Never Change

Chapter 38

He could only hope someone could come to his aid.

-----

She whistled as she walked along the foliage, lost in her thoughts.

Qrow had told them about her... egg donor of a mom, coming to request assistance.

It was good that he had started to play things more up front now.

Everyone knew the situation. It was dire, yes.

They had to find a way to kill the immortal Queen of the Grimm. It was a near impossible task.

Still, it was more like a collaborative effort, and it felt more like a real team. No more secrets.

She scoffed at the situation.

Raven Branwen had specifically begged for Percy to go help her. Strength was the only thing she seemed to value. Not family, not teammates, or anything else. Only strength.

Yang had wanted to go to her for ages, to find her for ages. Just for one question: why?

Why had she left?

Yang didn't understand. She never could.

But now, she finally had her chance.

She had her chance to meet her mother, here, in the heart of Anima.

And yet... she couldn't bring herself to do it.

One part of her wondered if she should even care about her biological mother enough to meet her.

The other part of her, from when she was a desperate, lonely child, screamed and resisted, and said that it was the most important thing in the world.

But Yang herself?

She didn't know.

Yang had always been a thrill-seeker, an adventurer at heart.

She'd taken on challenges with her team, PRWBY, and tackled them head-on, coming out on top every time. That was her nature: fists first, questions later.

But, for the first time...

She was unsure of her direction, her path.

-----

Pyrrha found herself in a strange place.

She stood inside of a high-ceiling throne room. Outside, Remnant's broken moon's rays tried desperately to shine through the unnaturally dark clouds, but to no avail. They should have shined through; the darkness was physically not all-pervading, but at the same time, it somehow was. It was a paradox.

The sounds of Grimm could be heard from outside the room's large panes of glass. Grimm howled. The ground was red, and black pits of liquid were seen every few steps, leading up to one large pit.

There was a tree, black, and devoid of all life. Bodies hung from it, limp.

On the floor, where she was standing, was that same symbol. The same tattoo on the man she had... killed.

Pyrrha swallowed, not knowing what this was, or where she was.

In front of her, was a black throne, its back facing her. Red veins ran through it, pulsing, as if it were some sentient object.

Someone was sitting in it, but she could not see who.

"Pyrrha Nikos... The Invincible Girl."

The throne swirled around.

The first thing Pyrrha noticed about her were her eyes.

Black sclerae, and poisonous, terrifying red eyes. White hair, and red veins. Pallor, white skin, and a black, form-fitting dress that had partially exposed shoulders, and diamond-shaped cleavage in the center, with purple accents down the edges, and ornate, light gray bone cuffs on her upper arms. Jet-black fingernails. A black ring sat on her pallor hand.