Chapter 3: Pathways

Unknown woodlands, Western Anima, Remnant

78 AGW, April 30th, 4:40 pm

The higher ground gave Blake the advantage. A moment to analyze the battle and pick the best targets. If she dropped down with her weapon pointed like a spear, Gambol Shroud would easily pierce the skull of any Grimm below. Although, the Alpha might survive, considering how thick their armor usually is. Yes! She had a plan of attack. Now all Blake had to do was pick a target.

Or did she?

This was not what Blake imagined her life would be like when she'd first joined the White Fang. She was not naive. She knew that standing up for her rights as a faunus would ruffle a lot of racists in powerful positions. Blake expected - anticipated - having to fight with her back against the wall. But everything the teen worked towards - cried and bled for – was no longer the same.

Where once she would wake up and feel immense pride to be another sword, another voice of justice in the White Fang, now every day began with near dread. Blake's days went from loud protests and sit-ins, with the occasional liberation of a Schnee labor camp, to death threats against businesses serving both races, kidnapping people with the barest connections to the SDC, and watching her Fang brethren murder people that wronged them in the slightest.

Adam was always in a foul mood now. No matter what goal they accomplished, it did little to alleviate his pain. Free the Faunus from a work camp? There was still more to save. Hold a human for ransom and get away with the Lien? It was never enough money, and not killing them was a mistake. Murder five people involved with keeping the Faunus oppressed? Adam would complain about how he wasn't able to spill more blood.

Blake couldn't remember the last time Adam smiled; he'd become so full of anger and despair. The man she grew to love had been dying a slow death. Nothing stopped his decline. Nothing improved his attitude at all. Even when they made love, Adam did not smile or whisper lovingly into her ears. Their couplings had turned rough and unpleasant. Adam Taurus was a man completely consumed by grief.

This could not continue. Blake did not want to walk along this self-destructive road any further. The daughter of Chief Belladonna wanted the world to see her as a strong Faunus woman, judged for her actions and compassion. Being feared and bowed to by people afraid she would kill them was the complete opposite. This cycle of hatred had to end.

"Blake, where are you?" Adam always taught Blake to never take her eyes off the enemy; otherwise, death was the only partner you'd have. Yet, for some stupid reason, he had to smart-mouth the human girl that helped fight off the Grimm. A Beowolf sank its teeth into Adam's shoulder, struggling against his Aura. A moment later, Adam freed himself from its jaws, bisecting the beast at the waist.

"Blake!" Her weapon came up automatically, intent on rescuing him from the second Beowolf with a well-aimed bullet. All she had to do was squeeze the trigger, and Adam would be able to get on his feet. Blake hesitated, Gambol Shroud shaking in her grip. Her partner held the beast back with his boot, ready to swing Wilt into its face. An Ursa flanked Adam's right, knocking the sword out of his hand.

By now, her hand was shaking so bad that any bullet fired would either miss or hit Adam. Blake felt her eyes tightening; golden orbs starting to glisten with building tears. She had to make a choice now! The Ursa had clamped down on Adam's right arm, trying to shake him like a toy. The Beowolf's claws tore at the young man's chest; any moment now and her partner could die.

"Blake, I need you! Help!"

Blake Belladonna collapsed her weapon and jumped to another thick tree branch. Then another. And another. Each thud of her foot was a bomb to her ears. Her vision blurred fiercely from the tears pooling in her eyes. This was it. This was Blake's chance to break away from everything. She was fifteen years old, the daughter of Menagerie's Chieftain, a skilled warrior that wanted to fight the good fight.

"...Blake?"

No! Adam made his choice, just as Blake was making hers. Whenever she pleaded with him to do better, to be a better man, he ignored her or scoffed at her idealism. Blake could not get through to him, regardless of what she said or did. Adam was an angry young man. With how large the horde of Grimm was getting, Adam would not be walking away. It pained her greatly, especially since it meant Yuma, Trifa, and that unknown girl would also die.

Perhaps that was for the best. Adam refused help. Blake couldn't compromise her morals any longer. Maybe she… could she return to her parents? After what she had done, running off to fight in the White Fang, would they accept her?

'But what if they ask about Adam?'

Blake admitting she left Adam to die would not be ideal. Her father, Ghira, always spoke of being there for your Faunus brothers and sisters, more so in their times of need. What would he say if he knew Blake abandoned her squad? And the looks her mother would give? If she returned to her family, there was only one option.

Lake Matsu, Western Anima, Remnant

78 AGW, April 30th, 5:00 pm

The Hairless Apes were left behind, fighting a group of the Armored Ones, while X crawled away in agony. The pain in his head was like pure fire traveling through the blood vessels of his brain. He forced himself to his hands and knees, bashing his head into the ground, hoping to relieve the pain. The agony within X's skull struck so fiercely it knocked the wind out of him. Flying Armored Ones circled his body aggressively, launching razor-sharp feathers or scratching with deadly talons in a fruitless attempt to harm him. X almost wished their physical assault would do something – anything - if only to distract him from the mental suffering.

The bipedal Armored Ones attempted to scratch and bite into him, failing to damage his hardened skin. If anything, they were causing harm to themselves, breaking teeth and claws with each attack. The Armored Ones didn't hold X's attention, occupied as he was by the scorching fire in his mind.

The fire is all X could focus on. Not the trees falling before his bulk, not the Armored Ones and their ineffectual attacks against his body. The pain was nearing the point of overwhelming his motor functions; each crawling movement felt like being on a celestial body with gravity thirty times the norm.

Then he heard the voice again.

'You are no longer needed'

'We think it's time'

'For us to stretch our wings'

His right hand started to spasm uncontrollably. The width of X's forearm widened, the white armor protecting him flashing gold briefly. His clawed hand began turning into a meaty paw. X slammed it to the forest floor in the vain hope of stopping the transformation. If the thing in his mind takes control, the kaiju may never see the light of day again.

X's head suddenly erupted in pure agony. The bones in his jaw and the back of his skull broke with a crack as the shifting began. If he didn't stop it now, a pair of wings would force their way out of his back. He hates turning into that thing. Anger began flew through him, a creeping desire to destroy. The Entity wants to make X a passenger in his own body. While under the control of his masters, he was unable to resist this change; enslaved to whatever whims they desired.

'This time will be no different worm'

This time would be different! He somehow sank his teeth into the dark flesh on the underside of his wrist. The pain is minor, all things considered, but that was the point. The surge of stimulated nerves eased the acid in his mind for a few seconds, yet it was all he needed. A fleeting moment for X to lock onto the Keizer Energy within his body. This warmth within him is familiar, like an ever-glowing star. It has been with him since the first time his eyes opened.

Keizer Energy allowed X to manipulate gravity in and around his body. His ability to fly isn't actual flight, not truly, but more forcing gravity to grant him unrestricted inertia. Whenever the Xilien kaiju focused the Energy into his eyes, it discharged in the form of Graviton Beams, guided by gravity in waves. Even his body itself is enhanced by this warmth. Hunger does not bother him. Thirst has never pained his throat. He need not fear the vacuum of space.

X's body is perfect because of Keizer Energy. He is practically its physical form, being its host long before his crash onto Remnant. It belongs to X, not what his masters forced him to become. All he needs is just… a… moment.

'You are nothing!'

X can feel his Energy pull back from his arm slowly. The muscle started thinning out, an odd sensation, all things considered. Like water soaking into a pile of sand. What a strange feeling tickling the nerves in the tissue of his brain. Only one option before him: send the power out. X had no idea what would happen, but he couldn't trust himself to not lose control. So he let it go.

The Keizer Pulse erupted like a supernova. Golden light blinded him, and it might've been his imagination, but the life force of the Armored Ones seemed to appear to his senses. What was previously empty now felt like himself. Armored Ones dropped before him to the ground, twitching as the sun crested behind the trees.

'It doesn't matter'

'Another time'

'We are inevitable'

The silence in his mind was novel, serene. X cherished the unfamiliar sensation. Peace did not often come; between destroying civilizations or being kept in a torturous coma within the asteroid. A liberal application of gravity carried his body to the surface of the large lake. X couldn't remember when last he felt cool liquid touch his skin. Time to himself is more precious than a diamond.

The demon locked away for now; Monster X gazed at the fading colors the planet's atmosphere provided. What to do now was a question that seeped into his thoughts. With only forty-five minutes of freedom, the kaiju had no clue what to do with it. The Armored Ones remained by the shore, mostly crumpled to the ground seizing. Halting and reversing the transformation for the first time was a true accomplishment, though it had exhausted X completely.

The masters had yet to appear, not that the dragon kaiju was in the mood to willingly be enslaved again. No. X would take his own life if enslavement was to be his fate. Rapid movement in the corner of his vision startled him. On the shore, two of the Armored Ones appeared to be fighting or possibly mating. Primitive behaviors were not a subject X had any knowledge of, unfortunately.

Whatever they were doing, X put it out of his mind. A nap was the most imperative thing right now. He just needed to let his eyes close and his focus fade.

It blinked as the world came into focus. It looked left and right, seeing others that stood around confused. What were these sensations? Its fur moved from the wind, the skin underneath tickled by the cool breeze. It… liked that. Unknown aromas enchanted its nose, and it found them to be… pleasant. What was happening? It turned around, eyeing the enormous being on the water. The Big One did nothing to indicate it would attack, so it felt safe enough to move closer.

The ground beneath its paws is so soft. It wouldn't mind laying down and rolling about later. The water's edge is before it, and the being felt compelled to look upon the surface. Looking back was… another like itself. The sudden appearance of the other frightened it. Teeth are bared, a sharp growl rumbling from its throat. If it shows aggression, that should make the other back down.

Behind it, some of the others are biting and clawing each other. It was too focused on the water to pay them any attention. Teeth still bared, one paw ready to strike, it confronts the being in the water. It doesn't move, and neither does the other. In fact, the other is doing the same thing. It slowly moves its paw to the water, the other mimicking the action. When it pulls back, the other copies it once more.

It brings the paw to its head, and when the other again does the same, a realization is finally made. The other was…. it. Is this what it looked like? It runs the clawed appendage across its face, tenderly touching the bone adored with red vein-like designs. Looking to the left, it stiffened when one the same as it approached. The other was not as tall or stocky - slimmer than itself - but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous.

They eyed each other for several moments, with it unsure of what to do since the other wasn't attacking. Slowly, shyly, it reaches out to the other. The other flinches, afraid, but it persists. The back of its claws rubs against the other's face. Gentle strokes, a curious gesture, touching bone and fur. The other's ears twitched happily, face leaning into the claws. This experience of touch – the intimacy – was… nice.

And it wanted more.