Hey. Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry, this is definitely later than I expected to get this chapter out. I had a bit of it written out a while ago, but I wasn't really that happy with it, so I scrapped it, and then I got covid, and then after I recovered other real-life stuff happened, and all this was right alongside with the Witch Queen launch, and then real life continued to kick my ass for a few months. So, yeah. Apologies for the delay, but I hope to get back to writing. Aperture's fine too, and wrote some of this chapter, along with an Omake at the end. Hope you enjoyed.
/
On a ship departing from Kuo-Kana:
Yang Xiao Long leaned out slightly over the side of the ship, her long golden hair waving and flowing out into the wind. Night was starting to fall, and they would arrive at their destination early the next day. The ship was carrying a dozen or so volunteers, along with Crow, Blake, Sun, and herself of course, towards a coastal area of Anima that was near the White Fang's main headquarters.
If there had been enough volunteers, then they might have considered confronting the Fang's forces at Haven itself, but only a few people had seemed willing to help. So, the new plan was to get into the Fang's staging grounds and sabotage as many of their transports and bombs as possible before they departed. They had collected enough White Fang masks for all the volunteers to wear in order to get close to the HQ relatively unnoticed, and then had hired a small ship to take them close to their target.
Blake had come up with this plan, of course. Infiltration wasn't really Yang's style, nor was it Sun's. Crow, as usual, had just accepted the proposed plan and gone along with it, though from what little she knew about him, he did seem effective enough at stealth.
As she thought this, he stepped out onto the deck nearby, closing the door to an inside cabin behind him. "Might be best to get some rest before tomorrow. Big day."
She looked over at him. "And you? I've don't think I've seen you sleep once yet."
Silence was her only reply.
"The Belladonnas offered you a place to rest for a few days, but did you ever even sleep there?"
"You don't know that I didn't. I could have just gone to sleep after you and woken up earlier."
"Can't help but notice that you're dodging the question, bird boy."
"… I'm not actually a bird."
"Your name says otherwise. And you're still doing it. Despite my personality, I'm not dumb."
"I know. I never said you were." He sighed. "No, I didn't rest. I don't sleep much at all. And I know, I know, 'that can't be healthy,' and you might be right, it probably isn't. But I just don't need as much rest as anyone else."
"Another 'strange property of your aura' or something?" Yang asked sarcastically. "There's stuff you aren't telling us. Blake gave me some of the details you talked with her about, but that clearly isn't everything." She paused and looked directly at him. "If you actually want us to trust you and work with you, then you're going to have to trust us."
Crow stayed where he was and looked down at the water, moving swiftly under the boat's hull. "I know. But… I'm not ready to say anything yet."
He turned to start to go, but Yang reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Hey. You can trust us, really. If you have a dark history or something, that's okay. Blake used to be a part of the Fang - we won't judge you for your past mistakes if you're really trying to move past them."
"I-I know." He pulled away from her and turned around. "I'll tell you what. If this mission goes well, I'll tell you what you want to know. Any question you ask, I'll answer."
"Fine. You better make it out alive then, because now I'm curious. Would you want to be remembered as the guy who died before saying what he wanted to?"
At that comment, the edges of his lips started to tug upwards. "Trust me, you don't need to worry about that. Focus on keeping yourself in one piece."
Yang smirked slightly at that comment, and her arm fell off. Crow stared down at the appendage and blinked. "Oh. Sorry."
"It's fine." She said while reattaching her arm with a chuckle, "Now go to sleep. You need to be ready for tomorrow."
"Okay, fine, I will."
Yang raised an eyebrow. "Promise?"
"Yes."
/
Crow did sleep, for the first time in at least a few weeks. His time with Spider had generally not been very restful, and it was hard to get back into these habits of rest that were normal for other human-like life forms. But while it was good to get some rest, it wasn't without its drawbacks. Multiple times, he saw the faces of those he had met before creeping out of his subconscious – Eliksni friends who worked for the Spider, many of whom were now dead; Guardians and Awoken who had seen his face, almost all of which had reacted with overt hostility or utter confusion; and strangest of all, even some Scorn he had encountered, who looked at him with varying degrees of confusion, betrayal, and anger.
And as far as bad sleeping experiences went, he didn't think he was alone. Yang didn't seem to want to talk about it, but she had seemed tired and restless. It had gotten better over the last few days, but when he had first met her, it had been quite apparent.
When Crow awoke, the ship had landed on the coast of what he assumed to be Anima. He walked out onto the deck and saw the recruits filtering out of the ship, Blake and Sun seeming to give directions. A few vehicles were also unloaded from the ship – mostly cars, along with Yang's bike. Yang herself was standing off to the side, likely not wanting to be seen as a human ordering Faunus around. Everyone was loading up for the journey, which was going to be… well, Crow actually had no idea how long it would take.
Crow walked up to Sun, waving to get his attention. The young man looked over and greeted him. "Hey," he said, "need something?"
"Yeah, actually," Crow replied. "How far will we actually have to travel to get to our target?"
"I think Blake said it was just a dozen or so miles from here. East, and slightly north. Should take a little over half an hour to get there with the right route. Why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering, because it didn't seem like we had enough supplies for a long trip."
"What, worried we were going to have to forage for food or something?" Sun asked with a smirk. "I may not be the brightest of the bunch, but I think even I would have known to pack stuff If this trip was gonna be a long one. Should only take a little while to get there, then we get in, do our jobs, and get out. Then the volunteers disperse to the nearby towns." He said that last part with a bit of a hand motion.
"Any plans after that?"
"If all goes well, we shouldn't need them anymore. The belongings they've taken should be enough to help get back to Kuo Kana." Sun looked at him for a moment, then continued. "After that, I think Blake and Yang want to go look for some of their friends. Are you going to…"
"If you'll have me, yeah."
"Why?"
Crow rubbed the back of his head and gave a slight smile. "To be honest, you guys are the only friends I've made in… well, quite some time."
"Hhmph. I feel for you man. Must have been pretty bad for you before. Not to mention we're some pretty… interesting first friend group. Blake and Yang can both be pretty intense."
Crow smiled slightly. "Yeah, but in opposite ways."
"You got that right! A weird pair, those two." Sun chuckled.
Crow's smile broadened a bit. "Unlike us. We're completely normal."
Sun clasped his shoulder and leaned in slightly. "Exactly, I'm glad you understand. Normal people like us have to stick together, keep those two weirdos in check!"
His tone turned more serious then. "I know you told Yang that you'd tell us everything soon, but to be honest, it doesn't matter much to me. You seem like a cool enough guy. I wish I could introduce you to my team – I'm sure they'd like you too."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Not a problem, man. Anyways, all the preparations are almost done. We should probably get going."
Crow nodded, and walked off towards the vehicle he'd be riding in to the base. His spirits were higher but behind it all, he still had a strange sense that something big was about to change – or that maybe it already had, and he just hadn't noticed it.
/
By the time they had all loaded up and were ready to head out it was already nearing noon and the sun was near its zenith up in the sky. As they drove Crow couldn't help but shake the feeling of dread of having to finally answer questions about himself. These people didn't know anything about him aside from what he's told them, and he knew deep down that he could trust them, especially after what both Yang and Sun had said. But the memories, the screams of anger and frustration along with all the times he'd been attacked by others, left him feeling apprehensive despite it all.
So lost in thought was he that he didn't even notice the caravan start to slow down until Blake came over their radios and snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Alright we're about five minutes out. Remember: you're extra hands from Kuo-Kana here to help speed things along. We're here to deliver crates of "supplies". That should give you the excuses you need to get near where you need to go. I'll be waiting just outside the perimeter with Yang, and Sun since I'm a known face in the Fang but Crow will be with you all to provide backup and support. Comms check. "
"Team One Green."
"Team Two Green."
"Team Three Green."
"Team Four Green."
"Blonde Brawler and Golden Abs ready to go."
"Dammit Yang. Alright, masks on everyone." With that all the Faunus around him began attaching their masks onto their faces, a grim look in each of their eyes, as he put his helmet on as well.
"If they get caught, there's a very good chance they'll die Crow." Glint said into his helmet. "They don't have the benefit of resurrection."
"I know. Which is why I'm going to do my damn hardest to make sure their courage isn't wasted and that they get to make it home to their families." He looked into the side-view mirror to see Yang and Sun riding to the right of his truck on her motorcycle. "All of them."
Crow's truck was the lead in the caravan and as such were the first to roll up to the security gate. The two White Fang guards there held up their hands to signal them to stop. He looked around and saw each member in his truck tense up even more. The guards split up and as they approached, one to each side of the cab. The guard on the driver side, a fox Faunus judging by the ears, spoke first.
"State your business, we weren't expecting any shipments or new recruits." He scanned the inside of the cab eyeing them all warily and stopped at Crow, his eyes narrowing.
"We're not really new recruits per se." said the driver, Onyx he recalled his name was. "Just volunteers wanting to pitch in and help the effort. We were sent with some supplies and to also be extra sets of hands to help things along."
"Mm. Good to see more people willing to pitch in." His eyes never left Crows helmet. "What about you? Never seen that kind of get up before. You a Huntsman?"
His partner on Crow's side decided at this point to pitch in as well, "And what's with the helmet? Got something to hide?"
Crow looked to each one and could see the grips on their weapons tighten. Letting out a sigh he undid his helmet and took it off, looking to the guard on the driver's side.
"Can't say I've seen a Faunus type like yours before."
"You know how there's bioluminescent fish?" The guard nodded. "That's what kind of Faunus I am."
"Yeah? So, the whole glow thing is cuz of that huh?"
"Yeah. Used to get called "Glowstick" when I was a kid. Some big human bully even grabbed me in a bear hug, squeezed tight like he was "cracking" me and then shook me real hard. Claimed it made me glow even brighter."
"Damn humans." the guard on his side spat out, literally, to the side.
The driver-side guard nodded empathetically though. "Well, you're amongst brothers and sisters here now." He jerked his head towards the camp, "Head on in. I'll radio the convoy in."
"Thanks." Crow replied while putting his helmet back on.
After they drove in, the rest of the caravan was lightly inspected and waved on through. As they stopped and waited for the rest, Onyx shot him a look.
"That really happen?"
"Yeah."
Of course, Onyx didn't need to know that the "bully" was actually a Titan that caught sight of his face and really did break him in half with a bear hug and then unceremoniously tossed his body aside. Shaking the memory away he keyed his radio to Blake.
"Blake."
"Go ahead Crow."
"Why were we just let in? Didn't ask for verification or anything."
He could hear her let out a sigh over the radio before beginning. "Reason is because this place is out of the way. Only those trusted by Adam would know where this place is, so if we know it's here- "
"Then it stands to reason that we know because we were trusted with the information by someone they trust." Crow finished. "That's not very good Operational Security though." It was true too. If Spider found out that one of his caches had been found and sabotaged so easily, he would've had an aneurysm.
'If only' Crow bitterly thought to himself.
"The White Fang is a revolutionary force made of volunteers. They're not Atlas."
Crow let out a sigh. "Right."
With that he hopped out and walked around to the back of the truck. It was time to get started, and with any luck they'd complete the mission without any complications.
/
The young White Fang recruit couldn't help but sweat as he carefully and delicately assembled his bomb. It may have had something to do with the fact that he was handling volatile Fire Dust, if it weren't for the other more intimidating fact that he was being watched and scrutinized.
Behind the young recruit stood a man in a black coat with his arms crossed in front of him. He had red hair with a pair of bull horns protruding through the top, and a katana in its sheath on his hip.
Adam Taurus watched as the recruits at the assembly table in front of him worked in silence. The only noise being the clinking of tools and Dust containers. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched. Soon they would be ready for their next attack. A repeat of what happened at Beacon Academy but this time on Haven. He hadn't heard from Cinder since the attack, but then again, he didn't really care. Theirs had been an alliance of convenience, nothing more. He was soon broken out of his private musings when his scroll chimed.
Raising it to his ear he spoke, "What is it."
"Sir, just wanted to inform you that the convoy arrived."
That sent alarm bells ringing, "What convoy?"
"The one from Menagerie, full of the volunteers with supplies."
That wasn't right. He hadn't asked for any volunteers.
"I'll be there shortly." He immediately hung up without waiting for a reply.
"Keep working." And with that he exited the tent.
/
Crow was leaning against the truck he came in as he watched the various White Fang grunts mill about the camp while waiting for Blake's people to complete their objectives. As he waited, he noticed a commotion not too far away. There was an individual gathering a few of the soldiers to him and making his way to the trucks. He spotted Crow and changed his course to head straight for him.
"He looks like trouble." Chimed Glint.
Crow immediately keyed into the shared communication channel. "Blake we've got a situation. Looks like somehow, we've roused suspicion. I have some soldiers heading my way with what looks to be a leader of some sort."
"What do they look like."
"Can't tell from this distance but they're wearing all black, have a blade on their hip and have red hair with what looks like horns."
For a few seconds there was no response as the individual drew closer.
"Blake?"
"…. get out of there…."
"What? What do you mean? Is he danger- "
"GET OUT OF THERE NOW! ALL TEAMS GET TO SAFETY!"
Before he could question what was going on the individual stopped in front of him. He couldn't see his eyes behind that mask, but Crow could tell when he was being analyzed. He could also see that the man across had his hand on the handle of his sword ready to draw at a moment's notice along with the seven or so soldiers near him having their fingers near their triggers.
"Glint, be ready to blow the charges once the volunteers are a safe distance away."
"Got it."
"What are you doing here?" the red-haired man asked.
"Providing support for the cause."
"Really? And who sent you?" His grip tightened on the handle.
"Crow the volunteers are at minimum distance." Crow smirked under his helmet.
"The Spider."
"Who the hell is- "
BOOM!
A large fireball erupted behind the group.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
More explosions. Each erupting progressively further down the line of tents. Everyone stopped to stare with wide eyes and slack jaws, and therefore didn't notice Crow pull out Duality and fire a round point blank into the chest of the center figure knocking him back. As they all turned to bring their guns to bear, Crow threw out an Incendiary grenade at their feet. A few of the quicker ones managed to jump away with a yell of 'GRENADE!', however most of them weren't able to react in time and thus were engulfed in the explosion of Solar light. Those that weren't killed outright, screamed and died as the flames burnt them alive.
Taking advantage of all of this, Crow ran and slid behind the furthest truck for cover. As he did, his radio came to life.
"This is Team Three, we've escaped into the trees. Heading to the backup point."
"Team Two here. Same. Thanks for the distraction."
"Team Four. Had a little resistance but fought our way out. Ditching uniforms and disappearing. Good luck."
"THIS IS TEAM ONE!" Crow could hear gunfire and screaming in the background. "WE MET HEAVY RESISTANCE! A PATROL SAW US RUNNING AND ENGAGED US. THEY'VE GOT BACKUP AS WELL! WE NEED HELP!"
Team One was the team in his truck. 'Onyx' Crow thought. He spared a quick peek around the corner and saw the red-haired man already on his feet and running towards him. He swore as he called Blake again.
"Blake. Get to Team One and help them. I'll handle these guys and provide a distraction."
"Crow! Don't engage him! He's too strong! He'll- "
"Just do it! I'll be fine!"
Crow cut off the channel and peeked through the cabin windows to see Adam surrounded by more men. Additional White Fang had arrived to support him it seemed and now he was facing a good twenty or so grunts while Adam himself stalked forward with a snarl on his face.
"Come out and face your death!"
Crow leaned his head, so his shout was directed over the top of the truck, "Twenty of your men for just me? I'm flattered!"
"Surrender now and I'll make it quick!"
Crow stopped to think for a second before rising to his feet and slowly making his way around the truck.
"Crow!" Glint practically shouted in his ear, "You don't seriously believe him!"
"I don't."
"Then what are you doing?!"
"Buying Blake and the rest the time they need to get the others to safety."
Crow stopped around four meters away from Adam. As the camp burned around them the two men merely stared at each other while Adam's soldiers spread out to further encircle them.
"Quite bold of you to actually come out and face me. Didn't think you had it in you."
"What can I say? I'm full of surprises."
"Who are you?"
"The Crow. And you?"
"Adam Taurus. Leader of the Vale sect of the White fang….and your executioner."
'So, this is Adam' Crow thought to himself. 'No wonder Blake didn't want me to face him.'
Suddenly loud concussive bangs were heard, interspersed throughout the sound of small caliber fire.
Adam tilted his head to the side while keeping an eye on Crow. "Go help the rest."
The guard he spoke to seemed surprised for a moment, "B-but sir!"
"I said go." He replied in a tone that brooked no argument, "I recognize those gunshots. I'll join you later, but first" he looked back to Crow fully, "I need to kill this interloper."
The soldier looked between the two once, nodded his head, and then ran off with the rest of the men following him.
"Awfully bold of you to assume you alone will be enough."
"Their purpose is merely to delay Blake from getting away before I'm finished with you."
Crow flinched slightly but Adam caught it with a smirk.
"Surprised? I know the sound of Gambol Shroud better than anyone else. And besides," he said as he spread his legs into a ready stance, "I don't need them to be able to kill you."
Crow's eyes narrow behind his helmet and with a quick flourish he pulled out his shotgun as he fired a blast at Adam once again, but this time Adam was ready. In one quick motion he pulled his weapon in front of him with his blade halfway out of its sheath as the buckshot hit it to seemingly no effect.
"Guardian!" Glint warned, "I'm detecting a sudden spike in his paracausal signature!"
"What?!"
Adam dashed forward with his sheathed weapon at his side. Crow dodged to the side and threw a grenade at his feet. Adam partially drew his weapon again looking to absorb more damage but instead of exploding, the grenade split into multiple smaller submunitions which then began to swarm in random patterns, while tracking him.
Adam backpedaled while managing to cut the ones in front of him out of the air, but a couple managed to impact and explode against his side. Immediately he spun around again and caught multiple bursts from Crow's pulse rifle on his sword, further empowering him. He then flipped his scabbard around and unleashed a trio of shots.
Crow managed to dodge one of them but the other two impacted his shields draining them by quite a bit. As Crow ducked behind one of the trucks to reload and give his shields a chance to recharge, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Crow!"
Turning he saw Blake and Yang come running through a trio of burning tents to his right.
"Blake! What are you doing here?! I said to get the rest to safety!"
"Sun's taking care of it! But we couldn't leave you here!"
"Blake. My love. I knew you'd come back to me." Adam stalked forward. "But it seems you didn't heed my lesson." He then looked to Yang and then finally to Crow. "I told you what I would do, did I not?"
"Adam." Blake pulled out Gambol Shroud and held it before here slightly trembling. "I'm not letting you attack Haven, and I'm not letting you take anything from anyone else ever again."
"This? "He gestured to the destroyed camp around them, "This changes nothing. I have more than enough already to enact my plan."
"And besides" he continued with a deep chuckle "I'm not so sure your friend is feeling as brave my love."
"Yang?" Blake looked to her partner, only to see her staring at Adam wide-eyed, with her robotic right arm shaking.
"You saved me the trouble Blake. I'm going to finish what I started at Beacon. And this time," He placed his hand on his sheathe "I'm going to take more than just her arm."
To Crow, the world seemed to slow down as Adam began to glow red and dashed forward. Blake stood before the paralyzed Yang with their weapon held in front of her ready to defend, and die for, her partner.
"No."
Pushing Light into his body Crow dashed into Adam's path, his own sword materializing into his hands ready to block Adam's strike.
Adam smirked and the world went red.
Crow grunted slightly and he felt a pain in his arms and abdomen. A loud clanging sound from his sword hitting the floor caused him to look down, only to see both of his arms severed at the biceps and a slight, nearly imperceptible, line across his chest armor begin to leak red.
"Oh…."
And all Crow could hear as his torso fell back away from his still standing legs was Blake screaming his name.
/
Blake could only stare in horror as she watched her newest ally fall to Adam's blade. Her throat hoarse from screaming.
"I told you Blake." Her attention returned to Adam. "I will destroy everything you love."
He readied himself again and her breathing hitched.
"Now back to unfinished business."
Blake's heart pounded in her ears as tears continued to streak down her face. First Yang had to lose her arm and now Crow lost his life.
Why? Why did everyone around her whom she cared about in some way have to pay for her past and mistakes? This was why she chose to run. To keep everyone away from her and hopefully safe.
"I'm going to enjoy this. And then finally, Blake, maybe you'll see- GARGH!"
A glowing yellow Sun smashed into his side as the real one burst from behind a crate, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang twirling in their nun chuck forms firing shotgun shells with every pass.
Yang and Blake took advantage of this dashed forward, weaving in between Sun's attacks. Yang delivering jabs and straights while screaming out in pain and rage, while Blake danced around using her clones, leaving a trail of tears in her wake.
Adam was skilled, far more skilled than many Huntsmen and Huntresses, but even he could only look in one direction at a time. He was slowly being pushed back, being forced to give more and more ground as he deflected, parried, and absorbed attacks. Blake knew that if they kept this up, he'd be backed into a corner with no more room to dodge.
Adam knew this as well.
With a snarl he kicked off Blake's cleaver when she went to attack in order to give himself room and gathered all the energy in his Semblance that he could.
"Enough!" He yelled as he swept his sword forward.
Yang, Sun and Blake braced themselves. They were hit by a burst of force so strong they all had to extend a foot back to keep from falling over. Immediately after they were buffeted by a wave of dust, and dirt which clouded their vision.
Once the dust settled, Blake lowered her arms and looked around, still on guard. Adam was nowhere to be seen. Her ears twitched, trying to pick up any sound of him moving for a better attack angle. When she couldn't hear anything after a few minutes she finally let her guard relax just a bit, the others following suit.
"Did-Did we win?" Sun asked.
"No." Blake looked down. "We destroyed the camp, but…he's still headed to Haven. We haven't stopped his plans. If anything," she said walking over to, and kneeling by, Crow's body, "we lost."
Yang shut her eyes and looked away as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Dammit…."
A few solemn moments passed as they grieved their fallen comrade until a small voice interrupted the moment.
"Phew. Finally, he's out of range." Came an unfamiliar voice.
"Wha?" Blake looked around for the source when, in a small flash of light, a small drone materialized over Crow's body.
"Didn't want to risk exposing myself with that guy still around."
"Who-What are you?" Blake asked.
The small drone looked to her and twirled is flower-looking shell, "The name's Glint. And I'm Crow's Ghost."
"Wait, his ghost? Aren't you supposed to look and sound like him? And also, be all, you know, ghost-y?" Sun said leaning forward.
"Not THAT kind of ghost." Glint then let out a sigh, "We'll be sure to explain everything once I bring him back. Besides," he then looked to Yang, "he did promise. Now…. PREPARE FOR RESURRECTION!" And with that his shell expanded and began to rotate at increasing speeds.
Before anyone could say anything more a light formed and was shaped into the vague outline of a body before dimming down and a brand-new Crow landed on his feet before the three of them.
After patting himself down, Crow looked to his Ghost with a small nod. "Thanks Glint"
"No problem, Guardian."
"Okay... WHAT?!" They both turned to the source of the outburst to see a red-eyed Yang staring at both of them with a look that demanded answers.
Crow let out a sigh and looked to his three companions. "Well, I did say I was going to answer questions."
/
So that's that for now. Aperture wrote a lot of this chapter, and, in fact, he also wrote an OVA that We're putting right here at the end of this chapter. He wanted to write one, and I thought it was a cool idea, so here it is.
/
Omake: Telesto is Best-o
Ruby dematerialized her helmet as she stepped into the workshop Talos had created in the dojo of the house. As she walked up to him, she noticed he was hunched over the work bench, arms spread out to the sides to better support his weight while slowly drumming his fingers. As she neared, she saw what he was staring at: a short stocky rifle with a square scope on top. However, the design confused her as she couldn't see where a magazine would go.
"Hey Tal?" she asked looking to him.
"Hm?" he responded without breaking his focus or even glancing in her direction.
"What kind of gun is this? Looks like a short rifle but, I don't see a magazine well."
"You're half right. It's a Fusion Rifle."
"Fusion rifle?" Her interest was merely peaked before but now, now it was captured. "What's that!?" she asked while barely containing the excitement in her voice.
"It's a directed energy weapon which fires seven distinct beams of energy almost instantaneously."
Ruby let out a loud gasp. "YOU HAVE A LASER SHOTGUN?!"
"Plasma technically."
"YOU HAVE A PLASMA SHOTGUN?!"
Talos let out a sigh while Esper giggled in his ear. "Yes, Ruby I have a 'plasma shotgun'. Although the spread shot aspect is really the ONLY similarity it has with a shotgun, as it needs to charge before firing and the bolts can pierce through enemies while also having a travel time."
"C-can I try it?"
"…sure, I don't see why not."
Ruby stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth open in a massive smile and emitting a squeal which Esper informed him crossed multiple noise spectrums.
"C'mon" he said with a chuckle, "let's try it out outside."
Once outside Talos had Esper and Harmony construct some shooting dummies using spare material in the backyard while he set the weapon up and instructed Ruby on how to use it. As he did so, Yang and Weiss had made their way outside and watched curiously as Talos walked a very eager Ruby through the safety, firing and reload of the weapon. Once done, he stepped away from her and towards the group.
"Hey Tal, whatcha give Rubes?" Yang asked with a cocky half smirk.
"Fusion Rifle. Directed energy-spread weapon."
"Which means?" Weiss inquired next with a raised eyebrow.
"IT'S A PLASMA SHOTGUN!" Ruby shouted.
"It's a plasma shotgun." Talos confirmed in a monotone voice. He looked back to Ruby and saw her admiring the weapon with shining silver eyes.
"Ready Ruby?"
"Ready!"
"Remember, it has to charge so hold down the trigger."
"Got it!"
"Ready when you are!" chimed Harmony as she floated back with Esper.
Bringing the stock up to her shoulder, Ruby sighted in her target and pulled the trigger. The characteristic keening noise of the capacitors charging from the battery filled the air as the end of the barrel began to glow with an orb of accumulated energy. Finally, after a couple of seconds charging the rifle fired with a heavy and metallic sounding 'Pshew'.
Ruby was surprised by the amount of recoil she experienced, and not being prepared for it she missed the target with the last few bolts which kept going above and past until finally cooling off and dissipating. Readjusting her grip to better compensate this time, she fired off two more volleys at the last two targets, this time landing all the shots. She lowered the weapon and stared in awe as the last target disintegrated into nothing after being subjected to the highly energized plasma.
"That…was…awesome! Does every Guardian have a Fusion Rifle?!"
"Not every Guardian." Talos replied while taking the weapon back. "Many don't like the need to have to charge and wait, especially in a hairy situation."
"That's understandable." Weiss chimed in.
"What about variations though?" Ruby asked, "Like maybe making the bolts denser and making them stick and burn longer or even explode!"
"Oh, there's already one like that." Said Harmony.
"There is?!" Ruby asked with a gasp.
"We don't talk about it." Everyone looked to the Warlock as he stared at them with a serious and somewhat wary look in his eyes.
"What? Why not?" Yang asked with a nervous chuckle. Talos' sudden change in demeanor somewhat put her on edge.
"Yeah!" Ruby jumped in, "What's so bad about it?"
"We. Don't. Talk. About it." He said through gritted teeth. "We do not speak its name, lest we evoke its power."
"Oh, c'mon Tal, don't be so superstitious." Chided Esper. "They're all just rumors and hearsay."
"What's all rumors and hearsay?" asked Yang, her gossip senses tingling. "C'mon Tal spill the beans!"
Tal looked across the three girls as they gave him varying expressions of pleading curiosity. Finally, he let out a deep sigh and mumbled something that sounded like 'Don't say I didn't warn you' before finally looking at the girls with an almost blank and faraway look in his eyes and a heavy and oppressive atmosphere seemed to settle on them all.
"It goes by many names." He began ominously, causing Ruby and Weiss to gulp, while Yang leaned closer. "But it is mostly known by its reputation. Wherever it goes, wherever it appears, chaos follows. Reality is thrown into disarray, and all logic and understanding becomes meaningless. Things that should not happen, that should be impossible even for us Guardians, seem to just happen. Many times, these events are discovered by accident. While others are found by Guardians who purposefully go out and try to find out ways in which it can be exploited. The breaking of the Red Legion Injection Rigs, the saturation of the Blind Well, even the sudden and inexplicable creation of ammo synthesis bricks by…. shuffling cards. These are but a few of the many, many ways in which this weapon has broken reality and understanding." Talos paused for a bit as he tried to collect his thoughts with a heavy sigh. "It is the Final Shape. When the heat death of the universe arrives and the clash between Light and Dark has ended and is nothing more than a fleeting memory, it will remain. Telesto." Ruby couldn't help but notice the slight tinge of both awe and fear in her mentor's voice that she never really heard coming from him before.
As he finished telling his story, the light and life slowly came back to his eyes and the oppressive atmosphere lifted. He looked back to Ruby. "So, you enjoy firing a fusion rifle?" he asked, almost like the previous conversation didn't even happen.
"Y-yeah hehe, but uh I think I'll be sticking to good ol' fashioned bullets."
"Yeah, it's not for everyone." He responded as he turned and began making his way to the house.
The three girls shared a look, and a silent agreement was passed amongst them. Never will they speak of this again. But as they made their way back to the house after Talos, the sky split open in a kaleidoscope of cosmic color, and before anyone could react a boom like thunder echoed and they all simply…. vanished.
"And that is where we will have to end this section beloved readers. But fret not, for this is but the beginning of their wacky and crazy journey. Tune in next time as our intrepid heroes partake in a fight for survival, glory and wonderful loot and cash prizes on the following installment of: Dares of Eternity. This is Xur, signing off."
[excited whinny]
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AN: Hey everyone Aperture Zero here. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and Omake. I had a lot of fun writing that. Usual disclaimer for those who don't know: Omakes aren't cannon. They're one-shot scenarios. I say that because I know someone will point out how Yang was with them when in our story, she isn't. Anyways with that out of the way, sorry for the long wait. Real life has a tendency to mess up your plans so I'm not gonna make any promises on dates anymore lol Other than that we'll really will try and get these out faster, with faster being a relative term. As usual please leave reviews and tell us where we did good and bad it really does help. Hope you all have a good one and for those of you here in the US hope you had a great 4th of July! See you all in the next one.
Bye-niiiiiii~
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Hey, edit from AhamkarasEye here - I saw some people in reviews concerned about the idea that we could be planning on making the Brother Gods the same beings as the Gardener and the Winnower. I want to give my assurances that that is not the plan. I agree with the stipulation that the brothers feel far more immature and humanlike with their emotions, unlike the Gardener and the Winnower, who seem both more mature, and more foreign to the human mind, almost having Lovecraftian outer-god style. What I meant to covey with the comparison was not that these two pairs of beings are the same, but rather that the POWERS they wield are the same. The God of Light really does control a vast amount of Light proper, and same with Darkness and that brother. As for Paracausality - I am fully aware of what it is and how it works. Remnant's humans are not nearly as paracausal as something like a powerful Guardian or a Hive God is, but they don't have to be. Exos and Awoken, for instance, are lightly paracausal. Same with Remnant's humans - the thing that they call a "soul," is actually trace amounts of Light and Darkness woven into them by their gods. It's also mentioned that they were given the gift of Choice by the gods - something that, in the larger Destiny cosmology, only paracausal beings truly have (the causal universe of Destiny is deterministic). So yeah, that's it for now. You can bring up any other concerns in reviews and i'll do my best to address them.
