The Truth of the Aegis War
Salem wasn't sure what was going on, but it looked like some kind of…holiday celebration. The woman whose memory she was seeing was standing among many of her colleagues. Taking part in small talk that was inaudible to the witch, and scolding about some of the younger scientists setting up a mistletoe on several entryways of the large hall that was set up for this occasion. Judging by what she could hear, if two people stood under that plant, they would have to kiss.
Salem found the tradition hilarious, but judging by what she saw on the faces of several of the woman's colleagues, men and women alike, they were not very excited at the prospect. Or maybe just the fact that these guys were the ones trying to take advantage of it.
But then one of the colleagues, a slightly older man gathered everyone's attention.
"I believe now would be a good time for a small story, don't you think?" The older man said with a small smile.
"What did you have in mind?" Klaus asked, looking like he was having a good time.
"How about the tale of the terrible Creature of ****?" The older man said with a devious look.
"Seriously, Jonathan?" Someone in the crowd of partying colleagues said, "That joke was used up on Halloween."
"Now, now." Klaus butted in, "Perhaps our dear professor has some new material to go with it."
"Oh, I do, Doctor Yates. I most certainly do." Jonathan said with a smile.
The story became a slight blur for Salem, but from what she understood. It was about a horrible creature that needed no sleep and ate souls of pretty much anyone it hated. Which is everyone who so much as looked at it the wrong way. During the story, the door behind Jonathan opened and the black-haired scientist was about to enter. Only to stop and listen to the colleague's story, even as several others tried to signal poor Jonathan to stop.
"Now, if you should encounter this horrendous beast, you can only resign to your fate. For there is no escape from…" Jonathan trailed off as he finally took note of several horrified looks and people trying to signal him to stop. "…It's behind me, isn't it?" Jonathan said with a slightly scared look.
"It?" The black-haired scientist finally said with a scowl, "Really?"
Jonathan turned around to see the head of cyber security who had crossed his arms as he listened through what Salem can only guess was some kind of joke on the black-haired man.
"Oh, Doctor ********. We were wondering where you were." Jonathan said nervously. The black haired one must be pretty high on the facility's food chain if he inspired this kind of reaction.
"Had to finish a certain project, which caused me to be late." The black-haired scientist said, no doubt glaring at the older man under those glasses. "Now, what's this about there being no escape from me?"
The woman whose memory Salem was seeing quickly stepped between the two men. "Oh great and terrible ****. I know my meager soul is not enough to sate the endless abyss that is your hunger, but please take my soul and spare this poor fool." the woman said with a "damsel in distress" tone, causing everyone in the room to laugh.
Even the black haired one let out a small chuckle, "Hilarious, but while I do wish to devour this insolent thing, I think I will take you on that offer. Although... it would be a shame to see such a brilliant soul to be a mere snack, so I would like your company for this fine evening instead. Is that acceptable, fair maiden?"
Salem wasn't sure if she felt exasperated or amused at this scenario. These two were definitely close, judging by how she felt the woman being torn between laughing and being embarrassed.
"Very much so." the woman said, trying to hold in her laughter before stepping slightly to the side, "Come on in, ******."
"Ahem." Klaus cleared his throat, "Aren't you two forgetting something?"
"What?" Came out of the black haired one.
Klaus had a cheeky smile before pointing upwards.
Salem could feel the dread in the woman as her vision turned upwards to see a mistletoe above them.
"Who set this up?" the black haired one asked in a mixture of disbelief and just a hint of eagerness.
"Is that so hard to figure out," Klaus asked, "You both know the tradition, so get it over with."
"Klaus, you traitor." Salem heard the woman thinking. But seeing as everyone was staring at the show, she decided to make the sacrifice. "******, close your eyes."
"What?"
"Just do it," The woman sighed. Despite Salem not seeing through the glasses, it seemed like the black haired one did close his eyes. Then the woman leaned in, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. And then she dashed away, feeling mortified as the colleagues who were staring at the situation let out various sounds of disappointment. Daring to look back, Salem saw through the woman's eyes that the black haired one had frozen in place, having his hand over the cheek he was pecked on. Having an almost disappointed frown, which soon turned upside down.
And then Salem woke up on her back. "That was…different." The witch said, feeling a little strange for seeing a memory that unimportant. Or at least, unimportant to her. Her musings were cut off as she took in her surroundings after getting into a sitting position. She seemed to be on top of a skyscraper in some kind of city. Similar to Vale, except the buildings were taller. From her vantage point, Salem could tell that the city was somewhat bigger than the Kingdom's capital. "Interesting." Salem couldn't help commenting on the sights as on one side she could barely see the World Tree and its roots spreading around the immediate area. Then on the other side, she could see the ruined city stretching for longer than anything in Remnant ever did.
While Salem was no stranger to ruins of a city, she never had seen one this vast, or modern.
As fascinating as it was to see such a big city being in such a sorry state, Salem had more important things to think about, "How did I get here? Where even is here?"
Salem started to ponder on the question, "Oh. Now I remember, I was fighting alongside Malos and Jin. I was about to blast the Aegis when…" Salem trailed off as she was drawing a blank there. "Then nothing." She finally concluded with a frown. "…I wonder where everyone went?" the Grimm Queen then muttered as she looked upwards to the clouds. Then she squinted her eyes as she could swear something just descended from the dark mass.
In the Monoceros, Mikhail, Patroka, Akhos and Salem's group were diving deeper and deeper into the Cloud Sea. Malos, who was also on the ship, had said that they could now afford to let their guests walk freely.
Although right now some of the guests were a little worried.
"Are you sure this tin can can hold?" Mercury asked, slightly freaked out at the sound of the straining metal.
"Yes it can," Mikhail said confidently, though you could detect a hint of doubt in his tone, "We're almost out of the Cloud Sea. Akhos, what is our depth?"
"28,000 peds. The ship can't take much more of this." Akhos said, looking a little fearful.
"And if we can't get out soon we will be-" "What about Jin?!" Mikhail interrupted Patroka.
"Or our goddess." Tyrian added in, which was followed by a few clicks from Scorax. "Of course I want to!" the scorpion Driver said with an offended look, "She allows me to do what I enjoy.". The scorpion Blade responded with a noncommittal shrug.
"What did it say?" Emerald asked hoping to get her mind out of the sound of straining metal around them.
"Scorax asked if I really want to sacrifice myself to Salem." Tyrian replied with a look of glee, which unnerved the mint haired thief.
As all this was happening, Malos was leaning against the ship's wall, keeping an eye on their guests. Especially the tech-savvy Watts.
Soon the shaking stopped. "We're out!" Mikhail cheered as the screen soon cleared to give them a bird's eye view of the ruined city below.
"Is that a city?" Mercury asked, surprised to see a modern looking city like that.
"This is the Land of Morytha?" Patroka said in slight awe.
"First time I'm seeing this." Akhos added in while adjusting his glasses.
"It's almost like the city of Vale, with a touch of Atlas' grandiose." Watts commented on the sight of the big city while stroking his moustache.
"It's nothing to shout about." Malos then commented, earning everyone's attention. "It's just a ruin. A testament to their hubris."
"Their hubris?" Mikhail parroted, "You mean humans used to live here?"
"I guess this city would have been a great place once upon a time." Hazel added in as he eyed the large buildings that the ship was now slowly weaving past.
"I wonder what caused this destruction." Tyrian thought aloud with a grin at all the people living here escaping in panic of whatever caused this city's downfall.
"Alrest will suffer the same fate." Malos then said, "As will Remnant, no doubt."
"Forgive me if I'm rude, but because of the Grimm on our world, our humanity may never reach this point." Watts argued, though minding his manners, seeing as Salem wasn't here to cover for any of them.
"It doesn't matter." Malos said simply, "From what you have told us, your people live in the ignorant bliss of your Kingdoms. At some point you will destroy your own cities. Your Grimm are only delaying the inevitable."
"We are not like the humans of this world." Hazel said with a scowl.
"Aren't you?" Malos asked with a small chuckle, "The only real difference you have on the humans here is this thing you call Aura, take that away and you are exactly the same as the humans here."
"But I am a faunus." Tyrian said with a small grin.
Malos gave the scorpion assassin a blank stare, "…Go on."
"What?" Tyrian was mildly surprised to hear that.
"I'm waiting for you to get to the point." Malos added in.
While the conflict between Faunus and humans never truly affected Tyrian, he was still surprised to hear Malos to just dismiss the fact he was Faunus. Actually, the dark Aegis probably sees Remnant's two races as one and the same. "I guess I don't have one." Tyrian then said with a smile.
"Is it really justified?" Mikhail then said.
"What are you saying?" Patroka asked, fully turning to the blonde member of Torna.
"I get why Jin wants to destroy everything, but everything can't mean…everything, right?" Mikhail said, sounding just a little uncertain.
Malos uncrossed his arms before walking to Mikhail, "You're not there yet. That's fine." Malos then placed a hand on Mikhail's shoulder, "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, eh?"
As soon as Malos said that, a breach opened right in front of the screen they were looking through. Then, Salem walked through. "How nice of you to come pick me up." Salem said with a small smile.
"My lady!" Tyrian instantly fell to his knees.
"Okay, how does that work?" Patroka demanded from Salem.
"What do you mean?" Salem asked.
"You keep opening your breaches on pretty convenient times and places. How exactly does it work?" Akhos also asked.
"Don't try to understand our goddess' power!" Tyrian all but commanded.
"Tyrian." Salem said in a firm tone, "I appreciate your loyalty, but do mind your manners in front of our hosts."
Tyrian looked down in misery at being scolded.
"Actually, now I'm curious too. How do you open your breaches?" Malos then asked as he moved down to the lower lever of the command bridge to face Salem.
"Is there a particular reason why you want to know?" Salem crossed her arms.
"Yes, if you could open a breach to say… Mythra, then why haven't you?" Malos crossed his arms.
Salem frowned a little before answering, "When I first gained this power, I had no idea how it worked. It took me countless tries until I finally figured out exactly how to make them work. I need to focus on the point where I am to where ever I might want to go to. Strangely though, after my first true success, where I tried to get the other Aegis, I have been unable to open a new breach to her location. At least… not directly."
"Directly?" Malos quirked an eyebrow before smiling," Ahh! So that's how you opened that breach in Tantal."
"I wasn't focusing on the Aegis, but on you." Salem admitted.
This gave Mikhail an idea. "Could you open a breach to Jin now?"
"Unfortunately, no." Salem said simply.
"What?" Akhos let out, "Can't you just focus on Jin and open a breach to his location.
"I can't right now." Salem said with a small frown, "I tried to open a breach here by focusing on my servants, but nothing happened. I only managed to open one here in the command bridge, because I have a clear picture of this place."
"You mean there's something wrong with your power? Does that have something to do with you going crazy?" Malos then asked, earning a confused look from Salem.
"What do you mean?"
"In the fight above, you blasted yourself in the face and told the brats to push you over the edge."
"Excuse me?" Now Salem was more confused, "The last thing I remember was preparing to blast that Aegis."
"Well your left eye turned gray if that helps." Malos then said, causing Salem's eyes to visibly widen.
"My left eye…was gray?" Salem said as she touched the left side of her face.
"Ma'am, is there something wrong?" Watts asked with a look of concern.
"…Nothing that you need to worry about." Salem said with a hard look, "Now, am I to assume that you are here primarily to look for Jin?"
"Yes, you are." Malos said simply.
"Well then, I suggest we get to it." the witch then moved to the side a little, "In the meantime, I'm curious about that city. What is it?"
Malos rolled his eyes but ultimately decided to explain the Land of Morytha again.
With Rex and the others, Jin had insisted on going to the fallen Titan he once called home. It was a little out of the way, but no one had any real reason to object. Besides, Ruby was interested in the Titan, seeing as this is where Dragunov came from.
Jin once again seemed agitated when Ruby talked, but held his tongue.
"Mythra… Do you know why Jin hates Ruby talking?" Rex asked the blonde Aegis, thinking that she was the most likely to know.
"Beats me." Mythra shrugged, "It sounds like he has some kind of grudge on her."
"But I never did anything to him." Ruby muttered, looking down sadly.
"…If Yang was here, she would be kicking Jin's butt." Roze commented, earning a small chuckle from Ruby.
"…She cares about her, doesn't she?" Jin suddenly said, earning everyone's attention.
"Huh?" Ruby was the first to let out.
"Dragunov's Driver, I heard you called her Yang." Jin clarified, "She cares about you."
"Well, yeah. She's my big sister." Ruby said, not understanding why Jin was saying the obvious.
"…Do you take her for granted?" Jin then asked as he turned a hard look to Ruby.
"What're you saying? I almost lost her twice!" Now Ruby was offended.
"…So you're not that ignorant… Good." Jin said before turning away and continued on the thin pathway towards a hole in the Tornan Titan.
Mythra quirked an eyebrow at the former Paragon of Torna.
"Mythra?" Rex piped up.
"Never mind." the blonde Aegis shook her head, "Let's go."
It didn't take the gang long from getting up the walkway. Although they did have a brief scuffle with more of those creatures, some of which were hanging from the edge of the walkway before getting back up. Ruby actually screamed when one of them grabbed her by the ankle as it came up. Fortunately, Penny acted fast and blasted the arm that grabbed her friend, which in turn caused the creature to fall who knows how far down.
Afterwards, as they walked into the hole in the Titan's side, Penny took a note of a few things. "The stone seems to have sustained damage here and there." the Artificial Driver said as she and the others looked to the scorch marks here and there.
"Traces of the Aegises' battle I reckon." Azurda said in Rex's helmet.
"Must've been some battle." Rex commented as the gang entered the hole.
When they entered the cavern, they all saw something very strange. There were some weird egg-shaped rocks.
"What's all this?" Ruby asked as she eyed the stones.
"…The Tornan Titan's matrix." Jin replied, "Even in the old Torna, few people knew this place existed."
"I can scarcely believe it myself." Azurda added in.
"…Matrix? Like a womb?" Rex said as he looked around the place. Then his eyes fell upon a nearby egg-shaped rock that was cracked open. "Is that a Blade?" Rex questioned as he saw that inside of it was what looked like a petrified male Common Blade.
"But it kind of looks like Titan too." Poppi added in, noting the wing-like growths on its back. Similar to what some of the smaller Titans have.
"This is a Blade that perished in the process of becoming a Titan." Jin explained, earning surprised looks from everyone. "Titans grow Core Crystals within their bodies. I believe at least you have seen this before." That last part was directed at Rex.
"…In Uraya, before meeting Ruby and the others, Vandham picked a Core Crystal from a Titan's body." Rex remembered the incident.
"Blades, they aren't truly immortal." Jin then said. "They are born from Titans. And when their fire burns out… they return to the Titan that bore them. Eventually the Blades that return will turn into Titans themselves."
"Can that be true?" Brighid asked, never having heard of anything like this. "We will all end up like that eventually?"
"Roze?" Ruby said, looking at her Blade in worry.
"…I didn't know about this either." Roze said as he looked to the other "eggs". "So, all of these, are Blades that perished as they were becoming Titans?"
"Yes." Jin said simply.
Mythra looked down as this was said.
"Mythra?" And Rex noticed it.
"It's true."Mythra admitted
"The new Titan has no memory of its life as a Blade. Just like returning to a core." As Jin explained this, Rex turned his head to his helmet to Azurda, their resident Titan. If this was true, then this meant that he too was a Blade once upon a time. "These poor souls." Jin's voice cut through Rex's thoughts. "They died along with their mother… Shared her fate."
Ruby looked sad, letting out a tear at something like this.
"Ruby?" Roze noticed what was happening with his Driver.
"I just… I just can't believe it." Ruby said with a sad look. "These… Blades would've eventually become Titans. Titans that carried new life on their backs. All the people that could've lived happily on them."
Rex looked a little crestfallen too. When Ruby put it like that, this just made this all the sadder.
Jin once again scowled at Ruby, but kept his thoughts to himself.
"…Gramps, you were a Blade once." Rex said to the tiny Titan.
"Most likely." Azurda replied, "But as Jin said, I have no memory of ever being a Blade."
"…Why didn't you ever tell me?" Rex then asked.
"I didn't think telling you something like that would have changed anything." Azurda said simply, "Besides, what would you have done with that knowledge?"
"…I guess you're right." Rex conceded.
The gang decided to move on. There were some of those monsters in here too, and not just them, but Parisax too. As their names indicate, they are large parasitic bugs that sap Titans of their energy to survive. Although there wasn't really anything for them to feed on here. But the gang didn't care about that, they only cared about the monsters getting in their way.
"…I wonder what kind of Titan you would make," Ruby then said to Roze all of a sudden.
"What?" The reaper Blade questioned.
"Well, if you ever became a Titan, I just wonder what kind would you become?" Ruby clarified.
"…I have absolutely no idea." Roze admitted, "I'm not even sure what Titan I came from."
"How about you, friend Brighid?" Penny suddenly said, causing the blue haired Blade's eyes to open briefly.
"I… I'm not sure." the Blade said, her eyes closing again, "The Mor Ardain Titan is nearing the end of its lifespan… I'm not sure I will ever get the chance to become a Titan."
"Oh." Penny said with a slightly sad look.
Then Roze had a slight question, "Say, Brighid, why do you keep your eyes squinted like that?"
"Hm?"
"Actually, I've been wondering that too." Ruby added in, "Your eyes seem to work, and they're pretty, so why do you keep them closed?"
Brighid chuckled at the question, "It's because of my Keen Eye. My eyes are quite sensitive to light. Because of this, I find myself more comfortable with my eyes closed."
"It is quite dark in here though." Kos-Mos pointed out.
"True, but to my eyes, I might as well be staring directly to the Sun all the time." Brighid said, "Though when examining something, I do have to open my eyes briefly. Although I momentarily feel like someone who has been in complete darkness suddenly encountering bright light."
"How does that work?" Rex asked, being curious himself now.
"I will tell you once I figure it out," Brighid smiled in amusement.
At the front Jin rolled his eyes, although he would be lying if he said he had never wondered about that.
As the gang ascended what looked like actual architecture that led to an opening that looked manmade, Roze felt a little fuzzy in his head. Then he had a sinking feeling that he had forgotten something. The reaper Blade Blade turned his white eyes to the lamp that was still dangling at his side. Something about it seemed…out of place, but he couldn't figure out what.
"The questions were used up before I sealed the relic." That is what Ozpin said.
"But if the questions were used up then the center-piece of the lamp shouldn't be glowing." Roze stiffened as that thought crossed his mind. "Where did that come from?"
"Roze?" Ruby noticed her Blade tensing up.
"It's nothing." Roze said while shaking his head. "What is happening to me?"
Roze didn't have much time to think as they now entered into a large circular hall. Everyone took note of a large carving on a stone high on the wall. It depicted Titans and Blades.
"…So, Blades are born from crystals and Titans from Blades." Brighid recapped. "The Titan in turn nurtures life."
"And someday the Titan births more Core Crystals." Rex added in.
"Right. That's the life cycle of a Blade." Mythra finished, "Old Torna worshipped this cycle."
"In old Torna, we revered the Titans. Feared them." Jin then explained. "It was the sacred foundation of Torna. A nation where Blades and humans lived in harmony." Then the silver haired Blade frowned, "But humans couldn't live like that. The battle with Malos marked the end." Jin turned to Mythra briefly, "It wasn't long after you and Addam left Torna." Mythra looked a little guilty to hear that. "He did it… That worm, Amalthus." Jin clenched his hands into fists.
"The Praetor?" Rex asked.
"The one who destroyed this place. It wasn't the Aegis." Jin said with a hard look before facing everyone. "It was him."
This earned a look of shock from the others.
The Indoline Titan Weapons were blasting at the fleeing remnants of Torna. The blasts tore the people to bits, including the very few Drivers left among them.
Among the ones escaping, Jin was pulling Lora by her hand in hopes of getting away from the invaders. Even as the others escaping with the two were dying. But Jin was only focusing on escaping, until he felt his hand grasping Lora's suddenly missing the said person's hand. The silver haired Blade turned around, only to witness his Driver collapsing as she was hit by a stray shot.
"Lora!" Jin shouted in horror before slinging his Driver's arm over his shoulder and dragging her away as fast as he possibly could.
Jin found refuge in a cave that was hidden enough that the Indolines wouldn't find it… But if they were actively hunting them down, then it was only a matter of time before they were found. In the meantime, Jin laid Lora down and inspected her wounds. It was bad. Bad enough that he couldn't do anything about it with first aid. If only Haze were here, but when the attack happened the priestess Blade wasn't with them. And who knows what happened to her by now.
"Lora." Jin said in worry.
"…Don't worry." Lora said weakly. "If I die, you'll just go to sleep. Someone will find you...reawaken you someday… For us humans…being forgotten is worse than death." As Lora kept speaking Jin couldn't help as he thought about someone like Lora being forgotten. "We struggle so hard… to make our mark on the world…"
"Lora!"
Lora placed a hand on Jin's cheek even as life was slowly slipping away from her. "When you awaken, it'll be like I never even existed." Then tears started pooling into Lora's eyes, "Jin… the thought of you forgetting me… It's like one heart is being ripped in two."
"…I won't forget you… I refuse to forget you. How could I…" Jin couldn't even finish the last part as he already began to feel his connection to Lora weakening.
"I thought I was ready for this, even after Thauron was gone." Lora then said. "But now the time has come, I'm hopeless… I'm so sorry to do this to you." At the last part, tears finally began to pour out.
Jin grasped Lora's hand on his cheek, "There is a way… One final chance we can be together." Then he leaned into Lora's ear to whisper it. Lora smiled and nodded in acceptance. With that, Jin lifted his right hand, the left one still grasping Lora's hand. And then he plunged it through her chest. As Jin took Lora's flesh as his own, his Core Crystal shined red and caused him great enough pain to make him scream.
Outside, Indoline Monks moved to the edge of the cave. They prepared themselves for a fight when Jin, with his Core Crystal now red walked out. His sword at the ready as a red aura danced around him. Then he charged.
Jin's expression turned sorrowful before he spoke again, "I ate her." Then he opened up his top to show everyone the scar on his body. The one that was visible when he took his second form.
At this moment, Mythra was finally replaced by Pyra. "Maybe we shouldn't have left... I never knew." The red-haired Aegis looked very guilty.
"Amalthus was afraid of the Aegises' power. After Malos was defeated, he tried to wipe them out… The remnants of Torna were annihilated in the attempt. But... you had already vanished by then." Jin explained as he then scowled, but not at Pyra. "So, we were slaughtered...for nothing." Ruby was covering her mouth at hearing something so horrible. She thought the Great War of Remnant was bad, but this… this was something else. Jin then shook his head, "No. Even if he wasn't trying to get you, Amalthus, the humans… They would've done what they always do. We're the Architect's children… We turn into Titans. The very ground beneath their feet! But they feared us."
"So that's the reason he attacked you." Pyra said with a sad look.
"To save the world? No. His real desire for Elysium is his desire of Architect's power, just like Salem now." This piece of information caused Ruby and Penny to perk up, "Amalthus plans to use this power to wipe out Blades and Titans."
"Wait, why does Salem want Architect's power?" Ruby then asked, "What does she want?"
Jin scowled at Ruby speaking, but decided he had nothing to hide, "Supposedly, Salem wants to get revenge on your gods for all the pain they put her through."
"Revenge? On the gods?" Ruby parroted, "But… the Brothers aren't on Remnant anymore."
"Brothers? Is that what they're called?" Jin then said, "No it doesn't matter. Salem claimed to know how to bring them back."
"How was she going to do that?" Now it was Penny who asked.
"…She didn't say." Jin admitted, "And I'm not even sure if she's telling the truth on a lot of things."
"I wouldn't trust her." Rex said firmly, "Besides… even if that's true, what you said about Salem. And of Amalthus. You lot and him are the same." This earned Jin's attention. "Didn't you say that you wanted to destroy the world? That you wanted to kill the Architect himself?"
"…I did say that."
"You know I'm not so sure." Rex said with a look of suspicion.
"What?"
"I don't buy it. I can't believe that's what you're really trying to do here." Rex said firmly.
"Rex, what're you talking about?" Ruby asked in confusion. A look that was shared by Penny and Poppi.
"Why do you say that?" Jin just couldn't comprehend it, "Haven't we…"
But Rex wasn't having it, "I could tell when we were fighting. I saw it in your eyes. The sadness. It was the look of someone who just wanted to die. Someone with no other way out."
This earned a reaction out of Jin, along with everyone else.
"You know… It was the way Pyra looked the first time we met." Rex then added in as he turned to the red-haired Aegis.
"Is that true, Pyra?" Ruby asked in worry.
"…Yes." Pyra said, looking like she was ashamed of it. Next thing she knew she felt Ruby hugging her. Pyra chuckled a little, "It's not like that anymore."
Jin glared at Ruby for a moment before turning his attention back to Rex, "You don't know what you're talking about. Keep your stupid comments to yourself. You better believe we'll do it." Jin then crossed his arms, "We will destroy the one responsible for this world. And we will destroy all the humans who lived by his mercy." No one noticed that Roze clutched the side of his head in pain during Jin's declaration.
Until Ruby heard him grunting. Her eyes then fell on Roze's Core Crystal that shined a little brighter than usual.
"We are sick of being used by humans as tools." Jin then declared with a glare to Rex.
"Well then, there's only one thing to do." Rex said with a firm look. Then the entire place rumbled.
"What was that?!" Penny let out as she looked around. Then her eyes fell upon the exit of this place. It was one of those creatures again, but this one was much bigger and more malformed. It's back limbs barely supported its weight and the front limbs were big enough for it to use as front legs. Its left shoulder also had a four tentacled arm. Its head had multiple glowing blue eyes and its mouth was a hole. The creature began shambling towards them.
"As I thought." Jin then spoke up.
"What?" Brighid questioned.
But it was Kos-Mos who answered, "Those creatures are not 'alive' in the sense that you all define. They are autonomous cybernetic organisms. Ones without central control, which was then supplemented with a program to destroy anything that isn't one of them."
"Exactly." Jin confirmed," Testaments to human hubris. Now do you see?"
"We need to take this thing down," Rex drew out Pyra's Aegis Sword.
"Roze." Ruby said in worry, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… I can still fight." Roze said as whatever ailed him seemed to have stopped. Penny also pulled out Kos-Mos' cannon.
The monster didn't waste any time and used its shoulder arm to absorb a little of Roze's Ether.
"Its element is now wind." Azurda informed from Rex's helmet.
"Its element is irrelevant, because we can't lose." Penny said confidently as she opened fire with Super Laser. The blast earned a cry of pain from the beast, but its chest was just a little singed.
Brighid also blasted the thing with blue flames as Jin, Ruby and Rex moved into close range.
Ruby opened up with Thorn Hammer on its side, which the creature replied to by smacking at her, but Roze was able to put up a barrier to block it. Although the wind Blade did strain at the impact.
"It's strong." Roze warned.
"Of course it is." Jin commented before unleashing Ultra Slash on the other side of the monster, earning its attention. The beast fired a green beam from its mouth at Jin who moved aside to avoid it while Rex unleashed Sword Bash on its back.
Penny kept firing Kos-Mos' cannon on the cybernetic monstrosity. All the while Brighid looked furstrated about her flames not doing as much as she liked.
The Jewel of Mor Ardain can defend herself without her swords, but she could be much more effective with them. But if she summoned them back now, then that could possibly leave Mòrag defenseless. Although she could feel her Driver coming closer.
Ruby took to range and shot at the monster's back with Roze's scythe, but the shots didn't seem to affect the creature. "Roze, does that thing being wind element mean it's resistant to your attacks?" Ruby asked as she moved in to strike from behind.
"No. It should only mean that it's now weak against ice. Why?" Roze said as he activated Thorny Bloom to allow Ruby to hit faster.
"Because my shots didn't do anything." Ruby said as she rapidly slashed at the monsters behind. Then she suddenly got kicked away by one of its legs.
"Ruby!" That scared Roze.
"I'm okay." Ruby got back up in an instant, as Rex was slashing at one of the beasts oversized arms.
"Crap!" Rex exclaimed as he noticed the wound he inflicted closing, "Pyra!" Rex threw the red Aegis Sword to her.
Pyra let go of the sword at her side and then it spun around her leaving a fiery trail, "Flame Nova!" And then the trail blew outwards, burning at the monster while phasing through any nearby allies harmlessly. The areas that the Special Art burned didn't seem to heal.
"Just like Brighid said," Rex commented as he caught Pyra's sword again as it was thrown back to him.
"Heavenly Disrupt!" Jin followed this up by giving a punch to the monster's abdomen, strong enough to actually stagger it. Then he quickly sliced at all limbs to make it topple, then he swung his Katana upwards with the back of the blade to launch it into the air. Then he jumped into the air himself and brought the Katana down on its back, smashing it into the ground.
Then the silver haired Blade collapsed on a knee, "No… Not now!" He had used far more power than he thought he was going to. To make matters worse, the monster got back up and smashed Jin against a wall.
"Jin!" Rex called out in concern before turning to Pyra, "Pyra, can Mythra use the Artifice?"
Pyra was quickly replaced by Mythra, "It's no use. The Cloud Sea is interfering. I can't give it commands. Besides, we're indoors."
The creature then turned towards the rest of the gang, no longer seeing Jin as a threat.
"Hey!" Everyone's attention was turned to the entrance that the monster came from. "Fever Rush!" Which was followed by a golden streak flying to the creature's head and unleashing a series of attacks on the monster's head. The shoulder tentacle smacked the intruder off, who then landed on their feet.
"Yang!" Ruby cheered at the sight of her sister. Then her eyes briefly turned to the affinity link that led to Dragunov who was dashing down the ramp.
This made a light bulb go off in Ruby's head. "Dragunov, can you use a level 2 Special Art?"
"Yeah, why?" the dragon replied.
Ruby had a small grin, "Because Pyra used her level 1 just a moment ago."
Catching on, Yang grinned before tossing the talons to her Blade. "Give that thing a beating."
"With pleasure." Dragunov grinned as his cracks glowed orange. Then he unleashed Wrath of the Dragon on the monster. The monster reeled back from the combo of explosive punches, before regaining its balance as Dragunov then gave one of its legs a superheated kick. This caused the leg to be broken off, with the stump now being cauterized.
Dragunov quickly backed away with a savage grin. "Blade Combo: Burnout." Dragunov had barely finished when the monster was then covered in flames. Everyone then had to take a few steps back, because it started flailing around wildly.
"I'd call that well done." Dragunov punned as the monster stopped struggling.
Ruby gave the fire Blade a blank stare while her sister laughed.
"Very well done." Yang added in and the two high-fived.
"Guys! It isn't over!" Penny shouted out.
"What?!" Ruby let out.
Then the monster got back up, the flames having died out leaving a burnt looking carcass. Until the burnt parts tore open and a new skin was revealed. Even a new leg burst out of the stump to replace the one Dragunov destroyed.
"That thing can molt?!" Dragunov roared out in disbelief.
The monster shook its head before sticking its shoulder tentacle into the ground. The thing bulged at the tip, before it lifted it up, revealing a pack of the smaller creatures.
"And it seems to be able to generate minions." Kos-Mos added in with her usual monotone.
"Great, more punching bags." Dragunov said as he tossed the talons back to Yang.
Except suddenly two sets of lightnings struck the newly spawned monsters.
"Lightning?" Rex said in surprise, "Could it be?"
Then everyone briefly turned to the way they came from. Sure enough…
"Look! Rex-Rex!" Shouted Tora.
"Brighid!" Added in Mòrag who had Agate and Aegaeon trailing behind her.
"Nora!" Chimed in Nora who was brandishing Electra's hammer.
"Everyone alright?" asked Zeke who brandished Big Bang Edge.
"Ruby, Yang, are you alright?" Asked Jaune who was equipped with Prostateva and Thiarko, with Joana and Pyrrha right beside him. And it wasn't just team JNPR, Qrow and WB were also with them.
"Guys!" Ruby cheered at the sight of their friends.
"What? Jin?!" Nia exclaimed at the sight of the silver haired Blade who was struggling to get up.
"That can wait. For now, we must finish this thing!"
"Agreed." Ren said as he aimed Otohime's cannon at their biggest target.
The rest of the gang poured into the hall and surrounded the monster and its spawn. Mórag already switching Agate's axe to Brighid's swords that were dangling on her hips since blue haired Blade never summoned them back. Poppi of course tossed her shield to Tora.
"Let me handle this." Blake said as she threw her purple Chroma Katana to Perceval. The weapon that was previously the size of Gambol Shroud lengthened back to its original length when it entered the assassin Blade's hand.
"What?!" Yang let out at the sight of the Blade that tried to kill her back in Beacon.
The said Blade ran straight in the middle of the spawns and took an Iaido stance. The surrounding monsters raised their arms in an attempt to copy Perceval's element. But…
"Grim Moon." Perceval said quietly before drawing his sword out in a wide arc, which sent an ink colored circle around him, cutting the surrounding monsters down, while on some of them, their crystals exploded.
"Good job, Perceval." Blake said with a small smile as she then moved to stab one monster's crystal with Nox's scythes. Perceval nodded in acknowledgement and then moved on to strike more.
Ruby quickly got an idea on more people being here. "Nia! Can you and Dagas use a level 3?"
"No, I haven't used Dagas' axe on the way here." Nia said before using Healing Halo, "Why?"
"Because we're one fire element short from a full combo." Ruby said as she took a pot shot at a smaller monster's head before it got back up.
"Leave it to me." Came out of Pyrrha.
"What?" Ruby said with a confused look, "But Pyrrha, you're-" Ruby didn't get to finish that sentence before Jaune already tossed Pyrrha's weapons back to her.
Then the brown gems decorating her greaves, gauntlets, shoulders and the helmet turned from brown to red.
"What?! This is-" Azurda stammered in Rex's helmet as Pyrrha raised Prostateva's blade into the air with both hands before a fireball formed on the tip. A fireball that soon grew larger.
"What's going on?" Rex said as he looked to Pyrrha's now huge sphere of fiery death that was now floating a little above the spear's tip.
"Ruins of Nation!" Pyrrha then pointed the spear at the largest monster and the huge sphere of fire was launched at it. The giant ball of fiery death that was apparently a fire version of Talos' level 3 pushed the monster against a wall and almost buried it into it.
"But I thought, Pyrrha's element was earth." Penny pointed out in confusion.
"Pyrrha's element has changed to fire." Azurda finally managed to say, much to the surprise of anyone who had been fighting this monstrosity longer.
"Blade Combo: Mega Explosion." Pyrrha let out, sounding a tad embarrassed before a huge explosion came out of the monster, forcing everyone to cower a little at the blast. When everyone could look again, the monster was almost completely destroyed but it lacked a head now.
Pyrrha also turned to everyone who gave the human turned Blade varying looks. "…I'm sorry." something that made the girl uncomfortable.
"Don't apologize, that was awesome." Jaune said cheerfully, causing tints of red to decorate the visible parts of Pyrrha's face.
Before Pyrrha could say anything, Ruby had zipped in front of her with stars in your eyes, "Pyrrha, you can change elements at will? Why didn't you tell us?!"
"I… Uhh." Pyrrha stammered as Ruby was now getting into Pyrrha's face.
"Ruby." Jaune said before pulling the excitable reaper off of his partner. "Pyrrha only learned that when we were trying to find you."
"Really? What elements can she change into?" Ruby then asked.
"Only between earth and fire… As far as I know." Pyrrha admitted as she looked at the gem on the back of her right gauntlet which, along with the others on her armor, was now brown once again, signaling that she was now earth element. "But I think earth is my default element."
"No doubt because of Master Talos." Joana chimed in.
As everyone started catching up on what happened while they were gone, Dragunov moved to Jin who had finally stood back up. The two Tornan Blades stared each other down.
"…Do you have something to say?" Jin finally broke the silence.
"Just wondering why Rex and Ruby let you stick around," Dragunov crossed his arms. "But that's not what I'm interested in. I want to know, are you the same Jin that Thauron met?"
"…Yes, what of it?"
"I can't understand how you could side with Malos." Dragunov frowned at the silver haired Blade said.
"…You can ask your new friends about it; I'm not going to repeat myself." Jin turned away from the dragon.
Dragunov growled, "If you are the Jin that I knew in the past, then what would Lora say if she saw you now?"
"You have no right to talk about her!" Jin snapped, "You lost that right the moment Thauron died, and you reverted. You don't even know her."
"You're right." Dragunov admitted, but didn't back down, "I only know about the Lora Thauron gushed about in his journal. How she was so kind, always willing to make things right. And despite everything, tries to face it all with a smile, almost like Ruby over there." Dragunov then pointed to the red reaper in question who was in the middle of hugging her sister. With the said sister spreading her arms wide as if she was trying not to touch the younger girl.
Jin looked angry to hear that… "Why must she be so much like her?" Jin muttered as his hands clenched into fists.
Dragunov shrugged at that, assuming Jin meant Ruby and Lora, "Beats me. The best answer I can give based on my time with Yang is that Ruby was born that way." Then Dragunov looked hesitant, "Jin… would you have approved of them?"
Jin quirked an eyebrow at the question, "Who?"
"Thauron and Lora. If they had actually gotten together, would you have approved?"
Jin glared at the dragon, "What kind of meaningless question is that?"
"The kind of meaningless that I wonder." Dragunov said as he crossed his arms.
"…If I answered, do you think it would change anything?"
"No, but it would give me some peace of mind." Dragunov looked firm.
"…Based on what Thauron wrote about me, and our few interactions… What do you think I would've answered?" Jin crossed his own arms.
Dragunov looked confused to hear that. "What're you-" "Just answer me." Jin interrupted.
Dragunov growled a little, but then wracked his head on what Jin's answer might be. After a long bout of silence, Dragunov gave his answer, "As long as he made Lora happy, you would have approved."
Jin looked surprised to hear that. "How? How did you guess that?"
"Because based on the timeline in the journal, I thought that you and Lora were not a thing. The only reason that would be for so long is because you always saw her as your charge. And with that train of thought, you would want to see her happy." Dragunov explained before chuckling, "Of course, that didn't stop Thauron from seeing you as his rival in love."
"Unbelievable." Jin actually chuckled, "Your memories and experiences are different, but you're still the same as always."
"Hm?"
"Nevermind." Jin said with a melancholic smile before turning to the others. He quirked an eyebrow at the current sight.
Dragunov turned to look too and he saw several interesting things. Qrow was saying something to Herald with an annoyed look while the said Blade looked down like she was ashamed of something. Zeke and Mòrag were giving the mech-riding Blade mildly disturbed looks for some reason. Ruby talking to Oscar with a worried look while the farmboy was trying to reassure her about something while rubbing his throat a little. But it was what was going on with Yang that earned the fire Blade's attention. Yang had taken Blake to the side and the two were arguing about something, with Nox and Perceval keeping their distance. This peaked Dragunov's interest and he started walking to the two, with Jin slowly trailing behind.
As he got closer, Dragunov heard interesting things.
"Seriously? Strangling a kid, what's wrong with you?" Qrow scolded Herald who looked more miserable by the second.
"Qrow! We never explained Ozpin to her." Oscar protested.
"...That still doesn't excuse me attacking my Driver's body." Herald said sadly.
"So, you can tell the two apart?" Ruby then asked with an interested look.
Dragunov shook his head and continued to Blake and Yang, finally hearing bits and pieces of their conversation.
"You still took him in after all of that?!" Yang almost shouted.
Blake looked very frustrated, "Yang, for the last time, the Perceval that stabbed you died with Adam!"
"Yeah, but what if he decides to kill us too?" Yang argued back her lilac eyes already red, "He already killed his Driver once. How do you know he won't do the same to you too?"
"Because I'm his Driver, not Adam." Blake said firmly.
"Adam. Adam. Adam!" Yang's eyes turned red, "You keep bringing that up! Maybe you actually-Ow!" Whatever Yang tried to say next was interrupted by Dragunov smacking her upside the head. Courtesy of Dragunov who then grabbed his Driver by the upper arm and dragged her away.
"I'll borrow her for a moment." Was all the dragon said before getting past the earshot of everyone who now had their attention on them.
As Dragunov had now dragged his Driver a fair distance away, Jin meanwhile approached Pyrrha. This Flesh Eater had been bothering her for a while now.
"What do you want?" Jaune quickly said, moving a little in front of Pyrrha, Joana following her lord's example.
"Who are you?" Jin asked Pyrrha with an imperious look, "And why were you able to use the same power as Talos did?"
"You have no right to inquire-" "Joana." Pyrrha interrupted the zealous Blade, "I can speak for myself." Then the armored girl turned to Jin, "I don't think you would believe me, even if I told you."
Jin crossed his arms, "Try me."
"Pyrrha, you don't have to tell this guy anything." Jaune said quickly.
"I know, but... If we are facing Salem again, then I don't think it makes a difference." Pyrrha said reassuringly before once again turning to Jin, "My name is Pyrrha Nikos, and I'm- was Talos' Driver."
Jin looked startled to hear that, "What?"
"…When Talos took my Flesh, he also took my Aura, which allowed him to use my Aura and semblance. That was how I restrained you. But I don't think I can use the power Talos used to pin you down back in Tantal."
Jin looked momentarily confused, "How do you know about Tantal?"
"I saw it through Talos' eyes."
"You were conscious back then?" Jin now looked baffled, before a multitude of emotions crossed his face, "Tell me, if you're here now, then where is Talos?"
Pyrrha looked down upon hearing that, "I don't know. Maybe he's…gone. Or maybe he's now in the same situation I was in. Either way… I didn't want this to him. I only thought he would be…" Jaune wrapped his arms around Pyrrha when her eyes started to shimmer.
"…You humans keep trying to find new ways to use us." Jin said with a hateful look before turning to Rex. "Do you see now, boy. She forced her own Blade to-"
"Shut up!" Jaune interrupted Jin, "Making Talos a Flesh Eater wasn't even Pyrrha's idea to begin with, it was another Blade who suggested it!"
"Even if that's true, she still went with it." Jin said with a glare to Pyrrha who now let small sobs.
"I'm gonna break your legs." Threatened Nora who already brandished Magnhild. No one makes her friends cry without consequences.
"Nora, no." Ren said quickly, moving to stop Nora. Although he was still glaring at Jin. "Pyrrha is one of the kindest people we know, so don't you dare twist this like she's the villain."
Jin looked like he wanted to say something, but he turned away and took some distance from everyone.
"Pyrrha, it wasn't your fault." Jaune tried to console.
"…I'm not so sure. I could have said no when Adenine suggested this, but I-" "And then you would be gone instead of Master Talos. The way I see it, it does not matter what choice you made. A beloved person would be gone regardless." Joana interrupted. No one noticed Otohime shaking her head a little at a particular choice of words.
"Beloved?" Nora caught on to Joana's words too. Only to feel a lash at her butt, which made Nora glare at Otohime who's right head tendril curled back over her head with its job done.
"…I guess." Pyrrha said, not sounding like she was entirely convinced.
Meanwhile, Dragunov was finished with Yang and now the blonde had returned to Blake.
"Hey… I'm sorry. I know that guy isn't the one who stabbed me, but… It's just… gonna get some getting used to having him around." Yang said while giving an uneasy look to Perceval.
Blake looked a little surprised to hear that, but then placed a hand on Yang's shoulder, "I know, it's just… Well whatever part of Adam Perceval had inherited is gone now. He's just… Perceval now. I won't ask you to forgive him right away, but I just hope you two won't have any problems from now on."
"…No promises." Yang admitted.
With Perceval and Nox, the assassin looked on curiously as his Driver was talking to the blonde one. "…Is there something I should know about?" Perceval then asked from Nox.
"You need to ask my lady. I believe it is not my place to tell you." Nox showed on his scroll.
"…Why do you refer to her as 'my lady'? She is only our Driver." Perceval then asked out of curiosity.
Nox got into the assassin's face with a cross glare. "Just…our…Driver?!" Nox said with his nightmare inducing voice. Clearly what Perceval said offended the ninja.
"So, you can speak." Perceval noted, completely unimpressed.
"What's going on here?" Asked Blake whose attention was drawn by Nox speaking.
Nox quickly unrolled his scroll, "Perceval disrespected you."
Blake quirked an eyebrow at the samurai. "I asked him why he refers to you as 'my lady'." Perceval replied.
The Faunus Driver sighed at that, "He started calling me that on his own." Blake shook her head before turning to Nox, "Nox, I'm fine with whatever Perceval chooses to address me as, so don't get mad at him."
"As you command, my lady." Nox showed on his scroll. Although he was still giving a side eye at Perceval.
This made Blake seriously considered if she should have not awakened Perceval. Then again, it was a do or die situation, so that question was moot.
Qrow was staring at Jin who had apparently been causing trouble in more ways than one, "Are we really keeping this guy around?"
"That is an excellent question." Said Zeke who was also giving a wary look to Jin.
"Guys… I know Jin has done unforgivable things, but...we can't just kill him. Not now." Rex said simply.
"Are you serious?!" Nia snapped at Rex, "Rex, did you hit your head and forget that he stabbed you?!"
"What?!" Ruby and several others let out.
"I haven't." Rex said while rubbing the X-shaped Core Crystal on his chest, "And that's why he's always at the front."
"That's not the issue here!" Nia got into Rex's face while jabbing her fingers against his chest, "He. Stabbed. You. Through. The. Heart."
At that moment, Dagas pulled on Nia's shoulder before addressing Rex. "Should he try to turn on us, what will you do?"
"…What must be done." Rex said, not sounding happy about it.
"Then I see no issue, but I do recommend you keep a very close eye on him." Dagas said while looking down on Jin who either didn't notice or care.
"Yeah, it's not like I trust him completely." Rex said seriously.
As this happened, Ruby meanwhile looked to the carcass of the monster. "Hm?" The girl thought she saw something vaguely shining in the body and decided to investigate. She made a face as she saw something sticking out of the body and pulled it out. It was slightly damaged from Pyrrha's attack, but she could still tell that it was an employee ID of some kind. "Why would a monster have something like this?" Ruby wondered. Did this thing eat someone… Wait, if that was the case, then wouldn't this card have been digested a long time ago? Then a scary thought entered Ruby's mind. A scary thought that came from certain kinds of movies and comics she red. "No way…" the young reaper's heart constricted at the thought.
"Ruby?" Roze then piped up. "We're leaving."
"Uhh… Yeah." Ruby said, quickly pocketing the ID, before jogging to the others who were moving up the ramp that led to the exit by now.
Roze frowned a little as he felt something was…off with Ruby. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? No. Why do you ask?"
"Because you look a little shaken."
"…Just saw something gross in that thing." Ruby quickly lied, making a disgusted face as she said that.
Roze shook his head, "Poor you."
"Shut it." Ruby said in a faux warning tone.
Once outside, the gang looked up to the World Tree that was now practically right in front of them. One of its roots fortunately connects to the tree itself, so the high fall below will not be a problem. "Climbing up the World Tree." Tora said, looking up towards the top that isn't even visible from all the way down from their position. "Very very tiring." It looked like just the thought of the climbing was exhausting to the Nopon.
"It doesn't look that far to the surface at least," Rex said cheerfully, earning several looks from others. "I'm sure we can manage that."
"Don't you ever quit with that optimism?" Nia asked with an exasperated look.
"It's certainly a long climb." Ren added in, wondering if he could get even halfway up.
"Hey! Herald and Roc could fly us to the top, right?" Ruby gave her idea.
"Roc's not here." Wulfric piped up. The avian Blade wasn't with the gang that reunited with them.
"Oh, right." Ruby had the decency to look sheepish.
"Even if he was here, it would take very long for just the two of us to fly between here and the top." Herald added in.
"Umm… does that mean you can't carry everyone?" Oscar asked carefully.
"That's impossible." Herald said simply.
"Rex." Mòrag then piped up, "I know this has already been said, but I advise you to not trust Jin."
At the mention of him, the silver haired Blade in question frowned at the Special Inquisitor.
"Mòrag, I already know that." Rex said in mild exasperation.
"She's not wrong though." Zeke added in.
Mòrag then gave a stern look to Jin. "I don't need your remorse now Jin. But when we're past this crisis, I'm taking you in. I owe it to my leader and my people." Mòrag then took a step forward, "If you resist, Brighid and I will kill you." The fire Blade in question nodded her head in agreement.
"Lady Mòrag, I shall assist as well." Aegaeon added in.
"I will too." Agate spoke up.
"Mòrag." Rex spoke up, but Pyra raised a hand to stop her Driver.
Any further comments were stopped at the rumbling sound.
"What is it this time?!" Nora already brandished Magnhild with Electra taking out her own hammer.
"Another monster?" Jaune commented in slight worry.
"Masterpon! Above!" Poppi said while pointing in the air frantically.
"It's the Monoceros." Nia recognized the ship that was now descending upon them. "Are they here for Jin?"
"That's Jin." Mikhail commented at the sight of Jin and everyone else, "But what's he doing with them?"
"Weird." Patroka commented, "Let's ask questions later, huh? After we've finally smashed them up."
As Emerald and Mercury voiced their agreement on Patroka's plan, Akhos brought two fingers to his ear.
"What? Are you sure? Okay then." Akhos replied to the earpiece none of the Remnans knew about.
"Jin?" Patroka said, having heard the bespectacled Flesh Eater.
"Yes, he said don't attack." Akhos said.
"What?! But it's the perfect chance." Patroka said, readying the cannons on the party.
Below, everyone else got a little worried at what looked like a turret aiming down on them.
"I told you not to attack!" Jin shouted before releasing a shockwave that pushed everyone back. Even the ones inside Monoceros felt it.
"You sly devil." Zeke growled out, "Hid that one up your sleeve, didn't you?"
Back in the ship, Malos had walked to Patroka, "No idea why he said that, but he must have his reasons.
"What?! But they're right here! Just blast them and be done with-" "Emerald." Salem interrupted the girl, "Remember, we are guests here. Their house, their rules." Then the witch chuckled, "Or ship in this case."
Malos frowned a little, but he did smile at Salem stopping the girl. "Say, could you open a breach to him now that we have a visual?"
"Yes, I should be able to do that." Salem replied easily, "Would you like me to?"
"Yes, please." Malos said curtly, though he did smirk a little. "After that, it's World Tree climbing time."
"Very well." Salem smiled and then raised a palm in front of the screen.
Down below, Poppi suddenly looked forward. "Anomaly detected!"
Everyone got on guard just when a breach opened a little ahead of them.
"Come on in, Jin." Came the voice of Malos from the other side.
Jin shrugged at this and moved towards the breach. But before stepping in, he turned towards Brighid, "Brighid. Your memories and experiences may be different, but you are no different from before. Just like Dragunov." With those parting words, Jin stepped through the breach and the thing closed behind him.
As soon as that happened, the Monoceros started ascending.
"Arseholes!" Nia growled out.
"That's unsporting of them. Using a giant boat." Zeke complained.
"We must go, the longer we wait. The bigger their advantage." Dromarch chimed in. With that, everyone started running one big root to the World Tree itself.
Although Rex was a little behind them. "Gramps… You knew all along, about Jin."
"Indeed."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"He is not like Malos." Azurda said "To be honest, I didn't know if you could handle it. You care too much at times." Rex looked a little down at hearing that. "Jin and Malos must be defeated. And who knows how that will turn out, especially if Salem is alongside them again. But facing those two is Pyra and Mythra's inevitable fate. So, I kept quiet."
"Pyra and Mythra's fate." Rex muttered as he looked to the Aegis running alongside everyone else.
"She shoulders the burden of sustaining your life." Azurda said, also looking to the Aegis before turning back to Rex, "Rex... What burden are you taking for her? Can you live for something and hold true to it?"
"Yeah. Of course." Rex said cheerfully. "I'm living for them. Pyra and Mythra."
"I see." Azurda said with what sounded like amusement in his voice, "Well I guess you're okay then. Just be sure to walk your own path, Rex. Believe in yourself."
By this time, Nia had noticed that Rex wasn't following, "Rex! Old man! What're you doing?!"
"Whuh? Old man?" Azurda sounded offended at being called that.
"Sorry! Coming!" Rex called out and ran to catch up to everyone. As Rex ran towards everyone, a part of Azurda's words stuck to him a little. "Pyra and Mythra's fate. I wonder if it's the same with Ozpin and Salem."
AN: And there we go. The gang, minus Roc have reunited and are now on their way up the World Tree. Fun fact, I found out that Lora and Ruby share the same japanese voice actor. Kinda funny, the universe was telling me to make this connection even after I had already decided on it.
I also realize that Pyra's and Mythra's fate of facing Malos is very similar to how Ozpin will have to face Salem eventually.
Finally, Pyrrha has been revealed to be able to shift elements at will. But only between fire and earth... so far :)
