Gamer4 in. In relation to YAM, I think I'm going to stick with Vanessa as the primary host for this story, at least for now. Georgie and Adam have both decided they won't be beta reading this one, and my Crazy Hand character was never exactly a hit to begin with. Yes, I think I'll stick to Vanessa, and maybe her friends for now. (They're OC's, in case you were wondering, from my aspiring novel Solaris.) Well, majority rules- let's re-introduce Xenoblade 3. I should probably say something about the Nintendo Direct from earlier today (you now know when I'm writing this) but I'm honestly still trying to sort out my own feelings about it. Alright, back to the show.
Episode III
Chariots of Fire
"CHARIOTS OF FIRE!"
Ruby screamed as still another man appeared- youth with shaggy brown hair, a striped polo shirt, and red jacket over blue jeans. He wore a manic grin.
"Ah, Jack." Vanessa looked halfway between annoyed and amused. "Steak done?"
"What was it you said that one time?" Jack grinned, producing the steak from earlier, prepared to perfection on a platter. "Bone appda teat?"
Vanessa grimaced. "Bring that up again and I'll bone appda shit out of your teats."
Yang laughed. "Who knew miss priss had a sense of humor?"
"Oh, she's a sweetheart deep down," Jack grinned. "Alright, I'll cut this up- should be enough for everyone..."
Everyone thanked him as he served them each up some steak. "Mmm... this is good! Not Renny-good, of course, but pretty good," Nora praised.
"'Baker' is my last name," Jack bowed slightly.
"You don't bake steak, you idjit," Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, who is this man?" Weiss asked of Vanessa.
"Jack Baker, my brother in all but blood," Vanessa explained briefly. "So, word from the Hand? We're doing Chariots of Fire again?"
"Yup, that's what he told me!" Jack agreed. "He and George are too busy to host right now."
"Alright," Vanessa clapped her hands. "What do you all remember about Chariots of Fire?"
"Nothing, since you wiped our memories," Weiss pointed out accusingly.
"Actually, I think I remember something..." Nora pondered. Her eyes started glowing. "Oh, right, this one stars Renny!"
"I don't suppose there's any point in me begging to pass this one by?" Ren pleaded quietly.
Vanessa looked at him. "If I have to be the leading woman in one of the Hand's inane worlds, so do you."
"Ren's a leading woman?" Yang smirked. "Hey, Ren, why didn't you- ow!"
"You know what she meant," Blake rolled her eyes- and her hand, after her dope slap.
"I'd still like to register a comp-" Ren started, only to be cut off by his voice over a black screen.
"I've been having these strange thoughts lately... like, is any of this real, or not?"
"Wow... Renny sounds kinda... out of it," Nora pondered.
"I'm no stranger to the occasional emotional fugue," Ren admitted.
The first thing they saw in this world was a clock atop a tower, currently pointing to 11:58. The camera pulled out to show that the tower was in the center of a large city, watched over by a large, white floating castle.
"Ohhh, pretty!" Nora grinned.
"Is that castle being held up by dust? Akin to Atlas?" Weiss pondered.
"Ether," Vanessa corrected. "Which... is basically this world's version of dust, so... same difference, I guess."
Three children were running through the streets. At the head of the trio was a small girl with long, blond hair- and a set of wings protruding from the sides of her head. "C'mon, you two!" she called behind her. "The new year's celebration is starting- we're gonna miss the fireworks!"
"Huh?" Yang blinked. "So... that's clearly me when I was younger, but... I'm a faunus in this world?"
"You don't look like any bird faunus I've ever seen," Blake shook her head. "Ones with wings usually have them coming out of their back. I've never seen them coming from the head before."
"Strictly speaking, they're not faunus," Vanessa stepped in again. "This world has a lot of races you don't have back home. Yang's what we call a high entia."
Yang smirked.
"Don't you dare-" Weiss started, but Yang cut her off.
"High on what?"
Everyone else groaned.
Next up came a short boy with white hair and what seemed to be metal skin. "Yeah, keep up, Ren!"
"And Jaune's a robot?!" Ruby's eyes twinkled.
"Eh... something like that," Vanessa agreed, somewhat carelessly.
"Oh, oh!" Nora interrupted. "He was calling to Ren? We're gonna see young Ren- I wonder what he's gonna look like?!"
Bringing up the rear were two others- a taller girl with rabbit ears, and a boy with long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail.
"Oh, Velvet, too?" Nora beamed. "But... she and Ren look pretty normal..."
"Ren's what we call a homs- a different kind of human," Vanessa explained shortly. "You could put a homs and a human in the same room, and probably not be able to tell the difference."
Blake pursed her lips, but refrained from commenting.
Velvet's eyes were wide with wonder. "Is it true? There are really going to be fireworks?"
Ren nodded with a small smile. "Yes- I saw them setting up yesterday. You may want to cover your ears, but I promise they'll be worth it!"
In the distance, they could already see some preliminaries going off, filling the night sky with sparks. The crowd grew thicker, until the four friends ended up getting separated. Ren was left pushing through the legs of the adults around him, trying to catch sight of Jaune or Yang's bright hair, or Velvet's tall ears.
"Strange... Ren is usually one of the taller people in the room," Pyrrha pondered.
"Yeah... but that's not as strange as wondering where I am!" Nora observed, crossing her arms with a pout.
He finally emerged from the forest of legs into a clearing surrounding a fountain, where kids were laughing and frolicking in the flowing waters.
Finally, on the other side of the fountain, he spotted them- Jaune, Yang, and Velvet, hopping and waving to him. He smiled and set off towards them, unwittingly disturbing a flock of pigeons, setting them to flight.
Up above, the clock's minute hand moved over to 12.
All around Ren, time seemed to grind to a halt- even the pigeons froze in mid-flight. Even the chiming of the clock slowed, first sounding as though it were underwater, before stopping altogether.
"And now it's Ren's turn to trip some balls," Yang commented drily.
"That's weird," Nora pondered. "He's usually the most lucid person on the planet!"
Ren looked around, searching for any signs of life, but everything seemed frozen... until he looked up into the sky above the floating castle. It was overtaken by an enormous sphere, so large only a fraction of it was visible. His eyes widened as his chest seized in terror as the orb grew larger and larger, closer and closer...
"What is that?!" Weiss gasped.
"It looks like a planet- did a whole planet come smashing down onto Ren's?!" Ruby flapped her arms frantically.
"If so, I'm not confident about his chances for survival..." Blake muttered.
"But... but they said this world was about him, right?" Nora insisted.
The camera turned to Ren's face and zoomed in on his eyes... and then music began. The camera pulled out to show Ren prone as he seemed to be falling through a vast ocean. As the music picked up, he opened his eyes and found himself on a beach- he had to raise a hand against the sun to see a figure standing in the water- a short young woman in pink with ginger hair.
"Ah, there you are, Nora!" Pyrrha said brightly.
"Of course, this looks to be a non-diagetic music video," Blake commented.
"Yup- now someone's singing," Yang agreed.
Indeed, lyrics were now accompanying the music:
"You're giving me
Too many things-
Lately
You're all I need,
oh-oh..."
Ren's eyes widened as he saw a tidal wave coming up behind Nora, fit to swallow her whole. She turned to him and matched his smile, reaching out a hand to him. He broke into a run, dashing into the water in an effort to grab it back- the tidal wave struck them both and left Ren tumbling in the surf.
"You smiled at me,
And said
'Don't get me wrong, I love you,
But does that mean I have to meet your
Father?'"
He opened his eyes and spied Nora again, still holding out her hand. He struggled to reach her, but was swept away by a current.
"When we're older, you'll understand
What I meant when I said
'No, I don't think
Life is quite
That simple.'"
Finally, he surfaced, the time of day shifted to twilight. He turned and spied the beach again, where Jaune and Yang were waving to him- he began wading towards them.
"When you walk away,
You don't hear me say,
'Please, oh baby, don't go!'
Simple and clean
Is the way that you're making me feel
Tonight!
It's hard to let it go!"
The three of them laughed together for a bit before Jaune's eyes widened. He pointed up at the sky, where a meteor shower was taking place. But something else was falling amongst the countless rocks. Ren looked closely, and realized that this something was himself.
"Hold me!
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on-
Regardless
Of warnings,
The future doesn't scare me at all!
Nothing's like before!"
The sight seemed to be the cue for Ren to fall back into the water, which felt equally like water and sky. Both Jaune and Yang reached out to him, but just missed as he continued his tumble.
"Hold me!
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on!
Regardless
Of warnings,
The future doesn't scare me at all!
Nothing's like before..."
At long last, he landed on some surface amongst an infinite void of black. He looked around, searching for any source of light- it came as the ground beneath him came alive with brilliant white birds, lifting off into the dark sky, leaving a bright white light below. He looked down, and the camera zoomed into his eye again as the music came to an end.
The audience was silent for a long moment.
"So... that was a cool music video..." Yang readily admitted.
"But what does any of that have to do with that opening scene?!" Nora asked the question on everyone's mind.
"Symbolism!" Jack happily declared. "Alsowejustreallywantedtoincorporatethatsequence."
"Speak for yourself," Vanessa snorted.
"What was that?" Weiss demanded sharply.
"Nothing!" Jack said quickly. Vanessa sighed and said nothing.
Finally, the camera centered on Jaune and Ren, now clearly adults, sitting on opposite sides of a table in a bright metal room. In addition to their growth spurt, they had both adopted military-esque uniforms, both in bright shades of white that put them in mind of the Schnee Dust Company. Finally, they both had intricate, geometric tattoos- Jaune's was on his chin, and easy to spot, while Ren's was on the back of his left hand. About half of each was red, the other a dark, dismal grey.
"Well, clearly something happened between then and now!" Nora grunted. "What, was that all a dream?"
"I would suspect the music video was, at least," Ren guessed. "As to the opening sequence... I don't know."
Neither man seemed keen on elaborating. Instead, Ren was asking a question of his own. "Say, Jaune... do you ever wonder why we're here?"
"Mmm... that's the million-lien question, isn't it?" Jaune thought. "Why are we here? Are we the result of some cosmic coincidence, or is there a god out there, with plans for us, and stuff? I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night."
He looked up and flushed under Ren's gaze. "That... wasn't quite what I meant."
"O-oh."
"...Care to talk about it?"
"No, no, nonono, go on with what you were saying!"
Yang chuckled. "Okay, we've at least got some comic relief here."
"I can happily leave the jokes behind if it means understanding why their military uniforms make it seem as though they work for my family," Weiss shook her head.
"I was thinking more along the lines of, 'why are we here, fighting Nohr?' Everblight Plain is quite possibly the least desirable spit of land in all of Aionios- why would anyone care to fight over it?"
Jaune shrugged. "When have we ever needed a reason to fight Nohr? Fight to live, live to fight- that's kind of what we do."
"That's a... disturbingly un-Jaunelike thing to say," Pyrrha shuddered.
"And so offhandedly, no less," Blake agreed.
Ren seemed on the verge of arguing the point, but the door behind them opened, revealing Yang, wings still in place. She, too, had grown, a tattoo matching the boys' on just over her left breast. "Up and at 'em, muppets. The Nohrians are coming."
Ren and Jaune nodded, rising to their feet. There were bursts of flames at their hands, and from them came their weapons. Ren's were nearly identical, with the exception of a circle in each handle- halfway around the circle's edge was what seemed like a loading symbol, composed of fire.
The same symbol sat at the center of Jaune's weapon, which had drastically transformed- it was almost larger than he was himself, sharp edged around a flat metal surface, as if to serve the function of sword and shield in one weapon.
Yang nodded, and for a second, her hands were filled with flames as well as she summoned her gauntlets. On the back of each hand was the same half-full loading symbol.
"I have several questions," Jaune blinked.
"Me, too!" Ruby agreed. "I mean, everyone's dressed weird, it's just the three of them, they can summon their weapons anywhere, but they apparently have to load now... all I'm getting from this is how awesome Jaune's weapon is!"
"Ohoho..." Jack grinned. "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
The three soldiers sprinted through several rusty hallways before finally emerging onto a vast battlefield- however, it was no ordinary building they'd exited from. Rather, it was an enormous, city-size robot, simultaneously vehicular and humanoid, loaded with weaponry, and where a face might be was yet another vast circle with another half-full loading symbol.
Ruby's eyes glistened. "Ohhhh... you weren't kidding! That's soooo cooool!"
"Mobile artillery- that's also a house!" Jack's eyes glimmered as Crazy's usually did when he was telling a joke only he understood. "Naturally, if two collided, that would be mobile artillery that's also a house crashing into a mobile house that's also artillery!"
Vanessa swatted him over the head.
Ignoring them, Ren was narrowing his eyes, taking in the battlefield. "Hmmm... like my other said, this seems to hardly be a desirable land."
"A good place to fight, though," Pyrrha concurred with Jaune's other.
"Wait- I think I see the... Nohrians?" Weiss pondered on the word. "Over there, see?"
"Yes- they're all in black- wait, they look like-" Blake gasped.
"Their uniforms kind of look like yours," Yang agreed. "Soooooo... Weiss vs. Blake?"
The girls glanced nervously at each other, recalling the last time they'd clashed- could this world be a result of their others taking such a clash up a notch?
As the battle began, Ren began to narrate. Jaune is right of course... fighting to live, and living to fight. An endless war between the kingdoms of Hoshido... and Nohr. That's the way of our world- Aionios. I heard once that the word means 'Eternity.' It's a sick joke, if so. Our world is dying. What keeps us alive? Food and water, of course, but what we truly need most... is the life of others.
As he narrated, the camera panned to show that the Nohrians had a city-size mech of their own.
A Nohrian soldier leapt towards Jaune, who drove his sword into the ground, using it as a shield to block the blow. Ren swooped in and used his knives to kill the soldier with two deadly strikes- his body collapsed to the ground, where it began to... hollow. Soon, there was only a crumbling husk left- it seemed to be consumed in flames, ashes rising and entering the circle on the Hoshidan mech- the sign seemed to fill up a little. A similar circle appeared in Ren's eye, perfectly matching the circle on the mech.
"Oh, my..." Pyrrha's eyes widened. "So... they're literally taking each others' life force?"
"It fills up those circles... those... clocks," Ren noted gravely.
"One in the mech, one in your eyes?" Nora asked.
"No... I suspect that the ones in our eyes are merely reflecting the one on the mech."
"The fuller it is, the stronger you are," Vanessa explained shortly.
"Which makes it..." Blake summed up, "exactly like Jaune and Ren described. Fight to live by filling up the clock, live to fight so that you can fill it up further."
"A perfect set-up for an endless war," Weiss concluded. "I supposes it makes the names rather fitting."
"The... names?"
"I suppose she means the names of the kingdoms," Pyrrha interjected. "Nohr is Atlesian, Hoshido Mistralian, but they both mean the same thing- lamb."
"As in... lamb for the slaughter," Ren agreed darkly.
Soon, the ashes entering Ren's mech became a flowing river, slowly filling it up further and further. Yet, as they saw, every time someone in Ren's army died, the same thing happened in reverse, their bodies turning to ash that filled up the mech on the Nohrian side.
Smaller machines ran through the field, color-coded depending on the army- white for Ren's side, black for Nohr. The white ones were bulkier and more power-driven, swatting aside soldiers like flies, while the black ones were sleeker, faster, more graceful in a way.
This is how it's always been, Ren continued. Taking the flames of each other's lives for our own. For those whose lives are stolen, only a lifeless husk remains.
One of the Hoshidan mech's arms rose, and fired an enormous mortar shell at the Nohrian equivalent.
"Hold your fire!" roared what seemed like a commander, raising a hand to the side of his head. "If you blow up the whole sparking thing, we can't take their flames! Aim for the legs- cripple it!"
"Aim for the legs- yes, sir!"
The white mech aimed its cannons lower and gathered the energy for a colossal shot that indeed seemed to bring the black mech to its knees.
"Okay, the reasons they're fighting are horrifying," Yang acknowledged, "but at the same time, this is also kinda cool as hell."
"So... sooooo coooool!" Ruby nodded her agreement through sparkling eyes.
The black mech's crippling was the sign for the Hoshidan army to start closing in, forcing the Nohrians onto the defensive, even as the Hoshidan mech turned its attention towards the smaller machines darting around the battlefield.
The camera focused again on Ren, Jaune and Yang as they charged into enemy lines, each fighting according to their usual style. Yang overpowered her enemies with raw strength, Jaune acted as their shield, and Ren fought in a manner that almost made it seem as though he were dancing. Additionally, there was a new arrival, familiar yet not to the audience.
"Ooohhhh, it's a nopon!" Ruby squealed. "Look, guys, it's a nopon!"
"They sure are cute little things, aren't-" Jaune started, but was cut off as Yang burst out laughing.
"Say, Rubes, doesn't that nopon look kinda familiar to ya?"
"Er... no, not really-"
"Dark fur? Grey jacket, with that little red cape he's got going?"
"No way..." Ruby looked closer, then burst out in another squeal. "Yaaaaang, that nopon is Uncle Qrow! He's so cuuuuuute!"
Weiss smirked. "If only Winter could see this- she'd have mileage for months."
"I don't think Uncle Qrow would be as stoked about this as Rubes is," Yang chuckled her agreement.
Jaune was counting soldiers as he struck them down. "Thirty! Thirty-one!"
"Focus, Jaune!" Ren chastised as he put his knives together to block a spear.
"I'm not letting Yang out-score me again!"
"They're really into this..." Pyrrha gulped.
"To the point they're competing over who can kill more," Blake muttered.
The spearman broke through Ren's knives and almost pierced his chest- but he was quickly blown away by two shots from a gun. The camera panned to reveal a dark-skinned blond woman jumping over a nearby rock. "Eyes front, you two! Enough yapping, we've got enemies on all sides!"
"Arslan Altan," Jaune identified. "That lion faunus from Team ABRN."
"Oh, that team we whipped before we came here?" Yang smirked. "Yeah, I think I remember her."
Jaune was attacked from behind, and only barely managed to deflect- Ren was at his side in an instant. A glow filled his hands and seemed to heal Jaune's injury. "Thanks, Ren. Urgh, spark these Sigma mudders!"
"They're pretty tough," Yang agreed. "So much for being the higher rank..."
"Spark? Sigma? Mudders?" Ruby tilted her head quizzically.
"'Spark' and 'mudder' are traditional swears for this world," Vanessa elaborated. "A lot of this world has to do with fire, so spark and snuff are pretty common... And each kingdom consists of several colonies, which get a rank depending on how efficient they are in battle. Gold is the highest, dirt the lowest- I'm guessing 'mudder' is supposed to compare them to dirt ranks."
"Quite a bit of world-building in these swears," Blake commented drily. "So, I suppose Sigma is the colony they're fighting?"
"Correct. Hoshidan colonies are named after numbers, Nohrians after old Mistralian letters."
As they pressed their advantage, Ren glanced around, and narrowed his eyes. "Jaune, the front line- they've been flanked! They welcomed us into a trap!"
"May's team," Qrow confirmed, narrowing his own eyes.
"Okay, I have to be honest, I did not expect nopon-Uncle to sound just like he does as a human!" Ruby blinked.
"I wouldn't be too surprised," Jack shrugged. "Your uncle has only one true voice."
Jaune turned to Yang. "What's the word from Sky? Where's our backup?"
Yang glanced back and spied a squad of men carrying swords identical to Jaune's, working together to form a greater shield in front of their smaller robots. "Guarding the artillery- we're on our own for now."
Ren looked back to the front line, which was being steadily pierced by the Nohrian mechs. "Well, we certainly can't afford to hang around here all day. Let's move- we can't let the front line break!"
"Roger that," Jaune agreed, and the five of them- Ren, Yang, Jaune, Qrow, and Arslan moved closer to the front lines.
They were cut off when one of the Nohrian mechs hit the ground in front of them like a meteor. "We seem to have caught levnis's attention," Qrow commented drily. He drew a small gun he had slung across his back- drew it, rather than summoning it through fire.
"Not ideal," Yang grunted, readying her gauntlets, "but it's do or die!"
"Oh, so those things are called 'levnises!'" Ruby smiled. "Remind me to look that up later, see if there's any special meaning!"
Weiss groaned. "Of course you're willing to study when it's about weapons..."
Qrow fired off a few shots, but they seemed to do little more than aggravate the levnis. It turned and seemed to glower down at him, only to turn when Jaune smacked at it with the flat of his great sword. "Over here, ugly!"
As it turned to face him, Jaune plunged the blade into the ground, where the hilt turned, transforming it from a sword into a turret, from behind which Jaune let loose with a stream of minigun fire.
"So... darn... cool!" Ruby beamed. "Jaune, when we get back, I'm totally modding your sword to be able to do that!"
"That... doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually!" Jaune allowed a wide smile to cross his face at the prospect of possessing such a trick weapon.
Arslan was letting loose with her own gun, but it didn't seem to have much more effect than Qrow's. However, she and Jaune were keeping attention well enough for Yang to jump up on the thing's back and deliver punch after punch, punctuated with shotgun blasts. The back wore away before the levnis's flailing finally threw her off. Ren slid around it and climbed up, looking at the damage his partner had done. "Hm... this seems important," he commented as he plunged his hand into the armor's break and pulled out a fistful of wires. The levnis groaned as it shut down and collapsed to the ground.
"Good hustle, everyone!" Yang applauded.
"Good teamwork," Pyrrha concurred.
"I just wish Pyrrha and I were there," Nora pouted.
Beyond the fallen levnis, they saw a field full of dead bodies, Hoshidan and Nohrian alike. Small motes of light floated up from each and every one. The fighting seemed to be dying down, with a definite Hoshido victory. The 'clock,' as Ren had described it, on the front of the giant Nohrian mech was dwindling, until at last, it reached zero, and the whole began to shut down. The ether crackling through it, holding it together, began to fade, and it collapsed under its own weight.
It should have been a moment of triumph and victory... so why did Ren feel so melancholy?
"We seem to have stumbled onto the most human Ren yet," Weiss commented.
"I still really like the one from the spy world," Ruby commented fondly.
Fortunately, his fellow Hoshidans seemed happy enough for him, anyways. "Victory! Victory!" came the rallying cries across Everblight Plain. "Victory! Is! Ours!"
"Huzzah!" Jaune called, raising his fists in joy, his sword disappearing in the same flames that had summoned it.
Ren willed his own blades away as well, taking in the destruction around him.
"We won! Their lives are ours!"
This cry was soon taken up by the entire army. "Their lives are ours! Their lives are ours!"
"It sounds like a cult," Jaune shuddered.
"...Yes. It does," Blake agreed.
Ren slowly ascended a small hill as the army cleared out- he was followed by Yang, Jaune, and Qrow. "And so we fight on," Ren said slowly. "In the name of the Queen."
He recalled the last time he'd stood in the presence of the Queen, on one of the rare occasions she'd descended from her great castle that hovered in the midst of similarly floating reefs. She was truly regal in her grand white dress, her face concealed behind a mask, revealing only her long white hair pulled into a sidetail, and the pair of great wings from the sides of her head.
"So Hoshido is led by Weiss!" Ruby grinned.
Weiss looked awkward. "So, it seems that I'm a... high entia, you said? In this world?"
"Headwing buddies!" Yang beamed, pulling her into a tight side-hug.
"Almost a faunus," Blake couldn't help teasing.
We are all born of the Queen, Ren's narration continued. Born from her, and to her we return. We are her soldiers, the enforcers of her will, from the moment we're born, to the moment we die.
Weiss's awkwardness became outright discomfort.
It seemed a flashback had begun, as a hovercraft not unlike a bullhead touched down in what seemed like a boot camp, and several children disembarked.
"So they're forced into service as children?" Pyrrha gasped.
"The moment they're born," Vanessa agreed. "They're born at that age."
"Ten," Nora put in.
"Hm?" Pyrrha asked, turning to her.
"Renny's ten there," Nora elaborated.
"Hmm... if you say so, I'm willing to take you at your word," Ren decided.
"Child soldiers..." Weiss gaped. "I'm fine with... child soldiers?"
In the name of the Queen, we fight to live, and live... to fight.
The flashback continued as Ren participated in a sparring match with what was clearly a young Cardin Winchester- he, too, had small wings coming from his head, and was growing increasingly frustrated as Ren expertly dodged and parried his attacks. "Cut that out!" he yelled.
"Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen!" Nora scoffed. "The day Renny loses to you is the day I give up pancakes!"
Ren said nothing aloud, but did allow a tear to slide down his eye at the sheer faith Nora had just displayed in him.
"Looks like Cardin's nearly a faunus, too," Blake allowed her smirk to show. "I'd love to see his reaction to this."
The fight continued, Ren ducking and weaving around Cardin's mace. "Stay... still... damn... coward!"
Ren dodged another swing, and was nearly hit by the beam from a gun somewhere behind Cardin. He fell back, ducking behind a young Jaune's shield. "Thank you."
"Thank me when we've won," Jaune smirked. "Eyes open, man- you're the one they're after!"
Ren nodded and ducked behind a nearby steel wall.
"It would seem this is a mock battle, of sorts," Weiss commented, trying to fight back that lurking discomfort at the idea of using child soldiers.
"Renny's got this!" Nora insisted.
Ren slid next to Yang, who was firing shots from her gauntlets. "We need to hit their attackers- we take them out, we'll be golden!"
"Who're you aiming at?"
"Tryin' ta draw out Russell- unfortunately, he's almost as slippery as you!"
"I'll choose to take that as a compliment for now."
Cardin, too, had retreated behind a teammate- someone they didn't recognize, though she had the same metal skin as Jaune. "Yang... that chick never shuts up!"
"You better believe it," Yang glowered.
"Sky! Switch to ranged arts!"
"Roger that."
Sky appeared, raising a staff above which three spheres of light appeared, which he fired across the battlefield.
Yang had taken shelter behind another steel wall, but was forced out of hiding as the orbs arced above and streaked down towards her. She avoided the worst, but the blast was still enough to knock her off her feet.
"Yang!" Jaune called, rushing out and crouching protectively in front of her with his blade in full shield mode.
"Urgh... my bad... didn't think about Sky... kinda snuffed this one up..."
She looked up and saw a young girl with rabbit ears dashing towards her, raising her staff. She was enveloped in light, and gasped as her injuries began to heal.
Across the field, Cardin saw it as well, and scowled.
"Ohh, Velvet's on their team, too?" Ruby smiled. "As a healer, too! Fits like a glove!"
"So, regular faunus do exist in this world as well..." Blake pondered.
"Are you okay, Yang?" Velvet asked kindly.
"Sure am!" Yang flashed a sunny smile. "Ever the life-saver, Velv!"
"Sparking deadweight." Cardin clearly felt rather different. He looked to Sky. "Keep firing- don't stop."
"At what?"
"Doesn't matter. Just don't take your finger off the trigger. Draw their attention, understand? We need to draw out that bunnit-eared coward."
"Why bother? She's bottom of the class already."
"Sure, she can't fight... but she can heal."
"Makes sense to me," agreed the metal-skinned girl.
"Knock her down," Cardin said firmly, "and the fight will be as good as won."
"I hate it," Jaune admitted, "but he's not wrong. Any gamer can tell you, you always take out the medic first."
"Always after Velvet, even when he's a faunus too," Blake scoffed.
Cardin's team ducked out from behind their wall- Sky raised his staff and began summoning orbs of light, firing them off willy-nilly with no care for where they landed, forcing Ren's team to take evasive action.
"Yang!" Jaune called out. "Sky's gone berserk! Take him out!"
"Love to," Yang called back, "but they've got the advantage, and they're behind cover!"
"Ren, can we set up a flank?" Jaune suggested.
Ren was running through the maze of steel walls when he saw Velvet, struggling to stay ahead of the falling projectiles.
"Ren?" Jaune repeated.
"How are they talking to each other? They're so far away!" Ruby pointed out.
"Remember when their eyes changed?" Jack recalled. "There's a device in their eyes, appropriately called an 'iris.' Lets 'em do all sorts of cool stuff- lets 'em know how their clock is doing, lets 'em communicate at distance..."
"Oh, so it's CODEC from Metal Gear Solid."
The room fell silent as everyone slowly turned to look at a furiously blushing Weiss. "Er... I heard someone else describing the series once..."
Through the smoke, Ren also saw Cardin's team behaving very unusually. "They've broken formation," he informed. He looked and saw Yang about to take another projectile, and pulled her out of the way.
"We have to do something!" Yang grunted. "We're snuffed at this rate!"
"Sky's a decoy!" Ren called. "Their real target is Velvet!"
Jaune had pieced this together a second before Ren could finish announcing it- he made a mad dash for Velvet, summoning a shield in front of her at the exact second Cardin's mace swung. He managed to block most of the damage, but there was a shockwave that still sent her reeling.
"Well, well, he does have a brain," Cardin scoffed. "But don't think you can hold out forever!"
He and his metal-skinned partner began beating down on Jaune's shield, slowly making more and more headway. The others were trying to close in and help, but were being cut off by cover fire from Sky and Thrush.
"Jaune!" Velvet cried.
"Stay put!" Jaune ordered. "They're trying to knock you out of the running!"
Another blow from Cardin sent shockwaves through Jaune, chipping further away at his shield.
"I know!" Velvet admitted. "I know that, but-"
"Don't... leave... that snuffing spot!" Jaune insisted, digging his blade into the ground even further, even as he grew visibly weaker and weaker.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried.
Velvet's expression was a mix of panic, sorrow, and guilt. Finally, against Jaune's orders, she rose to her feet and broke into a sprint in the opposite direction.
"No!" Jaune called.
Ren saw it, and attempted to go to her side, but Thrush still wouldn't let him leave his cover.
Cardin abandoned Jaune, allowing his metal companion to take over while he charged after Velvet.
Once she felt she'd made some sufficient distance, Velvet raised her staff in the air. "All that I am... is yours!" she cried, pointing it towards Jaune. Aura appeared around her, before channeling into her staff and towards Jaune. Velvet smiled weakly as she fell to the ground. "Now... you can... carry on..."
Cardin scoffed. "Should have done that sooner." He brought his mace down, and the screen went black.
Before the audience could even ask if the world was over, it came back, showing Cardin's team standing on a stage as they were decorated for their victory. Below were all the students who had yet to graduate. Yang was biting her lip agitatedly, while Ren managed to retain his usual stoicism, but Jaune and Velvet were noticeably downcast.
That night, Jaune confronted Velvet in an alley, nearly punching her across the face- he may well have, if Ren hadn't intervened in the nick of time. "Let go, Ren!"
Velvet herself kept her eyes on the ground, not flinching at all as his fist was raised, nor looking relieved when Ren stopped it. She simply looked... resigned.
"Don't take it out on her!" Ruby cried.
"...Sorry," Jaune muttered, rubbing at the back of his head.
"We lost because she tried to play the hero!"
"You were on the verge of falling regardless," Ren pointed out calmly.
Jaune hesitated before wrenching his hand free- but he didn't turn it on Velvet, simply turning away from all three.
Yang had been leaning against the wall, but at this, she stepped forward. "I think Velv did the right thing," she threw in her two lien. "If she didn't do what she did, you'd have been the first casualty."
"I know... but I don't like the idea of others dying for me."
For some reason, this sent a shiver down Pyrrha's spine.
"She did it to protect you," Ren reiterated. "She gave us a brilliant chance... even if we ultimately lost anyways."
"I get that, but-"
"Please!" Velvet interrupted. "Please don't argue- this is my fault! If only... if only I were a better soldier, you wouldn't have had to protect me in the first place! If I were stronger... we'd have won!"
Ren placed a wordless hand on her shoulder.
"So much for... getting to the finals..." she continued, trembling. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry... I let us all down... on your big day..."
She turned and ran off.
"She's really broken up about it," Nora said sadly. "Didn't even notice Jaune-Jaune about to punch her..."
"What big day was she talking about?" Pyrrha asked.
"What big day was she talking about? Ren asked.
"Don't go reading Renny's mind, Pyr-Pyr!" Nora growled threateningly.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha quickly apologized.
Jaune and Yang both looked at Ren disbelievingly. "Your birthday, you dum-dum!" Yang slugged him gently on the shoulder.
"My-"
"Yeah- you're second-term today, aren't you?"
"Second... term?" Weiss asked, baffled.
"Ah... I suppose I am." Ren glanced at Jaune- suddenly, his frustration took on a whole new meaning.
"Yeah, a win would've been a nice surprise," Yang nodded. "Jaune was the most fired up of all of us, weren't ya, ya big lug?"
Jaune said nothing- he simply walked away, which prompted a smirk from Yang.
Ren's narration returned. We're given a lifespan of ten years- or terms, as we call them. We begin life in our first term, and end it with our tenth. For those ten years... we fight. Continually.
"Ten years... only ten years of life?" Pyrrha asked, aghast.
"So they start out as ten... then they always die when they're twenty?" Jaune agreed, horrified.
Though of course, the realities of war dictate that very few soldiers reach the end of that tenth term. Most of us lose our lives on the battlefield. In my eight terms, I've only seen one soldier actually reach that final year. But if you can manage it... it's honored with a special ceremony. What we call... Homecoming.
I vividly recall that day- the only Homecoming I've ever born witness to. A soldier with wings, like Yang or Cardin's. By some miracle, she'd pulled through one final battle, and earned the right to stand before the White Queen one final time.
The scene changed, showing the white castle again, as a large platoon of Hoshidans stood in formation before a stage. The soldier in question knelt upon it- knelt before what seemed to be a man in full body armor and helmet- only his eyes showed through. On his chest was a blue formation in the vague shape of a cross.
"That shape looks fami-" Nora started, but stopped, her eyes wide, when she heard Ren gasp. "Renny, what is it?"
"The men on the stage..."
There were two other men on the stage- or rather, one man and a boy. The boy was Ren himself, looking hardly any older than during the mock battle with Cardin. The man, though, appearing to be nearing his twenties, had black hair in a ponytail, and a small, pointed beard, with kind, magenta eyes.
"...Father..."
The armored man turned away, revealing a dark cape, revealing Queen Weiss Schnee standing behind.
"Amazing!" Jaune's eyes were wide. "Even the Queen came out for this!"
"That's her... that's really her!" Even Yang seemed rather starstruck.
"You're making me remarkably uncomfortable," Weiss finally admitted.
"Don't be," Blake advised. "Imagine how much you could teach her if she actually worshiped you like that!"
Yang snorted. "Yeah. Not gonna happen."
Weiss moved slowly towards the winged woman. As she did, the man who so looked like Ren's father, Li, produced a long, wooden flute of white, with silver designs. When Weiss finally stood over the soldier, he began to play- a low tune that spoke of great sadness, but great hope as well. And then, Ren began to sing in tune with it.
"Sleepers wake,
Dreams will fade,
Although we cling fast...
Was it real,
What we saw?
I believe...
Lost in dreams,
We sleep on,
Tossing and turning...
Stay with me,
By my side,
Never leave!
What if the worst comes?
If someday this sweet reverie ends?
We too, our memories for real,
Fade us by...
Dream with me,
By the sea,
We watch the waves crash...
Hold my hand,
Think of me,
And I'll fly..."
For a moment, the audience sat in stunned silence.
"Holy Hell, Ren, I didn't realize you had those kinda pipes on you!" Yang praised.
"I did!" Nora beamed. "He just doesn't like showing them off often!"
"He could take over my singing career," Weiss agreed, eyes wide.
"Please... stop..." Ren begged.
As the song reached its end, Weiss spread her arms wide, and the soldier began to rise, her body slowly dissolving into motes of golden light.
"Amazing!" Jaune exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I heard stories, but this is just crazy! That's gonna be me someday, you know?"
"This ritual... it's sick," Blake muttered. "Making them praise the premature deaths of their comrades... making them look forward to their own!"
"I agree..." Weiss nodded quietly. She had no idea how her other could sanction such a thing.
"And you three- you're making it with me, mark my words!"
"Damn right!" Yang grinned, smashing her fists together.
Born from the Queen, and we all live for a chance to return to her. Our tattoos count the time- when we're born, they're entirely red, but the color fades as time goes by. Should we live until it has become entirely grey, we finally return to our Queen's embrace. That is our world. None of us questioned it- or even thought to. Until one day...
The camera zoomed in on Li and spun around, slowly crossfading, replacing the castle with the wartorn plains, and Li with Ren, flute at his lips, playing that same melody. Around him, the fallen bodies were fading into that same light. The notes rang out across the otherwise silent flats as the remaining soldiers began to amble their way back home. This was his job- once the battle was over, he played this ballad for his fallen comrades, silently praying that their lives would, in some way, still return to the Queen.
Jaune silently watched, noticing that the fallen Nohrians were being sent off as well. "You really shouldn't do that."
"Do what?"
"I get sending off our guys, but why Nohr... our enemy?"
"If I don't, nobody else will," Ren answered simply.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure their off-seer's dead, too," Yang nodded nonchalantly.
"They really don't think much of their enemy," Blake mumbled.
"They've been raised not to think about it," Pyrrha noted sadly. "It's amazing even Ren does."
"If you can find a rule saying I'm not allowed to send off enemy soldiers," Ren decided, "then I'll stop."
Jaune shook his head in exasperation. "I don't get you sometimes, Ren."
"You don't?" Yang chuckled. She lowered her voice to a robotic register. "'Friend or foe, someone has to lay them to rest. That's my role as an off-seer.'"
"I sound nothing like that," Ren objected robotically.
"He only says it three or four times a day," Yang teased.
"I like to think I put a little more emotion into it than that," Ren rolled his eyes.
"Well, if you're through seeing off the bugs and grass," Yang pressed with a smirk, "how about we head back and hit the showers. I've got a lot of gunk to wash off."
"Gonna be a bit of a march," Jaune commented. "Transport took off while Ren was doing his ceremony."
"But you didn't stop him~!" Yang teased, before frowning. "But I'm pretty sure that makes at least fifty times. I'm getting more used to walking home than I'd care to."
"Yang could have walked home herself," Qrow pointed out.
"Yeah, I could have, but- oh, shut up!"
Together, the four of them set off across the flat, ruined area towards their colony.
XXXX
I don't see any reason to break the pattern we've got going here- next episode, we'll get some new Xenoblade 3/ Chariots of Fire content, then we'll boot up another. As of this writing, I've gone ahead and refreshed the poll on my profile- you have until I start writing the episode after next to vote on which Xeno world you want to see restarted next- all usual rules and caveats apply. (Xenoblade X will only get one episode before we move on, because it's the only one that needs no re-introduction.) Until next time, feel free to drop a review, and don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out.