The Deacon
The two Huntsmen slid away from each other, sparks flying from where their weapons had just met. Both stood tall as the crowd cheered for the epic battle which was taking place. The sun burned searing hot above, alongside the claps of artificial thunder formed from the Arc Pylons that protruded from the Arena's Roof, channelling red lightning through the coils, perfectly mimicking the Magma Storms which raged in the Dunes.
Cardin rested the Executioner upon his shoulder, staring the Deacon down. His opponent stared right back, spinning the dual daggers through his fingers. And then they continued sprinting towards each other.
Crimson Lightning came crashing down into the sand, fired from the pylon above them. The explosion melted the sand into Obsidian, hardening instantaneously in a giant tree-like shape of glass. The Deacon jumped, pushing his leg off against the glass and breaking it from the sudden force, causing it to collapse and crumble into dust behind him. He threw one of the Grave Dust knives towards Cardin, swiftly forming Sage's Greatsword in the hand that just tossed the knife. He brought it down with one hand, slamming it into the ground where Cardin was just standing.
The impact launched the sand high in the surrounding air, then the Deacon swung around, slicing across Cardin's chest, throwing sparks off his armour. He stumbled backwards, then the Deacon thrusted the enormous sword towards him, only for Cardin to stamp on the blade. The Deacon nearly fell forward from the unexpected stop, and the Valerian Gladiator smashed his Mace into the Deacon's face. He grunted, flung high in the air, and crashing into the ground a few feet away from him.
Cardin chuckled as he spun his mace through his fingers, pacing back and forth, his adrenaline running high as he heard the crowd cheering from that move he just pulled off. The Deacon stood back up, looking ahead as Sage's sword crumbled into dust, the grains floating back into his cybernetic arms and loading the printers back up. Suddenly he formed Dove's sword and blasted into the air, firing bullets down at Cardin.
Cardin backed up, using his huge cybernetic arm to block the incoming bullets, before igniting the fire dust crystal inside of his mace, and extending the head of the mace with a long chain. He roared as he swung it around above his head, then launched it forward towards the Deacon. The Deacon landed, then dodged the mace, catching the mace and wrapping the chains around his metal arm. Cardin's eyes widened as the Deacon suddenly yanked him in his direction. Cardin yelled, then the Deacon activated the thrusters in his armour and his boots, flying towards Cardin and grabbing him by the throat.
The Deacon smashed Cardin against the ground, then threw him towards a freshly formed spire of obsidian. He smashed straight through the formation, huge chunks of black glass came crashing down around him, exploding into thousands of tiny shards. He tumbled backwards, then punched his metal fist into the sand, dragging his fingers through the grains to slow himself down, staring ahead at the Deacon.
As they fought, the commentators watched with great intrigue. "I gotta say, I have no clue who's gonna win this fight." One of them laughed.
"I'm right there with ya. For those of you who don't know, Cardin Winchester is a survivor of Tyrian Callows, one of the Children of Salem. He was a sadistic serial killer and was also a Scorpion Faunus, the last of his kind. And they had a very dangerous ability. Their venom was capable of completely knocking out someone's aura, which also became his semblance as well. Cardin Winchester was one of many who were captured by Tyrian, and after enduring so much torture, and being pumped with all that venom over six years? It has caused his aura to become permanently broken, meaning no semblance either. Yet he has found a way around this problem thanks to Hardlight Shields in his armour, thanks to the Legion's Research Teams." The Commentator explained.
"Of course, where this fight gets more intense, is that the Deacon is the same way. He too was a prisoner of Tyrian Callows and was tortured to the same point. So we have two people who have no aura fighting it out, with only their Hardlight Shields to protect them." The other Commentator explained.
"And of course that means... we cannot track their aura level, meaning nobody knows who's winning! Not until the other taps out! So strap in folks! This is gonna be one epic fight!"
The Deacon paced back and forth, feeling the Grave Dust flowing through his cybernetic arms whilst Cardin was getting back up. Both had learned a very important thing in the twenty-five years since Salem... and that was patience. They were nothing like the kids they were back in Beacon Academy. Cardin's eyes examined the area, seeing more Obsidian Spires forming and watching the Deacon's every move.
Suddenly the Deacon sprinted, darting behind one of the Obsidian Spire, and punching it, causing it to explode. As the shards fell, suddenly he formed Ruyi Jingu Bang and started to spin the Bo-Staff extremely quickly, creating an almighty gust of wind which shot the shards of glass towards Cardin. The Gladiator rolled out of the way, then fired a grappling hook from his cybernetic arm, yanking himself towards the Deacon.
The thrusters in his boots and armour launched him further, and he smashed the Executioner across the Deacon's helmet, causing sparks to fly. The Deacon tumbled across the sand, rolling out of the way at the last second as a roaring Cardin Winchester jumped towards him, Mace held in both hands as he buried it into the sand where he was just positioned.
The Deacon spun around, forming Sky Lark's Halberd, spinning it through his fingers, slashing Cardin across the chest, then striking the blunt end across Cardin's jaw. He grunted, then the Deacon rolled backwards, shifting the cloud of dust into Tri-Hard, firing the rifle at Cardin. Three bolts of blue energy collided into Cardin's armour, then he raised his metal arm to block the incoming blows. He looked at the sand, then clicked the trigger of his mace again, igniting a fresh fire dust crystal loaded inside of the mace.
As the mace ignited, he dragged the flaming weapon across the sand, spreading razor sharp streaks of obsidian towards the Deacon. The Deacon gasped, using Feather's Edge to shatter three of them, then changing to Hook and Darling. He fired the Flintlock Pistol at Cardin, the bullet scraping across his shoulder, but Cardin kept charging towards him, grabbing and ripping a chunk of black glass from the ground, and throwing it towards the Deacon.
The Deacon leant all the way back, catching it and throwing it right back at him. The glass exploded against Cardin's chest, knocking him to the ground for a moment. As he got back up, suddenly Hook and Darling's grappling Hook wrapped around his arm. The Deacon shot towards him as the cable retracted, spinning through the air as he swung diagonally at Cardin, cutting across the armour in a hard hit.
The impact made his Hardlight Dust shielding flicker for a few moments. Then the Deacon rolled backwards, switching to Hallshott, firing Dove's sword relentlessly at Cardin. The Gladiator blocked the incoming bullets with his Mace, fighting through the pain of seeing the weapons of his Brothers in Arms against him like this. His eyes flared more and more with anger, before he jumped into the air and smashed his Mace into the ground.
The attack detonated the Fire Dust Crystal, making a tremendous explosion, shattering all the Obsidian Formations around them both, and blowing the Deacon away from him. The Deacon's shields flickered as well, and he checked his status on his wrist. His Hardlight Dust reserves were indeed getting low.
Which meant that most likely, so were Cardin's. Unlike Aura, it ran out a lot faster.
Cardin's boots made the sand crunch beneath his feet as he approached the Deacon, and he cracked his neck as he approached. He took his mace with both hands, then swung around towards his face, only for the Deacon to suddenly form Pilgrim, using it's enormous blade to swallow the impact of his attack. The collision of weapons created a powerful twang, making the whole crowd cheer as Cardin pushed the Deacon around him with the power of his arm.
The Deacon jumped and flipped over his head, resting Pilgrim on his shoulder, then pointing Hallshott at Cardin, firing bullets through the opened blade. Cardin deflected the incoming bullets, forcing the Deacon to attack. He slashed three fast attacks at Cardin; the Gladiator deflected the first two but the first cut across his arm, then the Deacon brought the massive blade of Pilgrim down towards Cardin's shoulder. The blue shields crackled, and the impact slammed Cardin against the ground. The Deacon changed to Feather's Edge once more, jumping away and using his thrusters to push him further back, and swinging the long Halberd across where he was just stood, smashing Cardin across the face as he looked up.
Cardin dashed to the side as the Deacon launched the Halberd towards him like a javelin. The Grave Dust Replica flew past and exploded against the Hardlight Shield walls, protecting the civilians, watching, making a kid yelp on the other side.
"SO COOL!" the kid cheered.
The Deacon charged towards Cardin as he formed Shortwings, jumping at him and kicking Cardin in the face three times, then as he dropped, slicing both blades down his chest, then jumping away to throw them both at him. He smashed them out of the air with anger in his eyes, then stood his ground. He held the Executioner above his head, then the pylons blasted red lightning into the arena, attracted to the conductive metal of his mace. The red lightning coursed through the mace and even into his cybernetic arm.
He gritted his teeth as he felt the electricity overcharge his armour, and he suddenly shot towards the Deacon, smashing him four times with his mace, throwing his mace into his other hand and grabbing the Deacon by the back of his head, pummelling his head into the Obsidian with great force. He lifted the Deacon up, then slammed the Executioner against his chest, creating a gigantic explosion of red electricity.
The Deacon tumbled and groaned, his Hardlight Dust shields deactivating from the level of aggression they were just forced to endure. However, they were not restricted to their aura, just as the Commentator said, meaning this fight was only over when someone tapped out in defeat.
And the Deacon was not done yet.
He rolled aside as Cardin flew across the arena towards him, sending arcs of red electricity into the sand behind him, turning it all into Obsidian. He suddenly crashed down towards the Deacon and slammed the Executioner towards him, only for the Deacon to roll aside. He suddenly formed Tri-Hard again, but this time in Trident Form, and swung it over his head, smashing it against the side of Cardin's head, shifting it into Sun's Gunchucks.
As Cardin turned to face the Deacon, he spun them over and over, firing shells relentlessly into Cardin's body, shredding through what remained of his Hardlight Shields. Cardin swung at him, but the Deacon used Fulcrum once again to block the incoming blow of his Mace. He spun around and slashed the enormous blade towards Cardin's head, but the Gladiator caught the enormous blade in his metal hand.
The crowd gasped, not knowing how this intense fight was going to end. Both parties could sense that they had security waiting to break this up if they felt it was going too far. The Deacon dragged Pilgrim down Cardin's metal hand, the scraping of metals causing sparks to bleed from action. The Deacon jumped towards Cardin and slammed his knee against Cardin's jaw, knocking him to the floor.
Cardin tried to get free, only for the Deacon to form Scarlet's Sword, pointing it directly at his face.
He stared down at Cardin, and the crowd fell silent.
Cardin exhaled with defeat and tapped the floor, closing his eyes with acceptance.
The crowd exploded with cheers, and the Deacon sighed with relief, letting the blade crumble into dust in his hand, returning to his arms for future usage.
"AND WITH THAT LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION! GIVE IT UP FOR OUR SAVIOUR! THEEEEEEEE DEAAAAACOOOOOON!" The Commentators cheered, their voices echoing all around the Colisseum. The Deacon looked around as everyone cheered, and he turned to Cardin, who was still on the ground.
The Deacon extended his metal hand to his old Cell-Mate.
"C'mon... let's talk, huh?" The Deacon asked him, and Cardin nodded his head, happily accepting his hand.
Ruby
"... I mean really? Arrested again? By the Gods, Ruby." Penny sighed, whilst Ruby walked with a completely expressionless face, after hearing Penny go on and on and on about this for the past hour. "I mean, what if you got hurt? It could have been a lot worse, you know?"
"Yep..." Ruby sighed as she walked with Winter and Oscar, the latter of which was fighting the urge to laugh at how long this whole debate was going on for.
"So, will you promise me you won't get in any more trouble?" Penny asked.
"I mean, I wasn't exactly expecting there to be trouble. I was working, Pen." Ruby said to her.
"Still though... maybe you and Dutch should stop all this. I don't like the President any more than you do, but she is the President. We can't just keep acting like we're above the law." Penny explained, but Ruby just shook her head.
"Last time we were given a choice between choosing to serve the Government or the people it divided us. And after everything the Black Gallows did? I don't think this discussion is worth having anymore." Ruby explained. Penny went quiet, then nodded her head.
"Okay, fair point." Penny agreed. "But still. No more getting arrested."
"Y'know you should try getting arrested. It might surprise you." Ruby joked, in which Penny gave her a glare. Ruby immediately turned back with fear in her Silver Eyes.
"Hey Ruby, you ever heard of the phrase "don't poke the bear"?" Winter asked her.
"Yeah, I think I'm seeing your point." Ruby agreed.
Penny looked herself up and down. "Do I look like a bear today?" She asked.
"Huh? No, it's a saying!" Ruby replied, and finally Oscar started laughing.
"Oh, I've missed this." Oscar chuckled as he walked with them, passing by the trees of the Emerald Forest, which was nearby.
"Like old times, isn't it?" Winter asked him with a smile.
"The better parts of those old times, at the very least." Ruby said, looking at an old rusted over Black Gallows Wasp which was half buried in the forest where it crashed. These things were everywhere after they unleashed the Black Queen Virus on the Black Gallows. Their Aircraft came crashing down everywhere, even some innocent lives were lost when they crashed into buildings in the Kingdoms.
They all knew that there would be consequences for their actions, but learning that innocent people died when that virus was uploaded did admittedly make them feel mixed about how they defeated the Black Gallows. Ruby stopped as she looked at the Wasp. "Thought all of these were taken apart at the Mantle Ship Breaking Yard?" Ruby asked as she stared at the wreckage. Winter stopped and stood beside her.
"Not all of them. A lot of them were missing, or some were so damaged that there was no point in trying. Or some were just too difficult to retrieve, especially the big ones." Winter explained, and Ruby nodded her head.
"Those were some long months, the cleanup. Hard months..." Ruby said as she remembered the days twenty-five years ago. People were everywhere, rounding up Black Gallows soldiers, officials, and operatives for processing and imprisonment or for therapy. Many Black Gallows soldiers were given immense therapy to overcome the Stockholm Syndrome that was forced on them, many of them recovered... but not all of them.
After the war, there was a rash of suicides from Black Gallows soldiers who could not recover from the mental torment they endured, especially now the ideology that was forced on them no longer existed.
They felt like they should have died alongside the Gallows.
It was a hard and tragic time.
That was when the Legion was in its infancy, and they created the programmes to help Stockholm Troopers recover. Thousands of lives were saved thanks to this, but even to this day... Ex-Black Gallows were still discriminated against for their past allegiances.
Sometimes... it felt like the way Adam viewed Humanity was not far off.
They always seemed to seek another monster.
But for Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha and so many others? They all believed that was not true, and that Humanity would not make the same mistakes again, that had to believe it.
Otherwise, what did so many friends die for?
Ruby exhaled as she felt Penny's hand softly squeeze her shoulder, pulling her out of her memories. They both joined Winter and Oscar as they approached the first location where the Hound could have been located at. It was a Cemetary, quite a large one. Many of the graves here were new, within the last twenty-five years, and most of them were the graves of Huntsmen and Huntresses, whose lives were lost during the Inhumane Necessity.
When Salem was in control, many names were forgotten, and any memorials were made by the people and not those in power. Salem, the Black Gallows and the Feral Ones? They wanted the people to forget their children and loved ones ever existed.
Thankfully... just looking at all these names... it was clear that nobody did... but seeing how many graves were here?
It still hurt.
But as Ruby respectfully walked past all the gravestones, she slowed down as she stared down at seven graves in particular.
Sun Wukong, Scarlet Sage, Sage Ayana, Neptune Vasillias
Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark.
Their names haunted all of them, and as she stared at Sun and Neptune's... the two she knew the most, she could not help but remember their faces. When Sun was hanging outside their Dormitory Window when they wanted to track down Roman Torchwick, and Neptune was nervously waiting outside, nearly about to fall off. Neptune being too afraid to ask Weiss out to the dance, Sun always being there for Blake.
She was happy for Yang and Blake when they got together. In truth, she always wished they had done to begin with... but she also understood why it took Blake a long time to actually take Yang's hand in marriage. For a long time Blake was just... constantly haunted by his shadow, like she felt guilty for moving on when the whole time he was still alive, holding out hope that she'd find him.
It was only then did she finally understand what Ironwood meant after Yang attacked Mercury during the Vytal Festival.
Sometimes you see things that simply aren't here... even after the fight has passed...
"Ruby?" Penny called out, snapping Ruby out of her memories once again. She turned and saw Penny crouched over something.
"What've you found?" Ruby asked as she walked towards Penny. She turned the corner of graves, and stopped, her silver eyes widening at what Penny was staring down at. She crouched down beside her, and Penny was using one of her sword to pull some black tar from the grass. The tar was killing all the surrounding grass, meaning it was most certainly still alive. Penny looked at Ruby as the goo dripped from the blade.
"Yep... no doubt in my mind. It was drawn here for a while." Ruby said. "All the residual negative energy of a graveyard? Especially one holding so many traumatic memories? No surprise it came here to rest." Ruby said, standing tall and looking around.
"It must have needed to shed its wings by the looks of things." Penny said as she took a gander, seeing how much of the black blood was splattered everywhere. Grimm leaked this stuff, it's true, but never this much, unless it was injured or was in some kind of metamorphosis. Which Hounds were constantly in a state of, able to transform their bodies into whatever they needed, they were almost the perfect Grimm.
"Meaning it's on foot for now." Ruby said, looking around. "There."
She calmly approached a set of tracks, no doubt in her mind whatsoever. "Guys!" Penny called out as Ruby crouched down, pressing her fingers to the dirt.
"Tracks look pretty fresh. It must have stayed here overnight. Then headed off in the morning... meaning it's smart." Ruby stated. "And well... if a Grimm has survived all this for at least twenty-five years? Well... it's gonna be really smart."
Winter and Oscar approached and saw all the things they had already spotted. "An Alpha Hound..." Penny stammered. "Young ones were hard enough, but an Alpha?"
"Never faced one like this before, they only started appearing when Salem took control of Remnant. And well... we saw the beginnings of it... all those towns with people abducted by those damn Abductors? They were taken for Salem's experiments... and probably tortured by Tyrian." Ruby explained as she looked around.
"I hope this is the last Grimm. Surely there can't be more lurking around?" Oscar asked.
"I've seen things on the internet, a lot of it chalks up to nothing more than hoaxes. Cryptids, stuff like that. All we know is that the Grimm in the Atlesian Wildlands are still out there, just trapped inside of the Cryostorm still. The one good thing about that place, honestly." Ruby explained. "But I've been hearing some stories lately about the Wolf of Vale."
They listened to Ruby as they followed the tracks out of the Cemetary and into the woods. "These stories had been going on for years, usually just spooky stories around Halloween. But recently there's been more stories. People hearing howls, finding deer and cows torn to shreds. And some people even claiming they saw a huge dog-like creature which could stand on its back legs." Ruby explained.
"Sounds pretty familiar." Winter agreed, keeping her hand on the pommel of her sword.
"I always keep an eye on those pages, whilst most of it is crap... there's always a chance a real one could be there. The ones that tend to survive the longest are the Geists, since they're Spectres. I think one of the last Grimm we killed was an Abductor hiding in some old ruins. But it's been a long time since we've had anything as blatant as this." Ruby said as they kept on walking.
"Weird though... Grimm never attacked wild animals before. Even the last ones never attacked animals, they only hunted people. If this Hound really is the one from those stories and is killing animals... why the change of appetite?" Oscar wondered as they walked.
"Hounds are different... gotta remember... they were people once. The way they're made is completely different to any other Grimm. Meaning they're completely unpredictable." Ruby explained.
They continued to follow the tracks deeper into the woods, completely unsure of where it would lead them.
Or where this Hound was going.
Nora
On the other side of Remnant, in the wilderness of Anima...
Kuroyuri was reborn, rebuilt from the ground up, and in the centre of it all stood a gorgeous statue of Li and Ann Ren, in memorial of all the lives that were lost here, and never forgetting everything Li did to help so many lost souls. Children played in the streets filled with life once more, Kuroyuri finally being the haven that the founders dreamed it of being separate from the machinations of the Mistraalian Government.
As kids played, Nora Valkyrie walked with a basket hanging from her arm. Her scars had faded over time and streaks of grey hair mixed in with her orange hair. She smiled as she saw them all playing, no longer seeing the burning ruins which the Nuckelavee once stalked through. She now saw a home... somewhere she could finally live a peaceful life with her husband. She stopped as she felt her hand tug, looking down at her short son, Mushu.
"C'mon, mom!" He called out, running ahead with limitless energy. Nora laughed, following him as she walked.
"Hold up, my legs aren't as good as they used to be." Nora giggled, following the hyperactive boy to the river. He crouched down and stared at the Lotus Flower which floated on the perfectly clear water. She smiled as she looked at him, his long red hair with a streak of pink flowing down the side of it, just like his father's. "Well, well, little Mushu... what've you spotted over there?" She asked him as she walked over to his side.
"It's so pretty! Can we take it with us and plant it in our pond?" He asked excitedly, but she just kindly smiled.
"No, honey... that flower lives here. If we move it, it could die. Why not let it continue to live happily where it is?" She asked him, and he sighed sadly.
"Okay." He said.
"Besides, your dad and I have been thinking about getting some of those for the pond. They'll be just as beautiful as you." She said, poking his little nose with a smile. He giggled happily as they walked. She passed by the many homes as she approached the large home in the centre of the village, where she saw him stood on the balcony. His hair had gone grey, but his streak of pink hair remained as vibrant as ever.
Lie Ren looked down at her with an adoring smile, sometimes it felt like a dream, that after everything they had been through together, they had actually made it. Their dream had come true, and she'd never change it for anything. She walked inside with Mushu who jumped on the sofa and immediately grabbed his controller, playing his favourite video game. Nora set her basket down and she put the food she bought away, loading the cabinets with bread and the fridge with fresh meat.
In her age, Nora had mellowed a bit, but not completely, evident from the fact that the sugary foods were kept well out of her reach.
As if that would stop her, of course.
Resting above their fireplace were their weapons, Stormflower, Stormur Skeggox and Magni, trusted old friends of these old warriors. And Li's knife was placed somewhere very special in particular, in the centre, where the light of the flames shone across its dark steel serrated edge. Once Nora was done putting the shopping away, she walked up the stairs to be with her husband.
She looped one arm through his and held him, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder. "How's your day been?" Nora asked.
"Annoying." He sighed.
"Lemme guess, Mistraalian Council trying to shackle us into their rule again?" Nora asked, making him chuckle.
"Nail on the head. I gotta give it to them... they're stubborn. But... the Legion has our backs. They've already promised us protection. So... in case the Mistraalians dare try to threaten us, we could easily beat them. Just wish they'd wrap that around their thick skulls." He sighed, shaking his head.
"Why don't we just storm their headquarters? Like old times?" She asked with a cheeky smirk, making Ren laugh and she giggled.
"Tempting." He joked.
They both stood together as they looked up at the mountains. "I went to see the Summit too. Vernal's keeping everything together, just like she promised. The Eagles are safe... so is everyone else. I still like to go back there, see everyone, everything. But she's running it better than I ever could have." Ren explained.
"C'mon, you're too hard on yourself. We've been running Kuroyuri just fine." Nora said.
"Yeah, but this is different. A town is nothing compared to the Summit's Claim... the cold weather, all the Altum Eagles to keep track of. I couldn't protect both at the same time." Ren explained, and Nora nodded her head.
"Well, she helped run a Bandit Tribe. I guess that kinda has some similarity to running a town or something. So if anyone can do it, Vernal is a good choice." Nora agreed, and Ren nodded.
"I was thinking, though... I've been missing Jaune and Pyrrha. Been a while since we last saw them. What if we have a holiday in Vale? Take the kids. Go see them and Ori?" Ren asked her, and she smiled.
"And miss pinching Ori's adorable little cheeks? Not a chance in hell. Let's do it. Especially if it's a surprise." Nora said with a bright smile on her face, making Ren laugh. He turned and caressed her cheek, leaning in to give Nora a warm and loving kiss.
"I love you..." He said to her, and she smiled, pressing her forehead against him.
"I love you more." Nora replied, making him laugh.
"Gods, you two are so embarrassing, aren't you?" A familiar voice asked from below, and they both looked down to see Thrudd stood below, hand on her hip, the same daughter Nora was pregnant with in the year Salem fell. Originally named Freya, she changed her name to Thrudd of her own choice, a choice which her loving parents accepted with grace, for Thrudd seemed like a far more fitting name.
And she was right.
At twenty-five years old, she had grown into a beautiful woman, with long braided orange hair, and bright pink eyes, carrying a perfect replica of Magnhild on her back, remade with her mother's help, for it was always her dream to be a Huntress just like her mother.
Of course, in a world where the Grimm were extinct, Thrudd's job was now to fight against criminals and most importantly – Bandits.
After the Branwen Tribe fell, the Huntsmen and Huntresses hunted near to extinction and Salem dead?
Bandits started cropping up everywhere, meaning to Kuroyuri and many other towns. The help of a Huntress was needed now more than ever.
"You'll meet someone you'll wanna smooch every day too, y'know!" Nora teased as she squeezed Ren's cheeks. He did not even protest, since he knew he'd never win. Thrudd rolled her eyes, chuckling as she walked inside, then made her way up the stairs to be with her parents.
They both turned to her as she approached, and no matter how many years passed, Nora could not help but be in awe whenever she saw her children, amazed that she and Ren created these amazing people. "How was your day, honey? No trouble, I hope?" Ren asked her.
"Nothing too crazy. Think me and my team could be onto that gang that's been lurking around robbing local towns, though. Would be good if we can stop them sooner rather than later." Thrudd said.
"That's good. Damned thieves..." Ren sighed as he shook his head, then Thrudd narrowed her eyes.
"Okay, something's up, what's going on?" Thrudd asked.
"Huh? What're you talking about?" Nora asked in confusion.
"You're both acting weird." Thrudd said.
"We are?" Ren asked.
"Are you pregnant again?" Thrudd asked, catching Nora off guard and making her laugh.
"Last I checked, no, I don't think so." Nora laughed.
"I dunno you guys are just being really quiet about something." Thrudd said as she planted her hands on her hips.
"Oh no, nothing crazy. We've just been thinking about a trip to Vale we wanna do soon. To see your Auntie Pyrrha and Uncle Jaune." Ren said, crossing his arms. "Now I know you're busy, so if you can't make it, then..."
"Oh, I'm coming. I'm not missing Auntie Pyrrha, I've missed her." Thrudd assured. "Hopefully we'll catch those thieves in the next few days, so that shouldn't be a problem." Thrudd assured.
"Oh! Well, that's good, thank the Gods." Nora laughed.
"I've also been curious to see what my little cousin's been up to. Ori's one of the smartest kids I've ever met. I wouldn't be surprised if she's made a robot army or something crazy." Thrudd chuckled as she walked out of the balcony and back downstairs, ruffling Mushu's hair.
"Hey sis!" Mushu squeaked.
"Hey trouble, been causing trouble like I asked you?" Thrudd asked him with a smirk.
He just answered with a mischievous little grin, making Thrudd smirk as she sat down, crossing one leg over the other. Ren and Nora shook their heads with proud smiles down at their children.
"This is gonna be a fun trip." Nora said with a hopeful smile.
The Deacon
He was sitting in the cafeteria, which he made sure was kept empty so that they could speak in private. Cardin walked out of the kitchen and left some lien on the table after making himself some food. He carried his tray over to the table where the Deacon was waiting for him, his hands held together patiently. Cardin stared at the Deacon cautiously as he sat down, setting the tray down on the table.
"Who are you?" He asked with a nervous voice.
"I will tell you... I promise..." He assured, Cardin scoffed.
"But you won't tell me now? After everything we went through together? How am I even supposed to know you're actually who you're claiming to be?" Cardin questioned. The Deacon stared at him, then exhaled, his voice still distorted through his helmet.
"Jaune." He said, and Cardin's face changed. "He tricked us, made us think he was breaking us out. Only for him to lead us to a trap where a bunch of Abductors were waiting for us, and they snatched us all... and sent us all right back into that cell. You were the only one who made it out." The Deacon explained.
Cardin fell silent, and he took a bite out of his steak, but thinking about those memories very quickly put him off his appetite. His hand started shaking as he remembered Jaune's purple eyes, and hearing Tyrian's maniacal laughter. But after that? Cardin knew that there was no way he could possibly know about that, unless if he was there.
Cardin still did not say a word as he came to that realisation. Until he finally asked him a question that was haunting him.
"What took you so long to come see me, man?" Cardin's eyes were glossy with tears, his voice trembling. The Deacon hung his head guiltily.
"... I am not the person you once knew... not anymore, Cardin. I don't even know who I'm supposed to be anymore... I look in the mirror and... I see the scars... I hear their voices... I hear their screams... I hear his laugh..." The Deacon explained as he raised his metal hand in front of his face, trembling as he closed his eyes behind the helmet. "Why did I take so long? Because I didn't know if I could... considering what I've become." The Deacon admitted.
There was a long silence between them. "I know that's no good excuse... I'm sorry..." The Deacon sighed, and Cardin hung his head, then shook it, pushing his tears away.
"Well... you're here now... whoever you are." Cardin said. "So why now?"
The Deacon stared at him, then he leant back. "For a long time I tried to avoid it, hide from it. Tyrian's dead... I wanted to hurt him so bad for what he did to us... what he did to them... and the fact he made me watch and survive it. The sole survivor... it haunts me, and every day I was afraid he'd show up on my doorstep to finish me off, but he never turned up. Took me a long time to accept that he was dead." The Deacon explained.
He got up from the chair and paced around. "But Jaune? He forced me to watch them all die in so much pain... and I was helpless to stop it. I can still hear... the way he told me to open my eyes, every... single... hour." The Deacon explained. He stopped as he held his hands to the side of his head, then let them fall. "And right now, Jaune is living a happy, inconsequential life in Vale, with Pyrrha... and their daughter. Now I have no quarrel with those two. They're innocent and I would rather not destroy their family... but..." The Deacon explained.
"Why should he get to have a happy ending after everything he's done?" Cardin asked, nodding his head. "I think about that often... and that I wish I killed him that time in Forever Fall." He sighed, shaking his head.
"Truth is, I don't want Jaune dead. I want him punished for what he's done, to face justice for it. I'm no monster. I don't want to make that little girl lose her father. But he cannot be allowed to get off scot-free." The Deacon explained as he approached the table. Cardin nodded his head in agreement, and he crossed his arms.
"You want me to help you bring him in?" He asked.
"That's right. We can both get our justice for what he did. Maybe afterwards... we can both sleep a little better at night." The Deacon said, then he just scoffed, sitting back down. "Who am I kidding... I know it won't... but... I can't keep living with it."
"Neither can I..." Cardin sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Alright, I'm in. But there's a problem with this... Dutch made sure that only people that he knew could be trusted would know where him and his family live. And I doubt he let you in on it, did he?" Dutch asked.
"No, he didn't. And Dutch is a good man. He tried to help me as much as he could. To be honest, he's half the reason it's taken me twenty-five years to do this. That and everything else that's happened." The Deacon explained.
"So, what's your plan to locate them?" Cardin asked, and the Deacon took a quick glance to make sure nobody was listening.
"In a few days... the C.C.T is being shut down for a scheduled maintenance for a whole day, leaving on Local Channels on. Everyone knows about it, so there's no panic. And that will be our window to go to them." The Deacon explained.
"Who?" Cardin asked.
"Blake and Yang." He answered. Cardin's eyes widened, and he leant back.
"Whoa... I dunno, man... she's the High Leader of the White Fang, and neither will give up that intel easily or without a fight. That could be considered an act of war." Cardin explained.
"I know, and I don't want it to come to that. But... I know the truth of what happened, and she still deserves to know." The Deacon explained. "Now, if we can convince them? Great... but if we can't... I need you to get Yang away from there and keep her distracted, while I try to get through to Blake. Yang will no doubt get in the way... but remember I don't want any harm to come to her family, honestly I don't want any of them hurt. But we have to do whatever we must to do this." The Deacon explained.
"And with the C.C.T down, they won't be able to warn Jaune in time." Cardin realised.
"Exactly. And Blake won't want a war, especially not with her Civil War nearing it's end. She wants peace... so hopefully she won't do anything extreme." The Deacon hoped.
"A lot of hopes and dreams riding on this plan. And it's just the two of us?" Cardin asked. The Deacon looked at him.
"I never said that. There's two others... the last one I think I know how to track her down... and the next? Well... I know exactly where to find her. Her movements have been pretty predictable each year. And as the Last Maiden... she's always a person of interest to the Legion." The Deacon explained.
"Eryka? Neptune's sister?" Cardin asked. The Deacon nodded his head.
"She deserves to know the truth, too." The Deacon stated. "Once Jaune is in custody and pays for his crimes... I will take off my helmet to all of you. To the world too... and then I'll face the consequences of my own actions as well." The Deacon assured.
"You're willing to go to prison over this?" Cardin asked.
The Deacon paused. "I'm a dead man walking, Cardin... I never really came out of that cell. The person I was died there with everyone else. I'm a shadow of who I was... but I still have a code of honour, like any true Huntsman should. So I will face the music with honour as well... just as Jaune should." The Deacon explained. Cardin exhaled, then he continued to finish his food.
"Okay. I'm in." Cardin agreed. "Just... lemme finish this first... tastes good."
"I'm not a savage. Go on." The Deacon chuckled.