A/N: Morning one and all, and welcome back to Ben 10 RWBY! And whaddya know, this chapter we actually HAVE the title characters making their reappearance! Shocking, I know. But as advertised, we also have the new Forever King's identity being revealed… and I've got a feeling you guys will be in for a surprise as to who it really is. With that said, let's not delay any further. This is…
Chapter 34: Return of the King
…..
"Woo! Hello Bellwood!"
Ben couldn't help but smile at Ruby's happy chant. Mexico was awesome, for sure, but it was still nice to actually be back home. After being trapped in an alternate dimension for almost a month, he had decided that he'd never take Bellwood for granted again, even if the place was so familiar to him. Still, even then, he couldn't deny that Mexico had been a blast. In the course of a single Saturday, he and his friends had met THREE gods, with him and Rex having fought one… while the other had kicked the collective butts of their enemies. Truly, it had been a goal-filled Saturday.
And while their planned relaxation and sightseeing on Sunday didn't go to plan, it was still fun to take down Animo and his mutant ant farm. Reminded him a lot of the good old days. Plus, he got to do it with his girlfriend, too, along with Rook, Manny, Helen and Neptune, of course. "Hehe, glad to be home, Ruby?" Ben asked.
"You betcha!" Ruby jumped out of her seat, her silver eyes gleaming excitedly. "I can't WAIT to tell everyone about what we've been through." She reached down and pulled out a bag, one filled with many different knick-knacks and baubles. "Plus, I made sure to get everyone souvenirs!"
In a nearby seat, Weiss' eyes widened. "Ruby! How many things did you buy?!"
"One thing for everyone, actually." Ruby reached in and pulled out a bunch of beaded necklaces. "Think Sandra and the ladies will like these?"
"…You only thought to ask this right NOW, Ruby?" Weiss deadpanned.
However, Yang waved it off. "Oh, give her a break, Weiss. She's just being her usual thoughtful self. Besides, didn't YOU get your sister a souvenir?"
Weiss wore an aghast expression. "Ah! Of course, I got Winter something. What sort of sister would I be if I didn't?" She leaned down into one of her own bags… and pulled out a snow globe with an Aztec Pyramid inside of it. "See? Winter loves these, it's perfect!"
Off in her own seat, Blake couldn't help but roll her eyes, her attention briefly taken away from the book she was reading. "Psh, well there you go, now you don't have any right to be shocked by Ruby's spending habits. You'd think being a rich girl—"
"FORMER rich girl." The once-wealthy heiress reminded.
"Ah, yes, former rich girl. Point is you'd think you wouldn't be so concerned with spending a lot of money." Blake pointed out. "Besides, the Plumbers have a bottomless bank account of both Earth AND alien currency. I think we're okay."
"Blake's got a point there, Ice Princess." Weiss pursed her lips at the familiar nickname as Rex strolled over to her, standing behind her chair as he reached down to massage her shoulders. "No need to stress 'bout it! Sure, your jerk of a dad might've cut ya off, but at least we're not wanting for money. Beats all of you having to find ACTUAL jobs, anyway."
"Hm, gee, thanks Robo-dolt." Weiss shrugged, making Rex stop. "I guess you make a decent point. …I didn't want you to stop, by the way."
"Oh, heh, sorry." Rex grinned sheepishly as he kept up the massage, making Weiss recline in her seat.
Up near the front of the jet, Kevin and Gwen sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats respectively, the couple gazing out over the approaching cityscape of Bellwood. The Osmosian reached down and took up the intercom, speaking into it… with a rather staticky voice filter on it. "KSSSSHH—Ah, hey there, folks. This is you're, uuuh, captain speaking. We'll be… hitting some turbulence on the way down into Plumber HQ, so make sure all belongings are safe and secure as we make our landing." Behind them, the others were either laughing or snickering at his behavior, all while Gwen shook her head amusingly. "Our lovely flight attendants will, uh, show you to the exit, and once again, we'd like to thank you for flying Air Kevin."
Gwen smirked and raised a brow at him. "Flight attendants? Who would those be?"
"The freeloaders who're bumming a ride back to base." Kevin answered, bringing up a holoscreen to show that the Proto-TRUK was in the Rustbucket III's hull as well, with Rook, Helen and Manny all standing by it. "Who else?"
…However, Kevin hadn't realized he had left the mic ON. "DAMMIT! I heard that, Levin!" Manny shouted, shaking his mechanical fist at the camera. "I'm gonna come up there and—"
Kevin shut the camera off with a snicker of his own, leading Gwen to sigh. "You know, it wouldn't hurt to genuinely be NICE to Manny for a change. You two are a lot more alike than you like to admit."
"True… but where's the fun in that?" Kevin countered.
"Sheesh, nice, Kev." Yang called up. "Way to be a pal to the guy."
The Osmosian pointed back at her. "Yeah, not exactly. "Pals" is a strong word, we're pretty much just colleagues, really." He placed a hand on his chest as he explained. "We just act friendly so we don't get chewed out."
"Uh-huh." Yang brought her arms up, resting them behind her head with a knowing grin. "And I think we all know WHO would do that." Gwen shot a brief glance back at her before the blonde went on. "But you're sure there's absolutely no common ground between you guys?"
"Not unless the world's in danger." Kevin replied, making a fist. "We both like punching stuff when it comes to that."
"Of course." Blake once again rolled her eyes as the Rustbucket III came in for a landing, with a special hidden landing pad opening up for it. After the space jet hovered down on it, the pad began to descend down underground, with a façade of earth moving over to conceal it once again. The eight teens all stood up and made their way down into the hull, where the others were waiting for them. …And right off the bat, Blake felt a pair of familiar arms drape across her shoulders. "Hmhm… hello there."
Sun leaned forward, pecking is girlfriend's cheek. "Hi, how's it goin'?"
"Can't complain." Blake returned the gesture, only she caught his lips instead. "Though I'm glad to be back home. Mexico was nice, but it was hot."
The monkey boy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, at least up here it's a bit cooler. So, now that we're back home…" Sun winked to her as he snuggled up against her cheek. "You wanna go on a date later tonight? It's been a bit since we've had some time by ourselves, and I looked up a bunch of different tea shops 'round here."
Blake sighed and shook her head. "You know exactly how to win me over, don't you? A date sounds wonderful, Sun."
Sun's smile increased significantly. "Awesome! …Let's just hope none of the Plumbers have anything for us to do today. 'Cause if they do, rescheduling that is gonna be annoying."
"Ah, c'mon man!" Neptune waved off as he walked over as well, carrying his backpack over his shoulder. "What're the chances that Max and Six have a mission for us RIGHT as we get back? They would've contacted us before we got back if they did, right?" There was a bit of a pause as everyone stared at Neptune, unsure of his words. "…Right?"
"No offense, Neptune, but it wouldn't be the FIRST time we'd get something dumped on us right out of the blue." Ilia pointed out.
Next to the chameleon girl, Penny nodded as well. "Indeed. Perhaps they would not want to give us disappointing news on our way back from our getaway." she pointed out. "Niagara Falls was one thing, but with the whole Animo situation yesterday, delivering more bad news is something they probably wish to avoid."
Ben stepped in and raised his hands, hoping to mediate the situation. "Alright, guys, let's not get all doom and gloom here, huh? If there's bad news, we'll handle it just like we always do, but right now, let's focus on getting off and getting our stuff ready to go home."
Gwen folded her arms with a curious look. "Right, and I hope everyone got their stuff into their respective rides?"
"You betcha, Red!" Coco called out from her roadster, the fashionista already in the driver's seat. "We're all set over here!"
"So are we, Gwen." Jaune affirmed, jerking his thumb toward Rook's vehicle. "And my team and I put ours in the Proto-TRUK like you asked."
"Good, glad we got that sorted out." Gwen bowed her head slightly toward the Revonnahgander in question. "And thanks again for volunteering to take me and Team JNPR home, Rook. I know it's not really convenient for you, but—"
"Say no more, Gwen." Rook raised his own hand up, stopping Gwen from going any further. "It is of no ill-convenience for me. I am just glad to help."
Gwen smiled, grateful to the alien for his humble kindness. "Thank you, Rook. Now, how about we all get out here?" At her word, Kevin went over and opened up the ramp just as the landing pad stopped, leaving them in the Plumbers' hangar. Rook, Ben, Kevin and Coco all drove their vehicles out of the Rustbucket III, while the others all followed them out on foot. Yatsuhashi, however… was carrying a massive wooden chest over his shoulders, which caught Gwen's eye. "Uh… Yatsu? What is that?"
The tall swordsman glance down at her, wearing a sheepish smile. "Oh, uh… it's… well, Nora—oof!"
The hyper redhead in question leapt up and sat down on top of the crate, making Yatsu stagger a little. Thankfully, he didn't fall, but that didn't stop Nora from draping herself over the chest. "Oh, this little thing? It's holding the gift we got from Quetzalcoatl! I figured with something so big, it'd be easier to carry if we had something to put it in." She leaned over the side to look at Gwen. "You would not BELIEVE how long it took me to find a chest this big."
Gwen pursed her lips at that… but decided not to question it. 'It's Nora, Gwen, just accept that you probably won't ever figure her out.' She cleared her throat and gave a shrug. "Well, I guess you DO make a good point, Nora. Though it'd probably be easier for YATSU to carry it if you weren't lounging on top of it."
"Oops! Oh yeah, sorry!" And in the blink of an eye, Nora had jumped off of it, allowing Yatsu to stand up straight once again. "So, any idea on where we're gonna keep this thing?"
"Well, I'm tempted to say my house, but I'm not sure how mom and dad will react when we bring home a massive tail." Gwen tapped her chin in thought. "Besides, it'd probably be safer at the base, anyway. A lot less chances of it being stolen and all that."
Pyrrha came over and eyed the box, still marveled at the fact that they had been given a gift from a GOD. "Well, whatever we do with it, it's definitely important that we keep it out of the wrong hands."
Ren was quick to agree. "Yeah, I mean… feathers that can instantly heal any injury? That's something that any villain would want, no question about it."
"Exactly. Which is why I'm thinking of putting it in a very special place." Gwen revealed. "One that no villain will think of ever looking." After Ben, Kevin, Coco and Rook got out of their vehicles for the time being, the teens walked further in before arriving at the elevator. Gwen stopped and raised a hand to Yatsu. "You can set it down right on the elevator, Yatsu. No need to stress yourself carrying it while on the way up."
"Hah, thank you, Gwen." Yatsuhashi set the chest down on the platform, letting out a sigh of relief.
Just as the others were about to get on, however, a Plumber agent walked up to them, a member of Alpha Squad no less. He had green skin and most his head was covered by a red helmet, though he greeted the group with a salute. "Welcome back, everyone. It's good that you're back."
"Thanks, I… wait." Ben paused at the sound of the man's voice, narrowing his eyes at him. "I know that voice. Have we met?"
The Plumber smirked and went to take off his helmet. "Wow, really? You recognize my voice, but I need to take my helmet off for you?" The alien revealed himself fully, and it was then that Ben realized that the man had a point. How could he have let THIS guy slip his mind? "Guess Magister Hulka was right. You ARE a Larble Dipteroid."
"…Well, well, Cadet No Neck." Ben stepped forward, his eyes still locked onto the alien. "So, we meet again."
"That's Lieutenant to you now, Tennyson." The Plumber's smirk was replaced with a small scowl. "I hope you respect me enough to address me as such."
"Okay, Lieutenant No Neck, then."
The rest of the team, meanwhile, were VERY confused and concerned by this sudden hostile behavior from their leader. Especially since things between Ben and the Plumber seemed pretty tense. "Uh… babe, could we maybe backpedal on the name-calling and save it for the bad guys?" Yang asked.
Velvet hid behind Fox, intimidated by the alien's stature. "Y-Yeah, he seems like the kind of person we DON'T want to mess with."
"And here I thought I wouldn't see you again after boot camp." Ben continued with a shrug. "Guess I was wrong."
"Yeah, ya were, Larble Dipteroid." The Plumber said as he prodded Ben's shoulder, making the hero's scowl deepen. "Honestly, I WISH I'd be rid of you after finally graduating. But nope, much to my sheer luck and the universe hating me, I got assigned to Earth… and I only knew it'd be a matter of time before WE ran into each other."
Ben crossed his arms defiantly. "Aw, what, Brannigan? You thought being assigned to some other planet would've been preferable? At least on Earth, we've got a lot of INTERESTING things going on."
Once again, Brannigan poked Ben in the chest. "Yeah, and MOST of those are your fault, Tennyson. You're a magnet for this kinda crap. Am I right… or am I right?"
"Yo, Brannigan!" Manny shouted. "What the hell, man?!"
Helen zipped up to the two, hoping to defuse the argument. "This is NO place for a fight, you guys!"
At this point, everyone's apprehension was going through the roof, and Rook reached for his Proto-Tool to try and intervene. "Ben, Brannigan, I suggest the both of you stand down before—"
"Woah, hold up." Kevin advised, placing a hand on the Revonnahgander's shoulder. "Relax, man." he said with a reassuring grin. "Give it a sec…"
The intense glare-down between Ben and Brannigan went on for a few more seconds… before the group heard a slight snicker. It was followed up by another before they turned into chuckles, and then just full-blown laughter from the duo. The two smacked each other's shoulders good-naturedly, leaving everyone in the room utterly baffled. "AHAHA! Ah, man, you had me going there, dude." Ben laughed.
"Ha! Really? I felt like I laid it on a bit too thick with that last part." Brannigan pointed out.
"Ah, no hard feelings. I know a lot of what happens on this planet is because of bad guys coming after me, so that's nothing new."
"…Uh, HELLO?!" Ruby exclaimed, waving her arms toward her friends. "Explanation, PLEASE!"
Yang scratched her head, still trying to wrap her mind around what she just saw. "Uh, yeah, Green Boy, just what the hell did we just witness?"
Ben's eyes widened, feeling guilty at leaving his team in the dark. "O-Oh, right. Sorry, guys. I should probably explain." He stepped to the side, allowing Brannigan to take the focus. "Everyone, this is Brannigan. He's the leader of Alpha Squad, and was one of our seniors at Plumber Boot Camp."
Brannigan gave them all a friendly smile and a salute. "So, you're the famous Omni-Hunters that I've been hearing so much about. Nice to finally meet you…" His grin became slightly sheepish as he apologized. "And, uh… sorry for throwing you guys off with our little act there. Ben and I've got a… sort-of rivalry going on."
"Oh, well that TOTALLY validates almost giving us all HEART ATTTACKS." Weiss emphasized. "We thought you two were going to throw down in the hangar bay!"
Gwen sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, I have to agree, you guys could've cut the "we hate each other" act a lot sooner." She eventually gave a smile to the lieutenant, though. "But it is good to see you, Brannigan. And glad to hear you've moved up in the rankings."
"Thanks. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to make my bid for Magister." Brannigan waved his hand, hoping to change the subject. "But let's not focus on that now. Right now, your grandfather and your guardians are all waiting for you in the main hub. They've been waiting for you… namely because there's a lot of important stuff to go over."
"…What happened?" Rook asked point blanke. He watched as Brannigan did an about face and motioned for the group to follow him. "…Brannigan, that is NOT an answer."
The alien man sighed and nodded. "I know, Rook. It's just… it's better if the Magister told you himself. And trust me… I have a feeling you'll want to brace yourselves."
…..
Several levels above the hangar bay, Max, Raven, Qrow, Tai, Six, Holiday, Cesar and Bobo were all waiting in the main hub room, watching as Brannigan greeted Ben at the gate. For the past several hours, Max had been dreading delivering this news, especially considering that Helen, Manny and Ben hadn't been in Bellwood for the attack. The last time the Forever Knights had been in Bellwood… it wasn't good. They had killed Helen's brother in cold blood, and Ben had told them to leave and never come back. Max knew the very second that either of them heard what happened… well, he knew it wouldn't be pretty.
"Max, I think it's best if you try and relax." Tai placed a hand on the old Plumber's shoulder. "I get that this isn't GOOD news, but let's focus on the positives first; our kids are back, safe and sound. That's all any of us could ask for, right?"
"Hah… I suppose so, yes." Max smiled… but only briefly. "Still, this is a serious situation, Tai. The Forever Knights… we never considered them as a massive threat before… at least not until they killed one of our own." He craned his head down and balled his fists. "Then the whole fiasco with Dagon happened and things were never the same since. We'd thought that all of the knights had perished in that battle… but now that we know they didn't…"
Raven stepped in, holding up a hand. "Max, it's going to be alright. I know these children well enough to know that they take every matter presented to them seriously. Ben is mature enough to not fly off the handle at this, I'm sure."
Max grimaced at that, admitting; "I know… it's just not Ben that I'm worried about." Just then, the elevator dinged and came to a stop, revealing the team all collected on the massive platform. Max put a smile on and went over to greet his grandkids. "Ben, Gwen, kids! Welcome home! Did you all have a good time?"
Ben and Gwen immediately reciprocated, embracing their grandfather. "Heh, hey, grandpa." Ben chortled.
"We had a great time, thanks for asking." Gwen confirmed. "And believe me, we have LOTS to tell you about."
Kevin came up and shook the old man's hand. "We had a hell of a time, that's for sure. We—"
"DAD! Uncle Qrow, Raven!" Ruby's shrill cries for her family didn't fall on deaf ears as she shot forward, giving the trio a hug… or at least attempting to. Her arms couldn't quite fit around all three, but nonetheless, she gave them as much love as humanly possible. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you will NOT believe what happened to us down in Mexico! It was INSANE!"
"Haha! Was it, now?" Tay placed his hands on Ruby's shoulders, while her uncle and Raven set theirs gently on her arms. "Well, we're dying to hear what happened, but sounds like all of you had a pretty exciting time."
Yang came up to get in on the family group hug. "Heh, you don't know that half of it, dad." She entered and went for her mother first, the woman more than happy to let her in. "But I've gotta know, how've things with YOU guys been since we left?" The blonde smirked to the older woman. "Anything… interesting happen?"
A knowing smile graced Raven's lips and she turned her head up to her daughter. "Hm, that's for me and your father to know, young lady. Besides, aren't you kids these days supposed to be grossed out by parental love?"
"Uh, you forget the fact that you guys LACKED that love for eighteen years." Yang reminded. "So sorry if I want to make sure my parents are working things out."
Raven was about to counter, but she had to concede; her daughter had a point. "…Alright, fair."
As the others entered, Rex and Weiss made their way over to Six, Holiday, Cesar, and Bobo, the EVO greeting the chimp with a high five. "Hola, fam! How've things been?"
"Could be better." Six answered.
"But it also could be worse." Holiday interjected.
Bobo crossed his arms and brought them behind his head. "Lemme tell ya, chief, it was a shitshow yesterday. Really coulda' used ya and yer team 'ere, that's for sure."
Weiss furrowed her brows in concern. "Does this have to do with what Brannigan told us in the hangar? About something we have to brace ourselves for?" She former heiress scanned her eyes across the room, taking note of the absence of a certain someone. "And wait…where's Winter? I thought for sure she'd be here to see us."
"She said she was bringing Romulus over to Ben's house for a playdate with Zwei and Rema." Cesar explained. "She'll be over soon enough, but given how important this information is, I'm afraid we might have to proceed without her if she doesn't show."
Rex and Weiss shared a confused glance. "…Is it really that bad, Cesar?"
"Believe me, mijo, it is."
Six stepped up moving toward the others to hopefully get their attention. "And I feel it best that we not waste any more time on this." He raised his hands as he took center stage. "Everyone, I know that all of you want to get in your hellos, but right now, I need all of your focus on what I'm about to tell you." The team went silent and their sights went straight to Six, with Ben in particular narrowing his eyes puzzlingly. "Max, if you would."
The old Plumber sighed and moved away from his grandkids, stepping back over toward the main console. "Right, of course." After inputting a few commands, a holographic screen began projecting from the interface… and from it, footage of some sort of attack started playing. They couldn't see much, as it was just a shot of buildings with smoke and laserfire being seen, but Ben, Gwen and Kevin recognized where it was happening. "This footage was taken just yesterday in downtown Bellwood. We had to respond to a very well-coordinated assault in the district, one that turned out to be a complete false lead."
Ben's confusion was just made worse by that. "Grandpa, what are you talking about? Who led this attack? And how the heck was it a "false lead"?" He saw his grandfather bite his lower lip, and it was then that Ben noticed something. The man's eyes were quickly darting between him, Manny, and Helen, and it was clear that the old Plumber was worried about something. Ben felt his stomach twist, both not wanting to know, but at the same time, he HAD to. "Grandpa, please… who did this?"
"…I'm sorry, kids." Max closed his eyes and pressed a button, bringing several images that revealed the perpetrators. Gwen, Kevin and Cooper felt their jaws fall in shock while Ben's expression was a mixture of horror… and anger. The teens from Remnant were all surprised at the appearances of the attackers while Rook was also stunned, but also somewhat confused. But most noticeably of all… Helen and Manny's faces contorted into expressions of pure rage. Something that was seen on Manny several times… but Neptune's gut dropped the second he saw how angry Helen had gotten in a single second.
'I don't think I've EVER seen her like that before.' the blue-haired boy thought to himself.
Max opened up his eyes, full of sadness and empathy for what everyone was undoubtedly feeling. "…The Forever Knights have returned."
A chill went through the whole crowd, with Blake being the first to speak. "Wait, the Forever Knights? Ben, I thought you said that they were all destroyed in the final battle with Dagon."
Ben's hands started balling into fists, his knuckles turning white within moments as they began to tremble. "They were… at least I thought so." He spoke through gritted teeth, his glare hardening at the images before him. "But dead or not, I SPECIFICALLY told them to NOT step into Bellwood EVER AGAIN after what they did!"
Ilia shifted her eyes around, noticing that the tension was so thick that one could cut through it. She didn't want to ask… but had a feeling it couldn't be avoided. "And, um… what was that?"
A long silence followed… before Helen answered in a deathly serious tone; "They killed my brother. Just for being on Earth… and existing."
"Pierce wasn't doin' nothin' to nobody." Manny went on, a guttural growl emitting from his throat. "He was just on a date with a girl that he liked. The knights demanded he get off Earth, and when he didn't comply…" All four of his fists clenched as well. "…They shot him right where he stood."
Ilia's eyes widened, noticing that several of her other teammates had also taken a more solemn demeanor. "…Now that I think about it, I do remember you telling us about that, Gwen." Ruby recalled. "One of the first things you said to me to help me get through Penny's death…" She glanced over to the redheaded android, who seemed surprised by that. "But in hindsight… I don't think those can be compared anymore."
"Ruby, I am very confused." Penny admitted. "I don't believe I've ever been told about this "Pierce"."
Coco and her team were also pretty confused. "Yeah, same here." She glanced over to her boyfriend with a raised brow. "Why didn't you tell us 'bout him, Tech Head?"
Cooper sighed as he explained. "We… try to avoid the bad memory as much as we can, Coco." The blonde genius eyed Manny, Helen and Ben in concern. "It's a very sore subject around here. I was on the same team as Pierce for a while, and while we weren't teammates for long before I went to the academy, I knew that he was a good friend. So losing him to the Forever Knights like that… it still affects us, and them especially."
Fox lowered his head, closing his eyes. "Hm, I can empathize. Losing people you love to tragedy, especially to bad people who want to do harm… it's just awful."
"Dear god." Velvet bowed her head somberly to the three. "Guys, I-I don't know what to say—"
"No, stop." Manny raised one of his hands, cutting the bunny girl off. "We've heard it all before, an' we get it. …But nothin' changes. Bad enough we THOUGHT we lost him once… but losing him for real… ya don't move past that so easy." The Tetramand hybrid narrowed his four eyes at Max and marched right up to him. "Max, what the hell?! Why didn't you tell us the very MOMENT the knights started their attack?! We would've been back here an' beatin' the livin' SHIT outta them in minutes!"
"Manny, by the time they started their attack, you all were already closing in on Mexico." Max answered. "I know that what you have against the Forever Knights is personal, but that's still not risking an important mission over." He pointed a stern finger up at the four-armed Plumber. "You and Helen are Plumbers, and it's important to remember your duties AS Plumbers."
"But we—"
FWOOSH! In a split second, Helen rushed in and got between her partner and her mentor, pushing the former away gently. "Manny, stop! …Max is right. It would've been selfish of us to just drop the mission and come back here, especially since we'd have to drag Rook back with us." She craned her head back to Max, her soft glare still present. "…But I'm still not all that happy about you not telling us, Max. It still would've at least been nice to get a CALL ahead of us coming back."
Max sighed once again, feeling the weight of everything coming down on him. "Helen, I'm so sorry. You're right, I SHOULD have called… I just didn't want another Niagara Falls situation."
Ben, with his eyes closed, deduced what his grandfather meant. "You mean where we'd all come back in a bad mood thanks to the awful news?" He took the silence to mean that he hit the nail on the head. "Hmph, grandpa, I know you mean well, and I'm glad that you prioritize our happiness… but I'm going to be eighteen next month." The hero extended a hand to Manny, Helen and the team. "Hell, we're all practically adults."
"He's right, grandpa." Gwen supported. "We can handle bad news fine…" She glanced over to Team RWBY with a knowing grin. "And besides, after those four got on our case about our attitudes on the way back from the Falls, we've been a lot more amicable about that."
Ruby, Blake, Yang and Weiss smiled back to the Anodite, the Hooded Huntress giving her a thumbs up. "Aw! Thanks Gwen!" She shifted her sights back to the images of the Forever Knights, focusing back on the main topic. "So I think the next question is… WHY did the knights attack?"
"Yeah, were they after something?" Jaune followed up.
Holiday entered the conversation, giving them their answer. "Actually, yes, they were. …Only they didn't make that obvious." The doctor went over to the computer and started typing in another command, bringing up another image. However, this one was… very interesting. It was a stone tablet that had ancient hieroglyphs etched into it, though what language it was, no one there could tell. "The knights managed to steal this ancient tablet that was only recently found near ancient Sumer… right out from under our noses."
"The attack on downtown was merely a distraction so that they could send one of their own to take the artifact, an individual known only as "The Black Knight"." Six elaborated. "We were all played."
"Gah, damn." Ben muttered in frustration. "A bait and switch. They're still crafty, I'll say that much."
"Why did they want this tablet in the first place, though?" Blake wondered.
Holiday continued typing into the computer, bringing up several notes on the tablet next to its image. "Well, apparently it's supposed to be able to lead the way to some sort of ultimate power, though even then, that's just a legend." The doctor shook her head. "Not sure if the knights think this legend is true or not, but still, it's concerning."
"Well, given what we saw this weekend, the legend being true definitely could be the case." Pyrrha figured before giving a sigh. "I just hope there weren't any civilians harmed in this attack."
Brannigan shook his head. "That you won't have to worry about. Alpha Squad managed to keep the citizens safe after the initial attack started. Those knights didn't lay a hand on anyone." He shifted his eyes off to the side. "Can't say the same for the town, though. Mr. Baumann's place is gonna need repairs, too."
Ben groaned at that. "Again? …Well, at least I wasn't the reason for it this time, I guess."
Gwen rolled her eyes and placed a hand to her hip. "Well, while I'm worried that the Knights got what they wanted, I'm just glad that no one was hurt in the chaos." She took a glance at the photos again, taking note of just how many knights there were. She even spotted Sir Morton among their ranks, along with a knew female knight in white and gold armor. "Hm… but by what I'm seeing here, it seems the knights aren't lacking in numbers."
"You'd be right, Gwendolyn." A familiar voice piped up from behind as the elevator could be heard moving. "Fortunately, we had plenty of help in fending them off."
Immediately, Weiss brightened up and spun around, ready to greet her sister. "Winter! There you are! We were wondering when—AAH!" The loud gasp that escaped her shocked everyone else, and the fact that Weiss now had both hands clasped over her mouth only proved out stunned she was.
The teens craned their heads up… and went slack-jawed by who they saw on the elevator with Winter. Standing on either side of her were none other than General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch, the duo beaming toward the young heroes in return. "Hmhm, well hello, students." Glynda greeted.
"Good to see you're all doing well." Ironwood added.
"…AAAAAAAHH!" The shrill scream of excitement managed to shock everyone out of their stupors, with a certain Silver-Eyed Huntress being the one to thank. "Professor Goodwitch! General Ironwood!" Ruby rushed closer toward the lift as the teachers and Winter stepped off, bouncing up and down with her hands clung to her hair in excitement. "You're here, you're here, YOU'RE HERE! AH, it's so good to see you!"
Glynda sighed, shutting her eyes briefly. 'Oddly enough, I somehow missed this.' She came forward and placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders, making her stop bouncing. "Hmhm, yes, yes, it's good to see you, too, Miss Rose." Her eyes went out to the others, who were now grinning from ear to ear at their presence. "In fact, it's good to see you all! I've heard that you all have had quite the experience on Earth since leaving Remnant, hm?"
"Y-Yes, Professor, of course!" Weiss bowed respectfully. "It's been very exciting."
Yang shot a knowing gaze over to her parents and uncle, seeing the smirked they wore. "You guys knew about this and managed to keep quiet about it for THIS long, huh?" She pointed to them with a wink. "Man, talk about committing to the surprise!"
"Heh, well what'd you expect?" Tai jabbed a thumb over to Ironwood and Glynda, the two now conversing with almost every student there, the Alien Trio and Rex included. "You think we were gonna spoil THIS after bringing them over to help out? In your dreams."
Cooper and Team CFVY in particular were still quite astonished by the general's early arrival, and after overhearing what Tai said, the blonde had gotten his answer quickly. "Ah, so you guys came over to help. I was wondering since I figured we wouldn't be seeing you both until later on today." He extended his hand to the general. "Either way, glad to see you again, sir."
"Likewise, Cooper." Ironwood nodded back, scanning his eyes across the five teens. "So, I trust that your Earth vacation went exactly how you were hoping it to?"
"Psh, no." Coco scoffed. "…It was BETTER than we'd hoped!"
Velvet nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, no doubt about it! General Ironwood, you wouldn't believe half of the stuff this planet has! The food, the places, the people, it's all so wonderful!"
Team JNPR had gathered in front of Goodwitch, and Pyrrha was quick to agree with Velvet. "She's right, Professor, I think both of you would find this world very captivating. How long do you plan on staying?"
"Well…" Glynda and James eyed one another warily. "We left on short notice to begin with, so unfortunately, we can't stay long, Miss Nikos." Her eyes went over to Cooper and Team CFVY as well. "In fact, we were hoping that we would all be able to leave… by tonight."
The Omni-Hunters were left silent by her words, with Yang and Ruby turning their attention to their father. The man gave them a sympathetic grin and nodded, confirming what Glynda said. "Yeah, pretty much. There's still a lot of work to do in Vale, after all, not to mention my job at Signal. It's about time we all get back to our duties."
The girls deflated at the news, as did many of the others. "…Yeah, we kind of figured that." Yang and Ruby went up to their dad, giving him another hug. "But hey, it was nice having you around on our first week here, dad." Yang smiled up to him. "Glad that you could come along."
"So am I, hon, believe me." Tai brought his girls in and pat their heads. "But I have a feeling I won't have much to worry about. If I've learned anything over this week… or hell, this past MONTH, it's that all of you can handle yourselves. And besides…" He reached out and wrapped an arm around Raven's shoulders, leading her to do the same. "You'll have your mom and uncle to help you keep on top of your training… right after she and I handle a bit of… personal business back home."
Ruby's brows furrowed in confusion. "W-Wait, what? Raven, I thought you said you'd be staying with us."
"Oh, I will, Ruby." Raven assured, though she had a knowing smile as she placed a hand on Tai's chest. "But your father and I… well, after this weekend, we realized that there are some… things that we really need to catch up on."
Yang was a little confused as well… until she noticed her mother's fingers slightly going under her dad's V-neck, and only then did it dawn on her. "Oh… ohhh." She took Ruby by the shoulders and started moving her away from the two, all while shooting them a very happy smile. "Okay, I've got the message loud and clear, guys. Take as long as you need to, we'll be fine on our own for a while."
"W-Wait, hold on! Yang!" Ruby protested. "What the heck are they talking about?!"
'Wow, you REALLY don't know, Rubes?' Yang shook her head, knowing that her sister had some selective density when it came to these things. "Trust me, Ruby, if you knew… you'd probably wouldn't be able to handle it. C'mon, let's talk with Ironwood and Goodwitch some more. We've got a LOT to tell them about."
…..
And so, that's what they did. Over the course of the next hour in change, the Omni-Hunters told their family and friends all about their excursion to Mexico and what it entailed. They all sat at a massive round table in the meeting room nearby, and while occasionally the topic of conversation would go back to the knights, the trip was still the main talking point. Of course, they had decided to slowly build up to their encounters with the Mayan and Aztec gods… however, that didn't stop Ironwood, Goodwitch, and everyone else from being utterly floored by the whole thing. "…So let me get this straight;" Ironwood started. "You're telling us that you all took on the Ministry and a horde of Grimm at these pyramids, and you fighting on the sacred ground caught the attention of this "Quetzalcoatl"."
"This Sun God then defeated the Ministry single handedly while you all fought an insectoid lizard alien monster." Glynda concluded. "And on top of that you met two OTHER gods from a similar, yet different pantheon as well?"
"That's pretty much the gist of it, yeah." Ben confirmed… before Nora zipped off before returning with the massive crate, holding it with one hand.
"And if ya don't believe us—" SLAM! Nora threw the crate down and unlocked it, opening up before pulling out… a colorful, feathery appendage that waggled about as she hoisted it above her head. "HE GAVE US HIS TAIL!"
It was the adults' turn to feel their jaws go limp at the sight of the Feathered Serpent's tail, with Glynda even cleaning her glasses to make sure she was seeing things right. Cesar was utterly stunned, however. "DIOS MIO! I don't believe it!" He shot up out of his seat and went up to inspect the tail closer. "This is actually the tail of Quetzalcoatl?!"
Nora lowered the tail so everyone could get closer to it. "Yep! Cinder managed to cut it off during the fight, but he regrew a new one and gave us the old one."
Holiday leaned in to inspect the severed appendage, namely on the part where it had been sliced off. Strangely enough, however… she didn't see any muscle, no bones or any inner parts. Rather, the base of the tail was just as green as the rest of the scales that were just beneath the rainbow feathers. "This… doesn't make sense. The inner part of this tail should start rotting by now, but… there IS no muscle or bone to speak of here."
"Yeah, pretty sure that's intentional." Ben nodded. "I mean, it's the body part of a god that he himself gifted unto us. I'm sure it's not meant to rot like any normal limb."
"In other words, it's magic." Kevin furthered. "But at least there's SOME kinda explanation to it, even if I it's kinda weird."
Gwen came over and ran her hand across the feathers, which seemed to glow at her touch. "And that's not even the only KIND of magic this tail has. Quetzalcoatl told us that, if we pluck the feathers off of it, we'd be able to use them to heal ANY kind of injury, no matter how severe." She made a mana field and encircled it around the tail, taking it out of Nora's hands and putting it back into its crate. "And as such, we need to put it in a safe place so that no one BUT us can use it."
Max agreed without hesitation. "You're absolutely right, pumpkin. Any place around here you had in mind?"
"If you'd let me, grandpa, I think it'd be safest to put the tail in the same place we put the Relic of Knowledge, down in Subsector B." Gwen shut the crate, locked it, and then cast a small seal spell on the locks just for good measure. "If I can trust anyone to watch over the tail, it'd be Jinn."
Ironwood's brows furrowed in intrigue. "Hm, good point. But uh, Gwen… have you spoken with Jinn since you got here?"
"Oh… no, why do you ask."
The general sighed and laced his fingers together. "Well… I'm aware that she said that she'd give you three wishes after you helped save her from Darkstar… or rather two since you used one to save Qrow. Plus, there's still one more question we can ask her." He gestured toward her as he explained. "I simply want to make sure that she's safe and sound. Jinn could be an incredible asset in our war against Salem, after all."
"I realize that, general, yes." Gwen's eyes moved down to the floor, pursing her lips while folding her arms. "But I have to admit, there's a part of me that feels bad about just… leaving her in there."
"Ah, I wouldn't worry 'bout her too much, Red." Coco spoke up, wearing a knowing smile as she reclined in her chair. "I'm sure Miss Tall, Blue and Naked is fine. I mean, she's been by herself for a long time, right? She MUST have something in that lamp of hers to… keep herself entertained, hehe."
"Hon, control yourself." Cooper bluntly pleaded. "For the sake of everyone at this table, please."
Gwen rolled her eyes as Coco she burst out laughing, dragging her palm across her face. "As much as that innuendo vexes me, I get where you're coming from, Coco. Sure, she's no stranger to being alone in that itty-bitty living space, but still."
Glynda stood up and placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "I understand completely, Gwen. But still, we cannot risk Jinn's relic being out in the open for anyone to steal, and you yourself know that." Gwen nodded up to her and Glynda gave her a smile. "However… I would also advise having regular conversations with Jinn. After all, you ARE her mistress…"
"Still uncomfortable with that." Gwen deadpanned. "Besides, how can we have a conversation without asking questions?"
The professor had to admit, that WOULD be difficult. "Hm… perhaps make sure you word your sentences carefully so that you ask something that isn't in the form of a question."
"Hmph… I guess." Gwen shrugged. "I'm not exactly the best wordsmith, but I can try."
"That's the spirit, cous." Ben encouraged. "Show that genie that ya care." He went back to his grandfather, wanting to get back to the topic from before. "But going back to the Forever Knights, you're saying that they somehow had teleporting tech, a massive airship, and a bunch of their old alien tech."
"Even though we gutted all of their castles after they were assumed destroyed." Kevin added.
Max grumbled and nodded, clearly not happy at that part. "Yes, which makes me think either two things; one, they somehow managed to steal it back from under our noses. Or two… they've been dealing in the alien black market for the past two years." He brought his hands together as his scowl deepened. "And if it's the latter, I can only imagine what ELSE they got their hands on."
Ren tilted his head a bit. "If I recall, you said that there was some doctor working for them… Chadwick, I think?"
"Oh yeah, we've dealt with him before." Gwen affirmed. "Tried to turn our friend's pet into a war machine, didn't end well for him. That said, I doubt that he's the one behind all of this." The Anodite placed a hand to her chin. "Whoever is leading the knights this time around, it must be someone intelligent enough to keep things on the downlow for over two years and NOT try anything. They must be pretty patient if that's the case."
"And when they decided to finally reveal themselves, they brought it to our home turf." Ben went on, his grave tone coming back. "Whoever this new Forever King is, I think it's evident that he doesn't like us very much."
Kevin scoffed at this. "Psh, that narrows it down. We ain't gonna get an answer to who this guy is by just speculating, ya know."
"Probably not… but with THIS, you will." Max reached into his pocket and pulled out a holoviewer, garnering the teens' attention immediately. "Sir Morton gave me this right before he made his retreat. Ben… he said that the King wants a word with you."
The team were left quite surprised by this… aside from a certain Tetramand, whose temper had riled up again. "ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME?!" Manny exploded, making the rest of the table flinch. "Max, WHAT THE HELL?! This is somethin' you have to LEAD with, not WAIT until it's the last possible thing to go over!"
"Normally, I'd agree with you, Manny." Max concurred, though he still made it a point to match Manny's glare. "But in this case, I felt it better to wait. I wanted to make sure that everyone was present for this, because if we're really going to find out exactly who the new Forever King is… I want ALL of us to remember his face, so that we know EXACTLY who to go after for this." He went over to Manny and Helen, placing a hand on each of their shoulders reassuringly. "I promise, you two, whoever this new king is… he's going to wish he had NEVER crossed us like this."
The duo eyed one another sadly, but found comfort in the old man's words. Helen smiled up to him and reached out, giving Max a short hug. "Thank you, Max. That means a lot to us."
"You're welcome, Helen. I promise, your brother's memory won't be in vain." Max craned his head back over to Ben and placed the holoviewer down on the table, sliding it over to his grandson. "Morton said the king wanted to speak with you Ben, so I think it best if you activate it."
Ben slowly nodded and stood up, picking the device up only to set it on the ground a second later. "Alright, people, gather up. Let's see who the hapless schmuck that thinks he can just have his men wreck our town really IS." With the press of a button, Ben activated the holoviewer and everyone in the room gathered around, ready to see who this person really was.
The device lit up and immediately, a holographic image flickered into existence… and the team had to admit, they were a little taken back. It was a tall man who certainly was wearing knightly armor, even holding onto a massive dual-edged sword… only the armor was FAR different than any that either Ben, Gwen or Kevin had seen from the Knights over the years. The gauntlets, boots and such all seemed standard fair… but the massive shoulder pauldrons made everyone do a double take. They seemed to have two layers of metal to them, and the top layers were adorned with two spikes each. On top of that, the man also wore a burgundy cloth lined with gold fabric over his torso, which hung down over his front and backside. The Forever Knight's Coat of Arms was sewn into the cloth as well.
However, it was his helmet that drew everyone's attention… namely since it was in the shape of an eight-pointed crown. Four of the points; the ones on the front, back, left and right sides of his head, were taller than the other four, and each had a red jewel embedded in them. The rest of his helmet was designed much more normally, his head covered by grey metal with facial guards coming down over each cheek.
That said, there didn't seem any point in the guards, as, when the man lifted his head, his face was completely covered. …By a golden mask. The mask was emotionless, but carried a strong resolve in its expression nonetheless, helped by the vacant stare of its soulless, black eyes. And the very second that Ben, Gwen and Max saw the mask, they were left completely flabbergasted. They knew this man.
"Ah, the Tennyson family." the Forever King spoke in a soft, English accent, his voice almost… hollow in regards to the three. "It has been quite a long time, has it not?"
As they continued to stare at him, though, Ben felt his lips curl up into a snarl. After all these years… he never thought he'd have to see HIM again. "…ENOCH?!"
Once again, however, a permeating feeling of confusion took hold of the room, though the name did ring a bell with some. "Wait… Enoch?" Yang raised a brow to the hologram. "Isn't he the guy who kept trying and failing to catch you guys over that summer vacation?"
"And the one who tried stealing the Sword of Ek-Chuaj in the first place?" Weiss added.
"Hah!" Enoch laughed, planting the tip of his sword into the ground to rest his hands upon its handle. "I haven't thought about that disaster in years. …I've been too busy plotting my revenge." His dark eyes met Ben's, the hero's glare unrelenting. "So, Benjamin, I suppose you were not expecting ME to be the new Forever King, were you?"
"Honestly, I was expecting someone like Driscoll to be behind this, but in hindsight, YOU make sense, too." Ben admitted. "Who else would plan an attack on my hometown to make the big announcement that the Forever Knights are back?" He sent a curious sidelong glance to Enoch. "But that begs the question… how are you even still ALIVE?!"
Max stepped up and pointed at Enoch. "He's right, we didn't find ANY Forever Knights alive after the battle with Dagon. How did you live?"
Enoch raised a hand to the old man. "A fair question, Maxwell, a very fair one. As you can no doubt tell, reports of my death and many other Forever Knights were… premature, at best." He rose his head up slightly, thinking back to the climactic battle that had happened nearly two years ago now. "It is true that several of our comrades were brutally killed in our final charge against the Dagon. However, unlike many who were blinded by Sir George's takeover, I still took umbrage with the course he took the Knights in. He cared not for us, and he lead us all like lambs to the slaughter against the damned beast." Enoch clenched a fist in ire at the memory. "As such, I sought fit to lead the battalion of knights I was assigned away from the battle at the last possible moment, sparing them and I from obliteration. And, since no bodies were recovered from Dagon's massacre, our absence went unnoticed, just as I had planned."
"…Okay, gotta admit, that's kinda genius." Kevin conceded. "But how'd you get all that tech your boys were using yesterday?"
The new Forever King waved at the question. "Oh, through several means. After our retreat, I told my remaining troops to fan out across our castles and gather as many weapons as they could without it seeming suspicious, as I had a feeling the Plumbers would come to confiscate our resources." He hefted his sword, inspecting its blade. "After that, we took to the shadows, and began our recruitment of new Forever Knights, along with making several black-market trades to acquire new assets." Enoch tilted his head curiously. "I take it that you've seen our new airship?"
Gwen shook her head. "Not in person, but it must've fetched a pretty penny."
"Oh, you would be quite right." Enoch chortled as he sheathed his sword on his back, before his tone took a far more serious one. "But let us not dawdle on pleasantries, shall we? I believe I made my intentions known after the attack on your town yesterday, after all."
Ben's scowl deepened. "Yeah, well if your plan was to get revenge on us after all these years, you picked a bad time to—"
"You think I did not know of your little vacation, Tennyson?" Enoch interrupted, leaning toward the hero so that they were at eye level. "No, I specifically picked this time because I DID know that you would not be there to defend your home. Rest assured, I plan to have my revenge on your and your family, but with you and your allies gone from Bellwood, it allowed me to put my primary plan into motion…" He reached over out of the screen to grab something, pulling his hand back… to reveal the stolen tablet. "I believe you're missing THIS from your museum?"
The Omni-Hunters eyed each other warily, wondering exactly what kind of power that tablet could hold. "…Yeah, heard that a guy called "The Black Knight" swiped it." Yang countered. "Mind telling us who that is?"
"Oh, you will find out soon enough, I'm sure." Enoch brushed off, setting his sights down to the tablet's ancient hieroglyphs. "He is one of the most promising recruits we have, along side our White Knight. I'm certain you will encounter them in the future… but no doubt you are all wondering exactly WHY I had this procured."
Ruby made a so-so gesture with his hand. "Eh, kinda… we know it's supposed to give you ultimate power, but we've got no idea what it actually does."
"Hmhm, well young lady, allow me to enlighten you." Enoch chortled. "Tell me, have any of you heard of the ancient Sumerian deity known as… Kur?"
For some reason, at the utterance of that name, a sudden chill went through the entire room. Even the likes of Ironwood, Qrow and Raven felt unnerved, as if the name itself carried so much weight and power behind it, it had the ability to paralyze anyone with its utterance. Max in particular seemed to grow pale when he heard it. Gwen, however, recognized the name somewhat. "It rings a bell, yes."
Enoch nodded to her. "As it should. For you see, the almighty Kur was a being born of the underworld; the very first dragon born here on Earth. Kur was a malevolent beast, capable of controlling other monsters with his very thoughts. However, he served mostly as a guardian for the Underworld itself, serving its queen; the goddess Ereshkigal." The Forever King turned his head slightly as he uttered; "Though he did often have dreams of usurping the Queen and taking over not just the Underworld, but the WHOLE world itself through his army of monsters. However, that is beside the point."
"Okay, then what IS the point?" Weiss jibed, putting her hands to her hips impatiently. "If you're gonna get to the crux of your evil plan, at least make it snappy."
"I'm GETTING to it, girl." Enoch snapped back, lifting up the tablet to point at it. "If you must know, THIS tablet was created by Kur himself, and it serves as a map to a spectacular treasure that he hid away long ago… the Armor of Ishtar."
That made both Gwen and Ben do a double take. "W-Wait, hold on, Ishtar?" the Anodite echoed. "What does the Sumerian goddess of love and war have to do with this?"
"Oh, everything, Miss Gwendolyn, everything." Enoch emphasized, raising his arms to emphasize the tale he was about to tell. "You see, long ago, the goddess' husband had died unexpectedly, and so she went on a quest to the underworld to see him and possibly return him to life. However, she was met at the gates by Kur, whom Ishtar considered a formidable rival. She demanded entry, and he allowed it… in exchange for the ultimate humiliation. With every gate Ishtar passed through, she would be forced to strip a piece of her golden armor off of her body, leaving her completely exposed by the time she reached Queen Ereshkigal."
The whole group stared silently at the Forever King, with the Remnant natives particularly stunned by the tale. "…Wow, whoever this Kur guy is, he sounds like an asshole." Rex noted.
"Perhaps, but he was also quite smart." Enoch countered. "For with every piece of armor she discarded, Kur took it and imbued it with just a sliver of his power, before then hiding each piece in select locations across the world." He lifted the tablet up once again. "And THIS, heroes, is the map he made in order for someone worthy to find it. If they should find each piece, then they would be worthy to serve as his herald for when he conquered the world."
A brief pause came over the group… only for Yang to smirk at what Enoch implied. "So, wait… you're saying that you're planning on taking over the world… by putting on women's clothing?" Almost immediately, a chorus of laughs and snickers echoed through the meeting room, with Enoch giving an indignant scoff.
"BAH! No! Of course not. Rather, I intend to smelt the armor and forge it into a powerful weapon." He set his gaze back to the tablet, his voice filled with conviction. "And I shall be NO ONE'S herald. With the recent destruction of Kur three years ago, I shall unite the armor pieces and create from it the ultimate weapon, greater than even Ascalon itself!"
Ben came forward again, his resolve steeled after hearing the King's distasteful plan. "Enoch, if you think I'll just let you do this, you have another thing—wait, hold on." The hero became confused when he ran back Enoch's words in his head. "The recent destruction of Kur? Three years ago? The hell are you talking about?"
Enoch gave a bemused chortle. "Hmph, I would've thought that you of all people would've been aware of that. But if you must know, Kur HAD gone through with staging his revolt against the other Sumerian Gods in order to gain control of the whole world, only for Ishtar to kill him and then seal his very essence into a stone, which she buried." He turned his head to Max, eyeing him knowingly. "And, thousands of years later, this stone would be found by a certain family, who would eventually bore the reincarnation of Kur… in the form of a young boy." His attention went back to the team again as he spun his hand, giving a truncated version of events. "Long story short, there was a great secret war that occurred between this family and another party which resulted in Kur's power being dispelled, leaving the dragon dormant once again."
"Huh, wow… that sounds kinda cool, actually." Ruby commented before giving Enoch the stink eye. "But Kur or no Kur, we're STILL gonna stop you."
"Ahaha! Oh, I would like to see you try, young lady." Enoch balked. "I already have some of my best translators deciphering the message on this tablet as we speak. And once I have the weapon in my grasp…" He pulled his sword out and swung it through the air, swiping it across the entire team. "I shall RID this planet of all extraterrestrials, whether that be aliens or interdimensional interlopers like yourselves. Be it through exile from the planet… or more extreme measures."
Sun scoffed at the man, flicking his tail at him. "Hah! Fat chance, bro. I'd just like to see you try an' make us budge—ah!"
But the monkey boy gasped as Enoch suddenly whipped around to him, making a stabbing motion with his blade. "Silence, APE!" he spat with vitriolic venom, making sure to emphasize that last word. "Speak only when spoken to and you MIGHT keep your tongue when I next see you."
"Hey!" Blake went over and quickly took to Sun's defense. "Don't talk to him that way! You're not—"
"YOU are not in any position to be demanding anything of me, feline wench!" Enoch snapped back, raising his chin up at her. "Your kind are especially deplorable." He craned his head around, pointing his sword to Ilia and Velvet as well. "And that goes for you heathens as well. Animal-human hybrids… BAGH! Disgusting abominations, the lot of you!"
And just like that, several switches got flipped in the Faunus' minds. "Oh… oh, I see how it is now!" Ilia's lips curled into a vicious snarl as she marched up to Enoch and pointed at him. "Your xenophobia even included US, huh?! Hah, why am I NOT surprised? First Harangue and now you. I should've known that bigoted assholes aren't mutually exclusive to any one dimension."
Velvet screwed her eyes shut, resisting the oncoming tears as she clenched her hand over her heart. Her team went over to her, placing their hands on her back in support as they all glared at Enoch. "Why… why must there be people like YOU even in THIS world?!"
"Oh dear child, I have nothing but sympathy for you." Enoch shook his head disappointedly. "So close to being human… but then some sort of deity deemed you worthy of those damned animal parts, as if it's some sort of sick joke."
"GYAAAAGH!" Much to everyone's shock, Blake belted out a scream that almost sounded like a roar, her teeth barred as she lunged at Enoch's holographic form. Her hands were clawed as they made for his neck, a fierce fire behind her eyes as she stopped just short of him. The cat girl's anger was evident as she breathed hard, held back only by Sun dashing up to wrap his arms around her in an attempt to calm her down. Enoch stood unflinching, however, the man staring vacantly right back at her.
"…Blake, as much as I want to hit this guy so hard in his royal nuts, we can't exactly do that right now." Sun reminded. "Time and place."
Blake took a deep breath, her hand going down for his own. "Right…" But she didn't stop glowering at Enoch for a second. "But all the same, you'd better sleep with one eye open, Enoch. You've just made enemies with a Faunus Rights Activist, and I promise you… the White Fang will come and they will SHOW people like you why we deserve the same rights that humans do."
Enoch simply chortled at this. "Hmph… I'd like to see them try. But that is an obstacle to overcome another day." He craned his head up to Ben, who, if possible, seemed even MORE pissed at him than he had been before. The same could be said for everyone in the room after seeing the king's true nature on full display. "It is time that I took my leave… but I challenge you to try and stop us, Benjamin. Because if you do, you WILL be met with challenges that even YOU will not expect."
"I highly doubt that, you son of a bitch." Ben growled back. "After what you said about my friends, I've got even MORE reason to come find you and BREAK you!"
"Same with me." Helen affirmed, her face almost purple with how angry she was. "Killing my brother was one thing, but insulting my friends to their faces? You crossed the line LONG ago, but now you've fallen off the edge."
"Ah, yes… the spike-faced one known as Pierce." Enoch sheathed his sword once more. "Well, worry not, for if your luck holds out… you all may be lucky enough to join him in the underworld. But until then… I hope you all have fun with the little parting gift I have for you. Ta-ta and farewell." And just like that, the transmission ended and the holo-viewer deactivated… only for its lens to start flashing red… and it began to beep rapidly.
Kevin paled immediately. "SHIT! It's a BOMB!"
Ben rushed in and slapped the Omnitrix, transforming into Bloxx without any fanfare. "Everyone, under the table!" The others did as he said as the Segmentisapien grabbed the holo-viewer and started shaping himself around it, the stone-like alien becoming a perfect sphere as he sat in the middle of the room. The beeping continued to accelerate until finally… BOOM! Bloxx was jostled a little bit as smoke started pouring out the cracks in his body, only for him to unfurl himself and reveal his now soot-covered body. "Hak-hak-hak! Okay, crisis averted."
Everyone sighed in relief as Ben transformed back to normal in a green flash. "Alright, it's official; I hate the Forever Knights now." Nora grimaced.
"Think the same can be said for all of us, kid." Qrow nodded.
With a disgusted sneer, Jaune eyed his own armor warily. "Is it sad that I'm seriously considering a change in armor because of that guy?"
"Jaune, please." Pyrrha placed her hand on his shoulder, offering her comfort. "Please do NOT do that just because of this. You are ten times the knight AND the man that blowhard is, believe me." The Invincible Girl set her sights onto the Alien Trio, who had gathered together in silent deliberation. "So… what do we do now?"
Ben, Gwen and Kevin stopped their small chat and turned to Pyrrha, the Anodite giving a small sigh of frustration. "Well… we can't exactly do much at this moment, honestly." The redhead moved her head down toward the black scuff mark on the floor, which was all that remained of the holo-viewer. "I was GOING to track them down with that holo-viewer, but now THAT'S obviously out the window."
"So, how WILL we track them down?" Ren inquired.
Penny suddenly straightened up and her eyes began glowing. "Oh, I know! I'll use my connection to the world wide web and cross-reference all known castles in the world with the ones most likely to be rented out by evil syndicates." She raised a finger as the others eyed her curiously. "Worry not, this should take me about an hour or two tops."
However, Raven quickly brought the android out of her search. "That won't be necessary, Penny. We managed to arrest one Forever Knight yesterday, and so far, he's been compliant."
"We're hoping we can coerce the location of their base from him soon." Max added. "He just needs… the right persuasion."
Manny grinned eagerly and smacked two hands into two palms. "Max, NOW you're speakin' my language. Just point me to 'im and I'll get the answer outta…" But he trailed off when he noticed Max giving him a disapproving look. "…Ya didn't mean THAT kinda persuasion, did ya?"
"No, I didn't." Max shook his head. "Like Raven said, he's been compliant so far, and it seems he's started to regret joining the Knights in the first place. I don't want to risk a more violent interrogation should he lose our trust as a result." His gaze went across the entire group, all of them still quite frustrated from that meeting with Enoch. "For now, until we have more information, I think it's time that all of you get back home and unpack." Max paused on Cooper and Team CFVY. "Or in your cases, start packing up… and getting your goodbyes in."
"Agh, yeah, you're right Max." Coco muttered, craning her head up to Cooper. "Man, how can one week go by so fast? I was really starting to hit it off with your mom, too."
"Heh, and I'm really glad you are." Cooper chuckled, tracing his fingers across the brunette's cheek. "But don't worry, we'll still be able to visit on the weekends occasionally, I'm sure."
Ironwood and Goodwitch came up to the team, both wearing reassuring smiles. "Cooper, believe me, if you or Team CFVY ever feel like coming back home for a little while to see the team, that's fine by us."
"Just be sure you tell us ahead of time so we can plan around it, alright?" Glynda requested before giving a nod of approval. "Otherwise, I agree with what James said completely. Also, if you wouldn't mind, we'd actually like to accompany you back to your home, just to be sure your parents know that you'll be kept safe with us in Remnant."
Cooper nodded back to her without hesitation. "Sure thing, Professor Goodwitch. I'm sure they'd be excited to meet you two. Just uh… be ready to get offered lunch."
Back over with Blake, Sun could feel her trembling beneath his touch, all while both could feel a nasty twist in their guts. Everything that Enoch had said… it was put together specifically to get under their skin… and it was working. But at the same time, neither Faunus wanted the Forever King to have that satisfaction. "Blake… you wanna go on that date now?"
The catgirl felt her lips curl slightly, thankful that her boyfriend was still being positive. It help keep her mind out of a rather dark place. "Heh, well as much as I'd love to, Sun… I think right now, I want to just go home and hug my wolf."
"Yeah, I can't blame ya." Sun approved.
"Amen to that." Pyrrha concurred as well. "Rook, think we can stop by Ben's house briefly so we can pick up Romulus?"
"Of course, Pyrrha." Rook stood up and started toward the door, ushering everyone else to follow him as well. "Come, I think it is best if we all leave as soon as possible." He turned toward the door and started out, not allowing anyone to see the slight scowl that had formed on his face. In truth, he wasn't exactly thrilled about Enoch's words either. "I would rather not linger here for much longer, truth be told."
"Yeah, same." Neptune and the others started after the Revonnahgander, only for the blue-haired boy to pause when he noticed Helen and Manny staying behind. "Uh, guys? You comin'?"
Helen sent a smile to Neptune… but the moment he saw it, he could tell that she was forcing it. "Thanks Neptune, but… well, this IS our home, after all. And honestly, after that, I… could use some time alone. Excuse me."
"H-Helen, wait, I—" SHOOM! But before he could say anything else, Helen zoomed out of the meeting room in a flash of blue and black, leaving Neptune feeling more worried now than before. "…N-Never mind, then." he lowered his head in defeat.
Manny came up and gave Neptune a pat on the back. "Don't worry 'bout it, man. She… we BOTH lost her brother twice. It hits hard for both of us, but after all that… she just needs some time to herself." He nudged his head toward the door, ushering Neptune out. "Right now, you should head home an' try her again tomorrow. She'll probably be ready to talk then."
"Uh… thanks, Manny. I appreciate it." With that, the team left the room and started toward the elevator, only for Neptune to notice Gwen taking the crate containing Quetzalcoatl's tail off in an entirely different direction. "Uh, Gwen? Are you taking the tail to the containment sublevel now?"
"You bet." Gwen replied as she waved him off. "But don't worry, I won't be long." Her sights went to her cousin next. "Ben, I'll meet you guys back at your place, okay?" Ben gave her a thumbs up from the elevator as her other teammates gave her a slew of farewells, and as the massive platform rose up toward the hardware store above, Gwen continued on her way down to the containment sublevel. After making her way through several Plumber security gates, and one quick elevator ride, she made it to her destination.
The place was a rather enormous, cylindrical-shaped room with seemingly endless amounts of containment units lining the walls. In the center was the elevator shaft that she walked out from, with a long, spiral staircase leading up to higher floors of the sublevel. However, her inquiry lied within the single unit that was at the very bottom of the shaft. And after one last security check, she was allowed into the room with the tail in tow.
She was now inside a large, white room with reinforced walls, one that was nearly completely empty aside from a large piece of machinery in the middle. Said machine was, in reality, a force field generator. One that was made specifically to hold a single object. And right now, that single object… was the Relic of Knowledge. Gwen stared at the lamp, which floated inside of the small bubble-like forcefield on its own accord. There was a part of her that was apprehensive about doing this, as she had no idea HOW to make casual conversation with the being that lied inside. But she also knew she'd never find out how unless she took a chance.
"Well… here goes nothing." Gwen stepped up and placed her hand on the palm-reader that served as the force-field's lock. It was programmed specifically to read her hand and ONLY her hand, as to prevent any others from getting a hold of the relic. As the force field came down, Gwen stared up at the relic for but a moment before closing her eyes, taking a deep breath before uttering; "…Jinn."
And just like that, the air grew still as the relic began to spin, a blue mist beginning to waft out of the lamp and spread out across the entire room. Just then, a silhouette started to take form from the mist, resembling that of a woman… who was quite tall and imposing. Within moments, the form took solid shape and revealed Jinn herself, the blue genie smiling knowingly down to the redhead before her. "Ah, my mistress. So good to see you again." Jinn floated in the air as she lowered her head down to Gwen curiously, resting her chin on her hand. "So, to what do I owe the visit?"
…..
A/N: Well, that's quite the note to end on, isn't it? Not only did we see our main heroes return in this chapter, along with the true identity of the Forever King, but we've also got our first reappearance of Jinn as well! And oh boy, Gwen trying to have a casual conversation with her should be quite the interesting experience. Do casual questions like "how have you been?" count or not? We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?
But yeah, the Forever King… it's Enoch! The first Forever Knight villain is back and now HE'S the one running the shop. Apparently the guy was the only Forever Knight smart enough to NOT lead his team toward certain doom and decided to live to fight another day, and it's evident from what he's saying that they've been busy. That said, his plan to gain this godly power he speaks of is… rather interesting, especially given what deity he's focused on. That and given certain events that've been referenced during his monologuing… and I think you can guess what we're getting closer and closer to. Soon, my friends… soon.
But of course, can't have the Forever Knights without having them bring some xenophobia with them can we… as disgusting as that is to say. Yeah, you probably had a feeling this was coming, but Enoch and the Knights aren't really big fans of Faunus, and as a result, has effectively gotten under their skin, especially Blake. I think the scene speaks for itself, so look forward to the White Fang entering the picture to help kick the Knights' asses.
Still, at least it wasn't ALL doom and gloom. After all, the gang had their reunion with Ironwood and Glynda, so there's something positive. And of course, NEXT TIME, we'll be seeing more good moments as our heroes return to their homes to see their families. Before that, though, Gwen's got her own talk with Jinn, and that's gonna be interesting in and of itself. Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll catch you all next time! And as always, stay safe out there!
