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bigkyloenergy · 4 years ago

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𝙃𝙊𝙉𝙀𝙔𝙀𝘿 𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙊𝙈

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐕: 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃.

a witcher!kylo x reader fic. dark themes, smut ahead. 18+.

summary: you are a barmaid / stablewoman at an inn in toussaint, kylo ren, one of the last of the witchers from the school of the viper regularly stays at the establishment. you wonder what keeps him coming back.

read on ao3.

Empty mugs piled the tables faster than you could keep up tonight, collecting them in your arms and being forced to inhale the putrid smell of ale that should’ve gotten familiar by now. You wrinkled your nose, hoping no leftovers would splash on your clothes as you journeyed to the kitchen. The first snowfall had hit, and it was heavy, the windows covered in blankets of fluffy white curtains. Men huddled near the fire, booking more days than normal, waiting for it to pass. While your impatience wore differently.

Subconsciously, your mind could conjure the exact days since you’d seen him.

But the last few days have been check in, check out — change sheets, check in again, check out early — is that person even still here?... and repeat, your body was a machine catered to serving.

Seemed like useless tasks now that you knew what it was like to awaken every nerve ending that you possessed. For what seemed like millionth time, you damned the Viper who had found routine passing in your workplace, leaving you with this cursed form, like leftover ash from a campfire.

You counted the keys gone when you slinked back behind the counter, wiping your forehead on the back of your sleeve, grateful when you found only a few missing. The last week they’d been emptied, along with your sanity.

“Pst, missy,” Ruek whispered from behind you, and you turned to see his fuzzy face peeking from behind the heavy kitchen door, “you got anymore orders?”

“No,” you gave him a tired smile, “just checked out ten guys in a row, who I swear were the same person.”

“Beards’ll do that to ya,” his kind eyes squinted as he emerged, and you leaned against your station, giving your feet a slight break, “they make us pretty. Here, close your eyes and open up. I’ve got a surprise.”

Hesitating, you gave him a look, tipping your chin as you tried to see what he was holding behind his back. He clicked his tongue, “Come on, your cheating nature is showing, close your damn eyes it’s not gonna kill ya.”

Finally, you sighed, doing as he said. You could use a bit of a distraction from work anyway, all you did was go home, plant your face into the pillow only to wake up to the same programming.

“Open,” he reminded, which only made you more annoyed. It was Ruek, so you inevitably gave in to avoid the argument. You felt something cold on your lip, reaching your tongue toward the ‘special’ treat, and biting into… chocolate? Quickly, juices poured into your mouth, which urged you to finally open your eyes.

The cook stood, grinning proudly, a dipped strawberry in his hand. “Eck, Ru, you should've warned me, you know how I am about stuff that sweet.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but what followed was not from him.

“I used to think this inn had good service,” Kylo’s voice strapped you to an invisible post, straightening your back, choking on the leftover flavors.

The Viper wasn’t looking at you, he was staring straight at Ruek, exigently demanding a response.

“My fault, thought Miss could use a little break.”

“Hm.”

You wanted him to look at you, your very soul was demanding it, to be drowned, the striking yellow in his eyes two suns that burned everything in their path, and you the phoenix who rose under them.

How long had he been here?

“Do you need a key?” You finally spoke, trying to sound nonchalant, licking the bits of chocolate off of your lips as you reached for one.

“No. I already have one.”

What? Betty wasn’t even here. You had been the only one checking anyone in and out for the last couple days. Your brows furrowed.

“There’s a spill near the gwent tables.” He added.

“Is that why you came over here?” You could feel Ruek looking at you, wondering why the hell you were questioning the man in the first place. Of course, The Viper didn’t answer, nor did he fully acknowledge your presence.

“I got it. If we have no more orders. No problem. Just — uh let Jerrid know if you need anything from the kitchen.” Ruek shuffled away while you were too busy playing stare off with Kylo’s mask.

“You let everyone’s fingers in your mouth, little müna?”

“What? No. He has me taste test stuff all the time,” gods, this man kept you oversharing at any crumb of attention he gave you, still severely irritated with overgrown mutant though you began to smirk, “is that why you came over here? Are you.. are you jealous?”

“You expect me to play cards next to someone’s secretions.”

“It is, isn’t it? You can play Mr. Keepaway all you want, you think you have this affect on me where you can use me to your will. But you wanna know what I know that you don’t?”

He didn’t respond, eye twitching, which only aided you, leaning over the counter that Kylo could very easily hop, and this was when he finally met your eyes. Though your traitor of a body screamed with validation, you only grinned.

“I know this isn’t one sided. What would you do if you knew I fucked him?” You didn’t, of course, but the thought of making The Viper jealous thrilled you to the core, “If I let him cum in my mouth without having to force my jaw open? If he was the one I was fallin—”

Your chin was grabbed, keeping you still over the counter, your feet almost hovering on the floor. Leather squished your cheeks, his gaze scooping your bravery from you in a single second.

“Careful.” The Witcher warned, studying your face, tipping it slightly in his grip, reviving the soreness in your jaw.

“Or what, Kylo?”

He paused, and for some reason you knew you weren’t going to lack a response this time. Dropping you, he left you to land against the bartop, and his broad shoulders turned toward the small crowd.

“Leave.” His voice was a crack of thunder, splitting the customers' relaxation in half.

Most scattered to their feet, afraid of why this King of the Abyss was evicting them, not wanting to take the chance. The men who were brave enough to stay were met with a glint of silver, only to follow, and you heard the silence from valleys away.

Your eyes darted to find Ruek, there was no living thing in that room except you and Kylo.

If he was even living.

“What the hell? What’re you doing? Are you trying to make me lose my job?” He caught your neck again, like it was a new skill he was practicing, then pulled his mask down over his chin.

The whole world stopped. Your breathing was arrested in your lungs, feeling a rush of awareness cut off your circulation and leave you dizzy with the sight of perfect, scarred lips, remembering how earnestly they had caressed your breasts atop of his horse. He was grimacing, wrinkles near his nose as he looked down at you. A lost warning.

He slammed you into the nearest table, not paying mind to any of the silverware that was under you nor the plates he had just shattered on the floor. Standing between your legs that hung off the end of the it, the fireplace triggered the iridescence of his armor, another engligment to why he wore his title so well.

You couldn’t stop studying his face, mapping every curve, and you were needy as you leaned up in an attempt to capture his mouth, find every ingredient of what made up this man that haunted you, possessed you.

Not a ghost, but a demon.

Just as your lips brushed against the tip of his, your tongue an anxious explorer, he pressed you back down into the oak.

“You are mine,” He spat, his lips curling around his teeth as he let the word marinate on his tongue.

“No,” you gasped, “f—fuck you, I’m not anyone’s, and you out of everyone has shown me that.”

“No? So your cunt isn’t soaked for me right now?” Your thighs pressed together, lips parting just at the words rolled off his venomous tongue, yet you shook your head in pure denial. “Liar. I can smell you. Can practically taste it.” The unoccupied hand ran along the outside of your thigh, under your skirts, til he pinched the fat between his fingers.

The way his mask hung at his chin was just as sensual as his voice, you didn’t even know how that was physically possible, then again this man broke the rules of reality every time you saw him. He pulled you down further, pressing his hips into yours, “Say it.”

“I won’t,” your voice broke with a whine as you felt the bulge in his pants, your legs wrapping around him without a second thought, he smacked your calf, forcing them to hang once more. You groaned, yearning to feel some sort of pressure at your pulsing clit, your body’s temperature spiking by the second.

“Hm. We’ll see.”

The Viper plucked the string that held your bodice together, pulling it until it completely unraveled, your blouse the only thing that hid your perking breasts. You looked down to his gloved hand, then back to him, hair skating over his shoulders, gods-made handles for your undoing. You let out a sigh as he thumbed your nipple through the material, keeping his palm wrapped around your throat. Your hips buckled, finding nothing, the beast keeping his hips perfectly spaced from yours so you couldn’t use him for any sort of pleasure. You felt your blood boiling, and not just from the intricate torture he was inflicting. No man had ever had this affect on you, but he was not any man.

A low growl came from deep in Kylo’s throat, and your eyes opened, not realizing you shut them in the first place. He was unblinking, watching your reaction as the stitch of his glove rolled around the bud.

“Please, Kylo,” you begged, shattering every restraint you had just from seeing him so immersed in you like this, still clothed yet utterly hopeless, knowing he was your only salvation.

“Say it.”

You whined, one of your fists hitting the table, not wanting to give into him. But you weren’t the only one suffering. Pulling your top down, he released your tits from their confines, and immediately consumed them. His mouth opened, hot and wet, leaving easy marks as he glided from one to the other, tightening his hand on your neck every time your chittering frame squirmed.

One of your hands found his hair, and you were surprised when he didn’t pull it from his head. You took the opportunity earnestly, digging your fingers through the raven locks, breaking through knots to find a good grip. He sucked on you like he was getting oxygen straight from your skin, popping a nipple from his mouth only to give the same attention to the other.

Your cunt was pulsing so badly it hurt, every flutter mocking the emptiness of it, so much that you had to swallow down noises at every flick of the Viper’s tongue.

Leather fingers danced back down your form, parting your thighs, not hesitating as they peeled your panties from your saturated pussy. The first time you had his cock, you fucked yourself into a rage trying to mimic the way it felt, three fingers wasn’t enough for the fantasy and you knew it. Being so close to that now left you ravenous, forgetting the challenge that was imposed in the first place.

He ran the tip of his finger down the line of your lips, collecting the juices at the end of it with a single scoop before he pushed it back inside of you. Barely spreading you as he toyed with your entrance, circling and stretching it open, already making wet noises in the emptied inn.

“Fuck! I — please fuck me, please. I’ll do anything. Please just — fuck Kylo, please.” The words could barely be made out through insistent whines, he stayed silent, his mouth and finger working diligently to send you over that edge, into the pool of his domination.

He reached his thumb up to press pressure on your clit, never moving it, while the finger hooked inside of you, and your whole body jerked forward. Kylo quickly put your back in your place, mentally and physically, forcing you to remember his promise.

“I’m yours! Okay! I’m yours, puhleaaase, just please…” You couldn’t even properly be convincing, though you meant it, even if you didn’t want to admit it outside of him fucking you sensless.

He yielded both of his hands, lifting his face from your chest and ridding you of the secure grip you had on his head. Honey yellow eyes surveyed you from your heavy lidded gaze, all the way down to your lifted skirts, then back up again.

“Hm. I suppose I need to be more convincing.” In one languid motion, he had your dress above your head, corset falling to the floor with it, leaving you completely bare on top of the main round table in the dead center of your job. Ruek could be watching from the back for all you knew.

Kylo leered above you, his chest filling, consuming your gaze as much as he did your mind. His teeth pinched the middle finger of his glove, pulling it off with his mouth.

Your stomach flipped.

He grabbed the amulet that hung at his neck, snapping it off and rolling it around in his hand, examining it the same way he did you. You could swear you saw his eyes glisten with… something, before his focus was back.

The Viper’s large fist started to glow, and soon so did the metal.

Anticipation tickled the back of your neck, your heartbeat similar to an approaching wardrum as it filled your eyes the more you watched, “what’re you doing?”

“Showing you.” He didn’t blink.

“Showing me what?”

“Who you belong to.”

The metal of the viper face was red hot, smoking nearly. He held it between two fingers, grabbing your thigh in one hand and tugging you as you began to crawl up the table. You obediently stilled.

“Don’t move or we’ll have to do it again.”

You sucked in a breath of air, senses filling with his scent — pine, mint, leather, the very earth. Just as you did he began to line his cock up with your entrance, rubbing against the folds. He hushed you as you squeaked, and began to lower the medallion down between the hills of your chest. He perfectly lined it up, not having to look twice before he dropped his hand down, and you cried out. The flesh boiled and singed, and the entire map of your skin feeling the aftermath.

The pain was quickly distracted by another as he split you open, a growl being spat between his teeth as his cock sunk all the way into you, giving no time to adjust to the overwhelming size of him. Your nails dug at the stained wood, scratching for some kind of stability as your skin bubbled, painting a gift made by the Viper himself, all while the tip of his dick began to wrack against your cervix.

Your eyes rolled back completely into your head, nimble fingers finding straps of his armor to hold onto, which only assisted him in beating his hips off of your cunt. He lifted one of your legs over his shoulder, your knee barely making it to curve, it only helped the Witcher angle you to his pillaging.

The smell of burnt flesh filled your nose, truly you almost forgot about the branding he had just centered on your torso, meeting euphoria with the way his cock worked inside of you. It sent you to another plane, both of his large hands gripping your hips as he forced your smaller frame to bounce off of him. Forks and other leftover dining ware pinched at your back, ridding them off the table the more he pounded you.

His eyes were blazing carnality, encapsulating the definition of primal.

“You are mine,” he spoke through each stroke of his hips, dropping the carved metal to hold your body still with the familiar hold on your neck, “every inch of you… you are a hole for me to fuck. And that is all you are.”

You whined, specks floating in your sight as you kept alert, eyes so heavy with pleasure it was damn near blinding you.

“The next time you let another man touch you,” a sharp smack of his hips, pain crawling up your spine, threatening to quite literally break you, “I will fuck you atop of his carcass.”

Another plunge of his cock and the table was splintering under you, until it snapped in two. Kylo didn’t care — in fact, it was as if it didn’t even happen, the perfect savage beat he was plowing you with was never broken.

He just used his own body as a kickstand for your lower half, the persistent assault keeping you where he wanted, finding no need in his hands other than to appreciate your body.

Kylo twisted your nipple, sliding across the spot he had just engraved, your lips parting in return. You heard another grunt from him, forcing your dazed focus on his face, which would forever be your most vivid memory, and you couldn’t even bring warning for the orgasm that he was inducing.

Just as it creeped up, his bare thumb was circling expertly over your swollen knot, breaking the dam. Your climax poured in, walls clenching and milking his cock in the process.

A gritty groan was dropped into your ear, and it only served as a catalyst to your silent screams, legs shaking while your cunt became much more sensitive. You tried to pull up, away from his relentless motions, he didn’t let you, just chased you along the broken table, filling you to the brim.

Lewd sounds began to echo with the crackles of the fire, and all you could focus on was him — he was watching his cock go in and out of you, holding your skirts above your waist to get a good view of his slickened dick, pushing him toward his own finale, using you every inch of the way.

You could barely tell from his face when he finished, you studied the Viper like it was your true passion, fossilizing his mannerisms, expressions, even his voice. You ate up every moment, the threat of them being memories a looming shadow of presence. The tiny twitch of his nose, deep wrinkle of his forehead, subtle signs he was coming apart for you.

He pulled out of your fluttering cunt, after leaving a lazy kiss on the scabbing mark of possession he’d left, being more gentle with that than any part of you.

Kylo pulled his mask back over his face before he was tucking his cock away. You were almost sad to see it go.

If he didn’t come back after this, maybe you’d be okay. You looked down at the piece of himself that he permanently placed on you, your finger running on the curve of its open mouth. It didn’t hurt, maybe due to the adrenaline pumping through your veins. By the time you looked back up, he was turned.

“What’re you—”

“Sh.”

Your lips pressed together, wanting to reach for your dress, yet something about him told you not to move a muscle.

The door pushed open, a panicked villager entering, tripping over themselves at every step.

“Help, a monster is attacking the town! It’s killing everyone, my family, please!”

#kylo ren fanfic #witcher fanfic #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren smut #ben solo x reader #Witcher AU #witcher!kylo #hv.#dead dove elements #tw branding #tw noncon #tw violence

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talesofafangirlwithadvr · 4 years ago

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October/November Picks

Long time no see! So...it’s been a little bit since I’ve posted a wrap up. I had all intentions of posting one after October, but then you know life gets ahead of you and before you know it it’s Thanksgiving. Not much has changed in my viewing habits for these past two months, so I thought I’d group them together for a mega wrap up. Hope you enjoy :)

Without further ado here come some spoilers.....

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SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS

This Disney + original movie was one of my highly anticipated watches for the fall. I am disappointed to share that it was a let down. The concept was such a cool and creative one. Having the second born in a royal family not simply be the “spare” but be the protector...with superpowers! (In a very YA way, getting their powers at a specific age.) They just should have gone about the story in a better way. I wanted more time with them learning about the powers and to make the villain stronger. Overall the acting wasn’t bad (which is good for a Disney + original), but it was just lacking. The movie was LONG and yet much did not feel like it happened. It was cool seeing Casa Loma (the castle they filmed at) as I was just there two summers ago. Sadly, I will not be watching this movie again.

VIOLETTA SEASON 3

We all already know how pumped I was when season 3 of Violetta was released on Disney Plus in September. I couldn’t believe it after waiting so long for the second season. I really enjoyed the beginning of this season and knew we would be headed down a road where I would grow tired of the storylines.

We have hit that point.

Quick Violetta rant. Things I am done with:

Roxy and Fausta plot

Fran and Diego being a secret

Herman and Priscilla

Pablo not at the studio

Milton being evil

Ludmilla lying

Recently, my sister is catching up to where I am in the season, so this has pushed me to watch more. I am on episode 43 and some of the above venting has been solved, so that is super exciting. I am finding myself wanting to watch it more now, so fingers crossed it continues to get better.

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS

Kenny Ortega has done it again! When I first heard the premise for this show and watched the trailer on Netflix I wasn’t too sure. Then both of my sisters watched it and they wouldn’t stop talking about it, so that was a sign that I needed to watch it. Since then, I have watched the show twice and can’t stop listening to the music. THIS. SHOW. :) I get the hype. It’s just so wholesome and feel good. The characters are well crafted and the episodes go way too fast. They are the kind of characters (and cast) that make you wish you were a part of the show. I can’t wait for the next season (because there better be one). Definitely add this one to your list if it’s not on their already.

THE OUTPOST

The Summer CW shows were pushed to the fall line up due to delays in filming of the originally planned shows. I hope this means that they’re getting a little more love this year. The Outpost deserves it, as it is currently in its third season. (I think it might have gotten a little more now that the 100 is over and the commercial aired during the 100′s last season. Maybe people heard Black-blood and decided to give it a go.) This season has seen a new threat and during the first eight episodes there’s been MANY twists and turns, making it hard for me to remember how this season started. There’s been a lot of unrest in the Outpost and changes in who is in charge. While there are some unnecessary plot-lines (like that Tobin had to be married), I’m really enjoying others. Like how important Janzo is, his relationship with Ren, more Munt and that TALON AND GARRETT FINALLY GOT TOGETHER!!! It makes me so happy and is what we deserve after these three seasons. I love how strong both of their characters are and how they are both Warriors. I hope the season ends strong.

PANDORA

Just like The Outpost, Pandora was originally a Summer CW show that is now airing its second season. I really enjoyed the first season (like more than I was expecting), so I went in with higher hopes for this new season. Unfortunately, I have been let down so far. With the first season, there were parts that left me confused and my biggest review of this show has always been how there were gaps or moments where I didn’t know how much time had gone by. Those kind of things I could overlook, but this season the overall plot just seems weaker. I think this in part because of so many new characters. I know a lot of the season 1 cast ended their characters’ plots away from the Academy, but I wasn’t expecting them not to be a part of this season’s story. That has been a difficult adjustment. I also feel like I only understand Jax’s story and not so much about the other government/rebellion points. It’s getting a little better, but I hope it gets to be more enjoyable.

THE SPANISH PRINCESS--SEASON 2

When I originally was creating this list I had just started this season, and felt completely different than I do right now. I just finished this season last week. Much like my above review on Pandora, The Spanish Princess wasn’t sucking me in. I had a few episodes gather on the DVR. Then once we hit episode 3 or 4 and more drama was starting/Henry was starting to show glimpses of the Henry VIII we all know, I was growing more interested. In season 2 of the Spanish Princess, we do not see a loving Catherine and Henry for long. Problems Catherine have in conceiving a boy (male heir) are one of the main focal points, as is Woolsey’s growing influence on the king. With several sub-plots this season, I specifically enjoyed learning more about Meg in Scotland (as a big Mary Queen of Scots/Reign fan, I liked seeing a portrayal of her grandmother) as well as Princess Mary Tudor (who I was unfamiliar with. I loved her and Charlie Brandon’s relationship and wish we could have gotten more.) Each week I watched this show, I found myself Googling a lot. That is always one of my favorite parts of watching a historical drama based on true events. I know right now it looks like the producers aren’t continuing with the Tudor line and might have a different part of history as their next show, but I wish they would. I’m feeling the call to watch the Tudors as it’s on Netflix and I haven’t seen it before. I want to learn more about his wives.

BLOWN AWAY

In a complete shift from a period piece, here is another Netflix show I thoroughly enjoyed watching last month. Do you find the act of glass blowing to be extremely interesting, but you would never dream of trying yourself? Or do you like competition game shows that are not like anything else you’ve watched before? Then Blown Away might be for you! It’s a very fast watch with only a handful of episodes that are about a half hour a piece. (I honestly wished they were a bit longer because it was SO GOOD!) Each contestant is a glass blower and they get to show off their skills by competing in a specific challenge. Each episode you see someone get eliminated until the final where the winner gets a residency at Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York. This show came out in 2019 and I am hoping a second season comes out.

LIFE IN PIECES

This CBS comedy was one that I remember loving when it first came out. But I only remember watching the first season because then I couldn’t remember which day it was on. (It’s going to sound weird, but because I don’t watch a lot on this network I often forget it exists. We also only had a one room DVR at the time, so we couldn’t tape more than 2 things. Oh, the joys of multi-room DVR). After I finished my re-watch of Derry Girls in September, I was looking for another sitcom to re-watch. This was when I stumbled on the full series of Life in Pieces on Amazon video. (It’s free to watch with Prime.) I was so surprised to see there were 4 seasons! Since then I have been watching a good amount of episodes when I sit down to watch it. Now I’m about mid way in the second season. I highly recommend this show if you haven’t seen it before. It gives vibes of Modern Family. Very short episodes that include four storylines. The format is one that I haven’t seen done before in a sitcom.

SUPERMARKET SWEEP

The revival of the beloved game show from the early 90s is now hosted by Leslie Johns and is the best thing you should be watching on Sunday nights. If you know your grocery shopping list like the back of your hand then you are all set for this show. Leslie Johns is hilarious as are the cast of characters that are regulars in her supermarket. I think it would be a great TV show to be on and I’m not just saying that because I want one of the sweatshirts (although that would be great). If you want (another) feel-good watch, look no further! You catch up on demand.

RE-WATCHING

ANNE WITH AN E

It’s hard to believe that we only got the third season of Anne with an E at the beginning of this year (as this year feels like its been going on forever and when I watched the third season I was in a much less stressed place). Currently, I am teaching a class involving Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. The main focus is on how these stories get adapted in recent times and include such modern plots (and sub-plots). Naturally Anne with an E is perfect for this topic (and after watching season 3 at the start of the year) was one of my major reasons for choosing this topic. (The other being Greta Gerwig’s latest Little Women.) As I’ve been planning my schedule, I’ve re-watched this show. There is something so great about watching it from season 1 all the way through to season 3. You get to watch them grow up and it’s crazy to see how young they first were. Comparing it more to the novel has been a fun time, but also analyzing it more has been great and made me appreciate it even more. With all the stress of our current situation watching this show has made me escape and feel good. (Yes, I know I’ve used that word a lot in this wrap up, but it’s true.)

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Hopefully my next wrap up isn’t as delayed. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season!

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jadekitty777 · 4 years ago

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The Thoughts We Carry

As promised, I had one entry near completion that I hoped be ready to post for @fairgameweek2021. I spent the last few days this week not getting enough sleep just to make the deadline (ssh I know it’s after midnight. Summaries are hard, okay?). I’m sorry I won’t have anything else ready in time, but I hope you all enjoy this one!

Day 4: Separation/Reunion

Dedicated to: @chiherah

Rating: K

Words: 6K

Summary: “I know everybody to some extent,” Qrow once told his nieces, and he hadn’t precisely been lying. At least, when it came to knowing other huntsmen in the four kingdoms, that is. Clover Ebi was just one of probably five-thousand examples. Yet, just as all shamrocks are clovers but not all clovers are shamrocks, all huntsmen are acquaintances but not all get to be friends.

That was why, upon arriving to Atlas, Qrow could tell there was more weighing on Clover’s mind than the Grimm addled streets of Mantle or Solitas’ fighter jet filled skies. More crushing, even, than the now-known threat of Salem on the horizon. A burden so great, it altered old routines and shadowed bright smiles.

And, as Qrow regarded the Aceops’ hasty roster change, he knew the solution to his friend’s plight was not one he’d need to seek, but one he’d need to bear.

Ao3 Link: The Thoughts We Carry

There were a few unanimous truths that came with being a huntsman:

The work was dangerous to the point most knew their future was beelining for a parking space in a graveyard.

Never falter in the heat of battle.

Keep bandages on hand because stemming an injury can extend a life from a few seconds to a few minutes.

Always know the best foods to forage in case civilization is too far or – worse yet – wiped out.

Pack light as work will require travel. It will require travel a lot.

Of all of them, the one Qrow was most familiar with was that last one. So much so, the towns he visited were just as much old friends to him as the people within them were. Vale and Patch were like playmates from primary school that were never forgotten no matter how much time had passed. Higanbaga was that party dude from university that always knew how to show him a good time. Atlas was that annoying classmate that he got stuck with one year on a group project and he was forced to put up with. And Mantle…

Mantle was that one struggling friend he knew could be doing better, if anyone would give it a break.

He felt that feeling in every swing of Harbinger, slicing through Grimm as he sidestepped potholes in the concrete and litter whirled up around his feet. Witnessed it when he peered through the city’s ever-present shadow to keep the kids in his line of sight, straining his ears to listen for the rest that shouts just blocks away nearly drowned out until they mysteriously stopped.

Despite knowing what it likely meant, he didn’t focus on it. He sheared through another Sabyr, and spun on his heels. Took in visual information in half a second: Weiss partially down an alleyway with Ren. Yang at his six. Blake a bit behind her. A Grimm leaping right for her.

His hand moved before his mind did, aiming Harbinger’s shotgun as Blake did the same with Gambol Shroud.

Another shot got it first.

A buzzing blast of green energy, not quite aura or dust, cleaved the beast in two. Similar shots rained from the sky, making quick work of the rest until the street was clear. The lampposts’ harsh red glows faded back to their calming yellow. From above, a drone expelling more green light rocketed up to the sky. As it hovered in the light of the moon and slowly floated down to ground level, its shape became more apparent and he could make out the features of a young girl with long, curling locks of ginger hair. Something about her was familiar.

It wasn’t until he heard Ruby’s choked gasp of “Penny?” that it clicked.

About a thousand questions rolled into his mind at once, but it was clear from the way his niece was suddenly bowled over by the enthusiastic android and the tears began to flow, that they’d have to wait.

After all, it wasn’t every day a cherished friend returned from the dead.

The other kids crowded around quickly, but Qrow couldn’t help but look to the one who lingered awkwardly on the sidelines, Oscar fidgeting with his cane the way Oz used to.

Something welled inside him that tasted a little like regret.

Not every day indeed.

It seemed ages before they started to make their way back to Pietro’s shop. Penny was deep in explanation on her miraculous revival, explaining how her memory chips had been recovered and her body repaired. In the back, Qrow let most of it float over his head. He wasn’t the only one.

“This is so… unexpected.”

He side-eyed Jaune, the blond’s face a mix of emotions that were hard to pin down. He couldn’t even begin to guess at what the other was trying to process. The joy of Penny’s return? The bitter unfairness it couldn’t happen for another that had been lost that day? The sorrow that Pyrrha now would never know that she hadn’t killed the android and could never make amends?

Whatever it was, it was definitely too much to handle on a regular day. Add two grueling battles, multiple aura breaks, and a long flight to Atlas on top of it all, it left little energy to deal with much else.

“But not unwelcome.” Qrow replied, catching his attention. “You don’t have to question the good things you get in life kid. You do that and you won’t stop to enjoy them.”

It was relieving it pulled out a small, but genuine, smile on the young man’s face. “That’s unusual advice coming from you.”

That’s because it wasn’t his.

Before he could think to respond, his sharp senses caught Ren tensing up. A sign he was detecting something.

His fingers were already halfway to his weapon when he heard it.

“Ah, and here I thought we had a problem. But it’s just Qrow again.”

His hand fell, a groan emitting from deep in his chest as he turned towards that painfully familiar voice. Sure enough, Clover and his poster squad of soldiers were heading their way. “Oh great, it’s you.”

“Salutations Captain Ebi!” Penny greeted with a salute.

"You know them Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked. He could feel her curious stare burning through his cape.

"Yeah. They're Jimmy's attack dogs.” He scoffed at them. “Though considering we cleaned up this mess, they're more bark than bite."

Clover laughed, stopping just a few feet away. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" He thumbed back the way they had come from. “Guessing you’re also the flyer of the unidentified Manta a mile west here, huh?”

“Uh, well,” He spluttered a bit, not sure how to explain that.

He didn’t have to, as the second-in-command spoke up for him, “I can’t believe you!” Harriet spat, quick in her temper as she was on her feet. “We almost deployed hostiles on that ship. You could have at least radioed in!”

“Well, see we woulda. ‘Cept our radio was on the fritz.” Yang stepped up beside him.

His other niece flanked his other side. “We didn’t mean to cause a stir, really.”

Qrow didn’t know whether to be proud of their synchronization, refined from years of getting out of groundings together, or concerned for their physical wellbeing as Elm’s eyes lit up with recognition.

“Oh Qrow, don’t tell me these are your cute little nieces!” She was in his youngest niece’s space almost instantly, shaking her hand with such enthusiasm Ruby looked a little dizzy. “I’m Elm. Qrow’s told us so much!”

“He has?”

“Oh yes, once he gets going, he can never shut up about you two. It’s endearing.”

He did his best to ignore the teasing nudges Yang gave him or the flush working its way up his neck.

“Wait, hold up a second.” Another of the soldiers interjected. “You’re the Qrow Branwen? You don’t look anything like what I thought you would.”

As his eyes met with the other’s, Qrow realized with a start he didn’t know him. “And you are?” He spat a bit harder than he meant to.

He felt a little bad when it made the Faunus shrink back a bit, his wagging tail slowing. “I, erm-”

“Oh right, you haven’t met. This is our newest recruit, Marrow Amin. He’s a bit fresh, but has been an outstanding addition.” Clover spoke up, clapping a hand on his shoulder like a proud father. It was the slight twitch at the side of his mouth that gave away he was trying very hard not to drop his smile.

The kid definitely didn’t notice, his tail wagging at full speed once again.

Qrow decided to shelve it for now.

Thankfully, the quietest member was quick to draw all the attention his way as Vine cleared his throat and spoke over them, “As pleasing as this reunion is, I believe taking this discussion away from the middle of the street would be more comfortable.”

“Right.” Clover nodded, straightening up. “The General is expecting our report and, though unanticipated, I’m certain he’d be happy to accommodate your arrival.” He tipped his head towards Weiss. “We’ll contact your sister on the way in as well. Lieutenant Schnee will be relieved to know you made it back safely.”

Despite the propaganda recordings still running on loop overhead, Weiss couldn’t hide her happiness. “That would be wonderful.”

“Sooo, when you say accommodate, you mean beds? And food?” Nora piped up hopefully.

Elm grinned. “Mess hall is always open. All you can eat!”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Oh, I like you.”

In the corner of his eye, Qrow could see Ruby shifting uncertainly. He rested a hand on her back reassuringly. This wasn’t what they’d hoped for. They had wanted to gather more information before they approached James. But it’d be suspicious not to take it and the last thing they needed was for things to go south when they were so close to the finish line.

They would just have to hope they hadn’t lost James’ loyalty like they had Leo’s.

“We could certainly use it.” He finally said. “Lead the way boy scout.”

Though sleep came fast that night, Qrow didn’t rest easy. Despite the exhaustion weighing him down, his mind refused to quiet, whirling over and over again on an anxious loop. James’ flawed plans for Amity if they didn’t tell him the truth. Oz’s deceits. The relic still resting out in the open. Salem’s unknown course of action.

Normally, when his brain was this busy, he’d drown it in alcohol. Let everyone else figure it out as long as he could get some rest from it all. But that wasn’t an option anymore. He wouldn’t allow it to be.

That was how he found himself dragging himself out of bed at the crack of dawn and wandering down the already bustling halls. Anywhere else, he’d say it would be weird to be walking past so many people so early; but Atlas had the majority of its’ facility and students on a strict military schedule. Something about how it taught basic discipline and the sleep regimen was good for promoting better health and performance.

It was a crime against sleeping in is what it was.

Despite the fact his last visit had been well over a year ago, Qrow had no trouble navigating the uniform halls, finding his way to the Ace-Ops’ quarters in record time. He knocked twice, only having to wait a few seconds before the door was flung open. The cartoon flamingos on Harriet’s pajamas seemed to mock the rest of the academy already starting the day.

It’s tactical, Clover had told him once when he’d questioned the special treatment.

Privileged, Qrow had corrected snidely, ignoring the multitude of night crews given the same benefits.

Sometimes it was just fun to see if he could get a rise out of Mr. Perfect.

Speaking of, a quick sweep over Harriet’s hairline told him he was nowhere in the room. He did spot the others though, seated around the dining table. Elm had her hair wrapped up in a towel and a piece of toast in hand. Vine was sipping on tea and scrolling through news. Marrow was giving him that same starstruck look from yesterday, a spoonful of cereal only halfway on its journey to his mouth.

“Boy scout ain’t here?” Qrow asked.

Harriet quirked an eyebrow. “He’s in the garden.”

On a Tuesday? That was new.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Guess I’ll be on my way then. See ya.” He gave her a nod of farewell, heading down the hall.

“Hey, Branwen!” He paused, seeing Harriet leaning out the doorframe, her stare almost challenging. “If you start antagonizing him, I’ll kick your ass.”

That was… also new.

He smirked. “Like to see you try speedy.”

She only scoffed. From within, he heard Marrow pipe up, “Hare! You can’t say that to-” The rest of it was cut off by the door closing, but he had a feeling it ended with ‘The Qrow Branwen.’

He started down the hall again, the foreboding that had been weighing on him since last night quickening his pace.

It didn’t take him long to get to the garden. Natural to Atas’ standards, the room was as grand as could be. Twice as large as the training facility, the greenery filled every inch of space, broken only by specifically designed pathways students or staff could traverse. Some ran to small manmade ponds with wooden bridges built over them where koi fish would swim underneath while others led to displays of delicately trimmed hedges shaped to look like animals. As there was no plant life in Solitas’ ecosystem, everything in the room had been imported. Desert roses from Vacuo, sage bushes from Vale, black pines from Anima. There were even some sunflowers he’d brought years ago from Tai’s little patch at home, still valiantly clinging to life among the rosemary bushes.

Practically on autopilot, Qrow went down the right-most path which wound along to the far side of the garden, where the trees grew taller and the branches hung down like arms reaching out for a hand, close enough for him to reach up and touch. There was one in particular, a lone willow, which had become a popular hiding spot due to its’ thick, curtain-like tresses. So much so, that it had become better known as the Kissing Tree. Though it was too early for anyone to be there now, more than once, he and Clover had stumbled upon a pair of students trying to sneak in a private moment between classes.

To say nothing of the numerous times when the tree was empty and Clover would always wink at him and say, “Looks like there’s room for two.”

The first time, Qrow had been too shocked to respond. Every time after, he’d wave him off and say, “As if you could handle me.”

Clover would laugh and they would continue on, sometimes to the exit.

But more often than not, it was on their way in to the pen.

Compared to the rest of the room, the five-foot, stock panel metal fencing was a bit of an eyesore. Doubly so with the glowing blue devices placed on every post that would activate if anyone without clearance attempted to enter. Hence why it was kept in the back.

But for Clover, it was the best place in the entire garden. Qrow could already see him to one side of the cage, sitting on a bale of hay, gently grooming a lop-eared rabbit resting in his lap while another dozen of various breeds hopped about his feet. The soldier was humming a peppy tune, so lost in his own world he didn’t notice Qrow at the gate.

“Annabelle’s eating your laces.” He announced as he tapped his scroll on the gate’s scanner.

Clover jerked a bit, but not enough to disturb Dumpling, who only thumped his back leg for his attention to continue. He rested one hand on the lop’s back, shooing Annabelle away with the other, “Lil’ menace.” Before acknowledging Qrow with a nod and a “Good morning.”

“Was looking for you.” He replied, shutting the door behind him.

The second he had, Jynx honed in on him like a missile, torpedoing across the pen in seconds to race excited circles around his feet. Clover watched the antics with a teasing smile. “Somehow, I only half believe that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Qrow carefully stepped around the dwarf rabbit and as he made his way over, plucked a daffodil from the treat container kept on a high-mounted shelf. He sat beside Clover on another hay bale, Jynx wasting no time as she leapt onto his legs and flopped onto her side. So content she was, she didn’t even bother to lift her head when he offered the flower, just munched it down when it got close enough to her mouth. He rolled his eyes, running a hand through her soft, black fur. “Still lazy as ever.”

“She can’t help it if she takes after her handler.” Clover pointed out as he returned to his brushing.

“Making fun of yourself over there, boy scout? ‘Cause I ain’t the parent here. I’m the uncle who spoils her rotten.”

Normally, they’d go at it for a while like this, trading verbal blows that were about as harmful as throwing a handful of feathers at one another would be.

Today, it was clear his friend wasn’t in the mood when he only hummed and said, “I suppose.”

In the quiet that followed, it gave him a chance to really look the other man over. Though he was prim and proper as ever, with clothes neatly pressed and boots shined enough to reflect the light, his face told the true story. Between the deeper lines under his eyes and slight graying at the base of his crew cut, Clover appeared as if he’d aged a decade overnight. Burdened by the weight of worlds’ most damning secrets.

Ones that he knew only got worse the deeper the hole was dug. Qrow felt so far under at this point, he wasn’t sure he’d find the sky again. And the worst part was, the only action he had left was to choose if he wanted to toss the next person the shovel.

Regardless of his convictions to be as candid and brusque as possible to his friends and family, the idea of burying Clover along with him was terrifying.

A quiet chattering drew his eyes back to Jynx. Her eyes were half-closed in blissful contentment, unaware and detached from the woes of her people. He rubbed a finger between her ears, the way he’d learned she liked all the way back when she was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Back when she was so tiny, they’d almost missed her when clearing out the illegal dust testing facility deep in Mantle’s suburbs five years ago.

The mission had been a spur of the moment thing. He’d been tracing one of Salem’s subordinates when the Captain approached him. He still recalled how Clover had buttered him up as he explained that with one of their teammates sick, he was in need of a fifth and he ‘just couldn’t think of anyone more suited than Qrow’.

He wouldn’t say it worked or anything but, well, it just so happened the person he was looking for was also said to be someone of ‘scientific talent’. He’d taken the job completely on the merit of it being a potential lead, but if Clover wanted to shower him with compliments in the meantime, who was he to complain?

Next thing he knew, he was knocking a needle-wielding chemist unconscious and lifting guinea pigs out of overcrowded cages.

It took nearly the entire day to clear the facility. Most of the animals were either unaccustomed to being handled or traumatized from it, and it was difficult to recage them without risk of further injury. It was eventually left to the animal experts that had to be called in. Yet, despite the mission being technically fulfilled, Clover had been stubborn to leave, trying to find ways for them to contribute and becoming agitated if anyone tried to derail him.

Even at the time, when Qrow hadn’t yet known the younger huntsman well, he’d understood the behavior was unusual for the other man. It was hard to say if he simply became driven to assist, his soft spot for animals painfully clear, or if it was some mild form of Hunter’s Shock, the stress and horror of the situation putting him into a repetitive state.

Whatever it was, it was clear they were stuck there until the job was done.

So, mostly trying to look busy while staying out of the way, Qrow had found himself lazily strolling through the basement’s already emptied cage ring when his eyes, sharpened by years of looking down the barrel of a shotgun, caught the almost undetectable movement of hay breathing. Sure enough, brushing it aside revealed one of the smallest rabbits he’d ever seen – though she certainly had the loudest cry when he picked her up.

Like a mother responding to a distressed child, the Captain came running. Though his expression was quick to melt when he spotted them, easing into a smile for the first time that afternoon.

Lucky Number 13, Clover had cooed to her while Qrow cradled the shaking thing against his chest. He’d carried her the entire way back to Atlas, afraid she’d get lost or injured among the other hundred animals they’d rescued. At some point, she’d bonded with him.

“More like imprinted!” Tortuga had joked whenever the subject was brought up.

Keeping the rabbits after the mission hadn’t been planned, but Clover had managed to pull enough strings on Jimmy’s iron heart that the General had come out of it thinking he’d thought up the idea all along. The pen was made in record time and the recovering warren was introduced to their new home. Within days, each rabbit had a name, a toy, a bed and enough treats to hibernate a grizzly bear. Mostly provided by the Captain himself, though some of the other facility and students had donated to the cause.

They were officially presented as a wildlife addition to the garden – they were unofficially and more truthfully known as Captain Ebi’s pets.

Though the rabbits didn’t need constant care and the gardeners attended to their daily needs, Clover still swung by frequently, fitting them into a daily routine he kept to like clockwork. Monday and Friday mornings were given over to training. Tuesdays and Thursdays to team-building with the Ops through sharing or even making breakfast together. Weekends and Wednesdays were reserved for garden visits.

The reason for the change was obvious, but Qrow wasn’t quite ready to ask.

“So. Jimmy told you.” He stated instead.

Clover nodded. “Yeah. He did.”

“And… how are you doing?”

He’d been twenty years younger, when he’d been in Clover’s position. Barely graduated, when he took that first walk through the vault, Ozpin spinning grand stories and waving magic to life before his very eyes. He remembered how terrified he had been. He was just some feral kid from the forests of Anima who could barely figure out how his own Scroll worked. In what possible way was he up to the task of saving the world?

After being in the fold as long as he had, he quickly learned even people more capable than himself all tended to feel the gravity of the job.

Even someone as confidant and unshakable as Clover was not immune, his sigh long and drawn out. “Honestly? It’s a little overwhelming. I actually thought, that uh,” He laughed embarrassedly, “James had lost his mind.”

Qrow blinked.

Maybe the world really was ending.

“I woulda paid money to see that.” He teased.

Clover pinched him. “Oh shut up.” The lack of brushing made Dumpling start to fuss again, but rather than continue to pamper him, Clover set the lop back on the grass, before he lent back, letting out another of those long sighs. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how when I was a kid, I used to think the only way Atlas could possibly stay in the sky like it does was from magic. Then I grew up and the academy taught me different. It’s… terrifying, realizing how easy it’s been to lie to a whole nation’s worth of people.”

“Guess that means you agree with Jimmy’s plan then.” Qrow surmised.

“You don’t?” He challenged back, frowning. “We have thousands of people roaming these halls, none of them knowing that a few floors down lies one of the most powerful objects in the world. Don’t they deserve to know that one day they might be in charge of protecting it?”

Shifting uncomfortably, he averted his gaze, mumbling, “I never really thought about it. I trusted Oz to make those kinds of calls. And now he’s-” He felt his chest tighten, guilt a healed-over bruise pulsing on his knuckles. “Gone. Again.”

“I can imagine how lost that makes you feel.”

“I mean, I guess.” He grumbled, if only to save face.

But deep down, he knew Clover was right. Qrow wasn’t like him, or Oz, or James, or Summer or even Ruby. He needed someone to guide him on the right path. He screwed up things enough merely by existing – he couldn’t make it worse by trying to also make critical decisions.

Maybe it was that thought that made him add, “Starting to think I wasn’t cut out for this whole gig. All I’ve done is drag my nieces and their little friends into this whole mess and nearly got ‘em all killed. Isn’t really comparable to ‘restoring world communications’.”

“Yeah, I suppose being on the front lines at Haven and ensuring a relic didn’t fall into Salem’s hands is a bit more impressive.” Before he could even try to argue, Clover placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “We’ve all had to make some tough calls lately, but I know those kids were in good hands when one of the best huntsmen in all of Remnant was at their side.”

He could feel a blush creeping up his neck. “You’re just saying that because you’re completely starstruck with me.”

“I am.” The admittance was said with absolutely no hesitation, the man’s smile growing. “Qrow, some of my very best missions have been the ones I’ve gotten to go on with you. I admire you. Not because of your skill, but because you’ve never let the job change you. You scoff at your own fame and you don’t take missions looking at lien signs first. You do it for the right reasons, every time. I think that’s amazing.”

The blush was definitely on his face now.

Worse yet, the doubts and worries that had weighed on his mind for days now seemed to lighten, just a little bit.

Gods be damned, how did he always do that?

With no idea how to respond, he mumbled out a soft, “Thanks” hoping it came out more sincere than awkward.

“Anytime.” Thankfully, Clover backed off a bit, focusing back on the rabbits at his feet, picking up Bolt. Having gotten his name from how skittish he was, the cottontail took time to calm enough so he could be brushed.

Long enough for Qrow to compose himself before he spoke again. “So, how have things been otherwise?”

“They’ve been…” His shoulders fell, “Rough.”

Any doubts Qrow might have had before about the Ace Ops’ unannounced replacement crumbled right alongside Clover’s normally strong posture.

He shut his eyes, taking in a deep, bracing breath. As he focused on his friend once more, it was with all the unexpecting kindness he could muster that he asked, “Do you want to talk about him?” For a split second, Clover looked just like the rabbit in his lap – ready to sprint as far away as he could from danger. So Qrow quickly added, “You don’t have to, if you’re not ready.”

Silence blanketed over them like a snowstorm, cold and desolate. The kind of weather that blew in fast and came down slow, pressing everything into such an unnoticed hush most didn’t notice their homes being covered until they looked up and saw they were six feet under. That’s where Clover seemed to be now, stuck inside and standing at the front door, uncertain if he was prepared to create the unavoidable mess it would take to dig his way outside.

Only this time, Qrow had given him the shovel. He just had to use it.

Leaving the soldier to sort out his emotions, Qrow idly pet Jynx, fingers scoring through her sleek black fur.

And he waited.

His gaze drifted to the ring of Cypress trees that bordered outside of the pen.

And he waited some more.

When Clover finally did speak, it seemed a struggle, the words fighting their way out. “Can you imagine how it was for us that day, when we watched our own Knights turn on Vale’s citizens? It was like a nightmare. We didn’t know what had happened. No one did. Without James to explain – to speak for himself – the council started shutting down units left and right. The AKs, the paladins, even our Manta Flyers. We had to rip out billions of lien in automated equipment just so we could fly down to Mantle.”

As if he were a Flyer himself, Bolt suddenly leapt out of his lap, landing back on the grass below. He quickly crowded himself between Orion and Sirias, trusting the giant Altexs to protect him.

Clover just let him go, dropping the brush beside himself as he shook his head. “By the time we got there, the city was overrun. Normally, we’d have enough firepower to deal with it. But James had brought most of the troops with him. Even when they came back, none of them were allowed to deploy to the field until they got questioned. It was a mess. Students and soldiers were kept in lockdown. James was incarcerated. It was months before we learned anything. And every day the public was kept in the dark, every day people feared the other kingdoms would come for us, was another day Grimm surged to our borders.”

It was a familiar story. Beacon’s fall shook the world in a brutal way, leaving no Kingdom untouched. Borders closing. Grimm everywhere. The peace between nations suddenly balancing on a delicate string, just waiting for something to break it.

Yet of everything that had come after that one, awful night, it was the personal losses that struck the hardest.

“I kept telling my own team to just… hold on another day. That things would get better soon. But then-” Clover choked for a second, having to swallow hard. “We got a report of a nest of Centinels in the basement of an apartment complex downtown. We were still cleaning up some stragglers nearby, so I sent Harriet and Tortuga ahead. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes before Harriet started radioing in. ‘The building came down!’ she kept screaming. I’d never heard her so panicked.”

Qrow sucked in a sharp breath and for a second, he was right there with the other huntsman. Except, for him, it was with a scroll in his ear and Oz’s grief-filled voice shattering his soul as the headmaster told him one of his closest friends wasn’t coming home.

The flash of memory faded as quick as it had come, but the heaviness in his heart stayed as Clover pressed on.

“She told us that some Centinel acid had melted through a supporting wall. Tortuga had been slowing the damage while Harriet tried to get all the occupants out in time. Any other day, they could have done it. If we weren’t all running on empty, I know they could have. Instead, they were only halfway through when suddenly, it all just came down. Harriet was outside when it happened.” Clover lent forward, hay crunching under his grasp as he clutched onto it. “The whole time I was running to their position, I kept telling her everything would be fine. I’d use my luck and we’d pull him out and he’d probably laugh at us for worrying so much. Never knowing it didn’t matter how much luck I had.” He chuckled. It was a hollow, broken noise. “He was already gone. The pathologists said he’d died instantly.”

Then that chuckle turned into a sob.

Knowing better than most that there were no words that made this part easier, Qrow did the only thing he could as he slid a hand along the other’s back and tugged him close.

It was a quarter to nine by the time they were getting ready to leave. Clover gave one last cursory check to the food and water while Qrow mentally counted the warren for a fourth time – they didn’t need another incident like when Snowblossom escaped and terrorized the lavender field. He’d finished his count by the time Clover was ushering him through the gate.

He’d finished it again when it locked behind them.

As they started around the first bend of the path, he almost couldn’t fight the urge to go back just to be safe.

Luckily, Clover was a great distraction. “So now that you’re in Atlas, what do you and your entourage plan to do?”

“Uh.” Was that a trick question? “Help with Jimmy’s pet project, obviously.”

“Besides that. It’s not like we’re going to work you all 24/7.”

Qrow wouldn’t mind if they did. At least, for him. Free time seemed… dangerous, when he’d used to fill it with taking shots at the nearest bar. Really, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t really do much else. When he was bored, he went to a bar. When he had a day off, he went to a bar. When he was looking to have fun, he went to a bar. When he didn’t want to see people, then he skipped the bar, got a six pack, and drank himself to oblivion.

Shit.

He was going to have to find a hobby, wasn’t he?

In the end, he shrugged, replying glumly, “Guess we’ll have to figure it out.”

“What about training?” Clover held up a hand in a gesture of peace as Qrow frowned at him. “Not you. The kids. There’s going to be a lot ahead for all of us and the sooner we get used to working together, the better. And, well, considering their age I’m sure some of them are still rough around the edges too.”

He snorted, but didn’t argue that fact. Really, all of them were incredibly skilled, but that didn’t mean perfection. Ren was still flaking in the stamina department. Weiss had to work on her spatial awareness. Jaune needed, well, everything. After years of being a combat teacher, it wasn’t hard to pick out the kids’ flaws. To say nothing of Oscar who, without Oz as a crutch, probably would be better off if they just shipped him into a witness protection program.

It was time that worked against them all. Ideally, it’d be best enrolling them back into school, were they could finish off their graduate programs and gain the wisdoms of various professors who could help them hone their talents. But, seeing as that wasn’t in the cards, he supposed getting some pointers from some of the best Atlas had to offer was a decent replacement.

“I’m sure they’d like that.” Qrow could already imagine how Ruby would bounce off the walls at the idea of getting trained by real huntsmen. As if he were chopped liver, or something.

(He could also already picture her waving his complaints away. “Uncles don’t count. You’re obligated to do nice things for me.”)

“Great! We can work out a schedule once you’re all a bit more settled.” Clover was practically glowing, as if he couldn’t wait to start penning things in on his calendar. Dork.

Yet, he’d take this much happier, lively Clover over the despairing, grieving one he’d just consoled any day of the year.

In fact, the air was so much lighter than it had been, as they rounded another bend and the willow tree came into sight, he was already preparing himself for the other man to drop his usual line, retort already on the tip of his tongue.

Yet, as they came level with it, Clover did something even more daring as he reached across the space between them and caught Qrow’s hand in his.

He stared down at this grand declaration, then up at Clover himself, meeting questing, hopeful eyes.

Heart racing, he curled his fingers over Clover’s, and despite the other’s rounded knuckles or his own lanky fingers, despite mismatched calluses and hairline scars, despite the rings or the gloves, they seemed a perfect fit.

Perhaps, Qrow wouldn’t be so bored in Atlas after all.

#qrow branwen #clover ebi #fair game #fairgameweek2021 #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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elmidol · 4 years ago

Text

Astra Inclinant (NSFW)

Three Blind Tooke Part Three Death is an Art Read on Ao3

Three Blind Tooke

Part Three: Death is an Art

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Astra Inclinant

I knew the many forms of peace,

I knew at long last how to be me.

Between life and death, you were in the embrace of stars while Kylo held your hand in his. You scanned each planet that slowly emerged from the surrounding shadows. It was not too late to choose the peace offered by death; though Kylo would temporarily ache from your loss, he would not suffer endlessly. Even still, that pain was nothing you wished for him to endure. On top of that there was a fear that you knew even in the numbness of death--the numbness that wavered, threatening to give way to aches proving you were reconnecting with your physical body.

This fear was simple; that someone would take your story, manipulate it to fit their narrative, and discard you. For them to deny that they did so, that you were nothing more than some stepping stone for them to receive fleeting fame. Returning to life was not a foolproof method of preventing this. On the contrary, such individuals could later treat you as a charity case and thus curry favor from the greater public. To speak out against them would only harm you; you would be deemed ungrateful and emotional and toxic.

The urge to inhale a lungful of air nagged at you. That could be the breaking point, the tipping point. It would return you to life. You looked to Kylo, whose eyes had not left you for even a moment. It mattered not that war played on.

In the land of the living there remained much to accomplish after the Supreme Leader Armitage Hux of the First Order fell. Skirmishes played out to their completion; the dead were tallied and, where possible, collected. More joined their number before night came to the planet. The count increased still by dawn as mortal injuries claimed their victims. Likewise, the battles that had taken place in other parts of the galaxy came to their own conclusions. Where the First Order had gained victories, reinforcements arrived to defeat those battered vessels and soldiers. Countless beings peered down into the pools of water as they gathered around those bodies in the land between life and death. They observed those alive preparing to enter the new chapter of life’s story.

Vicrul, struck by a mortal wound that had severed his right arm from his body, had been among the first to join you at the edge of such pools of water. He had been the one to slide your hand into his, to give it a squeeze. By the end of the battle, however, he no longer resided in the land between life and death, nor did he transcend into an existence beyond death. Order of Ren soldiers that had trained in the art of Force healing had worked exhaustively to revive him. They did so at a great cost--several of them traded their lives for his. Others remained alive due to the foresight of utilizing Vicrul’s scythe, which had previously torn the souls from foes. The weapon relinquished its hold on those souls, allowing Vicrul’s body to absorb them.

You felt him brush along you, a ghost slipping back into the realm of the living. He had thrashed in pain, swearing and cursing, wrenched from the peace that he had known and thrust into the agony of life. This discomfort and pain lessened as more healing abilities were poured into him. The bleeding stopped, though his arm remained absent.

Kylo’s spirit remained at your side though he himself, his physical body, did not cease in its movements. The two of you were one, ever connected. Another urge to breathe at this thought alone struck you. And yet… Sometimes there was too much life in living--though you did not wish to escape, not always, it overwhelmed you. To have empathy and face possible betrayal. After you had known such peace, that was an agony that burdened you so that your knees gave out and you crumpled.

If you breathed, would you collapse?

You squeezed Kylo Ren’s hand just as Vicrul had done the same with you at the water’s edge. All the while you observed via reflections in starlight the world of the living continue on both with and without you.

Time crawled. The ever-constant fighting left, which thrust many into a state of confusion, of acknowledged weariness. There were planets that had been molested less than others by the chaos of war; of those, only a number extended offers of assistance without any sort of prompting. Another portion followed suit or else agreed when there were direct requests. Few protested when the final portion rejected taking any action. They turned their eyes to Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the Order of Ren, leader of the final battle. What they had expected from him, one could not say with a certainty although there were obvious guesses to be made. Violence. Manipulation via the Force. Instead Kylo did not force them. He allowed them to take these actions, aware that the galaxy was observing with curiosity, with a memory that would last through the ages.

Where were you when--? What did you do after--? They were the ones that would deal with the consequences of their negligence.

Kylo Ren issued other orders to set up a body of galactic law enforcement similar to what the New Republic had utilized and at which Poe Dameron had worked prior to joining the Resistance. Its focus was on the sorts of scum and scavengers that threatened to take advantage of the war-ravaged galaxy. Included in this were First Order officers and other personnel that had managed escape along with its silent partners. Pirates and crime syndicates likewise desired to tackle easy prey. Poe was given a lead position on the force, and there were volunteers from the former Resistance along with Order of Ren pilots that were not ready to settle down.

Rey and Rose each went to the planets of their birth. Hays Minor required much cleaning due to the pollution caused by the First Order. Many people that had fought alongside her accompanied Rose. There were some that had known her sister, Paige, and so journeyed to Hays Minor in her honor. As for Rey, her journey was of a more personal nature thus her company was more limited. Finn naturally volunteered the moment that he learned of her intentions. She did not reject him, her expression soft and one of relief. She was not alone--after so many years on Jakku alone, she now had a family and friends that would not abandon her.

For Force sensitive beings, Kylo Ren’s vision of normalizing their capabilities by simultaneously rejecting and embracing Sith and Jedi ideology--taking the inclusive teachings while tossing aside those that created biases--there were changes being made. One of those changes was the elimination of any programs that grabbed children from their parents such as the stormtrooper program that Brendol Hux had created and that Armitage had furthered. It had been a practice of the Jedi as well, had perhaps what allowed Han and Leia to feel content with sending Kylo to Luke when they had failed to understand or accept him as a child.

The next step was to--Finn’s idea, which had its importance emphasized by Rey’s personal mission--reunite the stormtroopers with their families. Lando was swift to volunteer to assist. He had the means and willingness to travel for an extended period. Lando was not fully familiar working with children, however young adults were another story. He connected with them, listened to them. He had enough real world experience outside of war that there were minimal protests. Most that did exist came from Order of Ren officers that had conflicted feelings regarding the new changes arising now that the First Order was defeated. They were not fond of the former Rebellion heroes.

Many of those former heroes resided in the land of the dead. Chewbacca was not among that number. He returned to Kashyyk to his family, albeit not until after he had a proper reunion with Kylo Ren. They had sat together, shared a meal. Chewbacca stood at Kylo’s side when the dead were announced. Joined him in medbay where the injured were being tended to. It was here that Kylo first beheld the state in which Vicrul had been left. Within two weeks of the final battle, though, Chewbacca said his temporary farewell to the man that was the equivalent of his nephew.

Ushar, who had been left behind on the Star Destroyer and given instructions via commlink, had survived the final battle with no further injury other than a blow to his pride. He sat with Vicrul, who barely spoke, in medbay prior to locating Trudgen, who had been placed into a medically induced coma due to the extent of his injuries. Trudgen’s bed sat near the bacta tank in which Cardo had been placed to heal the wounds that threatened to cause nerve damage and deep scars.

Vicrul, still silent, was nevertheless more interactive with Millicent when Ap’lek brought the feline to medbay for a visit. Kuruk alternated between secluding himself from the world to spending time with his fellow Knights of Ren. Each of them broken yet unbent. Within two weeks of the war’s end, Kuruk managed to convince Vicrul to move forward with his prosthetic arm. The pair tended to the plants from Naboo, which had grown in number as other planets and pilots of ships contributed to the collection for breeding purposes.

In these small ways, the land of the living moved forward--and these small things, each of them, had been the motivation for you taking that breath.

There are times that you forget you are in the land of the living, and it is during such occurrences that you realize you know peace--have known peace--between periods of strife. Now there was a simultaneous acceptance of and aversion towards death. You were not afraid to be welcomed into its embrace, however you wanted to live. The chaos of the galaxy did threaten to overwhelm you, prompting you to retreat into solitude that only he could intrude upon. His footsteps, growing in volume, signified that he meant to do just that. You opened your eyes, focus wavering between the tingling running along the back of your neck and the awareness that there were blankets draped across your lap.

The previous threats to your body--him--and to your mind--you--no longer burned you. This absence of suspense and ulterior motivations instilled a sense of awe that had not yet failed to emerge by way of a smile when he entered your line of vision.

A single large window claimed two-thirds the expanse of the wall directly across from the room’s entrance. Stars shone through it, illuminating the sky along with the moon that peered down upon the trees that stretched towards the heavens. Shades of blues and greens were dotted with deep purples and dark pinks. There might never be an equivalent, however this was the closest you had come to feeling as though you were on Naboo. Your mother had secured the arrangements for you to rest on the planet while she and Kylo Ren delved into politics.

This system was war weary, quite ready to welcome a sovereign that permitted its local governments to remain in place with minor adjustments. This willingness did not, you suspected, equate to complacency nor a lack of ambition in terms of setting up proper trade routes. Kylo Ren’s fatigue showed on his face; shadows darkened the flesh under his eyes, and his brows were creases despite the absence of a scowl. His expression brightened as yours did when his gaze met yours.

“I thought about the offer,” you said in a hushed voice, aware that he might have a headache after the day’s business had concluded. Kylo shook his head. You knew that he was holding himself back from chastising you; the proposal that you had received in regards to a career--one of many, in fact--had been one that he had hoped you would store away for a different time. Each person that you had met, every individual that knew you well, were in agreement that you required time for rest. To truly rest. “I haven’t made a decision.”

That elicited a hum of curiosity from his chest, a sort of rumble that you felt roll throughout your body in turn. The muscles in your abdomen tightened. Breath hitching, you shuddered and drew your legs towards one another. Kylo’s hum turned into a single quiet purr of pleasure. He stalked towards the bed. Used two fingers, twitching them, to close the door. The existence of the large window and its current absence of a shade or curtain meant that any passersby--of which there were presently none--could see the activities within the room. This fact did not cause Kylo pause, nor did it dissuade you from tilting back your head to expose your throat to him. Starlight streaming through the transparisteel created streaks of light upon your flesh and his.

The mattress dipped underneath his weight. You rocked backwards, let yourself roll and collapse upon the pillow, and stared up at him as he crawled over you. Your eyes were wide, your heart racing. You were not afraid. It had simply hit you again--this was real. You were alive, your body could be touched, you could experience pain and pleasure. Tears brimmed in the corners of your eyes. They spilled along with the first sob. You threw yourself at him, thrusting your body upwards and practically catapulting off the bed so that your chest slammed into his. Your arms wound around his neck. Your legs crossed, trapping one of his between them. He had pulled you out of death’s embrace when you had decided that you wanted to live. Kylo was your anchor and your sails, he was everything you needed whether you required a moment to remain still or else were ready to sail forward.

Hands cupped either side of your face and tilted back your head until it met the pillow. You arched your body in response to prevent contact from being broken. Kylo drew his limbs down along the materials of your clothing. He worked to eliminate all barriers. First yours. His touch a phantom, skimming along surfaces without making full contact. The gloves that he wore did not diminish the intimacy with which he handled you. His eyes, ever expressive, were all that you stared at. All that you needed to peer into. Their bottomless depths, so filled with emotions and secrets.

There was a dampness to them, unformed tears creating a new layer to the pool in which you were willingly drowning. You knew this expression, the look. It was painted across your own face, albeit with the inclusive of tears. It was how you had stared down at him when he had died in your arms--don’t leave, don’t leave me alone--and you knew that a single word could make him crumple. It would shatter him like glass. Your mouth dropped open once more, a new, strangled sound erupting.

Kylo lifted one hand from you in order to begin removing the layers of his own clothing. Those leather gloves released noises that caused you to swallow repeatedly. Gulping down air and saliva in alteration. Starlight amplified by the window dotted his flesh, reminding you of the cloak he had worn. Glancing down at long last, you noticed similar creations on your own skin, no different than the gown that had once adorned your body. Kylo lifted his arms, rose up to a greater height above you as he knelt on the bed. The mattress shifted under each movement. Leather slipped away to reveal those hands you so loved, the ones that aided in molding you.

They met your shoulders and you realized that you were more than a damaged body, more than a vessel for death. Your abdominal muscles tensed, pulled towards your spine as you sucked in air then temporarily refused to breathe. You were not Death; your barren body was not an instrument of destruction. You were more than that. A creator, an artist, one who used the available tools to design on canvases woven with hope.

You traced the contours of his countenance with the very tips of your fingers. Every smooth surface, every scar, each mole. You knew it as well as you knew your own features. It mattered not if you were dead or alive, if you were in the dark or the light. This was your soul, your being, you. You were complete in yourself, content with yourself. He was a part of that.

“I’m alive,” you said in what could barely pass as a whisper. Your voice caught in your throat, cracking. Kylo pressed his forehead to yours. Strands of his hair tickled your cheeks. He moved between your legs without attempting to enter you. The pair of you were breathing one another in. Grounded, anchored, together.

Kylo was the first to shift. His nose ran along yours, caressed your lips, ghosted down your throat--you tilted back your head and stared with wide eyes at the ceiling--moved from your breasts all the way to directly below your navel. He parted your folds with his nose then his tongue, which flicked back and forth, side to side, spreading you. You shuddered. Wetness flowed from you, your slick gathering on the tongue that prodded, that traced lazy designs upon your sensitive flesh. You entangled your fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp without pushing him against you. He was taking lead in this dance, in this union.

He slipped one finger into you along with his tongue, moving limb and organ in opposite directions. Even as your eyelids fluttered closed, you could see the stars. The planets, sun and moon. Warmth enveloped you, wrapping around you as his tongue curled, as his mouth sealed around your cunt in a wet kiss. He moaned into the kiss. The vibrations made you throb, caused you to clench around his finger and tongue. Kylo inserted a second digit, scissoring you and rolling his tongue between the two fingers so that he could toy with a sensitive bundle of nerves situated near your entrance. You clenched again, stomach fluttering.

More tears spilled from your eyes, these ones for a different reason. You were alive and you were happy with that. There was peace here with him, within yourself. You cupped your breasts. This body that had been injured in the war, that had taken months to heal--that would take more time to fully heal--it was beautiful to you. It was yours. You were comfortable within your own skin, and Kylo made you feel worthy of affection, of adoration, of the attention he was paying you. I am complete within myself. His nose nudged your clit, sending a new spark of pleasure coursing through your veins.

Three sides--you, him, the whole self. To reject one was to blind them all.

“Little tooke,” Kylo purred. For the first time, you repeated those words back to him. He paused, having been shifting to resume touching you, to fuck you with his tongue. “Not a rancor?”

You watched him draw back, Kylo shifting up onto his knees and you moving along with him so that you were able to straddle him. He held onto your hips, his eyes locked with yours. That same expression--he could break if you said something hurtful. If you rejected him, which you would never do. “I think we can be both. But… I used to be afraid to be vulnerable.” You reached down, stroked his cock, which twitched in your hand. Stroking the underside, you traced the prominent vein. “I could reveal parts of myself and not break. I can use the parts I am proud of without fear. There were the other parts I tried to hide away.” You lined him up with you, sank down onto him. You took a shuddered breath, eyelids fluttering, and you were temporarily unable to speak.

Kylo released a grunt. He helped to guide you down, holding back from thrusting into you with abandon. You licked your lips. “There are tooke trap plants...they eat tooke. A natural order. Death is part of the cycle, but--people view rancors as monsters. So, with that in mind,” you lifted yourself, sank down again. Moaned. Felt his length spearing you open. “I… I’m toxic to monsters. They may try to destroy me, and if they do...they’ll fall as well. But I’m not inherently toxic. I’m not worthless. Whether I’m scared or small or large or brave, I’m not a monster that doesn’t belong in the world. When I’m a rancor, at my ugliest, I belong. And you as well. You know, I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.

“At one point I lived to kill you--anything could have destroyed me along the way. I was on a path of self-destruction. Only by colliding with you did I come alive again. I was so lost. Just some lost girl running away from myself, from life. Avoiding the darkness but also straying away from the light.” You kissed him. Kylo cupped your neck in one hand, a breast in another. He squeezed, massaging, with both. You tightened yourself around him with each undulation of his hands.

“I am one when I’m with you. I am not hatred any longer.” Another kiss. “And I am not afraid. I am love. A small creature in this large galaxy. A little tooke for you, with you. You’re my tooke as well.” You released a heavy breath, lifted your body. Felt his cock starting to slip from you--slammed yourself back down and discovered that he had been thinking the same thing, that he needed to be within you. His body collided with yours. “If I consume you, I’ll die as well. So I am the rancor to your tooke, you are the rancor to mine.”

You were unsure if you were making any sense, however Kylo nodded. He knew you. Knew what you meant--you were the same as one another, the entire cycle of life and death, of soul, of being. In public he would not allow himself to be a tooke, to be vulnerable. Yet there he was in your arms, buried in you, and you knew it to be true. You wound your arms around his neck.

“My tooke.” He crossed his arms behind your back, holding onto your shoulders as though you were life itself. You would not crush him.

The calloused pads of his fingertips traced down the length of your torso. You shuddered at his touch, gasped and gulped in air. As he touched you, you regained each piece of yourself that had begun to shatter while you had slept; while you had dreamed of losing all that you had left, of lost love and of betrayal, and of isolation rather than solace. Kylo cupped your breasts with his hands, sealed his mouth over your nipple and rolled the bud with his tongue, causing it to harden and perk up. Your body tightened around his cock. He shoved you onto your back, his hips rocking with more force as he began to fuck you in earnest. There was no absence of affection despite the seemingly harsher movements. It was a mutual need, a shared desire.

“Oh,” you gasped out, tears springing into the corners of your eyes as warmth began to build inside of you. A dam of pleasure, hot and pulsing, a thrumming that made your jaw drop as an explosion rippled throughout your body.

Wrapped up in his body, there were no lingering questions of what next now that the war had ended. There was a present. Only the now, which was an embrace that you clung to and never wished to be released from. Your orgasm shattered you without breaking you. You screamed Kylo’s name, heard him grunt in reply. Felt his body pistoning into yours, his cock stretching your pulsing walls. He plunged into your cunt after drawing almost completely out of your body. Kylo groaned your name as he came inside of you, his cum filling you, leaking from you when he pulled away.

You set the heels of your hands against your eyes, worked to regulate your breathing. Teeth nipped upwards from your inner thigh to your cunt to your breast, where Kylo paused to leave marks. His fingers plunged back into you, fucking you. You swallowed down saliva before letting yourself simply drool as he turned you into an incoherent mess. The mattress squeaked obnoxiously. Your cunt released lewd, wet noises as your cum and his mingled, his fingers driving in and out, thumb swirling on your clit until you were cumming again. This time your screams had no volume; they were too loud, a mixture of pleasure and pain--ecstasy--as he bit down on your breast, bruising you.

I’m alive, you thought for what seemed like the millionth time. Tears rolled down from the corners of your eyes onto the blankets underneath your head. Kylo climbed up, his mouth hungrily claiming yours. You returned the kiss, your tongue joining his in a dance that he had taught you. His body enveloped yours, completed yours. You felt safe.

“Will you see them?” His question broke through. You winced, sucked your lips into your mouth. Why were you so afraid of seeing the others? The Knights of Ren. Rey. Finn. These people who had known you before death, before you had become complete. These people who loved you even when you felt unlovable. When you lashed out in anger because it was easier to be angry than it was to be hurt. Because he understood this, Kylo would not push beyond asking that question.

You breathed again. It was such a foreign feeling when you were conscious of the act. The heavy weight on your chest. The burning sensation if you held in the breath or did not drag enough air inside.

Lifting your hands, you entangled your fingers in his hair and traced each of his features with your eyes. Whether you left this room to visit the others, life went on the same as it would have had you chosen death. But I did not choose death, I chose life. Your eyes widened. Life came in far too many forms to count. To number them was to number the stars; the endless possibilities and choices available altered the paths one took, the sights they saw. That was strange to you in some ways, realizing that you had a choice. Where before you had been a captive of circumstance, now you actively chose.

I can choose to move forward now, or I can stay here for a little while longer. You licked your lips. “Kylo.” Your first choice. You had, as you had told him, thought about the offer that had been extended to you regarding your future. To answer it in either the positive or the negative, first you would need to see the others. Am I ready? “Kylo.” His name was a prayer, a mantra, a comfort. He said yours in return, and you felt your soul thrum with joy.

#three blind tooke #kylo ren x reader #kylo x reader #death is an art #kylo ren smut #kylo ren fanfic #kylo ren imagine

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projectsoleil · 3 years ago

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Thank You, My Twilight | Vegabot | Epilogue

[♫♫♫]

Vegabot doesn’t join the survivors on the boat as they part ways. She knows she’s going to be lonely for a while, with nobody but corpses as company, but also she knew that society wasn’t ready for Ve#abot in this shape and form. So Ve##bot would wait until a more human body could be designed for her. She didn’t want to be an exact copy of Min- if the revival was a success that would create complications for both of them. Between trying to work out how to transfer powers from one dead body to another, Shoko was accommodating and helpful. Delightful even. She helped V###bot whenever possible, from little things like the specs of her future chassis (V###b#t had been way pickier with their appearance than they realized, possibly to avoid inconveniencing Shoko in the future), and continuing with Min’s project of helping Wayne self-actualize and “be a real boy”. It had taken the better part of a month just for V#####t to make him realize there wouldn’t be anyone to give him orders anymore, and he would have to give himself his own. Finally, after a month, V######’s new chassis was ready. All that was left now was to finish her fake documents and she would legally be a person. For that, she needed a name. That had been what had tripped ####### up for so long. It was arguably the first step towards being her own independent person, but for some reason was the hardest to take. She didn’t think she was uncreative, simply paralyzed by choice. But part of her remembered Rina, who had named several of the bots, had offered one to her. She had suggested “Vivi”, because Min had reminded her of the “V for Victory” symbol with the aura she gave off. And well, Vega started with “V” too ####### supposed. It was a starting point, and what they worked with when they handed Shoko, Norman, and Yuta the requested info so they could get things made by God knows who. And with that squared away, ####### was powered off, and the work was done to transfer everything to her new body.

[♫♫♫]

Vivian Yue Ren came online on November 12th 2052, what would have been Min Ren’s 29th birthday. The irony wasn’t lost on her. After a few weeks to let Vivian get used to her new body, and for other bots to follow suit. Minimize trips and whatnot. Her new backstory had been carefully worked as well. Born in Hong Kong in 2031 (Vivian had chosen a different birthday from Min, even though it super didn’t matter), shortly afterwards her and her nonexistent mother moved to the United States, where her mom had a job with Sunscape (verifiable with fake HR records), and she went to a public school in Los Angeles until her powers of Wireless Interface manifested and she was given a full-ride to Sunrise Academy. After graduating as a middling student, Vivian’s mom would have conveniently passed away, and a devastated Vivian would have taken the inherited money and life insurance payouts (an easy way for Sunscape to give Vivian some money out of a guilty conscience. Plus the ship is sinking anyways steal from the till while it lasts right?), took a few gap years where she conveniently fell off the radar, and now found herself in New York City, finally applying for college there (this part Vivian had to actually do herself. Not everyone was in Sunscape’s pockets.) But the strategic move to NYC let Vivian get in touch with Min’s former roommates. It didn’t take too long to find them, and after a brief case of mistaken identity, Vivian spilled what had happened, and confirmed their worst fears. The public knew a bit by this point, but not the true depths of what happened. Even though she was the bearer of bad news that Min was, in fact, dead, she let the two of them know that it may not be a permanent affair, but that things were shaky and not guaranteed. And that Vivian couldn’t confirm what kind of state Min would be in after she was revived- either from the resurrection, or her own traumatic experience on the Sunscape Islands. === It was Min’s roommate Liz’s idea to have Vivian fly out to Hong Kong and tell the family. Begrudgingly, she agreed (she wasn’t planning on going to college until the Fall 2053 term anyways, so she had time), and made another awkward trip. Again after the whole song and dance, and Liz introducing Vivian, the news about Min’s death was broken. Even with giving the same uncertain terms of Min’s possible revival, the family was inconsolable. Her father, who Vivian only knew of as being talked about in the most negative of terms, outright broke down, blaming himself and over the next few days tearfully confessing to several crimes, including the death of Min’s older brother, which before then had been pinned on her older sister. (Not that said sister was completely out of the woods yet. Everyone who she killed in her little revenge quest she was still on the hook for. It was just that one charge that was dropped.) Vivian ended up staying much longer than expected because of this, to support Min’s mom and younger brother for as long as she could. Her younger brother, Liao, opened up to Vivian in particular, perhaps projecting guilt held for all three of his older siblings. Vivian tried her best to be there for him, in a way that Min wasn’t after her older brother’s death. Maybe she was projecting the guilt she knew Min had too. It wasn’t until Vivian received a memo from Shoko, that the revivals had been successful and were underway, that she took her leave. Only Liao knew the truth of why she was leaving, and before doing so handed her a particularly hefty letter for Min. It had been three years since they last spoke now, after all. === Vivian returned to the Sunset Isles for the last time in her life that February, to check on a recently-revived Min. After getting the confirmation from Shoko that Min was alive, well, and her memories up to the point of her death were intact, Vivian had to be the bearer of bad news one last time. She filled Min in on everything that happened after she died: from the purpose of the game, to the ultimate life form and Cella’s goals, to Pheo’s involvement. On

everything that happened in the world at large afterwards. On what happened with Min’s family. Surprisingly, Min took to Vivian well. She felt guilty that her own anger over losing her brother led to the hatred of the bots that caused Vivian to have her crisis upon activating. In turn, Vivian gradually became more comfortable accepting parts of herself that were more obviously based on Min. When the two got to the boat that would take the two of them off the island for good, they had an unexpected passenger come with them. It appeared that Wayne had missed Vivian, and that had made her’s, Min’s, and Riley’s project finally make headway. So with a more human body of his own, Wayne was proud to announce that he had been accepted to the same university that Vivian had applied to. Well, at least Vivian would be there to keep an eye on him. when the trio returned to the mainland, Min was handed the envelope her brother had entrusted Vivian with, and the two exchanged glances one last time. It had been agreed that the two wouldn’t exchange contact info, and the two of them wouldn’t seek each other out. Min would live her life again, and Vivian would live hers. If the two bumped into each other, they wouldn’t acknowledge it. If they somehow were ‘introduced’ by mutual friends then they’d deal with it then. So this moment was goodbye, forever. Or at least goodbye once they got off the plane to NYC, since Shoko had booked all three of them for the same flight. === And when fall rolled around, Vivian moved into her campus dorm excitedly, taking in the surroundings. She didn’t know what would happen next, and that was the best part. It could be anything. She could be anything. So she chose to be herself.

#ch 6 #vega #submission #epilogue

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pilot-boi · 4 years ago

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Five Injuries Hidden: Chapter Seven

Moving Forward

Moving forward was never easy when you were so set in your ways. But with help, maybe his friends could keep Jaune from moving backwards.

AO3 LINK

For a moment he simply…

Existed.

Drifted in that murky place between sleep and consciousness.

Jaune!

Breathed.

Yo...awake!

The world swam in a way he never thought it could, all blurred and rushed together. As if…

Was he underwater?

Jaune?

Nonono, Jaune, don't-!

Panic slammed into him like a speeding truck, and suddenly he was coughing and coughing he couldn't breathe where did the air go?!

Jaune, listen, please! Breathe with me okay? Feel that?" Something, someone, grabbed his cold hand with their own warm one, placing it…. It on…. On their chest? Taking deep, exaggerated breaths. "Yeah, that's me. That's it… that's it, just breathe Jaune. You're just fine, Jaune, just please breath…"

Taking gulps of air, his weakened hand finally managed to grab hold of the person that was supporting him. The world finally, finally stopped swimming, revealing a darkened hospital room with his little brother's familiar brilliant, hazel eyes peering at him worriedly.

Quietly panting, Jaune furrowed his brows. Wh..what happened? Why was he in a hospital bed…?

And why did Oscar have that achingly familiar haunted look in his eyes as his gaze seemed to drink in the sight of his friend alive, not dead and dying and screaming, oh the screams-

"You almost died." Oscar suddenly answered, his voice wavering and shattering Jaune's thoughts. Something like anger flared in the boy's eyes, but… but, no, it…. it ran deeper than that.

There was fear in his little brother's eyes.

Fear of loss.

Fear of losing his big brother.

Fear of losing him.

Jaune's heart shattered. Before he could offer anything, before he could even open his mouth, Oscar barreled on.

"You can't- you can't do that to me, to any of us! You idiot, did you even think of what you dying would do to your friends? To your family?!" Oscar ranted through the tears that threatened to stream down his face, voice catching and stumbling over the words.

Far from done, he stabbed a finger at his big brother. Jaune absently noted that Oscar's hand was shaking, the rest of his mind struggling to process everything else.

"Did you think that we wouldn't be devastated? That we would be better off without you?!" Oscar didn't even let Jaune answer, "Because we wouldn't!"

"We wouldn't," he repeated, panting, as if, if he had to make anything clear, it would be that. The righteous fury seemed to waver, his livid expression slowly crumbling into something far more vulnerable.

Oscar at this moment had never looked younger.

He hiccuped as he tried to fight the sobs that would not be stopped no matter how many times he went to scrub the tears away.

Sometimes it was easy for Jaune to forget that Oscar had just been thrown into this, and that he wasn’t even old enough to really attend one of the academies. And honestly, with how everything was going and Ozpin on top of everything, who knew if Oscar would last that long. Or even be himself by then.

Every instinct screamed at Jaune to fix this, make this right, no matter what it took-

Oscar stiffened as he felt arms, familiar arms, weakly shift to hug him, before simply giving in to his tears and hugging Jaune back as tightly as he could without hurting him.

Too close.

That had been too close…

--------

Jaune had been thoroughly chewed out in the passing hours.

The poor nurses had all but given up at this point trying to enforce the rule of "one visitor at a time" as the others had stormed the room.

No one even dared try to stop Nora on a warpath. Not with that look in her cutting stormy sea eyes. Reports would say that lightning had crackled off of her as she raged at the bed-bound knight.

And those reports would be understating things.

Oscar looked smugly satisfied off in his corner as she all but physically shook her leader, hissing seething words and threats that if he ever pulled something like this again she would kill him if whatever else didn't first, revive him, and then kill him again.

No one had any doubt that she would follow through on those threats.

Her piece said, she wrapped Jaune up in a firm hug. Something silent passed between them, and Jaune buried his face into her shoulder.

And if his shoulders shook with finally released sobs, then nobody commented.

The others soon came in, all clamoring and scolding and all silently reassuring themselves that their friend was here and alive and…and while not necessarily okay, not yet, not by a long shot, he had the chance to become so.

And that's all they really could have asked for.

--------

Two weeks later…

"Jaune, I swear to the gods, if I find you on your feet without at least your crutches one more time-"

"But Rubyyyy, it's so boring sitting around all day!"

"Well then maybe next time don’t tromp around for hours with a freaking iron rod sticking out of your leg!!” they heard Nora shriek.

Ren and Yang glanced at each other, Ren fondly rolling his eyes and shaking his head as Yang quietly snickered. Yep, things were, slowly but surely, going back to normal.

Qrow peeked out from the kitchen, looking mildly concerned but wholly unsurprised. "They at it again?"

Oscar groaned, burying his face into one of the throw pillows on the couch. "Jaune doesn't seem to understand that he almost lost a leg," he grumbled. "He shouldn't even be thinking of walking, let alone training."

"It is good to see our friend back to his old self again," Ren commented wryly.

A moment of heavy silence passed, memories of that first week forcing their way to the forefront of their minds…

...The less said about that week, the better.

"How long do you think it'll take for Jaune to try and secretly train again?" Yang asked as he forced a grin that looked almost genuine as he tried to break the grim silence that had fallen over them.

It seemed to have become a common thing as of late.

Yang snorted. "I give it an hour or two unsupervised."

Weiss ruefully shook her head, "Honestly, it is completely illogical to be pushing himself this hard right now."

"That's Jaune for you," Blake sighed, settling onto the couch beside Oscar.

Grumbling, Yang plopped down on the floor beside them, resting her back against the couch. "Has he always been this self sacrificing, or is this a new thing? Because I feel like he's either gotten worse…. Or he's just gotten sloppy at hiding it."

"A mix of both, if I'm being perfectly honest."

The teens collectively glanced up to see Ruby returning from the knight's room. She shrugged, and continued, "It wasn’t always this bad, but since the Fall..."

She crossed her arms, going for the look of ease to cover up that fact she was hugging herself at the memories dragging themselves to the surface. Memories of long, cold nights as her friend slaved away in training when he thought they couldn’t see.

Memories of them finding their friend going hungry in those stretches of forest when there wasn’t a village in sight, always passing up the food so they could be a little more full.

Jaune crying, screaming at Cinder from across the room, charging into a fight he couldn’t possibly win...

Ruby mentally shook herself, dragging herself back from the depths of her memories. "...but yeah. He's definitely gotten worse since Beacon. And I guess that makes it a little harder to hide, the levels and extents he goes to now..."

There was a moment of silent agreement.

"We can't let this happen again," Oscar murmured into the yet again silent room.

No one needed clarification to what 'this' was.

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to stop him? Sloppy hiding or not, we still never suspected a thing until we found him almost dead." Yang replied, her frustration and fear and worry all spilling into her words unbidden.

Blake nudged her with a foot. "Well, this time we know to look for it. This time we're ready for him to do these sorts of things."

Ren gave a determined nod of agreement as he added, "I have been going over his behaviors and reactions over the last few months." His expression grew serious. "It appears that our friend has a very bad habit of avoiding medical checks."

"Not anymore." Ruby declared, her tone final, and her hands on her hips. "I don't care if it's a paper-cut, we will know about it after every mission… I am not going to lose another friend to these kinds of self-sacrificing stunts."

The others voiced their full-hearted agreements-

Thump!

Oh, not again….

"Jaune!" Nora yelped from the other room. “Stay in the freaking bed, before I am forced to knock you out to make sure!”

Ren winced, and got smoothly to his feet. “I should probably check on that,” he said. Wouldn’t want Nora injuring him in some misplaced sense of protection.

Jaune wasn’t get hurt again on his watch.

#rwby #jaune arc #oscar pine #ruby rose #lie ren #nora valkyrie #yang xiao long #blake belladona #qrow branwen #weiss schnee #mine #mistral au #my writing #five injuries hidden

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thebladeblaster · 4 years ago

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Till I can get to feeling like writing here’s the second half of the Bonds Beyond Dimensions Prologue. The four dimensions are dealing with the void and the Vanguard universe is dealing with...well you can guess.

Bonds Beyond Dimensions: Prologue | Side: Vanguard

A few weeks after the nationals. Things had gotten rather quiet for Aichi after his cardfight against Ren. Things had seemed to gone to how they were before all the Psyqualia craziness. Well...except Kai was off who knows where again. Aichi tried not to be a worry wart but...he had this off feeling that something was going on. Recently there’s been various reports of numerous people being found unconscious or not being found at all. It made him feel a bit uneasy. Not to mention Kai and Miwa were acting very weird before they left. Aichi just sighed hoping that maybe there will be a explanation for all this weirdness soon.

Aichi started walking through the door to Card Capital when he suddenly froze. For the first time in weeks his Psyqualia activated and he could swear his units were screaming at him ‘to run’. Aichi flinched caught off guard not only by his Psyqualia activating, but the strange power he sensed. He steadied himself a looked into the shop and gasped in shock at what he saw. Various people laid on the ground. Aichi inched over to one nervously to check for a pulse. Before he could he flinched as he could once again feel his Psyqualia activate ‘RUN! RUN! RUN!’, his units warned. Aichi looked up from his crouched position. His heart beat louder as he slowly looked up. The top part of the person was covered in menacing shadow and Aichi jumped back onto his feet backing away.

He now got a better look at the person and his eyes widened in shock.

“M-Morikawa?!”, Aichi questioned in complete confusion.

He felt a bit wary. After all his Royal Paladin units knew how he felt about Psyqualia. They wouldn’t activate it carelessly. He noted something off about Morikawa he had a mysterious purple aura around him and his eyes glowed a menacing green. His demeanor was very off too he seemed to stand limply like he was just a puppet.

“Yeah...that’s not natural...”, Aichi thought.

He backed away nervously as Morikawa inched towards him.

“D-don’t fight him bro!!!”, Aichi gasped in shock as he heard a familiar voice.

He looked over to see Kamui in the distance struggling up. He wore a black and orange jacket with a orange symbol. He had on jeans and wore a red bandanna like Team Handsome.

“You...fight...me...”, Morikawa said in a emotionless tone.

“Why?! What’s going on?”, Aichi asked.

Aichi looked over as he noticed Morikawa held up a deck in challenge. The unit on the top looked completely unfamiliar to him. From what he could see it looked like some sort of black dragon with glowing green highlights. The odd feeling he had increased. That ‘unit’ felt completely wrong like it wasn’t a unit at all. Not to mention, just it’s presence here felt like his fight or flight instincts were activating. It was like he was in front of a predator.

“Just d-don’t...w-whether you win or...not you’ll end up like-“, Kamui fell over as he was talking and Aichi ran over to him without thinking.

He caught Kamui as he fell holding him in his arms. Aichi narrowed his eyes as he looked over to‘Morikawa’.

“B-bro don’t...”, Kamui pleading trying to hold Aichi back.

Aichi sweated nervously as he noticed how weak he seemed. He hardly felt him holding him back at all. Aichi sat Kamui in one of the chairs to make him more comfortable. He turned back to ‘Morikawa’ walking towards him as Kamui weakly reached out to him.

“So...you are Sendou Aichi...”, Morikawa said.

“Don’t you know that?”, Aichi asked confused.

“I am...not your friend...I am a Darkwurm...of Zarc....”, Morikawa now known as the Darkwurm replied.

“Zarc? Who’s Zarc?”, Aichi questioned confused.

“Hehe...you are very...late to the party...Sendou Aichi...Toshiki Kai must be to blame about that...”, The Darkwurm replied.

Aichi froze at the mention of Kai and Kamui sweated nervously.

“Kai? What do you know about Kai? Do you know where he is?”, Aichi asked.

“I know that...he has been trying to keep us...away from you...You are a Psyqualia user like that red haired teen...”, the Darkwurm replied.

“How do you know about Psyqualia? And why does it matter to you?”, Aichi questioned.

“The energy of you...Psyqualia users are...especially tasty for my master...”, the Darkwurm replied.

Aichi didn’t like the sound of that at all. Aichi paled looking a bit freaked out.

“T-tasty?! My energy?! What is this a magical girl anime?”, Aichi questioned.

“Fight me...human...and have your energy....used to revive my master Zarc...”, the Darkwurm said.

“Yeah...no.”, Aichi replied, trying to get by him with Kamui.

His exit was blocked by the Darkwurm.

“You will fight...or...”, The Darkwurm said as shadowy blobs emerged from the ground and transformed into black dragons with glowing green highlights.

“Oh my god...”, Aichi’s mumbled his eyes opening as wide as dinner plates.

“We will...devour all these people...”, the Darkwurm finished.

Aichi nodded hastily looking very spooked.

“Alright then. If you want to fight that bad. Then let’s do this!”, Aichi replied.

They went to the sides of the standing fight table and placed down their starting Vanguard.

From somewhere...

Three shadowy figures watched the battle about to take place.

“This one may be more interesting than the others.”, a feminine voice said.

“It better be. I’m so bored. I hope that Aichi boy is worth all the hype.”, a more masculine voice said in a whimsical tone.

“Yeah, so you’ll stop going around killing potential energy sources for kicks.”, a deeper voice said in a scolding tone.

“Get off my ass Dark Rebellion. They weren’t cardfighters or whatever their called anyway. So they were worthless to our plan.”, the whimsical one replied.

“Even still they could have a became cardfighters. Master Zarc needs as much energy as possible to regain his power. Seriously even Clear Wing is more professional than you Starving Venom.”, Dark Rebellion replied.

“Wow, you actually mean that?”, Clear Wing, the feminine one replied in a joyous tone.

“Don’t compare me to her! She changes moods as much as the weather!”, Starving Venom replied indignantly.

Starving Venom growled after Clear Wing quickly wacked him.

Meanwhile on the screen Aichi flinched as he took his first damage. He noticed he not only felt the attack but he felt like some of his energy had been sapped.

“All it takes is a attack for me to get drained?”, Aichi questioned as he clutched his fist noticing his grip got a bit weaker.

“Yes...and master Zarc...shall gobble up all you cardfighters...to fuel his return...”, the Darkwurm said menacingly.

To be continued...

Ah...Aichi’s actually late to the party. It’s just like Link Joker 😂. Aichi just walks into it.

#cardfight vanguard #yugioh arc v #aichi sendou #kamui katsuragi #morikawa katsumi #toshiki kai #starving venom fusion dragon #clear wing synchro dragon #dark rebellion xyz dragon #darkwurm #zarc #psyqualia #my crappy writing

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emeraldspiral · 5 years ago

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Honestly, I feel like the fact that they apparently pulled the Rise of Kylo Ren comic (which shows he did nothing wrong) just a couple days after TROS hit theaters, lends legitimacy to my theory that what we saw was an unauthorized cut made by a disgruntled employee who swapped it with the file that was supposed to be sent out to theaters and Disney’s trying to figure out if they should cop to the breach in security or try to pretend like this shitfest was the actual intended product.

Either that or, they filmed and tested multiple endings months ago, including one where Ben dies, even though that was never the planned endgame, wasn’t a serious contender, and wasn’t what they initially chose.

It was only at the last minute that some chucklefuck decided they should use the Ben Dies ending after all and that was the final edit made to the film and the reason it wasn’t complete until just a few weeks ago. Also the reason we didn’t get that leak about Kylo reviving Rey, kissing her, then dropping dead until very recently while other accurate leaks about the ending came out way earlier.

Because the decision happened so late in the game, after the comic had already been announced, written, drawn, and inked, they didn’t have time to change it and maybe even just straight up forgot about it in the shuffle and then realized it no longer supported the new ending and pulled it after it was already too late.

#reylo #star wars #rise of skywalker #tros #star wars tros #epix #the rise of skywalker #star wars the rise of skywalker #star wars spoilers #tros spoilers #epix spoilers #star wars tros spoilers #the rise of skywalker spoilers #rise of skywalker spoilers #star wars the rise of skywalker spoilers

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prismarine-parrots · 6 years ago

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Tree of Life Notes

Would this technically be a masterpost? Not sure what that entails so let’s just keep it as notes.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 3.5 Part 4 Part 5 (1) Part 5 (2) Notes

The basic ideas of ToL- function, plot, what happens to who... basically while I was writing ToL me jotting down everything I could think of to try and make this make sense XD

-in this AU, everyone's life force is tried to a tree. These are special trees that relate to the person.

-link to the Google Doc with everyone’s tree designs... except for a few I’m not sure of still (taking suggestions for those, comment on Google Doc!)

-whenever the player dies, the tree takes a small amount of damage eg. a leaf falling

-many deaths in a short amount of time can lead to the tree becoming more visibly unhealthy, but normally if you wait a couple days without dying the tree will heal itself and go back to normal

-the trees can be moved by using a special axe, similar to the armor stand book or the wrench tool. It's a iron axe that is enchanted and when you break one part of the tree, the entire thing disappears and it drops one sapling. When that sapling is replanted it grows immediately. While the sapling exists as an item, the hermits will still PROBABLY respawn, but there is a lot more risk of perma-death or having complications.

CAUSES

1. Grian joining from an old version server brought glitches unknowingly (catalyst for all and at his never worked properly in the first place)

2. The ConVex using Vexnos to Thanos-snap the server probably doesn't help at all

3. Lag from all the redstone keeping the trees from healing (MUMBO?)

4. Exploring the world as much as the hermits have (literally like 30,000 blocks in multiple directions wow) has started to cause world corruption (like broken chunks and such)

This is a mess

HOW THEY FIX IT:

-no clue

-Xisuma rolls back the server to a time where this wasn't an issue? (Grian would still be dead/on his way to dying)

-EX becomes a hero and gives his life force to heal the others (originally plan but I couldn’t make it work so that was scrapped)

-heal them like you do a zombie villager?? Wait for the tree to die completely then use a potion/healing item on it to revived it? (This one!!)

CASUALTIES

-Grian is first death

-Wels dies soon after

-TFC dies but not a lot of people realize because he's still in his bunker

-Evil Xisuma nearly dies??? Or does?? (Yes he does)

-Xisuma gets sick but they solve the problem before he dies

-False tries to be a tough cookie and suck it up until she collapses and dies on the spot

-Doc dies right at the end but puts up a serious fight

-Tango dies

-Zedaph dies

-Scar dies and Cub is not okay

-xbCrafted dies

-Python dies

LIVING PEEPS (read: Dead-Only-On-The-Inside Peeps)

-Mumbo (he’s worse than he lets on)

-Jevin

-Xisuma

-Iskall

-Cleo

-Stress

-Rendog

-Cubfan (oops I’m sorry)

-JoeHills

-Impulse

-Jessassin but he doesn't know what's going on anyway so

**list is not comprehensive (as in I'm not sure I have all the hermits listed lol)

-not everyone knows what's going on. TBH some people probably don't even know about the trees in the first place, and some may have just randomly died or didn't know people were perma-dying in the first place. These are mainly the hermits that are actually hermits and dont do many collabs/I don't watch enough to feel comfortable writing/don’t do HC anymore in the first place XD

Hermits that are actually involved in the issue (AKA the ones I'm writing)

-Grian

-Mumbo

-Iskall

-Xisuma

-Stress

-False

-Cub

-Scar

-Ren

-Doc

-Tango

-Impluse

-Zedaph

-Joe

-Jevin

-Python

TIMELINE

-Iskall, False, Mumbo, and X discover Grian and his tree are sick

-Grian explains what he knows but passes out before he can finish

-everyone panics and tries to figure out how to heal him, calls Tango, Joe, Doc, and Stress to help

-Grian dies

-(side)Ren get footage of Grian's death message and keeps it in his video not sure of it's seriousness, Recap has it as the main part of their video and literally the entire fandom freaks out

-(side)almost all of the hermits go silent until this issue is resolved. Not everyone knows what is going on and are doing their own thing, so they continue to make their content until maybe some of them randomly die too. Innocence is a blessing. These hermits are Jessassin, xbCrafted, Python, TFC, and probably some others because I might shorten my list of hermits because that's a LOT of characters to write

-Xisuma calls every possible to a meeting ASAP to address the issue and figure out what caused it and how to fix it (they're assuming they can still get Grian back rn XD)

-no one knows what the heck happened, most people haven't touched their trees/forgot they existed

-Jevin is late and bursts in in a panic, saying that Wels isn’t waking up

-they get to the bone arch between shopping/modern districts on the way to medieval/industrial before they get the seat message that Wels had died

-they devise a plan to look for a cure, start preparations for a lot of traveling

-False gets exhausted and collapses, dying on the spot as her tree unknowingly gave out

-they start their mission to stop this madness

SOMEHOW—

-Scar and Cub go to the Woodland Mansion to see if any old books or artifacts there might have anything to help the situation

-They fight some Vindicators and start looking for what they came for

-Cub realizes that something is off with Scar and Scar says that he's not feeling well

-Scar suddenly sinks to ground but is still conscious

-Cub starts to panic and tries to help Scar

-Scar explains that he hadn't been healing properly after taking damage and assumed that his tree was broken as well, but had been hoping he could play it safe and hold on until they healed the trees but the fight with the Vindicators had really taken it out of him

-Cub tried to get Scar to heal but it isn't working

-Scar says something really sweet and brotherly to Cub before closing his eyes and going limp but still having a smile on his face

-Scar died.

SOMEHOW-

-When Tango's tree starts to die he goes insane and goes feral/demonic and starts attacking everyone with he demon features (horns, claws? Wings? That's a headcanon tho)

-in the frenzy Tango kills Python (I think I said he died earlier but I'm going with this here for sure)

-Tango pins Doc

-Impulse kills Tango before he can kill anyone else

-they find a clue that they can find a cure at a set of coordinates

-coordinates turns out to be EX's hideout

-EX is dying, Xisuma's tree is affected but he is safe until EX dies

-Xisuma convinced EX to help them to keep EX from dying

SOMEHOW-

-EX dies. Originally I had it that EX is some sort of salty anti-hero and gives his life to help but I couldn't find a way to make that work so he just ends up dying. Does he respawn? Idk up to readers

-they find a cure and head back to the settled areas of Hermitcraft. Some of them go and raid everyone's storages for potion ingredients to make harming potions and splash healing potions.

-Doc and Ren fly around the server and set up beacons (existing or new) to have regen activated

-Doc is killed by phantoms

-the cure is finished and tested

-Grian lives!!!!!!!!! :D

-Impulse goes to revive Tango and Zed

-Ren revives Doc

-Grian revives Scar

-Mumbo goes to get Cub and help him out

-Cub lowkey wants to die until he sees Scar and then yay no more dead Scar and dead-inside Cub! 🤠

-Jevin revives Wels

-Iskall, Stress, and Cleo revive False

-Joe helps out Xisuma, then they go revive TFC and Python

and that's all I had written down? Did I forget anyone?

-all this happens over the course of one very stressful week :D

#hermitcraft #tree of life au #ToL #im not tagging all the hermits #this is a mess but its alright in the end #becca writes

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neoduskcomics · 7 years ago

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What Star Wars Means To Me

I was twelve years old when I saw Star Wars end. I was sitting between my dad and my brother at a screening of Revenge of the Sith, a movie that my prepubescent mind had convinced itself was the greatest thing it’d ever seen.

The movie’s climactic battle had come to an end, and as I watched the final scenes play out, I could feel the film’s looming departure steadily but surely setting in. In the movie’s last moments, Owen and Beru looked out into the binary sunset, cradling their new baby nephew, with John Williams’ score emotionally building toward the final credits, and a hollow emptiness began to overwhelm me. Episode III was coming to a close, and with it, so too would end the saga of Star Wars. Something that had brought so much happiness, so much excitement, so much magic into my life was now ending before my eyes. Everyone knew that there wouldn’t be another prequel or sequel or anything else. This was it—these final frames all-too-quickly spinning past the projector. In just a few seconds, it seemed that Star Wars would be gone forever.

As I left the theater with my brother and my dad, they started up a discussion about what we had just watched, but I was too emotionally drained to join in. It was hard for me to come to grips with the fact that the Star Wars movies were really done with. Sure, Star Wars itself would still go on in some form. The Clone Wars cartoon was enjoyable. And they started making those cool-looking Force Unleashed games, too. Plus, there were the comics and the books and all sorts of other stories being made.

But it just wasn’t the same. You could write a thousand books, make a thousand TV shows and develop a thousand video games filling in whatever nooks and crannies the films overlooked in the Star Wars canon, but they would never, ever be a substitution for sitting in that theatre and seeing the quiet fade-in of the words “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...”

When the movies left, it was like a bit of magic had left the world, too. And between the ages of seven and thirteen, that magic inspired me. It made me read and create and imagine more than any time I spent at school ever did. Whenever a new movie came out, I fantasized about what the next one might be like. And when the movies ended, I fantasized about what a whole new Star Wars trilogy might be about. Maybe it would follow Luke creating a new Jedi Order, or maybe it would take place thousands of years before the prequels and show us the origins of the Jedi and the Sith. I hoped and dreamed and wondered, but I knew how unlikely it all was. Lucas would never make another movie, let alone give Star Wars to someone else so that they could go on to make an Episode VII. And so, Star Wars, as much as I continued to love it, slowly faded from my life. There was no use crying over spilt blue milk. Star Wars was done, and it wasn’t coming back.

And then I heard that Disney bought Star Wars and that they were going to make an Episode VII.

At this point, I’d like you to recall the scene at the end of Ratatouille where the evil food critic Ego takes a bite of Remy’s titular cuisine, and then suddenly he’s transported back in time to a moment in his childhood when he could still feel the warm embrace of love and happiness, and the cold, melancholic ice that once encased his withered heart melts away in a matter of seconds, restoring life and wonder to his old, bony body. Do you remember that scene? Because that is exactly what I felt like when I heard this news.

And I am not hyperbolizing here; I was literally shouting with jubilance when I heard that there would be an Episode VII. I can scarcely recall another moment in my life when I felt that level of genuine, startling happiness. It was like throughout all those years of Star Wars’ absence, all those years of resignation, a repressed excitement for the franchise was building up within me, never surfacing, never finding the right opportunity to ignite, but steadily rising and rising in pressure. And then, on that day, at that moment, upon hearing those words, all of that pent-up excitement just exploded out of me like a volcanic eruption. I didn’t know who was making this supposed Episode VII or what it would be about or when it was happening or even if it would be any good. None of that mattered. Star Wars was back, and I was going to celebrate like the Empire had just fallen.

Flash forward to the holiday season a couple years later, and even the non-geeks could see that the franchise had been reawakened in full force (get it, awakened, force, see what I did there). Star Wars logos, T-shirts, cups, toasters, mugs, toys, Lego sets and waffle irons filled the stores and display windows. Star Wars really, truly was back. What a fucking exciting time it was. I couldn’t help but just let all that giddiness get to me. There was magic in the air, and it wasn’t the magic of Christmas, but rather the magic of mystical techno samurai flying across solar systems to murder each other with glow sticks. Holy shit. Star Wars was back. STAR WARS WAS BACK. The hype was real, and it was everywhere.

But with that hype came an extreme and sustained spike of nervousness and skepticism. Criticisms of every new bit of information spread like fire throughout the interwebs. Did you see that weird new lightsaber? Is that another Death Star? Doesn’t that character just look like a rip-off of this other character?

After all, people loved Star Wars, and they couldn’t stop themselves from asking if this revival would live up to their expectations. Would The Force Awakens be a worthy successor to the franchise—a true return to form after decades of waiting for a real sequel to Jedi? Or would this simply be another prequel trilogy to dash the fans’ expectations and burn everything they loved about the series to the ground, buoyed only by the parallel stories of fans and creators determined to make sure Star Wars lived on? Lucas had failed us for the last time. People needed something GOOD.

The Force Awakens destroyed at the box office. Unadjusted for inflation, it became the highest-grossing film ever to hit American theaters, and the third highest-grossing film ever to hit the world. It was released to critical acclaim and massive audience approval. Abrams had done it. He had made a new Star Wars movie that both he and the fans could be proud of. All that hype was justified. All that waiting paid off. Star Wars wasn’t just back, it was good again. Great, even.

But as people celebrated Episode VII’s monetary and critical triumph, and as memes and excited chatter spread across the web, a notably large group of people simply did not feel that The Force Awakens met the standards they had set for it. To the point that they began to convince others that it was actually a bad, perhaps the worst ever, Star Wars movie.

And I’ll be honest—even I wasn’t sure how to feel about The Force Awakens when I first saw it. There was so much pressure on it to be good, and I was spending so much of the film’s runtime questioning whether or not I liked it, that I don’t think I was really, genuinely experiencing it. The movie felt like such a self-contradiction. It was so weirdly, at times even jarringly similar to the Original Trilogy, and at other times it was so strangely and uncomfortably different from it. The Resistance? That’s just the Rebellion. Starkiller Base? That’s just the Death Star. Kylo Ren? He’s not as threatening as Vader. Rey? She’s not as relatable as Luke. Part of me thought it was great, but another part of me felt terribly, soul-wearingly conflicted. I had to search my feelings about this film long and hard before I would be ready to draw a final conclusion about how it fit into the series.

It wasn’t until I saw it again a week later—when the crushing weight of all that pressure and anxiety and anticipation had time to dissolve—that I felt as though I was truly watching the movie for the first time. I was relaxed, passive, and ready to be entertained. I already knew what the movie was. I already knew what was going to happen. There was no more nervously waiting and watching to see what would become of my beloved franchise, what new things they were introducing to it, what old things they were keeping, and whether any of it was any good. I could just sit back and accept the film for what it was. And this time, I absolutely adored it.

The Force Awakens is in no way a perfect movie—far, far from it. But it was a miraculous work of Star Wars storytelling that won over both audiences and critics with its skillful direction, clever writing, compelling characters, great sense of humor and warm spirit.

Yes, TFA was closely and purposefully tailored to the original movies, but it was so, so much more than just another adventure film about a desert-inhabiting youth taking off to explore the galaxy and blow up giant space stations. It was a tale of friendship, hardship, humanity, and facing your darkest fears. It was about Rey struggling to look beyond the unknown terrors that lied before her—to confront her destiny and take up the lightsaber so that she could protect her new family. It was about Finn embracing his own humanity and working up the resolve to fight that which he spent the whole movie trying desperately to get away from. It was about Han reaching the culmination of his character’s growth from self-absorbed, smarmy money-grubber who ran from danger to a damaged and guilt-ridden father who renders himself both physically and emotionally vulnerable in order to save his son’s very soul.

Every relationship feels meaningful. Every dramatic revelation feels earned. Every joke hits. Every effect is dazzling and eighty percent of the time completely practical, which is why this movie will look far better in ten years than the prequels do now.

Poe and Finn are two of the most likeable characters to ever grace Star Wars cinema, and it’s no wonder that everyone wants them to be a couple when they had such an amazingly fun first date. Kylo Ren freezes a fucking blaster bolt in mid-fucking-air with the goddamn Force. BB-8’s thumbs up made every audience I saw the movie with burst into laughter. Poe blows up, like, fifteen TIE fighters in a row, followed by Finn shouting “That’s one hell of a pilot!” not even knowing at this point in the movie that Poe is still alive. The scene where Rey touches Luke’s lightsaber and is thrust into an acid trip of Force visions is both terrifying and mesmerizing. The two guards steadily backing away from Kylo Ren’s temper tantrum is adorable and hysterical. That moment when an emotionally distressed Kylo Ren struggles to pull Luke’s lightsaber from the snow, only to see it zoom past him and be dramatically caught by Rey as John Williams’ iconic score begins to build is fucking fantastic. And Han’s final confrontation with his son is so horrifically tense, and so well-executed and fitting as a conclusion to Han’s story that the internet, as liable as it was to do so, miraculously did not explode with blinding rage when it found out that Abrams had killed off one of the series’ most beloved characters.

Is there reason to be skeptical about the direction of the franchise? Yes. Is Disney perpetrating some worrisome behavior with their successive hiring and subsequent firing of every prospective director they get ahold of? Yes. Will Star Wars just become another MCU where we get two to three new movies every year and they all kind of begin to just meld together without any sense of consequence or meaningful continuity between installments? Maybe.

But I just can’t bring myself to think about that sort of thing right now. And maybe it’s not even really useful to think about it like that at all. Because regardless of what I or anyone reading this thinks, all that stuff is basically out of our hands. Maybe Star Wars will become stale and burned out after a few years of sequels and spinoffs. Or maybe, after establishing their new claim to the franchise with a few safe movies, the company will start to be more willing to experiment with new styles, stories and characters. I mean, with that completely new trilogy on the horizon, it does appear to be where this ship is headed.

But, who knows. Speculation is all we have. And all I can really say for absolute certain right now is that, for the moment, I have Star Wars in my life again, and I’m going to cherish it for as long as I can. Because I spent ten years in a world without Star Wars, and I have a lot of love left in me to give the franchise before I burn out, as a lot of other people seem to have already unfortunately done. I’d rather not go into the future of this series revival already prepared to hate the new Han Solo movie or Rian Johnson’s new trilogy or whatever else might come our way.

Because at the end of the day, despite the way many fans and even some past creators have treated it, Star Wars, pure and simple, is about joy. And when we live in a world that’s so filled with dread, fear, corruption, terror, hatred and downright tragedy, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to just let yourself give into something like Star Wars. I don’t mean to say we should just unconditionally love everything with the Lucasfilm logo on it, but maybe just recognize that sometimes it’s more valuable to be open and understanding and willing to love something than it is to be skeptical, critical, nitpicking and pessimistic, especially with something that is so widely adored and cherished the world over.

Maybe people won’t like The Last Jedi. Maybe they won’t like the Han Solo movie, either. Or maybe they’ll love them. But Star Wars isn’t any individual film. It’s a part of our culture, a symbol of the human spirit’s fascination with adventure, mysticism and the battle between good and evil. It means a billion different things to a billion different people and spans generations.

My dad once told me that when he used to take my brother and I to the toy store—years ahead of The Phantom Menace being unveiled—he was shocked to see that Star Wars toys still lined the shelves when a new movie hadn’t been made in well over a decade. But that’s what Star Wars is. It might have peaks and valleys, and there might be times when it feels like it’s all but left us, but in reality, it never really ends. It’s an invaluable part of human history whose effects will be felt for generations to come, and right now, it’s thriving in a way that nobody has seen in years.

We owe it not just to the franchise but to ourselves to enjoy every moment of it. Because Star Wars is the very embodiment of love, joy, hope, humor and adventure. Because Star Wars is a reminder that sometimes it’s okay to just let yourself be a kid again. Because while everything can be going wrong in the real world, Star Wars will always see to it that the light triumphs over the dark. Because while life is tragically short and full of hardship, Star Wars is forever.

#star wars

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elizabethrobertajones · 7 years ago

Note

I'm not saying you agree with that TLJ article since you tagged it 'mh', but I'm very worried but this latest trend 'Your opinion is wrong because of internalized ___'. Some movies just suck? Like, I hated Ghostbusters 2 because it was bad. I was perfectly okay with having four women as main characters, but that can't be your whole idea for a movie.

I do think that article is interesting, and trying to describe what is basically a wider cultural phenomenon. I’m sure on case by case basis you could rarely boil it down to just a few specific factors and “diagnose” someone except for really obvious lifelong character types who would be in the most obvious demographic.

Star Wars *already* got a bunch of sexist and racist backlash before TFA, so it’s already in the bracket of movies which got thrown together as the collection of SJWs are ruining our childhood movies like Mad Max, Ghostbusters, etc, so it’s also definitely not like this is a wild stab in the dark that it has pre-existing tension, although in this case the reaction is still really split. But I can see why it’s easy to examine it this way and analyse where it might make people uncomfortable, and wonder to what degree people are prepared to let go of Leading White Man formula for mega blockbusters.

Something like Wonder Woman, people know what they’re getting into when they see it in the sense that the franchise is completely built around there being a female character in the lead role. So that stands quite alone. And it’s not like there haven’t been action movies with female leads in the past either, but the re-casting in the case of Ghostbusters, or just development of interesting female characters who aren’t beholden to a cookie cutter template/romance arc within a supposedly male-dominated franchise (Furiosa, especially) and changing up old franchises to have more diverse cast (Star Wars) or just completely flip the “male is the default” idea like Ghostbusters and Oceans 8, are deliberately challenging and in some cases - the last 2 especially - are pretty much thumbing the nose to the idea of all-male casts being unremarkable and default. Whether the movies are *good* or not (I thought Ghostbusters was about on the level of, say, a Ghostbusters movie for quality and humour, so okay basically :P) they’re culturally significant at a time when it seems both bizarre and horrifically slow and backwards that we *still* don’t have *even just getting male and female representation right, never mind race and sexuality and disability representation* (I mean for that last point - in some ways these films are already going to be regressive by the time other progressive steps are made, for example Charlize Theron wearing a green screen glove to delete her arm, instead of just hiring an actress with half an arm which is the immediately less-expensive and fiddly route to get the aesthetic…)

But idk, it’s not even like Star Wars was either perfect or extremely progressive, it just managed *not* to have 2-3 white male leads + some other people in the background, and to allow the non white male people to have such a stake in the story they could mess up and make decisions that affected the fate of the galaxy - often negatively, as this is the ESB slot of the trilogy aka where everything is supposed to go in the toilet. There was a lot they could have done better and I’m still annoyed that Maz and Phasma both got pitifully tiny roles but were basically included despite the set up of the movie being extremely restrictive to much exploration and with probably the longest time limit they thought they could allow themselves and still sound like there were any tension in the chase…

I think it’s definitely always worth exploring whether social issues are having an impact on the reception of a film, though, because it’s a way of addressing the issues in our society, which we *know* exist, and when a film is openly critical of our society, and then people are critical back at it, guessing there may be a nervous backlash from people it made uncomfortable for too-close-to-home reasons makes sense. The critique offered by Kylo Ren to edgy white masculinity is really interesting, and I think it’s probably not hard to imagine SOME people especially who fit the profile are reacting against him, or glorifying him anyway unironically while disliking large amounts of the rest of the movie.

One of the points that article made as well was that other generic or bad films do much better with audience reaction - in fact some truly terrible films do really well as they’re marketed to a niche audience, and that audience gobbles them up and we get the inverse, of critically panned but audience ratings pretty high.

I mean, I’m assuming if you follow me you’re a Supernatural fan and so we’re all here to gobble up the melodramatic pretty boys :P

So, idk, I think in some ways the picking apart of the film and emphasising its flaws is happening in a strange social climate, where in some ways the discomfort about the film not catering with the most “easy” empathy of a white male main character & with flawed but interesting characters in the other roles particularly prone to being criticised in society for existing anyway and that the SW revival has already had one film threatened boycott over because of Finn being a black stormtrooper on his reveal, and I doubt that feeling has just magically gone away… There comes a point where I wonder how much is basically film review concern trolling when it comes to criticising his and Rose’s arc, or the film in general.

And how much of the film’s real flaws, plotholes etc if they existed in an easier version of the film with all 4 Chrises in the major roles would take months or years to get properly dissected by the internet while it’s basically as soon as you go back online after the movie someone’s complaining about why Canto Bight even existed.

I mean my “Hm” was “this is interesting and I think it definitely could apply to the wider cultural reaction to the movies” while obviously on a personal level if people have certain standards for films (my dad hates basically *everything* so I don’t think his reaction to TFA was categorically racist or sexist, just that he would be inclined to think pretty much anything JJ Abrams makes is garbage and whoops I never should have naively made him watch the first episode of Fringe with me :P) then if any of these movies are things you can tell would have rubbed you up the wrong way anyway, e.g. you didn’t like the original Ghostbusters that much/have found it far cringey-er on adult rewatches etc then you are absolutely allowed to have a reaction to it on a personal level which is not a sign of the sickness of our society :P

But I think even if you don’t like the new SW film, it’s worth putting aside your critiques of it for a moment to think about this article and the wider reaction - not to make you guilted into enjoying the film, but because it’s worth at least pondering the wider social issues the film’s already definitely caught up in since like, before TFA came out, so we can’t deny that there’s at least some portion of the audience, whether the loud but small group of assholes who utterly invisibly boycotted TFA, or the wider percentage of the population who’ll be consciously or unconsciously turned off by the cast and the power given to their characters in the story, and the possibly even wider percentage who may still struggle to empathise with female characters because Hollywood has so systematically underrepresented like, what can alternately be the literal largest demographic on the planet, and presented just plain old cis women as characters whose inner lives are valuable and decisions should be respected.

I mean since I came out the movie I’ve been swinging back and forth on “should Holdo have just told Poe her plan or was the point that this man of a much lower station is getting all up in her business demanding to know and questioning her, and I assume that was intentional so I should agree with Holdo but would this have looked just as bad if a male admiral showed up doing the same thing and they accidentally undermine her by it being a bad decision in general, or is the point that if it had been a male admiral Poe would have shut up and not let an insurrection, but I mean it’s *Poe* and I love him and I totally understand and he was made out to be more sympathetic until *after* the twist so did they WANT us to be critical of Holdo or am I just falling into a trap of not giving female characters the same room to fuck up as male characters -” and that’s BEFORE I get onto the internet and read this debate for weeks, just my confusion about this arc and what it was saying and if it was meant to say one thing or the other or if it’s a bit of bad writing (but not something so bad it would ruin the film to the point of only 50% enthusiasm like Rotten Tomatoes is giving it - like, 93% or something :P) or if it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to by making my brain cogs go and making me feel I need to write like, a dozen female admiralty into things to allow Holdo a cultural sisterhood of good bad and ugly admirals to be her own person in instead of the only female admiral to ever stick in my head like this :P So idk.

Hm. Basically.

#Asks #star wars #star wars spoilers

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nezzfiction · 7 years ago

Text

ENMY Chapter 58 - This Will Be The Day

Chapter Synopsis: A week after Atlas faced the brink of ruin, the Kingdom begins to recover. But there is no rest for the weary as Team RNJR joins up with Team CFVY to reach Weiss. Likewise, Cinder and Team ENMY put their own agenda into motion, starting the first steps to dismantle the very nation they helped save. And between the noise, Blake, Ilia, Adam, and Raven sneak their way into Atlas. A day of days is ready to unfold.

Series Synopsis: Team RWBY is disbanded, and Yang must find herself new allies. For her, that might very well be yesterday’s enemies. Joining up with the likes of Emerald, Mercury, and Neo, the four will comprise Team Enemy(ENMY).

Links to read the series: Ao3 or FF.net

Or hit the jump below

This Will Be The Day

Your world needs a great defender.

Your world’s in the way of harm.

You want a romantic life,

A fairytale that’s full of charm.

Beware that the light is fading.

Beware if the dark returns.

This world’s unforgiving, even brilliant lights will cease to burn.

Legends scatter.

Day and night will sever.

Hope and peace are lost forever.

As the elevator traveled deeper and deeper into the earth, Team RNJR could hardly hide the nervousness growing in their stomachs.

“My bad about the wait time, fellas,” Coco said back at them. “It took some string pulling and forging a few Schnee signatures before I could get you guys down here. Plus, it isn’t as easy anymore without the princess’s all-powerful stamp of approval.”

“Coco…” Velvet leaned next to her.

“I know. These elevator rides bring out the worst in conversations. You’d think with all the funding that goes into this place, they’d think to put on some good elevator music.”

The two glanced to their teammates. Fox and Yatsuhashi seemed completely content with leaning their backs against the wall in total silence. In contrast, Nora was acting extremely fidgety, while Ren was failing to stop her leg from bouncing up and down. Jaune had his full attention stolen away by his scroll. Ruby kept staring all around her, as if she could see through the walls.

Coco gave a resignating sigh.

I think this is the first time I’m actually starting to miss, moneybags.

While the long elevator ride continued, Ruby covered her mouth as she whispered to Ren.

“Hey...! What do you think?”

As he pretended to be busy with Nora, he whispered back.

“The presence is similar to the Tower of Tamonten. Although, I cannot find any trace of your Uncle’s or the ‘old one’s Aura here. It is possible any trace of the immortal has been erased in the base’s repurposing. Nonetheless, I sense a great power dwelling here.”

“Cerberus. That’s what they call it, but Weiss told me it only got its name after Hades took it over.”

“Indeed. If the texts we found at Vytal are to be believed, this facility originally held a different moniker.”

“‘The Well of Meer’…” Ruby muttered thoughtfully. “What do you think, Jaune? ……. Jaune?”

“Huh?”

“Whatcha lookin’ at? Oh.”

A video clip recorded a week ago, played on Jaune’s scroll. It was uploaded by a random citizen, during the recent Grimm attack. In it, they could see Team ENMY cutting through swaths of the dark creatures by the scores. And of course, Penny and Cinder were with them as well. The Fall Maiden may have cut her hair, but Team RNJR recognized her immediately.

“How can she do this, Ruby? How can Yang fight alongside her? After meeting Emerald and Mercury, I can kind of get it—but Cinder?”

“I don’t know,” Ruby frowned. “I wish I had a clear answer, but I just don’t know. The Yang I know would never do anything like this, but…”

Ruby lapsed into silence.

“…She might not be the Yang we know anymore,” Jaune finished the thought. “I don’t want to believe it, but she’s changed so much, probably a lot more than we last saw her. I wonder if there’s anything left of the person we knew.”

Ruby wanted to respond, but couldn’t find the right words.

Did Yang have her reasons? But what reasons could those be? Emerald, Mercury, and Neo, had their moral greys, but Cinder could only be described as evil.

Ruby had seen the woman murder one of their closest friends in front of her eyes. Could Yang really look past such a thing? The more she thought about it, the more the image of her sister clouded. Maybe Jaune was right. Maybe the Yang they knew was gone.

She continued watching the video, and saw a constellation bloom from the Spring Maiden’s fist.

Ruby couldn’t help but think what might happen if they meet again. Would they be able to talk? Would they fight immediately? And if they did, would she be strong enough to contend with her sister’s newfound power?

She struggled over it, but as if to blast away some of the negative thoughts, the video zoomed up on Penny gliding through the air.

Ruby didn’t know if it was really her, or if they just reconstructed some replica. But with all her heart, she wanted it to be Penny so bad that it ached. Time and experience told her to doubt her wish had come true.

Even so, she held out hope. At the same time, she decided to hold out hope for Yang as well.

And looked forward to the future where they might meet once again.

…

*Ding*

“For the love of—Finally!” Coco exasperated, as the elevator doors opened.

Through the halls and past at least a dozen security checks, the group arrived at the room where Weiss and Winter were kept.

Upon entering, they saw the two Schnees lying unconscious, side by side in separate beds. Sitting at the foot of the patients was Ironwood and a pair of elderly men Ruby had never seen before.

“I don’t care what projects you have going! You will dedicate every time and resource to reviving Weiss this instant!”

“It’s out of my control,” the smaller of the two replied. “The Board of Directors are prioritizing the restoration of the Aegis System. I’m not even supposed to be here right now.”

“Like I give a damn what those fools that want to take over my company want! YOU are employed by the Schnee Dust Company first and foremost, and as MY employee, you will treat my heir!”

“I am sorry about your daughter, Jacques. But for all intents and purposes, she is in no immediate danger. On the other hand, Atlas can come under attack at any moment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.”

“Polendina! Polendina, you get back here!”

As the small lab professor walked past the group of newcomers, Jacques Schnee followed. The dense smell of alcohol lingered as the latter passed. The CEO of the S.D.C. spared Coco and her team one disgusted glance before ignoring them completely.

“Was that—”

“Yeah, short stuff. That was Weiss’s oh so loving father. Don’t know what pisses me off more. The fact that he never stops blaming us for screwing up Weiss’s protection, or that he acts like we lost him a company asset instead of an actual daughter. That’s family for you, I guess,” Coco spat bitterly.

As the full group crowded into the room, Ironwood stood to address them. Appearing shabby as ever, the former general still tried to straighten his coat somewhat.

“I suppose, I shouldn’t be surprised you’ve arrived, despite all the security measures in place.”

“What are you gonna do, Headmaster? You that cold, you’re gonna throw them out?” Coco challenged.

The man observed RNJR closely before turning to Winter and Weiss.

“I will be in Professor Polendina’s lab. Please, see me when you are finished. There are some things I’d like to discuss—with all of you.”

With a straightened back, the man was making his way through the door, when Ruby stopped him.

“Yang… She was the one, who did that to Winter?”

“………Were you not aware?”

Ruby shook her head.

“Weiss didn’t tell me anything about it. I only heard from Coco, when we got here.”

“She was probably trying to protect you.”

“But was it really—”

“I was there, Ruby. Yang Xiao Long tried to kill Winter and myself.” Ironwood stared coldly down at her. “She may be your sister and your former teammate, but this is the truth. You must accept it.” And swept past.

The shadows around Ruby’s memory of Yang grew darker and darker.

As if to bring her out of her stupor, Jaune gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

“Come on,” he said consolingly. “Weiss is waiting.”

He would be lying if he said he was unaffected by the news. His worst thoughts of Yang were being proven truer by the minute, but it was because of that, he knew he had to keep Ruby focused. There would be time to mull things over later. For now, they would see to the main reason for their journey.

Team RNJR and CFVY circled around Weiss’s bed. Her expression was peaceful. There were no wounds to speak of, or any signs to indicate anything wrong. She truly appeared to be asleep.

“Weiss,” Ruby murmured, as she took the girl’s hand in hers.

She was always surprised by them. Callused and worn from countless hours of training. But did nothing to diminish their length and beauty.

Or the relief their coolness brought to the touch.

As Ruby pressed Weiss’s fingers against her forehead, she felt something crack inside.

From the fissuring in her chest, what once was locked away started to pour out.

“I…I need you.”

She felt release.

“I need you so badly.”

Everything Ruby had pent up, all the pain and stress she kept at bay, rushed out.

“Please, wake up, Weiss. I missed you so much.”

…

“Ruby…”

“WEISS?!”

Ruby whipped her head, and saw the girl mumbling in her sleep. Everyone around matched her shocked expression.

“I’ll be damned,” Coco gave a surprised chuckle. “True love, huh? Then again, Vel is pretty good at waking me up too.”

“Coco!”

“I know, I know, not the time. But that’s the first, she’s ever responded to anything.”

Ruby tried for a few minutes to get more out of Weiss, but her former teammate only continued to slumber. It was then, that Ironwood, Professor Polendina, and a figure in giant mech armor burst into the room.

“We heard there was a reaction!” Hades shouted through his hissing helmet.

“Um—! I didn’t really do anything. She said my name. Wait, Coco?!”

At that moment, Velvet traced a pair of pistols for her and Coco to draw on Hades.

“It seems security is laxing, if you were able to sneak some weapons through,” Ironwood commented.

“Well, you know the girl scout rules. Always be prepared—to pop off on assholes who try to kill your friends.”

“Stand down. Even if Hades was currently a threat, weapons of that caliber would do nothing against his armor.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate the quality, if I were you.”

Without paying further attention to the gunpoint standoff, Hades stood before Ruby.

The two locked eyes, and although Ruby was entirely ready to attack him barehanded if need be, he left himself completely vulnerable to anything.

“I am the one responsible for Miss Schnee’s current state. My name is Hades.”

“You… did this to Weiss…”

“Yes. You may exact your revenge as you see fit. I will oblige without resistance. I only ask one thing.”

“…”

“Kori Schnee; her cousin. If you would please see her, I will surrender myself to your wishes.”

“Ruby! Don’t listen to this—” Coco started, but Ironwood stepped between her gun and Hades.

“I know how you feel about the man, but Atlas still needs him.”

“Like I give a damn! I thought you guys arrested him after what he did, and I still thought that was too good for what he really deserves! Guess, I have the opportunity to balance the books.”

“Stand down, Coco Adel!”

“No. Fucking. Chance.” The girl snarled. “But I think you will.”

With a deft movement, Fox closed the distance and drove his elbow into the man’s lower spine. Channeling his Aura through the strike released a compound effect that brought his target crashing to the floor.

Once Ironwood was out of the way, Coco raised her arm behind Hades and planted the nose of her gun against the back of his head.

“I only require a minute,” the man said, without turning around.

“You’ve had more time than you should’ve.”

“If I am allowed to speak my piece, I will remove this helmet willingly to allow yourself a better shot.”

“Don’t need it.”

“Coco,” Ruby interrupted.

The girl with the sunglasses paused.

“You can’t be serious about hearing him out.”

“I am.”

“…”

After thinking twice, and twice more over, Coco pulled her gun back.

The whole time, Hades and Ruby never broke eye contact.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Ruby could barely keep her anger in check. “Tell me everything.”

At that, Hades explained the events leading to the present. The alliance with Salem. The original plans to capture Kori Schnee. The apples that caused their downfall. With every hiss and every word, regret dripped from each end.

When he finished, a tense silence filled the atmosphere.

“If this is Salem’s work, the likely cause must be Magical in nature,” Ren assessed. “It would explain how Atlas’s medical technology, is unable to do anything for her.”

Ruby nodded, having come to the same conclusion.

“And the Winter Maiden?” she asked. “Her cousin didn’t die?”

“No,” Hades replied. “With Ironwood and Professor Polendina’s help, we were able to rush her into stasis.”

“…”

Ruby leaned down to Weiss and brushed her bangs back. She then, planted a small kiss on her forehead.

“Just a little longer, Weiss.”

Her eyes hummed with a silver glow.

“I’m coming to get you.”

* * * * *

Lying on the Northern outskirts of Atlas, was a camp of mobile trailers and weathered buildings.

The so-called living quarters were initially constructed to barebone cost efficiency. Meaning, the companies spent as little money as possible to erect four walls and a roof for their Dust miners. Many of the buildings were ramshackle. A number of them seemed to be old cargo trucks and buses that had their wheels and engines removed, then cheaply converted into more living space.

Many of the Dust mining corporations thought it better to keep their employees as close to the mines as possible, despite the dangers. It cut down on travel time and tardiness. Not to mention the control aspect.

There was little around the mines that was not company owned. The meal stalls were regulated, transport fees from the camp to the city were ridiculously high, while the other way around was practically free. And the only real authority around were the private security guards, who outnumbered the actual police fifty to two at most sites.

These were the conditions Ilia, Blake, Raven, and Adam arrived to.

“So… This is where you guys will be staying,” Ilia led them through the camp.

“These conditions are terrible…” Blake said sadly.

“Yeah, considering this is one of the better ones.”

“We know,” Adam growled. “We’ve seen them before.”

“Right. You started the branch here and left. Still, don’t let all the grime fool you. It used to be a lot worse.”

“Was it?”

“Ease off, Adam. You’ll understand what I mean soon enough.”

“Just take us where we need to go.”

As Ilia led them past a few more trailers that had been long destroyed by weather or Grimm, they came upon a large, looming structure.

“Impressive,” Raven commented.

Crashed into the mountain before them was a freighter-type airship. Designed for moving cargo, it represented the larger models of aerial transports. The outside of its hull was covered in graffiti. It also didn’t pass notice, the number of White Fang symbols and Silbern Mafia paint tags on it.

The group entered, and discovered the workers had made the ship their home. To their surprise, there was actual air conditioning, working electronics, and even some entertainment. A section of the ship had been converted into a makeshift bar with a couple of pool tables.

“Very impressive,” Raven commented again.

“Yeah. It’s something,” Ilia grinned.

“A ship this size, just happened to crash into this mountain, so close to basecamp that the company let the workers keep it.”

“…”

“Quite a string of coincidences. Is there a story there?”

“Company says the airship had a faulty Dust Reactor, and since it cost more to remove it or take it apart, they decided to just leave it. Make the best of the situation, y’know?”

“And what’s the story they tell behind closed doors?”

“That certain members of Silbern and a two-bit smuggler sabotaged an air shipment.”

Ilia gave Blake a wink.

“And these characters outfitted the interior to this extent.”

“I think they had some cash to spare. One of them in particular, actually.”

As they passed the bar, Blake saw a framed photo of various mafioso striking exaggerated poses for the camera. Among them, were Ilia and two individuals, who could only be Coco and Velvet. Taking the center, surrounded by her overexcited comrades—and the only one not striking a pose—was a familiar silver-haired girl with sunglasses and a trench coat draped over her shoulders. In the background, was the burning airship they were currently on.

“No way,” Blake muttered in disbelief.

“Wanna see something weirder?” Ilia appeared beside her.

The girl ordered a drink, and immediately raised it.

“To Weiss Schnee.”

““The Fairest of them all.””

The room responded with raised glasses.

While there were a few that didn’t, many of the patrons seemed to beam with an air of respect.

“A Schnee,” Adam cringed. “I can’t believe one of theirs is celebrated.”

“She did a lot to improve conditions around all the mines and refineries,” Ilia reasoned. “Not just the living quarters either. Better equipment, better hours, better pay.”

“Hmph.”

“And safer working environments, especially.”

“……Our people are still being enslaved, Ilia. Having a better pickaxe doesn’t change that fact. And one daughter of a major industry won’t change the Kingdom of Atlas, or save our people.”

“And where were you, Adam?”

“What?”

“Where were you, when your precious White Fang needed your help? When they needed reining in? How many of them begged me to take them to Vacuo, cause they did something stupid, like blow up a warehouse full of Dust, on your orders from across the damn world?”

“They did what they believed would help the cause.”

“Of course—the cause! Why would the great freedom fighter of the Faunus think any different?” Ilia exclaimed with fake grandiose. And then with a darker tone, “Or care that I had to drive an airship way over the weight limit once—cause there was a workers’ riot, that caused a bunch of miners’ limbs to be blown off?”

“…”

“Wait, you might be asking, ‘why didn’t I take them to the hospital instead’? You tell me, what doctors in Atlas would treat Faunus of the White Fang that were responsible for the riot? Who, by the way, have records of being your affiliates?”

“Ilia, that’s enough.”

“No, Blake. He needs to hear this. Your White Fang has people sacrificing themselves for your arrogant little cause. Faunus getting arrested and dropped down holes they can’t climb out of. Zealots strapping body bombs and picking fights too big for them to win. And do you think those caviar-eating scumbags at the top of the company food chain care? It doesn’t even leave a dent. I’m sure your White Fang are all proud and heroic in Mistral. But here? They’re nothing but radicals and thugs.”

“…”

“So, yeah.” Ilia ordered another drink. “To Weiss Schnee.” She knocked the drink back in one go. “She was actually changing this Kingdom.”

“While all you could do was try to destroy it.”

* * * * *

Ruby had long lost track of how much time passed.

The world around her dissolved and remade itself at a fickle whim. Fast-forward and rewound without rhyme or reason.

Before her was a pure-white castle.

Ruby could feel Weiss’s presence inside, but for all her efforts, she barely made a scratch in the door. She circled the estate for another entrance several times, but the door was always there, taunting her.

“I. Hate this place!”

“Yes. A sufficiently difficult puzzle, isn’t it?”

Ruby jumped, and prepared her scythe.

“No need for that, child. I mean you no harm,” Salem said to her.

The Witch then, strode up to the castle and knocked on the door. The resounding echo that followed was too loud for the small motion. It sent ripples through the land.

“I can understand your frustrations. Shall I lend you my assistance in recovering the girl?”

“…You were the one who put her there.”

“No, Ruby. Hades was the one responsible for that.”

“You ordered him to!”

“My order was completely different. The man is a liar, and is not meant to be trusted. I did not mean any harm to come to the little Snow White.”

“I…I can’t trust anything you say! You’re a liar!”

“My dear, sweet girl. Surely, you can read the nature of my words in this place. You know I have told no lies.”

What Salem said was indeed correct.

By some obscure property of the Never Realm, Ruby could sense the Witch had spoken no lies. It was a sensation she felt before, and now more than ever.

“No! You’re trying to trick me…!”

“Shall I open this castle, then? As a sign of good faith?”

Ruby hesitated.

“……Why would you do that?”

Salem smiled with an expression of a patient parent.

“I want to help you, Ruby Rose. You’ve been misguided by Ozpin, and led astray into thinking I am your enemy. I am not your enemy.”

Ruby shook her head, but each time was becoming harder to refuse. The more truth held in the Witch’s words, the more doubt sprouted in the girl’s perception.

“What do you want in return?”

“…Nothing, dear girl. I will take nothing in return for helping your friend. Only that you keep in mind the actions I took here today.”

“…”

“So? Shall I help set your friend free?”

Salem knocked on the door again, but this time, large cracks in the surface appeared. Ruby stared at the damage in shock. Her mind was racing now. All she needed to do was say, “yes”, and whatever curse Weiss was under, she would be free from immediately.

Ruby needed to speak only one word.

Just one lone word.

…

“Ah! It’s Ruby! The one that’s been attacking the front door was Ruby!”

What?!

“Oh no. I thought it was the usual Grimm. And Salem’s with her!”

WHAT?!

“This is your chance! You can wake up!”

But, how do I do that?!

“You have to break open the door first, and let her in.”

How am I supposed to do that?! I can’t move!

In the highest room of the castle, Weiss lay in a fancily decorated bed. At the same time, she argued with a voice without form.

“You don’t have to move. You can break it open without moving!”

What?

“USE YOUR SEMBLANCE!”

OH!

At that moment, a ghostly Jotunn burst from the castle like a cage that was too small for it. Rubble was sent flying in all directions, before freezing in time.

“Hey! CAREFUL!”

I’m sorry! YOU WERE YELLING AT ME!

“Oh, right. Sorry. I got a little excited.”

What do I do now?!

“See that woman there, beside Ruby?”

Yes!

“Kick her good!!!”

OKAY?!

According to Weiss’s will, the summoned Jotunn swung back its foot in preparation to punt Salem’s significantly tinier figure.

Just when the toe was about to make contact, the Witch scowled and disappeared through a portal.

“WHOA…” Ruby was dumbstruck by the appearance of the Grimm servant. She had seen Weiss’s summons before, but never something on this scale. Plus, it knocked a lot of the castle ruins near her, causing her to wonder if she should attack it or not.

Ruby! You’re here! Thank goodness! I’m so happy!

“She can’t hear you. You’re sleeping.”

I—I knew that! I was just thinking it!

No, Ruby! Don’t attack! It’s me, Weiss!

“She can’t hear you!”

What do I do?!

“Well…”

What?

*Ahem* “Well, first of all, convince her to stop attacking your Semblance.”

How do I do that? The Jotunn can’t talk!

“You have to do something.”

Hrrrggg!

“OoOoOohhhhh”

“This thing’s so creepy!” Ruby cried.

She said I was creepy!

“That’s cause you’re making the Jotunn moan at her!”

I don’t know. Oh!

The giant Jotunn threw up a peace sign and held it in front of Ruby.

“Two?”

Not the number, you dope!

“This is getting nowhere fast…”

Can’t YOU talk to her?!

“If I could, I would have already. She doesn’t meet the right conditions.”

What do I do?!

“Hm… I guess, you could…”

Taking the advice of the mysterious voice, Weiss commanded the Jotunn to write in very large letters on the ground: UPSTAIRS.

It took a minute, but Ruby eventually ran up the ruined castle to where the giant Grimm vigorously pointed to. There, she found Weiss asleep in her bed.

Okay, she’s here! What’s next?

“…”

Are you still there?

“Yeah.”

What’s the next step?

“…”

…Are you playing a prank on me?

“Nope.”

HOW DO I TELL HER TO DO THAT?! NO, WAIT! WHY IS THAT THE WAY TO WAKE ME UP?!

“There are other ways.”

What are they?!

“They’re very advanced, and I’m sure Glynda hasn’t found the time to teach her yet. This method is the simplest.”

Hrrrmmm….. How do I tell her?

“The same way as before, write it on the ground.”

…..nnnnnnooooOOOOOO!!!!!

“Haha—" *Pft*!

Don’t laugh!

“I’m sorry. You’re right. This is very serious.”

…

“…”

…

“*Snort!*”

Ugghhhhh….

In giant words on the ground, the Jotunn wrote: KISS ME.

“Wha? Um….” Ruby looked worriedly at the Grimm, then at the words, then back at the sleeping Weiss. “Kiss…you?”

The gruesome giant performed an awkward nod, which looked more like a bow since it had no neck.

“O…kay?” Ruby sighed. “The things I do for Weiss…”

…

NO, YOU DOLT! KISS ME! NOT MY SUMMONING!

“This…is… the most unromantic thing…EVER. Ahahaha!”

Even without form, Weiss could picture the owner of the voice clutching their sides.

Don’t just laugh! HELP ME!

After a few more minutes, and half a dozen other attempts, Weiss was able to miraculously communicate with Ruby.

The younger girl planted her lips on the sleeping princess. When she did, she instinctively channeled her Aura through the point of contact. Acting almost like a jumpstart, Weiss began to come to consciousness.

Her eyes slowly opened, as she felt Ruby’s energy course through her.

“Hi, Ruby.”

“Hey, Weiss.”

The heiress sat up, and the two shared another kiss for no reason but affection.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

They shared a dreamy gaze, while treasuring the moment, before Weiss remembered.

“Hey! You better not be watching!”

“What?”

“Sorry. Not you. The… huh? Who was that again?”

“Weiss, what are you talking about? Are you okay?”

“No. The… the one that was here. She…”

Weiss held her head and scrunched her face. She then, began looking about the roofless chamber.

“You mean, Salem?” Ruby asked.

“No. The other one…She was just here. Who was she again?”

“Weiss, we’re the only ones here.”

“Yeah, but… hm.”

“……Weiss?”

The heiress wore a sad expression, before turning to Ruby again.

“It’s fine. Let’s get out of here,” she said with a renewed smile.

“Yeah.”

Ruby knitted her fingers into the other’s hands.

“Let’s go.”

* * * * *

“Can we go now?”

“Soon, honey. You, Neo, and Mercury just wait in the car for a few more minutes. We’ll be back soon.”

“But you didn’t even crack the window open.”

“I didn’t? Oh, shit.”

“A little radio silence, while we concentrate?” Cinder’s voice came over the comms.

In the Western Sector, where the most affluent of Atlas’s high society gathered, Team ENMY and Cinder were currently commencing operations in Remnant’s largest resort and casino.

The sounds of slot machines and bright lights assaulted people’s senses on every floor. Rows of tables filled with those risking away their fortunes. The full spectrum of emotion, from ecstatic joy to crushing depression could be gleaned in every person.

And among the heavens and hells for gambling addicts, a sharp suited Mercury kept a lookout from the nearby bar. Likewise, Neo and Yang were playing around a craps table, while keeping an eye on some blast doors. Another good roll from the petite girl made everyone cheer and throw their hands in the air. In contrast to the surrounding elation, Yang could only force an awkward smile.

“If you keep cheating like that, you’ll draw attention,” she whispered through her teeth.

Neo only puffed her cheeks and threw the glass dice into the air again.

More cheers erupted from the patrons drowning on their tilted luck.

“Guys, hurry up. Neo might bankrupt this place, before you knock it over. But not before we get asked to leave.”

“We’re on it, Yang. It’s not hard to steal twenty different keycards, but it does take some time.”

As a pair of young women wearing cocktail dresses passed the craps table, Yang subtly flung a card to the one wearing green.

“Nineteen.”

Neo slipped a card into the red one’s hand.

Eighteen.

Emerald caught a card sliding across the floor from Mercury’s direction. Her partner nodded with recognition.

“Oh, my babies are growing up to be just like mommy.”

Cinder and Emerald continued to walk the casino floor.

Because the higher floors were reserved for long-time members and VIPs, the group had to “borrow” a few credentials to access them. And then, to get passed a number of redundant security measures, they had to lift a few IDs from various employees and workers. Many of the doors they needed to open required two separate keycards swiped simultaneously. As expected of a casino where countless amounts of lien were moved and inventoried, they spared no expense in their firewalls.

“Hey, do you think it’s true these games are rigged for the house?”

“They’d be stupid not to be,” Emerald replied.

“I only ask, cause I don’t know what’ll happen if they try to sharp Neo back. I wish we could just blow our way through to the top floor.”

“We require the casino to remain intact and functioning. What good would it do to cause a scene?” Cinder voiced.

“That’s why I said I wish.”

“Your obvious, knee-jerk reaction to resort to the blunt force method never ceases to amuse.”

“And your underhanded schemes never fail to make me sick to my stomach.”

“I think you just need a stronger stomach.”

“We got what we need,” Emerald interrupted. “You guys know the drill. If you see the signal, then you can wreck shop on the way up to us. Until then, be cool. We’ll probably be white noise as soon as we hit the higher levels.”

…

“I wish I could’ve went with Masa,” Mercury made an offhand complaint.

“You wanted to try infiltrating the Tower?” Yang asked back.

“Better than sitting at a bar…”

“Then, you should’ve came pretend gambling with us.”

“I hate gambling.”

Detecting the hint behind Mercury’s voice, Yang changed her tone.

“……Sounds like dad of the year stuff.”

“Yup.”

“Any other landmines I should look out for?”

“Well, at least there aren’t any prostit—Wait, never mind.”

“Heh, figures.”

“How mad would Cinder be, do you think, if we just tore this place apart without her signal?”

“I can tell you one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“If you decide to start cracking heads open, you can tell her that I cracked the first one.”

“You’re a peach.”

“What are friends for? Besides, I think the pit boss is getting a little suspicious of Neo. He’s asked our dealer to switch out the dice four times, and giving her the stink eye. She might pick the first fight before you or me.”

…

Meanwhile, after swiping the corresponding key cards and gaining access to the higher floors, Cinder and Emerald rode the elevator up the skyscraper together. Through the windows, they could see the colorful lights of the city streets below. Despite a large-scale Grimm attack not too long ago, this portion of the Kingdom had gotten back on its feet rather quickly. One of the factors, likely due to the quantity and cheapness of manual labor.

“It’s beautiful,” Emerald spoke low. Then with a sour expression, “But knowing something ugly is deep down takes a lot away from it.”

“Was that comment perhaps, directed at me?”

“What? No. No! I didn’t!”

“Relax,” Cinder caressed Emerald’s cheek. “I was only teasing.”

“…”

“I must say, you look rather alluring yourself. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you were some seductive thief in the middle of a heist. Is there any need for your Semblance if you look like this?”

Emerald only blushed silently.

The elevator doors opened, and their expressions became immediately tense.

“Clock’s running.”

“Tick tock~♪” Cinder said with a sultry song.

The two swiped their key cards at the same time, only meant to be used by casino personnel. The doors closed and took them further up. They were now going past the gambling floors, and entering levels for employees.

It would only be a matter of time before security realized what was going on, so the two had to make the most of their timeframe.

The doors opened once more, and this was the farthest they could get by the elevator alone. The pair stepped over the threshold and walked with a quickness in their step. Several workers turned heads, but none stopped them.

Three more floors.

“Hey! You can’t be up here!”

As a security officer approached, Emerald read his nametag and conjured a hallucination of a man they scouted beforehand.

“Keep your voice down, Arthur!” the illusion of the man’s superior officer appeared from around the corner, and moved close. “Mr. Venetus asked them to come personally. I’d rather you not call attention. Do you understand?”

“Uh! Yes, sir! But didn’t you have the day off? Also, why didn’t they go through the personal elevator?”

“Well…” the illusion leaned closer. “There was some other company heading in the other direction. And we all know how long these damn elevators take.”

The other officer nodded stiffly.

“Hey, you know that thing you asked about before?”

“You mean the day requests off?”

“Yeah. Put the paperwork through. You got the approval.”

“Seriously, sir?! Even during peak?”

“Well… yeah. Just don’t go around telling everyone, alright? I know you’ve been working hard, so take the vacation.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“And another thing, Arthur.”

“Yes, sir?”

“No more attention to these fine ladies, got it? Radio ahead to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good man! Keep up the good work! I expect you back nice and rested after your vacation, you hear?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you so much, sir!”

The two continued on their way.

“Nice touch with the subtle deflect,” Cinder complimented. “How did you know about the time requested off?”

“Any employee at this level works harder than average, or is connected. Either way, they’re usually in constant contact with management, which means requests for different things. Not necessarily time off.”

“I’m impressed. You even convinced him to clear us to the next level.”

“You could tell he was the hardworking type, and just like any hardworking employee, they just want to be appreciated.”

“Hm. Have I mentioned how much I appreciate you?”

“Could stand to do it a little more, once in a while,” Emerald grinned.

They slid a few cards simultaneously. Passed through the next few doors.

One more hurdle.

Situated between them and their prize was the main control office. And none other than the Head of Security along with three henchmen came out to greet them. He was a large burly man, puffing his chest out with a shiny gold badge.

At the same time, Emerald cloaked the actual Cinder from their perception, while conjuring a stand-in copy.

“You two!” the man started, before Cinder dashed up to him, and struck his neck.

As he choked, unable to speak, Emerald activated her Semblance to create a duplicate.

“Where have you been?!” the doppelganger continued where the original left off. “Mr. Venetus had an appointment for you two an hour ago. Anyway, right this way.”

“Uh, sir? Weren’t you saying you were going to arrest them?”

“I made a mistake. I just remembered Mr. Venetus was expecting them, but I forgot since they were late. The rest of you can head on back, while I escort them to the office.”

“Oh, affirmative?”

As Cinder and Emerald were being led by the imaginary Head Officer, radios crackled on the henchmen’s waists.

“What are you guys doing?!”

“What do you mean? The Head just gave them the greenlight.”

“What the hell are you talking about?! We’ve got you on the camera feed! The one in the red dress knocked him out, while you guys just stood there and watched!”

“Huh?”

But as they turned, Cinder and Emerald had already disappeared through the casino owner’s door.

The office was a grand testament to the fortune the man sitting at the desk had accumulated. Several artifacts and artworks sat like displays for a museum. Priceless relics that would rival the most prominent works in Vytal. A thick, but comfortable rug lined the floor, so luxurious, one could tell the quality through their shoes. And lining the walls were darkened fifteen-inch pieces of ballistic proof glass. While easy on the eyes, they were also capable of withstanding most any threat, Grimm or person.

“Larry?” the man behind the desk questioned. “What are you doing here? Who are they?”

Tailored in a stylish dark-blue suit that matched the highlights in his hair, was Mr. Venetus. Business titan and casino owner of Vegas.

Just when he was about to reach for a weapon, a violent force pulled on his tie like tightening a noose.

“Now, now, Mr. Venetus. There will be no need for that~” Cinder slowly decloaked from Emerald’s hallucination, while sitting on his desk. “You and I have something to discuss. A rather important matter concerning your business empire.”

“And…! Why should I talk with the likes of you…?! Will you kill me if I don’t?”

“If it comes to that.”

“I didn’t get to where I am falling for every threat tossed my way…!”

“No, I imagine not.”

There was a bang at the door, which Emerald destroyed the electronic lock to and began barricading.

“Let’s just have a nice chat first, shall we? A drink? I think you’ll need it.”

Cinder let go of the man’s tie, went to his personal drink collection, and carefully selected a certain bottle. She strutted back, placed the wine bottle with a resounding thud on the rich wooden table. And with a bit of showmanship, materialized two molten glass tumblers.

She eyed the wine’s label without really looking at it.

“Aschenglas. A good vintage.” Cinder started to pour. “Now, I’m no wine connoisseur, but I do believe they stopped production before the founding of Atlas, which means this may very well be the last to survive the older Mantle Monarchy days. Cheers.”

She clinked her glass against Venetus’s.

“If so, it makes for a very special gift.”

“You think it isn’t real?”

“I’d like to hear what you think.”

The owner swirled it before taking a drink. Cinder refilled his glass.

“Tastes real,” he answered after a time.

“That’s because it is.”

“…”

“How did you receive such a fine gift again?”

“I didn’t say.”

“Regale me.”

“……It was a thank you for placing a tall shipment to a certain company.”

“And what shipment and company would that be?”

“I don’t believe there’s any reason for me to disclose that.”

Cinder grinned and made her way to the windows. She began tapping on the thick glass.

“I understand you’ve renovated recently. Even made some impressive upgrades to your own office, since the Grimm attack. Only one week later, and your casino is already up and running. A bold move reopening so quickly, and far ahead of your competition.”

“It means so much to me to have the approval of… Who, exactly?”

“Approval?” Cinder ignored his question. “Far from it. Your business acumen is something inspired, to be sure, but Mr. Venetus… You rushed repairs to your castle without doing your due diligence. And that is a very careless thing.”

“…”

“A high-volume shipment, ordered on quick demand, at a price that simply can’t be beat.”

“…?”

“Sound familiar?”

The casino owner’s increasing unnerve was apparent.

“Now, what was that order again? Ah, yes. It was an order for quality reinforced glass, wasn’t it?” A fire lit behind Cinder’s words. “Provided and supplied, by a company called, Halftone Rime.”

She emphasized each syllable, as she scorched the letters into the desk with her nail.

“How do you—”

Cinder snapped her fingers, and the glass tumblers exploded with intense sharpness and heat.

Sweat gathered on Venetus’s brow, as truth began to don on him. He could hear the blood pumping through his body, as he stared at his hand embedded with crystalline shards.

“I simply must thank you for your patronage, Mr. Venetus. Gathering from what I’ve observed, you’ve put our glass to good use. It seems all the previously shattered windows panels have been replaced with our wares. You’ve also used our special ordered grade material to layer your own.”

At her words, the windows around them screamed with heat. The volume increasing as Cinder raised her hand like a conductor, before swiftly bringing it down to kill the music. Her eyes stoked with the light of the Fall Maiden.

“W-w-w-w-who are you?!” the owner could only stutter.

Cinder released an almost child-like laughter, as she waved her hands over the burn marks she made on the desk before.

The words: Halftone Rime, rearranged themselves into,

Heir of Mantle.

With burning letters.

“This is a very fine establishment, Venetus. I can appreciate how much time and effort went into building such a castle.”

“What do you want?!”

“I know a life’s work when I see it. But a moment’s weakness is all it takes to destroy everything one has built.”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!”

“Isn’t it obvious, by now?”

The owner broke out into a colder sweat, if that was possible.

“Relax,” Cinder conjured two more tumbler glasses, and poured for both of them. “I would never dream of putting you out of employment. On the contrary, I’d like to hire you to run this business you’ve done for so long, in the manner as per usual. It’s the reason we kept the impact of our visit to such a minimum.”

She clinked the tumblers just like she had done before.

“Except this casino is mine now, as well as your company assets,” Cinder snickered. “Drink up, Venetus.”

“I think you need it.”

* * * * *

“You sure you don’t need it?”

“I’m fine, Ruby.”

“But you should have something! You just woke up!” the girl urged, trying to shove crackers in the other’s mouth.

“Now, that you mention it, I wonder when was the last time I had a real meal,” Weiss said curiously, immediately followed by her stomach growling.

“See?!”

“Ruby’s right, Weiss. You should have something to eat. It’ll go a long way to rebuilding your strength again.”

“…”

“What?”

“Nothing. I just hardly recognized it was you, who said that.”

“What?!” Jaune cried.

“I’ve never heard you give such sound advice before. Oh, don’t be upset. It was a compliment. But seeing how you’re acting now, I can see you really haven’t changed much.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“I’m not quite sure yet. But you should have really done something about that confidence problem by now.”

“Yeah…Guess the ice queen hasn’t changed much either.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

At that moment, Team RNJR, Team CFVY, and Weiss reached Cerberus Tower’s exit.

“You sure you don’t want to stay another night?” Jaune asked.

“I’m just fine, thank you. The fact that I have an appetite means I’m healthy!”

“Princess is right about that,” Cinder joined. “Plus, I doubt you want to stick around that hole anyway. Your dad was about to show up. Hades kept asking Ruby to revive Kori, even though it didn’t work. That weird professor keeps asking to study a ‘silver eyed warrior’. And let’s not forget that bomb Ironwood dropped on you.”

“…Yes, Coco. Thank you very much. I’d almost forgotten,” Weiss sighed sarcastically.

With a deep breath, she felt the cold night air fill her lungs. She thought the stars looked brighter than usual. Maybe due to her prolonged slumber, the girl felt more alive than recent memory.

*Hakchoo*

She turned to Ruby, who had just sneezed.

Oh, that’s why.

Weiss took out a handkerchief and wiped Ruby’s nose.

“Coco?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for everything. You did really great.”

“……..If you’re really grateful, you could totally just pay me with a sack of money right now.”

“Coco!”

“Easy, Vel. She knows I’m kidding. No, but seriously, we’ve been working on our own dime and—”

“COCO!”

“Proper remunerations will be prepared,” Weiss rolled her eyes. “On another topic, what happened, while I was asleep? I know about some things, but what happened with Silbern and the White Fang? Also, what’s the condition of Atlas and the Board of Directors?”

Her stomach growled again.

“……We can go over the details later, but I think priority goes to filling that belly.”

*Ahem*

Weiss cleared her throat.

“It just so happens I know the perfect place.”

* * * * *

“I know a place that serves snow crab…” Ilia answered Raven, whose eyes brightened slightly. “The menu can be pretty pricey, though. But the cook and the flavor are as legit as it gets.”

“Let’s go.”

“Your treat?”

“Didn’t we just pay you a small fortune to smuggle us into the country?”

“No, no you didn’t.”

“Cheeky brat. Fine.”

“Yes! Free meal!”

“Where is this place exactly?”

“It’s near the center of the city. The only place not too far from the slums or too close to the rich.”

“I don’t know…”

Ilia and Raven stared back at Blake.

“What’s eating you?” “What are you talking about?”

“Adam seems a bit depressed. I think we’ll both just stay at the camp. Get a lay of the land regarding the White Fang and this, Silbern Mafia situation. You two can enjoy yourselves without us.”

“…” “…”

“Ilia. What kind of tuna would be served at the place you’re taking us?”

“Oh, the best stuff—fresh from the water and onto your plate, fresh. Wait, Blake. Didn’t you have a thing for tuna?”

“A shame you’re not coming with us.”

“Tsk. Big shame…”

Blake’s pupils shrunk until they were the thinnest black slits. Her curiosity, attention, and desires were obviously piqued.

“…”

“…Just drag the pup with us,” Raven groaned.

“Let me go get him!” Blake replied immediately.

“Wait for us!”

* * * * *

“Wait up. How much cash flows through that casino on a daily basis?” Yang’s expression skewed with disbelief.

“Enough,” Cinder answered. “Well enough to suit my ambitions.”

After the group’s “hostile” takeover of Casino Vegas, they left the gambler’s haven, more for Mercury’s benefit than anything else. Also because of a small incident on the floor, involving a certain petite psycho stabbing a cheating table dealer.

“Okay, I feel like I have to ask. What exactly are you going to do with all that coin?”

“Why, Yang—after spending so much quality time together, what do you think I will do with my newly acquired fortune?”

“I dunno. Some part of a weird scheme to take over Atlas? Own their majority stocks. Maybe, bribe the Kingdom into being ruled by you.”

“Huh. An insightful guess, considering you were joking.”

“Serious?”

“Listen closely, Yang. The lifeblood of Atlas is its treasury, or more accurately, it’s economy. Not the military, as many would have you believe. And sometimes, what defeats the most formidable of foes is not their weaknesses—but their strengths.”

In the wake of Cinder’s sinister smile, the ENMY went silent.

That is, until Mercury’s stomach let out a loud growl.

“I’m hungry.”

“Samesies~♪” Yang agreed.

“Hm,” Cinder pondered. “I do remember a fine dining place. It should still be operating.”

“Ugh. A place Cinder is recommending, huh?”

“You truly despise everything about me, don’t you?”

“Nah. Not everything.”

“…”

“…” Cinder sighed. “Very well. What aspect of me can you stan—”

“Just kidding,” Yang grinned like a troll.

“I hate everything about you.”

* * * * *

“Ugh. I hate how crowded this place is,” Coco complained.

“It can’t be helped…!” Weiss said, while being bumped around by the walls of bodies. “This is Atlas’s main road. All the best restaurants and shops are on this strip.”

“Really fighting the urge to start waving my gun here.”

“Just stay together. Ruby! Don’t let go of my hand!”

“I’m trying, Weiss~!”

* * * * *

“You know, if you wanted to signal the Mistral Armada to attack, now would be good,” Ilia struggled. “Or do that evil teleporting trick? I don’t have the moral high ground to say no to some evil teleporting.”

“You can thank Atlas technology that Blake or I can’t do that,” Raven replied.

“Great.” *Oomph* “Blake, you should hold my… Blake?”

Their group sandwiched together at the edge of the sidewalk, while they waited for the light to signal it safe to cross the street.

* * * * *

*Beep beep beep beep…*

“See, if we took Penny with us, she could probably hack that stupid light to let us cross faster.”

“How hungry are you, Merc?”

“I’m getting there…! Like, serious hangry pangs, Em. And you know what I’m like when I’m hangry.”

“You know what I get when that happens? I call them, Yangry pangs! Ey?”

““Yang…””

Even Neo and Cinder showed exaggerated disproval for Yang’s pun.

* * * * *

As the cars of Atlas’s busiest roads slowed to a stop, the street lights above switched. Pedestrians waiting on the curb rushed into the intersection all at once, like a flood gate being released.

In the rapid shuffling of feet and bodies, certain individuals found themselves separated from their respective groups.

“Uh, Weiss. I think we lost them.”

“Of course, we did…”

“Ilia? Raven?”

“Oh, come on. That pun’s clever. Guys? Guys?”

“…”

As the faceless tide of pedestrians moved through like a river—four figures stood stock still in contrast to that.

Not a single muscle or millimeter of motion between them, as they stared at one another.

Signals from the streetlights, the crowd’s footsteps, the engine roars of cars—everything seemed so far away at that moment.

For the first time in so long, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang met.

A fated reunion of Team RWBY.

#rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #Blake Belladonna #yang xiao long #emerald sustrai #mercury black #neopolitan #raven branwen #cinder fall #Jaune Arc #ilia amitola #coco adel #ENMY #rwby fanfiction #rwby au

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rhnuzlocke · 8 years ago

Text

Episode 16

Scene 2:

[Ren wakes in the hospital the next morning. Taraki is sleeping on a pad in the corner and Asuka, Kai and Wally are all sitting in chairs around her bed chatting.]

Ren: Ohayou.

Asuka: Ohayou. How are you feeling, Ren-chan?

Ren: Tired, really tired, but better.

Kai: I can’t believe you and Taraki held that mega form so long.

Wally: We were looking into it and we think it might be some kind of record.

Ren: Awesome. Did Steven…?

Kai: Yeah, he left as soon as we got here.

Asuka: He and your father are at a League meeting right now.

Ren: [she nods] Thanks for keeping me company.

Kai: It’s nothing.

Wally: Well compared to yesterday anyway.

Ren: Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done without you there.

Kai: Charged in anyway. Can we maybe wait for Steven next time?

Asuka: [stern] Seconded. I know you want to help, but getting killed serves no-one.

[Ren looks guilty.]

Wally: We did okay. You shouldn’t beat her up over what she might have done or could have happened. Besides, if we hadn’t charged in there when we did, Maxie might have both orbs now.

[All are quiet for a moment.]

Ren: What happened to the orb guardians?

Kai: They’re okay. We came here with them after Steven took you. I think the one may have needed a few stitches, but nothing too bad.

Ren: Good. Did we ever figure out who dragon lady was?

Kai: Her name is Zinnia Dracon. She’s the Draconid Lorekeeper.

Wally: She used to work at the Mossdeep Space Center as a physicist, but it seems like she quit a while ago to focus on her Lorekeeper duties. That’s all we really know.

Ren: Huh. It might be worth it to get in touch with her since she knows what’s going on. Maybe she’d be willing to help some more.

Kai: I think we were really lucky she was around.

Ren: She must be one hell of a trainer to handle all of those dragon-types. They were powerful too.

Kai: She has all eight badges but never challenged the Elite Four.

Asuka: I think you should find out if there is a way to get in contact with her. As a Lorekeeper, she might know some useful information about this region’s legendaries. The native peoples of Hoenn have oral traditions going back thousands of years and each group has a Lorekeeper whose responsibility it is to preserve that knowledge. [Ren Kai and Wally look at her.] I did some research on the subject.

Kai: That’s a really good point. I’ll give Iriaka a call. She was working with Zinnia on her project, so she probably knows how to reach her.

Ren: Great. That’s something anyway. So what’s the plan? We’re in Lilycove ahead of schedule.

Kai: It gives me some extra time to survey the forest north of Lilycove, so we might be able to get some more training in.

Ren: Yes! [She looks at Wally.]

Wally: My parents are coming soon to pick me up. I think I might be grounded.

Ren: Shit, I’m sorry.

Wally: Don’t worry about it. I could use the break. And it’s not like they can actually keep me cooped up forever. If we get bored, Kihei and I will just leave.

Ren: [laughs] I really am a terrible influence.

Asuka: And a good thing too.

Ren: [shocked] Okasan!

Asuka: Wally is not an infant. He’s an intelligent young man. I understand their concern, but there comes a time when a parent must accept that their child has become their own person and let go.

Wally: [eyes wide] I always assumed Ren got it from Senri.

Kai: Me too.

Asuka: Now you know better.

[Ren laughs and Wally’s nav boops.]

Wally: We should go.

Kai: I’m gonna get brunch with them, but I’ll see you later.

Ren: Hugs first! [Kai and Wally both giver her a hug.] Thanks again for everything. I’ll see you later.

[They leave and Ren turns back to her mother.]

Ren: Did you talk to the doctor?

Asuka: Yes. You collapsed from exhaustion, but there is no permanent damage. They expect to be able to discharge you sometime this afternoon.

Ren: Good. So what’s been going on with you lately?

Asuka: Hm. I got a very nice letter from a reader. Oh, and I finally invited myself along on one of Roxanne’s and your father’s dinners.

Ren: Really? How did it go?

Asuka: Your father was a little flustered, as expected, but he behaved himself. And she was wonderful. I understand why Senri spends so much time with her. Of course, she spent the first part of the dinner saying how nice it was to meet me and what a wonderful trainer you are and how she wished Senri would have had all of us meet sooner, so I was charmed. She’s such an intelligent and personable woman. We really… What is the phrase? Hit it off? We’re going to get lunch next week.

Ren: [switching to Kantonese] That’s so great!

Asuka: [responding in Kantonese] It was very nice. I feel better. But I do understand now why your father was reluctant.

Ren: Why?

Asuka: Well, I’ve always been more of the social butterfree of the two of us, so I think he was a little worried I was going to steal his friend.

Ren: That’s silly!

Asuka: A little. But you must understand your father is a little insecure about these things. He didn’t really have any friends when I met him. It was hard for him, you know. People treated him differently. He’s more obviously mixed race than you and you know how most people were back in Johto. Hoenn is much more diverse so it’s less of an issue. And you inherited my social grace where your father can be a little withdrawn sometimes.

Ren: That’s a good point. And It’s not like I’ve heard from any of my old friends since we moved. I’m closer to Kai and Wally than I ever was to them.

Asuka: It’s so wonderful to see you and your father thriving here as you should. I’m thankful every day.

Ren: Aw, okasan, you’re the sweetest person in the world!

[Asuka laughs and just then there is a knock and the orb guardians step in through the open door. Ren and Asuka look up at them. Ren notices now that they look identical except for their clothing and tattoos. The red guardian's head is bandaged. Over in the corner, Taraki opens an eye.]

Blue Guardian: Good morning.

Ren: [switching back to Anglic] Morning. Are you two okay?

Red Guardian: Yes, thank you.

Blue Guardian: I hope we aren’t interrupting. We were hoping to speak to Ren alone.

Ren: Sure. [Asuka gets up.] I’ll see you later okasan.

Red Guardian: [to Asuka] Thank you.

[Asuka dips her head and closes the door behind her. Taraki gets up, stretches and walks over to sit beside Ren. Latios appears next to Ren and the orb guardians bow.]

Blue Guardian: Thank you for defending us yesterday.

Latios: And I likewise thank you for your service though we were unable to prevent the theft of the Red Orb. Ren and I will do everything within our power to ensure that the Blue Orb does not suffer the same fate.

Blue Guardian: We thank you again, Lord Latios and Ren. We are only sorry we were unable to fulfill our duty as guardians.

Latios: Do not distress yourselves, for even my sibling and I have known such failure. We must move forward.

Red Guardian: Of course, Lord.

Blue Guardian: Ren, is it safe to assume you have learned something of the nature of the Blue Orb yesterday, when you faced Kyogre?

Ren: It’s a part of them, Kyogre I mean. It allows them to shift into a much more powerful form.

Blue Guardian: Their original form. Many stories exist about the origin of the orbs in the various regions of the world. Some say that it they were created by Lord Arceus as a punishment for when the climate titans angered them. Others say it was a blessing granted to ensure humanity’s survival, a check against the destructive forces of nature. But the story of our people gives a different reason. Long before people or even pokemon inhabited the world, Arceus brought the old gods into being to help them with their work. The oldest of these gods are the governors of time and space, Dialga, Palkia and their dark sibling Giratina. With them, Arceus created the universe and it’s laws. Born later were the gods of our own planet. Once the base of the world had been molded from the molten elements of the universe, the climate trio was born to give the world shape. Groudon created the land, Kyogre the ocean, and Rayquaza the atmosphere. Once their work was completed, they rested. Plants and animals and pokemon arose and took root on our earth now that it was calm and fit for life. But when the trio had rested enough, they awakened and tried to remake the world anew. But Great Lord Arceus did not desire the slate wiped clean. They took an interest in life and wanted it to flourish. Arceus commanded the Climate Trio to stop before life died out. Rayquaza heeded this request, but the other two, born so naturally opposed to one another, were unwilling to stop their battle. And so Arceus had Rayquaza quell them and while they rested, Arceus took from each of them a great part of their essence and power and placed it within two orbs. And thus the cycle of our planet was set in place and guardians created to protect it. [They gesture to Latios.] For Arceus desires that life continue, though it must occasionally be culled and born anew. The environment too requires cycles of destruction and creation to continue and to yield sustenance for all of us. And so Atua Kyogre and Groudon must occasionally awaken and perform those duties Arceus created them for. Though they destroy, they are not evil. Their actions sowed the seeds from which all life on this planet was born and has sustained it ever since.

Latios: But what Magma seeks to do could shatter that cycle.

Red Guardian: We knew that when you appeared to us, Lord. If there is any assistance we can offer, name it.

Latios: For now, your knowledge is most valuable and we thank you for it.

[The guardians nod.]

Red Guardian: The Red Orb must be retrieved from Maxie. He will certainly use it to revive Groudon and I fear he believes he can use the orb to control them. Groudon may even encourage this belief if they think it will convince Maxie to revive them. But the orb cannot be used that way.

Blue Guardian: This is very important to understand. Groudon and Kyogre can exert influence through their orbs, not the other way around. It is their mauri after all. No one else can wield it unless the god consents. When you touch the Blue Orb, Kyogre may choose to speak to you or not as they wish, but they cannot contact your conscious mind unless you touch the orb directly. However, they may enter your dreams, so prepare yourself before you sleep. Next most important is that you are an orb-bearer now. You are bound to it. No one can take it from you unless Kyogre severs the bond and you will know if they do.

Red Guardian: The same goes for Maxie and the Red Orb. It cannot be retrieved by force or trickery, but there may be a way to break the bond. History tells us that one of our great heroes, Moana, once won the Blue Orb off a man in battle. If someone can defeat Maxie in a pokemon battle, Groudon may judge Maxie to be unfit for the responsibility of carrying the orb and sever the bond.

Ren: Alright, looks like the manhunt begins. But if you don’t mind me asking, why weren’t you two orb-bearers? I’m guessing you weren’t anyway since Maxie and I were able to take the orbs.

Red Guardian: The power and influence of the gods is dangerous. They always seek to be awakened. It was our job as guardians to ensure that there were no orb-bearers for the safety of all.

[This is followed by a solemn silence. Ren is not a fan and decides to break it.]

Ren: Um, I just realized I never asked your names.

Blue Guardian: We have none. They were sacrificed to the gods when we became the orb guardians. But if you wish you may call me Ōrangi and my twin Whero. These are the titles orb guardians have always borne.

Ren: Thank you. That was all very useful information.

Red Guardian: We will leave you now, unless there is anything else we can do.

Ren: I think we’re good for now. Where will you go?

Blue Guardian: Back to Mt. Pyre. Some of our pokemon fell in battle. We must honor them.

Ren: I’m sorry for your loss.

Guardians: Thank you.

Blue Guardian: If you need to reach us, this is my number. [They hand Ren a card.] On the back are the coordinates where Groudon and Kyogre lie dormant, so keep it hidden. We wish you a speedy recovery. Farewell.

Ren: Goodbye.

[The orb guardians leave. Taraki leans over and nuzzles Ren.]

Ren: Did you follow any of that, tiger?

Taraki: Yes. Latios was translating for me.

Ren: I don’t think I should touch the orb again if I can help it.

Taraki: And if you do I’m coming in with you.

Ren: Of course you are. [She strokes his head.] How are you feeling?

Taraki: Tired like you, but also very proud.

Ren: Oh yeah?

Taraki: [nodding] Of that mega form! Kihei was saying earlier that we may have broken a record!

[Ren laughs, pan out.]

#pokemon #nuzlocke #oras #running hot nuzlocke #story #episode 16 #Ren #Kai #Wally #Asuka #Taraki #Latios #exposition time

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