Chapter 38
After some time has passed, everyone started to look around and see what they can find on this gigantic, solar system-sized station. It is taking forever to learn every square bit of this bizarre station. Every item, supplies, species, media and whatever the fuck else they can find. The AIs are almost done decrypting what the hell Dark Half is in order to find out what exactly it is. Team RWBY (and Zwei) went deeper inside and found a big door that leads closer to the center.
The door doesn't match with the rest of the station as it stands over twenty feet tall with it having a more purple color to it with strange symbols in a circle on it that glow orange. It is similar to the Architects from Subnautica that there is a strange hum coming from the other side. There are also strange glowing techno patterns that fade in an out that almost look like some runic binary code. The five look at the door and try to figure out what the hell it is suppose to be.
"Any idea what is on the other side of this door?" Ruby asks her team.
The others have no idea what is on the other side.
"Maybe it has something to due with what the symbols say it is?" Zwei points out.
"That is very true." Yang smiles at Zwei.
"Do I get a treat?"
"You're not a dog anymore. Not to mention that there are some habits that you really need to stop."
"Why? What 's wrong with me licking my-"
"STOP!" Weiss stop what Zwei was gonna finish. "We don't need to know that. And we may need to teach you on how to act like a proper humanoid."
"That can vary from person to person." Blake states, "It will be difficult since everyone has their own idea on how to be a proper humanoid. Like I'm a cat Faunus and even I do animal things."
"That's true." Weiss nods.
Ruby approaches the door and raise her black box at it to unlock it. The door shows a red light that come from the center of the symbols that is actually a scanner that scan Ruby's black box for a few seconds. Once it finishes, the light turns green with the symbols fading from the door and it opens. Once open, there is a bright white light that no one can see inside beyond the doors. It is so bright that everyone has to shield their eyes so they won't be blinded. However, Ruby's black box is pulling her into the room. She tries to resist but is forcibly pulled in as she screams as she is yanked inside with the doors closing behind her.
"RUBY!" Yang reaches out in vain for her sister yet unable to save her.
"What was that?!" Zwei asks as he panics, "Where did Ruby go?!"
Yang bangs on the doors with Blake trying to use her black box to unlock the door. The door scans Blake's black box but was denied.
Inside the room, Ruby is in a place that is nothing but a white light as she look around confused and afraid.
"Hello!?" she asks with her voice echoing. "What is this place?!"
Ruby continues to look around until she sees a strange figure to her right. The figure is just as white as the place around it but have a pencil sketch outline that make the figure appear it has a shadow made of pencil markings. It appears to be male by body type with barely any identifying facial features while being bald. The figure walks casually towards as Ruby prepares her Crescent Rose.
The figure stops a few feet away as he says, "Hello there." He speaks in a dignified and almost god-like manner.
"Who are you?" Ruby asks suspiciously.
The figure raises his head and arms along with his voice, "I am the GOD OF ALL THAT THERE IS AND EVERYTHING AROUND YOU!"
Ruby raises an eyebrow, "Really?"
He looks back down at Ruby and apply with a grin, "No." He speaks in a friendly and casual tone this time. He lower his arms, "You have no idea how long I have always wanted to do that."
Ruby snicker a little and lowers her guard a bit.
"I am actually the guardian of this place, Hitogami. I am safeguarding a very special power for the black boxes."
"You mean the power to create solar systems?"
Hitogami chuckles a little, "Someone did their homework."
"Well, it wasn't hard to figure out. I mean, that's why we're here in the first place."
"That's all good and everything. However, you need a very special black box in order to get in here. Unlike the other black boxes, they are just false replicas of the original from another galaxy ever since the day the Dark Forces came."
"The what?" Ruby is now confuse on what he is saying.
"You'll learn about it once I've unlock the file to your AI companions. The main thing is your black box."
"What exactly makes mine special? There are thousands of others just like mine and almost everyone back out there has one."
"For one, those black boxes are nothing more than the replicas I just told you about. Not the real thing. True they grant power, but they aren't the same. The one you have though..." Hitogami stares at Ruby's black box.
Ruby holds onto it, "Mine came from a friend who saved our lives from certain doom."
"Ahh. What was his name?"
"He's name is Church, but he is known as the Alpha AI, which can be a bit confusing since there are two Churches with one being Alpha and one being Epsilon who is based-on the Alpha. Long story."
"Mmm." Hitogami is intrigued. "But tell me; what are you planning to do with the power?"
"The power?"
"The power to create solar systems. The power to create life. The power to destroy and bring death. So I ask; what are you planning on doing with it?"
"Well, we can't go home. We're stuck here with no way back. Not sure what happened to our world or worlds. We would want to create a home. For all of us. Since we're here, we may as well get comfortable."
"And those here? In this space station?"
Ruby thinks about it for a moment as she look at her black box. She pauses as she close her eyes before making her decision.
"We would welcome them. Help them give a home as well."
"And if you abuse the power?"
"We would do what we can to return it. We are not gods. Nor should we be after the people who did this to us and to those that inhabited this galaxy. No one has the right to be a god."
Hitogami looks deeply into Ruby's eyes to see if she is honest. He just gaze into her silver eyes to see if she is telling the truth. He gives a grin before clapping his hands and laughing.
"That's the answer I was looking for! You are so pure! So heroic! I like you. So, as a reward, I will grant you that power and you can share it with those you can trust."
With a wave of his hand, a swirl of white glyphs enter into Ruby's black box as if the glyphs are caught in a whirlpool as they're being sucked in. Once it is finished, the black box glows a neon blue and transform into a white orb that is small as a pearl.
"There you go."
Ruby smiles at Hitogami, "Thank you."
"And as for your AI friends, I shall unlock the secrets of the enemy within Dark Half. But be warned, for you have another battle coming straight towards you."
"What do you mean?" Ruby is perplexed.
"Well, answer this riddle. A woman is split in two. One light and one dark. One human and one monster. One has been by your side and the other is chasing you, who seeks the other half of herself. So tell me, Ruby Rose, who is after you?"
Ruby thinks about it for a moment until her eyes widen in realization.
"Salem."
Ruby is now outside the door and back in the station.
"Ruby!" Yang and Zwei hug Ruby very tightly.
"Can't...breathe..." Ruby struggles to breath.
Both Zwei and Yang let go of her as she gasp for air.
"What happened in there?" Blake asks.
"You okay?!" Yang asks as she checks.
"Did you get what we're after?!" Weiss asks.
"Why do you smell like daisies?" Zwei notices.
Ruby says to everyone, "Stop! One question at a time. But I have good news and bad news." Ruby shows her pearl on her wrist, "Good news, I got what we were after. The bad news, Salem is coming."
"Wait, our Salem?" Yang is confused.
"No!" Ruby sounds serious, "The Grimm Salem! The one from that ring world before we were transported into that solar system!"
"WHAT?!" Weiss, Blake and Yang went.
"What did you say?!" The human Salem shows up and is absolutely disturbed.
Epsilon Church talks on the black box, "You think that's bad!? Wait until I tell you what the fuck Dark Half is!"
In a solar system where our characters found an ark ship (and where Caboose, Tucker and Ginro got raped), Salem's fleet is gathering much of the materials of the ship. Reducing it to scrap with space Grimm that look like the Mi-Go from Lovecraft's works that break it down and then add the materials to the ship. Some of the hard drives are collected and take to Salem's flagship. The flagship has changed to resemble Ghizguth, another being from Lovecraft, yet more Grimm and more shark-like with technological features.
Inside of this ship of techno-organics, Salem is on her thrown made of bones and metal that looks like a skeletal hand as she looks out from a window where she can see the operation being carried out. The whole place inside the flagship is like the inside of Monstro from the series but with more organic and technological with circuit patterns on certain areas of the ship that glow red. There are even strange, organic robots that look Grimm-ish that are using the control consoles. Some of the Mi-Go Grimm bring her the hard drives of the ship and present it to her.
Salem takes the hard drives with her hair and reads all the data she could. She learns of the Grand Paradise System and found records of the people who came to the ship. She recognize some of the people from the surveillance footage and starts grinning. As she does, one of her 'children' come in. It is similar to Salem but is a male with more human-like features while wearing a black SPARTAN-II suit.
"Mother." he speaks, "We have found more vapor trails and discovered where they head next."
"I am fully aware." Salem says with her right hand raised. "I have discovered where my enemies are heading next. I'm setting a course on where we should go. Have the troops ready. At long last, I can finish her off once and for all."
The ships steer towards the direction of where the vapor trail is heading and head towards where it leads. Before they do, a few pods full of Grimm liquid are fired into various directions with one heading towards the gas giant. All the others spread out to who knows where.
In the Spearhead of Hope, Magnus senses something in the cosmos. A strange psychic presence he didn't noticed up until now when he is meditating. He tries again until he receives a painful attack to his mind.
"GAAH!" he went with both his hands on his head.
"Something wrong, brother?" Rogal Dorn ask in consideration.
Magnus tries to shake it off, "There's something horrible heading this way. Something that is...evil incarnate." He looks at Dorn, "Worse than the Chaos Gods."
"How?"
"Think like Tyranids if they got fucked-up by the Warp along with the nihilism of the Necrons with all the fucked-up shit of the Dark Eldar."
"That is worse."
"You got that right."
"How long do we have before this new evil will make it here?"
"Judging by the speed, I say a few weeks." Magnus stands up, "Best to warn the others about this."
"I did hear about an emergency meeting over the black boxes from Ruby Rose."
"Okay. Wait, is she also a psyker? Does she know about the coming danger, too?"
"I do not know. That is why I'm attending the emergency meeting, brother."
"Fair enough."
Vulkan appears, "Did you hear the news, brothas? There's an emergency meeting."
"I heard." Magnus walks to the door, "Come on. Let's see what the fuck is going on."
Warp Chat
Tzeentch: Oh shit! They finally found it!
Zeus: Wait.
Zeus: What happened to our pen names?
Gaia: There was some complications with the chat.
Nightbringer: Still want to have friends.
Khorne: Nightbringer.
Khorne: Just give up.
Khaine: Seriously, you need help.
Isis: Speaking of.
Isis: Do you think we can interfere in saving them from that horrible bitch coming at them?
Boethiah: Leave them.
Boethiah: It is best for them to figure it out.
Mehrunes Dagon: I think we should help.
Mehrunes Dagon: If they die, we won't have a future.
Azuth: I completely agree.
Cyric: I don't.
Nurgle: Are you lying again, Cyric?
Cyric: Yes.
Beory: He is lying so take everything he says as backwards talk.
Onatar: We should help.
Talos: Same.
Thoth: But they have black boxes, they should be fine.
Amaterasu: With all that power she has gotten, there could be a chance she could override those things.
Slaanesh: Fuck.
Slaanesh: Not the good kind of fuck.
Uncle Sam: I say we take it into a vote.
Everyone in the Warp Chat agrees on the vote.
AN: Hey everyone! Hope you are enjoying this so far because it is almost over. Two more chapters left to this series. Three if you include the epilogue (but the epilogue will focus on the characters of RWBY and RvB). And I do have an important announcement: The second volume of The Post-Apocalyptic Shield Hero will come out at some point in November. Thank you all for being patient thus far and now I will work on it when this story is over. However, there will be a sequel to this that'll take place in the future that involve the granddaughters of Team RWBY and their adventures...in SPAAAACCEEE! Till then, thanks for hanging in there. And I hope one day we will have RWBY continuing to volume 10. Later!