Hey. Again, been a little while, but not as long as last time. Sorry, but not too sorry. This chapter is long, after all.
I have an announcement: I'm now Co-writing this story with ApertureZero. He wrote a section later in this chapter and will likely be writing a significant amount of this story going forward as well. Hopefully that could help the rate that chapters will be published, as well as make sure we have consistent quality.
We're staying focused on the situation our two guardians got themselves into last time for this chapter, just because I don't think it would be good to switch perspectives here. But other than that, not much else to say. We'll see where this goes
So… yeah. Let's get back to it.
At the Branwen Tribe Camp
The scene in the center of the camp had erupted into total chaos. Chaos that, conveniently, left nobody paying very close attention to her. Her summon quickly cut her free, and she grew the suit of armor to a medium size. It cut through the bars of her crudely constructed prison quickly, freeing her.
She looked around, and quickly spotted her rapier - it was being guarded by two of the Bandits, though they both seemed focused on the disorderly scene unfolding away from her. And neither appeared to want to join in in the combat for the time being.
As she and the Arma Gigas, now a bit bigger than any normal human would be, approached them, they suddenly realized that they had their own problem. The summon knocked the first one on the head, hard, before he even had a chance to raise a weapon, and he went down. As The second raised some sort of spear-like weapon at the walking suit of armor, and the weapons clashed a few times before Weiss was able to grab Myrtenaster and drive the point of it through the man's thigh. He went down like his companion, but with a little more noise.
Weiss spared a glance over to the war zone that was the center of the camp. Though it was hard to make out exactly what was happening, but the two armored figures seemed to be holding their own and then some against what was practically an army of bandits and scoundrels.
Weiss had no intention of joining them right now. Though she wanted to help these people and take out the bandit tribe, the other two seemed to be able to handle themselves. Plus, she was tired and overall, not in a good position to fight. She would try to stay out of the fight and maybe find a way to slip out of the camp.
Her summon dissipated so as to not draw any undue attention. She would bide her time and wait for the right moment to get the hell out of here.
/
The masked woman lunged at Talos, and a burst of flame violently expanded the air next to him, pushing his body to the side as he slammed his flaming sword sustained by the power of nuclear fusion into the side of her head. Her aura flickered, and she winced slightly, but his adversary seemed overall unfazed. Interesting, the warlock thought, she seemed to experience some sort of pain, but her aura prevented any real damage.
The woman dashed to the side and responded with a strike that weakened Tal's own shields. He responded with a few more counterstrikes in quick succession, which were all parried or dodged deftly by his opponent.
His initial burst of mobility had surprised her, but she was obviously a competent swordswoman in her own right. In fact, she was likely better than he was, for after all, most of the time, a combination of brute force, superior technology, and paracausality had been what won his battles for him, not his swordplay technique. However, after centuries of being alive, he had still picked up on more than a few things to make him a competent duelist.
Using his abilities to his advantage, Tal sent a blast of heat at the woman's face from his left palm while their swords were briefly locked together. His opponent stumbled back slightly, and rather than pressing his attack directly, the dawnblade used his flaming wings to put even more distance between the two of them, then levelled his sword at the bandit queen and sent a fireball flying at her. She dodged to the side, but it still hit her, catching her in the shoulder. She swung at him with a sword empowered by what seemed like fire dust, and he caught it on the outside of his gauntlet. He could feel the intense heat of the attack through his armor and shields, but after being killed in hundreds of different ways, the pain meant little to him. With his opponent's sword out of the way, he delivered another swift blow, this one biting into her side and weakening her aura yet again. Then he shot into the air and unleashed a cascade of fire below him, which the woman danced out of the way of, though it singed a bit of her hair.
As the fight progressed, it was clear that neither of the combatants had opened at their strongest state. Rather, they both seemed to be probing one another, each one testing the other's abilities. After another quick exchange of blows, Tal's visor was bombarded by multiple shards of ice, which, while they didn't harm him, did distract him long enough for a strike to take him in the side of his torso, draining his shields. He attempted to twist out of the way of the follow-up attack, but his opponent's blade still glanced off of his lightly armored shoulder.
Alright. Time to step it up a notch.
The next time the woman's weapon lashed out, it found nothing but air, and a flaming sword emerged from a violet distortion in reality behind her, taking her in the back. She stumbled forward, aura flickering, but recovered quickly, spinning around and facing her opponent… only to find herself looking down the barrel of Talos's hand cannon. It fired once, followed by a blast of Light from the Warlock's palm. Her aura dropped again.
Tal knew that his adversary had some sort of latent power, one that she seemed reluctant to use. His goal wasn't so much to defeat her here and now, but rather to make her draw upon her paracausality, to see what this woman was capable of. And sure enough, it seemed to work.
Something like a sudden storm seemed to brew overhead in a moment, and a lightning bolt immediately took down what remained of Tal's shields. He dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding a second blast, as his enemy recovered and jumped back towards him, now pulsing with an obvious paracausal power, beyond what this world's 'Aura' should be able to achieve. The power seemed to be both Light and Darkness working in tandem - though the line was blurred on this world, to a point where he wasn't sure if they were really two distinct forces here, or one power that encompassed both.
Regardless of the answer, the person standing in front of him now was using that power to try and incinerate him, leaving little room for such scholarly inclinations.
He closed the gap and swung a now-drawn Frostbite, which clashed against a blade of a pure ice-like substance, not entirely unlike the Dark power Eramis had displayed those weeks ago. Talos drew Stormshaper as well, and attacked with a blinding speed, not caring about defense. This forced the paracausal woman in front of him to focus on withstanding the hail of blows headed her way, leaving her little room for her to land a successful counter strike. Once or twice, she managed to deliver a blow that cut through his armor, but Tal paid no heed to the pain or damage, continuing his relentless assault and driving the enemy combatant back. The damage to both his body and his equipment could be repaired quite quickly.
Suddenly, an energy blast erupted from his target, and he was driven back, giving the woman room to recover. She immediately followed up with another bolt of lightning and more blasts of ice, before levitating a foot or so off the ground and raising her fabricated weapon once again. Tal smiled slightly under his helmet; it seemed that this woman would truly be a worthy opponent.
/
Weiss knew that she was supposed to be working on sneaking out, but it was hard NOT to stare at the spectacle that had unfolded in the center of the camp.
She had made it about halfway to the gateway, avoiding notice for the time being, before she had really taken a good look at the brawl. The bandit queen and the mysterious masked man were fighting in a blur that she could barely track, both periodically blasting out attacks that, well, should have been impossible. Lightning bolts, blasts of ice, teleportation - it was too much to be encompassed by their semblances, so it must have been a clever use of Dust, but it was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, even in the highest-tech instruments of her father's company and the Atlas military.
Off a short distance away, the man's compatriot was fighting off multiple bandit underlings, including the young, short-haired woman who had been there for her capture. The girl appeared to be about Weiss's age, though it was hard to tell exactly, since the girl had her own helmet on and was dashing around quite quickly in her own right.
She steeled herself and continued on. She had almost made it to the gate, to freedom, when she heard someone call out.
"Hey! The Schnee, she's escaping!"
At that moment, it seemed as though nearly every eye in the camp turned upon her.
She froze, then jumped into action. Glyphs appeared around her, warding off any potential attack, as she prepared to summon once again - but again she felt that resistance. Her emotions were still too in control of her mind.
And then a phoenix descended from the sky. A blast of scorching heat erupted around her and knocked some of the combatants closing in off of their feet, an unpleasant stench of singed hair, clothes, and flesh filling the air for a few moments before fading. She had to shield her eyes for a moment, and when she looked again, the masked man stood in front of her, one gleaming blade held to each side. He glanced over his shoulder at her briefly.
"Are you okay?"
"I, uh... Yes?"
The figure gave a curt nod before turning his attention on the unfortunate bandits.
/
Raven's emotions at that moment were… complicated. On one hand, she was interested in these two. On the other, she was rather furious that they were destroying her camp. But most of all, she was fearful and uncertain. Fearful that they were agents of Salem, and uncertain that she had what it took to beat them.
The most logical explanation was that these two individuals had, somehow, stolen the powers of one or more other maidens. Whether it was two powers, or one split amongst the two of them, was unclear. But what was clear was that only Salem - or perhaps a secret, high-tech branch of one of kingdom governance - would have the tools to forcefully transfer a maiden's power, which would have been necessary for that man to have it.
Of course, it was also possible, however unlikely, that they were magic users unrelated to the maidens, though that was hard to believe.
In any event, Raven was not surprised nor angered when the man she was dueling quickly disengaged from combat to go protect the escaping girl, and she made no move to follow. Rather, she went to attack his companion, who seemed far less experienced with her powers.
The red-clad girl looked up at her as she closed in, and rode a bolt of lightning to the side, bringing a sword to bear. Raven's own blade deflected it, but it sent a small shock down her arm. She followed up with two more quick blows, both blocked, before dashing to the side, making a small feint, then thrusting inward at her opponent. The girl fell for the trick, and her barrier, which, like her companion's, seemed to be tech-powered rather than aura-powered, went out. She used the girl's surprise to bat her sword away, and the weapon clattered to the ground.
However, she didn't relent, throwing a knife crackling with electricity straight at the center of Raven's chest. Raven twisted to the side, and it only grazed her shoulder, but the painful energy discharge served as enough of a distraction for her to lose the advantage. Her opponent stepped back, drew some sort of firearm, and let loose. Raven dove to the side quickly, dodging the hail of bullets, and brought her palm into the side of the weapon, pumping her powers into it and causing it to fly from her opponent's grasp. The girl raised her fists as if to fight, one hand still grasping a knife and both arms sparking with lightning.
At that moment, Raven had an idea. These two put on their masks before they entered the fight - not unlike how she always used hers around enemies. While it could be for protection… it also could be for other purposes.
She might be able to confirm whether her visitors were maidens.
Raven threw out her own resounding blast of electric fury, then froze some of the vapors in the air into solid shards, launching them at the girl. She was able to deflect most of the assault, but then Raven stepped forward, and slashed her blade across her opponent's face. The mask fell away, in two pieces. Raven froze.
Not only were the girl's eyes not glowing, as they would be if she was using the maiden's powers, but the face she was staring into was a spitting image of her old team leader: Summer Rose.
And then the girl staring back at her took advantage of her hesitation.
She jumped forward, plunging a knife toward Raven's chest. A flare of panic shot through her, and she twisted and moved to the side, barely avoiding the blow. Her weapon shot out in retaliation, and sliced through armor, cutting the girl who was a spitting image of her old teammate deeply, through the spine and likely multiple organs. A mortal wound, to be sure.
She stared in shock for a moment as her attacker bled out, lying flat on her back on the ground in front of her. Even before she saw the girl's face, killing her wasn't plan A - capture for questioning, or as a hostage, would likely have been preferable. But her fear had seized her, and it felt almost as if her blade had acted of its own accord.
Now, looking down at her face… That can't be Summer, can it? No, she's too young. Her daughter? But Qrow said he watched that one die…
She looked back at the other two - the Schnee and the other magic wielder. They had pushed her forces back, including Vernal, who was quite a formidable fighter in her own right. Some of her bandits had been killed, others were knocked out, and the rest seemed exhausted. As she noticed this, the other two seemed to notice her opponent's state, dying, or maybe already dead, on the ground beside her. The man seemed to take it all in calmly - though it was hard to tell behind the mask - but the Schnee girl seemed to have this strange mix of confusion, sadness, and fear on her face. She said something, which Raven didn't register. Then, the armored man spoke clearly.
"We can keep fighting if you wish. But I think there's been enough death here today. Let us leave, and I will avoid razing this entire camp."
Raven looked back at the form of the girl she'd just killed. She looked like she was still breathing, or trying to, but the wound was too great - she was likely already dead, but her body was reflexively trying to maintain its vital functions. There was no indication of a transfer of maiden powers, to her, or to anyone else.
She looked back at the masked man. She wasn't confident in the slightest that she could beat him, and she knew that even if she could, he would likely destroy most of her camp. He didn't seem to have maiden powers and didn't seem to be working with Salem.
And because of those things, the choice was easy for her.
"Go. Leave. And take your companion's body."
With that, she turned and stalked back into the main building of the camp, which had somehow remained intact.
/
The silence accompanying Talos as he walked through the forest carrying the body of Rose in his arms was only broken by the periodic sniffle of the young white-haired girl who accompanied him out of the camp. Given her reactions to both seeing Rose's face and the fact that she called her "Ruby" led him to believe that she was someone who knew her in her previous life. Not to mention her reaction to seeing her die which meant she was someone who knew her, knew she died and just watched her die again. Things just got a whole lot more complicated, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Tal, what do we do?" asked Esper, "This isn't something we've ever dealt with. She knew Rose before, and of course Harmony is going to revive her. I'm guessing she's not just going to walk away and leave us alone with the body of someone she knew. How do we explain that?"
"How indeed..." Tal thought aloud. He had hoped to perhaps limit knowledge of their powers, and especially their immortality to only them. It seemed fate, however, had other plans. 'Funny,' he thought to himself, 'aren't Guardians supposed to make their own fate?' Perhaps it wasn't his fate that was being made, he mused, as he looked down at the red-haired girl in his arms. This New Light was turning out to be something else.
"I think we need to be honest." He told Esper, after a few more moments of contemplation, via their internal link. "She clearly knew Rose from her previous life, and she seems very perceptive and intelligent. Besides, if she was an ally of hers from before, well, maybe she'll be willing to help us. As much as I wanted to keep our immortality a secret, it seems the cat will soon be out of the bag. "Their conversation was soon interrupted before they could continue.
"Stop." The girl's voice sounded behind him, but Talos paid her no mind. He wanted to get a good distance away from that camp in case that woman followed. It was bad enough she was going to see what was about to happen. He didn't need more people than necessary knowing, and especially enemies at that.
"Stop!" she said again.
This time Talos looked at the girl. He noticed the fresh streaks running down her cheeks, still glistening in the light. The tears still welling in her ice blue eyes, and the hurt hidden behind them. "Fine." He said looking the girl in the eyes. "But let's find a decent clearing first to set her down and I promise we'll answer your questions."
"We?" the girl asked.
"Yes, we. Now c'mon." He replied as he motioned with his head, "I think I see one just beyond this set of trees." He began walking in the direction he indicated with the girl following just behind.
/
So many questions were racing through Weiss Schee's mind as she walked behind the strange man carrying Ruby's body. Who was he? How did he know Ruby? Why was she accompanying him? Most importantly, how was Ruby back? She had watched as her body disintegrated into petals. None of this made sense! She needed to know, and she was going to get her answers once way or another. Especially where they concerned her partner. As they entered the clearing Weiss noted the care with which the man proceeded to set Ruby's body down with. Sighing he turned to her and reached under his helmet, and with a slight hiss removed it.
"So," he began, "what do you want to know, Miss…?"
"Schnee. Weiss Schnee." She responded. "And what I want to know is how you knew her and what your relation to her was, but most importantly I want to know how my partner is," she choked back tears, "was alive, considering I watched her die in front of me once already." She narrowed her eyes as she spoke, trying her best to fix the man with the most authoritative glare she could muster despite the tears threatening to break through. She wasn't her sister, but she'd been on the receiving end enough times to have picked up a few things.
"Well to start my name is Talos, and this," he said while flicking his left hand out palm up, "is Esper." As he finished his sentence a small cuboid construct appeared seemingly out of thin air and stared at her with its singular eye.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you." Esper greeted as she bobbed down in what Weiss assumed was a polite bow.
"What are you? Some kind of drone?" Weiss had to admit that even in Atlas, she'd never seen a drone this advanced. Just who were these people?
"I'm a Ghost actually. His ghost." she replied while gesturing with her body towards Talos.
"A Ghost?"
"Just another question that we'll be more than happy to answer in a moment." Talos replied, "However the answer to the second half of your question is better shown than told." After finishing his statement, the man extended his arm towards Ruby's body and as Weiss followed it, making sure to keep the man in her peripheral vision, she noticed another one of those "Ghosts" floating above her best friend.
"And who are you?" inquired the heiress.
"I'm Harmony, and I am Guardian Rose's Ghost."
Before she could ask what she meant by 'Guardian Rose' the small construct's outer shell expanded as an aura of light surrounded it. Weiss watched nervously as the parts of its shell began to rapidly spin until a wave of energy burst forth and washed over Ruby's body. And as Ruby shot up gasping for air, Weiss could only stare wide-eyed, and dumbstruck, as her team leader came back from the dead for a second time.
Weiss watched as the previously fatal wound on Ruby's knit itself back together along with her strange new armor. She then watched as her partner began patting herself down making sure that no sign of her previous injury was left. Satisfied, Ruby gave herself a nod and stood up.
"Welcome back." Turning Ruby looked at the source of the voice to see Talos looking at her.
"Thanks!" she replied with a smile.
Talos looked at her with a serious expression and her smile immediately faded, "You need to be more careful."
"Death may not mean much to us Guardians but that doesn't mean that it can't still be a hindrance. Dying exposes your Ghost as they attempt to resurrect you which puts them in the line of fire. In addition, given your unique situation it also outs you as being Immortal and can create complications like it did this time." He then shifted his gaze over to the newest addition to their party.
Rose spoke as she followed his gaze. "What do you mean this…. Time…."
Weiss met the gaze of her partner, and she knew it was her. Any doubts vanished as she stared back into those silver orbs that could only belong to Ruby Rose. A dampness began to roll down her cheeks and her throat began to itch. She realized what was happening in time for her to choke back a sob.
"Ruby." Was all Weiss could manage, barely more than a whisper.
"Uhm…"
"RUBY!" and without a care for decorum or her Schnee upbringing Weiss threw herself at Ruby and wrapped her arms around her. Burying her head into her shoulder Weiss wept and let out everything she had been holding back since the bandit camp. "You dolt! Do you know how much I missed you?! Why didn't you say anything during the fight?! I can't believe you're back! HOW are you back?!" she exclaimed as she pulled herself back in order to look Ruby in the eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Weiss said with narrowed eyes, "You die and come back and don't say anything and all you can say is sorry?" If she wasn't so relieved, she would be giving her an earful right now. Maybe she still would, for old times' sake.
"No, I mean, I'm sorry because…I don't know who you are."
The words struck Weiss like a charging Baorbatusk and shattered the fragile happiness Weiss was experiencing. "W-what do you mean you don't know who I am?"
It was ironic. Less than a year ago the very notion that someone didn't know who she was would cause, and had caused, her great annoyance. But now all it caused her was pain, and she wanted now, more than any other time, for the person in front of her to recognize her.
"I mean you seem familiar. And I feel like I recognize you somehow but," Ruby replied while looking away, "nothing is coming to mind. I don't know how I would have known you, or how we met. I don't have any memories involving you or even know your name. It just feels all hazy and jumbled when I try to remember anything."
Weiss would only stare at Ruby as she spoke those words. Slowly her arms slid down from their place on her shoulders, down her arms until they finally came to rest at her sides. A loud cough broke her out of her stupor, and she turned to the source, Talos.
"I believe now would be a good time to begin explaining everything Weiss" said Esper, now floating in between herself and Talos.
Talos, Esper and Harmony explained everything to Weiss for what felt like hours with Weiss asking a question or demanding clarification on something every now and then, but for the most part staying quiet, the shock of the previous revelation still ringing around in her head.
Occasionally she would glance over to Ruby to see if perhaps maybe whenever she did, Ruby would miraculously remember her or something, but deep down she doubted it. A doubt which grew as Talos explained what Guardians were and how every Guardian never remembered their previous life. Finally, they finished their explanations, and a silence permeated the group for a while after.
Harmony broke the silence, "Do you have any more questions Weiss?"
"It's not fair." Weiss replied with her head downcast.
"What was that?"
"I said it's not fair!" she shouted. "I watched her die in front of me! Watched her helplessly as she bled out and was taken from us! Only for her to be brought back not once but twice and she doesn't even remember me! What about our team?!" she said rounding on Ruby, "Do you remember them? Blake? What about your own sister Yang?! No? What about Team JNPR or your Uncle Qrow?!" she half screamed, half pleaded trying to bring up something, anything, to help her remember.
"No, I don't," Ruby replied, shaking her head sadly. "None of that rings any bells or evokes any memories."
"Rose," Harmony began to say as she floated forward.
"Ruby!" Weiss shouted. "Her name is- was- Ruby Rose. You really did forget everything." Weiss said as more and more tears began to stream down her face.
"Weiss- "Ruby said sadly as she began to step forward.
"Don't." Weiss's words stopped her in mid step. "Just. Don't" And with that Weiss Schnee rounded on her heels and walked off into the forest.
/
Rose could only watch in sadness as the white-haired girl walked away as Talos walked up next to her crossing his arms.
"I told you it would be tough. Finding out about your past life. Only now, it's tougher because there's actually people around who know you. Or, well, who the one who shared your body was. However you want to think of it."
"Yeah." The young girl replied with a few short nods. "I just…. I don't know why but seeing her sad hurts me. All I want is to make her happy, cheer her up, and be her friend."
"Do you still want to find out about your past?" Esper asked.
"I-I don't know. Maybe? It's all too much right now." Rose said, looking down and clenching her fists. "But what I do know is that I want to talk to her."
Talos raised an eyebrow. "Then go talk to her."
"What?" Ruby replied, looking up at him.
"I did tell you I'd help you." He said as he unfolded his arms "But you see now what awaits, and this is just the beginning."
"Y-yeah I know. Harmony?"
Her Ghost let out a slight titter, "I'm with you Rose. All the way."
"Thanks." And Rose couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto her face. Taking a deep breath Rose steeled herself and began walking in the direction Weiss had left in.
It didn't take long for Rose to find Weiss. She came across her sitting on a rock near a small creek staring off into the distance, the sound of running water a soothing backdrop to the already serene setting. As she neared, she let out a small "Ahem" to announce her presence.
"H-hey Weiss." Rose said as she approached.
"Hello, Ru- Guardian Rose." For some reason hearing that caused an uncomfortable feeling to well up inside her.
Rose gestured to another rock next to Weiss's. "Do you uh- do you mind if I sit here?"
"No, of course not. Be my guest." Weiss replied, her eyes never leaving the tree line beyond.
After a short awkward silence Weiss finally sighed and turned to Rose, "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. It was rude, and I-"
"Ruby."
"W-what?" Weiss blinked in confusion.
"You said my was Ruby earlier." Rose continued while staring at the flowing water. "I take it you knew me before I died?"
"Y-yes. It was and I did. You were Ruby Rose, my partner, leader of Team RWBY,'' Weiss added, with the end trailing off into almost a whisper, "and my best friend."
"Was I a hero?"
"What do you mean?"
"Harmony said that Ghosts go around looking for people who, in their previous lives, were individuals who proved worthy of wielding the Light in the defense of humanity in some way. I assume that means that I must've done something or been someone worthy. Right?"
"Yes, yes you were. You were perhaps one of the most heroic huntresses I ever knew." Weiss replied, turning and looking at her.
At that moment, the New Light made up her mind.
"Tell me more." She said, raising her head and looking Weiss in the eyes. "Tell me more about Ruby Rose."
/
A while later, Talos noticed the two girls coming back to the clearing where he leaned against a boulder, equipment projecting a holographic display in front of him. He was going over an analysis of the earlier fight put together by the two Ghosts. It included collected telemetry for Frostbite, which had performed quite well in the fight, as well as a review of Tal's and Rose's own tactics. He'd probably go over them more in-depth later and talk to her about it. But mostly he was concerning himself with that bandit queen's paracausal powers.
According to Harmony's data, her aura seemed, well, bound to excess energies field by both Light and Darkness, or at least things with similar properties to both. Not only that, but they were bound together in a specific manner so that, when used, a peculiar signature was detectable by the Ghost's scanners. There was no discernable reason for this, as it didn't appear to aid in combat at all, but it was so obvious here and so absent in the paracausal entities from Sol that Harmony was sure it had to be significant in some way.
Tal dismissed the reports and turned to his companions. "So." He looked at Rose. "Just so you know, there have been guardians who found out about their past before. Some of them decided to take the name of their mortal self, others, not so much. So... do you want to…." He trailed off, looking at her.
"I… I think so."
"Ruby?"
"Yes… if that's okay with you."
Talos shook his head and made a small shrug. "Hey, I might be the first person you remember seeing, but that doesn't mean that I should make all of your decisions for you. And what you'd like to be called doesn't matter to me. If you stand with me, I'll stand with you."
At that reassurance, a bit of anxiety seemed to leave Rose - no, Ruby.
He turned to Weiss. The girl had obviously continued to cry for a while, and still seemed a bit jarred by this whole experience, but it was clear that the talk that she'd had with her former friend had helped, at least a bit. "Did you have any other questions?"
Weiss blinked. "Uh, yeah actually. If you… Guardians … don't remember your names, how did you choose yours?"
"Ah. Well, I was actually resurrected in a part of my planet with a long and storied history full of myths. While I don't think any of the people who were trying to survive there at the time really believed any of the myths, a few did still know them. In one, a being made of brass called Talos was seen as a protector. It also has some connotations with the sun, and well..." his hand flared briefly with Solar light in demonstration at that statement. Then he frowned. "Speaking of, how come everyone in this world speaks the same language?"
"Ah," Weiss replied, "Well, we've lived with the CCT and global communication for nearly a century by this point. Over time, the whole world just started to use the same language for most things, a Valean dialect. Of course, other languages still exist, but almost everyone is fluent in this one."
At that, Ruby looked up. "Wait," she said, looking at Talos. "That may explain why everyone here speaks the same language, but what about you? You're from sol."
"Oh, I can answer that one, actually." Everyone looked at Esper, who had materialized above Tal's shoulder. "In our transit through the Vex Network, Talos absorbed a large amount of data about this planet's language. It comes as naturally to him as if it were his first now. Of course, being advanced intelligences, Harmony and I would have been able to decipher it quite quickly, but we got the data too."
"Huh." Talos blinked. "I did wonder what was going on briefly, but I thought they just spoke the same language as us for some reason. Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I don't know. Never came up." Esper's shell spun. "Oh, by the way, I'm pretty sure that the Ketch that came with us got a bunch of data beamed onto its onboard systems as well. Language, as well as other things most likely."
"What!?" Talos rubbed his forehead. "Oh, Traveler… you are such a pain sometimes Esper. Do you think it was an intentional move by the Vex?"
"Hard to say."
"Damn." Tal looked around. "Well, this doesn't change my plan. We're still going to the city of Mistral." He looked at Weiss. "Are you coming?"
She shrugged, still understandably seeming a little bit off. "I don't have anywhere else to go right now. I can't go back to Atlas, and I don't know where the rest of my friends are, so I might as well go with you."
"Great. Then we move now."
/
Eramis stalked onto the bridge of her ketch slowly. She had just been experimenting with her Pyramid-granted stasis powers and had been seeing promising results. The machine developed by Praksis, who, fortunately, had been on the ship with her, along with Phylaks, was proving to be quite effective in harnessing this power. However, there was still the significant problem of being trapped here, on this strange world on the other side of the Vex network. Away from Atraks, Kridis, and the rest of House Salvation.
"Praksis," she said, turning to her technical expert. "What is your report?"
After the ship had been sent careening through the deepest pathways of the Vex collective consciousness, plenty of onboard systems and databases had been damaged, scrambled, and reset. They had been able to keep the stealth systems running, and keep the ship in the air, but progress elsewhere was slow. Over the past few days, Praksis and his contingent of Splicers gathered from multiple of the Great Houses had been repairing and reorganizing everything they could.
"It goes well, Eramiskel. Nearly all systems are back to full operational capacity." His lower arms fidgeted slightly. "However, there have been a few… discrepancies."
All four of Eramis's eyes narrowed. "How so?"
"The Vex, or something in their network, seem to have… given us information. Directly deposited into our databases."
She cursed. "What kind of nasty program have they implanted into my ship?"
"Nothing like that, actually. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but our databases have some additional insights into this planet that we have no way of knowing ourselves. Languages of the locals, who are human by the way, information on something called 'aura,' as well as population centers and maps. There's no mention of any 'Traveler' or 'Great Machine' here. There's other information here too."
"Have you found a way back to Sol?"
"Not directly, but…" His fingers tapped the side of a console in a strange rhythm.
"Well?"
"Apparently, 4 artifacts of immense power exist on this world. They're contained inside secure vaults that can only each be accessed by one person. While we don't know what all of them do, the one contained in the vault closest to us can apparently answer any question that you ask it. That COULD be our way home."
"Do we trust this information from those conniving machines?"
Eramis pondered for a moment. "Keep camouflage up. Send out devices and drones to collect information. See how much of this we can verify. And bring our ship to hover near this supposed Vault."
Praksis bowed his head briefly. "At your command, my Kell." He turned away to relay the orders to his Splicers.
Eramis clicked her mandibles. It was time to wait.
/
Hey. Another chapter down. I don't have all that much to say, so I'll let my new Co-writer say what he will here:
Hey everyone, ApertureZero here! Just wanted to start off by saying it was a blast cooperating and writing my portion of this story. I'm very new to this but I am always willing and wanting to get better so any constructive criticism is welcome. For those wondering I wrote the middle section with Rose and Weiss. I hope I did it justice and you all enjoyed it! I look forward to writing more and continuing this amazing story AhamkarasEye has planned. See you all next time!
