Hello! This is the next chapter. If you enjoy it, leave a vote and a comment as well. Let's move on!
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*1st Person POV*
After Jinn showed us the entire backstory of not only Salem, but also about Ozpin, his previous incarnations, and the entire world before and after the Brothers left Remnant, we were trying our best to deal with the sole fact that Salem cannot be killed.
Yang: "Salem can't be killed... you all heard her too, right?"
We all angrily glare at Ozpin, whose head is still down. He looks up, with tears streaming down his face. Qrow just looks away.
Ozpin: "I--"
Yang: (enraged) "There was so much you hadn't told us! How could you think that was okay?!"
Ozpin doesn't say anything, he just hangs his head back down in shame.
Ruby: "Professor..." Ozpin looks up at her. "What is your plan to defeat Salem?"
Ozpin: "I... don't have one..."
Azure: "What do you mean you don't have one...?"
Suddenly, Qrow punched Ozpin in the face, sending him into a nearby tree trunk.
Qrow: "No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good..."
Ozpin: (tearfully) "But, you are!"
Qrow: "Meeting you... was the worst luck of my life..."
Ozpin stares back in disbelief upon hearing Qrow say that, before looking down dejected.
Ozpin: "Maybe you're right..." His eyes glowed as control is transferred back to Oscar. He holds his cheek in pain from the effects of Qrow's punch.
Ruby: "What happened?"
Oscar: "He's... gone."
Yang: "That bastard! Tell him we're not done yet!"
Oscar: "No, this is different. He's gone. It-- It's like he's locked himself deep inside my head. Our head?" He grunts as he holds his head in pain. "I hate this! I want it to stop!"
Vert: "After all of that..."
Weiss: "He just left us?"
Blake: "What are we gonna do now?"
Yang growls in anger.
Maria: "Enough! We need to get move on. It'll be dark before we know it, and every one of you is spewing negativity!" She helps Oscar up with her cane. "There's a trail over there, trails usually lead somewhere."
Yang: "Lady, I know you may be Azure's grandma, but--" Grandma slammed her cane down on the ground.
Maria: "No buts! I understand that you're upset. Honestly, I'm still coming to terms with the fact that this is humanity's second time around. But, if we don't move, we die. And I'll be damned if I've lived this long just to die out here in the cold! Tell 'em, Azure!" I walked over to her side.
Azure: "Guys, she's right. We need to get a move on. It's not doing us any good just standing here."
Everyone grabbed their belongings and whatever Dust they can carry with them. Maria sat on Bumblebee as Yang walks her bike. Ruby and I walked over to Oscar and she hands over the handle of his cane. He grabbed the cane with hesitance.
Oscar: "I'm just going to be another one of his lives, aren't I?"
Ruby: "Of course not. You're your own person."
Azure: "We'll find a way to save you, Oscar."
Qrow: "Don't lie to him, Ruby, Azure." He drinks from his flask. "We're better than that."
Ruby, Oscar and I looked down sadly before joining the others.
*Later...*
In the snow, me, the rest of Team AVRN, Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar and Maria proceeded along the trail. Rosa and Vert used their Semblances as best as they could to create an area of warm air around us. It helped somewhat, but we were still cold. I was even using my Semblance within my body to warm myself up. Ruby and I had our hoods up as she hugged my chest for warmth while I covered the two of us with my cloak. Grandma saw this particular set of actions and was confused.
Maria: "Azure, who is she? And why are the two of you like that?"
Azure: "This is Ruby, and she is my girlfriend." Ruby nodded.
Maria: "Ah, young love. It was just like with your mother and father." She smiled.
Azure: "Really?" I said in curiosity.
Maria: "Absolutely."
It was silent the next moment. The snow started to pick up even more.
Qrow: (sighs) "Doesn't look like this is gonna let up."
Blake: "Just wanna get this stupid Relic to Atlas."
Weiss: "Let's hope we don't have to walk all the way there."
Yang: (sarcastically) "I thought trails led somewhere." She said to Maria.
Maria: "Do you have nothing better to do than to harass a defenseless old lady?" Ruby suddenly lets go of me and stopped in her tracks.
Ruby: "Everyone, quiet. Do you hear that?"
Everyone stopped in their tracks. A metallic squeaking can be heard. A large farm can be seen, one of the front gates swings back and forth with the wind. A large sign above the entrance reads "BRUNSWICK FARMS". We arrived at the gate.
Blake: "Well, at least one good thing happened today."
Weiss: "It looks abandoned."
Nero: "It feels... eerie..."
Ruby: "It's still better than this."
Qrow: "Come on, I think we could all use some rest."
All of us proceed through the farm's gates, with Qrow being the last to enter. The snow started to pick up even more as the gate is heard closing with a metallic clang. A snow storm suddenly appeared, making visibility nigh difficult. Rosa couldn't use her Semblance due to her Aura getting low, making things cold and difficult for us.
Ruby: (sighs) "I don't get it. The empty towns we've passed through were all damaged or unfinished."
Azure: "But somehow, this place looks... fine."
We arrivesd at the porch of a residence. Weiss is shivering as she wraps her arms around her to keep herself warm.
Weiss: "Maybe everyone left in a hurry. Before things took a turn?"
Qrow tries to open the door, only to notice it was locked.
Qrow: "Hmm. Stay on guard." He kicks the door open, with the rest of us proceeding forward with our weapons drawn, cautiously looking around the place.
Maria: "Close the door already! It's cold enough in here as it is." She walks into the house.
Afterwards, Blake and Oscar push a nearby drawer to block the door.
Blake: "I saw a chimney from the outside. Maybe we could get a fire going?"
Weiss: "Please. I'll look for some blankets."
Qrow: "Yang, go with her."
Nero: "I'll look for some firewood."
Ruby and I linger by the entrance hall for a bit while the others look around. Oscar can be heard opening a door.
Oscar: "Looks like a study. Or, a library?"
We walk forward to notice a group of pictures on the wall of the family that owns Brunswick Farms. Blake and Vert walk up next to us.
Blake: "What do you think?"
Ruby: "Something doesn't feel right."
Azure: "What happened to these people?"
Vert: "Let's look for some--"
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream is heard.
Ruby: "Weiss!"
Ruby, Blake, Vert, and I head up the stairs and run into the room Yang and Weiss were in. Qrow, Nero, Rosa and Oscar also arrive. We look on the bed to see a pair of decomposing corpses.
A fire is burning in the fireplace. Weiss watches it, still shaken from what she saw earlier. Blake wraps a blanket around Weiss before sitting on the couch Yang is on. Vert and Rosa sit at another couch with the latter using her Semblance to warm herself and Vert up. Ruby and I shared a blanket together as we sat by the fire alongside Weiss. Nero simply stood at a corner behind us. We hear the door open and close, and Qrow walked back in, brushing snow off himself.
Qrow: "It's the same in every house."
Yang: "What?"
Qrow: "Bodies. Every bed in every home. It's like the whole estate just went to sleep and never woke up."
Nero: "That doesn't sound welcoming."
Weiss: "Then we're not staying here, right?"
Qrow walked over to the fireplace to warm himself up.
Qrow: "We don't have a choice. Storm outside's only getting worse. We'd freeze to death before we made it anywhere."
Maria: "Well, might as well get comfortable." She walks over to a bookshelf.
Yang: "Yeah, fat chance."
Ruby: "Okay, then, let's do something. If this place wasn't abandoned, it might still have supplies we could use."
Oscar: "Hey, yeah. Maybe even a car."
Qrow: "I'll do another sweep of the grounds. No one else goes anywhere alone."
Blake: "Yang and I can search the other buildings for vehicles."
Yang: (annoyed) "Fine, whatever gets me out of this house."
Yang and Blake leave, with Ruby and I moving the drawer to let them exit. Afterwards, we look over to see Weiss at the doorway to the living room with a melancholic look on her face.
Ruby: "Food always makes me feel better." She chuckles nervously. Just saying."
Weiss: "Right..."
Azure: "We can at least find something to eat."
Me, Ruby and Weiss leave the room, leaving Vert, Rosa, Nero, Oscar and Maria together.
*3rd Person POV*
Maria: "I'll tell you what. You four keep that fire fed..." She finds a book with an "I" on the cover. "...and I'll find us a story to read before bed."
Maria sits back down on the couch and begins reading while Oscar sighs. Nero threw another piece of firewood into the fireplace as Rosa used her Semblance to light the wood.
Outside, Blake and Yang walk through the snowstorm toward a nearby shed. They enter it and find rows of shelves full of supplies on it and a tractor.
Blake: "Something tells me that's not street legal."
The two of them continue walking through the shed.
Yang: "What do you think happened here?"
Blake: "There's that well in the square. Maybe water contamination?"
Yang: "Yeah, maybe." She stops and puts a hand on her forehead.
Blake: "Hey, are you okay?"
Yang: "Yeah... I mean, no. But, I don't know. I'm just tired."
Blake: "Yeah."
Yang continues walking forward.
Yang: "Hey, I found something." She sees a flatbed trailer next to a window. Through the window, Yang sees a figure of Adam unsheathing his sword. Yang gasps and reels back. Blake runs up to her.
Blake: "What is it?"
Yang: "I..." She looks back outside and sees a tree in the place where Adam stood.
Yang: (sighs) "I was just seeing things. I'm sorry. I still get flashes from that night."
Blake sees Yang's flesh hand shaking uncontrollably before she composes herself.
Yang: "Do you think Adam's still out there?"
Blake: "I don't know. If he went back to the White Fang, there would have been serious consequences. But, he never really liked people telling him what to do. Adam's strong, but his real power comes from control. He used to get in my head, make me feel small. But now, I see he just wanted to pull me down to his size."
The both of them look at Yang's prosthetic hand. Blake grasps Yang's hand.
Blake: "Hey, I'm not leaving. And if we ever see him again, I promise I'll be there."
The two share a smile.
Blake: "And I'll protect you."
At this, Yang's eyes widen and her expression turns into a frown.
Yang: "What?"
Blake: (oblivious) "What?"
An awkward silence occurred. Yang pulled her hand away from Blake's.
Yang: "Forget it. Let's just head back."
Blake: "But what about--"
Yang: "We're fine. We can hook that flatbed up to Bumblebee in the morning. Should carry everyone. Mission accomplished." She walks away while Blake looks down sadly.
*Azure's POV*
Back in the house, I use my Scroll's flashlight to look around a dark room. All Ruby, Weiss and I could see are alcoholic bottles on the shelves. Weiss used Myrtenaster to send small flames to light up the candles in the room.
Weiss: "There."
The three of us look around the room. Shelves are full of alcoholic bottles and a bar is seen as well.
Azure: "This is just too much..."
Ruby: "On second thought, maybe we should keep this room closed."
Weiss: "Huh?"
Ruby: "I'm just... Not sure how well my uncle's taking all of this."
Weiss: "Oh."
Azure: "Qrow..."
Ruby: "Come on, we'll never get to Atlas on an empty stomach!"
Ruby and I walk forward, though Weiss lingered while looking down sadly. Ruby then opens up another door.
Weiss: "Ruby? Are we really still going to Atlas?"
Ruby: "Why wouldn't we be?"
Azure: "What do you mean, Weiss?"
Weiss: "I mean... you heard what Jinn said. If there's no way to kill Salem, then what's the point in all of this?"
Ruby: "Weiss, you can't be serious."
Weiss: (sighs) "Sorry, I- I don't know what I'm saying, I'm just really tired and I really, really hate this place." She walks up to enter the room with us. "Anything in there?"
Ruby and I turn around and she uses her flashlight to look around. More alcoholic bottles are arranged on a shelf on the right side of the room.
Ruby: (annoyed) "More alcohol... At least we'll never have problems starting a fire."
Weiss: "What's that?"
The three of us notice a large, metal cellar door in the ground. Its handles are chained together.
Azure: "Is it a wine cellar?"
Ruby then looks up to her left and lets out a yelp before zooming over.
Weiss: "What? What is it?"
Ruby: "Food!"
Ruby holds out a can of BEANS.
Azure: "Nice find, Ruby!"
Weiss: (incredulous) "Canned food?"
Ruby: "Oh trust me, you put enough salt on anything, and it will taste juuust fine."
Weiss: "Well, I guess it's better than nothing."
The two shared a smile. Weiss and I walk over and help Ruby grab a few cans of food.
Weiss: "But I still seriously hate this place..."
Azure: "We know, Weiss."
We walk out of the room and close the door behind us.
*Night*
Ruby and I stare at the moon through a window, the two of us sitting on the staircase. Snow is drizzling outside. Ruby checked on Blake, Weiss, and Yang, who are sitting on the rug and staring at the fire from the fireplace. I checked on Vert and Rosa, who are sitting on a couch while Nero continued to be standing next to them. Maria was reading a book while sitting on another sofa and Oscar is pacing back and forth. After checking on the others, we stand up and walk towards Qrow, who is sitting nearby the window, looking outside with his feet propped on the drawer.
Qrow: "Storm's cleared up for now. We should be able to leave by morning."
Ruby: "That's good."
Qrow: "No... I don't have a good feeling about this place, especially with me around..."
Ruby looks down at a wine bottle on the floor with Qrow's hand hovering near it, then looks at him.
Ruby: "Are you... okay?"
Qrow: (scoffs) "Sure. Tell everyone to get some sleep. I'll wake you guys up just before sunrise."
Ruby walks away as Qrow drinks from the wine bottle. Ruby pauses and looks back at him before narrowing her eyes downward. I just shook my head at his action.
Oscar: "It's a diary?"
Maria: "The head of this household, Bartleby. Apparently, he and several other families founded this little settlement to try and live on their own. It sounds like it worked, at least for a spell."
Oscar: "Grimm?"
Maria: "Just one of many hardships. Slowed down their farming, made everything harder... It's a shame, really. He seemed like quite the ambitious fellow, always thinking of new schemes to overcome the odds."
Me and Ruby walked back into the room.
Ruby: "Hey guys. Qrow said we should get some sleep. We're gonna head out early tomorrow."
Blake: "Thank goodness."
Everyone gets up to get ready to sleep. Maria hops off the couch.
Maria: "Hmph, the last thing you'll catch me doing is letting some kid tell me what to do. (in a mimicking voice) "Go to bed!" "She scoffed. She sits on an armchair, turns on the lamp next to it and continues reading from the book.
Azure: "Grandma, at least listen to what she has to say. Ruby was just trying to help."
Maria: (sighs) "Fine, but only after I'm done with this."
Ruby smiled at me before going to sleep herself. I laid next to her and we cuddled together. The fire continued to burn in the fireplace.
By next morning, the fire was out. Sunlight seeped through the curtained window while everyone slept on the floor. Maria rests on the armchair, still holding the book she was reading. Qrow slept on the chair by the window, still barely grasping the wine bottle in his hand. A couple other wine bottles were also on the floor. The bottle slipped from his hand and clatters on the floor, causing Ruby to wake with a start. This caused me to wake up as well. She looked around before rubbing her eyes and getting on her feet. I did the same thing. She walks over to the window and opens the curtains.
Weiss: "Close the window!" She muttered in her sleep.
I went over to my teammates and went to wake them up, but...
Nero: "Not now..."
Vert: "Leave me be."
Rosa: "Must... sleep..."
I just sighed at their unwillingness to get up.
Meanwhile, Ruby walked over to the entrance hall and picks up the empty bottle Qrow dropped before walking over to her uncle.
Ruby: "Uncle Qrow. Come on, get up." She shakes Qrow's shoulder.
Qrow: (groans) "Leave me alone..."
Ruby: "We overslept."
Qrow, still groggy, just lightly shoves Ruby away. Ruby looks at the empty wine bottle, and after a moment, her hand starts shaking. She angrily throws it against the wall, shattering it. This caused him, along with the others, to wake up.
Qrow: "What?" He looked around, seeing Ruby stand before him and then to the shattered bottle.
Qrow: "Oh, right. Sunrise."
Ruby's angry expression softens, and she hugs her uncle.
Ruby: "You know, you can talk to me about stuff. Yang too." He hugs her back.
Qrow: "Let's just get outta here." He gets up from the chair, with Ruby following him.
Later on, our group moves outside. Weiss is seen using Myrtenaster to weld a metal ball to a makeshift trailer hitch attached to Bumblebee. I noticed that most of our group have dilated eyes, which was strange.
Weiss: "There."
Oscar, Blake, Rosa, and Vert can be seen sitting on the porch steps.
Oscar: "Can we just go back to bed?"
Blake: "If we're all so tired, maybe we should make breakfast?"
Rosa: "You wanna make it, Vert?"
Vert: "Not really."
Ruby, Qrow and I push the flatbed trailer behind Bumblebee. Once it's in position, Ruby walked up to Yang.
Ruby: "You guys got the bike ready?"
Yang just gestures to it.
Qrow: "Well, it's done now. So let's hook this thing up and--" He rests his foot on the side of the trailer, and the tire on the opposite side goes flat. He groans in frustration before checking on the tire.
Maria: "You people are just beacons for bad luck, aren't you?"
Frustrated, Qrow just walks over to a nearby fence post and sits on the ground. Yang also sits on the ground by the well.
Nero: "I'm starting to think the universe just doesn't want us getting to Atlas."
Ruby: (sighs) "It's just a flat tire, I'm sure there's a spare."
Yang: "It's not just that, it's everything. Storms, crashes, monsters..." She sighs. "I'm so tired..."
Blake: "Me too. It feels like we're always having to fight to get by."
Azure: "Yeah. But that's what we signed up for."
Rosa: "Is this really what we signed up for?"
Oscar: "We signed up to try and save the world, not just... delay the inevitable."
Weiss: "Last night, I..." She puts a hand on her arm. "I couldn't stop thinking - why are we even going to Atlas?"
Everyone shared troubled looks.
Ruby: "Weiss, we have to."
Yang: "Why?" She stands back up. "Ozpin hid the Relics behind giant doors under enormous schools, but... how long would it take Salem to find a lamp in the middle of nowhere?"
Ruby: "What? The Grimm might--"
Yang: "They'd find it eventually, sure, but bury it or just throw it down the well, it would take years. It might not even happen in our lifetime. But we could be done with it now."
Ruby detached the Relic of Knowledge from her belt, glancing at it before looking up at my and her teammates, who appear to all have dazed looks as if they were in a trance.
Azure: "Come on, guys, don't be like this."
Ruby stared at the Relic one more time before she started walking over to the well.
Ruby: "I am... really..." Her pupils become dilated. "...tired..." She starts to have the same dazed look on her face as I turn to see her holding the Relic out above the well. I reach my hand out towards her.
Azure: "Ruby! Don't do it!"
Ruby, after hearing my voice, hesitates for a bit before composing herself. She starts to pull the Relic back, but gets startled by something, and in her fright, accidently drops the Relic into the well.
Ruby: "No! No! No! I didn't mean to!"
Her teammates continue to stare at her with dazed looks.
Weiss: "Ruby, it's okay."
Ruby: "No! No, there's something down there! I saw it, it was looking at me!"
Azure: "Was it a Grimm?"
Nero: "There would be no way to know."
Rosa: "Just forget about it." I couldn't believe what they were saying. Yang walked up to Ruby and placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder.
Yang: "Hey, it's okay. You just said you're tired. It's probably nothing. Now let's go." Ruby swatted away Yang's hand off of her shoulder.
Ruby: "What's wrong with you?! We can't just leave, we have to go down there! We have to get the Lamp back! Oh, what was I thinking?!"
Qrow: "All we have to do is fix this trailer. Hey, farm boy, check the shed for a spare."
Ruby: "I'm not leaving without the Lamp!!"
Her teammates continued to dazedly stare at her.
Blake: (sighs) "I'll go down with you..."
Weiss: "We'll go down together."
Azure: "I'm going with you all. What about you guys?" I said to my teammates, who just stood there and said nothing. "Fine. Just stay here and help the others out."
Qrow: "Fine! Get the stupid Lamp. Oscar, fix the stupid tire." He heads to the house, passing by Maria on the porch.
Maria: "Where are you going?"
Qrow: "Where do you think?" He shook his flask and walked back into the house.
Maria just looks down.
Maria: "Stupid..." She takes a seat on the porch steps and continues to read another volume of Bartleby's diaries.
Team RWBY and I hop down into the well together, into a vast underground waterway system. Ruby and Yang take out their Scrolls and turn on their flashlights.
Yang: "Maybe the current carried it away."
We proceeded forward cautiously, sloshing through the waterway.
Ruby: "Oh, come on, where is it?"
Blake: "Turn off your lights and just look for the glow?"
Ruby: (nervously) "Okay..."
Ruby and Yang turn off their flashlights, and Ruby pulls out Crescent Rose while I get Blue Flash out as we proceed forward with caution.
Blake: "There." She points at something ahead.
Ruby and I look to the direction Blake is pointing toward and notices the blue glow of the Relic of Knowledge coming from a tunnel along the path. Both of us run forward. We arrive at the tunnel, and finds the Relic of Knowledge on the ground. Ruby runs over and picks it up, but I see something horrifying in front of us.
Ruby: "Guys, I--"
Ruby then looks up behind the Relic, adopting a horrified expression on her face. Multiple humanoid-looking Grimm of different sizes are bunched together. They turn their heads toward Ruby, reaching their arms out to her. This makes Ruby scream, and her teammates snap out of their trance-like states, their pupils returning to normal.
Yang: (gasps) "Ruby?!" I ran straight to Ruby and grab her hand.
Azure: "Come on!" Ruby and I run out of the tunnel.
Yang, Weiss and Blake see us run out and approaches us.
Yang: "What is it?"
The rest of them notice the skeletal Grimm slowly trudging out of the tunnel. Ruby takes out Crescent Rose and fires multiple rounds at them. I shoot lighting at a few and it disintegrates them as one of the Grimm lets out an ear-piercing scream, causing us to struggle to stand.
Yang: "What is this...?"
Blake: "My weapon... feels heavy..."
Maria: "Run!"
From behind us, we notice Maria.
Maria: "Now!" She turns around and runs. Team RWBY and I watch as the Grimm start to move towards us.
Ruby: "Go, go!"
Azure: "Hurry!"
We turn around and run, catching up with Maria. We see daylight coming from the well, but more of the Grimm appear and block their path. Another ear-piercing scream is heard, affecting the six of us. Ruby notices another tunnel entrance next to her.
Ruby: "This way!"
Team RWBY, Maria and I run into the tunnel. We continue to run through the complex underground passages while avoiding more of the Grimm's kind along the way. We then make our way to an underground room. However, a much larger group of the Grimm appeared at one end of the room. We turn the other way, but one of the Grimm lets out another scream, causing us to collapse on all fours.
Yang: "I can't... do this... I can't..."
Maria gets back up, using her cane to support herself before collapsing again. On her fall, she feels a set of stairs in front of her.
Maria: "An exit. An exit!"
Azure: "We're close!" I said, getting up with support from my sword.
Ruby looked up and notices the stairs leading up to the cellar door. She crawls forward to Weiss.
Ruby: "Come on!"
Ruby and I hear a weapon drop behind us and we notice Blake collapse to the ground, while the Grimm continue to inch toward her.
Ruby: "Blake... get... up!"
Blake: (pupils dilated) "It's fine..."
I jumped in front of Blake, getting my sword in front of me.
Azure: "Get away from us!!!" Suddenly, my eyes shone a bright light that made the Grimm hurt, but then I got a headache that sends me to my knees.
The Grimm was able to recover quickly and proceeded towards us. Ruby looked on in horror and in her desperation, crawls and attempts to reach out towards Blake, who lied down motionless, and me, clutching my head in pain with one hand. The Grimm reach their hands down to the cat Faunus...
Ruby: "BLAKE! AZURE!"
Upon yelling out our names, Ruby's eyes start to glow brightly, causing the Grimm to back away in pain again. Blake gasps and snaps out of her trance, her eyes back to normal. Ruby helps her up while Weiss, Yang and Maria also get back up. My head started feeling better and I stood up again.
Ruby: "I've got her!"
Maria: "What just happened? Was it you, mijo?" I shook my head to say no.
Weiss runs up the stairs and tries to get the doors open, but they do not budge.
Weiss: "They're locked!"
Yang: "Out of my way!" She ran up the stairs.
The Grimm recovered from their incapacitation, and another scream is let out. All of us collapsed once again. Yang reaches for the cellar door.
Yang: "No... No...!"
As the Grimm inch closer, Maria crawls toward Ruby and I.
Maria: "Ruby... what color are your eyes?"
Azure: "They're silver... just like mine..."
Ruby: "He's right..."
Maria: "You have a family? Friends?"
Ruby: "What?" She looks up to see the Grimm getting closer, but Maria lays her head down and covers her ears. I followed suit and laid down as well.
Maria: "Don't think about them, you two. Think about the people who love you. Focus on the thought of them, the way they make you feel. Focus!"
We took Maria's advice and closed our eyes as we concentrated.
Maria: "Life... is beautiful. It is precious. And it must... be protected."
After focusing, Ruby and I open our eyes, the silver gleaming. We sit up and our eyes glow brightly once more, driving the Grimm back and disintegrating them all. Maria, Ruby, and I stare in awe while Weiss, Blake and Yang recover. Yang crawls up the stairs and punches the doors open with her prosthetic arm while firing from its gun. We run out and find ourselves in the basement that Ruby, Weiss and I discovered the day before.
Blake: "We're back in the house?"
Ruby and I look at the bar and see Qrow leaning on the counter, passed out. Ruby runs over and shakes him.
Ruby: "Uncle Qrow, get up!"
Qrow: (slurred) "Hey! Get off me! What are you doing here?"
Maria: "We're leaving, you idiot! Come on!" Maria runs out of the room, with Blake and Yang following her. Weiss and I look back towards the basement entrance.
Weiss: "Not yet..."
Azure: "We need to do something first."
Meanwhile outside, Oscar has replaced the tire for the trailer and is filling it up with air, preventing him from hearing anything. Nero, Vert, and Rosa hear the screams going on inside and they look to see Yang, Blake and Maria run out of the house.
Yang: "Guys! We have to go, now!"
Oscar turned around and looked at them bewildered.
Back inside, Weiss and I grab a few of the alcoholic bottles from the shelves and throws them towards the basement, shattering them.
Qrow: (still slurred) "Hey... Hey! What are you doing?!"
As more of the Grimm slowly start to come out from the basement, Weiss uses Myrtenaster and a glyph to send fire toward the cellar doors. Using the spilled alcohol, she sets the Grimm on fire.
Weiss: "Now we can leave!"
Weiss runs ahead as I help Ruby grab Qrow's arms as we drag him out of the room.
Qrow: "Stop it! Stop! What's wrong with you?! What's..."
As he looks up, Qrow sees the Grimm on fire still walking towards them. He looks on in shock as he is dragged out of the house by his niece and her boyfriend.
Outside, everyone sat in the flatbed trailer while Yang starts up her motorcycle. She wastes no time driving away from the now burning house.
Yang continues driving Bumblebee down the snowy road with everyone sitting in the trailer being pulled behind her.
Maria: "The Apathy. 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." Oscar starts to read from the book.
Oscar: "Managed to get two away from their pack. Hike back was miserable, but got the bastards in the cellar. Wife thinks I was out sealing the waterway entrance. I'll do it tomorrow and tell her the truth once these things take the edge off of everyone. I'm tired."
Maria: "The next page proves that he did, but not before the rest of the pack followed their missing pair all the way home. My guess is they made their way beneath the estate through the water tunnels that Bartleby sealed up the next morning. Bartleby's plan worked." She takes the book from Oscar. "No one was angry or sad or scared. No one was anything. And then... no one was left." She takes one more look at the final page of the diary, the last words written down being "I'm tired". She then closes the book and tosses it out into the snow, the cover having "VIII" on it, while the group continues to drive down the road.
Weiss: "I'm... sorry for what I said... about giving up."
Vert: "Same here."
Upon hearing this, Yang stops driving.
Yang: "Me too. We can't quit until the lamp is safe."
Nero: "That is our goal."
Rosa: "I feel bad now. It's all our fault for being like that."
Blake: "It's not your fault. It was those... things."
Maria: "I should have known. The signs were all there, but I'd never seen an entire settlement withered away like that. I suppose my mind just isn't what it used to be."
Ruby: "Miss Calavera? How do you know so much about the Grimm? And in the tunnels, you knew exactly what to say to make me and Azure... to make our eyes do that. How?"
Maria: (smiles) "Well, isn't it obvious? I had Silver Eyes." I looked at Grandma.
Azure: (surprised) "Really?!"
Maria: "Yes. Now then, let me tell you a tale about myself from back then."
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That is the end of this chapter right here. The group had to stay at an abandoned house, which had Grimm underneath. Ruby and Azure were able to use their Silver Eyes to destroy them, and at the end, Maria revealed that she had Silver Eyes. Next chapter, we will learn more about Maria and her past, which is also connected to us.