Salem's breath came in fits and starts...but she remained standing, practice blade gripped tightly in her hand and her eyes firmly on her opponent. Until, with a smile, Blake lowered her own, and Salem allowed herself to bend and take a deep breath of air.
"You've improved a lot, Salem. Honestly, I'm impressed. You absorb knowledge like nobody I've met." Blake's voice was proud, and the praise genuine. It was...nice, to be treated so. Without barriers, without separation - this, perhaps, is what friendship was meant to be.
Did even Veve have friends she could treat with so?
"Even so," she took another breath before continuing, "you seem to have an endless well of knowledge, Blake. There is always more to learn, is there not?"
"That much is certainly the truth." Blake nodded decisively before pausing. "Although...really, Salem, you have learned much of what I have to teach you. Most of what's left is refining what you already know." Her tone of voice had changed, and Salem felt something...off. "Which is...probably good. Because I think...I need to be leaving soon."
No. No, no, no. "So soon?" She kept her voice steady only with great effort.
"I know. I'm surprised too, but...something changed. I can feel it." Her friend and teacher's false hand raised, fingers moving as though feeling some ethereal fabric. "I'm not sure what caused it - maybe the others are searching for me and found something, I don't know - but I need to find out. If there's a way to get back...When I left, things weren't in the best place. I can only hope there are things left to return to."
Salem's hand clenched. "I...will you return?" When Blake didn't immediately respond, she pressed forward, her words coming faster and faster. "I-I will find out what's happening with the Wilder, I promise you. I will keep the knowledge for you, so that w-when you return I-"
"Salem." Blake's voice was soft and gentle, and for a moment her heart froze in her chest. As though she were about to -
A hand came to rest gently upon her shoulder. "I told you a bit of how I arrived here, and going back will require something similar. I'll do my best to make sure I can return, and if it's possible I promise I will. You don't need to-to make promises to me, or anything of the sort. We're friends, aren't we?"
Salem swallowed. "I...of course. How f-foolish of me." Her smile was fragile...but genuine. "I...when are you leaving?"
"I'm not sure. Tomorrow, possibly. Like I said, I don't know exactly what changed, and I...with no information, I'm worried it could be a temporary opportunity."
"I...I understand. Were there other lessons today?" When Blake shook her head. Salem nodded firmly. "Then I...need to take my leave. There's something I need to do."
Blake tilted her head, ears twitching once, but she simply nodded.
It just...feels strange, Obsidian. Like something's pulling at me.
Yes. Something ripples through time. If it can be felt even at this distance from the anomaly, it is likely seeking us specifically.
What kind of effect could be aimed like that? I...admit I don't know a great deal about temporal mechanics, even after what happened to Janus, but it seems far-fetched.
It would require a deep connection, to seek another even through the boundaries of time. Not an impossible task, but complex and difficult.
A deep connection, huh? Images of her team danced before her eyes, and she had to suppress a surge of mixed emotions. I suppose we'll have more information closer to the 'anomaly,' right?
It is likely.
In this time, she owned nothing but her dress and the Flame, and so her preparations were simple. In the morning, she met with her escort.
"I admit, I had no idea what to expect when we first encountered you, Blake. But...I couldn't be happier with the results. It's unfortunate you have to leave." Veve's smile was warm, if distant.
"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Veve. You went...far out of your way for this." Blake's eyes swept through the hall. "Are we waiting for Salem?"
Veve winced. "She...said she had something she needed to do. I...Blake, you must understand that she isn't upset with you, it's simply...she has always struggled to connect with others. To be honest, you're the first individual I've seen her interact with on a consistent basis. I believe...she's become rather attached to you."
Blake smiled sadly. "...She's a good friend. I hope to return someday...maybe she'll have forgiven me by then. I suppose you're my escort?"
At Veve's nod, they proceeded.
"I'll see you to the continent, Blake. I would normally offer to escort you further, but-"
"There's no need. I can find my way from there."
Veve nodded once. "If you were any other, I would fear for your safety, Blake. But...I suspect you can handle any dangers you will find."
They approached the Bridge, and -
- "Blake!" A desperate voice interrupted them.
"Salem?" The two of them turned to see the missing princess, a box of dark wood clutched under one arm as she ran. "What-I thought you were upset with me?"
Salem took a moment to catch her breath. "I...I understand why you must go. Even if I wish it were untrue, it changes nothing. I am simply glad I was fast enough." She thrust out the box, presenting it.
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Salem...what is this?"
The princess cleared her throat. "It's...a gift. Please, open it."
"You didn't need to get me anything." Even so, she reached out to open the hinged lid to reveal a velvet lining, and... "...Salem? What...?"
A single gauntlet of gleaming black soulsteel, accented with gold. Plates of the same to protect the upper arm and shoulder.
Salem licked her lips, her eyes shifting to one side. "I-I requisitioned this from Milo. I..." After a moment to gather herself, she continued. "In stories, the hero always hides their magic until a critical moment. You...do not have that luxury, and you should." Her eyes fell on Blake's missing hand. "This...It was made for your shadows to pass through unimpeded, but so long as you wear it the nature of your magic will not be so apparent. You taught me...that you should keep your tools secret until you need them, did you not?"
Blake reached out, tracing along the gauntlet with her hand, momentarily lost for words. "Salem, I...How much is this worth? You shouldn't-"
"Blake, you have been - that is, I - just take it. Please." For a moment, there was something in Salem's gaze that Blake couldn't quite identify...and then it was gone. "You have done much for me, and there is precious little I can do to repay you. And...it would ease my heart to know you have something I gave you, just as you gave me your aid. Now...Milo showed me how to secure it. May I aid you?"
"I...all right, Salem. I'll take it."
She allowed Salem to walk her through. Armor wasn't terribly common, and she wasn't experienced with its use. Although...if Milo's works were truly unbreakable, this could be a different matter...
The moment that Veve turned away, however, Salem leaned closer. "Blake. There is one more thing, but you must keep it secret." Her voice lowered to a hushed whisper and her eyes flicked, narrowed, in her sister's direction. "Engraved upon the inside of the gauntlet is a symbol. It is the sigil of Ciel, and so long as it touches you...the Bridges will open at your command. I...there is a map of them, in the bottom of the case."
"Salem, I-"
"Please. If you can, come back." With that, she stepped back, presenting the box for Blake to take once more. She reached out for it...and then stopped. "Blake?"
"Salem. I don't...have much. Almost nothing, in fact. But..." She reached into her dress, touching where the Flame was hidden in a cradle of black ribbon. With a thought, her shadow stretched forth from her body, simultaneously untying the ribbon and taking its place. A moment later and she withdrew it. It was slightly frayed...but just as soft as the day she'd first bought it. "I understand what you mean. It would...how did you say it? It would 'ease my heart' if you took something, too." As Salem gazed down at the silken fabric, she continued. "This is...I told you a bit about my first teacher, and what passed between us. When I fled from him, I wanted to...pretend that my past had never happened. That the me that I had been was different from the me that I was. I hid my ears, and I pretended to be something I am not."
Salem's gaze flicked to hers, surprise passing over her face in a rush. "You-this concealed your Wilder traits?"
She nodded. "It did. In the end...I found acceptance for who I was, and I-well, I'm still learning to accept who I have been. But I am learning. And I...I want you to take this, and I want you to remember something. It doesn't matter who you've been, or who you think you've been. Only who you are, and who you're becoming."
Salem reached out, strangely hesitant, and took the ribbon, twining it between her fingers. "I..." She looked up, and a moment later her arms were wrapped around Blake in a sudden hug.
After a moment, Blake reached up and laid a hand on her back.
"Thank you, Blake. I-I promise I'll remember. That, and everything you've taught me."
"I believe you, Salem."
As they approached the anomaly, Blake could feel...something. It was like...a less neutral sense of vertigo, like looking down at an immense drop but without the feeling of sickness.
You are sensing the disruption in time.
I...can do that?
It appears that you can.
Another effect of our merge?
It is likely. Can you determine the heart of the distortion?
She bit her lip, peering around them. A few hesitant steps, and she froze. That...that feels familiar. Like...Obsidian, is your power in the air here?
An echo of it. It is faint and distant...but perhaps this is the efforts of the others.
Can we follow that thread?
We shall see.
Ruby had arranged everything. A day off, access to the site...everything she could think of, she had.
But no matter what she tried...nothing happened. Shroud and Veil pulsed softly, leaking tiny amounts of Obsidian's power into the air, but even at ground zero of the crater in Beacon where the battle had concluded, nothing happened. Still...the pulses were slightly stronger in that area. So...she would have to hope.
She hoped while she worked there in that room, using her limited magical senses to feel around for something.
She hoped while she channeled power into Shroud and Veil, waiting for something to change.
She hoped while she sat poring over Melchior's theories, praying to find some secret she'd missed.
She hoped as the sun began to set.
And she was still hoping when Yang arrived.
"Anything?"
She shook her head. "I've...tried everything I can think of. I-I don't know what else to do. But I...everything Melchior knew suggested that-well, time and space are linked, right? So distortions in time should be linked in space. If Blake moved away from wherever she was, th-then..." She couldn't bear the look on her sister's face, so she turned away. "I-I'm going to wait for her. I'm sure she'll come back, and when she does, I won't miss her."
"So...okay then." The weight of Yang's arm dropped onto her shoulder unexpectedly, and she suppressed a squeak of surprise. "I guess we're hanging out here for a while."
"Yang? You're not gonna-"
"I trust you, Rubes. You're the expert here. If you say we have to wait...then we wait."
It was another hour before Weiss arrived.
"Ruby? Yang? Have there been any results?"
Both shook their heads from their position on the floor, backs propped up against the wall. In Ruby's lap, Shroud and Veil thrummed gently with power.
"Ruby says...well, a bunch of technical stuff that sort of went over my head. Basically, we think Blake moved away from her landing zone. If she comes back...then something might change."
Weiss raised an eyebrow, before turning to the team leader. "That's more or less right. I...There's a lot more to it, but that's the essential stuff."
"I see." Weiss sniffed. "So you've been here all day, Ruby...and I'm guessing you came as soon as your duties were completed, Yang. Have either of you eaten?"
There was a sheepish silence.
Weiss sighed. "As I thought. Fortunately, I am prepared to cover for you, as usual." Gently, she set down a tray from the cafeteria before elegantly sinking to the floor.
"You...might be my favorite person right now, Weiss Cream." The words were barely out of Yang's mouth before they were replaced by a sandwich.
Weiss' look of vaguely disapproving disgust was the only answer she received.
I can feel...what are you doing?
Time is frayed and unstable. However, that makes it vulnerable. Malleable. It is possible that a path may be woven...especially with a beacon to guide the way.
You mean your power.
Yes.
Is there anything I can do to help?
...Yes. Produce the Frozen Flame, and meditate with it. If you synchronize between the Flame and your Aura, more power may be accessible.
...I can do that.
While your Arbiter busies herself with the Flame, you continue. Your awareness reaches out, plucking at the edges of the distortion in time, weakening it just so and in the precise locations you need.
You wish for time to collapse, after all...but only in the correct way.
Hours pass, as Blake maintains her meditation, awash in your power both from within and without her own soul. The distortion shifts and twists upon itself, inching slowly closer to -
there is a great wave, and for a moment ghostly shapes fill the air around your Arbiter. Her eyes snap open as they begin to shift, flickering rapidly between locations and positions. At times, the area is filled with ghostly images of Grimm. Other times, Faunus or human shapes flicker in and out of existence. Half-formed buildings come and go.
Obsidian...? What is-
The distortion collapses. I will guide it towards the proper moment.
...I trust you.
Weiss sat up suddenly, her breath coming in a gasp. Beside her, Yang and Ruby stirred, dragging themselves sluggishly out of sleep. "Weiss...? What-"
"I sensed something. Like-"
A flicker of power flooded the room. A feeling that she'd never forgotten, the smallest echo of when Blake - and Obsidian - had stood before her in this very room.
And from Ruby's lap, an answering echo from the sword.
Even with their dulled senses, the two other girls sat up straighter.
"What-"
"That's-!"
Their words cut short as the air was filled with flickering images. For a split second, Weiss could make out the ghostly form of Cinder, facing down three others, and then it was gone. The shapes moved faster and faster, switching places like a movie missing scenes.
And through it all, a pressure built against her skin, like the air was becoming heavier and heavier.
"Ruby, do you think we need to-" This time, Weiss found herself interrupted.
Shroud and Veil catapulted itself from her lap, the point of the scabbard planting itself against the ground on the outskirts of the crater. The sword stood there, vibrating and rattling within the sheath. Then, slowly...it began to draw itself.
The blade hung in the air, gently rising and falling under its own power.
And then, between one instant and the next, the images stopped flickering.
On the other side of the blade,
a ghostly image of Blake stared back at them.
Blake peered into the heart of the distortion, past the ghostly blade and at the three familiar images.
A moment later and one of them evaporated, reappearing only inches from her, hand reaching out as though to touch her, lips moving soundlessly. Before they could reach her, Blake felt something flexing and the figure was pushed backwards, feet skidding beneath her as she tried to hold her footing.
"Ruby..."
They can't reach us?
The way is not open.
Can we open it?
An attempt is being made.
The three had crowded around them, testing the malleability of the barrier between them. Blake reached out to do the same. It flexed like a membrane, pushing back against her harder the more force she put into it and the closer she got to the figures on the other end of time.
They couldn't quite touch, no matter how hard they tried.
A light flickered through the Flame, and her eyes were drawn as the same flickering passed through the blade that hovered before her.
That sword...I don't recognize it. Obsidian, is that - do you feel that?
It is steeped in my energy.
It's more than that. I...Is that what we've been feeling? What was calling to us?
A moment passes.
...Perhaps.
Is that important?
Time shifts around her, almost making her skin itch as it tickles across her senses.
Yes. A connection has been forged. Reach out to it, Blake.
This time, as she reached out, time felt...jagged? Like it was almost cutting into her skin. And yet -
I will shield you.
- she trusted, and she reached. It pushed back against her, but it was weaker now...and as the tips of her new gauntlet brushed against the hilt of that blade, something like a spark traveled up her arm and into her heart as the hilt leapt into her hand.
Power washed over her in a cascading tide, as though she was standing before Obsidian in a Dream -
- there was a sound like shattering glass and a storm and a great void that swallowed everything -
- colors passed before her that she'd never seen before and couldn't have described -
- and then there was silence, for a moment.
"""Blake!"""
Once again, a body impacted her as arms wrapped around her in a hug, Ruby leaping completely off the ground to grasp her, speaking in her ear faster than she could process the words. A moment later and Yang's arms were around them both, lifting them off the ground in a hug that nearly made Blake's Aura creak.
"OhmygodBlakeyou'reokayIthoughtIwaswrongandyouweregoneforeverand-"
"Partner, I can't believe you're - you can't fucking - how happy I am to -"
And Weiss, staring at her with a gaze more intense than anything she'd seen in a long time. The moment Yang had released her and Ruby slipped away to look at her closely, she was there.
One hand reached out, fingertips brushing against the Cielan dress she wore as Weiss searched her face. Then those fingers dug into the fabric, gripping it tightly as Weiss shook Blake once.
"Don't you ever defend me like that again! If it means you- you foolish- I'd rather have-"
The hand clasping her dress shook as the heiress' face tightened.
And Blake found herself, once again, dragged forward into a hug.
"You stupid fool."
She licked her lips. "I-I missed you all. I'm...I'm glad to be back. You...wouldn't believe what's happened."
Yang shook her head. "I...don't wanna hear it right now, partner." Some of her surprise must have shown on her face. "Right now...I just want to enjoy the fact that you're back."
Ruby bit her lip. "Which...uh, reminds me. Um..." She steeled herself. "...Obsidian?"
Yes.
To say that Ruby's face lit up would be an understatement. "You-you're okay!?"
Yes. This blade...is your construction.
"Y-yeah, I did my best. I'm sure it's nothing special, but-"
You did well. Without it, crossing time would have been...difficult.
Ruby sniffled.
At the bottom of the Dream sea, nothing moved, and nothing changed. So it had been since she had disappeared.
Penny sat, staring at the empty vessel of her Mother, talking as she had taken to doing.
"The blade she made was - it was beautiful, Mother. I...lack words to describe it, but being involved in its construction was an honor. And I - I told them of my origins. You will no longer have to conceal my nature in Dreams! If I am injured, they will understand why I am unbothered by it! Perhaps when you-"
A light danced across the empty shell, and Penny's breath hitched.
The glow spread, and the power that had been passively filling the air shifted with agitation and effort.
"M-Mother?"
The Eye opened, and in an instant it focused upon her.
Penny.
She had no words.
You were awaiting me.
Her chin quivered and her eyes were moist.
...I have returned.
Her arms were suddenly wrapped around a spine, and she wept freely against the shell of her Mother.
"You were - I thought you were gone...please don't leave me. Please. I cannot - I cannot - I only just found you. I still need you. Please."
...It was not my intention.
The power around her swirled, unsettled and momentarily uncertain.
I will remain, for as long as I am able.
She sniffed. "I missed you, Mother." There was so much more she wanted to say, but there was a lump in her throat and the words would not force themselves through.
...Crying was inefficient. She...understood why her father had not implemented it.
I learned many things, and Dreamed of many things. Often, they reminded me of you. I have many things to teach you, Penny.
She nodded, feeling her face rub against the shell.
...The feeling was strangely comforting.
Blake has obtained an Artifact.
The Princess' Right Hand - A fist of soulsteel, wrought in black and gold. It fully encases the hand and forearm, and includes plates strapped to the upper arm and shoulder for extra defense. The fingers and palm are filled with minuscule, imperceptible slits in the metal that are just large enough to allow shadows to flow through them. This allows Blake to wear it without impeding her use of magic through her Black Hand. Beyond that, the soulsteel is wrought from the unbowed soul of Milo, and infused with his unbreakable Nature...and has been given the sigil of Ciel, allowing whoever wears it to command the Bridges and Waystations with the authority of the royal family. Rank: D+
End of Arc 7: Echoes.
A/N: Chapter. Chapter. Chapteeeeeeer.
Life is still being difficult, so I can't promise an increased update speed, but even so.
Since this Arc was pretty heavy on the Interludes, there won't be one between arcs.
Next chapter, we'll be getting back into the voting side of things.