Owen Pine

"Why am I here?"

It wasn't a question he needed an answer for, rather the answer was something he already knew. It was his urge to ask the question that confused him. He knew why he was here, he had known the instant he had seen the Knight's standing in his doorway. Yet, his soul ached as it tried to reject this reality. Owen felt his mind scream that there had to be something he could do to change this... But his body remained still, unmoving, simply staring forward with no purpose or goal.

It was a new sight, that was how he tried to view it. The interior of the airship was quite something, pristine metal plates wrapped around a sturdy shell, and spread from either side of it like wings were the engines that powered this amazing vehicle. Directly ahead of him was the window to the other side, and through it, he could see the ocean below them as they flew. It seemingly stretched out forever as the ship nearly bounced across its flat expanse, the shattered moon reflected beautifully on the ocean's surface, and Owen almost found himself smiling for a moment.

"I wish Daisy could see this."

Then that moment ended.

"So, this is him? The last one?" Maybe that comment should have sparked some questions inside Owen, but instead he tried to ignore it, as well as the owner of the voice. "About time, I'm sick of doing this trip." Even setting apart his words, one could assume this man was rude simply by his tone of voice, and as Owen finally broke and let his eyes shift over to the man, he decided that reading certain books by their cover worked sometimes. The Faunas wasn't exactly ugly, but he certainly looked much too arrogant to be called anything but unsightly.

Another one turned at his words, only looking on with a bored expression as she leaned against the ship's wall. "Hopefully this one does better than the others." Her own voice was in much the same boat as the other mans, but Owen couldn't actually see her face this time, a helmet of some kind covered all but her long hair.

"I preferred the other two."

The knights who had come to his house remained in Mistral as that's where they were stationed, whereas these two had come only to pick Owen up... and assumedly any other Humans if they had found them. But, Owen was confident that only his wife and child remained that way in the whole capital.

"I should have listened..."

Not that he would have been able to afford a Formula in the first place. If he had only gotten a single dose as well, then it's likely his wife would have been sent in his stead. Even thinking of that possibility made Owen angry, even more so than what he was already feeling. Despite how much he resented this situation...

"This is better... It's better that I'm here than Daisy."

Hearing the Knights laugh about something, probably a joke shared between them, Owen turned his gaze to the window next to him. He could see the ocean clearer through this one, and see even better how close they actually were to the water's surface.

"If I'm lucky... some big Leviathan Grimm will jump out and eat the ship..."

At least that way these Knights would die too... But, Owen clearly wasn't so lucky.

Vacuo was a sight to see. The capital city was in many ways Mistral's opposite, a dry place covered in sand instead of water that featured more adobe and stone than anything else. The construction of every building was sturdy, if a bit simple looking. It contrasted strangely with the castle, a large keep made of pristine cut marble, almost resembling Atlas architecture rather than sticking on theme with its surroundings. The view itself of the capital gave a decent understanding of the societal systems in place without even doing research. As one grew closer to the keep, the buildings grew larger and more complicated, getting nicer and nicer before finally reaching the castle itself as the limit. In Vacuo, people ascended up and down that ladder depending on their strength, with the strongest living in that beautiful marble keep adorned with towers.

Not that Owen was given much of a chance to admire it.

No, the airship simply landed in the city, and that was his only chance to appreciate the sights before he was thrown into a carriage to be transported elsewhere. He was here to fight, after all, and the fight wasn't here.

Looking out at the desert dunes and sand from the carriage, he appreciated how it seemed to glow from the moonlight, the sands almost seeming to change colour as the chill of night washed over them. Their carriage didn't follow a set path, rather, it seemed to form its own as it made its way through flat areas of the great desert, pulled along by forces Owen wasn't privy enough in Magic to understand. At least the walled vehicle protected him from the cold winds that were no doubt hitting the sides of the cart, a layer of protection that he was honestly surprised to be able to enjoy. For as badly as those Knights in the airship had treated him, no one else so far had even tried to speak to him besides what was necessary. "This way" or "Move" was about the extent of their words to him. Not that he blamed them, after all, he was being sent to his death. Why would they waste time hearing him out?

"The capital... It was just sitting out in the open."

What had at first seemed normal now confused him the more he thought about it. After all, the reason the war had gone on at all was because the city had been hidden before Atlas or Vale could destroy it. But, if it was just sitting out amongst the desert sands, why hadn't the other Kingdoms found it yet?

"I guess... If they moved it once, they can move it again... right...?"

Not that he knew enough about Magic to make assumptions like that.

The carriage stopped sooner than he expected, and he was even more surprised once the carriage door opened. Forcefully pulling him from the vehicle, Owen was surprised when a Knight led him through a decently sized camp. There were only one or two permanent buildings here, the rest of the camp being made up of tents, but all of it was disguised to prevent anyone for seeing it as more than just sand from above. From the sides, though, it was nearly completely open besides one large dune between them and what Owen could assume were the front lines.

That assumption wasn't unfounded, though. In the distance, stretching so high up that he could see it over the dune even if he had been standing right next to it. There was a wall of light. It was blue in colour, but it could still be seen through. It stretched for a fair distance both left and right, though ended much too soon in both directions for anyone to have any trouble simply walking around it. The questions he wanted to ask about the view were plentiful, but he hadn't yet seen anyone that he thought for even an instant would actually give him answers. Not until he was shown into one of the wooden buildings.

For a brief moment upon entering, he wondered why they were taking him here specifically. If he was staying here for the night, why? After all, that would probably mean that most of the Knight's were staying in the tents, why would they give him a proper building? His curiosities were answered the instant the door locked behind him, the Knight that was guiding him presumably heading to either the other building or one of the tents.

Looking around the place, it was better accommodations than he was expecting... which still wasn't much. The whole building was just two rooms, a large space with five 'beds' strewn about on the ground, and a door he presumed was a bathroom. The beds, which lacked frames or pretty much anything besides a blanket each and what looked like Remnant's most rigid mattress, weren't the most interesting things in the room. No, that honour belonged to the other people in the room.

"Or... I guess I could call us prisoners."

Five in total, including himself as the most recent addition, Owen was able to immediately figure out that these people were also human. No doubt there would have been more security besides just a locked door otherwise, though, the walls were probably magical now that he thought about it. The four others were all looking at him, an even split of men and women, before he had arrived and broken that ratio. Only two of them smiled at him, the others looked on the verge of crying and rage respectively, an even split of genders in both groups once again.

"So-" The angry looking woman spoke first, her expression a mixture between a sneer and barely controlled animosity. "You're the last one." With a noise that displayed her apparent distaste for that fact, she turned away and returned to what Owen could only assume was her bed.

The smiling man spoke next, his voice much more chipper. "Come now, we don't know for a fact that he's the last." His voice sounded wise, but perhaps that was just the visible age that he exuded into every scent. His voice, looks, even his smell - which Owen found gross momentarily - all perfectly showed off the fact that he would be considered an elder by Human standards. Owen was sure that the other two scents would also display that fact perfectly, but he was neither willing nor wanting to test that theory.

"He looks older than sixty..."

In stark contrast, his eyes turned to the younger man in the room... Or, perhaps 'boy' would be more accurate. "They're going to send us tomorrow... We're gonna die..." With a voice that relayed the tears in his eyes before they even began to fell, Owen had no doubt that this boy was barely an Adult... and would never get to relish that part of his life. Being, of course, most of it.

While the other two chose to remain where they were and not comment or react to the boy's despair, the other woman who had greeted Owen with a smile moved over to his bed. Sitting next to him, she patted his back gently and tried to comfort him, no doubt whispering something calming into his ear. Owen wasn't sure exactly what to do, a part of him wanted to help comfort the boy... But, was there a point? He was probably right. They were probably going to be dead tomorrow.

Instead of engaging with any of them, he simply sat down on the edge of his bed, his vision blurring as he took in his surroundings and tried to think up a way out of this. A way to survive. A way to make his death less painful... Or even just trying to think at all. His mind had gone blank, at first he thought because it was unwilling to accept this reality... But he knew better, the truth was simpler than that. He had already accepted this, perfectly, and completely.

"Me... These people... We're all going to die tomorrow."

No tears needed to be shed over that, not by himself anyway. What was the point? This was the fate he had been handed, why do anything more than simply let the tides guide him to the end. Owen didn't need to introduce himself to these people, he didn't need to learn their names, hear their stories, understand them as people... What was the point? They shared a fate, that was all that mattered.

"There's no point in talking to them."

His mind repeated that.

"We're all going to die."

Over, and over, it repeated that.

"Just go to sleep, and wait for your fate to arrive."

After all, talking wouldn't change their fate.

"Just do it, Owen. You stupid bastard."

But... then again...

"Hey." He spoke with a soft voice, having arrived by the crying boy's bed before he himself had even realised he'd moved. "I'm Owen, what's your name?"

Talking to them, learning their stories... It wouldn't help. It wouldn't do anything.

But, neither would not talking to them.

So, he did. He spoke to them, he learned their names, their stories, their regrets.

He talked to the angry woman, Lucy. He learned her story, finding out that they went to the same school, grew up on the same street... even knew some of the same friends. Apparently, she had dated Jeremy for a while, but things didn't work out. When Owen told her that he had bought a Formula before they could take him, she cursed Jeremy under her breath, saying he was a lucky bastard. But, Owen saw the relief on Lucy's expression, like a weight had been taken off of her.

"Even if it didn't work out between them... I guess, she still cared."

The older man, Michael. Owen had been right in his earlier estimation, the man was actually seventy years old. Michael told Owen his story, and the younger Human was floored by the tales he could recount, almost making them sound like legends with his ability to tell stories. Owen listened as he recounted the story of his daughter's birth, how, while his wife was in labour by herself inside their dingy house deep in the woods, he fought off a beowolf that had been trying to break down their door. As a Human, that was an impressive feat, and only after he told the story did Michael admit he had exaggerated some of the finer details. He apologised, saying he was too used to telling those silly tales of his past to his grandkids... and they always preferred the more epic versions.

Michael's son, he had long ago purchased a Formula so he could be with his wife. Owen reassured him that their family would be safe, so long as they weren't Human... and let Micheal weep gently in relief as he moved on to the next person.

Jason, the youngest of them. A boy of barely eighteen, having become an Adult only a week earlier. Even though he didn't have much of a story to tell, Owen listened. He listened carefully as Jason told him of his dreams, his aspirations, his goals... Apparently, Jason was quite talented when it came to certain kinds of Magic's, despite being Human, he actually had a Summoning contract with a familiar. Owen found that fact incredible, but Jason had told him that apparently his teacher was less than impressed about it.

"He said it was only because of my Affinity, it's not actual talent or anything." Even now that he was talking, he spoke with a voice soft enough to make Owen sure that he could begin crying again any second.

"Your Affinity? It's Earth, right?" Owen wasn't the greatest when it came to this kind of thing.

Jason shook his head. "I thought so too, but apparently Bronze is different from Brown eyes...?" They were both just as confused as each other, still, the moment they shrugged at the same time was when Jason managed to crack a smile.

They kept talking, and as they did so, Jason began to lighten up a bit. Being quite the jokester, Jason actually managed to make the whole group laugh a few times despite their situation. The biggest laugh he got from them all was when he admitted that his biggest regret would be dying a virgin.

Speaking to the seemingly happy woman last, he learned her name was Anna. She told him much simpler stories, nothing overly sad or happy, her life up until was normal... quaint, what some would call boring. Owen knew she was lying, he didn't have to be a genius to figure that out, but he didn't want to push her to open up. From what he could gather from her lies, she was a good person, someone who simply preferred to bottle everything up and try her best to make others happy when she could. Owen knew that if Anna was facing this alone, she would probably have been just as miserable as Jason was... But, she wasn't. So, instead of crying or screaming in rage, she joined in with the other's laughter when Jason made his jokes, even making the boy blush something terrible when she commented on the remark about his 'biggest regret'.

"Well, we have one more night, I could always make sure you don't die with that regret." Putting on a serious voice and an expression clearly meant to seduce, it left the boy as red as a tomato and the others all laughing at his reaction. Owen was sure that she was hurting deep down despite how she was choosing to handle this, but, then again, so were they all. Her suffering wasn't unique, rather, she just didn't want to show it like the others. Maybe she was just trying to be the best person she could be at the end, hoping that Karma would save her from her fate.

Owen thought on that as he tried to sleep later, kept awake - as were the others - by Anna's apparently serious remark towards Jason earlier. Still, despite the awkward situation, none of the others wanted to take the experience from the boy. Not that it went on that long, anyway.

Once all was quiet, once the others were all asleep... It was only Owen left staring up at the ceiling. His mind now full of all he had learned of the people who shared his fate. He thought of Lucy, wondering if perhaps given enough time, her and Jeremy would have reconnected and maybe ended up happy together. He thought of Michael, of how his grandkids would never hear his stories again... But also of how he would soon be reunited with his wife. He thought of Jason, the boy who some would now call a man, now set to die with his biggest regret no longer on the table. He thought of Anna... of how desperately she wanted to fight fate, of how much she tried to do whatever she could to change things... no matter how strange her actions may have seemed.

He thought of himself. Of his own strange actions, of the stupid choice he had made to learn about these people.

He thought of Daisy, of his desire to see her one last time... To hold her, one last time.

But... his last thoughts of the night before sleep, or perhaps exhaustion, took him? They were of his fate. Of all of their fates.

And he decided that of his regrets - which he was sure he would have many of - getting to know these people wouldn't be one of them.

Morning sounded with an angry yell, one Owen could only assume came from a Knight who had opened the door for that sole reason. Honestly, it was surprisingly tame compared to what he had expected of morning... But the cruel part was when he had fully awoken. Staring forward, not turning and simply laying on his side... for the first time in years, he woke up without the sight of his wife and her silly sleeping position. He could hear the sounds of everyone else getting up, Lily was out of bed first judging from her voice, then went to help Michael. Once the old man was up, it was Anna and Jason up next, the two of them awkwardly separating from the same bed was enough to make the other two laugh... But not Owen.

As he sat up, his eyes stared at the spot next to him in the bed, the spot he had expected to see Daisy when he had awoken.

Today would truly be an awful day.

It wasn't as if they needed to get dressed, none of them had brought anything with them besides the clothes they had been wearing when the Knights had knocked on their doors. Already 'ready' for the day, the five humans were guided out through the door, and led to the other building. The only other permanent structure in the camp wasn't the Knight's sleeping area as Owen had first expected, instead, once inside, Owen was made immediately aware of what this place was. Even without experience in Magic, he could recognise a ritual circle, and there was only one thing they would be using it for... at least, that they would need to bring the Human's in here for.

One by one, they were guided into the circle. Gone were the smiles and laughs they had shared together, only a familiar dread that had returned from a brief respite remained. Owen watched as they were all subjected to the ritual one by one, the Formula remaking them into something else as they exited through the other side, and guided into another room. He was left for last, perhaps because he had been the last one to arrive here. As he stepped inside the circle, his eyes flicked to the small piles of Dust being poured into it.

"I thought they were trying to conserve Dust...?"

Once again, he found himself wondering what exact purpose this whole thing served... the question of 'Why am I dying today?' that he was sure would go unanswered.

"Squamae, Potentia, Spiritus." Words that he had heard four times already, but hadn't registered until now. The Knight that spoke them sounded calm, like he was simply going through the motions and just saying what needed to be said.

Owen didn't really feel it as his body was torn apart, as his soul was forcefully imbued with a Mana Pool and every cell in his body was replaced by another. By the time the process was done, every single part of him felt numb, from his toes to his soul. Forced to move forward, he was shuffled into the room the others had entered, his body only regaining feeling once he crossed the threshold of the door. He felt stronger in a strangely good way, it was like being relieved of a great weight, his body felt like it had gained a resistance to gravity itself, feeling lighter and too durable for the weight of The World to fully crush him anymore. Of course, that was all just an illusion, a temporary high granted from suddenly gaining power.

He could recognise that, but some of the others didn't share in his understanding.

"We could fight them like this!" His mind went blank as Lily spoke, trying her best to convince the others to go for it. Meanwhile, two Knights entered the room and handed them all what Owen could only assume was 'armour'. It looked more like basic leather clothes that had been torn in certain places and replaced with chain mail, at least it looked like it breathed well.

Owen knew they couldn't fight them, he knew for one simple reason, of course. Michael, the only one among them that had any actual combat experience, was sitting on a bench, putting boots on. If he didn't even want to try, then what chance did the others have? Perhaps, if the others all went for it... Owen would probably join in, just for the sake of it.

"I mean... they probably turned us into something strong... and most of them are Lycanthropes..."

Of course, there were a lot of Faunas as well, and without knowing how to transform, none of them stood a chance against those things as they were.

After being handed a sword each, they were once again guided out of the building... and slowly but surely, led around the side of it, and up that sand dune Owen had spotted last night. Each step was difficult, and not just because the sand was loose and wild to walk through. He knew that he had now begun the walk down the end of the road. Every step he took carried him, and the others, closer to their demise. It felt like an infinite distance, yet, at the same time, it ended all too soon. Dread had replaced every other emotion they all felt, the weight that had seemingly come off of their shoulders once they had stopped being Human had returned with a vengeance... and it was so much more powerful than before.

Reaching the top, there was no relief or surge of accomplishment... instead, there was only more dread, and a view. Of what exactly, it took him a moment to figure out. The only way to describe what lay ahead of them was a battlefield, but one that hadn't seen action in days, most likely. It was only now that Owen realised that the Knights in this camp weren't participating in the battle, in fact, it was likely they hadn't for a while. Owen, Lily, Michael, Jason, Anna... They were going to charge the border alone.

He didn't look to the others as he stared at the distance between them and the border, the wall of blue light still visible... and Owen finally knew what it was. A part of the Border Barrier, but, made visible?

"Vale is altering the barrier...?"

They had been stuck in this battle for over a year now, why was so little of the barrier altered?

"Hurry up." Not that it mattered for Owen. His eyes turned to the Knight guiding them, and as they each passed him, he tapped their forehead, triggering their transformations. One by one, as they moved past him, scales formed over their skin and stretched their clothes, horns protruding from their heads, which probably explained the lack of helmets. Their scales were a maroon in colour, like a dirty red mixed with brown. Owen wasn't sure exactly what they had become, but as his own transformation burned through his body, another rush of power surged through him. Even now, he was sure they couldn't fight the camp... None of them knew Magic, after all. With that, the Knight gave them their final order. "Charge."

Nothing happened for a moment. All of them simply stood and looked out at the battlefield that melded from sand, to stone, to grass as it crossed the barrier. It wasn't until the Knight moved again that they became convinced of his order.

With an almost casual movement, his sword was plunged through the back of Michael's head, rending his spinal cord from his brain and piercing through his mouth. The others were too shocked to react, no screams or gasps of surprise or pain or even anguish sounded from them... instead, Jason slowly took a shaky step forward. The sound of his boot moving through the sand was enough for the others to follow suite, slowly but surely beginning to move down the sand dune... before beginning to run. Their charge began proper as they hit the bottom of the hill, the ground evening out and eventually becoming solid enough beneath the sand for them to sprint proper towards whatever it was they had been ordered to charge at.

Even as they ran, much faster than likely any of them knew they could, Owen recognised the cries of the others. Lily, Jason, Anna, all of them wept as they sprinted, having left behind the body of the last man... of their friend. Even if they had only just met, their connection to each other ran deep thanks to the circumstances present. Owen's mind flashed with the memories of last night, with the stories Michael had told him, with the pictures of his family he had painted with just his words alone... Owen didn't cry, he couldn't. He knew what they had all been heading towards anyway... Michael had just gotten there sooner. The old man, he was finally reunited with his wife...

"... Right...?"

As sand became stone, the force of their steps cracked the marble and granite beneath them as their bodies pelted across it. The four of them could see the barrier still in the distance, though closer now, at least. Without a single soul in sight besides themselves, briefly, the hope that there wasn't an enemy to slay them filled their minds... Though, it was a moment that was too short to be savoured.

"... What happens when we die... anyway...?"

Ahead of them, just in front of the border, a wind collected and spiralled into the air, one that was so cold it formed snowflakes across its breath. The wind grew and grew, growing colder and colder before it seemingly completely froze over and settled... revealing a colossal form beneath. Owen had no clue what he was looking at for a moment, the glowing white shape was humanoid, and seemed to give off a light blue smoke that dissipated not far from its form. After his eyes settled, Owen recognised the shape as a Knight, one clad head to toe in full plate armour that revealed nothing of its flesh beneath... if it even had flesh. It stood at a truly gigantic scale, easily dwarfing any living creature he had ever seen... given a rough estimate, Owen would say it was at least thirty meters tall. And, of course... it had a sword to match its size.

"A great sword... because it needed to be bigger..."

The anguish and cries of sorrow they felt for their fallen ally was quickly replaced by screams of dread as the Knight began to move, raising its sword up into the air with both hands... and clearly planning to hit them all with one sweeping slash of its blade. Owen believed that it could do it, as well. Even for how big that thing was, the speed at which it moved was truly terrifying.

Finally, getting close enough to be in range of their 'foe'... it brought its sword down.

Time seemed to slow to a halt as the Knight swung his blade, the large weapon hanging in the air mid-swing and all movements of The World stopping as Owen's brain and soul worked in overdrive. It was like a stinging of his soul, a strange sensation as his life flashed before his eyes... all his memories, his experiences, his emotions of all moments experienced prior to now... it was too much. His mind raced with questions as time held frozen in this moment... quite possibly his last moment.

"I want to go home."

"I want to see my son grow up."

"Why am I here...?"

"What did I do to deserve this...?"

"... Why is The World so cruel...?"

He was asking no one. After all, these were only his thoughts. Who could answer? Who could even hear him?

So, of course, he was surprised when he received an answer.

"Your son lacks a name currently." If his eyes could widen in this frozen moment, they would have. The voice he heard seemed to echo through the air, hitting him from all sides and resonating with his soul. "That will not remain the case. Your wife, Daisy Pine, she will name him Owen. In remembrance of you." His eyes couldn't flick around to find whoever was talking, but they didn't need to. Finally, he found the figure, the woman, he wanted to call it... But... that wasn't right. Despite its voice, this thing clearly didn't share enough relation to anything with a gender to be referred to by those pronouns.

It stood ahead of him, its posture calm and without a worry... even as it stood back dropped by that glowing Knight. It looked... strange to say the least. It almost resembled a statue made of metal, much more humanoid than even all the fancy Golems in Atlas. Its eyes were black, though, Owen thought that was simply because it lacked them. Even stranger still, it had hair, and wore clothes. Its hair was tied up, as if it had been working... and its clothes, there were only gloves... and a green apron, like what a blacksmith would wear.

If he could have asked who it was... he would have.

"Your son, Owen, he shall grow up hearing stories from his mother. Grand tales of his father who died for a noble cause, who died a Hero." He had no reason to believe its words... but... he so desperately wanted to. "I don't understand it, though. After all, you're not a Hero." It spoke so casually, so honestly. There was no malice or even any kind of emotion in its voice... it seemed genuinely confused. "Your effect on this war, it accomplished nothing. This charge had a result that could be matched by a pebble being thrown towards the foe, even if it missed. Your death, it means nothing." Harsh words... but, they weren't meant to be.

Still... it just made him even more curious... why had he been sent here...? Why was this his fate...? What was the point...?

"I ask you, Owen Pine-" The way it said his name... for once... it held emotion. Curiosity...? Regret...? No, that wasn't right...

"... It's like... despair...? Concern...?"

Its expression changed, the metal morphing and moving like flesh on a normal face would... it's expression... it looked... troubled.

"Why at the end do you question my cruelty... when it was instead someone living and breathing who sent you to this fate?"

This moment that seemingly stretched forever... it ended with that thing's disappearance.

The Knight continued its swing, its sword meeting earth and flesh...

And Owen Pine, was no more.

4th Day, Ninth Strike, 2116 PE