Finally... We made it...the edge of the island, I thought, seeing the small port, as we approached, some of the workers looked frightened at the sight of Obsidian, I spoke loudly to them
"Don't worry guys, he's not harmful." They still seemed on edge, I sighed and walked over to the docks, some of the Sailors that were doing various things looked up at the loud stomping Obsidian made as he walked with me, I called out
"Hey! Any of you heading to Atlas?" One of the Sailors walking past me responded
"We can't, the Atlesian borders were closed after the incident over at Beacon." I groaned at this
"Well, any of you heading to mainland Vale then?" I asked
"Well 'we' are but I'm afraid we can't take that big creature of yours, I don't think the boat would hold it, besides it would scare the other passengers!" They said, I sighed while Obsidian growled, I petted his snout and he quickly calmed, we then proceeded to check with the other sailors, one after another, excuse after excuse, none of them were willing to take us, dammit what's wrong with a seventeen foot explosive lizard?...Oh
"Are ye the one in command of this mighty creature?" A voice said, I turned around to see an Old Man with a cloak over him, he was hunched over and spoke in a low voice, Obsidian was looking rather smug at the Old Mans flattery
"You could say that, why do you ask?" I said
"Well y'see..." the Old Man brought me closer to him
"I'm in possession of some eh...less then legal cargo." I looked at the man
"You're a smuggler basically?" I said in a monotone voice, the Old Man cackled slightly
"Quick ain't yeh?" He said
"The waters on the way are dangerous so-" I interjected
"You need some protection and in exchange you'll take us?" I asked, the Old Man spoke
"The name's Argos, good to meet ya." He said, turning around and walking off, motioning to follow, we walked past the large transport ships from before and stopped at a fairly large boat
"Ain't she a beaut? I call 'er Midas." Argos said
I didn't respond and just followed Argos' lead, clambering up the steps around the back, looking back I saw Obsidian standing just behind the vessel
"Hey Argo, I'm not sure if the boat will take Obsidians weight." I said to him, he was fiddling around behind the wheel, trying to get the boat started
"Eh, She'll be fine, She's taken worse." I decided to trust Argos word and motioned for Obsidian to get onboard, he looked at the steps, then down to his large feet, before looking back up and jumping over me and Argo and onto the deck of the ship, the front of the boat dipped heavily at Obsidians sudden weight
"Woah there! Try not ta destroy me pride'n'joy!" Argo called out, glaring at Obsidian, I turned to him
"What kind of cargo are you taking anyway?" I asked, Argo grinned
"I could tell ya kid, but then I'd hafta kill ye, I'd rather not cause yer kind aren't the easiest to find y'know?" He said, looking back to the wheel and making some adjustments
"Yer kind 'always' seem to show up whenever I need some protection, ya always seemed to be headed in a similar direction to me as well." He added, I nodded, a few minutes later we started sailing, The Midas was pretty fast for it's size, me and Obsidian gazed off into the Oceans
"Good view innit?" Argos called from the back
"Nothin' quite like a view o' the Sea!" He continued, I wasn't paying attention as I saw some shadows dash past the boat, many of them, Argos seemed to notice too
"Aye Dammit! It's those Grimm whatchamacallits eh uh... Mobulas!" I nodded and drew my weapon, Obsidian can't go in otherwise his slime would be useless! Argos brought the boat to a halt as I got ready
"Yer up kid, don't let me down now!" He said, I jumped up on the rail of the boat and leapt off of it, crashing into the water I saw our enemy
They look like giant Manta Rays, better make sure to avoid that tail, I thought as I swung at one of them, they easily swam past me, bashing into me with their fin as they did, I turned only to be battered by another, there was a whole swarm of them! I quickly swam up as fast as I could, breaking the surface I gasped for air, I didn't have long as I was yanked back down, one of the Mobulas had caught my leg with it's jaw! I flipped Half Rose in my hand and managed to stab straight through it's eye, I felt it's grip loosen and I pulled away from the fading body, suddenly there was a large screeching, I turned to see the other Mobulas, looking angrier than before, I would've made a comment if I wasn't desperately trying to hold my breath, the rest of the swarm charged at me, I quickly thought of a plan, swimming down I led them all behind me, let's just hope this works! I now swam upwards as fast as I could, using the recoil of my weapon to go even faster, they were still behind me, one of them dashed and knocked into my feet, a fatal mistake as I kicked off from it's face and out of the water, right in front of the boat, the Mobulas soon jumped up, trying to bite at me
"Obsidian now!" I yelled, Obsidian nodded and threw a punch, hitting the swarm, they were scattered, I saw that any that had not immediately died had sparks flying around them, I landed on the deck of The Midas and grinned, Argos looked at me
"Well? Ain't ye jumping back in?" He asked, I grinned
"Why would I jump into an ocean of live explosives?" I retorted, he raised an eyebrow which was soon met by a series of small explosions from under the surface, a few seconds later we saw the fading corpses of the remaining Mobulas float to the surface, Argos cackled like a maniac before starting the boat again. The rest of the voyage was peaceful luckily, a few Mobulas and other types of aquatic Grimm passed the boat, yet gave it a wide berth, they were smart enough not to get themselves killed, we arrived at the edge of the forest
"Well, 'ere's yer stop." Argos said, I raised an eyebrow
"Ye said 'Mainland Vale' and 'ere we are! What more do ya want!?" He said, voice slightly raised, I rolled my eyes before the two of us disembarked, I looked back to him as he turned the boat around
"Safe travels Argo!" I called, waving to him, Argo looked to me
"You too kid, hey, 'ere's some advice, on the 'ouse too." I raised an eyebrow and he continued
"The School don't abandon the fish that leads them to their food." He said, and like that he drove off in his boat, what? What's that supposed to mean? I brushed it off as the ramblings of an old man and we set off, deeper and deeper into the verdant forest, the trees just lightly swaying in the wind, the leaves crumpled with a satisfying noise underfoot, we walked for what seemed like hours, I pondered the Old Sailors words as we did, all I got out of it was a headache, I decided now would be a good time for a break, I sat down in a clearing while Obsidian walked off and took out some snacks I had bought while I was still at the Port, it was just some chocolate and biscuits, not much but better than nothing, Obsidian came back, when I saw what he had brought I nearly choked, a live Boarbatusk was clamped in his jaws, while another was being held in his claws
"Uuuh Obsidian, hate to break it to you but we can't eat Grimm." I said, he turned his head in confusion, with a surprising amount of precision, Obsidian snapped the hind legs of the Boarbatusk in his claws, he put it down and walked a little closer to me, I looked closely as he chomped down on the poor Grimm in his mouth, it died and began to fade, Obsidian quickly threw the body into the air before taking a large chunk out the stomach and swallowing it, his face just screamed that his thoughts were, Finally, some good fucking food, I couldn't blame him
"So...What you're saying is, just eat it quickly?" I asked, Obsidian nodded and I sighed
"Welp, you know what they say, 'never be afraid to try new things'... even though that's probably gotten so many people killed" I said, Obsidian growled at me
"Alright alright, I'll try it!" I said, Obsidian relaxed and curled up on the forest floor, I reluctantly drew Half Rose from it's sheath, I quickly stabbed the Boarbatusk through the head before using Half Rose to quickly carve a chunk of meat out of it's fading midriff, I hastily stuffed it into my mouth and nearly gagged, as one might suspect, Grimm taste 'vile', like licking the inside of a soldiers boot after a days march through the swamps, I forced myself to swallow it and felt it slide down, it seemed that when it entered my mouth, the fading had mostly stopped, I leant against the nearest tree while Obsidian made a noise similar to laughter
"Oi! Next time I'm picking what we eat, no Grimm okay! Normal animals 'please!'" I yelled... a new voice called out
"Enjoying ourselves?" They said, I whipped around and felt my heart begin to race
Adam Taurus, followed by a gang of White Fang members
"Y'know, you look a lot different from when I last saw you, what happened? Armour and shield not working out for you?" He said, slowly drawing his crimson blade
"Let's just say that wasn't me." I said, hastily picking up mine from the ground next to me as I stood up, Obsidian quickly got up as well, Adam looked at him
"Pity, such a majestic creature, enslaved by a Human." I rolled my eyes
"Can we just skip the 'I hate Humans' today? Dear Oum, we get it, the S.D.C treated you like shit and you rightfully want revenge, but that doe-" Adam cut me off
"Shut it! This will be the day you fall 'again'...Gravewalker." He said, lifting his blade and pointing it at me, I did the same, chuckling slightly
"You didn't get me last time so, let's if second time's the charm." Before I even knew it, Adam had launched himself at me, I barely deflected his blow, I could feel the raw ferocity behind it, I turned to see Adam running at me again, Obsidian had started dealing with the other White Fang members, I took aim and fired a few shots at him, he spun his blade in front of him, deflecting the bullets, he swung and our swords clashed, the sound of ringing metal could've been heard for miles, he soon began to trade blows, I was barely managing to keep up with his speed and was kept on the defensive
"Where's all that skill from last time gone Gravewalker!?" Adam taunted as he leapt back sheathing his sword before using the sheath to launch it, hilt first at me, it hit me square in the jaw and I was knocked back
"You know, for a supposed clairvoyant, you didn't see this coming." Adam said grinning before promptly being struck in the face by Obsidians tail, he slammed into a tree, slowly getting up he grinned even more
"Heh, your beast has sealed your own fate." He said, it was like the world had been drained of it's colour, only black and red were left, oh no, that last hit probably gave him a ton of energy to use! Adam dashed forward, faster than I could even react as his blade inched closer towards my neck
Right before Obsidian pushed me out of the way, Adam sliced right through, blood started spurting from the gash on Obsidian face, I stared, shaking ever so slightly
"N-no..." I whimpered, Adam scoffed
"So, you allow your slave to take the fall for you? Typical." He said, I could see my F/C Aura flare up around me, it started to change however as it swirled around me, a blood red seeped through it, overwhelming everything else, it stopped however as a roar hit my ears, I looked to see Obsidian, enraged with stem billowing from his nostrils, he charged forward before attempting to headbutt Adam, Adam dodged but Obsidians horn left a massive puddle of slime, which began to charge, Adam quickly retreated with his remaining soldiers, the puddle went off harmlessly as I looked to Obsidian, he turned to me
Before collapsing on the ground, I immediately ran up to him
"OBSIDIAN!" I cried as I carefully placed my hands on his face, the attack had sliced clean through his Aura and left a large gash across his face
"No...NO YOU CAN'T DIE!" I yelled, I tried to activate my Semblance, but all I got was a small explosion
"DAMMIT THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO FUCK UP!" I shouted, I tried again and again each time I just achieved the same result, my face was soaked with tears as I came up to Obsidians face, his breathing was heavy while the rest his body was very still, I spoke in a mere whimper
"I can't, I can't, Noire was dragged away, Penny could be dead 'again' for all I know and Neo... Neo is already..." I couldn't finish what I was going to say
"I CAN'T LOSE YOU AS WELL, YOU'RE THE LAST ONE I HAVE, SO PLEASE, STAY WITH ME!" I yelled as if calling out to the Gods themselves, I looked back to him, his scales were slowly changing from their dark blue to a dull grey, I saw his eyes were wide and darting around, his breathing became quicker, I placed a hand on his snout
"Shhhh... Don't worry...It's all going to...be okay, alright?....You'll be... fine, alright? You're going...to a much better..." Obsidians head rose
"No don't, just rest now boy, okay?" I said, gently pushing, but he didn't listen, instead he just leant forward slightly, and licked my face, I couldn't take it anymore, I held the now resting Obsidians face tight as I wailed into it, I could feel the warmth from his nostrils, I stayed like that for a few minutes before I noticed something, Obsidian had stopped breathing, I looked to his eyes, closed, I put a hand up to his neck, nothing
Obsidian was dead
I just sat there, trembling slightly until I saw that the moon had already risen, I decided to bury Obsidian in the morning, I slept next to him, making sure that nothing would come to try and prey on him
Morning had risen, I slowly rose and solemnly looked to my side, the grey, scaly body that had been Obsidian lay there, limp. I stood and walked around him, getting one last look before he was gone, forever, as I walked around his back, I noticed something. There was a strange hole in his back, I took a closer look to see that Obsidians insides were...
"Gone?" I said, this was strange, this was not the work of scavengers, scavengers would've left small chunks behind, but there was 'literally' nothing, just empty space, not even a skeleton, all that was left was the scaly exterior, I took a look at the hole itself to find something even stranger
"This was made... from the inside?" I asked, even though there was no-one there
"What did this? How did it do this?" I was beginning to question my own sanity now, a new voice broke the silence
"Hey!" I looked up to see a girl lying over the top of Obsidians corpse
"What are you looking so down for Father?" What. The. FUCK. IS. THIS!? I thought as I took a closer look at the girl, she had long dark blue hair which ended in vibrant green tips, she wore what looked like a light set of armour made from scales, her slender arms bore two dark blue bracelets that seemed to have some panels in them, concealing something, she also seemd to have a long, scaly tail ending in a club
"W-who are you?" I asked, falling back a bit, the Girl giggled before sliding down the remains and landing just in front of me
"Jeez, can you not even recognize your own daughter!? Did you hit your head?" She asked, I was still in complete shock that I had not yet put the pieces together
"Daughter!? I don't have a Daughter!" I cried, the Girl puffed out her cheeks at this
"Come on now! It's me, how could you forget this cute face?" She said, pulling a silly face as she did so
"I've never met you before lady!" I yelled, now she seemed slightly pissed
"YOU FUCKING HATCH ME FROM AN EGG AND YET YOU STILL DON'T RECOGNIZE ME!?" Yes, slightly pissed
"Wait a minute... Obsidian?" I asked, my voice trembling
"Ding ding ding, winner!" She said, giving me a cheesy grin and a thumbs up, tears flowed down my face as I embraced her in a hug
"THANK OUM YOU'RE ALIVE!" I said, she smiled weakly
"Yeah... I thought I was a goner too to be honest." We separated and I finally took it all in
"Hang on a second, you mean this entire time you were female?" I asked, promptly being punched by her, it seemed she retained her previous strength however as I was sent flying across the forest floor, she spoke as I got back up
"Yeah! And you 'never' noticed! Ignorant Father." She said, puffing her cheeks out, I ignored this and pressed on with my questions
"What's with the whole 'Father' thing by the way?" I asked, she smiled and responded
"You were the one who hatched and raised me, so, you're my Father! Along with Metal Mom, Scary Mom and Umbrella Mom!" I blinked as I tried to work out what she meant, I chuckled when I realized who she meant
"But anyway." I said, putting on a more serious face, Obsidian seemed to notice this
"How did you survive that attack? how did you change into a Faunus?" I asked, she pondered for a second
"No clue!" She said happily, I fell over at this
"Maybe it was 'your' Semblance?" I said, Obsidian thought for a second before she spoke
"Hmmm, yeah that would make sense I guess." She said, nodding her head in acceptance, I sighed, smiling, before patting her on the head
"Well, I'm just glad you're alive." She giggled
"Me too." I grinned and stretched slightly
"Well then, we should be off, Atlas is still a way to go, still gotta find a way across the border." I said, turning around and starting to walk off, Obsidian spoke up
"Oh yeah, Father? Why haven't you used Bird Ladies' power yet?" She asked, I stopped and turned to her, eyebrow raised
"Who the hell is Bird Lady?" I asked
"You know, Bird Lady! With the sword and the hair! She makes the holes!" At this point I think I knew who she meant
"Are you talking about Raven? Black hair, red eyes?" I asked, she nodded, what power is she talking about what can Raven...
Fuck
It took Obsidian a good five minutes to stop me from hitting me head against the nearest tree, how could I have been so stupid! I forgot about the one thing that could've made this whole thing be done by now! FUCK! I thought as she carefully removed a couple splinters from my face
"So you learnt our entire language just from hearing bits of it, and yet you couldn't figure out our real names?" I asked as she finished
"Yup, Cane Man was also kind enough to try and teach me some as well!" She said beaming, I guess she means Ozpin
"Did you come up with some kind of nickname for everyone?" I asked, she nodded
"Yup, Scary Mom is also Laser Show, Metal was also Blade works..." I snickered at this as she continued
"And Umbrella Mom is Silent But Deadly!" She said, I nearly fell to the floor laughing at this
"And what am I?" I asked, Obsidian smiled
"You're Hunter!" I froze
"Why am I Hunter?" I asked, her smiled faded
"I can tell you've killed my kind before, many of them, other creatures too, each time taking a piece of them with you, sometimes making new armour or weapons from them, using their own bodies against them, that's why." I looked away, so...even if it was a game, for her, it would've all been real
"Do you hate me for it?" I asked
"What? Of course not!" I looked back at her, she was smiling
"You may have killed countless of my kind, but you raised me, you could've just killed me when I had just hatched, but you didn't instead you raised me as your own and helped me become what I am today! How could I be mad at that?" I smiled
"Can we go now? I'm getting tired of standing around doing nothing." Obsidian asked looking annoyed at me, I nodded and took a deep breath, focusing, my F/C Aura burst to life, not transforming this time, it disappeared and I looked to my daughter
"Ready?" I asked, taking out Half Rose, Obsidian giggled
"Father, your eyes have gone red!" I looked at my slight reflection in the blade of my weapon, seeing a small red glow coming back, then something important struck me
"Obsidian, This may sound stupid, but do you even have a weapon?" I asked, this sounded like the most stupid question ever but she answered cheerfully regardless
"Yup, I have these guns!" She said, flexing her arms, I deadpanned
"No, I mean like 'this'." I said, waving Half Rose, she seemed slightly annoyed at me
"Yeah! Like that, right here!" She said, waving her arms, I raised an eyebrow
"I know you're strong but you're gonna need more than brute force now." She glared
"Father, you're not looking closely enough!" This time she pointed to her bracelets
"So what do they do?" I asked, she grinned and made a motion like Yang, thrusting her fist forward, the panels on her bracelets opened up, allowing while looked like two small barrels pop out, each connected to blue and green containers, a blade popped out of the top, it was a deep blue with what looked like a slime coated edge
"I call them, Combustion Blaster!" She said grinning before firing off one of them, the green bolt flew a few meters before exploding, she looked at my awed expression
"That good then?" She said giggling, I nodded, before turning around, I focused my thoughts on Noire before slashing through the air, the space my blade cut through seemed to fold in on itself, forming a dark red hole in the air, I looked to Obsidian, she gave me a determined nod and we walked through
"Fuck it's cold!" I said, grabbing both of my shaking arms as the snow floated down onto them, Obsidian raised an eyebrow
"What're you talking about Father?" She asked stretching and taking a deep breath
"I think this is quite nice." I glared at her
"Yeah, well 'some' people weren't born to live in extreme conditions like you!" I said, anger present in my voice
"So where's Scary Mom? Isn't she supposed to be nearby?" Obsidian asked looking around, I copied her, we seemed to be in the middle of a snowy forest, not a hint of civilization nearby
"Yeah, you're right, maybe my copy only puts us closer to them, I mean, this is definitely Atlas if I've ever seen it." I said, not telling her that I had never really seen it
"Ooooh, what's that!" Obsidian asked, pointing upwards, I followed her finger too see a large island floating not too far from us, the smoke from what I assumed was the city below could be seen wafting upwards
"That, dear Obsidian, would be where we should find Noire and Penny." I said, she smiled and we began heading towards the city underneath.