Chapter 47: Prelude to Departure

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"Well… Seems like they're off on their own, Aki." Spoke a kitsune, who stood in the hallway with Akihito Kitsukami.

She wore a white kosode with black flame patterns adorning her white sleeves, and like Akihito, she too wore a black sleeveless haori, with white trim and flame patterns running down her chest and around her back. She looked as though she were wearing a white hakama, but the sleeves were tighter, and only barely went down over her knees.

That, and she wore a pair of black zori sandals without tabi socks. A black obi kept her white kosode closed together, and in it, were sheathed two katanas, both with white handles and guards, adorning small flame prints. Her nine white fox tails stood proudly from the special gap made in the back of her hakama to let them loose comfortably. Her foxes were constantly flicking about on their own slowly in a semi-playful manner.

"So it seems, Asahi."

"Hey hey, we're off duty you know? Call me your sister once in a while, not 'Asahi' or 'General Kitsukami' like you always do." She said, mimicking Akihito's voice briefly, "Coming to a place like this for these kinds of reasons… It's definitely a gloomy day. But… at we least we know she's actually okay. And alive."

Akihito remained where he was, keeping his eyes closed as he maintained his usual calm composure that never seemed to break at any time.

"You could look happier, you know."

"Presenting myself as ecstatic isn't necessary to broadcast my relief."

"Oh Aki, all work, no relaxation. You need to lighten up more." Asahi said, nudging her older brother slightly.

"I don't believe I should try to understand 'how to relax' from you. Otherwise my work will fall behind like a certain individual standing near me."

The sister kitsune let out a sigh as her back touched the wall, her head peeking around the corner briefly to look at the doorway, and see a small fluffy kitsune walk inside.

"Who's the tiny one?" Asahi asked.

"Her identity is much of a mystery, but from what I gathered of their talks, I believe people call her Kitsuki."

"Kitsuki, is it..? Who would've thought there'd be more like us way out here…"

"A surprise indeed."

"You know… There's not a lot for us to do right now. Mom and Dad are sitting in with Inuba. All we're doing is just standing around."

"So it seems." Akihito answered briefly.

"Ugh… Come on man, don't you want to go too? Don't you want to kick ass for our sister and Dante?"

"It isn't a matter of what I wish, but a matter of what I should be doing."

"And don't you think we should be going after that witch? She attacked two of ours, Aki. Doesn't that make you even the slightest bit angry?"

He didn't respond to her, and simply kept his eyes closed.

"Right… Forgot you're impossible to crack now…" Asahi said with a sigh.

Akihito's eyes opened, his crimson eyes giving off a small shine briefly before he began walking around the corner.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"On a brief venture. Would you accompany me?"

"You want to take a simple stroll now of all times? Seriously Aki, you need to-"

Asahi froze mid sentence, looking towards her brother to see him looking back right at her. The kitsune's lips curled into a smile as she laughed softly to herself and joined her brother's side.

"I think a walk right now would be very therapeutic."

"Hey dumbass! Did you forget to mention in your grand scheme the killer Atlas robots standing guard?!" Ciel asked in a shout, tearing her skeletal scythe free from one of the AK 200 units she pierced with it.

"They must have sent a retrieval team at last to gather all the materials and blueprints. With everything that's happening these days, it isn't a surprise that the Atlesian Military is starting to clean house and tie up loose ends." Leonard answered, kicking away one of the machines he shot.

"Yeah yeah, and I'm the great Ghandi." Ciel retorted with a roll of her eyes, "Roll call everyone!"

"RNJR's all present and ready to kick butt!" Nora shouted from the other end of the room, declaring herself, Ren, Jaune and Ruby.

"Still kicking over here!" Blaire called over from the other end of the room, her three jointed sword wing resting behind her as she clutched her actual weapon, looking over the slagged remains of Units, "Man these guys were weak…"

"I avoid the bullets anyway!" Xera called out in his form of response, kicking out the legs of a set of Atlesian Knights, melting through their limbs before leaving the rest to be shredded in a maelstrom of passing metallic shards from his partner.

"I'm in agreement with Blaire!" Sky called out herself, "These robots are all cowards!"

Ciel nodded with a proud huff, looking over to Musashi and bumping her with her hip, "You all good there Ms. Cool and Bronze?"

"Y-Yes… I'm quite well…" the dragon Faunus stated, crossing her arms as her face reddened.

"Bailey? Alice? Are you two okay?" Leo asked the twins.

"Pfft, as if you need to ask." Alice responded, crushing the head of one of the machines with her heel.

"All is well, Leonard." Bailey replied.

There had to have been one hundred of these AK 200 units inside the large and expansive shuttle bay. And all of them were either reduced to molten slag, cut apart, or shot to pieces.

Leonard moved over to one of the holographic control panels, typing in an array of codes until finally, the ground in front of him a few feet began to slide open.

From the depths rose a white ship, the front not overly long to form the cockpit, and the wings thickened and elongated, each wing having a rotational pair of two large thrusters each. The rest of the ship was raised up, forming a large seating bay in the rear. The tail end also had elongated flaps, and from them was another pair of rotational thrusters. If one looked closely, they would also have been able to see more thrusters near the bottom of the cargo door.

"Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the Atlesian Specter, the first airship prototype made specifically to be space worthy."

"Yeah yeah, no one cares. It's a plane that flies in space. Woohoo." Ciel remarked, waving her hands sarcastically, "Get inside and start the damn thing up please."

"I'm actually curious how he solved the Dust problem." Xera commented, running up to the edge of the opened doors to get a look at the thrusters.

His partner, on the other hand, was already dragging him by the hood toward the ramp.

"Later Stark, we've more pressing matters at hand." Leo motioned for the Phoenix to hurry, "But if you must know, I synthesized a propellant to work in tandem with Red Dust to create a hybridized thruster system. Small ignition from the Dust mixed with small releases of the propellant make for immense quick launching capabilities and fuel efficiency."

"Science later! Asses on the ship, now!" Ciel commanded, making Leo roll his eyes as he entered on board first.

Sky was quick to drag Xera up after him before he could ask more questions.

"Everybody on board now for the Space Shuttle to Hell! Let's go, let's go!" Ciel urged, shepherding everyone inside as the bay doors above opened, exposing them to the coming Dawn.

With the last of everyone on board, Ciel made to enter inside the ship, but stopped shortly when she heard a roar up above.

When she stuck her head out to take a look, she saw dozens upon dozens of Griffons and a few Nevermore heading their way.

"Shit! Leo! Fly the damn ship already!"

From the cockpit, Leo was at work, hurriedly typing away at the panel in front of him.

"Start the ship Leo! Fly the ship Leo! Does anyone bother to ask if Leo fucking knows how to?!" He shouted in a small burst of anger.

"You're doing well Leonard." Bailey encouraged, leaning over towards him, "Please, remained focus on your task."

He took a deep breath after hearing her calm voice, and went straight back to work at typing. Everyone had sat down in their seats, metallic segments covering their waists and forming over their shoulders to buckle them in tightly. Blaire was the only one who didn't sit down, and moved to the bay where Ciel was, sword readied in hand.

"Well well… Seems like we have some uninvited guests." The older woman mentioned.

The launch pad rose up, and out from it extended a long railway that extended towards the sky in a slight angle.

The aerial Grimm were still hot on approach, Ciel gritting her teeth at the predicament.

"Damn it..!"

As some of the Griffons and Nevermores sped through their lines, shrieking loudly as they did, they were close to almost shuffling into the bay.

That was until an infernal wall of white flame rose up from the ground immediately, burning the first flock of Grimm to ash in but a mere second as the wall continue to blaze.

In the distance, Ciel focused her vision on a figure standing on the edges of the bay, seeing him moved one hand in fluid motions.

Akihito Kitsukami stood high above, manipulating his inferno to reduce the Grimm to ashes upon contact with the flames. With the moment they had, Ciel exchanged a glance with the kitsune, giving him a brief nod before she turned back to Leo.

"Hit it already Leo!" She shouted, both she and Blaire sitting in the seats closest to the bay door as it closed up.

Leonard's hand finished typing in the last command prompts, and found itself on a throttle handle, pushing forward quickly as the ship rumbled to life. Within a few seconds, the Specter shot forward like a mortar shell, traveling across the railings until it left them to take to the skies.

Some of the Grimm manger to either go around, or use their allies as shields, for they gave chase to ship to bring it down.

But the inferno chased them as they went, swallowing them whole as it formed a circular defense around the space ship, allowing it free passage as the Griffons and Nevermores turned to ash upon touch.

Before they broke through the stratosphere, the white flames had died down, and within the seating bay, two flickers of white flame surged briefly, revealing Akihito and Asahi Kitsukami standing normally, as if they weren't in a high speed ship at all.

"Heya everyone! Nice to meet you at last!" The more playful of the kitsune spoke out happily.

"We have come to offer our aid in your venture." The calm and collected kitsune stated before he took a seat next to Skyla, and Asahi across the way next to Ren.

"Sooo… did you just teleport onto a ship going at this speed?" Sky asked, poking the kitsune's arm beside her.

"No." He simply responded, keeping his eyes closed.

"Yeah, we kinda slapped some apport talismans onto the ship's side just before you guys took off and had them permeate through the ships layer into the bay. Thus, we have arrived." Asahi spoke out.

"Useful..." Xera said, though he quickly offered a thankful smile anyway, "Thanks for tagging along. I take it you heard us talking?"

It'd explain how they knew exactly where they were and what they were doing.

"But of course. Our ears aren't simply for show." Akihito explained, his fox ears flicking briefly.

The ship shook violently a little as they just exited Remnant's atmosphere, Leo able to see the cracks in the Reality Space from a zoomed in projection shot. But also…

"Oh no… Ciel! We have trouble!"

"Oh what now?!" She said, unbuckling her straps and running up to the cockpit to see what her brother did, "What in the hell..?!"

From their enlarged view, the twins could hundreds of masses floating towards them, and one massive spire of black and white with numerous sharpened tendrils flailing about. The smaller masses almost looked like manta-rays with loads of white spikes covering their blackened bodies. They looked like…

"Grimm…"

"In space?!" Sky called from her seat.

Ciel bit her lip to stop herself from cursing, bowing her head as she impatiently tapped the walls of her ship.

That was until a thought appeared in her mind.

"Come on Leo, we're up!" She said tapping her twin's shoulder, earning a confused glance from him.

It took Leonard a moment, but he understood what Ciel meant, causing him to undo his buckles.

"SOL," the teen asked as he stood up from his seat, "Commandeer the ship. Head straight for the crack in the Marble and do not deviate from the course."

"Acknowledged." The machine spoke, hovering over into his seat, a cable extending itself from his underside and into one of the console's ports.

The twins moved towards the back of the ship, Leo being stopped briefly by Bailey, who had grabbed his hand. When he spun around, he was welcomed with a quick peck on his check from the girl, causing Alice to sputter from shock as she quickly undid her buckles and did the same.

"Good luck." They said in unison, making Leonard himself sputter nonsense from the pleasant shock.

Ciel was quick to grab her brother by the collar and drag him towards the bay door. There was still some extra space in the back that would have been used specifically to keep cargo in the hold. But…

There was also another door that separated the seating from the cargo hold. Throwing Leo inside first, Ciel made to step in after him, but was too stopped. A tanned hand held her in place, bright sky blue eyes meeting a worried pair of shining violet.

"P-Please return safely…" The dragon Faunus barely managed to word out.

Ciel gave the girl a warm smile before leaning down a giving her a quick kiss. When she pulled away, she gave Musashi a quick wink.

"I'll be back before you know it."

With a quick wave goodbye, a door slid down from above, sealing it tight as the siblings stood further back towards the bay door, preparing themselves as best they could.

"You ready for this?" Ciel asked, nudging her brother's sides.

Leo looked up to the ceiling briefly, letting out a small hum before saying "Not in the slightest."

His twin gave him a light chuckle, some form of worry in her own tone as she shakily patted her brother's back.

Letting out a deep breath, Ciel slammed the bottom of her fist onto the airlock button. As the doors quickly retracted, both teens had been jettisoned out of the cargo bay, flying off into the deep reaches of space.

Then, two brief flickers of white light shone brightly in the distance behithe ship, streaks of white soon trailing the darkness of the cosmos.

A Shadow Skinned Leo uses the slits across his blackened armor to propel him forward, leaving behind a streaking trail of white Aura.

An Angel Shrouded Ciel zoomed through the dark in her Angelic form, leaving similar streaks behind her from the ends of her large, white wings of light, Sctyhe in hand and ready to reap the Grimm of their lives.

The twins quickly zoomed past the ship, with Leo taking the lead as he extended his palms, barrels jutting out from the undersides as they shot out dozens of beams of white and black Aura continuously. The beams traveled through the darkness like bolts of light, burning through the manta-ray Grimm and thinning out a great deal of them within seconds.

It was then Ciel flew past them, her Scythe coated in white and black Aura as it grew to colossal proportions. With one mighty swing of her now immense scythe, she reaped hundreds of the Grimm within seconds, tearing them apart like paper.

With a majority of the small fry dealt with, Leo and Ciel flew close to one another, giving each other a nod as they zoomed forward quickly towards the large, fleshing spire.

Ciel's scythe had shrunken down, and as she flew over the surface of the creature, she swung her scythe through its body, the weapon acting like a surgical laser that instantly cut through the beast's spiked and boney hide. Leo followed behind the reaping Ciel, firing off dozens upon dozens of his Aura Beams into the the exposed sections of its body to further destroy what remained of it.

As soon as the twins passed through the colossal Grimm, the beast had fallen apart into pieces, larger chunks of its body exploding form the trail of destruction the siblings left in their wake.

Looking behind them, they slowed their movements to allow the Specter ship to fly through the graveyard of Grimm, and propelled themselves into the cargo bay. The door shut behind them, and the cargo hold de-pressurized, allowing oxygen to flow in once more as the twins' forms blew off of them like scraps of ash, reverting them to their normal forms.

Both looked at each other in bewilderment before smiles formed on their faces, and the two high fived each other with great force, a thundering crack, like that of lighting, sounding through the bay as they cheered victoriously.

"Hell yeah! We're awesome at kicking ass!" Ciel shouted as both she and Leonard entered into the seating bay again.

Ciel plopped herself down in the seat next to Musashi, cuddling the poor dragon girl as the buckles automatically formed around the smaller girl. Leo moved quickly back to his seat, SOL moving out of the way and unplugging himself to allow the teen to sit down, strap in, and continue steering.

The two seemingly stared at each other, and Leo smiled, bringing up his fist as the small machine brought up his own tiny robotic arm, the three flexible prongs forming his "fingers" closing in together into a sort of fist as the two lightly bumped their fists together.

With their final obstacle cleared, the Specter made its way through the small debris field, heading straight for the glowing red crack in space, revealing red skies within.

Everything in the white room was silent, save for the small hissing noise of the oxygen machine that helped in keeping Dante breathing, or at the very least, assisting his breathing.

Kit sat in her chair next to Dante's bed, watching his heart rate monitor lines zigzagging across the screen at a steady 60 beats per minute.

Other than that, there wasn't much else that had happened within the last thirty minutes or so.

Personally, she didn't know what was going on with Dante. She thought she could figure it out with some time with him directly, but even with everything Inuba and Xera taught her, she couldn't narrow in on anything noteworthy.

So, she was more just here to keep an eye on him now, and keep an eye out for anything wrong that might come up in his sleep.

He'd already been cared for by Lady Kitsukami, to the extent of exhausting all possible treatments, magic included, so… Kit just figured she was more or less just waiting for a change now.

A change in his state, at least. Whether it was consciousness or an internal difference.

Still…

It was hard to imagine someone like him in a state like this. Especially this… fragile.

"Difficult isn't it? Seeing someone who was essentially the pillar of strength for many… brought down low to the ground." A voice spoke out.

Kit looked up with a pensive frown to see Lucifer standing by the door, her hands resting tensely in her lap as she brought her gaze back to Dante.

It really was difficult. She'd always thought something like this was impossible for him.

"I only just recently figured it out. Well, if one calls a year recent in a way. I had my suspicions for a time that he had some relation to me, but I never quite knew until he left. Still, I did my best for him whenever I could manage it. Only this time… I wasn't quite able to do much."

Kit didn't really quite know what it meant to be family in that way, but she knew this must've been affecting Lucifer just as much as it was affecting anyone else who cared about Dante.

Still…

"If he's related to you, did he inherit any of your genetics?" Kit signed, knowing the man was someone who could read it, "If that's the case, then this abnormality in his health is even worse… isn't it?"

"It's as Lady Kitsukami herself said… This problem could be anything, even and emotional one. With burdens weighing so heavily on him, it wouldn't be all too surprising to learn that the aftermath of all of it crashing down was… disastrous."

Kitsuki frowned again at that, "Do you think he's keeping himself from waking up?"

"It's a possibility." The King shrugged, "But until then… There isn't much for me to do."

He paused for a moment, a thought occurring to him.

"While there isn't anything I can do for the moment… I do believe there may be something you can do for him."

Kit's fox ears and head rose to attention at that, but the appendages immediately drooped a bit in confusion, "I don't really have much I can offer him outside of physical medical practices."

"Regardless of that fact… you are still a Sympathetic Soul. That alone should be enough."

What rise Kit's head did have soon tilted a bit as her confusion grew, staring at Lucifer with an earnest lost look in her eyes.

"I will send you inside of his soul. All you must do is to find him. If it is as we think, and he's locked himself inside. Then all you must do is convince him to come back out."

The fox's lips drew into a thin line, her gaze moving back to Dante again with an uncertain look on her face now, "How… should I convince him? If he's holding himself down, what am I supposed to do to snap him out of it?"

"Simply speak to him as a friend would. Nothing more, nothing less." He said, looming over Dante's bed and extending his hand to Kitsuki, "Only you can now pull him out from this pit of tragedy he finds himself in."

She… she can do that. Just sit down with him, for however long it took.

The mute lifted her hand from her lap and reached forward, resting it in Lucifer's grasp as she dipped her chin in a resolved nod.

She'll wake him up.

"Prepare yourself. The entry might be… strange for those foreign to the experience."

Kit spent a long while drifting through a dark, numb space. She figured this couldn't have been that startling for her.

But she drew in a quiet breath and settled more into her seat, curling her three tails around herself to get comfortable.

After a few moments, she felt her eyes grow heavy enough to close and she drifted off, going slack in her chair. That… feeling, she felt her stomach grow light as her body suddenly started to fall.

A black void formed around her as she felt her consciousness slip away. What vision her closed eyes blocked disappeared with it, the mute feeling her hair flutter up past her shoulders as she looked down to her hands, then to her feet.

The speed didn't change. Just a gradual fall, slow and almost disconcertedly steady, and she didn't quite know how long she fell for.

Before she knew it, or could see it, her feet lightly hit some sort of ground and her white hair fell softly against her back, tails curling in behind her in the unknown space she found herself in.

When the girl felt her weight settle fully down onto the balls of her feet, she watched a ripple of gentle light emit out from her touch.

And just like that, her ears flicked down at a flash of lightning and immediately folded away under the distant crack of thunder in the distant sky.

Clouds rolled in, gray and deeply swirling to darken the black reaches of the air above her. The flash illuminated a cityscape of buildings around her.

Ruins of a tall, once flourishing city reached into the sky along the streets she stood at the epicenter of. Her boots grew cold in the middle of the intersection she stood in, the ground puddling under a quiet rain of a dreary storm.

What light she could see was the dim light of the sky and the webs of cracks sitting just behind the haze of clouds, glowing, jagged lines of seemingly unreachable light far inside the storm's reaches.

But what little light that did give let her see the silhouettes of the glassy buildings around her, of the few standing but dark light posts still dotted around the streets and sidewalk corners. And with another chilling flash of lightning breaking down from the sky, she saw the shadow of a citadel down the path in front of her.

A wide expanse of empty, chipped and cracked steps opened up at the end of the street, building up toward a large, closed door at the base of the citadel tower.

Taking a breath, Kit's lips puffed in a cold chill of air as she hugged her arms in the rain and moved forward. Her boots treaded through flowing puddles of water, carrying her toward what felt like the center of the dark city, eyes catching sight of a dark mass she couldn't see the details of.

Closer and closer she walked through the downtrodden streets, small droplets of rain coming down around her as she continued down the darkened road.

When she was closer, Kitsuki realized she was heading further in towards what appeared to be the city center. When she rounded the corner, she finally saw what that huge, mountainous mass was at the center.

Bones.

Hundreds of thousands of bones and skeletons stacked onto each other, creating a mountain of "bodies" that extended high above past the ruined buildings that surrounded it.

It was there at the top Kitsuki could see someone sitting down, unmoving against the rain that came down and the lighting that streaked the skies.

If Dante was up there… then she would need to climb her way up.

It was mountainous and loose, but Kit's lighter weight carried her up the steep slope of bones with light steps and gentle handholds. Every movement she made was naturally focused on being quiet, but that was just simply in her nature as the person she was.

That figure drew nearer as she climbed, cold, wet tails flicking softly behind her in the rain as she tried not to shiver whenever she reached an arm up to climb further.

It was strange… she felt the cold numbing her more the higher she got, and the rain seemed to pick up as she started to get a better view of the figure sitting at the top.

Finally climbing up the top of the mountain of bones, Kit pulled herself up onto her feet, brushing herself off quickly as she looked across the plateau of broken bones and skeletons that made up her path.

Further ahead was a boy. Black hair that was chin length with a few loose bangs hanging in between the bridge of his nose, black shorts and shoes, a grey t-shirt, and a black hoodie that was unzipped and sleeveless.

He sat at the center, one of his legs extended and the other brought in closer, his left arm resting atop the knee. And to his side… was a sword plunged into the ground.

The blade of was colored a pure white, spanning four feet in length. A shallow bevel outlined the blade, making it the Longsword's sharp edge, the bevel itself at least half an inche wide. Along the center base of the blade were intricate runes etched into both flat sides of the blade, which spanned all the way from the cross guard almost all the way to the tip of the weapon, just five inches short of the tip.

The cross guard was of the same color of the blade, pure white, with thin, cross guard branches at least half a foot long, taking on a diamond-like shape with beveled sides and smoothed corners. Two half inch prongs were found on the ends of the cross guard branches that pointed upwards towards blade, retaining the same, diamond shaped bevels the cross guard branches did.

The center of the guard, on both sides of the weapon, had one final corner, reaching forward and encasing the center of the blade itself in a short, rounded, central protrusion resembling a diamond-like shape, merging with the blade's surface itself.

Below the cross guard was the handle that was a foot long, the beginning of the handle bound in leather-like material that had an imprinted grip for better handling. Below the leathery grip was the rest of the handle, the metal colored pure white like the rest of the blade, and taking on a round shape. The pommel was simply a round, black metal cap that widened out slightly at the end.

Dignity. Elegance. Strength. The sword embodied all those and more.

It wasn't even close to the sword she remembered him using. She'd… never seen this blade before.

Kit shook her head to bring her gaze away from the weapon. It was beautiful, but the fact it was embedded in a mountain of bones harbored a different kind of symbolism.

He did this…

All of this.

It was almost like he'd gone and stockpiled all his guilt into a single mound. Then sat on it like it was a throne.

A very sad throne… all of it constructed from the countless people and creatures he had killed within his life.

The kitsune felt tiny as she carefully made her way over the peak of bones soaked to their core, keeping her footing as she slowly made her way toward him before finding her way into his view.

She didn't want to startle him, but she wanted him to see her.

"Who are you?" The child asked.

The mute drew in a small breath as his gaze slowly fell onto her, and she silently signed something in front of her hoodie, "Can you read this?"

His head looked up at the kitsune making her hand gestures, but he couldn't really make any sense of it.

"You can't speak?"

This was… before he met the person he learned how to read sign for.

Kit shook her head no, moving her hands from her front to start looking for her scroll, but her pockets were empty.

The child raised up his right hand and snapped his fingers, Kit feeling some force gently running through her the moment after.

"Speak."

Speak?

Kit blinked silently for a few long moments in the quiet rain before taking another breath, jumping in a small, tiny moment of shock when she heard a faint glimmer of a voice subtly vibrate through her throat.

She'd spent so long without that feeling… she'd forgotten what it actually felt like.

"I'm a friend." Kit's voice was steady and light, carrying a soft-spoken gentleness she remembered from her childhood. But, she couldn't help but smile a little at it not quite sounding right…

It was a voice he felt was fitting for her, she supposed.

"Friend, is it? I've never met you before, and you're already calling me your friend? You're a strange one alright…" the boy said, looking back out at the distance, watching the lightning streak through the sky, "Friend or not, you're a fellow prisoner now in this gloomy place. You're welcome to this pile I've made."

Kit's subtle smile turned sad as her gaze drifted down to where her boots stood atop a mountain of bones, silently tilting her head as she watched the water seep through the loose cracks, "I suppose so. Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

He just shrugged, "Only if you want to."

The kitsune moved forward and lifted her tails up, quietly sitting herself down next to him before curling her tails around her side, settling their white fur over her lap.

Her ears rose for just a second before drooping again under the ambiance of the storm, her gaze following his to stare into the same distance he stared at.

"This prison... who's keeping you here?" The kitsune quietly voiced, watching a stray crack of light climb down from the clouds in the distance.

"Nobody is keeping me here. There's just… simply no escape." The boy said, his blood red eyes and black slit pupils falling on the kitsune briefly, "This mountain we're sitting on… This has to have been the culmination of everyone and everything that ever resided in this Hell. Not a single scrap of life to be found anywhere. No roads, no paths that lead outside of this ruined city. Only shadow that leads me back to this… throne of blood and pain built with everything I could run that sword across." He said, point his thumb over to the blade resting in the ground.

Kit followed the gesture. She'd already stared at the weapon, but she supposed she'd humor him, for what it was worth.

"Why do you sit upon it?" She quietly asked, bringing her eyes back to him after glancing to the gleaming sword driven into the mountain of bones, "It's only a reminder. Are you afraid you'll forget about all the things your sword has touched?"

"Afraid she says…" the boy scoffed, "No, I'm not afraid. Frankly speaking, this spot is the only thing that stands taller than everything else now. You can see everything here. Even the emptiness that surrounds these city ruins."

Kit let her gaze fall away again as she focused on the distance again, staring into the ocean of emptiness he referred to, "What are you hoping to see, from a place like this? The city's so dreary down there, and the emptiness is just that. Empty."

"Maybe a way out. At the very least, that what I thought long ago. If I sat here long enough, maybe a way out would show itself." The boy explained, "Maybe this is like my own Tower of Babel. Reaching for the heavens, but not quite there. I guess instead of getting smote by 'whatever' might be up in the heavens, the bodies to stack up finally ran out. I don't know anymore."

The boy shifted his arms behind him to lean back and look up at the Dark and clouded skies.

"All I know is… that I can't be bothered with moving from this spot anymore."

Kit's hands drifted down to the bones between her folded legs before she quietly shifted her own feet, unfolding them and uncurling her tails to lie down next to him.

"I'll stay with you then." Kit said, resting her head back and folding her fox ears. From up here, the rain wasn't so bad anymore. "All this time, you've been sitting up here waiting for a way out to show itself. I find it kind of ironic…"

"Used to wait. I know better now than to expect anything good or better to happen. Good will and thoughts like that are useless, and belong in this heap. The truth is, you can't really get anywhere with that kind of thinking. It's pure optimism at best."

Kit slowly shook her head at that as she reached down, pulling her tails over into her hands to start running her fingers through her fur.

"I think it's because of that logic that you're still here, and you can't find the way out. I think it's ironic because you're the only thing holding yourself here. The way out is through you." The girl turned her eyes from her tails to the sky again, watching the dark swirls drift and rumble with distant flashes of light, "Do you know how I got here?"

"Not a clue. I reckon you must've done something terrible to be thrown into a Hell like this with me at its center."

The kitsune lightly smiled at that and shook her head again, "I came here looking for you, actually. Someone who cares about you helped send me here."

"Then you've wasted your time, and have been thrown into a prison." The boy said, hunching over as he now kept his eyes fixed onto the ruined buildings, "I'm not who you're looking for. All I am… is a remnant of person that used to be, or rather, was supposed to be. Nothing else."

"I think you're calling it a prison because you can't see it as anything else. And you're exactly who I was looking for, you just don't know what you've done to help me, or why I wished to be here." Kit quietly breathed out as she let her mind wander a little, "You had a lot taken from you, and you've only been losing more of yourself the longer you hold on. But I like to think there's a 'you' still in there who can accept everything you've done and everything you've lost. I don't think this mountain of bones is here to define you. It just acts as a foundation. A place to start."

"To start what?" The boy said, quickly pushing himself up, "Look around you, fox. There are no beginnings here. No means of escape. No light. Only… Darkness."

Kitsuki stayed lying on her back, letting her eyes roam the sky hovering above them as she shook her head, "Isn't that Darkness a part of you?"

"Part of me or not, there still is no escaping this place. And there isn't much of a point to it anymore in any case. I just want to stay here from now on, going without having to hurt myself or others anymore. It's better that way."

A small hum escaped Kit's throat, "It might be better for you. To just stay here and dwell in all the lives you've taken and affected. But…"

Kit turned her gaze to the boy for a moment before looking back to the sky.

"There's a lot of people hoping and wishing you'll be okay out there. They're all striving and doing their best just to see you live, and… there's even someone out there, lost right now, but they're probably hoping for your well-being more than anyone else."

The boy gave her an unsure look, not really buying what she was saying. But she saw a part of him start to think about it.

"Her name's Inuba. The two of you know each other better than anyone." Kit continued, taking a little breath before letting her voice carry out some more, "And if you ask me, or any of us, I like to think the feelings you two share are more special than just a long bond since childhood."

The kitsune's marigold gaze closed for a moment as she thought about what his mind was running through right now.

"I wonder… if she knows you never want to see her again." She spoke softly.

"I don't know if such a person exists out there. I've been in here all this time. Alone. By myself."

"Maybe. But I've come in here because I met you in my own World, and you helped me learn to live again with Xera and the rest of my te-... my family." Her gaze filtered through the clouds again to watch a soft streak of light scatter beneath their reaches, "Those memories are real. You helped me make them. Inuba's precious memories go for far longer, and she holds them tighter to her heart than I think you ever wanted to admit to yourself. The both of you did. And recently, you helped her save and hold onto those memories… but you got hurt doing it."

"Why leave then? All there is out there is hurt. Here, there's peace and quiet. No pain, no misery, no sacrifice. So why would I want to leave here then?"

"Because hurt isn't the only thing out there…" Kit replied softly, lifting her head this time to slowly sit herself up, "This might be the first chance in your life you can reach out and accept genuine happiness for yourself."

"Happiness, huh?" The boy said, looking up to the clouds to see them slowly clearing out, "Is there really such a thing out there for a thing like me?"

The kitsune tilted her head, then shook it lightly again, "I think… a thing like you has more reason than anyone to be happy for the first time in his life. You're already deserving of it."

"Is that so…" he said, light peeking through the clouds as he stood up, "Then… do you know the way out?"

Kit shook her head, watching as that light started to spread into the city, "I don't. But I think you do."

Bones on the edge of the pile began to shift and form together, creating a protrusion that kept building on itself, leading to a door on the end of the path. Black stone, and marked with all kinds of glowing white etchings.

"I guess… it's time to leave this place then." The boy said.

Kit quietly pushed herself up onto her feet behind him, "I guess it is."

The boy meant to take a step forward, but he paused briefly, turning around and looking past Kitsuki to the sword stuck in the pile. He took slowly steps forward, and reached out, pausing for a few brief moments before his hand wrapped around his handle.

As he drew the sword, his blackened hair bristled before bursting upward in an invisible wind, the black giving way to white as they scattered like particles, vanishing into the air moments after.

When he turned and faced the kitsune, his eyes were a bright sky blue color, and his pupils were normal instead of slitted.

But now, most importantly… he had a smile on his face.

"Now I'm ready. I guess…" he said, bowing his head slightly, "If it's not too much to ask… can you walk out with me? I'm still a little scared to go out on my own." He asked, extending his hand out to the girl.

The fox smiled at the action, letting her tails fan out behind her as she reached forward and gently slipped her hand into his, "We'll walk out together."

Kit's little brow furrowed before she felt the warmth of her tails, her mind drifting from the cool sensation of a ruined city to the comfortable cushions of the chair she rested in.

Marigold eyes silently opened, her vision clearing to see Lucifer standing on the other side of the bed… before immediately flicking towards Dante's resting face.

…

He wasn't moving at all…

"I assume you found him, correct?"

The small mute opened her mouth before she stopped herself, closing it soon after with a nod and some sign language, "I managed to convince him."

"Why isn't he waking then?" Lucifer asked, glancing everywhere he could over Dante's body to see if there was something Kareina missed initially.

But there was nothing present, physical or otherwise to prevent him from waking up. So why wasn't he opening his eyes?

The King let out a sigh, bowing his head down as he gripped the side handles tightly, the metal groaning silently under his powerful grip.

Kit looked up at him briefly, but jolted upwards when she felt a hand grab her arm, and when she looked down, she saw it was Dante's hand, eyes still closed. Kit and Lucifer exchanged glances briefly, and looked down at the teen, seeing his eyes snap open moments later.

But his eyes were different… Instead of the bright sky blue they usually were, they were now a platinum color. He let go of Kitsuki's arm, and slowly rose up from the bed, hunching over briefly to stretch himself out, a few of his bones popping with the small and brief movements he made.

"How are you feeling?" The Dark Entity asked.

"Better… for the most part…" He responded silently.

Dante's eyes wandered around the room, his expression dazed as he blinked his eyes a few times.

"Where is everyone?"

"The Kitsukami's are still with each other in Inuba's room."

The teen's head snapped to the king, almost in a question stare.

"She still hasn't awoken, yet."

"I see…" he said with a sigh.

His gaze soon turned to Kitsuki, who glanced back at him quizzically from where she sat.

"Platinum." The mute signed, tilting her head a little as she focused on the color of his eyes.

"Platinum?" He asked, eyes scanning the room briefly until he found the bathroom mirror and glanced in it.

She was right. They were a platinum color now. But… why was that? Regardless of how or why, there was something he needed to do quickly.

So his hand reached out to the small kitsune, gently patting her head and rubbing it.

"Thank you… for your help."

"You remember?" The kitsune asked curiously, smiling a little at the rub. She didn't really know if he knew what she did or not, especially since the Dante she talked to was only a piece of him.

"Remember..?" He asked, almost questioning himself, bringing a hand to his face.

It took him a few moments, but he could feel it all flooding back into him. Everything. Every memory in the last twelve years was now finally where it was supposed to be, complete and whole.

"I remember. I remember everything now." The teen answered, "But… where's everyone else? I can't… feel them…"

"They left." Lucifer said, "Ms. Rose gathered whatever forces she could and convinced them to go with her to defeat Scylix. I'd reckon they should just about be there by now."

"I see…" Dante replied.

The teen let out a deep exhale and shifted his legs outwards so he could stand up, wincing slightly as he did.

Kit was quick to stand up as he did and tuck under his side after the wince, eyes glancing down to see if there was any shaking in his stance.

He was still injured, he shouldn't be planning to walk around, especially without the crutches she saw him with before.

Though, for some reason, he felt taller… now that he was standing. A lot taller.

"If you're keen on leaving…" The King started as he reached around his waist to pull something out, "Then I suppose you'll be needing this."

Anvil rested in Lucifer's hands. Or at the very least, what remained of the Longsword. It was chipped and broken, a third of the blade missing from the top section, but still enough of it remaining.

There wasn't nearly going to be enough time to fix and get it functioning again, especially since he didn't have the tools to do so here.

He just had to make due.

Grabbing his broken sword from the King's hands, Dante brought it up to glance over it briefly before flipping it in an upside down position.

"Thank you." He said with a nod.

"You needn't thank me for anything. However… I would like for us to sit down and speak for some time. After your business is concluded, of course."

Dante gave Lucifer a small nod before he took steps forward, Kitsuki helping him until he found the pair of crutches leaning on the wall, and propped himself on them.

"Can't be left out of the action, now can we?" Dante asked the small kitsune with a smile on his face.

Kit helped him transition from her side to his crutches before stepping back, giving him a concerned look, "Says the one who can't stand on his own."

"Give me a few more minutes and I think I'll be right in track again. Besides… I have to be the one to go back and end this." The teen stated as he opened the door for the kitsune to walk through first.

The mute paused for a moment before stepping through, turning to look at him again from the hall, "Is your healing coming back?"

"No. At least, not like it used to. But I can feel myself getting pieced back together slowly as we're going. I'm a normie like the rest of you guys now." The teen jokingly stated, padding down the halls with his crutches.

"If you actually get into the shape you need to fight on the ride over… your healing is still better than mine." Kit signed back, frowning at him before she sighed silently and fixed her scarf, "I'll be ready when you're ready."

"I'm plenty ready." Dante noted, "But… I don't quite know how we'll get there."

Kit glanced to him again before giving him a half shrug, "Maybe Lucifer can?"

"Maybe. But I don't want to trouble him anymore than I have. So… we'll find that cloaked moron and have her take us." He said, rounding the hall and moving towards the stairs.

He stopped briefly however, almost froze when he was in place of a certain door. The teen's head turned to look at it, resting a hand on the door for a few moments. Before he gently pushed himself him off it.

"I'll be back. And I'll make it right… partner."

Having spoken his words, he quickly moved himself down the hall and descended the stairs all the way to the ground level, Kitsuki following him all the while as they finally made their way out of the large building.

Dante brought up a hand to shield his eyes from the coming dawn, but slowly brought it down to let his eyes focus on his surroundings.

When he looked further ahead down the road, he saw her standing there.

"Saved me the trouble of looking for you." The teen shouted to her across the way, "Can you give us a lift?"

The cloaked girl gave him no response, and only began walking towards them. Kit made to move forward more, but Dante's arm stopped her, and slowly forced her behind him, a serious expression on his face.

It was then she saw the cloaked girl's weapon free itself from the confines of her white shroud, hovering her her side as she continued to take steps forward.

Then she stopped a short few yards away, turning her sword upside down and plunging in into the ground. Within seconds, a while expanses of white and black Aura canvased the ground for yards on end, and then began rising up to box the three inside before closing up into a ceiling.

The white light of the box receded, showing a darkened and cloudy sky, and beneath those skies, the three stood amidst once flourishing ruins of white marble, a light carpet of water that seemingly spanned infinitely into the distance.

Kit peeked her head out around Dante's side as the setting changed… wondering what was happening.

"What's the meaning of this?" The teen asked the girl that blocked their way.

"You aren't leaving anywhere."

"Says who?"

"Says me!" The girl shouted back angrily, making Dante tense up slightly, "The dream was long, Dante. But the time for dreams has ended." She said, drawing her sword from the watery ground, "I will put you out of your misery, and end the dream, once and for all."

"Is that right?" The once immortal asked in a challenging tone, tossing his crutches as he did.

Blackened Aura slowly crept up his right leg in a struggling manner, and slowly formed the twisted, segmented black armor of his Shadow Skin on said leg.

Letting out a sigh of relief now that the pain left him, Dante brought his leg back and tapped his clawed, armored toes in the ground a few times, stretching it out as best he could.

"Look at you… Even your own power struggles to hold itself together. Do you think you have the slightest chance of beating me?"

"I'll find a way. I always do. And then… I'll make you take us over there."

"Your body is still in pieces. Your weapon is still broken. There isn't much you'll be able to do to reach me." The girl stated.

"If that's what you think, then sure, keep believing that." Dante told the girl, titling his head towards Kitsuki, "You should hang back for a bit."

The mute took a slow step back, but signed as she did, "What exactly is she trying to end?"

"Me, obviously." The teen shrugged, "But… I have a feeling it's a lot more personal than what she's showing on the outside. That's why I have to do this alone."

Kit took a slow breath before flicking her gaze between them, then distanced herself with a nod.

She hoped he was right about that.

Eyyyyy, Dante's up and running again. But now, he's facing a whole new problem entirely.

The cloaked girl intends to end Dante's suffering with her own hands to prevent him further pain. As you can imagine, Dante isn't going to simply sit down and die just because someone asked him to. But... that's not all.

Something stirs deep within Dante, wanting to break free and get out at last. Just what might it possibly be? Find out the next time. For now, that's all I have to say, so with that...

I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story Rogue Huntsman written by Xera Stark. The story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out on this story. Plus, I'm working on it with him as a co-author, and my characters are in it too. So if you want to see a sort of alternate story and such with my characters in it, go on over and give Rogue Huntsman a read.

And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, and tells Rogue Huntsman's story from his characters' perspective, like how Knights of White and Black (my alternate story) tells the tale from my character's perspectives.

Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.

Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!

Bye-bye now!