//------------------------------// // Divide // Story: The Multiverse in a Nutshell // by Pennington Inkwell //------------------------------// "Show me." "Negative." "Override it, or something! Show me, Isis!" "Insufficient user authority to override. Negative." "LET ME WATCH THE SHOW!" Sunset slammed her fist on the table as her rage boiled over. "You are emotionally compromised, Sunset Shimmer. You are not thinking clearly." Isis's collected demeanor felt condescending in the face of her overflowing emotions. "I need to know everything Penn did, HOW is that not thinking clearly?" "Allowing that data to influence his decisions was what rendered Penn's actions predictable to our enemies. It is not an advantage, it is a liability. Watching the online show you are currently living inside of would be less effective than taking threats as they come and responding to them in real time. I will not allow you to purposefully impair yourself." "But-" "I will suffer no more arguments. The matter is settled." "GAH!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That's... really awful." Jaune whispered. "Is he... dead?" "We don't know." Ruby shook her head. "Sunset refuses to think so, and she'll fight anyone who even suggests it! And Blake... well, she won't let anyone say it, but she keeps getting this really hurt look in her eyes whenever someone brings him up. I think she might think he is. Whether he's alive or not, both of them are blaming themselves for what happened..." The rest of the members of Team JNPR were taking their time processing the story. Nora was the first one up on her feet, her hammer already in her hands. "And you've come to recruit us on a daring, life-saving rescue mission deep in enemy territory!" She pointed an accusatory finger at Ruby. "You absolute madwoman! I'M IN!" "Nora... I don't think that's why she's here." Pyrrha reached up and slowly pushed her back down into a sitting position. Ruby nodded. "I'm worried about Sunset and Blake. " "Quite frankly, we ALL are!" Weiss added. "I WOULD say Blake's been working 'tirelessly' to find leads on the White Fang ever since, but she IS getting tired, and she's ignoring it to the detriment of her health!" "And Sunset's been training day in and day out! Her grades are slipping and-" Yang started, only to be cut off as a rectangular object came flying across the room and out the nearby window. "Well, if you think I have a temper..." Weiss sighed. "We can deal with one unruly teammate, but every time we try to address the issue, they close ranks together and double down!" "I think I see what you're getting at... but what do you need US to do?" Jaune asked. "Well, I think Weiss and I could handle Blake together, but Sunset..." Yang waggled her hand. "So... you want us to handle the possibly-grieving-possibly-in-denial girl with anger issues and a laser sword?" Ren raised an eyebrow as Ruby shrunk back and cringed slightly. "Okay when you put it that way it sounds like we're asking you to do the hard one, but have you ever tried to keep a ninja cat in one place when she doesn't want to be there?" she whispered. Like a guardian angel, Pyrrha rose to her feet and smiled before patting on her shoulder. "I might have an idea..." Ruby jumped up and instantly hugged Pyrrha as tight as she could. "Thank you! I KNEW I could count on you guys!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunset tapped her foot impatiently as she waited in the training room. A quick glance at the classroom clock told her that it was 8:05. Weiss was NEVER late to their training sessions. She reflexively reached for her phone to call her teammate, only to find her pocket as empty as it had been all day. I'm starting to REALLY regret throwing Isis out the window... "CLICK!" All of the lights in the room switched off at once, plunging Sunset into total darkness. She was instantly on high alert, flicking on her lightsaber and falling into a ready stance. The light of her blade wasn't enough to light up much more than a small area around her, so she closed her eyes, training her other senses for any sign of what was happening. It was impossible for her to miss the sound of footsteps on the far side of the arena, and she immediately turned to face the threat. "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't scare you!" Pyrrha's voice called. "I'm afraid Weiss is busy today, she asked me to fill in! Will that be alright?" Sunset nodded. "To be honest, I was thinking about asking you if you could train me to fight like you do. Everybody says you're unbeatable." "Well, I wouldn't say 'unbeatable,' but I've worked very hard to develop my skills. It would be my pleasure." "So... why are the lights off?" Sunset's answer came in the form of a flash of bronze and stinging pain across her cheek. "Because you won't be fighting holograms today, Sunset!" Pyrrha's voice echoed through the room as she raised her voice to a shout, making it exponentially harder to pinpoint her location. "I'll be your opponent!" "WHAT? Pyrrha, what about my saber? You could get hurt!" Sunset's worry was met with the sound of a gunshot and a heavy impact in the center of her chest, knocking the wind out of her lungs and making her stumble back as her aura distributed the impact. "That would imply you'll be able to strike me, Sunset..." Sunset her frustration beginning to boil over. "I'm not going to just sit here and let you jerk me around in the dark, Pyrrha! I've got more important things to do!" She began to walk in the direction of the exit. And there was Pyrrha, crouched and ready to strike in the red light of Sunset's saber. Her blade was fast, too fast for Sunset to parry as it slashed diagonally down across her chest, then swept her feet out from under her, sending her to the ground. Pyrrha seemed to add insult to injury, placing her boot on Sunset's abdomen and pressing down even harder as she leaped away into the cover of darkness again. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave until you've learned today's lesson, Sunset! I'm sorry!" She's covering the exit, she's a better fighter than me, and I can't see her in the dark! How am I supposed to beat her? "I'll be coming at you from your left, this time!" Sunset started to turn to her left, but she could hear the sound of metal scraping the ground to her right. She smirked and swung her saber in the direction of the noise. "Nice TRY, Py-" Her saber struck only empty air, the light revealing Pyrrha's shield rolling on the floor by itself. Before she could realize she'd been tricked, she felt the butt of Pyrrha's sword strike at her spine, sending her falling forward. The shield jumped up to meet her, bashing against her face as it passed and returned to its owner. Sunset scrambled to her feet, ignoring the metallic taste coming from her lip. "On your right!" Sunset turned to her right , holding up her blade in a guarding position. A firm palm struck at the back of her head as Pyrrha came at her from behind once again. SHE LIED? was the only thought to cross through Sunset's mind as the impact sent her tumbling through the air, until she was struck by the unpleasant feeling of colliding with the colosseum wall. "What am I supposed to learn from you beating me up in the dark?" she growled as she staggered back to her feet. "What kind of lesson can come out of this? I can't even SEE you, my ears clearly led me wrong, how am I supposed to guard against your attacks? I can't even trust what YOU'RE telling me!" "Can you win?" Pyrrha's voice whispered into her ear. Sunset jumped in place and slashed, but once again Pyrrha was gone before she could land a blow. Sunset kept her back to the wall, her head swiveling from side to side for any sign of her opponent. "I could keep swinging... get lucky..." Her suggestion was met by the sound of a gunshot, and a second later, Pyrrha's sword, now extended into it's spear-like configuration, buried itself in the wall beside her head. Sunset was trembling as she turned to stare at the deadly weapon that had almost taken her head off. "Sunset... Can. You. Win?" Pyrrha's voice was still gentle, but firm. Sunset fell to her knees, staring into the light of her saber, eyes full of tears. I can't see her, I can't see anything! The only thing I can see is what's around my... saber. THE SABER! Sunset took a deep breath, and switched off the blade of light, plunging herself into total darkness. "No... When you can see me and I can't see you, I can't win. But if neither of us can see each other... I might stand a chance!" There was a long pause, then the sound of two claps. On her signal, the lights in the room finally turned back on, illuminating the entire arena. Pyrrha was standing just in front of her, offering her a hand up. Sunset eyed the hand suspiciously before choosing to stand up on her own. "Sunset, your teammates have been worried about you, and from what they tell me, so am I." Sunset rolled her eyes. "So you decided to beat me up?" "I wanted to show you that in trying to make certain you were as prepared as possible, you were actually making yourself vulnerable..." Pyrrha pointed to the empty handle in her hand. "Your form was flawless, your reflexes as fast as they could be when you were so thoroughly overthinking the situation... Sometimes, there are things you simply cannot guard against. Especially when your opponents have more information than you do." "Or, in the words of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, 'It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is LIFE.'" Sunset jumped slightly as Isis's voice came over the speakers, but the surprise was quickly drowned out as the meaning behind the words sunk in. "This... is about Penn, isn't it?" Pyrrha stepped forward, placing her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Sunset, Ruby told me that you've been blaming yourself for what happened. That is not the case. It's as much your fault as that split lip is." She pointed to the place Sunset was bleeding from. "You said your friend could see what was going to happen. Isis said your enemies used that against him, just like I used the light from your saber against YOU." "But I said we needed to stay! I insisted on trying to help people here when it wasn't any of our business, and he's paying for it!" "Couldn't he have just left? Driven away back wherever the two of you came from? Did you TELL him he had to infiltrate the criminal underworld?" Pyrrha sighed. "Sunset, if you keep blaming yourself, nothing will get done here. If you truly want to help your friend, or, should the worst come to pass, honor his memory-" "HE'S NOT-" she was cut off by Pyrrha, who held a finger to her lips just to the side of her injury. "-then you need to move forward. A single woman's rage-fueled obsession won't stop these villains. Evil triumphs when good is divided." She gave Sunset a warm smile, which seemed to disperse her rage. "We'll only win if we work together. Are you ready to work as a team again?" Sunset's heart couldn't take it. Staring into Pyrrha's eyes, she finally felt the secret she'd been keeping ripping her apart from the inside. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Pyrrha in the tightest hug she could muster. "He... he said you were going to die..." she whispered. "He knew everything about what's going to happen, and he couldn't save himself... and even with his help, I couldn't save him, either. How am I going to save YOU when I don't know ANYTHING about the future and he's gone?" Sunset couldn't see the expression on Pyrrha's face, but several seconds of silence passed between them before she felt her friend's arms wrap around her in return, drawing her in tight. It was a poor substitute for Penn's bear hugs, but it was still enough comfort for her to finally let the tears begin to flow. "The same way we'll fight everything... with our friends." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Salem was patient. It was something that had served her well over the millennia. Still, it was uncharacteristic for Cinder to take so long with such a simple task. However, this was not an indicator of any incompetence on Cinder's part. It was a testament that she had been right to insist on bringing the stranger in. He had been wily, slipping through places where anyone else would have been found out in moments. He had two of mankind's greatest strengths at his disposal: resourcefulness and ingenuity. However, Salem had inevitably proven herself the better tactician of the two, and Cinder's determination had outfoxed him. Now Salem sat at the end of the crystal table in Evernight Castle, elbows resting on its surface as her fingers intertwined. Cinder and her children had arrived at the castle, and would be entering the conference hall momentarily with their prisoner in tow. They said that the rumors of the White Fang claimed he was a technical genius. Others tended to say that he had some form of prescience, able to see the future before it happened. A ridiculous concept, but Salem had been introduced to several ridiculous concepts over the last months. Still, the fact that he had fallen into the trap at Mountain Glenn meant that he was not psychic... but he WAS in possession of information that could prove critical to her plans. There was a knock at the doors to their hall, and she motioned with one finger. The doors swung open. Cinder entered, head held high. Behind her, Mercury carried a strange-looking white device, and Emerald held the barrel of her gun to their prisoner's back. He didn't look like much, wearing only a pair of dark cargo pants and a t-shirt covered in text across the front, but appearances could be deceiving. He was clearly terrified, eyes snapping constantly from one person in the room to the next, but Salem noticed that every few moments he would come back to her, as if checking for any slight change in her posture. He knew whom he ought to be the most afraid of, but that was no great feat in the present company. She turned her gaze to Emerald and lowered one finger. She followed the wordless instruction and lowered her weapon. With barely a thought, the doors to the room swung shut, locking their prisoner inside. "So... we meet at last. I've waited quite some time for this moment, child." She leaned forward to peer more closely at him. "Tell me, what is your name?" The boy made several attempts to speak, opening and closing his mouth soundlessly. His eyes then rolled back into his head as his body slumped forward, collapsing to the floor. "Did... did he just faint?" "It would appear so..." Cinder smirked. "While he put up quite the appearance with the White Fang and Torchwick, in reality he seems to be of a rather... frightful disposition." This roused a manic chuckle from Tyrian, but he held his tongue for the moment. Salem raised an eyebrow at Cinder's amusement. "And it wouldn't have anything to do with your treatment of the prisoner I specifically asked to be taken 'alive and unharmed,' would it?" "As much as we would have liked to at times, the boy hasn't even unlocked his aura. We couldn't have done much to him without breaking your commands... which we would never do." Salem hummed to herself with amusement at that. Cinder was a loyal servant, but absolutely one prone to failings in the face of her own desires. "Very well. Take him to one of the cells until he awakens. When he does, I want to question him personally." "A private audience with our queen! The boy does not know how fortunate he is!" Tyrian declared. "I want to know the source of his knowledge, and how he knows this 'Sunset Shimmer' who has inserted herself into-" Salem counted approximately a second and a half between her speaking the name and her catching the boy mid-attack. The telekinetic spell she was using was a simple one, but quite potent. She had caught him as he leaped at her, halfway through throwing a desperate haymaker punch. She waved away Tyrian and Hazel, who had both risen from their seats to stop the surprise attack. He swiftly became fearful again, eyes wide as he struggled fruitlessly against her magic, now just trying to get free, but Salem had caught something else before that, an emotion well familiar to her: wrath. Not just any wrath, however... She leaned forward, staring straight into his eyes. "If you fear me so badly, you know that right now I could snap every bone in your body like a twig, correct?" He seemed to make an attempt to nod, only to remember that he was locked in place before whispering his response. "Y-yes..." "And yet, the moment I spoke the name 'Sunset Shimmer,' you forgot that fear entirely. You rose up against your betters and attempted to strike me." "The GALL!" Tyrian cried, his scorpion's tail ready to strike. Salem raised her hand, motioning for him to stand down. "I- I'm s-" he stuttered. "No." Salem cut him off. "Do NOT apologize. I am not ungracious. I will be willing to... overlook this, if you answer me this question..." she leaned in until the only thing either of them could see were the other's eyes. An old expression declared that the eyes were the gateway to the soul, and she had always found it to hold more than a grain of truth. His eyes were wide, panicked, afraid, but... she could see something else. Thought, rushing a thousand miles per hour, behind the panic. His mind was racing, calculating, strategizing. That was good. "If I were to order the death of Sunset Shimmer... would you attempt to stop me? No matter the cost? Would you burn this world down to its very foundations to protect her?" That was when the thinking stopped. Or, rather, it focused. She saw many emotions cross his face in that transition. Wrath, worry, fear, resolve, and finally... shame. He looked away, breaking their eye contact. Salem smiled. Even without a word, his emotions had given away exactly the answer she had wanted. "Interesting. And what could make her so special to you that you would become what you consider a monster just to keep her safe? Surely this goes beyond simple kinship. Are you lovers? Siblings? Do you owe her some great debt?" She slowly lowered him to the ground before releasing the spell holding him in place. As she expected, he made the prudent decision not to continue his attack. "Because for all your meekness now, boy, you are driven by something." "I... I... owe her my life." he whispered. No, this was different, deeper, and once again... familiar. He was wrong, or rather, omitting certain truths, but she had gleaned the full answer from his reaction. Interesting... "How... mundane. Allow me to move on to a more interesting topic..." she leaned forward. "How did you know our plans for Mountain Glenn? We were moving quickly, but carefully. There was no leak of information until after you joined the operations in Vale. They say you can see the future, but I doubt that. I think you know a future, but not necessarily the future that is occurring." She could tell from the growing fear on his face that she was correct. "So... from where did you learn it?" The boy made an effort to look anywhere except at her, his eyes traveling to the ceiling, then to the others present in the room, and finally came to rest on the floor. His mouth clamped shut into a thin line, making it clear that he had no intention of answering. "Boy, I asked you a question. I have been VERY accommodating to you until now, but my patience has limits." "B-Bakersfield... Elijah Bakersfield." He was shaking, now, his entire body trembling with fear. "You- you asked me my name, right? That's it. But my friends just call me 'Penn' because I like to write. It's a pun." He shook his head violently from side to side. "I- I- I... can't tell you how I know what I know, it would be dangerous to even SAY it! I could cause a paradox! Collapse the fabric of space-time, irrevocably change the future for the worse! The multiverse is already broken enough, I'm not going to be responsible for making it even worse!" Salem raised an eyebrow. "Multiverse?" Instantly, both of his hands jumped up, clamping over his mouth in horror. "Poppycock! Everyone knows that the existence of other universes is only theoretical!" Watts scoffed. "And yet standing before us is a boy who knows about the future, along with many other things he shouldn't." Salem motioned to the child as she glanced at Arthur with a raised eyebrow. "And bearing technology completely alien to a self-proclaimed 'genius' who once sat among the minds at the cutting edge of development and discovery." She motioned to Mercury, who delivered the device to its intended recipient. "I got you your new toy, Arthur. Do NOT disappoint me with your results. You are dismissed." "Thank you, my liege..." He gave a deep bow before swiftly departing from the room, already examining the device with carnivorous curiosity. "As for you..." She turned back to their guest as she reached down to retrieve an item from her dress pocket. "I don't suppose this world-ending knowledge would have something to do with THIS, would it?" She placed it on the table. His eyes grew wide as dinner plates before they rolled up into his head again and he collapsed once more. Judging from the painful-sounding collision of his head with the crystal floor, she guessed that this time he wouldn't be waking up any time soon. She looked down at the object that had spurred the second fainting spell. It was a plastic case, about the size of a book. Across the front were stylized depictions of the four girls whom she'd been spying on since she had happened upon it. It had manifested in her room, seated on her bed like some kind of gift from an unknown benefactor. Inside were multiple silvery discs, each containing information that had enlightened her to an entirely new aspect of her existence. RWBY Collection: 3-Disc Set Includes Volumes 1-3 She reached out and took the item back, placing it back in its hidden place in her dress. If this boy had come from the same place as this gift, then he was possibly one of the most valuable assets in the world. She nodded to Hazel. "Take the boy, place him in the dungeon. I do not want him harmed." "It will be done..." Hazel growled. Hazel was an absolute mountain of a human, able to sling the boy over his shoulder with ease and carry him away. As Hazel left the room, Salem could see a question about to burst from one of her subordinates. She motioned to Emerald. "Speak, child." "Well, I was just wondering... why are you keeping him like this?" Emerald asked. "He's clearly a liability. We could at least do something to physically restrict him..." Salem smiled at that. "Consider it... an experiment. He reminds me of someone. Long ago, there was a girl who cared more about someone than anyone else in the world. When he was taken from her, she was willing to do anything to get him back. She challenged gods and built a kingdom that nearly conquered the world. She and he are not so different. I see the potential in him to follow a similar path and become a valuable ally." "But... What happened to the girl?" Salem smiled at that. She spread her arms wide and sat straighter on her throne. "She became the most powerful being on the planet." She turned to the remaining members of her inner circle. "Tyrian?" "Yes, my Queen?" "You will go and retrieve either the eyes of Ruby Rose or the entirety of Sunset Shimmer. The latter must be unharmed, the former... need not matter." Tyrian gave a maniacal cackle as he gave a deep bow. "It would be my greatest pleasure, your worship!" Salem turned to the trio at the far side of the room. "Cinder, you and Mercury will return to Vale and complete your mission there. As for Emerald..." she smiled slightly, choosing to ignore the fearful look on the girl's face at being singled out. "I will require your talents here, to aid me in both information extraction from our prisoner and my 'experiment.' Once it's finished, I'll send her back to rejoin you." Cinder gave a bow and a smile. "With pleasure."