Chapter 1

Cassiel POV

So this is the afterlife huh? Just an endless void and drifting for eternity. I suppose this is better than an eternity of fire and screams. Not that life was anything better, or my life anyway. Trauma, bullies, useless shitheads and hypocrits who don't understand a damn thing they're saying or doing will do that to you. Finally, I get to be alone, to be rid of my suffering, this meaningless pain.

"Not quite my child." I felt my body shift as the voice spoke and stood in front of an elderly looking man

"I hate being wrong, but I hate being right all the time as well. Who are you? I want nothing to do with you."

"A shame, to answer your question, I am God." And just like that I was reminded of what it was like to feel pure hatred and rage as I quickly closed the distance between us and started beating him as hard as I could. I felt tears pouring down my face as I continued my assault until my hands were bleeding I couldn't move my arms anymore. By the time I was done my hands were just as bloody as "God's" face. I got up and started walking away believing, hoping he was dead only to stop and stand there shocked he was uninjured. "Perhaps I deserved that. Here, allow me." He started walking to me and for the first time in years I felt fear, but I couldn't move, once he got in range I tried to swing at him again only to have him catch my hand and heal it along with the other one. Why I thought, he has never cared about anyone even his own son so why heal his attacker?

"Do you remember how you died, what day it was?" He asked

"Mayan Calendar, that's all."

"You were murdered by thieves, a stray bullet ricocheted off a wall and hit you in the head during a bank robbery." How is this relevant

"So? Besides my death, what's it got to do with me? This is the best thing to happen to me in years and you know it."

"You were one of several others who passed my test. The world didn't actually end, but everything right now is how it would have been had everyone not acted so poorly that day." I would say stop playing God, but considering that's who I'm talking to such a thing isn't likely to happen anyway

"So you allowed, even forgave the mindless slaughter of countless innocent people or whatever passes for innocent in that You forsaken world over a test just to rewind everything as if the Calendar wasn't relevant at all? Typical." I spat

"It is sad to see one so young with such hatred of the world, such pain in your soul." Really jackass

"I'm only 13, but I had to grow up sooner than anyone else no thanks to you, or should I be thanking you for everything you let me suffer? Talk to me like an adult, the one I had to become this soon to survive!" I said grabbing him and pulling him closer

"I'm-"

"Don't, I don't want to hear it, especially from you."

"I suppose I should finish my business quickly then. I can give you anything you want for passing my test." I doubt that, but I'll bite

"Send me anywhere but Heaven, Hell, or Earth with weapons that will best suit me. Looking, no, just being near you is even worse than Hell, maybe Lucifer was right in trying to replace you or not accept humans."

"The stories you knew of his betrayal are false actually. Humanity was young and easily swayed, easily changed for better or worse. I asked my Archangels become the symbol of evil so humans would not try to make one themselves and try to live good lives. Lucifer the Bringer of Light was the first to step forth and took on that responsibility himself, he willingly became that symbol and has kept Hell's inhabitants where they belong. The goal was to try and bring out the best in humanity by giving glimpses of the worst from divine beings." So the Bible is filled with nothing but lies then? Why am I not surprised?

"As for your wish, is there anything else?" He asked

"Power that will suit me best, a black cloak that completely covers my face without obscuring my view, and a blindfold or a one eyed mask I can see through perfectly which seals half my power until removed and can only be removed by me. I also want to never see or hear you or another human being from this reality again after today." He took a moment to breath before speaking again

"Anything else?"

"Shut up and get me out of here." I'm losing my patience

"Very well." He reached down for my head "Farewell. I hope you may find peace."

I woke up on my back looking at the night sky. Years ago I would have said it was beautiful, now I just don't care. Sitting up I saw I was wearing a black cloak, there were 2 strange looking key shaped objects beside me, a grey mask with no special features and for some reason the blindfold. After pocketing the blindfold and putting on the mask because why not I picked up the keys and heard a voice say their names. I looked around and saw no one in what looked like a ruined building of some sort and I doubt these things spoke to me. Way to Dawn and Path towards Nightfall were their names. If these are my weapons then I'm fucked, there's no way a weapon like this is viable, on second thought I might be able to, and the weapons do look nice anyway. As the thought of where to put them came to mind they disappeared and reappeared as I wanted them back, that's pretty useful.

I walked off in a random direction and am now believing this place was a castle, figures it looks human made. I thought I was very specific in my wishes and made this one clear. No. Humans. What's not to understand? Continuing through this castle I heard voices and immediately turned around. I wanted nothing to do with anyone at the moment, or ever anyway. I turned and went down a different hallway than the one I came from. At this point I'm just going wherever and looking in every room I come across for anything important. Finding nothing I continued until I came across a staircase leading to an observatory I would guess. After hearing voices again which is ridiculous for an abandoned castle I thought fuck it and walked inside. The first thing I noticed was the voices were not human and the magenta one laying on the ground with a look of shattered hope and the tall black one with weird hair laughing at this weakling.

"The elements are broken, this night will last forever!" She took notice of me "And who are you? An assassin so soon after my return?" She said amused

"Lady, I don't even know who or what you are much less where I am." I leaned back against the wall "I was just walking away from one set of voices figuring my way around this place only to find more voices in a supposedly abandoned castle. Besides, this eternal night you're going on about is none of my concern. If you want the world to end then I won't stop you, I expect to be dead before the worst anyway."

"Destroy the world? I would never even think of such, all I want is for ponies to appreciate my night and respect me!" So you want attention then

"Then you are pathetic. Destroying everything for something as meaningless as love and respect? I would say I pity you, but I don't." This had the result of angering her

"I am Nightmare Moon and you will kneel before me!" She shouted firing something at me. I called Nightfall and blocked her attack only to be surprised by her dashing through the smoke her shot left and pinning me to the wall, barely missing my head with her scythe.

"Just run! You can't beat her!" The other one shouted as Nightmare grabbed me and threw me across the room and into another wall.

"That's an interesting weapon you have, but it won't help you." She said walking to me as I struggled to get back up

"Amazing how I try to stay out of shit like this and I still get dragged into it. *cough*" I reached under my mask and when I looked at my hand I found blood. My vision is a little blurry now, but I don't care. I die I win, I live it might be a win. I looked up and saw her standing over me, I stood up and found she was at least 3 feet taller than me and I was 4ft 7

"Are you going to fight?" She said impatiently

"Depends, do I have to? If you're going to kill me then make it quick, the nothingness was infinitely better than life." I said still coughing up blood. She decided to go back to the other person in the room as my vision got worse and eventually lost consciousness.

1 hour later

I woke up feeling disappointed to see a white ceiling. I reached for my face and found the mask was still on my face before examining my surroundings. I felt fine so I got out of what I'm assuming is a hospital bed and looked for my cloak, after I put it on and covered my head with the hood I started making my way to the door only to have it open after a single fucking step. 9 of these ponies(?) stepped in with shocked looks on their faces, the white pink haired one rushed to me to try to get me back on the bed.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be out of bed so soon, especially after your injuries!" She said concerned

"I don't care. You can let me out and you'll never see or hear from me again or I can force my way through. It makes no difference to me." I was tempted to call Dawn and Nightfall, but I knew that wouldn't end well

"I would ask you to do as Nurse Redheart says my little pony. We don't want to see you get hurt again." The taller white one with neon rainbow hair said. Not going to ask about the nonexistent wind.

"That's the second biggest load of bullshit I've heard in my life. I won't ask again, let me out or I will force my way out." The cyan one with rainbow hair got up in my face

"What's your problem? We just saved you and tha-"

"I didn't ask to be saved nor do I care about her being royalty. Now get out of my face before your relationship with the floor becomes intimate!" I dare you, give me a reason to hurt you.

"Why you little-" She said rolling up her sleeve until the magenta one stopped her

"Rainbow that's enough!" She turned to me "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I wanted to thank you for saving me, and if it'd be al-"

"I don't care, I didn't save you, I defended myself, goodbye!" I said trying to leave until the Nurse grabbed my shoulders and the other blue one got in my way. I'm tempted to slit my own throat if only to get away faster

"I am sorry my subject, but I believe it would be best to stay until your wounds I inflicted heal. And could you please remove that mask?" The blue one said

"No, I'm not going to ask about how you're relevant to how I was hurt, and I'm not nor have I ever been one of your subjects. I'm not a pony in case you haven't noticed and I would very much like to leave!"

"I'm sorry but-" The tall white one stopped her

"Very well, but only after you tell us who and what you are, your age, and what Twilight told me about." Fine

"If it'll get you all off my back then fine. I'm Cassiel, named after the Archangel of Solitude and Tears, fitting if I say so myself. I am human unfortunately and I'm 13, turning 14 in ten days. Happy? Goodbye, do me a favor and don't bother me." I tried to leave again, but she stopped me again "You know what fuck it!" I summoned Dawn and Nightfall and held them at the ready "You can't say I didn't try to be reasonable." I was ready to start swinging until she spoke again

"You didn't tell us about your weapon nor did Twilight know about your other equally disturbing weapon. What is it and why does someone as young as you have them?"

"Don't know, don't care, not important. Are you going to keep your end of the bargain or what? Can I go?"

"I'm sorry but because of your age you'll be legally required to live under the guardianship of a capable pony." That's rich "We can't have a pony as young as yourself living on your own."

"What are the odds? Another lying cunt." Everyone just looked at me like I just slapped her "Seems people regardless of race are the same everywhere I go, but I got what I asked for at least." I was finally able to reach the damn door "For the record, I may be young, but I've had to grow up faster than anyone you lot have ever met. You'll find I'm nothing like a child, had to stop being one years ago." I dismissed the weapons and made my way out of the hospital. I hope I never see them or anyone again.

Princess Luna POV

I was still in shock hearing he was only a colt, a colt I attacked. How could he not care, what did he mean he had to grow up sooner, and how can he be so uncaring? None of us moved to stop him as he made his way down the halls, but I wouldn't have that. I stepped out of the room and went to him with the intent to stop him before he made a mistake.

"What can we do to make you stay?" I asked. If nothing else but force will stop him then maybe favors or offerings will

"Nothing I can ask for would you be able nor willing to give me. Solitude is obviously too much to ask for anyway." I can't let that happen or he'll make the same mistake I did

"Don't do this, I've been where you are before and-" I stopped as he held his dark winged blade at my throat

"Never try to compare yourself to me again." He growled "You think you know my pain, my despair, but you know nothing of it. Life is nothing but meaningless pain. The only 3 things I would ask for are impossible or unreasonable by your standards." He lowered his weapon "Leave me be."

Tears threatened to escape my eyes, but I needed to help this colt. There's no reason why anypony as young as him has no hope, no desire for a better tomorrow. I knelt down to pull him close.

"Tell me! What can we do to make you stay? Anything at all?"

"Can you give me my life back? Can you give me back everything I lost? Can you undo all the damage done to me?" He continued as he whispered to me everything he suffered. Nopony should have to live through all that, but he... This colt... Had to endure it all alone since he was 7. 6 years of pure Tartarus alone. I cried for him as I pulled him closer only to hear him ask what I was doing and why. To think the damage was so severe he didn't even remember what a hug was or why I was doing this. He wasn't boasting about having to grow up sooner than other foals. I see why the end of the world didn't bother him at all and that only made me want to help him more, to make him see why life has meaning.

Chapter 2

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Cassiel POV

So this pony is for some reason beyond my comprehension still hugging me or whatever she called it. As if her crying wasn't bad enough, I can't move. If this is karma for trying to beat God to death then I guess I deserve it, doesn't mean I accept it.

"Can I leave like I've been trying to do for a while now?" I asked the princess

"Where would you even go?" Do you really need to ask that

"Back to that castle probably. Anywhere away from people or ponies in this case, all I want is to be alone." And now she's holding me tighter, doing the exact opposite of what I want

"You know we can't allow that!" Son of an emerald whore

"Then it seems we're at an impasse, I want to be alone and you all want to force me to be with others. Even after hearing all the shit I've lived through you still don't understand why this is better for me and everyone else." Why does she care so much, she knows nothing about me but my name for God's sake

"Um, princess Luna." The yellow pony said poking her head out of the door

"Yes Bearer of Kindness?" The pony now revealed to be Luna said finally easing her hold on me, not going to ask about that kindness bit though

"Maybe I could take him, if that's alright with you." Timid, less trouble, good

"Are you cert-" Shut up

"How far away from everyone do you live? Is there anyone else living with you?" I asked, interrupting Luna who's hold on me is steadily easing up

"I live just on the edge of town, a-and I live with my animal friends."

"Then lead the way, if it's as calm and quiet as you've implied then you just might be the first person I'd have gotten along with in years, or at least had nothing against."

"Before we go, could you please stay here until the nurse says it's okay to leave?" Sigh, fine

"I'll stay long enough for a physical and that's it."

"Thank you."

I walked back into the room and looked at the nurse "I'm only staying long enough for a physical, afterwards I'm going with whatever her name is until further notice." She looked at me with a look of concession as everyone else was shocked again

"YAY! That means he gets to stay and I can throw him a party and *GASP* his birthday's in just over a week, TWO PARTIES IN ONE!" I just tuned her out at this point, amazing when it's easier to take someone as young as me more seriously than an adult

"Fluttershy you can't be serious! He's dangerous!" Trust me Rainbow, I'm more of a danger to myself than any of you

"Are you sure you're fine with this? Animals are one thing, but a colt is another thing entirely." I'm not a child Twilight

"Do you think that's wise?" The white, purple haired one asked

"Ah ain't too sure 'bout that. What do you think princess?" The orange one asked

"Really, it's fine." Fluttershy responded and the taller white one chose this moment to step in

"I believe that would be a wonderful idea. Fluttershy, from this point on you shall be Cassiel's legal guardian." I never exactly agreed to this

"Princess Celestia?" So that's her name, thank you Twilight

"You must have misheard what I said. I would be living with her until further notice. If it becomes too unbearable then I'll be going back to that castle."

"What? Why would you want to go back there, don't you know how dangerous getting there is? The Everfree forest is no place for a colt your age!" Twilight, back off

"What other reason do I need besides wanting to be alone, to be away from everyone? Worst case scenario I die and say hello again to the Void, best case scenario I'm alone like I've been trying to be all day. Either way I win." Everyone looked at me shocked hearing dying is winning to me and the pink one's hair and tail somehow deflated

"What the buck's wrong with you? How can you call dying winning?" Rainbow asked getting in my face

"There are a lot of things wrong with me in case you haven't noticed, I just don't care enough to correct them. I will have died as I lived, alone, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now can we please get this damn physical out of the way so we can go?" Redheart decided to get this going as well as she stepped in

"Everypony please, I must ask you exit the room for a moment." Rainbow tried to get an answer to her other question, but backed off as the princesses left with the others

"Will you please remove your cloak and mask?" Redheart asked

"The mask stays on." She conceded and let me keep the mask, once I removed the cloak though her breath got caught in her throat

"What happened to you?" She asked looking ready to cry as she lingered on the scars on my arms and torso, from the sound of it this is a surprise to her. It is a surprise to me though as I would've expected God to heal those when he healed my hands

"Nothing that concerns you, but if you must know then I guess you could call the majority of these a result of tragedy or betrayal." She took a minute to regain her composure before she started with the usual routine of physicals: Heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, etc. She wasn't taking too long with each and it gave me time to think of how to proceed. I could just ditch Fluttershy tonight and go to the castle, but wandering through an unknown forest at night won't end well in regards to reaching my destination. I could just stay with her, she doesn't seem bothersome at all and I'll admit to having a soft spot for animals. I suppose it's at least worth trying.

"-iel." Redheart called

"Huh?" I was probably to deep in thought

"I said we're done, you can join the others now, and please don't get involved in any strenuous activities." No promises

"Thank you." I said walking out and passing by the others

"Are you ready to go?" Fluttershy asked, I nodded my head in response as we all left

The trip was bearable to say the least. Everyone kept chatting with eachother and left me out of it thankfully, well actually Twilight kept asking questions about Dawn and Nightfall as well as asking me to elaborate on a few things I said earlier. All she got was vague answers at best and not because I didn't feel like answering her. Needless to say she was less than pleased and it took the orange one or Applejack as Celestia revealed to get her to stop, I can already tell that'll only be temporary though. I completely tuned out the still unnamed pink one, I can feel Rainbow's gaze and can tell she's just waiting for me to step out of line (not like she can do anything because of my age), the other still unnamed white one was chatting with Fluttershy, and Luna couldn't wipe that look of pity off her face. I can't even see it and it annoys me just knowing it's there.

We all eventually went our separate ways except for the princesses who stayed with me and Fluttershy until we reached her home. Once again, not going to ask about something that's beyond my understanding (literal treehouse) and the second we reached the door she excused herself to get the animals ready. Luna tapped my shoulder to get my attention.

"If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask. Celestia and I shall assist you as best we can." So not at all, okay

"Thanks, but no thanks. I doubt I'll ever be asking for anything from you or even my new landlord." She gained a disheartened look and was about to respond, but Fluttershy poked her head out just before she did

"Everything is ready. You can come in, if you want." She said, welcoming us in. One step inside and I could see animal friend was being taken a little too seriously. How many people can you name have foxes, rabbits, a bear, several birds such as crows, finches, and ravens, ferrets, snakes (including venomous ones), and a wooden wolf all as pets? I couldn't tell if this place was safer than the castle considering the number of things that could kill me with almost no effort.

"Are you coming?" Fluttershy asked the princesses who still outside

"As much as we would like to, we must return to Canterlot. We will send you guardianship papers within the week." Celestia responded

"Oh, alright. I hope your day goes well." And with that they were finally gone. Now it's just me and my new landlord until I can't stand this town or her, whichever happens first.

"So what happens now?" I asked

"I guess we get to know each other? I-I'm sorry, this is new to me." I know, more so for me than you

"Well there's not much to say in that case. You're an animal care taker and whatever Luna called you and I'm an asshole who wants to be alone with his weird swords." She flinched when I said asshole

"Could you please not use such language?" She asked

"It's just words, besides is it really so wrong to speak the truth, regardless of how brutal it is? Honesty I could have sworn was a virtue, but I've been wrong before." One of the snakes started climbing my leg so I reached out my hand and let it climb up a little further before letting it on my shoulder

"It's not nice, it can hurt ponies feelings and send the wrong message." Now that's just precious

"Feelings? I don't see the point behind those, all they do is hold us back or get us in more trouble than they're worth. I'm very particular in my choice of words anyway, what I say I cannot word anymore clearly. What I say is so clear a child with a severe case of I don't know, name a mental disorder would understand perfectly. Aside from all that I've found that for some reason contadicting what everyone keeps telling each other and me that being an asshole not only gets my already clear point across more effectively, but gets better results as well." She flinched again hearing this

"Please, at least try to be nice to ponies. I don't know what happened to make you like this, but-"

"And I don't intend for you to know." I interrupted

"But please try, Equestria's not like your old home!" She practically begged

"I'll try if I find it worth the effort, until then you're stuck with this." I gestured to myself "Is there a guest room? I'm surprisingly tired after today."

"Up the stairs second door to the right."

"Thank you." I set the snake back on the floor and followed her directions, I could feel everyone's gaze as I did so. I can already tell a few don't like me, not that I care so long as they don't attack me. Entering the room I locked the door before removing my cloak and mask. I collapsed on the bed finding it surprisingly comfortable, reminded me of times better forgotten.

"So this is my new life huh? Let's see if it was worth it." I said drifting to sleep

Chapter 3

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Cassiel POV (Dream World)

I'm drifting in the Void again, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I learned lucid dreaming a few years ago, no point in dreaming about things that only make you want what you can't have and nightmares eventually became the norm so this was my solution. If nothing else it's effective. A never ending nothingness, I couldn't ask for anything better. I closed my eyes for a few moments and when I opened them back up I saw Luna staring at me horrified then confused.

"What's going on? I sensed you were having a nightmare, but I see nothing amiss here." She said

"I'm not even going to ask what this is about, but in any case welcome to the Void. I fail to see how an infinite nothingness is considered a nightmare, but I must ask you leave. If you really are here right now then this is no place for you, if you are fake then I'll just have to remove you myself!" I said summoning Dawn and Nightfall and reverse gripping them

"Why do you do this? I only came to help you." She said channeling some kind of energy into her horn

"Even if there is someone who can 'help' me, they'll only do it for their benefit and all the good done will just undo itself eventually. Even now you're only doing this to make yourself feel better, you for some stupid reason feel guilty about our fight and your meaningless pity towards me." With that I attacked her, but collided with a barrier

"Stop this at once! Nothing good can come from isolating yourself like this!" I kept up the attacks, but made no progress, still a good outlet

"I beg to differ. No one can hurt you when you're alone, no one can annoy you or get in your way when you're alone, and you can't hurt others when you're alone" I said that last part quietly "I've been alone for years, had no one and nothing but pain until I threw even that away. What was once a gaping wound is now a scar that opens up every now and then, but it was solitude that helped me heal." For fucks sake how strong is this barrier

"You're only running from your problems, you must face them or you'll regret it later!" She should know by now her words fall on deaf ears

"I'm not running from my problems, I'm burying them so deep they will never be anything more than memories. Literally in one case as you already know." I'm seeing cracks in this barrier now so I continue my assault, but even in dreams one can still feel exhaustion it seems

"What difference does it make? It doesn't help you or anypony else, instead it hurts everypony including you."

"Then solitude will be my answer once again and I will heal the same way as before." I'm striking the barrier with less force now as my arms are getting tired

"Please, let us help you! This is a new world for you, a new chance, don't throw it away before you find value in it!" What is with your obsession with me I thought as I stopped attacking due to exhaustion

"Why do you insist on helping me? Even if I can be helped I'm not worth the effort." She looked hurt hearing this as I collapsed

"Because I don't want to see anypony make the same mistakes I did." She said kneeling to pull me closer, hugging me I think "I did the exact same thing you did and it ultimately got me imprisoned in my own moon for a thousand years and played a part in me hurting you."

"A thousand years alone? That sounds like paradise to me." The second those words left my mouth she slapped me, looking at her I saw she was crying again for some reason

"Never, EVER say something like that again! There is more to life than what you think, please find it." Now she's hugging me again, seconds after she did so I felt like I was waking up "Goodbye for now, please try to find something worth living for." Like what

I woke up feeling well rested and smelled something cooking. I'm guessing Fluttershy is making breakfast or something. Ignoring this and my hunger I took a shower and put everything back on including the mask, I took a few minutes to examine Dawn and Nightfall since I didn't do so earlier. Strange names for weapons that don't look anything like how you would think and not because of them being shaped like giant keys. I find myself wondering why Dawn looks like a weapon forged in darkness and Nightfall makes me think dark angels, several other thoughts and questions went through my mind until a bunny made it's presence known to me.

"Hey there, what are you doing here?" I said softly, dismissing the weapons before kneeling down as I reached out my arm in an attempt to show I mean no harm. The bunny didn't come to me like I wanted and instead kept pointing to the stairs as it kept turning it's head between me and the stairs.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked as the bunny nodded in response

I followed the bunny downstairs and into the kitchen to see Fluttershy making waffles, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. Looking on the table I saw what looked like the papers Celestia mentioned and a quill next to that.

"OH, you're awake! Breakfast is almost ready." Fluttershy said after noticing me "I'm sorry if this bothers you, but after breakfast could you please sign those papers on the table? Those are the guardianship papers the princess mentioned." Well that confirms it, I picked up the quill and decided to sign my name on it now to get that out of the way

"Why wait? Besides I get the feeling we're going to be out and about for a little bit." I said handing her the papers

"W-well, I was also going to walk you to Ms. Cheerilee's school after." News to me, and back to this Hell

"I'm guessing you spoke with her after I went to bed? I would have thought she would probably need a few days to a week to get me in the school system after you officially became my guardian." I said slightly agitated

"She just needs to see the papers before school starts today since she already made the preparations after I told her yesterday." She works fast then, let's see if she's a competent teacher unlike all my other ones

"You sure this is a good idea though? Considering this is me we're talking about?" She thought about that for a moment

"I guess I see your point. In that case try to be nice please." Nice try

"I won't talk to anyone without a reason I would call good. Beyond that I make no promises to be nice by your standards."

"Oh, alright."

We kept silent as we ate breakfast, after eating I waited in the other room remembering the hell that was my school life. If anyone gives me problems I can't promise I won't break them, I was on the receiving end long enough. Fluttershy finished her breakfast shortly and we went to the school, it was still early and no students were here yet, but Cheerilee was and had just reached the door.

"Ms. Cheerilee!" Fluttershy called out getting her to turn and face us

"OH hello Fluttershy, is this the colt you were telling me about? Cassiel I think his name was?" Cheerilee asked

"I am." I answered

"Well it's nice to meet you! Fluttershy already told you about me, but it would still be rude not to introduce myself. I'm Ms. Cheerilee and I'm the teacher here." She reached out her hand, but I didn't "Sorry, anyway do you have the papers?" She asked Fluttershy

"I do." She answered

"Well in that case this should be done by the time school starts today which is in about 15 minutes." She stated

Fluttershy left not long after and it only took a few minutes for Cheerilee to finish. Once she did though she went outside and waited for the other students, I decided to just lay my head on the desk and wait for it all to start. Once students started pouring in they immediately took notice of me and started whispering to eachother. 2 of them thinking I was asleep tried to wake me and remove the mask to no avail. Cheerilee came back in shortly after they gave up and class was about to start.

"Okay students, I'm happy to say we have a new student today who just recently moved into town." Cheerilee greeted "Would you please come up here and introduce yourself? You'll all be allowed one question each, anything else will have to wait until later." I wish we could skip this part I thought as I walked up to the front

"My name is Cassiel, nothing else to say." A yellow girl with red hair and a bow raised her hand "Yes?"

"Where are ya from?" She asked

"Nowhere you would know. Next?" An orange girl with purple hair raised hers

"Why do you wear that cloak?" She asked

"It's comfortable. Next?" A white girl with magenta and pink hair raised hers

"Why do you wear a mask?" She asked, but before I could answer a pink girl with a tiara spoke up

"It's probably to hide how ugly he is." Oh we are going to have so much fun

"Yeah, I doubt anypony would want to see it in that case." The grey girl next to her said

"Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon! I wi-" I chose this moment to entertain myself

"No the reason I wear this mask is so I can see less of your faces. Being near you is bad enough, but looking at you is cruel and unusual punishment. I mean a death sentence is more merciful than that." They were about to shout at me, but Cheerilee stepped in before they could

"That's enough from all of you! I expected a better welcome, not this. You may go back to your seat now Cassiel." Looks like I win "Please open your history text books to page 79 so we may begin. Since you don't have one Cassiel you may grab one off the shelf near the window." Why'd you tell me to sit down only to have me get back up I thought as I started walking to the shelf. I saw Diamond and Silver looking at me as if they wanted me to walk right by them so I did. As I got close I paid close attention to who would try to trip me, but neither of them did. As I made my way back Diamond tried to trip me, but I dropped the text book on her foot.

"OW! What'd you do that for?" She said trying to make me look like the bad guy

"I'm sorry, I swear it was an accident." I lied only to keep Cheerilee off my back

"Can we please start class now?" Cheerilee said in a raised voice

I took my seat and kept laughing on the inside. After a few minutes and I read on ahead, apparently this lesson had to do with Luna and Nightmare. When we finished the assignment given after Cheerilee asked us all a question before we took a lunch break/ recess or whatever it would be called.

"So what have you learned in general about this lesson?" She asked, but no one answered so she selected me "Would you share please?"

"Envy is an ugly thing, there are reasons it is among the deadly sins. Light is just as cruel and unforgiving as the Dark for both are willing to sacrifice anyone and anything for even the most trivial, insignificant of things. All hearts are susceptible to corruption. Light will burn away indiscriminately while Dark will consume everything. The hero of one story will always be the villain of another. If Light did not push her to the Dark it did nothing to save her, thus she was a disposable pawn in the grand scheme of things. When the Dark gave her what she needed to gain what was rightfully hers she was given a harsher punishment than your condemned criminals. She paid for everyone elses Sins." I feel I'm getting too into this, but I'm not stopping voicing what I came to realize years ago.

"The Price of Peace, the Price of Harmony, the Price of Order, it is higher than any Blood Price. Only a fool would willingly pay it, and her choice to pay that price was made not by her, but the Light. Her Fate, her choice was made by others, and her sister passed the sentence for it."

Chapter 4

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Cassiel POV

That was actually kind of fun not just pissing them off, but denying them their chances to mess with me. If this is the worst I can expect from others who don't use violence then this will be easy as Hell. I walked to the nearest bench and looked through my IPod for something to listen to, don't know why God gave this and wireless earphones back to me with infinite charge, but I'm not complaining. Let's see, Aviators, Audiomachine, Frozen Night, Breaking Benjamin, Jimmy Buffet, so many to choose from back when I was able to enjoy this to the fullest. Now if I'm not listening to enjoy it, I'm listening to block out everything else. At the same time I chose The Monster's Loose by Meat Loaf I saw the three girls who were able to ask questions coming to me. Good thing I started playing the song right then and there, I can't help but feel I won't like them.

It looks like I was right in that assumption, they're all trying to get my attention one way or another, introducing themselves, and now they're huddled together shouting louder than my music. If they don't get the hint by the time the singer says "I've lived a thousand years in darkness" I'm leaving. I'm being as polite and subtle as I can be right now waiting for them to get the hint I'm not interested and instead they now look like they're arguing. I lay my head down and see Diamond and Silver coming over so I paused the song to see what they wanted.

"Did you think that was funny?" Diamond asked angrily

"Yeah you have some nerve pulling something like that!" Silver, you're a kissass

"Hey leave him alone! You were the one who started it anyway so back off!" The orange one said

"How about you blank flanks stay out of this, this is between us and him. Or is he in your little club now too? Does he not have a cutie mark too?" Diamond asked. The fuck is a cutie mark? Whatever, ending this now

"I would recommend you and your brown nosing friend leave now before one of us says something you will regret." I threatened

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to right now?" Diamond asked

"I basically told Nightmare Moon, Celestia, and Luna to fuck off several times with several witnesses might I add. What makes you think I'll care about who you are?" The three annoying ones gasped and the 2 in front of me didn't believe me

"Yeah right. Since you don't know who I am I'll tell you: I'm the daughter of Filthy Rich, owner of Barnyard Bargains!" Should I care

"And how is your useless piece of shit for a father relevant to this?" She went from arrogant to pissed in an instant

"That means he could buy your home and kick your family out of Ponyville. It'd be a shame to have to leave so soon after coming here wouldn't it?" Nice try

"We both know he wouldn't do that, if he did he would be dead right now because of the several homes, families, and businesses he would have destroyed in doing so. Any number of victims would've tried to kill him or even target his family as punishment for his greed. Your empty threats mean nothing to me." She just keeps getting angrier

"You don't get it do you? I can ruin you and no one will care!" She nearly shouted

"I doubt even your family will care." Go on Silver, please continue

"Yeah, how can anypony love a worthless, ugly, blank flank like you?" Diamond asked, finally giving me a chance to let loose

"MhmhmmmmhhhmmmhhmahahaaahhhaHHHAAHAAAAAAHHHHHHHAH!" I laughed getting everyone who heard it to look at me fearfully "Aaaaahhh, most of that could also be said about you."

"What?"

"Silver only stays with you for your money, why else do you think she's such a kiss ass? Besides that there's a few VERY good differences between us. I know your type so let me guess; one parent ignores you and only buys you what you want like that tiara, the other criticizes you over every little thing and demands their definition of perfect from everything you do. If you died, one wouldn't even know why their spending less or on what while the other would only see failure." Judging by the look on her face I must be hitting home on this one

"N-no you're wrong!" Gotcha

"Am I? You hesitating, you stuttering right there proves it. You can't be loved by your pitiful excuse of a family so you think, no, expect everyone else to do so instead." I started walking close enough to whisper into her ear "The biggest differences between us are I've accepted no one will care when I'm gone. I've embraced the emptiness that comes with solitude. I lost everything I ever cared about, and everything that would care if I died." I saw her eyes shoot open hearing about that one detail of my life "You never had anything from the start. No one will care much less notice if you disappeared, and if you keep up this attitude of yours you'll lose a lot more than your money by the time you're able to move out of your parents house. As you are right now you're hardly worth avenging, you are nothing nor do you have anything." I backed away and walked back to the bench as I saw her run off without Silver. By not chasing after her Silver has proven me right, and I couldn't feel more satisfied with my work.

"What did you say to her?" The yellow one asked, unsure if she really wanted to know

"I simply told her the reality of our situations. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to be alone." No point in finishing this song now, I'm thinking ACDC or Guns n Roses now, but which one though?

"Y-y-you'll regret this!" Silver said before finally chasing after Diamond

"I doubt that, bye." And with that I've decided Hell's Bells and turned it back on just moments before the other 3 started to annoy me again for the remainder of the break.

Break ended just after Rebâtir (Freedom Cry) by Aviators started and I noticed 2 idiots weren't here, it seems Cheerilee noticed as well.

"Has anypony seen Diamond or Silver?" Cheerilee asked

"I think they left." One student responded

"*sigh* Well we can't just hold off class to look for them. Everypony please open your math text books to page 58. Cassiel you will have to share with Sweetie Belle since we don't have any at the moment." After she said that the white one scooted her desk over to mine

"Um, hi." She said, but didn't get a response from me.

Opening to the page it was multiplication, surprisingly basic compared to the questions we would be asked in algebra. I actually expected more, but this just means I'll breeze right through it. I answered the 17 questions in about a minute or 2 while still paying attention to Cheerilee in case she said something important which she didn't until she called me up to answer a few questions. I reluctantly did so and gave her the answers, but like every math teacher she still wanted to see the work and not just the answer even though they were right. Class ended shortly after we turned in our assignments and she asked me to stay for a moment.

"Did you have something to do with Diamond and Silver?" Really, that's what you wanted to ask

"Not really, all I did was speak the truth to Diamond, Silver left on her own." I said cryptically before leaving. I remembered the way to Fluttershy's home and if my sense of direction was right I could have just cut through the woods to get there faster. I decided against that though since I didn't want these idiots getting on me about how dangerous it is even though I still held my own well enough against Nightmare and I wasn't even fighting back. Arriving to my current place of residence I saw Futtershy talking to a brown and black haired man with Diamond there as well. I can already see where this is going and my God do these people work fast. Do they have everything ready for anything beforehand? They have to at this rate.

"Cassiel!" Fluttershy shouted causing me to jump a little "I can't believe you said such horrible things to Diamond Tiara, apologize this instant!"

"Apologize for what exactly?" I asked plainly

"You called my daughter worthless, dared to say she is unloved by her own family, and you threatened her! She came home crying about what you said to her!" The pony now revealed to be Filthy Rich said

"It seems your daughter is also a liar as well, what are the odds?"

"How dare-" he started

"I dare and heres why. It seems your daughter forgot to tell you how she and her friend called me ugly first, tried to trip me, threatened to have you buy Fluttershy's home to kick me out of town, called me a worthless, ugly, blank flank, said she could ruin me and no one would care, and finally." I got up close so only him and his daughter could hear me "Said my dead family couldn't have possibly loved me." I backed away "If you don't believe me there is an entire class full of witnesses that will confirm everything I said. The only insult I said was that she was nothing, the closest I said to a threat was if she kept up this attitude, she was going to lose more than her money. I neither said nor implied I would hurt her." He turned to Diamond with a disbelieving look

"Is what he sa-" I interrupted him again

"None of this would be happening if you and your wife spent half as much time raising and disciplining your daughter as you do counting your money and your wife criticizing and verbally abusing her. As my dad would say, 'if you aren't going to put in any effort in raising your child then don't have one', or if I acted anything like her he would say 'unfuck yourself before I find the need to'. Her acting like this is a failure on your part plain and simple, and from what I can gather she's been doing this long before she even met me. The last 3 people I know who acted like her were killed in one case, put in a coma, and the other thrown into an asylum after being raped by her victims who the brother of one actually killed himself because of her, and she mocked him at his own funeral. If that's what you want of your daughter then I won't stop you from letting it happen. She's your problem so either fix it or cut your losses right now and give her over to child services because it's obvious you and your wife aren't fit to be parents." I turned to Fluttershy

"I'll only apologize if she is capable of giving me a geniune apology for even half the shit she did first." I turned to Diamond and decided to have some fun after figuring out what cutie marks represent

"By the way, I'm not as untalented as you think" I said summoning Dawn and Nightfall then dismissing them shortly after "The next time you pull something like this, well let's just say that while I swore to never hit a lady (even though I sort of broke that, but not apologizing because of the circumstances), I never said anything about not putting an arrogant bitch in her place when I need to." And with that I turned away and walked inside.

Fluttershy POV

Did I hear that right? Did Diamond really provoke Cassiel like this? No, he should have been the better pony and left well enough alone, though now I'm even more worried about him after hearing such awful things happened to others in his life.

"I'm sorry for the trouble ma'am." Filthy Rich said interrupting my thoughts "And WE are going to have a very serious talk young lady!" He said to his daughter

"What? Why? You can't honestly believe a freak like him can you?" Diamond asked only for her father to tighten his grip

"That's enough out of you young lady! You didn't deny anything until now, he admitted to what he did, and you calling him a freak for no reason just about proves his words true. To say I'm disappointed in you is an understatement!" And with that they took their leave, I walked back inside with only one thought in mind.

This isn't going to be easy.

Chapter 5

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Cassiel POV

I stayed in my room for the remainder of the day skipping dinner. More often than not I only eat 2 meals a day. I did go to bed hungry, but at least I didn't have to deal with Fluttershy getting on me about that situation with Diamond. How low do you have to be to target someone who has nothing to do with the situation and almost nothing to do with the people involved to get what you want? I won't claim to be above such a move, but for a reason as petty as someone disrespecting you is just asking for trouble. And I don't mean the beat you up trouble, I mean the kidnap and demand ransom if you're lucky trouble.

If it comes to that I hope to be there to look at her providers' faces (I would say parents, but that would imply they are making efforts to raise her properly) and ask if it was worth it. I hope one attacks me if that happens so I can break a few bones, and I can't be charged with armed assault or excessive force because of the age and size difference. I will take any and all advantages, any and every leverage I can get. This world and it's many possibilities will definitely keep me entertained if the past 2 days were part of my 'welcome to equestria' party.

When I woke up, I went through the usual morning routine before heading downstairs. Fluttershy wasn't here at the moment, but left a note on the fridge saying she was getting some groceries and probably wouldn't be back before I left for school. I removed my mask and sat down after making some toast. The animals were shocked to see my face and it somehow showed on theirs, the reasons they were shocked are because of a scar going from above my left eye brow to my right chin and my eyes had red streaks under them. They uncontrollably cry bloody tears for a few minutes often enough that I don't see the point in wiping my face unless I'm in the shower. Doctors couldn't explain it, or maybe those doctors were shit. Either way it made my life in the orphanage and school absolute Hell, my adoptive parents didn't like it too much either and punished me for it by denying me dinner if I was lucky.

I looked at the calendar and back to my IPod to see if the dates were the same, but I shouldn't have had to do that considering it was mid-December when I died and while the number is the same. The month and day aren't so, but they share the same names. This world's calendar says I was born around the end of August in 987 After Nightmare Moon. If that's the case then not only does there seem to be no Summer break, but I'll have to tell the pink one that if she must throw me a party to hold off on it until December 22. Ignoring the fact that my birthday means nothing to me, I just won't feel right having my first party in 6 years be so far off from what it's supposed to be to me.

Just as I was almost done eating breakfast, the bunny, Angel I think his name was, jumped on the table to hand me a wet paper towel. I declined the offer, put on the mask, and walked out the door after starting up Gleipnir by Adrian Von Zeigler. I knew the way to the school and decided to cut through the forest so I can avoid everyone.

Walking through the forest I grew an uneasy feeling after a few minutes. I got ready to summon Dawn and Nightfall if necessary and pulled out one of my earphones after seeing glowing yellow eyes for a few minutes. After they became more frequent I picked up the pace to school, it'll be difficult to fight unknown assailants in a closed space like this where I can easily leave myself open if I get my weapons caught on a tree. They seem to have picked up the pace as well, but the school was in sight now. I could fight there if they followed, and it's still early so no one should be there yet. I care enough about dying to not make it easy or enjoyable for my killer. Once I made it to the open area by the school I turned around to face what was following me.

One of those things jumped at me from a good 30 ft away and it got my right shoulder deeply, I'll definitely need stitches and more if how much it's bleeding is as bad as I think it is. Afterward it just stood there long enough for me to look where it came from and I had to dodge this one as well. I ran close enough to the school to have my back towards it to get a clear view of these things and the forest behind them. My right arm isn't going to be too useful for this so it looks like I'm stuck with what would be my shield arm. Getting a good look at them they look like small, big headed children with antennas and can't keep still if their erratic movements are anything to go by.

I counted 7 of these things in front of me. The one that attacked me first leaped at me again, but I stepped out of the way and it face planted into the wall. I summoned Dawn and ended that one while it was open, it just evaporated into a dark mist or something like that (6). I looked to the others and wanted to try something, I threw Dawn at one, but it missed and hit another doing the same thing to it (5). I was too focused on the ones in front of me that I failed to notice one was missing, that same one cut my left leg as deeply as the other cut my shoulder. I screamed out in pain as I found I was able to call back Dawn, reverse gripping it with the blade facing my arm and swung behind me as hard as I could killing it (4).

I was having difficulty standing now, and me being down an arm wasn't helping. 3 of them leaped me at once and I just stared down these things as I waited for death to come. A split second before they hit me I heard the voice from the Castle when I picked up Dawn and Nightfall say one word to me.

Fire.

One word, and it was over. I shouted "fire" as loud as I could as I swung to my right. Flames coated my weapon as they burned away at these things. They died just as they came in reach of my weapon (1). The last one somehow shrunk itself and was literally flat on the ground. It moved to just a few feet away and kept my weapon locked on to it, ready to cast fire again. The second it rose out of the ground I shot it. That makes 7 I thought as I crawled to the school to lay back against the wall, I didn't even hear the voices of those 3 annoying girls or Cheerilee shouting my name as I dozed off. Today's off to a GREAT start.

How long were they here and how much did they see I wondered in my last moments of consciousness.

Chapter 6

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Cassiel POV

'Hello Darkness my old friend' is what I would say if I wasn't floating in the Void again. I'm either dead, dying, or unconscious right now, probably unconscious AND dying. Well it was fun while it lasted. I'd give everyone 2 days tops before they carry on with their lives as if nothing happened, maybe even realize this is probably for the best. I can finally after 6 long years of Anguish and later near complete Emptiness be at peace.

Cheerilee POV

"GIRLS!" I shouted over their screaming. We needed to move fast and them panicking like this isn't helping Cassiel anymore than doing nothing.

"But ms. Cheerilee-" Applebloom started, but I had to stop her there.

"I need you three to help me. Applebloom, I want you to go get Fluttershy as she is his legal guardian. Sweetiebelle, I want you to get Twilight. Scootaloo, I want you to go to the hospital and tell them we need immediate medical attention here. I'll stay here and do what I can for him." Though the only thing I can do is try to slow down the bleeding. If it's as bad as I think it is then he may have had an artery or 2 cut. Fluttershy told me he wasn't a pony so his anatomy could be different in any number of ways from ours, or anything else on Equis for that matter.

"Will he be-" Sweetiebelle started, but I stopped her as well.

"Just go get them!" I nearly shouted, finally getting them to get help.

As they went off to get help, I went inside to find some rags or bandages, anything to use really. The First Aid kit didn't have any bandages and I couldn't find any rags so I used the next best thing. I tore off my sleeves and wrapped them tightly around the wounds. I just hope that will be enough to get him to the hospital if nopony can use healing magic.

Cassiel POV

What in Dante's Nine Circles of Hell is that noise? It sounds like people panicking and I think crying? This is supposed to be the Void not whatever this has become. Really doubting it's the Void or some other afterlife I would know thanks to some white, red haired alicorn or whatever the princesses called themselves.

"You are in the Lane Between Life and Death." She said.

"Do me a favor and finish what those things started then." She looked at me shocked, as if this is the first time anyone said this to her. I turned around to walk away from her, but she stopped me.

"Why do you wish to die? Surely there is something you care about enough to continue living?" If you're a Goddess then you're doing an even worse job than Him, and you have to suck really bad or try really hard to accomplish that.

"I have nothing to live for and nothing to lose. Anything that does want me to live must have the innocence of a child and then some." I turned my head just enough to see her.

"What were those things anyway?" I asked.

"They are called Heartless. Creatures of Darkness brought into a world through a number of ways. A specific keyhole, controlled, or lured by one of two things: A keyblade wielder which is what you are or a heart Dark enough to gain their attention. Those hearts can also fall to Darkness and create a new Heartless. They feed off of the Light, the hearts of others." Funny how all that fits together I thought.

"Besides my weapons and ever so obvious 'Heart of Darkness', what does this have to do with me?" She changed our surroundings to look like a living room fit for royalty living out of a castle and sat by the table in the middle, inviting me to sit on the other end. I took up the offer as she conjured some tea.

"Care for some?" I want to ask why, but I know the answer already.

"No."

"Hm, pity. To answer your question I want to ask something of you." No, just no.

"I know what you're going to ask and the answer is no. Your little 'war' of Light and Dark means nothing to me." She looked at me like I just slapped her.

"No?" She asked

"What reason is there to fight in this Eternal Conflict? It's a never ending cycle that if by the off chance there is an end to it, it's not an end worth fighting for." She stared down at the cup for a few moments before asking another question.

"What end do you see?"

"Darkness. The cycle goes like this: Light and Darkness will wage savage war, but never truly tip the scales one way or another. An ending that will never happen isn't worth fighting and dying for. Either the war will never end, or the Light will expire. A recent example of how that war is fought can be found in the history of Nightmare Moon."

"How do you believe this war is fought?" I'm so glad you asked.

"It was Light that struck first, out of fear it did. Dark wanted justice, but no matter how it was obtained the Dark was still hated and feared simply for existing so it became the monster Light wanted. That is a simplified way of explaining how the war started."

"And the way the two fight?" She asked again, her shoulders shaking.

"Light will burn away the Dark, and Dark will extinguish the Light. Both decide which side everyone is on, the how is different and at the same time irrelevant as long as sides are taken and battles are won. Light and Dark, tragedy can easily push someone to the Light, but just as easily pull them to the Dark." She is shaking even more now as I continued my rant now standing again and facing away from her.

"Light will reject Light and cast it into the Dark and it will do so for no other reason than because it is right and fair either way. The Dark will hide, corrupt, or consume the rejected Light. The Light will gladly purge the other Light so long as the Dark ceases to exist. The Dark wants to end this pointless cycle and will gladly use the same tactics to end what the Light started and wants to continue." I heard sniffling behind me and turned to face her.

"You couldn't be any closer to the truth." She said just loud enough for me to hear her.

"It's my fault. *sniffle * All of it is my fault!" Great, another crying woman. At least this one isn't crying for me.

"Let me guess, you're the 'Goddess of Light' of this world?" She looked up at me then shut her eyes, unable to look me in the one eye she can see.

"Yes!" She nearly shouted.

"You must be pretty desperate to ask not just a stranger, but a kid with no desire to help anyone even himself to help you end your war. A war YOU started no less." She shot out of her seat and threw her teacup into a wall.

"YES! I DID IT! AND I REGRET EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED BECAUSE OF IT!" She shouted loud enough I had to cover my ears and she collapsed shortly after.

"You regret nothing, like everyone else you just can't handle the consequences of your actions or lack thereof. It's people like you who prove Balance is impossible, that Light or Dark must cease to exist for a lasting peace to become a reality." Where the hell is the damn door?

"No. If I could fix things between my sister and I, I would have done it already." She said just loud enough to be heard.

"You would only restart the cycle later anyway. You may as well finish what you started, and I refuse to fight in your war unless there is something in it worth fighting for and an end to the war is certain in my lifetime. Unfortunately for you there is nothing you could offer that I would want." I said walking to her.

"No." She stood back up to look me in the eye.

"There is one thing I could offer you." Bullshit.

"And what is it you could offer me that she can't? Better question, if I'm the one who dan tip the scales then why hasn't she tried to make a deal with me?" Your sister may have sent those Heartless after me, but I can now see she didn't intend for me to die.

"I do not know why my sister, Raven hasn't tried to contact you. As for what I can offer, I can give you back your family and erase your all the memories of that day."

I didn't hesitate to summon Dawn and Nightfall.

Chapter 7

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Cassiel POV

I looked at the still unnamed "Goddess of Light" with what could only be called pure hatred. She is either really stupid or really desperate to win this clearly one sided war. I'm sorry, let me correct myself. She must be really desperate to have Raven back, but the Laws of Existence state such a thing is impossible. She was at least smart enough to back off.

"Would you care to repeat that? I thought I heard you say you could revive my family. And if I were you I would choose my next words very carefully." I said tightening my grip on Dawn and Nightfall.

"That is what I sa-" I threw Dawn at her and barely missed her as she stepped to the side. I rushed to her and held Nightfall to her throat.

"There are so many problems with this little 'offer I can't refuse', especially since it's coming from Divinity." I called back Dawn and held it at the ready in a reverse grip.

"I-I don't follow." Yes you do.

"If there's one thing Gods and Demons have in common, it's that they see mortals as nothing more than playthings. From serial rapists like Zeus or spiteful, envious Gods such as Athena that make monsters like the Gorgons for being victims of a crime to sadistic, power hungry Gods like Da Ji." Why the Hell aren't you resisting?

"I'm not like the Dieties you know." She tried to reason.

"What reason do I have to believe that?" I asked pushing Nightfall against her throat.

"Even if there were no consequences or loose ends to deal with in your offer, what reason do I have to believe I would be able to enjoy it? What guarantee do I have that you would let us all live happy lives in Equestria after I've outlived my usefulness? Who's to say they would even recognize me after almost 7 years much less accept what I've become? How about what happened to my mother and sister that day?"

"I can make it w-" She started.

"No you can't. Even if you could there is one thing stopping you: I told the God that sent me here to never let me see or hear from another human again! Even if you could bring them back, what makes you think He is going to just let you rip their souls from Heaven or Hell, restore their bodies, rob their graves, and bring them here? I should have you know He is also the supposed Alpha, THE Creator of Existence. If that is true then he is the only reason you and Raven exist, if that's true then He is the God above you." She tried to respond, but couldn't find the words. I dismissed my weapons and walked away.

"Believe me, I want them back more than you know." My eyes were filling up with tears, not blood for the first time in years.

"I want to hear my parents say they're proud of my accomplishments, few they may be. I want to feel the joy and comfort only a family can give. I want to enjoy my mother's cookies and play catch or go fishing with my father. I want to hear my little sister sing as she draws pictures that in a few years would probably belong in a museum or be sold for enough money that she would have nothing to worry about. I want to make up for all the birthdays and holidays we missed." I heard the Goddess take 2 steps toward me only to be stopped by me summoning Nightfall and dismissing it just as quickly.

"I want a home, a place I KNOW I'm wanted. I want to be reminded of what it's like to feel loved. I want to remember what it's like to feel something other than hatred, rage, despair, spite, apathy, or emptiness." I repressed the emotions I momentarily lost control of.

"Tell me, do you honestly see this little war of yours ending in a way you can be satisfied with? Especially now that you've officially tried to get me involved to clean up your mess?" She just looked down at her hands.

"I at least want to try to find that ending. Hasn't she already involved you anyway?" I can't find the right words to describe how that question makes you look.

"If she thinks anything like how think she does then those Heartless served several purposes. That attack would've been an act of mercy had I died. Otherwise she wanted to see how useful I would be as I am now and whether or not I would side with you after you contacted me the first chance you got. I'm just making this up as I go and now I wouldn't be surprised if she was listening in on us. I probably surprised her more than I surprised you." How do I get out of here damnit?!

Raven POV

All I can do is stare, unblinking at what my Dream Watchers (not related to or to be confused with Nightmares or Dream Eaters) have to show me. While I'm not what you would call impressed with how poorly the colt handled a few lowly Shadows, I will say he was creative in how he fought. Now face to face with that traitor, Faust, and his first response is to tell her no and provide a very accurate summarization on how and why this war is even happening. I was honestly expecting him to accept his role, but his little rant showed me he wouldn't. Then when the one thing he wants most is offered to him he responds by attacking her and proceeding to tell her why such a thing isn't possible.

In all these years I had forgotten how interesting mortals can be. Anypony else would have jumped at the opportunity to assist their Goddess, their loyalty guaranteed by something like what she offered. Especially for somepony as young as him everything that's happened in the past few minutes came as so much of a surprise that I couldn't help but laugh. Never have I seen a mortal with as much Darkness in their heart as this Cassiel does and not see them fall to it. Faust going to him surprised me somewhat as I expected her to force him to act against his will or destroy him right there. His Darkness is even greater than Sombra and Grogar, and I had to mold them into what they became before Grogar's heart and body were reduced to nothing and Sombra decided to be a sore loser. If they had continued to study under me, I'm sure they would've actually been in control and not the Darkness itself.

I can't remember the last time a mortal said no to Divinity or Faust at least and the offer she had to give. For the second time in my life I'm tempted to just go to a mortal and make them mine. That first stallion was one of the best things to happen to me. I remember how terrified he was of me at first, but I slowly gained his trust and eventually his love. While we were unable to have any foals he was by my side through his life. He never let go of his Light, but that didn't stop him from embracing the Dark, or me.

Cassiel may be a damaged colt if my Watchers peering into is mind while he sleeps are to trust, but he is without a doubt the most interesting I've seen in a LONG time. "My Darkness and what little remains of my Light are mine and mine alone" he said once. For a colt in his early teens he has a better understanding of Light, Dark, and this cycle Faust foolishly started. His views on Gods were quite refreshing as well. Looking at him as he is now though I can't help but feel more than just sympathy for him. I may be the Dark Queen, but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of understanding mortals as well as they do for each other. Through his mask I saw a colt who can barely look himself in the mirror lose control for the first time in years, all thanks to a deal meant to help him heal.

He is among the few mortals I have had genuine interest in. While I feel he could be the most valuable piece in this little war, at the same time I don't want to use him, even I have limits. For the fourth time in my life, I actually want to leave a mortal alone, but I also want to be a major character in his life. I think I'm already feeling a sort of attachment to this colt.

Now I want to see how things play out. I might give him a few gifts first though. I'm confident he could safely use the Dark Corridors and as the second to use both Way to Dawn and Path towards Nightfall, I believe he could use them to their fullest extent. It's been too long since I've seen Price of Exile or Mark of Ascension.

Chapter 8

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Raven POV

I'm still watching events in the Lane Between Life and Death unfold as I think of how to meet the colt. He will need training if he is to never lose his heart, but for the moment he has it under control. I suppose I could just go to him in his dreams, but I doubt I'll get much better reception than Faust who finally took two seconds to properly introduce herself. As I said, I don't want to involve him, but it may not be avoidable. Whether it's because of my own desire or how valuable he is.

Nothing says I have to meet him as "Raven" though. I'm sure that if he doesn't pass it off as a coincidence that he'll be able to put 2 and 2 together and discover it's me. Before that happens though I hope to give him his gifts and make sure he doesn't fall to his Darkness. Unfortunately I'll have to put him against Heartless from time to time, but that could give an opportunity to teach him to fight as well as help him heal. Faust won't do it and even though he is the only one in the world capable of truly killing Heartless no one will teach him just because of his age. Ignore the fact it takes 3 of them to kill a single Shadow or Soldier and only 1 strike from Cassiel who mentally speaking is close to if not an adult to do so, no, they're going to focus on the fact he isn't old enough to have graduated from school yet. I've seen his memories and he was close to finishing high school which is the sad part about that considering how old the students usually are before they graduate.

I think I know just how to introduce myself.

Cassiel POV

I'm finally waking up, unfortunately it had to be in a hospital bed again. Twice in the past week and from the looks of it I'm in the same room as before. My arm looks to have needed stitches, same as my leg. That's going to hurt for a while and knowing my luck I'll have to do something to reopen them. Thinking back to that fight my mind immediately went to the end and what that fire was. I got out of the bed being cautious of my leg and opened the window to try something. I summoned Dawn and pointed it into the air.

"Fire."

Fire swirled around the weapon before condensing itself at the tip and launching itself about 50 feet and burning out. I wanted to try something else with it and shot another fireball with the intent of seeing if I could detonate it, to my surprise I could. I closed the window, got back on the bed and waited for someone to come in. I didn't have to wait long though as Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Redheart, and the princesses walked through the door. Fluttershy immediately pulled me close and started crying (is this going to happen every day now), saying she should have been there.

"You can stop any time you know." I told her. Rainbow slammed her hands on the bed.

"What the hay is your problem?! She was worried sick about you and the first thing you do is tell her to shut up?" No Rainbow.

"That was me being polite, but if you want me to be rude I can do that and break her in the process?" Give me a reason to.

"Gggrr I give up! How she puts up with you I can't understand." Good for me.

"Believe it or not, very easily." Twilight stepped in finally.

"Alright that's enough you two! Cassiel, could you please tell us what happened? All we were told was you were attacked by monsters, but when we got there we didn't find anything that could have hurt you." Let's just get this over with.

"The mare who came to me in my dream called them Heartless. Creatures of Darkness that consume the hearts of others, or I guess they count as souls. Me being in possession of not one but 2 keyblades makes them want me even more. Hearts of Darkness also attract them." Twilight looked at me questioningly as did Celestia to Luna.

"I'm sorry, but did you say a mare came to you in your dream?" Luna asked.

"Such a thing is a talent of Luna's, nopony else has ever been able to do so and she has been with me all day." Celestia said.

"You mentioned a keyblade, what is that?" Twilight asked. With a sigh of frustration I summoned both keyblades.

"These are keyblades. Weapons forged from varying degrees of Light and Dark that choose a wielder best suited for them. Apparently not only are these the only weapons truly capable of killing Heartless, but me having 2 of them is like a grand feast for them. I'm sure I don't need to tell you the other reason I was targeted." All of them looked at me fearfully.

"About that mare?" Luna asked again as I dismissed the keyblades.

"A foolish 'Goddess of Light' told me a lot, also confirmed many of my beliefs in her attempt to recruit me into her Eternal Conflict with her counterpart. Needless to say I told her that her war means nothing to me and I will have no part. The fact she tried to bribe me just denied any hope of me choosing her side."

"And what did she offer you?" Celestia asked.

"She made an offer no one else could have said no to. She offered to give me back something that was taken from me and undo a lot of damage that happened as a result of that day." Rainbow was next to speak.

"Would you care to tell us what that something was?" Luna's eyes were slowly tearing up as Rainbow asked, believing she knew what the offer was and she was right.

"Tell me what you cherish most. Something that cannot be replaced or forgotten. Losing it being the beginning of your nightmare in the waking world and eventually leaves you alone with nothing. You do have something actually, hatred, rage, despair, and on good days emptiness." I summoned Dawn and just stared at the eye just above the hilt as Rainbow looked ready to fight me.

"WHAT THE BUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU???!!! WHY WOULD YOU REFUSE AN OFFER LIKE THAT, FROM A GODDESS NO LESS???!!!" She shouted.

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy said scolding her.

"As I said before, there are a lot of things wrong with me. Me and Divinity don't exactly get along and the offer whether she meant it to be or not was one sided. Gods tend to see mortals as play things. I could tell you of several gods that just loved to screw people over. Why there was one Goddess of Wisdom who punished one of her priestesses for being raped by the God of the Seas on her alter, turned her and her 2 sisters into monsters that petrify people if their victims look at their eyes. She also made them absolutely hideous. That is Divinity being merciful." To say they looked disgusted by even the thought of punishing the victim of a crime for being the victim is an understatement.

"How was the deal one sided?" Twilight asked after a minute of silence. And yes, I counted 60 seconds.

"The God that sent me here, I told him I never want to see or hear from him or another human again. Do you really think the supposed God of Creation would break that? Or that he would allow one of the gods beneath him to break it? I have no reason to believe I would have been able to enjoy what I would have received for long. I have no reason to believe that deal wouldn't have made me a slave to that Goddess so I would fight in a pointless war with no end in this or the next eternity."

"So let me get this straight. You were offered the deal of a life time, and a chance to be the greatest hero to ever live, and you said no? ARE YOU AN IDIOT??!!" Rainbow shouted again.

"No. I'd say I'm acting quite rationally with all the information I have. Did you know it was Light that struck first? Did you know the Dark was punished and demonized for being a victim of the crime. Dark tried to be as good as the Light and no matter how successful it was, it was still undeniably evil for being born in the other realm. The only thing the Dark is guilty of is living up to standards that was forced on it. It didn't choose to be evil, the Light made that choice instead." She threw her arms into the air.

"I give up, there's no point in dealing with you!" She said.

"Then leave, it's not like you were wanted much less needed here in the first place. No one's stopping you." Fluttershy tightened her grip on my left arm. No idea when she even grabbed it.

"Cassiel. She came bec-" a nurse came in accompanied by a guard interrupting her.

"Princess! There's monsters attacking the town." He said.

"What kind of monsters?" Luna asked.

"We're not sure. They just appeared out of nowhere and started attacking everypony!" For me Raven? You shouldn't have."

"Let me guess, they look like little shadow monsters and the ones that don't instead have black heart shaped emblems with red outlines and a red X in it?" I asked. He looked at me shocked I knew what he was talking about.

"Yes, how d-"

"Looks like you lot get to fight the Heartless yourselves." I said interrupting the guard and getting out of the bed.

"And where do you think you're going?" Celestia asked stopping me.

"You should feel greatful I'm in the mood for playing the hunter. After all I'm the only one with the means of killing them." I used Nightfall to keep my balance as I tried walking through the door.

"Not in your condition you're not. It's nice to see somepony as young as you so eager to help, but the guard is trained for this kind of thing so let us handle it. Together with the guards stationed here we should be more than enough." The guard said. He's going to regret those words.

"I guess dying together is teamwork after all. Don't expect me to help you when you find your defense to be lacking." I said to the guard before getting back on the bed. He scowled at me before running out the door with the sisters, Luna stopped just before leaving.

"Stay here all of you. We can't have you being attacked out there." And like that she was gone.

Next time leave one of your guards as a meat shield at least. These two will be less than useful in keeping me alive if my life is that precious to you. Just as I finished that thought another guard came into the room. She was different from the rest considering they all looked the same. She was a unicorn, a light shade of not exactly white or grey, had a black mane and red eyes.

"The princess left me here to watch over you three until the monsters are dealt with." She gave an assuring smile.

"You can call me Nevermore." She introduced herself.

I just looked at her through my mask wondering if this was really happening.

Chapter 9 part 1

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Cassiel POV

I'm still trying to process this whole situation. Heartless are attacking immediately after I wake up and now I'm under the protection of this "Nevermore". It could be a coincidence, but more often than not it isn't. I doubt Raven is trying to kill me and I doubt she's trying to kill the others. If this is Raven then that just about confirms it, but why would she attack an entire town just to get near me? There are many more subtle ways of going about this like what Faust did. Just what is she after?

"Is something wrong?" Nevermore asked getting close to the bed, breaking my line of thought. I shook my head.

"No, just thinking. Not like I can do anything else right now." She backed off and turned to the door.

"So what is this about keyblades or whatever?" She asked like she didn't know.

"If you heard that name then you already heard the rest of what I said. That would mean you should know I'm one of the reasons the Heartless are here." She looked back to me.

"Well don't worry kid, we've got this under control. None of these 'Heartless' will reach you." She said tapping her sword.

"Heh, I don't care about those guards nor do I care if they reach me. If they want to fight without their best and possibly only useful weapon then let them. I took out several of those things alone in my injured state and I could do it again if I wanted." She lit up her horn and put on a wicked smile.

"Is that so?" She asked as Rainbow, Twilight, and Fluttershy fell over unconscious.

"Okay I'll bite, what was that?" I asked as she pulled out a vial with a light green liquid from a pouch on her belt.

"I just put them to sleep, they'll wake up about the same time we return, forgetting the last 2-10 minutes." She pointed to the vial.

"This little baby heals minor injuries quickly, restores stamina, numbs the pain of what ever it can't heal, and tastes like dragon piss. Zebras may not make the best tasting potiond, but they do make very effective ones for fair prices. I've tried getting the guards to consider these in place of other medical practices, but I never have the chance to talk to the captain and the others who can bring these in want nothing to do with 'unholy magic', 'inferior methods by savages', 'mud pony knock offs', or 'voodoo and curses'." So racism is also a thing here? Seems like the princesses are doing an even worse job than I thought.

"Enjoy!" She said handing the potion to me.

"What about the princesses? Won't they be pissed you left your post to get a child to fight with you?" I asked.

"They'll be mad yes, but they do try to look at the good in a situation. I've never fought or heard of 'Heartless' until today, but if I have reason to believe it works then I'll use it." I guess I'll play along then.

"I'm already regretting this, and that's not easy to do." I lifted the mask enough to drink the potion and I nearly threw up the second it entered my mouth. If this is what death tastes like then I might change my mind on my desire to die.

"Water?" I asked coughing, trying anything to get that taste out of my mouth. Nevermore grabbed the nearest cup and took her sweet time filling it up like she thinks this is amusing. If this is karma then I have a bitch to slap. I drank that as fast as I could, and the next 5 after that.

"Better?" She asked, trying not to laugh.

"Thank you for the potion, fuck you for not giving an accurate warning! That was as much poison as it was healthy." She shook her head.

"Actually it's best not to drink more than 3 per day. Otherwise you'll be dying of dehydration via severe diarrhea if you're lucky." What?

"Again, poison. What the fuck?" She tapped me on the head with the pommel of her sword making me grab my head in pain.

"I let the first one slide, but now I want you to watch your language. I don't care that you're my charge for now, I won't hear it from a colt your age." She scolded. I just shook my head and complied as I was in no condition to argue. Looking at my arm and leg I saw the wounds looked so much better than before, I actually saw it all healing like how some characters heal in those superhero movies. It was even doing away with the stitches. I tried standing up and had no trouble at all, no pain or discomfort. I felt lighter, better in general for some reason.

"You ready?" She asked.

"I will be after I get my cloak on." It was in the same place as last time. It needs to be knitted back together in a few spots, but it'll survive a while yet. Ignoring the fact I had a woman in the room, I went ahead and put it on before walking out with her behind me.

Nevermore (Raven) POV

I wasn't lying in anything I've said except my name. That potion was actually made by zebras to heal others and speciesm/ racism is still a problem today. Quite sad really considering Hearths Warming and the official unification of the tribes a thousand years ago. That can come later, right now I want to see Cassiel fight Heartless now that he knows what he's up against. He unlocked his magic earlier than most keyblade wielders as well, I doubt he'll have much trouble with just Shadows and Soldiers. I was going to bring in a Darkside, but that would have been too much too soon I thought. I might summon one depending on how well he handles himself against the small fry.

Exiting the hospital we saw ponies left and right running from the Heartless. The guards were actually performing worse than I thought. I suppose a thousand years of peace will do that, but it's pathetic to see even a single guard run, even more so that it's a dozen guards running and that it takes 5 guards to kill one Shadow, and that's with magic and temporary weapon enchantments. The princesses are the only ones doing any real work, but with Luna still in her weakened state, Celestia having to pick up her slack and defend her ponies, well let's just say it's a good thing I didn't bring any of the big Heartless, especially since so many are trying to hide in the Town Hall.

I took a moment to look at Cassiel and could almost feel from him a desire to leave them to their fate, as if he feels doing so would properly punish everyone for being so weak and cowardly it should be a sin. With a sigh of disbelief (whether it was out of why he was doing this or the situation in general I don't know) he summoned Dawn in his left arm and put his right in his pocket before walking to the scene. Needing to play the part I drew my own sword and temporarily enchanted it with ice. One of the Shadows jumped at him aiming for his head, but Cassiel simply ducked and shot a fireball at it before it landed.

I will say that was quick not to mention accurate. He walked towards a few guards cowering in a shield as 4 Soldiers were attacking it, forming cracks with each strike. Cassiel stopped a good distance behind the shield and looked into the sky and at the Heartless several times before once again surprising me with his creativity. He threw Dawn high above the shield before summoning Nightfall and shooting a fireball past Dawn with his free arm and detonated it sending Dawn flying down into a Soldier. Catching the attention of the guards and Soldiers he was within seconds attacked by the Soldiers.

As they were charging him he recalled Dawn and threw it again, but horizontally this time killing 2 of them and the final one was impaled by Nightfall when it leaped at him.

I may be able to bring in a Darkside sooner than I thought.

Chapter 9 part 2

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Cassiel POV

I honestly have no idea why I'm helping these fools. Either run or grab any and every sharp object and kill these things, what's not to understand? Nevermore is fine, she's killing the Heartless with no trouble at all unlike the other guards who I've had to save 3 times now. Strangely enough I see hearts float up from the emblem Heartless, but not when she kills them. Is this part of what Faust meant when she said the keyblade is the only weapon capable of killing Heartless? Questions for later, clean up this mess, then deal with everything as it comes.

On the way to Town Hall, just before the turn to it anyway I heard a scream behind me. Nevermore was the first to react and turned to the source, I decided to follow just to see who thought it was a good idea to stop running to sanctuary when it was literally around the corner. I saw a heart disappear as a new Heartless appeared in it's place, joining two other Heartless in cornering Silver Spoon. The new Heartless leaped towards Silver just a second later.

Lightning.

That voice from earlier spoke again and without delay I repeated that exact word.

"Lightning!" Just before the new Heartless hit Silver, a lightning bolt just appeared on a cloudless day and struck it, killing it as Nevermore made quick work of the other 2.

"Are you alright little filly?" Nevermore asked her only to get a sobbing Silver to latch on to her, saying something about Diamond.

"Let me guess, Diamond is dead?" Makes no difference to me if she is.

"Mrs. Spoiled Rich just left us after knocking Diamond in here!" That confirms a lot of things I've said already, though how and why she died was certainly unexpected.

Nevermore (Raven) POV

I normally wouldn't think of doing this, but this Spoiled Rich will need to die. I ordered these Heartless to only kill if the heart was dark enough with the exception of Cassiel, unfortunately that filly fit the bill. What kind of parent willingly throws her own flesh and blood to the wolves to save herself??!! Vengeance will have to come later, this filly needs to get to safety and now.

"Are we going or what?" Cassiel asked. I turned back to the filly.

"Come with us and stay close alright." Her grip tightening was her response.

"I certainly didn't like Diamond, hell I don't even like anyone, but someone is going to pay for this." Cassiel said, small, barely noticeable wisps of Darkness already coming off of him as we guided Silver to the Town Hall.

Cassiel POV

I'm not exactly pissed, I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. I'm not mad at what happened, but who did it and why. I just want to have a 'polite conversation' with a mother who abandoned her own child and her friend to save her own skin. The Town Hall is in sight now and while there aren't too many Heartless left, 4 to be exact, there is at least a dozen guards.

"Lightning." I said, killing one of the 4, the closest one to me was taken care of by Nevermore and the last 2 were taken care of by the princesses who I didn't even notice were there. They flew to me the second they saw me as I despelled my weapons.

"Cassiel, what are you doing out of the hospital? You're supposed to be resting!" Celestia said. Nevermore raised her hand.

"That would be my fault your highness. I heard what you were all talking about in the hospital and thought it would be best to get his help so I gave him one of my Zebrican healing potions. If he truly is the only one capable of killing these 'Heartless' then wouldn't it be better to have him on our side?" Nevermore said, trying to let the blame fall on her.

"Even so he is just a colt!" Luna nearly shouted.

"This 'colt' has killed more Heartless in the past few minutes than any of you have in the past hour. Do you know how many guards I've seen it take to kill even one? How many I've saved? Or how about how many ran away when they were still more than capable of resisting? Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with Filthy Rich and Spoiled Rich." I said walking past them.

"And what could you possibly need to speak with them for?" Celestia asked speeding up to me.

"I have news for them and a question for one. Keep Silver out here for a moment will you?" I opened the door and was met with everyone panicking louder than I can think. Not being in the mood for this I turned away from the door and launched an exploding fireball loud enough to silence them. Unfortunately that took quite a bit out of me, good thing is is in my suppressed state thanks to my mask.

"Could someone point me to Spoiled and Filthy Rich?" They both came to me in seconds. Filthy is concerened, Spoiled is looking at me like I'm beneath her.

"What's going on? Why do you want to speak to us?" Filthy asked.

"Tell me Spoiled, how did it feel killing your own daughter and her friend? I've always wondered what it was like to kill someone for a reason other than revenge." Spoiled raised her hand to slap me, but Filthy grabbed me first and pinned me against the wall.

"Is this a joke??!! We love our daughter more than anything! Silver was like a second daughter to us!" He said. Could have fooled me.

"Maybe to you, but what about her?" I asked pointing to Spoiled.

"I haven't seen Diamond since she left for school. How could I have killed her?" Really, you're trying that?

"Silver, come in here if you would." I yelled loud enough to be heard from outside. Silver came in and immediately ran towards Spoiled to punch her right in the nose, causing her to fall back a little.

"YOU LEFT US FOR DEAD! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT YOU MONSTER? THOSE THINGS KILLED DIAMOND, SHE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" Guards had to hold her back and the princesses looked absolutely livid.

"I'll change my question Spoiled." I summoned Dawn and held it like a key and not a sword.

"How did it feel quite literally doing the equivalent of throwing your child and her friend to the wolves and running with your tail between your legs like a coward? Wait, don't tell me because I already know the answer. She was a failure, a waste of money, a mistake. You were just cutting your losses and saving more money for yourself in the process weren't you?" Now she looks pissed, Filthy looked to be in a state of shock, and guards were already moving to arrest her.

"So what if I did?" Your confession won't save you I thought as the guards restrained her and forced her on her knees.

"What other justification did I n-" I thrusted Dawn towards her chest, just close enough to end her. This caused Light to pour out as her body started fading. Everyone looked on in shock at what I just did, but technically I can't be punished for various reasons.

"I'm not mad at the fact you killed someone, I'm mad at the fact you without a care in the world just joined the ranks of history's greatest traitors. I'm mad that a mother killed her own daughter out of greed, refers to her daughter as a mistake, and tried to do the same to her other 'daughter'." She slowly looked up at me, as if begging for me to stop this, to show mercy.

"Dante spoke of Nine Circles in Hell. If memory serves they are Limbo, Heresy, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Anger, Arrogance, Violence, and Treachery. Assuming we share the same after lives I want you to guess which one you're going to. I can prevent it though, but I'll have to do the equivalent of killing your soul, I'll have to destroy your heart." She looked at me with nothing but despair in her eyes before finally fading and her heart rising from where she was.

This makes 2 skeletons in my closet.

Chapter 9 part 3

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Nevermore (Raven) POV

All eyes are on Cassiel right now, none of them understanding what he just did in the least. Yes what he did to Spoiled was an act of mercy (mercy she didn't deserve), to set her heart free was the last thing I would have done. To think he has already learned to do so is astonishing. Normally it takes months to learn to do so, but for him it was only a few days, then again he has already learned fire and lightning so this shouldn't be nearly as surprising as it is. Unfortunately for him though he likely has a murder charge now, thankfully the keyblades have certain rules that make him innocent or at least less guilty.

Time to see about damage control. That Darkside doesn't sound like a bad idea now.

Cassiel POV

That was satisfying I thought as I watched Spoiled's heart rise and then disappear. I turned to walk back outside to get another assessment of the Heartless situation, but I was surrounded by guards pointing their weapons at me now.

"Cassiel, do you have any idea what you've just done?" Celestia asked, gripping her own halberd tighter.

"I granted her a kindness she didn't deserve, I set her heart free." She and Luna took a combat stance.

"Kindness??? What part of that was an act of kindness??? You just murdered a pony, you know what that means right?" Luna asked.

"You mean to tell me that an arrogant, greedy bitch like her spending 40-50 years in prison for second hand/ accessory to murder of her own daughter, surrounded by inmates who I guarantee you would do everything they could to make her regret being born is better than what I did?" I asked.

"Even so you still murdered her, we will have to place you under arrest." She said.

"As I said I set her heart free, there are no laws against that. To say I killed her would mean I severed all ties she had to this world and forced her into the after life. Think of it like when you release the souls a necromancer intended to use, but instead of an orb or something they are released from a living being. If someone would open their heart to her she could find refuge in them, but she would try to take over that person's body." 2 of the guards looked hesitant, but the rest along with the princesses looked a little more pissed off.

"Even if you didn't kill her you still obstructed law enforcement when they arrested her." Celestia said.

"You just restrained her, you never said she was under arrest for what reasons nor did you follow any other protocols when arresting someone. Putting someone in chains is not arresting them, it's simply putting them in chains. The reality of the situation is I didn't kill a child murderer, I set the heart of one free. Justice was served, and the victim can rest in peace. Everyone lives happily ever after now that the world has 1 less child killer leeching off of everyone."

A few more guards showed signs of a weakened resolve. It seems even they are questioning the legality of the situation when they think about the logic behind my words. The princesses did the same for a few moments before steeling themselves to finish our little argument.

"Enough! You are coming with us and that's final!" Celestia said, rallying the guards once more.

"So you're either done discussing whether or not I've broken any laws or you're taking the stupid and easy way out. It will only end poorly for you, I can promise you that."

"Is that a threat??!!" Luna asked. I shook my head.

"To say it's a threat would imply I said I was going to do something which I did not. I'm talking about the Heartless and the guarantee of defeat if you do go through with your poor judgement." Take the bait.

"What do they have to do with this?" She asked.

"The keyblade is the only weapon truly capable of killing Heartless. You kill an emblem Heartless and it disappears, I kill one and a heart floats away. What I am saying is if I kill a Heartless I end it's existence, when you kill one it returns to the Realm of Darkness and finds it's way back in this world." A look of realization dawned on everyones faces.

"So... What you're saying-" Celestia started.

"For all you know you've killed the same exact shadow or soldier over and over again. You get one life, they have infinite lives unless killed by a keyblade, they can keep losing again and again with victory always in sight, you're defeat is inevitable. They don't need to kill you right off the bat, the just need to outlast you, then they can finish you when you're no longer capable of fighting." I'm actually enjoying this.

"The law must still be upheld and you must still pay for your crimes." She stubbornly said.

"We've been over this, I haven't broken any laws whether it be because of a technicality or because I was within my legal rights to act as I did. Do you honestly intend to throw away your only chance of survival simply because someone sped up the verdict? Even if I didn't 'kill' her as you say she would have been killed or committed suicide after being starved, beaten, and raped so many times. You mean to tell me THAT is justice, but not what I did? Face it, I'm right, you're wrong, end of story, goodbye!" You're losing this, I hope you know that.

Nevermore (Raven) POV

He's holding his own quite well actually. He doesn't seem worried in the least about any consequences or lack thereof, almost as if he wanted this to happen. Judging by the lack of response to his defense I believe he has won this, still for good measure I'm going to bring in that Darkside now. Let's see how he handles himself against one of the larger Heartless while fighting off the shadows it spawns.

Reaching out into the Realm of Darkness I grabbed an odd looking one, a rare type of Darkside with red eyes, the emblem in place of that hole in their torso, large wings, and darkness seeping off of it's arms. There aren't too many differences between this one and the others aside from aggression and power, but I'm confident he can handle the emblem version and if not he'll have help on standby. The skies grew darker as the wind knocked a few signs over and a loud roar was heard by all present. Cassiel walked past the princesses to investigate and walking through a massive Dark Corridor was the Darkside.

"What is that thing?" Luna asked fearfully.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing we pissed it off when we killed it's kids." Cassiel said casually.

"Those things before were it's offspring???" Celestia nearly shouted.

"It's spawning more shadows as we speak. See it's hand planted into the ground? More shadows are rising from the surrounding Darkness." He pointed out. Hopelessness quickly found it's way onto everypony's faces, but he simply walked forward and summoned Nightfall.

"What are you doing? You can't beat that thing!" I said trying to play the part.

"Try me." Was all he said as he continued towards the threat.

Only 6 shadows were spawned, he made short work of those with an explosive fireball and a few swings from his keyblades. I've never seen one of these Darksides in action so not even I know fully of what they're capable of. It swung down with it's arm, but Cassiel stepped to the side and kept hitting it. He's attacking it wrong, but he should be able to figure out it's head is where it's most vulnerable. It pulled it's arm back snd swiped across with it's other arm, Cassiel had to use a close range fireball to get out of the way, but I can tell that hurt as he had slight difficulty getting back up.

He chose to keep his distance and wait for opportunities to attack. The Darkside stuck out it's chest as it started firing dark orbs into the sky while adding more power to them by channeling the Darkness from it's arms into the orbs. Not wanting to see what happens next Cassiel kept shooting fire and lightning at it's head and the orbs, though he only kept dispersing the Darkness making up it's body a little. If he realizes he can send those orbs back at the Darkside he will have a much easier time. The orbs were launched one by one, each spawning a few shadows after Cassiel barely dodged them.

Cassiel tried to fire a spell, but nothing happened, I'm surprised he had that much magic in him. When a shadow leaped at him it hit his mask and knocked him down, he barely had enough time to get up and escape their attempt to pin him to the ground. As he was fighting them off the Darkside swiped across, killing the shadows and knocking him a good 30 feet away into a wall. As he was struggling to stand back up he pulled out a vial with a green liquid in it. Not remembering giving him a second one I looked at my belt and saw I only had one left, I couldn't help but smile at that.

After enduring it's taste the Darkside planted it's hand into the ground again and started spawning more shadows. He channeled lightning into Nightfall and planted it into the ground near the hand, but lightning was still on it even after he let go. Shadows started rising and were quickly disposed of by lightning, he turned his keyblade into a lightning rod! He climbed up it's arm to strike it's head, adding fire to it every now and then. The Darkside now showing signs of weakness he recalled Nightfall and continued his assault now adding lightning to his strikes. When the Darkside looked ready to fall over he channeled all the fire and lightning he could into his keyblades and plunged them as deep as he could into it's eyes. The Darkside finally fell over and faded away, a heart much larger than the others seen today rising from where it stood. Even I was left speechless as this fight finally ended, the others just stared ahead trying to make sense of what just happened.

Cassiel suffered a hard landing and laid flat on his back, though no bones should be broken he should still be examined by a doctor. Today has proven one thing...

I'm going to have a new student, and perhaps in a few years Darkness may have a new king.

Chapter 10

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Cassiel POV

So that happened. I don't know if it's the exhaustion, the pain or the injuries, but I don't feel like I can stand right now. That fight took a bit more out of me than I thought it would, but I was fighting a giant while out numbered so that should have been expected. I'm surprised though I didn't have to remove my mask for the other half of my power though, probably because of that potion, but at least I'll know what to expect if I have to fight one of those things again. My thoughts were interrupted by yelling and Nevermore lifting me up.

"C'mon kid, say something. Tell me you're alright!" Nevermore said.

"Aside from feeling like I can't move on my own I'm fine." Looking away from her I focused on the princesses nearing us, both of them holding their pole weapons as one would to show they mean no harm.

"You're welcome by the way. I just saved the lives of everyone here and now unless you believe what I said or have decided to pardon me for crimes that never happened, you're going to arrest me. Which is it?" Go ahead, prove to me you're just like humans, give me reason to believe genocide is an act of kindness, an act of mercy.

"We didn't come here to arrest you, not that our guards and subjects would be very appreciative of us doing so." Luna said.

"We will however need to have a talk about this later." Of course we will Celestia.

"As long as I'm not in a cell or forced into servitude I don't care." Can we please get a move on?

We spent the trip back to the hospital mostly in silence. The pain subsided a little, but I still let Nevermore help me. She's at least proven to me I can trust her, even if she is who I think she is. I heard two voices at the end of the fight, but one I'm not going to use until later, even if I can use it now.

"Blizzard."

"Cure."

I heard these 2 shortly after hitting the ground, if Cure does what I'm expecting it to do then I can be in and out of the hospital in the day. Unless disease is very common here I'm expecting that to heal my injuries, at least then I won't need to rely on that Zebrican poison I had to drink twice.

"Cassiel, may I ask you something?" You just did Luna.

"Shoot."

"You kept saying you released Spoiled's heart instead of killing her. What's really the difference and where did you learn to do so?"

"Just because you put two questions in one sentence doesn't mean it's only one question. *sigh* To answer your first question when someone dies they go to the afterlife unless their ties to the realm of the living are strong enough like a desire for revenge or an oath beyond death. Other times the spirit becomes corrupted and stays leading to poltergeists or other dangerous paranormal creatures like it." I don't need to see their faces to know they look unsettled by the idea of such things.

"What about 'setting hearts free'?" I was getting to that.

"When a heart is set free unless it goes to either destination in the afterlife it's supposed to go the worst they can do is watch, but because they never truly died they are still targets for the Heartless. If someone opens their heart to the other person's heart they can find refuge in theirs. They could sleep, watch, empower, or try to take over the host. As for where I learned this, well whatever Faust, that Goddess of Light didn't tell me I figured out on my own." Turning back for a moment they had a look of shock, but quickly changed that back. History with her maybe?

"So that mare in your dreams explained more than just what a keyblade is?" No I didn't just explain that to you.

"As well as a few things they can do, the magic I use is apparently part of what it lets wielders do. Now enough questions, I'm too sore to endure another interrogation." She opened her mouth to say something, but Celestia stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

We arrived at the hospital which was left alone in all this and went back to my room to find Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Twilight unconscious still. The princesses immediately went to them to confirm they were fine before turning to me and Nevermore.

"Would you two care to explain what happened here?" Celestia asked, obviously not pleased by this.

"In no particular order: I said something that caused Fluttershy to faint, Rainbow took a nap and is probably dead asleep right now, and I knocked Twilight out to end her seemingly never ending list of questions." I lied as I got on the bed. I owed Nevermore that much at least. I may not be grateful and I'm certainly not a 'nice' guy, but I at least pay my debts.

"You attacked my student??!!" She nearly yelled.

"No, I pinched her neck at the right spot to do so. If I want to hurt someone I don't hold back. From cheap shots to sensitive topics I have no problem with using them. From nut shots to targeting broken bones, from insecurities to actual problems, from illness to disability, and from secrets to family. They're all fair game." She clenched her fists.

"Alright I want answers. Luna won't tell me so let's hear it! Explain your cruelty, your callous disregard for others and your own life." You asked for it.

"Fine, I'll tell you, after they are gone." I gestured to the still unconscious ponies. Nevermore carried them to the lobby as I waited for her to come back. When she did I began to tell them my life story.

"I was 7 when a psychopath broke into our home. I hid in the closet as I watched him kill my father, rape my mother, kill her, defile her corpse, and take all our money." I can feel the anger rising, begging for an outlet. Looking to the others I saw pure rage in Nevermore's eyes, Celestia already looked a mix of heartbroken and livid.

"The killer and I heard noise outside, it was my grandparents bringing back my 5 year old sister from their home, she liked to play with the animals in that zoo of a home they had. The killer took everything of value he could which was around 5 digits, my family probably live more luxurious lives than most nobles in Equestria. He ran outside, killed my grandparents with my family's weapon we've inherited for almost 100 years, kidnapped my sister, and stole their car." This is one of many reasons why I want to kill off my emotions.

"Before he could get in the car though I worked up the courage to try to save my sister, I grabbed every knife I could since a better ranged weapon was unavailable, and threw everything I had at him. I hit him a few times, but not in fatal areas. He turned around and shot me twice before driving off. Had 1 shot been a few centimeters to the left I would have died." I showed them the scars on my torso, I wish I did die that day. Celestia tried to hug me, but one summon and desummon of Nightfall got her to back off.

"I barely survived, 4 days later he and my sister were found. I couldn't even recognize her, that's just part of what he did to her, I don't to say the rest of it. Apparently money could buy you anything, and blackmail is an incredibly useful thing as he was found innocent of all charges despite DNA evidence, video evidence, eye witness a.k.a me and others that should have guaranteed him the death sentence." Their faces are all now filled with the rage I saw in Nevermore's eyes.

"I was adopted by my piece of shit uncle and crack whore aunt who both hated my parents. Cigar burns, black eyes, broken appendages, days starved, the fun stuff. The enrolled me into a new school less than a week after they took me in without my knowledge or consent and the students and staff are REAL pieces of work." Disbelief among other emotions on the anger and sadness parts of the spectrum.

"Not a day went by that I didn't hear 'nigger' or other incredibly racist things, I only knew 2 of the dozens I'd hear a day. Not a day went by that I didn't have someone mocking my dead family or me for crying about it which got me beat by them, suspended, and beat once more at home. Not a day went by I wasn't mugged by other students, sometimes with the staff watching. This was somehow unnoticed or ignored by the law and school system." I'm now seeing flames in Celestia's mane, Luna's eyes shifted back to Nightmare's, and Nevermore's arms are now bleeding a lot from how deep she's digging her nails into them.

"Three years of that hell went by and I managed to get myself ahead of others my age when I proved I was at a high school level at only 10. That other school was eventually shut down and demolished when I was able to tell the right people. Life at home was still absolute hell, but this new school was better than the other in every way possible. I had already killed off most of my emotions and kept the ones that would get me through life, I'm sure you can figure out which ones those were."

"In that same year I found the killer. It took everything I had to not kill him right there. No, I waited until night, followed him home, and after stealing money from my aunt and uncle I bought anything and everything to help cover myself. I picked the lock, spiked his $500+ wine with a paralytic drug I stole from my aunt, and waited a few hours for it to kick in. I made sure he wasn't even able to scream as I spent the next 4 hours killing him. I didn't let him lose consciousness as I broke every bone in his body, slashed his eyes, and castrated him with a rusted carving knife just to name a few." They now had fear in their eyes. Perfect.

"I dismembered him after finally killing him to make disposing of the body easier. I burned his home down while making it look like a kitchen fire combined with all his alcohol and threw his body into a pre-dug hole a few miles away. I set that ablaze as well before burying him. I disposed of other evidence like my clothes and shoes I wore to the scene. I made sure I had a solid alibi with me being in bed at midnight and the only thing linking me to him was the case with my family. I did everything right, body not found, home destroyed, the case wasn't even considered to be murder. Just he went missing at the same time his home was destroyed." Now I can't read those expressions on everyone's faces.

"You know what? After everything that happened, nothing changed." I'm now crying myself again.

"The abuse, the neglect, the pain, nothing changed, and worst of all the damn nightmares.THE NIGHTMARES DIDN'T END BECAUSE I WOULD KEEP WAKING UP TO ONE!!!" I quickly suppressed these emotions to make getting on with the story easier.

"That was when I truly made progress to killing my emotions, I realized that the secret of pain isn't knowing how to properly inflict it, but knowing how not to feel it. I learned lucid dreaming, and only made progress to who you see now. A True Death would've been, and would still be an act of kindness even now because this isn't living, it's waiting for a miracle that will never happen." I resummoned Nightfall because I knew at least one of them would try to comfort me. They both left the room leaving me and Nevermore alone. I used Nightfall to lock the door.

"Sound proof the room if you can." I said to her.

"You don't get to order me around kid." She said defiantly.

"Will you please sound proof the room if you can Raven." She didn't look too surprised to hear me say her name as she did so. Her horn glowed as the room flashed.

"There, now if you'll wait a moment." Her horn glowed again as she changed her appearance.

Wings spread out with an inky black substance hanging from them, but not dropping. Her pupils are now slitted, the whites in her eyes changed to black and are seeping black smoke. Her armor was replaced with a black dress with some armor plating, her mane now looked like an ever changing shadow that stayed at or past shoulder length, and she now had fangs.

"So Cassiel, what would you like to talk about?" Raven asked smiling as she sat down.

So this is the Goddess of Darkness hm? She's off to a good start at least.

Chapter 11

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Cassiel POV

I didn't expect this for a little while to be honest, Raven entering the picture the same day as Faust I mean. Looking at her form I can say it fits her status as Dark Goddess. Enough does come quickly though so I decided to stop examining her so we could speak.

"I'm going to come flat out and say it, you have more of my respect than Faust right now." Need to start this somehow.

"She certainly could have done a better job, the fool." She said, barely making an attempt to not say it with hatred.

"So let's get to the point. Why?" I asked.

"Why what specifically?" She asked, already knowing why.

"The interest in me, the subtlety, and the attack to name a few?" I just want to hear it from her, any of the reasons I can think of could be right or wrong.

"In order: You interest me because you're the first keyblade wielder in a very long time, wielding Way to Dawn and Path towards Nightfall, your heart is darker than my previous students King Sombra and the necromancer Grogar, and despite having a heart as dark as yours you still haven't fallen to it." Was the first reason and the details behind it.

"What's so special about these keyblades, why does my heart interest you?" I asked.

"They are siblings, polar opposites. Way to Dawn will normally choose a wielder who sought darkness and after falling to it will walk the Lane Between until they return to light. Path towards Nightfall will normally choose a wielder who sought light, but was rejected or betrayed in their eyes and after walking the Lane Between chose darkness. Only one other pony has used both, they always chose wielders who eventually try to kill the other." I'll admit that is interesting, especially since I'm fairly certain I never met the implied requirements for both, Nightfall maybe, but not both.

"And my heart?" Why mine specifically I wonder.

"I wasn't finished. They are 2 of a select few keyblades with I guess you could say an evolved state. Keyblades are already capable of changing shape even become different weapons entirely, but those 2 can become so much more. Price of Exile and Mark of Ascension are their names." She showed me a projection of both, the names not exactly fitting which keyblade turns into it.

Dawn becomes Exile. It becomes much more skeletal in appearance. The eye becomes purple, the wing near the tip almost looks like a bone claw, the guard looks like skeletal wings, and the chain looks like a skull with 1 purple eye. Night becomes Ascension. It looks more angelic to say the least. The blade turned white with a golden wing blade, the closed eye is now open and you can almost see stars in it. The wing near the tip turned into half of one of those golden rings with 3 wings like how some angels have, the guard also has white wings, that thing where the pommel would be is shaped like an alicorn, and the chain now looks like a complete version of the ring near the tip.

"I'll ask what's so special about those keyblades later. Now about my heart?" I asked a little impatiently.

"I had to mold Sombra and Grogar into what they became, without my guidance they would've fallen into their darkness and become powerful Heartless. You on the other hand have more than both of them and the closest you've done to falling to it is when it seeped out of you after we saved the filly and even that didn't last long." She said with I think some amount of concern.

"And this means what exactly?"

"In many cases it means you're close to falling, but in your case it meant your darkness was a sort of projection of your intent. It was surprising to say the least."

"Why does this matter to you?" Your answers are only adding more questions.

"You are the first in a very long time to defy my sister, the second to ever wield Dawn and Nightfall, and your outlook on life is refreshing to say the least. Especially since that outlook helped you figure out for the most part how this war began." She leaned back in her chair.

"Let me guess, she refused to punish her worshippers for bullshit reasons like 'they know not what they do', 'they would lose faith in us', or one of my personal favorite, 'you need to stop taking justice into your own hands'?" I asked and no later did she grip the chair hard enough to break half the arm rest. She let out a breath like how one would if they were suppressing their rage.

"And there you have it, by not doing her job she started everything. Rather than so much as scold them she instead let them do as they pleased, and as a result, well you can look up thestral and possibly umbrum history to give you an idea of what happened to those born of my domain." She said angrily.

"Now about the attacks?" I asked changing the subject.

"You already figured out the reasons for the first attack which showed you could be what ends this war one way or another. The second attack had several purposes. Consume hearts that were dark enough, make yourself known, test you, show how poorly equipped the guards are, and to send a message to my sister." I already have a few ideas of what the message was.

"For what were you testing me?" I want to hear this. She smiled.

"I wanted to try to gauge your potential as my first student in over a thousand years. You may not care, but I don't want to see you become another Heartless, as a sign of good will I have gifts for you." She's not telling me something, I know it.

"What are these gifts?" I just have nothing but questions today don't I?

"If you choose to become my student I can give you quite a few things. Use of the Dark Corridors will allow you to quickly travel anywhere you like including the Realm of Darkness as well as eavesdrop on others. I could teach you how to use your keyblades to their full potential in their current forms, last for now would be armor that would offer protection against light and dark." Sounds like a good offer.

"What's the catch? With all that on the table there's no way it's free." Better safe than sorry.

"Oh there is no catch, I just want to see how you impact this world with the occasional Heartless attack and my offer will help prolong your life so you may do so." She said, I still have that feeling she's not telling me something though.

"Fuck it, it's not like I have anything to lose, I'll take you up on that offer." Sometimes you have to spring the trap to learn what it is.

"Perfect! Now to do this you'll have to remove your mask for a moment." Not what I expected.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's nothing I haven't already seen, I already know what you look like." I would ask how, but I'm sure her answer is the Heartless. With a sigh I removed my mask and closed my eyes as I waited for her to do whatever. I felt something smooth wiping my cheeks and opened my eyes to see she's wiping the blood off with her wings. It took her only a few seconds to clean my face before she moved closer to the bed and pressed her lips to my cheek.

"I fail to see why that was necessary." I said as she pulled away.

"It wasn't, I just wanted to do it that way." She said with a smile.

"So what ha-" I started until I heard the sisters in the hallway. Raven quickly fixed the chair and became Nevermore again as I unlocked the door and chose to leave the mask off in case there was trouble. If letting them see my face means I can fight or escape easier I'll take it. They walked into the room and the first thing they did was stare at me. After taking a few minutes to process what they were seeing they finally said something.

"Cassiel, I would like-" Celestia started.

"Don't bother thanking me or apologizing. I didn't do it for you and your apology won't change the fact I'm a murderer in half the town's eyes, especially to those who would try to avenge Spoiled Rich. I did all that for my own reasons."

"What were those reasons then?" Luna asked.

"You should already know the answer. I was bored and wanted mercy, but they were unable to provide on the mercy part." She mouthed mercy before her eyes widened in realization.

"You wanted to die???!!!" She yelled, Celestia's eyes widened as well.

"What's the point in living when every waking moment is a never ending nightmare and you have nothing to live for and nothing to lose. If I live I live it's that simple, if I die I return to Nothingness, I win either way." They both had tears running down their cheeks again, Celestia came up to me and slapped me hard enough that it felt like she almost snapped my neck doing so.

"Why? WHY WON'T YOU LET US HELP YOU? WHY WON'T YOU GIVE US A CHANCE?" She shouted.

"What makes you think I'm worth the effort? That I can be helped? You're all no different from humans, Spoiled Rich proved that, Faust too regardless of whether or not her offer and motives were genuine. What is it I have to look forward to in a world that doesn't want me?" I said plainly, my face still facing the wall.

"How can you say such things so calmly??" She asked in a raised tone. I looked back at her with a straight face and removed my cloak so they could see all my scars. Their crying intensified.

"How much do you think I'm worth to anyone? A life is only equal to how much it has going for it. What is it my life is worth when the most valuable things I have are two giant fucking keys and pity from others? Now after today my only value to anyone else is I can kill Heartless better than anyone else, if it weren't for that my life would be worth less than the makeshift bed in the cell you wanted to put me in. Tell me I'm wrong, that I'm mistaken!" Try me, you know it's true no matter how much you deny it.

"Nothing... None of what you just said is true... I refuse to let it be true!" Luna said moving closer to the bed.

"Then what value is there in my life hm? That I'm alive? Or that I'm a child legally speaking? Let me guess, my life has value because I have 'so much potential' or there is 'hope' for me? For being a thousand years old you two are incredibly naive, so much so it makes me sick just looking at you." She and Celestia both wrapped their arms around me.

"Please, trust us. You won't have to suffer anymore!" Celestia practically begged of me. I looked to Nevermore and she nodded her head.

"*sigh* Fine. But I want you to remember this, most if not all my suffering after the deaths of my family came from betrayal, people who I was supposed to be able to trust. If you break that trust, a swarm of Heartless will be the least of your worries." I warned.

"We assure you that trust isn't misplaced!" Celestia said.

"See that it isn't."

"Princess?" Nevermore spoke up.

"Yes? May I help you?" Celestia asked. Nevermore smiled

"I would like to be stationed here from now on. Cassiel will need somepony to train him if we're to stand a chance against these monsters and we'll need better training and equipment ourselves to deal with them as well." She said.

"We will not have a child fight our battles for us!" Luna said.

"Need I remind I'm not a child? Need I also remind you that I kill them they stay dead, when you kill them they come back later? It took 3 of your guards to kill 1 lowly Shadow, it took one of me to kill that giant one and all the Shadows it spawned. If it weren't for me this entire town would have been consumed by darkness, this 'child' is clearly better equipped to fight them than several squads of guards combined." I said.

"Enough!" Celestia said before turning to Nevermore.

"Effective immediately you will be stationed in Ponyville and take command of the guards we will be sending here, you will also personally train Cassiel to combat this threat! Understood?" She said.

"Yes Princess!" Nevermore said with that same wicked smile as when we first met.

"Sister, you can't be-" Luna started.

"I wish I didn't have to be." She turned to me.

"We will be calling you two to Canterlot after school this Friday." She said before leaving with Luna. I turned to Nevermore after casting Cure on myself which healed all my injuries.

"So when do we start?" I asked.

"Tomorrow." She answered.

Shit.

Chapter 12

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Cassiel POV

I was released from the hospital the next day and had been free to do whatever for the next two. In that time Raven, or as the guard and princesses know her Nevermore has officially been assigned to me, I heard a nurse whispering about a party for me, I've been called a monster among other things when they thought I couldn't hear them, I heard about a funeral for Diamond and Spoiled, and that's about it. It was a boring couple of days waiting for my injuries to heal. I hit that wall or landed harder than I thought so I had back injuries as well as ribs.

Nevermore was assigned as my combat instructor/ protector as well as made one of the big shots in the town guard, she decided to hold off my training for until the second day, but she did teach me to use the Dark Corridors when no one was looking. Apparently they can open up to of course the Realm of Darkness, but they can also lead to a sort of 'Shadow Realm' of the world allowing you to see and hear everything without fear of detection. She also told me they can lead to other worlds that she has no influence over, but she never had enough interest in other worlds. I'm assuming that her lack of influence also means that each world has Divinity bound to it.

When I was released from the hospital though my reception left much to be desired. Apparently these ponies don't take to kindly to people releasing hearts, or killing them as they see it. Completely ignore the fact that it was an abusive, money grubbing bitch for a mother who knowingly and willingly put her own daughter in a position to be killed. Completely ignore the fact that I just saved their worthless lives. No, they're going to focus on what they interpret as murder, murder that even the guard and princesses did nothing about. I'll be sure to remember that the next time I meet a real murderer or their town is being threatened by Heartless, ungrateful pieces of shit!

I've been hearing monster, murderer, freak, and other things everywhere I go. One even tried to jump me, he got an arm broken in 5 places. Pinkie isn't acting any less annoying (though I can see the reluctance in her eyes), Rainbow is constantly spying on me, Twilight I hear is trying to find information on what I did and how as well as convince Celestia I need to be punished, Rarity and Applejack avoid me and get their sisters to as well (thank you), and Fluttershy can't even make eye contact. Fucking ridiculous.

I opened a door to the Shadow Realm when no one was around, school had ended and I doubted Fluttershy or anyone would really care if I disappeared for a few hours to go meet Nevermore at the old castle. She decided that would be our training area until she believes I'm ready for the Realm of Darkness. While I would be safe in her presence the Heartless are much stronger there while I'm supposed to be weaker, though she doubts I would feel weaker because of my 'alignment' to the dark. For the time being though she wants to teach me how to use light so I can better counteract whatever my darkness might be doing to me.

Arriving at the castle the first thing to greet me was her. She gestured for me to follow her and we went back to where I got my ass handed to me on my first night. She summoned her own keyblade. The blade was black, the teeth (or whatever it's called) made the outline of a heart, the guard was red, it didn't have a chain, and it's hilt was a dark purple. I heard a voice in my head that I had heard multiple times already. Though something was different about it.

The Keyblade of Hearts?

Nevermore turned around to face me then pointed her keyblade at a wall as she removed her disguise.

"Light back in the days of old had mostly been used for transportation, healing, and purification. There was a time when Heartless weren't even a thought, until I unleashed them upon this world with Faust reluctantly agreeing it would be better for the world in the long run. Light was then used to purge the darkness. You have already learned a simple healing spell and purged a few Heartless. You are now going to try to open a portal like so." She demonstrated opening the portal.

"If you're the Goddess of Darkness then how can you use light?" I asked as I summoned Nightfall.

"Any with a keyblade should have the power to use it regardless of their alignment. Keyblades are forged from varying amounts of light and dark, never completely one or the other, it should stand to reason this would be possible. Though because I am Darkness I can't use light unless it's from the keyblade, the same applies to Faust and darkness." She explained.

"Alright, now to the task at hand. How exactly do I open these portals?" I asked.

"Why that's simple, 'may your heart be your guiding key'." She responded with that kind of smile that screams 'you're going to be at this for a while'.

"..."

"Okay, so I'm going to need a little more to go on than something you'd hear out of a Disney movie." I said plainly.

"Disney movie?" She asked confused.

"Nothing. Old world thing." I said shaking my head.

"Either way, that is all the help you'll be getting from me during this session." She said as she created a chair and conjured a book to read. I just gave her a look like 'are you fucking serious' for a minute before starting.'May your heart be your guiding key' huh? Talk about vague.

'So any ideas Nightfall? Dawn?' I mentally asked my keyblades. I didn't get a response, I thought it was worth a try though considering the number of times I heard voices from out of nowhere. I spent at least the next hour trying to open the portal with no progress. Why do I get the feeling this is so stupidly obvious that I'm literally looking at the answer?

"The answer to what you're missing has already been said." Raven said loud enough to be heard as she set her book down and started walking to me from behind.

"And yet we're still stuck here." I said as she wrapped her arms around me causing me to tense up for a second before relaxing.

"Let me ask you something Cassiel. Where do you want to be the most right now? Doesn't even have to be a place you remember." She said softly into my ear. I thought about what she said for a moment. I want a place where I'm wanted, a place where I can enjoy living, a place I can remove my mask and not have to worry about the ignorance of others, a place I would be glad to call home. I lifted the keyblade at the wall with one final thought.

I want a place where I can learn to move on. I felt something going down my face as light shot foward from Nightfall and finally a portal was made.

"Now, to see where it is your heart wants to be." Raven said turning back to Nevermore as she pushed me forward. I touched the portal and just as quickly pulled my hand back before walking through it.

Even I'm curious to see where my heart wants to go.

Author's Notes:

I don't remember much being mentioned about the DTDs in the games. The 'Shadow Realm' only became a thing in this story because of how everyone used them. Unless they were watching and listening from out of sight they always appeared at just the right moments and sometimes with appropriate responses to what the characters said before they even made their presence known. As if they were there without being there physically like when you first see Marluxia in KH3, everytime the Organization interrupted you, or when Xemnas introduced himself in KH2.

The timings and responses sometimes were so perfect they had to be around already before they appeared.

So where should the portal lead? Answer will determine the future of the story.
Fluttershy's home?
Canterlot Castle?

Also who can guess why Raven got the KOH instead of Oblivion, Gazing Eye, or some other dark keyblade?

Chapter 13

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Cassiel POV

The portal lead to a giant room, can't really describe it because my eyes are adjusting to normal light levels. I heard what sounded like metal shifting around on a hard surface, after my eyes adjusted I saw several guards pointing their spears at me, further inspection revealed the Sisters were present and just as surprised as I was.

"Surrender now intruder!" A guard to my left demanded.

"Do you really think those are going to do anything to me?" I asked in an attempt to provoke him. Just as he was about to shout again Celestia spoke instead.

"Enough! Stand down! Cassiel, would you care to explain how and why you're in the castle?" She asked.

"No idea really. Training with Nevermore and suddenly a beam of light shot out of my weapon and a portal was the result. Apparently that portal lead here." I half lied, she doesn't need to know portals were the subject of the training session. "Speaking of Nevermore, where the Hell is she?" As if on queue she walked out of the portal just before it closed and took on a look of surprise.

"Your majesty??!! My sincerest apologies for the intrusion! We had n-" Nevermore started in character.

"Worry not. This is only a minor accident. So how have things in Ponyville been since the attack?" Luna asked.

"The town is full of ignorant and ungrateful pieces of shit. I'm the only reason they're alive and rather than thank me for saving their worthless lives they instead want to hold a metaphorical axe over my head because of Spoiled Rich. Those who aren't avoiding me are either trying to incriminate me, get rid of me, or provoke me." I answered.

"You will watch your tongue in the-" A guard started.

"I don't care." I interrupted.

"I believe that might be a fault on our part. We should have explained the situation to them after the attack." Celestia said and the guard shut up.

"It wouldn't make a difference. Most if not all of them know what I did and the reasons behind it, buuuut if they want to hold something like Spoiled over my head then I'll be sure to remember that and everything they've been doing to me the next time the Heartless decide Ponyville will make a good meal."

"Cassiel, please let it go. They don't und-" Luna started.

"They do understand and they don't care. All they care about is they think I killed someone. Ignore the fact I saved their lives, ignore the fact the person I 'killed' was an abusive mother who killed her own daughter and nearly killed her friend for no other reasons than money and dissatisfaction with her daughter. No, they focus on someone dying because of a direct action from someone else." I interrupted. Seeing she has no grounds to stand on she backed off. Really, for royalty they're pushovers.

"Will it be acceptable if we try to sway them?" Celestia asked.

"Don't bother. Ignorance is bliss right? Then they'll die with smiles on their faces. I have a better idea, I'm cashing in on Luna's offer back at Fluttershy's tree home, whatever her home would be called." Luna perked up at this.

"What have you decided?" Luna asked.

"I'm moving in. Reserve an area for me and Nevermore exclusively, and if I must go to school here as well I expect a lot of leeway if other students cause trouble." Everyone became shocked at this. The guards even more so.

"You don't get to just bar-" A guard started.

"Sssshhhsssshhhsssshhhsssshhh. No one was talking to you, now obey your master's original order and stand down and out of this like a good dog." I interrupted. This pissed him off enough he tried to bludgeon me with the bottom of his spear. I summoned Dawn to catch his spear between the hilt and the guard to shift it away from me and summoned Nightfall by his throat. Everyone was now pointing their spears at me, and I think I was enjoying myself for a moment.

"Cassiel that's enough!" Luna shouted as she levitated me away. I desummoned my weapons in response.

"Are we in agreement?" I asked.

"If this is what you want then we'll keep to our word. Bright Glare, escort Cassiel to a bedroom close to mine or my sister's. Nevermore, stay here for a moment." The guard signalled for me to follow him so I did and was lead past several ponies who looked like the stereotypical noble. Most looked at me as if I was beneath them, but I'll let them keep thinking that, it'll just become that much sweeter when I kick them to the curb. The walk to the room was uneventful, though when we reached it the guard did glare at me. He tried to threaten me, but doors to the face tend to block it out.

Maybe an hour passed before anything happened. A bird landed on the balcony, that's it. Sometime after it flew away did Nevermore come in.

"Plans changed quickly kid. Heh, to summarize they want us to live in rooms close to each other, command over Ponyville's guard is changing, and more. You won't be around for a few changes so I won't bore you with them. The only ones that'll affect you are a school transfer" damnit "and the location we train." She said.

"So nothing I didn't expect then?" I asked and she nodded.

"Now on to the next thing. I know I said we would be focusing on the portals, but I expected it to take longer. Now we're going to focus on weapon forms." She said getting a raised brow from me.

"Do you mean fighting styles or something else?"

"I mean the shapes and capabilities of your keyblades. Most keyblades have at least one transformation. One can turn into dual crossbows with tracking arrows while another can turn into a whip and a shoulder mounted beam cannon. That is just for combat, many can also turn into forms of transportation." She explained.

"Really? Good to know. Now what can these do?" I asked while summoning Dawn and Nightfall.

"My only hint about the transportation part will be the shapes of the blades and guards. The weapons can become longbows, twinblades, scythes, or shuriken, though the transportation part is also a weapon sort of. This is actually easier than the portals in most cases. Just will the keyblades into changing shape."

"That easy huh? Alright." The parts she mentioned are all wings. If I'm right each wing is both a weapon and more wing power, that's up to eight wings, if I can decide which wings are used I could turn these into sabres or just strange looking swords without guards. Doing as she instructed it turned out she wasn't joking, I looked behind me and saw four wings floating near my back, I looked down and saw the wings on the backs of the blades and hilts were gone.

"Exactly as I told you. Now there is one last thing I want you to do." She said.

"And that is...?"

"You are going on a tour of worlds. This is very early, but I'm starting your Mark of Mastery exam now because of your rate of improvement." She said with a light smile on her face.

"Tour of worlds? Mark of Mastery?" The Hell is she going on about?

"Your exam will consist mostly of traveling to other worlds, what you do if anything is up to you, the final part of your exam will be take place here. Observe, save, destroy, it doesn't matter. Do as you wish, as long as you have seen and experienced enough of the world before you leave. And don't worry about time, as the Goddess of Darkness I get the final say on how time flows when darkness is involved in this world." Really now?

"So in other words as long as I use the Dark Corridors to leave this world time will be significantly slower here than the other world?" That'll be convenient.

"Correct. Now I want you to promise me something." She said moving closer to me.

"What?" She bent down some and pulled me into a hug, this time though I had a strange feeling in my arms, but I didn't reciprocate the hug.

"Promise me you will return." She hugged me tighter.

"Sorry, but I don't make promises, I will however try to come back." She pulled away and stood straight up to look down to me.

"That will have to suffice for now then." She opened the Corridor, but this one had some red unlike the others "This will lead to a circular room in the Realm of Darkness, look for another Corridor like this and it will take you to another world. It won't be long before you find one. When you are done just open a Corridor while thinking of world traveling, think of Equestria to return." She instructed.

"I'll see you later then." I told her, but she stopped me before I could leave.

"One last thing, your armor I promised." She handed me a gauntlet and fit it under my sleeve."Press where your shoulder is." I did so and the armor didn't look too bad, matched the weapons too, Dawn at least.

(Imagine it with a hood and Cassiel's mask)

"It fits nicely. I guess I'm off then."

"Come back safe." I waved as I walked away into the Corridor. There were four to choose from, I chose one at random and pitch black was all I saw for a few moments.

"The Cardinal Heroes have been summoned!" I heard someone shout immediately after exiting the Corridor in an alleyway.

What did I just get myself into?

Chapter 14

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Cassiel POV

Walking out of the alley way I saw people gathering around talking about whoever these Cardinal Heroes were. I was very tempted to start wreaking havoc having seen they were all human, but I remembered my demand to God and the choice of words I used regarding humans and chose not to. Listening to everything around me I learned this world is under threat from these "Waves of Catastrophe" and these heroes were summoned to fight them off. Since the likelihood of anything important happening on the first day was low I took this time to find a library and skim through this country's history. Unfortunately the language wasn't known to me, fortunately something happened to allow me to read them in English. So I skimmed through it and really only focused on recent history.

After several hours I found an inn and paid for a room and food. The man questioned the gold as it was too much and the design was different, but he took it after confirming it was real and offered a fresh meal tomorrow, fit for a king he said. I still slept in the Shadow Realm to better avoid unwanted visitors. Morning came and I quickly finished the food promised to me before I made my way to the castle. I figured it was a fast way to get stronger and safer to practice the other forms of these weapons. After entering the castle with no one knowing of my existence I found the throne room, it was relatively crowded, though I should've expected that. The four heroes were going on about parties and how unfortunate the Shield Hero, or Naofumi as someone called him, had no one willing to pair up with him. That is until one of the Spear Hero's companions volunteered, I don't know why, but she's giving off that "mega bitch" vibe.

"Ah well, so be it. It appears we will have to take other measures then. Master Naofumi, you will have to recruit for your party yourself." King Aultcray said.

"Oh, right." Responded Naofumi. I decided now to step in.

"If I may, I think I'll join with him as well for the time being." I said exiting the Shadow Realm. Almost immediately after did I get more spears to my face.

"What is the meaning of this??!! Who are you and how did you get in here?" Aultcray shouted across the room.

"In order: I just answered the first question, my name is Cassiel, and you just saw me exit a black abyss. You tell me how I got here." I answered getting a growl from one of the guards.

"You expect us to believe that's it? Some cloaked man wearing a mask just comes into-" He stopped once I removed my mask.

"I'm not cleaning this mess." I said as blood dropped from my face and mask onto the carpet. I put the mask back on as I walked to Naofumi. "I can think of a lot of uses for a shield, I trust you'll be able to do your part and more." I said as I got close.

"Moving on then. Every month we shall provide the Heroes with the funds they require. This one time however Master Naofumi's payment will be higher than the others. Here are your initial war chests, accept them with our thanks." Aultcray said.

"The Shield Hero receives 800 silver coins while the rest of you receive 600 silver." The man next to Aultcray said.

"Procure all necessary equipment and set forth." Aultcray ordered, to which the Heroes responded with 'sir'.

A trip to the blacksmith revealed a friendly little rule about the Shield. No weapons, though I wondered if that applied to other shields, a question for later I suppose. Naofumi spent 120 silver, a nice dent in his wallet. Bitch suggested we go to battle some monsters in the fields outside the city. Nothing but balloon monsters out here. She just hid by a tree as we did all the work. Naofumi was doing it the hard way. He feels no pain when they bite him, but would rather beat them to death than keep them occupied and let me do it. Small, airborne targets like these though made my bow and shuriken transformations almost useless so I used the twinblade transformation of Dawn, I'll stick with one of the big weapons until I'm confident in my ability to use two.

Before we officially called it a day we made one last trip to the blacksmith.

"Gear for the lady hm? You'll certainly be much stronger decked out with good equipment." The blacksmith said.

"Right?" Bitch said as she lifted a sword and turned at him.

"This might get expensive, so I suppose I should start haggling now." Naofumi said.

"Really? Seems our Hero fancies himself a comedian." The smith replied.

"80% off." Naofumi said. I snapped my head to him.

'Are you fucking retarded?' I thought.

"20 extra!" The smith responded like he was insulted. They're about to argue aren't they?

"Why is it going up? 89% off!" Yup.

"Anyone who tries to haggle before even seeing the goods deserves to pay double!" He slammed his fist on the counter.

"Yeah yeah 90% off!"

"Grr 29% more!"

"Stop raising it! 100% off!" This is my life now. Surrounded by idiots everywhere I go. Not Raven though, I think I like her, and I can't remember the last time I felt good about anyone.

"Then I'm just giving it away!"

"Free works for me!" Naofumi said as the bitch put everything she wanted on the counter. "So how much is all that at 60% off?" He asked.

"480 silver with a discount. That's the best I can offer." The man responded.

"That'll leave us with 200 silver. Uhh hey Myne, do you mind downgrading just a bit? I'm not sure how much inns and other expenses cost yet." Naofumi said.

"Oh we'll be fine sir hero. The stronger I am, the more loot we can collect from monsters right? This will keep us going." She said hugging his arm. She still has yet to say his name once.

"Yeah, fine, whatever you say my lady. Alright shop keeper, we'll take all these!" Naofumi you idiot.

"Thanks a ton young hero! Gotta say, you've a real nose for good deals." He said happily.

"Thank you sir hero."

Not much else happened, though I did stay behind to ask something. I pulled out my bag of bits and dropped them on the table and summoned Dawn in it's base form.

"I want a weapon I can rely on incase I can't use this. That is all real gold in that bag. How much would it cost for you to make the best weapon you can with a similar shape and size to this?" He pulled out a small magnifying glass to inspect it and a green light came from it.

"My appraisal magic isn't telling me anything, materials, refinement, exact size and length, enchantments, weapon type, nothing. It's like this thing doesn't technically exist." He said shocked.

"All I can tell you about this weapon is it's called a keyblade, true keyblades are made from varying degrees of light and dark, and like the Hero Weapons these choose the wielder as well." I told him as he continued to inspect it.

"So that's probably why then. Tell you what, I'll give you a 40% discount both for being in Naofumi's party and showing me a never before seen weapon. 6 gold and you'll have a weapon that can hold it's own against any of the Hero Weapons, though when I can get the materials to get this done is another matter entirely." He offered.

"Don't worry about the time, I'm in no rush. Though it's also possible I won't be back for it. Until later then." I said handing him the 6 bits and following the others.

We went to an inn, the food was good I'll give it that. I sat away from the others though, barely able to hear anything they said. I'm just growing more and more paranoid about the bitch. 100 silver for Naofumi, almost 5X that for her, practically insists he drink the wine, and still has yet to even say his name. This is a robbery and a false accusation or two just waiting to happen. Though I won't be around to suffer through it, the robbery anyway considering the bag of gold I have that would make up for it, the accusation, well I'll deal with that later.

Naofumi went up before either of us. I left the building to explore the city in the Shadow Realm for a little while before I returned. Morning came and I was awoken by ruckus outside the room. Naofumi going on about being robbed and trying to wake up the bitch. I was still in the Shadow Realm so I just watched everything unfold as he was forcefully taken to the castle as per Aultcray's demand for him specifically. I followed them to the throne room and my suspicions were true after all.

"Ow geez, the hell is going on here?" He looked up to the bitch and everyone else. "Myne! Hey are you okay?" He asked as she moved to hide behind Motoyasu who was wearing Naofumi's chainmail. "Yo king, while I was sleeping all the money and equipment was stolen from my room. Please sir, find the thief and-"

"Silence you filth!" Aultcray shouted. Naofumi said something, but I couldn't hear it. "Myne, I'm sorry to ask my dear, but would you mind repeating your testimony for us again?" He asked her. She told her testimony of how Naofumi barged into her room, reeking of alcohol, pinned her down, and tore off her clothes. How she barely managed to escape and was saved by Motoyasu who she convinced to wait until morning. They went back and forth a bit until Naofumi demanded proof and a guard came forth to present the 'proof'.

"You animal!" Motoyasu called him.

"The proof is undenieable." Aultcray declared.

"How so? That thing wasn't there when I woke up!" Naofumi claimed. Once again I just had to step in.

"Really? If you're going to lie and accuse someone of something like this Myne bitch at least make it ironclad." I was immediately threatened with spears again.

"How dare you int-" a guard started.

"I'm in his party so I'm involved as well. I'm not interrupting anything but you." I said as I walked past the guards to Naofumi.

"He's guilty, what more proof do you want?" Motoyasu asked.

"Let me tear down this so called 'trial'. Let's start with the testimony. Naofumi sexually assaulted Myne in his drunken state and tore off her clothes. She barely managed to escape and met with you who she convinced to leave her would be rapist alone. Examine Naofumi's scent and tell me about all the alcohol you don't smell. Next, I would've expected a lot of screaming if she was being attacked, why were you the only one to respond in a pub full of people who would've happily killed him?"

"The evidence is right there!" Motoyasu pointed to the undergarment.

"Moving on, for clothes she claims were and I quote 'torn off of her', it looks more like it was cut, something impossible for the Shield taking into account the rule violation. Now a few questions of logic. Naofumi woke up in his room, his money and gear stolen. Do you mean to tell me he in his drunken state which would be impossible with all the alchohol that never touched his lips that he sleepwalked out of Myne's room with the clothing he tore off, locked the door, entered his room, locked it, and continued to sleep in his bed? I doubt that. Especially since none of the guards who retrieved him ever entered his room, so how could they have retrieved evidence from a location they never went to?" I questioned the validity of the testimony and evidence.

"He was drunk, it was more than possible." Claimed Itsuki.

"And what I said is just as possible. I can testify that he never drank any alchohol so that alone puts a huge dent in her testimony. And it seems no one wants to confirm the validity of my testimony for Naofumi."

"A woman was attacked and you would defend him? You're no better it seems." Ren said. I was really expecting him to consider my words, though he is hard to read so it's possible he's on our side or still choosing.

"Let's be real here. In a country like Melromarc, would anyone have cared if Motoyasu ignored Myne and brutally murdered Naofumi after that? The answer is no, he would've been praised for it. He would have dealt swift justice to the Traitor of the Shield and the most 'useless' of the 4 would be gone for good. Everyone wins, except had he ignored her he would've found Naofumi wasn't even there. And trust me Ren, I can be so much worse, try me, I dare you to gaze into the abyss that used to be my heart!" I said.

"Enough!" Aultcray shouted.

"I'm not finished! Next comes the matter of the approximate 200 silver and the chainmail Motoyasu is wearing."

"Myne gave this to me as a gift for saving her!" Motoyasu repeated.

"Guaranteed if you go to a blacksmith by the name of Erhard he will confirm he sold that chainmail to Naofumi for about 100 silver, Myne was there when he bought it. She actually suggested Erhard's shop. Don't bother trying to explain how the same day Naofumi loses armor exactly like yours do you receive it from his former party member." I looked to Naofumi to find him staring at me with confusion and gratitude. "Why not send him back and summon a new Shield?" I asked Aultcray.

"I would love nothing more than to kick him out, but legend says no new Heroes can be summoned until all 4 of the original Cardinal Heroes have met their end." Aultcray said disappointed. Everyone complained about having to fight with Naofumi, and he wasn't too happy either.

"Who needs you? I'll figure out how to handle the waves my way!" Naofumi shouted and pushed those near including me away from him.

"Don't move!" A guard said as he and the rest closed in.

"Get the hell off of me!" Naofumi shouted again as he repelled the guards. "What'll it be king? Are you gonna have me rot in jail in between every wave?" He asked.

"There's no more time before the next Wave so I won't be imprisoning you. Scum or not, you're still a Hero, one of the only beings left who can fight them all off." Aultcray answered. "But news of your crime is already spreading among the people. That is your punishment, you should never expect to be allowed to live a decent life in this country."

"Yeah, clearly!" Naofumi said before throwing the rest of his silver at Motoyasu and the bitch. The two exchanged a few words before he left with me behind him.

"I'll be in the shadows for when you need me, though I'll join you while you take your anger out on something." I told him before disappearing.

We came across Erhard who was ready to pummel Naofumi, but one look in his eyes told him not to. He gave Naofumi cheap armor before we left for the fields to relieve stress. Time passed and I grew stronger while he didn't much if at all. I learned Aero, Barrier, Reflect, and Gravity. After an encounter wigt some thugs we met a slave trader, it took every ounce of self control I had to not set all the Demi Humans and Beastmen free. Naofumi decided on buying a little Demi Human girl.

Her eyes were close to how mine once were.

Chapter 15

View Online

Cassiel POV

Naofumi bought the girl and she was branded with a magic crest that would force her to obey him. To say she was pitiful was an understatement, though maybe I was wrong to think that given what I learned later. She was given some protective gear and a dagger before we went into the fields and eventually the forest for her to get stronger. I stayed out of it for the most part since she was the one who needed to improve the most. Naofumi defends and she attacks, once they get synchronized they'll have a lot less to worry about, until then these are all more like hunting trips. I was the shadow, she was the blade that still needed to be sharpened. Surprisingly this was possibly one of the best things to happen to Naofumi, Raphtalia I mean, perhaps something for me as well.

Not counting the less than a handful of times Naofumi used the crest, he had been nothing but good to her, the closest one could get to an ideal slave master. He treated her sickness, held her close when she'd wake up screaming and crying for her family, fed and clothed her well, didn't get angry when she wet the bed, the list goes on. If his intent was a willing slave instead of an obedient slave then he's been doing everything right so far, she has truly become attached to him. If he's smart he'll keep it that way.

Fast forward a little and Erhard directs us to Lut Village as the furthest we could go. While there a local merchant suggested a mine to get money fast (they still don't know about the gold), but it's been inhabited by monsters since the Waves began. As a test I tried to lend Naofumi Dawn, I figured Erhard's examination of the weapon was enough reason to believe Naofumi could use it. While it didn't break any rules the weapon did disappear on it's own after a few seconds, maybe Erhard's keyblade imitation will have better results. I told him that if the mine would be anything like I thought it would be that my weapons would be too large or there would be too much darkness to use them effectively so as much as I hated to admit it, I wouldn't be much use in the caves. Magic was an option yes, but then friendly fire would be likely to happen so he had no problems with me staying in town and making some money on the side.

When they returned though I immediately started casting Cure on them while they told me what happened, PTSD on Raphtalia's part. I think that was the first time I felt any amount of concern for anyone, though that could be traced to what Raphtalia and I have in common. Raphtalia had finally found her resolve and Naofumi, well I think after today he's found someone he can actually trust besides me. I think I smiled a little, though that could be my imagination.

Fast forward some more and Raphtalia is now somehow taller than me. She was a small child when Naofumi bought her and now she looks old enough to have graduated high school. In that time I learned Magnet, Esuna, Zero Gravity, and Stop so there's that. She is right now chasing down an annoying little demon porcupine that shot me and Naofumi, if she wasn't chasing that thing I would have burned this forest to the ground. I suppose I could use Stop, but if I can't keep track of it then what good is it? I healed us both as Raphtalia killed the little fucker. Afterward we met back up with Erhard to get better equipment.

"Wow! I hardly recognized you! You've turned into a pretty little lady." Erhard said to Raphtalia as Naofumi turned to her. "I haven't seen you in a while, what've you been up to?" He asked.

"I've finally learned correct table manners from the innkeeper. I want to eat my food properly like Master Naofumi does." She said.

"Hm is that so huh? You've really grown up, nothing like the pipsqueak you used to be." Raphtalia groaned in response.

"You think?" Naofumi asked.

"Huh?" Erhard scratched his head. "Well, someone's a little hard to please."

"I'm actually pretty surprised myself. This whole country's full of loli-cons, you people take it too far."

"Alright kid listen, haven't you heard the stories of what Demi Humans are like?" Erhard asked as Raphtalia moved to the side of the counter.

"Excuse me, can we forget about all that stuff? We're here to buy armor for Master Naofumi! You have some recommendations don't you?" She asked.

"What are you talking about? We're here for your equipment." Naofumi asked in response.

"I appreciate the thought Master Naofumi, but it's time you protected yourself first for once! You just got hurt in the plains or did you forget that? The same goes to you Cassiel!" She scolded us both.

"Of course we haven't forgotten, but you need a weapon as w-"

"Master Naofumi, stop messing around with your life..." She turned away to pull a sword off the display. "Or you will die." Had she been anyone else I would be questioning if that was a threat or a warning.

"I already have armor, I just haven't needed it yet." I activated my armor which took her attention away from the sword she was inspecting.

"You've had that armor this whole time?" She asked.

"Haven't needed it, kind of useless when everything dies before it reaches you or you can evade it easily." I responded. She was about to reply, but let it go as she went back to the sword.

"Boss! This sword seems really sharp!" She said amazed.

"Eeyup, that's magic iron. You feel like trying it out?" Erhard offered.

"What kind of discount can you give us?" She asked.

"Oh don't worry about that miss, anything for you." Loli-con detected.

"Ehehe, thank you so much! While we're at it, could you show us some armor too?"

"Of course!"

After she got her gear Erhard offered something by tomorrow so we went back to the inn. The next day Erhard kept to his word and gave Naofumi armor befitting a bandit according to Naofumi and directed us to the Three Heroes Church and the Dragon Hourglass within to learn the time before the next Wave.

Arriving at the church there were a lot of things I was feeling, none of which were good. The priestess who was less than excited about our presence showed us the Hourglass Erhard spoke of. Shortly after ascending the stairs, light shot out of the Shield to the Hourglass. Judging from the look on his face I would guess it's happening soon, tomorrow at the earliest.

"Is that Naofumi I see?" A voice from behind asked. We turned to face him. "What's this? You're not still fighting with that flimsy equipment are you?"

"Do you know who these people are Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked Naofumi who ignored her question and started walking past Motoyasu.

"Hey! Sir Motoyasu is talking to you Naofumi!" Bitch said.

"He isn't talking to your boy toy though. You know, for an alleged victim of attempted rape, you seem to be coping pretty well with such a traumatizing experience. It's almost like it never happened." I said angering her, Ren, and Itsuki who were also present.

"Why you litt-" Bitch started.

"Hi there! My name is Motoyasu Kinomura, the Spear Hero." He greeted Raphtalia, taking bitch's attention away from me.

"You're a Hero?" She asked.

"Wow you're cute."

"Why are you praising a Demi Human Sir Motoyasu?" Bitch asked. Also, racist.

"A girl as adorable as you shouldn't have to wield a sword. Please, allow me to protect you from now on." He said holding both her hands. I summoned Dawn and Nightfall and placed Nightfall between them.

"It'll be kind of hard to do that with all the hands you won't have if you don't back off this instant." I threatened. Before he could respond, Raphtalia pulled away.

"I'm sorry! It's my sworn duty to fight side by side with Master Naofumi!" She rejected his offer.

"Are you kidding?" He asked her as Naofumi got up close to him. "If you stay with Naofumi you'll be in danger!" He turned to Naofumi. "Tell me I'm not right, or don't you have the guts?" He asked him.

"She's safer with Naofumi than with you believe it or not considering how at least one person in your group just proved to be racist towards Demi Humans." I commented loud enough to be heard by Ren and Itsuki.

"We're out of here!" Naofumi said as he grabbed Raphtalia's hand and began to leave.

"Come on, don't tell me you haven't hear any of those rumors going around about him?" Motoyasu asked Raphtalia. Naofumi paused for a moment before continuing to leave.

"See you when the Wave hits." Itsuki said not even looking at Naofumi.

"Just stay out of our way." Ren said also not looking at Naofumi as he left. In a few moments I was the only other member of his party there.

"When the Wave hits, I would recommend focusing on evacuating any nearby towns or villages instead of the monsters. What value do you have as Heroes if you can't be bothered to protect the very people you were summoned to fight for?" I said before entering a Corridor.

The next day we waited for the Wave to hit, Raphtalia for some reason was speaking to and thanking Naofumi like she was half expecting to die. I didn't say anything as I waited for the Wave. The sky turned red and we were teleported elsewhere, after a quick look around we saw Lut Village and the other three Heroes doing the exact opposite of what I said and running off to God knows where while a horde of monsters was descending from holes in the sky. A flare was shot into the air, but there isn't enough time for the knights to come save the village.

"Go, I'm no savior so I'll leave the village to you. The sooner they kill the big bad, the better, which is why I'm going with them." I entered a Corridor before either of them could say anything and followed the other three.

It didn't take long to find them. They fought a few monsters, but that was it up until they found a chimera. Now that was honestly was surprised me the most. I was expecting something like a demon or a demon lord, not a mix between a lion, a goat, and a snake. I casted Aero for a boost as I burst out of the Shadow Realm, hit it with Nightfall as I was still passing it then shot the abomination with Blizzard. This caught it's attention and everyone else's as I activated my armor which surprised them even more.

"Where's Naofumi?" Ren asked.

"He's doing what I told you to do and protecting Lut Village with Raphtalia. Shows how reliable they are as Heroes compared to all of you, that's for sure!" I answered as I turned Nightfall into a scythe and summoned Dawn as a shuriken. "Let me handle this." Before anyone could respond I casted Zero Gravity and threw Dawn at it before getting up close with Nightfall. Fun fact about Zero Gravity is it has a chance to disorient the victim if they're hit while under the spell's effects. This did not happen and it swiped at me before breathing fire on me after the spell ended. I don't remember chimeras being able to breath fire.

"Reflect!" I used the spell just in time to defend myself and do equal damage to the chimera causing it to stagger. I called back Dawn as a shuriken while Itsuki began shooting it and the others keeping it at bay. I casted a modified Aero that would hold Dawn in place as it built up rotation speed. Once it had enough power I unleashed it nearly hitting Motoyasu and Ren, unfortunately the chimera dodged the attack.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Motoyasu asked enraged.

"I told you to let me handle it, if that hit you it would have been your fault. Though I suppose you made adequate meat shields while I charged it up." I responded. I ignored anything else they said as I changed Nightfall into wing blades as I called back Dawn and changed it into a twinblade. I kept the chimera unable to defend itself as I attacked it relentlessly. When it breathed fire on me again I casted Reflect again with the same result as earlier and backed away to shoot it with the bow version of Dawn. The arrows formed themselves as I pulled back the string and let loose arrow after arrow while keeping it occupied with Nightfall's wing blades while I kept two to myself for evasion. After about a dozen arrows I started combining them with Fire and Aero.

Eventually my magic ran out and I collapsed to my knees from exhaustion. Seeing an opportunity for revenge it leaped at me, but I chuckled at the futile attempt because I knew the Heroes wouldn't let me die.

"Wind Arrow!"
"Crimson Blade!"
"I'll end this! Lightning Spear!" The three shouted one after the other. I didn't quite catch anything they said after that.

"Heroes! *huff huff huff* A job well done." A new voice congratulated them. Prick.

"The knights huh?" Ren asked.

"Isn't it a little late to show up?" Motoyasu asked.

"Thanks for the 'help'." Itsuki said sarcastically.

"I should be the one saying that Itsuki." I said as I stood back up and nearly collapsed again. "Maybe I shouldn't have worn the mask. And before you ask it suppresses half my power."

"How dare you try to take credit for this?" The knight asked angrily.

"He's telling the truth. While I doubt what he said regarding the mask he did nearly kill it on his own." Ren said in my defense.

"Ah... Ummm... Eh moving on his highness has rewards for each one of you." The knight said backing off. "So, shall we go?"

'If there's a bed and a good meal then yes. Now please.' I thought as Ren helped me walk with Motoyasu doing reluctantly doing the same as bitch also protested for him.

Chapter 16

View Online

Cassiel POV

Naofumi and Raphtalia did their part, Lut Village survived with few casualties I learned after returning to the city. They weren't too happy about me leaving them like I did, but they acknowledged the fact the Wave would have lasted much longer had I went with them. A few potions took care of my exhaustion and low magic pool, that night Aultcray held a banquet in honor of the Heroes. Let me correct myself, all the Heroes but Naofumi. Ah, that's the king now.

"Thanks to our Heroes, the battle was splendidly won. Tonight, enjoy yourselves to the fullest!" He said raising his glass.

I kept a close eye on anyone of interest. Aultcray, bitch, the "Heroes", Naofumi, and Raphtalia from the Shadow Realm. I stayed where I could see them all so eavesdropping was out of the question. Raphtalia was trying to help Naofumi enjoy himself to no avail. Bitch is now whispering to Motoyasu who gained a look of shock then anger. I moved near him and Naofumi as he walked over to him and threw his glove at him to my disappointment. I was really hoping for an opportunity to give Naofumi a steel gauntlet.

"Naofumi... Time to fight." He said angrily. Naofumi looked down to the glove then up to Motoyasu. "I hear you've made poor Raphtalia your slave, and that she obeys your every command."

"And why do you care?" Naofumi asked.

"Watch your tone." Motoyasu threatened.

"Yeah, Raphtalia's my loyal slave. So what's it to you?"

"Listen up, you can't be saying you think it's okay to enslave others!"

"Do you even hear yourself? Slavery is legal in this crazy place, and she's been a great help to me."

"We're Heroes in this world, we shouldn't behave that way and you know it!"

"You have a right to your opinion, and I disagree." This further angered Motoyasu.

"Grr let's do this, and if I win you're gonna set Raphtalia free!" He raised his spear to Naofumi making Raphtalia step back a little.

"Alright, and what's the plan if I win?" Nothing I bet.

"That won't happen... But if it does then things will stay the same."

"Don't be such an idiot." Naofumi said as he walked away.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia called out. Once Naofumi reached the middle of the stairs a guard stopped him.

"It has been brought to my attention that you, a Hero, have been using a Demi Human as your slave to fight for you. You've violated our customs and that is reprehensible!" Aultcray said from above. "I order you, accept the challenge!" Raphtalia was about to defend Naofumi, but I did so instead.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't slavery legal in this country? Besides, what right do you of all people have to talk down to and lecture someone about owning a slave when the slave in question is one you ordered to be put in chains?" I asked exiting the Shadow Realm.

"Regardless a Hero is meant to fight off the Waves, not force others to do it for them." Aultcray argued.

"Naofumi bought her when she was a diseased little girl close to dying. He never once hit her, never fed her anything he wouldn't eat, never mistreated her, comforted her when she had nightmares of the first Wave, cured her illness with medicine he brewd himself, and more. All he asked for in exchange was she use her sword to fight while he protects her. If it weren't for him, she would be dead or in service to a much more cruel master. It's only fair she fight for him after everything he's given her. Lesser of the evils presented." I reasoned.

"You are with him are you not?" He asked.

"Only temporarily, I'm leaving when I decide to return home or when the Waves are finished, whichever happens first and he knows it."

"It does not cha-" I interrupted him.

"I don't hear you denying anything I've said. Allow me to educate everyone here. Raphtalia used to live in a village by the sea, land owned by a kind noble and friend of Demi Humans, but her home was destroyed by the first Wave and she lost her family as a result, the noble as well. Not long after did knights of Melromarc arrive in the ruined town to enslave and kill any Demi Humans that put up too much resistance, including children." I'm twisting the story a little.

"You dare speak such blatant lies about the king in his presence? Your head will be put on a spike if you don't cease this at once!" A random noble threatened.

"I'm only retelling what she told me as we exchanged life stories, and he's still not denying any of it. Rather than help that village the king made no attempts to defend, he instead chose to profit from such a tragedy to those who were for all intents and purposes his people, he sold them to the cruelest slaver in the country. Now he wants abuse his power to force Naofumi into an 'honorable' 1vs1 duel, a completely one sided duel he has nothing to gain and everything to lose from." I took a closer look at the Heroes to see shock and disbelief on all their faces. "I would propose a few changes to the conditions to provide a fair match." Take the bait. Aultcray was livid, but he kept himself under control.

"And what would you propose?" He asked.

"We can keep this a 1vs1 duel, but if Naofumi wins he keeps Raphtalia as the only exception to the abolishment of slavery in Melromarc, he is also rewarded 200 silver and 50% more silver on this month's payment. If Motoyasu wins Raphtalia is freed and he provided lordship over a plot of land. Otherwise we turn this into a 2vs2 duel with the original conditions, me and Naofumi vs Motoyasu and any one person from his party." I proposed. Everyone looked at me like I was insane.

"This is madness!"
"No man would accept these terms!"
"Learn your place!" Random nobles shouted.

"SILENCE!" Aultcray shouted louder.

'Come on, take it.' I thought. Regardless of the outcome Motoyasu still loses.

"These terms are acceptable, and when Master Motoyasu wins he shall be rewarded handsomely as you've proposed." Aultcray agreed. "This shall remain a one on one duel!" Even better, though I was hoping for a chance to make the bitch look like Jabba the Hut lost a fight to a cheese grater. At this point I won't care if there is foul play.

Sitting here in the stands with Ren and Itsuki waiting for the match to begin. Raphtalia has been taken to the Royal booth, though I can't see much else beyond that. The bitch is below, I think I'll be more surprised if she doesn't cheat.

"Tell me you two, what wins? A spear that can pierce anything or a shield that can't be pierced?" I asked them.

"It's a tie." Answered Itsuki.

"It comes down to the skill of the wielders, there is no right answer." Answered Ren.

"Wrong. It was the spear that lost, and it is the spear that will lose now." I told them.

"Naofumi is half Motoyasu's level, he shouldn't be able to block many attacks if at all. Regardless he can't fight back so he's already lost." Itsuki you simple minded boy, that reminds me about the HUD they all have.

"Think though, all the points that would have gone to damage instead went to defense related stats. Those stats logically speaking are higher than yours, perhaps equal to Motoyasu's damage, that's why he feels less pain than all of you, why he can tank more than any of you."

"He has a point, but so does Itsuki." Ren said.

"Moving on, if I were you two I'd keep my eyes on Myne, and the Royal booth. I wouldn't be surprised about foul play, though to be honest I kind of want that." They looked at me like I grew a second head.

"What do you have to gain from your party member losing?" Ren asked as the combatants were released.

"It's not what I have to gain, rather what they all have to prove." I answered.

"I don't follow." Itsuki said.

"Why do you think I proposed those conditions? I had nothing to gain regardless of the outcome."

"If we knew we wouldn't be asking." Ren said.

"Let's start with Naofumi before moving on to Motoyasu and the king. If he wins he'll get just short of 1,000 silver assuming everyone gets 600 like the first time. Slavery will be abolished in Melromarc, but he keeps Raphtalia who believe it or not is genuinely loyal to him so the crest is really just for looks at this point, and he proves just how powerful the Shield is. This is going to have a very positive reception with most of the world, especially in a country called Siltvelt which worships the Shield Hero exclusively like how the Three Heroes Church worships you lot. Winning can only benefit Naofumi." The fight has begun now.

"Now what about Motoyasu?" Itsuki asked.

"I essentially put him on a cross. How hard of a hit do you think his public opinion is going to take when word gets around he and the king forced someone who shouldn't be able to fight back into an already heavily one sided 'honor' duel? Now let's add in how Motoyasu sacrificed the freedom of all slaves in Melromarc just to free a willing slave and to gain a bit of land? How about if he resorts to cheating or if he receives outside help? He would be quite the hypocrit after what he said earlier about slavery and heroism." They both looked at me angry I would enact such a plan.

"You're trying to make Motoyasu out to be the villain!" Ren began to understand.

"And as for the king. If Naofumi wins the economy is going to take a VERY noticeable hit due to the abolishment of slavery, not to mention other businesses that use such methods, Aultcray will be forced to honor his word and enact swift justice against those who would break the new law lest he risk invoking the wrath of slaves across the country and at least one other country during the Waves, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Should he or anyone else sabotage the match in favor of Motoyasu in any way then not only would Motoyasu's reputation be destroyed like Naofumi's, but Aultcray's as well if you two vouch for Naofumi should there be any foul play. This is why you two should pay close attention to the Royal booth and Myne."

"You're a sneaky one you know that?" Itsuki asked as he turned to Myne down in the arena, Ren paying attention to her and the booth.

"I said I was much worse than Naofumi. You think he's bad for alleged sexual assault while he was drunk? Let this be proof of how much worse I can be. Regardless of the outcome, Motoyasu and Aultcray still lose, and Naofumi I can assure you is going to keep what he's trying to protect, because it's all he has left that he cares about losing." Naofumi looked to be winning, works for me either way. "He'll lie to himself and everyone else about it, but Raphtalia is worth more to him than all the silver he has to gain from this, she is worth more to him than his own life which he put on the line more than enough times to earn her trust and loyalty. He won't lose her, because she'll follow him everywhere he goes of her own accord, that's why she isn't truly a slave." Naofumi was about to throw more of those balloon monsters at Motoyasu, but the bitch interfered with the duel which costed him the match. Ren and Itsuki saw her do it so now I just need to sit and be proven right.

Naofumi looked to be having an emotional breakdown while Raphtalia was being set free. After the deed was done she slapped Motoyasu. If I wasn't trembling with excitement I am now! I moved closer through the Shadow Realm for a better seat.

"You're a liar and a cheat!" She scolded him.

"Don't, Sir Motoyasu set you free!" Bitch said.

"I never asked anyone to free me, I was with Naofumi by choice!"

"But wait a second. I thought he was abusing you and treating you badly." Motoyasu tried to defend his actions.

"You obviously know nothing about Master Naofumi. He never abused me, and he never made me do anything I couldn't do! He activated the curse when I was too scared to fight, he did it to protect both of us!" Motoyasu slammed the bottom of his spear into the ground.

"And that's the problem! Nobody should ever be forced into a fight!" I had to step in here.

"You mean like how the Cardinal Heroes were summoned without their consent, which is kidnapping by the way, and told if they want to return home they have to save a world they had no other obligation to help first? Just because you're fighting willingly doesn't mean you or any of the others were willingly put in the position to do so." I said.

"W-w-well that's uh-" He started, but had nothing.

"Master Naofumi can't use any weapons, the Shield defends, so someone has to fight for him!" Raphtalia continued defending Naofumi.

"But you don't have to be that person. Don't you know he'll put you in danger every time?" He tried reasoning with her. She went on to explain how everyone is wrong about Naofumi and how he saved her. When she was done she asked if he was capable of such kindness, and if he was he'd have someone loyal instead of a 'two-faced princess' who took offense to being called such. Also, bitch is a princess, good to know, VERY good to know. And now Ren and Itsuki are here.

"Myne, sorry, but I have to ask about your illegal and magical interference in the duel." Itsuki said.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in denial.

"Illegal interference?" Motoyasu asked.

"Hey Motoyasu, hate to say it, but you lost that duel. Obviously someone shot a powerful magic spell at Naofumi! It was kind of hard to tell, but it was clearly a type of wind magic." Ren said.

"What? Myne?" Motoyasu asked faintly.

"You must have imagined it, the audience didn't see a thing." Bitch said innocently.

"The king has told everyone to keep quiet. The nobles agree there was foul play." Itsuki said.

"Cassiel predicted someone trying something like this which is why he proposed the new conditions. I can't believe royalty would interfere with a sacred duel, especially with stakes as high as they were." Ren said in disbelief, Raphtalia went to Naofumi shortly after.

"I hope you know the implications of what you just did king Aultcray. Everyone, especially the Heroes know you cheated. Word of this will spread around and let's just say your already shit relations with Demi Humans alone will be beyond repair. The same goes to you Motoyasu, I hope you're proud of yourself." Aultcray looked pissed again and Motoyasu had a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Oh nothing, just the entire world will see this as you and the king forcing someone who shouldn't have been able to fight back into an already heavily one sided duel and cheating with help from the royal family. Not to mention you sacrificed the freedom of all slaves in Melromarc all to free one girl who as you can see went right back to her master and get some land from the king. In the end you accomplished nothing but make yourself an enemy of all Demi Humans on top of a mountain of problems soon to come. All this after everything you said earlier about how slavery is wrong and how heroes should act yet what happened here is hypocrisy at it's finest. Truly you are the most worthy of the title 'Hero'. Hook line and sinker." I walked past them to Naofumi and Raphtalia after seeing she calmed him down.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Chapter 17

View Online

Cassiel POV

Aultcray has summoned everyone to give out the rewards for the Wave among other things, I can almost feel Naofumi's and Raphtalia's hatred.

"As a reward for his efforts during the Wave and for fulfilling my request, Master Motoyasu will recieve 4,000 silver, and young Masters Itsuki and Ren will receive 3,800 silvers. Finally, I have set aside 500 silver for the Shield Hero. However..." The man handing Naofumi the money paused. "Since it has been offset by the cost of setting his slave free from her curse, he will not receive any funds at this time." And just like that I'm raiding your vault later.

"Wait a second, that's not gonna fly." Itsuki objected surprising Naofumi and Raphtalia. "You were the one interfering in his duel, dispelling that slave crest or whatever you call it, and now you refuse to pay him what he deserves? That isn't exactly fair play."

"Yeah, that's right." Ren agreed. "If he'd followed the rules Naofumi clearly would have won that duel."

"What? Are you crazy? I didn't lose!" Motoyasu denied.

"I'm afraid you're both mistaken. Sir Itsuki, Sir Ren. It was supposed to be a one on one duel and the Shield Hero was the one with monsters hidden inside his cape. That is the real reason why father didn't declare him the winner!" Bitch denied as well.

"Even so, you cheated by firing a magic spell at him." Itsuki said.

"Correction, Myne. It was supposed to be an honor duel, meaning both sides have a fair chance at winning. It stopped being an honor duel when you forced Naofumi, someone who shouldn't have been able to fight back, into a duel he originally had nothing to gain and everything to lose. You violated the sanctity of the duel by forcing him into what should have been a match he was already guaranteed to lose, by breaking that rule before the match even started, you essentially told him everything is fair game, so no he didn't cheat by using monsters as weapons. You did when you shot at him." I joined in.

"Besides, when the Wave hit, it was Naofumi who defended that village, not the knights, and not us as Cassiel suggested before the Wave. Not to mention for the most part, it was Cassiel who fought back the boss monster, nearly killing it on his own, and while it's very questionable he claims to have been holding back during the fight." I didn't expect any mention of me in this. "If you ask me, it would be the right thing to fairly compensate him." Ren said.

"Fine, I shall afford him the mininum agreed amount, there will be nothing else." Aultcray relented, the servant gave Naofumi the silver. "Well you have it, so begone already!" He commanded. Naofumi was about to talk back to him, but Raphtalia stopped him.

"Master Naofumi, isn't it great? We don't have to waste any more of our precious time here." She said angering bitch and Aultcray and calming Naofumi. I was laughing on the inside.

"Come on Raphtalia, Cassiel, let's go." He said as he was leaving. I'm still going to raid his vault, this coin purse feels a little light for all the heavy lifting we did.

Raphtalia really surprised me later, she WANTED to be a slave again so we went to the slave trader that sold her to us. Well okay let me clarify, she wanted the crest again as a "symbol of Naofumi's faith in her". The trader soon after gave us a deal on what's called a monster egg lottery, you're guaranteed at least a filolial (I'm calling them chocoboes) or if you hit the jackpot, a dragon. Naofumi decided fuck it and bought an egg before we went to a few other places. Turns out Naofumi saved some friends and families of a few people such as the alchemist who gave him a grimoire with better recipes and the magician who revealed everyones magic affinities and gave him a magic grimoire. Regarding affinities, Naofumi had healing and support, Raphtalia had light and dark, and I was all over the place so everyone had expressions like "what in Dante's 9 Circles of Hell am I looking at?".

After a little while the egg hatched, it was a chocobo I wanted to shout, but decided not to. After 2 days it looked fully grown, apparently Naofumi had a skill that makes companions get stronger faster. He decided to name it Filo, as he and Raphtalia were discussing the name we heard someone shouting about knights coming into town. Turns out Motoyasu was made the lord of this region and the first thing he, or rather bitch declared was a toll of 50 silver to enter and exit the village. When the villagers protested I just had to join the fun.

"Wow! Not even a day on the job and you're already a greedy tyrant. Wasn't screwing over every slave in Melromarc enough for you jackass?" I asked before things got messy.

"The Shield Hero? What are you still doing here? This is Sir Motoyasu's domain, you have no right to question him. Actually, leave this instant you wretched criminal! And knights, seize that kid!" The knights tried to obey her ordr, but I disappeared into the SR so they gave up quickly.

"Oh don't worry, I'm glad to leave, but you know? I don't think the villagers will be too happy about it. Motoyasu! Do you have any idea how much it costs to spend a night at the inn here?" Naofumi asked.

"Huh? A-actually umm..." He responded.

"One silver a night, food included. You're charging the equivalent of 100 nights at the inn just to enter and exit the village! Do you realize that?" Several villagers protested in agreement.

"You dare complain about a royal decree??!!" She raised her hand and the knights pointed their spears at the villagers in response. I reappeared behind her with the the blade from the scythe transformation of Dawn to her neck, just before I could say anything several people landed in front of her, one said bitch should know who they represent. I lowered Dawn when that same lady asked me to do so, then she handed bitch a scroll which resulted in her challenging Naofumi to a race over the village.

Naofumi reluctantly accepted the race, before the race started though Motoyasu learned first hand what castration sounds and feels like. "You are now my favorite giant bird" I told Filo, surprise surprise when the race started bitch tried to cheat again. After the first hole I followed along in the SR to prevent it from happening again. I just shot every mage with Aero before they finished the incantations, I missed a few though, but Naofumi won anyway. Bitch tried to accuse us of cheating, but the lady from earlier pointed out that is not the case. Bitch left with Motoyasu and the knights and we got a carriage along with merchandise and a merchant pass to avoid tolls around the country.

At the end of the night we had one more surprise in the form of a little girl where a giant bird used to be. Congratulations, you're officially a dad Naofumi.

So to summarize a bit of time after this surprise we went to the slaver to give Filo a crest then a seamstress to find a dress that wouldn't rip when Filo transformed, unfortunately we needed magic thread which the magic shop didn't have the means to make so we were SOL. We learned Filo's affinity for wind at least. Moving on we were giving a ride to another merchant until a group of bandits blocked the road, one mentioned a "night of fun" with Raphtalia and I may or not have snapped and brutally murdered him as I tried to repress a few memories, I didn't check to see if he was still alive. Anyway, we robbed the bandits of everything shortly after. In exchange for all the trouble the merchant caused us he offered all his "knowledge and connections" and opened up a new trade for Naofumi as a jewel crafter and merchant.

As for his connections we learned Motoyasu saved a village from starvation with a legendary crop, Ren has officially become a Dragonslayer, and Itsuki is all over the place. The merchant gave us one more thing, a deed to a mine. Once there we got to work on getting the gemstone used to make magic thread. Well we had to get the mage who told us about the gem first I mean. Once we entered the ruins leading to the gem we came across an empty chest that contained a cursed seed. My bet is this seed is what Motoyasu gave to the village he saved, if it is I might kill him. Entering the tunnel it didn't take long for the torch to blow out.

"How could you let this happen to us? It should've been YOU!" I heard several voices. I still remember them clearly. My chest hurt so much I could barely breathe as tears flowed down my face at hearing the voices of my parents, my sister, and my grandparents. I removed my mask and dropped it to the floor as I felt so much hate and despair that I couldn't hold anything back. The others took notice of my state and backed off as darkness was pouring out of me and into the fireball I was charging up.

Dark Fira. The voice from several times before said. I thought nothing of learning this varient of Fire even though I hadn't even learned the original Fira yet.

"DARK FIRA!" I shouted, the entire tunnel was now ablaze and the voices stopped. I collapsed and the darkness flowed back into me as I tried to get myself under control.

"Cassiel? Are you-" Raphtalia started.

"Alright? Do I look alright?" I asked. She reached out to me. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" I smacked her hand away forcing her to back off.

"Hey! What's your problem?" Filo asked. She was about to continue, but Naofumi stopped her.

"These monsters provoke others by saying the last things they want to hear by the last people they want saying them. He must have fallen victim to such, but since he didn't target any of us he must have heard someone else from his life. Thankfully his outburst killed all the monsters, though the darkness and the flames disturb me." The mage said in my defense. After a few minutes I finally got my breathing under control then the tears afterward. I got up and walked past everyone and ignored them as we entered a large cavern with crystals everywhere. I ignored those as well and the others as I approached the monster, a Nue or something like that I think the mage said. It noticed us and got ready to attack.

"I'm in a VERY bad mood right now, and I would appreciate it if you just died an agonizing death." I said darkly. It pounced at me, but I casted Aero to send it flying straight up. As it was falling I hit it with a shotgun version of Blizzard and summoned the bow version of Nightfall to keep shooting it while it couldn't move much. When it was able to move again it leaped past me and the snake tail bit me. I was too angry to care so I stabbed it after changing Nightfall into a twinblade. It tried to swipe at me, but Naofumi used his Air Strike Shield to block it as I stabbed an eye. It started emitting electricity so I casted Reflect and nearly killed it. It fell over unable to move so I slowly plunged Nightfall into it's heart to give it the death it desired. I casted Esuna to cure the poison if there was any and healed myself on the way out, but not before picking up the mask of course. Naofumi looked surprised for a split second, something about not noticing my stats doubling sooner, that I'm so much higher than Raphtalia and Filo now. Originally they were both higher than me, by about 25- 30% on most stats, though I'm also not wearing armor most of the time so of course that would be lower than theirs. No one really said anything after that, we returned to town and got Filo her dress after making the magic thread, and I didn't sleep at all that night.

Chapter 18

View Online

Cassiel POV

I haven't exactly been a decent companion since we went searching for the gem, I was shaken up by the voices for days actually. Eventually everyone had enough and wanted answers, Raphtalia and Filo especially. When I said before that me and Raphtalia shared life stories, I meant we both got the basic gist of each others., I just deduced everything else from what she told me. Lost her family and home to the first Wave, then enslaved. I lost my family, saw things I shouldn't have known about for years, and spent the rest of my life in an abusive home while attending what had to be the worst school in the country. I told Filo to go away unless she wants nightmares from what I told Naofumi and Raphtalia, I could tell Naofumi wanted to ask how I knew about most of what I said, but he let that go. Raphtalia on the other hand pulled me close and tried to assure me everything was alright, that I'm with friends, and no one blames me for what happened all those years ago. Maybe I do have friends and just don't know it, maybe everything will be alright and I just have too much doubt, but she was wrong about one thing.

I've always blamed myself.

Remember that seed? The cursed one? Have I ever said how much I hate being right all the time? Motoyasu fucked up again and at this point I'm not even surprised or mad. Anyway the village needed a fuck ton of herbicide because it was overrun by plants, doesn't help the plants were carnivorous and in several cases parasitic. Now let's add in that the herbicide did absolutely nothing unless Naofumi used it, even Dark Fira was doing next to nothing because it regenerated so quickly. After the abominations were dealt with we collected the seeds and the reward afterward. Naofumi wanted to try out a new shield which let him modify seeds and I'm assuming actual plants with the end result being he 'purified' the seeds so the still grow quickly, but no longer become monsters. If he has as much control over them as I think he does then he should be able to create loyal pets among other things. At least we got some food out of it.

Fast forward a little while and we encountered a plagued stricken village. I don't think there was nearly this much death anywhere else we've been. Naofumi almost immediately got to work giving medicine, but that's just it, the symptoms are being treated, I don't think we have anything for the illness itself. That night the doctor rewarded Naofumi with what he could.

"50 silver huh?" Naofumi asked.

"We can't thank you enough sir." The docter said.

"Well actually it's a bit short, but I'll take it."

"You were a great help, now we've staved off the immediate crisis."

"That's enough for you? All I did was treat the symptoms, I didn't cure them. In no time they'll be right back to square one."

"I'm afraid you are indeed correct." The doctor said in a defeated tone.

"Not that I mind since I'd make good money anyway. Let's just see which dies out first, you, or your pocket book." That sounds like something I would say.

"We know we can't let this go on, but ther- there's nothing we can do." The nurse said.

"What do you mean?" Raphtalia asked.

"We believe it's the wind coming from the mountain that's the cause of the plague in our village. The mountain that's home to the monsters." The nurse responded.

"Home to what monsters?" Naofumi asked.

"Around a month ago a large dragon that nested there was killed by the Sword Hero, that at least was the good news." The doctor answered.

"Yeah, I did hear some rumors about that a while back. But wait a second, how does that connect with the plague that's here?"

"Many adventurers came to our village, mostly in order to see the dragon's corpse as well as to purchase supplies. That certainly did help the village to flourish of course, but one day one of the adventurers collapsed and more followed. The dragon's flesh had begun to rot and began emitting some kind of poison.

"So in other words, he fucked up by not disposing of the corpse, and all of you fucked up by not cleaning up after him. Stupidity really should be added to the Deadly Sins, though I guess Eight Deadly Sins doesn't exactly sound right." I said.

"Do you think we don't know that? There's nothing we can do now because of all the monsters!" The nurse said angry at the situation and me mosg likely.

"And perhaps due to the dragon's poison, the very ecology of the mountain has changed too. Given the consequences, the average adventurer won't go anywhere near the corpse." The doctor said.

"Have you informed the Royal Court yet?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes, we're supposed to receive a delivery of medicine shortly."

"But they said the Heroes are still too busy to help us yet, so all we can do is wait." The nurse said.

"They're too busy to help?" I heard Raphtalia say quietly.

"Cancel the request, tell them you don't need it. Raphtalia, get ready, we're moving out." Naofumi said.

"Wait! You don't mean to say you're planning to go out there yourself, it'll be far too dangerous!" The doctor protested.

"Oh you don't need to worry about us, we're used to danger." Raphtalia assured him.

"I just can't find the words to express our gratitude."

"You can keep your thanks, what I want is your money. 500 silver will do it." Naofumi walked past them.

"500??!! That's too much!" That reminds me, I still need to raid the king's vault.

"That includes hazard pay, so you can just pay me what you were going to pay the court. Or were you hoping for a discount?" Naofumi reached for the door.

"Savior my foot! He's just a lousy money grubber!" The nurse said.

"You mustn't speak like that!" The doctor scolded.

"I don't recall asking anybody to call me their savior." Naofumi said before we left.

We had to bring the wagon up the mountain, tools and Filo's "lifetime of memories" which as Naofumi pointed out is a month. We also had to wear makeshift air filters so I had to wear a second mask as we neared the corpse. I'm not going to ask how Filo can withstand the air much less bring herself to eat under these conditions, my stomach contents would've been non existent if I tried that. Paying her no mind we neared the dragon, then every red flag was raised at once. Now a little while ago I got my own HUD, only had a mini map with a compass, party display, mana, and level counter which had a downward red arrow by my level. I just woke up with it one morning, anyway the dead dragon now had glowing red eyes, blood flowing back into it, it's wounds were regenerating, and to top it off it's level was "??". Naofumi and Raphtalia had the same idea as me and we noped out of there. Filo on the other hand decided it needed to die again now.

"A dragon? I hate dragons!" She jumped up and kicked it hard enough to stagger it. Okay so we might be able to kill it.

"There might just be a way to fight it." Naofumi said. The dragon got ready for a breath attack. "Get behind me everyone!" I entered the SR and waited behind the dragon instead, nothing out of the SR can effect me so I was safe, Raphtalia wasn't even behind Naofumi's defense.

"Now I'm mad!" Filo charged at it as Naofumi tried to stop her. He tried calling her back to him, but while she was distracted the dragon ate her whole. I stopped paying attention to Naofumi and Raphtalia as I just stood there. I may not have really liked Filo, but she was just a little girl, and that dragon just killed her. I felt the darkness flowing out of me as I once again cried. I let loose a single tear as I summoned the shuriken forms of Dawn and Nightfall and used Aero for a boost like I did for the chimera before throwing both Fira enhanced weapons from above it causing scream as it lost both it's wings. To say I was pissed would be an understatement.

"Why is it everything I come to care about even a little dies?" I asked as I switched to the regular forms. The darkness continued flowing out of me more intensely now. "You took something from me, so I'll take everything from you, starting with one of your eyes!" It tried to breathe on me, but I shot Blizzara into it's left eye which stopped it so it tried to slam it's claw on me, but I felt like I barely moved at all to the side, like it was a small step. In the next instant I was near it's head and close enough to stab the other eye. Darkness was enhancing everything so much I didn't feel like I was moving much at all. I continued making it suffer as I slashed at it's legs and the stumps that used to be wings, I was on one side one second then the other the next.

"Master Naofumi!" I heard Raphtalia shout. I paid no more attention to it as I slashed it's throat and passed Naofumi who was just walking to the dragon. I could almost feel his Hatred, he deserved a crack at it. The dragon turned it's attention to Naofumi and slammed down on him, he didn't even flinch as he blocked the attack, the dragon even pulled back. Naofumi's shield changed and was ablaze, something felt off about those flames I thought as the dragon tried to swipe it's tail at him only to regret it shortly after. This Hatred has turned to Bloodlust, I certainly had no intention of stopping Naofumi as he moved closer to the dragon, Raphtalia did though and she collapsed almost immediately after bringing him back to his senses. While he spent his time trying to heal Raphtalia I decided to continue where I left off. As I was about to strike it again with the scythes I was stopped unexpectedly.

'As the Darkbringer, source of thy power,' A voice said.

"As the Darkbringer, source of thy power,"

'I order thee.'

"I order thee."

'Heed the Raven's Call'

"Heed the Raven's Call"

'and rain Death upon my enemies.'

"and rain Death upon my enemies."

'Let not Blood nor Bone nor Ash remain.'

"Let not Blood nor Bone nor Ash remain."

'Abyssal Cataclysm!'

"Abyssal Cata-" Just before I could finish it the dragon collapsed. A few seconds later Filo rolled out of it's stomach. I went back to the wagon and just waited for them to come back. After seeing Raphtalia's state I tried Esuna and Cure, even Cura, nothing worked. Whatever this is I don't think magic can do anything for her, our magic at least. The village doctor said she was afflicted with a curse, one more powerful than this town's holy water can cleanse. I left those three to talk to each other and went up on the roof in the SR. I summoned Dawn and Nightfall to try something again.

"You're the voices I hear every so often right?" I asked, but I didn't get an answer. "Why did you choose me?" No answer. "If you're not going to answer at least let me know you're listening." Nothing. "I shouldn't have expected anything from this." I dismissed them and went back inside, sleep came quickly tonight.

Chapter 19

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Cassiel POV

We completed a few jobs on the way back to Melromarc, Raphtalia's curse made it much more difficult for her than I would expect, but she's strong so she'll be fine for now. On the way back we met a girl surrounded by chocobos (never calling them filolials), a noble's daughter from the looks of it by the name of Melty. We took her with us back to the capital figuring the reward would be worth the extra person. Arriving in the city Filo went with Melty as the rest of us went to the church for the holy water to cleanse Raphtalia's curse, I stayed in the SR as someone like me with Naofumi would likely cause a lot of trouble. One gold was the price for the water, Naofumi payed it without a second thought as Raphtalia was "worth more to him than any amount of gold". One of the priestess' decided to try to pass off a low quality item as the one we came for, the Pope scolded her and demanded she bring the promised item. After everything was said and done I left with the others.

Once we were outside a knight was running towards us, I don't understand why Naofumi decided to run, but I followed him anyway. Eventually they split up so I continued following Naofumi who was eventually attacked by Motoyasu. Apparently he doesn't know the slave he's trying to free this time is the one who taught him what castration feels and sounds like. As he's attacking Naofumi who's not even trying to fight back he's also causing a lot of damage, eventually the knight from before caught up and stopped the fight for a moment, the bitch used her power to resume it. Before anything else happened though Melty put an end to it, turns out she's the bitch's sister. Moving on Motoyasu was once again reminded of what castration feels like, I don't think he'll be having kids ever. Probably a good thing because at this point stupidity must be a genetic trait.

After Melty apologized to everyone for the scare and damage we moved to Erhard's shop. Long story short shd was sent by her mother to be Naofumi's aid, but because her father is a prick and her sister is a class A bitch at best he told her to get lost. Not long after some knights and mages entered the shop to ask Naofumi about joining him during the Waves, he'll accept if they can manage 150 silver to buy some jewelry. He noticed some stars by everyones names after they left and Erhard told him about class upgrades so we went to the church after Naofumi left his armor and the dragon's crystal with him, unfortunately it was expensive as Hell and the king decided to be an asshole again by forbidding them from offering additional services to us. The slaver couldn't help us, though he did give some information and a weapon to Filo before we left the city for supplies for the Wave.

We came across a town that to say it looked like shit would be an understatement, the people didn't look much better. Turns out Itsuki helped overthrow the previous ruler and now things are worse for everyone, the town was in shambles and the 15-20 people we encountered were all broke and they were starving. Some Heroes those three are, one nearly wipes out an entire town with a cursed seed, one nearly kills everyone with a dragon corpse, and the last one abandons everyone and now they're dying too. It's pretty ironic how the most "useless" of the Heroes is the only one doing his fucking job right, theirs too.

Back in the capital we found Itsuki and Ren in the pub, listening in they were talking about someone impersonating them and stealing the rewards. Itsuki got a guild job to deal with a tyrannical lord and what he said made Naofumi spray his drink on Filo and laugh a little.

"What's so funny?" Itsuki asked.

"Hey, I had no idea you'd been bitten by a spider pal." Naofumi said.

"Bitten by a what?"

"Nevermind, forget I said it."

"It's you isn't it? You're the one impersonating us, stealing our jobs and taking our rewards." Itsuki accused.

"What the Hell would I do that for?" Naofumi asked in denial.

"Who else would come up with an idea like-"

"Did you ever think that maybe you're trying too hard being some super cool, secret vigilante, and that you're not very good at it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were the adventurer who helped the resistance in the north weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have slightest idea what happened to that country after the king was ousted? All you did was switch who was running the village, it never solved a damn thing!"

"Stop changing the subject! We're talking about you impersonating my-" Ren stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Then how do you explain my case?" Ren asked.

"What was it about? Some disease?" Naofumi asked.

"If you know that makes it easier. So why'd you steal that job?"

"Did you know the corpse of that dragon you killed cause an epidemic that nearly wiped out the entire village?" Ren was shocked to hear his involvement in this. "I got rid of that corpse. That's why the job request was canceled."

"No way." Ren denied.

"It's true, if you think I'm lying go back there and see for yourself. Do you know how many people died because of you two??!!" Naofumi asked.

"Because of what I did?" Ren asked quietly.

"Master Naofumi." Raphtalia said getting his attention. He focused on her hand.

"I see, I'm sorry." Naofumi responded.

"You mean you believe him??!!" Itsuki asked Ren.

"Why shouldn't I? He has no reason to lie." Ren answered.

"One last thing regarding you two and Motoyasu." I joined in. "That dragon somehow became undead, we couldn't leave it so Filo and Raphtalia almost died, you owe us one gold Ren for the curse Raphtalia was afflicted with. Itsuki, stop trying to be the vigilante, otherwise more meaningless deaths will follow. And Motoyasu, that seed he used to save that starving village? The village became the food for that seed, Naofumi fixed that as well, modified the seed too and now it's perfectly safe. For legendary Heroes you three have a nasty habit of getting a lot of innocent people killed and leaving Naofumi to unfuck your fuck ups. Maybe you should do the world a favor and just quit while you're ahead, seems to me the world will be safer that way." I suggested. Ren didn't have anything to say in his defense, but he didn't look like he was just going to accept it. Itsuki did however.

"Who do you think you are? We're out ther-" He started.

"Playing hero and getting countless people killed as a result. What good is a hero who causes more harm unintentionally than good when he actually tries?" I grabbed Raphtalia's hand and showed it to them. "She was cursed and all of us along with the village nearly died because of you Ren as we were forced to fight an undead dragon that had to have been at least twice our level. And Itsuki, have you ever seen someone suffering so much from starvation and dehydration that they were willing to trade the most worthless items they could scavenge for any amount of food? If I weren't working with Naofumi to help them I would've just put them all out of their misery! A better way to die than how they were dying anyway so I'd've been doing those God forsaken people a favor!" I interrupted.

Silence.

"Come on, we're leaving." Naofumi said. As we followed him Itsuki had one last thing to say.

"I don't believe either of you. And you're a real piece of work Cassiel! How you can talk about what it means to be a hero when you're as manipulative and cruel as you are I'll never understand!" He said.

"To be fair I never claimed to be a good guy. I just know what I should expect from REAL heroes and what I can clearly expect from pretenders. Besides, if you don't know how to use others you'll never get anywhere in life, I learned that at a very early age." I responded before leaving.

We visited Erhard before getting ready for tomorrow. Naofumi got an upgrade and the knights managed to get the money, he gave them the necklace and told them use the money for better equipment, a message on my HUD showed they've joined the party so I guess we have some cannon fodder now.

"Oh one last thing. That weapon is done Cassiel." Erhard said.

"Weapon?" Naofumi asked.

"Yeah, he wanted the best weapon I could make in case his other weapons weren't usable and already had the money. Originally it would have costed 10 gold, but I gave him a good discount." He went back inside to grab it and Naofumi looked at me with what could only be described as pure rage.

"You mean to tell me you had gold on you, and you never told me?" He asked.

"Yup." Was my response before he had to be held back by everyone. Erhard came out of the shop with the weapon I ordered.

(It's real name is Sleeping Lion from Union X)

"All that's left is enchantments and a name kid! So what'll it be?" He asked as he handed it to me, reminds me a lot of Squall's final weapon in FFVIII, so I have just the name.

"Lionheart, that will be it's name." I told him. I turned to Naofumi. "I want to try this again, Naofumi, see if you can wield this." I handed it to him. He was able to hold it for just a few seconds before the bullshit rule was activated. "Welp, I guess I'm keeping it then. You wouldn't happen to have anything to let me draw it from my back would you?" I asked Erhard.

"I do actually, I'll be right back." He answered. Raphtalia spoke next.

"You were trying to give Master Naofumi a weapon? You know he can't use any." She said.

"When he inspected my weapons he literally learned nothing, it was like the weapons I use weren't even weapons, he even went so far as to say it was like they didn't technically exist. And since the rule violation didn't happen the last time I let him hold it, it was safe to assume he could use it. Apparently that's not the case." I explained.

"Alright , here it is." Erhard said exiting the shop and helping me put it on. The only real problem I have with the weapon is it doesn't match my armor, not like I wear it much anyway. After a little bit we went back to the inn to get ready for tomorrow.

We were summoned near another town, I helped with the evacuation this time, or rather I just moved through the SR and killed anything and everything that wasn't friendly. After everyone was safe we moved on to where the others were. Itsuki was shooting the flying ship while Ren and Motoyasu were trying to bring out the Soul Eater. When they started arguing Naofumi jumped down.

"This is no time to be bickering!" He said before he landed.

"Naofumi." Ren said.

"Why don't you go and defend some village?" Motoyasu asked.

"I agree! An incompetent Hero who can't fight should ju-" Bitch started.

"Oh we are going to have words regarding 'competence' after this Wave." I interrupted.

"If we don't put an end to the waves more monsters will come and I can't do my job, but you-" The Skull Captain attacked Naofumi from behind and he blocked it, pushing it back. "Instead of working together you three are doing whatever you want!" The Kraken attacked him this time and he blocked it again. "If we lose, all the villagers will die and so will you! Quit thinking this is some sort of game cause it's not!"

"Don't you think I know that by now? That's why I'm hitting the skeleton to spawn the Soul Eater." Ren said. He and Motoyasu started arguing, I was paying close attention to the skeleton until I saw something off about it's shadow. Naofumi noticed it too and had Raphtalia cast some light magic. After stabbing the shadows the Soul Eater rose up and the the other Three struck it with lightning doing almost nothing. Filo struck it with wind with the same result. The Soul Eater launched an attack that downed everyone except us.

Raphtalia and Filo began attacking it relentlessly, while it would die eventually the village wouldn't last long enough.

"One of you hold this." I threw my mask at a random person (made sure it wasn't bitch) and activated my armor. I drew Lionheart from my back and channelled Dark Fira through it, the way the weapon looked made it seem like it accepted the flames. I readied the shotgun varient of Blizzara as I flew up with the flight varient of Dawn and Nightfall. I was doing just as much damage as the others combined when I got a good hit on it's eyes and other important looking parts which weren't many actually. This weapon feels just right, as comfortable as the other two actually.

"Come forth! Rage Shield!" I heard Naofumi shout. I took a second to warn the others.

"That shield Naofumi's about to use is unique and very dangerous. If he can't get the Hatred and Rage that come with it under control he won't be able to tell friend from foe. Ren, that's the shield he killed that undead dragon with!" I told them and not long after did Naofumi change. Those arms and that armor is new. I backed off myself after seeing Filo go berserk on it with Naofumi doing the same afterward and pinning it while it was being burned by Hatred's Flame.

"He's basically turned into a wild beast and that's certainly not how a hero's supposed to fight." Bitch just couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"That's rich coming from you of all people. It would also seem the beast in question is getting better results than everyone else combined. The word that would best describe that is 'ironic' I believe. I believe it's also ironic that the fucking tank without a weapon is not only doing his job correctly, but doing more damage per second than everyone else per minute. Either you weaklings need to pick up the slack or just sit back and let the adults handle this." I blocked out everything as I tried to bring out my darkness.

Despair.

I remembered every death of everyone I've cared about. My family, when I thought Filo died too. The feeling of hopelessness. The desire to die.

Regret.

I could have saved at least one, but I was too scared to do anything and when I threw away my fear away I failed to save the others.

Rage.

Spoiled Rich, Ponyville's ignorance and conceit, the incident in the tunnel, the injustice at the triall

Hatred.

The bastard who took everything from me, the bullies and the staff in the school, my adoptive family, the judge and jury that let the bastard go free.

Vengeance.

The bastard, Spoiled, the cave monsters, the dragon.

"Do unto others as they would unto you, for there is no greater justice than Revenge!"
"Cast aside your weakness so you may never know defeat!"
"Send their souls screaming into the Abyss!"
"Show them Nightmares unending!"
"Darkness is the Heart's True Essence!"

I heard several voices shout. The darkness was flowing out of me more strongly than before with the dragon. Lionheart was now black, red, and purple, looked like it was themed around the GF Griever now. In the blink of an eye I was right next to the Soul Eater and launched it up with Aerora. Just as quickly I was doing to it what I did to the dragon. Once it landed on the ship I glided down by Naofumi.

"Think you can handle mine? My Hatred? My Rage?" I asked as I poured darkness into the Rage Shield, the darkness flowed into the gem and it began to glow strangely enough.

"Shield Prison!" The Soul Eater was now trapped in a green sphere held together by chains. "Not so fast! Change Shield!" I don't know what happened, but it was screaming in pain now. "Within this virgin of cold ore, who shall swallow even your screams with her cold embrace, suffer in anguish as your entire body is stabbed and skewered! Iron Maiden!" He said in a two toned voice. The prison rose up into a giant iron maiden and was trapped inside. When it opened, the Soul Eater fell below the ship and we thought it was dead until it rose from the floor. As I was about to finish it off, several shots of light rained down on it.

"How very disappointing." A female voice said. A woman in a kimono dropped down and killed it. Red flags! Lots of red flags! "You actually have trouble with weaklings like these? Are you really the Heroes holding the world's fate in their hands?" She asked in a condescending tone. "There's only one here worthy of being called a Hero." She walked closer to us. "And what is your name?" She asked Naofumi.

"How about introducing yourself before asking someone's name." He said.

"Oh pardon me, whatever happened to my manners? I am called Glass and that's all you need to know. Feel free to consider me your enemy." And the last nail in the coffin.

"I'm Naofumi." He answered her question.

"Now would be a very good time for all of us to run!" I said to everyone in fear of this woman.

"It would seem one of you knows his limits, everyone else's too." Glass said.

"There's no way I'm running damnit!" Motoyasu said.

"You mind if I explain this to him?" I asked Glass.

"I have time, I'd like to hear this anyway." She answered.

"Let me put it to you like this dumbass. Your tank does more damage than the rest of you combined, I do about as much damage over the course of a minute as he does with that skill he used which takes just as long, both of us are about 20-30 levels below you. She just killed that thing in two hits and calls it weak and everyone else weak. Her level is just "??" so it's safe to assume she's at least twice my level. Now look at her weapons, unless those purple jewels are cosmetic, those weapons are a lot more dangerous than they look, the only weapons I've seen with those are all your weapons and pictures of these 'Vassal Weapons' in a book and the Fan wasn't one of the ones I read about. You want more? The list goes on!" I said. He didn't back down and charged at Glass who basically bitch slapped him back past us. "Oh wow who didn't see that one coming?" I asked, laughing at him.

"You are well informed, sharp too. I think I might like you." Glass said.

"That's actually terrifying coming from you." I responded.

"Now may I suggest that we begin... The only battle of this Wave worthy of the name?"

You know what? Fuck it.

Author's Notes:

After a bit of thinking I decided to go back a few chapters and change a few things regarding Cassiel's power. A few games I played (can't remember specific ones) increase stats by a percentage when you level up, some do it by a percent of it's current value while others do it by flat numbers to name a few. Doubling his level in several games would actually do a lot more than double his stats as well. Considering the damage he did to the dragon at half power (between levels 35-40) I think it would be safe to assume he could fight on equal ground with Glass, even wipe the floor with her if he didn't have the mask on and was empowered by the Darkness.

Kind of a major oversight on my part. When he got the mask he wanted his current strength without it to feel like and be how his depowered state would be, so he essentially told God to give him power and an item to cut it in half. I'm not trying to change the story, but I can't have him being OPAF when he goes to Remnant and the other worlds so I'm tweaking an item's function to help with that.

Chapter 20

View Online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KbKXNHXwJQ

Cassiel POV

"Well, why are you waiting to attack? Hero Naofumi." Glass asked. "Why not try sending those servants of yours at me first?" She taunted.

"Servants? What the Hell?"
"You just called us-"
"Naofumi's servants?" Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu said offended in order.

"Screw you!" All 3 said at once. Their party members surrounded Glass as they readied themselves to attack.

"Meteor Slash!"
"Meteor Thrust!"
"Meteor Shot!" They attacked at once. When we were able to see the result we saw Glass standing there unfazed.

"Is that all you've got?" She asked. She opened up her Fans and spread her arms to her sides. "Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons!" She sent wind slashes at everyone but us.

"Barrier!" I casted on the other 'Heroes' at least before the attack hit anyone, better meat shields and all that. Everyone else was knocked down, they however were able to keep their footing even though her attack broke through, though they were knocked back quite a bit. "See what I meant? She's more powerful than the three of you combined and your parties."

"As I was saying before, mere servants." She turned to me. "That was certainly something. To be able to quickly cast the same spell three times and still possess that level of power without an incantation? I'm impressed, and that's not easy mind you." She praised. "You might just entertain me a little."

"Sorry lady, but I wasn't much into entertaining. That said Shield Prison." Naofumi casted after drinking a potion Ren dropped. Glass was trapped in the sphere for not even three seconds before she broke free. I dashed forward ready to keep her occupied for a few seconds while Raphtalia and Filo moved in as well. Explosive Firas did surprise her as did shotgun Blizzaras, but she was still able to defend against my attacks and ignore the Blizzaras. Raphtalia and Filo attacked her after I was pushed back with no better results. She still hasn't moved from that spot since this fight started. When she pushed away Raphtalia she sent a wind slash at her which Naofumi blocked. Naofumi's shield sent three giant cobras that still didn't faze Glass.

"You didn't really think that would work did you?" Glass asked. Naofumi backed off.

"Filo!" He called and she kicked Glass faster than I could see clearly, though I did hear almost 10 kicks before she was knocked back.

"Eight kicks in a second, how very admirable, but I'm afraid it's not enough." Glass said. Raphtalia tried to get her from behind, but Glass blocked it. "Not even worthy of mention." She said disappointed and broke her sword with ease. As Raphtalia was pushed back Glass spread out her arms again.

"All of you get behind me, hurry!" Naofumi said panicking. "Shield Prison!" He casted once we were behind him.

"Reverse Four Seasons!" Glass tried to break the shield. As we were being attacked I quickly brought my darkness back out along with Dawn and Nightfall and stepped into the SR. I dashed behind her as she was attacking everyone and exited with Dark Fira on each weapon. This caught her by surprise and I got a few good hits in which forced her to focus her attention on me. This also pushed her toward the others a little.

"You are just full of surprises aren't you? Naofumi is still standing and you have been holding back greatly. I would know your name." She said.

"Cassiel, the Darkbringer." I don't know why I included that into my introduction, kind of ironic considering I'm named after an Archangel, then again there's still what God told me of Lucifer so I guess it isn't so after all.

"It suits you. I wonder what else you're capable of, though I'm also curious as to when Naofumi will bring out that flaming shield he's been using." After a few moments Raphtalia gave Naofumi the go ahead.

"Come forth, Rage Shield!" His Shield transformed and Filo went berserk again causing her to attack Glass head on. Glass deflected her and sent her flying to the other side of the ship.

"I thought I was clear, you can't touch me." She said plainly. I attacked her and now she was having more difficulty defending herself because every attack was now much more powerful and had an explosive ready. I backed off and readied an Aerora empowered shuriken enchanted with Dark Thundara and held it in place as I entered the SR and attacked her from above after exiting. With her back turned to the shuriken I made sure to keep her busy with the wingblades, scythe, and Lionheart. "And I think I was right about you. You have potential there's no doubt about that!" She knocked me away, her breathing just a little heavier now. "And your weapons are certainly unique, are you certain you're not a Vassal Hero yourself?" She asked.

"Even if Dawn and Nightfall are Vassal Weapons I'm certainly no Hero. I'm in this for me and no one else." I said ending Aerora and attacking her from behind. She turned to block it so I took the opportunity to throw another shuriken leaving me with just Lionheart. She turned just enough that both shurikens would collide, but I did to her what I did with the Darkside and she was still electrocuted. Just as I closed in with Lionheart she spread her arms again.

"Reverse Four Seasons!"

"Reflect!" Her attack was interrupted very shortly, but I was still hit at point blank so I was launched past Naofumi who charged her with the Rage Shield.

"I think I've seen enough from you Cassiel, by the next Wave you might be able to fight me on equal ground." She said as she took on Naofumi's attack and wasn't phased by it again. "Surely you can do better than that, your flame's just too cold."

'Even the Flames of Hatred did nothing to her?' I thought.

Naofumi backed off as one of her Fan's became almost like a sword due to a ray of purple light. She raised that Fan with the other over it and pointed it at Naofumi. "Rupture Stance Rondo: Tortoise Shell Cracker!" Naofumi blocked the projectile, but the armor on his right arm broke. "Interesting, so even that isn't enough to bring you down. If nothing else your defense lives up to your title of Hero."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Naofumi said.

"It seems however your dark flame only activates in close quarter attacks, but the story is very different when it comes to ranged attacks. You must have an ace up your sleeve. Stop holding out on me and show me what you can do."

"Alright if you insist, but don't say I didn't warn you. Shield Prison! Change Shield! Change to Iron Maiden!" She had the power to escape before, she can do it again I'm sure.

"Pity, it's even less potent than I imagined it to be." Called it. "How disappointing." The ship shifted and threw everyone off balance for a moment. "The time limit? I didn't expect it to hit this quickly."

"When I give you the sign, use your light magic to blind her." Naofumi said to Raphtalia low enough to not be heard by Glass.

"The battle of the Wave will end in our victory, there can be no other outcome! I have nothing against you, but it is what it is." Glass said as fog began to cover the ship.

"Okay now!" Naofumi shouted.

"Right, Fast Light!" Raphtalia casted and blinded Glass.

"Alright, Fast Heal!" Naofumi casted on Filo before escaping. I stayed behind as I could escape easily.

"Of all the futile, useless-" She saw no one there so she looked under the ship to find them escaping. I moved to the highest point on the ship through the SR for what I was about to do as she shot them at extremely long ranges.

"As the Darkbringer, source of thy power I order thee. Heed the Raven's Call and rain death upon my enemies. Let not Blood nor Bone nor Ash remain." Glass looked up at me surprised. "Abyssal Cataclysm!" Darkness shot from above, the floor beneath her somehow changed into pitch black rock and encased her like the Shield Prison as darkness began to enshroud the sphere before a dark inferno seemed to erupt from the inside and send her crashing through the ship while she was still in the sphere. I flew down and saw her in pretty bad condition. Not life threatening, she was still standing, but not exactly going to be comfortable for a while, she could probably kick my ass still.

"You could do that the entire time?" She asked pained and I think angered.

"To be honest I had no idea what that spell would do, the last time I tried to use it I was stopped by the chance of friendly fire." I reached in my pocket. "Here." I tossed her a healing potion. "I doubt we'll see each im the next Wave, I might not even be around for it actually as I may have returned home so don't expect revenge if that's on your mind right now. And before you say anything, my home is perfectly safe from the Waves so don't bother." I entered the SR before she could say anything. She drank the potion and flew into one of the holes in the sky, that gives me a few ideas as to why she's an enemy. Hero of the Wave maybe? Questions for later. I flew back to the village after retrieving my mask and explained what happened to the others before a knight came along demanding mine and Naofumi's presence.

I decided to humor Aultcray so I'm in the throne room with Naofumi and Aultcray is watching a replay of the battle. Though it ends when the Soul Eater fell.

"I saw what happened through the crystal ball. You did well to quell the Wave, as much as I hate to admit it. I have a question for you two. I want to know exactly how you obtained such incredible strength! You possess powers unbecoming of the Shield Hero," he turned to me "and you possess power greater than the other Three Heroes, it is your duty to reveal the secret behind it. It's time to spit it out, and don't even think of lying to me." Aultcray warned. I put my hand on Naofumi's shoulder to get his attention.

"Naofumi don't do it." I warned. "As much as you hate him we both know nothing good will come of this if you do anything that might piss him off." He nodded I turned to Aultcray. "I'll answer for both if you'll allow it, though there are a few conditions I would ask that require little to nothing on your part and a few conditions just to be fair to Naofumi."

"Very well, speak." He said.

"1: What is said here doesn't leave the throne room. 2: You give him a fair reward for his involvement in the Wave, so no giving him a much lower payment like last time. 3: You clear his name, we both know he was innocent so at the very least clear his name with the other Heroes, cooperation between them is vital and all of them hating Naofumi isn't doing anyone any favors. 4: You give him the same support you've been giving the others. 5: Lift the ban on the church from offering services to him and his party. All I'm really asking for is for you to be a just and fair king from now on, I'm not asking for anything unreasonable like executing Myne or abdicating the throne. You can't keep us here and you know we're more than capable of fighting our way out, cooperate with us and we'll cooperate with you, fair enough?" His hands were shaking and I could tell he was angry, but he kept it down.

"I will... Adhere to the first two terms, though don't expect such again." He agreed reluctantly. This surprised me as well, how much of a pushover he is.

"That Shield burns with the Flames of Hatred, the stronger his hate, the stronger the flames. To my understanding he must have unlocked it after the duel you cheated in, that was an emotional breakdown if I've ever seen one and the Shield was the result. He didn't use it until later during a fight with an undead dragon, you might have come across the request from that village for medicine."

"That does sound familiar yes."

"Raw emotion unlocked that power, pure Hate and Rage, that Shield makes him go berserk unless he can get it under control. He did and in the process surpassed the others. He has you and your daughter to thank for it, though I wouldn't recommend trying to help the others unlock this power."

"And your power?"

"Also partially based on emotions, specifically the darkness, and I have a lot of it as my Goddess told me. Much like the Vassal and Hero weapons, mine also choose their wielder, though these two usually choose polar opposites as she told me. I died actually and woke up feeling twice as strong in a ruined castle with my weapons and this power suppressing mask next to me. Some time later I used my first spell in the heat of the moment. Since then my power has really just come from getting stronger and hearing the occasional voice in my head telling me new spells. No matter how much I explain it you won't be able to replicate it. Now there's one other matter to discuss."

"Spit it out!"

"I'm assuming you didn't watch the rest if there was more? A woman named Glass finished off the monster in two hits and claimed to be an enemy as she proceeded to wipe the floor with everyone. I have reason to believe there are other Hero weapons and Vassal weapons that you won't find im the library, she was using Fans. She ignored damn near everything everyone threw at her and barely moved at all during the fight. She took the other Heroes most powerful attacks and basically said they were boring her. After I caught her off guard and beat her she left by flying through those holes in the sky that keep dropping monsters."

"I did not see this." He said alarmed.

"If I'm right about this, the Waves have their own Heroes, perhaps even Vassal wielders. One was enough to fight off who should've been three of the most powerful fighters in the world and barely broke through Naofumi's defense while she was holding back. She barely even moved at all and she took the Iron Maiden like it was nothing. Assuming she's the weakest of the Four the Waves might have, what's the strongest capable of? As much as you won't like it you NEED to work WITH Naofumi. If you truly care about this country, if you truly care about the world you NEED to drop the metaphorical dagger you keep behind your back when he's involved." He slammed his fist on to the arm rest of the throne.

"I will not work with that swine!" He shouted.

"Then your kingdom and the rest of the world will burn because you can't look past a weapon he didn't even want to wield. If that is all we'll be taking our leave." I said entering the SR and heading back to Filo and Raphtalia.

On the road, the sun was setting, it'd be night in an hour-ish. Melty came all this way to ask Naofumi and I to apologize to Aultcray. Needless to say we refused. The guards behind her had a crystal ball, one tried to attack Melty, keyword "tried". Ice to the feet tend to stop that, and now we've kidnapped Melty apparently, this screams "bitch". Thankfully no one here saw my weapons or my face so I'm technically not a fugitive. Unfortunately the others didn't want me killing them so I had to allow witnesdes, silver lining, I got to torture one. We learned SO much and some things we didn't need/ want to know. We didn't need to know he LOVED his cousin, sick fuck.

I think I broke him.

I'm not apologizing.

Chapter 21

View Online

Cassiel POV

Well let me summarize things up until now. So bitch is likely conspiring with the Church of Three (Three Heroes Church, same thing) and both are not only trying to get rid of us, but bitch is trying to kill Melty so she'll be crown princess. Apparently they were recording the "kidnapping" and changed the footage a lot, blood, murderous smiles, the essentials. So Naofumi decided we should go to Siltvelt because Melromarc is trying so damn hard to keep us from getting there. Our camp was found and after a short run we (everyone but me) were cornered by the soldiers, bitch, and the other "Heroes".

"That's it, you've got nowhere left to run. You're surrounded, even you have to admit that. Cease your resistance and release princess Melty at once!" Itsuki demanded.

"What's this 'release' business? It's not like I ever tied her up or anything." Naofumi said.

"Quit lying to us, we have all the proof we need now." Motoyasu said triumphantly.

"Please Sir Heroes, I'm perfectly fine as you can well see! The Shield Hero kept watch over me, making sure I was safe!" Melty defended Naofumi.

"Wait a minute, this whole thing is happening because Naofumi abducted you." Ren said.

"This is all a misunderstanding, you see someone is plotting to have me killed. I asked him to take me with him and to protect my life!" Melty explained.

"He's protecting you? Come on!"

"What advantage could the Shield Hero possibly stand to gain by abducting me?" Naofumi nodded. "The queen told me this is the time for all of us to work together, it's the only way we'll be able to thwart the Catastrophes. Our world can't withstand anymore of these ridiculous, pointless conflicts! Put your weapons away, please?"

"Like she said, this whole thing was a setup from the beginning. I have no secrets, I'll tell you everything I know, and then I'll-"

"I command you not to listen to him." Ah, there's bitch. "That lying Devil possesses a brainwashing-" I shot Thundara at the cliff to shut her up.

"I swear everything that comes out of your mouth is poison! Jesus Christ woman do you ever not lie?" I asked, amazed at her persistence. "Let me guess, you were going to say he can brainwash people with his Shield right? The timing for this reveal is just a little too perfect don't you think? When and how did you learn the base form of his Shield could somehow control people?" I'm not holding back with her right now. "Let me guess, the Church discovered heretics in places he's visited right? Coincidentally every single one was saved by him: Lut Village twice, the town Motoyasu gave that cursed seed to, the town with the dead dragon and the epidemic caused by it, those starving villagers Itsuki abandoned, and most recently the last town attacked by the Waves. That sounds more like gratitude than worship to me."

"Cursed seed?" Motoyasu asked quietly.

"Do we have a guarantee that it can't? What kind of proof can you give to convince us her claims are false?" Ren asked.

"The simple facts the king still hates him and no one is trying to kill each other right now should be proof enough. If he wanted to brainwash anyone now would be the time when he could make everyone here his servants. Good enough reason?" I answered his question with my own. "Now let's cut to the chase shall we? None of us trust the bitch with Melty, we do however trust you, we don't trust you to not be unwilling pawns in her death if she does go with you. So let's just skip to the part where I fight the Three of you at once and they escape with the good princess yeah?"

"What?" Bitch asked absolutely pissed. I drew Lionheart as Filo took the opportunity to transform and fly off with the others. I dashed forward to engage Ren after freezing Itsuki in place, CQC and archers don't go well after all. While keeping close to Ren, I was keeping watch on Itsuki and the others.

"Cassiel, just stop this!" Ren said, our weapons locked against one another. I pushed him back and shot him with Blizzard. "Crimson Blade!" He blocked my spell with his.

"We already tried resolving this peacefully, but you idiots have a nasty habit of believing everything that comes out of her mouth." I responded. I threw Dawn as a shuriken at him after planting a few Fire bombs on it, he didn't notice that detail and was blown away. He quickly regained his footing, but I was already on him with Lionheart, flipped so the back of the keyblade was facing him, and a Fira bomb found it's way close to it's face after he blocked it. He was knocked back again, as I was closing in on him, Itsuki found an opportunity to shoot me. "So now you want to play?" I asked as I turned my attention to him

"One Thousand Swords!" I turned back to Ren just in time to see a few dozen spectral swords flying toward me.

"Meteor Shot!" I heard Itsuki shout.

"Barrier!" I blocked both their attacks just fast enough and turned my complete attention to the others.

(While Cassiel is fighting Ren and Itsuki)

Motoyasu threw something at Filo and forced her to revert to her other form. While the others were downed and Motoyasu was practically molesting Filo, the bitch shot up a flare, afterward she kept bombarding Naofumi, Melty, and Raphtalia was nowhere to be seen, having cloaked herself. Naofumi brought out the Rage Shield as the knights mobilized to attack him and Raphtalia used her magic sword to stop the bitch's attempt to kill Melty. Filo escaped Motoyasu, and Naofumi blew up the path with the others on his side and me over here still. I moved to the end of the path and Naofumi threw the Church's rosary to me.

"Give that to Ren." He said before running away. I turned back around to see so many people to slaughter, sadly they're off limits.

"The Devil may have escaped, but you're trapped with nowhere to run! Kill him!" Bitch ordered. I shot all the knights and mages in their knees in a little over a second before using Dark Fira to trap everyone here.

"Me? Trapped? Hehehe that's a funny joke. No, you're all trapped here with me! Let me ask you something, I fought Glass to a stalemate and she wiped the floor with everyone, what makes you think you can beat me even at half my base power? What about when I bring out my darkness? This must be how Glass felt."

"Don't do this Cassiel." Ren said.

"Or what? I'm certain I can beat all of you at once, that reminds me." I dashed towards the bitch and blasted her into the rocks knocking her out cold.

"Myne!" Motoyasu cried out. "You bastard! Lightning Spear!" I dodge rolled to the side and shot him with Thundara. He was still standing which kind of surprised me. "Chao-"

"Stopra!" He was frozen in time and I wanted to test something. "Tell me if your perception of time stopped as well." I told him as I threw away his Spear and bashed him a few times in the face with the guard. "Ren, Naofumi wanted me to give this to you. I'm guessing he thinks you can get to the bottom of this. See that you do." I threw the rosary to him and brought out my wings after releasing Itsuki who was still trapped.

"OWOWOWOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?' Motoyasu asked after the spell ended. I turned away.

"Well that answers that question. I expect re-" An arrow flew past my head and embedded itself in the rock (really would've expected that to not happen). I turned back to the other Three then back to the arrow a few times. I pointed to Itsuki. "That didn't come from you." I pointed behind about 30° to his side. "Found you!" I shot several arrows over there and heard a scream. "Learn to aim jackass!" And with that I flew away. So much for fighting all Three.

After catching up with the others we took our leave and noticed the bitch started a damn forest fire. I guess we're arsonists now, how someone like her is still even allowed near the throne eludes me. The next day we arrived in Raphtalia's old home, there was a noble Melty trusted and he let us stay until we were ready to leave. Unfortunately the place was overrun by knights and Melty was taken by another noble who I already want to kill and the one who let us stay was taken. After everything calmed down, Naofumi decided we would go retrieve Melty, though I suspect he'll also free the slaves and the good noble as well.

Arriving at the city Melty is being held in we saw a lot of Demi Humans banging on the gate demanding their lord be returned. One worthy of his position if the 'lower class' love him that much. We used the distraction at the gate to sneak inside and a little while later we learned where Melty was and made our way to her. Once we found her the noble tried using her as a hostage and held a knife to her throat. I appeared out of the SR and grabbed the knife by the blade.

"Nice try." I said and punched him in the face with enough force to send him flying into the wall. "I hear you're a fan of torture? So am I! Let's compare notes shall we?" I lit my hand with Dark Fire as to not kill him and grabbed his face causing him to scream. "I want to see despair in your eyes as your face warps in agony! Show me what I want and you'll live longer!" After a few more seconds I backed off and let Raphtalia have a go. She's the one with a grudge, not me. She took a few strikes from his whip then cut the whip, forcing him into the wall. He begged for his life, but she wasn't hearing any of it. She didn't kill him, still hasn't, but she's close, and I can't allow that.

"Wait! Wait a moment! You'd all be dead, the whole lot of you would've died like dogs if I hadn't taken you in like that!" The noble whose name I still haven't cared enough to learn begged.

"You keep your mouth shut! You think I can forgive the atrocities you've commited? Not 'til I've died, I'll never forgive what you've done!" She's closer now. If Naofumi doesn't stop her I will.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong! I'll- I'll apologize, I swear!"

"This scumbag here, he took Rifana and he..." She raised her blade, ready to strike.

"No! Please no!" He's crying now. Raphtalia was probably about to kill him, but Naofumi stopped her.

"Raphtalia." She stopped. "I can't imagine how you feel, but will killing him help you get closure? You've become stronger over time, and not just with your sword." Naofumi said. I moved towards her and placed my hand on hers.

"I read once a quote from a man who probably spoke from experience. 'Don't hunt them because they wronged you. Hunt them because what they did was wrong. One makes you selfish, the other makes you a hero.' I never told you about when I had my vengeance. Nothing changed, the nightmares, the pain, the beatings, nothing. If you truly want him dead then give me the word and I'll send his head soaring past the gate." She lowered her sword.

"You're a monster, a man who put Demi Humans through Hell, then killed them. I'll never forgive you! But if I kill you, I won't be any different than the disgusting worm you are. So I've decided to let you live, that way you can atone for the sins you've commited in this place."

"Damn you Demi Human! You scum, now you die!" He drew his sword and attacked her. After disarming her she stabbed him with her mana sword and he backed away, tripping over his whip and crashing through the window to his death. After healing the good noble whose name I also haven't cared enough to learn we went back to an underground entrance Raphtalia found earlier. It was there that the bastard who just died kept his slaves and tortured them. Turns out a few of Raphtalia's friends were down there, Rifana wasn't so lucky though, she'd been dead long enough that only bones remained. After freeing the slaves we went back up to find the guy who fell earlier still alive and kneeling before some kind of monument.

"Oh supreme God, grant me the power to rend the Devil asunder!" The area around him lit up. Turns out that monument was a seal created by previous Heroes against a powerful monster which then proceeded to stomp on him. Did I forget to mention that monster was a dinosaur? A T-Rex at that?

Well we're already Dragonslayers, why not add this to the list?

Chapter 22

View Online

Cassiel POV

So our options were limited. After running for a bit we found out this monster is after Filo who still has that mana crystal from the other dragon. We also found out it's tanky as fuck, her kick did nothing to it and with all the potential collateral damage we had to get it out of the city. After getting it out of the city to a lake I handed my mask to Melty who was shocked by my face and tried my luck with the dragon, I couldn't break off the scales, I couldn't hit it's eyes with that giant crown-like thing on it's head in the way, and other spells like Gravira did nothing to it. I think I can see why the Four Heroes from back then couldn't kill it, I even tried channeling the darkness and still I couldn't do anything more than chip away at it's fleshy underside. I might have been able to kill it, but endurance isn't something I would have enough of for this, and if I did that's assuming I don't get hit and the others can last as well.

Just as Naofumi was about to bring out the Rage Shield the strangest thing happened, chocobos started running out of the forest and circled the dragon, then a giant chocobo rose from the lake behind us and spoke to us and the dragon. She killed that thing with so little effort that it makes me wonder WHERE THE FLYING FUCK HAS SHE BEEN SINCE THE WAVES STARTED??? GLASS HAS NOTHING ON THIS GIANT ASS BIRD!!! Okay, now that that's out of my system let's go back to it. After putting my mask back on she turned into her human form and introduced herself as Fitoria and protested against Naofumi using the Rage Shield and dragon parts before she relented and teleported us with her carriage.

The location we were teleported to was some ruins she said was supposedly defended by Heroes before she was born, she's been watching over them and has essentially turned this place into a "filolial sanctuary" as Melty called it. Fitoria offered to let us rest here for a little while and we got down to making use of that dragon corpse, dragon meat is actually pretty good, so good that Naofumi had to feed the other chocobos as well. After everyone had their fill and went to sleep Fitoria wanted to talk with Naofumi about how the dragon was released among other things. She let out a frustrated sigh after hearing everything.

"What's wrong with you?" Naofumi asked.

"I am appalled. You Cardinal Heroes should all be ashamed, squabbling with each other when the next Wave is approaching." She answered.

"Give me a break, they started it."

"The Shield Hero has always been shunned by the human supremacist countries."

"Okay then you should understand! That's the whole reason we're trying to cross the bor-"

"Leaving won't solve anything, work it out! The humans and Demi Humans may hate each other, but the Heroes mustn't fight amongst themselves."

"That's a lot easier said than done. As long as they believe the bitch that put us in this position we won't be able to do so. They still believe he's a rapist because of her and now they, because of her, believe he can brainwash people and has done so to Melty who he 'kidnapped'. You make it sound like Naofumi is at fault as well when it's their unwillingness to cooperate among other things that he has little to no control over." I said in his defense. Nothing was said for a little while, Fitoria sat down on the roof of a building and started stacking rocks.

"Don't you know about the Hourglass? All Four of you certainly should." She said.

"If you're talking about the Dragon Hourglass then yeah, we do." Naofumi answered.

"Then why aren't you fighting the Waves of Catastrophe across the world?" I snapped my head to her in surprise.

"Wait a second, you mean to tell me the Waves of Catastrophe don't just happen inside of Melromarc?" Naofumi asked shocked.

"No, they happen everywhere. The Four Heroes are meant to go to one country each everytime there's a Wave." She answered.

"But nobody ever told me about that."

"I've been traveling the world in your stead whenever I'm asked, but you Four aren't helping anywhere else."

"Hell, I just found out other countries had their own Hourglasses." A thought comes to mind.

"I think I know why they aren't helping other countries. All Four were summoned in Melromarc, it's possible the country that summons a specific Hero will recall that Hero, or all Heroes in this case at the time of the Waves. It's also possible that the Hourglasses teleport the Heroes in that country to the location hit by it. If it's the former then either Aultcray or the bitch is planning world domination after the Waves." I theorized.

"I cannot tell you for certain nor does it concern me. I'm only fighting because the Hero who raised me asked me to do so." She replied.

"Asked, or told?" Naofumi asked.

"My job is to protect the world and keep it's people safe."

"The world can live on without the people, but the same can't be said the other way around." I said.

"You understand then, to an extent at least. I can't do that all bh myself, I need the Heroes to help me."

"Honestly you seem a lot more capable than any of us." Naofumi said.

"That may be true for now, but eventually I won't be enough."

"So that's why you need the Heroes to help you."

"Exactly. That's also why you need to make amends with the other Heroes."

"Sorry, but as Cassiel said, that's easier said than done."

"The Cardinal Heroes are supposed to work together. That is absolutely crucial to this world's protection!"

"Not happening, the whole country besides those three and Cassiel want to get rid of me."

"Don't worry, I'm aware of what's happening. Regardless, the Heroes must stop fighting each other."

"You're kind of obsessing about that."

"Because it is completely unacceptable."

"Well it's a lost cause 'cuz they don't want to play nice with me either."

"Are you certain?" I'm not liking where this is going.

"... Yeah."

"I see, you've made up your mind then. It's been a while, several life times in fact, I can hardly remember anything, but I do still remember what this means I'll have to do. If the Heroes are busy fighting each other instead of fighting the Waves of Catastrophe, then you leave me no choice. I must kill all Four of you!"

Wait what?

The next day Fitoria did something that made me want to kill her. She used Melty as a hostage and demanded Naofumi reconcile with the Others, when he refused she told him if he can prove he can beat the Waves without the Others that she won't kill anyone. She decided a duel between her and Filo would take place as the proof of this. To say the fight was one sided is an understatement, faster, stronger, experienced, Fitoria had every possible advantage and she knew that. How the duel ended was surprising to say the least, Filo after a heavy beating finally managed to scratch Fitoria, then she kept going on about how she would protect everyone, even I was one of them which surprised me more than when she hit Fitoria.

'Heh, a little girl wants to protect me of all people, I'm not sure how to feel about that.' I thought.

Fitoria decided Filo passed her little "test" and appointed her the next queen, apparently their kind's crown is a cowlick as revealed by a tiara fading away and changing her hair. She also had a gift for Naofumi and gave his Shield one of her cowlicks before asking to discuss something privately between the three of us. Before that though she offered anything to Melty, we really should have seen her asking for a ride in her other form coming. She looked so happy that it was like every worry she had was now gone. That night though we were able to have our little chat, she talked about the Waves and the sacrifices to be made later on before casting a spell on Naofumi that slowed the corrosion of the Rage Shield, afterward she wanted to speak to me privately and asked him to await her return. After we descended the stairs she spoke first.

"Your name is Cassiel correct?" She asked.

"It is." I answered.

"May I see your weapon?" That's an odd question.

"Alright?" Not like I had much of a choice in the matter. After inspecting it for a while she handed it back to me.

"A fine replica, it must have been made by a blacksmith truly worthy of being called such. Now show me the real one."

"You're familiar with keyblades?" I asked surprised as I showed her Nightfall and she took it to inspect it before it disappeared on it's own and reappeared back in my hands.

"There has only ever been one other keyblade wielder that I've known of, a Demi Human that was around the time the Hero who raised me was still alive. He mostly observed, but that doesn't mean he didn't help, he traveled with all the Heroes a few times and helped when the Waves were too difficult. Unfortunately he saw something that made him fall to his darkness and it took all the Heroes to put down the monster that rose from where he stood."

"Where are you going with this?"

"You are much closer to falling than he was before he saw what he did. You may think it is power at your command, and perhaps it is, but that may not be the case forever. You possess the means of acquiring equal if not greater power than the Cardinal Weapons at their full potential. I would ask you not rely on that power you used to fight the dragon if at all possible if you wish to reach that potential." She requested.

"That's not something I can do. I'm going to trust my master, I'm going to trust in Raven more than you, especially after that stunt you pulled earlier." I turned Nightfall into a scythe and channeled Dark Fira through it. "I was ready to try to kill you consequences be damned!" I desummoned Nightfall. "My darkness is mine and mine alone to use as I see fit. It was the Hell I've been through that gave me this darkness, why would I use it? I'll make you a deal though, if you can give me power equal to it right now then I'll stop, otherwise back off and stay out of affairs you know nothing about!" She turned away.

"Very well, I'll trust you not to fall to it. Though don't say I didn't warn you." She said before going back to Naofumi. I went back to the others and was just curious enough to see how comfortable this was, sleeping on chocobos.

I fell asleep almost immediately.

Chapter 23

View Online

Cassiel POV

Fitoria teleported us near one of the other Heroes with a new wagon before we left her. The Hero was at a check point waiting for us. Unfortunately the Hero was Motoyasu who is convinced Ren and Itsuki have been murdered by Naofumi who has also been framed for that monster being released. I let them fight it out, Motoyasu may not be a bad guy, but he is a complete idiot who's fighting to avenge his dead friends while Naofumi is simply keeping a promise and thinking ahead. As much as I wanted to kick Motoyasu's teeth in I knew now wouldn't be so satisfying so I just annoyed the mages, interrupting incantations is fun, especially when the victim is THE bitch. I didn't leave her friends out, no, they were also hit in the face with Blizzard...a lot, it's amazing they still have teeth because that's where I was aiming. After the fight was done I noticed something off, Filo and Raphtalia also did at the same time, where are all the knights? Filo grouped everyone together and told Naofumi to pull out the Rage Shield and put up more shields above us after using Shield Prison on all of us. I removed my mask and placed just as many Barriers above us as we braced for whatever was coming. Not long after we heard clapping above us and the Pope was there.

"Truly remarkable. You just took Judgement head on, an exceedingly powerful group ritual, yet you're still standing. I'd expect nothing less from the Shield Hero." He said.

"I know you, you're from the cathedral in the capital!" Naofumi said.

"Oh, so you remember who I am do you? Then surely you're aware of all your sins as well."

"My sins?"

"God bestowed holy water to you yet you refused to show him gratitude for that most righteous gift, you also deceived the people and lead them to turn against their own country. I shall purify you in the name of God! Your transgressions will plague this land no more!"

"How dare you! Do you realize what you've just done?" Bitch asked.

"You know besides give me reason to turn this place into a bloodbath?" I asked.

"You very nearly killed the next queen with that attack and the Spear Hero as well!" She said.

'Would losing you really have been a bad thing? Hell, I'd hold a celebration in his honor if you were to die, before killing him afterward.' I thought.

"The Spear Hero and the princess were both killed by the Devil of the Shield, at least that's the story the world will be told. As far as God is concerned you're all dead already." The Pope responded.

"What is this? Myne, can you explain what the Hell he's talking about?" Motoyasu asked.

"And if the lives of those who have been marked for death do finally come to an end, that means all is right with the world. Everything shall be exactly as God desires it to be." The Pope said. I will be using that later.

"This man's completely insane!" Raphtalia said.

"That logic's pretty twisted." Melty said. "Reminds me of someone." She said looking at the bitch.

"First off, Raphtalia, he's delusional and arrogant, not insane. Melty, trust me, his logic is tame compared to mine." I said to them.

"Oh but don't worry, we have plans for a new government to take the Royal Family's place." The Pope said.

"What are you- that's ridiculous! This country's always been ruled by royalty! Our family is the only one fit to-"

"You abuse your power and disrespect the Church, look down upon the apostles of God, not anymore! This country doesn't need such blasphemy! Royalty? You're a pestilence."

"THANK YOU! FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE SAID IT!" I shouted. "Not you Melty, you're probably the only royal I like enough to at least try to be nice." The Pope glanced at me and continued.

"The same applies to you Heroes, we worship those who save the world and it's people from the Waves, but this bunch has done more harm than good. For example the Spear Hero released a sealed monster upon the world, the Sword Hero caused an epidemic, and the Bow Hero ignored his duties choosing instead to serve himself. Heroes who bring such devastation to the country and damage the peoples beliefs are truly nothing more than imposters."

"But... I uh... I only did that because I wanted to help!" Motoyasu tried to defend. "Ren and Itsuki were trying to help too, and you think they were just imposters?"

"Your arrogance and foolishness speak volumes, just as theirs did when they decided to investigate matters far beyond their station."

"Investigating?"

"Therefore, they forced God's Judgement to fall upon them!"

"What are you talking about? Hey wait a second, it wasn't Naofumi?"

"No we've only been trying to tell you that for the past 12 minutes or so before he showed up." I answered.

"Hahahahahahaha, this farce has been entertaining, but that's enough." Someone handed him a sword that looked like a recolored version of Ren's original Sword. "The False Spear Hero and the Devil of the Shield who cling so desperately to life as if he were a cockroach shall be purified with holy Judgement! And this country shall finally be given righteous order!"

"Be careful Naofumi, that sword is bad news!" Melty warned. The Pope pointed it at us and Naofumi blocked it, though I can tell Glass was easier to defend against so I'm inclined to believe Melty.

"I must say, even for a Devil, you are pretty tough. But the time of testing has come to an end. I look forward to exacting God's Judgement."

"You know if they survived the first two I would think God might want them alive, just saying." I said to the Pope. He ignored what I said and turned his sword into a spear. Melty went on to explain it's a replica of the Cardinal Weapons and how it was supposedly lost, she also explained it needed a tremendous amount of mana for anyone to use it, so much so that dozens of their mages must be drained already. After the Pope gave a short speech Motoyasu did as well before attacking him with less than successful results.

"We can't even scratch him through that force field, we've gotta find a way to bring it down." Melty said.

"Hehehehehahahahaha I have an idea, question is, do you want the skies to rain blood?" I asked darkly.

"Hundred Swords!"
"Meteor Shot!" Oh so they are alive, and their attack broke through the barrier.

"Looks like we got here at just the right time." Itsuki said. Turns out they were saved by the queen's Shadows and the Church was stealing their rewards. The queen is also on her way, not that she'll be needed if I have my way. As the other Three banned together Naofumi chose to do his own thing, when Motoyasu argued about his choice he criticized the other Three for many their fuck ups and how they're the reason we're in this mess. When the Pope tried to attack again Naofumi blocked it again.

"You're all the same. As far as I can see, you Three and the Pope are no different. You use people and walk all over them for your own benefit. You talk about justice while using your own power with no concern for consequences, and you see nothing wrong with that! But more than anything, you keep trying to take from me the things I hold dear. You people are disgusting!" He was silent for a moment. "Fine, I'll work with you long enough to take him out and get us out of here alive." Naofumi said.

"Naofumi..." Ren said.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I haven't forgiven you. I just... I made a promise to Fitoria."

"The Four Cardinal Heroes finally stand together." Itsuki said.

"Uh huh." Ren said.

"Just try not to get in my way, alright guys." Motoyasu said.

"Don't get in mine." Ren said to him. Raphtalia moved closer to Naofumi.

"It's only until this battle's done." He said to her.

"I know, it's a great idea by the way." Raphtalia said.

"Let's do something about the Pope so we can live long enough to support mother when she gets here." Melty said.

"Okay! I'll do my best!" Filo said.

The others basically went through the same thing. I summoned Dawn and Nightfall as scythes and got ready to join the fun.

"Fighting with the Devil of the Shield? A foolish decision befitting False Heroes such as yourselves. The only fate you deserve is to be purged completely and no trace of any of you shall remain!" The Pope said.

"In grace of our God, the source of all power. Decipher the laws of nature, bring about a miracle and protect the blessed ones!" His disciples chanted.

"And now for group defense magic of the highest level. Cathedral!" We heard a bell and we were all trapped inside this Cathedral with him. "Welcome to my Cathedral Sanctuary! Time to make your peace as it will be your final resting place!" After a few minutes of fighting, even my attacks weren't doing anything, Naofumi drew more power from the Rage Shield, but it's different this time. Not too much though, we still were barely able to break through his guard and he even countered Motoyasu with his own skill. The Pope fired an arrow at the top of the Cathedral and blinded us, afterward it was as if he was in the walls and launching arrows at us, I had nothing to worry about because of the SR, the others weren't so lucky.

'This would be very annoying if I were there instead of in here.' I thought.

"You will be annihilated, not a spec of ash will remain! There will be no evidence of your existence when this is over!" The Pope said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1RSQIVHTLg

"'If the lives of those who have been marked for death do finally come to an end, that means all is right with the world. Everything shall be exactly as God desires it to be.' That is what you said right?" I asked stepping out of the SR.

"Correct." He responded.

"If someone kills another on the battlefield they are heroes, off the battlefield they are murderers, would you call this a battlefield?"

"Of course! A holy battle between the Devil and the False Heroes!"

"Good, then that means as of right now all your disciples are marked for death."

"That is no-"

"Prayers on the lips of liars that speak empty words and offer hollow promises of salvation to gullible fools, all of whom think they're above consequences, so much so that they think they can go against the word of God and say it is His will, dragging others into sin with them. You speak of sin yet you yourself are thriving off of yours, and others are paying the price for it. You don't seem to be putting any mana into that weapon and I'm sure by now plenty of those people behind you are dropping like flies. This is why I despise religion, because all it takes is one hypocrit in a position of power to screw everyone over, and it happens so often that at this point there is no 'right religion', only who has fewer idiots." I interrupted.

"I will not a-"

"Let me give you an ultimatum. Who's lives are worth more? Yours, or your disciples?" I interrupted again.

"We are all God's-" He tried to respond angrily.

"That doesn't answer my question! If you cannot face judgement for your sins, then perhaps they will, willingly if they are as 'good' as they think they are."

"This is the impenetrable Cathedral of God! They are safe and so am I, you? Not so much." He said confidently.

"Cassiel, what are you going on about?" Motoyasu asked.

"Whatever he's thinking it won't work." The bitch said.

"Surrender or all of God's 'chosen' will die. If we can't break through your defense then I'll kill off the source of that defensive magic, and I will kill as many as I have to as long as you are one of them. You want a Devil? Naofumi has NOTHING on me old man! Your answer will determine if I become a hero."

"Is he serious?" I heard Ren ask.

"He can't be." Itsuki said.

"Perhaps I should deal with you first." He unleashed an arrow at me and I dodged into the SR. I walked through the 'impenetrable' Cathedral and trapped everyone behind a wall of Dark Fira.

"I gave him a chance to spare all your lives, now you must pay the price for his sins!" A few tried to run, but were stopped by the flames. I casted Aerora on several large groups and launched them high into the air, I changed Nightfall into wingblades and soared through the air cutting everyone to pieces as blood rained down on them. A few tried to shoot me with their own magic, but all I did was fly down and cut them in half. Many were still holding fast, I'd say I only killed a few dozen of them, the Pope has to be feeling the power shortage by now. I casted Gravira on the ones who attacked me and watched their bodies become paste on the ground, truly pathetic.

"Your Holiness!"
"Save us!"
"We can't assist you and fight him at once!" I heard many shout and beg for salvation, too bad he won't answer their prayers.

"We both know he can't save you, not that he has a right to anyway." I flew past several more and killed them before casting Aerora on more groups and doing the same to them as earlier. This was causing fear to increase every time, they had nowhere to run and they can't hit me. The Cathedral was flickering now and eventually it faded completely. The Pope turned around in and looked upon what I was doing with absolute disbelief.

"You- but- how- why? How dare you! Devil spawn! You will face God's wrath!" He said.

"Oh yeah? With what power source are you going to smite me with?" I asked before flying down, knocking the weapon out of his hands, and holding several wingblades to his throat as I pointed to all the bodies and the handful of survivors. "It is as you said, all is now right with the world. They were God's chosen right? Where was their God, where were you when they needed you most??!! You caused this, you gave rise to an Angel of Death, you could have prevented this." I punched him in the gut with an Aero powered fist and launched him to the others below and knocking him out cold.

"Um... Cassiel... What did you do?" Filo asked.

"You're too young to see this, the same goes to you Melty. Naofumi, trap them in your Shield Prison if you have too. Unless the rest of you want a glimpse of how far I'm willing to go to do what must be done given enough reason, unless you want a glimpse of what future Waves might have to offer, I'd recommend not looking over there." I warned.

"Did you- no, you didn't?" Itsuki asked.

"I made the skies rain blood as promised." Ren jumped up to see with his own eyes, horror on his face, the other Heroes looked upon the destruction and Motoyasu had a look of disbelief then rage was on his face. He jumped down and tried to punch me in the face, but I caught his fist.

"What the Hell is wrong with you? Those were people you just murdered! How ca-" Motoyasu started.

"Very easily! I told you all I am much worse than you thought Naofumi was. I told you I was no hero, though according to the Pope's answer I am a hero." I interrupted.

"This is nothing like how a hero should act!"

"Like you of all people have any room to talk. Tell me, did you learn how a hero should act before or after your sins?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Let's look back for a moment shall we? You and the others abandoned Lut Village during the first Wave, you forced Naofumi into a duel that was interrupted by Myne and you were declared the winner even though she cheated which resulted in Naofumi having an emotional breakdown and denied all Demi Humans in Melromarc their freedom. Next you and Myne tried to place that bullshit toll of 50 silver to enter and 50 silver to exit Lut Village, you did nothing when she was about to order the knights to hurt them, and cheated again during the race. Remember that cursed seed? How many do you think lived in that village, or rather, died? Naofumi not only cleaned up your mess, but purified the seed. Redeem yourself in the eyes of Demi Humans, get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness from all you've wronged, and wipe all that blood off your hands, then lecture me about how a hero should act!" He backed off and stuttered trying to form a response.

"We're discussing you actions he-" Itsuki started.

"You want some too? Visit that village we told you about. Have you ever seen someone suffering from starvation so much that they'd trade the most worthless objects they own and beg for something as insignificant and unfilling as bread crumbs? Try an entire village, or what was left of it anyway. You helped then left without concerning yourself with the aftermath, you abandoned them when they needed you most because you thought they could handle it. A hero who isn't around when he's needed is not a hero, plain and simple!" I interrupted. He had a look of shame as he contemplated my words.

"I'm in agreement with them, you didn't ne-" Ren started.

"I lied to you before. It wasn't the undead dragon that cursed Raphtalia, it was Naofumi's Rage Shield while he was berserk. We thought Filo was eaten after a single bite, we all thought it was blood we saw. He snapped after having another he cared deeply for taken from him and let's just say I didn't know the dead could actually suffer until then. You caused that epidemic and almost got everyone killed!" He looked away, unable to keep eye contact.

"We may not be any better, but you had no right to make this call much less carry it out!" Itsuki said.

"Legally speaking I did. I saved the Heroes and by extension the world, the princesses, and stopped a coup. For multiple charges of attempted murder, theft, at least two attempts at regicide, treason, identity theft, arson, and framing an innocent man to name all the ones I can think of, the best they could hope for is execution even with an unconditional surrender. You heard the Pope say it himself, I'm a hero now according to him." I saw Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty climbing up so I casted Barrier on each of them causing them to fall.

"Hey! What was that for?" Filo asked.

"Ow, that hurt!" Melty complained.

"A little warning please next time?" Raphtalia asked.

"That's not a darkness I'm letting you see, not today at least." I told them.

"I don't like it, but he's got a point." Naofumi said in my defense.

"You can't be taking his side on this??!!" Motoyasu shouted.

"It is as the Pope said, all is now right with the world, according to his logic." I said.

"He's been on my side since day one! Not to mention there's nothing any of us can do about it anyway, what's done is done. I may not agree with his methods, but I won't condemn him for this either! He gave plenty of chances for the Pope to back down and still the Pope refused!"

"They had no future Motoyasu. Can you honestly say they deserved to live? I've been in this situation before actually, a mother did the literal equivalent of throwing her own daughter and her daughter's friend to the wolves. Her daughter died and the other one barely survived. They tried to kill Naofumi for bullshit reasons and tried to kill everyone else for reasons that aren't much better on top of trying to spill innocent blood for power. That mother killed her own daughter because she was a 'failure and a leech'. Whether or not I killed her to avenge her daughter who to be honest I didn't even like is debatable, I killed them for revenge and other more justifiable reasons. One of which was to protect the first friends I've had in the past 7 years!" I paused for a moment after realizing what I said. I needed time to think alone so I entered the SR before anyone could say anything and flew on top of the check point wall.

Do I really think of them as friends?

Chapter 24. End of Shield Hero.

View Online

Cassiel POV

The queen arrived too late to stop the massacre, while she didn't show it I'm certain she was disturbed by what she saw. Naofumi was at least able to keep the girls from looking upon the destruction so that's good. The queen arrested the Pope and confiscated the weapon to use it as evidence against the church then left with Melty and the bitch as the others were guided to a private clinic of the royal family. About three days later at around sunset she met with Naofumi to explain to him her side of what's been going on since the Waves started. Thanks to Aultcray and bitch, she's been stuck "putting out fires" between the nations, apparently the Heroes were supposed to be summoned one per country, but because they summoned the Heroes before the meetings were finished the queen was thrown into deep shit. Turns out Naofumi was supposed to be summoned in Siltvelt, but he got screwed over as well and that's not the end of it, the reason they were all able to be summoned was because the lord the queen trusted to keep everything in check died to the first Wave, the same lord of Raphtalia's home.

After explaining this she promised to clear his name and end his humiliation as well as reward him for his efforts during the Waves (I should have raided the vault sooner, now it's not a very good option) and for putting an end to the Church, she intends to give him the highest reward Melromarc can offer and 500 gold. After informing him of this she requested to speak to him alone so Melty got the others to leave with her, I was still in the SR like I've been since the battle except to get food and bathe so I heard everything and even what's to become of Aultcray and bitch, the Pope has already been sentenced apparently and executed. He reluctantly agreed.

The trials were scheduled the next day, though I doubt the others knew about why they were summoned.

"Naofumi, it's good to see you." Itsuki greeted.

"Where's Cassiel?" Ren asked.

"He's probably around, I have no idea where he keeps disappearing to though, not that any of us have seen him since then." Naofumi answered.

"You don't suppose he'd be willing to come out if he is around do you?" Motoyasu asked.

"Not too sure, he was hidden more than half the time anyway during our travels."

"He looked conflicted back then, 'first friends he's had in seven years' he said, I think he just needs time to himself." Raphtalia said, I exited the SR after.

"I was around, I did need time to myself. Raphtalia, Naofumi, Filo, I think... I think I meant what I said, about us being friends. I need to know, do you think the same?" I asked while removing my mask. Raphtalia and Filo latched on to me.

"I said you were among friends before didn't I? Back at the cave?" Raphtalia answered with her own questions.

"We'll always be friends!" Filo answered.

"You've been by my side since the beginning, I don't see why I wouldn't call you a friend." Naofumi answered. I think I smiled, a genuine smile as I slowly, almost cautiously, wrapped one arm around Raphtalia and the other around Filo and embraced them like they were to me, neither minding the blood dripping on their clothes.

"You haven't seen Myne anywhere around have you? She disappeared as soon as the fight was over." Motoyasu asked.

"She must be busy with her duties as a princess." Ren said.

"Our definitions of 'busy' must be very different Ren." I said.

"What makes you say that? Maybe she's putting together a surprise party-" Itsuki started.

"No, you'll see very soon, and I'm probably going to enjoy this far more than I should. Besides, Naofumi's here, do you really think she would invite him to a party? Don't answer that." I interrupted.

"Greetings Cardinal Heroes, please come inside." A royal attendent greeted, I put the mask back on before he led us to the throne room. Upon entering the throne room Filo and Melty waved to each other before the queen spoke.

"Four Cardinal Heroes together, I thank you all for coming." The queen said.

"Hm? Myne's not here..." Motoyasu said.

"I don't see the king either." Itsuki said.

"You can bring them in now." The queen said. The doors opened to reveal Aultcray and bitch in chains.

"Myne!" Motoyasu said shocked at the sight before him.

"Motoyasu! Help!" Bitch said terrified.

"They've got the king in chains, what's going on?" Ren asked.

"Do you really need to ask Ren? Last I checked, chains are commonly worn by criminals, and these two are on trial for more than enough crimes to at least earn a life sentence." I said.

"Indeed, shall we get started then? The trial of the foolish king consort and the first princess." The queen said.

"Mama please! Why are you being so cruel??!!" Bitch cried.

"What is this my queen? What cause have you to do this to us?" Aultcray asked. I didn't quite catch what he tried to say as he was interrupted by spears being crossed in front of him.

"This trial seeks to punish those responsible for shaking this country to it's core, as queen I shall serve as judge."

"What? Don't tell me the Devil of the Shield has brainwashed you-" the queen interrupted by freezing him in place.

"The Shield has no such ability and you know it! I can't believe I even have to say that."

'Holy shit I like her already.' I thought.

"What's that?" Bitch asked as a tray with a few items I couldn't see at this angle was brought to the queen.

"To ensure a fair trial, you will be given a temporary slave crest." Raven, you have competition.

"Mama!" Bitch cried as she was forced to kneel.

"How can you do that? She's your own daughter!" Motoyasu shouted.

"Because my daughter is a pathological liar."

"I'm not! You know that I'm a good girl, an honest girl!" The man who brought the tray moved to apply the crest. "Stop! Please mama!" She cried as the crest was applied to her chest.

"Let us officially begin the trial now. Be warned, your crimes are clear for all to see, you cannot worm your way out of this."

"You can't convict them of anything without an explanation, besides, what so called crimes are you claiming they commited?" Motoyasu said angrily.

"Mind if I join you on this queen? I'll act professionally, don't worry." I requested. She looked to me, more like through me.

"Very well, I will hold you to that." She granted and a slave pact was made between me and bitch.

"Alright then, would you like a list? Starting off with recent events she and the king are being charged with colluding with the Church who tried to kill all of us and frame the Shield Hero."

"No that can't be." Motoyasu said refusing to believe it.

"Do you deny it?" I asked.

"What reason would I have to collude with the Three Heroes Chur- AAAAAAAHHHHH!" She screamed as the crest shocked her.

"It's appalling to think the first princess would try to overthrow the state." The queen said.

"No, I wouldn't! Forget about the Shield, they tried to kill the other Three Heroes too, they even came after the royal family! I swear I would never involve myself in such a terrible scheme!" She denied, the crest didn't activate.

"There! You see? Myne really di-" Motoyasu started.

"Moving on you tried to have princess Melty murdered then blame it on the Shield. When that didn't work you framed him for kidnapping her, and tried to kill her yourself later. After they escaped you started a forest fire and framed them for that too. Do you deny it?" I interrupted.

"I didn't do anything to- GGGGGGRRRRHRHHR!" The crest activated again and she tried to keep it down.

"Oh sister..." Melty said in a hurt tone.

"No Malty! Tell me you didn't?" Aultcray asked in disbelief.

"It's not true papa! I wouldn't- AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" She screamed.

"So far your crimes include, but are not limited to treason, attempted regicide, arson, framing others for your crimes, and multiple charges of attempted murder. Does that sound right so far?" I asked.

"No! It's all wr- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She really doesn't understand her position right now.

"It's true." Ren said shocking Motoyasu. "It certainly looked like she was trying to kill the second princess."

"Yeah, we were there, we saw the whole thing!" Itsuki said.

"She wouldn't..." Motoyasu denied.

"Malty... How could you do su-" Aultcray started.

"King Aultcray, you conspired with the Church as well and summoned all Four Heroes while the queen was away." I interrupted.

"I only did that because we needed the Heroes in order to counter the impending Waves of Catastrophe!" He defended.

"And in doing so you left the other nations to fend for themselves which violated their agreement that each nation summons one Hero and nearly started a war with the entire world against Melromarc, leaving your queen smack dab in the middle of enemy territory." Naofumi looked surprised I knew that and the queen's eyes opened just enough to indicate surprise.

"Even so, on their first night, the Shield committed an unspeakable sin against my daughter!"

"That's right! Naofumi assa-" Motoyasu started.

"You said the Shield was and I quote, 'reeking of alcohol and ripped your clothes off' as he sexually assaulted you. Was he even in your room when Motoyasu rescued you?"

"Yes! Why wou- AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"You do know it only hurts when you lie right? Did he actually try to rape you?" I asked amused.

"Yes! The Devil of the Shield nearly raped me! I barely- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She fell backward. The other Heroes looked on in disbelief.

"Didn't you also steal his armor and remaining 200 silver? Don't answer that, it's basically been proven already."

"No way, that can't be right!" Motoyasu denied.

"Well then Spear Hero, why don't you forge a slave pact with Malty yourself?" The queen asked.

"Fine, I'll prove Myne is innocent!" A pact was made between them. "Okay, Myne, that night you were assaulted by Naofumi, but you escaped and came to me for help. Isn't that right?"

"Yes that's right! I was so scared and you were the only person I could turn to- AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" Okay that's getting old.

"Moving on you cheated in that duel between the Shield and Spear which not only did you force him into it, but it resulted in him losing his slave and only real emotional support, as you've seen with that one Shield everyone would've been put in grave danger."

"He cheated f-"

"Using monsters as weak as balloons as weapons is not cheating, shooting him in the back with wind magic is." I interrupted her again.

"I didn't cheat! I would nev- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"So with that out of the way you owe Naofumi a few hundred silver and the freedom of all Demi Humans as agreed with the exception of Raphtalia as she willingly accepted the crest again after being freed, I'm probably forgetting something, but we'll sort that out later. Next we have maliciously abusing your power to force the Spear and Shield to fight which caused quite a bit of property damage and recklessly endangered dozens of people. I'm not even going to ask if you deny it because their testimony as well as the peoples would be more than enough evidence of such."

"Hopefully you understand now. Despite their status as royalty, they resorted to dirty tricks, attempting to eliminate those who opposed them. Concerned only with obtaining more power for themselves, there was no consideration for the nation they served!" The queen said.

"I didn't! I swear- AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

'One truth and how many lies? Jesus Christ it's not hard to tell the truth.' I thought.

"I admit my actions may have been unbecoming of royalty, but I swear I did it all for the sake of my beloved country and my family! That was the only reason I was tryimg to eliminate the Shield! The Shield's the Devil, it will surely bring the calamity of the past to my family all over again! I simply cannot let that happen! Never!" Aultcray defended as he slammed his fist on the stand.

"Ironically that 'Devil' has saved more lives in the past few Waves than you or the other Heroes have in that time frame, endangered fewer people too. He was willing to fight for you and your country and you betrayed him, branded him a criminal, and tried to take what little he had left. Your actions against him likely caused even more trouble for the queen to deal with between Siltvelt and Shieldfreedon. He did nothing but defend himself and a country that wanted him dead for no other reason than the weapon that chose him, everything else was by the works of you and your daughter including this trial. You fear the Shield will take everything from you again yet all the evidence so far has proven you and the first princess are more of a threat to your family and country than the Shield." I summoned Dawn as a scythe and leaned on it with the blade to the ground.

"Watch yourself." The queen said.

"Need I remind you it is thanks to this so called 'Devil' that several villages are still standing, more than one was nearly destroyed by the other Three? How about the fact he is the only reason the other Three survived the last Wave? Let's not forget he also saved the second princess from her older sister multiple times. You have everything you could want and more. Money, power, a loving wife, two... I can't believe I'm about to say this... Two beautiful daughters, one an absolute angel, and an entire country at your beck and call, and your actions have proven to me at least that you hate the Shield because of what his worshippers did to you more than you love your own family. Do you know what I would give to have my family back? Mind, body, and soul?" I shoulders are shaking as my voice began to crack. "I don't see royalty before me, I see a spoiled rotten, power hungry, psychopathic bitch and a pathetic, spiteful old man ruled by his emotions! I'll be back after I get this under control." I stepped into the SR and left the throne room.

They were sentenced to death, that much was obvious. This country has a good queen, though a little soft. Had bitch and Aultcray been my family I would have killed them well before the second Wave. Funny enough, the reason they were spared was because the bitch's crest didn't shock her when she begged Naofumi to save her. "She's so thick skinned that she can honestly beg the guy she tried to kill to save her, I doubt the blade would be able to cut off her head" or something like that as Naofumi put it. That got the crowd laughing, me as well. Now I believe Naofumi was still more merciful than he should have been, it'll come back to bite him I'm sure. Rather than make them slaves for life and removing the bitch's tongue he decided their punishments would be humiliation. He renamed them Bitch and Trash, though because Bitch had another name she was also given the name Whore (dubbed, Slut for subbed). After this the queen announced the start of a new religion which included the Shield and deemed the Three Heroes Church as heretical. Yup, good queen.

As Naofumi began to leave he was stopped by the other Three and the queen, he turned down the rewards and compensation the queen offered as it "wouldn't make him happy", he did however change his mind about not working with Melromarc, but he would still work with the rest of the world against the Waves. Upon leaving we were greeted by a few dozen people and a few knights to salute us. I was more surprised that swords and spears weren't being pointed at me for once.

The next day we made a trip to the Dragon Hourglass for class upgrades, the cathedral changed it's crest to include the Shield as Raphtalia pointed out. We were greeted by two of the people who joined us for the second Wave, once we reached the Hourglass the ritual began for me, Raphtalia, and Filo.

Class: ~~???~~ ~~Keybearer~~ ~~Darkbringer~~ Cursebearer

Available Upgrades:

Curse of Darkness: Reduce all stats in half, but increase 35% faster and 35% more.

Curse of Hatred: Dark emotions offer more power when channeling Darkness, but may lose self to own power.

Curse of Solitude: Misfortune follows wherever you go, only affects others at random times.

Curse of the Spellbreaker: Can no longer use magic, but offensive spells are sent back at the caster.

Curse of Retribution: The more damage taken, the more that can be done.

Curse of Bloodlust: Consecutive strikes increase speed and strength, but go berserk after a point until miss or damage is taken.

Curse of the Elements: All elemental magic becomes 50% stronger, but all physical stats and non-elemental magics are 50% weaker.

Curse of Sacrifice: Permanently trade varients of Way To Dawn and Path Towards Nightfall for power, can be traded any time.

Curse of Endings: Trade own life for the Absolute Death of any being.

So it looks like I got a class change too, none of them are exactly good. I'm not sacrificing any part of Dawn or Nightfall, I have no intention of dying to kill something, I like having magic and would like to not be reliant on it, I have no intention of getting hit to hurt them more, narrowing it down to Misfortune and Darkness, I saw the latter as more beneficial and reliable. I was able to choose my upgrade, but Filo and Raphtalia weren't, when we asked the queen she said she heard certain items can affect the ritual, on a side note we found out she loves chocobos as much as Melty. While we were there we were invited to a party and she asked to hold a meeting between the Four, after informing us of such the queen wished to speak with me in private so the others left the room.

"I wished to thank you for standing by Naofumi's side as long as you have." She said.

"I chose him because Bitch looked like bad news and a shield is definitely more useful than people think as he's proven more than once."

"Nonetheless you have my gratitude. Now on to other matters. You have some explaining to do regarding certain things you said during the trial and the battle with the Pope." I opened a Corridor between us.

"All I'm going to tell you is this was a gift from someone back home and basically I can get around very easily without detection and listen in on anything. As for the battle I gave him multiple chances to surrender, but apparently his life was worth more than everyone else's."

"Those were for the most part unarmed people you slaughtered."

"Perhaps, but it doesn't change the fact they were all guilty of attempted murder and treason among other things. They were trying to help the Pope kill us, legally speaking I defended myself and everyone else. You said so yourself that it was a battle, He did too, is it not the objective to kill your enemies and protect your allies during a battle? They tried to kill me too by the way."

"Was mercy not an option?"

"Can you in all honesty tell me they had a future? It was either die by me as a soldier of God, or die by you after a trial, or life imprisonment. Die a hero or whatever passes for such, die a criminal and a fraud, or die in a cell after an indeterminate amount of time. Which is lesser of the evils presented?" Silence filled the room for a minute before she responded.

"You remind me of a young Aultcray- Trash I mean. Please don't walk the same path as him."

"I'm not a fool, that won't happen." I stepped through the Corridor and found the others so I joined them for one last thing.

"Oh! Hey Cassiel, so what'd the queen want?" Naofumi asked.

"Nothing really. Listen, I'm taking my leave now."

"What??!!" They all said at once.

"It's time I returned home, I wanted to thank you for everything."

"You're really leaving?" Filo looked ready to cry.

"I'm sorry, but that I have to for another reason. The next Wave is soon and all my upgrades also had downsides, I had to make myself a lot weaker to recieve the fewest negatives, I'd hold you back."

"I'm sure we could make it w-" Raphtalia tried to say before Naofumi put his hand on her shoulder.

"He said he would be leaving eventually, he's earned it." He turned to me. "Promise you'll come back eventually alright, you're welcome here with us." I removed my mask.

"Only if you all promise not to die before me." Raphtalia and Filo hugged me again, it feels... Nice actually.

"We'll be here when you return." Raphtalia said.

"I don't want to see you go, but I'll wait." Filo said. Naofumi extended his arm.

"I'll see you around, thanks for all your help." I shook his hand.

"Don't mention it. I've lost enough already, so you'd better stay alive. Goodbye." I opened another Corridor and returned to Equestria.

Stepping back into my room I was greeted by Raven, or Nevermore as she was still wearing that look. She was reading a book and laying on the bed, there was a slice of cake on the nightstand.

"So how was it?" She asked.

"It was... Pleasant, turns out there are people, even humans worth saving." I answered. She closed her book, moved closer and lowered herself down to eye level.

"You've grown, not just physically, I might have to modify the Corridors some more. Enough of that though." She handed the cake to me. "I know it's still technically over a week from now, 8 or 9 days or something like that, but happy birthday Cassiel. Take the next week off from our training, you've earned it." I took the cake, but I had to set it back down. I was starting to cry and out of nowhere I latched on to her.

"No o-one, no one has do-done thi-this in so lo-long!" I said, my voice muffled. She wrapped her wings around me and did everything in the book to comfort me. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I finally had a dream.

And it wasn't the void or a nightmare.

Chapter 25. New school.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I woke up alone, the bed much more comfortable than my "family's" or Fluttershy's guest bed. I tried to recall when I fell asleep and what I dreamt about, but I couldn't. I know it wasn't a nightmare or the void, but I can't remember. No matter, I went through the morning routine as usual. Once I was finished putting everything back on, a servant just walked into the room and informed me that I was expected for breakfast. I took a look around the room and couldn't find Lionheart, I'm guessing Raven has it.

Upon entering the dining hall, Celestia turned from Nevermore who was also present to greet me.

"I trust you had no trouble settling in?" Celestia asked.

"None." I answered. She handed me a paper. Basically the same thing that Fluttershy handed me on my second day here, school transfer to "Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns".

"Give this to the headmaster, I've already informed him of you and convinced him to accept you, though not at the level you claim. Instead, where you place in some classes will be determined by a placement test when you go in, you could land in a low grade class on that subject, or a high one. I will allow some leeway depending on your actions and the reasons for them. School starts in an hour." She said seriously. "Afterward, you're free to do as you please within reason."

"Alright." I read over the paper, apparently there's a dress code. "Did you make sure to tell them about a certain detail regarding my eyes?" I asked.

"I saw no reason to."

"My mask and cloak would be violating the dress code. Unless they want to clean up my blood and sanitize everywhere and everything I touch, there's going to be a major problem, especially if the teachers are strict or racist." The look on her face told me she overlooked that detail. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, as if to say 'it's too early for this'. Immediately after, she teleported out.

"Heh, well this morning is off to a great start." Nevermore said. I can't tell if she's being serious or sarcastic with that one. "So I'll ask again, how was your first world?" She asked.

"It was... Actually pretty good. Made some friends if you can believe it, learned some of what darkness can do, and got myself cursed." She quickly closed the distance between us.

"And you didn't think to tell me this sooner???!!!" She said, panicking as she checked me over.

"It's not the kind of curse you're thinking. Apparently there's a class system of sorts on that world and when I went to get a class upgrade, I went from 'Darkbringer' to 'Cursebearer'. All my upgrades also came with a curse. One turned me into a walking bad luck charm while another took away my magic, but would send all offensive magic back at the caster to name a few." I explained.

"Your curse doesn't affect you too much I hope?" She asked, concerned.

"Power cut in half again, but improve 35% more and just as fast. Thank you for last night by the way, even if the timing was off a bit more than you thought." I said.

"It was?"

"10 days until my birthday when I came here. School the next, so 9. Heartless the next, so 8. Then I think two or three days in the hospital, so 5 or 6." *Poof* and Celestia's back.

"It's done, the headmaster knows to make an exception with you about the dress code. I should probably try to get rid of that." She mumbled the last part to herself as servants came out of the kitchen to deliver the food. We ate our food in silence, me and Celestia anyway. Once we were done, she had a servant bring in and sort all the necessary supplies for school, then Nevermore started escorting me there.

"This is it kid, I'll see you soon." Nevermore said after showing me the way. "Just hand that slip to the headmaster and do what you do best."

"Piss everyone off and help them wake up with fewer teeth?" I asked.

"Hahaha... Have fun, I know they won't." She said before leaving.

"Yeah... Fun." I said to myself. I walked in and the office was in the front lobby, the someone had just walked out, but saw me and stopped.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"New student, supposed to give this to the headmaster." I answered and he gained a look of realization.

"You must be Cassiel then? I'll be with you shortly, restroom, just wait out here for a moment." After that, he went down the hall and around a corner, I heard a door close almost immediately after. I leaned against the wall by the office door. Not long after, 5 ponies came from the opposite hallway, each had an evil smile on their faces.

"Well what do we have here? I though this was a school for unicorns. And I see no horn on you freak!" The one in the lead said, getting a laugh out of his friends. I showed the papers to them.

"Your princess seems to think otherwise since she's the one who enrolled me. If there's a problem, then take it up with Celestia, you dickless piece of shit." His friends had different reactions, from laughter, shock, and anger. Anger being the most evident on his face.

"Do yo-"

"I've through this song and dance at my last school, so let me cut to the chase. I don't know nor do I care." I interrupted.

"I am Swift Cast, son of one of the biggest donators to this school, Platinum Crest! Surely you've heard of her?"

"No, not that I'd want to hear of much less meet her considering she has to be ridden with disease to have spawned something like you."

"You- you're DEAD!" He charged up his horn, but we all heard something down the hall and stopped what we were doing. The headmaster turned around the corner and greeted us when he neared the office doors.

"Good afternoon, Swift Cast. Your day is going well I hope?" The headmaster asked.

"Oh, absolutely wonderful today, headmaster Shade." Swift answered, from typical bully to kiss ass that can do no wrong. I'm going to enjoy kicking him down to the ground.

"That's good to hear. Now move along, I'm sure you have classes to attend." Shade said.

"Always a pleasure speaking to you sir!" Swift said, taking his leave with his friends. Shade turned to me.

"Follow me, I'll lead you to the placement testing room." He continued down the hallway that Swift came from. "Fair warning, I will not tolerate any misbehavior in this school. We have a reputation and it is one we would like to keep! Am I clear?" He asked.

"I understand that if there is any trouble that it is the staff's job to stop and prevent it if possible. Not that you'll believe me, but Swift and his friends immediately started harassing me after you went to the restroom, made himself out to be untouchable because of his mother's donations, threatened me, and was about to attack before you left the restroom." We turned around the corner. "Judging by how you spoke to each other, it's safe to assume either the school cares more about money and it's reputation than the rules, duties, and it's students, or he's so good at covering up and probably playing the victim that someone else gets in trouble because he did something he wasn't supposed to."

"I would recommend you stop that right now. I will not have you lie to me and slander another student, and certainly not on your first day here!" He warned.

"And if I'm telling the truth, then it's not slander, and he deserves a very serious punishment. Let me make one thing clear. If I have a problem with another student, a problem that's supposed to be resolved by school staff, but they can't because of one stupid reason or another such as my personal favorite 'I didn't see or hear it happen', I will resolve it personally. If he is stupid enough to go through with his threat, I quote 'you're dead', I will defend myself as legally speaking, I would expect that be considered attempted murder." We went up the stairs and stopped outside a set of double doors not far to the left. "If you took basic psychology and child psychology as should be a requirement to work in the school system, then you should know that running will more than likely not be an option as well as several rule violations and letting myself be hurt is also out of the question. If you're unable to uphold and properly enforce your rules, don't expect your students to follow those same rules."

"I don't expect you to last a week here with that mindset." He commented.

"Already breaking your own rules? We'll see about that won't we?"

We entered the room and three judges awaited us inside. "Normally, this would be an entrance exam, but Princess Celestia told us what she knew of your magic as well as how you almost single handedly saved Ponyville. So instead, this will determine where you'll be placed in our school. I'll stay as a judge too this time as I'm interested in seeing what you can do."

"The test begins now, Cassiel was it? Show us something worth allowing entry into our school." One of them said.

"Will projection magic, time magic, transformation magic, protective magic, and offensive magic work suffice?" They all started laughing for several minutes. My patience ran out so I gave a demonstration which caused them to stop laughing. I summoned Dawn

"Magnet!" They were far enough away to be safe, everything near me? Not so much.
"Stop!" All the objects were now held in place. I turned Dawn into a few wingblades.
"Fire!" I shot one from each wingblade, but the objects were still intact thanks to Stop.
"Barrier!" One in front of everyone including me. Stop ended, resulting in wood, glass, and metal being thrown everywhere in the room. The barriers protected the judges, though somethings found themselves embedded in the walls. They could do nothing, but sit there with gold fish impressions.

"So did I pass?"

Author's Notes:

If you've read my other story (Im)Mortality, then you might remember what stories I said I MIGHT update. First Curses, New Life, OR the mature chapters. I at least updated 2/3, so now I'm picking this back up. Remnant, coming soon! Very soon.

The bully is heavily inspired by Gale Mist in "A mother, a lover, and a man with nothing to lose", shame it's canceled.

Also making a change to the world order. I won't do Aeon: Dark Revolution as it would probably be better to not do that one and not for the reasons you might think. No one voted for Castlevania, though I didn't specify the tv series so that might be a fault of mine. And I'm sorry if you're reading this Darkraven83, but not doing Diablo either. To anyone who voted for it, I don't think I'll be able to do Undertale either, too many ways to go about it and too many alternate universes to choose from, sorry. Instead we'll have the following after RWBY. The likes will decide the order:

Overlord (the anime, not the games)
Avatar TLAB
Black Clover

Chapter 26.

View Online

Cassiel POV

"So did I pass the test?" I asked again, finally bringing them back to reality.

"Ye-yes... I believe I speak for us all when I say you passed with flying colors! Welcome to the most prestigious school in Canterlot! I personally expect great things from you." One of the judges said, the other two in agreement, and Shade just quietly left the room.

"In that case, who do I talk to for my schedule?" I asked.

"We should be with you on that within 15 minutes, give or take, unless you want to choose your classes that is. We apologize for the wait, but we prefer to get the student before making their schedule." The judge answered. "In the mean time, one of us can give you a tour if you'd like?" He offered.

"I'll be fine as long as the rooms all have the right numbers with the schedule." I declined. "As for the classes, just put me in the necessary ones, surprise me. Though if it will take that long, then I'll just excuse myself and listen to some music. Just get my attention when you're done." I pulled out my earbuds and ipod (still amazed they work after everything they had to have gone through).

(I should note that it is possible I'm breaking a fimfic rule regarding the music. I believe it's the rule against songs with copyrighted lyrics, a rule that is at least to me, open to interpretation. A rule that either no one cares for, or if one of my interpretations are right, I can name a few authors on this site that have broken it and still to my knowledge, suffered no consequences, more than one have had their stories featured, so there's no way they went unnoticed by fimfic staff. No, I am not going to rat anyone out if they have given these circumstances.)

First by Coheed and Cambria:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIhRx_4MuIY

Second by Demon Hunter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0l0YOHO5jg

One of them waved for me, so I put it all away and retrieved the schedule.
History 1 Room 120
Magic Control 4 Room 210
P.E.
Chemistry 2 Room 220
Lunch
Music/ Music Theory 1 Room 150
Math 2 Room 230
Equestrian 3 Room 122

I really hope those lower level classes are high for them. 7 classes then, Give me a textbook and I'll remember enough history to get by, I guess one art class is mandatory, never cared for chemistry, and knowing them, basic math. Not looking forward to all the stairs though.

"Is this satisfactory?" One of the judges asked.

"It'll do. First period?" I asked.

"Yes, you shouldn't have missed much." Another judge answered. "Here's a hall pass, and we are aware of your... Condition... If there is trouble regarding the mask and cloak, please bring it to the attention of us or the headmaster."

"Noted." Well I'm already on the second floor at least. Taking my leave, a hall monitor pointed me in the right direction. Entering the class, the teacher didn't look pleased.

"Yes, what is it? Cant you see I'm in the middle of something?" He asked impatiently.

"In the order of what you'll likely ask: New student, Cassiel, I have a pass from the judges, if there's a problem with me violating the dress code, take it up with those judges, the headmaster, or your princess. There are no open seats, so I'll just make my own." I used the wingblades of Dawn and Nightfall to make a chair and used my binder as a makeshift desk., getting various reactions from the other students.

"Hmph! Who can tell me about how the three tribes were united?" He asked the class. 4 ponies raised their hands. He pointed to a light blue filly with a teal mane. "Yes, Azure Light?"

"The events of Hearths Warming!" She answered.

"I'll need more to go on than that. I'll settle for a summary." He said.

"Sorry, Mr. Analysis." Really? That's the best your parents could come up with? "After years of each tribe fulfilling their roles, they began to hate each other and brought the wendigos." This is actual history? The fuck do cannibals have anything to do with this? "Each tribe blamed the other and left their homes for new land, but the wendigos followed them, and then Clover, Smart Cookie, and Private Pansy banished them with the power of friendship!"

This is their history? None of that makes sense! Of all the things to deal with one of the most dangerous Native American myths, they used friendship??? I'm probably going to fail this class for all the wrong reasons.

(Fast forward to just before Equestrian 3. 7th period)

I'm already tired of all these stairs. Not that it affects me as much as others, but why do I even have P.E. when I have to go up and down these stairs a total of 7 times on a good day? Now I'm just complaining over stupid shit. Turning around the corner, I bumped into a few ponies from earlier.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Swift asked, menacingly, his friends surrounding me.

"Well I have many answers for both of us if you'd like to hear." I responded, getting slammed and pinned by the neck to the wall after, also drawing a crowd. Or rather, he thinks I'm pinned.

"I bet you're real ugly behind that mask. Maybe I should take it off and show everypony what you really look like before I decide what to do with you!" He threatened. His friends sucking up to him.

"Even if I'm ugly by your standards, it won't change the fact that when I look in the mirror, I just see the face of someone I hate. I won't deny that. When I look at you, I see someone who had to have lost a fight to a cheese grater." The crowd around us started going 'ooh' and one said something about needing burn cream. He slammed my head against the wall and punched me in the gut.

"I think I'll just turn you into a mutt and drown you after I pummel you."

"Hahahahahahaha....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh this is just precious! I don't even know what's funnier!" I'm shaking, I WANT THIS!

"What's so funny??!! You're in no position to laugh!" Swift said angrily.

"He might just have a few screws loose. Maybe you can fix'em by beating him to a pulp?" One of his friends said.

"I don't know what's funnier. The fact you cowards are so weak and still think you're a threat. The fact it takes 5 of you and your... Equally dickless friends to pin one guy to the wall. Or the fact you think you scare me. I can't tell what's funnier, can you?" His friends joined in on the beatings, they even started using magic and hitting me with magic bolts. After a minute, they stopped. The crowd watching intensely.

"Had enough?" Swift asked as if he just won.

"Let me tell you a little bit about myself. There's nothing you can do to me that hasn't already been done for more petty reasons, while can hurt you more than anything this world has in store. You see, you haven't actually hurt me, I've been letting you get all those free hits. There are two secrets to pain. Knowing how not to feel it, and knowing how to properly inflict it." I held Fire in one hand. "Welcome to my Nightmare." I grabbed his shirt's collar and pulled him closer to me before latching onto his face with the hand holding fire, blowing up in his face after two seconds and then I kicked him between the legs.

"Cura." I healed him while he was screaming in agony, cant have an attempted murder charge if there are no injuries to prove it. One of his friends tried to shoot me with magic. Key word 'tried'.
"Reflect!" 1 down, 1 probably about to get up, 3 to go.

One of his friends grabbed me from behind.
"Aero!" I propelled us backward and slammed him into the wall behind me. After he let go, I grabbed his mane and positioned him just right. "Aero!" I launched him towards another of his friends. 3 down, 1 might get back up, 1 left.

This one was a true genius because he didn't learn from the others. He tried to use magic as well.
"Stop!" I've probably only got two or three more spells left. I walked up to him. "Blizzard." I froze his horn and punched him in the face multiple times before kicking him in both his shins and giving a nice uppercut to the chin. Swift got back up with blood shot eyes as his friend rejoined time.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" He shouted.

"You'll die trying." I said, taunting him. I let him charge up his magic. I could feel the hate and rage in this spell, see it too. I just crossed my arms and waited for it. Once he shot it, I did the most reasonable thing anyone in my position could do in this situation.

"Reflect." I said, bored. The spell went right back at him, lauching him back into a wall and... Oh... He might... He will need the ER.

"What in the name of Celestia is going on!?" Headmaster Shade shouted having finally arrived. He paused at the scene, looked at me, and now he's furious. "Somepony get a doctor!" The other students did as he said and scrambled away as he stomped over to me. "I told you I will not, and I repeat, will NOT allow this kind of behavior in MY school, you hear me! This institution was built with the blood and sweat of some of the greatest mind in pony history. I will not have its reputation tarnished by the likes of you! I don't care Celestia herself enrolled you here, when I'm done writing a letter to her you'll be lucky if you'll get into any school in this city!"

"I would highly recommend against that." I warned.

"Is th-"

"A threat? No. Expelling me is going to hurt you and the school's reputation a lot more. What do you think will hurt more? Expelling a new student, enrolled by Celestia herself on his first day for defending himself after several minutes of being assaulted by several upperclassmen with no help on scene? You ignoring said student's complaints and warnings about the attackers in question? The fact no one stepped in until after one of the attackers threatened and tried to kill the new student who reflected the spell back at him? How about the fact that the new student who isn't even a unicorn beat all those upperclassmen?" I asked.

"I saw and I know what I need to know. You're out of here, end of story!" He shouted.

"And rather than helping the student who looks like he needs the ER, you're instead arguing with a student. Shows where your priorities are I suppose. You can only prove I'm the last one standing which means nothing considering no one would pick a fight with 5 other students, all of whom should be above me as far as the school is concerned. You can't prove I started the fight, only that I finished it. If you intend to expel me for preserving my own safety, my own life , both are legal last I checked, then it's only fair all of them go to prison. Harassment, assault and battery, maliciously abusing magic, pretty sure gangbanging isn't just a sexual term, and attempted murder. You would ignore all of this, but you would expel the victim of all these crimes because he defended himself?"

"I didn't see or hear it happen, there's nothing I can do about it." Of course you'd pull that card.

"If you didn't see or hear it happen, then why am I being punished? You just said you couldn't do anything, yet by seeing the aftermath, you can do something? You won't even expel them, but you'll expel me? You're contradicting yourself and backing yourself even further into a corner. Besides, there were PLENTY of witnesses and rather than ask any of them what happened, you sent them all away and passed judgement based on the aftermath of the incident. You had a chance to get more than enough testimonies of what really went down and you sent them all away. You did the equivalent of a judge kicking out the lawyer for being present and immediately judging the defendant to be guilty because the one person that could prove his innocence wasn't there to defend him!" His eyes shot open as he realized the implications of that decision. I removed my mask and looked him dead in the eye as help finally arrived.

"YOU have made a critical error in judgement. Are you absolutely certain you want to expel me after YOU and the rest of the staff failed to protect me like you were SUPPOSED to? YOU failed to prevent this. YOU failed to stop this from getting out of hand. YOU failed to protect me, and you would punish ME for saving my own life, but not punish the ones who endangered it? I'm to pay the price for YOUR incompetence? I'm to pay the price for YOUR failure?" 'I fucked up' is all over his face. "I can't wait to tell Celestia about this. Imagine her reaction when she learns things like this are happening in HER school. Imagine her reaction when she finds out how you play favorites with the more wealthy families, and even let their children get away with crimes like murder." I walked past him and put my mask back on.

"I would expect a lot of lawsuits from families and former students if I were you. I would also expect this school's reputation to plummet. Have fun rebuilding that reputation after destroying it just now." And with that, I continued to my final class for the day.

It's amazing how many student related problems and legal issues schools could avoid if they actually did their jobs right.

Chapter 27.

View Online

Cassiel POV

Where do I begin to describe the last few days? Well after I returned to the castle, it went something like this:

Day 1, after the incident. Celestia.

"Cassiel..." Celestia said in a strained tone. "Would you care to explain how you managed to get expelled and are having charges pressed against you for numerous crimes?"

"Holy shit, he ignored my warning? Well... That's the end of more than just a career." I thought out loud.

"I'm sorry, what's this about a warning?" She asked as she clenched the hand holding the paper.

"Long story short, a student named Swift Cast and his friends harrassed, threatened, and tried to attack me, but stopped when Shade came back from the restroom. Shade ignored my complaint/ warning regarding the other students and called me a liar. Fast forward to before 7th period and I bumped into Swift and his friends. After several minutes of being assaulted with no interference from the school, I finally defended myself. Swift threatened to kill me and shot me, judging by the state he was in when I reflected the shot, it's safe to assume he actually tried to kill me. Shade only saw the aftermath, and decided to send all the witnesses who could testify in my favor away from the scene. I warned Shade against expelling me for various reasons, but apparently reason is something that just goes over his head." I explained. Celestia let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'll look into this, I sincerely hope what you say is true, I'd hate to think I enrolled you only so you would get expelled within the day."

"It makes no difference to me. That just means 7 fewer ponies for me to focus on if there's ever a Heartless attack in or near the school."

"7?"

"Swift was basically flaunting his invincibility because his mother is a major donator to the school. Shade, Swift and his friends, and Platinum Crest make 7."

Same day. Luna.

"There will be Tartarus to pay! Who do they think they are??!!" Luna shouted.

"Stupid people exist for two reasons: Entertainment, and to make everyone else's lives harder. Though there is the rare specime that is good for society. They are unfortunately not those specimens." I said. Aaaanndd she's ignoring me.

"–tia would let me do as I did so long ago to the guilty in their dreams!"

"Luna, there's a saying where I'm from. 'It's only illegal if you get caught'." I told her. She paused for a moment, then smiled.

"I like it..." She said, calmly. Disturbingly calm.

"Tell me, can memories be viewed through dreams?" I asked, curiously.

"Yes, and I can see where you're going with this." She said with a knowing smile on her face.

Same day. Raven.

"When I said to-haha 'do what you do best', I didn't me-hahaha mean this!" Raven said between laughs.

"So changing topics, I think I'll continue my tour of the worlds when this whole thing blows over." I told her.

"That reminds me, I still need to adjust the Corridors, and I've been meaning to ask about that new keyblade of yours."

"I asked a blacksmith to make an identical weapon to Dawn and Nightfall in case I couldn't summon them for whatever reason."

"Always good to have something to fall back on if you don't use it as your first choice. It's easily one of the most well forged weapons I've ever seen, on a scale of 1-100 I'd give it a 97. The only thing holding it back is that I know of a stronger metal on this world, and that metal is as rare as it is difficult to work with. So moving away from the weapon, anything change while you were on the other world?"

"Aside from that curse, I now keep seeing a compass, magic bar, level, and group display everywhere I go. Apparently I have my own heads up display like everyone on that world." I held Dark Fira in my hand. "I also learned this along with a few other tier 2 spells."

"If you've progressed this much, then it looks like I'll need to squeeze in another lesson. You'll be learning a little more of how to use light, and I'd prefer you not rely on darkness until you have managed what previous keyblade masters called 'shotlocks' and 'airstepping'."

"I'm guessing we'll do that in the old castle?" I asked for confirmation.

"You guessed it!"

Day 2. At the school with Celestia who is listening from around a corner.

"What are you doing back here? I thought we established you were expelled?" Shade asked angrily.

"Really? I thought we established the many reasons why doing so would be a bad idea?" I said, wanting a reaction out of him.

"This is MY school, and I will NOT be disrespected like this! Especially not by some nopony degenerate who couldn't even last a day in school!" Better than I expected.

"I don't quite think you know the meaning of what you just said, much less how unprofessional such behavior is of someone in your profession. Now I'm going to give you 5 seconds to correct your many mistakes before I officially destroy everything you've worked so hard to maintain."

"Security!" He shouted.

"No need, headmaster Shade." Celestia said after coming from around the corner, Shade now looking like he's shitting bricks.

"P-p-princess Celestia??!! H-h-how are you today?" He stuttered.

"I'm doing quite well, thank you for asking. What was that shouting I heard?" Celestia asked as if she didn't know.

"Oh it was nothing. I was just reminding this one next to me that he's not supposed to be here is all." He explained, sweat noticeable on his face.

"Speaking of this student-" Celestia started.

"Um... I don't mean to interrupt, but former student, your majesty." Shade interrupted.

"Oh silly me. This student is why I'm here. You see, he told me his version of what happened in MY school, and I am shall we say, less than pleased about what is going on in MY school. Shall we take this to the office and discuss what happened yesterday? Perhaps ask other students their versions of what happened?" She asked. Shade's eyes shrunk to pinpricks.

"Y-yes, of course!" He nearly shouted.

Fast forward an hour, many witnesses were found and testified in my favor.

"YOU IMBECILE!! TO THINK I MADE YOU HEADMASTER OF MY SCHOOL!!! HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU LET INCIDENTS LIKE THIS SLIDE??? HOW MANY LONG HAVE YOU BEEN LETTING THIS GO ON??? HOW MANY STUDENTS WERE WRONGFULLY PUNISHED BECAUSE OF YOUR GREED??? HOW MANY WERE THROWN UNDER THE CARRIAGE TO PRESERVE THIS SCHOOL'S REPUTATION???" Celestia shouted loud enough to be heard from the other side of the school, my ears are ringing loudly, Shade is practically pissing himself at this point. "YOU ARE HEADMASTER OF MY SCHOOL NO LONGER!!! LEAVE THIS ESTABLISHMENT IMMEDIATELY , OR YOU WILL BE FORCEFULLY REMOVED!!!" She looked at me calmly. "Cassiel, if he isn't out of this school within ten seconds, would you kindly assist him?"

"... WHAAAAT?"

Day 3, in the throne room.

"This is prepostrous your majesty! That... Thing nearly killed my son and you're allowing it to go free while my son is being expelled and charged with these crimes??!!" Platinum Crest fucked up badly just now.

"Correction, as stated by many witnesses, it was your son along with his friends who attacked first. Last I checked, I have the right of self defense. Second, he shot me with a spell with murderous intent, all I did was send that same spell back at him. In his attempt to kill me, he nearly killed himself. You should look at the bright side, he is very close, but not quite yet a murderer. That means he's not serving a life sentence." I said.

"It should be you where my son is! My sweet boy is going to the dungeon because of you!" She shouted.

"Because of me? The only thing I remember doing is exactly what he tried to do to me after several minutes of him and his friends beating on me, I don't remember committing several crimes and framing someone else for them. But whatever helps you sleep at night." I turned to Celestia. "I'm going to train with Nevermore, this failure of a parent, this bitch is yours to deal with." I said before leaving, ignoring Platinum's shouting. After entering a secluded part of the gardens, I tried opening a portal of light again, but it didn't work at first.

May your heart be your guiding key.

"Oh... Right..." After a few seconds, a portal opened a short distance in front of me.

"Good, you're here. Now we can begin." Raven greeted and summoned her keyblade. She shot several orbs of light into the air and they just stayed put.

"What's the purpose of those?" I asked.

"For starters, airstepping, then we'll move to shotlocks. Airstepping is done through creating a sort of 'tether' to the target. A ledge, a person, or other parts of the scenery. I guess you could say you 'extend your light' to the target, afterward you just jump and you'll see the results yourself." She looked up to the orbs and after a second or two, she glowed a light blue moved at insanely high speeds, to each of the orbs before landing.

"I'm sure you can figure it out. One last thing, during your descent, I want you to strike at me with your keyblades. I want to see how hard you can hit at your current level, curse and mask."

"Alright." After a minute or two of just staring, trying to 'extend my light', I think I've got it down. I'm seeing something that wasn't there when Raven did it, a line between me and the orbs, and a yellow boxes covering each orb, blue boxes repeatedly appearing on each orb. Thinking this is it, I jumped and in a second I reached the highest orb, at least 5 stories high. I looked down to Raven and prepared to strike as I fell. She blocked it with one arm and a small crater formed under her. She swung her keyblade to the side with me still above her and launched me a few meters away.

"Impressive. If this is you at 25%, then you are indeed a prodigy in more ways than one." She complimented. "Now, we move on to shotlocks. Each keyblade has one unique to it. Done the same way as airstepping, but you'll channel light or dark through your keyblade and strike. The form may also affect the result, same as how much light or dark is used. For example..." She summoned several Soldier Heartless, but they didn't move from their locations. She held the Keyblade of Hearts in a reverse grip and channelled darkness through it. "This is an example of a shotlock with a little light or darkness." She said before plunging her keyblade into the ground, phasing through it actually. Each Heartless was impaled from below at the same time by her keyblade, all where the heart would be, the end of her keyblade also grew upon reappearing below the Heartless.

"Well that's not fair, for the receiving end anyway." I said.

"Whoever said anything about battle having to be fair is a fool." Raven summoned more Heartless. "Now for a full charge..." She channelled more darkness through her keyblade than before and thrust it forward, the result was much more brutal compared to the original. Darkness shot out of her keyblade and held each Heartless in place before the hearts were all exposed and impaled several times each, the heart itself looked unaffected, but the Heartless suffered all the damage. Then each end of her keyblade just tore right through the hearts, the Heartless finally disappearing. "Shotlocks often can't be used more than twice in a short time, use them carefully. Now show me if you can do this too!" She summoned more Heartless.

I channelled light through Nightfall as I followed the steps for an airstep. After a few seconds, I swung Nightfall, sending multiple shards of light towards each one.

"Yes! That's it!" Raven said, excited. "Now remember that I don't want you using darkness much until you are familiar with light. Our lesson ends for now. Before you go, take this back." Lionheart and what's needed to draw it from my back appeared in her hands. I took it back and made sure everything was put on right. "Now continue your tour and prepare for your Mark of Mastery exam."

"I guess I'll be seeing you soon." I entered the SR and walked through a different Corridor than before.

It's night time in the streets of the city I've found myself in. I'm standing outside a building called "From Dawn Til Dust", either that's a misspelling for a very small hotel, or this is a drug store.

*crash**glass breaking*

And now someone's been thrown out the window, someone dressed up like little red riding hood on top of him. Eeyup... It's a drug store. I have many questions now, whatever that thing was on her lower back is now unfolding into... That's a big scythe... And is that a scope? What next? A bipod on a knife?

"Okayy..." A man dressed up like a crime boss said. "Get her!" The others charged at the girl with, less than decent results. Girl has some- did I just... That scythe is also a gun, and holy fuck does that thing have recoil! After dealing with the henchmen, the crime boss looked down at one of them. "You were worth every cent. Truly you were." He said sarcastically. He looked to the girl. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," He dropped his cigar and stomped his cane on it. "and as much as I'd love to stick around..." He pointed his cane at her. "I'm afraid this is where we part ways." He shot a fucking rocket at her... Firework?... From his cane... And climbed halfway up a ladder of a 2 or 3 story tall building in less than five seconds.

What the fuck did I just witness? Fuck it! This looks interesting. I airstepped to the top of the building with Lionheart in hand and caught him off guard from the other side of the building.

"Mind if I join?" I airstepped to him with Aero on my weapon, nearly sending him flying off the building. The girl climbed up afterward and sent him flying past me. A helicopter or something like that appeared out of nowhere and picked him up.

"I think that's enough excitement for one night, farewell!" He tossed a red crystal at us and shot it with his cane. Not wanting to feel the explosion, I pulled the girl away, apparently that wasn't necessary as someone who looks like a teacher blocked the shot. Afterward she fired a volley of magic bolts at the aircraft. No... It's different... Is that magic? It feels different compared to what I've felt. She fired again above the aircraft, forming storm clouds that rained shards of ice. The man switched with the pilot I'm guessing, the previous pilot fired something at us, what I couldn't tell, though it did explode under the teacher's feet. As she used her ability to lift all the shards or whatever they were, I airstepped into the aircraft.

"Neat trick." I said as I took several swings at her, distracting this woman who had much better reaction time than I expected. She held me and the other one off at the same time. After a few seconds, she accidentally(?) managed to get a good hit on me, she was able to keep forming weapons made of molten glass it seemed like, sharp and quite durable. A shard was imbedded in my shoulder and I fell out. I airstepped back to the roof and quickly removed the shard. This hurts about as much as bullets. "Cura!" I love how effective this magic is, and the one woman doesn't look happy.

Author's Notes:

Still not bothering with Luna's olde speech. Typing with a controller because no place seems to sell keyboard attachments is tedious enough.

These were the best ways I could think of to do airstepping and shotlocks. As I couldn't think of shotlocks for Dawn and Nightfall, I'm instead using the regular shotlocks of Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The other forms are modified versions of such.

A few lines in RWBY were changed, not enough to actually change anything.

Now serious time. I don't care if you just make a quick scetch, could I trouble someone to try to draw the scythe, shuriken, and twinblade varients of Dawn and Nightfall? If you choose to color it, you could do it with crayons for all I care. I'd just like a visualization of those three. I can never seem to draw what I want, doesn't help I don't have that patience.

Chapter 28.

View Online

Cassiel POV

So that lady was less than pleased. Apparently it was a bad idea for us to get involved, which is why we're in an interrogation room, but I wasn't really listening. I heard a loud smack on the table and saw a silver haired man in a black and green suit carrying a plate of cookies. He knew the girl's name, Ruby Rose. He commented on her having silver eyes, then asked her where she learned to use "one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed", apparently she has a much better uncle than me. Though I have to ask where the cameras were that caught the footage when several camera angles did not exist since there weren't any in those specific locations at those times. Well I've already seen bullshit weapons and magic, the angles might be possible.

Moving on, Ruby is training to become a Huntress, a monster slayer basically, a family thing to her it sounds like. The man asked her if she knew who he was, Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, the school Ruby intends to apply to after her final two years at Signal Academy. He asked her if she wanted to come to his school, and she said yes. Fastest. Grade skip. And application. Ever.

"Now onto you, Mr...." Ozpin said to me.

"Cassiel?" I asked.

"You have also displayed a few... Techniques that caught my attention. Where did you learn to fight like this?" He asked as he played what little footage he had of me.

"Self taught for the most part. The only thing you saw that I didn't learn myself was when I quickly closed the distance between me and the criminals."

"And who taught you that?"

"Someone who uses a similar weapon to mine."

"A strange weapon, one I've never seen before. What is it?" Why does everyone want to know?

"A keyblade." Now comes the part where I lie. "A symbolic weapon, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it."

"Now this part here is something else that caught my attention." Footage played of me falling out of the aircraft with that shard of molten glass in my shoulder. "You can fight like this, but you didn't use your aura to protect or heal yourself, yet, you still somehow healed yourself with something else unknown to me. Why and how?"

"Don't know what aura is, and magic? The same thing the lady behind you used during the fight?" I answered, his eyes shot open a little.

"That was her Semblance, there is no such thing as magic, and you mean to tell me aura and Semblance aren't known to you? Your teacher never taught you how to awaken your aura, and they're training you to be a Huntsman I'm assuming?" I'll just play along.

"Yes, whatever aura or a Semblance is, I've never needed it. I'm sure I could hold my own against Ruby just fine." I'm being serious about that. Silence hung for a few seconds.

"Ms. Goodwitch, would you kindly awaken Cassiel's aura?" He asked the lady. She came to the other side of the table and placed her hand on my shoulder. She glowed for a few seconds, I did too a few seconds later. I felt... Lighter to put it simply.

"Now onto the next matter. You have no scroll, no identity, and it's clear you've never attended a Huntsman academy, but as I hate the idea of wasted potential, I'm willing to let those slide. I can offer you a place at Beacon, and we'll continue from there. Sound fair?" He offered. Seems a little too sudden, convenient, and just as quickly did he give me reason to not trust him. I do however want to see where this goes.

"Screw it. Why not." I accepted.

"I'll take that as a yes."

The next day, I was on an airship to Beacon. Ruby's off with some girl who's giving off the "big sister" vibes, and I'm watching the news. "Roman Torchwick" was that man's name, then it moved on to a Demi Human- I mean Faunus Civil Rights protest was disrupted by a group called the "White Fang".

"Humans truly are pathetic creatures." I said quietly, clenching my fist and thinking of Raphtalia and the others.

Before the news could continue, Goodwitch appeared on the projection to welcome everyone. Upon landing, Ruby's sister, Yang basically ditched her. After a small accident, Ruby was getting yelled at by who I shall call "Ice Queen". Apparently Dust isn't drugs. It is however explosive as I discovered as Ruby sneezed, burning, freezing, and electrocuting her. I ignored one Dust bottle flying away and got involved because this looked fun, and because her bitching was annoying me.

"Ruby, we are going to get along just fine!" I turned to Ice Queen. "Are ya done? I've heard more bitching in the past minute than I have in the past week! Actually you remind me of a certain Bitch I know, Ice Queen."

"It's heiress, actually." A new voice said. We turned to a girl almost dressed like a maid, yellow eyes, a black bow on her head, and black hair going past her shoulders. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally, some recognition!" Ice Queen said, pleased.

"The same company infamous for it's controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The new girl continued. Ice Queen stuttered and stomped off, Ruby giggled, and I looked at her with the straightest face I could muster that she couldn't see.

"I like you already!" I said while laughing, I couldn't keep the straight face. Her lips twitched a little, but otherwise looked at me unamused before leaving. "Well, later Ruby." I left Ruby too, but didn't follow the other girl. I'll see her again soon, I'm sure of that.

Tomorrow

So Ozpin pulled me to the side after I pulled Lionheart out of my locker. He went on to inform me that everyone who passes the entrance exam will be split in teams of 4, but given my circumstances, I may be an unofficial member of a team. I'll still be required to take the exam, but not in the traditional sense. He wants proof of my skill, so my objective is basically kill monsters while I'm being recorded by a camera strapped on to my head, rendezvous with others is optional. Truth be told, I think it's a load of bull shit comihg from him, but if he wants a show, he'll get one.

Now at Beacon Cliff, Ozpin is giving a speech while I'm looking through my scroll for information regarding Grimm. Basically they're this world's variation of Heartless, attracted by negative emotions, they kill almost anything, and I'm basically a magnet. There's only 3 so far I'd consider a threat. I'm still listening, everyone else has the objective of finding relics at a temple and returning to the cliff. Everyone will be grouped by who they see first. In that case, I'm going to cheat using the SR. From left to right, everyone was catapulted. I used the wingblades to ensure I landed near that one girl, they said "use your own landing strategy", and that's what I'm doing.

I entered the SR after landing a short distance from her, after I saw her, I skipped on ahead using the wingblades and found the temple Ozpin spoke of. I exited the SR and just waited for a few minutes. Eventually Grimm came as expected, plenty of them, all small fry.

"Now time to see what this can really do." I prepared a shotlock and channelled darkness through Dawn, almost 3 dozen were wiped out by swirling blades of darkness being launched at them. I flew up and airstepped to a Beowolf, slamming it's head into the ground and jumping off of it.

"Magnet." Several were pulled together, and I airstepped past them with Lionheart held out to collide with them, quickly cutting them in half, the one I airstepped to was stabbed through the head. Three leaped at me from behind.

"Fire." I used the self surround version to deal with them.

"Thundara." I cleared out a large group of them. I decided to officially bring Dawn and Nightfall into this now that bigger prey is finding it's way here. Finally, a Deathstalker.

"You know, it's a shame. Scorpions are one of my favorites." It charged it's way through all the smaller Grimm, killing them for me as it charged. "And you are my favorite soon to be dead monster." I airstepped between several Grimm in the clearing, luring it to me as I cleaved through everything along the way. After a while all the small fry started backing away. Even the Deathstalker held off for a moment. Taking the hint, I threw Dawn as a shuriken behind me and something dropped behind me. Snake Grimm, what ever they were called if the two heads beside me are anything to go by. I airstepped to the Deathstalker, but the armor was too thick. Seeing a Beowolf jump at me, I flew up, put away Lionheart, and shot down with the bow version of Nightfall, killing both. Apparently the real keyblade cuts through these things like butter. After flying back to the ruins for a breather, I continued firing at the Grimm.

Ozpin POV.

"Our last pair has been formed, sir." Ms. Goodwitch informed me. "Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren. Poor boy. I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Ms. Nikos." She commented.

"Hmmm." Was my only response.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat. I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should meet with Cassiel at the temple within just a few minutes. That boy is handling himself quite well if I do say so myself, though I'm disturbed by all the Grimm he's attracting. I've only ever heard of hordes like this when a significant number of people were angry, fearful, or anything of the sort."

"It's something to take note of for certain, perhaps a positive group might help him?" I said.

"I was thinking the same thing. Another thing though, he's not using Dust or aura, how is he even doing half of what he's done so far? Especially since he hasn't had access to his aura for very long!"

"I can't say I know. Though I can say I think I made the right choice enrolling him here." I said, switching the camera view to Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee.

"I suppose you're right on that part. By the way, what did you use as relics this year?"

"..."

"Professor Ozpin?"

"..."

Cassiel POV

"Fuck it!" 4 Nevermores, 7 Deathstalkers, and DOZENS of small fry. "Nuke everything!" I flew up, out of reach.

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I order thee. Heed the Raven's Call and rain Death upon my enemies. Let not Blood nor Bone nor Ash remain. Aby-"

"Heeeyyy!" A voice interrupted from below. I looked down to see Yang and the one girl together, both jumped down from the cliff.

"Abyssal Cataclysm!" (Remember what happened to Glass? I don't feel like retyping or copying and pasting, deal with the abreviation). All the Grimm were either crushed, smashed, incinerated, buried, or all of the above. I landed, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked as she and the other girl ran to me.

"*huff**huff* I'm fine. I think I'm going to sit down for a minute." I answered.

"What was that just now?" The still unnamed girl asked. I'll just call her Black until further notice.

"Funny enough, *huff* I don't have an answer for that. Just get your relics and go, I think I've killed enough for one day." They walked over to the relics, chess pieces actually.

"Hmmm... How about a cute little pony?" Yang asked Black.

'Oh God, they're here too???' I thought until I realized Yang was referring to the knight piece.

"Sure." Black responded, smiling.

"That wasn't too hard."

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find."

"YOUR WELCOME BY THE WAY! YOU KNOW, FOR THE HUNDRED SOME ODD GRIMM I JUST KILLED!!! YEAH, THERE'S NO WAY THAT WENT UNNOTICED BY ANYONE!!!" I yelled.

*distant, girlish screaming*

"Some girl's in trouble! Blake, did you hear that?" So that's her name then. I was close. "What should we do?"

"Well usually the smart decision would be to run anywhere but towards it, but in this profession, it's kind of required to do the opposite. Just saying." I commented.

"Heads up!" Ruby shouted from above, and got hit out of the air by Vomit Boy.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked Yang.

"I-"

*growling, crashing, trees falling*

Two more people rode in on an Ursa, the girl did anyway. The other guy I'm guessing had to run to keep up. The girl... Let's just say I don't want to be around when she consumes sugar or caffeine. Is that even a thing for sugar?

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked Yang again.

*more growling, crashing, and trees falling*

Another new arrival, with a Deathstalker. I summoned the scythe version of Nightfall and charged a shotlock with light.

Everyone said each others names, Yang is getting noticeably angry.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked.

"YES!!!" I shouted before unleashing it. I swung the scythe downward and a giant sickle of light launched right past the girl in question and cleaved the Deathstalker, and every object hit by it in the next 50 meters or so in two. "I'm done for the day." I desummoned Nightfall, and immediately after, there was another Deathstalker chasing her. Just out of range. I looked at the others and saw them look up one after another from what I did to whatever is above us.

'I swear to Raven, if that's another Nevermore, I'm nuking this place again.' I looked up and saw Ice Queen hitching a ride on a Nevermore's talon. 'Actually, I don't have the magic right now, I think I'm going to sit this one out.'

So a few things happened. Ice Queen fell with Vomit Boy, the one being chased by a Deathstalker got sent flying to us, Ruby almost got herself killed (capes are a bad idea), Ice Queen saved her, and the Grimm chased everyone (including me) after they all got their pieces to some more ruins.

(Call it laziness, but I'm not typing this fight. Cassiel is sitting it out, I'm assuming you've seen it, and I would embed it, but I get the feeling that's a bad idea, so we're skipping it!)

So they can work together. Took them long enough though. I may be better equipped, but they have had years of training with tools and powers that Earth would cause genocide after genocide to have.

That night.

Ozpin is carrying out a ceremony for everyone who passed. I already don't like team CRDL, team JNPR has only two competent individuals, and RWBY is probably the least chaotic, surprisingly enough.

"Now I will announce the extra students to each team. Some of you may have heard of different entrance exams. That is true, some were tested on skill and efficiency alone. Only one passed this year. Cassiel, you will be paired with team RWBY." He said, the auditorium clapping. "I expect great things from you. I trust you won't disappoint."

"I don't even make promises I can keep. Don't expect anything from anyone, and you will never be disappointed unless they underperform." I said.

"Hmph." Was his response.

I guess I'm going to another school for now.

Chapter 29.

View Online

Cassiel POV

The next morning was... Interesting. So before I get into that, Ozpin wanted to speak to me late the night I was placed in team RWBY. Let's just say it was intrusive and he got nothing out of me. Now back to the events of next morning. The others unpacked and decorated their (our) room. Somehow though, they managed to leave no room for me (not like I have anything), and stacked the beds. Literally. So they fixed that in the dumbest way they could, somehow they made it work. Bunk beds. I'm thankful for my bed not being here yet, Yang wouldn't let me sleep on the floor in the corner, and I don't trust Ozpin further than I can stab him. She did try to get me to sleep without the mask, but it stayed on. I think her clinging to me was her way of getting back at me.

So our first class was with professor Port. A man on the larger side, dressed in a red suit, probably middle aged. His weapon being a blunderbuss shotgun/ battle axe on the stock. I can already see where this is going, but I listen anyway in case something related to Grimm comes up. Ruby is joking around, Weiss is showing clear signs of agitation, and Port is telling a story of how he dealt with a Beowulf in his youth. One thing he said though got a reaction out of me though.

"A true Huntsman must be honorable. A true Huntsman must be dependable. A true Huntsman must be strategic... Well-educated... And wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" He asked. I raised my hand, but didn't give a response he wanted or expected.

"I can guarantee I don't embody a few of those. Honor? Against mindless beasts or dishonorable people? All that accomplishes is failure and meaningless deaths. Dependable? The bare minimum is the enemy dies, or your mission is a success, something honor would hinder. Strategic? Dishonorable plans and methods are the most strategic. Well-educated? What's not to understand about 'stab it until it stops breathing'? Wise? The wise man knows how to properly do what is necessary. Send any Grimm my way, and it won't last long, I can guarantee that."

"Is that so?" He asked with a raised brow. "Then let's see for ourselves! Step down here and face the monster I captured personally!" He gestured to a giant cage in the room.

"I'll prove my point by fighting it my way." I complied.

"Don't you want your weapon first?"

"I already have plenty." I responded as I reached the bottom.

"Alright. Let the match, begin." He struck the lock on the cage with the axe and boar type Grimm charged out.

I summoned Dawn, tossed it above the boar, and airstepped to Dawn, catching it as the boar crashed into the wall.

"Nice dodge." Port complimented.

"Aero." I launched the boar into the air and chose to start proving my point.
"Gravity." It slammed into the ground, clearly in pain, it's armor cracking.
"Aero." I lifted it again and airstepped to it.
"Gravity." It slammed into the ground again, it's armor broken.

"Restricting it's movements I see. Well done!" Port said.

I airstepped to it again, finally plunging Dawn into it and putting it out of it's misery.

"Efficient, though I feel the brutality was unnecessary. Regardless, we are in the presence of a Huntsman in training. I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and, stay vigilant. Class dismissed."

After class, Weiss let her anger out on Ruby. Spoiled bitch.

"-you've done nothing to earn your position. Back in the forest you only acted like a child and you've only continued to do so." Weiss complained.

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about, working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team." Ruby tried to understand, but couldn't.

"Not a team, led by you. I've studied, and trained, and quite frankly, I deserve better." Weiss turned away. "Ozpin made a mistake." I grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

"She studied too, and trained harder than most. She can probably hold her own against most of the other students here, and she's supposed to be two years behind everyone. That alone should be enough proof that she earned it. Right now, I'm more inclined to follow her orders than yours, she may be acting like a child, but at least she's not acting like a self entitled brat!" I said.

"'Self entitled br-'" she started.

"'You deserve better'? Because you did exactly what she did? Minus the grade skip? Listen well, Ice Queen. I don't take shit from people like you, and I love forcing them to face reality, before I slam it into their faces. I hear something like this happening again, and your life here becomes hell!" I ignored her as I entered the SR to my next class.

(episode 11)

So I just watched Jaune get his ass handed to him against Cardin. Idiot can't even use his sword or shield properly. Right now we're all in the cafeteria and after Nora finished telling everyone about a dream she had, Ruby and Pyrrha started trying to convince Jaune to let them help with Cardin who is currently giving a bunny eared Faunus named Velvet some trouble. Once he laid a hand on her, I moved out of my seat and made my way over to them.

"This looks like fun... Mind if I join?" Cardin and his friends turned to me.

"Sure, why not?" He turned back to Velvet. "Looks like someone else wants you out of here, freak!"

"Oh, I wasn't talking about her." He looked at me confused. "I was talking about you and your team." I grabbed him by his hair, froze my hand onto it, and slammed it into the table before freezing his head to it. Before any of his friends could react, I froze them to the wall behind them.

"You know, I truly hate humans. There is no race quite as hateful, ignorant, conceited, hypocritical, and irredeemable as humans. I say this from personal experience as a human. I have significantly less patience for humans as I've been on the receiving end for long enough, yet, Faunus have never even so much as given me a reason to fear, hate, or even dislike them."

"You're a freak lo-*muffled shouting*!" Cardin started, but was silenced as I froze his mouth shut.

"I wasn't finished. Personal experience tells me Faunus are better in every way that matters. Of my only four friends, two are Faunus, and there's only one human I'd call my friend. They are worth more to me than the survival of humanity. The next time I see you doing something like this, you will be forming a very, shall we say... Intimate... Relationship with that wall your friends are frozen onto, before I scrape off what's left and throw you into an industrial meat grinder. Are we clear?" No response. "Good! You should be unfrozen in a little while. Have fun!" I took my seat with the others and got various looks from them. Ren had a straight face, Nora looked ready to explode in laughter, Weiss and Pyrrha were disturbed, Blake and Ruby I couldn't exactly identify, and Yang looked angry.

"Those numbers don't add up. Four friends, two Faunus, one human, who's the fourth?" Blake asked.

"She's nowhere near here either, much like the other three." I answered.

"..."

"So you hate humans, huh?" Yang asked.

"I could give you a list of reasons why, personal and otherwise. There's only one human I would call a friend, and he's nowhere near here. It's easy to hate someone when they hurt you, easy to hate many when they hurt you or don't help when you need it most, eventually you just stop caring about the good in people because it begins to hurt as well. Rather, you don't just stop caring, you want to return the favor ten fold. Why do you think all those Grimm were at the ruins back then? I'm practically a magnet to them." She slammed her hand on the table.

"You're human too, right? We can't tell because you hide under that coat and behind that mask! You hate yourself too?" She yelled.

"... Would it surprise you if I said yes? That I can't stand the face in the mirror?" I answered.

"But, Cassiel... We're friends, right?" Ruby asked.

"Tell me, how often have any of us spoken to one another? I know next to nothing about any of you, and you all know next to nothing about me. You don't even know what I look like. The closest we've had to bonding is me laying into Weiss and standing up for you, Yang not letting me sleep on the floor that one time, and Blake letting me read a few of her books. Does that sound like friendship? Or does that sound like me channeling my anger on the cause of it, Yang being more comfortable with the idea of sleeping in the same bed as someone else than you three, or Blake just not being greedy?" I asked.

"Maybe if you opened up a little and let others in, you could still be friends with everyone here." Not something I'd expect from Blake.

"Coming from the girl who hides her true self from her 'friends'! Yeah, I noticed, and I truly am sorry you feel you have to hide that from the others." She looked at me, scared I would reveal the secret behind that bow. I removed enough of my mask to show them a third of my face, blood dripping onto the table. "This is one of the reasons I wear this mask. Doctors can't do anything about it, it's a waste of aura to heal it, and no one wants to clean up everywhere I go. Have I opened up enough? I'm leaving now." I dumped my tray into the trash and left.

I probably am too cynical for my own good.

That night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoeZfVVubjw&list=OLAK5uy_kcF6lQfV1tht53H_Ml7cjelPzOV5HI-8E&index=8

I'm on the balcony on top of my team's room. The view beats Earth's, no doubt about that. The room might be more comfortable, but I doubt they want to see me right now, not like it should make a difference anyway. I'm not even officially part of the team, I'm just along for the ride as I continue my "tour of the worlds". I removed my mask to feel the breeze, let the blood flow more freely down my cheeks. I heard the door open behind me after a minute or two and put the mask back on, keeping my back to the door. Whoever closed the door and took a few steps to me. Neither of us said anything for a while, I figured they would leave eventually.

"So how long have you known?" So it was Blake then.

"Hold that thought." I summoned Nightfall and pointed it at the door. A beam of light shot out and placed a lock on it.

"How do you do that?" She asked.

"I could tell you everything and you wouldn't believe me. So let's just say I have a very... Adaptable Semblance, moreso than Weiss's Glyphs." I dismissed Nightfall and turned back to the view before she came up. "To answer your first question, the first week. Your bow shifts, not often enough to be noticed easily, but enough for me, and you've reacted to things no one else can hear."

"You don't care about me not being human?"

"The only thing I care about in regards to your race is that you don't think the others will accept you. My experience with people and views on humanity says they won't, this strange feeling in my chest says they probably would. I don't think this is what Raven meant when she told me to let my heart be my guiding key. Whatever, you would get a warmer reception from them than I would right now."

"They're more hurt than angry with you, Ruby especially."

"Tell me... Why do you hide your ears?" I asked.

"Why do you hide yourself from others?" She asked in turn.

"If you want details, you'll be having nightmares for a long time. Will the abridged version do if I show you my face? And you remove the bow? Your story?"

"You first." Figured. I turned to show her my face and kept the mask off as I spoke.

"Long story short, I saw my family get murdered and defiled by a fellow human. I hadn't even heard of a Faunus by that point. Lost my little sister and grandparents too because of the same guy, nearly died to him too. He went free despite all the evidence and I was adopted by my aunt and uncle who are shall we say, less than friendly, doesn't help they hated my parents and by extension, me. The school they enrolled me in was arguably worse. I accidentally found the one who ruined my life, living off blood money from my family, and I made him suffer for hours without even the luxury of screaming. It was humans, driven by the pettiest reasons, who hurt me, not Faunus. Your turn." She took a minute to soak it in before untying her bow, cat ears.

"Have you heard of the 'White Fang'?" She asked.

"I've read enough. Peaceful group of Faunus that basically wanted to bring humans and Faunus together. Equal rights, fair treatment, the desire to be regarded as people and not something less. Feeling peaceful options weren't getting the job done, they became more radical and violent." I answered.

"I was a member for most of my life, almost born into it. Back then it was a peaceful group, a voice for the Faunus in a world that discriminated and hated us. I was at every rally, every boycott, but we weren't making a difference. Though 5 years ago, a new leader with a new way of thinking rose up."

"That new leader is the one who changed the White Fang. Related articles gave some info on known members, other articles gave info on their treatment during and before the war, a few people in the SDC need to die. Sienna Khan, Adam Taurus." She tensed up as I said that name. "I haven't found other members of interest. Some want equality, others might want revenge, the overall goal is the same, but the methods had to change."

"What do you mean 'they had to change'? They are hurting innocent people, and they think it's helping them!"

"It is, it will, though a few martyrs will be necessary. Peace was attempted for longer than should be necessary, so, tired of being the victims, have decided to take what they are rightfully owed by force if necessary, and then some as compensation for the trouble. Now we wait for a Faunus who is even worse than both, one who doesn't want equality, but blood, and will not hesitate to kill anything in his way. Then, a Faunus, opposed to the White Fang, must end it once and for all." I pointed to her. "That is how the Faunus will find salvation. One must be willing to bear all the hate, and die with it. That hero will be in the White Fang, soon if they aren't already." She looked conflicted, pained even.

"What will you do now?" I put the mask back on, walked over, and lightly rubbed my hand between her ears.

"Call it a night." I unlocked the door and headed down.

I'm tired.

Chapter 30.

View Online

(episode 15)

Cassiel POV

That night was... I can't find the right word. Let's just say the others made an effort to bond with me. Eventually we held actual conversations with each other, they didn't learn nearly as much as Blake, turns out I'm a year younger than Ruby, but they at least got a laugh out of me a few times. They decided to mess around a little and reminded me I was ticklish. Weiss held me in place while Yang did most of the work until she decided to turn her attention to Ruby. I haven't laughed that hard or that long for too many years, not from being tickled mind you, but how they were with each other.

I almost wish it hadn't ended.

(fast forward)

We're at the docks, Weiss is "admiring" the preparations for the Vytal Festival, a tournament between the Huntsman academies in each kingdom basically. A one sided massacre if I fight. Blake pointed out that Weiss just wanted to spy on the students entering the city of Vale so she'll know what she's up against, though in a world where a gatling gun is hidden in a purse or whatever (*cough**cough* Coco), that won't do her much good. Or how about the cane that shoots fireworks? This world's weapons are bull shit. Anyway, the others noticed a Dust shop that was robbed, money left behind. Me and Ruby both thought it was Torchwick, Weiss decided to go on a rant against the White Fang, something Blake and I weren't happy about. They were interrupted by some commotion by the docks, poor timing, very poor timing considering Weiss just said "those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal". It goes without saying I came dangerously close to hurting her.

So anyway, the commotion was caused by a Faunus, a stowaway who threw a banana at the cops, then ran away. Just following along, he escaped, and we ran into someone with social skills about as bad as mine, but she was like my polar opposite, Penny Polandina was her name. Though, it was around that point when Weiss did something incredibly stupid that pissed off Blake and I.

"If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... Rapscallion?" Weiss asked.

"The who?" Penny asked.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" Weiss clarified.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Blake asked, becoming more agitated.

"Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion. Stop calling him a degenerate. He's a person!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to this trashcan as a trashcan, or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time, he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang."

"Gggrrr you ignorant little brat!"

They argued for a long time. Long enough it's now night time and we're in our room.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem." Weiss said.

"That is the problem!"

"You realize that you're defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil."

"There's no such thing as 'pure evil'! Why do you think they hate humanity so much?" Blake asked as I was setting up all the links I would be sending to Weiss on that very topic.

"Because humanity is a curse on the world?" I asked, but was only acknowledged by Ruby and Yang.

"It's because of people like Cardin, people like you that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake continued.

"People like me??"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" And you couldn't start with that, why? Weiss? "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War. As in actual bloodshed."

"And I can guarantee it was your family that drew first blood, Weiss." Almost done.

"This doesn't concern you, Cassiel!" She shouted at me. "My grandfather's company has had a target painted across it's back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed, an entire train car full of Dust... Stolen. And every day, my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood." Aaannnd now she's going to learn of what a truly difficult childhood is like.

"Weiss, I-" Ruby placed her hand on Weiss's shoulder, she moved away from her.

"No! You want to know why I despise the White Fang?! It's because they're a bunch of liars! Thieves! And murderers!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" It took Blake a second to realize what she said before she ran out.

"Weiss, I'm going to send you a few links on your scroll. Maybe before judging the White Fang and Faunus in general, you should try to understand them first. Some history, as well as some personal accounts of Faunus, I think you'll find the ones that served, not worked for, served your family's business to be the most interesting. Fair warning, the images aren't exactly pleasant." I sent her the links in a message, her ringtone played as I turned to face the door.

"And you think you had a difficult childhood? You? Who spent almost your entire life getting exactly what you wanted? Try watching your parents get murdered at age 7, your mother's corpse gets defiled, family fortune stolen, your grandparents and sister murdered, almost get killed yourself, and the murderer go free despite all the evidence. How about the part where you're adopted by your alchoholic, drug addicted, abusive aunt and uncle, and enrolled in a school that treated you just as if not worse! You just had an angry father! You still have a family! Come talk to me when you lose everything you've ever cared about! When every night is plagued by nightmares until you learn to dream of the Void! When every waking moment is a nightmare! When Death becomes an act of mercy to you! When the only things you can truly feel and understand are Despair, Hate, and Rage!" I shouted at her. I didn't even look at any of them, though I had an idea of what their faces looked like.

"My life only recently started to improve. I no longer want to die. For the first time in 7 years, I have something worth living for. I have friends! A future I want to see! Seven years, half of my life was pure Hell. You aren't even close to understanding what pain truly feels like. Now, I'm going after my friend, she could use someone that understands her, the White Fang, and Faunus in general." I opened the SR and ran down to the courtyard. "I wouldn't recommend coming after us if you're against the idea of a Faunus, former White Fang on your team." I closed it behind me as I searched for Blake and found her in the courtyard. She looked ready to cry as she untied her bow. I stepped out of the SR from behind the statue as she wiped a tear from her face.

"I knew you would look better without the bow." A voice said to Blake as I turned around the statue.

"So you are a student, or a stalker." I said upon seeing the monkey tailed Faunus from the docks.

"Cassiel..." Blake said.

"Well, cat's out of the bag, no pun intended. So I'm going with you for now, Weiss pissed me off as well and I revealed more to them than you that one night."

"Uh, hello?" The Faunus said.

Time to see where this goes.

Two days passed, the Faunus, Sun Wukong (he's going to use a staff, isn't he?), was with us the whole time. Blake opened up with him and told him the same story she told me, causing him to choke on his drink. Later in the day, he said something that could lead to Blake's fears of the White Fang being involved in these robberies to rest. A large shipment of Dust from the Schnee Dust Company, hold a stakeout and see if the White Fang rob it. Who better to rob it than the people who hate them the most? If they don't, they're most likely not involved in the robberies.

So I waited in the SR on top of one of the crates while Blake and Sun waited on top of a roof. After some time, aircraft flew over and landed in the middle. Unfortunately, it was the White Fang that exited the aircraft, what confused me as much as it had to confuse the others was that Roman Torchwick was with them, giving orders. I had a wonderful idea and looked for portable cases to put Dust in as Blake got behind Roman and put her sword to his throat before removing her bow.

"Brothers of the White Fang. Why are you aiding this scum?" She asked, causing a few of them to lower their weapons.

"Heh, oh kid. Didn't you get the memo?" Roman asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together." Roman answered. I found the cases. Neat!

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." She threatened. We heard engines from above us, two more ships were hovering, probably to haul away Dust or drop more men. Almost done. If this Dust is getting stolen, I'm using it!

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation." Roman said before he blasted Blake away. After she escaped moments later, he pursued her slowly and was caught off guard by Sun. The ships dropped off more White Fang, surrounding Sun. I dropped down there as well having loaded several cases of Dust onto the ship Roman would be escaping on.

"White Fang..." I removed my mask and lowered my hood. "Do you honestly think working with someone like Roman is going to help your cause? Whatever your reasons are, they will only make things worse for you and the Faunus. I'm asking you, as a human, one who has never had any issues with the Faunus, one who likes to believe he understands them better than most, please step away?" They all attacked anyway, I drew Lionheart and made sure to pull my punches as I dealt with the ones who attacked me. I looked to Sun and why am I not surprised he's using a staff? A staff that's also two or three guns? And nunchakus? Bull shit weapon spotted!

Sorry, rewind a bit. Roman fought off Blake, those after images of hers would get annoying quickly, THEN he fought off Sun and his bull shit weapon (I'll probably have to see about getting Lionheart a few upgrades). After he was pushed back, I airstepped toward him with Fire at the edge of my weapon that I would detonate after each strike. He quickly learned he'll need to dodge my attacks and eventually he fired a shot at the ground between us, blasting both of us back. As I was getting back on my feet, I saw him look above us and fire at what was hanging over us. A cargo crate fell, Sun rolled forward, and Blake pulled me away with her just as I was about to airstep to Roman again. He held his weapon at point blank against Sun, before he did anything though, we were interrupted.

"HEY!" A voice shouted from across the loading zone. It was Ruby on the roof.

"Oh, hello Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" Roman asked. Ruby turned away from him, angering him and causing him to shoot her directly while she was distracted. Apparently Penny was here too and... Is she?... Yeah... She's combat ready. Why the?... She's seriously firing lasers from her wingblades? And now she's pulling a ship down. Yeah... Bull shit. New ideas though on how to use my wingblades. Roman after seeing that ship get pulled down, decided now would be a good time to run.

"I'll be back." I told Blake and entered the SR, boarding the ship he was escaping on.

"These kids just keep getting weirder!" He said before closing the hatch. Remember that Dust I was putting in cases? He's trapped in here with it.

"Oh trust me, we can be so much worse!" I said, stepping out of the SR.

"What the-? How did you get in?" He asked, ready to shoot me.

"I have no need for your feeble minded doors! And I wouldn't do that if I were you." I warned as I pulled out a Dust crystal from my pocket and gestured to him that he look around us, at ALL the open Dust cases. I held Fira in my free hand. "It would be a real dick move if I were to drop this and some fire on it." I tossed the Dust into the air. "Real..." Tossed again. "Dick..." Tossed again. "Move..." I tossed it one more time before dropping Fira on top of it. It fell slow enough that I had plenty of time to escape through the SR ad admire the explosion. Imagine Ruby's explosive sneeze, but MUCH bigger and satisfying. The ship remained in the air though. Either it has good indoor explosive defenses, or I overestimated the Dust. I got the last laugh, so I'm happy. Flying away, back to the others. I heard just enough to know that Weiss reconciled with Blake.

"I'm back!" I said, startling everyone as I stepped out of the SR. "So... What did we learn?" I asked Weiss. I was expecting a response, what I wasn't expecting was for her, Ruby, and Yang to gang up on me and start trying to crush me between them.

"Cassiel... I can't imagine how hard you've had it-" Yang started.

"Don't. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but stop. The same goes to you two as well." I said to the three trying to constrict me by hugging me.

"But-" Ruby started.

"No."

"..."

"Cassiel?" Ruby said.

"Yeah?"

"We're all a team, friends, you know that, right?" She asked.

"Heh... Raphtalia once said something like that to me as well." I thought out loud.

"Who?"

"I know, Ruby."

I know. I don't think they realize my blood is dripping onto their clothes.

Chapter 31.

View Online

(S2 E4)

Cassiel POV

Allow me to summarize the last few days. There was a food fight that I had no part in, the others convinced (forced) me to play this world's version of Risk, and Blake was acting more "antisocial, quiet, and moody" than usual. She's stressing herself out about Torchwick and the White Fang, so Ruby's solution? We all split up basically. Weiss and Ruby get info regarding Dust robberies against the SDC, Yang sees a "shady friend" of hers, and Blake goes to a White Fang recruiting rally to see what she can learn. Now let's add in the addition of Sun and his friend, Neptune. Knowing Blake was the most likely to get into trouble, I went with her, Sun too.

They got inside without any issues, I took a mask and stayed inside the SR since a human, if discovered, would have a bad time. Though, it's not like they're a threat to me.

"Thank you all for coming." The recruiter started. "For those of you joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we've fought for, for so long." It was Torchwick (how the fuck is he alive? I'm confirming the kill this time!), and the crowd is less than pleased to see a human here, though he doesn't seem to care about all the people giving him death stares. I don't recognize that pink and brown haired girl to the side of what's under that cover.

"What's a human doing here?" A female recruit asked, angrily.

"I'm glad you asked, dearie. Now I'll be the first to admit, humans are the WORST. Case in point." He gestured to himself. "So I understand why you would all love to see us locked away, or better yet: Killed. But! Before the claws come out... I would like to mention the fact that you and I ALL have a common enemy. The ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty rotten humans that run our kingdoms. Government. Military. Even the schools are all to blame for your lot in life." The crowd is now cheering. "And they're all pests that need to be dealt with. Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around. No offense to any rodents in the room." He snapped his fingers and the cover was removed. An Atlas assault mech? Damnit, too many people for me to rip out anything that looks important. And he has more of these? What's this about an employer? I'm more concerned about that to be honest.

"Will all new recruits please come forward." The recruiter instructed. Deciding a distraction might be a good idea right now, I stepped out of the SR from behind the mech after switching out the masks. Hopefully he won't recognize me.

"Before we continue, I ask you this. Why did you decide to join the White Fang? Why don the masks of monsters?" The recruiter wasn't sure if this was planned and Torchwick was noticeably confused, as was the crowd. "Faunus doesn't mean monster. What do you hope to fight for? An end to discrimination? Revenge? Supremacy? You have your reasons, your justification, but you will be sacrificing yourselves for those reasons. I have never been able to understand the ignorance of us humans." Why are Blake and Sun still here? "Yes, you heard right, I meant what I said. Is it really that hard to look past the horns? The tails? The wings if Faunus can have those? As a human myself, my words probably don't mean much to you. You're not animals, certainly not monsters, and trust me, I've witnessed first hand what monsters... True monsters are capable of."

"Alright, who the hell are you!" Torchwick finally decided he heard enough and made his way over to me. He tore off the Grimm mask and looked absolutely pissed.

"You look pretty good for a guy who should be a corpse beyond recognition. Miss me?" I asked. Blake finally did something and shot the power box, shutting off the lights and enabling us to escape, but Torchwick gave chase in the mech. SR for the win! Eventually the others caught up after we reached the highway and they were able to get him back on ground we could fight on. So either I wasn't there for some team discussions, I wasn't paying attention, or Ruby can come up with plans on the spot that others follow perfectly. The fuck am I supposed to get from Freezer Burn or Lady bug? Bumblebee?

Not important right now. I doubted arrows or shuriken would do much so I was stuck with getting in close. Thankfully the guns were easy to avoid until they were destroyed/ disabled/ removed, but that thing still hits hard! I'm glad Blake helped me figure out how to use it after our last run in with Torchwick, or that could've been ugly, if I survived that is. Yang began to take him alone, and I learned a fun fact about Yang. As long as she can still fight, she will always hit harder. The more damage she takes, the more she can return, but I wonder if that extra strength would remain if I healed her? Her hair looked to be on fire, her eyes turned red, her appearance basically screamed "you're fucked".

She still needed a little help though. She was launched past Ruby and Blake, but Blake caught her with her weapon and gave her momentum while Ruby and Weiss shot ice bullets at Torchwick. Deciding to follow their lead, I started doing the same with Dawn as a bow and Nightfall as wingblades to keep freezing more areas and increase how often I was able to shoot Blizzard at him. Apparently each wingblade can do that (thank you Penny for the idea). After one more punch on the stationary target, Yang completely wrecked the mech, it was totaled, no point in fixing it. Unfortunately, he was saved by that girl back at the rally, Neo he said her name was. That Semblance of hers is probably one of the more useful ones in and out of combat. Yang attacked her and Torchwick, but all that happened was glass shattering where they were. It's not the same glass like that woman from my first night, it's like it was stained glass, or a mirage of some kind. Either way, they escaped, not that I'd want to go against Neo without some kind of plan besides "nuke everything".

(S2 E5)

So I figured Pyrrha was either good or lucky, I didn't think she was this efficient though. She's in a 1V4 against Cardin and his team (those poor souls), and they are getting their asses beat! Among everyone here, she's definitely one of the ones I'd call a threat! And it's making me want to see that myself! The best way I can describe her skill and fighting style would be to compare her to the Spartans, and call her the modern day version of them on Remnant.

"And that's the match." Goodwitch said. "Well done miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament." She complimented.

"Thank you professor." Pyrrha said.

"Alright, now I know it's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" She asked.

"I'll do it!" I said, I can't remember the last time I was excited for anything.

"Cassiel? Very well, let's find you an opponent."

"No, I want to fight her." I said, pointing to Pyrrha.

"Me?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm afraid miss Nikos just finished a match, I'd recommend you choose another partner." Goodwitch said.

"No! It's fine. I'd be happy to oblige." Pyrrha accepted. I grabbed Lionheart and stepped into the ring with her. I took a look at the audience and took note of the two students from Haven academy. One looked displeased, but was watching closely, and the other was just watching, but not too interested.

I started off the fight by throwing Lionheart at Pyrrha, she dodged to the side and I airstepped to Lionheart, catching it and airstepping again to her. Her reflexes are definitely better than most. She blocked my attack and slashed at me, knocking me back. I ran to her this time and thrusted Lionheart at her, but something was off , like something else shifted my attack. I was able to quickly block her next several attacks and when she turned her weapon into a spear, I was able to catch it between the guard and hilt of Lionheart. I was able to shoot Aero at her and throw her off balance just a little as I yanked her weapon from her. That was short lived though as she bashed me with her shield, knocking me back a little.

"Finally! Someone else who uses a shield as a weapon!"

I let her retrieve her weapon which she turned into a gun and started shooting me. I blocked that with Barrier and jumped over it. I used Barrier again as a makeshift platform in the air as I held a few Fires along the back of Lionheart. I detonated one of them to gain momentum, but two things felt off. My attack felt like it slowed down much sooner than it should have, and it shifted again, causing me to miss. I quickly recovered and detonated another Fire after she knocked my weapon away, the same thing happened again. I backed away.

"I think I get it..." I turned to the rest of the class. "Ruby!" I shouted. "I'm going to stop holding back as much I am. Hold this!" I threw Lionheart between her and the Haven student next to her, imbedding it between them, and scaring Ruby. I summoned Dawn and Nightfall, their original forms. "Let's see what you can do now."

I charged at her, this time though, she couldn't alter my attacks. So it was Magnetism, and she just lost her edge. She backed away, but I tossed Dawn into the air and took advantage of the shape of my weapons to make them hookswords. Not used to this though, I hit her with the flat side of Dawn a few times, she dodged them and blocked it after a few more swings. This disconnected my weapons and she saw an opening, though she wasn't able to take advantage of it as fast as I was able to recall Dawn and cast Aero at our feet, then Gravity. Only able to block, unable to move for a second, I took full advantage of that and was about to knock her shield away, but the bell rung and ended our fight.

"That is all we have for today, the match is a draw." Goodwitch announced. "Excellent performance, both of you." She said to us. "Remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses." I desummoned Dawn and Nightfall and went to retrieve Lionheart. I stepped into the SR and went to my room.

The team decided to have an intervention of sorts with Blake later into the night. She looks like she hasn't slept in days, the others have noticed her eating much less, and her grades are slipping. She's worrying too much about Torchwick and the White Fang and this is the result. They didn't get anywhere with her, I heard everything from the SR, I'll be having a chat with her soon.

Cinder POV

"And finally, Cassiel and Pyrrha Nikos.." Emerald listed.

"Ahh, the 'Cursebearer' and the 'invincible' girl." I said.

"She's smart, but I wouldn't say invincible." Mercury commented.

"Do tell." I egged him to go on.

"I can't give details since the kid volunteered to fight her before I could, but I do know that until he threw away his weapon, she looked to have the upper hand." He explained.

"He threw away his weapon?" Not often a Huntsman does something like that.

"He pulled two more out of nowhere and put Pyrrha on the defensive. Whatever she was doing, he countered it by leaving his weapon out of the fight. He has me stumped. One more weapon doesn't make that much of a difference, everything his exam video as well as what we've seen aren't things I recognize."

"Interesting..."

"He doesn't seem to hide his power at all, could be because no one can figure out what it actually is." Emerald suggested the possibility.

"Certainly worth looking into. Add him to the list, we'll decide on Pyrrha later." I told Emerald, she checked him off.

"I'm sure you could take him though. His power seems to be about as useful as yours as long as he can't get out that incantation or whatever from the exam." Mercury said.

"It's not about overpowering the enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. And we will, in time."

"*sigh* I hate waiting." He complained.

"Don't worry, Mercury. We have a fun weekend ahead of us."

Chapter 32.

View Online

Cassiel POV

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang are planning the party, Blake on the other hand needs help sooner rather than later. The former have tried to convince me to go, but I haven't exactly been a fan of parties for years. I told them I would think about it, but no promises beyond putting on some real music. What I would like to know on that topic is how they got my measurements? I can't seem to find any holes in the bathrooms (thank Raven for the SR) nor can I find any cameras. I don't remember any physical contact outside of hugs and Yang on the first night. Whatever... Finding Blake in the library at one of the computers, I walked out of the SR to greet her, keeping the SR open.

"Blake, we need to talk." I started.

"Not now, Cassiel." She refused.

"That's not an option. We're going to have a chat once we reach our destination." She looked up from the computer, her tired eyes expressing her displeasure clearly.

"Fine." She conceded. I pulled her into the SR, surprising her. "So this is how the world looks in here?" She asked.

"Very convenient if you can navigate through it. Being as closely tied to the Darkness as I am, I have no trouble, though someone else might be at risk. Now hold on, you're about to experience something new." I told her.

"What?" I flew us both out, she's clearly never flown like this before, and phasing through solid objects scared her awake. Landing in our empty room, I let us out into the real world. "Never! Do that! Again!" She shouted.

"I'll warn you if there is a next time. Now, we need to have a chat about how you've been the past few days."

"If you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well just save your breath."

"Nothing of the sort, just that you need to slow down."

"We don't have that luxury!"

"Your grades are your business, but your 'need' to stop Torchwick and the White Fang is anything but good for you, physically and mentally. You need to slow dow, or you'll burn yourself out, and you'll be lucky if that's all that happens."

"The necessity is stopping them."

"Blake, I once asked someone two very important questions, and I will ask you one more: What good is a hero who accidentally hurts more people than he helps intentionally? What good is a hero if he's never there when he's needed? The question I will ask you is this: What good is a hero who can barely defend herself?" I faked punching her in the gut, she didn't react for a little over a second.

"You don't understand! I'm the only one who can do this!"

"It's you who doesn't understand, Blake! 'You're the only one who can do this'? Have you forgotten you have a team willing to help you??!! The more you do this to yourself, the less you'll be able to do when the time comes, and that means we'll have to make up for your inability to fight! No good is coming from you depriving yourself of sleep! Even less from all the food you're not eating! You're in no condition to fight even a Beowolf! What makes you think you'd stand a chance against Torchwick when it took over a second for you to realize I almost punched you?"

"I can stop them!"

"You couldn't even dodge or block me! God forbid if Neo is with him!" I pushed her back lightly and she fell backward. "Case in point." I pulled her back up and for the first time in years, I initiated a hug. "You're one very few people I actually care about, my heart only started learning to feel again not even half a year ago, and it hurts seeing you do this to yourself." I continued speaking softly. "No one is telling you to stop, I however am asking you to get some rest. The others want us both at the dance tomorrow. I'm not a fan of parties, but I'll go if you do. Still don't know how they got my measurements." I said the last part to myself before letting go of her. "I make no promises about knowing where my feet are if you decide you're up for it. Well, you know the places you can find me. Later!"

Tomorrow night

I was in the library continuing my research on the White Fang, all I'm really getting is news articles and baseless accusations against them. Well there was one thing actually, Blake's father was the leader of the White Fang until he stepped down and let Sienna Khan take over. Not much beyond that, sounds like a decent man though.

"Are you coming?" I heard a voice ask. I turned around and saw Blake in a dress.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"I think Yang will kill me in my sleep if I don't go, hehe. Seriously though, you look great." I logged off and walked past her.

"You weren't expecting to go, were you?" She followed.

"Not really. I would prefer to wear my usual clothes, but after that night with Torchwick, I learned don't piss her off. She's probably the only person in this school I fear being being hit by."

"*giggle* I didn't think anyone here did that to you."

"Not until then, no."

We continued to our room, I remember Weiss saying she put it in the bottom drawer of the dresser. She didn't trust Ruby or Yang with it, probably for good reason. I mean, look at how unpacking and decorating went, not like she was much better though.

(Bloodborne Knight's Garb)

So... I'm not even going to ask... I have no words to describe this because I can't find the right words to describe how I'm feeling. Blake waited for me outside our room as I got changed, as I was about to close the drawer, I saw a note and a box. Sorry Weiss, but you're supposed to put the box on top in this case.

Cassiel,

We decided to throw in one last thing with your outfit. Inside, you'll find two masks similar to the one in "The Phantom of the Opera",

Wait, they have that here?

but more revealing of your face, these should only go over your cheeks to help with covering up the bleeding eyes you wear your other mask for.

RWY

Stepping out of the room after putting the masks(?) on, Blake's thoughts were the same as mine.

"What are you wearing?"

"I have no fucking idea! And truth be told, I don't think I want to know the answer nor who thought this up and paid for it." She hooked her arm around mine as we made our way to the party. "I hope she realizes I'm not paying her back for this."

"It was probably Yang or Weiss. I know Yang picked mine out, probably Ruby's too."

"Well she did a better job for you than me. 17th or 18th century noble clothes or whatever."

Arriving at the party, a certain blonde was the first to greet us.

"Blake? Cassiel? You two look great! And so cute together!" Yang said. Also, I don't know how to respond to her pairing us together. Blake had a reasonable response.

"He offered to go if I did, promised a dance too." Blake said. Wait... Did I... Oh... I guess I did.

"Putting the moves on her, Cassiel?" For the first time in my life, I need someone to tell me what to think, and how to respond.

"First, I'm changing the music." I unhooked myself from Blake and hooked up my scroll to the speakers, apparently the scrolls can record audio so I took advantage of that a while ago.

(Ozzy Osbourne, Dreamer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1g0qoJWUgU

I walked back to Blake, she looked at me with surprise, like she didn't expect me to listen to this kind of music. I took her hand in mine and let her guide us to the dance floor.

"Again, I make no promises about knowing where my feet are." I told her.

"Then just follow my lead." She smiled. She placed one of my hands on her hip, one of hers on my shoulder, extended our other arms to the side a little, and made us do short steps to the side.

(simultaneous, I will admit to copying and pasting the lyrics from one of the comments in the video.)

Gazing through the window at the world outside
Wondering will Mother Earth survive
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her, sometime

After all there's only just the two of us
And here we are still fighting for our lives
Watching all of history repeat itself, time after time

I'm just a dreamer, I dream my life away
I'm just a dreamer, who dreams of better days

*sniffle*

"Are you alright?" Blake asked, concerned.

"Just remembering times long passed." I answered.

"Do you need a moment?"

"I'm fine. Just feeling emotions I've forgotten how to deal with after years of almost exclusively feeling 3." I reassured her.

I watch the sun go down like everyone of us
I'm hoping that the dawn will bring a sign
A better place for those who will come after us, this time

"Three?"

"Very limited emotional spectrum, you know the gist of it. After a while, you forget other emotions for one reason or another. What they are, how to deal with them, etc." I clarified.

"Help is available whenever you need it." She reminded me.

"Hehehe, define 'help'? Don't worry about it. Just give me time."

I'm just a dreamer, I dream my life away oh yeah
I'm just a dreamer, who dreams of better days

Your higher power maybe God or Jesus Christ
It doesn't really matter much to me
Without each others help there ain't no hope for us
I'm living in a dream of fantasy, oh yeah yeah yeah!

If only we could all just find serenity
It would be nice if we could live as one
When will all this anger, hate and bigotry be gone?

"Who is this? The singer?"

"The self proclaimed 'Prince of Darkness' from back home, Ozzy Osbourne. Pretty ironic he of all would write a song like this though, especially since the music he did was deemed 'the Devil's music'."

I'm just a dreamer, I dream my life away (today)
I'm just a dreamer, who dreams of better days (okay)
I'm just a dreamer, who's searching for the way (today)
I'm just a dreamer, dreaming my life away (oh yeah yeah yeah)

"Cassiel?"

"Hm?"

"I know I have no right to say this, but when it's just our team around, could you not hide your face?" This caught me off guard.

"What brought this on?" She placed a hand on my cheek.

"It's not something to be ashamed of, you know we won't judge you over something like this, right?"

"I feel like our roles on topics like this have reversed." I pointed out.

"Will you?" She asked again.

"You know, I would said 'no' in the rudest, probably most insensitive way possible maybe half a year ago(?). Now? I suppose I can do that when it's just the five of us, on the condition you don't hide those at the same time." She smiled.

"Fair enough." She agreed. With the song ending, she hugged me. "You look better without the mask anyway."

"Until you have to clean up the mess th-" I heard laughter and looked around for what everyone was looking at. "Is that Jaune? Wearing a dress?" I asked. Blaked turned and saw it too before she started laughing hard enough she needed to lean on me to keep standing. With that said, I'd like to know where Cardin is, he'd have a field day with this I'm sure. I also noticed Ruby leaving not long after, at that time, I thought I saw something running on the roofs across from us, something Ruby looks like she wanted to investigate as well.

"I'll be back, there's something I need go look into." I told Blake.

"Be back soon, alright?"

"I don't make promises." I entered the SR and followed Ruby.

Cinder POV

"It appears all the dancers have partners." Emerald informed me over the comms.

"How long do I have?" I asked.

"We should probably be home by midnight, to be safe." Mercury said.

"I'll keep my eye on the clock."

Getting into Beacon tower was no trouble. The guards were child's play at best, and the ones in the elevator had all the passwords I needed so getting into the system, downloading the files, and leaving a "gift" was that much easier.

"A party guest is leaving." Emerald warned me.

"*sigh* Which one?"

"Ironwood."

"I guess the General's had enough fun for one night." Mercury commented. "Should we intervene?"

"No. We're done here." As I was about to leave, I heard the elevator arriving and hid behind the desk.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" A voice called out. Smiling, I stood up to greet her, Ruby I think her name was. "Excuse me. You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-" I interrupted her by firing my dust enhanced glass at her which she blocked. She returned fire, but couldn't penetrate my guard and launched herself at me with a downward strike after I produced two swords. Before she could land a strike, I dodged backward into the air and turned the swords into a bow. Just before my arrows could make contact though, a black mass appeared next to her.

"Barrier!" A voice shouted before stepping out of whatever that mass was. "Ruby, stay out of this, I have a score to settle with her." Another student said. So this is Cassiel under the mask I realized after seeing his weapon. "I know it's you, I still owe you for that shard of glass in my shoulder you fucking bitch!" He was using a scythe and that strange sword of his. He quickly closed the gap and launch me backward, he's faster than before.

"Barrier!" I slammed into something and fell over, angered, I struck back, but he kept parrying with his sword. I moved backward and ducked under his scythe.

"Fira!" His sword was replaced with a scythe and an explosion happened where it hit the floor, this kid is really getting on my nerves! We heard the elevator open, it distracted them long enough for me to escape and hide among the party guests.

He's going to be trouble if he can push me back like this even with me holding back as much as I am.

Chapter 33.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I hid in the SR for a while. Ruby and I were asked to meet with Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood and discuss the events of last night. I convinced her to lie, say I couldn't attend because of diarrhea, which she did reluctantly. I heard plenty. So, someone has infiltrated Beacon, who and why, no one knows specifically. The fact they want Ruby to keep quiet about this is even more reason not to trust them. Ruby did something that could've easily back fired and changed the story, mentioning a hideout in the southeast. Unfortunately, I didn't get anything else from Ozpin and the rest besides them adding a new mission for the "field trip", so I returned to our room to find Yang holding a tube she got from her father in the mail. She shook it a little and another tube slid out, a tube that somehow unrolled itself into a dog.

So I spent longer than otherwise necessary on processing what I just saw. Ruby and Yang were enjoying their reunion with their dog, Zwei, Weiss did a complete 180° after calling him mangy, and Blake was acting like an actual cat and doing her best to avoid the dog. I had a mixture of confusion and amusement on my face as I watched the whole thing. We heard Glynda call all first year students to the amphitheater, and Yang nearly caused my brain to need a reboot. That tube had like, 30+ cans of dog food, each can was thicker than the tube, and a can opener. I only had 1 thing to say about this.

"Ruby, Yang. I know this is filthy rich coming from me, but what unholy black magic has your father unleashed upon us?" I asked, horrified at the many, MANY laws of physics alone that he broke. I know they no longer apply to many things anymore, but I can't help it.

I didn't get an answer. I followed them to the amphitheater where Ozpin basically just gave a speech about unity, then told us we would be shadowing a professional Huntsman on whatever assignment. Ruby found a "search and destroy" mission in the southeast, but was unavailable to first year students because of the large concentration of Grimm. I was immediately calling bull shit because I've killed more Grimm on my first day here than most, if not everyone here since school started! It was then that Ozpin gave me another reason to not trust him. "Instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" He said and allowed access to us, though not before commenting on how well I appear considering me essentially being trapped in the bathroom.

Moving on, we grabbed whatever we needed, though Ruby decided to bring Zwei. I was expecting anyone but Oobleck or Port. Who do we get? Not Glynda, Ruby's uncle or hers and Yang's father, or any huntsman I'd call for a "search and destroy" mission. No. Much worse.

"Why hello students! Who's ready to fight for their lives?" Oobleck asked excitedly. They had similar reactions, but I took it a step further.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake. Forgive me if this sounds like an odd question, but those guns of yours wouldn't happen to be loaded would they?" I asked.

"If they aren't, now's the perfect time girls!" He said, then I stopped listening after he started going on a rant or something.

Now, under any other circumstance, I probably wouldn't mind Oobleck, but he always seems to be working on a gallon of coffee and five 5 hour energy drinks, doesn't help he's somehow faster than Ruby when her speed is enhanced by Weiss. On the aircraft, the others were listening to him debrief us on the mission.

"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. Gut, it is also home to one of the kingdom's greatest failures." Oobleck explained.

"Mountain Glenn." Ruby said, catching his attention.

"That's right, it was an expansion of Vale. But in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the city." Yang added.

"Correct! And now it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder." Oobleck said.

"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake added.

"Precisely."

"Before we land, there is one detail you should know. I'm basically a Grimm magnet. While I do have 1, maybe 2 ways around that, I won't be able to interact physically or verbally in anyway with the one I know will work. That means the best I can do if you want to avoid Grimm is stay away from the team and scout out the area, or lure them to a better defensive point." I explained, getting concerned looks from the others.

"And why didn't you tell us sooner?" He asked.

"Did I have a chance?" I answered with another question.

"Fair enough. Stay with the group."

"Did yo-"

"I did, Cassiel."

We landed without any trouble, though Oobleck did discover Zwei and, like Weiss, did a complete 180° before going on about how this is beneficial to us. When it looked like he was done, Blake asked what his orders were.

"Ah! Yes! Straight to the chase, I like it!" He dropped Zwei. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now there are several possible explanations for this kind of behavior. One of which being, Grimm."

"Come again?" I asked, not exactly understanding what I just heard.

"Grimm, a creature of Grimm approximately 100 yards from us at this very moment." He clarified.

"What?" Yang said, surprised. Turning around, we saw a lone Beowolf, though I was surprised about something else for what should be obvious reasons. The others readied their weapons, but I didn't.

"Stop." He ordered.

"Huh?" Blake asked.

"There are a number of reasons why Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which would be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred, all qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent." He explained, though I'm confused about how we haven't been noticed yet. I'm right fucking here.

"So, what now?" Ruby asked.

"We wait, we track, if the specimen leads us to it's pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey."

"How long do we wait?" Yang asked.

"It's uncertain, hours, days, weeks, why lone Grimm have been known to stand isolated from the pack for months- and there's the whole pack." I don't know if I attracted them this time.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"And now they've seen us."

"What?!" She asked again.

"And now they've seen us!!" He shouted. I stepped forward with Dawn in hand. "Cassiel!" I ignored him and activated my armor to try something. I used a shotlock, sending swirling blades of darkness at all but one, this one would be my little test subject. I brought out my darkness, I could feel the power, and it felt good to use it again after several months of not tapping into it. The last Beowolf slowed down to a halt, it started backing up.

"Barrier!" I trapped it. Once I was close enough, I reached out, my hand on it's head, it kept trying to back away, gut couldn't. I lowered the barrier. "This will be the only time I let you live." I told it. It seemed to understand me and run away. I deactivated my armor and walked back to the others, all of whom were shocked at what they just saw.

"What was that?"
"Where did you get cool armor like that from?"
"Did you just scare off a Grimm?"
"Did you learn your Semblance and not tell us?" Yang, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss asked at the same time.

"Cassiel! As much of an amazing display that might have been, that will be the last time you disobey my orders again!" Oobleck said.

"'kay." Was my response.

(Later)

"Why do you want to become a Huntsman, Cassiel?" Oobleck asked as I was stabbing a Beowolf through it's chest.

"I don't care about being a Huntsman. I only accepted Ozpin's offer into Beacon to open up another path on my 'Mark of Mastery' exam my master is having me tour the world for until she deems me ready." I answered.

"So you were enrolled into Beacon despite not having any interest in the profession it's training you for?"

"There are five reasons why people sign up for jobs like this:

Revenge.
Power.
Fun.
Wealth/ fame and glory.
Because they are genuinely good people who want to make the world a better, safer place.

I have no quarrel with Grimm, I don't find it fun to kill them, this job won't make me much stronger if at all, I have no desire for wealth and fame, and I couldn't care less about other people. There's only a few people I actually care about, almost everyone else can die a slow and painful death for all I care."

"And what of your team then?"

"Yang acts like the big sister, scares the Hell out of me when she's angry. Weiss can be a good person when she can swallow that pride of hers. I would say Ruby is like the little sister, but she's a year older than me, and I'd say the world needs more people like her. Blake? I don't know why, but I feel... Comfortable around her. Another person that wants to make the world a better place, despite the world having a different definition of 'better'. I'd say that they're probably the closest I'll get to another family, with that said, I'd have no better motivation to kill anyone or anything that tries to hurt them. I'm not losing another one."

"You would lay down your life for them?"

"They're not dying while I'm around, certainly not before I do."

(That night)

We set up camp in a tall building, high enough to get a good view of the surrounding area, and offer protection from Grimm. I'm in the SR right now, I told them I'd be around if they need me. I don't know why though, but I wanted to reach for Blake, but decided against it.

"Blake? Are you awake?" Yang asked, she was probably unable to sleep.

"Yeah." Blake too probably.

"Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like... What was he trying to say?" Yang wondered. So he asked them too then?

"Maybe he was just curious." Blake guessed.

"Ya think?"

"No."

"Weiss? Are you awake?"

"Of course I'm awake!" Weiss answered. "You two are talking. And I think he... When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a... Moral grey area." Yeah... 'Grey area'.

"That's putting it lightly." Blake commented.

"Which is why I feel the need to make things right! If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of the family name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it."

"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right." Blake started on another life story. "I had a partner... Named Adam. More of a mentor, actually." Oh, shit. He was with HER? "He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be... Not perfect for everyone else." I think I know who the martyr will be. "I joined the academy because I knew Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the academy... What will I-? How can I undo so many years of hate?" She asked.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Yang tried to comfort her. "You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake."

"But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran. When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my... Semblance! I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself. An empty copy that takes the hit while I run away." Not the way I'd look at it, Blake.

"At least you two have something that drives you." Yang commented. "I've just kinda always gone with the flow, you know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for? I wanna be a Huntress... Not really because I wanna be a hero. But because I want the adventure. I want a life where I don't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing." Yang, you will be eating those words one of these days, I can almost guarantee it. "Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that. I'm not like Ruby. She's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said. Ever since she was a kid, she dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping the people and saving the day and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today."

"Well, she's still just a kid." Weiss commented.

"She's only two years younger." Blake said.

"And I'm three years younger, what's your point?" I asked as I exited the SR.

"We're all kids."

"Age is just a number, I'm living proof of that. Besides, we're all in the middle of a war zone with small arsenals at our disposal. This is the job, the life you chose. The second you chose this life, you swore an oath to protect the people, not just from Grimm, but any that would live up to the title of 'monster'." I said.

"And what about you? Why do you want to become a Huntsman?" Yang asked.

"I don't. My master wants me to 'tour the world' and prepare for my 'Mark of Mastery' exam. I only accepted being enrolled into Beacon because it was an opportunity to prepare for it." I removed my mask. "Of the five reasons why someone would sign up for this, I don't fit any of them. The closest I can get to those reasons is not letting anything happen to the few people I care about."

"You haven't told us anything about your 'master'."

"She's probably the closest anyone can get to a Goddess of Darkness, but without all the hate and whatever else you would expect. Great first impressions, she tried to kill me, better than her sister though. Even if her Light counterpart actually can revive the dead and rewrite memories, that's still a 'no'."

"She tried to kill you??!!" Weiss asked, shocked.

"This was during a time when I believed death was an act of mercy, an act of kindness. After I survived the Heartless she sent after me, I became her student. Apparently I caught her eye because the other two weapons I use usually choose people, siblings if possible, that often try to kill each other. I'm the second to wield Way to Dawn and Path towards Nightfall."

"Heartless? And what?!" Yang asked.

"Think of Grimm, but potentially worse. I doubt a Darkside is the worst, but it's the most dangerous I fought at that time. Normal weapons did nothing, Dust gave some results, and apparently only the keyblade, weapons born, not forged, born of pure light and dark can actually kill them. She could probably control or influence Grimm like I did, but Grimm aren't anywhere near home. Anyway, she took me in as her student and on top of the training, she's gifted me a few things as well. The armor and those portals being two of them."

"She still tried to kill you though." Blake said.

"If she wanted me dead, I wouldn't be here. The Heartless she sent were essentially bottom feeders, it was more of a test to see if I was worth it than an attempt on my life. Truth be told, I'm kind of glad she did."

"Why?" Weiss asked.

"If she hadn't, I would still have no one, nothing, and no place to call home." I summoned Dawn and stared into the eye. "I'd still be the one who for no other reason than 'not my problem' would watch an entire town be destroyed unless I was angry and wanted to kill something to vent it out. I hated everyone, I hated- still hate myself. Life was meaningless, worthless, I had nothing to life for and nothing to lose. All that awaited me was more meaningless suffering and no compensation for it. She put me along the way out of that despair. She didn't do anything herself in that regard, but I was able to meet a few people who were worth the effort, and my time with them, then you, has helped a lot." I dismissed Dawn and leaned against a pillar.

"I still don't like her first impression." Yang said.

"Doesn't matter. Moving on, I heard everything you said. Weiss, fix that company before I'm given a reason to burn it to the ground. Yang, it would be in your best interest to plan a future, I can almost guarantee you'll be eating your words from earlier, especially in this profession. Blake, there wasn't anything you could do regarding Adam, besides, he'll probably be that martyr I spoke of from that one night. Your Semblance? You have more chances to figure out your opponent than most, run and live to fight another day, that's your Semblance. 'By definition, only the coward is capable of the highest heroism'. I fight despite not having any valid reason to under most circumstances, you fight because you actually care. That makes you more of a hero than me." Yang got a mischievous smile on her face.

"Again Cassiel? You're putting the moves on her now of all times?" She asked. Blake blushed a little I think, hard to tell with the low light, I just looked at her unamused.

"I wouldn't consider giving my standpoint on her story that, besides, she could do better anyway. At least that person will probably put in the effort to make the world better. Anyway, it's time I call it a night. See you in the morning."

Chapter 34.

View Online

Cassiel POV

Yang and Zwei woke us up, Ruby was nowhere to be seen, so Zwei led us to where she was last seen. Apparently the ground collapsed right out from under her, causing her to fall into an underground railway/ city.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I might have some people to brutally murder." I summoned Nightfall as wingblades.

"Wait! I understand your desire to save your leader, but you'll be surrounded from all sides! I know the entrance to the tunnels, less risk that way!" Oobleck stopped me.

"If we do that, they'll have more warning than if we simply jump down there. No one will be watching a hole like this for various reasons. We go down this way, we land in the middle of a still relatively unorganized group, we go your way, they'll have positioning and better coordination. If only because I don't want to be bitched at by either Ozpin or Glynda, I'll do it your way, but if she's been hurt, I'm slaughtering everything down there."

"Very well. Onward!"

It didn't take long to reach the entrance. As I expected, we were met with resistance from the White Fang, though it was weaker than I expected. Ruby was fine, I didn't need to kill anyone, but Torchwick was down here and started a train that Ruby told us was carrying weapons, mechs, and basically an armory. I'm expecting high explosives as well, partially because these track supposedly lead to a dead end. After we boarded the train, we opened a hatch on top, but it was blocked off with a bomb on top. As Blake tried to disconnect the train car, it decoupled itself. The next several train cars also had bombs. I suggested throwing them into the SR, but when I tried to open it up, it kept getting left behind and disappearing. Those bombs were being used to open up the tunnel for Grimm and lead them to the city. I have an idea on how to use that, but that will have to wait.

The White Fang climbed on top of the cars, after fighting a few off, Ruby, Oobleck, and Zwei stayed on top while me, Blake, Yang, and Weiss went below into the train itself.

"I guess this is what we trained for." Yang said, Weiss reached into her, does she even have pockets?

"Here. This should help you." She handed Blake a Dust filled magazine. I looked to Lionheart.

"I still need to upgrade this damn thing." I said before we ran foward. About halfway through the train car, Neo dropped from out of nowhere. She's another to worry about.

"You three go on ahead. This one's mine." Yang tried to order us. If she were Ruby, I might have if we weren't in a tight spaced area.

"Sorry, but no!" I rushed towards Neo, she parried me and thrust her umbrella (parasol?) into my gut, sending me back a little.

"I said go!" Yang said again.

"She's not someone brute strength alone can beat." I paid close attention to whether or not Neo was perfectly still. That's her weakness, besides explosions that is. Yang didn't heed my warning and rushed right at Neo, she effortlessly dodged every punch Yang threw, then after a few blocks, Yang got spin kicked and knocked to the floor. Neo did a flip in the air and opened an opportunity for me. I airstepped to her this time and struck her while she was in mid air, sending her a good distance away before shooting Blizzard at her. She couldn't dodge mid air, so she blocked with her open umbrella. Perfect. Nevermind, she shattered the ice that would have slowed down her weapon by slamming it against the wall.

"You see what I meant, Yang?" I asked her. "If the first strike truly is what decides who has the advantage, then that would be her. Against two opponents, she's still smiling. She's enjoying this, she has no reason to believe she can't win."

"Then let's just prove her wrong!" Yang shot Neo and I threw Lionheart at her after she blocked it. She blocked Lionheart too, but she didn't notice the Fires I had going up the blade until they were about to explode and was forced to block again. I airstepped to Lionheart, catching it and slamming it into the floor under her with Blizzard, causing several ice spikes to shoot out from under us. She dodged backward while Yang jumped over me and assaulted her. Neo effortlessly did the same thing to her again, but was about to finish with a thrust this time.

"Barrier!" The unexpected shield threw her off and allowed me the chance strike her. Unfortunately she hooked the bottom of her weapon in the guard of Lionheart and sent me flying past her. I stabbed Lionheaft into the ground to kill my momentum and shot Fira to her side, opposite of Yang who was able to attack now that Barrier was no longer active. I would use Stop, but I didn't have enough magic before I got on the train. Neo blocked Fira and dodged backward, avoiding Yang's fist, and now sitting on a crate, still smiling.

"Has anyone ever told you you're way too agile? If not, let me be the first." I said, a chuckle escaping me. She visibly did the same despite being mute. "Yang, I'll be back, I need a moment." I didn't actually need it, but it would help in finding an opening. I stepped into the SR and summoned Nightfall as a twinblade. "I haven't really had much practice with this, but it'll work better than the others."

Yang tried attacking Neo again, but still she avoided being hit directly. After a series of kicks and flips, she pushed Yang back. I rejoined the fight and airstepped to her while Yang was still recovering from practically being thrown back. This time, I was able to counter quickly as well. I threw Lionheart past her and made sure her back stayed to it the whole time. She tried to do to me what she did to Yang, but I had a way around that. I kept using Aero and Blizzard on each strike to slow her down and throw her off. Her movements became more readable and I became the one pressing the assault before long. After knocking her back, Yang took the opportunity to strike, but was launched into the ceiling seconds later, losing consciousness. Neo looked to me, annoyance evident on her face, then she smiled, and stopped moving completely.

"That won't work on me!" I dashed towards Yang and got us both airborne for what I was about to do.

"Thunder!" Neo's position revealed, I quickly layed Yang down and dashed towards Neo, her movements restricted further now, not just from the ice I was able to sneak on her weapon and boots, but from her muscles convulsing. She was still able to attack, but a parry with one blade and a quick strike with the other was enough to finish her. She was still standing, but the best she could do now was run, and she had just enough aura to use her Semblance one last time to do so. Yang began to regain consciousness seconds later.

"Can you move?" I asked her.

"Yeah... I'm fine." She answered as I helped her up onto her feet before retrieving Lionheart. We continued near the front of the train before climbing up and meeting back up with the others. This was short lived though as the exit/ dead end was close. I couldn't enter the SR here and none of us had enough time to climb back in. Thankfully, Weiss was able to encase us in ice, protecting us from the crash and blast, though we were still incapacitated for a few seconds until Grimm started pouring into the city.

Cinder POV

The city alarms are going off, a dropship just took off toward the city. Damnit, Roman!

"You don't think...?" Emerald asked.

"Sure looks like it." Mercury answered.

"That's still days away!"

"So? What do we do?" Mercury asked me.

Down in the city, Emerald and Mercury were instructed to kill any Grimm. I simply stood to the side, out of sight, and watched everything. Though one thing in particular caught my attention, something I know someone would like to hear about. It was that kid, Cassiel, and something similar to what She can use in appearance was flowing off of him. Grimm, even the larger ones such as King Taijitu and Deathstalkers were backing away from him. The giant snake lunged at him, but all he did was stomp on it's lower jaw, rip out it's fang, and stab it through the roof of it's mouth. He moved to a Deathstalker and placed a hand between all the eyes. Seconds later, he turned his back to it and all the Grimm focused on him went back in the tunnel. Is he commanding the Grimm like Her?

"This is... An interesting, albeit... Unexpected development... He could be a problem, or a valuable ally." I thought out loud.

Cassiel POV (when Cinder starts watching)

I'm getting the same result as with the last of that pack from Mountain Glenn. So, the Darkness grants influence over Grimm, good to know that the very thing they're attracted to is also what can tame them. That thought process was cut off though when the giant snake lunged at me, that didn't end well for it though. Turning my attention to the Deathstalker, I got close to it and placed a hand in the middle, between the eyes.

"Creatures of Darkness, of destruction... Born of hate and despair... Yet... You cower so easily before me... Run... Run away and never return... Unless you seek death that is." I said to it before turning and walking away. Most of the surrounding Grimm, the ones focused on me anyway, re-entered the tunnel that was eventually sealed up by Glynda.

(Back at the academy)

I'm holding Zwei right now, the others are sitting with their legs over a ledge and taking in the view of the city beneath the sunset. Good dog, really seems to like being held.

"Well, we did it." Yang said.

"We did it." Blake repeated.

"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm going to be seriously disappointed." Weiss said.

"Weiss, a two headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it." Oh come on, Glynda repaired it in seconds, Yang.

"Plus, I mean, we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this." Ruby said, disappointed.

"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending." Weiss commented.

"We might not have all of the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that's something we can be proud of." Blake said, trying to get them to look at the bright side.

"Yeah. And if anyone wants to try something like this again, we'll be there to stop them." Ruby said.

"While we could do it, I think we're due for a little time off." I said after I set Zwei down.

"What Cassiel said! It'll be great to sleep in a real bed again." Yang said, all of us heading back to our room.

I still need to upgrade Lionheart.

Chapter 34.5.

View Online

(Before season 3)

Ozpin POV (in his office)

"This needs to be addressed now, Ozpin! What if he is with them? You saw how easily he controlled the Grimm? Even if he isn't as you believe, he would be a valuable ally against Her!" James Ironwood stressed.

"I understand your concerns, James. This is news to me as it is to you, but we can't just involve him so easily."

"He is a student at your academy. What is stopping you from gaining such an advantage over the enemy?" He asked.

"You don't know the first thing about that boy, do you??!!" Glynda asked him seriously.

"Only that he can somehow influence or control several Grimm at once, something that as far as we knew up 'til now, only She could do." He answered.

"When I first met that boy, he was performing feats that should've been impossible without aura, said he used magic, he didn't even know what aura was. Would you like to know how his entrance exam went, James?" I asked.

"What does th-"

"He was the only one to pass the exam given to extra students in the academy. How? Why you might ask? He attracted well over a hundred Grimm, James, and unlike what we've seen recently, he wasn't controlling or influencing them back then." I explained.

"From what Oobleck has told us, that boy was likely overflowing with negative emotion back then. His report from his mission suggests that he has changed drastically! If we involve him, there's no telling what would happen." Glynda said, concerned.

"So you're just going to let this slide then? Ignore the possible threat that's right in front of us? Ignore the possible advantage that's right in front lf us?" James asked, frustrated.

"You would involve a child who has no interest in becoming a Huntsman, no interest in protecting the world, and no interest in killing Grimm, in a fight for the world? This would turn out exactly like Raven Branwen and you know it!" Glynda said, becoming frustrated herself.

"That 'child' can use magic, he fights better than most certified Huntsmen and Huntresses, and he can control Grimm! Does that sound like something a child could do, or does that sound like something you'd expect from a full team at their best? Minus the part about controlling Grimm." He tried to reason.

"Did y-" Glynda started.

"I'll allow you to meet with him, that's the best I can do. I was going to wait a while longer before I tried to recruit him, but if you think you can do it with the way he is now, then feel free to try."

"Thank you, Ozpin."

Cassiel POV (in the team's room)

"So, what can I expect regarding the Vytal Festival?" I asked.

"Well, the tournament between each of the four kingdoms is one." Weiss answered.

"Plenty of stalls below the coliseum, you'll probably find something good down there. Good food, souvenirs, maybe weapon parts and a smith?" Yang continued.

"Ohohoh I could help you upgrade Lionheart! Just imagine what we could do with it! A gun, a scythe, a flamethrower, *gasp* a greatsword gunblade!" Ruby said excitedly.

"I think he would like to decide the upgrades to his weapon, Ruby." Yang chided.

"But-but-" I chuckled.

"You can help me upgrade my weapon." I told her. She immediately latched onto me.

"Oooohh I'm going to help you make the best weapon EVER!!!"

"Yang, are you absolutely certain she's not married to Crescent Rose?" I asked in an attempt at a joke.

"BWAHAHAHAHHHAAA!" She laughed.

"Oh no... Not you too." Ruby pouted.

"That's about it for the most part." Blake said.

"Would Cassiel please come to the headmaster's office? I repeat, Cassiel to the headmaster's office please." We heard Ozpin over the speakers.

"What did you do?" Yang asked.

"Nothing that breaks any rules, though I have an idea of what this is about. I'll be back." I put my mask on and entered the SR.

(Ozpin's office)

Ozpin is here of course, Glynda and James as well. I opened the SR to see their reactions, Glynda and Ozpin barely reacted, James got ready for an attack that I had no reason to do. I exited the SR and crossed my arms.

"So what's this about?" I asked.

"We have some questions we would like answers to." James said.

"I won't promise having answers nor will I promise compliance."

"Please, this is very important. Could you try to be civil?" Glynda asked.

"Define 'civil'?" Was my response.

"Cassiel, Ozpin has told me quite a bit about you, and I feel as though you are already worthy of being a Huntsman." James praised.

"Is this supposed to be an early graduation, or an interrogation? Regardless, you're doing a poor job at both. Just cut to the chase." I told him.

"Cassiel..." Ozpin started, but didn't continue past that. James pulled out his scroll and played back the moment I commanded the Grimm to return to the tunnels. Where the fuck were those cameras? I know for a fact there weren't any at those angles!

"How were you able to do this?" James asked.

"It's an animal thing." I answered. He put his hand on my shoulder, even through the clothing, this doesn't feel like a normal hand.

"Those are monsters, not animals. You mean to tell me an 'animal thing' let you influence some of the most dangerous creatures in the world to this extent?" He asked in disbelief.

"They are animals. They're just very aggressive and have a stronger 6th sense for negative emotions."

"Those 'animals' kill countless innocent people every year and you have the power to control them. You could drastically change the world if-"

"No."

"No?"

"I only have interest in the people I would consider family, I couldn't care less about the world. You called me here for another reason. Spit it out, or I'm leaving."

"...James here wants to recruit you, Cassiel." Ozpin spoke up.

"If I have no interest in being a Huntsman, what makes you think I'd have any interest in being a soldier." I declined.

"That's not what I was leading up to."

"Doesn't matter. What's in it for me if I join whatever this is?"

"Please, Cassiel? At least hear us out?" Glynda asked.

"Why should I do that? The night we met, you enrolled me here, knowing I had no training as a Huntsman. You accepted Jaune despite knowing he wasn't anywhere close to ready for Beacon, you know more than you let on I bet. That's just the beginning of the list."

"The world, and by extension, your team, could be in danger." James said, catching my attention at the mention of my team.

"...I'll hear you out, only because you brought them up."

"Before that though, a question. What is your favorite fairy tale, legend, story perhaps?" Ozpin asked.

"Are you serious?" I asked in response.

"This is relevant to what this is leading up to." He answered.

"Either the tale of the Abysswalker or the Ivory King if I had to choose. True heroes in the dark, unforgiving world the stories take place in. Now get on with it!"

"Long ago, there were two Gods, brothers of Light and Dark. Light found joy in creating Life, Darkness though, used his time creating forces of Destruction. By day, Light created water, plants, and wildlife. By night, Darkness created drought, fire, and famine." I can already see where this is going. "Eventually, Darkness created Grimm. In response, Light made a proposal, one that Darkness agreed to before they abandoned Remnant." He told.

"Humanity. Those who would decide their on paths. I already turned down an invitation to a war between the two forces, I don't see myself accepting this one. Besides, all things begin in darkness." I said, channeling darkness down my arm. "So too, shall everything end in darkness. You're trying to fight a war on someone else's turf, a war in the shadows. It's a losing fight, that night at the tower, and after the next day's meeting with Ruby proves it." I pulled the darkness back.

"How do you know about that?" James asked.

"Someone infiltrated Beacon. Who, how, when? Their plans? None of you know. The only things you know are that it was a woman dressed in black, she fights with glass, and she's working for someone else. You don't even know why specifically she was there in the first place. You had no cameras watching any of the computers, but you seemingly have invisible cameras in the streets? I'm not even going to ask who sets up the security systems. Incompetence, pure incompetence is what that is!"

"What else did you hear? How?" James asked seriously. I opened the SR.

"I have my way of getting around undetected, I was there when you questioned Ruby." I closed it. "I listened to everything up until you discussed the mission in the southeast. I know more than you would think."

"So you know there's a threat coming this way as we speak, and you would do nothing?"

"If there is going to be an attack, the matches during the tournament would be the best time to do it. Unless they can be found, and dealt with, discreetly as you'd probably prefer to do it, there's nothing that can be done at the moment. You can't prepare for it without making it look like you're expecting an attack, not that you'd do a good job with that either, and I'll have no part beyond the involvement of my team."

"My army is at the ready t-"

"You and your army won't be able to do jack shit! Your assault mechs are falling in the hands of terrorists that are also in possession of enough Dust to supply a small army, you have yet to gain a damn thing from Torchwick, and your drones barely did anything during the Grimm attack! How can anyone trust you to defend this city when you can't even secure your own armory, when you still have yet to get anything from that pawn you arrested, and the army you are deploying is less than reliable? General? I see a joke, a poorly made joke!" He slammed his fist on Ozpin's desk.

"A-" He started.

"There is an ancient threat against the world, Cassiel. As you said, we are dealing with the pawns right now, but this threat is why General Ironwood wanted to try and recruit you against Her now instead of later like I intended to." Ozpin interrupted." She can control the Grimm, Cassiel, and the Grimm she commands are much more dangerous than the ones you've faced so far. The General-"

"He wants to turn me into a weapon, or rather, he wants me to turn Her weapons against Her. Now who is 'She'?"

"... How to describe Her?... Salem... She's an enemy of the world... I don't know much myself other than I was cursed because I failed to stop her long ago." He answered. Don't need to be a lie detector to tell that's not everything, not even close.

"Again, losing battle, on Her turf, and you're barely telling me anything, yet, you expect me to sign up for a war no one knows about that there's no hope of winning? I can guarantee you it won't end anything like how you're hoping, that's if it ever ends." They must be desperate.

"We could turn the tide and win with you on our side. We might no longer need the academies if you join us." James said.

"Strength will not bring victory against a foe like Salem if she really can control Grimm and has pawns here at this time. I already have several ideas of how to combat her forces, but the ones she has here? Nothing until I have enough info to act." I reopened the SR. "Allied together, a threat men display. Divide them with doubt, it will all wash away. You want to know a good place to start looking? The matches, look for anything odd, out of character, unplanned, etc. If there is going to be an attack, the matches would be the perfect time for it. If only because of the possible threat to my team, I'll keep an eye out. If I find something, I'll deal with it personally." I started walking through the Corridor.

"I told you he wouldn't be interested." I heard Ozpin say before I left.

Chapter 35.

View Online

Cassiel POV

If I'm being honest, I've been looking forward to the tournament. I don't really care for the purpose behind it, just that I'm hoping for a good fight. It's round one in this giant coliseum in the sky, and I'm currently fighting with Blake against Reese who's using a new bull shit weapon, bladed hover board that turnes into automatic pistols. Yang is fighting some Xiaolin monk knock off or whatever named Arslan, Weiss is fighting Bolin who's like the monk and using a staff, and Ruby is Nadir who's using an assault rifle with a bayonet. RWBY+1 VS ABRN. Well, I'm not just helping Blake, I'm also supporting the others whenever I can. Fun fact about Cure, it also restores aura so the others are also keeping ABRN off me, and the biomes can be annoying so there's that.

"O-HO! It seems we have another astonishing bout ahead of us!" Port said into the microphone. "Wouldn't you agree, professor?" He asked Oobleck.

"Doctor." Oobleck said in annoyance. "And yes, Peter, I think it's safe to say: This match may be one of the closest we've seen in the four-and-four round of the tournament! Or it would be if Cassiel wasn't able to restore the aura of his teammates!" Reese jumped over me, but face planted into my Barrier. Also, Oobleck, when have I ever played fair?

"For those of you just now joining us. Welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament! Broadcast live from the Amity Coliseum!" Port greeted the viewers. I saw Yang slipping on the ice a little and used Aero to launch her back onto the burning(?) biome. "If this is your first time watching, allow us to break the rules."

"The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds." Oobleck began to explain. "Teams, doubles, and singles. If a team has five members, their aura is shared with a random teammate. If one goes down, so will the other." Guess who I'm with? "Age and school are irrelevant." Reese got close to me, Lionheart was more than adequate in my defense. When she almost hit me, I blasted her back with Fire and let Blake press the attack. "In this tournament, the only attribute being tested... Is skill."

"Correct!" Port continued. I saw Yang having a bit of trouble.

"Be right back." I entered the SR.

"The winners of this round will elect two of their members to represent them in the doubles round. Followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance again." I exited the SR and surprised Arslan who was giving Yang trouble by airstepping to her and knocking her back to the center before casting Barrier behind her and casting the shotgun varient of Blizzara at her. "The remaining members will fight their way through the final bracket in the hope of achieving victory for their kingdom!"

"And yes, Peter, these are certainly some spectacular spectacles on which to spectate on." Oobleck continued. After making sure Yang had her target handled, I jumped back into the SR and checked on the others, everything appeared to be under control so I went back to Blake. "And I don't think anyone tuning in around the world is going to disagree with me on that."

"Ah, and why would they?" Port asked. "Now let's get back to the match between team RWBY of Beacon, and team ABRN of Haven." No sooner did he say that did Reese launch her weapon at Blake. Remember when I said I don't play fair? I meant it.

"Nope!" I opened the SR in front of Blake and the hover board flew right into it before I closed it, leaving the enemy without a weapon.

"Uuuuuuhhhhhmmmm... Is he-... Is he even allowed to do that?" Port asked with uncertainty. I airstepped to her and knocked her out of the ring.

"Let's see...*paper noises* He is actually, and that's a ring out against team ABRN!" Oobleck answered.

"You'll get it back later, Reese." I said loud enough to be heard by her before turning to Blake who wore a look of disbelief. "Oh come on! You can't honestly tell me you didn't see that coming?" After a few seconds she shook like she was laughing a little, but no sound came out.

"Let's just finish this." She said as we made our way to the others. Again, I cheat, but not really. Yang got pushed to the frozen biome again and was knocked down, Nadir was about to shoot her, but Ruby froze him in place and disarmed him. Bolin was about to attack Ruby from behind, but was launched to the side by Weiss. Having decided my target, I summoned Dawn as wingblades and airstepped to him before repeatedly slashing at him, causing his aura to drop quickly, I dismissed Dawn afterward. I turned to the others and saw they had already taken out Nadir, leaving Arslan the last one standing.

"I'll make this easy on you." I handed Lionheart to Weiss and stepped forward. "I won't use either of my hands or my weapon." She accepted the challenge and leaped at me.
"Reflect." She was blasted back.
"Stop." She was stuck in mid air, I got up close to her with Nightfall in hand.
"I never said which weapon, and I'm technically not using my hands. Bye bye!" I struck her once with an Aerora powered swing and after a few seconds she was launched out of the ring.

"And that's the match! Team RWBY is victorious!" Port announced.

"*huff* That took more out of me than I thought it would." I said before I fell foward a little. Yang was quick to react, but I caught myself with Nightfall.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Heh, I'm fine, just winded is all." I answered.

(At the campus below the coliseum)

"Is anyone else starving?" Ruby asked in a weakened voice.

"I may have worked up an appetite." Blake answered before we heard her stomach growling loudly.

"Gee, if only there were somewhere on campus to get food around here." Weiss said.

"It's okay, Weiss. I forget about the fairgrounds too." Ruby said, placing a hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"I was being facetious."

"Wh- well if you were hungry, why didn't you say so?"

"C'mon! I know just the place." Yang said. After she started leading the way, we heard a voice behind us.

"Hey! Might be hard to eat without this!" Turning around, it was Emerald. I really don't trust her or her team, too friendly, she wasn't there half a second ago, and now a likely pickpocket too. The way she talks, the way she acts, it just screams 'stab you in the back'.

"I'll be back." I said and entered the SR. After a minute or two, Emerald and my team went their separate ways. I lingered around Emerald for a bit until she called Yang a bimbo. Exiting from around a corner, I had 1 very important thing to say to her. "You show show off more skin and chest than that so called 'bimbo', bitch!" I re-entered the SR and went back to my team before she could try anything.

"I'll have a bowl of the regular, please." Yang ordered from the cook, who just so happens to be the owner of that one Dust shop Torchwich robbed on my first night here. He must also be the world's fastest chef because he didn't even take two seconds to slide a fresh bowl of noodles (ramen I'm assuming) twice the size of her head to her.

"Ooooh. I'll take the same." Ruby ordered. Same time. Why does he deal in Dust?

"Hmm... Do you have anything with a low salt-" Weiss tried to say, but was interrupted by a bowl the same size as the last two sliding to her. "Ah! Uuumm, okay."

Blake just smiled lightly and nodded her head. The cook nodded too and took three seconds to prepare a bowl of noodles for her, but there was cooked fish on top. I'm not joking, her eyes became stars, and she was drooling. I swear, if she loves boxes and purrs too, I don't know what I'll do actually. It's kind of cute, funny in a way. He looked to me.

"Cheeseburger, lettuce and tomato, fries or macaroni. If you can't, I'll settle for a smaller bowl of what they got." It took him two seconds for my order. He could one-man a kitchen, and he sells elemental crystals, why? Weiss handed him a card.

"Aww! Weiss, what's the occasion?" Yang asked.

"Consider it thanks for sending me to the doubles round." Immediately after Weiss said that, her card was thrown at the counter hard enough to imbed it and leave a 5 or 6 inch crack in the wood. Her card was declined. I didn't pay attention to Weiss's reaction, but Blake's caught my attention quickly. She slowly pulled her bowl back, smiling sheepishly, but it was snatched from her.

"Nooo..." Blake said in a... I want to say she said it like she was heartbroken(?) before she fell forward onto the counter. I actually felt bad, so I reached into my wallet for some money. Apparently even being a Huntsman in training pays decently.

"Is this enough for her meal? Mine too?" I asked. He took the money, nodded, and gave back Blake's food.

"THANK YOU, CASSIEL!" She said loudly, latching onto me and...

*purring noises*

"Are y- nevermind..." I stopped myself and just let it go. Besides, as unlike me as it is for me to say this about anyone, this is fucking adorable.

"Are we interrupting something?" We turned left and saw team JNPR, Pyrrha being the one to ask.

"Not really." I answered, slowly wrapping an arm around Blake's shoulder who after a few more seconds, pulled away, straightened herself out, and started eating.

"Mind if we join you then?"

As a means of congratulating us, she payed for her team as well as the rest of our team. They talked about the tournament, Nora went on about... I have no fucking idea... I stopped paying attention when she quite literally started turning grey.

Still waiting for something to happen. If nothing happens during the doubles round, it will definitely happen during the singles. I think I'll stay in the SR for those rounds, get a closer view without anyone knowing.

Chapter 36.

View Online

Cassiel POV

Before we went to see the match between team JNPR and... I can't remember. The end of it was a disaster for the other team though. Actually, a good portion of the match was. Note to self: Never hit Nora with Thunder! If electricity does hurt her, it does a lot less than it would to anyone else, and it powers her up. How much you might ask? Enough that lightning generated from the biome enabled her to play golf with all four of them in the same swing, launching them at really high speeds into the shield protecting the audience. Yeah... Bad idea... Unless I'm powering her up that is.

By the way, I finally fucking upgraded Lionheart! Probably should have mentioned that first, but whatever. It was done before match, Ruby works quickly. So here's the list of improvements:

(For those who might have forgotten what Lionheart looks like)

(It's real name is Sleeping Lion from Union X)

Lionheart's hilt can fold into the grip, and the front guard acts as the lever for a lever action rifle. The wings on the back of the guard split apart into sights.
The cylinder-like part is now an actual cylinder for bullets that somehow holds one or two dozen shots.
The lion head at the end acts as the end of the barrel.
It's recoil is somehow reversed so instead of the gun rising after a shot, it descends (don't ask how, the recoil isn't very strong unlike Crescent Rose, but still strong enough to completely reverse a swing), and recoil changes if it's in it's base form.
In it's base form, the recoil intensifies greatly, adding power to the swing like how Crescent Rose and a few other weapons I've seen.
Dust compatible for ammunition and enhancement.
Still viable (for me) as a CQC weapon in it's gun form.

Truth be told, I was kind of hesitant on the gun addition, traumatic experiences and all that, and I have two ranged weapons. Though I did say she could help me upgrade it, and she looked to be enjoying it too much for me to say no. Back to the recent events, Weiss became uncharacteristically happy/ excited after an Atlas ship flew by, saying "she's here". I had to see this, so I followed her and Ruby to the drop off zone at Beacon. The new arrival is kind of a bitch, must be a common trait in the Schnee family. That's right, Weiss's sister, Winter Schnee is here, likely on orders from the "General". She quickly stopped being a bitch though and started acting like an older sibling should.

"So, how have you been?" Winter asked Weiss.

"Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking. I'm actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class." I feel insulted right now.

"I'm sorry... Care to correct yourself?" I asked, Nightfall as a scythe in hand. The soldiers and drones pointed their guns at me as Winter looked between me and Ruby. "So do they actually think they're a threat? Or are just pointing their guns at me because they have too?"

"So this must be your team leader and extra you wrote about? How appropriately... Underwhelming." And back to bitch.

"Uhh... Thank you." Ruby said.

"Ruby, don't thank her. If that was a compliment, that sounded more like an insult." I told her.

"Oh..."

"Apologies, Ruby, Cassiel. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister." Winter thanked us.

"Yeah... Interest..." I said.

"I have business with the General and your headmaster. But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?"

"Really?" Weiss asked, excitedly.

"Yes, I wish to inspect them and make sure they're up to my personal standards."

"Of course. Just so you're aware, the bunk beds only look unstable." Weiss warned her.

"Bunk beds?"

I entered the SR and lingered around. I'm interested in what the "General" wants. About halfway to the entrance of Beacon, we heard something being destroyed behind us. We turned around and a man in a white and grey shirt, black pants, scruffy beard, short and thin red cape, hair almost comed back, and a sword(?) on his lower back dismantling the two robots that were lingering behind us.

"Hey!" And he's drunk. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, ice queen." Goddamnit Weiss. What did you do? The remaining drones slowly began to close in on him.

"Halt!" Winter commanded.

"Excuse me," Weiss started stomping to him. "do you have any idea who you're talking to?" The man put a hand on her head and a finger to his lips.

"Sssshhhh, not you." He shushed her before pushing her out of the way and taking a few steps towards Winter. "You." He said to Winter. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town, I guess you're here too."

"Im standing right before you." Winter said. The man squinted.

"So it would seem." If he's a Huntsman, I feel like I should be very concerned.

"You realize you just destroyed Atlas military property?"

"Ohhhh, I'm sorry. See, I mistook this for some sort of... Sentient garbage." Concerned. I am now very concerned that he's even allowed near a weapon.

"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow." Wait... As in Ruby's uncle? I don't know how I should feel about that if he is.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Weiss asked Winter.

"Geez, you Atlas specialists think you're so special, don't you?" Leaning more towards concerned again.

"It's in the title." Winter stated.

"Well, you know what you really are? A buncha sellouts. Just like your boss." Now I want to see how this plays out.

"I'm not sure what you think you're implying, but I've heard enough." Winter said, annoyed.

"Oh, I heard too. I heard ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin." Now I definitely need to be around for this.

"Ozpin?" Weiss asked, confused.

"Weiss, it's time for you to go." Winter told her.

"What?"

"Listen to big sister, Weiss. She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is gonna protect all of us, huh?" He stumbled backward a little.

"If you won't hold your tongue," Winter drew her saber. "then I will gladly remove it for you!" She threatened.

"Alright then." He brushed his hair back. "Come take it." He welcomed the challenge.

(Same reasons as the fight with the Nevermore and Deathstalker in the entrance exam. Laziness, typing with a controller, and I feel an imbed is a bad idea because of rules I'd expect to be on the site. Watch Qrow VS Winter, or season 3 episode 3)

So one thing after another. Qrow is in fact Ruby's uncle, he must be ambidexterous, that greatsword is also a shotgun, and though he didn't use it, he must be a lot better with that scythe than I am with either of mine. Both could probably give Glass a lot of trouble with just their strength and speed alone. Winter on the other hand has Weiss's Semblance, but can summon things. The fight could have been more entertaining/ educational, but Qrow put away his weapon and signalled Winter to come at him, she regretted this decision almost immediately.

"Schnee!" A voice rang out when her blade was just inches from Qrow's throat. It was Ironwood.

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter turned and greeted him.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" He asked.

"He started the altercation, sir." Winter tried to explain.

"That's actually not true, she attacked first." I guess that's technically true, though you did destroy military property first.

"Is that right?" Ironwood asked. Winter just looked down, not denying it. After a few more seconds of silence, he looked to Qrow. "And you." Qrow pointed at himself questioningly. "What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing." Qrow said.

"I-" Ironwood started.

"Now, now everyone." Ozpin interrupted. "There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the coliseum that I can assure you has better seats. And popcorn." Glynda is with him too apparently.

"Break it up, everyone. We will take care of this mess." She told the crowd.

"Let's go." Ironwood told Winter, fixing his tie. I followed them, turning around, Ruby and Qrow looked happy to see each other. Maybe he's not a cause for concern.

(Ozpin's office)

So what have we learned so far from the conversation between these four? Qrow works on getting intel, the enemy isn't just some pawn, but the one responsible for the condition of whoever Amber is, and he had gone dark on his mission which caused him to not receive any communication from the others here.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers or generals or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about. It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet or did you just not give a damn?" Qrow criticized James.

"Discreet wasn't working." James answered, putting his scroll on Ozpin's desk and creating a projection of Vale with his fleet hovering over it in the middle of the room. "I'm here because this is what was necessary."

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us." Qrow clarified.

"And I am grateful."

"Oh well, you've got a real funny way of showing it."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength." James said, confidently. I stepped out of the SR to join in while Qrow was laughing.

"Yeah, because a foreign military known to be the most powerful, taking up residence in the capital of another country is definitely going to make everyone feel safe." I said. Qrow looked at me.

"Who's the kid? Why is he here?" Qrow asked, angered.

"Someone James tried to recruit into your inner circle, the extra on team RWBY. As for why I'm here? The more I know, the better I can protect my team, and not only do I know about Salem, I also know of Amber now."

"You tried to bring a kid into this fight?" Qrow asked James like he was insane.

"I have no interest in fighting Salem, that's a losing fight. I only have interest in my team, he tried to recruit me because I can establish myself as the 'alpha' when it comes to Grimm and command them, though the most dangerous so far would be a Deathstalker."

"What?" He asked, alarmed. I looked at James, ignoring Qrow's question as I saw Ozpin whispering something to him.

"I can guarantee you they don't fear your ships. If I could easily pull ten of them down in a few minutes, what makes you think they have reason to fear them? Doesn't help that they still have the element of surprise. Your fleet isn't going to do a damn thing against the people Salem has here, and if Grimm are going to be used again in an attack, you're going to have a lot more to worry about, especially if there are more dangerous Grimm around here than Taijita, Deathstalkers, Behemoths, or Nevermores. Best case scenario, you fail. Worst case scenario, they find a way to turn all those defenses against said people. They might already be able to after that night."

"What 'night'?" Qrow asked, more alarmed than before.

"Someone infiltrated Beacon tower. What for? No one knows. Atlas failed to protect it and no one has answers." I answered. "At this rate, the only thing Atlas has proven itself to be good for is a military mascot. A 'kid' doesn't feel your military is a threat. Do you honestly think Salem's people do when they for all intents and purposes have fear, death, and destruction on their side?"

"On that topic, let me tell you. The things she's made, they are fear." Qrow warned.

"She can make Grimm too?" I asked, surprised, but was ignored.

"And fear will bring the Grimm." Ozpin started. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds: If this is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight?" James looked between everyone, frustration evident on his face. He took back his scroll.

"So then, what would you suggest we do?" James asked.

"Personally, I would recommend sending a good portion of your fleet back home, 'execute' Torchwick as a means to draw out anyone you can, make a public announcement offering amnesty to members of the White Fang that serve a short time in the military to draw out possible enemies, and keep a very close eye on the matches for anything like I mentioned before. Make them think you're lowering your guard, offer the hand of friendship, draw out your enemies, and keep watch for the most likely time and place of attack." I suggested.

"A trial for Torchwick would take too long to schedule, we would need the councils of all four nations to agree to that, and we can only see so much from the stands and broadcasts." James shot down.

"The cameras are an issue? My first night in Vale and the Grimm attack say getting good angles are well within your capability." James was about to respond to that.

"Then I suggest we find our guardian." Ozpin suggested, interrupting him before he started taking a sip of his tea(?).

"I'm warning you now. I don't care if you're just a headmaster or an immortal of some kind. Leave my team out of this, or I will kill as many people as I have to as long as you are one of them." I warned. He spit out his drink and coughed for a few seconds after.

"I was thinking nothing of the sort." He assured me after he recovered.

Chapter 37.

View Online

(Balcony above team RWBY's room)

Cassiel POV

I asked Blake to help me discover my Semblance again now that I officially have aura down. We've tried a few times in the past, but she was also helping me with controlling aura. From what she has told me, one's Semblance is a "more tangible projection of aura", or as I understood it, their soul being used to affect the area or assist the user in a way that is unique to them. Examples being Ruby's Speed, though Scatter I feel is more appropriate, Weiss's Glyphs, or Pyrrha's ability to control metal. She did go on to say that people can have very similar Semblances and compared Yang's to her old partner's, Adam. Good to know if I ever have to fight him.

So here we are while nothing important is scheduled for a few more hours trying to figure mine out. Unfortunately, everyone discovers theirs differently. Some are purely accidental, others learn through training or in desperate times, very few can be inherited, and in the more fortunate cases, simple meditation. That is what we are doing now, unfortunately we haven't gotten anywhere.

"There is one thing I forgot to mention." Blake said, putting a stop to this for a moment.

"Alright, shoot."

"Though it hasn't been proven, it is believed that in some cases, a Semblance is also a reflection of the soul and why they are in many cases perfect for them." She explained.

"A 'reflection'? Interesting." If that is true, then I already have a few ideas of what it is thanks to my emotional state and mentality.

"It's unlikely we'll find out what it is today, and there's other things we can try." She said.

"Maybe. Let me ask you something. Assuming that theory is true, do you think that person possessing a deep self loathing and being very familiar with the concept pain would have a Semblance reflecting such?" I asked.

"Maybe?" She stepped closer and placed both her hands on my shoulders. "Cassiel, I think I know where you're going with this. Be careful, alright?"

"*sigh*... Normally I don't make promises, but I will this one time. I have an idea though of how to bring it out." She perked up at hearing this.

"You think so?" She asked, hopefully. If this does work, it'll be official that I learn too quickly even with my curse. I tried projecting my aura outward and shaping it as I visualized the first thing that came to mind. Funny enough, it was Blake. She was right in front of me, yes, but I feel I'm growing a little more attached to her and the rest of team RWBY than I thought. Aura control was a bitch at first, but it's surprisingly easy now. Now that I have the visualization and the aura feels like it's been shaped right, one last push and a bit of emotion was all that was needed. Another minute passed and a projection resembling Blake began to form in front of me. Her bow shifted and she turned around to see a nearly completed red- colored projection of her before it faded a few seconds later and I lost my balance, she caught me and began helping me reach a bench.

"*huff**huff*... That's going to take some getting used to." I said, exhausted. She began pulling my head down onto her lap, so I wiped the blood off my face and used my aura to stop the bleeding.

"Cassiel, after a short time, you've already mastered aura and now you've unlocked your Semblance. You have so much potential, please don't let it go to waste."

"Heh, I guess that's another promise then. What time is it?" I asked, turning my head to look at her.

"There's still a few hours before the match. Get some rest, you've earned it."

"Thank you, for everything, Blake. I should probably say that to the others too." I closed my eyes, this is surprisingly comfortable, Blake running her fingers through my hair too.

"I'm sure they know you're grateful to them."

"You know, I think I forgot to thank Ruby for the upgrades to Lionheart."

"She was probably just happy to help, especially since it was a friend she helped."

"The world really does need more people like her, like the rest of you actually."

"What about people like you?" She asked.

"Less than a year ago, I would have become a murderer if the people I met were Someone else's creations. I slowly learned to care again after so many years of being alone with nothing to keep me company but what others might call the poison within the soul." I shifted onto my back. "I'm not even supposed to be alive. Believe it or not, there's other worlds out there, and I come from one with humans that can't seem to go more than 30 years without a war."

"Cassiel..."

"Call me crazy if you want, but just hear me out. The world was supposed to end according to an ancient civilization's calendar and needless to say, people went crazy themselves. I died as collateral damage during a bank robbery, a bullet bounced off a wall and got me. The 'benevolent' God made a test out of that and I passed. Paradise meant nothing to me, Hell couldn't be much worse, the Void was dull, but still a good option, and my final choice was ask and receive whatever I wanted. I asked for weapons and powers that would best suit me, a mask and blindfold that suppresses half of it, my cloak, and to never see any of his humans again. I would have killed them otherwise and He knows it, or at least He should if he truly is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and all knowing, contradicting the concept of free will, but people still believe in that nonsense anyway." I feel like I'm venting a little now.

"You can stop if you feel the need to."

"I'm fine. I woke up in about world inhabited by anthro animals with enough bullshit to make most people faint multiple times a week. When the Heartless attacked me, they attacked the town not long after. The guards were useless, meat shields and cannon fodder at best. During the attack, a classmate, a piss poor excuse of a bully was killed, apparently meeting the required darkness to be killed. The real reason she died? Her greedy bitch of a mother did the literal equivalent of throwing her own daughter and her daughter's friend to the wolves. It can be argued that I killed the mother after she was proven guilty, but technically I didn't. I saved the town, but because of what I did to her, everyone seemed to have forgotten I'm the reason they still live. Fast forward to my master taking me under her wing, her gifts, new home, and then begin the Mark of Mastery exam. I'm not touring the world, doing as I see fit, I'm touring worlds while doing so and this is the second I've traveled to. Maybe one day I can show you." She shifted her position, turning her body with my head still on her lap.

"I don't think you're crazy." You're not saying you believe me though. "I think you've been through more than anyone should have to endure. I think from what you've told me- told us, that you're getting better, that you're getting closer and closer to becoming something you can be proud of!" I took her hand in mine and wrapped an arm around her, as uncomfortable as that was in this position.

"I think I'll come back once I'm done with my exam. I might pay a visit to a few others beforehand, but I happen to like a few people enough to not want to say goodbye. You especially to be honest. Yang's like the big sister I never had, Ruby would be the little sister if she wasn't a year older, Weiss, I guess she's like a sister too, the slightly troubled middle child. You? I feel more comfortable around you, for lack of a better way to put it. You're all like family to me."

"You should get some rest, there's still some time before the match. We can continue this later if you want?" I opened an eye to see her smiling down on me, a little red on her cheeks.

"Thank you again, for everything." I took a nap right there.

Maybe more attached than I thought.

(Amity Coliseum)

I might be a little reliant on the SR, but you can't deny how useful it is. This doubles match is between Coco and Yatsuhashi of team CFVY and Emeral and Mercury of... I don't think I've heard their team name. Probably any match one of them is in, if they're the enemy, an indicator might show up here. The biomes were a forest, destroyed city, geysers, and tall grasslands. Emerald and Mercury backed away hid in the grasslands, Coco destroyed that hiding place in seconds, but Emerald and Mercury were nowhere.

Mercury somehow got behind them and dropped from above. Gunboots. I've seen stranger. Tricky fighting style as it is, and he's easily going toe to toe with two powerhouses at once. Emerald is nowhere to be seen, not that it looks like she would be needed. Two vs one and the one looks to have the upper hand. Mercury got the others in a position where if Coco shoots, she'll hit Yatsuhashi, and vice versa if Yatsuhashi strikes. Coco turned her gatling gun back into a purse and forced Mercury to back off. Seconds later, a chain shot out from the forest and pulled Coco in. By Raven, that is an unreasonably long chain.

What happened next told me one VERY important detail about Emerald. After Coco forced her to take cover, Coco said something strange for the situation.

"Watch out, she's in the trees!" She warned, looking behind her. The buzzer went off and a clip played on the TV screen that showed Yatsuhashi getting his ass handed to him, causing Coco to turn back around in shock and confusion. Did she actually see and/ or hear Yatsuhashi? I can't imagine what is essentially a mock battle causing someone to lose their mind. The fight has already been decided, and I got what I needed.

Emerald might have the a similar Semblance to Neo, but on another level entirely. Hallucinations maybe? Depending on it's limits, that would be a very useful tool. They won't be doing anyghing important until dusk at the earliest, I can still wait until action is necessary, and finding them would be easy. Though alone is another matter entirely. The next match worth watching was Weiss and Yang vs two members of team FNKI. On second thought... Weiss and Yang are going to win, they don't have my permission to lose against those two.

(Ozpin's office, hours later)

Why the fuck are Pyrrha and Qrow here? I need to hear this first, staying in the SR. Favorite fairy tale, four sisters and an old man, magic, Four Maidens representing the seasons.

"My mother loves that story." Pyrrha finished.

"Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin asked. Important information about to be revealed, fucking calling it.

"You're not that old, professor."

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?"

"I beg your pardon?" Pyrrha asked liie she misheard him.

"What if I were to tell you that there were Four Maidens existing in this world that could wield such tremendous power without Dust?" Ozpin asked more seriously. I remember you telling me magic doesn't exist. I would step out of the SR, gut important information would be lost.

"You mean like a Semblance?"

"Like magic." You're a fucking liar, Ozpin. Someone is going to get hurt or worse and it'll be your fault.

"I-"

"Yeah, first time hearing it's pretty crazy." Qrow commented.

"You're serious?" Pyrrha asked Ozpin.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He answered with his own question.

"... No." Pyrrha answered. "Why-why are you telling me this?" Ozpin looked to Qrow and received a nod from him.

"We're telling you, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe that you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."

"'We'?" No later did the elevator open with Glynda and James.

"Sorry we're late." James apologized.

"Wait, what is this? Who are you?" Pyrrha asked.

"You know who we are." Glynda answered cryptically. "We're still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon."

"'Cept we've got a little part time job." Qrow added.

"We are the protectors of this world." James added after.

"And we need your help." Ozpin answered.

(Vaults under the school)

Still following them in tge SR. He's not telling her even half the shit he should be. So the Maiden powers choose young women at random unless a young woman was in the Maiden's final thoughts. This time is different though. It would go without saying that if a Maiden is killed that the murderer would be in their final thoughts, giving them the powers. This time, part of a Maiden's power was stolen when she was attacked, which begs the question: Would the remaining power rejoin the rest, or find another host? Not something I'd want to find the answer to either. Atlas has a solution though, something most would consider taboo. Since they can't transfer the power itself into another person, they instead have to transfer what it's bound to. The aura, the soul would have to be transferred. The result? No one knows. High rish, high reward, but a target is put on her back if she survives.

"But understand that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer." Ozpin told her. "The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move, and there's no telling when their next move will be."

"I already told you damnit!" I said, exiting the SR. Everyone got ready to attack until they realized it was me. "The perfect times would be during the doubles and singles, and I've narrowed down likely targets."

"Cassiel? You're in this too?" Pyrrha asked.

"The Maidens are news to me as they are to you. They tried to recruit me for something else, instead they got a little help with security." I answered.

"You know, you really shouldn't have gotten anymore involved than you already were, kid." Qrow said.

"Do you want to hear who and how an attack might happen? Or would you prefer I just kill an entire team in their sleep?"

"You wou-" Glynda started.

"What news do you bring?" Ozpin asked, interrupting her.

"Emerald and her team. I believe them to be likely to attack. It's also possible the assailant is one of them if that's true." I answered.

"Attack?" Pyrrha asked.

"You think academy students from Haven are behind this?" James asked like he's expecting me to be joking.

"Emerald can cause people to hallucinate. She made Coco think Yatsuhashi was near her seconds before he lost to Mercury. You mean to tell me what is essentially a more competitive mock battle caused one of Beacon's most experienced students to see and hear things that weren't there? Bull shit! I get THE front row seat because of these Corridors, I know what I witnessed."

"That's not enough information to act even if it's true." He said.

"Let's assume it has no limits. Let's assume she only needs to be aware of a person's presence to use it, it has no range limitations, and she can affect multiple people at once. She could make allies out of enemies and vice versa! She could instill enough fear into everyone to attract all the Grimm she wants! She doesn't have to do anything like that, all she would need to do is make one of the contestants do something unsightly. Anger, disbelief, shock, fear, hate, betrayal, so many emotions at once if Grimm are going to be a method of attack again!" I tried to explain.

"That... Raises some red flags." Qrow commented.

"My point exactly. If she is an enemy, then it'd be best to take her and her team out now before they can sabotage a match."

"Unfortunately, we can't just kidnap them, certainly can't just kill them, and we can't just arrest them unless we know for certain they broke the law." Ozpin said.

"Uuuuugggghhh you guys are so useless! I had better be wrong, or I'm pummelling at least one of you!" I warned before turning to Qrow. "Drinking age be damned, toss me that canteen of whatever's in it! I don't care!"

"You can't be-" Glynda started.

"Don't. Care. Not. One. Bit. I swore I would never drink considering my experiences with a drunken aunt and uncle, but I want to break that now!"

"Sorry kid." *chugging* "But I'm out now." Qrow said.

"*inhale**exhale*... I can't be held accountable if there's four bodies no one will find. I tried. Raven knows I tried, but there's just no helping you people!" All but Pyrrha's eyes shot open upon hearing that name. As I was about to leave, Qrow grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, looking me dead in the eyes.

"How do you know Raven?" He asked.

"Funny story, one I'm not going to tell you. You have Her as your current equivalent of a Dark Goddess, Raven is mine. Now if you'll excuse me, the singles will be starting soon. We'll see if I'm right." I pushed him away and entered the SR.

(Amity Coliseum, night time)

The singles were lined up. The only ones worth noting were Yang, Pyrrha, Penny, and Mercury. The first match was between Yang and Mercury. I was keeping an eye on Emerald as well as the match itself. The two looked to be on par with each other, though I can tell Mercury might be holding back more than I thought with Coco and Yatsuhashi. Either his Semblance isn't combat oriented, or he is as subtle with his as Pyrrha is with hers. A good fight between what is basically a brawler and a break dancer or whatever. Yang won, but something off finally happened. Emerald looked to be struggling, she was squinting, trying to keep visual. I looked to the arena and saw Yang walk past Mercury, turn around looking up, then punch the downed Mercury's leg.

She never once looked down at him when she struck, she had to have thought she was being attacked, that punch was directed at something head level with her. As he was being carried away on a stretcher, she was surrounded by soldiers and robots with guns, telling a visibly confused Yang to stand down. Regret, horror, confusion, all etched on her face. The crowd expressing every emotion I mentioned and more. I could only look between Emerald and Mercury with almost as much hate as a certain someone from my past. I stepped out of the SR to whisper in Emerald's ear.

"I know how you beat Coco and Yatsuhashi. I also know how dirty your Semblance is, how you affected the outcome of this match." I began gripping Lionheart's blade tightly, cutting into my hand as she looked at me, alarmed. "The ability to cause others to hallucinate, and so subtly on top of it." I casted Fire at my fingers as I grabbed her shoulder tightly. "This is a promise." I stepped back into the SR and waited with the rest of team RWBY as events played out.

Someone is going to die by my blade soon.

Author's Notes:

As far as I'm aware of, there's no info on how a few characters found their Semblances. Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, Blake, and Emerald being a few unknowns in that regard. Who knows how easily a few people found their Semblance?

I know Cassiel discovering his Semblance likely didn't meet expectations, but the only other idea I had on how/ when is during a certain fight anyone who's watched until the end of season 3 can guess and I already have another plan regarding that fight. You'll see why now instead of then when it comes. Truth be told, I was originally thinking of giving him a Semblance I call "Nullification". It's not what you're thinking, let me explain.

It would have had a few "stages" to it, each requiring more aura to the point that with Cassiel's experience with aura would drain him quickly.

Nullify pain to varying degrees, though not as easily or as strong as Hazel's.
Nullify/ cure status effects/ ailments. The ultimate counter to Emerald's Hallucinations.
Nullify his curse, allowing him to fight at his true full power.
Nullify another's Semblance. Have fun (insert Semblance reliant character here)!

Context is needed somewhere... Lol.

If you want to know why Cassiel cut himself, you'll find the answer in Trigun. Have fun!

Chapter 38.

View Online

Cassiel POV

(Ozpin's office, the next day, early in the morning)

They are fucking useless! How have they managed to run an entire kingdom if they can't even provide decent security? Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow, and now they're trying to involve Pyrrha?

"I fucking warned you this would happen! But you would rather sit in a corner and beat each other off than take any preventative action what so ever!" I shouted, rage being the only thing I'm feeling right now.

"Cassiel, now's n-" Ozpin started.

"No! I'd say the time is perfect! I know what I saw damnit! Yang never even looked at Mercury while he was downed, Emerald was using her hallucinations to screw with the outcome of the match!" I interrupted.

"You saw what happened, I'm sure it-" Glynda started.

"One of the most kind hearted, fun loving people I've ever known was tricked into becoming a monster last night! She's hot headed, not sadistic!" I interrupted again.

"Even if what you say is true, who would believe you anyway?" Qrow asked. "Besides, Mercury and his team left for Haven last night, that basically rules them out as terrorists, though cheaters is another matter entirely if you're right about this."

"Video footage aside, millions of viewers saw the same thing. Th-" James started.

"I'm done." I told them.

"What?" Qrow asked.

"I'm done. I'm out. I refuse to help people who clearly can't be bothered to help themselves. Clearly someone is going to have to take the fall before you finally do something! I'm just going to laugh when it all finally comes crashing down on you before I do whatever the hell suits me. All that blood will be on your hands, maybe Salem is on the right side if her enemies are this incompetent. Not that I intend to involve myself anymore than I already have." I turned around, about to enter the SR.

"And where do you think you're going?" James asked.

"Yang needs someone right now, someone who knows she is innocent!" I said, coldly, before leaving.

If the person taking the fall is on my team, there will be at least 4 more heads on my wall!

(hours later, team RWBY's room)

The whole team is here, Yang is... Distressed to say the least. The rest of the team is silent, not making eye contact.

"Yang, as much as everyone might say otherwise, I know you're innocent, I know what happened." I broke the silence.

"You believe me?" She asked, hopefully.

"You're not brutal, certainly not sadistic. I have an idea of what you saw, and why you attacked." I answered.

"What do you mean? I know Yang would never do that, but I also know what everyone else saw." Weiss said.

"I have reason to believe his teammate, Emerald, can cause people to hallucinate."

"What? How can she do that?" Ruby asked.

"Her Semblance. She made Coco see Yatsuhashi in the forest, but he lost in the geysers on the other side of the stage. Her Semblance also has good range too since she was able to affect Yang from the stands."

"How can you be so sure of that? A Semblance as subtle as that would be almost impossible to figure out." Blake said.

"Emerald looked like she was struggling with something even though she was doing nothing besides watching. Yang never looked down at Mercury, she was looking at an upward angle and struck what was at about head level with her. Not only that, but she shoots AFTER her fist makes contact. Her fist never touched Mercury while he was downed. Emerald's look of alarm after I confronted her is the last bit of proof I needed." I explained.

"You mean..." Yang started, her shoulders shaking, her voice cracking. "To tell me... That they tricked me??? And for WHAT???" She shouted, her eyes red and her hair on fire. "Because they lost??? WHY?" Her eyes and hair turned back to normal as she fell back onto the bed and broke into tears. Ruby immediately pulled her into a hug. Before I could grab some tissues for her (I would do what Ruby's doing, but there's no room on the bed), someone knocked on the door. Weiss grabbed the tissues instead as I opened the door, revealing James.

"Get lost." I told him.

"I have ma-" He started.

"I don't care. Leave! You're not welcome here, you useless fuck!" He glared at me.

"I will once I say what needs to be said."

"Okay... Let me try this again. This time, in a language we both understand." I drew Lionheart, turned it into a gun, and summoned Nightfall as a scythe. The gun was at my waist, pointed at him at point blank, and the scythe blade was behind his neck. "Leave, or your corpse will be impaled on the statue outside. If I can't do that, then I'll simply dump your corpse in a random forest no one goes to." Both the robots following him pointed their weapons at me.

"Cassiel!!!" The others shouted. James didn't react to my threat.

"I'll make this brief." He said. As I was about to shoot, Blake and Weiss got up close without me noticing and lowered my weapons, concern on their faces.

"I already explained the situation from my standpoint. You might not believe me, but I know what I saw, what she was made to see, and I can guarantee you, there's nothing you can say that we don't already know. There's nothing you can say that we can't figure out ourselves. You hope it was a case of stress and adrenaline, and she's disqualified. Good summarization?" I asked impatiently.

"..."

"If you already know the situation, that means I can attend to other matters. Farewell." He walked away, his robots in tow, I closed the door and sat on my bed.

"What was that??!!" Weiss asked, shocked by my conduct.

"That was me properly dealing with an imbecile." I answered. "Yang?"

"Y-yeah?" She choked.

"Anything you need. Right now. Name it." I told her plainly.

"I think-- I think I'd like to be alone right now." Not a good choice, but not mine to make. The others left the room first before I stopped at the doorway.

"Coming from someone who spent half his life alone, this isn't a good choice you're making, and probably against my better judgement, I'll respect it. I'll be at the forest by Beacon Cliff until the next match starts, call if you need me." I looked down at Zwei and knelt down to pet him. "Do what you can, alright?" He barked in response. I put on my mask and left the room, closing the door and entering the SR afterward.

(Beacon Cliff)

Back at the ruins, just sitting down and waiting. A Nevermore just flew by and fired it's feathers at me, only one came close to hitting me. I took my time getting up and let out my darkness before looking up at it.

"Land." I commanded. It made a u-turn first, but otherwise it did it.

*CAW*

I reached up and after a few seconds of hesitation, it lowered it's head and let me scratch it's chin.

"You really are just animals, aren't you? Just more aggressive?" It made some kind of noise, can't exactly pin point what it was. I heard a noise behind me and saw a pack of Beowolves, the alpha growled at me and howled, telling the others to attack. I drew Lionheart and shot the alpha before the others could reach me, causing them to stop the attack. "Begone." I told them, they obeyed immediately. I turned back to the Nevermore. "I might have a favor to ask later. I'll call when I need it."

(hours later)

The sun is going down, the next match should be starting in an hour or two. As I was about to leave the Nevermore and enter the SR, a voice stopped me.

"So ol' Oz was right, you can control Grimm." Qrow said.

"After I establish myself as a 'do not fuck with' person, yes it seems."

"The world wouldn't take too kindly to someone who can make the curse of the world do whatever he wants."

"A curse is what you make of it. I'm called the 'Cursebearer' for a reason, my selection of curses to accept into myself was pretty diverse. A curse that takes away my magic, but makes me immune to it, or a curse that cuts my power in half, but makes me improve much faster for two examples."

"Heh, fair enough." He took a long chug from his canteen. "Tell me, what is your team to you?" He asked seriously.

"Family, your nieces, the heiress, the Faunus, I for the first time in years actually love someone, several actually."

"You truly believe Yang is innocent?" He looked between me and the Nevermore. "That she was set up? Tell me why again, your reasoning behind it."

"You really want to know? I'm more of a sadist than the others if given a reason. I've already explained this multiple times, so I'll just give the important details from the stage: Yang never looked down at Mercury when she struck, she was looking at an upward angle. Second being her fist never touched him, that really does not fit her CQC fighting style with her explosive or incendiary shotgun gauntlets. Her look of confusion, of horror after the fact." I explained.

*CAW* I looked back at the Nevermore.

"That's enough of that." I said to it softly. For extremely dangerous creatures, they can be surprisingly docile. It rubbed it's head against me, almost knocking me over.

"You really think that team specifically will attack?"

"The White Fang too probably. A tragedy will probably happen during the singles and be broadcasted across the world. The negativity will drastically increase the already high Grimm activity and lure hordes of them to Vale. Next comes the White Fang using Atlas weapons and vehicles while someone hacks into the robots and turns their guns against everyone. Finally, the assailant finishes the job with the Maiden. That's how I'd do it. Oh, and shut off communications with the rest of the world."

"I don't know if I should be impressed, or disturbed by how quickly you thought that through." He commented.

"You should've been there when another friend of mine was pretty much forced into a what should've been a completely one-sided duel that would've earned him nothing, but costed him everything he had left to hold onto." I laughed internally at the memory. "Qrow?"

"Yeah?"

"I know of a Raven, but not the one you know, if you're still curious." I started practicing my Semblance. A smaller projection of the Nevermore appearing on my shoulder, the drain noticeable, but not much. Testing the limit, I did the same using a projection of Qrow. The drain was much faster so I dismissed the small Nevermore and focused on the other projection. I can probably keep this up for a while, not to mention Cure/a restoring aura.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Me testing something." I answered. 'Attack that tree!' I thought, the fake Qrow drew it's sword and did exactly as I ordered. It dashed to the tree and to my surprise, it was copying Qrow's fighting style, or as much as it could with my memories.

"Okay, I'll bite... What is it you're testing?"

"My Semblance. Blake helped me figure it out yesterday and I'm testing a few things with it." I dismissed the fake Qrow and tried creating a fake Ruby, but got nothing. The same result with Blake, Weiss, and Yang. "Maybe?" I recreated the fake Qro. "So I need visual, alright then. Qrow! I need you to fight the copy of you. If I'm right, it will adapt it's movements until it's just like you."

"What makes you think- whoa!" The fake attacked him.

"I wasn't asking. Cure!" I restored my aura.

The fake kept getting better as time went on, but Qrow hadn't brought out his scythe during this time. Dark was upon us, and it was about time to return to the coliseum. Come what may, I'm not backing down.

(Amity Coliseum)

I'm waiting just outside, above the energy shield, sitting on it actually. The first fight for tonight is between Penny and Pyrrha. Bad match, very bad match. Penny is certainly a tricky opponent just with the number of weapons alone, weapons that are also laser cannons. I can do the same with my wingblades, but minus the flying, she's better with that weapon than I am. Pyrrha on the other hand having a crazy advantage when metal is involved, she could easily turn those weapons against Penny.

The match just started. Both seem to be on par with each other, but I'd still put my money on Pyrrha and her magnetism bullshit. Pyrrha is actually holding her own better than I would, kind of strange seeing my kind of bullshit from the angle of the viewer. Pyrrha does seem to be a bit sluggish during this fight, probably not mentally or emotionally prepared either since her weapons just warped greatly, her sword looked like it became a flamberge for a second. Penny was eventually launched back, Pyrrha just stood there like she was a little dizzy. So this is the match then, Emerald is still here, guess I can keep my promise if I see her and the rest of her team.

Penny launched a counter attack and disarmed Pyrrha. Penny prepared to launch her swords at Pyrrha who was left almost defenseless, Pyrrha only looked like she was getting worse. Penny launched her blades at Pyrrha, who reflected them, and in that instant, Penny was dismem- dismantled?... Damnit Atlas! Even she's a fucking robot? Screw it! Not even going to bother with it. Besides, now that someone has taken the fall, the big event can finally begin. The TV screens turned red with a black chess piece in the middle.

"This is not a tragedy." A voice sounding like Cinder said through the speakers.

Weeellll it depends on what a psychopath like you calls a tragedy. Me? I call this the expected result when incompetent fools have too much power. I guess it's almost time for me to get started.

Chapter 39.

View Online

Cassiel POV

"This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust. Your safety. Your children. To men who claim to be our guardians. But are, in reality... Nothing more than men. Our Academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both."

"Ha! She's calling you out James!" I said to no one.

"They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, and now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy."

"Both tend to get people killed." I commented out loud.

"Perhaps Ozpin thought as though defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when Grimm invaded it's streets. Or perhaps, this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly? I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know that the existence of peace is fragile. And the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you; the situation there is... Equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are at the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you... When the first shots are fired... Who do you think you can trust?" The screens turned to normal and she cut the connection.

"I can almost hear that evil smile of hers." A few seconds later, warning sirens started blarring.

"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly fashion." The emergency announcer said.

"Define 'calm and orderly'. Nine? Really? That's hardly a threat." I said to no one.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please! There is no need for panic." Jame said into the microphone. No later did he finish that sentence did a Nevermore screech as it landed on the shield. I brought out the darkness and quickly subdued it. I called everyone I could at once, but Ruby was unreachable for some reason. Blake, Yang, Weiss, and reluctantly, Ozpin, James, and Qrow. Yes, I have their numbers too.

"The Nevermore isn't a threat right now. Most Grimm I go near right now will actually become tame, that said, try not to shoot this Nevermore. Or the other one I'm about to call." I told them

"Wait! What other one?" Weiss asked. I summoned Nightfall and shot a beam of light toward Beacon Cliff. Seconds later, another Nevermore flew up here.

"Cassiel! You are not helping the civilians by bringing more Grimm!" James shouted.

"When did I say that was the intent?" I asked. "If I were all of you, the students would take up defense at Beacon academy, the Huntsmen and Huntresses would join them and spread out into the city or defend the Successor and the other one. As for Atlas, focus fire on the larger Grimm and the assault mechs the White Fang is currently using in the streets. By the way, Ozpin, James, Qrow, I fucking called it! Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be doing my own thing unless I can find a few soon to be dead people. By the end of tonight, SOMEONE'S head is going to be mounted on my wall!"

"The White F-"
"What are yo-" *boop*. Yang and Blake tried to ask. I looked at both Nevermores.

"Would you kindly shoot the other Grimm?" I asked one.

*CAW*

"And you fly me to the academy before shooting the White Fang? And the ship Torchwick is on? I'm sure you'll be able to figure out which one."

*CAW* It lowered it's head to let me on.

Grimm are surprisingly intelligent.

(Beacon Academy)

Atlas robots are already here, trying to deal with the Grimm. I think I'll just sit tight unt- hello White Fang! On second thought, I'll just watch this play out. Everything appears to be just fine. Now I should probably be concerned, the robots just started emitting a red lig- yeah, they're shooting everything that can bleed.

"Look out!" A voice shouted. I turned and saw Weiss and Blake on the ground, being shot at by the robots. I pointed Lionheart at the 7 robots now surrounding them.

"How about no!" I shot each one in the head, destroying them instantly. I threw Dawn over to them and airstepped to it. "Finally! People start listening to me!"

"Cassiel? What are you doing here?" Weiss asked.

"I never said what 'my own thing' entailed. Welcome to the party, be warned, the other guests are assholes!" I said as I helped them up.

"Thanks for the heads up." Blake said... Was that sarcasm?

"Aaawww you're becoming a little like me."

We spent a few minutes dealing with everything that came up. Weiss dealt with the hacked(?) robots, Weiss dealt with the White Fang, and I just shot everything that was wrong with this situation. Surprisingly, no Grimm came by and interrupted us. Nevermind, I spoke too soon. An alpha Beowolf dropped from out of a falling airship.

"Fuck off!" I shot it in both it's knees(?) then put it out of it's misery. An actual gunblade (gunkeyblade?) is strangely satisfying to use. I saw Blake running towards it, so I decided to follow her as Weiss looked to have this under control. "You're not going alone, sorry."

"Thanks." She smiled a little. I popped open the cylinder on Lionheart, 4 shots left out of 24. Still have 3 mags worth of bullets. I closed it and followed her until she stopped outside the cafeteria, fear all over her face. "No." She said as she looked inside just in time to see an Atlas soldier get thrown by the man inside.

"Hello, my darling." He said once he noticed her, neither his smile nor the way he said that gave any amount of comfort, not that it would under different circumstances. Ah! He must be Adam.

Blake slowly started backing away.

"Running away again? Is that what you've become my love? A coward?" He asked tauntingly.

"Better to be a coward than a murderer and a terrorist." I said. He looked at me.

"Replace me already? I'm going to enjoy this."

"Why are you doing this?" Blake asked.

"You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution!" He stepped on the person beneath him. "Consider this the spark." He drew his sword and was about to stab the man, but Blake rushed forward and locked swords with him.

("No Return", Audiomachine, Kevin Rix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdZdt6cYDXs

"I'm not running." She said defiantly.

"You will." That's a one sided fight, and as much as I'd love to let Blake overcome her nightmare, I really don't want to see how this plays out. I threw Dawn as a shuriken at him, he shot it out of the air (that must be a powerful gun built into that sheath), I airstepped to Dawn and shot him twice with Lionheart. He kicked Blake away and blocked both shots before shooting a Grimm that was about to attack Blake.

"I don't quite think you understand the meaning of 'revolution', certainly not 'love' any better than I do." I said. He shot his sword out of the sheath and dashed toward me, right behind it.

"Barrier!" I blocked the sword, he caught it and jumped right over the Barrier before shooting me twice and striking me, I blocked each one and locked our swords against one another.

"And you. So what has she promised you? Did she swear she would always be by your side? Like she did to me?" He asked.

"Aero!" I launched him upward and shot my last 2 bullets at him and reloaded before he landed. I airstepped behind him as he landed, The scythe blade of Dawn under his chin.

"She never promised anything of the sort," I pulled back Dawn, but he was faster and slashed at me, launching me back. As he was about to press the attack, Blake shot him several times, though he blocked every shot after the third.

"Leave him alone!" She shouted. He just smiled like he did earlier.

"So you did replace me then?"

"No, though honestly, I don't think I would say no to it." I answered as I summoned both Dawn and Nightfall for a shotlock. I kind of meant it, though it was mainly to piss him off.

"With a human no less." He said as he looked between us, disgusted.

"To be fair, I hate my own race about as much as you." Almost.

"Silence!" He shouted as he finally used his Semblance. I barely dodged the strike, good to know it has ranged capabilities as well.

"Fuck you." Dawn and Nightfall hovered to my sides as the two of us were trapped in some kind of dome. Beams of light and dark rapidly shot out from every direction at him. Even if this doesn't work, I'll still get something good out of it. He blocked as many as he could, which was a lot surprisingly. Only a few hit him. Once it was done, he was still standing.

"Is that the best you can do?" His hair glowed red. I have no idea how, but he somehow multiplied and ran several circles around me. He got close and used his Semblance faster than I could physically react. I only had enough time to remove the mask and activate my armor.

"Barrier!" Several Barriers appeared between us, but his attack still went through them and hit me. I was launched back pretty far, I could feel he cut through the armor too. I hit a wall and fell hard. My aura is definitely gone, and I can barely move much less speak. Probably should've done that thing with the mask and armor sooner, though it might have just saved my life.

"NOOOO!!!" Blake cried.

"Now that he's out of the way, I can finally focus on you." He said menacingly.

"Cu- *coughing*". Damnit! Get away from her!

"This could've been our day, Blake." Back the fuck away from her!

"I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" She shouted through her tears. She shot him twice, both times, he blocked it. Run, Blake! Damnit, I'm not losing another loved one!

"What you want is impossible!" He smacked her, knocking her down.

"Cu-*coughing*. Sto-*more coughing*." Damnit, why can't I bring out my darkness??!!

"But I understand. Because all I want... Is you, Blake." She tried pointing her gun at him, but he kicked it away. "And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves..." He knelt down to her. " I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love. And he was just the start."

"Blake!" A voice called out. Yang? No! Don't come closer! "Blake! Where are you?"

"And she's next." No! Nonononononononono! He stood up and stabbed Blake, causing her to scream, catching Yang's attention.

"Get away from her!" Yang shouted. Tears in my eyes, I still wasn't able to bring out my darkness right when I needed to. Yang screamed in pure rage, her Semblance activated, she launched herself towards Adam, but he cut off her right arm with a quick slash from the sheath. I could only watch as two people I love more than anything were being taken from me, again! Time seemed to slow down as he turned to finish the job, before he could turn all the way around though, a masked woman in red and black appeared out of nowhere and attacked him.

'Y̴̬̅͋̄̿̈́̒̽͆͒ŏ̶̢̱̞̥̳͉̹͓̯͙̯̱͋̄͐̾̎̿͠ų̷̛̞̞̘͖̩͉̖̘̬͖̗͈̲̰̃̒̉̀́̽͌̑͛͑̒̊͝͝ ̶̢̡̘͉̭̘͔̖̦͇̜̤̣͐͗͑͆̕̕̚͘͝s̸̡̛̹̠̤͊͛̿͌͌̽̉́̚̕͝͝ͅȩ̵͉̪͕͎̟̥̲͎̗̲̟̓͜e̶̢̛͉̖̫̫͍̞̟͈̞͍͛̓́̀̈́̇̋̊̽͠ḱ̴̛̝̖͗͌̃͒̂̂̌͋͋͠ͅ ̷̙̋̿̔̃̀͒̽̅̍̇̄̀̚̕p̴̢̗̹͙͖̭̖͗̓ỏ̷͖͓̤͌̀̅̚ẅ̴̬͓̤̖̺͈̝́̏͊̀̂̓͑̈́̓ë̸̼̲́͌ŕ̴͓̯͚̮͓̫̪̳̠͔̥͖̆̽̄̍̑̔̈́̒̍̂͜͠?̶̧̡̛̛͍̣̩̲̰̤͋̐̃͛̄̍͒͒͑́͋͘͠'

'What?'

The woman quickly put Adam on the defensive, he broke her sword, but she just drew another one.

'D̷̢̧̖̦͍̤͓͍̳̗̤̘̍̀̈̌̊͒̓̐̍̕̚̕͝ͅͅa̶̗̼͚̦̤͔̻̋̈́ř̵̟͍̩̯̮͓̥̹͌̔͐̾̏̇̕k̷͕͕͎̦̫͇̬̲̲̈́́̅̓́̐̋̔̀̀͠n̷̹̟͕͓̤͓͍̙̳͉̩̺̏͋̈̐̊͂̅͐̀̔͊̂ē̸̳̪̓̃̀̕͜ş̴͔̻̻̗̘̭̆̀̐̒̊͂͗͝ş̴͇͉͇̤̠͕͔͕̣͇͇̖͈̈́̆̓̃͆͛̂ͅ ̵̨̪̙͚̜̯̬̣͇͇̗̩̝͑̂̔͌̕ṫ̷͓̊ớ̷̥̉̈́̽͂̀͊̽̈́͐̎͝ ̸̢̖̣̤̹͍̣̭̝̥̀p̴̢̢͇̬̠̦̯̝͖͓͕̈́̋̈́̂̏ͅr̵̨̙̟̳͎͉̙̦̗̲̤̮͎̅̀͆́̽̑͌̉̐̑͐̕ó̴̻̘̦̭̃̀̃̀̋̎́́̇̔̈́͊̚͘ţ̴͇̠̗̮͖͓̻̣̼̙̺̘̠̐͒͌̚̕͜ę̸̨̫̹̪̲̯̯̽̌̈͐̉̽̋͊̚̕͝č̸̪͔͚͓̫̻̄̑̄̑̆̚͜͝t̶̨̧̘͇̬͚̫̻̜̍͌͌̋͒́͋͝͝ ̸̧͉̪̫͈̱̉̆̂̅̇͌́͊͂̈́̕̚͜͠y̶̡̲̼͇̭̮̓̇ơ̸̱͒̾̿̑̍u̴̢̘͙̻̰̭̻͈͖̬̗̺͐̀̉̈́r̷̗͎͓̣̼̭̼̬̖̘̣͗̓̋̾́́̏̀͑̽̈́͋͆̕̕ ̸̞̝̘̣͖̠̤̪̫̥̹̼̯̣̝͛͛͛̊͗̓͊̚͠L̵̜͚̪̝̲͓͔̮̾̈́̋̓̌̂̀̊͌̌̆͑͆͋͘ï̷͎̾̅̈̀̾̈́̑̒̓͑̚g̵̞͖̺̹̮̼͕̻̬͎̈́͌̑̔͛͑͗͝ͅh̷̝̦̹͙̟̫͖̓͂͒͝t̸̛̞̄͛̂̀̅̈́͗̓͗͋͝?̸̯͍̟́ͅ'

'Please? Help me save them?' I begged.

The woman got pushed back after blocking a strike from his Semblance.

'M̶̨͓̭̙̖̟̙̥͓̼̥̔̾́̅̽̆̂̀̓̇͐͘͝͠͠ÿ̴̨͈̯͔̪̹̙̰̠͈͇̖́ ̶̛̟̺̪̦͇͇̩̾͑̃̕̚p̶̡͕̘̘̺̫̯̮̞̦͈͍̤͐̇̒͑̇̚͘ͅo̵̡̞̬̟̘̓͛̂͌͜͠w̵̛̩̍̊̐̇͂̊̄͠ē̷̼̯̟̟̪̬̙͎̠̥͍̲͒̌̑̉r̸̡̖̟̙̩̦͔͙̺͇̣̩̖̰̠̐͗ ̸̣̜͓̯͗̓̊̄͗͒̈̌̚͘͜ĩ̸̗̙̙͓͓͙̭̬́s̸̪̠͙͇̹̠̞͌͗͛̑͐̀͜ ̴̧̹͓̮̣͉͉̬̗̲̩̓́͐͊͛͛͝ͅf̶̙͇̳̣̬̼̜̱̂̆̄̄̂o̵͚̗̦̦͓̭̣̳̍͋͛̾́͌́͑̉͝r̵̢͔̪̼̱͎̣̳̅̓͜͜ͅ ̶̢͖̮̬̊̈́́͛́̅̋͗t̵̳͗̊̕h̷̨̧̗͇͉͓͌͂̈́̋͊̉̆̍̀ͅe̶̼̳͉̦̰͉͓͌́̏̈̓̅̒͒̿͆̚ ̷̡͉̗̪͉̭͖͖̺͔͎̮̆͑̇̓̾̽͛̚b̴̧̨̨̟̭̘̗̖̟̬̲̳͑̈́̓̿̅̿̏̎̂̓̕͜͝ė̶̥̰̰̌̎̑̈͐͘ţ̶͕͐̊̉̓͋̿̐͒̎̎͊̑̍͝͝r̵̞̙̲͗͌̽̉̈͆̆̽̈͆́̇a̴̧̨̢̪̟̜̱̜̰̝̺̖̬̓̀̓̎̃͛̆͑y̷͔̖̪̙͊͒͊̋̇̈̓ẻ̵̢̧̢͎͕̘̠͕̹̳̱̗̯̺̊̊d̴̨̧̡̫̝̫̩͎̹̜̮̗̲̀͑͌̊̐̊͐̂̀̾͘͜͠.̷̛̹̦̄̌̌̈̿́̍̂́̈̿͘͝ ̶̩͕̣͖͋̐̐͗̀̈́̓̀I̸̧̛͉̲̥̥͕̗̹̳͖̳͈͈̋͐͊͛͆̌̀̉͊̋͌͋͌͝ͅn̸̢̢̩̤̳̩̖̬͓͈̥̖͙͍̈́͐̈̓̉̇̂͊̕͘ͅ ̸̧̡̯̰̹̩̰͉̻̣̤̩͓͆̈́̂̽a̷̡̨̛̪̝͍̟̝͇̙͖̬̱̬̜̻̓͒̎d̴̹͗̎̋v̷͍͂̄́̇͝ȁ̶̡̨͉̼͓̬̬̼̬̣̱͖̘̹̑ṅ̶͍͇̪̮̮̞̼̱̯͉͓͇͚̟̣̉͋ç̷̙͚̹͕̟̃e̷̹̰̗͍̮̲̟̠̹̣͆̓̏̕,̵͈̮̱̖͚̄ ̴̟͎̲͓̞̜̗̜̱̹̤̩̤̠̃̒͂̆̐̊͑̕͝ͅą̸͇͇͖̜̜̉̌̓̍̈́̊͠͠ ̴̢͇̻̼̦̰͔̲̮̼̥͉̘̺̾͋̃̉̈p̴͎͖͚͓͍̝̦͉̙̂r̴̨̗̘̖͇̥̭̪̪̈́̉̾̏̉̇̾̾͂̀̍́͠͝i̸̧̧̨̡̺̺̱̗̬͇̞̜̪͆̅̂͑͊̂c̸͉̙̹̩̠̹͇̬̍̂̽̍̍͠e̴͈̦̘̪̹̥͙̝͐͊̉̓̌́̒̉͘ ̵̰̻̭̫͚͖̳͓̲̙͎͗̓͒̒̉͌̿̚̚͜͝͝͠͠m̵̛͔͈̟͈͚͉͈̫͍̝̠͍̺͍̿̋̍͜͝͝ü̸̜͎̩̤̲̝̿͆̍̚̕̚ͅs̴̢̢̨̺͈͇̲͔̱͕͔̬͚̩̠͐̽̈́͋̏̉̓̉t̵̮̖͈̘͕͗̄̌̌͗͒̆́̀̄̚͝ ̸̧̢̞̰̣̦̺͉͎͉̳͖̓̑͋̒̂̉̈́́̽̿͑̂̇͝͝b̴̡̢̡̙͚͓͕̟͕̈́͆͑́͛̈́̋ȩ̷̜̤̠͍͕͓̗̞͔̜̪̋͐̊ͅ ̴̢̤̍̓̓̕͜p̷̧͇̹̠͚̭̠̪̝̑̓̋́̋̐̈́̏a̴̢̛̱̙̞̺̭̰̬͙̽͂̍͋͒̆̒͐̌̽͘̚i̴̪̩̹̲͒͠d̷̠̥͔̠̈́̽̈́̓̿͒.̷̖̙̥͍̬̫͕̀̆̾̅̄̓'

'Take it! I don't care!'

'T̶̲͔̰̒͒̐̉̆̈́͂͂̚h̵̢̹͚̥̺̥͓͓̻̣̺͙̀̀̅͑̃̄̿̋̔͘͜͠͝ͅe̸̜̺͕̅̔͂͐̌̍̑́̑͆͌͗̕̚ ̸̨̠͍̹̅̍̉̔̇̆̐̑͐̋͘͝͠p̴̲͚̪̫̯͙̺͖̽̈́̉̐̕̚ȁ̶̧̮̠̮͎͝c̵̨̤͚̮̙̰̣̪͎̫̋͝ͅẗ̴͉̙̠͈͕̦̟́ ̷̿͗͊̇̂̎͒́͑̂̏̎͘͜͝í̴̧̲̹̞̭̫̬̼͈͈͉͌̂̉͜s̶͓̦̪̝̻͕̖̻̟̉̎ ̶̧̺͕̼͖̝̎̈́͌͂̃̕f̴̺͉̀͂̍͘͝ồ̶̪̀͌̏̀̍̓̏̐̀́̄͝͝r̸̡̧̜̗̰̮̤̹̜̱͖̲͓̂̿̀̅̓͠g̸̡̣͉̫̩͈̘̭͑́͜é̵̟̮̙̰͚̞͂͘͝d̷̞͙̘͉̳̈̇̃͌.̷̧̜͈̘̿̊ ̸̯̒͐͆́̉̽͊͐̊͛͝͝ͅB̷̬̝̙͖̀̈̎͝e̵͚͂̎͐̉̑̈́w̶̦͈̍̽̍ä̶̡̬̟͔̼̯̖̣̝͖͍̖̺́̋̐̋̃͒͘ŕ̵̹̱̖̤̬̺̜̮̘͕͓̰̲̻̯̀́̌̔̃̊̎̍̀́͐̓̕͠e̶̢̩͖̮͙͓͎̩̦͚̜̳͐̊͜ ̸̧̗̫̲̞͖̙̖͎͇͚̿͑̋̎̿̌̈́ÿ̸̛͙̭̘͕̭̥̖͉̯͖̹͖͍́̌̅̓̾͐͆̑̆̎͠ǫ̸̟̞̳̟̟͉̫̯̘̎̓͜͝u̶͖͍̞̪̞͙͔͗͊̂r̵̼̍̇̍͛͝ ̷̘͇̗͍̜̦̣̮̳̌̄͝h̸̲̜̓̅̆͛́̉̊͛̅͌̒͗̏͐͠ͅę̶̟̝͙̹͓͖͎͍͖̼̦̂͜͜a̴̢̝̰̞͒̈͑̆̽͋̏͝r̵̰̱͙̥͇̰̣̠͍̘̠̍̄t̸̮͓̝͕̪̆̍͑̾́̆̕ ̸̞͕̣͒̃͌̏͐̑͛̂̿d̴̺̩̠̻̠͙̰̑́ͅͅr̷̨̨̻̺̹̰̩̬̠̮̩̳̯̫̈́̈́͗͑̀̌̅̕͘͜ȁ̷̫̭̌̓̾͛͝͝w̶̩̹̫̯͍͇̻̤̫̲̙̤̩̝͉̓̾͊͐s̶̨̠͇̼͔͙̖͕̜͔̰̫̎̄̔̈́ ̸̡̧͇̰̘͚͚͍̜̻͖̫̰̔̍̇͜͜é̴̡̛̖̹͓͚̖̹͈̪̤̮̞̼͋͒́͂̊͛v̵̻̤̠̯̪͇̯̜̼͙̲̑é̶̹͖̪̠̲̣̘͎̫̂͐̑͐̕͠r̴̼̼̹̘͉̓́̄̔̅̊̅ ̶͈̖̙̗̗͎̩͚͙̌͐̒͋̋͌̽c̵̡͍̖̟̃̍͒͑͛ḷ̶̢̰̱͔͉̣̜̍͌̊̌̀̕ő̷̡̨̤͔̜̺̜̬̤̜̟͎̓͗͑͛̀̌̃̑̒̕͘̚͘͜͝s̸̻͉̔ȇ̸̻͕͎͈͖̳͈̟̼̣̌́̽͌̒̈͊̾́̾̄r̸̟͔̙̘̬̙̟̮̉̽͐̄̽̐̀ ̵̝̠̩̥̟͈̤̳͆̏̄̀̔̔̉͛͘̕͠t̸̹̟̯̺͕̠̝̼͈̤̱͈̜̮͆̐͊̋̋͜͝ơ̶̛̝̣̗̲̘̬͍͖̳̄͛́̌͛̐̒͘ ̸̢̧̡̢͖̣͙̮̱̩̜̱̤͆͆͑͌͌̓͜͜D̵̨̧̺̱͕̬̳̪̳̫̰̊̏͒̽̇͌͐̾̉̈́̈́̓̈͜͜a̵̜͎͎̜̥̻͛̎̓̕r̵͔̮̤̝͓̪͖̥̫̻͎̆́̀͜͝ķ̷̢̛͖͓̩̞̳̩̠͇̙͍̗͑̾͛̅̈́̂̃̚̕̚͝͝ṇ̴̹̩͖̤͒̿͛̔̓͆ê̴̢̧̦͓̬̤̟͖̊͗̈́̈́̃͌̅̊̕͝s̴̨̳̥̑́̄̏̈͌͂̇s̸̩̘̈̿͐̏͐̇͘,̷̥̃̂̏̾ ̸̨̻͇̳̮͔̟̱̺͙͇͛̽͜b̸̡̛͕̮̩̣̘̺̖͚̟̹̼̺̥͐͌͑̂̾͋̋̾̔̆̊͐͌̚ṵ̵͍͔̞̒̍̄̈́͐̚͜t̷̡̖̠̺̮̲̝͎̪̠̣̆̑̈͂͛̒̈́̀͐ ̸̥̣͇̩̦̺̽̑̀̒f̷͔͘e̶̡̧̨̨͚̜͙̙̻̲͎͇̝̱̺͛͑̅͝͝ä̷͚́͝r̵͉̞͈̙̻͍̪͇̎̈́͑̐͐͌̚͠͝ ̸̡̜̝̺̥̲̩̼̺̰̫͌̑̍͛̾̿̍͌͐͛̚͜͝n̶̝̹͓̐̔̄̀̀̂̔̉̈̾͝͝o̶͉̱̊̈͛̒̉͝ẗ̷̜̟̱̠͗̂͛̀̅̊.̵̢̡̗̙͖͉͋͊̉̓̄'

Darkness began pouring out of my body finally. My wounds healing, breathing becoming easier, and my armor repaired itself. Though, all the dread I felt turned to hatred. I felt something burning on my chest and on my back as I tried to get up, but the pain numbed itself almost as quickly as it came. Upon seeing me get up, the woman tilted her head slightly, took one look at Yang, and left through a dark red portal she created by slicing the air with her sword. Adam stepped closer to Yang, ready to finish her, but Blake jumped in to protect her.

"Why must you hurt me, Blake?" He asked before trying to decapitate her. I moved faster than my mind could register and caught his sword with my hand as she finally ran away with Yang. "How are y-"

"Dark Firaga!" I blasted him back, a large black hand with red finger tips (think back to Terra's Dark mode) caught him and slammed him into the ground before throwing him straight up. I summoned Dawn, but it was different, it appeared as though it was entirely made out of bone. So this is what that voice meant, Way to Dawn has become Price of Exile (see I think it was chapter 9 or 10 for it's description). I flew up and attacked him, he blocked it, but still hit the ceiling.

"I will make you suffer!" I used a shotlock on him again, swirling blades of darkness were launched at him as bone spikes shot out of the ground. He blocked the blades and avoided the spikes.

"Why are you defending her? She just abandoned you like she abandoned me!"

"..." I airstepped behind him and struck his back, he turned around and tried to attack me. His movements felt so slow right now, I had no trouble deflecting him. He jumped back and threw his sword at me, it swirled like the blades I shot him with. I flipped Exile so I was holding the bone claws near the back end of it and caught his sword between the guard and hilt, throwing it away.

"I should've made s- AAAAGGHHH!" I airstepped to him, launching him in the air and slamming him into the ground repeatedly. He still has plenty of aura left.

"Gravira!" Now he's pinned enough for me to do what comes next.

"You made the mistake of hurting two people I love, now you and the rest of the White Fang can burn for all I care! That is something I cannot forgive!" I held him down with the hand from earlier.

"Not until I've made humanity pay for what they've done!" He shouted.

"All worlds begin and end in Darkness. The heart is no different, yours too steeped in it, eaten away by it. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is it's nature. In the end, every heart returns to the Darkness whence it came. Darkness is the heart's true essence. Every Light will fade, every heart return to Darkness!" I knelt down and removed his mask, I'm no longer capable of sympathy for him, not that I would be able to when he's looking at me with those hate-filled eyes.

"From Shadows, you descended upon the world. From Darkness, a messenger sent. And now, both call you home." I kicked his face as he struggled to break free. I threw him towards his sword as I wasn't done with him yet and created a projection of him to fight.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance." He taunted, like he's expecting to win this fight.

"I said I would make you suffer, and I'm a man of my word when it counts." He dashed toward me, but was intercepted by the fake. At this point, it can keep up with him easily. They both keep meeting each other blow for blow, neither has landed a solid hit. After finally pushing the fake back, Adam shot me, but the hand blocked the shots. The fake was about to unleash the ranged attack like he used against me, so it can copy a Semblance to an extent as well potentially? The attack was nowhere near Adam's, but still good to know. Adam destroyed the fake's attack and it before dashing to me.

"Stopga!" I casted when he was about half way. I am definitely going to be feeling this later.

'As the Cursebearer, source of thy power.'

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power."

'I offer thee this gift, this shard of my soul.'

"I offer thee this gift, this shard of my soul."

'Until such time passes, that my enemy ceases to be.'

"Until such time passes, that my enemy ceases to be."

'Shall he never draw power from his again.'

"Shall he never draw power from his again."

'Soulrend!'

"Soulrend!"

My aura felt as though it was ripped out of my body, it all disappeared as a bright red ord appeared in front of me. The same happened to Adam as Stopga ended. He fell to the floor, he had difficulty breathing, he looked to be in pain as he looked up at me.

"Faunus does not mean animal or monster. But you made the choice, the mistake of letting that Grimm mask define who and what you were." I used the claws on Exile and stabbed him through his hands, pinning him to the ground and causing him to scream as loud as he could before I pointed Exile towards his heart. "Perhaps Blake could have stopped you if she stayed with you. Perhaps she could have saved you from becoming a monster. But you? You should considered her before deciding YOUR justice, YOUR liberation was more important."

"What would-what would you know?" He asked weakly.

"The goal of the savior is not to be lionized, but in your case, it might have worked. I believed you to be the most likely candidate to be the martyr that almost single handedly saves the Faunus. But you just had to hurt them. I lost one family, and it'll be a cold day in hell before I lose another! Return to Darkness!" I thrusted Exile into his chest. As his heart rose from his body and he faded away, I grabbed his heart.

"Dark Firaga." After several seconds, the flames died down and my aura returned to me, his heart... I don't really care. He's dead. I looked down at my chest and saw an incomplete Heartless emblem, probably on my back too. "Problems for later if I can't cover them up." Right now, getting back to the others is all that matters. First, I'm collecting Lionheart and reloading it, Adm's weapons, and my mask.

Did I forget how to turn off my Darkness? It's not working.

(Back at the docks in front of the school)

Port and Oobleck are trying to direct everyone onto airships. Everyone else looks worn out, others look like they might be injured.

"That's it, everybody on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!" Port ordered the students.

"A safe zone has been established in Vale! Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas persone!" Oobleck advised everyone. I saw Ruby and Weiss and immediately made my way towards them.

"Ruby! Cassiel!" Weiss said, relieved.

"Oh, I found you two!" Ruby said, relieved as well.

"Where have you-"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ruby interrupted. "What's going on?"

"Well for starters-" I tried to explain. Ruby looked past Weiss and was horrified at what she saw.

"And you!" Weiss interrupted. "What happened? Blake came back with Yang looking like this, and she's barely said anything since! And what's with the new look?" I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that now of all times. I ignored her and walked towards Blake and Yang. Yang was unconscious, and Blake was holding her wound with one hand and holding Yang's hand with the other.

"I'm sorry..." She apologized, tears in her eyes.

"Curaga." I healed everyone around me. They were still exhausted, but wounds that could heal were no longer an issue. This caught her attention.

"Cassiel?" She said in disbelief. I knelt down and placed Adam's weapons in front of her.

"It's not your fault. He won't be harming another anymore." I placed my hand on hers and Yang's. "You are not responsible for this! You abandoned no one!" I wiped the tears from her eyes. "I should be apologizing, you and Yang were hurt because I-"

"Stop, please???"

"Hey..." Sun joined in. "They're gonna be okay." He assured us. "The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale."

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing! *groans*" Nora said, worried for her team.

"What??!!" Ruby said.

"Look guys, that giant Grimm keeps circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go... Now!" Sun warned.

"We're not leaving- *groans*" Ren said, unwilling to leave his team behind.

"Blake, I'll be back. I promise." I told her as I resummoned Exile.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Cassiel, whatever you're planning, bad idea. Very bad idea!" Sun said.

"I think I know who's up there, that's at least one more head on my wall tonight!" I flew up, ignoring anyone telling me to stop. Along the way, I saw a locker fly past me. Ah, that can't be important.

(Top of Beacon tower)

The Dragon doesn't seem interested in me. Good, if it can't be subdued, that's one less problem I'll have to deal with. I saw Cinder inside, she looked to be speaking to it, not for long.

"Firaga!" I shattered the window and landed inside.

"Cassiel?" She said, surprised.

"Where are Emerald and Mercury?" I asked.

"Don't worry, they're elsewhere right now." She answered. The elevator opened up, a sword was thrown at Cinder.

(KH3, Vanitas and Terra-Xehanort)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3wOcv-HkpY&list=PLn6S7pf-eGEGgdIBH6WAX7Hmxl0jRH-5I&index=177

"Barrier!" I blocked the sword, the shield, and Pyrrha's added force. Pyrrha looked at me in shock.

"Cassiel?" She looked at me angrily. "Why are you helping her? What happened to you?" She asked.

"I'm not helping her, I'm protecting you. Leave! You can't win!" I told her.

"Ozpin-"

"Aero!" I interrupted and threw her back into the elevator.
"Gravity!" Goodbye!

"Not even your headmaster could stop me. What makes you so sure you can?" Cinder asked confidently.

"He was a fool, he was weak, and you're not the only one who got a power boost nor are you the only one who can use magic."

"Hmph. You know, you gave Emerald quite a scare."

"It's a shame she's not here, I would've enjoyed killing her."

"So you did see through her tricks? Impressive. I know of Someone who I think would quite like to meet you. Maybe you should consider changing sides?" She offered.

"Salem."

"Oh? So Ozpin told you did he?"

"Next to nothing though. It doesn't take a genius with a polygraph to know he's lying or not telling you what you need to know. Like how he told me nothing about the Maidens. I had to eavesdrop when he tried to involve Pyrrha."

"So you know? Less to talk about then. Now, about my offer? I'm sure She could find a good place for you in Her new world."

"Two of the people I cherish most were hurt because of the actions of you, your team, and Adam. I'm going to kill you, then I'm killing your pawns, your accomplices, and then Salem! Adam was first on that list!"

"Such a shame. You could be so much-" I airstepped to her and launched her to the window. It cracked as she hit it.

"Thundaga!" She blocked it with glass, so you're THAT bitch I thought as she shot me with a stream of fire.

"Reflega!" She was shot out the window, the rest of the windows broke as well. She flew back up, angry at what jusg happened.

"You're going to pay for that." She said.

"Not before I rip out that heart of yours." I turned Exile into a scythe and readied a shotlock. I didn't notice the Dragon flying towards us and nearly lost my balance as it crashed into the top of the tower, destroying everything but the floor we were standing on. This did interrupt me unfortunately. She was the first to recover and shot more flames at me. I kept airstepping around her until I got a clear shot from behind.

"Blizzaga!" Ice hit her in the back.
"Graviga!" It pulled her to the ground and held her there for a second. Before I could press the attack, a shield flipped her back by hitting her legs. The giant cogs and gears around us were then used to assault her and trap her. I turned and saw Pyrrha back up here (LIKE SHE SHOULDN'T BE!) and controlling the metal keeping her in place. I didn't notice the explosion about to happen though and got launched off the tower as one of the gears hit me. I saw a Nevermore flying towards me, actually, it's trying to catch me, one from earlier I'm guessing. I landed on it and scratched just behind the mask-like part.

"Thank you, good to see you're still around. Now would you kindly fly me to the top?"

*CAW*

It did as I asked and started flying straight up. Unfortunately, I was too late. I arrived just in time to see Cinder fire an arrow into Pyrrha's chest, Ruby arrived to see that as well. I felt my anger rising again, she did nothing to deserve this! She did exactly what a Huntress was supposed to do, but failed. And Ruby? That look of heartbreak, I don't think I need to say more. She's suffered enough for one night let alone a lifetime. I drew Lionheart, ready to shoot Cinder as I readied another shotlock as Pyrrha turned to... Who cares!

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" I shouted as I shot Cinder. She just smiled sadistically as she blocked each shot.

"You're going to need more than that." She taunted.

"PYRRHA!" Ruby screamed in anguish. Light pouring out of her eyes, I heard the Dragon screech, then I felt pain. A lot of it, 0-13 in an instant, then everything became dark.

Has Ruby been holding out on us?

I regained consciousness just in time to see Qrow pick up Ruby.

"It's all right, I gotcha kiddo. I gotcha." He said as he came over to me. "Gonna need a little help with you." I tried to get up, but I couldn't, everything hurt too much. He loaded Ruby onto an airship as two soldiers did the same for me.

"Is she okay?" So I can speak, but I can't move? Figures.

"She'll be fine. Now get some rest, they told me what happened. A leader of the White Fang and Cinder on the same night? That's no easy feat." He complimented.

"Yang? Blake?" I asked.

"Yang's being treated by Atlas now in the safe zone, she should be in stable condition. As for Blake? She's fine, wants to see you from what I've heard. You've made an impression on her." He smiled.

"Where is she?" I struggled to sit up.

"The safe zone as well."

"Weiss?"

"Her old man came and got her, they're on their way to Atlas now."

"Drop me off where Blake is."

"That was the plan."

(Safe zone in Vale)

"Alright kid! Here's your drop off!" Qrow said. I had difficulty walking, but I could do it now. They landed and I exited the ship. I saw James, but ignored him. Making my way inside, it didn't take long for me to find Blake, she was sitting by Yang who was still unconscious. I sat next to Blake and after seeing who it was, she practically jumped out of her seat and hugged me.

"You came back!" She cried into my shoulder.

"I said I would." I returned the hug. "I hurt all over, I feel weak, but I'm here."

I just let her cry, not sure what I should be doing. Running my fingers through her hair feels right... I have no idea what I'm doing!

~~Adam~~
Cinder
Emerald
Mercury
Salem

I'm going to kill them eventually.

Author's Notes:

Finally thought of a complete/ combined shotlock. Xemnas, I'm taking one from you!
Also, taking one from Ansem and Xehanort, and making small changes.
And taking one from the RWBY OSTs "From Shadows" and "Nevermore".

I know several of you might not be happy regarding Blake getting stabbed and Yang losing an arm, but I wanted to put in a reason for Cassiel to finally snap. To as one reader put it: "show just how far he has come to becoming human again". I also saw no reason I couldn't put in Yang's mother for a few moments even though I wasn't planning to do so originally in this route.

I also know some aren't happy about Pyrrha's death, kind of had to happen for the silver eyes and development on Cassiel.

Finding a soundtrack for the Cinder fight was a PAIN!

I regret NOTHING!

S4?

Chapter 40.

View Online

Cassiel POV

So I'm in worse condition than ever. It's gotten to the point I need to use Lionheart or Nightfall as a makeshift cane to get around. Why not Exile? Well I have an idea of what caused the issue, but I'll need to hear it from Qrow first. Maybe I should take a few steps back before I get into anything.

So back at the safe zone, after Blake and I had... I guess you could say it was a "heart to heart", since such things are still confusing to me, I won't go into details aside from if I meant what I said before Adam fucked up and if the 3 year age difference didn't matter to me. She understands that it'll be much slower than whatever passes for a normal relationship, didn't stop her from sleeping on my shoulder once and I swear I heard her purring again. Anyway, Grimm were trying to attack the safe zone, just a few Beowolves and Ursas, nothing major. I was still in quite a bit of pain and had difficulty moving around, but I figured I could still shoot everything. How should I describe it? Bringing out my Darkness hurt me... A lot. Summoning Exile hurt my arm just as much. And my regular magic was constantly misfiring. Cure HURT me MORE than Fire! Explain that in a way I can understand, I dare you to try!

So Lionheart, and Nightfall's bow and wingblades were my safest means of self defense. That same day, Qrow said he wanted to speak to me after Ruby woke up, before he could leave though, I asked him if he could find Adam's weapon. It took him a few hours, but he did it. Later, while I was talking to Blake, she said she would be going back to Menagerie and asked if I would come with her while I recover. I told her I'd catch up and used Nightfall to open a portal of Light to show her what I meant. I wanted to at least wait until Ruby woke up and hear what Qrow had to talk about first. She took the next flight out of Vale, had she waited a little longer though, she would've been there when Yang woke up. To say Yang was devastated was an understatement.

I wasn't able to do much besides stay by her side. There was one thing that came up later, and since I'm in control of my own dreams, I felt I should at least do this one thing that matters more than trying to reassure and comfort her as best I could, but I didn't exactly know how. She was finally shipped off with Ruby and Qrow, I was brought along as well to probably the most welcoming home you can imagine and was offered the bed close to Ruby's. Before that though, James tried to speak to me, he got a gun to his face again and I told him to not even think about contacting me unless he gives Yang the best prosthetic money can buy. The first night back home, someone should have been with her, she... A nightmare is putting it lightly given her situation. After her father, Taiyang left the room, I stayed right outside until she fell asleep again. As creepy as this might sound, I was originally just going to watch for if she was suffering another nightmare and try to calm her down without waking her, but something else came up. As the Cursebearer, I'm apparently able to help without harming anyone. Her nightmares? She's no longer having them, I would be if I couldn't control my own dreams.

Ruby was still out for another day. Yang stayed in her room, Taiyang stayed close by Ruby, and I have no idea what Qrow was doing half the time, not that I had much interest. In my current state, I couldn't really do anything productive aside from help around the house to just have something to do. Probably about halfway through the day, Ruby finally woke up and Taiyang was the first to greet her like any parent should if possible. I was in the bed next to hers, reading a book at the time. The rundown is as follows:

Ruby did a number on the Dragon, but didn't kill it, freezing it instead.
The Dragon keeps attracting more Grimm, leaving the school a "do not enter zone".
Vale is under control.

If it weren't for me being so weak right now, I would just fly over there and kill the Dragon now, but I'll take a bit of good news over none. Ruby still has yet to notice me, not that I'm trying. Qrow got in here without anyone noticing and asked Taiyang if he could give them a moment. He reluctantly did so, obviously wanting a bit more time with his daughter before he left. After he left, Qrow pulled up the chair Taiyang was sleeping on and sat next to Ruby's bed.

"So... How you feeling?" He asked Ruby.

"Um... I kind of hurt... All over." She answered.

"Welcome to my world." I said, finally getting her attention.

"Cassiel? What are- what do you mean?" She asked.

"I've been in pain for a while now. Can't use one of my weapons, and a large portion of my power either without hurting myself." I answered.

"That makes sense, you should consider yourself lucky." Qrow said to me before turning to Ruby. "Especially after what you did."

"You guys keep saying that! That I did something. What are you talking about?" Qrow leaned forward in his chair.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Ruby looked down as she tried to remember.

"I ran up the side of the tower. And when I got to the top, I-*gasps* Pyrrha! Is she...?"

"The closest she can get to a proper funeral is a headstone. I'm sorry." I apologized.

"I-I... I..." She started choking up. "I got to the top and I saw Pyrrha... And you..." She said looking at me before looking back down at the bed. "And Cinder." She said her name angrily. "And then everything went white."

"Anything else?" Qrow asked.

"I remember... My head hurting."

"The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?" He asked. I definitely want to hear this.

"I don't know... I think it was something about-"

"Silver eyes." He helped. "That's an extremely rare trait." The hell do her eyes have to do with this?

"So?" Ruby's thoughts are the same as mine right now.

"You're special, Ruby. And not in the 'daddy loves his special angel' kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories. Some of them true, some of them made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before kingdoms. It was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm - the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered - were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike down a Grimm." He explained.

"You mean to tell me that I need to stab and shoot Grimm repeatedly to kill them, but she can look at them and they'll die of a heart attack? Ruby? One of the most innocent-looking, harmless people I've ever met, can look at something and kill it?" I asked as I tried to understand what I just heard.

"Hehehe, a ridiculous story, I know." Qrow said.

"But.. You think that I might be..." She started.

"Well... That giant monster's currently frozen on top of Beacon tower. And you're here, safe in bed." He got out of his chair and walked towards the window.

"Wait... Wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me? The night we met..." She asked.

"All those missions I go on, all the times I'm away in some far off place... It's been for Ozpin. But he's missing now." Don't you mean dead? I don't think Cinder leaves survivors. "Something's been set in motion... And with Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off."

"Then what can I do? If I'm so special, then I can help! Right?" Ruby asked.

"You really want to help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now." He took a few steps toward the door. "Besides, our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you. Catch ya later, kiddo." He said on his way out.

"I guess I brought this on myself." I said as I laid back on the bed.

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

"The silver eye thing? I saw it, and felt it." I answered.

"I... I don't understand. What did you bring on yourself?"

"Back there, before we met back up with everyone. When Adam nearly killed me, when he hurt Blake and Yang, I heard a voice as he was fighting someone else. Who she was, I don't know, though she did buy enough time for me to get back up."

"A voice?"

"I sometimes hear voices from out of nowhere. Only a few words at a time, never full sentences, though they've helped a lot. Back then, I was basically offered power at a price, the price so far being my heart drawing closer to Darkness."

"I... What?"

"Ruby, have I ever told you what Heartless are?" I know I've told the others, I don't think I've told her.

"Heartless?" Well, that answers that question.

"Think of Grimm, but they are pure Darkness. I don't mean the metaphorical or physical kind exactly, I mean Darkness as in the primordial sense, though they rarely leave the Realm of Darkness, certainly not without my master knowing. You remember all those times, especially back then when a sort of dark mist was seeping out of me?"

"Yeah, it looked pretty cool too!"

"That was me drawing power from it. My heart is closer to the Darkness than ever. The power is nice, but one misstep, one more moment of desperation, and I could lose myself. It may have told me not to fear, but this is by it's very nature, a power more dangerous than Light. I would become a Heartless, and unless they can be sapient, I would basically become something as intelligent, but worse than Grimm. They don't kill like the Grimm, they devour hearts, not the organ, but I guess you could say the heart is similar to the soul in this case, and become more powerful when they do it." I began to explain.

"Cassiel... I don't-"

"As a keyblade wielder" I summoned Nightfall. "my heart is like a grand feast to them. Having 2, well, it makes that look like lunch." I dismissed Nightfall. "They grow in power with every heart they consume, but what about a keyblade wielder who becomes a Heartless? Especially depending on how strong they are? How strong their heart is and it's alignment? I would expect them to be powerful enough to make that Dragon look like a Beowolf in comparison."

"Where are you going with this?" She asked, wanting a straight answer. I opened up my cloak and showed her the incomplete Heartless emblem on my chest.

"If Grimm truly are creatures of Darkness, and silver eyes the ultimate weapon against them, then it stands to reason that the eyes are a power born from Light. Just as the keyblade is supposedly the ultimate weapon against Heartless, so too are the eyes to Grimm. Who's to say the eyes can't do the same to Heartless, or Darkness in general? Your eyes put me in this state, Ruby." I finally gave her the answer she was asking for.

"What??!! But...I-I... I didn't..." She started tearing up again. I got out of the bed and sat on hers.

"No one could have predicted that, Ruby. It's not like anything was broken, just a lot of pain, nothing that time and painkillers can't heal I hope. Besides," I put a hand on her shoulder. "that Dragon is worse off than me and I'm sure Cinder felt that a lot worse than I did!" I moved my hand to her other shoulder and pulled her closer. "You and the rest of the team are like family to me, I can't blame you for something like this." She leaned into me for a few seconds.

"Thank you."

"When you're feeling up to it, I'm sure Yang would like to see you. Might improve her mood, even if it's only a little." I got off her bed and back on mine. "As for me? Well, I'll be around for a bit longer before I go."

"Go where?"

"To Menagerie, with Blake. For now though, I think I'll stay another day or two. At this moment? I think I'll take a nap, I am sore all over."

"I'm sorry." Didn't we just go over this, Ruby?

"Don't be, it's not your fault." I told her as I got under the covers. "Ruby?"

"What's up?"

""All worlds begin and end in Darkness. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is it's nature. In the end, every heart returns to the Darkness whence it came. Darkness is the heart's true essence. Every Light will fade, every heart return to Darkness." I said to her almost exactly what I said to Adam. "However, if Darkness truly cannot exist without Light, then that doesn't mean every Light must die. Light can, and if the Light is true, will burn away the Darkness, the pain, the hate, and rage. Yours is one of few Lights that I hope will never fade. It is a truly precious thing."

"Uuuhhh... What?" She asked, not understanding what I said.

"If you ever find yourself in true Darkness, call out to me, and I'll shield you from it if I hear you, and I will be your Vergil back home." She won't get it, but maybe it'll save her life.

"Can you stop being cryptic for two seconds?" She asked, a little annoyed.

"Maybe?" Probably not. "Last thing, if you ever see Cinder or her team, call me, and if I answer, I'll be there to finish the job. I'll gladly take that Darkness once more into myself."

"Cassiel..."

It's better if I do it. Trust me on that.

Chapter 41.

View Online

S4 E1

Cinder POV

(Evernight Castle, war room)

That fight with those brats has left me... Unable to fight for the moment, losing an arm and eye will do that. Humiliating is what that was! The eyes! That boy's power! My mission was a success for the most part, but that isn't making my return any more welcoming than it would otherwise, not that I can voice it right now. Tyrian is still insane, and annoying, Hazel is indifferent, and Watts is still as arrogant and condescending as ever. I snapped my fingers to catch Emerald's and Mercury's attention from the window and the Grimm spawning below us so they come to the table.

"Yes, yes, please keep your... Posse... In check." Watts said.

Mercury needed to be stopped from doing something stupid by Emerald.

"You hear that?" He asked. "Silence. I've half the mind to thank that little girl and boy that bested you." If looks could kill, he would be dead right now.

"If I were you, I'd hunt them down... Find them, and... Well, they took YOUR eye, didn't they?" Tyrian, the scorpion tailed Faunus said before he broke out into his psychotic laughing fit. Does he honestly think I wouldn't if I were able?

I tried to respond, but I couldn't. As Emerald leaned over to hear and speak in my place, Watts opened his mouth again.

"Pathetic. Why did you even-" The doors opened, silencing everyone, and demanding we stand at attention as Salem walked in and passed her seat, standing at the altar-like construct behind it.

"Watts." She addressed him. "Do you find such malignance necessary?" She asked before waving her hand down, allowing the rest of us to sit.

"I apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure." He answered before taking his seat.

"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder. She's become our Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower... And most importantly... Killed dear Ozpin." She listed, pleased. "So I'm curious. To what 'failures' are you referring?"

"Well... The girl with the silver eyes and the magic boy who can control Grimm."

"Yes." Hazel spoke up. "We've dealt with her kind before, though he is a new one. How is it two novices were able to best one of us?"

"My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless." Watts agreed.

"It is BECAUSE of the Maiden's power." Salem began to explain. "Make no mistake, Cinder. You hold the key to our victory. But your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness... Which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment." Damnit! "Doctor Watts. You are to take Cinder's place and meet with our informant in Mistral."

"Very good."

"Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden."

"Hehehe. Gladly." Doesn't take much to please him.

"And Hazel... Has Adam been found?"

"No... I believe he may have been bested at Beacon. Most likely by the boy."

"And he's supposed to be a 'novice'? No matter. Your next assignment is to ensure the loyalty of Sienna Khan. Adam secured the meeting before Beacon fell, I'll leave it to you."

"As you wish." He said, nodding his head. I needed Emerald to speak for me.

"Speak, child." Salem told Emerald as she stood back up.

"She wants to know... What about the girl and her friend?" Emerald said. Watts scoffed.

"What about them? Seems to me that this is Cinder's problem, not ours." He said. I slammed my hand on the table, of course he would say that! The bastard just smiled at my reaction.

"That's enough." Salem said, putting a stop to the problem before it became one. "Tyrian?"

"Yes, my lady?" He said, tilting his head.

"Spring can wait. Find the children that did this to Cinder." He started acting like a child, a disturbingly excited child. "And bring them to me." His excitement was immediately replaced with disappointment. "Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen... And Haven will be next." She said to all of us. As we all stood back up, Tyrian had oone thing to say to me.

"An eye for an eye..." And now he's laughing again. How I wish I could end that my way. "But who to capture first?" Will you shut up??!!

S4 E3

Cassiel POV

Ruby and Qrow have been gone for a while now. I'm still resting in Taiyang's home, and I still feel like shit. At least the company is pleasant. Slowly making my way down the stairs, using Lionheart as a makeshift cane, I saw Yang sitting on the couch. She had a defeated look on her face.

"Mind if I sit down?" I asked.

"Sure, go ahead." She sounds about as bad as she looks, not in the way you might be thinking. As I took a seat next to her, she turned on the news. She lingered on a channel talking about who was behind the attack. Officials confirmed Adam was present, but it would seem they couldn't find him. They better not find a fucking body. I wrapped an arm around Yang, causing her to tense up for a second.

"There's nothing left of him besides his weapon, I made sure of that. He can't hurt anyone, especially you and Blake ever again."

"I know..." She looked like she wanted to say something else, but the front door opened up.

"I'm home!" Taiyang announced, carrying in a few bags and boxes. Yang leaned back to see him.

"Hey dad." She greeted.

"Guess what came in today?" He said, excited.

"What?" Yang asked.

"I can't wait for you to try this." He said as he took everything into the kitchen, then came back with a long and thin white box. He set it on the table, it had the insignia for Atlas on top. "Well?"

"It's... For me?"

"For you and you only." He smiled. She opened it, a prosthetic arm, and looks brand new. "Brand new, state of the art Atlas tech." Yang just stared at it like she's trying to comprehend what's in front of her. "You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favors. But you earned this one all on your own, kiddo."

"Huh?"

"Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working on this... For you. He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself."

"So me pointing a gun at him and telling him to never contact me again unless he gave Yang a new arm had nothing to do with this?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, you did what??!!" Both asked me at the same time.

"Come on, it's not the first time I pointed a weapon at him."

"Again, WHAT??!!" Taiyang shouted. Yang looked back at the arm, then looked away.

"I uh... I'm not feeling too great right now. Maybe later?" She said. Taiyang was disappointed, but respected it nonetheless.

"Well, alright." He said. Yang stood up and walked about halfway up the stairs before she stopped.

"Thanks, dad." After a few more seconds, she continued, up to her room I'm assuming. I closed the box and handed it to Taiyang.

"She'll try it on. You said it yourself, she won't let this stop her." I said as he took the box.

"I still hate seeing her like this." A saddened look on his face.

"Her flames will reignite, and burn brighter in the long run. She'll get better much sooner thanks to that new arm."

"I hope you're right..."

"I'm always right. Anyway..." I got off the couch myself. "I should probably get going."

"And where are you off to in your condition?" He asked, concerned I was being reckless.

"First I'm going to say goodbye to Yang. Then I'm heading to Menagerie."

"That's a long trip, sure you don't need help yourself?"

"I have a way there in a fraction of the time. I'll be fine." I reached the stairs. "Before I go, I think I'd like to see Summer Rose's grave."

"Mind if I ask why?" He asked, slowly.

"I remember hearing Yang talk about her before Beacon fell. Because of what Summer was forced to leave behind." I answered. "If she was anything like Ruby, I think we would have gotten along just fine. Of all the things she would regret, not being able to be around for your family would probably be what she would regret most, but she should be proud of what she left behind. Proud of you for keeping the family together, proud of her daughters for what they've become despite the tragedy. You've done the best anyone could ask for from someone in your position and then some, your daughters are proof of that." He looked down at the floor, tears falling down to the floor. His shoulders trembled a little before he wiped away the tears and looked back up at me.

"Thank you. I'll be outside waiting." He walked out the door, closing it behind him. I continued up the stairs to Yang's room, it was closed, so I knocked.

"Come in." She said. I entered and leaned against the wall, letting myself slide down until I was sitting.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. I'll be leaving shortly." She looked at me in surprise.

"So soon? You still don't look good enough for travel." I summoned Nightfall to open a portal.

"The trip is shorter than you would think." I closed it and dismissed Nightfall. "And you're worried about my condition? You're the one that suffered what would be permanent damage without that new arm."

"Can we not talk about that?"

"Let me just say a few things before I say goodbye to family for the unforeseeable future. You're going to make it through this, Yang. Had I been stronger, that monster wouldn't have hurt you and Blake. I don't think I can ever apologize enough for what happened. The least I could do was make your nights less terrifying."

"What do you mean by that? You weren't watching me sleep, were you?" About that...

"That was actually my first idea, but then another one presented itself. Let's just say that I'm suffering your nightmares for you." I answered.

"Uuhh... I'm gonna need more to go on than that..." She said slowly.

"It doesn't have to make sense to you. As the Cursebearer, I decided that your nightmares would become my curse. You've been sleeping soundly since the first time you woke up, screaming. That's because I made them my own." I explained without going into detail. She looked down at her arm, gripping it lightly.

"It's not your fault, what happened to either of us." She said, her eyes tearing up.

"Blake said the same thing, but that doesn't make me feel any less guilty." I struggled to stand back up, seeing this, she helped me get back on my feet before hugging me. I returned it before finishing what I was saying. "I can't help you in anyway that your father isn't already trying without making you feel worse, so let me keep doing this one thing for you? At least let me ensure your nights aren't filled with nightmares?" I asked, looking up at her, though I'm not sure I could even give them back. She looked at me for the longest time like she thought no matter how I put it, it still wouldn't sit right with her.

"Alright." She hugged me a little tighter. "Just ask me first before doing something like this again, okay?"

"That's not a promise I'm going to make, sorry." She let me go.

"It was worth a try. Be safe, alright?"

"Heh, define 'safe'?"

"*sigh* I guess that's the best I'll get out of you, huh? Well, I'll be seeing you."

"If you need me, I'll be just a call away, assuming I'm not preoccupied that is. Goodbye for now." I went to retrieve Adam's weapons that I wrapped in cloth a short time ago before going out front to meet with Taiyang so he could lead the way to Summer's grave. It was by a cliff not far from the home, close enough that a daily visit from loved ones could more than likely be squeezed into one's schedule, mourning or otherwise accepted it.

'Thus kindly I scatter? That sounds familiar.' Taiyang took a few steps back to give some space. I took a closer look at the emblem, I guess Ruby's carrying on her legacy in more ways than one.

"Never thought I'd be speaking to a headstone." I kept my voice low in case Taiyang doesn't like something I say. "Then again, I never thought anything in the past several months would happen, what's one more surprise? If the dead really do watch over the living, then I'm sure you know what just happened to Beacon? What happened to your daughters and the team? For what it's worth to the dead, I'm sorry I couldn't do more for them. Despite that though, Ruby is off doing her own thing, probably the same thing you would have done, and Yang is on her way to recovery."

"You were in Ozpin's circle, weren't you? I imagine he tries to recruit silver eyed warriors whenever possible? I doubt you were just killed, rather, you willingly paid the price so others could continue the fight? To go against impossible odds, knowing you would fail, but it was your resolve that I hope made some kind of impact on this war? If I know Ruby, she's probably about to get involved herself, but she has Qrow watching over her I'm sure. The rest of the team is probably going to follow, as much as I'd prefer they stay out of it. As for my standpoint now? Revenge. If you were anything like Ruby, then that's one more thing worth avenging. I swear, your sacrifice will not have been in vain. I'll end Salem, and put an end to this so they don't have to. That is a promise I intend to keep." I summoned Nightfall and opened a portal.

"I guess this is goodbye for now." Taiyang said as he walked towards me.

"It is. I'm sure you or at least your daughters and the rest of the team will see me again though." I responded.

"Take care, alright?" He said as I walked through the portal.

The first thing I noticed was the time of day. It was around 4 or 5 pm when I left Taiyang's home, the sun hadn't gone down enough to be considered setting, now it is. Probably 2 or 3 hours ahead. The next thing I noticed was that I was on a boat and we were far enough out that land couldn't be seen, and I was near the top of the boat. I summoned Nightfall as wingblades to get a better view, maybe find Blake above deck. She was on the right side of the boat, leaning towards the railing. I landed a good distance away as to not startle her and give myself room to land. As I started making my way towards her, I had an idea. I reached for my scroll and called her. It took her a few seconds to pick up.

"Cassiel? Is everything okay?"

"Still in pain, but otherwise I'm fine. You?"

"Waiting for the ship to land in Menagerie, I forgot how long the trip felt from Menagerie to Vale. Are you on your way?"

"If you'll look to your right, you'll see I'm already here." I hung up and made my way towards her as she turned to me, smiling lightly.

(I couldn't really find a better one, ignore Sun's presence, he is not here)

"How did you get here?" Did I forget to show her the other portals I can use?

"Portals, they will never not be bullshit." I removed my mask and looked her up and down, I think I like the new look, though something was missing. "I see you're not wearing the bow. You decide you don't need it anymore, or just for Menagerie?"

"I'm done hiding what I am." She answered. I looked at my mask.

"Maybe one day, I'll do away with the mask for good." I looked back at her. "How's the wound?" She pulled the lower left section of her (would you say that's a shirt or a jacket?) up and showed me where Adam stabbed her. There wasn't even a scar, I'm guessing Curaga fixed that.

"It feels fine, there's not even a scar. Is Yang doing any better?"

"She'll be back at it soon. According to her father, Ironwood had his personal scientists build her the best prosthetic arm they could, and it came in today. That, and I made sure she wouldn't have nightmares again, especially of that night." I moved closer to and hugged her. "It's nice seeing you, the new look as well." Her ears perked up as she blushed a little.

"Thank you..." She reciprocated the hug, I heard her purring again. Yeah, this is fucking adorable. Unfortunately, that moment was killed when a Grimm rose out of the water.

Upon seeing this, I did the most reasonable thing anyone would do in my position. After Blake and I moved away from each other, I summoned Nightfall as a bow and started shooting it.

"Fuck! Off! You! Asshole! Fucking! Die! Damnit!" I shouted as I fired each arrow. It kept evading everything. Blake used her Semblance and weapon to get up close to it as it was in the air. Once she landed back on the ship, it tried to dive into the ship, but the captain steered it to the right just before it could hit the ship. It looped around and over the ship, then back under when it started getting shot by cannons. Once it came back up, it's fins folded back and it sprouted wings.

"Why is that a thing? Why does a fucking sea dragon that's already near the top of the food chain need wings?" I asked no one in disbelief. "Fuck it!" I tried a shotlock, using Light on Nightfall should be fine. After a few seconds, over 2 dozen arrows were fired at once, each arrow chasing the dragon even underwater. It tried to shoot us with lightning, but every arrow tore right through it's entire body and it dropped back into the water. Blake jumped down to me, she looked concerned when she saw how heavily I was breathing.

"Are you alright?" She asked, placing a hand on my shoulder and back.

"I'll be-*huff* I'll be fine- whoa!" I fell forward onto my knees.

"Cassiel!" She screamed I think.

"I feel dizzy... Shotlocks... Bad idea!!!"

"Come on, let's get you below deck and into a bed!" She said as she helped me stand back up and pulled my arm over her shoulder.

"That... Would be... Nice..." That might have slowed down my recovery, at least it's not causing immense pain or misfiring. Maybe I can use regular magic again? No, I'm not risking it right now.

Chapter 42.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I have no idea when I even reached a bed. I woke up and felt even worse than before I pulled that stunt. I wasn't dizzy anymore, but the pain got a little worse. It took a bit of effort to sit up and examine my surroundings. Not much to take note of, though Blake was near the bed, sleeping, Lionheart leaning against her chair. I decided to just lay back down and try to go back to sleep. As I was about to do so, a voice spoke into the loud speaker, the captain I'm assuming.

"Alright folks, we'll be landing in Menagerie shortly. Please make sure you have all your belongings before getting off the ship. Thank you." He said, waking Blake up. She carried Lionheart to the bed as she practically jumped out of her chair towards me.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "You lost consciousness halfway to the room!" Ooohhh, that's why I don't remember reaching a bed.

"I still hurt all over, some pain killers would be nice." She put a hand on my shoulder.

"There should be some in the infirmary, it's along the way, they might have some. Do you need some help?" I grabbed Lionheart and tried to get out of the bed. It was a little harder than before, but I could still do it, though I still needed to use Lionheart to balance myself and get around.

"I think I'll be fine, if a little slow." I followed her out of the room, there were railings to grab on to so it was a little easier. A few people thanked us along the way, I mostly ignored them. The infirmary wasn't far from the stairs to the deck, Blake made sure I wasn't far behind before going in. Not even 5 seconds later, she had a small bottle. "That was fast." I commented.

"She already had it ready, this is enough for a day, I'm sure there'll be more back home if you need it." She handed me the bottle. 2 every 4 hours, no more than 6 in 24 hours. I followed her above deck and I could easily see the port.

(Concept art)

"Looks pretty lively from here, if a bit crowded." I said as the ship landed. Looks like the port doubles as a market. Faunus are everywhere, can't tell if there are any humans though, especially since some can easily hide it like Blake.

"Yes. Yes, it is." She said, sadly. I should probably pay more attention to her ears I though as they shifted forward. We got off the ship and climbed the stairs at the other end of the port. About halfway down the street, passing by a Faunus carrying a box, I decided to try some small talk.

"I don't remember our classes going over Menagerie much, what can you tell me?" I asked.

"The Faunus received it after the war. It's a place for all Faunus to call home, or rather, that's what humanity would have us believe. 2/3 of the island being a desert is one of the reasons why their so called 'gift' felt more like an attempt to shut us up." She answered, clenching her fist.

"I'm guessing the desert isn't exactly friendly?" This place is basically Remnant's version of Australia, isn't it?

"That's putting it lightly. Humanity actually tried to confine us here and take away the equal rights given to us after the war." She said, irritated.

"And it's because of ignorance and conceit like this that I value the life of the cockroach more than humans that I have no personal attachment to. Doesn't help that the name itself is an insult to an entire race simply for being born."

"Despite everything, we try to make the best of things." She said as we climbed some more stairs, a view of the settlement being enough to get a general idea of the layout of her home.

"Not a bad view."

"This is Kuo Kuana."

"Why did you leave all this?" I asked her. "I can think of several reasons why, but I'd like to hear it from you."

"It's because instead of being treated as equals, we were instead given an island no one wanted and told to make do." She started to explain. "We've done the best we could, but it's all a reminder that we're still not equal." She turned away a little and looked down. "I left because I hoped to make a difference in the White Fang, but obviously that didn't work out."

"Not sure how to respond to that. Changing subjects, if you can see it, which home is yours?" She took my hand and pointed to the large one in the middle.

"That one."

"... Okay, I don't know how to respond to that either. Well, may as well get going." We continued down the hill, after a while I needed a short break. I hadn't taken the pills yet so the pain was slowing me down a bit. Once I felt up to it again, we reached her home. As she was about to grab the torc to knock, she hesitated. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"I, um... It's just been a long time since I've seen my parents." She sounded like she regrets her last interaction with her parents.

"I guess we're on the same boat, even if the 'how' and 'why' are different. I'm right here if you need me." She knocked and took a step back. A few seconds later, it was opened by someone who I'm assuming is her mother. Cat ears aside, I can definitely see the resemblance.

Upon seeing Blake, her eyes widened, shock evident on her face.

"Blake?" She said.

"Hi, mom." Blake sounded like she was expecting a negative reaction, her ears down. Her mother stepped toward Blake and wrapped her arms around Blake, smiling with her eyes closed as she hugged her.

"Oh, my baby girl." Blake seemed shocked at her mother's reaction, but returned the hug a few seconds later.

"Kali, who is it?" A man from inside asked.

(Ghira Belladonna)

He looks like he could rip me in two right now. It's a good thing I'm still wearing the mask, or else he'd see "I'm keeping a minimum safe distance of out of your reach and behind your daughter" on my face. He was more focused though on Blake's return than me thankfully. They brought us inside as they did what any parent would probably do if their child was returning under similar circumstances. They had already prepared some tea and set it down on a table low enough to the ground that the only thing separating you from the floor is a cushion. I needed some help sitting that low. I took 2 pills as Kali poured everyone's tea.

"We were horrified when we heard the news. The Kingdom of Vale wasn't perfect, but it certainly didn't deserve what happened. *sigh* We were both so worried." Kali said.

"Please, I knew she'd be fine!" Ghira chuckled.

"That isn't the slightest bit true." Kali scoffed. "You should have seen him pacing."

"Oh trust me, the ones responsible are worse off, I made sure of that." I said, darkly.

"Let's not dwell on the past." Ghira said before turning to me. "So what is your affiliation with my daughter?" He asked. I lifted my mask enough to drink the tea.

"Same team, she taught me how to use aura, helped me unlock my Semblance, I'd say she's my closest friend from Beacon. Of all the places I could have gone, Atlas was a definite 'no', not interested in the deserts of Vacuo, I would've just gotten in the way of another teammate if I joined her on the way to Haven, same for the one reason I had to stay in Patch until she moved on, and Beacon is out for the foreseeable future." I left out a few things, let Blake decide when to pull the pin from that grenade.

"So you joined Blake instead." He looks like he's trying to look into my soul... Good luck with that.

*loud bang*

"Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting!" He said as he slammed his hand onto the table.

"Ghira..." Kali placed her hand on his to soothe him.

"Give me a moment." He stood up and walked towards the front door.

"Is everything okay?" Blake asked Kali.

"Yes, dear, just poor timing. He can reschedule." She answered. "It's just been hard dealing with them lately."

"Dealing with who?" Blake asked, concerned.

"Mm?" Kali was drinking her tea. "The White Fang."

"What??!!" Blake immediately stood up.
"Who am I shooting??!!" I shouted as I used a powerful flap of Nightfall's wingblades to lift myself up. I moved as quickly as I could toward the front door, Blake ran ahead of me.

"Dad!"

"Blake, what's wrong?" He turned around, stepping to the side to show 2 Faunus dressed like they're members of a cult.

"Miss Belladonna." The one on the left bowed.

"We had no idea you'd returned." The other one did the same.

"What are you doing talking to these people?" Blake asked Ghira, definitely not happy about the situation.

"This is Corsac and Fennec Albain. They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie now." Ghira introduced them.

"And why in Dante's Nine Circles of Hell are you allowing these murderous assholes anywhere near your home?" I asked like he was an idiot as I pointed Lionheart at them.

"Young man, I'm not sure of what you've heard of our organization, but I can assure you we're not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe." Fennec said. I shot just over his ear, causing him to flinch. Ghira tried to intervene, but Blake shook her head.

"I was there when the White Fang robbed a large shipment of Dust with Roman fucking Torchwick! I was there when both led Grimm into the city! I was there when both and a few of their partners attacked Beacon! I was there when these people lured and even transported Grimm to the coliseum and the school as they hacked Atlas military drones to shoot everyone! I was there to see a classmate die to the White Fang's partner and that same classmate get tricked into becoming a murderer not long before that! I was there when Adam fucking Taurus nearly killed me, stabbed one of my teammates, and cut off another's arm before I killed him!" I shouted. Both their eyes widened a little as they heard mention of his death.

"What is he talking about? Is this true?" Ghira asked them.

"Sadly, Your Grace, it is." Fennec said.

"Is everything alright?" Kali asked as she approached.

"Now give me one good reason not to put the next bullet in your he-"

"That's enough!" Ghira interrupted me. "Explain yourselves."

"Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under orders of High Leader Khan." Corsac began to explain. "Rather, they've decided to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus, who hasn't been found. I believe you're all familiar with the young adept and his... Extreme philosophies."

"Well I had his sword in me long enough to get an idea, yes." I pointed the gun at him.

"The High Council had their suspicions of a splinter group, but could prove nothing until this latest incident." Fennec said. I kept Lionheart on Corsac as I looked between them.

"'Incident'?" Blake asked in disbelief, her voice a little shaky. "People are dead!"

"And it is a tragedy." Corsac commented.

"Your Grace, we came to assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang." Fennec said.

"It doesn't matter. Fact of the matter is that as far as everyone knows, Adam, a high ranking member of the White Fang, lead an assault on the city of Vale and Beacon, resulting in the CCT tower being destroyed, countless human AND Faunus deaths, and an entire city being overrun by Grimm. If you weren't already a terrorist organization, you're certainly the most wanted now!" I said.

"We have ample documentation from the counsel meeting as well as several strategies to apprehend and punish these strays if you'd care to review them." Fennec said to Ghira.

"I will. But another day. I'd like some time to reconnect with my daughter." Ghira said as he turned to Blake.

"But of course, Your Grace." Corsac said.

"We completely understand. It was a pleasure to see you again, young Blake." Fennec said.

"We were saddened when we heard of your departure from the White Fang, but understand if you can no longer support our cause."

"It is a wearying fight, after all."

"Who says I'm done fighting?" Blake asked, taking a step forward.

"Hmm... If you ever do wish to return, you need merely to come find us." Corsac said.

"Sister Ilia would be elated." Fennec said. Ghira stepped between us.

"Goodbye, gentlemen." He said before closing the doors. Blake walked away.

"Is there any chance you can set up a meeting with Sienna?" I asked Ghira. Both he and Kali looked at me like I was crazy.

Try to salvage this the best I can.

Chapter 43.

View Online

Cassiel POV

So Ghira's and Kali's reactions were pretty amusing. Both tried to explain that Sienna would never agree to speak with a human, certainly not in her home, but I had something that would catch her attention. Both recognized Adam's weapons once I unwrapped it. Ghira wanted to know why I wanted to meet with Sienna, but the only response he got from me was that I would salvage the situation. He told me it might take a few days, but I can wait while I recover.

I rejoined them at the table and listened as they tried reconnecting with Blake. Hearing her recount some of the events at Beacon before it fell, it was actually pretty funny hearing it from the outside. There was a time we were told to switch weapons for a day and I got Ruby's scythe, I knew it had a lot of kick, but I didn't think it would send me 20 ft back, I thought Ruby was combining it with her Semblance each time. Or when Coco and her team dropped Dust bombs on Cardin and his team while they were taking a dump for tormenting Velvet, what Blake didn't know was I set their beds on fire that night while they were sleeping, stole all the porn mags (and burned them), stole all the soap and shampoo, and the toilet paper for good measure. I also wrote "WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW???" on all the walls and the mirror. Good times.

The Belladonnas had a few extra sheets and an extra mattress, kind of surprising that there isn't a guest bedroom or an extra bed in a large home like this. Kali set it up herself while I helped with a few chores around the house, I needed something to do. Ghira doesn't like the idea of me sleeping in the same room as Blake, but I shut that down by saying this to him:

"I need something to lean on to get around because I'm in that much pain all over, I'm 14 while your daughter's probably turning 18 in less than 6 months, I'm not exactly comfortable with what you're thinking for reasons I won't get into, and last I checked, I'm too young to give consent, at least where I'm from. What the hell am I going to do when she's the one who for all intents and purposes would be bending ME over and making me HER bitch???"

Kali heard that and I heard her fall over on the floor, laughing for over a minute. I don't know if Blake heard that or if she reacted to it, but Ghira was at a loss for words. He tried, he tried longer than Kali laughed, but he had nothing, so he just walked away. After everyone settled down, I still needed something to pass the time, so I looked through my scroll to see if there was something to watch or play. There weren't any that really interested me, just cheap knock offs of Street Fighter, Duck Hunt, Diablo, and Warcraft, so I just stuck with chess for a bit before finding something to read and seeing if I can use magic again. I can use Cure at least, I'll try other spells tomorrow. A few chapters into the book, Kali passed by me, I paid her no mind as I continued reading until she brought over a cup of water and a medicine bottle.

"What's this for?" I asked her.

"You said you were 'in pain all over' a few hours ago, I thought you might want something to help with that before you go to sleep." She asked as she sat down. I looked out the window and saw it was night time.

"It's been that long already?" I reached for the water, it hurt a bit, but I was still able to get it and the pain killers. I set the book down. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, think of it as me thanking you for bringing my baby girl home." She smiled.

"She asked me if I would come, I don't think I could have said 'no' to her at least, probably not the rest of the team either."

"I see..."

"Speaking of Blake, where is she? I haven't seen her since Fennec and Corsac left."

"She's up with her father right now, anything you need to talk to her about?"

"Not really, just want to ask her if she can help me practice my Semblance tomorrow. Before you say anything, using it requires nothing from me physically, I'll still be able to use it safely. Thank you for this," I gestured to the bottle. "and letting me stay." I said as I slowly got up and started walking to the stairs.

"It's the least we can do for you." She said as she took the bottle and the cup back to the kitchen. I had to go out onto the balcony and turn towards Ghira's study, I was about to knock, but what I heard made me wish I had in that moment instead of leaning against the wall and eavesdropping.

"Why?" Blake asked.

"Hmm?"

"Why would you say that?" I must have missed something.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong? What did I say?" He said softly. These walls are not very thick if I don't have to put my ear to them or the door to hear what's going on.

"How can you still love me after what I did?" I still have a similar question for my family, Blake.

"Blake..." I heard movement in the room. "Your mother and I will always love you."

"You were right." Blake sounds like she's on the verge of tears. "I shouted at you and yelled at you. But you were right. I called you cowards."

"It's okay." He tried to soothe her.

"I should have left the White Fang with you and mom. I should have listened to you and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Blake, it's fine. We never held anything against you, and I never feared you would fail. The only thing I ever feared was that you would fall down the wrong path, and I am so proud to see that you haven't."

"But I did, I was-"

"And you pulled yourself out. You came back. There aren't many who possess that kind of strength. And even fewer that have the courage to face their demons again. Vale, Mountain Glenn, Beacon. You confronted the White Fang time after time."

"I didn't do it alone."

"No, you didn't. There is no shame in that, you should be proud to have such friends." I stopped listening here. I might not lose any sleep over the pain, but this? The things I would give to hear my family say something similar to me. I couldn't hold back my own tears, I flew away not wanting to be seen like this. I'll never know if they would still love me, heaven is out of my reach, they can't possibly be in hell, purgatory and the void are definitely out, and to top it off... I'm scared of what they would say if they saw me now, if they knew what I've done. I can spit in Death's face and tell him to fuck off, but I know I wouldn't even be able to look at them with out running away. I flew a short distance and sat on top of a tree as I tried to recompose myself, one thing caught my eye, and made me go from wanting to cry my heart out in solitude to wanting to murder someone.

Really bad idea for them. If it weren't for the mask, I wouldn't have noticed, they were also holding their scroll out. White Fang stalker? I flew down to them before shooting them, but they dodged and kept jumping from tree to tree before running across some rooftops. They stopped and turned to face me, their skin changed to a normal color, making it easier to see everything I needed of her. A chameleon Faunus then? Whatever, now that I can see her more easily, I won't be missing. I stayed above her as she used her lightning Dust augmented whip-sword, but airborne targets tend to be harder to hit, even moreso when they return fire with a weapon that has an effective range further than her whip. I stayed inches out of her reach and kept dodging to make her think I might barely be in range. After a few "close calls", her skin turned red anf her hair turned yellow, she was becoming more vicious. Deciding enough was enough, I finally did something else.

"Aero." She was lauched into the air, I used a few of the wingblades to defend myself as I shot her wrist, causing her to lose the scroll, then her mask, revealing a few freckles and grey colored eyes. I'm feeling a little drained, but at least the magic didn't misfire or hurt me instead. I slammed Lionheart into her, her aura already breaking as she fell to the ground while I retrieved the still airborne scroll. Ilia was the name I got from it. She still got up and tried to fight.

"You're lucky that I'm not taking that chance despite being in a VERY bad mood, Ilia." I showed her the scroll before grazing the shoulder of the arm holding the weapon. "If you're the same Ilia, then Blake wouldn't be too happy about you dying, certainly not to me. I will be taking this though, it looks too important to leave in the hands of another murderous psychopath!" I flew back, looking through the files. With Adam out of the picture, his underlings are trying to pick up the pieces. It seems he was also plotting to overthrow Sienna, good to know... Very... Good to know. I landed outside of Ghira's study and knocked.

"One moment." I barely heard him say, there's probably still someone else in there, Blake most likely. "Come in." I slid open the door panel, Blake was in here still. "Cassiel? Do you need something?" Ghira asked. I handed him Ilia's scroll.

"I hate it that every time I'm right, it's about something bad, you'll see as soon as you look through this." I turned to Blake. "I met Ilia by the way, she was spying on us, that's her scroll I just handed your father. Now if you'll excuse me, it's too late for this, goodnight!" I left and went straight to bed. That fight, if you can even call it that, didn't exactly help with my mood. All I could do was try and fail to calm myself down. I don't know how long I was crying, long enough I suppose.

"Cassiel?" When did the door open? How long has Blake been there? "Are you okay?"

"*sniffle* I'm fine..." My voice cracked. Not doing a good job of hiding this. "Need something?" That's better.

"Cassiel, take off the mask." She demanded.

"What for?"

"Take it off."

"*sigh* No hiding it, is there?" I did what she wanted, she sat down on the mattress and wrapped her arms around me as I lost control again. Her ears shifted forward seeing me like this.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

"*sniffle* I heard some- some of wh- what Ghira said to you... The thi- things I'd give to he- hear my fam- family say that to- to me after what I- I became! Ever- everything I've d- done! And I do- I can't regret an- any of it! The last ti- time I heard any of- of them, something im- imitated their vo- voices, and it hurt! It hu- hurt so much what th- they said!" She hugged me tighter and laid my head on her shoulder as I felt something wet land on my head.

"I'm right here, just let it out." The floodgates opened, I don't remember anything else before I fell asleep besides me crying.

Chapter 44.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I was awoken by footsteps outside the room, Kali it sounded like, too light to be Ghira, and Blake was asleep in her bed. I don't remember going to sleep last night, I probably cried myself to sleep again, on her no less. I looked to my pillow and saw bloodstains on it.

'Should probably wash that sooner rather than later.' I thought. I looked back to Blake as I stood up, this is pretty cute. Oh God, I thought 'adorable' was out of character for me to think. Still, doesn't make it less true. I neared her bed, I slowly and gently rubbed the back of her ear, causing her to purr in her sleep. After a few more seconds though, she opened one of her eyes, so I stopped.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." I apologized.

"I didn't say stop." She said in a tired voice, closing her eye again.

"In that case..." I continued what I was doing, she sat up and gestured me to sit on the bed, after I did so, she laid her head back down on my lap to give me better access. "Thank you for last night, I needed that more than I thought."

"... Cassiel, I can't imagine how hard it's been for you, but please, don't shut us out. We want to see you get better, even if it's only a little."

"I'll try, if only because one of you asked." To be honest, I don't think I'll want to leave this world. After a few more minutes, her alarm went off. She wasn't too happy about having to get out of bed just yet, but she didn't linger. I took the pain pills and stepped out with the stained pillow and Lionheart as Blake entered the bathroom with a towel. I wonder how she and her family would react if I told them I already saw everything when I was trying to figure out how the team got my measurements for the clothes they gave me for the dance? Not pulling the pin on the grenade... As I reached the bottom of the stairs, Kali nodded to me on her way to the kitchen (it's actually just a few steps away from the kitchen) and Ghira looked up at me from the scroll and raised his brow.

"Why are you carrying a pillow with you?" He asked. I showed him the bloodstain.

"My fault, can't exactly help that while I'm sleeping. Is there anything I can use to clean this?" I asked. Kali turned around again.

"Don't worry about that, I was planning to do laundry today anyway. Besides, Blake already told me about your eyes while she was helping me set up your bed." She smiled lightly.

'She really does have a good family.' I thought as Ghira took on a serious look.

"You were right to bring this to me... Adam Taurus was plotting to overthrow High Leader Khan and launch an attack on Haven Academy and it's CCT tower on the last full moon before the beginning of the fall semester, roughly two months from today. It would be Beacon all over again!" He said, disturbed.

"Well that's actually a good thing then, we can use this."

"If we can get in touch with Sienna that is, though without a CCT tower of our own, that could be a while still."

"With Adam dead, these plans were most likely delayed at least, Sienna's life saved if only for a little longer, and I have more time to recover. If you can point to her location on a map, I can be there in less than a week. This is a good chance to salvage the situation with the White Fang and possibly get her on our side."

"I hope you can manage, but I've known Sienna for years, it's unlikely she'll even let you in much less speak. And how would you even reach her anyway? The next ship from Menagerie to Anima is still a few days out at least."

"Well to get her to at least meet with me, I do have Adam's weapons. If she were to learn of Adam's treachery, that would get her to hear me out. If that's not enough incentive, a letter of introduction should do it. As for how I can get there?" I summoned Nightfall and opened a portal. "This is connected to one of my teammates who by now is at least close to Haven." I closed it. "Besides, I'm sure Sienna would agree the Fall of Beacon did anything but benefit the White Fang and did nothing but severely damage human to Faunus relations."

"*sigh* I'll see what I can get from the Albain brothers today, afterward I'll write that letter and lend you a map with the approximate location of Sienna and the Anima chapter of the White Fang. Just don't do anything reckless, Sienna is not to be trifled with." He warned.

"She should be more worried about doing something stupid than me." A thought occurred. "Actually, we can use this in another way. Copy the important information and make a public announcement to the people of Menagerie. Aside from getting word of this out, it could help with the true White Fang while getting a reaction out of those who sided with Adam."

"Yes... I already planned to spread word of this in hopes of uniting the people in defense of Haven, but if we could secure her help as well-"

"As well as draw out the traitors, we could easily more than double- no, triple the forces, potentially remove the 'most wanted terrorist organization' status from them and improve relations between humans and Faunus. That, and the White Fang might be very helpful for what I have planned." Assuming Adam knew about Salem, he would have given her another army, getting that army on my side will definitely help and as a plus, piss her off.

"Helpful for what?" Blake asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs. That was a fast shower.

"Something that will benefit everyone, and unlike Adam, I do mean everyone." I answered, don't want to get her involved if I can avoid it.

"Breakfast is ready!" Kali said from the kitchen. "And Blake, I made your favorite!" She brought in the food. First off, both she and Blake are fast, second, why am I not surprised Blake got some tuna?

Several hours passed before Ghira was finished searching through the scroll and putting together what he would say to the people in his announcement a few days from now. After he was done, we all went to meet with the Albains, the results were... Not exactly great. On a side note, I no longer need to lean on Lionheart. As for the confrontation? They lied, blamed Ilia, and said they were disappointed to know she sided with the still M(K)IA Adam. After we returned, Ghira practically stomped his way up to his office after asking me to come with him, handed me a map of Anima with the location of the White Fang, a compass if I needed it, sent copies of the files on the other scroll to mine, and a letter of introduction.

To High Leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan

At the time you are receiving this letter, you will be meeting with a young boy named Cassiel. I understand your distrust of humans, but I must ask you hear what this boy has to say, as well as look through the files on his scroll, files that we found on the scroll of a traitor who was spying on my household a short time ago. He is a survivor of Beacon, teammate, and close friend of my daughter, Blake. I can assure you he has no ill intent, he has only arrived on your doorstep to discuss the Fall of Beacon, the splinter group, and topics in the files. I can assure you his objective will only benefit the cause, potentially clear the name of the White Fang and it's involvement of Beacon.

I ask you, as your predecessor, one who still considers you a friend, and hopes that feeling is mutual, to please at least hear him out.

Chieftain of Menagerie, Ghira Belladonna

That's a short letter, it should be enough.

"I'll be heading out tonight. Better that it's sooner instead of later."

"Be careful out there. Even if Sienna won't try anything, that doesn't mean those under her will follow her example." He warned.

"I'll be on my guard." I retrieved Adand's weapons before going back down stairs and saw Blake and Kali sitting on the couch, neither looked very happy. I sat next to Blake before pulling her into a hug. "I'll be back soon. As stupid as it might be, I need to speak to the White Fang."

"What??!!" She pulled herself away. "There's no way that's going to work!" She said, concerned.

"Whether it works or not is irrelevant, fact of the matter is it would be in their best interest. We don't exactly need them, it will just make things easier."

"How do you even know they'll speak to you? There's no way they'll even let you inside!"

"I have Adam's weapons, that's more than enough reason." I reasoned.

"They're more likely to attack you than hear you out, moreso with those."

"I'll take my chances. Besides, I can easily escape if necessary." I reached up to her ears and lightly scratched behind them. "I keep my promises if the other person is important to me. I'll be back and this mess will be sorted out." I opened a portal and got off the couch. "I'll be back soon."

"Just come back safe, alright?" She asked. I nodded in response before stepping through.

Crossing to the otherside, I'm in a bedroom actually. I hear voices from downstairs, who is it? Let's see who I can hear, Ruby, Qrow, I think I hear Jaune, Ren, Nora, definitely Nora, and a new voice. One that sounds like it's two people at once every now and then. I'll leave them to it, I'll deal with the White Fang. They can deal with I'm assuming Maidens and whatever else they need to for now. I jumped out the window and took a look at the map and compass. If the directions Ghira gave were right, the White Fang should be somewhere south, southeast actually of a town called "Kuroyuri". I summoned Nightfall's wingblades and flew up to take a quick look around Mistral.

The city definitely looks like something you'd see out of eastern mythology. Aside from Haven Academy, there's not really anything worth taking note of. Looking back down to the map and lining up the compass, I flew in the direction Ghira said I should be able to find the White Fang in. Even while flying, it would still be a while, but I should be there within the hour. Along the way, I encountered no Grimm, kind of strange considering their activity is supposed to be high right now. I saw nothing actually. I saw Kuroyuri and decided to take a detour to it, or what's left of it anyway. I doubt it was bandits, the place looks wrecked, not scorched. Grimm most likely, years ago if the condition of the more intact buildings are anything to go off of. Definitely Grimm, claw marks can be seen on quite a few of the buildings. Deciding I've seen enough, I continued my flight.

It didn't take much longer to find the White Fang than it did to reach Kuroyuri. Some Grimm gave it away despite it being a little off course. The guards tried to stop me, but they backed off once I showed them Adam's weapons and told them I'm here to speak with High Leader Khan. One of them mistook me for Adam somehow, that same one opened the door for me and led me to Sienna. I did not think it would be this easy, new guy who only ever saw him once I'm guessing. Still, he was taller, didn't have a keyblade, and wore a different mask. Whatever. He took me to Sienna who upon seeing me was probably more pissed than before.

A tiger Faunus then? Or are the stripes all tattoos?

"This isn't Adam you fool! Whoever you are, get out of my sight!" She demanded.

"Actually, I have business with you, High Leader Sienna Khan." I turned to the idiot. "Give this to her." I handed him the letter. He looked between me and Sienna, not sure of what to do.

"Bring it to me." She calmed down quickly. He gave her the letter, she became more noticeably calm immediately after she started reading. I'm guessing she recognized Ghira's handwriting. Before she was done reading, she looked pissed again.

"Your name is Cassiel, yes? If it weren't for Ghira vouching for you, I would have had my guards kill you on the spot!" She slammed her fist onto the throne.

"Haha! Trust me, you're not the only one who values the life of the cockroach more than the human. And that's coming from a human! But I'm not here to discuss who hates humanity more nor who has suffered more because of humans. No, I'll cut right to the chase. I've come to ask for your help." She looked at me like I was insane.

"Why would the White Fang help a human?" She asked like she thought I wasn't paying attention to what came out of my mouth. I unwrapped Adam's weapons and threw them to her. She didn't look happy, but not angry either.

"Better reasons than when Adam worked with Roman Torchwick, Cinder Fall, and her master in the days leading up to and during the Fall of Beacon. And unlike the Fall, what I have planned will actually help the Faunus. I don't see it ending with the White Fang dying like him when he thought it was a good idea to release Grimm into the school, nearly kill me, stab Blake Belladonna, and dismember a teammate." I explained. She was shocked for a split second when I mentioned Blake, like she wanted to ask, but chose not to.

"You had my mercy with Ghira's letter... Now you have my attention. You killed Adam?" She asked in disbelief.

"There's nothing left to bury, unless you want a coffin for his weapons that is." I answered. She shifted on her throne.

"He was a symbol among the White Fang, I may not pass judgment on you given the circumstances of his death, but that doesn't mean others won't." She warned.

"At first when Blake told me about him a few weeks after classes started, I believed he would become the martyr, the hero that almost single handedly saves the Faunus. Now? I can no longer find it in my heart to show mercy to anyone supporting him, to anyone that might try to avenge him." Her eyes narrowed a little.

"You have something you would like me to see, yes?"

"Collected from the scroll of a chameleon Faunus named Ilia and copied to mine by Ghira. You'll find the contents quite interesting." She sent one of her guards to retrieve my scroll.

"I believe I know who you're referring to." She said as the guard approached me.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I had never even seen, much less heard of a Faunus until a few months ago?" Technically true. She looked at me curiously. "Hating my own race, I had hope in the Faunus when I first met one." The guard retrieved my scroll and started walking back to her. "I sympathized with the White Fang. When they worked with Torchwick-" The guard handed her my scroll. I don't know if she was paying attention or not as I continued. "to rob a Schnee Dust shipment, I tried talking them into walking away. When I infiltrated a recruitment rally, I asked them why they wear the masks of monsters as I tried to get them to back out of the White Fang. Any number of those Faunus were killed or arrested when they led Grimm into Vale, any number of them might still be alive and free had they chosen not to allow the masks to replace their faces." She looked between me and my scroll in alarm before anger found it's way back on her face.

"He was planning to..." I didn't hear the rest, not that I heard her very well anyway.

"Faunus never hurt me until the Fall, they had been nothing but good to me. I saw their actions before as desperate and foolish or simply vengeful which is why I had nothing against Faunus or the White Fang." She handed back my scroll to the guard and ordered him to return it. "As I said to the Albain brothers in Menagerie; if the White Fang wasn't already a terrorist organization, it's certainly the most wanted now because of Adam." My scroll was returned to me. "Neither of us may care for the human lives lost, we can both agree that the Faunus lives lost were tragic, and we can also agree that the Fall did anything but benefit your cause, it did nothing but paint a target on the backs of Faunus everywhere, or the White Fang at least." She raised her hand and lowered it.

"I heard everything you said as I took a quick look through the files on your scroll. Why did you come here again?" She asked.

"To ask for your help and truly benefit both of us." I answered. "Aside from Ilia and after seeing your face upon seeing the files, it's basically confirmed that the Albains are also traitors. If Adam's followers carry as much of his will and plans as I'm hoping they don't, a lot of people might be in danger. After he nearly killed me at Beacon, I heard him say to Blake that he would destroy everything she loved. It's safe to assume Ghira and Kali are on that list. You might still be in danger as well, same goes for Haven."

"How do I know for certain what's on your scroll is true? You could have easily made those yourself." Still doesn't trust my intentions. I summoned Nightfall to open a portal.

"This is connected to Blake, and can take us both to Menagerie. Ghira and Kali can vouch for me on the authenticity of those files considering I was gone for not even three minutes, that's not enough time to get a second scroll in the middle of the night that doesn't look new and make up those files." I closed the portal and desummoned Nightfall. "You don't trust me, but you trust the Belladonnas, right?" I asked.

"*sigh* As soft as they are, I've always admired them." I'll take that as a yes.

"Look at it this way. If those files are true, that means I saved your life, pointed out the splinter group the Albains said you were suspicious of, and revealed the plans to attack Haven, something I'm sure you wouldn't have approved of."

"..." She placed a hand over her face.

"I've come to ask for your help in protecting the Belladonnas and to protect Haven, to hopefully prove that Adam's attack against Beacon was his and his alone! Best case scenario, they try to attack both and are stopped by the true White Fang which hopefully gets you removed from the most wanted lists across the globe. Worst case scenario, they try nothing, and all I did was waste your time. There is one other matter I would like to speak of." Now is when I try to turn the White Fang against Salem I thought as the doors slammed open again. A dark haired man wearing mostly green and black walked in.

"What is this?!" Sienna stood up, her guards pointed their weapons at him.

"Apologies, I don't aim to cause any trouble." He tried to talk them down. Sienna looked at me.

"Did you bring another human here?" She asked, almost accusingly. I pointed Lionheart at him.

"I don't know who he is, but I don't trust him anymore than you do." I answered. The man looked at me as I backed away so he couldn't lunge at me.

"You don't want to do this, boy." He warned before turning to Sienna. "Nobody needs to die today." He kneeled. "I'm just asking for a moment of your time."

"Like the boy here? He has my consideration. You on the other hand just walked in here unannounced and are seeking an audience with me?"

"I'm here because Adam arranged the meeting." I shot his arm, but his aura was active.

"So you were working with him then? You're a little too late in your arrival. Sorry to say, but I killed him." I resummoned Nightfall. "I didn't think I'd run into another one of Cinder's, maybe even Salem's pets so soon, but I'm so glad I did!"

"You killed Adam?" He asked as he stood back up.

"His weapon's at the High Leader's feet." He looked between me and Nightfall after he saw Adam's weapons.

"As I said, nobody needs to die today. Back off now before it's too late, you don't know what you're getting into." He warned again.

"You're here to do the exact opposite of what I came to do, and you're not denying your affiliation with Her or Cinder who most likely wants me dead anyway after Beacon. I'll have to go with no!" He cracked his neck.

"I'm assuming your name is Cassiel?" He asked as he reached into some pouches on his belt.

"Let me guess, she does want me dead, or does Salem have business with me?" I answered with a question of my own.

"Tyrian was supposed to capture you, though She won't mind if I do instead." He pulled yellow Dust crystals out of the pouches. Sienna looked between the two of us in confusion before looking like she made a decision and drew a bladed whip from her side.

"I don't know who this 'Salem' is, but so far I have no reason to believe your master's desires align with what the I or the White Fang want. Leave this place, or you'll be executed on the spot!" She gave him an ultimatum.

"I can't do that, ma'am." He gripped the Dust tightly.

"He's too dangerous to let live anyway! He would see the Fall happen to Haven, and that's not even the start! If we kill him here, we can continue our business, then I'll answer every question you have until I return to Menagerie and I'll explain everything I know regarding his partners and his master." I offered Sienna. She gripped her weapon and let the rest fall to the ground.

"I'll be holding you to that." She dismissed her guards.

"*sigh* She won't be happy about this..." He inhaled deeply before stabbing the Dust into his arms and screaming. Lightning coursing through his arms, that's a berserker if I've ever seen one. Yang? You might have nothing on him.

Actually, that's a fight I'd like to see if it didn't mean she could die. The girl who gets stronger the more damage she takes versus the guy who from the looks of it is either insane and pain is an old friend, or he embodies pain being "weakness leaving the body". On second thought, does he ignore pain? I'll have to test that.

Chapter 45.

View Online

Cassiel POV

https://youtu.be/r4yyYsDaSCM

The first thing I did before anyone made a move was use Nightfall to lock all the doors. Don't need people who might shoot me barging in to help Sienna or kill her with all the chaos going on. With the exits blocked, no one who can't blast through walls is getting out. I looked at the still unnamed man, Lionheart aimed at him and Nightfall turned into a scythe.

"So what do you have to gain from working for Salem? Cinder had to want either power or destruction, and Adam had to want either revenge or Faunus supremacy. What is it you hope to achieve?" I asked him. That Dust has to be doing a number on his body, his aura has to be rapidly depleting to maintain this level of pain tolerance or whatever is enabling him to stab literal handfuls of Dust into his body with nothing holding him back.

"I have my reasons, boy, just as you have your own." His voice definitely changed. He sounds two-toned, almost demonic. I shot hIm a few times as Sienna leaped over him to lash his back. He blocked my shots, but he bled a little. That's strange. When Sienna tried to go for his feet, he stomped on her whip and pulled her to him. As he was about to slam her into the ground, I threw Nightfall as a shuriken at his feet, causing him to lose his balance a little and let go of Sienna, who was thrown across the room. I recalled Nightfall as wingblades and flew to Sienna, catching her and dropping her close to the ground.

"Okay, that was a bad idea- OH SHIT! BARRIER!" The man jumped a good 30 meters to us and impacted the shield with his fist. "Aero!" I blew Sienna away Aero as he broke through the Barrier on his second punch and carried that momentum to me. I was barely able to activate my armor before he hit me, launching me into a pillar near the wall.

"It didn't need to be like this." He cracked his knuckles. "I had no desire to harm anyone."

"*cough*..." A little blood, but not much. "Cure." I healed myself before throwing my mask near the throne. "Didn't need to be like this? No desire to harm anyone?" He can't be serious about that. I put Lionheart on my back, changed Nightfall to a bow, and fired a few arrows at him. Each one barely penetrated his skin. "You want to use the White Fang to attack Haven. Your group destroyed Beacon. Adam nearly killed me and hurt people I love! Cinder and her partners destroyed Penny and killed Pyrrha!" I felt the Darkness seeping out of me, it hurt a little, but it's a negligible pain. I changed Nightfall into a scythe and airstepped past him, letting go of Nightfall as it imbedded itself into him.

"RAH!" He shouted as he ripped it out, it disappeared on it's own. "You're going to pay for that." He growled. I looked to Sienna, who was waiting for a good opportunity. No matter how it's used, a whip is going to hurt her more than him, she needs to stay back anyway.

"I don't care about Vale or Beacon. I didn't care about Salem when Ironwood tried to recruit me. What pisses me off is the fact and why The Fall happened! What pisses me off is a true Huntress died knowing she couldn't win against Cinder! What pisses me off most is that my sister was forced to watch two of her friends die on the same night and another sister lost her arm to my girlfriend's psychotic ex who stabbed her as well after nearly killing me!" I shot him four more times with Lionheart before airstepping to him and slashing him repeatedly. He tried to punch me and slam his fists into me while I was attacking him. I was barely able to avoid most of his attacks, but a few grazed me, giving me a painful shock each time. His wounds are still healing quickly. I used Aerora to distance myself from him as I felt myself slow down a bit. He tried to grab my leg, but a few lashes from Sienna stopped his attempt.

"Could you keep the talking to a minimum, Cassiel?" I ignored her.

"Salem and her underlings made it personal when you hurt the people I've come to love more than I hate myself and the rest of our pathetic race!" I was about to airstep to him, but Sienna started doing some work. I take back what I thought earlier, she can make that whip work. It reminds me a bit of Blake when she's using Gambol Shroud as a scythe, maybe Sienna helped train her?

She was able to quickly and efficiently change the range of her whip by wrapping and unwrapping it around parts of her body. That would definitely be tricky to deal with. The man wasn't able to catch her weapon this time, and he's too big, too slow to avoid it. Every time he tried to attack, Sienna was able to stay out of his reach and make him regret that decision. She jumped over him, lashing his front twice on the way up and twice on the way down, but he caught her whip again and pulled her close before punching her back to her throne. She should still be fine, but that had to hurt anyway.

I threw Nightfall as a shuriken at him as I shot him with Lionheart. He smacked Nightfall away before charging at me, I could feel his fists impact the floor. I jumped backward and lost my footing because of a bad landing, I had to recall Nightfall as wingblades to rebalance myself, but he was close enough that I didn't have the time to use Barrier or Reflect, so I was stuck blocking the normal way. He easily broke through my guard and grabbed my head, slamming me into the ground several times before Sienna struck his back, her whip repeatedly lashed his back as fast as my shuriken would finish a rotation. As he let go of me, I healed her and myself before putting Lionheart on my back and recalling Nightfall as a twinblade. As he charged towards Sienna, I casted Barrier in front of him, then Graviga. He was able to move, but was heavily weighed down. I airstepped past him, to Sienna, slashing his arm along the way.

"So it doesn't look like he'll be going down any time soon." I said to Sienna as the man was still pinned. "You wouldn't happen to have any poison, would you?" I pulled Lionheart back out, loaded it with fire, lightning, and gravity Dust, and aimed at the Dust in his arms, but he was moving erratically enough that I'd just be wasting ammo.

"Unfortunately, no." She answered. "How is he still standing?" She asked as Graviga ended and the man leaped at us. There was enough force in his attack that even though it hit the floor, it still blew us both away. He grabbed my foot before I could react and slammed me into the ground again before throwing me towards Sienna. She was able to catch me without cutting me with the MANY blades going up her whip. As she pulled the rest of the whip back, her back turned to him and the man back-handed her into a pillar, grabbed her whip AGAIN (bad weapon choice), pulled her back, and punched her as she flew past him, into another pillar. She still had her aura, but she was struggling to stand. I am feeling dizzy still because of what he did before she caught me.

"This doesn't need to go on." He said before stabbing 2 fire Dust crystals in his arms. "If you continue, I can't promise you won't be taken, beaten and broken." I recalled Nightfall as a twinblade and readied a shotlock.

"Are you saying that because you don't want to fight, or because you're reaching your limit?" I asked. "Using your aura to almost instantly heal any injury I would expect to be quite draining. That's not taking into account the fact you're seemingly, if not immune to pain. You may be able to tank almost anything and hit harder than most, but the difference between us is that I learned to properly ignore and inflict pain." Ready. "And you're about to feel a lot of it even through your Semblance." I finished charging the shotlock, the result was Light shooting out of both ends to form the shapes of both blades, the range was increased by at least 20 meters on each blade and I felt physically stronger while using this.

I swung sideways, cutting right through a few pillars, mini blades of Light trailed behind each end of Nightfall as he ripped out the crystals before blocking. Interesting... He really can't defend himself while fighting like he was, and this also means he believed this was a threat. The mini blades got a few strikes on him before he was launched towards the wall, I thrusted the other end of Nightfall into him before he impacted it and held him there. As he was struggling with being pinned while the mini blades were striking him, I finally decided to use my Semblance to punish him more. The copy jumped on top of the giant blade and started beating him. After a few seconds, it jumped off and I pulled back before swinging upward, launching him into the ceiling.

"Graviga!" I casted it repeatedly as he fell and hit the ground. After the 6th or 7th cast, his aura was finally broken and the shotlock ended. Definitely a long and deadly one.
"Aero." I flipped him over so he would face me.

"You're no novice... I can see why Cinder had so much trouble with you." He said as I walked towards him.

"This adds another to the list." I reverted Nightfall to it's original form and held it over his chest. "Thanks for the info, by the way. Now I know to watch out for a 'Tyrian' and you've given me a few ideas of how the attack on Haven will play out. Now I'm ripping out that heart of yours!" I plunged Nightfall into his chest, he screamed as I made sure it hurt unlike the other times. Sienna watched as his biody faded and his heart appeared. I grabbed it before it rose to high.

"Dark Firaga." It took longer to destroy his heart than Adam's, but it still worked.

"Now you owe me some answers!" Sienna said as she approached. I looked at her before falling onto my knees.

"Just... Just give me... A moment." My breathing became heavy, I got it under control after about a minute. I tried standing, but I struggled in doing so, so I decided to just sit down. "Screw it. What do you want to know?"

(Many explanations later)

"You expect me to believe all that?" She looked at me like I was crazy. I let some of my Darkness out.

"I can show you that I can tame most Grimm I've encountered, the most dangerous so far being Nevermores and Deathstalkers. Beacon fell mostly because of the inaction of Ironwood and Ozpin. I'm telling you what they told me when they tried to bring me into their 'inner circle', what they tried to practically force upon Pyrrha Nikos, and what I've speculated. Besides, in regards to the magic, I can guarantee the only Dust you'll find on me is my ammo for Lionheart, and that copy I made of him was my Semblance." I answered. "If not magic, then how did I do even half of what I did?"

"You're asking the White Fang to assist you in a war that you believe to be impossible to win and no one knows about? What even is this Salem's objective?" She asked, fearfully.

"I don't know. I do know that with the Fall Maiden's power, Cinder's fire was significantly more powerful than mine if I'm not combining it with Darkness. Adam did essentially recruit the White Fang to Her side anyway, and I doubt treachery in any form sits well with Her. I have no reason to believe she won't target the White Fang eventually," I warned. "especially after we killed that man. Whatever She wants the Maiden's powers for, I don't know. It's safe to assume though that each kingdom has a Maiden, and I'm guessing the power is a key for something under each academy. No reason to have a basement THAT size unless you're hiding something, especially when securing the Maiden's power was prioritized over what's under the school." I explained.

"If what you say is true, then why do you insist on fighting Her? Vale was essentially a warm up, and you think Haven will fair any better against an insurmountable foe? It's suicide!" She shouted.

"I don't specifically remember saying the war can't be won. I remember saying to Ozpin that strength would not bring victory. The main reason the schools were founded was to fight Salem, but only a few people are trusted with knowledge of Her existence, essentially giving each nation a small army of skilled fighters in the form of monster slayers, and that's all the students and the public know. Or at least, that's what I've speculated, I know Pyrrha didn't learn about Salem before she died. This war can be won, Ozpin was just fighting it wrong." I really wish I could punch him a few times.

"As if a child would know how to fight a war! Vale fell easily, Haven will fa-"

"Strength will not bring victory. I never said anything about unity and strategy also failing. Silver eyes are a threat to Grimm, enough so that to my knowledge, that Dragon is still frozen on top of Beacon! A 15 year old girl did more damage to that thing in 5 seconds than the entire school and the Atlas fleet there would have done in 5 minutes! The silver eyes hurt ME because of my powers and usage of Darkness! The eyes are a threat to Her, I can guarantee it! If there's anyone in the White Fang with silver eyes, they are potentially your best fighters and leaders if what Qrow Branwen said is true!" She closed her eyes and clenched her fist.

"Then how would you fight Her? If She can be defeated, how?"

"A united front, each nation fighting for survival with the powers under each school. The Maidens, silver eyed warriors, and seasoned Huntsmen and Huntresses lead the assault. I can tame Grimm, turning Her weapons against Her. If that's not enough?" I summoned Nightfall. "This, and another weapon I haven't been able to use for a little while are weapons born, not forged, born from Light and Darkness, which is why they cut through Grimm like a hot knife through butter, because they are creatures of Darkness. And you saw what I did to that man, his body faded away, and that heart you saw? That was basically his soul that I destroyed. I have no reason to believe this can't kill, or at least seal Her away for eternity. If all else fails, I can just pull Her into a Dark Corridor and essentially remove Her from this plane of existence."

"..." She turned away, she appeared indecisive.

"..."

"..." The decision isn't really that hard.

"... I'll need some time to think on this. You can rest here for the night, or return to Menagerie if that portal or whatever it was really does connect to Blake Belladonna. I'll have an answer by tomorrow." She offered.

"I trust you not to kill me in my sleep, can't say the same for everyone else here though." I said. "Actually, I'll take you up on that. I'll be fine." I stood up again. "As a reward for their efforts in the Great War, the Faunus were given Menagerie. A slap in the face for many, but it was a start towards a better future. If the White Fang save Haven, that can only benefit the Faunus in general. How do you think the world will respond when it's the White Fang, the Faunus, who first officially take up arms against Salem? If becoming the world's saviors doesn't secure your place as humanity's equals, if not their superiors, then either humanity should just press that shiny red button that says "global thermonuclear war" or I can take you all someplace without humans, and significantly less racism and prejudice to my experience." I offered.

White Fang recruited and another pawn of Salem's dead? These next two weeks are going to be fun if this keeps up.

Author's Notes:

There were a few things that confused me with Hazel's fighting style. If I understand how aura works, it's basically a shield, healing unit, and steroids considering all the feats that would be physically impossible without it (such as a person with no visible muscle one-handing weapons that should weigh as much if not more than they do). This isn't taking into account for a Semblance. Hazel seems to only show the healing and steroids in the show.

He stabbed himself with 4 Dust crystals before he joined the fight in the show. Later, he stabbed 2 more, a total of 6 crystals, 4 of which are lightning, 2 are fire. If I'm understanding how aura works, his aura should have been pushing the Dust out, instead it looked to be healing him while his Semblance blocked out the pain. There was 1 interesting scene though, 1 thing to catch my attention when Weiss rejoined the fight. The Lancer she summoned shot him with it's stinger, half of it went right through Hazel before pulling him back into the school, that means 1 of 4 things.

While he is using his Semblance, he can't use his aura to protect himself, not that he really needs to when he can't feel pain and the damage heals about as fast as it's received.
The protective function was inactive (not inaccessible).
Schnee family summons ignore aura (I'd call hacks).
Lancers have VERY strong piercing potential.

I would compare him to Nidus and Inaros from Warframe, actually, Krieg from Borderlands 2 would probably be a better comparison. He can take a lot of damage because he can't feel it, he has to have A LOT of aura/ high aura regeneration to maintain his Semblance for as long as he did with 6 Dust crystals in his body, though that was probably draining him more after he stabbed the 2 fire crystals into his arms.

Looking at the 4 possibilities above, I find the most likely to be 1 and 4. He either can't use his aura as a shield when using his Semblance, or Lancers have powerful stingers. We probably won't officially have an answer until season 8, but I thought it was reasonable that he couldn't shield himself during the fight with Cassiel and Sienna. Hazel may be strong, but when he fights by doing nothing but angrily punching everything, it makes me wonder how and why Salem recruited him when everyone else is significantly more of a threat than he is. The only use he really was to Salem was his relatively passive nature when not in combat combined with his diplomacy. Had Adam not opened his mouth, he might have recruited Sienna.

I did want to bring up Ozpin, but I couldn't think of a reason for either of them to bring him and Hazel's sister into this, same goes for Summer Rose.

As for Sienna's fighting style, I thought back to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow's Gabriel Belmont's attacks as a reference. Now, I want to play that again. That was sort of my first time playing the series. I played SOTN, but I was like, 4 or 5. The only thing I remembered was a guy dressed in blue attacking a bigger guy dressed in black, and the first meeting with the Grim Reaper, that was it. I didn't even remember the name of that game until years later.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions for battle music! I'll definitely be keeping a few of them in mind for future battles!

Chapter 46.

View Online

Cassiel POV

The night passed with no problems that I heard anyway. I used Nightfall to lock the door before going to sleep, no one could get in without breaking the door. I had a nightmare for a moment, Yang's nightmare, I didn't wake up though. I'm used to nightmares after that night, and lucid dreaming is still something I'm more than capable of doing. It was early morning when I was awoken by some jackass banging on the door. I aimed Lionheart at the door and fired a random shot at it, not caring if I hit the guy.

"Shut!!! Up!!! Damnit!!! Fuck!!! Off!!!" I tried to shout, but I was still tired as hell. I heard someone running away, looks like I missed. That's good, I guess. After a minute, I was awake enough to leave the room and remembered the path I took from the throne room. The guards tried to stop me outside the room, but a few shots into the floor caused the guards in the room to burst out. Sienna took almost no time at all to stop her guards from doing something stupid.

"ENOUGH!" They all stopped as she approached. "He is a guest, and you would do well to remember that the next time you want to disrespect or threaten him again!" The all lowered their weapons. "Leave us." She ordered everyone. "You! With me!" She told me. The doors closed behind us, I followed her about halfway into the throne room before she stopped.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"... I've thought over everything you've told me, I still find it all hard to believe. Salem, magic, even your speculations, as crazy they might be, make sense. Before I come to a decision though, I do need two things from you." She started.

"They are?" She pulled out her whip and quickly wrapped it around my neck from where she was. I wasn't expecting this, though I did have enough time to react otherwise.

"Why should I involve the White Fang, the Faunus, in your war??!! Why shouldn't I kill you right now for trying to bring the White Fang into this??!!" She asked, the blades on her whip pressing into my skin.

"I never said you should, I only came to ask for your help. As I said, best case scenario, I'm wrong about everything I told you regarding Adam, Haven, the Belladonnas being in danger, and all I did was waste your time. Worst case scenario, I'm right, and you can make the best out of a bad situation. I only came for that purpose, Salem as real as the threat is, was an attempt to open another path for the White Fang and Faunus in general, and that man last night was basically the final nail in the coffin that you can thank Adam for starting. If you decline, I'll never darken your doorstep again over that topic." She loosened her whip a little.

"What do we have to gain from this?" Pretty sure I already explained that.

"Your status as 'most wanted terrorists' will almost certainly be reduced significantly, perhaps even grant the White Fang amnesty for a number of crimes. Additional protection against Salem due to your 'treachery' and assisting an enemy she apparently had interest in in killing her emissary." I reached up to the whip around my neck. "It's not just a matter of what you all have to gain, but what you can't afford to lose, and the fact that not just humanity, but Faunus too, will all be subjugated again!" I emphasized as I took a few steps towards her. "Besides, what do you have to gain from killing me? What do you have to gain from killing perhaps the first and only human you'll ever meet that's trying to help you? You have more to gain, more to protect than I do! I have a little over a handful of people to fight for, you have an entire race!"

"..."

"I'll be putting a lot of faith in you. The White Fang will defend Haven should an attack happen, but Salem? You'll need to prove something first." She unwrapped the whip from my neck.

"Name it."

"There's some Grimm some kilometers west of here. They've posed no threat to us or others, so they were left alone. Though their numbers are increasing, and no one can seem to find any of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral to take care of them before they become a problem. You're going to prove you can tame Grimm before we kill them, and I'm coming with you." Screw it, why not?

"Afterwards, do we have an agreement?" I asked.

"We'll see." Not exactly an answer, but it'll have to do.

At least Sienna understands subtlety. She had a few of her men make themselves look like civilians before loading us up into a truck large enough for about 10 people and heading out. I'm pretty hungry right now though, I hadn't eaten anything after confronting the Albains. I do remember Blake saying something about going fishing with Kali a day or 2 after reaching Menagerie. Why am I not surprised a family of feline Faunus know how best to prepare tuna? Best seafood dish I've ever had, maybe we can make something out of it? I've never fished before so I hope she won't mind me using Thunder or Nightfall to catch them. I'm rambling on. Probably about a third, maybe halfway to the destination, I turned to Sienna after... I wasn't paying attention to how long the ride was.

"Do you mind answering a few questions regarding Faunus?" She looked at me like she wasn't going to like what she'll hear. "I'm asking out of curiosity. I wasn't lying before when I said I had never seen or heard of a Faunus until around the time Ozpin enrolled me into Beacon. If it's offensive, you have my permission to punch me." Technically true. I knew of Demi-humans, but not Faunus.

"Just ask your question." She definitely doesn't sound like she'll want to hear it.

"Is it common for Faunus to possess traits belonging to their respective animals? You being a tiger Faunus, does that mean people are more, for lack of a better word, approachable when their backs are turned? If it's a thing, spider Faunus being extremely patient? An eagle Faunus having better eyesight than damn near everything else?" She leaned back in her seat and looked at me like I was an idiot.

"I'm not going to punch you, though I would suggest never asking anything like that again. To answer your questions, a Faunus's sub-species is physical and nothing more." Dodged a bullet on that one.

The trip continued in silence. After a while, I pulled out my scroll and opened up a random game, I guess Tetris is better than nothing. Maybe 20 minutes later, the trucks stopped. Sienna got out first and ordered the others to stay. She took the lead off the road to the south, the woods became more silent as we progressed. I let my Darkness out, it still hurt a little, but I can deal with it. Eventually, we reached a clearing with a few Beowolves were in sight.

The alpha ran at me, but I casted Barrier to my sides to catch it's claws before slamming it's jaw shut, jumping over it, and slamming it's head into the ground. It was still alive and quickly moved away after I let go. It slowly circled around me until I held out my hand, then it backed away. I sat down, still holding my hand out, after a while it slowly moved towards me and sniffed my hand. I looked to Sienna, who looked like she's just seen the impossible happen with no effort at all. I scratched it under it's chin and it turned upward to give me a better angle.

"You actually can do it..." Sienna said in disbelief.

"In the end, they really are just animals. Extremely aggressive animals, but still animals. The only Grimm I've encountered that I couldn't tame was a King Taijita, it got it's fang ripped out and stabbed through it's head when it tried to eat me." The other Beowolves stayed away, but after a minute, I snapped the alpha's neck before shooting the rest of the Beowolves with Lionheart. The shots drew the attention of some Ursi and were disposed of by Sienna seconds later. I was expecting more Grimm, unless they're deeper into the woods, this looks to be it.

"CaSsIeL," The fuck was that??!! Alarms immediately went off in my head as a distorted voice imitating my mother. "cOmE hErE." I summoned Nightfall, ready to brutally murder something.

"ThAt'S mY bOy!" My father...

"LeT's PlAy!" My sister...

"GeNtLy NoW." My grandfather...

"It LiKeS yOu." My grandmother...

"LeT's Do ThIs!" Naofumi...

"TaKe CaRe Of YoUrSeLf!" Raphtalia...

"CoMe BaCk SoOn!" Filo...

"YoU'rE nOt AlOnE." Ruby...

"We'Re A tEaM, cAsSiEl." Weiss...

"It'S nOt YoUr FaUlT." Blake...

"NoT oN tHe FlOoR." Yang...

Several Grimm stepped out from the trees.

(fan-made Grimm, Ghoul, by Jakd-Nexus on Deviantart. Downsize it to about 9ft tall. Looks closer to the more monstrous-looking Wendigo, so we'll use that instead.)

"OH FUCK THAT!" I immediately threw Nightfall as a shuriken at them and started shooting them with Lionheart. Fuckers are fast, one cut through a tree with seemingly no effort. I recalled Nightfall as wingblades, grabbed Sienna, and flew high above them.

"What are you doing??!!" She shouted.

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I order thee. Heed the Raven's Call and rain Death upon my enemies. Let not Blood, nor Bone, nor Ash remain. Abyssal Cataclysm!" She looked down at the destruction below, seeing them get crushed, incinerated by dark flames, and crushed again in seconds. I landed and needed a moment to catch my breath. It still takes a bit out of me.

"What was that?" She asked, uncertain she even wants to know the answer.

"Magic." I answered. "Fuck! Wendigos!"

"Those voices, did you know them?"

"... Let's just go." I didn't answer.

We returned to the White Fang and she brought me to what appears to be a war room. She had lunch brought in and we ate in silence. I looked at the maps, noting where and what they're targeting. It's mostly Schnee Dust shipments, the rest are really just people denying services to Faunus and anti-Faunus groups.

"I've decided you will have the support of the White Fang, though we will need something else from you." Sienna broke the silence.

"I'm guessing you want me to make sure the things I said you have to gain are actually given to you?"

"If you know, then am I safe to assume you'll do it?"

"I make no promises, though I did also say I can take everyone to a place with significantly less discrimination so far I've seen. Let me correct myself, two, technically three places actually. I can't point to any of them on a map, but one has no humans or Faunus, but several different races instead. The second option I've been told by the blacksmith who made my weapon that humans and Faunus, or Demi-humans as they're called there, all get along fine, though for the time being, that and the next option are all bad ideas. The third option encourages Faunus supremacy, even human slavery is legal, but they do worship a specific human in their history as if he was a god. Grimm don't exist in those places either."

"I'm not even going to ask about these places, I've had enough headaches for a week." She rested her head against her hand.

"How do you think I felt when I was trying to help Ozpin and the others? I was the only one to get any results on my objective. Because they didn't heed my warnings or follow my plans, Vale was toppled in just a few hours. It's amazing how much damage a few incompetent people can do to an entire country."

"If Vale fell so easily, I can't imagine Mistral or Vacuo fairing any better." She commented.

"What about Atlas?" I asked. "I doubt you care for Atlas, but having them on our side would be infinitely better than them abandoning the world or siding with Salem." She tightly gripped the arm rest on her chair.

"Atlas can burn for all most Faunus care!" She answered. "Truth be told, I'd rather not involve myself with them."

"We will have to though. Not just for the extra firepower, but to keep the Maidens and whatever is under each school safe."

"*sigh* I know, but getting the White Fang, or Faunus in general to side with Atlas is like asking them to chew off their arm."

"How I see it, they can fight for survival and freedom, or they can refuse and die or be enslaved." I leaned forward in my chair. "Allied together, a threat men display. Divide them with doubt, and it will all wash away. She knows the world united against her would be a threat, that's why she seeks to divide everyone and turn them against each other. Vale, then Mistral, I would expect Atlas because of how paranoid Ironwood is, then Vacuo. Finally, Menagerie, though because it has nothing of value like an academy, Maiden, CCT tower, or treasure, she's about as likely leave it alone as she is to attack it."

"Who are you really? I'd compare the way you think to that of a military commander, but you're still just a kid!"

"A kid with a more traumatic childhood than probably anyone you will ever meet, and grew up faster as a result." I removed my mask and looked her dead in the eye. "I'm tired of losing people I care about, I'll beat Salem and kill all her associates if it's the last thing I do. That is my resolve. Not just vengeance, but to keep what is mine."

"And just who are you hoping to avenge?" Did she seriously just ask that?

"Does it matter? The result is the same either way." I answered. A thought occurred to me, someone else who might want revenge if she's still alive. Though she's as likely to attack as she is to hear me out. "I just thought of someone else I could probably get in on this. Who do I go to for information? Specifically someone who can find anyone quickly for the right price?"

"If you had asked that from anyone else, they'd tell you to not get involved. You'll want the Spiders."

Chapter 47.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I returned to Menagerie for two days before I returned to Mistral. To say everyone was surprised that I got Sienna on our side would be an understatement, and that's not just because they expected her to try to kill me. I left out that man and Salem of course, want to avoid that if at all possible. Nothing really happened while I was gone getting Sienna's help, word got around that Gira would be holding a public announcement or whatever in a few days to let Menagerie know what's going on as well as try to get some help from the people, and that's really it.

After I returned, the first thing that happened was Kali dropping a tray of tea cups in surprise, it's amazing how useful Stop can be. Ghira and Blake came in from the other room and Blake looked ready to pounce at me, but just walked towards me, saying she was glad I was okay as she hugged me, purring again. I looked between Kali and Ghira, Kali looked happy for her daughter while Ghira looked like he was remembering the words I told him, and he still doesn't know how to respond to that. How do you respond to that? Being told off that technically your daughter might be a pedophile if only because of 3 years once she turns 18 in a few months and that the "activities" he's worried about her being involved in with a then-crippled(?) kid would probably involve said kid being the bitch and getting bent over? Actually, he might be more worried about what goes on in my head if I'm able to think of all that on the spot.

Before the first day ended, I learned from Kali where she and Blake went fishing the week Blake returned home. She looked at me with a knowing smirk before telling me to have fun when we go. Fun... I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed myself when someone wasn't getting screwed over in some way. When I'm done with my Mark of Mastery and become the "King of Darkness", I'll probably return to Remnant and see if I'll like the life of a Huntsman, not before I showthe others Equestria at least. It's funny how objectives change.

The second day started and Blake helped me practice my Semblance. She spared with it as it learned how she fought, it was holding it's own after maybe 15-20 minutes, still takes too long though. I remembered Weiss telling me something Winter told her, how a Semblance is like a muscle, I guess that's fair. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used it, each with a bit of time between each use, it's not like I should expect anything from it so soon. I did ask the Belladonnas if they'd be against me having the original White Fang and their family emblems sown onto my cloak. They were fine with the family emblem, but the other one was a no. It didn't matter to me.

(Imagine it with white outlines on the back of the KH Organization cloak, couldn't find a better one.)

I stayed alone in Blake's room until Kali was done sowing it on the cloak back, large enough to easily be seen. They don't need to see the scars, or the incomplete Heartless emblems, that, and I really don't want to explain all that. Nothing else really happened besides me seeing if I could summon Exile and open the Corridors. I was, but it felt a little heavier than I remembered. I'll be ready for the attack on Haven soon enough though. The things I'm going to do to Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury.

I left again on the third day. I appeared in a room above everyone again, as much as I wanted to, I didn't stay, I had to fly out the window to avoid whoever was coming up the stairs. Sienna said to go to the lower parts of Mistral and keep an eye out for anything with a marking of a spider in it's web. It took several hours and a few would-be thieves, but I found a person with said marking enter a building. It wasn't the right one, but I at least found someone who could lead me to the destination.

After a few minutes of waiting, I heard shouting and glass breaking before the Spider walked out and shouted some more before leaving. About 20 minutes of stalking the Spider, he walked into another building, this one had the marking. I entered it after about a minute and looked for anyone that looked important. It didn't take me long to do so. As I got closer, her two guards stepped forward in a threatening manner while the woman looked at me uninterested.

"It's cute they think they're a threat to me." I commented. "I'm here to exchange services, am I speaking to lil' miss Malachite?" I asked.

"I'm gonna be lil' miss-skin-you-alive if you ever take that tone with me again!" She threatened. "Now unless you have some money, I'm afraid that we won't be doin' business with each other, certainly not with someone hiding behind a mask." I opened a Corridor, causing the entire tavern to jump out of their seats.

"I never said I would be receiving your services first. Let's just say that I can get around undetected. You want something transported without getting the attention of the authorities or something like that? I can eliminate that possibility, though nothing bigger than a person can fit through." I offered. "As for the mask?" I moved it to the side to show her my eye problem. "I doubt you want to clean up blood unless it was someone you wanted dead." I closed the SR.

"... You want to exchange services you said?" She asked.

"I just want you to find someone who is as likely to try to kill me as she is to hear me out." I answered. "What do you need first?"

"Hmm... An acquaintance of ours is holdin' out on us, he still owes us a few weapons. Collect'em for us, as well as some interest, and you have yourself a deal."

"Who am I robbing and where is he?" I asked.

"You were bein' serious? Ha! Never thought I'd be doin' business with a kid!" She laughed. "In that case, you'll wanna go to to the outskirts east of here. A weapon shop called 'Best Chance', I don't care how you do it, as long as he ain't dead or links this back to us." She answered.

"I'll be back in an hour or two, I might have to make a few trips though depending on how much he's holding out on you."

"Hmm... That'd be about 10 cases of Dust, 20 rifles, and 20 PDWs. Don't forget the interest, late fees and all." She smiled like she was going to enjoy this more than she should.

"For a moment, I thought you were going to hold info on what he owes from me. Hahahaha, good thing I brought that up." I leaned on the table, ignoring the guards getting ready to draw their weapons. "I think I might come back if I need info again."

"If you do, we just might have a job for you, Cassiel." What?

"... I have a few ideas of how you know my name, but I don't feel like doing another favor just for an answer I probably already have."

"Well that's disappointing." She commented. "Now run along, we can fulfill our end after."

(2 hours later)

I took what I could into the SR with me, but didn't bring it into the tavern until after I piled up everything. I reopened the SR a few feet in front of Malachite's table and threw anything that wasn't explosive out. I had to make several trips carrying everything to the tavern, and several in and out of the SR. Once I was done, everyone looked at me like they were goldfish.

"How much did you take?" Malachite asked slowly.

"Everything that wasn't bolted down, locked up, or under a camera, which was a lot surprisingly." I answered. "Now as for who I want you to find. Her name is Neopolitan. Brown and pink hair, dichromatic eyes, she's mute, fights with a parasol, illusion type Semblance, and worked with Roman Torchwick. If you're as good as I've been told, that should be more than enough information. So long as I get it before the next full moon at the beginning of the fall semester, I don't care when you get the information." She looked at me, pleased with the results.

"Come back in a day or two, we'll have what you need." I summoned Exile and opened a portal to Ruby and the others, I think it's time I get them in on all this as well.

Why do I keep teleporting into a bedroom? Questions for later. I unlocked the door and heard an unfamiliar voice speaking to the others.

"For thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like minded soul." A two toned voice said. "The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form, and clearly wasn't my last." What? I walked down the stairs. The one calling himself Ozpin looked like a farmboy.

"Time the fuck out! What the fuck are you doing alive??!!" I shouted.

"Cassiel? How-" The kid/ Ozpin tried to ask.

"Shut up you manipulative piece of shit! I don't want to hear anything from you!"

"Cassiel, what's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Did you know that Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood tried to get me to join them after they learned I had power over Grimm and still kept quite a few secrets from me such as the Maidens?" I asked.

"Cassiel, I must ask that-" I pointed Lionheart at Ozpin, Qrow jumped out of his seat and tilted Lionheart upwards as the others stood in front of Ozpin.

"Kid! I need you to calm down and hear what he has to say! Killing him and Oscar won't solve anything! Qrow tried to reason. I ignored him, and who the fuck is Oscar?

"Has he told you what he tried to do to Pyrrha? Make her the Fall Maiden knowing that the chances of her surviving were less than certain, even less for her to stay the same?"

"We already know that." Jaune said.

"How about the fact that he ignored ALL my fucking warnings about who and when the attack would happen? I was right about every fucking thing! Or that they ignored my warnings during the attack too?" I pulled Lionheart away and struck the stairs with it in anger.

"As Qrow said, it's probably best we hear what Professor Ozpin has to say." Ren said.

"Let me summarize it for you. The Maidens are a key, why else would they be prioritized over whatever is in the GIANT BASEMENT beneath the schools, he and Salem are old as fuck and mortal enemies, and Ozpin has spent countless years fighting a losing battle that has fallen heavily in Salem's favor after Beacon. Now, you're trying to secure the Maiden in Anima so you can secure whatever is under Haven. Close enough, Ozpin?" I asked.

"The battle may not be in our favor, but it's far from over." He answered.

"No, you're done, I'm taking over." I said to his confusion.

"... I thought you said you wanted no part in this war?" He said.

"I wasn't, until She made it personal." I laid Lionheart against one of the chairs before sitting down. "While you've been jerking yourself off with your thumb up your ass, I've been doing actual work!" I started to explain. "I apparently saved the leader of the White Fang from a coup when I killed Adam. One thing led to another, now the true White Fang is on our side. I also killed a servant of Salem who fights by injecting Dust into his body-"

"You killed Hazel??!!" Ozpin asked, shocked.

"He wasn't really a threat, I'd consider Cinder before she became a Maiden more of a threat. So long as the White Fang gets a few things they want, Sienna will knowingly fight with us against Salem. Now as of a few minutes ago, I might have gained a new ally, or someone else I'll have to kill. I won't say who, though she'll be a good addition if she joins. Next up, the White Fang that sided with Adam will be attacking Haven just short of two months from now, the last full moon before the fall semester starts. Sienna is preparing to intervene, provide silver eyes if she finds any, and for good measure, Blake is trying to recruit people in Menagerie to defend Haven." Everyone looked like they were still processing what I said.

"When and how did you learn all this if he didn't tell you? And why are you working with the White Fang??!!" Nora asked.

"In order, because I have way too much time to think, and because the White Fang that attacked Beacon was a splinter group." I answered.

"Does miss Belladonna know of Salem?" Ozpin asked.

"No, and if it were up to me, they wouldn't either." I pointed to everyone else.

"So you would make that choice for us?" Ruby asked, almost accusingly.

"The difference between me and Ozpin is he built the schools to train kids to fight in a war that they don't even know of. All you were told was that Huntsmen and Huntresses kill Grimm, nowhere in that job description does it even so much as imply you would be fighting an immortal with an ever increasing army of monsters to protect a power and an item that no one knows exists." I started to explain as I summoned Exile and Nightfall.

"Cassiel, regardless of your opinion of me, we need to work together to stop Salem." Ozpin said.

"Work with the guy who advertises a job that is secretly meant to sign kids up for your war that I'd be more surprised to find that you didn't start? This is fucking Raven and Faust all over again!" I said, frustrated, not realizing what I said.

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"Not important. Anyway, back to what I was saying. I haven't told any of you about the keyblade. To summarize them, they are sentient weapons born of varying degrees of Light and Dark, which is why they cut through Grimm like a hot knife through butter. I'd compare them to silver eyes, but they are just as effective at killing people, reducing their bodies to nothing, and destroying hearts, or souls so to speak. I had no intention of fighting this war until the Fall, and I have the means of removing Salem from the picture."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've already destroyed Salem once, she returned from the grave seconds later and finished me off." Ozpin said.

"Destroyed the body with regular magic? Unlike you, I have what are essentially divine/ demonic weapons, and powerful enough magic to destroy a soul when they rip it out. Even if I can't kill her, I can still pull her into another dimension and be done with her."

"Ozpin's been doing this for a long time, kid. You're overestimating yourself a lot!" Qrow warned.

"This kid wiped the floor with Adam, Hazel, and would've beaten Cinder if Pyrrha didn't decide to play hero against an opponent she couldn't beat!"

"Don't!... Don't EVER talk about Pyrrha like that again!" Jaune threatened, his voice cracking up.

"She was a true Huntress, she was everything Port said a Huntress should be, but it doesn't change the fact that her death accomplished nothing unless you count Ruby's eyes! I will avenge her, I promise you that, but she knowingly went into a fight she couldn't win. In doing so, she got herself killed, me injured, Salem officially claimed the power of the Fall Maiden, and Salem most certainly has whatever was under Beacon. She did the equivalent of betting everything on a losing hand against someone who was in complete control of the game the entire time!" Jaune moved closer to me.

"Shut up! JUST SHUT UP!!!" He tried to punch me, but I caught his fists before pushing him away, causing him to fall over the chair.

"She made a mistake that can't be undone. Accept it and move on. If she truly meant that much to you, then you should stop letting her death hold you back, instead, let it drive you. Cast aside your weakness and trade your Sorrow for Hatred, the desire to kill helps more than the desire to grieve. We both want the same thing, attacking me won't change anything." He clenched his fists as he tried to get his breathing under control while he got back up.

"Cassiel is right about one thing though. Salem at the very least has the territory holding the Relic of Choice now, and her next target is the Relic of Knowledge under Haven." Ozpin said. Why am I always right??!!

"I can most likely bypass the lock because of the keyblade and shadow realm. Though since I'm certain Cinder will attack the same time as the White Fang, I'll wait until then. At the very least, make sure the headmaster here is on our side too before then."

"Unfortunately, that might not be the case with headmaster Leonardo." Ozpin got out of his seat and walked towards a painting. "He isn't just behaving irrationally from what Qrow told me about their meeting with him. He's disobeying specific instructions I had left him. Something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities either. No one outside of this room knows that I've paired with Oscar, and I think it may be best to keep it that way."

"I'm guessing Oscar is the kid you're possessing?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes, though he is still here mentally." He answered.

"Great, a literal kid dragged into this by you." I commented.

"If Oscar didn't come to Haven, he would've either been collateral damage or inevitably been targeted by Salem who would for the most part, be unopposed in claiming the Relics. Thanks to Oscar heeding my words, we can work to turn the tables in our favor." He turned around. "While I'm not happy with you involving the White Fang, I can't deny that more silver eyed warriors would be welcome if they have any. We have two steps ahead of us. The first is enlisting the aid of more Huntsmen.-"

"Now would be a bad time to mention this," I interrupted. "but according to Sienna, no one can find any of the Huntsmen. Either they're hiding and not doing their jobs, or they're dead." Everyone looked shocked at the news.

"That's troubling news." He commented.

"Hopefully she meant the Huntsmen owned by the council. If not, we might be in trouble. I've been in Haven enough times to know a few people who'll put up a good fight., I'll look around tomorrow." Qrow said.

"After that, we can move on to step two." Ozpin continued as he walked back to his seat.

"What's step two?" Nora asked. Ozpin turned around and pointed his cane at the others.

"Getting you four into fighting shape." He answered.

"But, uh, we already know how to fight." Ruby said. Ozpin held his cane in her face.

"You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand-to-hand combat." He pointed out.

"Well, uh, yeah." She shrugged. Ozpin turned his cane towards Jaune.

"Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved, but sorry to say, you've yet to unlock your Semblance." Jaune looked away from him.

"What about Cassiel?" Ren asked.

"I have real magic, I have a Semblance that makes copies of who I'm fighting along with how they fight, I have basically the most versatile weapons you can get, I'm good enough to kill a Maiden, I can tame Grimm, and I can probably kill Salem. Need I say more?" I got out of my seat. "Also, I only came to bring you all up to speed, I didn't come to work with the most incompetent man I've ever known. So with that said," I used Exile to open a portal. "I'm returning to Menagerie. Expect to see me in less than two months. If you find Cinder, immediately call me, I will drop everything to kill her and her friends." I looked to Ruby. "It was nice seeing you again. For now though, this is goodbye."

"Tell Blake I said hi!" She said.

"Will do." I stepped through back to Menagerie.

Now to see what we can do here.

Chapter 48.

View Online

Cassiel POV
(S5 E3)

Everything is coming together so far. All that's really left to do is deal with the White Fang in Menagerie and see how recruiting Neo goes in another day or two. Blake doesn't need to know what else is going on, I'll deal with that and any consequences later. For now though, we just do what needs to be done, we've got just under two months to prepare, and I can easily transport everyone if I need to. I'll go tomorrow, today though, I'll see what needs to be done here. Ghira has everything put together for his speech to address everything going on as well as Adam's plans, now he just needs to deliver it.

The crowd has for the most part listened and recorded his speech in silence. He's addressed the splinter group, Adam's involvement in The Fall, his plans for a coup, how the information was obtained, basically all the bases he could. The crowd looked me like I was insane when he brought up me saving Sienna and recruiting the White Fang in defending Haven.

"I think it's time that the Faunus showed the world that we are equals! Time that we snuff out this splinter group, perhaps even restore the White Fang to what it once was! To do this, I think the answer is clear:-" Okay, I'm taking over now before he says something stupid. I tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Let me take over, do you really think they'll just do it? You might have power and influence, but I'm pretty sure I know people better." I whispered. He took a moment to think.

"Very well..." He stepped off the stage and I stepped up to the microphone.

"To undo years of Hate is an impossible task, one the White Fang sought to do initially. The only things that can combat Hatred are time and effort. Now, as I've said to the Albains and Sienna herself, the White Fang is now likely the most wanted terrorist organization across the globe. The Fall did not benefit their cause, and it certainly did nothing for the Faunus, who are now likely shunned at best, or accused of being murderers at worst. The only thing the White Fang can do to prove it had nothing to do with The Fall is defend Haven, the only thing the Faunus can do is prove that the White Fang neither represents nor speaks for the Faunus." I said, the crowd seems to be understanding the meaning of my words.

"Many of you may not think The Fall or the attack on Haven will affect you, but you couldn't be any more wrong. Adam, before I literally ripped out his heart and reduced the body to nothing, and his little splinter group are all doing worse to humans than humans have ever done to Faunus. People fear the unknown, this always leads to distrust, hate, then violence, the primal need to be superior. It's basic human, and after The Fall, I'd expect Faunus nature as well." I really expecting someone to interrupt me. I continued after taking a moment to catch my breath.

"When I confronted Adam with Blake, I was nearly killed by him. I laid there bleeding out as he preached about justice to the very girl he called 'his darling', how he would destroy everything she loved, then watched as he hurt her then cut off a teammate's arm when she intervened. His group led Grimm into the school as he and his men shot and cut down everyone indiscriminately! He tried to kill someone he claimed to love simply because she didn't want to become a murderer and left the White Fang, and he did all this with a smile on his face! Someone I know who was a victim long before The Fall once said that the White Fang was 'pure evil, nothing but liars, thieves, and murderers'. How do the actions of Adam and his splinter group not prove such? How would it not have been an undeniable fact had I not killed him and stopped his coup?" I asked, the crowd murmured as I continued.

"If this attack on Haven succeeds, a target will officially be placed on the backs of every Faunus. History will repeat itself, and Faunus will be left worse off before the Great War. You have everything to gain that Faunus have been striving for for countless years and you have a lot more to lose. Ghira wishes to propose that the people of Menagerie join in the defense of Haven," The crowd had mixed reactions. "and while I would like to believe it's unnecessary thanks to Sienna. No offense for what I'm about to say, but it would only benefit the Faunus if the so called 'animals' from an island that is essentially called a zoo in the dictionary came in defense of Haven." A few of them looked at me in disbelief that I actually said that.

"I don't want history to repeat itself. Until The Fall, the Faunus had been nothing but good to me. I have my own reasons for wanting to repay that kind-"

"Traitors!" Ah! There it is! Also, bitch! A member of the crowd threw a robe above her, it was Ilia. "Cowards..." Bitch! Who do you think you're talking to??!! "After everything the humans have done to us, everything they've put us through, you're asking us to help them?!" She's pissed, and pushing the wrong buttons.

"Sienna seems to agree it'll be better in the long run. Besides, it isn't just Faunus that get treated unfairly." I reasoned.

"Where was their help when the Dust companies treated our people like slaves?! Where was their help when kingdoms hunted Faunus just for being who they are?! Where was my help when my parents were killed in a Dust mine?! Where?!" I pulled out Lionheart and summoned Exile as wingblades (still works somehow) before shooting near her, causing the crowd to move away from her.

"Clearly what I said went in one ear, got angry, then decibed it looked better with bombs on it's chest!" I turned to Blake. "Turn away, I don't want you to see this." I unzipped my cloak, pulled down my hood, removed my mask, and let my cloak hang down my waist as I showed my bare torso to Ilia to prove a point, scars, emblem, and all. "Humans have done the exact same thing to each other countless times, and you're not the only one made to suffer because of human cruelty and greed! I watched my parents get murdered by a fellow human! I watched that human defile my mother's corpse as I hid in a closet! I watched him kill my grandparents, kidnap my sister, nearly kill me, and I saw what he did to her a week after the incident! And that was just the beginning of my 7 year Hell!" I shouted as I stepped forward, around the stand.

"You can't possibly unde-" I interrupted her by shooting near her again.

"'Where was the help of humans when the Faunus needed it'? I could ask the same of Faunus when I needed it! Don't pull that shit with me. I may never have been a victim of discrimination in any way, but I understand perfectly. I also understand just what a man who's heart is filled with spite and malice can do when given power thanks to Adam!"

"He fights for-" I shot near her again, interrupting her.

"He fought for his people? I can tell you he didn't care for equality, he just wanted the world to suffer! How can you, or anyone in the White Fang say that when he used monsters to help another human destroy Beacon while he and his men slaughtered everyone not wearing the same emblem with smiles on their faces??!!"

"They were all necessary sacrifices!" Ooohohohohooo... She went there.

"Then by all means, feel free to explain to me in a way I can understand how the following were all 'necessary sacrifices' to help your cause:" I extended a finger for each one.

"Destroying a school that is basically designed to train heroes/ monster slayers and the capital city of Vale while using Grimm in the process.
Murdering humans and Faunus indiscriminately or getting them killed by Grimm during the Fall.
Working with Roman Torchwick.
Plotting to kill Sienna and blame a human Huntsman.
Plotting to do Haven what he did to Beacon.

How does any of that help your so called 'cause'?" I started walking towards her. "It's not a cause! It's not justice! It's not a revolution! It's a war that you are trying to start! Something humans specialize in incase you haven't noticed! Look at fucking Atlas for proof!"

"Then it's a war you humans drove us to..." She swiped at me with her whip-sword.

"Barrier!" I blocked her and just as I was about to pursue her, she escaped into the crowd and into the trees further out.

"After her!" A guard shouted. I put the rest of my attire back on and turned around. I saw that the Belladonas were looking right at me. Ghira looked at me with sympathy, Kali looked horrified, and Blake, despite hearing what I went through before, still looked heartbroken.

"You didn't look away, did you?" I asked. Her ears fell forward as she walked up to me, wrapping her arms around me. Seriously, where were people like her when I needed them?

"I couldn't... How could I turn away from that?" She asked with a shaky voice. I tried to think of a response, but I couldn't, so I just wrapped an arm around her and reached behind her ears with the other.

(S5 E5)

Blake and I got up early, it was her idea to go around Menagerie to try to recruit people. I would've preferred to put a few signs up and wait awhile for people to sign up and potentially lure out White Fang traitors, but she wanted actual work instead of a stakeout. Neither of us were very successful, not that my people skills are exactly up to the task. After several hours, we found ourselves by the aquatic market. I was expecting wooden walkways with stalls and shops, but I wasn't expecting any to be in the water. I didn't even know there were aquatic Faunus until this morning.

"I wasn't expecting much, but I'm more surprised that we didn't even get one to join. You don't think it's because I'm human, do you?" I asked Blake after taking a sip from the coconut she bought us before we sat down at one of the tables. She shook her head.

"No, it's not because you're a human." She answered. "It's because we're asking Faunus that were born here to leave their homes to help save another part of the world. As for the Faunus that weren't born here, they came to Menagerie to escape the hardships of where they came from. They just want to be left alone, yet here we are asking both to put the rest of the world before themselves."

"Fair enough, can't say I blame them. Still, we at least have Sienna backing us up." She leaned forward in her seat.

"You said it yourself, one way or another, whatever happens at Haven is going to affect them anyway. If Adam's followers get their way, it's only going to make things worse for the Faunus." Her ears fell forward a little.

"... Sorry if this isn't a question you want to answer, but was Adam different when you first met him?" She looked away, towards the water below us.

"*sigh* No... I just didn't see him for what he was until much later." She answered. "When I first met him, he was crying, Cassiel. I believed he was crying that the Faunus killed during the last raid he went on were his friends, but I didn't find out until later that he was crying because they couldn't kill more humans."

"I don't think that's what the one guy meant when he said 'men cry not for themselves, but for their fallen comrades'. Crying because more humans weren't killed, I thought I was fucked up." I commented before taking another sip.

"Can I ask you an odd question?" She asked.

"Go ahead." I answered.

"Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, 'they are the personification of this word'?" She asked.

"Can't say I have."

"Okay, well, I remember getting to know Ruby and thinking 'this girl is the embodiment of purity'." I thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"I can see it." Though I would think valor instead.

"After a while, I saw Weiss as 'defiance'. And Yang was 'strength'." She continued.

"What am I then?" I asked.

"Hehe... The jury's still out on that one. At first, I thought you were 'restraint', then I thought you were 'discontempt', then for a moment, 'vengeance'." She answered.

"Say what you will, but I'm tired of having things taken from me, of seeing things I care about getting hurt." I commented.

"Cassiel, when you saved me and Yang, I could almost feel what you were feeling towards Adam. I could almost feel your Hate, your Rage, your Bloodlust, but you were in complete control of yourself, and for a moment, I was scared." She looked me in the eye with guilt on her face.

"I'm sorry for scaring you like that." I apologized. She shook her head.

"Don't be, I know that wasn't your intent. When you came back, you were still the teammate I knew for months. When you arrived at the safe zone, you were hurt again, and still you helped defend it from Grimm. Cassiel, when I look at you, I think of you as the personification of 'perseverance'. You don't stop until you've seen it through." I would have thought something closer to relentless.

"I was expecting something else, but I'll take it."

"To give more details about my answer, I first thought of Adam as 'justice', then I thought of him as 'passion'. I didn't see him for what he truly was for a while yet. He was 'spite'. Not 'hate', not 'rage', 'spite'. He wanted nothing more than for the world to suffer as he did, and he would have stopped at nothing until he got what he wanted. His way of thinking is dangerously contagious, that's what worries me about Ilia. She's not like Adam, not yet at least, but I don't know how long that will last."

"She won't fall nearly as far as he did. I saw his face, Blake, SDC branded over his left eye. It's safe to assume he was born into subjugation, probably lost his family at a young age too. As Ilia asked back then, 'where was the humans help when he needed it'? She had no one else to turn to, the White Fang is as much her family as team RWBY is to me. Adam? He rose above everything humans did to him, but the price for his revenge wasn't worth it. Then again, it's not like he had much to lose besides you." I looked Blake in the eyes. "Maybe you might have been able to save him, to stop him from becoming a monster, but if he truly loved you as much as his delusional self thought he did, he would've put you before his revenge. As horrible as this might sound given the implications, I'm glad he made that choice. So back to Ilia, we'll have to face her eventually, what are you going to do?" I asked.

"I'm going to try to help her, I still think of her as a friend, I can't just give up on her." She answered.

"I guess I made the right choice when I fought her that night, though if it's just me and her, I won't make any promises about sparing her a second time. If you're there and she looks like she's about to kill you, I'm choosing you over her."

"It won't come to that!"

"I doubt it will, you're stronger than she is, but she'll be fighting to kill, you won't. You'll be the one holding back, not her, and that's what worries me." She reached across the table and placed her hand over mine.

"She's my responsibility, and I'll see it through. I promise you that." She said, determined.

I trust that she will.

Chapter 48.5

View Online

Cassiel POV

The next day came, we still had no progress in recruitment for Haven's defense. Seeing we weren't getting anywhere, I had a small chat with Blake.

(This morning, Blake's room)

"So this is out of the blue, but how about we go fishing today?" I asked as she exited the bathroom to let me go take a shower.

"We have more important things to do right now, Cassiel." She declined as she used a towel to dry her hair.

"One day off isn't going to hurt our progress. Hell, we're basically already set, we could just let Sienna deal with preparations and just get there on time." I tried to convince her.

"Maybe when this is over, but right now, this takes priority." You're seriously going to make me pull that card, aren't you?

"We still have plenty of time is my point. Besides, we've been doing nothing but work since we got here. That, and I think a day to ourselves would probably be better in the long run, especially since I don't think we'll have a chance to do this again anytime soon. We don't want a repeat of the days leading up to the dance, do we?" I asked her.

"Please don't remind me of that." She responded, not wanting to remember that. Unfortunately for her, I will.

"You do see my point though, right? One day to ourselves, we can go back to dealing with the White Fang after." I offered. "Think of it as me trying to be the boyfriend and taking my girl out to do something I know you enjoy."

"*sigh*... I guess when you put it like that, it's a little harder to say no." Perfect! "Tomorrow, we're continuing where we left off."

"I'll be down shortly." I walked past her, grabbing a towel on the way.

"Don't keep a girl waiting."

"Hey! I only take about 10 minutes in my showers, you four would take so long that there was no hot water for me! Yang especially, but you and Weiss took your sweet time as well!" I laughed.

"Are you going to keep talking, or are you going to take your shower so we can go?"

"... This has never happened for anyone before, but you win." I walked out the door and towards the bathroom. True to my word, I only took about 10 minutes. Kali had just finished making breakfast again, it feels good to live like this, having something to look forward and wake up to, it's a shame this won't last. I am just now noticing Blake switched into a black swimsuit, I'm still stuck with my cloak, not that I have any reason to wear anything else.

The Belladonas kept a few boats behind the house, fishing nets too. Must have been a hobby of Ghira's too, or maybe he just knows how to prepare seafood. The boat was a lot lighter than I expected, not even 10 steps away from the home, Kali rushed out to make sure we had sunscreen and handed me a bag containing some swim trunks. When Blake turned back around, Kali looked at me with her biggest smirk yet before leaving, does she not know how flexible Blake is?... That came out wrong... Regardless, she already saw everything above the belt so there's no point in trying to hide it, so I flew back up to Blake's room and changed. The trip through the water started off slow, I used Aero to give us a small boost at the start. It would still be a while yet before we reached the island.

"Cassiel?" Blake snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Need something?" I sat down. "Blizzard." I started using Nightfall to cut the ice block in my hand.

"What really brought this on? I'm not against it, but you said it yourself, it was out of nowhere."

"I was serious when I said I wanted to take you out, to try and be boyfriend material. We won't have time to do something like this again for a while, and because your mother helped a little." I answered. "You've got a great family, reminds me a lot of my own."

"I'm sorry if this brings back memories you'd rather forget, but what was your family like?" I stopped cutting the ice and took a minute to compose myself.

"I can't remember as well as I'd like to. My father had a job that let him work from home, he was the one making most of the money in the house. He was a busy man, but he was always able to make time for various reasons. Something needed to be fixed, homework when mom wasn't around, play with me and my sister, even a bedtime story on the extremely busy nights." I continued what I was doing, trying to shape it to be flat and thin as a makeshift oar to put at the end of Nightfall.

"I think our fathers would've been fast friends."

"Probably... My mother's the one who took care of almost everything. She couldn't trust my father to cook, apparently he set fire to cereal once-hahahaha!" I laughed with Blake.

"Whahahahaaat??!!"

"I never asked how he managed to accomplish that when the nearest fire source was at the other end of the kitchen. She made sure he wasn't so caught up in his work that he'd skip 2 meals a day. So long as he remembered to look at the clock, she didn't need to go upstairs into his study for much. She was gentle, when me or my sister did something wrong, she made sure we knew why we were in trouble before she punished us, I don't think she ever raised her voice even once at us. She was the perfect example of what a mother should be." My voice started to crack.

"You don't have to force yourself to do this. We can continue this later if you want." She said, concerned.

"I'm fine." I told her. "My sister was by no means a troublemaker, but she was a little mischievous, especially for her age. Sometimes, her pranks would take days to notice. Moving my father's favorite books to another part of his study, flipping a painting upside down, switching all the tv remotes, if she could reach it, it wasn't safe, and she was surprisingly intelligent for her age. Great artist and singer too. She would've gone places if she were still here."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, the one who took it all away is a charred and dismembered corpse 6 feet under, I personally saw to that." I finished what I was doing with the ice. "Fire." I melted a thin hole through it, just thin enough for the wing near Nightfall's tip to slide in. "Blizzard." I froze it to Nightfall after sliding it through the hole to use it as an oar. I think I'll stop here, I don't want to continue this conversation.

"... Cassiel?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I ask a rather personal question, two actually?" I don't see why not.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Those emblems on your chest and back, what are they?" I was hoping not to answer that one.

"... Let's just say I paid a price for power when we fought Adam." I answered her first question. She looked concerned for a moment, but let it go, knowing I wouldn't give more clarification.

"Do you still hate yourself?" I was expecting almost anything else.

"*sigh*... I'm not sure." I answered. "I guess I don't, not anymore. I'm still not proud of who, what I've become, but there's not much that can be done besides live and don't lose anything worth protecting. So long as I have that, I can try to live with myself."

"You probably need to hear this more than I did, but there's no past self more important than the present. Mom told me that when we went fishing on the island. You're getting better, you will get better."

"Maybe, nothing we can do right now though. So enough about me, what about you?" I asked. "I don't really know too much about you besides your history with the White Fang and birthplace."

"Well, you at least have an idea of my past 2 years before applying to Beacon. Before that–before I met Adam and ran off with him, I guess you could say I was living like a princess by Menagerie's standards." She started.

"Well I mean, you do have a giant house and guards all over." I commented.

"I didn't really have any problems growing up. I couldn't really make a lot of friends though for various reasons, but no one ever really gave me any trouble. I told you before I was basically born into the White Fang, I was active to say the least, but I mostly kept to myself. Our childhoods sound pretty similar up to a point in time, not counting race." She answered.

"Alright then." I looked past her, I expected the trip to take a lot more time, we're already close to a good spot to land. "Looks like we're here." She turned around and got ready to jump off. We probably could get off the boat now, the water here looks shallow enough that we could just walk through it, pulling the boat with us.

"There's a few good spots, there'll be plenty, I'm sure." She said.

"So how are we doing this?" I asked. "I can probably spear-fish using the twinblades, wingblades, or scythes if they're big enough and at a good angle, but you know better I'm sure."

"Whatever suits you." She answered. We closed in on the shores, she jumped out with me doing the same after. The water was at our waistes, I still used Nightfall to make sure the footing was good. Once we reached the shore, we left the boat there and Blake led the rest of the way. At the bottom near a small cliff, no more than 20 ft from the water below, we stopped for a moment so she could pull out a fishing net.

"The spot further in, or is it here?" I turned Nightfall into a twinblade.

"It's here, I decided the best place to try first would probably be where mom and I caught that tuna we ate shortly after coming home."

"Fair enough." I removed my mask, I forgot I was still wearing it and meant to take it off once it was just us. I left it near the bag and walked into the water with her, I dived in to see how deep it was before looking for any sizeable fish. Blake's a faster swimmer than me, cat must want her tuna. She doesn't look like she sees anything, I looked further down and thought I saw something shining, I resurfaced first before diving back down. It was a ring, silver or white gold, an amethyst, and it looked like something was written in it. I can't tell what it says, but a gift is a gift, though when is the question. I slid it on my finger since I had nowhere else to put it then resurfaced again, Blake following shortly after.

"Anything?" She asked.

"No, you?"

"Same."

"Want to stay here and see if that'll change, or try another s- OH SHIT!" I turned Nightfall into wingblades and started to repeatedly stab into the water around me.

"What happened!" She yelled.

"Something brushed up against my leg." I looked at Nightfall to see if it got anything, there was a tuna bigger than my arm impaled on it. "I guess we caught something."

"Ppppfffhahahahaaahhhaa!" She laughed.

"Okay, laugh it up! I can't imagine your reaction being any different!"

"Ahaha... I'm sorry. Let's stick around for a little longer, then we'll move on. In the mean time, stick it into one of the small, air tight bags." She said before diving back down.

"Alright." I did as she said, took me a bit to find what I was looking for. I turned back around and saw she caught another about the same size as what I got. She walked out of the water and dropped her catch into the... When... Where was that bucket? Screw it, not questioning it.

"I don't think we'll need to change locations after all, a bunch of them just started swimming in." Good to know.

"I guess we're having a feast tonight!" I summoned Exile as wingblades. We kept at this for a while longer, once the bags and bucket were full, we started going back to the boat. I carried both on the way, this is a lot lighter than I expected. I looked at Blake as she led the way back, never thought I'd think this about anyone, but she's got an amazing figure that her swimsuit hugs nicely, I'm changing more than I thought I would. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard her scream, she probably lost her footing because she was falling to her side. I dropped everything and casted Stop on her before rushing up to her and preparing to catch her. A few seconds passed and she continued her fall, but I caught her.

"Thanks." She took a moment to compose herself. "What the..." Her hand slid down my arm, the one with the ring. "Where did you get this?" She stood back up as she examined it.

"I found it when we were fishing." I answered.

"... Do you know the legend of this island?"

"No." She let me go so I could pick everything back up.

"There was once a Faunus princess and a human noble in love with one another, of course, they had to keep their love secret. One day, before he went off to war, she gave him a sacred sea shell ring. He fell in battle and the ring found it's way back to her. In her despair... Well... You can see how that goes." She told as she continued leading the way back.

"Suicide. I've always hated the idea, but understood it anyway. People don't do exactly do it because they want to die, but because it hurts too much to keep living. What many seem to not understand though is how it affects those around them, they don't consider the consequences they might have to face either. I do know what it's like, but I saw it as the cowards way out, only reason I'm still alive." I commented as we arrived at the boat.

"Consequences? Besides death?" I expected you to latch onto anything else.

"Different religions. Some condemn the act with an eternity of torment, others say the Void awaits them while others say their souls are to wander the earth for eternity. Enough about that though." I set everything down and started pushing the boat into the water with her. Once it was in, I took everything onto the boat and used Aero to get it going.

A few minutes out, I had an idea. I used Aero to turn the boat so my back was facing Menagerie, startling Blake.

"What was that about??!!" She tightly gripped the sides of the boat.

"So I could do this." I switched over to her side, sitting right next to her. I pulled off the ring and held it out to her, one of my arms wrapping around her shoulder and pulling her closer. "I was planning to give this to you later, but I guess now's as good a time as any. You know I'll be leaving eventually to continue with my 'Mark of Mastery'. This is my promise to return. When I leave, will you wait for me?" I asked. She looked between me and the ring for what felt like minutes before raising a hand to my cheek. She looked like she wanted to take it a step further, but she didn't want to do something that might not be well received. She took the ring instead and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Make sure you come back, alright? I won't forgive you if you break that promise."

"I'll be back, I have plenty of reasons to keep that promise."

Maybe this will be my home once everything is done and over with.

Chapter 49.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I got up early the next day, Blake intended to continue trying to recruit Menagerie into defending Haven at around 8 in the morning. I worked around that and got up at 6, I left a note on her nightstand before leaving the mansion and opened a portal to Mistral. Everyone was already up and about it sounded like, I heard something outside, so I decided to check it out from above. Ruby is training in hand to hand with Ozpin's new skin suit. I'm probably going to kill Ozpin in the future depending on how badly he screws up his current/ last chance. So long as his heart hasn't molded with Oscar's, I should be able to separate them, and if not, I'd expect Raven's Keyblade of Hearts to be able to do it.

The match is actually pretty sad to watch. Slow and predictable, so many openings. I'm tempted to go doen there and show them how it's supposed to be done, but I have more important things to do. I will at least point out the mistakes both keep making; going airborne is a very bad idea because it leaves you wide open, no part of the body is off limits, putting that much of your weight into a punch is also a bad idea, and it looks like Oscar is forgetting to use his aura if him recoiling that much while he's down is anything to go by. He got back up, I didn't hear what he said, I do know I heard Ozpin before he showed Ruby the difference between them. I turned away and saw Qrow leaning against the doorway.

"Not gonna say 'hi' to your friend? Or sister I guess in your case?" He asked.

"I have a meeting with some people that are shall we say less than friendly." I answered. He put his hands up.

"I'm not one to judge, I have a good idea of who you're referring to since I've more than likely dealt business with them before. Actually, there's a few things I wanted to ask you, but wasn't goven a chance."

"And they are?" I asked. He pulled out his canteen and downed what had to be about a third of it's contents before looking at me seriously.

"I only know of one other person who used a weapon like yours. Not the knock-off on your back, but the ones you pull out of nowhere, and you seem to know more than she did. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're younger than Ruby, and she was too young to remember her. Do you have any connection to Summer Rose at all?" Wait, she was a keyblade wielder??!!

"No, I've never met her. Now I have a question of my own, was that the real reason why Ozpin enrolled me in Beacon?" A weapon? Really???

"No no no... Do you really think that poorly of him? I mean, he let Jaune in, and even made the newbie a leader." He pointed out.

"I see that as him allowing another potential meat shield to work for him. Besides, I'll let what happened to Vale, Beacon, and everyone else speak for themselves as to how poorly I think of him." I countered.

"He made mistakes, but he's still trying to-"

"There's a difference between a mistake and a fuck up! Mistakes can be corrected or made up for, mistakes don't cause permanent damage nor do they get people killed! Now hurry up and ask your other questions, or I'll be leaving now."

"Do you really think you can beat Salem when Ozpin's been tryin' for millenia? Ruby and Yang don't know about this, but I was there when Summer..." He looked back at his canteen and drank more than he did the first time.

"Well that confirms my suspicion that Salem killed Summer." I commented. "Summer had silver eyes, a keyblade, likely had magic thanks to it, but I have 6 things she didn't:

A teacher who I was being serious when I called her a Goddess because she literally is one, said teacher has a keyblade of her own.
Power over curses.
Power over Light and Darkness.
Extremely fast progression considering I started training less than a year ago and have advanced enough to beat Adam, Hazel, and I would have beaten Cinder if it weren't for Pyrrha's interference.
I can at least partially summon my own creatures of Darkness.
Last but not least, like Salem, I can tame Grimm.

I'm not claiming to be better, especially not morally speaking if she was anything like Ruby, just better equipped. Besides, if I can't kill her," I opened the SR. "I can at least seal her away until she somehow breaks out on her own or someone else does so, which shouldn't be possible to my knowledge without a keyblade." I answered. "How much did she know about the keyblade?" I asked.

"No more than Ozpin. Even she thought it was her Semblance until she actually found it during our last year at Beacon. Though As far as I remember, she never used magic." He answered. "You're certain you never met her?"

"If I did, that would mean she visited my home before I was old enough to remember, and she would have needed a keyblade to reach it. Besides, keyblades are sentient to the extent that they choose their wielders, and I'm sure I've heard mine speak to me a few times."

"You don't suppose Ruby might get her own, do you?"

"It's possible considering Summer had one, it's also possible that she won't get one for one reason or another. When I got mine, I basically just unintentionally passed a test and one of the things I got as part of my reward was weapons that would suit me best. Whether that means He chose these weapons or if they actually chose me, I don't know." I walked towards the Corridor. "I will avenge her, and if by the off chance her heart still remains, it's possible she can be brought back, though for how long is another matter entirely." I could almost feel his eyes widen.

"What do hearts have to do with this?"

"That's for me to know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a possible ally to meet. Do me a favor and keep this between us. I don't need Ozpin or god forbid Ruby and Yang getting on me about this." I walked through the Corridor as I summoned Nightfall as wingblades and flew towards the Spiders. The streets were pretty quiet, not very crowded either. I found the tavern and saw there wasn't much going on here either. I saw Malachite just sitting down, about to be served breakfast. I looked around to see if Neo was here already, if she is, she's using her Semblance to hide, if not, I can wait. I exited the SR and approached Malachite, startling everyone here.

"Kid, it is too early for that." Malachite said, displeased.

"Sorry, but I'm kind of in a hurry, so I'll make this quick. Have you found Neo?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, we did. She was lookin' for you too." She said looking past me on the floor above. I turned around and thought 'shit, it really is too early for this'. She was standing on top of the railing with an unsettling smile (where the fuck was she?).

"So what are- OH SHIT!" She leaped at me with her parasol, but she broke on impact with Lionheart. Okay, she either improved or I was wrong about her Semblance before because that should've been impossible for her to my understanding. She reappeared by the stairs to my right and started attacking me rel-... Where'd that hat-... That's Roman's hat... She genuinely wants to kill me! The fuck did I do??!! Oh! Right.

She pushed me back to the table occupied by Malachite, I was blocking most of her attacks, I can't go all out if I want to recruit her. I stabbed Lionheart into the floor with Blizzara to have ice spikes extend out of the floor force her to back off like on the train. She jumped backward to avoid being impaled before jumping over the spikes to attack me. I dodged to the left and shot her with Lionheart, which she blocked by opening up her weapon, then lunging at me again. I casted Barrier right in front of me, but the Neo that hit it was a fake, and she thrusted at me with the blade she hides in her weapon. Probably against my better judgment, I caught her blade, my hand going up to hers as I casted Blizzara at her feet. She tried to hit me with the other part of her weapon, but I caught her other arm with my own.

"I'm not here to fight, Neo." I told her. I was expecting a longer fight, but I'll take it.

She glared at me, struggling to move.

"We both want revenge, but your hatred is misplaced. I have a good idea of when and where we can have our revenge." I can almost feel her pain as I look into her eyes. Roman meant a lot to her. "I have much to tell you, answers you want, and more, but first, I need to to calm yourself and not attack me or the people I'll be working with."

She looked to be contemplating my offer as she struggled less.

"Ruby didn't kill Roman, he died to a Grimm that swallowed him whole. At least, that's what she told me." I jumped back and shot the ice holding her in place with Lionheart. "From what I understand, he died because of Cinder and her master. Before we continue, can you please pull out your scroll and use that holographic text feature or whatever it was called?" I asked. She spent what felt like minutes deciding what she wanted to do, but sheathed her weapon and pulled out her scroll. I paid close attention in case she used her Semblance again.

"Tell me everything, then I'll decide what happens." She wrote.

"We both know you can't kill me. But let's move this elsewhere." I opened the SR. and walked through, keeping an eye on her as she followed. Once she was inside, confusion became evident on her face. "I would say this is my Semblance, but then I'd be lying. I'm your only way out right now, so attacking me isn't exactly a good idea." She looked ag me angrily.

"So you're holding me against my will?"

"Not exactly, this is more like a safety precaution. Besides, as if you and Roman were above such methods." It looked like I struck a nerve as she lunged at me again, I dodged to the side and shot her halfway, hitting her shoulder. She didn't move as I kept Lionheart aimed at her. She started typing again.

"Get on with it. Why were you looking for me?"

"I thought you might want revenge too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Cinder forced him into working for her, right? Ruby may have been the last person he saw, but she didn't kill him, rather, a Grimm did. Grimm invading Vale was part of her plan, right? You lost your home, so many associates, but most of all, you lost your only friend to her plans. Sound right soo far?"

She nodded, clenching the hand holding her weapon.

"I have a very good idea of where she's going to appear and when. This gives a chance to kill her and screw over her master in more ways than one at the same time. Though, there are a few things you'll need to be aware of, starting with magic."

She looked at me, almost like she was asking if I was serious. I showed her I don't need Dust to manipulate the elements, that the Corridors are a result of magic (technically true). I told her about the Maidens and the Relics, about Salem and Ozpin. I was doing most of the talking, I saw a tear roll down her cheek once she learned Roman died just so Cinder could gain power and the Relic, that Cinder likely knew he was going to die. I told her about the day we can expect Cinder, that if she or another woman kills her, they will most likely become a Maiden. I don't care who becomes a Maiden, from what I understand, Salem only needs the Maidens for the Relics, she no longer needs a Fall Maiden. Salem shouldn't care to the extent that she'll have to find another Maiden to serve her.

Neo wanted proof, I resummoned Nightfall as wingblades and told her to take my hand, which she reluctantly did. We flew under the school (I love not needing doors and elevators) and in front of the vault. We stood on a long walkway leading to a giant door that looked to be built into a tree, definitely Spring, no way it could be alive down here otherwise. We exited the SR and I got a closer look at the Vault. The tree was real, the door looked like it had glowing light blue vines and leaves carved into it. I looked down below and saw nothing but darkness before looking towards Neo.

"This is the Vault of the Spring Maiden. I could probably use the Corridors to get inside and steal the Relic, but I'm not going to. I don't care which of us kills Cinder, I'm still going to try, but having the Fall Maiden be anyone not working for Salem would be better if that person works with us. If you kill her, you'll have a target painted on your back, especially if you take the Relic. If you work with us, well, safety in numbers. Just for working with us though, you'll have made an enemy of Salem. Is revenge worth it? Or will you put it behind you and start a new life?"

She crossed her arms and turned towards the edge of the walkway, contemplating what to do.

"Revenge doesn't come without a price. I know my nights didn't become any easier after I had mine on the guy who massacred my family and destroyed my life, and I was a child back then, certainly don't regret it though. I'd do it a thousand times more if I were able. In the end though, if Salem wins, you have just as much to lose if you do nothing as you do if you join us, you have more to gain as well if you do."

She took off Roman's hat and held it to her chest, almost clinging to it. Her breathing changed as her face took on a pained expression for a moment. As she was making her decision, I tried to think lf her relationship with him. They look nothing alike, step siblings? Maybe they were lovers? She looks a little young for that, maybe he took her in? Orphan or unwanted child without a voice, adopted by crime boss? I would never expect this level of loyalty, much less love for dead crime bosses from an underling that under any other circumstance would hardly count as a bottom feeder.

"If I were you, I'd do what I told Jaune regarding Pyrrha. Consequences be damned, trade your Sorrow for Hatred, the desire to kill is more useful than the desire to mourn."

She started walking towards me, she looks like she made her decision. She started typing on her scroll again.

"You're certain she'll be here?" She asked.

"Certain? No, the only reasons she wouldn't be here would be if our timing was off or she was replaced. Otherwise, either she'll be here with the Spring Maiden or she'll have claimed the power for herself, though I wouldn't put it past her to stab the Maiden in the back if she brings her instead. She made the Fall happen almost exactly like how I would have, I believe she'll do it this way because I would too." I answered, she looked at me, questioning my reasoning.

"'Because that's how you would do it'? That's all you can give me?"

"This is an opportunity regardless. I'm not forcing you to do anything, I'm trying to convince you to fight against a common enemy who is likely to appear on a certain date." I removed my mask and shut off my aura, allowing my eyes to bleed again. "You can walk away, you can try and fail to get revenge with your misplaced hatred, or you can join us and have you revenge, perhaps more as well." I held out one hand as the other reached for Lionheart. She looked towards the edge again before looking me in the eyes.

"I have nothing left to care about losing regardless." She shook my hand, accepting the offer.

Everything is set. Now I just need to deal with the White Fang in Menagerie.

Chapter 50.

View Online

Cassiel POV

Time passed and the splinter group made their move finally. Blake wanted me to stay out of sight and wait to attack if it was a trap the night they started the attack while she went to meet with Ilia. I came VERY close to painting that entire street red when a bat winged Faunus dived down and pinned Blake to the ground, even closer when the spider Faunus restrained her. I slowly pulled out Lionheart and aimed for the bat while keeping an eye on Ilia.

"I am sorry it has to be this way, but you and your family are holding the Faunus back!" Ilia said in an aggressive tone.

"Because we're trying to protect people? In what world do you live in where attacking the innocent is the right thing to do?" Blake asked like Ilia was insane.

"The same one as you!" Ilia answered. "There's no such thing as innocent, no right thing to do, only what's best for us!" She stepped closer to Blake. "There's the humans that still hate the Faunus, and there's the others who stand by and let the hate happen! But do you know what snuffs out hate?" She held her weapon to Blake's face. "Fear!"

'I can't even begin to explain how wrong and contradictory that is. Fear tends to breed Hate, I thought that was common knowledge by now.' I thought to myself as she continued on. After she told Blake that her family was about to be killed, she left with the bat and left the other two here to deal with Blake.

"NOW!" Blake shouted. I shot the spider in the shoulder, I was aiming for the head, but it's dark out. She fell down and lost consciousness as I bashed the other one in the back of the head and shot his foot before blasting him away with Aero. After setting Blake free, I casted Cure on her.

"Call the police?" I asked.

"Yes!" She started calling Kali as we ran back. I would have opened the SR, but it goes without saying that you can't get a signal in there.

One we arrived, to put it simply, it was chaotic. I don't know when they arrived, but Sienna's faction (no, she wasn't here) was helping to deal with the splinter group. I blew open the front door, sending pieces flying into one of the Albains and knocked out another guy who was about to shoot Ghira in the back. Once the Albains recovered, they used their weapons go send a cyclone of fire and wind my way. Something weak like this? I just held out my hand with Aero held in it until Blake caught their attention, jumped down, and trapped their hands in ice by using her Semblance with Dust when they tried to stab her.

"Dad, where's mom?" Blake asked.

"Not sure, I was ambushed right away!" He answered.

"One we take down Corsac and Fennec-"

"No! Go now! Cassiel and I can deal with them!" He interrupted Blake.

"Save your mother, we can deal with the rest afterward." I told her. "Permission to kill them?" I asked Ghira.

"Denied."

"Uugghh... I hate holding back against enemies trying to kill me."

Blake left to search for her mother while Ghira and I dealt with the brothers. I switched out Lionheart for Exile just kept on the defensive. I want to wait this out, either Blake saves Kali, encounters Ilia, or both. I'm sure Kali is safe thanks to the combined efforts of the police and the true White Fang. The fight moved into the hallway, while I was toying with Fennec, Corsac got thrown through a wall by Ghira. Something shot me, causing me to be distracted long enough for Fennec to shoot me in the face with fire. I am glad I have aura, he regretted that though when I retaliated with my own Fira. I took a moment to let my eyes adjust before following him.

The next room was in flames, Blake was on the ground, and Ilia was just standing around. Ignoring the stab wound on his back, Ghira was holding his own just fine against the brothers. I turned my attention to Ilia, who's weapon was frozen, it's not a threat at the moment. I turned Exile into a twinblade and rushed her. I casted Blizzard on her weapon just before Exile hit it. She tried to fight back, but with a deformed weapon while fighting me, it wasn't even worth calling a fight. Once I had her pinned to a pillar, I summoned Nightfall and was ready to finish her.

"STOP!" We both turned to Blake, who had tears in her eyes. "Please?" She pleaded. Ilia pushed me back and tried to get away from me. Before I could stop myself, I fell towards the pillar, causing it to break and the walkway above to fall. Ghira caught it, allowing her to get away, but he won't be able to hold it for long. I casted Barrier underneath it several times, and even that quickly had cracks forming. I was too focused on keeping it up that I didn't notice Fennec rushing towards Ghira. Blake pulled Ghira away just before Fennec could attack him, the Barriers broke and Fennec was crushed, his weapons exploded a second later. The main door opened, Kali walked through, dragging the bat with her.

'So she can fight too? Okay then.' I thought as Blake ran over to embrace her.

"What have you done?" Oh! I forgot Corsac was here still. "You've ruined everything... EVERYTHING!!!" He shouted. I changed Exile into a scythe.

"All we did was try to preserve peace, you're the ones who betrayed your own ideals and look where that got you." I started channeling Dark Fire into Exile. "All your men beaten, broken, chained, and dead, even your dear brother. Was it worth it? All this, and still no closer to your goal? Don't bother answering, you'll be joining him in Hell soon enough." I was about to lunge at him, but Ilia struck him when he started running towards us before breaking down herself.

Once we were outside, more of the police went in to look for any stragglers. A member of Sienna's faction came up to me to inform me that Sienna is ready for the defense of Haven and waiting for the enemy to make a move. I'm more surprised that people are still going through with the attack, it literally is nothing more than terrorism at this point. I looked towards Blake as she walked down the stairs to address the crowd in front of the building.

"Humans didn't do this!" She pointed behind her.

'Really? I'm pretty sure I destroyed a door and the pillar that got Fennec killed.' I thought.

"We did this! Faunus! We did this to ourselves!" She put her hand to her chest. "We're just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out! So why are we letting Adam's followers do it for us?" Her ears fell forward. "By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place! And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves!"

'I swear to Raven, if she doesn't unite these people, there is officially no hope for this world.'

"This is the message they will bring to the world if no one stops them, but we can stop them! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem, and I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution! I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and defend Haven academy is asking you to put your lives at risk, but that's what's at stake! So I'm going, I'll stand by myself if I have to." She said.

"You're not going without me, that's for damn sure." I said as I walked down the stairs to her.

"And I'll stand with you!" Ilia said, having finally chosen a side. "If... If you'd have me." She took a step forward, but was stopped by I think... I just remember he had 'Rat' in his name, we'll call him captain until I remember.

"You're not going anywhere!" He told her.

"Let her come." Blake told him, he looked at her like she was insane.

"You're just going to forgive her? After everything she did?" He asked.

"I am." She answered. He looked at Ghira and received a nod.

The crowd started volunteering after Ilia reached Blake. I still don't trust her, but I do trust Blake. Ghira and Kali started going over everything we'll need to prepare for the defense in two weeks. Weapons, shields (or they can just dodge), training, and transportation. Good thing a boat captain owes us a favor on top of Sienna's White Fang being here.

(2 days before the attack, Sienna's throne room)

"I just need you to keep everyone in the building and everyone else out. Blake and I have already gotten Menagerie on our side, they'll be taking orders from her and probably her parents. Do you think you can play 'Sentry'?" I asked her.

"I'm sure we can, but the real question is, can you get the job done?" She asked in turn.

"I'm certain I can, and I'll do what I can to uphold my end of the bargain."

(1 day before the attack, with Neo in the SR on Haven campus)

"Do not try to attack Cinder head on." I warned. "The only three people with any chance against her that I know will be there are me, Qrow, and Spring if Cinder hasn't killed her yet, though it's possible Spring is on her side. Anyone else on her side is fair game." I warned her.

"If I see the chance, I'm taking it." she responded.

"Trust me when I say that your 'chance' more than likely won't yield results. The best time to strike would be when her aura is broken. Play with Emerald and Mercury until then, but the Maidens are off limits, especially if they're together! Revenge is not worth dying for in your case."

"Then what about you? Do you intend to fight both?" She asked.

"Nope. Qrow, Oscar/ Ozpin, Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora should definitely be enough for her pets, probably for one Maiden too, especially if I electrocute Nora and silver eyes affect magic like I think it might, though it might hurt me as well. It's a price I'm willing to pay. I might 'run', I might do a lot of crazy shit, but remember that I will still be there to fight."

"If not by me, you'll make sure she dies, right?"

"The only way she'll survive is through the impossible. Now wait around here until you hear fighting. It will most likely be in the main hall where that statue is. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to let Ruby and the others know not to shoot you." We both exited the SR so I could send the text.

(Day of the attack, short distance away)

I received a text from Ruby.

"Cinder."

"Be right back! Bitch to brutally murder!" I told everyone around me. I waisted no time opening a portal and throwing Nightfall and Exile as shuriken through it before passing through. I saw Cinder and her pets, the woman that saved me, Blake, and Yang at Beacon, but without her mask, and two new faces.

(Vernal)

(Leonardo Lionheart)

"God fucking damnit! I missed!" I shouted. "So Cinder..." I threw my mask behind me. "Ready for round 4?" I activated my armor, recalled Nightfall and Exile as scythes, and started channeling Darkness through me.

"Cassiel... I've been wa-" Cinder started.

"Shut up!" I looked towards Raven and the other girl, the former looking at me, shocked. "I owe you my life as well as two members of my team, so I have no interest in you for now."

"Kid, it would be in your best interest to back off now." Raven warned.

"I killed Adam, I would have killed Cinder at Beacon if Pyrrha didn't act against my better judgement, and I killed Hazel. I'm pretty sure I can deal with a handicapped Maiden." I responded. Emerald and Mercury looked at me fearfully as I looked to the middle aged man above. "As for you, you're going to die tonight!"

"You're-" Mercury started.

"Unless you want me to fly to the nearest desert and bring back a cactus so I can impale you with it, wait your turn!" I threatened him. "The same goes to you, Emerald!" I looked towards Cinder. "Tell me, how are the eye and arm treating you?" I mocked her.

"No worse than yours by the end of tonight?" She answered. I saw her left arm shaking under the long sleeve she's wearing. I laughed.

"You're shaking! You actually fear me! Now that's good to know! Unfortunately for you, you've seen nothing of what I can really do. Before we start, I'd like to have confirmation to decide who dies first. What happened to all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral. Sienna told me no one knows where they are."

"Why... Leonardo has been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, very long time. He's actually the reason we got into the Vytal tournament, isn't that right, professor?" She asked him, enjoying this more than she should.

"It was you." Qrow spoke up. "You sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the kingdom, and you gave it all to Her!

"I-" Leo tried to respond.

"I couldn't find any of them, because you let Her kill them!" Qrow continued, Leo had nothing to say.

"Aaww, don't feel bad Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually." Cinder told him. I really don't like the fact that he and my weapon share the same name.

"What is wrong with you??" Jaune started in a shaky voice. I'm just now noticing Yang and Weiss are here too.

"Would you like a list?" I asked him honestly.

"How can you be so broken inside. To take so many lives, and come here to rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of..."

"...Jaune?" Nora said.

"ALL WITH A DAMN SMILE ON YOUR FACE??!!" He shouted, and he's crying now.

"Everybody, stay calm!" Qrow said as everyonw drew their weapons.

"I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!!! DO YOU HEAR ME??!!"

"Kid!"

"Get in line, I already have first dibs." I told him.

"WELL??? SAY SOMETHING!!!" Cinder looked at him unimpressed.

"... Who're you again?" Cinder asked Jaune. He charged at her, she created a horribly made scimitar to block his attack.

"Barrier!" He ran into it before he could stop himself.

"Forgive the meat shield, he knows not what he's doing." I walked up to him and threw him back "But I do." I shot behind me on the floor above to give Neo the signal, as I was about to start the incantation to remove her aura, the voice spoke once more.

As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I offer thee this gift of Life Essence.

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I offer thee this gift of Life Essence."

Grant me the power to rend my enemies asunder.

"Grant me the power to rend my enemies asunder."

Through Blood, may Retribution be found.

"Through Blood, may Retribution be found."

Blood Thorn.

"Blood Thorn." Seconds passed and nothing happened.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Cinder asked. I collapsed almost immediately after, blood dripping from several locations on my body that felt no pain beforehand. I deactivated my armor and let the upper half of my cloak fall so I could examine my chest and arms. Those cuts weren't there before, but I paid them no mind, paid no mind to my Darkness flowing into the wounds and turning the blood black as it exited the body.

"Cassiel?" Yang said, concerned. I dashed foward toward Cinder and she blocked my attempt to cut off her head.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Cinder said as she pushed me back. She dashed toward me and I let her graze my chest, blood shot out and struck her immediately after her blade connected with me, forcing her to back away. "What was that??!!"

"There's a reason I'm called the 'Cursebearer'. Now here is where you'll die." I imbedded Nightfall into the ground and aimed Lionheart at her.

Chapter 51.

View Online

Cassiel POV

(Orochi X theme)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI-gO7fUL_w

I shot Cinder multiple times before she dashed towards me. I intentionally let her sword hit my arm so I could grab it and shoot her with Lionheart, enhancing the ice Dust with Blizzara while my blood struck her again. She backed away, leaving the sword behind to blast me with fire, I shot Aeroga through it and hit her before throwing her sword back at her.

"Get up! I'm going to make you suffer!" I threw Lionheart with Fira trailing behind at her and airstepped towards her. She ducked under Exile and blocked Nightfall when I recalled it back. She kept jumping away and I pursued her each time. Once her back was facing the hole I made in the wall above us, Neo used her Semblance to throw Cinder off balance. I took advantage of this and channelled Dark Fira into my hand as I grabbed her face, blasting her towards Neo who kicked her back to me. Cinder took advantage of the momentum and I was forced to dodge to the side. Before I could recover, she blasted me back, sending me rolling across the floor. She turned to see Neo and shot her as well.

"Barrier!" Her blast cracked it, but Neo was unharmed. "Your fight is with me!" I changed Exile into it's original form and airstepped towards Neo before airstepping again towards Cinder. Her sword broke when Exile hit it, she blasted me back again, but I got the scythe head of Nightfall behind her and pulled it back as she made another sword.

"What do you stand to gain from this??!! You can't win no matter what you do!!!" She said as she became more relentless with her attacks, forcing me back as getting hit wasn't worth it right now.

"I could ask similar of you!" I airstepped towards Lionheart and switched it with Nightfall as she pursued me. "It's not just what I have to gain,-" I shot an explosive Firaga right between us to get some distance before shooting her with Lionheart. "but what I refuse to lose a second time!" I stabbed Lionheart into the ground to recall and throw Nightfall as a shuriken with Thundara radiating from it. She blasted it away.

"You would die for that? What could you possibly have that you couldn't have gotten with us??!!" She's been fighting with one arm the entire time, but she still has her other one. I took a quick look to the others while Cinder forced me on the defensive. Yang is beating Mercury, Weiss, Jaune, and Nora are getting their asses handed to them by Vernal, Qrow is fighting Raven on equal ground, Ruby is handling Emerald, Neo is sticking to the plan, and Ren and Oscar are beating Leo. That reminds me...

"For starters, the satisfaction of killing an immortal, second being a family, third being revenge!" I pushed her back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a certain traitor to kill." I pushed her back before throwing Lionheart at Leo, causing him to fall down the stairs, but didn't break his aura. Cinder got a good hit on my back, sending me flying towards a wall as my blood shot into her left arm, causing her to scream. That's strange... Her aura should have protected her.

"You're going to pay for that!" She said through gritted teeth, Neo took advantage of this opening and got a couple hits in before being forced to back off. I reminded Cinder I was the threat and dashed in front of her, knocking her back as I thrusted the pole of Exile into her chest.

"You have more to pay for than anyone I've ever met." I dashed towards her, casting the shotgun varient of Blizzaga along the way. "I have a better question than Jaune." We traded blows, I let her get a few hits on me in an attempt to lower her aura some more. "How empty do you have to be that the only way you can feel any amount of pleasure or joy is power obtained through mindless chaos and destruction?" I stabbed Exile into the ground with Blizzaga to send several spikes out, forcing her back again. Now is when I'm going to get serious, I didn't use my aura for most of the times she hit me.

"What would you know??!!" Her blade was caught by me using my Semblance to make her fight herself. I backed off towards Neo while Cinder was occupied.

"I'm about to bullshit through this fight." I started. "I'm about to do something that will 'hurt' me in an attempt to off Cinder. It won't do anything other than force me to 'withdraw'. Follow her and Spring down the elevator afterward. This is to hopefully separate Cinder and Spring from here. Understand?" Neo nodded just as Cinder destroyed her copy.

"Was that supposed to do something?" She rushed towards me, but another copy held her at bay. I desummoned the keyblades and started spouting bullshit.

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I offer thee thy arm! With Hatred and with Scorn, by this Oath shall I be sworn! From within, destroy my enemy! Soul Eruption!" I lowered my aura around my arm, letting Fira burn it as I dashed towards Cinder, intentionally moving slow enough that she would dodge and strike me. I pretended to be out of aura as I rolled across the floor so she would go for what she thought would be a killing blow. She made a javelin and threw it at me, I ducked under it and rushed towards her with Exile as a twinblade, but stopped when I heard a scream behind me, causing everyone to look in it's direction. Weiss was pierced by the javelin, right through the abdomen. My rage was immediately replaced with dread.

"Nonononono! Not again!" I turned around, using more Darkness to enhance my speed while blocking Cinder's attempts to hit me with her fire as I rushed towards Weiss. Just when I got close enough to use Curaga and stop the bleeding, Ruby screamed as well, her eyes glowing like before. I knew it would hurt to stop Emerald from interrupting it, but I'd do it again. Silver lining to my pain? Cinder looked to be in immense pain as well, tightly grabbing her left arm. That's something I can fall asleep to.

(pause or stop the music)

(???)

(To Zanarkand)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlH0sFngejQ

If this is a dream, I'd like to wake up now. If this is Hell, I expected more fire and screams. If this is Heaven, I'd like to know who was so high off of whatever drugs they have that they let me right in. I'm greeted by a cliffside, water below, and the sun low in the horizon. I turned around and the background started to fade away near the trees. Once I turned back, I saw a figure that wasn't there before, all I could see was a white-hooded cape like what Ruby wears. The figure lowered it's hood and turned to face me.

(Summer Rose)

Now I did the most reasonable thing anyone would do in my position and tried to summon my keyblades. Small problem, it wasn't working. Can you blame me for my reaction? She's supposed to be dead according to Qrow!

"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight or anything." She smiled.

"How did I get here? Wherever here is?" I asked.

"You don't recognize it? I thought you might have seen it when you were staying with Tai and Yang?" I took another look around, then it hit me.

"This is your grave." I realized. She nodded.

"Where my headstone is anyway, Qrow couldn't bring me back with him. But enough of that, I finally have a chance to speak with you, and we don't have as long as I'd like."

"Come again?" You're only raising more questions. She summoned her keyblade.

"I don't know much about hearts or keyblades, but I'm sure you can figure out how I've been watching over Ruby for years now. As you would say it, my heart found it's way into hers." Her lips trembled. "I've seen exactly what they all went through. Tai, Qrow, my daughters, even Raven the few times I was able to see beyond what Ruby could."

"Okay, I don't mean to-"

"I know, but we have long enough. We couldn't speak before because of your armor and your Darkness, or at least that's what I think anyway. I've seen everything Ruby has, heard everything too. I have something to give you, though it might hurt you as well, and a message. Three actually."

"You're one of the few that don't need to ask." I told her.

"Qrow won't believe you at first, but tell him 'short-stack doesn't blame him'. Tell my daughters, my little 'fire cracker and petal that I couldn't be more proud or sorry'." Tears were pouring out of her eyes, but she kept herself from breaking down. "Tell Raven that I understand why she left the team, I just wish she hadn't, and I'm sorry for hurting her so."

"I'll make sure they get the messages." They deserve to hear this. "There's something else I might be able to do for you, though it's mainly a matter of 'if', and if I can do it, then 'when'." She looked at me curiously as she wiped her face.

"You don't have to-"

"I might be able to bring you back." Her eyes shot open. "Hearts are supposed to go somewhere else, I don't know specifically, just that they fade shortly after being separated from the body. Instead, your heart found it's way into Ruby's. The keyblade, or maybe just my master's keyblade should be able to separate you two and lock you into a new body. I'm sure there's a way to make an empty vessel if necessary." I offered. "All the time lost can be taken back, if you don't mind using the keyblade to defy nature a little?" She desummoned her keyblade and walked towards me.

"We're almost out of time now." She wrapped her arms around me. "It's a shame that you and Blake are an item, though I'm sure little Oscar will make her happy." Wait, what?

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked her, wanting to make sure I heard that right.

"Please keep them safe? At least until you're ready to leave?" I already planned on doing that.

"They're not dying before I do." She pulled away and leaned down to kiss my forehead. I forgot I wasn't wearing the mask right now. "What was that about?" I asked as my vision started to fade again.

"You'll see. Now make Cinder pay for what she's done!"

(Haven, seconds after the eyes activated)

"Holy fuck that hurt!!!" I jumped awake. I looked around to see Mercury, Emerald, and Leo were actually holding their own for the most part. Ruby was unconscious right next to me, Weiss was incapacitated, Nora, Ren, and Jaune were tending to the injured. That leaves only Qrow, Yang, and Oscar to fight. I got up and signalled Neo to come down the elevator with me in a few minutes. I left Lionheart here so I would be less likely to lose it, summoned the other keyblades, casted Esuna to deactivate Blood Thorn, and activated my armor again before entering the SR and jumping down towards Raven, Cinder, and Vernal.

It's times like this that I really like the SR. Everything maybe grayed out, if not completely black and white here, but when I can eavesdrop and bypass security, it's a good pay off.

"Are you nervous, girl?" Cinder asked Vernal, grasping her left arm. "The first Maiden in... Why, I'm not sure anyone knows how many years is about to open a Vault. I would say it's quite the exciting time. Don't you feel honored?" She is making it VERY hard to not snap her neck right now.

"No. I'm not concerned with any of this. All I care about is my tribe, my family. This is a burden, not an honor." Vernal answered.

"You've conditioned her quite well, Raven." VERY. TEMPTING. TO SNAP. HER. NECK!!! The elevator reached the bottom. "Hmmm. It's certainly grander than Beacon's." Cinder commented. "I wonder what the extra effort was for?"

"Can we please not linger?" Raven asked, not wanting to stay any longer than necessary.

"After you." Cinder took a step back, gesturing them to go first, wearing a smile that just screams 'backstab'.

Vernal took a few steps forward, the floor lit up and the tree started sprouting something. One of the things it was sprouting blew into her hand, then disintegrated.

"Having fun?" You get one guess as to who said it.

"Vernal, stay focused!" Raven told her.

"Oh come now, Raven. Let her enjoy this." They continued towards the Vault. "This is a once in a lifetime experience." Incoming backstab!

"How does this work?" Vernal asked as they approached the door.

"Once the Spring Maiden places her hand on the door, it will open. For you, and only you." Cinder answered. "Then I will walk into the Vault and retrieve the Relic, no one else! Is. That. Clear?"

"Yes." Vernal answered.

"It doesn't matter to us. Let's get this over with." Raven said.

"Alright then, Vernal? When you're ready." Yes, let's skip to the part where you get greedy.

'I can't wait to end your miserable life.' I thought as Raven started to slowly reach for her weapon and Vernal approached the door.

"You know? I've heard so many stories about you, Raven." Cinder started.

'You mean besides abandoning her family for a bandit tribe? Whatever, any second now.'

"They say you're a cunning leader, that you're strong, that you're clever." Vernal reached for the door. "It's a shame that they're wrong!" Cinder shot Raven with ice Dust.

"Vernal!" Raven shouted before she was completely frozen in ice. Vernal quickly turned around and drew her weapons, but... That isn't a human arm that's currently stabbing Vernal's abdomen from a good distance away.

"It's nothing personal, dear." Cinder started walking towards her.

'Hmm... Jump out and cut off her Grimm arm now, or let Vernal suffer a little longer for her part in injuring Weiss. Decisions decisions decisions...'

"You're just not worthy of such power,-" Cinder reached her, Cinder's eyes started to appear as though flames were shooting out to the sides. "but I am." She pushed Vernal to the ground, digging her claws deeper into her as she screamed and writhed. "So I will take... What is mine!" Once Vernal stopped moving, Cinder panicked. "Wh-what is this? Wh-where's the power?" Raven broke out of her icy prison, distracting Cinder while I had a 'change of heart' and exited the SR, gesturing Raven to not react to what I'm about to do.

"Thank me later. You're more useful alive than dead, now keep playing dead. Curaga." I whispered, healing her and going back into the SR.

"You won't find it!" She threw her mask to the side. "Because Vernal isn't the Spring Maiden. I AM!!!" Raven also has that eye effect, but it's crimson instead. I could probably sit this one out, but I still owe Cinder quite a bit of payback. Cinder looked back to Vernal.

"Vernal was a decoy the whole time. The last Spring Maiden must have trusted you a great deal before she died." Cinder looked back to Raven. "I bet that was a mistake." I channeled Darkness through my body again, though my left eye hurt a little this time, I ignored it as I burst out of the SR, hitting Cinder square in the back and launching her towards Raven, who shot her sword out of her sheath, quickly following after it. Cinder used her power to propel herself over Raven, towards the elevator. I changed Nightfall into wingblades and followed after her, pinning her to the wall as she blocked with another deformed sword.

(resume or restart the Orochi X theme)

"The only mistakes here are yours!" Just as I was about to see if I could manipulate her Grimm arm, she caused an explosion by her feet, launching me back to Raven.

"You shouldn't have come down here, kid!" Raven said as I landed.

"As I said, not only do I have a score to settle with that psychopath, but I'm pretty sure I can handle a handicapped Maiden, especially since one of her arms is Grimm." Just as I was about to airstep towards Cinder, Raven lunged at her. Their blades clashed until both their weapons broke. Cinder screamed as a shard of glass imbedded itself into her Grimm arm.

"Aura can't protect your arm, it's Grimm. You turned yourself into a monster just for power!" Raven said as Cinder ripped out the glass.

"Look who's talking." Really Cinder?

"Coming from the woman that took pleasure in destroying an entire city just so she could make fire without Dust! Raven's a fucking saint compared to you!" I looked down at her arm. "Make her suffer." I tried to order her arm while she was distracted. It flailed randomly for a second as she winced in pain.

"Hehehaha! That won't work on me, boy! Salem made sure it feared me and her more than you." Raven looked at me questioningly as Cinder made another sword. I airstepped towards her and immediately put her on the defensive, forcing her to jump away after every couplet times our weapons clashed. I started detonating Firaga at the end of my keyblades after every few swings, adding more force as her weapons began to rapidly break. After a close call with my head, I shot Aeroga and Dark Firaga at our feet, blowing us both away.

"For Vale!" Neo finally joined the fight and thrusted her sword at Cinder. Once Cinder created a second sword though, Neo tried to back off, but Cinder was faster. "Barrier! Graviga!" Neo escaped and Cinder was pinned for a few seconds. I changed Exile into a scythe and charged a shotlock. Before I could finish though, Cinder broke free and shot a huge blast of fire my way. To my surprise, Raven stopped the blast and took Cinder. I changed Nightfall and Exile into shuriken as they fought, waiting for a chance to strike.

They kept breaking each others weapons as their fight grew more intense. After a short time, they disarmed one another and caught the other's weapon until those broke as well, their Maiden powers truly being brought out as fire and ice surroundeed them and must have been what was keeping them airborne. Once they backed off and started making giant swords, I throw Exile and Nightfall at Cinder, but I was aiming for her arm. They both dashed towards each other just before Cinder was hit. I recalled both, but changed Exile back to it's original form.

Once their weapons clashed, the shockwave was so strong that me and Neo were almost blown off, everyone up above had to have felt that. They blew each other away as stalactite started falling from above, one created a dust cloud so thick that I couldn't see Cinder until she extended her arm and grabbed Raven's throat, pinning her to the elevator. Just as I was about to attack, Raven froze Cinder's feet in place.

"For Beacon!" I threw Nightfall at Cinder and cut off her Grimm arm, causing her to scream in agony as she was about to be crushed. She was still screaming after the stalactite hit the platform. Raven flew up and stood on the falling stalactite as I opened the SR, pulling Neo inside. I may be able to fly, but I'll leave god awful platforms like that to the people who have been training for this their entire lives. Once the stalactite was done falling, both Raven's and Cinder's auras began to fail, so I reopened the SR to let us out.

"Had enough yet?" Raven asked as she stood back up.

"Shut up!"

"For Pyrrha and Ruby!" I started channelling Dark Firaga and a shotlock again through Exile, but Raven held out her hand to signal me not to do it.

"If you were stronger and more clever, then maybe,-" Raven scowled. "you'd remember to watch your back!" It took Cinder a few seconds to realize what Raven meant, but when she turned around to see Vernal standing back up with her gun pointed at her. I signalled to Neo that now was her best chance, and she drew her sword back out, lunging at Cinder at the same time as Raven did. Cinder blocked Vernal's shot, but couldn't do much about Raven and Neo. Raven was faster and blew Cinder away with what looked like a lightning blast to the face, but Neo still got a good enough attack in that Cinder would need stitches for how wide and deep that cut is. As Cinder fell off the platform, her mask breaking, Raven shot a bolt of ice at her, encasing her in ice as she fell.

(end theme)

(Final Resolve, I may be reusing this a few times)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvSgGKMGTFI

"Well that's disappointing. I was hoping to get the Fall Maiden on our side by having Neo kill her, but I'll take it. There's no way in Hell she's surviving that." I said as Neo fell to her knees, crying silently. "Now I think that makes us even, saving Vernal and helping you kill Cinder. Now give me the Relic." I told Raven.

"You don't get to order me around, kid!" She refused.

"You seem to think you're in a position to say 'no', but you're not. I've still got roughly 40-50% of my aura left while yours is one good hit away from breaking. We both know how this would play out if we fought, we both know I could have beaten Cinder alone. You're in no position to deny me!"

"Why do you even fight??!! There is no beating Salem!! So why??!!"

"Correction! Strength will not bring victory! If there was truly no beating her, then why does she insist on capturing or killing anyone with silver eyes? Why does she insist on dividing and turning everyone against each other? Why does she insist on obtaining the Relics? You know the answer, but you refuse to accept it! Because she sees them all as threats to her! Summer caught on to most of that-"

"And she died as a result! What makes you think you can do what Ozpin has been trying to do for countless lifetimes? What Summer, one of the 'greatest Huntresses to ever live' couldn't do?" I really don't like that you share the same name as my master. I pointed Exile at the door to the Vault and light shot out, opening the door several seconds later, shocking her and Vernal.

"Because unlike Summer, I can use magic, I have power over curses, I can control Grimm like you saw me do to Cinder's arm for a moment, and I have the same type of weapon as her! She knew next to nothing about the keyblade, but I know enough to know it's a threat as well!"

"All you'll accom-"

"Summer had a message for you." I interrupted. "When Ruby's eyes activated, I actually met her."

"You were having a delusional dream. She's gone and not coming back!"

"She said that she understood why you left, that she just wishes you didn't, and she's sorry for hurting you. She referred to herself as 'short-stack' for her message to Qrow, and her daughters as 'petal' and 'fire cracker'!" She became slightly shaken by that, but composed herself quickly. "I'm sure someone up there tried to recruit you, Ruby I bet. She's not wrong."

"She sounded just like her mother, but that won't change the outcome." Just as she finished that sentence, Yang landed down here before I could tell Raven about Summer's possible return.

"Mom..." Yang started, not happy to see Raven.

"We were just discussing ownership of the Relic." I told her.

"Yang... I gave you every opportunity to walk away from Qrow and Oz, so you can believe me when I say this wasn't personal." Mother-daughter argument incoming. Yang looked past Raven.

"You opened the Vault." Yang noted.

"That was me actually, turns out these can open them." I gestured to Exile and Nightfall.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Thanks to the chaos upstairs and your friend here. I knew you could handle it, you're my daughter after all." Raven, you're one of the last people to have the right to say that.

"Qrow and Oz told me how the Maiden powers were transferred. The girl you found, she would've had to have trusted you if you were in her final thoughts, cared about you a lot."

"I'm sure they told you plenty, and you just sat and obeyed!" Raven spat.

"No, I'm starting to ask questions like you said. So tell me, what happened to the last Spring Maiden? Did she die in battle? Was it sickness?" Yang asked as Raven turned around.

"What does it matter to you?" Raven asked. I can see the guilt in her eyes.

"I can already see the answer, it's all over your face! How could you??!!" Raven crossed her arms.

"She was scared when we found her. Weak! No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned! She wasn't cut out for this world, and with her powers, she would've been hunted her entire life! What I did-"

"It wasn't personal?" Yang interrupted.

"It was mercy!!!"

"That wasn't your decision to make! Your first mistake was not teaching her to not fear her power! Rather than start off small and safe with ice sculptures, you went straight to ice blasts! Sounds to me like the teacher was worse then the student! You fucked up, and you call yourself merciful for betraying her??!!" I pointed Exile at her. "If a certain someone didn't still believe in you, I would finish you off right now!!!" Vernal pointed her guns at me while Neo stepped up. "Please... We both know that won't end well for you." I warned her.

"Which is it, mom? Are you merciful? Or are you a survivor? Did you let me walk into that trap because you knew I could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted?" Yang asked accusingly as she circled around Raven.

"It's not that simple! You don't know me, you don't know what I've been through, the choices I had to make!" You're seriously going there, Raven?

"Because she never got to meet you until recently! Of course she doesn't know you, Mother of The Fucking Year!" I shouted as I gripped my keyblades tighter.

"I only know the Raven dad told me about. She was troubled, complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe. Did you kill her too?" I'd say that struck a nerve if Raven's face as she looked away for a moment.

"I've stared Death in the face-" Her eyes started emitting those flames. "over and over again, and every time I spat in that face because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!" Very poor choice of words.

"And yet, you refuse to fight Salem even though everyone else fighting her is weaker than you! What does that say about you?" I asked. Before she could respond, Yang followed up.

"You don't know the first thing about strength!" Yang circled around Raven again. "You turn your back on people! You run away when things get too hard! You put others in harms way instead of yourself!" Yang clenched her fist.

"Most recent example being Vernal pretending to be the Maiden." I added.

"You may be powerful," Yang pointed at Raven. "but that doesn't make you strong."

"Who do you think you are??!! Lecturing me??!! Standing there, shaking, like a scared little girl,-" Raven looked at me. "and a little boy who has no true idea of what he's up against!" She shouted.

"Yeah... I'm scared, but I'm still standing here! I'm not like you! I. Won't. Run. Which is why you're going to give us the Relic!"

"And why would I-"

"Because you're afraid of Salem!!! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic!" Raven turned away, 'oh shit' all over her face. "She'll come after you with everything she has! Or she can come after me,-" Raven looked back at her, concerned and shocked. "and I'll be standing there, waiting for her." The next several seconds held nothing but silence.

"You don't want to do this, Yang." Time the fuck out!

"Really, Raven? You abandoned her before she could even remember you, you never once interacted with her, not once have you even tried to act like a fucking parent or anyone worthy of being called a mother! You only ever did one thing for her, and that was AFTER she lost her arm! You didn't even stay to fight the man who cut it off! You took one look at me before I even got up and you left! Knowing she was unconscious and bleeding out! Now when she wants to take the Relic and essentially draw Salem's attention away from you, NOW you want to try to act like a mother!" I shouted, running out of breath. "I can't believe someone like you was on team STRQ."

"Cassiel, that's enough." Yang tried to calm me down, but I wasn't finished.

"You betray everyone you meet! You're a fucking coward with more power than you deserve or know what to do with! At least Leo didn't try to hide his cowardice! But you? You hide behind your so called 'strength' that you use to 'do what others won't', but you barely even use it for yourself, and you use none of it for the people who trust and care about you! Not Tai, not Qrow, not Yang, not Summer either! The one thing you should be using it for, and you would rather run away from an 'unbeatable' enemy! But She can be beaten!" I deactivated my armor, her eyes widened a little upon seeing my face. "I'm done with you. I gave you her message, I tried to do when I know she wanted and try to bring what's left of STRQ back together. I'd better not see you again unless you're fighting Salem with us, or else I'm ripping out your heart before moving on to the rest of your tribe!" Yang shoved past her, towards the Vault. Raven turned away from me, head down, grasping her arm.

"I... I'm sorry..." You have no right to apologize or cry, Raven.

"Yeah... Me too..." She's not worth it, Yang. Raven only proved this by opening a portal and... She can turn into a bird... Not going to delve deeper. Vernal followed her through. Yang turned around to see a black feather land on the floor before entering the Vault. I was more focused on her than the Relic as I followed her through. Shortly after retrieving it, she collapsed and started crying. I knelt down and pulled her close. Abandoned again by Raven. I wish I could ask Summer if she still thought Raven was worth the effort.

(end theme)

Back up the elevator, I loved the looks on the faces of Emerald and Mercury, no idea where Leo is, not that I care. Blake's here too now, Weiss is standing again, this keeps getting better. After Emerald fell to her knees, I spoke up.

"I am in a surprisingly good mood right now, so I'm going to give you two an hour head start before I brutally murder you both." Mercury started backing away slowly as Emerald looked to be having a mental breakdown. I saw where this was going and deeply cut my arm to test something. I wanted to see if pain could override the senses and nullify her Semblance. If it does, I wasn't in enough pain. Both of them vanished as the lighting in the room became much darker. The lamps were red, and a cyclone of darkness near the elevator spawned a projection of I'm assuming Salem that flew towards everyone below. She is ugly as sin, I'll say that. The illusion ended and everyone was shaking.

"Wh-what was that?" Blake asked, horrified by what she saw.

"An illusion, but an accurate one. That... Was Salem." Ozpin answered.

Everyone had a happy reunion after Yang lied about what happened below. The police were dealing with the White Fang, Sienna snuck in and said she wanted a short word with me. Nothing serious, she wanted to know what happened and tell me she held up her end of the bargain and that she expects me to follow through with mine. I reassured her I would do what I can. The moment was ruined a little as Ozpin gave control back to Oscar and told everyone to take the Relic to Atlas.

I would much rather go to the deserts of Vacuo.

Author's Notes:

Had to switch a few fighters and the timing of certain events around for obvious reasons.

Had Garnet Naturea help decide Summer's keyblade. Of the god knows how many keyblades in the KH series (including upgraded versions), I could only find 3 that in one way or another would fit Summer (appearance, name, colors, design, character). It was Lost Memory (BBS), Rumbling Rose (KH2), or one of the upgraded versions of Divine Rose (KH1, the upgraded version in Union X). I just told him pick one, no details beyond that.

Did Qrow ever refer to anyone as "short-stack"? I've only seen that in some fan made comics shipping them together. I'm not shipping them, though those comics are pretty funny. What about Ruby and Yang being called "petal" and "fire cracker"? I can't remember.

Chapter 52.

View Online

Cassiel POV

It's been two weeks since the attack on Haven, Neo having nowhere to go came with us, though Yang isn't exactly happy about that. The official report is that Ghira Belladonna and Sienna Khan both moved to stop the attack on Haven academy and the CCT tower. Coincidentally, the Huntsmen and Huntresses meeting with the headmaster also gave assistance to the efforts to stop the rogue White Fang and the other attackers. Unfortunately, not only did the other attackers escape, but Leonardo lost his life in defense of Haven and it's CCT tower. As much as I wanted to correct that, I knew it would've given us more trouble if I did. Not like Haven or Mistral will be all that relevant in the near future anyway.

We're at the train station right now, waiting for transportation to Argus. A city at the northern part of Anima, and our only means of reaching Atlas thanks to their military having a strong presence there. While we were waiting though, Ruby got excited for something and sped past Qrow with her Semblance. It was actually kind of cute, though I didn't say it, Yang's reaction too upon seeing Ruby went to a gift shop. Weiss wasn't too happy about having to return to Atlas after trying so hard to leave it, but Ruby offered her support, saying something along the lines of not leaving her.

"No ones gotta be worried with us around!" I turned my head to see two people who I instantly wanted gone. With an attitude like that, at least one of them is going to die on that train. Calling it now.

"Aanndd you aaarrree...?" Nora asked.

"Why Dee and Dudley of course!" I think it will probably be Dee who dies first. "The Argus Limited's very own Huntsmen. We'll be keeping everyone safe as we pass through Grimm territory."

"Buuuut for a generous tip, we can make sure your passenger car gets extra special attention should things get dangerous." Dudley continued.

"Wow! I'm impressed!" I faked my amazement, getting concerned looks from the others.

"Looks like we-" Dee started.

"I'm impressed at how desperate Mistral is for Huntsmen that they're literally scraping the bottom of the barrel!" I continued.

"Hey! You're talkin' to a-"

"Professional Huntsman?" I asked. "Yet here you are hitting on barely legal girls while trying to squeeze a little extra cash out of this job by offering 'extra protection' to them instead of remaining at your post. I fail to see what part of that is 'professional', doesn't help that everyone here is already being escorted by a professional Huntsman and everyone here is a Huntsman or Huntress. Now if I were you, I'd leave and do my job before someone else decides to do it for you." I threatened as I summoned Exile and kept changing it's form.

"I'd do as the kid says right now." Qrow stepped in before either could respond. "He tends to stick to his word, so don't expect him to go easy on you. Not only that, but someone left the staff entrance to the caboose wide open." Both of them had 'oh shit' written on their faces. "It'd be a real shame to lose your job before it even started." Both of them panicked and left shortly after.

"You know, sometimes the burden of saving the world is overwhelming, but then people like that come along and make me grateful it's our job and not theirs." Oscar said, getting a short laugh out of me.

"So, you kids ready to go? Bike all loaded up?" Qrow asked.

"Eeyup!" Yang answered.

"Just waiting on Blake, as usual." Weiss said.

I wanted to start a bet on Dee or Dudley dying first, but I didn't want them getting on me about what I know they see as a horrible thing.

(Train ride)

We were in one of the passenger cars, trying to pass the time. Ruby was playing on her scroll, Weiss was trying to read a book, Blake was staring out the window, and I couldn't see exactly what kind of book Yang was going through. I was sitting in the corner of the bedroom, messing around with the Dust in Lionheart. I do keep whatever those speed reloader things are called for revolvers, but I figured now was a good time to switch some of them around. After I was done, I sat down on Blake's bed and pulled her close, scratching her behind the ears. Weiss looked at us in amusement.

"When did you two get so friendly?" She asked. Ruby turned her attention away from her game and Yang leaned over her bed to see what Weiss was referring to.

"We kind of started after the Fall. We've only had enough time for one date though, but it was fun anyway." I answered.

"You finally hooked up? Took you long enough!" Yang teased.

"How long is that?" Blake asked as she purred.

'Adorable, I don't care what anyone says!' I thought to myself.

"Since before the dance. You two were already pretty friendly with each other, even though you were just as quiet." Yang answered.

"I'm so happy for you!" Ruby said, then it hit her. "Wait! You knew??!!" Ruby asked her sister.

"Yeah! You never noticed?"

"How touching." Qrow interrupted as he stepped, holding a glass of alcohol. "I didn't think any of you kids were that close."

"How close did you think we were? I thought we already established that they're like family to me at least." I said just before something shook the train and we heard some kind of screeching from outside. "And now this is happening!" I got off the bed.

"Grab your weapons!" He told everyone. Once we were outside, we saw Manticores and a Chimera Grimm attacking the train. The other two guys were already up top, Dee got himself killed in seconds. I might have been able to save him, but he wasn't worth the effort. Dudley started running towards the front of the train while we fought off the Grimm. Rather, the others did that. I went straight for the Chimera and channelled my Darkness. My left eye hurt again, but I ignored it.

"Leave." I tried to order it, but it ignored me and it's snake tail lunged at me. "You will submit!" I channelled more of my Darkness and summoned Exile as I aimed Lionheart at it. It lunged at me again, I slid under it and cut it's legs to make it suffer. If it won't obey, then I'll prove myself as stronger and maybe it'll back down. Qrow joined, reminding me he's better with a scythe than me as turrets popped out of the top of the train cars and started shooting all the Grimm.

There were a few problems with this. The first being while Grimm are dying faster, the turrets are also attracting more Grimm. The second problem is they started shooting me until I stopped channeling Darkness. Oscar and JNR climbed up top and joined the fight, Qrow told him to get the dumbass to shut off the turrets while I told Jaune to get all the passengers to the front cars. This thing is more durable than it looks, even with the keyblade, I'm not doing much to it. Do Grimm gain a resistance to Light with age?

It withdrew and flew off the train before shooting me with a fireball, all the Grimm were withdrawing actually. I turned around just before I heard Oscar yell "tunnel". I jumped down into the train car with Qrow and the others, moving to the same car as Oscar and Dudley, who's arm was definitely broken. Qrow picked him up and pinned him against the door, arguing with him until Ruby stopped him and asked Dudley to shut off the turrets. After Jaune used his Semblance to heal Dudley's arm, he agreed to shut them off.

"Ren," Nora started. "could you use your Semblance to mask everyone on this train? With the guns off and emotions hidden, they might lose track of us." Did something intelligent just come out of her mouth? Is this really Nora?

"Hm... I've never attempted to affect this many people." He responded.

"Well, you've never had Jaune's help before." Ruby said.

"He could amplify your aura!" Weiss added.

"Yeah, that's an alright plan." Qrow agreed. Ozpin took over as Ruby was encouraging Ren.

"I'm afraid there's one complication." He started. "Grimm are also attracted to this." He gestured to the Relic.

"What's that?" Dudley asked.

"None of your business!" Qrow quickly told him. "Oz, are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't you tell us that??!!" Yang asked him.

"That's something I'd consider 'need to know' information. Not only that, but I couldn't command any of those Grimm! I've been able to command Nevermores and Deathstalkers, but these aren't threats compared to them! I think that lure is overriding my influence over them!" I added.

"You can-" Dudley started.

"Shut up! Or I throw you off this train!" I interrupted.

"That doesn't matter right now! Every second we're on this train, we're putting everyone else in danger. Get to the front cars, mask the emotions and kill the turrets. We just can't come with you. If we cut the back cars and the Relic on them, we can deal with the Grimm. You just make sure the rest of the train makes it safely to Argus." Ruby explained her plan. Jaune walked towards her.

"Only if you'll promise to meet us there." He said.

"Promise."

Blake broke the link to the rest of the train cars before meeting the team the rest of the team, Neo, Oscar, and Qrow up top. Once the others were far enough ahead, Ruby gave the order over her scroll to mask everyone before losing the connection. Everyone was holding their own just fine as I made my way towards the Chimera. A manticore tried to attack me, but I channelled Darkness again and stopped it with one hand. I quickly broke off one of the horns in it's head and stabbed it through the eye, killing it instantly. I stopped channeling Darkness again, the pain is getting annoying.

The others made quick work of the rest of the Manticores before moving on to the Chimera. I was going to keep swinging at it's neck until it's head fell off, but I like Ruby's plan to ground it better. It's tail lunged at me again, but I cut it off before aiming Lionheart at it's paws and firing Blizzara enhanced ice Dust rounds into them, freezing them to the top of the train. Yang and Blake held it in place by wrapping Gambol Shroud around it, and Weiss used her Semblance to freeze it's wings, which broke seconds later. Ruby and Qrow saw an opportunity to finish it, just before they could make the attempt, it started charging another fireball. They cut it in half before it could fire, but the fire ball was ready and got launched toward the tracks as it head fell. Weiss used her Semblance to try and keep everyone balance as the train fell off the tracks.

Qrow was the first to recover and ask if everyone was alright, no one was hurt, and everyone was accounted for.

"Still alive!" Alarms immediately went off in my head at the unfamiliar voice coming from the train car. "That sure was a close one, huh?" A short, elderly lady dressed in blue, sort of- spanish looking outfit, prosthetic eyes, and carrying a cane that looks like something you'd see on sale for el Dia de los Muertos stepped out of the car.

"YOU HAD ONE JOB, JAUNE!!! ONE!!!" I shouted as loud as I could.

Chapter 53.

View Online

Cassiel POV

"-ONE FUCKING JOB!!!" I spent a minute catching my breath as the woman looked at me unamused.

"Are you done?" She asked.

"You okay?" Neo looked at me, somewhat concerned.

"I-... I think so." I answered. "Okay... I'm alright."

"Great! This is just great!" Yang struggled pulling her bike out of the snow. "We're stranded, we lost a third of our party, and we've gained a defenseless old lady!" She fell backward as she finished pulling out her bike.

"My name is Maria Calavera! And I am not defenseless! I'm just a little hard of hearing, and blind without my eyes... That are in desperate need of repair... Okay, I'm starting to see your point." The lady tried to refute what Yang said.

"Yang, knock it off will ya'? If we lose our cool now, we'll just be inviting more Grimm." Qrow tried to reason with her.

"Does that even matter? Apparently we've been attracting Grimm since we left Haven!" Blake pointed out.

"Oh, and how could I forget about that? What happened to 'no more lies and half-truths'?" Yang asked Ozpin.

"You really shouldn't expect less from him, Yang." I joined in. "He tried to keep the Maidens and Relics from me, he kept Salem, the Relics, the attack on Beacon from Pyrrha, and he's kept the real reason behind the schools from the world for almost a century. Asking him to be 100% honest is about as likely to happen as a certain Bitch is to tell the truth when it would actually benefit her more than lying."

"We deserve an explanation, Oz." Oscar agreed, letting Ozpin take over.

"I didn't lie to you." Ozpin denied.

"Sometimes, half-truths are worse than lies, especially when the pieces left out are as important as this! Even moreso after I had to find out the hard way that I can't tame Grimm with that Relic nearby!"

"Please? Now is not the time."

"No! We're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything??!!" Yang demanded.

"It is true that the Grimm are attracted to the Relics, it's faint, but undeniable. Maybe it has to do with their origin, I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option." He tried to justify his reasons behing it.

"You do realize one of the people you're saying this to uses literal Darkness and was a Grimm magnet during the entrance exam, right? Before you brought up the Relic, I thought I might have been attracting Grimm." I said to him.

"That might have been true a while ago, but not anymore."

"You know, I'm getting real tired of other people choosing what's best for me." Weiss said, making no attempt to hide her annoyance.

"Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?" Yang asked. I still don't like that he shares the same name as my weapon.

"Yes, as a matter of fact!" Ozpin turned around and started walking away. "I believed the people of Mistral deserved better than the truth. And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, not the unfortunate missteps he took in his final years."

"'Missteps'??!!" Yang questioned his choice of words.

"What professor Lionheart did was reprehensible, I'm not here to argue differently. But his one lapse in judgement shouldn't negate all of his good! Do we not all have regrets?" He tried to justify himself again.

"'Lapse in judgement'?" I asked in disbelief. "He sacrificed most, if not every Huntsman and Huntress in Anima just to save his on hide! On top of that, he tried to give the Maiden and Relic to Salem, and even was going to let the other White Fang make the Fall happen to Haven!" I moved in front of him. "How many people have lost friends, protectors, and loved ones? How many people was he willing to sacrifice just to save himself??!! 'Coward' and 'traitor' can't even begin to describe him!"

"We're supposed to be in this together! You can trust us! We're not gonna turn our backs on you!" Yang said.

"Do you really think Leo was the first??!!" Ozpin asked before stopping and turning to face us. "That he didn't say those exact same words to me?? I'm sorry, but you have to understand my behaviors are backed by experience. I'm not saying I have reason to think you'll betray me. I'm saying that I have reasons for the things I do, the secrets I keep! The reason I..." He looked around, scared. "Where's the Relic?"

"Right here." Ruby pulled it from under her cloak. "It got scattered in the crash."

"Please, hand it over." He held out his hand. Ruby looked away.

"So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?" Ruby asked.

"That's not what I meant to suggest. Miss Rose, the Relic is a powerful item and I simply feel it is my burden to bear." He responded. I opened up the SR and pointed Exile at it.

"I thought you said it could only answer three questions every hundred years. That's means it's supposed to be useless right now, nothing more than a decoration. I can throw it through this portal and no one but me will be able to access it, much less use for- assuming it was last used when the schools were founded, about another 20 years, or I can see if the keyblade can unlock it's power. Unless Salem or Grimm can use the Dark Corridors and enter the Shadow Realm, no one will be able to access, much less sense it's presence." He tried to respond, but Blake spoke up.

"Why does it matter who carries it?" She asked.

"I need you to listen to me-" He stopped, Oscar was trying to take back control.

"Hurry! He's trying... To... Stop you!" He struggled.

"Stop her from what?" Yang asked.

"He's afraid... You'll... Find out... What he's... Hiding!" Oscar collapsed. "Her name... Is Jinn... Say her name... To summon her!" He continued, though he sounds like he's about to lose.

"Her name?" Ruby asked. Everyone looked at each other as she looked down at the Relic. "Jinn." She called out. Time stopped around us, snow was no longer falling, I summoned Nightfall as everyone looked around, confused by what was happening. The Relic glowed and floated out of Ruby's hands, moving a short distance away as a light blue mist poured out of it. After a few seconds, the mist formed a humanoid body. A light blue skinned woman, wrapped in golden chains stretched herself out.

"Wonderful!" She leaned towards us. "Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?" She asked. "I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid humanity in it's pursuit of knowledge. I've been graced with the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years. You're in luck, as I'm still able to answer-"

"That's enough!" Ozpin interrupted.

"Two questions this era." Djinn continued. "Heh, it's a pleasure to see you again, old man." She greeted.

"Ruby, please... Don't." Did he just beg?

"Hey-" Qrow took a step forward and almost everyone pointed their weapons at him. "Do whatever you think is right, kiddo." He said to Ruby as he held up his hands.

"Before we get to that,-" Djinn floated towards me. "I know all there is to currently know about Remnant and it's people, but I don't know the future, and I don't know about you. Rather, I know nothing that others don't already know about you... You claim to be from another world, you possess magic, a lost art on Remnant, you can tame Grimm, and you possess powerful, living weapons... You are an anomaly."

"If you're going to ask me questions you want answers to, it's only fair you answer more of our questions." She raised a brow in amusement.

"My Creator's restrictions are absolute, but He did say I can only answer Remnant's questions three times every century. I think you specifically are the luckiest here as you're not from Remnant." She emphasized.

"It's times like this that I love loop holes! We are going to get along just fine!" I desummoned my keyblades.

"Cassiel, what's going on? What does she mean by 'you're not from Remnant'?" Yang asked.

"I come from the planet Earth, possibly another solar system, maybe even another dimension. That world had no magic, no Grimm, no Dust, and God's exist solely on faith alone. Or at least, that last part I believed true until I met the supposed creator of everything in existence because I accidentally passed a test which basically required I do nothing on the day the world was supposed to end according to an ancient civilization. I died thanks to a stray bullet bouncing off a wall and hitting my head. As my reward for doing nothing wrong that day, I demanded to be sent somewhere without humans, my mask, weapons that would best suit me, and to never see one of His humans again or I would kill them on sight. I'm pretty sure I've explained this to at least one of you." I answered.

"You-... You were serious about that?" Blake asked, her voice cracked as she asked. I turned towards her and the others.

"I was. You've been talking to a guy who's supposed to be dead right now and in an unmarked grave that no one visits at best. Rather, if I failed that test or if I chose to stay, He would've basically wiped everyone's memories and rewrote that day so the 'end of the world' was literally nothing more than a calendar no longer having a purpose and I would still be living in an abusive household that could only be worse if my 'guardians' drugged me or sexually abused me." No one was sure how to react. Their guard stayed up even as I turned towards Jinn. "Just to clarify, if you answer all three questions, can you just not be summoned for a hundred years, or can you just not answer anyone for that time?" I asked her, taking advantage of mine not counting.

"I won't be able to be summoned again for a century." She answered. I looked back towards Ozpin, who was less than happy about the situation.

"Good to know. Before I let Ruby ask what we all want to know, I would like to know how to make Light and Dark Dust." She looked at me surprised, but also looked like she wanted to answer that.

"I was wondering when someone would ask a question like that. Normally, one would need to combine unrefined Dust with the powers of the Pools of Creation and Destruction to make those kinds of Dust in their purest forms. Otherwise, you would need to quickly use the essence of a sufficiently powerful Grimm such as the Dragon at Beacon, or the eyes of someone like your friend there." She answered, pointing at Ruby, angering everyone.

"I'm not stealing her eyes just so I can kill things easier!!!" I shouted.

"I wasn't finished. You can use Light and Dark, yes? I'm sure you can figure something out, especially after what a certain someone gave to you at Haven." She continued.

"I don't even know what she gave me besides a few messages that I haven't found a good time to give." I told her.

"Look in a mirror." She told me before looking at Ruby. "Your question?" Ruby hesitated for a moment.

"Jinn? What is Ozpin hiding from us?" She asked.

"NOOOOOO!!!" Ozpin shouted before he rushed at her as fast as he could. My first reaction was to draw Lionheart and intercept him, but everyone disappeared before I could stop him, the world was replaced with a white void. I stowed Lionheart and was just seconds away from panicking.

"Ruby???" I began calling out names. "Weiss??? Blake??? Yang??? Neo??? Qrow??? Oscar??? Anyone???" The world change, the white void was replaced with a walkway leading to a castle and grassy fields to the sides, weapons were everywhere, indicating this was a battlefield.

"Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower-" The blue mist rushed past me. "that sheltered a lonely girl-" The mist quickly formed a woman with blonde hair, reaching her hips, sitting in front of a mirror. "named, Salem..."

She looks depressed, that's all I have to say right now.

Chapter 54.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I really want to be wrong sometimes. Every time I'm right, it's always something bad, and that irritates me more every day! Recap:

Salem was once human.
She and Ozma/ Ozpin became lovers.
Ozma died to sickness.
Salem went to the God of Light in hopes of being reunited, but the bastard couldn't even bend the rules a little for her.
Salem went to the God of Darkness and was reunited with Ozma, only to have him taken away again as they acted like children throwing a tantrum for being in the other's room and be cursed with immortality for the crime of withholding information from Darkness.
Salem out of hate and spite, tricked humanity into betraying the Gods, but only managed to enrage Darkness enough that he wiped humanity off the planet.
Having nothing to live for and nothing left to lose, Salem threw herself into the Pools of Destruction in hopes of ending her immortal life, but was instead transformed into what can be best described as a human/ Grimm hybrid.
Ozma was given the opportunity to return to life with the mission of redeeming humanity, summoning the Gods back to be judged, and was warned about Salem.
The lovers were reunited, established themselves as the higher power, established a kingdom, and even had a family, gifted with the magic the Gods took away.
Ozma revealed his mission and told Salem about the Relics. Salem didn't care initially, proposing that they replace humanity instead of redeem it.
Ozma did the stupidest thing he possibly could and tried to take the kids in the middle of the night, gut ohly managed to get himself and his kids killed during the fight with Salem.
Once he finally got himself back together, he asked Jinn his questions. The locations of the Relics, their powers, anc how he can destroy Salem. She told him he couldn't destroy her.

"Salem can't be killed... You all heard her too, right?" Yang asked. Probably the only reason she isn't beating Ozpin right now is because she doesn't want to hurt Oscar, though the same doesn't look like it'll apply to Qrow judging by his expression. Ozpin looked up at everyone, crying.

"I-" He tried to speak.

"There was so much you hadn't told us! How could you think that was okay?" Yang interrupted.

"Professor?" He looked up at Ruby. "What is your plan to defeat Salem?" She asked.

"I-... I don't have one." I resummoned Exile and channelled Darkness again, ignoring the pain. Just before I could do anything though, Qrow punched him hard enough to send him flying into a tree about 20ft away. After he hit the tree though, I dashed toward him, grabbing him by the neck and pinning him to the tree with Exile just inches away from his heart.

"Liar." I started. "Manipulater. Hypocrite. Coward. Murderer! Child killer! Traitor!!!" I listed. "Can you feel your sins crawling on your back yet?"

"I-"

"Shut up! The ONLY reason you're still alive is because I have no ill intent towards Oscar! Salem and I are so alike that I can't even bring myself to hate her right now! Up until the end, I would've done EVERYTHING she did!!! Try to revive a loved one, deceive the Gods, and turn humanity against Them after They instigated it. Up until the truth was revealed, I would have done EVERYTHING the same as her!" I interrupted.

"You would've-"

"But you? You had ONE job, everything you needed, and everything you could've wanted! Power, wealth, family, a future worth looking forward to! Did the thought never occur to you that Salem was also meant to be redeemed? If They didn't want that, why did they leave her? You should've tried to convince her to your side! You should've tried to convince her to work with you to end your curses! Instead, you betrayed her, chose the childish, beyond-arrogant Gods over your own wife, and got your own children killed!!!" I shouted, pressing Exile into his chest, but not doing anything beyond that.

"Cassiel, stop!" I ignored Blake this time.

"And that was just the start... How many people died for YOUR war? You asked Jinn the wrong question, so all you can think to do is lock away the Relics and send armies of children to die for your sins? All you can think to do is try to beat Salem with brute force alone. Is that all everyone is to you? Cannonfodder? WHAT PART OF 'STRENGTH WILL NOT BRING VICTORY' DO YOU NOT UNDER-FUCKING-STAND???!!! HOW MANY HAVE DIED FOR YOU???!!! AT LEAST SALEM DOESN'T PRETEND TO BE GOOD!!! HOW CAN YOU HOPE TO REDEEM HUMANITY WHEN YOU'RE JUST AS IRREDEEMABLE AS SALEM AND THE GOD'S THAT CURSED BOTH OF YOU???!!!" I threw him to the side.

"STOP!!!" Blake grabbed my shoulders, I desummoned Exile and quickly turned to face her. I didn't even look at Ozpin and looked down at Blake's hands as I held them.

"It's said that the difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits. Not only are you living proof of that, but you are truly the world's greatest traitor, I'd even compare you to Judas. When this is over, I'm taking the Relics and if possible, the Maiden powers with me."

"No one wanted me." Qrow started. "I was cursed, I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world. I thought I was finally doin' some good!"

"But you are!" Ozpin tried to tell him, tears running down his face.

"Meeting you was the worst luck of my life." If anyone else but the walking bad luck charm said that, that would hardly mean anything. Ozpin let that sink in for a few moments before responding.

"Yes... I suppose you're right." Ozpin relented before giving control back to Oscar, who immed put his hand to the cheek Qrow punched.

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

"He's... Gone." He answered, this answer only angered Yang.

"That bastard!!! Tell him we're not done yet!!!" She shouted.

"No! This is different... It's like he's locked himself deep inside my head... Our head?" He grabbed his head. "Gggrrr I hate this! I want it to stop!"

"He just left us?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"What're we gonna do now?" Blake asked, uncertain of how to proceed.

"Well we can either continue to Atlas, or I can take us all to the place I call home and let Salem be Remnant's problem. I know none of you can just bring yourselves to leave and my business with Her is too personal for me to just leave. Now let's get a move on. It'll be night before long and we're just going to be attracting more Grimm with all this negativity. We can either follow the tracks and endure the coming blizzard or follow the trail and maybe find shelter. I'm choosing the trail, so I'd recommend quickly grabbing what you need, then we'll head off." I told everyone.

"I couldn't have said that better myself!" Maria said as she helped Oscar back to his feet. I got Weiss's help to find some unrefined Dust to experiment with later while the others grabbed some ammo and Dust themselves. We started following the trail for some time as Maria rode on Yang's motorcycle. Eventually we heard a loud noise, one you'd hear from an old metal door or something opening and closing. Brunswick Farms was the name at the gate.

"Well, at least one good thing happened today." Blake said.

"It looks abandoned." Weiss noted.

"Still better than this." Ruby agreed with Blake.

"Come on, I'm sure we could all use some rest." Qrow held the gate open for us.

"There's something wrong with this place... It being abandoned aside, it feels off, like there's something here." I said, cautiously.

"Well it's our only option right now, so we'll just have to make it work somehow." Maria said.

"Doesn't make me feel any less paranoid." I responded.

"It wasn't supposed to." She said as she hopped off Yang's motorcycle.

(Inside the main house)

The storm really started to pick up as we neared the main house. It got so bad as we approached the door that I couldn't see further than maybe 20ft clearly.

"I don't get it." Ruby said, confused as we reached the porch. "The empty towns I passed through were all damaged or unfinished, but this place looks fine."

"Maybe they left in a hurry, before things took a turn?" Weiss said, shivering as she leaned against the porch. Qrow reached for the door and tried to open it, but it was either locked or frozen.

"Stay on guard." As he was about to kick the door open, I stopped him.

"Wait." I opened the SR. "I'll only be a minute." I entered the home and did a quick scan of the main floor. I unlocked the door and opened it from the inside, allowing the others in. "There's nothing on this floor, I didn't check upstairs or the basement. I'll check the basement if there is one, you all do whatever." I held Blizzard in my hand as I looked around for an entry point. The basement was probably through the door next to the stairs, but I wanted to check everywhere else first. As I was about to reach for a door in the kitchen, I heard a scream from upstairs and rushed up through the SR. I saw Weiss and Yang on the floor with horrified expressions as they breathed rapidly, staring at the bed. Two bodies occupied it, both have been dead for a long time, died in their sleep.

We got everyone downstairs into the living room and I lit the fire that Weis was currently sitting close to. I decided to humor Qrow and stay here as Weiss and Yang are jumpy right now. Shortly after Blake put a blanket on Weiss and sar down next to Yang, Qrow re-entered the house. He brushed the snow off his clothes and looked down towards the ground with an unsettled look on his face.

"It's the same in every house." He said, shocking everyone and making me feel even more uneasy about this place.

"What?" Yang said.

"Bodies. In every bed in every home." He clarified. "It's the whole estate went to sleep and never woke up." He said as he knelt by the fire.

"We're not staying here, right?" Weiss asked, looking towards Qrow.

"We don't exactly have a choice. I'm sure even Grimm are taking shelter in this storm and it'll only get worse as dark comes." I told her.

"Welp! Might as well get comfortable!" Maria said as she walked towards the bookcase for something to read.

"Yeah, fat chance!" Yang said, less than pleased about the whole situation.

"Okay then, let's do something." Ruby started. "If this place wasn't abandoned, it might still have supplies we could use."

"Fair enough." I commented.

"Hey yeah, maybe even a car." Oscar joined with Ruby on this train of thought.

"I'll do another sweep of the grounds." Qrow said as he started walking towards the door, stopping about halfway and turning to face us. "No one else goes anywhere alone!" He said before leaving. I waited until after he left before speaking again.

"There's something I want to check, I'm going to see if I can find a mirror or something like Jinn said." I stopped for a moment, half expecting that to summon her, but nothing happened. "See what you all can find and meet back here in 10 minutes. After I'm done, I'm pulling the bodies through the Corridors and cremating them." I said before heading up stairs. It took me a few minutes, but I found a small, hand held mirror. There was so much dust that I couldn't even see the glass. I spent about a minute using Blizzard and Fire to try and make removing the dust easier with water. Once I had a clear enough view, I removed my mask and looked at myself. Just as quickly as I saw my face did I drop the mirror and stumble backwards as the mirror shattered on the floor. A few seconds passed and Ruby, Oscar, Weiss, and Neo all came running up.

"What happened?" Weiss asked, concerned. I didn't turn to look at them yet.

"Ruby, Weiss, can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Cassiel, what's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"I have two blue eyes, right?" I asked.

"Uumm, what?" I turned to face her, shock found it's way on everyone's faces.

"I remember having two blue eyes, why is one of them silver now?" I asked her, then it finally hit me.

"I have something to give you, though it might hurt you as well." Summer Rose said back then.

Oooohhhh that's what she meant! Fuck???

Author's Notes:

I went back and changed a minor detail before the battle of Haven. I thought Salem had the Relic of Destruction for a few reasons (Ozpin being a king of Vale and the GIANT Grimm at the end of S7), but according to her, the Sword is in Vacuo under Shade Academy.

That does make me wonder though, how powerful is the Crown of Choice when he supposedly made it "a little harder to find than the others" (I call bull shit), he gives Destruction to as Qrow put it, "thieves and scoundrels", Creation to THE military of the world, and Knowledge to what is still basically THE nation of criminals? If a piece from the RWBY fairy tales is accurate, the wearer receives a vision of a choice they'll have to make in the future, though there has to be more to it than that.

My reasoning is from the World of Remnant series. The king of Vale who was a previous life of Ozpin's used all the Relics to end the war. He wore the Crown, he held the Staff/ Sceptor, and he held the Sword. He personally led the forces of Vale in the final battle and "decimated the enemy forces, soaking the sand with blood". The video at least implies the Sword essentially brought Hell to the battlefield, the Staff probably created the "poor weather conditions", but what did the Crown do?

Chapter 55.

View Online

Cassiel POV

That was a surprise to say the least. A silver eye, though that would also explain why said eye hurts whenever I channel my darkness. Funny how that works.

"-iel??!!" I was broken out of my thoughts by Weiss.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, having not been listening for I don't know how long.

"Can you explain what happened? Maybe try to start off with why your eye changed?" She asked.

"I think I know, but I'd prefer not to get into that right now. On that same topic,-" I looked at Ruby. "there's something I'd like to talk with you, Yang, and Qrow about later." Just as I turned around to get back to what I was doing before this, Neo grabbed my shoulder.

"Why is this a big deal? What do eyes have to do with anything?" She typed on her scroll.

"No one ever did explain that to you did they?" I asked. She shook her head in response.

"Um, basically people with silver eyes can destroy Grimm by looking at them, or something like that." Ruby tried to explain, Neo raised a brow and looked at her like she was crazy.

"She's telling the truth. That Dragon on top of Beacon felt it first hand, so did Cinder's Grimm arm back at Haven. Hell, I felt it both times!" Those things hurt!

"I said I was sorry!" Ruby apologized.

"What was that? I can't hear you over the sound of your constant team-shooting!" I tried to play it off as a joke.

"But you're just so hard to miss!" She played along before bursting out laughing herself.

"Seriously though, I do need to get back to what I was doing. I'll be back down later." I waited for them to leave before getting back to it. I removed the blankets and threw the bodies out the window. No point in treating this like a funeral service because it's not. I dragged them a few yards away from the main house before doing the same to the rest of the bodies and piling them all up. After they were gathered up, I grabbed some alcohol from the cellar to help with the process. It was a random bottle, some wine actually. Don't know why farmers would waste money on this, better question is how they could afford all the drinks down there.

"Fuck it!" I drank a bit of it, it was actually pretty good. I took another sip before pouring the rest on the bodies and casting Firaga on top of some fire Dust for good measure. The storm couldn't extinguish the flames so far I could tell, but I stayed to keep the flames going anyway.

"Cassiel??!!" A voice yelled as someone shook my shoulder.

"Huh? What?" It was Ruby.

"Uncle Qrow wants everyone to get some sleep, we'll be leaving before sunrise." I looked back at the bodies and saw they were done.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little tired." I answered as I looked around. I didn't even notice the storm died down nor did I notice the time. It was around dusk by now.

"Come on, we'll have to share a few blankets though, unless you want one that was used by them?" She gestured to the pile of ash near us.

"Already did that once with Yang, what's one more time with whoever?"

I woke up feeling strange for lack of a better word. I was still tired, but I couldn't keep my eyes closed. I felt sort of dizzy, but I wasn't. I felt weak, but I had no trouble with physical activity. I almost felt like I was going to throw up, but I felt like it wouldn't happen. In truth, I didn't really care, I couldn't be bothered.

The others are of like mind. They're tired of all the fighting, they just can't be bothered to care. Not even Neo could be bothered to type anything on her scroll. What's the point in fighting if the enemy can't be beaten? What's the point in going to Atlas? What's the point in my Mark of Mastery when here is the happiest I'll be? What's the point in revenge if-...

"What the fuck am I thinking??!!" I shouted to myself. I'm just now noticing Ruby dropped the lamp down the well, the others are-... Let's just say unmotivated doesn't accurately fit the way they're acting. They other members of RWBY are volunteering to go down the well with Ruby at least, but that's it.

"Keep it down, will you?" Qrow said as he walked past me.

"Where are you going?" Maria asked him.

"Where do you think?" He shook his canteen and walked inside. I walked towards my team.

"Get the lamp and get out of here! I'm going with you!" I activated my armor and summoned Exile.

"Why are you getting ready for a fight?" Yang asked in a monotone voice.

"It's not like anything's down there." Blake said the same way.

"This place keeps feeling worse and worse by the minute. Can you honestly say the way any of you are acting is how you would have acted yesterday?" I asked before jumping down. I waited a few seconds before the rest jumped down with me. After a few minutes of looking around and finding nothing, Blake suggested to turn off the lights from our scrolls and look for the glow. If I didn't feel so wrong, I'd've probably thought of that as well. A little over a minute later, we saw a blue light from around a corner, Ruby rushed towards it as I grasped my head and started breathing more heavily. A few seconds later, Ruby screamed and ran back to us. Humanoid Grimm slowly followed after her before screaming, making everyone feel even worse than we already were. Exile felt heavy, I felt, sick, and tired. I threw Exile as a shuriken, killing four of them before we heard a voice behind us.

"RUN!!! NOW!!!" It was Maria. Don't need to tell me twice! I recalled Exile and drew Lionheart as we followed her before running through a hole in the wall. At this point, we were just running around looking for an exit. Whatever these things are doing, I can definitely see what makes them so dangerous. Just as we found some stairs, these things screamed again and everyone collapsed. My armor wasn't protecting me and I couldn't use my darkness. I struggled to move, it was like my body just wouldn't do it. Ruby was able to keep going, but stopped when she heard metal hit the floor. Blake was laying on her side, unmoving as the Grimm got closer.

"Blake! Get! Up!"
"Come on! Almost! There!" Ruby and I struggled to say because of these things.

"Sotired..." Blake stopped moving completely. Ruby and I tried to help her, but we could barely move. I tried to throw Exile, but couldn't even lift my arm, I could use magic either as I need to be able to use my hands for that. One of those things started reaching for her with it's claws, my own desperation becoming more apparent as it got closer.

"BLAKE!!!"
"GET AWAY FROM HER!!!" We both shouted as light began to fill the room, burning the Grimm away because of the silver eyes. I think my eye too since it felt strange and I felt a little dizzier, then felt much better a second later. Ruby helped Blake up as Weiss ran past Maria to the door.

"What just happened?" Maria asked

"They're locked!" Weiss said, fearfully.

"Out of my way!" Yang ran up to help her. I threw Exile with Fire at the Grimm just before they screamed and everyone collapsed again. Maria crawled towards Ruby.

"Ruby, what color are your eyes?" She asked, hopefully.

"They're... Silver." Ruby answered, Maria gasped before grabbing Ruby's shoulders.

"You have a family? Friends?" Maria asked.

"What?" Maria covered Ruby's ears.

"Don't think about them. Think about the people who love you. Focus on the thought of them, the way they make you feel. Focus! Life is beautiful, it is precious, and it must be protected!"

Raven. My master, the one who showed me a path to power and everything I have now.

Naofumi. Reliable, straight forward, trustworthy, no better protector than him.

Raphtalia. In two words, loyal, and just. She can quell his rage if necessary.

Filo. Innocent, childish, reminds me a bit of my sister on her good days.

Ruby. Too pure hearted for any world, though perhaps it's because the world needs others like her. Her light shines bright even against my darkness.

Yang. The big sister of the group, knows how to get the edge off when she herself isn't worked up. Fun to be around.

Weiss. Heiress to a tainted family name, but the only one that can redeem it. She's come far from who she was months ago.

Blake. We understand each other, I love her, I want to be better for her.

I feel happy and safe around them. There's nowhere else I'd rather be, no one else I'd rather be with. Their lives mean everything to me.

I removed my mask as I focused on these thoughts and feelings. My eye felt strange for a moment before light once again filled the room and destroying the Grimm that had gotten close to us. I quickly helped Blake up the stairs, putting my mask back on after Yang blew it open, running past a drunk Qrow, and out of the house with her and Maria. Less than a minute later, Ruby and Weiss dragged Qrow out of the now burning house everyone was loaded into the cart that was attached to Yang's motorcycle and we wasted no more time in leaving. A few minutes after the adrenaline wore off, Ruby asked what those things were.

"Whatever those things were, haunted houses have nothing on them!" I said as I held on to Blake.

"The Apathy." Maria answered. "They're not strong or ferocious, they drain your will to go on. Bartleby's estate was hemorrhaging money towards the end. He wanted to cut costs on Huntsman protection, but in order to do that, he needed everyone calm. Always."

"Managed to get two away from their pack. The hike back was miserable, but got the bastards in the cellar, wife thinks I was out sealing the water entrance. I'll do it tomorrow and tell her the truth once these things take the edge off everyone. I'm tired." Oscar read aloud from the journal.

"The next page proves that he did, but before the rest of the pack followed their missing pair on the way home. My guess is they made their way to the estate through the water tunnels that Bartleby sealed up the next morning. Bartleby's plan worked,-" Maria took back the journal. "no one was angry, sad, or scared, no one was anything. And then no one was left." She closed the journal and threw it to the side of the road.

"They don't need strength, speed, intelligence, or anything. Subtlety is their weapon. I'd say that alone makes them one of the most dangerous just because you won't notice the signs eitger because you're too tired to notice or because you don't know what to look for." I said.

"That about sums it up. I should've known! The signs were all there, but I've never seen an entire settlement withered away like that. I suppose my mind just isn't what it used to be." Maria said.

"You were a Huntress before, weren't you?" I asked as I removed my mask again, shocking the ones who haven't seen my eye yet. "You knew what to say to help trigger our eyes. Either you once had silver eyes, or you knew someone who did. Which is it?"

"I had silver eyes many years ago." She answered.

Chapter 56.

View Online

Cassiel POV

Maria explained her story. Turns out she was called "The Grimm Reaper" a long time ago and was targeted by assassins because of her eyes. They died obviously, but not before she lost her eyes. After the attack, she stayed under the radar and hid herself well enough that she was thought to be dead. Now it looks like she's staying with us if not because of how personal this is, then because of me and Ruby having silver eyes and needing someone to tell us how to use them. Though, if Summer really is the reason why I have one now, then she might be able to use it for me.

On the topic of silver eyes, there's one thing that bothers me. I remember Hazel saying Tyrian was supposed to capture me as well. The only other person of interest to Salem would've been Ruby, I doubt she would've wanted either of us just because of Cinder, she doesn't strike me as the kind of person to put others before herself unless she has a lot to gain from it. In my case, she was probably interested in the keyblade and that I can use magic unlike Summer. Ruby? Therapy for Cinder was definitely not it judging by how she was at Haven. That leaves her eyes, though why Salem would want probably the most effective weapon against Darkness besides the keyblade confuses me. Unless she found a way to turn the eyes to Darkness, I see no reason for that.

I was broken out of my thoughts by Ruby getting a call from Jaune, telling us Argus was close. We reached the city and met back up with JNR who were crashing at Jaune's sister's home. I half paid attention to everything, putting a pin on getting to Atlas and stayed close to Blake. It was helping to keep me calm after almost losing her and everyone else to the Apathy. I almost lost everything again! I could barely do anything when they needed me most! I'm letting myself get worked up over something that won't happen again.

We made our way to the Atlas base here in an attempt to gain passage to Atlas, but two really annoying guards were denying us passage until we mentioned that we brought Weiss. They left to retrieve their commanding officer and Maria brought up that she might know said officer. Whether it was a joke or not, I don't care, I couldn't help but laugh when she said "we shouldn't give up hope yet, maybe she's dead?".

"We are keeping her! Just for that, we are keeping her! Eyes be damned!" I said as I continued laughing. The gate opened a short while later to reveal the CO, I'm not impressed.

(Caroline Cordovin)

She stepped towards Maria as they glared at each other. After they insulted each other a little, Ruby interrupted to explain why we're here. She interrupted Ruby and officially established herself as a bitch.

"You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending our mission here in Argus! So allow me to say this slowly, with smaller words. This base. That relay tower. The very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious kingdom of Atlas, and it is my duty to uphold them as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task!" Every second I haven't shot her is miracle. Hello Pride!!!

"Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far away from the kingdom as possible?" It took everything I had to not laugh at what Maria said, Cordovin was angered by that.

"Ggggrrrr you're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!"

"Please? We know your kingdom had nothing to do with the Fall of Beacon, we were there!" Ruby said.

"Though maybe if the General did as I recommended with the drones and Torchwick, casualties could have at least been reduced." I commented.

"What would a civilian know about military defenses??!!" She snapped her head towards me.

"I know The Fall happened the same way I would've planned it if I had the same resources as the enemy. I also know that unless you're in direct control, no form of defense is safe from being turned against you like all those drones I told him to get rid of. I know that if he did what I recommended with Torchwick, or even let me have a crack at him that he wouldn't have hijacked an Atlas ship and turned it's guns against everything with a pulse! Civilian or not,-" I opened a Corridor. "I was still recruited to help with security, and NO ONE heeded my warnings! So forgive me for trusting my personal experience dealing with military and terrorists over someone who had plenty of chances to stop The Fall and did NOTHING until it was too late!"

"Cassiel." I ignored Ruby for a moment as I lifted Yang's arm.

"You see this? This arm was commissioned by your 'General', this is just one case of someone being hurt because no one fucking listened! How many of the people he swore to protect were hurt or killed? By Grimm? White Fang? Hacked drones? Hijacked ships? Back where I'm from, he would've been lucky if he just got the biggest demotion in history! He owes the world a lot more than he's giving, and I'm-" Blake grabbed my shoulder, stopping me before I brought up holding a gun to his head twice. Cordovin was about to respond, but Weiss spoke up before she could.

"No one's happy about the Atlas borders or the embargo, but I know the General is just worried. It's why we need to talk-"

"The General is no coward!-"

"No one said he was a coward, though if you associate 'caution' with 'cowardice', then not only are you calling him a coward, but you're telling me the very existence of Atlas is either a miracle or a country built by cowards, and all that does is tell me you're as cowardly as you are arrogant." I interrupted and used her own words against her.

"You will regret those words one day! Atlas is strong! And if the kingdoms plan to make Atlas their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!" She claimed.

"You mean like how you won the Great War, right? Because I seem to recall Vale joining in the defense of Vacuo and wiping the floor with you so badly that all three kingdoms bent the knee to Vale. Or do you mean like how you stopped the Fall? Because I also seem to recall you failing miserably in keeping the kingdom safe and keeping the world together." I countered.

"We were caught off gua-"

"That's not an excuse. All that matters in the military is results and Atlas provided nothing good. If you couldn't defeat Vale or Vacuo when you were backed by Mistral during the Great War, do you honestly think that you'll win against all 3 kingdoms after your humiliating defeat in Vale? Fun fact; it took seven people to destroy Beacon. Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, Torchwick, Adam, I can't remember Torchwick's partner,-" I lied for Neo. "and whoever hacked the drones. Seven people crippled an entire kingdom and brought global communications to a halt. What makes you think you'll win? Even the strongest fall, and you're definitely not that."

"The kid has a point there!" Maria said.

"Now we didn't come to argue, we came to seek passage to Atlas as we were tasked by Professor Lionheart before he tragically lost his life in the defense of Haven, to personally deliver that-" I pointed to the Lamp. "to the General and enroll in the academy there." I lied, shocking the others. "I can guarantee you the General will recognize almost everyone here as well as that Lamp. 50,000 lien says otherwise!" I don't have that much, but it's a winning bet anyway.

"The answer is no and that is final! Though if miss Schnee wishes to be reunited with her family, then we will oblige, but we will not be responsible for any of you!" And like that, she slammed the gates on us.

"..."

"Okay! Plan C! Weiss, you're getting on that ship tomorrow. Either we'll stow away with my Corridors, or we'll wait until you land before I open a portal." I told everyone.

"We had a plan B?" Blake asked, confused.

"I don't remember discussing any plans if this failed." Qrow added.

"Plan B was we steal an airship. Though I literally just thought of a better plan with fewer headaches and screaming midgets with egos almost as bad as Xerxes. We'll deal with that tomorrow though." I responded. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy as we made our way back.

"You were planning to steal an airship??!!" Yang asked, shocked.

"I don't see why you're so surprised, I've done worse. And let's be real here, what part of that is out of character for me?"

"He has a point." Ruby commented.

We went back to Jaune's sister's house and brought JNR up to speed since the train ride. Let's just say they didn't react much better to the truth than we did. It was decided that everyone needed some time to themselves, but before I could leave to find a Dust shop for more unrefined Dust to experiment with, Ruby called me to get me in on Maria teaching us about silver eyes. There's not a lot of information about them, I can see why if Maria's experience is anything to go by. According to her, they only work around Grimm and the eyes are best thought not as weapons to destroy them, but tools to preserve life. With that said, the only practice to we'll get is a "trial by fire". I think I'll just stick with the keyblade when possible then. Her reasoning is that "preservation is an extension of Creation, or at least an enemy of Destruction", though it does make me wonder about if my eye has a different effect when I'm using Darkness.

We were called inside by Yang as that thought crossed my mind. Apparently Oscar went missing, can't exactly blame him all things considered. I decided to let the others do the searching for a while, he can handle himself, though I had to tell them where I'd be looking to make them think I was doing something. After some time, something caught my attention. It was a statue of Pyrrha, her weapon on her back, her head down, and her shield held low by both her hands.

IN HONOR OF

PYRRHA NIKOS

ONE OF THE MANY STUDENTS WHO FOUGHT VALIANTLY AT THE FALL OF BEACON

"Foolishly is more like it." I mumbled as I turned to walk away.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" A voice asked. I turned to see a woman who looked so close to Pyrrha that she had to be her mother. Same hair and eye colors, I'd say shorten the hair, make her look older, and Pyrrha would be her spitting image.

"It's accurate." I answered. "Why here?"

"She trained here. Sanctum Academy. Everyone was crushed when she chose Beacon over Haven, no one wanted to see her go, but it's where she wanted to be. I'm just glad she was surrounded by such amazing people."

"She deserved better." I commented.

"She understood that she had a responsibility; to try. I don't think she would regret her choice because a Huntress would understand that there wasn't really a choice to make. And a Huntress is what she always wanted to be." She sounds like she's saying this more to herself than me.

"There was no 'responsibility'! There was a choice! I can't understand why she did it and it irritates me to no end! Her killer, Cinder, she was admiring the destruction, but she wasn't threatening anyone. She wasn't a threat! Cinder killed Ozpin, and she looked just fine when I reached her. Pyrrha had to have known she couldn't win, especially with that Dragon around! Yet, she still ignored me telling her to stay out of the fight!"

"She did what she believed was expected of her, and I'm sure she wouldn't regret her sacrifice."

"Her 'sacrifice' accomplished nothing. She couldn't beat me, yet she thought she could beat Cinder with that Dragon around when I was holding my own against her. Had she not stepped in, Cinder would've died by my hand and Pyrrha would be here instead of this statue! She had to have known there was no hope of victory, she had no business up there, but she went anyway! She had nothing to gain and everything to lose! I can't understand why she would do the equivalent of betting everything on a losing hand!"

"If I knew my daughter well enough, I don't think doing nothing would've sat well with her."

"She had everything, and out of all the students in Beacon, she had the most potential. I only beat her because I was just stronger and had a few ways around her Semblance. In a fair fight, she would've won. She was talented, smart, honorable, and just, but she couldn't back down. She had everything it took to become a Huntress except survival instincts, she would be a Huntress now if she could've just left well enough alone." I took some unrefined fire Dust out of my pocket and tried pouring light into it.

"Maybe she didn't want to leave you to face the fight on your own?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. She's gone, but she can rest easy now that Cinder is dead. She reduced Pyrrha to nothing, it only fit Cinder to be frozen and fall into a bottomless pit. I doubt Pyrrha or anyone in your family cared much for revenge, but I don't share that mentality,-" I pulled out the Dust and saw it was glowing, it's colors changing between red and white. I left it at the statue's feet before turning to walk away. "and I won't stop until those responsible lie dead at me feet." I opened the SR and left before she could say anything.

I went back to the others to find out that Oscar just went shopping for clothes. After dinner, I pulled Qrow, Yang, and Ruby upstairs to finally have that talk with them. Before I started explaining anything though, I borrowed a pencil and paper to set it up. It didn't take long to draw Summer's keyblade as best I could.

Yang and Ruby didn't recognize it, but Qrow went from shocked to angry in an instant.

"I thought you said you never met her." He clenched his fist.

"I wasn't lying." I looked at Ruby. "Your life is now more important than you know."

"You mind explaining what's going on?" Yang asked.

"... Back at Haven, when Ruby's eyes activated, I met her, your mother." I answered. Qrow looked like he thought I was joking, but Ruby and Yang were more confused than anything.

"My mother...?" Ruby said just loud enough for me to hear.

"How would you know our mom when you weren't even on Remnant when she died??!!" Yang asked, almost accusingly.

"I didn't, I just said I met her when Ruby's eyes activated at Haven. She's the reason why one of my eyes are silver now, and she had a message for the three of you. If you don't believe me, she referred to you two as her little 'firecracker' and 'petal'." If their faces are anything to go by, they believe me now.

"Only team STRQ knew those nicknames... What did she say?" Qrow asked, shaking.

"She said 'short-stack doesn't blame you for what happened'. As for you two?" I looked between the sisters. "She said she couldn't be more proud of you, and that she's sorry for not being there for you." They both looked ready to cry, but Ruby had something to ask first.

"What did you mean when you said my life is more important now?"

"Summer Rose's heart, her soul as you would say is inside you, Ruby." They looked at me in disbelief. "So long as the heart remains, it might be possible to bring her back. If a vessel can be created and her heart safely removed from your body, she could be resurrected in a sense. She could at least become like Penny." I clarified. They both latched on to me, crying.

"Can yo-ou do it? Ca-an we see our mo-mother again?" Yang asked as she tightly gripped my arm.

"I'm not going to make a promise if there's a good chance I won't be able to keep it. I said it might be possible, but that doesn't mean I won't try." I tried to answer. "I wouldn't bring up something like this unless I thought it might be possible." I would bring up the Staff of Creation, but knowing the Gods that created the Relics, there's a price or condition of some kind. If Knowledge can only answer three questions every century, then what's the catch with the Staff and the others?

I let them get this out of their systems. I've kept this promise at least, now to see if I can keep the others.

Chapter 57.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I love it when my plans work, everyone except Weiss got on the airship through the SR and just took a seat while the pilot was transporting his single passenger. I almost wish I didn't think of this plan just so I could steer this thing into Ironwood's office to really fuck up his already shitty day. The flight was several hours, but it was almost worth the wait. I'm not impressed with Mantle, but Atlas? I think I see why they're so arrogant, it shouldn't come as any surprise considering they have an entire city that looks at least 100 years more advanced than Earth and floating above mountains.

(Mantle)

(Atlas)

I stepped out of the SR to quietly give Weiss the Relic and tell her to try to contact her sister as soon as there's a connection and convince the pilot to land us near the academy if that wasn't already his plan. The sooner we get this done, the better. While we were waiting in the SR, we discussed how we should deal with the meeting after getting Neo to disguise herself. Ironwood is paranoid right now, that much is certain with the embargo and military recall, we have no idea how he's reacting to Salem right now, and how much worse we might make it. One thing we stayed on was whether or not to tell him about Haven, Leonardo, and what Jinn showed is. I wanted to tell him the truth to crush his spirit before telling him I might be able to do the job, but Ruby wanted to withhold the truth until we knew for certain we could trust him, half sided with her while the other half sided with me, so we flipped a coin. I lost, though they weren't against me explaining what I might be able to do.

After we landed, Weiss was greeted by Winter before I opened the SR to let everyone out. As for us? We were greeted by over a dozen rifles aiming at us. I just laughed and calmly walked towards Winter to explain this, but one of the soldiers shot me, I just turned and casted Reflega to make a point as Winter was telling everyone to stand down before getting on me, then Qrow about how reckless this method was. She shut up after I brought up that it was this or we steal an airship and risk getting shot while I attempt to crash land it into Ironwood's office to ruin his day. Lesser of two evils. She looked at Qrow, who basically told her that I would do it. She dropped it and took us to Ironwood, who looked tired to say the least. Shortly before we entered his office though, Ruby was tackled by a certain robot that I thought would've been left behind back at Amity Coliseum.

So after Ruby's reunion with Penny, we stepped into Ironwood's office to talk about the important shit. Turns out Penny, Winter, and whoever these "Ace Ops" are already know about Salem, the Relics, and the Winter Maiden.

"Which is why I'm so glad you're here with that." He gestured towards the Lamp that was still with Ruby. "Until now, I believed it was truly turn the tide against Salem. Oz has pushed her back, kept victory out of her claws, but she will keep returning, stronger and stronger... Unless we destroy her." Ironwood said.

"What about the Staff and the Maiden?" I asked, trying to get information on them.

"The Staff is in the vault, as for the Maiden?"

"She's in stable condition." Winter finished.

"What do you mean by 'stable'?" Yang asked.

"She's uh... Not exactly a spring chicken." Qrow answered before I could.

"I know how this all looks. Recalling my military, the embargo, I probably don't seem the most trustworthy right now. I needed to make sure Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas, and I want my military here, protecting my people." Ironwood said.

"Not that you'll get the reference, but your military is about as reliable as Storm Troopers and Red Shirts." Tell me I'm wrong!

"I... I'm not even going to ask. Anyway, just as you all have been entrusted with the knowledge of Salem's existence, I need you all to trust me. I have a plan." He said as the windows were covered and the Atlas emblem in the center of the room started rising before spreading out.

"Calling it now, it's going to end about as well as World War Two did for the Axis Forces." Blake put her hand on my shoulder and shook her head.

"Ozpin believed that the best way to fight Salem was to do so in secret, whether that was the right choice or not isn't for me to say. But we find ourselves in the position of needing a new approach."

"Then what does the 'General' have in mind? Personally, I'd unite the world against her as I rip out her heart, and if my methods of killing her don't work,-" I opened the SR. "I can always lock her away in an alternate dimension." I said as he used his scroll to have the table make a projection of Amity Coliseum. "I'm missing something here and I don't like it."

"When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I knew our current systems were outdated. Amity was built to bring the nations together, and it will serve that purpose once again." He used his scroll again and what looks like a communications tower appeared on top of Amity.

"Isn't it great??!! We're not just going to replace Beacon Tower, building a new tower on top of Amity Coliseum will reestablish global communications!" Penny said.

"By launching the tower high into the atmosphere, our scientists believe we could create a sort of satellite. Out of reach of the Grimm, and capable of maintaining global communications even if we were to lose another tower." Winter explained.

"I'm liking this so far... Are you finally going along with my plans?" If he is, I'm celebrating by stealing the most expensive wine I can find and drinking until I drop!

"I am... I'm finally going to tell the people about Salem." He answered.

"mmmhhhmmmhhaahahahahahahahahahahahaahhaaahhhaaaHAAHHAAHAAAHHAAAHHAHHAA!!!" How could I not laugh at this? Finally someone with power is fucking listening to me! I'm almost happy enough to... I don't know!!! Something no one would expect I'm sure!!! "And after you deal with the inevitable panic here, you spread the news and assist the rest of the world, right?"

"If it weren't for your complete and utter disrespect for almost everyone, I'd promote you to Officer rank right off the bat if you enlisted, but yes. Trying to hide the truth will eventually kill us all." He answered. I walked around as he reset the room and patted his shoulder.

"You should cherish this moment. That will most likely be the single most intelligent thing you say for the rest of your time alive." And considering what happened to Ozpin and Leonardo, I'm not expecting that to be for very long.

"Can you go one day without insulting someone?" Nora asked me.

"At this point, it's a reflex." I answered. "So what brought this on?" I asked Ironwood.

"Things changed after Beacon. Without Ozpin to guide us, all I can do is use my best judgement." He said as he walked towards his desk before turning around. "What is it?"

"Actually, Ozpin isn't completely gone." Oscar spoke up.

"Uuhh Oscar here is, well, he's the next Ozpin." Qrow clarified.

"Oz?" Ironwood started moving towards Oscar and lowering himself to eye level with him. "I'm so glad you're here, I didn't think you-"

"Not quite. He's kind of gone at the moment." Oscar told him, he shook his head.

"That's not normal, how did he-"

"We don't know." Ruby interrupted. "We were in a train crash and ever since, well, suddenly Ozpin wasn't there anymore." She lied.

"*sigh* The worse things get. Did you learn anything about the Relics before...?"

"We learned the Lamp can answer three questions every century, but they were used up already. We also learned that not only do they attract Grimm, but I found out the hard way that they override my ability to tame Grimm." I answered.

"They what?" He nearly shouted.

"Yeah, shocker, I know. Moving on, I have matters to discuss with you after everyone is settled in. Let's just say, you'll be granting amnesty to a lot of people." He raised a brow.

"What are you-"

"We'll go over the details later. You had my attention, now, at least for the time being, you have my cooperation instead my desire to really fuck up your day! Just ask Winter for clarification." He looked at Winter and she just shook her head.

"Moving on. If you're all on board?"

"Tell us how we can help?" Ruby answered. Ironwood smiled.

"Good, because getting the Amity Tower ready to launch won't be easy. But first, I think we need to get those weapons of yours to our standards." I could still kick your ass with just Lionheart!

"Remember, this is Atlas. While assisting the military, we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise." Winter informed us. Not much happened afterward, I eventually just stopped paying attention and thought of how I would destroy Atlas with the same resources Salem has. With the state this country is in right now, it wouldn't be too hard to manipulate a political rival of Ironwood's, have the one who hacked the military at Beacon do the same to the defenses here, have someone else kill a few people against Ironwood to villainize him, and maybe cause a bit of chaos. Penny is probably safe from the hacker though, otherwise they would've done so at Beacon. It wouldn't be too hard.

"Cassiel!" Weiss shook me.

"Sorry, I was thinking. What's going on?"

"We're going now." Blake answered.

"Alright." I followed them out of the office and we came across five people at the intersection.

(Ace Ops)

These are Ironwood's "Ace Ops"? Unless they have some bullshit trick up their sleeves, I could easily take on all of them. After they introduced themselves and said we would be working together, Penny volunteered to show everyone around the academy. I stayed behind since I can easily get around thanks to the SR and needed to know who was their best weapons developer or who I should talk to about weaponizing Dust. When they asked if it was for my weapon, I showed them Light Dust. They took me straight to their lab, but no one was there this late at night, so I guess I'm doing that tomorrow. They pointed me in the direction of the dorms before I left, when I arrived, there were only four beds, bunkbeds actually. Before I could see about getting that fixed, Blake stopped me.

"We can worry about that tomorrow, you're still not sleeping on the floor." She said.

"I was going to see-"

"No. One night isn't going to hurt anyone, or have you forgotten the first night at Beacon? Or when everyone had to share blankets at Brunswick?" No I haven't.

"Will you two love birds just go to sleep already? We're all too tired for this!" Yang said.

"On that, we can agree!"
"What she said!" Weiss and Ruby said at thd same time.

"..."

"Screw it!" There was just enough room for two in these beds, after climbing under the covers, I wrapped an arm around Blake. "You're all too good to me."

"Do we have reason to be otherwise?" Blake asked.

I guess not.

Chapter 58.

View Online

Cassiel POV

The next day, I had to wake up earlier than I was used to so I could uphold my end of the bargain with Sienna and see if I could get the same treatment for Neo so she didn't need a disguise in Atlas. He was... Less than cooperative. Not that I expected anything else considering this was for all intents and purposes a terrorist group and a co-conspirator in the Fall that I was trying to help. He even told me to give him one good reason why he shouldn't have me thrown in a cell for what I did. I responded with several; the additional silver-eyed warriors, the fact they helped save Haven, my agreement with Sienna, she owes me her life, and the fact that she now knows about the Relics and the Maidens. Terrorist group or not, I'd prefer they point their guns at the enemy instead of me, especially when basically the only things they're asking in return are equality and to not be deemed as criminals. The second one is the hard one, but Faunus were given Menagerie as a reward for their efforts in the Great War, there's nothing saying they can't be given both as a reward for their efforts against Salem, Ironwood at least agreed on that.

A few hours later, we were given a mission with Clover giving us the rundown. Basically we're to clear out the launch site for Amity, which is an abandoned Dust mine. They already have troops dealing with the Grimm down there, our objective is a Geist that escaped into the mine after the military increased it's numbers down there. This means it's intelligent, and that also means it's old and dangerous. I asked them if they actually needed it destroyed or if they would be fine with it under my control, Qrow explained what I meant by that, they needed it destroyed. Once I reminded them about my Corridors, they had the idea of using that to set up a beacon for it's location, though they clearly didn't think I was planning to kill it right then and there.

Before we left though, I checked up on the others, they all got upgrades to their weapons and even Lionheart got an improvement, three actually. The guard can fold up to give it a crossguard, the back of it can extend and fold into a stock, and it now has alternate firing modes, specifically single shot and multishot. They changed their outfits too, not big changes, probably the only ones that changed more than a shirt or added an accessory were Weiss and Blake. Speaking of Blake though, she asked if she should cut her hair. I told her it could just be that I'm too used to seeing her with long hair, but I think it looks better as is.

After landing in different locations around the mine, each team entered and started moving deeper into the mine. I decided to just dive in through the top and start spreading out from the center, changing tunnels and exiting the SR every so often. I heard the rest of my team was the first to encounter it with two of the Ace Ops over the radio. As I was about to go where I was expecting the Geist to go, I was ambushed by several Centipede Grimm and tested out the new Lionheart. A little heavier, a few grams, easier to use as a sword, and definitely more powerful, both in the trigger powered swings and the gun. Once I was done with them, Clover got on the radio to tell everyone he and Qrow encountered the Geist.

"Qrow, I can hear your gun shots from here." I lied to make a point. "Have you tried hitting the thing with that shotgun, or did you load it with blanks this time?" I asked over the radio. "Nevermind, don't answer that!" I entered the SR and went deeper into the mine, a point where all the tunnels intersect. I looked around and saw nothing until I looked up. All I saw of the Geist was a single eye in the center of it's mask (face?) as it was controlling several large blocks of ice mixed with Dust and metal. I airstepped to it and pulled it out before trying out the Light Dust. It looked like it was burning, no, more like being disintegrated as I poured the Dust on it. As it was being destroyed, everyone else caught up as I threw down the beacon because fuck it.

"It's dead! Happy? That was a waste of a good pet you assholes!" Just as I finished that sentence, a Centipede burst out from the wall behind me and was shot by me without even looking before it could even lunge at me.

"He works fast." I heard one of the Ops mumble.

We exited the mines and were met with Ironwood, who already had another mission for Clover. After learning about a few Mantle problems, he got a call on the comms, an "Atlas problem" he said. After telling the other person to let "him" land, a ship flew by us towards a landing area. "SDC" was branded over it, and as a result, I went from zero to pissed in an instant.

"So what are the chances of you all pretending I didn't shoot who I'm expecting to come out of that?" I asked, my hand on Lionheart as I switched it's firing mode to multishot.

"As much as I would love to, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to not do that." Ironwood responded as it landed and extended the ramp.

"So let me get this straight, James. In addition to this nonsensical embargo of yours crippling my business, you've also decided you have the authority to commandeer private property??!! When the council hears about this, you will never-" So it is Jacques Schnee, and I'm tempted to do it.

"Actually, I've already informed them." Ironwood interrupted. "As this is now the site of a classified military operation, it didn't even require a vote."

"'Didn't require a vote'??!!"

"You might want to brush up on Council Law before you lose this upcoming election. Now, I've allowed you to land here once as a courtesy, the next time won't be a friendly reception."

"Lately, you seem to forget who your friends really are. I'm going to get that council seat, James, and then you'll-" He stopped once he saw Weiss."You-" He walked past Ironwood. "You roped my missing daughter into these schemes of yours too?" He turned towards Ironwood. "How long has she been back in Atlas? Did Winter know about this?" Just as Weiss was about to speak up, I beat her to it.

"You have to be a really shitty father to not notice your daughter until now. With a parent like you, I'm surprised she didn't leave sooner. I think I'd be more surprised if you forgot why she left."

"I don't know who you are much less who you think you're speaking to, boy, but I'm not one to forget things. If she thinks otherwise, then she's clearly misjudged the kind of man her father is."

"Believe me, I know exactly the kind of man you are." Weiss talked back to him.

"How dare you speak to me that way!!! I have half a mind to-" I shot Lionheart at the ground to shut him up.

"As someone who spent half his life in an abusive household, I dare you to finish that sentence! Consequences be damned, the next one goes between your eyes! I've killed for less, try me you worthless shitstain!" I threatened him.

"Aren't you going to arrest him?" He asked/ demanded of Ironwood.

"No, he's just acting in defense of his teammate, I see no reason to punish that." He answered. Jacques stuttered for a minute before composing himself.

"You know, your mother was devastated when you left. Didn't leave her room for days,-" I made sure Lionheart was fully loaded. "you know how she gets when she's upset." He said, trying to use her mother to hurt and guilt trip her.

"With an abusive and controlling ass wipe like you for a husband, I can see why." I aimed Lionheart at his ship and started unloading on it as I flipped him off and used my Semblance to keep him at bay. By the time I was done unloading all my ammo (I had a lot), 'CUNT', 'ABUSIVE', and 'AVARICIOUS' were all on the side of his airship with a giant dick. Once he saw my masterpiece, he... Well... Pure rage was all I saw.

"DO YOU HAVE EVEN THE SLIGHTEST IDEA OF WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE YOU INSIGNIFICANT BRAT??? I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS!!! YOU'LL-"

"Are you done? Here, let me make it up to you." I reached in my pocket for more Light Dust.

"THAT SHIP IS WORTH MORE THAN YOU'LL MAKE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!!! NOT THAT YOU'LL BE-" I tossed him the Dust.

"That's a new type of Dust I recently made. You may have Hardlight Dust, but that's not actual Light considering it doesn't do nearly as much damage to Grimm as it would otherwise. I poured a bit of that Dust on the Geist in the mine and it died in the time it took me to fire my weapon three times. Unless it's weaponized, Dust does nothing to Grimm, yet this is an exception. It's yours, so long as I get 35% of the profits made off of it." I offered. He takes it, I become rich on Remnant, he refuses, he gets even more pissed as I sell it to the military. He rubbed his chin as he examined the Dust, slowly calming down.

"Interesting... 35% you said?" He calmed down quick, almost disturbingly so.

"A new Dust type that only I know how to make, probably not very good against people, but Grimm? Nothing will kill it more effectively if it's not a kill shot."

"I'm afraid that's asking too much. Next time, approach you buyer with a plan in mind." He 'accidentally' dropped it as he handed it back to me, but I caught it before it fell very far.

"Hey Ironwood, catch!" I tossed it to him, surprising Jacques. "Keep the unrefined Dust and lien coming, and there's more where that came from."

"Wha-, but-... I-"

"Bye!" I casted Stopa on him. "That also pauses his perception of time, so let's leave before he comes to." I told everyone. All of them had varying degrees of shock on their faces, but Weiss and Ruby were trying to hold in their laughter.

We were taken up to the arena of Amity for a celebration of sorts. Ironwood was promoting us, that is, everyone except Neo and Oscar for obvious reasons, to official Huntsmen and Huntresses. This license holds no real value to me, but the others are still happy about it, though it feels a little empty to them. Regardless, they finished their initial goal. During this celebration, we were shown the mission board. Our main objectives though are to protect the supply lines, the area below Amity, and fill in the gaps in security around Mantle.

Over the next few days, we all went on different missions while Ironwood was helping to train Oscar and "knock Ozpin loose". It took a bit of convincing, but I got Neo to help Oscar with his training. Considering the MANY chances she's had to skewer everyone, I thought she could be trusted. That, and having an illusionist train you I imagine is probably better in the long run compared to Ironwood or a voice in your head. The worst she'll do is play with him, maybe flirt a little during the session, she gives off that impression. As for what I had to do to convince her? I had to be her manservant for a day when we had a day off. I can't tell what's going on in her head, but I hope she realizes I'm already taken.

When I wasn't busy, I was looking for the Maiden. Curaga or Esuna might have been able to do something, and I had another reason for going. Supposedly, the vaults could only be opened by their respective Maidens, but I'm able to open them with the keyblade. It's interesting what can be locked and unlocked. I'm sure Raven's Keyblade of Hearts is special in that regard, assuming keyblades aren't limited to physical locks, I have a plan to really screw Salem over if she wins.

Once I found her through the SR, I saw Winter and Weiss looking down at Winter's scroll. They were watching Jauques speak at a press conference. What he did amazed me though, rather, I was questioning how stupid you have to be to do it. He's already one of the most hated people in the world, even moreso in this country because of his layoffs. Now he's deciding to "shut down all non-essential Schnee Dust shops", resulting in even more layoffs. Does he not understand, or does he not care that doing this and essentially trying to hold everyone's needs for ransom will only result in riots and more Grimm?

Weiss, Winter, your father's either an imbecile, or he's just one dose of crack away from being like my uncle, because I wouldn't put something like this past either of them.

Chapter 59.

View Online

Cassiel POV

Not long after Jacques's power play, voting officially started. It was basically narrowed down to Robin and Jacques. The day voting started was also the day Ironwood gave everyone a day off, meaning I had to uphold my end of the bargain with Neo. The day I was planning to make Dark Dust, he gives us a day off, and essentially sells me to the world's most dangerous mute. At least she didn't abuse this to the point of being malicious.

Once we were given the day off, Neo had us start the day with breakfast in bed, breakfast I had to make. Afterward, she had us go shopping (I know she stole a little, but I couldn't be bothered) with me carrying everything. Once it came time for lunch, she wanted an actual conversation. I was right when I thought she was going to play around with Oscar, he could definitely use the practice against more than a muscle head like Ironwood. Aside from that, he would bring her in for questioning from time to time to see what he could learn about Mercury, Emerald, and who they might have been working with. Ironwood didn't pass up the opportunity to find out what Roman might have learned about his "partners" before he died.

As for me? I told her about what I was doing after the mission in the mine, she wanted to know what I planned to do with the Maiden and the Relics. What else is there to say? I'm sticking with my plan to take the Relics with me when this is over, until I found out the keyblade could open the vaults, the Maidens were really just a means to an end. Salem doesn't care about the powers, but what they have to offer. She showed signs of being disturbed by Jacques power play, but her thoughts are the same as mine, if Robin doesn't win, either he cheated or Atlas is beyond saving.

So after lunch, we visited what looked like one of the not so friendly areas in Mantle. What she did is what surprised me more than Ironwood going along with my plans. She took us to an orphanage of all places, the kids seemed acquainted with her as did the caretakers. I never did say what she had us go shopping for, did I? Clothes, food/ drinks, toys, books, and Dust. She was donating it all to them, even used her text to speech app on her scroll to read to better communicate and read to them. It's a good thing I was wearing my mask, otherwise she would've seen a very confused and somewhat scared Cassiel. Could you blame me after seeing someone who could probably beat at least three or people in the group at once?

After leaving a few hours later, she explained that to me. She was never in an orphanage, but Roman still adopted her off the streets. Despite acting like he didn't care about children, he was providing a quite a bit to a specific orphanage. He didn't adopt them because he didn't want more monsters like him, but he knew Neo wouldn't have survived for much longer, and sending her there wouldn't have been much better anyway. He would sometimes disguise himself and do for them what Neo was doing, that rubbed off on her from the looks of it.

She had me carry her on my back like how he used to when she was younger, she's definitely trying to relive her past, not sure if that's healthy, but not like I was any better. She was noticeably saddened once we got back, it was time for dinner so I went ahead and made some before she even asked. Whether she wanted soup or not, I don't know, but it was fast and you can't go wrong with it. As I was about to sit down, she grabbed my wrist, pulled me down , and cried into my shoulder. Not exactly sure what I was supposed to do, this would be a little uncomfortable even if it was Blake, I just wrapped and arm around her and brushed my hand down her hair until she calmed down. By the time that happened, the soup was already cold.

Near the end of the night, we were watching the poll between Jacques and Robin come to an end. Before that though, she wanted me to remove my mask, so I complied. She took out her scroll and started typing.

"I know you're with the cat-girl, but please, let me have this?" She asked.

"Have what specifically?" She kissed my cheek before hugging me. I need someone to tell me what to think...

Watching the poll, we both knew something was up at the end. Robin was winning 53%-47%, but right when the poll was about to close, it was interrupted for a minute and Jacques won.

"There's no way in Hell those were last minute voters." I thought out loud.

(The next day, Ironwood's office)

It's official, Salem has people in Atlas now. Ruby identified the person who killed some people at Robin's "victory party" as Tyrian, and someone released fake evidence framing Penny for those murders, most likely the guy who hacked Atlas security at Beacon. To say Ironwood is stressed out is an understatement. Doesn't help that Robin is now robbing shipments for Amity.

"This is the worst case scenario!" Ironwood slammed his fist on his desk. "More people are dead, Penny's been framed, and somehow, Jacques Schnee is sitting on the council!"

"That's the second shipment that's been hit today. It seems election night was the last push Robin needed to go from hometown hero to full on vigilante." Clover said.

"I'm afraid the problem is more complicated than that." Winter commented.

"*sigh*. It seems Robin has emboldened our suppliers in Mantle. They're refusing to sell us provisions until the city is adequately repaired. With Robin redistributing the goods her team has stolen, the Amity project is completely stalled." Ironwood definitely isn't happy about this.

"But we're so close! There has to be some way to finish the tower." Ruby said.

"Unfortunately, the only other way is declaring Martial Law. If he does that though, he'll just be trading all his current problems for the Grimm and playing right into Salem's hands. It definitely won't help if the one who hacked Atlas security during The Fall is also here while Tyrian is painting the city red with a more natural resource." I told her.

"Right, one of the reasons all of you were called here in the first place." Clover referred to Ruby, Ren, and Nora as he used his scroll to make a projection of Tyrian's file. "You're sure this is the man you saw?"

"Tyrian Callows was accused of murders all across Anima, a homicidal maniac who escaped justice when his prison transport was attacked by Grimm. After that, he was never seen again." Winter summarized.

"Well, he works for Salem, and he's here." Ruby answered.

"If we ever had any doubts Atlas was Salem's next target, I think those are officially out the window." Qrow commented.

"But now we have a suspect, we can tell the people-" Ruby tried to say.

"That won't end well. Telling the people there's a serial killer no one's seen in years is loose in the city and we don't know where he is will only cause panic, and with Grimm attacks every other day on top of the inevitable increase thanks to the election results, that's a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, he'd be damn near impossible to track down. Insane or not, he's remained undetected for years, so he knows how to hide almost as well as I do." I opened a Corridor and closed it. "He'll be even harder to track if he's being covered by his partner and both are constantly on the move. Now add in the fact he's only killing who, or at least, when he's told to. He's obedient to Salem, probably to the point of fanatacism."

"I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem-"

"Bad idea, Nora." I interrupted. "If we tell everyone about Amity, that will provoke Salem's forces who are here to attack or sabotage it. If I were them, I'd literally drop Amity on the most populated or defended area. If we tell them about Salem, we'll be overrun by Grimm before we're finished. As much as I want to test the limits on my ability to tame Grimm, the new Dust, and my eye, I'm not interested in a battle of that size when I'm being forced to protect so many people."

"Exactly. We need to start by bringing Robin Hill into custody. We can offer her a deal if she gets Mantle to cooperate." Ironwood ordered.

"We'll figure it out." Clover said.

"What if I can get her on our side, or at least not rob us?" I offered.

"What do you have planned?" Clover asked.

"Tell her the bare minimum, just enough to convince her to think twice about stealing from us. Tell her the supplies are for the tower, that you're actually trying to help, even say you're looking to replace Jacques with her, but you're being framed by the same people who attacked Beacon." I explained.

"You would put this entire operation on the line because what? Faith in a plan with no guarant-" Ironwood tried to refuse the proposal.

"It's more likely to succeed than doing what Mantle would consider kidnapping, especially when this 'deal' is only valid 'if' she can get Mantle to cooperate." I interrupted.

"Her Semblance is a lie detector that works only with who she's in physical contact with, that part about Jacques likely won't make it past that because we haven't even started." Clover informed me.

"We'll want to do that sooner rather than later. Besides, I can't be the only one to suspect foul play. Do you honestly mean to tell me that it's a coincidence that the poll was interrupted, extending the time to vote while the party was also experiencing a power outage and massacre at the same time, and in the span of a minute, Jacques went from 47% of the votes to more than 50%? I'm calling bullshit on that. He's more than likely being manipulated, and him being on the council is infinitely more advantageous to Salem than Robin would be."

"..."

"Oh... Shit." Qrow worded that quite nicely.

"Easy way to find out,-" I reopened a Corridor as I looked at Winter. " you or Weiss infiltrate the Schnee family residence. It may be a long shot, but I'd recommend one of you speak to your mother first. So long as he hasn't broken her to the point of the abusive marriage version of Stockholm syndrome, whatever that's called, I would expect her to want to be rid of him as soon as possible. Even a domestic/ child abuse charge would be welcome. The sooner we can do it, the better. Now get that truck ready, I'm dealing with Robin alone." I left before anyone could say anything.

"Double kill."
"Triple kill."
"Hat Trick."
"Overkill."
"Hail Mary."
"Extermination."
"From the Grave."

"Worth it." I needed something to do while waiting for Robin to rob the truck, so I downloaded some shooter called 'Sacred Rings', and I'm already being accused of hacking. Not my fault these people can't shoot straight.

"Game over."

The truck stopped.

"Perfect timing." I put away my scroll and waited for the door to open. After about ten seconds, Robin opened it.

"SCRAMBLE!!!" She shouted to her team as she tried to run away. "Split up and regroup at the hideout!" Key word 'tried'. I followed her into an alley way through the SR and got ahead of her before exiting and trapping her with Barrier.

"May I speak now?" She shot me with a crossbow, I deflected each shot. "I'm only here to speak, damnit!"

"Ironwood sent a kid after me? Does he really think I'll go down so easily?" She asked.

"I've beaten stronger, and more vicious people than you. If I wanted to capture you, I would've done so already. Now we either need to make this quick, or move to a more secure location if we're to have no interruptions." I opened the SR again. "Clover told me about your Semblance, and I need you to trust me."

"How can I trust someone who hides behind a mask?" I showed her why I wear it.

"It's a waste of aura otherwise. Now, do you want to know as much of the truth as I feel I can tell you, or do you want to remain in the dark and screw over the entire world?" I held out my hand and she hesitated to take it for a moment.

"What is Ironwood building out in the tundra?"

"A new communications tower on top of Amity to restore global communications and supposedly keep them even if another CCT tower is destroyed. Unfortunately, you're stealing it's supplies and as a result, the suppliers are refusing to cooperate until the city is adequately repaired." Our hands glowed green and she backed off.

"You're telling the truth... Why is he keeping this a secret?"

"Because he's a little paranoid after Beacon is what I want to say. In truth, he doesn't know who to trust. The same people who attacked Beacon and tried to attack Haven not long ago are here and we've only been able to identify one of the two we know are here. He's framing Ironwood for these murders and his associate who I believe to be the one who hacked Atlas security at Beacon is the one who framed Penny and is likely the reason why you lost the election."

"What do you mean? Do you mean to say it was rigged?"

"I already explained it to Ironwood, but more than likely. The poll was supposed to end at a specific time, but was interrupted. At the same time, your party also lost power and was massacred, framing Penny and Ironwood as that these 'last second voters' voted for Jacques and brought him up from 47% to more than 50% of the votes. A greedy, corrupt, detestable man like him on the council would be much more advantageous than a Huntress who's just trying to do right by everyone. Hopefully Winter or Weiss will take my advice and try to find some dirt on that asshole."

"That's all still a little far fetched." She held out her hand and I took it. "How much of what you just said is true?"

"All of it." Our hands glowed green again. "He is trying to help, but the only way he knows how is as a General. He's doing everything he can to prevent Atlas from becoming another Haven or Beacon without declaring Martial Law or spreading panic before he's ready to deal with it. Now go, my original mission was to capture you, but that can only end so well. I wouldn't put it past him to have sent the Ace Ops without telling me first."

"Why even work with him if you don't trust him?"

"Because the last time I had any amount of trust in him, an entire country was crippled. If you mean personal reasons, Yang was framed for attacking her downed opponent, Pyrrha was essentially framed for murder, Beacon was destroyed, I almost died, my girlfriend was almost killed, Yang lost her arm, Pyrrha was murdered by one of the people responsible for The Fall, and Ruby was forced to watch two of her friends die on top of having to see what her sister and her friend in such poor conditions. He has my cooperation because he's working towards the end goal I had in mind, but I still don't trust him any further than I can stab him. If he crosses me, I will kill as many people as I have to so long as he is one of them." I let go of her hand and turned towards the Corridor. "He needs time, but it's running shorter for various reasons. He'll explain everything when the time is right." I left before she could say anything else.

Arriving back at the academy, I decided I wanted to see Blake. Though when I got back, she was just getting undressed and about to switch to the pajamas Atlas provided. I wonder how she and the rest of the team would react if I told them I've seen everything, and not for the reasons they would expect? Tombstone for another day I suppose. I waited a minute after she got dressed again before greeting her.

"I'm back." I said as I stepped out of the SR. "I miss anything?"

"Not really, no. How did it go?" She asked.

"Honestly? I don't know. We'll find out soon enough though. But enough about work,-" I started scratching her behind the ears, causing her to purr as I wrapped my other arm around her. "how's my favorite teammate?"

"Better now." She's too adorable like this. "How was your day off?" She asked since we didn't have a chance to talk yesterday.

"Neo has me very confused and it scares me to think about it for reasons you would never expect. Changing subjects, when this is over, do you think we could go out somewhere again before I leave?"

"As long as you promise to come back." She smiled softly.

"You don't even need to ask." I pulled her into the bed. They still haven't brought in a fifth bed, thankfully, she doesn't mind sharing.

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for them, her especially.

Chapter 60.

View Online

Cassiel POV

I found out the next day that Ironwood received a letter from Jacques to "celebrate" or whatever, but we all knew the real reason; Ironwood would be defending his seat on the council. Even Weiss, who wasn't there to hear me say the election was likely rigged, believed her father would do anything to win. With all that said, Ironwood is taking us with him. I hope they realize I'm just going to be in the SR until something major comes up. When we arrived, I decided to just wait on the roof instead of entering the SR, I'm sure we'll have answers soon enough.

Some time later, I got an urgent call and met up with everyone in the dining room, Robin was here as well. Weiss did as I was hoping she or Winter would and looked around for anything incriminating and found everything we needed. Thanks to her mother, there was video evidence of Jacques cutting a deal with a "disgraced Atlesian scientist" named Arthur Watts, who was believed to be dead. Treason and accessory to murder are what Jacques's going to be tried for. Personally, you can say people are innocent until proven guilty, but what's the point when you have undeniable proof of guilt? This is why I believe in summary execution, once those charges were brought up though, he had something smart (stupid) to say. Especially in this case since winning the election gave Arthur a "backdoor into Atlas security".

"These are outrageous accusations! I only intended to win the election, I had nothing to do w-" I casted Barrier next to everyone.

*BOOM*

I channelled a lot of Darkness into the Firaga and Aeroga I fired into the wall, destroying almost half of it.

"That is what you will look like if you don't shut your mouth now! Not that you're capable of caring, but people are dead because of you, one of the most dangerous men in the world is about to make your country fall harder than Vale and Beacon, and for what? Money? If it were up to me, you would die alone, unseen, unheard, and unmourned as I do even worse to you than I did to the one who destroyed my life." I threatened. Just as I finished saying that, the rest of the council got a call telling them the heating grid in Mantle has been shut off, apparently Arthur will be able to do "whatever he wants" if given enough time thanks to Jacques.

"Without heat down there, people are going to die." One of the council members said.

"People are going to panic, they're going to riot, there's about to be a mass invasion of Grimm. However, now we can turn this around and truly demonstrate that new Light Dust." I like my plan already.

"How do you expect to turn this around? This is the worst case scenario!" The other member said.

"I can likely hold off one of the Grimm's entry ways into the city with my ability to tame Grimm and usage of Light, alone. Get your troops equipped with the Light Dust I made and get a broadcast going, telling everyone to evacuate to the shelters as you tell them about Arthur and Tyrian with Robin's Semblance as you try to lift them to Atlas. To make the civilians feel safer, tell them that you're allowing them to equip themselves with Dust and weapons from shops. Once hope, faith, and unity are established, tell everyone about Amity to lure out Arthur, and have Robin come to me to lure out Tyrian after switching the broadcast to me so I can show them what I'm doing. He'll want to cause chaos, killing Robin will greatly dishearten Mantle, killing me will make it several times more vulnerable, he'll have to target us. If all goes well, both will be dead and Mantle will be saved. That does not mean arrest them, it means kill!" Everyone looked at me in shock.

"Aerial Grimm aside, there is only one entry way into the city." Winter said.

"Then they'll have to kill me if they want those Grimm to do anything major."

"You came up with all that on the spot?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"What part of that seemed out of character for me? I'll be waiting outside while you all get ready for your first large scale battle."

The flight has been uneventful, Ironwood took a bit of convincing to go along with my plan, but he's getting the broadcast set up now with Robin, rather, a recording to play so she can come to me.

"Alright everyone, I need to stress to our new Huntsmen and Huntresses that we are prioritizing civilian safety over killing Grimm. Got it?" Clover asked.

"Sorry, but I'm going to be more useful by that giant hole in the wall, especially when Tyrian takes the bait. I might not even have to fight him at all if the Grimm can kill him for me." I told him.

"Sorry kid, but you'll have to get in line. I've got a score to settle with that freak!" Qrow said, I aimed Lionheart at him.

"I would trust Hitler not to gas a Jew before I would trust you to properly deal with Tyrian, especially since he has you beat 1-0!" I responded.

"Uuummm, who's Hitler?" Why Ruby? Why did you have to ask that?

"He made Salem look like the embodiment of virtue, I'll leave it at that." I answered as a Wyvern Grimm latched itself onto the windshield. "And there's my ride the rest of the way. We'll continue this conversation never." I channelled my Darkness and it obeyed my command to fly by the side of the ship as I jumped out and landed on it's neck. There was a faint, throbbing pain in my silver eye, good to know it's lessened since the train.

The flight down became much faster after hitching a ride on the Wyvern, once we were close enough to see the wall, there was already a horde that made it past the wall, I'll leave the others to deal with that. I made the Wyvern dive bomb into the wall to see how that would go, it got trampled immediately. Shame. As I landed, two Sabretooths rushed at me, but I grabbed one's head and threw it into the other hard enough to kill them both. I used more Darkness and started taming the Sabretooths as I shot the Mammoths with Light Dust from Lionheart. The Grimm entering the city on the ground began to slow down after a few minutes, all the Grimm were obeying my commands to attack the ones that were ignoring me, which was mostly the older Mammoths. Beowolves, Ursi, Sabretooths, the younger Mammoths, I was holding this place down easily, though my eye was beginning to hurt a little more, I'd say I can do this for maybe 15 minutes tops before the pain becomes too much.

After a few minutes, Robin joined up with me, to say she couldn't believe what she was seeing is an understatement. Around that same time, Ironwood started broadcasting the message to Mantle before switching it over to me by having Robin record it on her scroll.

"Go!" She said. I held out my hand towards one of the obedient Mammoths and started running it along it's trunk, it used it's trunk to lift me on it's head.

"Arthur, Tyrian, this part of your plan is failing miserably right now." I pointed behind me to show all the Grimm that aren't entering the city. "And that's not all." I unloaded Lionheart and loaded it with Light and Dark Dust as I showed everyone my face, shocking Robin enough that she almost dropped the her scroll while I showed off the new Dust. Light Dust was disintegrating all the Grimm it touched and piercing right through them while Dark Dust would either just kill it, make it explode and kill others near it, or make it writhe in agony for a few seconds before dying. "The only threat to me right now would be Salem. I killed Adam, I killed Hazel, I saw Cinder die, and now one of you are next! Eternity is very close, can you feel yourselves slipping?"

As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I order thee.

Wait, no price this time?

"Keep the camera on, Robin." She slowly complied as she tried to process what she was seeing. "As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I order thee."

From above, rain down the Tears of The Frosted Heavens.

"From above, rain down the Tears of The Frosted Heavens."

From the North, let the screams my enemies be lost to the Howling Winds.

"From the North, let the screams my enemies be lost to the Howling Winds."

Frost Purge!

"Frost Purge!"

Clouds began swirling above us as the winds began to pick up. I could tell the temperature was plummeting, but I wasn't being affected by it, more like I was near it and wasn't caught in it even as I went in deeper, the Mammoth I was riding was also safe from it. It was like a focused snow storm, but with giant shards of ice dropping from above, impaling all the Grimm as they either stood there or tried to rush into the city. It got to the point that Grimm were being frozen in seconds or being impaled, even the Wyverns above us were being shot down or frozen. This continued on for a few more minutes, eventually leaving a blockade of ice and frozen Grimm. I flew over the wall to the other side and saw how far it extended past the wall, it was well over 100 meters, closer to 140 actually, nothing but frozen Grimm and shards of ice bigger than me. I flew back inside Mantle and walked past Robin.

"And with that, I may as well have just fixed your wall. Nothing is getting through that easily." I looked back at Robin. "That was a taste of my magic, you're not a threat to me. You can end the recording now." She took her time doing so. "Now we wait for a certain psychopath." I said as I suppressed my Darkness.

"What was all that?" She asked, unable to comprehend what she just saw.

"Magic. Now let's see,-" I switched out the Light Dust for Dark Dust and counted how much of both I have. "over 40 of each, not including what's currently loaded, that should be enough."

After several minutes of waiting, I decided to just kill the Mammoth and sit down. I'm itching to kill him, Tyrian. I made an exception for Neo because of how useful she might be, but him? He works for Salem and tried to hurt Ruby, more than enough reason to kill him. Just as I was about to look for him myself, he jumped from the rooftops a few meters away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OILUu8dkw_s

"Cassiel and Robin Hill! You know, for such a little bird, you have quite the impact around here." Robin shot him, but he shifted his body to avoid it. "And you, Cassiel, my Mistress would be so... Disappointed to lose you. AND AFTER THAT SPECTACULAR DISPLAY, I CAN SEE WHY! AAHAHAHAHAAHHAHHAAAHHAHHHA!" He laughed like a madman. "You have no idea how much she wishes to meet you, even before you hurt dear Cinder, killed Hazel, and young Adam." Wait, hurt? Cinder?

"What do you mean by 'hurt' when you said Cinder?" I asked. I swear to Raven, if she's alive, I'm bringing a can of Raid because she has to be part cockroach!

"Why, you'll have to see for yourself, my boy! HehehahaHAHAHAHHAAHHHAAA!" He ran towards us, blocking every arrow Robin shot at him. I threw Nightfall past him and airstepped towards it, grabbing his head along the way and throwing him at the wall Nightfall lodged itself in.

"Want to try that again?" I asked as I recalled Nightfall as a scythe and aimed Lionheart at him. He just laughed again and leaped at me. Vicious, unpredictable, I would use my Darkness, but I want to save that for later. I was being put on the defensive, not something I'm used. He was making full use of each limb, his prosthetic scorpion tail, his wristblades, his legs, I think this is what it's like on the receiving end of so many weapons.

He thrusted his tail at me, I dodged it, but he swiped my leg with his own and sliced my chest as I lost my balance. I was not told he could negate aura. Just as he was about to slice my eye, Robin distracted him long enough for me to strike him with Lionheart. Just as I struck him, I also shot him and launched him back with Aeroga. I casted Cura on myself, the wound healed, but there wasn't any aura there. As I looked at the damage done to him, he was badly bruised on his hip, it looks like he was cut just as bad bleeding as Darkness was seeping out of the wound.

"What did you DO??!!" He shouted angrily before laughing again, he isn't healing himself. Does Dark Dust act as a sort of aura poison? He jumped over me and went for Robin, but I airstepped towards him again and slammed his head into the ground. We had to back away as he rapidly lashed out in all directions before flipping himself back onto his feet and running towards me, shooting me as he moved erratically, aiming for the opening in my aura, thankfully I was able to block it.

He jumped off a wall and I noticed his eyes changed from yellow to purple as his hand was covered in that same color. I noticed at the last second that he was also about to thrust his tail at me, so I casted Barrier to block his hand and grabbed the end of his tail. I spun around and threw him upward, gripping his tail hard enough to break it instead of letting him go. As he turned to shoot me, I flew up to him with Exile and Nightfall as wingblades, blocking everything until I got close and rapidly struck him with each of the eight wingblades. After breaking through whatever passes as a defense in his case, I channelled some Darkness into a downward swing, sending him crashing into the ground.

I dropped down, putting Lionheart away and changing Exile back into it's original form. I poured a bit of Dark Dust onto Exile as I approached him, he tried to lunge at me with his Semblance, but I parried it with Nightfall before impaling his hand to the wall. He kept switching between laughing and shouting at me as I quickly did the same to his other hand.

"I almost pity you, no one is just naturally insane like you are." I said as I aimed Exile at his chest.

"GggrrrhehehehahaHHHAAAHHAAHAHAHHAHHHAAA!" Was his only response.

"Is that the only way you can communicate now?" Robin asked.

"You're all going to die soon, hehehe. My Mistress will see to that soon enough! HaHaHAHAHHHAAAHHAAHHAAAHHHAAA!"

"Yeah, I'm just going to end it now." I said as I gripped Exile.

"Our Goddess is upon us!!! My death will-" I slashed his throat before thrusting Exile into his chest. I heard something behind me as Tyrian was fading away. Qrow and Clover arrived too late, they looked on in shock as they saw a heart rise from Tyrian before he completely faded away.

"You already killed him?" Clover asked in disbelief.

"Figures." Qrow complained as I grabbed Tyrian's heart, striking it with Exile and setting it ablaze with Dark Firaga.

"I just did you both a favor. I can guarantee at least one of you would've died otherwise." I told them as Clover got on the radio.

"This is Clover, Tyrian has been neutralized. Awaiting further orders... We're on our way." He turned to us. "He wants us to return to the academy."

"What? But there's still Grimm in the city!" Robin protested.

"Thanks to the kid, the wall has been closed off for the most part, and thanks to that new Dust, our soldiers can take care of the Grimm with ease while evacuating the civilians. Orders are orders."

"In that case,-" I opened a portal to the rest of my team. "I might have a short cut." I walked through to find Weiss and the rest of the teams. "Weiss, think of Winter." I changed Nightfall into it's original form and held it with her.

"Cassiel??? What are you-"

"Winter! Now!" Light shot out and another portal was opened. "Good! You may yet have keyblade potential!"

(Ironwood's office)

Ironwood was startled by our entrance, but relaxed a little upon seeing who arrived. He sat back down in his chair, he looked exhausted, afraid, doesn't help he's injured right now, his left arm bandaged and in a cast.

"It's only you." He let out a sigh of relief.

"What's got you so worked up? I'd say everything has gone just as I planned." I said. He placed a black chess piece on his desk, it was made of glass. Black... Glass... WHERE'S THE RAID???!!!

"We have made a critical error." He responded. "The black queen was the symbol Salem showed us before we lost everything. Her way of telling us she was inside, that it was too late. We stopped Watts, we stopped Callows, but someone was here! They put this in my office to tell me that- what if Mantle was just a distraction? What if it was just to draw us away from the academy to-"

"General Ironwood, we need you to slow down and tell us exactly what's going on." Jaune tried to calm him down a little.

"Cinder, that's what Tyrian meant when he specifically said 'hurt' instead of 'killed'! Get Winter back here now!" I told him.

"She's going to claim the power of the Winter Maiden now! We need to-"

"Cinder only knows that the Maiden is here, she doesn't know who or where specifically, and Winter is leading her right to the Maiden! I can reach the Maiden undetected and either kill her myself or bring her to Winter, and unlike you people, I don't need the Maidens to reach the Relics!" I tried to convince him.

"And how do we know that isn't part of Salem's plan either? She's been one step ahead of us this entire time!"

"Panicking isn't going to help you either! If we kill Cinder, this war will turn in our favor, especially if we get the Fall Maiden on our side!" Immediately after I said that, something shot out of the bag on his desk, a sphere-shaped Grimm with red tendrils. I immediately shot it with Lionheart and it broke, falling to the floor. A couple seconds later, black smoke rose from the Grimm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nbZZaICuvI

"The brave Huntsmen and Huntresses bested Arthur Watts. Congratulations." A voice said as the smoke shaped itself to look like Salem.

"Killed Tyrian too, and this time, I'm making sure Cinder dies." I said as I held Exile and Nightfall.

"Hmm." She leaned towards me to get a better look. "So you're the one who killed Adam, Hazel, united the Faunus and humanity, and even killed Tyrian? Cinder was right when she said you would've made a valuable asset to us had you joined us when she offered." She looked at the keyblades. "An interesting choice of weaponry." She commented. "However, the goals of Arthur and Tyrian were never victory, but merely to set the stage."

"For what?" Ironwood asked, fearfully.

"For me." She answered as she approached him. "Time isn't on your side James, it's always been on mine. The people of Atlas have suffered enough! Surrender the Staff and the Lamp to me and they needn't suffer any further."

"That's... Not going to happen." Ironwood refused her 'mercy'. Salem leaned towards him.

"Simply accept the futility of your situation, and this can all be over."

"Desperation hidden behind intimidation. You feel your presence here is absolutely necessary to your victory, either that, or you want to use the Relics as soon as possible." She turned her attention to me. "If it's the latter though, the 'why' eludes me."

"You believe me to be desperate?" She asked.

"I alone have killed most of your servants, the last two I know of aren't a threat. The Lamp showed us everything, we're a lot alike you and I. Rather, I would've done everything that turned you into the monster you've become had I been in a similar situation. You have an inexhaustible army of creatures that may as well be death incarnate, any number of them could be like that Dragon at Beacon, or even make that look like a gnat."

"Get on with it." She said.

"You already have everything you need to conquer the world, you don't need strategy when you're perfectly capable of outlasting your enemies, especially when any number of your Grimm are capable of overrunning entire cities alone. You don't want genocide, otherwise you would've done it for the same reasons. So why do you want the Relics? Revenge against the Brothers? Freedom from your curse? Revive your children? Whatever you meant on that night by 'remaking humanity'? That is what I can't figure out. Care to enlighten us?" I asked her.

"..."

"No? Very well. You're desperate, your presence shouldn't be needed here, the simple fact that you're coming here right now tells me this is the turning point of this little war of yours. Just because you supposedly can't be killed, doesn't mean you can't be beaten. I think she knew that too."

"I did not believe arrogance to be a trait you would display so openly."

"You didn't have those red lines or whatever that's supposed to be on your forehead from what the Lamp showed us. Either that's a side effect of something, or that's damage that never healed. If it's the latter, then someone came close to permanently killing you, and I intend to finish the job." I continued as I showed her my eye.

"No matter what you may believe, all you will accomplish is death in a war not your own. A futile effort, though I look forward to seeing if you can make it this far." She said before she faded.

"That's Salem??? That's who we're up against???" Marrow said, fearfully.

"And she's apparently on her way." Harriet said.

"But we'd be alerted if any forces approached the kingdom!" Elm said.

"You mean like how we detected the Grimm in Mantle? Or was there nothing for that? Either way, if Watts shut it down, or if they've been destroyed, then they're not exactly helping us." I pointed out.

"We have long range proximity alarms all across the coast!" She continued.

"It's as Cassiel said, we didn't notice with all the chaos." Vine said, looking at his scroll.

"With Amity not yet complete, we can't get assistance from the other kingdoms, so our options are to bet everything in an attempt to win this battle, or use the Staff to lift Atlas high enough that Grimm can't touch it, but that would leave Mantle and Remnant behind. If we can safely lower Atlas into the crater it had to have risen from, we can use the Staff to create a barrier or a weapon, maybe use it to transport everyone somewhere else. We could also use my portals to evacuate as many as we can from Atlas to either Menagerie or the island of Patch using the same method I used with Weiss with Blake, Ruby, or Yang if that won't work." I listed our options.

"You can't seriously be considering abandoning Mantle??!!" Robin said in disbelief.

"All those people would be left to fend for themselves." Ren said.

"You can't honestly think becoming a monster will help anyone???" Nora asked.

"You would be leaving Mantle to die!" Blake said, looking between me and Ironwood.

"Yes... I would." Ironwood said, almost emotionless. "We can't allow Salem to capture the Relics. This is our best chance at getting the Staff, the Lamp, and the Maiden as far away from her as possible."

"But, we have an opportunity to reunite the world! If we launch the tower, we can all work together again! If we can hold out long enough-" Ruby tried to plead with him.

"Sometimes... Doing the right thing... Means making tough decisions." He interrupted her.

"I didn't know the right thing meant forsaking your oath, both as a Huntsman and a soldier." I gripped my keyblades tighter.

"He's right, and I think the right thing to do would be to stand our ground." Blake refused to go along with him.

"Me too." Yang sided with us.

"Me too." Weiss defied him.

"Me too." Ruby followed their examples.

"I'm not abandoning these people!" Robin readied her crossbow.

"I'm stickin' with these kids, Jimmy." Qrow gripped his weapon. Ruby turned towards the Ace Ops.

"We ran ourselves ragged, trying to save Mantle tonight. We try that again against an even larger force-" Harriet tried to say.

"But you're Huntsmen and Huntresses!" Yang interrupted. "You can't just back down from a fight!"

"We can't focus on one single fight when trying to win a war." Vine said.

"And this fight can cripple Salem, maybe even kill her!" I tried to convince them.

"What's the council going to say?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing." Ironwood answered. "Once I declare Martial Law."

"No." Weiss said, unable to believe she just heard that.

"What about everyone else??!!" Blake asked.

"Who exactly are you loyal to?" Elm asked us.

"I never claimed loyalty to anyone but my team! It's for that reason that I'm with them in trying to save everyone!" I answered her.

"We're saving everyone we can, and you're standing in our way." Ironwood said, almost like he truly doesn't care.

"You can save everyone, but you're running away instead. Are you telling yourself that because you can't admit you're too afraid to face Salem? Or are you telling yourself that so you won't feel as guilty about abandoning everyone on Remnant?" I asked him. "I believe you were there when I said something like this to Ozpin. If you abandon Mantle, if you abandon Remnant, consequences be damned, I will kill as many people as I have to as long as you are one of them! So long as you die the traitor's death you'll deserve! And if that means I have to steal the Staff, then so be it!" I changed Nightfall into wingblades and aimed Lionheaft at him. He just walked past us, he's ignoring me. I don't know if I should feel insulted or if I should feel something else.

"I'm sorry it's come to this, but until Atlas and the Relics are safe, you're all under arrest." He walked towards the door.

"We won't let you take us." Ruby said, defiantly.

"I know." He left. Did he... Did he seriously just disregard a guy with a gun aiming right at him? I lowered Lionheart and opened the SR.

"I'm going to see Oscar, then the Maiden, then I'm killing Cinder. I'm sure you all have this." I left them to fight the Ace Ops. 9 against 5, I'm sure they've got this. I'll deal with Ironwood later.

Jinn, Maiden, I'm sorry for what I'm about to do.

Chapter 61.

View Online

Cassiel POV

It took me some time to find Oscar, apparently, Ironwood decided to label us all as criminals to be detained on sight. I pulled him into the SR and snatched the Lamp before pulling him up to the other teams to make it a 10vs5. I tried searching for Neo for a minute before giving up and heading down to the Maiden. I arrived before Winter and Penny and was about to kill the Maiden who was currently sleeping in her bed before a thought came to mind. I switched my plans around and held out the Lamp.

"Jinn." I called out. Time slowed to a halt before she manifested and stretched.

"It seems thing are becoming quite lively here in Atlas." So she knows what's going on? Good. "So what do you want to know?" She floated towards me after examining the Maiden.

"I have questions you might not have answers to. My first question, can Winter and Penny beat Cinder?" I asked.

"You and I both know the answer to that. Even in her current state, she's still more than enough to wipe out those Ace Ops upstairs." Her current state?

"What do you mean by 'current state'?" Does Cinder have a new weakness?

"Her Grimm arm is now more than an arm. Broken aura won't exactly protect you from a parasite of that nature." Really? Good to know!

"So aim for her left side then? Got it. Next question, can the Staff be used to create a barrier of sorts to protect Mantle and Atlas? Maybe create a weapon of sorts to wipe out Salem's coming army? A means of evacuating everyone?"

"Yes to the first and third, no to the second. Though, you would have to lower Atlas first before doing so. I suppose it's convenient that Atlas can be lowered safely."

"Next question, was Salem permanently injured by Summer Rose before she died?" I need to know if this war can be ended here and now.

"Surprisingly, yes. Against all odds, she did in a few minutes what the old man has failed to do for most of his lifetimes. I was honestly disappointed when she failed, but that damage will linger even if she's reduced to ash." I love it when I'm right.

"What kind of damage was inflicted?" Am I going to have a bad time?

"She hasn't used traditional magic since. She has only used magic directly linked to Grimm." An easy fight then? I doubt that.

"Can Salem open the Corridors?" Backup plan.

"No."

"Just a few more questions. Can the keyblade lock away a Relic's power?" She raised a brow.

"So that's one of those questions, hm? I only know what the inhabitants of Remnant know about the keyblades. You're thinking about locking me inside the Relic, aren't you?" She asked.

"If I lose, I intend to make sure she doesn't get to enjoy it. Yes, if I make it back, I'll unlock the powers of the Lamp and the Staff. The ultimate cock-block if you will. I mean, she's only been waiting how long for this?" I answered, she laughed at how I put it.

"That's one way to put it! I see no reason for the keyblade to not be able to lock away a Relic's power, but as I said before, my knowledge on that subject is very limited."

"Last question then. If I can lock away a Relic's power, do you think I could also lock away a Maiden's powers? Or perhaps even remove the gender 'lock' on them?"

"That is something I'd like to know myself. Do as you wish. Though, if you return, I expect to have my Lamp unlocked again." She said, seriously.

"That is all, thank you." She faded away and time resumed. I held out the Lamp and aimed Exile at it, a beam of light shot out and a keyhole formed on the Lamp. "Jinn." I waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. I turned around to face the Maiden, but she was awake now.

"I heard... Everything... Who are you?... Why are you here?" She asked.

"Who I am isn't important. What is important is Salem is on her way and Ironwood is panicking. He intends to scrap his original plan to reunite the world and use the Staff to lift Atlas high enough to escape her, leaving Mantle and the rest of Remnant to fend for themselves. Winter is on her way here to claim your powers, but she might not realize she's leading a Maiden working for Salem here to you." I answered.

"I... See... What do you intend to do?"

"Keep the Maiden powers out of Salem's reach and keep Ironwood from abandoning the world." I walked closer to her and held Exile to her chest as shouting and explosions could be heard from the other side of the wall. "I don't care for this power, I'm not doing this because I want to, but because it needs to be done. Everyone is doomed if Salem or Ironwood get their way, I'm trying to prevent both and achieve a better outcome. Your duty is to protect your powers, but two others are coming for it. One is misguided while the other just wants power. Can you trust me with them instead?" I asked. "As selfish and greedy as this may sound, either I get them, or no one does. I would rather no one have them than a tyrant or a devil."

"I... Remember... I had a job to do... I think... What... Is your name?"

"Cassiel." I answered. "Can you trust a stranger who's claiming to be an ally? Or would you prefer no one gets it?"

"I...-"

A few more minutes passed and I still haven't received an answer. Cinder burst through the wall to find me standing in front of the Maiden and made a couple swords of her own.

"So Ironwood made you into a guard dog now?" She noticed the Lamp and smiled. "And you even have the Relic? This day couldn't get any better."

"... Tell me, has anyone ever told you the definition of insanity?" I asked her as I held out the Lamp, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.

"Changing sides? I'm sorry, but it's a little too late for that." Not even going to respond to that question? Okay then.

"Insanity is repeating the same course of action multiple times and expecting a different result." She was about to charge at me. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I moved the Lamp to my side and opened a Corridor as I threw my mask by the sink.

"And why is that?" I showed her the keyhole on the Lamp.

"As the Lamp is now, no one can use it. I locked away it's power, and I'm the only one who can open these things." I gestured to the Corridor. "If you move, there's nothing stopping me from throwing this away,-" I held Exile to the Maiden's chest. "and there's nothing stopping me from killing her, keeping the powers out of your reach. Unlike you people, I don't need a Maiden to reach the Relics. You even so much as twitch, and you lose the Lamp, the Maiden powers, and by extension, the Staff!" I threatened.

"You're bluffing." No, no I'm not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU3ZXY56U6Q

"The Relics mean nothing to me, I have no problem reducing them to mere decorations. Even if by the off chance you win, how do you think Salem will react when she learns you failed so miserably in retrieving the Lamp or the Staff? And because of me no less?" I asked before aiming Exile at her and tried to lock away her powers. She dodged and threw one of her swords at me before charging in. She tried to kill the Maiden as she got close, but I stopped that with a Barrier and blew her back through the door before throwing the Lamp away and pursuing her.

I summoned Nightfall and clashed blades with her, she almost took my head off after a few seconds, so I blew us both away with Aeroga. I threw Nightfall at her as a shuriken and shot her with Exile as a bow. She dodged Nightfall and deflected the arrows before charging me again. I casted Magnet behind her to catch the arrows and used Stop on them once they turned around. I drew Lionheart and kept pushing Cinder back towards the arrows, combining a flurry of slashes from both weapons with gun shots and triggered strikes from Lionheart. After the eleventh shot, the arrows struck Cinder in the back, allowing me to strike her with Exile while it's ablaze with Dark Firaga, blasting her through the wall, outside the medical bay. She recovered from the fall and hovered for a moment.

"I have come to far to be stopped by some kid with a death wish!" She shouted in rage.

"You haven't gotten any further, any closer to your goal since Beacon, and even that was a close call." I changed Nightfall into wingblades and Exile into a scythe. "You're nothing more than a power hungry sociopath with no future." I airstepped to her, but she blocked my attack and pushed me away. We forced each other away with every strike, she was the one pressing the assault until I casted Barrier behind her and blasted her through it before she could recover from slamming into it, though she quickly recovered from slamming into the wall further behind it and threw her sword at me. I caught it, but it blew up in my face.

'Okay, she has a new trick!' I thought as I recovered from the blast and was put on the defensive again.

"'No future'? You're about to face the closest thing this world has to a Goddess, and I have 'no future'?" She kicked me and slashed at me, but I was able to get a few good cuts in on her Grimm arm with Nightfall, causing her to scream in pain.

"What do you intend to do with all that power? Just with the power of the Fall Maiden, you're one of the most powerful people on Remnant, yet you crave more power, almost like you're starving if that makes sense. So why are you so obsessed with power that you'll slaughter even bystanders and discard your humanity just for a little more?" I asked as her arm regenerated.

"You just answered your own question; I refuse to starve!" She shot a stream of flames at me that I had to avoid until I flew close enough to strike her.

"Reflega!" I was protected from the flames as she was blasted back again. I channelled my Darkness and flew behind her, striking her in the back with Lionheart while it was enhanced by my Darkness with a round of dark Dust in the chamber. Rather, she blocked with a sword in her Grimm arm, but it shattered and she lost most of the arm as she screamed louder than a mother on the hospital bed after nine months (I was there for that). Fire burst out from her as she regrew her arm after several seconds.

"That Grimm is surprisingly resilient. I've one-shotted the fucking Mammoths w-" She flew at me, screaming in rage and pain as she attacked me relentlessly. Even when powered by Darkness, she's still pushing me back. After several close calls, she detonated both her swords and blasted me back into the medical bay, dust and smoke completely blocked my vision ahead. As I was trying to stand back up, she extended her arm and I barely had enough time to avoid major damage. Unfortunately, she pinned my arm, barely missing with her claws. Though not only was I in a position to grab her arm, I saw an opportunity and faked being hurt by screaming.

"Give the Polarity girl my regards after I reduce you to ash." She said as I heard her step closer. I opened the cylinder on Lionheart and loaded a light Dust round into it as I continued screaming. I'd say it's about another seven seconds before she's visible again.

"What's the matter?"

Seven.

"Nothing to say?"

Six.

"Weren't you going-"

Five.

"-to kill me?"

Four.

"Avenge your 'friends'?"

Three.

"No insults or death threats?"

Two.

"Nothing?"

One.

"You should've joined-"

Zero.

"-when you had the chance." I was slightly off, but now I can see a silhouette. I grabbed her arm and shot the light Dust into it before aiming it at her and shooting her left shoulder with the dark Dust. Her screams became loud enough to give a banshee competition. While she was writhing in agony on the floor, I used Exile to lock away her Maiden powers, leaving her defenseless.

"I would've joined if you lot found me first." I stopped channeling Darkness before walking to her as she tried and failed to make weapons. "All worlds begin and end in Darkness, the heart is no different. It sprouts within it, grows, consumes it, such is it's nature. Every Light will fade, every heart return to Darkness!" I grabbed her by the throat and held her over the edge as she continued screaming and resisting. "I would've seen it as simply following the natural order of things, but they found me, and I learned something else." I threw her back into the Maiden's room.

"STAY BACK!!!" She finally said something as I approached her.

"I learned there are Lights worth more than what the Darkness has to offer, and I will see this through to the end." I held Exile over her chest. "Maiden powers make one susceptible to silver eyes, probably because magic on Remnant was a gift from the God of Darkness. If that truly is the case, then I will bear that curse despite my eye and make it my own against Salem." Light shot out of Exile and into Cinder before I plunged it into her chest. Her heart floated out, but I didn't let it escape.

(end music)

Once the heart was destroyed, I felt a wave of sorts hit me hard enough to almost knock me down. It was hot, burning, but I didn't feel any discomfort if that makes sense. I saw a mirror and walked closer to examine myself. Similar to how Cinder looked when she used her powers, I had a red, fiery glow from my eyes.

"A Maiden's power... Wielded... By a young boy... How?" She asked in confusion. I turned to the Maiden with Exile in hand, I could try to lock away her powers, but it's possible death or inheritance can unlock it. I held it to her chest again, but hesitated.

"You're getting better." I remembered what Blake said when we discovered my Semblance and my hand shook.

"The smarter decision would just be to kill you and take the power for myself. I could also try to lock it away and hope it stays locked even after inheritance, including the ability to open the Vaults." I desummoned Exile. "But how could I face any of them after going that far? I was seriously ready to kill an old woman who can barely remember anything just for power!!!" I shouted as I blasted another hole into the wall.

"You didn't though... You want... To save everyone... Yes?"

"Just the ones that matter to me. Maybe this is enough power?"

"I think... I think I'm ready... But you're not the one..."

"That was supposed to be Winter, though, whether or not Cinder killed her is a different story."

"I... See..."

"How do you want to do this then?" She reached out to me and took my hand.

"I think... James... Is making... A terrible mistake... I remember... I had a mission... I'm ready... You're not the one... But you'll need it..." She let go of my hand.

"I'm not doing that."

"Not now... Later... Go... I'll be fine..." I destroyed the pods before retrieving the Lamp reluctantly leaving her behind. I tried to make contact with Ruby and the others as I searched for Penny and Winter, communications were down, but I found them both. Winter was barely breathing, but conscious, and Penny seemed fine. Something might have been knocked loose, she's still in what looks like good condition otherwise. After healing Winter, I ignored her to look for the others. I flew outside and after about a minute of searching, I got a call on my scroll.

"Cassiel, where are you??!!" It was Ruby.

"I'm outside right now, I'm assuming you all took care of the Ace Ops?" I asked.

"We won, yeah. We're coming for you now."

"There's one last thing that needs to be done. I'm giving you the Lamp before stealing the Staff, then I want you all to run while I deal with Salem."

"Are you crazy???!!! You can't-"

"I asked Jinn some questions, Ruby. Your mother came very close to killing Salem, according to Jinn, she hasn't used any magic that wasn't directly related to Grimm since then! Her only advantage if she's been crippled to that extent is numbers, numbers I can avoid and tame!"

"We're not letting you-" it was Blake that time.

"This isn't up for debate! If we move the Relics, Salem will have no reason to remain in Atlas! With all her attention focused on the only one capable of fighting her, everyone can be evacuated and you all can get to Vacuo if the worst happens! If I die, one of you will be in my final thoughts and you can get the Crown once you find the vault!"

"You're not going-" I hung up on who sounded like Yang. I entered the SR and looked for the Vault. Ironwood was there, but I was kind of in a hurry, so I let him live. I took the Staff, Atlas stayed afloat if nothing falling is anything to go on. Once I arrived outside, I tried calling them to let them know where I was, but comms died again, so I went for the next best thing. I tried out the new powers and poured some Darkness into it, a stream of black and purple flames shot straight into the air. I hardly felt a drain at all from that. After a minute, an airship flew by and landed nearby. I unlocked the Lamp in case they'll need it before walking on board.

"Can you not hang up on everyone??!!" Weiss said.

"Sorry, just dropping this off." I handed Oscar both Relics and was about to leave before Blake grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"You can't just do this alone! Take us with you!"

"That's not a risk I'm taking, I can't lose any of you." I refused.

"And we can't lose you!" She pleaded.

"This is more important! I'm the only one who can-" Blake slapped me before hugging me tightly.

"Remember what you said to me before the dance? 'You have a team willing to help you!' Don't try to do this by yourself"

"The circumstances are different! You were so obsessed with stopping Torchwick and the White Fang that you were depriving yourself of sleep, you were barely eating, and your grades were suffering! You were hurting yourself and pushing us away while trying to shoulder that burden on your own! I'm still more than capable of fighting and I'm sending you all away to fight another day in case I fail to finish this!"

"We've got multiple hostiles on radar, is anyone else seeing this?" A male voice asked on the ship's comms.

"These readings can't be right." A female voice responded. I moved away from Blake to see what they were talking about and the radar showed nothing but red a little to the southwest. I looked out the window and saw dark clouds flashing red as lightning could be heard from that direction.

"Does Atlas have nukes?" I asked.

"What are nukes?" Yang asked in response.

"We're fucked." Was my only response.

Well, I guess I'm doing this in the dumbest way possible. Either I'm going inside that giant Grimm that's still hidden in the clouds and destroying it's heart and lungs, or I'm fighting Salem immediately.

Author's Notes:

I thought Vanitas's theme, "Enter the Darkness" fit nicely with the megabitch of RWBY. A final battle between two people who've lived in darkness for most, if not their entire lives and made it their own. One pursues power at any cost, and the other seeks revenge while keeping those lights he's found worth protecting safe from his own and the darkness of others. One will dive further into darkness for her own desires, the other will dive further into darkness for retribution and so others don't have to.

I was originally planning on a confrontation with Winter and Penny after the fight, having Cassiel ask things like "are you a Huntress, a soldier, or a machine?" and "who the protector of Mantle will be protecting if she abandons everyone?". Unfortunately, I couldn't think of a conclusion to all that. Instead, I went with this.

Chapter 62.

View Online

Cassiel POV

How do I describe what I'm seeing? An army of Grimm flying with a GIANT FUCKING WHALE is the simplest way to put it. I was just expecting an army, I wasn't expecting what may as well be a flying base the size of a large city!

"How am I going to kill that thing?" I thought out loud.

"You're seriously planning to go fight that thing??!! How??!!" Yang shouted.

"That's the largest Grimm anyone has ever seen! There is no saving Atlas, not unless we have the Sword of Destruction, and even that's a long shot!" Qrow said, fearfully.

"We won't need it if we play it right." I said as I handed him Lionheart. "Lower Atlas and put up a barrier that Grimm can't penetrate, I'm sure I can kill it." He grabbed my shoulders.

"This isn't something anyone can win! You'll die out there damn it!" He tried to get it in my head.

"But there has to be something we can do!" Ruby was on my side with this. I showed him my new powers and he backed off as everyone was trying to understand how I got Maiden powers.

"I have three really stupid ideas, but something is better than nothing. Option one is I attack Salem head on before she reaches the city. Option two is I keep shooting that thing with a hail of magic and arrows tipped with Light Dust until it dies screaming. Option three is I go inside it, find anything that looks important, like hearts and lungs, and make them stop working."

"Are you insane??!!" Nora shouted.

"Define 'insane'? Either I do this, or Atlas becomes more than just a frozen wasteland no one wants anything to do with."

"We need to take some time to formulate a better strategy." Ren said.

"Okay, let's try that. We have the Staff and the Lamp, I could ask Jinn for help. We could also try to force Ironwood to make a final stand by using the Staff as leverage, but even if he does, he'll break once he sees the Satanic offspring of Monstro and Moby Dick and he'll turn on us in a desperate attempt to claim the Staff." I shot that down.

"We're not letting you fight that thing alone!" Blake said, adamantly.

"This isn't going to be my grave, and it sure as Hell won't be yours!" I opened the SR again and was about to leave before Ruby stopped me.

"We're doing this together." Was all she said, I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"We are, just I'm doing what only I can do right now because I trust you can do what you need to do without me. You'll see me again before long." I pat her on the shoulder and flew into the SR before anyone could stop me.

It is a very good thing I can get around so easily, this army would probably get really annoying quickly otherwise. This thing's teeth are bigger than most of the buildings in Atlas, if it weren't for dismembered Grimm parts disappearing, I'd recommend turning this thing's teeth into weapons and armor. I looked around for any weak points or entry ways, but with a body this large, I don't think they'll be easy to find. I looked for an area near the fins to exit the SR so I could find a safer place to try to remove them. I doubted it would ground this Grimm, but it'd at least slow it down or steer it off course.

After I managed to find a less occupied area near it's left fin, I exited the SR and started trying the powers I got from Cinder. She used ice once against Raven and Vernal, aside from what Jinn showed us when we saw magic, it stands to reason this power is capable of more than fire, maybe it's capable of the same elements as there are varieties of Dust. I channeled fire on the fin, keeping an eye out for any Grimm that might notice. It took over a minute of non-stop magic usage before it showed signs of damage.

"This isn't going to work." I thought to myself before a few Gryphons finally took notice and tried to attack me. I made short work of them with a few ice spikes before moving onto the back of the Grimm. I'm not expecting it to do much to it, but it should help with some of the Grimm flying around it.

"As the Cursebearer, souce of thy power, I order thee. From above, rain down the Tears of the Frosted Heavens. From the North, let the screams of my enemies be lost to the Howling Winds. Frost Purge!" Moments later, a blizzard was blowing around me as ice spikes were falling from the newly formed clouds above. Grimm were falling either because they were being shot out of the air or because they were being frozen. As for the giant one? It's not showing any signs of discomfort, but it's still being bombarded with a hail of magic ice.

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I order thee. Heed the Raven's Call and rain Death upon my enemies. Let not Blood, nor Bone, nor Ash remain. Abyssal Cataclysm!" The earth below crashed into the Grimm and caused it to shift suddenly, it probably felt a bit of pain from the impact. It actually feels like it slowed down a little. After a few seconds, dark flames erupted from below, the entire thing shook, I heard it do some kind of scream as I almost lost my balance. Unfortunately, I don't have much magic left after those two. Something I don't remember mentioning before, I still have that HUD from being in Melromarc, I can see my aura, and it looks like I have three magic bars now after acquiring the Maiden powers. One for each type of magic I'm guessing, I don't remember having more than one, maybe the new magic separated them? I don't know.

"It definitely felt that." I heard a gun shot from behind me and was knocked forward a little. I reached for Lionheart, but forgot I left it with the others, so I summoned Exile and Nightfall instead. I didn't think they would be this stupid, but it was Emerald and Mercury.

"Salem was wondering what was causing the Whale this much trouble, we didn't imagine it would be one of you guys. So where are your friends?" Mercury asked as he cracked his knuckles.

"Elsewhere. Hold that thought." I looked around and wondered why Frost Purge wasn't affecting them, maybe it prioritizes the enemies in the vicinity when it's used? No matter.

"Thundaza." Oh? New spell?

"Thundaza!" There was a scream near me as lightning struck everything around me as it all quickly closed in on a single point. Emerald was left immobile, shaking near my feet. I'm so glad I have ways around illusions, that could have been ugly otherwise. "You can have this." I picked her up and threw her towards Mercury. Just before she reached him, I stabbed Exile into the Whale and shot them after changing Nightfall into a bow. Mercury barely dodged the first three arrows, but he couldn't dodge the fourth one in time nor could he avoid the blast from Dark Firaga trailing behind it. He was blown back as he lost his grip on Emerald. "How did you expect this to go?" I asked as I pulled Exile out.

"Not like we have much of a choice even if we didn't want to settle the score." He answered.

"'Score'? I don't think we've ever fought each other, though Cinder is another story." I showed him what I meant, his eyes widened as Emerald finally recovered enough to see me like this. "Don't worry, you'll be joining her soon enough." I started walking towards them.

"Ho-how do you-" Emerald looked like she was about to have another mental breakdown.

"Have Maiden powers even though I'm not a woman? Simple,-" I haven't used it since I learned these weapons could transform, but I disconnected the wings on Exile and essential turned it into a straight sword bef airstepping towards her and impaled her on it. "I'm not going to tell you." I reconnected the claws near the end of it to trap her on it while Mercury tried to kick me, but I used the wingblades to block it. I grabbed his foot and threw him upward before throwing Nightfall as a shuriken at him. He avoided it, but I shot him with a stream of lightning as he fell. Once he landed, I recalled Nightfall and did to him what I did to Emerald.

"Th-this *coughing* isn't o-over!" Really, Mercury?

"Yes it is." I poured a bit of Dark Dust on them, they died almost instantly. I noticed I had enough curse magic for two more spells, but there aren't any more to use against Grimm. I guess the only other thing I can do is destroy this thing from the inside. I recalled the keyblades before trying to enter the SR, but another surprise stopped me.

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I offer thee this gift of Life Essence."

"Fuck." I thought.

"Bring forth the Ancient Venom that felled the Old Gods."

"'Ancient Venom'? 'Old Gods'?" The Hell?

"I summon thee, Fang of the World Serpent."

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I offer thee this gift of Life Essence. Bring forth the Ancient Venom that felled the Old Gods. I summon thee, Fang of the World Serpent!" A giant spectral, jagged snake fang the size of a large house materialized above me. It was dripping something I didn't want to go near as it was quickly rotting whatever it was dropping on. After a few more drops, it stabbed itself into the Grimm and kept burrowing deeper, it was tearing away as venom was soon bursting out of the wound. A minute later, the Grimm was beginning to show signs of discomfort and I thought it best to leave then, but it started thrashing around and falling to the ground before I could leave. I barely managed to escape so I didn't go down with it.

I felt the shock wave from where I was, it crashed into the ground a few miles from Mantle, the few Grimm around it dispersed and flew in different directions as the giant thrashed around some more before slowing and stopping all together. It took several minutes, at least fifteen for it to disintigrate. Near where the head was, Salem was regenerating and rising from out of the snow that got blown over her.

"Figures that wouldn't be enough to kill you." I said to her as I landed.

"So this is the power you possess?" She asked, still facing the city.

"Power Summer Rose could've obtained if she had someone to teach her about the keyblade. I'll ask again, why do you even need the Relics?"

"Have you ever lost something that you would give everything to have back?"

"I've lost as much as you have, except I was a child when I lost everything. My home, my family, my innocence, my will to live. The only real difference between us is you've suffered longer." I answered.

"You were close. I seek to use the Relics not to destroy their Creators, we both know that wouldn't work." She began to answer.

"They would've deserved it though after everything that happened. They could've at least bent the rules a little and stopped your time until you were reunited with a reborn Ozma or let you speak to his spirit every so often."

"Not even the Pools of Destruction could end my curse. Even together, the Relics are limited in their power. Ozma would use them to summon the Brothers to judge the world, knowing it might lead to it's destruction. I would use them to bring back what was stolen from me."

"Do you honestly think the Relics can do that? Rewind time? Or at least revive the dead? Even if they can, time travel has too many risks, and I doubt your children would accept what you've become, what you've done!" An airship flew over us, I put up a barrier around me and Salem to ensure there would be no interference.

"Perhaps not, but what else is there to do?"

"A good portion of the blame lies with Ozma. It clearly never occurred to him that you were also meant to be 'redeemed', though it also never occurred to you that you would never be 'free' so long as you're immortal, and he's trapped in a never ending cycle of life and death, robbing others of their own lives and families every time he comes back just so he could be with his wife. The two of you should've made it work back then. Now? I'm finishing this meaningless war here and now!" Salem turned around, a ball of dark flames in her hand. So she can still use magic?

"Darkness awaits you."

"It awaits everyone, even you."

Chapter 63.

View Online

Cassiel POV

(Key to All)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyQaBKNuMJ8

I started things off by shooting her with Dark Firaga and throwing Nightfall as a shuriken behind it. She blew both away with a blast of her own flames before erupting pillars of flames below me and channeling a stream of ice and wind at me. I avoided the pillars, but she barely got me with the others. I airstepped towards Nightfall and pinned her down with Graviga, just when I got in reach to strike her, Grimm hands grabbed my legs and pulled me down before restraining me. She held her hand out, dark flames and lightning building up as she prepared to blast me again.

"Your strength is without question, but this is the end." She said.

"For you anyway." I changed both Exile and Nightfall into wingblades to slash away at her and all the hands holding me down. One of the blades struck the palm of the hand that she was going to attack with, causing it to blow up in both our faces. Being part Grimm herself if her appearance is anything to go by, she felt it more than I did as we were both knocked back. I changed Exile into a scythe as I readied a shotlock on her, just as she got back up, she was split in half, but fully regenerated a few seconds later.

"The keyblade doesn't damage her permanently? Silver eyes then?" I thought as she prepared more spells.

I tried to think back on what Maria said when we were dealing with the Apathy, but dodging and attacking at the same time while focusing on how loved ones make me feel and the desire to protect them isn't exactly easy. Another minute passed and I over jumped and hit the barrier while trying to avoid several shards of ice, she tried to take advantage of that by plunging several sets of Grimm claws into me. I released my Darkness and sent out a pulse that destroyed the incoming Grimm. After seeing this, her indifferent expression changed to a slightly surprised one.

"Your eye, it used to be silver."

Airship POV (Moments earlier)

"What the Hell is that kid doing??!!" Qrow thought to himself as Cassiel trapped himself inside a dome with Salem after seeing everyone fly over him.

"Does he intend to fight her on his own?" Ren asked as he drew his weapons.

"He can't seriously mean to do that?! He had to have worn himself out after killing that giant Grimm!" Yang couldn't believe he would do that.

"I haven't really talked to him much, but he probably feels like it has to be him." Jaune said.

"Whatever the case, there's nothing we can do but watch. Hopefully he'll remember how to use his eye." Maria said as she turned the ship around.

"But he shouldn't be fighting her alone!" Ruby said, worried for her friend. Just as he got close to attack Salem, he was stopped and restrained as she held her hand out, ready to kill him.

"NO!!!" Blake screamed, Cassiel changed his weapons and stopped the attack, knocking both of them back. He recovered first and split Salem in two, but she regenerated, shocking everyone.

"That did nothing to her?!" Weiss said, surprised to see Salem get back up from what would otherwise be a guaranteed kill.

"How does he plan to stop her then?" Oscar asked.

"Do you mind if I take over for a moment?" Ozpin asked him.

"Oz?" Oscar caught everyone's attention and took a moment to think before giving him control.

"He's come a long way, hasn't he?" He asked as he looked out the window.

"What do you mean by that?" Nora asked him without taking her eyes off the fight.

"I placed him in team RWBY in the hope that he would improve as a person. When James tried to recruit him, he refused to fight a war that wasn't his, even threatened us to keep his team out of it. Now, he's fighting tooth and nail against an adversary that's older than the known history of the world for his team." He explained as Cassiel released a pulse of Darkness and destroyed the incoming Grimm.

Cassiel threw Nightfall over Salem before tapping into his new powers and shooting Salem's shoulder with an ice spike. She recoiled from the attack before shooting a powerful stream of wind and gravity at him, but he airstepped to his weapon, changed it to a twinblade, and threw it downward, impaling her foot. He changed Exile into a shuriken, throwing it down before airstepping to both, changing Exile into a twinblade upon retrieving it and swinging the back of both weapons upward, cutting off both of Salem's arms, then combining dark flames and dark lightning on each as he struck her relentlessly.

"Weren't one of his eyes silver last time we saw him, or am I seeing things?" Ruby asked, prompting the others to look out as well.

"His eye... It's-" Blake started.

"Black, the sclera is a dark purple..." Yang finished, Ozpin looked at the sight, alarmed by what everyone is seeing.

"That's not good..." He said ominously.

"Wait, why is that eye so bad?" Jaune asked as he continued to watch. As Cassiel was about to plunge both weapons into Salem's chest, he was struck from behind by several Grimm claws.

"Silver eyes have a counterpart. Silver eyes preserve life and only work around Grimm,-"

"Those eyes do the opposite, right?" Maria asked.

"The last person to have those eyes lived in a land of desolation, blindfolding himself to try to keep his uncontrollable power in check. It's fortunate Salem never found him." Ozpin explained.

Cassiel stopped using his Darkness and trapped himself inside a multilayered barrier dome as he changed his weapons back into their original forms. Another dome appeared over himself and Salem as his weapons hovered over them, moving around the outside of it. After a few seconds, they both started shooting beams of Light and Dark at her from every direction as what looked like bone spikes were shooting up from the ground, impaling her repeatedly.

"Jeez, he's brutal." Jaune commented.

"Kid has to be to take down something as dangerous as that Grimm and go toe to toe with it's master right after." Qrow said as he continued to watch.

"Brutality and efficiency are two different things, though in his case, they'd probably go hand in hand." Maria said as the barrage of attacks ended, smoke blocking the view of the enemy.

Cassiel POV

"Why do you fight for this world?" Salem asked as she shot several large shards of ice at me through the smoke.

"I'm not fighting for Remnant!" I shot a stream of flames at the incoming ice, melting it before it could reach me. "You can have the world for all I care! But you're not hurting them!" I gestured to the airship as it finally landed and started dropping everyone off.

"You're only delaying the inevitable." I was finally able to see her clearly.

"Light and Darkness did nothing still? Does it really have to be silver eyes then?"

"Time is not on your side, it has always been on mine." She said.

"Funny you should say that." I don't really use time magic because of the drain, but this calls for it, and I'll have enough for one more for Thundaga. "Who wins? The immortal, or the one who can stop time?"

"There is no magic or Semblance that can do that." She claimed.

"STOPZA!!!" Everything within 90 feet came to a halt. Shotlocks don't work, Light and Darkness don't work, let's try this then! I activated my Semblance to make copies of the others nearby. Rather, more than two is too much of a drain now, but thankfully they can copy Semblances to an extent.

I made a copy of Nora and shot it with Thundaga before sending it to pound away at Salem, then I made a copy of Weiss to do it's own thing. As the copies were crushing her, blowing her up, slashing at her repeatedly, or whatever, I took a moment with my scroll to find out what Salem meant about my eye. My eye was black like Salem's, but the sclera was a dark purple.

"I don't want to know what that can do, not when the others are probably in range." I thought as I pulled back my Darkness until it was silver again. Now that I have a moment to try this without getting struck, burned, or whatever, I airstepped towards Salem and plunged both keyblades into her chest. Her heart floated out and I destroyed it, but her body didn't disappear, probably because of Stopza. If that doesn't work, then I'm using the eye. A few seconds later, Salem returned and blasted the copies and I away.

"Now that's an interesting power, but I'm afraid that this... Is as far as you go." She restrained me with several Grimm hands before I could get back up and prepared to finish it.

"You have to admit, I came very close to finishing you." I said as I tried to focus on how to use the eye.

Raven. My master, the one who showed me a path to power and everything I have now.

"No, unlike Summer Rose, you didn't manage any permanent damage."

Naofumi. Reliable, straight forward, trustworthy, no better protector than him.

"Though you're not an adversary I'll forget any time soon."

Raphtalia. In two words, loyal, and just. She can quell his rage if necessary.

"You are perhaps the strongest this world has to offer,-"

Filo. Innocent, childish, reminds me a bit of my sister on her good days.

"-but even the strongest fall."

Ruby. Too pure hearted for any world, though perhaps it's because the world needs others like her. Her light shines bright even against my darkness.

"Strength will not bring victory, yes?" I asked in an attempt to drag it out.

Yang. The big sister of the group, knows how to get the edge off when she herself isn't worked up. Fun to be around.

"You would be surprised how often dear old Ozpin was told that by myself or others serving me." She answered.

Weiss. Heiress to a tainted family name, but the only one that can redeem it. She's come far from who she was months ago.

"Hehehe. I said that to him when they tried to recruit me to fight you after the first attack on Vale."

Blake. We understand each other, I love her, I want to be better for her, I can imagine a future with her.

"And yet, here you are, about to die for a futile war that is not your own."

I feel happy and safe around them. There's nowhere else I'd rather be, no one else I'd rather be with. Their lives mean everything to me. I would give everything for them.

"You all made it my war when you hurt the people I loved." My left eye began to feel strange, so I closed it for a moment and focused on those thoughts and feelings. "If there's one thing humanity is good at, it's war, and it ends here!" I opened my eye, a blinding light poured out of it and while I didn't see it, I did feel the Grimm lose their grip and hear Salem screaming. Once the light died down, she was still screaming, she almost looked like she was crumbling as cracks were forming on her and pieces were falling apart.

"Finally! Progress! Now to do it again." I tried to use the eye again, but I felt a spike of pain and it started to bleed. "Damnit! I thought we were done with that! Why didn't this happen at the farm? Did my use of Darkness affect it even when it's not in use? I can't cancel Stopza to get Ruby to help, and I'm almost out!" I tried to open the SR, but it only made my eye worse.

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I offer thee this gift of my own Light."

"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I offer thee this gift of my own Light."

"Grant me the power that Severed and Bound the Sea, the Earth, and Sky."

"Grant me the power that Severed and Bound the Sea, the Earth, and Sky."

"Allow me to Purge this Corruption that stands before me."

"Allow me to Purge this Corruption that stands before me."

"Bring forth the First Blade."

"Bring forth the First Blade."

"Bringer of the Dawn and Healer of Worlds."

"Bringer of the Dawn and Healer of Worlds."

"Bring forth the Sacred Blade of Origin!"

"Bring forth the Sacred Blade of Origin!"

Salem finally recovered, but was scarred to the point of hideous deformity even if she wasn't part Grimm. She looked on as a blade, no, some sort of keyblade began to form in my hands. It was a spectral blade, about as big as me. The hilt and the guard took the form of two keyblades crossing each other as what looked like a "web" of blades formed from the sides. Out from the top, a sword formed from between the keyblades. Before Salem could react I used my Semblance to make copies of Weiss and Blake to restrain her before impaling her through her chest and channelled all the magic I got from Cinder that I could into this attack. Shortly afterward, Stopza finally ended and she began to fade.

"Death at last?" She asked.

"Death, but not peace." Another twenty seconds or so passed before she finally faded and the weapon shattered with the dome. Everyone ran up to me, Ruby tried to tackle-hug me with her Semblance, but I collapsed onto my knees and she missed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7tIJ6pzOso

"You idiot! Do you have any idea how reckless that-... What's happening?" Weiss asked. I looked down at my hands and saw they were seeping Darkness. I looked closer and saw they were fading.

"I'm sorry, but I guess this is goodbye for now." I began trying to hold back the Darkness so I could have more time.

"Wait, what do you mean this is 'goodbye'??!!" Yang asked, not understanding what I meant.

"I don't have much time left-"

"Don't say that! We can get you help!" Jaune said as he knelt down and started using his Semblance to heal me.

"That's not going to do anything, this is the price I paid to kill an immortal. The price was Light, and now the Dark comes-"

"Shut up you asshole!!" He interrupted as he kept trying.

"Hehehahahaha!!! Congratulations, you're being promoted from meat shield to body guard. Now keep standing there and being my bullet sponge. Ruby?" I called out, she stepped in front of me. I looked up at everyone and saw nothing but heartbreak, Neo was covering her face with Roman's hat, but it was especially evident on Ruby's and Blake's faces.

"Y-yeah?" Ruby's voice cracked as she knelt down.

"Do you remember what I said after you woke up after The Fall?" I asked.

"N-no, not really."

"I'm not dying, I'm returning to Darkness." I recalled Nightfall and handed it to her.

"Wha-why are you-"

"Summer Rose, your mother, possessed a keyblade. It's in your blood, and she is in your heart, you should be the one to hold on to this for me. You'll also need it to find me and destroy my Heartless if by the off chance one appears." I interrupted and started to explain.

"Stop talking like that!" Blake knelt down and wrapped her arms around me, holding me close to her as she struggled to keep herself from breaking down. I wrapped my free arm around her and ran it down her hair.

"I can't-"

"Take it, Ruby." I showed everyone the incomplete Heartless emblems. "If a creature forms here, it will be much more dangerous than Salem and that Grimm. The keyblade is the only true threat to a Heartless, and if one doesn't form, it will be the only way we'll see each other again anyway." I tried to hand Nightfall to Ruby, but she couldn't bring herself to take it.

"What do you mean we'll see each other again?" Yang asked, barely keeping herself from breaking down as well.

"The keyblade can open portals to other worlds, if Ruby takes it and opens a portal to Equestria, all she'll need to do is find a royal guard named Nevermore. She'll know what to do about me and Summer. As she once told me, 'may your heart be your guiding key'." The floodgates opened on Ruby as she finally took hold on Nightfall and clung to it.

"It's not fair!! There has to be someway to stop this!!" Okay, Blake. Choking, not breathing.

"No, but there is a way to undo this, once she figures out how to open the portal." I gestured to Ruby before pulling Blake's head closer to mine, our foreheads pressed against each other. "This is my promise that we'll see each other again." I pressed my lips against hers as I wrapped my other arm around her. After about ten seconds, I slowly pulled away to see how much my body has faded. It was almost gone.

"Please??!! Don't go!! I love you!!! Please??!!" She shouted as she held onto me tighter until her hands went right through me. As horrible as it might sound, even from me, I stopped holding back the Darkness. I can't bring myself to see everyone like this, but I had two things left to say.

"I love you more than anything. Team RWBY, you especially, are the reasons why I'll return." I told her softly before looking at Qrow. "Tell Ozpin and Ironwood I was right and that they can go fuck themselves! Fucking pricks!" That was all I was able to get out before my vision darkened and I couldn't hear anymore.

??? POV (location unknown)

Where am I? Who am I? Why does my head hurt? Why are these animals looking at me that way?

"He's awake?" I heard a soft, female(?) voice from the other side of the door.

Are they referring to me?

Author's Notes:

Yes, Cassiel used a copy of the X Blade, nothing like what Vanitas used in BBS, more like he used a spectral version that just took on the shape of it, a hollow shell you could say. Though, if "Kingdom Hearts is Light", and the X Blade is the only key it will answer to, then I think the price to use this version is fair.

I said you people wouldn't expect this end to the RWBY arc. Now begins the Nobody arc, Cassiel sort of gets a new start, after I write a few chapters for the other stories anyway, maybe get one or two out for New Life and Burden of Love. I don't know. I do know that progress on this is going to be much slower because most of the work hasn't been done by someone else until I get to whatever the next world will be.

There were a few soundtracks I wanted to use for the fight, I think I'll save that All For One theme that was recommended for the Hazel fight until later for one of the endings to the story (there will be a few). It was "Key to All", or "Oscurita di Xehanort", both fit.

Who can find the reference? I'm not going to hint the series.

Chapter 64.

View Online

??? POV

I heard something from the other side of the door. Someone sounded surprised to hear someone else was awake. Are they talking about me? I stood up and the door opened to reveal something yellow wi-

Pony.

A pony with pink hair and tail. How do I know that? How do I know what she is?

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?? What were you doing out in the Everfree?? We found you unconscious! Where are-" She kept going on and on.

"Where am I? Who are you- gah!" I said as I clutched my head.

"Hold on, I'll get Twilight! Just stay here for now, okay?!" She left before I could say anything. Maybe I should do as she said? But what if she doesn't come back?

(15 minutes later)

She still isn't back yet. Is she coming back?

*door opening and closing*

Is that her? Why did she take so long?

"The foxes found him in the Everfree several hours ago and brought him here. I was going to tell you as soon as I put him in the guest bed room, but he woke up as I was about to leave." I think it's her voice.

"Don't worry about that, Fluttershy. You did the right thing, tending to him first before coming to me or a doctor. Now let's see what we're dealing with here." Another voice said as I heard them coming up when I'm assuming to be stairs. They came through the door and the yellow one looked at me with a strange look on her face.

"Were you standing there this whole time?" She asked.

"You told me to wait here, so I did." I answered.

"Ooookaaayy, moving on." The light purple one spoke up. "What's your name? Why were you in the Everfree?" She asked. "Oh! I'm sorry, my name is Twilight Sparkle!" She held her hand out to me, her eye twitching.

"My name? Everfree?" Was my response.

"D-do you not even know you're own name?" Twilight asked another question.

"Do I need one?" I asked.

"Oh dear." Fluttershy said with a hand over her mouth, ears folded back.

"Alright, I don't think we'll be getting anywhere like this. Fluttershy, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Twilight asked her.

"Oh, okay." They left me alone and closed the door.

(Outside Fluttershy's cottage)

Twilight POV

"Are you sure this is wise? You remember Cassiel, I'm sure?" Another human can't be good.

"Twilight, he doesn't even remember his own name. Neither of us know anything about him aside from where he was found and what he is. We couldn't just leave him out there." She explained.

"The last time a human came here, he killed a pony, and coincidentally since that day, these 'Heartless' have been appearing. Those things have also been attacking ponies so often that the guard has more than doubled in size and there are guards with enchanted weapons everywhere. I'm sorry, but we can't trust him! We have no reason to believe he's not like that murderer!" Sometimes, just sometimes, it's better to walk away.

"And we have no reason to believe he's not the opposite. He should've let the guard and the princesses handle Spoiled, but she intentionally put her own daughter in a position to be killed by the very same monsters he risked his life to protect us from! Was she really any better? I don't think just any murderer would nearly get themselves killed to protect a town." Why, Fluttershy?

"I'm sorry, but after Cassiel, I can't ignore this. Monsters born from Darkness came just days after Cassiel arrived, I'm not risking something similar just because of somepony claiming to have amnesia! He can't be trusted and needs to be thrown in the dungeon or Tartarus before something worse happens." I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't have it.

"I'm not letting you do this, Twilight! This human has done nothing wrong and you're not doing anything to him unless you can prove otherwise! You're better than punishing a pony for no justifiable reason!" Why is she arguing with me?!

"It's not a matter of what he's done! It's a matter of what he's almost certainly going to do! I'm not risking an even bigger Heartless attack over something like this!"

"The only pony risking a Heartless attack here is you. You're not getting him and-" She was cut off by a loud scream inside and what sounded like something being knocked over or falling down.

??? POV

(moments before)

They left me alone again to talk outside, I wonder what they're talking about? Do neither of them know me? They didn't answer my questions, probably not. I moved near the window to try and hear what they were saying, but could only make out a few words. "Heartless", "murderer", and that was it.

"Are they talking about me?" I thought to myself.

*high pitched meow*

I looked down and a black-

"Kitten".

A black kitten with yellow eyes was looking up at me. It brushed itself against my leg for a moment before trying to climb up my pants. I reached down and it fell, but quickly stood back up on it's hind legs and reached out for my hand, brushing it's head against it and meowing again. As I was about to pick it up, my vision flashed something too fast for me to register what I saw and I clutched my head in pain as I fell to the floor, screaming. I don't know how long I was rolling on the floor, I know I saw Twilight and Fluttershy rush in here before my vision became dark. I heard a voice before I lost consciousness though.

"I love you."

Who was it I heard?

??? POV

(The Heart that Was)

I see nothing but darkness beyond this platform I'm on. I can only see me on it, everything else looks so blurred or smashed together that I can't make out what it's supposed to be.

Darkness is the Heart's True Essence.
Cast aside your Weakness so you may never know defeat.
Do unto others as they would unto you, for there is no greater Justice than Revenge.
Send their Souls screaming into the Abyss.
Show them Nightmares Unending.
The Darkness draws ever closer, but fear not. In Light, there is only Weakness. In Darkness, there is only Truth.

A voice keeps speaking as a large black mass formed a sword in the shape of a wing to my left, I don't know why, but I don't trust it.

My Light and my Darkness are mine and mine alone.
That's not a Darkness I'm willing to let you see.
If the Light is true, it will burn away the Darkness, the pain, the hate, and rage.
Yours is one of few Lights that I hope will never fade. It is a truly precious thing.
I will take that Darkness into myself.
I will make this Curse my own.

That voice sounded like me, light and darkness formed a staff in front of me.

You are one of the very few people I care about.
There's nothing I wouldn't do for them.
You made the mistake of hurting the people I love, that is not something I can forgive.
I no longer want to die, I have something worth living for, a future to look forward to.
This is not my grave, and it sure as Hell won't be yours.
If Light truly can't exist without Darkness, then Light will never die, only flicker and dim. I will rekindle it.

Light and darkness formed a shield to my right.

The Path to Power.
The Path of Wisdom.
The Path of Life.

Choose one to keep, and one to discard.

I don't know why, but I don't trust that sword. Do I really need power anyway? I can't think of a reason to choose it over life, so I grabbed the shield.

The shield? Life? Very well. Now choose what to discard.

Though wouldn't life not survive without power? I suppose all three can achieve the same results, whatever they may be. I grabbed the staff.

The staff? You choose to keep Power and Life? Very well. Awaken, and seek to become whole again.

Author's Notes:

Short chapter compared to what I usually write, but it's something. I write as things come to mind. I want to write something for the stories that haven't been updated in God knows how long, but I'm drawing blanks. Also playing too much Destiny and embracing the Darkness (ABOUT FUCKING TIME, BUNGIE).

There is a reason for the time skip despite what Raven/ Nevermore said. It's so stupidly obvious that I almost missed the potential for this because of it. I'll give a hint, She said she dialed down the time difference between worlds through the Corridors. And since I have no idea how much time passed between S1 E1 and S2 E25-26, I'm going to say it was long enough for almost everyone to forget his face anyway, not to mention the fact they all knew him for a week, two weeks tops?

There's also a reason none of the mane 6 recognize him, they never saw him without his mask and while Fluttershy can understand animals, I'm pretty sure she couldn't understand them perfectly. Good luck getting "Cassiel" from an animal when probably the closest she could get to that would be them "saying" he smells familiar, and considering how much time passed and what happened, probably wouldn't be the case.

He did have his own "Dive to the Heart" or whatever it would be called in this case since he's a Nobody (it only took over 60 chapters). Yes, I put in another Destiny reference.

So considering how Xemnas, Xigbar, and basically everyone in the Organization who had "strong ties to the ancient keyblade legacy" all used weapons other than keyblades, what should Cassiel use if not a keyblade (it's not limited to the staff, sword, and shield)? I mean they all went from key shaped swords to something completely different. Scythes, knives, lasers, hand crossbows.

Chapter 65.

View Online

Author's Notes:

Short chapter, I know. Still open to suggestions for weapons.

To anyone who doesn't read the comments, a thought came to mind regarding Cassiel's Nobody's appearance as I was responding to one. Nobodies all have some kind of difference between the originals, a weapon/ fighting style in most cases. In the cases of Xemnas and Roxas, they are technically the Nobodies of two different people each; Xehanort/ Terra and Ventus/ Sora. The same could likely be said about Braig (Xigbar)/ Luxu, maybe Kairi/ Naminé as well considering I to this day see no resemblance AT ALL!

I don't think I ever specified one thing regarding Cassiel when he got his silver eye. That is whether or not a piece of Summer Rose is in his heart. If not, I'll have to go back and edit that chapter a little to avoid a plot hole. If yes, imagine Cassiel's Nobody with a silver eye and black/ red hair like Ruby's and Summer's either way.

While we're on the topic of RWBY, I did say before that I wasn't exactly done with it. Remnant, I think I am for the most part, Cassiel only has one loose end to tie up. His team? Not done.

Trying to come up with an Equestrian name that didn't sound edgy was a pain, so I reused a name from Low Level Mage.

Fluttershy POV

Twilight and I rushed upstairs upon hearing the colt's screams. He was clutching his head and laying on his side, Nightshade, one of the kittens a few weeks old, was a short distance away from him. Twilight immediately used a sleep spell on him to stop this from getting any worse before helping me lift him back on the bed.

"Do you still think he's a threat after that?" I asked her as Nightshade climbed on the bed, then his chest and made herself comfortable. He's already making a friend.

"I don't know, ponies don't just collapse and start screaming because of a headache from out of nowhere. Regardless, the others should know about this." She answered.

"Twilight, please?" I pleaded with her.

"You know I can't just ignore this. There's no telling what's going to happen as a result of his arrival alone, that's not getting into whatever caused this even if nothing comes from him being here."

*meow*

We both looked down at Nightshade, she climbed on top of the colt and was licking his cheek, brushing her head against his every so often.

"She isn't like that with me or any of the other animals." I commented.

"Maybe he has some sort of-"

"If you're going to say he brainwashed a kitten, you can leave right now!" I interrupted her.

"How do you know this isn't some kind of trick?! We all thought Cassiel was just a colt with a mouth and he turned out to be a murderer incapable of feeling or showing any emotions not related to rage! He was close, if not the textbook definition of a psycopath!"

"How do you know this is a trick??!! This colt isn't Cassiel!! How can you not see that??!!" I yelled at her, shocking every creature in the room.

"I-..." She didn't say anything before leaving, her head down. I sat down on the bed and extended my arm towards the colt, pushing his hair to the side.

"We'll have to give you a name, won't we?" I asked nopony in particular. "How about Equinox?"

I'll tell him later.

Equinox POV
(S2 E20)

"Come on Fluttershy and Equinox, the party can't start until the party supplies get there!" Pinkie Pie floated along with a few balloons as Fluttershy and I carried several bags of 'supplies' for her. She threw me a party the night we met a few weeks back, but almost nopony showed up. Is her hair supposed to just drop at times and 'poof' itself back up?

"H-happy to- help!" Fluttershy struggled. These bags are light, is she tired? "But next time, c-can I carry the balloons?" She asked before Twilight crashed into her. Twilight jumped onto the nearby bridge and spoke of being visited by her future self to warn her about a disaster coming Tuesday morning, but got sucked back into the future before she could say what. A warning makes sense, but if it's Heartless, is it wise to incite fear?

"If that's true, then wouldn't it make sense to leave it to the guards? The weather is controlled by the pegasi for the most part, so the only disasters I can think of would be Heartless or the kind caused by ponies like a fire." I said.

"You most likely." I think I heard her mumble under her breath. "Regardless, we can't leave anything to chance! We'll have to work all across Equestria to make sure!"

"I don't think that's how time travel works. Law of Causality? Everything you're going to do will lead up to 'that' future. If not, then you're about to cause a paradox. Wait, whe- AGH!" I fell to my knees as the sudden spike of pain also made me dizzy enough to lose my balance.

"Oh gosh! Are you alright?!" Fluttershy immediately knelt down, placing a hand on my forehead and back.

"Well 'she' shouldn't have been possible either, but here we are!" Twilight sounded annoyed. Was it directed at me? She went on to explain her plans to everypony, but demanded I stay home with Fluttershy. Does she not need me? Is there something else going on?

I heard from Fluttershy a few days later that Cerberus apparently left his post and Tartarus was without a Warden because of it. Twilight left with him and returned him to his post. After a series of other events, I learned from Spike that I was right from the start. Maybe it's for the best?

(Remnant, Island of Patch, Summer's grave)

A young girl kneels in front of a grave stone, clutching a large key shaped weapon, similar to that of what her mother wielded years before. It is as much a gift as it is a birthright, but to her, the gift she holds is not worth the price paid. A promise to return, that is the only other thing she has left of her dear friend, her brother, who willingly sacrificed himself to stop the greatest threats the world had ever seen. She tries to speak, but grief's hold on her heart prevents anything other than her cries of loss.

(Atlas)

The heiress to a wealthy and influential family name stands before a recently constructed statue in front of the nation's most prestigious academy. This statue depicts a man in a hooded robe and mask with three large key shaped weapons on him, the one with lions on his back, a hand on one stabbed into the ground, and the other held behind him in a reverse grip. This statue was built at the request of this nation's General to celebrate the man's victory before he retired and stepped down as Headmaster of this academy.

To the heiress though, she couldn't bring herself to celebrate anything, for she also lost a brother on that day. She walks closer to the statue, a single tear falls from her face as she looks up at the mask, she knows the face underneath, she wishes that wasn't hidden. She turns away after leaving Schnee processed Light Dust, the first her company had to work with at the foot of the statue.

(Anima)

A girl searches on her motorcycle once again for someone she would rather not. She clings to words spoken by one she loved as a brother, hoping he can be found somewhere with this person's help.

"I'm returning to Darkness."

She hopes these words mean he is still alive in some tangible way, so she searches for the one who may be able to take her to him. She refuses to believe he is truly gone, so she steels herself until she has her answer. No uncertainty or nightmares will hold her back.

(City of Vale)

Perhaps the closest to the man who sacrificed himself, not a day goes by that she doesn't feel an even greater pain than her team. These days, she is working to reclaim the school that once housed and taught others like her team. To this day, it is still overrun by monsters. She spends the rest of her time mourning the loss of her love and ensuring his man made weapon is properly maintained, even using it on her hunts, as if to make herself feel he is still with her.

Chapter 66.

View Online

(S2 E21)

Equinox POV

Nightshade is on my shoulders as I'm watching Twilight and Rainbow try to get Fluttershy out of the house to see whatever this "Dragon Migration" is, but she's resisting with everything she has. I don't see why she's so scared, she has no problems around Spike and she supposedly told off another full grown dragon awhile ago.

"Look, Fluttershy. I watched that boring butterfly migration with you, so now it's your turn to watch the dragon migration with me! You owe me!" Rainbow tried to- I think guilt trip her into this. What even is guilt, and why do I know this?

"I. Said. NO!" Fluttershy pushed away from the door and overpowered Rainbow Dash with strength I didn't even think she had, and ran for the window at the other end of the room and escaped.

"Did you know she could do that?" I asked Twilight as she approached dazed Rainbow.

"She surprised us before, she probably doesn't even know half of what she can do unless she's pushed towards that edge." She answered.

"I don't exactly get her fears. She has no problem with Spike, and she's basically done this before, hasn't she?"

"I don't get it either, and I've been friends with her since the Summer Sun Celebration, Rainbow's known her for longer, and I doubt even she understands it." She used magic to lift Rainbow back on her feet. "While I'm here, Pinkie also wanted to know if you'd come?"

"I don't see why not." I picked up Nightshade and put her on the couch.

*meow*

I left without saying anything.

They actually dug a trench and dressed themselves in camouflage. Is this really necessary? If they're anything like Spike, they aren't savages.

"I don't see any dragons." Twilight whispered as she looked to the skies with binoculars.

"Me neither." Applejack whispered back.

"Me neither neither." Pinkie whispered as she looked through the binoculars the wrong way before looking at Rainbow.

"You don't think we missed them, do you?" Rainbow asked.

"No, I don't think so. We're just a little early, and I'm glad we are. This way, we can watch every moment of the migration without drawing any unwanted attention to ourselves!" Twilight responded.

"YOOHOO!" A voice yelled, a red carpet unrolling and confetti raining near the end as Rarity arrived. "What do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?!" What is she wearing?

"You'll be toast alright, when the dragons see you parading around in that getup." Applejack said to her.

"You look very nice, Rarity, but could you please maybe look nice in the trench down here with us?" Twilight asked her as she made the carpet and confetti disappear.

"'Nice' is an understatement, I look fabulous! Who says camouflage has to be drab?" She said with, is it pride?

"I think the point of camouflage is to not be seen, and none of those colors blend in with our surroundings." I said to her.

"Let a lady enjoy herself, dear." She said as she moved closer to the others. The dragons arrived and they watched closely, as if trying to burn this into their memories.

"Memories, why don't I remember anything from before they found me"? I thought to myself.

"Yeah, us dragons are definitely a force to be reckoned with!" Spike snapped me out of my thoughts as he started handing everypony snacks.

"HAHAHAHA! Yeah right, Spike! That's one of the scariest aprons I've ever seen!" Is Rainbow mocking him?

"What's wrong with wearing an apron?" He asked as he looked down at his white and pink apron with a heart on it. "You won't be laughing when you spill blueberries all over your scales! Feathers. That's one tough stain!"

"'One tough stain' against one lame dragon! Hahaha!"

"Is this really necessary?" I asked her.

"You leave him alone, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity started to defend him.

"Are they always like this?" I asked Spike.

"Not always." He answered.

"My little Spikey-wikey is perfect the way he is!" Rarity said as she flicked the scales or whatever those green things are on his head that go down to his tail.

"I don't act like other dragons?" He asked, looking at the ground.

"Not even close!" Pinkie answered.

"Why would you want to, Spike?" Applejack asked him.

"Yes, you have something those dreadfully fierce dragons could only dream of." Rarity told him.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Your cutest wittle chubby cheeks!" She mushed his face. Did his face turn red?

"'Cute'?! Dragons aren't supposed to be cute! Right?"

"How would any of you know?" I asked, turning everypony's attention towards me. "Not much is known about dragons, right? And the only experience you have is with the one Fluttershy dealt with." I pointed out. "Unless your library has more than you know or you decide to go with the dragons to learn about themthat is? I've seen enough, I'm going back."

(Next morning)

Twilight woke me up, something about Spike going along with my idea and I have to with her, Rarity, and Rainbow because of it. I don't understand how this has to do with me, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. They followed him in a strange looking dragon costume for days and made me get in it as well. We reached a volcano eventually and saw Spike with several teenage dragons, I left when they weren't paying attention and just watched them do... Whatever it is they do. After some time, one of the older dragons, a black dragon approached me.

"You are no dragon, yet you do not cower in fear? What even are you?" He asked in a deep, almost growling voice.

"A human according to them." I answered.

"The ponies you came with?" He glanced at their 'disguise'.

"I didn't think they'd pass as a dragon."

"I can smell them from here. If it weren't for the purple drake smelling like them first, they would've been... Encouraged to leave."

"Spike?" Is he who this dragon means by 'purple drake'?

"So that's the runt's name? How unimaginative." He commented.

"So am I not being 'encouraged' to leave?" I asked him.

"Curiosity..." He began circling around me. "You are new to us, you do not cower in fear, as if you don't know why you should. You don't give off an aura of greed, you possess power, but don't seem to be aware of it. What is your name?"

"I don't know." I answered him.

"You don't know?" He raised a brow.

"I don't remember anything before a short time ago, the ponies call me Equinox."

"Why are you here?"

"One of them decided I had to come along because Spike went through with my idea to join the migration to learn what it means to be a dragon because ponies know next to nothing about you."

"Why are they here?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"To watch over Spike, though I think the disguise is unnecessary. If dragons are anything like him, then you're not savages. The fact we're all still alive proves it, right?"

"There is one thing we normally respect above all; that is power and the will to use it. If he's as close to ponies as his scent implies, he will be... Displeased to say the least."

"That doesn't really answer my question." I told him.

"If only because of the power we sense in you, the elders will leave you and your companions be. I will promise nothing though if they try to take from our hoards nor will I promise the drakes below do the same." He breathed fire above us and walked away.

I looked down below and saw Spike get carried away by one of the dragons he was with, Twilight and the others following him on foot as the dragons flew away. They flew down along the path we all took to get here if I'm remembering this right. Some time later, we caught up with Spike, who was carrying an egg with a fiery looking shell as the older dragons were encouraging him to smash it. He refused and the other ponies finally discarded their disguise before standing up to the dragons.

"-and if you don't back off, you'll see what us ponies do when confronted by a huge group of jerky dragons!" Spike threatened him.

"But you're not a pony though." I thought.

"Oh yeah?! What's that?!" The tall red dragon asked.

"RUN AWAY!!!" Spike ran past us with the others following shortly after.

"Okay, but why though??!!" I yelled, but I don't think they heard me since I didn't follow them. I turned back to the dragons.

"You're not going to run with them?" The brown one asked.

"Should I?" I responded. I felt something cold in my hand and shook it a second before one tried to breath fire on me, an ice wall shot up in front of me, protecting me from the flames. Not questioning it, the purple one ran around to punch me, but I caught his fist and he pulled away immediately, his fist frozen. The red one burned through the ice and grabbed me by the throat as the other one was thawing out his hand.

"Last mistake!" He tightened his grip and tried to breath fire on me, but that cold feeling in my hand returned and after the same reaction, there was a sort of dome around us, his fire barely going a couple inches as a result is my guess. "What the-" he let go as ice was forming on his body and he froze completely after a couple seconds, the dome disappearing afterwards.

"Garble!" The other two yelled as a hand scythe formed in my hand. They backed up for a moment before charging at me. I hit one with it and it shattered, freezing everything within a short distance of us. I backed up to and looked at what I did, seconds later, I heard something running towards me. It was Twilight and the others, but Rainbow was the first to speak.

"Woah! Did you do this?!" She asked.

"I did." I think I did.

"I didn't know you could make ice out of thin air, that is so cool! Well- not as cool as me, but still. Give me five!" She raised her hand above her. I tilted my head.

"Five? Five bits?" I asked.

"Nevermind." She backed away.

"Equinox, how did you do this?" Twilight asked as she approached.

"I don't know." I answered.

"How do you not know??!!" She grabbed my shoulders.

"My hands felt cold and one thing led to another." As soon as I answered, Garble broke free and lunged for Twilight and I, but Rainbow pushed us out of the way and got several deep cuts on her side as she flew past us and slammed into a tree.

"Rainbow!!!" The others shouted.

"Now you're going to see what happens when ponies mess with dragons!" Garble said angrily as the other dragons broke free. I felt something cold in my hands again, but solid this time. I looked down and saw a small three bladed shuriken in each hand. I threw them at the dragons, but they shattered on impact as darkness began flowing out of the trio.

"Oh no!" Twilight said as she ran towards Rainbow.

"I could get used to this." Garble examined his arms before he began to look confused, then in pain. The dragons' began hyperventilating as they grabbed their chests, screaming for several seconds before something shaped like a heart appeared in front of them. They almost looked like they were consumed by darkness before something resembling them took their place, but they were varying shades of black and purple, a red outline of a strangely shaped heart appeared on their chests and started acting like aggressive animals.

"Heartless!" Spike shouted in fear. I felt something in my hands again, but they didn't feel cold this time. There were curved objects in each one, both almost looked like complete opposites of the other. In my left was a white one with a petal and golden thorn like design going to the end, and in my right was a smooth black one with sharp edges and a bit of green halfway towards the other end.

I don't know why, but I think I used something like these before? I pointed the black one at what used to be Garble and it fired a projectile that almost looked like a large, deformed knife right through him, the spot I hit almost looked like it decayed for a few more seconds in a green light. He screamed before ramming into me, launching me into the air, and slamming his tail into me, sending me flying towards a tree. I coughed up a bit of blood, but ignored it. I shot him with the white one, but he flew over my shot and pinned me down, crushing my arms and readying fire breath as I tried to shoot him. My hand felt empty, but cold again and I slammed it on the ground, causing an ice wall to knock him off and roll me over.

As he was recovering, the other two ignited themselves and flew towards me, I don't know how, but I quickly moved a short distance to the right and had another scythe ready. What was Garble shot a large stream of flame at me as the others slowed down, I threw the scythe at the flames and a sort of miniature blizzard appeared after the scythe exploded mid flight. The flames quickly died down and the dragons were frozen again when they tried to go right through the blizzard to get to me. I quickly pulled up the black and white weapons and kept shooting them while they weren't a threat, shattering them and causing them to disappear shortly after.

The weapons in my hands disappeared as the ice around us melted almost instantly and my vision became dark as I fell down.

(Unknown location)

Unknown POV

"You're certain your plan will work?" She asked in a two toned voice, the buzzing getting louder with excitement.

"These ponies are barely intelligent enough to classify as sentient creatures, and unless they've drastically improved their arsenal and their effectiveness in battle since I last saw them, they should still basically be cannonfodder." I answered.

"And the Heartless? This 'Raven' or 'Nevermore'? You're certain they won't be a problem?"

"Your Darkness is strong enough that they won't be a threat to you or your Hive as long as you don't show weakness, your connection with the rest should guarantee their safety. They will even follow your orders. As for the Goddess? She went missing not long after Cassiel disappeared. She's more concerned about finding him than ensuring a wedding goes smoothly."

"Your offer is tempting, my Hive would never go hungry again, but why should we take the risk?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why not do it yourself? What do you stand to gain from this?" She stepped down from her throne to me to try and make herself appear more threatening as she looked me in the eyes. "What's stopping me from draining you of all you're worth, regardless of whether or not we play along?"

"In order: You need the love too much to say 'no'. Second verse, same as the first. Darkness. I am Darkness, there is nothing to 'drain' unless you can live off of other emotions. Let's answer your last question with another question;-"

"Don't play games with me!" She shouted.

"Very well." I raised my hand to the ceiling and shot a large ball of Darkness that shot dozens of smaller ones all around us, missing her subjects as they frantically avoided the shots that were meant to miss anyway. The large one shot clean through the ceiling and past the roof of her 'castle' before detonating far enough away to be felt down here without causing anymore damage. "What's stopping me from firing several more of those in every direction?" My eye was glowing purple as she stared at my work in shock. After a few seconds, she steeled herself before speaking again.

"Have it your way."

Chapter 67.

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Twilight POV

Again with this library having everything but the one thing I'm looking for??!! First, Cassiel having weapons and magic that nopony knows anything about, then the Heartless, and now Equinox? To make matters worse, not even he knows how or even what he did! And how can he not be even the least bit disturbed by the events of the Dragon Migration?! I've sent Princess Celestia a letter in hopes of her having something in the archives even slightly related to this, but she hasn't gotten back to me.

Equinox. He just keeps raising more questions, and giving no answers. Where did he come from? Where did he learn to use that kind of magic? How-why does he seem to not feel anything?

"Just give it a rest, Twi." Spike said as he put another book away.

"I can't just drop it, Spike. There has-"

"If there was basically nothing on dragons, why would there be something on a species that's either completely new, or so far in the past that the rediscovery alone would make history? Not to mention weapons and magic completely unknown to the Princesses?" He interrupted.

"I need answers! Once again, a human appears out of nowhere with powers nopony knows about, and we were attacked by Heartless, again! It's becoming like Cassiel all over again! Except we're not getting answers from him this time, and dealing with him is like talking to a ponyquin!"

"Well I don't think Garble and the others becoming Heartless has anything to do with Equinox for one, and he not only saved us, but them too in a way, right? Even Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack are warming up to him after that day. Why won't you give him a chance?" He asked.

"He didn't save them if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were right about keyblades, or whatever Cassiel used, and it's because of-"

"He's not Cassiel, Twi! He's acted nothing like how any of you described him! The only things I know about Cassiel are what you all said about him; how he had no regard for life, rude, almost sadistic, no respect for others, but like Equinox, none of you know why he was like that. Nopony even tries to acknowledge it was him that saved Ponyville back then. It could just be amnesia in Equinox's case, but has nopony considered what might have made Cassiel the way he was?"

"Nothing could possibly justify murder, Spike. Nothing could possibly justify the Heartless. And nothing could possibly justify him leaving us to fend for ourselves against monsters that supposedly only he had the means of destroying completely!"

"He had no right to leave when nopony wanted him around, going out of their way to make his day more difficult, even after saving everypony and nearly getting himself killed? Do you not see how contradictory that is? I'm not defending him, but he killed a murderer, Twi! A pony who killed her own daughter for money from what I heard! At least he had a better reason!"

"We're not discussing this anymore! I'm getting to the bottom of this and ensuring we never have to deal with another human like them or Heartless if it's the last thing I do!"

"Were it that easy..." A deep voice spoke from out of nowhere, startling us.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" I lit my horn as Spike got behind me.

"All in due time. Not that you'll be able to do anything then either. Until we meet again, all of us..." The voice faded out.

(Remnant, Anima)

The girl found someone who could take her to the one she seeks, she had encountered him before for the same reason. Everyone inside the camp backed away from her as she walked past the front gate into the camp. Moments later, an older woman who closely resembles her, but with black hair and red eyes stepped out of her tent to greet the newcomer, her daughter.

"What is it you need this time, Yang?" The woman asked as they both entered the tent.

"Right to the point, huh, Raven? Not even going to ask how things have been since Mistral?" Yang asked.

"Calling your own mother by her name?" Raven dodged the question.

"Not important. I'm here for one thing, then I'm gone. You're going to take me to my brother." Raven scoffed at Yang's demand.

"I didn't know Tai had another child, and have you already forgotten how my Semblance works?" Raven asked.

"I haven't, and I'm talking about Cassiel. If Ren is anything to go by, there might be more to it than you know." Yang answered.

"Well sorry to crush that little thing you call 'hope', but my Semblance can't open portals to the afterlife if that's who your 'brother' is." Raven said, harshly.

"He's not dead." Yang told her.

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Raven asked.

"Because of what he said, and I used the last question of the Lamp." Yang answered.

"You what?!" Raven raised her voice. "Why would you use the Relic for that?!"

"Because Cassiel somehow had Maiden powers,-"

"How??!!" Raven interrupted.

"I'm guessing those 'keyblades' or whatever they were called can unlock more than doors like the Vaults. I can guarantee at least one of us on the team was in his final thoughts, but none of us became Maidens. I asked the Lamp, but it didn't have an answer to the first question, so that one didn't count apparently. I asked it if he was still alive, and the answer was 'yes'."

"... What is it he said?"

"That he was 'returning to Darkness', whatever that means."

"Let's say there is more to my Semblance than even I know, why would I help you this time?" Raven asked.

"Because if it weren't for him, Vernal would be dead, Salem would likely still be alive, and by extension, you would still have a target on your back. He single handedly did in a few hours what Ozpin had been trying to do for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. You owe him your life as well as Vernal's, the least you can do is try to bring him back!" Yang got up in Raven's face.

"Maybe you should see if Ruby has made any progress?" Raven suggested.

"Last I saw, she hasn't. She doesn't go anywhere without his keyblade, and she's only recently learned how to turn it into a scythe. Why would you suggest her?" She asked, suspicious of Raven.

"I watch the news, Yang. I saw her clinging to that thing like her life depended on it, and it wasn't disappearing. When someone else held Summer's, it reappeared in her hands a few seconds later, so it is hers for now if he is alive. The other reason is because of the portals he kept opening during the battle at Mistral, something Summer could never figure out how to do. If your sister can figure out how, she can probably take you to him."

"So you have nothing for me then? Not even going to try links between other people?"

"You're not wrong when you say I owe him a lot, but there's nothing I can do because my portals are severely limited compared to what he kept using. Things might've been different if I went with all of you, at least then I would've seen the impossible happen first hand."

"Well it's too late for that now, isn't it?" Yang asked, harshly.

"He was right. Your sister was right. Summer was right. Qrow was right. Tai was right. Even if the hope given was false, Salem could still be defeated, she could still be destroyed. It's too late for regrets, but if what you say is true, it's not too late to save him. Contrary to my attitude earlier, I would help you now and at least set one thing right if I could, but that's out of my power what you're asking of me." Raven couldn't look at her daughter as she said this.

"Then I guess I'm waiting on Ruby then." Yang said, less than pleased with the result of her search. As she was about to leave, Raven stopped her.

"If you're about to head back home, at least let me do this for you." Raven exited the tent and used her sword to open a portal.

"That eager to get rid of me?" Yang asked as she turned her motorcycle towards the portal.

"No, just trying to help in the only way I can. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Raven said farewell to her daughter.

"Didn't you just say it's too late for regrets?" Yang stopped a foot away from the portal. "Thank you, mom." She pushed the motorcycle through.

"Don't mess this up, kid." Raven thought to herself before re-entering her tent.

Chapter 68.

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Equinox POV

I'm feeding some of the animals while Fluttershy is out with the others for a picnic or something, Nightshade has made herself comfortable on my shoulder and rubbing her head against the side of mine. Angel though is reluctant to eat what I'm trying to give him, pushing the food away.

"She said I had to give you all food and specified what to give, whether you eat it is another matter entirely." I pushed his bowl of various vegetables back towards him. He pushed the bowl back to me and crossed his forelegs.

"Suit yourself, I'm just doing what I've been told." I told him before walking away and getting some of the kitten milk.

*meow*

"In a moment." I lifted her off my shoulder and held her on her back as I placed the bottle near her mouth. Once she was done, I set her down on a paper towel on the table before heading out to feed the rest. Chickens, a bear, birds, foxes, one would think she would be overwhelmed by all of them. I eventually finished, but she didn't really need anything else done. I walked a short distance out back and thought back to my final moments of consciousness during the Dragon Migration. What were those weapons? What was that magic? The more I thought about it, the more I wanted an answer. I visualized the black weapon and the scythe in my mind, it didn't take long for a weight to be felt in one hand and my other to feel cold.

"Is it only ice?" I thought and visualized a scythe made of fire in my mind, a minute later, my hand felt wet, then warm, a scythe of flame replaced the ice one. I let them both go and they disappeared before hitting the ground. I walked back to the cottage and retrieved Nightshade, it would seem I didn't accidentally overfeed her this time. She wasted no time curling up into a ball once I set her on my lap to read a book Fluttershy and the doctor recommended, I overheard them say through the door that they think I might have a form of 'autism' if my amnesia isn't behind my emotional/ mental state.

Emotions, what even are they? From what I think I've seen and heard, they only get in the way. Twilight doesn't try to hide her disdain towards me that she still has yet to explain and it hasn't ended well for her so far. Fluttershy's fear of dragons caused her to miss an otherwise harmless event. Rarity's desire for gems caused her to be enslaved once and contributed to almost getting everypony killed. Applejack's pride almost lost her and her family everything. Somepony, or griffon, named Gilda, her anger caused her to lose her only "friend". Spike's greed almost destroyed the town, his lust for learning what it means to be a dragon contributed to Garble and the others becoming Heartless and almost killing us. The list goes on.

Are emotions even worth it? Time and time again, they seem to have only caused trouble. Maybe it's better that I don't feel anything. What am I even supposed to be learning from this book? After a few more chapters of trying to understand the author and what she wrote regarding her life with it, I set the book down and let Nightshade do as she pleased with my hand until Fluttershy came back.

"Equinox, we're leaving Ponyville for a little while." She said after entering through the door.

"What for?" I asked.

"My friends and I have our own parts to play at a wedding in Canterlot, and Princess Celestia also wants you to come along." She answered.

"The Princess knows about me?"

"Twilight probably wrote about you in a letter to her, she stays in regular contact with the Princess with her friendship letters." She explained.

"I would ask, but I don't think I'd understand if I did. Now why does she want me to come?"

"All she said in the letter was that she wanted to meet you."

"Do I have to?"

"Well-I mean, it's the Princess, you don't just say 'no'. Also, Twilight wouldn't be happy if you did that."

"Alright then." I picked up Nightshade and laid her on her bed. She fell asleep shortly after and I grabbed what I needed to take with me to Canterlot.

(Canterlot)

The city is covered in a large dome of sorts that all of us passed through with no problems. Upon arriving at the station, we were met with a few dozen guards. Several I think looked tense after they saw me, others I think looked fearful for lack of a better word and didn't break eye contact with me. Well, one actually left in a hurry, but that's not important. Twilight went off on her own to see her brother, the soon-to-be husband of a 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza' or something like that.

As the others went off, one of the guards approached me and asked for my name. After answering him, he asked me to follow him, but didn't say where to.

(Elsewhere in Canterlot Castle)

"Cadence" POV

"What is so important that you felt the need to speak to me directly?" The drone trembled, my patience already wearing thin.

"My Queen, some thing just arrived with the friends of the groom's sister." He reported.

"And? Would you care to elaborate?"

"It looked similar to the visitor from before, but it was more unsettling than him. I don't quite know how to explain it!"

"More unsettling than the stallion that quite easily proved he could wipe our hive from existence?" I asked in concern.

"Whatever it was, it was like a walking void! No joy, no love, not even the slightest hint of negativity! It was-"

"It had no emotions is what you mean to tell me?"

"In the simplest terms, yes." He answered.

"Such a thing shouldn't be possible. Every creature, even Heartless have emotions. It would essentially be dead if another hive drained it of it's emotions. It's fully functional?" I asked my final question for the moment.

"Minus the capability to feel anything, yes, at first glance."

"Keep an eye on the Husk. We can't get rid of it right now because it's probably that 'human' Celestia wanted to meet, so don't interact with it unless necessary. So long as it doesn't prove to be a threat, it shouldn't be a problem."

"What about the Heartless?"

"I don't trust them. He may have said they are mine to command, but they almost feel like they're borrowed. It would also be a waste of love if anypony gets caught in the crossfire. If that is all, return to your post before they realize you're gone." I ordered him.

"At once!" He wasted no time in leaving, and I went to meet with 'my future husband'.

So far, everything is perfect.

(Outside Celestia's chambers)

Equinox POV

The guard took me up a few sets of stairs and through a few long hallways before stopping in front of a tall, ornate door with a sun on it. He knocked on the door and it opened after a few seconds. He saluted to whoever was inside before stepping to the side and letting me in, the door closing behind me after entering. The details of the room unimportant to me, I focused on the tall white mare with a multicolored neon mane that was blowing in a non-existent wind as she stood on the balcony.

"I would like to thank you for coming, and for protecting my student during the migration." She started, her attention switching between me and wherever she was looking before.

"Student?"

"Twilight, her friends too."

"Is that why you wanted to see me?" I asked, she shook her head.

"One reason, yes. I also wish to get to learn about you."

"I think you'll be disappointed, there's nothing really to talk about." She waved her hand.

"Nonsense! While not all of it was good, we learned a lot from the last human to visit Equestria."

"Cassiel, is that who you're referring to?" Why does he keep coming up?

"You know of him?" Was her response.

"Nothing besides his name, though I honestly don't really care enough to learn more about him." I answered.

"He was... Troubled to say the least. Perhaps if my student and the rest of Ponyville knew of the pain he endured, they would've been more understanding. He was by no means malicious, though he wasn't exactly peaceful either. But enough about him, how have you been settling into Ponyville?"

"Fine, haven't had any real trouble." I gave a short answer.

"Have you made any friends?"

"Friends?" She looked at me strangely.

"You have friends, right?"

"Do I need them?"

"Uuummm... Moving on. Do you remember what you were doing in the Everfree before Fluttershy and Twilight found you?" Is this all she intended to do, I wondered.

"I haven't remembered anything. I don't mean to be rude, but if all you wanted to do was ask questions Twilight and the others have asked already, you won't be pleased with the answers. I don't remember anything, I don't remember my name, I don't have friends, I don't particularly care about anything, I don't know how I can use magic, I don't have answers. If that's all you wanted, then I'll be on my way." I turned to leave, but she stopped me.

"Two more questions." She said.

"Alright."

"What are your plans?" She asked, seriously.

"Plans?"

"Nevermind. Moving on, I fear the attack may draw Heartless here. If that happens, would you please help fight them off?" She requested.

"I'll do what I can." I answered before leaving. Seven of the guards along the way tensed up upon seeing me as I walked past them. Strange, but I let it be.

Chapter 69.

View Online

Equinox POV

(In the castle gardens)

I agreed to help Princess Celestia with the Heartless if they showed up, but the supposed threat aside, aren't they drawn to negativity? A wedding is supposed to be a "joyous celebration" or something like that, by that logic alone, Heartless shouldn't be an issue unless the threat is able to turn it all on it's head. Though wouldn't that put the attackers at risk too? I can't imagine anypony following through with this threat to be able to fight a battle against two different enemies.

I wasn't really asked to do anything for the wedding. Spike took it on himself to plan Shining's "bachelor party", whatever that is. Rarity is making the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids. Applejack is preparing the food and the cake. Pinkie is preparing all the games and decorations. Fluttershy is rehearsing the songs her birds will be singing. Twilight is her brother's "best mare", again, whatever that means. Rainbow? I don't know.

I've been seeing more and more guards acting strangely around me, is it another lingering effect of Cassiel? Are they afraid of me because of him? Questions for later I guess, my only concern is the Heartless, everything else is a secondary objective.

"I didn't expect to find anypony here at this time." I looked away from the small pond to see Princess Cadence behind me.

"Is there something you need, Princess?" I asked her.

"Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and yes." She answered, as if demanding something of me.

"What do you need, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?"

"I want to know what my aunt wanted to see you for?" I can't tell if that's a request.

"Princess Celestia is your aunt?"

"I'm waiting for an answer." She looked at me impatiently.

"She had a bunch of questions that I didn't really have answers to for the most part. At least, ones she wanted to hear. The only thing she got an actual answer for was when she asked me to deal with the Heartless if they become an issue." She raised her brow.

"That's it?" Does she not believe me?

"Have no reason to lie and no reason to not answer completely."

"There's another reason I came here." She changed the subject. "I have an offer for you."

"An offer?" She has my curiosity.

"Do you ever feel anything?" Isn't she supposed to be trying to make a deal with me?

"I feel the temperature and the other physical senses, what does that have to do with your offer?" I asked her.

"I don't mean the things you can touch, I mean things like joy or-" She tried to clarify.

"Emotions, you mean?"

"Yes, and don't interrupt me again!" She made no attempt to hide her displeasure.

"Do I need them?" I answered her question with one of my own.

"What would life be without them? What would you say if I told you I could give them back to you? You could remember how to love, enjoy yourself, among other things." She offered.

"She can give emotions? I don't understand." I thought to myself.

"You mean I don't have any?" That's news to me.

"I'm the Princess of Love, I can sense these things." She said like she expected me to know.

"Would it be worth the trouble they'll inevitably bring?"

"Of course! I wouldn't be getting married if they weren't! So... Have we reached an agreement?" I thought about it for a while.

"... What is it you need?" I gjess we have.

"Just make sure things go smoothly for me, and I can fix you! Oh, and don't tell anypony about this." She said before turning and leaving.

"That was pretty vague, also, I don't exactly understand how I need to be 'fixed' or why she wants this to stay between us."

"Cadence" POV

I can understand the drone's fears now. That... THING!... It shouldn't be possible! It should be dead for all intents and purposes!

"Calm down, Chrysalis. You won't have to deal with it much longer. Once everything is done, you can put it out of it's misery, if it can actually be called that."

"Careful, the Heartless might decide to turn on you if you let that fear gain more power over you." A voice caught me by surprise. The stallion from before, leaning against a wall as he wore a face of amusement, his eyes closed. I looked around to ensure nopony was around before speaking.

"Why didn't you warn me about that??!!" I demanded an answer. He opened his black and purple eye before looking at me like I was a pest.

"You should remember who you're speaking to, bug!" He threatened me as several dark winged blades stood at the ready to strike. "As for why I didn't warn you about that thing? I already told you what I want, that was just as much for my own entertainment as it was part of what I want." He answered.

"I believe this is something I should've been warned about regardless."

"It's not a threat, and after that deal you made, you could easily tear it's relatively fragile mind apart by summoning Heartless and telling it they're necessary for your 'perfect day', or you could have it side with you." He pointed out before walking through one of his portals.

??? POV

(Realm of Darkness)

The shores are perhaps the most beautiful sight this world has to offer, the sound of the waters crashing lightly against the arches as one gazes at the light in the distance.

"I'm sure she would've liked a view such as this." I thought out loud.

"Thinking of your girlfriend again?" I turned to the direction of the voice, the only diety I like already sitting down on the sand.

"I didn't hear you coming." I commented on her approach.

"I control everything here, have you forgotten who I am?" She smiled.

"Not me anyway, Raven." I answered.

"You still haven't answered my other question."

"*sigh*... You mean Cassiel's? Yes, I was thinking of Blake."

"You're literally the same person, just more honest in a sense. Why do you insist on not using your real name?"

"Reasons." I answered vaguely. "Have I told you about why I have this eye?" I asked as I pointed to what I'm assuming is a corrupted silver eye of sorts.

"If you're about to ask if I can bring back Summer Rose, not right now."

"Why's that?"

"Well for starters, the current states of you and 'Equinox'. Her heart fragmented after you met her because of your teammate. Now add in the fact you, with a piece of Summer still in you, somehow found yourself in possession of a cheap copy of the first keyblade and fragmented yourself as a result. You want to keep your promise-"

"I need to start by putting myself back together."

"Exactly, so why haven't you?"

"..."

"... Well?"

"Will we gain the other's memories if we rejoined as Cassiel?"

"Maybe not all at once, but yes." She answered.

"Then part of the answer is curiosity."

"And the other part?"

"I want more reasons to embrace the light, Equinox is a perfect opportunity for that when we rejoin."

"How disappointing, but no matter. Either you'll still become the King of Darkness, or you'll live your own life. I would prefer the former, but I'm not a fan of forcing things on ponies." She walked behind me and wrapped her arms and wings around me. "I would very much like the former." She whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek.

"You seem to be taking that better than one would think, considering the implications." I commented.

"I know you intend for Her to get involved, and that sickens me, never doubt that! However, Her negligence aside, She would certainly be the best for that, so long as She doesn't just let other other incidents like with the Umbrum, Thestrals, or the Shadow Pony repeat themselves!"

"Well, She was rejected by me once already even though She at least claimed She could give back everything that was taken from me. Whether She was honest or not, unless She wants me to truly become the monster they'll all know me as, it would be in Her best interest not to abuse this opportunity."

"She would likely stop you if you did."

"She would be too focused on saving all the lives and lights the fight would endanger. It's time I take my leave, things are about to get interesting I'm sure." I opened a portal back to the castle.

"Don't have too much fun! Oh, one thing before you go!" She stopped me.

"What is it?"

"I doubt you know exactly how to use that corrupted version of your borrowed eye, but I would recommend not using it. I would expect risks for Summer otherwise." She warned.

"Fair enough." And with that, I took my leave and left a little note for Equinox before watching from the SR.

Equinox POV

The next day, saw a note on the nightstand after waking up.

Do not trust the Fake.

A strange thing to warn somepony about, wouldn't it make more sense to tell them what the "Fake" is before warning them? Questions for later I suppose. On my way back to the gardens, a guard told me that Princess Celestia requested he bring me to where the ceremony will be. Upon my arrival, she instructed me to stand by Spike before we began the wedding rehearsal. I found out then that the bridesmaids were replaced by Twilight's friends as they walked along the red carpet.

"Perfect, girls! No need to rush!" Princess Celestia praised them as they approached. "Then of course, Cadence will enter,-" The bride approached and stood opposite of Shining after the doors opened. "-then I'll say a few words, and then we'll begin with the vows. Shining Armor, you'll get the ring from your best mare." She continued. Everypony is just now noticing Twilight isn't here.

"Hey, has anypony seen Twilight?" Shining asked seconds before the doors opened again to reveal a noticeably angry Twilight.

"I'm here, and I'm not standing next to her! And neither should you!" I have no idea what her problem is, but I'm surprised it's not with me.

"I'm sorry! I have no idea why she's acting like this!" Shining apologized to Cadence.

"Maybe we should just ignore her." She suggested.

"I've tried, it doesn't work." I commented.

"You have to listen to me!" Twilight shouted.

"Oh goodness, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked her.

"I'm fine!" She responded.

"You sure about that?" Applejack asked, only to have Twilight push her hat down her face with magic.

"I've got something to say, she's evil!" Twilight accused Cadence, causing everypony to whisper among themselves. "She's been horrible to my friends, she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough, she casted a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all-" Apparently she's part chameleon, I have no idea how she did that with her eyes. These accusations caused Cadence to cry and storm out. It was now that Shining decided to defend Cadence and explain how and why she has been so 'evil'. Ending with telling her she isn't his best mare anymore and to not show up at the wedding before going to Cadence.

"C'mon y'all, let's go check on the Princess." Applejack said before everypony sgarted walking past her.

"What about you, Equinox, do you believe me?" Everypony stopped as she asked me that.

"Twilight, I honestly don't care." She looked distraught to hear that. "It's his choice as well as hers. I'm only here because Princess Celestia asked for me, and besides, you've been as some of the townsfolks would say, a bitch to me since day one just because of Cassiel, who still nopony has told me about. I don't necessarily care about that though, besides, if the Princess who just ran off really can sense emotions, then I have none according to her, you're asking for help, for validation from the wrong pony." I walked past her towards the kitchens, I'm hungry.

(wedding day)

They've drawn quite a crowd. Twilight isn't here, as expected. Shining doesn't look right, but that's not my business, especially if he'll get better after the wedding.

"Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-" Princess Celestia was about to finish with the ceremony before we all heard somepony shouting from outside the room.

"STOP!" Twilight burst through the doors.

"UGH! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother??!!" Cadence asked in frustration. Also, why isn't Shining reacting to this? "Why does she have to ruin my special day?" Is she actually crying this time? No matter, I summoned the black weapon-

"Thorn."

"Who said that?" I thought before aiming it at her.

"Should I?" I asked Cadence, but Rainbow, Rarity, and Spike lowered my weapon.

"No need for that!"
"No!"
"Not now!" The three yelled respectively.

"It's not your special day, it's mine!" Another Cadence made herself known.

'Don't trust the fake.' So that's what the note meant. I aimed Thorn at that one.

"Should I shoot that one?"

"Yes!" The Cadence near me shouted, but Twilight got in front of the other one, so I didn't.

"You don't understand! She's a Changeling!" Twilight claimed while pointing at the one near me.

"She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power from feeding off your love for them!" The other Cadence clarified.

"Okay, since I have no idea who's telling the truth, I have a way of finding out." I summoned the white-

"Lumina."

"Twilight, I'm going to shoot them both. Would you kindly move?" I aimed Lumina at that one and Thorn at the one near me. One of the guards tackled me before he and the Cadence near me transformed, their bodies turned black, they gained insect wings, holes in their legs, and the fake's eyes turned green with slit pupils.

"Sorry, dear, but that simply won't do." The fake said as several of the other guards changed. "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered, and I'm not losing this opportunity for us to acquire more power than we've ever dreamed of!" I looked at the changeling pinning me down before my hand felt cold and he just froze immediately. I threw him off and stood back up with a scythe in the other hand as I aimed Thorn at him.

"-never let you!" Cadence said to the Changeling Queen.

"I doubt that. Isn't that ri- what did you do??!!" She turned around to see me ready to shoot, but I lowered Thorn.

"I froze him, he'll be back up shortly, but I have no interest in that." I answered before walking towards the door.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave." Her changelings surrounded me and I threw the scythe-

"Silence." Seriously, where are those voices coming from? Not important, I threw Silence on the ground and instantly froze the changelings near me before trying to leave again.

"I will not be ignored!" She shouted before several Heartless appeared, causing everypony to panic.

"10 Shadows.
8 Soldiers.
4 Red Nocturne.
4 Yellow Opera.
4 Green Requiem."

Everypony started panicking. I immediately took aim with Thorn and Lumina to take out the flyers, but every time I lined up a shot, they changed their movements. Four of the Soldiers ran towards me and tried to swipe me, but a single shot from my weapons ended them. The Nocturnes were about to shoot me with fire, but I switched Thorn out for the shur-

"Withering Blade."

I threw it at them and three of them disappeared, but the fourth one shot and barely missed. I threw another Withering Blade at that one and two of the Operas disappeared with it. I looked for the Shadows, but a blast of wind from the Requiems knocked me to the side and I was scratched by the Shadows. Ignoring the pain in my arm and back, I struck one with a scythe-

"Squall."

I struck it with Squall and a blizzard took care of the other three near me. I threw something frozen at the Requiems and they along with a Soldier and the other two Operas were pulled in, turning to ice seconds before the blizzard took care of them. I shot the remaining three Soldiers with Thorn and Lumina before throwing an icewall at my feet to launch myself into the air, shooting the remaining six before landing and turning my attention to the Queen, aiming Thorn at her.

"I was asked specifically to help deal with the Heartless, but I think you count since you're the one who summoned them." She quickly put Shining between the two of us.

"You won't make much progress, I can tell you're struggling to hold that weapon of yours after receiving those wounds. Not only that, but with all the love I've drained from Shining Armor, he and his spell have weakened significantly, and my changelings have been chipping away his shield as well."

"So I need to shoot you before they do, then we win? Easy enough." Just as I was about to shoot through Shining to shoot her, two of her changelings charged at me while another kept shooting me with magic. I placed an icewall between me and the one shooting me before trying to shoot the other two. I missed the first shots on both, but I disarmed them on the second, my third shot with Lumina hit that one in the head and killed him instantly. My third shot with Thorn barely hit the other one's arm, but he fell to the ground, screaming as his arm looked like it was decaying at an impossibly fast pace up until it was a few inches short of his shoulder. As I was about to go around the wall and shoot the other changelings, I fell to my side.

"That doesn't look like a healthy amount of blood to lose." I thought to myself as... When did Nurse Redheart get here? She's doing what she can to stop the bleeding.

"You... You still feel nothing??!! You murdered my children, and you can't even think of what that means..." Tears looked to be ready to pour out, but she quickly stopped that. "We harvest love, we don't kill our victims unless it's necessary!! Your death will not be painless!!! Do you hear me??!!" She shouted in rage.

"No." Princess Celestia stepped forward after incapacitating the other changelings. "You have made it impossible for Captain Armor to perform his duty, your army may be just outside the barrier, but you haven't won this, and Equinox has proven your Heartless to be ineffective. My sister, our guards, and myself have faced significantly more dangerous and in larger numbers at that. Now that you have both revealed yourself and that you're helping to pollute our world with Darkness, it is my duty to stop you!" She said before she flew up and they both began channeling beams of magic at the other. The Queen was struggling at first, but was slowly making progress against Celestia as what looked like Darkness began to flow out of her and I aimed Lumina at her.

"Don't move around too much!" Redheart tried to stop me.

"She'll lose if I don't." The Darkness around the Queen became more visible and I took the shot, hitting her right where one of her wings connects to her back. She fell over, crying out in pain as Celestia hit her with that magic beam and the Darkness immediately dissipated.

"It's over! Call off your invasion and you may find me rather lenient." Celestia said as she approached the Queen, who scowled in response.

"Not while my army is this close to victory!" She hissed before a dark portal of sorts appeared between them.

"You've done enough, Chrysalis." A new voice said from out of the portal before a pony-no. He looks similar to me, he looks human. His skin is darker, he has a scar on his face exactly like mine, a black and purple eye, grey-ish silver hair reaching his shoulders, what looks like tattered robes that almost look fleshy, armor resembling bones and wings over that, and a Heartless emblem over that.

"You..." Chrysalis said just loud enough to be heard.

"You've done your part, now allow me to do mine." The stallion raised his hand upward towards all the changelings.

"Who are you??!!" Celestia demanded, but he just smiled at her.

"You may call me Abaddon, and I am here to say one thing:-" Several dozen balls of Darkness appeared above him before becoming narrow and aiming in slightly different directions. "Nothing dies like hope." The Darkness shot upward, destroying the barrier and piercing every changeling except Chrysalis, who began clutching her head, tears pouring out of her eyes as bodies fell down towards us.

"My hive... You... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She began screaming.

"Now there's no need for that, one should celebrate the fallen! Were it not for them, I wouldn't have had such a grand opportunity as this!" He said to her.

"Monster..." Redheart whispered to herself. Abaddon turned towards us and took his time approaching.

"Stop where you are!!!" Celestia shouted, Abaddon did so and turned towards her.

"You're mistaken if you think you can order me around, especially after almost losing to the bug, and seeing me erase her entire hive all at once. By the way, you might want to turn your attention towards the Queen who's about to turn into a Heartless herself." He suggested. Chrysalis actually was turning, I aimed Lumina at her head while his back was turned and stopped her. Abaddon turned towards me.

"A good shot, but the wrong target." He quickly closed the distance between us and threw Redheart towards the crowd before dozens of bone spikes lifted me to eye level with him. "A few bottom feeders for Heartless and less than a handful of changelings were all it took to do this to you? I feel insulted for reasons you wouldn't expect." A wing shaped blade appeared by his side. "We will meet again." The blade was thrusted into me and I knew I was losing consciousness.

"Heal your wounds and become strong enough to end me so we may become one again."

Chapter 70.

View Online

Equinox POV

(Canterlot Castle medical center)

I was unconscious for almost two days according to the doctor. I didn't remember what happened clearly, but he, along with a few other ponies, basically told me the same thing. That the wedding was attacked by a hive of somethings called "changelings" after the bride was revealed to be a fake, and Princess Celestia and I fought against the ones present as well as the Heartless the Queen summoned. After pushing the Queen back, somepony resembling a human came out of a dark portal and "slaughtered" the hive. After I stopped the Queen from turning into a Heartless, "Abaddon" turned his attention to me, running a sword through my torso, but miraculously missed anything vital.

After I lost consciousness, Celestia attacked Abaddon in an attempt to save everypony, but he blocked her magic with those wing shaped swords of his without even looking and blasted her back with a ball of dark fire, knocking her out in a single attack and leaving afterward. After I woke up, I was visited by Celestia first, who apologized repeatedly for not being able to prevent Abaddon from nearly killing me. I don't really understand why, I mean, if I died, would it really change anything? She wasn't exactly happy to hear me ask that, but she remembered halfway through her rant that according to Chrysalis, I have no emotions, and left me alone.

Princess Cadence and Shining Armor visited me next and thanked me for trying to save everypony and the wedding. Something else I wasn't able to understand considering I only stepped in once the Heartless became a factor. Had her aunt not asked me to do that, I wouldn't have. Before they left, Shining mentioned that if I want, he could find a combat instructor for me so others like Abaddon shouldn't be able to put me in a hospital so easily. He suggested I train regardless.

Then one by one, Fluttershy and her friends showed up. Fluttershy and Pinkie spent so much time crying that I couldn't understand anything they said. After they left, I noticed a cupcake next to the bed, "from Pinkie" it said. Spike and Rainbow kept going on about how "cool" I was until Abaddon almost killed me. Rarity fixed up the suit I wore and returned it to me when she visited with Applejack, both complimenting me on how "brave" I was. Twilight looked troubled, but thanked me for saving the wedding before leaving. One pony I hadn't met yet, Princess Luna, was the last to show up, she basically said the same thing as Rarity and Applejack, and said she would have a gift for me delivered to Fluttershy's home soon.

With permission from the doctor, Fluttershy was allowed to bring Nightshade with her into the hospital room. The kitten would keep trying to get under my arm and curl up on my chest. It was getting all the attention it wanted, but one thing still confuses me most of the times I'm near her.

Why do I keep getting flashes of another girl who fades away as quickly as she turns to face me?

Twilight POV

(Castle library)

"Do you think there might be something in here?" I asked Princess Celestia as we kept looking through the shelves.

"Hopefully, Chrysalis didn't have much to gain, if anything, from Equinox if he does have no emotions." She answered.

"Is that even possible? For a pony to not feel anything?" No, not this one either.

"To an extent, yes. Just as there are ponies incapable of feeling or understanding certain emotions, whether it's because their brains work differently, because they forgot how, or learned not to feel or understand, magic can force the same things to a potentially more dangerous extent."

"You mean ponies like Spoiled or Cassiel?"

"*sigh* Spoiled was a sociopath, even a psychopath. Cassiel, he wasn't always so callous." He wasn't?

"What do you mean?" Does she know something we don't?

"From what he told my sister and I, he watched as his parents we murdered, his mother's violated after, lost his grandparents and his sister to the same stallion, his sister suffering a worse fate than his mother, and the killer went free with bloodmoney from his family." She began to explain.

"How? How could anypony be so cruel? I think- I think I'm going to be sick!"

"Anypony else would've taken their own lives just after that. You've studied foal and pony psychology, I'm sure you can call the way he turned out to be an expected result, especially after being taken into an abusive home and forcibly transferred into a horribly managed school afterward." She looked me in the eye. "I'm still questioning whether or not I made the right choice with him back then in Ponyville."

"You mean not arresting him?"

"If I did, Ponyville would've been overrun with Heartless, and despite the town's opinion of him, he did still nearly get himself killed trying to save a town he had no personal reason to defend. I thought back to something Commander Hurricane once said moments before Cassiel attacked the giant Heartless; 'what difference does it make who the executioner is when the proof is undeniable and the reason is the same'? Legally speaking, Cassiel was wrong, but how does one justify imprisoning somepony for killing a mare guilty of filicide moments before saving dozens, hundreds of lives, including royalty, and when that pony was the only one with a fighting chance against those creatures?" She tried to explain her reasoning.

"Will Equinox be fine?"

"In what way?" The Princess asked.

"Is he going to be charged for anything at the wedding?" I clarified.

"He could be charged with threatening royalty, but that could be dismissed as he was attempting to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that one of the Cadences were fake. If you're worried about those he killed, if he really does have no emotions like Cadence and Chrysalis said, him functioning as he does is a miracle unto itself, and would carry a great deal of weight in the trial if he were charged."

"'If he were charged'?"

"What the Changelings did was a declaration of war for all intents and purposes, especially since Chrysalis was able to control Heartless. Now add in that he wasn't in what could be considered a lucid state of mind to what I know is no fault of his own, he did exactly what I asked of him in regards to the Heartless, then correctly targeted the Changelings after the Heartless were summoned. Even if he could be charged with anything, he wouldn't be convicted. What has brought this about?" She asked, concerned.

"It's... Ever since Equinox was found, I've wanted him gone! I didn't want another incident like with Cassiel, and I've been nothing but a horrible pony to him!" I struggled to hold back the tears. "The first thing I did after the Dragon Migration was look through the library for answers he couldn't give because I thought everything with Cassiel was going to repeat itself and I hoped to find something that would warrant getting rid of him! How he could kill without any hesitation! How he wasn't even the least bit disturbed by the events then!"

"Twilight-"

"How he could just say he's going to hurt somepony just to see who's being truthful! How he could just walk away from everything until the Heartless showed up! How he could kill those Changelings without a second thought!" The Princess wrapped her arms around me. "How he can't even be angry, happy, or sad! He can't remember his life, and he can't feel anything because they were all ripped from him! He can't even understand why everypony is thanking him or why it's a good thing he's still alive!" The Princess lifted my chin to look up at her.

"I am proud that you feel you can look past what you think of- what you feel about Cassiel so you can help Equinox, but there's no guarantee this is even related to magic. It's possible he has had a similar life to Cassiel and perhaps the only way to help him would be to remind him of these things he's forgotten. It's also possible he's a victim of foul magic, which is why we're searching through the library. If you want to help him, here is the best place to start."

"*sniff* Thank you."

Equinox POV

(Fluttershy's cottage, a week and a half later)

Fluttershy is currently out buying groceries while I'm tending to the animals here. I can't do too much on my own though without risking reopening my wound, so a few of the larger animals are helping with the heavy lifting.

"Heal your wounds and become strong enough to end me so we may become one again."

I remember those words from before I passed out from either pain or blood loss. Why does he want to die? Why do I have to be the one to do it? What does he mean by "becoming one"?

My thoughts were interrupted by one of the foxes standing on their hind legs and using me to balance themselves with their front legs, lightly biting my hand to get my attention, not enough to hurt though. It wanted me to follow it into the woods. Though with how long we were gone, I'm sure Fluttershy had returned and put everything away. A little further in and we reached our destination.

It was another human, though it was unconscious. Black hair with red tips, a red hooded cape, a strange looking metal object on it's lower back, and what looked like leather over it- her clothes, except for the skirt.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I shook her. She groaned for a few seconds before rubbing her eyes, cracking one open to see her surroundings.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"The woods by Fluttershy's cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville." I answered.

"What?!" She quickly stood up and looked around some more. "Yang! Weiss! Blake!" She yelled, but got no response.

"If the animals haven't found whoever you're looking for, they're probably not around here. The fox here led me to you after all." I told her. She looked in my direction, a spike of pain came and went just as quickly as I saw her face, which was smiling with teary eyes.

"CASSIEL!!!" She yelled before her body looked like it was covered by her cape, red petals falling from her position and I was tackled to the ground in a... Hug?

"I'm not Cassiel, I'm Equinox." I told her plainly. She pulled away and took another look before her expression changed.

"Oh... Oh. *sniff* I'm sorry." She tried to control her breathing as she tried to rub the tears out of her eyes.

"So how long do you intend to stay on top of me?" I asked. "I kind of need to get back to the cottage." She looked down between us before doing that thing again and getting off.

"OHMYGOSHI'MSOSORRY!!!" She quickly apologized before looking intensely at me.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked.

"You have a silver eye, and you look just like him." She answered.

"And you have two silver eyes, and I don't know you."

"..."

"Okay. So who are-" The fox got my attention again by licking my face before turning towards the direction of the cottage. "We should get going. So who are you?" I asked as she helped me up.

"I'm sorry, my name's Ruby. Ruby Rose."

Chapter 71.

View Online

Equinox POV

"What is that you're carrying on your lower back?" I asked Ruby, who became, I think excited at the question.

"This? It's Crescent Rose!" She pulled it out, it extended and unfolded into a scythe.

"That's a big scythe." I commented.

"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle!" She continued.

"A what?" I didn't understand.

"It's also a gun." She said, plainly.

"I don't know what a gun is." I told her, she looked at me like I grew a second head.

"How do you not know what a gun is??!!" She shouted.

"I woke up with amnesia not long ago, the only weapons I've seen being used were swords and spears. Though I have no idea what two of mine are." I answered.

"You don't know what your own weapons are?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well I can make a shuriken and a couple scythes out of ice and other elements."

"And what about-"

*growling*

We both stopped, are these things supposed to be this close to town? Timberwolves I mean.

"What are these things?" Ruby asked as she took a stance.

"Timberwolves. If nothing else, they're vicious, relentless, according to bestiaries anyway." I summoned Silence and Thorn before throwing the scythe near one group to my side and shooting the group in front of me with Thorn before they could get close. They died quickly. I heard several loud noises similar to what Thorn and Lumina make, but paid them no mind as I threw a Withering Blade at the frozen ones. As I turned in Ruby's direction, I saw she was already done.

"You work fast." I commented before shooting one last wolf that was about to lunge at her.

"I thought you said you didn't know what a gun was?!" She crossed her arms and looked at me for an explanation.

"I don't."

"YOU'RE HOLDING ONE RIGHT NOW!!" She shouted.

"Is that what this is?" I gestured to Thorn.

"YES!!"

"Okay then." I desummoned it and continued towards Fluttershy's, but she did that thing again and got in front of me.

"Was that your Semblance just now?" She asked.

"My what?" Was my response.

"Your Semblance! You know, an ability fueled by your Aura that's almost, if not exclusive to you?" She clarified.

"I think that was magic, I don't know what those are." Are all humans like this besides me?

"Where have-oh right, amnesia." She said in an almost defeated tone.

"Is that thing you do your 'Semblance'?" I asked her.

"You mean this?" She turned into that red thing again and circled around me a few times before stopping a few feet in front of me. "Yup!"

"Okay." I walked past her.

"You're not very talkative, are you?"

"Not really, no."

"What about that ice you used?" She stared at me intensely.

"You mean this?" I summoned Silence again, but she looked at me with I think confusion and I think sadness.

"Your eyes..." She choked, I barely heard what she said.

"What about my eyes?" I asked.

"Why do you have Maiden powers?" She held her hand over her weapon as she looked at me angrily.

"Maiden powers? But I'm not a mare. What are you talking about?" I asked Ruby, who became even more confused.

"I'm sorry, 'mare'?" Was her response.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not female, and you made it sound like I needed to be to gain these 'Maiden powers'." I said as I threw Silence behind me.

"Well, normally, but he found a way around that, apparently." She said as her hand went back to her side. She looked like she wanted to say something, but chose not to as she stepped to the side and let me pass her.

"So who was Cassiel to you?" I asked Ruby.

"He wasn't just my teammate, he was family to me and the rest of the team." She answered.

"I see. So you were close?"

"Not as close as he was with one of my other teammates, but he thought of the rest of us like we were sisters to him."

"What happened to him?"

"He... I don't know... Exactly... He was there, and he just... Faded away." She choked again.

"'Faded'- AGH!!!" I clutched my head in pain, Ruby stopped and quickly came to my side.

"Are you alright?"

Weiss POV

(Canterlot Gardens, 1 hour before)

"You had ONE job, Ruby! You figured out how to open the portal, but Cassiel is nowhere in sight, and I can't find anyone from our team!"

I don't know how long I was out, I just know that there are several voices shouting something about an intruder. Why wouldn't I be dropped into a guarded area? Peaking through the bushes,- what am I looking at? They all look like humanoid horses in gold or black-ish purple armor. Maybe I can- nevermind, some have wings!!! And the horned ones can teleport!!!

"OVER HERE!" I didn't notice the guard behind me before he alerted the rest.

"Winter would be so disappointed in me right now." I internally groaned. In seconds, I was surrounded by guards. I was hoping to get out unnoticed, and I don't want to start an incident. This probably wasn't a good idea, but I had to bet on "Nevermore" being a guard like the ones here, so I laid Myrtenaster on the ground and held my hands above my head before they gave the order.

"I'm not here for trouble, I'm looking for someone named 'Nevermore'." I hoped they would listen to me. A few of them did and lowered their weapons slightly. One who I'm assuming is the commanding officer stepped up as two guards put distance between me and my weapon.

"How do you know Nevermore?" The one in gold and purple armor asked with a suspicious tone.

"I don't know them personally, though I do know the boy she was in a sense, a caretaker for." I answered, realization dawning on his face.

"I'll handle this from here. Back to your stations!" He ordered the rest before signaling to the guard with my weapon to hand it to him.

"What's going on?" I asked as the guards restraining me released me.

"Nevermore hasn't been seen in a long time now, about the same time as the human she was responsible for disappeared as well."

"Do you mean Cassiel?!"

"I never met him, but yes. We'll talk along the way,-" he returned Myrtenaster to me "-the princesses will want to speak with you, but as court is in session right now and protocol dictates, you'll have to stay in a cell until we're ordered to release you." He started leading the way.

"'Princesses'?"

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. If you're like Cassiel or Equinox, you probably came from another world." He clarified.

"Equinox?" That's a strange name.

"The other human who arrived not long ago. But before we get into that, tell me about your connection with Cassiel?"

Yang POV

(Everfree Castle, late in the evening)

"This place has seen better days, kind of reminds me of the ruins in the Emerald Forest. Can't find the others either, might be a good idea to crash here for the night."

It took me a while, but I found a room with a moon on the door that looked to be in decent condition, if filled with dust everywhere.

"Dust aside, this room is in really good condition! No webs, no rust on the metals, nothing you'd expect from ruins old enough for nature to claim it. And the bed is SUPER comfortable!"

Sleep quickly took ahold of me. Since that day, my nightmares returned to me. The order is never the same. The Apathy, Weiss being impaled, my round in the singles, The Fall, Penny... Blake and Cassiel... My arm.

This time, it started when I went searching for Blake and Cassiel, fighting my way past every Grimm and White Fang that got in my way. I had just blasted a Fang outside what was a window to a classroom. I took a few more steps before turning right to the classroom in question after hearing a scream, desks and seats were all over the flaming room. Cassiel was bleeding out on the ground and Adam had just stabbed Blake. Everytime, I always do the same thing, even when I try to do things differently. I leap at him in blind rage and lose my arm before waking up. This didn't happen this time. Everything just vanished, replaced with Beacon before The Fall.

"Wha-..." I looked around in confusion, my arm replaced with the prosthetic after I looked down at it.

"Another human? Interesting." A voice came from out of nowhere. A flash from behind me caused me to quickly turn around, ready to pummel whatever showed up. A blue horse-lady with a horn and wings stood a few meters away.

"Not going to ask what you are."

"Who are you and what's going on?!" I asked her, she raised a hand in response.

"At ease, I came to relieve you from your nightmare. Though I wasn't expecting to find yet another human so soon after the last three." She said.

"That doesn't answer my other question, now what other humans are you talking about?"

"I am Princess Luna, and two of them were in your nightmare. The girl with the silver hair and the boy on the ground with the keyblade behind the one who hurt your other friend. Though one of them look very close to the third one." She answered.

"Weiss and Cassiel are here??!!"

"Weiss is here as a guest in Canterlot, nopony has seen Cassiel for a long time." He's not here?

"DAMNIT!!!" I punched the wall in anger.

"What is your connection to them?"

"They're my team, my family!" She looked at me, surprised.

"I thought Cassiel had no family? Tell me everything."

Blake POV

(Realm of Darkness)

These things keep appearing out of nowhere! Less threatening than a Beowolf for the most part, but their numbers are insane! Is this where Cassiel and the others are? Every time I destroy one of these shadow-like things, another takes it's place! A few with emblems like what Cassiel had on his chest and back would come now and then, more dangerous, but still easily dispatched. After what felt like hours of fighting, they finally stopped coming. As I was taking a moment to catch my breath, I heard waves crashing against something. The sounds led to a place that felt somewhat safe.

I took a seat on one of the rocks and stared off into the horizon. There's so much darkness here that I can't tell if that's a sun or a really bright full moon.

"I'm sure he would like this place." I thought.

"You don't belong here." A voice said from behind me. I immediately drew Gambol Shroud and Lionheart.

"Is he one of those things too?" I can't see his face, but I don't like the fact he wears that emblem.

"This is the Realm of Darkness, perhaps with the exception of the horizon here, there is no Light to be found." He took a seat away from me, I holstered my weapons.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"A fragment, you may call me Abaddon. The only people I would expect to find themselves in a place as unforgiving as this are either looking for something, seeking power, victims, or escape from the cruelty of False Light. Which are you?" He asked.

"I'm looking for my team."

"They are not here, they do not belong here either, but to honor a few memories, I can point you in the right direction." He opened a portal between us as he continued to stare off into the distance.

"'Honor a few memories'?" What does he mean by that?

"Not important. The only ones who belong here are those tied to Darkness. A Light as true and bright as yours does not belong here. You'll find them in due time."

"You talk like you know us."

"When you cross over, protect that Husk until later." He moved behind me so fast that I couldn't react to it, pushing me into the portal. I landed outside of a town called 'Ponyville', the portal closing behind me.

"Someone must have really loved horses."

Author's Notes:

I've been debating whether to have Weiss appear in the empire or Canterlot for a while now. I said progress would be slow after the RWBY arc because most of the work wasn't done by someone else unless the chapter(s) take place in an episode on that series.

For anyone thrown off by the extent of Ruby's reaction to Equinox having the powers, I think it'd be better to think of it as her clinging to the hope Cassiel's still alive. Xemnas said in KH3 when he was about to kill Axel that "they didn't need his soul, only his heart". This was the only time I can remember when the two were spoken of as separate things. Though I do think it's more fitting to think of both as the same given the context throughout both KH and this story.

While it might be OOC for her, I don't see much harm, if any for her to remember/ conclude that Cassiel might be fragmented to some degree like Summer, and try to keep a cool head like she was able to do multiple times in the series. I mean, she saw Pyrrha and Penny die (her first death) on the same night, or the aftermath of Blake and Yang's encounter with Adam, but didn't lose it like Jaune did in V5, or how she didn't seem to go berserk after Yang "died" in V8. She didn't go into an actual panic when Qrow was poisoned by Tyrian. She quickly recovered from Salem's comment about Summer, and even the implications regarding the Hound.

She's been able to keep her composure under circumstances that would've blinded anyone else with murderous rage or extremes of other emotions, that is why her character here might seem off here. It can be argued that it's poor writing, but she's been able to push past so much shit and not let it distract her from what needed to be done.

As for Yang's nightmare, I thought it wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility that her nightmares would return to her with Cassiel "gone". I was thinking about her landing by Zecora, but I didn't want to spend so much time thinking of rhymes that I'd have to rewrite a portion of the chapter.

Blake being the closest to Cassiel, even if it doesn't make sense that she landed in the Realm of Darkness, I thought it fitting that she land as close to him (his Heartless anyway) as she did.

Chapter 72.

View Online

Abaddon POV

(Canterlot Castle, Royal Archives)

What are the odds that there's even a "forbidden" section? I mean, it would only make sense to not destroy knowledge you don't want people learning, even knowledge that should be more available to everyone. Starswirl's mirror, Discord (who is now common knowledge), the "Pony of Shadows", the Crystal Empire and Sombra, Grogar, and Tirek. I have no interest in their books of forbidden magic, details regarding wars from long ago, I do know what I'm going to do next.

I wonder if Shining is interested in a friendly game of chess?

Equinox POV

There's white everywhere, wherever here is. I remember talking with Ruby, I had another severe headache, and that's it.

"Let's fix this real quick." A female voice said from out of nowhere. The white void changed to a room similar to what the Princess's looked like, a white mare with a red mane appearing just as quickly.

"Is this a dream?" I asked her.

"Not exactly, you could say I pulled your consciousness into my plane of existence." She answered.

"Why am I here?"

"A few reasons, one being to heal you."

"Heal me? I don't understand."

"Well, more like point you in the right direction after giving you the starting point."

"I still don't follow." She's really not making sense.

"Forgive me, I forgot to reintroduce myself! I am the Goddess of Light, Faust, you wouldn't remember me though."

"And what does a Goddess want with me?" A small ball of light appeared above her hand.

"This will accelerate your healing p-"

"Do you mean my amnesia and headaches?" I interrupted her.

"Sort of. To summarize, your heart isn't whole right now, this will act as a 'place holder' until then." She explained.

"I don't understand how my heart is working if it's incomplete, nor do I understand how it has anything to do with memory." She giggled in response.

"I don't mean the organ, I mean what would make up your personality and memories! Though it would be less your personality in this case and more like emotions. Think of it as one of Fluttershy's lizards amputating it's tail and getting a fake one in place of it until it regrows." She clarified.

"The last pony to promise me emotions tried to kill me and invade Equestria, only to be betrayed by her partner. Why should I trust you?" I asked her.

"I understand your distrust, so I won't force anything on you. It is your choice, this is only to speed up the process a little." She explained. I approached her and took the ball of light into my hand.

"I'm only doing this because you're the closest thing I have to a link to my past." I pulled it close and it flew into my chest.

"I know we didn't part on good terms last time, but I hope this will change that!" She smiled before everything turned white again.

Shining Armor POV

(Captain's office)

I shut the door behind me and leaned against it with my eyes closed. Since the wedding, work has become more stressful, enough so that I'm taking a few minutes to myself every so often. I'm not slacking, but 5 minutes of me not being around to hear ponies demanding reforms in response to our performance during the invasion or lower ranked guards complaining about the lack of action won't kill anypony.

"Greetings, Captain." A deep voice startled me. It was Abaddon in my chair.

"I-" He quickly placed his hand over my mouth.

"I wouldn't try calling for help if I were you. If I really wanted to hurt anyone, I would've done so already. All that will accomplish is so much meaningless death and destruction that the guard won't be able to do it's job anymore." He interrupted before removing his hand.

"What do you want?!" I demanded an answer from him.

"I simply want to chat and play a game. Is that too much to ask?" He gestured to the chess board on my desk.

"Screw you!"

"Pity. I guess I'll be going to see your wife then."

"My wife??!!" My hand went straight for my sword.

"I didn't get to see that parasite turn into one thanks to that kid. I'm quite curious to see what kind of Heartless the Princess of Love would produce when overcome with Hatred."

"You leave her out of this???!!!" My sword was to his neck.

"But how to do it?-"

"Is he ignoring me?"

"I suppose I could go for the tried and true method and make her watch as I kill or turn everyone she loves and have them slaughter everything in si-" He stopped as he caught my sword and broke it in his hand when I tried to cut off his head. "Now I have your undivided attention. If you want to protect them from such a terrible fate, all you have to do here is play.." He moved in front of my desk and turned the board so the black pieces were on his side.

"You'll leave them alone regardless of the result?"

"I'm a man of my word."

Equinox POV

(Fluttershy's cottage)

I woke up late into the evening, my head was pounding. I didn't get out of the bed because I don't think I'd keep my balance if I tried. After several minutes, the pain subsided and let me think. I met Ruby, we were attacked, I lost consciousness, then the dream I had after was so vivid I can't forget it. I heard voices downstairs as I went into the bathroom to wash my face. Fluttershy, Ruby, and I think Redheart.

"Prior injuries aside, he's physically fine. This isn't the first time this happened?" I heard Redheart ask them.

"The first time was after I brought him home, but I was outside with Twilight at that time." Fluttershy answered.

"The headaches are frequent though, right?"

"Yes, I didn't bring this up with a doctor though because I thought he was struggling to remember something."

"This is something that should've been brought to our attention sooner, we can't know for certain if it's just his mind or if it's his brain without getting him in."

"I'm sorry." Fluttershy apologized.

"It should be fine, just bring him tomorrow. You should come along too, Ms. Rose."

"What for?" Ruby asked.

"We had almost no time to study the first human to arrive, but you two give an opportunity to learn about humans for medical purposes as well as to better provide treatment. One such being to store compatible blood packs should the need arise." Redheart explained.

"Oh! I didn't think about that."

"If that will be all, I'll see you all tomorrow. If I meet your team, I'll be sure to point them here." I heard the door close, Redheart probably left.

Abaddon POV

It would seem even the captain lacks a strategic mind. I do hope he performs better on duty or removing him might actually be a favor to the country. The fucking Filolial Queen had a better plan to deal with the Waves than he does against me right now.

"Do you remember what I said at the wedding? You should've been somewhat lucid by then?" I asked him.

"That 'nothing dies like hope'." He answered.

"Do you know what I meant by that?"

"I don't care."

"When Love dies, it is often replaced by an even stronger Anguish or Hatred." I began to explain. "When Courage dies, it is replaced by Fear. But nothing dies quite like Hope. Without it, there is no future, only the acceptance to what we call Fate, there is only Despair. The loss of Hope leads to submission or death."

"Say what you will, we're not backing down against you or the Darkness."

"How can you be certain? Either you will fall, or you will face another who represents everything you strive not to be. You need only read your history."

"Equestria has-"

"Nightmare Moon was Luna's Darkness manifesting itself in a way. The Lunar Sister fell and became a living Nightmare to Celestia, a symbol of her regret and failure, both as a sister and a ruler."

"That's in the p-"

"Chrysalis, though power hungry, was still a mother trying to feed her children. Cadence spreads Love, the only thing Changelings can survive on, with minimal effort. Lust is simply in a Changeling's nature, and you all nearly lost to that parasite."

"You're the one who killed her!"

"And you wouldn't have done the same? Kidnapped your wife, left her for dead, invaded your home, crashed your wedding, that's plenty right there. Just as Nightmare Moon could be considered a manifestation of the Sisters' Darkness, so too could Chrysalis be considered a manifestation of everything that could go wrong with Love. Now what about something that possesses just as much Hate as she does Love?"

"Are you going to play or not?!" He asked in an annoyed tone.

I moved my rook into a positiion that blocks his king from moving forward. He responded with a pawn that was lost to my queen. He can't move his king foward in any direction without losing it, so he uses his rook on my queen. I used my knight to take out his rook and open my bishop for usage should he move his king left. His only option is to go right, but that will put him in Check. Actually, I was wrong, this is Checkmate wth the way the board is set up right now.

"The expected result-" I didn't notice his bishop was in position to take my king after I moved my knight. Ha! I take back what I said earlier! "Alright then."

"Now leave." He demanded.

"Just remember, this was only a game where both sides have a fair chance at winning." I burned all but the black king and placed it on his desk. "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. Against the Darkness, there is no Hope, only the inevitable. If you truly believe you can win, protect your Light at all cost, even if you must embrace the Darkness to ensure what you hold dear never dies. This next trial will not be so forgiving with failure." I opened the SR. "Oh, keep this to yourself." I left the room before he could say anything.

Now I have business in the North.

Chapter 73.

View Online

Equinox POV

True to her word, Fluttershy took Ruby and I to the hospital after breakfast. They took some blood from us and performed a few tests on me that I didn't quite understand, but they found nothing wrong with me physically. Once we were done, Fluttershy gave me the option to return home before offering to show Ruby around Ponyville while buying some groceries. Constantly getting distracted by my eyes looking at Ruby, I proceeded to walk away. Some of the townsfolks waved at me, but I paid them no mind.

Passing by Sugarcube Corner, I saw through the window what looked like two other humans talking to Mrs. Cake. A blonde with long hair, wearing mostly light brown leather, black pants, a metal arm, and some kind of metal object on her other arm. The other one had long black hair, I think I saw cat ears, a white tail coat, black pants as well, and two strange looking swords. One almost looked like a giant cleaver with a long strap, the other looked like a giant key with lion designs on it. My head began to throb immediately after looking at that one, but there was something in my chest. Thinking it would be for the best, I continued towards Fluttershy's cottage.

My head didn't get any better, neither did that tightness growing in my chest. I was beginning to lose my balance on my way to my room, it was becoming difficult to breathe too. Whatever this was, I don't think it was tested by the doctors, so it had to be something they missed. Whatever I was doing as a result didn't go unnoticed by the animals here, Nightshade was quick to climb up on my shoulder and start licking my cheek as my vision began going dark. The only thing that went through my mind is that this is getting old.

Back with Ruby and Fluttershy (some time later)

"We should go to Sugar Cube Corner next, Pinkie may be energetic to say the least, but nopony will make you feel more welcome here than her." Fluttershy said to Ruby, smiling at the opportunity to introduce a new friend to who many would agree to be among the nicest in Ponyville.

"Sugar Cube Corner?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, they the Cakes sell the best desserts in Ponyville, and Pinkie is always eager to see everypony smiling when they're served such delicious treats!"

"Hey, Flutters!" A raspy voice called, the rainbow maned pegasus landing near them called out.

"Oh! Hi Rainbow Dash!" She greeted before turning to Ruby. "This is one of the friends I wanted you to meet. Rainbow, this is Ruby, Equinox found her in the Everfree yesterday." Ruby waved to her.

"The Everfree?! What was he doing there?" Rainbow asked in alarm.

"He was being led by some of the animals, finding her unconscious there." Fluttershy answered.

"Even I wouldn't be caught napping there. Equinox is okay in a fight, but survival isn't exactly something he's good at." Rainbow commented.

"I could handle myself, it would take more than a few wooden wolves to take me down!" Ruby claimed, the other two unaware of her experience.

"Uh huh? Yeah, I'm sure he had to drag you out!" Dash didn't believe her. Ruby responded by using her Semblance to fly around Rainbow, causing her to recoil backwards and fall on the ground.

"I can fight, believe or not." Ruby reached her hand out to help Rainbow up, which she accepted.

"Ruby, that wasn't necessary." Fluttershy said in a disappointed tone.

"Yeah... I'm sorry." Ruby apologized to Rainbow.

"It-it's fine. So do you and Equinox know each other?" Rainbow asked as they continued towards Sugar Cube Corner.

"I thought I did, but I guess not. We met yesterday." Ruby answered.

"Thought you knew him?"

"He looked so much like someone else that I kind of... Tackle-hugged him immediately." Ruby said, slightly embarrassed to make that mistake.

"Your coltfriend? Rarity would definitely want to hear about it." Rainbow commented. Ruby rapidly shook her head, a light blush on her cheeks.

"Nonononono!!! It's not like that! Well, maybe I liked him before he hit it off with my teammate, but he's like family to me! I couldn't do that to either of them!"

"So where were you two going anyway?" Rainbow asked them.

"Sugar Cube Corner, I'm actually surprised Pinkie hasn't introduced herself yet. Her Pinkie Sense usually has her on top of ponies entering town for the first time, especially if they're staying for some time." Fluttershy said.

"I think she's got it covered, I saw two other humans go in not long ago. No idea what those metal things they're carrying are, but if they wanted trouble, I'm sure Pinkie could handle it." Rainbow said, Ruby grabbed her shoulders in response.

"Wait!!! Two??!! Did one have a metal arm??!!" Ruby asked as if she needed to know.

"Y-ye-wait?! Her arm is-" Ruby immediately bolted off using her Semblance. "-metal?..."

(after Equinox's departure, at Sugar Cube Corner)

"I'm sorry, dear. I'm afraid I haven't seen your coltfriend ever." Mrs. Cake answered Blake after seeing a photo of him unmasked with the team. "I know of somepony who resembles him, but they can't be the same." Blake's ears perked up at that.

"'Resembles him'?" Yang asked.

"Well there's another human who's been with us for a little while now. Different hair color, one of his eyes is a different color, and a scar just like that one, but I doubt their the same pony." The mare clarified.

"What makes you say that?" Blake asked.

"The poor colt has no memories, he never smiles, and everypony calls him Equinox. He's currently in the care of Fluttershy right now, she's probably the only other pony I'd trust with a pony in his condition besides Nurse Redheart or any of her coworkers. Though I doubt you'll get anything from him."

"What'd you say his eye color was?"

"Oh, I've only met him maybe twice? Was his other eye white? Gray maybe? I'm sorry, I c-"

*beep**beep*

"Oh! The cupcakes are done! Just one moment!" The mare went back in the kitchen to pull out another batch of sweets.

"What do you think? Hair color aside, we have a match." Yang asked Blake.

"I'm thinking we should see for ourselves, though what she said concerns me..." Blake answered.

"You mean his memory?" Blake's grip on the photo tightened as she placed her head into her other hand.

"If it's him, he doesn't... He doesn't even remember the people he's openly said were family to him. How am I supposed to handle that I might mean nothing to the person I professed to?!" Yang placed a hand on her shoulder as she started shaking.

"We'll find him. If he was right about how his weapon worked, he's around somewhere, we just need to keep looking. Besides,-" Yang turned around and leaned back against the counter. "we need to find Ruby and Weiss first." She took note of the townsfolk, how they looked at the two of them and how they almost looked like they were trying to keep their distance.

"Alright, dears! First one is on the house, take your pick." Mrs. Cake returned with a variety of fresh cupcakes. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything that would actually help, but I hope this helps lift your spirits a little."

"You don't ha-" Blake tried to respond.

"No, but I wanted to." She interrupted.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Yang asked baker.

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"Is it just me, or is this town not exactly used to strangers?"

"I don't think it's one or the other. I think they might just be weary because of what happened with the last human to come here."

"Why, what happened?" Blake asked, Mrs. Cake took on an angry look.

"For starters, the little colt had quite the mouth. He hid his face behind a mask, he was rude, beyond disrespectful, pushed everypony away, and he would frequently use foul language, even to Princess Celestia! And that was him being civil! Then creatures nopony had even heard of before he arrived, called 'Heartless', attacked the town not even a week after he arrived, creatures he claimed only he was equipped to fight."

"Some think he brought them here?" Yang asked.

"That's right, and during that attack, he just up and murdered a pony! Right in front of everypony at the town hall, including the Princesses! Poor Filthy Rich hasn't been the same since that colt murdered his wife. That whorse, Spoiled Rich may have sacrificed their own daughter to save herself and save money, but she still should've stood trial!" The baker's expression turned sympathetic. "Filthy Rich was a good stallion, too good for Spoiled, but work often took up most of his time. His daughter was a bully, likely got it from her mother, but she was still just a filly. She didn't deserve to be betrayed like that."

"I can't imagine what that's like." Blake commented. "We're sorry for ruining the mood, but thank you for your help!"

"Any time, dears!" Mrs. Cake responded before they turned to leave. Remembering a few seconds later that they didn't take a cupcake when she offered. She decided to leave it for now as they'd have another chance later once Pinkie gets everything set up.

(With Yang and Blake)

"I think he mentioned something like that before, the incident she was talking about." Blake said.

"Yeah, would probably be a good idea not to mention him. Though that could work against us." Yang commented. Blake nodded in agreement before realization dawned on her face.

"We forgot to ask about how to reach this 'Fluttershy's' home when she mentioned her." Blake was ready to go back into the bakery.

"Well, we're Huntresses, right? Small town like this shouldn't be a problem. Besides, she made her sound like she was well known around here, somebody should be able to point us- WOAH!" A red blur interrupted Yang by tackle-hugging her to the ground.

"I finally found you, sis! And Blake too!" Ruby said with joy as she got off Yang to hug her as well.

"Ruby?! Where did-" Yang tried to ask.

"No time! You need to see this!" Ruby used her Semblance on the three of them and took them away.

Equinox POV

That tightness in my chest stopped a little while ago, whatever it was, it's gone for now. My head is still throbbing, but it's nothing I'm not used to. I don't know why, but my thoughts drifted back to what Shining Armor said when I woke up after almost dying to Abbadon, that I should train even if I don't get an instructor. I don't exactly know what he means, rather, how or what I should train on.

I exited the cottage and went back to the clearing near where I found Ruby. The only things I can think of to train are my reflexes and accuracy, but I didn't think to grab anything that I could use for those, but I do still have that magic I've used several times in the past, but it's been ice so far. After I felt my hand tingling, lightning dancing around it, I made sure there wasn't anything nearby to interrupt before trying to throw it at one of the trees. There weren't immediate results, but pillars of lightning erupted from where it hit before they shocked everything in about ten meters.

I continued trying out everything with what little resources I had at this moment. The lightning versions of Silence and Squall look to "mark" everything in range of impact, then electrocute everything marked if in range, while the fire versions of them will cause light burns, then detonate the ones in range. I did have to use the ice version of Silence more than a few times to prevent a forest fire, but I think I'm getting a better understanding of how to use them.

Ice makes good cover and can interrupt, or out right stop the fighting, all the while adding things the enemy should avoid.
Lightning seems to be good for turning enemies into hazards themselves.
Fire would probably be a mix of both.

After testing these for a while, I sat against a tree and summoned Thorn and Lumina. I can't figure out what makes Lumina special, but Thorn seems to do just fine for damage. I shot Thorn at the ground to get a better look at the projectile, it wouldn't be a very good weapon, it doesn't really have a grip.

"There you are!" I looked to my left as I heard Ruby's voice. "We looked everywhere for you!" She said as she approached.

"I don't see why I wouldn't be where you could find me. Also, 'we'? Do you mean Fluttershy?" I asked her, my answer came in the form of two other humans stepping out of the bushes.

"Warn us next ti-..." The blonde one trailed off. "You look almost exactly like him." She slowly commented. The black haired one slowly stepped forward, her ears down, I can't really figure out her expression.

"Cassiel?" She knelt in front of me. "Please?! Tell me it's you??!!" Pleading with me as she placed her hands on my shoulders.

Blake

"Blake?" I said without thinking. Immediately after, my head began to throb harder than it did all the other times. I clutched my head as she pulled me close to her, I couldn't make out what any of them were saying, but they seemed... frantic? I don't know. I wasn't fainting again, but the pain felt like it should have caused me to.

Now what is this feeling in my chest?

Author's Notes:

Yes, Blake and Yang are wearing their S4-6 outfits, I thought those were their best so far.

As for the photo. Imagine a scene like what team STRQ had, but Ruby is in her pose from the end of the Red trailer. Weiss is holding Myrtenaster gently with one hand near the end of the blade pointing at an upward, tilted angle. Blake is turned slightly to the right (of the camera) holding both halves of Gambol Shroud an a regular and reverse grip. Yang has her fists against each other. Finally, Cassiel is sitting without his mask between Weiss and Blake, Nightfall and Dawn in each hand in their default forms, and Lionheart is stabbed into the ground slightly to the left in front of him.

Sorry for the long delay, when it wasn't difficulty putting what I wanted on here, it was me working, or gaming. Seriously, I went back on this chapter 32 times before posting, every other one was 5-10, partially because most of that work was already done by someone else (the worlds visited and episodes specifically).

Chapter 74.

View Online

Weiss POV (after capture)

I complied with the demands of the guard and was escorted to a holding cell, where I was supposed to wait for his princesses. I never thought I'd find my thoughts drifting back to fa-no, Jacques. Maybe it's because I'm in a cell that I'm doing so, I didn't keep up with what was going on because we all knew exactly what was going to happen to him. Winter and Ironwood, though no longer a General or on the Council, are more than capable of ensuring he gets exactly what he deserves even if by the off chance the other Councilors don't do their part in the trial. No matter how good his lawyers are, the best he can hope for is a life sentence and solitary confinement. A little over an hour passed and still no visit from these princesses.

"Hopefully everyone else is better off right now." I thought.

This is off to a great start! Separated from the team, locked up by the very people we need help from, and his Raven or Nevermore aren't anywhere to be found! Hopefully the others have had better luck, otherwise, well... Blake mostly. Taking his departure harder than Ruby, even keeping his weapon. It's probably taking all she has not to break down.

"That idiot... All that genius, and-... was there really no other alternative?"

"No alternative to what?" A voice asked from the other side of the doorway. A tall white unicorn mare with wings and a neon rainbow mane stopped in front of the cell, accompanied by three guards.

"I'm sorry, who am I speaking to?" I asked.

"I am Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria. And you?"

"Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company... Not that it would hold much weight after recent events or here in hindsight." And to think I called him the idiot.

"I'll take your word for it. I trust you were treated fairly?"

"Your guards, rather the Captain anyway, while a little more lax compared to Atlas, didn't act any differently than should be expected."

"That is good to hear. Now on to the matter at hand, how and why are you here?" She addressed the issue, a stern look on her face.

"First, where can I find a guard named 'Nevermore'?" I asked, hoping to get this done sooner. Her expression softened.

"Whatever your connection is to one of my guards, I'm sorry to say she's been missing for some time now. She disappeared not long after the first human did."

"Do you mean Cassiel? How long was this?" Her ears shot up at the question.

"Please be him??"

"You know him? I was under the impression he was... Alone by almost every definition of the word?"

"'Know him'? We were more than just on the same team, he was very close with one of us. Then after what seemed like a one sided war, he just... Faded, literally." Celestia became more confused as she listened.

"Are we talking about the same human? Giant key shaped weapon, always wore a black cloak and mask, quick witted with a short temper, foul mouth, and no patience for-"

"Stupidity and arrogance? Yes, but he got a lot better." I answered to her growing confusion.

"Guards, release her. We're moving this to a more comfortable location." She ordered. As they obeyed her and helped me up, she looked at me seriously. "We have much to discuss."

(Some time later, in Celestia's study)

"That is... Quite a tale... I- I don't even know what to say. I'm as overjoyed to hear he was finally able to move on with his life, that he found plenty to live for, but words can't begin to describe how sorry I am that he's gone."

"I refuse to believe he's gone, not like that!"

"I've seen similar ends before, not-"

"He said he was just 'returning to Darkness'! Whatever that meant! And he gave one of my teammates one of his weapons, that same teammate later opened a portal here with it! Every time he did so, it took him exactly where he needed to be! That has to mean something, he has to be around somewhere!" I'm not just giving up because she said so.

"If that is the case, he's already likely too far gone. I was already concerned when you told me he openly used Darkness and was even able to command these 'Grimm' when using it, especially after the last several incidents where one used that kind of power."

"He already warned us about that! That if we see his Heartless that we have to destroy it as soon as- what the..." She handed a newspaper to me.

"This is back from my niece's wedding. It was invaded by a group of shapeshifters led by one using powers not unlike his Darkness, their leader controlling the Heartless you see here before another arrived wearing the same emblem. That monster killed that entire hive of changelings like they were nothing before taking me and the human present out just as easily! Whether he was a Heartless himself or if he was another practitioner, I don't know." I took the paper and skimmed over it.

"*gasp*" I almost dropped it after seeing the photos, my hand over my mouth. This 'Abaddon' and 'Equinox' look so much like Cassiel that anyone else would think he had twins. He- would he actually do this?? Could that thing actually be his Heartless? What about the other one?

"I'm not taking any more risks with Darkness. Sombra, Nightmare Moon, Grogar, Chrysalis, Pony of Shadows, and now Abaddon. Every single time somepony used dark magic or Faust forbid Darkness itself, it has only ended in tragedy and others would pay the price for it! If there are any alive to prove me wrong, then they are in hiding, not that I would trust ANY of them! Any power that comes from pain, hate, and rage isn't worth it for the simple fact it feeds itself as it's used."

"Then she can't know about Abaddon and Equinox's origins if I'm somehow right about this."

(Present)

Equinox POV

I woke up back in my room at Fluttershy's home with a headache. I left to search through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom as that was closest and heard voices downstairs. Ruby's and two others, probably the two she found me in the woods with, their voices sounding familiar.

"Well I ended up in some ruined castle and crashed there for the night, finding Blake not too long after entering town. What about you, Blake?" The blonde asked the cat eared one.

"..."

"Blake?" Ruby said.

"Huh?" She wasn't paying attention.

"What happened to you after we entered the portal?"

"I-... I was in a dark place, these things kept attacking me everywhere I turned. They were like Grimm, but they didn't have bone masks or plating, and they didn't die like Grimm. Eventually I made it to the shores and rested there for a moment before meeting someone else there. Not long after he opened a portal like Cassiel always did and threw me in before I could react. The next thing I knew, I was right outside of town." Blake said.

"So in that case, Weiss shouldn't be too far away. The team's almost back together." Ruby said.

"Right... Together..." Blake drifted off.

"Blake, what's wrong?" Ruby asked her.

"'What's wrong?' Heh... The team's almost back together and we finally found him. I should be overjoyed, but he doesn't ev-"

"Blake, we can't be sure Equinox is Cassiel." The blonde said to Blake.

"But he has to be! He appeared around the same time as Cassiel disappeared, he somehow has powers not unlike a Maiden's, he has the same scar on his face, the same voice, the same eye colors, the only difference being that his hair is a different color! And he called me by my name before he even heard it! You know as well as I do who he really is, but he doesn't even remember us!"

"Blake, I want him back as much as you do, but we can't force this." Ruby said to her.

"It's like- *sniffle* it's like all that time meant nothing!... He gave everything for us and now we can't even help him when he needs us most! First I couldn't stop Adam from becoming a monster, I couldn't protect anyone from him at Beacon, then the Apathy, then who knows what would've happened in Atlas if he didn't bring the fight to Salem like he did?! I'm tired of feeling so helpless, like he can't rely on us for anything!"

"I look like Cassiel? Is that why Twilight doesn't like me?"

"So answer me this, how am I supposed to react to this? What am I supposed to do? Why shouldn't we take him home??!!"

"I've heard enough. Fluttershy should be returning soon, and I still have a headache." I went into the bathroom and couldn't find what I was looking for, so I'll have to go downstairs into the medicine cabinet there. I walked past the others and reached into the cabinet, but it was too far back for me. One of the birds here went inside and pushed it towards me before jumping on my shoulder.

"Thank you."

"Cassiel?" Blake approached me.

"Equinox, but yes?" She pulled me into a hug.

"*sniffle* We're going to get through this! I promise you, we'll help you!"

"Help me with what?" I thought.

Author's Notes:

I was originally going to have a conversation between Weiss and Spoiled Rich here, but then I remembered Spoiled is dead after the 5th line. Try explaining that to the readers .

I don't think it's ever been stated exactly how much time passes between episodes/ seasons, so it's hard to say for certain how long Cassiel has been gone in Equestria, only that he disappeared not long after Luna's return and the story is now after season 2. So I'd guess he's been gone for over a year or two with "Nevermore" not too far behind. Why did they never give us numbers??? So with that said, chronologically speaking, he is now probably 15 or 16, depending on how much time passed between the start of Shield Hero to the end of RWBY, something worth noting if that IS a requirement for when he goes to the world of Black Clover, but that's still a ways off.

Chapter 75.

View Online

Abaddon POV (frozen tundra, near where the Crystal Empire would be)

I consulted with Raven some time after raiding the Royal Archives, I needed additional information for what I had planned. For the time being, Equinox can be left alone now that the team has made contact, the only exception being Weiss. That shouldn't be the case for much longer though, I doubt the Sisters will keep the reunion from happening. Afterwards, it will mostly be a matter of him (re)connecting with the team and training. From all of that, I will have my answer; will we still be ourselves after essentially having a second chance at life, as short as that chance may be?

I neared the location a certain "Empire" will return, but I'm not here for the Empire itself, I'm here for an audience with a certain King. Anyone else I could use as a test for Equinox is either unfit for the task, or too weak. Tirek is untrustworthy, Discord is too unpredictable, Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker would be too difficult to bring out of the Sisters (and I don't need Faust or Raven breathing down my neck on that), Grogar is basically dead, but Sombra? A fellow student who I could relate to to a small extent.

When the Sisters banished Sombra, he took the Empire with him. Raven loaned me her keyblade this once to pull him out, apparently specific keyblades can alter Corridors and portals, though Exile and Ascension are not among them. After opening the Corridor, I inserted the keyblade. This caused it to drastically increase in size, enveloping the ground that would spawn Neoshadows that would be destroyed just as quickly by the black lightning striking everything in close range from the Corridor. Raven's keyblade disappeared from my hand shortly before the Corridor stabilized, Sombra walking out shortly after.

"It's been too long since I've walked through this tundra." He said in a deep voice, examining his surroundings before turning to me. "Where is my Empire?" He asked, no, demanded an answer.

"That? It's not due to return for a short time yet if Raven is right about the timer on that." I answered.

"Raven? Now there's a name that few know of. What's your relationship with my old master?"

"She's mine too, rather, she's the teacher of the one I myself am a fragment of."

"And you are...?"

"You may call me Abaddon, and our goals line up quite a bit, 'King of Shadows'." I introduced myself.

"Hmph, I could use a capable servant as I reestablish myself as the ruler of the Crystal Empire. Consider yourself fortu-"

"I'm sorry, 'servant'? No, you misunderstand something important. The power gap aside, I freed you, that means you are indebted to me. Now I'm willing to overlook this if you choose to do the smart thing." I interrupted.

"Me 'indebted to you'? I would be out anyway once my Empire returned, I didn't need you." He tried to argue.

"And I didn't need to bring you back as I'm sure you would've furthered my goal regardless before you died this time." He looked offended at this.

"The Sisters failed before, both in disposing of me and failing miserably to save the Empire. A thousand some years or not, they'll fail again." He said, confident in his abilities.

"And against them you would be right, but there are new players to keep in mind. That's not including me if I so choose to just wipe everything from the board, like I'm tempted to do to one right now." I threatened him.

"Boy, I could've had the entire world if I wasn't caught by surprise during my battle with the Sisters, and I have more knowledge and experience than you. What makes you think you stand a chance against me?" He lit his horn, surrounding himself with black ice and crystals. I responded in kind with a twinblade and several wingblades, each ablaze with Dark Firaga.

"After the Hell I've raised in two other worlds, I think my chances are pretty good, especially as Raven's prized pupil. Do you really want to play this game? I can assure you, you will lose, and I'll get what I want either way."

Equinox POV (days later)

Ruby and her friends received word from Twilight that another human would be arriving today. Apparently it's their other teammate, and they think I should be there when she arrives on the train platform. I'm hoping there won't be any more headaches involv-

"Wait, 'hope'? That's new, and what's this other thing?"

Questions for later. As for immediate ones, there isn't just the matter of why I need to be here, but also Blake. She keeps close to me with a facial expression I can't figure out, and every so often she refers to me as Cassiel. Do they actually know who I'm supposed to be? Maybe they aren't wrong though, one of the weapons Blake carries looks familiar, and the one time I held it, it felt strange to do so. I don't exactly understand what's going on, but I think I'm getting closer to who I was.

Though if that is the case, why doesn't anypony recognize me? Why go through such lengths for me if I am who they think? Just what is he- what am I to them?

"You really do look just like him." A new voice caught my attention. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice the train arrived, their reunion looking as though it already happened. The new arrival was another girl with white hair and light blue eyes. Like the others, she carried a weapon with her that looked like a grey-ish black estoc or rapier with a bulky hilt.

"Cassiel?" I'm assuming she's referring to him. She went from happy to angry in an instant.

"Tell me, mister... Has Blake slapped you yet?" She asked.

"Why would she? Though there was one incident with Ruby..."

(flashback)

"Equinox, could you ask Ruby to deliver this to Nurse Redheart? It needs to reach her soon, but there's so much to do right now that I can't." Fluttershy asked me as she held out a small plastic container.

"What is it?"

"It's an ointment to help reduce itching and swelling for her dog. Fleas, the poor thing." She explained.

"Okay." Was all I said before heading upstairs to Ruby's room. I opened the door and saw her with nothing on, she looked at me with a mix of I think horror and embarrassment. Thinking nothing of it, I proceeded with Fluttershy's request. "Hey, Fluttershy wants to know if-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!!!" She threw a few things at me, her scythe in it's compact form included.

"Oh gosh, I heard screami-" Fluttershy was here with a look of concern almost immediately after I hit the wall, then looked at me strangely. "Did you remember to knock?"

"Is it really that important?"

(fast forward a few hours, in White Tail Woods)

"Okay, we're going to try something different today. You're going to try using Crescent Rose." Ruby said, she and the others have been trying to teach me how to defend myself since they learned about my involvement with the wedding, and Blake's insistence of it. Today was Ruby's turn.

"Okay, but why though." Was my response.

"Well variety is a good thing, and it might help you learn how to better use your scythes." She explained.

"Makes sense." She handed me her scythe, it has some weight to it.

"Now, just aim at that tree and squeeze the trigger." She instructed.

"You mean like this?"
*bang*
*thud*
I got launched into one of the trees behind me.
"Hhhhhrrrnnnn."

"Oh my gosh, *suppressed giggling* are you okay?" Why is she smiling.

"I can no longer feel my lungs."

"You should've activated your aura."

(end flashback)

"But otherwise, no. I still don't get why she reacted like that, but Blake? No. The closest she's done to that is hug me." I responded. The new arrival looked at Blake, then back to me.

"I'm not even going to ask about-"

"That's for the best!" Ruby interrupted her.

"Anyway, since you might not give anyone but Blake a chance to do this after you remember everything..." She held her hand high behind her head.

*slap*

"Ow." She hugged me immediately after.

"You dunce!!! Don't EVER pull something like that again! You would've wasted no time la- laying into us if our positions we- were reversed!" I feel something wet on my shoulder, and we have spectators who look like they don't approve of what's going on. More specifically, they're looking at me like I messed up.

"I'm... Sorry?" Was all I had to say.

"No, not right now you're not. But you will be, and then you're going to make up for it with every fiber of your being!" She pulled away and wiped the tears from her face.

"If you say so-"

Ice Queen

"Ice Queen- GYYAAAHH!" A massive spike of pain faded as quickly as it came. In that instant, I saw a few flashes of different scenes, but most went by too fast for me to see what I actually saw. When it ended, Blake was keeping me on my feet as I had lost my balance for a split second.

"You're fine, I've got you." She assured me.

"I recognize you, but I don't know how."

"Just who am I?"

Abaddon POV

"For all that boasting, this is all you're worth? It's actually quite pathetic." I mocked him.

"Bite your tongue!" He growled before firing a crystal barrage at me, but unfortunately for him, my weapons make a better shield than his crystals do as weapons.

"I mean, what did Raven see in you? For an Umbrum, the King of Shadows, to be defeated by not just a shadow, but a fragment at that! Can you taste the irony??!!" I continued to mock him.

"I will-"

"You'll what?!" I surrounded him with all my wing blades and dashed behind him, my twinblade at his throat. "You've lost, accept it with dignity, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose here if you continue. You can't even defeat me, how long do you think you'll last against the Sisters? The Element Bearers if they're smart enough to use them? How about the other half of me?"

"... I'm just out of practice." Was his excuse against me.

"Pathetic."

"Well you have time, get to it. Before I go, the women my other half might come with are off limits. The boy is fair game though." And with that, my work here is done. Now to play the waiting game.

Chapter 76.

View Online

Princess Celestia POV

"News from northern Equestria! Uh... Your highness." A guard rushed into the throne room, pulling my attention from the stack of papers that were about to be given to me.

"Yes?" I responded.

"I am simply to tell you that it has returned."

"*gasp*" I turned to the other guards around the throne. "Find Princess Cadence and Shining Armor!"

"Yes, your highness!" The three of them hurried off to find the captain and my niece. After they were gone, I quickly pulled out a quill and paper.

My dearest Twilight,

You must come to Canterlot at once.

"I wasn't expecting a reaction like this, but I shouldn't be surprised either." A deep voice spoke from behind the throne, prompting me to teleport away from it. It was Abaddon again.

"Monster." I growled as I teleported my old halberd from my bedchambers.

"Oh please, minus the halberd, we both remember how that worked last time. Even if Luna, Cadence, and Shining were here, the results would be the same." He mocked.

"Why are you here?!" I tightened my grip on my weapon and readied a magic blast.

"Well first, why I'm not here: That is to start a fight. Let's be real here, if I wanted to kill anyone, I would've done so already. Now as for why I'm here? That is the question. Why am I here?" He's reminding me of Discord.

"Either answer me or leave!"

"I'm well aware of the situation, the Empire is back and you intend to send Twilight to protect it from Sombra. A foolish task if you ask me, I mean, what can she do that you and your sister couldn't back then? Unless you know something I don't, she will fail, and the Empire will be lost to Hatred and Fear." He rambled on.

"I have faith she will succeed where we failed. And once she does, Hope and Love will be reflected across all of Equestria. The Heartless as a result will decrease significantly in numbers."

"I'm sorry, 'faith'? You'd bet an entire country and your student over a gamble? I'm half tempted to just cut to the chase and-"

"If you or your Heartless touch her or her friends, there won't be a shadow for you to hide in! I will end you!" I threatened him after teleporting close enough to press my blade against his throat.

"That would be intimidating if you were, well,-" he grabbed the blade and shattered it with ease. "intimidating. But if you insist on sending her, I'd recommend also requesting for Equinox and the new arrivals in Ponyville." This caught me off guard.

"What?? Why??!!"

"Because your student isn't equipped to deal with Heartless, but all the new girls fought creatures similar to Heartless for a living, one of them has the potential to kill me. As for Equinox, have you not put it together yet?" He asked.

"Stop playing games and speak!"

"Oh very well. You have noticed the resemblance between us, right? It's not a coincidence. The man we once were made a more substantial sacrifice than he intended for the people he ultimately protected, the result is Equinox and I." Him too??!!

"That can't be possible! You expect me to believe that colt has been working for-"

"The heart's true essence is Darkness. When one loses themselves to Darkness, a Heartless is born, but what happens to the body? The simple fact the body still remained even after it faded into nothingness in this case means it would be more accurate to say that the 'chains' containing the Darkness were loosened enough to escape and took a form most fitting. Essentially having one's heart fragmented like that would surely cause damage, memory loss and a lack of emotions in this case. But what happens when the Heartless or the Husk is destroyed? Would they cease to exist? Or would they join together under the right conditions?"

"If killing one might bring back the original, why would you want me to send the ones who can when you clearly don't care enough to do it yourself?"

"Because I want answers more than I want to die or live as I am. I am Darkness, but I am more than capable of reason which is why this world is still basking in the Light. My very being is the antithesis of what you ponies hold sacred, but memory and curiosity are what influence my actions. Hence why I revealed a Hive to Equestria and eliminated that enemy just as quickly, so not only you might catch a glimpse of what desperation can eventually turn one into, but protect a possible home from an otherwise insurmountable foe. From starving mother to power hungry fool in Chrysalis's case. So you might catch a glimpse at what the power of Darkness is truly capable of, and either find a way to combat it, or make it your own as He did." That can't be.

"I-I don't understand." What could he have to gain from this?

"Must I spell it out for you?! In the long run, my actions will have helped your country. Those girls are the ones He sacrificed himself for, one of them has a memento from Him in the form of a keyblade, and Equinox without one also has the power to destroy me so we may be one again! I wish to be whole again, but you all either lack the power or resolve to do it! Send for Equinox and team RWBY as they'll be the best line of defense against Sombra and the inevitable swarm of Heartless. If Equinox doesn't kill him, the Crystal Heart should, the Heartless will decrease significantly, and I'll be put on equal ground for one of them to kill me if they're injured!" A keyblade??!!

"... Who were you before?"

"Ask to see Ruby's keyblade. You don't recognize who Equinox is based on, but you may remember who wielded that weapon. The stage is set, as is the aftermath. Reclaim the Empire, destroy Sombra, and as little as my word may be worth, your world will be spared from the Heartless entirely once my Reunion has been completed."

Equinox POV

I've been spending time sorting through the memories and trying to understand what they're doing to me. I remember a school and a home, but I don't think I like either of them for some reason. I remember waking up in a ruined castle, then it shifts to Ponyville and the school, then the Darkside after. I remember fighting together with a man in a green cape or cloak with a small shield, a little blonde girl with wings, and another with tanuki ears and tail. Then I remember some things that chronologically feel far apart with the new girls, as well as seeing how close she was with Cassiel. I know now what Abaddon meant, but the more I remember, the more I find myself not wanting to do it despite feeling a sort of "pull", a "need" to find him. I don't want to hurt them, so this needs to end before long.

They know who I'm supposed to be. They traversed worlds to find me, only to find me broken. Though these ponies may condemn me for who I am, or Abaddon's crimes, this can't go on. As much as I don't want to lose myself, as much as I want to learn what these feelings are and truly be my own person, I also can't bring myself to break His promises, to throw away everything He worked for. I need to see Spike, I need the Princesses to back me on this, I need to end him soon.

"Equinox! Perfect timing! We're leaving for Canterlot!" Twilight said frantically as I opened the door to the library.

"Well that's convenient."

"Okay, but why though?" I asked.

"No time! Get Ruby and the other humans! Princess Celestia wants us in Canterlot NOW!!!" Spike is not going to like having to fix this place later.

(Canterlot)

Upon arriving in the throne room, we passed by Princess Luna, who greeted Weiss as we approached Princess Celestia.

"Miss Schnee, I trust Ponyville has been most welcoming? Even more so after finding your friends?" She greeted her.

"It has, thank you." Weiss answered.

"Uuuhhh Weiss, aren't you gonna introduce us?" Yang asked her. But before she could, Twilight did in a tone that almost sounds like she's offended for the Princess.

"She's the Princess of Equestria and-"

"Twilight." Princess Celestia said, as if to stop her from giving a long explanation.

"Sorry!"

"It's fine. I wish I could have met you all under better circumstances,-" she said to everyone else "but that will have to wait until later. The reason I've called you all here is because the Crystal Empire has returned. A part of history few remember at all." The Princess informed us as she lifted a crystal off a pedestal and placed it in front of us before channeling magic into it, creating a projection of the Empire.

"Even my knowledge is limited, but what I do know is it contains a powerful magic. A thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn who's heart was as black as night, took over the Crystal Empire." The projection changed, black crystals erupted from various locations and encased the castle, a projection showing a grey unicorn with a curved red horn and a mane that looked as though it was made of shadows appeared at the top.

"He was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic north. But not before he was able to put a curse on the Empire, causing it to vanish into thin air." She ended the projection. "If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things will be projected across all of Equestria, and the Heartless too will be pushed back if not denied entry into our world." She lifted the crystal and channeled more magic into it, shining every color of the rainbow across the room.

"But if hatred and fear take over,-" her eyes glowed green, purple mist seeped from her eyes, and her horn glowed purple with black lightning shooting out of it. She channeled that magic into the crystal, causing it to turn black, shadows shot towards us and black crystals erupted from around us. She destroyed the crystals just as quickly. "which is why I need your help in finding a way to protect it!" She looked between the team and I.

"And that's also why I requested your help as well. The Heartless were not an issue back then, but they are most certainly going to be now. It is to my understanding that you four fought similar creatures in your world, that it's even an official profession, and one of you has a weapon that can truly destroy them. Is this true?" She asked the team. Ruby stepped forward and summoned the key shaped weapon from before, causing Princess Celestia's eyes to shoot open for a split second.

"I prefer it as a scythe, but I haven't gotten that down yet." Ruby said before desummoning it.

"It will work either way, perhaps even against Sombra." The Princess looked between Twilight and I. "I also have reason to believe that Abaddon will be there as well, but whether he's allied himself with Sombra or is using him for his own ends like the Changelings, I don't know."

"Actually, that's something I wanted to bring up with you." She raised her brow after I said this.

"Is that so?"

"Equinox, what is it?" Twilight asked.

"I have memories that aren't my own, and I have every reason to believe that Abaddon and I used to be one person." She and Twilight became alarmed by this.

"Who's Abaddon and what do you mean?" Blake grabbed my shoulders as she asked. They already suspect I used to be Cassiel, is this an act of sorts?

"Colors aside, he looks just like me." I started. "I have memories, memories that I'm certain are Cassiel's, who we both closely resemble. Then all the times I just randomly said something that triggered severe headaches, and what he said to me back then."

"And what did he say?" The Princess asked.

"He basically told me to destroy him so we may be one again." Blake hugged me tightly.

"No!! That can't be right!!" A little too tight for.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"You can't just expect me to stand by and watch you die again!! There has to be another way!!" She yelled.

"Unless you have a better idea, it's all-" She slapped me.

"Ah! There it is!" Weiss said.

"I don't care if this Abaddon is like Adam or if you don't understand what it is that you're saying! I won't just stand by and let you kill each other, especially when there's no guarantee you even would come back!" Blake continued.

"Not to mention if Cassiel was right, he's our best chance to see our mother again!" Yang gestured to herself and Ruby.

"You might not remember it, but we're not letting you go alone again after last time." Weiss looked ready to slap me like at the station.

"You were the one who wanted to unite all of Remnant against Salem before Ironwood, yet you still went in alone to-" Ruby started.

"If I don't do this soon, I might not ever do it!" My first real surge of emotion, and I don't even know what it is. "His memories, his feelings, his desires, that is what I'm based on! I'm barely even a copy of your friend, yet each passing day, I gain more of HIS memories, HIS feelings, HIS desires, and I don't even understand any of them! Now what does that leave ME with??!! An unfinished life in a new, empty life! If I don't do this, I may yet become my own person and decide my current life is worth more than his and everything he was, but then his life would conflict with mine. If you want him back, I have to go."

"But what about us? What about everypony back home?" Twilight asked to my surprise.

"Did I ever truly exist? So long as I live in his shadow, I will never truly exist, I will never live my own life. There's no point in trying to live a life that will never truly be my own. I'm done trying to argue, so I'm heading back to the station." I couldn't look at any of them as I said all of that. How could I? Knowing it would bother the other me later? There's only one thing on my mind right now, and that is my Reunion.

Chapter 77.

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Author's Notes:

I remembered I never gave names to the other elemental versions of Equinox's arsenal, and since the Nobody arc will be ending soon, I won't waste the brain power, despite having months to do so.

I wish I could stop with the long delays, but when it's not gaming that's distracting me like Crisis Core Reunion, it's the Re:Zero fic for the past few months, or just me loading up the page that's 1K words in and drawing blanks. Hell, "Let's make a deal" has been at only a few hundred words for what feels like years, and I haven't even started on the next chapters for several other stories. Then I find myself wanting to start a new story after learning about the anime "Reincarnated as a Sword", and I suddenly want to actually follow through with that idea I wrote in a blog post years ago https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/902481/do-you-think-this-would-be-funny-to-read.

Distractions, writers block, burnout, or more immediate interest in other works. I miss when I was putting out chapters at least once or twice a week for whatever story I was focused on.

Equinox POV

I had little to pack after we returned to Ponyville, so I waited by the train station for everypony else. Believing it was a test for her, Twilight initially tried to refuse the help of her friends, but they insisted on coming with her to the Empire. Knowing we were going to a frozen wasteland on our way to the Empire, Blake and the rest of the team had me go with them to Rarity's for clothing suited for it. They also had me go through aura exercises to help combat it and any enemies we come across.

During the train ride, I kept to myself for the most part. I found it made focusing on the task at hand easier, but Blake stayed close, leaning on me even. It ruined my focus somewhat, but for whatever reason, I couldn't push her away. After reaching the station, it didn't take long for us to meet with Shining Armor, who warned us about Sombra, who can't get in right now because of Cadence. After the Empire came in sight, we all heard howling and he urged us to quickly make it past the barrier. Unsure of what specifically I was looking at, I stood my ground, aiming Lumina at it and took several shots as red and green eyes appeared.

"No, you're not Abaddon. I have no interest in you." I said aloud, brushing off Sombra.

"Don't turn your back on me!" He took a physical form and dived down with a black crystal sword, intent on cutting me in two. I rolled to the side and threw a Withering Blade at him before unloading Thorn into his sword, breaking it and grazing his shoulder.

"Tell me where Abaddon is, and I'll let you reclaim your throne." I offered as he halted, then healed the damage from Thorn.

"'Let me'? The Empire is not yours to give!" He turned back into a shadow as five Darksides emerged from him.

"Then I'll just find him later." I switched out Thorn and Lumina for Silence and Squall. One Darkside was preparing to throw a giant ball of darkness at me, two others were spawning Shadows, the others were trying to grab me or punch me. Whatever those two were doing, it was slow enough that I just needed to run by them to avoid them. I threw Silence into the face of the one with the ball of darkness, freezing it momentarily and interrupting its attack, causing the darkness to fade, then threw Squall near the Shadows to keep them from interfering.

Seeing the first Darkside would be frozen a little longer, I rapidly unloaded Thorn and Lumina into one of the others attacking me directly. I vaguely remember Cassiel's first encounter with these Heartless, I know how to make quick work of them. As I was about to turn my attention to the other one attacking me directly, the frozen one broke out of its prison and began firing darkness from its chest. I threw a Withering Blade at the Shadows, destroying them before throwing a Duskfield at another Darkside's head.

With one dead, another disabled shortly, one shooting me, and the others spawning more Shadows, I formed a few ice walls by the ones creating Shadows to hold and stop them from making more threats. As I was about to shoot the one firing darkness at me, another gun shot flaming projectiles at it multiple times instead.

"You really think you're doing this alone?" Yang asked as her team ran towards me.

"I had them though."

"Just because you don't remember, doesn't mean you're fighting alone." Yang used the knockback on her weapons to launch herself towards the one she just shot and punched right through it. Blake targeted the one that was frozen, shooting it a few times before throwing her weapon at its head and pulling herself up, using her momentum to carry herself high enough for a hard pull back down, destroying its head along the way. Weiss used her Glyphs to summon a giant arm with a sword that struck down one of the Darksides that were spawning Shadows. Ruby used her Semblance to reach the last one, but she didn't use her own weapon, she used Nightfall instead, burying a Dust-coated scythe into its head. Sombra reappeared afterward, black crystals rising from the ground as he did so.

"A nuisance." As he was about to launch a barrage of shards at us, light enveloped our vision, and we were teleported right outside the Empire by either Shining or Twilight. Seeing no reason to try and finish that, we went inside. The inside is nothing like the outside, it's warm, bright in here actually.

Abaddon POV

"What did I tell you??!!" I grabbed Sombra by the throat after emerging from the SR, barely letting him breathe. He struggled to no avail, trying to force me to release him.

"I was about to kill him!" He struggled to say, I only tightened my grip in response.

"Wrong. Answer. I specifically said the women were off limits, and you were still about to attack them. Since I wasn't clear enough the first time, allow me to correct that. Dark Firaga!" I coated my other hand with the spell and grabbed his face, his screaming muffled by the snowstorm around us, his restricted breathing, and his mouth partially covered by my hand. Once I released him, he had a pitch-black handprint on his face, darkness was seeping from the wound. He continued to scream in pain for over a minute before I had to dodge a sword.

"I'll kill you!" He seethed.

"As if I haven't heard that one before. If you truly possess the power to do so, then by all means, bring me death once again. Just make sure it sticks this time, you're just wasting your breath otherwise, 'King' Sombra. I'll be watching, don't test me again. Remember, you're not necessary, you're convenient at best." I warned him before returning to the SR.

Equinox POV

Shining guided us to the castle to meet with Princess Cadence, who looked tired to say the least. After she and Twilight did some kind of greeting, the married couple explained the situation to us as best they could. Twilight, still treating this as if it were a test, thought to search a library for anything that could offer a longer or more permanent solution to Sombra's invasion.

"Why a library instead of the royal archives? Then again, if Sombra can only be defeated in a limited number of ways, it would make sense if he destroyed any knowledge about it. These 'crystal ponies' don't look like they'd be much help either. They all seem empty and lifeless at worst, and barely focused at best."

Leaving this task to them, I sat down after reaching a high vantage point, facing the direction Sombra was, but I couldn't even see the outside of the Empire.

"Are you not going to help them?" I turned to the voice behind me, Blake followed me here.

"I couldn't help much even if I weren't so distracted by Sombra or Abaddon." I answered as I turned back, she sat down next to me shortly after, wrapping her arms around me.

"I know you can't reciprocate right now, but my feelings haven't changed. Even as you are, I still love you." She tightened her hold on me.

"... Who was I before? Why did you love Cassiel?" I asked, curious if a second perspective would change anything.

"It would probably be best to start from the beginning. Cassiel was broken, but he didn't go out of his way to cause trouble. He was relentless, strategic, understanding, and as loyal as he was strong. He would be the first in, the last out, and still be concerned for the people close to him.

He was the first person in my life at that time to see through the lies I told, and the first to stand by my side when I needed it. Whether it was the team's intent or not, he would probably say we 'put him back together'. No, I think everything was already in place, he just needed to be reminded it was all there.

When our home was being threatened at the time, he tried to protect us from it before it became known to us, and when that failed, he was the first line of defense. When his teammate was framed for an incident, he was the first to stand up for her, and reassure her that she did nothing wrong. When she and I were hurt, he became enraged, willingly putting himself at risk in more ways than one for our sake despite being severely wounded himself. We only became closer after that.

The Cassiel I thought I knew did the exact opposite of what he, perhaps even the team, believed he would do. Every step of the way, he put us and the world before revenge. He spared my friend, who tried to kill us and my family. He tried to change just for me, but I never asked him to do that. He was getting better and better, little by little.

He sacrificed himself for a world that wasn't his, friends he didn't even know for very long. He had just gained a new family, and just as quickly, he had to leave it to save everyone. Whether he would acknowledge it or not, he was a hero, my hero. I loved him, even as he is now, and when I have him back, I'll make sure he knows as much. So please, for now, let me have this?" She pulled away, placing her hands on my face. Her voice didn't give it away, neither did the rest of her body language, but she was crying by the end of her answer.

Almost instinctively, I wiped away the tears, and she pressed her lips to mine shortly after, holding us in that position for what felt like a long time. I felt something in my chest, it was...familiar? Good?

"Is this love? I'm unsure, though it did strengthen that "pull" I've been feeling since before we arrived."

"Blake, if I don't remember this after becoming whole again, I think what you just said would drive the point home plenty. I can't return your feelings, but I'm remembering my past life as time goes by. Whether my desire to be Cassiel again is my own, or our memories becoming a drive to do so, it no longer makes a difference to me. I can't truly feel anything, but I suspect regret and heart ache would be prominent if I could later and chose not to. You won't have to wait much longer."

"*sniff* The fact you can even say that is assurance enough. Maybe next time, try not to make the love of your life cry, alright?" I think she just tried to tell a joke.

"Say that when I'm Cassiel again." I responded. She let go of me and instead rested her head on my shoulder, a soft, barely audible purring noise coming from her as she did so.

"Not much longer now."