I won't go too soft on myself anymore. At this point, I am going to self-criticise myself to make better improvements. Sorry for taking so long to write this chapter as I was busy Platinum Dark Souls 3 but here is the last chapter of Volume One.

The dialogue throughout the story so far is awkward and cheesy. I get it, there are bits and pieces from the RWBY Wiki that I plainly just copied and pasted. But I am just lazy and want to get things straightaway.

The second and final point I want to self-criticise is how poorly the approach had become. Yeah, I was my bad decision making. Yet it was my own interpretation of how things should have gone like.

Let's but a spotlight to one good thing. This is the second to the final chapter for Dark Souls: Embers of Remnant's First Volume before I start planning the layout of the second volume to prevent making the same mistakes that this volume has done. To do that, I am going to be taking a break after writing the next chapter.

What I mean by that is that I am going to be focusing on Fairyborne for a little while as I want to make a bit of progression to the story before making the second volume of Embers of Remnant. That and how I may take interest in playing NieR: Automata and Red Dead Redemption 2 anytime soon.

With that all said and done, let's move on to the chapter.

Dark Souls: Embers of Remnant

Eleven

Finishing What We Caused

"Um, so what's the plan, Ash?" Ruby asked the enigmatic individual, to which there wasn't any reply. She looked to where he was supposed to be and saw he was no longer there. This caused her to get confused as she swore Ash was with them in the first place. "Ash?"

Everyone shared the same reaction as their leader. None of them expected him to disappear once again under their nose. Nora couldn't help but voice her frustration. "Really!? He just vanished without us noticing once again?!"

Maria can vouch for the girl's inquiry. "Well, that person is extraordinary, to say the least. What else would you expect from someone like him to depart suddenly?" She doesn't know why, but the veteran Huntress had an odd feeling this was all too familiar to her. His suddenly vanishing right before their eyes was something she had experienced in her days as the Grim Reaper.

As much as they would want to look for Ash, all knew that a more significant problem needed to be resolved. "We can search for him later. But right now, we need to deal with that Grimm." Qrow had told them.

"Wait, what now?!" Jaune couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Weiss felt the same way as the blonde boy. "That Grimm you all faced can shoot fire AS well as laser! How can we be sure we can deal with it!?"

The veteran Huntsman had the look of uncertainty. If he had to be honest, he wasn't sure how to deal with a highly aggressive Grimm. "I'm not so sure…"

There wasn't any option that they had. Well, almost to none, as something had sparked within the young leader's mind. "We can't just sit here and do nothing." She turned to where the Grimm had gone to. "C'mon! We better see if the Military has managed to deal with it." That was something that most would have to agree on as they knew the Atlesian Military could handle any dangers that threatened them, even if it was utterly unknown to them.

Before they could move, loud explosions were heard despite the extended distance from where they stood. Already, Oscar had straightforward speculation as to what had occurred. "I think we already know the answer."

-Scene change-

If the farm boy wasn't wrong, then he and the others would have seen the chaos unfold within the airspace of Argus. Atlesian Mantas have been scrambled as they engaged in a dogfight between the Manticores and Sphinxs. Though they could shoot the Grimm down, the same can't be said for the Leviathan, as it took every hit from their weaponry. That and how the aircraft was easily picked off one by one.

"All units, be advised: Leviathan-class Grimm has submerged but is still on approach. Preparing hard-light shields, over!" The air control spoke through their channel COMs.

"We're getting slammed by hostiles out here! Where is Cordovan?!" a Mantra, codename Manta Two-Two questioned where the Commander Officer was located.

The mentioned individual was still in the Colossus, struggling to get up. It couldn't do so as it was still recovering from the brutal beatdown it received from the Leviathan. The elderly woman was still processing how the Grimm became so powerful after it emitted dark purple smoke from its body. Still, there was one thing that she managed to utter…

And that was towards Ruby and her friends. "This is your fault! Do you hear me?!"

Her words had taken Weiss by surprise. As far as the former Heiress knew, she knew that her leader and her friends had only provided the distraction needed for the Argus Commander to swoop in and kill the giant Grimm. "How is this our fault?"

The veteran Huntress had already speculated why the Atlesian was accusing all of them. "I guess she's blaming us for allowing that Grimm to let out that surprising blast."

The young leader looked around the area and couldn't grasp how this had led to a Grimm invasion of the Port City of Argus. She looked into the sky and couldn't help to wonder about where her strange yet mysterious friend was. "Just where are you, Ash?"

"Ruby!" Her sister's voice called out to her, which startled her. She and the others turned to the forest to see Yang and Blake coming out and regrouping with them. They were glad to see them alright, even if the Faunus girl had lost her white coat, but that didn't surprise them. One more person was with the duo, and most were surprised by this sudden appearance.

"Ash!" Ruby, Jaune, and Nora shouted in relief that he returned to them. All of them noticed that he had a slash mark across the chest plate of his Fallen Knight Set and one on his backside with a bit of bloodstain present.

"What happened to you?!" Weiss had asked and couldn't fathom the state the Unkindled was in.

"It's a long story." Ash plainly replied back, not wanting to bring up the fact that he had recently killed someone.

Blake was about to open her when she noticed the Mech struggling to reach its feet. "What happened?"

Ruby was about to open her mouth when an aggressive roar rang. It managed to grab everyone's attention, and they could only imagine that the situation had worsened. "Was that a giant Grimm?" Yang asked the group.

"Yes..." The Heiress answered her friend's question. "And that Grimm had ruined the only thing capable of stopping it..."

Hearing this caused the two newly arrived to look at her with astonished expressions. As far as they knew, Atlas had the technology to defeat any Grimm, regardless of size. But, to hear that the opposite occurred... Blake couldn't help but ask that question. "And how did a Grimm defeat a machinery from Atlas?"

It was then that Ash immediately responded. "It emitted a dark purple blast from its body, which drove it to become more assertive."

They were surprised by his words. If one by the likes of Maria could tell, he was familiar with this sort of thing. They would want to ask him how he understood what occurred earlier; they knew it wasn't the right time. Oscar currently wants to comprehend how to handle this situation. "So, how do we handle this?"

The Ashen One was glad to hear this from him. Seeing how desperate it had become, there was only one thing to do. And he needs their help. "Can one of you put that elderly woman on those devices? I need it to talk to her."

At the same time, Cordovin continued to ramble within the cockpit of the downed Colossus, still blaming the group that engaged the Grimm. Unexpectedly, she then heard a familiar voice coming through her COM. "Can you hear me over there?"

Almost immediately, she responded to Ash's words. "YOU! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"In fact, I do." He responded. His words were truthful, and it seemed like he was getting tired of her attitude. "But you need to put that blame aside. We need your permission if you want that Grimm to be dealt with."

"Permission…" Cordovin's voice was a mix of doubt and spitefulness. "Why are you asking me for PERMISSION?! You and the others are why this Mech created by the mighty Atlas was destroyed in the first place! There's no reason for me to grant such by the likes of you lowly outsiders!"

If she was currently facing him, then she would have seen him curling his right hand into a fist. Still, she sensed the air in the cockpit tightening when she heard him give a low growl. "You are testing my patience, ma'am. We will fix the problem we started, but we need a ship to get closer to Grimm. Swallow your pride and grant us permission to use one of your ships. Otherwise, you're shoulder the responsibility of the possible destruction of the city you were meant to keep safe under your watch."

Silence seemed present as the two waited to hear if either would remark back. It took the Argus Commander a bit of time as she was taken aback by his words. She was infuriated when he mentioned that. Yet, it had flipped a switch within her. She pondered for quite a bit before replying back to him. "Fine. I'll let you use one of your Mantas. If only you promise me, you or the others won't flee."

"You won't need to worry about that." He replied back to her before cutting the communication off. Ash had to take a few seconds to de-stress from conversing with that nuisance of an Atlesian Commander. He felt that the others listened to the entire conversation and turned around to see them looking at him with mixed expressions. Something about it instantly made him speak. "We're going to get an airship, but as long as we're going to aid in destroying that Grimm."

All knew he was going to say that. Yet, few were sceptical about this. "Are you about this?" Maria had asked him.

"I am." He responded.

He was clear that he intended to keep his promise. But Maria couldn't think but point out another alternate plan. "You really are keen on helping them. Once we have an airship, I suggest we run towards Atlas since delivering that lamp is our top priority." Instead of fighting, she gestured to the lamp on Rub's hip.

Ash raised his eyebrow underneath his helmet at her. "Are you suggesting that we should flee?" He was referring to her words just a few days ago.

The Veteran Huntress was about to open her mouth but didn't, remembering what she said to them. "You can't be serious with your promise to her, right?"

The Unkindled was about to open his mouth when someone else responded instead. "But didn't you say that Huntsmen and Huntresses should fight till the bitter end?" That voice belonged to Blake.

Maria looked at the Faunus girl and studied her body gesture very quickly. By the looks of it, she seemed eager to finish up their mess. Her and the others who had the same looks on their faces...

All except Ash, who still had a helmet over his head.

"Alright, you've proven a point there," Maria exclaimed while waling her left arm. "But don't expect things to go as you want them to."

Just at that exact moment, a squadron of Manta was seen flying towards their position. One of them lowered towards their place, and soon the hatch opened. Without a word spoken, all proceeded to climb aboard the aircraft.

If Ash had one word to say, it was fascinating to see such an invention. Then again, he knew that man had been advancing his creativity since he entered his deep slumber. "Hey, buddy." His attention then shifted to Maria, who was in the cockpit and conversing with the pilot. "I know this is your ship and all. But would you mind getting off?"

Obviously, this caused the pilot to react. "Wait, what?!"

The Veteran Huntress was about to speak again, but Ash beat her to it. "We'll do something reckless that'll cost you your life. You should get off the ship, or we'll be responsible for your death. We don't want that." The pilot quickly considered his words and immediately stood up from his seat before exiting. When he was off, Maria climbed into the pilot's seat, with Qrow climbing onto the co-pilot chair.

Everyone felt the ship ascending towards the sky before it took off towards the air. All the while, the pilot watched as his Manta flew towards the warzone. He couldn't help but moan at what his commander had informed him. "I better hope they don't damage it?"

-Scene change-

Within the interior of the Manta, Ruby and the others surround Blake and Yang as the two sit down. "I'm so sorry..." Blake remorsefully apologised to them, feeling accountable for what was currently unfolding.

Yang placed a hand on her partner's left hand. "Don't be. This isn't on you." Her words spoke with assurance.

The Faunus looked back at her. "But-"

She suddenly felt a pair of hands on her shoulder. She looked up to see her leader smiling. "You're safe now. That's all that matters."

This made the Faunus girl smile back at her leader. All the while, Ash, who took a sip from his Estus Flask, could clearly see how close the two friends were. Then again, he had a gut feeling that they would be more than friends. Almost immediately, he refocuses his mind on the current mission. "How far until we are near the Grimm?"

Maria looked at the viewpoint and saw many Grimms and Mantas engaging in aerial combat. Something about it tells her it won't be easy to fly through. "Not far. There's a slight chance we'll get close to the Leviathan." Ash expected to hear this response. Looking at Jaune and Ren, he quickly nods at them to signal to use their Semblance. The latter knew precisely what he would do, while the former responded although it was a little slow.

-Scene Change-

Thanks to the two's semblances, the Manta, who were all boarded, flew quickly as the Grimm could not detect them during their aerial skirmishes with the Atlesian Military. The aircraft got closer and saw the Grimm that caused this problem. "There's the Leviathan!" As mentioned earlier, Maria pointed at the creature that seemed to emerge out of the sea while emitting the same purple smoke from before.

Yang and Blake saw the Leviathan and noticed what radiated from its body. The Blonde couldn't help but ask, "Is it giving off purple smoke?"

"It looks like it," Blake answered her friend's question.

Everyone shifted their eyes to the Leviathan when it unleashed an energy beam attack from its mouth. It moves the beam to one of the poles, powering the hard-light Dust barrier and immediately destroying the device. Seeing this caused them to only watch in horror. "It tore straight through...!" Oscar couldn't help but comment on what just happened.

"All squadrons, fall back to evacuation procedures. Disengage Leviathan! I repeat, disengage! Over!" The Atlesian Air Control ordered any remaining Manta that survived the onslaught.

Ash overheard the radio chatter and knew the situation hadn't gone wrong. "That's not good."

"No! Wait!" Ruby's voice caused him to turn towards her, who proceeded to dash up to the radio. Her uncle shouted her name out, but it was simply ignored. She got closer and started to converse with them. "We can stop it!"

The people behind Air Control were obviously taken aback by hearing her voice. "Who is this? Identify yourself!"

The Young Leader immediately replied back to them. "I'm a Huntress. My team and I are heading to the Leviathan and can weaken it for you to attack!"

All looked at their leader in shock upon hearing what she stated. Especially Ash, who, even though he didn't display his surprise, caused him to be doubtful of her words. "Did you really have to say that, Lady Ruby?"

"We can?" Jaune couldn't help but to speak his confusion into words.

The Younger Girl looked back at him. "I can."

That moment caused Maria to remember something that she said to Ruby back at that farm. "Ruby, when I said "trial by fire-"

"I did it at Beacon and at the farm." The Younger Girl cut her off. She wasn't rude, but it didn't help make Ash dubious with her words.

Weiss also felt the same way as the Unkindled. "You really think you can do it now?"

Ruby was confident with her words. " I don't have a choice."

There was a bit of silence at the other end of the chatter. No response were heard. At least for a little while until Ait Control managed to reply. " Manta 5-1, your ship is currently flagged as hostile. You will receive no support, over."

The younger leader seemed indifferent despite the absence of help they would not get. She picked up the radio and gave them her parting words. "Fine, we'll do it alone if we have to." With that, she proceeded to cut communications off from them. Unknowingly, Cordovin managed to hear their conversation, which caused her to think of something.

"Hey, kid." Ruby and the others turned towards Ash, who had Stormruler in his hands once again. "How about if I provide some aid for you instead?"

Yeah, yeah. This chapter felt rushed. But that is only because some dumbass of a Guest reviewer had the audacity to spam nonstop until I update this story. That and I really want to publish a chapter before August ends before finishing the first volume by next month.

I won't go to the reviews. But there is one thing I admit. This is a rushed masterpiece, something that I knew it would eventually lead up to cause I have a handful of knowledge with RWBY and a lot more with the Dark Souls series. Don't worry, I will try to make the next chapter more fun.

Goodbye. I will see you all in the next chapter…whenever that will be…

Oh one more thing.

Expect a trailer to drop in the next chapter and I will be posting a poll like right now.