Chapter 24
After getting to Wind Path teams RRWBY and JNPOR got ready for the trip to Argus. As they were traveling on the Argus Limited, they were attacked by Grimm who eventually detached the train cars. Now they, along with Maria Calavera, have to get to Argus on foot.
The group finally got to the Farm that Yang found on her bike. They walked to the front gate but found it completely unlocked. Qrow took the lead and opened the gate. He looked behind him and raised his hand, warning the others as he walked in.
"Careful. Farmers out here often put down Grimm traps. Watch where you step." Qrow said. Qrow turned into a bird and flew to the house. He turned back and tested the wood. He grabbed the door handle and twisted it. He moved it slowly in. There was no trap set up for them in the entrance. Qrow turned around.
Rosa was in the air and then brought her hands down on the ground. All the snow was removed leading to the house. She landed on the ground and smirked.
"Looks like we're good." Rosa said.
"Come on. We need to check inside." Qrow said.
Ruby moved up ahead of Oscar. After Ruby passed Yang, she decided to slow down. Oscar saw her approaching.
"So… You feeling okay?" Yang asked.
"Yes. I am." Oscar said.
"Really?" Yang said, in an unbelieving tone.
"No. Not really." Oscar said.
"That's better. What's causing all this trouble?" Yang asked.
"I'm sure you heard before." Oscar said.
"I did. You know, you don't have to wait until you explode, right?" Yang asked.
"I know." Oscar said.
"I get it. All this is new to you and honestly, it's still kind of new to us. We have this power that we didn't think was possible, and we've had to learn how to use it wisely. It's not easy. And we had training beforehand. You kind of got thrown in the deep end of all this." Yang said.
"I don't want to sound entitled or ungrateful. I know you all welcomed me in with open arms even though I was a stranger. I know that I can do a lot of good with these powers. I wish I didn't feel so terrible about what I did." Oscar said.
"No, don't think like that. Your emotions are an important part of what makes you, you Oscar." Yang said.
"And who exactly am I?" Oscar asked. Yang ruffled his hair.
"You're figuring that out right now. You don't have to worry about that. But… if you want me to tell you what I've seen…" Yang said.
"I don't think that tone really gives me a choice." Oscar said.
"Good, you're learning. I see… honesty. Honestly, I don't think I've heard you lie yet." Yang said.
"Oh." Oscar said.
"Except when you start to talk about feelings." Yang added. They kept walking.
"Do you see me as just Ozpin?" Oscar asked.
"Have I ever called you Ozpin?" Yang asked. "When you're in control I mean."
Oscar smiled. He looked down at his hands. He looked back up and felt more determined. Yang patted him on the back.
"I didn't really take you to be the 'advice-giving' type of person." Oscar said.
"Why not?" Yang asked with a smile. They walked inside the farmhouse. Everyone else was there.
The air was heavy, and the house was cold. Everything was dark, and every step creaked. Weiss was in the living room and raised her inactivated lightsaber at the fireplace. There were fresh logs in the fireplace, but they were never lit. The fire started to warm the air and gave some light.
"I don't get it. The empty towns we went through were all damaged or unfinished. But this place looks... fine." Ruby said.
"Maybe everyone left in a hurry. Before things took a turn?" Weiss said. Weiss looked around and saw a layer of dust on everything. She touched one of the couches and brought her hand back to see it covered in dust. Nora sneezed.
"They haven't cleaned in forever." Nora said. They continued throughout the house. Rosa and Oscar found a closed door.
"Something feels wrong about this place." Rosa said.
"I think I know what you mean. It feels dark. Cold." Oscar said. He put his hand to the door. He opened his eyes wide.
"What is it?" Rosa asked.
"Does the door feel frozen to you?" Oscar asked. Rosa put her hand on it and closed her eyes. She opened it wide and brought her hand back.
"Like a blizzard. But also…" Rosa brought her hand to her face. She felt the heat come back to her hand.
"There may be something in this room." Oscar said. He turned around and saw Weiss there. Weiss stepped next to them and grabbed the doorknob. She started to open the room. A smell hit the three. It smelled… old. Ancient.
"What is that?!" Weiss yelled.
Rosa stepped into the room and saw dark husks on the bed.
"Bodies." Rosa said. Oscar stepped into the room as well.
"They're mummified." Oscar said. He looked at the nightstand next to the bodies and picked up a talisman. Maria walked into the room and pushed everyone aside. She grabbed the talisman from Oscar and looked at it. She tossed it in the air and brought her lightsaber out from her cane. She cut the talisman in half. It hit the ground. She raised her hand, and a light surrounded it.
"That's better." Maria said. The light blue blade hummed in the air. Maria put it back into her cane.
"Why'd you do that?" Rosa asked.
"It was a Sith Talisman. It wasn't what killed them, but that thing radiated evil. It could have been attracting the Grimm." Maria said. She went over to a bookcase and grabbed a stack of journals. She left the room. Weiss and Oscar left. Rosa stayed behind and looked at the bodies. She stared at them.
It was like what would happen if she fully drained someone. She reached her hand out at the body but stopped before she touched it. She thought better of it. She used the force to move the blankets off of the bodies. She didn't see anything that showed they would have been Sith. Perhaps they were followers of the Sith, or perhaps a Sith was here recently.
They all met back in the living room after going through the house. Qrow and Maria went to the other houses on the farm. They opened the door and Maria shook her head.
"It's the same in every house." Qrow said. He looked at everyone. "Bodies. Every bed in every home. It's like the whole estate just went to sleep and never woke up."
"The Storm's picking up. Looks like we may be stuck in here for a bit." Rosa said. She looked out the window.
"You can't get us out of here?" Weiss asked.
"I'd have to be using my magic the whole time. I don't know if I have enough energy to deal with that. It looks like Maku ended up helping me with that at least. I can tell that the magic takes a lot out of me, but it could be worse if I didn't have a lot of endurance." Rosa said.
Maria went to a seat and raised her hand. The dust went off the chair. She sat down and placed the journals next to her and opened the first one.
"I'm going to do some light reading." Maria said.
"We should look around the house. If this place wasn't abandoned, it might still have supplies we could use." Ruby said.
"Hey, yeah. Maybe even a car." Oscar said.
"We may need two." Pyrrha said.
"I'll do another sweep of the grounds. No one else goes anywhere alone." Qrow said.
"Yang or Rosa have to be with the people going outside." Jaune said.
"Why?" Yang asked.
"I think I might have an idea." Rosa raised her hand and created a ball of fire.
"Oh." Yang said.
"Ren and I will look for food." Nora said.
"Is it ethical to take food from here?" Ren asked.
"They aren't going to use it." Qrow said.
"Blake, want to go check the shed?" Yang asked.
"Sure." Blake said. They pulled up their cloaks and opened the door. The shed was right next to the house, so they weren't outside long. Blake still stayed close to Yang. Yang used the force to create a fire trail leading to the shed. She stopped it before it got to the shed. They made it and looked around. There was a tractor that was severely damaged.
"Something tells me that's not street legal." Blake said.
"What do you think happened here?" Yang asked.
"There's that well in the square. Maybe water contamination?" Blake said.
"Maybe. But that wouldn't explain the evil feeling around us." Yang said.
"I was wondering about that too." Blake said. They continued looking through the shed.
"Found something." Yang said. Blake came over and they found a flatbed trailer.
"How is this going to help us?" Blake asked.
"I could tie it to Bumblebee. The clones gave it a lot more horsepower with those upgrades." Yang said.
It may be tight… We do have some teammates who can fly." Blake said.
"Uncle Qrow, Rosa… and Weiss now, right?" Yang asked.
"Yeah." Blake said with a smirk. Her smirk faded. "I think we should leave as soon as this blizzard lets up. Something isn't right here. I can feel it. Like… something's trying to pull at me."
"Weird… I don't feel it." Yang said.
"It might just be my nerves…" Blake said.
"Or it could be… Sun." Yang said. Blake didn't look at Yang, but she nodded her head.
"How is he going to forgive us for making him wait?" Blake asked.
"Blake. We're doing everything we can. You know that. And you already learned to stop blaming yourself." Yang said. Blake brought her hand to her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't. But we were there. It's been gnawing at me that he's the one that has to suffer." Blake said. She brought her hand down.
"We can't do anything out here." Yang said.
"I wish that made it easier." Blake said.
"I know it doesn't. I'm sorry." Yang said. "We do have to go inside before we freeze to death."
Jaune found a cellar, but all the candles along the wall were put out. He got into his backpack and began looking for a set of matches. Weiss stood there, with a smile on her face.
"Want a hand?" Weiss asked.
"You know where matches are?" Jaune asked.
"Better." Weiss raised her lightsaber and caused all the candles to go off at once.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot you could do that." Jaune said.
"It's okay." Weiss said. Ruby stepped into the cellar. Bottles of Alcohol covered the walls.
"Great." Ruby rolled her eyes as she saw everything.
"They… had quite a fine taste." Weiss said. She grabbed a bottle and looked at the label.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
"Look at this rum. This would normally cost about one hundred lien. But it's here." Weiss said.
"How do you know just by the bottle?" Jaune asked.
"You never got to meet my parents." Weiss said.
"I'm sorry." Jaune said.
"It's fine. They weren't the best company." Weiss said.
"But they were your parents." Jaune said. Weiss let out a sigh.
"So, these people had money. That could explain how they got a Sith talisman." Ruby said. Pyrrha entered the room. She looked around the walls and shook her head.
"What a waste of money." Pyrrha said. Jaune turned to her.
"Did you find anything?" Jaune asked.
"Blake and Yang found a flatbed. With a hole in the wheel. Ren and Nora went outside to see if they could fix the wheel." Pyrrha said.
"Where's Oscar? He could help with this farm stuff." Weiss said.
"He's with Maria. I think Ozpin and Maria are catching up." Pyrrha said.
"No food yet." Ruby said. She saw another door.
"Want to check it out?" Ruby said.
"I'll go." Pyrrha said.
"Do you think we could use all this for shooting practice?" Weiss asked.
"I don't see why not." Jaune said. "But are you sure that's the best use of our time?" Jaune asked.
"Probably not. But there isn't much else to do." Weiss said. Pyrrha stopped Ruby before they went down to the wine cellar.
"Found some food." Pyrrha pointed out. Ruby looked over and smiled. She grabbed a can of beans.
"Yes!" Ruby shouted.
"How old are those?" Weiss asked.
"It's canned. It can't go bad." Ruby said.
"Ruby, how are you alive?" Weiss asked.
"The can says it's still good for another few months." Pyrrha said.
"How's that possible?" Jaune asked.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Think of all the dust we've seen. Hell, just pick anything here up. How is there so much dust if that's still good?" Jaune asked.
"We did find the door unlocked. It could have been dust from the most recent harvests. A few months ago." Weiss said.
"Maybe…" Jaune said.
Rosa found herself in the master bedroom once again. She looked at the bodies in the bed. They had succumbed to something. She felt something dark in the air.
"Umbra. Why did you betray me?" Umbra turned around and saw Kaiser. She opened her eyes wide and took a step back. She looked over at the dead bodies and looked back up to see Kaiser wasn't there. Rosa took a few deep breaths. She felt sweat forming.
"Kaiser… Salem betrayed me." Rosa said.
Rosa still felt something evil in the room. She looked at the bed again and used the force to lift it in the air. She saw one floorboard that wasn't set right.
Rosa knelt down after moving the bed and poked at the board. It moved. She grabbed it and pulled it up. She found a small box. She grabbed it and pulled it out. She looked all over the box for a way to open it. She eventually found a small button. She pressed it, and the box began to open. After it opened, Rosa saw a Sith Holocron. She picked it up and felt the darkness coming off it. She held the Holocron in her hand. She knew how to open it. She knew that if she delved into the darkness, she could open it.
"Go ahead, apprentice." Vanus's voice called out. Rosa looked around.
"No. I'm no Sith." Rosa said.
"You've touched the darkness. You are holding it right now. It would be too easy for you to open it." Vanus said.
"You never were meant to be a Jedi, Padawan." Maku's voice called to her. She saw him appear. Rosa took a step back. She grabbed her lightsaber and turned it on. She pointed it at Maku.
"Good. Kill me again, Rosa. Prove me right once more." Maku said.
"Shut up." Rosa said. The red light covered Maku's face. His eyes turned as red as the blade. He reached out an arm and it went through the lightsaber. Rosa stepped back until she hit the wall. She felt her lightsaber hit the ground. She heard it bounce. She felt Maku's hand wrap around her neck. She felt him starting to choke her. Rosa's eyes opened in fear.
"Rosa!" Oscar shouted. He took out his lightsaber and stabbed the Holocron.
Maku disappeared. Rosa saw that it was her own hand choking her. She dropped the destroyed Holocron. She dropped to the floor coughing.
"You shouldn't have been alone." Oscar said. Rosa held onto his shoulder as she was catching her breath. She finished a coughing fit and got her breath back. She looked at the Holocron.
"This place is evil." Rosa said. She grabbed Maku's lightsaber. She examined it. She saw his face again. The Holocron somehow figured out how to manipulate her.
"Are you okay?" Oscar asked.
"I saw him. I saw Maku." Rosa said.
"He wasn't real." Oscar said. Rosa looked over at Oscar. She grabbed his arm.
"I am real." Oscar said.
"They must have been collecting dangerous artifacts." Rosa said.
"Just like Maria said." Oscar said.
"We need to destroy this place." Rosa said.
Rosa went to the living room, hand on her head. Maria looked at her and Oscar.
"We found another Sith artifact." Oscar showed Maria the destroyed Holocron. She used the force to grab it from Oscar. She looked at it from every angle she could see.
"Good job, Orlando. Oscar, sorry." Maria said.
"It made me see people from my past. My former masters… who I killed." Rosa said.
"I see. In the same room as the Talisman. The head of this household, Bartleby. Apparently, he and several other families founded this little settlement to try and live on their own. It sounds like it worked, at least for a spell." Maria said, lifting up the journal.
"Grimm?" Oscar asked.
"Sith?" Rosa asked.
"A bit of both. Bartleby started out as a regular man it seems. The Grimm slowed down their farming and made everything harder... It's a shame, really. He seemed like quite the ambitious fellow, always thinking of new schemes to overcome the odds. He was at his wit's end when one of the other settlers told him about the Sith. Didn't use the name. Called them dark protectors. It looks like that one had some connection with the Sith. Probably one of the cultists that Salem likes to send out every so often." Maria said.
"It worked?" Rosa asked.
"It did. This farm is in a somewhat strategic location. It's located somewhat close to cities like Argus and Ephus, but far enough out of the way that they could hide things here." Maria said.
"What did they get out of it?" Oscar asked.
"Besides protection, quite a bit of money. Enough that Bartleby was able to expand the farm somewhat. He had people looking to join him faster than anyone thought possible. He talks about this farm one day being the start of a city." Maria said.
"That might explain why he had such a well-stocked bar." Ruby said. Rosa turned around to see Ruby and the others.
"Is that a Sith Holocron?" Jaune asked.
"Already destroyed. Thanks to Oscar here." Maria said.
"I had to save Rosa. I felt the evil coming from it and knew it was causing her to…" Oscar saw the others turn their attention to Rosa.
"It made me see Maku. It made me think he was choking me. It made me choke myself." Rosa said.
"Ironically, this may be the best hiding spot for us." Qrow said. He came in from checking on the other houses. He tossed on the ground a sliced-through Sith helmet.
"It tried talking to me." Qrow said.
"Whatever Bartleby was getting into; I don't think it was worth it." Pyrrha said.
Qrow walked into the bar. He grunted as he saw everything. He grabbed a bottle.
"This Sithspawn scum got rich off the Sith." Qrow said. He held the bottle. He tossed it against the wall. He listened to it shatter. He felt a pull of darkness. He was fighting back all the whispered sweet nothings from the shadows. He grabbed another bottle and looked at it.
He saw Willow Schnee in bed during their night of passion. He remembered listening to her complain about her life. It wasn't a one-night stand. It was a longer affair. It started out as a fling, but Qrow kept coming back.
He knew why. He felt a familiar spirit with Willow. He was a broken man. His sister had abandoned them. Summer was gone. Tai was mourning. He was on a mission in Atlas for Oz. He was meant to make sure the Winter Maiden was safe. He did, but before he left, he met Willow.
They didn't love each other. They loved how they were both miserable. They were using each other's bodies to express the bitter hatred they had built up inside of them.
He tossed the bottle. This place… fuck this place.
He saw the wine cellar. He saw that there was still a lock on it. They hadn't gone down there yet. He felt something evil down there.
He heard the memories of a thousand bad nights coming from the bottles. He heard the sounds of his mistakes. He closed his eyes and saw the women he had used. He saw the hurt and betrayal on them as he left them. He saw Willow again as he told her he had to leave. He saw her heart break. He told her that's all that would happen with him. He didn't deserve love.
No one like him deserved it.
"Uncle Qrow, what are you doing?" Ruby asked.
Qrow's head shot up. He turned around and looked at Ruby. He saw Summer appear for a flash. His eyes widened, then he realized who it was.
"Ruby." Qrow said.
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked. "You haven't been drinking, have you?"
"No. No, I haven't." Qrow said.
"Why are you here?" Ruby asked.
"Just… double checking." Qrow said. Ruby scowled at him.
"Is that why I found you staring at all the bottles like that?" Ruby asked.
"I'm sorry for worrying you." Qrow said. Ruby wrapped her arms around him.
"It's this place." Ruby said.
"I know. It likes bringing up bad memories." Qrow said.
They sat in the living room. The lamp was letting off a shallow blue glow in the night light. Rosa had been able to use her maiden powers to create some food for everyone. Nora suggested it after they looked at the cans again.
"So… are we going to go down the wine cellar?" Nora asked.
"Something's down there. We can all sense the pull coming from that direction, right?" Jaune said.
"Probably more Sith relics." Ren said. He found a Sith lightsaber. It had a black crystal that they all decided to destroy.
Rosa looked at the Relic.
"Do we have to?" She asked.
"Why wouldn't we?" Yang asked. Rosa looked up and looked back at the relic.
"Rosa?" Yang said.
"Sorry. Using that magic made me tired." Rosa said.
"I… didn't want to say it, but I'm also pretty tired." Blake said.
"It is getting late." Ruby said.
"Who's taking the first watch?" Jaune asked.
"I could." Ren offered.
"Thanks Ren." Ruby said.
Everyone went to lie down. Ren looked out into the darkness. He saw the snow pelting the ground. Nothing else out there. He didn't know if he should be seeing anything out there.
He didn't know how long he had been staring out into the darkness. He felt his eyes starting to get heavy. That wasn't right. He was able to handle more than this. He'd always been able to handle more than this.
He closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them he saw his father outside. He saw a massive hole in his chest. He tapped on the window.
"They are here." Li Ren said.
Ren's eyes were wide open. He felt something touch his hand. He jumped and looked down. He saw Nora… with the life behind drained out of her!
Ren opened his eyes and spun his head around the room. He saw everyone sleeping. He felt his heart racing. He looked and saw Nora sleeping. He went down to her level to see her face. She was normal. He let out a sigh. He stood back up. He looked out and saw the snow was still falling. He made sure his breathing was as steady as it was going to get.
"I hate this place." Ren said. Ren still felt the evil all around him.
Blake was walking in a dark room. She turned her head from side to side. She saw cells with people. If you could call them that anymore. Some of them were alive in the fact that they still had a beating heart and were breathing, but that didn't mean much here. Wherever here was.
She saw someone who had one arm on them that looked completely different from what should have been. Almost like a monster's arm. She walked down the path. She realized where she was. She ran as fast as she could and found the door. She threw it open and saw Sun there. He lay in a pile of his own blood. He was barely breathing. Blake rushed over to him. She put her hands on him. He looked at her with fear in his eyes.
"No. Please. Just one day." Sun begged. Blake's heart broke. The light Sun had to him was gone. Blake was seeing everything for the first time. He was naked and every part of him had cuts and bruises. Sun was missing an eye. The door slammed behind her. Blake spun around and saw Kaiser there. He took out his lightsaber.
"You stole Rosa from me." Kaiser said.
Blake reached down for her lightsaber, but it wasn't there. Blake took a step back. She stepped into a pile of Sun's blood.
Blake turned back, but instead of Sun, she saw Rosa on the train. She saw Rosa in chains again. She knew everything that happened to her now. Myst threw Blake back against the wall of the train. She stepped next to Rosa. Blake saw Rosa change into Sun. Myst changed into Salem.
"You failed Rosa here so long ago. You are failing Sun now." Salem said.
"Shut up." Blake said.
"I'm going to break him. In every single way. Physically, emotionally, spiritually…" Salem had a devilish smile on her face as she looked at Blake "Sexually."
Blake rushed forward. She tried to kick Salem, only for Salem to grab her foot and slam her into the ground.
Blake got back up and saw Sun's face. There was no life left in his eyes. Blake saw Salem put her hand on Sun's chest. Sun tried to move away but couldn't. Blake found her lightsaber, finally, and rushed Salem. Salem turned her head and grabbed Blake's arm. Blake was shocked, then she felt a rush of pain go up her arm. Salem held onto her arm with an iron grip. Salem used the force-to-force Blake to see. Salem forced Blake to swing her lightsaber down into Sun's heart.
"No!" Blake shot up. She was breathing heavily. Ruby and Yang woke up. Everyone else was still asleep. Ren turned back to them.
"Blake, are you okay?" Yang asked.
"She made me kill Sun." Blake said, her voice cracking.
"It was just a dream." Ruby said.
"It felt real." Blake said.
"Remember where we are Blake." Yang said. Blake took a few deep breaths. She looked around and remembered where they were. She shook her head. She needed to catch her breath. That was it.
Weiss started to get up. She saw everyone else who was up.
"What time is it?" Weiss asked.
"Three in the morning." Ruby said. They let Ren go to sleep. Yang took watch, and nothing eventful happened. Ruby took over.
"I'm going to the bathroom." Weiss said.
"Buddy system." Ruby said.
"Don't you dare follow me." Weiss said. She got up. She knew where to go. That was a neat trick that Shaak Ti showed her, to almost instantly memorize the layout of places. Of course, it was a lot easier with this size of a building. She closed the door and looked in the mirror. Her mother was there. Weiss took a step back.
"There's a relic in here too?" Weiss asked.
"I'm here, Weiss." Willow said.
"No. You died." Weiss said. The image of Willow frowned. It tried to crawl out of the mirror. Weiss used the force to rip the mirror off the wall. She found it was easily detached, and a stone tablet with Sith writings was behind it. Weiss took out her lightsaber and pointed it at the tablet. She felt a dark spirit surrounding her.
"Disappointment!" She heard her father say. She brought her lightsaber forward and stabbed the tablet. Weiss used the force to take it out of the wall and held it. She opened the window in the bathroom and tossed the tablet out. As it was in the air, she used the force to crush it. She felt the spirit rushing toward her. She raised her hand and let the light side enter her. She created a light shield surrounding her. The spirit slammed into the shield and disappeared. Weiss lowered her hand.
"The storm better let up soon." Weiss said.
Weiss looked at the hole in the wall. She brought out her scroll and turned the flashlight on. She looked at the hole in the ground and saw a small spider crawling along the stones. She used the force to grab the spider and brought it closer to her. Her eyes widened as she brought out her lightsaber, slashing it in half as well. It was a Grimm, a dangerous one. It was able to create powerful illusions.
"Maybe that was what made the spirit…" Weiss said. She jumped when she heard knocking at the door.
"Weiss, why is your lightsaber on?" Ruby asked.
Weiss turned it off.
"I found things that needed to be destroyed." Weiss said.
"Okay…" Ruby said.
Maria got up and left the living room. She felt darkness around them. She knew there were more Sith artifacts in the house. She went to the bar and brought out the last journal. The Jedi were acting strange. She needed to find the answer. She continued to read in the journal. She knew that Qrow couldn't be in this room. She heard the whispers calling out to her.
"The words never stop anymore. The Sith brought new artifacts and told me that they were going to need to store them here. Nippers left the community. He said that he was going to Argus to get more people to move to the farm." Bartleby wrote.
Maria looked around at the bottles. She grabbed one and opened it. She grabbed a glass. She poured some in. She brought her necklace to the glass. It started to glow, and it took a sip of the drink. It didn't glow. So, the drinks weren't poisoned.
"It's been a few days now. Nippers has never been gone this long. Ginger was beginning to get worried. We hadn't seen some of the others in a few days. But…"
The next few lines were skipped and covered in ink. Like Bartleby didn't have the strength to move his pen anymore. She didn't like any of this. She could feel Grimm around them.
"I finally hired some huntsmen. It's been a few days since I last wrote in this. I don't know what's going on anymore. The livestock died. But Turkey didn't do anything about it. He was in charge of that. I don't know what's going on with everyone anymore.
The hunters came here and checked around the farm. They didn't want to accept anything from us. They were off-put by something. I have no idea what, but we could all tell. I say all, but it was just my family. We were the only ones who came out to meet the hunters. I'd never known Ginger or Turkey not to greet hunters.
They told us that we had to leave. They told us that we were infested. There were no pests on this farm! I almost threw them out. But the anger rolled off me almost immediately. I couldn't care to stay mad. They told us to block off the well. That there was a dangerous Grimm down there. They'd only seen it a few times before. Didn't ever hear about it before…"
Bartleby stapled into the next page of his journal a page from a Hunter textbook. It was the page about Apathy Grimm. Maria opened her eyes wide. Things were starting to click together. The next page was skipped.
"The Sith came back and brought more relics with them. They had us put them everywhere in our house. There were glowing pyramid things they gave us to store around the house. I put one in my bedroom. In the safe in the bar. The Sith put more throughout the house.
Jacks started talking about seeing things at night. He said that there were ghosts in the cellar. He said it like it was an everyday thing to see. And I shook my head. Even that took energy from me.
I brought my journals into the bedroom. I can barely force myself out of bed anymore. Lily doesn't complain anymore.
I found myself with a little bit more energy. I went to the bar and opened a bottle of my favorite drink. I almost drowned myself while drinking. I barely had the energy to swallow. The ghosts were in the bar, but they just ignored me. I checked on Jacks. He was dead. I went to Olivia. She was dead. I went back to bed. Lily died last night.
I know I'm going to die soon. But I can't feel any fear. I can't feel anything.
Did the Sith betray us? They were the last ones in the wine cellar. Maybe they broke the seals we made. I heard the scratching at the door. I'm guessing everyone else is dead."
That was the last line. Maria got up. The sunlight had started to shine. Ruby had somehow fallen asleep. Maria brought her cane against the leg of the chair Ruby was leaning on. It fell back and Ruby hit her head against the ground.
"Ow." Ruby said. Yang got up.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked. There was less life to it now.
"Get up." Maria said.
"Do we have to?" Yang asked.
"If you want to live, yes." Maria said. This wasn't good. She knew that there had to be a lot of them now if they were getting Ruby and Yang.
"What?" Weiss started to get up.
Maria poked Jaune in the back. He opened his eyes and tried to get up. He struggled to get himself off the floor.
"Where's the relic?" Maria asked. Ruby opened her eyes wide and couldn't see the relic anymore. Qrow opened the front door and collapsed. Ruby went over to him.
"There was a spirit. It… It took over my body." Qrow said.
"Dammit. The Grimm have the Relic." Maria said. Oscar got up.
"Apathy." Oscar said.
"Yes. And a lot of them. In the basement." Maria said. Ruby and her team finally got up. Nora and Ren were struggling to get off the floor.
"You need to get down there." Maria said. Ruby went outside first. She saw the well.
"Down there." Ruby said. Ruby and Yang jumped down first. Blake and Weiss followed. Rosa stood at the edge. She got her leg up and over the well. But she felt this pressure on her head. She couldn't focus on anything. She felt Maria poke her leg.
"Go." Maria said. Rosa tried to shake her head but couldn't. She brought her other leg over and dropped. She used her magic to help her land.
Ruby took out her lightsabers and saw a hoard of large skeletal Grimm standing together. They moved forward. One of them had the Relic in their hand.
Yang turned on her lightsaber and rushed forward. She slashed, cutting off the head of one of the Apathy Grimm. It faded, but more were there. Weiss brought up her lightsaber and sent out a massive ice spike into the chest of another Apathy. Blake jumped in the air and cut another one down.
Rosa raised her hand and used the force to grab the relic. It flew to her, but the Apathy let out a scream. Rosa dropped to the ground. Blake and Weiss dropped to their knees. Yang had a knee on the ground. Ruby was able to stay on her feet.
Rosa started to get back up. She started to get back up. Ruby used the force to get the relic back.
"We have to get out of here." Ruby said. She put away one of her lightsabers. Holding both was getting too heavy. As they started to get away from the Apathy, Maria jumped down. She landed on Ruby's back. Ruby almost fell but she stabilized herself.
"What are you doing?" Ruby asked.
"Team JNPOR got into the Wine Cellar. They found it filled with Sith relics. They're destroying them now." Maria said. She brought out her lightsaber from her cane and slashed at an Apathy arm that stretched to get the Relic. It let out a cry and the arm went back to the Apathy.
They started running along the underground system. They turned a corner and found more Apathy. Rosa sent out a massive fireball down where the Apathy were. They found the door that led to the wine cellar.
As they ran, arms came out of hallways that they couldn't see before. Blake and Weiss were grabbed and brought back to the Apathy.
"No!" Ruby shouted. Ruby's eyes started to glow brightly, causing the Grimm to back away in pain. They dropped Weiss and Blake. They had a brief increase in power. They brought out their lightsaber and cut down the ones that grabbed them. Rosa rushed back and created two ice walls blocking off the Apathy.
"What just happened?" Maria asked. Yang got to the door to the wine cellar. More Apathy Grimm were coming in behind them. They let out another roar. Everyone collapsed this time. Yang was at the top of the stairs, but she couldn't force herself to move.
"Ruby... what color are your eyes?" Maria asked.
"They're... silver..." Ruby said. Maria patted her on the back.
"You should have said so earlier. These are your family and friends, right?" Maria asked.
"What?" Ruby asked. Ruby looked up to see the Grimm getting closer, but Maria laid her head down and covered her ears. Maria's next words sound slightly muffled.
"Don't think about them. Think about the people who love you. Focus on the thought of them, the way they make you feel. Focus!" Maria said. Ruby closed her eyes.
"Life... is beautiful. It is precious. And it must... be protected." Maria said.
The words entered into Ruby's mind. She felt the truth in them. She felt the light in them. She felt power gathering behind her eyes. She saw the flash of her team and opened her eyes. The silver eyes began to gleam. A bright light flashed from her eyes, rushing through the passages below them. The hordes of Apathy Grimm that were following them were wiped out. Ruby felt the effect immediately. Energy and Power rushed back into her. It rushed back into her teammates. The walls of ice crumbled. Yang got up and punched the door, completely breaking it. They were in the wine cellar. Team JNPOR and Qrow were on the ground, getting up. There were dozens of destroyed talismans and Sith artifacts around them.
Ruby turned around and saw more Apathy Grimm.
"There's still more?" Ruby asked. Maria grabbed Qrow and forced him up the stairs. Everyone left the wine cellar. They were in the bar.
"Grab every bottle you can and throw it." Maria said. Qrow raised his hands and caused all the bottles to begin floating.
"I got this." Qrow said.
"Showoff." Yang said. The first Apathy Grimm started climbing the stairs. Qrow heard Em's voice in the bottle.
He sent everything down. The bottles slammed into the Apathy. Yang raised her hand and set the alcohol on fire. Maria took a step in the middle of the room. She brought her cane down on the spot, then took out her lightsaber. She stabbed the spot. She used the force to bring the destroyed Holocron from the floor.
"Give me a blaster cartridge." Rosa said. Blake tossed her one. She raised her hand and quickly formed a small pin. She went into the cartridge and rigged it so it would explode. She tossed it down in the wine cellar.
"Let's get out of here." Rosa said. They left the house as an explosion went off. They got into the flatbed. It didn't fit everyone.
"Weiss, you need to summon that Drexl." Ruby said.
"Fine." Weiss said. She closed her eyes and summoned it.
"Jaune, Nora, you ride with Weiss. Rosa and Uncle Qrow, you two can fly. The rest of us… make sure the Grimm don't try to attack the flatbed. Guns out." Ruby said.
Yang got into the driver's seat. Maria sat behind Yang and smirked.
"How fast can you go?" Maria asked.
"Fast enough." Yang said. They left the farm behind, burning. After a few minutes, nothing was coming after them.
Maria was the first to speak.
"The Apathy. They're not strong or ferocious. They drain your will to go on. Bartleby's estate attracted them by keeping all the Sith relics there. I'm sure we didn't get them all. He didn't know that by accepting the Sith, Bartleby had killed everyone there." Maria said.
Oscar grabbed the journal from the bar before they left. He took it out. He opened a random page.
"Managed to get two away from their pack. Hike back was miserable but got the bastards in the cellar. Wife thinks I was out sealing the waterway entrance. I'll do it tomorrow and tell her the truth once these things take the edge off of everyone. I'm tired." Oscar read.
"It was his last plan. The Sith told them no hunters. He brought two of them to the farm. Hunters came by once toward the end. Told them about the dangers of Apathy. Bartleby's plan worked. No one was angry or sad or scared. No one was anything. And then... no one was left." Maria said.
"It didn't affect Yang or me as bad as the others." Ruby said.
"Apathy Grimm do something similar to force drain. You two must have defenses against it. I should have known. The signs were all there, but I'd never seen an entire settlement withered away like that. I suppose my mind just isn't what it used to be." Maria said. Ruby shifted.
"Miss Calavera? How do you know so much about the Grimm? And in the tunnels, you knew exactly what to say to make me... to make my eyes do that. How?" Ruby asked. Maria smiled.
"Well, isn't it obvious, girl? I had Silver Eyes." Maria said. Ruby looked over at her. She had no idea what to say to that.
"What happened to your eyes?" Blake asked.
"Many years ago, when I was still an active Jedi Master hunting down Sith artifacts I was ambushed. I learned that Salem had sent one of her inner council to kill me. I've called her Tock all these years. Never learned her real name or Sith name. She and her other Sith followers attacked me." Maria said.
"What happened?" Oscar asked.
"I killed every other Sith. It was just me and Tock. We were fighting and she activated her semblance. It made her invincible for a minute. She let everything out at that time. So, did I. But she just wouldn't die. In the end, she got my eyes. She got cocky and thought I was helpless. That mistake cost her head." Maria said.
"What happened to you after that?" Ruby asked.
"I had to stop hunting so much. I eventually left the Jedi to rediscover myself. I ran away. Spent years hiding. Spent years afraid. Only when I learned about my Padawan, Wisteria Quinn died saving people did I realize that I was cowardly. So, I've been traveling hunting once more." Maria said.
"Are you a Jedi again?" Blake asked.
"Yes. Not with the order gathering in Vale. Not yet at least." Maria said.
"You've been thinking about it?" Ruby asked.
"I think I'd be of more use if I stick to the shadows here." Maria said. Weiss lowered the Drexl. She was a natural at flying it. Nora was loving it, but Jaune looked like he was going to be sick.
"I see the gates of Argus." Weiss said.
"I see a road." Rosa said. They stopped and let everyone who was flying on the flatbed. There was Argus, ready for them.
Kaiser stood at the top of the relay dish station. Atlas built this to warn Argus and Mistral about large Grimm invasions. Valum was standing behind him. Kaiser was at the power box at the top. He opened the case and saw all the wires. He grabbed the explosive gel and placed it in between some of the most important electronics.
Kaiser closed the power box and stood up. He reattached the lock and turned around Valum was standing there, her arms folded.
"Everything in order?" Valum asked.
"Yes. Once they activate this station next time, the gel will go off. The dish will be destroyed, and Argus will be unable to get the word out to the outside world." Kaiser said.
"Something's finally gone our way." Valum said. Kaiser pulled out a map of Argus and its weak spots. With Memores and Vox currently in Atlas, they were sent here to stop the Jedi from reaching Atlas. He was sent with Valum to buffet the Jedi. He knew that the only way to keep the Jedi from Atlas was to kill them. It was an option that he was willing to take but he was stopped at the moment. After they vanished with the back half of Argus Limited, they stopped from going to hunt them down.
"What can you tell me about the powers that Umbra gained." Kaiser said.
"ROSA gained the maiden powers, as you know. Vanus didn't teach me much about the power. She did tell me that it was a form of magic. That it gave her powers never before imagined. That she was able to create things. That the power was fueled by imagination as much as skill." Valum said.
"She has been using it. Ira reported that she creates wings to fly around with." Kaiser said.
"Those wings. I have no idea where she thought she could do it, but she did." Valum said.
"Do you plan on killing Umbra?" Kaiser asked.
"I would very much like to." Valum said.
"What will you do after killing her? Do you have the skills needed to become a Darth?" Kaiser asked.
"Of course I do." Valum said.
Kaiser took out a Holocron.
"This was one of the Holocrons that Vanus was meant to pick up. She never did. It belongs to you now." Kaiser said. Valum grabbed it. She looked at it.
"I had a vision. Recently. I saw a war. I saw death like the world has never seen. I have seen the Jedi in Salem's inner realm. I don't believe this is set in stone. But I do believe that it will come to be if we have weak Sith. We need strength." Kaiser said.
"I am strong." Valum said.
"Make sure of it." Kaiser said.
The Jedi got to the front gates of the city. Jaune was on his scroll calling someone. There was an extensive line of people wanting to get in.
Yang turned around to the others, wondering how they were going to get in. Maria waved her hand.
"We're getting in there." Maria said. They got to the front of the line. There was a guard who stood there and looked at everyone. He almost immediately sent them all back.
"Who are you all?" He asked.
"We're Jedi and huntresses in training." Yang said. He looked at the group.
"Jedi? Those monks?" He asked.
"We're not monks." Yang said.
"Do you have any weapons you'd wish to declare?" Yang could see him preparing. Everyone took out a lightsaber. Ruby and Rosa held out both of theirs.
"Anything else?" He asked, already thinking about the paperwork he was going to have to do.
"Lots of guns." Ruby said. "All registered."
"Ruby, you're meant to add that on at the start." Blake said.
"You must be Yang Xaio-Long." A superior came by. She looked at all of them.
"I am." Yang said.
"Which makes this the group Ironwood was wanting to see." She said.
"Do we have to do anything with our weapons?" Yang asked.
"I don't think we could do anything even if we wanted. Welcome to Argus. But a word of warning. It's going to take some time before you can get to Atlas. Something's going on there that's taking a lot of resources away." The woman said.
"Anything we can help with?" Yang asked.
"Not unless you were there right now." She said. They drove into the city of Argus.
"I wonder what's going on." Nora said.
"I'd assume something to deal with the Sith." Ren said.
"A safe bet." Blake said. Jaune moved up to the front of the flatbed.
"Yang…" Jaune directed Yang to a garage. She turned back and looked at him when they parked.
"My sister and her wife have a home in the city. They're right around the corner. Oh, and my sister said that we can ditch the flatbed." Jaune said.
"Nice one Jaune, getting us a place to sleep before we even touch down." Ruby said with a smile on her face.
"How are we getting rid of the flatbed?" Weiss asked.
"I got the perfect idea." Jaune said. After everyone got out, and they got Bumblebee into the Garage safely, Jaune took out a big paper and wrote '50 Lien' on it.
"Who would pay that price?" Weiss asked.
"No one. But someone will steal it for that price." Jaune said.
They followed Jaune around the corner, where Jaune's sister, Saphron Cotta-Arc was. Jaune told them her name as they turned the corner. Saphron was a young woman with wavy, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore an orange sleeveless top with a beige sleeveless vest, light brown pants with orange stitches on each side, and dark brown boots. In addition, she wore her wedding ring on her left hand and a bootlace necklace around her neck.
"Jaune!" She yelled.
"We're coming." Jaune said back.
"You sure made a lot of friends." Saphron said. She looked at everyone.
"Everyone, this is my sister…" Jaune started.
"Oldest sister." Saphron said.
"I was getting to that. This is my oldest Sister Saphron. She has very graciously accepted us into her home until we can get to Atlas." Jaune said.
"You're going to Atlas?" Saphron asked.
"Yes. I thought I told you that." Jaune said.
"That's not going to be easy. Terra can't get any information about what's going on in Atlas. She's been hearing rumors about another attack being planned." Saphron said.
"Another attack?" Rosa asked.
"Some people have been ready for another attack since the Vytal festival. People aren't feeling safe anymore. Sorry, didn't mean to bring that up. So… welcome to my home." Saphron said.
"It's huge." Ruby said.
"Terra's family helped build Argus from the ground up. Now, she's the one who's stayed." Saphron said.
"I didn't know that." Jaune said.
"Just come on in." Saphron said. She opened the doors, and the group entered.
"Sorry for coming so short notice." Pyrrha said.
"You had nowhere else to go, and we have lots of space. It's fine." Saphron said. Pyrrha looked down at the ground. She grabbed Jaune's arm.
"My mother lives in Argus. I'm sorry Jaune, but I have to go see her." Pyrrha said.
"That's okay. Do you need me to come along?" Jaune asked. Everyone went passed them. Saphron stopped and looked at Pyrrha longer.
"You're not staying here tonight, are you Pyrrha?" Saphron asked. She gave a sad smile to Saphron.
"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said.
"No need to apologize. When was the last time you saw your mother?" Saphron asked.
"Too long." Pyrrha said.
"Take Jaune with you." Saphron said.
"Are you sure?" Jaune asked.
"Jaune, she's got to meet you at some point. Why not now?" Saphron asked.
"Thank you." Pyrrha said. Pyrrha took out her scroll and grabbed Jaune's hand, leading them to her mother's home. Saphron smiled at them.
"Never seen him so happy."
Author's Notes: We've done the Brunswick Farm arc and have made it to Argus. This chapter had a lot of traveling in it. The Farm arc was probably the best thing to come out of Volume 6. The Apathy Grimm were one of, if not the last time, that the Grimm were a serious threat, and scary. Their almost human-like design is enough to unnerve, but them sucking the life out of everyone…
What I didn't realize sooner was that Bartleby was a reference to Bartleby the Scrivener. That absolutely shocked me. Which is why I used the names I did for the others who lived on the farms. If anyone hasn't read that story, it's a classic story that's not too long to read. The death of the farmer really tied the reference together.
I see the Apathy in this story using a power similar to force Drain, which is a skill that Jedi can train themselves to withstand. That's why Yang in this was able to do better against the Apathy than the others.
We're in Argus now, which means we got a new place to explore. More Lore to develop for the city and/or characters we're going to find inside. Who knows what we'll find in Argus?
We have had no reviews since last time. We did have a day where the website wasn't working so a bunch of views didn't save. I tried posting on that day, but the website wouldn't allow it.
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-DragonZlayerx12