He sat upon his hovering throne, freshly commandeered from its human owner. The now open-air office was the center of attention for the city of Vacuo. Nobody could have missed the pyrotechnic display that played prelude to the demise of Shade's headmistress, and the only way to the top that remained was to climb the sloped walls of the academy itself.
The first wave of lambs had attempted exactly that, only to be promptly cast down in an awesome blast of wind, tumbling or outright launching to the base of Vacuo's fortress of learning. Moments later, a number of creaking craft squealed their way through the air towards him. The largest, a sort of floating, rusted barge opted to hang back, as smaller gunship-type craft with independently articulating jet engines closed in to show their broadsides off to him.
Their side doors opened to reveal seated gunmen, though one ship looked only to seat an officer, who spoke into a ceiling-hung microphone and through massive speakers slapped onto the fuselage. "This is the Minutemen! Whoever you are, you've been marked a threat to the people of Vacuo! Surrender or die!"
"Ah, an ultimatum," Frieza muttered to himself. "The final mercy of the mighty… and the last gasp of the defiant." Still, the fact that a man with a mouthpiece held him to any disadvantage was anathema to him, and unfortunately the Lord of Lords was not possessed of a power for voice projection.
"Last chance! On your front or we—" He cried out and stumbled as a fuschia lance of power sailed past his ear and harmlessly through the open catwalk, but all that crossed the speakers was an ear-splitting distorted and electronic shriek as the death beam split the sky.
The air barge, safely sitting in the back was speared head-on, run through with its windows flashing instantly aflame inside. Behind even that, a tall hilltop was blown off, slinging rock and earth a clear mile as a bright purple convection current dragged the awful energies into a proper mushroom cloud. A moment was spared for all parties to watch the barge fall in flame and ruin, crushing a town square and setting more than one city block on fire, letting off greasy, oily smoke.
The barge had barely struck the ground before the Minutemen took all manner of action, two of the gunships falling back immediately, but the first shot was taken by a sniper as Frieza felt a light flick against his forehead. He stared between his own eyes, peeling the small, soft thing away as he regarded it with a smile. "How tragically droll."
A flick of his finger, and the last thing that went through the gunman's head was his own round, accompanied by the glass of the rifle's scope. The starboard engine burst into flame as metal and shrapnelized glass spread like a shotgun, but punched through like grapeshot. The gunship fought an immediate, slow tailspin as it limped off, but it would inevitably strike something before it touched down. Fairly dealt with as far as Frieza was concerned.
"By the gods!" the man giving orders exclaimed, as something appeared to phase into existence behind him with a shrill noise.
"You called?"
He spun around, only to come face to face with the short horn'ed demon, who held a pair of sharp nails inches from his sternum. It was barely a tap, yet he staggered back, clutching his chest in pain. Frieza only watched with casual unconcern as he fell from the ship, wailing as his body rapidly expanded larger and larger like a balloon.
With an agonizing scream, a blast swept up to rattle the craft. He'd never even hit the ground.
"My dear man," Frieza began, addressing the pilot behind him, who looked back at the scene with his mouth agape, "set us down atop the Academy, won't you? Unless you'd like to share in his fate."
He wasted no time, putting down and killing the engines even as the other craft finally came to a skidding halt outside the Kingdom wall, a wing shearing off as it tumbled onto its back, fouling its surviving engine as desert sands were sucked into the turbine en masse.
The terrified pilot leapt out of his seat and ran, hyperventilating for the next step down from Shade's rooftop.
"Tut tut," Frieza said, "were you dismissed then?" A narrow beam caught him from the back as he reached the edge, and he went still, sailing quietly off the roof and out of sight. "I don't abide a deserter, whoever they work for."
He stepped up to the hanging microphone, the sirens of emergency vehicles and the dull roar of flames on the air. Frieza gave the mic a single tap of his finger, the noise a single blurt of bass that rang out into the night. He let the silence reign.
"Are you alive, 'Kingdom of Vacuo?' " he asked, his voice magnifying. "The time is come that we had a pleasant 'fireside chat!' "
He waited. Slowly, he made out the shapes of people in the streets, listening. "I am Lord Frieza, the one that will save you from your meaningless existence, that you might strive in the name of something greater than yourselves!"
More filled the streets with caution, beholding the voice as if they all hoped they were hallucinating it.
"I speak of myself, of course. Incidentally, in the spirit of pioneering and new beginnings, I hereby re-christen this cluster of hovels and barest commerce, 'Colony One,' of Frieza Planet Four-Eight-Three!"
There was the slightest hint of murmurs among the forming citizenry, dark mutters that Frieza was all too familiar with.
"Well now, we've all had our fun… but here, and no further my friends."
He gave a delighted hum.
"I shall grant clemency to those that have raised hands in defiance against me, but henceforth all resistance to the Rule of Law that is the word of Lord Frieza, shall be deemed highest treason!"
The murmurs below were accompanied by a much louder din.
"Treason itself, defined as criminal conspiracy against the Frieza Force, theft and vandalism of Frieza Force property, resisting any command issued by a Frieza Force operative, or dereliction of one's duties by way of sloth or incompetence… All shall be penalized by the extermination of the individual's bloodline along with themselves. Those unwilling to carry out sentencing will be subjected to much the same, for reasons already stated. Furthermore, failure to report seditious acts in itself will be considered criminal conspiracy… and well… you get the idea."
The rabble began to froth with rage and fear, as the crowd nearly turned on itself. The most enraged were close to storming the academy, while others were already tackling the former, edging towards a full-fledged riot.
Frieza smiled as he stepped back into the hover-chair, sighing, "Ah, it never fails. It would almost be boring, except that I do love a problem that takes care of itself..."
He floated back within range of the microphone. "You're all quite welcome to rescind this by force, preserve your ignominious way of life… but know you will have THIS to contend with!"
He raised a hand to the sky, and in seconds the ground shuddered as a cone of blackish-red power fountained into the heavens, as wide as Shade Academy itself, a beacon that roared into the sky and dragged the airship up and into oblivion with it. Arid desert clouds rippled away as others still formed rings around the jet, whose light left all of Vacuo to the appearance that it was drenched in blood, its citizenry cowering under the light that cast such a shadow…
"Yes… yes, I understand you're not that kind of doctor, Bart."
He had been awake for hours, feeling out, almost too weak to speak. Barely able to move, he focused on the distant details, his gracious host's voice receding into the back of his mind, even as he walked past his place on the couch to continue his conversation. "Man, I don't know where he came from," Taiyang continued, "he showed up here, sopping wet, beat half to death, mumbling something about refrigerators."
The frantic voice on the other end of the call reached Goku's ear as pure gibberish. He really was in a sorry state if his senses were this dulled.
"Well sure, my first thought was Raven dumped this guy here," he answered, brows furrowed in thought. "He's wearing these martial arts clothes, and he's built like a tank, so if they fought, he fits the bill. But she's never done that before."
The voice on the other end made a further suggestion, even as Goku heard a tinny bell ringing along with the shuffling approach of small paws. A weight was suddenly on his chest, as the source breathed hotly on his face with an excited panting.
"No…" Tai answered lowly. "No, that doesn't fit Raven at all. If she beat him this bad, she'd leave him humiliated, or she'd finish the job. She wouldn't use her semblance to get rid of someone she couldn't beat, she'd consider that… cowardly. Besides that, not a sword-wound on him."
"Zwei…!" Taiyang warned, as Goku felt his face assaulted with a small tongue. "He's resting, bud. You've gotta give him some space…"
The panting Goku heard ceased, and he heard a perplexed licking of canine lips. Goku didn't mind the friendly creature one bit, but he was distracting him from assessing.
Gohan… he'd felt his son's power flare up a few times, just slightly... Krillin had one incredibly minor incident… He'd felt Vegeta fly off the handle almost immediately, but he'd gone quiet since. He suspected others might have crossed over too, but he couldn't be sure.
What he knew was that they were all separated, and at the very least, this guy Frieza was a ways off… but he'd been busy. Frieza didn't muffle his power at all. He might not even know how. Or might just not feel like he needed to. He wasn't sure what Frieza was up to, just that a few powers had gone out, and he'd flexed his own a few times. Probably just bullying the locals...
"Weird he's in such fighting shape though, because his aura isn't even unlocked. If he wakes up, I might do it for him to enhance the healing process…"
The voice chattered away somehow more feverishly as Zwei only settled his weight further onto Goku's chest, the pleased panting returning.
"Bart… Barty…! Look…" he refrained, before standing rod-straight and raising his voice. "Yes! I have no idea who he is! No ID, no pockets to keep a wallet or anything. He's got this symbol on the front and back, but when I asked our linguistics guy, he said it was just some word for 'enlightenment,' and for all we know he bought it at some kitschy flea market 'because it looks cool.' "
Goku managed a grin.
"Look, you have field-medic experience! Signal's staff is too backed-up with the overflow from outer Vale, and without ID, getting him treated is gonna be trouble, especially if Raven is involved."
This definitely wasn't Earth. Goku was certain enough of that from these names. Not that he'd been everywhere on his world…
"I just need to know if this guy can crash here and recover, if he needs serious treatment or if it's even safe to move him."
The voice lowered its tone, hemming and hawing before seeming to relent.
"Uh huh!" Taiyang replied enthusiastically. "Okay then! I'll see you here. Watch the roads, been having some Ursa trouble lately. Bye…"
The scroll clicked off, and Taiyang sighed. "Okay… that's that then. Zwei, don't be a pest…"
Goku decided he'd test his strength, if for no other reason than to thank the man. With a strain, his eyelids flew open, and he opened his mouth to take a deep breath.
He saw the corgi stir with interest and begin sniffing like mad as Goku's chest tried to lift him with his lungs expanding. The little dog took the hint and leapt off, claws clicking against the hardwood floor as he began barking like mad.
"Zwei, what th—?! Oh…!" Taiyang said, rushing over as he noticed Goku stirring, eyes wide open. "Whoa whoa whoa, easy easy easy! Dunno what's wrong with you, but I wouldn't make any plans just yet."
Goku tried his limbs. He could just move his head, but the crunch needed to sit himself up was out of the question. That said, his left arm was sore, but he could move it with some difficulty.
"Th-thanks…!" he replied, meeting the blonde man's eyes as the dog's tail went wild. "Sorry, I've been listening in while I was lying here. You're Taiyang, right? My name is Goku…!"
He offered his hand, which Taiyang took gingerly. "Uh… sure, pleasure."
"So who's Raven?" Goku asked immediately.
"Uhm…!" Taiyang stammered at his bluntness. "Ex wife, ex huntress... lead's a bandit tribe out in Anima. That old chestnut..."
"Well, nobody I know, I can say that much," Goku told him. "Where I was before I wound up here… unless your old lady was a blue guy, red guy, or purple guy… and dead…"
Taiyang's eyebrows rose with every detail.
"...I haven't fought anyone that fits the description," Goku finished, before noticing the look his host was giving him. "Oh, it's not like that. This guy I know named Vegeta killed them, I just knocked them out so they wouldn't hurt anyone."
There was a fairly pregnant silence as Taiyang slowly nodded, eyes fixed on him. "How long were you awake…?" he asked, eyes narrowing.
Goku sighed. "Long enough to guess I'm not on Earth. Of course, I never watched the news back home either, so I could just be real behind on stuff."
"...'On Earth'. What's 'Earth?' " Taiyang asked, as Zwei stood on his hind legs and placed his paws on the cushion beside their visitor's head.
"Oh… well I guess that settles it then," Goku chuckled as he reached to muss the dog's furry head. "Hee hee hee, good boy!" He took a long breath. "Earth is where I'm from!" he explained, before thinking of something and making an exasperated sound. "Uh, or… it's where I've lived all my life, is what I mean. I'm actually a Saiyan. That's a race of alien warriors, by the way…"
"...Uh huh," Taiyang responded, allowing a single nod of his head.
Goku took a sharp breath again as another thought struck him. "Oh, right! You're an alien too, so you probably know all about it."
The slightest smile crept onto the blond patriarch's face. "Whoa, hey! First, aliens don't all know each other, man, that's a little messed up to assume… Second, if you're on my planet, that makes you the alien."
"Well yeah, that's what I said," he replied, confused.
Taiyang's eyes widened as the truth of his words struck him. "O-oh right, you did say that…"
Zwei looked between the two, looking pleased with himself.
Goku sighed. "Sorry, I'm striking out hard here…"
The gracious host stood up rod-straight. "What…?"
"It's like my wife says," the hero of Earth elaborated, "if I'm not starting a rollicking good fight… I make a pretty lame first impression."
A visible calm came over the father of two at that. "Aw, don't beat yourself up," he told him, "B'sides, looks like someone else already had the pleasure."
Goku laughed, before coughing sharply. "Urgh, laughing hurts…"
"Sorry," Taiyang said curtly. "So what were you muttering about when you first showed up? It was something about a freezer?"
Goku's eyebrows rose. "Oh, yeah…" he said, glaring into the distance. "Frieza. Listen… your planet's in danger..."
Gohan kept staring at his hands. It was hard to believe that yet more power hid within him that Piccolo nor the Grand Elder had found. But, he supposed it wasn't hidden power, just power he hadn't learned to use yet. It wasn't terribly impressive… just very different.
He sat politely in the waiting room. They had been getting some stares from earlier, but they mostly had the run of the place. Ruby had gone in for a while. Apparently family alone could visit patients that were also VIPs. Some security guff that she had objected to, but ultimately complied with, heading in to watch over her uncle.
The door opened, and the girl herself emerged with a brisk step, her eyes red, but the rest of her smiling. Gohan, Ren and Nora stood up, not asking the most obvious question with words.
"He's okay," Ruby said at last. "Up and talking. They said he'll be cleared to leave by tonight. He's gonna be fine."
"Woo, ain't that a dramatic sigh of relief?" Nora exclaimed. "Been a tragedy if the mangy old drunk wasn't around to harass bar wenches."
"Nora…" Ren sighed. "Too s—"
"What?" she asked. "He didn't keel over, he deserves some victory ribbing! Ruby knows I'm right…"
The red reaper in question rolled her eyes, but smiled regardless.
"Hey, what'cha got there?" Nora asked, pointing at the envelope in Ruby's left hand.
"Oh, letter to home," she answered. "Wasn't sure what to do with myself… he seemed like he could go both ways, so—"
At that moment, the far door opened suddenly. "Guys!" Jaune nearly shouted, half-jogging over to them. "Guys…" he repeated, "I've got— Oh wait, how's—?"
"Be fit as a fiddler-crab by midnight," Nora answered. "There, now you say your thing, ya' tease…"
"Uh… 'fiddler crab?' " Ruby asked. "I don't get it."
"She's just hungry," Ren explained. "You were saying?"
Jaune froze to the spot for a moment, before he turned slightly towards the young girl behind him, who none of them had noticed approaching before now. Clad in soft blue, it didn't help her evident malaise.
Ruby locked eyes with her a moment, before the girl looked away, sniffling.
"Who's your friend?" Ruby asked.
Jaune sighed. "Team… this is 'Silea. Penthesilea Nikos…"
Gohan, watching politely from the back, beheld as a wave of understanding spread like fire between the young Huntsmen. Even Nora covered her mouth with both hands as she sought the eyes of her team members.
"Nikos…?!" Ruby asked, thunderstruck. "J-Jaune… what have you told—?"
"I know," 'Silea said suddenly, looking as though speaking were physically painful. "He didn't have to say anything… It's written all over your faces! I was s-stupid to get my hopes up anyway! It's been nearly a year…!"
" 'Silea… I just want to say… Pyrrha—" Ruby began, voice shaking, but the girl shut her eyes fast, holding a hand out in warding.
"J-just… save it! You can say whatever you want later! Right now, I-I can't…!"
"Later?" Nora asked, surprisingly timid.
Jaune stepped forward. "I promised her I'd explain to her parents. It'd mean a lot to me if you guys came, but I wouldn't blame any of you if—"
"Of course we'll come!" Nora blurted, her voice fragile. "All this way, and I miss something this important?"
Ren nodded. "I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't afford her that respect."
Ruby stared at the floor, pained. "And I have to come. What I have to say can't come from anyone else. It wouldn't be right."
She turned to Gohan, who watched as he pieced together what was being discussed. "Gohan… this won't be a happy meeting we're going to. Are you okay coming along?"
He regarded her quietly. He felt he was intruding on something private… but they still wanted him there. He nodded, but Nora made an uncertain noise.
"How much Lien have we still got?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the boy.
"Money?" Ruby wondered, before an idea hit her. "Oh, you think we should bring something? Flowers, or—?"
"No!" she said, before stopping to think. "Yes! ...Maybe! What I meant was… the kid kinda stands out for a visit like this, don't he?"
Everyone, including 'Silea, gave Gohan a sweeping look.
Indeed, even among Huntsmen he looked utterly strange. The blue skin-tight material covered most of him until his torso. Armor on a child only raised further questions, and the huge pauldrons on top of the rest of it made him look like a superhero.
In other words, not the right dress for such a solemn affair.
Ruby nodded. "Yeah... I'll go with him to find something a bit less…"
"Babyface?" Nora suggested, to Jaune's incomprehension. "Watch more wrestling, Jaune…"
"I was gonna say, 'spandex,' but potato-tomato…" Ruby said. "That alright, Gohan? Your mom ever play dress-up with you?"
Gohan shuffled his feet, nose reddening. "Yeah."
She put a hand on his shoulder. "Good! Text me the address… it's on this level, right?"
'Silea nodded curtly.
"Okay, we'll meet you there in an hour," Ruby said, taking Gohan's hand as she headed for the door. "Uh… Gohan, can you dress yourself yet?"
"Yeah."
She sighed quite a bit. "Okay, good! Cause I never had any brothers or younger siblings, so that part would be pretty awkward."
"Me neither!" he told her. "And I never had an older sister."
Ruby burst into a fit of giggles. "Aww, stop buttering up the shortbread, you little dork…"
Bulma took a step back. She felt… fuzzy. It was a bit like being laden with wooly clothes and static electricity, but not that at all. No… like that, but inside too.
"W-what did you do to me?" she asked.
Blake grinned. "I unlocked your aura. If you're being hunted, you might as well have some general defense. It'll shield you, at least a bit."
Bulma didn't respond immediately, as Blake just continued to beam.
"What?" Bulma asked, the smile unsettling her.
"Sorry," Blake said, letting out a breath as she rubbed her forehead, "you've had me so captive and confused this whole time, it's kinda nice to see you out of the loop."
"What, your friend hauling me off to play 'hostage' didn't do it for ya?" Bulma asked bitterly. "At least she wasn't gonna try playing 'footsie' with me or something."
Blake leaned against the wall, sighing as she looked away. "Sorry. Don't make assumptions though. You might be a bit on in years for her, but 'footsie' wouldn't be out of the question."
Bulma stared blankly.
Blake regarded her expression ponderously for a split second before standing straight again. "Oh! Not against someone's will or anything… at least, I don't think she's that far gone."
"Wait, how do you know that?!" Bulma demanded. "When I said 'friend' I was joking!"
Blake took a breath. "Ilia is a member of a faunus rights group. The White Fang. And until a few years ago… I was a member too. I was in with my friends, one named Adam Taurus… and you've already met Ilia Amitola."
"A few years ago?" Bulma breathed. "You can't be out of high school! What were you, some kind of delinquent?!"
Blake closed her eyes, shaking her head. "It… it wasn't like that. Not at first, anyway. My parents started the White Fang as an advocacy group. It was about fighting for our people, yes, but it was also about outreach. It was about understanding. It took me longer to catch on, but it warped into something ruthless and hateful… my parents abdicated leadership, and… well, it's only gotten worse."
"So, what?" Bulma asked. "It's an equality terrorist organization?"
"You can't call what they want 'equality' anymore," Blake explained. "Now it's just about revenge for what was done to our kind, and more. They don't want to reach the middle and stop anymore. They want to flip the script and make humans experience exactly the pain and hardship we did."
Bulma found a crate and sat down. "How does that just seep in? I mean, you caught on, your folks did. You can't be the only one to see the problem."
Blake's eyebrows rose, and she stammered a moment. "Well… okay, you're half right. It hadn't really gotten bad until Adam… well, apparently his ideas have been gaining traction. It's not the entire White Fang. That's why Sun and I are going to the nerve center for the White Fang leadership, Lower Shambhala, because Adam is going to stage a coup d'etat… radicalizing the entire White Fang."
Bulma leaned back. "Whoa, how'd you get the inside track on that?!"
Blake smiled. "We got a hold of Ilia's scroll… it's an electronic device," she explained, holding out her own, the white and gold gadget's transparent screen expanding to a more proper size.
"Oh, so a phone then."
"A… a phone? I mean… that's one thing it does, sure, but—"
"Wait wait, hold the phone… scroll… Whatever, just hold it!" Bulma told her. "You have actual evidence, and you're not warning these people?!"
Blake's lips pursed dangerously. "Of course we are. My father is planning a press conference for the moment we get back with the whole thing documented."
"I meant why didn't you leak this internationally?" Bulma rephrased. "On the web, or whatever that amounts to on your world?!"
"That's the other thing," Blake said, countenance darkening. "A while back, international communication went down. Completely. There are no digital comms between the Kingdoms anymore."
Bulma stepped back, her imagination taking root. "What?! The entire planet?! What the heck could have happened, an asteroid strike?!"
"Adam happened," Blake explained. "The CCT system was shut down when their attack took out Beacon Tower in the Kingdom of Vale. I was there."
"Wait, a tower falls, and all global communications just tank?!"
Blake nodded. "The Cross Continental Transmit system allows communication between the four Kingdoms, but they only work as an adjoined system. One tower goes, they all go."
Bulma's eyes looked liable to bulge out of her head.
"You okay?" Blake asked.
"What kind of stupid, backwards, ineffectual model IS that?!" Bulma demanded, drawing the stares of passerby, even after the destructive skirmish that took place there not minutes previously. Blake herself flinched, surprised at the outburst. "What if a tower needs maintenance?! What if a squirrel fries itself on a wire?! All global comms go down, everywhere?! They seriously set up a system that could be taken down in one shot?! It's like they MEANT for this to happen!"
Blake blinked a few times. "W-well, the philosophy behind it was, 'either Remnant speaks together, or not at all'. It was supposed to encourage cooperation and foster trust between the Kingdoms and make them depend on each othe—"
"Oh, and look where that's gotten them," Bulma said, crossing her arms. "Because I'll bet nobody starts pointing fingers when comms go out all at once and nobody can clarify what's going on for days at a time! Paralyzed economy, no idea whether it's just the opening move before getting stabbed in the back by your 'stalwart allies'. Yeah, this wasn't doomed to fail at all…"
"Good to see she's not lost for words," came Sun's voice, from above. Both ladies backed away as he swept down from the roof, looking put-out.
"No luck?" Blake asked unnecessarily.
Sun shook his head ruefully. "Tagged her once or twice. I don't think we'll see her too soon after that."
Blake stood straight and began walking briskly to the end of the alley. "Then we should get going while the going is good. Bulma, are you going to be okay?"
The blue-haired doyenne tilted her head. "Okay what?"
Blake urged her forward and went in very close, lowering her voice. "The coup. We're leaving on my parents' boat. Obviously you don't have to come along for the dangerous stuff, but if we leave you with my parents it makes my family an immediate target, so we at least need you on the boat."
Bulma sighed, looking less and less comfortable being a wanted woman. "Well… I didn't have any other plans. She crossed her arms and caught Sun's eye. "Is there a Remnant word for 'Shanghai'd…?' 'Cause I'm trying to figure who did it to me… The Dragon, or you kids…"
"Now arriving at the City of Mistral. If you are continuing with us to Windpath, be sure to retain your reboarding pass as staff clean and inspect the cabin."
Oscar Pine marveled at the grandeur of the infamous 'city of the north wind,' as the intercom pointlessly alerted the train's occupants to the plainly obvious. Two peaks rising above, Haven Academy bridging them near the top. Beauty and culture sang from every crack in the twin mountains.
"It's quite something, isn't it?" the much maligned voice of… his new self commented, seeing through his youthful eyes. He'd long stopped fighting it.
"Sure is… I'd always heard of how huge and dense and beautiful the Kingdoms were, and we always had pictures. But it's different, seeing it yourself."
"I've already noticed some… differences," Professor Ozpin noted. "I wonder if you did likewise."
Oscar gave a breath of laughter as he saw out, minor structures passing by the windows. "We're playing this 'ancient memories' game again?"
"Well… these aren't SO ancient."
Oscar noticed after only mild concentration that he did notice things that felt off, or wrong. "The lower levels are a lot more decayed… run-down. There were a lot of smaller homesteads and farms plots… but most of these are empty or under a single property. All well defended. The bottom tier defenses are a little too familiar. No automated systems, all of it in disrepair. Leo…"
"Very good," Ozpin said, audibly nodding. "Yes, I'd heard rumors for a great while. And while I wouldn't place the blame squarely on his shoulders, Professor Lionheart does sit on the Mistral Council…"
Oscar peered up the cliffs. So much could lurk behind every crevice. It was overwhelming.
"From what I've come to understand, Mistral has districted itself in a hierarchy of a most assuredly LITERAL sense. The further from the peak, the least in society. And while Atlas bears a deeper economic disparity, its defenses and climate tend towards the protection of every citizen. The same cannot be said of Mistral."
"Really? I thought Atlas saw Mantle as more of an afterthought…"
"I… have not visited in a great while, but James has always been insistent to a fault on safeguarding his Kingdom…"
Oscar frowned. "So at the end of the day… what are we here to do?"
"Simply put? Prevent the fall of another Huntsman Academy, make safe the four Relics, keep the power of the other Maidens out of her hands. If we can enlist the aid of Professor Lionheart, all the better."
"And this… Qrow Branwen? You think he'll come here?"
"I do. We had a number of contingencies regarding my reincarnation, and I was quite clear that if the worst should happen, if I fell against the enemy and the school was taken, that one of my confidants should follow the best lead. There is no question that all roads lead to Haven."
The breaks squealed on the train as it finally slowed to a stop. The doors opened as station attendants stood by as sentinels to distribute passes and look over itineraries, as passengers began to flood out.
Oscar slowly worked through the scrum at the door to the streets beyond. "Well, no way but forward… whatever that is."
He stepped out onto the crowded streets, beggars and merchants and shady characters navigating the organized chaos. "So many people… where do we even begin to look?"
Ozpin gave a small chuckle. "I think I have a good idea."
Gohan watched with ironic concern as the older boy with the surprising power level walked out from the train station, evidently alone. If not for his strange, mottled energy, he wouldn't have noticed, but he was doing all he could to occupy himself as Ruby attempted to compensate the good man at the register for services rendered… with mixed success.
"Oh wait… so do I tip you? What's the acceptable rate for—?"
"Miss, don't insult me, I do not need your charity," the older, tight-skinned Mistralian clerk snapped. "I haven't tailored the child's clothes, so these are goods, not services anyway. But In Mistral the price is the price."
"U-um, okay…" Ruby said awkwardly, digging through her pocketbook.
Gohan, trying not to stare, looked once again over his new clothes. A familiar shade of purple, they were roomy and comfortable, right down to the soft shoes. It wasn't a fighting gi, more akin to robes, but they weren't so fragile to come apart with movement. The lack of sleeves on his shirt were literally a breath of fresh air, not to say that the armor had been suffocating.
"Hmm! And I need pity least of all from some culturally-dead, ignorant tourist, who enters my establishment with her ratty, tattered cape. Not to mention, stinking up my store with her sweat and body odor. Perhaps your parents haven't taught you the facts of life, but it is generally appropriate for girls your age to start wearing deodorant."
Ruby blushed, her expression finally crossing from generally embarrassed to legitimate insult.
"You don't talk about her like that!" Gohan ordered, standing as tall as he could, not even reaching the countertop.
Ruby turned in an instant, expression softening as she ruffled his hair. "Gohan, i… it's okay, we're just gonna pay and get outta here."
The clerk looked down at Gohan, his lips puckered to the side in vague amusement. Ruby pushed a handful of Lien chits —in exact change— onto the counter. "Here's your money," Ruby said in a low tone. "Have a nice day," she finished, not looking at him.
She took Gohan's hand and tugged gently as they walked out of the store.
"Try not to give the other stores any more trouble. Good doing business with you," the clerk said at last. Gohan stopped, Ruby turning to see the look in his eyes. It was a piercing stare if she'd ever seen one—
The clerk had been busy with the register when the machine burst into smoke with an electronic 'pop'!
"D-doshitano?!" he screeched. "Majide?! Nandeeeee! Atlas piece of TRASH!"
Ruby immediately turned on her heel and walked away as a stream of mixed obscenities billowed out into the street like audible smoke.
"I learned that one from Mister Piccolo," Gohan explained, grinning puckishly.
"We'll… talk later," Ruby said, "First…"
She lifted her other arm, trying as subtly as possible to sniff her underarm. Wincing, she flushed slightly. "First let me hit up the drug store…"
A short while later —Ruby feeling considerably fresher— she held her scroll out as they walked, following local navigation to the address she'd been provided. Every step forward, Ruby felt her stomach twist into knots…
"Gohan… you know what you did wasn't exactly nice, right?"
Gohan paused, face falling. "Well, I mean… what he said wasn't exactly nice either."
Ruby nodded. "No… but that's not the point. I know you're not a Huntsman, but you still protect people, right?"
"...Right," Gohan muttered.
"Well… the reason I do what I do, why I'm here... what I think a Huntress' purpose is… it isn't to get even with people that did something wrong. It's not to make others answer for their crimes, or decide where guilt lies… It's to protect people, whatever that means. Even people that might not deserve it. And sometimes the people on the wrong side of that get what they deserve that way, if the only way to save people is to hurt them, or… take a life."
Gohan couldn't see it, but Ruby had a distinct memory, curling Crescent Rose around an insectoid tail…
"My point is, our strength doesn't give us the right to do whatever we want… especially at someone else's expense."
Gohan stared into her eyes. She wasn't chiding him, or even criticizing him. She was guiding him away from his mistake. "I understand… I'm sorry."
She smiled. "That's fine…! I'm flattered you want to protect me too, but jerks are just jerks. Let him stew in his shop…"
"Ruby," Ren said clearly, but dispassionately from across the way. They looked up to see 'Silea and the rest of RNJR gathered around a tight cluster of small homes made out of white, veined stone.
Ruby Rose felt her heart hammering, the wilted group looking not at all better for the setting sun sapping the warmth and light from the world. She and Gohan crossed the gap.
"Those look a lot better," Nora said, eyeing Gohan and trying her best to smile approvingly.
"Thanks," the boy said, the tension on the air like a wound-up spring, and they all knew what would set it all off.
Jaune looked fixedly at a spot on the floor as he leaned back against the wrought-iron fence, its paint faded and material rusting with age. "So… we all ready?"
There was a sort of non-commital nod rustling through them all, none too willing to set off this emotional powder keg, and none too afraid to acknowledge what must be done.
"Okay," Ruby breathed, hiding her ragged breath as she subtly shook. " 'Silea… lead the way."
They truly weren't far. Ruby looked over the uniform homes, terribly small, with gated yards barely capable of housing a small garden, let alone a lawn. Not drab or rundown; merely 'affordable,' for remaining in step with the higher class district. The one they were headed towards sent a chill down her spine once she saw the plaque mounted over it in just-faded gold lettering, with a single word in unfamiliar words she was highly suspicious of... 'Νίκος.'
"So…" Nora began, in her most earnest attempt to break the ice, "Penthesilea… Kinda surprised you shortened it to 'Silea, and not Penn—"
Everyone but Gohan and 'Silea flinched, and Nora looked like she'd just stepped into an untriggered bear trap.
Ruby could barely believe how quickly they reached the door, like she were delivered there on a treadmill. For a moment, none of them said or did anything, working up the nerve to finally, irrevocably begin what could never be taken back.
'Silea jerked her arm forward, rapping three times against the door, looking as though she'd ripped duct tape off of her own mouth.
It was too much to hope for the silence to continue, as they heard a muffled stomping while someone approached the door. It opened quickly, the drab interior quickly apparent as a brown-haired man just under Jaune's height stepped out, clad in a flattering blue vest and a white top underneath. He too shared the same, almost glowing green eyes. The scent of food wafted out to greet them. "...Can I—? 'Silea?" he began, finding her eyes as his own swept across the group. "I'm sorry, who might I ask are…?"
"They're foreigners from Vale," 'Silea told him. " 'Team RNJR,' they said. RNJR, this is my father, Peleus Nikos."
Mouth parting, he gripped the doorknob, white-knuckled as he stared. " 'Lo," he managed, unconsciously rubbing his neck.
"They're here to speak to us, father," 'Silea explained. "They've come a long way."
"Of," he began, hand reaching his mouth before sliding it down to his chin, "of course… Please, come in. 'Trera!" he called, vanishing inside and rounding the hall in a few strides, as 'Silea motioned for them to come indoors.
The door shut as the group shuffled to fit in the small living room. Gohan worked himself into the corner, glancing about the room to get the layout.
Meanwhile, Ruby took notice that the place they landed in featured a wooden trophy case, and hung upon the walls were banners for Sanctum Academy, a theme of red and gold dominating everything. Within the case, she noted the four gold cups, all inscribed with a chillingly familiar name… but they were nothing compared to so many framed pictures of a tall girl with red hair and jade eyes, clad in golden armor…
Well, at least in most of them. Ruby looked back to see Gohan staring at the same images, so blissfully unattached and unaware. Nora looked like she might fall over, staring fixedly to the spot Peleus had vanished without daring to turn, while Ren looked between everything with an unreadable face.
But Jaune Arc… his eyes fixated upon a fair few images, eyes staring out at him. His mouth hung, and his eyes sat open… not actively wide, but he didn't seem to know what to do with himself. The vision he beheld was a framed image of the same girl, far younger and wearing more casual white sportswear. She sat on her father's shoulders, having conquered a hill overlooking the lower districts of Mistral. She looked rather lanky, but unquestionably fit, braces over her gleaming teeth.
"Dearest…?" came a voice from down the hall, a voice bearing such a family resemblance, that same warbling cadence that it was painful. "Peleus, would you just tell me?! Is there something wrong with dinn—?"
Tall as a post, a sharply-featured woman in a flowing, faded gold dress held by a single shoulder strap followed her spouse into the room. Short red hair sat above tired brown eyes, which fanned over the group packed inside their veritable shrine.
For a second, Ruby thought a look of horror crossed the lady's face, but it shifted into a pleasantly surprised smile that seemed a touch too wide.
"Why… I'm sorry, 'Silea, is this a social call?" she asked, hand on her hip. "It's a bit late, dear, your father nearly has dinner prepared, and I'm afraid we haven't nearly enough for this many."
" 'Trera…" Peleus began, his face sagging.
"Oh! My apologies," she said, laughing as she offered her hand to as many as she could reach, each of whom took it glacially. "I'm Otrera Nikos, 'Silea's mother!"
Surprising all of them, Ren took point. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And as gracious as it might be, we couldn't impose on your meal. We've only come to you with news from Vale."
Peleus watched his wife's eyes as she momentarily froze, before that same smile adorned her face. "News, why… why that's just grand!"
She snapped her fingers at a sudden realization. "We haven't any extra food, but we can whip up some garlic bread in a matter of no time at all! It's rude to eat in front of others without offering something, after all, and news is best received on a full stomach! Forget the dining room, family, it's the terrace tonight! We'll do this al fresco…"
With that, she immediately left the room to the smaller backyard, arranging chairs and tables as the rest of the Nikos family watched her like she were a drowning victim in peril.
"I… I'm sorry for her, she's…" Peleus couldn't finish, instead walking off to help his wife's preparations.
In due time they were all silently seated, meals served accordingly, such as they were. "So, how is Vale these days?" Otrera asked none of them specifically.
Ruby found it in her to answer. "Well… things have been hard on everyone since Beacon, but… we're not sure what's going on now. We left in the middle of winter."
Peleus lowered his forkfull away from his mouth. "And you've only just arrived in Mistral?" he asked. "Surely transport can't be that bad, we've still gotten timely parcels from Vacuo in the city!"
This time Jaune spoke up. "Vale barred all air travel that wasn't for evacuation. And, well… money was tight, so we had the idea to hoof it for Shion, and then catch an airship the rest of the way. But when we got there… Shion was destroyed."
'Silea looked up. "And once you were that far into Anima, it was quicker just to push forward the rest of the way."
She and Jaune locked eyes. "Yes," he answered.
"So, because of Beacon you've come instead to study at Haven?" Otrera surmised. "You've arrived just in time for the new term."
"We… did come because of Haven," Nora explained, "but it's… it's complicated."
Otrera had been glancing between Jaune, Ren and Nora for much of the time, but finally came out with the question burning a hole in her mind.
"I'm sorry, what Huntsman team did you say you were all from again? I'm afraid I haven't caught your names."
"Team RNJR, Mom," 'Silea said flatly.
"I'm Ruby."
"Lie Ren."
"I'm Nora…"
"Jaune Arc… and the little guy is Gohan. He's not a Huntsman, exactly… we're watching him… for a friend."
"Hello," the boy offered politely.
"Arc," Otrera repeated, quiet, but clear as crystal. "Jaune Arc, I… I know that name. Team 'RNJR'? What is that, that's not what it was, it was Team—"
"JNPR," Ren finished, nodding. "Yes, it was… but…"
"Where is my firstborn champion…?" she finally asked, the last vestiges of that smile failing as her eyes filled with fear. "Why isn't it Team JNPR anymore?! Where… where is my daughter…?"
" 'Trera," Peleus began, his Adam's apple dancing as he shook with a nervous swallow. "It's been almost a year…"
"Yes!" she snapped, her voice increasing in pitch as the calm fractured. "It's been almost a year, with no word! No letters, but for the sponsors to rescind what little remained of the royalties! Would 'no longer publicly support such a controversial figure!' Nothing but the last thing we saw of our daughter, which looked to be her murdering that Atlas girl, before all lines went dead! And then the Grimm came in hordes! And we had to evacuate while wondering day after day what had happened to my darling girl!"
"Pyrrha didn't murder anyone!" Jaune said, standing up. "It… Pyrrha was duped. She was forced to see something that wasn't there, and she thought she was in danger… she only acted to defend herself."
The Nikos clan were utterly lost to this information. At once relieved, particularly 'Silea, whose eyes almost brightened. "I knew it…!" she said. "Everyone at school's made fun of me, they've tried to tell me my sister's a killer… I knew it wasn't true!"
"Nobody who knew Pyrrha could believe it was true," Jaune said firmly, voice shaking.
While the implication had hung in the air, Jaune felt every muscle go taut as he realized he had just dropped his late partner's name, unambiguously in the past tense. It hadn't gone unnoticed, Otrera herself looking like she'd been turned to stone, a single sparkling drop rolling down her face.
Peleus wrung his hands over his face, eyes reddening and glassy. "Why would the White Fang frame our daughter…?" he asked, shuddering as his mass of confusion boiled over. "What was the POINT of all this?!"
"It wasn't about Pyrrha," Ren said quietly. "She was used along with everyone else, to sew confusion, to make it appear that Beacon and Atlas weren't to be trusted."
"And it wasn't just the White Fang," Nora added, only drawing uncomfortable motions from the Nikos family.
"Nora…" Ren whispered, catching her eye with concern.
"No!" Jaune said, firmly. "She's right. They deserve to know why."
Peleus slammed his fist against the table. "Damn it, who?!"
"I'll ask a question first," Jaune began. "...Do you believe in magic?"
"W-what…?" Otrera stammered, still barely moving.
"Magic," he repeated. "Legends, gods, fairy tales… to you, is any of it real?"
'Silea's confusion peaked. "What does this have to do with anything?! What does this have to do with my sister?!"
"Everything," Ruby said. "P-Pyrrha… you… us… everyone's been dragged into a war thousands of years old, whether they know it or not."
"Damn the gods, and damn your magic!" Peleus shouted, his wife still catatonic. "Give me a NAME!"
"Salem," Ruby answered, staring into the distance as the name made the very breeze colder.
"And who the hell is that?!"
"The Grimm's master," Ren explained. "She commands them, she manipulates mankind from the shadows, and she seeks nothing less than the end of the human race."
"That's madness," Otrera managed. "Who could believe such a thing…?"
Nora nodded. "But… it's the truth."
"Again," Peleus said, shaking. "What is this to do with our daughter?"
"Do you know the Story of the Seasons?" Jaune asked. "The wizard, and the four—"
"The sisters he granted his power?" 'Silea finished. "M-mother used to tell us that story."
Otrera gave the faintest nod.
"That's also true," Jaune said. "The four Maidens were real, and when their lives come to an end, they pass the power on to the last person in their thoughts. But a while ago, the Fall Maiden was attacked by…" Jaune's voice shook, and suddenly his breathing had intensified.
"Cinder…" Ruby finished for him, darkly. "Cinder Fall… One of Salem's followers. With dark powers, she stole half of the Fall Maiden's magic, and she barely escaped with her life."
The family were trapped in an uncomfortable state of apprehension, as they waited for her tale to crystallize.
"Professor Ozpin was trying to protect her from Cinder… but she snuck into the school with others, pretending to be students from Haven. They knew it was only a matter of time before Cinder made her move, and the Fall Maiden was too weak to fight back… she was dying. They needed to give her power to someone el—"
"WOULD YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT BECAME OF MY CHILD?!" the stricken mother exploded.
"They chose Pyrrha," Jaune said, drawing the family's attention from perplexed, to alert. "Ozpin let her in on the situation, and offered her the power." Jaune's fingers nearly dug into the table as he spoke. "Because she was worthy."
"So…" 'Silea began, mouth agape with wonder, "my sister became a... Maiden?"
Jaune's eyes found a way to slip further to the floor. "No… she accepted too late."
Ruby stepped in. "My old team, Team RWBY… we fought Cinder's plan a bunch of times throughout the school year without knowing it. Dust robberies in Vale, White Fang gatherings, because somehow she got them on her side too… A break-in at the CCT, a hole blown into town to let Grimm into the streets… it was all leading up to that moment at the Vytal Festival Tournament.
"It… it happened, the Grimm swarmed in, the White Fang attacked, Atlas' machines were turned against everyone."
"It was all just chaos to mask Cinder making her move for the Maiden," Jaune said, growing more pained by the second. "Pyrrha asked me to come with her, and met Ozpin to transfer the power. But Cinder interrupted it."
The woebegone family were dead silent, on absolute tenterhooks, even if they seemed dubious to the whole affair.
"The full power went to Cinder… Ozpin made us run, but we barely made it back to the school grounds before we saw that she'd beaten him. She… Pyrrha…"
Gohan listened intently, watching the family doing the same. Nothing but pain sat in the faces of his new friends. Jaune finally seemed to muster the strength to continue.
"She turned on her heel, ready to chase after that monster… I could see the determination in her eyes… the resolve, and I… I tried to stop her. But I couldn't… she… she made certain I couldn't follow her. She wanted to protect me… and so I wasn't able to protect her…"
"Oh my god…" Otrera muttered, as she saw the story unfurling in her mind's eye.
Gohan watched as Ruby took a steadying breath, and stood up.
"Jaune… I'll take it from here."
Jaune blanched, as Ren and Nora looked at each other.
"Ruby… are you s—?" Jaune began.
"Yes!" Ruby said firmly, jamming her eyes shut. "This can only come from me…"
Her eyes dulled as she sighed.
"I'd just come back from helping the others fight off the attack. We knew Jaune and Pyrrha were missing, so I went in with my friend Weiss to find them. We were the last of my team that were still fit to fight. That's when we got the call from Jaune about what Pyrrha had decided to do. I didn't know anything about magic or Maidens then, and to me, Cinder Fall was just a Haven student we knew. Jaune begged us to help…"
Her mouth was already dry.
"The fight started on top of Beacon's CCT Tower. We didn't see much but sparks from below, but it looked furious. We had to dodge debris as a massive Grimm smashed the top of the tower off."
Otrera and 'Silea gave the quietest of gasps, the matriarch herself clapping a hand over her mouth as she struggled to keep calm.
Ruby nodded. "We worried too, but it wasn't long before we saw signs of fighting start up again. With my friend's semblance, she helped me climb the tower as fast as I could. I don't know if I could have made a difference on my own… thinking back, if I'd showed up earlier, I probably wouldn't be here anymore…"
"I-I… I cleared the top… and landed, ready," she said, voice breaking. "And I'll never… ever forget what I saw for the rest of my life… It's haunted my dreams everyday ever since..."
Gohan couldn't look away. Ruby seemed so strong inside, so kind… and it sounded like she had deserved to experience none of this.
"I… I saw Pyrrha, on her knees… I th-think her leg was hurt…" Ruby continued, sparkling trails beginning to form under her eyes. "And Cinder… standing over her with a bow, aimed at her… and I can never imagine what I saw in Pyrrha for that split second… She was just staring into Cinder's eyes… so calm… so unafraid… I never saw her flinch. It was like she'd accepted it, or invited it… or… like she already knew she couldn't win before it even started, but kn-kn-knew she had to try…!"
In the family there was a mix of responses as her story neared its conclusion. Peleus couldn't bear to look at her. Otrera couldn't look away, breath sharpening. 'Silea's lips were pressed firmly together, and her eyes were welling.
"Looking back, it felt like forever, but at the time I barely took in what was happening, before she let the arrow fly… Pyrrha… it… it struck her in the heart… and she just… just sat there, in shock, until the light left her e-e-eyes…!"
Otrera seemed to collapse in slow motion, clawed hands steadily reaching up to hide her face as she silently shook.
"I'm so sorry…!" she squeaked, "But that's not the end of it… because that just wasn't enough for Cinder…!" she said, staring at the floor, voice shaking with anger underneath her grief. "She… passed, as Cinder caught her head when she went slack… and there was this flash, and she… she turned fiery orange from head to toe."
She tried steadying her breathing. The memories were still so vivid, in the worst way.
"I didn't understand what I was looking at…" Ruby sniffed, drops building up behind her eyelids before every breath staggered as she relented and it all came falling free. "But t-then the wind blew up, a-a-and she just flew apart like a -d-dandelion…! … A-a-and there was n-n-no-thi-ing l-left…!"
Ruby seemed to sulk as she tried to hold back the flood, like she might fall over. There was a screeching of table legs against the floor as Gohan and nearly all of RNJR stood up, but Jaune managed to reach her first, arm around her back even as Gohan exerted superhuman speed to reach her side.
"Ruby, it's okay, y-you don't have to—" Jaune began, but Ruby sat back down, shrugging him off.
"NO! No… I-I… I'm not finished!" she told him.
"How did you s-s-suri-ive?" Otrera asked quietly, her tone low.
"Th-That's what—" Ruby began to explain.
"Why is it," Otrera said, brown eyes boring, "that my little gauss girl, my… glorious sunrise is g-g-GONE, but you sit safely in my home?! What saved YOU?!"
Ruby sat in momentary terror, before 'Silea and Peleus chimed in.
" 'Trera, please…"
"Mom…!"
"No…" Ruby said, "N-no, it's okay… Like I said, if I'd showed up in time, I-I-I probably wouldn't have mattered… I can't know, b-but… When I saw it… something in me just shook loose with the pain…"
She didn't want to remember it… the awful feeling that stirred, the moment her eyes…
"My Uncle explained to me… that I have Silver Eyes, like my mother… and supposedly, they're the eyes of the greatest warriors. I don't remember what happened, but when I woke up days later, they told me I did something… my eyes… I drove her off someho—"
"Enough…!" Otrera hissed, slowly standing. "I won't have another WORD of this…"
She stalked off inside, to where none of them knew, leaving an awful silence in its wake. Now able to reach, Gohan leaned in to Ruby, who gave him a terribly false smile.
"The Silver Eyed Warriors," 'Silea said at last. "I… I've heard of that before… Your eyes really are silv— "
She stopped as Otrera marched back outside, one hand fiddling with her short hair as she clutched a framed photograph in the other. She found another chair adjacent to the table and sat in it. It was a small eternity before she finally spoke. "You come here and mock our pain… with this cock and bull hogwash about Grimm masters… and… and fairy stories… and embellish yourselves as some kind of saviors to succeed where she failed…! What kind of fools do you think we are?!"
"I understand if it's difficult to believe," Ren offered calmly, "especially without any solid evidence to corroborate it—"
Ren paused, he, Nora and Jaune glancing momentarily over at Gohan in turn, their expressions softening.
"But it's the truth!" Nora insisted, picking up the slack."Every word, even…" She found Gohan's eye and smiled lightly. "Even if it's really fantastical, and strange… but—"
Jaune cut across her, unable to hold his tongue. "We wouldn't have come all this way, faced the things we have, just to mess with—"
"Get out…" Otrera said, barely a whisper.
Everyone strained to hear her, but she took it badly. "GET OUT OF OUR HOME!" she shrieked, everyone present recoiling as though slapped.
Peleus stood up, in pained shock. "Otrera Hippolyta Nikos, CALM yourself! Are you so ungrateful? The… These kids only came here to give us closure!"
"I don't WANT 'closure!' " she sobbed. "I want my daughter back…!"
Peleus gave a single nod, before catching RNJR's collective eyes and motioning for the door.
Thunderstruck, there was a mass exodus as they all headed for the door, following Peleus through the small house back to the front and out on the front porch. "Please, I'll be but a moment," Peleus told them, closing the door as he raced back inside.
As they stood awkwardly, Ren tried to offer comfort in his own way. "We did what was necessary. What was taken from our message, it was never ours to decide."
Nora leaned against the wall, seemingly examining her shoes. "It still sucks…" she concluded.
Several of them nodded, before the light of the inside overtook them as the door opened once more. They watched as Peleus stepped outside, closing the door after 'Silea who followed meekly. "I'm sorry about her," Peleus told them. "It's… it's been a long year, for all of us, and… well, you could say 'Trera was always P-Pyrrha's 'biggest fan'."
He sighed.
"It'll take her a long time to realize it, but... we're all so grateful you've finally given us the answer."
Jaune stepped forward. "Sir… I… I'm sorry I couldn't save her. She… made me everything I am right now! And… and I won't rest until Cinder's been stopped!"
Jaune unbuckled Crocea Mors and unstrapped his armor to reveal a cereal mascot on his jacket, digging into his pack as well, coming up with a tarnished gold tiara. He kneeled, and presented the items.
"Ruby's uncle was the only one to make it to the top of Beacon Tower. This was the piece she was wearing when… Th-the rest was recovered from her weapon locker once they got Amity Coliseum back under control. Extras… we used them to reforge my sword and armor… you should have these."
His friends started, Ruby in particular ready to protest, but held her tongue. The aggrieved father reached forward for the tiara, his eyes inscrutable. He put a hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"This'll do fine son. You've a promise to make good on, and you'll need those. She'd have wanted you to keep them."
Jaune looked up, surprised. "Sir?"
"Jaune Arc…" he said, looking at the twilight stars. "She's mentioned you to us, in calls home. Her words were always understated, but her eyes always gave her away… and she was over the moon about you, I think you should know."
Jaune gave a quiet, rickety sigh as a drop rolled down his face. "I do…"
The group, father and daughter hiked up to the same hill from the young Pyrrha's photograph. It wasn't terribly far, but as with the girl who scaled it, it was tougher than it seemed to conquer. In short order, candles and modest flowers were arranged and lit upon a stout, weathered stone jutting from the ground. The Huntsmen aided Peleus with inscribing unfamiliar, but obvious letters into it.
"Πύρρα Νίκος"
Afterward, they held a simple vigil. It was a beautiful night.
"I was always kind of jealous of my sister," 'Silea admitted. "She was extraordinary, and… I'm just me. Dad was always even handed, but Mom always gave Pyrrha more attention. I don't think she meant it, and it's not like she didn't deserve it… It was just hard living under her shadow… And then this happened…"
She stared at the stars, as though one of them might give her a familiar glimmer…
"For a long time, I was worried I'd never see my sister again… because she was a killer." 'Silea explained, not happy, but warm. "Now… I know I'll never see my sister again… because she was a HERO… A-and that… I can live with that…"
Ruby nodded. "Pyrrha… she changed all of us. In life, and in… well, she was a friend I'll never forget…"
Nora nudged 'Silea. "Hope you don't mind me saying it… but she was like a sister to me, back at Beacon. Don't know what that makes us then."
'Silea laughed quietly, offering a modest fist-bump, which Nora accepted without question.
"And Gohan?" Nora added, getting the kid's attention. "I'm… sorry we didn't give you a chance."
Jaune nodded. "Yeah, our story is pretty incredible too… so, we don't really have a right to dismiss yours."
Gohan smiled softly. "It's alright. I just hope I can help you guys too, after hearing all that you've been through. I'd like to see this 'Cinder' taken dow—"
He caught Ruby's eye. "I'd like to see her stopped, before she hurts anyone else."
Ruby giggled. "We should get going… Uncle Qrow is probably gonna get discharged from that hospital soon."
"Thank you," Peleus said, hand around his surviving daughter's back, "for all you've done for us."
Jaune stepped forward, his face laden with stone-seriousness. "Just don't let it be for nothing… Bad, bad people are planning an attack on Haven, and they just don't care who gets caught in the crossfire. Please, consider leaving town, at least for a while. I… I couldn't forgive myself if I let something happen to her family."
Peleus nodded, glancing between the ground, the sky, and the newly christened stone. "I'll see what I can manage."
Jaune nodded, satisfied, watching the stars as he and the rest of the team slowly began to head off into the night.
"Oh…" Gohan said, stopping. "One sec!"
He ran back over to the impromptu headstone, Ruby chasing after to see what he was doing. He extended a finger, and as they watched, a small golden sphere sprouted from it, pulsating with a shimmering noise.
Before they could ponder what he was doing, a thin laser-like beam shot out from the sphere, tracing over the foreign characters, leaving red hot trails in its wake.
Finally, he finished, catching Ruby's eye as he walked back to meet the rest of the team. She inspected the cooling stone, Peleus and 'Silea staring at the boy's back in stunned silence. The lettering which before had been surface-level scratches now looked like a commissioned engraving, imprecise as it was.
Was there anything this boy couldn't do…?
A/N: Heya folks!
Sorry to have kept you all waiting so long. My new job pretty brutally slashed my free time, and while I try picking away at it day by day, you do occasionally run into sections that are just like pulling teeth, writing.
So yeah… I never felt like the cast as a whole really confronted the loss of Pyrrha head-on, so this chapter is to sorta reaffirm their goals while giving Gohan a glimpse into the stakes.
I hate Gohan being in scenes where he is basically just watching things unfold, but I feel like he shouldn't interfere unless it's appropriate. I can't wait to break free of the canon entirely here and just let the chips fall as they will, but we SHALL be forced to retread some territory that a Z character won't change by having been present…
However, THIS version of Volume 5's events are so accelerated that I THINK we'll be free and clear before Chapters Nine or Ten.
No Yang or Krillmaster this time around, but they do get a scene NEXT time, though sadly no Blake and Bulma. CH5 will hopefully make up for things by being a whopping 14K words, and 6 is going to have a LOT of Blake and Yang story, so fret not.
Also… I LOVE writing Gohan and Ruby scenes. No shipping obviously, but XMan struck gold in bringing them together, and even with Ruby just dealing with Gohan the child, I can't help making their interactions ADORABLE. No spoilers, but those two really are the HEART of this story where I'm concerned. As brutal as I'll be with Frieza —and make no mistake, I'm NOT pulling punches with him— I do also want to be heartfelt when it makes sense to. ALL MY FEELINGS! ALL OF THEM!
Speaking of Frieza, you might notice he's yet to be the focus of any given chapter aside from the first.
I'm well aware of how popular his scenes are, and I ADORE writing him… but my aim is to be sparing, and use him effectively. Use anything great too often and it loses its specialness and the quality suffers. So temper your expectations for next time… as Frieza will NOT be featured in Chapter 5… but oh man… let's just say you guys are going to get all the Frieza you'll ever want in due time...