Reached 100 follows after only 3 chapters! Thanks so much everybody!
Here's the third reaction for you all.
This is for you Animan10! That was the account that gave me the transcript for this reaction. It's based off the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I just want to give credit to them since they did write it - I only did some edits.
I also had to edit this chapter a second time, since all of the bold words, and italics were removed for some reason went I copied and pasted the document into this site. Weird. At least I found some typos and inconsistencies in the previous chapters since I checked them out as well.
I DO NOT OWN RWBY OR ANY OF THE SOURCES THAT I WILL HAVE THE CHARACTERS REACT TO. That being said, all of that is implied since it's fanfiction.
The Aegis (XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2)
ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT BY ANIMAN10, MINOR EDITING AND REACTIONS BY ME
The audience stopped their conversations and began to watch the new world.
Clad in his blue Salvager's Diving Suit, Rex marveled at the metal interior of the ancient ship he and the rest of the Salvagers had hauled out of the Cloud Sea. The ship was unlike anything he had seen before on Alrest, appearing much more advanced than even the ships of Mor Ardain despite the centuries of corrosion.
"Huh, after seeing a bunch of adults, it's weird seeing a kid get focused on this time," Qrow remarked.
As he walked down the massive hallway, Rex was followed by Jin - a masked man with long white hair, Malos - a big stocky man with spiky black hair , and Nia - a small girl with cat ears, as well as Malos and Nia's respective Blades, the black, reptilian Sever, and the white tiger, Dromarch.
"She kinda looks like you, Blake." Sun noted.
Ghira and Kali agreed. "But with a hairstyle similar to mine…she's smaller though." Kali noted.
"So there are faunus in the world…" Blake stated, noticing something else.
"Actually, that cat lady is a human." Chrono stated.
Blake's eyes widened. So did many in the audience.
"What?"
"Huh?"
"That makes no sense!"
"But she has…animal parts!"
"Mr Winchester!"
"It's true though!"
Chrono continued. "ANYWAYS…" he began, staring pointedly at the people who interrupted him, "the cat-woman is Nia, and she's a Gormotti, a human from a certain area in that world who developed cat ears. They have equal rights with other humans and are considered the same despite their ears."
Blake pondered that information for a second before sighing. Even this current viewing world seems to have a better racial situation than here…
Meanwhile, Ruby focused on another aspect. "Ooh! What are those weapons?" She asked Chrono, as the weapon-geek in her rapidly became excited.
"Those are blades, beings that are born when someone resonates with a Core Crystal. Basically, when someone does resonate with one, they become the drivers of that blade. Blades and Drivers fight together, with the Blade providing the Driver with a weapon, energy, and support powers, and the Driver doing most of the fighting."
"That's so cool!" Ruby exclaimed, with stars in her eyes. "Right, Penny?"
"Absolutely, friend Ruby!"
Velvet immediately took more interest and got out her camera.
"That's not all, though. A Driver is also able to pass the weapon back to the Blade after the Blade has generated enough energy so the Blade can perform powerful Blade Specials, attacks that can only be done while the weapon is in the hands of the Blade." Chrono continued.
"Blade Specials? What? Like, um, a video game?" Jaune asked.
"Precisely."
"So who exactly are these people?" Weiss asked.
"Rex is the kid. He and several other salvagers were hired by members of the organization Torna to haul up an ancient ship. The members of Torna present are Jin, Malos, and Nia. Jin is the one with white hair, Malos is the one with black hair, and the girl is Nia."
"W-what is that thing?" Rex asked in awe as he ran to the end of the hall, noticing something peculiar up ahead.
When Rex reached the room at the end of the hall, he was visibly surprised by what he had found. Sitting at the back of the room were two things he had never expected to find on a savaging run. Embedded in the floor tip-first was a red sword with a green, cross shaped crystal adoring its hilt. Just behind the sword was Pyra, sleeping soundly in a glass capsule, her hair in a short bob cut, her hands resting over her chest, as if covering something.
"PYRRHA! LOOK! IT'S YOU!" Nora exclaimed. "Haha! One of us is the focus this time!"
"Wow. That's…great.." Pyrrha replied quietly. While she was curious to see how an alternate version of her would look, she didn't want any attention coming towards her like in the past, even if it's only among a few people - with most of them already knowing her.
Jaune noticed and squeezed her shoulder to reassure his partner.
"It's a… girl." Rex mused, in awe at both her beauty and the mystery behind her.
As he stared at the sleeping girl, Rex's eyes were drawn to an emerald glow coming from below. Tilting his head down, he saw that the sword embedded in the floor, more specifically the crystal in said sword, was glowing brightly. The glow mesmerized him, almost as if it were calling out to him. He could have sworn he was hearing something akin to a heartbeat coming from it.
"Look." Malos whispered into Jin's ear as they entered the room.
"Yes, no mistaking it." Jin confirmed in a whisper, "That's the Aegis."
"The… Aegis?" Nia asked, having only just heard of the concept.
"Aegis? Is that the name of the blade? Weird. Usually, a blade wouldn't be named after a type of shield." Watts stated. [1]
"Did you forget that we named our world's main power source dust? After all the dirt and grime?" Hazel mentioned.
"Hmm. True." Watts conceded.
Drawn in by the sword's glow, Rex reached out to touch it.
"Really? Doesn't that kid know the first rule of movies? You don't touch artifacts! Otherwise you'll get killed!" Neptune stated in alarm.
"What type of movies have you watched?" Sun asked.
"You know..that movie with the explorer - they found an arc, but then the enemies captured them and took it - but when they did - they all melted."
"Oh…right."
"Hey, brat! Don't even think about touching that!" Malos threatened.
"Exactly! The better looking version of Cardin knows what's up." Neptune commented.
"Excuse me?" Cardin questioned. He was not amused. [2]
"Huh?" Rex said in surprise as he was snapped out of his trance, but not before he touched the sword's crystal.
As soon as he did, Rex found himself being surrounded by dozens of moots of emerald light. Reacting quickly, Jin rushed forward at an impossibly fast pace, drawing his sword from his back, and stabbing the salvager from behind, right through his heart.
Many in the audience's eyes went wide.
"Turns out you were right, dude. He touched it and died." Sun deadpanned.
Neptune stared at his friend.
"W-why?" Rex asked weakly as his vision blurred, gawking in disbelief at the blade that ran through him.
"Don't take it personally. It's an act of mercy." Jin answered, "At least you won't be alive to see what's coming."
"Pft. Yeah right." Yang scoffed.
Removing his sword from Rex's body, Jin let the Salvager drop dead while he flicked the blood off his blade. Once clean, Jin slashed his own sword against the red one embedded in the floor, shattering the mysterious weapon into shards which scattered around the dead Rex.
"What a waste of time." Malos sighed.
"Jin!" Nia asked in outrage as Jin exited the chamber, "Why did you kill him!? What did Rex ever do to you!? Jin!"
Jin gave no response, continuing his stride without missing a beat.
"I bet that's how Kitty Cat reacted when you helped turn the White Fang to murder, right, Taurus?" Roman asked the masked man.
Taurus didn't answer, but Blake did.
"Is that such a bad thing?" She growled.
"Humph. You really do live up to your faunus type."
"Not. Funny."
"I beg to differ!"
"Let's ship out the Aegis." Malos ordered as he walked into the chamber towards Pyra's capsule, "Nia, call the Monoceros."
All Nia could do was clinch her fist in confusion as she watched Jin walk out of the ancient ship after committing murder.
I feel you…Blake thought.
Rex woke up to the sound of a church bell. Picking himself off the ground, he looked around to see a blue sky and green meadow, a far cry from the ancient ship he was in previously.
"Is that the afterlife? If so, it looks pretty tranquil." Qrow stated.
"It looks boring. When I die, I hope the afterlife is full of blood and gore." Tyrian stated, feeling bored again.
"So basically hell. You want to go to hell."
Up ahead, he saw a hill with a single tree, and standing under that tree was Pyra. With no real clue where he was or how he got there, the salvager trekked up the hill to ask the girl for answers.
"Wow. How convenient." Raven stated.
"Uh… excuse me?" Rex called out as the church bells continued to toll.
"It's such a mournful sound." Pyra mused.
"Huh?" He asked in confusion.
"It hasn't stopped." Pyra continued, "Not in all these years."
"Hasn't stopped?" Rex asked in confusion as he approached the top of the hill, "You mean that bell sound? Is the Praetorium somewhere nearby? Where are we?"
"This is… Elysium." Pyra explained, "The land where long ago, mankind lived in harmony with their creator. It's where… we were born."
"Get out!" He exclaimed upon reaching the top of the hill, "R-really?"
"So the kid goes back to where mankind lived with their creators." Oobleck reiterated. "That would make sense for an afterlife."
From the top of the hill, Rex could see what could only be described as a paradise. At the base of the hill was a massive lake with clear, crystal blue water. Just across from the lake was a sizable, rural town, so peaceful you would think nobody was home. The sky was clear with barely any clouds, and the landscape was covered with green fields and lush trees, all while the air was filled with birdsong. It really did look like a paradise of legend.
"Woah. It's so pretty." Yang stated.
Once he had taken in the scenery, he turned his attention to the girl standing beside him under the tree. Once he did, the first thing that caught the young man's attention was the girl's chest, specifically the emerald, cross shaped crystal resting just above her breasts.
"Is that a Core Crystal? You're a… Blade?" Rex deduced.
"My name is Pyra." Pyra introduced herself.
Team RWBY, and the other members of Team JNPR chuckled.
"Heh. I guess even in another show, your name is similar, Pyr." Jaune stated.
"Yeah…" Pyrrha quietly replied back.
"And you're a blade! That's so cool!" Ruby mentioned the most important part.
"Her name is pronounced differently. How is it spelled?" Ren asked their host.
"P-Y-R-A."
"So Pyra is pronounced Pyra whilst Pyrrha is pronounced Pyrrha! That's cool to know!" Nora spoke. [3]
"What? O-oh, right!" Rex stammered, "Mine is…"
"I know you. You're Rex, right?" Pyra interrupted.
"How did you… know my name?" The salvager asked, bewildered.
"Just now, when we came in contact." Pyra explained.
"Wow. That's freaky. Does that mean he's now a Driver?" Ruby asked.
"That would be the logical assumption." Weiss added on.
"Just now?" Rex mused, "Sorry, I can't seem… to remember how I got here."
"You were… killed." Pyra revealed, "Stabbed through the heart by Jin."
"Jin?" The salvager mused, "Through the…"
Rex placed his hand over where his heart would be as he tried to think back about what Pyra told him. Slowly, the memories became clearer until he nearly heeled over trying to suppress a gag.
"I remember now. That bastard stabbed me!" He cried in realization, "Aw man! This is bad! Everyone in the guild is in danger!"
"It took that long to remember?" Mercury asked.
"Give him a break. The guy literally died." Emerald responded.
Worried for his guildmates, the salvager immediately started running down the hill in an attempt to get back and deliver a warning regarding their employers. However, he quickly came to a stop on his knees when he remembered a very crucial detail.
"No, wait! I can't do anything if I'm dead!" Rex yelled in frustration, punching the ground, "Titan's foot! If I wasn't dead, I'd kick that guy's ass!"
Mercury and Roman laughed at his plight. After seeing some in the audience glare, Roman defended himself. "Alright…alright…my bad…it's just that it's funny that he keeps forgetting."
"Titan's foot?" Pyrrha questioned.
"Perhaps that's a saying in that world." Ren claimed.
Seeing the frustrated salvager angrily punch the ground, Pyra approached the young Salvager.
"Rex, I have a request." Pyra said, earning his attention, "Can you… take me to Elysium?"
"Elysium?" Rex asked in confusion, "But, isn't that here?"
"Yeah. What he said."
"This world is merely a memory." Pyra elaborated, "An ancient, half-forgotten memory of what once was. The real Elysium lies in your world, atop the World Tree that rises from the heart of Alrest."
Ozpin focused on the reference to the tree. Interesting...that tree sounds similar to the one in the Fairy Tale with Alyx... [4]
"Memory? So it's like an illusion." he deduced, "But there's no way! I'm dead, remember? How can I help if I'm not breathing?"
"I will give you half of my lifeforce." Pyra offered, caressing her Core Crystal, "That way… you can be revived… as my Driver. As the Driver of the Aegis."
"I don't know about you guys, but this sounds more useful than aura." Qrow stated. When he got weird looks, he continued. "I mean, these blades can resurrect the dead!"
"I don't think we should tamper with the balance of life and death, Qrow." Ozpin responded, remembering the consequences that occurred when Salem did just that.
"The Driver… of the Aegis?" the salvager asked, not entirely sure what the term "Aegis" could mean, "W-what the…?"
"What will you do, Rex?" Pyra cut him off.
"… Is this place really your home?" Rex asked.
"It is." Pyra nodded.
"And it… really exists?" the Salvager asked hopefully.
"Rex, I know what you're thinking, and you are correct." Pyra explained, "By coming to this place, you can save the world, save it from the slow demise that is its fate."
"That sounds ominous. What does that mean, Chrono?" Coco asked.
Exposition time again? Chrono thought. He sighed and began to speak. "I'll summarise every important thing that I haven't said so far. The world of Alrest is an endless sea of clouds with the World Tree at its center. At the top of the World Tree lies Elysium, where mankind once lived with the Architect, before they were cast out. Swimming in the Cloud Sea are massive creatures called Titans, who act as the landmasses on which mankind lives on. However, the world is facing a crisis as the Titans are gradually dying off. That is what Pyra meant by the world's slow demise."
The audience was stunned. Ruby spoke and said the thing that was everybody's mind.
"So…people in Alrest…live on top of giants? That are dying off?"
"Yes."
"Th-th-That's absurd! Who comes up with this kind of tripe?" Weiss cried out.
Chrono shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care."
"We… wouldn't have to live… in fear…" Rex said as a smirk grew on his face, "Then there's only one choice!"
A revived pep in his step, he ran up the hill to meet Pyra, face to face.
"I'm in! Let's go to Elysium!" the Salvager declared, "I'll take you there myself!"
"Thank you, Rex." Pyra said with a smile as she removed her hand from her chest, presenting her Core Crystal, "Now place your hand on my chest."
"W-what!? You sure!?" Rex backpedaled, his mind briefly wandering to the wrong conclusion.
Blushes crept up on most of the student's cheeks.
"Oh..um…" Jaune stated.
"Wow. That's kinda…intimate." Yang noted.
"YANG!" Ruby exclaimed.
"What?"
"Oh…I thought you said something else."
"Ugh…again. Who came up with this?" Weiss reiterated.
Once he got his mind back on the right track, Rex's eyes locked on to the Core Crystal on Pyra's chest. Much like with the sword on the ship, the Core Crystal seemed to call out to him with its brilliant glow and subtle heartbeat. Tentatively, he reached out and placed two figures on the center of the crystal. As soon as he did, he felt a rush of power flow through him from it. Wisps of green light poured out of the Core Crystal on Pyra's chest and coalesced on an identical spot on his own chest. Within seconds, both were completely enveloped in an emerald glow.
"Seems simple enough. It's like activating another's aura. I wonder if it's as taxing as activating aura, however." Ozpin said.
Back on the ancient ship, Rex lazily got back on his feet as he was surrounded by moots of emerald light. In his right hand, a copy of Pyra's Core Crystal appeared, which quickly expanded into a copy of the sword that Jin smashed. With a quick swing, the two edges of the sword parted, igniting a blade of pure flames. Glowing just as brilliantly on Rex's chest was an X shaped potion of Pyra's Core Crystal. The new driver of Pyra had been resurrected.
"Okay…that's pretty badass." Yang stated. "Seems like it's time for a fight scene!"
On the top deck of the ancient ship, Malos, Sever, Nia, and Dromarch exited the ship's interior with the black haired man carrying the sleeping Pyra's capsule over his shoulder. As they did so, several of the Salvagers socializing on the top deck, human and Nopon alike, took notice of the girl in the capsule, each of them curious as to where she came from and why she was on the ship they just hauled up.
"Woah, who are those fuzzy little people? They look so cute!" Nora said. She and Yang proceed to coo over the Nopons.
"Nopons."
"Nia. End them." Malos ordered.
"End?" Nia asked in confusion, "Like, what?"
"The price for their lives has already been paid in full." he explained, "Now that we have finally obtained the Aegis, the fewer living souls know about it, the better."
"Smart. Leave no witnesses alive." Roman complimented Malos' pragmatism.
"I-I can't do that!" Nia refused, "These people haven't done anything wrong!"
Roman sighed. She sounds just as annoying as the cat-girl in here…
"I don't understand you." Malos questioned, "Now, now. Have you forgotten why you came here to begin with, Nia?"
"N-no, but…"
Blake paled at those words. They reminded the faunus of her time in the White Fang. Hearing Adam say similar things and the familiar response of Nia made her uneasy.
"Oh, for the love of…" he grumbled, "Fine. I'll handle it myself."
However, he'd would never get the chance. Still carrying the capsule on his shoulder, the tube in which Pyra slept suddenly ignited into flames.
"What the!?" Malos yelled as he tossed Pyra capsule aside.
Moments later, the capsule exploded in a pillar of flames. From the capsule, a ball of fire flew up and arced through the sky before landing on the ancient ship's bridge in a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, there stood Pyra, wide awake with an X shaped portion of her Core Crystal missing. Shortly after, a portion of the top deck began to glow red hot before exploding in yet another pillar of flames. Leaping out of the resulting hole was Rex, now wielding the flaming Aegis Sword, which he slammed on the floor upon landing, panting to catch his breath.
*CLICK* *CLICK*
Velvet started to take some photos at a rapid pace, annoying a lot of people in the theater.
"Do you mind?"
The rabbit faunus realised how loud she was being and quickly flushed. "Sorry…" she said sheepishly.
"Rex!?" Nia yelled in surprise, having just seen him get killed.
"You! And that sword! Can't be!" Malos screamed in outrage.
"Yeah! That's payback for murdering him, you jerk!" Ruby exclaimed.
"YEAH!"
"That's right!"
"Facts!"
"Yeah! Ren, say something!"
"Yeah…"
Spotting Jin standing behind Malos, Rex rose to his feet and pointed his newly acquired sword at the man that just killed him.
"It's kind of low to stab a man in the back, you bloody psychopath!" he yelled, "Pyra!"
"Here!" Pyra responded.
"Cover me!" Rex requested.
"Got it!" Pyra complied as she jumped from her perch and the blue-clad salvager charged ahead.
Jaune smiled a little and looked towards Pyrrha, who was also looking back at him. Both of them were thinking the same thing. That routine seems familiar.
Anticipating a fight, Jin reached for his sword, but stopped when Malos called out to him.
"Jin, leave them to me." the black haired man instructed.
"Woah. We got a badass over here," Qrow snarked - cuing some laughs in the cinema. "Who is he trying to impress?"
Just as Rex reached him, Malos pulled out Sever's Sword Tonfa, catching Rex's blade with his own. Using his superior physical strength, he threw the salvager into the air, prompting the salvager to do a graceful backflip and land in a crouched position, ready to strike again.
"Sorry, kid. I can't let the likes of you just claim her power for yourself." Malos apologized in a mocking tone, "This is as far as it goes."
As was standard for a Driver and Blade, Pyra rushed to join Rex's side in combat. However, she was cut off by Malos' own Blade, Sever, who slashed at her with his claws. She thankfully managed to dodge, backflipping away from the reptilian Blade.
"Aegis! Over here!" Sever taunted, blocking Pyra's path to her Driver.
"Dividing them. Smart." Watts gave some praise.
"Just… leave it out!" Rex demanded as he and his opponent traded blows with their respective weapons.
"Give it a rest, Malos!" Nia demanded, "Can't you see he's just a child!"
"The other guy literally just killed him, and he did nothing. Evidently he doesn't care, cat-girl!" Mercury shouted towards the screen.
"A child? Don't make me laugh! This kid… has made himself the Aegis's Driver!" Malos screamed as he continued to whale on Rex.
"The Aegis's… Driver…" Nia said in bewilderment, "Rex is…"
Although his opponent was pretty handy with a sword, Malos was still the superior of the two in terms of brute strength. It did not take long for the larger man to throw the salvager towards the bow of the ancient ship, and this time he wasn't able to land very gracefully.
Some of the audience winced in sympathy.
Smirking at the opening, Malos threw the Sword Tonfa into the air, which Sever promptly caught.
"You're done!" Sever cried as he launched a Deadly Divide, a cutting blade of Wind Ether.
"Damn, that's cool," Yang said.
Coco whistled. "That's pretty neat. You taking a photo of that technique, Bun?"
*CLICK* *CLICK*
"Thought so!"
Such an attack would have surely torn Rex to shreds. Thankfully, now that she was no longer preoccupied by Sever, Pyra was able to rush in and defend him with a standard Blade Forcefield.
"Thanks, Pyra!" Rex said gratefully.
"You're welcome!" Pyra replied, "Now, don't let up!"
"That was a big-ass explosion." Qrow stated.
"Yeah!" Rex cheered as he and Pyra charged in for another attack.
With their opponents charging in, Sever unleashed another two slashes of Wind Ether, albeit much weaker than the first attack. Like before, Pyra took the lead to defend them from the blasts. Once the attacks had been deflected, he rushed ahead and forced Malos and Sever back with several wild swings of the Aegis Sword.
"Don't swing like that in battle," Pyrrha advised her partner.
Jaune thought back to how he swung wildly to kill that one Ursa during the Breach, and chuckled nervously. "Yep…got it, Pyr."
"Everybody! Go, now! Quick!" Rex called out to the noncombatant Salvagers, who promptly evacuated to their moored Titan ship, the Maelstrom.
"Malos, here!" Sever called out to his Driver as he passed the weapon.
Leaping into the air, Malos caught the Sword Tonfa and perched himself on top of the ancient ship's bridge.
"I don't think so!" he growled as he took aim at the still evacuating crew of the Maelstrom.
"Hey, you big bully! Over here!" the salvager yelled as he shot a fire blast from the Aegis Sword.
Raven snorted. "Big bully?" How old is he? 12?" she said.
"He's actually 15."
Ruby perked up at the mention of Rex's age. Another fighter who's my age? So cool! I wish I could spar with him.
Seeing the incoming attack, Malos was forced to abandon his own attack on the fleeing Salvagers to defend himself and block the blast. Unfortunately, said maneuver also blinded him with a smokescreen. When the smoke cleared, he saw Rex and Pyra leap high into the air above him, side by side. They were both enveloped in a golden aura, and both had a hand gripping the handle of the Aegis Sword. Acting as one, the Driver and Blade pair raised their weapon over their heads as it was engulfed in a massive pillar of flames.
Cinder scoffed at the scene. "What was that? Some kind of power of friendship ability?"
"Hey now. Don't underestimate the power of friendship!" Ruby stated.
"Don't be too hard on her, Rubes." Yang stated. "She does spend a lot of time in her dorm room. Maybe she just has no friends."
Hearing that pissed Cinder off. Mercury's laugh made her angrier.
"Burning… Sword!" the two cried out as they brought the blade down on Malos.
"No…they actually announce their attacks?" Roman said with absolutely incredulity.
"That's so cool!" Ruby exclaimed.
More like lame. Neo signed out.
Jaune was in deep thought - thinking about the team move he had with Pyrrha in preparation for the Vytal Festival. Should I rename Arkos into Burning Sword? That move mostly has to do with our shields, though…maybe I'll just make a new move and name it that.
The resulting explosion shook the ancient ship and left all onlookers completely awestruck. When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Sever had managed to return to Malos' side, helping him to defend against the powerful attack. The four combatants were now locked in a standstill, their weapons clashing and grinding against one another.
"Wow. Color me impressed." Qrow stated.
"You brat." Malos said with the most unimpressed face ever.
Neo silently snickered at his unamused face.
How can a nobody like you…" he growled, before noticing something in Rex's eyes, "Ah, but with those eyes… I guess I should have been more wary from the start."
"What do you mean?" Rex inquired.
A smokey amethyst light collected in Malos' free hand.
"Like I'd tell you!" Malos scoffed as he tried to swipe his opponent with the strange light.
"Thank you! I hate it when people say their evil plans!" Roman stated.
"But you literally did just that during the White Fang rally!" Sun replied.
"Yeah…because I wanted to hire more animals for the cause…idiot."
However, Pyra saw the attack coming and pulled her driver away from Malos' reach, breaking the blade lock. As the two Driver/Blade pairs landed on opposite sides of the ancient ship's deck, the Maelstrom pulled away, carrying its crew to safety. All the while, the four combatants prepared for another bout, Drivers in the vanguard, and Blades in the rearguard.
"Man. The battlefield looks so cool. The dark atmosphere since it's night. The contrast with the fires in the background. The-" Neptune was interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah we get it Nerd. It looks good." Scarlet stated.
"Rude..."
Holding out their hands towards their respective Drivers, Pyra and Sever both projected the literal symbol of the bond between Driver and Blade, the golden Affinity Bond. As the golden thread of Ether transferred power from Blade to Driver, both drivers were now enveloped in a golden aura that enhanced their individual capabilities. Now powered up by their Blades, the two Drivers charge.
I guess that's the power-up that Blades give Drivers, Ozpin thought.
Taking the initiative, Rex struck first, flipping forward in the air before smashing his sword on the ground, releasing a wave of flames in front of him. That wave of flames forced Malos back slightly, but it did not completely deter him. Not one to let his opponent get the better of him, the black haired man countered by spinning around so fast that the winds he generated blew away the residual flames. At the same time, each rotation resulted in a successive strike to Rex's Aegis Sword from Malos' Sword Tonfa, knocking the new Driver off balance. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Malos brought his weapon down on Rex, knocking him off his feet and on his butt. However, before he hit the ground, he passed the Aegis Sword to Pyra.
"The kid is outmatched. He can't compete with the man." Hazel surmised.
Now in control of the weapon, Pyra used her connection to the weapon to telekinetically swing it around her, forcing Malos to defend as it swung by. At the same time, she released a wave of flames all around her that forced the opposing driver and blade on the defensive, with Sever needing to deploy his forcefield to protect them. All the while, Rex used the opportunity to get behind their opponents, staying low to avoid the blast Pyra released. Once he was behind Malos and Sever, Pyra passed the sword back to Rex, who promptly used it to stab at Malos' back. Unfortunately, Sever was quick to protect his Driver, deflecting Rex's attack with his forcefield.
"Hm. Fortunately for the kid, Pyra is there to pick up the slack." Watts continued. "It was unlucky that he couldn't capitulate on that opportunity however." Noting how his attack was deflected.
Now that Pyra was without a weapon and separated from her Driver, Malos was quick to take the opportunity to strike at her. However, he found himself unable to do so. Before he could attack Rex used his wrist mounted anchor to catch Malos' weapon arm, stopping him in his tracks. With the enemy temporarily immobilized, Pyra rejoined Rex's side while the salvager attempted to slash Malos' back, only to once again be deflected by Sever. Once he managed to shake free of Rex's anchor, Malos used Sever's Sword Tonfa to unleash a burst of Wind Ether, forcing their opponents away from him and Sever. The two Drive/Blade pairs once again found themselves several feet apart, only now they stood on the opposite side of the ancient ship they started on.
"The fight has been a standstill so far." Glynda noted.
"You're good, kid." Malos admitted as Rex charged at him again, "It's no simple feat to control the Aegis like that. However…"
"Haha! He's not even listening and just outright charging!" Mercury laughed as Rex was charging during the monologue.
"That idiot is going to get himself killed!" Weiss stated, noticing Malos prepare that amethyst light once again.
Once Rex reached Malos, he leaped into the air and prepared an overhead slash. However, he managed to catch the sword in his free hand, once again cloaked in that strange amethyst light. Now that he had the salvager in his literal grasp, Malos brought the Salvager in close and delivered a powerful punch to his gut before violently throwing him across the deck of the ancient ship, the Aegis Sword clattering further down the deck.
"Well that's the end of him." Roman drawled. "The kid got himself killed."
"Rex!" Pyra cried as she dodged Sever's consecutive claw swipes.
"Don't get cocky, you little shit!" Malos yelled as he went in for the kill.
"He might be crass, but I agree with the man's words." Ozpin stated. "Remember students, do not get overly confident. Even if you have an ability that is as powerful as the Aegis."
"Dromarch!" Nia called out to her Blade.
"Understood!" the white tiger complied, allowing his Driver on his back.
As Malos rushed in to finish Rex off, Dromarch fired his signature Wild Roar attack, unleashing a massive stream of Water Ether right at Malos. It was only thanks to Sever's timely intervention that the black-haired man came out of it unharmed. Once Malos had been stopped in his tracks, Dromarch leaped across the battlefield, placing himself and his Driver between Malos and the recovering Rex.
Blake tensed. Adam grit his teeth. Roman laughed.
"Hahahaha! Of course the cat-girl decides to betray at that very moment." Roman clapped. "Art imitates life!"
"Get out of the way, Nia! Have you gone mad!" Malos demanded.
"You're the one who's off your nut, whaling on a child!" Nia fired back.
"Nia, I don't think you quite comprehend your position." he growled.
"I get it! But…" Nia argued.
"Evidently not…" Salem stated, getting sounds of agreement with the rest of her faction.
"You're starting to piss me off!" he screamed.
"Welp. Cat-girl's dead. Got herself killed to save a kid." Roman announced.
"What a shitty way to go…" Mercury replied.
Distracted by Nia's mutiny, Malos failed to notice Pyra rush in and reclaim the discarded Aegis Sword. With the sword in hand, she made a break for Malos. Although Sever tried to intercept her, Pyra avoided interaction with the Blade by leaping over him and going for an overhead strike on Malos. Left on his own to defend himself, Malos brought the Sword Tonfa up to meet the Aegis Sword's edge, catching Pyra in midair.
Using the weapons as a springboard, Pyra somersaulted over Malos, who proceeded to give chase. Once she was back on her feet, Pyra found herself on the receiving end of a slew of slash from Malos, all of which Pyra expertly parried away. When Malos started spinning, Pyra saw fit to quickly backflip away so as to not get caught up in the literal whirlwind of slashes. Once her opponent broke his spin, Pyra fired a volley of fire balls from her sword, which the black-haired man deflected with his Sword Tonfa as he charged at her. However, deflecting the fire balls caused them to explode in a haze of flames, which Pyra used as a cover to get the jump on Malos. Bursting from the wall of flames, Pyra locked blades with Malos, neither giving in to the other.
Cinder was somewhat impressed by the redhead's fighting prowess. That version of the Invincible Girl is pretty skilled. No matter, she thought, she's still inferior.
"You're pretty sharp for someone who's only just woken up." Malos noted.
"Pyra!" Rex called out as he got up, still feeling the punch to his gut.
"Takes me back to 500 years ago." he reminisced," What's the deal with that appearance? I'm guessing your goal is Elysium."
500 years ago? Salem thought. Is that man also immortal? Or does he just age differently? The queen of the Grimm sat up to look at Ozpin to see his gauge, noticing a small sense of alarm on his face that not even the closest in his circle was able to see.
"That… is our… dream!" Pyra declared.
"Then I have no choice but to stop you!" Malos declared in turn, forcing Pyra away and breaking the sword lock.
His free hand once again enveloped in an amethyst light, Malos swiped at his opponent, only for Pyra to somersault away. Once she landed, she took a sword stance, completely unaware of the non-Titan ship pulling up behind her, its missile launchers armed.
"Oh shi-!"
"Pyra! Watch out!" Rex warned.
Looking behind her, Pyra was only barely able to bring up her forcefield before the new ship, the Monoceros, opened fire on her. However, the rapid fire of the ship broke Pyra's shield, sending her tumbling across the ancient ship's deck.
"Damn. I guess even forcefields can't handle heavy artillery," Qrow noted.
"Of course." Ironwood stated.
"Pyra!" Rex called out as he ran to his Blade's side, "You alright?"
"More or less." Pyra replied.
"Stop this!" Nia demanded as she and Dromarch hoped between the downed Driver/Blade pair and the Monoceros.
"What is her deal? She could be on the winning side, and yet she's protecting those two…" Roman said, unable to comprehend her behaviour.
"It's because it's the right thing to do," Ruby stated, glaring at the master criminal. "They were clearly friends, based on her reaction to him being killed!"
Roman rolled his eyes.
Seemingly ignoring her demands, the Monoceros opened fire once again, forcing Dromarch to deploy his own forcefield to defend everyone. However, the ship's constant fire eventually broke through Dromarch's shields, the last blast knocking Nia unconscious and sending her flying towards the edge of the ancient ship.
"Nia!" Rex cried out as he ran after her.
"What did that idiot expect? It broke through Pyra's shields, it was obviously gonna break through hers…" Mercury stated.
As Nia fell overboard, Rex jumped after her, barely managing to grab her hand. Once he did, he fired his anchor upward, latching on to the edge of the ancient ship. This left him and Nia dangling by a literal thread, unable to move.
"You're a tough one, kid, but there's only one way this could end." Malos declared as the Monoceros trained its turrets on Rex and Nia.
"Oh, shi-" Rex began to curse, only for the turrets to spontaneously explode.
"Saved by the bell. Or, um, explosion in this case." Yang stated.
"Enough with the pu-, oh" Weiss replied, and then glowered upon seeing Yang's smile.
"What? You're the one who thought that. Not me!"
"What's that!?" Malos yelled in outrage, seeing something in the distance.
Looking towards the stern of the ancient ship, Rex noticed what exactly Malos saw in the distance. Emerging from the shadows of the night was a white draconic Titan with a metal shed on its shoulders and a crane on its tail. It was Rex's home and grandfather figure, Azurda.
"What the…"
"By the Brothers…"
"Is that a monster?
"Gramps!" Rex cheered as the Titan flew between the ancient ship and Monoceros.
The audience collectively said the same thing. "GRAMPS?!"
Chrono explained. "That is the titan in which the kid, Rex, lives on. His name is Azurda and Rex affectionately calls him "Gramps".
Flying up and around for another pass, Azurda was able to get a good look at who was responsible for putting his charge through so much grief.
"Jin. Still, you persist." Azurda mused, "And is that… Malos!?"
"Azurda…" Jin whispered to himself, recognizing the Titan.
"They all really recognise each other…what is this? A family reunion?" Qrow joked.
As he swooped down, Azurda fired a volley of fireballs from his mouth, creating cover for his rescue. However, one fireball, which was headed for Jin, was utterly destroyed with a single sword swing.
"A gigantic creature that can breathe fire. Reminds me of some grimm we've studied," Jaune stated.
Salem went into thought. Should I make some new grimm types based off that titan?
"Rex! Get on!" Azurda cried as he slid across the side of the ancient ship.
Seeing the opportunity, Pyra hopped on Dromarch's back, who promptly ran along the side of the ancient ship with Azurda.
"Got it!" Rex called out.
"Rex!" Pyra cried as the Blades approached their Drivers.
Once they met, Dromarch caught the still unconscious Nia in his mouth while Pyra pulled Rex onto Dromarch's back. Once everyone was together, Dromarch leaped off the side of the ancient ship and was promptly caught by Azurda.
"Nice. The entire crew is there." Yang noted.
"Great, now they can all die together." Blake replied, calling back to what Yang said in initiation.
"We're going! Hold on tight!" Azurda yelled as he took off.
"Stop them! Open fire!" Malos ordered.
Deploying more turrets, the Monoceros opened fire on Azurda, bombarding him with missiles. The attack utterly destroyed the living quarters on his back, but it did not stop Azurda from flying.
Ruby gasped. "Oh no! The poor home!"
"At least they're alive." Weiss reminded her partner.
"Turn her around!" Malos screamed, "Ready the cannon!"
"It's no use. They're out of range." Jin lamented as he watched the Titan escape.
"Damn it!" he growled, "They gave us the slip."
"… Turn around." Jin ordered, making his way to the Monoceros.
"We're not chasing them?" Malos questioned.
"The Aegis has awakened. That's enough for now." Jin replied, "I'll have Akhos hunt them down."
"… That'll have to do." Malos relented, staring off into the horizon the Aegis escaped over.
The screen turned to black.
"Well…that was something."
As per the usual routine, the entire group of characters proceeded to talk about the universe they just saw.
"Man! That was so cool! Rex was hyah! And then Malo was 'I don't think so!'" Ruby animatedly recounted the story.
"Yeah, I know. We watched the same thing, Rubes." Yang reminded her dear sister.
"It was cool, but it was weird seeing my hair like that." Pyrrha stated.
"I kinda liked it." Jaune replied.
"Yeah, yeah…I agree. It was a good haircut." Pyrrha immediately backtracked on her statement.
Whilst the rest of her team continued to chat with Team RWBY about the viewing, Pyrrha pondered about it instead. Seeing herself as a heroine whose goal was to save the world, to save Alrest, it helped reaffirm her belief. It is my destiny...to help protect others. To protect the world.
Qrow continued the same argument he had with Raven after the previous viewing.
"Well then, Rae. I don't see how any of that could relate to what's happening on Remnant."
"Remember what Chrono said? That everybody there were basically humans? That can apply to our world, since a lot of people consider humans and faunus to be different."
"True…"
Meanwhile, the criminals were mocking the show.
"Man…that was so corny. Who would like that type of stuff?" Roman said.
Neo signed to her partner. Little Red liked it.
"That's even more of a reason to dislike it, then."
"Watts, I want you to hack into that faunus girl's camera and get any photos of the titan, or animals that she took." Salem ordered the scientist. "I need it so I can make them into new types of grimm."
"Of course, ma'am."
After a bit, Chrono got their attention. "Okay guys! Next one is ready! And it's a special case."
And that's it for Xenoblade Chronicles 2!
This was longer than I expected - even if this chapter was the shortest time I ever spent on making one. It makes sense though, since the transcript was so long. Not complaining though, Animan10 did a good job of explaining everything. This chapter is still shorter than Idealism, somehow.
Once again, thank you Animan10!
I also just want to clarify (JUST IN CASE) that I did not dislike the transcript, nor did I dislike Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I was just showing how some characters might not like the premise. I watched the scene and thought it was cool. Voice acting was a bit shoddy though…
[1] - The Aegis in Greek Mythology is a shield.
[2] - The original transcript had Adam as Jin, Cardin as Malos, and Blake as Nia. Jaune was meant to be Rex.
[3] - Pyra is pronounced PAI-RAH. Pyrrha is pronounced PEER-RAH.
[4] - I originally had it that Ozpin knew about the tree in the Ever After, but I changed it when I watched all of Volume 9. I'm not too sure that Ozpin might know, and I wanted to make it more accurate.
FINAL NOTE BEFORE REPLYING TO SOME REVIEWS:
The Chapter next week will be the music chapter I mentioned last week (The one where they listen to some music from Earth!). The title below should hint you at the Artist and Album I'll be covering. Hope you guys enjoy it!
I'LL GIVE YOU GUYS A HINT: I SAID, OOHHHHHHHH-
AND NOW TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS/SUGGESTIONS FROM REVIEWS:
Titanmaster 117: Thanks for the suggestion of transcripts. And now that you mentioned, I did check Coeur Al'Aran's profile and he (TECHNICALLY) said it was allowed, so I might credit him and do a reaction - I saw and read some fics that reacted to Relic of the Future, after all - now that I think of it. I don't know which story though. Maybe his new one - Arc Royale.
Yisuslol23: Yeah, you have a point. That's a good part of critique. I'll try to find a way to find a new way for Cardin to get involved in these reactions that don't involve racism then.
Egus235: I'm glad you liked it man! And I'm also glad you got the part where Adam was questioning himself. I wanted to add some bits in each chapter where the characters question how the story might apply to them. As for Record of Ragnarok - I might not do it since the anime is so bad to watch.
Phantommore: I might not do your suggestion (sorry), but I do like your idea of reaction that may curb Ruby and Jaune's hero worship of Huntsman. I wanted to start that a little with Ozpin in the first chapter. I didn't do it immediately, but I want to build up to it.
thfire21: Thank you! I hope you like my take on the characters reacting to music. Especially since I rarely see a fic where RWBY characters react to music. From what I've seen, it's mostly in the Fairy Tail fandom, and has Natsu singing a bunch of songs while the guild listens on.
See you guys next time!
NEXT CHAPTER: After Hours