Hero of Remnant: Veil of the Aether

by Aetherveil

Following after the events of the Volume 3 Arc, Dante, and his partner Inuba travel across Remnant to make their way to Haven, searching for clues that will lead them to the real mastermind behind the attack on Vale 6 months prior. They will meet allies, both old and new, and face challenging new enemies on their journey. Secrets will be revealed. Continuation of Hero of Remnant.

79. Chapter 79: Small Revelries

I'll try to keep this crap short and simple.

After finding what seemed like the perfect job after god knows how long, it turns out things weren't as picture perfect as they relayed and lots of bullshit happened behind the scenes. Short of it is, after 4 difficult months, your boy's out of a job again, and steadily getting the salary he's owed.

That aside, I also have to contend with the shitty, idiotic ignorance of my relatives and their dislike of anything technology related. That means they'll take any chance they have to heckle me and disrupt my activities, which in turn, affects my time to write, which I've only really been able to do between the hours of 8pm-11pm, sometimes 12 if I'm lucky enough. I kinda have to go stealth mode at 10pm to avoid their bullshit.

In any case, I can't apologize enough for leaving everyone hanging for so long. It's been rough.

Instead of listening to me complain about my life's epic circumstances, please enjoy this latest chapter.

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Chapter 79: Small Revelries

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- Nearly two years ago -

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…"

She was saying words she never said before in her life until now. Then again, Anya had spent far too much time with Dante to not pick up a habit or two from him. Either way, her anxiety was well merited.

This was a big day, a day where the public peace-talks could lead to her and her people taking crucial, initial steps to being integrated into society. This would also give others of her kind a chance to peacefully cross over to live a better life.

Anya's faction had built up a rather spotless reputation in the last two months or so thanks to her and Dante's plans, which paved the way towards the public being more accepting and comfortable with their presence today.

And yet, she was still getting chills, cold sweats, and feeling a great deal of anxiety. This was their promised day. She didn't want to, as her beloved would say, "fuck it up".

She giggled slightly at the sudden thought of hearing him say those words, but immediately returned to her panicked state, slapping her hands to her face and silently screaming. Her cries were interrupted once her HoloDevice rang, the song-like ringtone guiding her tanned hands to her white mini-purse on the far end of the waiting room.

She grabbed the white diamond stud out of her purse, and swiped her hand across the center, opening a holographically projected screen.

"Dude, where are you?"

"Dude? Really Dante?"

"Sorry sorry, I was trying to lighten the mood a bit." He apologized with his hands raised briefly, "Panic attacks start yet?"

"Dante!"

He defensively raised up his hands, setting them down shortly.

"Since I'm seeing the gorgeous white lingerie you bought a week ago, you aren't even dressed yet. You pick that for later when we celebrate?"

Anya would be lying if she said she didn't wear this… rather scandalous set for that reason. Aside from the thin, elegant and skimpy fabric, and eye-catching lacing, her lingerie was actually quite light and comfortable. Though, that was more a secondary reason.

"Don't like it?"

"You kidding me? I feel like bursting through those walls to 'relieve your stress' right now."

Anya shook her head with a faint smile, hand resting on her hip. She wasn't self-important or egotistical, but… she knew her beauty was exceptional, especially in Dante's eyes. And it felt… really good to see or hear his reactions, and to be told she was beautiful. Especially since this was her "true form". That alone made her happier than anything.

She shook her head, "We'll discuss that later. How's security?"

"So far so good. Darwin's on the Local Grid keeping an eye out in a one kilometer radius. Considering he's an android, his ability to detect Dark Entity activity is still a little wonky, but a lot more tuned thanks to your formulas. Regardless, he's got the cameras and motion sensors on his side, so we're good on that front." The young man explained, biting into a cinnamon churro and quickly eating the piece.

"Any protesters?"

"Small group of…" He squinted his eyes towards to the left, "thirty seven gathered at the west end of the plaza. So far they haven't been overly rowdy. Just a few signs and a little shouting."

"I suppose that's alright… The number I mean."

"No no, I got what you mean." Dante waved off, "You've done a kick ass job the last two or so months. Regardless of how fantastic you were, no one is perfect. Except me."

"Uh-huh." Anya scoffed with a smirk.

"Getting a few protesters is… normal for this kind of thing. There'll still be a few people scared, and that's alright. We've just gotta show them they've got nothing to be afraid of after the talks go smoothly and we start filtering people in. Then, we'll be all smiles and ice cream."

"You forgot one thing."

"Hm?"

"We. We did a fantastic job. Maybe I could have managed on my own eventually, but… you helped me make a great deal of progress as our intermediary, and vouched wholeheartedly for us, when frankly, I don't think anyone else would have."

"Eh, Blanc's a big old bleeding heart. He definitely would've heard you out."

"Yes, but I'm not sure he could have helped change public opinion to the quick and dramatic extent you did. You really did a great deal for us when you didn't have to. And frankly… I don't know how to thank you."

"Ten minute make-out session followed by intense cuddling." The young man immediately replied.

"Only ten minutes?" The girl quirked a brow with a coy smile.

"Make that twenty if you don't mind. Please." He said, taking another bite of his churro.

"Dare I even ask how many of those you've eaten by now?"

"Well, I've been sitting on a rooftop overlooking the plaza for the last two hours."

"Two hours?!" Anya asked, half surprised before shaking her head, realizing this was the norm with Dante.

"I played enough of my game on my HoloDevice, and I'm bored since nothing's happened yet. Which is good, don't get me wrong, but as a result… I've consumed the souls of twenty churros."

"I'm frankly envious… If I could eat sweets as much as you do without the risk of getting fat…"

"Yeah… You do love your cakes…" Dante confirmed with a small nod, "But it's not like you've gotten fat or anything."

"A-Are you sure?"

The Queen looked over at her formal white dress on the coat hanger, then looked at herself in the mirror as she touched various areas of her body. Maybe she was imagining it, but… she could swear-

"Your butt hasn't gotten any bigger, and you're not fat. I mean, your butt is huge, but it's complete and total perfection that's beautifully shaped by muscle instead of fat. Same with your thighs. Thick, but by no means fat. Not to mention, soft and supple to the touch."

"In short, you've been staring at my butt too much as of late."

"Can you blame me? It's hard to not look at you and write a thirty page essay on how beautiful you are."

"You actually did that?"

"Five pages were dedicated to your butt, while seven pages were dedicated to your thighs."

She laughed while covering her face, shaking her head all the while, "And you wrote nothing about my breasts?"

"I threw in three pages."

"Only three?"

"Hey, I was trying for four, but I couldn't think of anything else to add, alright?"

"And the rest?"

"Short and to the point. I somehow miraculously condensed my writings on your 'inner beauty' into one, final page. Otherwise the essay might've gone to fifty or more pages and would have eventually resembled the ravings of a total madman. But I'm already crazy as is, so..."

She giggled softly given how touched she felt, covering her eyes once again to hide her embarrassment, "Why are you like this?"

"I love you too much, alright? It's your fault, so take responsibility."

"Very well. Just try to wait until we get home though."

"My urges cannot be so easily contained." He then looked off to the side, "Who am I kidding? Twenty more of these churros and I'll cope somehow."

Another shake of the Queen's head, "I love you."

"Love you ten thousand." He said, earning a faint giggle from the girl, "Get dressed already, will ya? Aside from making me feel sexy things, you're on in like five minutes."

"See you in a bit then." She replied, closing the screen.

Just like that, her anxiety had been swept away.

It was always incredible to her how small things like this, silly topics of conversation no less, had such an effect. Then again, like Dante, her love for him sometimes bordered on madness given their frequent and… spur-of-the-moment outings that most couples wouldn't be brave enough to try.

Intense infatuation aside, moments like these were absolutely precious to her, more valuable than any other treasure.

Her hands picked up the white dress as she began slipping into it. When she was done, she formed white-crystal high heels onto her feet, which when she stood up on them, gave off faint "clacking" sounds reminiscent of crystal softly being crushed underfoot.

She took a final glance in the mirror; her white dress was form-fitting, hugging every curve on her body. The hem reached down to the center of her shins, and was loose enough for her to be able to run if needed.

The dress was completely shoulderless, but near the armpits was fabric that extended out to her biceps and tightly wrapped around the entirety of her arms. The sleeves near the wrists flared out, tipped with a translucent white fabric that sparkled across various locations of the ghostly fabric.

The majority of her white dress shared this trait, small twinkles, like diamonds under light, glistening now and then whenever she moved around. Satanya's hands then reached up to her obsidian horns, a small flicker of concern crossing her mind as she thought to hide them. But she wouldn't.

What would be the point of all this if she had to hide them?

So she turned towards the door, noticing she had thirty seconds before she had to be on stage. Already she could hear the young prince Blanc address his people, his voice echoing throughout the sound systems in the building and the plaza, calming the eager cries from earlier.

Anya passed through the halls, catching the eyes of multiple staff members, men and women alike, as they were absolutely dazzled and stunned by her beauty. The flickers from her dress, as well as the small amount of Soul Energy she emitted from around her body gave the girl a faint shine, resembling crystalline mist as it trailed behind her.

Waiting until Blanc called her name, the Queen calmly and confidently walked out on stage with such elegance that it stilled the hearts and lips of all that saw her magnificent form; humans, magical beings, and yokai alike. Even those that protested her presence today were stunned into silence. The Prince gave her a faint smile and a nod as he stepped aside from the podium to allow Anya his place.

"People of the Human Realm… I thank you for your kindness in giving me the opportunity to speak to you all today. I am certain my presence must cause some discomfort or fear given the events that have unfolded not only in ages past, but within the recent year as well. I mean what I say when I tell you that my people and I mean you no harm." She spoke, her soft, comforting, yet commanding voice sounding throughout the speakers of the plaza and those that watched the broadcast at home, "For many centuries, those of a similar mindset like my own have filtered out from the Dark World steadily over time, and have lived relatively peaceful lives among you. In those times, even those who searched for peace were afraid to come to this realm, for they feared the Humanity of old."

The girl paused, looking down at the pedestal before taking a quick breath and looking out at the droves of people, a firm determination in her eyes that was seen by all.

"Thus our people waited, hoping and dreaming for the day Humanity would change. And they did. For now, you live in what can be considered a Golden Age, an age not focused on conflict, greed, and death like the times of old, but of understanding, friendship, love… and reaching out to one another to offer aid." She said, stretching out her hand to the audience, "The goodness in your hearts has lit a fire in ours, once again igniting our dreams for peace and harmony. The World we hail from, while initially cut off from yours, has been one of never-ending war and death amongst our own. I won't lie to you when I say there are those of our kind for whom peace was never an option, who feast on the strife they cause and the death they joyously sow along their path. There are great beings that you should be afraid of. But we are not those beings."

Her hands grasped the edges of the podium as she leaned in closer.

"Just like you, there are those of us with compassion and understanding at the core of our being, whose only wish is to live their lives the way they choose to; free from the shackles of violence and war. Free to learn and advance their knowledge." She paused briefly, a faint smile curling on her lips as her cheeks were slightly blushed, "Free to love, and spend our lives with those we choose to, and those closest to us. That is why we yearn for a place that will accept us, that shares our ideals for peace and a better future for all. While not all of our kind share our ideals, I will promise you this."

Her grip on the podium tightened, the girl having a sharp look in her eyes as she looked out once more at the masses of people.

"Should they ever crawl out from the Dark to dare harm you, as fellow people of this World not so much different from you, we will always stand with you and at the forefront, ready to halt them. This is our vow to you as people who mean to stand with you, now and forever!" Her voice firmly echoed with powerful resolve.

Silence. Then, the sound of clapping hands.

The masses of people steadily applauded one after another, until everyone in the plaza had done so. They had heard the Queen and her admirable, heartfelt speech.

She bowed politely in thanks to them, doing her best to hold back her tears at the sight of it all as she waved at them. Looking up, she could see Dante in the distance, apparently without his shirt on as he whipped it in circles above his head in celebration, cheering her on while throwing in a thumbs up with his free hand.

The Queen couldn't help but laugh at the silly sight of her beloved, faint tears of joy streaming down her cheek.

At that moment, she noticed a glint in the distance towards her left, eyes widening once she saw the rather large bolt of cobalt blue. Anya blurred out of sight and appeared at the back of the plaza where the edge of the crowd was and thrust her left hand upwards. A completely transparent barrier-dome of white crystal formed over the entire area, protecting both the people and the buildings. The bolt of cobalt energy split apart into tens of dozens of bolts, barraging the dome repeatedly as the people recoiled and screamed from the sudden attack.

But no harm would befall them under the protection of the Queen.

Their fear was only lessened for a moment until the barrier was barraged once more, the guards quickly guiding the people to safety as Anya kept up her barrier. While it suffered cracks, they were immediately renewed the moment they formed.

As the people had almost been completely evacuated, Dante appeared at her side, dressed in his black combat attire, hair pitch black now, and face covered in the black bone-like mask he wore. Blanc soon appeared next to his friend in a flash of white light, he too dressed in his white and gold combat attire, porcelain white mask covering his face as his emerald eyes glowed faintly through the narrowed, rhombus-like eyeholes.

"It would seem as though you were right about an attempt, my friend." The young Prince said to Dante, his voice hollow and echoing from the effects of his mask.

"Question is, who's the ass and how do I make him wear his ass for a hat?" The young man replied, "Do I even have to say this isn't Anya's doing?"

"Oh please." The Prince scoffed.

"Just making sure…"

Two figures began to emerge from the smoke clouds caused by the barraging volley, Anya lowering her barrier and spreading it out like a thin veil to the surrounding buildings to protect them. Immediately she recognized the duo, and silently growled to herself.

"Correction, guess there's two asses I need to fit into hats today."

"Disciples of the highest grade of Lord Class!" Anya firmly replied, "I know the two of you are strong, but please be careful. They're not like any other Lord Class that you've faced."

"Don't worry so much. We'll be done in no time, right?"

Dante's confidence, while seemingly borderlining arrogance at times, was always of comfort to her in times like these.

"I'll support you from behind, but I won't be attacking as much since I aim to keep the surrounding buildings and people in the area safe."

"Having you here is enough inspiration to keep me going."

"Dante…"

"While I understand the two of you are indeed a lovely pair, please focus on the current task." The Prince called out.

"Yeah yeah…"

The two young men charged forward at the emerging duo in the distance, unafraid with Anya backing them up.

She wasn't expecting another retaliation attempt so soon from her father. Regardless, she would swiftly deal with the current problem and resume the signing of the treaty. Even if this was a sudden surprise, she would prove to those watching today that she meant what she said.

That she would live among the people of this World and protect them as if they were her own.

---

"Remember the plan, alright? Until this business with Ogrânix is resolved, you're with the Chroma's for the time being."

"I understand." Belîa nodded to Dante, crossing her large arms, "While your logic is… fairly sound, are you certain such a plan is necessary?"

"If I'm right, we'll be able to get a head start on things and slowly choke them into submission. If I'm wrong, then good. It means the plan was unnecessary." The young devil explained, placing a hand on his hip, "What matters is that with you around, things are practically guaranteed to go our way."

"Ms. Kitsukami I understand, but me…"

"You think too much about people's opinions about you, Belîa. Who cares if you're a Dark Entity?" The teen shrugged, then gently bopped the armored ribs of the giant Knightess' breastplate with a brief, metallic thud, "Doing the right thing is all that matters."

"But is this plan just?"

"If things go the way they do, then yeah, it's just. I'm not gonna lose more people so long as I can help it. And this plan will help with that." Dante explained, "I'm not asking you to do anything that would besmirch your honor. At least, I hope not. So are you good with the plan?"

"Yes. It's acceptable."

"Then sit tight. The people of this mining town aren't fans of Atlas, so your secrecy is practically guaranteed. And should anyone from Ogrânix's side attack, I know you'll keep everyone safe and fend them off."

"How frequently will we communicate?"

"Three times a day at least. If there's no response after two messages, we can safely assume the other is more than likely in trouble. In your case, I'll rush right over."

"Very well." The Embered Knightess nodded, "Um… About-"

"I promise you once everything is over, we WILL figure this shit out about The Husk. Until then, focus on the now."

"I… understand." The large girl nodded, reaching behind her back to pull something out.

She stretched out her hand, and unclenched her fingers, presenting Dante with his ring that Satanya made for him.

"It's only right that both rings be in your possession."

"Right…" He sighed, hesitating a few moments before he held the ring in his hand once more.

A part of him thought to slip it onto his finger quickly, but like the ring, he quickly pocketed the idea.

"It really is good to see you again, Belîa. Stay safe."

"You as well."

A quick nod and the young devil turned to walk back towards the airship, where Inuba and Nira were sitting in the backseat while Rosswal sat in the passenger seat. After getting in the pilot seat and fastening his seatbelt, the cockpit door closed shut and Dante took off.

"Now that he is here… would you care to explain to us where you went Rosswal?" The kitsune said sternly, focusing a glare on the vampire.

"Like I said, I didn't run away." Ross huffed with crossed arms, "I chased after that thing that attacked my dear friend but lost her along the way. She was a lot faster than me, so it couldn't be helped. And it's not exactly as though she left any traces of blood, you know? So tracking her down will be impossible for me compared to the usual."

"It's true. I could sense him following behind the Husk until she burst away with her magic." Nira vouched for him.

"Thank you Nira!" The vampire spun around briefly, hands folded together in a thankful gesture, "Seriously, why do you guys always think I run when I'm actually working on being helpful?"

"Because there have been instances in the past where you've run away from the enemy, even going so far as to bargain with them."

"Uh, reposition for a better vantage point and gaining potential infiltration opportunities? Come on, you two were the super assassins, you should understand that much. Right?" Rosswal looked to Dante, who hadn't so much as made a peep in the last few minutes, "Uh, my guy? You there?"

"I'm here."

"Unusually silent for once. This is right around the time you smack me or scold me or something."

The young devil shrugged and continued piloting the airship unperturbed.

"Talk about boring…" The vampire sighed, folding his hands together behind his head, "I'm gonna sleep then. Wake me when we get back."

After shifting around in his seat for a few moments, Rosswal closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. Yet, no one made a sound for a solid minute, leaving the remaining three in awkward silence. Inuba and Nira looked between each other before the kitsune cleared her throat and reached around the seat to grab Dante's attention.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Uh… I don't think so, but maybe you should check since I probably wouldn't have felt it."

She rested a glowing white hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting her Aura wash over his body in a paper thin veil. Any injury that would have lingered would have been detected in her "net" of sorts, but at the moment, she didn't detect anything wrong. Although…

Inuba sighed, "Was it her?"

Dante perked up steadily in his chair, shrugging slightly, "Maybe. We don't know for sure, but… the consensus so far is that it's actually her."

"The reason?"

"Just… the way she reacted, the timing of Belîa showing up and working with her under a spell… The way it was… obsessed with targeting me above all else…" The young devil sighed, "Until we capture her or whatever, we won't know for sure if it's a near perfect Mannequin Copy of her, or if…"

"Or if it's the real deal." Nira spoke up, "That is why you held back, right?"

"More or less…" Dante spoke up, "Is that a problem?"

"No." The noirette replied, narrowing eyes on him, "Just remember that you're an S-Class Huntsman. It's our duty to deal with situations that can potentially bring down a Kingdom."

"And? You think it's gonna escalate to that extent?"

"She is a Queen Class..."

Dante clasped the steering handles tightly, understanding what she meant to insinuate without having to go further.

"She's not as strong as she used to be. We don't have to worry about her bringing down the Kingdom anytime soon. That aside… it's clear she's only after me, and has only come after me when I've been fairly isolated." The devil explained, "I think it's safe to say that neither Atlas nor Mantle will be at risk of attack from her."

"Are you certain?"

"I'm certain."

Nira smiled faintly, "Then I'll be sure to help as best I can."

"Thanks."

It wasn't a threat or warning. Yes, Nira was absurdly powerful, but… she wasn't the type to throw her weight around senselessly. All she did was give him a friendly reminder of what they would be asked to do should things get superbly out of hand.

Regardless, he wouldn't let things out of hand. He was still uncertain of whether the Husk was a cheap imitation as part of a cruel joke, or the real deal, a joke that would be even crueler than previous. If it really was her… then maybe… just maybe…

…

…

The devil had to consciously remind himself to loosen his grip on the handles, silently exhaling. He didn't want to get his hopes up too early, but… ideas were already beginning to form in his mind.

For the time being, he had to focus on current problems; Salem, Ogrânix, and more than likely Robyn Hill.

And maybe…

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Dante shifted his head back towards Nira briefly, "What do you know about Kallus Warren? Other than the fact he bakes some seriously good cakes?"

The small girl smiled seeing the sudden rebound, "To be honest, no one really knows much of anything about his personal life, not even our current S-Class colleagues. All any of us know is that he killed his predecessor and took over his rank before laws were introduced to prevent such a thing from happening. I tried asking him from time to time about why, but… he's only ever told me that they had a disagreement, and that 'the conversation got louder' afterwards."

"Alright then… Who's the strongest of the S-Ranks?"

"The strongest, huh…" Nira smiled, "Kallus is strong, but I'm not sure if he's stronger than I am."

"Oh? So does that mean..?"

Nira laughed faintly, "I'm not certain. From what I heard of the rumors circling our merry group, it would seem I've been considered for the strongest, but…"

"But..?"

"We have a colleague currently residing in Vacuo by the name of Theodore Andres who's become very well known over the last decade. There's been debates between which one of us is the strongest, but it's never been resolved. Although… Kallus is still pretty strong, even without using his Semblance."

"So then..?"

"Undecided for the time being. It doesn't really matter to any of us, except for Theo and Kallus." Nira perked up a little, realization dawning on her, "I see… You think you might have to fight Kallus in the future?"

"Possibly… It's clear he's on Robyn Hill's side, but I'm just not sure why that is."

"He's not someone that's motivated or moved by lofty goals, ideals, or money. If anything, I imagine he's working with Hill because he owes her a favor, or something along those lines."

"Kind of absurd to think that he owes someone a favor…"

The noirette shrugged, "Who can say? Whenever we talk, we mostly talk about things other than ourselves."

Seems like some of the S-Class Huntsmen and Huntresses aren't all that close, except for a few. You'd think that someone aloof like Kallus Warren wouldn't be friends with many people, but… he seems to get along well with Nira. And considering how he stepped in for Hill that time when we were transporting resources… it might not be all that absurd to think he and Robyn Hill know each other fairly well. The question is how well? If he's working with her as a favor, then clearly well enough.

"So… about his Semblance…"

"I can't answer that." Nira quickly replied, "Frankly, I haven't the slightest clue as to what it could be since I've never seen him use his Semblance. His skills alone make him pretty strong."

"Well there goes that idea…"

"Even so, try to not get into fights with each other if you can help it. We're supposed to be colleagues working together to keep the Kingdoms and the people safe."

"I know. I'm just considering possibilities, that's all." Dante quickly defended.

"If you behave yourself, I will buy you mint and chocolate chip ice cream the next time we meet."

"Oh, you will?"

The young devil rolled his eyes at the comment, seeing the irony in being treated like a child by someone that was more child-like than he was.

"Going back to guarding Avery?"

"Yes. He's planning on releasing a new article covering some of the more shady happenings in Atlas and Mantle lately, happenings which have been thankfully foiled by you and your friends lately." Nira explained, "With the information the two of you have compiled, both before and after, he's been working on the article since two days ago."

"In short, the remnants might come out in full force and go after him."

"Which is why I should stick with him for a while when he releases the article tomorrow morning. Other than that… I'll try to see if I can join you all now and then to help resolve this… situation."

As she said this, they had entered the Atlas City fly-zone, Dante promptly removing the black diamond stud on his shirt collar and placing it on the scanning console. With his credentials verified, he placed the diamond back on his collar and slowed down his pace, eventually reaching the Academy Grounds landing zone to set the airship down. The cockpit popped with a brief hiss as the glass slid back, allowing the group of Huntsmen to exit the vehicle.

"Get your ass up." Dante smacked his hand on Rosswal's face.

"Ow… So forceful…" The vampire rubbed his nose briefly before undoing the buckles.

"In any case Ms. Ezdeil, please visit us when you have some free time." Inuba respectfully bowed, "I would love to serve you some of my handmade ice-cream mochi."

"I have no idea what that is, but it sounds very delicious. I would love to."

"Trust me, it's too damn good. Inuba's cooking is downright heavenly, but her sweets are delightfully sinful." Dante explained with a smirk, receiving a light punch to his arm from the kitsune.

"I can only imagine." Nira nodded, smiling at the exchange, "I'll leave you to it then. And Dante…"

"Yeah?"

"If what you've theorized is true… I only hope things will work out for you."

The devil shrugged with a sigh, "Me too."

A wave goodbye from the noirette and she disappeared down the side stairway leading to the outside of the academy.

"Then there were three…" Rosswal sighed, "Well, I'm going back to my hotel for the night. I'll see you guys in the afternoon, or something." He waved goodbye.

The devil placed his hands on hips and sighed, shaking his head briefly before he turned around, stopping and taking a step back once he saw Inuba standing there. She was fixing him a rather… stern and pouty stare, something she did with him quite often whenever she discovered something was wrong and he kept to himself.

"Y-Yes..?"

"Shall we go out for some tea, darling?"

The young man's blood ran a little cold as soon as he heard her say that with her calm tone, expression having changed to a light smile and eyes closed.

"Uh… Y-You know, it's kinda late, and-"

"No worries, I'm not bothered by the timing."

"B-But…"

"I insist."

"I-"

"I insist." She spoke, her eyes now open again and narrowed.

Whether it was the slight tint of darkness covering her face, the glow of her ruby red eyes, or the way her slit pupils seemingly bore into his soul, Dante unmistakably felt shivers run down his spine. Accepting his fate, the devil interlocked hands with the kitsune as the two made their way for a transport shuttle that would lead to Mantle, and a tea shop Dante previously recommended.

---

Noland had decided to spend his time in a construction site, reading through his Grimoire steadily. He wanted to review some previous information, and seeing how many of the others were always so keen to include him, it would mean he wouldn't get any reading done. That was especially true of Nora Valkyrie, who somehow always managed to find him within the vicinity despite his efforts to hide away, with or without magic. Therefore, he decided to remove himself from the grounds entirely, and went to an area completely isolated from everyone else.

Hearing a pair of flapping wings in the distance, he steadily looked up and closed his Grimoire shut, placing it behind his back and into his holster. Holding his cane with both hands, the young man watched the exhausted Tâz fly towards him, landing on an outcropping steel beam above his head and panting heavily.

"So?"

"Ah… Ok… Where the hell do I even begin..?"

"Did that 'thing' show up?" Noland asked.

"Oh! Yeah, it did! Just like you said, it tried going straight for the pretty boy the entire time. But that Blade that's full of herself kept it away from him the entire time almost."

The young man smirked, "Which Blade?"

"The blonde one."

"I see…" He replied, eyes lighting up as he noticed a detail the small Nevermore left out, "What do you mean 'kept away'? Was there another attacker?"

"Yeah, real freaking giant that had some freaky black armor and blue fire."

"Bone?"

"What?" The Grimm asked confused.

"Did the armor resemble charred, smoldering bone?"

"Er… Yeah, I guess?"

Noland hummed in response to this insight, a name coming to mind that soon began to connect some dots in his mind.

"Interesting… So the Embered Knightess has joined the fray…"

"Er… Embered who?"

"A Lord that wields azure flame, whose strength, I assume, now rivals the previous Lord that wielded fire with such extreme potency."

"And who was that?"

"Astaroth. Ironically… It would seem Blaire Embryl is the successor to her power."

"You mean the redhead that's a little muscley?"

"Yes… It would seem our friend has quite the roster of powerful allies. And a repertoire of equally powerful enemies eager to rip him to shreds." Noland folded his hands together, leaning against the steel beam at his back, "One shudders to think of the devastation such clashes would bring."

"So… why's the second fire person important?"

"She herself isn't as important as to who she's in service to. Her being here is no mere coincidence. As such… I think I know who that thing finally is."

"You mean..?"

"Yes…" He softly spoke, looking up at Tâz,

"Alright then… So what's the plan? What do we do?"

"We do nothing. At least, concerning that thing. That's a matter best left between it and Dante. Anything and everything else, we devote our energy and time to until the endgame."

"Which you've been so desperately waiting for."

A flash of silver Aura, and Noland saw Cosmos standing to his right, her arms crossed as her crimson eyes scanned the nightscape of Atlas.

"Do you feel it? The approaching end of your lifelong goal."

"It still feels far away from my grasp…" The young man said, stretching out his right hand under the pale light of the moon, "We still need to resolve the current problem at hand before my journey comes to an end. Otherwise… Everything will have been meaningless."

"Oh? So even with me at your side, you still doubt yourself?" Cosmos said, looking down on the young man.

"It's difficult to not hold any doubts at all. Even with Dante aiding us for the time being, the more I listen to his stories and study his past tragedies, the more I am reminded that no one is completely perfect. That no plan will always follow its course perfectly." The raven haired man's eyes squinted on the back of his hand, "For a man so seemingly talented, even he can fail. Even he could lose."

"And yet, you fail to learn the importance of what came after those failures."

Noland met the eyes of his Blade, who stared back at him with a serious glance.

"It is because he has failed many times that he strives for nothing but the best result. Not just for himself, but for those that throw their lot in with him." She explained, raising a hand momentarily, "That is why his road is paved with victory the majority of the time. His desperation, his tenacity to overcome all obstacles is what has allowed him to surpass the odds that are seemingly always against him."

"Use the possibility of failure as key motivation to achieve the result you desire above all else…" The young man hummed briefly after looking at the small crack in his skin.

"Years ago, blind faith was your downfall. Doubt, the ability to question anything and everything you perceive has become your greatest tool, for it has allowed you to see truths where none existed previously. However, as powerful a tool it may be, it too is a double edged blade."

"So it is." He agreed.

Cosmos smirked, "Be glad, boy. As a Queen, I intend to keep my promise made to you so long ago. I have steadily prepared you and guided you so that you may stand at this point on your own two feet. I will be at your side. You need only continue forward, and you will have what is yours."

"Yes…" The young man clasped his left hand over his right, gripping it tight, "Forgive me for despairing."

"You will live. This I swear."

Noland smiled once again, his gaze looking out towards the shattered moon in the sky, a sigh escaping his lips. Memories of the painful past filled his mind. Thoughts filled his head of his current predicament. Being so fearful of whether he would live or die was something that used to be so... miniscule to him. But after the events that unfolded so long ago…

…

…

It was a necessary maneuver to draw out his father.

Regardless of his current fears or doubts, he had to do one simple thing to rekindle hope. Remember the promise Cosmos made to him, for a Queen such as herself does not make them so casually or absent of thought. If she said he would live, then it may as well be considered a prophecy set in stone, for her promises were always kept.

"You seem to sing Dante's praises quite a bit."

"Oh? Is that jealousy I detect from you?"

"Not at all." The young man smirked, "But as I recall, you are not so easily impressed."

"Indeed, I am not." The Blade said, "While I may not enjoy his company all too much, or that of his fledgling Blade, his history and his deeds are without question worthy of praise. But…"

Cosmos slowly hunched over, raising her hand under Noland's chin as she brought his face close to hers.

"With your hands and mine, our deeds will speak just as loudly, if not even louder than his."

"Yes… Yes they will."

Letting go, Wielder and Blade both looked out at the nightscape of Atlas once more, Cosmos leaning against the steel beam as she crossed her arms.

"Then we stick to the current plan. As of this moment, there's no need for a change. Although I would suggest you try to interact with your current 'friends' a bit more. I fear your many absences might make them more suspicious of you."

"They already are." The young man said with a shrug, "From the moment we've made contact they haven't taken their eyes off me. For the most part anyway. Regardless of the current game we play, they'll never learn the truth until we reach the end. Even then, they have no reason to fight me. After all… my plans don't involve them in the slightest."

"Unless they decide to get in your way, right?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Noland smirked, briefly tilting his head, "As you said, we stay the course and only give them scraps to go on. Soon enough… my time will come."

---

Dante sat up straight in his chair, trying to maintain his composure as Inuba sat across the table from him, drinking her tea with closed eyes and savoring the flavor with a bright smile.

The devil meanwhile was still waiting on his tea, the sinking feeling in his chest growing as they sat in awkward silence alone, with no one else currently present in the Emerald Dragon Teahouse. It was late, so it made sense no one else was present, but…

"Apologies for the wait."

The owner of the shop, mr. Izo, walked out of the backroom with a large platter in hand that held a large cup of green tea, and two batch-servings of tri-colored dango.

"It was pure luck I had a pot of jasmine tea already brewing, so it was quicker for me to get the young lady's order out first."

"No need to explain to me, I get it." The young devil said, "Thanks, mr. Izo."

"My pleasure. Please enjoy yourselves, my young friends." The older man bowed politely as he steadily shuffled off to the backroom.

"This place was quite the find, wasn't it?" The kitsune spoke up, still holding her cup of tea.

"Y-Yeah…"

Inuba sighed, setting down her cup on the intricately carved wooden coaster, opening her eyes at last.

"You've been tense this entire time…"

"W-Well, I'm half expecting a scolding, so…"

"Honesty, you still act so childish sometimes..." She reached over the table and pinched his cheek, "I'm not here to scold you. In fact, we're here to talk about what's been on your mind lately."

"I'm guessing I can't slide my way out of this with super smooth talking and heart-throbbing compliments?"

"No. But feel free to do so anyway." The kitsune smirked as she folded her hands together under her chin.

The devil sighed as he leaned back in his chair, eyes trailing the ceiling in serious thought as to where to begin. The fox girl knew him long enough to know what he was thinking even without using their "Mental Link", so she opted to raise the question first. She knew exactly what it was troubling him, the problem was how she was going to put the question forward. Meekness wasn't going to resolve the problem, so she decided to move forward bluntly with a modicum of delicacy.

"Please be honest with me." The girl said with a quick exhale as she sat up straight again, preparing herself, "Are you worried that if it is indeed Satanya… that saving her might put a strain on our current relationship?"

The devil's eyes immediately found themselves focused on Inuba once more. No matter how hard he tried to control his expressions, he couldn't hide the fact that the kitsune hit the nail right on the head. And by now, he knew it was useless to play dumb with her.

"Yes. Sort of. I mean… I don't know. Just…" He struggled to get the words out, but found his courage to ask the question, "If it is her, and if we manage to save her…"

"You mean 'when' we save her."

"Yeah, when-" He paused for a moment, slightly confused by her directness, "Uh…"

"If it truly is her, we will save her. But please, go on."

"I'm… I'm just gonna say it then. When we save her, if it is her… will that put a strain on the way things are currently?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little jealous of the relationship you had with her, but… then I remember you two had a unique sort of connection, just how you and I have our own unique connection, and so forth. Understanding that, there's nothing to be jealous about." The kitsune explained, locking her eyes with his, "Our current relationship is indeed unusual, but not without its own fun and merits. Therefore… there's nothing to be concerned about. Well, maybe you should worry about the Empress since-"

"Yeah, I know the ass fondling has become something of a spree for her lately, if not cheeky, but she gives great compliments."

Inuba smirked, "Then… When we do save Satanya, if it is indeed her and not some Crystal Mannequin, I'm sure there'll be no issue on that front. Confusion, possibly, but other than that…" She shrugged, deciding to move on to the other topic of conversation, "I assume your other worries involve what will we do with Salem and Ogrânix?"

"Salem for the moment is a secondary concern, but we still need to be as ready for her as we can. After all, we've yet to figure out what can kill her or how to seal her away if all else fails. Ogrânix on the other hand… We just need to keep an eye out and point my ass in the direction of his ass, and I'll toast him no problem. He won't manage to survive this time because of a technicality."

"Aside from your rather crude plan of 'pointing asses in various directions'… I've been told by your sister you have another… plan of sorts, in case the Relic of Destruction proves unable to kill her."

"And?"

"And… I think it's a rather reckless plan considering-"

"I know, I know. Just… If all else fails, I know this plan will work with certainty, given that the circumstances are similar to that situation I mentioned to you before. It's just a matter of acquiring it."

"Which could possibly result in death."

"Possibly, but not likely." The devil shrugged.

"Dante…" Inuba sighed.

"Look, the chances of it working are in my favor. I just have to mind my manners is all."

"And..?"

Dante brought a finger to his lips, signaling her not to verbally ask her question. Though, it didn't take a genius to discern what it was she wanted to ask, so he just gave a slight and silent nod.

"Very well then."

Inuba stared at her cup of tea for a few moments, tapping her fingers on the table as if she were mulling something over. After briefly biting her lip and a slight tilt of her head, she quickly picked up the cup and downed the rest of it in a few seconds before devouring her dango in mere seconds. The devil, meanwhile, was steadily drinking his green tea, observing with a rather confused glance.

The kitsune then rather playfully but gently slapped both hands on the table, "When was the last time we shared wine together?"

"Uh…"

"I'm inclined to say it was when my family wasn't on entirely good terms with you and you stopped my wedding to that weasel of a Lord… but then I remember we only shared a small cup together…"

"Right right… The last time we really shared some wine together was during the Summer Festival two years ago. We were part of the staff, and when we had our day off, the curious duo we were decided 'why not?'. So I stole us four bottles of some really good wine that they had at the venue, and we had a really good time till sunrise."

"We played board games like a pair of buffoons, eventually broke a few things in the old house after a rather outlandish game of tag, talked for quite a while, then watched a few old Bisney films until we fell asleep."

"Simpler times when we were a little more ignorant of the things that were happening around us."

"Indeed. It's necessary now and then to have more moments like this. Or… like we're planning to have."

"So… How are we going to do this? Just hit up stalls all over Mantle?" Dante asked.

"I suppose so. It is Friday night, and from what I remember, most of the stalls are open until 1 am."

"Yeah, but… transport ships to Atlas stop at midnight…"

Then the kitsune suggested something completely out of the norm, something she had never said before with the implications involved as her nine tails whipped about slowly.

"Then I suppose we'll have to rent a hotel room after we've finished our drinking tour."

He didn't know what it was specifically that made his eyes go wide and set his heart pounding like a jackhammer.

Was it her sweet smile? Her focused, loving gaze? The subtle, set sensual tone of her voice when she spoke those words?

The correct answer for the devil, like the greedy bastard that he knew himself to be, was all of the above. In fact, within the brief second he processed all this information, he accidentally squeezed his cup a little too tightly, shattering it into pieces as he jumped a little.

Shaking off his hand, he quickly grabbed at the napkins on the table to wipe off the small traces of tea that were left in his cup from both his hand and the table. Inuba on the other hand didn't so much as flinch, and only giggled lightly at the display as shopkeeper Izo quickly poked his head out.

"Is everything alright?"

"U-Uh, yeah..! Just..! Slipped out of my hand! Hehehe…"

"Are you sure you're alright? You didn't cut yourself did you?"

"I-I-I'm good, thanks! Uh, c-check please?!" He squeaked out, clearing his throat.

The kitsune giggled at his rather cute blunder, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she kept a fixed stare on him. She was watching Dante and Izo discuss a possible final order of take out, but she couldn't really hear their voices. Instead, she was quickly wandering through her memories, revisiting their journeys together, their struggles… and where they were now.

Their relationship was by no means normal, but it was a happy one, and they were together. Being with him every other day, seeing his handsome, flustered face every now and then, small moments like these ones where they just…. unwinded like normal people… It meant the world to her, and she enjoyed every minute she could.

Perhaps dying once made every moment all the more precious; she just wanted as much time with him as possible in whatever way she could manage.

…

…

The more she thought about it, the more she understood that was only part of the answer. More than his good looks, his strength, and his rather excellent character… she simply enjoyed his company too much. Whether it was eating together, fighting side by side together, playing games together, traveling together, even…

…

She blushed briefly at the last thought, but… the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was true love, even if it was slightly abnormal. Even so, that was part of the fun.

After accepting a generous offer of more dango, Dante had finished paying his bill and was now in possession of a decently sized bag of sweets. A friendly pat on the back from mr. Izo and the devil stood up, Inuba following after him as they said their goodbyes and offered their thanks.

Then, they were out in the street again, snow gently falling around them. Without having to say a word to the other, both had remembered the snowy seasons they spent together and the fun those seasons entailed. And so when the kitsune wrapped her tails around Dante's waist to bring him close, grasped his hand and interlocked their fingers together, the devil couldn't help but smile.

"So ms. Kitsukami… Where would you like to go first?" He asked.

"Perhaps somewhere that serves both strong wine and something with chicken? I've had a rather powerful craving for it as of late…"

"Oh god, no!"

"W-What is it?"

"B-But the calories..!" He said, making the fox girl laugh as she realized he was poking fun at her, "I-I mean, it's just too much! What if you gain a gram?!"

"Well… I suppose come later in the night that won't be much of a concern, will it?"

The couple shared a smile between each other before they set their eyes upon the shops in the plaza, eagerly sorting out which stall would be their first stop.

---

Ciel was sitting on the floor of the training hall cross legged with her eyes closed, pressing her fingertips against her temples as she murmured to herself quietly. Dawn meanwhile was sat in a similar position, only her hands were folded together with her fingers interlocked. Despite her best efforts to focus, her sister's furious grunts only kept distracting her.

"What are you doing?!" The older sister slapped her knees as she raised her head.

"Uh… Well, I'm hoping if I meditate or some shit I'll unlock some super secret Qunami cheat code of the universe."

"I have no idea what any of that means."

"Play some Bastionvania or Metal Cog and you'll understand."

Dawn shook her head, "If I was to understand any of that nonsense, I'm assuming you're trying to focus and find some deeper understanding of your power?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess…" The elder sister sighed, "Well, what do you think you're lacking?"

"Power. More power..!"

"You're physically the strongest of the four of us."

"Yeah, but I've been… I don't know… not as effective?" Ciel noted with a shrug, "Using either of my Semblances takes a lot outta me, so I've been trying to use 'em in like… critical moments."

"And with your Shadow Skin sealed like brother's, you haven't been able to push past your limits."

"I mean, I've been strength training and shit, and I think I beefed up a little more…" The smaller girl said as she flexed her rather well toned biceps, "But I gotta work some more on my technique and bullshit."

"Other than your technique… You mostly want to refine your Aura based abilities so you don't burn out quicker, yes?"

"Yeah, I wanna be more efficient so I don't crap out mid fight. Like, it hasn't really happened yet, but with my abilities, I get a little scared sometimes it'll happen some day."

"I see… Having such nervous thoughts could disrupt your thoughts in battle, but…"

"But..?"

"But it isn't too large an issue. Compared to the three of us siblings, you're the only to have unlocked both your Shadow Skin and Angelic Shroud in such a short time."

"Ah shit, I forgot about the Shroud."

…

…

"You… forgot…" Dawn began awestruck, "that you could use Angel Shroud…"

"I mean, I only ever used it once, okay?! I couldn't maintain it for all too long either so I ended up forgetting about it since I haven't had any Super Zaiyan anime moments lately!"

"I still have no idea what any of that means."

"Ugh!" Ciel dragged her hands down her face, "Maybe watch some shows or something instead of reading all the time?"

"What's wrong with reading?"

"Too much of it and you don't get your intake of other good stuff, like tv, games and all that." The younger sister shrugged, "You gotta do more things other than reading all the time. Then people will start liking you even more."

"People don't like me..?"

"No no no! I mean they'll like you even more if you follow some of the things they do, you know? Like if you watched a show they watched or played a game they played, etc. More crap to talk about and bond over. Cause let me tell ya, not a lot of people read the dusty old crap you've read."

"Brother has always said I should try expanding my sources of media consumption…"

"So start with some shows or something and work your way out." The smaller girl shrugged before scooching closer to his sister to wrap an arm around her, "You help me out more with this power efficiency crap, I'll help ya be more cultured and train with you more, deal?"

"Fair enough I suppose… Wait, why train-?"

"You've been feeling out of whack yourself, right? I mean, let's face it, you wouldn't be here with me if you weren't."

"I… I felt as though there was a need to change things. I've been supporting from the back for far too long, and now… Now I want to fight with the rest of you at the forefront. I just don't want to hide in the back anymore."

"Aw, thank you Dawny!" Ciel hugged her older sister tightly.

While she wasn't all that appreciative of the nickname, she nonetheless returned the gesture with a hug of her own.

"You know what… why don't we take a break today and… watch something together?"

"For real?!" The youngest sibling asked.

"Yes."

"Alright, so there's this show with a family that has a spy for a father, a mother as an assassin, and a daughter as a psychic…"

---

"You've barely touched your food."

William snapped to attention as he looked back at his sister. They were currently dining together in her spacious new apartment, something she acquired after taking over the position of Grand Inquisitor. With how incredible the two floor interior was with its azure walls, spacious dining, living room, and bedrooms, outdoor pool and high overlook over the city of Atlas, he was certain that this was a penthouse of sorts.

It wasn't exactly something new to him given his family and their old home, but… he could really see how she made the place her own, baring her noble, majestic soul. The family home had a great many restrictions as to what they could have or not have, and their rooms were often bland and empty, save for the many books that filled the cabinet walls. Countless hours just training and trying to make them into things that they weren't…

…

That place was just… something else other than home.

"I've… just been lost in thought is all." William replied to his sister Melia.

The rectangular table was of decent size, so they were only a meter away from the other.

"I see that aspect of you hasn't really changed."

He dipped his head down, eyes trailing towards the salmon he was picking at with his silver fork.

"I meant that in a good way, little brother. All things considered…" She assured with a sigh and a slight tilt of her head, "How are you doing in the Ace Ops?"

"Fairly busy given the circumstances. Most of the time we're off working in pairs, or rather, everyone else is. I'm… well…"

"Working with Dante Aetherveil. And how is that going?"

"To be honest, mildly frustrating. He just… does things very differently whenever we're out on missions together."

"Like..?"

"He doesn't always follow the rules, he has no regard for his own safety, he… engages in some questionable activities to achieve results, it's just… just so…"

Melia laughed, "Different, no? I would assume so, given our previous and current lifestyles working directly for the Kingdom. Frankly speaking, it's actually good that you're working with someone so… different and engaging…" The woman said, taking a sip from her glass of wine.

"Is it though? I just… I find myself questioning things sometimes, and-"

"Do you truly feel as though it is sinful to question the nature of things?"

William fell silent at his sister's question, setting down his fork as he clenched his fists tightly.

"It isn't a crime to think for yourself, little brother. Never let anyone else tell you otherwise. If ever you feel as though you are doing something wrong, or are about to take a road that you wouldn't like to travel, pause. Think about what it would mean going forward and the consequences it could entail. But above all else, William… never betray your own heart or your own ideals, regardless of who is asking you to do so. Always stand up for your own beliefs."

He was grateful for his sister's words of wisdom, but… he still felt troubled by it. All of it. Particularly the implications behind her words without having to say the rest.

"How have you been otherwise?"

"Training has been going well, so…"

"I meant with things other than training, William. Your personal life, your friends… anything else but work or training."

"Well… I think that despite my initial discomfort… I may be getting on friendlier terms with him. Dante I mean." William leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"He has been going out of his way to include in extracurricular events with his other friends and such. Inviting me to dinner, inviting me to go drinking, etc."

"And have you gone?"

"A few times when I wasn't busy writing reports or working. I've even attended a few dinners by now. Ms. Kitsukami prepares some rather… spectacular feasts with eastern dishes and has been recently making dishes found here in Atlas and in Mantle. She's incredibly talented."

"Oh? Have you fallen for her?"

"N-No, not in the slightest!" The young soldier quickly waved off with both hands and numerous shakes of his head, "I only have an appreciation for her culinary talent! Besides, she's already in a relationship with Dante!"

"I'm only teasing you, relax." Melia smirked, setting her wine glass down as she too leaned back and folded her hands, "I honestly am glad you're branching out and making friends."

"I have friends."

"The Ace Ops are your colleagues, yes. But how much time have you spent with them, collectively or individually? And no, missions don't count. I'm talking about excursions like the ones you, Dante and his friends have been going on recently."

"We all went to a dinner party once…"

"To celebrate your addition to the Ace Ops. More or less work related given the politics behind it."

William growled silently as he furrowed his brows. He wasn't angry with his sister, but he was frustrated that she had a point. The young man never really spent time with any of them outside of work or missions, nor had he been invited on any outings with them. Not that they were excluding him, but… it was just simply the fact that the rest of his colleagues were either more dedicated to their work or were constantly doing their own thing.

But then came the question he wanted to ask earlier.

"What are you trying to get at, sister?"

Melia picked up her glass and took a quick sip, then set it down again as she fixed her brother a focused stare.

"What do you value more, William? Duty? Or those important to you?"

"You, and-!"

"In a situation where you would have to choose one over the other, which would you choose? Duty? Or those closest to you?"

"I…"

"That's always been your biggest error, little brother. Your sense of responsibility and duty is so great that it's left you indecisive during some key moments. Five years ago, for example." The sister started as she leaned back and sighed, recalling the rather aggravating memory, "Father gave you the choice to leave, and you told me repeatedly beforehand how much you wanted to leave behind the family and its legacy. Yet you chose to stay."

"I stayed until two years ago because… because our family has long defended Atlas, Mantle, and the people of Remnant. Even with my frustrations with father, mother, and the rest of our family, it…" William sighed, interlocking his fingers together tightly, "It just felt wrong to simply drop all of it because of my insignificant feelings."

"But that's the thing, William. Your feelings? They aren't insignificant." Melia pointed out, "Always in the face of conflicting words or situations, you table your own thoughts and feelings on the matter to avoid offending them, conflagrating the situation, and because you believe there are more important things than what you think."

"Aren't there more important things?"

"Depending on the timing and the context, yes, that can be true. But in moments when it comes down to a critical decision, where your feelings and ideals are against another… Do you truly feel as though it is best to simply fold in the face of others feelings and ideals?"

"I… I just don't want to cause anyone problems or make things difficult for them because I was being difficult. I don't want to be a burden to anyone, period. Especially since…"

"That wasn't your fault." Melia said firmly, "Lucas… Our older brother was resolute with his decision in rescuing you. He made that choice because it was what he believed in. Protecting you, like he had always done."

"And he died doing so!" William raised his voice slightly, "He shouldn't have had to die!"

"He shouldn't have, but life isn't always fair, William!" Melia raised her voice briefly, "I don't blame you for what happened at all, little brother. I never will. But you shouldn't waste the chance Lucas gave you by… being meek, hiding away, and letting others trample over you because you think you're lesser than them."

"What do you want me to do, sister?!"

"Stand up for yourself and stand up for your beliefs! It doesn't matter if it's myself, Aetherveil, Ironwood, or anyone else! If you feel differently, speak up! If you wish to take a different path, then do so! Let no one stop you or silence you! Take your own path, not the path others have decided for you!"

"May I leave?"

William's sudden question stunned Melia to silence, and even without her saying so, the young man rose from the table quickly and made his way to the door.

"William-"

"I'll see you some other time, sister. I hope your work goes smoothly in the days to come."

Closing the door behind him, the woman sat down in her chair and sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead.

"While for the most part correct my lady, perhaps you came on a little too strongly."

Dhîrga materialized behind her wielder, the soft azure flames covering her hands and arms flickering slowly as she approached the table. Her flaming hands wouldn't affect the temperature of the wine bottle or shatter it, so she picked up the bottle and poured Melia another glass of wine.

"It just frustrates me seeing him so… lost. I don't blame him for it and I know it's not his fault, but the more he lingers in the past like this, the more difficult it will be for him to pull himself out of this… this wretched pit."

"The death of your brother is something that affected the both of you. However… I would have to say it affected Master William the most, since he believes that because Master Lucas had to rescue him, he inadvertently caused his death."

"I've never blamed him for our older brother's death. It was just… something that couldn't be helped given the situation. Ever since, he's simply been trudging through life for the last two years rather mindlessly. I thought that perhaps placing him in the Ace Ops would be good for him, but…"

"Now you believe otherwise given how things have been as of late." Dhîrga postulated with a raised hand, "My lady, do you perhaps believe..?"

"Whether he realizes it or not, William is still emotionally vulnerable. I don't want anyone taking advantage of him is all."

"Because he possesses an Aegis Blade?"

"Because he is my little brother, Dhîrga." The young woman said as she crossed one leg over the other, "As an older sister who loves him and only wants the best for him, I don't want to see him further devastated and regretful because of choices others have pushed on him. My only desire is for him to be free. Free from the current insanity of our House, and free from the politics of The Council. He deserves to live the life he chooses to."

"Is that why you're supporting the idea of him being friends with Aetherveil?"

"You disapprove?"

"With all due respect my lady, the man is a belligerent and very likely insane. That's all while leaving aside his equally problematic Blade."

"Yet he lives more freely than most ever will…"

"Do you truly intend to place all your hopes on him?"

"No. Dante Aetherveil for the time being is mostly a… propellant. The jolt needed to push us forward. He still has quite the road ahead of him to prove that he's someone people can place their hopes on. For me, at the very least." Melia explained, "That's why I'll settle for him being a friend we can turn to from time to time depending on the situation."

"Aren't you remotely concerned he might infect William with his… oddities?"

The Inquisitor laughed briefly, "Honestly? Not anymore now that I've seen him for myself. Ironwood put William on Dante to keep a watch on him and make sure he doesn't do anything… excessive. In my opinion, I think William will learn a few good things from him about making his own choices."

"If you say so, my lady…"

"Other than that… I need to compose an apology to William…"

"Would you like me to fetch a thesaurus, my lady?" Dhîrga smirked.

"Very funny." Melia smiled in return, "Though I would appreciate some assistance…"

---

"Well shit, I think that's the first time I've ever seen you get mad."

Mòrai said this as she walked with her Wielder on the clean, and rather peaceful streets of Atlas. They still had half an hour before the transport services would shut down for the night, so they could make it in time. Besides, walking was something William always did whenever he was troubled. Still, it was a first for the Blade to see her Wielder… angry. Upset, yes. Angry? That was an almost stunning first.

"You gonna talk or we just gonna stay silent like a bunch shitting chickens?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm not angry?" William replied.

"Not like you could lie, but…"

"I am angry."

"With your sister?"

"Yes and no. She just… She's never been one to mince words."

"So what? You want her to lie to you?"

"No! I just..!" William brought his hands up and clenched them tightly into fists before he lowered them with an exasperated sigh, "I don't need to be constantly reminded of the past. That's all."

"She was right, you know. None of that was your fault."

"I understand that-"

"No, you really don't get it. He died saving you, yeah, but it was him versus like… two hundred guys. That crazy bastard Lucas killed about a hundred of them before he went down, and he still didn't die after they shot his ass."

William paused, looking to his Blade for an explanation.

"Y-You… You weren't awake… How..?"

"I wasn't fully active then. I could talk to him in his dreams sometimes, but that was just about it. I was a spectator for the time I was in his possession after he found me in those shit hole ruins, so I saw a lot. Just couldn't say shit really." The girl shrugged, "I didn't become active until after they gunned his ass down. I guess it was his dying wish to have me save your ass that got me up and running."

"Then..?"

"Then I fucked up the rest of those shits in two minutes, buried your brother in the ruins nearby after he shared a few words of wisdom with me, then took your ass back home to your sister." Mòrai explained with crossed arms, "After that, she went and butchered the rest of those fucks that were hiding."

She felt anxiety from him. But more than that, hesitation.

"Just ask me already, dumbass."

"Did you… Did you form a contract with me just because he asked you to?"

"I considered it."

"C-Considered it? Then…"

"Short of it is that Lucas and I weren't compatible. You and I though? Plenty of compatibility." The Blade pointed between them.

"That's a thing?"

"For me it is." Mòrai explained, "See, my dumbass got into trouble for being a belligerent piece of shit a long ass time ago. So I got cursed with a 'whoever shall be worthy' type of deal. You were the worthy one, and for a moment at the end, so was your brother."

"I'm-"

"If you say you're not worthy or some shit, I'm gonna deck your ass." The girl pointed to her Wielder, "We're here together because of Lucas, so let's fucking live our lives like a bunch of badasses without regret."

"How exactly do we do that?" William asked.

"Kicking ass, taking names, that sort of shit."

"I assume that's a given, but…"

"Look… Your sister was pretty forceful back there, but she's right. If you wanna live the way you want to, you gotta do you. Like, don't take shit from anyone, do what's right for you, and do what you think is right."

"What I think is right…"

"Yeah. Let's say some jackass tells you to do something that doesn't sit right with you. You gonna do it?"

"I suppose…"

"Suppose?"

"N-No. I mean, I'll tell them no."

"Right. And why are you gonna tell them no?"

"Er… Well…"

"Because you can. You have me now, and I have you. So we can do whatever the fuck we want to. Of course, we're not gonna be a bunch of assholes and fucking kill and steal from people, but we're gonna live our lives the way we want to. Right?"

"Right."

"So let's go get ourselves some drinks and fried food."

"I'm seventeen."

"You're legal." Mòrai waved to follow her, "Come on, dumbass. I'm hungry and want something to drink. So you're coming with."

"A-Alright, I guess…"

"And you're paying."

He raised a hand and meant to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he brought his hands up and chuckled briefly, remembering this kind of behavior was typical of his Blade.

That was the strange part.

Her behavior was… difficult to adapt to, but he never got angry with her for it. If anything, he just smiled like he did now. It was different to him, it was new, it was… fun.

Mòrai was the kind of person he never imagined himself getting along with. They were just so different compared to one another, and yet he got along with her better than he did with most. Well, her and…

…

…

Maybe him as well.

"Er… Mòrai?" William asked as he ran to his Blade's side to catch up with her.

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to drink?"

A smile curled on her lips.

"The strong shit."

"The strong shit?"

"Yeah. Whiskey or vodka, or whatever the hell. Why?"

"Anything softer that I can start with?"

"Hmmm… I guess we can get you a huge ass margarita or something."

"What's that?"

"A drink that's fruity and tasty."

"Oh. Well I like things that have a fruity taste." William shrugged with a smile.

"Hell yeah." Mòrai reached up an arm and headlocked her much taller Wielder, dragging him along with her, "Let's go, buttercup. Imma teach you what 'fun' means."

---

Inuba's eyes slowly fluttered open, taking in the light that crept through the blinds of the lavish hotel room. The kitsune remembered that she and Dante traveled to about twelve stalls last night and sampled over thirty different wines, after which at their last stall, they had a competition that attracted attention. Then, there was a hearty celebration of more wine and drinks that lasted until one in the morning, where the demolished duo of kitsune and demon staggered away into a love hotel.

Then… they were furiously "intimate" with each other until the crack of dawn.

Speaking of, Inuba eyed the holographic clock on the table near the bed stand and saw it was seven in the morning. Sighing from some mild exhaustion and a slight pain in her forehead, she looked down and smiled, seeing her precious love in her arms. She moved her head forward and kissed his forehead, that alone making him stir as he groaned and shifted a little, gently running her back in response.

"Wake up, or I'll choke you with my breasts."

A slight groan from him and he himself buried his face between her bosom immediately, making the kitsune giggle as she hugged his head tightly. Her nine tails fluttered out from the other end of the bedsheet, slowly whipping about happily as she kissed his head and gently rubbed it.

"Should I take off your patch and end your suffering?" She asked, rubbing her hand across the transparent sticky patch on his back.

"No… Let me bask in the sweet pain of a hangover…" He said in a muffled voice.

"Sweet pain?" Inuba laughed a little.

"I never really got to enjoy the normalcy some people experience before now… So I'm letting it wash over me…"

"Oh please."

Ending his sweet agony, the kitsune's hand reached to his back and peeled off the sticker, wherein his headache immediately vanished. Rather than follow her beloved down a similar path of pain, she touched her own forehead with her hand, a faint flicker of white flame immediately erasing her rather… obnoxious headache.

Despite the mild hangover and rather exciting, yet slightly embarrassing evening of debauchery… she had a great deal of fun. She nuzzled her face into her beloved's messy hair, kissing his head before she returned his face back into her bountiful bosom.

"I believe I understand now why it was so difficult to get you out of bed sometimes. There's just… something very comforting about lying here and not wanting to get out of bed."

"Careful Inuba, anything more and I'll be accused of corrupting your pure, maidenly heart." The devil spoke in a muffled voice.

"If it is wrong to act improperly and freely with one that I love…" She began, bringing his face up to plant a long and sensual kiss on his lips before slowly drawing away, "Then I am indeed already corrupt."

"Don't let your father hear that or he'll try to explode my internal organs with his fists. Again."

"He'll try, but I won't let him."

"Ooh… Scary. But really hot."

"Really now?"

"Inuba, you have no idea how sexy you are when you're kicking ass or being a badass. That fierce look you sometimes give just… sends shivers down my spine and jolts through my heart." He then lifted the bedsheets, looking within before he shrugged, "And, well… you know…"

The kitsune shook her head with a smile, "Why is it I smile just about every time you say something mildly inappropriate?"

"Because you love me, my dumbass is fairly charming, and my ass is quite literally, charming."

"You do have some… 'cake', as they say."

As the kitsune said this, the young devil felt a hand firmly, yet pleasantly grip his rear.

"You keep misbehaving like this ms. Kitsukami and I'll be inclined to pay for another day and night."

"By all means."

As they leaned in closer to indulge each other with another bout of pleasant kissing, a double chirp tune played twice, making the pair sigh and groan in disbelief. As they let go of each other, Dante reached over to the nightstand to pick up his black diamond stud, swiping his hand over it to bring up a holographic screen and answer the call.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Weiss." He greeted with a yawn as he scratched the side of his head.

The once heiress looked around the screen with squinted eyes, "Did something happen to your feed?"

"Er… No… I just woke up and uh… I'm not decent. So…"

"O-Oh, okay then…" The girl then cleared her throat, "I think you'll be pleased to know that we might have some results from our experiments that we've been conducting."

"That so?" Dante asked, quickly putting on his clothes that Inuba steadily handed to him, "Anything specific that's drawn attention?"

"Well, due to your security protocols in place to prevent leaks, not entirely. I only know that two out of the five Theoretical Scripts we've been running all week came back with results, so I'm on my way to the labs now."

"Right… I'll be there in an hour then."

"See you soon."

The young devil closed the screen and stood up, zipping up his grey jeans as he properly put on his black, long sleeved shirt with help from Inuba.

"Might we have a potential new strategy as of now?" Inuba asked.

"Possibly." The young devil shrugged, "I had a bunch of theories but not a lot of free time to sort them all out continuously. So I set up five different Scripts to run some simulations and narrowed it down a bit."

"Will it be something the rest of us could replicate?"

"It's possible. One of the scripts was for me, while one of the scripts was for you, one for Dawn, one for Ciel, and one for Wiess."

"Which means one of us four can currently replicate it…"

"Even if it isn't your script, that doesn't mean it's not entirely impossible. We'll just have to exhaust all avenues. Though with your charm Magic, it should be possible one way or another."

"I'm not sure if there is charm magic capable of complete suppression, but… I suppose I'll have to do some of my own research."

"Great." Dante nodded, leaning over to kiss Inuba, "Ah, wait."

"What is it?"

"We should probably shower before we go."

"Goodness, I almost forgot." The kitsune said as she began to undress again.

"Think you can keep your hands to yourself if we shower together?" As the devil took off his shirt once more.

"Please, if anything it'll be you having the most trouble."

"Too true."

---

"That's all of the reports for now." Naomi said as she walked next to Dante down the obsidian halls of DarkStar Industries.

"And Mimi?"

"Mimi's been working relentlessly on possible countermeasures. But whoever designed the system was… well, as she put it, 'pretty fucking bonkers'."

"If Mimi says so, I believe her. After all, she was the one that familiarized me with a lot of the software that goes around these days and helped refine my hacking skills."

"And here I was about to ask you to put that big brain of yours to use…"

Dante chuckled, "Mimi's one of the best out there. She's perfectly capable of getting it done. Anything else?"

"Uh…" The tall minotaur faunus scratched her head, "Right. We finally got word back from Jasper."

"And?"

"And he's managed to get a lot of things up and running again with the local forces, but he's still got a lot of work before things get back to tip-top shape and heads for Vacuo."

"He make any more requisitions?"

"Yeah. He said he wanted more BlueBull and S'mores TopTarts."

"Send him two crates of each and he'll be motivated for weeks until he's done."

"Can't be good for his health, but alright then…" Naomi tapped away at her black Scroll, "Other than that… Weiss Schnee is waiting in the lab next to your office."

"Great. Thanks Naomi." Dante turned left towards the elevator bay, "Uh wait, a sec…"

"Yeah?"

"That thing you were working on..?"

The minotaur faunus let out a long exhale, "Not gonna lie boss… It's been tough getting it done quicker considering we've been discreet about the materials."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but the less anyone knows, the better. If push comes to shove, we're gonna need the 'Black Hammer' back in the game."

"I don't know boss…" She shook her head slightly, pondering the thought once more.

"I know it's asking for a lot but… You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"Well… sometimes you just gotta say 'fuck it', right? I can get it done in… three weeks max."

"Quite a lot of time…"

"I'm really fucking particular with my craft. You know as much, boss. Can't be any other way if it's gonna work like it's supposed to without breaking like a piece of crap."

"I got it, I got it. Just try to be as quick as possible. If you say three weeks max, then try within that time frame."

"Got it." She nodded as Dante entered the elevator as the doors slowly slid shut, "Good luck, sir."

Sir… That was something she rarely said, except for when she was being serious with him instead of their usual lighthearted banter. Which also meant she was in a tense mood. Not that she was angry with him, but…

…

…

No. Saying she was afraid would be an insult to Naomi. Not that she was too simple to know fear, but… Understanding her track record, and knowing her like he did, she wasn't the type to scare easily, if ever such an impossible thing were to occur. After all, if she hadn't decided to take up her family's craft, she easily could have been…

Regardless of "what if's" Naomi was fully capable of protecting the staff in Dante's absence.

The elevator softly came to a slow stop, the doors sliding open and letting the devil out of the bay. The employees that were busily moving about all took a moment to greet him and he greeted them back, all while he took a black card out of his pocket. Approaching a large set of sliding doors, he tapped the card on a nearby pad, making them slide open to see Weiss inside, looking over the data on the central terminal.

"What happened to 30 minutes?" She asked taking a sip of coffee, approaching him with his own cup.

"Uh… Got entangled in something…"

While not the whole truth, it was technically the truth since a certain kitsune threw her discipline out the window. What started as playful nudging turned to tickling, and then from tickling, kissing. And then…

Well, he didn't have to tell Weiss the rest.

"Anyway, what's with the Scripts?" Dante asked as he looked at the terminal's holographic monitor.

"No surprise, but the Script for you came back as positive with a success rate of 92.68%."

"Shit yeah! So, who's lucky winner number two?"

"That would be me with a success rate of 73.94%." Weiss proudly said with her chest puffed out a little, "While our Semblances are different, compiling the knowledge you shared with me about magic, my Glyphs can technically be considered a sort of formulaic magic."

"Somewhat makes sense, considering some Semblances can pass down through the generations… But wait, if that's the case, then how exactly do you use your Glyphs? From what I've seen of them, they're all the same symbol."

"Well, that's why I said technically. If my terminology is correct, the Glyphs are a sort of catalyst for the attack or maneuver I wish to employ."

"So it's kind of like using your imagination."

"In a way, yes. But from all the time I've spent studying our family history, nobody has developed any new techniques. It's as if-"

"They come preloaded."

"Exactly. You know how some people can develop new techniques through their Semblances and reach a new tier? After taking a step back and thinking about it for some time, the Schnee Family Glyphs 'unlock' a new technique after the individual reaches a certain threshold."

"The more powerful you become, a new tier is unlocked to your Semblance that comes with newer abilities."

"Our Glyphs are indeed powerful and versatile. But throughout the history of the Schnee Family, I've never seen or heard of a Glyph ability that completely negates opposing Aura."

"And yet your Script says you've got like a 74% chance of being able to gain such an ability… Heh, guess that means you can be one of the few Schnee's that have gone even further beyond."

Weiss narrowed her eyes on him.

"I feel that you mixed in some joke or subtle reference."

Dante only smiled before faintly nodding his head, where in return, Weiss scoffed and swiftly kicked him in the rear.

"Jokes aside, this is pretty sweet news. And this is just for one ability. Imagine what else you might be able to do down the road?"

"A lot more, I hope."

"Come on Weiss, you're doing great."

"But I could always do better."

"That's a given for anyone." Dante brought up his hands briefly, "There's always room for improvement, no matter how perfect you think your skills or powers are.

The girl exhaled slowly, eyes trailing the floor.

"How about we do some training tomorrow like we used to? I've picked up a few things and so have you. Besides… It's been a while since I got to push your buttons." The devil offered.

"You do that simply by existing."

"So harsh. I think ms. Schnee has grown more confident in the time we haven't sparred against each other." He said as he leaned down closer to Weiss with a hand on his hip.

Weiss leaned in close with crossed arms, a smirk, and a challenging gaze, "I think this time I'll wipe the floors with you without having to hold back."

"We'll see, won't we?"

They stayed like that for a few moments until Weiss realized they were almost touching noses, prompting her to quickly move back with reddened cheeks as she cleared her throat.

"A-Anyway… We should check the data now…"

With a nod, Dante looked up at the monitor, breaking apart the bundled data of his Script to view the particulars. His eyes scanned over the prevalent information until…

"Oh? Well look at that…"

The once heiress peeked over, "Seems like your original theory wasn't entirely wrong. I look forward to seeing you try to pull this off."

"Me too."

In that moment, both their Scrolls "beeped" with their respective tones, prompting them to pull them out and take a look. Both received the same message from Ruby, saying that they were able to see Penny now after the recent events of Robyn Hill's party. The duo, seemingly with the same idea in mind, only nodded at each other before heading towards the doors.

They had their results, and while Weiss' was more cryptic, Dante knew full well what he had to do to achieve this new ability. For now, Penny came first.

---

In Pietro's laboratory, Penny was sitting down flat in a reclined, machine-like chair, with a thick blue cable hooked up to the bow on the back of her head.

On the other side of the glass, Ruby and Weiss were almost huddled together, looking back at Penny with Pietro and Maria Calavera. Dante on the other hand was looking at the footage relayed in the news, hand raised to his chin.

He studied filming and editing quite a lot during High School, so he could notice the very subtle splits and cuts in the footage. As unfortunate as it was to admit, given the situation, it was almost perfect. That was probably why the media even ran the footage in the first place.

"How is she doing?" Ruby asked Pietro.

"Confused. Scared." The elderly man sighed, "It took me a while given her new chassis, which I still have no idea as to how she got it, but… we'll have her recorded visual data soon enough to prove her innocence. Don't know how much it will help since the damage has already been done… The things people are saying about her…"

Pietro let out a frustrated grunt as he clenched his hands, but then started to have a short coughing fit.

"I don't think Robyn was their target." Ruby spoke up, "Salem's goal has always been to divide us. I think Penny was exactly where they wanted her, just like at the Vytal Festival."

"She's right. Penny was specifically targeted at Beacon since she wasn't human and they could get a scare out of the public at her being cut apart to start brewing up a storm of fear." Dante explained, finally turning away from the television, "Same strategy, different method. We all know this is a hock of shit, but the public doesn't since the footage was doctored extremely well. As shitty as it is for me to say it, I don't think the public will change their stance all too much even with Penny's visual data."

"That aside, the other problem we're facing is that someone is using our own technology against us. This doctored footage of Penny came from her work all around Mantle, stolen straight from our surveillance network."

"Wait wait wait." Dante raised up a hand, "You're telling me someone managed to hack into Mantle's Security Network?"

"Unfortunately, hacking into Mantle's system would be easy enough given time. Heck, there was a rascal doing as much just a few weeks back." Pietro explained, the devil suddenly thinking of Ray before he shook his head, "I think I know what you want to ask next, mr. Aetherveil. Fortunately, the answer is no. Atlas runs on a separate, upgraded network."

"But is it possible for someone outside of the Atlesian Military to get access to that network?"

"Well, only a few people have clearance." The elderly man said, "Ironwood, the Council, our cybersecurity and surveillance leads, and maybe a select few who oversee critical systems, like sewage or the heating grid."

"The heating grid run in partnership with the Schnee Dust Company?" Weiss asked.

Dante's eyes immediately darted to the once heiress, who was absorbed in her thoughts.

"Anything to point out?" The devil asked.

"I don't know yet, but… something definitely isn't right."

"Story of our lives…" Dante half joked, "What about you, old tinkerer? How have things been?"

"To put it bluntly, if Maria hadn't offered to help me these last few days, I'd have likely collapsed by now. Getting a communications tower into the sky seems impossible on its own, but now, to think of what people wanna do to my girl…"

Pietro began to tear in his eyes, his bottom lip quivering as if he was on the verge of crying.

"Honestly old timer? Pardon my French, but fuck them." Dante firmly said, grabbing the old man's attention, "We know she didn't do it. And even if they still want to believe she did it, then they can go to hell. If anyone wants to hurt her, they're gonna have to go through all of us. And trust me, they ain't getting through anytime soon."

"Yeah! And even if the worst does happen, you'll have Dante to help repair her, so maybe try not to worry so much." Ruby added.

"About that…" The devil spoke up with a raised hand, tilting his head briefly as he made up his mind to ask, "It isn't that simple, is it?"

Building Penny her latest body came with some… extreme difficulties at first. Unlike Darwin, she wasn't simply "built", and didn't have any prior Consciousness Data. In a manner of speaking, her Consciousness Data was… "born" in a peculiar way. Now that I'm here with him… I have to confirm my suspicions.

"There's a reason why Penny is the only one of her kind." The man said as he headed to the counter behind him and picked up a framed photograph of himself and other scientists from years ago, "When the General first challenged us to find the next breakthrough in defense technology, most of my colleagues pursued more obvious choices. I was one of the few who believed in looking inward for inspiration."

"You didn't want some plain old machine. You wanted a protector with a conscience that could learn to love this World and its people. You wanted a being with a soul." Dante theorized.

"Yes. And when General Ironwood saw her, he wanted the same thing too. When the time came, much to my surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals."

"Why would you be surprised?" Weiss asked, "You practically created artificial Aura."

"Except you didn't. Right, professor?"

Pietro smirked faintly, realizing the young devil had caught on. But in doing so, he had unintentionally confirmed something for the older man as well.

Instead of words, Pietro stretched out his hands as they flickered with green Aura, but there was something fairly startling about it. On presence alone, Dante could feel it was… weak. Not weak in the sense it had no strength to it. If anything, it used to be more powerful. Sense aside, it visibly looked… tattered, full of several holes compared to how Aura would normally look like when it visibly manifested.

With these clues in mind, the young devil immediately formulated a rather troubling answer.

"Holy shit… You shaved off your own Aura to make Penny…"

"Indeed. And each time I rebuild Penny, it takes a little more. If people get their wish and she's destroyed, I won't be able to…"

He couldn't bring himself to say anything further, and covered his eyes with his hand as he cried. Maria, having gotten up from her seat and walked over, rested her hand on his arm.

Penny was destroyed last time because we were outplayed pretty spectacularly. Now that I built her a new body, the chances of her being destroyed are minimal, unless she goes up against someone like Cinder. We just have to hope there's no heavy hitters lurking in places we don't know about.

"Don't worry too much about it, professor. It won't be happening anytime soon."

"That's right!" Ruby answered with Dante, "We'll take good care of her!"

"I… appreciate it…" Pietro said, rubbing his eyes clean as he steadily got a hold of himself, "You uh… You all can go see her now."

Without wasting another moment, Weiss and Ruby quickly went towards the door leading to the other room, wherein the small reaper immediately pounced on Penny to give her a hug.

The devil was about to go and join them before he was stopped by the old professor.

"May I have a word with you in private?"

"Sure..?"

Leaving behind Maria, who went off to join the girls, the two went into another room, where the older man closed the door behind him.

"Two things. First… You were the one who built Penny's new body, correct?"

"Uh, before we go any further, I only did what she asked me to do, so…" Dante said at first, raising his hands up defensively for a brief moment.

"That much I understand. See, I've always tried to make her body look as close as it could to that of a human body, but… As you've seen for yourself, I only managed what I could. You on the other hand seem to have experience with this sort of thing, seeing as you succeeded where I failed in that regard. Frankly, it was so well done I almost forgot Penny wasn't a flesh and blood being like the rest of us." Pietro explained as he began cleaning his glasses again, sniffling briefly.

"I…have a friend with similar circumstances, but in his case, he used to be a flesh and blood human being before he got… experimented on. After learning about Conscious Data from him, our own experiments, and rebuilding and remodeling him god knows how many times, we finally got to a point where nobody could really tell unless he told them." Dante shrugged with crossed arms, "Penny… Well… I kinda got where she was coming from… Wanting to be as 'human' as possible like the rest of us."

"And I'm forever grateful." The professor said as he put his glasses back on, smiling, "She can finally do so many of the things she's ever only dreamed of. She can eat food and actually 'taste' it. She can actually cry now if she feels sad. She can 'feel' the warmth of others when she hugs them. She can enjoy 'life' and all it has to offer like a real person and not live it like… like some sort of machine, or weapon! She can live without fear of being shut down at any moment with the push of a button!"

He was so exhilarated that he almost toppled over with his excited gestures.

"So many new possibilities have opened up for her. And I can't thank you enough."

"Just helping a friend with her wish."

"Which brings me to my second question… Your rather extraordinary work aside, are you connected in any way to DarkStar Industries?"

"Uh… no?"

"Son, materials like the ones used on Penny's new body aren't exactly cheap and are of really high quality. Last time I checked, other than the Atlas Military, there are three companies in the kingdom of Atlas and Mantle that can acquire such rare materials. One of those companies happens to be DarkStar Industries."

"Er… Coincidence?"

Pietro gave the young devil a skeptical glance.

"Naomi ratted me out to you, didn't she?"

Pietro chuckled, "Frankly speaking, the deal I brokered with her was something I was originally against. Not because the deal wasn't of benefit to me, but… Put simply, I learned my lesson after building Penny. Imagine my surprise when ms. Naomi told me her boss was Vale's rising star. Then, it suddenly made sense why DarkStar Industries had an excellent reputation."

"Naomi wouldn't go that far unless she knew it was worth it, and if it aligned with my interests. Frankly speaking, it was your work that got me… acclimated, and to the highest point of quality."

"I'm glad I could be of help to more people."

Pietro exhaled, looking out of the window to the other rooms, watching Penny and Ruby eagerly discussing between each other, with Weiss throwing a few words in whenever she could.

"I assume you analyzed her core?"

Dante focused his attention on the scientist, who still kept his eyes on his "daughter".

"Well… I uh… I needed to figure out where her Consciousness Data was stored, how it was implemented, and how it was configured so I could place her in her new body. So sorry for intruding on that regard. But you already guessed I did as much given she showed up with a shiny new body."

"I'm only asking because… because I won't be able to do it again. Or at the very least, if I do so…" He raised up his hands, staring at his palms before he sighed, "At this point, doing it a final time doesn't scare me, but… Leaving her behind? That alone is absolutely terrifying."

The older man turned himself around, hands folded together almost as if he were praying as he looked Dante square in the eyes.

"You've achieved a great deal as is, and helped us achieve a dream we both shared. Studying her core, and with my current revelation, I'm certain you understand how she functions entirely by now."

"About that… There was something I wanted to talk to you about." Dante spoke hesitantly as he approached, "Seeing as I now understand how her Consciousness Data was made… it's theoretically possible to create backups of it in the event of… well… irreparable damage. One of the dilemmas therein is whether or not we consider her to be the same Penny we know, but I feel like that doesn't matter as much since we all adore her and like having her with us and alive."

"And the second..?"

"The second is something of a moral dilemma… Consciousness Data has the risk of being damaged or corrupted, ranging between some memory loss or… total memory loss." The young devil sighed, "Even if a complete record of her life was kept that is totally accurate, the chances of her remembering everything and 'being her true self' again are low, but still existent. In the event that fails… a consciousness will exist but… it wouldn't exactly be the same. Maybe she'll have the same mannerisms and so forth, but it'll essentially be as though she was reborn."

"But she'll still live…"

"In a way, yes."

Pietro sighed, tapping the armrest of his seat, "What are you trying to ask me?"

"I'm asking if you want my help in creating backups of Penny's Consciousness Data in case one day we can't recover her should she go down for any reason."

"Shouldn't you be asking my daughter that question instead of me?"

"Naturally I intend to bring up that option with her, but I figured I should ask your opinion first. Or rather, your blessing, in a way."

"Naturally, I wish for her to live as she sees fit. I want her to see the beauty this World has to offer beyond the scope of Grimm and the horrors they bring. My answer doesn't matter as much, regardless if I'm her father or not. What matters is what she has to say about it. That's why this is a discussion you should have with her privately some other time." Pietro said, shaking Dante's hand, "Thank you. Thank you for using your knowledge to do this World some good."

"Don't mention it…"

The devil looked up, eyes focused on Penny, Ruby and Weiss in the other rooms.

A part of him was hoping she would say yes, that way if anything happened, she could one day see a World beyond the threat of Salem, the Grimm… and whatever else lurked in slumber. The other part of him half regretted mentioning the information he just shared. Naturally, some individuals and those that care about them wish to prolong their life as much as possible. If he were to be asked, the devil would indeed wish for Penny to live a long life of freedom and joy.

Preserving Consciousness Data was a rather tricky thing; the act itself wasn't so difficult, but more so balancing the desires of the individual in question, as well as helping maintain their sense of self. For instance… If Penny's Consciousness Data was damaged or corrupted, and if she lost all prior memories of the life she lived previously, could she possibly be Penny again? Or would she be a new person entirely?

…

What if she ever wished for finality at some point? To not be restored in any sense whatsoever? What if those close to her wished for her to live once more?

These were the sort of problems associated with this kind of work, and with what he had seen in his old World… it was also at times a sort of unsavory work.

…

…

It's her decision in the end, regardless of what any of us would like. Even if…

His Scroll vibrated with its double tuned ring, prompting him to bring up his screen to read a message from Ironwood. And from the looks on everyone else's faces in the other rooms, they too received the same message, each with their own expression of confusion and worry.

Once Dante read the message himself, he too began to feel a small amount of anxiety. After all…

Jacques Schnee had invited them all to a dinner party.

---

HOLY BALLS THIS TOOK ME WAY TOO MUCH TIME.

Once again, I'm truly sorry for going off the radar for so long without a word. Life just seems to want to kick my ass religiously. I can't explain in enough detail how grueling it was to balance my time appropriately while appeasing my extremely ignorant relatives and their hatred for all things technology. Literally, if I'm on here for more than 30 minutes, I get shit from them.

And before anyone says "go elsewhere or something", it's not really an option at the moment. I just have to bear it while holding back my extreme urge to give them the dressing down of a lifetime. Other than that…

If you have questions, ask them anytime. I will try to answer them without spoiling anything.

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! Your support genuinely matters.

With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend, and remember... be kind and excellent to one another, stay safe, and stay healthy.