"Are you certain?"
"Sorry Weiss, but I've left them long enough. Besides, what type of leader makes a habit of abandoning his team?" Sun was doing his best to sound upbeat, but it was clear to me he wasn't happy with the situation.
Morning came with little fanfare, and I couldn't blame everyone for the unease seemingly infecting their thoughts, as everything had just been dropped into the open last night so suddenly. While the others may have been conflicted with the current turn of events, I myself was relieved at the change of pace. I'd spent so much time plotting on how to handle Adam that the simple idea of moving to a safer location was almost luxurious. The others had still been rattled upon the reveal that Ozpin and Oscar shared a body, and even more so when the boy admitted that he had no relation to any of the academy hunters period, that had just been an excuse.
Oscar's fib was the least of our worries however. The idea was to get the Relic to a safe place, and then we would figure out how to tackle the topic of Salem. While I understood the reasoning behind the headmaster's choice to frame her as a concrete evil, that didn't mean I entirely agreed. That idea itself would make explaining her exploitation later on much more difficult that I felt it needed to be. However unlike myself Salem and him were divine, and if she was being manipulated period then that spoke of the threat we faced.
I could only hope whatever plan the headmaster had in mind was effective enough to make facing her less treacherous, as I'd seen firsthand before just how much power was at the queen's fingertips.
"Can't you stick around a little longer?" Weiss tried. "At least until we get to Atlas?"
"No can do. Atlas isn't well known for it's tolerance of Faunus to begin with, but with how hectic the Fang has been I don't want to cause any of you trouble."
"Blake is a Faunus, and V is a walking advertisement for them." Weiss argued as Sun sighed.
"Yeah, but she's part of your team, I don't get that excuse, and V is already known by the general right? He shouldn't have any trouble even if he gets arrested or something, but I can't say the same for myself." Sun seemed genuinely dejected, and in all honesty I did pity him. Regardless I held back a sigh as Weiss seemed to admit to that truth.
"I suppose." She paused for a second, before quickly popping up. It was a small little hop, and had I not been focused on them the crowd would have washed away the small hint of surprise on the boy's face, and the redness across his cheeks.
"What... just happened." Sun let out, seemingly lost as Weiss turned back with the apparent intent to return to our meeting place just before the train.
"That was just a thanks, for having my back since Beacon. You were the first to really consider how I felt around Faunus without just calling me cruel, you listened when I spoke... and you helped open my eyes and see the truth. I'm certain we'll see each other again anyway, so don't think of this too much." Her voice remained calm, but with a questionable amount of strain underneath. She clearly wasn't used to doing something so direct, and internally I applauded the girl for making her move.
"Uh, yeah. Sure thing." Sun had this cheeky sort of smile, borderline teasing really. "When we meet up again I'll return the favor. Catch you later, and keep a cool head, even if things seem hopeless. You'll make it through, I know you will."
I watched as he felt his cheek, and with how Weiss walked so quickly, shying away from everyone else, it hadn't been too hard to guess what that 'thanks' was. I was proud of them, they didn't let everything so far tear their hopes apart, and at some point found the will to return to their personal duties. I had no doubt Sun wanted to stay, that guy had always lent Weiss his hand whenever she needed it, but he had a team to return to. He trusted Weiss to take care, and she believed in him. It was a sight to see...
Even if I felt awkward at having unintentionally spied on it all.
I'd wanted to collect everyone like Ozpin told me to, as our train was scheduled to leave soon. However Weiss and Sun were in the middle of a moment, and I didn't have the heart to break it up. Considering I stood some distance away in the crowd, resting and awaiting the departure, I didn't really know what to really do. Weiss looked to be headed back anyway, so I decided to go look for the others instead.
I saw Blake down the stairs, and from above I could see her sat with Ilia near a coffee stall.
"What do you plan to do back home?" Blake asked as she took a small sip from the steaming cup.
"Once we get the others settled back in I'm hoping to get the old White Fang situated again." Ilia told as she rested her back against the chair. They were situated at one of the five tables around the stall, with each hosting two seats. "We won't be using that name though."
"Too much bad press." Blake spoke, her tone betraying something less pleasing about the thought. "Considering all the harm they've done I don't think many will be receptive to the idea, even if you go about it peacefully."
"I know, but that doesn't mean we can't try. After the whole fiasco with Adam and Sienna I'm almost certain Ghira and Kali will want to do something about it all."
"You think my parents will lead a new group then?" Blake asked, only for Ilia to shake her head.
"Not quite. Sure they agreed to let us go through with V's crazy plan, but I don't believe they have the energy for any more adventures. I'm thinking they'll choose someone else to lead the new group while they endorse us from the background." Ilia looked to tense. "Besides, there are still other members of the Fang still running amok."
"They won't like it if you branch out."
"I know, but we can't let them cause any more trouble." Ilia hunched over. "The Fang have already given Faunus as a whole a bad rep; I intend to change that, without violence."
"Really?" Blake sounded a little conflicted, but that changed as she chuckled. "When did you grow so bold?"
"I had a little help from a friend." Ilia said, and Blake leaned away in content.
"They sound like a good friend, do I know them?" She asked, only for Ilia to chuckle.
"I don't even think they know themselves. They tend to be hyper focused with their own troubles, so much that they can't even see when those closest to them have deeper feelings."
"Sounds like they have much to learn." Blake offered as Ilia finally relaxed completely.
"I'm certain they'll figure out one day." Ilia stood as she finished her coffee. "It's time I get the others ready. We have quite the trip ahead, especially now that I need to keep an eye on Gold. But he's agreed to help watch over the others on the way to Menagerie." Ilia chuckled. "Can't wait to see how he reacts to Magenta being tied up; Lapis is going to need to help with the explaining. Come visit sometime, okay?"
"Sure thing." Blake said as Ilia started away, only for her to call out one more time. "Hold on, you didn't tell me who that friend was." Ilia only chuckled as she walked off, leaving a slightly confused cat-girl behind.
Blake had always seemed to be the observant one when it came to any matters involving Faunus or the White Fang, but to see her miss such obvious hints as the ones Ilia had thrown out truly highlighted just how clueless the girl was in other aspects.
So much focus on the world around us that you miss the little things effecting you.
That was something I hoped would change eventually as she matured more, and yet for some reason I also wanted her to stay the same. Ignorance was bliss as they say; something I knew personally. However time kept moving forward, and I knew someday the group would all overcome their little quirks.
"Ow!"
Well... most of them anyway. I wandered down the steps and through the crowd towards the source of the sound, and much to my own amusement I saw Ruby plumped on her backside, hand on her head just before a young man who was being helped by his friends.
"Sorry!" She tried, only for the trio to guys to leave in a huff.
"Watch where you're going." Was the only thing said as they merged back into the waves of people, and I saw Ruby stand with both a sigh as well as a noticeable amount of embarrassment. With that I decided to check up on her, and I made my way over.
"You alright?" I asked, which caused the girl to jump.
"H-huh!" She zipped around, only to stop and let out a quick breath as her eyes met with mine. "V, It's just you. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
"And you should keep a better focus on your surroundings." I countered, and watched as her face turned red.
"I couldn't help it. You guys said you'd wait up, but none of you were at the meeting place; except for Oscar. He was nice and actually waited." She accused, which in all honesty was completely true.
"The others wanted to say a few goodbyes." I told as my arms crossed. "After they left I waited for a bit before going to find them."
"Did you?" She asked as her look of accusation faded into mild curiosity.
"Yeah, they're on their way back from what I saw. Why don't we go meet with them." I offered as she looked to swap between several faces, none of which I could assign any particular emotion towards. Ruby seemed to still be a bit upset, but had a hard time deciding on whether to hold it as a grudge or just let it go.
"Okay, alright, let's go see them then." Ruby turned away. "But they better be there, or so help me."
"They'll be there." I told, hoping that the solid statement would ease her off the warpath.
One thing I began to realize was that Ruby had a nasty habit for getting quickly riled up over the smallest of things. Back at Beacon it hadn't been on display much, but seeing her now I noticed that she never really got upset when fighting Grimm, and yet yesterday when we ate she sent dirty looks to her sister after the woman had taken the last of the baked cookies. Yang even went through the trouble of working with Jaune to bake a few more, but that only quelled the younger sister's ire slightly. Ruby had a petty side to her, and for some reason it made me laugh on the inside.
However it was never to this degree before, and that had me worried. The others were in for a verbal beating if they didn't catch her mood quickly. If they were smart they'd get on the train before she crashed her own.
I noticed Qrow off in the distance, and after a second he looked my way. I waved to him, and with a casual sway he walked over to meet us.
"Hey kids, ready to go?" He asked with a laid back tone, only for him to back up a little as Ruby shot a look his way. "Easy there, I didn't do anything." Ruby kept her eye on him for a bit before continuing onward towards our target. Qrow leaned over and whispered to me, after we let Ruby get a small distance ahead first. "What's got her so riled up?"
"Nobody was at the spot when she arrived." I told, and he made a silent 'oh' as he watched her march ahead. I hadn't been with the others lately, and so saw fit to fire a question his way. "Has she been this easily upset? She seemed calmer back at Beacon."
"Beacon was new and scary. Yang told me of how Ruby felt out of place at first, and later on relaxed with the others. Usually she only gets like this when someone hurts or insults her weapon." Qrow told, his face bearing a mix of worry and focus as he talked. "I don't know what's going on in her head, but whatever it is something must have clicked with her recently."
"Might it have anything to do with the raid on Haven?" I questioned, wondering if she might have seen something which caused her recent bout of anger.
"Who knows. Besides you remember how she reacted when she saw Oobleck."
I did, and it wasn't nice. He had been beaten up badly, but still he was alive. Strangely enough Gold wouldn't let anyone near him, and when asked why he stayed silent. I tried to get the others to talk but they'd told me that it was something either Gold or the doctor would need to tell us about.
Something happened in Haven, and whatever it was seemed bad enough to the point where they felt uncomfortable speaking about. I eventually dropped the topic, and decided to let them decide when they felt comfortable talking. All I managed to gather was that Gold offered to care for Dr. Oobleck himself, and weirdly enough both were headed to Menagerie. I didn't like the idea of the two being alone there, but Ilia was going too, so I decided to just hope they could work things out.
We made it to the meeting spot, and Ruby still looked agitated. Before anyone could say anything however a loud announcement came over the lobby telling us to board for Argus. With that near perfect timing we were spared from Ruby's wrath as everyone boarded the train.
Ruby's face however remained agitated.
.
.
Ruby didn't quite know what to do.
Looking over she could see Yang and Blake a few seats up, with her sister looking to almost fall asleep and tumble out into the isle. She didn't quite know what Blake was up to, but whatever it was apparently didn't bother her sister who slept soundly. Ruby stifled her own yawn, not wanting to show how drained she was. She hadn't slept well last night, and it very clearly showed the moment they boarded the train.
Stupid stupid stupid! She berated herself heavily at having nearly snapped at the others for not been at the meeting place. In hindsight it was dumb really as they only needed to be there to board the train. There was no rule against doing other things while they waited, but she had felt so betrayed anyway when she arrived with nobody but Oscar to greet her.
Ruby blamed the nightmare.
Stupid dreams making me feel bad. It had been... quite a while since she'd had a proper nightmare, one bad enough to wake her up that was. Ruby was used to a few bad dreams here and there, but the one last night, now that was something awful.
At first she thought it might have been the stress from everything that happened recently, or maybe it was the sudden flow of emotion when she saw her seemingly resurrected friend, but whatever it was caused her to wake so quickly that it even got Pyrrha up. The two had been sharing a space due to how small the room was; they even rented another two rooms for everyone who came along with V, to both save money and to ensure the inn wouldn't be rented out entirely by their group alone.
Pyrrha had asked Ruby if she was alright, to which she had lied and told her friend that she only needed to use the washroom. While that itself wasn't entirely true Ruby took a trip to the washroom anyways, if nothing then to at least clear her head. The dream had appeared normal at first, with her walking along a path. She had been dressed in her usual combat attire, albeit with a much dirtier cloak. For a bit the dream had looked normal, that was until she noticed the route she was taking.
Instantly images of her mother flashed in her mind, and a small sadness filled her. The path had lead to a little cliffside, which in turn was the resting place of her departed mother. Ruby visited her mom often, if nothing more than to just say hi and tell of recent events. Some might have seen such behavior as weird or pitiful, but Ruby herself always felt a sense of peace when speaking with her mother. It was a bittersweet comfort, and one that, at points, had helped her through tough times in her life. In her dream she felt the same comfort when she stepped past the treeline and onto the cliff where her mother's memorial rested.
Alongside several others.
Eight gravestones uniform in placement rested equally before her mother's, which had another next to it. In her dream she thought nothing of it, as if all those graves had always been there. Four on the right, four on the left, and her mother's ahead with one to it's right. As Ruby passed between the rows she identified the plaques. Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Qrow lined the row to her left. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren lined the row to her right. These left only two stones ahead, and Ruby bent down to observe the two. Her mother's lay on the left, just as well kept as ever.
Her father's was to the right.
The dream had faded with that, and it was only looking at herself in the mirror did Ruby truly let any emotion show. She didn't make any loud noises, just silently cried as she leaned over the sink doing her best to ease up on her breathing. Ruby told herself over and over that it was only a dream, and that her friends were perfectly fine.
Why did it feel so real? The question popped in her mind again, and Ruby shuffled it away. She had gotten all those emotions out last night, and even if she was frightened it was still a dream. Even so she still found herself irritated, and while nobody else had said anything she could tell they all noticed her mood.
"Hey, Ruby." She turned back to Pyrrha who was seated next to her. The girl sounded unsure of herself as she spoke, and Ruby did her best to hide the tiredness she felt as Pyrrha carried on. "Are you doing alright?"
"Yeah." She lied. "Why?"
"You seemed upset all morning. Did... did something happen last night?" It was an innocent question, but Ruby didn't know whether she wanted to answer it or not.
"Just a dream." She didn't feel like brushing the question off, but she also didn't want her mind to keep that train of thought open too much more. Above all else Ruby just wanted to sleep, something Pyrrha appeared to realize.
"Oh, okay." She paused for a bit, and Ruby noticed how her voice lowered. "Well, if you feel need to talk about it, I'm always here."
Ruby stayed silent, and heard Pyrrha sigh in seeming defeat. She didn't want to be rude to her friend, but in all honesty she didn't know how to respond to that. For some reason she just felt so awkward at Pyrrha's statement, and Ruby had never been good with mushy things like that. It was easy to tell Pyrrha was worried, but Ruby just felt strange towards the idea of talking about personal problems with anyone other than family.
She did have those talks from time to time, but that didn't make them any less awkward. Things were made especially uncomfortable due to the fact that it was Pyrrha offering to talk. The whole breakdown with V yesterday made it a little understandable... although Ruby supposed it was less of a breakdown and more of a release. Pyrrha admitted to having dreams of a sort about things that 'should' and 'shouldn't' be. It was unnerving, but more than anything opened her eyes to her own lack of focus.
And now she herself was having weird dreams.
Part of her wondered whether it was the same as Pyrrha, or if it was just a fluke caused by everything dropped on them yesterday.
Magic. That had been the main takeaway from their lecture, and the one thing that seemed to set everything off. Sure uncle Qrow had filled them in way earlier, but the way Weiss made it sound just... 'tickled' something in her mind. Weiss had talked about how aura and everything else was studied and kept track of across all of history, which in turn caused Ruby to wonder one simple question.
Did magic have a history?
It had to... right? Ruby's mind twisted about trying to decide on whether the thought itself made sense or not. Everything had books and roots in history, so if magic was real then wouldn't it be the same? But magic was only ever told of in legends and fantasy stories. Did that mean fantasy books were just history books for magic? It wouldn't be all of them though, as most of her favorite fantasy stories were written by people she'd see talked about on the news or in shops. History books for magic would need to be really old then, back when it was known by everyone. But that made Ruby wonder how they would separate fake magic stories from real magic study.
That twist of confusion gave her a newly earned headache, and with the lack of sleep it was only exasperated. Ruby decided to quit the confusing magic questions for now, as it would probably be a better idea to wait until they got to Atlas and just ask the headmaster then.
With nothing better to do Ruby opted to try and get some sleep during the ride, and hoped her dreams would be peaceful.
.
.
"Get up!" The lash of the whip tore across his back, and with what minimal strength he could the order was obeyed. "Finally, it listens. Now move, your shift is over."
With a limp in his step the boy did as commanded, his little legs carrying him towards the line of other slaves. The pain ached for a while, but it was nothing compared to the raw resentment he felt towards his captors.
"You okay Adam?" The boy looked up to the one ahead, and with a small hum nodded. "Try to keep your head low, okay?"
Adam nodded again silently, albeit with much more subtlety. He hated everyone, and everything that wandered into their decrepit hole, but even so he knew to never react. His friend told him to keep his head low, meaning that their 'owners' were present today. This was proven true when they started forward, and the guard doubled in numbers. A small smile crossed his lips at the knowledge that they were seen as such a threat, even if they were in chains.
He felt a solid grip on his arm, and was flung into his cell.
Adam did nothing but let a low growl pass through his lips, to which the guard slapped him.
"No noise today dog, we've got important visitors. You will keep quiet this time, or do you want to wear the muzzle again?" Adam said nothing. "Good."
Once his collar was chained to the wall the man left, and Adam was left to seethe in anger. The hailed owner, and the man who would look down on all of his 'stock' with his steel gaze, was none other than Jacques Schnee. Occasionally Adam would see the man above on the walkways of their particular 'pit' and wonder just what he was thinking. Why did Jacques hate their kind, and what did he have planned for their stupid little hole? They weren't hauling much Dust anymore, so what was the reason?
"He'll do." The voice awoke Adam from his tumbling psyche, and he felt hands on him as he was forcefully removed from his place. The boy looked up towards the group, who placed a leash along his collar.
"You sure? Kind of scrawny looking."
"Yeah, he has the least visible damage."
"Fine." The two stopped their chat as the one behind made a whistle.
"He'll need to cover his back though, somebody had fun today."
"Right."
Adam didn't know where he was going, but considering how the men talked he knew it wasn't normal. They had been sensible towards him, indifferent even, and Adam didn't trust a second of it. The they were hiding something, but not for long as he was directed into a door offshoot of the hall, and up a stairwell. At the top everything was much cleaner, with stark white walls, and even a blue carpet. That carpet was the first splotch of real colour that Adam had seen in over two years that didn't come from Dust, and had him wonder if he was dreaming.
The rough grip on him reminded the boy of the current reality of everything, and he was forced into a room. A tile pattern coated the walls and floor, with several wash faucets above, which were quite a bit less rusty that what he was used to.
"Hold still."
Adam did so quietly, and was forcefully introduced to a thorough cleaning. Warm water blazed across his skin, and he was scrubbed with cloth and sponge alike. Gunk and muck were peeled from him as the cleaning carried on, and Adam was even more suspicious than ever. They were never usually allowed to clean well, only being granted access to the shower pit when the smell got so bad.
What had changed?
When the process was finished he was toweled dry, and they pulled him though a different door. The new room was heavily furnished, and he saw several other older Faunus, who all wore clean looking suits.
"Go on." Adam was pushed in, to which one of the men caught and steadied him. Adam looked up in confusion as his captor clapped. "Now the rest of you should already know the drill, but inspection's coming soon. Get the kid dressed and filled in. Remember, your rations depend on how things go."
With that the man left, and Adam was subsequently 'filled in' and dressed. Apparently the mine was being given an inspection, and said inspectors were starting to get a lot more brazen with their scrutiny. Remnant was going through a 'transitional period' as it were, and the mines were being looked into. Due to this Adam had been chosen as a 'son' to one of the older men in the room, who was visiting his father.
It was a complete lie, but what other choice did he have?
Adam didn't understand why they did this, he didn't know nor care about the trick being played, or the minds of the ones having him act in this cruel play. All Adam cared about was staying alive, and so he obeyed and allowed himself to be dressed. They told him to not talk, and only to answer with nods if spoken to.
Soon enough the guards returned and escorted them into the halls again, where they were rounded into another more decorated room. There was an array of people inside, and Adam followed along as they were led by the guards. Worst of all Adam saw him, the man of all their troubles.
"Apologies for the delay Mr. Schnee, we had a little visitor earlier." The guard looked over to him, at which point Adam leaned in closer to the man who's hand he held. The older Faunus shuffled him behind a bit as Jacques hummed.
"A visitor?" The putrid man spoke, and the older Faunus looked to nod.
"My son sir. He wished to see me at work."
"Is it not dangerous." A woman in the distance asked. "The child is so small."
"Do not fret my friends." Jacques addressed with a false smile, one that made Adam's stomach roll. "Visitors are never permitted in the mines without proper supervision." Adam saw him looked to the guard. "I assume you kept him close."
"Of course sir, we were with him the whole time." The smile given made the boy feel hopeless. "A shy one, but with a smile to melt hearts."
While the adults continued to exchange pleasantries Adam looked away, feeling unable to hold back his tears if he watched any longer. It was as he looked down that he noticed the little girl looking up to him. She stood just below his chest, and her bright eyes peaked his curiosity.
The child was Human, and yet her eyes held no hatred for him. She looked at him with neither anger or disgust, only a small curiosity as she reached up. Adam didn't know what she was reaching for, that was until he ducked down and her hand wrapped around one of his horns.
"Weiss!" A woman rushed up, her hair just as white. She scooped up the girl, and in turn the child's grip on his horn was lost. The woman looked to his 'father' with a bit of frantic air. Strangely enough her eyes also lacked that signature hate which Humans often had. This again confused Adam. "I'm so sorry about her."
"No worries there." The man assured.
Adam however didn't care about the small commotion as his mind was locked on other things.
'Weiss?'
.
.
The shaking of the car woke him, and Adam stretched a bit as he stood. He rolled the stiffness from his shoulders as he felt the bump again. For a bit he felt annoyed with the current situation, but never the less decided to just move along with it.
Being infamous didn't exactly afford him much luxury, so the storage car would have to be enough.
Haven hadn't quite gone to plan, and thanks to that fiasco he was forced to make a quick getaway. Luckily for him he'd just managed to catch a ride on a quickly departing train, the last one of that particular night as a matter of fact. The whole morning had been relatively calm, as few had reason to enter these particular cars before arriving, and he had been left with nothing to do but wait.
Another one of her. He didn't quite like those particular memories, but considering the circumstances he didn't feel like they haunted him out of nowhere. He'd missed his chance, and while he wasn't too thrilled with that the encounter had also opened his eyes. It was during those memories that he made his grand escape, and if the recent trend of dreams were to continue then it seemed he would be able to witness that grand affair once more.
The car shook again, and Adam made his way to the side. Opening it up he took in the fresh chilly air, a stark difference to the calm air from the car. The storage compartment didn't have it's own heating, but closing the door was often enough to keep the cold at bay. Adam didn't want any warmth though, he'd had plenty enough to keep him docile. losing to V had opened his eyes to something new.
He was getting soft.
He'd been so complacent in his recent victories that he never even considered the possibility of failure, that was until it was thrust brazenly in his face, dangling ever so cheekily before him.
You've gotten better, all of you. Vermillion, Blake, Weiss, all of them had changed from the times he'd spent around them. Blake had grown bold and willing, V honed his skills and patience, and Weiss had forged a focus so pinpoint he'd believe even snipers could not match. Together the three of them proved not only difficult to match, but near unstoppable; it reminded Adam of his sole stance against Remnant's injustice. Even if they opposed him, that didn't mean Adam could allow them to stand in his way.
He would free the Faunus of Remnant, and he would keep his promise to Weiss.
The world would be cut loose from Jacques.
.
.
"Hey Lapis." Magenta asked, her arms still bound in rope. "Can you get me some more water, my throat is getting dry.
"Sure thing." The man left to get said water, at which point Magenta tried struggling again. Once more she had no luck, and with a sigh she allowed her thoughts to consume her.
The others had kept her fed and cared for, but still they didn't trust her. She didn't want their trust either, especially after everything that happened. Sienna was dead because of her, something she never wanted to truly happen. It had always been a possibility, but never one she expected to actually come true.
A sigh escaped her; a sound of acceptance for her current predicament. This was her punishment, and she would live with it.
"Here." Lapis spoke, thrusting the glass of water before her. He wore a sort of smile, and in the light Magenta couldn't help but notice how... off-putting it seemed. It must have been a trick of the light she reasoned, as Lapis sounded friendly still. He'd spoken of how he didn't blame her entirely for Sienna's death, and while she didn't agree with his choice she still appreciated how kind he was. His semblance had been rather cool back during the battle, especially with how he fought.
He'd never been able to gravitate between people before.
"Thanks." She gave, and he slowly tilted it. At least that was one thing she could count on.
Lapis was always there for her, and his smile warmed her heart.
"Do you think Gold will come home soon?" Magenta raised a brow at that, yet as he pulled away she made a guess.
"I don't know, maybe. Why?"
"Oh nothing, I just want to talk with him again." Lapis turned away, and for some reason Magenta felt uneasy. "It's been so long since we've been together."
Author's note
...
Hey there, another long chapter again.
Wild things going on this time, with Ruby suffering from the dreams, and even Adam getting his own trip down memory lane. What could be causing Ruby's nightmares, and just what will come from Oobleck and Gold? You'll need to wait and see.
Bet most of you forgot about Lapis, huh? Everyone was so predetermined with their own personal battles and the relic that it seems they never properly talked about what went on. Many of you may be wondering 'wat?' but I ain't explaining. You'll just have to keep your guard up.
That's it for now, catch you later.