The Enemy (Mine) of my Enemy
There was tension in the air as the group approached the area where Isis's containment chamber was waiting for them.
Missy was uncharacteristically serious, having her glare already prepared for when she saw Salem again, and she was flanked by Alucard and Warwolf, both ready for a fight.
Isis was on high alert, with her repair drone perched on Penn's shoulder in a ready position. Numerous panels across her body had opened up to reveal scanners and probes of every kind monitoring the situation for any changes.
Penn was... hard to read. He was frowning, but his eyes were locked on the ground at his feet, only occasionally looking up to make sure he wasn't going to run into anything. He was lagging slightly behind everyone else, but every few seconds he would redouble his pace and catch up to walk abreast with Sunset, only to rapidly fall behind again.
Finally, Sunset herself was feeling a deep trepidation at just who they were about to see... but she couldn't help feeling a slight undercurrent of relief now that her "murderer" status had been revoked. If Salem was claiming to want a truce, that meant that there was a chance that this could finally be resolved peacefully. Still... that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep one hand on my saber.
As the group entered the clearing where the containment drone was waiting, Sunset felt her whole body tense. Everything was exactly as they'd predicted it would be, but it still felt like a shock when she saw Salem sitting and waiting for them inside of the glass chamber. The witch hardly seemed anything more than annoyed with the situation, only giving them a tired look as they slowly walked up to the glass. Sunset could see her mouth moving, but no sound escaped the prison.
"She is inquiring whether or not you are going to release her so that you can communicate clearly.""No," Penn growled. "We're not."
"We're fine with you relaying things, Isis," Sunset clarified. "We don't want to take that risk, yet."
"Yet?" Missy raised an eyebrow.
"We're supposed to be here to negotiate, I'm just trying to keep an open mind-"
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Sunset was cut off by the sound of Salem knocking on the glass to draw their attention. She began to soundlessly speak again.
"She is attempting to assure you that she is no longer interested in fighting, and that you will be safe."There was a brief pause as Salem rolled her eyes and continued speaking.
"She wishes to also make it known that her current situation his highly uncomfortable.""Oh, right, like we're just going to TRUST HER that she doesn't want us all DEAD after what happened?" Missy huffed.
Sunset felt a chill run down her spine as Salem's eyes locked on Penn, forcing him into eye contact.
"She claims that Penn can attest to her veracity. She says, quote, 'I am not Ozpin. Have I ever been anything but upfront with you?'"Sunset glanced at Penn, trying to read his expression. It looked like Salem's words had instantly gotten under his skin.
"I..." he trailed off. "I guess, technically... no..."
Sunset glanced back at Isis just in time to see Salem finishing another sentence, this time easily readable on her lips.
Let. Me. Out. Three words, accompanied by the second most intimidating death glare she had ever seen. Penn flinched back, clearly afraid. She could see his willpower crumbling in real time.
"I-Isis, go ahead and-"
"Keep it shut tight." Sunset cut him off. Without a word, she stepped between Penn and Salem, breaking their line of sight. She took a moment to level her own glare at the witch. "You REALLY think that kind of bullying is really going to work? Right in front of the rest of us? If you're going to insult us, we can just leave you in there until we hand you over to Professor Ozpin."
Salem looked surprised for only a moment at Sunset's principled stand. After a moment of staring between the two of them, Salem sighed and turned away.
"Now, with that established..." Sunset glanced behind her, where Penn was giving her a grateful look. She nodded, silently reassuring him that he wasn't in this alone. "If you want to negotiate, we need a good reason to give up the fact that we're coming into this from a position of power. A show of good faith like that isn't something you just get for free."
Salem gestured with her empty hands, showing that she didn't have anything to offer them.
"Apologize."
There was a pause, Salem seeming to be taken aback at Sunset's demand, then bemused. Her mouth began to move again.
"She wishes for clarification. You are willing to sacrifice your tactical advantage of her containment in exchange for... an apology?"Sunset narrowed her gaze, knowing that Salem was obviously not taking her demand seriously. "She just tried to leverage the damage she dealt to Penn's psyche to her advantage. What I want is an apology to Penn for that damage." She turned back to look at her friends, who were both slack-jawed. "She was the one who said she didn't WANT to torture you the way she did, claimed that it was soooo barbaric! If she can genuinely apologize for what she did, I'll be willing to believe her enough to let her out of the jar."
"You're a lot more trusting than me..." Missy grumbled as she folded her arms over her chest. "If she doesn't keep her word, we're gonna be back at square one and without backup!"
"Sunset... I think Missy's right about this..." Penn whispered. "Now that I see her face-to-face again, I REALLY don't want to do this whole 'truce' thing any more..." Sunset glanced down at his hands, noticing that they were shaking with fear as he wrung them. She reached out, taking a firm grip on them both, and looked straight into his eyes.
"I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. She's never going to hurt you again. Can you trust me?"
"Th-that's an awful lot of trust to ask for..." Penn stammered, giving her hands a squeeze.
"A chance for peace with her isn't something we can afford to lose." Sunset glanced back over her shoulder, where Salem was watching them with a critical look on her face. "And I know it doesn't SEEM like she could ever change, but... I still can't get over what I felt when we were connected. I think there's a chance, but if we're ever going to see it happen, we have to be willing to give her that chance!"
Penn looked at her, then at Salem, then down at the ground.
"I... I can't- I don't-" He stammered and struggled before finally bowing his head in defeat. "Sunset... I hope you understand how much I'm trusting you."
Sunset nodded, giving his hands one last squeeze before letting go and approaching the glass container again. She folded her arms, waiting expectantly for the response to her proposal. "Well?"
Salem observed them for another moment, her face caught somewhere between bemusement and curiosity. Finally, after several seconds of pondering, she spoke again.
"She says that she cannot give you the apology you have asked for, as she is not sorry for taking the actions that she believed were necessary."Salem's gaze turned to Sunset, putting a layer of frost over her insides.
"She says that you should be intimately familiar with the concept."She... heard me that night? Sunset unconsciously began to take a step back out of shock, but caught herself before the show of weakness. Despite being the one in a cage, Salem's sheer presence was dominating the conversation with little effort.
"Then we have no choice but to distrust her word." Sunset let the declaration hang, making it clear that she was not going to yield any further on the matter of Salem's release.
All was quiet for the moment as both sides pondered any possible alternatives.
"Why does she even want to make a truce with us, to begin with?" Missy grumbled. "She seemed pretty intent on ending us all as painfully as possible just a few days ago..."
Salem turned her gaze on Missy, the two appearing equally annoyed with one another.
"She claims that you have proven yourselves to be more trouble than you are worth."Sunset felt a flicker of familiarity in the back of her mind, and she glanced back at Penn.
"What is it you told me in Aperture? Sometimes surviving means making someone want you gone..."
"...more than they want you dead." Penn finished. He glanced at Salem over her shoulder for a moment, as if inspecting her for some tell of what she was thinking. "You think she's thinking like GLaDOS?"
"You're the one who says not to underestimate how smart she is, and GLaDOS was technically one of the smartest enemies we've ever had, right?" Sunset turned back to Salem. "If you don't want to kill us, what are you going to do if we let you out?"
Salem began to soundlessly speak again.
"She says that Penn is already aware of her plans for after leaving her home universe."Sunset looked at Penn, noticing a melancholy look on his face, now. "She wants to find her world's creator... to change Remnant to be the way that she wants it to be."
Sunset's eyes widened. "Well, we can't let that happen, right?"
Penn took a deep breath, then shook his head. "It's not going to matter."
"It's not going to MATTER?" Missy asked, incredulous at his apparent lack of concern. "Why wouldn't it-"
"Because he's gone." Penn stated quietly. "He passed away in an accident early in the series' run. Even if she found the team behind the show, I doubt they could change anything as fundamental as she wants."
Silence fell as everyone, even Salem, was taken aback. Penn finally looked up and looked her in the eye again. "And I know that you can tell when I'm lying, so you know I'm being honest with you."
He and Salem stared at one another, clearly inspecting one another for signs of duplicity. Finally, Salem seemed to sigh and recline slightly in her prison, looking up at the sky.
"'Then perhaps,' she says, 'I will explore this new wider world. I will be leaving no unfinished progress behind in Remnant, thanks to Penn's efforts.'"Makes sense... I doubt there's anything left in Remnant she hasn't seen in all her years... Sunset thought.
Missy, however, crossed her arms and continued to glare. "You mean 'go find allies in other universes to help you take over Remnant?'"
"'Naturally.'""Not going to be much help if there isn't a Remnant left to go back and remake, is it?" Missy quipped. This seemed to catch Salem's attention more than anything, and she tried her best to sit up in her cramped space.
"She demands clarification.""Oh? You haven't heard?" Missy put her hands on her hips and grinned, clearly enjoying the feeling of knowing more than their enemy. "An army of darkness trying to rewind existence back to the big bang is invading Remnant as we speak! That's why we're headed back, to stop them!"
Salem pondered the new information for a few seconds, clearly at odds with herself about something. Finally, she seemed to sigh and resign herself to whatever she was thinking.
"She says that, in that case, this ceasefire would be well-timed. If you all struggled so greatly with her, you stand no chance of stopping an entire 'army of darkness.'""Wait... is she saying what I think she's saying?" Sunset asked.
Penn reached up, beginning to rub a point at the center of his forehead. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no...."
"She wants a TEAM-UP? After ALL THIS? After EVERYTHING she put us through?" Missy cried. Behind her, Alucard pummeled his fist into his palm, and Warwolf growled and bared his fangs, both mimicking their leader's fury. "NO WAY!"
Sunset glanced at Penn, waiting for his thoughts. "Listen, if you don't want to do this, we don't have to, but... the way you talked about it, we-"
"-we need as much help as we can get..." Penn muttered, finishing her sentence.
Missy darted around in front, positioning herself between them and Salem. "Um, excuse me? We've already GOT a magic caster on this team! We don't NEED her! What am I, chopped kuriboh?"
Sunset was going to try and assuage Missy's bruised ego, but Isis spoke up first.
"She wishes to make another offer: upon release, she will tell you how she came into the possession of the Earthbound Immortal Uru card and the message that was given along with it."
Missy's face grew pale as Salem's mention of the other card spirit took all of the wind out of her sails. However, seeing the target of her manipulation change seemed to embolden Penn, who stepped forward and pulled Missy away from the container.
"Information first."
Salem rolled her eyes again, but her exasperation with the entire situation seemed to work to their benefit, as she didn't attempt to argue.
"She says that after your trap card banished her into another dimension, she found herself in a world of darkness. She wandered there for a time before encountering a young man who called himself Joshua-"Sunset's breath caught in her throat and she felt her heart seize with fear.
"The two of them exchanged tales of how they had come to be in that place, and found themselves with mutual enemies. He offered her the card, explaining that it was the strength of her will that would empower it. She did not believe him at first, until he summoned his own 'titanic beast of flame.' The power of both their card spirits was enough to open a tear in the dark plane, and Joshua told her to pass the following message to Penn before they went their separate ways: 'I want a rematch.'"Sunset forced herself to breathe slowly, consciously making the effort not to hyperventilate. Joshua and Ra were out there and looking for revenge, but they weren't here.
"You LET THEM OUT?" Missy cried, clearly less collected with her dismay. Sunset glanced over to Penn, trying to gauge his reaction... and found herself surprised.
He was smiling. His eyes were closed as if deep in thought, but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"If that pleb and his so-called 'deity' of a partner want to get their butts handed to them on a silver platter again, we'll be happy to oblige."
In that moment, Sunset could feel something was off about her friend. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Penn? You okay?"
"Back off!" Big Sis's angry voice growled in her head, making her jump and step back away from him. Penn's eyes opened again, and the unsettling aura around him melted away along with his apparent burst of confidence. He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed at the back of his neck.
"Y-yeah. Sorry about that, was just... remembering."
"...are you okay?" She hesitated to even ask the question, given that this would be a bad time for a negative answer. "Gloating isn't really your style."
"Y-Yeah! Definitely! Absolutely!" Penn replied. After a second, he seemed to realize his response was a little TOO eager. "You're... right, though. I think Bend-" he seemed to catch himself, locking his eyes on Salem. Sunset glanced back to see the witch watching them intently, clearly paying close attention to the vulnerable moment. "I think recent events might be bringing out some of my worse tendencies."
Sunset nodded and reached out again to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You've got it under control, I know you do."
"Salem would like to remind you that she has upheld her end of the bargain for information regarding Joshua and Earthbound Immortal Uru.""We never agreed to that! You just started talking!" Missy argued.
Penn gave a long, shuddering sigh and pressed his palm to his forehead. "I said 'Information first.' Technically, that WAS a counteroffer, and she accepted it..."
Sunset gritted her teeth, realizing that they were caught between releasing Salem or breaking their word. Missy was clearly not going to approve of letting Salem out, but Penn was the one who had accidentally struck the deal.
"We have your word you won't hurt us any more?" She stared directly into Salem's eyes, searching for any sign of deception of betrayal. As she looked, however, she could sense a different feeling buried under the annoyance and attempts to intimidate them... that same begrudging respect that she had felt in Salem's "last moments" in their trap.
"She says that she will not do so intentionally."
Sunset took a deep breath to steady herself, taking hold of Penn's hand and giving it a tight squeeze.
"Okay, Isis... Let her out."
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Well, fair point that.
And yes, the ageless immortal does have a rather oppressive degree of charisma, even while stuck in a box.
Phonemenal, if short chapter...
This said...
Dude, Salami is playing you like a badly tuned accordion!
All they have to do is find a Celestial Exalt to kill Salem if they need to.
Those people are notoriously easy to wrangle, right?
Whatever situation you find yourself right now, I wish you the best of luck overcoming it. Take all the time you need.
Regarding the story, it pisses me Salem just keeps avoiding karma again and again
I KNEW we weren't done with Joshua.
I hope this sums up my thoughts regarding both the chapter and the authors note
I can't believe this updated after so long as I eagerly await another fanfic I'm following to update. (It's not an MLP fic here though. It's a Hawkeye fanfic on AO3 that ships Bishova.)
Anywho, it's really something watching them come to a peaceful resolution with Salem. And she seems willing to help them with Baalchion on its way to Remnant. That's something.
Rather surprised to hear Joshua was the one who got Salem that Yugioh card. And he's out there looking for a rematch. That'd be interesting to see.
Well, I certainly look forward to the next installment. Keep up the great work!
Fantastic chapter, even if it wasn't as full as you wanted to post it. I felt this one coming a few days early, so I had some hype with me reading it.
Tensions high, big players on the field, this time on a more agreeable standing. I'm hoping the battle with Sunset changed something in her, even a small bit. And Rainbow is on the horizon, though not quite on our side yet. In the battle between chaos and stagnation, there can be no winners, only survivors, let's hope they do well enough.
Good luck wih your family stuff, we'll be patiently waiting.
Thanks for the update, good luck with the family stuff
yay, Update!
kinda sad we're not in Remnant yet, but still gotta deal with the figurative devil first, I guess.
WOOO!!
just read ALL of this using the past 3 days of free time i had...
gona say love this series and i can barely wait for the next chapter
Salem returns, eh? Well, glad she's not the only one! I came across this story when there was only 8 chapters, and I'm going to keep watching until we get that glorious THE END moment. Here all the way, my good sir!
Okay, Joshua is back.
Question for Penn the Author. Is Joshua a real person who has given permission to exist in this story? If it's too personal or a violation of trust don't bother replying.
11164411
No, Josh is totally fictional. I just use that name because a couple of my most relentless bullies in middle school were both named Josh.
11164530
Ah. Just curious.
Well, crap. How was it called? Caught between a rock and a hard place? Still, Joshua is a freacking pain. He is on such a wrong side...
11175991
More than unlikely. There was a crossover with Sunset's Isekai (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/441859/58/sunsets-isekai/the-road-goes-ever-on-the-multiverse-in-a-nutshell-ongoing) that takes place after the return to Remnant, and there's no Applejack. Just the current crew and Rainbow Dash.
11176163
It has no bearing to the WAR between Chirac and Baalchion. For all we know there could be several thing why Applejack didn't join them.
1) Applejack and Baalch were simply not encountered. We have a whole multiverse here, and it's not a fact that Rainbow would be NEAR Applejack when Sunset and company seen Rainbow. After all, Rainbow and Applejack were separated for a while when they dealt with the buffalo tribe as well.
2) Penn left Isis drone with Applejack, and Applejack went on to continue solving some problem by herself, since she alone was enough for a given task. Meanwile Sunset went on to search her other friends.
11176291
Fair possibilities. We'll have to see.
Most underrated story on the website.
11195353
So what, you just throw that away for the future, and never follow it up? By the by, am I the ONLY one who picked it up? And you just say it's unimportant until SOME time in the future? Just feels lazy.
11195827
Almost 500,000 words in and you're calling me lazy? I understand that slow payoffs can be frustrating, but that is something that will come to light when it makes sense narratively and not before.
And my readers are sharp, I can promise you're not the only one who picked up on it. You're just the only one who tried to call me lazy when I didn't give you the answers.
11195858
I don't think you understand. I'm calling you lazy because this
and this
So far means NOTHING. Not a SINGLE clue, not a SINGLE though came about DEVELOPING this big Pinkie forsights. You wrote a lot, but nothing shows to even REMIND the READER of it. Forget about DEVELOPING it into some solid idea. It's not even mentioned. THAT is why you are lazy.
11195861
Yup. It does mean nothing so far.
Because there's the distinct possibility that the rant was just Pinkie being Pinkie and you're reading too much into it. But there's also a chance that it DID mean something important.
You're trying to demand answers to a mystery that hasn't had a chance to be explored in the story, yet. You're literally trying to skip ahead in a story where I've made a stringent point out of going at my own pace.
Most of this early stage of the story has been about establishing the core cast and exploring the difficulty of survival in this joint multiverse. Getting their feet under them. Once they're secure, they'll be able to start looking for answers of how and why all of this happened.
I have always and will always admonish patience with this story. Because I'm writing it for me, at MY pace. If you don't like the pace, you're welcome to do what I do when a story is too slow for my liking: leave for a while and binge when it gets to the point you want it to be at. Being mad at me isn't gonna do squat to speed things up.
11195871
Not anwsers, just something ANYTHING, that shows me that it WILL go anywhere. A hint, or action, or a SNIPPET of "another side". Fluttershy or Rarity showing a sing of mental disorder... Pinkie Pie... she'll likely survive. Applejack being shown to work for you know who, allowing for future possibility of her dying in a fight. SOMETHING. A single ACTION that REINFORCES that early thing.
About a hundred chapters, "early".
... What?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/admonish
" to say (something) as advice or a warning"
I have NEVER heard admonish to be used as reccommend. I only ever heard it being used as warning.
I am absolutely loving this story, i just found it from Sunsets Isekai and I really appreciate that you're actually letting the pacing dictate itself, nothing feels too slow or too fast for the most part and while it can be frustrating to wait for new content I do appreciate that you're not rushing things
I vibe with this story.
And with this chapter finished I am all caught up.