttered! It stalled in its momentum! That was enough!
Omen ripped through metal and flesh as Raven sliced through the armored man she knew was her clansman, lost in this rage. Blood splattered onto her face as the force of her cut staggered the black armored man back. And in an instant, Ruby jumped back and drew Crescent Rose, looking wide-eyed in shock as everything happened so quickly, but the job looked down.
A massive gash tore through Shay's throat and chest, blood streaming down the armor.
Yet he still moved.
Even with dozens of arrows embedded in him at various points in his chest, legs, and arms, along with snapped-off sword blades and what appeared to be burnt markings that could have been from bullet rounds.
He was still moving.
And Raven's eyes narrowed as she saw why. The armor came alive as it pinned the wound back together, closing itself around the wound as copious amounts of red liquid still poured out. "So this is what he meant by it will keep the wearer alive. Fatal wounds aren't enough!"
"Forgive me, Shay, but I'm taking your head!"
A hollow screech was all she received in response. Shay, wholly covered in animalistic black armor coated in rusted and fresh blood, did not hesitate and came straight for her. He swung his broad sword with raw fury, speed, and strength she knew he did not naturally possess.
And as she deflected the blow with Omen, she recoiled as sparks ignited from the meeting of metal. There was far more power behind the swing than she anticipated. His speed seemed greater than it should have been.
Was the potential of his body if it simply unleashed everything it was inhibited to? That was absurd! He was nearly as fast as her daughter and put the same force on the swing of a sword as her punches!
Without hesitation, her eyes glowed with a magical hue as she charged her blade with red dust and began heating Omen. Deflecting the stroke of the sword, she noted how battered it was. She could easily take advantage of its state, melt through it, render his weapon unusable, and get to him much easier with a few more parries as he swung wildly with no coordination and bestial intent.
He never was proficient with a sword, and his sloppy work showed here. She narrowed her eyes as he retained his innate combat instincts. For he was still holding his signature pistol, and he raised it toward her without hesitation and clicked the trigger.
A single round was fired as Raven was forced to shift to the side. However, it was an opening she needed. It allowed her to slice for his neck, but due to his erratic movements, she cut deep into his collarbone with Omen, burning through the armor and his shoulder. But it wasn't enough to stop him, as he turned and swung his blade viciously, but she was ready.
With a single swing, Omen sliced the broadsword like butter. After a few precise deflects, she superheated the blade, could slice through it, and carry on to her target without mercy. Straight for the neck to take his head. And as she cut through the armor and into his spinal column and throat, listening to his gurgles as blood splashed and soaked her and the armor, her red eyes widened as the blade stopped.
And she found a heated, broken blade shoved into her chest.
"Raven!" Ruby's voice carried over the deadened air as she couldn't believe what had happened.
A furious glint came from her crimson eyes as lightning struck the armor. Raven staggered back, leaving Omen embedded in his nearly severed head while keeping the blade lodged in her chest. She regained her footing as the winds began to howl, and she slowly began to lift into the air. It did not matter the wound in her sternum was bleeding profusely as bolt after bolt struck Shay in the animalistic armor as she held out her hands, magical energy burning from her eyes. "Combat at close range is not to be taken lightly! Let's see if that armor can put you back together if I sear it and you from existence!"
Ruby watched in horror as her mother figure, bleeding in the sky after taking a severe wound, summoned a strange power she was unsure of how it worked. She knew it was awesome in a way that allowed her to call forth the elements differently than Naruto did, but watching nature work in her enraged state was terrifying. But not as horrid as what she was witnessing below…
The man, Shay, she called him.
Kept getting struck by lightning. The arrows embedded in him were set ablaze, adding to the searing inferno. And the smell was something awful. It smelled like charcoal, but the underlining smell was something she couldn't put her finger on. But it was atrocious and appalling to her senses and made her gag.
She never wanted to be around that smell again.
However, that wasn't what was distressing.
It was that he was still moving during each and every strike of lightning. The hand reached for the handle of Omen and ripped it out of him. And the armor began to pin the wound back together.
And the crimson eyes of the armor glowed as a hollowed roar echoed as it lunged into the sky and straight for Raven.
"Look out!" Ruby screamed as she burst into roses, moving as fast as she could and flew between the animalistic armor and Raven to intercept the attack.
Ruby hadn't anticipated how much stronger the blow was as Omen connected to the staff of Crescent Rose. Her eyes widened as she was driven back and collided with Raven's chest, making her lose concentration, and the two plummeted back to the earth.
His swing was as forceful as an Ursa's paw swipe!
Crashing through a tent, Ruby crushed as she heard the thump of the armor landing nearby them. There was no time to relax. They had to get back on their feet and fight. This thing would not stop! It was going to keep coming after them from what she saw! And if what the swordsman said was true…
It would not stop until every last drop of his blood was split!
So they needed to end this now!
Cutting his head was the only option she could think of. However, now with the only one with a weapon, she had to be the one to get in close. So taking a deep breath as she got to her feet and saw the armored man nearly upon them, she met him with a clang of metal.
Nearly being thrown back as the swings were far harder, Ruby knew she couldn't stand and take this fight immediately. She would have to use her most valuable assets.
Her speed.
Avoiding his next wild swipe, she burst into roses and created a sonic rift that knocked Shay off balance. Swiftly maneuvering around him as he stumbled, Ruby rematerialized behind him, swinging Crescent Rose with silver eyes on his throat.
But he moved forward, her scything only gashing into his neck as he rushed ahead, his gaze focused elsewhere. "What?!"
"Vernal, move!" Raven screamed as a bolt struck and staggered the armored man as she gingerly moved from the broken tent she and Ruby collapsed on, her hand stretching out. "Get a hold of yourself and get out of here!"
"We'll handle this!"
But Vernal was terrified of seeing Shay once more in that devilish armor. Everything she had witnessed hours before played out before her eyes. The slaughter of her clan and the violent dismemberment of everyone she knew and held dear to her.
Her brain screamed at her to listen. To flee. Scurry and live like the vermin she was! Like how she survived before!
But now, faced with the armor charging before her, she couldn't move! Her muscles betrayed her! She wanted to open her mouth to scream but she couldn't!
"Move!" Ruby rammed her shoulder into Vernal as the cursed armor arrived and wildly swung Raven's sword toward her, Crescent Rose held out before her to absorb the blow.
Only for her to grunt as she was flung back and through a crate, bouncing off and over it. And it swung again, only for a shield to be thrown and caught by Raven as she slid in. Deflecting the blow and wincing, she collapsed before Vernal, her red eyes pleading. "Vernal! Go, please!"
"I know we have fallen out, but I can't lose you after everything!"
The hollowed screech roared as it swung again and again against the shield as a spear pierced through his stomach. And Pyrrha screamed from behind, wrenching the armored man away with a mighty force and slamming him into the ground, pinning and embedding him in the ground.
Despite the profuse blood loss, the armor enabled Shay to lift himself, even as she put her boot on his back to hold him down. It simply made him swing at her, forcing her to use her magnetic pull to snap his arm. To her disgust, she watched the armor rip and tear his arm to repair the damage. But she could keep breaking it as long as she needed to.
Emerald eyes darted to Ruby as she slowly lifted herself as Pyrrha shouted. "Ruby, do it now! End this!"
"Move!" Guts' voice echoed as he rushed through the gate, holding Dragonslayer behind him and his intent focused on the armor pinned below.
Pyrrha did not need to be told twice, knowing the damage that weapon could cause, and leapt away as she saw the hefty sword lifted in the air. The armor sensed it as well and feebly swung Omen one last time, but it was meaningless as Guts was far out of its range.
A spray of viscera scored Pyrrha and Guts as Dragonslayer cleaved through Shay, severing his torso from his top half. Then with a boot, he kicked the bottom half of the armor away as he knew it wasn't quite finished.
As the top half kept crawling, the armor refused to quit, as blood remained. It echoed a hollowed shriek, swinging the sword in its hands as enemies were still before it. The execution came swiftly as Crescent Rose sliced down and severed the head with one final stroke.
Watching the armor slowly come to a rest as it could no longer hold the host together, Guts sneered. This would be difficult to clean up. And everything he caused left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Some things should be left alone.
Giving a simple glance at the two young girls, he gave a nod of approval. They did well in the end. Overcoming adversity and struggling for survival took reaching deep down inside.
They were worthy.
"This will take some time to pry off and clean." Guts gruffly grunted as he held up the head of the armor and, without tact or remorse, plopped Shay's head onto the ground to the dismay and horror of Vernal and those watching. "You should take everyone and head back for now."
"Thankfully, the armor adjusts to the user. This guy was a runt."
"Are you insane?!" Vernal screeched as she regained her motor functions as she stood next to Raven, her gaze frantic as she fiercely gazed at the black swordsman. "That thing butchered my entire clan! It must be incinerated or, at the very least, thrown at the bottom of the sea!"
"Maybe so, but this is what happens when it is wielded by one that cannot control one's darkness and harness it. Any fool would have recognized the trouble getting this wasn't worth it. The foreboding warnings it emits from being near it should have clued him in that he was dealing with something he shouldn't have been." Guts replied without contempt or remorse as he coldly gazed back. "And it is back to where it belongs as I am…"
"Intimately familiar with this armor, having worn it for nearly twenty years."
Vernal stumbled back upon hearing that, horrified that this man had worn the forsaken object that had just butchered her clan, and not only that…
Controlled and wielded it?
Raven's eyes narrowed as she held her stomach painfully, the throbbing sensation of the blade in her chest catching up to her. Her understanding of why the man was so broken down now made a great deal more sense to her. If he was using an armor that did this to him when he fought, even with that magical small pixie helping him heal…
His condition made sense. Being alive was a stretch.
"I'll be back when I can. If that pixie cannot heal that wound, the witch might have to pick you up. I'm in a lot of trouble." Raven grumbled as a ringing notion caught her attention and she groaned. "Oh, for Brother's sake, they know we are in Mistral, and this should take a while…"
"Ruby?" Raven's pained yet annoyed face turned to worry as she saw the distress as she answered the scroll and began to tremble, tears filling her silver eyes.
Then a muted scream tore through his lungs as she fell to her knees and dropped her scroll, holding her temples and shaking back and forth.
"Kali, dear," Ghira spoke in a calming tone as he could see his mate was stressed and upset, especially seeing how Blake left this morning before moving and placing his massive paw around his slender wife's waist. "I know that running into Corsac and yesterday's events was stressful. The tension between our daughter and her mate over this wedding and the Schnee family is an enormous burden, but we will deal with it."
Sighing contently at the warmth and cuddling up against her large man in a content manner, Kali purred at his touch. It was always so soothing for her, yet even now, it wasn't enough to completely relax her. There was just a special feeling in the air.
"Ghira, there is so much going on that I am afraid." Kali frowned as her purr stopped and looked down momentarily. "With everything they are dealing with and being dragged into and on top of that, having to deal with divine forces? What can be done about that? Is there anything to be done?"
"I don't know," Ghira answered honestly as he pulled Kali closer to him and released a deep sigh. "What I do know is that they are doing everything they can, and all we can do is support them. Blake has made her choice, and she's too stubborn to try to steer her away from it…"
"You mean you see too much of yourself in her and know you can't stop her?" Kali retorted and earned a chuckle from the large panther, smiling lightly as she looked up at her mate.
"Fair enough. She did inherit her stubborn and steadfast nature from me." Ghira chuckled for a moment as he couldn't do anything else before taking a moment to relax and let the mood somber. "But you know as well as I she's madly in love and, in this case, despite the setbacks and the extreme nature of all of this…"
"He is an excellent choice." Kali gently looked around the room at the house they were staying in and felt a familiar tug in her chest, knowing the sensation. "If it wasn't for all this insanity, I would drag him back to Kuo Kuana. Show off the future father of my grandkittens who has a keen sense of quality and taste…"
"All right now," Ghira rolled his eyes at his mate but couldn't help but bite back the laughter seeing Kali look up at him with that look of hers. "I'm starting to wonder if you are only teasing Blake when you are doing that or if you are trying to get me to. I'm not the biggest fan of anything related to hearing about anything related to her and… That."
"Maybe." Kali grinned as she looked up at Ghira, who gave a flat stare back before he sighed, defeated, as he squeezed her waist and made her pur. "Oh, is someone getting a bit frisky? I mean, we have the house to ourselves, and I have been waiting for you, my love."
"Oh," Ghira looked surprised for a moment before a sparkle filled his eyes. "Well, I do feel quite a bit more loose since arriving here. On the other hand, hanging around all these youthful and spry bodies has done wonders as it helped me get back into much better shape."
"Is that so?" Kali grinned dangerously as a lustful stare furrowed on her brow, and her ears perked up as she pawed at his chest. "Care to prove that to me with a demonstration?"
Knowing that look very well, as he crossed the threshold of no return and knew that he would have to back up his words, Ghira smirked. Gripping his mate's waist, he tenderly led her down the hallway when her ears twitched and an odd expression passed over her face. "Ghira, wait…"
"I hear something…"
With a slam of the door, Kali and Ghira saw Liam looking rather alarmed as Taiyang burst through the door suddenly exhausted and alarmed simultaneously. And the rugged, dusty blonde quickly focused on the two and waved at them. "I don't have time to explain! Things are confusing and weird right now! Our daughters were sucked into a Grimm pool that apparently acts like a portal, and I'm freaking out about that…"
"Dammit, Tai!" Qrow flew into the room and transformed into the room, not caring in the slightest about hiding his abilities and power at the moment, and shocked Liam at the sight of a man capable of such a feat. "They are okay. It's Naruto that's not!"
"What?" Ghira's eyes narrowed as he quickly moved toward the two men and left to Kali trail behind him, looking slightly worried. "What happened? I know Blake was upset last night due to circumstances and that Naruto had to stay at the Schnee residence here in Vale, but she understood it. And it was understandable given they had an assassination attempt thwarted, and having a presence like his would undoubtedly make anyone feel more comfortable given his reputation."
"Well, something happened even with him there, and we're not sure what at the moment, given the lack of details at this exact time." Qrow grimaced as he pulled out his scroll, looked through it to see if anything had changed, and frowned as he looked back at the head of the White Fang. "What I can say is…"
"Right now, your daughter will need you at the hospital. He's not breathing, and it doesn't look good."
Sniffing the air of fresh air and letting the sounds of laughter sing pleasantly in his ears, as it was the first day off of his newly acquired job as he stood beside his darling mate in the small, crowded meadow they had here in the lower sector in Vale. Desmond sighed in relief.
While it wasn't much, hearing his children laugh and play without a care in the world was something. And to have a job with co-workers that were already starting to warm up to him and did not care that he was a faunus, so that was a perk. Or that he was their foreman, as that usually was an issue for humans when a faunus was in charge. All they cared about was that he knew what he was doing and, if anything, was making their jobs more manageable than the last foreman.
It also helped the current job was being paid out by a said faunus and someone he considered a friend and generally someone that kept being brought to the attention of during breaks—the Gale Fox Naruto Uzumaki.
Some of the things they witnessed were wild while working. His training regime. How he handled guard duty and dispatched Grimm. How he generally came around and wanted to learn the craft and held his own. He worked alongside them, knowing a good bit of what he was doing and picking up quickly on everything he didn't know.
How personable he was to every one of them and treated each one of them with respect and dignity. He greeted them when he could when he wasn't swamped and overwhelmed with work. And even then, he mustered a few pleasantries and left his weird semblance guards to ensure no Grimm could interfere with their work.
Honestly, it just made him respect the fox that saved him and his family further.
"Des, honey," Aryl's soothing voice drew him from his thoughts, and he looked into her honey-brown eyes and smiled. "You were out of it. You okay?"
"I'm fine," Desmond responded with a warm smile as he looked at the beautiful woman before him. "Just thinking about how lucky we are considering where we were. And while I don't want to jinx it, everything is slowly trending in the right direction, and I couldn't be happier."
"Watch it now," Aryl responded with a skewed frown before she shook her head and rolled her eyes in exasperation but returned the smile. "Let's not get too optimistic just yet. We're still in Vale proper, and until I feel we're out of this place, we will never be fine again."
"Mom, dad! Witness me!" Ross cried from the top of a semi-well-cared-for slide before plunging down head first as Tulip laughed out loud as he crashed into the sand below at descent velocity.
Then tears began to flow as he started to cry.
"Ross, come on!" Desmond slowly started walking over to his boy, knelt, and checked on him.
Seeing nothing visibly wrong outside a few scuff marks, Des sighed. He gave his boy a light hug before shaking his head as he looked caringly into his eyes. "You are fine, buddy. But did you think was going to happen?"
"Something cool?" Ross sniffed, looking up at his father with sad, enlarged eyes. "I was trying to do something awesome like Naruto can do. Everyone at school tries to be like the Gale Fox and does crazy stunts all the time…"
It was as if he was trying to garner sympathy.
And his father was immune as he ruffled his hair and shook his head. "You might get there one day. But today is not that day. You gotta put a lot of work and effort into that and not do things like that. He only does those things when he has to, and he practiced and trained to do them."
As the tears dried up and a quizzical look replaced them, Ross gazed at his father. "So if I practiced and trained like Naruto, would I be able to do the things he does? Maybe I can ask him the next time he visits to teach me!"
"Whoa, there, kiddo," Desmond waved his hands and shook his head with a smile. "One step at a time. Let's focus on your grades and schoolwork first. I'm sure he would say the same before he even considered it. He's a smart guy himself, you know."
"Oh, man…" Ross pouted and frowned and kicked the sand around. "School sucks. I hate schoolwork."
Laughing softly as he understood the feeling, Desmond ruffled his son's hair one last time as he stood up. "Yeah, I know. But we're here to help. Now go back out there and have some more fun while we have the chance to be out here."
Still pouting slightly, Ross nodded as he kept kicking the sand as he walked away and made Des grin as he turned to Aryl. And he saw his mate smirk, having kept a side glance on the scene the entire time as she tapped on the screen of her scroll. "You know, even though you have only had that thing for a short time, you have become addicted to it."
"I had to get it for work, Des," Aryl stated, still smirking as she looked through a few things on her scroll before turning her attention to her mate, leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek.
In response, Desmond wrapped his arm around his mate's waist as the two watched their children play in the small meadowy park. It was a lovely scene that couldn't get any better for him.
Everything was so serene...
"Des…" Aryl's voice stilled, and her eyes wavered as she stopped her mindless browsing. "Grab Ross and Tulip. We need to go."
"Now!"
"What? Why?" Desmond looked confused and alarmed, hearing his mate's tone and seeing the startling expression on her face, he looked upon the scroll and saw the article.
And his heart sank.
He had jinxed his picture-perfect day by saying something! And the world responded in the most negative way possible! This could not have happened! He was the very beacon of light for their lives and had righted their ship, and now…
This!
"Yo, man, Vajo!" A deep rumbling voice of Mahony Bran called out as the massive bronze man slipped through the suburban warehouse as he looked for the wolf faunus and spotted him sitting on a stool nearby a particular couple. "Ah, there ya are. Everything doing good over here?"
"Ya, do'ng fine! Char'ie and Van are good." Vajo smirked as he turned from the young couple he was checking on as the radio played in the background. "Watc'a need, big man?"
"Running low on supplies again. You know the stuff." Mahony sighed as he looked around at the people in the room and the tattered materials and reflexively frowned. "With the festival and Atlas in town, it's been a lot more difficult to attempt a run, but it's looking like we have no choice. We're gonna have to risk it."
"Yeah, st'ff is prett' shotty right now." Vajo tilted his head in agreement as he could see that was the truth and had been seeing it over the last month. "At'as been running a tig't shift. Making it challenging. Then the'e is the n'w police chief…"
"Like 'er though…" Vajo finished with a dreamy look in his eyes as the tall blonde police chief came to mind.
Mahony gave a simple nod of agreement as she was doing a lot of good in the force relatively quickly. Add to the fact that she was quite the…
Snapping out of his thoughts and fingers drawing Vajo out of his, the bronze giant refocused the gray wolf faunus. "We'll need to get a run together in the next few days. Think you can handle it?"
"Gotc'a covered, big man!" Vajo gave a wave and smirked as he was more than ready to run for the community and collect the needed supplies. "Figure so'ething out 'bout getting 'round them dang droids and getting the s'uff!"
"Sounds good, sounds good." Mahony sighed as he didn't feel like sending Vajo out but seeing how hardly anything was left and the state of things around, he needed someone he trusted to do it.
And the wolf was very sneaky and could get the job done.
"Well, I'll leave you to…"
"Um," Charrie's voice broke their conversation as she looked upon the bruising bronze man and scrawny gray wolf faunus. "While I am thankful for everything, may I ask something?"
"Shoot!" Vajo chirped with a cheeky grin before his jitteriness almost caused him to tip over the stool he was sitting on, and he barely caught himself. "Woah, t'at was close…"
"Speak your mind, Char." Mahony looked down at the dark-skinned rabbit, wanting to hear what she had to say.
He was always willing to listen to everyone and gauge their opinions. It helped the community grow as far as he was concerned.
Taking a moment to gather her courage, as the imposing size of Mahony could be intimidating without him ever intending it, Charrie took a deep breath. It helped that Van rubbed her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. He knew she had confidence issues ever since she was young, and his presence made her feel better. So giving him a beaming smile, she focused her gaze back on the odd couple visiting them and tilted her head. "I have to ask, why don't we ask the Gale Fox for more help?"
"Right?" Van added as he quickly followed his mate's thought and couldn't help but continue it. "He is always doing what he can to help out around here and supplying the community as it is. Why not ask for a little more…"
"Nah, man," Mahony immediately waved the thought off and shook his head before he smiled back at the two. "I get where ya both coming from, but he got enough on his plate as is. He's doing what he can for us and doing amazing work as it is, but we have to stand on our own two feet too. We've been doing this for a long time without him, and while his help is always appreciated, we know what we're doing without him."
"Yeah," Vajo added with a bright smile as he gazed at Charrie and Van. "He can't always be the'e for us and has his li'e and prob'ems to deal with. Can't keep addin' to 'hem! Gotta help ourse'ves, ya know?! Gonna be some tim' before his place gets on its feet an' we all have a place to call 'ome!"
"Oh," Van frowned as his shoulder sank, his vision turning from the two and sighing deeply. "I see. I was jus' hoping, and all that maybe things be easier, ya know?"
"Things ain't easy, man. We're here." Mahony responded as he crossed his arms and spoke straightly, focusing on Van. "No matter how we arrived here, something dragged us to this point, and now we have to fight if we want to survive. The help he gives us is more than damn appreciated. Cleaning up the streets and making our world ever so easier to live in was a hell of a start, and everything else he, his mate, and his friends do means the world, but we gotta keep moving forward and doing our own thing. Life doesn't stop."
"We've gotta keep living."
As Van didn't respond and seemed to sink further into himself, seemingly defeated by those words, a warm hand pressed against his shoulder. His eyes snapped up, and he stared straight into her warm chocolate eyes as Charrie gave him a soft and knowing gaze. "Van, we'll be okay. As long as we're together, we'll make it work. We always have."
"Trust me."
Melting into her loving gaze and the gentle touch to his shoulder, Van's shoulders slowly began to perk back up as he regained some of his confidence. "Yeah, yeah, you're right, Char. We gotta make do."
"Hey, is there any'hing I can do to help?" Van turned his focus back to Mahony and Vajo as it seemed like the two were getting ready to head out and check on the rest of the community. "Maybe I can help with the run or something?"
"Nah, not on the run. Gotta be fast and stealthy for that. Not many are suited to that." Mahony shook his head before pondering briefly as he thought of what Van could do to help out. "Let me get back to you and…"
"Wait, turn that up." Mahony caught something on the radio as it sounded like an alert news bulletin, and something didn't sound right. "I heard something about an explosion."
"Yeah, was t'at. Schnee place they bought here." Vajo sneered, not liking the wealthy family due to their recent history with Faunus, although he had seen the Schnee girl with Naruto and felt she was fine despite all the annoyance her father was making with this marriage he was attempting to push through. "Good 'iddance! Couldn't happen to worse people."
"Not wrong, but it sounded like it was a terrorist attack, and just wanted to make sure tonight is a good night to go out, that's all," Mahony responded with a grimace as Charrie turned the radio up.
"-eat, earlier this morning, there was a terrorist attack upon the Schnee manor here in their Vale residence that ruptured and destroyed the entire residence. This following the terrorist attack upon the docks last night that destroyed the Schnee Dust Company Warehouses. This leads authorities to believe there is an active…"
"That's a hell of a morning and night." Mahony sighed as he heard the news, glancing at Vajo and shaking his head. "Gonna have to hold back for a few days until the buzz dies down."
"Yeah," Vajo started before his eyes widened and his ears stiffened as the radio continued. "Wai', what?! No!"
"Dozens of terrorist casualties were recorded at the docks this morning. No identifications have been confirmed as of yet. Documentation from the Schnee residence bombing is scarce, but it seems to confirm a single casualty…"
"Huntsman Naruto Uzumaki. We will have further information for you as this story develops."
A cold, bitter silence fell upon those hearing the news bulletin as the commotion nearby stopped. No one was sure how to process the information they heard as it looped and replayed again, allowing them to listen to the details and absorb them with enhanced clarity.
But it did not help. It only made everything worse.
The young faunus that helped clean up the streets and fight Vale's corruption, making the Kingdom a better place for many, was killed in that explosion? The young fox that was here and helping out almost weekly finding things to help with here to try and fix things from the ground up, as he put it, didn't make out okay? Despite all the things he managed to do before and come out on top?
All his plans to build his own village and start for many people…
It became deathly cold.
And Mahony clenched his fist tightly as he saw how shaken everyone in the room was, and he was not immune. He needed to find these people.
And he needed to break them personally.
The moment the door snapped open, she knew.
She knew it was true.
Tears had already been stained down her cheeks, and her heart was breaking at the sight before her.
Velvet had left with the rest of her team early in the morning to scout around the middle sector, or primarily the business district of Beacon. It would give her an excellent reason to drop by to visit her aunt while searching for any clues about where the second base was without being too suspicious. After all, they were a team in the Vytal Festival tournament and students of Beacon, so the four of them wandering around shouldn't raise any ire.
At least that was the thought when they arrived.
But hardly any sooner than they had arrived and she had walked in to see her aunt with Coco, their scrolls blew up with the message to get to the high-end district's hospital by Jaune.
And the news was something she didn't think would ever happen or something she could handle.
On the way there, they had to turn off the radio as it was all playing on the station. They knew of the incident in the morning, but to think somehow they would go a step further and take out the entire Schnee manor? And then, of all people, to not make it out okay…
Why did it have to be him?!
She had known him since he first arrived in this world?! In an authentic sense, she was the first person to come across him! He was under so much debris and hardly breathing when she found him, and to think he pulled through then! And given everything he endured through and what she heard he survived, this was what took him out?
That shouldn't be possible!
And she was the first person to befriend him here! Helped him adjust to this world once she learned what his issues were! Supported him like he supported everyone else! Maybe even loved him to a degree before she let it go. When she heard from him, he saw too much of his old love within her, which hurt him. It was painful to hear, but…
Velvet could accept that. The last thing she would want is to remind someone constantly of what they could have had for that…
Was too painful to bear. Besides…
It opened the door to a potential relationship she had never considered before, even if he was just a weird goof at times.
But now even he…
Fox was trembling when they burst through the doors, his senses on high alert. He could feel everything in the room, and it was eating him alive. And he was not feeling well enough hearing everything on the news about his friend but knowing what everyone else was experiencing made things far more unpleasant.
And the hysteric sobs made him bite the corner of his lip and clench his fists to the point he drew blood in his palms. It was not an exaggeration by the media, and Jaune's message saying it was an emergency was underselling it…
It was a travesty.
"You've got to be shitting me," Coco was the first to speak and break the silence, her words speaking for the astonishment of all as she pulled her sunglasses off her face to reveal her reddened, tear-soaked eyes as she looked upon all her friends gathered. "No. There is no fucking way!"
"Naruto can't be dead! Tell me this is some sort of sick joke! What the fuck?!"
Yatsu turned and refrained from saying anything as his leader spoke for him, but her assertion said everything that needed to be said and more. The kind and gentle soul that he seemed to possess limitless strength and tenacity…
Was no longer amongst them?
It was something he struggled to come to grasp. It didn't seem real.
"Unfortunately, Miss Adel, it is genuine and tragic." The sullen voice of professor Ozpin drew her attention as the headmaster of Beacon stood off to the side, away from those mourning but paying his due respects by being present nonetheless. "A well-known and admirable Huntsman from my academy fell in the line of duty…"
"Oh, by the Brother's no!" Velvet cried, and in despair, it was confirmed that the indomitable faunus had indeed passed away, and another hysteric cry and sobbing made it all the more unbearable.
Blake wailed in her father's arms while her mother embraced her and combed through her hair, doing everything they could to comfort their distressed daughter. And only meters away…
Was an equally distressed Weiss embraced by her mother and sister, sniffling and shivering as it seemed her cries had all but come to a muted muffle. It was her father. His dulled roar filled the hallways as he demanded explanations from the doctors on the failed treatments and how he would fire every one of them here when he was through…
A broken Taiyang held onto his eldest daughter as she shuddered in the corner, finally allowing her to vent and scream to the world. And at the same time, her sister was being comforted as she sat sobbingly in a chair and embraced by her uncle, wrapping her arm around her, squeezing her tightly to him, doing what he could to be there for her and ignoring all the bloody stains on her for the time being.
Jaune was holding a distraught Pyrrha, who tearfully used his shoulder, soothing her as gently as he could, gently rubbing soothing circles on her back with his right arm. And his left hand stayed at his side, clenched as he tried and failed to hold back his tears as he watched the disconcerting scene before him.
And lastly, Ren had helped guide Nora, with permission from the nurses, over as she was fully awake this morning and in much better condition. But now she was a sobbing mess along with the rest, wrenching him in her grasp, and he only embraced her back as it was all he could do as the loss of a friend was something they were not prepared or ready for.
It was all too much for Velvet to handle at once, her overflowing tears soaking her cheeks, and she wept. In an instant, Fox wrapped his arm around her, brought the faunus to his chest, and grimaced as she bawled and buried her head. But he held her tight nonetheless as his eyes snapped to the man that had just spoken.
"Professor, why are you here, of all people?" Fox narrowed his hollow white eyes toward the headmaster of Beacon, and despite the severity of the situation and his nerves getting to him, he questioned why the man was there. "Given what happened a couple of months ago, I wouldn't think you would be here in this situation. What gives?"
"Whether or not the terms of how we left things were unfavorable, things should not have ended like this. Vale will mourn this loss tremendously, and I fear the repercussions and fallout to this day. The one thing we shared was people's well-being. This is a tremendous loss that will be felt." Ozpin finished with a melancholic expression as he lowered his head and freely showed his despondency.
Coco was still in utter disbelief at what she was hearing. However, upon witnessing all her friends breaking down and hearing everything the headmaster said, reality crept in on her. The strongest person she knew…
The very best…
Had fallen.
And if he could fall so easily…
So could any of them.
Losing her footing and being caught in Yatsu's grasp, she needily dove into his grasp as tears came. And her sobs were added to the rest as she could hold back no longer as even she even saw that he was silently crying.
Looking at his students and former students breaking down into tears, Ozpin closed his eyes. He let the sounds wash over her and remind him of his purpose. Of why he chose the path he had and even as painful as all this was…
Sometimes, life made it necessary.
"So the question is now, my boy," Ozpin whispered silently to himself as he was sure, with all the sobbing, he could be heard. "How are you going to return?"
"I await the grand reveal. It fascinates me as there isn't much time left in this game, so I can only speculate, but…" Ozpin muttered to himself as he thought about everything and couldn't help but come to the puzzling issue.
"Why would Fate allow this so close to the end of her grand plan?"
Birds chirped freely and whistled the most beautiful tunes he had ever heard. Barks from various woodland and domestic critters sounded in harmony. Mews and purrs responded to one another—the buzzing of wings fluttering in the air all around him.
The sounds of rushing water echoed gently around the banks of a nearby stream. Or what he assumed was a stream. The gentle wisps of cool, refreshing air brushed against him and whispered in the wind. The soft, delicate grass licked at his exposed skin and hair.
Everything seemed in harmony. It felt at peace. But he couldn't handle it. Something was off about this place. It didn't feel quite right.
And why did he feel so tired?
So drained and exhausted that he couldn't open his eyes?
And why was he here? The last thing he remembered was…
Was a burning sensation that seared throughout his body until nothing was left inside him. A feeling that left him hollowed and burnt his very essence from within.
It was like nothing he had ever experienced, and it was nothing he ever wanted to do again.
And if he remembered adequately, he was somewhere…
Where was he again? It was somewhere fancier than he liked. He preferred more ornate decorations and less affluent crap if he were honest…
"Shit, not good. I need to get out of here and find Weiss. Need to make sure her family is okay."
But he couldn't move. Everything around him felt weighted down. His arms and legs felt like limp noodles that wouldn't obey and listen to his commands. He couldn't even force his eyes open to look at the scene around him to figure out what was happening.
And why was there this heavy pressure on his chest? It almost felt like someone, a relatively diminutive someone, was straddling his chest. There was a weird sensation pressing against his armpits, almost like something was dangling their feet and lightly kicking him.
It was highly annoying. There was an urgent need for him to get back to where he was.
"Dammit, I don't have time for this. I can't be stuck here. I need to get up and move. Blake is probably panicking without me. Weiss is…"
And a voice interrupted him.
"Did you do good?"
It wasn't a voice he recognized. But he had an odd sensation about it. There was something familiar about it, and he wasn't sure what it was. It could have been that there was no ill intent or malice in the near angelic tone, but…
He felt something more in the voice.
It felt like genuine happiness.
Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he couldn't believe the sight as he stared straight into neapolitan eyes. A single name breathless left his lips, for he knew who it belonged to.
And it should have been impossible to see her again.
"Trivia…"
