The Three-Way War
After getting into the elevator with the Keycode, Rex had been looking glum.
"Rex-Rex look worried." Tora piped up, being the first to comment on it. "Maybe…Rex-Rex lost wallet?"
"It's not that." Rex said simply.
"Oh, then maybe Rex-Rex's worry is wallet's empty?" Tora guessed next.
"Well, I guess. I haven't worked much for a while and I don't want to ask- Hold up! Why are you so interested in my finances all of a sudden?" Rex then snapped at the Nopon.
"Rex, are you alright? You have been a little quiet since we got out of that big building." Ruby then pointed out.
Rex let out a small sigh, "I was thinking about Amalthus. If what Jin said about him is true, then the Praetor doesn't just hate Blades. But humans too. I mean, he basically hates the whole world."
"How so?" Nia asked.
"In old Torna, humans used to live together with Blades that would eventually become Titans. So destroying Torna was the same as destroying the Titans. Amalthus must have known that the Titans have been dying out for the last few centuries."
"Cannot live without Titans. Everybody go bye-bye." Tora said, looking down at the last part.
"How could someone do such a thing knowingly." Nora let out.
Mòrag had placed a hand to her chin in thought, "Maybe the Praetorium saw it as an obstacle for their power. If the Blades became Titans and created new land, then people might have more faith in the Blades."
"Even so… to go so far as threatening to destroy the world." Blake spoke up.
"That's politics for you." Qrow let out a sigh, "All too often, the politician think less of the world they live in and more about themselves."
"I don't think it's just that." Rex then said, "What do you do when you hate the whole world?"
"…You don't mean…" Ren said now having scary thoughts. Scary thoughts that everyone else were having.
"Destroy it. That's all that's left." Rex looked down in depression, but then looked to everyone, "Tell me I'm wrong."
"…That's a leap of logic… But I think a lot of mortals are like that." Brighid said.
"Hating something is easier than trying to improve yourself." Aizen added in. For once, no one felt like even feeling annoyed at the nobleman.
Oscar looked surprised, "What do you mean?"
Aizen scoffed a little, "I mean that-" "Not you. Ozpin." Oscar interrupted, earning looks from the others. "Uhhuh? You sure…? If you say so." Oscar turned to look at everyone, "Ozpin said that he has witnessed this many times over his many lives. Even coming close to thinking that himself."
Everyone looked shocked to hear that the Ancient headmaster had ever come close to Amalthus' line of thinking.
"But… he doesn't think that now, right?" Pyrrha was the first to voice her worries.
At that moment, Ozpin gained control. "Miss Nikos, I assure you, I was able to get out of that place when I still could. I have continued my war with Salem for centuries, I owe it to the people who helped me along the way to finish it. No matter how long it might take."
The resolute look that Ozpin had with Oscar's face was enough to reassure everyone.
After this, Rex turned to all the Alrestian, "Do you guys remember…? Talking to the Praetor… I said it felt like talking to Malos."
"Yeah… You did say that." Nia said.
"It's weird… Malos and Amalthus… They want the same thing." Rex then said. His words caused Blake to perk up.
In Indol, Amalthus was sitting on his throne with his eyes closed.
In a dark forest, an Indoline woman was running with her young son. The two were gasping for air, and the woman was actually injured a little, seeing as her son was trying to support her. The two's run was finally interrupted when the woman tripped and fell down along with her son who she accidentally pulled with her. The two had been running alongside a cliff, but fortunately they were far enough from the edge to not fall off.
"Ugh… Mother." The boy groaned out as he crawled to his mother who looked like she didn't have the strength to go on anymore. Despite that, the woman did get back up to her knees and looked to her son.
"Ammy…" She placed a hand on the now named "Ammy's" cheek.
"What is it?" Ammy asked, feeling his heart constricting without really knowing why.
"Leaving you alone in the world like this… I've failed you as a mother." Ammy's mother said with tears streaming down her eyes.
"Huh?" Poor Ammy didn't understand. They were going to get away from the bad people together.
"But…" The woman barely got up alongside her son. Ammy's mother then placed both her hands on her son's shoulders. All the while the confused and scared Ammy looked to his mother's tear and dirt-stained face "Forgive me." And then she pushed her son off the cliff, right to a large tree that was growing out of the side not too far down.
The poor boy screamed at the fall which was abruptly cut by the tree that he landed on. As Ammy groaned lightly at the new bruises this fall gave him, his mother looked on. Smiling that her son was still very much alive. The cliff also wasn't very high from the tree, and there were plenty of places to grab on. The woman allowed herself to smile as she got back up on her feet. Then some muffled voices were coming from the way the two had run from.
"Where'd she go?!"
Ammy's mother gave her son one last look before screaming and running away leaving the boy to recover from his fall. "Here! She went this way!" And taking their pursuers away with her.
"M-Mother." Ammy groaned from his spot as multiple footsteps passed over the cliff and away from him.
Later on, Ammy had barely gotten back up the cliff and was now wandering through the woods. It didn't take long before he stumbled upon a campfire. There were three men who were in various positions of sleep. Empty alcohol containers around them. Then Ammy's eyes drifted towards a crude blanket covered form of a woman. He could only see the top of her face, but it was one he recognized, even with the eyes that were wide open, but held no life in them.
"Mother." Ammy choked out before quickly covering his mouth as he realized where he just stumbled upon. These were the bad people that wanted to hurt them. Ammy willed himself not to cry, not now when the bad men could wake up. He silently walked towards his mother's corpse and closed her eyes with his hand. Then he looked to the still sleeping men. Tears poured out of his eyes as he looked at one of them with hate. Not just for what he and his friends no doubt did, but he dared to look happy in his sleep.
Ammy noticed a rather large rock near the campfire, that's when an idea crossed him. He was out here alone, with these monsters sleeping. Making his decision, Ammy moved to pick up the rock that was about the size of his own head. Picking it up with both hands, the boy moved to the bandit that had that satisfied smile on his face. Ammy lifted the rock high above his head, his face twisting into tear-stained rage before bringing the rock down with all the strength his body could muster on the man's head.
"Your Eminence." An Indoline monk said, causing Amalthus' eyes to snap open. "We will be exiting the Cloud Sea shortly."
Amalthus rose up from his throne with a grave look on his face. "So it begins." Amalthus said.
In Marsanes' command bridge. Akhos and Patroka were doing some checks on the consoles before the whole ship shook.
(Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST: Over the Sinful Entreaty)
"What the-?! What was that?!" Patroka shouted.
Akhos quickly worked his console and found the answer, "There's a dark mass in the Cloud Sea below."
Outside of the ship, Indol Titan emerged from the Cloud Sea in all its glory. Marsanes was large enough to hold the Monoceros inside of it, but it was still only slightly larger than the Titan's head.
"It's Indol!" Akhos exclaimed.
"That's a Great Titan!" Emerald exclaimed at the sight. She and Mercury were on the bridge but out of Akhos and Patroka's way.
"How can something that big exist?" Mercury also let out. This put the Titan that fought at Beacon to shame.
The two didn't have too long to wonder about this thing, before three glowing points appeared across the Titan's wingspan on each wing before opening fire upon them. Marsanes shook again but was able to take the hit. Shortly after the first shot, Indoline troops were moving out. Wyverns with a stone-like body and glowing blue wings flew out with Indoline monks riding them. They also had white and gold armor on their bodies. These are Indol's flying forces, Indoline Stars.
Indoline Stars flew over Marsanes and fired beams from their mouths at the ship. The ship was able to withstand the attacks, but it wouldn't be able to do so forever.
"They took us by surprise." Akhos grit his teeth.
"Well no shit. Can't you fight back?!" Mercury shouted just when Watts entered the bridge.
"We're working on it!" Akhos said, resisting urge to kill as he focused on working his console. "Patroka, prepare the defenses! I'll analyze the threat!"
"I'm already on it! You need to counterattack, damn it!" Patroka said, having been working on the said thing since before Akhos commanded. "Stop trying to give orders and get to it!"
Watts looked to the screen to see what they were up against. "I must say… an assault of this scale seems like something James would do." the scientist commented on the skies that had large numbers of flying enemies.
"Urgh! Where's Mikhail?! What a time to let us down!" Patroka complained even as she worked on getting those defenses online.
"Mikhail's down below!" Akhos said as he still worked frantically.
"Below?! But…" "Got it!" Akhos then cheered, "A bypass to the cannons!" The bespectacled member of Torna then grinned at the screen that showed outside while adjusting his glasses, "Watch this, scum!"
Outside, Marsanes' own beam cannons returned fire, taking out several Indoline Stars. But there were still many more blasting at the ship still.
Down below, Mikhail was working on a console in the room that Jin previously recovered in. Then the door to the room opened, allowing Jin and Malos entry. Salem decided to wait at the door.
"Ready?" Jin asked the blonde member.
"Ready." Mikhail confirmed as he looked to the wide screen that showed the hangar with their army of Blade Bots ready. "The ship'll take you as far as the boundary layer. We'll drop you and Malos off there. We'll have to. Alrest ships can't make it past the boundary layer."
Jin nodded at this, "Yeah. No sweat."
Mikhail then got off the console to address the silver haired Flesh Eater. "Jin. You are okay with this, right?"
Jin remained silent for a moment. "Mikhail." The blonde member quirked an eyebrow at being addressed. "Take care of Lora." Jin turned to look at his former Driver in the ice block one last time before turning to leave.
"Jin?!" Mikhail was surprised to hear that. But Jin and Malos exited the room with Salem.
As the three made their way away, Salem gave an almost apologetic look to Jin, "I know this may not be the best time to ask this, but once you two are dropped off, can I and my subordinates join you?"
"…Why do you want them to come too?" Jin asked.
"If all of them are too much, I will settle with Watts, Tyrian and Emerald." Salem offered again.
"…You didn't answer my question." Jin then said as Malos was giving Salem a suspicious look.
"Very well, I would prefer if they were close at hand, should I need them." Salem replied easily.
"Is there a particular reason you would need them?" Malos then joined the interrogation.
"None whatsoever." Salem smiled, "Just a personal preference."
Malos looked to Salem for a moment before giving a glance to Jin who was also looking to the dark Aegis. "…They better stay out of our way." Jin finally said.
Salem smiled at what she interpreted as a yes. "I will make sure they do."
With that, the three kept moving at a comfortable silence. It didn't take long for any of them to reach the command bridge.
"Akhos. Fire up the Blade Bots." Jin ordered as he took position on the main controls. "Time to strike."
"Jin! Malos!" Akhos cheered at the sight of the two.
"Salem." Emerald let out in surprise.
"Watts, did you give them my message." Salem then asked the scientist.
"Apologies, ma'am, the attack has…distracted me. But I have informed Tyrian and Hazel already."
"Good." Salem said before turning to Mercury. "Mercury, would you be a dear and inform them to meet us here as soon as possible."
"What? Why?" Mercury asked, earning a quirked eyebrow from Salem.
"Did I stutter?" the witch asked sounding more firm.
Mercury got the hint before moving out to find Tyrian and Hazel.
Salem then turned back to Jin and Malos.
"They gave up on the boy pretty quick…" Malos said, probably in response to Jin. "No surprise…"
"Hatch open!" Patroka then said to Jin "Ready to launch!"
"Okay then. Launch!" Jin gave the order.
With that command, Blade Bots were deployed and flew outside to fight the Indoline Stars. Both the flying beasts and Bots alike were blasting each other out of the sky. Or sometimes the Bots got into close range and attacked the riders.
Salem looked thoughtful at the carnage before having an evil smile. "Malos, how would you feel about me bringing reinforcements to help you?"
The dark Aegis gave a questioning look to Salem. "You mean more of those pets of yours?" Malos scoffed, "They weren't much use earlier."
"What if I said I can bring out stronger ones? And in greater numbers?" Salem gave a coy look.
"Do as you wish." Jin said, "But whatever it is, do it now." Jin said as he now used the main controls to take evasive maneuvers against the Indolines, while the cannons were blasting away.
Salem then spread her arms as she concentrated. Soon the wicked witch smiled as the red lines across her arms and face began glowing.
Inside Amalthus' throne room, the Praetor looked surprised as a multitude of breaches opened around Torna's ship through a large screen in the middle of the room. Then, darkness started pouring out of them, attacking their forces.
"Get me a clearer visual." Amalthus orderer. Once the image zoomed in, it was revealed that the darkness was smoky creatures with white bone plates or spikes on their bodies. The plates had red lines while all these creatures had red eyes. "What are these creatures." Amalthus questioned with a frown as a winged beast that had bone protrusions in vague shape of a mane was spitting fireballs at an Indoline Stars rider.
There were also slightly larger feline shaped winged monsters that seemed to have a white snake for a tail, that somehow pounced on another Indoline Star, but the Indoline Weapon was able to fire its beam straight through the monster's chest.
But that same Star was then swooped upon by a flying reptilian monster that seemed to have ice formed on its body.
"Your Eminence! Our Titan is preparing to fire!" An Indoline monk suddenly shouted.
"What? Who gave that order?!" Amalthus demanded.
"…Nobody, Your Eminence." The monk said, causing the Praetor to have an incredulous look.
Shaking his head quickly, Amalthus closed his eyes and concentrated on ordering the Titan to not fire. But to his shock, the Titan was fighting back almost like it was… desperate to destroy something. "Order our troops to get out of the line of fire!" Amalthus quickly said.
In the battle, Indoline Stars began to scatter around, causing everyone inside Marsanes witnessing the battle look surprised. Then the Indol Titan opened fire again, eradicating a large portion of the horde that Salem had summoned.
Speaking of the witch, she had fallen to a knee due to the strain of maintaining so many breaches at once long enough to bring a horde of Grimm.
"Urgh… I don't understand… Why has this become harder." Salem muttered out as she rose back to her feet on shaky legs.
"You okay there?" Malos asked casually.
"I will be." Salem said as she looked more steady by the second, "With this, we should now have an advantage."
"It would seem so." Jin said with a frown at these monstrosities. They were putting Indol's forces on defensive. Yet, the former Paragon still felt uneasy about these things.
But what none of them knew was that the Indol Titan was now hell bent on destroying the Grimm. Nor would they know that when Salem brought this many Grimm into Alrest that all Titans, big or small turned their gaze upon the World Tree.
(End Ost)
With Rex and the others, they had encountered more problems. Another group of Sovereigns, Familion's, a single Kustal, couple Phoebuses and another Gerolf.
They did manage to beat them, but there was a slight snag that came during that.
"Is it just me, or are those things getting smarter or something?" Yang asked as she caught her breath.
"It's not just you." Mòrag commented as she remembered how the Familion's were avoiding direct confrontation with her, or any of their heavy hitters.
"The Sovereigns are connected through their own network that shares data on the threats they face." Roze piped up, "They probably learned from the fights we had from the others."
"So that's why I got smacked." Nora muttered in annoyance. When she tried hitting the Gerolf that seemed to be sticking to support fire, it didn't even try to fire at her. Instead, it smacked her away with its shield arm. The Phoebuses cowering behind it would have gotten her with their lasers if Electra hadn't put up a barrier.
"Well, I guess it makes sense that these things would get harder to beat." Zeke groaned as he did a couple stretches.
Nox then rolled out his scroll, "I felt like my Shadow Eye had become less effective."
This made Rex briefly wonder how Amalthus climbed the World Tree 500 years ago. If he had come inside, then he would have had to face the Sovereigns. And if he had climbed outside… well that would take a long time and lots and lots of effort from anyone.
"Great, robots that learn." Qrow muttered in annoyance. Not even the thought of rubbing this in Ironwood's face brightened him up anymore.
Penny and Poppi looked a little annoyed to hear that.
"No offense to you two." Qrow noticed the stares.
This reminded Ruby that Penny and Poppi were built. With how alive these two are, it's just so easy to forget that minor detail. "Penny, what do you think of all this?"
"What do you mean, Ruby?" Penny tilted her head.
"I mean… This place was clearly built by people who have better technology than even Atlas. What do you think of all this?" Ruby clarified.
"Well… Sure the technological advancement the people who built this tower must be great, but… What if it was their very technology that destroyed them." Penny looked down sadly.
"I can't even imagine what could have destroyed this civilization." Blake also said, "I mean… if it was a war, then this makes the Great War seem so small."
"Well, Jin did call Morytha the birthplace of the Architect." Rex then said.
"Does that mean the Architect built this?" Weiss questioned with a thoughtful look.
"…No." Roze said with a frown, earning everyone's attention. "This was here before…"
"Before?" Ruby led on as Roze seemed to trail off.
"…It ends there." Roze said with a confused look.
"What ends there?" Otohime asked with a suspicious look.
"…I don't know." Roze slumped at not being able to answer that.
Dahlia turned towards Pyra with a worried look, "Are you sure you fixed him?"
"I erased all the junk, but… I don't know where he gets his information from." Pyra then said, although she did think that the hidden Field Skill might have something to do with it.
"Do you guys… really think that we might find the Architect here?" Pyrrha then asked, earning surprised looks, "I mean… This all seems human made, and if that's the case then… The Architect would be a human and therefore can't be alive anymore."
"Well, Ozpin has lived for thousands of years, so maybe the Architect is somehow still alive." Jaune added in.
"What if the Architect is a super-computer that the ancient civilization left behind?" Nora suddenly piped up, "Tasked with rebuilding the world after foolish humans destroyed it."
"Really?" Electra said with stars in her eyes at her Driver's smart moment.
"Nora, I've seen that movie too." Ren dead-panned, "But given the machines here, it just might be the case."
"Even Pyra and Mythra have never actually met him, but this tower is here, so I'm sure he's here too." Rex said enthusiastially.
"Not to mention something brought us into this world." Yang added in before looking unsure, "But…"
"Seeing is believing is the phrase, hm?" Mòrag chimed in helpfully, "We'll just have to find out ourselves. There's no use speculating."
"…I want to see what's up there." Oscar then said, earning everyone's attention, "I mean… We're in another world and are about to meet its creator. Doesn't that sound cool?"
"More like incredible." Pyrrha then said before placing a hand over her bloodstained Core Crystal… Talos' Core Crystal. "But… I hope he won't be mad at me for doing this to one of his creations."
"Pyrrha, you didn't do anything." Jaune said, "Talos made this-"
"Did he?" Pyrrha interrupted, "What if Jin was right? What if I was being selfish when I told Talos he deserved better than me?"
Everyone looked surprised to hear that.
"Look." Nia said with an annoyed look, "I know we haven't exactly known each other for long, but already I get an impression that Talos didn't think there was anyone better than you."
Pyrrha looked utterly unconvinced.
Nia let out a weary sigh.
"Is Nia's tummy grumbly?" Tora asked the Flesh Eater.
"Oh for crying out- It's always money or food with you." Nia said to poor Tora.
"Mehmeh! But Tora think that Nia's tummy is what make Nia all growly-growly." This comment made Nia give the Nopon a dry look.
"What is Nia's problem?" Poppi asked, her tone and mannerisms complete opposite of the rude content.
"That's not a nice way to ask, Poppi, but I'll let it slide." Nia said before turning to each of the Blades. "There's something I want to ask all of you Blades. Including you who were awakened on Remnant." This earned everyone's attention. And their intrigue. " Tell me the truth. Have you ever thought about extending your life?"
"You mean… avoiding returning to our cores?" Brighid guessed.
"Yeah."
Brighid thought for a moment before answering, "That's a tough question. I would like to keep learning about my past selves. But… the thought of living after Mòrag is dead…" Brighid trailed off a little before remembering that her Driver was right next to her. "Oh, I'm sorry." And then she apologized for it.
"It's okay, I understand." Mòrag dismissed it with a small smile.
Brighid returned her attention to Nia, "The idea does not appeal to me."
Pandoria seemed to fidget in place, "Yeah, same here. I want my memories of the Prince to be just between us."
"You're going to make me blush, Pandy." Zeke commented with a smile.
"Dromarch?" Nia then asked her own Blade.
"As long as I'm by my lady's side until the end…I am satisfied." the white tiger stated. Dagas meanwhile looked away with a thoughtful look. "Dagas?" Nia noticed this.
"…I refuse to answer." Dagas said simply, causing Nia to roll her eyes.
"Poppi is artificial Blade. So it is very sad for Poppi to think about." Poppi then gave her own two gold, "When Masterpon is gone, Poppi will be widow."
Ruby knew she shouldn't, but Poppi using the term widow just sounded funny. Jaune, Nora and Yang seemed to be in the same boat.
"Mehhhhh!" Tora looked shocked to hear that.
"Well… Not quite. But I get where you're coming from." Nia commented before turning to look at the rest of the Blades.
Agate was the next to speak, "I would love to discover new minerals in the world, but… Well…I agree with Brighid."
Aegaeon looked away from others. "I fear I have not been awakened long enough to give you a proper answer, but given time… I might find myself agreeing with Lady Brighid."
Mórag and her Blades found themselves smiling at the answer.
"…I suppose I agree with that." Perceval said next, surprising everyone. "I too haven't been around my current Driver long, but… No it's too early for me to say." Perceval shook his head. Blake found herself smiling ever so slightly.
Then the black haired faunus turned to her first Blade, "Nox?" The ninja refused to look at her. "…Tell us the truth." Blake said in an authoritative tone.
With that command, Nox took out his scroll and showed his answer, "I refuse to live on without my lady."
Blake let herself chuckle, figuring it was something like that.
Jaune also looked to Joana. "Without Milord, my life has no purpose." Joana said resolutely. While Jaune couldn't say he agreed with that, but…, well trying to explain that to her is about as effective as Joana's attempts to get him and Pyrrha together in the past.
Dahlia shook her head a little at this, "I would miss Weiss too much to enjoy living." Weiss smiled on the outside, while on the inside she was doing everything she could not to hug the snow bunny. Aizen meanwhile shook his head. "What do you think, Aizen?" Dahlia then asked the nobleman. The blue and white-haired man didn't seem to acknowledge Dahlia's question. "Aizen?"
"I'm thinking." Aizen said non-commitally.
Nora meanwhile guessed what Electra's answer was, considering how the little girl suddenly started hugging the carrot top. As this happened, Otohime stroked Ren's head affectionately. That was as good an answer as any to Ren.
Roze let out a small sigh before giving his own answer, "I… can't picture a life without Ruby. We've gone through too much together for that. I know that returning to my core means I will forget, but… living for however long knowing I will never see her again… I'm not sure I can do that."
"…Roze." Ruby muttered sadly.
Yang also gave a sad look to Ruby before turning to look at Dragunov. "No comment." Dragunov said as he turned away from everyone.
This action earned a scowl from Nia who then looked to Kasandra and Herald. "What about you two?"
"If I manage to get Qrow happiness, then I can return to my core in peace. But that's gonna be a long time from now." Kasandra said with her happy smile. Qrow looked surprised to hear that, but he patted Kasandra's head regardless.
"…I'm still not sure if I should even be allowed to live in the first place." Herald said with a sad look, "But even if my Driver can control me, then what will happen if he was gone and I don't return to my core?"
Nia nodded at hearing this before finally turning to Pyra, "Pyra?"
The Aegis looked down, "Well… I…"
"It's different for you, right?" Rex butted in, "You've been alive for a few centuries."
"Did I ask you?" Nia gave a small glare to the salvager, before returning her attention to Pyra, "Pyra, what do you think about it, really?"
Despite Rex protesting a little, Pyra answered, "Sometimes, I wondered why I have to keep on living forever… Just on and on. No end in sight. But… It's different now. I'm glad I've stayed alive all this time. Parting is always sad, but it's just part of the deal of being me." Though…maybe… Maybe one day I would be happy to close my eyes forever…with someone special there by my side." At the last part, Pyra glanced to Rex for an instant.
Rex couldn't help the small tints of red that came to his cheeks as he caught that glance.
"That's our Pyra." Nia said, either not noticing or caring about the little exchange. Then the Gormotti shaped Flesh Eater looked to everyone else, " Thanks guys, for sharing."
Ruby noticed that Oscar was wiping his eyes. "Oscar?" Ruby said, causing everyone to look at the farmhand.
"It's not me." Oscar said as he wiped the extra moisture from his eyes, "It's Ozpin."
"…I guess he's been asking the same questions Pyra has." Qrow said sympathetically.
Ozpin soon gained control with Oscar's approval, "It's not just that. I… I once again thought of the many mistakes I have made during my many lives. I know that dwelling on them will never change what happened, but… I just couldn't help thinking if I could have done something differently. I know I did all that I could at the time, but… I just have to live with the consequences." After saying that, Ozpin gave up the control, leaving Oscar looking a little overwhelmed.
Blake and Dragunov looked away at hearing that.
"Is something wrong?" Perceval asked his Driver.
"It's nothing." Blake said with a small smile.
Yang also noticed how Dragunov reacted, but chose not to comment.
Roc then turned to Nia with a curious look, "What made you ask a question like that?"
Nia sighed a little, "I'm a Flesh Eater. So… I don't know how long I'll live for. I mean, for all I know, I could just snuff it tomorrow."
Pyrrha visibly flinched at this information.
"My lady…" Dromarch muttered.
"But I can say this much," Nia continued, "My life and death isn't tied to any human."
"And?" Rex pressed on.
"It's Jin. I've been wondering. Jin collects Core Crystals, but why won't he use them? Doesn't he hate humans? He could use them to create Blades, then turn them into Flesh Eaters. He could have expanded Torna anytime without getting humans in the mix."
"Now that you mention it, there was only five of them." Otohime pointed out with a thoughtful look. "Is that truly all of them?"
"Yes. It's just those five." Nia confirmed, "When Malos suggested getting Obrona and Akhos to resonate, Jin was dead against it. So I think maybe… Maybe he feels the same way as us."
"The same way as us?" Pyra parroted.
Nia looked up in thought, "I think maybe… that's why he won't resonate with anyone."
The group pondered on this for a moment, but chose to move on. After all, even if they could understand Jin and the others, they still needed to be stopped. They entered another elevator that took them up.
"R-Rex." Azurda stuttered, shivering in the helmet he was riding.
"Gramps? What is it?" Rex asked in concern, turning as much of his head as his neck allowed to the small titan's direction.
"I sense Grimm… A horde of them." Azurda said in fear.
"What?!" Everyone let out.
"Did Salem summon more?!" Otohime was the first to guess.
"Is she planning to let an entire army of Grimm loose to stop us?" Qrow then questioned.
Oscar then looked confused, "Ozpin says that it doesn't make sense for Salem to do that… Unless she was fighting an army."
At that moment the elevator opened up, just in time for them to hear a clear explosion.
"Well… something is fighting." Nora pointed out just before the gang ran through the hallway the elevator opened at. It didn't take them long to reach a doorway that led outside of the tower. To a large walkway at the side of the outer wall. Everyone looked in shock at the dark mass in the skies that was the Grimm horde that Salem no doubt brought into this world.
Not to mention what they were fighting against.
"Is that Indol?!" Nia was the first to exclaim in surprise. Indeed, the winged Great Titan was opening fire upon the Grimm taking out sizeable chunks of the flying horde. And when a portion of them went after the titan itself, smaller shots were raining on them from all over the Praetorium Titan's body.
But Azurda managed to get his attention on what was in the middle of the Grimm horde. "And old Tornan warship? I didn't think any of them survived."
"Is Jin up there?" Rex asked, focusing more on that than the Grimm that were fighting against the Indoline air forces.
"Quite possibly." Azurda said.
"Then we have to hurry. We need to get up there before they do." Rex said, already moving up a nearby ramp that would get them up.
"Rex, wait!" Pyra suddenly said, "What's wrong?" The latter part was addressed to the Remnans who were staring at the mass of Grimm in horror.
"This is like… the Battle for Beacon all over again." Ruby voiced what everyone else must be thinking.
"Did Salem do this?" Weiss also asked, getting some very scary thoughts from that.
"But… if that's the case then… she could just move an entire horde right in the middle of any kingdom." Blake then gave voice to the said scary thoughts.
"I doubt it." Aizen piped up with a frown. This earned everyone's attention. "If Salem truly had such power from the start, surely she would have used it long before this moment. Besides… so far there is no evidence of her being able to open a breach necessary to bring an army such as this without repercussions."
"Repercussions?" Weiss sounded a little hopeful.
"Possible strain to her body, mind or something else entirely." Aizen listed casually.
"So you're saying… Salem may be exhausted right now." Ren then summarized what Aizen was thinking.
"It's a very real possibility." Aizen said without missing a beat.
"So you're not sure?" Nora said with a frown.
"No."
Zeke let out a sigh, "Look, I get that Salem popping up an army wherever she pleases is a scary thought, but we can worry about that later."
"Agreed." Dagas piped up, earning everyone's attention. "Worrying about something we cannot affect as of now is pointless."
"Also, friends forget? Pneuma closed breaches Salem opened in the big fight." Tora piped up.
"That's right!" Ruby slammed her hand into her palm, "If Salem tries to bring another army, Pneuma can stop her."
This knowledge seemed to ease everyone's worries as they now moved on, up the walkway. Although they were still uneasy about the horde not too far away from them… Then again, even as both sides were taking losses, the Indol Titan was the most effective on the clean-up.
"I didn't think Indol possessed this much firepower." Azurda commented on another blast from the Great Titan's wings that once again took a chunk out of the Grimm forces, but it seemed that the monsters now knew to get out of the way when the thing fires. So it didn't take as much down this time.
"Nor did I think it could fly this high." Zeke also commented as they ran up the walkway.
"They must have done modifications to their Titan, just as old Temperantia did with theirs." Azurda commented, "Still… I never imagined that Indol would possess such power."
"So… Titans can be modified?" Blake said as they made their way higher.
"Yeah, Judicium was said to have done that." Zeke explained as they got up higher, "But they got wiped out in…" Zeke trailed off as they noticed a group of Indoline Warrior Monks in front of them. And behind them, a single Indol Star.
"Where did you guys come from?" Electra was the first to ask.
The monks ignored Electra in favor of addressing Rex, "To the Aegis and her Driver. We're here to pass an order from His Eminence. You are to use the Aegis' power to destroy that ship and those monsters!"
"Huh?" Rex let out, a little surprised at the order.
"What's wrong?" The monk asked, "This is your duty, pilgrim!"
"My only duty is to open the way to the World Tree." Rex said.
"You cannot do it?" The monk said in disbelief, "If so, then we must take the Aegis into custody."
Azurda popped out of Rex's helmet, "I get it now. They just wanted to use Mythra's power to burn up their little problem. Nothing new under the Sun."
"I didn't say we couldn't do it." Rex said firmly, "But we have to stop Jin. Tell your boss, that's what we're doing. Okay?" Rex then turned towards Pyra, "Pyra, could Mythra at least… destroy the Grimm?"
"Rex?" Pyra looked surprised.
"We're trying to stop Jin and Malos, but the Grimm are a different matter. Who knows what will happen if we leave them alone." Rex explained.
Instead of answering, Pyra was replaced by Mythra, "You know, I could destroy the ship too."
"We don't have to kill them." Rex said simply.
Mythra found herself sighing and smiling at the same time, "I can't exterminate them all with how much they're moving, but I think I can thin them out enough to reduce their threat."
"That would be great." Rex said with a smile.
"You aren't planning to take out the ship?" the monk then asked.
"No! I told you, we'll stop Jin. Tell your boss that."
"But if we can, we can take out the Grimm at the very least." Ruby then restated Rex's suggestion.
(Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST: Still Move Forward)
"We do not negotiate holy decrees." The monk said as they all pointed their staffs at them. "If you don't comply, then prepare for righteous chastisement!"
"Great… Religious fanatics." Qrow groaned as he realized what they were dealing with. Even as they all drew out their own weapons.
"Aren't you listening? We said we're gonna stop them, dammit!" Yang let out even as she brandished Dragunov's Talons. These guys were really annoying her now.
"Silence, you otherworldly devil!" Another of the monks shouted commandingly as he charged the brawler.
The phrase surprised Yang, but not enough for her to not backhand the staff away from her.
"Otherworldly devil?" Nora parroted in confusion, even as she moved in to smash an Indoline monk away. Although she did so lightly by her standards.
As this happened the Indoline Star moved away as Ren and Oscar opened fire.
Qrow used Kasandra's hammer to force a monk into powerstruggle before suddenly dropping the hammer and giving the fanatic a good beatdown with his fists before taking Kasandra's hammer back up and then smashing the monk away. Although he soon heard the familiar rattling.
"Not now." Qrow let out as he turned to Kasandra. Sure enough, he caught the mask at the back of her head shaking for an instant before it settled down.
"What was that?" Blake asked, her ears having caught the rattling too, despite having given a couple good hits to an Indoline that was too focused on trying to beat Tora.
Qrow looked around frantically every which way to see any signs of what that accursed mask would bring on them this time.
But it was Ruby who happened to glance at the Indoline Star's direction to see the problem first. "We got Grimm!"
This caused everyone to turn to the direction Ruby was pointing at. Sure enough, a small portion of the horde was coming at them. Several Manticores and a couple Sphinxes
Ren, Oscar and Penny immediately opened fire on the monstrosities. Using their respective Arts to each take down one Manticore before the rest had swooped on them.
"Scatter!" Jaune cried out as he immediately moved out of one Manticore's way that tried to pounce on him. The other beasts were also avoided by both the heroes and the Indoline. Meanwhile the Star was engaging the two Sphinxes.
Another Manticore was going after the monks. The beast charged forward, but one of the Monks managed to smack it head to the side with his staff, while another gave a powerful jab to its neck.
"Foul beast!" Another one shouted before hitting the beast on its head, making cracks on its bone plated head. The Manticore staggered from the hit before blasting that monk away with a well-aimed fireball from its mouth. Not only was the Monk set ablaze, but he was also blasted off the walkway.
Rex meanwhile avoided a strike from another manticore's paws before slashing at its head. Then the salvager moved to the side just in time to avoid its stinger of a tail. It was clear that the Blade weapons were still very much more effective than normal weapons.
The beast was then set on fire when Mòrag unleashed Azure II: Hellfire upon it. Breaking its stance for good measure.
"Tora can handle this!" Tora declared before unleashing Big boost on it's leg to topple it. Which gave Rex the needed opening to give the beast a Sword Bash right through its head.
With team RWBY Blake cut off the monster's stinger with Nox's Scythes while Weiss used Piercing farce to break this one's stance.
The Manticore tried to then tried to spit a fireball on Ruby, but Yang used Rising Dragon to force its mouth shut, which made the fireball go off in its own mouth.
"Thorn Hammer!" And then Ruby pierced its head.
With team JNPR, while Ren was busy firing at the two Sphinxes to support the Star, the rest of the team engaged the Manticore that previously tried to eat Jaune.
"Shouldn't we help them?" Oscar asked as he was helping Ren.
"Like Jaune said, I would rather deal with one enemy than two." Ren said simply as he kept finding openings to shoot a Sphinx to help the Indoline flying beast.
"Ah, makes sense." Oscar admitted before unloading a 1000 Years of Pain on a Sphinx that prepared to blast a fireball against the Star. The beast took heavy damage, but was still alive.
"Mach Breaker!" Until Penny blasted it's head off. The Artificial Driver then turned to assist her friends, thinking that the Indoline Star could now hold its own against a single Sphinx.
Although judging by how Jaune just pulled Prostateva out of a Manticore's pierced head just before the beast slumped showed that there was no need for that.
"Jaune… that was almost like…" Pyrrha commented in slight awe at the Arc Driver using a maneuver that the champion would have used.
"Yeah… I'm… not sure how I did that." Jaune admitted bashfully.
"Perhaps the affinity link with Milady allows you to adopt her muscle memory, Milord." Joana theorized excitedly, seeing as Jaune's move was very similar to Pyrrha's. None could see under Joana's helmet right now, but there was a small glint in her eyes as she began imagining how the Arkos pair's children would be. But that was a thought for another time.
Qrow meanwhile had blocked a Manticore's stinger before smashing its head, giving it a good crack. Which Zeke then took advantage of with a good Dynamic Spark Sword through said cracks.
The last Manticore was finally taken out by the monks who then turned their weapons towards the Drivers. "Now, prepare for righteous chastisement."
(End OST)
"Are you serious!" Nora cried out.
"Oh for the love of Architect." Otohime sighed before her attention was briefly taken by a bestial cry. The other Sphinx was finally destroyed by the Indoline Star.
"You do realize that you guys are outnumbered." Dragunov said with his arms crossed and with an unimpressed look.
"Not to mention you struggled against those monsters, while we didn't." Zeke added in.
The monks seemed to contemplate on the facts for a moment, before the Star came down at the edge of the walkway and they moved on its back. "You will regret this." one of the monks said before they flew away.
Rex put away the Aegis Sword with a worried look. "They're gonna tell the Praetor, we need to move now."
"What's that?" Ruby suddenly asked as she noted that a green vortex of energy appeared on Indol Titan's back.
"Huh?" Brighid sounded out before doubling over in what seemed like pain. Clutching her chest as she did.
"Brighid!" Mòrag said in worry.
"Gahh!" Dromarch let out next, his body going down as if someone was pushing it.
"Dromarch!" Nia let out before then clutching her own chest in pain.
"Someone… Something…" Dromarch was ablet to let out in great effort.
"What's going on!?" Qrow demanded as he moved to catch Kasandra who was in the same situation.
In fact, all the Blades seemed to feel like being in pain. All of them clutching their chests, except Dragunov and Otohime were clutching their heads.
"Pyrrha, what's wrong!?" Jaune almost panicked as he was supporting the Fall Champion who was in the same situation any of the other Blades was in. Something that Ruby, Blake, Ren, Nora and Zeke were doing with their respective Blades. Oscar just looked worried as Herald, who normally floats off the ground also fell down. Yang was also worried about Dragunov
Only Poppi looked unaffected.
"Th-This effect." Azurda said in Rex's helmet also sounding like he was in pain too, "Can it be?
Then a greenish holographic image of Amalthus appeared right in front of them.
"Please forgive my interference." The image said in a clear voice to the group. "Time runs short."
"A-Amalthus!?" Rex looked surprised to see the Praetor.
The Praetor smiled as right below his hat, an ubside down blue triangle appeared on his forehead.
Mythra gasped at the sight of the Core Crystal piece, "That's… Haze's Core Crystal."
"Fan la Norne's?" Nia said, powering through whatever ailed her and the other Blades. "Yeah… that's it alright… the other half."
Dragunov glared at the Praetor as he struggled to get off his knee, but something pushed him back down. "If that's Haze's Crystal then… This is her power!"
"You mean Ether Manipulation?" Yang added in in realization. Having read the entry that explained Haze's powers.
Otohime managed to look up at hearing this, "Ether Manipulation? If that is the case, then…" The Imperial Mother closed her eyes and concentrated. Soon her lotus shaped Core Crystal shined with power and she was able to stand straight. "There, now-AARGH!" Otohime screamed as she was forced down on her knees. Clutching her very Core Crystal as she did.
"Otohime!" Ren cried out as he hugged her on instinct.
"Not only that." Amalthus said, sounding a little smug, "But this is also in fact my original primal power."
"What're you saying!" Ruby all but demanded as she was helping Roze to stand on his feet.
Instead of getting an answer, Mythra suddenly stood up straight. And the green gem of her tiara glowed.
"Mythra!" Rex cried out.
"Th-the Artifice… No… S-stop!" Mythra struggled to say just before the tiara flashed and the blonde Aegis fell on her knees.
Shortly after, a beam from the sky hit The Torna ship, vaporizing any Grimm that were within the path.
Inside Marsanes everyone regained their balance after the ship shook from the blast.
"Was that the Artifice!?" Akhos said after gaining her bearings.
"Is the Aegis firing at us?!" Emerald also cried out.
Malos straightened up with a small laugh, "No."
"Then, who?" Patroka questioned.
Malos looked forward with a frown, "Amalthus."
"Amalthus?!" Patroka let out in surprise.
Salem quirked an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name, "Who is that?"
Malos didn't seem to acknowledge the question, but then he spoke, "He's my Driver… And I'm an Aegis. If that energy gets any stronger, he won't just control the Blades, but Mythra too."
Salem had a small glint in her eyes at hearing something like that. The wicked witch directed her black and red eyes towards Indol that was still within their sights. "Shame…" Salem thought, "If only I knew what Amalthus looked like. Or better yet, where on that Titan he is at."
"Amalthus…" Malos punched his fist into his palm with a small grin, "You never disappoint."
With Rex and the others, Amalthus addressed the team again, "I am the Driver of the Master Blade. Bow before me, the Master Driver. I posess the power to command all Blades. Every Blade alive, regardless of who they have resonated with."
Everyone had varying looks of shock at this information, while some hugged their Blades in response.
"Indeed. Even the very Titans are at my command." Amalthus then boasted as his image glanced back towards Indol that still hasn't stopped firing at the Grimm.
Inside Marsanes, the screen now showed the back of Amalthus' image. Much to the chagrin of Salem. Not that the witch could have made use of it as of now anyway.
"So that's how he's repelling our attack…" Patroka said before looking worried, "Sooner or later he'll control us too."
"Don't worry." Malos said reassuringly, "Half-breeds like you won't come under his control. Sure he can dampen your power, but that's why we built those things." The screen then showed Blade Bots attacking Indoline forces alongside the Grimm.
Outside, an Indoline Star was flying away from three Blade Bots and a Pteryx. The Indoline weapon turned around and blasted at the chasers, taking out one Blade Bot but the other two slashed at it's wings before the Pteryx then pounced on it. Elsewhere another Star blasted a Sphinx out of the sky before the monk riding it was pounced on by a Manticore. Another monk that was taken off of a Star was struggling against a damaged Blade Bot as the two fell down.
"Mikhail's creations will not submit to Amalthus' control." Malos said almost smugly.
"And neither will this bucket of bolts!" Mikhail's voice rang out of the intercoms. The screen then showed the blonde member of Torna where Malos and Jin left him to. "We're nearly at the boundary layer. Jin! Malos! Get ready!"
"Roger." Jin complied before stepping off the controls and started walking out of the bridge. "Malos. Salem. Let's move."
"Yeah! Mikhail! Akhos! Patroka! The rest is up to you." Malos said to the three.
"Sure." Akhos nodded.
"Yeah." Patroka also confirmed.
Malos then turned to Salem, "If you want your subordinates to come too, then they're welcome to do that."
Salem let out a small smile as she moved to follow the two Blades, "Everyone, follow." With that command, Mercury, Emerald, Watts, Tyrian, Hazel and Scorax, the latter of the three having come to the bridge earlier moved to follow their master.
"Hey!" Mikhail piped up once more, "When you see our daddy dear... Tell him, 'thanks for everything' from me." This line of conversation earned a quirked eyebrow from Emerald and Mercury.
Malos nodded before moving out, Salem and her cronies right behind him.
"You seem excited, doctor." Tyrian commented as Watts seemed a little more cheerful than usual.
"That tower is an engineering marvel. If this isn't even the top, then I wonder how far it will stretch." Watts said with a grin under his moustache, "Besides, who knows what I might discover inside it. I wonder how any of the possible security measures inside will compare to what Atlas has made. Perhaps I will actually face a challenge to my intellect."
"I suppose we all have our interests." Tyrian commented with a giggle at getting an impression of a kid in a candy store from their good doctor.
However, at Watts mentioning a challenge to his intellect, Salem heard a small voice in her head. "For the sake of argument, let's say someone actually did manage to infiltrate this place again and try to hack my system. I only have this to say, I'd like to see them try." Salem frowned a little as she recognized the voice as the black-haired scientist who sounded very smug.
(Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST: Over the Sinful Entreaty)
Outside, Tora noticed that Marsanes had managed to move somewhat higher than them. "Rex-Rex, the Torna ship stopped moving!"
"Looks to me like they're trying to get inside." Zeke commented as he was supporting Pandoria.
Rex turned to Amalthus' projection again. "Amalthus! We're going to stop Jin! But you've got to stop this!"
Amalthus gave no reaction before answering, "You speak nonsense boy. Now is the hour of their doom. You leave me no choice, but to perform your duty for you."
"Destroying Jin and Torna? We're only going to stop them! Not kill them!" Rex argued back.
"You believe you can sway them with words of reason?" Amalthus looked unconvinced.
"Well yeah! Jin told me what happened. What happened 500 years ago. And you were the cause of it, weren't you, Praetor?" Rex then said, pointing at the projection on the last part.
"I was nothing but the mouthpiece of the Architect." Amalthus stated.
"When I meet him, I'll ask him myself! About me. About Pyra and Mythra. And about Ruby and the others." Rex said firmly.
Amalthus scowled at this declaration, "That is not your right. It is mine!" And the Core Crystal on his forehead shined, which caused Mythra's tiara to glow again. Then another blast from Siren came down, but it completely missed the ship.
Amalthus grit his teeth as he glared at the blonde Aegis. "You resist? Again? You defy me again?"
"What the heck did you expect!?" Yang shouted at the Praetor as she looked to Dragunov who still struggled to get off his knee. Ruby and the other Remnans were also glaring at the projection.
"Amalthus!" Mythra said defiantly, "You won't get what you want! I…I'm Rex's Blade!"
Azurda perked up at hearing this, "Th-that's right! Rex! You're the Aegis' Driver. There's nothing he can do that you can't!"
Rex glanced at his high-tech armor covered arms as it was beginning to dawn on him. "Does that mean…?"
"Rex it's true." Nia piped up, "Power depends on the heart of its wielder, right?" As Nia said this, Yang looked to her own hand briefly before glancing at Dragunov.
"Huh?" Dragunov caught the glance, which caused Yang to turn away like she was caught doing something bad.
As this happened, Rex looked to Mythra who gave her Driver an affirmative nod. Rex lifted Mythra's Aegis Sword to the heavens with a loud yell, shooting a beam into the sky.
Amalthus glared at the defiant boy in his throne room before the screen in front of him shattered and crackles of energy coursed towards him. The Praetor instinctively cowered at this phenomenon, but no actual harm came to him.
With Rex and the others, every Blade stood back up.
"I… can move again." Mythra said, feeling relieved.
"Same here." Dragunov after getting back on his feet.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune said in concern.
"I'm okay now." Pyrrha said reassuringly.
"Rex!" Mythra suddenly said loudly. The boy had stopped what he was doing and had stumbled forward. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… I'm okay." Rex replied reassuringly, then he turned towards everyone. "I…I'm not letting him get away with this anymore. He's just manipulating humans and Blades alike. That's not the Architect's will at all!" Then Rex glared towards Indol, "Give it up, Amalthus! You can leave Jin and the rest to us!" With that, Rex ran off the walkway, everyone else followed suit.
Although out of everyone among them, Ozpin was now very fearful inside Oscar.
(End OST)