Come! Vigilance! Wolf!"
Archer spun, stabbing her Oathkeeper—a longsword wreathed in roaring thunder—into the sands. Her collapsed bow twisted open, into the form of a round shield. Vigilance. She knelt under a shaft of light, her cloak billowing in the rotten breeze as she placed her shield over her sword's hilt.
"Rejoice! For today is the day that we hunt!" Archer said. "Once more, let the halls of Akasha feast upon the blood of the unjust!"
Golden glyphs spiralled around Archer, brilliant butterflies fluttering in a whirlwind—thousands, if not millions of them. Far beyond the number Weiss could ever summon with her limited reserves.
His breath hitched, Pareidolia banging at his forehead. Almost splitting it in two. Magic instead of aura coursed through her glyphs, every single one of them packed and bursting to the brim. The sting of ozone filled his nose as thunder struck in the middle of a sunny day.
"I told you," Weiss said, grinning. She had her fists clenched over her chest like she was stopping herself from exploding. "I told you!"
"Yeah, like," Eir said. "Lucina masks aren't very effective, are they?"
Nex licked his lips. He had no words. What the hell was he supposed to say? He had no idea who this Lucina even was.
"I summon thee!" Archer said, her glyphs spinning even faster.
They swarmed across the blackened skies, forming chains that linked into one giant tapestry. It rivalled Czipueth's size, the tiny glyphs glowing like stars plucked out of time. A wolf howling at the sun—stitched from glittering snowflakes—stood proud in its centre.
"From the Wellsprings of Wisdom!" Archer said. "Heed this Heroine's call!"
"Impossible!" Czipueth bellowed as the glyph parted, blinding light streaming through the heart of the storm. "Arghhh!"
A titanic wolf with fur the colour of the sun strutted out of the void, the darkness from Czipueth's ooze shrinking from its radiance.
"Ah! A mortal realm!" the wolf said, her voice light as a feather. "What delightful delights you offer me, keeper of the storm." She sniffed the sand, bending her neck towards him. "But what's this? I sense two heirs of the bloodline. Two sets of my regalia bound in this iota of time. A most peculiar circumstance indeed."
"You're Vigilance?" Nex said as she poked his cheek with her bare toe, her touch warm as a caressing breeze. "How?"
"I see that much of the lore has been forgotten," the wolf said. "I am the Hound of Lumine, the one you call Vigilance. 'Tis a name granted to me by your forebears.
"But, alas, though I have watched you long through the eyes of my escutcheon, and find myself in want of proper discourse, we lack the moments to speak of what has been lost, Nexus Shade."
She lifted her head, baring her fangs at Czipueth.
"Are you prepared, herald of the dark?" Vigilance said. "Or has sleep dulled your senses?"
Czipueth growled and stomped on the sands. Bone-white spikes lanced through the dirt, tearing a path towards them.
Vigilance clicked her tongue, the sound akin to the lashing of a dry whip. "I am your guest, herald. That you strike at them offends me so."
The spikes froze, breaking into stardust with nothing but a twitch of her magic.
"Meddlesome bitch!" Czipueth roared. "I refuse to be imprisoned again!"
Darkness gathered around him, the ooze bubbling, hundreds of beetle-shaped Grimm emerging from the muck.
"Fly, scions of Shade!" Vigilance boomed.
Her fur bristled, light gathering around her in blurry waves. Faceless soldiers clad in golden armour rose from the sands, brandishing their halberds. They charged soundlessly into the lines of Grimm, followed by a storm of brilliant arrows, blood splashing the sands.
"Into the golden city!" Vigilance said. "Arkhalla wills it!"
Eir nodded, putting his weapons away. "You heard her. We got, like, no time to waste."
"What city is she talking about?" Weiss said.
"That city," Nex said, nudging her hip towards it. "There."
When the illusion fell, so did the curtain. A city lay beyond the horizon, its ruined walls shining gold. But something about it made his stomach turn. Whether it was the undeniable truth that magic really existed, the fact that his mother's armaments were artefacts from a cosmic deity, or the very idea that his daughter from the future was here, in the flesh—he did not know.
Nexus Shade ran.
And when he stopped, it was before the broken doors to a city from another world. Death had graced its halls, the ravages of Grimm rampant on its splintered walls. Skeletons garbed in rusted armour littered the sands. Their carcasses were proof that they withstood the test of time.
Nex stepped over them.
Their bones crunched under the soles of his boots. His first steps into the maze had been silent—save for the roars of the two titans in the desert. Would it stay that way long, though?
"Archer," Weiss said, staring at their daughter's back. "I wish to hear it from your lips."
"Hear what?" Archer said, her voice unusually quiet.
"Are you really…" Weiss stepped past Eir, lacing her fingers around Archer's palm.
"Hmph!" Archer gait slowed. "Yes, mother. It must be quite the difficult truth to accept, is it not? That I stand here before you, not as a wee lass, but as a woman."
Nex licked his lips. It definitely was hard to accept. How many people could say that they met their kid from the future?
"I don't know what to say." Weiss chuckled. "Now I'm the one at a loss for words."
"Fret not," Archer said. "Truth be told, I envisioned this meeting long before I waded through the rivers of time."
"Is it like you imagined?" Nex said. He had a fuckton of other questions as well, but overwhelming their daughter like Weiss had not led to reliable results.
"Nay, 'tis not what I imagined," Archer muttered. She slipped away from Weiss. Her feet fell heavy upon stone. "But mayhaps 'tis for the best."
"What do you mean?" Weiss said.
"I… I am not your daughter," Archer said, poison dripping from her words—definitely a blatant lie to shield herself. "I cannot take the place of the daughter you will have, just as you cannot fill the void that my parents have left."
"We died," Nex said. "Right?"
Them. Dead. Not a very comforting thought.
"Truly, nothing slips past you, father, not even in this time," Archer said, rubbing her nose with the back of her wrist. "Yes. I understand now. To me, you are but ghosts that have long been buried—that I have long since grieved."
"But that's not true!" Weiss said. "We're here, aren't we? We may be dead in the future, but this is the past. We're still alive."
"I cannot watch you die a second time," Archer said. "To bury you again would shatter me into pieces."
To be fair, she had a point. He could never imagine Weiss dying once—much less twice.
"But you've travelled here, in the past," Weiss said. "Isn't that why? To stop us from dying? Can't you just tell us how to avoid whatever gets us killed?"
"Love, mother," Archer said. "Will you trade your heart for a second chance at life?"
Weiss frowned. "No. I don't think I can."
"Will you, father?" Archer said.
Nex shrugged, the answer slipping out with painful ease. "Nope. No point in surviving every day if you don't have a reason to survive."
"I see." Archer nodded, pawing at her eyes as she turned away from their gaze. "'Tis for certain. I am sorry. But I can speak no longer."
With those words, Archer nodded at Eir, the knight keeping her fervent pace.
"'Tis done," Archer mumbled. "I believe that thou art of the satisfied?"
"Fi…" Eir bit his lip. "Archer. You know, like, you didn't have to do it if you didn't want to."
"Hmph!" Archer curled her nose. "'Twould be a bright day in the Void should the Guardian abstain from the pestering—hmph!"
Eir said nothing in response, choosing to wrap an arm around her instead.
That last harrumph sounded more like a sniffle. But still, Nexus Shade had never been good at comforting people. And to his horror, that sentiment extended to his future kid. Maybe he was a shitty dad too.
Did he leave Oathkeeper and Vigilance behind as well, while he and Weiss went off to find their graves? Was everything just a cycle all along, an endless knot—except that this time, one of the pair refused to part with the other?
Nex shook his head as they pressed further into the city, the remains of capsized buildings and their denizens lying on the sands.
An acrid tang hung in the breeze. There was something, or someone, lying ahead.
But his half-faunus nose could not pinpoint their scents. They were old—at least a few days. If only Blake was here with him, then maybe he could have asked her to sniff them out for him. But still, it meant that they were on the right track.
Weiss coughed, tapping Eir's shoulder. "Thank you."
"Huh?" Eir said. "Like, did I give you a sweet roll or something?"
"No, we just wanted to thank you," Weiss said, smiling. "For looking after our daughter."
Nex gave the knight a nod—and a stern look. Well, the best he could pull off as he said, "Yep. You better take care of her."
"Sure." Eir snorted. "She's the one taking care of me. Like, have you seen her no scope that DR?"
"No scope that dee arr?" Nex said, trading glances with Weiss—she looked as confused as he did.
It sounded like something only Ruby would understand.
"Urkh, like, never mind," Eir said, clawing at his throat. "Geez. It's like I'm meeting the parents or something."
"Well, you kinda are," Nex said. "Right?"
Weiss giggled. "I have a long list of questions I want to ask you, Eir, but this is hardly the most appropriate time, is it?"
"Yeah, like, we need a tea set and some servants to stand by the door," Eir said, "to make us look important or something."
That one made Weiss burst out laughing.
"I'm partial to coffee myself," Weiss said.
"Yeah? I'm, like, a tea person myself." Eir said. He groaned and parked a hand on his sword. "Feel that?"
"Feel what?" Nex said. His semblance had been all but useless, buzzing nonstop every time they entered the open desert.
But his extra pair of ears still worked. Faint footsteps padded over stone. They rounded past the corner, to the sight of ashen men and women shuffling around what seemed to be a mess hall, goblets, plates, and other cutlery studded with gems strewn across the cracked tiles.
"What are they?" Weiss whispered, clenching Myrtenaster's hilt. "They look like…"
"Bodies from your dad's basement," Nex said, his eyes narrowing. The very same veins crawled over their blackened skin like spiderwebs, jagged bones peeking through every time the sun fell on their forms.
"They're Grombies," Eir said, wincing. "Ugh, like, saying that aloud is super cringe."
Grombies, huh?
Well, there were certainly worse ways to name a Grimm.
"Hmph." Archer's bow snapped open, an icy arrow crystallizing over her palm. "Be wary. Weak as they may be, but in numbers, they are of the most formidable."
Nex nodded, drawing Hrunting and Vigilance. The Grombies glared at them, teeth clattering as they all stopped moving. One of them quirked its head. A woman in life, judging from the matted white hair that frayed off her scalp.
She roared. And a procession of shambling Grimm charged towards them, their rabid moans engulfing the once-silent halls. The clamour roused more of them. Grombies streamed through the corridors, their slow gaits making them easy enough to pick off. Still, his semblance squirmed, warning him to mind his footwork so as to not get surrounded and torn into shreds.
Eir leapt into the crowd. His blade swerved and slashed off a Grombie's head. Grimm blood flowed like a fountain, the crimson sword glowing as it drank of the sickly ichor.
Archer stood by a pillar behind Eir, each and every one of her arrows mowing down two or three of the Grombies at the same time. Golden glyphs spun along the length of her bow. Yet, oddly enough, they made no sound at all. Quite unlike Weiss' or Winter's—their glyphs rang like chimes.
"Well?" Weiss said, her white glyphs tinkling as they spat out shards of ice—stalactites that found their home in a Grombie's skull. "We're not letting them hog the spotlight, are we?"
Nex smirked and brandished his blade, thunder coating it as Hrunting and Vigilance fused into one. "Let's roll."
He dashed into the fray, his blade a blur of blue and gold as he sliced off a Grombie's arm. It howled, something akin to pain flitting through its eyes. But strangely enough, nothing he did caught its attention, the Grombies all vying for a spot to claw at Eir. The knight was trapped in a half-circle, his back pressed against a column.
Well, it was either because Eir was that irritating, or he had a semblance that somehow made him look tastier to the monsters.
Who the hell knew?
Nex grinned and paid no heed to his defences, his sword vibrating as it cut down Grombies left and right. Fighting alongside someone who could draw the attention of Grimm and hold his own at the same time was pretty good shit. It was a far cry from when he fought with his team—where he often had to act as the frontline, even though taking blows was no niche of his.
The skirmish ended as quickly as it began. Eir was drenched in Grimm blood from his boots up to his knees. Nex shrugged and sheathed his weapon. He probably looked the same too, his pants warm and sticky against his calves.
"Me friends!" Inky's voice rang from the lone alcove. She emerged along with the three. "We be finally here, eh?"
"You missed the action," Weiss said, huffing.
"Ah, there be more of it, eh?" Inky said. "Now then. What exactly did you do?"
The titans roared, and the entire city shook.
Weiss stared at Inky's feet, fidgeting with her blood-splattered sleeves. "It was my fault. I killed a man, Inky, and the anchor… the anchor, it…"
Nex gave her hand a soft squeeze. The first time was always the hardest—especially if it was an accident. But in their line of work, it was something that she would simply have to come to terms with.
Archer crossed her arms under her breasts. "'Twas an incident of the most misfortunate."
"None of us could have possibly known, ma chérie," Leli said. "They're fortunate enough to have made it alive."
"Aye, that be true, eh?" Inky said, clicking her tongue. "Had I known that your anchor would be tied to such a beast, I would have volunteered myself alone."
"Nay," Archer said. "Never alone."
Inky grinned. "Aye. Now then. Methinks that our friends have sequestered themselves in the heart of the city. It be where a leyline converges."
"A leyline?" Weiss said.
"Oh! I know what they are," Ruby said, grinning. "They're places where cool magic stuff happens, right?"
"You're not seriously channelling DnD," Blake said.
"DnD?" Weiss said.
"Not for you," Eir said. "Like, trust me."
Nex shrugged. Probably not for him either. "You were talking about a leyline?"
"Aye! That be true," Inky said. "You see, through this leyline, our adversary seeks to tear a hole into the Wellsprings of Life, the realm of Arkhalla, and defile the power that lies within."
"Who's Arkhalla?" Ruby said.
"The goddess of life in some fragments of the lore," Inky said. "Methinks Eir can tell us more, eh?"
"Yeah, she's, like, exactly what Inky says," Eir said. "She's also an edgy goth vampire goddess, by the way."
Inky laughed. "Aye! That be true as well!"
"Talk about a role reversal," Blake said.
"I know, right?" Eir said, thumbing the fabric of his crimson cowl. "Anyway, we got to, like, stop these spooky cultists then we four can finally go home."
Weiss pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on Archer. "Go home?"
"Yes, mother," Archer said, breathing a soft sigh. "We cannot remain. For the worlds of the endless cry out in anguish, and we Guardians must do the protecting."
"I see," Weiss said as they started going north—towards the heart of the city, Arcadia as Inky called it. "Will you not stay for a day at least? Maybe a week? No, a month? Perhaps a year?"
Archer giggled—a short-lived sound. The very first of its kind, even. "'Twould be, as you say it, highly inappropriate."
"That sounds like her, alright," Nex muttered, letting out a quiet snort.
"Excuse me?" Weiss said.
"Nothing," Nex said. "Say, if you're our kid. Whose kid is Eir?"
"Why am I, like, in this conversation?" Eir said.
"Hmph!" Archer smirked. "'Tis most mysterious, is it not, beloved? Shall I do them the enlightening?"
Eir rolled his eyes. "You can't tell?"
Ruby's eyebrows furrowed as she inspected Eir from top to bottom, crouching repeatedly as they walked side by side.
"I think I know," Ruby said, smiling and crossing her arms under her chin. "Jaune. It's Jaune."
Huh. To be fair, the knight seemed an awful lot like Jaune Arc. From the sharp lines of his face to the timbre of his voice, and down to the vibrant blond hair.
But he looked older. Gaunt. Jaded, somehow, with the rugged beard, the unkempt ponytail, and the cloud of blood that hung over him like a veil. Not exactly traits he would associate with Jaune Arc, master of vomiting on bullheads and spouting bad pick-up lines in fancy bars.
"Whoaaaaa, holy shit," Eir said. "Ruby Rose still the silver-eyed girl with the power of two human eyes, ladies and gentlemen. Like, how'd you know?"
"I thought it was Yang at first," Ruby said, "but then Yang's kid can't have… eheh." She scratched the back of her neck. "It can't happen."
"What can't happen?" Eir said.
"It's just, this," Ruby said, snickering as she poked Eir's scrawny bicep—the very same muscle that single-handedly held up the weight of a Lyndwyrm. "Don't be mad. I'm not so big either. See?" She raised her arm and waved it in Eir's face.
"Riiiiight," Eir said. "I'm, like, not having this conversation."
"Wait!" Ruby said as the knight pressed forward, his chainmail clanking. "I'm sorry, Eir! I didn't mean it!"
Nex chuckled and shook his head. They stalked through the halls and corridors of the golden city, dispatching more Grombies along the way. Through it all, he could not help but notice the carvings on the stone—some strange language that he had never seen before.
They were etched beside flowing pictographs, probably telling some sort of story. Although, without the ability to read the language, there was no way to know what, as the images could portray one thing and mean another entirely.
"Ah, it be quite the tale, eh?" Inky whispered. "When Akasha was young, and the world was fraught with perilous tales and wondrous magic..."
"You can read this?" Weiss said.
"Why, yes," Inky said. "Methinks they be simple runes, eh?"
Runes.
Nex glanced at Oathkeeper, his mother's chicken scratch almost resembling the ones on the walls. Did she understand the language too? And her trashy handwriting was, in fact, not bad handwriting at all, but rather, a quirk acquired from picking up the language?
"Who is Akasha?" Weiss said.
Archer had mentioned the name before. Something about a root. And golden halls.
"Have you ever asked what your world is a remnant of?" Inky said.
Historians claimed that much of their world's history had been forgotten—largely due to destructive seismic activity and the ever-reaching presence of Grimm. Gods. When word spreads that an ancient city miraculously appeared in the middle of the Vacuan desert, the four kingdoms would probably send hundreds of people to turn the place upside down.
Nex licked his lips. Imagine how much lien his team would net for discovering it.
"Ah, I see that you do not know," Inky said. "These runes preserve the story of Akasha, she who be your world. And she was very much alive, eh?"
"So you're saying that our world is a… woman?" Weiss said. "And she's supposed to be called Akasha, not Remnant?"
"Up to a point," Inky said, pointing at a cluster of runes.
"…when the elders rose against the tyrant gods, it was Akasha who shouldered their retribution. For she loved her foolish little children very much…"
Inky's dirt-encrusted finger traced another line of runes.
"…the world bled and tore herself apart. For seven days and seven nights, Akasha waged war against the gods of light and dark. Until finally, the eighth day arrived. Spent, but victorious, Akasha fell into deep slumber, never to wake, never to be remembered, her name scoured from the song of the lore…"
Inky's voice shrunk into a whisper.
"…' Weep not for the cruel fate, children of the fall,' said Akasha before the endless sleep took her, 'for someday, all things shall be buried by the dust of eternity, and become one with the song...'"
Inky smiled and cleared her throat. "Ah, well, it be the best way I can translate it, eh?"
"It's a beautiful story," Weiss said, blinking as tears glistened in her eyes. "What happened to magic? Where did it go?"
"It be still here, if you know where to look, eh?" Inky said. "You see, magic be what is on the outside, rather than the inside."
"Dust," Nex said, his semblance making the connection. "You're saying that dust is magic."
"A good observation, but no," Inky said. "That which you call dust is profane, soulless, a husk of what it had been. True magic is beautiful. It breathes, it wakes, it sleeps. It be like us, eh?"
"How can you Maidens use magic then?" Nex said.
"We be bound to the elements, eh?" Inky said. "The primordial deities from which we draw our mana be founts of magic."
That made sense. The reason why only a few people could use magic was because Akasha was supposedly asleep—no one could receive magic from her anymore. But still, that did not explain how Eir could use magic.
"Ah, the crease on 'yer brow tells me you be asking how Eir has magic," Inky said. "But it is not my secret to tell. All I can say is that Eir has friends in holy spaces, eh?"
Nex chuckled. "Maybe he's friends with lots of gods."
Inky and Leli traded looks, tiny grins on their lips.
"Wonderful! Wonderful! They're all here!"
Tyrian cackled, stepping out of the shadows of an alcove. His tail quivered under his coat, spasming as he clutched his face and laughed.
"Tyrian Callows," Nex said, keeping a tight grip on Oathkeeper and Hrunting. "Was wondering when he was gonna pop up."
"Friend of yours?" Eir said.
"Not exactly," Nex said.
"I'm hurt!" Tyrian said. "Why doesn't anyone ever want to be my friend?!" He cackled, his wrist blades glinting in the dark. "I promise. I don't bite."
Black feathers burst from the corner of his eye.
"You won't get the chance," Raven said, stepping up beside Eir. "Press onward. He and I have a grudge to settle."
"You're still sore about that?" Tyrian said. "Why, I was simply out on a stroll." He cackled and shook his head. "In the middle of the night. In the slums. Killing faunus." He gasped as if his own words shocked him. "Oh my! That does sound horrible, doesn't it?"
"I don't care about your homicidal habits, Callows," Raven said, sliding her sword out of its sheath. "You're prey. I never let prey escape."
"Wow," Eir said. "You sure have those priorities straight, huh?"
Leli let out a short chuckle. "Surely she'd be a terrible huntress if she let her prey get away."
Nex shrugged, tearing his eyes away from Raven and Tyrian as the two clashed at the centre of the hall, the clanging of steel slicing through the assassin's laughter.
The haunting sound still rang in his extra pair of ears even as they moved further into the ruins.
The next corridor was lined with opulent, golden pews. More skeletons knelt before an image of the very same woman—or was it goddess—back in the shrine, the veins on her milky-white skin shimmering red.
"You know who she is?" Nex said, looking at Inky.
But the mage was not the one who answered.
"She is the witch queen," Archer whispered. "For every world, for every Remnant, a witch queen must be of renown."
"The witch queen," Blake said. "I'm almost scared to ask."
"If fear is aught in thine heart," Archer said, "then thou art still among the living." Her lips curled into a smile, the steel of her mask glimmering. "'Twas you who taught me that, father."
Nex grinned, nodding in a way that only a teacher—or a dad—could have.
"Well…" Weiss said. "He's not wrong. But there's more to being alive than being afraid."
"Hmph!" Archer wrinkled her nose. "'Twould appear that thou art experiencing, what the Guardian would call, a quoting of the cliche."
"Hey!" Eir stammered. "Listen here, you little Schnee—"
The two bickered like an old married couple as they all sped through the streets, the constant tremors from the clash of titans spurring their legs. A desolate castle stood at the heart of the golden city, its broken windows shrieking whenever the wind blew.
Strange lights danced within, crimson runes glowing on the stone under their feet. They snaked into the castle corridors, creeping around pillars like vines choking a man's throat.
Pareidolia squirmed as he tore his eyes away from the runes, the stench of rotten blood stroking his nose.
"Y'all be prepared?" Inky said, raising her staff. "When we enter, there be no turning back, eh?"
"We're ready, Inky," Ruby said, patting Crescent Rose under her cape. "Eheh. We can do this."
"Not without me you ain't."
Nex glared at Qrow Branwen as he emerged from a swarm of black feathers, the sun casting a halo upon his back.
"Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, her lips pursing into a taut line. "You're back."
"Yep," Qrow said. "Listen, kiddo—"
"I'm not a kid anymore," Ruby said.
Qrow winced. "Well, listen for a sec. You're not ready for this."
His father—gods forbid—had a point. But still. When would they ever be ready?
"We're going," Ruby said. "You're not stopping us."
"Okay. You know what? Fuck it." Qrow sighed. "We're going. But I call the shots—"
"Hmph!" Archer scoffed. "This Heroine finds the very idea of the absurd. The huntsman has been of the absent long, has he not?"
"Aye," Inky said, "that be true."
"Who's this, huh?' Qrow said, squinting at Archer.
"None of your business," Nex said, licking his lips. "We're going in. You can tag along if you want."
He marched past Qrow, taking his first steps into the castle. A thick wave of magic slammed against him. It crawled over his limbs. Goosebumps raced across the hairs of his skin.
Cold. Too cold. The desert heat melted into the chill of the Atlesian tundra. His blood boiled, his aura trying to compensate for the sudden dive in temperature.
"Holy shit," Eir said, laughing as he skipped over the time-worn tiles. "It's like Xmas came early or something."
"It's a welcome respite," Leli said, her tiny nose curling up. "Although, the smell leaves much to be desired."
"I imagine that the foul odour is the least of our worries," Weiss said. "Look there. What are they doing?"
Nex grabbed his sword, his eyes narrowing at the crowd of cultists. They formed a ring before a shattered throne, chanting. Their hands were joined, held high towards the apex of the chamber.
At the heart of the circle, sat one Cinder Fall, her eyes screwed shut as a chain of runes slithered over her pale skin. A vortex of glittering magic swirled around them, the bite of blood and thunder stinging his nose. Something blurry floated in front of Cinder. A suit of blood-red armour maybe.
Whatever mumbo jumbo it was that they were doing, it was definitely up to no good.
Nex brandished Hrunting and Vigilance, the cannon crackling as an orb of thunder coalesced on its tip. He levelled it at Cinder, his hand—
His semblance screamed.
"Watch out!" Eir shoved him aside, the knight's shield already poised for a textbook parry.
A pink tentacle lashed out, appearing from thin air. It slid across Eir's shield, the smooth, crystalline metal deflecting it with ease. It would have pierced his heart had the knight been a second slower.
"Thanks," Nex said, regaining his footwork.
His extra pair of ears strained, the weapons of his team clanking as they fanned out, searching through every shadow of the room.
"That's the second time, hm?"
A man's voice echoed, the words seemingly coming from everywhere.
"You just don't understand how frustrating it is," the man said. "I'm starting to hate you even more, reaper."
"You know, if you just came up with a more original move than tentacle ambush," Eir said, "then you might just get a proper kill, you filthy camper."
"Camper?!" The man growled. "I'll show you camping!"
"Oh you mean you're gonna prove my point?" Eir said. "I'm sorry, carry on then. Camp harder, scrub."
Ruby snickered. "Yep. Campers losers, amirite?'
"Enough!"
The man's voice vibrated. It fizzled until he dropped down from the ceiling. Pink tentacles hovered behind him, coming out of the slits on the back of his equally pink robes. If the man's goal was to blind them with his flashy outfit, then he just succeeded.
Still, Nexus Shade braced his shield, his semblance buzzing. No matter how ridiculous the assassin's outfit may have been, his snake-like movements betrayed his skill.
"Here I am!" the man said. "In the flesh!"
"That's right," Eir said, snorting. "Don't ever be ashamed of who you are, Tentacle Hentai."
"Tentacle Hentai?" Blake said, a slight quiver to her words. "That's his name?"
Admittedly, it did sound horrifying. There was definitely something about the way its syllables all mashed together into some alien language.
"'Indeed! Tis a title of the most terrifying, cat in the black!" Archer said. "Back, Tentacle Hentai! Away with you! Return to the dark depths from whence you came!"
"Ti!" the man shrieked, clawing at his shadowed face. He sounded like he was wringing nails from his throat. "The name is Ti!"
"Ugh, like, hello. Still a dumb name," Eir said. "But you know what's dumber?" He chuckled. "You coming out alone. Uh, like, it's a nine-v-one right now? And you're up against two walking nukes and one hardcore tank?"
"I need not slay you or your bard, reaper," Ti said. "Not this time. And on the contrary, I am not alone!"
The air crackled, breaking apart like glass under a sledgehammer.
Hazel and another mage garbed in azure robes—a woman who looked eerily like Inky—strode out of the fractured shards. The duo took Ti's flank, Hazel grunting as he crossed his arms. The woman scowled and fixed Inky a crooked stare, her misty blue eyes staring past his head.
Qrow's grip tightened on his sword. The hilt creaked as he said, "Rainart."
"Qrow," Hazel said, cracking his neck. "We don't need to fight."
"No can do," Qrow said. "You're a traitor."
Nex raised an eyebrow.
"No," Hazel said. "Ozpin betrayed me. You as well."
"Ozpin's fighting for the greater good," Qrow said. "Without him, we'd be all dead ten times over."
"Bastard." Nex seethed, fire licking his stomach.
"Sounds like he disagrees with you," Hazel said, nodding at him, something akin to respect flashing in his dark eyes. "Ozpin could have stopped this. Why didn't he?"
The burly man had a point. As well as the right question. Ozpin must have definitely known, even before he sent them on the job.
Qrow gritted his teeth. "Why don't you go ask him?"
"You don't know either," Hazel said. "Then there's no point talking."
He took a step forward, palming two serrated cuts of lightning dust.
"Let's end this."
Chapter 65
Hazel loosed a bellowing roar—dwarfed only by those of the two titans clashing beyond the city walls. He charged towards Qrow, smacking Ruby and Eir away with nothing but a swipe of his palm. She skidded against a pillar and grunted as her boots left twin trails on the sand.
"Get back!" Qrow said. He weaved around Hazel's bulk, his greatsword clanking and curving into a scythe. "Whatever you do, don't get close!"
Pareidolia screamed.
The floor crunched and caved in on itself.
Nex growled as he and Weiss leapt away. Her glyphs tinkled, blocking the pink tentacles that speared through the ancient tiles. Hrunting and Vigilance flashed and hacked the tentacles into pieces. The severed appendages flopped, caught in a fit of spasms. Weiss burnt them to a blackened crisp with a glyph and a stab of her rapier.
"I'm running low," Weiss said as they crouched behind a column, her hands deftly slotting another cartridge into her blade. "You don't happen to have extra, do you?"
Nex shrugged, popping open Hrunting and Vigilance. He reached into the cross-guard, sliding three cartridges of dust out. "Here," he said as he held her palm, depositing fire, ice, and gravity in her hand. His touch lingered on her calloused skin a little longer than necessary.
Long enough for her to steal a quick kiss, whispering, "I love you."
"Love you too." Nex bit his lip, peering into her pale blue eyes. "Now let's kick some ass."
Weiss grinned as Myrtenaster's guard snapped shut. "Yes. Let's."
A sheet of ice sheared through their cover, the acrid scent of magic stinging his nose.
"Incitatia! I swear I'll kill them!" the robed woman screamed, mist wafting off her outstretched palm. "I'll freeze the marrow in their bones! Just give me what I want!"
"Ciana," Inky said, sighing as she brandished her staff. White flames wreathed it from the tip, casting upon them the warm glow of its magic. She held it like a spear. Her legs were bent into an odd, half-knelt stance. "Elder sister. Once again. I cannot grant you what has been freely given."
Ciana growled, her hand arcing downwards. Icicles the colour of ash shimmered on the roof. "Take this!"
Weiss flicked her rapier, black glyphs catching the icicles mid-flight. She smirked and spun her rapier, white glyphs flashing atop the black ones. The ice flew, and this time, towards Hazel. They ripped into his back, tearing chunks of his flesh to shreds.
The giant roared, craning his head to glare at Ciana, even as Qrow blasted his chest point blank with his shotgun—to no effect.
"I didn't do it!" Ciana said, sneering at his partner. "Lowly whore!"
"What did you just call me?" Weiss said, scowling.
Nex licked his lips. Admittedly, hearing someone insult his partner in that way ground his gears more than he expected.
"Leave my angry sister to me and Leli," Inky said, her partner already twirling a pair of poisoned daggers in her hands. "You be having 'yer own troubles, eh?"
Nex spied Archer and Eir doing the same with Ti. The duo hounded the assassin across the vast hall, barely giving him time to breathe. Between Eir's shield-work—the knight's technique was a fuckton better than his—and Archer's rapid, unpredictable spells and arrows interspersed with silent glyphs and not-so-silent cries, anyone would have had trouble fighting them off.
That left only Hazel.
At once, he knew what had to be done. His team needed to support Qrow. To strike at openings. Or to create them. That his father was the one who was in danger of having his bones bent and broken was only a coincidence.
"We have to wear him down," Nex said, eyeing Ruby and Blake as they peppered Hazel with their guns. "Strip his defences."
The bullets bounced off. Nothing. Not even so much as a scratch—or a flinch. Aside from the blood on his tattered shirt, and the scar on his back where Eir's blade gouged a pound of flesh, Hazel looked good as new.
"His semblance lets him ignore pain," Nex mused, "while his massive aura reserves protect him from damage."
A potent combination. It would effectively let a huntsman tank hits for days. Did Eir have something like what Hazel had as well? Damn. Why did Qrow insist he take Hazel on when Eir had already demonstrated what he could do against him?
Weiss's rapier twitched. Her glyphs deflected a strike meant for Qrow, letting him land a solid hit with his scythe. "You have a plan—"
"Rise, my pets! Show these savages the power a trueborn mage holds!"
Ciana's shrill scream cut through the howling wind. Skeletal Grimm clawed their way out of the sands, their shambling gaits making their red-veined joints creak. Their eyes glowed the bloodiest of crimson. Weapons fashioned from jagged bones—clubs, spears, and all manner of blades—were clutched tightly in their sinewed hands.
His nose wrinkled. They stunk bad enough that even his half-faunus nose could smell their death and decay, magically arrested as they might have been.
Nex shot Weiss a look, bobbing his chin as he dashed towards Qrow to stop the skeletons from taking his flank. He bashed a bone-white axe away. His sword plunged into the offender's chest.
Ruby spun through three of them at once. The blunt shaft of her scythe splintered their weathered bones. Her arm bumped against his as they fought side by side, skirting a small ring around Hazel and Qrow.
The two were locked in a duel. One moved like a battering ram, force directed with purpose. The other tried his utmost to dodge, his blade glancing off the other's skin. A standstill. But it was definitely what Hazel wanted—stalling them long enough for Cinder to finish her ritual.
Nex smashed his shield against a skeleton's arm, hewing it from the elbow. Flesh tore with a grisly squelch. The limb smacked against a pillar, sliding down the stone. He stopped its squirming with a sword to the throat, ripping its skull off with a practised jerk of his wrist.
But there were more of them, dotting the chamber like flies. And eventually, they would tire. But their undying enemy would not.
The standstill had to be broken. Somehow.
Maybe there was no real need to deal with Hazel himself.
Maybe the barrier around the cultists could be destroyed, or otherwise lowered.
Fuck.
It was the first time that there was nothing he could do at all.
Nex licked his gritty lips, parrying a skeletal claw. Three more assaulted him on all sides, their magic-infused blades like hooks digging into his skin. It hurt more—more than the slashes of Beowolves or the sting of Deathstalkers.
With a grunt, his aura flowed through his limbs, the warmth almost as if his mother's soft embrace. Reminding him. Of his promise to her. To survive. No. Not just to her. But to his partner as well.
When their swords flashed for a second time, he strained Pareidolia to its limit. Thunder rushed through his arms, the buzzing of static consuming his mind once more. The tempest. The shade. He was the leaf swaying in the storm, caught in the nebulous winds of possibility.
He smiled as the world slowed to a crawl, everything frozen in just one moment. Crystallised. Save for one Ruby Rose, who seemed to move faster than the others. Inch by inch, her scythe cut through the grey, sinking into a skeleton's thigh with the crunching of bone.
And he could see it. The threads stitched into the skeletal Grimm. The magic. The raw, flickering magic entwined with their bones, leading back to their puppet master. To Ciana. Fireworks burst in his brain, the metaphorical light bulb going off.
Could he part Ciana's magic?
Like he parted Inky's flame?
Nex clutched Hrunting and Vigilance, channelling his aura through its steel. A twist of his hip had him surging forward. He drove his sword into a skeleton's ribcage, shoving his aura into one of the invisible threads.
Darkness.
His vision dimmed, a sudden hit of nausea punching the gooey parts of his brain.
Nex groaned, the grip of his semblance loosening.
The skeleton's blade hovered on his neck, nanoseconds away from shattering his trance.
He had to hold on.
He had to.
His jaw clenched, steel rising like a barricade to shore up the cracks in his mind.
Deeper. Part the threads.
His aura delved into the blackness between, in the sea of dark that permeated Ciana's magic.
Deeper. Part the strands.
The blackness… It seemed similar to what the Grimm and Cinder's magic had. Twisted. Where Inky was the literal sun, hers was colder, drenched in muck. There was no other way to describe it. His aura wading through it was akin to his soul taking a swim in Mantle's filthiest sewers.
The sludge roiled against his form, pushing him back. Every inch seemed almost like fighting for a mile.
Nex bit the tip of his tongue, drawing a drop of blood.
His semblance might not have been as flashy as his partner's. But it was powerful. Powerful in its own right. It was not as inferior as he believed it to be, so long ago. Oh so long ago.
His heart pumped faster, pounding in his temples.
He could do it.
He had to.
An eternity passed, time frozen, as he hardened every fibre of his being, his aura, his soul, his mind, and finally, finally shoved his head out of the blackened mud—and into the void that lay within.
Deeper.
He needed to emerge even deeper, his aura coalescing into a scalpel that tore off the remnants of the muck clinging to his flesh.
There.
The light.
Winking. Shivering. Gaping.
A dragon stared at him, an amused chuckle rumbling in its rotten, titanic shape. Crimson holes dripped blood down its forehead, from which the light could not escape, melding into motes of nascent purple. The dragon whispered something, its scarlet eyes spears glinting in the dark.
It spoke one word loud enough for his slipping soul to hear.
Totem.
Then another.
Begone.
The grey cracked, his extra pair of ears stiffening. Aura burst from his soul like a grenade cooked for far too long.
Nex flinched as the skeletons crumbled into powder, the mist of Grimm escaping their bones. The beginnings of a migraine stabbed the back of his skull.
But it worked.
In fact, it worked a little too well.
"What!" Ciana screeched. "How could a—"
Leli leapt out of the shadows, smashing the pommel of her dagger against Ciana's chin. "You yap too much," she said, sweeping the mage's legs from under her.
Inky grinned and tapped the floor with her staff. A bed of fire spread below Ciana, catching her fall. The flames snaked over her shoulders and bound her hands above her head—in a grotesque imitation of one of The Pearl's professional contortionists.
"Release me!" Ciana squirmed, writhing against her blazing bonds.
"You be staying put now, eh?" Inky said. "We be returning to our world soon enough, eh, dearest sister o' mine?" Her fiery eyes turned frosty. "You be answering for 'yer crimes in court, eh? Mark me words."
His semblance croaked—a dying frog groping at the back of his neck.
Nex cupped his forehead, his legs wobbling even as he forced himself away from Hazel's left hook, the tanned fist skimming his cheek.
The sudden assault sent Pareidolia reeling.
He barely had time to raise his shield, his sword still inside. The back of Hazel's palm slammed against Vigilance as it expanded in a desperate bid to block the blow.
"Nex!" Qrow said as the world turned blurry and his legs left the ground.
Nex growled, his blood pumping up his ears. He twisted mid-flight, his heels stopping against a pillar. Feet entrenched into aged rock, Hrunting and Vigilance found itself whole once again.
He squeezed the trigger.
It howled, the recoil clattering his teeth. The manoeuvre launched him away from Hazel's charge. He landed beside Weiss, her eyebrows creasing as she shot him a glance.
His gambit worked. Hazel crashed against a thick wall, digging deep into the stone.
"Now!" Nex said, aiming his cannon at Hazel's back.
Blake flipped over the giant. She blasted his eyes with her gun, drawing frenzied roars from him. Crescent Rose left scratches on his shoulder, splattering the sandstone red. Weiss' glyphs spat lightning at his calves. Ropes of thunder slithered around his trembling limbs. His aura sparked, cracks appearing on its surface.
Nex smirked. "Beautiful."
Hrunting and Vigilance fired.
And a solid buckshot with all the firepower of an Atlesian Paladin exploded over Hazel's spine. It sent him flying through the wall, smoke and debris trailing after him. Doubtful he got out of that one unscathed, even with his reserves and supposed semblance.
"Two down," Nex said. "What's the status—"
"'Tis most fortunate, father!" Archer said, Eir trotting after her. "The Tentacle Hentai of the most terrifying has done the fleeing!"
"Huh?" Qrow said. "Father?"
Nex rolled his eyes. "Apparently, being weird runs in the family."
Weiss giggled. "I wouldn't exactly phrase it like that, but…"
Ruby snickered as Qrow's eyes darted between them. "It's time travel."
"Time travel." Qrow shrugged, taking a gulp from his flask. "Well, weirder shit's happened."
"Yeah, like," Eir said, "have you seen Inception?"
No one had an answer to that.
"Bugger," Inky said. "We be in the middle of something, eh?"
She slit her wrist in the folds of her robes, chanting something garbled under her breath. White fire crept up the barrier, the violent winds snapping like twigs.
A stream of cultists broke free from their circle, their eyes glazing over as they held their palms up. The hooded men and women faced them in a line, an avalanche of magic surging from the crimson veins pulsing across their arms.
Grimm. Those things were Grimm. Growing inside them.
Was it how those Grimmified people were made?
"Ah, it be like that, eh?" Inky said, grinning as she lowered her voice. Her magic coiled into a whip and strained against her hold. "Rest in flames my testament, the trail of life we burn…"
The words lingered in the air like the prelude to a storm. White fire lashed out and battered the cultist's shell. Once. Twice. Thrice. At the fourth strike, the cultists screamed and fell, convulsing on the sands.
And, at last, the vortex of magic fell.
Cinder's eyes snapped open, her face twisting in fury. "No!" she said as the suit of armour clanked and shook, motes of gold rising from the blood-red steel as it vanished. "So close…"
She slumped, her shoulders sagging as she lay prostrated—before a statue of the witch queen.
"Not close enough," Qrow said, inching towards Cinder. He had a careful grip on his scythe. "You'll pay for what you did."
"I'm Fall… I'm Cinder…" Cinder mumbled, staring at the crimson lines rippling under her fair skin. "I'm Fall… I'm Cinder…" She kept repeating it like a mantra as she sank deeper into the sand.
Nex licked his lips. There was something awfully wrong—Cinder being almost not there notwithstanding. All of it just seemed a little too… easy.
"Shut up!" Qrow said, brandishing the flat of his scythe. "I'm taking you back to Oz, and he's gonna—"
Pareidolia screamed.
And Nexus Shade watched, too late, as a pike tipped with bone lanced through thin air with a sharp crack.
Weiss gasped.
Blood.
It pierced Qrow's stomach, the huntsman barely tilting his body enough so the pike missed his liver. And instead shattered a rib or two.
"Ugh…" Qrow spat out a mouthful of insides. "Lucky hit…"
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said, dashing towards him as the tentacle vanished.
Nex cursed and took a step forward, his extra pair of ears stiffening as Ruby pried Qrow off the floor. He and Eir exchanged glances. The knight kept ahold of his shield. His knuckles were clenched around the strap, chalk-white cartilage showing through bronzed skin.
"Fool," Cinder whispered. "You don't realise where we are, do you?"
"Never been to this place before," Qrow said, coughing up more blood as Ruby helped him stand.
Cinder laughed. "In here, as long as I'm under her protection, I am invincible." She flung her arms open. "Allow me to show you!"
A pool of black and red swirled around her, the acrid tang of iron and sulfur blanketing his nose. The cultists moaned as mana the colour of blood rose from their robes, sucked into the maelstrom.
In the distance, Czipueth howled as he toppled over, beams of light from Vigilance's paw cutting canyons into his dark flesh. What should have been a moment of victory turned into one of uncertainty—as a grainy, crimson film enveloped them like a shell.
Nex gasped, the sharp teeth of magic tearing at the undersides of his skin. The muffled screams of his friends pierced the air. His partner collapsed against him, spurring him to action. He gritted his teeth, managing to lift Hrunting and Vigilance with one arm, the other one keeping Weiss standing as shivers wracked her limbs.
She stopped.
Her breathing stopped.
Her heart stopped.
Nex stiffened. His eyes darted around the chamber.
What the hell was going on?
Frozen. All of them were frozen.
Locked in time, his semblance whispered.
Cinder smirked as their eyes met.
Damn it.
Nex tugged at the trigger.
It gave a soft click.
Jammed.
The fuck?
He mashed at the trigger, even as the agony forced him to his knees. His extra pair of ears had long since grown numb. Still, he caught a flash of white at the corner of his eye—a silent Archer spinning a golden glyph the size of a penny between her fingers.
Discreet. Nex stifled the urge to smile. Apparently, being immune to whatever time-freezing spell Cinder used also ran in the family—the Shade part at least, considering that Qrow was frozen too.
"A shame," Cinder said, strutting towards him. She patted his cheek. Her touch burned like candles. "You had a clear shot, but you just couldn't take it."
She chuckled, her slender fingers drumming her thigh.
"Although, I'm curious, Nexus Shade," Cinder said, her eyes blazing orange. "Why aren't you frozen like your friends?"
"Heh," Nex said, licking his lips. "Guess I'm just built different."
She laughed, tossing her hair back, the strands clinging to her glistening neck.
"No matter," Cinder said. She raised her hand, a fireball the size of his head hissing into existence. "I spent years orchestrating this. You managed to ruin it in a single afternoon."
"I do my best," Nex said, keeping his eyes off Archer.
It was in her hands now, whatever came next.
"That you do," Cinder said, growling as she toyed with the flame. "I'll enjoy burning you to ash." She held the fireball against Weiss' nose, the dancing flames parting the shadows of her visage. "But first, I'll have the pleasure of taking what you cherish the most."
Nex clutched Weiss tighter, trying to cover her form with his. Invisible chains—the chains of time—dug painfully into his body, every motion causing a creaking sound not unlike that of a rusted clock. His aura strained, trying to part the braided links of her magic. To no avail. They were too thick, and his aura was too low.
Archer's face twitched, the golden glyph in her hand spinning faster.
"I never understood love," Cinder said, sighing as the flames roared. "Pledging yourself—your life—to another?" She shook her head. "At the right price, perhaps. But unconditionally? Nothing's more foolish."
"I dunno about that," Nex said. "Let's agree to disagree?"
The flames surged.
It was Cinder's only response.
Nex scrunched his eyes shut, his bones cracking as he twisted his spine. He held Weiss to his chest, the heat kissing his back. His coat sizzled. The last of his reserves primed the dust sewn into the fabric, a brilliant blue blossoming into a shield that weathered the dull inferno.
"Resist all you want," Cinder said. "I can do this all—"
"Fallen angel deprived of light and wings!" Archer said, gasping for air, hundreds of golden glyphs spiralling around Cinder. "Let thine misery cage mine enemy!"
"What?!" Cinder screamed.
Purple waves rolled off the glyphs. The force of gravity smashed against Cinder, her magic quivering as it tried to keep the unrelenting tide from grinding her to dust. She shrieked, gouts of fire and lightning arcing from her hands.
"You!" Cinder said, the magic turning bitter, rotten, her hold over it slipping. The sting of thunder lay within. "How do you have my powers?!"
"Hmph!" Archer's jaw clenched, a brewing storm crackling around her. The wind blew, flinging piles of debris as her eyes blazed with pristine, silvery light. "Pray! You have merely stolen your magic! To call it yours is beyond foolish, is it not?"
Cinder growled, the fire in her eyes shrinking. "So you're the one Ozpin picked." More mana gathered around her, the makings of another spell linking into a chain. "Alas, I'm not letting you keep it. It's mine."
In response to her words, Archer's magic swelled like an ocean, the storm raging. Whipping. Shaped into a giant arrow of ice and thunder.
Pareidolia mewled, scratching its protest on the walls of his skull. The red film swayed, murky, as the two magical juggernauts clashed. A violet storm shattered the silence, the stench of blood smothering his nose. As the duel between the two Maidens raged, the desert heat eventually reached the apex of his skull. A splitting headache carved into it like a huntsman's axe and coaxed a fevered groan from his lips.
Then the world broke into fluid, crystal motion, everything going up as if someone chucked them in a lift through time. Images and words swerved around them like a butterfly's wings, Pareidolia searing the indescribable tapestry into his mind with blazing hot tongs.
The magic.
The root.
Akasha.
He could see it shimmering in the void, a sole beacon of gold to light the dark. A gaping red maw sat at the end of their ride—a carousel through time.
Waiting.
Hungry.
Its teeth clamped over them.