Well now... Happy One Year Anniversary for this story everyone!

Not exactly by choice, I had originally wanted to get this out three weeks ago, but I promised myself I'd have the chapter out by today no matter what. Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for the wait you all had to endure.

Oh and also, we got a special surprise at the end of this chapter I believe that anyone who is a fan of this story and read this far will enjoy.

Now, on with the show!

Neo lay on her bed with bored annoyance. Deciding to twist to her side, she was reminded with a flare of pain why she had not attempted to move since an hour ago. The crude reminder only frustrated her more that it was still so bad even after the three days since she had been nearly assassinated.

Fen read a book in his own bed, a mild smirk on his lips at her discomfort. After the first day of recovery, Neo had forsaken his kindness to help her and so he just let her be as she struggled against her own pride to move unassisted. She eventually managed to rise to a sitting position using her unharmed left arm, but the muttered cursing that Fen could hear in his mind let him know it wasn't effortless.

Don't you have better things to do besides sitting there like a smug bastard?

Flipping a page in his book, Fen casually replied: "Not particularly, no. I would say that I should go get our gear, but Sable's letter from a couple days ago stated that we should just keep to ourselves after what happened; 'for the sake of not causing any more ruckus,' according to him. Alpine should be coming by sometime today to deliver our equipment." *Knock,Knock,Knock* "Or right now, apparently."

Fen walked over, with his right hand slightly channeling a flurry of particles just in case, and cracked open the door. Standing there was the twig of a girl, Alpine, carrying a large flat box. Looking nervously back and forth she looked to him and asked:

"M-may I come in? My grandfather had some instructions he wanted me to give you."

With a nod, Fen dispelled the flurry around his arm and opened the door for the merchant girl to enter. Walking past him she quickly gasped and stalled when she saw Neo's bandaged state before whispering along the lines 'so it was you two'. Quickly averting her eyes, she hurriedly shuffled forward to put the box down on a nearby table before removing its lid.

Gingerly reaching in, she first removed Neo's parasol and drew the blade hidden within. The difference was slight, but as Alpine carefully presented the blade to Neo, Fen noticed his companion's eyes light up in fascination. An extra small button had been added, but what was more impressive was the intricate carving that was added to the handle that complimented the pattern embroidered on the mesh of her parasol. Alpine pressed a hidden button on the end of the curved handle, causing it to hinge where the bend became straight to reveal a compartment, perfectly sized for a vial of powered dust.

Handing the weapon over to its owner, Alpine stepped back nervously. She did her best to maintain her professional tone as she spoke to Neo: "I-it isn't a tremendous amount of dust that can be stored. Though in service of a surprise attack or ranged option, it s-should come to be very valuable."

Neo, on the other hand, didn't even spare the poor girl a glance, however that didn't mean she forgot about her. Without taking her eyes off the new decorations that adorned her weapon, she telepathed to Fen: Thank the willow branch for doing a good job. I can say that I'm honestly impressed.

Fen gave a smirk at the two-toned statement, before raising his voice which caused Alpine to jump slightly as she quickly turned to face him: "My partner is pleased with your work. She thinks it is absolutely marvelous what you were able to accomplish."

The young woman blushed red at Fen's flattery. Neo glanced between them with a sour look but before she could even say anything to Fen, Alpine returned to the box she brought and pulled out its other item.

The coat's change was much more apparent by the golden-colored thread that now embroidered the entire length of the sleeves and across the shoulders. The design was reminiscent of a bolt of energy branching and weaving down the sleeves, wild but at the same time refined. It was certainly distinct and would make him much more noticeable. Fen would just have to find a way around that later.

He took the coat from Alpine and slipped it on, but upon doing so felt a rush of noise fill his head. Staggering back, both Neo and Alpine looked at him in worry as he clutched his head with one hand and steadied himself against the wall with the other.

Da..g..r. L..gh.. Fen. Wh..t's t..at D….th ..car..d Fen! It'.. ev..ry..w..ere

FEN!

Snapping out of his stupor, Fen saw that Neo had managed to crawl out of bed and was leaning against him while giving him a worried look.

Seeing that he had come back to his senses, Neo calmed down somewhat before shooting an accusatory glare at Alpine, but he quickly put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"No, it's not her fault. This was something… internal. Sorry for worrying you, Neo."

She smiled up at him before her legs buckled and she started to collapse. Fen caught her before she could fall however, and seeing a grimace of pain he chided her: "I'm thrilled that you are concerned enough about me to finally get your lazy butt out of bed, but I also don't like seeing you in pain due to me. The more stress you put on those wounds, the harder time your aura will have healing it until you are back to full strength. Let's sit you down and I'll deal with settling the payme—!"

Fen paused with a far-off gaze, staring out past Alpine as he was helping Neo to her bed. When Neo felt his grip on her tighten seemingly unconsciously, she looked to the direction he was staring and asked him:

What is it? Can you see something?

His concentration was then pulled in another direction for a handful of seconds before he shook himself from his daze and quickly moved Neo to her bed before he started to rapidly pack their things. His frenzied actions concerned both Alpine and Neo, who shared a look of worry before Alpine spoke up:

"Umm, Fen? Is there something I should know about? There is still the matter of the fee for the coat and your companion's weapon."

Hurriedly, Fen fished out a fistful of lien cards and shoved them into the shopgirl's hands. Slinging his pack over his back, he got to work on packing Neo's things. His only words to them being simple and curt:

"I know that isn't the amount we agreed upon, but we don't have time. Go get your grandfather and leave town to the next village. If you don't, I can't say what will happen to you."

Alpine just stared at him in disbelief, uttering a scared: "W-what!?"

However Fen was too focused on his packing to be kind: "That isn't a threat from me. There are two somethings coming this way, and if they are hostile this village will be removed from the map in twenty-four hours. If you want a chance of surviving then you need to leave now… Alright, Neo we're going."

Finished with collecting their things, Fen slung Neo's bag over his other shoulder and went over to pick her up. Carrying her out of the room with just as stunned a look as Alpine, who followed after them, Neo tried talking to her partner:

What did you see? Why does it have you spooked? Fen! Talk to me!

He whispered low as he walked to the end of the second floor, away and downstairs: "An aura, still so far away, but it blazed like a wildfire on the horizon. A deep crimson, when I started to observe auras I realized there is a way to read emotions to an extent from how it moves, and this one… is livid right now. Then I sensed something else, and it's dark. Like an abyss that moves. And both are heading here right now, so I'm getting us out of here. Unfortunately, that means going towards the abyss."

Behind them, Alpine was trying to still get their attention: "E-excuse me! Can you please explain what you meant by that!? Shouldn't the entire town be warned if we are about to be attacked!? Hello!? Why am I being ignored!?"

Fen halted at the same window he and Neo had used to give chase to the bandit eavesdropper just a few days ago. He looked over his shoulder at Alpine with a cold glare:

"I already have to protect my partner, and I have no obligation to this town. If you want a chance to live, then you and your grandfather need to leave, immediately. I'd suggest you run to him now."

With his words said, he turned and took a step up onto the window sill. Alpine went to reach out and grab the hem of his jacket but a burst of cold wind caused her to flinch back. When she blinked her eyes, she noticed Fen's leg had transformed into the frightening form of a grimm's and, with a creak of wood, he launched himself and Neo out the window to bound across to the next building before she quickly lost sight of them as she slumped to the floor in a mixture of shock and fear.

With the wind blowing through her hair, Neo grimaced at each jolt Fen's running caused to her wounds. Though more concerning for her was the cold mask of an expression that was on her partner's face. As thunderclouds rumbled above them, the first icy drops of water stung all the more due to the speed at which Fen moved.

They were barely outside the walls of the town when Neo decided to finally speak up:

Fen, what is wrong? Actually wrong. You're not the kind of person that would just abandon an entire town without at least trying to do something to help. I would, but you're supposed to be the one of us that is all 'for the people!' and crap.

Slowing his pace to a walk, Fen looked resolutely ahead and answered: "I do want to help, but what I want doesn't matter when you're not in any condition to be left alone." Neo went to interject, but a glare from Fen silenced her. "No, don't even try to say you're fine. I will not risk you over something as small as my desire to be a good person… it's not worth that much to me. And more importantly, I don't even know what we're heading towards. I'm planning to run if I can't bring it down quickly."

Neo's heartbeat quickened at her partner's sincere words, but the heat that threatened to rise to her face was snuffed out by the apprehension she felt at seeing him like this. She swore internally at the throbbing pain she could still feel in her limbs. It lay solely on her that Fen was doing any of this, and knowing that made her hate the pain she felt all the more. Biting her lip, the guilt she felt for forcing him to choose made her want to at least apologize for their current circumstances.

Fen, I—

However, an ear-splitting shriek caused them both to wince in agony and for Fen to stumble in his pace. Kneeling so he wouldn't drop Neo, Fen growled from deep in his throat as a wave of dark emotions bubbled up from within him. He carefully lowered Neo to the ground and placed himself in front of her as he mumbled to himself:

"So you're what is responsible for the darkness I felt. Appropriately terrifying, I'll say that much."

Neo twisted to see around her partner, but instantly wished she hadn't; for what she saw down the trail sent a chill up her spine that only the Omega had before.

Clop, clop, drrrrrg, clop, drrrg, clop, clop, whrrnrrhn!

From the shadows emerged the head of a grimm horse, with a mane like smoke. Its front legs wielded two clawed toes instead of hooves, but that was only the beginning. Most unsettling was the body that came into view, one so shallow its ribs lay outside its barrel; and melded to it was a humanoid demon with arms so long that they scraped the ground. From its back protruded a plethora of arrow and spear shafts, but they seemed to not inconvenience the terror in the slightest. Its mask held two massive and seemingly heavy horns as the rider's head hung down and its steed carried it forward. With a sudden jerk though, it leveled one of its glowing red orbs directly at them.

Just the emanation of terror from being in this thing's presence was enough to unnerve Neo; but what surprised her more was the trembling form of her partner that stood between her and the abomination of a grimm.

Fen!? What's wrong!? Do you know what that thing is!?

A muttered word was all she managed to make out over the rain that had steadily begun to pour: "Nuckelavee…!"

Nuckela-wha? Fen, snap out of it, we need to—!

She was cut off as the grimm rider's head jerked to the other side and it brought up one of its flail-like arms, rocketing it at them with insane speed. Fen turned on a dime and snatched Neo up before leaping to the side to avoid the attack. Considering the distance and lack of obvious projectles, Neo was still processing what had just occurred as Fen set her down against a tree and moved back to the trail.

The grimm rider's eyes remained focused on her but a shout from Fen caused it to jerk its attention over to him:

"Hey! I know what you are. It also seems that you're what's been calling to the Omega inside me. I'd say you're similar but you're still different enough… you're still only a grimm after all."

The horse snorted a cloud of black fog and pawed at the slowly muddying trail below it as its rider seemed to absorb Fen's words. Neo wondered if this grimm could comprehend them, but her question was soon answered when the rider's tethered mouth stretched its bindings and let loose a horrible wail like what had made them stumble moments earlier.

CHAAAAAAGHAAAAA!

Neo slapped her hands over her ears to deafen the sound, but the roar seemed to permeate her entire being so that her effort did little to relieve the ache she felt from being subjected to the howl. With feeling what it did to her, she worriedly looked to Fen only to find him hunched over in agony.

Panting hard, Fen tore the patch from his eye so he could gaze at his foe with full intensity. Though what more it did was only obvious from Neo's perspective, as she could now see that the glowing eye he shared with the Omega was flickering between its traditional vibrant blue and the wrathful crimson that matched their current opposition.

The sight made her breath catch in her throat as she saw the near-manic grin that spread across Fen's face. When she noticed the flurry of particles that began to drift off him, she couldn't help but shiver at just how similar the two sides appeared.

Worried that he was losing himself, Neo made to call out; however a dark chortle from Fen made her thought die before it could be formed.

Standing up straighter, the density of particles increased as Fen once again called out: "So you want to force him out? If you're dying to see him so bad, then let me make this easier and just do it voluntarily!"

The black blizzard consumed him utterly, and from it burst the complete form of the Omega rushing headlong towards the Nuckelavee.

With a leap, the Omega cleared the distance in a blink and raked its claw across the neck of the grimm's steed. It was only a shallow wound, but enough to cause the colossal grimm horse to jump away as its rider let out an enraged howl. The Omega turned with a feral grin, but Neo's fears gave way to relief as its eyes were solidly blue.

She cheered to him mentally: Go for it! You can beat that oversized showpony!

The Omega spared her a glance before it rushed forward again, however this time the Nuckelavee responded with a whip-like arm swiping from the side. Neo expected the Omega to simply shrug off such a meager attack, but to her shock the Omega's charge was redirected straight into him skidding face-first into the muddy trail. It shook its head free of the liquid earth and growled at the Nuckelavee.

Internally, Fen spoke to himself and the Omega: "Okay, that wasn't supposed to happen. We're nearly this thing's height and it has that much more raw strength!? This will be harder than I thought. Nuckelavees truly are the monsters of legends that I read about."

Launching a limb at him, the Omega dodged to the side before rushing forward again. It went for the steed's throat but was met with its forelimbs rearing up to strike him in the chest, sending him sprawling back several feet. Neo looked on in growing distress as she wondered why the Omega was having such trouble.

Why isn't he being more strategic? Fen isn't this sloppy, this should be easy for him in the Omega's… crap! That's right, he can only provide commands. In terms of actual fighting ability the Omega is still very much just a grimm. If he actually had Fen's skill then…

Neo shivered at the thought of a grimm like an Omega with huntsman level skill and ability to strategize. If their cohesion ever grew to that point between Fen and the Omega one day, she couldn't imagine anything short of an army being needed to stop him if he didn't want to be. Still that wouldn't ever matter if the Omega couldn't even deal with this daunting grimm.

The Nuckelavee's rider launched one limb before swinging wide with the other, Omega dodging the first easily enough and catching the second with both its claws; skidding back several feet from the impact. Sinking its claws into the limb, the Nuckelavee screeched as it tore its arm from the Omega's grasp and glared with hate down at him.

Fen couldn't help but feel pride: "Yeah, you might be strong but you aren't equipped to deal with our claws. Next time, I'll have him rip it right off your torso if you try that again!"

As if in response to his mental boasting, the Nuckelavee's steed reared and whinnied before charging. The rider's arms rose in a prepared strike with the charge, which gave the Omega few courses of action to react with. What it chose was to leap above the horse and strike at the rider; a fair option, but unfortunately for the Omega the limbs of the rider moved just a bit faster.

Catching him in the air, the Nuckelavee spun the Omega around several times before releasing him and sending him careening through the trunks of multiple trees. Feeling the trauma from within, Fen groaned to himself as the Omega staggered to its feet. The Nuckelavee's assault didn't end there however as one the rider's limbs shot out and caught the Omega by its neck.

As the Omega tried to resist, it was slowly dragged in closer as Fen tried to think: "Bad touch, bad touch! Shit! With all the debris from crashing into those trees, plus the mud, we can't get proper purchase on the ground to pull against it! We just need to— wait, what is it doing?"

The Nuckelavee's mouth was straining against the binds over it once again, but no sound came from it like before as it hunched over and its body trembled. Fen noticed the spikes of bone along its spine shoot out to over double their length in what appeared to be a painful shudder from the Nuckelavee. Signs that he recognized too late for what they were, as the bindings over the Nuckelavee's mouth snapped and a wail, which could no doubt be heard for miles, echoed through the trees and the Omega experienced it from point blank range.

RED

It was all that Fen could see through the portals to the outside as he drifted within the void that was the Omega. But more than that was the overwhelming torrent of unbridled hatred that flowed into him, causing his own vision to tinge red. All the more unfortunate was that this feeling was something he was more familiar with than he ever wished to be. A past that he had hoped was behind him as he had begun to seemingly understand the Omega due to the strange influence Neo had on the two of them. A rage of apocalyptic proportions: a grimm's true nature.

"Kill! Murder!... No, snap out of it! This isn't… Obliviate!... FOCUS!"

Through force of will and concentration he hadn't had need to employ in over half a year, the murderous fog around his mind and through the eyes of the Omega cleared, if only by a fraction. Enough that he could regain his facilities passably to see what had occurred during the momentary lapse in control. The sight that greeted him was not favorable and included a rush of monumental pain the rage had previously suppressed.

The Omega was clawing up from the ground as he felt multiple gashes raked across his limbs and torso agonizingly mend themselves as it glared up at the Nuckelavee that had apparently been tossing them about like a ragdoll. The mask of the rider jerked with its mouth hanging open, revealing a maw of hellfire blazing as it appeared to wait for them to act again. Its steed pawed impatiently at the mud as its front talons dripped black ichor that no doubt came from the Omega and himself. Fen's frustration nearly causing them to slip back into the blind fury he had only just pulled them from didn't help their situation.

Fen! Fen can you hear me!?

The telekinetic cry sounded like it came through water, but was enough to cause the Omega to spare brief attention to their partner; what they saw nearly made them lose it for a third time in mere moments. Neo was now drenched in mud and grime, but more so she was standing with the aid of her parasol and her bandaged limbs were stained crimson. Their only consolation was the expression of relief that crossed her face at gaining their attention.

You can! Thank Oum. I-I thought you were gone when your mask went red.

Even through the rain, Fen could tell not all the liquid running down her cheeks were from raindrops alone. Still, the revelation that he had almost truly reverted to a grimm, with blazing eyes and all, affected more than just himself. The Omega gave off waves of mental tension at her words, as though wishing to disavow such a possibility, followed by something akin to fear. It returned its gaze to the Nuckelavee that had started to pace back and forth; it was decisive enough to wait for the Omega to come to it.

The cascade of emotions was enough to scramble Fen's sense of reason long enough for the Omega to rear up and begin to act; though what it did was something that no one could predict. Fen picked up on the strange feeling far too late to stop it, as an arctic chill radiated from his shoulder blades, just where the two giant spikes of ice dust came from on the Omega's back. Neo witnessed the shining glow and subsequent drawing of energy into its maw, what she couldn't ever have predicted was the manner in which the Omega was about to make use of this untapped ability.

With a roar in contest for sheer magnitude to the Nuckelavee's, the Omega unleashed a stream of icy mist from his maw: directly at the ground.

The resulting freezing smokescreen had Neo shivering even through her aura like she had been sitting in a blizzard for hours. Her entire vision was white and stinging from the particles of ice that filled the air, she closed her eyes on reflex and even attempting to crack them only resulted in pulses of pain as more freezing particles entered the miniscule gap. She could hear the angered howling of the Nuckelavee and, from the sounds of it, the wild flailing it started to engage in an attempt to hit them. Unable to help the feelings of fear that being blinded in this situation left her in, she made to cry out to Fen in hopes that he could still find her.

This hope came to pass before she could even project the first syllable as she felt herself scooped up and cradled in the giant arms of what had to be the Omega. Only a brief moment after did she feel him stagger and growl menacingly as a crash was heard only a short distance away, accompanied by the wail of the Nuckelavee once more. Had he been struck? Did he just narrowly save her from becoming impaled by one of those horrible extending arms? She couldn't know, but she did feel him quickly accelerate and charge forward.

For Fen, he could barely keep up with what had just occurred. The Omega's tactic was not only an immense surprise that it could actually draw on the dust embedded into its body, but that it would use it in such a non-offensive manner. When it turned its head to find the glowing pink outline of their partner, its reaction was near immediate to dash to her and scoop her up; apparently already having its own goal in mind that Fen was simply a passenger to at this point; though the agonizing explosion of pain across their back he imagined hadn't been part of the steps in the Omega's plan.

"Fuck! That hurts! That hurts like magma was just poured across our spine!"

As Fen dealt with overcoming the input of agony, the Omega moved towards a destination that only it knew. It exited the cloud of ice at tremendous speed and only continued, leaving the Nuckelavee far behind. Seeing the surroundings pass by rapidly, Fen wondered if the Nuckelavee would pursue them, but was soon convinced otherwise as fleeting sounds came to his hearing through the Omega.

Gunshots, a large explosion, and wails that were unmistakably human, could be heard from back in the direction they fled from. It looks like whoever or whatever had been heading to Shion had finally arrived at the town, to the unfortunate fate of any lives that called it home. Guilt wracked Fen as the sounds were rapidly drowned out by sounds of rushing wind and rain as the Omega continued to run. A glance down at Neo showed to him that she had apparently passed out, but by his observation of her aura she was in no danger of the physical variety.

His own consciousness was slipping, and no matter how much he tried, darkness creeped into the edges of his vision. He worried that the Omega's form would dissipate and leave both him and Neo to the mercy of the elements, but it was fruitless as he felt the void from within the Omega gently relax him; as though urging him to rest. His last image was that of Neo's unconscious form as the Omega cradled her with one arm as it continued to move along the forest's trail; and then, only darkness.

The dreamless sleep only felt to have lasted a handful of moments, but when Fen opened his eyes he was greeted with the sight of sunlight; from within the void of the Omega.

A fact that certainly came as a shock that it could have possibly still been able to maintain its form. Especially considering Fen could feel his aura had been nearly exhausted from their battle with the Nuckelavee. Though whatever the reason was put aside as he focused back on the sights he could see through the Omega's eyes; mainly, the peacefully sleeping visage of Neo. With her hair in a state of disheveledness that would surely cause her to blush crimson in either embarrassment or rage, to Fen she appeared like a sleeping angel.

As though determining he was aware enough, Fen could feel the void around him dispelling as the Omega returned control to him and retreated back within the depths of Fen's soul. It was but a few fleeting moments before Fen was touching the earth and grass with his own limbs again, and then the fatigue hit him.

Collapsing to all fours, Fen struggled to prevent himself from passing out then and there as his very bones screamed at him as though he was burning from the inside. He would have screamed if it wasn't for the fact it felt like his lungs had already expelled every molecule of air they held. He only barely managed to at least fall to his side as not to suffocate himself with the ground below him, shakily drawing in the shallowest of gasps as his every limb and organ tormented him with agony.

The sounds of his gasping aroused Neo from her slumber, blinking her eyes open to what she first believed to be the sounds of a choking cat. When her head turned to the source to find Fen in a state of horrific distress she quickly scrambled to his side. Hesitant to touch him, she looked him over in hopes to discover the cause of his current pain, but found nothing.

She felt tears blur her vision as she began to panic: W-what do I d-do!? T-there are no injuries to treat!? Fen, please! Tell me some way to help!

His eyes stared straight through her, wide and unfocused; even the eye shared by the Omega had dimmed and looked as though it was about to flicker out. Neo sobbed as she knelt at his side in indecision, and with his shallow gasps slowing til he could barely draw breath, only one singular thing flitted through her mind to try. With no other thoughts, she rolled him onto his back before filling her lungs with air, and placing her mouth to his to forcefully fill him with life-giving breath. She then proceeded to perform the actions of CPR as she had nothing else she could muster. It was in the third round of giving him air that Fen finally responded to the action.

With a nasty jerk of his limbs, Fen sputtered and gasped deeply before screaming out in absolute agony. The cry caused Neo to fall backwards in both fear and dread that she had somehow harmed him, but as the sound of his scream died and became a fleeting echo among the trees, Fen gasped out in long, deep breaths. Neo carefully crawled over to him until she held her head directly over his and eyes searching for any signs that he would be alright.

When his eyes finally shifted to catch hers, Neo couldn't stop the tears that sprung up again and fell down to her partner's face. It was shaky, but Fen did manage a soft response to her:

"I'm sorry… for… worrying… you."

Apologize when you haven't just scared me three steps from Death's door. Neo gave an attempt at a smile before she collapsed down to his chest in sobs. Don't do that to me! First with that damn grimm and now this! It feels like you are trying to find ways to cause my heart agony! Her mental cries flipped to a whisper as she raised her head with red-rimmed eyes to look at him. I-I thought you were gone for good when the Omega's mask went red. Then I wake up to you looking like you were about to hyperventilate yourself to death. Aren't I supposed to be the injured one? Aren't I—huh?

Neo sat up and stared down at her limbs. Fen strained to look at her but it was quickly obvious what she was confused by. The pain she felt was not completely gone, but was now only a dull ache. Removing her bandages, she could see bruising and marks that would no doubt become scars, but beyond that they would likely be completely healed with the help of her aura in no more than another day or so. It was then that a lock of her hair fell in front of her face and she felt around to notice that state of her hair. Head turning over at Fen like a unoiled hinge, Neo blushed just as brightly as he expected before hurriedly searching for her things in their supplies that happened to have been placed nearby.

Once she had tamed her mane, Neo had carefully helped Fen over to a tree where he lay propped up. She worried over him, but Fen just gave a weak smile and shook his head:

"I'm fine, Neo. Exhausted, but fine. There's no physical pain. Whatever I felt was probably an aftereffect to the Omega remaining in control for so long."

Neo was skeptical, but seeing as how he had recovered so quickly she decided there was a more pressing question to ask:

Fen, what was that grimm? You seemed to know what it was.

Readjusting himself somewhat with a groan, Fen stared downwards as he recalled the information: "It is a creature known as the Nuckelavee, thought to have gone extinct after the great war. They are monsters among grimm and had a history during the war for being lured towards an opposing army in the midst of battle and dealing horrific damage. This gave them the nickname: Legion Slayers."

That… is certainly an imposing title. But that begs the question: how did we end up encountering one here?

"Your guess is as good as mine there. If you hadn't been injured and I actually had my weapons, there is a chance we could have found a way to defeat it; but truthfully even then I doubt it. It would take a highly coordinated strike and an appropriate setting to have a chance. You saw what it did to the Omega, and I'm not even including its wail that did… things, to me. Its strength is immense and the best thing against something like that is numbers, but those numbers must possess a certain amount of ability or they would just end up as fodder to it."

Neo looked at him with concern: And if we were to come up against it again?

"Retreat, without a second thought." Fen closed his eyes as if trying to recall a memory. "If… if they were still alive, it could have been done. But with only the two of us, and what it can do to me. No. I'm never going to fight that thing again if I have a choice. I'm sorry for any that come to be in that thing's path, but it's better them than us."

It wasn't something he was proud of, but he would prioritize their safety above all others. A fact that Neo was increasingly aware of in regards to the Omega appearing to do exactly the same.

Silently they both turned their attention towards where they had come from and shared a unified thought: "Shion was most certainly destroyed last night."

Even Neo felt somewhat bad that they had simply abandoned the town, mostly for the fact that she doubted that anyone made it out. If they hadn't delayed the Nuckelavee, maybe whatever else had targeted the town would have dealt with it, but they had no way of knowing. More pressing for Neo however was remembering just how they had managed to escape.

Fen, have you always been able to draw power from the dust in the Omega?

With a mild shake of his head he answered with: "No, in all the years we've been bonded, this has never happened. I don't know if it's a sign of growth or that the Nuckelavee was just that dangerous. All I can say is that it surprised me just as much as you."

If you could learn to harness it, it'd almost be like you could perform cryomancy any time you wanted. Pretty useful against that bitch Cinder. She always had an obsession with fire to not really consider much else. At least, that was the impression I gathered when I was their accomplice. She's cunning, but not very original.

Fen raised a brow: "Really now? Well regardless, now that I know the Omega can do it, I can at least take advantage of it when it takes form. Whether or not I'll be able to make use of it without transforming will just take testing and time. Plus, dust isn't an infinite source of power, and there is no telling the repercussions for expending the Omega's stores. For now, I'm planning to save it for a trump card. That's p-probably—yhaaaawn— the best way to handle it for the moment."

With a nod of acknowledgement, Neo left it at that. Fen was looking like he could barely keep his eyes open, and she gently helped move him so that he could lay down. When he tried to protest the action, a curt stare from her was all it took for him to let the argument die before it could even leave his mouth. Neo simply made him comfortable before setting up to keep watch.

You looked out for me the last few days, you and the Omega both. I'll repay the favor for today. So just get some rest, with any luck you'll be fine by the morn—

Fen was out before he could even hear all of what Neo tried to say.

His sleep this time was not dreamless like within the Omega, but it did begin in a void; or at least, what Fen perceived as a void. Though slowly, he noticed a glimmer, like that of a star, except its color was a brilliant emerald. Around him more motes of emerald light flickered into existence, growing in number until he was encompassed by a sea of lights. It was then that lights began to grow, and take on shapes more recognizable as a resident of Remnant; dust crystals.

In a blink, Fen found himself standing in what appeared to be a cavern of the most dense concentration of a single type of dust he had ever heard of. What was odd though, was the fact that it was the color of wind dust.

He never had any use of the particular brand of dust, nor did Neo. Rema, Sena, Thrud, not once could he say that they had ever even experimented with the kind of dust that he saw around him forming the largest crystals he had ever seen. Fen knew it had to be a dream, but he couldn't for the life of him understand the meaning of it.

When he was certain he'd awake without any clear answer, he felt a jolt up his arms. The sensation turned numb, before he felt the barest of pulls at his hands. Like that of a young child pulling their parent along to see something. Fen couldn't resist it if he tried as his form stepped deeper into the cavern, weaving between columns of dust that dwarfed him several times over. It wasn't long before he found himself in an open space relatively devoid of the crystals that otherwise covered every speck of stone.

Of his own control, he traversed the clearing and stopped in its center, thinking that there must be some purpose he was seeing this; some new means the Omega was attempting to communicate with by chance. However, when nothing occurred for several moments, Fen turned and took a single step from the center of the clearing. The moment his foot met stone, the echo it made acted like wind blowing out a candle and every glowing crystal that surrounded him extinguished.

Being suddenly thrust back into darkness was jarring, but that was the least of Fen's concerns as he suddenly didn't feel so alone. A soft glow came from behind him, but he hesitated to turn as he felt a chill like that of a gentle breeze blow across his neck. His body moved for him, as he was forced to turn and face the source of the presence.

By the dim pale green light, he saw the bleached white of bone he was well acquainted with: the mask of a grimm. The light coming from the lines of its mask, its eye-sockets empty; but only for a brief moment before they were lit with twin blazing orbs of verdant light.

Fen wanted to stumble back, but found himself frozen in place as he looked on at the mask of a grimm he hadn't the faintest clue to what it was. But by its size alone as it hung it the space above Fen, staring down at him with what he could only perceive as stoicism, it was easily the Omega's equal; and probably more. It was only after his shock faded that he realized what he was seeing before him...

… the mask of another Omega.

With a start, Fen's eyes snapped open as his body jerked to a sitting position. His breathing was raspy as his mind whirled with what he had just experienced. The images he saw burned so deeply into his psyche that he knew he'd never forget. Though none of these things mattered more than the one sensation he had felt just before he had awoken.

With clear eyes, focused on something far beyond the forest, Fen found his voice as he whispered to himself:

"I need to go East."

WRW

And there we go, hope you enjoyed. Don't worry, this will pay off in good time... and might be sooner than you think.

Now onto the surpri—

Yonder

WOOHOO! Yeah! Let's go! This is going to be- did we not start yet?

WRW

*Facepalm* No, no we haven't.

Yonder

Oops, sorry.

WRW

As my editor is so enthused about, along with being the anniversary of when this story was published, it also marks the day that I launch my second RWBY story: Dark Lightning!

It is also an OC x Canon fic in terms of the pairings, but DL will be vastly different as I am making it a fully proper AU. I hope to get a chapter out every month just like I strive to do for Fallen Snow, and I hope you will go and check it out.

And as always, follow, fav, and review to let me know what you thought of the chapter. It really means more than you could ever fathom.

As you were, Yon.

Yonder

WOOHOO! YEAH! Go check out Dark Lightning everyone, it'll be great!

WRW

Stay awesome everyone, WRW and Yonder out.