AN:
Hey everyone. Sorry it's been a while. It's going to continue being slow, just due to life being busy.
Wild, but completely expected that RT was shut down. That Gen;lock show alone was apparently more like a money furnace than a money sink, after all. They just got too big for what they were, brought in too many people and shows. Growth is necessary, but you can't just do it too fast or in the wrong way or else it causes as many problems as stagnation.
To AngelGodess4000: Yeah. Qrow, as a recovering alcoholic who has lost so many people in this story to Salem specifically. Combine that with losing his daughter to her and he'd going to fly off the handle.
Chapter 14: Your Reason
Oscar was sure that Ozpin's presence was having some kind of influence on his decision making. Even putting aside his decision to utilize and refine his Semblance, there were quite a few smaller things that had changed quite a bit. For one, he'd had to brush his hair more this morning when Ozpin began pestering him. And then his outfit... he'd used to dress pretty casually, but his new clothes were a much higher class. A green suit jacket was over a button up shirt and bandages going up to his neck beneath that. A series of belts and pouches lined his upper arms and a belt that looped over his jacket at the hip and on top of an armored cummerbund. His black pants were slacks, and he had more intricate bands around his wrists. He liked it... but he knew that just a few months earlier he wouldn't have. Still, the old bandana was tied tight around his upper left arm, a permanent reminder of where he'd come from.
He clenched his fist and looked over at their ship. He hoped that Ozpin's attitudes wouldn't leak into his mind any more than that. He was already having too much "Ozpin Time" training with the old man in his dreams every night. It was helping him a lot, but the man was obsessed on dedicating just as much time to philosophy and tactics as an actual fight. And a lot of that time was spent fixating on Ozpin's own mistakes. How torn he was between trusting his former students and Sora... and believing that trusting anyone was the reason Salem kept coming back like the cockroach she was. Oscar could already tell that the arguments about Dawn were only being held back by Ozpin's promise to Oscar.
"Oh." Oscar turned at that, smiling as he saw Dawn. Her outfit was different now, too, with a shirt adorned with checkers of gray and white Schnee snowflakes beneath a violet sheer material on her arms that went under elbow length fingerless gloves that each had her emblem in violet on the back of the hands. She had a black vest open over her shirt, pockets full of various Dust and Potions lining the front. Her neck had her new necklace to keep Salem quiet dangling from her neck. She now had tight fighting pants with more pockets attached to the sides of her legs by straps of gray material. The pants were tucked into long, dark violet and red combat boots. Her cloak was fastened by a single clasp at her throat just above the necklace. She pulled her hood down, revealing a simple but long braid running over her left shoulder... and a disappointed look on her face.
"W-what's wrong?" Oscar asked, surprised.
Dawn shrugged. "I guess I just liked your old outfit better," she responded as she walked up and brushed the red leather on his shoulder with one hand. "... You just look a lot older, you know?"
"O-older? So I look cool -"
"No. You're just nerdier now," she cut him off. She turned up to the ship and Oscar noticed her hand drift up to her new necklace. The only thing keeping her from becoming Salem's puppet again.
"Dawn -"
"Dawn! Don't go, I don't want you to!" The pair turned to see Donnie running in ahead of Sora, jumping and tackling his sister with a tight hug. She stumbled back a step as she wrapped her arms around. "Please stay..."
"He really wanted to see you off," Sora said as he walked through the hangar. He stopped by his kids, placing a hand on both of their heads and ruffling their hair. "He missed you a lot when you were gone. But at least this time you can say 'see ya' to your brother instead of just vanishing."
Dawn grimaced. "Yeah, I uh... I deserve that," she remarked. She took a deep breath and looked over at the young boy. "Donnie, I... I'll make sure you get to see Mom again." She saw rather than felt the tears welling up in her own eyes, so she looked up to keep them from falling. Closing her eyes, she looked back down at Donnie and let out a fragile grin. "No matter what, I will find a way."
The boy had no real memories of the woman, and so he could not totally understand what this oath meant to her. It was a promise of something impossible, a gift he did not understand beyond an ache he had lived with his entire life, and so did not know he even felt it. And so, combined with everything Dawn had to struggle with alone, his response caused her Heart to break just a little: "I'd rather you stay!"
There was a moment of silence. Dawn looked at her feet, a torrent of emotions running through her mind. Then: "See you, Donnie." She turned around and left, letting her father grab the boy who tried to chase after her, screaming for his sister to stay. Oscar followed her with his eyes, then shook his head and walked after her. The screams continued even after the door sealed shut behind them and gave them silence.
Dawn quickly sat in the pilot's seat, moving through the takeoff checklist with a somber look. Oscar slowly sat down in the next chair, worriedly watching her move on autopilot, as if she could still hear the sound of her brother crying. Her right hand drifted up to her new necklace on her throat, thumb and forefinger absently rubbing across the face while her left hand guided the ship into space.
Oscar watched her intently, a thousand worries going through his mind. He had no idea what she could be going through... what she was feeling. What could he even ask her...? She'd offer if she wanted, after all. So he should - Just ask. Children are always so paralyzed by their indecision... Ozpin's annoyance was palpable. And maybe regret, if Oscar remembered his story well enough.
"A-are you... I m-mean, that – you..."
Dawn looked over at him, hand still on the pendant, and couldn't help but let out a laugh at his face. "Are you constipated or something?"
Oscar turned bright red. "No! I just... what are you... what are you thinking a-about?"
Dawn's face slowly became a soft smile. "Thanks, Oscar." She looked back out at the star filled world beyond. "I was just thinking that I miss being a kid."
Oscar couldn't help but snort at that. "A kid? You miss being a kid? But why?!"
"Hey, it's not like I miss being tucked in and wearing footie pajamas," Dawn protested dryly. "I just mean... things are so heavy now. When we were kids, it was just a bunch of fun. Beating up Winchester, or training with Mom and Dad, or babysitting Donnie as a kid. Or just... being with you. It was fun. Happy." The smile trailed off her face and her grip on the necklace became tight. "But I can't go back to those days, can I? Not after everything that's happened. Not after..."
Salem, Oscar thought to himself. He nodded slowly and clasped his hands. "Those were great times. When I wasn't pining after Dove, I-I mean," he offered as a joke, earning another snort from his best friend. "But Dawn, even with everything that's happened, I wouldn't trade it. I got to sp-spend all this t-time with you. And, uh, b-besides, Master Sora always taught us that terrible things are going to happen to everyone. We all lose people. But it's those moments that give us the biggest chance to grow. Stronger, sure, but also... as a person. You made me braver on this trip, Dawn. I've made you smarter – or more cautious at least." Another smile. "And, you know, other stuff... I mean – Dawn, by the end of this, we'll fix everything and we'll be way better for it. We'll save Dove. And your mom. And you. We can only look forward, right?"
"Yeah. Sure, Oscar." She clicked on the autopilot before leaning back and shutting her eyes. "Sure."
X X X
The place they landed in Redgrave City this time around was somehow much worse than the destroyed streets eerily devoid of even human corpses or blood. Instead, Oscar and Dawn had found themselves thrown face first into a river of blood pumping them upwards like a disgusting elevator. They were tossed left and right, swirling about as the blood began to soak through their clothes and stain their skin. The blood in their brains began to pound relentlessly, light fading with very beat. They were going to fall unconscious; if only they had had some kind of warning and been able to take a breath, Oscar muttered.
His Keyblade leapt to his hand, summoned by another. Magic was channeled by another Soul bound at the core of his Heart. And so, Ozpin's hardened eyes took everything in before he stated in his mind a single, simple word: Wind.
Blades of swirling air exploded around Oscar and Dawn, shredding the walls of the vein-like elevator within which they were trapped. The blood around them began to blast away, creating a roiling bubble of air made up of the remains of the Aero spell that had been cast. The bubble expanded more and more, the spinning waves of wind causing the vein's walls to bubble and stretch, twisting and warping until – finally – the walls exploded all around them. A breath of clean – well, relatively clean at least – air was brought gasping into their lungs. "Dawn! Landing strategy!" Oscar exclaimed. He threw his Keyblade up and summoned a heavy Reflega wall around his body, protecting him as he plummeted like a rock to the ground below.
Dawn spat blood out of her mouth and rubbed at her face to try and clean it just a bit. She took a quick look around and yelped in surprise, realizing what was happening all at once. She flipped and planted her feet on top of the Reflega shield. "Thanks, Oscar!" She tensed her legs and leaped straight out from his shield, summoning the Kingdom Key D and burying it to the hilt into the vein they had just escaped. She took a deep breath, hand coming up to the medallion to ensure it had not fallen off. She let the breath out when it was still there, right where it belonged.
After a moment, she looked back down. "Woah, that's... high up," she muttered, the ground seeming to get further away as she stared at it. She shut her eyes and looked back at the wall instead. "Well, Oscar said landing strategy, so..." She let go of the Keyblade and flipped, slamming her feet into the wall. Magic began to spiral around her, greens and blues glowing as she sprinted straight down. She leaned back as she approached the platform that Oscar had landed on, sliding down the wall and hitting the ground on her feet. The force of her landing forced her to her knees, and she used the momentum to roll to her feet.
"That was a good job, Dawn," Oscar offered as he came up. "When did you findtime to practice that?"
Dawn bit her cheek. "Uh... I haven't," she admitted.
That drew a concerned look from her friend. "Maybe you absorbed the knowledge from..." he cut himself off. "No. You've always just been a natural."
"Yeah, I am pretty great," she agreed, both of them carefully ignoring the possibility he had left silent. Dawn turned away from him and looked around. "This place looks a lot worse this time around, Oscar."
The boy nodded. "It's pretty unnerving." He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, reaching out with his Semblance and Keyblade to try and read what had happened on the world's Heart. The air itself swirled with a familiar Darkness, pushing in all around them. Oscar felt his throat constrict as the Darkness seemed to notice his stretching awareness, forcing him to push back with a burst of Light that illuminated the world around him. The Darkness recoiled in pain, and the flash gave Oscar all that he needed to map out their surroundings and find a familiar, blinding Light in the world – Nico.
But the Darkness did not take kindly to his intrusion. Its jaws snapped at his thoughts, and he knew that it was already on its way to snap at his Heart next. He slammed his awareness back into his body, Keyblade already in hand. "Something... dark is coming," he warned Dawn, whose eyes widened before she nodded and did the same as he had.
"Look out!" Oscar dove behind Dawn as a surge in Darkness caused the hair on his neck to stand up, only to find that Dawn had responded in time to turn and slam her Keyblade into the face of the... horrifying giant fly thing that had suddenly appeared from the air. Oscar reacted quickly, Ozpin's small voice snapping him back to attention so he could deflect a blow coming at him from behind now.
Dawn rushed ahead, fists tightening on the Keyblade as she saw a number of these things began to appear around the one that had attacked her a moment earlier. She dropped to her back and slid beneath one of the fly creatures that suddenly rocketed towards towards her. She slashed at it when it was above her, then came back to her feet and continued to sprint towards the others. "Gather!" A small magnet spell popped into existence between her and the monsters, forcing the weaker of the creatures to float into the air and spin helplessly. She jumped towards the Magnet, throwing the Keyblade through the Shadows surrounding it, killing the weakest of the creatures in one hit. A large Knight looking creature took advantage of her moment of weakness, charging forward and swinging its huge two handed sword around to crash into her side. The massive blade slammed against her Aura and she was sent careening into the wall, landing on the ground in a heap and a headache born of losing too much aura in one hit.
She shook her head, clearing out a daze just in time to summon her Keyblade and block another attack from one of the bug things from impaling her. "Too close!" she yelped when the claws began to snap shut just in front of her nose. She brought her legs up and slammed them into the thing's chest, her enhanced strength sending her heel straight through its chest. "Oh, that feels wrong!" She yanked her legs back from its decaying body and swiped at her legs in disgust. "Ew ew ew!"
She pushed up to her feet and glared at the rest of the monsters. "Okay, enough messing around, huh?" She grabbed a pellet of dust from her pocket and flipped it like a coin off of her right thumb, catching it and channeling her Aura into it. An explosion of red tinted shadow exploded from around her and she launched out of the smoke before it could clear, the wake from her speed decimating the obscuring material in a moment. The smaller Keyblade in her right hand flashed and was buried in the head of another large bug while she threw the Kingdom Key D and forced it to spin around her before returning to her left hand, the saw like movement cleanly carving through two flaming bats that were too slow to dodge and a group of the bugs. The other two knight things had managed to dodge, with one only losing a hand while the other got away undamaged in the opposite direction. Dawn shot after the undamaged one without hesitation, her speed making it look like she had simply appeared behind it to impale it.
The other one was able to use this time to get further away, deciding to attack her partner instead.
Dawn glanced over at Oscar and her jaw dropped. When had he gotten so strong? The monster-demon things that he had separated off were being played off of each other with a rapid series of spells of varying intensity, mainly the first to but the occasional third level spell being used as a finisher. His Keyblade moved like the baton of a conductor. Blizzard spells froze the things in their tracks, leaving them stuck as Mines were summoned around them and Magnets forced other monsters to trigger the mines and shatter their brethren. The knight monster didn't stand a chance as it charged in to that fight, simply getting cooked by the explosion of a Thundaga that Oscar – face passive and hard – used to destroy the damaged and haggard remains of the other creatures.
He took a step back to observe the creatures begin to crystallize and decay, then took a deep breath. His face lit up when he turned to her and he smiled. "Well, that wasn't too bad."
"Oscar that was... That was amazing! How'd you get so good so f-" she froze and her chin hit her chest. "Ozpin was helping you."
Oscar laughed sheepishly and scratched his cheek with one finger. "Y-yeah. He's been t-teaching me how to f-fight better," he admitted, cheeks burning red. He shook his head and glanced away, confused by his own reaction to her compliment. He cleared his throat. "A-anyways. I think that Nico and the others a-are over here." He pointed down one blood soaked hallway.
Dawn dismissed her Keyblades, her bright red clothes and floating cloak slowly falling back to their normal shades. "Then let's get going," she said sullenly, walking in that direction without continuing the conversation. Her hand drifted up to the necklace she now wore, suddenly feeling like every step was heavier than the last.
Oscar watched her back for a moment, concern overriding his embarrassment as he reached out to grab her shoulder. Then, he stopped. He couldn't help with this, could he? His hand fell to his side and clenched into a fist.
Then, through his thoughts, he heard a screaming horn approaching. "What the -? Dawn, look out!" He rushed forward and tackled Dawn to the ground, just barely managing to tackle her to the ground right as a van exploded through the wall nearby, flying right over their prone and screaming faces to land heavily just past them. Sparks flew as the screaming van hit the ground and bounced, turning suddenly and screeching as it struggled to come to a stop before tumbling off the edge of the platform that Dawn and Oscar had just left. It drifted, getting perilously close to just flipping, before finally coming to a stop with a huge bang. The horn, finally, stopped screaming.
The door on the side was kicked open. "Whoo boy, any landin' you can walk away from," Nico remarked with a huge grin as she walked down and looked for a cigarette in her apron. She pumped her fist when she found one and lit it with a welding torch in her other hand. "Ah, now that hits the spot. Oh, well hello, dead Demons! Imma make you into somethin' good!" She walked forward, excitedly rifling through the half decayed corpses of the monsters that Dawn and Oscar had just killed.
"Nico?" Dawn asked, surprised by her sudden appearance.
Nico glanced over and grinned, shifting her cigarette to the other side of her mouth without her hands. "Well well, if it ain't the lovebirds. You snugglin' up for any good reason?"
"Wh-" Dawn glanced over at Oscar, who had tackled her to the ground and was holding her tight. "Uh..."
He stared back, growing red. "Uh..."
Dawn pushed away from him and surged to her feet, pulling up her hood to cover her head. "I – I – uh... H-he was just keeping your crazy driving from killing us!" she retorted, happy her hood could hide her blush.
"Uh huh," Nico remarked. She walked over to her van and tossed a pile of monster corpse parts in the door. "I don't believe ya. But given how damn sad ya look, I guess we can put that fight off." She paused and glanced past them, face stretching into a grin as she began to shout, "What? The big bad devil hunters can't keep up with little ol' me?"
"Don't look at me, Hot stuff. Someone had to babysit these two," Dante remarked, reaching the hole in the wall first. He casually hopped down and glanced between Oscar, who was still on the ground with bright red cheeks, and Dawn nearby. "Great. Just what we needed. More problems."
"Rude," Oscar remarked as he sat up. "We're not the ones who made this... uh... why does it feel like people are moving through the ground?"
"Because they are." V drifted past, looking significantly worse for the wear as he was carried by Shadow. His skin was gray and frayed, like he was decaying from the inside out. "This is a tree made from the blood and Hearts of thousands."
Nero walked up next, smiling. "It's good to see you guys again, no matter what Dante says," he said, reaching out to help Oscar to his feet. "But you could've told us you were going to drop by. We would've..." he looked at the corpses all around the platform. "... we would've cleaned the place up a bit. It's bad form to make guests do it for us, Dante."
"Uninvited guests should just leave," he replied dryly as he gazed over the ledge. He licked his index finger and raised it, checking for wind. There was no wind inside the tree. "Yeah. I can make that jump."
"Dante, you can fly," V's bird stated dryly.
Dante shook his head. "Missin' the point, little chicken. Nico, you get it, right? Me, a motorcycle, and a jump to make Evel Knievel jealous."
"Oh, I getcha. I could definitely make it further in my van, though," she replied offhandedly.
Dante froze and smirked at her. "Oh, yeah? Wanna bet on it?"
Before she could respond, V got between them. "I believe our time runs far too short for this kind of... diversion," he remarked, voice coming out hoarse and dry like he had swallowed dust. Ash began to drift from his shoulders like dandruff falling from his hair.
"You mean you don't have time." Dante sighed and backed away from the edge. "But you ain't wrong. I need to get down there and kill Urizen 'fore this gets any worse."
"We," Nero corrected.
Dante looked away sharply. "Hmph."
"I agree with Nero. There is no point in all of us not – hrgh! - not to work together." V stumbled, and Dawn rushed up to steady him. He flinched away from her before she could help, stabilizing himself with Shadow and Gryphon.
Dawn glared at him, brow furrowing, then shook her head. "Okay, Jerk," she finally muttered. She turned to Nero. "So, what's been going on since we left last?"
"We've been drivin' through this here big, blood filled tree!" Nico answered for him, cutting in and grinning. "Place is like a one stop shop for all the demon parts I need to make new things."
"Slow going, but that's better than nothing," Nero added. He pulled his sword off his back and gave it a quick look. "Especially with Dante trying to ditch us and deal with this by himself."
"Not my fault only Nico can keep up with me," Dante said innocently. He sighed and backed away from the cliff. "Now, why don't you two get gone. I want to keep this in the family."
"Hey! Friends are family, Dumbte!" Dawn snapped. She marched up to Dante and began to argue with him, a grin on her face even as he got more and more annoyed by her tirade.
Oscar smiled as he watched it, seeing the weight on Dawn's shoulders vanish for just a moment. Then, he made his way over to V and Nero. "... What's happening to you?"
"He's dying," Nero said when V decided to remain completely silent.
V gave him an annoyed glare, but Gryphon just clicked his tongue. "Why you getting angry at him? It's true, V. We're dyin'."
"All things fade in their own time."
"Cute, V. But I'd rather fade later, if that's all right with you," Gryphon retorted dryly.
"... Agreed." He finally looked towards Oscar. "I am running out of time. We need to reach Urizen soon, or I will not see this fight to its conclusion."
Oscar glanced at Nero, who nodded with a grave look on his face. Oscar looked inward, casting his Semblance outward as he grabbed V's arm. He felt Ozpin stir in surprise and recognition at the feeling of V's fractured Heart. "You feel like a chair missing a leg," he said after a moment. "Or..." Oscar couldn't stop his eyes from flitting towards Dawn.
Dante saw him glance their way. "We talking about this piece of moldy pizza?" He shoved Dawn away by her head and swaggered over. "Come on, V, you'll make it to see me kill him."
V had an inscrutable look on his face at that. "... Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way... which you always used. Put no difference into your... into your tone," he said. He looked at Dante. "Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow."
Dante narrowed his eyes. "And what's that -"
"I will go with the girl. Dawn," V stated simply. He pushed himself to his feet, steadied by Shadow and Gryphon even as he swayed side to side. "Nero, keep the boy safe – he is important."
"What? No partner for me?" Dante asked. He shook his head. "And I thought you cared."
"You're the one who wants to rush ahead. Make it a race, D," Gryphon retorted.
"Now you're cooking with gasoline, Little Chicken!" Dante replied, face splitting into a feral grin. He looked around and glared at Dawn and Oscar. "Well, if you refuse to leave, then the last one to the demon buys the pizza. So I hope you two brought money." He turned on his heel and a motorcycle appeared out of thin air, at which point he rocketed away in a blur.
"I think he's warming up to us," Dawn said as he shot off of the edge and vanished to somewhere below.
Nero, V, and Oscar glanced at one another. "Suuure," Nero remarked dryly. "Dante's your biggest fan."
"I knew it!" Dawn shouted, pumping her fist. She went over to V and grabbed his arm, ignoring him trying to pull away from her. "Now come on! I don't wanna pay for the food, he looks like he could eat until I was broke."
V stopped struggling. "That is... a good point. We should hurry," he agreed, summoning Shadow beneath their feet. Dawn whooped in surprise as they shot off at full speed.
"... Can you find the quickest way to Urizen?"
Oscar looked over at Nero. "Hm... let me see." He shut his eyes and reached into his Heart, seeking out the core of the Darkness that made up this place. "Yeah, follow me." He turned the opposite direction that the others had gone and he and Nero jumped from the opposite edge that the others had taken.
X X X
"So, what's wrong with Dawn?"
Oscar flinched and looked over at Nero, who was walking beside him with his one hand in his coat pocket. "W-what do you mean?"
"She was a lot happier last time you guys showed up. Something happen when you guys found her dad?" the taller man wondered.
"... A lot," Oscar replied simply.
I agree with your decision to keep this a secret, but I have learned that too many secrets are dangerous. Give him a warning of some kind.
Oscar ignored Ozpin. It wasn't his secret to tell. And, on top of that, Penny's device was keeping Dawn safe. There was no point in worrying anyone. "Nothing we won't fix."
Nero nodded. "That's good. Once this is over, you I'll help you out, too!" He put his robotic thumb up. "It'll make Dante mad, so that's a nice bonus."
Oscar laughed at that, but it quickly died as the world around him began to feel like a festering wound. "Those monsters are showing up." He summoned his Keyblade. "I'll back you up from afar."
Nero grinned and pulled his hand from his pocket and fluidly pulled his sword from his back, revving until flames exploded along the edge. "Let's do this."
Nero charged forward and slashed right as the first monsters appeared, flaming blade cleaving through a trio of the bug demons and igniting them in a brilliant blaze. Moving his Keyblade like a conductor's baton, Oscar quickly used this opening to string magical energy together. The flaming demons suddenly had threads exploding outwards, connecting them not only with each other but with the new armored, lizard like demons that had appeared out of thin air. The moment these threads touched, the flames spread to the newcomers.
Nero pulled out his gun and advanced on the demons, placing bullets glowing with blue energy between the eyes of the weakest monsters first to kill them before placing the last three bullets in the revolver in one of the armored lizard's spines, shattering the armor and sending it reeling back. He leaped towards it, swapping his gun for his sword and bringing it to his feet like a skateboard, spinning before throwing his robotic arm out to pull the lizard into the air so he could bury the sword in its skull and rev the weapon's flames to burn it from the inside out.
Meanwhile, Oscar drew the attention of the other two lizards, throwing spells at them as he carefully placed his back to a set of spikes growing from the wall. The lizards roared in annoyance and turned on him, curling so that their sharp spines surrounded them. They spun towards him, their new saw like shape carving through the ground on their way to him. Oscar took it in stride, summoning a single Reflect hexagon angled in one's path. It hit the magic and bounced off, its trajectory altered so it crashed right into the side of the other. Both went flying, unfolding as they hit the ground.
Nero came in to attack the one closest to him picking it up with a large claw and tossing it in one direction while the other roared and charged on its four legs at Oscar again. He watched it dispassionately. Wait... wait... the monster grew closer and closer. Wait, Ozpin said.
The demon leaped. Now.
Following Ozpin's advice, Oscar simply used his magic to push him to the side in a blur. The demon, arms outstretched and belly exposed, crashed right into the spikes and died at its own hand.
The other's heavy corpse slammed into the ground a moment later, decaying as Nero sat on its armored back. "Dante's going to buy us a pizza," the demon hunter said confidently.
X X X
Dawn walked ahead of V, looking around at the honestly horrifying tree around her. It was like being in a mosquito's stomach, with blood everywhere. But, almost as bad – or maybe even worse given how close it was – was V and his shadow animals glaring a hole right in the back of her head the entire time they'd been walking. She tried to ignore it, but it just intensified. So she decided to drift to stand offset from him. But it just intensified. She began to squirm and chafe under the glare. She tried to ignore it again, but it just got worse.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "What is your problem, Emo Boy!?" she snapped, turning on her heel to glare back at them.
"Hah! V, that's so you!" Gryphon exclaimed. He swung around in a circle before settling on V's shoulder.
V brushed him off, drawing a squawk of surprise. "My problem?" His eyes flicked to the gear shaped pendant around her neck. "Hm... what is that?"
Dawn grabbed the necklace and turned to hide it. "A whole buncha nunya, Emo Boy. Nunya -"
"Nunya business, yes, yes. My brother is prone to such foolishness," V waved his hand as if clearing a cloud. Growing annoyed by the young woman, he shot forward and grabbed the pendant from her hands, but left it hanging around her neck. "This is important to you, and yet you did not have it when we met last. It does not match your style, nor... Yet you hold it like a lifeline..."
"Let go of me!" Dawn snapped, struggling against the frail man's suddenly adamantine grip.
"Hm... so are you not Salem then?"
Her struggling stopped. "I thought you recognized me, and yet..." V slowly let go of her, his eyes narrowing and a slight frown on his face.
Dawn took a step back, mind running through everything he had said. "You've met Salem."
V opened his mouth to respond, then froze. "We have company," he remarked. He leaned on his cane, hard, and his skin cracked along his arm from the weight. He grimaced through the pain. "I will aid you – if you can handle the front."
Dawn stared at him. "I... y-yeah." She summoned the Kingdom Key D and looked around, noticing the first of the creatures tearing their way through the fabric of reality. She took a breath; she could worry about V and his secrets later. For now, she had to fight for her life.
She stood calmly between the three slowly appearing Knight monsters, their huge swords slamming into the ground as they dropped around her. Dawn glanced at the closest one and launched at it, Keyblade crashing into its hand before it could get a great grip on its weapon. She spun and delivered a powerful kick to its face that chipped its armor and sent it flying away. Dawn dismissed her Keyblade and used her momentum to yank the sword taller than her from the ground and rest it on her shoulder as she turned to the other two. "Come and get it," she taunted with a grin.
They were smart enough to not oblige. One charged her, while the other broke into a sprint towards V. "Wha – HEY!" Dawn took off after that one, only for the other to get in her way and slam the flat of its blade towards her. She turned the blade over her shoulders towards the ground, angling it so that the flat slid over her. She kicked the huge weapon up and its tip slammed into the monster's chin, stunning it as she swung the sword around again and batted it away. The momentum of the weapon got the best of her, and it went flying away from her small body. "Aw... Right V!" She jumped and rushed towards him, Keyblade appearing in her hand when called. She threw it out, landing in the knight's path as it approached V. It turned in surprise and snarled at her, deciding to just get her out fo the way first if its brothers had failed.
But that made it easy prey for its original target. A ball of lightning fell beside the knight, sending out powerful streams of blistering energy that stopped the thing in its tracks until Shadow appeared from the ground like a saw that carved through its sword arm. The knight shrieked, but its anguish was over soon when Dawn appeared again and with her resummoned weapon cut its head clean off. "Hey, we make a pretty good team so far," Dawn said, tossing a thumbs up at V.
"Focus." He pointed with his cane and sent Gryphon and Shadow to attack the other two monsters. The first she had hit had even reclaimed its sword... and it looked mad. It charged her and slammed its shoulder into her before she could react, pushing her back and slamming her into a wall that sent her breath out of her lungs. It brought its sword around and brought it down, but Dawn yelped and rolled to the side, and the wall and ground where she had been was split open with blood pouring out.
"H-hey! Come on, you just showed up first, I wasn't trying to embarrass you in front of your buddies, right?" Dawn supplied. The creature simply snarled and swung its sword again, horizontally this time. Dawn ducked beneath it and sighed. "Well, it's not like I wasn't going to kill you anyways." She jumped forward, coating her blade with frost that exploded upon contact with the demon. It snarled and tried to turn towards her, only to be frozen in place.
Dawn walked carelessly around to its back. "See, this isn't personal. You're just evil and ugly, you know?" And she swung her blade, shattering the demon with her strength. She turned to watch V carefully – and barely – sidestepping the huge sword that swung down at him. He directed Shadow and Gryphon with small but purposeful motions, each accompanied by Shadow's blades or Gryphon's Thunder magic. Dawn twirled her Keyblade and rushed forward, feeling something was wrong. V dodged again, and this time his knee gave out beneath him. Gryphon squawked in terror and tried to rush to help, but the sword coming down at V was instead deflected by a golden Keyblade. The monster reeled backwards from the reflective magic that accompanied the Keyblade's guard, leaving it wide open. V took advantage, eyes flicking towards its undefended chest so that Shadow and Gryphon would run it through in a blast of steel and thunder.
Dawn watched the last demon begin to decay, then shook her head and turned around to hold her hand out to V. "You okay?"
V stared at her, eyes locked on hers. "... I see."
"If you can only see this close, maybe you need glasses," she offered dryly. V sighed, ignoring the question, and summoned Shadow to push him to his feet instead of taking her hand. "Whatever." She brought her hand back and frowned. "How do you know Salem?"
V looked at her. "Urizen." He turned away. "Let us hurry. I doubt you wish to pay for Dante's meal."
"Huh? Oh, man! Yeah, let's go!"
X X X
Dante hummed to himself as he rode on his motorcycle, its buzzsaw wheels carving through the ground and leaving a clear and easy to follow trail behind him. After a long while of driving in silence, he let out a sigh. "Damn, this is borin'." He looked around, and groaned in annoyance. He looked up at the ceiling and narrowed his eyes. "Hey... Okay." He cut the engines and jumped from the bike, pulling his sword from his back and landing without any trouble. He looked hefted it onto his shoulder and sauntered around for a second. He paused and waited. "Hey! Can we get this moving, I'm bored!"
The only response was a stream of red flying towards him, a red lizard with huge blades coming from its arms appearing as it stopped and jumped to change direction. Dante grinned and leaned forward, slapping his knee with his left hand. "Come on, Fugly. Hit me. I know you can..." The red demon began to circle him, feinting attacks as it jumped in and then out in an attempt to lull Dante into a false sense of security. Dante obliged the creature, bringing his hand up to his mouth and yawning mockingly, placing his sword tip down in the ground. "Boooring."
It appeared in front of him, blades ready to cut him in half. Dante grinned and pulled one of his guns out of its holster, firing a bullet into its head before it could reach him. It didn't do much, but it did cause the creature to flinch and draw its blades back in surprise. Dante smirked and swung his sword up, the edge of the huge weapon crashing inot the sleek lizard's chin and shattering its teeth. It flew back a couple feet before vanishing again in a cloud of red smoke. "What? I thought you were feeling confident?" Dante called. He slid his gun back into its holster and shook his head. "That isn't going to work." He turned on his heel, aiming his finger and pointing it directly into the red lizard's face like a gun. "Bang."
It startled and flinched back, a response that Dante immediately took advantage of. He swung his sword around in a trio of quick slashes that left shallow but painful cuts all down the lizard's chest. He flipped to the side, sword vanishing and replaced with a pair of steely gauntlets that he began to box the enemy, gauntlets growing hotter and hotter until flames began to erupt from every scale of the gauntlets. His fist collided with the demon's face and he ducked, spinning into a kick that sent the demon flying straight up. The gauntlets disappeared and the sword reappeared as Dante rolled backwards and held it backhand behind him. The Demon fell right into a glowing blade of red energy that shot from the sword when he swung it forward, followed by a trio of electric spheres that flew out of a three-pronged nunchuk. Dante vanished and reappeared beneath the Demon in a burst of energy and threw his hand up, summoning a storm of ice magic around and above him as the nunchuk spun around his arm. The creature was frozen solid and hit the ground, where it was easy prey for Dante to spin and slam his foot through its skull. "Nice."
X X X
Nero and Oscar were the first to find themselves walking into a massive throne room, dominated by a pool of blood lapping at the ankles of a massive, dark grey figure sitting with a look of abject boredom on its face. It was covered in spines and vines that linked it to the throne it sat upon and the tree all around them. Its one eye lazily drifted down to the two humans that approached as if it had just noticed a pair of insects crawling from behind a pile of trash. It sighed and leaned its head against its left hand, held upright by the arm of its vine throne. Its right hand came up and motioned before returning to the other arm of the throne.
A crystal shard appeared from nothing, spikes shifting as it spun in front of the creature. Orange began to glow from within the shifting crystal but it made no move towards them. "It... thinks we are beneath its notice," Oscar noted, both worried and contented with the realization. The creature and the crystal gave him an... odd feeling. It felt like someone else, though he couldn't quite tell who with how warped the feeling of the creature's Heart was to him.
The creature watched them pull out their weapons, and its one eye narrowed slightly as the Keyblade appeared. It considered the pair for a beat, then raised one finger. Pools of inky black began to appear on the ground and Oscar felt his Heart shiver before Ozpin helped him steel himself. White, bone like masks and black Dust-flesh erupted from the pools, leaving Oscar to gaze in horror as the Creatures of Grimm began to howl and snarl at the two of them. "You're working with Salem!" Ozpin snapped, the Keyblade in his hand glowing suddenly. Oscar pushed past Ozpin's control a moment later and stumbled from a sudden head rush.
My apologies. My anger overcame me for a moment, the old man apologized, though Oscar could still feel the intense anger boiling under the surface.
"These things... they aren't Demons, are they?" Nero asked as the Grimm – mostly Beowolves and Ursai, with a huge Deathstalker among them – slowly advanced towards them.
"No. But they're going to try and kill us either way." He paused; the pools were still on the ground, waiting to refresh their enemies' numbers. He could cleanse the Pools easily enough with enough Holy magic, but that would be a waste of his energy; if Urizen could summon Grimm Pools so easily once, he could do it again. That would just leave Oscar tired and therefore in a worse position than they were right now. "We just need to hold out until-"
"You handle these things, I'm going to kill him!" Nero snapped, blasting forward and quickly and recklessly dodging around the attacks of the Grimm, narrowly avoiding the Deathstalker's tail as he jumped and swung from its tail to attack Urizen head on.
"Nero! Dammit!" Oscar moved to follow but the Grimm grouped in front of him, charging so he was forced to defend against the monsters pushing in on him.
You are troubled.
Oscar ignored Ozpin, narrowly dancing around the many Grimms' attacks as best he could. He conjured a Reflect hexagon in one's path and blasted a Watera at another pair of Beowolves before they could attack him. They crashed into an Ursa behind them, bouncing off of its bony hide as it charged right through them. Oscar, not having the time he had wanted, rolled to the side. He took a few scratches from the Beowolves that healed under his Aura as soon as they appeared, but it was worth it to avoid the rampaging Ursa's jaws. He came to his feet and immediately swung his Keyblade, deflecting the tail of the Deathstalker but missing one of its pincers slamming into his side, sending him flying into the wall. He spun midair so his feet hit first. "... Dammit..."
Nero, meanwhile, was doing his best against Urizen. His every attempt however was stymied by the crystal carving through space to appear right in front of him to unleash dozens of sharp blades as it suddenly grew and shrank at rapid pace. Nero growled as he dodged left and right to avoid the stabbing needles. He couldn't avoid all of them, and it was slowly wearing on him. "Fight me, you damn ugly monster!" he snapped, suddenly bringing his sword around instead of dodging. The crystal rebounded off the attack even as its needles impaled him multiple times. He ignored the pain that was already healing and charged forward, placing his sword on his back again to pull out his gun. He blasted the crystal as it tried to rush him again, keeping it at bay on his way to Urizen.
When he got close enough, he leaped and slashed down at the huge demon, his entire will focused on making this ugly freak see him as a threat and making it regret taking his arm.
The eye didn't even look up at him as he raised his palm to the young man and summoned a swarm of vines. The tip of Nero's weapon traced across the palm of the demon, leaving a single thin, shallow cut along the hand before the vines crashed into him and slammed him into the ground, another dozen rushing down from the ceiling to further pound him into the ground.
"Nero!" Oscar threw up his arms and summoned an entire Reflega wall around him. The costly magic took the attacks from a few Beowolves before exploding. The blades of shattered light carved some of the Grimm to pieces, giving Oscar enough time to reach Nero. He dove in, summoning another Reflega wall above them to deflect the incoming vines. The wall shattered, and he was crushed into the ground beside Nero, though the explosion of his spell sent the force back at the vines as well, shredding them to the root even as he was stuck trying to reach his feet again on the ground.
"Hnh..." Urizen lifted one finger, and a wave of Darkness suddenly cowed the Grimm that were approaching their prone prey. Vines began to slowly disconnect from his shoulders while Urizen looked at the shallow cut on his hand. "Impressive. For a human." He rose to his feet as the last vine broke from his shoulders. "Useful..."
"Not happening!" a pair of voices exclaimed, a Keyblade and a broadsword crashing into Urizen's chest and sending him flying back into his throne before he could prepare for the attack. Dante, transformed into the monstrous creature he had been when their group had fought him, and Dawn, two Keyblades shining with red Darkness, landed in front of Oscar and Nero.
V, meanwhile, limped over to them and leaned down to check on them. "Is he... alright?" he asked Oscar, stumbling to one knee as he did. He looked... worse.
Oscar stared at V, his Semblance's awareness fluctuating for a moment before everything snapped into place. The feeling... it became visible, a chain of a blue so dark it verged on black connected V with the monster that had nearly killed them a moment before. Oscar flinched from V's hand as he understood what he was looking at, the stories of Master Sora coming to mind once more. "What did you do?" he asked, disgust evident in his voice.
V glared down at Oscar. "Is. Nero. Alright?"
Oscar stared back for a moment, then shook his head and summoned Chronal back to his hand. He pointed it above him and a the curative energy of a Curaga washed over all three of them. Nero groaned and held his head, slowly waking up. "He's fine." Oscar pushed himself to his feet, mind still racing.
So, this is how he knows Salem... Ozpin growled, rage building against the confines of Oscar's Heart. It froze after a moment, Ozpin taking a metaphorical breath. Once this is over, please allow me to interrogate him personally. We must know what he knows.
Oscar agreed silently. Ozpin could do whatever he needed for them to find Ruby and save her. He watched V shift Shadow beneath Nero, pushing him to a sitting position. "Why didn't you wait for -"
"RAAAAAGH!" The group turned to look at Urizen, who was roaring angrily. A pulse of Darkness flew from his shoulders, vaporizing the Grimm and their pools and pushing Dante and Dawn back towards the others. He raised his arm and pointed at Dawn and Dante. "YOU!"
"Him? Or Me?" Dawn asked, her weapons drifting down a bit. "Or both?"
Urizen's response was to simply scream in rage again, swinging his arm and causing the crystal to turn and spin on its thinnest axis like a saw. The blade swept to the side, forcing Dawn and Dante to jump back and cover their allies to avoid being cut in half. Space itself shrieked in pain, its fabric suddenly shorn by the crystal. "Running away? What else is new!?" Dante snapped as the tear in space began to expand into an entire doorway large enough for the massive demon to enter. He snarled and charged forward despite the others' protests. "Not happening. Not again!" He sprinted through the doorway, uncaring of if the others would follow.
"Dammit... follow -ach – follow him!" V commanded. He fell to one knee again, only to be caught by Nero. "We have to... follow him..."
"Okay." Nero stood up and pulled V onto his shoulder. "You guys still up for it?"
"Yes. I have some questions I need to ask 'Urizen,'" Oscar said, his gaze never leaving V.
V narrowed his eyes. "Well, maybe you'll get yer chance, Grouchy," Gryphon said, swooping around to land on Nero's other shoulder.
"I will." Oscar turned to Dawn. "We need to go and help him. Let's go."
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Dawn agreed. She turned and sprinted towards the doorway, trailing petals of energy as she jumped through after Dante.
Oscar watched Nero and V go next, keeping his eyes locked on the dying man the entire time. Make no mistake, our questions will be answered, Oscar and Ozpin thought in tandem, and Oscar's stance shifted slightly, becoming more confident and proper for a moment before returning to normal as he followed through the doorway last.
X X X
Far away, Nico was busy collecting more pieces of demons from the trails of destruction her allies had left behind. "You are going to be an absolute beaut when I'm done with ya," she said as she lifted a piece of the adamantine plate that made up one of the demon's armored spines. "I dunno what you'll be, but it'll be great!"
She walked towards her van and reached out with her leg, looping her toes into the door to pull it fully open. When it swung open, she felt... something. She tensed and turned around. "Hey! Come on out!" she snapped, glaring at the Darkness all around. She tossed the demon parts into the van and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it before walking inside to grab a gun. "I warn ya, I'm armed!" She grabbed a revolver and lifted it up, turning back to the door.
Where someone was standing right in front of her. She yelped and swung her gun around, only for the figure's hand to wrap tight around her wrist. The gun went off, the flash and noise disorienting Nico. Her attacker seemed unfazed, however. The person in the full body black coat twisted her wrist and the gun fell.
Nico screamed and raised her foot, kicking out as hard as she could. The figure simply sidestepped that, but Nico wildly swung out with whatever she could reach. One of her smithing hammers arced at the figure, who caught it out of the air. "Please stop. You'll only get hurt," the figure said, their voice somehow soundless.
"Screw you!" Nico snapped, reaching for another tool – this one hopefully sharp and stabby.
"Then I'm sorry about this." The figure's fist slammed into her face, and everything went black.
The figure sighed as Nico's body crumpled against the work desk in the van. "I said I didn't want to hurt you," Dove sighed as she pulled her hood down. She carefully sat the Princess of Heart down and grimaced at her broken nose. A quick Cure spell solved that problem. She still felt bad about it, though.
Dove glanced over her shoulder, suddenly sensing a huge surge of Darkness. It was familiar, though she'd only met the man to whom it belonged once. "Vergil... I wonder what could drive you to cut yourself in half like this." She frowned and glanced down at her right hand, where her Keyblade – its shape altered by the Keychain attached to it – appeared in her hand. "... Though I suppose I may have a good idea."
She shook her hand and dismissed the blade. "Time to get you to the others like you, Princess." Dove leaned down and hefted Nico over her shoulder. "Don't worry. Once everything is over, it'll be like you never even left." She raised her hand and summoned a Corridor of Darkness, then pulled her hood back over her head. She took a deep breath... and then she and the the Princess were gone.