Ruby
Her large silver eye stares directly at the Visionary Book, whispers travel towards her like the enticement of a fish by the lure of the rod. Oscar stands beside her, looking at her then she sighs, because she knows that she needs to see what is on the other side. She walks towards the book across the room from them, mysteriously held in the chamber. But Oscar gently holds onto her hand and pulls her back slightly. Ruby turns and looks at him with a bewildered expression, as if she wants an answer to why he is so reluctant to approach it. "Wait..." Oscar requests as he holds her hand, she looks at him then at the Visionary Book. It is another key to solving the mystery on how to defeat the Knight of Grimm once and for all. Ruby has always been the curious one, and it has always tended to get her in trouble in the past. Take Mountain Glenn for instance, she got captured because of that inquisitiveness. Ruby sighs, closing her eye and then she looks right at him.
"What is it?" She sighs, since they both know how important the information hidden inside of that book could be.
"I – I just think maybe I should use it...you know in case if something bad happens." He says, as selfless as ever, which makes Ruby smile. She gently caresses his cheek and kisses him, then she slowly walks towards it, him beside her.
"It'll be fine..." She assures, with shaken breath. She has never accessed one of these before, but now she can. She approaches it; all of them are filled with so many questions, why are the Vacuo Headmasters securing an Ancient Visionary Book? There must be an answer for this, but they do not have time to dwindle on such things. Ruby exhales, and she slowly raises her hand towards the book. The huge book of thousands of ancient pages swings open, multiple pages passing over as it lands on the page with a handprint. It practically replicates her own hand.
She'd be lying if she said that she was not scared, the thing truly does terrify her. The pages and the dark magic that must have been used to craft such a monstrous device is completely unpredictable. This kind of magic is practically alien to them all, they have no idea of what kind of effects that it could have on them in the future.
But it matters not.
Ruby breathes deep and exhales through pursed lips. She holds her hand above it and Oscar ever so gently holds her wrist to calm the shaking down, she smiles when she looks at him. Her large silver eye stares at the book, hearing the whispers from the mysterious object. "What could go wrong?" She asks, and Oscar takes his hand from hers, as she presses her hand upon it.
Suddenly there is an almighty flash of magical energy, so powerful that it actually creates a pulse that launches Oscar off his feet and sliding across the ground. He tumbles across the ground and he stares at Ruby with widened eyes. The same sort of shards of energy that he uses and sees with his semblance have just encased her, freezing her in this point of time from his eyes. He stands up and approaches it and attempts to touch her, but the barrier of frozen time is too thick. "Ruby!" He calls.
She cannot hear him...
Her eye is wide with shock as she is taken from her body, little does she even realise that both her eyes are actually in her body where it takes her. She stands there, staggering as she looks at her body, still wearing the same clothes and at the same age, but she can see through both eyes this time. The book has taken her aura from her body, allowing her to see the memories of the aura fragments that have been bound here. Shards of time float around her, and she looks up at the sky. "Oscar!" She calls out fearfully, her voice echoes endlessly through the mysterious realm that is the innards of the Visionary Book. He cannot hear her cries, but she hears something else. Two faint voices, and the sound of waves crashing against the wooden skin of a boat.
Then the shards all begin to take shape around her, hardening and changing colours into the brown wood that makes up the body of the ship. It is incredible, she can evil feel the air and the floor, as she bends down and touches it with her fingers. She can feel the indentations in the craftsmanship of the ship. There is carpet on the ground as well, along with a mirror on the wall and multiple cupboards as well. The door is shot, most likely locked as well, and Ruby walks towards the window of the room that she is inside of. She presses her hand against the wood, looking out at the ocean that is before them. Cloudless skies and no signs of any Grimm Activity in the oceans either.
Then she hears the voices again, a young woman's giggling laughter and a man's. She turns to the bed, only just now noticing all the clothes that are on the floor. She sees the couple that share the bed, fully unclothed after they had their fun. The woman is beautiful with large blue eyes and ice white hair, snuggled up to the man who has his arm around her, gently caressing her back. She has no scars on her body unlike him, who has multiple on his chest, back and arms. Even a couple on his face. He has dark black hair and green eyes, then Ruby realises when he sees a Sword and a Bow leant against each other on the wall. Her eyes widen when she sees them and figures it all out.
It is Death and Loss...
Or as they were known before they became the Knights of Grimm – Krekras Blackridge and Starla Schnee.
Ruby never expected this, for them to be having a romantic relationship together, but then she remembered...they both had spouses already. Starla has children at this point in her life, and yet they both were having an affair together. But this clearly was not some sort of fling; they clearly have been in love with each other for some time. The looks in their eyes and the smiles on their faces proves that. Otherwise they would have been having sex due to physical attraction, nothing more than that. She listens to what they both say to each other, and Starla has such a tender voice. "Well...I didn't expect that..." She giggles.
"Well, you know me...always like to surprise." He flirtatiously smirks as he looks at her.
"Oh yeah?" Starla asks him, he leans in to kiss her, until they hear the intercom blaring. It is strange, the boat looks old fashioned, but it has technology that is higher than anything that they have. These boats are capable of turning into Submarines at a moment's notice, but they kept the old fashioned style instead of making it look all futuristic.
"Vanguards! On deck." The voice of the captain demands. They both sigh, disappointed that their fun has come to a close for this day. Ruby looks away when they both get out of the bed and pick their clothes up and putting them on. She looks out at the ocean, then she realises where she is. Her eyes widen due to never wanting to see the place ever again. The storm barrier surrounds the islands to even back here. Clouds swirl around the islands where Axzura fled from them.
"The Volcanic Chain Isles..." Ruby whispers with disbelief when she sets her eyes on the location. The flashes of lightning flicker for miles and miles. The waves continue to slam into the outer hull of the vessel over and over again, echoing through the ship and across the ocean itself. Ruby turns when she hears the door open, and Krekras has the door open, letting Starla walk through first. Of all the people to be cheating on their family, she never would have expected Starla Schnee, a Schnee to do so...then again...Willow Schnee did with James Ironwood.
Weiss would never do something like that, she is better than that.
Ruby follows them into the hallway of the ship. It is quite tight and she walks into one of the Arkhoni Crewmates, literally passing straight through him. At the end of the day, she is just watching these events, only walking around in the memory. She cannot affect anything that she sees happen before her. The smell of the ship is quite repulsing, all the scents of fish being held in the cargo bay and multiple men and women serving on it leads to a rather disgusting scent in places. She walks past more and more crewmates, following the two Vanguards as she stands onto the deck. There are soldiers onboard with their weapons in their hands, ready to battle anything that comes their way. Ruby even notices that the same Warden that was trapped on the islands when she and the others were there is still on this ship. She never did see it, but she remembers the descriptions that they told her about. The ancient mechanical guard that was trapped under some branches in a river just woke up.
Then Penny rescued them.
Ruby shadows Krekras and Starla as they approach the captain of the ship. Oscar had seen him before, but Ruby has not. He stands at the very front of the ship with his mace on his shoulder, staring directly at the islands ahead of him. He has short brown hair and brown eyes with a scruffy stubble on his chin and mouth. He also carries a scar down is left cheek as well, by the looks of it; it must have been delivered by a blade. Not by a Creature of Grimm. "Wymerus, so Vex is in there?" Krekras asks him as he stares at the swirling storms around the islands. Captain Wymerus turns to him and nods.
"Looks like it; he must have a Submergible similar to ours." Wymerus deduces, similar to what they all did to get into the islands to rescue Ruby five years ago. But that was a perilous journey with countless foes waiting for them in the deep. It all makes sense why Neptune would be so scared of the depths of the ocean, of water...when you go down there and see the demons of the deep...then you would be terrified as well.
Ruby turns, feeling her hairs standing on end when she hears his oh-so familiar voice. "Wymerus! Why'd you wake us up? I was having a wonderful beauty nap!" The upbeat voice of Rylen Vazquez calls, and Ruby's eyes widen when she sees him approach with his hand rubbing his eye like a child. This is Fear before he became a Knight; clearly his personality has not changed in the slightest. Wymerus stares at him, he clearly does not share the same enthusiasm that the rest of the Vanguards have before him, and he just rolls his eyes and looks on ahead. Wymerus presses his hands against the wooden railing, feeling his hairs stand on end from the electrical charges coming from the distant lightning bolts in the storm. Rylen looks past the grumpy captain and then he sees the storm wall that protects the Islands, and perhaps where the Relic was being held before it was taken by someone into the Vault in Vacuo.
What other reason would it want to return? Other than the islands are its home...now the home of the Relic is Dragonspire Keep.
Rylen stands there with narrowed eyes and Starla walks over to him, she and Krekras are both wearing their combat gear now. She has her hunting robes and armour plating around her willowy body, and she looks at Rylen. "What's made the Captain so grumpy?" Rylen wonders as he looks at him as he stares out. Starla, the most compassionate of the Vanguards, whispers into his ear.
"His wife was killed on one of the ships that Axzura Vex attacked." She whispers to him, and Rylen quickly appears to understand the nature of his anger in his face. They can see the pressure in his fingers where he grips the railing so tight. Rylen turns and looks at her, deciding to change the subject to try and lighten the mood.
"How's your sister doing?" He asks her.
"Raala? She's okay; she's taking her children and her husband to Ephai. She has some business there with the scientists working on the Grimm." She explains to him. Clearly Raala Schnee was interested in science instead of business, like how the Schnee Name has become now. Raala was the one that survived and became the only remembered Schnee ancestor, Starla was sadly forgotten. Most likely due to the Curse that was cast upon her.
"What do you think we'll find in there?" Rylen asks, but then another man answers. He is a young man with an Isomacium Staff in his hand, walking past them.
"Lots of Grimm and hopefully Vex and his Crew." The man says, little do they even realise that the young man is actually Kragen Nox. His silver eyes looking at the two Vanguards as he passes by them both. He walks back over to his men and he stands beside them with his arms crossed. Ruby follows him and she looks at who he speaks to, there is a young man with Silver Eyes as well who is stood there with his sword in his hand, swinging it back and forth. He is around the same age as he is, and then he looks at him with silver eyes as well. He has a square shaped jaw and rather muscular arms. He wears a suit of Knight's Armour, plates of metal all welded together around him and vambraces that have bits of bone armour from Grimm attached.
Incredible, the Arkhoni have even learned how to harvest materials from them. Most likely because they have learned how to control of the Grimm...for a while anyways. Kragen leans against one of the crates, looking at the Silver Eyed Warrior. "How are you feeling, Kannix Volantis?" Kragen asks him, clearly that must be the name of the man who stands here beside him. He sighs as he swings the sword back and forth slowly.
"A little nervous...my first fight after all." Kannix nervously admits, his voice is stammering with intimidation of what they are about to face.
"Well, just think about what you are fighting for. Got anyone back home? A lady perhaps?" Kragen asks him with a smile, nudging his elbow with his to calm him down. He is a very good leader, making sure that he is ready for anything. Kannix smiles and he nods. "What's her name?" He asks him.
"Her name is Cynthia Nikos." He answers, and Ruby's eyes widen when he reveals that. Cynthia...that is the name of the girl that tried to seduce Oscar that time. And Vir Nominis Umbra offered him the choice with the potions, either take one and take pleasure with her without even remembering it, or to trick her with the other and only let her believe that is what happened. Either way, none of them would have expected that from her...perhaps then she is not exactly what she claimed to be for Oscar. "She is beautiful...I mean...I haven't asked her out yet...but I want to if I come back from this." He admits, quickly destroying the theory she was calculating in her head. So Cynthia did not try to cheat on him behind his back, because they are not together.
"What does she look like?" Kragen asks him, with his arms crossed.
"She has...beautiful red hair, and large green eyes...she looks like an angel." He tells him with a smile, and Kragen chuckles, patting his shoulder. "What about you? Do you have anyone out there waiting for you?" Kannix asks him curiously and Kragen picks his staff back up and turns to him.
"Not that I know of!" He calls back to him.
"Then what do you fight for?" He asks him, and Kragen smiles.
"The thrill of the hunt!" He replies, truly surprising her to her core. Young Kragen was nothing like the man that they all know now...something big must have changed him after this event on those islands. He was not with the Vanguards, he said that he was with his soldiers and he lost them all. Perhaps Kannix was one of those Silver Eyed Warriors. When Kragen was young, he was a lot like Yang, he did not become a Warrior to help people or to be a hero, but he wanted the adventure. He wanted a life where he did not know what tomorrow might bring...and thus it seems like something must have happened as it did to Yang. Something changed his perspective on things...he saw what the real world has to offer.
Ruby stands there, feeling some droplets water hit her hand and a puddle forms at her feet. She looks down at the puddle at her own refection...despite here in this world she is scarless...in the reflection she can see her real face. The patch that covers the blown open eye from the battle at Mistral. She closes her eyes and sighs as a tear falls from her real eye...all she wanted was to be a hero.
She may not have heard him...but Umbra was so right.
When are the heroes ever happy?
Her sadness is broken however when she hears the voice of the Captain calling out to the crew of the Dauntless. "All hands!" He roars, his powerful voice echoes across the whole ship, and all the soldiers stand to attention. Even Kragen is standing like that, they would never see him do that nowadays, he does not believe in that kind of leadership. He has always believed in leading through creating friendships and trust. They all stand to attention and Wymerus points back at the islands that they are approaching on the ship. "We are soon going to hit the Storm Wall that protects the Islands! Dark forces are at work here on this land, and Axzura Vex has been using it to hide from us after his attacks! We are going to put them to a stop no matter the cost!" He bellows to them all, and the soldiers pound their fists into their chests. He turns and points the end of his mace directly at the storm wall.
His booming voice calls out once more. "Retract all sails! Engage Submersible Systems!" He orders, the workers swiftly run over to the controls. One of them pulls the levers back with all his might, and it finally clicks into place with a bang. The tall wooden masts start to descend, folding away into the Dauntless' Deck itself, and the sails also fold into the wooden masts. They enter the vessel, then a high-tech dust powered device rises from the deck, and a bright light is emitted from it. It projects a powerful shield that surrounds the whole ship, and then the Dauntless sinks into the ocean. Ruby's eyes widen as she looks around, seeing the blue rising around them, then they are completely submerged. They can all hear the robust propellers spinning through the salty water, along with distant calls from Whales and perhaps other monsters of the deep.
The Dauntless moves across the ocean and they enter an area that the others know quite well. A sunken city... clearly this means that the city was indeed sunken long before this ever happened. "What is this place?" Kannix asks as he looks at one of the destroyed buildings.
"A failed attempt." Wymerus tells them.
"Attempt of what?" Kannix asks him curiously, still brandishing his sword.
"We tried to build cities that would be able to submerge with the same technology that we are using here." He explains to them, and Kannix looks at the place, seeing the Creatures of Grimm lurking inside. The Krastax are in here somewhere, probably watching them from the buildings as well, the giants of the deep.
"What happened?" He asks him.
"The Grimm broke the shields, and flooded the entire population of the city." He tells him, and their eyes are wide.
"How long ago did this happen?" Kragen asks him, strange to hear Kragen be the one asking the questions. But at some point he would have done this.
"One hundred years ago." Wymerus answers, looking at the area. Suddenly a Krastax Warrior bursts from the rubble of a building, its huge bony mandibles open wide as it howls at them, the bioluminescent spines on its back glow bright red with aggression. But the Dauntless blasts a bunch of underwater flares towards the creature, scaring it off and back into the deep. The brightness of the flares seems to deter them, but the Tethys did not have any, only torpedoes and dust powered cannons on the hull. They continue to pass through the remnants of the city, it is much larger looking in this time than it was when they came searching for Ruby five years prior in the present day. Most of it now is rubble or has even turned to sand, or been taken over by coral reefs.
Ruby looks around, able to see multiple Krastax watching them from the buildings, swimming around the area with barnacles and pieces of coral actually growing off their black armour plating. She can hear the haunting snarls and howls of the creatures that stalk them, but the shields can protect them for now. Kragen stands there, spinning his staff through his fingers and his silver irises shimmer faintly.
Ruby can feel the current getting more and more aggressive as the journey continues on, passing over the barrier of powerful storms. Hurricanes, water spouts and cyclones battling endlessly around the islands themselves. Krekras stands there with his sword in his hand, not Ferrum Arctus but simply a lethal blade that he is capable of using. Ryle picks up his spear and his crossbow that he fits onto his left shoulder in order to draw it quickly with his right arm, his shooting arm. Starla holds her bow and has an arrow at the ready if she needs to, and Wymerus is ready to battle against anything that waits for them on the other side. "We have passed underneath the Storm Wall!" The pilot of the craft calls and Wymerus turns to him.
"Surface!" Wymerus demands, and the Dauntless rises up the ocean at some speed, the water rushes around them, then it busts up from the water like a balloon that was held down there for some time. The water splashes everywhere, and the Dauntless floats atop the water, and the shield powers down. The Sails and Masts rise from the deck and the long wooden planks shift aside so then they can rise and the sails can fold and extend outwards. The Dauntless slowly approaches the docks where Ruby's saviours docked five years ago. Beside them is his ship, docked there as well.
But suddenly, a powerful lightning bolt shoots down from the sky and burns directly through the centre mast, the heat fractures the wood, as the electrical energy finds its path of least resistance. Shards of burning hot wood are thrown everywhere, Ruby staggers but the wood could not harm her anyways. She gasps, seeing a man getting his throat cut open by a shard of wood, severing his jugular and making him struggling to keep the heavy bleeding at bay. He screams through chapped lips, blood pours from both his mouth and neck as he falls over to the ground, unable to scream anymore as his larynx gets flooded with blood. Ruby watches helplessly as he suffocates on his own blood on the ground, writhing with agony before finally dying. A couple others were killed from the shrapnel, some pinned to the wall by bigger chunks, and one was hit directly in the skull and another through the sternum. Blood everywhere from it, and the Dauntless is now completely disabled. Without the mast, it cannot escape and the shield generator has been blown to pieces from the electrical charge.
They all look at the ship that belongs to Axzura Vex; it seems that something similar has happened to his. "What the hell? This can't be his base! Not if his ship is scuttled!" Kannix exclaims, stumbling across the deck as he slips on the blood and the water that washes onto the deck.
"That is not his ship!" Wymerus assures.
"How do you know?" Kragen shouts over the thunder that rumbles above their heads. Wymerus stares at them, and then looks at the destroyed ship that suffered the same fate as the Dauntless just did. A well shot lightning bolt that blew the mast apart and destroyed the Shield Generator for the Submerging Feature.
"Because I watched his vessel disappear into the fog when he destroyed the ship my wife was on." Wymerus tells him, staring directly at Kragen's silver eyes. Kragen watches as Wymerus leaps overboard and onto the pier. He lands on both feet, with his mace in hand as he steps onto the island. Krekras, Rylen and Starla look at him, then at each other before they follow him. The three of them jump down before the Silver Eyed Warriors do, and then the Knights follow with some of the soldiers that would be manning the Dauntless. Now they have no choice but to follow them.
Ruby looks at the mountains...hoping she would never have to see this place ever again. She sighs and begins to follow them off the Dauntless and into the island. This time, however, she is the one entering on foot opposed to being on the Drift of Wandering Star. The others had to make this trek through the landscape, and they keep moving onwards through the brush. Tall grass soaked through with rainwater. Kannix touches some of the blades of grass with amazement in his eyes. "How can plants be growing here if it is constantly in the middle of a massive storm? There's no sunlight." Kannix questions, bringing up the same point that anyone would rightfully ask when walking through the mysterious island.
"It's that tower over there." Krekras tells him, pointing with his sword at the huge tower that stands in the distance. He pulls his Isomacium Helmet down, and now Ruby sees the Knight of Death. He may not be a Silver Eyed Warrior, but it is powerful armour anyways and he can channel his aura into the armour and his Isomacium Based Sword to make his attacks more lethal. Little does he realise that his aura will become so attached to the armour, that it will be all that remains of him when he becomes one of the Knights of Grimm. Rylen, Starla and Wymerus however do not have that kind of armour, so they are getting drenched in the ceaseless icy cold rain that falls around them. Kannix follows the long Isomacium Sword that belongs to Krekras Blackridge, and he sees the Storm Barrier Generator Spire, the same one that Jaune fought and defeated the Onyx Phantom on, and brought Pyrrha Nikos back.
All of this...
It is like a bad dream...
So many people lost their lives on these islands; the battle was so intense and bloody that over two hundred good men and women lost their lives to save Ruby Rose and the Relic of Choice. Watts may have died here and Tyrian lost his life later on, but the consequences still seem to affect the world today. The Dragon is out there somewhere, it did not die...and Ilia's death still sits in the minds of Adam Taurus, Blake Belladonna and Kassius Locke. "Gods...it feels like we are being watched." One of the Silver Eyed Warriors describes as they walk into the area, the huge Warden walks past him. Massive sharp legs stabbing into the soil as it walks past, creating mechanical thrums and faint blaring horns as it searches for any signs of Grimm Activity.
That Silver Eyed Warrior walks and walks...until something grabs him, and he screams with terror as it pulls him into the tall grass. They all jolt with shock, even Ruby does with widened eyes as she looks around. His sword is on the ground and they can hear his screams as something rips him apart from the tall grass. His screams are silenced when there is a loud ripping sound. Then his head is thrown towards them, blood trailing behind it. "Keep your eyes peeled!" Wymerus orders, backing up with his mace held up, they can hear the faint snarls and whispers of something running through the woods around them. Ruby stands there, listening carefully as well, because whatever lurks here must be very dangerous.
A clicking growl appears from the grass, until another Knight is attacked. He wails with agony as the razor sharp bony claws dig through the metal and into his leg, pulling him away from the group. She saw what it was, it looked almost human with those long claws it had. She can see the long flowing hair, like the thing is underwater despite it being up here. There are faint ghostly screams around them, like raspy breaths that keep on growing and growing.
Until it changes.
Ruby can hear the sound of a woman crying in distress from the grass. Curious, she investigates the sound, walking through the grass as she finds something there. She gasps when she sees a young woman on her knees, sobbing into the soil. She has her hands over her face to cover the tears. She stares at her then crouches down beside her, looking at her. "Hey..." She softly whispers, and then remembers she cannot hear her.
"Hey..." A Silver Eyed Knight says to the woman, and Ruby turns to the guy, seeing him kindly reach out for her. The woman turns and looks at him, she is a beautiful looking woman indeed. Long black hair, and she is barely got any clothing on her body, most of it has been torn up, only just covering her up. She looks at him with teary eyes and he carefully approaches her, and then she nervously reaches out for him. She touches his hand, and then a monstrous smirk appears.
Her cheeks decay before him and long fangs extend from her upper jaw and lower one. The woman lunges straight at him, creating a haunting screech that echoes through Ruby's soul. The creature grabs the Silver Eyed Knight and it rises above them, holding him in its arms. The knight wails with distress, and then the creature savagely sinks its teeth into his body, and then rips him in half, blood raining down over them all. Kragen's eyes widen when he sees the Creature of Grimm, then the lower jaw decays more and falls from its head, leaving only the tongue and the upper jaw. Her legs break apart, leaving only the wrappings floating behind her. Then it bursts towards Rylen Vazquez. "Whoa!" He exclaims, the long ghostly claws of the creature slashes across his chest and launches him backwards. Krekras spins his sword through his fingers, ready to fight the creature.
It looks like a woman with long black flowing hair, glowing red eyes and a long tongue that sticks out from its jawless head. The woman is nearly naked with fibres of clothing that have been torn up around her body, trailing behind her nearly skeletal body. "Noonwraith!" Kragen warns, spinning his staff round and his eyes glow bright silver as he channels the energy into his staff, lighting up the markings. His Silver Eyed Knights do the same with their swords and armour, the pieces of metal all have markings that start to glow white as they engage their gifts. The Noonwraith roars, floating towards them at great speeds, instantly swinging the long curved claws, made from nails, at them. Krekras deflects the attack and it shrieks at him, the blast from the shriek is so loud it actually blows the Vanguard backwards.
Starla draws her bow and launches an arrow straight at the Noonwraith, but the spirit just darts out of the way before the arrow could even hit it. The Noonwraith's glowing red eyes fixate on her and her eyes widen now as it moves towards her, Wymerus bellows as he underarm swings his mace into the creature. The Noonwraith shrieks with pain, being launched backwards from the impact, ectoplasm bursting out from the body. The Spectre rises back up, injured from Wymerus, and it stares at the Silver Eyed Knights. The Noonwraith darks in a zigzagged way towards a knight, plunging the claws into his eyes so hard that the claws protrude out the back of his skull. It roars as it throws the dead man into another, then lunging towards him. The Knight wails with terror as the Noonwraith bites into his head, ripping his head from his shoulders.
Kragen stands there, wide eyed as he watches his trained soldiers being ripped apart helplessly from this thing. Then anger channels into him and he roars with pure rage, his eyes glow bright and he blasts a powerful beam of white light into the creature. The Noonwraith turns, and the beam of light impacts the Spectre, and it shrieks, trying to retreat. Stone encases the form and it freezes in place, he sprints for the monster and immediately smashes his staff into it, shattering the body into thousands of pieces.
The Warden stands tall, blaring the mechanical horn as the sound of more creatures scuttling towards them appears, and they all look around. Kannix stands with Kragen, and they back up towards the rest of them, hearing more Grimm coming from the grass where they cannot see them. A Beowulf lunges towards Kannix and he cuts the creature's head clean off with his sword, then another Beowulf goes to attack Krekras, he instantly plunges his sword into its chest, pinning it against the ground. A Creep comes up behind him and bites onto his shoulder with force, but Rylen shoulder charges the beast backwards off Krekras' back. Krekras spins round and smashes the head of a Grimm Terror Bird so hard it breaks the creature's neck, killing it instantly. A Beowulf leaps from the grass with its claws extended with a monstrous roar, until an arrow shoots into its chest, knocking it out of the ground.
Wymerus bellows, slamming the mace directly downwards into the skull of a Lesser Deathstalker that goes to stab him with its glowing yellow stinger. The mace crushes its head and he immediately spins round and whacks the Ursa Major behind him in the head. Starla snaps the Bow in two so then it is her Tonfas and she sprints at one of the Beowulf Alphas, and she slams both blades into its torso, black smoke pours from its back. The Beowulf roars with agony, staggering back from the impact. She slits its throat and then jumps off it, kicking it up the jaw before slamming both blades back together. She draws the bow back and fires an arrow that flies right in between the Alpha's eyes, causing it to disintegrate.
Kannix slices a Creep's head off, killing it instantly. Suddenly something grabs his heel and he screams as he gets pulled into the bushes. "Kannix!" Kragen yells.
"No! Stay with your men!" Krekras orders, sprinting after him, Wymerus, Rylen and Starla follow him in the direction that they can hear his screams. They are pulling him into the grass, towards the mountain where Axzura's Treasury is. Ruby stands with Kragen, looking around as the Silver Eyed Knights all stand back to back, all the Crewmates have been ripped apart and some of the Knights have been killed. These are the strongest of the Knights, working together. Every blast of Silver Eyed power lights up the forest of Grass.
The Warden stands with them, blasting powerful red energy into the Grimm that channel towards them in the thick grasslands. Ruby looks at Kragen...but she needs to know about the Knights, so she chases after them, letting the Silver Eyed Knights fight off the Grimm as best as they can. She can hear them running after him. "Kannix!" Starla calls out through the grass as they run up the hill. They run for a few minutes, nearly twenty as they follow the sound of his voice as he is dragged off.
Then...
The grass leads straight to the open doors of the structure, and they all walk inside. They walk into the building, Ruby follows them all. They can still hear Kannix screaming with terror and pain from whatever has taken him. Ruby has noticed that Rylen is quite hunched over, injured from the first attack that the Noonwraith had dealt to him, must have broken something in him. And yet he is still going in with them, fair play to him for managing to do that. Krekras is bleeding from some of the attacks he suffered during that fight, it must have lasted longer than Ruby saw, because that run did not take very long.
Starla has a few cuts on her face and Wymerus looks pretty worn down as well. They walk through the mysterious halls, then their eyes widen from what they find. The bodies of all of Axzura's crew...all been massacred by something. But there is no physical damage on them...it is like they all just dropped dead instantly. Their corpses are cold, they have been here for a while. Then they turn a corner, and they see the mountains of golden coins layered everywhere in his Trove. Krekras takes off his helmet when he sees Axzura leant against the golden coins, grabbing his side where he has been bleeding. Claret stains some of the coins but that does not take away their value.
Wymerus storms towards him and he goes to stove his head in with the mace, until Krekras catches his wrist to stop him. "Hey! That is not why we came here!" He sternly reminds, staring at him with angry eyes, and Wymerus stares straight at him.
"This irrumator praetor murdered my wife and children!" Wymerus roars with anger, wanting revenge on what happened. He holds the mace high above his head, teeth gritted together and Axzura looks up at him, but not with anger or wanting to kill him. With what appears to be acceptance of his end. He sighs after he coughs up some blood into the gold. He touches the gold with his hand, looking at it with awe. A tear trickles from his eye as he looks at it, because that is all he has left in his life. And now all of it is gone forever, never to be seen again.
"Then let him be punished for everyone else he killed as well." Krekras states, since they did come here to get him out of this place.
"What happened here? I heard you owned this island?" Rylen questions, confused of why the Grimm and something else have killed all his forced and attacked theirs so aggressively.
"We did have control...but...something changed. We had the Grimm on the whole Island under our command, until today. Something made them turn against us." He strains, struggling to speak to his capturers.
"What about a young Silver Eyed boy? He was dragged in here, we heard him..." Starla attempts, and he looks at her, and he looks around at the mountains of gold that he has made his home in.
"I have not seen any silver eyed lads here..." He weakly answers. Krekras turns to him and he looks down at him.
"Axzura Vex, we have been sent to take you back to Arkhonex to pay for your crimes against our people." Krekras tells him, staring directly at him. Axzura looks at his wound that he has been inflicted by something and he groans with agony, the claret covers his hand. He coughs again, feeling the wound taking its toll over him. He leans his head back into the gold, groaning with pain as he lays there in his winnings from all those raids that he lead.
I wonder if it was all worth it.
"I'm afraid...I doubt I'd make it off the island." He gravely states, and Krekras turns to Starla.
"You can fix that, right?" He asks her, and she nods. She crouches down beside him and he looks at her, seemingly mesmerised by her beauty. She crouches down beside him and she looks at him, doing something that no Schnee ever knew was even possible. She opens her hand and forms a tiny glyph, and she ever so gently presses her palm against his side. He flinches from the icy cold touch of her hand, like all Schnees she has the Glyphs and tends to have pretty poor circulation. Weiss and Winter are both the same, Neptune never stops pointing out how cold her hands are.
But then...
The wound seems to heal, the deep gash in his side begins to repair itself as she uses her semblance to fix him up. And eventually, it does so. She feels the pain recede and he looks at her again, but she just stands back up and returns back to Krekras' side. "Ready to leave now?" He asks him, and Axzura looks around at the place.
"All this...for nothing..." He sighs, then he stands back up and Rylen ties his hands up. Ruby honestly did not expect that. She expected that Axzura Vex, the man that became the Knight of Fury to have put up a fight against them. But he did not, he went with them willingly to face his punishment that awaits him. He walks with them, and they walk down a different path than the one that they entered through, a more discrete path as they walk down and go to return.
They walk down a lonely pathway through the woods, as they slowly return to where their team are. The rain still heavily pours onto them, until a man emerges from the trees and walks towards them. Krekras stops then and he draws his sword, pointing it straight at the man that humbly approaches them with his hood held over his head. "Stop!" Krekras demands through a very commanding tone of voice. The man stops and he looks at them with his hands in his pockets. "Pull the hood down and tell us who you are." He demands.
The man takes a second, then his hands emerge from his pockets and he slowly pulls the hood down to reveal his face. His head is shaven and he has a smile with small inviting brown eyes. They do not know it, and neither does Ruby yet...because she has not seen him yet. Only heard of him. "I am but a humble Soothsayer and Merchant." He tells them with a smile.
"Vir Nominis Umbra...at your service." He greets as he takes a bow before the Knight who keeps the long blade of his Isomacium Sword pointed at him. Ruby's eyes widen when she sees him there...now she knows what he looks like and what he sounds like. And what's more terrifying? Here he stands thousands of years ago in the past and he has not even aged a day, meaning he really is not human in the slightest.
He is something more.
Much more.
"What the hell are you doing on this island?" Rylen questions, then flinching from the sharp pain in his back after his attack from the Noonwraith, then Umbra leans over and he looks at Axzura Vex.
"That man there...he invited me to come along, see if I can find him a good buyer for all that gold in there." He tells them, pointing at the entrance to the Cavern where he has stored all the jewels and gold. Starla looks back at him and he sighs, water dripping from his head as he nods his head.
"I did, he was there and he insisted on coming along." He confesses.
"You just let a merchant come aboard?" Krekras questions with disbelief.
"Believe me, this guy knows people." Axzura assures, then Krekras looks at him again, and the Soothsayer looks at the state of them all.
"Well, well..." Vir Nominis Umbra says as he leans over and looks at them, the damage on their bodies and also their weapons as well. "You lot look the worse for wear." He points out with a smile, Krekras still does not seem to trust him. And for good reason as well, when a random merchant just appears from the woods, it is quite mysterious.
"We'll be fine." He assures, still not buying his act, but it is Starla that convinces him.
"We should at least hear what he has to offer." Starla whispers to him. Krekras – eventually – lowers the sword with a sigh, and Vir Nominis Umbra rubs his hands together, ready to make some bargains with them. Ruby can even hear the old story of the Knights of Grimm in her head that Kassius told back at Mistral, the one that clearly has been miss-told over the years. The first thing that he looks at is Krekras' Isomacium Sword.
"An Isomacium Sword? Very nice...although I feel you could most certainly improve it." He states, and Krekras scoffs.
"Oh yeah? How so?" He questions.
"With magic of course, you oaf." He replies, and he holds his hand above the blade and he looks at him, then casts the spell upon the blade. Markings form, etched into the sword itself, and he takes it back when he offers it to him. The blade feels much lighter and blade is definitely sharper. "Now, I have given your sword easier manoeuvrability in combat. And not only that, every soul you strike down will make it stronger." He states with a smile, then winking at him. The story said that his sword was fractured in the blade, clearly they took out the part of the Isomacium in it, where that is nearly impossible. And now he has Ferrum Arctus, black energy flows through the blade and the hilt.
Umbra now approaches Rylen, who is still in agony from the pain in his back. His spear is broken as well, it snapped when he fell onto the ground, which is the first thing that he finds. "You look like you good have a good pick-me-up...and a new weapon." He says, as he reaches into his bag, and as told in the Tale, he holds a small Gardening Scythe which has been enchanted with a Spell. He hands it to him and they all look at him.
"What is this? Some kind of sick –" Before Rylen could get angry with the Merchant, the blade extends and the handle becomes much longer. He has to hold it in both hands, then feels the displaced bones in his back shifting back in place, it grunts with pain but then feels much better, standing tall again. The hunched over act must have been used later on in his life when he became Fear. He holds Formido Falcem with awe, it too is so light and easy to swing despite the size of it. It gives them all the chills when they look at it.
"Ah...now that is what I call a weapon." Vir Nominis Umbra chuckles as he looks at the massive War Scythe that he holds in his hands. He now approaches the smallest and prettiest of the five, looking at Starla Schnee and his eyes widen with amazement at her beauty. Little does she realise that he heard her singing when Oscar was there, he watched the whole thing. But this whole act, he denies ever seeing her. "My, my...wow! What is a beauty like you doing with these grunts?" He asks her, hand on his chest, and she timidly smiles, and the guys all look at each other, feeling slightly offended by that.
"Well...They wouldn't survive without me..." She giggles nervously and he chuckles.
"Isn't that the truth?" He asks her with a smirk, then he looks at the bow and that is what catches her eye. "Ooh...you're an archer, huh?" He asks her.
"Yes, I have been learning ever since I was tiny." She admits.
"Protective Father, I presume?"
"Very"
"Well, I bet you have never missed a single shot, huh?"
"I'm good, but not that good."
"Would you like to be?" He asks the self-effacing woman, and she looks at him. She just saw the badly wounded Rylen Vazquez recover as soon as he was given that Scythe...the magic must really work. If her superior aim could help so many, then how could she say no? She does not want anyone to suffer with sadness and loss in their lives, so if she can spare them? She will...and that is what he is counting on.
"I...I guess so..." She gently answers and he holds his hand out to her, and she gives him the bow and arrow. He holds the Compact Bow in his hand and he gently slides his hand across the wooden frame of it, then he casts the spell, his eyes glimmer red as he does it. The only one to really notice was Wymerus. The markings form on the bow and he gives it to her, all the markings are different and are of a language that is far more ancient than Arkhoni...that is something far more sinister.
She holds the bow and she smiles as she holds it and steps aside as he approaches Wymerus. He looks right at him with a neutral expression and Umbra crosses his arms. "Well, I can tell you are a man of honour like the leader over there." He says, pointing back at Krekras and he scoffs.
"What could you possibly know about me?" He questions.
"I know that you are one of the best warriors that Arkhonex has to offer, I know that you named your first son after yourself, I know that you have always dreamt of being a teacher one day, and I also know that you first fell in love with your wife simply because she was different to the other whores." He lists, and Wymerus is truly surprised...because all of that was completely true. He wife was once a Whore, and he first met her when he bought her services. He grew to like her and they both ended up falling in love. She got out of the bad job and got a more respectable one as a worker on ships, earning lots of money. And obviously she ended up losing her life because of Axzura's Raids. Umbra leans forward, hands still clasped together as always. "How am I doing?" He asks him with a smirk, and Wymerus stammers.
"Spot on." He admits and Vir Nominis Umbra chuckles menacingly. The Soothsayer looks at him and he can feel the want for Vengeance in him and then he looks down at the mace that he holds.
"What a boring weapon." He says with a sad sigh and Wymerus holds it up before him.
"It has gotten the job done." He states.
"Maybe, but...wouldn't you rather something more powerful than a flimsy mace?" He asks him curiously, and Wymerus lowers the Mace.
"And what exactly would you be willing to give?" He asks him and Umbra thinks...ponders actually, on that.
"Well it could be anything. Power of Lightning, fire, earth, wind...you name it. The Creatures of Grimm and any other foe would definitely see you as a force to be reckoned with." Vir Nominis Umbra explains with a smirk still on his face...the urge is there and he cannot resist. The lyrics do describe him perfectly, a smile so irresistible that you cannot fight it. He sighs and gives him the mace, looking down at the floor. Umbra smirks as he holds it, then casts the spell, markings form and electrical energy begins to spark around the weapon. He holds it in his hand and he looks at the Mace in his hand, it looks far more powerful now than before, like he is the hand of Zeus.
Now...he approaches the last one.
Axzura Vex.
Vex looks at him with his hands bound with rope and Umbra smirks when he looks at him. "It was fun, wasn't it? The journey and the laughs we had?" Vir Nominis Umbra asks him.
"Of course it was." Axzura sarcastically answers with pure anger in his voice.
Which Vir Nominis Umbra senses. And he reaches into his bag and pulls out a pair of old axes that he fits into his back, of which have been already casted on with the spells. Meaning it only takes a certain event to light them. He walks away from them with a smile and they all look back. "Wait! Where are you going?" Wymerus questions.
"My time is not done here!" Vir Nominis Umbra calls, so they keep on moving. Ruby stands there and looks at them as they walk away.
Until...
Umbra stares straight at Ruby and he smirks.
"It is rude to pry, Miss Rose..."
Ruby screams with terror when Vir Nominis Umbra slams his open palm into her chest, launching her back. The landscape around her collapses and shatters into shards of time and memory, then the field around her bursts and it launches Ruby away from the Visionary Book, and right into Oscar's loving arms. She hyperventilates with shock.
...he saw me...he saw me in the Visionary Book, in somebody else's memories...
How is that even possible?
"Whoa, whoa...it's okay...I'm here." Oscar whispers into her ear as he holds her, and he carefully sits down with her. She hugs him, burying his head into his chest as she holds him, shaking with fear. "In...and out..." He soothingly says to her, and she follows his words, breathing in and out slowly. "It's pretty disorientating so take your time."
"He saw me..."
"Huh?"
"He saw me in their memories...How can he do that?"
"Who did?"
Ruby looks at him with terrified eyes, because now she knows who he is.
Who has been following them.
"Vir Nominis Umbra."
Sienna Khan
Sienna Khan stands in the large White Fang Base of Operations, with her hands pressed against the table as she looks over the Map of Remnant. She can tell that things are happening right now, she has marked large trade routes being used constantly by Atlas for some reason. Moving things into the Kingdoms in different places...even into Atlas itself. An attack wouldn't make sense...why would they both attacking their own Kingdom?
Although before she can ponder some more, a Faunus White Fang woman approaches. She does not wear a mask and she looks at Sienna with a datapad. "Ma'am?" She asks her and Sienna turns to her.
"Yes? What is it?" She asks her.
"You need to see this." She says, and Sienna takes the datapad, and looks at it. Her eyes widen from what she sees.
It is the footage of Ruby cutting down Dew in public.
ARE THE HUNTSMEN AND HIUNTRESSES PROTECTING OR ATTACKING US?
The headlines are most likely beginning to spread panic now. She slowly lower the pad with widened eyes...and she sighs, closing her eyes. "Ma'am, what should we do?" She asks her, and Sienna looks at the young woman.
"Send a message to Blake Belladonna...I must speak with her immediately." Sienna orders, and the young White Fang woman runs off to do so. Sienna looks at the bloody footage and she sighs.
"Things are going...so wrong..."
"Another great war is coming..."
"I just know it..."