Chapter Nine: Silent Sympathy.

There wasn't any conversation after that. Not only because one side couldn't speak, but also because the awkward tension between them had only multiplied since they'd met. It was all too embarrassing for both of them. Instead of trying to clear the air between them, both had internally decided that they needed an intermediary. Unfortunately, the walls, and corpses of Grimm didn't know sign language, how to read, nor how to speak. As such, until they found someone who could read and speak, they would just have to deal with their communication issues.

They continued to walk down the corridors in silence, opting to simply go whichever direction felt right. They made their choices known by simply pointing the route that they wanted to take, and then either taking it in turns, or just compromising. They encountered several more Grimm of varying varieties, but none of them were particularly noteworthy. Naturally, since Neo had made Thea do all the work last time, she insisted on taking out the next batch herself. And so, she did.

That particular skirmish was only against a small group of Boarbatusks (the boar-like creatures which the snobby white girl almost lost against to in class yesterday.) Thea had lifted her rifle, but Neo simply placed her finger upon the tip of the firearm and lowered it back down again, as if to insist that this was her fight. If she had the eyes to roll, Thea would have done so. Instead, she simply lowered the gun and slouched against the wall with her arms folded.

"Don't expect me to rescue you, princess." She sighed. Neo simply nodded with a smirk. She adjusted her hat, and then calmly skipped towards the group.

There were only three of them, but Boarbatusks were a bit harder to handle than the average Beowolf due to their tougher hide and difficult-to-reach underbelly. They could reach high charging speeds, despite their stubby little legs, gore just about anything organic upon those tusks and, to top things off, they could somehow roll into a tight ball and whirl themselves at great speeds. This not only had a powerful amount of force and momentum behind it, but it also perfectly covered he primary vulnerable spots of the creature, simultaneously. However, it took a moment for the creature to build up speed, so the key was to strike them before they could rev themselves up.

Neo's calm and gentle skipping seemed very counterintuitive to Thea. Running at them would be far more effective and give them less time to react. But there she was, skipping at them like this was the playground and they were her friends. The group of creatures immediately turned and saw Neo. In unison, they released a grunt and began to charge almost immediately upon seeing her. However, Thea simply watched in horror as the small stampede ploughed straight into Neo, scattering her in the wind as if she were made of glass.

Thea's heart rose into her throat and consequently missed a beat. Her hand flew to her mouth in shock. Sure, she was a bit of an arrogant adolescent, but… was she really dead? Just like that?

And, as if it were nothing, Neo reappeared, a little above the horde. In Thea's surprise, she'd not noticed that this was all part of Neo's plan from the beginning. When the Boarbatusk had shattered Neo's illusion, it had crashed into the wall behind her and flipped over due to the angle. When Neo descended, she plunged her needle tip directly through the creature's exposed underbelly, killing it instantly. With a nimble flip from her current position, she withdrew the blade before assessing her surroundings.

She had landed between the remaining duo of creatures. It seemed that they were just as stunned as Thea had been, since they clearly were on separate wavelengths. One immediately charged at Neo, whilst the other began to spin up. As the first creature galivanted forwards with reckless abandon, Neo had the simplest, yet most effective, counter to this move. She simply jumped upwards and played leapfrog over the charging boar. The two boars collided, with the spinning one's momentum causing the charging one to be sent flying from the force of the impact. It smacked into the wall and dropped to the ground, as if an unseen hand had swatted it like a mosquito. The rolling one had been thrown off course from its desired target and wobbled around, trying to contain its own momentum. It swerved wildly, doing its best to collide with the mute shortstack who seemed a little too proud of herself.

Thea felt convinced that Neo was just going to turn into shards like she had done last time but was surprised to see Neo, like a matador, was merely holding out her parasol, preparing to take the incoming hit, head on. Taking this as a challenge, the creature spun with greater tenacity, aiming straight for the girl. Once again proving that Neo was some kind of unpredictable agent of chaos, Neo closed her parasol and ducked backwards like some kind of action movie hero. As the creature spun and bounced off the floor, expecting to come into contact with Neo's parasol, it instead collided into the wall with impossible force, making a massive fracture in the stonework, and impaling its tusks so deeply that it was simply stuck sticking out the side of the barrier. A deafening 'THWACK' resonated throughout the labyrinth.

And yet, it paled in comparison to the sound which followed.

A deafening roar assaulted the eardrums of everyone in the maze as some kind of powerful beast had homed in on the massive noise which the Boarbatusk had made upon its defeat. And the sounds of its footsteps could be heard echoing within the walls of the labyrinth. It was coming directly for the two of them.

The two shared a moment of 'well, damn,' before they both decided on the next course of action in the most direct way possible. Running away from the sound of the roar and consequent footsteps.

"I've never heard a Grimm which sounded like that, before. Think it's this 'Minotaur,' which Ozpin mentioned?" Thea asked as they dashed through the corridor and rounded the corner. Neo simply nodded to her, in order to answer her question without breaking her stride. The distant sound of the wall shattering behind them echoed throughout the labyrinth, paired only with the equally distant sound of the half-scream, half-squeal which came from the Boarbatusk which had once been stuck in said wall. These sounds only served to motivate the pair forwards at an increased rate. The silent panic which the two of them shared was just as noticeable as the deafening sounds of destruction which was left in their wake. It seemed that, despite their speed, the creature was managing to draw closer, judging from the increasing volume of the footsteps coming from behind. And yet, neither could afford to turn and look.

It was then that Neo saw it in the corner of her eye. A single, stereotypical-looking runic treasure chest which one would expect to see in some kind of medieval fantasy world. Why did it have to be right now? The thing that they had been looking for was now right there, at the one moment which she could not stop for it. It was like this whole initiation had been doing nothing but psychologically injuring her from start to finish.

Neo decided, then and there, that she was tired of being waylaid by unfortunate events. Her streak of bad luck was coming to an end right here, and right now. By her own merits, she would cast aside her misfortune and make up for what she lacked with precise planning and skill. And she would curb stomp anyone and anything which decided to interfere with her plans to live her newfound life. And so, she stopped running and turned around. Thea immediately noticed Neo's chaotic, near-suicidal change of plans and subsequent change of expression and halted as well.

"Neo, what are you doing?! We need to go! That thing will catch up!"

But Neo had made up her mind. She hastily opened the chest and pulled out a large, spherical red crystal of some kind. Though she hadn't the time to examine it in detail, it was well-polished, and the insides of the item seemed to spin and glimmer like tiny specks of starlight were caught within the translucent prison. Like a far-off galaxy were contained within the crimson sphere. Neo tossed it to Thea, who fumbled her catch a little due to her surprise but managed to recover her grip on it before it hit the floor.

"We can't stay here, Neo."

Neo simply nodded in agreement, before pointing for Thea to go. By now, the sounds of the creature were nearly upon them.

"But…!"

Neo insisted, making her point known with a defiant stomp of the foot, before turning her back to Thea, ready to face the creature and buy the girl time to escape. Even in the face of this potentially life-or-death situation, Thea couldn't help but hesitate. These two people had never really been able to find common ground, or even hold any kind of meaningful conversation. In fact, the only time Thea had been correct in understanding what Neo was saying – outside of nodding or shaking her head – was when she asked for her name. Until now. Now, she realised what Neo was doing and, furthermore, that whilst the two may not have been friends, Neo still held her in some kind of high regard, since she was prepared to fight for her life just to allow the girl time to escape.

And Thea would not let that kind of dedication be for naught. As much as she didn't want to let Neo fight alone, she respected her decision to stay and cross swords with a creature far, far larger than her. Two small damp patches began to manifest from beneath her bandages as she turned and ran, clutching the orb to her chest with one hand and firmly grasping Lunova's handle with the other. Was it sadness she felt? Or a pang of guilt at her lack of courage and strength? If she had been more experienced, maybe the two of them could have taken down the beast with their combined efforts? But now she had made her verdict: to let Neo fight the creature by herself. At least the girl seemed much tougher than she would have otherwise appeared. After all, she knew that fighting those Borbatusks earlier was no easy feat.

It hadn't even been more than twenty seconds before she heard the sounds of combat behind her. The sound of crushing blows striking the walls and floor, sending dust and debris in every direction. Though she had the unique ability to see in every direction simultaneously, even she couldn't see through walls. As such, it was impossible to tell what was going on at any given moment. Was Neo winning? Or was she being grabbed by the leg and tossed around like a paperweight? To Thea's dismay, she had no way of knowing, save for going back. As fate would have it, she did have plans to turn back. Just not alone.

That's right, this maze wasn't just the home of the Grimm. It was also filled with aspiring huntsmen and huntresses. Surely, if they banded together, they stood a far better chance of success than they would, alone. Or they would simply make it easier for the Beacon Academy Staff to find the corpses.

As Thea ran throughout the maze, she couldn't help but feel…rather lost. Truth be told, she had neglected which direction she should take ever since she dashed off to go and find help. In hindsight, she wished that she had paid more attention but, then again, she wasn't exactly in the best mindset for maze navigation. With that being said, however, it seemed that fate was on her side, after had dashed into a large room, very different from the rest of the maze. The floor was seemingly golden and circular in shape. Several corridors led into this room, implying that there were multiple ways to enter or exit. Sitting in the middle of the room was a massive stone altar which seemed capable of holding a total of six offerings – one for each hand of the altar which was reaching skyward. There was already one item placed upon one of the six stone hands of the altar and, strangely enough, it seemed almost identical to the one which Thea was now holding, except that it was a pyramid, instead of a sphere.

And then, she saw them. Two warriors in the making, which walked around to greet her from the other side of the altar. Naturally, the girl recognised them from the locker room and previous classes. In truth, she probably should have seen this coming, judging from how predictable fate had been to her as of late.

The first was a rather tall, skinny figure who wore some kind of long-fitting lab coat. His hair was of medium-length and somewhat messy but in a strangely organised way. Like a perfect chaos. Upon his waist was some kind of large satchel and resting upon his shoulders were a total of four additional hands. Indeed, this was someone which Thea had been familiar with in the past. Oberon Clattanoia was his name and she thought he was a bit of a self-righteous, arrogant know-it-all. The way he spoke and walked and always had the slightest twinge of a sneer on his face just made her feel uncomfortable.

The second was also a person whom she had met before. An even taller figure who wore an imposing set of metallic armour which covered their entire body. And yet, they seemed surprisingly nimble and strong. In their hand was an impressive-looking halberd weapon which featured two, small decorative wings just below the blade. Thea knew that this person always wore their helmet but didn't always wear the full suit of armour. Apparently, they had an embarrassing scar hidden beneath their helmet and didn't feel comfortable showing their face. In a sense, they were a little similar to Thea, but also rather different. As for their name, they were Rylee Zoram. A strange sort who was surprisingly tough. In fact, Thea thought that they were probably the strongest student in this current roster of initiation contestants. Whilst they certainly were not as strong as Pyrrha Nikos, they could probably put up the best fight against them in solo combat, in her opinion.

"Lady Paradox," began Oberon. "You're later than I thought you would be. And you're here by yourself. Tell me, did you not see any other students around on your way here?" His tone was just as haughty and grating as ever. Thea picked up on his deliberate choice of wording and decided that she had better things to do than to kick up a fuss.

"Can we talk about this later? I need your help. My teammate, Neo, is currently fighting against the Minotaur of the Labyrinth," she explained.

"And you left her to fend for herself? Some teammate you are," Oberon sneered. "I suppose you're asking for our help to fight the monster? Why should we have to cover for your recklessness and foolish behaviour? You made the decision to leave. If she falls, her blood is on your hands. Not ours."

"Oberon. Where is your sense of justice?" Rylee butted in. Their voice landed on neither side of masculine, nor feminine. Just a metallic echo which rattled inside their helmet before it could be heard. "There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity, but there is also a third border: hope. It doesn't matter whether their decision was courageous or foolhardy. It was their only option. Thea has come to us, needing our combined effort to defeat a greater evil and save her teammate who only wished for her safety and success. And you mock them for their dauntingly difficult choice?"

"Rylee, if you think their decision to split up was a decision other than plain absurdity, then you are no better than Thea, who chose to leave this 'Neo,' character to fight against impossible odds alone." Oberon growled. Oh yes, Thea's eyebrows twitched unceremoniously from underneath her bandages.

"If you refuse to help your fellow student who is in need, then you are no better than the Grimm! You are a fool and a coward if you think that you stand on the side of what's right. It may not be 'logical,' to you to throw yourself into the line of fire for a stranger, but that is what Huntsmen and Huntresses are trained to do. I'm going, and you can stay here and rot for all I care. Thea, lead the way." Rylee retaliated. In truth, Thea didn't really agree with what either of them were saying, but it was clear that those two didn't exactly see eye-to-eye on many things.

Whilst Thea had hoped to bring more than just one extra person with her, she didn't have much of an option. She nodded to Rylee, tossed the orb to Oberon, and turned around, gesturing for the armoured knight to follow her. And so, the two raced back into the labyrinth, following the sounds of destruction as they raced ahead. The closer they got, the more dust and debris filled the air.

"I'm sorry for how Oberon spoke to you. He was out of line. The nerve of him… I knew he was selfish but…!" Rylee mumbled as they ran together.

"It's okay. I can kinda understand his point. Taking on the Minotaur would be no easy feat. Just aiding in the fight, alone, would be risky." Thea conceded, sighing a little as she clutched onto Lunova. "I just don't want to be the cause of another death. Eyes or not."

"What do you mean?" Rylee asked, quite perplexed. 'Eyes or not?' What a weird thing to say. Unfortunately for Rylee, Thea addressed the wrong part of the statement.

"Neo is…well… stronger than me. She has some incredible powers and a unique fighting style. She took on three Borbatusks at the same time, by herself, in melee combat. I couldn't even handle two Beowolves. But…she told me to run and take the treasure with me. It should have been me who stayed," Thea sighed once again.

"Don't be silly. If she's got good fighting skills, maybe she's also got the intelligence to back it up. Perhaps she could hold her own against this beast, or even had some kind of escape plan in mind, should worst come to worst." Rylee advised. "Have some faith in her."

Just as the words had left the warrior's mouth, a colossal blow collided with the wall beside them, shattering it into pieces. Dirt and rubble were sent flying in every direction, as if their continued existence had offended the Gods and they were being stoned to death for their crimes. Both took a sizeable hit to their Aura, and they coughed up dust before they beheld the scene before them. A gargantuan creature loomed above them, with a brawny form which rippled with dark muscle. Two massive hooves took the form of the creature's feet and a pair of spiked, curved white horns jutted from its bone white bull-like head. A small tail swished restlessly from side to side, and it wielded a pillar of stone in its arms, swinging it about as if it were a club. It was so tall, it could almost peer over the walls of the labyrinth, like a giant peering over the walls of a castle keep.

And there, standing against it, was Remnant's smallest huntress in training. She had turned to the pair with a stunned look on her face, as if she hadn't expected backup.


Writer's Note:

I just wanted to say thanks to the people who have read and enjoyed my story thus far. Every time I see my view count increase, it makes me smile, hoping that my words have helped make someone's day. I'm sorry that this chapter, and probably the next few chapters, have been late. I've been caught up in work and various activities which needed my attention. Also, an extra thank you to those who have left reviews / comments on Neo Penance. It's nice to see some feedback on my work, as it helps highlight things which my readers find interesting, good, taboo or poor writing choices. I encourage you all to continue to leave reviews and tell me your thoughts on the story; even if you only have criticism to offer. I hope to one day be an author, so any advice, comments, and criticism would be appreciated.

I hope you all continue to enjoy my story. I have vague plans for it up until the end of Volume Three, so narratively speaking, expect some interesting adaptations to the plot and seeing how a small difference in the world of Remnant can lead to massively different outcomes, stakes and, of course, losses. I apologise for the slow pacing thus far, but it should begin to rapidly develop from here on out. Most stories have a slow start, but I intend to cut to the action as soon as possible, without skipping over character arcs and story development. Please be patient and enjoy the action, comedy and adventures of Neo in this alternate, parallel world.

Thank you once again and stay tuned for the next chapter.