A Ghastly Transformation
SLASH!
SLASH!
CLASH!
In the vast depths of Drasil's heart, the Avatar of Yggdrasil and the former Winter Maiden Penny continued battling. Drasil's staff which had appeared with her transformed into two katana swords that clashed with the six floating blades that were Penny's signature weapons. Penny's spun around her as she tried to slice and dice Drasil who surprisingly blocked each and every strike so fluidly it was like she was not taking this battle seriously.
The smile on her face was even more indication.
"I must say, you're skills with those weapons, even as a fleshling are impressive. Too bad in your efforts to become human, they are also what doomed you." Drasil taunted with a smile as sparks showered around them with each clash. "You should be commended for your bravery."
"Do not think your compliments will distract me!" Penny shouted, controlling her blades through motions with her hands. "I will stop you!"
"Like you stopped Cinder? Like you were supposed to stop Salem? Like you were supposed to protect Atlas and Mantle?" Drasil asked, continuing to block Penny's strikes. "So certain of your titles but in the end you failed. You allowed your friends to guide you, to pull you along by the collar on your neck and in the end their plans only got you killed and here's something else…Salem got the Staff and the Lamp anyway, you died for nothing!"
"I don't care for the Relics or Salem!" Penny shouted, her blades spinning faster as she tried to land a hit on Drasil. "I only care for protecting my friends!"
"Do you?" Drasil questioned, still blocking Penny's strikes. "Where was this determination when Cinder ambushed you in the pocket dimension? Where was it when Neopolitan knocked Yang Xiao Long into the void? Where was it when Cinder Fall sent your best friend Ruby falling along with her and you failed to save either of them?"
Penny grunted, clenching her teeth as she tried even harder to break through Drasil's defense, the blades moving so fast they were mere blurs to the human eye and sparks continued flying in all directions.
"You believed giving yourself up would solve anything, that you would somehow be protecting everyone but in the end you just couldn't take it. You couldn't handle the stress of being the Winter Maiden and took the easy way out! You let someone else take on your burden so you would not have to!" Drasil taunted, her voice growing louder with each word.
"THAT IS NOT TRUE!" Penny shouted, anger rising in her being.
"But it's true! It's as true as the fact you used to love fighting just so you could fulfil your purpose!" Drasil laughed.
"I never liked fighting but I did what I had to do!"
Drasil chuckled as she lowered her guard and suddenly vanished when Penny's blades passed right through her like a ghost.
"What?" Penny's eyes widened in shock from the sudden action.
"Is that so?" She spun around and saw Drasil standing several feet away, slowly raising one katana sword and gazed into her reflection. "I don't think so…I think there's a lot more to it than that. I think you haven't realized it but you enjoyed the battles you were in. You wanted to feel the adrenaline of the fight like a real human. You may not want to admit it, even to yourself but when you fought, no matter how big or small the battle, you always felt the thrill of it."
"No." Penny stated, calming down as she faced Drasil. "I never thought of it like that. I would never harbor such a dark part of myself."
"Then by all means, Penny, come at me. Take all of your anger, frustration and grief out on me along all the thrill-seeking you felt. Unleash all it on me. If you are so intent on dying again, forgetting the thrill of battle then come and defeat me. Come and defeat the will of battle itself!"
Penny growled as she flew off the ground and shot straight at Drasil, her blades spinning behind her as she let out a battle cry.
Drasil grinned as she held both katana blades. As they collided again, a literal storm seemed to appear around them, flashes and sparks lighting up the dark void around the glass platform, the clashing of blades sounding like the calls of thunder. Their battle cries and screams echoed into the dark as they ran and shot around the platform. Though Penny was no longer an android, her tactical mind remained with her as she blocked Drasil's blows and found a free swing for perhaps the first counter she had since the duel started.
"AH!" Drasil gasped as she one of Penny's blades graze her leg. "My leg! You'll pay for that!"
"You do not have Aura." Penny noted as she stepped back to have some breathing room. "Given your nature, it's unlikely you can use Aura since you do not have a human soul."
"You make it sound like I am at a disadvantage." Drasil noted.
"That's because you are. Without Aura to protect you, your body is vulnerable to harm even if you are stronger than me." Penny answered as her blades formed around her. "All I need is one precise hit and you will be expelled from my body."
"Is that so?" Drasil's lips curled into a smile as she looked up into the darkness above them. "I would be interested in testing that little query of yours but I'm afraid it matters not. In fact, my plan is almost ready to come to fruition."
Penny's eyes widened but then narrowed. "You are lying. I am keeping you here, even if it means fighting you for all eternity."
Drasil threw her head back and let out an amused and wicked laugh that echoed all around them. "Is that you think? That just because you are facing me in here you are keeping me occupied? Dear child, you just said my soul is not that of a human so why would you assume I would be as easy to distract as one?"
Penny froze as a surprised look appeared on her face. "What?"
"I am the Avatar of Yggdrasil and here we in the merged heart of Drasil, the spirit and Penny Polendina the human. You think something as trivial as this fight taking place in our shared heart would be enough to distract me?" Drasil's swords morphed back into her staff. "You may be facing me here, but that which I am the Avatar of is still aware of everything back out there, including the battles between the Maidens and the Keyblade Wielders."
Penny's eyes widened in horror. "No…"
"Yes." Drasil nodded with a grin as she spread her arms out. "Have you forgotten who I am? I am the hopes and desires of mankind of Remnant given life and form; I am the granter of dreams and desire! I am Yggdrasil, the one who holds the four foundations of the Gods themselves: Knowledge, Creation, Destruction and Choice! And now, watch as the way to Remnant is opened to me!"
A bright light appeared above them and Penny looked up, her eyes widening in shock and horror to see the Maidens fall in battle against the Keyblade Wielders one by one and then, manifestations of Yggdrasil took them into the massive tree that was the being's main body. "No!"
"Yes!" Drasil raised her arms in a dramatic fashion as she proclaimed herself the victor. "The power of the Maidens will be what brings me to Remnant! I grant the hopes and wishes of all of humanity, freeing them from the pain and misery that has plagued them since the Age of the Gods! I will be the new God of Remnant!"
"THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN!" Penny shouted, her eyes narrowing and glaring at Drasil. "I WILL STOP YOU HERE AND THEN OUT THERE!"
Her swords formed a circle in front of her and began spinning at a very fast speed while gathering energy in the center. As soon it was large enough, Penny let out a scream as she released all of her power into a giant beam of green electric light that shot straight at Drasil who simply smiled…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Xxx
"Neo!"
Aqua had finally reached the battleground where Neo had fought Ruby despite the mist temporarily slowing her down. Sure enough, Neo was there, just barely managing to stand and cast a healing spell on herself before falling to her knees.
Aqua rushed over to her and checked her over, sighing in relief. "Oh, thank Kingdom Hearts."
"Really?" Neo looked at her with a blank look. "I'm about to keel over from exhaustion and you say that?"
"I know you're not wounded anymore. You're just exhausted physical and mentally from the fighting and no doubt the many spells you cast while fighting." Aqua retorted but smiled all the same.
Neo wasn't like Terra or Ven. Any form of affection sent her way, she returned it with sarcastic wit in an attempt to brush off any concern for her. Aqua knew by now that Neo was not used to most people looking out for her and it made her feel uneasy so she resorted acting like this to hide any awkwardness she might have felt.
That and she liked teasing people in general.
"Yeah, well Little Red as a Maiden was tough, even for me. Guess it's because I'm still new to this stuff." Neo looked down at her Keyblade before back at Aqua. "You and the walking armory take care of the others?"
Walking armory? Well, one could say Terra was indeed that with his ability to change his Keyblade into any weapon so it wasn't meant as an insult.
"I defeated Weiss and it seemed I was able to get through to her. Terra was left to handle the other two: Blake and Yang." Aqua answered as she offered a hand to Neo who stared and then accepted, pulling her onto her feet.
"Is that so? I kind of hope the fight isn't over yet. It's never dull moment with knocking blondie on her keester." Neo remarked with a smirk.
"Well, you missed this one and something else."
Neo and Aqua looked over to see Terra emerging from the woods, followed by Ansem.
"Terra…" Aqua smiled. "Are you all right?"
"Well, I don't think I can be physically hurt as I am now." Terra remarked, gesturing to the armor that was his new body at the moment. "I admit, those two put quite up the fight before I defeated them. If they had the time to fully train and master their powers, it would have been more difficult. Then they disappeared."
"So did Weiss after I fought her and Ruby after Neo fought her." Aqua replied and gestured to Neo. "I think Drasil is up to something. Something bad. I think I made a mistake in bringing us all here."
"Hey, that tree was up to no good the moment you met her. So don't go all 'martyr' on us now." Neo retorted.
"She's right. There's no time for self-blame here." Terra nodded in agreement. "What matters now is how we stop her."
"And what she wants with the Maidens." Aqua nodded in agreement. "She needs those four…But why?"
"Perhaps because of the nature of their magic." Ansem suggested, causing all eyes to fall on him. "It's obvious these four young ladies are very powerful. Perhaps their powers are what she needs."
"What she needs…" Aqua trailed off. "But what would she need them for?"
Xxx
…
"…by…"
…
"Ru-y…."
…
"Ruby…"
She slowly opened her eyes, staring into a pair of green eyes.
Very familiar green eyes.
"Pe…Penny?" She whispered, stunned and still drowsy from just awakening.
"I am so glad you are okay."
Kneeling down above her was none other than her dear friend, Penny Polendina.
"Penny…" Ruby's eyes began to tear up.
A dead dear friend.
"PENNY!" Ruby shot up and hugged Penny so tight one would be afraid she might hurt her newly returned friend but Penny simply hugged her back. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
"I was…" Penny softly answered. "I remember…Asking Jaune to kill me so the Winter Maiden powers wouldn't go to Cinder…Then I awoke here…I think the spirit of the tree, Drasil saved me."
Ruby slowly moved back so she could look Penny in the eyes but kept her arms around her. "Drasil? Why didn't she tell us?"
"She just found me, Ruby. You all fell and appeared here at different times. Yang was here for a year before you and Blake landed here and a few months before Jaune and Weiss landed here. It is only natural my body would arrive somewhat later." Penny gripped Ruby's arms. "They're here…"
"Huh?"
Penny stood up, softly pulling Ruby up with her and showing her where they were. It was the interior of the tree known as Drasil, with the white roots surrounding them and on the edges of the platform where her friends, slowly awakening and freezing when they saw Penny.
"Salutations, everyone!" Penny greeted with a happy smile.
"PENNY!"
After a moment of hugging from everyone, the five were now sitting in the center of the platform.
"When Drasil revived me, she told me about what happened to our world." Penny began. "A force of Darkness known as the Heartless swarmed Remnant because of us when we used the Staff's power to evacuate everyone in Atlas to Vacuo. She then told me that even though Remnant was restored it wasn't fully restored."
"Why is that?" Weiss asked.
"To put it simply, our world is in a form stasis due to not being fully restored, making it impossible to enter and even if we did, then without the proper protection we would succumb to the same state as everyone else has." Penny answered. "Our minds would enter stasis along with Remnant and thus our bodies would transform into a creature known as a Dream Eater. When Jaune entered Remnant, he was entering what was actually the Realm of Sleep; it's a manifestation of everyone's dreams."
"Everyone's dreams?" Blake echoed.
"Yes. When a world is swallowed by the darkness, they also fall asleep and they dream. Jaune entered what was essentially Remnant's dream but he wasn't protected. That's why he was turned into a Dream Eater." Penny continued. "Before we return to Remnant, we need to awaken it."
"So how do we do that?" Yang asked next.
"By calling on the same people who summoned Remnant back. We need the Keyblade Wielders." Penny answered.
The Maidens, especially Yang and Blake looked hesitant since they had nothing but bad blood with them since Aqua arrived on the island.
"Are you sure about that? One of them is Neo, Neopolitan. She helped attack us with Cinder and is the reason we ended up here." Yang pointed out, especially against the idea of siding with Neo of all people.
"I understand but it is the only way." Penny said, nodding at Yang. "Only a Keyblade can awaken Remnant from the state it is in now. And then there is another matter…"
"What is it?" Ruby asked, seeing Penny's hesitance.
"Drasil fears her powers weakened from reviving me and thus she cannot open a portal back to Remnant, even what it is fully restored." Penny answered.
This was especially worrying to the girls, who all wanted so badly to go home.
"There must be some kind of way." Yang exclaimed.
"There might be one way." Penny looked between the girls. "Your Maiden powers."
The girls looked between each other and then back at Penny.
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, speaking for everyone.
"As you all know, the Maidens possess extraordinary powers and this world has an effect on you all. Surely you must have realized your Semblances have grown stronger, even with the Maiden powers." Penny began with a smile.
That was true.
Their Semblances seemed to be have been evolving in all the time they had been stuck on this island.
"This island is created from humanity's collective dreams and desires and Semblances are formed from our desires, thus here given time and training, they would naturally evolve." Penny continued. "Drasil believes that a combination of the Maiden powers combined with a specific Semblance would allow us to return home."
"And whose Semblance would that be?" Weiss asked skeptically.
Penny looked back at Weiss. "Yours, Weiss."
Weiss' eyes widened in surprise at the answer. "Mine?"
"Surely, you of all people would understand that your Glyph Semblance would allow you to preform many different things." Penny pointed out.
"Well…Yeah…" Weiss trailed off.
Penny then looked at Ruby. "And yours too, Ruby."
"Mine too?" Ruby gestured to herself.
"Weiss, you have studied in how to use your glyphs, correct?" Penny glanced at Weiss who nodded.
"Of course."
"Then you know, your glyphs are virtually unlimited, depending on the number of different glyphs you can summon such as the time dilation ones. Drasil believes there is even one that can be used to create a portal back to Remnant." Penny said, stunning Weiss and the others.
"Really?" Weiss asked.
Penny nodded. "Think, Weiss. Your Glyphs allow you to summon past foes that you have vanquished, manipulate time, and manipulate the elements depending on what Dust you have or what elemental powers you use. The creation of a portal glyph is not beyond the realm of possibility when combined with your Maiden powers and Drasil."
Weiss was silent as she considered what Penny had told her. Could it be she could use a glyph to send them back to Remnant?
"Think of it as a reverse of your summoning glyph." Penny then turned to Ruby. "And you, Ruby. I already told you what your Semblance does."
"Yeah…" Ruby nodded as she tried to remember exactly what Penny said.
"By traveling at extreme velocity from one point to another by breaking yourself down into your molecular components, thus negating your mass and then reassembling them at the destination, making it possible for you to transport yourself and us back to Remnant." Penny continued. "By combining your powers and Semblance with Weiss and Drasil, we can open a way back to Remnant. Weiss creates a glyph on this side for us to travel through, Ruby negates our mass and reduces us to our molecules and we travel through one glyph on this side and emerge from the one on Remnant."
The girls were stunned to hear Penny's plan to get back to Remnant, especially Weiss and Ruby.
"But, I never made a glyph like that before. I don't think anyone in my family ever has." Weiss slowly said.
"Do not worry, Weiss. Here, your Semblance can grow even stronger." Penny gestured to their surroundings. "Drasil can help enhance our Semblances but we must help enhance her powers as well. She provides the power to enhance ours and in turn absorbs energy naturally. Our powers are increased even as Drasil becomes even stronger."
"We would become completely autonomous…" Weiss trailed off with a stunned expression.
"Exactly." Penny nodded happily and looked at Ruby. "What do you think-"
Xxx
"-Ruby?"
Deep in Drasil and Penny's heart, Penny's blades clashed against Drasil's staff, sparks flying. Despite the fact that they were fighting, both could still hear the conversation between RWBY and 'Penny' in the waking world.
"NO! RUBY, DON'T LISTEN TO HER!" Penny shouted, staring up the contemplating image of Ruby.
Xxx
"Penny…" Ruby reached with her hands.
"Yes."
Xxx
Drasil grunted and knocked Penny back, sending her flying to the other side of the platform.
Xxx
Ruby grasped both of 'Penny's' hands. "…"
Xxx
"Let's do it."
Penny gasped, looking up and seeing Ruby smiling as she grasped the hands of the being in control of her body. "NO! DON'T DO IT, RUBY! SHE IS LYING TO YOU!"
"Oh, I am being one hundred percent truthful." Drasil chuckled, waving her hand and causing the window into the waking world to vanish. "My plan will work and I am you, Penny. That is at least true to your friends who believe I am you."
"YOU MONSTER!" Penny screamed and shot at Drasil, her blades pointed forward and ready to skewer Drasil's humanoid form.
Drasil simply pointed her staff and chains of light shot out from all directions, holding Penny in mid-air just when she was striking distance of Drasil.
"Now, now, don't be so rash." Drasil waved one finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. One way or another, the door to Remnant will be open up. Now sit back and watch."
Xxx
"All right. Let's begin." Penny stood up, followed by the others. "You all must touch Drasil's roots on the corners of this platform."
Seeing the closest roots were indeed at the far corners of the platforms, the four Maidens did as Penny instructed, touching them with one hand.
"Now, channel your Maiden powers through them." Penny instructed.
The girls all shared looks with each other and nodded. Their eyes flared as they summoned their Maiden powers, channeling them through their hands and into the roots.
That caused the roots to pulse and the entire room to shake.
Xxx
The mist surrounding the Keyblade Wielders and Ansem faded away as the entire island started shaking.
"Oh great. Now what?" Neo mumbled, struggling to keep her balance.
"Look!" Ansem pointed up.
They followed his finger, watching as the giant tree started to morph, twist and contort as it grew even larger. Roots were pulled out of the ground, twisting around the tree to the point it almost didn't look like a tree anymore.
"What is that?" Neo gaped.
"Drasil." Aqua answered, scowling as the tree continued to morph and change.
Blue markings glowed all along the bark as the massive tree continued to rise up into the air. The branches circled around the center of the tree as an orb of bright blue light appeared in the center.
"I feel a source of great power coming from up there." Terra muttered. "I'd say this Drasil is making her move now."
"Yeah, she is." Aqua spotted metallic hands growing from the roots surrounding them. "Look out!"
She blocked the incoming hands with a barrier, pushing them back but more and more hands grew from the surrounding roots and reached out to grab them.
"Fall back to the beach!" Aqua called out, summoning her glider form with Terra doing the same.
They both grabbed Neo and Ansem and took off towards the beach just as the barrier shattered. Aqua looked back, seeing the massive entity seemingly gathering power in the bright blue sphere that had appeared.
"Drasil, what are you planning?"
