The Isolated Kingdom: Tantal
It had been a couple days since Rex and the others boarded the ship to Tantal.
And Rex was outside looking out to the World Tree. And Zeke was with him.
"So, chum. Do you fancy Pyra or Mythra?" Zeke asked teasingly.
This made Rex scowl at the Tantalese prince, "Zeke, please. We are not having this conversation."
"Relax, I'm being serious for once," Zeke said with a more serious look, "I mean, you got two beauties as Blades so I was wondering about which one you prefer."
Rex didn't look convinced. It was bad enough for him when Yang went and made a comment of Rex sleeping with two girls at once, seeing as Pyra and Mythra share a body. But he decided to bear it for the moment, "They're the same person. I've never really thought of them separately."
"Come on, they're like totally different people," Zeke shot back, "Take Mythra for example, she's charming and tense, while Pyra is mellow and…I don't know, what's the opposite of 'pushy'?"
"On the outside maybe," Rex countered easily, "Pyra's got a lot of backbone too. She can be pretty stubborn
"Huh. You seem to understand them pretty deeply," Zeke said, looking a little impressed. Then he put his hand on his chin in an exaggerated thinking pose, "Well I suppose you are their Driver."
Then Rex turned away before looking thoughtful again. "Hey Zeke, you never said how you ended up in Indol."
"You never asked," Zeke said with a small grin.
Rex chuckled a little, "I guess I didn't, but now I'm curious. You're the prince of Tantal, so how did you end up in Indol?"
"That's because his old man kicked him out," Pandoria said suddenly.
Zeke and Rex both turned to the electric Blade in surprise.
"Oi!" Zeke exclaimed, "Bad Blade bad! How long have you been standing there?"
Pandoria put the back of her hand under her chin in thought, "From about…'Do you fancy Pyra or Mythra'."
"Do you fancy…That's the whole conversation!" Zeke exclaimed again at his Blade eavesdropping on them like that.
Pandoria ignored Zeke and turned to Rex with a smile, "As I was saying, my prince got diswoned by his father. He spent all his time traveling the world for fun, instead of attending to his studies. And byee." The Tantalese Blade sounded teasing at the end of this.
"It wasn't for fun! It was to study…society and international relations," Zeke was quick to defend himself, but the pause he had wasn't very convincing to Rex.
"International relations?" Pandoria said in amusement while putting her hands on her hips, "Is that what you call it?"
"Hey, can it! What're you even doing dissing your own Driver," Zeke complained with an angry look.
And then Rex let out a laugh, "You guys crack me up."
This earned the two's attention again. "I love him really." Pandoria then admitted with a smile.
Rex nodded in understanding before frowning, "He sounds tough. Zeke's dad I mean."
"Not as bad as Weiss' from what I've heard," Zeke added in.
"Tantal being an isolationist society doesn't help much. Crossing its borders without leave is strictly forbidden," Pandoria then explained, "It's been that way for ages now. But you see how my prince is, he couldn't stop himself from leaving a few times. So he got chewed out and disowned back when he was…15 or something."
At the last part Zeke let out a small sigh, "Yeah, something like that."
"Then the Praetor himself found him half-dead one day and took him in. He made up that special envoy stuff," Pandoria said the last part in faux whisper.
"Ah! It all makes sense now," Rex said with a look of realization," That's how you guys ended up in Indol." Then Rex had a slightly worried look, "By the way, is it safe for you two to go back to Tantal?"
"This time we got official business from the Praetor so we're fine…probably." Zeke said, not inspiring confidence in Rex. "Besides, Tantal is too ignorant of the outside world." Zeke then said passionately, "It needs a wake-up call."
At that moment, an Indoline warrior monk walked towards them, "Excuse me, but we are approaching the designated coordinates."
Zeke seemed giddy at the news, "Oh! This will be great."
"What will?" Rex asked with a curious look.
Pandoria giggled mischievously, "Just watch."
Then they started moving to the front of the ship, but as they were approaching, the three heard scrambling noises from behind the corner. Which was followed by a set of bodies falling and surprised yelps.
"Get off me you dolts!"
"Was that Weiss?" Rex let out in surprise.
"Whose hand is that?" That was definitely a stern sounding Yang.
"Sorry. Please don't kill me." And that was Jaune, although his voice sounded muffled.
Now the two Drivers and a Blade sprinted around the corner to see a pile of Remnan Drivers, minus Qrow. Somehow Weiss was at the bottom, and she looked highly unamused. Zeke's eye then caught the sight of Yang who managed to untangle herself. At the spot where the Tantalese Driver assumed the blonde Driver was at was Jaune's flailing hand which sticking out of the pile of bodies, explaining why he sounded muffled.
"What're you guys doing?" Zeke asked the pile that was in the process of trying to untangle itself. It should probably be noted that All of their Blades were standing away from the pile with various expressions on their faces.
"Stop laughing, Dahlia!" Weiss let out indignantly at the sight of her Blade laughing at the sight.
Aizen shook his head, "I'm sure I should be scolding Miss Schnee for letting herself be dragged into this, but I enjoy this so much that I cannot bring myself to do so." The nobleman Blade smiled in amusement at the latter part of his sentence. Otohime let out a weary sigh at her own Driver being coerced into this.
"Nora, I'll get you out of there." Electra said with a determined look as she grabbed her Driver's leg and started pulling her out of the pile.
"No, wait!" Nora cried out as she brought her hands to keep her skirt down as she was being pulled out from under Blake. Electra's job became easier when Nox moved in and gingerly picked up his Driver and helped her to her feet. Once Blake and Nora where removed, Joana moved in and practically threw Ruby and Ren off so she could assist her lord Driver.
"Hey!" Yang didn't like how her sister was treated, but fortunately Ruby was caught by Roze. Although that still reminded Yang of when she talked to Qrow about Ruby wanting to sleep with Roze in concern. Qrow's reply of "Again?" rang alarm bells in the blonde's head. Fortunately, Qrow was able to explain that Ruby asked Roze to move next to her outside of her sleeping bag and he wrapped her in his own cape for good measure. To say Yang was conflicted would be putting it mildly. On one hand that moment was after their encounter with Tyrian from what she had heard, on the other hand a guy that wasn't their dad or uncle had slept too close to Ruby for Yang's liking. Still when Ruby was put back down to her feet, Yang decided to give the reaper Blade the benefit of the doubt.
"Yang overheard you asking Rex if he likes Pyra or Mythra," Dragunov sold his Driver out.
"Drag!" The said Driver didn't appreciate it.
"And the rest of us joined in as we appeared," Nora added in with grin as she stood up, thankful that her skirt didn't hike up above her waist.
"In spite of some of our protests," Otohime added in while glaring at Nora, blaming the orange head for her Driver getting into this.
"That's rude, you know," Rex said in annoyance, "How would you all feel if someone eavesdropped on your conversations?"
"…We're sorry," Ruby spoke for everyone, realizing how bad this was.
"Come on, it's not like we heard anything important," Yang said before glaring at Dragunov who snorted at her comment.
"I think Tantal's affairs were pretty important," Weiss said as she was finally able to stand up and dust her armored skirt. What she left unsaid was that Weiss was convinced that her father would probably have disowned her too by now, assuming Aizen's theory about faking her suicide wasn't right.
"Uhh, prince, we should get ready," Pandoria then interjected.
"Oh, right," Zeke said with a small grin, "Everyone, get to the front, you're gonna love this."
It didn't take long until everyone was at the front. Of course, Oscar, Qrow and any of the other Alrestians needed to be fetched to witness Pandoria standing on top of the bow. Then she placed her hand on her rectangle shaped Core Crystal that had a triangle shaped opening on one side. Then a beam of light was shot from it and into the Cloud Sea.
In a throne room made of stone lit by braziers and pillars with glowing green parts, an older man dressed in heavy but regal black clothes approached the throne from behind. "My lord, Genbu has begun surfacing."
"I am aware," The man on the throne said, "It's Pandoria."
The older man looked surprised to hear that, "Then the prince…"
"…Yes," the man on the throne said.
"We have received reports that the prince has made contact with the Aegis in Indol." The advisor spoke.
That did not sit well with the King, "So…after 500 years he makes his move. Praetor Amalthus. We must act. To protect our days of peace. Even if they are a dream that cannot last."
"There is more, your highness," the advisor then said, "Supposedly the prince had disappeared into one of those phenomenon's called Breaches and came back with a strange group of people. And they have a Blade whose description matches that of Dragunov."
This made King Eulogimenos stand from his throne and face his advisor with a surprised look. He was dressed in heavy pale robe with gold clasps that held a fur mantle. The King had medium length golden-brown hair and a matching beard along his jaw. On the said head was his golden crown that framed his face. The king also had three markings in the shape of swords along his cheekbones, right beneath his golden eyes. "The legendary Firestorm of Torna? The Blade whose power, aside from the Aegis, was only matched by the Paragon?"
"The very same," the advisor said, "And they also have the missing Imperial Mother of Uraya."
"…Who are these people?" The king said almost demandingly.
"We don't know, your highness," The advisor admitted.
The King of Tantal looked thoughtful, "I suppose all we can do is prepare ourselves."
Back in the titan ship, the gang witnessed something very awesome. A Great Titan emerged from beneath the Cloud Sea. From what everyone could tell it was shaped like a giant turtle that had pink crystals protruding from its head, like a crown of some kind.
"Whoa," Nia commented at the sight of the Titan, "It's just like a huge version of Turters.
As Nia said that, Zeke reached a hand into his coat and retrieved the mascot in question. "It's called Genbu." Zeke explained as he petted the small green turtle in his hand. "It's the same type of Titan as Uraya. Normally it's submerged under the Cloud Sea."
"So cool." Ruby said with stars in her eyes.
"It's…incredible," Blake said, being a little lost for words despite already having seen Uraya.
"I wonder if I can ride on it," Nora wondered eagerly.
"Nora, it's so big that it's practically like standing on this ship," Ren pointed out, earning a pout from the hammerer.
"Fair warning everyone," Pandoria then piped up, earning everyone's attention, "Tantal can get pretty cold even in early fall. Mind you don't freeze." The last part was added teasingly.
"So it's almost like Solitas," Weiss muttered.
"Solitas?" Came out of Nia.
"The Northernmost continent of Remnant. And the coldest," Weiss explained.
"Weiss here is from the Kingdom of Atlas which is located there," Dahlia added in when it didn't seem to sink in to the Alrestians.
"So I take it you should be fine," Zeke asked with a smile.
"I should be," Weiss commented.
"Well I can't stand the cold," Nia complained, shivering at the thought.
"I can provide my own warmth," Brighid chimed in, making a blue flame appear on her palm for emphasis, "You can stay close to me if you like."
Mythra gave the blue haired fire Blade a look before speaking herself, "I as well." And then she was replaced by Pyra. The red-haired Aegis also made a flame on her palm.
That gave Yang an idea, "Hey, Drag-" "I can do that too. And no, you're not." Dragunov interrupted his Driver sternly.
The blonde brawler looked miffed to hear that, "You don't even know what I was gonna ask."
Dragunov snorted at that, "Yes I know, and the answer is no."
"Come on, don't be selfish," Yang complained, earning a heated glare from Dragunov.
Nia shook her head at the beginning argument between the blonde and the Blade before turning her attention back to Pyra and Brighid, "You guys are pretty handy to have around."
As this happened, Dromarch turned to Dagas, "Sir Dagas, could you provide my lady with warmth?"
"I may be a fire Blade, but I do not possess the talents of those two," Dagas replied easily, "Besides, I refuse to become a living heater."
"See! Dagas gets it!" Dragunov exclaimed as he pointed at the royal Blade.
"Fine, but if I get hypothermia then I'm blaming you," Yang pointed out.
"Yang, you have an active Aura, you won't freeze that easily," Weiss pointed out.
This earned Mòrag's attention, "Excuse me but does having an active Aura keep you warm?"
"Yeah, Aura works as a good insulator, which is why huntsmen and huntresses don't always need to dress for the weather." Qrow explained.
"I wish I had Aura," Nia grumbled a little at the luxury that Remnans have. No one noticed Talos looking away at hearing that. Then Nia's eyes fell on Zeke and his lack of shirt underneath his coat. " Aren't you gonna be cold like that, Shellhead?"
"I'm used to it," Zeke said as he put Turters back into his coat, "I'll be dandy."
"He's naturally dense," Pandoria chimed in with a snicker, "It's good insulation."
"Ah. Makes sense." Nia, Rex, Weiss and even Ruby said in unison.
"Stop encouraging her! You gang of bullies!" Zeke protested, earning a round of laughs from the gang at the poor prince's expense.
As soon as the gang made landfall, they saw and felt that this place is indeed cold. Although according to Weiss, this is warmer than Solitas. A revelation that Nia found horrifying.
Regardless, the gang trudged through the ankle-deep snow from the harbor through the grand stone gate that led deeper inside Genbu. Some of them had easier time than others. But the one with greatest ease was Dragunov, because with every step he took the snow under his feet melted, revealing the ground beneath. This was to lesser extent with Brighid and none at all with Pyra. Although the complaints about the cold were forgotten when Oscar genuinely asked if Dahlia would be alright due to her... apparel.
"…Oscar, Dahlia is an ice Blade," Weiss pointed out with a dead-pan look.
"Yeah…so?" Oscar asked, not getting it.
"She is an ice bunny," Weiss added in. And then Oscar took a second look at Dahlia and finally noticed her white furred arms, which made him look down in embarrassment of asking a stupid question. Dahlia ruffling his hair in sympathy didn't help. Nor did the mental chuckling of Ozpin.
Yang laughed at that as she pushed Bumblebee along. The tires that the bike had currently weren't designed for winter conditions. Something that Tora had forgotten back in Mor Ardain. Oh well, not like they were notified in advance of going to a snowy environment. Also, Yang didn't trust her bike to be watched by the Indoline, which was the primary reason she was taking the bike with her.
Anyway, once the gang had passed through an uphill in a valley like area they came across the cliffs from where they could see around Genbu. Lots of snow, ice formations and some ruins a little ways ahead. And far away they could see what looked like a city that was somehow built at the edge of the cliff. According to Zeke, that was the city of Theosoir, where they were going.
On the way, a certain problem arose with the gang. Well not so much a problem as someone making another uncomfortable. Namely Nia who had grabbed Pyra's arm and was hugging it as they walked.
"Nia…Umm…Do you mind?" Pyra said awkwardly.
"Come on, it's not so bad," Nia said as she nuzzled her cheeks against Pyra's upper arm, "You're just so warm, I can't help it."
"Umm…is there room for one more," Ruby asked a little shyly.
"Sure, you can take the other arm," Nia said casually.
"I'm not a stove," Pyra complained, which thankfully was enough to give Ruby a pause.
"And that is why I refused," Dragunov then pointed out, crossing his arms with a smug look.
"Drag, come on. Let Ruby at least on one of your arms," Yang then pleaded while fluttering her eyes at him.
"Grrr." It wasn't very effective.
"Please," Ruby asked, giving her best puppy dog eyes.
"No." Dragunov said, looking away. If he can't see them, they won't work.
"Do I need to kiss your feet or something," Yang asked in annoyance.
Dragunov's smug response made the blonde regret her choice of words, "Yup."
Yang looked just about ready to punch her Blade in the face, before her gaze fell on Ruby who Roze wrapped his cloak around. But it didn't seem to be enough as Ruby still shivered a little. With a sigh, Yang put Bumblebee on a stand before moving towards Dragunov and fell on her knees, "Left or right foot?" Yang asked with a highly pained look as she was leaning closer to Dragunov's feet.
The said feet backed away rapidly, which caused Yang to look at her Blade's bewildered face. "…It was a joke," Dragunov managed to say after collecting his thoughts. Then he let out a sigh, "Fine." and extended his right arm which Ruby latched onto fast enough to blow some snow around.
"Hey!" Nia complained as the pseudo-blizzard caked her and several others with snow. And she latched herself back onto Pyra's arm.
"…I'm not sure if I should find that weird or…" Blake seemed to struggle in finding the right word on Yang's actions.
"Bizarre?" Nora supplied.
"Not the word."
"Cute?" Electra said innocently.
No one was sure where the little electric Blade got that from. Not even Nora.
"Selfless?" Penny then supplied.
"That's it." Blake said, finally getting the right word.
"Sounds like Yang when it comes to her loved ones," Roze said with a slightly forced smile. He just didn't like being useless to Ruby.
As this happened, Dromarch spoke up, "My lady, if you desire warmth, why not take some from me? Miss Pyra seems to be in some distress." Distress was an understatement given the highly awkward look on the red-haired Aegis.
"No way." Nia instantly denied, "Your fur is all stiff and spiky with the cold, it'd be murder on my sensitive skin."
"But…my lady," Dromarch mouthed out, looking a little heartbroken.
"Well I think you look fuzzy and soft," Nora said in an attempt to cheer the tiger Blade up. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work.
Nox showed something on his scroll for Dromarch only, which made the white tiger smile ever so slightly. Blake got a little curious about what it was, but decided not to ask about it, even though her Blade would no doubt show it if ordered.
Then Nia looked a little up on a rock surface. "Is it just me or are the ether lines really dim?"
"Huh?" Came out of Remnans who then looked to where Nia was looking. Sure enough there were a few large glowing green lines on the rock.
"What's an ether line?" Jaune asked with a confused look.
Nia was about to snark something, until she remembered who asked that question, "Those things. The glowing threads that run inside Titans."
"Okay, but what are they?" Jaune asked again.
"The glow of the ether lines comes from the pure ether coursing through the Titan's body. You can compare it to the bloodstream of a human."
"Nia got some good eyes," Zeke said as he turned to the party, "Genbu has pretty bad circulation compared to other Titans. They say it's why we have a cold weather and awful crops."
"So it's…cold-blooded?" Rex summarized.
Zeke chuckled at that, "Call it what you like."
"But there are warm seasons, right?" Ren asked.
"Yup, but they don't last very long," Zeke then said.
"Which means you won't have much time to get crops if any," Oscar then said with a frown, "Is the soil even good for that?"
Zeke looked a little surprised, before remembering that Oscar was a farmhand, "Right, well like I said, we get poor crops due to bad ether circulation."
"So, a Titan's ether circulation affects the soil?" Oscar then asked for confirmation.
"Exactly," Pandoria chimed in. With that everyone moved on.
As the gang moved, they saw small ruins that were partially covered in snow. According to Zeke those ruins were here before the survivors of Torna came here. The Remnans decided to take some pictures with their scroll of these in case they met Doctor Oobleck again. He would definitely love this. Actually, the gang had taken pictures of Alrestian sights whenever they could. Back in Uraya, Mor Ardain, and even in Indol. Although they were concerned about their battery lives back in the ship, until Tora revealed a little side-project he had made alongside Bumblebee. A portable charger for Scrolls. The Nopon inventor had managed to make the portable charger so that it can be charged with ether energy from Poppi's furnace, which in turn is converted into electricity for charging Scrolls. Which meant that the gang can use their Scrolls as much as they wanted and more importantly take pictures of Alrestian sights. Hopefully the Scroll memory doesn't get filled too fast. Of course, then there was Penny's memory banks from her recording several sights she thought her father might like to see when she returned.
Then after some more trekking they came across a new kind of creature. Apparently, it was called a Nant Buloofo. A large white furred creature with brown markings around the fur of its body and several black protrusions coming out of its back. Larger than an Ursa and was walking on all fours yet mostly upright. Upon closer inspection the Remnans also saw that its front feet were actually very muscular arms with five-digit hands, including opposable thumbs. Its back legs were short and had dark in color and furless and strangely it was standing on them on tiptoes. Finally, on its head were two large curved horns. Its face had small eyes and a maw with small sharp teeth.
According to Zeke they don't attack if you move far enough from them. And while Nora was a little eager to kill it, everyone else outvoted her saying there was no point. So, the gang moved past it, while also marveling at the few other wild-life that appeared. Such as the local bunnits that were pure white. Arno Kapibas, white rodent looking animals about the size of large dogs, that had longish ears and thin armored tail. Of course, some of them wondered what other cool animals there were.
Anyway, the journey through what looked like a winter wonderland to Remnans finally brought them to the entrance to the city.
"Oh, my- This is the very picture of ancient civilizations I've read about," Mòrag was the first to comment at the beautiful architecture that made the city seem ancient, yet very majestic.
"It's like a castle," Nora commented as she looked a little over the edge to see the city stretch below as far as she could.
"Quite a classic look, wouldn't you say," Zeke commented with a proud look, "You all know the old land of Torna?" Dragunov perked up at hearing about the Titan he once called home. "They had a proud and noble civilization, rivaled by only Judicium at the time. But whereas Judicium were the masters of biological arts Tornans knew all there was to know about engineering. The proud blood of Torna flows in the veins of us Tantalese."
Dragunov looked thoughtful about something before deciding to speak up, "There was an entry in Thauron's journal that mentioned Jin and I being the cornerstones of Torna's culture. I as the kingdom's might, and Jin as the kingdom's spirit."
"I think I red that part," Yang commented as she wracked her brain on which entry it was.
Rex looked very thoughtful about something, replaying a conversation they had with Jin back in Temperantia, "Man's life too has an end, yes. However, though each individual life is fleeting, you pass on your memories, allowing you to grow. As a species, as a culture. Why does Indol control all the Core Crystals? By controlling the moment of every Blade's birth, they enslave our kind. How is that fair? We have no culture, because Indol decrees it.". "And yet he and Dragunov were the cornerstone of Torna's," Rex muttered inaudibly.
"Did you say something, Rex?" Pyra asked.
"Oh, no. It's nothing." Rex said with a smile.
"As there are people to pass it onto, civilization will endure. Knowledge is inherited, just like life itself," Dromarch then commented, earning a round of laughs from the former Beacon students. "Did I say something amusing?" Dromarch asked with a worried look.
At that moment, Ozpin took over to answer and he was chuckling too, "What you said sounded like something Doctor Oobleck would say. You and him could be friends with that kind of talk."
"He sounds like a wise man," Dromarch said, feeling relieved that he didn't make a fool of himself.
"Still, it's a nice quote," Nia said with a smile, having finally detached from Pyra's arm, "You should write it down."
"Thank you." Dromarch said, sounding very grateful.
"It's not that simple though," Zeke then piped up with a frown.
"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked.
"You'll see," Zeke said as he turned to the entrance and the gang walked right in.
Inside the gang saw large buildings made of stone that had decorative carvings on them. Around the city were several large braziers. And some of the Tantalese people were out and about, all of them wearing heavy clothes to keep themselves warm. Although, everyone felt a difference in the cold, mainly that it was colder outside the city.
Anyway, the gang had reached the bottom of a walkway with buildings on either side which allowed them to see a plaza with several market stalls that were very busy.
"That's a lively market," Nia commented at the sight.
"It's the black market," Zeke commented, earning several worried looks from Remnans, especially Qrow.
"Black market? You mean this is illegal?" Jaune asked in concern.
"But it is out in the open." Joana added in with a confused look, "How can the king allow such evil to fester?"
"Oh, can it you!" Zeke snapped at Joana, earning shocked looks at sounding genuinely angry. Then he took a breath, "Look, Tantal is so cold there's not much in the ways of local produce to sell. Just look, all the regular shops are closed." At the last part, Zeke pointed around the area and everyone saw several places that look like shops being barred closed.
"You're right, they're all closed," Nora commented, now looking worried.
Zeke took this as his que to continue, "Instead, folks pay ungodly prices for produce that's been smuggled from other nations. And since it's the only thing that keeps people from actually starving, the bigwigs turn a blind eye to it."
"So, most of the agricultural production is wasted on just surviving, and the country grows weak," Brighid summarized with a frown.
"If the king wished for his kingdom to perish, there are much more efficient ways of doing it," Dagas said with a look of disdain.
"Your father sounds incompetent ruler for allowing such decline and not do anything," Aizen added in with a look of disgust.
"Aizen," Weiss said through gritted teeth. She may agree, but this was highly disrespectful.
"It's fine," Zeke interjected, "I actually agree with those two."
"Guess having fancy buildings doesn't fill anyone's bellies," Qrow added his own lien into the mix.
"Exactly," Zeke said, sounding glad that someone gets it, "Ancient Civilization sounds great and all, but this place is basically a museum without any tourists. That's not gonna feed anyone."
Ruby looked down in sadness at hearing these affairs before an idea struck her, "Guys, maybe we should buy some stuff here."
"Ruby, you heard Zeke, the prices are ungodly," Roze said with a frown.
"Yeah, but if we buy something then that would help the people here at least a little, right?" Ruby said looking hopeful.
Mòrag shook her head, "Your willingness to help is commendable, but our combined funds won't make much difference here."
"We don't have to solve all problems, even the smallest things could make a difference," Blake argued in, "I mean, things won't be that simple, but I just want to do something."
"Yeah!" Nora and Electra said in unison.
"That would be nice of you," Zeke said with a smile, "Alright, each of you go around and see what you want to buy, we'll meet at the palace gates in an hour right over there." At the last part, Zeke pointed towards a set of two-sided steps that lead to what the gang assumes to be the palace.
"Okay, everyone, scatter!" Ruby said enthusiastically before the gang of tourists started moving around the town.
Blake was planning to find whatever place sold books, Nora dragged Ren and Electra for sightseeing, Jaune found a Core Chip shop and was wondering if he should buy a something for Joana, Ruby was of course also wondering what she could get for Roze, Qrow noticed a local inn and moved to see what kind of service they might have, with Kasandra watching him to ensure he didn't get alcohol in his hands. Penny decided to join Ruby on checking the Core Chips while also dragging Tora along. Nia and Weiss moved off to who knows where, which left Rex, Yang, Zeke and Mòrag alongside their Blades.
Yang still didn't trust Bumblebee alone so she was still pulling it along, earning a lot of attention. Although some of them also looked apprehensive at the sight of Wulfric. The last group of tourists stopped when they noticed Dragunov had stopped.
(Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST: Wanted Nia)
"What's up, Dragunov?" Yang asked, noting that her Blade was sniffing the air.
"Something smells good," Dragunov said as he kept sniffing the air. "Hm?" Then he approached one of the stalls in the Black Market while sniffing like a trackhound. "Ah! This is it!" Dragunov exclaimed as he pointed to a set of cakes on the stall, before taking a long whiff. The remaining members of the gang moved to see what Dragunov found so interesting.
And it was Zeke who saw it first, "Oh, you noticed Addam's Ember Cakes."
"The what-now?" Rex and Yang asked in unison, while Mythra gave a quizzical quirk of an eyebrow.
"The legendary hero's favorite food. It's made by an age-old traditional recipe which has been passed down for generations," Zeke explained proudly.
"Ember Cakes," Mythra muttered, "Does that mean they're spicy?"
"Of course." Zeke said happily.
"Addam didn't like spicy food," Mythra said earning a blanched look from Zeke.
"What?"
"Yeah, Addam would always run straight to the latrine if even a little bit of spice got onto his food," Mythra explained in amusement.
"But…But… Addam adored spicy food, he was a gourmand of them," Zeke said like he was having an existential crisis.
"That's Dragunov," Mythra said as he pointed to the said draconic Blade talking to the shopkeep about the Ember Cakes.
Yang then had a thoughtful look, "I think there was an entry when Thauron decided to play a joke on Addam by spiking his food with some super hot peppers which made Addam scream about his ass being on fire."
"Oh! I remember that," Mythra said with a laugh, "Milton ratted him out and Thauron was forced to clean the latrines when Addam was done."
"And he still thought it was worth hearing Addam screaming in pain," Yang added in with a laugh of her own.
"…Thauron sounds like he was a handful," Rex muttered in finding it just a little disturbing that the guy would borderline poison his friend for laughs.
"No…this can't be," Zeke said, falling to his knees in despair, "You're shattering my image of Addam. Oh, my childhood innocence."
Rex was about to try and console Zeke when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. Turning to the source, he saw Mythra had gone stiff and seemed to have lost all color from her face. "Umm…Mythra, what's wrong?"
Then they heard something being lifted on wooden counter and they turned to see a metal chest being lifted on the counter. The chest was covered in several layers of chains with multiple locks.
"Is it there?" Dragunov asked eagerly.
"Well…yes, but the chest hasn't been opened in centuries, so…" The shopkeep said awkwardly.
"I don't care, open it," Dragunov practically commanded and the shopkeeper produced a set of keys before proceeding to unlock each lock and get the chain off of the chest. Then it was opened and everyone felt a heatwave washing over them.
"No." Mythra mouthed out in a mix of despair and disbelief, "That can't be possible. How could they have ended up here?"
Everyone moved to see what was in the chest that produced so much heat that it made the air practically warm. It was a set of cakes, similar to the so called Addam's Ember Cakes, except these cakes seemed to be glowing red with heat.
"How the heck can a cake be that hot?" Rex asked in disbelief.
"…It defies all logic," Aegaeon said, sharing his look of disbelief with his fellow Blades and Driver.
But then they noticed Dragunov drooling at the sight. "Can I try one?"
"Uhh…Well they're not for sale, they're just an heirloom-" "Can I try or not?" Dragunov said more impatiently.
"Drag, are you sure," Yang asked with a look of concern, "I know you like spicy food, but that can't be healthy."
"Yang, my stomach is fireproof, I can eat anything." Dragunov protested. All the while Mythra looked on the verge of a breakdown.
"Well…if you're sure, but I won't be held responsible for anything that happens." The shopkeep had barely said it before Dragunov grabbed one of the glowing hot cakes that radiated heat.
"No! Stop him!" Mythra cried out, moving to do just that. Unfortunately, she barely raised her arm when Dragunov plucked the whole thing into his mouth. This whole event drawing a crowd around them.
The mighty fire Blade chewed on the impossibly hot food with his eyes closed, swirling the molten mass in his mouth with a content look before swallowing.
"Sooo how is it?" Yang asked with a weirded out look.
Dragunov stood still for a moment with a content smile before his eyes suddenly opened. Then his cracks started glowing with golden heat and he started laughing like a maniac, causing everyone to back away from him. Then golden flames begun bursting from his cracks and the dragon heads' eyes were opening slowly.
(OST Change: Incoming!)
"What the heck?!" Yang cried out at Dragunov reaching full power without her.
"Mythra, what's going on?" Rex asked in concern, seeing that the blonde Aegis seemed to know.
"No…Not again," Mythra muttered in horror as she retrieved her Aegis Sword, and took a combat stance.
Then, just as suddenly as Dragunov was reaching his full power, he powered down. Cracks stopped glowing, and the dragon eyes closed. "Whoa! What a rush!" Dragunov said, sounding extremely happy. And then he turned towards Mythra.
(OST Change: Nopon Life)
"Stay back! I'm warning you!" Mythra threatened, actually trembling a little.
"Mythra, what's going on!?" Yang practically demanded. This was getting scary.
Then Dragunov dashed at Mythra who lifted her weapon for an overhead strike, but Dragunov managed to trap her into his arms.
"Marry me!" Dragunov declared, sounding completely serious.
"WHAT?!" Was the universal reaction out of the gang.
"I love you so much!" Dragunov said, actually sounding like he was in love. Then he started peppering Mythra's head with kisses
"Stop it! I don't want this!" Mythra cried out as she was struggling in the loving embrace.
"Please, I'll do anything for you," Dragunov said. And Yang wasn't sure if it was the trick of the light or what, but she could swear that Dragunov's pupils had turned into hearts.
Mythra still struggled while her face was trying to invent a new shade of red. Then she had an idea about a little something she spotted. Something that was currently right behind Dragunov. "Oh yeah? Go jump into that pond behind you!"
"Whatever you desire my beloved," Dragunov said before putting Mythra down and running towards the direction Mythra pointed to. Sure enough, there was a pond at the back, down a set of stairs. As Mythra was internally celebrating her freedom, they heard Dragunov's shout, "CANNONBALL!" Which was followed by a splash and a burst of steam from where he jumped.
"…What just happened?" Yang asked, totally clueless.
"You're his Driver, you tell us," Pandoria said.
"Guys!" Ruby shouted out as she ran from the gathered crowd, "What's going on?"
"Dragunov seemed to have lost his mind," Azurda replied from Rex's helmet, though it seemed obvious that he was also trying to hold in laughter.
"I'm glad that worked this time too," Mythra said in relief as she lowered the Aegis Sword.
"This time," Yang parroted before a light bulb went off in her head. With that, she ran to Bumblebee where her bag was and started rummaging through it until she found Thauron's journal. Then she started flipping through the pages.
As this was happening the rest of the team had arrived to the crime scene. "Who shouted?" Ren was the first to ask as he looked around to see what happened.
"And why is this area warmer," Nora asked too as she clearly felt the difference. But that difference began fading when the shopkeep closed the chest with the impossibly hot cakes and once again sealed it with the chains and the multiple locks.
"We don't know, Dragunov tasted some weird cakes and suddenly he wanted to marry Mythra," Rex explained.
"Rex!" Mythra didn't like the way her Driver worded it.
"I'm sorry, did you say Dragunov wanted to marry Mythra?" Blake asked in disbelief.
"That doesn't sound like him," Weiss added in.
"I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it myself," Mòrag added in disbelief herself.
"So what was-" Jaune's question was interrupted by Yang suddenly laughing. Everyone turned to see the blonde brawler holding Thauron's journal while laughing her head off. Yang then looked to the page she was on in mirth before laughing harder. And then she fell down to the cobblestones, dropping the journal in the process, holding her stomach in laughter before rolling to her stomach and pounding with her fist, still laughing like she heard the best joke in the history of the universe.
"Uhh...Yang?" Ruby said in concern. Instead of answering with words, Yang pointed to the journal, still laughing. Then Ruby moved to pick up the journal which still somehow had the page Yang had left on. After reading for a few moments, Ruby looked between Mythra and the journal. And then she started laughing too.
"Don't tell me," Mythra sounded out in horror. Realizing that Thauron must have recorded the incident.
"Uhh...What's so funny?" Nora asked in concern, thinking that the sisters had gone insane. Instead of answering, Ruby offered the journal to Nora.
The orange head took it and started reading, Ren and Jaune joining her.
Then they too looked at now highly distressed Mythra before bursting into laughter themselves. Though to Ren's and Jaune's credit, they were trying to hold it, but were failing miserably.
After this, Rex snatched the journal and read it himself.
"Rex, no!" Mythra cried out, but the salvager was far too curious for his own good.
The blonde Aegis braced herself for another round of laughter. But instead of laughter, Rex looked at Mythra, then at the chest, "Mythra... were those the same-" "Yes!" Mythra admitted, looking like she regretted ever existing. "Those were what I cooked, hoping to make a dish so spicy even Dragunov would cry."
And then Brighid delivered the punchline, "So the one time you actually tried to hurt someone with your cooking you instead cooked their favorite food."
It took a few moments, but the irony sunk in and now everyone was laughing to varying degrees. Aside from Aizen, Dagas and Talos. The royal and nobleman did look amused, but the metal champion had no visible face to indicate if he was amused or not. Also, Zeke still hadn't gotten up from the depression of his childhood being destroyed.
"Break it up people, there is nothing to see here anymore," Mòrag then said in an attempt to break the crowd. It seemed to have worked, since the group began dispersing. Some of them having apprehensive looks at those who were still laughing.
"Hey." Was the next voice that snapped everyone out of their laughter. Dragunov had returned, and he looked like a drowned rat. "Could someone tell me why I was in the pond?" Dragunov asked while pointing a thumb back the way he came from.
"You…don't remember?" Yang asked with a surprised look as she got off the ground.
"Remember what?" The look of suspicion on his face was almost funny.
"Okay, what's the last thing you remember?" Yang asked now getting curious.
With that, Dragunov put his hand to his chin, "Well…I tasted a Supernova Cake. The explosion of heat in my mouth, and the mild bitterness that accompanied it brought me happiness I never knew existed." The fire Blade had a dreamy look at the memory of the taste, before he shook his head, "Next thing I know, I'm picking myself up from a shallow pond."
As Dragunov explained the last thing he remembered, Otohime was looking him up and down with a confused look. "Dragunov, how are you feeling?"
The draconic Blade turned to Otohime with a questioning look, "I feel fine, why?"
"…You do realize you are soaking wet," Otohime pointed out with a quirked eyebrow.
"I am?" Dragunov said before looking at his body while trying his hair. "I am!"
Everyone sweatdropped at the fact that he didn't realize he was wet.
"And you are not feeling faint at all?" Otohime added in, making everyone remember that Dragunov was supposed to go weak when he was soaked.
"Now that you mention it…I don't," Dragunov said in disbelief, then he had a very evil grin as he brought out his palm. Only for his face to fall when a flame didn't appear, "I still can't use my firepower."
"Did that Supernova Cake make you resistant to water or something?" Ruby asked with a surprised look.
Yang quickly snatched the journal back from Nora and started flipping through the pages. And then she looked surprised. "You gotta be kidding me." Yang said earning everyone's attention.
"What? What is it?" Electra asked.
"That stuff makes Dragunov stronger for two hours." Yang said before looking at Dragunov with a shocked look.
"I know, that's why I wanted to see if it was here," Dragunov said with a grin, "I was hoping for something, but this... This is more than I could have hoped for."
"So... are you like more resistant to water?" Nia asked in disbelief.
"I guess we'll have to go out monster hunting to find out," Dragunov said eagerly.
"But first, I believe we should now get back to business," Brighid interjected.
"Agreed. I believe it's about time we got back to business," Mòrag agreed, "That said, how long are you planning to stay like that, Zeke?" The last part was said scoldingly.
"My life is a lie," Zeke muttered in a broken voice. He grew up idolizing Addam and his like for Addam's Ember Cakes came from believing it to be Addam's favorite food.
"Urgh, give me a moment," Pandoria said as she moved behind her Driver. Then she wounded up her leg with electricity crackling at the foot, "Time to wake up!" And then she gave Zeke an electrically charged kick to his rear.
The Tantalese Driver was pushed forward with a loud yelp at being kicked and electrocuted. "What the bloody heck, Pandy?!" Zeke shouted out as he got up.
"That's the prince I know and love," Pandoria said happily.
"Zeke," Mòrag said again, earning the one-eyed man-child's attention, "I believe we should now go about our business."
"Yeah…you're right," Zeke said with a sigh. Anything to distract him from this horror.
As this happened, the rest of the gang looked on, not sure how to process this.
"Is it just me, or is there something going on between those two?" Nora leaned towards her friends.
"Who?" Ren asked in confusion.
"Zeke, Mòrag and Pandoria," Nora replied in annoyance.
"Doesn't that make three?" Electra asked innocently, causing Otohime to hide her mouth behind her hand to mask her amusement.
"Yeah, I mean…do you think they're secretly in love or something?" Nora then asked.
"Why would you think that?" Ren asked again, while Yang had a thoughtful look.
"Now that you mention it, I think Zeke and Pandoria act like a married couple sometimes," Yang said with a thoughtful look.
"Come on kids, let's go," Qrow said, not wanting to deal with teenagers and their fantasies.
"Yeah, we should go," Ruby added in.
(Song End)
With that, the gang moved to Theoscaldia Palace. With Mythra having been replaced with Pyra because the blonde Aegis didn't want to deal with the world right now.
Once they reached the hallway, the advisor was standing there waiting, "We have been expecting you, your highness."
"Yeah, yeah. Good to see ya. Is the old man inside?" Zeke said casually, earning a scowl from Weiss. He should know how to properly address people despite being a prince. Especially because he's a prince.
Judging by disapproving looks it seemed that Aizen and Dagas agreed. Mòrag seemed impassive about the whole situation, while Brighid shook her head a little.
"Indeed." The advisor said, "He has been eagerly awaiting your return."
"Hah! Now I know you're lying," Zeke said with a laugh, "Armus will fly before that man will welcome me home. No need to coddle me, mate."
"Apologies."
"Anyway, seems like he knows we're here. That will save us some time." Zeke then said, and the group moved on.
Although as the group moved, Mòrag took note of the green lights on the pillars. "Could it be?" The Special Inquisitor thought.
"Are you alright?" Brighid, asked noticing how her Driver was looking.
"Yes, I'm alright." Mòrag said simply. Then she turned to Tora who was about waddle past her. "Tora." Mòrag said, earning the inventor's attention. The Ardainian Driver then kneeled down to Tora's level to speak her next piece.
"Meh? But why?" Tora asked, "It true that Poppi able to produce own reserves of ether energy, but…"
"I'll explain later, just do as I ask for now," Mòrag said as she stood back up.
"Oh? Why not share your discovery." said Otohime who noticed them missing. And she had a frown.
"Lady Otohime, it would be wise if-" "This place makes me feel…uneasy," Otohime interrupted Aegaeon, crossing her arms inside her sleeves, "I cannot put my finger on it, but I feel we are at a massive disadvantage here."
"Of course, you are much more attuned with changes in ether," Mòrag admitted, "But like I said, I will explain later, just trust me with this."
Otohime scowled at Mòrag, "Very well, but if my trust is misplaced you will swept away by raging tides."
"I would expect no less," Mòrag said, despite Brighid having a scowl. With that, they moved to catch up to the rest.
Inside the throne room, Mòrag took the front and took her cap off before that the rest of the gang started following her example. Some more reluctantly than others.
"Come on, why should we-" Yang was interrupted by Blake slapping at her leg.
"We're in the front of this nation's ruler," Blake hissed.
"Drag are we-" Yang's plea for her Blade's support was interrupted when she saw that the said Blade was following the rest. "…Fine." Yang grumbled before also lowering herself to a knee.
However, Zeke who was leaning against a nearby pillar was exempt, seeing as he was the prince.
Soon, Rex got the letter from Amalthus and handed it to the advisor who then moved up the small set of stairs on one side to reach the elevated throne. Then the advisor presented the letter to Eulogimenos who opened it and began to read. As the king red, he looked towards Pyra.
"The Aegis, I presume." Eulogimenos said before continuing to read. Then his expressions set to one of anger.
The next thing everyone hears is the sound of tearing paper. Everyone looks up to see that the king of Tantal had torn the letter asunder and scattered the pieces. The whole gang looked shocked to see this, especially Zeke.
Then the guards that have been lining up the throne room surrounded everyone.
"What's going on?!" Ruby cried out as she stood up, along with everyone else.
Mòrag looked around with a calculating look as Brighid, Aegaeon and Agate moved to protect their Driver.
"What is this treachery?" Dagas demanded calmly, but with his Greataxe out.
"Hey, Zeke! What the hell's going on!?" Qrow shouted out to the Tantalese prince who was being held back by one of the guards.
"N-No idea." Zeke said as he struggled a bit before eventually pushing the guard away and moving to the front of the group. "Stop this at once! Dad!"
Instead of answering, Eulogimenos raised his hand solemnly. Then a ray of energy was blasted from the ceiling right on Pyra who cried in pain.
"Pyra!" Rex cried out in both concern and the pain he was sharing with her.
"Rex!" Roc shouted out as he prepared his Dual Scythes. Only to be blasted by the same energy himself. The avian Blade was knocked out, and was soon joined by Wulfric who tried to move in also.
Then a contraption came down that locked Pyra's arms and legs in place before lifting her up in a T-pose.
"Oh, no you don't!" Nora said savagely as she took out Magnhild before jumping on Talos' shield arm and used it as a springboard with the metallic Flesh Eater's assistance to get Pyra out. Only to be blasted back down by the same energy.
"Nora!" Ren cried out in concern before he was grabbed by Otohime and moved away just in time to avoid another blast.
"That is not electricity," Otohime noted with a scowl as her tendrils were shaking, "This place is…"
During this, Pyra was being carried off by the trapping contraption. "Pyra!" Rex cried out as he tried to reach out for his Blade. Only to be knocked down by the guards who then used their polearms to pin Rex down.
"Okay, that's it!" Nia said as she took out the twin rings and rushed at one of the guards. But just as she was swinging one ring at the guard, the ether energy that makes up the outer ring disintegrated. Which was soon blocked by one of the guards who was previously restraining Rex. "The ether energy!" Nia said in shock, right before the guard jabbed the Gormotti Driver in the stomach.
"My lady!" Dromarch let out before he too was blasted by the same energy that took out five of them now.
"Okay, get ready for a beatdown!" Yang shouted out with her eyes turning red and winded up her fist to fire a flare from Ember Celica.
*click*
"What?!" Yang let out before trying again.
*click*
*click*
*click*
That was the only sound that came out of the shotgun gauntlets.
"I got her," Ruby called out as she took Crescent Rose and aimed it at the contraption that kept Pyra restrained.
*click*
"What the-?" Ruby tried again several times, but the only sound that came was clicking. Ruby quickly ejected her magazine to see if she had used up all rounds without realizing it. But to the red reaper's horror, the magazine was full. "What's going on?"
Meanwhile, Nora had gotten back up with a highly annoyed look. "Oh, I've had it with you." Nora said in anger before hearing a cry of pain that made her heart freeze. "Electra!" Sure enough, when Nora turned to her Blade she saw poor Electra was also dropped.
"Please." Eulogimenos spoke, "My only goal is to destroy the Aegis. I don't desire to take any of your lives also."
"What are you talking about!" Zeke shouted, "Rex and the lot haven't done anything!"
"We cannot afford to wait until they do, Zeke." Eulogimenos said as he rose from his throne.
"You, bastard." Dragunov said as he charged towards the king.
"Dragunov, wait!" Yang shouted out, knowing that he would just get dropped down. Sure enough, another blast came and knocked Dragunov down.
"As I said," Eulogimenos continued, "Please do not resist." But his solemn expression was turned to that of surprise when Dragunov got back up.
"Okay, you pomp," Dragunov said threateningly, "Now you've made me angry." To emphasize his words his cracks glowed orange.
"Again." Eulogimenos commanded and Dragunov was blasted again with a stronger dose. "What?"
That question came from the fact that Dragunov was still standing and he was getting closer.
"Stop right there." One of the guards said as he moved in to strike. Only to get backhanded against the wall by Dragunov who didn't even acknowledge it.
"More power," Eulogimenos said in a calm tone, but you could still tell that he was now worried.
And then Dragunov was bombarded by a continuous beam. But the mighty fire Blade refused to go down or stop his stride towards the king.
"Fire everything!" Eulogimenos lost his composure when Dragunov reached the bottom of the elevation where the fire Blade could just pull himself up to face the king. And then the beam intensified further, finally stopping Dragunov's stride.
"I…am…Dragunov!" Dragunov screamed as he struggled to get back up and against the drain of his ether. "I…am…power!" Dragunov's cracks began to glow gold as those words left his mouth. "I…cannot…" Then his eyes began to glow. "Rrrrrraaaarrrrggghhhh!" Dragunov roared as he stood to his full height and golden flames were escaping from the cracks of his body.
"Impossible." Eulogimenos said in disbelief. Finally, the contraption that was firing on Dragunov shattered from overload which caused the pieces to fall to the ground around them. However, Dragunov's cracks had already stopped glowing, which was followed by him falling to his knees and finally on his front.
"Dragunov!" Yang cried out again.
"Yang, stand down!" Mòrag shouted out.
"You can't be serious! These backstabbing assholes brought this on themselves." Yang shouted out before charging at the guards in anger.
"Yang, no!" Blake shouted out, just before Yang was also blasted by several of the contraptions at once, breaking her aura and knocking her out.
"Yang!" Ruby also cried out.
"Everyone, stand down!" Mòrag practically commanded.
"You are not the boss of-" "Qrow, do as she says," Ozpin interrupted, having gained control of Oscar.
"Oz, you can't be serious-" "Let's trust her," Ozpin said before putting his cane down, "Children I know this is not good, but you must stand down."
"Ozpin, they attacked us for no reason!" Jaune shouted in outrage.
"We cannot let these villains get away with this!" Joana agreed with her lord.
"Villains you say," Eulogimenos said, "I'm sorry that you feel such, but the world must not burn again. The Aegis must be destroyed."
"What are you talking about?" Blake let out, wanting to put a bullet into this man's head, but if Ruby's and Yang's guns don't work, then why would hers be different.
"I believe my words and the history speak for themselves." Eulogimenos said with a frown.
"King Eulogimenos." Mòrag then called out as she put her cap back on, "I stand before you, as a special envoy of Mor Ardain. The emperor himself sent me. Do you realize what you are doing?"
"I am quite aware. And I am prepared to bear the consequences," Eulogimenos replied.
"Prepared?" Mòrag said, now wondering how far the King had thought this through.
"Yes. Now take them away," Eulogimenos commanded
With that, the guards started herding the gang away. Although they needed a few extra hands to move Dragunov and Wulfric, while Blake and Ruby picked up Yang.
Weiss reluctantly lowered Myrtenaster and offered it to the guards with a scowl.
"No need for that." Eulogimenos said, earning a surprised look from the Remnans. "You can keep your weapons, just put them away." With those words, everyone put their weapons away reluctantly.
Once the gang left the sight, Zeke turned towards his father in anger. "Why? Why do you have to bump Pyra off?"
"I see you still speak like a commoner," Eulogimenos said in disapproval.
"What's that got to do with anything? Don't change the subject."
"What if I told you I act for justice?" Eulogimenos said.
"What're you trying to say?" Zeke was now calmer but still very much pissed off at this situation.
"You could say…I'm doing this for Alrest."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zeke asked.
"Follow me," Eulogimenos said before moving behind the throne to take the stairs down to Zeke's level and moved to a hallway that led out of the throne room.
"My prince?" Pandoria questioned.
"…He better have a damn good explanation." Zeke muttered before following his father.
Soon Zeke found himself in the family's treasury. One where none but the King was allowed in. "This is…" Zeke said as he took in all the crates that were here. Specifically, the emblem on them. The royal emblem of the Tantal's Kingdom was the one held by Addam himself, but these emblems on the crates were not that.
"This is the legacy of our royal line," Eulogimenos said with some lament.
"Why? Father why?!" Zeke almost cried. Dragunov was right, why would he look anything like Addam when he wasn't descended from him to begin with.
And all Eulogimenos could do was hang his head at the pain his son was feeling.
AN: There we go. Honestly, I was planning that alteration with Addam's Tastes for a looooong time. I tweaked it several times in my head, until it came to this one.
If any of you are complaining about the Remnant crew giving up with almost no fight, think of it this way, the moment they would start to actually deal damage they would've probably had the entire Royal army on them. And there was a chance that one or two of them might actually die, Aura or not. And that's not counting on the guards using those that were already taken out as hostages.
