Heyo! We're back with another chapter of this lovely story and as I said in the previous chapter, this one would be an intermission. So, I suppose it's understandable if you'll be disappointed if you're hoping for continuation as where we left off. But I hope you will be ok with it.
I believe that's enough talking or what not, let's move onto the comments!
Monster King: Thanks!
Zacker1590: I'll admit, that sounds hilarious but I had my doubts on it. It's due to the fact that there's so many react fics that had the RWBY gang replacing the characters on screen and I don't wish to do the same. I hope you understand my hesitation but I'll keep that in mind just in case.
Nutt Mann: I don't know how polls work but Fanfic has always been the same since it came out years ago. Glad you enjoyed it and yea; I really want to work on Breakout when we get there!
ZeroGs22: After doing this for a while, I'm not even sure I could manage adding Salem into the audience list. Since I'm already forgetting other characters like Ilia already. But yea, I was thinking of adding her during HOTS or after a couple more chapters… Time will tell I suppose.
Drake G. Reaper: Interesting idea… Might work but I'm basing it on my gameplays. So, if that's the case, I would need to play the Challenge myself. (And probably get smashed in the process.) Ah yes, the hybrids. Let's bring up the horror after this chapter hopefully.
Ssgtsplatter: No RGQC has no intention to reveal the idea of the fourth wall. While I never mention it, one test all realm lords have to go through is the idea that everything about reality is a lie and that even they, with all their powers, are just pawns to something bigger. In this case, it's myself. Deadpool would probably do that.
Dakzillaman: Yea! It would probably take years of hard work on this story for me to reach Legacy of the Void and such. But I hope I can because I cherished this game in my heart. Despite the state of Blizzard itself.
Roy4: Huh, interesting idea…
FGOFanlover: Not anytime soon that the people of Remnant realise that they are divine spirits as RGQC nor them will tell them about it. Perhaps when we move on to the multiverse and decide to do a Fate episode then RGQC will tell them. As for Fou? Perhaps? Memelin or Castoria huh? I'll think about it.
Yolo27th: Yea the HOTS Zerg strains are all broken in their own way. I liked the Viral Strain for Roaches. Then there's Kerrigan's upgrades. As for LOTV? I'm stuck between following what I did or allowing Artanis to use all types of protoss units. Though that sounds like a pain to manage now that I think about it. Probably that's why the devs limit us to choose one type of Protoss faction per unit.
Akuma-Heika: Yes, PM me or in the reviews. Either one will do and yea, Fanfic needs to work on their system sometimes. Well, if you were to ask me at least you have some sort of melee weapon since the Grimm would get in your face and stuff. Then again, the bayonets we see in StarCraft 2 are retractable so perhaps it could work? Nora will be Nora yea?
Guest: The Realm Lords can't intervene, but they can nudge things quietly. Of course, they still need to decide what to do first before they do anything.
Guest 2: Not that I mind it or anything but I liked the idea of a Noble prince on a quest only to be corrupted into the darkness by a cursed weapon.
Guest 3: That's my goal! To complete the entire trilogy!
FGOFanlover: Them watching Warcraft 3 huh? I wonder how am I going to pull it off if I ever chose to do it. I will admit, it sounds like a fantastic idea! The fact that no one had done it sucks like hell. Thanks!
Guest 4: Giving certain factions their skin huh? I'm honestly still unsure about whether I should do that. Perhaps in the future I should do a poll related to it. Thanks for pointing it out!
And with the reviews done, let us begin with the intermission and Carbot together!
Disclaimer. I do not own RWBY or StarCraft. All of these belong to their respective owners: Rooster Teeth, StarCraft 2 belongs to Blizzard Entertainment. I only own my OC in this story.
Intermission 3/ Carbot special 2
"Tamamo, are you sure that we won't have to deal with what RGQC will be dealing with? It sounds serious." Ruby spoke up to Tamamo as they all left the theatres.
"Hai. While this had never happened before, master doesn't desire putting his guest in harm's way. In this case, we won't have to deal with it, he will handle it."
"Really?" Summer then was next.
"Yes. Summer-San. Though…" A frown appeared on her face. "It looks like master had disabled the teleporting system he had in the realm, due to the high chance of instability from Ursun's roar. We would have to take the long way it seems if this realm wishes to avoid another daemonic incursion." Tamamo read from the tablet that was with her the whole time.
"Wait, so what you're saying is that we had taken some time to reach the hot springs?" Weiss then spoke up just to confirm what she'd had heard.
"Correct. But master had someone else to pick us up." This earned eye raises from everyone as it looks like they'll be meeting another resident of RGQC's realm.
"And that is who?" Blake wondered out loud as the sound of rumbling footsteps of something large could be heard. Tamamo just smiled as she immediately recognised who that was. The others… not so much.
"That doesn't' sound like a vehicle…" Neo pointed out.
"It's not." Tamamo just smiled as the sight of a flock of different coloured ostrich sized birds could be seen running towards everyone else. But one of them was clearly different from the others. This one looks like a giant owl with white feathers with pink tips and it could be seen leading the flock. It also has bright blue eyes as well.
"They'll so cute and fluffy!" Yang was the first to point out.
"Big birdies! I want one!" Nora could be seen hopping on the spot as awe could be seen among several of our dear guests. Others were more unsure about it.
"They look so fluffy! I wanna pet it!" Ruby could also be heard.
"Wait, so you're telling me our rides are a couple of large birds?" Torchwick ludicrously looked directly at Tamamo.
"Yes." Tamamo just nodded her head as the largest in the flock stopped in front of her. The massive bird was then consumed in a puff of smoke and was replaced by a young blond girl that's wearing a white blue dress. What's even more obvious was that the young girl had wings on her back.
"Filo is here!" The little girl cried out with joy with her hands out much to everyone's initial shock but it wears out faster due to how long everyone had gotten used to seeing strange things in RGQC's realm.
"Hello Filo-chan. Did master send you here?" Tamamo then knelt down and asked as Filo vigorously nodded with a smile on her face.
"Yeah! Master came to me with Koyanaaa… Pink lady in a white suit! And he wants me to come here with everyone else!" Filo enthusiastically said as Tamamo brought Filo into a hug.
"Good girl, can you take us to the hot springs with your flock?" Tamamo asked as silent coos could be heard from everyone else. Especially the girls and adults.
"She's so cute…" Summer cooed as pretty much everyone who's frailty to cuteness could agree.
"I just want to hug her and pamper her..." Kali added in.
Even Glynda could be seen looking away as her cheeks blushed and a hand to her mouth. Filo's cuteness could make the strict headmistress go soft around her.
"Yeah!" Filo nodded before a puff of smoke emerged from her and she's back to her bird form.
"Ok everyone. Get on the backs of the Filolials as they are called. They would take us to the hot springs at a much faster pace than walking or running there." Tamamo ordered everyone as she sat on Filo's back.
"They… don't have saddles?" Ironwood wondered as the students could be seen choosing a Filolial to ride upon.
"Nope. They hate it. Just hold onto them and don't hurt them by grabbing onto them too hard. They tend to respond rather… violently to those who do. So do try to be careful." Tamamo says as everyone managed to get onto Filolials with ease. Or with some difficulty. Except for Cinder due to her Filolial great hostility to her much to everyone's confusion.
"Uhh… What's wrong with Cinder's bird? Uhh… Filolial? That's what they're called right?" Neptune wondered as Tamamo nodded.
Cinder's Filolial let out an angry kueh as it stared directly at Cinder in the eyes. Tamamo could only roll her eyes. The Filolial flocks in master's realm have gained an interesting trait that didn't originate from where they came from. They can sense whether the person was morally good or not. In this case, the Filolial that was meant for Cinder could tell that she's bad news and refused to let her sit on it.
Other Filolials could be heard giving out their own kwehs while Filo just tilted her head to the side at the commotion. After a couple of seconds, Cinder's Filolial rolled its eyes much to everyone's surprise and kneeled down so that Cinder could get on.
"What was that? Why did it react that way?" Cinder then curiously asked as she sat on the Filolial.
"Do not bother about that, Filolials do have different personalities. You must have gotten unlucky and got a distrustful one to carry you." Tamamo then looked at Filo. "Ok Filo, let's go."
"Yeah! Hang on!" That was what Filo said before she raced off as every other Filolial followed her, with how fast the birds were running, several of the students started screaming their heads out while others ended up getting excited at how fast they were going. As for the adults? They did their best to 'enjoy' the ride.
Nevertheless, the Filolials took our dear guest throughout RGQC's realm at blistering speeds. They even ran past one of the hundreds of thousands of gardens in the realm itself as numerous androids could be encountered. They also happened to come across a Sanctuary of sorts, it looked like a massive enclosure that had various animals in the multiverse as the Filolials slowed down.
"To your left is master's personal Zoo/Sanctuary. Various animals from all over the multiverse that attracted master's attention could be located over there. And if you're concerned about their wellbeing, master placed in extra effort to ensure their health and safety. Though this is also the place in which Koyanskaya, the woman in the white suit you all saw earlier, likes to go to. This place extends as far as the eyes could see. Master had collected many different animals. There are others that look like hybrids of another species like turtle ducks."
"If I may ask, why does Koyanskaya look unusually similar to you?" Robyn then questions Tamamo how sighed.
"It's… complicated. That's all I'll say for now." Tamamo just shook her head while her eyes were closed.
"Do you have an aquarium here?" Blake then was next to ask as snickers could be heard from Yang. Something about wanting to catch a fish.
"Yes, we do. An entire sector dedicated to housing all sorts of fishes, from the harmless, to the tasty, to the dangerous."
"Dangerous you say?" Qrow wondered out loud.
"Yes. Though those are heavily watched as those under dangerous tags tend to be predators from where they come from. One example is the Reaper Leviathan. A gigantic eel-shark like animal that also had appendages on its face. It's known to be very aggressive and also swallows prey that could fit in its mouth whole as well. Though it blind, it would occasionally let out a roar that could be heard out kilometres from where it was a form of echolocation. Which means, if you're in the water and you hear its roar, the Reaper Leviathan knows where you are."
The idea of such a sea monster sends shivers up everyone's spine except for Penny. "That's a fantastic specimen! I wonder what else we could learn from such a species! Friend Tamamo." Penny sounded interested in it despite the idea of it tracking you down in the waters.
"There are others like it but we should resume our journeys. Filo?" Tamamo nodded before looking at Filo who nodded back.
"Ok!" And with that, they're back on track towards the hot springs.
Time passed very quickly before they all reached the Onsen which was located on a mountain range. Buildings with slanted roofs could be seen littering the area as various androids could be seen standing around and performing basic duties around the Onsen.
"We're here!" Ruby cheered out as she got off her Filolial.
"Finally! I was getting bored with all this travelling! Just how large is RGQC's realm?" Coco wondered out loud.
"Massive Coco-San. It's also the reason master mainly uses portals to get around since his realm is massive and it would take tens of thousands of years to see it all."
"Tens of thousands of years? Wow." Sun muttered in awe.
"Yea! Hot springs!" Nora enthusiastically ran off somewhere as Ren could be seen chasing after her.
"Nora! Don't just run off like that! Wait for everyone else!" He ordered as both Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other, shrugs then chased after them. Tamamo just giggled in response as she looked at everyone else gathering.
"Did Filo do a good job?" Filo asked as with a poof, she's back to her human form.
"You did good Filo-San. How about you and your flock go and relax in the springs as well?"
"Yay! Thank you, Big sister Tamamo!" Filo cheered as she and her flock ran off to their own separated hot spring.
"They can enjoy it as well? Damn, even the birds get to use the Onsens." Qrow just sounded impressed as Tamamo just smiled.
"Yes, they are. There are hot springs separated by gender and are a distance apart so no men or women can peep on each other. There are also private baths for those who wish to have a 'private' time together. Just inform any of the androids and they'll do the rest. I'll also be joining you people as well." Tamamo just smiled when she noticed blushes appearing on some of their faces as she was about to walk off.
"Oh!" Tamamo turned around to face everyone. "It appears that master had already reserved some private baths for some of you."
"And who are those who are reserved?" Ozpin questions as Tamamo just smiled.
"One is for Raven Branwen and Yang Xiao Long. Another is for Blake Belladonna and Ilia Amitola." Those who heard their names being called by Tamamo eyes widened before they looked at each other.
"Yes. We can relax here for as long as you need. Master is now having his meeting with the others of his kind and most likely he would be back in about half a day. Do note that they're accelerating it so it would be done faster." And with that, Tamamo walked off as Ozpin's scroll beeped.
Those who know Ozpin looked at him as he read his scroll. "Ozpin? Who sent you that?" Ironwood wondered.
"RGQC send a message to me. He wished to speak to me personally about something private." This got eyes of interest or confusion.
"How is he sending messages to you? Isn't he in his meeting or whatever?" Qrow then asked.
Another beep came from Ozpin's scroll as he read it out. "I just made a fragment of myself. Don't question it Qrow, this is my realm after all. If I want a duplicate body, I can do it."
"Huh." Summer hummed. "That's new. But I think we should go and enjoy ourselves some hot spring yea?"
"Yea hot springs!" Ruby and several others cheered.
Minutes later… in the women's section.
Lily could be seen relaxing inside the bath all happy with a towel covering her body as well as a smaller one on her head. She could only smile at how cosy it was in RGQC's realm, or she could say that it's an alternative version of her father that so happens to own an entire realm itself. Lily could only open her eyes to the sound of movement before Nora appeared through the door and leapt directly into it.
"Hot springs!" Nora cried out as it was followed by a booming splash that splatter water everywhere and onto Lily much to her irritation.
"Aunt Nora! I can't believe you just did that!" Lily angrily stated her thoughts as the other ladies arrived.
"Lily, there you are." Kali spoke out as she walked into the bath itself as Lily recomposed herself.
"Grandma Kali." Lily just smiled as Kali got into the bath and sat next to her. This was followed by team RWBY minus Blake and Yang, Pyrrha, Coco and Velvet, as well as the other female audience.
"Ah… I've never been to one of these Onsens." Neo mutters as he was one of the last few to rest in the bath.
"No surprises." Lily shrugged. "Though from where I'm from, you and Torchwick reformed, dare I say. And you in fact, became a well-known bounty hunter alongside Torchwick." This earned surprised looks from everyone else. The very idea that this criminal midget and her boss reforming themselves in Lily's world was surprising indeed.
"We did?" Neo was now interested as to what the heir of Menagerie had to say.
"Yea. It's all fuzzy to me now since it was told years back but, if I'm correct, father hired you and Torchwick to help everyone else get to Altas from Mistral."
"Why though?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"Something about meeting General Ironwood. Was it? Or was it about carrying an important cargo? I honestly can't remember." Lily hummed as she rubbed her chin. "Speaking of which, where's aunt Yang and mom?" Lily then changed the topic as her technically grandma spoke up.
"Well Lily, RGQC mentioned about booking them a private bath. If I'm correct, Yang was with Raven Branwen? And Blake was with Ilia''
"Ah. So that's happening right now…"
"What's happening right now?" Penny then asked. But unaware to anyone, due to Penny being a robot and all, RGQC took the time to make her waterproof with some magic before he went to his own compartment.
"Nothing." Lily just waved it off as Penny just tilted her head in confusion.
"I can't believe that we never talked about it for days already, but what do you mean that your princess of Menagerie?" Coco then pointed out as she gave a ludicrously look to everyone.
"Mom never told you guys?"
…Told us what?" Cinder then raised an eyebrow. Perhaps she could get some information from her.
"Mom's technically royalty since grandpa Ghira was chieftain. I'm surprised that she never mentioned it to you guys."
"Wait wait hold on! Blake's Royalty?!" Ruby got a little too excited as Kali just giggled in response.
"Well… Lily's right, if you were to put it into context, my baby girl is a princess."
"Good thing Yang isn't around here or else she'll be making princess puns." Weiss muttered out as Lily noticeably shivered.
"Yeah… So many princess cat puns…"
It was then that Tamamo entered the bathroom herself with a smile on her face. "I hope this Onsen is up to your expectations?" Tamamo got various answers back at her but all of them could be summarised as I enjoyed this.
"I'm humbled that you all are having a good time, I wonder how our guests in the private rooms are doing?~" Tamamo could only smile as she sat down and joined the conversation herself.
In a private room…
RGQC could be seen there. Well, not truly as this form was noticeably slightly translucent. Yet he had a towel wrapped around him before Ozpin walked into it.
"Ah Ozpin. I was wondering when you'll show up, come, sit with me. I got some stuff to tell you." Ozpin just nodded in response as he sat down and observed the realm lord.
"If I may RGQC, why did you wish to see me?" Ozpin then questioned as the realm lord just nodded his head.
"A bunch of things to be honest and I took the opportunity to silence this room, everyone outside will not be able to hear our conversion. The main one is this. Are you aware of your future?"
"My future?" Ozpin raised his eyebrow as RGQC raised his hand up. A ball of energy then could be seen gathering in his hand before it showed something that made Ozpin's hair on his neck stand. What Ozpin saw was the ruins of Beacon itself before the realm lord clenched his hand which dissipated it.
"The Fall of Beacon. That's its future, as for yours well… you were killed in action while some of your students were either traumatised, wounded or killed. The main one is Pyrrha Nikos. Her choice to become the new maiden cost her life. That's her fate if you all hadn't ended up in my realm." RGQC explained as he stared at his hand before glancing at Ozpin who looked shocked and horrified.
"And that's only the beginning." The realm lord continued as he opened his hand once again to show Atlas crashing onto Mantle and both of them were flooded quickly. "In the far future, the battle of Atlas will commence and it will fall. The Relic of Creation within it stolen, alongside the Relic of Knowledge by Salem's followers. Ironwood, now maddened with paranoia, will die alongside his kingdom as he alienated pretty much everyone. Including your next incarnate and Ruby's group."
"I… see…" Ozpin could only remain stunned at what was explained to him.
"But here's the thing, Salem is not unkillable Oz." RGQC addressed the old wizard with hope.
"What?! That's impossible. The Relic of Knowledge told me that she can't be killed." Ozpin argued back.
"And what did you ask the Relic?" RGQC probed further.
"How can I defeat Salem." Ozpin answered back as a smile appeared on the realm lord's face.
"Throughout time, space and everything in between. There's one thing that is mostly common with all knowing sprites that offer wishes. They take things very very literally. Now apply it to what you had just said."
…
"I… Oh…" Ozpin seemed to stammer as he finally came to a realisation. RGQC on the other hand, just let out a chuckle.
"See? You're getting it."
"I'm a fool." Ozpin could only groan as he took out his glasses before resting a hand on his face. "All because of one minor mistake I made in the past. I thought I've been fighting an unwinnable war…"
"On the bright side, all you have to do is to get the relic from Haven and ask the correct question, yes? Also, I'm not telling you the answer, you must find out the truth yourself." RGQC just patted Ozpin on the back before offering a smile as he leaned back.
"Not all hope is loss, headmaster of Beacon. Besides, you said this before yourself. 'Victory is in simpler things, things that require a smaller, more honest soul.' But I must warn you, no secret can last forever, eventually all secrets will be exposed to the light, no matter if they want to or not. I've already told Raven about it. About the Relics, and I'm pretty sure she's back on your side, just unsure of her place now."
"Is that the reason why both Ironwood and I observed her to be closer to her team compared to before?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the realm lord. Part of him is slightly offended by the fact that he told Raven about it first, yet he understands why.
"Yes. Trust in your allies with your secrets Ozpin, even if you have been betrayed many times, you hiding the secret and being rather… vague and unclear sometimes makes them doubt you. It's also the reason why Raven seeks the truth itself. And when she did," RGQC explained as Ozpin knew what he was going to say next.
"She fled."
"Correct. Take this talk to heart headmaster, not all hope is lost and the battle will continue until the end. But beware of Leon. That is all I'll say. The rest is on you. Ozma." The realm lord just smiled as he faded from the private bathhouse, leaving Ozpin to think alone.
In another private Bath, Raven could be seen sitting alone with a worried look on her face. It was now that she would speak to her daughter for the first time. How can she explain to her as to why she ran from Ozpin's service? No. She can't mess it up, Summer and the others were willing to give her a chance. She has to believe that she could rectify the wrongs and make it right.
The only question she could wonder was how, without revealing the existence of Salem…
Raven could only look up when she heard footsteps slowly getting louder by the second, ah, that must be her daughter coming. She could only feel nervous, this would be the first time they actually talked to each other. Well… besides that one time that she saved her on the train.
Yang could be seen walking in as her eyes landed straight at her mother. "Mom…"
Yang…" Raven responded back.
"Why did you leave me and that?" Yang's eyes narrowed as Raven had a look of guilt.
"It would be hard for me to explain it. But… Come, have a seat, and I'll tell you everything." Yang slowly nodded as she sat down and enjoyed the feeling of hot water washing all over her.
"Now spit it out." Yang spat at Raven, yet even she could tell that her mother was acting out of character, or was this how Raven actually acts?
Raven let out a sigh. "I'll not beat around the bush, for yours and my sake. I left on that day because, during my time working for Ozpin, I discovered a dark secret that was horrifying."
"What is it?"
"The Grimm, they had a master and she's called Salem. She controls them, can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until the world falls before her. But the one thing that made me run was this, she can't be killed. Or at least, that was what I thought at first."
Yang could only lean back as she tried her best to process what her 'mother' had just said, everything she heard sounded absurd. Then again, being in RGQC's realm made a point that anything's possible. The fact that they met her partner's alternative daughter was a thing. Wait, who's to say that her mother in front of her isn't the same one? She'll check with RGQC later, she supposed.
Wait, what does she mean that she thought at first?
"Hold it." Yang raised her hand up. "What do you mean at first? What changed?"
Raven looked to the side in silence at first before she looked back. "Back when you and everyone else were having your race, RGQC came to me and… told me the truth and..."
Yang just stared at her mother as she continued.
"He revealed my fate. How I will die…"
"How you will die?" Yang could only internally wonder.
"He revealed that… at the pace that I'm heading, I would only experience regret as I die alone." Raven looked down towards the waters. "He also reveals that Ozpin made a mistake. But I can't tell you. Not now at least. There are just too many things that I fear may overwhelm you. Perhaps another time. I hope you understand."
"I don't," Yang shook her head. "But how does this all come together about you leaving us?"
…
"I left because I didn't want to become another piece of Ozpin defence, but that changed and I can't believe I'm saying this but, I'm back." Raven gave a small yet awkward smile at her daughter.
Yang let out a chuckle or two. "I can tell."
"But please keep this a secret between the both of us. I don't think this kind of information should get out yet." Raven begged her daughter.
"I'm no good secret keeper but I can try. No promises though mom, I suck at it."
"I suppose that would have to do. But where does this lead us?" Raven then asked her daughter. Even she doesn't even know what's going to happen now.
"I have no idea, but we have to start somewhere, yea mom?" A smile then appeared on Yang's face, it may take days, months, even years but all relationships heal, if given the time and a chance.
"Yea…"
And so, both mother and daughter began to have a proper conversation with each other for the first time.
Blake could only nervously look at her friend Ilia as she just stared back at her for the past minute or two of absolute silence. In fact, you could say that the silence was deafening.
"Why did you leave?" Ilia asked bluntly.
…
"I…" Blake opened her mouth only for it to close. She had no idea how to explain why she left. Blake could only give her friend a guilty look. Is she even her friend anymore?
The tense silence continued on for another minute or so until the sound of a door opening got the attention of both women. And Lily could be seen walking into the private hot springs.
"Lily? What are you doing here?" Blake was the first to ask with surprise, what's her 'daughter' doing here? Ilia was more curious as to why Blake's 'daughter' was here. What is she playing at?
"Mom," Lily then looked at Ilia. "Aunt Ilia, I've been looking for you two for some time now."
"Lily, why aren't you with everyone else?" Blake then asked her daughter who just shrugged before joining them in the bath.
"When we got into the hot springs, I noticed that you and Ilia were missing, well… aunt Yang, her mom and Ozpin were also missing as well. When everyone there told me you're assigned into a private bath, I immediately knew what was going on and I just had to seek both of you out."
"You know what's going to happen?" Ilia tilted her head in confusion.
"Not exactly Ilia." Lily shook her head. "Where I'm from, both you and mom had a conversation between both of you. I'm pretty sure my father was there as well… But he was more of a spectator." Lily rubbed her chin.
"Mom." Lily then turned her eyes onto Blake. "Everything will be fine, I suppose I can tell you some stuff that happens, but it may be inaccurate due to the multiverse nonsense, ok?" Lily only got nods in return.
"Ok, where I'm from, Beacon fell during the Vytal Festival, something about Grimm attacking and overwhelming it with the Fang involved in such atrocities…" Blake was understandably horrified while Ilia just scoffed.
"They probably deserved it."
This got a disappointed look from Lily. "Are you saying that Faunuses who were there trying to make a difference deserve to die?" Lily's eyes narrowed down. "Because the Fang slaughtered anyone who stood against them, including other Faunuses. Adam Taurus was there personally when Beacon fell."
"What… how could he?" Blake's mouth was wide open as Ilia's eyes widened.
"Yea. He was a real piece of work." Lily scoffed. "You and dad unintentionally ran right into him and well, a fight started out. You and dad told me that he wanted to and I quote. 'Light the fires of revolution.' by burning Beacon to the ground and that's just the start. Adam also made it clear out of spite that he intends to destroy everything you loved mom. That means dad, grandma and grandpa."
Lily could see Blake turning pale as she began to shiver fearfully, if what her 'daughter is saying is correct, that means Adam was coming for her! It fills her with terror and her breath wavers.
Ilia on the other hand, looked genuinely horrified at what Adam had said directly to Blake's face. To kill everything Blake cares about out of spite was not what Adam would do. Right? There has to be more information and it's clear that her daughter was willing to tell. She needs to know more.
"Lily." Ilia calls her as she watches as Lily comforts her mother.
"Yea?" Lily nods her head before giving her the attention.
"What happened to Adam?"
"Long story short, he lost the fight and was knocked unconscious. Aunt Yang arrived to pick up mom as she was exhausted after the fight while dad…" Lily hesitates before giving a nervous look to her mom.
"He was… nearly killed in a fight… It was there that he lost his left hand, left eye and was left mortally wounded with a blade stabbed into his chest. He somehow survived it but was left crippled and stuck in a coma for a while."
"Why tell us this?"
"Because this was when mom decided to take things into her own hands. With Adam's threat clear and dad injured and weakened, you made the choice to take a stand." Lily just smiled. "You got tired of running mom, and I'm proud to have you as a mother."
Blake could only blush, her own daughter was complimenting her. The fact that it HER daughter that was clearly much older than her makes it more awkward. "You left with dad by your side when he woke up and headed straight for Menagerie, it was there you and dad told everything that had happened in Menagerie and rallied them."
"Doesn't help the fact that Adam at this time has gotten more insane and violent. Was it? Right Ilia, you told them about how Adam was executing anyone who questioned his orders, and it got so bad that you defected."
"Really? How bad was it?" Ilia probed in.
"Really bad, planning an assassination attempt on Kali and Ghira, I think he let a coup and took over the Fang as well."
"What?!" Both Blake and Ilia could only yell out.
"Yea. I think he personally slew Sienna and blamed it on humans." Lily rubbed her chin.
"What… impossible he can't possibly do that right?" Ilia denied it while Blake just looked down.
"Sounds like something he would do…" Blake mumbled. "His extremism is why I left that day. When we were ordered to raid that train, he wanted to blow it up and kill everyone on it. That was the final straw for me and why I left. It's not what the future I fought for."
"I… see… Besides that, how are you friends with a Schnee, I've seen the looks you gave her. Have you forgotten what the Schnees have done?" Ilia's voice became louder, but she wasn't screaming.
"Aunt Weiss is a good person, Ilia. I remembered the stories she told us when we visited her. She rebelled from her father and fled to Vale and intends to take control of the company from her father and set things right. And she did." Lily smiled as she remembered when she and her siblings were little and they all visited Weiss in Atlas.
"In fact, mom and dad regularly work with her and also do some stuff about workers' rights and setting up worker unions? I still don't have a clue what those are."
"Wow… she actually pulled it off?"
"Yea… I wonder how Alexander is doing right now. I should check out on him when I get back."
"Alexander?" Blake raised an eyebrow.
"Right, Weiss's son."
"She had a kid? Wow, never thought she had it in her." Blake could only mutter.
"Besides that, are you willing to talk it out?" Lily then asked as both Blake and Ilia looked at each other.
"I suppose we can." Ilia conceded as Blake agreed.
"Sure. It would be good for us to catch up."
Lily just smiled at the whole thing. It's time for two friends to talk it out again like they once did. Perhaps they could end up like they did in her dimension.
The next day…
Everyone arrived in the theatre room only to find it empty. RGQC was not present at all in the slightest nor are Tamamo or Aries who they'd seen so far. QAI had also been quite silent and he only asked them to head to the theatre room after they spend more time in RGQC's collection or having lessons for the students. Lily also decided to tag along because she could and want to help her mother and friends.
"No one's here huh? Guess we wait until something happens?" Sun wondered as everyone gathered and sat down. Yet nothing happened for a while except for the boredom of several of the cast. Raven was not sitting with the rest of her team and was smiling.
It was then that RGQC appeared via a portal in front of everyone.
But what's different was his attire. Instead of his usual choice of clothing, RGQC was currently wearing a shirt underneath chain and fish scaled armour all over his torso. Leather armour could also be seen on his arms and legs as well as leather straps that hold a sword. Alongside that, he's wearing a cloak that had his head covered with it. One could say that he looked like he's dressing up as a mediaeval style.
"I see that you people are here. Good, I won't be around for a while since the meeting I've attended has made a decision. One realm lord will be sent directly to the Chaos Wastes to observe the current status of it and to report on it once it's done. In this case, I was chosen for the job due to my… resilience to Chaos corruption." RGQC explained as he rested one of his hands on his sword on his hip.
"Chaos wastes huh? Sounds like you got the shitty end of the deal." Mercury stated his thoughts as frowns could be seen landing on him.
"He's not wrong though." RGQC shook his head. "The Chaos wastes are terrible indeed. Worst case, I may need to head directly into the Realms of Chaos. I still remembered how many times I was nearly tempted by She Who Thirsts." The realm lord shivered with fear much to the surprise of everyone.
"She Who Thirst? Who calls themself that?" Ozpin wondered.
"Slaanesh." RGQC stated it while noticeably unnerved. "God of Excess, and one of four Chaos gods. They also represent. Depravity, Pain, Perversion, Pleasure, Love, Lust, Desire, Mastery and Beauty. The Bane of Realm lords."
"Wait, why did you call Slaanesh they?" Qrow pointed out and could only wonder as RGQC answered him.
"Well… let's just say that Slaanesh could be both genders at once… So, we call Slaanesh 'they' for simplicity's sake. Besides that, many realm lords have fallen into Slaanesh's temptations during my lifetime as a realm lord. And many of them I have personally slayed myself to prevent them from using their powers for their own gain. So much so that I earned the title of Slayer of the corrupted."
"Slayer of the corrupted. Damn, what a title." Yang muttered.
"It's not as badass as you may think. Others call me the kin slayer since it was considered Taboo for one realm god to kill another since there's only so many of us left. But someone has to do it to keep everyone in line and away from them." RGQC now looked guilty. As he turned around to face the screen.
"Do take care. This journey may take years. But I'll see you all again with how time works, I would perhaps see you in just an hour." A portal appeared in front of the realm lord that showed endless snow as far as the eyes could see. "See you around." RGQC gave a smile as he walked through the portal as it closed.
[Good luck. Master.] QAI could then be heard.
"Soo… now what? With RGQC gone off to do his mission. What do we do now?"
[We're going to resume the animation you watched a while ago. Master's orders.]
"Oh Oh! That cute series! Yay!" Nora proceeded to cheer out as she pulled out the Zergling plushie. At this point, Emerald had already given up questioning how Nora does all that.
[Then we shall not wait anymore]
"It's been a while since I was last here…" Lily hummed. "Dang, I should ask mom how the show has been so far…"
The screen starts up black with the sound of machinery in the back that was quickly followed by headlamps being shown on screen. It then cuts to show a drawn Factory as the hellion could be seen leaving it and driving off.
"The hellion looks like a toy car!" Penny so helpfully points out as this just earned smiles from most of the audience.
The hellion could then be seen turning its flamethrower 180 degrees as it faced the back, which was quickly followed by it using it like a literal thruster as it sped off. Leaving a trial of fire behind it.
The scene then cuts to a Zerg hive that looks more comforting to the eyes, as well as some drones that could be seen mining minerals by tapping on them with their claws. In fact, they look adorable compared to their actual counterparts that looked quite dangerous and more real.
"They look so adorable like the Zerglings." Ruby cooed as did the others.
"I wonder why the animator chose that kind of art style for them?" Velvet wondered as the screen continued.
The screen then showed the hellion from earlier arriving before stopping directly in front of one of the drones that just looked at it while holding a chunk of minerals. The camera then cut to show the drone making some noises before it held out its claws as if it wanted to offer it to the hellion.
"Aww… he wants him to have it." Ruby smiled.
"And I have a bad feeling right now." Tai muttered as he was instantly proven correct.
The Hellion then could be seen firing its flamethrower and turning the poor drone into ash, much to the shock of the younger audience.
"Damn Tai, did you suddenly adopt my semblance?" Qrow smirked as Tai wasn't amused in the slightest.
"No. I'll leave the bad luck to you Qrow."
"Why would they do that to such adorable little things?!" Summer pouted.
"This is war they're in, and it's a viable tactic to attack the enemy workforce." Raven just shrugs it off as her daughter joins in.
"Had experience with that mom?"
"Perhaps…"
Seeing their fellow drone turned into ash, the others immediately scattered and fled for their lives. The scene then changed to show some more other drones happily mining as one of them who was fleeing went past them. Seconds later a wave of fire came by and torched them into ash.
"Stop turning those dronies into ash!" Nora voiced her complaint as several others joined her.
"Yeah!"
The scene then cuts to show the poor drone starting to dig up the ground before placing said dirt on top of it. It then cuts between the drone and the hellion with the poor drone getting more desperate as the seconds go by. Only for the hellion to be stopped by what the audience could tell was a green slime thing.
Uhm… what's that green stuff?" Neptune wondered out loud.
"Yay dronie survived!" Nora couldn't care less about what happened.
The hellion could then be seen struggling against that green goop until a tentacle could be seen attaching itself directly to the hellion. What happened next caused pretty much everyone to laugh out loud, a very derpy looking Infestor then began making car noises as literally treating the hellion like a toy car.
Penny was also joining into the laughter before she chose to speak out. "Friend QAI, what are those abilities it uses?"
[The first one you saw is called Fungal Growth, its main purpose is to temporarily immobilise and kill targets. I won't get into detail as it's complex and gruesome if I were to explain it in detail. Moving on.] Several of the audience could only shiver in thought as to what QAI meant.
[The other ability is called Neural Parasite. In short, it is mind control by default.]
"Wait what! What you're saying is that…" Ruby shivered.
[Their minds are taken over by the Zerg when they attach themselves directly into their heads.] This fact alone made everyone pale at the thought of being controlled by that thing.
[Just be glad you won't have to deal with it anytime soon.]
"Do we have anyone that possesses any mind control related Semblances?" Ironwood questioned his friend.
"No and hopefully there isn't anyone out there that possesses it."
Cinder on the other hand wonders, if such individuals that had such semblances exist out there, it would be incredibly beneficial if they could just control people and get them to do stuff for them.
The Infestor continued playing with the hellion before it decided to smash it against the hatchery. Probably realising that it broke its toy, the Infestor then poked it with its stubby claws as the camera cut to black.
"Now that I think about it, I think there's a student in beacon that has ice-based Semblance, the painful type..." Lily rubbed her arm in memory of that incident as Blake wondered what she meant.
"Lily, what do you mean by that?"
"Well mom, his semblance seemed to have aura piercing capabilities for some reason. I still remember there were times my team and I got really painful freezer burns from him due to him trapping us in blocks of ice that hurt us. Similar to the fungal growth ability QAI mentioned.
"Sounds painful." Sun winced.
"Yea, good thing I wore covering clothes. A shame that Ame's choice of clothing left some of her skin exposed…" Lily's face looked unnerved as the screen started again.
The screen lights up again to show the Terran base that had a bunker as well as a command centre that has an orbital command upgrade as well as a planetary fortress. This earned interesting looks from the audience as they had never seen that type of building before. Yet it reminds them of the command centre.
"...that building has a face." Jaune pointed out.
"True." Ren agreed.
"I wonder what's its purpose. Same can go for the other building that had a satellite dish on it." Pyrrha then glanced at her team who just shrugged.
That was quickly followed by the sound of roaches as two of them could be seen hiding behind a bush. First of all, that everyone could tell, they looked less detailed and less menacing. Secondly, Nora immediately shouts out.
"Roachies!"
"Yes, those are roaches friend Nora!"
"Uh huh." Coco hummed.
One of the roaches then gave a grin before it borrowed its buddy followed by it. The scene then changes to show said roaches with a grin on their faces, disappearing within the ground itself as a rather menacing music could be heard.
"Me no likey music." Ruby pouted as her mother just patted her on the head.
"What horrendous choice of music, then again, I suppose it fits with the theme…" Weiss adds her thoughts as several others agreed with her.
"Wait, Roaches can move while burrowed?" Neptune points it out as QAI steps in.
[Yes. While we didn't mention it earlier, but it was mentioned in one of Stetmann's codexes, some Zerg like roaches are able to 'swim' in the ground itself, but not as fast as they were unborrowed. This tends to result in ambushes often due to them being able to bypass defences. Or in this case, harassing the enemy.] QAI explained as everyone remembered what Pietro had said the other time.
"Suppose that's them swimming in the ground itself." Robyn muttered much to everyone's agreement.
The scene then changes to show obvious that said burrowed roaches were 'swimming' under the Terran defences and one clearly went underneath a marine. Yet the marine clearly didn't react in the slightest that the ground moved at all. This obviously boggled the more mature audience as QAI explained.
[It's meant for comedic purposes. Obviously in an actual scenario, the roaches would have burrowed deeper to avoid causing cravenness in the ground itself. And that marine would be alerted to it.]
"Ok…" Winter seemed flabbergasted at QAI's explanation yet it made some sense…
"That make sense?" Winter's younger sister raised an eyebrow while tilting her head.
The roaches could then be seen unburrowing as they slowly moved towards the planetary fortress as the unnerving music resumed. The roaches smirked before they burrowed into the ground itself. The scene then cuts to show the planetary fortress looking bored as hell while looking around, as SCVs could be seen mining minerals.
[That is a planetary fortress. An upgraded version of a command centre that has its own defensive capabilities with its twin Ibiks cannons. However, the upgrade is permanent and the command centre loses its ability to fly due to how heavy it got.]
"In short, it trades its ability to fly for increased defensive power. I suppose it makes sense when in constant fighting…" Jaune hummed as Pyrrha nodded.
As the planetary fortress was looking away, one of the roaches attacked and dragged the poor SCV underground. The fortress then looked back only to see one less SCV. Much to everyone's amusement, the fortress leaned in closer as its eyes expressed the look of confusion. It got even funnier for some of the audience when it began to look around for the missing SCV and even looked underneath one of its thrusters.
"Did it seriously think that it stepped on one of the SCVs?" Neo giggled it out loud as Torchwick laughed at the thought.
"I wouldn't be surprised we would see someone in the cartoon getting stepped on!"
The fortress then looked back as another SCV let out a yell as the roach grabbed it and brought it underground. This time however, it alerted the fortress itself as it now paid attention more deeply than before, and like earlier, another SCV got attacked by a roach but missed its shot.
"Dang, though it would hit it." Lily muttered. "Now that I think about it, it reminds me of me playing hide and seek. Except it's me trying to find Gladiolus and Chrysan in our home…" A small smile then appeared on her face reminiscing the time in which she and her siblings were much younger.
A drop pod then landed as a yellow robot with red eyes could then be seen, only for the roach to take it as well.
"What was that machine?" Pietro then asked.
[That machine is called the Mobile Utility Lunar Excavator, or MULE for short. It is an experimental Terran mining robot that can be called down to mine. The robot proves to be more efficient at retrieving minerals compared to SCVs but it is still in the prototype stage and has a limited battery life as a result.]
"Welp. It got destroyed before it could do anything." Yang just shrugged.
The planetary fortress then began firing and it actually hit a roach as it let out a squeal and it looked like it died. Though, it wasn't dead and immediately burrowed back into the ground. The roach then took the last SCV in its mineral field and the planetary fortress began blind firing its cannons on the mineral field.
It then paused for a second as a new SCV then emerged from it only for the planetary fortress to blast it into pieces. Much to the initial shock followed by laughter when its expression became horrified at what it had done.
"That just happened." Tai snorted.
"It should have just watched its fire." Summer was also giggling at it. She should have felt bad for it but it's just so sudden that it is funny.
The roaches could be seen leaving the planetary fortress behind all with a smirk on its face before the screen goes dark.
[And we are done for now, Master has also made a request to allow Lily to join us in the next mission.]
"Wait, RGQC wants me to watch it with you guys?" The revelation that RGQC wants Lily to watch the actual series was new.
"Yea! Zeratul's a badass in the previous mission!" Sun says it out as everyone nods their heads in agreement.
"Wait, who's Zeratul?" Lily then asked as QAI could be heard again.
[Do not worry about that Lily, everyone here will tell you what you've missed so far. Now we shall begin.]
"Oh boy I'm so excited!" Nora cheered as she raised her hands sky high as the screen darkens.
And we're done with this Intermission and Carbot special chapter!
So, whatcha think of the revelations and the character development that has happened so far? Did you enjoy it? A part of me kept on yapping on how it felt rushed. Do let me know in the reviews!
Besides that, next chapter we will be returning to our regular schedule with Lily inside because I can! Anyways, we are introduced to another resident of RGQC's realm in the form of Filo! Our good old Filolial queen!
I know the Carbot part seems quite small but I don't want to spoil certain units that would pop us in the Carbot before the main story. I hope you understand. That and I don't wish to finish season 1 that quickly.
Anyways, with my other works, if you like my work and want to see more of it in the future, favourite and follow this work of mine. If you wish to say anything to me, good or bad. Leave a review. I will answer it if I feel it is relevant or I want to address it.
With that, I will see ya guys in the next chapter soon.
RGQC out!