Chapter 19: Sick Days & Hostage Situation
Last Time Damian and Alex fought in a Jiyu Game against their family in order to be separated from them and never bothered again forever, after winning the game one of the contestants Asher went into a violent rage and attacked Damian and Alex but was stopped by Jason and Dax but not before slicing a small cut into Jason.
Afterward, as Asher is in detainment for his actions, he is approached by a Mysterious Figure who offers Asher the power of Ki in return to serve under him for his plans to which he accepted. Meanwhile, Jason has been bedridden thanks to the poison from Asher's sword. What happens next now!
Kai's Mountain…
Three days have passed since Jason had gone bedridden due to the Black Tar Venom, and while thanks to Neo not leaving his side, his fever has gone away, he has not awoken from his slumber. Everyone was perplexed as to why the Saiyan hadn't awoken yet since it seemed his life was no longer in any kind of danger but decided that it must be a reaction of his body to the poison.
"I wonder how much longer he's going to be in a coma for." Evan wondered, concerned for his friend.
"Who knows he's the first to survive this long from the Black Tar Venom, so I'd say he is in the clear when it comes to dying, but for this, I can't say," Damian explained. They were in Jason's room watching as Jason slept with Neo sleeping next to him on a chair.
"Wow, it's almost like when he was taking care of her when he brought her here." Evan pointed out.
"I guess. Come on, we should go and start with today's patrols." Damian said. Evan nodded as he followed Damian out to the courtyard to begin their day of work.
"How's he doing?" Elias asked as Evan and Damian arrived.
"His fever's gone, but he won't wake up guess all we can do is hope he does soon," Evan answered.
"I'm sure he'll wake up soon, Jason is strong after all." Mura pointed out.
"That's true." Alex agreed. Soon everyone was sent out on their own missions with only one pair of Elias and Amber, who have gotten closer due to their repeated missions together, gaining a mutual trust.
Evan flew over high in the sky towards the eastern part of Anima for the daily patrol routine he and the rest of Team JADE and Co have settled into. As he touched down near a village, he felt an odd presence coming from the village. Usually, when Evan would come to this village, he would sense the energy of all the people within it, but now he couldn't sense a single person within the village.
"What the hell happened here?!" Evan questioned as he ran full speed into the village. The fighter saw absolute devastation. The village was destroyed, and many of the inhabitants dead. Evan began looking around the village for any survivors and luckily found a man just barely alive.
"Hey hang in there, can you speak?" Evan asked as he picked the man up.
"We were attacked…by…raiders…spared no one." The man explained.
"Okay, just hang in there. I'm going to get you some…" But before Evan could finish, he felt the man's life energy disappear, indicating his death.
"Damn, how could anyone do such a thing," Evan growled as he got up.
He felt another presence as he rose, thinking it was another survivor, he looked around but saw no sign of life. Evan was confused at the energy he was sensing, for he knew someone was there watching him, but he couldn't see them though he noted it felt similar to Amber's energy. Once he finally pinpointed the energy, he saw a lone Raven perched above him on a nearby building looking at him.
"A bird? Since when does a bird have an energy signature like a person?" Evan wondered as he slowly flew up to inspect the Raven. However, once he got close, it flew off at a high-speed one that Evan could easily catch up with but felt that it was unnecessary.
"Whatever following that bird would be a waste of time, I need to inform local huntsmen and huntresses of this," Evan said as he flew off to the nearest village. As he flew off, the Raven watched him as it transformed into a tall woman with long black hair and dark red eyes.
"Such power in a child, I must learn it's secrets," Raven stated as she transformed back into her namesake and followed Evan from a distance.
Jason's Mindscape…
"Your people are supposed to be dead when Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta…" The scout had said.
"Could it be true is the planet where I was born gone and the Saiyans too?" Jason questioned. After he had lost consciousness, that was all he could think about in the darkness of his mind. He thought back to the visions he had back in Beacon, where he was flying away from a planet as it exploded.
"Could that have been my home if it was then there could be some merit to what that guy was saying." Jason thought. Whether or not it was true or not, Jason could not tell, but he knew he had to find out.
Afterward, he was haunted by a large monstrous figure that gave off the presence of a Grimm. It tried to attach itself onto Jason, but he tore it off every time it attached itself. But Jason couldn't keep it at bay for long as it finally grabbed hold onto Jason, causing his vision to darken as he felt the Grimm like creature take him to somewhere far from his own mindscape. When his vision cleared, he was in a dark area surrounded by bubbling pools of black liquid.
"Okay, what the hell is this place?" Jason questioned.
"If the Grimm had a home, this would definitely be what it would look like." Jason thought as he looked around.
It seemed as if the dark pools that surrounded him had tendrils coming out of them attached to his body. It felt like it was almost feeding him darkness. As he looked at his surroundings, he saw that he was in a cave that seemed deep underground, with the only entrance being a door with a large staircase covered by darkness.
Jason realized that he was no longer in his own body but in something dark and perverse unable to move at all. He then turned as he heard the door open, seeing a woman with deep white skin and dark red eyes approach him.
"It seems like you've awoken my creation." The woman stated as she got in front of his face.
"Her creation, what the hell does she mean by that?" Jason questioned. She looked at him, inspecting him for whatever reason seemingly trying to find something.
"Still not complete, you must need more, don't you?" She asked. She took out what seemed to be three vials of blood, each of which were half empty.
"Oh, it seems like you are already trying that on your own." She pointed out as she seemed to actually notice Jason's presence for the first time.
"A spectator, huh, it seems like you are trying to pull in your source, but we don't need that you are something new something better you don't need him." The woman explained as she touched Jason or whatever Jason was in.
He felt a sudden surge of pain and screamed in response to whatever that woman was doing to him, which felt to last an eternity. Jason felt a force pull him away from the current scene and feeling as if he was being torn apart, and once the current scene disappeared, he felt the connection permanently cut. Once he was back in the darkness of his mind, the pain from the woman's touch ceased as he relaxed.
"Who was that, and what is she doing?!" Jason questioned.
Kai's Mountain…
Neo was taken aback when Jason began to scream and thrash around violently out of nowhere for no apparent reason. She tried to calm him down, but nothing seemed to be working, and as the others came back from their patrols, they entered to see what was happening.
"Why is he screaming like that?" Evan asked. Neo looked to Mura for translation, telling him what had occurred.
"She says that he just suddenly started screaming and convulsing while she looked after him," Mura explained.
"Really, then what should we do?" Alex asked.
"Alex, stay with Neo and look after Jason while the rest of us get some things to help him," Mura ordered as everyone did as they were told. Soon they returned with various items to help Jason with whatever pain he may be feeling seeing Alex counting next to Neo.
"73…74…75…" Alex counted.
"What the hell are you doing?" Damian asked.
"Aw man, you made me lose count. He's been screaming for so long without any breaks, so I wanted to count how long it lasted." Alex answered.
"Wait, if he's not breathing, he'll die!" Evan stated. Just as he said that Jason took a deep breath much to the relief of everyone.
"Oh look, he stopped scream…" Elias began before he was interrupted by Jason screaming once more.
"You were saying?" Evan asked sarcastically.
"Never mind," Elias sweatdropped.
"1…2…3…" Alex began counting once more.
"Okay, well, let's just see what we can do," Evan said. They gave Jason several medicines, but none seemed to work as they were forced to watch as he screamed loudly with Alex counting every second he did without breathing.
"Shit nothings working!" Evan stated. Neo grabbed onto his collar and shook him around with Mura translating what she was saying.
"She says, then make it work," Mura said.
"But that's not how it works!" Evan cried as Neo released him. Suddenly they all stopped talking as Jason finally stopped screaming, whatever had caused his pain had stopped.
"Oh thank the gods." Evan sighed as he sat down.
"Wow two minutes thirty seconds that has to be some kind of record," Alex commented.
"That's not important, Alex," Damian said.
"Still, though, why the hell did he start screaming?" Elias questioned. Suddenly Jason sat up fast, waking up from his coma gasping for air as he looked at the others.
"Hey, guys, uh, what's happening?" Jason asked as they stared at him.
"Is that all you have to say after waking up from a coma?!" Evan questioned.
"I was in a coma! How long was I out?" Jason asked.
"Three days, apparently Asher poisoned his sword with a lethal does when he went to attack Damian and Alex, so when you got cut it made you sick," Elias explained.
"Thankfully, you're pretty strong, so you managed to make it through." Elias continued.
"Plus, Neo took care of you when you had a bad fever," Evan added.
"Really well, thanks, Neo." Jason thanked. Neo nodded, smiling at the boy happy that she could help him when he needed it.
"Well, it's good to see you all better," Damian said.
"Thanks, but I could use some food," Jason replied as he got up. He and the others went to the dining hall as Jason ate enough food to feed ten men, and when he finished, he began thinking about what he saw during the time he was unconscious.
"Who was that?" Jason wondered. He thought about how the presence he felt in the vision was like that of a Grimm. Then how the area he was taken to seemed to radiate darkness.
"Could that have been Salem?" Jason questioned. He was soon taken out of his thoughts when he noticed the stares from everyone else in the room.
"You okay, man, you spaced out there for a minute?" Evan asked. Jason went on to explain to everyone the dream or vision he had during his time in a coma.
"That sounds very concerning," Mura commented as he thought on this information.
"What does it mean, though?" Amber questioned.
"From the description, you gave that sounds like Salem for sure, and whatever she is doing, it's not good. It could be that she is making something new in response to seeing the power you demonstrated in the fight with Silas." Mura theorized.
"But what could she be doing, in the vision it seemed like she was about to give the creature blood?" Jason wondered.
"It could be whatever she is going to use to make whatever she is creating strong, I guess." Evan proposed. "Maybe your right." Jason agreed.
"What concerns me is why you had this vision in the first place she said that whatever you were inside of was trying to pull in its source what could that mean?" Elias brought up. Everyone went silent as they tried to think of what she could have meant by that comment as Mura stood up.
"In any case, I will report what you have told me to Ozpin. Maybe he can figure out what she meant." Mura announced as he left the hall.
Salem's Domain...
Salem watched as she gave her creation the rest of the blood that she took from the fighters that fought the man named Silas, including his own. She watched as the almost cocoon-like black mass absorbed the blood growing in size, and as Salem knew strength as well.
"I do wonder what you'll look like when you hatch," Salem stated as she circled her creation.
When she brought back what remained of the Beringel, she had noticed its evolved state and power. Experimenting with the creation, she noticed it showed signs of intelligence and seemed to be more than just a Grimm.
As she fed it more and more of the blood, it grew in size, and as she studied it, she noted that it was barely a Grimm at all anymore but something new entirely. From what the God of Darkness left behind, she had made something new, and with its power, she knew that once she got her hands on the relics, she would be able to kill the gods for good as revenge for not giving her what she had so desperately wanted.
"But even with all I've given it, it's not done, it needs more time and power to complete its transformation into whatever it shall become." Salem thought as she left her creation.
It did concern her that it tried to bring the consciousness of one of the fighters whose blood she had taken, but at the very least, she had caught it soon enough to sever its connection with the fighter and everyone else whose blood she had given it. The last thing she needed was her creation to believe itself to be someone it's not or even worse take the consciousness of one of them. But now it was over and from then on it would follow her, and it will think what she wanted it to.
Unknown Location...
Raven was back in her camp with the tribe as she marked on her personal map where the location of where the boy she had followed resided. She knew that he was one of the people who showed an almost godlike power at the Vytal Festival, and while she did have the power of the spring maiden, she knew it wasn't enough to fight against them. Furthermore, now that she was the Spring Maiden, it meant that Salem would be looking for her.
Raven was ready and willing to do anything to either get rid of Salem or make sure that she would leave her and the tribe alone. She knew that there is almost no way to get rid of Salem and, for a while, had given up hope until she saw the Battle of Gods. Some had dubbed it when she saw the absolute power they had used, and she knew that if she had it, then that would even the playing field. The entrance of her tent soon opened as Raven was joined by her decoy maiden Vernal.
"What do you need, Vernal?" Raven asked.
"I just wanted to ask you about the plan to obtain this power you talked about," Vernal answered.
"I have yet to find an answer to that question myself, but right now, I am thinking about somehow capturing one of them and keep them contained to make them teach us this power of theirs," Raven explained.
"I guess that's not surprising knowing what they are capable of. It would be hard to make them do what we want." Vernal replied.
"Exactly now if that's all I would like to be alone," Raven said.
"Actually, I also came here to give you this. It seems to be a message for you." Vernal stated as she handed Raven a piece of paper. Raven took the paper and opened it only to have one sentence written within it. We need to talk. Her eyes narrowed, recognizing her brother's handwriting, what he wanted she didn't know, but she was going to get it out of the way.
"Thank you, Vernal you are dismissed I am going to go out to deal with this it shouldn't be long," Raven explained as she drew her sword and created a portal leaving the area. She arrived not surprisingly in a tavern where Qrow was already drinking in the table in front of her.
"Took you long enough Raven for a second there I thought you weren't going to show up," Qrow complained as she sat down across from him.
"What do you want, Qrow?" Raven asked.
"Right to the point as always well, not that it's a bad thing," Qrow replied.
"I want to know where the spring maiden is," Qrow explained.
"How would I know that?" Raven questioned.
"Don't bullshit me, Raven, I know you took her in after she ran away," Qrow argued.
"And what makes you think that because you were told it by some drunk in another bar?" Raven asked as Qrow took another swig of alcohol.
"I have my sources, Raven, now, where is she?" Qrow persisted in asking.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Qrow, because I have no idea where she is," Raven answered as she stood up to leave.
"Fine, don't tell me, but before you go, I wanted to ask you one last thing," Qrow stated, causing Raven to stop.
"Shoot," Raven said.
"Did you know Yang lost her arm?" Qrow asked. Raven stood there silent, not looking at her brother, and it felt like an eternity before she gave her answer.
"I did what does it matter?" Raven questioned.
"What does it matter she's your daughter Raven you should be concerned about her well being!" Qrow shouted as he stood up from his chair.
"I couldn't have helped her anyway. She'll have it once and only once when I believe her life to be in danger." Raven replied.
"That is one-time Raven to say that only going to help her once is a rule is bullshit," Qrow argued.
"It's none of your business Qrow," Raven responded as she turned to leave once more.
"Fine, go, but deep down I still think you care more than that, you carried Yang for nine months Raven you wouldn't have done that without getting attached," Qrow stated.
"I know it's true, especially since I saw you outside her window in the hospital," Qrow claimed.
Raven paused for a moment after hearing his words before once again, taking out her sword and creating another portal to leave. As she left, Qrow sighed, sitting back down in his chair and ordering another drink.
"Should've known she'd lie through her teeth guess that just makes things a little harder." Qrow thought aloud as he finished his drink.
"I doubt she's hiding just that though after the whole incident at the Vytal Festival knowing her she's probably looking to get her hands on that power." Qrow thought as a waitress brought him another drink.
"Can't blame her though with power like that you're basically unstoppable though she'd probably give up once she learns it takes away your semblance…if that is true maybe I should learn that power and rid myself of this curse." Qrow thought on.
"On second thought that old geezer wouldn't trust me with that power," Qrow concluded as he took a sip from his drink.
Haven Dormitories...
"A BERINGEL SHOT A LASER AT YOU GUYS!" Ruby yelled as Team JNPR finished their story. Team RWBY had completed its mission in Saiyatown and returned to Haven meeting up with Team JNPR to tell each other how their missions went.
"Yep crazy right, we thought it could be Ki, but that's impossible right since Grimm have never done such a thing," Jaune replied.
"I guess Jason was right when he said Grimm were appearing with new power," Yang commented, catching Team JNPR off guard.
"Wait! You guys saw Jason?" Nora questioned.
"Yeah, guess Pyrrha is some kind of psychic because Saiyatown is apparently where he grew up, he even showed us his house and offered us to stay there during our time there," Yang explained.
"Wow, Pyrrha, I didn't know you were a psychic!" Nora exclaimed.
"I'm not psychic I just got lucky and guessed it!" Pyrrha defended.
"So what did Jason say about Grimm having new powers?" Ren asked.
"He said that he saved a girl from some Ursa two weeks ago, and after he took care of her a new wound appeared hours after the fact already infected, he had to take her to Kai for treatment," Blake explained not revealing the fact that the girl was Neo.
"Really, that does sound odd," Pyrrha commented.
"They think that Salem must be doing something to cause all of this," Ruby added.
"That would be the dominant theory, yes," Ozpin commented as he entered the room.
"Professor Ozpin, when did you arrive in Haven?" Weiss asked. Everyone was surprised to see their former headmaster enter the room, seeing as he was overseeing the reconstruction of Vale.
"I arrived not too long ago to speak with you all about what had happened during your missions," Ozpin explained.
"Well, there isn't much to tell you that we haven't already told you, Professor," Jaune said.
"I know, but I have a feeling I know what Salem has been doing to cause this," Ozpin replied.
"What would that be, Professor?" Ruby asked.
"You see Miss Rose after Team JADE went back to their mountain abode I received a message from Mura not too long after telling me that Jason was poisoned during that whole Jiyu Game nonsense and during his time unconscious he had a vision of Salem." Ozpin began.
"He did!" Yang gasped.
"He got poisoned!" Ruby yelled, concerned about her friend.
"What's a Jiyu Game?" Nora asked.
"We'll explain later," Blake answered.
"No need to worry, Mr. Shin is quite alright he made a full recovery," Ozpin assured.
"Continuing on in his vision, he was trapped within a dark Grimm like essence to which Salem called her creation. She is giving an unreasonable amount of darkness to this creature and something else which Mr. Shin described as looking like blood to which is what I believe is what is giving these Grimm their new abilities. This is only a theory, but I believe Salem has figured something out about the power of Ki and is somehow implanting that power into the Grimm." Ozpin finished.
"But how could she do that? Grimm don't have souls, and the way Mura explained Ki to us is that it is the next step to aura?" Weiss asked.
"Yes, well Mura said that he needed to choose his words more carefully next time, you see he explained that aura and Ki are in fact very similar in terms of energy and that aura can lead to Ki usage when unlocked, but Ki does not require a soul to be used. Aura is the soul coming out and is empowered by Ki when used, but even if one does not have aura unlocked, you can still learn Ki, and of course, seeing the android made by Talon when he first attacked is more evidence that a soul is not needed." Ozpin explained.
"That does make some sense, I guess," Jaune said.
"So, what could she be doing to have the Grimm be able to use Ki then?" Ruby asked.
"That is why I came here I just wanted to reanalyze your story again this time with every detail that could be of importance," Ozpin answered.
"Well, there's not much other than what we told you, Professor, it happened so fast and without warning plus it died after it shot the laser," Pyrrha replied.
"Anything at all, even if it seems small and unimportant, would be helpful." Ozpin insisted.
"Well, there was the tail." Ren pointed out.
"A tail you say care to explain?" Ozpin asked.
"Well, when the Beringel was cut in half, I noticed that it had a tail which no other Beringel have ever had before this one," Ren explained.
"Yeah, I've never heard of a Beringel having a tail before," Weiss commented.
"That is very strange, what did the tail look like?" Ozpin questioned.
"It was small and not in proportion to the Beringel's size, and it looked more like a monkey's tail," Ren answered.
"A Beringel that can shoot lasers and has a monkey tail it almost sounds like a small version of that ape Jason turned into." Ruby compared.
"Yes, yes it does, thank you for your time children this has given me some clues as to how Salem is doing all of this and will look further into all of this, but for now, I must return to Vale," Ozpin said as he left.
"She must have gotten her hands on Mr. Shin's blood." Ozpin theorized.
"I wonder what he found out?" Jaune wondered.
"I'm sure once he figures it out for real, he'll inform us," Pyrrha commented.
"So, what is a Jiyu Game?" Nora asked.
"Okay, so you see apparently it's some tradition in Damian and Alex's family…" Weiss began.
Kai's Mountain...
Evan and Elias were high in the sky, battling it out in a sparring match. Jason and Neo were spectating below on the mountain top as the sky thundered from the clashes, and the local area around them shook. Evan threw a punch at Elias's face, who ducked under throwing an uppercut into his gut. Evan coughed up spit as he was pushed back a distance, and the two stared off at one another.
"Not bad you're getting better at fighting." Elias complimented.
"Thanks, you too." Evan returned the compliment.
"Though I think Jason is getting jealous of not getting to train." Evan pointed out as they slowly returned to the mountain.
"True, but he's still recovering from the poison he'll be able to train again soon enough," Elias replied.
"Yeah, I know," Evan said as they landed.
"Great fight, you two, you're both getting stronger!" Jason exclaimed as they rejoined the group.
"Thanks, so how're you feeling, Jason?" Evan asked. Before Jason could answer, he coughed up a storm but soon finished.
"Sorry about that. I'm feeling better, but that cough is getting annoying." Jason answered.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be full strength again soon." Evan encouraged.
"Thanks, man," Jason replied.
"By the way, where's Mura?" Evan asked.
"No idea I haven't seen him since he left to go contact Ozpin," Jason answered.
"Have you tried asking Kai where he may be?" Elias asked.
"Really?" Jason questioned sarcastically. They all turned and looked at Kai, who was staring absentmindedly at the ground.
"All these squares make a circle. All these squares make a circle." Kai muttered to himself continuously.
"Right, stupid question." Elias deadpanned.
"Does he have a problem?" Neo asked.
"Yeah, a drug problem," Jason answered.
"Maggot!" Kai called to Jason.
"Yes, Kai *Cough*?" Jason coughed, replying to Kai.
"Tell me I can leave the mountain if I want to." Kai requested.
"Kai, you can leave the mountain if…" Jason began before Kai interrupted him.
"Bitch don't tell me what to do!" Kai yelled.
"All these squares make a circle…" Kai muttered, going back to repeating that phrase.
"Yeah, so who knows, maybe he actually had to go to Vale to tell Ozpin in person since we don't get the greatest reception out here." Jason theorized.
"Good point," Evan commented.
"What about Damian, Alex, and Amber?" Evan asked.
"Damian and Alex asked Amber if she can help them with their training, so they're sparing in the underground arena," Jason answered.
"Wait, isn't that where we fight the shadows?" Evan asked.
"Yep," Jason replied.
"But why are they in there?" Elias questioned.
"They didn't want to be distracted by your spar, so they decided to go somewhere more isolated to train," Jason explained.
"Guess that makes sense," Evan said as they began walking over towards the entrance of the arena to see how the spar was doing.
"What are the shadows anyway?" Elias inquired.
"No idea we never asked and never were told. If I had to guess though, it's one of Kai's bullshit abilities," Evan responded.
"I HEARD THAT MAGGOT!" Kai yelled.
"SORRY!" Evan quickly apologized before picking up the pace.
As they opened the hatch to watch them above, they could see the fight seeing it well underway. Damian circled around Amber with Speed Serpent to dodge her attacks as she floated above the ground.
Alex was keeping his distance shooting arrows at Amber but were deflected by a shield composed of wind. Using their semblance to empower their attacks against Amber, making them marginally more effective. However, Amber seemed to shrug off their attacks for the most part, with very little getting through her barrier.
"Wow, Amber's gotten pretty strong!" Jason exclaimed.
"Yeah, after seeing us, she was inspired to train even harder to get stronger, and the maiden powers have grown immensely due to the training she went through," Elias explained. Damian used a Twin Serpent Slasher to attack Amber, slashing her shield several times though the shield was too strong to get his sword through.
But Damian wasn't looking to hit Amber but to create a distraction for Alex to charge an attack strong enough to pierce Amber's shield of wind. Amber sent Damian flying away from a fireball and turned just in time to see the Dragon Arrow fired by Alex.
Having no time to dodge, she increased the speed of the wind that surrounded. As the Dragon Arrow made impact and began to circle around her barrier, wrapping it around nearly entirely. She had no choice but to dispel her shield and managed to get through the Dragon Arrow with little damage.
However, once she hit the ground, Damian came from behind to attack. Unable to block Damian, she was hit by a swing by his sword, taking away a chunk of her aura. As Amber began to get up, Damian walked over and helped her up as everyone present in the spar was exhausted and decided to end the match.
"Nice fight, guys!" Jason complimented from above. The trio looked up, surprised at the sudden audience of their friends above.
"Thanks, how long have you all been watching?" Alex asked.
"Just got to see the end, nothing more," Evan answered as he let them back up.
"Seems like training is going well for you guys," Elias commented as they got back to the surface.
"Thanks, how was your training?" Damian asked.
"It was productive though Jason was jealous." Evan teased.
"Quit rubbing it in!" Jason yelled as Neo smacked Evan in the back of his head. Jason went into a coughing fit after overexerting his voice but was okay overall.
"So have you guys seen Mura?" Jason asked.
"Sorry, we haven't," Amber answered.
"It made getting down into the arena harder than it had to be," Damian added.
"You think something happened to Mura?" Alex asked.
"No, he's probably just running late on returning, after all, he decided to forgo learning to fly," Jason suggested.
"Yeah, you're right." Evan agreed though he paused.
"What's wrong?" Jason questioned. Evan turned to see a raven fly away just as he turned to look.
"It's nothing. It's just that I thought I sensed the same energy I felt at the village I found destroyed, but it must have been my imagination." Evan explained.
"The one that felt similar to Amber's?" Elias questioned.
"Yeah, that one," Evan replied.
"How is that even possible unless they're related I don't see that being possible?" Jason wondered.
"Whoever it is could be another maiden, it is said that the original maidens were given their magic by a single person. So, in theory, if two people are maidens even if they aren't the same type of maiden, they should have similar energies," Amber suggested.
"That actually makes a whole lot of sense. I mean, you maidens have very different energy signatures than most people here. If we were able to say sense the energy of everyone on the planet, we would most definitely be able to sense the other maidens as similar energies." Elias agreed.
"Too bad we can't do that," Jason said. Evan thought about this and the powers of the maidens when he thought back on about the bird he saw back in the village.
"Hey Amber, does the maiden powers allow you to transform into a bird or something like that?" Evan questioned.
"No, I don't think they can," Amber answered.
"Why do you ask?" Amber asked.
"I just remember sensing the origin of the power from a bird, whether that was just an illusion or me making a mistake, I don't know, but I just wanted to make sure," Evan explained.
"That does sound odd. Maybe we should ask Mura or even Ozpin and get their opinions." Jason suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Evan said as he went to the dining hall.
"Since Kai out of it, we're going to have to make our own dinner," Evan announced as everyone followed to join him.
"Alright, but you're not allowed to cook. You're cooking sucks." Jason said.
"Fine, but you can't cook because you're still technically sick," Evan replied.
Elsewhere...
Raven flew high above in the form of her namesake, after spying on the children on the top of the mountain she overheard that one of them was not home. "It must have been the old man who's gone if I capture him, I can hold him hostage and force them to give me that power." Raven thought as she searched over Anima for the man.
But as she looked, one thing kept bothering her about every time she had spied on the children. Every time without fail, she was spotted or at least that they seemed to be aware of her presence, especially the blonde boy who always looked right at her in her namesakes form as if he knew she was there.
"He's the most annoying of that group." Raven thought.
She searched for hours until she finally found the man she was looking for walking through the forest on an old road. Mura walked alone on an old dirt road taking his time to get back to the mountain to enjoy the world around him when he sensed a peculiar energy near him.
"You can come out. I know you are there." Mura announced. Raven was surprised that he knew of her presence just like those children.
"How are they detecting me?!" Raven questioned. She transformed back into her human form, but before walking out, she made a portal to send Vernal a message to help her ambush Mura. Afterward, she walked out from the trees in front of Mura.
"Now then, young lady, how can I be of service?" Mura asked, slightly annoying Raven.
"You're coming with me, old man," Raven told.
"And why would I do that, Miss Branwen?" Mura questioned, getting serious when he saw Raven.
"How do you know my name?" Raven questioned.
"I am an associate of Ozpin's and your brother's they have told me about you. I even helped train your daughter at one point." Mura explained.
Raven became more on alert at that point, knowing that Ozpin and Qrow would have told her of her abilities, but he did not know that she was the spring maiden. She grabbed on her sword and slowly walked towards him to take him out.
"I suggest that you do not try it this won't end well, I may be old, but I can still fight," Mura warned.
Raven didn't listen to his words though still cautious she sprinted at him, unsheathing her sword and unleashing several blows on him. However, he blocked each attack with his staff and dodged the others that were empowered by dust.
At first glance, it would seem like Raven had Mura on the defensive, but in reality, he just didn't want to fight back. He saw no purpose it fighting her. Instead, he had opted to tire her out and continue to head back home.
As the battle went on, Raven continued her onslaught with Mura easily countering, but unbeknownst to him, several bandits came out of the portal Raven created. They surrounded Raven and Mura with weapons in hand to aid Raven in her battle.
Before Mura noticed them, they began to shoot several tranquilizers at Mura, who was barely able to block them, with some getting through and hitting him. His vision blurred as he felt himself become drowsy. He should have known they would try a dirty trick like this, but it was too late as he passed out.
Kai's Mountain...
"I still don't get what you guys are complaining about I think this stuff's pretty great," Jason said as he ate his food.
Neo had offered to cook that night, and once everyone had tried it, they only got one bite in before collapsing from the reaction it had in their stomach. All except Jason, that is who gleefully ate the food that Neo had made for them.
"How can you actually eat this?" Evan questioned.
"I feel like my stomach is turning inside out," Damian complained.
"Whatever, if you guys aren't going to eat this, I'll eat it for you." Jason offered.
Everyone pushed their plates to Jason for him to eat as he gladly dug in. As Neo watched this, she was discouraged that they all seemed to hate her cooking but was happy that at least Jason found it to be appetizing. Soon their meal was interrupted as Kai entered hysterically sweating all over.
"Maggots, we got a problem!" Kai yelled as he entered.
"What's wrong, Kai do you need one of us to tell you that you can leave if you want to again?" Jason asked.
"Nah, I came down a couple of minutes ago the problem is that I just received this off a bird," Kai explained. Evan, who had finally recovered from Neo's food, stood up slowly and took the paper from Kai. His eyes widened as he read the contents of the letter.
"What is it, Evan?" Jason asked, coughing a few times afterward.
"It says that whoever sent us this letter has Mura, and they will only give him back if one of us teaches them the Ki!" Evan answered.
"That's not good," Alex commented as he slowly got up.
"Does it say anything about where they are?" Jason asked.
"No, not currently at least, it does say where to meet them in a couple of days and that only one of us is allowed to show up or else they'll kill Mura," Evan answered.
"What are we going to do we're not going to just teach them power that can destroy entire mountains are we?!" Damian asked.
"No way!" Jason yelled.
"Evan, how many days do we have until the meeting?" Jason questioned.
"We have four days," Evan answered.
"Right, so the plan is this we're going to continue training and wait for me to recover, and Evan will go alone to meet these people." Jason began.
"Once he does, we'll have Kai teleport us to Evan and take out the kidnappers to save Mura. They don't fully understand who they're messing with." Jason finished.
"Sounds like a plan. We'll make them pay for messing with us!" Evan agreed.
"Yeah…!" Elias struggling said weakly, raising his arm into the air.
"Mind if I train with you when you recover?" Neo asked.
"Not at all," Jason answered.
"Alright you maggots do that, I'ma go back to my business," Kai said as he left the dining hall.
"One of these days, I think we need to have an intervention with him," Jason commented.
"What makes you think he cares what we think?" Evan asked.
"Good point," Jason replied as they all left to rest up for training the next morning.
Branwen Tribe Camp...
"Do you think this plan will work, Ma'am?" Vernal asked.
"Yes, they won't risk us killing the old man, so one shall come but have scouts set up around the area to make sure they came alone the last thing we need is an ambush," Raven answered. Currently, they were in a small temporary camp separate from their main camp so that once they make a deal with the "Gods," they won't know where they truly resided.
"This old man has been out for a long while. You don't think we put too much tranquilizer in him, do you?" Vernal questioned.
"Who cares as long as he's not dead, then he's fine," Raven replied as she began to sharpen her sword.
As Raven tended to her weapon, she couldn't help but think about Yang, not only had Qrow brought her up, but now she was reminded by Mura about her. Though she didn't want to admit it what Qrow said was right, she did care about Yang to the point she would check up on her every now and then. But when she did need help, she couldn't do anything, those men, those Tuffles were too strong, but she would soon gain the power to be above them.
Not only that, but she may also even rid the world of Salem, and then Yang would be safe, and more importantly, the tribe would be as well, at least safer than they are right now with her being the spring maiden. Once she finished with her sword, she left Vernal to guard the captive as she went to her tent to rest, the next couple of days were going to be interesting.
Days Later...
"Okay, you remember the plan?" Jason questioned. The day of the meeting had come, and everyone on Kai's Mountain was eager to get things started.
"I am going to meet with these people at the meeting area and talk things out, then once I see a chance, I raise my power level to signal you guys for Kai to teleport you over, and we can take these guys out," Evan answered.
"Perfect, we'll be stationed nearby, and thanks to Neo's semblance, we will be out of their sights," Jason replied.
"Let's get this done and make sure they understand how big of a mistake they made messing with us!" Damian declared.
"Of course, and you made sure Kai was sober today, right?" Jason asked.
"Yep, I hid his stash," Alex answered.
"Everything's itchy I need my stuff!" Kai yelled.
"You'll get it once we're done!" Jason shouted.
"Uh." Kai groaned in response.
"How do you feel though Jason are you all better?" Elias asked.
"Yeah, I wouldn't have gotten much training in otherwise thankfully, I'm back to one hundred percent," Jason answered. They had been training nonstop over the past couple of days for this moment, and with Jason fully recovered, they were ready to fight.
"Alright, then let's do this!" Jason said.
They all linked up to Kai, who teleported them to the general area of where they needed to be. As they arrived, Evan split and went to the meeting point as everyone linked arms once again and let Neo use her semblance to blend them into the surrounding area. Evan soon arrived at the stated meeting point, a camp surrounded by a large wooden fence.
"Wow, this just screams hey we're the bad guys." Evan joked as he opened the gate.
He was met with a large group of bandits surrounding him as he ventured further into the camp blocking the exit. Once he got far enough in, he spotted what seemed to be the people in charge guarding a tied-up Mura standing next to them.
"Hey, Mura, you doing okay?" Evan asked.
"I'm fine, but the rope is itchy, and I am a bit light-headed from the tranquilizer but overall fine," Mura responded.
"Quiet!" One of the bandits ordered. Soon what seemed to be the leader, a tall woman with long black hair, walked forward to speak with Evan.
"Wait, she kinda looks like Yang." Evan thought as he watched her. They stared at one another for a long while before Evan decided to speak up.
"Okay, so what's going to happen are you going to make me teach you now or are you going to hand over Mura and have us both teach you?" Evan questioned. The woman looked over to one of the bandits who checked something over some comms and gave her a nod.
"Good, it does seem that you've come alone just as we agreed. My name is Raven, and from henceforth, you work for me as you teach me this power." Raven announced.
Evan looked unamused as he sensed the powers of everyone around him, most were just average and nothing that would pose a threat to him or the others except one. Though it wasn't a threat, he recognized Raven's energy signature as the one he sensed near the village and on top of the mountain.
"She must have been spying on us for a while." Evan thought.
"Okay, then what are you going to do with Mura?" Evan asked.
"He'll be fine, but we will hold onto him for now," Raven explained.
"I see," Evan replied.
"So would you like to start now?" Evan asked.
"Yes, but in a more private area," Raven answered.
"Why I can teach you right here though, of course, you'll lose your semblance forever," Evan replied.
"Excuse me?" Raven questioned.
"If you want this power, you'll lose your semblance hell even I don't have one, but why would I need it when I can do this!" Evan explained charging up his energy until he was surrounded by a strong white energy. His sudden power boost caused a burst of wind to blow across the bandits causing some to fall onto their asses.
"This power!" Vernal gasped.
Suddenly a peculiar noise came from above as Jason and the others descended upon the bandits with Jason and Elias knocking away the ones guarding Mura. The others started attacking the rest of the bandits making quick work of every last one of them until only Raven and Vernal were left.
"What the hell we checked the surrounding area where the hell did they come from?!" Vernal questioned.
"You underestimated us! Did you actually think we were going to teach you how to use the power we have? The last thing we need is people like you running around with the power to destroy entire kingdoms!" Jason declared. Raven reached for her weapon ready for them to pounce, but not a single one did so.
"Is she the one you've been sensing, Evan?" Elias asked.
"Yeah, she's definitely the one whose been watching us and who was at the village," Evan answered both surprising and confusing Raven and Vernal.
"You're a maiden, aren't you?" Jason asked. Raven's eyes widened how could they tell, how did they find out so easily by just looking at her.
"It doesn't matter. We made our point," Alex stated.
"You're right, never try anything like this again, or else we won't go easy on you as we did this time same goes for raiding any villages," Jason warned as they grouped back up with Kai and teleported away.
"What…what was that?" Vernal questioned.
Raven stood silent at the question she was covered with sweat from the situation, she was foolish and acted too rashly to gain the power. Those children were much smarter and more resourceful than she had thought, and it proved to be a large oversight.
"Get everyone back on their feet. We're heading back to the main camp." Raven ordered as she went to calm herself down.
After this, their guard would be up, and there would be no second chance of making them give her the power they had. This meant that she had to go back on Plan B to run and hide from Salem as she had been doing.
Kai's Mountain...
"Thank you all for that, I was taken off guard by those ruffians." Mura thanked as they returned to Kai's Mountain thanks to Kai's power.
"No problem, Master we'll always be there to help you." Jason declared.
"Yeah, I mean, we're like family after all." Evan agreed. Mura smiled at the words his students had told him over his long life. He had never been so happy, but now he had to tell them that his time is short.
"Yes, that would be an accurate description, but there is something I need to tell you all," Mura said.
"Yeah, Master, what's up?" Jason asked.
"I have had a vision once again, and what it could mean is up in the air, but what I do know about my visions is that they are events that will happen during my lifetime. But it seems that I am not long for this world." Mura explained.
"What do you mean?!" Evan asked, shocked at the sudden information Mura was giving him.
"I don't know when, but before this year is over, I will die whether it is from my age or from the battle I do not know," Mura stated, shocking everyone present save Kai who was out of it. Mura recounted his conversation with Ozpin back in Vale.
"So Mr. Shin had a vision of Salem." Ozpin reiterated what Mura had told him.
"That is correct I'm afraid that Grimm shooting lasers or causing damage to appear later on is just the tip of the iceberg of what she has in store for us," Mura explained.
"Have you had any visions about this, Mura?" Ozpin asked.
"I'm sorry, Oz, but I have not had any about her. I only have visions of grand events of the future in a few years, and only if I am alive to see it." Mura answered.
"You said that you hadn't had any about her, then what vision have you had?" Ozpin questioned.
"I am not long for this world, Oz I don't know the specifics like whether it's from my old age or if it's in a battle, but I will soon die," Mura explained.
"That is very disheartening news, old friend," Ozpin replied.
"Yes, but I have lived a long life, longer than most save you, of course." Mura smiled. The two had a little laugh at what Mura had said as silence filled the air.
"Have you told your students?" Ozpin asked.
"No, I have not, but I will soon once I return, but for now, I will enjoy the world for the time I have left on it," Mura explained.
"Have you had any other visions, Mura, any at all?" Ozpin asked.
"Only one, but I don't understand what it is." Mura began.
"It is only one image I keep seeing in my mind, a strange purple and white creature in an unknown location," Mura answered.
"You don't think it's a new threat, do you?" Ozpin questioned.
"I can't say for sure, Ozpin, but at the moment, that's all I have," Mura answered.
"I see well, then I wish you safe travels back to your mountain, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your life," Ozpin said.
"Thank you, my friend," Mura replied.
Mura has dropped a bomb onto our heroes soon. He shall die as he has foreseen, but unbeknownst to him, his second vision was warning him of the danger that slowly approaches Remnant from afar. Find out what happens Next Time!
Author's Note:
This chapter was a tough one to write, for I had to figure out what to put into it. While I have a basic layout on what is going to happen in this arc, I wanted to put somethings to happen before Cooler's arrival, but I think I did well with this chapter. I also included a larger explanation on the relationship between Ki and Aura in response to a review that showed me an error I made in my explanation, so yes. At the same time, Ki and aura are the same energy one does not need a soul to use Ki (Like Android 16 or 19 in Dragon Ball Z). I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I will see you all next time!