Gamer4 in. A strange trend has been inundating me since last episode, in the form of a slew of offers to create a comic based off of this fanfic. One offer? I'm skeptically optimistic. Four offers over three days? I'm starting to smell the sour milk. No more offers, please- I'm cool keeping this story as-is. Moving along.
Episode XXX
The Old Forest
To Ruby's surprise, light didn't immediately cease in this tunnel as it had in Tephra Cave or the Colony 6 Ether Mines. Much like Satorl Marsh, this place was illuminated by a gentle glow. In contrast, however, this glow was coming from... feelers, as best she could describe, growing from the walls like fur. The floor and walls were no longer solid rock, but... soft. Spongy, almost.
"Urrrgghhh... this place is gross," Ruby shuddered.
"I'm half-expecting Ms. Frizzle to jump in on her magic schoolbus," Yang chuckled.
Yang wrinkled her nose as she took it all in. "This place is makin' me feel dirty."
"And that's unusual?" Blake quipped.
"Why you always gotta bully me?" Yang gave an exaggerated pout.
"Only when you deserve it," Blake rolled her eyes.
"Skirtin' around the membrane of Bionis's lung," Qrow assessed. "The third, if I'm not wrong."
"Three lungs?" Winter knitted her brow.
"Such an enormous creature... differing biology is almost to be expected," Ironwood pontificated.
"Or did you not see that this lung's bigger'n a city block?" Torchwick couldn't help asking snarkily.
Yang looked to Ruby and noticed the troubled expression on her face. "You alright, Rubes?" A thought occurred to her, and she almost instinctively readied her gauntlets. "Another vision?"
"No, nothing like that," Ruby shook her head. "It's just... from in here, it doesn't really seem like Bionis is actually dead."
"Not... dead?" Qrow repeated, glancing again around at the 'tunnel' around them.
"Hold up, Rubes!" Yang interjected, looking more than a little unnerved. "If Bionis started movin' around again, that wouldn't be good for us!" She took a deep breath. "Let's just... keep moving, okay?"
"Ah, just ignore the problem- how like a human," Adam sneered.
"Reasonably, what could they do if it did start moving?" Saphron pointed out, clearly troubled herself. "Pray, I guess... that's about it."
Ruby bit her lip, but conceded, allowing herself to be drawn along further down the tunnel. Fortunately, as per both Qrow and Tai's word, they weren't in it for long before the spongy surfaces turned back to solid stone and the glow, somehow so much more disconcerting than Satorl Marsh, disappeared. Eventually, she saw a different light filtering in through an opening- starlight.
"Alright, we've had a long day- let's get some rest here and enter Makna forest in the morning," Qrow suggested. With no objections, they took out their sleeping bags and prepared for rest.
Ruby was having trouble getting to sleep when she heard a distant roar coming from the nearby mouth of the cave. She looked and saw Qrow crouched by the entrance, his hand tight on his sword. Slowly, she rose to her feet and approached him. "What... is that?" she whispered.
From the same direction came the sound of gunfire. "Someone havin' a worse night than us," Qrow murmured back to her.
"I suspect that is quite the understatement," Winter glowered, drumming her fingers agitatedly.
"We need to go-"
"Fight's too fierce, kiddo- no way we get to 'em in time, let alone in any shape to help." He bowed his head. "Try to get some sleep."
"I... really hate that he's right," Blake reluctantly admitted. "Too fierce, and too far..."
Ruby accepted his instructions with equal reluctance.
The camera exited the cave, and zoomed across the nearby forest towards the source of the noise. They were immediately caught off guard as they bore witness to a great, three-headed beast soaring through the air, hound and dragon in equal parts. A group of soldiers in white armor, inlcuding remarkably elaborate helmets, were opening fire on it from below. It hardly seemed to faze the beast as it did a pirrouhette in the air and tackled two of the soldiers, one under each of its mighty forepaws.
"Ain't that one of those telethia things that saved us from Metal Face?" Qrow observed.
"Yep- it totally is!" Sun realized. "I thought those things were on our side!"
"Perhaps the one that aided you was simply trained by my other?" Penny speculated.
"I suppose that's possible," Ironwood speculated. "Assuming that they are more akin to wild animals than to grimm, of course."
"Aizel!" came a cry from near the edge of the clearing where the battle was playing out- the camera panned to show a young woman in an elaborate white clothing- including a headdress. She produced a rapier and waved it- a wave of energy fired from it, knocking one of the paws from one of the soldiers.
"Weiss!" Ruby beamed. "This world just got so much better!"
"Oh, dear..." Weiss was not nearly as excited..
As 'Aizel' pulled himself to his feet, another soldier pulled Weiss back. "Lady Schnee, withdraw to the nopon village and allow us to handle this beast!"
"I will not!" Weiss objected. "Do you really expect me to leave you to save myself?!"
"Permit us this once, Lady Schnee!" Aizel agreed with his fellow soldier. "It is our honor and duty to protect you with our very lives! There is no need to fear for us! Flee!"
"I will not! I cannot return to the capital while this beast still lives!"
"Don't you dare pretend to be noble," Adam growled. "You don't know the meaning of the word."
"I think she knows it better than you, douchelord," Yang fired back.
Weiss looked away, unwilling to comment.
Their attention was caught as the beast landed with enough force to cause a shockwave that nearly knocked them over. Antannae all over its body began to glow as it drew energy from the atmosphere. With a great roar, it released this energy in a blast that knocked Weiss to the ground- as she pulled herself up, she paled when she saw just how close she'd come to death. All of the soldiers were gone- the fallen corpse of Aizel showed that she had only survived due to his sacrifice.
"No..." Weiss stared, open-mouthed in horror.
"Well, if we're going with the grimm analogy, I think we just found our alpha," Qrow snarled over another drink from his flask.
"Four soldiers... just like that..." Pyrrha forced out.
"Aizel... Hogard... Garan, Damil!" Weiss's face was turning from one of horror to one of determination as she began to glow much as the telethia had. "Bestow the light of your life unto me!"
She raised her rapier into the air- the glow from her channelled into a snowflake-shaped glyph from which beams of light emerged, firing at the monster and lighting the entire clearing up as bright as day...
And the camera cut back to the cave where the travelers were waking up.
"What? No!" Ruby protested. "I wanna make sure Weiss is okay!"
"I doubt that mystery will remain unanswered for long," Whitley speculated. "At least we know what those noises Ruby was hearing were, at least."
"We should have gone after theeeeeeem!" Ruby wailed.
The second the travelers crossed the threshold out of the cave, they were met with a wave of heat at complete odds with the chilly cavern interior. "Okay, who lit the fire?" Yang wondered, wiping the sweat that suddenly appeared on her brow. "I'll get sweatier than a brog's armpit at this rate!"
"Lovely," Blake rolled her eyes. "But you're not wrong... I've never seen forest this dense."
"Welcome to Makna Forest," Qrow chuckled. "Legend says this is the birthplace of life on Bionis- even 'Makna' is the nopon word for Bionis. It's where they come from, at least. Have a look."
Ruby approached him and looked over the landscape- they'd stepped onto a steep cliffside weaving through trees down to a ravine that seemed to split the forest in twain. On the other side was even denser forest comprised of enormous trees- the size of them took her breath away. And in pride of place, in the rough center of them all, was a single tree that seemed to pierce the heavens, larger than any structure back in Colony 9, even the anti-air batteries.
"Not a bad sight, is it?" Qrow grinned as he took in her dropped jaw.
"Man, every time we think this world can't get any cooler," Sun grinned, leaning his head back into his hands.
"Lots of places to hide..." Raven considered.
"Stop and smell the roses sometime, you'll live longer," Vanessa muttered.
"Well, no point hanging around up here," Blake decided, starting on a path down the slope towards the ravine. "Sooner we get out of here, sooner we don't have to deal with Yang's stench anymore."
"Blake!"
"Why you gotta be so meeeaaaan!" Yang 'wailed.'
"Leave yourself open with lines like that 'brog's armpit' schtick, how am I not supposed to take the opportunity?"
While they bickered, Ruby gazed into the forest, her mind drifting to her vision of Prison Island. That girl in white... another faced mechon, in silver... urgh, why do these visions have to be so cryptic? It'd help so much more if I knew what it all meant!
"Maybe you could try telling your friends about it?" Saphron suggested.
"She definitely went through an ardc earlier telling her she should," Jaune recalled.
"But she did tell them everything of substance about her visions," Penny pointed out. "It seems unlikely they'd understand these other details better than she does."
"Eyes front, we've got another scene change," Ren pointed out.
The new scene took place in a dark chamber, in the center of which was a pod surrouned by computers. Inside the pod, a mechanical unit was being assembled- a unit that very much resembled the silver mechon from Ruby's vision. Running around the outside, operating the computers and seemingly running the assembly of the unit, was a shadowy figure, marked only by a tall pair of rabbit ears.
"Velvet?" Coco raised an eyebrow.
"Wait- I'm working with the mechon?" Velvet gasped.
"We... we don't know that!" Blake quickly objected.
"All that remains... is the soul transfer," murmered the figure, typing in several commands. An arm came down and added a triangular piece to the chest of the unit, which then continued piecing itself together. "There. Nemesis is complete." The figure bowed her head. "Please... go forth and bring peace to Mechonis... to all of us..."
"That... sure sounds like she's working with the mechon," Neptune reluctantly pointed out.
"I... I wouldn't!" Velvet objected weakly. "You... you know I wouldn't!"
"Of course you wouldn't," Coco agreed, gently running a hand along her ears- Velvet leaned back in comfort. "Just... makes me wonder what the heck you are up to, in that case."
The camera didn't seem intent on offering insight, instead returning to the travelers as they reached the edge of the ravine. "We've got a rope bridge," Blake announced, observing the wood planks that covered the chasm before them. "Pretty sturdy- looks homs-made."
"Not homs- nopon," Qrow corrected. "Told ya- this is their home turf. I think we can trust this bridge- they'll make sure it's kept up."
"Is there... another way?" Blake asked, her eyes wide as she peered into the ravine.
"Maybe, if you wanna go a few miles around," Qrow shrugged.
"Are you okay, Blake?" Ruby asked.
"I... I'm fine..."
"Oh, right, Blakey's afraid of heights!" Kali slapped a fist into her palm. "Oh, dear, poor girl..."
"Mo-oommm..." Blake flushed, trying to sink into the couch beneath her.
"I see," Yang nodded. "Tell you what- hang on to my arm, and close your eyes. I'll walk us over."
"I... I don't..." Blake attempted to object, before another glance into the ravine seemed to force her to swallow her pride. "Oh, all right."
She reluctantly reached up and accepted Yang's arm, closing her eyes tightly as the troupe set off across the bridge.
"Urge to murder... rising..." Adam muttered.
"Ugh... we never discuss this again," Blake glared at her team, receiving only three smirks in return.
Ruby's eyes, on the other hand, were wide with wonder and amazement as they crossed. The ravine seemed to stretch off forever to their left, the river below winding towards an infinite horizon. The true wonder, however, was to their right, where the river was fed by an enormous waterfall, a semicircle a mile in diameter forming a perfect wall of water that poured into a seething cauldron below.
"Guys- guys, look at that!"
"I'd rather not..." Blake murmured.
"You don't know what you're missing!" Yang singsonged.
"I'm looking at it right now, Yang," Blake pointed out, her eyes suitably wide- fortunately, her distaste for heights didn't stretch over the screen.
After a few minutes for most of the team and several hours for Blake, they disembarked on the other side of the bridge. Blake was shaking as she stepped away from Yang, but showed no other signs of discomfort.
"Alright, let's stick to the trails," Qrow instructed. "All roads in Makna Forest lead to the nopon village."
"Right- let's get going!" Ruby agreed, and the three set off into the trees.
"Eyes open for sauruses," Qrow added. "Between them and orlugas, the nopon have plenty of competition in these parts."
Fortunately, they didn't encounter any of the above- though they saw plenty of other wildlife, including, to the amusement of all except Yang, a particularly large brog crouching outside a cave in a small pond.
Before they could get around to teasing her, however, they stumbled upon a strange clearing where the ground turned from green and lush to grey and dusty. Everything within the circle was dead and shriveled... with the exception of an unconscious girl in the rough center.
"Weiss!" Ruby shrieked. "Is she okay, isheissheisshe?!"
"Stop screaming in my ear, and maybe we'll find out!" Weiss grumbled, rotating a finger in the ear in question.
"A girl!" Ruby rushed forward.
"I think we've found our fighter from last night," Qrow observed.
"Is she okay?" Yang asked urgently.
"Give me a second." Blake instructed. As she began a cursory examination, Ruby gasped.
"Something up?" Yang noticed immediately.
"This girl... she's the one from my vision! She's supposed to come to Prison Island with us!"
"Guess that makes her pretty important, huh?" Yang nodded.
"What if we messed up- what if she's dead?!" Ruby began to panic. "What if-"
"That's enough of that," Blake interrupted. "She's not dead."
"Well, the medic has spoken- you can stop beating yourself up, Rubes," Saphron patted her on the back.
"As much as I can respect my fellow big sis's big sis-ing skills, I'm gonna have to remind you that Rubes is my little sister," Yang interjected. "Be careful where you tread."
Saphron nodded, an understanding passing between them that could only be shared between older siblings.
"Her breathing is fine... though her condition is far from what I'd call 'stable.'"
"What's wrong with her?" Qrow asked.
"Judging by her symptoms, and the state of this clearing... ether deficiency."
"Pardon?" Yang asked.
"Look, you know how everything on Bionis requires ether to survive, right?"
"They do?" Ghira asked.
"It's somethin' like how we need vitamin C from the sun, and things such as," Tom explained.
"Hmm... I suppose it makes sense when you put it like that," Kali nodded.
"I think I can tell which of us could use some vitamin C," Sun chuckled, looking pointedly at the quietest member of the audience.
Neptune gulped when Salem narrowed her eyes. "Sun... a little less antagonizing the embodiment of evil..."
Ozpin narrowed his own eyes. It had not escaped his notice how quiet Salem had been since her arrival. It was... unlike her.
"I... guess?" Yang tilted her head.
"Well, for the most part, what we get from the sun is enough to sustain us," Blake continued her explanation. "But in certain circumstances, if we're cut off from ether for long enough or severely enough, it can put us into a near comatose state."
"What can we do for her?" Ruby pressed.
"Make up for the deficiency," Blake diagnosed. "We'll need some ether crystals- water would be best. I'll load them into a rifle cartridge."
"A cart-" Yang stammered. "You're gonna shoot her?"
"Hmm... I suddenly like this plan," Adam smirked.
"Of course not!" Blake almost laughed as she denied. "I'll launch it into the air, same as my heal rounds. Her body will naturally absorb the ether cloud and fill the deficiency."
"...Not any more."
"I follow the logic," Weiss nodded. "It seems ether is a little more than just this world's equivalent of dust after all."
"Er... if you say so."
"There's that pond we just passed- it might have some water crystals we could use," Ruby suggested.
"No... the pond's too dirty. We need crystals from a pure source- the purer, the better."
Ruby raised a hand to her chin with thought. "Ah! There was that big waterfall by the the bridge! Would that be a good place?"
Blake's eyes widened minutely. "Well... yes, I could hardly think of a more ideal place, but..."
"I'll go get 'em!" Ruby volunteered. "Everyone hand over your water skins- I'll fill those up while I'm at it."
"You are the fastest," Qrow considered as he reached into his pack and produced his skin. "Alright- but if you take too long, we'll come after you."
"Sounds like a plan," Ruby agreed to his terms as he collected Blake and Yang's skins as well before taking off back to the bridge.
"Gotta keep your water filled on journeys like this," Tai nodded.
On the other end of the bridge was another thin trail that led down the cliff, zigzagging back and forth as it wound down to a small beach alongside the river. And there, right along the waterside, was a deposit of sapphire blue crystals. Humming happily, she bent down and began to gather them up.
Abruptly, she straightened up- there was another voice humming alongside her. It was a tune she didn't recognize.
"Ode... to Joy?" Winter cocked her head in recognition.
"Whuzzat?" Sun asked.
"Only one of the most iconic songs ever written," Whitley rolled his eyes. "Courtesy of one of the most famous composers who ever lived."
"In Atlas," Ironwood felt compelled to point out. "Would such a song really have been written in such a different world as well?"
Ruby turned to find the person humming the song, expecting that Yang had gotten restless and come after her early- but it wasn't Yang. It was a young woman, leaning back on a rock, casually kicking her legs with a small smile on her face as she overlooked the vast lake into which the waterfall poured and the river emptied.
Her hair was red, and styled in elegant curls. Her eyes were a bright green, and her face was freckled. Her clothes were an odd mix of an old pinafore dress and clashing yellow boots. Around her neck was a thin gold chain that bore a crimson pendant.
"Penny!" Ruby beamed. "I didn't think we'd be seeing her for a while, after she was being so cryptic, and all!"
"I wonder if she's a robot in this world, too?" Sun pondered.
"I'm... I'm sure such a coincidence won't repeat itself again!" Winter denied.
"It does seem... unlikely," Ironwood agreed with a cough.
The girl met Ruby's gaze steadily- she giggled and hopped off of her rock. "Hello yello!" she greeted with a wave. "I apologize for appearing so suddenly, but I was curious, seeing a homs all the way up here."
"Um..." Ruby could do nothing but stare at her.
The girl giggled. "Of course, you must be wondering what I'm doing up here, then?"
"Yeah... who are you?" Ruby finally asked.
The girl giggled again, then began swaying as she sung a little tune, almost as if to herself:
"Penny Polendina
Is a merry fellow!
Pink is her pinafore,
And her boots are yellow!
She moves through the trees,
And she kneels by the water,
She looks to the sky,
For she is their daughter!"
"..."
"Yeah, this Penny somehow makes ours seem completely normal," Yang finally judged.
"Wait... her pendant! It's the Zohar-shape again!" Nora noticed.
"That shape just keeps cropping up, doesn't it?" Jaune considered.
"The Zohar, the Grail Core Crystal, the chests of those... consuls..." Pyrrha pulled a face when forced to remember the apparent villains of Chariots of Fire.
"Well, I'm sure she's got nothing to do with Moebius!" Ruby immediately came to her friend's defense.
"Thank you, Ruby!" Penny's eyes shone at the faith she was being shown. "I do wonder what the shape might indicate in this world."
Ruby continued to stare. "So... Penny Polendina? Okay... my name's-"
"Ruby Rose, isn't it?" Penny interrupted her. She smiled at the befuddled look on Ruby's face. "Word is starting to spread all over Bionis- the new wielder of Crescent Rose, defender of Colony 9, savior of Colony 6, who has all the mechon running."
"Oh, she's good," Torchwick narrowed his eyes with a smirk.
"Or Red's just naive," Neo pointed out.
"What are you two on about now?" groaned Yang.
"She's saying a lot without actually saying much of anything," Neo pointed out. "There's no way word could have spread this far, this fast, and she never actually said what she's doing up here in the first place. She keeps dancing around any personal details... almost like she's hiding something."
"Or maybe they've just met, and she doesn't feel like giving out her full life story?" Coco pointed out over the rim of her shades.
"Think what you want, but don't be surprised when little miss innocent marches up with a knife for Little Red's back," Torchwick maintained his smirk.
Ruby blinked. "Don't I... know you from somewhere...?" She was speaking more to herself than to Penny. It was her voice... something about her voice sounded remarkably familiar.
Penny didn't seem to be paying attention- she was looking up into the air. "Ah... here comes trouble."
"Trouble?" Ruby asked.
"Crescent Rose gives off a specific ether wavelength," Penny stated as though explaining how the water cycle worked. "One that draws some of Bionis's less savory creatures."
"And you know that... how?" Neo almost gleefully drove the point in.
Ruby wasn't thinking about that, however- she was preoccupied with the warped bird that was swooping down towards them with clearly aggressive intent. "What is that?! Telethia?"
It certainly seemed like a pair of telethia, smaller but more hostile than the one that had saved them from Metal Face. She immediately drew Crescent Rose. "Stay back, Penny!"
Penny obeyed- in fact, it would have been difficult to imagine her in a more relaxed pose as Ruby rushed forward to meet their attackers.
*FLASH!*
The telethia swung towards her with a right arm the size of a tree trunk...
Then I'll go to the left!
She moved to dodge- only to get sent flying backwards by a hard strike from the telethia's left arm instead.
"Uh-oh..." Nora gulped.
"What is with all these bastards nullifying Rubes's powers?!" Yang cried. "It's not fair!"
"Oh, get in line, Blondie," Torchwick rolled his eyes.
Ruby pulled herself to her feet to see the next telethia swooping down.
*FLASH!*
It soared above her and attacked with its tail.
Then I need to duck-
The telethia adjusted its trajectory and barreled into her, sending her across the sand again, lying at Penny's feet.
"Ah, so it was a trap!" Neo grinned. "Lured her in with bullcrap talk so her pets could swoop in and kill her!"
"That is not what's happening!" Ruby insisted.
Penny wasn't making a good case for herself, though, still leaning against the cliff as if she didn't have a care in the world.
"I- *cough!* I saw its attack!" Ruby coughed out- the wind had very much been knocked from her. "How is it-"
"Soul read," Penny answered simply as she watched the telethia wheel around in the air for another pass. "They can read your mind. You have a vision, they see your vision and adjust accordingly."
Ruby stared as she once again forced herself to her feet. "You- you know-"
"But even they have a weakness," Penny cut her off, glancing towards Crescent Rose, laying on the ground where Ruby had dropped it. "With Crescent Rose, you can dull its perception."
Penny went from her laid-back pose into a full sprint in a second- she reached down and snatched up Crescent Rose as if it were nothing.
Ruby almost felt her heart stop. "Penny, no! You don't know what it might do to you!"
But Crescent Rose was not lashing out against Penny as it had Yang- it unfolded for her as easily as it did for Ruby herself, its centerpiece glowing a bright green, a new symbol appearing. As the telethia swooped down, Penny leapt in the air and spun the blade around, sending a wave of light that enveloped them and sent them plummeting into the sand. Penny ended it by landing gracefully herself, Crescent Rose folding back into its more docile form.
"That... how did you..." Ruby stammered.
"This isn't the best time to be staring," Penny pointed out, throwing Crescent Rose back to her- Ruby reached out and caught it without thinking. "You're coming to understand the blade's true nature." She closed her eyes and began to sing again, a small smile on her face. "You have your will, it is your blade, can I make it more obvious?"
She opened her eyes and met Ruby's again. "Crescent Rose doesn't control itself- you do."
"I... control it..." Ruby thought aloud to herself as she unfolded the blade once again, its beam feeling somehow larger than before. She poured all her thought and will into keeping them out of her mind- dulling their perception, as Penny had described it- and the light began to shine green once more.
The beasts were clambering to their clawed feet once more, roaring- she swung and sent that light over them before rushing in, barely conscious of Penny's presence at her side, as she produced a pair of swords for herself.
"Well, there you go- she wasn't trying to kill Ruby at all!" Nora grinned more than a little smugly. "You're free to eat your words anytime!"
"And you're free to wonder how she knows all that crap about that weapon," Torchwick countered. "This doesn't answer all the questions, missy- not by a longshot."
With their senses dulled, and with Penny by her side, the fight became significantly easier- before they'd even returned to alertness again, Penny had leapt through the air, cutting off one of their wings, allowing Ruby to get the kill by beheading it. The other roared and swung at Ruby- a move that she was able to dodge with relative ease this time per another vision. She punished it by going underneath and slicing open its belly- it let out a roar of pain as it keeled over into the sand and lay still.
"Whoo!" Ruby cheered. "Thanks, Penny! I don't care what those two say, you saved my skin there!"
"Thank you, friend Ruby!" Penny beamed. "I am happy to be of service!"
Penny smiled as she approached Ruby, who was sheathing Crescent Rose again. "Do you see now, Ruby?"
"Yes... thank you," Ruby smiled back.
"If you seriously have no questions after all this, Brothers help me..." a tic was going in Whitley's eye.
"...Wait a minute!" Ruby seemed to come to a realization. "Where on Bionis did you learn to use Crescent Rose?!"
"THANK YOU!" It may have been primarily Torchwick and Neo pointing out the strangeness of Penny's knowledge, but quite a few others were glad to finally hear her ask the question.
Penny smiled. "That... is a long story. For now, we should worry about this- these were merely telethia spawn. And where there is spawn, there is bound to be a Queen nearby. Somewhere in this forest. Still alive, but... wounded, I think. There was a fierce battle last night, and... yes, the Queen was wounded by a girl."
"A... a girl?" Ruby watched as Penny paced along the beach.
"I don't think she's hostile," Sun agreed with Ruby, "but... she's so obviously hiding something it's not even funny."
Penny turned back towards Ruby. "Sorry, I get lost in thought sometimes. Crescent Rose..." She looked at the scythe. "A divine blade capable of disturbing the fabric of existence itself. Material and immaterial."
"I would certainly like to know myself where she learned all this," Winter agreed.
"I'm sure I don't know such secrets in our own world, Ms. Schnee," Penny inclined her head in a slight bow.
Ruby met her gaze steadily and asked again. "Penny, how do you know all this? Who are you, really?"
"RUBES!"
Ruby spun around to see Yang making the last turn around the zigzagging path onto the beach. "You were taking a while, and then I see those monsters on the way here- oh, I guess you already finished 'em." She crossed her arms and smiled with approval when she noticed the telethia carcasses.
"With a little help," Ruby nodded. "I probably wouldn't have done so well if it weren't for Penny here-"
She turned to introduce them, but Penny was gone.
"Classy... very classy." Coco adjusted her sunglasses again, which Velvet had learned long ago was a tell that she was frustrated.
"Um... you name the crystals?" Yang tilted her head in confusion.
"No, she was another girl- she was right here, she taught me a new power of Crescent Rose's!"
Yang looked around, raising her arms. "Just you and me here, Rubes. Damn, it's hot- you sure you didn't pass out from heat exhaustion and dream this chick up?"
"No- she was right here!"
"Alright, alright, I believe you," Yang raised her hands placatingly. "...You at least grab the crystals and refill the water?"
"I... got the crystals, let me refill the water real quick."
"Right- careful not to bump into any other invisible girls!"
"Yang..." Ruby pouted.
"It's been a while since she teased you, she has to meet her quota," Yang casually defended her other.
Over the next hour, the sisters climbed back up the cliff, crossed the bridge for the third time, and worked their way back to the edge of the clearing where Blake, Qrow and the girl waited for them- they'd dragged the unconscious girl into the shade. It seemed Qrow had fetched some water from the pond after all- not for drinking, but for applying to the girl's forehead to keep her cool. Ruby handed the crystals to Blake, who began readying them for her rifle as Ruby told them about her little adventure.
Qrow didn't treat the story with the same levity Yang had- in fact, he seemed quite troubled, particularly at her description of the telethia. "An enemy that can get around your visions... not a good sign. As for someone else who can use Crescent Rose... I'd certainly like to ask her some questions of my own."
"Good luck with that," Weiss rolled her eyes. "If Ruby can't get her to talk, I doubt you can."
"Well, maybe I can get her to bend with my masculine charm," Qrow commented sarcastically, earning a snort from both Winter and Tai.
"You're sure she wasn't a mirage or something?" Yang proposed.
"Absolutely," Ruby stood firm.
"I'm just saying, 'til now, there have only been two people Crescent Rose works for- they're both right here, and one of 'em ended up having to cut off his arm."
"Cut the chatter," Blake instructed. "The cartridge is ready."
The other three fell silent, turning to watch on tenterhooks as Blake commenced her treatment. Just as she'd described, she aimed the rifle into the air and pulled the trigger- in less than a second, there was a cloud of blue mist settling over the area. Even the three of them still standing felt refreshed by it, but they kept their gazes on the unconscious girl as she seemed to absorb the ether particles. Slowly, her fingers began to twitch, and her eyes to flutter.
"And she lives!" Yang beamed. "Good hustle there, Blakey!"
Ruby knelt down by the girl's side, anxiously waiting for her to truly awaken. "Are you okay?"
Finally, her eyes opened in earnest- though she still seemed somewhat groggy. "Where... am I?"
"Safe," Ruby assured her quietly. "Everything's gonna be just-"
The girl interrupted her with a sharp gasp as she pulled her hand away. "Do not touch me!" she cried, delivering a sharp slap to the face.
"Hey!" Yang yelped in indignant fury. "Watch where you put your hands!"
"Weiss..." Yang casually cracked her knuckles.
"Other world, other world!" Weiss cried, shrinking behind Blake.
"Yeah, she never slapped me in our world!" Ruby urgently agreed.
Looking around and taking the scene in, the girl paused, glancing down in apparent shame. "My apologies. I did not... mean to..."
"Sorry to surprise you," Ruby offered her own apologies as she stood up and offered her hand.
"Hmm... when you think about it, the last thing she likely remembers is participating in the fight against that great beast," Ozpin pointed out. "Little wonder she would be on edge upon awakening."
"Yeah, that!" Ruby agreed. "She didn't mean anything by it!"
The girl didn't take it, opting to stand up on her own and brush herself off. "I suppose you are the ones who rescued me? I offer my thanks. My name is Weiss. Please forgive my indiscretion."
"Man, and I thought our Weiss had a stick up her butt," Nora pondered.
"Nora," Ren rolled his eyes.
"What, are you gonna look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong?"
"Hmm... even I think she's... a little formal," Weiss admitted.
"I've never had the pleasure of coming into contact with homs from the lower reaches before."
"'Coming into contact?'" Yang snorted as she clapped Ruby on the back. "Watch out, Rubes, you're creeping the lady out!"
"This large one is far worse," Weiss put in without missing a beat, earning a laugh from Ruby and a pout from Yang.
"Ah, come on!" Yang matched her other's pout.
"What goes around, comes around, Yang," Blake reminded her.
Blake had indulged in some laughter of her own, but was the first to recover and start asking questions. "Weiss, right? What are you doing out here on your own? Don't you have anyone with you?"
"Ohhhh... bad topic, bad topic!" Nora waved her hands.
Weiss glanced down momentarily, then met their gaze again. "My apologies again, but I do not believe my situation concerns you. I will not be divulging sensitive information to any passers-by."
"Duly noted, milady," Qrow bowed his head with only a bare trace of mockery. "But something tells me this wasn't just an afternoon nap."
Weiss crossed her arms. "I could easily ask you the same thing, you know. What brings a band of homs from the lower reaches up to Bionis's back?"
"We're on our way to the head," Ruby offered.
"The head?"
"Can't be divulging sensitive information to the random unconscious lady," Yang interjected with an unnecessary amount of glee. "But yeah, we were headin' towards the nopon village to ask for directions when we ran into you."
"Only known each other for ten seconds and they're already picking fights with each other... yes, this is Yang and Weiss, no doubt about it," Blake sighed.
"Frontier Village? I see." Weiss crossed her arms for a moment. "Very well, one good turn deserves another. If it's Bionis's head you're going to, your road leads to Eryth Sea. If you will take me with you to Frontier Village, I will show you the way."
"You'd do that?" Ruby beamed. "Thanks! My name's Ruby Rose! Nice to meet you!"
"Ruby Rose... likewise," Weiss nodded.
Blake edged her way towards Yang. "A bit high and mighty for someone we found half-dead in the woods," she whispered. "What was she doing here?"
"You wanna know, ask her yourself," Yang muttered. "I don't deal with those stiff-upper-lip types."
"Stiff upper lip has nothing to do with elitism," Winter pointed out. "It's a mindset anyone of any class can-"
"Nobody asked, Ice Queen," Qrow interjected, eager to avoid any lectures.
"The key to reaching Frontier Village is to stick to the trails," Weiss announced. "They're marked by these lanterns." She pointed to a nearby post at the top of which was a large, carved face with a glowing candle inside.
"Ooohhhh, jack-o-lantern!" Velvet smiled. "I remember carving those out for Halloween every year! Coco was never satisfied with hers."
"If it's not a perfect design, it's not worth it," Coco remained stubborn.
From the clearing, it was another few hours' walk through the woods before they reached the colossal tree that stood above all the others- it took a series of rope bridges ascending between other trees to even reach the entrance, where they could see that the tree was hollowed out, revealing an enormous landscape within, climbing up and up further than they could see even with their necks craned.
"So this... is Frontier Village..." Ruby stared, aghast.
"That... is a big tree," Sun nodded. The others were hard-pressed to disagree.
Weiss, however, did not seem fazed at all, approaching a pair of nopon standing guard at the entrance.
"Ah, Bird Lady!" one of them greeted.
"Welcome back, Bird Lady!" the other bowed as best it could on its stubby legs.
"We have business with the village chief- will you permit us entry?" Weiss beseeched.
"Our pleasure!" the two nodded, and continued bouncing as the troupe made their way inside.
From the inside, they could see the entire village, running all the way up the tree's innards, structured from wood and rope bridges, filled with huts on every floor just large enough for the nopon to fill.
A countless number of nopon were milling around the ground floor alone, and they took an immediate interest in their visitors, crowding frantically around them.
"Hom hom! Hom hom!"
"Hom here, hom here!"
"Hom who? Hom who?"
"Hom hom everywhere!"
"Me want touch hom hom!"
"Me want taste hom hom!"
"No, hom hom taste ptheh!"
"I'd find that threatening if they weren't so adorable," Saphron gushed. "I don't suppose you have a plushy of those somewhere that I could take back for Adrian?"
"I'll call the gift shop at our next break," Vanessa rolled her eyes.
Weiss stepped forward to play ambassador. "Nopon of Frontier Village, Weiss Schnee has returned! I request an audience with your chief- Chief, will you hear my request?"
"Ah, Weiss back!"
"Bird Lady back!"
Bird Lady? Ruby couldn't help wondering.
"I was wondering about that myself," Ghira agreed. "She doesn't strike me as a faunus..."
"Wait, Bird Lady... high entia... that headdress..." Nora slapped a fist into her palm. "This Weiss is a high entia! We saw them in Chariots, they have wings from their head, it would only make sense they do here, too! Her headdress is hiding her wings!"
"I- actually, that seems surprisingly plausible," Pyrrha agreed.
"It would definitely explain why she says she's unfamiliar with homs, too," Blake nodded along.
"Hmmm... you may just be right..." Weiss admitted, somewhat uncomfortably.
Finally, a particularly large nopon appeared- he was dressed in large robes, his hair was a fountain above his head that made him resemble a pineapple, and a large moustache drooped to the floor on both sides. "My dear Weiss, it is good to see you again so soon!"
"Oh, dear," Ozpin took a drink from his mug. "It would seem Port is the leader of the nopon."
"I'm just glad to see my daughters got through his lectures without gnawing off their own legs," Tai chuckled.
"Weiss look well, but... what become of men?"
Weiss looked to the ground in shame again. "They have returned to Bionis. They gave their lives that I might live."
"Sorry to hear," Port said, and truly sounded as though he meant it.
"However, that is not why I have returned," Weiss continued. "These homs have an urgent request to ask of you. Will you hear them?"
"Of course, though I know not what a hom hom would ask of me!"
"They require safe passage to Eryth Sea."
"Such is easy to accomplish," Port nodded.
"Well, that went... easier than I thought," Jaune blinked. "Usually, we'd have to go on some sort of crazy sidequest first."
"And what Weiss do?"
"I have unfinished business in this region. Once they are on their way, I will be on mine."
This said, she turned towards one of the wooden ramps leading up into the tree and took her leave.
"Dead men... there is definitely something wrong," Blake observed.
"Something to do with why we found her half-dead?" Ruby suggested. "Good luck gettin' her to tell us exactly what happened."
"Just give her the ol' puppy dog eyes, she'll tell you anything you want to know," Yang suggested.
"Those eyes... are dangerous," Whitley muttered to himself.
"Still... I'd like to help if we can," Ruby decided. "I'll go talk to her."
It was a long climb up the tree, past many huts and other buildings- from the buzz, she gathered there was a 'pollen orb plant' and a museum, at the very least. However, it was only when she reached the very top of the tree, open up to the sky above, that she found Weiss gazing out at the sunset.
"I'd love to go on a photo tour," Velvet was almost drooling. "Too bad any pictures I took would just be of an image on a screen..."
"Weiss?" Ruby asked as she slowly approached.
"Yes?" Weiss asked without turning.
"You're... welcome to come with us, you know."
Weiss remained silent.
"Those... those men who died..."
"I cannot leave until they are avenged," Weiss almost whispered. "Not until that beast is slain by my hand."
Something clicked into place in Ruby's brain. ...Where there is spawn, there is bound to be a Queen... There was a fierce battle last night, and... yes, the Queen was wounded by a girl.
"The beast you're after... the telethia Queen?"
Weiss gasped as she spun to face him. "How do you know of the telethia?!"
"I, uh... had a run-in with its spawn earlier," Ruby explained.
"And survived?" Weiss still seemed taken aback. "Just who are you?"
"I'm no one special," Ruby quickly waved her hands. "It was Crescent Rose here that did most of the work!"
"Crescent... Rose..." Weiss tasted the word, but didn't seem to fully recognize it.
"Besides, like I said, it was just the spawn," Ruby repeated. "I met someone who said the Queen was off healing in the woods."
Weiss bit her lip, and finally began to explain. "The telethia escaped from our homeland. I was charged with hunting it down and slaying it. For the sake of my people, and the nopon below, it must be stopped."
"Her people... the high entia!" Nora pressed eagerly.
"Yes, yes, we're quite aware, Nora," Ren gently pulled her down.
"Then we'll help!" Ruby volunteered.
"I need no pity," Weiss objected.
"Not out of pity!" Ruby shook her head.
"Then why?"
"Well, it's just..." Ruby trailed off, uncertain how willing she'd be to believe her.
"Speak! Or must I summon Chief Port to act as interpreter?"
"Well, there's no need to be rude about it!" Kali crossed her arms.
"I... want to help!"
"For what gain?"
"Smart girl, I'll give her that," Torchwick tipped his hat. "Never been a person who did anything entirely out of their own self-interest."
"Well... there was one guy," Jack considered. "But... well, we'll get to that later."
Ruby finally decided to bite the bullet. "I saw you. In a vision. You and me, fighting together at the top of a dark tower- fighting a faced mechon."
"Because we're super besties!" Ruby cheered.
"Or that will sound like inane babble to her," Raven rolled her eyes.
"A vision?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms as she turned to face Ruby.
"Yeah, caught me off guard, too," came a new voice- Ruby jumped when she realized Yang, Qrow, and Blake had made the ascension as well. "Little Rubes gets visions of the future."
"And you expect me to believe this?" Weiss asked monotonously.
"Eh, believe it or don't, same as I tell all the nonbelievers," Yang shrugged. "But we'd all be dead a few times over without 'em. If Rubes says she saw ya, that makes you important, and anyone tough enough to stand up to a faced mechon is welcome on my team any day."
"'Sides, it's dangerous to go alone on the battlefield," Qrow threw in his two lien. "Victory in numbers."
"I am quite capable of dispatching the beast alone," Weiss objected.
"Hence why they found you half-dead?" Sun smirked.
"Oh... quiet, you," Weiss mumbled.
There was a sound of footsteps as Port appeared on the roof as well. "Apologies, but I could not help overhearing. Friends' offer sound quite reasonable! Danger extends much further than our forest- if left unchecked, all Makna be placed at risk! We willing to provide you with finest warrior of our clan!"
"Chief Port, I-" Weiss started to object, but Port cut her off.
"No need to worry- she is equal, if not better of the hom hom!"
"Standing right here, you know!" Yang objected.
"Yeah, maybe it's something you need to hear," Adam sneered.
Port looked to the sky. "Day grow late. Friends may stay night on roof of village- will have beds prepared. In meantime, I will go prepare chosen nopon hero- offsetting ceremony take place first thing in morning! Please excuse me."
And he waddled away.
"A nopon hero? This, I have to see," Yang grinned.
"Yang!" Ruby whined.
"Not very nice," Blake crossed her arms.
"Yeah, yeah, chew me out, pretend you weren't thinkin' the same thing," Yang rolled her eyes.
XXXX
Somewhat of an awkward place to cut things, but after long thought, I honestly decided this was the best place to leave off for now. Next episode will be one more Chronicles of the Crescent Blade before we move on to either Voyage Home or Childhood's End, after which we'll probably go back to Road to Shambhala. That said, updates might become even slower for a while, because, as I've said so often before, I am attempting to write an actual original story- in the event I actually get chapters written, I'll be posting them on Fictionpress, where you can find me under the same name. The story is Solaris, the home story of our dear Jack, Vanessa, Tom and Lana. The only thing up there now is a scrap I wrote almost nine years ago, which is probably no longer reflective of the story I'm attempting to create, but you're welcome to check it out, should you wish, and to stick around if and when the actual story starts getting written. Either way, I'm not ditching this story- I love Xeno too much for that. Until next time, whether it be here or in Solaris, don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out.