Hello again, hopefully I remember to upload this a reasonable amount of time after the last chapter and not months later. Either which way, see you at the bottom.
The air in Vacuo was as dry and oppressive as it was when they'd stopped on their way to Salem's tower. Whitley had even opted to leave his vest behind, and even Ruby looked like she was regretting bringing her hood. Yang was fine, though that didn't mean she was unaffected by the heat.
"Man, this place sucks! How the hell do people live here?"
Tyrian hummed. "If you mean how literally, the kingdom is built around an oasis. If you mean why, it's most likely because the harsh environment treats Grimm just as poorly as it does people."
That didn't make the sweltering light any less intense. If anything, it actually felt hotter knowing that.
"I hate Vacuo..." Yang grumbled. Gretchen grunted, shielding her eyes from the sun with a hand.
"You and everyone else."
Aside from the muttering about how terrible the desert was, their trek through the sands was quiet, something they were grateful for.
Yang still wasn't done complaining. "Remind me why we didn't land closer to the city?"
"As a matter of fact, we landed as close as we could." Tyrian replied dryly.
"What!?" Yang gestured to the walls of Vacuo, still a fair distance away, "How is this close!?"
"For one, our ship is unregistered. Now this generally has no importance in Vacuo since nobody cares enough to check for such a thing, but after what happened in Vale they've been more stringent about unmarked vessels. Hence why we were forced to land a hundred paces back."
While Yang continued whining and reminding Tyrian why he would never teach again, Whitley turned to the other source of commotion amongst their group.
"Ahem. Ruby?"
Turning to face him, he winced at how red she was. All this heat under that hood was baking her alive.
"Hah... What's the matter...?" She wheezed.
"Perhaps you should... Remove a layer?"
She could barely muster the glare she sent him. Sighing, he decided to address the other elephant in the room.
"Are you still not speaking with your mother?"
She glared harder, turning away with a huff.
"I will only speak to her when absolutely necessary!"
Behind them both, Summer, who had been all but forced to join them by Raven, deflated more. If it hadn't been obvious to Whitley before— which it absolutely had been— Summer was quite proud to be Ruby's mother, and had a deep yearning to be loved as such.
That being said, Ruby had not spoken a word to her since she had come out of Qrow's room looking like a naughty student caught in the act. Summer wasn't taking it well, and Whitley, being the absolute bleeding heart that he was, couldn't stand to see them like this.
"Don't you think you've let her know how disappointed you are yet?"
"No! I don't think I've let her know even a little bit!"
Another whimper from behind had Whitley pinching his temples. "I understand being disappointed in your parents, trust me, but we are here on a mission."
Ruby growled but didn't retort. Whitley took this as a cue to keep going.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He watched her functioning eye drift to look behind them and understood what went unsaid. Falling back a little, he took to walking beside Summer.
"Miss Rose?"
She grimaced and shook her head. "Ugh, ew, no thanks. I'm not your teacher and I'm off the clock. Summer is fine."
Rolling his eyes he started again. "Summer," he amended, "Do you mind giving Ruby and I a moment?"
She looked like she was about to protest so Whitley leaned closer and whispered. "I'm trying to help you, but I need a minute."
She whispered back. "Why?"
For a moment he was back in Atlas, back in the manor, sitting in the gardens and watching the snow stick to the leaves of the perfectly maintained plants. Weiss was next to him smiling as he reached out to grab at any flakes he could catch. In the garden, they didn't have to be perfect. They could just be alive. That is, until mother started getting loud again.
The shouting to come inside and stop wasting their time doing nothing faded away as he realized he was still staring at Summer. He shook his head and cleared his throat of the building tension.
"Ruby is my friend," he said simply, "she was there for me when I had worries about my sister. The least I can do is return it for her mother."
Summer stared at him for a while longer, seeming to see something in his eyes that made her grow solemn. Before he even realized it, she had him in an embrace, full of warmth and love. When she pulled away, she had a smile he knew as motherly but hadn't seen much before in his life. She nodded and pulled ahead to the front, leaving him and Ruby at the back.
Yang looked back and nodded with a thankful smile, making sure to let them get some distance but still remain close by if trouble came knocking.
He sniffed and blinked his eyes clear before rejoining Ruby at her side.
After a minute of silence he spoke again. "So?"
Ruby bit her lip but, honoring the fact that he'd given them privacy, replied.
"How could she go back to him like that?"
Whitley said nothing, instead letting her get it all out first.
"I mean, seriously!? The same man who left you, left your child, and you cave and fall into his arms after five minutes!?"
"It's bad enough that he's a coward who barely has the spine to find a reason for running away, but the fact that he couldn't even hold himself back from coming on to her!? Is he really that heartless!?"
Whitley made no move to calm her down or tell her to lower her voice.
"What about all the nights I found my mom wishing she had someone to be there for her? What about every time Raven, his own sister, had to look her brother's ex wife in the eyes and tell her it'd be okay? What about all the people he's probably let die because he didn't want to risk saving them!? What about—! What about..."
A gunshot echoed and Ruby blinked as Whitley lowered Pistolblume, the barrel smoking as she heard whatever Grimm it was behind her die and fizzle away. She chewed herself out for forgetting that carrying negativity onto the field spelled trouble.
Whitley finally decided to speak.
"What about you, right?"
Ruby said nothing, just stared at the sand as they kicked their way through it. He could see the tears, but he'd refuse to acknowledge them. They were long overdue, he felt.
"You're allowed that selfishness, you know?" He placed a gentle hand on her back. "Nobody is going to fault you for the desire to be wanted."
She shook, and he let her. The sadness would do nothing if it was all stuck inside.
"... You never talk much about your parents, Whitley."
He remained silent at that. It was a deflection, he knew, but he'd humor her. Didn't mean he'd like it. Staring ahead and stubbornly refusing to meet her eyes, he opted instead for the same fake haughtiness he used to tell people he was fine.
"My mother never cared for us and my father is a drunk. We share that at least. You could say I know what I'm talking about."
"O-oh. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have—"
"Nonsense," he cut her off, partly to help himself keep the momentum up by ignoring his own feelings. "You didn't know. Besides, this isn't about me."
"Didn't you say it was okay to be selfish about this kind of thing?"
He scoffed but the twinkle in his eyes told her that he wasn't maddened by it.
"How dare you throw my words at me," he feigned grievance.
She shrugged. "I guess that means they're good words, right?"
He barked a laugh. "Quite so."
Again they were quiet, before Ruby spoke again. "I'm not that mad at her," she said softly, "but I'm just... I dunno..."
"Hurt?"
"Yeah, that works. I'm hurt that she'd do that, after everything she's said about him. I thought she'd be the one to stand up and tell him how much he hurt her, hurt us, but instead she yelled at him for a few minutes before she tried to eat his face!"
"I'm sure she's hurting too. I doubt what happened in that room was because she suddenly realized she still loved him or wanted him back, at least not consciously."
Ruby hummed, and he tried to think of a better way to get her to bridge the gap between her and her mother again.
"I can assure you that Summer would put your everything before his anything," he started with. He heard the little laugh Ruby tried to cover and took it as a sign he was doing well so far.
"Why not ask her? There's nothing saying you can't, right?"
Ruby looked a little grossed out by the thought. He reiterated.
"Not about what they did, about why she did it."
"What if she doesn't even know?"
"Then that's something she's probably already working through. But you can't blame your mom for whatever she's feeling just like she's not blaming you for being upset about it."
His words were blunt but Ruby appreciated that more than dancing around things.
"Ugh, stop that."
He quirked a brow. "Stop what, exactly?"
"Being all..." She waved her hands in a vague gesture around him, "Advicey!"
"... 'Advicey'?" He intoned.
"Yeah! I'm supposed to be giving you advice as sister number two!"
"I already have two sisters."
"Then sister number three!" She nudged him and he couldn't help but smile at both her jest and the return of her enthusiasm. She was as good as family as far as he was concerned.
Her smile grew smaller but still remained.
"Hey Whitley?"
He hummed.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
Upon reaching the walls of Vacuo, one thing became very apparent.
"None shall enter! If you have any formal documentation, step to the left!"
The crowd of merchants trying to gain entry to the city did nothing to block out the declaration, though the wave of complaints afterwards was deafening. Judging by the fact that nobody stepped to the left, this documentation probably didn't exist in the first place.
"They aren't letting people in," Tyrian observed, "Seems we underestimated how alert the kingdom would be following the attack on Vale."
Yang shrugged. "Can't we just climb the wall?"
They all looked up the wall. It was a sheer ninety degrees, rough sandstone with ballistae lining the top, one of which was notably pointing right at them as they stared up at it.
Whitley pursed his lips with a hum. "I don't think that'll work."
Yang nodded. "Yeah, maybe we should just go under instead."
"Do you hear the things you say, or are your ears as dysfunctional as your brain?"
"Don't be a dick."
As the two partners continued to argue, Gretchen grumbled in displeasure. "We'll be detained or killed if we try to break in. Whatever we do, it needs to be quiet."
Summer looked around, her hood covering her eyes as she did. "Vacuo has a water release system. All kingdoms do. If we find it we could break in, as long as nobody minds the smell..."
Tyrian nodded. "Mm. Yes, that's true. They're often considered weak points though and are heavily guarded."
Yang stopped her argument for a moment to chime in. "Well what if they were distracted by something else?"
"Such as?"
She shrugged. "An explosion? Grimm? Me and Gretchen punching the wall really hard?"
Tyrian released a longsuffering sigh. "Good to know we aren't short of options."
Still, it was as good a plan as they had right now. They'd have to wait until nightfall first. It seemed that many of the merchants had no intention of leaving, so rather than go back to wherever they came from, many set up their camps right outside the city gates.
It made for a sprawling bazaar, with caravans and tents everywhere. It was set to grow as well, as people were turned away from the gate, they would instead find a place to park themselves. Such was the art of trade, after all. If there were so many others nearby willing to huck their treasures, who were they not to make the most of it?
Whitley sniffed. "I suppose there's no shortage of distractions while we wait."
"It's like a street market! Only more disgruntled and hot!" Yang chirped. Her partner's groan told her that he cared not for her optimism.
Ruby scanned the surrounding din of merchants and traders, pulling her hood down to shield her eyes from the sun. "We may be able to find something to help us get in through the release system."
"Yeah, like a change of clothes," Yang grimaced, unhappy at the thought of having to trudge through the sewers.
Tyrian hummed lightly, his tail making scores in the sandstone beneath him. "It's not a terrible idea. As long as nobody causes a scene we'll be able to get into the city when the sun sets."
A grumble came from Gretchen. "And the maiden? Getting into the city is all well and good, but without the summer maiden we won't be getting anywhere."
"I have a theory on that but we'll need to see the vault first." Tyrian scrutinized the crowds of merchants, hawking their wares.
"For now though, we'll need to get into the city first. Amble about until we can move."
"This feels entirely impossible," Cinder whispered as they hiked— crouched really— through the Emerald Forest.
"Not to be a downer, but she's kinda right," Ren did not whisper, strolling casually beside where everyone else was hiding.
"Ren," Nora hissed, "get down."
"Ugh, fiiiiine." He fell face forward into the bush across from them, disappearing completely.
Cinder blinked. "Where did he—"
Ren poked his head out of the tree above them. "Let's go already!"
Cinder screamed and nearly set the forest on fire if not for Raven rushing to grab her arms. She stared wide eyed at the ninja, hanging lazily by his legs from a branch above.
"How...?"
Pyrrha gave her a pat on the shoulder. "That's Ren for you. You'll get used to him."
Cinder had her doubts on that.
It had been surprisingly easy to get back into Vale— at least, it had been easy to get back within the borders. Watts had said that most of the Valean forces were still handling the fallout of the attack, and that security was only strict around main access points. Gates, docks, landing zones and the like were being heavily monitored. Apparently the railroads had been shut down completely.
The Emerald forest was't one of these heavily guarded areas. Whether it was because it was dangerous in its own right or that Beacon sat between it and Vale was frankly unimportant. What mattered was that they could make their way through— provided nothing killed them first— and get to the vault holding the relic of choice.
They were in a very secluded section of the forest though. Despite having been in close contact with the forest before, none of the former Beacon affiliates knew where they were. Raven was stumped too, seeing as they had to pass through the more heavily wooded areas to get here. Visibility was poor with the canopy being so dense.
Another issue was that none of them knew where the relic actually was.
"So how are we supposed to find the relic?" Pyrrha asked, ducking under a branch.
Ahead of her, Raven grunted, peering through the trees for any danger. "Oz was always flighty about where he kept the damn thing. Never even told us where the vault was."
A crackle came to all of them, Watts' voice coming through a device he'd given them all.
"If I had to guess, it's either right underneath him, or as far away from Beacon as possible."
"Why are we here then?" Nora held Ren back from leaping out of the bushes again.
"Salem said she had an idea of where Ozpin may have hidden it. Luckily, we don't have to go into Beacon again... Probably."
Raven growled. "Probably?"
"He can't get the relic as it's in the vault, and the only one who can open it is the scarred vixen beside you."
Cinder said nothing, but spat at his words.
"That being said, he could have the place in mind set up for visitors."
So they didn't know for sure if the relic was where they thought it was, and on top of that, Ozpin might be waiting for them so he could crush them and get the Fall Maiden all at once?
Delightful.
"How close are we?" Pyrrha changed the subject so as not to bring morale even lower.
"You're there now, actually. There should be a clearing nearby."
Sure enough, the trees began to thin. Ruins similar to the ones that could be found around the forest were just as present. And ahead of them was something strange.
A small cabin, normal looking if not in somewhat poor shape. Moss covered the walls and the wood was faded and rotting in some places. Still, the structure stood as sturdy as any home, though none could see past the windows.
Ren tilted bodily. "A cabin?"
"It seems familiar..." Pyrrha squinted at it. Moments passed before it dawned on her.
"Isn't that—"
"Salem and Ozma's old home? Wonderfully deduced, girl."
This thing had been standing for millennia. It dated back to a time before recorded history. That it still stood was nothing short of a miracle!
Ren gasped dramatically. "Wait, if this is Salem's old house, then are all these ruins her kingdom!?"
"Something of that ilk, I would surmise. Alas, as much as I'd love to conduct an archaeological scan of the area, that's not what we're here for."
For once, Watts' history lessons didn't sound too boring. This was something straight out of a fairytale.
Nora didn't approach the cabin yet, eying it and the surrounding area wearily. "So we just... Go in?"
"I'm not picking up on anything else in the area, though the flora density is making things a little hard to read. Approach with caution and do try not to die, hm?"
"Thank you ever so much for the words of encouragement, doctor." Cinder drawled, moving in behind Raven.
Raven eyed the windows first. They were incredibly dusty. She tried wiping them, but even when the thick layer was clear, the interior remained completely hidden.
"Here goes nothing..." Raven reached for the handle and pushed.
It didn't budge.
Grunting, she pushed a little harder. It didn't even shake, not even a creak or rattle, it didn't move a single millimeter. She even gave it a kick, followed by a slash with Omen. Not even a scratch.
Ren booed. "Well that was anticlimactic."
Raven glared at the door before shaking her head and turning around. "Anyone got any ideas?"
Pyrrha raised a hand.
"Did you try pulling instead?"
Raven glared fiercely but reached behind her and yanked the door. It still didn't move.
"Ehehe... Worth a shot?"
Ren jumped up and down. "Oh oh! Nora could try hitting it really hard!"
As good a plan as any they had right now. Nora sighed but hefted Mjolnhild up. Gripping it, she flicked the switch that powered it up, feeling the electricity flow into her muscles. With a grunt of effort she spun and slammed the hammer into the door.
The clearing shook and trees rattled, birds flying away from a distance. The sound was deafening as well, and yet there was still no movement.
"Heavens above, I heard that from here!"
Raven hissed, leaning into her earpiece. "Okay that didn't work and there's no way nobody at Beacon heard that. We need to hurry here."
"Has Cinder tried burning it?"
Raven looked at Cinder and jerked her head at the door. Rolling her eyes the scarred woman blasted the door with fire. After ten straight seconds of concentrated fire, the door didn't even have a scorch mark on it.
"No dice."
"That is alarming. I haven't picked up on any movement yet, but that's liable to change."
Ren let out a battle cry and jumped at the door, pulling and pushing it. When that failed, he tried lobbing a hefty rock through the window, but it bounced off and nearly crushed his toe.
He huffed in exhaustion. "Whatever carpenter made this cabin needs a raise!"
Cinder rolled her eyes and went to try the door as well.
To everyone's surprise, it opened as smoothly as any door in the world.
Raven scowled. "What."
"What's happened?"
Raven growled. "Bitch opened the door."
Cinder rolled her eyes, closing it and opening it again. "I don't see a problem."
"And that likely means that we've found the vault."
They all collectively let out a sound of realization. Door that couldn't be opened by anyone in their group except the one that just so happened to be the Fall Maiden? That checked out.
"Well what's inside!?" Ren bounded over to peek through. Nora tried to grab him.
"Ren, wait it could be dan—"
Ren stomped a foot irritably. "It's just a dusty cabin!"
They all looked in behind him. It was, in fact, a very mundane looking cabin. A fireplace sat against the wall on the far side, a table and two chairs in the middle of the room. There was a hearth as well, and a metal tub in the corner, likely for washing clothes.
No sign that anything they'd done to the outside showed within. If what Nora had done did no damage to the inside, there was no doubting the validity of the cabin being the vault.
Pyrrha stared inside wearily. "Weird..."
Seeing no reason to dawdle, especially with the knowledge that they very likely could be on a time limit, Cinder stepped inside, the rest following after. The door closed behind them, startling Pyrrha who came in last.
"So Watts, where would we find this relic? And what does it look like?"
They all waited a moment to hear back. When they didn't they grew worried.
"Watts?"
There was still no reply. Had he been attacked? There wasn't even any static on the other end. It was completely silent.
Actually, now that they were all taking it in, the whole cabin was completely devoid of ambient sound. As if there was nothing in existence here.
"Okay, that's not creepy..." Ren mumbled.
Realizing they were on their own and hoping nothing had happened to Watts, they all started looking around.
Pyrrha picked up a strange looking statuette of some creature she'd never seen. "Man some of this stuff is crazy looking..."
"And we have no idea what the relic of choice looks like?" Nora asked, scrutinizing an ornate painting as she spoke.
"A crown, I believe," Cinder hummed, looking on the mantle of the fireplace, "Although I'm not sure what that would look like."
A choked gasp came from Ren and they all turned his way. He was standing shocked and pale in front of another door in the corner.
Nora was already moving his way. "Ren!? What's wrong!?"
"Y-you said a crown... Right?"
Cinder paused in confusion. "Yes...?"
Ren gulped. "That's what I was afraid of."
They all finally reached him and their jaws dropped. For one, the room on the other side of the door was massive, like a cavern it extended deep and reached high. Such a thing should have been visible from outside. That wasn't as concerning as the other thing about the room.
It was absolutely filled from floor to ceiling with different crowns.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Raven shook as she realized what they were looking at, "How the hell are we supposed to find the relic in here!?"
Forget finding a needle in a haystack. This was like finding one specific needle in a needle stack.
"Could we just... Take all of them?" Pyrrha asked.
Judging by the sheer number, not to mention the size of the room? Raven doubted it. "I don't think we'd live long enough to."
"What if we just destroyed them all?" Nora asked. "Aren't the relics invincible? If we carved up the room the only one left would be the real one, right?"
A hiss from Cinder off to the left had them jump, turning to what had caught her attention. "That's assuming the real one is even in here. Look."
She stood beside another open door beside the first one. Nevermind the fact that they would have seen two doors from the other side in the cabin, but behind the second door was another room filled with more crowns.
"We're gonna die here," Raven muttered.
Pyrrha scratched her head. "Maybe... This is a test?"
Cinder shot her a look that screamed 'explain'.
"Well, if this is the relic of choice, then it'd make sense if we had to make a... Well, choice, right?"
That did make sense. Unfortunately, that still left them at a one in who-fucking-knew-how-many odds.
Ren grabbed at his hair and groaned. "I hate tests! I'm picking this one!"
He snatched the first crown he could; an intricately crafted circlet made of a shiny white metal that glowed ethereally.
"There, choice made!"
The circlet then promptly crumbled to dust in Ren's hands.
"... I hate this place."
Nora scanned the rooms over, lips pursed as she took it all in. "There has to be some way to decipher the right one..."
"Maybe the most ornate?" Pyrrha suggested.
Cinder hummed. "Or maybe the opposite? Perhaps the most humble is the right one?"
Raven, however, didn't care for either of these ideas. "I'm not doing this. Nora, we're going with your plan."
Nora just nodded, turned, and with a flick of a switch and one mechashift later, had a laser pointed out into the room.
"You guys might wanna stand back. This will be loud."
Not taking any chances after what they'd seen outside, they all retreated behind the door.
Not a second later did Nora unleash hell on the room. From corner to corner, the room was slowly but surely decimated. When she was done, the room was far less shiny and far more dusty.
"Well I guess that narrows down this room." Raven sighed. She elbowed Cinder. "Okay your turn. Go torch the other room."
"This feels sacrilegious."
"Don't care. Get burning."
And so Cinder went and melted the contents of the other room down too. When all the smoke settled, the room was nothing but slag.
Ren squinted as he looked into each room. "Okay I'm not seeing any crowns."
Cinder huffed, tired from using so much power. "See? Not in either one."
Raven brushed her off. "Well it's gotta be in here somewhere!"
Kicking a pile of crown-dust in frustration, Raven crossed her arms and tried to think of a solution to their issue.
Nora rubbed her head. "Maybe it isn't a crown?"
"Why else would there be two equally sizable rooms filled to the brim with crowns?" Cinder growled, still looking around for the true relic.
Ren sided with Nora. "Well maybe it's meant to make us think we're looking for a crown when I'm reality we're not!"
Raven let loose a shout and punched the wall. "This is going nowhere!"
Cinder rolled her eyes, blowing and floating ash away with a gust of wind. "As we've established."
"Well I for one think you're all doing a fantastic job."
Whipping around, weapons and magic at the ready, the group faced down the unknown voice. It was deep and wise, but there was an unmistakable mischief contained within it as well.
Electric blue skin and navy hair that was roguish and sharp, coming down and forming a scruffy beard. Gold finery adorned the figure everywhere, bracers of gold going up their forearms and bands across their chest. Several necklaces and chains hung from their neck and hanging from one ear was a large hooped earring, all gold as well. Even one of their eyes was gold, glimmering brightly as it gazed upon them. Their chest was wide and shoulders broad, and they exuded an air of authority.
Oh, and also they were very naked. Thankfully they seemed to lack genitalia, but that only served to make things slightly less awkward.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" Ren screamed, not at all expecting the strange humanoid.
"That would most likely be the spirit of choice." Cinder lowered her weapon slightly, though stayed on guard.
"Correct you are," the spirit said, "I must say, this is quite an interesting party..."
Raven hadn't lowered her weapon, even leveling the blade at the spirits head. "Wasn't the relic of knowledge the one with the spirit inside?"
Cinder sighed. "All the relics have a spirit contained within apparently. Salem is just most fond of the spirit of knowledge."
The spirit hummed in amusement. "Ah, Jinn, my sister spirit. Ever the difficult one— no questions and all that. I assure you that I'm far easier to speak with."
Pyrrha swallowed her trepidation and stepped forward. "And who are we speaking with?"
The spirit came closer and they all took a step back. He laughed. "So nervous! I promise I won't bite!"
"Your name, spirit." Raven demanded.
He sighed and brushed imaginary dust from himself before bowing languidly, his mismatched eyes never straying from them.
"Merlin, the spirit of choice, at your service."
And scene.
I'm happy to say we're getting close to the end of this story. I don't plan to incorporate any of volume nine as this story was planned out well before its release. Since this story already heavily diverts from canon-typical events anyways, that doesn't really matter.
Either way, stay safe out there and have a wonderful time.